Ginny sent me this

 Ane we need something besides the Olympics and politricks. Enjoy!

The Story of Adam & Eve's Pets  Adam and Eve said, 'Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day.  Now we do not see you any more.  We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.' And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and whowill be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when youcannot see me.  Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, inspite of yourselves.' And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal and God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, 'Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.' And God said, 'I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you; his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.'  And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.  After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, 'Lord,Adam and Eve have become filled with pride.  They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration.  Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.' And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.' And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve. And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings. And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved. And God was pleased..  And Dog was happy.  And Cat . . .  didn't give a darn one way or the other.

Molly (and Miles) on Monday

 Molly here,  I have company.  Miles is staying with us for a couple of weeks until he moves to Tempe.  I am not sure about that.  I will miss him.  He is fun to play with.  He likes to hassle Cassie.  I do too.

 Sometime though we just sit and look out the window.  The Big Guy had the curtains open so we could look outside.  That was fun because we could see the people in the other yard.  Miles likes to bark at them.  He is loud and BG doesn't like that.

 I have to sneak some petting from BG when Miles is asleep.

 He will wake up and then BG has to pet us both.  It is a good thing that he has one petter for each of us.  I like to get my ears rubbed and Miles prefers the bottom of his tail.  He is funny that way.  Must be a boy dog thing. But we both manage to pester him. (I think he likes it.)

 I let Miles have 10.  I do this for treats but I wouldn't get any from him. He would eat them himself.

 Then he went over to bother Cassie who was resting on "her chair"  She likes being on this spot and we can go talk to her and get her to bat at us.

 She is fun to play with.  And neither one of us a hard mouth.  We just mouth and nose her and she bats us and lets us chase her.  I don't know what we would do with her if we caught her.

She thinks she is hot stuff with that chair.  Sort of like the Queen on her Throne.

 I got a little tired.  I know it is not polite to yawn but sometimes I just have to.  Miles doesn't seem to mind.  He is waiting for an opening to go back to play with Miss Cassie.

I finally decided I was tired and got some Zzzzzz's.

BG made a movie. It was raining outside so we all went out on the porch to watch BG eat his sandwich and chips.  He got his camera phone out and took a video.  There isn't a lot of action there,  Mostly just listening to the rain and sniffing what ever was under the porch.  BG said it was something called a rabbit because he saw it run out, go through the yard and fence and run behind the neighbors bushes.  He is quite proud that he was able to upload it to Google Drive and then put it on here so I could show you how much rain we got.  It was so nice because he shut the air conditioner off and opened the windows.  I liked it because the smells and noises came in and it was fun.  Thanks for coming by to see me and don't forget to watch the video..  Slurpy kisses.  Miss Molly

Note:  I had to take the video out because every time you open the blog you came to it.  If anybody really wants to view it you can go here.

Sunday Salute XVIII

From Wikipedia

John Shelby "Jack" Spong (born June 16, 1931) is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was formerly the Bishop of Newark (based in Newark,New Jersey). He is a liberal theologian, religion commentator and author. He calls for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and from traditional doctrines.

Bishop Spong has been one of my heroes for a long time.  His writings make sense to me his 12 points define the Christianity I try to follow:

Twelve points

1. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.
2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.
3. The Biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense.
4. The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.
5. The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity.
6. The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.
7. Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history.
8. The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space age.
9. There is no external, objective, revealed standard written in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time.
10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.
11. The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.
12. All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination..

All religion seems to need to prove that it's the only truth. And that's where it turns demonic. Because that's when you get religious wars and persecutions and burning heretics at the stake.

I admire our ancestors, whoever they were. I think the first self-conscious person must have shaken in his boots. Because as he becomes self-conscious, he's no longer part of nature. He sees himself against nature. He looks at the vastness of the universe and it looks hostile.

I learned early in life that you get places by having the right enemies.

I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God.

If you begin to give people hope that there is a brighter future, there is a new tomorrow, then the people who were yesterday's terrorists become tomorrow's elected officials and they're part of the system.

Mother Nature is not sweet.

Whatever diminishes life is evil, and whatever enhances life is good.

You can't have a world where 50 percent of the people are dieting and 50 percent of the people are starving if you want stability.

John Shelby Spong

Previous Salutes
Nelson Mandella     Rachael Maddow   Matt Damon  
Jehan Sadat   Jane Goodall    Mohandas Gandhi  
 Eleanor Roosevelt    Lyndon B. Johnson      Michelle Obama
Helen Hayes   Marion Wright Edelman     Bishop Gene Robinson
Bishop Desmond Tutu       Rachel Carson          Helen Keller
Martin Luther King, Jr          Dalai Lama         Dag Hammarskjold

Found this on Facebook.  After looking at it my spelling has tanked.

A Little Night Music

The Queen's Arrival at the Olympics

Her Majesty is a good sport!  They say she has a wicked sense of humor

 The video was blocked but you can watch part of it here.

Found For Friday

 A man went to see his doctor with an unusual symptom. ‘Doc I can’t stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home’.

The doctor replied, “That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome.”

‘Is it common?’

“It’s not unusual.”

 A researcher arrives in Borneo to gather data for his thesis. Accompanied by his trusty guide, he seeks out a very remote locale for researching the behavior of the giant rat of Sumatra.

Around dusk of the first day, he’s sitting by the campfire with his guide when in the distance, he hears tribal drums. They get louder. The guide announces, “I don’t like the sound of those drums.”

The dusk turns evening. The drums get louder. The guide says, “I really don’t like the sound of those drums.”

Evening turns to dead of night. The drums get louder and louder, until it is obvious that the drummers must be quite close. The guide says again, “I really don’t like the sound of those drums.”

Suddenly the drums stop, and a voice from the darkness cries out,

“Hey man, he’s not our regular drummer!”

 Once, there as an aspiring actor. He could memorize his lines flawlessly, understood his characters, and was a perfect actor - in rehersal.

However, whenever he performed before a live audience, he would fumble his lines, stumble, trip, and in general make a fool of himself.

It’s sad, but there are just some people who just don’t act right in public.

 Once upon a time there was a king named James who reigned over a small country. He was a good and wise king, but he had one very bad habit: King James just loved animals—all kinds of animals—and he kept bringing them in the castle with him.

King James had deer and water buffalo and foxes - all sorts of game in every room of the castle. The people of the kingdom finally got fed up with King James and this over-crowded and stinky situation, and they decided that King James must be dethroned and all of the game returned to their natural habitat.

It was the first time in history that..... the ‘reign was called on account of the game.’

One day in the forest, three animals were discussing who among them was the most powerful.
“I am,” said the hawk, “because I can fly and swoop down swiftly at my prey.”
“That’s nothing,” said the mountain lion, “I am not only fleet, but I have powerful teeth and claws.”
“I am the most powerful,” said the skunk, “because with a flick of my tail, I can drive off the two of you.”
Just then a huge grizzly bear lumbered out of the forest and settled the debate by eating them all… hawk, lion, and stinker.

 A brilliant scientist decided that he could accomplish twice as much if there were two of him ... and so, he decided to make a clone of himself. And so, he began working on the first cloning of a human being.

After months of research and trials, he proceeded to grow a clone of himself in a vat. As the clone grew, he became more and more anxious. One day, finally, the clone was ready! The clone emerged from his tank and, to the scientist’s surprise and horror, the clone began spewing forth a stream of obscenities!

As the clone dressed itself, it continued cursing non-stop—and the flow of obscenities didn’t stop. Day in and day out, the clone cussed, swore, and used every vulgarity imaginable. Eventually, the scientist snapped, and pushed the obscenity-spewing clone out of a window, causing it to plunge to its’ death.

Moments later, he was arrested by the police. On what charge?

Making an obscene clone fall.

 A skeptical anthropologist was cataloging South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal brujo who indicated that the leaves of a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the brujo looked him in the eye and said, “Let me tell you, with fronds like these, who needs enemas?”

 A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of seagulls. One day his supply of the birds ran out, so he had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged with transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.

**

*

One of my favorite pet peeves is when I go from my reader to a web site I find teeny tiny print -I do not see any good reason to have pages of text with print this size. If the purpose of the text is to communicate Why in the hell would you type in a font that makes a person have eye strain.  I have set up my blog so that it is comfortable to read without my glasses.  I also do not like those awful white print on black backgrounds.  Sorry folks that is not sexy.  Just hard to read. That is one of the reasons I use the Google Reader because the text looks like this. Sort of like what you get in a newspaper or a book.

I know I can enlarge the text by pressing Control and the = sign but why should I have to?  It is not as if I expect much.  I have been reading newspapers and magazines for a long time with decent print...Oh yes except for Vanity Fair.  They are concerned that they will use space which is needed for large glossy images of skinny models in skimpy clothing. So the one page I am most interested in reading is tiny print and it is not easy for these old eyes to manage.

I am really enjoying some of the summer replacement shows. Of course Dallas, then there is The Closer, Rizoli and Iles, White Collar, Suits, The Firm, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice, Royal Pains...and Truc Blood and The Newsroom. I will miss them when they are off the air. It is too bad that the networks can't do as good a job. (Note: The jury is still out on the replacement for The Closer.  I can't imagine it will be as good without Kyra.  She is a great actress)

I also do not understand why, except for The Firm none of those are on the major networks. They have been running re-runs all summer and I don't watch them.  There are a lot of shows I don't watch on the networks.

I forgot I also had fun watching Around the World in 80 Plates. I think they all should have won.

The lights were out on Wednesday from 8:45 - 11:00 and so the last 15 minutes of Dallas and Royal Pains were cut off.  I was able to catch Royal Pains because they repeat the show at a later hour. Now I have to find the re-run of Dallas.  I think it is Saturday morning at 8:00.

The bird up above is a grouse..I used it because that is what I planned on doing tonight,  Grousing.  thanks for listening.

The Pedestrian Bridge in Des Moines, Iowa….a Must See! Photos by Bob Kelly

The 400 foot long pedestrian bridge across the Des Moines River, in downtown Des Moines is a stunner.  Its graceful arch with the help of many cables holds two decks for walking and biking.  One portion of it in the center  has a glass bottom that has criss-cross supports built into the glass, but does allow some views of the water below as one walks on it.  

At night colored lights spread across the walking and biking decks, while lights shine down through the glass bottom on onto the Des Moines River.  All of this as colored spotlights add color to the underside of the arch. 

 You may have seen it as you cross the Des Moines River on I-235, but to really appreciate it, drive down to the Botanical Center, park in their lot, walk past the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens and temple, and onto the bridge.  The skyline view of Des Moines is lovely, particularly in the early morning hours as the sun lights up the west side of the river.

Beep Baseball World Series Comes to Ames! Photos By Bob Kelly

I had never heard of Beep Baseball, and chances are most of you reading this have not either, so here is a quick overview illustrated by photos as well.  It is a modified baseball game for the blind or vision impaired, and they use a large softball that "beeps" as it is thrown or goes into the outfield.  

The team that is at bat has their own team mates serving as pitcher and catcher, that ARE sighted, and have practiced with the team members. The ball is slowly pitched, beeping as it goes and the batter tries to hit it and run to the equivalent of first or third base.  The batter only runs to either first or third base, and does not run around the bases as in a conventional baseball game.  Batters go to either of the bases which are selected randomly just before the first pitch.  

The bases have a large foam pylon cylinder sitting on them which contains a speaker making a homing noise for the runner.  If the ball is hit, the runner goes in the direction of the homing signal, and if he or she gets there before the ball is grounded by an opposing team member, the runner is safe.  If the beeping ball which goes into the outfield is stopped by an opposing team member, they hold it up in the air for umpires to see, and if the do that before the runner gets to the pylon, then the runner is out.  A batter gets four strikes before being called out, and after three outs from a team, they change sides and start all over again.  There are also sighted assistants in the outfield to assist players in getting oriented when they take their places, and also to assist them in getting back off the field when they go to bat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In these photos the ball is being pitched so the batters may hit it, and many of them DO!  There is an excellent system of support and encouragement, and it is a  joy to watch these people having fun playing baseball in this way.

 Runners who hit the ball rush to the pylon that is making the loud noise and touch it as fast as they can.  Some dive for it and crash in a fun way as if they are tackling a football player, and there is much excitement as they do so!!  The team members have varying degrees of visual impairment from being totally to partially blind, so all team members wear eye coverings so everyone is playing on a level basis.

 The sighted team member (number 4) is assisting a player in getting situated prior to the first pitch, and helping him understand where his team mates are.  The beep baseball team members make all of this look amazingly easy!

 The high point for a team member on the field, is to hear the ball beeping as it comes towards them, and field it so it can be held up, and hopefully get the runner out!

 There is a large shaded tent for the service dogs that assist all of the team players when they are not playing baseball!  They are cared for by volunteers which feed and water them, move about with them for exercises, and the lucky ones get to splash in wading pools, which would feel good for any dog, or any person for that matter, on a day like those during the week of the tournament.

The World Series for Beep Baseball is being held in Ames from Monday, July 23 through Saturday July 28.  You can go see them for free at the intramural softball fields east of Jack Trice Stadium.  There are 17 teams participating in this world series, and each team is comprised of about 20 people that are team members, managers, and sighted assistants, making a total participation level of about 350 Beep Baseball participants.  There is one team here from Taiwan, and the others are from various cites across the United States.  The three web links below will give you more background information on this exciting and motivating way in which visually impaired persons can enjoy the thrills of baseball!

More  here,  here and here

On Eating Hard Rolls

I wasn't going to tell about this but I suppose I must.  Saturday noon we had a lovely luncheon at the Red Cross meeting.  Chicken Cordon Bleu,,,,etc. and a hard roll.

I was enjoying the company and the meal and eating lunch. All of a sudden I heard a "crack."  I ran my tongue around my teeth but everything seemed to be fine.  However as I continued to eat I felt something hard in the food and discovered that half of my tooth had fallen out.  I called my dentist but he was out at Scout camp with his kids and didn't get the message on time.  Then he texted me late that night but I didn't notice it until I saw him Monday afternoon.

This was one of the teeth that was going to have to come out anyway so we were prepared for that.  I had originally planned on spreading the work out over several months for ease of payment but that isn't going to work now.  I have my next appointment on Thursday.

 Needless to say that put a damper on my day.  It was more difficult to eat the rest of the day.  I was also worried about just getting through the day with the tooth bothering me.  Here is a picture I took Monday after worrying about it all day Saturday and Sunday.  I made it in Black and White because it looks so awful.

I went to the grocery store and picked up some yoghurt I will be eating soft for awhile.  And I don't expect that I will be smiling much either.  Such is the saga of life.

Molly on Monday

 Molly here. It has been a quiet week (boring) around here.  It is too hot to be outside much so I just hang around the BG and watch him and wait for him to give me a crust of bread or toast.

I went outside to do my usual business.  I don't like the back yard much right now.  You can see how brown it is.

 This is my favorite corner of the yard.  There is another dog who lives near the corner and I get to smell him.her when I go back here.  Today they were out in their yard so we got our noses together and said hello. I enjoyed the meeting.

 BG always watches me when I am in the backyard. He worries that I will make a runner. I did get out once you know.

 You can see how high the fence is.  I am a pretty good jumper.

 After meeting and greeting the next door neighbor (he is a black lab I think) I came back in to tell BG all about it.

 I was excited so I had my tail thumping.  Cassie could have cared less.  She just ignored us.  Then it was back to "my" couch for a nap.

BG was at some big Masonic Meeting all day Saturday.  I missed him but Jon came over to let me out and spent some time with me.  You can see the paper plate I chewed up on the floor. It is kind of like a frisbee.