A friend sent this one; How are politicians like diapers?

They both should be changed frequently and for the same reason.

The previous posting about the third grader reminded Rusty of another third grader who made a difference.

LaDonna Reeves was in Rusty’s class in school. She got married in the 10th grade so Rusty lost track of her. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2000, her name came to him real vividly. He told some co-workers on a Formosa Plastics construction project, “I haven’t thought of LaDonna Reeves in 40 years. Her name came to me a few minutes ago. I don’t have any idea what her need is but please pray for her.”

Some two years later, Rusty tracked her down and asked her if she minded him asking her about it. She caught her breath and haltingly replied, “That was….when…my .. mama… died.. in …my arms.”
Later, it was Rusty’s good fortune to have lunch with LaDonna Reeves Matthews in Gainesville, TX. Among the stories she related that day included one about Judy Payne, a classmate who got hit and killed by a car during our fourth grade year. Her story is a gut wrencher from many angles.

“We moved to Bethany when I was in the third grade. I couldn’t read nearly as well as the other kids and I fell behind in my grades. My family attended a different church than the “main” one in town. My mom was told by a school official, “If you folks don’t go to that church, you’ll never fit in here.”

"I didn’t have any friends and I was so terribly lonely and miserable. Do you remember that row of bushes right outside our classrooms at school? I wouldn’t play with the other kids during recess. Instead, I’d get in between the bushes and the schoolhouse and cry.

“One day Judy Payne heard me and came to see what was the matter. When I told her, she said, “I’ll help you learn to read.” So, from then on she helped me read while I held the book right up in front of my face. She also told me how much Jesus loved me and that gave me hope as well. I don’t know if Judy told her or not but when our teacher found out about my eyes, she called my mother.
“Mrs. Reeves, This is LaDonna’s teacher. Did you realize she can’t see well enough to do her school work?” Tactfully, she asked if it would be okay for her to have the little blonde headed girl’s eyes checked and buy her the glasses she needed.

Continuing her story, Mrs. Matthews related, “That opened a whole new world to me. I could SEE. After that I could read things on the blackboard and see the movies and slides they showed us. That made all the difference, not only in my grades, but my whole life.”

“After school, Judy would help me learn the bible. We’d hide in the big patch of cane in our back yards, our house was right behind Payne’s on the next street. Judy was my best friend. I was there when she got hit by that car and died right in front of me. I went back to that cane patch and cried for hours.”

Folks, if an eight or nine year old kid can have such an impact, what can we do to ease the pain of others?

RUSTY LIKES STORIES LIKE THIS ONE. LORD, MAKE US SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.

Subject: a 3rd grade accident

Come with me to a third grade classroom....

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet.

He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop, he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out.

All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk.

The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. "You've done enough, you klutz!"

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good. *************

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Rusty knows of a couple people needing GIANT print bibles. He's going to see what's available on ebay. If anyone wishes to donate bibles or toward the purchase of same please hit the CONTACT RUSTY link. Thanks.

BILL SEEGER sent: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES..........THEY ARE NOT REALLY
GOOD FOR ANYTHING........BUT..........THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

We had a surprise call from Richard Fraychineaud, a Katrina Evacuee from the lower side of New Orleans. Richard, Laurie, and their sons Nicholas, age one, and Tony, age seven were processed through our Red Cross shelter last year out at the Faith Family facility at the Victoria airport. After staying with relatives in Edna a few days, Richard got out and hustled up some lawn mowing jobs and hit the ground running in Victoria.
They are now rebuilding their house back in Louisiana. Their truck farm "is producing but there's nobody to buy the stuff. There's no work over here. All the contractors are from out of state and they brought their own Mexican workers with 'em and none of the locals are getting any jobs. They're from North Dakota and everywhere."
The reason for the call was that the Fraychineauds are needing a gas cook stove. Evidently, used stoves are in short supply like everything else over there. He's to get a cabinet opening measurement for us and call us back. There are other things they need. Their phone number is 504-512-6233.

IS THIS INFORMATION CORRECT? HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE": FOLKS, RUSTY gets 40 lashes for posting something not true. The email saying to cough and breathe twice a minute when having a heart attack WAS BOGUS. My checking out what SNOPES.COM said verified what PILOT sent: Pilot had this to say on
Monday, July 24, 2006 9:47 pm
Simply put - urban legend. Total B.S. Check it out on Snopes. If a person has even a scant suspicion that they are experiencing ANYTHING resembling symptoms of a heart attack, they should notify the closest person with the ability to help them, or if alone, call 911. Cardiac arrest is death if not attended to immediately by someone qualified or trained in CPR. Heart disease is treatable and controllable to some extent. Relying on anything short of American Heart Association recommendations and guidelines in dealing with cardiovascular health is akin to a death wish. Denial or paying no attention to symptoms or not taking the time for a regular physical examination, tends to be the great equalizer. Ask Ken Lay. Delete Comment

They didn't say we can't share these two techniques from our depression therapy class.
REMEMBER, THINKING & FEELING GO TOGETHER, Don’t forget to look at HOW you think when you’re feeling sad, mad or worried. You can change how you feel. Ask yourself:
*Am I looking at everything as either ALL good or ALL bad?
I will LOOK at it again. Rarely is something all or nothing.
*Is one bad thing ruining my whole day?
I don’t have to let this happen. I will take care of the problem and get on with my day.
*Am I only thinking about negative things and ignoring the good things?
I know that dwelling on things I can’t change serves no purpose. I will try to see the positive things.
*Am I jumping to conclusions without any proof?
I just KNOW things will turn out badly.
I can’t predict the future. I will try to stay positive.
I just KNOW people don’t really like me.
Do I have special powers that let me read other
people’s minds? No. I will relax and be myself.
*Am I making a huge problem out of a little one?
I can handle problems. I don’t have to blow things out of
proportion. How can I solve this problem?
*Am I stuck using words like “should, shouldn’t, must, ought and have-to”?
I don’t have to criticize myself or anyone else.
*Am I down on myself for not being perfect?
I can make mistakes. I will learn from my mistakes and go on.I am human.
·Am I being responsible for the actions and problems of others?
Other people can take care of themselves. I will take
Responsibility for myself, and let others do the same.

FIGHTING NEGATIVE FEELINGS
They taught us this little trick for fighting negative feelings. When one gets into your head shout(IN OUR CLASS):
STOP IT!!!
I’M A GOOD PERSON!!!
PEOPLE LIKE ME!!!
GOD LOVES ME!!!
****

Went to Victoria tonight. Had to stop at the drive-in window at the hardback Cafe at the Hastings Bookstore for a big cup of CHAI TEA LATTE. In India where they make it with milk in their regular recipe, they just call it CHAI.

Was it Kelli or CJ who said she likes those things?

A renowned California scientist has been charged with molesting the child of his colleage for years. Some of the defense statements wanted his long standing scientific accomplishments considered in his punishment. A co-prosecutor objected, ""We all acknowledge the contributions he has made in the past. But what's important now is the damage he did to the victim," Garrison said.

HOORAY FOR CONSIDERING THE LIFE LASTING DAMAGE DONE TO THE VICTIM.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/... target='_blank'>HERE

For a story about a very determined grizzly check http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id... target='_blank'>HERE

How many think we should neuter more people and leave the bears alone?

Rusty helped take the 1970 census. At that time it was determined the state had 364,000 residents (plus two Rusty forgot to count because they lived above their cafe). Much of Wyoming seems so baren that many would think just about anywhere would be a good place for God to give the world a physic.

What many miss are the ecosystems that characterize those "baren" areas. The species vary but pronghorned antelope, mule dear, ferrets, prairie dog towns, coyotes, rattlesnakes, foxes, (jackrabbits, cottontails, sage grouse and many other critters abound.

Wyoming has experienced various "booms" through the years with development of oil & gas, coal and uranium deposits. Rusty was a small part of all three. The problems with booms include the tremendous influx of people arriving like swarms of locusts. Their need for goods and services are a boon to local economies AS LONG AS THEY LAST. Then, there are abandoned mobile home parks (sometimes full of empty trailers), miles of land denuded of vegetation, hills if not mountains of domestic and industrial litter, violated scenery, etc.

In spite of the temporary economic impact, is all this "progress" worth it in the long run to the state and its residual population?

I with, and for, landowners with pioneer roots who valued their freedom to farm/ranch their land passed down by generations as they saw fit. How much of their land has suffered along with its people?

For an insight check http://www.nytimes.com/2006... target='_blank'>HERE.

Does any of this cause a lump in your throat and bring a tear to your eye? Rusty's seven years there gives him an understanding of where they'd originate.

While Rusty understands the anxiety and urgency people have about being removed from a danger zone, he also has some questions.

Should private contractors and company representitives be squawking about how long it's taking the US gov't to pull them out of Lebanon?

Is there any obligation for the gov't to evacuate non-government workers from foreign soil? I'd certainly like to be hauled out but is there an obligation?

When we were in India, we kept a return trip air ticket in a lockbox and we had a code word to send the main office if we felt we needed to clear the area. Of course, with the Beruit (SP?) air field blown full of holes, it's impossible to fly from there commercially.

In anticipation of grandson CASEY wanting to fish this week Rusty set up a batch of "chum" about two weeks ago. Lacking any shelled corn, Rusty bummed about a pint of birdseed from Evelyn Pruitt the next door neighbor. The birdseed was placed in a gallon milk jug with about a quart of water and the lid was placed on the jug.

Today, Casey and his mom, dad, little sister and grandma were out in the yard when Rusty popped the top off the jug to check it's potence. The wind was blowing from the jug toward the family. They started yelling, asking if Rusty had done a doggy trick in the yard. Just in case that wasn't potent enough to draw the fish, Rusty threw a few handfulls of rabbit pellets and shelled corn in the creek. Now, if Casey will get to the creek this evening in time to wet a hook.

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough .
Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will the baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.
Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex? A: Childbirth

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's
Borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?
Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor,
But pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air
Current.
Q: When is the best time to get an epidural? A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.
Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife
Is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.
Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.
Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act
Normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

Rusty's been out of touch and doesn't kmow if anyone else here has done this one. Should Valerie Plame sue the White House buzzards?

Thinking more with the pocketbook than common sense, whoever bought the standard sized toilet for Rusty's mom's new apartment blew it. She was happy with it until she had knee surgery. Someone then bought her a four inch high plastic extension donut with handles on the sides. Rusty often thought it would be interesting to see a "flesh flow" graphic (not a video, just a graphic)of a "large" person trying to crowd an ample hiney between those handles.

The "deposit" hole was so small one year olds couldn't have fallen through it unless they went in feet first. In the front was a trough that carried anything wayward out into the floor or over on the door.

One day grandma hadn't adequately tightened the big thumb screw which held the apparatus securely on the stool. Somehow, she fell off sideways and couldn't get up. When she called Rusty's sister's phone in the other end of the house, the only one home was a very bashful 18 year old grandson. "Joel, please come help me. When you get to the bathroom close your eyes." Evidently, she didn't want to scare the poor kid.

With eyes closed, Joel retrieved the donut and was cleaning it up when granny realized that while lying on her pants, she couldn't rise by herself. She hollered again, "Joel, I can't get up.
Close your eyes and come help me get up."

Rusty tried to use the goofy contraption a time or two and decided it was better to journey next door. Just standing operations required a major wipe up and a few squirts with aerosol Lysol.

This week, Rusty's sister got a bug in her bonnet to change out a toilet in the main house that had a discolored interior surface on the bowl. We swapped granny's old stool for a new handicapped model. HOORAY!!!!!! Granny "JUST LOVES" her pretty new stool. So does Rusty.

Someone installed a tension pole type four shelf corner caddy for shower products on my sister's bath tub. The idea may be good but having little guard rails just 3/4" above the shelves sucks when the shelves are loaded with 10 to 12 inch high 20 ounce bottles. Fortunately, they were all plastic except for the 16 ounce can of shaving cream Rusty stuck on a shelf.

Everytime Rusty reached for a bottle or even just bumped a shelf there was an avalanche of bottles, accompanied by a blue stream of "blessings".. The plastic ones produced more frustration than pain. The shaving cream can was another story. Toes don't like hard rimmed cans.

Finding no soap among the miriad of hair wash/rinsing/conditioning products Rusty settled for a blue bottle of Jumping Berry body wash having a scateboarder decked out in full protective gear on the label. The elbow pads were on the INSIDE of the elbow, probably preventing the wearer from bending his elbows.

Rusty mistakenly squirted two pumps of Cleansing facial wash into his hand when 1/4th a pump would have been plenty. It must have taken at least 20 gallons of water to rinse all that stuff off the face and neck.

Thinking that gray thing was a bar of soap, Rusty grabbed something hard and nearly rubbed half his cheek off with a pumice block.

Another mistake was using Strawberry Princess body wash on Rusty's legs and feet. That stuff made the tub so slick Rusty was afraid of his feet going straight up in the air and busting his keaster.

In order to dry his feet, Rusty TRIED to sit on the toilet lid. Evidently his bum was covered with Strawberry Princess which made the lid too slick to sit still on. There were visions of ending up with his bum wedged between the stool and the wall with his feet sticking straight up in the air with one leg either side of his head.

My youngest sister, TJ, is always telling everybody what to do. Rusty has a severe problem with that. Late last Thursday night, with very little sleep the previous night, Rusty was sitting in a crowd of nephews, nieces, great nephews & nieces, etc. TJ asked Rusty, "Don't you think little so-and-so is cute?" Rusty, not liking to be in such a place, exploded, "Don't ever ask me if I think some kid is cute right in front of his parents or grand parents. I'll break you of asking me such stupid questions in front of people." Knowing Rusty's attitude about the entire deal, the kid's mama just told TJ, her mom-in-law (and aunt as well — yes she was raised in south Louisiana), "I really don't care what he thinks."
Rusty's rant continued, "What would you say if I said something like, "NO, I think that's the ugliest kid in the world, now that you asked?"
Later, when Rusty told the mama of the cute little boy, "He really is a cute kid but I wasn't going to say it just because she wanted me to." She replied, "I knew what you were doing so I really thought it was funny."
When Rusty cooled down and he realized that was TJ's way of bragging on her grandkid, he really felt like a horse's behind.
TJ learned that trick from our mom who pulled the same trick on me again today. Fortunately, she just asked if Rusty didn't think a cousin's boy had really grown. The answer was, "He sure has." She should have learned not to ask questions like that about 14 years ago. A man we hadn't seen in oodles of years came to visit and mom asked, "Don't you think he looks good?"

1. Rusty's bout with the suicide shower pole.
2. Travel troubles. Did you know that all medicines have to be in their original containers when you fly?
3. "When I'm tired and cranky, NEVER ask me if I think someone's kid is cute. Especially, if they're right there."
4.

Rusty went to a funeral home where an old school mate was laid out. In the next room was the grandson of another school mate. Jeremy was 27 years old. A diabetic, he had an infection last week. One morning his good buddy found him in his apartment dead. We never know.

Rusty couldn't find his combination to the blog page so had to rely on Loon, Pilot and Julie to bail him out. Thanks, Rusty

SAM KALAT, one of Rusty's former bosses, in working on a chemical weapons incinerator construction project in Siberia. Here's his note: This morning it is 43 Degrees F in the area. As you can see, we are back into typical Urals summer weather. We did have a few days of 80 degree + weather but this is more typical for summer. Sam

5 Day Forecast

Tomorrow
Partly Cloudy, High: 61° Low: 54°
Thursday
PM Light Rain High: 63° Low: 49°
Friday
Partly Cloudy High: 60° Low: 45°
Saturday
Partly Cloudy High: 63° Low: 45°
Sunday
Showers High: 67° Low: 53°

RUSTY'S comment: Sure beats those two solid weeks of 40 below zero, huh?

HERE'S A GOODIE FOR OFFSHORE BOATERS. For a chance at winning a free MAPTECH DVD of US Boating Charts for the entire shoreline of the US, the Great Lakes, and major rivers. Offshore Navigator Lite GPS Software is included. Some 3,000 nautical charts are available. You can run all this on your PC or use it on your boat.
RULES: #1. CLICK HERE
#2. Go to PRESS on the home page, #3. Go to the block on MARINE DIGITAL NAVIGATION, #4. Click on US Boating Charts. Read the data provided. #5. Send Rusty, in 500 words or less, via the CONTACT RUSTY button, how you would use the GPS and chart software if you had it. We'll set the first deadline for recieving your stories at midnight Saturday July 22. If there's enough response we may cut off the first round earlier so hurry getting your entries in.. We intend to present three prizes.

Ron Grunig sent us this goodie about senior citizens. It starts out.."Hi ah,....Hummm let me think ,...why did I send you this......don't tell me it's coming to me.....Oh ya....." and goes on... I'm the life of the party...... even if it lasts until 8 p.m.
I'm very good at opening childproof caps... with a hammer.
I'm usually interested in going home before I get to where I am going. .... I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a thing you're saying.
I'm very good at telling stories; over and over and over and over... for more go http://www.libertyhigh56.ne... target='_blank'>HERE

Have you ever heard of mashing up fern leaves to keep mosquitoes off of you? My former south Louisiana brother-in-law had told me that works pretty well. Rusty remembered that while working on the side of the house the other evening. Evidently, the crushed ferns worked because none landed on his arms or legs.

REV. 1 In answer to Amber's question about which ferns repell the pesky critters, the ones we have growing around our house seem to be the fern known as the Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron, common throughout most of the US. This information came from a website called BACKYARD FERNS. It's the third fern shown on the page. For a link go http://www.backyardnature.n... target='_blank'>HERE

THAI LEMON GRASS found at http://journeytoforever.org... target='_blank'>HERE is said to work too. We have a t-storm so will have to research more later. The name of that page is Handmade Organic Mosquito Repellent (HOMeR). There are other useful plants and ways to fight mosquitoes and diseases listed on that same page.

What other natural items keep them away?