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The "little sister" of one of my classmates just IM'd me. We really didn't spend  much time together as her sister and I weren't close. They were neighbors with my eldest brother, which was why we spent what time we did together:


Wendy

I have to tell you that when i was little i thought you were the 'nicest' big kid

thanks for being so nice to me when i was little

9:24pmMichelle

Aww, thanks. It was easy to be nice to you, you were (and are) a good kid.

9:28pmWendy

i just wanted you to know that it meant a lot to me...and still means a lot ot me
 

Michelle

It means a lot to me too. I know what you mean, I remember the couple of "big kids" who took the time to notice me. Its great to know I was able to do that for someone else. :-)

9:37pmWendy

i didnt like a lot of big kids. but the way you treated me as a kid made a difference in the way i looked at other kids when i was at the age where it mattered

9:40pmWendy

i have to go to bed so i can get up in the morning. i just wanted you to know that i appreciate the fact that you were so kind ot me!

thanks!!!

Good nite!

9:41pmMichelle

Goodnight and thanks again for sharing that with me, you made my week!

Wendy

i am glad!

9:43pmMichelle

:-)


 

I feel humbled, yet like I could take on the world right now!

 I had a great time in Chicago! Everyone was just wonderful, it was great meeting all of you I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before and to spend time with those of you I had previously met but never seem to have enough time with at the cons. I hope all of you firsties enjoyed yourselves and will join us at Infinitus or a future HWW2. 


    

 

( Star Wars Elvis, straight from Comic-Con, brings you HWW PICSPAM!!!!! )

 "For dust you are and to dust you will return" Genesis 3:19

 Too many things were on the schedule today, but the one I wish to share concerns this:
http://www.foxfieldpreserve.org/
I first heard of nature preserve cemetaries a few years back. It seems so logical to me. Why do we spend so much energy trying to keep chemicals out of our bodies only to fill ourselves full of them the moment we die? Definitely something to look into at a later date. I was thinking it would be much later, actually, but have decided to go forward with this when they open up for purchase in a few weeks. 

.Foxfield is a new nature preserve cemetary. The first in Ohio and the first in the U.S. to be run by a non-profit. Stark Wilderness Center is the organization which will be running the preserve. The Wilderness Center is a strong hold of conserancy and conservancy education in our area, with a very solid endowment and reputation. As a child we went  there for Girl Scouts and picnics. As an adult I have attended educational programs and purchased native plants at the Center. 

 It is a beautiful area and I can't begin to explain how calm it makes me feel to know I will be part of such a beautiful place.

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." John Muir

 http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php

I have been out in public with three of my family members who are in the military. People are wonderful about showing their support. Thank you to all of those who are serving our country and to all of those who support them.

 IM with my sister during Holy Week:
Me: I bought the chocolate bunnies
Sis: Great, thanks
Me: I also bought some candy necklaces. I used to love those when I was little
Sis: I remember, at the lake
Me: Yes, at the lake...

 IM with my sister during Holy Week:
Me: I bought the chocolate bunnies
Sis: Great, thanks
Me: I also bought some candy necklaces. I used to love those when I was little
Sis: I remember, at the lake
Me: Yes, at the lake...
 

( Read more... )

 The jukebox was in the game room, right beside the concession stand. We hung out there on rainy days, playing air hockey and pin bowling, singing Black and White with Three Dog Night .  We made sure to have quarters for candy necklaces too. You weren't officially in "lake attire" if you didn't have a candy necklace attached to your body in some manner, although they did need to come off to swim. Duh.
     The lifeguard boyfriend played guitar. Man was he a god. Some evenings, when he and the sister were in a benevolent mood (or just didn't have the money to go anywhere), he would come out to the beach and play for us. We could hear the bingo numbers in the background and the crickets played back up.  Even we kids knew it was special.
     The last official saturday night of summer came. Some of us would be back for the odd weekend, but others lived further away. If we did get to come back that fall, the concession stand would be closed, the game room door shut, the beach "swim at your own risk." It was our last night all together. The lifeguard boyfriend god played for us. for awhile, then he and the sister slipped away. We each bought one more candy necklace, then put the rest of our quarters in the jukebox. We lined up at the end of the pier, by the diving boards, with our legs stretching toward the lake below and listened to  Black and White over and over, as the crickets sang and the bingo numbers rang out and the sun set.
      And we chewed on our candy necklaces.        

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 As a relative newbie to LJ, I have been following comments to LJ's new policy statements. I would like to say I find the search function pretty useless, so the removal of the "Unforgiveable Search Terms" is rather irrelevant to my expanding use of LJ. . The best source for me has been the rest of you linking your favorite places in your posts. Thank you and please continue to do so.

I also want to thank all of you. Your insights, humor, and creativity nourish my soul. I choose to return to my childhood community after finishing my education. I love the area, it is beautiful and the people are sincere. They are not terribly witty nor prone to understanding my way of viewing the world. I had not realized how stale I had become until I began prowling here. My edge is a bit rusty, but with time I am sure my cutting views will return to their former honed edges.

I will honor the strike. Being  the daughter of a former Union steward I loathe the concept of crossing such a line.

I hope those of you who are contemplating leaving will stay. After all, I just found you!  *begging, although being normally adverse to such behavior, is adverse to blatant whining 
 

 Here is a great little contest to get your creative juices flowing. There is no prize, but you may see your entry on the program at a USTA  track some day!

Hanover Shoe Farms needs your help! 

      Having followed the posts of several who attend Spiritualist Churches, I did some research and attended my first Service. I felt very comfortable and will definitely return. It is 60 miles away, however, so it won't be a weekly event. I came away with much to ponder. I won't get in to the worship message but to say I will be working on it.
     I also received two messages. The first was part of the service. It was fairly specific and obviously meant for me. Then, as I was preparing to leave the individual who performed the worship service approached me. She had more information for me, even more specific. Actually, she gave me a  name. I think even she was surprised by this. She told me it is unusual to be given names. The name means something to me, it is someone I know professionally. She provided more details concerning this person. Very interesting.
     I then drove 80 miles to share a meal with some of my family. Fortunately this took me within 30 minutes of home. I have two nieces in the U.S. Army. One of them returned home Friday and is home until after Thanksgiving.  She is young (18) and just finished Basic and her AIT. She is an MP and as such did not get a break between the two but had one combined graduation. She has been away since June. It was so good to see her! It also seems we may get her for the holidays this year. She has yet to report to her duty station, so we are not sure what the immediate future holds for her.
     Her father is in the Army Reserve and is on active stand-by. Her sister is the other Army niece. We know for sure she is coming home for the holidays. We know this because I received a frantic phone call from her last Sunday. The unit was given ten minutes to call home. I had 24 hours to make plane reservations for her and e-mail her itinerary to her commander. This niece is in training in Special Operations. She will likely deploy in the Spring.
     It was a emotional Veteran's Day. My father was in the Army and is buried at the National Cemetary a few miles from my home. Much of my family has served. We had two serve through Desert Storm, but we have yet to have anyone deployed in the current offenses. We were very fortunate and both returned from Desert Storm safely. I pray we get through this set of deployments as well.
     God Bless Our Troops.

 Thank you to all of you who are, or have been, members of the United States armed forces.
http://www.wkdd.com/podcast/BestofMattandangelaonwkdd.xml 
Click on A Soldier's Prayer

     I attended the last weekend of the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. It is an annual event, although I missed last year. Being horseless for this period of my life and obviously not showing, I feel left out. This was the group I use to compete with and enjoy.
     I met my sister and niece at the hotel, then we headed for the grounds to meet up with friends. With such an entourage, the trip was limited to watching and shopping. My niece (7) has not attended since she was a baby and her awe was great. She has shown a pony since she was 2 and is quite the seasoned exhibitor, but there were events to which she had never been exposed. She loved the heading and heeling- what most people identify as roping cows ;-).  We had a shopping list. We found the niece a new jacket for next year and new winter blankets for the ornery pony and the new puppy at my sister's house. 
     Next year we will attend when the small fry class shows and take the niece to check out the competition. She will be showing my sister's show horse soon. When youth show they are sorted based on their age at the first of the year, so the niece showed this year as a 6 year old and has a few more years in the small fry group. However, she needs to move on to the horse soon as her 4 year old sister is impatiently waiting for the chance to move from leadline to independently showing the pony. 

( Random facts about the Congress )

     The cowboys and Quarter Horse people are always fun. The grounds are filled with huge pick-up trucks, dogs running around (although there are signs everywhere saying dogs aren't allowed), kids, etc. At times the fire marshall closes the grounds as there are so many people there. Horses everywhere, of course, even at the concessions. It is truly wonderful fun!
     The weekend was capped off by my sister informing me she will be attending Terminus! She has already signed up. I asked her to come with me. I am paying for the room anyway as I am not interested in the unknown roommate lottery, so I told her she was more than welcome if she paid her con fee and would be responsible for her food and travel.  I lured her in to reading the books this year and she is now a big fan also.  My niece rolls her eyes and says "Mommy luuuuuuves Harry Potter" every time we talk about it. I can hardly wait until she and her little sister are a bit older and I can corrupt them too. What are aunts for!

 This revelation will give many people something new to talk about, but honestly, didn't anyone else wonder this when they read the description of his outfit the very first time we met him? No straight guy, muggle or wizard, could carry off a purple robe with high-heeled, buckled boots!

 

You Are A Vampire

You have a real thirst for bliss, and you consider yourself a true hedonist. And you're not afraid to walk alone in life, if it means getting what you truly crave. You truly enjoy entrancing people. Not to mention the ensuing pleasures of the flesh. Your tastes have been called decadent and bizarre. You usually give in to your temptations, no matter how primal Your greatest power: Your flawless ability to seduce and charm Your greatest weakness: Human flesh You play well with: Werewolves

      I love Autumn. The colors, the smells, the serenity. It is such a classy season.
     The last few weeks have been rough at work. The child of someone I have known since I was twelve is on my caseload and  in jail. The child made a really poor decision then compounded it by using a firearm. *sigh* Sometimes I do not like being me. But, on the other hand, this young person's choices created trauma for others. I am glad this young person is in a place where they can't hurt anyone.That is good. A rather simplistic version of a complex situation, but good enough.
     We are currently running a trial in which a twenty year old is charged with arson and murder. It is drawing some media attention.  Fortunately it is not my case. 
     Last week two of my sex offenders pleaded guilty to offers. Between them they admitted to three rapes and five GSIs (gross sexual imposition in real people language), involving five victims. I have at least another dozen sex offense cases pending. Sex offense cases and their victims are the most time consuming. They are also drain energy and  consume emotion. You have not lived until you sit with a child and ask him to explain to you what it was that his uncle did to him while he was playing with the matchbox cars in the basement.
     Some times it seems the world is divided into two categories- defendants and victims. But then you realize that the guy you are prosecuting for theft in this case is the victim of an assault in one of next weeks cases and the categories become blurry.
     My real life is much more positive! This week the contractor put final touches on a dry creek bed in the backyard. I am currently planning how I want to handle the lanscaping. I think a few new trees may be in order. Not until next year, though. For now I am looking forward to just letting the grass grow and enjoy what has been completed thus far.
     Time to sleep. I have been up late too much lately watching the Cleveland Indians.
     Go Tribe! 

 Why is it that stupid people are not expected to apologize for being stupid but smart people are expected to apologize for their intelligence? Not that I have ANY intention of doing so...

I am generally pretty good at not allowing others to influence my mood, but they trying extremely hard to get to me this week.

     I joined Live Journal to chat with other HP fans about Terminus 2008. I am a late comer to the fandom, but avid nonetheless. To get to when I became a fan I need to go back a few years.
*pensieve pulled out and contents stirred*
     I showed horses for several years, mostly regionally on the AQHA circuit. A time came when I had to make a decision to leave the horses behind for awhile. Long story.
     While involved with horses I didn't have the time, energy, or money to do much to my house. This was my major frustration while showing. I would come home from a week of horse show dirt to a house that wasn't really mine. It was still decorated as it was when I bought it and I was growing to loathe it.
     I need a project. Always. With no horse to focus on I turned to my home. I picked out a new kitchen and proceeded to take out counters, then moved on to wallpaper and carpet- throughout the entire house. I figured if I was going to do it I may as well get it all over with, let the workers invade, then it would be done. Yuck. It took almost a year for the dust to settle.
     While I was scraping wallpaper I popped the HP and the SS audio CDs in. I had listened to them on the way to a show in Virginia, enjoyed the story, but had not felt the need to hear more. That was a couple of years earlier so I decided to listen again. I enjoyed the story and decided to get the next- then the next. By the time I finished HBP my destruction duties were done, the kitchen was in, the walls in the entire house had been painted, and the wood floors had just been refinished. Jim Dale and I bonded. I have since been through the entire series several more times.
     While that explains why I listened to and enjoyed Harry's story, it doesn't explain my fan status. I love that the story is about how important our choices truly are.
     I detest labels, but they are so handy. I am an assistant prosecuting attorney. It is what I do, not who I am. I have no rich relatives so must work to keep the dogs in kibbles and finance my choices. I try to remember to play the lottery occassionally, but until my numbers come in, I work. Since I must work, my job is wonderful. It is the best job ever. I specialize in the prosecution of juvenile delinquents. It is with the youth we have the best chance of changing behavior, which is one of the reasons I like my job.
     I chose my career after the little sister of a classmate was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. She was twelve and I had just graduated high school. I believe we all have the right to go about our business without fear. I don't care what consenting adults choose to do behind closed doors. Obviously some of that activity (drug usage, for example) is illegal and if someone gets caught they get prosecuted. But my reason for doing what I do is that I hate that we live behind locked doors. I hate that we are confined because the occassional idiot is out there.
     I have been threatened, etc. It is part of the job. As a female dealing with police officers, etc., you have to keep a good sense of humor and not take things personally. I have found them to generally be a wonderful group comprised of strong individuals with healthy egos. I wouldn't want their jobs. A big part of my job is to be aggressive in prosecuting those who attempt to harm officers so the officers can be out there protecting the rest of us. I respect the officers' decisions. They know they can call me, whenever and wherever, to run through a "situation". Respect is earned, not given.
     I have been a prosecutor for seventeen years. The primary thing I try to get through to the youth I prosecute is that they are stuck dealing with the court system because of choices they made. Not because somebody ratted them out, not because they got caught, or whatever other excuse they have. They are with us because on a specific day they made a really poor decision, or series of decisions. I also make it clear our purpose is not to say they are bad people. They made bad decisions. In order to move on they need to suck it up, accept responsibility for the consequences of those choices, and move on. Those who do are successful. Those who don't move on to the adult system.
     The very concepts I use are laid out in the Potter series for everyone to see, discuss, and use. It is wonderful. I have watched a young man whose mother sold drugs to support her habit and who had missed all of junior high to sell drugs himself in order to buy groceries for his little brothers go on to play football at one of our system's residential programs, bring his grades up, and go on to college on a football scholarship. I have also watched a young man whose father is a well respected physician resist all efforts to help him cope with his issues go on to spend 25 years in prison. It all comes down to making choices and accepting responsibility for those choices.
     So, thats the story of why I am such a huge fan of J.K. Rowling and the brilliant world she has given us.
     Thanks for letting me share!

First, thank you to all of you who responded to my first post yesterday. You are all lovely and welcoming. I live in Northeast Ohio and joined LJ to talk about Terminus, but just read there was a big blow-up of some sort with some HP fans. Can't wait to hear the gossip... but back to me. I read the first HP book back in 2003 but did not get hooked until 2005. I just recently joined the on-line community. I have no friends here who are serious fans. I am so looking forward to attending Teminus. I hope to get to know some of you better before then!