Words from the Heart

My youngest daughter just experienced one of the most difficult times for a young woman...waiting for her sweetheart to return from war.  We give thanks that our Austin returned safe and sound from Afghanistan.  We also give thanks for his friends who didn't make it home.  May their family and friends find peace in their memories of times spent together. Finally, on this Memorial Day weekend, we give thanks for all those loved ones who have been put in harms way defending their country.  God bless them all.

  Photo Credit:  Linda M. Neas 2010 One of my favorite poems is " A Passing Glimpse " which tells of a passenger on a train trying to determine the flower that caught his/her attention as the train traveled through the countryside. This past week, I was given a "passing glimpse" immediately after hearing that my car was destined for the scrap heap.  (When you only have one car that your livelihood depends on, this is not the kind of news that makes you jump for joy!)  As I was slowly making my way into the house, wondering what we were going to do next, a motion in the arborvitae at the side of the house caught my attention.  There, tucked at eye-level into the foliage was a nest with two little robins. I ran into the house to grab my camera, hoping that the little ones would still be there.  Thankfully, they were there and I captured the picture above.  After the picture was taken, the little ones sat looking at me.  Like any grandmother, I ...

I don't usually get into political debates, but the news from Arizona has just sent me reeling! The new Arizona Immigration Law smacks of racism and annihilation of rights (human as well as civil).   We are a land of Immigrants, with the exception of the Native Peoples who still live disenfranchised lives on reservations in the poorest parts of our country. My ancestors came from Germany and Ireland,from Slovenia and Wales, and while I have yet to be able to find documentation, possibly even Africa. So tell me, why don't I look like an alien?   If the Arizona Immigration Law is left on the books, we as a nation will need to do some serious soul searching. How can we ask others around the world to respect the rights of people, when we have a state issuing police protocols that make the SS look like school boys? How can we allow the emblem of our country, Miss Liberty to remain? Doesn't it state on her pedestal the following:   "Not like the brazen giant o...