Justice: dedicated to Michelle Muir, Justice Girl, & Cindy Corbin, Who Needs To See Justice

 

"Lookin' out across this town
Kinda makes me wonder how
All the things that make us great
Got left so hard behind

This used to be a peaceful place
Decent folks hard workin' ways
Now they hide behind locked doors
Afraid to speak their minds

I think we need a gunslinger
Somebody tough to tame this town
I think we need a gunslinger
There'll be justice all around

Someone let the fences go
Wild eyed bunch moved in you know
Shootin' up the streets shoutin' everybody down
Dogs all runnin' loose

Wrecked the papers, closed the school
Tired old judge got roughed up too
No one left to make a stand
They whisper, "What's the use?"

I think we need a gunslinger
Somebody tough to tame this town
I think we need a gunslinger
There'll be justice all around

I think we need a gunslinger
Somebody tough to tame this town
I think we need a gunslinger
There'll be justice all around

I think we need a gunslinger
Somebody tough to tame this town
I think we need a gunslinger
There'll be justice all around"

[John Fogerty]

Michelle, guess you might eventually need some boots & ammunition to go with that cape!
And Cindy, praying you will see justice, whatever shape it takes!
Heard this while listening to my iPod this morning--thought of you both:)

Am I Doing What I'm Called To Do?

 

A few weeks ago, at a wedding reception, a friend from way back asked if I was still doing any artwork. He had a miniature painting I had done twenty years ago, which he still admired.
A loaded question for me. I ponder it often. I have art supplies galore but take no time to paint or collage, or draw with my pastels, do a watercolor, or quilt. My energy these days goes toward working at Hallmark (and am involved in Stephen Ministry and Comfort & Care).

Now I love working at Hallmark, love my co-workers & my manager, love 98% of the customers:)
But...which is my calling, my God appointed calling as I look back on close (very close) to 60 years?

I have said often enough, and believe it, that if a person doesn't use a God-given talent, God will take it away. Then again, I believe being invested in people is the only lasting, eternal, thing we do here this side of Heaven. So, I try to evaluate my priorities every now & then.

Sunday, Andy preached on the 4th commandment, "Honor the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy. Six days shall you labor but on the Seventh day, you shall rest."
This week he focused on the labor part.
He said, in summary, "Work is a sacred activity, a holy, religious, activity.
Work enables us to be imitators of our Heavenly Father.
Work enables us to be producers, to be creative.
Work enables us to be givers.
Work is a way to love our neighbors."
I soaked it in.
Good stuff:)
True stuff:)

Andy quoted from Jacques Maritain of Christian Art: "If you want to make a Christian work, then be Christian, and simply try to make a beautiful work, into which your heart will pass; do not try to 'make Christian'".

So, work is an honor and a joy if we do it unto our Heavenly Father, and to bless our co-workers, friends, and neighbors.
And, if the Spirit nudges us to be creative, we better do it as well, for the work of art blesses God and those around us!

SO, to all my family & friends, encourage me to pick up those paintbrushes and pastels, or my needle and thread---on my days off.

The Bride To Be

 

My dear friend Kathy is getting married August 22nd, a month & a half from now:) To say she's happy & excited is an understatement!

About a month ago, she & I spent a morning looking for a wedding dress, one suitable for a second marriage. We found this beautiful aqua dress & jacket! It looked gorgeous on her:)

In her excitement, & surprise at finding one so quickly, Kathy didn't think of conferring with her daughter Robin, & placed an order for the dress:)
Robin was, rightly, disappointed. To rectify the situation, Kathy & Robin met the next afternoon at the same dress shop & chose another dress, somewhat similar in style yet a more traditional color.

So, I figure Kathy gave me the chance to take part, then Robin got to play the most important part--that of choosing THE DRESS:)

But, honestly, this dress looked so great on Kathy, I felt I had to share it:)
What a blessed time for a precious friend:)
Thank you, Kathy, for letting me share in your joy!

Top 50 Songs of 1969

Is this a mixture of styles, or what??
I think of "Sweet Caroline" as our song (Keith & mine), since my middle name is Caroline:)
Not sure about the sweet part (standing on shaky ground with that word), but the rest of the lyrics fit our story:)

I included the top 50 to get in a Beach Boys' song, Keith favorite group:)
I loved The Beatles & CCR:)
Number 41 became one of our favorites, & we finally saw Arlo a few summers ago at Regency here in Cary:)

Evidently "In The Summer Of '69" was not even thought of til 1984, when written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.


1. Build Me Up Buttercup - Foundations
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
2. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
(Billboard High Chart: #4)
3. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - Steam
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
4. More Today Than Yesterday - Spiral Staircase
(Billboard High Chart: #12)
5. Mah-Na-Mah-Na (Mahna Mahna) - Piero Umiliani
(Billboard High Chart: #55)
6. Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
(Billboard High Chart: #10)
7. My Way - Frank Sinatra
(Billboard High Chart: #27)
8. Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
9. Something - the Beatles
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
10. Sugar Sugar - Archies
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
11. Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette
(Billboard High Chart: #19)
12. Touch Me - Doors
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
13. Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
14. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
15. Hooked On A Feeling - B.J. Thomas
(Billboard High Chart: #5)
16. I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
17. Come Together - the Beatles
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
18. Grazing In The Grass - Friends of Distinction
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
19. Traces - Classics IV & Dennis Yost
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
20. Hawaii 5-0 - Ventures
(Billboard High Chart: #4)
21. It's Your Thing - The Isley Brothers
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
22. My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
(Billboard High Chart: #4)
23. Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
24. Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross and the Supremes
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
25. Everybody's Talkin' - Nilsson
(Billboard High Chart: #6)
26. Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
27. Everyday People - Sly & Family Stone
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
28. Crimson and Clover - Tommy James and the Shondells
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
29. Time of the Season - Zombies
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
30. Down On The Corner - CCR
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
31. Twenty Five Miles - Edwin Starr
(Billboard High Chart: #6)
32. Worst That Could Happen - Brooklyn Bridge
(Billboard High Chart: #3)
33. Love's Been Good To Me - Frank Sinatra
(Billboard High Chart: #75)
34. Ruben James - Kenny Rogers & the First Edition
(Billboard High Chart: #26)
35. A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
36. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin - Crazy Elephant
(Billboard High Chart: # 12)
37. You've Made Me So Very Happy - Blood, Sweat and Tears
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
38. Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon
(Billboard High Chart: #14)
39. Get Back - Beatles
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
40. Wedding Bell Blues - The 5th Dimension
(Billboard High Chart: #1)
41. Alice's Rock and Roll Restuaraunt - Arlo Guthrie
(Billboard High Chart: #97)
42. Stand! - Sly and the Family Stone
(Billboard High Chart: #22)
43. Isrealites - Desmond Dekker and the Aces
(Billboard High Chart: #9)
44. Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
(Billboard High Chart: #2)
45. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday - Stevie Wonder
(Billboard High Chart: #7)
46. Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Jackie DeShannon
(Billboard High Chart: #4)
47. These Eyes - Guess Who
(Billboard High Chart: #6)
48. Jingo - Santana
(Billboard High Chart: #56)
49. I Can Hear Music - Beach Boys
(Billboard High Chart: #24)
50. Memphis Underground - Herbie Mann
(Billboard High Chart: #44)

A Summer Of Weddings & Looking Back At the Summer of '69

 

The summer of 2009 is turning into a summer of weddings for Keith & me:) It's probably not an unusual number, but for some reason this summer each wedding seems to be a welcome, uplifting, break in routine for me. It's a time to think of hope & great joy; of a family being created, of the eagerness of two people embarking on a lifetime of dreams to be dreamed, and God willing, fulfilled together, even disappointments & sorrows to be weathered together:)

This photo was taken June 13th at the reception after Amanda Corbin's marriage to Justin, a handsome young Charlotte policeman. The previous weekend Caroline Hanson wed Nathan from Nashville, and July 11th Stephen Haynes will marry his sweetheart. All three are from our church family.
We've also been invited to Peter Lanier's wedding (son of longtime friends) which will be held in Boone the 18th of July, the same day that friends & I are giving a wedding shower for my dear friend Kathy who will walk down the aisle August 22nd:)

Maybe the reason I'm feeling nostalgic about these weddings in 2009:
Forty years ago Sunday, August 3rd, 1969, on the hottest day you can imagine (and the most sultry), Keith & I were married in a tiny country church in the Sandhills of NC. We were so young, 22 & 19. A simple ceremony & frugal; cotton dresses--white for me, yellow & orange for the bridesmaids, we carried daisies, had no photographer. Rev. Green officiated, a pastor from a nearby town standing in for my vacationing preacher. No reception. And then off we went to live in upstate NY, a place my mama thought was on the other side of the world!

What an adventure!
(Little did we know Woodstock would be such an historical event, as we moved into a mountain cottage less than 50 miles of Max Yasgur's 600 acre Farm 2 weeks before it all began!)

Forty years later (could it be that long!)I'm thankful to celebrate a milestone anniversary:) And to celebrate with 3 great children, a wonderful DIL, & Cameron's girlfriend Holly:) We are blessed.
Besides trying to find a B&B in the mountains for a weekend get-away in the fall, we're thinking of going to The Melting Pot in Raleigh with Cameron & Holly, Seth & Kelley & Skye--don't you think that's appropriate for a hot & humid August anniversary?:)

Reality For A Family I've Grown To Love To Visit

 
I just finished watching Jon And Kate Plus Eight.
Rumors were rampant Jon and Kate were separating. I secretly hoped it wasn't true. Skye and Alexis suggested wouldn't it be great if they announced they were having another baby--imagine how uplifting that would have been, or kooky in a joyful kind of way! What a story that would have been:)

As the show unfolded it became evident they were splitting up, calling it quits. A beautiful family countless folks have watched and adored, broken.
I was hoping to hear "We're seeing a counselor, talking to our pastor, praying, working through it"---but, none of that was mentioned:(

Is there hope?
I didn't sense any....
Jon separate, Kate separate, both trying to be brave in the midst of deep hurt and sorrow.
Is it just "another family bites the dust"?
It's discouraging.....
I am sad for all ten of them, especially the dear Eight.

Biking The Neuse River Trail

 
Saturday afternoon, May 30th, Seth, Keith, & I met off Poole Road in Raleigh to bike the Neuse River trail. It seemed a good idea. A trail along a river is usually pretty level terrain, maybe even shady, or so we thought. After leaving the parking lot at the trail head we realized right away we'd be traveling a rough gravel road. Much of the time it followed the river, but often it snaked away & wound back towards more hilly terrain. For a brief time the trail merged with a paved road which surprised us with a very steep hill! After pushing my bike up the "mountain" we headed downhill again to a beautiful area of swamp, or wetlands, spread out in every direction. Wooden bridges had been built to cross the swampy area.

All in all, the trail was about 3 miles long, so we covered 6 miles in close to 2 hours. (Seth could have done it in less time; Keith & I haven't ridden much this summer:)) We stopped often, walked our bikes often, & few spots were easy-going.
Thank goodness we didn't have many bugs:)

The photo here shows some shade next to the river, but we didn't find many places like this.
I must admit I would rate this trail near the bottom of my favorite area trails for amateurs' list.