Image of WHAT?

Every so often we see news stories of some person who find the image of Jesus or Mary on a wall, tree, potato chip or piece of bread. We all wonder about the significance of that. What does it mean and why was this person "honored"? Sure those images are odd and make us wonder. But what if the image is not so "divine"? How about a snake? What does that mean?

We are having company later today. Since it is a dreary, cold day, Jimmy decided that chili would be good for supper. So I dug around it the closet where the big pot has been kept. We can make a lot of chili in that 10 gallon pot. As I brought it into the kitchen I took the top off. It was then I discovered something a little eerie. There was an image in the bottom of the pot of a coiled up snake. Huh? I did a double- take! What is that! I first thought that maybe it was marks from scraping the bottom of the pot. Nope it was a perfect picture of a snake. I could see that it was coiled around several times and very thin. I could distinctly see the head. Creepy to say the least. Now the next question is, what happened to the snake? I was reminded of the snake on Traci's porch in Waco. That one was moving. This one was just a picture in a pot.

Obviously we washed the pot and the image disappeared. So where is the snake? Is it still in the closet? Is it still alive? I don't think so. We were thinking of cleaning out that closet. Uh, well, now I'm no so sure. But curiosity is about to get the best of me. Do we have a house guest? Will I find remains of this snake somewhere in the house? Did it just take a nap in the pot and decide to move on to the outside world? I can't get the image of that snake out of my mind now. Is there a deeper meaning here?

What Do Buying a CD, Fire Trucks, and a Sprained Knee Have in Common?

Why can't I think of the right lottery numbers and then win? Of course that is assuming I bought a ticket with those numbers. Why do I remember something I was going to do in the morning, late in the afternoon? Why did I think about the tv reports of some recent apartment fires in Houston and wonder if they all had a common attic. Deep thoughts for me I guess. Maybe too deep.

Yesterday I had planned to go buy the new Barry Manilow cd, "The Greatest Love Songs of All Time" which has some classic love songs, many of which most of us have heard from movies, tv, Broadway or other singers. Remember to go get it, remember to go get it. I forgot. By the time I remembered it was late in the afternoon, not a good time in Houston. Nuts, guess I'll just have to wait.

Then Jimmy calls, he's driving home, be home about 5-5:30 depending on traffic. As we talked, I was watching the tv news and thought about recent fires during the cold weather. There were pictures of apartment fires which put many people out of their homes. I wondered how many of these big complexes had common attics instead of firewalls between units. Why did I think of that? Jimmy gets home. As he comes through the door he says the neighbors in the unit in front of us are trying to put out a fire under the covered patio roof. All they have is a garden hose. I go outside and see the smoke billowing from under the roof and in the patio area of their unit. Not good, I think. I leash up my three dogs and go outside. In the meantime, two cop cars, two fire trucks and five fire department vehicles show up, lights and sirens going full blast. I even watched as a third truck arrived but was waved off. This one had a high bucket ladder but since the fire was not on top of the building it wasn't needed. The fire, it seems, was just in a small area.

As I walked around to the parking lot I watched the fire fighters poke and chop and dig around the walls to see what is going on. The dogs are excited. Theater for Daisy- "Everybody here to see me!". The other two don't know what to think. Then I accidentally trip and nearly fall. Who wants to fall in front of a bunch of firemen? Not me, after all they aren't calendar guys. Somehow I managed to remain upright but felt a sharp pain behind my right knee. Not a good sign. Finally most of the fire people leave. That is all but the supervisor who had turned off all the electricity and gas to the four units of our townhouse building. Ok, all but the burned unit can turn back on their gas and electricity. Lights, no problem, got to reset all clocks, microwave and coffee maker. And since the gas company won't light (or re-light) pilot lights Jimmy has to go up into the attic way in the back and re-light the water heater. Not fun for him. But we did learn that our fourplex has firewall between units. That was the one good thing.

But now I am hobbling along with a sprained or torn knee ligaments. Ever try to go up or down stairs without a working knee? Of course the back of my knee throbbed all night long. I tried to take the dogs out this morning- nope, not gonna work! Anyone want to walk the dogs for me? Maybe I should just try to focus my thoughts on better things- say George Clooney??

Improvements in Hell??

An engineer died and ended up in Hell. Soon, he became dissatisfied with the level of comfort in Hell, and began designing and building improvements. After a while, they had flush toilets, air conditioning, escalators. The engineer was a pretty popular guy.

One day God called to Satan and said with a sneer, "So, how's it going down there in Hell?"

Satan replied, "Hey, things are great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."God exclaimed, "What? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake--he should never have gotten down there in the first place. Send him back up here."

"No way," replied Satan. "I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him."

God threatened, "Send him back up here now or I'll sue!"

Satan laughed and answered, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"

One Never Knows What the Day Will Bring

I have always heard that we should look forward to the day. Tell that to someone who didn't get any sleep the night before! On the other hand for me, today is one of those what next days. At least it is starting out as a what next type of day. Now remember I didn't say bad, just what next?

Taking three dogs out early in the morning can be an adventure on a workday morning. Will they co-operate or not? Will they waste my time or not? I never know which one of the trio will be the winner. The Grand Dame Lady usually is dependable and gets her job done because she wants to get back inside so she can get onto her chair to survey the underlings' deeds. Daisy, on the other hand, is a social butterfly who thinks life should come to a stand still when she is showing off outside. Most of the time she adheres to the rules of the job. But not always. Rowdy is, well, a "what shall I do or not do today" type of dog. I never know. Of course when I'm in a hurry - he's not.

Then the Trans Am is picky in the colder weather. Sure it is easy to warm up. But just try to guess if it will get out of park and into gear easy. From one day to another I just never know. Today, language that would make a sailor blush came out of my mouth. I was not amused. As a result I have decided that today I will be THE drama queen just because I can.

Now the fun has begun. I got a call from Amanda asking me to go into their bedroom to retrieve a letter that needs to be mailed. No problem, right? That door is kept locked. Why? Just how many times have your little kids gotten into something and smeared it or written on something with eyeliner, or worse. Ok, no problem. Typical bedroom door, no key needed. But it's locked from the inside. Just in case, they keep a tiny screwdriver above the door out of harm's way of small children. Since, I'm short I have to have a little extra height to get the "majic door opener". So in the best traditions of the CIA, and 007 I picked the lock, entered the room, grabbed the evidence, and sent it to the next operative. I thought of all those times I've seen movies or tv shows where someone gets a little case out of a pocket, grabs, a little instrument, sticks it into the lock and voila! The door opens!

So much for my foray into espionage. Like I said one never knows what the day will bring. I'm ready, I think. Any body need a dog whisperer, supernanny, or secret agent? I said I was THE drama queen today, remember.

Whatever Happened to Conway Twitty?

A young pastor moved to town and decided he would go around and introduce himself to the new congregation. He rang the first door bell and a lady came to the door. She stared at him as he introduced himself.

She said, “I can't believe how much you look like Conway Twitty, the country music singer.”

He replied, “Yes, ma’am, I hear that a lot.”

He went to the next house and the next, and every lady that came to the door said the same thing—that he looked like Conway Twitty.

At the last house, a shapely young lady came to the door with a towel around her. He started to introduce himself, but she loosened her towel, threw her arms in the air, and screamed, “Conway Twitty!”

The pastor stood there, stunned. Then he said, “Hello, darling!”