Danelle.org

Don’t Ever Give Up!

Danelle — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:06:48 +0000

As I was walking out of the office at work today, I saw not one, but two copies of this image posted on peoples’ cubicles. I’d seen this drawing before. My dad had brought it home from work when I was much younger. He and my mother always taught me never to give up. This drawing never ceases to put a smile on my face and I wore a smile the entire drive home tonight.

My Mother, My Hero

Danelle — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:10:15 +0000

Of all her children, my mother says I am most like her. I’d have to say that’s one of the greatest compliments she could give me because she has been the greatest teacher I’ve ever had and was instrumental in making me who I am.

My mother grew up poor in rural Arkansas at the tail end of the Dust Bowl and in the midst of World War II. Several of her formative years were spent living in a tent. (That may explain why she can’t stand camping.) Her family of six worked their way up to a six foot trailer and through the years, scratched their way up to better and better digs.

When I was young, she would tell us about what it was like at Christmas time when she was our age. Her parents couldn’t really afford Christmas, but they made sure she got something. Usually, it was an orange. One particularly good year, she got a dress. It was her Sunday dress. It was also her Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dress. (Good thing grandma was a good seamstress.) She used such stories to demonstrate how fortunate we were and how far you can go with hard work, determination, and faith.

I can’t think of anyone with a more positive outlook than my mother. She is the prime example of taking the lemons life gives you and making lemonade. It wasn’t always an easy or pretty process, but she was determined to escape the poverty into which she was born.

Knowledge was the key to her escape plans. She couldn’t afford college herself, but she educated herself by reading voraciously. She used what knowledge she had to open a business, a beauty salon, that flourished. She worked hard, standing for 12 to 16 hours a day, sometimes while holding a baby on her hip. It left her feet a complete wreck, but she never complained. The income she was bringing in was enough to live off of and put my father through college. (He worked hard as well, but that’s a story for another blog post.) She was determined that everyone in her family go to college, no matter what she had to sacrifice to do so.

That left little choice for me and my siblings after high school, but we knew mom was right. Knowledge was the key. We all went to college and earned degrees. She was there for every graduation. She’s the only one in our immediate family without a college degree, but by virtue of all the papers she edited, advice she’d given, and tuition check she wrote, she earned a college degree just as much as any of us did.

There were tough times, for sure, but she and my father did everything they could to protect us. With their hard work, determination, and a little divine help, they weathered the rough spots just fine and made sure we had it even better than they had growing up. For my mother, adversity was always a learning opportunity, a chance to grow. We were always taught to make the best of a situation, so I’m sure that’s how I developed one of my philosophies:

We play the hands we’re dealt as best we can instead of lamenting what could have been, if only… Whether we win or lose depends on the quality of the choices that we make.

Another thing my mother taught me was the importance of recognizing a job well done. Much of her income from the beauty salon was from tips. She busted her butt for them. And through her example, we learned to tip well for good service and reward those who worked hard. Every time I get good service somewhere, I think of my mother and how hard she worked. I think of how she would tip (she tips well) and always leave a gratuity that she’d be proud of. It’s one of the little ways I pay forward what my mom has given me.

Along those lines, my mother also taught me the importance of charity. She always shared with others the good fortune that had been bestowed upon her. Our family has been truly blessed and I also do my best to share my good fortune as well. (Shameless Plug: Coincidentally, I was just talking to my mother last night and we discovered we both have the same favorite charity, The Salvation Army. They do an excellent job of providing food, clothing, shelter, job training, and health care to those less fortunate. Over 94% of the donations they receive go towards the people they’re intended to help. Please consider donating! End of Shameless Plug) The best way you can make the world better is to personally extend a helping hand.

It was also through her example that I developed another one of my philosophies about charity. Giving to charity provides positive outcomes to both the giver and the receiver. The person who gives feels wonderful about helping their fellow man. The recipient feels grateful and often in turn, will give charitably to others when they are able. It creates a great circle of goodness and kindness. On the other hand, forced charity is not charity at all. It generates negativity, bitterness and resentment from those taken from and entitlement from those given to. (But that’s a topic for another post.) Mom and I very much prefer circles of goodness. I’m sure we’d both be philanthropists if we only had more money to give away.

As I get older, the more and more I appreciate the wisdom of my mother and the sacrifices she made for her children. She tells me that I’m the strongest person she knows. Well, I don’t know about that, but if that’s true, it’s only because of her. Faith, determination, hard work, loving, laughing, charity, kindness, strength, forgiveness, creativity, and love of learning is what she instilled in me. She told me I can do anything I set my mind to and I believe her. She is my hero and tomorrow is her birthday. Happy Birthday, mom.

Dad’s birthday is coming up in two months, so he’ll get a post of his own then.

A Sermon From the Past

Danelle — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:18:50 +0000

One of my great, great grandfathers was Rev. William Erskine Reed. For many years, he lived and preached in Jackson County, Iowa. Recently, my sister was fortunate enough to find some information on him, including an old sermon. It amazes me that at the time he gave this sermon, there were no computers, no cars, no telephones, no recording devices of any kind, except the simple pen. Over 132 years later, the writings of a simple minister have survived and are available to the entire world on the internet.

This sermon is a fascinating glimpse into a simpler time, yet many of the basic issues contained therein remain the same today. Overall, it advises us to make the most of what we have, to nourish our spiritual side, as eventually, the “things” of the world will be “All Gone”.

“All Gone” by Rev. William Erskine Reed, Oct. 1878.

It is now thirty-six years since I settled in Fairfield Township, Jackson County, Iowa. The Indians then were quite numerous, so they frequented our house for the purpose of begging, and trading. One morning in june, (1844) before I had breakfast: a big, stalwart Indian made his appearance, but I saw at once he was up for trade: but as he had nothing with him but his gun, I was at a loss to know what he wanted to trade: but an Indian is never at a loss to know how to convey his ideas. He snatched up a piece of board that had a hole in it, and began running his finger to and from the hole, and at the same time going oo-oo-oo: trying to make a noise resembling bees. He had found a bee tree, it was a large one, (and he was too lazy to cut it down.) extending his arms out wide to show the size of the tree, he said, “big, heaps, heaps ommo, (honey) and he wanted to trade it for connabin and souah, (corn meal, and flour).

As I had not seen the tree, and knowing the “Ingins” to be a little trickey; it took us a long time to make the trade.

But finally we agreed; and he took his connabin and souah on his back, and started to sow me the tree. The trail then followed the ridge from the mouth of rock-creek where I was then living, to Hillyard’s ferry: near where the “Iron Bridge” is now. As we walked along I was before, and looking back I discovered a look of sadness, and I though also of revenge, on the red-man’s face; that caused me to feel a little suspicious: so I kept watching him closely. Every now and then he would cast a glance across the hills on rock-creek and mutter something I did not understand.

But as I had my gun and butcher-knife along, (as was customary for everyone to carry such weapons then.) I felt but little fear, as my gun never missed fire, and I was a dead shot. Finally he suddenly stopped, and squaring himself around with his face to the south, and pointing towards the head waters of Rock Creek, said: with deep emotion: +“Mocoman; Waungsheegra pocheeta; heaps, heaps pchucks.Waungsheegra heaps big: All Gone! Mocoman oah tschoosqunee noh.” (+ Whiteman, when I was young, deer was plenty on those hills; but now when I am old they are All Gone! Whiteman destroyed them: Poor Indian [unreadable] ve!) A tear started from the red man’s eye, but returned to its fount. His sorrow was too deep for tears.

It is said that there is nothing forgotten: it is only laid by, so to be called up by circumstances in after life; and verily, it is true. Paul says, “the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. The mind is not seen; and therefore it is eternal. And all the impressions made upon it, is for eternity; if they are never called up by circumstance in this life, they will sure to be in the next; and doubtless give us pain or pleasure.

All gone, ye, All Gone!

Coming past the same spot the other day, (which I have past thousands of times,) my mind reverted back to the scene just related: and it came up before me as vividly, as though it was the day it happened: and I began to recount the: ‘All Gones.’

As I had just come up a hill, as the road does not follow the ridge; I found my youthful vigor and elasticity, was: “All Gone.” And then remembering my old comrades, with whom I used to hunt and fish: and have had such great enjoyment.

“All gone. Alas! All gone.

And then to my scholars whom I tried to train up for useful lives; and they were ‘All gone.’ Those I tried to teach to sing the songs of Zion. “All gone.”

Those with whom I met to worship God. Alas! Alas! All G-o-n-e—

Where is the sainted Rowley, that officiated at the first funeral, (outside our own family,) that I was at in Iowa? Gone to Glory. Where is Butler, the Faithful? Gone to Kansas, soon to pass on to Glory.

These, two, old veterans of the Cross were ever ready with a Prayer, or, Exortation, whenever such services were needed: and were the seed of all the piety North Bend ever possessed.

Where are all the others that frequented the house of God, and confessed the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Saviour, and took part in the divine worship of God? All Gone. Some to their reward: many moved away; and some are gone a fishing: and some alas! Have returned to the flesh-pots of Egypt.

Where is the prayer-meetings, Sabbath assemblies, and churches, that flourished in their day? “All gone.” The piety? All gone? Waungsheegra old. (tears)

The poor Indian was driven to leave the country of his birth, because the approaching white man had destroyed his only means of support. (the game.) Little did he think, when with joy he returned from the chase with the spoil, to his beloved Ennugra: (woman or wife.) that the day would soon come, when circumstances would compel home to leave his country; and the burial grounds of his fathers, and try the realities of the unknown.

All gone. Yes professor: you think your opportunities are very meager; and you are excusable for not improving them, they are so very small. But remember! You; are not to dispise the day of small things; and the day is coming when they will be, All gone. And the past opportunities unimproved will ever haunt you with phantoms of sorrow. Deep, sorrow.

“Be wise to day,” and imitate the Saviour, who was ever, and anon; going about doing good: setting us an example, that we should follow in his steps. And he loves to see his children following his example.

His command is, go work to day, in my vineyard; for now is the accepted time, and now is the day of salvation.

All gone! Yes, sinner; you are enjoying yourself now, in the active pursuits of life; and it may be in pleasurable sin.You do not feel now that there will ever be a change in your feelings and delights: you think that; that, that is pleasing, still will please, but you are greatly mistaken: the very things that gives you pleasure now; will be agonizing in age, death, and eternity. Desire shall fail. All gone; yes all the golden opportunities of embracing the Saviour, all the sermons, prayers, and exhortations will be all gone. The strivings of the Spirit, will be all gone; and you will be away down in the sink of a mis-spent life: beholding the rough wall which you have decended step by step, with only enough of the sun-light of heaven to show you plainly what you have lost: with all the acts of your lives; lost opportunities, and missimproved time, and talents, standing upon the brink of eternity – with a sorrow of heart too deep for tears – beholding with a shudder of deep emotion the abyss below; you will utter – All Gone!

The DNS Blues

Danelle — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:33:21 +0000

This website has been down, depending on where you are, for weeks. I ran across the weirdest DNS issue and I really have no idea what the problem was. I could access my site via the AOL software (please no digs at AOL, I know it sucks, but most of my family is on it). And that’s the ONLY place I could access it. Attempts via Comcast were met with error pages. I updated the DNS zone in my hosting admin panel. No dice. I spent hours with tech support, unable to resolve the issue. Finally, I just changed the nameservers from my custom nameservers to that of my host. That did it. WEIRD.

So, for the two people who read this blog, you should be able to access it again! LOL.

Know What You What

Danelle — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:02:01 +0000

We had Chinese for dinner the other night and we finished it off with fortune cookies. My husband passed me the fortune he received. It said, “You know what you what – get to work and make it materialize.” No, I didn’t type that wrong, that’s what it actually said. I assume they meant “You know what you WANT”. Problem is, I don’t know what I what OR what I want.

Interesting Places: Asphalt Lakes

Danelle — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:05:09 +0000

The earth is full of wonderful and interesting places that continue to fascinate humans. Being a native of Southern California, I am well acquainted with asphalt lakes which are also known commonly as “tar pits”. One of the most famous asphalt lakes is the La Brea Tar Pits in Rancho La Brea.

The La Brea tar pits are a wealth of information with regard to the fossil record and extinct species from the area. Several fossils of mammoths, sabre toothed cats, dire wolves, short-faced bears, ground sloths, and even a Native American woman have been found in the tar pits. Fossils of plants, insects, and pollen grains have also been found.

You may think such a site is unique. Well, it certainly is rare, but there are other asphalt lakes around the world. There are five that are well known. They are:

Pitch Lake at La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago
McKittrick, California (near Bakersfield)
Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, California
Lake Bermudez, Venezuela

Many of these asphalt lakes have at one time or another been sources of asphalt used in making the roads that we drive on. Nearly all of them are good sources of fossils, as animals come to drink the water that sits on the surface of the lakes and end up falling into the tar from which they cannot escape.

If you get the chance, take time to visit one of these fascinating places.

Last 5 Songs I Listened To

Danelle — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:45:32 +0000

For the whole 3 people who read this blog, I thought I’d throw out a blog challenge. List the last 5 songs you’ve listened to. I’m currently listening via iTunes. But if you were listening to the radio or a CD or whatever, what were the last 5 songs you listened to?

For me:

1. C’est La Vie – Robbie Nevil
2. The Captain of Her Heart – Double
3. Sunshine Superman – Donovan
4. I Love L.A. – Randy Newman (I was feeling a little homesick.)
5. Call Me – Blondie

And in case any of you are interested, next up in the queue is “Brazil” by Django Reinhardt. I know, I know. “Who?” you might ask. Expand your musical horizons!! There’s always some great stuff out there you’ve never ever heard of.

Skee-ball Throwdown

Danelle — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:07:32 +0000

So, I hear I have been challenged by a cousin o’ mine at a round of skee-ball, since I soundly beat her at pool last time we met. She says she clearly has the advantage. Little does she know, however, that I spent hours upon hours of my youth either bowling or playing skee-ball. I had barely enough room on my bed to sleep from all the stuffed animals I’d won playing carnival games, skee-ball being my favorite.

Did I mention my bowling average was 150? Did I also mention I could routinely hit nothin’ but net from 3-point range and my free throw percentage was 85%? I may have forgotten to mention my years playing softball and throwing runners out at home from deep left field. Yeah, when it comes to spherical objects, I have a habit of having pretty good aim with ‘em… If ya didn’t notice that from our little game of pool, cousin o’ mine.

Your only hope to beat me may be miniature golf.

Things Overheard at an ATM

Danelle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:43:59 +0000

As I was waiting in line at an ATM yesterday, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of the people in front of me (and their friend that ran into them a few minutes after I got in line). Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but there are some things you just don’t share in public. For example, I now know:

- The daughter’s court date is August 17th.

- The friend is trying to get her father back into rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Her parents are in the midst of a divorce due to these issues.

- The mother admits they all drank way too much “back in the day”, but she doesn’t drink now. She is, however, taking painkillers every day.

There was plenty more I overheard, but nothing as juicy as the above, just future plans of college age kids (though the one with a court date isn’t going to college…. No surprise.)

I felt like I was listening to a soap opera. That’s just way too much info to learn about a total stranger. They should save it for the car or a visit at their respective houses.

How To Be A Millionaire

Danelle — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:58:13 +0000

Just from the title of this post, I’m sure I’ll be getting lots of people actually looking for tips on how to be a millionaire. Well, unfortunately, that’s not what this post is about. If I knew how to be a millionaire, I would be too busy enjoying it to be posting about it, now wouldn’t I?

No, this post is about the SONG “How To Be A Millionaire” by ABC. I’ve always loved this song and several lyrics come to mind lately considering the state of the economy.

For example:

I’ve seen the future
I can’t afford it
To tell you the truth, sir
Someone just bought it

…

Larger than life
And twice as ugly
If we have to live there
You’ll have to drug me

…

Hardly surprising
If you might consider
Loyalties go to
The highest of bidders

Seems these lyrics haven’t really gone out of date, have they? LOL. I think they’re all pretty much applicable to our current economic predicament.

Out of curiosity, I checked YouTube and YES, they have ABC’s How To Be A Millionaire video. That was a neat blast from the past. And yes, I checked out iTunes and found the song available there. Woo hoo!