San Antonio Late Fall Sunset

Signs of the Times, Part V

Heh, and Amen.

~~JD~~

Why I Was Late Posting Monday

One of the things I like to do with my time is volunteering. You meet new people and get to see places you normally wouldn't. Plus I think it's a good idea to shake up one's own status quo from time to time. As Lenin once said, "A little revolution now and then is a good thing."



This is how I ended up . . . on a golf course on a beautiful South Texas afternoon when I don't even play the game. It was the AT&T South Texas Open, which is a stop on the Seniors Tour.


I have no idea who this guy is. I think he's Fuzzy Zoeller, and I'm probably wrong. But I did get to meet him, and get his autograph, which was cool. That's certainly something that wouldn't have happened if I was sitting around the house. You so infrequently see Fuzzy Zoeller bumming a bottled water out of my refrigerator.


Most of what we did was sit around in an air-conditioned tent watching satellite TV (of the Cowboys game) waiting for someone to come in with (a) a headache, or (b) ant-bites, so we could hand out anti-itch cream or ibuprofen or tylenol, such as the case may be.


This being Texas (and part of the South, y'all) The signs that they hold up when the player is putting say "HUSH, Y'all!"


The bad news was when I volunteered to work the Open, I didn't think I was scheduled to work that night at the hospital. Through a miracle of sudden scheduling, it turned out i was after all. That meant no afternoon nap before work, and when I got home this morning, I was beat. (I'd say "bushed", but I don't want to get angry comments from the Obama-istas in the Comments section. Some of them aren't too bright . . . )

So I apologize for the delay.

More tomorrow.

~~JD~~

Saturday Afternoon Mission of Mercy

San Antonio AirLife comes in for a landing at a downtown hospital.



~~JD~~

Your Smile-Enhancer for the Morning: Apparently Fall Is Here

Courtesy of the San Antonio Express News.

~~JD~~

Diabetes Tip of the Day

Something I've noticed recently (being that time of year again) that I probably wouldn't have noticed had I not been testing my blood sugar daily:

Sweet potatoes are starches.

Pumpkins are vegetables.

Sweet potatoes cook out starches to become sugars.

Pumpkins cook out sugars to become (relatively) sugar-free.

In diabetes, this translates out to this: I can eat all the pumpkin pie I want and not raise my blood sugar. Sweet potatoe pie is out of the question, though.

It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, though.

(Heh.)

~~JD~~

The One God Loves

An appropriate 1100th post. We could all use some blessings.

I Am the One God Loves

Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would your life change if you truly believed the Bible's astounding words about Gods love for you, if you looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?

The Apostle John is known in scripture as "John, the beloved". Brennan Manning says that if John were asked, "What is your primary identity in life?" He would not reply, I am a disciple, an apostle, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels, but rather, "I am the one Jesus loves."

Brennan Manning also tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. Impressed, the priest says to the man, "You must be very close to God." The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, "Yes, he's very fond of me."

You are loved.

(From "What's So Amazing About Grace" by Philip Yancey)

Mark Spain, Chaplain
Director Pastoral Care
Baptist Health System

San Antonio Fall Sunset

~~JD~~

More Obama Vote Fraud (Part II): Handicapped Man Forcd to Vote For Obama

Gateway Pundit is on top of this one:

Mentally Handicapped Man Forced to Vote For Obama!!!

More Hope and Change for America...
A mentally handicapped man says that he was forced to vote for Obama when he was taken to the polls for early voting:

Via Breitbart

HotAir reported earlier on how an Obama supporter stole this handicapped man's vote.

San Antonio Fall Sunrise

To Him Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear . . .

Those who know what I'm talking about . . . will know what I'm talking about. Otherwise, submitted without comment:

An Old, Sad Story

DEAR MARGO: I am 27 years old and have a son who's almost 5. When I was 5 years old, I was molested by my stepfather who is still, to this day, married to my mother. I have told my mother what happened to me when I was younger and no matter how many times I tell her, it seems that she doesn't believe me. She becomes irate and rude. I just can't get through to her that I don't want anything to do with this man.

My mother will make me feel bad if I don't want to go to a dinner or family gathering. In the end, I go and am very uncomfortable. I don't like being in the same room with a man who molested me for 10 years. This whole situation ruined my first marriage. To sum it all up, I don't want my 5-year-old son to be anywhere near this man. How can I get it through to my mother that I don't want anything to do with this man, or her, when he is around?

--- WOUNDED

DEAR WOUND: Forget about getting through to your mother. Chances are that, deep down, she knows what went on, but her denial is necessary so she can keep her marriage together -- which is what she clearly wants to do. This is actually quite common. You would not believe the number of young women who are in your shoes wondering why their mothers cannot face the truth. I hope you will sever communication with your mother, which will solve some of your problems. It will also say a great deal in a way she cannot ignore. Your mental health requires that you be free of this pair. I think you will feel empowered. Finally.

--- MARGO, CONSOLINGLY

Dear Margo is written by Margo Howard, Ann Landers' daughter.

"Maturity" and "Love" make Homecoming Queen "A Double Blessing"

Okay -- Enough negativity about Obama for today. Let's talk about another reason I love Texas:

Aledo High seniors pick classmate with Down syndrome as homecoming queen

10:09 PM CDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News

Never has the selection of a homecoming queen sent so many tears falling so freely.

Kristin Pass, an 18-year-old senior with Down syndrome, became Aledo High School's homecoming queen Friday to a joyous standing ovation and the flutter of a thousand tissues on a remarkable night for an amazing young woman.

Her grandfather, Dr. David Campbell of Corsicana, escorted her onto the field and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as Kristin joined eight other young women in the Homecoming Court to await the results of the vote, cast by the 360-plus members of Aledo High's senior class.

Then came the announcement ... and pandemonium.

"Oh my gosh! I was sitting in the student section and everyone stood up, crying and cheering for Kristin," said longtime friend and fellow senior Meaghan Geary, 17, who first met Kristin in the third grade. "It was great!"

Carolyn Pass stood at the edge of the football field, taking pictures of her daughter and friends' daughters in the court, when the stadium erupted. "It's just something you can't even imagine," she said. "And afterward, everyone was just running down to her, congratulating her. And the other girls in the court, they're all just beautiful girls, inside and out."

Ms. Pass said she spoke later with a friend. "She said the only mistake anyone made was not handing out crying towels."

The vote may have been a surprise, but no one who knows Kristin doubts her popularity, her mother said.

"Kristin has a lot of friends – she likes everyone. It doesn't matter if you're tall or short, pretty, not pretty, smart, not smart – she likes everybody. She has great friends. And Aledo is a great community." "She's just the neatest kid in the whole wide world," added her aunt, Chari Hust of Houston, "and everybody sees that."

Clay Gilmer, who works in the stadium press box, running the scoreboard and clock, said people pushed toward the windows as the young women were introduced. "They were all pulling for Kristin," Mr. Gilmer said.

When she won, he was thrilled. "This has been such a special time, a special week for Kristin," he said. "And I was really taken by the maturity and the love shown by her friends, her peers, her classmates.

"That makes this a double blessing."

Kristin pronounced the evening "exciting" and "awesome." She was so thrilled, her mother said, that she took her crown to bed with her. "She's real proud of it," her friend Meaghan added.

Kristin and her family, including sister Kendall, now a freshman, moved to Aledo when Kristin was in the third grade. She was embraced by the people in town through good times and bad, including the death of her dad, J.T., two years ago.

"We've always had great experiences here," her mom said. "We've been blessed, and I think Kristin brings a lot of blessings to the people she knows."

Her selection as homecoming queen was a wonderful surprise. But Meaghan seemed to have an inkling that it could happen.

"Everyone loves Kristin," she said, "and I didn't know for sure, but in class everyone was like, 'Who are you voting for?' and everybody was like, 'Vote for Kristin, she's so good.' "

Kristin doesn't care what's on the outside, Meaghan said. She's friends with everyone, and everyone admires that.

"She's the person we all want to be," Meaghan said.

~~JD~~

Another Reason I Desperately miss Charles Schulz; Your Peanuts Fix for Today

A genius that man. Such a shame. Click the strip for a clearer image.



~~JD~~