Today:What Where When How?

MORE ABOUT TEDDY KENNEDY

2009-08-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

I do not know who wrote this essay, but I did proof read it. I did not find any mistakes, can you?

The Last of The Kennedy Dynasty

As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the "canonization" of old Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history.

1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him.

2. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up
for four years instead of two. Oops! The man can't count to four! His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition), pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea , where a war was raging. No preferential treatment for him! (like he charged that President Bush received).

3. Kennedy was assigned to Paris , never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private!

4. While attending law school at the University of Virginia , he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959. Amazing!

5. In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash, and hospitalized
for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was
admitted had shown he was legally ntoxicated. The results of those tests
remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed..
Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we?

6. On July 19, 1969, Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in
Massachusetts . At about 11:00 PM, he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his
Oldsmobile limousine, and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a
campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail,
Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.

7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, passing several houses
and a fire station.. Two friends then returned with him to the scene of the accident. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew - that he was required by law to immediately report the accident to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep. Kennedy called the police the next morning and by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying, Kopechne had scratched at the upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car.

The Kennedy family began "calling in favors", ensuring that any inquiry
would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family, before an autopsy could be conducted. Further details are uncertain, but after the accident Kennedy says he repeatedly dove under the water trying to rescue Kopechne and he didn't call police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the accident, Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy, and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills... a "token of friendship"?

8. Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, and funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism". In his very first Senate roll, he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S. immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for immigrants from third world countries.

9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration, up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court nominees, as if he was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of "what's right". What a pompous ____!

10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and
very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better description than "Great American". "A blonde in every pond" is his motto.

Let's not allow the spin doctors to make this jerk a hero -- how quickly the
American public forgets what his real legacy is.

Let's REMEMBER this Teddy Kennedy for truth, justice and the American way.

Author Unknown

Teddy Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne

2009-08-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

All the news outlets are reporting the death of a great statesman, Senator Ted Kennedy.

Really? Great at what? Drinking? Driving? Womanizing? Religion? Politics?

Your answer depends on whether you believe the founding fathers wrote a great document with great fore sight when they wrote the constitution. Kennedy certainly did everything he could to bend, break and re-make the law as set forth in the constitution and your freedom from governmental interference in your life.

America and the world found out in July of 1969, just what sort of a man Ted Kennedy was at his very core. We do not know everything that happened on the night of July 18, 1969. We do know that Kennedy was driving his car on a lonely stretch of road late at night. He missed a small wooden bridge. His Oldsmobile went into the water and was found upside down the next morning. Inside was the body of Mary Jo Kopechne, a 29 year old campaign worker.

Kennedy claimed he tried to dive down and rescue her. Kennedy claimed at sometime he became disoriented and went for help. He claims he reported the accident to several aides that night. He did not report the accident to authorities until after the car with the body was discovered the next morning. Kennedy claimed he was not drunk that night and was in fact sober the next morning according to authorities.

Later after the news of the incident had settled down, Kennedy plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident with "injuries". He was 'given' the punishment of two months probation. Damn good thing he did not kill anyone else during that 2 months, or he might have had to serve the whole remaining time in jail!

I know people can repent and change. I know when they do that Christians should forgive and forget. Kennedy was a Catholic, yet he supported abortion in every way he could. Thus in my book he continued right up to his death to have a hand in killing the innocent.

Thank God that the Chappaquiddick incident kept him from becoming even more powerful as president.

Health care Related Sort Of

2009-08-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

The link below will take you to the "Jumbo Joke" site. The latest joke is a few "you might be ifs". I thought a little light approach to health care might be in order with all the current rhetoric about health care.

http://www.jumbojoke.com/you_might_be_in_emergency_medicine_if.html

I need something to calm my nerves. The more I read and hear about the government's proposed health care "reform", the more fearful I become. "Reform : to form again or renew." That is what seems to be in the plan. A complete "change" for everyone and everything involved in what is arguably the best health care system in the world.

I remember being fearful when Medicare and Medicaid were first proposed. I remember being fearful when Eunice Shriver's brother (Mary Jo's killer) proposed adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare and Medicaid. I thought all of these proposals would be far too costly and leave room for too much fraud and abuse.

I was correct in those assumptions. These programs have bankrupted the country while making almost every poor and elderly citizen dependant upon the government for their health needs. Now the out of touch congress believe the way to "fix" the broken health care system they broke by passing asinine legislation is to add every single person living within our borders citizen or not, to the already bankrupt system.

OMG, quick, tell me another funny joke. I need to laugh and relax so I can steady my hand enough to write a letter to my congressmen.

So What Are The Police Supposed To Do?

2009-07-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here is the story. The police are called to investigate a reported break in. A white policeman ends up arresting a belligerent black man. The man is a Harvard Black Studies Professor. We later discover that he is a "friend" of the current President of the United States.

The President of the United States sets up a reporter at a nationally televised "town hall" speech to ask about the arrest of his friend. The President stated that the police "acted stupidly". He tries to get the public to believe this was a spontaneous response to a spontaneous question and it was a spontaneous misuse of the word "stupidly".

A number of people, mostly black, quickly came out claiming "black profiling" by police. What are the police supposed to do, arrest a white man who insults them, but accept all verbal abuse any black man? Why, because we now have a black skinned president?

I have an idea! Why don't we stop arresting any and all black people for any and all reasons! Call it reverse profiling! Let's see how long it would take for people of all races to start screaming for action. Just a thought.

Mac

Post Script: The President also had run in with the same "stupidly acting" police force when he resided in Cambridge as a student at Harvard. It seems they "profiled" his automobile and gave it tickets many times when it was illegally parked. He only saw fit to pay the fines after he decided to run for President.
CM

Do you think the CIA even knew?

2009-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well, now the cat is out of the bag.

The CIA conducts covert and clandestine operations! Who knew?

OMG, they do not always tell the blabber mouth congressmen and women exactly what they are doing! Who would have thought it possible?

Not to worry though, Obama, Reid, Polosi, Boxer, Rangle, Kennedy, Kerry, and their super intelligent co-harts now have super qualified and experienced Franken to watch their backs.

America, you can sleep easy tonight knowing we have such capable and caring hands protecting us from terrorists. NOT!

My Take on Recent News

2009-06-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Has it been a month since I last posted? Much has happened in that time which troubles my thoughts.

Our president toured parts of Europe and The Middle East and made a number of speeches. He apologized for what the US has done in the past. I suppose we will no longer seek to free enslaved people, or feed the starving, or stop cruel dictators especially if they are Muslims. That might be good!

This administration "bailed out" two of the big three auto companies. OOPS! They went bankrupt anyway.

The president claimed the government had made a profit on T.A.R.P. money "loaned" to banks because a small percentage had been paid back with interest. REALLY? I thought accepted rules of accounting required all loan monies had to be paid back before claiming a profit.

Two acts of terrorism occurred within our borders. One was the shooting of a "late term" (read viable baby) abortion doctor while in his church by a right wing Christian gun fanatic. The second was the shooting of a security guard while on duty at the Holocaust Museum by a racist white supremacist. OH YEAH! The shooting of two uniformed soldiers outside an US Army Recruiting Station is not to be included as a terrorist act because the shooter was Muslim.

I do so wish I did not care about the future of America. Maybe if I was a minority or at least had a college degree I wouldn't. Hey, come to think about it I am a minority. I'm "elderly". I'm freckled. I'm still married to the same woman after 52 years. I'm a practicing Christian. I'm a legal gun owner and none of my guns ever caused me to rob, threaten or kill anyone.

Mac

She knew, or did she?

2009-05-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Either she was not interested enough in the safety of the US, or she is lying, or she is really really stupid. Dear Lord, could she be all three? Who? Nancy P.

Is Water Boarding Really Torture?

2009-04-30T05:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I would write a short comment on all the hype about water boarding. As I understand it, essentially water boarding features tying the victim to something and slowly pouring water over a cloth placed over the subjects head for a length of time. This supposedly gives the subject (victim) the sensation that they can not breathe and are in risk of drowning.

This procedure is supposedly used on subjects (suspects) who are reluctant to talk about what they know of terrorist plans to do harm (bring death and destruction) to
American people and property. We are told water boarding is bad. We are not told the value or amount of information intelligence agencies have gained by the use of this method of "torture".

I am a US Navy veteran. In Navy boot camp I was sent into two very scary places where breathing was difficult if not almost impossible. We were sent as a group into a room and tear gas was released. When we felt we were going to die, we were allowed to put on gas masks. We were also sent into a building which was then set on fire and we had to extinguish the flames in order to breathe.

After boot camp some of us were trained in the aviation branch. A part of that training was to be strapped into a Dilbert Dunker. Which was a mock up of an aircraft cockpit which would very quickly be dumped upside down in a pool of water. We had to unstrap, figure out which way was up, and swim to the surface. I think I would opt to lay on a board and have water poured over my face were I given the choice.

Thought: Could I sue the US Navy for supposedly torturing me? Heck, maybe we could get up a class action suit.
Mac

Wondering no more about one wonder.

2009-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today on Easter Sunday one of my wondering was answered. The SEALS were waiting for the proper time. SEAL snipers took out three of the kidnappers and Captain Phillips was freed and is now safe.
How fitting. On the Holiday we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ and the freedom belief in Him brings, the hostage captain is freed.
There is a message there for all.
I read the we (the US) are considering whether or not to try a pirate we captured as a criminal. DUH? What is to consider?

I WONDER?

2009-04-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

I wonder about a number of things that happened since I last wrote on this blog.

I wonder how Marcus Luttrell was able to keep from pulling the trigger? He had the punks who shot his rehab dog D.A.S.Y. well within the reach of his 9mm automatic. They did not even know he was there and could have died laughing. Marcus is a highly trained and decorated Navy SEAL. He followed the punks in a high speed chase until he could get the proper authorities involved. He a real man of character. He is a real American. See "Lone Survivor" for his story.

I wonder why our Navy was prevented from firing on the life boat when the sailors aboard saw Captain Phillips jump over board? Why are our fighting men trained and equipped to break things and kill people and then prevented from doing so because either some of our friends or some of our enemies might take offense?

I wonder why American politicians have authorized spending 20 times as much, (3 trillion) to "stimulate" the economy, as Japan, the next most powerful country economically? Japan only sees the need to spend (150 billion)? After all this is money we do not actually have at the present time. I wonder how much money each of us should borrow to make our own personal finances solvent? I wonder how large does a company have to be before it is not allowed to go bankrupt? I wonder how many people are allowed to lose their lively hood before the government needs to step in? I think most people today think the answer is one if it is me, 2000 if it is others.

I do not wonder about some things. I mean COME ON! Companies fail because they do not provide the services or goods people want or can afford. The congress caused most if not all of the current "crisis" by interfering with how the banks loaned monies and how the automobile companies produced cars. Pure and simple.

I would not be writing this today if my plans had worked out. We had planned on leaving yesterday to spend Easter with our daughter and son in law. I needed to work yesterday. I do not have access to a military airplane like the Speaker of the House has,so we had to stay at home. Mary and I are enjoying each other's company for a shorter weekend than we had planned.

Jesus sacrificed his life for everyone. You, me and even the people who killed Marcus' dog, if we will just believe. Will I see you in heaven?

March Going Out Like a Lion.

2009-03-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

There is an old saying about March. You know the one about if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lamb. It was the truth here this year. If I remember correctly March 1 was a beautiful Sunday. Today we had thunderstorms. Actually most of the last week has been wind, lightening and rain. Last weekend a friend was posting scenes of the Fish River rising in their backyard. See: http://justpurelovely.typepad.com/justpurelovely/ Today lightening struck a house one street away and the home is a total loss. March really is going out like a lion in this area..

I made a commitment a while back to try to stop listening to the conservative talk shows. I also tried to stop reading or listening to the liberal news media. I wanted to stop writing in this blog about things which upset me. I have found it difficult to listen to any radio other than talk, because the most of the music I find on the radio is upsetting too. (Maybe I'm getting old?)

Maybe I should brag a little about what is good in my life. Mary and I will celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary about the middle of April. We are going to spend a long weekend in Destin, Fl. Our three children seem to be healthy and happy.
We plan on spending Easter weekend with our daughter and son-in-law in Tallahassee. I have a job which I like, if not love, and I usually have three days a week off. My roof does not leak, I am able to stay up on all our payments, and I certainly have at least enough food to eat. My family and I all know Jesus the Christ is our Savior.

There! I did find something good to write about and it was not too difficult. So let March get on out of here and April showers bring on the May flowers. We are ready. How about you?
Mac

Personal Update

2009-03-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

I suppose that soon I am going to have to admit that I am 74 going on 75. Early Monday morning I was driving across the Mobile I-10 Bayway headed to Fairhope as the sun rose above the trees. Mary and I were on our way to Fairhope Alpacas to help in this year's shearing. See http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com Something like twelve hours later we were dirty and tired and grinning ear to ear while driving across the Bayway into a setting sun going home to Semmes.

We had helped shear, weigh the fleece, trim toenails, grind teeth and doctor 77 beautiful healthy Alpacas. Tuesday and to a lesser extent today I paid dearly for all the strenuous exercise I put my body through. I could sit or I could stand, but transitioning from one to the other was painful. This is the reason I am going to have to admit to my age someday soon.

We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We had done the same thing last year.
We also knew that most people our age (Mary is just a few years younger than me)would not even thinking of doing anything but watching the process. We just have to get in the fray up close and personal. We may not be able to own any of these beautiful interesting animals ourselves, but it is fun to hang with people who do.

We also came home with a bag of prime alpaca fleece. This years reward is a beautiful crimpy dark brown fleece. We will be washing, carding, and spinning it sometime this spring. What, or even when, there will be a finished product made from the fibers we helped harvest last Monday remains to be seen, but we have the satisfaction of knowing WE DID IT!

This Friday we were scheduled to assist the Mobile Museum be doing spinning demonstrations for Frontier Days at Ft. Conde. That has now been postponed until April 24th. Maybe the Good Lord knows we needed a few more days of rest?

Until next time, Mac

Who Will Miss You

2009-02-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

I read an article recently about a church that did a survey. No big news there, many churches survey their members and community. This particular survey had an interesting question. They asked who and what people would miss most about the church if they were to cease to exist. The results caused the church staff and members to rethink who they were and what they were doing in the community.

It seems that most people in the community did not know what the church was doing in the community. Many did not know anyone who was a member of the church. Some did not even know the church existed. Those results should wake up any Christian in any church. Naturally I wondered what the answer to those questions would be if the church I am a part of were to survey our community.

But what I have really been wondering since I read the article has been, outside my immediate family, would anyone really miss Mac McFatter? What am I doing to make a difference in my small circle of influence? Will my questioning my purpose and actions really make a difference in tomorrow? Or even in today? Maybe these would be good questions to ask ourselves before we get dressed every day.

I know one other living being besides myself who would miss my wife Mary, her Chihuahua, Bear. The floor is Mary's bathroom was wet from a fresh mopping. She had to use "the boy's bathroom". Bear is fenced out of that section of the house. Bear suddenly sensed Mary was not close by. He went to living room and intently looked in her chair and on the couch where she lays when fibromyalgia takes her down. He then went to Mary's computer, back to her bedroom and bathroom and back to the living room.

He retraced his steps and looked puzzled. He even went to the pet door and sniffed all around the edge to see if she had some how squeezed through his door. I suppose he knew she had not left the house through normal means because he had not heard the door open or close. He then went to his bed close behind Mary's chair and lay down.
I sure would like to know what he was thinking.

Would Bear miss Mary more than Mary would miss Bear, I do not know, I only know they make a difference in each others lives. Who would you miss? Who would miss you? Why?

Nowhere anyone would want to be! Really?

2009-02-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

Someone on a Yahoo List I belong to, shared that they lived in a town that was "nowhere close to anywhere anyone would like to be".

I thought how sad that some people can not enjoy where they are. This person lives in a city with a lot of history going back hundreds of years. I know of at least two historic cemeteries where one could spend a day in each to visit the graves of heroes of American history. There is a historic district with many older homes which have been converted into businesses and offices and a stroll down these streets are
walks through history.

This city is home to several museums. Admission is free to most of them although donations are gladly accepted. An aviation museum rivals the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and there is another less than two hours away at an Air Force Base. There is a light house and two old forts dating back to the 1800's.

There are coffee houses, night clubs, fine restaurants, family restaurants, neighborhood restaurants, ethnic restaurants, chain restaurants, and naturally all the fast food places you can name. A person can purchase fresh seafood which spent the previous night swimming in the Gulf of Mexico to prepare your self or at any one of several local seafood restaurants. There is a cooperative health food store which in my opinion is second to none for hundreds of miles.

There are two large hospitals with fine reputations for treating a multitude of ailments. There are several institutions of higher learning with outstanding credentials. There are craft guilds, clubs and organizations for every hobby I can think of. White sand beaches are a very short drive away where a person can search for sea shells, walk on the beach, sun bathe, or swim pretty much year round.

I wonder if the place this person came from was also a nowhere, nothing to do kind of place like Pensacola? I'll just wager it is.

How much better our world would be if each one of us would enjoy what we have and where we are. Right now I am thinking of a man who lives by choice in Anapra Colonia, a slum of Juarez, Mexico, because he has chosen to make a difference among people who truly are "nowhere close to anywhere anyone would like to be". May God bless Fernando Maldonado this day.
Mac

Doing It Right

2009-02-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

I must be doing some things right.
For instance this week:
I still have my part-time job.
I received a Valentine's card and gift from my wife of soon to be 52 years.
I exchanged comments and pokes with friends on Facebook.
I made comments to the group in a meeting this week and had several positive responses during the week and so far the only negative response was during the meeting.
I (we) received an invitation to assist again this year in the Alpaca shearing in Fairhope, not bad for a couple in their 70's.
I was able to again assist the leader of first grade RA's and the boys welcomed me back.
I had breakfast with two long time friends on Tuesday.
I had a friend email me the sonogram picture of a pregnancy test.
I count all of the above as blessings, so maybe I should change the title of this to weekly blessings.
What do you think?
Mac

23 DAYS

2009-02-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

I commented last right after the election and have kept my thoughts to my self regarding our new president. No longer! 23 days since he was sworn in (even that was botched?)and I am about to explode if I do not let some steam off.

Can you believe this spending package the administration is ramming through congress? Every day the news reports tell us how bad the economy is getting. Every day they tell us more and more about what this spending bill has in it.

Guess what? Many people are frightened about what might happen if the market gets worse or if the auto industry fails or if the banking industry fails or if more people lose their jobs. The stock market is afraid of what the spending bill has in it and falls further even faster.

So the fix is in to destroy the free market economy America was built upon. Government will regulate every industry and business which it bails out and props up. Cap what the CEO's are allowed to make and the next step will be to cap what any business owner can make. Pass that thought on down the line until it reaches either you or your children.

They say the money (taxes) will come from the BIG corporations and the RICH people.
Wait, are these the same people who hire us common people to do the work? Will the BIG corporations and RICH people still have money to pay you and me? OH, I forgot, I am one of the RICH people. I have a job and WORK for a living, so I have to pay for the poor people who have not worked for several generations and the illegals who work, but are "off the books" and thus qualify for assistance.

Some call this spending bill the New New Deal. I remember the WPA and the CCC. Sure the WPA (we called them "we poke along" and some of the methods they developed for leaning on shovel handles are still practiced today) built roads, bridges, and dams. Sure the CCC planted trees and built state and national parks. They were both still functioning (I could not bring myself to say working) when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and real jobs in real industry opened up. I wonder who we should credit for ending the depression, Tojo or FDR?

Folks it was WWII that got us out of the depression, not government created jobs.
Not the government paying farmers to NOT grow crops which caused us to have to import instead of export food and fiber.

This spending plan which is coming just 23 days into the Obama administration will worsen the recession and eventually bring about another depression.

It looks like it is going to happen, so as a common little man I suppose I should say, "Go ahead and bring it on so we can begin to get it over with."

By the way, I didn't watch the town hall meetings he held this week. Did anyone hear a single intelligent question asked of the president. I only heard what the news reported and they were all gemme gemme questions. I understand that one of the questions came from a mother with a grown son. Neither of them has worked in 7 years
and they want the government to provide them their own place to cook and go to the bathroom.

Whew! Now I have to decide do I feel better for having let off steam or not? Right now I think not> Maybe next time I can be more positive. I really hope so. Maybe someone else can tell me something good about the current state of affairs in DC.
Mac

Ah, the politics of change

2008-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.jumbojoke.com/why_did_the_chicken_cross_the_road.html

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

I think this Jumbo Joke from Randy Cassingham's site is a classic comment on the current crop of American politicians. Maybe this would even relate to all American politicians, past, present and future, if one were to simply change the names of the characters.

I may not agree with the outcome of last Tuesdays vote, but I will continue to pray for and honor the position of President of the United States. I hope you will too.
Charlie Mac

Sunday Morning

2008-10-26T04:10:00.000-07:00

This past week was an eventful one in a number of ways. I learned a number of things which I sometimes suspect puts me ahead of many my age. (almost 74) I memory tells me that my parents were pretty unwilling to learn new things in their seventies. I wonder why some people are so inflexible in welcoming new ways of doing things? There are of course certain basic principles which will never change. I am thinking folks who reject new ideas and tools which could make life more productive.

Learning new processes does sometimes mean that we have to step out of our comfort zone. Taking just a little risk to learn something new will help keep a person's mind working properly. It strengthens the brain cells just as physical exercise strengthens the cells in our muscles.

Some of the things which are pretty common today and even 'necessities' were met with resistance when they first came out. Automatic transmissions would never be accepted.
Even IBM at one time rejected the idea of personal computers. Rocket to the moon, Buck Rogers pipe dreams. Foreign made cars, especially Japanese, are just junk. People will never accept homogenized milk and certainly not that 'blue john' reduced fat milk. Supper at church on Wednesday night, never desecrate God's house like that!

So, I am looking forward to learning a little more about God, life and business this week. Today I am helping with the pony ride at SHBC's "Great Pumpkin Party. I get to be around kids and horses at the same time. How great is that? What are you doing today and the rest of the week to learn about and enjoy life?
Charlie Mac

Enthusiasm, contagious?

2008-10-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Readers of this blog know that I have taken on a new job. It is very different to any thing I have done in the past. It was a pretty scary decision to make. I agreed to take it because I had been praying to find a less physical way to make a living. My friend, and now again my employer, and his wife had been praying about who could fill an important position in their company. He asked me to think about the position and my immediate thought was, OH No, Not Me! He continued by saying he and Leslie had been praying about it and would I pray about it and get back to him.

While praying it came to me that it was like my prayer was being answered and their prayers were being answered. All I had to do was step out on faith. Was it scary? Oh yeah, and the first week of training it was almost deathly frightening. everyone kept saying, "You can do it." Something (evil?) in my mind kept saying, "No you can't! It is too stressful."

Then while praying about this situation, a peace that passes all understanding came over me. The email devotional for that day was "I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me."
It clicked to focus on one thing, one order, one task, one customer, one report, one entry, and one day at a time. I can be enthusiastic about one thing at a time and suddenly the task was no longer overwhelming.

Jesus taught us to pray daily for our daily bread. He taught us not to worry about tomorrow and just focus on today. So, when I apply His teachings, I can be, and am, enthusiastic about life, one moment at a time. I pray my enthusiasm can remain constant and will be contagious.

Encourage someone today. Be enthusiastic about something today. This will be a good day.
Go check out www.Alpacafarmgirl.blogspot.com Katy is a store house of knowledge about really neat income opportunities raising Alpacas for fun and profit.
Charlie Mac

Still Learning

2008-10-16T03:28:00.000-07:00

I know, everybody says time flies. It only lacks one day being a week since I wrote anything on this blog. Several good things have happened. We had a good trip and visit with our daughter and son-in-law. This has been a week of learning more about the system for processing orders at work. The last debate (if you can still call it that) is over. We are getting closer to election day and that worry will be over and likely replaced by another.
One story I heard this week is really worth repeating on this blog. It was told by a man I respect a lot. His wife is going through chemo treatment for ovarian cancer. Bad bad stuff.
Her younger sister became a little paranoid and insisted her doctor give her a thorough check out. He found a tumor, removed it, it was cancer, it was stage one, they got it all! No further treatment necessary, at all. When my friend told his wife about her sister, she was encouraged, felt better, even ate a 'normal' meal. This was Thursday. The stock market fell about 700 points that day. The sister's life was saved, the wife rallied, the market tanked. Was it a good day? What will make your life better today? The market or other people? What did Jesus say was the second commandment?
Charlie Mac

Weekend

2008-10-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am writing my weekend blog early (actually it is late Friday). I will be out of pocket probably until Tuesday and I wanted to write about Friday before then.
Today was a fun day at work. I enjoy problems only if I can work them out. I always have liked fixing things.
Wednesday and Thursday the girl ( lady) I am replacing was there to train and guide me on the business system. Today was my first day to solo. (of course the boss knows more that anyone about how the program works, but who wants to bother the boss asking dumb questions?) I had three projects waiting for me to solve when I can in today. All three took some thinking and remembering how to manipulate the system. I did it. Oh not alone, but the problems were solved before the day's end. I never could have done it without the help and friendly encouragement of my fellow workers. While the problems were in the process of being solved several glitches happened. My phone quit working several times. The system hung up a couple of times. The Internet service went out for a time.
Through all this I had a really good fun day. Wow! Maybe I should have looked for a set down job a few years ago. I told Mary when I got home that I can not remember the last time I felt this good after working all day.
We are going to visit our daughter and son-in-law and will worship with them on Sunday. We will be back, GLW, on Monday. Hope you all have a great weekend too.
Charlie Mac

Friday

2008-10-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

Tis Friday today. My head if full of new information and procedures which I must learn and follow in my new "position". Literally this is a new position for me as I have never had a 'sit down' job in the past.
I have interfaced with customers, so answering the phone and taking orders from customers is not really new.
I have worked on (fixed) computers and used computers since 1961, so entering and manipulating data is not really new either.
I have worked as a seasonal employee in several capacities for this company ever since the new owner bought it, so the business part is not new to me either.
I have known the permanent employees and many of the seasonal employees for several years, so the people are not really new to me either.
You know what? When I stop and think about it, the sitting part is the only completely new part of this "position".
Hey, I can do that. Like they say, some things get better with age. I think this is one of them.
Thanks for stopping by, I had a great time.
Charlie Mac

Thursday ALready

2008-10-09T04:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! We are on the downhill slide of a fast week. Really fast for me.
Yesterday was my first day as an order taker, order entry, order coordinating, order processing clerk.
The company has a really neat processing record keeping system that can (it seems) do any manipulation of facts and figures you might need. I felt like my head was totally full of information by noon and I still had 5 hours to go. Very soon I need to begin getting ready to go back and see how much I retained.
Something my parents taught me as a child kept running through my head. Charles, you can do anything you set your mind to. So parents, I encourage you to encourage your children. Children, I encourage you to listen to your parents.
I know I can meet this new challenge and if I can you can also meet the challenge you are facing head on.
Charlie Mac

Learning Curve

2008-10-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

Challenge and change. I am taking on a challenge which involves a good bit of change.
Learning to "fly" a desk instead of doing manual labor.
It should not be a real difficult switch, but there will be a challenge or two.
I will be doing basic data entry and I type pretty well for someone who has to look at the KB, but it will be somewhat of a challenge.
I will be taking orders from several sources, computer, phone and in person.
My aged eyesight will be a challenge in reading the monitor screens.
My age related hearing loss will be a challenge when listening to customers on the phone.
My habit of no being careful with my penmanship will be a challenge when I allow pressures to cause me to "hurry up".

So, why am I doing this? For the challenge and learning experience. Besides all that, it will be helpful to someone I respect and I can fill a need.

I'm needed, challenged, willing, and still growing in skills and knowledge at an age many simply say and mean it, "I'm too old for this."

Well I'm not yet too old. Me and Caleb and the Energizer Bunny.
Charlie Mac

Change is good?

2008-10-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

Change is coming.
Change is a fact of life.
Change can sometimes be good for us.
Change can sometimes be bad for us.
Change can be good for one person and bad for another.
You can fight change or work for change, but change keeps coming.

I am facing change in what I do at work. I have made many changes since I took an "early retirement" over 20 years ago, so change is nothing new for me. The changes I have made have kept me young in my mind if not in my body. Some of those changes were successful and some were failures, but I kept trying new changes.

This coming change will be both a challenge and rewarding. I will provide a service to our company and our customers by making the change successful. I am looking forward to the change. This change, while good for the company and for me, may be bad for the person I will be replacing. I would like to think it will be turn out to be good for them too in that they will find a better position for their talents.

Change is coming. Will you choose to fight change or make the best of change?

Charlie Mac

New Week, New Day

2008-10-06T04:46:00.000-07:00

Today, Monday October 6, 2008. This is a Why day.

Why do some people dislike Mondays?

Mondays are great days of the week. The beginning of the work week for most of us. I believe that the beginning of most things are great. Today we can begin to make this week better than our past weeks have been. We have had a day or two of rest, at least we were designed to have at least one day of rest and worship out of seven, so we can approach this week with renewed strength and determination.

Think "life"! Do not let the Monday morning blue people get you down. Go and do everything you can possibly do to make this a great day!

Happy you stopped by.

Charlie Mac

The Wonder of Sundays

2008-10-05T04:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday October 5, 2008.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Thank you Lord.

Today is a day of worship and rest. Thank you Lord.

Today is my 3836th Sunday (+- 3% error factor). Thank you Lord.

Today will I follow God's plan for my life or will I do what I desire without seeking His guidance?

I wonder?

Tonight I will know. God already knows.

Charlie Mac

Opportunities Today

2008-10-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

This will be an interesting day.

First I am at my self imposed and put off deadline for putting tomorrow's Sunday School (we call it Sunday Morning Bible Fellowship) lesson together in almost final form. Almost because you never know what may come up once class actually begins, sometimes the Spirit leads us along different rabbit trails. Someone may have special insights or questions concerning the particular passages we will try to focus on. (1 Samuel 13-15) Saul had a good thing going and messed up. I wonder how often we have thwarted or side-stepped God's plans for our lives?

This afternoon Mary and I will be doing our spinning demo (and I am sure I will be telling stories related to spinning) at a newly opened local yarn shop (LYS). I suppose you could say I am just a little different when compared to most guys. I would rather be spinning or knitting and talking about fiber processing that watching football on TV (or in person for that matter). Besides, other than actually playing sports, which I was never very good at, these activities attract lots of the fairer sex.

Tonight, Mary and I will probably just enjoy the blessing of being together for one more day.

Whose life are you blessing today?

Charlie Mac

Starting Over Again

2008-10-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have been reading other's blogs and neglecting this one. It is time to begin anew.

I have made a number of changes since my last post.

I quit my job and began looking for another in this downward spiraling economy. Smart? I think so.

I rejected one job offer.

I did not get one job which I thought I really wanted. It was the only job I ever had a personal interview for and did not get, if I remember correctly.

I am working again at a job for a company where I have worked during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season in the past. this year I may be doing something completely different. Actually It may take so much of my time and energy that I will not be able to live up to my vow to begin blogging anew.

I have met a number of new and really neat people in the last few months. I am so blessed by the other people in my life. I would list them, but I might leave someone out. Let's just say I seem to meet someone just at the right time.

It is nice and maybe even necessary to have friends you have known for a long time. But it is often the new people you come across who grow your life. Like I said, I am so blessed.

Tomorrow, Oct 4, Mary and I will be doing a free spinning demonstration for Wellslee's All Strung Out yarn shop. I am really expecting to meet still another really neat individual or two. Maybe even strengthen the bond with some I just met recently.

Life is good, if we can focus on making today one to remember.
Part of the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6) is, God, give me my daily blessing.

Will my blessing be you?

Charlie Mac

Alpaca Shearing 3/22/08

2008-03-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is a hard working crew of volunteers.

Even the breaks were work.

Finally the rest of lunch, at 4:00 PM

These pups are future herd protectors. Mom is teaching them to walk the perimeter of the farm.

Look close and you will see she is getting her shots

Shearing the blanket.

Rolling over to shear the rest of the blanket.

"Naked" ladies. Is that an "I'm ashamed" look?
One will not even look you in the eye.

Mary was the official record keeper. Recording weights before and after shearning

These are some of the pictures of the fun we had assisting in the shearing of 83 alpacas in 7+ hours at Fairhope Alpacas on Saturday 3/22/08. Mary kept the records of who (the alpacas are all named) weighed what before and after shearing.

Since she was seated close to the scales she had to be alert to spitting and kicking. A time or two she took refuge in the bathroom which was handily close by. Alpacas spit regurgitated stomach contents (cud) and it smells really really bad as well as being really nasty. And their kick is designed to discourage or cripple attacking animals, so beware.

I was the "rope man". I attached the ropes to the hind legs (dangerous end) while someone else did the front as two guys held (maybe) the animal still. Then I stretched the animal out to immobilize it for the safety of the shearer and the animal. At the proper time I had to release the tension to allow the shearer to shear the rest of the legs and then quickly re-tighten the ropes before the animal realized it was loose. After the shearer was finished, and the teeth had been ground and the toenails trimmed as needed, I released the animal and moved to the next animal. The first step could and did occur most often just before the shearer was finished with one animal, so I was constantly moving back and forth between the two shearing stations.

Needless to say Mary and I were both really tired, but happy and proud of the jobs we were able to do. Not bad for a couple with 143 years total experience between the two of us.

Mac McFatter

in warm sunny Mobile, AL

Abducted Humanitarian Worker

2008-02-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

Please be praying for an employee of Asian Rural Life Development Foundation. She is a humanitarian worker who along with her driver was abducted Jan 26 by suspected Taliban members.
See http://www.arldf.net/
The latest update on the above site was 2/28/08. The latest news was not good. I have been waiting for newer update, but none seems to be coming. Apparently they were assassinated by their kidnappers. 3/29/08.
How can humans worship a god (small 'g' intentional) who demands killing those who do not believe as you do?
Mac