Oh Six, Oh Seven, Oh Eight.... Oh My!

Several people have emailed and commented to me that I should put something new on the blog. I have been hesitating and procrastinating. I decided from Jayme's Life Lessons Learned that I cannot spend my "5 minutes" wasted on thinking of doing something when I must DO something. I also chose to put away the putting off of duty, delegation and desire. I should not put off the good I can do today, to wait for better tomorrow, as I may not have a tomorrow. Without further ado...

On Wednesday, June 4, the world should have celebrated a great milestone. However, most of you will never even know about it. 71 years ago on June 4, a man named Sylvan Goldman invented the shopping cart. He first produced them by building a little cart with wheels, that held two small shopping baskets. He also invented the later addition, a child seat in the top part of the cart. They were first used in Oklahoma City. (the news station told me, so don't think I made this up)

Also on June 4 back in 1919, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was instated. It guaranteed the right of Women to Vote. Handy to remember all those 19's.

On Friday, June 6, I was entrusted with a very valuable cargo. I got the opportunity to watch my nephew, Gum Drop, for a few hours while his daddy went to work. His mommy and sister (Jelly Bean) are out of the state on an adventure. This weekend, Gramma and Grampa are borrowing Gum Drop. They have never gotten to have him all by himself, because he is the second child. So, I was trusted to take Gum Drop to the Baby Swap meeting, near half-way between our fair city and Gramma's home. This is a 45 minute drive from Gum Drop's house. He is so laid back, such an easy baby. Totally different from his high-maintenance sister. (Not to say that she is bad; on the contrary, she was an easy baby, too. She just demands more attention.) I took a picture Friday that reminded me much of an old picture of Jelly Bean. Maybe I can get the two pictures side by side here for you someday soon.

I finished reading the most recent book I couldn't put down. It was "Abomination" by Colleen Coble. I loved Colleen's book. It was the perfect blend of thought-provoking and scary. Chills. I was certain the killer was someone else. I see now how she dropped little clues. I didn't see it at the time. Oh, it was great!

I hate to tell her, but there were two mistakes I caught. One of them ruined a bit of the early drama, and the other was a minor typo (and probably not her mistakes at all). I do relish being a Proofreader. I miss it greatly. I need to be in contact with some of the publishers. I want to get transcripts to things electronically, and "telecommute" to work. I don't really want to Edit, per se, but I would love to correct everyone's grammatical and spelling errors. I would so very much enjoy fixing the writers' and publishers' mistakes. Spell Check on your computer program cannot possible find all the mistakes. See? Possibly, you missed it? In a hypothetically perfect world, "an" and "a" would not be interchangeable, particularly in front of words beginning with H. I know. I am a psycho; but my little world is so much more clear, and fun for me.

Today is 06-07-08. It is THE wedding day of the year, supposedly. DH suggested to one bride we know that she should have the wedding start at 3:45. I wonder if there are babies being born today, that will be happy to know their birthday is such an interesting set of numbers? Yesterday was a birthday for a friend from High School (that I have since lost track of). There were three of us, S. born on 04-04, Me born on 05-05 and V. born on 06-06. V. was into lots of strange things, like Numerology, smoking and E.S.P. She commented once on the fact that my upbringing (church of Christ) would not allow me to go to dances, while hers (United Methodist) threw them. It isn't so much that my church wouldn't let me go, but my mother thought I needed to be more mature to go. I was planning to go to my Senior Prom, but when nobody asked (one of two or three nobody's in very particular), I took my father to see a movie. Daddy/Daughter dates were rare, and I enjoyed it. The only downside was that he had to drive home in the downpour of driving, sheeting, bucketing, cats-and-dogs rain.

I have been quietly cleaning up the blog, adding the books I have finished for the 888 Challenge, and massaging the links that I have. I have added a few new links that I have checked often for a long time, but decided to share with those of you who may not go the same route I have traveled. I have removed some links that have not updated for several months. (Jared, I would add you back at a moment's notice, so don't despair!) I finally took down my link to Suezque. It breaks my heart all over again to have to remove something so cherished. I saved the link, and have looked at it often, but I couldn't stare at it anymore on my side bar. In fact, it has been hard for me to come up with something new for the blog, because adding another post would move their remembrance from the top three posts, and I wasn't ready yet for that to happen. I may never be ready, so I decided to do it today.

Flip Flop Mamma lost a close friend recently, as well. He was only 32, and was an amazing story of faith and strength. One of her friends, while at Steve's funeral, said to FFM, "Can you imagine being so amazing that God only needs you on Earth for 32 years?" My memory gave a start, because at the Whitlow graveside service, the second uncle of the three to speak pondered, "The greatest Man to ever walk this Earth died when He was only 33." He was referring to Jesus, of course, and the fact that Gary had not yet made it to his 34th Birthday. I am just 34 myself, and barely so. Stark realizations have set in. I can't imagine that my funeral would be as positive. I must work to change that. I don't believe Gary's age was "coincidence", any more than I think that the tornado was an "accident".

Sally said that she had a friend whose daughter was touched by Gary and Kim's story and dedicated her young life to Christ. What greater good can come out of such tragedy? The work of the Lord goes on, in the lives and hearts of younger people all the time. Legacy. We inherited it from our family or mentors or teachers. It will be passed on to the following generations in the same ways, for all time to come on this Earth. Until Jesus comes back to take us all home, we must forge ahead. Forging is not always an easy or pleasant job. I have to remember to keep looking for good. I have to be good to others, and not let my own disappointment and depression keep me mired in the mud where I seem to be stuck. God will give me His Joy.

DH just told me that Big Brown finished Third. I don't know why that is still so intriguing to me. When I was a child, reading all the horse books I could get my hands on, the current running of the Triple Crown was the only sport I was curious to watch. Big Brown this year had already won the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Today was the running of the Kentucky Derby, the third and largest (well, most televised and talked about) race of the Triple Crown. I was rather hoping Big Brown would win. It has been many years since one horse captured all three races. Rare, and exciting to follow. I think Black Beauty got me hooked on the real races, and riding my cousin's horse in the summer trips to Kansas.

Blessings on your weekend!