Leg substituted for dead man's effects

Coffeebreak: "Police on Long Island, N.Y., were trying to determine how a grieving family was given a bag containing a human leg instead of the dead man's effects. Police received a frantic call from Mr. Runyan, 35, who made the gruesome discovery. His 77-year-old father, Paul, had died at Central Suffolk Hospital barely a week after learning he had cancer. A blue tag hanging from the toe bore the name of another man and was dated Jan. 13. Detectives learned a hospital worker had turned over the plastic bag to an employee at a funeral home, which immediately denied any involvement in the mix-up. The investigation is continuing, although it appears to be non-criminal, said Detective Best. The hospital launched its own investigation as well, their spokeswoman said. God knows how that can be confused with a bag of clothing," Runyan said. Okay you tell me...Did anyone bother to look in the bag before they handed it over to the family? This is creepy guess everyone better check out our bag, just like we do at the fast-food drive-thru before we leave to make sure we don't have the wrong bag...LOL"

Bipolar - Does Your Child Have it

" I know this is a very long article to read...Heck I cut it down it was 5-pages long. But I wanted to post this to let people out their know, and also because I also have two-children that 10-years ago was told had 3rd.genertion Bi-polar on their dad's side, I also did not know their father had this because he was adopted, his parents thought he was just a un-rule kids and sent him to live else where till he was grown. Guess what I am saying is. It's really hard to live with kids that have these problems and others don't understand! Explicitly those people that never had to raise a child like these kids. Because as their parent you try to do everything you can to give them a good life and make sure their happy, but at the same time it seems like someone is always un-happy no matter what you try to do. And people and the legal system think we are bad parents because our kids are out of control. People don't begin to know the hell we go thru...From a mothers view, be wait nine months to hold our child and when their born they are the best gift anyone could give us, then the hell begins, maybe not as soon for soon like some but it comes. Mine was when my son entered kinder-garden. I know the stares the rude remarks from outsiders, and all the people that feel if you took one million parenting classes you would be a better parent. Well let me tell you and their is proof out their. But the courts and schools don't want to listen, And doctors they don't seem to know much more then the rest of us...God help the world! But- they just want to blame someone, so it's us the parent. I feel that we as parents are doing every thing we can to help and love our child but the legal system and the schools, don't do enough, these people are not trained nor are payed enough to deal with these type of children so, why should they.. they feel right! Wrong these people want to take our rights as parents away and say we don't know what going on...Well I sure wish they would show us how to fix it...Instead of always telling us how. Sure would help some days....Well I feel better now...LOL Got that out of my system- Sort of. I just get so angry because I am trying so hard to be a good parent and some days I just want to walk away, and give up. As I"m a single mom, their dads visits, but he don't want to deal with it...Great huh!"

washingtonpost:"From the time her son was born, this mother suspected something was wrong. As an infant he cried inconsolably and slept mostly in hour-long snatches. At 3, he was always irritable and had prolonged tantrums triggered by the slightest change in his routine. A therapist told his mother he was emotionally disturbed. A year later a child psychiatrist made the diagnosis: the 4 1/2 -year-old was manic-depressive. A few months later, when his even-tempered sister grew moody and volatile, she took her to the same psychiatrist. They sat down with DeWeese's well-thumbed book about bipolar children and went through its symptom checklist. Based largely on those results and the family's history she learned that the children's father had been diagnosed as bipolar in high school psychiatrist told her 5 1/2-year-old daughter was bipolar,too. Now 6 and 8, this mother's son and daughter exemplify a trend that is roiling mental heath: the burgeoning number of children diagnosed with bipolar illness, also known as manic depression, which affects about 2.3 million Americans. As a result, some preschoolers barely out of diapers are being treated for bipolar disorder with powerful drugs, few of which have been tested in children. But some experts say the surge in diagnoses is a dangerous fad one critic called it "psychiatrist flavor of the month" a decision too often based on skimpy evidence, cursory evaluations and incorrect assumptions about genetic risk. These children are troubled,but most don't meet psychiatrist official diagnostic criteria for the lifelong psychotic disorder. Labeling severe tantrums in toddlers as a major mental illness lacks validity and undermines credibility in our profession. Studies have found that bipolar children are severely agitated and aggressive, grandiose(they tell the teacher how to run the class or think they have the same authority as a parent),hypersexual,imitate sexy rock stars,silliness, separation anxiety, night terrors, carbohydrate cravings, fidgeting, extreme bossiness, bed-wetting, lying, social anxiety and difficulty getting up in the morning, or use explicit language and experience very rapid mood swings, sometimes several times an hour, during which they can become explosively angry. They are also suggestive of a host of other problems: depression, anxiety, abuse, ADHD or a behavioral problem such as conduct, explosive or oppositional defiant disorder. Desperate parents search Web sites. It has been found, famous people were bipolar, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig van Beethoven and Teddy Roosevelt. With systems of rapid cycling mood swings that occur as often as every few minutes throughout the day. Some desperate parents, who have struggled for years with their children's problems and an acute shortage of mental health feel so helpless.Until recently, many doctors were reluctant to prescribe the powerful mood-stabilizing drugs adults take for bipolar disorder to young children, whose central nervous systems are still developing. Most of these drugs, which can have serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects, including diabetes, significant weight gain, hormonal problems that can cause infertility, and fatal blood disorders have not been tested in children. Some are epilepsy drugs used to control seizures and not approved to treat psychiatric disorders, which are widely used anyway because some doctors think they are effective. These medications doctors say, are the cornerstone of treatment, even for very young children. The youngest patient heard of is an 18-month-old girl who was diagnosed as bipolar largely because she screamed incessantly and had a bipolar mother. The baby was medicated with lithium. Most children take at least three drugs simultaneously or more to control their moods and alleviate depression. Some try dozens of combinations and doses. One 8-year old, who has tried more than half a dozen drugs, some of which made her act like "a raging maniac," currently takes Abilify, an antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia in adults. The dose had to be cut after she started drooling and one side of her face drooped. Parents are often asked how they can give these drugs to their children. "We don't have any choice," comparing them to lifesaving chemotherapy. "Most of us are grateful these medications exist. In earlier days our children would have been institutionalized. These drugs can cause the very symptoms they have been given to treat: hyperactivity, insomnia and even psychosis. There's a lot of throwing medications at people without thinking about what the problem is. Once somebody has a label, it is highly unlikely that label will be questioned. And by the time your child has been on 20 different drugs, you can no longer figure out what's wrong. One 13-year-old had taken more than a dozen drugs since her diagnosis several years ago. If one doesn't work, the doctors' answer is to just keep adding more and more medications or increasing the doses, the rise in pediatric diagnosis of bipolar illness. Don't Blame the Parents, many parents say that a bipolar diagnosis meant they were no longer blamed for their children's behavior. At first he only had meltdowns in front of me, recalled a Navy scientist whose son was diagnosed last year at 5. Everyone told me it was me, that I was just not handling him well. It was the most horrible thing to sit there every day and have people telling you that. It is not a parenting issue, she said she finds it hard to ignore the stares when her 6-year-old son, diagnosed at 3, has a meltdown in Wal-Mart. We can't stop this from happening. It is nothing we can control or the child can control Such evaluations can take four hours or more and includes interviews and observations of the parents and child, psychological testing, a physical exam, detailed family history and information from teachers, coaches, day care staffers and others who know the child. A psychiatrist can make two or three times as much from an hour of medication checks than from an hour of therapy.Although it's not discussed much, misdiagnosis can have a profound impact. One woman, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that her name not be published to protect her daughter's privacy, said that when the girl was 14, she was handed a prescription for lithium after a single visit to a psychiatrist. Four years later, doctors discovered that her severe depression and mood swings were the result of an undiagnosed pituitary tumor. She's really angry at the doctors and at me because I accepted the diagnosis too fast, the woman said. Her daughter, she said, "barely got through high school" and had side effects from the lithium, which made her hair fall out. Now 19, she said, her daughter is caught in a Catch-22: Because the family was open about her diagnosis, she feels the need to tell everyone she's not bipolar. And the reaction she's encountered is not what she thought. It's, Oh sure- (people say)- the bipolar doesn't think she's bipolar-right...Tell her to up her meads."

What Is Love?

Happy Valentines Day: "Imagine how many times the words "I love you" will be uttered. The word love is curious because it connotes such an intangible feeling that it defies defining. What do you mean when you say you love someone? I've heard of people saying they knew they loved someone the first week, they believe in "love at first sight," some hold back and don't say it for fear of getting hurt, and yet others use this phrase with ill intentions. This tiny, four letter word can wreak havoc or bliss on a relationship. But how do you know what someone else means when they bestow the word on you? And does it mean the same to you? What Is Love? Because love is an intangible emotion, it's difficult to know if you and your beloved mean the same thing when you tell each other you love them. We might know what WE mean when we use this phrase, but how do you ever know how deeply the emotions run for the other person? It's fascinating to me that "love" can be defined in a neat little box, established within certain parameters. When I surfed dictionary.com, there were several definitions listed for love: "A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that aris- ing from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness." A second definition was listed as "A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance." These definitions sound pretty close, but what exactly are YOU thinking when you say it to someone? Do you say it as a ready response to THEM saying it? Do you get the giggly feeling inside each time you say it to your honey? Have you ever said it and not meant it?. While none of us can begin to define love for ALL of us, we can each have our own ideas of what this emotion means. And then you need to do your best to articulate it to your partner. Allow me to propose MY definition of love (in no particular order): Love is supportive and encouraging. Love is kind, compassion- ate, and thoughtful. Love is sweet and nurturing. Love is your whole body coming alive when you see that person. Love is your heart singing an internal song out of pure bliss. Your heart, with all its attributes and flaws, has found its best friend. Love is your vulnerable, lovable self (however gently) willing to hand over your heart to someone else. Love is thinking of the other first, creating a safe and secure environment, and the calm and excitement in your day. And love is being proud of one another. Love is bringing out the best in each other and inspiring one another to do better. Love is about being the best you can be because you want to, for you AND your partner. Love is sharing similar (but not necessarily identical) outlooks on life, goals, and life issues. And most importantly, love is enduring. There might be times when one of you has to love more, but with a solid foundation of friendship, love won't fade. It doesn't go away. It just is. And, yes, love can be all the romantic things you read about in Hallmark cards. Feel free to disagree. Love is your heart swelling at the sight of his beautiful smile, the crinkling around his eyes, the sound of his voice, the way he is with his family, the way he watches over people and is protective, the thought of him first thing in the morning, throughout the day, and before you drift off to sleep. Love is happiness that he exists. Love is yummy in bed and the way his lovely lips feel on all your 2000 parts :) What love IS NOT. Many of you are experiencing rough patches in relationships and are confused about love. Again, but there are certain things that love ISN'T. Love is not selfish. Love does not make you choose between options that make you uncomfortable. Love does not ask you to compromise your beliefs and sense of who you are. Love does not force you to sacrifice your dreams. Love is not punishing and ugly. Love is not controlling, and love is not abusive."

To My Readers

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

If for every time I thought of you - a flower grew...

the world would be a beautiful garden, because you were in it."

Teddy Bear Bring Shame To Mental Illness

coffeebreak:" The president of the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. said she's sorry if her decision to keep selling the straitjacket-wearing bear has offended anyone. A day after the Vermont Human Rights Commission asked the company to pull the "Crazy for You" bear from its shelves, Elisabeth Robert said she has first-hand knowledge of how horrific mental illness can be. "You know, I feel as if I am being talked at, as if I don't know what pain can be caused," Robert told the Rutland, Vt., Herald. "I have, in my family, experienced real, profound pain over mental illness." The commission's campaign that started a month ago has drawn national attention and even prompted Gov. James Douglas to write a letter saying the bear is in poor taste and should not be sold. Robert said sales of the $70 bear picked significantly since word of the controversy spread. Response has split almost evenly between commission supporters and those who think the campaign smacks of political correctness.

Can you believe this!! Sometimes I think people will campaign for anything, if it means they get a chance in the spot light. Heck for all we know from the viewer point, This could be a smoke-screen from them to get their product out in the buying market, because I have a hard time believe someone is that bent out of shape...come-on its just a stuffed toy!"

Haunted - Windbreaker sells on eBay

coffeebreak :"A red fleece Chicago windbreaker haunted by a ghost named Phil has been sold on eBay, the Chicago Daily Southtown reported Monday. Construction worker Salvatore D'Andrea put the jacket up for sale for $2 Jan. 7, along with the jackets spooky background. He said he found the jacket in the closet of a home he moved into last summer. A day later, he said he heard crying from the closet. Then, he claimed his homes thermostat began to move without anyone touching it. The clothes in his closet rearranged themselves, with all the red articles moved to the front. D'Andrea said one night he saw a ghost who said its name was Phil. Said he didn't like kids or pets, was a friend of the family who lived there previously, and had been wearing the jacket when he died. Bidding on the jacket quickly moved beyond $2, and ended up being purchased by a Pennsylvania woman for $31.50, which D'Andrea said he'll use to buy another, ghost-free jacket.

You know.. I guess you never know what people will buy now days... In fact I also heard of some pretty strange stuff on JayLeno that he said people bought...Go Figure, so if life..LOL"

Women Careful What Your Mate Hands You

"They said our men don't love us. Seem like he's trying
to help her out of her misery...lol Married to him. "

State Dept. Blocks Adoption of Tsunami Victims

I understand people wanting to help these children because they may be alone now...But, has anyone took in the fact that if you were to take in a children lets say 5-years or old from this crisises. The amount of therapy and trauma this child and your family will have to deal with, let alone the mounting medical bills to go with it. I think the groverment is right in saying people need to wait and see if someone claims these children first. Beside think, how you would feel in you finally got a child after years of trying to get one and then to find out, after you spent all the money to adopt one of the poor souls and their parent's were found, and you had to return them. Think of the heart-break for everyone. So yes I think it will take at least 6-months or more, before any child from the Tsunami crisis should be allowed to be adopted.

State Dept. Blocks Adoption of Tsunami Victims;"In response to many inquiries from concerned Americans, the U.S. Department of State has stated that it will not be possible for U.S. citizens to adopt children who have been orphaned by the tsunami that struck parts of South Asia.According to the State Department, the international standard in a crisis is to keep children as close to their family members as possible. It can be extremely difficult to determine whether children whose parents are missing are truly orphans. In the current situation, many children have become separated from one or both of their parents. Even when children are indeed orphaned, they are often taken in by other relatives. Staying with relatives in extended family units is generally a better solution than uprooting the child completely. The State Department believes that it will take many months before the situation in those countries affected by the tsunami stabilizes to the point where the countries will be able to identify the children who are legitimate orphans. It is only if and when these countries decide to make these orphans available for international adoption that American citizens will be able to begin adoption proceedings for these children."

My - New Year's Resolutions

I found this while surfing the Web! And thought...You know what I want this to be my Resolution for 2005, hope it helps you make your better too!!

1. GIVE YOUR HEART, COMPLETELY - Let me preface this by saying that this only applies if you find someone truly worthy of your love. Easier said than done, I know, but keep in mind that if you are willing to give everything you have, then you deserve someone who will reciprocate. In 2005, give your heart without strings attached, without maintaining conditions, and without fear of the relationship ending up as not what you needed or wanted. It's all about the process, and you can't experience it if you get in your own way.
2. INCREASE THE ANTICIPATION FACTOR - A surefire way to kick-start a routine sex life is to increase the anticipation factor. I often talk about putting a note or picture here or there for your beloved so they are surprised and looking forward to seeing (and touching) you all day. It could be even simpler than that. Cuddle on the couch and watch television together and gently stroke each other's arms or legs. Make this a prolonged event so that the anticipation continues to build. Lightly touch each other throughout the program or two, but don't actually kiss. By the time you get to the bedroom later that evening, you will both be extremely hot and bothered. BONUS: the prolonged foreplay, if you will, helps the woman become more aroused before even beginning intercourse, thereby increasing her chances of orgasm

3. TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER - This applies to in AND out of the bedroom. The smallest acts of kindness or consideration can translate into the boudoir later. Do little things for each other to make the day go easier, but without hidden agendas or self-interest. You love your partner, so naturally you want to make them feel good and do nice things for them, right? This applies to foreplay, too. Really, really take time to love your partner's body and do whatever it takes to make each other feel good. It's that simple."

Welcome To * 2005 *

Okay I was web surfing and found this site and new year letter, so thought I would give all you that went out partying last night- Abit of the hair from the dog that (bit- you) ..He he

Up Yours!; "Dear Slugs,

Congratulations, you're all another year closer to death. I hope you all had a belly full of boozing and whoring last night because whether you realize it or not you are all accelerating down that slippery slope that leads inevitably and inexorably toward a cold, cold grave. An eternal oblivion whose only function is the slow decompo- sition of what was once a disgusting, useless bag of meat. Hey, why stop now? What else have you got to live for? There must be some sort of booze or drugs laying around the flop house you're squatting in. Crack open a luke- warm one and spark up. It's the only thing you have going in your wretched lives. Trust me, mutants, they say when you hit rock bottom there's no place to go but up, and that would be true if it weren't for the lead weights of ignorance, stupidity, apathy and plain and simple bad breeding which are hanging around your necks dragging you down into the hole of failure which will eventually turn into your grave. Happy New Year and Welcome to the Year 2005"

HAPPY * NEW * YEAR * BLOGGERS

" Do Re Mi Beer
By: Homer J. Simpson

DOUGH... The stuff that buys me beer.

RAY... The guy that sells me beer.

ME... The guy who drinks the beer

FAR... The distance to my beer.

SO... I think I'll have a beer.

LA... La la la la la la beer.

TEA... No thanks, I'm drinking beer.


That will bring us back to...

(Looking into an empty glass).... DOH ? "

Hope you liked this song I found - New-Year's Eve Tune, just in time to learn before the big night...Just remember the words!! Also....PLEASE!! Don't - Drive - Drunk or Let Your Friends get behind the wheel, show them you care!!

Department Stores Discover That, Um,.. Sex Sells

NewYorkTimes; "Men cluster to me like moths around a flame," Marlene Dietrich croons over the sound system in the lingerie department at Henri Bendel in New York. Encouraging customers to get into the mood, loose-limbed mannequins wield riding crops, and others flaunt black lace blindfolds and thongs so sheer they expose a wedge of explicit anatomy. In the store's windows, instead of the customary Santas and sprigs of mistletoe, there are a pair of mannequins, one draped in fox and little else, another crouching to show off her lacy white knickers. Induced passers-by to press in so closely that their breath fogged the glass. In a climate in which strip and burlesque shows have been revived as hip entertainment, it not surprising that retailers are flouting taboos of their own. "There was a time when if you wanted a garter belt, you would ask for it in a low tone. Now it's a thing that's out in the open, where grown men and children walk by. Visitors to Saks are greeted by store dummies sporting thongs beneath marabou bed jackets. A handful of shoppers do appear to take offense. Confronted by the central exhibit in the new 6,500-square-foot, seven-room lingerie department at Bendel's, some customers promptly spun on their heels and stalked out. Other customers seemed unfazed. As scholars point out, fetish-style corsetry, blindfolds, black stockings and peekaboo lace date back at least to the turn of the last century. By the 1920's, all these things were in place in the culture, and that just hasn't changed. So familiar are such items in women's arsenal of seduction, that they have become domesticated, Ms. Steele said. Women tell themselves, `We're playing with this naughty cliché. Big deal. So what?' The latest Bendel's innovation, to be unveiled in time for Valentine's Day, is Rykiel Woman, a boutique within the lingerie department conceived by Nathalie Rykiel, a daughter of Sonia Rykiel, the Parisian fashion legend. Ms. Rykiel plans to stock the shop with vibrating rubber ducks and lipstick tubes, displayed alongside cashmere loungewear and garter belts. That way the same woman who sells you a cashmere sweater can show you how a vibrator works, she said."

Well ladies I guess we don't have to be afraid to be nasty!! Because the world is saying play & have fun, but I don't know if I'm just to old fashion for this stuff? Don't get me wrong, my daughter talked me into buying one of those panties that have the thin strip up the butt!!... Well lets just say, I didn't like the feelings it was give my rear..LOL if you know what I mean, so least to say it was a waste of money and made the trash the first day..

Muslin - Men want tax- write off for extra Wife's

Ya right!! Forgive me but if men can get a tax break, just because he becomes a Muslins. Then women should be allowed to have more then "One Husband" Too!! I think alot of Woman out their would ARGEE!! Then maybe we would finally feel like things get done..In our homes & Bedroom...LOL
Sorry guys just had to reply to this..
Britain may grant tax breaks for 2nd wives.British tax officials are considering breaks for Muslims who are allowed as many as four wives under religious rules to make taxes more "family friendly." Existing laws allow deductions for only one wife for inheritance tax purposes but Muslim activists are asking Inland Revenue to relax therules, the Times of London reports. "Wives and immediate children should be exempt from inheritance tax," Ahmad Thomson, of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, told the Times. "If the government is family friendly, they should change a tax which is unfairly hitting minority religious values." British law currently bans marrying more than one spouse at a time and such action could result in bigamy charges. Muslim women with second-, third- and fourth-wife status are considered mistresses under the law and have no legal or tax rights."

Battle's on For - third 'Apprentice'

I & my sweetie have watched this show since the first one aired. And will probley be sitting right on the couch again, every Thursday like we have in the past when number -#3 starts, betting each other who will win!! I think this is the best reality show on TV...
news;"This time, it's about education and experience. With only high school diplomas in hand, street-smarts team Networth will battle book-smarts team Magna in various tasks involving companies such as Burger King, Home Depot, Domino's and Nescafe."Mark Burnett and I have decided to take the series into a new realm," Trump said in a statement. "We wanted to see what would happen if we pitted college grads against high school grads." The third season of The Apprentice premieres Jan. 20. There are some striking distinctions in the 18 cast members compared with the previous apprentices. There are more older candidates (the oldest is 41), more candidates with children (at least three are parents) and more candidates with real-estate experience."

Doctor's Looking At Street Drugs To Help Patients

I truly feel this a a good thing, if someone I loved was dying and wanted these drugs to help them I will probley help them if I could too!! Washington;"For some, the diagnosis comes out of the blue. For others, it arrives after a long battle. Either way, the news that death is just a few months away poses a daunting challenge for both doctor and patient. Drugs can ease pain and reduce anxiety, but what about the more profound issues that come with impending death? The wish to resolve lingering conflicts with family members. The longing to know, before it's too late, what it means to love, or what it meant to live. There is no medicine to address such dis-ease. Or is there? This month, the Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to a Harvard proposal to test the benefits of the illegal street drug known as "ecstasy" in patients diagnosed with severe anxiety related to advanced cancer. Has been referred to by psychiatrists as a drug especially good at putting people in touch with their emotions. Some believe it could help patients come to terms with the biggest emotional challenge of all: the end of life. The FDA's approval puts the study on track to become the first test of a psychedelic substance since 1963 at Harvard, where drug guru Timothy Leary lost his teaching privileges after using students in experiments with LSD and other hallucinogens. It also marks a milestone for a small but increasingly effective movement favoring a more open-minded attitude toward the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs, virtually all of which have been criminalized and disparaged for decades as medically useless. Already, being tested for its ability to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Also studies are looking at the usefulness of magic mushrooms, in terminally ill cancer patients and in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also hope to submit to the FDA an application to test psilocybin and LSD as treatments for cluster headaches. That would be a fitting birthday present for Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered both compounds while working for the Swiss drug company Sandoz and who turns 99 in January. Patients are being given psilocybin to see whether it can help them sort through emotional and spiritual issues. A "modest" dose of synthetic psilocybin, equivalent to two or three illicit mushrooms. They spend the next six hours or so in a comfortable setting with a psychiatrist, talking, thinking and sometimes listening to music with headphones. A 10-person study of psilocybin for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also no complications in any of the five patients who have enrolled in his 20-person study for victims of violence struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. This is not about hippy dippy Halpern trying to turn on the world. I'm not looking at this as a magic bullet," he said. "But for a lot of people, the anxiety about death is so tremendous that there is no way to get their arms around the problems. Widow of the author and metaphysical pioneer Aldous Huxley, said her husband asked for and she provided a dose of LSD as he lay dying in 1963. "He wanted to be aware, took a wide array of psychedelics in the weeks leading up to his death from cancer in 1996. Some suspect the drugs clouded rather than sharpened his perceptions, but he died with a positive attitude. "It's kind of interesting really," he said of dying, talking to a friend in his final days. "You should try it sometime."

Naughty children lose gifts to eBay

MAGNIFIES:"The kids were naughty, Dad put the presents on eBay instead of under the tree — and Mom’s been crying ever since, even the tree’s down morning was sure not to be very jolly for three brothers — 9, 11 and 15 — who didn’t straighten up when their father told them Santa wasn’t too pleased with their fighting, cuss words and obscene gestures. Dad and Mom had warned their sons that the Nintendo DS video system — and the three games that go with it — were headed for the auction block if they didn’t get their act together. “No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I’ll be taking the tree down tomorrow,” the man announced in his eBay posting. “If you don’t buy them, we’ll return them to the store,” the seller known online as magumbo—2000 reported on the site. Thursday night, the auction wound down with bidding at $465.01 — below the price the man had set. He said he would probably list the items again. A very bad day A single day of particularly bad behavior set the Christmas crackdown in motion. “These are normally really good kids,” said Dad, who asked the Houston Chronicle not to reveal his name. Dad even admits he and Mom are partly to blame for being too lax at times. But enough was enough. The warning of an impending sale came earlier in the week at a sit-down between offspring and parents. “We told them they were destroying each other and the calm and peace in the household. It had to stop,” said the man, who did tell the paper that he works as an information technology specialist and lives in Pasadena. The boys pledged to be nice, but were back to their old ways the next morning. That night, Dad announced that he would indeed be putting $700 in video games up for sale on eBay. The oldest boy double-dared his dad to make good on his word. Son shouldn’t have done that Dad said Mom has been in tears since the showdown “I don’t do it outwardly,” he said, “but I’m crying on the inside.” I wish as a Parent I should of done this a few times, maybe it would show then, nothing in life is a sure thing...Merry Christmas to everyone hope your's is better then mine, as I have the crude again bad and a burned hand all wrapped up. And at this moment my two teenagers are learning how much work it take's to make a holiday meal! Will let you know how it turned out...Bye

No Santa Claus !!

I was web surfing and found this...As I read it I knew I had to share it with others...Merry Christmas Remember!..Don't forget those who have less then you, at this time..
I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."Off we went to Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days."Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he had no coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down."Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me Merry Christmas.That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons. (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it and placed it in her bible).Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flewback to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.I still have Grandma's Bible, with the coat's tag tucked inside: $19.95.

Thanksgiving - My House

My family is a little different,some would say,when I grew up. Now, that's not exactly true - I think that there is nothing different, unusual, strange, or just plain weird about them. However, from what I see on television and hear on radio, it looks like mine strays a bit from the norm. Take Thanksgiving, for instance. An easy thing to do since it's just a couple of days away. My family would not dress for Thanksgiving. OK, we do dress but we don't -DRESS! The formal way of saying ..dress up.. The general dress of the day for Thursday will be sweats and jeans, maybe the cook still in their Pj's cooking. There will be no candles or lovely centerpiece. The centerpiece will be whatever food item gets stuck in the middle of the table while everything else is being passed around. If there is room, it will be my gramma's old roaster/dutch oven filled with dressing, if there's no room, it goes on the kitchen counter. Flowers and candles, not something to eat or fight over, will be put to some place out of the way, of the food and hungry mouths. The -Good china- and family silver, whats that? if there is actually any. Is left locked wherever it is. We would use paper plates, plastic cutlery and cups, and paper napkins. Much easier to clean afterward and less likely to cause breakage if dropped or jostled. We didn't really have a, kids table. Instead, there is the table, the kitchen counter, the sofa and maybe an old folding table. You eat wherever you can find a place to sit. And pray you just get to sit on something other then, the floor to eat. While now days most families are dealing with the Atkins to- Low Cal wars on food, my family believed in the- RULE!-if it tastes good, someone will eat it ALL!-thinking. That explained why we had turkey, giblet stuffing, ham,goose or duck, every kind of bread-roll, vegetables-dripping in anything that taste like it was made from only sugar, cakes, cookies, pies, salads, soft drinks, iced tea, and Kool-Aid. If your favorite is not on the table, or the kitchen-some where or the counter or the stove, or some where in the house. It's either because you never told anyone what your favorite is or you don't have one. The television always on, even during the prayer and would, be tuned to one of the football games. In my family, Thanksgiving football-with the men was as much a tradition as dressing and pie, or even better, burping and un-zipped pants. The women and kids knew to remain silent for fear of recriminations. The conversation was always loud, robust, and overlapping. After the second, or third meal of the day of snacking. we'd all separate and head to our different homes and, more than likely, engage in our post- Turkey-celebration ritual - Then...a long nap until the leftovers beckon, to be ate or put away, if any left! So, if my family was a strange and different kind of family, when I was growing up. I'm thankful I was born into it, rather than a -Normal one....HAPPY THANKS-GIVING TO ALL!

Hallowed ground: Irving school field becomes memorial for Iraq casualties

Pocatello Idaho;"Vietnam veteran Gary Richardson hammers a cross commemorating a casualty of the Iraq war into the Field of Heroes at Irving Middle School's football field Sunday afternoon. The Field of Heroes will open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on today, Tuesday and Wednesday. A special ceremony on Thursday, Veterans Day, will begin at 10 a.m..... >>>What was once a football field is now hallowed ground. Sunday morning, Angie Cook started four solid days of camping behind Irving Middle School and patrolling the track on her bicycle to keep out vandals. There's a registry for people to write their feelings about the sacrifices of the deceased. There will be flowers and wreaths, and there have already been tears.It took all of Sunday for Cook and a group of volunteers to convert the grassy playing field into a cemetery, and a visual symbol of what the country has lost. Family members of Jerrick M. Petty III, a soldier from Idaho Falls who was killed in Iraq Dec. 10, 2003, Mayor Roger Chase and military dignitaries will speak from a podium on the 50-yard line during a Thursday Veterans Day service. It will be followed by a candlelight vigil.Small, wooden crosses are perfectly placed in rows of three. Volunteers used a tape measure to stake each row exactly 3 feet apart and crosses in the rows precisely 6 feet from one another. American flags line the sidelines. "Just appreciate these are our guys who have died, and we're not going to forget them," John Rogers, a Vietnam veteran, said while he carefully hammered a white cross into the earth. Each cross is labeled with the name of an American soldier and the date that soldier died. The 143 crosses from the conflict in Afghanistan stretch from the south endzone to the 5-yard line. Rogers calls the other 95 yards Iraq. It's covered with 1,128 crosses, and counting. Rogers knows the numbers precisely. He wouldn't dare forget a single soldier.Blank crosses are at the ready to post for soldiers who may die before Veterans Day. Irving teacher Raejean Cates and her husband, Mark, built the crosses with donated wood and paint. Irving's librarian made all of the laminated names. It took them nearly three weeks to make the crosses. Sunday morning, members of the U.S. Marine Corps arrived at the field to place emblems on the crosses of their deceased - 275 enlisted Marines plus several reservists. After several minutes of posting emblems, a few of the Marines approached Cook with teary eyes. "They said, 'Oh my gosh! I didn't realize there were so many," Cook said. "They cried, and I gave them a big hug." There are eight larger crosses with the names and stories of the Idaho soldiers who were killed in combat. The most recent cross is dated Sept. 26, 2004, a memorial to Capt. Eric L. Allton, of Boise, who was killed during a mortar attack in Ramadi, Iraq. During the Veteran's Day service, the volunteers will hand out carnations for people to place next to the crosses of their loved ones. They also encourage people to bring their own flowers and tributes. The cemetery will be open for viewing today through Wednesday from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.The city has a tree draped with 60 yellow ribbons containing the names and ranks of Idaho soldiers. Rogers hopes to obtain additional names of hundreds more Idaho soldiers to add to the tree, which will be displayed at City Hall until Nov. 15. Upon their return, members of the Yellow Ribbon Campaign, made of Vietnam veterans and their families, give the ribbons to the soldiers. Idaho soldiers in the Boise-based 1-148th Field Artillery Battalion are expected to leave for Iraq in December."These guys are choked up about it, and it means a million dollars to them," Rogers said. "These are top-flight kids. I am proud that they're serving the country the way that they are. You would be proud to know every one of them. We're not bemoaning the dead. We want to say everyone in Afghanistan and Iraq is of that same quality. We want to teach these school kids that." I live by this school and I watched them work on it all day Sunday and Monday, I tip a hat to these people that worked so hard to, Allow us all the blessing to be able to pay respect to those who gave their life to fight for what they believed in and us. For giving their life's also For the......United States Of America

We will miss you Dearly...

Colombian airport police find $47,500 cash inside passenger's stomach

Damn!! That had to hurt to pass that much money, south of the Border..LOL But my thought is how did they get it up inside of him to begin with? Or did it go in the same way it came out? LMAO.. When read this!

sfgate;"A suspect swallowed nearly $50,000 in cash in a failed attempt to smuggle the funds out of Colombia, officials said Monday. Airport police said they X-rayed the suspect because he was acting nervous while preparing to board a flight for Lima, Peru. The photo showed dozens of latex-wrapped packets inside his stomach and police assumed it was drugs, since such a smuggling technique is used by traffickers. But as the suspect passed the packages from his body, police discovered they were filled with cash, $47,500. "We find drugs inside the stomachs of smugglers all the time, but this is the first time we've ever found dollars," the head of airport police, said. Passengers leaving Colombia can carry up to $10,000 in cash without having to declare it. Police say new anti-money laundering laws have made it more difficult for drug traffickers to send and receive cash, forcing them to adopt the same methods used to smuggle drugs. Vargas said interrogations of the suspect indicated the money was probably going to be used to pay for a drug shipment."