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14 Nov 02 - 02:50 PM (#826109) Subject: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich I know the holiday itself is a week away, but I haven't been able to avoid thinking about it. I'll explain that in a bit. Since last November many of us have experienced some extreme highs and/or lows. Kendall was ill, but appears to be recovering;even getting his voice back (all be it a bit lower than he's used to). Fortunato had a large scare, but it appears that he is going to be allright. There has been sickness, recovery, unemployment, found employment, death, birth, and nearly every other sort of sorrow short of locust combined with nearly every other kind of joy short of -- now that I think of it we haven't come up too short at all in the joy department. Hence this thread. Specifically, I'm wondering what events or people you point to, since last November, with gratitude? I'll begin with the promised explaination. My late wife, Patricia, went into the hospital for what turned out to be the last time on November 28,2001 (by absurd coincidence, the exact date of Thanksgiving Day in 2002). She died at 7:10 A.M.CST on January 10, 2002. After that life became a bit volitile. I was unemployed. The day to day buisness of staying alive (I mean this in the strongest possible sense:Where is the rent going to come from? Where is my next meal going to come from?). About once or twice a month one or another of the Temporary Employment Agencies with which I am listed would come up with a week or two of work. Something but not anywhere near enough. But the wolf was to close to the door for me to have the time to work through anything resembling proper grieving. Just about the time that I was becoming adjusted to the idea of homellessness and the attractive (at the time) possibility of climbing into a bottle and staying there, I was offered the opportunity to make my first commercial recording. It gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I was still broke, busted, disgusted, and damned lonely, but the opportunity served to remind me that I still had the music. The following months were a flurry of activity. recording sessions and the like. By happy (though, for the sake of scheduling, inconvenient) coincidence, I got a temp job the was to last for a entire month. I was going to have a fighting chance at climbing out of my financial hole. Now if I could just find the time for some solid grieving. While all of this was going on, an old and dear friend of mine,Bill Patton, got the opportunity to buy a going buisness -- A bar called The Anchor Inn. Just before my CD eas released in July, Bill decided to seize the opportunity. The deal was closed early in August. He offered me a straight job cleaning the place up. I took it. It was part time, but it was the first reliable, weekly income I had had since the previous September. I was back in buisness! Five weeks ago I landed a temp job working graveyard shift in an auto parts factory. It is possible that it could turn into a permanent job. As of this past Monday I am finally within $50 of being completely caught up with my landlord. By the middle of next month I'll be caught up with the electricity and the phone. Then I will finally be able to finish paying for Pat's last expenses (accent on "EXPENSE"). Best of all i'll be able to get Christmas gifts for my grandchildren without undue sacrifice of my basic living budget. As for the grieving and the needed work -- it is being done. I just got a long, rambling e-mail from my younger step-daughter, Angel. It looks like all of this has happened just in the proverbial nick. She does not sound like she's going to have an easy time of it getting through the Holidays. Quite honestly, neither am I, but I'm hoping that in helping her through it I can help myself as well. As hard as the year has been I consider myself to be a very lucky man. I am blessed with good friends, a loving family, my music is out before the public as it has never been before (a solo CD and two anthologies), and I was darned happily married for sixteen years. A lot of people don't have even half of that to point to. One other, little thing -- somewhere during all the madness of the last year I, quite by accident, stumbled into a little slice of Heaven called "Mudcat". This forum has become something of a refuge. Sharing your joys and sorrows;your arguments and agreements; the songs, the stories, the brilliant discussions, the pointless bickering, the wonderful jokes, and the rotten jokes has become part of the healing process. it has helped me to adjust,move on with life, and maintain hope. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it. Stephen Lee |
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14 Nov 02 - 03:08 PM (#826125) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: GUEST Very best of luck with the holidays Stephen, I know how tough they can be. I've been out of work since last June, and my partner just got laid off one of their two part time jobs. We have the shadow of grief hanging over our house too (including the death of our dearest friends' two year old last summer), but at least we're still altogether. We nearly have the rent money together for December. After that, it is pretty touch and go. But we are still current on the bills, so maybe that will keep us from being homeless come January in Minnesota. Again, very best of luck to you. |
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14 Nov 02 - 04:05 PM (#826190) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: fat B****rd Kind regards SLR and all the very best to you, sir. |
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14 Nov 02 - 04:47 PM (#826229) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Wesley S Stephen - Best of luck to you - and thanks for sharing your story. I understand some of the things you talked about. Two years ago just before Christmas my wife gave birth to twins and one of the boys only lived 5 days. Six weeks later my mother passed away suddenly. And all of the memories keep coming back when the media is assulting us with commercial telling us that it's the "most wonderful time of the year". It's not easy. In spite of that I'm grateful too. My wife was in an auto accident yesterday and it could have been a lot worse - just a fender bender. My son Brendan gets bigger and cuter every day. He's going to be a heartbreaker if I do say so myself. On top of that I have great friends to play music with. And place to play at. Thursday night rehearsals and playing for the public are like a tonic for me. I'm glad to hear that you're doing better. Best of luck to you and your family. And the Mudcat was there for me too. |
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14 Nov 02 - 04:57 PM (#826238) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Amos Steve: One of the things, perhaps secondary in the large picture but important to me, that I will be grateful for this TG is that so may talents came forward in the last eight months to support the MC CD project. I had no idea what was happening in your life when you took the time to send me your song on CD. So, as far as I am concerned, you get triple score, man. Thanks for making it. I know it will be hard this season, but, I am sure, you will make that too. Keep that good fight going, buddy. A |
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14 Nov 02 - 04:58 PM (#826239) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Jerry Rasmussen Hi, Stephen: One of the amazing things in life is when you can see your blessings, even when they seem few and far between. I've had times in my life where everything I could have imagined went wrong (along with a lot of things I couldn't imagine.) Despite so much fear and uncertainty, I would sometimes break into a big grin, and thank the Lord that I was so blessed. I know it didn't seem rational, but it got me through some hard times. It takes a good man to feel gratitude for life when things are going well. It takes a great man, when they aren't. Jerry |
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14 Nov 02 - 04:59 PM (#826241) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Jerry Rasmussen And Thank God for Amos.. Jerry |
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14 Nov 02 - 05:02 PM (#826246) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: CarolC I'm so sorry to hear about your wife and your other troubles, Stephen. The Holidays are a tough time for a lot of people. Here's hoping you get through them more or less intact, and that the coming year brings you many good things. |
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14 Nov 02 - 10:19 PM (#826510) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: mg sounds like you have a lot going for you despite what you have been through. Happy Thanksgiving and make sure your stepdaughter has some place to be on Thanksgiving...maybe you could gather some of your friends and hers for a big potluck or something. mg |
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14 Nov 02 - 11:14 PM (#826541) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Mudlark Stephen...Thank you for posting this thread, and your story along with it. My husband of 40 years died last year quite unexpectedly, and there have been many times since then when life has seemed somehow pointless. I can well imagine how hard it must have been for you to be so stressed there was little time to grieve. I, too, find things to be thankful for. I had an extraordinary person in my life for a very long time, I live in a beautiful place with 3 great dogs, and there are many days now when I feel grateful just for being ABLE to feel grateful for all that I had and still have. The Mudcat forum in general, and some Mudcatters specifically, have been a big help in my own travels thru grief. It is extraordinary, the sense of community here, like always being able to go hang out for a bit with yer mates, even when too tired to stir out of the chair. So glad to hear that your life is beginning to stabilize, and that you are even in a position to help your stepdaughter. I am grateful to you and to everyone here for all the humor, support and music input. I'm grateful too, for whatever music I can make, and to share in the joy of others doing likewise. Happy Thanksgiving! Nancy |
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14 Nov 02 - 11:20 PM (#826546) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: NicoleC Steve, your optimism and faith are beautiful. I have so much to be thankful for that sometimes I feel ashamed that I take it for granted. I have been healthy and safe all year. I have a nice home, that I complain is too small. I have a great job, that I complain I spend too much time at. I have wonderful friends, I just wish they weren't so far away. There's nothing I need, and I have most of the things I want. Perhaps I am most thankful that I have enough to share with people who don't have much. |
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15 Nov 02 - 05:02 AM (#826670) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Morticia A rich man is one who's needs are few.Thank you for sharing,Stephen.I will be hoping for a better year for you and your family. |
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15 Nov 02 - 06:30 AM (#826707) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: AllisonA(Animaterra) Stephen, I was so moved by your opening of yourself to remind us of the gifts we have. This has been a year of great loss to my community; lovely young women, spouses, dear friends have died. But there is still joy in so many ways, and I am personally reminded daily that I have so much to be grateful for. Thanks again for your openness. May this coming year treat you gently. |
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15 Nov 02 - 12:11 PM (#826967) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Kim C I have had a lot of ups and downs too, although not quite like Stephen's or Wesley's. I guess we all do. But I am still here. Some days I am not sure why. ;-) Reckon I will find out later. Happy Thanksgiving. |
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15 Nov 02 - 07:47 PM (#827438) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: mack/misophist From a strictly blue collar point of view, I've always hated Thanksgiving. If it came on a Friday, It'd be all right. But Thursday? Give me a break! First of all, some one has to put up a major feed. Even if it's not you, you probably have to go 30 or more miles to get to wherever it is. You're kind of obliged to overeat, just to show gratitude to the poor fool that got stuck with all the work. We can let all the bits about cleaning up, traffic on the way home and heartburn go as understood. And what happens the next day? It's up at 4 or 5 or 6 AM to go to another day's work. Un-rested. Un-happy. Probably understaffed at work. I hate Thanksgiving. A bad idea whose time has gone. |
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16 Nov 02 - 01:40 AM (#827630) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: katlaughing It's worse if you are in retail!:-) Stephen, I am sorry for your loss. Thanks so much for sharing with us and for reminding us all that it is good to have attitude of gratitude. (Sorry for sounding trite, but it fits.) Thanks to you others for sharing, too. May we all have loving and peaceful times in the year ahead. kat |
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21 Nov 02 - 09:49 PM (#832151) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich Allright! Thank you all for the thoughts, but enough about my troubles. When I was a kid it was something of a family tradition, on Thanksgiving Day, for each person sitting at the table to tell all and sundry what they were thankful for in the previous year ( or in general). THAT was the point of having started this thread. I'd love to hear what you may be thankful for (even if you're sitting at the ricketty card table off to the side). Please, to us all what you can point to with gratitude ('cause you ain't gittin' no pnkin pie 'till you do *G*). Stephen Lee |
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21 Nov 02 - 09:58 PM (#832158) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Sorcha I am thankfull that I do not have to cook a huge meal all by myself and then clean up the mess all by myself.........and, that I am still on this side of the grass. |
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21 Nov 02 - 11:31 PM (#832199) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: GUEST,Walking Eagle Stephen, I can see why T-Giving may be such a downer for you. It gets better with time though. We Cherokees use Thanksgiving as a time of reflection for us and a time to help put our elder folks' home and farms in order. We gather for the work like fence mending and roof repairing and then do the eating. Not always on T-Giving Day. We talk and sing in Tsa La Gi (our language) and forget about the white culture for awhile. Point is is to make the day your own. WaDo os'da utugi. W.E. |
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22 Nov 02 - 10:22 AM (#832557) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich Walking Eagle -- THAT is what one could call putting the day to good use. There is much to be learned from that attitude and that tradition. Thank you. Stephen Lee |
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22 Nov 02 - 10:54 AM (#832576) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: pattyClink It's easier to be thankful in a year that has not dropped a cruel death or hardship on you. Those years it can be good to accept this one will stink a bit, take an inventory of past Thanksgivings, and be glad you had them. Thanks for the thread, by the way, it is causing my head is filling up with wonderful images of the 7 or 8 really good ones. Some are just nice big family, warm pies memories, full of dear flushed faces. But my sentimental favorite involved getting sprung for just 1 day from 12-hour shifts on a drilling rig in cold weather, and from the hotel which had lost hot water, and meeting long-separated family just for one day. Being so glad my old & sick Dad got to come see where I worked. Putting the pool table up and covering it with orange sheets to handle the crowd. Pitching in on a variety of traditional foods from 3-4 cultures. (I think those ones where one person slaves in the kitchen ought be banned). Having great 'crack' with some guests, a family of Rhodesians who had just been fired and were heading home horribly dejected, but we weren't listening when they told us their backstory, so we just had fun and so did they, they were so glad for once people weren't pitying them but just enjoying being together. And NO FREAKIN' FOOTBALL! This year, glad I am in better touch with some dear people than I was last year. For new projects that give me a vague sense of hope I haven't had every year. Glad there's still a matriarch who wants to make all the loads of stuff even if she won't let us help. Greatful the tree drops riches of pecans. For clean air and sunny days. For the pesky little dogs and cats that make us smile so much. For music that's always been there like a friend, and people to sing with. Is that what you meant? |
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22 Nov 02 - 06:19 PM (#832969) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich pattyClink -- That's EXACTLY the sort of thing I meant!! Thank you. Stephen Lee |
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22 Nov 02 - 07:11 PM (#832992) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: katlaughing I am thankful we are no longer renting and actually have our own in which to spend the day, actually many days and years, I hope! I am thankful for the health and well-being of my family and friends and esp. thankful for all of the good friends I've made here, at the Mudcat. A long time ago I learned from a Native American friend to give thanks for everyday. Made sense to me, so I do. Still it's nice to have a day to share it esp. with family and friends. Walking Eagle, that sounds like a great way to spend it! Thanks for sharing. Mitake oyasin, kat |
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24 Nov 02 - 08:22 PM (#834171) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: GUEST,Walking Eagle The above memories shared takes me back to one Thanksgiving. It was a year that was particularly hard on everyone. One part of the family wasn't having anything to do with the other part, alliances were being questioned and everyone was finding excuses ah er um 'reasons' not to get together. Well, through a combination of major portions of guilt administered and arm twisting, we gave in and decided to get together. You get the picture. One misspoken word.... So, with much grumbling and teeth gnashing and tongue biting, we set out to make something of the holiday. We finished up the chores and set out to make our feast. We have a quick bread that calls for chestnut meal. To get this meal, you have to roast the chestnuts and grind them up. We got the chestnuts ready for the oven and put them in. Then someone said something and we were off to the races. No arguments or anything, just picking at one another. We forgot about the chestnuts, but they didn't forget about us! In a 'oh, just get it done and quit griping' mood, we had forgotten to pierce the little nuts before we put them in the oven. When all of the heat and pressure started building up inside of their shells,they started going off like little Chinese firecrackers! We were diving behind couches, ducking into other rooms, and running out the doors in a effort to get away! Surely someone was shooting at us! Then, we remembered. I can't say that we all shared a good belly laugh, but by the time we got finished scraping all that chestnut meat off of the oven walls, we were at least joking with each other and proudly showing off where we were 'wounded'! W.E. |
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24 Nov 02 - 09:05 PM (#834192) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Bobert There is an imlpied reference to a Higher Being in the concept ot Thanksgiving. We so often don't take the time to stop and take that moment in our lives to say thanks as blessings fall upon us. This year, my wife P-Vine, and I decided to start a *blessings bag* and when those things happen that are unmistakenly gifts of God, we write them down and put them in the *blessings bag*. So this will make this Thanksgiving very special as we sift thru the many little reminder that we have left for ourselves. Stephen: Hang in there, my friend. There are so many signs in your life that things are better and going to get even better. Yeah, no one is exempt from the tough times, the losses and the pain but with Faith, we get thru them... Bobert |
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24 Nov 02 - 09:28 PM (#834205) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Jerry Rasmussen Bobert: Could that Higher Being be G O D? When people tell me how lucky I am.. and there are a million things to say that about... my health, my beautiful, loving wife, friends, music, the house we bought a year and a half ago and made a home, the bad-reputation common sparrows that come to our feeder that no one really enjoys, whatever it may be, I say "I'm not lucky, I'm blessed." Being "lucky" sounds too ephemeral to suit me. Luck comes in two flavors. On Thanksgiving, and every other day of the year, I give thanks and praise to God that He has granted me all the blessings that fill my days. I read your opening story Steven, and it brings to mind all the years when Art Thieme and I helped carry each other through countless letters and difficult times. I remembered those years and Art in a verse of a song that I wrote, and the line "And for the burdens that we share, let us lift our voice in praise." There is even a blessing in sharing burdens. The chorus to the song is: For the good old days are still to come Though the hard times are not over For we must wear that thorny crown To walk the fields of clover. May you walk the fields of clover in the coming year, buddy.. Jerry |
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24 Nov 02 - 09:44 PM (#834212) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Bobert Jerry; We both know about that "Higher Power". Praise be to GOD. Bobert |
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25 Nov 02 - 12:42 AM (#834276) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Ebbie I love the 'blessings bag', Bobert. I'm starting one of my own immediately, a way to jog one's memory in a tangible way. All kinds of things will go in there- even some dreams and stray inspirations. I send out a newsletter to a number of people- from now on, there will be a Blessings Bag feature. Love it. Thank you. |
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25 Nov 02 - 03:57 PM (#834804) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: SharonA This Thanksgiving, my thoughts are with my older brother and his family. He's been in the intensive care unit of his local hospital since last Friday with blood clots in both lungs (a complication of having casts on both legs after falling in October and tearing ligaments in both knees). He's awake and alert, sitting up and talking – for which I'm thankful to whatever power or powers there may be – but he's got to remain in bed, monitored 24/7, waiting for the clots to dissolve and hoping that they don't dislodge instead and travel to other vital organs like his heart or his brain! So I'm thankful that the paramedics got him to the hospital before he passed out, or worse, and I'm thankful that all of this happened after my sister-in-law had recuperated somewhat from her hysterectomy in October (and after my niece, their daughter, recuperated somewhat from her appendectomy, also in October!), and I'm thankful that my brother has a good, steady, professional job with insurance that'll cover all the medical setbacks that his family has had over the last two months! So Thanksgiving dinner is going to be a low-key affair this year (just my other brother, my father and myself, eating a pre-cooked meal ordered from the local supermarket, and then visiting my hospitalized bro while he eats hospital food) but that's the least of my concerns right now. I'm just pulling for my brother to pull through this! If any of you feels like sending up a prayer for him, or a healing thought or whatever ya got, I surely would appreciate it. Thank you! I wish all the best to all of you this holiday season. For you especially, Stephen, and for your family, I hope you'll find strength and comfort in one another and in the memories of happy times that you've shared with Patricia. Take care, all, Sharon |
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25 Nov 02 - 05:38 PM (#834841) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Bobert Ebbie: If ya liked the "Blessing Bag" then you might like the "Adversity Bag" where you keep the bad things. Then on New Years Eve... Burn "em. Bobert |
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25 Nov 02 - 07:30 PM (#834936) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Allan C. Many people talk about how happiness is a comparative thing...about how without tragedies to compare with, one cannot truly appreciate the good stuff. The older I get, the more I tend to agree. I have certainly have had a number of unhappy events for comparison. I won't list them here. Many of them have already been revealed through posts in other threads. Nonetheless and possibly even because of having made it past those events, I am happy. I have a number of very exciting events to look forward to and am busily working toward making them happen. I continue to enjoy wonderful friendships with some of the finest people on earth. I am learning more and more music every day. I am extremely thankful for all of these and much, much more. Thanksgiving Day will probably be very much like any other day for me in most respects. There'll be no feast, no family gathering. But in my heart I will continue to feel the thrill it is to have so very much that is good in my life. Best wishes to all of you, Allan |
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25 Nov 02 - 09:31 PM (#835029) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Ebbie Bobert, how about calling it a 'Bummer Bag'? I already use one of those- and I empty it every night... |
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25 Nov 02 - 09:45 PM (#835043) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich SharonA -- My prayers are with you and yours. Bobert -- I love the "blessing bag" idea. Jerry -- Thanks for the song. That's agreat thought. Walking Eagle -- Now, THAT'S funny!!! Stephen Lee |
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26 Nov 02 - 04:35 PM (#835556) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: SharonA Thanks, Stephen. I spoke by phone with my sister-in-law at the hospital this afternoon, and my brother has improved/stabilized to the point that he's being moved out of the ICU today and into the Telemetry unit of the hospital. Good news (more to be thankful for)! :^) :^) :^) |
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27 Nov 02 - 01:47 PM (#835840) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Peg HARD TIMES COME AGAIN NO MORE (Stephen Foster) 1. Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears, While we all sup sorrow with the poor; There's a song that will linger forever in our ears; Oh Hard times come again no more. Chorus: Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, Hard Times, hard times, come again no more Many days you have lingered around my cabin door; Oh hard times come again no more. 2. While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay, There are frail forms fainting at the door; Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say Oh hard times come again no more. 3. There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away, With a worn heart whose better days are o'er: Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day, Oh hard times come again no more. 4. Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave, Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave Oh hard times come again no more. thanks for the stories of strength and hope. may we all find better times and be given what we need to get through in the coming year. peg |
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27 Nov 02 - 02:14 PM (#835878) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Kim C Bobert, great ideas on both bags. I have a pretty good existence. There are things I complain about that I probably shouldn't. Most things I complain about, I don't remember even the next day. Some of you know my elderly dog died a few weeks ago. Mister and I are both still very sad about it. BUT... I am grateful that she was part of my household for 12 years. We have lots of great memories. I have a friend in the Army. He relocated last year, and I was pretty bummed about that. But here's the funny part... he moved in June, just a few months before 9/11. If he had not been re-stationed at that time, he would have gone to Afghanistan. So I am grateful he is safe and well - at least for the time being, anyway. I am grateful that I actually get to sing for people, and sometimes get money for it. That is really all I ever wanted to do. I used to say, in a perfect world, I'd get up early, go walking, and fix breakfast. Back in the summer I asked Mister if he thought it would be all right to get up earlier than we had been, and take the dogs walking. Sure, he said. Then one day while I was making us some waffles (in the toaster!) I realized, it was a fairly perfect world. :-) And I am grateful Mom is going to cook tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. |
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28 Nov 02 - 01:18 PM (#836629) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich Thanks too all who posted to this thread. It has helped me to get over the first hurdle of the Holiday Season. Stephen Lee |
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28 Nov 02 - 08:27 PM (#836815) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Barbara Shaw I thought it was going to be a pretty dreary Thanksgiving. There's no one left for the big family feast except my husband, my mother and me. The kids have moved thousands of miles away, the relatives are dead or moved away, it's just the three of us left. So Frank and I went as usual to the local soup kitchen, which we always do on the holidays, to sing a few songs and play some guitar and banjo for the folks dining there. We got there a half hour late, and as we walked in, I heard several regulars say, "Here they are! They are here after all!" And many came up to us after we had played for an hour or so and said, "It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without you two and your music. Thank you." I'm so grateful to have this chance to be so welcomed and to share our music with people who find such joy in hearing it. Afterwards, we went to my mother's house. She's getting quite old but insisted on making a turkey feast for the three of us, and it was wonderful. My husband worked outside getting her "house in order" for the winter, while I did things inside. We had long telephone visits with the distant sons and brothers, and sat together for one more holiday. Sure, there were people missing from the table, but we were so grateful to be there with each other. So we had two Thanksgiving feasts in one day. May we all realize how much we have to be thankful for every day. |
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28 Nov 02 - 09:05 PM (#836840) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Fortunato Stephen, I'm sorry I'm late in coming to this thread. Thanks for the mention; yes, I'm alive and healthy, though some parts of me may be aging better than others. I'm sad to hear of your difficult year. My life has been easy in comparison. The tone of your posts are encouraging to us all. Clearly you can survive any adversity. Our Thanksgiving here is manifest. My dad is 90 and my mom is 84. Today Susette and I took our four boys to my folks house for dinner. My mother made turkey and ham and six other dishes. I broiled salmon and Susette made bread and an apple pie. We ate and talked and basked in the warmth of family. We are indeed fortunate people. Tonight at home my son Matt is tranferring "4:00 in the Morning", an old Jesse Colin Young song, from the guitar to the piano. Susette and I are learning "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party" on guitar and banjo. And I am able to reach out to my mudcat friends around the world. Joy and peace to all, and especially to you Stephen, my you find peace and stability in the coming year. Cheers, Fortunato. |
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28 Nov 02 - 09:34 PM (#836860) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: GUEST,harpgirl Thanksgiving in my family was sweet! Nathan and I drove all day to get down south. My dad is 79 and my mom is 78. Mom made a little turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with butternut flavor, salad with walnuts and raisins,and a little chocolate cake for dessert. I passed on the cake and gravy! It is getting hard for her to do dinners but she wanted to do this one! We watched dolphins playing in the canal from the ancestral condo balcony (they live on Lake Worth Inlet)while the sun went down. Mom and Nathan and I play "Kings in The Corner" and we are raucous! Dad burns dozens of music CDs and we listened to a MoTown CD he burned for a Detroit party down here in Florida. All my favorites. We also listened to the slow, sultry version of "The Midnight Sun": one of our favorite jazz songs. My brother wasn't here again but I will have my sixteen year old niece over tomorrow night for a sleepover. I have been very lucky in my life to have my parents for such a long time. My life is richly rewarding but very simple in most ways and I believe it is my obligation to give back as much as I can in my work. I won't tell you all the sad parts. I take in a great deal of it and sometimes it affects me...Monday I am back to holding other people's pain and supporting their growth.......I'm just glad I am blessed with strength.... Stephen,I hope you and the rest of us with difficulties have a better New Year! Tomorrow Dad and I will figure out how to burn my smart card music, I hope. Maybe then I can send something to Amos...oh wait I'm a day late and a dollar short! It figures...harpy |
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29 Nov 02 - 09:56 AM (#837112) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: Stephen L. Rich My Thanksgiving was unique, but all things considered, just what I needed. My boss at my part-time job (cleaning up a bar called The Anchor Inn) called and told me that he had decided to open in spite of the holiday (he hadn't planned to originally) and asked me to come in and get the place ready. The holiday bus schedule is sufficiently weird that I had to take a cab (which I got him to pay for). When I got there I found a couple of people in conducting some non-bar buisness with Bill (my boss). It was, Jeff Lisk, the producer of my CD. He wants to hurry me into the studio again to get started on another one. H also wants to get moving again on the other project that we had started (an anthology of original songs and comedy for truck drivers, for example). THAT was just the kind of good news I needed. I cleaned up, went home, ate a quiet meal, fed the cats, and was about to try to get some work done on the web (if you've got a CD out there, however you may feel about the commercialism of Christmas, it is, none the less, a time with the potential to sell a lot of them), the phone started ringing off the hook with Thanksgiving greeting from friends and family. When I finally got off the phone to get on line, my e-mailbox was filled with more of the same. I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- in spite of everything I'm a very lucky man. Stephen Lee |
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03 Dec 02 - 12:26 PM (#839708) Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving Thoughts From: SharonA My Thanksgiving was pretty quiet and calm, except for the part where I had to run to the supermarket for a meat thermometer while the bird was cooking! My brother had ordered a pre-cooked, heat-it-yourself meal from the market (to feed 6-8 people – the order was placed before my other bro went into the hospital and our gathering was reduced by half!); he had asked me to pick it up, take it to his house and heat it while he drove to the retirement center/medical facility to pick up our father. Only when I took the turkey out of the wrap and read the instructions did I realize that I needed a meat thermometer, and brother and father were already on the way! Luckily the supermarket still had some thermometers in stock, so a crisis was averted. :^) Also luckily, my father was relatively lucid that day, so we all had a pleasant conversation without too many side trips into the fantasyland of his dementia. He told some stories from his time aboard a battleship during WWII; I have no idea what percentage of the tales were truth and what percentage were delusion, but it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that he was talking and not ranting! After my bro drove Dad back, bro and I spent the evening relaxing and watching TV before I took home 'WAY too many leftovers – I'll never eat them all before they spoil! My other brother, the one who was in the hospital, was released last Friday and is recuperating at home ...with lots of Thanksgiving leftovers to eat, donated by his neighbors and colleagues! He'll still be pretty inactive for the next couple of weeks but hopes to start physical therapy on his legs afterward. We're all acutely aware that the blood clots are still in his lungs, so there's still the possibility that they could dislodge and cause further damage, but his condition is as stabilized as possible so we're all hoping for the best. Thanks, everybody, for your thoughts for him! Here's hoping that the Christmas/Hanukah/Ramadan/Solstice/Kwanzaa/Boxing Day holidays are a time for happy gatherings, pleasant memories and bright hopes for everyone at Mudcat! Be well, all, Sharon |