If this doesn’t make you laugh, your sense of humor doesn’t. It’s time for a major overhaul or even possibly a replacement. Cost should never be an issue when dealing with this vital component of the human engine.

and made me question again how many more of America’s young people are going to have their lives turned upside down or lost before this country’s citizens wake up to the fact that we are essentially involved in the civil war of another country. Just how would we respond if any country on this planet had the arrogance to show up on our shores and attempt to tell us that our issues with racial inequality must stop then proceeded to use firepower to force us to accept each other regardless of race, religion, country of origin, etc. What an outrage!! Who do they think they are to tell us how to run our own country????? But, for some reason it is perfectly fine for the United States to do this again and again.

One last point and I will step off my soapbox and store it until the next time I am appalled, sickened or simply saddened by the path our country has taken. The point: Why do we consistently ignore genocide in Africa if we are so terribly concerned about human rights? Why is HVI still the number one killer there when people in this country, rich and poor now, who live long and fruitful lives in the good only USA and other countries? And finally, why is it that malaria has been pretty much everywhere and I do mean EVERYWHERE and yet continues to kill thousands in Africa each year? Could it possible be that Africa is pretty much bereft of anything the U.S. needs or can’t find elsewhere without having to so much as get it’s hands dirty?

Returning soapbox to closet for the time being….

Gotta go find my daughter’s Barbie bed set!

but I couldn’t promise anything. This might actually put a stop to all those guys who grow a guy “just for the winter, cuz you can’t imagine how it feels to expose freshly shaved skin to real cold. Oh yeah Boy Wonder, they’re called legs, they’re about 10x the surface area of your cheeks and chin ( you DO NOT shave your entire face!). Yes, we can wear pantyhose, but give it try and learn pantyhose are for fashion not frostbite control.

So shave or don’t shave, but don’t use the “only shave in winter to protect my face from the cold line.” After more than 20 years in the mid-west my legs (and/or brain) aren’t buying it, it’s an extra 15 minutes sleep, Also, in case in you haven’t really notice, no one really gives a rat’s ass, if you shave much less why.

You never know where on when, but she will suddenly stop and in slo-mo drop to her side, look at you expectantly as if to say “let the belly rubs begin!”

I am the daughter of a carpenter and grew up loving tools and gadgets, but I was always terrified of the table saw. Now I can’t wait to own one!

I was fortunate enough to see Harry Chapin (and family) perform over a dozen times while living in Springfield Illinois. While this is not the best technical recording of “Flowers are Red” (one my favorites of his many songs), I like it because it shows the real Harry, who though his own magic connected with every member of his audience. It further showcases this songwriting wonderkinds warmth and grand sense of humor.

You may have already or will soon deduce that my book genre of choice is historical fiction. I believe this began when I read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck when I was about eleven years old. I know I am drawn to the genre by the ease with which such book enable me to absorb history without the pain often associated with the process *smile*.

I simply could not let more time pass without singing the praises of Mr. Rutherford who I first encountered with his book Sarum in my 20’s and have followed through over a dozen books since. His books are stuffed with facts that are absorbed nearly by osmosis as his writing so captivates the reader in his generational storylines. Do yourself a very large favor and seek out Mr. Rutherfurd’s works, while their length may seem daunting you will find yourself sailing through the books so quickly that the fact that you have reached the end comes as shock. You will be left wanting more and while you may have to wait a year or two whilst he completes his in depth research. Find something else to read in the meantime for he can be counted on to deliver another winner every time!