A Window into my Life

I recently attended a evangelistic program at my Church, designed to lead you to know Jesus (Christ).  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  There are a few other very good programs that bring a person closer to God, but I believe they all fall a little short....whether from caution or theology, I don't know.  Since there is nothing theologically incorrect in the presentations, I think caution steps in and seems to stymie a better result.

Faith is simple.  Faith in a person comes from knowing a person.  As you grow in a relationship, you learn who will let you down and who will be 'there for you.'  It's been my experience that God is always 'there for you.'

I am a life-long practicing Roman Catholic.  By the time we had four children, I realized that it was my responsibility to teach my children about my faith.  But the more I thought about it, I realized that my faith in God was more between myself and Him, not necessarily caused by attending church.  In growing up, I attended Mass, devotions, and weekly Benediction.  As a young adult, I attended daily mass during my lunch hour from work.  But, it never lead me to believe that I could have a personal relationship with Jesus.  It never lead me to believe that God loved me.  It never lead me to believe that the Holy Spirit could be active in my life.  By the time, I reached my 30's, I had grown disillusioned.  Now what was I going to give to my children.

Of course I continued attending Mass, because I was taught it was a sin to skip it.  In reading Scripture, I would learn that the Church serves a purpose.  Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) says "And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another...."   So, there was wisdom in that rule.

About two years later, I picked up a book titled, "Catholic Charismatics."  As I read the accounts of healing and answered prayers, I was intrigued.  I never experienced such powerful results to my prayers.  I read the book over and over for four months.  The pages were dog-eared.  Now I was very curious. On the other hand, I was wary because I certainly wasn't interested in involving myself with a group that wasn't approved by the Church.

Finally, it became a quest I had to pursue.  I had to find these people, or at least, people like them.  I decided to speak with a young priest who visited our parish every five weeks.  On that Sunday, he was there, so I approached him after Mass.  He directed me to a group of people who met weekly to pray in a Catholic retreat house about 25 miles north of our town.  Logistically, it wasn't an easy endeavor.  We had four young children and one car.  My husband worked on the night shift, about 28 miles south of our home.  So to attend this prayer meeting, I drove my husband with the children to to Westchester to attend college, turned around and went home.About 4:00pm, I drove with my children to pick my husband up and take him to his second-shift job, and then, home again with the children.  I fed my children their supper and had a college student babysit while I went on my quest.  Before this, I never left my children with anyone who wasn't a relative.  I was a very protective mother, so this was a big step for me.  And it was quite a trek of a total of about 150 miles.

When I arrived at the retreat house, I was directed down a stone stairway and into what might have been a dining hall.  I think there were probably thirty or forty people praying.  Some were praying in a strange language but it had an 'aura' about it.  These people seemed to believe in God's willingness to involve Himself in their lives, to actually respond to a prayer, such as a request for healing.  They acted like nothing was impossible to God.  This blew my mind, so to speak.  I had a lot to think about.  After the meeting I drove the 50 or so miles to meet my husband after work and then another 28 miles home.

I took the same route weekly to attend this prayer meeting.  After a short while, I finally decided I had to get what these people had.  One of the people offered to pray with me and I cautiously accepted.  As a few people circled around me, they started praying.  I was impressed with the confidence they had in the Holy Spirit.

Within a few weeks, I bought a book written by an Evangelical Christian....don't remember the author's name.  In the book, he wrote about having to repent of your sins.  I didn't have a problem with that since I went to confession at Church on a regular basis.  But the thought of  'needing to repent' stayed with me. You see, even though I was a practicing Catholic, I didn't know I had to invite Jesus into my life.  So, after about four days, I got on my knees after the children were in bed, and told God I was sorry.  The peace that flooded my soul and body was indescribable. 

I read more and more books about this and continued attended these prayer meetings. I learned much about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the the Blessed Trinity.  When I received the sacrament of Confirmation at twelve years of age in my church, I was taught that I was now a soldier of Christ.  We were instructed about the fruits of the Spirit, such as wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.  But I don't ever remember learning about the word of wisdom or knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, gift of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, personal prayer in tongues, interpretation of tongues spoken in a group.  Any of these are evident in a prayer meeting, as the Holy Spirit inspires it.  It was all totally new to me.  However, over the years, I've experienced some of these gifts, mostly for the benefit of others.  

A few weeks later, I received the gift of tongues.  I heard the 'prayer meeting' people praying for weeks, but I certainly wasn't going to do it on my own and possibly insult God.  So I never even tried.  Then one day, while washing dishes some syllables entered my mind.  I thought, "could that be it?" It was later confirmed by one of the leaders of the prayer group.  One of my friends stated that he thought that the gift of tongues was very useful when you just didn't know how to pray for a person or situation.  He said, "the Holy Spirit knows just what is needed."


One of my first prayer requests was for sweaters for my children.  We were saving for house, so we watched every penny.  That Saturday, we went to visit one of my sisters-in-law.  She gave us a bag of clothing her children had outgrown.  There in the bag, were four sweaters.  I was blown away.  Now you might think that my praying for sweaters was materialistic, but that's where I lived, in the real world.  I still do.

A few weeks later, my husband encountered black ice on the highway and veered off the road, just missing a ravine.  Thankfully, his injuries were minor, but our one car was gone.  As we sat on our couch, I could sense the worry my husband was not expressing and I quoted some scripture to him.  Just then, the phone rang.  The caller was my husbands eldest sister.  She heard from my mother-in-law about the accident and offered her 14 year old Volkswagen bug until we were able to get a new car.  When we got the car, we found out it had 214,000 miles on it. The VW worked for about seven weeks.  When we purchased a replacement vehicle for the old one, we returned her VW bug.  One week later the 14 year old car died on the side of the road.

Now, these answers to prayer might not mean much to anyone else, but to me at the time, they were the right answer.  Some answers are quick and right on point.  Others take a long time but they do come, even when I have forgotten.  I live in the real everyday world and need God's help.  I'm certainly not perfect....far from it.  The Bible says that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' (Romans 3:23 RSV)  Over the years, I've experienced the death of our youngest child* and heartbreak, but no matter how imperfect I am, or how many times I fail or fall, I just say, "Sorry"and get on with life. God has been with me throughout.

The Bible says "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  (Revelations 3:20)

The decision is yours to make.

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  *  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle)  

Reprint of My Recollections of Sept. 11, 2001

The following is a reprint of my post of Sept.11, 2010.

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people?  I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street.

Later that morning, Sept. 11, 2001, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. When the second plane hit the South Tower, one of  my daughter's co-workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was, with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened....her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually lighthearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

Onward and Upward

As New Years Day arrived, we left the hotel and proceeded to an Avis Car Rental to pick up the car for the rest of our road trip.  We arrived to see a car and a van waiting at a closed gate.  There was a hand-printed sign on the front door of the Avis Rental Agency on West Katella Avenue in Anaheim stating "Closed...."

My New York daughter had arranged to pick the car up at 1 p.m. and that time was confirmed by Avis.  The people returning their cars weren't happy.  My daughter wasn't happy.  As I see it, Avis blew it that day.  I learned that these local locations are franchised, so Avis was powerless at the moment to help the stranded renters.  That 'franchise' and another local one caused Avis a loss of business after closing even though they had customers who had been left in the lurch.  After speaking to Avis by phone, they arranged for a car at John Wayne Airport.  I believe that was about 9 miles away.   About two hours later, we were on our way.

We began to smell smoke somewhere south of Santa Barbara.  We never saw any fires, because shortly thereafter we were redirected by Waze from Route 1 onto Route 154, bringing us up and across the Santa Ynez Mountains.  The road, also called the San Marco Pass Road, while scenic, seemed to wind its way through many bends as we traversed the hills.  The traffic was moderately heavy going to toward the West as we were traveling East.  It did make me a little nervous wondering what we were going into, but we did reach Route 1 again with no problems. Later in Cambria, I spoke with tourists from England who told me that they had visited Santa Barbara.  The husband said that he was amazed at seeing patches of burned land surrounded by green areas, seemingly unscathed by the fires.

We eventually returned to the 101 and drove up the coast.  My daughter had arranged for a night's stay in Cambria, a sleepy beach community south of San Simeon.  We arrived about 9:45pm and thankfully the clerk at the Cambria Beach Lodge was still on duty when we checked in. The Lodge was situated across from Moonstone Beach.  The sight and sounds of the waves were so inviting.  We dearly needed sustenance.  It had been a long drive and we were hungry.  Unfortunately, being New Years Day, most of the restaurants were closed.  There was one on the other side of the town, but when we got there we found it closed due to a plumbing problem.  So we went to the nearby gas station and purchased some cereal and milk, as well as a few snacks to keep us going.

Cambria Beach Lodge

Moonstone Beach, Cambria CA

The next morning, we arose and enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast at the Cambria Beach Lodge and toured the town. We checked out the Ball and Skein and More on Bridge Street.  The proprietors, a husband and wife, were very friendly and helpful. They encourage you to feel the many different kinds of yarn. Their stock of so many lovely and interesting yarns make a visit well worth it.

We strolled along main street finding an interesting store,  Among Friends .  We enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere and the beautiful variety of wares.  My daughter purchased a lovely wrap and I found some beautiful greeting cards.

Then, we had to decide where to eat lunch.  We spotted a sign for Linn's Easy as Pie Cafe on Bridge Street.  I enjoyed the Salmon-Artichoke Quiche.  Even though it was January, we chose to eat in the garden.  While their array of pies looked delicious, we decided to forgo any dessert.

After lunch, we embarked on San Francisco, stopping at Hearst Castle and visiting the nearby William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach. When we stopped at Hearst Castle, the docent advised us that we would have to take a bus to the castle.  Even though it had a history, I wasn't interested in waiting for a bus and then, walking around the castle.  I consider castles cold buildings.

William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach

View of Hearst Castle from the beach

Now the elephant seals were a different story.  We stopped by what is called a Rookery in San Simeon.  It is certainly a sight to behold.

Female Elephant Seal with her babies

I've seen seals at LaJolla Cove in San Diego, but these seals were humongous.  They seemed to form a community.

Elephant Seals resting on the beach near San Simeon

We watched three female Elephant Seals make quite a racket because a male seal laid on a baby seal.  He seemed to just ignore them,  The baby seal had great difficulty freeing itself from underneath the massive body of the male, but finally did.  I've read that these males weigh upwards of 2,000 pounds.  A few minutes later, about 20 or 30 feet away, we saw a male approaching a female who rebuffed him.  Breeding season started in December.

Now, on to San Francisco, actually Oakland.  My daughter had arranged a airbnb there.   The picture of the bridge is lopsided, but it was a major sign that we reached the San Francisco area.  Better photos of this bridge to come later on.

To be continued....

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (in paperback and on Kindle) 

Christmas Travels

The past few weeks were a joy.  I traveled to Denver, Colorado to spend Christmas with my son, daughter-in-law and their children.  My arrival was met with bitterly cold weather.  Thankfully, I had my lined leather gloves, though the tips of my fingers cracked anyway.

We stayed inside most of the time.  The day before I left, I was able to take a walk through the neighborhood when the temperature rose to 40 degrees.  On my last evening with the family, we went to PF Changs in Broomfield, to celebrate my daughter-in-law's upcoming birthday.  Since my appetite is small, I enjoyed the Hand-Folded Crab Wontons for my dinner.  The others chose beef dishes. That evening, I had my first taste of edamame.  On the way home, we stopped for ice cream treats at Cold Stone Creamery. This was a great Colorado night out.  I enjoyed spending Christmas with the family.  The children are growing so very quickly.

I flew home on Friday morning and that evening, one of my New York daughters flew to San Diego to take me on a surprise vacation.  After I visited some of my long-time, wonderful friends for lunch in El Cajon, we drove with one of my San Diego daughters and her two children to Disneyland in Los Angeles. We stayed at a near-by Hyatt hotel and used the shuttle to the park.  This provided freedom from any concerns about parking the car.  My daughters' plan was to spend the whole day until midnight to celebrate New Years Eve.

Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle

Upon arrival at the Park, we enjoyed a quick breakfast at the Market House on Main Street as the crowds of people grew.  Then, on we went for a wonderful day.  After we enjoyed the Enchanted Tiki Room, we stopped by the Tiki Juice Bar and enjoyed a frozen DOLEWHIP that my San Diego daughter and her family never skip. They love it.

For Lunch, we stopped by the Plaza Inn, mostly because while there were many diners, there was no line.  Because there was a buffet, each family member could choose from pot roast, chicken or pasta.  Unfortunately, the youngest of the troop lost his cell phone on the Thunder Mountain ride.  A quick call to his father resulted in locating the phone.  A dutiful mother returned to Thunder Mountain to claim the phone.  Then after a delicious lunch, we went on with our day.

When we stopped for dinner, as many restaurants were filled with people celebrating New Year's Eve,  one of my daughters approached the hostess at Cafe Orleans.  We had only a short wait for a table.  Everyone was pleased with their choice of entrees.  I have a small appetite, so I enjoyed the Seafood Gratin.  I noticed grapes at a neighboring table, not realizing it came with a child's meal.  The waitress graciously provided grapes to me.  Her service was exemplary.  We finished dinner with beignets shaped like Mickey.  During dinner, we were able to enjoy a magnificent fireworks display.

The family rode everything from the "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" to "It's a Small World," to the "Jungle Cruise" to "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", and, if I remember correctly, "Space Mountain."  I stayed away from anything like roller coaster rides, but everyone else enjoyed them greatly.  We basically managed to go on every ride that interested the children, including "Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters."  My San Diego daughter purchased a 'MaxPass' to provide unfettered access to the rides, so we didn't have wait a long time at each location.  I was very grateful, since waiting has never been my strong suit.

Disneyland Countdown to New Year

Towards midnight, we joined a celebration in Tomorrowland with the Suffragettes Band.  As we were walking toward Main Street, some of the celebrators were just lolling along.  As I stepped to go around them, I fell abruptly to the ground.  I had not realized that as I stepped to the side, I was actually stepping from a sidewalk onto a road.  Although the area was lit, I didn't notice I was stepping down into the road. Some people passing by picked me up and a Disney employee offered to call a nurse.  However, I declined thinking it wasn't necessary.  Then, another Disney employee approached me to ask if I was OK.  I've written Disneyland to suggest that they paint the curbing with a paint that glows at night to prevent this from happening to anyone else.  If they already have it, I didn't notice it.  The area just looked like an open plaza.

Before leaving, we took one more ride....The Disneyland Monorail, which I had been pointing out all day.  Our visit to Disneyland was wonderful.  My New York daughter stated that she planned to visit another Disneyland for New Years Eve 2018.

More of my travels to come.

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (in paperback and on Kindle) 

Exceedingly Busy Month

I was in New York for the month of October visiting my daughters, driving around researching answers for a need of a loved on.  Then unexpectedly, I spent about 10 days with my youngest granddaughters because each was home from school for five days on separate occasions, due to illness.  When the younger child returned to school, the older child became ill.

I was very, very busy.  I think I put about 600 miles in a borrowed car just doing local driving.  I appreciated the time I spent with my daughters and granddaughters.  And, I was very grateful to be needed.  Time is fleeting and every moment precious.

Here in San Diego, I've established a routine of exercise, knitting and teaching knitting, playing Words with Friends with mostly younger friends, staying up-to-date with social media, and occasionally meeting friends for lunch.

When I visit New York, I usually am able to visit long-time friends.  Not this time, though.

My friend, Katie, who always makes time to drive up from the City when I'm in town, joined me for lunch at Homespun Foods on Main Street in Beacon NY.  They have a garden in the rear of the restaurant.  It was a very busy place.  Since it was 'Second Saturday' in Beacon, I found the atmosphere chaotic. When we sat down in the garden, the scene was calmer, with the buzz of conversation from other tables.  I chose a cheese and fruit platter for lunch.  It was delicious and refreshing.  It was too large a serving for me, so home it came in a box. I do recommend this restaurant and would lunch there on another visit to New York.

One of my daughters decided I needed a break.  So, that same evening, she and her daughter drove to Beacon and took me to a painting class.  I chose a fairly simple painting to copy.  My daughter purchased a tiny bottle of wine for me, which I hardly touched.  Unlike all the other patrons, I was unable to relax as I worked on the painting.  My granddaughter suggested that next time, I just paint whatever I want....a good suggestion.  However, I don't know if there will be a 'next time.'  For me, it was too stressful.

My 'busyness' resulted in a month that just literally sped by.  Hopefully, next year, I'll visit more.  Maybe next year, I'll obtain colorful fall photos.  Maybe next year, we'll have time for a game of cards.  I always enjoy seeing my daughter's friends and all the delightful banter that ensues. 

Maybe next year, I'll visit Ireland and climb Croagh Patrick.  Maybe next year, I'll cruise through the Panama Canal.  I always wanted to go through the locks. That's why I wanted to go through the Canal instead of to the Canal.  Who knows what adventures I may enjoy next year.

I read that Tiffany's in New York opened a Cafe.  I will definitely 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in the Spring.  It was one of my favorite movies, way back when.... 

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

I'll Never Forget

I'm saddened, that in sixteen years we haven't learned that we, as a Nation, have a common enemy. Funny, how people can so easily forget tragedies when they aren't personally impacted.  We, Americans, are a generous and forgiving people.  Also, as a people, we are "on to the next thing."  As one of my daughters told me, "We must move on."  Move on, yes....but not forget.

On February 2, 1993, a truck bomb was detonated under the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  I commuted on the train and local bus with a woman who was at work that day.  She told me of walking down a smoke-filled stairwell.  The more detailed description of this horrific attempt to kill American civilians can be found in Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing .  http://www.history.com/news/remembering-the-1993-world-trade-center-bombing

Eight years later, on September 11, 2001, it happened again.  This time there was a different set of characters, just as despicable.  Remember, eight years passed before this coordinated and heinous attempt to kill our civilians was carried out.  This time, though, there was planning.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks


President Trump, in an attempt to keep Americans safe, issued an 'Executive Order' suspending entrance to the United States by 'radical Islamist terrorists' from Nations known to harbor them.  A Federal Judge, in the Ninth Circuit Court in Washington State, blocked this 'Executive Order', thereby, in my opinion, exposing Americans to yet another horrific tragedy.  Where and how is yet to be seen and felt.  This edict was repeated by another Federal Judge in Hawaii.  Two other Federal Judges have acted in similar fashion.  Federal agencies, who are supposed to protect us are thwarted by their self-aggrandized leadership making decisions, under the guise of 'political correctness,' that only benefit themselves.  Remember these facts if there is a recurrence of an unspeakable attack on our Nation, since apparently anyone who wishes us harm seems able to enter our Country.


Don't get me wrong.  I thank God for the freedoms I enjoy.  But freedom doesn't mean tramping on another's religious or political belief, or shouting down a differing opinion.  Freedom doesn't mean we can harm persons or property just because we feel like it.  While we are free to disagree, remember a 'divided house will fall.'  For example, while some Americans are exercising their freedom of speech in the form of a protest,  some masked individuals attempt to change the intent of the protests into riots.  On the other hand, our enemies seem to have great patience in silently waiting until we, as a Nation, become more and more lax, less and less vigilant, and in need of unification.

I believe it would be beneficial to remind ourselves of the intent of our Forefathers, who wanted only good for our Nation.  I suggest you read The Constitution of the United States, or at least the first paragraph beginning with "We the People...."   https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

Please remember those families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 in your prayers.  Those who experienced the horrors of that day here on our shores will never forget.   http://bicoastalgrandma.blogspot.com/2014/09/never-forget-sept-11-2001.html

 Please pray for our Nation, for unity, common sense, and the safety of our people.

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

Texting Gone Awry

This morning I received a text from one of my daughters.  During a school fundraiser last Spring, the children were offered an opportunity to choose a name for the driveway to their school.  Her daughter's suggestion was selected and my daughter was advising a group of about 15 people who had donated to the fundraiser.

Part way through all the 'congratulatory messages' one of my other daughters asked her son, who was also on the chat, a question about the itinerary of an upcoming trip.  Then others in on this text stated that they also would like the information.  Then, I piped up stating that I, too, would like the information, advising them that I live vicariously through their adventures.  Then, the kidding started.  The cousins agreed that if they didn't get the itinerary, they wanted out of the group chat.  The next addition to the text were the words, "Tertiary recognition of motion" from my son who was also on this thread.

At that point, the mother of the winning child broke in to remind everyone that the chat was originally about the child, so no one was being removed.  She then added the question to the itinerary holder, "So, when are you arriving?" followed with a compliment to my son on his interjection of "Tertiary recognition of motion".   At that point, my daughter who originate all this hoopla, realized she should have texted her itinerary question privately.

One of the cousins, an engineer, texted, "I just learned how to use the word, 'motion,' as well."  This was followed by a question as to the person who wrote "Tertiary recognition of motion" since there were two members of the group with the same first name.  Then the wife of the person questioned about the itinerary texted her husband that she would also like to know the itinerary.

At that point, I laughingly shared that this would make a great blog post.  One cousin hoped I wouldn't use his name, adding that he never signed anything to allow it.  I reminded him that I never use names.  Then the wife of the grandson who knew the itinerary requested a 'fun' name.

Then the text originator alerted everyone that it was too much and to many people were on it.  This was followed by another family member saying he was disconnecting himself from the chat.

Following that, the winning child's father and members of his family joined in.  One of the cousins asked, "Who is this?"  The winning child's father's brother responded that he didn't even know anyone on the original chat.  He stated, "I have two chats going and I'm....so confused. lmao." At that point, I texted, "Thanks for my morning laugh."  Then, the mother of the winning child came back on the scene, "Hi All." explaining the membership of the chat and put an end to the fun.  At that point, one of the chat members, who was previously disconnecting, texted, "I just pulled the spark plug out of my phone."

I will admit I found all the banter funny, but people do have jobs. 

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook)