Here we are in yet another, hot and steamy summer in Texas .  With the temperatures in the upper 90's and 100's with no rain in most parts of the state to fill the tanks (ponds, to you non-Texans), there is a silent vigil being harbored for a cooler, wetter, fall and winter.  Normally, I would hear people talking about weekends on the river or at the lake floating, fishing or picnicking with family or friends but this year, many are staying at home and inside, out of the boiling, hot sun and heat that steals their breath away, with hopes the rain will come and fill the rivers and lakes once again. 

Not only are the humans suffering in this heat, the plants and animals are feeling the effects of the heat and draught as well.  The small farming and ranching operations are losing crops and having to sell off livestock due to the lack of rain.  Without rain, crops like; corn, soybeans, alfalfa, wheat, sorghum, rice and many grasses, coastal and otherwise, needed for feed for sheep, goats, chickens and cattle are dieing or not growing at all.  Without these crops, the replacement cost to purchase these feeds or having water hauled in from out of area or out of state brokers, is more than many operations and individuals can afford, forcing them to sell off livestock at a fraction of their worth in a suppressed market and at times, their homesteads.  Even with agricultural exemptions and local and federal programs to assist many smaller and some larger farms and ranches still can not make it, in the end  loosing out, some of these properties having been passed down through families for generations.

I know Texas is not the only state suffering this plight and I pray for relief for those as well.  I welcome any of you to pray with me for those inflicted by the draughts this year.   Pray, that God will lead them through whatever obstacles are placed in their paths and help them look with faith and hope to the future for better days through his grace and will.

So here we are in the middle of summer.  Here in Texas the heat has been unbearable while the ground drys out and the temps seldom fall below the mid 90's.  This, for me, has been a year of breakage.  My air conditioner went out the first week of June, followed by my water heater on the same day that my main water supply pipe broke  and poured water onto the ground under my house for six or more hours before it was discovered.  The riding mower has broken down more times than it has been used and my car failed inspection because the tires were showing the steel belt along the sides.  Then sadly, one of my pets died of kidney failure a few weeks ago. 

 In spite of all of these things going wrong in my life, there have been some good things happen too.  My nephew and his wife are getting ready to become new parents in a month or so for the first time. One of my neices announced she is getting married next June (if she can wait).  I started a facebook site where I was able to connect with my  brothers children whom I have not spoken with for way to many years as well as with an dear longtime friend that I have not seen or spoken with for several years.  I was also awarded my SSI Disability and should be getting my first check soon and be able to pay back all the people that were there for me financially over the last year and a half.  I have been working a part time job from my home through a company called NTI who does work with people who are home bound or have disabilities that prevent them from working at a regular facility.  It isn't much but it has helped.

In closing I would like to say, as hard as this year seemed as I went through it I still feel much more fortunate than many others and try to thank the Almighty as often as possible.  I look to my lord to guide me and give me direction when my faith is wavering and I am sure that is one of the reasons I am able to see the good in spite of the bad or unfortunate things that have been laid in my path.  Bless you all and thank you to those who have continued to contact me here with good wishes and words of encouragement and friendship.

Is there any one place I would want to revisit in my after-life, I think not, instead, I think there are many places. Places that my family visited or drove through on trips across the country, places that I was to young to remember, completely.

I remember little things, like, driving across a really long bridge/road that was practically sitting on the water. This is a difficult one as no-one can seem to remember exactly, where it was. My mother, believes, it was a memory from when I was a baby, around one and a half, when they took a trip to Oregon.  I have seen pictures of, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, and it looks a lot like the memory I have, so, who knows... maybe, they went through there on their way to Oregon.  I believe, when I die, I will remember everything from my time alive, even those things I would rather not remember.  I do recall memories of trips to Oregon to see relatives, going to the Botanical Garden (now called the Oregon Garden), in Silverton, and the coastal area in Oregon.

There are memories of, narrow cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians in Flagstaff, the beautiful red clay dwellings of the Sedona Valley, and Lake Powell in Arizona.  I recall bits and pieces of these things as well as, the windy city of San Francisco, California, the boat trip across to Catalina and the tour of Alcatraz Island and the prison there.

The trip to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and up Pikes Peak in Colorado were unforgettable, and seeing Old Faithful blow, in Yellowstone National Park in California, now a distant and slightly blury, but special memorie.  All memories of our family vacations.

These, and many other vacation sites would be where I would want to return. I would return to relive my happiest of memories, both, as a child and an adult.

Deb Dobs
 

I have always wanted to live at the beach.  I feel more comfortable and “at home” there than any other place.  Walking along the beach, feeling the wet sand, cold against my soles as I pad along is like salve for my inner soul.  I can sit for hours, watching the sea gulls and pipers scavenge the beach for bits of food, listen to them call to one another in companionship or in warning and watch as they soar the skies bringing me a closeness with my creator like none other.  In the evening, I relish in sitting on the sand, listening, to the surf crash against the shoreline, if I am fortunate enough to have a full moon above, I can make out the foaming white crests of those waves as they follow, one behind the other until spent or pulled back into the deep in reconstruction for yet another run against the sandy beach.  When unable to be at the beach, I surround myself with pictures and figurines of beach settings, lighthouses, sea creatures and nautical fare. To achieve the peace needed to create or just rejuvenate my body and mind, my perfect room would be in a beach-side house, with walls of windows overlooking a picturesque Oceanside community, at the end of a long strand.  Maybe, someday, I will find my home, with the perfect room, with a view.

I meet a lot of people online, as well as other places, admittedly, most are men.  At any rate, it never fails that during the conversation, after going to great lengths to "explain" their particular situation, a man will say, "it is what it is".  This is said as if they have absolutely no control over their circumstances whatsoever and you (in this case me) may as well accept it.  I have a problem with this attitude.  I feel, we all have some say, and responsibility for our circumstances, be them good or bad.  For instance; if a man tells me, that his ex-wife has him by the short hairs in some obscure way, because of circumstances surrounding the events leading up to their break-up and/or subsequent separation or divorce, naturally I begin to wonder what part they played in those events.  And if there was something they could have done then or can do now to change the way things are.  Saying "it is what it is" to me is a cop out.  I say it's a cop out, because I feel that is accepting a situation or circumstance without even trying to improve it or that you have simply given up, in which case makes me wonder what else in life has this person given up on.  Or, worse yet, what might this person submit to, give in to, or give up on in relation to our interactions or relationship.  I may expect too much from a person or a man but one thing I do expect, from all people is that they fight for themselves and against any injustice put upon them by any other person or establishment.  I realize that things sometimes happen that are beyond our control and that sometimes you can fight until you have exhausted all possibilities and still lose but I find, that when "it is what it is" is spoken, it is usually regarding an incident that can and in most instances actually should be corrected.  

Just something that was on my mind, food for thought you might say.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to the new year.  I am looking forward to the new year in hopes that all the negative expectations that I have been hearing all around me about the problems our country faces in the next four years turn out to be empty speculation.  I realize that inflation is at an all-time high and public morale and support is at an all-time low non-the-less, I will try to have faith that we will all pull through any adversity that comes our way.  I know, the US has many problems to work out, including the growing problem with funding for Social Security and Medicare for seniors and health care in general for the entire country.  Also, many businesses are cutting deeper with each lay-off putting more and more Americans out of work and on the street and for those people, I pray that it is only a temporary situation.  I know that the dollar is worth virtually nothing and the markets are crashing right and left as corporations are forced to downsize or choose to move factories to other countries leaving many workers scrambling to find alternate positions that many times do not offer an income on the scale that they are accustomed too, making it even more difficult to support themselves and their families.  I've heard the rumors that the end of the Iraq war or the withdrawal of our military personnel may not come as expeditiously as we were led to believe and many more of our service men and women may be heading to yet another war that our countries politicians have chosen to commit us to, in the name of freedom.  I know we had all hoped that there would come a time where all mankind could get along and live harmoniously with our neighbors at home and away.  We may or may not see that glorious day come to pass but I have chosen in spite of all the negativity surrounding us that I will harbor hope.  Hope that in this new year a better life is to come and I will reach out to others who have hope as well.  Perhaps, if we all have just a little more faith and hope we really can make things better for the future if not for the now.  A hopeful new year to you all.