Baby Monkey

...... .................................... His mother thinks he is beautiful

...................................................I'm ready for my close-up.

New Hat

My friend Don Wolfram gave me this wonderful gift today and I wore it proudly. He must think he knows me. Thanks Don, you made my day.

Ministry Opportunity

I went to a meeting at church today about the hospital visitation ministry. I am really excited to be on this team. There is something humbling and sacred about praying with people in crisis. The hospital room becomes holy ground. Just sitting quietly and being present can have a profound impact. In the Bible Jobs friends sat with him for days without saying a word, just being with him. There have been people who just sat with me when I was in crisis and it was so comforting. The friends of Job stopped being helpful as soon as they started talking. I want God to use me to help bring His love, healing and presence to hurting people.

Graduation Day

Boo graduated from her dog training class on Saturday.

......You are invited to the open house. We are registered at Petsmart. (Just kidding)

These photos are the only proof we have that she has been trained. Jimmy said he thought she should be held back. She was definitely the class clown. She peed in class, slipped off her collar and ran around the store, and got in a fight with a huge dog. She will not be bullied. For 8 weeks we learned a lot about our trainers dogs C.C. and Baby. Can you guess what C.C. stands for? Cute and Cuddly. Seriously. He admitted that sometimes he eats their dog food. uh, wow. Boo seemed to love her class as there was a plethora of dog butts to sniff.

Quote Of The Day

"Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting a bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian." -Sharri Barr

Dear Michele

Last year Ben had to read the book The Life of Pi for school. I helped him write his paper and even though he didn't mention it, I could tell he was grateful. To be fair, I thought I would help you by writing the paper for you, so when you get this assignment you can just put your name on it and hand it in.

The Life of Pi; A Book I Read

By (put your name here)

Spoiler Warning! This report gives away major plot elements, such as what was in the boat with the boy.

I really liked this book because it was about a boy in a boat with a tiger. Of all the books I have read about boys in boats with tigers, this one is my favorite. I have long been a big fan of the whole boy in a boat with a tiger genre.

The boys name was Pi, and it looked like his life would be pretty short, what with there being a tiger in the boat with him and all.

Who is the boy? Why is he in a boat with a tiger? What will happen? I will leave such questions for my fellow classmates to answer in their reports while I delve into the deeper, less obvious themes of the book.

The book is rich with symbolism, which is a literary device whereby one thing symbolizes something else. Take for example the tiger. The tiger represents big, deadly, cat-like animals. Some people think that the tiger symbolizes the uncertainty of life and the uneasy alliance we must forge with death. But that's just stupid.

Mr. (or Mrs.) (teachers name here), I would now like to treat you to a dialogue which I have taken the creative license to imagine between Pi and the tiger. "Hi tiger," said Pi. "Hi Pi," said the tiger. "Nice boat, huh?" queried Pi. "Oh, it's just great," stated the tiger sarcastically. Tigers tend to be a sarcastic lot as any reader of Calvin and Hobbes would know.

Recent studies have shown that people love stories about tigers, and stories about boats are good too. So put a tiger in a boat and Baby, you've struck literary gold!

All good stories have a crisis. In this story the crisis is that there is a tiger in the boat with the boy. If that doesn't shout crisis, I don't know what does. Any time you are writing a story and you need a crisis, just put the main character in a boat with a tiger and BAM! Instant crisis.

Remember that movie A Perfect Storm, when the giant tidal wave is about to destroy the boat? Now just imagine that same scene only this time with a tiger in the boat! I think you get my point.

In summary, this book had a profound effect on me and changed my life. If I ever see a boat with a tiger in it there's no way I'm getting in that boat.

Michele, just sit back an collect your A+. You're welcome. Love, Dad

The More Things Change

I found my report card from third grade. Mrs. Campbell, my teacher at Emmons made the following comments about me. " Tom is well liked by the others. He accepts and demonstrates responsibility. He is able to work independently. Tom still has difficulty with proper letter formation and with producing a neatly-done paper." I still have those problems!

"The quality of his work is high in Reading, Spelling, and English." I am awful at speling.

"He knows and uses addition and multiplication facts. He is able to tell time." Have I been regressing since third grade?! I was at the height of my math abilities at age nine.

"Outstanding interest shown in class. Fine work when he has the time." When I have the time? What, did I have a job or something? "Sorry Mrs. Campbell, but between nap time, watching Scooby-Doo, and working in the foundry I was just too busy to color my picture."

I guess I've been busy my whole life.

We are the same people we were at age nine.

The more things change...


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