Fire @ MindSay

well, its been awhile again...I haven't been myself since July-August probably and I didn't feel like writing any.
The Dixie Classic Fair was fun though,but I got very tired that day.. That it how its been . I get so tired doing anything and stomach problems too. I was glad when my Doctor appointment finally arrived over a week ago now. All my blood work came back with great results. No thyroid problems or Liver problems and I'm not perimenopausal either... Cholesterol levels were great as were blood count, etc.. so, Dr. said it sounded like depression. All the stress from this year...Yes, worry is a sin..I don't handle it very well and I give it to God, but I always manage to pull it back..Not what you're supposed to do...so now I'm back on my Zoloft after being off it for well over two years..Starting to feel like me again. Last friday at the West/Reynolds game I had the best time. My friend I haven't seen in a long while, Trace' Cave Cunduff came. and wonders of all we saw John Sherrill too! We haven't seen him in years! Long years! LOL He has not changed a bit! He's still John! haha.. we had a great time picking and carrying on..just like the old days again! I knew I was gonna be okay then..
I can almost pinpoint a time when I really felt lowest...The day we got that Certified letter from our mortgage co..I had to sign for it and my heart sank...I prayed so hard while opening that letter, and called James crying my eyes out...That was hard, as I have written before. I just kept praying though, and I knew God would answer in His time, but I was being honest with Him and asking Him to hurry up. :)  Not what you're supposed to do either, but He knows me and we are all human and live in this imperfect world.
Meanwhile its been getting cooler and having crisp nights. There have been some Indian Summer days though. I was able to not turn our heat on for almost 2 whole weeks.
Then Monday came. I was working at home on Quickbooks trying to get it straight for Biogreen. I get a call and answer it. It's Lynn. She's been helping us deal with our mortgage co..She said"They are sending you a package out Fed Ex and you should get it tomorrow.. Your interest rate dropped to 6.375% and your new payments are like $848.00"... My skin started prickling and I cried... I felt relief wash over me.. She didnt know the rest of the details..we'd find out from the letter.. I stayed home again on Tuesday and worked on Quickbooks again,finishing it....James came home for lunch like he always does...I see the Fed Ex truck back into the driveway... James goes to meet him and signs for the letter... we sit together and open it. I read it...
"James, it says that this is for the next 365 months!"  Oh my! Here come the pricklings again!!! We look at each other.. "So this is the new payment for the rest of the loan?" "Yes!!" Hallaluha!!  after trying 3 times with them to get this Loan Mod, we get it and it's great! we didnt know if it would be just 6 months as most are or a year, but the life of the Loan!! That was such a blessing !!! A burden lifted!! I thanked God all the rest of that day and still am....
another prayer was answered too on Tuesday. Ariana was able to trade her Jeep and her $2500 for a 2002 Saturn! It only had about 75000 miles on it. Her jeep broke down over a week ago and it was a pain trying to get her to College and picked up and to work and me to work.... it was a mess but we did it.. and she had to buy the $84 dollar part and Jeff fixed the jeep for her, but it still needed a battery...she'd go somewhere and have to get a jump to start it... Not good..plus it was eating gas and ate oil like crazy too. She had to put 3 quarts in every two weeks or so.. she did cry though...The jeep was her first car... She didn't really want to give it up, but she knew it was for the best. Now she 'll have a good car when she goes to UNCC in a year or so..
and Morgan. He had to buy a new car too. Late September his old car starting acting up and stalling out on him, so James looked around here and found him a "97 Grand Am with only about 65000 miles on it.. and Morgan could afford it. he just had to borrow $1300 from Grandma to do it and he'll pay her back in Jan. when he gets his financial aid $ again. It cost him $2800.00. Both of the kids cars are white now! That is odd! I wont know who is who until I can see the whole car coming in!! LOL
So many blessings this week..... I am feeling better on my medicine and getting things done now that got neglected over the summer...Whew..now on to the next problem..figuring out how to pay our taxes of $1800.00!!! since we inherited that 7 acres of land, our property taxes went up...big time!! 
We signed the papers from the Mortgage co. and Fed ex'd them back all on the same day...we should hear soon about when payment is due and all that... 
There's still the matter of Christmas too. I told James we could not afford to buy for everyone this year... We will get the small ones something, and try to figure out how and what to do for Morgan and Ariana... I just want us to be together...I don't need one thing! After all what is Christmas all about anyway? -The Birth of our Lord and Saviour!!!! When you realize that, nothing else matters. Enjoy the season of Love!
Thanksgiving coming soon! Time to Thank the Lord for all our blessings! But we should thank Him on a daily basis... He does so much for us..look for the small things and the big things..There's always something! I remind myself of that daily...

I live in a very small college town. The population (around 1,000) more than quadruples when the colleges are in session. The schools themselves are very close knit. Everyone knows everyone. If not by name, at least by face. Even people you don't spend much time with are at least familiar with you. It's, overall, a safe community. It's a place where you don't expect a lot of disasters to happen.

 

This morning, at about 5:30, the corner of main street caught on fire. Four businesses burned down entirely, one is closed due to extensive smoke damage, and off-campus apartments also burned to the ground. 13 students are displaced from their homes and have lost everything. Every where you go, someone is on their cell phone, having the same conversation.

 

It's strange and scary all at the same time. You never expect something like that to happen in a place like this. More than that, it feels like everyone in the world knows. Everyone in this small town certainly does, but for the most part, outside of it nothing is different. It feels like the world was supposed to stop turning, but instead, somehow, everyone is still going through their routines. People are going to class, my meeting tonight hasn't been cancelled, things keep moving on. Even when it feels like everything has stopped, we keep going. Maybe it's the routines that keep us sane. Maybe we only keep going on so we don't burn down, too.

When I it was time to pick up the kiddo today, I rushed out of the house so I wouldn't be late.  I looked over the horizon when I got to the main street and saw the darkest rain clouds I've ever seen looming above the kiddo's school.  As I waited in the parking lot, I prayed that we'd beat the storm. Alas, we didn't.  About two minutes before the bell rang the Heavens opened up.  I only had a small parasol that I got from the Houston International Festival to protect me from the buckets of rain falling on my head. The parasol was pretty much useless.  At least the kiddo was wearing her raincoat! The husband saw that it was raining cats and dogs and met us in the driveway with his ginormous umbrella and helped us get into the house. (awww :P)

When we got in the house and out of our wet clothes, the kiddo requested popcorn for her after school snack.  She doesn't like microwaved popcorn, she likes for me to make it on the stove in a pot.  As the popcorn popped, it started to pop the top off of the pot.  Normally this isn't a big deal, but this time a couple of popped kernels fell on the burner and caught on fire!  I quickly covered the burner with the pot top and prayed for the fire to go out.  It seemed like it took forever! Then I started cursing the fire out (notice I went from praying to cussin'). "Just fucking die already! Will you hurry up and lose oxygen you shittin' ass fire!"  Finally the fire went out and the kitchen filled with smoke.  The kiddo stared at me in amazement and I realized I must have looked like a lunatic standing in the kitchen in my underwear cursing out a fire.

Oh yes, before any snarky jackass decides to tell me that fire and water aren't really elements, I'd like to say "Duh! I know that! However, it made for a nice dramatic title." 

This past week has been dedicated to fixing up my room and making it more like it's supposed to be - NOT a classroom.  I've had amazing help, and it looks GREAT! (pictures soon?)

So, I have a kindergarten/first grade area, and of course, those really big picture, bright color, little kid knowledge posters (opposites, shapes, numbers, etc).

How are they arranged on my wall?

MUSICALLY, of course!

Musically?

Yes.  I decided they hang in this order:  ABC poster and then 123 poster, because the Jackson Five song says, "ABC...easy as 123...". 
And THEN (no and then! :)) it's the poster about colors, and the poster about shapes.
...because I love the Foo Fighter's album 'the Colour and the Shape'.

Glad it's all about the teaching, eh? :)

*Just got alerted that my break area is a fire hazard.  The woman who's been doing this for 13 years and picked it out of course didn't think of that.  It's always something.

On September 4, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole features a discussion with former Army First Lieutenant and retired Oakland Police Department Sergeant Robert Searle.

Program Date: September 4, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Confessions of an Oakland Cop
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/09/05/Confessions-of-an-Oakland-Cop

About the Guest
Lieutenant Robert Searle, served in the United States Army for three years, including a tour in Vietnam, “spent approximately 23 years in law Enforcement after serving in the Vietnam War. Most of that time was with the Oakland California Police Department. There he worked as a Patrol Officer; as a Field Training Officer; Undercover Agent for The Federal Organized Crime Task Force; Sergeant in Patrol; and as a Sergeant in Major Narcotics Violators Unit of The Vice Squad.” Robert Searle is the author of Streets of Fire: Confessions of an Oakland Cop.

According to the book description of Streets of Fire: Confessions of an Oakland Cop, “The release of Streets of Fire could not be better timed; we need his story now! If you are COP (i.e., Constable on Patrol) Bob understands you. If you like intrigue, grit, excitement and nail biting action, read on! If you are a father, Bob's a great example: his three sons prove that. If you are a young person looking for a role-model, Bob's book is for you. If you are a hooker being controlled by your pimp, or an addiction, please read on. If you are a College student looking for a quick and exciting read, this is it! Or, if you are simply tired of insipid books that don't carry much weight nor deliver much punch, and you are looking for a book that delivers entertainment, counsel, intrigue, suspense, and-the occasional shock factor--then this book is for you!”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is Police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/09/05/Confessions-of-an-Oakland-Cop

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530