In Memorium

For the past seven years I have had the pleasure of getting to know Rev. Daniel Berry. He was a minister of the Presbyterian Church, (USA.). Rev. Berry graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in 1972 and from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity in 1975. Although he lived most of his life in the South, he did serve a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Maine. He was currently serving as pastor of St. Paul's Prebyterian Church in Schulenburg, Texas, when he was called to go to his ultimate home in heaven.

Pastor Daniel was happily married to a lady named Lydia whom he met at seminary. I understand that Lydia originally planned to be a minister herself, but she put this ambition on hold when she married Daniel. The two of them were happily married. One of the things that I most admired about Daniel was his obvious love and respect for his wife. In every way she was his soul mate. Not only did Lydia perform the usual tasks associated with being a pastor's wife, but she also had to travel the extra mile for him. Daniel was blind. There were many tasks that she had to assist him with even though he was fiercely independent. Lydia has my deepest condolences.

I came to know Daniel when he started a southern interests group on yahoogroups. The group is called "anythingsouthern. " I think I was the first person to join. After awhile I became a moderator and helped him manage the list. Anythingsouthern is open to anyone who has a love and yearning for all things pertaining to the south--politics, religion, sports, you name it. There is a link to the right of my blog if you want to see the website. While I was a member of anythingsouthern, I came to appreciate Daniel's wit, his compassion, and his conservative beliefs
about life in general.

Some people who are conservative in politics or religion tend to be rigid or lacking in compassion, but this is not true of Daniel. He had a love of people and a desire to make the world a better place in his sphere of influence. His pulpit included not only his specific church in Texas, but it also included a wider audience through his blog, titled, Straight Ahead (see the link to the right). Daniel was particularly pleased with being able to express himself to the entire universe. His blogs were beautiful expressions of a brilliant soul. Often he would share his spiritual insights, but he did not limit himself to his sermons. There were posts concerning sports, travel, politics, and just about everything in between. He would write about anything that struck his fancy on a given day.

Unfortunately on the afternoon or evening of Nov. 21, 2007, Daniel suffered a fatal heart attack. From what I understand, there was no known history of heart disease in his family. However, I do know that he had been under a tremendous amount of stress this past year. His mother died a year ago. Then there was the trauma of being without a pastorate through no fault of his own. His tiny church in west Alabama could no longer afford to pay his salary, and they had to let him go at the end of June. I think he only had a couple of months to try and find a new church which would be a challenge for an able visioned person, but a real trial for someone who is blind.

In July, Daniel became the pastor of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in an area near Houston, Texas. From all indications, he and Lydia were very happy there. I feel certain that his congregation must be devastated to lose such a wise, experienced pastor. His sojourn there was brief, but he undoubtedly left a little piece of his soul behind.

In closing, I am reminded of the words to the hymn, "Amazing Grace":

"I was once blind, but now I see."

Yes, I can imagine Daniel strolling down the streets of gold in heaven. I can almost hear his rich baritone voice as he sings those lyrics. Heaven has a new saint, but earth will never be the same without him.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow, it has been a long time since I have blogged--too long really.

A few updates: There was a little boy that I mentioned about a year ago. This child suffered brain damage and permanent loss of vision when he found a pistol and shot himself in the eye. At the time I wrote my blog last October, the child's future was uncertain. I am happy to report that he has made a spectacular recovery. A few months after the accident, I can recall seeing him in church. His parents pushed him around in a little stroller. The boy was limp and unresponsive. A few more months went by, then he hesitantly began to walk, but he could not talk. Now he can talk up a blue streak and can run like the wind! He has a leg brace and a helmet for his head. Other than that, he is like any other boy his age. This summer I had the privilege of working with him during Vacation Bible School. This child is truly happy, and I hope that his future remains bright and optimistic.

My husband is now on disability. He has had a myriad of health problems and has endured numerous operations. Last year he had no fewer than three operations. When he applied for disability, he was accepted the first time which is almost unheard of, so I am told. Most people have to go through a lawyer to get social security disability.

At the current time, all my family members are healthy which is a trend that I hope will continue now and throughout the Christmas season. That is what I am most thankful for this year, the health and well being of my family and friends.

I am including a link for a cute Thanksgiving game. It is a version of the hangman game in which a player tries to guess letters to form words. You get a number of guesses before your character gets the noose. All the words to this game pertain to Thanksgiving.

Enjoy!

Is There a Mouse in the House?

Years ago my husband and I acquired a cat who started letting mice into our house. There was a pet door to our laundry room that allowed her to go outdoors or back inside whenever she desired. When she came inside the laundry room, she would scratch on the door to the kitchen, so that we could allow her to come into the house. Suddenly, and without warning, she would scratch, then rush inside whenever we would open the door. From the corner of her mouth, dangled a hapless mouse. Kiki would let the mouse run free much to the delight of the other cats. For some mysterious reason Kiki kept up this routine of allowing mice into the house. The rodents turned loose never wandered far. Soon one of my other cats would chase it down, and I would have to dispose of the remains. Usually, the mouse died completely of fright. The indoor cats had no clue that they were supposed to eat the creature they had just caught. One by one each of the cats caught a mouse. At last, I even got into the act. I managed to corral one of the critters, then I carried it deep into the woods where I turned it loose to obtain life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whatever that means in mouse terms.

Kiki's actions were a complete mystery to me until one day I viewed a television animal show about cats. The commentator said that some maternally oriented females will take it upon themselves to teach other cats--usually indoor cats to mouse. The teacher cat will bring live prey so that the others can gain hunting skills. So that's what she was doing! Mystery solved.

The mouse in the house ritual stopped after each one of the indoor cats and I had caught a mouse. After that, Kiki never brought another mouse inside the house. I suppose she realized that her job was done.

My husband and I had Kiki from 1990 until she disappeared in 2005. She was getting old. I just hope she found a nice resting place before she passed away. Hopefully it was near a field of mice.

The Dog Who Finds Lost Cats

Whenever I lose a cat, I call my next door neighbor on the phone.

"Miss M, would you please let Tiger outside? I need his help finding my cat."

Yes, Tiger has an unusual talent for a dog. He can locate lost cats. Whenever his services are summoned, I tell him,

"Tiger, you need to find Tibby."

That's all it takes. Tiger puts his nose to the ground and starts tracking. One might think that he is a bloodhound, but he's actually a golden retriever with more intelligence than some humans I've known. He always understands what I am telling him, and he wastes no time getting down to business. Tiger inevitably leads me to the lost kitty. He has never failed to do so. I have used his services on many occasions. Yesterday he helped me locate my black cat who escaped out of my house when some carpenters were doing some repair work on the back of my home. Cats hate noise and disorder. The errant kitty was found on top of the storage shed. Tiger found him in about two minutes.

One of the most unusual canine sleuth jobs occurred last week. Tibby as usual got out of the house and stayed gone all day. Like my black cat, Tibby was spooked by the carpenters. I called and searched for Tibby to no avail. It was late at night, but I made the phone call to the neighbor. She dispatched Tiger. Tiger came to the back yard and began his search. He kept indicating that Tibby was underneath the house. Tiger does this by pointing with his nose and then looking up at me. I surveyed the underside of the house about three times but did not find any indication that the cat had even been under there.

In frustration, I finally threw up my hands and said,"Tiger, you need to fetch the cat and bring him to my front porch."

I then resigned myself to going inside the house sans feline. I wasn't inside the house for more than a couple of minutes when my husband felt that he should open the door. He just had a vague impression that he needed to do that. Hubby opened the door and looked down. Tibby was sitting there smirking at him.

Coincidence? Perhaps, but who knows. As far as I am concerned, Tiger deserves his place on thecanine version of Mensa. That is one smart dog.

Easter Greetings

One of my friends sent me the following essay. I felt that the article deserved to be reprinted:


Easter is the most joyous of all Christian holidays.
It is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without Easter and the Resurrection there would be no Christianity. The message of Easter is not just for Christians. The message of Easter goes beyond Christianity and touches the hearts of all good people everywhere.
The message of Easter is a message of celebration; a celebration of the ultimate triumph of hope and love.
In a weary world, battered by hate, war, greed, dwindling resources, starvation, hopelessness, violence and evil, the message of Easter shines like a lighthouse above a dark and treacherous shore. It is a message that all who listen will hear - whether they be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, agnostics or atheists.Open eyes and hearts and see and hear the true message of Easter - and it belongs not to Christians alone. For the message of Easter brings the broader message of hope; of love conquering evil; and of life conquering death. The message of Easter is one of light victorious over darkness; of hope triumphing over hopelessness; of love conquering hate; and of faith reigning supreme over fear. It is the single most hopeful message to all mankind that ultimately right will prevail over wrong.The message of Easter gives all of us, Christians or not, a promise that life trumps death; good trumps evil; light trumps darkness; and that love trumps hate. Who among us wishes that death will ultimately prevail? Or that darkness will be victorious over light? Would any good person hope that hate will ultimately triumph over love?The true Christian is tolerant of other religions and other beliefs. And in that spirit of Christianity we must make the message of Easter more than just a Christian message.. We must share this message of rebirth and hope with all our brothers and sisters, of all other religions and beliefs; even non-believers. Those who listen will hear the message of Easter. They will not be deafened by secularism or doctrine or ideology. Easter's message of hope, light and love is universal. This Easter, let all Christians hope that all good people, everywhere, listen and hear the message of Easter and the Resurrection as a universal message of life, hope, light, love, and faith. A message that will touch every good human heart.
And let us all remember that without hope there can be no love; and without love we are nothing.
Above all, Easter's message is one of hope. It is a message which proclaims the triumph of love over hate and of life over death. This year, more than ever before, we hope that in this world tormented by hate, war, greed and despair and hopelessness, the message of Easter will be heard by all good people all over the world regardless of religion. Hope and love do not belong to one religion, they are universal. And so is the message of Easter.

---anonymous

Checking In

It's been a long time since I last posted. Too long, really. However, I have been literally flying by the seat of my pants for quite some time, and I had to put my blog on hold. Now it is time for some much needed updates.

The last time I posted, my husband was in the hospital with a bad foot infection. His operation was successful, and he is healing nicely. I have been on the road most of the time since then taking him out of town for physical therapy sessions and various other doctor appointments. He cannot see well enough to drive himself to these appointments since his last eye operation in October. Thankfully, his vision continues to improve also, so we both feel that we have much to be thankful. Right now he can walk with the aid of a Frankenstein looking shoe, but soon he will be back to using "regular" shoes. By regular, I mean that he will have to have specialty shoes since he's diabetic, but at least it won't consist of a raised platform at the front of the shoe.

In late December, my mother had a major setback. She fell and was taken to the hospital. The x-rays revealed that she had pneumonia. She had to remain hospitalized for six days, but she was dismissed before Christmas. Last year we celebrated Christmas at a physical rehab center after she fell and badly injured herself. My mother was overjoyed to be able to enjoy Christmas at my sister's house this year. Since 2001, some member of my family has been hospitalized during or just prior to Christmas. Instead of dampening our spirits, I think it has helped us to appreciate the true values of Christmas. To an extent, I am reminded of the children's TV classic, The Grinch that Stole Christmas. In that famous Dr. Seuss tale, even though the bad old grinch took away the Whooville's Christmas presents, he couldn't steal their joy. I feel the same way about the obstacles my family has faced during the Yuletide season.

Now it is January, and there are new challenges on the horizon. My husband may have to have more surgery, but this surgery has nothing to do with his feet. He suffers from a hearing loss that may be improved through surgery. We shall have to wait and see.

Oh, just one more update. A couple of months ago, I mentioned that my newest dog was undergoing heartworm treatments. The treatment was costly and grueling (the dog had to be kept largely incapacitated), but she came through it with flying colors. We have a happy, healthy, thriving canine companion for our household.

On that last upbeat note, I would like to wish each of my readers a happy and prosperous New Year.

Husband in Hospital

My husband was hospitalized Tuesday night with a severely infected foot (diabetes related).
The infected material had to be removed, but no bones were taken out. I do not know how long he will have to remain hospitalized. He is on strong antibiotics. Will update as soon as possible.
In the meantime, take care.