Okaloosa History: Reflections

Memorial Day, May 29th, 1949: American Legion dedicates a marker to war veterans and dead near the site of the present memorial at the Crestview courthouse. 

May 30th, 1997: Crestview   establishes a relationship under Sister Cities International with Noirmoutier en l'ile, France.

On June 1st, 1916: The Crestview Town Council establishes a community speed limit of 10 mph!

June 4th, 1897: Post Office opens in Svea (closes June 25, 1904); reopened 1905-1910.  

June 4th, 1938: First public performance of the Okaloosa School Band, forerunner of the Crestview Big Red Machine High School Band.
 

It is well with my soul...

Background of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqrya00iY34

The performances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfo6pF2psxs

Don't listen or watch if you don't want to shed tears!

Weary Not

When I first heard the lyrics of this hymn, I cried...sobbed, even, throughout every verse that was sung.  Here is a little bit of the background:

https://www.hymns.com/store/pg/144-Hymn-of-the-Month-August-2013.aspx

This inspiring hymn was brought to greater attention in August of 2012 when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang it for LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson at his 85th birthday celebration. It was noted as one of his favorite hymns. It was sung again at the October 2012 General Conference of the Church. 

If the way be full of trial, weary not;

If it’s one of sore denial, weary not;

If it now be one of weeping,

There will come a joyous greeting,

When the harvest we are reaping, weary not.

Chorus:

Do not weary by the way,

Whatever be thy lot;

There awaits a brighter day,

To all, to all who weary not.

If the way be one of sorrow, weary not;

Happier will be the morrow, weary not.

Here we suffer tribulation;

Here we must endure temptation;

But there’ll come a great salvation. Weary not.

Chorus:

Do not weary by the way,

Whatever be thy lot;

There awaits a brighter day,

To all, to all who weary not.

If misfortunes overtake us, weary not;

Jesus never will forsake us, weary not.

He will leave us never, never;

From his love there’s naught can sever;

Glory to the Lamb forever, weary not.

Chorus:

Do not weary by the way,

Whatever be thy lot;

There awaits a brighter day,

To all, to all who weary not.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHfuzs0_gqU

I feel a bit Norwegian

I'm pretty sure that my Dna results show some Norwegian ancestry.  I will have to recheck that, later, but I just watched the Acorn TV series, "Rebeka Martinsson"; even though I don't usually watch shows with subtitles.  I was drawn to the character, Rebeka.  I was drawn to the "Shetland" series also, so I don't know what it means that I like these lonely, obscure landscapes and peoples.

I am 18% Scandinavian. 47% British Isles.  And so forth.

The FTDna results say that 8000 years ago I might be related to folks in Motala, Sweden.  These are all ancient origins.  Or at least that is what I think it indicates.

I am 45% hunter-gatherer.  I think.   Kind of close to Oslo, I think.  

Of course there are also indications in Germanic places further south.  Lots of little brown arrows for the Linear Pottery folks, too.  As far South as Bilbao, Spain.  

I have a line in my family tree that came to me through my grandfather, Richard Ludlow Givens, whose mother was a Kolmetz.

I am 42% "Farmer".  Them:
migrating into the European continent from the Near East.  Like Syria!  Of course this was also thousands of years ago.  

The other category is "My Origins" which indicates that I am 99% European.  "Boring"...?

So I like the Vera series (English/British Isles) location.  I had a friend that went somewhere in Europe, (I forget where), but she just felt this immediate connection...overwhelmed almost that this is where her relatives came from.  Well, I am sitting in Florida, but watching these series...I sense a kinship with those places, (Scandinavia, British Isles)...It must be a strong connection because those places are an ocean away!

 

 

The Holy Spirit Guides

I always know when I have to go and get a heaping dose of scripture.  My spirit wears thin.  My endurance gets low.  

I've tried to stay active today: baked some cookies which I will try to give away.  Maybe the dogs will eat them?  My sister has four dogs.  I tried to eat some watermelon and I don't know whether my taste buds are off or I'm off or the watermelon just isn't up to par.

It's hard to tell whether I'm up to par!  So, in desperate times, I turn to God.  I'm going now to get the food, the nourishment that will help me through the pain (constant pain, pretty much, these days) in my lower back.

A click of the mouse is called for:  https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng.
 

Weird Breathing

Do you live

If you live alone?

Is it You

If its only you?

I woke up from a small nap, just now, and those are the words that came into my mind.

I'm not wheezing, but I'm close to not being able to breathe normally.  There is congestion, sniffles and some delicate sneezing since I tried the lavender at the nerve practitioner.  Mucus a little thicker than usual.  

Can you tell that I've been reading Louise Penny?  Don't read murder books if it gets you down.  That is advice that someone in my family might give me.  I also watch Shetland, the series.

Reflections and Reflecting.  Being reflective.  What has my life been worth?  And am I of worth, now?  Who and what am reflecting?  Via twitter, Via facebook, via Blogger.  Via Breathing?

I put a big note on my fridge, (my cure for pity parties is to reach out to someone else and give them a boost, if I can,)..."What good thing have you done today"? is a reminder for me to uplift others, not to get balled up in my own problems.

Who thinks quicker and relays a message faster than I do?.  

President Trump.  Is he always "on".  I think he could have been a lecturer, a public speaker, or a school teacher.  I get tried of his didactic style, but some of you are aghast that I listen to him at all.  Well, when you live alone...

Whanh, Whanh, Whanh.  ONLY when you are alone and having to think to breathe, do you dare to look in the mirror, to have self pity, to be searching for meaning.  Validity.  Reasoning with yourself for Meaning.

For entertainment today, I went to Walmart (I refuse to hyphenate), I "shopped".  I rode the little electric cart---it was conveniently placed along with the grocery carts near an open parking place.  I knew my back would hate me later and that I was pushing "it" to be buzzing around the aisles.  How much can you get in the cart, anyway?  The mobile chair.  Not A Lot!  And you remember, who is going to take this Stuff from the car to the fridge? 

And believe it or not, I saw not a single soul I knew at Walmart.  I was thankful to the young woman that made my sub at Subway; she was real.  She connected without being false.  Or overly friendly.  She was just human and I needed that.  I would have almost welcomed have a "run-in" with another cart or human being.  But someone I know was out to dinner this past week and some child kept staring.  Everyone, at Walmart that I encountered/saw/observed, were looking elsewhere.  I wondered if they thought they didn't have to interact with me, that if they smiled at me it might encourage me to always use the electric buggy? 

I have had some (one or two) personal exchanges, today.  Bless my grandaughter for tweeting back on Facebook and telling me she wants to come and visit; can you even tweet on Facebook?  It's like you are sitting in front of the babbling television set and in a quiet moment, you hear from outside the sliding glass door, a real bird tweet, and you know that bird is acknowledging your "Being".  Thanks, Lulu!  Feeling blue (how can you tell); need to get off my behind and get out of this apartment and see if I can be someone's bird tweet, today? 

The power of writing and reading

I have, all my life, loved the power of the written word.  I like how the crafting process takes ideas, impressions, and feelings and turns them into a format that can touch other human beings.  It has to be a supreme moment when you realize that what you wrote evokes feelings.  It is the art that is what I've always admired in other writers and what I want to accomplish.  

That may be why I love twitter.  The limitation of words that can becomes a single tweet forces you to make choices about the words you use.  It forces creativity or at the very least, it makes your choice of words work for you, for the message you are seeking to share. 

Writing poetry is another "teacher".  If you have selected the right words and rhythm, you can create a different animal for every reader.  

Poetry that speaks to me:  Ahh, that is a topic for another post!

 

Today in the Federalist Papers, a story about the Seattle [Washington] School District: "A Seattle area school district has sent a letter to staff asking them to wish Muslim students a happy Ramadan and bless them with a traditional greeting."  Evidently, this should be spoken in Arabic.  

CAIR guidelines also instruct teachers to monitor Muslim students fasting and suggests teachers not schedule any tests on the Islamic holidays of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.
  
Twitter and Facebook would not permit me to post the story or the link, except in my own words. 

Links:  https://www.seattleschools.org/; https://www.dailywire.com/news/46894/seattle-school-district-wants-teachers-bless-paul-bois

I have no problem with friends sharing a religious greeting on a personal level.  In or out of school.  But a school teacher is a representative of the public school system which  is a government establishment.  They should neither be instructed by the school district to single out a particular religion and/or students of a particular religion for promotional purposes.  Now, neither do I believe that teachers should be prohibited from free speech.  It's a fine line, but this particular instance is clearly inappropriate.  There is a time and a place for teachers who wish to participate in religious expression can do so, but it is not in the classroom and it should not be by instruction from the school board.