The Guilty

Evelyn here,

 

Tonight I must vent my position to that small percentage of people who act as if they lack an understanding of the phrase "freedom of speech" and that of all other human and civil rights that each of us share.

 

It has come to my attention, but not within these pages, that some of you are not comfortable with my having this blog, and I suppose from your past ill treatment of myself and others close me, that you would feel uncomfortable.

 

I once said that guilt makes people do incriminating things to hide the truth of they misdeed. In short, if harassers believe they can continue to intimidate, threaten, otherwise abuse, and/or subvert another person, they will try it.

 

I believe this is what you were attempting to do to me this past week. You have failed. You may dislike my blog, but you can not prevent me from voicing my opinions and/or beliefs with your intimidations.

 

I dislike such evil actions, and I have made this clear to you in the past. However, to be fair to you, something that you were never to me, I say this to you within this entry.

 

If you think you have a valid objection, there are comment areas attached to each entry of this blog. Use them, but do not personally hassle me. I tire of your deceitful acts so much so that I can write a dissertation on the devilish acts and ways you have tried to bully people who object to you. 

 

My entries are meant to be entertaining, informative, and fun. However, I will not hesitate to post my opinions, views, objections, and angst to any of your future displays hostile behavior in my personal present or my personal space.  

 

So, if you still feel threatened, I strongly suggest that you check your guilt trip at the door or REPENT.

 

I am a woman of many interests and strong opinions, and I am not interested in your cheat tricks. Do I have to name you? No, we have met before.

 

GOT THE MESSAGE!

 

Tears Of Time

As I was searching for a poem to add today's entries, I came upon a poem I wrote in May of 2003, which was inspired by the artwork, I did during the same period and recently posted known as "Tears of Time". Some of my other graphic artwork also has poems attached.

This poem is also entitled "Tears of Time", and it is melancholy in nature. The reason for this melancholy is that I have read and studied Shakespeare, Poe, and Lord Byron (just to name a few of the Fathers of Darkness) who in life wrote from a dark and dramatic perspective.

To say that they influenced my flair for the dark dramatics would be an understatement because it often shows in my creative writing. So now, I give you "Tears of Time" the poem.

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TEARS OF TIME

 

Tides of tears

ripple upon the heart,

never ceasing, never stopping.

Time heals all, or so they say,

But some pains stay adrift

far too long, knowing neither

port, nor dock on which to shore.

Tears that cast about much despair

To and fro

from husbands, sons,

friendships, all.

Rippling tides of tears

whirling on and on.

More faithful now in nature than

some faithless friends

 who were viewed as no friends at all.

Pride and ego unfurled their sails.

Endless tears of time

Eroding passages once bright and shining

Only to leave behind a darkest,

Which presses deeply upon

The lonely.

 

Evelyn F. Altheimer-Fain© May 24, 2003

 

Red Marbles

The following story came to me via email by another friend of my Betty H. This story is very heart warming, so shoare it with you.

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Red Marbles   Babs Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas.
I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
     "Hello Barry, how are you today?"
     "H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. sure look good."
     "They are good, Barry How's your Ma?"
     "Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
     "Good. Anything I can help you with?"
     "No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
     "Would you like to take some home?"
     "No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
     "Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
     "All I got's my prize marble here."
     "Is that right? Let me see it."
     "Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
     "I can see that Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"

     "Not zackley . but almost."

     "Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip
this way let me look at that red marble."

     "Sure will Thanks Mr. Miller."
     Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.
With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community,
all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."
     I left the stand smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering.
     Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just
recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community
and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having
his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to
accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the
relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
     Ahead of us in line were three young men One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts .. all very professional looking.  They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.
     Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes
     Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
     "Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about!
They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size .. they came to pay their debt."
     "We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she
confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
     With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her
deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
     Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
     Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
     Today, I wish you a day of ordinary miracles... . A fresh pot of
coffee you didn't make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old
friend. Green stoplights on your way to work. The fastestline at the
grocery store. A good sing-along song on the radio. Your keys right where
you left them.
     They say it takes a minute to find a special person, An hour to
appreciate them, A day to love them, But an entire life to forget them.   ***************************************************************** Thank you, Betty.   Evelyn

Just For Laughs

This is also from Marica. I share her email because she great at making me smile, think and laugh.  She a great friend, and she seems to always know when I need a laugh or inspiration to round out a day.

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Thank you, Marcia.  If you have made to this spot, then you know that I love you.

Evelyn

Ever Felt Like This

This was forward to me by my friend, Marcia.  We are bith members of the same choir.  I am a great lover of cats and I tend to find many cat cartoon extremely funny.

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Ever Felt like this? I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever Felt Like This???????

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Smile

The following is from a chain of email that I received quite regularly. Some of this stuff is so good I am sharing it with you. Although I am passing this of to you, I have no idea who the original author is, so I withholding the names of members of my emails group to protect their privacy. The following is entitles "Smile" and it is about life, love, living and most of all friendship.

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Think about them one at a time BEFORE going on to the next one...
IT DOES MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD, especially the thought at the end.

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.                                                                    
4. No lines at the supermarket
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your ! coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
19. Midnight ph one calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke.
24. Friends.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Spending time with old friends.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or
bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much
desired
present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another
beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done theright thing, no matter what other people
think.

PASS ON THESE NATURAL HIGHS  TO AT LEAST 7 PEOPLE IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR AND SOMETHING FANTASTIC WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

Be sure to send it back to the person who sent it to you!


Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly

Author Unknown

 

Buyers Beware!

Evelyn here,

What - A - Day! I have spent the better part of the day loafing around the house and watching television programs that I recorded earlier this week. When I finally got up and out of the house to buy a few things from the store, I was feeling great and the day was beauty. I purchased a few things to eat from a grocery store and a prepaid phone card from a local drugstore. The name of the drugstore is not important, but what occurred there is important.  

The problem arose with the prepaid phone. After I got home, I called the standard prepaid number on the receipt and keyed in the prepaid pin number. I received the message that the card was invalid. I thought that I had keyed it in wrong so I tried again and I got the same message. Frustrated, I called again and this time got a service rep from the mobile phone company that issues the cards. The service rep told me that the card had already been activated and to return it.

I called the drugstore and told the manager what happened and he appeared to want to help me during the call. However, when I got to the store, and he went through the same steps that I did and got the same invalid message, he then talk to someone else in his company who also talked to me. This someone else told me that the drugstore was not responsible for the card once the customer purchased. This I knew was not true.

Well, I told the drugstore’s service rep and the store's manager that the mobile phone company said that the drugstore was responsible to honor my receipt and correct the problem. I also told them that I was not leaving the store without a refund for the invalid phone card or an exchange for a valid phone card that I could use with my cell phone account.

They did not want to help me, and I was not going to leave the drugstore until they made the situation right. After all, they were asking me to throw away $50.00, which was the cost of the prepaid phone card, and to ignore the fact that they were responsible the situation because they sold me the bad card. My inner most feelings on their attitudes I do not think I have to express to you.

 The drugstore managers left before solving the problem, but not before telling his employee not to honor my receipt. In fact, he did not even want to let me use the store’s phone the try to call the mobile phone rep. I asked him several times before he allowed me. Buyers Beware! My guest is that they wanted me to believe that it was the phone company problem when, in fact, it was the drugstore’s problem, but they never tried to look any further into it. This is what a customer would normally expect and deserves to happen when they purchase a falsity product. Still, I was not leaving that drugstore until they honored that purchase. 

I called the mobile phone company again and finally got through to a service rep and she went through the same steps as we all had and she got the same invalid message. However, she checked further in her records to see exactly why that prepaid card was invalid. As it turned out the card had been activated and the purchase amount added to another cell phone account two months prior to my purchasing it.

Well that helped me, but the drugstore employee was still trying to follow his manager's orders or as the two of them told me “store policy”. Sorry, but that just was not going to wash with me nor was the mobile phone company letting them off the hook especially when the she was sitting on the other end with the facts on that prepaid card. Finally, she spoke with the drugstore’s employee and told him the truth about the card and that the drugstore was responsible selling me a bad prepaid card. The mobile phone rep informed him that he did need to either give me a refund or provide me with a usable phone card. 

It took some time on all ends the conversation, but finally the employee use his own judgment and provided me with another prepaid card. The mobile phone rep was still on the line and after I gave her the new card’s pin number, she transferred the prepaid amount of time to my cell phone account. I love that woman. I thanked her for her wonderful help and for seeing me through the whole situation.

This is an actual event and all I have to say to buyer of prepaid phone cards is to beware if you purchase a bad one. Stand you ground if the store where you purchase it does not want to honor it. However, the thing best to do is refill you cell phone there in the store of purchase, so that if a problem does occur it will be handled before you leave. Also, keep it your receipt should you have to leave the store.

In addition, I think that drugstore should suggest a revision in their policy for prepaid phone cards to their corporation policy makers. The revised policy should reflect and uphold evident that tells them that they are responsible for honoring the customer’s receipt and acknowledge when a customer is right. The way they presented their policy to me made them look very unscrupulous. I will not be buying any more prepaid phone cards from them. 

Once again, "BUYERS BEWARE!"