- My friend Benjamin Payne, his faith and his music.
Swift Current Boats - My cousin's husband started a wonderful new business; handcrafting Lightweight Wooden Kayaks, Canoes, Wherries and Paddles. It's very cool! Living Fountain - Living Fountain Dance Company was founded in 1994 to bring the modern dance experience to a variety of audiences. Eyeclectic.net - My friend John Stone and his photographs. The Zagray Zoo! - My cousin Jim does an excellent job teaching biology at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent, OH.
Browse archives by date or
visit the old, pre iBlog, blog, archives included and comments still work there as well. :-)
And now a new section because iBlog crapped out for a few days and I had to start over.
Wow,
having my 3 days off crammed into two makes for some busy, but fun days! Today
I'm having lunch/dinner with Mom, Dad and Laurie. I'll also being doing my
laundry. Then Mom and I are going to go see The Passion. Later that evening I'm
going to visit Jon and Laura and the kids. Full
Day!
On
Monday it's not so busy, but just as full. I'm having lunch with Ben and then
getting together with Jen to see a movie or two. Fun, Fun, Fun!
:-)
So
this woman comes to the counter tonight. Here is how it played
out.
Me - "Hello! How can I help
you?" Woman - "I have a
complaint!" Me - "Ok, what can I do for
you?" Woman - "I was over there making
black and white copies and I looked down after 20 or so and saw my total was
over 20 dollars! Then I saw the sign that says This Machine Makes Color Copies
8.5x11 $.99 11x17 $1.99. It doesn't say that it ONLY makes color copies. There
should be a sign or something!!!" Me -
Thinking to myself - "What a sign like This Machine Makes Color Copies 8.5x11
$.99 11x17 $1.99?"
I only charged her
for black and white copies. I guess I felt sorry for her because she was stupid
and rude and just plain mean. It would have been much easier for both of us if
she had just said, "Hi, I feel kind of silly, but I didn't see the sign over
there and I made my black and white copies on the color machine. Is there a way
you could fix my charges?" I would have said, "Sure, we all make mistakes." And
both our nights would have been better,
I've
been thinking today about all my friends, near and far. I've been thinking about
how blessed I am to have you all. I've been thinking about how blessed I am to
have parents, a sister and other family members who love me unconditionally.
I've been thinking about new friends and old. Friends I see in the flesh and
friends I only know through the glowing cathode ray tube before me, that I only
communicate with through these keys I now press. Friends here and friends gone.
Do I tell you I care about you, if I don't do you know
anyway?
I
could attempt to make a list of all those I love, but I would fail. Too many for
my feeble brain to recall all the names. Should I attempt to I would offend by
omission and I have no wish to do
that.
Recently
I wish blessings upon Ben for his friendship and his song Broken
Hearted which was a real catalyst for change in my way of thinking. I have run
from God for so long. I tried to fit Him in a box. It didn't work too well. I
don't write any of this to try to convert you to my way of thinking. I only
write this out of attempting to explain and understand where I am now and
perhaps where I was. Thank you
Ben.
Robyn
is a new friend and has also helped bring about this re-awakening in me. I met
Robyn in a chat room and we began to have a nice enough chat. She asked me if I
believed in God and I was taken aback. It's unusual to actually meet someone
nice in a chat room, let alone someone who has convictions and wants to know if
you do too. Robyn's question set me thinking about what I believe and Who I
believe in. The conversation took a more serious turn there as I began to think
about my views and to try to explain them. She is very kind, understanding and
patient. We chat daily now and my faith renewal comes up often. She is truly one
of what Lincoln referred to as,
"the better angels of our nature." She's also
just plain fun and sweet. Thank you
Robyn.
God
is moving in my life again and it is simply because I decided to stop preventing
Him. To stop hiding. To stop pretending that I could do it all on my own. Thank
you God.
In open fields of wild
flowers, she breathes the air and flies
away She thanks her Jesus for the daises and
the roses in no simple
language Someday she'll understand the meaning
of it all He's more than the laughter or the
stars in the heavens As close as a heartbeat
or a song on her lips Someday she'll trust Him
and learn how to see Him Someday He'll call
her and she will come running and fall in His
arms and the tears will fall down and she'll
pray,
"I want to fall in love with You"
x4
Sitting silent wearing Sunday
best The sermon echoes through the
walls A great salvation through it calls to
the people who stare into nowhere, and can't
feel the chains on their souls
He's more
than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see
Him Someday He'll call us and we will come
running and fall in His arms and the tears
will fall down and we'll pray,
"I want
to fall in love with You" x4
It seems
too easy to call you "Savior", Not close
enough to call you "God" So as I sit and think
of words I can mention to show my
devotion
"I want to fall in love with
You" until it fades
out
Broken Things, By
Julie Miller
You can have my heart
Though it isn't new
It's been used and
broken And only comes in blue
It's been down a long road
And it got dirty on the way
If I give it to
you Will you make it
clean And wash the shame
away
You can have my heart
If you don't mind broken things
You can have my life
If you don't mind these tears
Well I heard that you make old things new
So I give these pieces all to
you If you want it you can have my heart
So beyond repair
Nothing I could do
I tried to fix it
myself But it was only
worse When I got
through
Then you walk right into my
darkness And you speak words so
sweet And you hold me like a
child 'Til my frozen
tears Fall at your
feet You can have my heart
If you don't mind broken things
You can have my life
If you don't mind these tears
Well I heard that you make old things new
So I give these pieces all to
you If you want it you can have my
heart
In the Light, By DC
Talk
I keep trying to find a
life On my own, apart from
You I am the king of
excuses I've got one for every selfish
thing I do
What's going on
inside of me? I despise my own
behavior This only serves to confirm
my suspicions That I'm still a man in
need of a
Savior
(chorus) I
wanna be in the Light As You are in
the Light I wanna shine like the stars
in the heavens Oh, Lord be my Light
and be my salvation Cause all I want
is to be in the Light All I want is to
be in the Light
The disease of
self runs through my blood It's a
cancer fatal to my soul Every attempt
on my behalf has failed To bring this
sickness under control
Tell me,
what's going on inside of me? I
despise my own behavior This only
serves to confirm my suspicions That
I'm still a man in need of a
Savior
(chorus) I
wanna be in the Light As You are in
the Light I wanna shine like the stars
in the heavens Oh, Lord be my Light
and be my salvation Cause all I want
is to be in the Light All I want is to
be in the
Light
These are just
three more songs that have been running through my head and speaking my
thoughts.
Here
are the lyrics as I transcribed them I'm not sure if they are totally
correct.
"How will I
know where to begin again? When it's obvious I've wandered much to far from
where you are."
"And the
storm clouds block the light that once was a lamp unto my feet, Knowing I have
lost my way."
"Promises that
remain true, from the Word revealed in You. Helped my spirit realize, I don't
want to be broken hearted, torn apart and separate from Your grace. I don't want
to be lost and lonely, please God hold me in
your arms I
pray."
"Will I ever be the
same again. And can I return into the holy place Your Glory dwells. Have I
fallen from the grace that sets me free and gave me new life? Shattered like a
broken vase."
"Then your
arms reach out for me, lift me up so I can see, that I'll never be
alone."
"I don't want to be
broken hearted, torn apart and separate from Your grace. I don't want to be lost
and lonely, please God hold me in your arms I pray."
No
idea where this came from, but I'm reposting it here.
Enjoy.
A
touching true story: Please help little Billy
Evans.
My name is Billy
Evans. I am a very sick little boy. My mother
is typing this for me, because I
can't. She is crying. The reason she
is so sad is because I'm so
sick.
I was born without a
body. It doesn't hurt, except when I try
to breathe. The doctors gave me an
artificial body. It is a burlap
bag filled with leaves. The doctors
said that was the best they could do
on account of us having no money or
insurance. I would like to have a
body transplant, but we need more
money. Mommy doesn't work because she
said nobody hires crying people. I
said, "Don't cry, Mommy," and she
hugged my burlap bag. Mommy always
gives me hugs, even though she's allergic
to burlap and it makes her sneeze
and chafes her real bad. I hope you
will help
me.
You can help me if you
forward this email to everyone you
know. Forward it to people you don't
know, too. Dr. Johansen said that
for every person you forward this
email to, Bill Gates will team up with
AOL and send a nickel to NASA. With
that funding, NASA will collect
prayers from school children all
over America and have the astronauts take
them up into space so that the
angels can hear them better. Then they
will come back to earth and go to
the Pope, and he will take up a
collection in church and send all
the money to the doctors. The doctors could
help me get better then. Maybe one
day I will be able to play baseball.
Right now I can only be third
base.
Every time you forward
this letter, the astronauts can take
more prayers to the angels and my
dream will be closer to coming
true.
Please help me. Mommy
is so sad, and I want a body. I don't want
my leaves to rot before I turn 10.
If you don't forward this email,
that's okay. Mommy says you're a
mean and heartless bastard who doesn't
care about a poor little boy with
only a head. She says that if you
don't stew in the raw pit of your
own guilt-ridden stomach, she hopes you
die a long slow horrible death and
then burn forever in
hell.
What kind of cruel
person are you that you can't take five
freakin' minutes to forward this to
all your friends so that they can feel
guilt and shame about ignoring a
poor, bodiless nine-year-old
boy?
Please help me. I try to
be happy, but it's hard. I wish I had
a kitty. I wish I could hold a
kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty
that wouldn't chew on me and try to
bury its turds in the leaves of my
burlap body. I wish
that
A
guy came into work the other night. He was bringing his teenage daughter in to
print something out for school. He was totally drunk. Yes, he was driving. Yes,
with his daughter in the car.
Now my
opinion is that if you want to drink and drive you should, go out alone, find a
long stretch of road with a nice bridge abutment, get all sloshed up and drive
right into that abutment at about 130 or so, don't bother with the seat
belt.
I hope they made it home. I
can't imagine endangering a child's life.
I
went to visit Jon and Laura last night for the first time in weeks. It was good
to see them and their adorable kids. Talia hung all over me and gave me the
following. The only part she didn't do was the words Uncle Mike. Laura wrote
that. Talia is 5.
"I said, I like the little things...the way a
glass feels in your hand, a good glass, thick, with a heavy base." - - "I love
the sound an ice cube makes when you drop it from just the right height." - -
"Too high and it'll chip when you drop it...chip the ice and it'll melt too fast
in the scotch." - - "Good scotch sits in a charcoal barrel for 12 years. Very
good scotch gets smoked for 29 years. Johnny Walker Blue...is 60 year old
scotch."
"I'm an alcoholic, I don't
have one drink. I don't understand people who have one drink. I don't understand
people who leave half a glass of wine on the table. I don't understand people
who say they've had enough. How can you have enough of feeling like this? How
can you not want to feel like this longer? My brain works
differently."
Can you name that show?
This monologue is from one of my favorite episodes. I never had an inkling of
what an alcoholic felt or thought like till I heard this wonderful actor deliver
the above lines.
Dad
and I went to see Hidalgo on Monday, we really enjoyed it. It's
the story of Frank Hopkins a legendary distance/endurance
rider and Mustang horse advocate. There seems to be some controversy about
exactly what is true about him, but the movie is entirely enjoyable
regardless.
I've started a new schedule at work. I was working
Fri.- Mon., but for two months I'm switching with my friend Laura. I've been in
this position now for a while, but I never get to work with any of my managers.
So this is a chance for me to learn from them and actually get some development
since Kinko's eliminated all face to face training years ago. Last night was the
first night and, despite a hectic start, it went
well.
This week I only have one day
off because of the schedule switch, so that's not fun, but I will have Sunday
and Monday off for a few months so that will be nice. I'm actually getting more
hours this way too so it will be a nicer paycheck.
So
a friend of mine has a buddy over the internet. This buddy is 16 and got his
girlfriend, also 16, pregnant. Her parents forced them to get married and now
seem none too happy they think they can have sex now. Well, even by the biggest
prude's rule book you're allowed to have sex after you are married. Anyway, it's
one big hormone-fest that the girl's parents seem to be having a hard time with.
So hard a time that for her most recent infraction they beat her with a belt.
Yes, they beat a pregnant 16 year old girl
with a belt. All we know is that they live
in Georgia, we don't know where in Georgia. My friend encouraged them to tell
the school principal, but they seem to think the state won't care because a belt
isn't considered abuse there. I don't know, but I think in that case it must be
ok for me to take a belt to the parents. It's not abuse. What do you
think?
Tip
number one: If you require lots of attention, you might want to come in when
there are lots of team-members there to assist you. If you know your order is
going to take a long time and you see there is only one team-member working the
front counter and only one working behind them, and you still feel the need to
be the most important customer then just flippen
leave.
Tip
number two: Don't assume that your job is the only job in the world. Believe it
or not, there were other customers that came in before you. They dropped off
jobs that were just as important as yours. Really they did. Trust
me.
Tip
number three: If a s'okniK team-member tells you something won't work, just
believe them and accept the fact that we have more experience in these matters.
We really are here to help you. We really do see your job as very important to
us and we want to do the best possible work for you. Really, those bottle caps
that you glued to poster board will not laminate well, they will not laminate at
all and will probably just break the laminator and ruin your bottle cap
collection.
Tip
number four: We are not out to get you. We are not conspiring against you. We
are here to help you. We do want to make your presentation, your report, your
poster or whatever the best possible
quality.
Busy Day!
iBlog can be Soooo Flaky!
Loved Ones
Billy Evans
Hidalgo