good friday

As the story goes, we are approaching the hour when our Lord was hanging on a cross between two thieves and suffering mightily so that we may be forgiven for our sins.  And we all have plenty.  When I became an out of my head and into my heart Christian I ceased feeling guilty or shameful.  Grace is a gift for all who accept it.  

I have had a busy day beginning with PT followed by tech help from Ben to get the YouTube tv going and a visit from Scotty to repair my raised garden bed.  He's on the way back with it as we speak.  I feel so blessed to have friends to help an old girl out. That's what up.  Y'all be faithful and expect miracles ^j^

everybody has a story

I claim to be a writer and have done so for many years on my blogs.  I did a few pieces for the local newspaper and got some recognition.  I recently received a login to post there so you can check it out on their page as well.

There are so many writers who have made a mark on me in a mostly Southern way.  Clyde Edgerton is one of them.  My latest crush is Sean Dietrich.  He is so my kind of guy and has suddenly got thousands of shares a day.  And then, hackers stepped in and tried to mess with the whole thing.  Impostors!  Nobody can imitate this man's honesty and truth because he tells it like it was.  He was poor, had a sister and a mama that carried on after her husband committed suicide.  Yes Sean...I read every word including Becca and the dog and how much you love your wife.  The world needs more storytellers.

Yesterday was busy.  My SS class cleaned the sanctuary in preparation for Easter service.  I wasn't there long but did manage to dust all the doors at the sanctuary entrance.  Y'all know the Easter people want a pretty place to worship and check out new clothes.  Just kiddin'.  I also dusted the choir loft and remembered what it was like to be sitting up there singing with others and leading the congregation.  Back in the day we did "specials" that required practice but that is not the case now.  We have no choir director.  It's okay though.  The rest of the staff steps up and makes it happen.

I was outside planting some herbs and put my puff coat on.  As I dug through the pocket I found the backing from some foam stars that we decorated Reaves's paper plate.  It made me sad that I don't get to see her more but also appreciative that I am allowed to now and then.  She knows me, loves me and will never forget who her family are.  

I also miss Lauren as well.  She has no car so she can't come here to see me.  Plus, the doggos.  Gobo the husky has these giant blue eyes that always look like he witnessed a murder.  Which he did.  Dude was so happy to see me he scratched my arm.  No blood, just a bruise.  Ava just lays around all depressed like.  They are a handful but the neighbors help out when the kids get home from school.  It's a nice little neighborhood with the top end immaculate and the bottom end kind of sketchy.

Slowly but surely I am turning this home into something Mama would love.  She always had a lot of stuff but I'm a minimalist so most of glassware is on the table waiting to be put back up after I clean out the china cabinet.  That makes me tired just thinking about it.

Still no help on the YouTube TV deal.  I'm looking for a local geek who will do it because THEY know.  It was a huge jump for me just to get ROKU and Netflix.  I am thinking that Bubba and me can partner up on this is they allow slots for other people.  Netflix tried to trick this old gal into paying 8 bucks more for another profile.  I declined.

Y'all get ready for a foot washing tomorrow.  Even if you do it yourself, remember the Last Supper.  Love ya....mean it ^j^

hosanna

Y'all please bear with me while I babble about all of the miracles this weekend.  Yesterday I visited with my girls and was made to feel welcome at both homes.  I was driving in heavy wind and could feel the trusty Escape being pushed hither and yon on 412.  Needless to say it took longer than usual to commute against the wind.

Palm Sunday has been an eye opener for me.  Our SS class moved up onto the main hall where everybody else is and we were packed.  The vote was unanimous to make the move permanent.  The kids handed out palm branches and we all waved them in excitement as we went outside the building surrounded by choir and kids and everybody who could stand the cold.  As we re-entered the sanctuary the ones inside were still singin'  As my friend Miranda posted, a lot can happen in 7 day.  Holy week is special to me and I would love to find a place to attend services during the day.  Maybe with the Episcopalians.  

FUMC used to do a huge production called the Living Last Supper that was a whole lot of work by all involved.  Little details like Patti Lou wandering around with a basket of puppies put us in the right frame of mind to experience the Via Dolorosa.  I am late to experience Lent this year but this week I'm on board.

I have a new toy on trial.  There has been no live TV here since I moved in.  I refuse to pay the price for the high dolla' stuff but I'm doing a trial with YouTube TV.  We shall see. I have a week to cancel.

Rain is a coming, again.  Any pecans left out there will be buried treasures in the mud.  The fruit trees are leafing up and blooming and I do believe they have survived the cold snaps.  Let there be peaches and apples!

I am absolutely aching to get out and play in the dirt.  And, this too shall come ^j^

go big or go home

Today started with PT followed by breakfast with my bestie an errands with my other one.  It's Friday so I decided to splurge on supper from Moustos.  Mighty fine food and my fav is parmesan crusted chicken.  

Poopie is giving me some pain but thankfully I have supplies to take care of that until my next insurance order.  I ordered emergency supplies from some random place and they actually delivered at a reasonable price.  And early on delivery!

Plans are for me to go see the fam tomorrow over in Madison county.  Looks like no rain so maybe I can see to get there.  Traffic is usually light on the weekends, thank goodness.  I haven't seen them in about a month.

Palm Sunday is really special to me because, well you know the story.  Hosanna Lord and to the cross from the courts and the people.  They could have chosen anybody else to crucify but it was biblical.  I often wonder what I am doing as a disciple of Christ.

I do the next right thing which includes not taking advantage of folks who are trying to help me.  I don't judge and I certainly don't hate.  All that ate my soul up a long time ago.  Now I'm just chill and letting God unfold what He has planned for me.  *confessions of a control freak*

Remember who the fock you are ^j^

*short*

I drove my trusty ole' Camry for 20 years and they were not kind ones, especially during local flooding.  And we had a lot.  WE got a 2015 Ford Escape from Gene Langley three years ago that is paid for.  Insurance went up but that's to be expected.  About a third of those drivers out there don't have it.  That's when they run.  Unfortunately BG got slammed in Jackson several weeks ago and I'm telling you, that car is a hot mess.  TT is taking care of her.

For the first time in my life I had a screen that got synced to my phone at Gene Langley.  But now that screen is black and I miss it.  I visited my local home owned auto mechanic this week and will be back next week with questions about fuses and hard re-sets.  If he can fix this I'll buy him and wifey a steak dinner when I get paid.

I have little to no faith in big branding right now.  And what's all with this AI stuff?  I mean even the British are dealing with it and the tech involved with the results of our election process is sketchy.  Deepfake, so to speak.  If I don't see it in person or know enough to see both sides of an issue,  I remain neutral until my vote doesn't count.  I'm still praying for some insane young Independent to step up and represent in spite of party hate.  

I hear shooting.  Somebody is happy it's spring ^j^ 

"don't waste a good crisis"

Those words are not mine but those of the late Rev John Kilzer who died by suicide five years ago today.  He had struggled with addiction all of his life which included being an All American basketball star in Jackson who continued on a scholarship at Memphis State to become an English professor.  Being Memphian and a deep thinker, he began to write songs and do local gigs before signing with Geffen records in the late 70s.  Red Blue Jeans was my favorite.  I had the original vinyl and gave it to a high school classmate of his.  

Brother John created a ministry at St John's UMC in Memphis that served a large group of recovering addicts.  His wit and charm and music gave people hope and a reason to come back and start over.  He was a key player in starting a class at Memphis Theological Seminary for pastors who really didn't know how to help with substance abuse issues within a congregation.  After that, he began recording again with Archer which is where we became reconnected through my Friendship friends Cathy and her mother Ruth.  Sleepin' in the Rain still chills me to the bone.  "God loves them more than you'll ever know."  He relapsed and took his own life in rehab,  On March 12th during Lent.  

It's odd how we can all make a difference in someone's life just by being present and listening without judgement.  All these people who want to regulate morality and are dead set on exclusion are a big part of the problems in our world.  I believe in being honest and doing the next right thing.  Period.

My friends at the army picked me out the perfect lamp to go beside my bed, for five doll'a only.  It's the little things that count.  I so admire what they do every.single.day feeding the poor.  I'm not poor but if they have plates ready I will eat.  Fantastic cooks and "feed the hungry" folks.

Other than that, I got nothing but faith ^j^

hind sight is 20/20

I have received a diagnosis of dry macular degeneration meaning that I will more than likely lose my central vision at some point.  It is an inherited condition and it was passed onto me from my mother who was legally blind by her late 70s.  While I have always known that it was a possibility for me it was still something that shook my faith.  This diagnosis has made me most appreciative of all the beauty of spring knowing that someday I won't be able to enjoy the colors like I always have.  Sunrise and sunset.  Butterflies.  Beautiful cloud formations.  Faces of the people I love.  

I am dog sitting for my old pal Pearl.  Even though she hasn't seen me in a year, things have gone really well.  Except for the cat!  Pearl chased Rosie, Rosie hissed and hid and is keeping her distance.  It's only for three days so she will survive.  There will eventually be another dog here so the feline might as well get used to it.  Pearl hasn't much been around cats so I can understand. Rosie and Oscar had a mutual understanding.  I picked up Oscar's pawprint from the vet's office this week and it is on my desk where we spent lots of time with her sitting by my feet.  

It is National Women's Day and I couldn't be prouder to know so many strong women who are making changes in the world, one life at a time.  I have learned from being long time single that there are times when you really need a man to help with things.  I took that for granted when I was married.  

My new meds include AREDs for the rest of my life and Questran powder on a week long trial of samples.  The closest ostomy nurse to me is in Jackson and Poopie is a hot mess so I hope to get things evened out soon.  The only GI guy in town won't mess with them except to do a colonoscopy which, from a biopsy, showed lymphocytic granuloma.

Reaves went to her second daddy daughter dance last night and looked stunning, even more so with a gap toothed smile.  Lord, I love that kid and her spirit.  I hate that we are leaving her with the world in turmoil like it is but it is what it is.  Good parents will guide their kids through the ups and downs of life and teach them to study hard and express their emotions in a healthy way.  I tried my best with Lauren and she has only good memories.  

Speaking of LP, she now has two kidney stones left to pass and they're giving her hell.  The first two went through into the strainer but those other two are stubborn.  

Y'all be well, and keep the faith ^j^

a corporate healthcare tale

I worked as a medical technologist for 41 years.  My hire date with Parkview Hospital was August 7, 1977, three months after graduation from UTCHS in Memphis.  We were a family so to speak.  Lab people took call after 3PM and on weekends because, well.  There was no instant anything.  We did EKG and blood gases as well which was shortly turned over to the respiratory therapy department.  Our automated chemistry analyzer ran once a day and the rest was tube boiling and spectrophotometer plus some manual math. Gawd, it was rough but it was kinda' sorta' normal for a rural hospital in the late seventies.  

In the early 80s Methodist Health Systems and Baptist were in a pissing match to buy up the feeders all along Highway 51.  Methodist paid 10M over market price and the county government took the highest offer.  MHS also bought six other rural West TN facilities at the same time.  The majority of employees and physicians supported a Baptist sale but we were not heard, even after we all showed up at the courthouse for the hearing.  Money talks.  Supposedly the proceeds from the sale were put in reserve for indigent care.  I am currently searching to see what happened to that money.

Eventually the "vision" of MHS changed from rural healthcare to a partnership with UT Memphis for transplant services.  That was when they sold ALL of us to Community Health Systems.  CHS was on a roll then buying up little places and they were doing well until a big merger with HMA.  Stock dropped from sixty bucks to the current 2 and some change.  The merger involved a lot of money posted by a hedge fund.  Right after I retired the facility and all practices were bought by West Tennessee Healthcare.  A feeder for Jackson, so to speak.

Union City is still a Baptist facility, the only surviving one outside of the Memphis metro area.  It is about the same distance as driving to Jackson for what that's worth.  As for me, I just want to be treated well by people who care.  My PCP is amazing and very overworked.  Says he can't afford to retire.  I know the feeling buddy.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it ^j^