Saturday, December 30, 2006

Hard to believe it has been a week already

I looked at my blog earlier today and saw that I have not written an entry since last Friday. Lately, my work schedule has kept me busy, the holidays have been in full swing, and I have been fairly silent on some issues about which I could write.

I have been reading about different news items and can comment, but for some reason, I have not been so inclined. I have spent more time thinking about my column for topics for writing. I also constantly am thinking about writing my novel that has been in my head for a while. In addition to that, I have been wanting to write a theological book. I have started with notes and a direction in the past, but put it on hold. I think that the direction will change, if I am going to write anything.

Christmas was quiet around here. I like it that way. Last Saturday, we went to Greensboro for a family lunch gathering. It was good to see most of the people that were there. All were on Teresa's side of the family, since I don't have any of my family down this way.

There were two notable exceptions to the joyous occasion. Teresa's grandmother is the most henpecking woman I have ever seen in my life. She has absolutely beaten down her husband over the 50+ years of their marriage. She nags him incessantly and treats him like whale dung. I love old Joseph Woodie. We get along well, and I have a great deal of respect for him. I have no earthly idea, however, how he has tolerated that woman all these years.

Another exception is Teresa's father. James Brown may have died recently, but another man by the same name is alive, and was there this last weekend. He did nothing but sit and stare at Teresa. He would not say a single word to me the entire time. No hello, no goodbye. He ignored me entirely. Maybe that is for the best. He has pretty much alienated everyone else in the family with his behavior and attitude, anyway. What a miserable life. Teresa was not comfortable with the staring. If he tries anything like he did in years past, he will join the other James Brown.

Saddam Houssein is dead. Good. As you may have seen, I found and embedded the video on this blog. I have already seen search hits on my blog since I have put it here. I wish that we executed criminals that quickly in this country. Good riddance. I hate the idea that he is probably in Hell, but he lived a life full of evil. He has rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Abraham's seed, Jesus the Christ. Allah is not the same god (small g) as the God (big g) of Abraham.

Big surprise in this report...the Town of Selma has been suffering from poor accounting practices. Here is a paragraph from The Smithfield Herald.

An audit of the town's 2005-06 finances found improperly reconciled bank statements, unrecorded cash receipts and disbursements, and a lack of checks and balances among town officials with access to public money, said accountant Keith Joyce.


I wish that there was more oversight on such things in the town budget, accounting, and spending in the past. I had no control over that at all. I wish I did. It is good that the mayor and some council members seem to want to continue to work to change all of that. It has been a long year for the town in that regard. I wish that I could have done more to help in all of that, but hey, I lost the election.

I am a bit disappointed that such news items are almost never updated on The Selma News web site. If it was, I would link you there. I know what it is like to try to keep a web site or two updated. I have the same issues myself. I have to totally redo i9570.com in a bit, since the holidays are about over. With the work pace lately, I have not done much with it.

Gerald Ford died. I watched part of the state funeral this evening. I really don't remember much about Ford's administration. I was born in 1968. Ford was President from 1974-1977. I was only six years old or so when he took office. I don't remember much about Watergate and Nixon at all. That is what I enjoyed about reading behing G. Gordon Liddy and listening to his radio show. I loved it when he talked about his days in the Nixon Whitehouse. I don't remember any of that time period, although I was alive then. I am the same way about watching documentaries about Barry Goldwater.

My earliest memory of any sort of Presidential or national politics was the election between Ford and Jimmy Carter. I remember that elementary school students like myself in the second grade cast ballots for President. We were young and stupid. How would we know who to vote for? I distinctly remember how some of us children decided how to mark our little ballots. We asked each other, "Hey, who are you gonna vote for?" The reply was, "I think Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford has already had a chance. Let's give someone else a turn, too." Thinking like that is extremely immature, which is what you would expect from a six or seven year old. Unfortunately, many adults are just as informed as voters.

I believe that Teresa and I are going to start with a one year Bible study. If any of you want to check it out, it starts January 1 and continues all year long. Here is a link to the site where you can find out more. There is a weekly or bi-weekly email with the daily readings. The one I just got today starts for January 1 and covers the first 10 days.

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