Please God, close the door!

Ever notice how sometimes you just wish to heck that someone would go away ... and they won't?
Hmm. Did someone mention Sarah Palin?
This is the woman who hated the media during her campaign -- yes, her campaign; that nasty elite media and all that gotcha journalism.
So why is she talking to anyone who will listen?
AND WHY, please, fellow journalists... and some who pretend to be ... do you keep seeking her out?
Just IGNORE her!! I beg of you!
But one statement that she made during an interview with Fox News' Greta van Susteren is really scary. As if Greta isn't scary enough.
Basically, what she is apparently asking of God... sort of like what you ask from Santa, I guess.
My prayers have never ventured into the "open political doors for me," so I guess I don't get it.
I'd rather have her look for guidance to help her disabled son and her pregnant teenager ... the list goes on.
But see what you think...
During the interview, Palin refused to say whether she was planning a run for the White House in 2012, but said she would wait for a sign from God, and that she is confident God would show the way to the White House.
Here is what she said:

"Faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator's hands - this is what I always do. I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is. Even if it's cracked up a little bit, maybe I'll plow right on through that and maybe prematurely plow through it, but don't let me miss an open door. And if there is an open door in (20)12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."

Personally, I hope God will slam that door shut, for the good of this country!

Voting was worth the wait

Something happened to me on Tuesday when I went to vote at the firehouse where we cast our ballots in my somewhat rural township.
I had to wait in line. For 30 minutes.
Earlier my daughter had to wait in line. For an hour.
It was a wonderful sight to see.
Why wonderful, you ask? What’s so great about having to stand in line to vote?
Because, in my opinion, it showed that a lot of people actually cared about this election; they actually made the commitment to cast their ballot, no matter how long it took.
When compared to the lines in some areas of this nation, my wait was hardly worth mentioning.
But when you consider that, generally, there is no line at my polling place, no sense that people are really all that charged up about an election, Tuesday certainly was a day to remember.
I only wish that when local elections are held that the same number of people would show up.
Alas, that’s probably too much to ask.
We’ll have to wait and see.
But even I haven’t been this psyched about an election in a long time. Yes, I can still remember the first time I was eligible to vote. It was a heady time and I couldn’t wait to get into a voting booth and have my say.
I may not have the greatest track record in picking winners in presidential elections, but I do always vote.
And, unlike some people who were in line with me on Tuesday, I vote in all elections — not just the presidentials.
This election, some say, evoked strong memories of when John F. Kennedy ran for president.
That was long before I was old enough to vote, but I vaguely remember adults worrying about JFK being a Catholic and what that might mean for the nation.
I was too busy in elementary school at the time, learning how to duck and cover under my desk or in the school hallway in case someone dropped a bomb on us to give an election much thought, however.
And I can still remember being confused about all the talk of the “Cold War.” I figured, having only seen pictures of the U.S.S.R.’s snow-covered cities and tundra, that it must somehow be connected to the climate.
I just thought it was kind of neat that JFK had a young family. So much for political savvy when you’re in grade school.
Yes, Tuesday was special indeed. Both candidates fought the good fight. There were highlights and lowlights along the way, to be sure, and plenty of lessons can be learned on both sides.
But regardless of which man was your chosen candidate, it’s time to unite as a nation and back our new leader.
Those who wanted others, such as Hillary Clinton, to be the next president were able to do that after the primaries ended.
And now it’s time to do the same where Barack Obama is concerned.
This historic election will be analyzed from every angle imaginable, to be sure.
But one truth is self evident: Your vote does count.
Now, let’s see how long we can make the lines when we turn out to vote for local candidates.

Fa-la-la-la-la

OK, now that the election is over, it's time to rant about something else.
And this something started BEFORE the election -- on Halloween, to be exact.
That's why I thought it must be a joke.
But no, apparently not.
Even though it was Oct. 31, one radio station in Philly has gone to all Christmas music, all the time.
Yep, time to cover your ears and be VERY careful if you're flipping through stations on your car radio.
When I first heard this, they were touting it as a celebration of the Phils winning the World Series -- Christmas coming early and all that.
But it has persisted. Gone on and on.
It's like driving by an accident and having to look. Every so often I have to check to see if it's true, but yes, they are still playing Christmas music.
Don't get me wrong; I like holiday music. When it's much, much closer to the actual holiday!
But in October? And November?
Who the heck is in charge at this station?
Maybe it's the Grinch... this is sure to get lots of people in the mood to "steal" Christmas.....

VOTE!!

THIS IS IT!
We have followed this presidential campaign for eons now ... OK, it only SEEMS like eons... it's actually been more like about 20 months or so.
But now our time has come.
Nov. 4.
Election Day.
So get out there and VOTE! I don't want to hear any excuses ... I have a headache. The lines were long. I was afraid I'd be caught for a parking ticket. I heard I could vote by phone. I heard I should vote on Wednesday if I was a Democrat.
STUPID ... and you know it.
Tuesday is IT. THIS IS IT!
Your vote is vitally important.
Don't let anyone steal it. Don't let it go unused.
You have a right. A responsibility. A privilege.
Who cares if you have to stand in line. A wait of even a few hours is better than four years of regret.
Vote on Tuesday.
Please... I beg of you.

these cats wish you a happy halloween

just enjoy.... trick or treat!

Good ol' Halloween

Oh, for the days before everyone and everything had to be “politically correct” in every imaginable way.
Including Halloween.
Way back when I was in elementary school, we had great Halloween parades and parties in school each year.
You decorated your classrooms with mostly handmade ghosts and ghouls. You chattered on about how much candy you’d be snagging when you went trick-or-treating.
And you plotted out what you would be wearing that year.
Few of us actually had elaborate, store-bought costumes. Most of us would opt for something like a hobo, and wear any old clothes we could find; or perhaps a princess, and use a fancy Sunday dress with some costume jewelry.
Or maybe you chose to be a cowboy, because flannel shirts and dungarees — note, they weren’t called jeans — were readily available.
If you were more inventive and could fashion something out of cardboard boxes, you might become a robot; less ambitious, perhaps a ghost, using an old sheet.
But no one really cared. It was just fun to pull together a costume of some sort, bring in some wickedly sugary treat your mom had baked and then parade through the school so everyone could ooohh and aaahh and giggle at their friends.
After that, everyone could dive into the treats, eat way too much and be sent home on a sugar high to the delight of their parents.
But they didn’t care, either. You just were sent outside to play to burn off the extra sugar.
Problem solved.
Today it’s not that easy.
Some people think Halloween is much more dangerous and evil than just kids begging for candy in weird outfits.
Others don’t want their kids ingesting anything that isn’t a fruit or vegetable — and let’s face it, getting a small box of raisins as your “treat” isn’t exactly what most kids have in mind.
Some schools skip the whole thing entirely, figuring it’s the easiest way to avoid any parent’s ire.
Others find “creative” ways around it, dubbing it a “costume celebration” and allowing children to dress up in whatever the “in” costume may be this year, while serving only wholesome, nutritious snacks.
I feel sorry for those kids. They miss out on the simple joys of being totally silly and indulging their sweet tooth, just because we have to overthink everything, it seems.
Our costumes may have been a lot simpler and not at all stylish, but we sure had fun.
And that was the best treat of all.

Suicide help

Having lost my husband to depression and suicide nearly five years ago, I thought it was important to post this.
You may also want to check out postsecret.com, which is updated every Sunday.
And locally, if you have lost a loved one to suicide, you may want to check out this group, which helped me immensely:
Survivors of Suicide‚ a support group for those who have lost a loved one to suicide‚ meets at 7:30 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month at Pyramid Rehab Centers‚ 2705 Old Bethlehem Pike‚ Quakertown. The group is for ages 16 and older. Contact Anne and Craig Landis at (215) 536-5143.

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Don't forget, if you suffer from depression, seek medical help, talk to others, don't keep it a secret.