Yesterday was a long day.

My step daughter has a good friend that attends Virginia Technology and we had to wait to hear if Nate was safe, he is.
One person determined a lot of people were to die that day.
I will never understand that.
Even after looking down the barrel of a gun and hearing someone say, "That is the third time I almost took us out." I do not understand why a person thinks they have the right and power to end anyone's life. It's beyond suicide, it's beyond selfishness. My heart goes out to the families. I pray for the ones hurting, I pray that some peace comes to them from such a meaningless end. I pray that this madness that over comes others finds a way of disipating. It's a maddening world we reside in some days.
Yesterday I was pulling out from picking the girls up from school and seen a car pull into the path of a tractor and trailor. I watched a family get hit almost head on and seen the pain of a truck driver hoping all were okay. I am not sure if the young father will make it and the mother was in a bad way as well. The little child seemed fine, and we waited just a few minutes for the ambulance to arrive. I returned to the car and prayed. I prayed for the family in the car and for their loved ones receiving the news; I prayed for the baby who may be losing a parent and I prayed for the truck driver who was just trying to make a living.
I felt mortality when my girlfriend shared that her father's cancer has returned and it is not operable. They are hoping chemotherapy will prevail. I prayed for her, for her family for her father and mother.
As I write this, I realize that there is no reason to be depressed, we don't have a way of knowing when or how, we just know it will.
There is a comfort in my faith although pain and sorrow is real.But I learned once more we should tell them we love them.

What will you do tomorrow ?
Tomorrow is Sunday. Will you go to Church? Will you spend the day relaxing with your family? Will you do some chores you have been wanting to get done? Some of us will have to work. There are many other things that can and will be done tomorrow. Maybe the mall? When you park and someone slams their car door beside you, I hope you don't jump. If your walking in and someone blows their horn, I hope you don't jump. If the balloon of the kid behind you suddenly pops, I hope you don't jump. These sound like strange things to say but to some people (who do jump), it's an everyday event. These are things we never think about. Do we really care? These things don't make me jump why should I care if someone else does? They jump for you and me. They flinch, they cringe, they duck, for you and me. Vietnam My song choice tonight is Goodnight Saigon, a song about Vietnam by Billy Joel.How many of us go on with our daily lives and don't think about, or pray for our boys in Iraq ? I know I am guilty. I can only imagine how they feel being there. Actually most of us don't have a clue how it feels being in a combat situation. I served four years USAF in peacetime so I don't know. This song touched my heart years ago and I thought I would share it with you fellow bloggers tonight. Please read the words and try to feel what they did (for us). What gets me is that they went and served their country and when they got home they were cursed and spat upon. These boys were 17 to 20 years old. If someone didn't agree with the war they should have spat on the government, not on our boys. I feel ashamed and sorry for that happening and I had no part of it. I would personally like to say Thank You to our Vietnam Vets and to all our boys who have gone and done what they pledged to do. If there is a vet who reads this, I salute you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the job well done. Most of all its important we keep our current military and their families,upheld in prayer.
Thank a Vet....I hope its what you do tomorrow !!.....



We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

goodnite bloggers, Matthew

So, I finally get to have Easter in my lovely new home town of Crisfield Maryland and what does it do? Snow! You heard me right. We had a frozen layer of the white stuff.
Do you have any idea who was blamed for the freezer scraping? *nods* Oh yeah! Me. I guess I brought a NY Easter to Maryland. Go figure.
I am now back in the frozen tundra of the North, and to make matters worse I was driving in a flurry as I re-entered the border. How rude!
The girls and I had our Easter Tuesday evening, upon arrival, I had everything done, just needed to heat and serve and it was delicious. School is off for the week due to Spring Break. Yeah, well if you want to say it is spring. *shivers* Although the snow is gone, the cold wind that penetrated my jacket and the soaring gas prices, $2.97 / gallon the lowest grade this morning, chilled me to the bone. What Spring.
*kicks Punxsutawney Phil, the ground hog back into his hole*

I am hoping next week's weather is better, doesn't it get warmer after April 15th?

Hi all this is Matthew and I am here for my first post on your blog. Karen has told me about the Saturday night blog crawl and it sounds very cool. I am not one for words but music is a huge part of my life. I would like to dedicate this post to my wonderful wife Karen. Ok, here I go. Karen, I would love to say to you that Your My Inspiration (Chicago). All I know is that when You Came Into My Life (Scorpions) you brought me such Joy (Whitney Houston), such Peace (Weezer), such a Wonderful Love (Creeper Lagoon). Karen, you are More Than A Woman (Bee Gees) to me, your my Best Friend ( Tim McGraw). I have to say that most of all I am so proud, so blessed that your are My Girl (Temptations). Well bloggers I hope you have enjoyed this post about my wonderful wife Karen. I adore her, I cherish her And I Love Her (Beatles)......Goodnight All...

You know, I have often wondered about the agenda of people that inform us of something negative that may never have been carried to my ears otherwise.
There are things that are just fine. For instance, if I wore my Riggin's Market light blue sweat shirt backwards, so the little logo was on the back of my right hand shoulder blade and not on the front where it belongs, sure point it out and I will go in the back room and spin it around. Not that it has happened, I am just saying...fine...it was funny, I switched it and we all giggled.
It is alright to pass on information about a sick friend, a unfortunate event or a complicated situation for advice IF it is being carried with good intentions and received with good intentions.
But today I received pure and simple gossip.
Bear with me on this so I relay the situation so that you understand and I am not caught up in the same trap.
I will give an written illustration.
I was hopping down a path one day (being a bunny) and met my friend Squirrel. We stopped to chat and had a darling little time until she brought up our mutual friend, Kitty into the conversation. She told me that Kitty was upset with me over something I did and talked it over with her privately. I stopped hopping and asked why she thought I should be told this since this was a private conversation between them, and I am sure Kitty did not expect Squirrel to be sharing it with me. She even went so far as to say "well you aren't going to tell her I told you are you?" By the time I left, I had promised I wouldn't but I was hopping mad.
Later that day I seen Kitty and she seemed fine, but the whole time I was hoping she would bring up the topic so I could clear the air but it never did, she left seeming fine and I was fumbling with my new knowledge.
Really, what was Squirrel's agenda? She acted a friend to no one.
I think too that the issue was already resolved in Kitty's head by having someone listen, and that is what friends are for, but it should not have been brought to me. That wasn't fair to me or Kitty.
There was no reason for my blissful ignorance to be interrupted!