5/30/06 Tuesday7:16 – We are up and moving. It was a sweaty night as the air conditioning doesn’t get back to the bedroom well and the residual heat from the flat roof above us keeps things warm. I have a doctors appointment this morning so will get out of the house before Cherie. Later I will take Wayne to the Zeph Center. Last night Cherie and I watched a PBS special called “Out of the Shadows”. It is about a woman who is a paranoid schizophrenic. Her daughter was the one who produced the documentary. It is a telling look into the issues faced by those with mental illness. The documentary followed the daughter’s attempts to get help for her mom in a world that provides little help for the mentally ill. Mental illness is often unrecognized and untreated. The program gave me some insight into Dixie’s condition. It will allow me to help her somewhat but I am pretty much doing all I can with my limited resources.
Here we are, scrimping to pay the bills, so there is little left to help others. I put $150 of gas into Fred’s car every month and we take whatever extra food we have to Wayne and the others. There are occasions where I will buy something for Wayne that he needs but most of the things we do for others don’t really cost much, mostly time. Time is a most valuable thing and the gift few give. It is easy to donate money out of one’s excess but to spend time with someone is much harder and a true sacrifice.
Cherie ran into someone we had known at Cedar Creek church. They are another victim of this organization. It would seem that rumors and gossip motivated the church leadership to kick them out of the children’s ministry they were involved in. Their pain and hurt was extreme and as a result they no longer attend any church. I am sure there is more to this but at the end of all this it comes down to more pain and disillusion. The Bible says “You shall know them by their fruit”. You know the results of what they do. You may not be a follower of the Christian faith but many of the sayings in the Bible are basic truths that hold up as principles of life. Things like “you reap what you sow” are true in any culture.
The lady Cherie met said that Cedar Creek is all about the money now and they are mining their congregation for all it’s worth. That is to be expected when your model and goal is to be a “Mega” church. Cedar Creek is an offspring of the Willow Creek church and is structured to imitate their proven formula. When your main thrust is to get big, helping others in need takes a back seat. Not exactly what Jesus had in mind, at least I don’t think so.
Enough of that folks. Time to get moving and get things done. I am not doing bad this morning, running a 7 on the Bob scale. I did notice, as I looked through my blog statistics that someone ran a search on the name Nate in my blog. There were twenty six entries and they go back to September when I started this blog. I went through them again and see that it is usually a consistent pattern of issues. I still solicit comments from Y’all regarding the last entries to see if you can detect anything really bad in what I wrote.
Got to go. I think I will wear my "Geek" clothes today. It is the only pair of shorts I own and the silk Pierre Cardin shirt is great when it is 90 plus degrees out.
Yeah I know. I'm getting fat.
9:39 – Well the doctor confirmed that I am still alive. That was a relief. They did their yearly blood work and determined not much has changed. I still live with pain and still don’t take much for it. There is no way I want to risk a return to the addiction to pain killers that was a major contributor to my demise six years ago. This is reinforced by what I see Allen going through.
Fred caught me on the way out and asked if I could take him to the barber tomorrow. That is no problem as there is nothing scheduled. He looked a little rough. This heat is hard on him but at least the humidity helps him breath. This surprised me when I learned it a few weeks ago.
Right now I have the ringing in my ears that is sometimes a precursor of migraines or a slow down. Who knows, I sure don’t. Cherie wanted me to mail a shirt to Connie (her youngest sister) so I did that after the doctor visit. Now I need to run a check to the storage unit so I’ll do that now. It is already getting hot so I will need to turn on the air. Hate to do it because of the electric bill. I also need to mail this camera back to get it repaired right. It came back not quite right because it won’t focus for close up shots. Hate to do it because I love being able to take pictures and record things like dressing like a geek. Hey, these momentous events in our lives should be recorded. Who knows, a hundred years from now they might be sought after collectors items. It could happen, quit laughing. Come on, being delusional can be fun.
-----------------------------------------
11:30 - Just talked to Patrick, my lawyer in Texas, about the estate. He said that we were pretty much in a position of power on the issue of Larry paying what he had promised regarding our mother’s estate. There was no question about that and if Larry chooses to not do this I can simply request and receive my half of the CD and then the farm would be assigned to both my brother and I. We would jointly own it. So instead of Larry getting $37,000 , as payment for his half of the farm out of the CD, minus the $3,000, we split the CD and then are both on the deed for the farm. Plus I can call the bank and get my half of the CD today or anytime I wish and they are required to send it. Of course if Larry refuses I can file a civil suit at which time it will come out that he forged our mother’s signature on the titles for both of the trucks. That folks is a felony under state law. So we will see. Stay tuned for more of the estate wars.-----------------------------------
Just called and left a message with Linda at Gerdinich. Hope it can work out. Come to find out Denise is paying rent at her parents house. Denise and I talked for a short while. She was out front smoking a cigarette when I drove up. It is pretty warm out and heat is hard on MS so we didn’t talk long. She was ecstatic that I remembered to print the picture for her and gave me a big hug. Sue, another woman with MS who helps Denise, has a vision problem that has recently gotten to the point she can no longer drive. I think this is related to her MS. I asked how she is doing and Denise said she is doing fine. I am in awe at how these people hang in there despite this disease. That is a mark of the strength of the human spirit. Barb called while I was talking with Denise. She said “Freddy told me you were going to be in the area so said you could lend me five dollars and he would pay you back”. Unfortunately I won’t be in the area because Wayne called the medical cab to get to his appointment. I had asked him to do that but of course forgot so was planning to take him. Fortunately I am in the habit of calling Wayne before I go out. Barb wasn’t happy about it and said she will call Fred. I suppose I will hear about it later. Besides that I am not real keen on giving Barb money. I would rather purchase what she needs because I suspect the cash goes somewhere it shouldn’t, like drugs or beer for Basil.
Cherie was leaving right when I pulled into the drive. We rolled down our windows and talked for a few then she had to get on to work. It is always nice to see her. Denise and I discussed the miracle of Cherie and I getting back together. I told her it was like a fairy tale only I get to live it in person. Anyway it is 2:00 now. I ate some yogurt and a peach so that is an attempt at being healthy. Right now I am running down. Don’t want to quit so I will work on the love story some. It is almost done and has been for a while now.
No comments:
Post a Comment