My "A" List

After a previous blog, and in my own defense from you "readaholics," I decided that I needed to make an "A" list of my favorite books. When I sat down and tried to create that list, I see that I have really weird taste in reading material. I like all kinds. Remember that when you read this list, that as a former English teacher, (short lived as that career choice was) and an Language Arts scholar and literature lover, that my list may not be up to the standards of some of you more choosy readers. This list is different from a former list of "meaningful" books in a earlier blog. A book doesn't have to be a favorite to be meaningful. At least not to me





1. The Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour

2. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

3. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean Auel

4. The Valley of the Horses by Jean Auel

5. The Shelters of Stone by Jean Auel

6. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

7. Fine Things by Danielle Steele

8. Christy by Katherine Marshall

9. A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark

10. The Complete Works of Robert Frost

Additionally:

Everything written by James Patterson

The Alphabet series by Sue Grafton A thru S

The "Bennie Harper" series by Earlene Fowler

The "Spencer" and "Jesse Stone" series by Robert Parker

Stuart Woods is a terrific author but has a real "holier than thou" attitude. But I read his stuff anyway!

The "Caulder" series by Janet Dailey

The "J.P. Beaumont" and "Joanna Brady" series by J.A. Jance


Most of John Grisham's stuff. Some is just to graphic for me.


I could go on and on. Face it, I just like to read. When I graduated from college, I vowed that I didn't want to read for knowledge any more. I still read educational material and some scientific journals, tho not very often since I am out of the labs of industry now. I try to keep up on current events and what is going on in the education field, but I especially like to read for fun.


Grace...
JE

Bitch Session

I had to buy a new hot water heater right before Christmas. I haven't gotten the bill yet, but it will be sizeable, I'm sure. I also had to buy two new tires for my car. Where does it stop. When do I get to have some good luck?
Last night I actually resorted to a 6 pack of Killian's Irish Red. And some "Beer Nuts." That was for supper. By six o'clock I was out on the couch. I missed Jeopardy. There was nothing on TV except watching Marie Osmond and her cheesy smile as she romped around on that dancing show. I won't watch the finale tonight. I don't give a shit.
I woke up at 2:37 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. So I finally got up and messed around on the computer. I played Solitare until my eyes became glazed over.
I spent the day in the company of idiots! I swear that at our school, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. And then there are the kids. I have a new student who just got out of reform school, is big enough to beat a bear with a switch, and can't find his way out of a paper bag. Today was his second day at our school, and he slept in and made it to 4th period. He is on probation, and also a behavior plan. Scary!
Tonight I did the laundry and ate a peanut butter sandwich. Cooking for one sucks! I hate doing dishes, the dishwasher is full of clean ones that need to be put away, and I also hate doing that.
On a more positive note, (fancy that) I do have my Christmas decorations up, and the house cleaned. Looks damn good! So all is not lost. I had friends in on Sunday evening, and we had such a good time, they said they wanted to come back!
I have received 2 Christmas cards. Both from single females. ("Pa, the pickers are here!") NOT INTERESTED! But I suppose I should be happy that they cared enough to "send the very best."
Okay, so life goes on. I will make it. Quit bitchin' and get on with it! Some days I hate my attitude.

Grace...

JE

Always a lover of reading, I found this to be interesting and somewhat amazing. It's always interesting to see what other people read. I ganked this from Professor who stole it from Tense Teacher. Prof. is probably ashamed to see what her "ol man" reads, or doesn't read!

Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you want to read. Leave blank the ones that you aren't interested in.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)-I cannot stand his writing style!
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)-I"ve read all of hers!
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible-well not all of it in order, but most of it.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones's Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)-this was the hardest book I ever tried to read
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I guess I don't read the "good stuff" according to Tense Teacher. But I like what I read, even if it doesn't make Oprah's book list. I will take reading for enjoyment, be it romance or murder and suspense over some of the above mentioned list. To each his own.

Late Breaking News!

Flash!!! I have to have a new hot water heater. It is being installed as we speak. Drat. Merry Christmas to me.

If you haven't seen "Hairspray" and "Freedom Writers," this weekend is a good time to RUSH to your local video store and rent them. They are both fabulous movies. Be prepared to both laugh your buns off at one and cry through parts of the other.

It snowed last night. The pile of leaves along my tree lawn had a skift of snow on them this morning.

I am crashing today just doing what I feel like doing when I feel like doing it. I have some more decorating that I want to do, but I am not in the mood to tackle it today. I might even take a nap.

Grace...

JE

Thanksgiving

I had an unusual Thanksgiving Day. The first one alone (without Tilly) which made it unususal. Then there is the fact that I jumped in the shower and had only "warm" water. I showered quickly, got dressed in old jeans and a sweat shirt and headed down into the dungeon (better known as the cellar) to check out the hot water heater. The pilot light had gone out. To get to the mechanics of the HWH, one has to climb over the furnace cold air return intake hose, crawl on hands and knees under duct work through cob webs and damp whatever, around a corner, and practically stand on ones head to view the burner and pilot light area. I did all that, which gets harder every time I have to do it. I relit the pilot light. Oh, I forgot to mention that I tromped down the steps in boots and then discovered I had forgotten a flashlight. The "trouble light" I keep down there had a blown bulb, but, being the pioneer I am, I scrounged around through the crap that is down there and found an old lamp which still had a bulb in it. It worked so I was in business. When I finally got the pilot light relit, the HWH wouldn't come on. Upon further inspection, I discovered moisture in the burner. I have no idea how to dry out a gas burner, so I thought "to heck with it" and came back up stairs and called the repair man. I got his wife, who is not a nice person, ask anyone (but her) and I explained my trouble. I also said that I could get by until Friday as I didn't want Phil to have to get out on Thanksgiving. That made her a little happier. I heated a tea kettle (yes I do know how to boil water) and heated enough water to shave. I sliced my bread, put the cheese spread in a pretty bowl, spread the sliced bread around it in an attractive array, covered it with foil and left for the day.
I had a great time visiting with cousins and eating a vast amount of food. I don't think I have ever seen such a vast array of desserts on one table, either. But I did use SOME restraint there. I had a piece of pecan pie and a piece of pumpkin roll. We had the typical dinner, but thank goodness, no green bean cassarole. Yeah rah!! After the dinner, I watched NFL until I fell asleep sitting up in an antique reed bottomed chair. My cousin and I did get a good visit in while others played "Balderdash."
Outside, the wind blew and the snow swirled. The horses in the barnyard frolicked like they were still colts. It was a typical Area 52 Thanksgiving.
I came home close to dark, and decided to put up a Christmas tree. I dug out a small tree, and the decorations to go on it. I was putting on the last of the ornaments when Lil Bro and Sistah stopped by. They stayed for a couple of hours. We visited. When they left, I fell asleep watching a movie on DVD that I had rented, so today I am going to rewatch it. I can't shower until I have hot water. So I am in my flannel pants, oversized sweatshirt and am going to drink coffee and watch the movie and veg out. Then, when I have hot water, I have scads of laundry and some dishes to do.
Ah, life is not so bad!

Everyone have a safe and fun weekend!

Grace...

JE

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I was in a dither about what I should take to my cousin's house on Thanksgiving Day. I don't do fancy, so I considered baking a pan of brownies from a mix. But Professor said that there would probably be enough sweets, and besides I have severely cut back on sweets, and especially chocolate. She suggested that I take "green bean casarole." my response: BLECH! So after much forethought, I baked a loaf of my world famous beer bread. It is cooling on the baking rack as I speak. I also mixed up a cheese spread to put on it. Now, the big decision is what to serve it on. Tilly had all kinds of fancy stuff like plates and bowls, so I just have to pick one that is appropriate. This getting ready for Thanksgiving is hard work.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Grace...
JE

Having a Brother

Y'know, having a brother like mine is a privilege. For a guy who used to boss me around, torment the hell out of me, straight punch me on the shoulder, and defend me to the end, he turned out to be one hell of a nice guy. Bro was just here for 5 days. When my friends found out he was coming, they asked me what the heck we were going to do, I said,"we're going to scratch where it itches, belch, fart, drink a lot of beer, and watch dirty movies." Well, we did the first four, but NO dirty movies. But we did visit. A lot! We had a chance to really have some good discussions about memories from home. We got out Mom's detailed notebook about the family tree, along with a geneology study by a cousin of ours. We discussed Dad, who has been gone almost 40 years now, and recalled fond memories. Even some not-so-fond memories.
Bro listened to me whine about living alone. He offered some sage advice, (after all he is older than me) and basically was a good listener and a shoulder to cry on. He was amazed by my cooking ability (so was I) and if it was horrible, managed to keep a straight face, and didn't gag!
We laughed a lot. We cried some. We ate a lot, visited old friends, and just spent lots of quality time together. It was wonderful. I hated to see him go home. I can hardly wait until spring break from school, because I plan on going to Texas for a visit. He's going to retire! Amazing! It seems like only yesterday that he was bossing me around, straight punching me in the shoulder. But he is still defending me. He told me he was so proud of me. That made all the difference! I am proud of him, too. He is my rock! You go, big guy!!!
JE

I"ve Come to Realize:

I'm having a hard time blogging every day so I ganked this from Professor again:

I've Come to realize.

1. I've come to realize my late wife was one in a million. I probably didn’t tell her often enough.

2. I've come to realize I talk: to much, about the stupidist stuff, with my hands and my heart.

3. I've come to realize I love: My home.It’s my haven.

4. I've come to realize I have: No appreciable cooking skills. Cooking for one SUCKS!

5. I've come to realize I lost: The best friend I ever had.

6. I've come to realize I hate it when: people pretend to be your friends for 30 years and then suddenly ignore you.

7. I've come to realize marriage: isn't for me, anymore, ever!

8. I've come to realize that, somewhere, someone is thinking: “now why don’t he write!”

9. I've come to realize I'll always be: chubby, bald, older and always refusing to grow up completely.

10. I've come to realize I have a crush on: the person who invented microfibre sheets. Wow!

11. I've come to realize that the last time I truly cried was: Smelling “Wind Song” perfume.

12. I've come to realize my cell phone is a waste of good money. Getting rid of it when the min. run out.

13. I've come to realize that when I wake up in the morning: Oh my God, it’s morning! Thank you.

14. I've come to realize that before I go to sleep at night: I need to sleep more, read less.

15. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about: How much I have to do before my brother gets here.

16. I've come to realize that babies are: Grandchildren that grow up way too fast.

.17. I've come to realize I get on other people's nerves sometimes.

18. I've come to realize that today: Is the first day of the rest of my life.

19: I've come to realize that tonight: I have a shit load of cleaning and laundry to do.

20. I've come to realize that tomorrow: I will still have a shit load of cleaning and laundry to do.

21. I've come to realize I really want: Prof and Kiddo and Bro and Sistah here for Christmas.

OOOOOOOPPPPPSSSSSS!

OOPS! I was suppose to tag people in my last blog. Since I know that Prof tagged a good deal of people, I will only tag Sistah! If you don't blog anymore, here's a chance to begin anew.

Grace!

JE

Book Lovers...Unite!

Hey y'all, I didn't get home from out-of-state in time for a Saturday blog. Here's my Sunday blog, thanks to a tag from the Prof.


The Protocol: Answer 5 questions. Tag 5 book lovers.The Questions:
1.How many books do you own?
2. What was the last book you read?
3. What was the last book you purchased?
4. What five books are most meaningful to you?
5. What is your most obscure favorite book?

1. How many books do you own? Though I am an avid reader (166+ books this year so far) and I love books as much as Prof and Sistah, I am not a book saver. At this date, probably 100 or so. I give my books to either Prof, Sistah, or take them to our local senior center.

2. What was the last book you read? The last book I read was "Follow the River" by James A. Thom. Historical biography...not the greatest, but very interesting.

3. What was the last book you purchased? Tilly always bought our books. We were probably Amazon.com's best customer. I think the last one she bought was "Tumbling Blocks" by Earlene Fowler. Great mystery read! I guess I will have to start buying my own. Though a friend is leaving for Florida in a week for the winter, and gave me and mine her $340.00 credit at a used book store nearby, and told us to "enjoy and spend as much as we want." Eat your hearts out, y'all. I actually bought a craft book the other day on cardmaking. Does that count?

4. What 5 books are the most meaningful to you? I loved "Message in a Bottle." It was just romantic, tho tragic. "Gathering Blue", a novella I just read for school, touched my heart and soul. "Saving Grace" by Barbara Delinsky was a book that told about saving the sanity of an aged mother. It was touching and very much in keeping with the problems faced by the children of aging parents. "Fine Things" by Danielle Steele, touched my very being. It's the best one Steele ever wrote. In fact, I won't even read her any more. She has gotten so "dark." I still hold "The Bears of Blue River" close to my heart. It was an early teen book I read in 6th grade. I found my copy recently and I want to reread it, then I want my kids (my own) to read it. It's just GOOD.

5. What is your most obscure favorite book? " The Last of the Breed" by Louis L'Amour is a great read. It's a modern-day account of an Air Force pilot downed in Russia and his attempted escape. If a book can keep the reader "on the edge of his seat" this one should be at the top of any reader's action and suspense list.

My advice to y'all is to read...read...READ!

Grace!

JE

What is there about "Dances With Wolves?"

Earlier I was talking via phone to the Professor, and I said that I was having a hard time blogging every day. She mentioned blogging about a favorite movie. So here is mine.

To date, I have watched "Dances With Wolves" 23 times. I love this movie. I know, it's good, but 23 times? Thats something like 69 hours and 5 minutes, if I did the math correctly, which is questionable itself. But I LIKE it!

First, it has a fabulous cast. Costner is at his best ever. Mary McDonnell as "Stands With a Fist" is wonderful, if you can only get past the fact that she never combed her hair. Robert Pastorelli of "Murphy Brown" fame is great as the crude, belching and farting muleskinner "Timmons." His line, "now why don't he write" is priceless. I think the casting of the Lakota was done with forethought and revealed a wealth of Native American talent. Graham Greene is fantastic as "Kicking Bird" as is Rodney Grant as "Wind in His Hair." Tantoo Cardinal and Floyd Crow Westerman round out the superb cast.

Secondly, the music is wonderful. Being a musician of sorts, I am always interested in the music scores of movies. The music in "Dances" is a thing of beauty. It is haunting, as well as memorable. Maybe that is what makes it so haunting. I have learned to play the "theme" song on the piano, and it moves with a great deal of grace.

I love the scenery. I have always wanted to go to the west. I know that Prof lives relatively near to where some of this movie was shot, and I will get the chance to see that kind of territory.

Mostly, I like the story. I am a history buff, especially the opening of the west. I abhor the way the white man took the land from the Native Americans and I think those people really got the shaft. That is fodder for a whole other blog sometime. This movie shows the gentleness of the Indians, how they lived and loved. They had a close bond of family within their villages. This impresses me. Their struggle just to maintain their way of life was a hard one and the scrifices they made were inumerable. It also showed that they fought among themselves, tribe vs. tribe, for land, and their way of life. Just like the Civil War happening in the East at the same time. Though I appreciate the use of the authentic Lakota language throughout the movie, I tired of the subtitles at first. Now, of course I understand the language by reading the "subs" enough times, that they don't bother me anymore. (I didn't like the subtitles in Tora! Tora! Tora!, either.

Probably my favorite part of the movie is the buffalo hunt. It was so intriguing. How they made it all happen is a wonder in itself. They had "man made" buffalo, called articulated buffalo (made of wire and fake fur) on tracks and runners depicting the buffalo that were shot. They even had trained buffalo that were brought in for the close-ups. No animals were hurt. Amazing! I have read the whole book about the making of the movie, as well as watched all the special effect clips and outtakes. It was a work of art!

All in all, this movie has about everything. It has history, love, hate, war, excitement, and a good story to tie it all together. Even as I write this, I am watching it once again for the 24th time. There are probably better ways to spend 181 minutes, but for me, this is good.

Grace!

JE

Today's Boring Blog

Well, today was the pits of heck! I didn't want to get up in the first place. Of course, I never want to get up so this morning was no exception. But of course, if I want to keep my job, I have to show up. So, I went to work anyway. All went as usual until lunch. I eat lunch alone in the teacher's lounge because we have staggered lunch and no one else eats then. While I was sitting there eating, I just had a grief attack. It hit me like a ton of brick. I sniffed and snotted around for a while, got over the worst part and went back to work. The rest of the day progressed slowly, and I left. I picked up my friend Curley and we went to WalMart. She told me she was going to get me out of my funk, and we laughed as we shopped. Her hubby, a good guy, was deer hunting and didn't want to go to WalMart. He was literally deer hunting. He hit one last night, but it took off. It was so close to dark that he tracked it until he lost the light, so he went back out tonight after work to see if he could find it.
One of the fellows at work who I am close to brought me home made cinnamon rolls that his wife had baked just this morning. I thought that was pretty cool. This is the same guy who brought me chicken and noodles one Saturday afternoon. He and his wife are my kids age, but they are watching out for me. He checks on me about every day and is so kind. It's nice to know that there are people out there that really care.
Now that I write this all down, and have whined, I have to admit that all in all, it really wasn't as bad a day as I thought it was. I had time to spend with a friend, had someone show they cared about me, and just now as I was typing this, Lil Bro and Sistah called and want me to go to eat Asian with them. What more can a fellow ask for?

Grace!
JE

My Wednesday Blog

It's Wednesday already. Hump day is almost over. Only two more days until the weekend. I am going out of state to visit friends, so it ought to be fun.
In order to blog, I have some random thoughts to share.

• Why do toilets in the Northern Hemisphere swirl clockwise when flushed, when my friend from "down under" says theirs swirls counter-clockwise?
• Have you ever noticed that the elsatic always goes out of the legs on skivvies before the waist goes?
• Middle school age girls have a lot of attitude!
• Even though fall and cold is here, the grass still grows. Damn it!
• In Area 52 we pay property taxes. They always come due when one needs the money for Christmas shopping.
• Flannel sheets and flannel pajamas are not compatible.
• There isn't a color that goes well with mauve. What is "mauve" exactly?
• Just because a teacher has taught for almost 3 decades, does that give he or she the license to never change teaching methods?
• Sometimes it is just better to keep my mouth shut.
• I heard the other day that e mails are out of style. Every one is texting now. Just what is texting. Is that what is causing us to be a nation of non-spellers?
• Sometimes you find out that your friends, really aren't your friends, and that hurts, even at my age.

Well, this was an effort in futility, but I at least got in a blog today. I will do better tomorrow.

Grace to all

JE

National Blogger Month???? Blog Every Day???

Are you people nuckin' futs? Up until recently I thought I led a reasonably interesting life, but even then, I would not have enough to blog about every day.
But, since we are, according to the Professor, suppose to blog every day, I can tell you that I HATE IT GETTING DARK SO DAMN EARLY!!! As if living alone isn't bad enough, now that we have ended Daylight Savings Time here in Area 52, the nights are really L O N G! Hell, at 8:30 last night, I thought it was time to go to bed. This, combined with the fact that TV this season SUCKS, makes ol' JE quite pissed. My friends at school tell me that I need to "get a life." I am not ready for a "life" like they're talking about. No where in the near or distant future will I be. And one can only walk around WalMart and Kroger's so much before the wait-help start getting suspicious!
So, I guess I will read a book, do some laundry and clean another room.
Oh, one highlight: my bro from TX is coming to Area 52 on business next week, and he is going to spend the biggest share of 4 days with me. That will be a blast! We can act like we used to when we were still kids and no one will be the wiser. We can belch and fart without wives making crass remarks, stay up and drink beer and watch stupid movies on the telly. Sounds like fun to me.

Grace to all!

JE

All Saints Day

In the United Methodist Church, as in a lot of other church denominations, the first Sunday in November is the time when we remember with reverence all of the members of our church who have passed away in the last year. That was such this morning.
At an appropriate time in our service, the lay leader of our congregation stepped forward and as he read from the list of names, one at a time, another member of our church rang a bell. As the names were read, family, friends, and any other person there who felt that the named person had somehow touched their lives, was asked to stand during the tolling of the bell, then they sat down before the next name was read. When my wife's name was read, I stood, but so did the rest of the congregation. What an honor to her. I was so deeply moved by this act of caring and love, that I just wanted to share it with you all. Not to be morbid, but rather, to be joyful!

Grace to you all!

JE