My Wife, I think I'll keep her.

Several years ago my dad enclosed our patio creating a 13' x 28' room with many large windows looking out over our backyard. That is why I get to watch the birds and squirrels do their thing. The room started out with nice wicker furniture and my computer desk in the corner so that I can sit at the computer and still see outside. Over the last 2 years, my "Man Cave" has evolved into a "Man Corner". We now have a retro 70s room. This room has my grandmother's stereo cabinet that plays 8 tracks, AM/FM radio, and records. It will do 45s, 78s, 33 1/3s, and 16s. I

I wasn't even aware that there was a 16 revolution record. My grandmother is very meticulous and this unit looks and plays like it was brand-new. I did some checking and it was manufactured in 1968.
Cheri has retro couch and coffee table along with a old dinette set with 4 very old wooden chairs.

There is a dial type telephone and many other retro items.
I assumed that my computer and desk were going to be safe from Cheri's obsession. I assumed wrong. I now have a lime green box that holds my charging cords, docking station, and external hard drive.

It is nice having that spiderweb of cords hidden but I was hoping for something different. Oh well, I guess I can live with a new computer in a 70s motif.
Much love, Dennis

Vacation

Cheri was on vacation this past week. We made several daily road trips so that we would always be back home in the evening. Our destinations included Watonga, Clinton, Enid, Oklahoma City and Dell City. We went to a Route 66 car museum in Clinton, antique stores, antique malls, and we also found time to check out some antique shops.

There were plans to make it to Elk City to check out another car museum. We had to bypass Elk City because of a couple of unscheduled stops. I think they were shops selling vintage items, I'm not certain because I was feeling a little woozy due to sensory overload. :-)

Actually, we had a enjoyable week. While in Oklahoma City Cheri wanted to stop at Garden Ridge. Just inside the front door three young ladies that we go to church with came up to me to say Hi. It's nice to see friends in places many miles from home. The aisles were wide and most places were easily accessible for me, however

    ["I am an excellent driver"]. (Movie reference)
We didn't stay very long but Cheri did find a picture frame that she liked.

While she was in line waiting to be checked out I drove near the exit. From behind me I could hear a little boy crying very loud. I turned to get a better view and saw a young boy probably about 6 years old and his mother who was dragging him towards the doors. He was still crying and I could now see that he was pointing at me. Before they made it through the automatic doors he exclaimed 3 times "BUT HE SCARED ME"  al the while using his other hand to point at me.

I normally have pretty thick skin when it comes to people staring or assuming that I can't hear when they speak about me. For some reason this time really got to me. I've never seen anyone that was truly afraid of me. When we got to the van, I ask Cheri if she had heard the little boy crying. She had, but it's not unusual for young kids to act up in public. I told her the story and that it was really troubling to me. My wife is very good about helping me to put things in their proper perspective.
She said that God has a plan for my life and that Satan would like to steal the Joy that is in me. I knew she was right and that I am responsible for who and what determines my attitude. Right then I decided to "Get over It". It wasn't an instantaneous process, but after sleeping on it, I am over it and it is just another funny circumstance for me to blog about. :-)
Much love, Dennis

ATTEMPTED HUMOR

    I thought it was time for a post containing only "attempted humor".  Here are some clever church signs.

  
    Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!
    Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins 
    Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!  
     
      
     
      
      Come in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush! 
      Sign broken. Message inside this Sunday. 
      Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world. 
      
       Under same management for over 2000 years 
       
      
       
       Reputation is what people think about you. Character is what people know you are 
       Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case! 
      Come early for a good Back seat 
      Seven days without prayer makes one weak 
      No Jesus - no peace, Know Jesus - know peace! 
      Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due.

Here are some church bulletin bloopers

      1) Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children. 
      2) The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church. 
      4) Evening massage - 6 p.m. 
      5) The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning. 
      6) The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession. 
      7) Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door. 
      8) Ushers will eat latecomers. 
      9) The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment. 
      10) For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. 
      11) The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience. 
      12) The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy." 
      13) During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit. 
      14) Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience." 
      15) Due to the Rector's illness, Wednesday's healing services will be discontinued until further notice.

Here are some clever church signs and newspaper listings

     To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday": 
       
      Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in." 
       
      There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard. 
       
      Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night. 
       
      We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church." 
       
      Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot. 
       
      Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. 
       
      
       
      We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money. 
       
      One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. 
       
      Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. 

       
      The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them. 
       
      We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he's too loud

Much love, Dennis

The Tragedy of 9/11

I'm sure everyone knows that today is the anniversary of the attack by terrorists on US soil. Those old enough to remember probably can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they 1st heard about this tragic event. When I heard the 1st tower had been struck by a passenger plane I was alarmed because of the tragedy that I presumed was unplanned and just a bad situation. A few minutes later when it was announced that the 2nd tower had been hit by another plane, my heart sank. Just like most people, I understood that this was an attack against Americans on American soil.

Today was our FCA meeting. All of the students knew about the tragedy at the twin towers but none of them were old enough to understand the implications of the event. I think that the oldest one of our group was 6 at that time.
I personally felt vulnerable and insecure after finding out that there were also 2 other planned attacks. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon. 

 The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, targeted Washington, D.C. but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers.

 The images and video that consumed television brought about a sense of insecurity to most Americans. Churches all over the nation suddenly were receiving people who had never or rarely been attending. It is sad that some people ignore the value of a relationship with Jesus until they are in the middle of a tumultuous situation. The phrase "There are no atheists in foxholes" seems to be appropriate here. There are some people who believe that they will live their lives however they desire until they are in a situation that they can't handle on their own. They then are ready to seek God.  I suppose that may work out for a few people, but I am not willing to gamble like that with my eternity in the balance.
Much love, Dennis

Fun with numbers

Can you tell the number of the parking spot occupied by the car?

Scroll down for the answer











Have you given up yet?












It's in number 87

Much love, Dennis

Delusions from a Hospital Bed

I am very thankful for the love expressed to my wife, daughter, and family, especially during the 1st 5 months after my accident. This Scripture means a lot to me today.
1 Corinthians 13
13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 In place of a joke, I'm posting some of the wild things that I thought I was experiencing during the 1st 3 months after my accident.


My mother-in-law and I were discussing something and I recalled one of those "nightmares". She suggested that I write some of them down so that others may understand what someone under heavy sedation may be experiencing.

My 1st "memory" post accident was waking up in a room full of hospital beds. I sat up in bed and announced that I was ready for some coffee. A nurse came close to my bed and said; what do you think this is, a restaurant. 

I remember talking to my dad and he was wearing a monocle, yes a monocle. We were underneath a very large billboard along the side of a highway. 
Next we were on a small cruise ship. The vessel was full of people in distress, just like me. Evidently the purpose was to find 2 people who were healthy enough to receive treatment for their injuries. I was one of the 2 that was chosen. They then moved me into a house with 6-8 other critically injured people. We were in bunk beds that were in the corners of a large room. I watched as a doctor began to work on a young lady who was in the bunk above me. After a minute or 2 the doctor left and the young lady's arm fell over the edge of the bed. I knew for certain that he had done something to take her life. I spoke to Cheri and told her the doctor was a very bad man. I think that I may have caused that man to be transferred to a different patient.

I smelled a very strong odor of new fiberglass and resin. On the wall hanging like a picture was a very large Scarab cigarette boat that was cut in half lengthways.
I have many more memories that occurred in the 1st 3 months of my 5 month stay. I may post a few more at some other time.

Much love, Dennis