An Angel on Earth

A friend sent me a link to the site GodTube today. I’d not heard of this video site. It’s the Christian version of YouTube. It’s distinctly Christian in nature and currently features a video clip of the most adorable little girl reciting Psalm 23.

Check it out! She’s beautiful and must be the reason why Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me…” (Matt. 19:14) She appropriately wears a pink t-shirt that says “Princess.”

The video was posted by Bluefish TV. You won’t regret viewing it. It will make your day!

Click on the link:

Little Girl and Psalm 23

"Talking With Heroes" Interviews Begin Airing; Third Trip to Iraq

Pamela's note: The information below is not getting out to the national media, so here it is. "Talking With Heroes" is a radio show that airs interviews and comments directly from our wonderful soldiers fighting in Iraq. Bob Calvert, the man behind "Talking With Heroes" is a personal friend, and thus, I post this information for Bob here on my blog. If you want to hear stories from those serving our country, please click on the link below to hear the radio show. As a military mom and wife to a psychologist who counsels some of the servicemen and servicewomen who return from Iraq via the Deployment Recovery Counseling Center, I am grateful to those of you who would listen to what they have to say.

Colorado Springs, CO -- Bob Calvert, host of the "Talking With Heroes" talk show, and Jim Martin, CEO of Altitude Sports and Entertainment Cable Network based in Denver, CO, recently returned from a third trip to Iraq with progress reports for all of America to hear.

Calvert and Martin spent time with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Dakota National Guard, with 2ID 2BCT Army units from Ft Carson, Marines, Air Force, Navy, Iraqis and more. They filmed on sites in Eastern and Western Baghdad to report progress at a Children’s Hospital, Reconstruction at Baghdad International Airport, new buildings under construction, on convoys and more.

"Talking with Heroes" is not about politics.

The program is meant to help, honor, and support our men and women in the military and their families, and to give our military personnel an opportunity to share their mostly untold stories about the work they are doing worldwide. We believe the American people have a right to hear these positive stories and our military personnel have a right to have their stories heard by all Americans. Americans across the country can now hear many positive progress stories of what our men and women have been and continue to do in Iraq. DVDs will also be available soon.

The team reported from a New Water Treatment Plant in Shunidaq, Iraq and interviewed Iraqis there who sent a message to all in America of thanks from the over 10,000 people in that area of who are now drinking clean water for the first time. They visited a New Iraqi Police Training Academy near Camp Falluja. They interviewed and filmed at TQ Surgical Facility in Al Taqaddum, interviewed Iraqi refugees in Habbaniyu Tourist Village, and interviewed the Headmaster at Al Absaar Primary School in Habbaniyu in Iraq. They went on a Route Clearance Convoy with soldiers from Fort Carson, CO, plus other convoys.

Many military personnel shared stories about progress in their areas. The almost 20 hours of interviews, site visits, convoys and more are airing on "Talking with Heroes" 5pm (PST) Sunday night program on the stardustradio.com internet radio network through January 2008.

"Talking with Heroes" also announces that Denver based regional cable television network, Altitude Sports & Entertainment, will air Third Iraq interviews and footage throughout its 10-state cable territory beginning on November 7, 2007. Those with a sports package on DirectTV and Dish Network can also watch around the country. The broadcast times and dates along with the cities and channels are listed in the Talking with Heroes website at: http://talkingwithheroes.com/information.php?info_id=17

"You Tube" now hosts 11 "Talking with Heroes" 9-minute clips from on-site visits to different locations in Iraq. To view these videos go to: http://talkingwithheroes.com/information.php?info_id=20

Bob Calvert, the host of "Talking with Heroes," is available for interviews. Bob continues to conduct on-the-road, LIVE talk show programs in cities across America. The next live event will be Nov 17, 2007, in Columbus, GA. Details are on the www.talkingwithheroes.com web site.

For Media and Other Inquiries Contact:

Bob Calvert, Host
www.talkingwithheroes.com

Email: bob@youngheroes.us

Cell: 719-310-7814

Dog Days of Summer

It’s been a busy summer. Two months of not posting here means:

1) out-of-state relatives visited
2) I took time out to enjoy the good weather
3) and we welcomed a NEW PUPPY to our home!

Levi has been here five weeks, and it’s now daily regimens of training, feeding, scooping up poop. He’s quickly becoming woman’s best friend.

Golden retrievers are the best dogs in the world. I’ve had two in the past. The first was shot about 30 years ago, killed by a farmer who says our dog was chasing his cows. We lived way out in the country of northern Colorado back then. Nearest neighbor was a quarter mile away on one side, a half mile to the other side. I can’t fathom that our dog intimidated those cows much. It was a sad day when we found Pug’s (short for Puggy Bear) body lying dead next to a friend’s dog, both accused of “cattle rustling.”

The next golden retriever I owned was a member of our family for 13 years. He is buried out in Inyokern County, CA, in the desert back yard where I used to live. A loyal, loving friend Ted (short for Teddy Bear) was. I came home from work one day to find him dead on the front step, a horrifying site. He was covered with ants. I can’t know how many hours he lay there. He’d been fine when I went to work that morning. I guess it was just his time. My boss and his wife were gracious to come help me bury Ted’s lifeless body in the back yard. It was hard to know I was leaving him when I returned to live in Colorado.

Thus, our new puppy, Levi, now three months old, is a welcome addition, now that we’re “empty nesters.” He keeps me company while I work from home. My husband—formerly not a dog lover—is enamored of this beautiful, blond boy.

I’ve not owned a dog for about eight years. I had missed the companionship of a canine. This summer that revelation came over me, and when a breeder friend said her bitch was pregnant with a litter, I was first in line to claim one of the new pups.

I look forward to the coming of Fall, taking the dog for walks in the crisp air (which will do me a world of good) and, later, watching him enjoy leaping in piles of snow.

It’s nice to have a new best friend.

Harry Potter Who? Or Am I the Only One Not Reading Him?

Perhaps J.K. Rowling should run for U.S. President.

I, for one, have never read a single word, paragraph, or book of the Harry Potter series. Nor seen the movie (or are there movies?). Am I bragging? Not sure. I suppose I've not been tempted to turn those pages because I'm not one to follow the masses just because "everyone else is doing it." So all you Potter piranhas, go ahead--enjoy every last word. I hope Rowling did a great job for you!

I suppose it’s all the talk of witchcraft and magic that keeps me at bay. Seems to conflict with my faith beliefs. Now before you go and say, “Oh, it’s that ‘holier than thou’ attitude talking,” don’t be so quick to judge me. Maybe I’ve just simply lost my belief in magic and potions, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. In childhood, didn’t we all believe in things that fly (remember Peter Pan and Tinker Bell…I even named my first parakeet after that fairy) and knew to fear anything boiling and bubbly that a witch had brewed? After all, Hansel and Gretel had instinct enough to fear the witch in the forest whose focus was to eat them.

But not having read a word of the Potter series, I have no idea what the witches and warlocks (are they there?) do for a living—or for fun. Perhaps my disinterest can be blamed on being blasted with the reality of today’s world with its daily news bites about Lindsay Lohan’s next arrest (Oh, will they ever tire of telling us common folk we should care about what the wayward woman is up to? We can only hope…), the rising count of dead soldiers and civilians in Iraq, and another politician who thinks he or she has all the answers for our country when in reality, they are all just blowing hot air at this point, in my opinion. Wasn’t there another debate on TV last night? Missed that too.

With more than a year to go until election time, I’ll wait, thank you, until the field is narrowed to those who have a real chance to win before I devote my time and energy to hearing what they have to say. If the pattern holds true, they’ll all be changing their minds and words in the coming months, anyway, to reflect what they “think” the American public wants to hear without really finding out what are our needs and what is important to us in our daily lives. The ivory towers in Washington, D.C., are far removed from the wheat fields and ranches of our country’s heartland.

Perhaps a touch of Harry Potter potion is what they need. Look at the following he (rather, author Rowling) has. With readers in the millions (or is it billions?), our American politicians could learn a lesson from the bespectacled lad and his creator. J.K. Rowling was quoted in the UK’s Independent as saying that “children and adults had been united by the experience of reading the new volume.” Isn’t that what a good politician seeks to do?

"All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too...Those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed!" she added.

Secrets and politicians. Now that goes hand-in-hand, as well.

Is Rowling making a bid for the Presidency of the United States? Potions, magic and secrets just might do the trick.

Or she could instead make a killing selling her recipe to the likes of Mrs. Clinton, the misters Edwards, McCain, Richardson, Biden, Gilmore, Guiliani, Romney, Tancredo…and on and on…will the list ever end?

At least Rowling knew when to stop a good thing, leaving her audience satisfied. It’s too early to know if our politicians can figure out how to do the same thing.

The Home of the Brave: Celebrating the Fourth of July Overseas

In July 1996, I was priviliged to be a member of a community choir that took a two-week singing tour of Scotland and England. The following is what occurred on the 4th of July when a small group of us boarded a bus to make a day of celebrating our American holiday though we were thousands of miles from home. Today I think of the hundreds of American soldiers who yet fight for our freedom as they too are thousands of miles away in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign countries. As a mother of two sons in the military, I dedicate this story below, written 11 years ago, to those soldiers who have gone before us and who risk their lives today. May God protect them, and may they all come home safely to their loved ones.

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND –

There are spacious skies and amber waves of grain in England.

There are no purple mountains.

Red, white and blue colors fill flower boxes, line stone walkways and drape near wooden gates. They are bright beauty beneath the rainy, billowy clouds.

Americans display these colors on their flags.

The fourth of July appears on the British calendar quietly behind the third, before the fifth, dutifully in line as a regiment of trained soldiers.

When Johnny comes marching home again…hurrah, hurrah.

There is nothing special about this day to the waking English, our cousins across the sea, who live amidst Cambridge academia where great kings and greater minds made some of the greatest discoveries we hold true today. The apple landed on Sir Isaac Newton’s head here, and scientists for the first time discussed over lunch the makeup of DNA at “The Eagle,” a local restaurant and pub where beer has been served since the 1300s when the Saxons invaded England, according to a local tour guide. Today’s tourist can view signatures on the ceiling written by American soldiers stationed in England during World War II. “The Wild Hair – 9th Squadron” and “Bert’s Boys – 196th Squadron” left their marks.

First to fight for right to freedom…

As the morning sun rose behind drizzling clouds over this North Sea island country, the fact that it was Independence Day at home was on the minds of most members of the Greeley Chorale and their traveling companions as we continued our two-week singing tour of Scotland and England. Independence Day for us dawned seven hours earlier than for friends and families in Colorado. While those at home slept peacefully, before the parade and pancake breakfasts, before barbecues smoked and children urged parents to light spitting Roman candles, Greeley’s singing ambassadors reflected inwardly about being away from home on this significant holiday.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light...

While stars glimmered in the Colorado sky, it was mid-morning in England on the 4th of July. It seemed an ordinary day, across an ocean and far away from the traditions we knew. What should we plan to do? we wondered. We knew we’d sing patriotic songs at our concert that night, “An American Hymn” and “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor.” But could we make today special in another way, each of us, that made it feel like home while we were away?

...what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.

We were on an adventure, the small group of us, as we boarded a double-decker tour bus to explore the local sights. With no firm plan in mind, we were led more by the guide, not our spirits, as we settled into our seats. Leaving the city, the bus sped past open green fields in the clearing, sunny air. We rode a few quick miles and listened to the crisp, British accent share details about the college and veterinary school that lay beyond the trees.

It wasn’t until the woman with the microphone highlighted our first stop that flags went up inside our heads, unfurled red, white and blue, and there in the countryside, suddenly imaginary bands began to play. We were at the Cambridge American Cemetery. We were given a patriotic chance to celebrate our Fourth of July.

And the rockets’ red glare…

Stretched below us on the hillside were perfect rows of white crosses marking graves of American servicemen and servicewomen buried after the end of World War II. Cambridge University had given free to the United States this prime land in order to bury its brave, dead soldiers who lost their lives fighting to rid the world of enemies in the “War to End All Wars.” A framed letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressing gratitude to the future Queen Elizabeth and one from her in return are displayed in the Cemetery’s reception building. Visitors can sign a guest book and leave a message for those who follow. A 3-ring binder holds photographs of other American cemeteries located in countries around the world. The last page of the book tells the heroic story of a soldier, John Valdez, Jr., who was awarded the US Medal of Honor for his bravery and actions, including losing his right foot, during the war before his plane disappeared while on his way home.

…the bombs bursting in air…

At the entrance to the grounds, an 82-foot high flagpole that was a gift erected by a father in honor of his son, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., greets visitors. The name of the eldest child of Joseph, Sr., is engraved on the white stone wall, along with names of the others who are buried there. Valdez’ name is etched in gold. The towering wall runs from the entryway alongside a rectangular pond overflowing with white and red roses amidst greenery built to reach just short of the steps of the memorial chapel located at the opposite end. The wall is punctuated by larger-than-life-size carved statues of men in uniforms, one for each branch of the American military services.

Inside the chapel, clear window panels to the north overlook the graves, bearing in their centers full-color, engraved seals of each individual US state, while the south wall depicts in miniature the operations of WWII. The display portrays the strategic attack paths the American plans and ships followed as they closed in on enemy territory in Germany to end the war.

…gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

And after we in solitude and quiet reviewed the scene presented as an unexpected gift that day, with somber thoughts of the sacrifice, honored the dead who gave their lives. The small group representing Greeley and its community chorale stood, hands on our hearts, at the base of the flagpole in a foreign land and sang in clear, strong voices:

Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

So we got hit with snow again this week – late April in the foothills of the Rockies. More than a foot of the wet, heavy variety piled on the driveway, leaving no greenery untouched in all directions. The day before, I’d been to the grocery store wearing capris and a lightweight, button-up shirt. It had been a 60-degree day. That evening, the wind blew in, temperatures dropped, and the making of a snow day was in the offing.

It was so bad, my husband got stuck having to sleep overnight at his office, south of here where it only rained. It’s amazing how much difference being just 12 miles away makes. However, there is a 1000-foot difference in elevation from here to there. Obviously, we live above the freeze line. He arrived home the morning after the storm to fire up the snowblower and clear a path for us to get in and out. Today the sun blazes a bright white across the landscape. The snow turns to water and seeps into the ground. Spring is coming.

I spent a few minutes during the height of the blowing storm with my gaze focused through a bay window on a tiny bird in an aspen tree outside. It was the only one in sight. It showed no fear of the elements as it bit at the bark, changed branches now and then, unaware of the cold and storm. I am amazed at God’s design of such a creature – not much meat on its bones, a few tiny feathers for clothing, fragile as porcelain Chinaware in its structure – and there it was, content to be living in nature and getting on with life. Perhaps it knows instinctively in whose hands it resides.

I am reminded of what Jesus said to his disciples about how God cares for each one of us. Luke 12:24 says, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

Jesus reminds us not to worry about things in life, as the chapter continues: Luke 12: 27-31 reads, “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father know that you need them. But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.”

In His wisdom, his display of weather says though the unexpected storms come, we just need to go on with life as usual, trust that it will blow over, and we’ll be safe until the sun shines again.

Seung-Hui Cho Chose Evil to Solve His Problems

Another senseless massacre of innocent people. More families whose hearts are broken now cry over the loss of a child, sibling, or parent after the shootings at Virginia Tech’s campus. Another tragedy that puts our nation on pause while we watch the images of horror and ask why the 23-year-old senior did it. How do we make sense of it?

President Bush said in today’s speech at the Virginia Tech convocation ceremony the victims were “simply in the wrong place at the wrong time…” It doesn’t explain why Seung-Hui Cho certain classrooms on that one particular day to vent his torment and anger.

Why did Cho feel killing would solve his problems? Why did he not seek a healthy way to deal with any anxiety, anger, loneliness or depression? Where did Seung-Hui Cho get the idea that is okay to slay others whom he may never have had a word with? Was his internal world so confused and removed from his fellow students that he viewed them as nothing more than moving targets as in a gallery game at a carnival midway? Did he score points for himself each time a bullet pierced flesh and poured forth its life-giving blood? And not care that his actions would, if no one else, hurt his own family? What of the effect on his sister and parents?

Apparently the Virginia Tech senior did not believe in the sanctity of life. Not his nor anyone else’s. Something in Cho's world did not convince him that he had value and reasons for living. Someone did not teach him that the lives of others hold worth and the goal of life is to love one another as well as himself. And if he was taught this, he didn’t believe it. His actions demonstrated a pure lack of respect and caring for his fellow man.

We see the killings in Iraq—a war rages on. We read of suicide/homicide bombers in the Middle East whose sole purposes are to kill others, believing they will have rewards in heaven. This week is the 8-year anniversary of the killings at Columbine High School in Littleon, Colorado. The list goes on: murder at a Bailey, CO, school in 2006. Lives lost the same year at the Amish school in Nickel Mines, PA. Hundreds of young children were murdered in Beslan, Russia, in 2004. School children were knifed to death in Osaka, Japan, in 2001. In Sanaa, Yemen, in 1997. It happened in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996.

Hollywood movies and best-selling novels glorify killing and violence. The debate about the effects of such is endless. We look for the “why” of what moves one person to take the life of another. Is there ever an answer?

We live in a country that no longer upholds prayer in school and faith in God. Another perspective to find reasons for killing and violence—an endless debate that itself is shot down in the public arena when prayerful people try to turn these United States back to God.

Almost every third baby conceived in America is killed by abortion, according to information on the AbortionFacts.com web site, interpreting morbidity and mortality figures from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA. It’s been said that this, this daily occurrence, contributes to today’s generation believing human life is an expendable commodity. A newly-formed life can get in the way of what you want for yourself, so get rid of it—is what abortion says today.

Did Seung-Hui Cho think these things? “No God exists, my life is worthless, and I’ll kill others because they are in my way.” Any and all of our culture’s dismissal of the value of life must have had its effects.

In the end, it’s always a battle between good and evil. Between love and hate. When will we, as a collective society, realize there’s no glory, but sickness, in seeking darkness? That there is no value in reveling in destruction and death?

When will we stop putting our money into the hands of those who promote evil, gore, and violence—but instead, uphold good, honor life and God’s creation, and reward those who demonstrate love and caring for another human being? We should put our focus on positive movies, life-giving novels, non-violent video games, uplifting music, a noble career, and speak out in public against those who promote distaste and hate.

We must turn around the evil in the world. Our lives depend on it. Unfortunately, it’s too late for the victims at Virginia Tech today.

Three Little Words: Don Imus, 0 – Jesus Christ, Won

Three little words are what got Don Imus in trouble this past week. By Friday, he had lost his radio job, as most of the country knows by now. His remarks caused outrage across the board, from New York newscasters to California executives. Blacks called for his firing, while women’s groups demanded an apology. Not since Rosie O’Donnell mimicked on “The View” Donald Trump’s puckered personality has a media person’s comments enflamed passions on all sides. Only this time, it’s worse. Imus degraded women.

When I first heard media reports about Imus calling the Rutgers University black women basketball players “nappy-headed ho’s”, it wasn’t the racist degradation that so deeply disturbed me. It was the put-down and verbal abuse of women that lit my feminine fire.

Here again is an example of a man viewing women as less-than-honorable, stereotyping the team members simply because of their gender. Referring to them as “ho’s” – using the black culture slang so often heard in the rap music of this generation – blatantly states a woman is defined by her purpose to a man: to be used intimately and physically, when he wants, how he wants, where he wants. At the same time he needs her for his own masculine pleasure, he’s in no way respecting her as the beautiful creation God made her to be.

That’s how I hear the word “ho.” And I’m angered.

I find it ironic that this incident occurred just after Easter Sunday and the previous Holy Week. This being a time when much of the world honors the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for each one of us when he willingly gave his life and died on the cross, to take on the world’s burden and atone before His Father in heaven for mankind’s sins—past and future. His blood covered for us our mistakes, while He, innocent of wrongdoing, took our place, and was the sacrificial lamb.

The three little words that Jesus uttered were, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

Jesus didn’t say, “I’m only dying for the rich, white men of the world.” His purpose for living on Earth was concluded and mankind saved because Jesus did the honorable thing. While on Earth, he respected each individual created and yet to be. He died for everyone. No matter the color of a person’s skin or gender. No matter if young or old—his death was for each of us, past and future.

My point is, Jesus didn’t look down his nose at the women of the world and say, “You’re nothing to me but a ‘ho’.”

In Luke 7:37-48, he accepts, respects and forgives a sinful woman, upholding her personhood before his dinner hosts. In John 4:7-27, he speaks with a Samaritan woman at a well, reveals truths to her about God the Father, and ignores the admonitions of his peers who criticized Him for talking with a woman.

And when He arose alive again after being crucified and sealed, dead, in a tomb, it was a woman to whom the resurrected Christ first appeared, not to a man. (John 20:10-17)

This blog has focused much on books that I’ve read or sold through my business. No book is more important in that regard than the Bible. It might do Don Imus and the rap artists some good to choose their moral guidelines and outlook from this book. Instead of saying hurtful, degrading things about women, they might learn from Jesus’s example of how he treated and viewed the feminine gender.

Imus is said to have contributed to charitable causes. That’s great and I respect him for that. I’m sorry his on-air remarks ended with the loss of his job. Don Imus made a mistake, as we all do in life. That’s why Father God made the Word flesh and created His Son by way of birth to a woman, crossing the veil between Earth and heaven, to live here as we do, in the form of a human being. We are not perfect. But Jesus was.

Jesus Christ set an example of how we should love one another.

Perhaps rap artists should read the Psalms for inspiration and direction as they compose lyrics about their world—looking beyond oppression, hate and anger. Looking instead to uplift and respect another.

Perhaps Don Imus will take time now (after all, he doesn’t have a job to report to) and read his Bible. There he will learn of the forgiveness for his verbal sin and understand that, despite his mistake, Jesus loves him anyway.

I don’t know of Imus’s faith beliefs. Despite my own anger at his comments, I do believe he should be allowed to say his apologies and move on. As much as his remarks about the Rutgers basketball team were inappropriate and unnecessary, he should be permitted a second chance (…after all, if Donald Trump can dish that out…). Let Imus show the world he has changed and is a better man, as he has said he would do.

And just maybe we’re all so angry because we see a bit of ourselves in Imus for the times we too have said the wrong thing.

Perhaps this incident last week was meant to be a lesson learned. By all of us.

Anna Nicole Smith Says She Believed in Jesus Christ

This YouTube video from 1999 is an interview with Anna Nicole Smith at the Oscars--talking about her faith in Jesus Christ. What a surprise this was! View it for yourself and see what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVILZlvc-pE

I will not make judging comments here about her lifestyle and choices since that time. But it's refreshing to see her talk about something positive!

Perhaps they ought to show this video on national news...

Anna Nicole Smith and the National Noise

It’s been nearly a month since Anna Nicole Smith died and was nearly not buried near her deceased son, Daniel, in the Bahamas. To date, it seems a non-ending saga.

I’ll admit – I followed the courtroom hearings and daily episodes. I held a non-believing view that this was indeed taking place. It was too incredible—but all too real, as we saw. A novel with these bizarre characters and plot turns would not have made it to publication, I believe, because it was all so unnatural. The players were sinister Stern, likeable Larry, and mother-victim Virgie. A dead grandson and a newborn granddaughter. Cremation ashes and legal tangles with a dead husband’s estate and his surviving relatives, yet to be negotiated. Throw in Anna Nicole’s reliance on narcotics and a nutty “legal advisor” who seems to have pushed them on her. Ohmigosh!

The who-is-the-real-father puzzle (that made public notable male sex partners who talked with nostalgia of the nympho Playboy centerfold) remains nauseating in its insanity. Have Stern spit in a cup, get a soiled diaper from baby Dannielynn, and be done with this nonsense! Does DNA stand for “Don’t Name Anyone?”

Prove Birkhead the real daddy, nullify Stern’s name on the birth certificate, and allow Larry to set up a nursery for the cherubic child. Let Birkhead give Stern a nosebleed, and thereby, get the DNA sample he needs to claim his namesake. Nuclear science, this isn’t!

Many cable TV news reporters ask, “What is our fascination with her?” Why do people care and want this news that was overdone but hard to turn away from?

I think it’s because the actions and reactions of the parties involved are so unlike our own uncelebrated, “normal” lives. Our mouths drop open as each unnerving detail revealed about Anna Nicole’s life—and death—is outside what the majority of us believe is “right” about what should happen to another human being or about how we “should” live.

But at its heart, isn’t it caring about what is fair and dignified for Anna Nicole Smith—despite how undignified she may have lived her life at times? Shouldn’t justice win out amidst this nightmare? Because if not for her, someone with astounding beauty and millions of dollars, what then for us, the common masses? Do we stand a chance in this world? We like to believe we do, of course. In the end, we see that beauty and money don’t really matter. We all cry “let life be fair.” When we know it’s not.

My heart broke for Anna Nicole last September when her son died. Happening at the time of her daughter’s birth—it’s an unthinkable pain. We can identify with this celebrity who was forced to see her beloved son stone cold in a coffin, and feel grief for her loss.

I was just 10 years old when Marilyn Monroe died. I recall with distinctness my trek to the corner drugstore to view the black-and-white photos on the front pages of dozens of publications. I mourned for her. I couldn’t believe she was dead. I’d watched her movies. I suppose, in some ways, I viewed Marilyn as someone to aspire to be, back then, in 1962, when I was trying to figure out the world. But her tragic, early death told me, “No, that’s not the way to live.”

Not so for Anna Nicole. They say she idolized Marilyn Monroe. We all choose our heroes, our role models. It was Anna Nicole’s life to live. But in the end, what legacy does this now leave for Dannielynn?

If the nincompoops who only see $$ signs when they gaze into the child’s innocent face would step out of the way—if the newscasters and nearsighted money-grubbers would realize she’s a human being in need of love and not notoriety—if her natural father would be allowed to raise her surrounded by grandmothers, aunts and uncles instead of publicists and promoters—then maybe Anna Nicole’s legacy will turn in the nick of time and another neophyte Marilyn Monroe won’t emerge.

Those of us who follow this saga should pray that Dannielynn chooses a noble life, nonchalant about the nosy people who look at her as just a number in a world that counts dollars and cents instead of decorum and sense.

After all, that is what seems fair.

Knocked Out and On Drugs

Two weeks ago I was knocked out, cut open, then told to go home. I am recuperating nicely.

Okay, so I had knee surgery. Not too dramatic, but a happening nonetheless.

Had I not been knocked out—anesthetized—it would have been pretty painful, I know. Of course, the surgeon had to cut into the knee to remove the pieces of my shredded meniscus. And since it was a mere 40-minute outpatient procedure, where else would I go afterwards but home? Besides, the food’s better at my place.

I’ve gone from sleeping for most of the first two days, to not sleeping well at night (I weaned myself from the Percocet too soon and pain woke me up—I am back on a lesser drug), from crutches to a cane (now and then) to the start of physical therapy. Ouch. Why is it that the PT person thinks if she hooks you up to electrodes which zap your muscles (“Yes, I can feel that! The current’s hit the fillings in my teeth!”), then piles 20 pounds of ice on top of the pained knee for 15 minutes, this is supposed to help..?! (OK, so the swelling did go down a little…) Visions of Frankenstein floated in my head as I counted down the minutes. All that was missing was the thunder and storm outside. She had on the obligatory white coat.

There is a benefit to having surgery: lots of time to read! I have had to slow my pace, walk carefully, and sleep off the drugs. When awake, it’s time to dive into the pile of books by the bedside…or write on my laptop…and peruse hardbacks stacked near the recliner couch.

I discovered the debut novel by T.L. Hines, “Waking Lazarus.” (The title seemed to fit my predicament.) It’s amazing! I loved it—suspense, twists, mystery, and believable characters. With an unpredictable ending that had me analyzing the plot for hours after I’d closed the back cover. Published by Bethany House, the story takes place in Red Lodge, Montana. The main character, Jude Allman, has died and come back to life three times (I know, it seemed a bit far fetched to me, too, but trust me—it’s a great book). Children are disappearing from the community (…seems all too real in today’s world…) and Jude is pulled into the puzzle. In January, this book was named to Library Journal's 25 Best Genre Fiction Books of 2006 list. Read it. It’s great!

I also read "White Chocolate Moments" by Lori Wick (what better way to feel good when laid up, but through chocolate?) via Harvest House Publishers. In this case, the 11-year-old heroine’s parents have been killed in an auto accident and she is raised by her grandfather, a wealthy Chicago business tycoon. She turns 18 and runs away, tired of knocking heads with an insecure, whiney cousin—grandfather’s favorite grandchild. It’s the personal discovery, growth and love that develop which kept me turning the pages. Not a mystery, it’s a feel-good book—and heaven knows, I needed something to help me feel good! It’s a book I recommend for those in need of a smile.

These books combined with issues of Writer’s Digest, author Randy Ingermanson’s “Clean Up Your Act” writing teleseminar, and Elaine Marie Alphin’s “Creating Characters Kids Will Love” have satiated my appetite for the written word and improving the craft.

The housework calls, but it can wait (“Aw, honey, my knee hurts.”). It’s almost dinner time (“But I can’t stand that long at the stove…”) and the laundry piles up (“You can wear sweat pants to the office just one more day, can’t you?”).

Me, I’m content being able to read and write. This hobbled up knee stuff ain’t so bad. I think I look distinguished sporting a cane.

Wait…it must be the drugs talking. I’m not ready for a cane! Five more weeks of P.T. and I’ll be good as new!

“Turn up the power, nurse. And I’ll have another serving of ice.”

New Year, New Life

I have written here of late about New Life Church and Pastor Ted Haggard, as well as soldiers at Fort Carson whom I met during book fairs I’ve staged at the base’s hospital. It’s a new year and new things are happening, related to each.

I look out the window to the left of my desk and view mounds of glistening snow beneath majestic pine trees. We received another eight inches yesterday on top of the nearly three feet that fell during the past month. A winter wonderland yet covers this patch of ground in my part of Colorado. (It made for good weather to stay indoors and watch the NFL playoffs…go Bears…if the Broncos can’t be there!)

Recent occurrences:

New Life Church: Is going strong, two months after the national news about Ted Haggard. A pastoral search committee has been formed to select a new senior pastor. Nine members were chosen for the committee through a vote held among church members. We are blessed to have Pastor Ross Parsley, the worship leader and Integrity Music recording artist, serve as interim pastor. His sermons and message each week are inspiring and just what the congregation needs in this time of change. He has likened our current journey to that of Noah’s Ark. We are in the boat waiting for dry land to appear, and the process could take many months, as it did for Noah and his family. It’s the perfect metaphor. And at the end, there will be a rainbow.

Music: The church’s new CD was released on December 24, “My Savior Lives,” and features Ross Parsley and the Desperation Band on the Integrity label. Thirteen original songs, all fabulous.

Book Fairs: During January, we rest and attend a regional conference. The new fair schedule begins in February – and instead of attending the conference, I was in Las Vegas. My father turned 75, and most of my large family gathered from parts east and west to honor Dad. The slot machines didn’t get much of my money – I never win – but my two sisters and a niece walked away with a few extra bucks. As my 22-year-old daughter says, “They got all the lucky genes in the family.” OK, so I’m not a gambler.

Fort Carson: The biggest change is that my husband, Dr. Gary Cosel, a licensed psychologist, has expanded his counseling practice. Together we have opened the Deployment Recovery Counseling Center in Colorado Springs. The mission statement: Saving Families Wounded By War. Services are available for active duty, retired, reserve and National Guard military members and their families.

What This Means: I am therefore selling my book fair business. Will I continue to be involved with books? You bet. I am an avid reader, but also a writer. What happens to this blog? Its direction will change. I’ve tried here to focus on the people whom I meet at the book fairs I’ve conducted versus the actual business of fairs. Now and then, I’ve written about some of the books I’ve sold and those I’ve read. So as this blog metamorphosizes, stay tuned. Life is always about people and how we interact with them. Everyone has a story to tell. I hope you’ll like mine.