Ownership @ MindSay 
Woke up to a rainy,cold, yucky day.... Yes, I'm very thankful for the rain, as we have been in a really bad drought for a loooonnngggg time now. Still..... The cold is what hurt I guess. After almost 80 degrees yesterday. We got up and went to the local flea market to buy some avon and vaccum cleaner bags. Cheaper than anywhere else and I buy enough to last half a year. I dont like going to this flea market after say about 9 am because it gets very smoky from people smoking there. I am allergic to the smoke and it greatly bothers me... On the way back home we found a book store that had just opened. An independant one selling used books. We love book stores...antique stores,...... They also take books and give you store credit. We browsed, then headed home. Once there, my husband proceeds to attack the book shelves in a search for unwanted books to take back to the new store we found. He got a bag full. Anyway, I had to be at work at 1, so he took me and went in to browse some. I work at a major retail bookstore. I was put on a register by myself today, well, in between two seasoned cashiers. I didn't do too bad... Yes, I made some booboos but all in all I thought I did pretty good! Just my feet and back are killing me from standing all day! I did get a 30 minute break and I got off at 6. Still, I DO NOT want to work on Saturdays! Or Sundays for that matter. I like a Mon-Fri job, since I'm just part time anyway. I only took this job because we need to get caught up on some overdue bills and pay for daughters braces, among other things. Have a son in college too. Need to help him out as much as possible... Anyway, nothing will be like my last job at the Coffee Corner was. I could get as much time off as I needed, basically tell when I could work. There were only a handful of us that worked there anyway. It was small and intimate. We got to know our customers as they came every day, and shared their lives with us, and we them. I made some good friends there. It was a Christian place and the atmosphere was wonderful to be in. My friend owned it for almost 2 and 1/2 years. I worked for 1 and 1/2 years there. It became a lot for her. The taxes with having employees kills small businesses like hers. And the rent was outrageous too. She did good for awhile, then the costs began to tax her and her own money. She had to get out so she sold it. The new owners kept it for 5 months and kept us too. Then they sold it and those new owners kicked us out, and now the place is empty. The third owners never did anything with it. Sigh.... wish I could've bought it and run it myself. With no employees to pay,I could have done it I think. Just would've taken an initial investment of say 10 grand?? And who has that?? Not I!! Anyway, I'll never have a job like that again. Occasionally I would work a Saturday, but she closed the place on Sundays so we could all go to church. We all attend the same church too. It was family, and cozy. I miss it a lot. I had planned on quitting in Dec. if it had stayed open, just because of the new owners changing everything, the hours and such. Of course it quit being Christian owned after they acquired it. We lost some of our regulars when it changed owners but the die hard ones stayed. Thing is, I've never worked a retail job per say, not at a major retailer. Years before my children were born, I worked at a church daycare. I was there for 7 years and quit when I was about to give birth to my first born in '88. Then I was a SAHM and had another child in 1991. While my children were small, I kept several other children in the home to make some money. Then when my youngest was 4, she went to preschool and my oldest started Kindergarten at the church school. I went to work in the cafeteria there. I got off at 2 as the kids were getting out of school. It was perfect. I quit there when my oldest got out of second grade, and my youngest had just finished kindergarten. We started Homeschooling then. We did that for 5 years. I enjoyed my time with them, and we did a lot of field trips and such with the local homeschooling group. Both kids got involved with extracurricular activities such as swim team,softball,and baseball with little league. My daughter got involved with pop warner cheering too. That was fun. Her last year of Pop Warner her squad made it to Nationals, which Pop Warner holds in Orlando,Fla. That was something else to experience and it lit a cheering bug under my daughter. They went into public school for the first time during middle school and seemed to do great. Both of them flourished. They both can relate to all different ages and such due to their background in homeschooling and then public school. I am proud of them both. They have accomplished much. Not too much deterred them, except maybe MATH! lol and I hate math too, so I can't really blame them! Just they had to have 4 years to graduate! My son squeaked by barely and now my daughter is doing the same thing! I only had to have 2 years of math to graduate and I took Pre-Algebra for those 2 years! Hah... My husband and I neither one could do High school now. It has changed... My son got involved with Drama while in high school and now he is in college about to major in some aspect of it...acting,producing,teaching, some form of it. He was wonderful in high school during all the plays he was in. He even got a big part his first year as a freshman. That was hard to do in high school. His teacher saw something in him and took a chance on him, and BOOM...now look at him go!!! We love to see anything that he is involved with. We have supported both our kids in whatever they chose to do. We were there for them. Goodness, there was a lot! Some I have mentioned before but I want to list them all now, I want to see how extensive it is!:
Scouting,baseball,softball,cheering,swim team,gymnastics,ballet classes, dance classes,parades,competitions,music lessons,band,Pokemon!(LOL), clubs, Drama,church,youth group,outings,.... whew! And on it goes! LOL I can't think of much more but I know its there! Anyway, that proves my point, they did a lot and we were there for them! We had crazy schedules, but we made it work. Sometimes one parent went with one child and the other parent with the other child! It was a whirlwind sometimes,but it was fun.... I miss it and I miss them being little.Just like Trace Adkins song:
Then They Do
In the early rush of morning
Trying to get the kids to school
One's hanging on my shirttail
Another's locked up
In her room
And I'm yelling up the stairs
Stop worrying 'bout your hair
You look fine
Then they're fightin' in the backseat
I'm playing referee
Now someone's gotta go
The moment that we leave
And everybody's late
I swear that I can't wait
'Till they grow up
(Chorus) Then they do
And that's how it is
It's just quiet in the morning
Can't believe
How much you miss
All they do
And all they did
You want all the dreams
They dreamed of
To come true
Then they do
Now the youngest is starting college
She'll be leavin' in the Fall
And Brianna's latest boyfriend
Called to ask if we could talk
And I got the impression
That he's about to pop the question any day
I look over at their pictures
Sittin' in their frames
I see them as babies
I guess that'll never change
You pray all their lives
That someday they will find happiness
(Chorus)
Makes me cry everytime I hear it. And oh, how so true! Don't wish your kids were grown, you will miss them!
I remember a couple of years ago an incident that I interrupted at Walmart. I usually don't say things to parents with their kids but this day I got angry at the mom. She was jerking her small child and telling him to quit it. Then she jerked him a good one and almost shouted,"I'll be so ***&& glad when you are grown!" I turned to her and said," No, you won't. They grow too fast and you'll regret ever saying that to him." then I just walked off. She was shocked that I said anything, and I hope it sunk in too...
"You pray all their lives
That someday they will find happiness"
This line is also so true. As a parent, you pray, you begin to pray when they are little, that somewhere out in this vast, mean, world, that if the Lord tarries, HE will bring your child a wonderful Christian partner. Someone who is kind, and who has been Saved. Someone who has accepted Christ with their all, and will love your child deeply and honor them. For your son you want an obedient wife that respects him as the head of the household and becomes his helpmate,loving him deeply. For your daughter you want a loving,kind man who will guide,help,and love her deeply. Both becoming helpmates and loving the Lord.They need to pray about everything.... It is not easy in these days and times for our children. Satan has thrown a lot of traps out there for them. We can rasie them and give them to the Lord, but they ultimately must decide. My son was saved when he was 5, as well as my daughter. It was a sweet time with both of them. I have watched them through the years and seen them doing right, and some wrong, but they always find their roots, and come to Christ.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Well, I wrote way more than I intended too, but it was good. I had a lot to say, and more to say still... It is therapy to write. You can always go back and see how you've changed and what you need to do to change.
Well, signing out for the night.
Good night.... A little prayer I learned while a small child:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Bless this bed I lay upon
Four corners to my bed
Four angels round my head
One to sleep
One to pray
and two to watch until the day. Amen
This prayer doesn't mean anything much to me anymore, not since I became a Christian when I was 17.
I'll leave you hanging here. I'll pick up my story whenever I sign back in..... More to come!
I was posed with a great question tonight:
when one creates something, does this created thing belong to its creator? or upon creation does it suddenly belong to the human race? the reason i ask is because a few years ago, i was drawing during class, as i always did, and suddenly didn't like what i was drawing. so i scribbled it out. the person next to me was shocked that i'd do such a thing and chastized me for destroying something that he thought was beautiful. ever since then, i've had a hard time letting go of things that have any creation value whatsoever.
To which I responded:
I'll answer that in a different way since this person has a belief around a value that is important to them.
First, in another unrelated conversation I've been having with a difficult group of people, their perceptions are based upon a lot of social stereotypes and ideologies. As I'm an individual who tries to create higher awareness and call people on behaviors and attitudes that trespass upon other peoples right to free will, conflict sometimes ensues. This time, they directed their judgment towards me. Today, as part of this ongoing saga, I stated:
Just because you believe does it make it true?
Who else, beside yourself, is held in the prison of your beliefs?
Defensive? Then consider just one example that all of us can recall.
How long was the world flat?Second, let's examine creation. God created everything and the quantum field of energy that creates all physical matter is in some way connected directly to the force of God or could be the God - the exactness is not for us to know from this physical realm. We just know God is and can, with science, see the truth that all matter comes from this source of energy, that makes tiny particles that make up quarks, that make up atoms, molecules, and so on. Another thing that is known is that created matter decays - we know this from so many perspectives - as the human body that is born, we die, return to dust, and so on - just as every other piece of matter in the universe - each having its' own life-cycle.
Does the creator have free will?
If the creator has free will, and if all of creation is for humanity, then why do we die? Why does so much die? And why do planets also die - stars, etc.?
Is it simply a part of the natural order, or is it simply a means for the creator to experience creation again and again?
As you can see, there are many questions that can be pondered, but we also see, simply in the realm of our own living planet, that death is needed for life to continue. Out of destruction, it would seem that something new is born.
As a child plays with creative toys, they create, build, construct, draw, paint, and so on. For a time, there may be simple joy in experiencing what is created. And then what? Boredom, a need to move onto something else. So, the object - maybe in this case something made from lego - is destroyed and the child can create again. Each time, experimenting, growing, adapting, challenging, and above all, enjoying the process even though they may be unaware of the relationship on the subconscious level.
As you can see, this is no direct answer. It has a lot of clues, a lot of leeway, and above all else, the free will to determine for yourself:
I hope this helps you to explore various perspectives and to come to the place within you that knows the truth that is only important to you.
Guns, Gun Ownership, & RTC at All-Time Highs, Less "Gun Control," and Violent Crime at 30-Year Low
The number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is at an all-time high. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) estimates that there were about 215 million guns in 1999,1 when the number of new guns was averaging about 4.5 million (about 2%) annually.2 A report for the National Academy of Sciences put the 1999 figure at 258 million.3 According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were 60.4 million approved (new and used) NICS firearm transactions between 1994 2004.4 The number of NICS checks for firearm purchases or permits increased 3.2% between 2003-2004.
Gun Owners.
The number of gun owners is also at an all-time high. The U.S. population is at an all-time high (294 million), and rises about 1% annually.5 Numerous surveys over the last 40+ years have found that almost half of all households have at least one gun owner.6 Some surveys since the late 1990s have indicated a smaller incidence of gun ownership,7 probably because of some respondents` concerns about "gun control," residually due, perhaps, to the anti-gun policies of the Clinton Administration.
Right-to-Carry.
The number of RTC states is at an all-time high, up from 10 in 1987 to 38 today.8 In 2004, states with RTC laws, compared to other states, had lower violent crime rates on average. Total violent crime was lower by 21%, murder by 28%, robbery by 43%, and aggravated assault by 13%.9
"Less Gun Control."
Violent crime has declined while many "gun control" laws have been eliminated or made less restrictive. Many states have eliminated prohibitory or restrictive carry laws, in favor of Right-to-Carry laws. The federal Brady Act`s waiting period on handgun sales ended in 1998, in favor of the NRA-supported National Instant Check, and some states thereafter eliminated waiting periods, purchase permit requirements, or other laws delaying gun sales. The federal "assault weapon" ban expired in 2004. All states now have hunter protection laws, 46 have range protection laws, 46 prohibit local jurisdictions from imposing gun laws more restrictive than state law, 44 protect the right to arms in their constitutions, and 33 prohibit frivolous lawsuits against the firearm industry.10
Studies by and for Congress, the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress, the National Institute of Justice, the National Academy of Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and even researchers who support "gun control," have found no evidence that "gun control" reduces crime.11
Crime.
The FBI reports that the nation`s total violent crime rate declined every year between 1991 2004.12 In 2004, the violent crime rate fell to a 30-year low, lower than any time since 1974. The murder rate fell to a 39-year low, lower than any time since 1965. The 2004 robbery and aggravated assault rates were lower than any time since 1968 and 1984, respectively. Since 1991, total violent crime has decreased 39%; murder and non-negligent manslaughter, 44%; rape, 24%; robbery, 50%; and aggravated assault, 33%.13 Between 2003-2004, the violent crime rate declined 2.2%.14 Concurrently, the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics crime victimization survey found that violent crime is lower than anytime since 1973, when the first such survey was conducted.15
Notes
1. BATF, "Crime Gun Trace Reports (1999) National Report," Nov. 2000, p. ix (www.atf.gov/firearms/ycgii/1999/index.htm).
2. BATF, "Firearms Commerce in the United States 2001/2002" (www.atf.gov/pub/index.htm#Firearms).
3. National Research Council, Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review, National Academies Press, 2005.
4. BJS, "Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2004" (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov./bjs/pub/pdf/bcft04.pdf).
5. Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html).
6. Gary Kleck, Targeting Firearms, Aldine de Gruyter, 1997, pp. 94, 98-100.
7. E.g., BJS Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2002, Table 2.58, (www.albany.edu/sourcebook/).
8. See NRA RTC fact sheet (within www.nraila.org/Issues/Filter.aspx?ID=003).
9. See FBI, Crime in the United States 2004 (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm#cius) for state crime statistics.
10. See NRA-ILA Compendium of State Firearms Laws (www.nraila.org/media/misc/compendium.htm). Also, note that in October 2005, federal legislation prohibiting such lawsuits was signed into law.
11. Federal "assault weapon" ban: Roth, Koper, et al., Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994, March 13, 1997 (www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=406797); Reedy and Koper, "Impact of handgun types on gun assault outcomes: a comparison of gun assaults involving semiautomatic pistols and revolvers," Injury Prevention 2003, (http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/9/2/151); Koper et al., Report to the National Institute of Justice, An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003, June 2004 (www.sas.upenn.edu/jerrylee/jlc-new/Research/Koper_aw_final.pdf); Wm. J. Krouse, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, "Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban," Dec. 16, 2004. "Gun control," generally: Library of Congress, Report for Congress: Firearms Regulations in Various Foreign Countries, May 1998, LL98-3, 97-2010; Task Force on Community Preventive Service, "First Reports Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies for Preventing Violence: Firearms Laws," Morbidity and Mortaility Weekly Report, Oct. 3, 2003 (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5214a2.htm); National Research Council, Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review, National Academies Press, 2005 (http://books.nap.edu/books/0309091241/html/index.html).
12. Note 9 and BJS (http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/). See also FBI (http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel05/crimestat101705.htm).
13. Note 10. Condensed at www.nraila.org, click on "Research," then "Crime Statistics."
14. Note 12.
15. BJS (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov./bjs/pub/press/cv04pr.htm).
Ownership of the ball has been in dispute during the 13 months since pitcher Keith Foulke flipped it to Mientkiewicz, giving Boston a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and its first World Series championship in 86 years.
Mientkiewicz, who clutched the ball in his glove and joined teammates in celebration, later put the ball in a safe deposit box and claimed ownership when the Red Sox asked for it.
In January, days after he was traded to the New York Mets, he agreed to lend the ball to the Red Sox for one year. He would get it back "unless the ultimate issue of ownership has been otherwise resolved," the agreement said.
That clause, The Boston Globe reported, led team lawyers to Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday. The suit asks the court to place the ball in a "secure location" until ownership is decided.
The team's lawyers argue that Mientkiewicz gained possession of the ball only because he was a Red Sox employee, and that the ball is team property.
"From our perspective, it is very important that an artifact with this much history — it was 86 years in the making — be part of the club archive and be available for fans to experience," Lucinda Treat, the team's chief legal officer, told the newspaper.
The Red Sox made quite a splash once they got the ball on Feb. 3, when it was driven to Fenway Park in a Brinks truck. The ball joined the World Series trophy on a tour of Massachusetts cities and towns.
Neither Mientkiewicz nor the players' association were reached for comment, the Globe reported.
When he agreed to lend the ball to the team, Mientkiewicz said: "I want the fans to see it, and that's what both the Red Sox and I agreed on."
At that time, he said it was "very cordial, and we worked something out." He also said he "probably" would get the ball back after a year.
Their agreement said proceeds directly derived from exhibiting the ball would be donated to the Red Sox Foundation, the team's charity organization.
I love driving around here at night; it gives me an odd sense of ownership of this town that I can't really explain. It just feels more like my town when no one else is on the road to claim it, I suppose.
But sometimes it lets me down. I went to Wal-Mart tonight to get a wooden chess set. I had a pretty specific set in mind, the kind of board that splits down the middle and has elastic straps to hold the pieces inside so you can tote it around fairly easily. I had a set like this in high school, but through an unfortunate series of events, it got left behind when I left college.
Anyhow, Wal-mart didn't have what I was looking for. They had lots of #-in 1 sets, and the others were chess/checkers sets, but not even they were travel-worthy. They had a backgammon set that looked exactly like the kind of thing I'm looking for in a chess set, so obviously one of the companies they carry makes such items...
So I went looking for some other items I had forgotten last time I was there. The handsoap and chips were easy finds, no problem there. But my frappuccinos? There was one four-pack left of the mocha, but it only had three bottles in it. Odd, yes. Helpful, no.
All right, well, I can go across the street and pick up the chess set and coffees at Target, right? Nope, it's after 11, they're closed. Why Wal-Mart is open 24/7 and Target isn't is beyond me. *sigh* So I guess I'll try tomorrow. My town failed me. But that's okay, I got that same feeling of ownership again while driving home. :)
Now back to my regularly-scheduled Unshelved reading. :D
*takes a deep breath* Ah... I can still smell her perfume on me. It makes me smile. :)
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