Around Craigville

I took a quick drive down to the beach for a walk this morning, just before the thunder started to roll. Couldn't resist taking a few shots before leaving. I thought you might like the view too!



This is from the hill above the beach, where the Craigville Conference Center is located.




I'm off to do chores before going into work... have a great day!

Not much news worth repeating on this end... Charlie is doing well and is back outside roaming the yard and scoping out the woodpile for mice. No ill effects from his ordeal, save for one of his nine lives being used up!
I'm in the process of getting interior painting estimates, a unexpectedly difficult process. I didn't think it would be that hard to actually get a painting contractor to submit a bid. I've had 6 contractors come out, walk through the house, promise an estimate in a day or two, and voila... nothing. One bid. The house is very, very old. It needs a fresh coat of paint. Some minor repairs. I do not expect it to look like the Taj Mahal, but the one bid I did get made me laugh out loud. Apparently this contractor didn't really want the job. His bid was so high it was almost insulting. So the quest continues, and maybe with a little luck I'll find someone who actually wants to work. (And one that is reputable, reliable and licensed!)



Yesterday I stumbled upon an article from June, 2008 about how Oklahoma passed legislation regarding their state being a "Sovereign" state.

Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and, according to these resolution's own language, each of these states is "serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates."

The Tenth Amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."

Traditionally, this language has meant that the federal government is limited in its scope and cannot usurp the sovereign powers of states. In recent decades, however, as the size and reach of the federal government has expanded, many have come to question whether Washington has stepped on states' rights and gotten too big for its breeches.

I wish I had paid more attention in school. I had to go back to my American History books and look for it... yes, there it was. Each state is already a sovereign state.

Charles Key, the Republican state representative who authored the resolution, told WND that he introduced it because he believes the federal government's overstepping of its bounds has put our constitutional form of government in danger.


Oklahoma State Rep. Charles Key

"The more we stand by and watch the federal government get involved in areas where it has no legal authority, we kill the Constitution a little at a time," he said. "The last few decades, the Constitution has been hanging by a thread."

Follow thislink for more information about other states doing exactly the same thing.

I don't know about you but I think it's about damn time.

I also read somewhere.... and I can't find it now so I can substantiate this claim... that Obama has approached several senators to discuss repealing the 10th Amendment.



Thanks for all your comments.... as always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Just a Touch of Spring

Things started to sprout, bloom, awaken, and change last week! A welcome change to what we've been looking at for the past six months! The pics aren't that great, (taken w/cell phone) but wanted to share with you what I see on my morning walks....

Check This Out!!

For you who haven't kept up with the International Space Station, this is
a must see.

Can you imagine the planning necessary to accomplish this?
I hope you enjoy watching the assembly come together at the URL below.




International Space Station Comes Together!

A Miracle of Lost and Found

Last Sunday, my cat Charlie, whom I've had since he was a kitten, disappeared. He is a 18 pound black and white mouser, that rarely leaves the yard. He does have a couple of nearby haunts, but as a rule he likes hanging out at the woodpile watching for mice, or lurking under the front yard bushes waiting for an unsuspecting leg to walk by! I have had cats for many years, mostly indoor/outdoor cats. What that means is anytime they are indoors, they want to go outdoors and anytime they are outdoors, they want to go indoors. Charlie has been with us for over five years, has always come when I called for him, has never been in any scraps with the neighborhood cats, and when he disappeared it was during daylight hours. (I ALWAYS bring him in at night). When he didn't come home that first night, I was frantic. By the second night, I had printed up fliers and stuffed them in all the neighbors mailboxes. I begged everyone to check their garages and sheds, just in case he had gotten in while someone had been doing yard work that Sunday. (The weather had been beautiful and I knew most folks had been outside cleaning up their yards.) When I came home from work at midnight, I walked up and down in the pouring rain with a flashlight calling his name. By the third night, I was resigned to the fact that he was gone. It had been pouring rain all day and night. All kinds of horrible thoughts ran through my mind. We do have a small coyote population here on the Cape. Last fall someone else in our neighborhood was missing a cat. Unfortunately, we believe that a coyote got to it and I was the one who called the Animal Control Officer when I found the remains. I was sick to my soul over Charlie's disappearance. I chastised myself for buying the cheap flea collar that wasn't of the break away design. I imagined him hung up on branches, or even worse. I cried, I prayed, I grieved. Yet, each time I walked outside I called his name. I walked all over the neighborhood searching for him. By the sixth day I was miserable. On the seventh day that he had been missing I received a call from a neighbor of mine two houses down. They had been gone all week, had just arrived home and had seen the flier. She called to tell me that she thought my cat might be in her attic! She wasn't sure, she said, but when she had opened her garage door, she had heard something moving around upstairs. When she went up, she caught a glimpse of fur as it disappeared into the eaves. My daughter and I raced out the door and down the street; hearts pumping, fear and hope coursing through our bodies! If it was him, he had been without food and water for seven days. What kind of condition would he be in? If it wasn't him, could I stand the disappointment? When we ran up to the house, the woman was waiting for us, but instead of just pointing us in the direction of the attic, she wanted to chit chat. Trying not to be rude, we asked her where the door to the attic was, and up we went into the hot, stuffy air. The attic was big, with lots of stuff piled all along the sides of the room. My daughter and I carefully stepped deeper into the room, calling Charlie's name.

"Meow".

"CHARLIE"!!! My heart was pounding in my ears, but I could still hear it....

"Meow".

"Here Charlie, here kitty"!

Out he scooted, from behind some boxes, somewhat skittish and looking for a way out. My daughter scooped him up in her arms, and down the stairs we went into the fresh, cool air. He was alive! We, of course said our thank-yous, then nearly-ran with him back to our house to check out his condition. He seemed fine, just a bit of weight loss, but as soon as he got in the door, he ate a bit of food then wanted to go out! We kept him in, to monitor how he was doing. I was concerned about dehydration. However, throughout the night, he ate both wet and dry food, drank water and had no problems holding it down. He used the litter box and as far as I could tell, he was one happy cat. He rubbed all over us, sucked up the attention we gave him, then settled down to sleep right in the middle of my bed! Can I just say, it felt like the weight of the world had lifted!

My daughter made the remark, "What's with our cats and attics?" It reminded me of how our last cat Whiskers, had done the exact same thing about eight years ago. She had wandered into a house being built down at the end of the road, gotten spooked by the construction crew, and ended up hiding in the eaves. By the end of the day, the crew had finished putting in all the windows and doors. She had no way to get out! I finally found her, six days later, by walking through the neighborhood calling her name. I heard the faint "meow" coming from the new house, and nearly tore off the eaves of a $450K house trying to get to her. When I realized I couldn't get to her, I had to wait until the crew came back to work the next morning to try and get her out. That required permission from the owner. Unable to miss a day at work while waiting for permission, I spent the next eight hours in pure torture. That evening, after the work crew left, my daughter and I entered the house with a bowl of spaghetti dinner, and sat down in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Whiskers was a very timid and shy cat, so it took some coaxing to get her to come out into the open. I'm sure the smell of food did the trick. Another miraculous reunion!

I'm still on the fence about restricting Charlie to staying in the house. I want to do what is best for him, but I'm not sure just what that might be. I would really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. For now, we will keep a close eye on him and try to take our cues from his behavior. The knucklehead.

Florida Part IV

While driving through Bradenton, we stumbled upon a sign that directed us to the Desoto National Memorial. On a whim we decided to check it out. I'm sure glad we did!

In May 1539, de Soto landed nine ships with over 620 men and 220 horses
at the present day Shaw's Point, in Bradenton, FL. He named it Espíritu Santo after the Holy Spirit.


The ships brought priests, craftsmen, engineers, farmers, and merchants; some with their families, some from Cuba, most from Europe and Africa. Few of them had ever traveled outside of Spain, or even their home villages.

This guy is a cardboard cut-out that sits back in the woods. Pretty life-like huh?
The first extensive organized exploration of what is now the southern United States by Europeans is commemorated here. de Soto had come to the new world with a license from the King of Spain to explore, colonize, and pacify the Indians of the area known as "La Florida".


Located at Marina Jack in Sarasota is the statue of great controversy!
It is a replica of a famous photo taken in New York 1945 when Japan announced it's unconditional surrender.
Many people don't like the statue, calling it cheesy and feel it's out of place in the "classy art community of Sarasota".
But I read somewhere that the locals really love it and find it fascinating watching us tourists pose with it, and try to look up the skirt of the nurse!
Apparently this colossal statue is movable, as it did some time in San Diego.
Lots of folks were happy to see it return to Sarasota. However, if they want it to stay, they'll have to fork over $700,000. No one seems to know where it will be going next.

While we were at Marina Jack, we booked a ride on a beautiful 41' sailboat named The Enterprise.Enterprise Charter is owned by.... get this....Capt "Kirk" Harden!
The fellow in the photo is First Mate Bob. He made our trip around the harbor very comfortable and enjoyable! He is very knowledgable of the surrounding area.


The John Ringling Causeway Bridge was opened for the first time in 1925 by John Ringling himself. The purpose was to get buyers from the mainland to the barrier islands to buy land he had for sale.
The John Ringling Causeway Bridge has been a unique part of Sarasota's history for more than 80 years.




These condominiums, we were told, cost anywhere from $1 million - $3 million each!


Here is just one of thousands of multi-million dollar estates that sit on the waterfront all along the bay. First Mate Bob did some name dropping... I guess Jerry Springer, Valerie Bertinelli,Tom Cruise, and Steve Tyler have homes here.


This is another charter that we saw while sailing gracefully in the harbor. It had palm trees on top and a giant mermaid in the front of the boat. Quite the ride!


I laughed at this sign.... I'd never seen one before and it cracked me up! My companions were quick to say that the signs were not a novelty. I still found it photo worthy!


Well folks, that's it for the Florida trip! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had doing it! Thanks for all the wonderful comments too!

Ed Freeman

You're an 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He's coming anyway.
And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses.
And, he kept coming back.... 13 more times..... And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.



Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman,died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise , ID ......May God rest his soul.....
I bet you didn't hear about this hero's
passing, but we sure were told a whole
bunch about the presidents new dog in the White House.
Medal of Honor Winner
Ed Freeman!
Shame on the American Media

Florida Part III

We were very lucky to be able to stay in Florida for seven days. My previous vacations were short bursts...lasting only four days, two travel days and two days to explore and visit. This time, having seven days to do whatever came to mind, made it more relaxing and easier to decide on what we wanted to do with our time.

On the ride down to see my Aunt and Uncle who live in Englewood, we stopped at Stump Pass Beach
and got out long enough to take a quick walk. The day was chilly for Florida, (low 60's), the wind was whipping; a perfect day to do a car tour of the area. The visit with my family was wonderful. Lots and lots of talking, eating, and being merry! My uncle makes stained glass art and I took some photos....




aren't they beautiful?!

Another adventure we had was visting the Mote Aquarium located on City Island just a few miles outside of Sarasota. I especially liked the up close and personal with the (barb-less) Stingrays. They seemed to like the attention they were getting, swimming up close so folks could touch them. They feel incredible, not slimy, but sort of "spongy". The two resident dolphins

were not especially active, save for a moment or two when one of the handlers came out to the pool. One of the dolphins became quite excited and circled the large pool at great speeds, then favored us with a couple of jumps. Once he realized he wasn't getting food he calmed down a bit. Both dolphins were rescued from stranding and came from two different areas of the country. For whatever reason, the feds refused to allow the aquarium to re-release them after they had been rehabilitated and that is why they are now permanently located there.

I revisited the Sarasota Jungle Gardens, having discovered them on my last trip. It was Easter Egg Hunt day, and the park was full of children carrying baskets, searching for the treasured Easter eggs! The exhibits were great, and when we came upon the Flamingos,

we stopped long enough to feed them. They have a funny way of eating. I think their bills are upside down(?) so they have to lower their heads and turn them upside down to get their food down into their throats. It's quite the maneuver! My favorite part was the visit we had with the Birds of Paradise.... you are allowed to pick out a bird that you'd like to hold, and the trainer brings it over to you and places it on your arm. I held a little Sun Parakeet,

brilliantly colored with yellow and red feathers. My brother decided he wanted to hold a Cockatoo, so when the trainer brought it over, he held out his arm, and then `whoosh`!

The bird ran right up his arm and latched onto his ball cap! The bird apparently did not like the hat, tried to take it off of his head, and the trainer had to pry it out of the bird's beak!

It was hilarious! Hope you enjoy the photos!

I have two or three more adventures to share with you .... but I'll have to save them for the next post. Duty calls!

We Now Interrupt This Broadcast......

My brother just sent this to me in an e-mail. I'm still giggling!