Watered Garden

Well, I have no idea how to transfer a photo have tried several; no luck.

But fairly high on my bucket list is to visit the U. S. S. Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy.

Old Ironsides

by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!

Long has it waved on high,

And many an eye has danced to see

That banner in the sky;

Beneath it rung the battle shout,

And burst the cannon's roar;

The meteor of the ocean air

Shall sweep the clouds no more!

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,

Where knelt the vanquished foe,

When winds were hurrying o'er the flood

And waves were white below,

No more shall feel the victor's tread,

Or know the conquered knee;

The harpies of the shore shall pluck

The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk

Should sink beneath the wave;

Her thunders shook the mighty deep,

And there should be her grave;

Nail to the mast her holy flag,

Set every threadbare sail,

And give her to the God of storms,

The lightning and the gale!

Old Ironsides

by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Holmes wrote this as a protest when she was going to be scrapped. School children across the country collected pennies and donated them to find her a safe berth.

WG

He's a Morkie!!!! What a cutie!

WG

Waysider, where were the flax seeds in that familia???????

WG

Those insects are crickets.

I was thinking of the ROA yesterday while chasing flies around in the kitchen. Didn't VPW or LCM teach once that devil spirits are attracted to flies and filth or something? Seemed like there was always a boatload of flies buzzing around the ROA.

And I thank my God I don't have to camp in a tent ever again if I don't want to (and I don't!).

WG

Well, at least they don't require a colonoscopy before they let you on the plane (yet). <_<

I think the office in the back may have been W**ne Cla**'s office. If you came in the front door, went to the first hallway and turned right?

I don't doubt they were video wires. That was one creepy place. Going up in the attic where our stuff was stored was enough to give me nightmares.

TWI used to talk about places that were infested with devil spirits, abandoned houses, buildings, etc, that were popularly thought to be haunted. I wonder...

WG

Mueller's biography is titled "Delighted in God."

There is a "Veggie Tales" skit about George Mueller on a kiddie tape.

When I was at Rome City, we were doing that body, soul and spirit thing where you showed somebody how to do something, showcasing your talent in some area with the ability to teach others also, I guess. I was up on the stage cleaning and some guy pointed out to me a small camera in the balcony and told me that it was connected to monitors in Wa*ne Cl**p's office. So he could keep any eye on things, I guess.

"Yep," he said, "when you are in the chapel/auditorium/whatever they called it, "You're in Wayne's World!"

Gave me the shivers and creeps.

WG

Oh my God! Not Charleston, SC! I KNEW most of the people there at one time. There were some pretty awesome people in that branch, L*z Ma**in, her sister and brother in law, lots of fine people, who certainly didn't need to be put through what they undoubtedly were by those two miscreants. I mean miscreant in the sense of just plain evil, not commenting on their sexual orientation in any way.

The deviance and hatred that spews forth from the TWI amazes me. I hope my former friends there, even though they marked and avoided me over a decade ago, are okay. Frankly, I hope they are more than okay; I hope they are OUTTA THERE!

WG

Teachme, you asked about checking off the floss charts for the sleeping flossed but unchecked. The first time I did bless patrol, and it was always by twos, a 19th FWC and a 20th, the 19th to teach the 20th and keep them in line. So, the first time, this very nice guy would discretely tap on the door and say, "Hey, man, did you floss tonight?" The weary WC would say "yeah" and he would go check them off.

The second time, however, I was paired with a very very legalistic woman who insisted the unchecked rise and go check themselves off.

Had it been up to me, I would not even have awakened the unchanged, just assumed they flossed as instructed and checked them off myself. It was such BS we could have fertilized all of Rome City with it.

WG

When I was at Rome City, bless patrol was every night, not just for special events. It was a freaking nightmare; wandering around setting up tipped over kids' bikes, checking on the bee hives, and most of all, checking the floss charts to make sure everyone who had teeth had flossed them and marked the chart. If they hadn't checked their names off they had to be awakened at midnight or so to run down the hall and correct their error. We finally got it about 5 am; rise and shine time was 5:30 am. Then it was business as usual. Breakfast, class/work depending on your schedule. You did not get to sleep until 11 pm or so the next night.

And nothing ever happened except I got startled by a barn owl one time. Other than that it was grit that kept me going; not even coffee available. It was absolute BS and torture, no reason to it that I could see. As far as speaking in tongues to keep devil spirits off the grounds, I could have done that easily from the comfort of our little room. Such absolute garbage! I did it twice and I always wondered if they were trying to tire me out so I couldn't think about how much I hated that place.

WG

Oh, and we were on foot; I guess at HQ they were in vehicles sometimes. They had more ground to cover, but I bet there was foot patrol also.

WG

As always, thanks, Waysider.

On it!

I would suggest investigating a pyrethrine based spray of some kind. This is a derivative of the crystanthemum plant and probably wouldn't have any ill effects on anything other than insects. (Billy the Exterminator can be quite educational at times). :)

If "Gardens Alive" has a website that could be helpful as well. We get their catalog and their products are natural.

The breeder where we got Bodacious has a 6 year old female but the folks who found my dog never called me back - maybe 8 3/4 kids would be a bit much with a dog?

Now the breeder wants us to buy the second cocker - she's a blonde little girl and sounds sweet. We'll take her for an overnight visit eventually; right now we're involved in renovation outside.

So glad the pup is okay. She's milking it a bit and claimed a nice wing back chair in the living room as her own. I'm letting her too.

WG

Any way to know names of new graduates? Probably kids of kids of people I knew...

WG

Grand Lake St. Mary's is a polluted mess, unsafe to swim or even boat in now. So sad. My in-laws had a trailer on the lake when we were first married. We used to stay in it for ROA.

WG

It looks to me as if they are trying to play off the current political tempest.

WG

When we were at Rome City, if you needed health care that the goo from the brown bottle (Bentonite?) wouldn't cure, you had to go to a special doctor and I think apply for Medicaid benefits. Obviously, real medical care was discouraged. I've always wondered if the raging mystery disease I got, which was very likely the initial disorder that led to an auto-immune reaction that led to insulin dependent diabetes, could have been avoided entirely if I'd been allowed to see a real physician.

Fast forward a year or so. The female half of our twig coordinators had to have some "female" surgery. While we are castigated up one side and down the other for paying off my medical bill by the month, she cheerfully writes HER debt off to Medicaid, even bragging about it. We were ordered to sell our stock in the Fortune 100 company my husband had worked for to pay off the debt all at once. Never did anyone ever suggest Medicaid, nor would we have utilized that service. But the inequity of the same little bustard BL toward her, a WC grad, and us, lowly and unworthy peons, still rankles my sense of justice.

WG

J**n T**nse** told me not to walk on the grass at HQ once. He just sort appeared out of the dark. Told me to stay on the side walk, please.

I did, probably stared at him. Thought it was quite legalistic.

WG

I've always just been thankful God thought me worthy of His attention, no matter the how or the whatever. I never understood all that anyway.

WG

In reading over this thread I realize I never updated the situation with Mini's mom.

Last November I wrote her a letter apologizing for any grief and distress I had caused her by reporting the "allegations" of child abuse. I explained that I was only concerned for Mini's safety and had done so out of my concern and love for him. I did NOT apologize for actually doing it.

I sent her a Christmas card and a Mother's Day card.

She has completely ignored me. But she does let Sprout spend more time with Mini now.

Life goes on, and as hard as it is I pray for this misguided young woman, her mother and her entire dysfunctional family.

According to Sprout she and BabyDaddy don't get along all that well any more.

Surprised?

WG

They came over for swimming today in the kiddie pool. Dad is grumpy, way too hard on Minisprout in our opinion.

Mini is learning to read better, reads street signs to us in the car.

Sprout is on disability, allegedly with a bad back, possible lung cancer and a broken foot. He seems fine to me, says he takes Vicodin constantly and is in 24-hour "excruciating" pain. We doubt this. Please pray for his mental and physical health.

The GOOD NEWS: Mrs. Sprout worked today and Sprout and the Minis came to church with us! He may go to a small group, young people with kids like himself! Please pray that this happens; this is a good church and he can get help for whatever the problem(s) is/are in his life.

Mini is still the greatest 7 year old I know. He seemed to have a friend when he came back from Sunday school today, a boy. He needs good kids to be with.

Thank you God! for taking care of my Mini and thank You for Your faithfulness.

WG