text:
Larry Pickering
Four-time Walkley Award winning political commentator and Churchill Fellow, has returned to the fray over concern that the integrity of news dissemination is continually being threatened by a partisan media.
Can Abbott again lead this nation? The answer is no, as those who once stood behind him have predictably gone to water and looked to secure their seats instead. But the Left is now in the minority. They don't know that of course, they still believe they are safely installed as the world's social conscience. But the greatest threat to the majority Right is exactly what Trump is now experiencing... the Left's failure to accept a democratic election result. They will do that here too, when the time comes.
The other question is, can Turnbull continue to lead this nation? The answer is also a definitive no, as he relies on infected Agencies to support him... the public does not support him, he knows that, but he doesn't care as long as he can cling to the Prime Ministership, assisted by an unelectable Shorten.
The Left media is determined to destroy Trump as surely as our media paved the way for Abbott's knifing by his deputy. Every other Conservative leader will suffer media's determination to maintain a socialist Left ideology that encourages Islam instead of destroying it.
So why, you might ask, would anyone with an IQ above their boot size encourage Islam? That's an easy answer. Because Muslims move to countries with the most generous welfare systems, they congregate in Left electorates where they can infect and influence our political decisions to their advantage, all in the shadow of ugly mosques where Imams plot our demise.
We will have our Geert Wilders or Marine Le Pen as surely as the Americans got their Trump. The time has arrived.
The Hollandes and Merkels are dying in their ideological caves and, who knows, Pauline Hanson and Cory Bernardi are already knocking on the door. But Abbott is now suffering financial and personal deprivation and is not with them in the queue.
Turnbull should have given him Defence or Education when they became available to secure Cabinet solidarity and keep him from sniping.
Instead Turnbull opted to depend on the biased media to shoot down the hated Abbott whenever he raised his unusual head. They certainly gleefully did that.
Abbott's biggest mistake as PM was that he never fought back. His mortal sins included biting an onion, criticising Gillard and winking at another bloke, so how can a PM survive such media hatred? Well, Trump is surviving it because he fights back, he calls these bastards out, he publicly demeans them, causing their companies to suffer financially and them to suffer vocationally as correspondents.
Our next PM will need to do the same. He/she will also need to purge the enemies within the Public Service. Our Agencies are chock-a-block with a succession of over-promoted Lefties who were promoted by other over-promoted Lefties over decades.
It will take Trump six months to drain the swamp of the entrenched traitors within, and it will take our next PM longer, as we tend to keep the PS and Agency Heads in place with regulatory appointments, stupidly believing they will recite, "The King is dead, long live the King." Nup, it's not like that, they don't believe in the monarchy.
The ABC must go... it's irreparable and beyond reform. The BOM and CSIRO have been infiltrated for too long, they worship the Golden Idol of global warming. All six security Agencies desperately need reform along with Defence Chiefs who ignore the Islamic threat and prefer to transgender their soldiers for free rather than train them.
A nice person but you paid for the transgendering
(So if you feel like a sheila, or if you're a sheila and feel like a bloke, and you don't have a spare million, for Christ's sake join the armed services first.) In the meantime you can use the military toilet of your choice, regardless of your genitalia.
Peta twigged to what Julie was up to, and an alert Abbott should have
We will have our Trump! But he/she will need to be tougher than Abbott who backed away from 18C and courted the women's vote with a crazy PPL. He left the tough in-house stuff to Peta Credlin who had no authority outside the PMO. He trusted the Stick Insect and allowed the media to run all over him... and he was a mediocre Parliamentary performer.
He was given six months to get his act together but he failed and the inevitable spill followed.
Despite his landslide election victory, no politician should have three chances. And the brilliance of his 2013 victory was tempered with a hopeless Rudd as an opponent.
No, we Conservatives must look to a bright light other than Abbott to lead us out of the Green/Labor valley of death,
... but once there, the real fight begins!


text:
The king is coming to Sheffield.
Direct from London's West End, The World Famous Elvis Show is at the City Hall on September 24.
The show stars Chris Connor, who has just been voted the best Elvis performer in the world right now.
The award was endorsed by Joe Espisito, Elvis' friend and manager, who said: "Wow that boy is good, he looks like Elvis, with the same energy."
As well as Chris Connor, The World Famous Elvis Show features the live energetic 13-piece band The Steels and the backing vocal group Sweet Harmonies.
The show respectively and authentically recreates Elvis at his very best and leaves audiences feeling like they've been transported back in to time.
There was only one Elvis Presley, but fans all around the world are talking about Chris Connor.
As Martin Fontaine, a performer in The Elvis Story in Canada, put it: "Chris Connor is to me the closest thing to the king I've ever heard and ever seen in my life. I'm in shock, it's simply amazing."
The show in Sheffield features live screening and video projection, authentic lighting and sound.
The show starts at 8pm and tickets are available on 0114278 9789 or www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I wanted to take this moment to invite readers and bloggers from the Philippines to the Little Lit Festival. Here's the deets:
On May 30-31, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) will organize the first NBDB's Little Lit Fest at the Museo Pambata, an international gathering of content creators and producers with parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone interested in quality books for children.
NBDB spearheads this festival, the first of its kind in the Philippines, to respond to a growing market demand for new and exciting content for children and young adult readers. We have invited international authors and editors coming from diverse cultural backgrounds to join Philippine authors in conversations about literature and the writing craft.
The two-day festival, which will be held at the Museo Pambata at Roxas Boulevard cor. South Drive, Manila, hopes to attract book and literature enthusiasts, teachers, students, librarians, publishers, and authors from all over the country. It will also include panel discussions, workshops, a book and craft fair, exhibits, and performances.
Speaking of panel discussions, I'm a part of one! Here's the deets for that:
Date & Time
31 May 2013,
Environment Room
The reading and writing life
YA writers will meet with teachers and parents to talk about the importance of reading and their creative processes.
I will be joined by:
MINA V. ESGUERRA writes contemporary romance, young adult, and new adult novellas. Her young adult/fantasy trilogy Interim Goddess of Love is a college love story featuring gods from Philippine mythology. Her contemporary romance novella Fairy Tale Fail won the 2012 Filipino Readers' Choice award for Chick Lit. Through her blog Publishing in Pajamas (minavesguerra.com), she documents her experiments in e-publishing. When not writing romance, she is president of communications firm Bronze Age Media, development communication consultant, indie publisher, professional editor, wife, and mother. She created the workshop series "Author at Once" for writers and publishers, and she currently runs a free online Contemporary Romance Novella writing class on Facebook.
FLOR MARIE STA. ROMANA-CRUZ is a freelance journalist, educator, book reviewer, children's book writer, and Chair of the National Book Development Board. She was a longstanding faculty member of International School Manila until her retirement. She was former chair of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People. She continues to be a reading advocate today as trustee and trainer of the Teach for the Philippines Foundation (formerly the Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation) and the Department of Education's Library Hub which dreams of building a nation through reading promotion programs in public schools. She writes a column on literacy and education for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and writes occasional reviews.
I hope you can come! It's gonna be really fun.
On the same day, I will have a table at the Exhibition and will be selling copies of Taste and Reaping Me Softly. If you'd like to meet me in person and have me sign your books, I will be at the festival by 1pm. I have amazing swag to giveaway at my table, so please be sure to come and visit with me. Say a quick hello. Let's take pictures. Grab a book or two.
See you there!


text: My fuse blew, and I asked if the engineers knew why. I just got an email back from them referring me to this page, which is probably brand new Temporary Charging Limitation | Tesla Motors TEMPORARY CHARGING LIMITATION Recommended Maximum Power (60A, 15kW) Thank you for purchasing a High Power Wall Connector and twin-chargers for your Model S. This combination enables the fastest home charging possible. However, we recently found an issue with our High Power Wall Connector that causes us to recommend you limit charging to 60A or lower to prevent nuisance fuse trips. We know this partially defeats our efforts and yours to enable very fast charging, especially those of you who invested in a full 80A-capable home installation. We are very passionate about charging fast and enabling a great experience, so please accept our apologies for this problem. We are working as fast as possible to repair this and enable the full 80A charging you were promised using a Tesla High Power Wall Connector. Is it safe? Yes. This issue is does not compromise the unit's safety in any way. Why is it limited? The internal fuses in the Wall Connector are too sensitive to small disturbances on the utility voltage. These fuses may falsely trip when nothing has gone wrong with the connector or vehicle, much like a household outlet that trips while using a hair dryer. Should a fuse trip, the unit will shut off and the car will not complete its charge. As a result, we're recommending you limit charging from a Wall Connector to 60A to ensure that your charge completes as planned. The vehicle itself is still capable of charging at 80A without any problems and you can do this at any other high-powered infrastructure (including all Superchargers) without any concerns. This issue is limited to High Power Wall Connectors operating at over 60A of current. When will it be fixed? By or before June 2013, at no cost. We will work with you and/or your wall-connector installer to upgrade your wall connector as quickly as possible. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and are working as fast as we can to get your wall connector back to all that the original specification promised.


text:
Welcome To Simply Medical
Simply Medical offers a wide variety of medical supplies and home care products, including incontinence supplies, mobility aids, bathroom aids, disability aids, daily aids, and wound care products. It's our mission to provide our customers with quality, competitively priced home health care products with dedicated customer support, home delivery and free return options to make buying medical supplies simple and easy. Simply Medical: medical supply ordering made simple. Simply Convenient, Simply Delivered.
Top Categories


text:
Next stop: chez les Bouchers, whose little country estate, named Balou, could be found (eventually) clinging to a mountaintop in Barnas par Thueyts. But to get there, I would need nerves of steel, a good pair of sprinting shoes, and a patient bladder.
You remember Eskia and the window washer, and the five-kid obstacle course Catherine and I navigated to the train station? That was only the beginning...
We arrived at the train station only to discover that all trains to the interior had been cancelled due to construction. Ah bon.
I could get a bus to a train in the interior, and then a bus from the train to the more interior interior. The line for bus tickets wove out the door, and I looked at the time: we had 6 min.
Catherine shoved me in one direction, charged Rachelle with helping me with the luggage, and stormed off to buy tickets, calling over her shoulder, "Head for Track F!"
On Track F, a shuttle train sat quietly, and empty. Hmm...in a transportation crisis, an empty means of transportation was never a good sign. As the French would say, "One train can hide another."
Was a shuttle train the same thing as a train, and therefore not running? Or the provisional transportation for the real trains that weren't running? I got in. I got out. I got back in. There weren't supposed to be any trains. Did a shuttle count as a train?! I had a few more seconds to crack the code.
"What do you think, Rachelle?" Although I wouldn't normally count on an 11-yr-old to bail me out, she was French, and well, any port in a storm. She stared blankly at me and the shuttle, sweat pouring down her sweet little face, and shrugged.
Just then Catherine sprinted up the stairwell, waving a ticket. She looked at the train, or shuttle, and stopped dead.
"Where's the bus?"
"I don't know - you don't think this is some kind of shuttle?"
She studied the departure screen - "NO! Get off!"
I jumped, and as I did, we spotted a bus behind us, pulling out--headed for my destination. Waving and shouting, we signaled the bus driver, along with others running with us, waving tickets. He ignored us all, and a chorus of curses exploded as he picked up speed. Moans and groans, wailing and gnashing of teeth...
Cell phones popped out all around, and I asked Catherine for hers--time to let the Bouchers know I had missed my train...


text:
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
From Our House to Yours
Wishing all my favorite "invisible" people a very
Merry Christmas
and all the best in the
New Year!
Knowing y'all is a present itself.
And no...there is no Egg Nog at our house,
no matter what Bou looks like.
And yes Sav, that is his favorite toy: the Christmas Possum.
And yes Sav, that is his favorite toy: the Christmas Possum.
Posted by hope at 12:13 PM 4 comments:
Saturday, December 20, 2014
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
If you're looking for something philosophical or deep...not today. No, today I bring you our family's silliest tradition.
The Egg.
Mom was a kindergarten teacher and she use to get some um....unusual gifts. Every year we would single out the most "special" of the bunch, to see if we agreed. That worked for years, until a new neighbor, not familiar with the southern tradition of Welcome-To-The-Neighborhood Basket. This tradition probably isn't as common now, what with people so leery of those they don't know. I do remember when I was a kid Mom taking a plate of cookies to a new neighbor from "up north". The woman answered the door, said she didn't want to buy anything and shut the door. Undeterred, Mom rang the bell again and began welcoming the woman to the neighborhood. Amazingly they became best friends.
Okay, I digress. Again.
So the newest neighbor obviously felt the need to hand over something in return since it was Christmas. Her gift choice was voted unanimously the weirdest thing ever....a ceramic, fried egg spoon rest.
I must've laughed longest because I received it for my birthday the next month, with the note it was a "egg-specially" for me.
And so the silliness began, the egg circulated randomly, usually when least expected. Over the years the box has been changed because before the recipient can open it up, everyone else is laughing and yelling, "The Egg!" I typed up all the old answers, as a word is not suppose to be used twice, and put it in a book. With extra blank pages to fill in, the book now circulates with the egg.
No one is immune. Mom even shipped it out of state one year to one of my siblings, thinking that was the end of it. It came back to her...on Mother's Day.
I gave it to my nephew when he was a month old, noting, "You may be new around here, but you are not Egg-empt from receiving this gift."
I ended up with it last, so it's my turn to share. Who? I'm not telling. But I was shocked to realize we've been doing this for 20 years!
Guess there are worse traditions.
Posted by hope at 5:40 PM 2 comments:
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
What? You Don't Want More Videos?
Wondering why I've posted videos instead of my own words lately? (Although the Home Free video is worth the viewing!)
Well my "dumb" move recently turned into something not so fun. The pot I thought I turned down, I turned up. (Old stove at work with hard to read knobs from the 1970s). I pushed the pot off the burner. Right thing to do. Then, without thinking, I reached across the pot to turn off the burner with my LEFT arm. For someone who is right handed, I do a lot of stuff with my left hand.
Later on my arm stung. It was irritated. And it probably didn't help that an hour after the burn one of my seniors tripped and fell outside. After ascertaining she was okay, a couple of us helped her up. Unfortunately for me, I grabbed her stronger side and she used all 5'1" of me like a bar to pull up her big boned 5'9" frame. The next day my arm hurt like every muscle had been ripped out of the socket but I figured time heals all wounds, right?
Until later in the week, when my "burn" began to turn into a rash which was quickly skipping down my left arm, leaving a trail as it went. Yep, the price of stupid?
Fortunately it's only my left arm/hand but the blisters on my hand are the WORST in the pain department, making it difficult to type. This took me about four times longer than usual to put on the screen.
So I'm taking it easy...if you can do that while trying not to nag one's Hubby into not overdoing it on the 2nd new knee. So how do we stay "normal" and not blue?
The dog has no problems reminding us who feeds him. That would be me. And His Grace is giving me that look again.
Posted by hope at 3:56 PM 2 comments:
Friday, December 5, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
Confused Cactus
My Mom-in-law had a Christmas Cactus that had grown too large for her to handle so it came to live in my office last year. It bloomed while I was on Christmas vacation but I got an idea of what it would look like when a couple of flowers opened before I left.
I have to keep telling the seniors, "No, I'm sorry you can't have a piece of this. If I did, I'd have nothing left but the pot!" They aren't happy but they are impressed with the plant.
So was I until this weekend....
when the danged thing decided it wanted to be a Thanksgiving cactus!
I told my Mom-in-law and she said not to worry, it will bloom again.
On Mother's Day.
I'll keep you posted.
Posted by hope at 7:22 PM No comments:
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sometimes shopping can be helpful
When you do your Holiday shopping at AmazonSmile,
Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price
to Crossroads Wounded Warrior Archery Foundation.
Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/45-5035892
and support us every time you shop.
Posted by hope at 10:02 AM No comments:
Monday, November 17, 2014
How Do You Spell Stubborn?
On Aug. 28th, he had his right knee replaced. Physical therapy was quite the eye opener. And I had to remember to quit referring to it as "Rehab". Hubby said people were looking at him funny, as if he had a drug or alcohol problem. Weird how definitions change over the years.
On Nov. 10th, he had the left knee replaced. Hubby decided I only needed to take off the first week, not 12 days like previously. As a joke I got him a Superman shirt to wear at the hospital. Seems he took it to heart. He was doing so well with therapy all the nursing staff were impressed and very nice this time...which wasn't the case last time. He put on the Superman shirt to sleep in that last night in the hospital and everyone thought it was funny...
....except the night nurse. Nurse Ratchet told him to prove it. He did, finally silencing the one bad experience this trip.
The last morning his nurse, who loved food and pointed out food commercials on t.v. to ask if I'd tried the restaurants being advertised, had his discharge papers in hand. One last round with PT that morning and he was ready to go. Naturally, for the first time all week, PT was late because one of his two therapists was in training and her Supervisor was coming that day for their rounds. In fact the PT pair had walked past the room right after I got there. I overheard the older one telling the rookie, "Nothing to worry about. We've got a couple of star patients to make us look good," and nodded at Hubby's room.
An hour later, Hubby was literally pacing the halls with a walker, ready to go. As he made a circuit around the hall, I talked with the PT he'd had the first day, who wanted to know why he was pacing. I explained to her what the hold up was as he approached again.
"Go that way and yell at me when you come back," she said, pointing at a hall which would allow her to see his gait. As he passed the Nurses Station for the 3rd time I heard a giggling chorus of, "Go home! You don't need to be here," as he approached. The PT was startled when he returned so quickly. Shaking her head and smiling, she told me to go get the car and told the nurse to grab a wheelchair to get him downstairs as she was signing off on him.
When I got to the front door of the hospital, Hubby was standing at the front door with the walker and a nurse who seemed to be in shock. She told us he'd made history: he was the only knee surgery patient who had ever WALKED out of the hospital.
I got him home Thursday: 4 days post-op. I had to all but tie him to the chair, even with the pain and swelling. He hobbled out to his shop on Friday and Saturday for an hour or two, even though his buddy was handling things for him. On Sunday, he advised he had cabin fever and was going hunting with that same buddy, but promised he'd stay in the truck and just wait. Just being outside was good enough, he said.
Hubby was a man of his word and stayed in the truck....where he shot an 8 point buck while his "hunting partner" didn't even see a deer. I tried not to lecture and swallowed "I told you so" when his leg swelled that afternoon. And what was the only thing Superman had to say about all this?
"I would like to have been a fly on the wall when my two PTs came to my room...and found it empty. Wonder how they explained that to the Supervisor?"
My guess is they took the credit. The truth is, stubborn can be applied for good...Hubby has worked hard to get those knees working. I went back to work today and I just hope that Superman didn't fly around too much in my absence. Wonder if they sell kryptonite at the pharmacy?
It's true: you can't keep a good man down. :)
Posted by hope at 12:30 PM 4 comments:
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
Happy Halloween
Smokey may be dearly departed,
but this shot on the Shop's calendar
has always been a customer favorite....
which is why it keeps cropping up
even though ol' Smoke's been gone a couple of years.
Posted by hope at 3:09 PM No comments:
Thursday, October 23, 2014
There's Retired....and then there's...
...retired with too much time on your hands. Which is what I learned yesterday.
The senior citizens at my Center love jigsaw puzzles. In fact, we keep one going on a special table year round. Those puzzles can get expensive, so we've developed a system with a couple of our folks where puzzles are shared. This allows one puzzle to be used multiple times, until we can all afford to buy a new one.
The latest is a true challenge: a collage of the American Flag made up of individual photos.
Years ago I discovered you can't just put a puzzle on the table. The box goes ignored. Even putting the pieces out...nothing. The only way to grab their interest, is to build the "frame" of the puzzle. For some reason this lures folks over to start putting in pieces. So yesterday I put the new puzzle on the table, flipping pieces over and sorting the frame edges. Then something odd caught my eye.
Whoever donated this puzzle had WAY too much time on their hands.
Because after the puzzle was done,
he/she had flipped it over
numbered all the pieces!
(I'm hoping none of my puzzle workers figure that out.)
Posted by hope at 10:37 AM 1 comment:
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Sunday in the South
A couple of weeks ago I shared photos of the small cotton field
outside my office window.
Before you can pick cotton, you have to defoliate.
They did that last week...and for the record, it stinks.
Now it truly looks like a popcorn field.
I used this photo as an illustration of how the "other farmer" doesn't do his job.
The white strip is cotton,
the middle is the "other guy's" soy bean field filled with pigweed
which has spread to the cotton field.
The third green field in the background belongs to a third farmer
who yesterday had a crew outside plucking pigweed out of it by hand.
Now it really does look like popcorn.
That "nut" like object on the left is a cotton bole which hasn't yet opened. They'll be picking soon.
The "other farmer's" corn field.
It grew up so bad in weeds no one could get a combine in to pick it.
The deer and birds, however, will benefit.
(Same with the soy bean field, which is an ode to Dog fennel and Ragweed).
Here it is almost the end of October and it's 70 degrees today. (21 C)
No wonder my flowers are confused.
The Gardenia has started blooming again.
Begonia and Hibiscus on front porch
Even that Halloween pumpkin looks out of place next to the Begonia.
Yes, that's an old wood stove as the planter.
The only sign that Fall is really on the way is
the Old Gal out front has started tossing out pecans.
Looks like a Pecan Growth chart:
Green hull which hangs from tree (unless wind blows hard like today!)
Dark brown hull, usually hangs from tree and nut drops from it
but again, wind can change that.
And the lovely final product...
which both our mothers consider a better gift to receive than gold.
Bringing pecans to them already shelled gets us a gold star.
And Bou says all will be right in the world
when he goes to the Vet tomorrow to get the bandages off his ear!
Have a good week!
Posted by hope at 1:44 PM No comments:
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
Last crop of summer
Outside my home office window is a small strip of cotton field. Small, because our young neighbor, who farms for his uncle, wanted to add some crops of his own. So while 2 acres may seem like nothing to most farmers, he's managing to gather a few extra acres around the neighborhood for some extra cash...because there's a little bundle of baby boy expected in December. He's a good young farmer and had I included a shot of the rest of the field, that another neighbor "manages" (he plants seeds and thinks God should take care of the rest) you'd see the difference in work ethic.
As a kid, I called them "Popcorn fields" because all that fluffy whiteness looked like popcorn. That might've not set well with my ancestors, who were farmers, but they'd forgive me because I too enjoy warm earth and planting. I actually found a newspaper article concerning my 2x Great Grandmother's 81st birthday which included,"She is not only able to do quite a good deal of work around the house, but still enjoys the activity of field work. Last year she picked cotton with her grandchildren- and rarely ever picked under 100 pounds a day. This is wonderful considering her advanced age."
Wow! You go Great Grandma!
Some weeds, like pig weed, have grown resistant to herbicides and farmers have actually gone back to having workers go into the field and pluck it out by hand. My young neighbor did so this summer and that 2 acres is the only spot in a 30+ acre field without 5 foot high weeds. (Take note, older farmer who thinks he's done when the seed goes in the ground). Which is why I was so surprised to see something else in his field this morning.
Morning Glories.
Not many, just a small patch in purple, pink and a few miniatures in baby blue on the edge of the field. But instead of weeds, they look like exclamation points on a more well tended field.
Now before someone points out weeds,
that was grass along the edge of the border dividing field and lawn.
He's good, not perfect.
And so with such lovely color available,
I took advantage of Bou the dog following me and snapped a few shots.
(That's my "crop" of yellow Lantana, planted inside an old tractor tire).
After all, it's almost Christmas calendar season,
and my 4 legged Pin Up only has so much patience with posing.
But after watching me snaps shot of cotton,
he wasn't suspicious when I invited him to sit down.
Y'all have a great weekend!
Posted by hope at 3:09 PM 6 comments:
Saturday, September 27, 2014
It's so quiet around here.
I know tis the season of school, football and,
if retailers are to be trusted (ha!)
the holidays...
which aren't yet around the corner but are appearing on shelves anyway.
Just sticking my head in the door to check on y'all.
Hubby's knee is healing nicely and he believes he can convince the
Doctor when we meet on Thursday,
that the other knee needs to be done soon...
as in before HIS surgeon has his own knee replacement in December.
As you were.
Just know that you're missed.
What? I am NOT trying to make you feel guilty.
I just miss y'all's presence.
(And Chef, I'm getting hungry!)
Posted by hope at 4:06 PM 4 comments:
Sunday, September 21, 2014
25 Years Ago Today...
...Mother Nature proved that hurricanes DO NOT stick to coastlines.
25 years ago today, the gentleman in this photo asked if I could come across the street and help answer phones. I knew him from years before, when I was a Radio Dispatcher for the State Police and he was a Sheriff's Deputy. I remember him saying, "You can handle telephones, the public and work well under pressure. I could use that right now." It was the first week after his secretary's husband had been transferred and he was the only one in the department we then called Civil Defense. I received permission to assist this other county government department and went to help man the phones at 10:00 a.m. that Thursday morning. There were 3 old fashion phones, one line each, with no hold button. The head of Maintenance and I answered them for the first couple of hours until he and the Civil Defense head had to leave for a while. At the height of the storm, you had to put your hand on top of the phone to know which one was ringing. After a while, they all rang at the same time anyway. I began answering one, asking the person to hold on, answered the second, then asked both parties if they could hear me. If they wanted basic info, I told them at the same time. If one had an emergency, the other caller graciously sat through a one sided conversation until it was his/her turn. This went on for hours.
The next thing I knew, it was Friday morning and Hurricane Hugo had blown through, turning my hometown into a photo copy of a war zone.
Months later, I witnessed the oddest thing. People jumped when the wind picked up or turned pale if it howled around a corner prior to a thunderstorm. It took me a while to put two and two together and understand their reactions were connected to memories of Hugo. So why didn't it bother me? After all, at one point I was the lone female in that room, surrounded by law enforcement as we all dealt with something none of us had ever experienced. I was torn because Hubby was at home and had begged me to stay put because I was in probably the safest place in the County. I can still hear Maj. Holloway of the National Guard reporting for duty in a voice so deep it came from the bottom of his boots...and it was oddly comforting. Why wasn't I as shell shocked as my community?
Civil Defense was in the basement of the Courthouse. Until the height of the storm, when wind howled around the building for two minutes, we never heard a sound.
Posted by hope at 10:09 AM 2 comments:
Saturday, September 20, 2014
He Came From Scotland
I think perhaps it's only human nature to "romanticize" a culture you admire but don't truly know enough about. As a teenager I loved listening to Sean Connery speak, yet found it funny when women swooned over his James Bond's "sexy British accent". Um, that's not British. It's Scottish. I remember thinking, "Why can't they hear the difference?"
I've always loved accents. I don't know if it's the part of my brain which is creative and likes to write, or if I was lucky to be born with "a good ear"... hearing what some people miss. And what I hear stays with me. Hubby says he can always tell when the British Wives' group has been at the Center because I'll use "lovey" or "Brilliant!", phrases foreign in my daily speech. In that group is a lady from Ireland and two from Scotland. Interacting with the first one has me substituting "wee" for small for the rest of the day. My Scottish ladies and I have an interesting relationship due to my never ceasing curiosity. One is 90 years old, with a twinkle in her eye and a quick wit who likes to give hugs while telling me what a joy it is to see me. No one else greets me like that. The second, closer to my mother's age, was the one I sought out for a "translation". I was reading a poem written as the Scottish speak (oh don't even go there about whether that's an actual language, lest you start an argument amongst the locals). I asked for a definition of a few words I THOUGHT I understood, but wasn't sure. She began reading the poem aloud, stopping occasionally to offer an explanation she thought was needed. Yet as soon as she began to read, suddenly the words my eyes weren't sure of, my ears embraced. Hearing them made the meaning clear. Thrilled, I jumped in to offer a definition in mid sentence, making her pause and beam because I'd gotten it right. Finished, she gazed at me with a perplexed expression and asked,"You understood what I just read?"
I replied, "I do now. Because YOU read it. YOU made it come alive for me."
Thinking I was merely being polite, she questioned, "But you understood WHAT I was saying?" After my enthusiastic "Yes!", she shook her head and added, "I've been married to my husband (an American) for 20 years and his family still can't understand me. But you do. You actually do. How?"
"I listened," was my reply.
Yet the truth was deeper. I didn't tell her why. Maybe I should have. But how do you explain your love of her native tongue originated when you were ten and a kind Scotsman named Paul took the time to listen. To me.
In the South of my youth, children were raised to be quietly polite: speak when spoken to, otherwise let the adults talk while you listened and learned. I was a shy child, so only offering, "No Sir" or "Yes Ma'am" wasn't all that difficult. Shy children, however, learn a lot while listening to everyone else talk.
Raised a Baptist, the church we attended had an annual "Revival". For those not familiar, it was a chance for a preacher from another town to come in and, for a week, share with you familiar stories from the Bible. But since he wasn't the man you listened to every Sunday, often his telling of the tales made more of an impact. There was one young preacher the youth liked because he didn't talk over our heads to the adults, he spoke in a manner everyone understood. Plus he didn't yell or thump his Bible which frankly, is rather terrifying to a kid...especially one with a vivid imagination who has created a pretty horrifying mental image of the Devil already without outsider assistance.
The year I was ten, this visiting preacher brought a friend named Paul, from Scotland. For a little southern kid, the accent alone was a treat. To this day, I can still see him. Tall and broad shouldered, with hair dark as coal and the bluest eyes. His smile was genuine and his laugh as deeply joyful as his voice. He gave a lesson to our group prior to the main service, encouraging all of our questions, most of which had nothing to do with the lesson. There was something so warm and caring about him. As the last four of began to leave, he noted that my little wool tartan skirt made him a bit homesick. And that's when something odd happened to shy little me.
Amazed that an adult would admit such a thing I blurted out, "We learned to do the Highland Fling at school this year."
Most adults would've said "That's nice", before hurrying the child along so he wouldn't be late. Instead, without even looking at his watch, Paul sat back down and asked sincerely, "Would you show me?"
I should've been embarrassed and refused. That what shy kids do, after all. Funny what happens when an adult takes the time to make a request instead of a demand. As Paul began to whistle the very tune I'd learned to dance to, my feet began to move. He merrily clapped the beat, cheering me on and applauding when I was done, telling me it was the finest Highland Fling he'd ever seen. The other kids my age looked stunned. I should've been. But all I could hear was his softly uttered, "Thank you". Never have two words sounded so heartfelt or exotically loving.
The year was 1969 and things in the South were still racially charged. At that evening's service, three young military men from the local Base came into the service at the last minute. All were in uniform and quietly sat on the back row. The soldier in the middle was black. The good church people gasped, because churches were not integrated then. One of the Deacons asked the man to leave while another called the Police. I will never forget the eerie sight of blue lights flashing through the stained glass windows. Or the feeling that it was wrong to ask the man to go, which he did respectfully and with no complaint. His friends followed him out. It made me feel awful.
And then Paul spoke from the pulpit. Many preachers would've pretended that what had just happened hadn't happened. Paul had given apples to the congregation to share with others, just as, he stated, God had shared his word with us. In a clear voice, he said, "I want you to stand now and leave in silence. And as you walk out the door in silence, remember that God loves all of his children." The congregation rose and filed out. No one spoke a word. On one hand the silence was unsettling, because the adults all had odd looks on their faces. As an adult, I now know that look was guilt. It was the first time I understood you could lovingly admire a stranger for doing the right thing, for the right reason. The greatest sermon I ever heard was Paul's last sentence, spoken softly, without anger, but with evident disappointment. Yet my brain clung to the sound of a Scotsman saying God loved me, no matter what.
I never saw Paul again. But he made a lasting impression on what it means to be truly kind and caring and compassionate. He chose to stop for a few moments and make me feel worthy as a child. Along the way, a Scottish accent became entwined with loving kindness until they were one and the same.
I often wondered if Paul was the reason I wanted to find someone Scottish in my family tree. Was he the reason I was inexplicably drawn to the "Isle of Skye"? Had I lumped little girl memories of an emotional night onto a foreign country and tied them together with a Scottish accent?
Who knows? But I have discovered that one of my Irish ancestors originally came to Ireland from Scotland. Where in Scotland?
The Isle of Skye.
Posted by hope at 8:00 PM 2 comments:
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Dear Scotland
Wishing you the best today as you decide on your future.
No matter what you decide,
you are a strong people
who will always have my respect.
Posted by hope at 12:51 PM 6 comments:
Friday, September 12, 2014
My stat page just showed that I have made 911 posts...
as of 9/11.
Leaving you with today's thought.
Posted by hope at 3:02 PM 3 comments:
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
First, Do No Harm
While Hubby's surgeon was great at understanding this, I fear the majority of the medical staff we encountered after surgery were not familiar with the concept. I understand those folks have a difficult job to do, but it's not easy to remember that when they keep telling you to get some rest...then take turns waking you up every 2 hours to "check" something.
It wasn't the nurses who were the problem, (well, except for the chubby chick we dubbed "Nurse Ratchet" who'd had her personality/ability to care surgically removed). No, it was all the "Specialists". The surgeon came by the afternoon and morning after the surgery, then advised with a sigh, that he'd done his job and Hubby would have to deal with, "The others". Sounded like a bad horror movie title... which wasn't far from the truth.
From taking blood to checking for skin breakdown (a mere 10 hours after surgery) and rotating physical therapists with contradictory advice, there was the introduction of the newest medical fad: "The Hospitalist". Interesting concept. Take a physician who doesn't have a private practice, let them do a history on the patient, then check in from time to time to insure he/she is still breathing. Because even though the Hospitalist is a full fledged physician, another "Doctor" on call decided on the meds. When Hubby mentioned his recent trip to Africa, it's a good thing I was in the room. I have to wonder about medicine when the spouse has to volunteer the trip's location was nowhere near the Ebola outbreak, because the Hospitalist was more interested in the animals which were seen. Her reply to my information? "Oh. Well, I guess that's good to know."
Hubby's personal physician came by the next morning and informed him with a grin,"Your chart is an interesting read. Besides your total knee replacement, they noted you hunt in Africa."
But of all the future billings we will receive, there will be one from a "doctor" whose name I still don't know. Probably because she never came any closer than one foot inside the door. She did announce her name and rank among the medical experts, but she never laid a hand on Hubby. In fact, she didn't even get close to him until the day of his discharge when he challenged her observation that he needed a CAT scan. He inquired as to why, she stated she didn't like that his oxygen level went down the night before. I wasn't there, but I can just hear Hubby telling her through gritted teeth that the level barely dropped and it was because he hadn't gotten more than 2 hours sleep there in 4 days! She said he might have a pulmonary embolism, which is life threatening. Hubby shot back that he had none of the symptoms and again questioned it. She listened to his chest and when he asked Doctor Who? if there was a problem, she merely walked out. An hour later the test was canceled. Two hours later I was taking Hubby home.
He's not exactly comfortable yet, but it's only been a week since surgery and today was Day 3 of outpatient physical therapy, which continues through early October. His personal physician, who's also an archery customer, called us the first day home to see why the CT scan was canceled...and agreed with Hubby that in this case, it was medical overkill. If the doctor had truly been concerned, a simple blood test would've made the determination.
So you may not hear much from me, but I'm still reading what you're up to. It's a long road ahead, but I hear in the long run he'll be glad he did this. Which is good...since he needs to have the other knee done as well.
Thanks for good thoughts and appeals to whatever you believe in to keep my patience level appropriate.
Posted by hope at 3:51 PM 4 comments:
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
For Our Irish Singer
It's been a weird couple of days. Hubby and I've been to several doctors' appointments leading up to his knee surgery. It's one of those moments in life when you know it'll all work out, but you feel bad that your Beloved is going to feel lousy before he feels better. But he's ready for it, so I have to be too.
Then talk turned yesterday to two of our senior citizens who are in nursing homes and who have, quite frankly, decided enough is enough. One is 90 and just had a massive stroke, the other is 98 and sliding downhill much too slowly as she sees it. It's hard to acknowledge that these two people I've known for almost 20 years might shuffle off while I'm gone. Then I remind myself of what they've shared with me...and that's a wonderful gift.
But when I got home, I discovered our much loved Irish Singer has had enough with the Internet highway. I don't blame him. When you have days that you begin to yell at the screen,"There can't BE this many stupid people!" it's time to take a break from the invisible people with the loud opinions. Although it was with a heavy heart that I acknowledged his message with one of understanding, he didn't sever all ties. He gave us a way to stay in touch. A lovely, old fashion way which will guarantee that he hasn't heard the last of me.
Funny how we take things for granted. This morning I noticed that my work calendar has a motivational saying at the top of each week. Now I've had this thing since July 2013. I've just ignored the writing on the top thinking it was probably trying to sell me something...or remind me to reorder a refill for the fancy book where it resides. Today I discovered it had a message for me and me Irish Pal:
"The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance.
Proceed, and light will dawn and shine
Proceed, and light will dawn and shine
with increasing clearness on your path."
Hmmm. And I've been thinking about my path lately. I have a direction in mind, but no map. Which made me grin...cause I have a friend named Map. And the card I received Monday was the first thing I thought of when he advised he was flying away.
Just remember Friend, your other wing is in the South...and it's sister is further south...and north towards Canada. After all, that birds of a feather thing must have some truth to it. Take care. We'll still be here.
Posted by hope at 1:09 PM 3 comments:
Monday, August 18, 2014
I was 16, going on 17
I've been busy trying to tie up loose ends before Hubby's knee replacement surgery on Aug. 28th. Won't have much time for hobbies for a couple of weeks after that...at least. I was cleaning up some Family Tree info when I found this.
This was my 17th birthday
and Hubby-to-be-one-day turned 18 the next month.
Ah, youth.
(Hey Ponita...THERE's where that 23 inch waist was hiding!)
Posted by hope at 6:41 PM 6 comments:
Friday, August 8, 2014
"I Do"....and still counting
Today marks year 34.
Not sure how we got here that fast,
but it was the best decision I ever made.
Now if only I knew where to find that 23" waist!
Posted by hope at 8:48 AM 5 comments:
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
African Attitude
Not all of Hubby's "trophies" were taken with a weapon. Many were taken with a camera, allowing me to put together an impressive photo book of his trip. You really do need to click on each photo to get the full effect.
Sometimes these animals just didn't look real with their distinctive colors,
as if they were painstakingly hand painted.
Then there were the animals which either looked like
spare parts hastily assembled...
...or proof that God has a sense of humor.
After a while, I found myself drawn in by the amusing,
spur of the moment,
hey-that's-not-exactly-what-I-was-aiming-for shots.
The face only a Mother could love.
I keep hearing Robert De Niro in my head mumbling, "You talking to me?"
African raspberry.
"If I hide behind a tree, no one can see me."
"Hey! I can see Friday from here."
(followed by De Niro),
"You looking at ME?!"
But my favorite shot by far,
is one which makes me laugh out loud.
There's just something about that flip of the head
that translates into a whole new attitude.
Posted by hope at 4:00 PM 3 comments:
Monday, July 28, 2014
Just Checking In
Posted by hope at 3:36 PM No comments:
Friday, July 18, 2014
Let it Pour
Well, we had that first Thunderstorm of Summer that took out a tree and several limbs. Since then....pretty much nothing.
Not so much a drought, but such minute sprinkles that rain seems to evaporate before it hits the ground. Our green lawn is now brown and crunchy.
The first time hit just as I was leaving work the other day and I could barely see the front of my car. I thought I'd waited long enough, because that storm had hit before the end of the work day, so I thought it was done. Not hardly. There was a 2 mile let up, then I "caught" up to the original storm. It stopped long enough for me to turn toward the house and see this.
At least I got to the front porch before it hit again.
Heading inside,
I'm pretty sure I heard the grass sighing in joy.
Posted by hope at 6:41 PM 2 comments:
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Join us for our Make N Take Family Series performed by Rags to Riches Theatre for Young Audiences at The Scrap Exchange!
You Become Part of the Show!
Rags to Riches, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1993, relies on participation – they teach songs and shouts and moves and dances that allow the audience to join in the performance. Stick around for a themed Make N Take activity using Scrap Exchange materials following the show!
The Disenchanted Dragon – presented by Rags to Riches Theatre for Young Audiences
Samantha, a shepherd's daughter, is known far and wide for her book learning and so, when a dragon shows up in a cave on the hill where her father's sheep graze she decides to go meet the dragon. She finds that he is really an actor who has been playing the dragon for years "from here to Timbuktu!" This "dragon" would rather write poetry, tell stories and sing songs. Percival has fallen out of the enchantment he was put under and simply does not want to play the dragon any more. Samantha devises a plan to allow him to stay!
Date: Saturday, March 25, 2017
Show Time: 4 pm (Make N Take option afterwards ending at 5:30pm)
Cost: $10 for show + Make N Take, $5 for show only
Ages: 2 and up
*** Tickets will also be available at the door via cash or credit card. ***
For more information about Rags to Riches Theatre for Young Audiences, visit rags-to-riches.org.
October 22nd "The Owl and the Turtle"
November 19th "Stone Soup"
December 17th "The Gingerbread Boy"
January 28th "Rapunzel"
February 18th "Caught in the Web"
March 25th "The Disenchanted Dragon."


text: Farmers Report Semi-Strong Cell Signals February 16, 2014 09:31 PM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Sara Schafer Top Producer Editor Email Cell phone coverage in rural America is improving. We've all seen those cell phone coverage maps. The ones that blanket the country showing only tiny specs for the areas that don't receive strong cell phone service. But, many farmers fall into those rare areas. All it takes is a quick drive through the countryside to see firsthand the cellphone connectivity problems that rural America currently faces, says Brady Liggett, sales representative with TBS Electronics in Topeka, Kan. "There are simply a lot of unreliable spots in rural areas," he says. An early February Farm Journal Pulse asked: How is the cell phone coverage on your farm? The more than 1,700 farmers and ranchers reported service varies, almost evenly, across the board Around 20% of the respondents reported great cell phone coverage, while 32% rate their coverage as good. Slightly more than 20% say their coverage is OK, while only 8% have horrible coverage. Here are the full results: Great: 23% Good: 32% OK: 22% Poor: 15% Horrible: 8% Technology Gap All things considered, cell phone connectivity in rural America has come a long way in a relatively short time. Far-reaching cell phone towers now dot the landscape around many small towns. While some farmers may still need to be on top of a hill for a good signal, you rarely see cell phone antennas on top of people's cars anymore. The next phase for rural connectivity workarounds seems to be hitched on wireless Internet. The U.S. government has earmarked several billion dollars to help expand and rural broadband services. In addition, tech giants such as Google are offering solutions. Through its Project Loon, Google has teamed up with Raven Industries to test high-altitude balloons that would create a communications network miles above the earth's surface. Who knows…in the future, cell phone coverage might be strong enough to completely replace landlines. Click the map below to see how people responded, based on their location: Add Your Vote You're invited to be part of the heartbeat of our new national producer panel that speaks up and speaks out. Participating is as easy as answering two quick poll questions per month via text message from your mobile phone By partnering with Commodity Update, the leading provider of agricultural information to mobile phones, Farm Journal sends you the question via a text message on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Sign up now! Back to news


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Thousands of people will continue to recover from the disaster of Hurricane Sandy for months and perhaps years to come as they seek to rebuild their homes, their businesses — and their lives. The future will most likely bring changes to the east coast of the United States in terms of preventative planning, awareness, and development of new methods to protect lives and property.
Those affected by the storm have been devastated from damage and loss and many have remained in dark, cold homes fearful that looters will rob what is left of their possessions. Unfortunately, when people are most vulnerable it's the time when criminals and fraudsters gear up to take advantage.
"While people can protect themselves from theft and looting by being aware and taking precautions, they must also protect themselves from the not so obvious — fraud and financial criminal activity that always follows after a disaster," states Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE, founder and president of the Hetherington Group (www.hetheringtongroup.com), a private investigations firm specializing in internet investigations, research, forensics, and training.
Fraudsters will attempt to steal money under the guise of a false charity; attempt to sell a hurricane ravaged car; steal food stamps, FEMA money, clothes, food and blankets that are donated by concerned citizens; and will make promises of reconstructing property for a nominal fee in record-breaking time.
In times of disaster, both sides of the coin are preyed upon — those in need of relief and those looking to aid relief. The government takes great care to ensure that aid recipients are verifiable. But, as citizens we need to be vigilant as well.
For those in need of disaster relief: cleanup, rebuilding, financial, and restoration; here are some tips that will keep you safe:
Tips for those SEEKING RELIEF
- Contact your insurance carrier to report all damage that has occurred. Take pictures and document the damage yourself. Do not remove anything until your insurance has inspected the damage themselves.
- Be wary of wandering carpenters and workmen who want to repair your home. They might not be insured or even licensed.
- If you lost power and TV, contact your provider when you get back online and ask for a refund of the days you were without.
- If you lost food, contact your home insurance. It might be covered under your house policy.
For those who are simply looking to help, these are steps the Hetherington Group recommends to protect from yourself from fraud and to make sure those who need the aid will benefit:
- Do not respond to any unsolicited e-mails or click on links contained within those messages because they may contain computer viruses or malware.
- Social networks and email will be used heavily to solicit donations. Vet and verify the source of the requester before responding or donating. You can check with your Secretary of State (www.e-secretaryofstate.com) to verify if the charity is legitimate.
- Contractors and handymen will be popping up everywhere looking to repair your roof, cut down your trees, and fix broken items. Be sure to check your phone book for the Department of Consumer Affairs in your state to see that they are appropriately licensed. And ask for proof of insurance.
- Beware of organizations with copycat names that are similar to, but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities (i.e. Red Star vs Red Cross). Be especially vigilant of groups calling your home for solicitations. Most legitimate charities websites end in .org rather than .com.
- Rather than following a purported link to a website, verify the legitimacy of non-profit organizations by checking them out in Guidestar.org or with the Secretary of State where the charity is located. (Do an "Entity Search" here http://www.e-secretaryofstate.com)
- Make your contribution directly to reputable organizations (such as the Red Cross), and not to an individual or anyone who claims to represent them or sounds like them. This is especially true when directly "texting" a contribution. Credit card, personal check is recommended. Never donate with cash.
- Do not purchase a flood-damaged vehicle. A vehicle history report is available through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) available at www.vehiclehistory.gov.
- Be wary of replacement products that come at a very cheap price. Drywall from China was used to rebuild homes in Katrina. Contractors were elated at cheap price and ready supply, only later to learn that it was toxic and need to be replaced.
In 2005 the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice set up the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, NCDF's purpose is to receive and screen reports from the public about possible fraud relating to disasters of all types, and to refer those reports to the field offices of appropriate federal law enforcement agencies.
Members of the public who wish to report disaster-related fraud or are aware of fraudulent claims that have been submitted, may contact the NCDF through their website at: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/disasters/about/report-fraud.html or at (877) 623-3423 or at email@example.com.
"Remember when in doubt, check them out," Hetherington continues. "Conducting due diligence before handing over or investing your money is as smart as having a full tank of gas or a generator on hand before the storm, and is an important step in protecting yourself in post-disaster recovery."
About Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE:
Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE has more than 18 years of experience in research, investigations, and corporate intelligence. She is the founder of Hetherington Group, a consulting, publishing, and training firm focusing on intelligence, security, and investigations. Cynthia is also the ACFE James Baker "Speaker of the Year" Award Recipient 2012.
Cynthia applies her expertise in library science and information systems to provide clients with strategic insight into research and complex investigations. During her career, she has assisted a vast number of clients with Internet investigations related to employee theft and intellectual property loss. Cynthia has also applied her research skills while conducting online and database research to uncover well-hidden relations between fraudulent associates, their assets, and their secrets. She has experience overseeing international investigations for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
A widely published author, Cynthia authored Business Background Investigations (2007) and the Manual to Online Public Records (2008), published by Facts on Demand Press as well as co-authoring Web of Deceit: Misinformation and Manipulation in the Age of Social Media (2012) by Information Today. She is the publisher of Data2know.com: Internet & Online Intelligence Newsletter and has authored articles on steganography, computer forensics, Internet investigations, and other security-focused monographs.
Cynthia is also recognized for providing corporate security officials; military intelligence units; and federal, state, and local agencies with training on online intelligence practices. Cynthia's classes are ACFE, NASBA, DHS and ASIS approved for continuing professional education credits.


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How would you be able make it so the files is viewable from internet when using xampp ? So I can host images files for forums and for what not. I got a static ip.
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- Research
- Open Access
Gait training with partial body weight support during overground walking for individuals with chronic stroke: a pilot study
© Sousa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011
- Received: 17 February 2011
- Accepted: 24 August 2011
- Published: 24 August 2011
It is not yet established if the use of body weight support (BWS) systems for gait training is effective per se or if it is the combination of BWS and treadmill that improves the locomotion of individuals with gait impairment. This study investigated the effects of gait training on ground level with partial BWS in individuals with stroke during overground walking with no BWS.
Twelve individuals with chronic stroke (53.17 ± 7.52 years old) participated of a gait training program with BWS during overground walking, and were evaluated before and after the gait training period. In both evaluations, individuals were videotaped walking at a self-selected comfortable speed with no BWS. Measurements were obtained for mean walking speed, step length, stride length and speed, toe-clearance, durations of total double stance and single-limb support, and minimum and maximum foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles.
After gait training, individuals walked faster, with symmetrical steps, longer and faster strides, and increased toe-clearance. Also, they displayed increased rotation of foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles on both sides of the body. However, the duration of single-limb support remained asymmetrical between each side of the body after gait training.
Gait training individuals with chronic stroke with BWS during overground walking improved walking in terms of temporal-spatial parameters and segmental angles. This training strategy might be adopted as a safe, specific and promising strategy for gait rehabilitation after stroke.
- Gait Speed
- Stride Length
- Chronic Stroke
- Gait Training
- Body Weight Support
Typically, individuals with stroke walk slower than their peers and present asymmetry in spatial-temporal parameters [1, 2] and joint angles [3]. These typical characteristics may influence the return of pre-stroke conditions [4], mainly because there exists an increased risk of falling [5], followed by decreases in autonomy, and consequently, an increase in social isolation [6, 7]. Therefore, reestablishing independence via walking is a crucial goal of any rehabilitation program for individuals with stroke [3, 4, 8].
Among the different strategies of gait training for individuals with stroke, the use of a partial body weight support (BWS) system has continued to gain popularity [9–13]. This strategy of gait training originated from experiments on animals with complete spinal cord transections [14, 15], which established that training on a treadmill promotes the generation of an automatic locomotor pattern by spinal neurons [16, 17], named the central pattern generator. Gait training humans affected by stroke using a BWS system on a treadmill increased walking speed and endurance when compared to conventional gait training overground [9] or when using only a treadmill [10].
A BWS system alleviates the body weight of the lower limbs symmetrically [10, 18, 19], promotes stabilization of the trunk [20], improves balance control, and avoids falls [16]. Most studies had adopted 30% of a subject's body weight unloading due to this percentage's effectiveness on gait training [9, 12, 21, 22]. Additionally, the type of training surfaces used by patients is crucial, and this consideration may facilitate skill transfer to daily life activities [23, 24]. To our knowledge, no one has evaluated the effects of gait training with partial BWS during overground walking on the walking performance of individuals with stroke. Previous studies concerning BWS during overground walking investigated changes in gait patterns but not its training effects [22, 25–27]. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of gait training on ground level with partial BWS on temporal-spatial parameters and on lower limb and trunk segmental angles of individuals with chronic stroke during overground walking without BWS. It was hypothesized that these individuals' gait performance would improve after six weeks of the proposed gait training and they would experience reduced asymmetry.
General information of the participants that completed all the stages of the study
Age (years)
Mass (kg)
Height (cm)
Type of Lesion
Time of post-stroke (years)
Inclusion criteria were: an elapsed time longer than one year since stroke and the ability to walk approximately 10 m with or without assistance. Participants were excluded if: they presented any clinical signs of heart failure (New York Heart Association), arrhythmia, or angina pectoris; orthopedic (n = 2) or other neurological diseases (n = 2) that compromised gait; or severe cognitive or communication impairments. All individuals signed an informed consent agreement approved by the University ethics committee prior to participating in this study in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Training sessions
During training sessions, verbal cues that could improve walking speed and joint excursion were given. Heart rate and blood pressure were observed at the beginning and end of each session and when individuals reported any discomfort during the training session to ensure their safety. Rest periods were allowed during each training session according to individual needs.
All individuals were submitted to 45-minute gait training sessions wearing their walking shoes, three times a week, alternating days during six weeks. No participant was given any other type of physical intervention or conventional gait training, stretching, muscle strengthening or endurance exercises while participating in this study.
Gait assessment
Individuals were assessed at least one day before the first gait training session and at least one day after the last gait training session (but no longer than one week either before or after the gait training period), walking freely at self-selected comfortable speeds along a 10 m walkway six times. They were videotaped by four digital cameras (AG-DVC7P, Panasonic) at 60 Hz, which were positioned bilaterally allowing simultaneous kinematics measurements of paretic and nonparetic limbs in either direction of motion (from left to right and vice-versa). During the evaluation, individuals were not allowed to use any assistive devices, and when necessary, they walked while holding the index finger of one of the physical therapists to assist their balance, without providing any meaningful mechanical support.
Passive reflective markers were placed on the nonparetic and paretic sides of the body at the following anatomical locations: head of the fifth metatarsal, lateral malleolus, lateral epicondyle of the femur, greater trochanter, and acromion, in order to define the foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segments, respectively. The digitalization and the reconstruction of all markers were performed using the Ariel Performance Analysis System - APAS (Ariel Dynamics, Inc.) software. Filtering and posterior analyses were performed using Matlab software (MathWorks, Inc.). Reconstruction of the real coordinates was performed using the direct linear transformation (DLT) procedure.
Outcome measures
One intermediate stride (walking cycle) per trial by each individual, for a total of three selected trials, was analyzed. The trial selection was determined by the best visualization of the markers and walking performance in an uninterrupted trial. Through visual inspection, a stride was defined by two consecutive initial contacts of the same limb to the ground along the progression line. Additionally, walking events during a walking stride were identified for subsequent calculation of temporal organization of walking (initial and terminal double stance, single-limb support, and swing period). This procedure was performed for both nonparetic and paretic sides. All data were digitally filtered using a 4th order low-pass and zero-lag Butterworth filter with a cutoff frequency of 8 Hz, defined based upon residual analysis [28].
The following variables were examined: mean walking speed, calculated as the ratio between the distance traveled and its duration (determined by the position of the greater trochanter marker, which is closer to the center of body mass); step length, the distance between initial contact of each foot; stride length, the distance between two successive initial contacts of each foot to the ground (determined by the position of the lateral malleolus marker); stride speed, calculated as the ratio between stride length and duration; duration of total double stance and single-limb support [29], vertical distance between foot and walking surface during swing period - "toe-clearance" (determined by the difference between maximum and minimum vertical position of the marker placed on the fifth metatarsal), and maximum and minimum foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles during each stride. The conventions adopted to describe segmental rotations were counter-clockwise (backward) and clockwise (forward) rotations around the medial-lateral axis in the sagittal plane, which denoted positive and negative values, respectively [30]. For example, a counter-clockwise rotation of the trunk means trunk extension from the neutral position and a clockwise rotation means trunk flexion from the neutral position.
Statistical analysis
For all variables, data from three trials under each evaluation were averaged for each participant. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted, using evaluation (before and after gait training) as a factor and mean walking speed as the dependent variable. Two two-way ANOVAs and six multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were employed, using body side (nonparetic and paretic) and evaluation as factors. The dependent variables were step length and toe-clearance for the two ANOVAs, and stride length and stride speed for the first MANOVA; durations of total double stance and single-limb support for the second MANOVA; and minimum and maximum foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth MANOVAs, respectively. When applicable, univariate analyses and the Tukey post-hoc tests were employed. An alpha level of 0.05 was adopted for all statistical tests, which were performed using SPSS software.
During evaluations, none of the individuals used assistive devices. However, during the first evaluation (before training) two participants needed assistance from a physical therapist, who offered her index finger, to assist their balance when walking. During the second evaluation (after training) only one participant needed the same type of assistance when walking. All participants expressed interest and motivation throughout the training period, and they disseminated their experiences with the study to other nonparticipants with stroke.
Table 2 depicts the mean and standard deviation (± SD) of gait cycle temporal-spatial parameters before and after gait training for both sides of the body. Individuals walked faster after gait training (F1,11 = 8.384, p = 0.015). ANOVA revealed interaction between the sides of the body and evaluation of step length (F1,11 = 7.952, p = 0.017). Post-hoc tests indicated that the step length of the nonparetic side was longer than the step length of the paretic side before gait training, and that after gait training step length of the paretic side became similar to the step length of the nonparetic side.
Toe-clearance increased after training (F1,11 = 5.609, p = 0.037), and the nonparetic side showed greater toe-clearance than the paretic side, (F1,11 = 7.092, p = 0.022). Stride length and speed were also influenced by training (Wilks' Lambda = 0.463, F1,11 = 5.789, p = 0.021), with univariate analyses indicating increased stride length (F1,11 = 12.040, p = 0.005) and stride speed (F1,11 = 7.010, p = 0.023) on both sides of the body after gait training.
Regarding the stance period, MANOVA revealed only a side of the body effect (Wilks' Lambda = 0.085, F1,11 = 54.028, p = 0.001). Univariate analysis indicated that the nonparetic side showed a longer single-limb support duration than the paretic side (F1,11 = 116.536, p = 0.001).
Spatial-temporal and toe-clearance data
Outcome measures
Before gait training
After gait training
Walking speed (m/s)*
0.42 ± 0.23
0.55 ± 0.33
Step length (m) ***
0.36 ± 0.12**
0.32 ± 0.12**
0.38 ± 0.13
0.40 ± 0.15
Toe-clearance (cm)*
6.19 ± 1.60**
5.01 ± 1.39**
7.35 ± 2.27**
5.49 ± 2.04**
Stride length (m)*
0.65 ± 0.20
0.66 ± 0.20
0.78 ± 0.26
0.79 ± 0.26
Stride speed (m/s)*
0.41 ± 0.22
0.42 ± 0.22
0.53 ± 0.32
0.54 ± 0.32
Double-limb stance (%)
46.38 ± 13.94
46.30 ± 15.32
42.89 ± 16.88
42.64 ± 17.45
Single-limb support (%)
33.48 ± 8.55**
19.25 ± 6.82**
34.20 ± 9.24**
22.10 ± 7.80**
Minimum (clockwise rotation) and maximum (counter-clockwise rotation) segmental angles
Outcome measures
Before gait training
After gait training
Foot angle (degrees)
101.45 ± 8.56**
117.52 ± 15.06**
96.13 ± 13.12**
115.24 ± 12.85**
161.17 ± 5.30
155.76 ± 5.56
163.36 ± 6.83
160.47 ± 6.56
Shank angle (degrees)
46.32 ± 5.81**
62.80 ± 9.74**
43.62 ± 6.45**
58.88 ± 10.15**
97.97 ± 4.95
96.99 ± 5.46
99.87 ± 5.98
99.09 ± 4.45
Thigh angle (degrees)
84.03 ± 4.08
85.88 ± 6.98
81.68 ± 5.64
83.15 ± 7.63
115.81 ± 2.88
112.95 ± 4.53
116.55 ± 2.80
115.75 ± 3.83
Trunk angle (degrees)
79.89 ± 3.61**
75.58 ± 4.45**
79.79 ± 2.71**
76.00 ± 5.99**
88.41 ± 3.96
88.71 ± 4.80
89.11 ± 3.85
90.65 ± 4.69
Similarly, MANOVA revealed a training effect (Wilks' Lambda = 0.337, F1,11 = 9.822, p = 0.004) and a side of the body effect (Wilks' Lambda = 0.131, F1,11 = 33.200, p = 0.001) for minimum and maximum shank segmental angles. Univariate analysis indicated that both counterclockwise (F1,11 = 11.669, p = 0.006) and clockwise rotations (F1,11 = 10.156, p = 0.009) increased after gait training. The nonparetic side presented greater clockwise shank rotation than the paretic side (F1,11 = 56.942, p = 0.001).
MANOVA revealed training effect only for thigh minimum and maximum segmental angles (Wilks' Lambda = 0.435, F1,11 = 6.503, p = 0.016) with an increased thigh clockwise rotation (F1,11 = 7.544, p = 0.019).
Finally, MANOVA revealed a side of the body effect for trunk minimum and maximum segmental angles (Wilks' Lambda = 0.294, F1,11 = 12.029, p = 0.002). Univariate tests indicated lower clockwise trunk rotation on the nonparetic side when compared to the paretic side (F1,11 = 11.667, p = 0.006).
This study investigated the effects of gait training on ground level with partial BWS on temporal-spatial parameters and the lower limb and trunk segmental angles of individuals with chronic stroke during overground walking with no BWS. Several aspects of gait in the individuals with stroke were improved, such as increased walking speed, symmetrical steps, longer and faster strides, and increased toe-clearance. Although these individuals increased rotation of foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles on both sides of the body, they still presented body side asymmetry on foot, shank, and trunk segments, after gait training. Therefore, our hypothesis that six weeks of gait training with BWS during overground walking would improve walking performance of individuals with chronic stroke was partially confirmed with the exception of asymmetry of both sides of the body that remained for foot, shank, and trunk segments. However, step length did become symmetrical.
To our knowledge, this was the first attempt to implement a gait training strategy for individuals with chronic stroke with partial BWS on a level surface and the results were promising. Although this gait training strategy was employed only for six weeks, gait speed and step symmetry indicated that the training protocol promoted motor recovery; these two parameters are important indicators of recovery for individuals with stroke [3, 31, 32]. Walking on a treadmill leads to symmetrical steps as compared to overground [33]. However, in this study gait training with BWS during overground walking also promoted step symmetry. Improvements were also observed in stride length and speed which may have contributed to increases in walking speed which, in sum, indicates the functional improvement of balance [29], and might provide more autonomy.
Among different measurements, gait speed is the most investigated in clinical gait studies to verify the interventional effects [34]. Gait speed is chosen primarily because the final attained walking speed is essential for ambulation in both indoor and outdoor environments [35, 36]. The gait training strategy adopted in the present study was as effective for increasing walking speed as previous studies that submitted individuals with chronic stroke to: isokinetic training for lower extremities [37], home-based exercises [38], treadmill and overground walking without BWS [39], treadmill with BWS [40], and treadmill with BWS combined with overground without BWS [41]. Our results suggest that training with BWS during overground walking effectively increases walking speed of individuals with chronic stroke.
Individuals with stroke present limited foot rotation and lower-limb flexion during the swing period [42], which leads to insufficient toe-clearance. Consequently, these individuals have an increased risk for stumbling and falling [5]. Besides increasing gait speed, gait training with partial BWS during overground walking promoted increased toe-clearance which is an important gait requirement for safety. Increased toe-clearance resulted from increased segmental rotation of the lower limbs. These results may suggest that the training protocol promoted voluntary responses of lower-limb muscles, which then may have generated more strength and power, because the participants in this study presented greater motion and control of foot and shank segments after training. It is important to note that although the use of BWS during overground walking limits hip movement [27], these individuals increased clockwise rotation of the thigh after training.
Aside from these promising improvements, our training protocol did not change the asymmetry of gait cycle temporal organization (duration of single stance) and segmental angles, which is a discriminating factor in individuals with stroke [43]. Harris-Love et al. [18] found that individuals with chronic stroke presented different durations of single stance and stance/swing ratios between paretic and nonparetic limbs even during treadmill walking. The participants of this study did not improve these gait characteristics because they were in a chronic recovery stage, which contributed to a consolidated gait pattern [3] and, was therefore much more difficult to change by the adopted protocol intervention constituted only by 18 sessions of gait training. This pattern may be considered a compensatory strategy that these individuals have adopted to propel the paretic limb forward.
Finally, an important aspect that characterizes our protocol involving gait training with partial BWS during overground walking is the safety which motivated individuals to participate with a high level of adherence. When asked about the training protocol, all individuals answered that they felt safe. Consequently, these individuals experienced their gait improvement as they became more confident in managing deambulation by themselves. Although hard to quantify, individual's safety and confidence are definitive and critical aspects of any intervention protocol.
Although gait training with partial BWS during overground walking protocol was promising, this study had some limitations. First, we adopted 30% of BWS for the first three weeks of gait training because it was the most commonly applied percentage of body weight unloading used during gait training with BWS on treadmill [9, 12, 21]. BWS was then reduced to 20% during the last three weeks to increase the activation of the lower-limb muscles and energy expenditure [44]. In future studies, initiating gait training with less than 30% of BWS may improve recovery since this percentage seems to difficult force production [27] which is required for forward propulsion. This factor is different, for instance, on a treadmill. More importantly, body unloading should be adjusted individually, without one standardized reduction for everyone. Second, only kinematics analysis in the sagittal plane was investigated; in future studies kinetics and muscle activation should be targeted. Third, we were unable to verify the maintenance of the improved gait performance because these participants enrolled in a different training protocol following this study. Follow up should be employed in future studies, including a measurement of community ambulation as suggested by Lord and Rochester [45], to verify if the benefits of this gait training strategy are preserved. Next, individuals with stroke walking on ground level with BWS were not compared to a control group such as individuals with stroke walking either with BWS on a treadmill or with no BWS. It is important to compare, for example, the two types of surfaces with the same therapist in future studies to quantify the maintenance of interest and motivation throughout the training period and report how this important aspect of the intervention protocol affects results.
Gait training with BWS during overground walking improved the gait performance of individuals with chronic stroke in terms of temporal-spatial parameters and segmental angles. This training strategy might be adopted as a safe, specific and promising strategy for gait rehabilitation after stroke. It is important to mention that the adopted training protocol kept the interest and motivation of the individuals in this study throughout all of training period.
This work was supported by CNPq (Process #470421/2006-1). C.O Sousa and A.M.F. Barela are grateful to CNPq for their Master scholarship (130483/2008-7) and Post-Doc fellowship (151893/2006-2), respectively, and C.L.P. Medeiros is grateful to FAPESP for her doctoral scholarship (200704503-6). All authors acknowledge P.H. Lobo da Costa for making the use of the laboratory where this study took place possible.
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SUMMIT, NJ - The public is invited to celebrate SAGE's 60th Anniversary on March 29 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The free event, which will take place at 290 Broad Street, will include activities for individuals of all ages.
"We have been helping older adults and their caregivers remain a part of the communities in which they live for the past 60 years and we are so proud that we can take a day to celebrate with the community-at-large," stated Jessica Rosenzweig Gruber, Executive Director of SAGE Eldercare.
The event is scheduled to include:
- Sensitivity training for families to help understand certain physical limitations associated with aging;
- Fire safety tips from the Summit Fire Department;
- Police safety tips from the Summit Police Department;
- Health screenings for blood pressure and diabetes by Overlook Medical Center Community Health Department;
- Crafts for all ages;
- Bake sale to benefit SAGE's programs and services;
- Chair Massages from Atlantic Health Care Integrative Medicine Department;
- Putting together shelf-stable brown bags for Bridges Outreach;
- Cooking demonstration from the ShopRite of Chatham at 10 am;
- Book signing of "Summit Historic Homes," written by Cindy Martin, Summit Historical Society Trustee at 11 am;
- Tai Chi demonstration at 12 pm;
- SAGE's 60th Anniversary contest winners announced at 1 pm;
- And more!
Attendees are also being encouraged to bring in a new pair of adult men's socks or underwear (large size and bigger, please), which will be donated with the shelf-stable food bags for Bridges Outreach, an organization that provides food and necessities to those in need in Newark, Irvington and New York City.
"SAGE has had the support of many people in Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset Counties, and beyond for the past six decades," noted Gruber. "Through our programs and services, we've been able to add to the quality of life for older adults so they can maintain the most independent active lives possible and remain in the communities that they have grown to love. We feel fortunate that we can hold this community event to celebrate these achievements and look to the future in continuing our mission."
For more information on SAGE's Community Day, please call 908 / 273.5529 or visit www.sageeldercare.org.


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The 47-year-old six-time champion had trailed 8-2 in the second session, but called on all his vast experience to gradually eat into his opponent's lead.
Resuming 9-7 behind, Davis won the first frame to keep the pressure on.
The demonstrative Holt claimed the 18th, but Davis proceeded to take five straight frames for a famous victory.
Davis, who now faces John Higgins or Shaun Murphy in the last eight knowing his place in the top 16 is safe for next season, described his performance as his "best-ever comeback here".
"I thought I could lose 13-2 the way it was going because I had lost touch with him.
"But then he left me a more difficult chance and I thought that if I was going to get back into it I had to take it.
"Fortunately I hit it well, potted it and won the frame. That got my spirits up a bit and I don't really know what happened after that.
"Michael was showing a lot of emotion and frustration because the match was slipping away from him and I kept plugging away. I feel for him because I know what it's like."
Holt was scathing about his own performance and admitted he had failed to cope with the psychological pressure as Davis worked his way back into the game.
"I missed a black off the spot at 8-3 and I'm still annoyed about that now," said Holt after the match.
"It was all downhill from then really. I was so angry that I missed an easy black being careless - I actually hate myself for it.
"I'm my own worst enemy most of the time and I have to change that."
S DAVIS (Eng) 13-10 M HOLT (Eng)
53-58 (58) 126-11 (118) 79-6 32-63 0-99 (86) 42-60 15-79 (75) 8-63 0-100 (100) 45-75 62-15 114-2 (114) 88-41 72-0 76-46 0-114 (114) 70-20 4-71 78-17 (54) 81-5 68-43 68-38 (54) 64-1


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With April and Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share a few posts from the past in case you are looking for inspiration. Amazingly, I just passed my 2 year "blogiversary" and am closing in on post number 300! Click the photo to link back to the post.
This was such a fun trick to play on Madison. She still talks about it and asks what I am going to do this year. I would love some inspiration for that one, I still have no idea. I set the bar a bit too high for myself.
We love making these Easter Cupcake Baskets every year. YUMMY!!
Easter trees are decorated and we will soon be blowing eggs for this year's additions.