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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340292082016-08-30T22:45:12.614-05:00The Velveteen IndianThis is a blog in which I will complain AND muse about absolutely everything in my life BUT NOT MY JOB. I got fired from my last job for this here blog. But that's really a good thing because now I have all this time for bridge and whiskey.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-85794953588826648592012-02-17T12:57:00.002-06:002012-02-17T13:01:22.887-06:00Long gone.From Jon Armstrong, on his separation:

I've also made an effort to be positive despite the deep, deep pain that I feel every day. It's difficult to be told that you did it wrong for years and take a look back and feel the deep regret that if only you'd known you were doing it wrong, you could have made changes and done the work that would have fixed the wrongness. How does one handle this gracefully? I don't know. I'm trying.

I am way past all of this, so I hope y'all will forgive me for bringing up my divorce again. It's just, this struck something in me.. kind of like a string on a guitar that keeps vibrating long after it was struck. This is exactly how I felt for a very long time and never managed to put it into words.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-13520605542880376762011-11-01T15:53:00.001-05:002011-11-01T15:53:44.926-05:00"This has got to be the good life."Man, I am a ball of confusion and self pity and feeling gross lately. It's really pretty ugly. I am ugly, lately.

My asthma is totally out of control; I gag and wheeze and pant every where I go. My two inhalers usually make me feel better for about an hour; then it's back to wheezing and panting. I've been to the doctor several times; he doles out antibiotics that never make me feel better, and usually make me feel worse, until I've given up, I think.

I've gained some weight, which I think bothers me less than I keep telling myself it should. I've always done this, gained and lost and gained and lost. It's just that when I get on the gained side of things, and I get all those surprised and pitying looks from people I haven't seen in a while, or even from people I've seen recently, it gets a bit difficult. Phil through it all tells me that I am beautiful, that he will never think I'm not beautiful. He says things like, "You can probably still wear your old jeans if you just lay down on the bed to zip them." And I can't help but reply, "Yes, but then I'll look like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag. NO MUFFINTOPS."

I've hit one of those walls in which every day feels like the movie Groundhog Day- I do the same things, day-in and day-out, and I'm not able to satisfy anyone around me. We run out of groceries; we need to buy groceries. All the clothes are dirty; we need to wash clothes. Reed is dirty; he needs a bath. Phil's daughters come every other weekend and witness more than I'd like to admit my inability to handle regular, every day life that seems easy for everyone else they know.

I am especially concerned about Reed these days. He acts pretty normal, and we seem to have settled into a pretty good schedule as far as sleep and school and everything else. He got his purple belt in karate, meaning he moved up a level already. He's learned Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in violin, and will have a recital this December. But then, about once week, he does something awful and I get totally worked up and confused about how to react. Let me be clear- he's not abusing animals or joining the Republican Party or anything like that; he threw a rock at a passing car and scratched it. He hit a neighborhood boy in the face with a stick, scratching his face. It's mostly just the sorts of things that can honestly be passed off as "the kind of thing growing boys do now and then", that should be dealt with sternly and immediately, but not obsessed over.

But I'm finding myself obsessing and worrying, feeling incredibly unsure about what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I feel crippled and impotent, if you want to know the melodramatic truth.

What I wish, what I think would be best, is if Reed's dad could actually help. As it is, he's doling out clichés and parenting mottos from 3000 miles away. I try to explain what's happening and it is frequently clear he's not listening, because he either asks the same questions over and over again, or asks for details that I've already given him, usually stuff that I've actually given him in writing already. When did this happen? What did the teacher say? What has Reed said about it? Where did he do that? It usually devolves into the two of us, sitting totally silently on the phone, with nothing to say to each other.

I am absolutely not sure what I'm doing, is what I'm saying. I mostly teeter back and forth between trying to suck it up and deal with it, and collapsing on Phil at the end of the day. Phil loves me and he loves Reed and he's here to help. He does things like picking Reed up from school or taking him in the mornings, taking Reed with him to his daughter's soccer games, taking Reed with him to the grocery store. But neither he nor I expected that he was pretty much going to be Reed's other parent, and it's weighing a little heavily on all of us.

So, here's where I try and remind myself about all the good stuff. Phil loves me, and I love him, and we're married to each other and we live together in an apartment that we love. Reed is smart and cute and sweet, and a joy to talk to and be around. As I write this, my best friend in the world is having her baby, and I get to go and meet him tomorrow. I have a place to live with heat and air conditioning and showers and beds, and food to eat. I have a job! That I like! We got a dog about a week ago; his name is Rocky, and he is hilariously cute (read: ugly) and sweet and well-behaved. I have a few girlfriends left who still can put up with me, and I with them.

I mean, I get it: this, too, shall pass. I will get through this, and Reed will get through this, and Phil will get through this, and we will all be happier and more grown-up and more carefree when it's over. BUT, best I can tell from other parents, it's not over for about 15 more years, so I still can't get too comfortable with it. I'm hoping God might bestow upon me a little bit more grit, a little bit more backbone to persevere through the hard times that will inevitably come. Until then, I've got Halloween candy. And American Horror Story. Seriously, what the HELL is going on in that show?buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-13882882073888542822011-09-13T15:59:00.000-05:002011-09-13T16:00:06.008-05:00Sometimes the bridges get burned out from under you.These last few weeks have been really crazy and confusing and draining and painful, in so many ways that I'm certain I won't even think to detail all of them here.

Phil and Reed and I have all been taking turns being sick, with stomach problems and back problems and colds and flu and allergies and asthma and sliced-open thumbs and slipped discs. WE HAVE BEEN A BARREL OF MONKEYS, I tell you, and I am praying that perhaps now we can be well for a bit. There is nothing more exhausting and sad than taking care of a sick kid, except maybe taking care of a sick kid when you're sick too.

Reed started kindergarten, and with it karate, and it's been so exciting. It is so weird to drive him up to the front of the elementary school each morning and drop him off, watch him pause to turn around and wave, and then run inside by himself.

His teacher is very pretty and very young and very enthusiastic. She is, however, an Auburn fan, but I forgive her because she has such great hair. She wears super-high wedges with a belt that matches the straps and she always looks fresh and excited and, y'all, THE HAIR IS FANTASTIC, long and wavy and always perfect.

In school Reed has a different "special" every day- music, computer lab, art, library, and free play, and the music teacher has already emailed me to tell me how sweet Reed is and how glad she is to have him in her class. Also, his regular teacher told me one day in a very serious tone that Reed is one the most "meticulous" students she's ever witnessed.

I can tell you myself that Reed has certainly turned out to be an Agan; "actually" is one of his favorite words, following in the footsteps of his articulate older brother. He does this thing where you explain something to him, and he says "Okay, SO, what you're saying is.." and then repeats everything you just told him. If that's not Kane, I don't know what is. He also just started swimming without swimmies, and jumping into the pool with so much abandon that I hardly recognize him as the kid who, only a few weeks ago, would only enter the pool by gingerly going down the steps. He's loosing teeth and getting big-boy hair cuts and getting himself dressed and washing his own hair. HE TURNS SIX IN THREE MONTHS, PEOPLE.

This life is weird, and I gave up a long time ago trying to keep up or stay ahead of things. It's one day at a time around here, and sometimes I even have to cut it further down, coach myself into just toughing out the next hour, or the next ten minutes.

Phil and I persevere by goofing off together, watching movies and playing cards. The card-playing has become our standard time-passer, and there are few ways I'd rather spend the evening, once I've gotten Reed settled in with a movie or supper, than sitting together on our patio playing rummy and listening to music.

I read a tweet from Dooce today, or yesterday maybe, that said September is a particularly hard time for people with depression, and it made me think not just of myself but of a lot of people I love. September is an odd time; fall starts rolling in- perhaps somewhat slowly here in the South- and the days get shorter and you see your friends a bit less because people are buckling down, not quite as carefree as during the summer.

A particularly challenging problem for me right now is the loss of a very close friend, someone I've loved and trusted, asked for help, offered help, leaned on, let lean on me. I'm finding myself thinking I was just asking for it the whole time; I'm one of 6 people she has stolen prescription medication from, sometimes in large amounts, and she's stolen them from ME twice before this time. Every time it's happened I've called her on it, told her how hurt and mad it made me. Every time I've thought, okay, that's it, we can't be friends any more. But then I end up missing her so badly, wanting to talk to her about my day or about something funny I read or heard.

This particular friend is someone that I connect with on such a deep and organic level that the experience of trying to control myself, keep myself from talking to her feels like cutting out a relationship with a sister. This is someone who knew me before Jason, during Jason, and now with Phil. I have told her all of my secrets, let her in on every aspect of my life, fought for her with other people whose trust didn't regrow like mine did.

The other times that I've discovered that she's taken things from me I've told her how mean and unacceptable it is, how she could just ASK for these pills and I would give them to her, but to just find them missing is so hurtful, such a bizarre and unexpected betrayal, so disrespectful and shitty.

A particularly painful aspect of the entire experience is knowing that she knows how difficult things have been for me lately. She knows that life has been precarious and scary, and still thinks it's okay to sneak into my medicine cabinet and take 11 oxycontin (out of 14) and 2 morphine pills (out of 2) without asking. And let me make it clear: the oxycontin were prescribed to Phil for a slipped disc, and the morphine were given to him when he nearly cut his thumb OFF of his hand, and he just never took them. In the past it's been Ambien I was prescribed for sleep, Lortabs I was prescribed for a severe throat infection. Point is, we don't have this stuff for recreation, we have it for legitimate health problems, and this person who I have frequently given rides to or bought beer and cigarettes for, not to mention given a place to stay, came into my house and went through our medicine cabinet and took our medicine and put them in her pocket before giving me a hug, telling me she loved me, and leaving. It is fucked up.

I also want to make clear that I am very aware that I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I make people mad. I hurt people's feelings. I am absolutely certain that there have been times when this girl needed me, or wanted to go out, or wanted to talk, and I wasn't there for her. But no matter how many terrible things I try to think up that I may or may not have done, I can't come up with a reason that makes me think, "Well, in THAT case, she should have stolen from me. 3 times."

I can't really articulate, can't really completely explain how I feel about all this. For the first week I was really just pissed off. Now it's devolved into sadness, an intense pain in my gut knowing that I am just a total idiot, that I should have seen this coming, that our friendship was this disposable to her. I feel thrown away and worthless. I feel heartbroken that it didn't matter to her that it would hurt me.

Since then, she and I haven't talked. I spent several days trying to decide what to do, how to confront her. I finally decided that even if she admitted what she'd done and apologized, it wouldn't help, since this isn't the first time she's done this, and it isn't the first time she's gotten caught. Then she started to post to Facebook- pictures of a new laptop, new clothes, posts about spending $60 on nail polish and shampoo and getting a new phone. I lost my temper and posted on her page that I hoped she enjoyed the medicine. We still haven't talked. She hasn't bothered to deny or admit or scoff or cuss or anything at all.

Keep in mind that for several years now this has been a girl who can't buy her own gas, beer, cigarettes, food, sodas, and suddenly she's buying a MacBook Pro and new clothes and make up. It just feels insulting, hurtful, mean, and a hundred other words I've probably either written here or whined over the past week.

Bottom line is now is the time when I have to move on, but it's just so hard to do when this girl has been one of the first people I tell ANYTHING to. There are about a million different tv shows and movies that make me think of her, not to mention about 2 million songs, and before this happened I'd text her any time I was thinking of her. I find myself picking up my phone and putting it back down about a hundred times a day. I thought that she loved me and respected me, needed me, wanted to be my friend, but I'm not sure how to think that considering what she's done.

So, this is September for me. I'm trying to remember to enjoy Reed and Phil and my life, while grieving a huge loss, one that hurts worse because she chose this.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-82748602950284672802011-07-18T15:39:00.000-05:002011-07-18T15:40:16.548-05:00L-I-V-I-N.Still here, still surviving, still hitting myself in the face with a shovel, metaphorically speaking.

I get timid about writing these days, as every single time I post anything I get an angry phone call from my ex-husband- telling me everything from how selfish I am to how I better stop "poking the dog". It's exhausting, and unfair, and hilarious, and infuriating, and sad and confusing and bizarre and about a million other things. But, I'm making an attempt to carry on, to remember who I am, to keep being who I used to be before everything got tossed into the air and scrambled around me. I deserve that, I think, and however pathetic some people might think it is, this blog has been an important part of my life for several years. I've let it slip for too long.

I realize all the time that there are so many things that I haven't written about, things that are important to me, or funny, or interesting, and I can't keep up with them.

In the last several months I've met the band Guster and the comedian Pauly Shore, both huge favorites of mine, both owing to my thoughtful husband Phil. Meeting Guster was fun and memorable because I love them so much and I've loved them for so long and they were so nice. Meeting Pauly Shore was memorable because I love him so much and I've loved him for so long and he was a TERRIBLE, AWFUL ASSHOLE. I mean, DIVA, people. It was such a disappointment.

I also met a band from Austin, Texas called The Sword, and took their pictures. Phil is buddies with them, so they're constantly sending him emails that they've got his name on the list, or back stage passes, for their shows. They were nice fellas, and I'm glad that I got to meet them. If Phil was ever going to marry a dude, I think it would be Bryan from The Sword. And Bryan's just so sweet and funny and personable that I think I'd just have to be okay with it.

Reed will start kindergarten in about three weeks. He's such an amazing person, so funny and complicated and difficult. I find myself spending at least a few minutes every day getting to know him, learning new things about him that I didn't know, being surprised by how smart he is. The kid has lungs, too; I sincerely hope we might be approaching a time when hissy fits can go by the wayside, because it gets me SO worked up and irritable when he freaks out, mainly because he reaches a point where there is nothing that will stop the fit. He doesn't want me in the room with him, but he doesn't want me to walk away. He wants to (for example) call Ma, but he doesn't want me to leave the room to get my phone. He wants some ice cream, but giving it to him now doesn't make him happy; I should have given to him when he asked a few minutes ago. Sound confusing? Try living with it.

Most recently, he just got back from going to stay with his dad in Long Beach, California. He flew out with Kane and Jude, and let me just tell you: the experience of sending him 3000 miles on a plane for 6 weeks away from home has been one of the most intense of my life, in a lot of different ways. First, the two weeks before he left were two of the most excruciatingly awful weeks of my life. I was terrified and unsure and confused and anxious. Was it okay to send my 5-year-old so far away, to a place where I'd never been before? What would happen if he got sick or hurt? What would happen if he wanted to come home early? What would happen if he totally wigged out on the plane and hated flying and wanted to get off? Would Kane and Jude be able to handle Reed's headstrong, willful personality on a plane for 7 or 8 hours straight? I'll just stop there, because you get the idea- it was a whirlwind of questions in my head. And enduring everyone else's advice and opinions, whether they were for Reed going or against it, was FUCKING TERRIBLE. Every single person that expressed any opinion whatsoever had good intensions, okay? I know that. And most people's manner of telling me what they thought about it was totally acceptable, not stressful for me, not confusing. But there were a few people that nearly broke me into pieces, nearly drowned me with wave after wave after wave of indignation and condescension. And those people, unfortunately, made it more difficult for me to process what everyone else thought of it, or what I thought of it.

Eventually I made the decision that I was letting him go, and I stuck to it through a lot of nastiness and difficulty. Reed said he wanted to go. I talked to him repeatedly about what it would be like to fly, how long he'd be gone, etc. etc. etc. He continued to be excited about it. I stood by my decision.

Now he's back, and I still feel that letting him go was the right thing to do. He got to be with his dad and his brothers for six whole weeks. He got to be away from me for six whole weeks. He did exciting new things and went exciting new places- to the beach, and the aquarium, and Little Tokyo. He probably tried new food and saw amazing things. He met a lady with a pet rabbit and decided that we need one, and assured me that if we get the brown and white kind, it won't pee and poop in the house. He lost his first tooth. AND FOR GOD'S SAKES, HE BOUGHT A NINJA STAR.

But wow, did I miss him. It would hit me so hard and fast; one moment I'd be totally fine, then I'd suddenly be crying, heartbroken. When he came home, when I saw him walking out of the gate, I couldn't keep from sobbing right there in front of everybody. He ran to me and I held him and I cried, and he kissed me several times and said "I missed you, mom." It was like a scene out of a movie. It was a beautiful moment for me, one that I'm pretty sure I'll remember vividly, still be able to taste in my mouth, for the rest of my life.

Which won't actually be that long anyway, because THE CHILD IS DRIVING ME CRAZY, I'M GOING TO THROW MYSELF INTO THE POOL WITH A CASE OF BEER STRAPPED TO MY LEG.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-30900384928192878722011-07-14T11:16:00.001-05:002011-07-14T11:16:14.735-05:00Jet-lagged, still sleeping.

buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-16137840688488902812011-05-25T10:34:00.001-05:002011-05-25T10:34:09.628-05:00Reed graduated.

buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-37286985772566406342011-05-12T11:43:00.000-05:002011-05-13T15:26:16.911-05:00Well, hello there.

'Sup. How's it going with you guys? Does anybody still take a look at this every now and then (besides, of course, my requisite viewers in California, but more on that later)? I hope so. Leave me comments so's I know that folks stop by.

Wow, where to start? What to say? What not to say?

How about I'm just going to list the big stuff that's gone on over the last year or so, in somewhat chronological order?

1. Last summer, my ex's ex shot herself with the intention of killing herself. AND LIVED. For fuck's sakes, I've never known anyone with as many unwanted lives as this woman has. As a result, Reed's brothers moved in with Jason for a few months, then moved back in with their mom. Weirdness. But hey, it ain't my place to care about them any more, or so I've been told, repeatedly, by he who will not be named. Except I already named him so we'll all just have to get over it.

2. Reed turned 5! He's had a very hard time with all of the event of the past year, but he sure is growing up. It's bizarre to me both that he isn't a baby any more and that he ever was a baby. I can say this much: he sure is an Agan, through and through. The boy talks until his mouth ought to be about ready to fall off, and he'll eat as many apples as I'll set out in front of him, and he makes sound effects and hums a soundtrack for himself every where he goes. He does still love the superheroes, but now he's added Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Legos to his passions. He's (sort of) learning to skateboard with Philip, and he's taking violin lessons, and he plays video games. The child starts kindergarten in August. I don't know what else to say but, "Woah."

3. I got a job! I got a job I got a job I GOT A JOB.

4. Phil and I got married in February! Crazy: yes. Fast: yes. Awesome: yes. As a result Reed has two step-sisters. Reed informed me the other day that "they are MY sisters, and that means I can tell them to stay out of my room." THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT THAT MEANS, BIG GUY.

5. On a related note, we moved out of my mom's house at the end of March. We live in a 3-bedroom apartment that's close to my work and that's in a zone where Reed will go to a really neat school when he starts kindergarten. I lived at my mother's house for a year-and-a-half, and I have to say it is so COOL to have my own place, my own kitchen, my own bathroom, places for my own things. The swimming pool is about 10 yards from our front door- I mean we can SEE it when we stand on our patio- and it's rad. It's been pretty warm this week, and we've been swimming in the evenings when we all get home.

6. Jason and Julia moved to California back in February, making Phil and me pretty much Reed's sole caretakers. Of course we get tons and tons of help from my mom, so it's not like we haven't had a moment of down time or anything. But it's odd, knowing that Reed and Jason haven't laid eyes on each other in 3 months. I personally would be going crazy. I need my breaks, but I would melt down if I hadn't touched Reed's hair or watched a movie with him or dusted him off when he falls in that long of a time. The other day Reed told me, "I miss my dad. I'm starting to forget what he's like."

7. My best friend Kristi is pregnant! She's having a boy! I'm gonna be an auntie! I am so very excited. Phil has decided that the baby shall be named Spider. I said that they should name him Otter. And if they have another baby, they can name him Juan. So then when something gets broken and Kristi says "Who did this?", Chris can say, "Well, it was either Juan or the Otter."
HA HA HA HA HA. Right? Are you feeling it?

So, I think that about brings us up to speed. I've said a million times and I'll say again, this life sure tosses me around quite a bit. It frequently seems like every time I get comfortable, settled, in a routine, something happens to throw it all into upheaval again. I have had some happy, exuberant moments in which I've known that I will survive and Reed will survive and that we love each other and Phil loves us and we love Phil and life is wonderful and thank goodness I'm here to enjoy it. And then I've had some excruciating, fearful, dizzying moments in which I've thought that life is terrible and I can't possibly withstand it any longer. And, of course, I've had about 7 million moments of everything in between.

I spend a lot of time taking deep breaths. I spend a lot of time praying. I spend a lot of time finding something funny to watch or read to distract me from my thoughts.

A lot has been wonderful and a lot has been rough. I wish that I could find the inspiration to write like I used to, but it just hasn't come. I'm kind of forcing this one out because I don't want to let life beat me into giving up on something that I love: writing about it here. So I'm going to keep working on it. Maybe I'll be able to get back to writing frequently. But for know it will probably be random and kind of scattered. If anybody is out there reading, thanks for checking on me, and I hope you come back again.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-45929970059077293732011-03-31T20:23:00.001-05:002011-03-31T20:23:13.654-05:00So tired.

Taken at Home
buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-5299522591007357442011-02-15T18:59:00.001-06:002011-02-15T18:59:13.880-06:00Sick.

And tired.
buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-89038320284700637752011-02-05T12:28:00.001-06:002011-02-05T12:28:53.565-06:00Reedy.

buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-15963249434478812712011-02-04T21:09:00.001-06:002011-02-04T21:09:08.198-06:00Wedding night.

buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-55566411790419939362011-02-04T19:52:00.001-06:002011-02-04T19:52:52.592-06:00Yep, we did.

buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-40249109889844815732011-02-03T18:27:00.001-06:002011-02-03T18:27:02.770-06:00Jitters..
Taking care of them.
buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-16515662779628254152011-01-30T21:22:00.001-06:002011-01-30T21:22:27.202-06:00Untitled

Man, I hope this is true.
buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-50341650982644702642011-01-27T18:17:00.001-06:002011-01-27T18:17:42.855-06:00What a day.

I'm ready to go home.
buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-70596992689489423412011-01-26T21:46:00.001-06:002011-01-26T21:46:31.477-06:00Hello

buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-87619047627106411782010-08-05T22:28:00.003-05:002010-08-05T22:40:41.257-05:00Okay, then. Still chugging along.

Life is so fucking difficult sometimes, and I'm honestly enjoying re-learning how to do this, how to get through each day and appreciate it, be grateful for it. I think a lot of good things are coming in both the near and distant future. I'm thankful that I'm still here to look forward to the good stuff, and persevere through the bad stuff.

Jason and I are up and down, back and forth, as far as being able to get along, to communicate with each other. He still thinks that I'm selfish and unreasonable, and I still think... pretty much the same about him.

Kane and Jude have moved in with Jason and Julia, and as a result Reed has actually been spending the night with Jason some. I think it's good for everybody involved, especially Reed.

I'm still seeing my someone new, and he's still a fucking blessing every single day. Philip constantly reminds me that no matter how hard all of this is, it's worth it, I'm worth it, what we have is worth it. And it's not that I wouldn't have thought those things on my own, but it's so, so nice to have someone there day-in and day-out who says it, over and over again. I feel like if I wasn't here, or if Jason and I had stayed together, I'd be missing out on a lot of really good stuff. And that really means a lot for someone like me, who has been through countless days in which I've not been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, in which I've not been able to remember to be grateful for my life and everything in it.

Still job-searching, still helping Reed cope with the divorce, still having days that are good, and occasionally days that are bad. But, hey, such is life. How many times have I written here that all I can do is keep trying, keep managing, keep ignoring, keep persevering? A lot of times, is how many. So here I am, still doing all that shit. Will life ever be easier? I don't know. But life certainly does keep getting better, and I don't want to miss any of it.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-82477058833406402152010-07-14T10:01:00.001-05:002010-07-14T10:07:49.924-05:00A nice exchange.From a sweet girl:

I was writing because I just came out of a particularly shitty bout of depression, you know- what used to referred as a nervous breakdown, and my family is being so supportive but sometimes they have trouble understanding. I wanted them to read your blog entry titled "On Shovels" because it's one of the best pieces I've ever read that describes the evil monkey... your blog gives people hope... I read it because it give me hope. Hope that I can live a free life, be honest with people, love, get married and make a baby one day, be creative, and just not give a fuck because it is what it is. Thank you so much and I hope you and Reed are doing well.

My reply:

Hey, lady! I'm sorry you've had some hard times lately. Things over here have been up and down, sort of one step forward, two steps back. Some days I feel good, some days I feel terrible. Reed's the same way; some days I thank God that he seems to be adjusting and doing well, some days he's nutty. But it's to be expected. We're still all just trying to wrap our heads around the fact that Jason's gone and living with Julia and things will never be the same.

I hope that you're feeling better, and it makes me feel incredibly humble and grateful that reading my blog has done good things for you, however small. Writing makes ME feel so, so much better, and I've always thought it's important to use my right to say HEY I'M ALL FUCKED UP AND LOOK HOW I'M STILL SURVIVING, you know? Because sometimes it feels like you won't survive it, and then you do.

I'll talk to you soon, and thank you for always being so nice to me. Every little bit helps, you know?buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-69755366924314077872010-07-06T08:30:00.002-05:002010-07-06T08:47:29.474-05:00"A-well hello, Mistah Lincoln. And the drinks are on me."Goodness gracious, back and forth and back and forth. I'm feeling better, more able to move forward, which just means I'm continuing on with this roller coaster, up and down, up and down. I'm pretty sure that's normal, though.

I'm excited to have made my blog public again. Hi, y'all! Jason had objected pretty strongly to it being public, and out of respect I locked it. But then once I realized that Julia was saying really awful shit about me on the internet (that I am a "selfish, jobless, incapable, alcoholic, useless piece-of-shit slug"), I figured what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Speaking of which, hey Julia! I'm glad you took some time to read me while you were up in Elizabethtown. It's nice to know folks are reading. On that same subject, hey Heather! How's Jackson treating you?

Anyway, moving on from the shout-out portion of my post, life goes on. Still looking for a job, hanging out with Reed, trying to take care of myself. We spent the holiday weekend swimming and hanging out with friends and having sleep-overs and laughing and goofing off. I'm seeing someone I really, really like a lot, who is great with Reed and even better with me.

I managed to mess up my knee again. Man, did I even write about that the first time? A klutzy moron managed to kick my knee out from underneath me a few months ago, and I sprained my acl? I think? Anyway, weeks of wearing a brace and icing it down and taking steroids and trying to stay off it made it get better. Then, Friday night, I talked my new dude and his roommate into teaching me how to ollie. I gotta tell you, I totally almost nearly did it. I was getting there, dude, when suddenly I had a blinding pain in my knee and the next thing I knew I was writhing in the floor clutching it and telling them not to touch me. Now it's stiff and fluidy and bruised and gross. I'm headed to the doctor today to have it checked out. I'm hoping to avoid surgery.

Still seeing my counselor, who says she's very proud of me and that I'm making amazing progress. It's nice to talk to somebody on the outside of all of this, who can lend perspective when I can't seem to find any. Which is, you know, pretty frequent.

I feel at odds with a lot of people right now, and all I know to do about it is take a deep breath and wait it out. I'm enjoying life right now, and it's disappointing to me that there always has to be something, that when I feel better about some part of my life another part has to spring out of wack.

But I'm still working on it, still having days in which I feel optimistic, in which I laugh and smile and hug and kiss, in which I feel lucky, fortunate, grateful, excited. And that's really all I can ask for right now. So, you know, score.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-20428675042552757842010-06-10T19:17:00.003-05:002010-06-11T17:23:18.820-05:00"Burning bridges shore to shore."Hm. Well, I wrote a few months ago that I would probably sink back into some depression and sadness before all was said and done, and it's happened.

The past month or so has been really awful for me. Things didn't work out with Eric, and a close friend and I have had a pretty intense falling-out, and somehow in the midst I started yearning, really desperately wanting, Jason to come home.

Jason and Julia moved in together a couple of months ago, and since then he and I have had a lot of trouble communicating. He blames me for his financial troubles because he has to pay me child support. He also has cut way back on seeing Reed, and their (Jason's and Reed's) relationship is suffering because of it. He's yelled and cussed and blamed and made fun until I've started to feel like we might not ever be able to speak to each other civilly. He also told me that he in no way needs therapy because he "doesn't have any problems". MUST BE NICE, ASSHOLE.

I, on the other hand, have some problems. It started about the time Jason's dad died- feeling really, terribly sad, lonely, wrong, stupid, ugly, worthless, useless, invisible. It progressed to throwing up almost every time I eat, having nightmares about Jason and Julia almost every time I sleep, shaking, aching, feeling just terrible.

And that's where I am now. I have days where I suddenly feel better, a little happier, more able to cope, but they are the exception, not the norm. Coping is just so difficult right now, because the way I want to cope (sleeping and resting) isn't working for me- it's working against me (what with the nightmares). I know I'll get better, that this will pass; it's just really intense and unsettling right now.

I'm still seeing a counselor, and I like and trust her a lot, and she really is helping me. She says I need to get in touch with my anger and figure out a good way to get it out. I haven't stumbled onto the way to do that yet. I mean, I definitely feel angry, and I certainly have talked through a lot of it with my friends and family. But it's still in there, festering. If, in the next few days, I post some letters here that have a startling amount of bad words and blaming and whining, just cut me some slack.

I'm still here. I'm still here. I'M STILL HERE. MOTHERFUCKERS. Sorry; mantra. For the longest time my mantra had been I got this. That doesn't feel like it applies any more. So, for right now, I suppose it's I'm working on this. I hope y'all will stick with me until I manage to stumble out the other side.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-5796999775867413362010-05-29T15:28:00.004-05:002010-05-29T16:00:46.947-05:00Cleaning out my text messages.- Smite me, motherfucker!

- In the summertime, I really like for the Asians to be all over my feet.

- Women are only good at 3 things: cooking, cleaning, and vaginas.

- I PUT ON MY BEST. MOCCASINS.

- There aren't any blow jobs in your stocking.

- I wasn't sure what I was looking at until it ejaculated.

- I hope you know the Heimlich because I'm gonna put my bike in it.

- You look like a douche bag.

- Beer goggles: it's what's for dinner.

- They're smokin' weed outta meat?

- They all love hunting. That, and fucking their daughters.

- My toes are exhausted.

- At least we haven't loaded up to drive to Mississippi and kill that asshole and his dumbass dog.

- I miss the rains down in Africa.

- I'm live right now and that makes me important. Or that's what my mom tells me.

- I'm, like, a man. Or at least 75% man.

- Nice to know you two are discussing my junk.

- "Homeless Entrepreneurs and Anorexic Geeks" is the title of my new autobiography.

- My autobiography would be titled "What the Fuck Just Happened?" Wait, maybe that would be my tombstone.

- Sometimes I like to NOT have to say I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DRUG ME when I go to the bathroom.

- Mama's drunk. You wasted time arguing with me GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

- I ALREADY TOLD YOU I'M IN DIRTY JEANS WITH SWOLE EYES. I'M IN ALL CAPS SO CLEARLY I'M VERY SERIOUS.

- COME ON. Break out of your mold. HANG OUT WITH DRUNK GIRLS.

- You have a poor, single mom offering to buy you drinks.

- YOU COULD BE THE NEXT PERSON I PUT MY BUTT ON!!!

- I'm trying to theduthe you.

- I hate dudes. Why don't you live here? I was more shaking my fist at the heavens than actually asking you.

- You still hiding in a dressing room?

- You're a sultry minx.

- Reed just taught Chris how to use a doorknob to open a door. No joke.

- I don't think he can penetrate me from the next state.

- I'm tired of bald pussies. I want a real woman.

- I make cunnilingus-in-the-bar-bathroom promises.

- I'll wine and dine you. But I expect, at least, fellatio.

- There was a faggot in bed with us!

- You could BE that Coke Icee.

- Okay, apparently a dude is about to show up who is a dairy farmer AND has four nipples. CAN'T YOU COME WITNESS THIS?

- We have rimming syrup.

- I SWALLOW AND I LOVE TO SWALLOW AND SWALLOWING ROCKS.

- They're about to smoke pot out of a potato.

- You only like me because I'm reading a book about turn-of-the-century Midwesterners.

- I wasn't making fun of Jerusalem. I decided I was too scared.

- The last time I was there I arrested a waitress.

- Why is he cocky? He's from Mississippi.

- Oh, wait, you mean you don't literally have a pine cone in your ass?

- I like it rough. Punch me in the face.

- Why do I have to be a jackass?

- I like letting gay guys bite me.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-13859940312317316802010-05-17T18:00:00.007-05:002010-05-17T22:02:42.302-05:00Cleaning out my text messages.- I received my first shocker last night.

- Just like negroes, all amputees know each other.

- There is a cute, young ONE-ARMED DUDE working the toll booth today. He used his nub to count my change.

- Snap him up and then y'all can have a brood of Virginian, White supremacist babies.

- OH HOLY FUCK DUDE. SON IN LAW IS ON.

- I ran into that fucking d-bag who ran our tab up to $65 and I tried to kick him.

- Oh, drunk bitches, I was you once, before I got old and found out going to bed and eating Krystals with my bff was way better.

- I just had some 5-foot Mexican be all YOU SMELL GOOD and I was like I KNOW BITCH IT'S CHANEL.

- I'm gonna smoke another cigarette and then go pass out next to a dude wearing make-up.

- I'm reading Dorothy Parker at the bar. I feel like Alabama's number 1 loser alcoholic.

- The band is playing Voodoo Chile. Want me to request Voodoo Chili next?

- FUCKIN HELL YES DINKIN FLICKA

- It's your tv. That, and your HUUUUUUUUUUUGE... dvr selection.

- DUDE, the old ornery guy downstairs just asked me to have a beer with him. I was like, Naw, I'm still drinking coffee.

- Do we need the nunchucks or the throwing stars? I'll be there in 3 hours with a bitch-lynching posse in tow.

- Sacred you are not. I mean, neither am I.

- I brought my boobs tonight in case shit went down.

- I'm sitting alone. OH WAIT, I HAVE MY KNEE BRACE.

- Guys who get bj's from strippers = no point in jockin' their tip at all.

- I just had a shot called Sex With An Alligator. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T ORDER ONE. IT TASTES LIKE FEET!

- Bumped into Hatchet Face yet?

- Riding down the road in Mississippi, listening to Color Me Badd. Jealous?

- About to eat crawdads for the first time. Something about sucking the head?

- Starting the day off right with coffee, tamales, and Michael McDonald.

- I wish Eric and Bill from True Blood would take me to the mall.

- Does it turn you on when I make Journey references? Does the wheel in the sky keep on turn-ehn?

- A kool aid pickle? A caesar salad? A steak sandwich? Spooge?

- Yeah, I'd let him lick my face.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-62296360476257269592010-05-08T10:25:00.003-05:002010-05-08T10:38:20.320-05:00Okay, okay, so I'm not writing nearly enough these days. Life has been nutty.

With the divorce, and Jason's dad dying, and my being so preoccupied with Eric, and life going on as usual with Reed and the daily grind, and job-searching, I've been a little low, a little crazy, a little emotional, irrational, scared, excited, hopeful, pretty much every human emotion (and some non-human ones) that you can think of.

My mom is getting a book published, called Sweet Music On Moonlight Ridge, and we're all really excited about it. I took some photos of her holding a possum at Ruffner Mountain, and she's using one of those for her author photo. It's really a lovely story, and I'm so proud of my mom for persevering and making this happen.

Eric took me to the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis last weekend, and it was a LOT of fun, except for some outrageous inclement weather. Rain and rain and rain and rain and wind and supposedly a tornado. But we saw Jerry Lee Lewis, which was one of the coolest shows I've ever seen ever.

Then yesterday I got my nose pierced. Yep. I'd been thinking about it for years, and yesterday I woke up and said, "Well, today I'm going to get my nose pierced." And HOLY FUCK, the blood. I'd forgotten what a free-bleeder I am when I get pierced. And the adrenaline, jeez. But I'm loving it, even if it did HURT SO BAD.

I'm not sure what the future holds; my expectations and predictions change constantly, every day almost, and it's really frightening. But all I can do now is go with it. So here's to two months, to girls' night, to divorce papers, to Mississippi, to Alabama, to kids, to beer, to nachos, and sharp needles. Love y'all. Thanks for not giving up on me.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-45630883510167137662010-04-13T10:09:00.002-05:002010-04-13T10:27:56.226-05:00So the day that I wrote here last, Jason called and cussed me out about the blog, and then two days later did it again. Consequently I've changed the blog to invite-only. If you know anybody I should invite, let me know, because it makes me happy for people to be reading.

Last week was just awful. I was a self-involved mess for most of it (what else is new?), but I think, ONCE AGAIN, that I've come out the other side.

It just felt so lonely and wrong and odd to be floating around over here not knowing what was going on with Jason's family at such a terrible time in their lives. The funeral was Saturday, and guess what? I didn't go. I intended to, but Jason told me it was at 3 when it was actually at 2. I think it was probably just a mistake on his part; he's never been good at details. I was really nervous about going; with the divorce, seeing his family was going to be really hard, and seeing Julia sitting with them was going to be even harder. But I still needed it for closure, to be able to say goodbye- not just to Big John, but to the Agans. Looks like I'm going to have to find that closure somehow within myself.

Jason told Reed on Friday, and he seems to have handled it remarkably well. He's brought it up once or twice, but he doesn't seem too distraught about it, which is a good thing. Plus I think Reed's too busy SUCKING MY WILL TO LIVE; he's prioritizing, see? He has been so energetic and wild lately, I have a lot of trouble keeping up. Jason has suddenly decided that he ought to be spending more time with Reed, and I agree. They hung out last night, and when they got home, Reed sung us Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Spanish and it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Knowing, seeing for real that Reed will be fine, makes me feel much lighter during such a heavy time.

Eric, my boy in Mississippi, has changed things for me in so many ways it's hard to count. I feel optimistic. If you know me, you know that that means THE APOCALYPSE BE COMIN', Y'ALL, TAKE COVER. We talk every day- as evidenced by my $8657 phone bill THANKS T-MOBILE- and we text a lot. I've never attempted a long-distance anything, so this is all a learning process for me. A yearning, bittersweet, shallow-breathing learning process, but a learning process nonetheless. He is so cute, and so sweet, and he makes jokes. AND LAUGHS. JOKES AND LAUGHS. I can't tell you what a breath of fresh air this is, to be with someone who knows how to look for silver linings, who knows how to be goofy, who knows how to make me smile every single day. Luckily he's only about three hours away, so we can visit a lot. I didn't get to go see him last weekend, but you better believe I'm going out there this weekend. We're going to have tamales for breakfast and drink beer and goof off in his living room floor and make out AND MAKE OUT AND MAKE OUT, and I can't wait.

So, you know, if you see a crazy lady burning up the road towards Kosciusko this Friday, just stay outta my way.buffyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-34029208.post-83636270692058154032010-04-08T10:31:00.003-05:002010-04-08T11:04:00.044-05:00Well, it seems to be three steps forward, two steps back around here.

Jason's dad died night-before-last. He wasn't the healthiest person ever as far as his lifestyle, but he hadn't been sick that I know of, hadn't had heart problems or anything of that nature. It was pretty unexpected. He was around 60, I believe.

John was the first member of Jason's family that I met after we started seeing each other, and he immediately welcomed me into the family when everyone else was hesitant, as Jason was going through a nasty divorce at the time. He treated me with kindness and respect. We joked and laughed and drank beer together, and picked on each other and hugged each other. John would hug me until I thought my bones would break into pieces.

Only a few weeks ago I dropped Reed off at John's (where Jason is living now) and John hugged me and told me he loved and missed me.

The grief I'm feeling now is only intensified by the fact that I'm not really a part of their family any more, can't go to them and hug them and cry with them and remember John. I mean, I guess I could, but I haven't been invited and no one has been calling me. I feel awfully lonely, out here by myself, no one to commiserate with. I called Jason's mom and left a shaky, weepy message asking her to please let me know if there is anything at all that I can do. I haven't heard back from her. It's probably unfair of me to be having these thoughts and feelings, but it feels wrong some how not to be involved in this process with them. John was my father-in-law for 6 years, and the ink isn't dry on the divorce papers, and he was Reed's grandaddy John.

Oh, God, and Reed. I don't know if it's because of Jason's leaving and the divorce and all, but he's been asking a lot of questions about death lately. "Are you going to die? Is Ma going to die? When? I don't want Ma to die, because I love her." All I've known to tell him is that everybody dies, but it's when they're very, very old, and it's going to be a very long time before Ma or I die, that we'll be old, old, old. And now someone has to be like, "Except grandaddy John! He died. But no one else will for a long, long time." I feel like a liar, a failure, lost, wrong.

Also Jason has asked specifically that he gets to tell Reed. But now I'm left to wait and wonder, when? When will he tell him? Because there are no plans anytime in the next several days for Jason to see Reed. And while I don't know for sure, I bet all the other grandchildren have been told already. No one has called to talk to Reed, or visited him.

I think I'm just selfishly feeling like the outcast, and I'm fearing that Reed is going to be cast out with me. I'm absolutely dizzy right now with too many thoughts, too much confusion. I just wish I could do something, could help them right now. But I suppose that's just my place any more.buffyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Thursday, 09.25.2008 / 3:52 PM ET / Features
By Erin Pollina - Sabres.com
|Kevin Dineen (Photo: Getty Images)
As he walked around downtown Buffalo the feeling only became stronger.
"Everywhere I went there were guys wearing Sabres jerseys… in early September!" the head coach of the Portland Pirates said. "With football season underway and the Buffalo Bills off to a good start, that really says something about the hockey culture here.
"People talk highly of it and you can see why."
Resigning with the Pirates this summer for his fourth year behind Portland's bench, Dineen enters a new era as part of the AHL affiliate for the Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo ended their 29-year relationship with the Rochester Americans earlier this summer, naming Portland as their successor on June 10.
With training camp now underway at HSBC Arena, Dineen welcomes the new challenge of not only gauging a new set of prospects, but the system that the Sabres employ as well.
"It's interesting," Dineen said. "I had a good conversation with Lindy [Ruff] and some of the things that they do system-wise are the way we did things in Portland as well. There are always differences in personnel, but it's hockey. We will get a chance to spend time together and I think the transition will be smooth.
"It's a great opportunity and I'm still in the learning stages so I'm excited to get my hands into it and get a feel for what the expectations are as far as style of play. Hopefully when a player goes from Portland to Buffalo…they will have a solid foundation."
Dineen has already had some ties to Buffalo during his time in Portland.
He coached Ryan Miller's brother Drew (Anaheim's 6th round choice in 2003, 186th overall) as well as Andrew Peters' brother Geoff (Chicago's 2nd round choice in 1996, 46th overall) when the Pirates were the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate.
He also has Tyler Bouck.
As the only player to remain with Portland after the shift in affiliation, Dineen will rely on Bouck to act as a liason between the coaching staff and team.
"The lines of communication are always open and we like to make sure that whether it's a veteran or young player, they know that they always have access to us," Dineen said. "But sometimes a guy like Tyler does a good job because he can detect if a young player is a little bit sensitive in approaching a coach and will take care of it, help him out.
"He is a quality player but even a better individual."
Bouck served as the Pirates' captain last season, finishing with 11 goals and 29 points.
"He's an honest coach," Bouck said of Dineen. "If you play hard for him he is going to reward you… so you have to make sure you are working hard."
Dineen demands it.
"I think one thing we always have is that our guys come to play," he said. "There aren't any nights off and it's a hard thing to do in the AHL level because a lot of times you are playing three games in three nights… four in five… seven in 10. It's ridiculous the way the scheduling goes sometimes. But night in and night out I think our team has had an identity of being a tough team to play against.
"We've had some decent success over the past few years and hopefully we can get that positive atmosphere and that front going into this year."
He also hopes to bring some of the enthusiasm from Buffalo.
"I think what you are going to find is that the players are going to love the city of Portland, and that's been my experience for three years- that the guys really embrace not only the town and everything it has to offer, but the fan-base as well.
"It's a hockey town and there is a good atmosphere at the amateur, college and professional level. Also being close to the Boston Bruins – that connection, and history between the Bruins and the Sabres – will create a buzz.
"Overall when you look at it, I think that makes for a good fit."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I just replaced my 00' 4.0 WJ with a 03' Overland and was a little shocked that they don't make REVOs for the 17" Overland wheels.
I've searched throught the forms and found that a number of people put on a 2" BB and were able to fit the smallest 17" REVOs but I wonder if thats the best way. And if I'm not mistaken wouldn't that mess the speedo and milage because of the larger tire size?
I really wouldn't mind the extra 2" from a BB but the speedo thing may be a problem. Does anyone know of a tire that is as good as the REVO that will fit the Overland 17" wheels and won't break the bank at the same time?
Thanks all for your info


text:
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Pente Deluxe
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from 6 customer reviews
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Product Information
Gary Gabrel
Decipher Games
Year: 1999
Players: 2 - 4
Time: 20 minutes
Ages: 8 and up
Weight: 700 grams (estimated)
Product Reviews
Average Rating: 4.5 in 6 reviews
I cannot believe that Parker Brothers would just stop making such a fantastic game! I have an original glass board that my brother gave me in 1983! On New Year's a friend of my husband mentioned that he use to play years ago, but had lost his board. I traced a copy of mine on a piece of paper for him and we had a blast playing when we visited again! I would love to find out how I could make registered trademark official games for people. I know that once someone tries it, they too will become addicted like my husband and I are!
Some friends and I based in England have had no end of trouble trying to locate Pente in the UK with no sucess. After playing only a few games over 7 years ago we became dedicated advocates. However, the owner of the Pente set vanished and we were left without this wonderous game of skill in our lives. Gradually we became degenerate members of society and blended in with other members of the rat race. But now, on this fine sunny day in Bournemouth, I am about to order Pente from an outlet in the USA. Finally, my friends and I can lift ourselves from our mundane existences and relish the thought of once again playing Pente. If playing Pente can inspire a Worldwide search by three individuals longing to improve their lives then it deserves its' 5 stars, oh yes.
This game has been in my family since I was a child. I remember playing with aunts and uncles when I was under ten.
It was much loved, and I have memories of games that lasted up to an hour. I started playing at about age 6, which indicates how easy it is to learn--but I still find it a challenge with the right opponent.
A definite classic and I hope to get it again.
Show all 6 reviews >


text:
What is American Humane Association's view on spaying and neutering animals as it relates to the number of homeless pets?
American Humane Association encourages the veterinary profession to assist whenever and however possible, in reducing the number of homeless pets. This involvement includes supporting the neutering of cats and dogs adopted from public or private animal care and control facilities - thereby controlling the ongoing contribution of offspring to pet overpopulation. Veterinarians should continue to use their best judgment when recommending appropriate sterilization ages for individual cats and dogs owned by clients, especially those clients who are well-known and likely to permit an unwanted pregnancy to occur prior to surgery.
Short-term and long-term health risks for each animal should always be assessed.
American Humane Association encourages research into the development and use of nonsurgical methods of sterilization.


text:
Monster To Undergo Procedure On Friday
Thursday, 12.3.2009 / 10:21 AM ET / Press Releases
|RELATED STORIES: Gustavsson Bio | Gunnarsson Bio
|RELATED VIDEO: Gustavsson Pad Save | Monster Glove Save
|DISCUSS IT ON: Leafspace | Twitter | Facebook
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Thursday that goaltender Jonas Gustavsson will undergo a
Gustavsson played the first period in Tuesday's game at Montreal and stopped all eight shots in the Leafs' 3-0 win.
Defenceman Carl Gunnarsson sustained a hyper-extended left elbow in Monday's game against Buffalo. He is expected to be out of the lineup for approximately six weeks.
The Maple Leafs will play on the road this evening at Columbus at 7 p.m on Leafs TV.


text:
Dave Shombert's first attraction to the rotating, quiet woodturning machine was in high school woodshop. He immediately realized that the lathe was unlike other woodworking machines and knew it would one day become a part of his life.
When he retired from his job as a physicist for the Food and Drug Administration, he knew that his dream could become a reality. He and his wife, Ellen, moved to Elkins in 1994 and his workshop was finally built, centered around the lathe.
Shombert didn't begin woodturning until he was 55 years old. "When the student is ready, the teacher will come," Shombert says recalling the time-honored adage.
Article Video
In 1997, he met Paul Weinberger, a woodturner, patternmaker and mouldmaker in Weston, and the two participated in the Augusta folk arts apprenticeship in which a master of an Appalachian craft teaches a student, funded by the Augusta Heritage program.
"He showed me what real craftsmanship is," Shombert said, adding that the two are still good friends and frequently visit.
Shombert spends a considerable amount of time in his shop, standing over the machine that caught his attention more than 50 years ago. This model, however, is much nicer than his first. The Robust American Beauty lathe hums. Shombert directs the tool along the surface, as the block of wood transforms into a bowl, vase or hollow form. Dust and curled shavings fly from the metal-to-wood contact onto the floor and Shombert's hands. He stays concentrated on his movements; everything else fades away.
Article Photos
Photo by Mallory Bracken
Dave Shombert has spent many hours in his workshop sanding and carving select pieces of wood. After retirement, Shombert and his wife, Ellen, moved to Elkins where he was able to build a workshop around the piece of equipment he fell in love with in shop class.
Photo by Mallory Bracken
Dave Shombert's work can be seen throughout the state. His pieces can be purchased at many places including the Southern Craft Guild, Tamarac and Mountain?Made.
"I'm really focused," Shombert says of his work on his lathe. "Almost as if there's nothing else in the world."
Shombert sells his pieces mostly in juried craft guilds including the Southern Craft Guild, Tamarac and Mountain Made. He says that selling to others creates a connection between him and the buyers.
"A big part of what makes life worth living is being connected to other people in some positive way," he says. "This is a small thing, but meaningful to me - to know that in some other home, people have a piece of my work and they look at it and they like it and they like to hold it in their hands."
Arlena Straw of Elkins, took home one of Shombert's pieces from the Randolph County Arts Center Gala in 2010. A wooden vase made of various woods integrated together, the piece won Best of Show.
"His workmanship is just so perfect," she says. "When you buy work of his, you know that you got an artistic and well-designed piece."
Both his father and grandfather were amateur woodworkers, introducing the concept to Shombert as a young child with a workbench, boards and nails. He credits his interest partly to this, but believes that the source is mostly innate.
"It's just part of who I am; having the ability to make something with my hands and know that it's done properly and done well."


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Carolina Beach Ocean View Condo
|Per night
|Per week
Sleeps 4 Bedroom with queen size bed sleeps 2 However,in the living room, there is a large sofa and a love seat that are adequate for 2 children to sleep on. Fully equipped kitchen, ocean view, 2 pools, condo is 300' from the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing. golf, historic Fort Fisher and Wilmington nearby.
Barbara Robbie
Property Rates
|Jan 17 2013
|Jan 01 2017
|Check In: 3 p.m. Check Out: 11 a.m.
|Lodging tax: n/a
|Deposits: $250.00 deposit required
|Payment Options: Cashier's Check, Personal Check, Money Order
|Other Fees: $100 refundable security. (returned after a satisfactory departure inspection and return of the keys)
Reviews for this vacation condo rental in Carolina Beach, North Carolina
A renter
Overall it Was Nice
August 17, 2006
We enjoyed our stay at Carolina Beach, for the most part. We did have a few issues that were minor and decided not to worry anyone with them because, after all, this was a vacation. After receiving your partial refund and letter of explanation, I felt compelled to let you know some of the things we felt were not up to par. Though each issue itself seems minor, when you put it all together, they become sizable. You have a very nice place at the beach. We found the condo to be tastefully decorated and cozy. Though you cannot be responsible for everything and most of our complaints lie with the buildings maintenance or hosekeeping, you should still be aware. When we arrived to the unit, we brought groceries that needed refrigeration. The refrigerator contained what appeared to be groceries from tenants past. There were several bottles of steak sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, coffee, jelly and more. With no way of telling how long this stuff had been in the refrigerator, I had to put bags in the trash can (there were none), then proceed to clean out the refrigerator. There was over half the 13 gallon bag full when I finished. I went to the laundry room to get a hand towel for the kitchen and all of them reeked with the smell of stagnated,sour laundry. There was no toilet paper on the rolls. The glass table had a film that was sticky to the touch. When we went down to the pool we noticed dime to nickle sized spots of algae all around the inside walls of the pool. The pool man came the next day, but only vacuumed the steps. The algae remained as of the day we left for home. We inquired about the other pool that was supposed to go with the condo properties. No one could tell us where it was located, not even a resident. We tried to ignore the pool because we were there to enjoy the beach, right? When I went to build the kids a pallet on the floor (at your suggestion) with the spare cover in the top of the closet, I found that the cover had what looked like feces smeared on both blankets. The girls wore PJ's and used no cover on the couch and love seat. The next day I bought them a sleeping bag. No problem. There were supposed to be toys and things in the closet,nope. We bought some including floats, buckets, shovels and molds. We left those there for others to enjoy. There was garbage piled up 6 bags deep under the parking deck. It sat there until Thursday. Needless to say, the walk to the pool or car was smelly. Also, the light in the parking deck directly below us flickered from dusk until dawn. This flickering light reflected in the windows of the complex in front of your condo making it difficult/annoying to be out on the deck after dusk. All of these things were dismissed because we were there to have a good time, not to gripe and complain. We did as you asked. The dishwasher was loaded. The towels were put in the washing machine and started. We did not come in wet or sit on the furniture wet. We took out the trash as we left. The condo was not left in such a state that should have even required one housekeeper one hour, much less two for two hours. I admit that we were in somewhat of a hurry because our 4 year old became ill with bronchitis while we were there and woke up very sick that Saturday. Though we did do as you asked and then some. I appreciate you allowing us to use your beautiful home. I honestly do not feel that your housekeeper is being 100% accurate with her report or in the job she does. If I was willing to not say anything about how things were, you can bet others did not as well. In all, we did have a good time. Thank you.


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Social housing heavyweights among raft of providers downgraded by HCA
Published by Anonymous for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Regulation
HCA announces new HomeBuy Agents for 2009-2011
Large housing associations Gentoo and the Peabody Trust are among 15 registered providers to be downgraded by the Homes and Community Agency for failing to meet its value for money standard.
Other providers downgraded include Fabrick Housing Group, Progress Housing Group and St Mungo Community Housing.
VfM is one of the HCA's key regulatory requirements. The agency says that those downgraded have not met the specific requirements of the regulatory framework:
• To produce a transparent self-assessment that was sufficiently timely and robust to demonstrate to stakeholders that the provider had an understanding of the return on their assets.
• To provide the absolute and comparative cost of running their services
• Clear evidence of past VfM gains, and future aspirations.
The full list of downgraded providers is:
Abbeyfield Society
Bolton At Home
Fabrick Housing Group
Gentoo Group Limited
Heantun Housing Association Limited
Housing Hartlepool
Inquilab Housing Association Limited
Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association Limited
Mount Green Housing Association Limited
Peabody Trust
Progress Housing Group Limited
St Mungo Community Housing Association Limited
Tristar Homes Limited
Two Castles Housing Association Limited
All have been knocked one notch down the HCA's governance scale, from G1 to G2, meaning they "meet the requirements on governance set out in the Governance and Financial Viability standard, but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance".
None of the providers had their viability grades changed, with all still on a top rating of V1, except for Bolton At Home, Gentoo and St Mungo Community Housing, all of whom currently have V2 ratings.
Matthew Bailes, the HCA's executive director of regulation, said: "We expect providers to publish a transparent and robust self-assessment, in a timely way. It is vital that providers demonstrate a strategic approach to delivering value for money in the achievement of their objectives. A minority of providers have really risen to the challenge of the new VfM standard and have published clear, transparent, and comprehensive self-assessments that will allow stakeholders to understand their approach to VfM and hold them to account on their performance. Most have got some of the way there, but will need to do better next year.
"However, 15 registered providers have not provided sufficient assurance of their compliance with the value for money standard and, as regulator, we have reflected this in our published gradings."
Peabody chief executive Stephen Howlett said: "Peabody has long been committed to achieving excellent value for money so we can invest more in providing affordable homes and community programmes across London. We are disappointed to be downgraded by the HCA for a delay in publishing our robust and transparent VfM self-assessment. We intend to get our G1 rating back as soon as possible."
Opinion: Sub-letting, fraud, and the law
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This is a charming 10.5" tall Gebruder Heubach bisque shoulder head doll is on her original body and has her original regional costume. Her clothing is sewn on and appears to have never been removed. She has fixed in place light blue glass eyes and open mouth with teeth. Cloth body is firmly stuffed. Lower arms appear to be celluloid.
Clothing consists of cotton petticoat and pantaloons, black oil cloth shoes, cotton blouse trimmed with braid, and colorful dress with matching cap. She has her original long light brown mohair wig, very tightly glued in place.
Condition is good. Bisque is perfect. Clothing is all good.
This is a superb all original little doll.
This item is offered on behalf of the Coleman Collection. Other select items will be posted from this collection as well
4 other shoppers have this item in their Cart or Wish List .
Antique dolls, jewelry and other oddities.
"Summertime, and the livin' is easy. Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high." - Gershwin


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Tustin Area Woman's Club holds fashion show
The Tustin Area Woman's Club Mannequin Section recently hosted a Mardi Gras-themed fashion show and luncheon in the Crystal Ballroom at the Santa Ana Elks Club.
Proceeds will benefit the club's philanthropies, including the Tustin Unified School District scholarship program.
The fashion show was chaired by Lois Small and a committee.
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text: Brand: Royce Style: S925 Sizes: 28 - 40 D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, J; 30 - 38 JJ; 30 - 36 K Fabric Content: Polyblend Royce Wire-Free Impact Free Sport Bra S925. Impact free bra provides the base for the perfect workout. Features a wide underband for anchorage. High neckline for support. Extra strong padded straps and high cotton content for comfort. A covered back fastening means the bra can be worn as outerwear. Support and comfort for any sport up to a K cup.


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PERRYVILLE - Vernon Clifford "Red" Wells, 71, died June 2, 2003, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Born Dec. 11, 1931, in Stoddard County, he was the son of the late Levi Adolph and Myrtle McDaniel Wells.
On July 1, 1974, he married Wanda Aleta Lawson who survives of the home.
Other survivors include: one son and daughter-in-law, Clifford and Lori Wells of Perryville; three stepsons and one daughter-in-law, Allen and Debbie Reed of Senath, Butch Reed of Curuth and Charles Lee Reed of Germantown, Tenn.; one stepdaughter, Charlene Cochran of St. Louis; one brother, Farrell Wells of Dudley; five sisters, Mary Wells, Betty Clark and Opal Wells Holman of Sikeston, Wilma Break of Handy, Ark., and Carolyn Hayden of Charleston; and four grandchildren, 19 stepgrandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one stepson, Gary Reed; one stepdaughter, Carolyn King; two brothers, Sherman Wells and Harold Wells; and three sisters, Faye Ellen Wells, Helen Lovins and Teresa Wells.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston, where services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday. The Rev Floyd Rickard, pastor of Spring River Baptist Church of Mammoth Springs, Ark., will officiate.
Burial will follow in the New Morley Cemetery at Morley.


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Definition of araucaria in English:
An evergreen conifer of a genus that includes the monkey puzzle and the Norfolk Island pine, having stiff sharp leaves.
- Genus Araucaria, family Araucariaceae.
Example sentences
- The tree which was stolen was an araucaria, or monkey puzzle, which was planted in memory of Maurice by his family.
- Unlike other araucarias that have been investigated, many of the meristems in the orthotropic main stem will slowly develop into bud primordia beneath the bark in intact plants.
Modern Latin, from Spanish Arauco, the name of a province of Araucania, Chile.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: ar·au·car·i·a
Definition of araucaria in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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The Pointer Events group has two types of meetings and this document includes general information about the meetings:
- Distributed meetings, aka teleconferences and voice conferences
- Face-to-face (f2f) meetings
- The WG's Code - describes how the group actually operates including links to various resources
- Bugzilla Bug and Issue Tracking - Bugzilla is used for bugs and issues
- Tracker Action Tracking
- Hg/Mercurial Repository - used for all specifications and tests
- public-pointer-events - archive of the group's Public mail list
Draft agendas for distributed meetings are sent to the group's public-pointer-events mail list at least 24 hours before the meeting starts.
F2f meetings are announced at least eight weeks before the start of the meeting. Draft agendas for f2f meetings are sent to the group's public-pointer-events mail list at least two weeks before the meeting begins.
IRC and Meeting Resources
IRC will be used for every meeting to record minutes. The group's IRC channel is #pointerevents (irc://irc.w3.org/).
If you do do not have an IRC client, or have trouble connecting to IRC from behind a firewall, W3C offers a browser-based IRC Web interface (note: you must have a Member or Invited Expert account to use this).
Some resources regarding meeting bots, minute taking and the teleconference bridge:
- Tips for Taking Minutes (thanks to Mark Nottingham)
- RRSAgent IRC Bot Description
- Zakim IRC Teleconference Bot
- How to Use the W3C's "Zakim" Teleconference Bridge
- Zakim Bridge Status
Meeting Scribes
Each meeting will have one or more Scribes that are responsible for recording the meeting's minutes directly in the group's IRC channel. The group will use the RRSAgent IRC bot to facilitate taking minutes.
When someone joins the meeting via the phone bridge, the Zakim bot will announce the participant by their phone number or some other identifier. To associate a person's name with a phone number, use the following, assuming Zakim reports someone is using phone number +1.519.880.aaaa and that someone is Rick Byers:
zakim, aaaa is Rick_Byers(Note: only the last four digits/letters of the phone number is used)
If Zakim reports a person has joined with an identifier such as +[IPCaller] or +[Microsoft], those ids can be mapped to names via the following, assuming the former is actually Olli Pettay and the later is Jacob Rossi:
zakim, [IPCaller] is Olli_Pettay
zakim, [Microsoft] is Jacob_Rossi
Among the general expectations of the Chair or Scribe are:
- Record meeting boilerplate via the following keywords:
ScribeNick: scribe's_IRC_Nick
- Example:
ScribeNick: ArtB
- Example:
Scribe: Firstname_LastName
- Example:
Scribe: Art_Barstow
- Example:
Agenda: URI_of_the_draft_agenda
Date: Day Month Year
- Example:
Date: 27 November 2012
- Example:
Chair: Firstname_Lastname
- Example:
Chair: Art_Barstow
- Example:
Meeting: Pointer Events WG Voice Conference
- Use the Present macro to record all meeting participants. The general syntax to add one person is Present+ Firstname_Lastname and a comma-separated list is used to add additional attendees. For a list of the group's participants, see Public group list. Examples:
Present+ Art_Barstow
Present+ Art_Barstow, Doug_Schepers
- Use the Regrets macro to record the names of those members that sent advanced regrets. Examples:
Regrets: Art_Barstow
Regrets: Art_Barstow, Doug_Schepers
Regrets+ Doug_Schepers
- Note the start of a new discussion Topic via the "Topic: Title of the topic ..." macro. Example:
Topic: Bug 12345: Event X's Y attribute is underspecified
- Create new Actions via the "ACTION: last_name Title of the action ..." macro (see group participation list for a list of last_names). Example:
ACTION: barstow Start a CfC for ...
- Record Resolutions via the "RESOLUTION: Description of the resolution ..." macro. Example:
RESOLUTION: Event X's Y attribute will be a DOMString
The general expectations regarding the scribing of the actual discussion are:
- Scribe: try to capture the general flow of the discussion, citing the person that speaks and use "..." at the start of a line to capture the continuation of a person's input. The name assigned to a person can be their first name e.g. Art or their initials e.g. AB or their IRC nick e.g. ArtB. If you use initials and two or more participants have the same initials, create some type of unique id for each participant. Examples:
AB: One line captures my comment
Art: One line captures this comment
ArtB: the 1st thing I want to say is ...
... 2nd thing is ...
... 3rd thing is ...
- All: use the "s/text that was recorded/text that should have been recorded/" macro (possibly with "g" appended to the end to signify the change should be made to the entire minutes) to update the meeting minutes. Examples:
s/change attribute to unsigned long/change attribute to long/
s/Bug 1234/Bug 1235/g
- All: every person that attends the meeting is responsible for the accuracy of the minutes. This means that if the Scribe did not accurately capture an attendees' input, or missed an important input, the attendee is responsible for correcting the meeting record, preferably by making the correction directly in the ongoing meeting's IRC channel.
Generating and Announcing Minutes
The Chair or Team contact will ensure all of the relevant meeting bots are invited to the meeting before the meeting starts and they will send the Draft meeting minutes to the group's Public mail list.
To generate the minutes, the Scribe must issue the following command:
RRSAgent, make log Public
RRSAgent, make minutes
The minutes announcement sent to the mail list should include both the URL of the minutes as well as a copy-and-paste of the minutes. See example.
Face-to-Face Meetings
Although the group may have up to three face-to-face meetings per year, currently, no f2f meetings are scheduled.
Logistics for Distributed Meetings
|Start Time
|San Francisco
For additional time zone data see TimeZone Converter.
The definitive time for the teleconference will always be listed on the W3C Calendar, so check there if there's some uncertainty about the time (NB search for "RWC_PEWG").
Phone Bridge
- Phone: +1-617-324-0000
- Code: 641 509 404
- URL: https://mit.webex.com/mit/j.php?MTID=m520d894aa4fde233becf4963995ce493
All meeting minutes are Public unless, on an exceptional basis, there is consensus for the minutes to be Member confidential. Links to all of the meeting minutes are consolidated in the Minutes Wiki.
The general expectation is a meeting's Chair will send the minutes to the group's mail list within 24 hours of the end of the meeting.


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Power company proposes fishing pier in Vt. town
GMP proposing pier to meet re-licensing requirements
Published 7:58 AM EDT Apr 29, 2013
A planning commission in St. Johnsbury, Vt., has approved a power company's proposal to build a fishing pier.
Planners have recommended a review of Green Mountain Power's offer.
Green Mountain Power in February proposed installing the fishing pier. After it's built, St. Johnsbury would take ownership and maintain it.
Town officials say the utility is proposing the pier in order to meet re-licensing requirements. Power companies seeking licenses are often required to construct public installations like fishing piers and canoe launches.
Copyright 2013 by WPTZ All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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[Read the rest of this article...]
Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife officials today announced that new wildlife tracks recently found in Delta County most likely are from a cougar.
A U.S. Forest Service biologist, Janet Ekstrum, who was conducting a Kirtland's warbler survey near Rapid River June 9, discovered some large animal tracks and contacted the DNR's Gladstone office.
Trout fishing, learning to shoot a bow and receiving instruction on safe hunting strategies are just some of the activities scheduled for the fifth annual 45th Parallel Gobblers JAKES Day, June 7, 2008. The National Wild Turkey Federation's 45th Parallel Gobblers Chapter will welcome nearly 900 youth from its JAKES and Xtreme JAKES programs in northern Michigan to the Johnson property behind Jay's Sporting Goods in Gaylord, Mich. During the event, participants can learn a variety of outdoor skills and hear the remarkable restoration story of the wild turkey. The NWTF's JAKES program (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) teaches the principles of wildlife management and traditions of safe, ethical and responsible hunting to youth up to age 12.


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Surge in Public Construction Spending Offsets Private Pullback
October's U.S. construction data offered a surprise for an era of penny-pinching governments: A surge in public spending more than offset a decline in private building.
Spending on construction increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.8% in October from the month before, beating the 0.4% gain forecast by economists.
The strength came from an unexpected source. State and local governments, which fund the majority of public construction, boosted spending at 3.2% pace.
The federal government boosted outlays by 10.9% in October, the largest monthly gain since January 2011. The October increase, the first month of the new fiscal year, more than reversed declines the prior two months. Federal construction spending had been weak most of the year due to across-the-board cuts put in place in March.
Meanwhile, private construction slipped in October. Private home building declined 0.6%, the third decrease in the last four months. Spending on communication, power infrastructure and recreation also fell during the month.
October's data comes after strength in private construction throughout the year. Through the first 10 months of 2013, private building is up 8.8% compared to the same period last year. Single-family home building has increased nearly 30% during that time.
Public construction is down 2.8% year-to-date, due to declines in spending on government offices, schools and public safety.
Construction spending fell an annualized 0.3% in September, the first overall monthly decrease since March. September and October data were released concurrently due to delays caused by the government shutdown.


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Myrtle (Frank) Jennings, and mother Sarah (Trowbridge) Frank
- Michigan |
- Troy MI |
- Oakland Co MI |
- Jennings |
- Frank |
- Trowbridge
Myrtle is in the middle holding her child. Sarah is the Daughter of Amariah Trowbridge who was an origional setteler of Troy, Michigan.
Click on the City or Town name right under the name of the photograph, to view more photographs from that city or town. If there's a county listed, you can view more photographs from that county. If you see a surname listed under the title of the photograph, you can click on that surname or surnames to view more photos that are associated with that surname. Same thing works with any of the other "tags" listed right under the title of the photograph. You may be able to make the photo larger, if the original photograph was larger than the photo shown here. Click on the word "original" above and a window will open with a the photo in a larger size. Want to add some information or comment on this photo? Click on "Add new comment" above.


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Who else cringes...
Lost my one true love but he left me with a love so pure, nothing can compare!!!
Lost my one true love but he left me with a love so pure, nothing can compare!!!
p (27) + n (22) = a (5 months) + ? (due 9/21/13)
4 Angels in Heaven <3
"Who are you calling a cooty queen? You lint licker!"
I am actually sort of jealous, but I really need to loose a ton of weight and get healthy for my lo now.
My baby needs a healthy mama. I especially can't try for another one yet at this weight.
We do want to try maybe this September or a year from now.
I love my baby so much. I never thought I would have so much fun being a mom. Loving my baby like I do
I loved being pregnant. Pregnancy, delivery, and recovery were really easy for me. So I would be excited to be pregnant again, but I would not be excited to have my children so close in age.
Am I the only one who thinks 5 years is an ideal age gap? Everyone tells me that it a big gap, but it doesn't seem like that much to me. I want to give my los lots of attention when they are infants and toddlers. At 5 children are a little more independent. She'll be in school and I'll be able to enjoy some time just with the new baby during the day. Then when she gets home from school, Daddy will be home soon after, so one of us won't be alone with both kids (and therefore splitting attention) for too long. Also, she'll probably be more excited to help out with the new baby, like helping with diaper changes. That will be so cute!
Learn more
Look how far your child has come.
Review your child's growth milestones.
Read about 3 years 10 months : Week 2.
Your growing child
Your 3 3/4-year-old: Preschool comedy
Your 3 3/4-year-old: Classes for preschoolers?
Your 3 3/4-year-old: Sensory learning
Your 3 3/4-year-old: Picky eaters
Your 3 3/4-year-old: Name recognition
Learn more
What's next for your growing child?
Get a glimpse of what's to come.
Read about 4 years.


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Text Size Print
Summer 2007
From Omaha Beach to Longwood ...
Dennis Sercombe Editor
December 7, 1941 started out just like any other Sunday in America. John Cook and his family attended the Crewe Methodist Church and then returned home to enjoy a Sunday dinner together. It was only after dinner, when the family gathered around the radio, that they heard the news about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
John's father looked at him and said, "John, you will be going off to war. If you believe in this country and you think it's worth fighting for, you might as well join up." So he did.
On March 16, 1942, John joined the U.S. Army and did his basic training at Camp Lee in Petersburg. He is thankful for learning shorthand and typing at St. Joseph's Academy, a business school in St. Augustine, Fla, from which he graduated. He "volunteered" to be the stenographer to a captain, then a colonel, and then a general, picking up promotions along the way. He was then one of 30 selected from over 90,000 troops to join a special team that traveled around Virginia interviewing a wide variety of inductees: farmers, bricklayers, bankers, teachers, and others. On a normal day, they would interview, examine, and classify between 500 to 600 inductees. As the director of interviewing, John recalls, "It was very interesting to see this cross-section of Americans volunteering for the war effort – people from all walks of life."
After that special assignment, John was allowed to choose his specialty and he selected the medical corps and was assigned to the First U.S. Army General Hospital. "I didn't want to be an infantryman, and I didn't want to be in tanks, so I went for the medical corps."
In December 1943, John and his unit shipped out from Boston arriving safely in England where they were posted to North Mimms, northwest of London where they built and managed a 3,000-bed hospital. "The city of London was still being bombed daily by the Luftwaffe," John said, "and we could see the searchlights, anti-aircraft fire, and explosions from our base."
John was assigned as secretary to the adjutant and eventually worked for Commanding Officer Colonel Albright, a real regular army spit-and-polish officer. One of his job duties was to write thank-you notes for the colonel for special events and dinners he attended. "He liked my letters so much, I became a ghost writer for him – sending weekly notes to his wife, Eunice, back home," John said. "I've never met Eunice, but I like to think I kept that marriage together."
The build-up for the Normandy invasion was gaining momentum for D-Day on 6 June 1944. John recalled, "We were supposed to go over with the first wave, but due to some logistical problems, we actually arrived at Omaha Beach 12 hours into D-Day. We bivouacked in Ste Mère Eglise, the first French village to be liberated on D-Day. It was so wet and muddy, we had to cut sticks from the hedgerows to make a mat for our sleeping bags."
Once the allies broke out from Normandy it was on to liberate Paris, which had been occupied by the Germans for over four years. "It was quite a time – the French girls threw flowers and poured champagne all over us."
By now, John had been promoted to staff sergeant and the First General Hospital set up a new 3,000 bed facility in Villejuif, just outside Paris. During this time, he managed a French staff of 1,500 who helped to run the hospital by providing food service, groundskeeping, storekeeping, and other duties. Thanks to his interpreter, Eilene deRevoire, there was no language barrier.
According to records, the hospital treated over 36,000 troops and had only 23 deaths, a remarkable record considering the casualty rate. For his exemplary service in serving the French people, John was awarded the Croix de Guerre (French Cross of War) by the French government.
As the winter of 1944 approached, the Germans continued retreating eastward and many troops thought they might be home for Christmas. But in December the Germans mounted a massive counteroffensive in the Ardennes area that would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. "They caught everyone by surprise," John said. "The war was winding down and we didn't think they had it in them. We took in 7,000 casualties in 24 hours." But this last major German offensive was a last gasp for the Third Reich as the war in Europe ended in May 1945.
After the war, John came home to Crewe where he worked for the Norfolk &Western Railroad (N&W) as an administrative assistant. Later, he visited his grandmother in St. Augustine, Fla. who had promised him a new car if he would be careful and return from the war. She kept good on her promise and John was the happy owner of a new 1946 Plymouth.
It was around that time that he met "Betty" who would be a close and lifelong friend for over 60 years. Betty attended Catholic University and she convinced John to take advantage of the GI Bill and come to Washington, D.C. for college. John enrolled in Georgetown University where he planned to earn his degree and join the Foreign Service as a diplomat, but that was not to be. John did not feel like he could break into the cliquish Diplomatic Corps, so after two years, he returned to his job with N&W in Crewe.
As luck would have it, he attended a concert at Jarman Hall where he met Dean William Woodrow Savage, the first dean of the college, who convinced him that he should continue his education and earn his degree at Longwood. John remembers fondly, "I went to Longwood and loved every minute of it." What was not to like? At this time, Longwood was a girls' school. "There were 40 of us men, mostly veterans, and 600 women. We were very pleased with our reception. I actually dated three women in one day: breakfast, afternoon, and an evening date."
John remembers that the administration was very helpful to these pioneers. "The faculty had that 'Longwood Spirit' that encouraged us to succeed – we all worked very hard to get good grades." He recalls, "We were very motivated – 95 percent of us went on to have very successful careers in education, business, and other professions." In 1952, John received a B.S. in English and later earned a M.Ed. from Longwood, which paved the way for an exemplary career in guidance and counseling. In 1979, he was named the Outstanding Counselor in America by the American Counseling Association.
We would expect nothing less from a member of the Greatest Generation.
- The Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences
- From Omaha Beach to Longwood
- The Cole Challenge... Will You Accept?
- The Longwood Revolution of '76
- Longwood Men at Work
- Longwood Gentlemen Leaders in Public Education
- Sustaining Democracy in the Global Age
- Call Me Mister
- Not Your Grandmother's Library
- The Art of Giving
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Juniper Networks, the second-largest maker of networking equipment, purchased closely held Mykonos Software for $80 million in cash, adding products that bolster the security of Internet applications.
The acquisition, which closed Feb. 13, complements Juniper's existing security offerings, such as firewalls and protective systems within a corporate network, said Nawaf Bitar, general manager of Sunnyvale-based Juniper's security division.
San Francisco-based Mykonos specializes in so-called intrusion-deception techniques, which lay traps for hackers trying to infiltrate a website, such as steering them down data dead ends. The technology will improve Juniper's security products, a business where the company has struggled to compete with rivals such as Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks, said Alkesh Shah, an analyst at Evercore Partners.
"Mykonos, from what we've heard, makes very good software," Shah said in an interview.
Sales of Juniper's SRX-series security devices fell 12 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, the company said last month.
"SRX sales have not been as strong as we would have hoped," said Shah, who is based in New York. "This is a nice addition to that portfolio."
Juniper will absorb all 14 of Mykonos's employees, and Mykonos offices in San Francisco, New York City, and Rochester, N.Y., will remain intact, Bitar said in an interview.


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Shows > Suena Bien
Elis Paprika Loves What She Does - Suena Bien - Episode 5
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For SUENA BIEN, Noisey travels south to meet the best and brightest artists from Latin America.
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Elis Paprika Loves What She Does - Suena Bien - Episode 5
Guadalajara's Elis Paprika is going to die doing what she loves.
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Making Dance Music in the Third World with Dengue Dengue Dengue! - Suena Bien
Dance producers Dengue Dengue Dengue mix traditional Peruvian cumbia with EDM elements and punk influences.
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You don't need a translation to understand the music.


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Manufacturing text plates for rubber stamps
Rubber engraving using Trotec laser engraving machines is easy and fast. With our laser engraving machines, you can produce rubber stamps with text, logos, or even pictures. In addition, we offer you the Multi Color Jet, which can be used for automatic production of multi-color rubber stamps.
Suitable rubber types for laser engraving:
How does laser engraving of rubber work?For laser engraving rubber stamps, the text must be mirrored and inverted. This is done automatically by Trotec JobControl. And using the JobCreator, type-setting for the rubber stamp is even easier.
What needs to be observed when engraving rubber stamps?Laser engraving rubber for rubber stamps produces a great amount of dust. This dust must be extracted and filtered reliably and efficiently by an exhaust system. In addition, all dust-sensitive components, above all the lens, the mirrors, the electronics, motors and axes, must be protected from dust. Trotec laser systems have been perfectly designed for engraving rubber. Trotec's InPack Technology ensures low-maintenance operation over many years.
What types of laser rubber are available?Trotec offers a wide range of rubbers for rubber stamp production. Odorless or ecological rubbers, oil-resistant stamp rubbers, or micro-porous foam.
Is it also possible to cut laser rubber with the laser?Absolutely! The Trotec JobControl laser software offers various options for automatic cutting out: round, square, or optimized. On request, it is also possible to cut webs, in which case the cutting lines are interrupted at defined points.
What other materials can I work on?A CO2-laser can be used for engraving or etching a wide range of other materials, such as wood, glass, rubber, acrylic and plexiglass, plastics, leather, paper, textiles or foams.
Contact us if you require more information on laser engraving of stamp rubber.