My interview with Schindler family attorney David Gibbs III

David Gibbs III

[NOTE: You can also listen to this interview by clicking here:]

"Will America learn its lesson from this case? Has this become the Roe v Wade for mercy killing, for assisted suicide? Can senior citizens be warehoused and killed? can disabled people have their life ended?... has Terri's case now opened it up in America where life will be that disposable? Or will it be the shocking wake-up call that I believe it should be, where once again as a nation innocent life will be properly protected."--David Gibbs III

David Gibbs III of the Christian Law Association has represented the family of Terri Schindler Schiavo since 2003. I was able to interview David for my radio show, "Weekend Rockford." Following is a transcript of our interview.

[NOTE: David Gibbs III will be speaking this coming Sunday morning, June 19th, at 11 AM Berean Baptist Church, 5626 Safford Road in Rockford.]

CINDY: For several weeks this past winter and early spring, the nation was captivated by the story of Terri Schindler Schiavo. No matter where one stood on this young woman's fate, most people had a strong opinion one way or ther other on the case. Terri Schiavo died on March 31st after her feeding tube was removed, and after prolonged efforts by her family to intervene on her behalf. My guest today is the attorney who represents Terri's family in this case--he is attorney David Gibbs the third. David, welcome to Weekend Rockford--I'm privileged to have you as my guest.

DAVID: Cindy, I'm honored to be with you, and it was my privilege to stand for the life of Terri Schiavo as her family so diligently and so boldly stood for for her right to live.

CINDY: David, you've once again been in the news in recent days, as Terri Schiavo's autopsy results have been released. And I understand that the Schindlers have released a statement to the media concerning those results...can you share that with us?

DAVID: Oh, absolutely. We need to remember that the IME, the independent medical examiner, is looking at a dead body, a corpse, and trying to evaluate by looking at what is there and essentially, we understood as the Schindler family and as the legal team that Terri was brain-injured. And he has confirmed in that report that indeed she was significantly brain-injured.

But that does not eliminate some of the questions that still remain as to what caused her injuries, and certainly what we would call the larger moral or legal issues still remain.

The IME said clearly that Terri was not terminal, and what that means is she was not going to die because of her brain-injured condition, her disability; she had no living will, she'd put nothing in writing as to her wishes; her heart was remarkably strong and would have continued for many years; and that the immediate cause of death was this brutal dehydration that Terri was taken, where she had no hydration, no nourishment, and died over those period of days.

"Moral shame"

And so, what the IME put forward really doesn't erase, in our opinion, the the moral shame of what happened--that the quality of a person's life became the basis for which it could be ended. And to think that in this country if we say someone's blind or brain-injured that we would allow them to be put to death, it just seems so barbaric and so heartless that as a nation there is still not an outcry that Terri, a woman that was not terminal, was killed in such an unbelievable fashion.

CINDY: Most of the mainstream media is trumpeting that the results vindicate her husband's belief that she should have been allowed to die. I'd like to quote conservative Christian blogger La Shawn Barber, who I think sums up what a lot of Americans are feeling right now. "For me, the whole tragedy surrounding Terri and the people who wanted her dead didn’t hinge on how severely brain-damaged she was. She was alive and wasn’t on life support, and her husband’s credibility was extremely low, too low to trust his assertion that Terri wanted to die if ever severely brain-damaged. Forget about what you’d want if you were ever in the same condition. Take yourselves out of the equation.

"The way they killed her was appalling, and I was angry for a long time afterward. (and she goes on to say). The doctor-induced starvation was immoral."

Unanswered questions

David, Terri's parents, the Schindlers, say there are still a lot of unanswered questions. What are some of those unanswered questions?

DAVID: Well, one of the major unanswered questions is how did Terri's condition happen? What occurred back in 1990? Terri was a healthy 26-year-old girl--she collapsed--the IME said her brain injury was caused from lack of blood flow, lack of oxygen to the brain over a protracted time period. And some leading theories were kind of ruled out by the medical examiner's report. Many people had said it was bulimia, an eating disorder, some had said it was a heart attack, and the medical examiner said there is no evidence--matter of fact, in his opinion, the evidence rules out the bulimia, rules out the heart attack, and so, one of the leading questions that for any parent, any family, is very troubling, is what happened to Terri that night?

Michael Schiavo, the husband in 1990, has given so many inconsistent statements that it leaves people wondering what occurred.

For example, he said to the medical examiner, he said to "Larry King Live", that Terri collapsed at 4:30 in the morning. Well then, 911 wasn't called till 5:40 in the morning--that's an hour and 10 minutes. Seventy minutes went by, if these reports are believable, where Terri is in this collapsed condition, and getting no care, no assistance, and certainly if blood isn't flowing to a person's brain, not just every minute, but literally every second counts. And the family would just like to understand, why are these time discrepancies? What actually caused Terri's condition? And so, in a measure, by ruling out the eating disorder, by ruling out the heart attack, the medical examiner may have raised more questions than his report actually answers.

CINDY: So what's the next step for the Schindlers? Are they going to challenge this in any way legally?

DAVID: Well, the medical examiner's report is put forward by the government, and what they do, is they lay out, this is what we've found. The medical examiner said it is an open investigation--if there's new evidence or things that come forward, he would gladly re-review his findings. And so, in all of that, we are hoping that possibly Mr. Schiavo or somone would step forward and give us more of an indication what happened that night.

Focusing on Terri's legacy

The Schindlers themselves are wanting to focus at this point on Terri's legacy. They stood as a loving mother and father would--I mean, you need to understand, even though she was 41, Terri was their daughter. They loved her more than life itself, they had to watch her, and I was in the room with them, literally be dehydrated to death. And the medical examiner was pretty clear that it was not a pretty dehydration, that it was very severe and very unpleasant. And here the family had to watch that, and they had fought so hard for Terri's life. But now their focus is "OK, Terri paid this incredible sacrifice, she's now in eternity, she's now at peace, but what can we do to make sure no other family, no other patient, no other person, whether disabled, senior citizen, or whoever, has to undergo this barbaric death that Terri underwent."

And so they're really wanting to focus on seeing laws changed nationwide, seeing the heart and mind of Americans changed, where people would once again have that compassion for someone like Terri.

Where do we go from here?

CINDY: On your Christian Law Association website, you have an article titled "Where do we go from here?" that analyzes some things we should learn from the Terri Schiavo case. What are some things that should be done legally to insure that tragedies like this don't happen again?

DAVID: Well, number one, I think our nation needs to decide that we are once again gonna err on the side of always protecting innocent life. I appreciate President Bush yesterday issuing a statement saying in a sense, he was glad they had stood for Terri, and that you always want to err on the side of life. And in this nation, I think it's important that we realize it's a crime, for example, to starve a dog or a cat to death. It's something our constitution will not allow to happen to a convicted mass murderer.

But here, Terri Schiavo wasn't an animal, she was a woman, and she wasn't a convicted mass murder, she was an innocent disabled woman. And in a sense she caught a little gap in our law where others were allowed to come in and say, Her life doesn't matter, and we will dispose of her in this manner.

And so, I think we need to be looking at, in our law, will we put adequate protection for the disabled? will we make sure that once again innocent life is protected as it was intended by our founding fathers?

And we need to remember, too, Terri Schiavo never put anything in writing. You cannot, in a will, leave your refrigerator orally to a person after you die. Something as simple as a piece of personal property cannot transfer unless there is something in writing. But, unbelievably, weak hearsay oral statements will allow someone to be put to death. And I think we need to see the law raise the standard to say we will always err on the side of life unless there is some kind of clear document where people have made informed choices.

In this case, we really believe Terri would have wanted to live. I can't imagine she would want her family to go through what she had to have them watch; I can't imagine she would want to go through the brutally painful dehydration that was described by the medical examiner.

CINDY: Let's back up a bit, David... how did you personally come to be involved in the Terri Schiavo case?

DAVID: Bob and Mary Schindler walked into my office in the year 2003 and said, "Mr. Gibbs, is there anything you can do? Our lawyers have told us everything is exhausted, there's nothing that can be done, and they are going to kill our daughter."

And I had read a little bit in the media--it hadn't quite caught the attention back then that it caught in 2005--but basically, I thought Terri was brain dead. I didn't understand she was just brain-injured, that all she needed was food and water, that the level of her disability was the reason why the husband was moving to have her killed. Then I was shocked to find out that the husband had moved on with another woman and had been living with her for almost 10 years--I mean, the more I heard, the more unbelievable it became.

Then I went to see Terri. And in seeing Terri, it was quite remarkable to me how animated she was, how excited she was to see her parents, how she would laugh, how she would cry. And as I looked at Terri, I said, "Clearly, this woman, while disabled--we don't dispute that--is a life worth saving, is a life worth living."

And we watched the Florida legislature pass what would become Terri's Law; we had the joy of handing that document to Mary Schindler on the night it became law, and literally at that point Terri's life was spared for a couple of years. And then we had the privilege of serving through March 31st, 2005 as their lead counsel, and we have continued to help serve the family at this point in helping them establish what will Terri's legacy be.

And in a sense will America, Cindy, learn its lesson from this case? Has this become the Roe v Wade for mercy killing, for assisted suicide? Can senior citizens be warehoused and killed? can disabled people have their life ended? Well, we would certainly hope not. And historically that's been prohibited in America. But has Terri's case now opened it up in America where life will be that disposable? Or will it be the shocking wake-up call that I believe it should be, where once again as a nation innocent life will be properly protected.

CINDY: Many people commented on the fact that Terri's case was a very tragic moment in our nation's history, even a turning point of sorts. This quote is from the Christian Law Association website: "If the law is not changed, the case of Schindler v. Schiavo has the potential to become (as you said) the Roe v. Wade of mercy killing, allowing senior citizens and disabled people nationwide to be killed, and allowing family members “the choice” to eliminate inconvenient life at both ends of the spectrum." That sounds pretty ominous, but we've all heard about the slippery slope... Are you worried, David, about the future, in the light of what happened with Terri?

DAVID: No question. If we don't, basically, stop the insanity, I fear for my children. I fear someday for my grandchildren. What kind of America will we be handing them?

You need to understand, you look in history, and people say, how could the Nazis in Germany do the horrible things that they did? It didn't start one day with them saying, "Let's take millions of people, and because they're Jewish or because they're unpopular, let's go ahead and have them slaughtered." It began with a slippery slope where the government began to decide who could live, who could die, who mattered, who was valuable, and when you start getting into that type of analysis, it's a very scary slippery slope.

The worldwide media was very enamored with the Terri Schiavo case; as many people know, it went around the globe. But the international media had an interesting question. They said, "We understand this woman is disabled, is being starved to death, and the President and the Congress tried to stop it, but here's our question: By what moral authority--America's over in Iraq for human rights; America stopped Afghanistan because of their terrorism and abuses; America stopped the Nazis in Germany back in World War II, all based on it was the morally right thing to do. Now here's the quesiton: By what moral authority does America allow Terri Schiavo to ie this barbaric death?"

The answer, Cindy, is quite obvious: there is no moral authority. This is absolutely insane that a disabled woman whose family wants to take care of her is literally is put to death before her eyes.

Why wouldn't the judge see Terri?

CINDY: David, you mentioned that you were able to be with Terri even as she was dying. One question that's been asked about the case, is why couldn't the judge have gone and witnessed for himself the situation with Terri?

DAVID: Oh, Cindy, a great question, and one that I was complaining, and raising, and arguing--and I felt that the judge--now you've got to understand, this is the man that holds Terri's life in his hands--never took the time to see Terri. She's the object of the whole litigation, she's the number one piece of evidence. Why wouldn't the judge take the time to, just with his own eyes, go look at Terri?

Why wouldn't the judge say, "Look, bring Terri to court." Terri could have been in a wheelchair and taken to court every time there was a hearing.

But in a sense, the judge walled himself off from Terri, and I think he just didn't want to have to see her as some of these decisions were made. I believe if he watched her interact with her mother, if he watched her enjoy listening to music, if he watched the Terri Schiavo that I saw, I believe there would have been no way he would allow her to be put to death in the manner she was.

And clearly, after they removed the food and water and she began into the severe dehydration process, that was an incredibly shocking and immensely sad thing to observe, to literally watch an otherwise healthy person being being dehydrated to death. And I think if he'd've seen what the the results of his court rulings were, that would certainly have an impact to possibly change his mind.

CINDY: One of the things the autopsy revealed was that Terri was blind. Does that surprise you?

DAVID: Well, no it does not, because clearly Terri had visual impairment. We knew that.

Terri could not see as well as we thought or hoped or wished she could. And again, the medical examiner is saying, from his review of her brain at the moment of her death, she was blind, that there was no way that she was seeing.

Clearly, Terri recognized people. And so, whether that was done through some very limited vision that was later lost, or whether she had an attuned sense of hearing, or sense of smell, or presence, I don't know. but I did watch Terri clearly recognize her mother and father; I watched her laugh, I watched her cry, she indicated pain. And again, not that her level of life or her quality of life should be the determination as to whether she should live or die, but clearly, Terri was very much alive.

And I think the medical examiner's report might be overstated in the popular media. They're kind of saying, "Well, she was pretty brain-injured, so it's OK to kill her." And I think we need to be careful that we don't make that moral leap.

Terri was dehydrated to death before our eyes as a nation. The moral shame of that is not erased because of her level of disability. I think it's irresponsible and in a measure heartless to say, just because someone's disabled, just because someone is in an injured condition, that it's now OK to kill them.

"We need a heart check"

And I think that we need to, in a sense, have a heart check, and say "What has happened to the compassion in our nation?"

CINDY: David, what can Christians do to combat this culture of death that seems to be holding sway in our nation right now?

DAVID: Well, number one, I think coming back to the heart issue, is to do a personal heart check. Do you have a proper heart and spirit towards those that the Bible calls "the least of these"? Whether it's a senior citizen, a disabled person, a young child--do we as a nation have the compassionate heart of God?
Number two, we certainly need to pray; and number three, I believe we need to see the laws and the policies all across our land change to what our founding father intended: the protection of innocent life.

Go here for more information on the Christian Law Association, and here for more on the ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case.

Weird Thought of the Day

My son Jonathan

"With all the zombie movies out these days, I wonder if someday the advance of cosmetic surgey will render the genre implausible. Like the corpses emerge from the cemetary to be greated by the billboard: 'Undead? decayed flesh? sagging and distorted facial features? - Dr. James A. Plastic Surgeon will fix you right up!'"--my son Jonathan

Yes, I'm glad to see that my son Jonathan has returned to blogging after a lengthy hiatus. I'm not going to nag him, but I hope he'll blog more frequently now, because (being totally unbiased and impartial of course), I consider him extremely talented and interesting. :)

Disjointed Wednesday ramblings...

USA Today has an article today about Christian evangelicals getting involved in political issues other than abortion and same sex marriage--i.e, global warming, religious persecution, prison rape, world hunger, Sudan, etc.

Interestingly, this branching out into other areas of activism finds members of the evangelical right sometimes pulling in the same direction as liberal groups like the ACLU.

As long as we avoid being "unequally yoked," I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to sometimes be on the same page as such groups. In my view, it helps dispel the image we conservative Christians sometimes have of being uncaring and uncompassionate. My goodness! Of all people, Christians should be known for their compassion.

Quoting from Susan Page's article: "Evangelicals' engagement on a wider range of issues and their willingness to forge surprising coalitions reflect the growing maturity and sophistication of the most powerful emerging force in American politics today. And while the alliances formed on, say, the Sudan aren't likely to change anyone's mind when the topic turns to abortion or same-sex marriage, they could help moderate the bitter tone of the nation's politics."

Interesting stuff.

The Christian Carnival is up...

This week's Christian Carnival is up at Daddypundit. There's some great fodder for reading and pondering there.

Now, if you're a blogger and you haven't latched on to the Christian Carnival yet, it's simply a showcase of posts from the past week. It's hosted by a different blogger every week, but based at the Wittenberg Gate.

Entering one of your own posts in the Carnival is very easy. In fact, I go the really easy route by using this handy Carnival Submit Form. You can actually use this handy form to submit posts to any of several such "carnivals" and blog showcases.

The benefit to you as a blogger is getting your blog known and thereby increasing readership. I've always thought, why take the time to blog if no one is going to read it?

On a related note, major blogging diva La Shawn Barber mentioned on her blog today that she's thinking of writing an e-book about blogging: "A lot of readers ask how/why I started blogging, how I built a readership, etc. I’m thinking of writing an e-book and selling it on the site. There’s a market for it, I know a little about it, I’m self-employed, and I need the cash!:)"

Go for it, La Shawn...I think that's a great idea!

I'll be interviewing David Gibbs III later this morning...

Gibbs was the attorney for the parents of Terri Schindler Schiavo.

Coincidentally, Terri's autopsy results are expected to be released later today.

Does anyone have a question they'd like me to ask Gibbs? Post it in my comments section if you will.

UPDATE: 9:00 AM Central: I've just been informed that David Gibbs III is postponing his interview with me today because of the release of Terri Schiavo's autopsy results later this morning. He's hoping to reschedule for tomorrow morning. This is almost better for me newswise, because I'll be able to get his reaction to the release of the autopsy results.

Gibbs will be speaking at my church, Berean Baptist of Rockford, this coming Sunday.

My interview with Lisa Samson

I just had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite authors, the delightful Lisa Samson, for my radio show, "Weekend Rockford." Here are some excerpts from that interview.--CS

CINDY: A few years ago, I read a book that I really consider to be a breakthrough in Christian fiction. The characters were real, with real problems and real responses, but despite the lack of candy-coating, it had a humorous charm and hopeful grace that made me sorry to see the book end. That book was The Church Ladies, and the author was Lisa Samson. Lisa had written several books before The Church Ladies and has written several more afterward, and she has remained on the short list of my favorite authors. Most recently, Lisa has written Club Sandwich. And I'm delighted to have her as my guest today on Weekend Rockford. Lisa, welcome!

LISA: Oh, thanks for having me, Cindy, it's always a pleasure.

CINDY: Before we get into talking about Club Sandwich, tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing. I think you've told me before that you never had great dreams to be a writer?

LISA: No, no. Well first of all, I am married, I've been married for 17 years to Will, and we have three children; Ty, who is 15, Jake's 11, and Gwynnie is 8. And you know, that's my primary role in life: wife and mother. And I got into writing because I had read a book that I found interesting, and I said, "Oh, I think I'll just write a book," and I did.

And that ended up being "The Highlander and His Lady," which was published two years later. Which was, just such a NOT typical story, and obviously God just had something for me to do and was providing the way to do it, and so I'm very blessed to have had a path like that. But, no, I never really was the person who was writing stories since they were five, and keeping a diary, and all that--

CINDY: Like me! And I should hate you for that (laughing), because
you're like Lana Turner supposedly getting hired right off the soda shop stool...

LISA: (laughing) That's right, and you know, the thing about it is, I think God knows my weakness of my ego and my pride, and if He had given me an area that I really was self-invested in, I think I would have had a real problem doing it for Him. So He just gave me something out of the blue so that I couldn't give any credit to myself whatsoever (laughs.)

CINDY: Before you wrote "The Church Ladies," you were known mostly for your historical fiction. My daughter and I still both love the Shades of Eternity series. But church ladies marked a change for you in your focus and even in your style, didn't it?

LISA: Oh, absolutely.

CINDY: how did that come about?

LISA: Well, that type of writing is really what really flows out me naturally. The other, just pretty basic storytelling, historical fiction. You know, I used to read historical fiction, and you know, I just didn't think think of anything else to write. I started getting into reading more women's fiction and contemporary fiction and so I started kind of trying my hand at that just on my own, and that just flowed out of me, that was my natural voice.

So, I finally said, "You know what? I just need to write the way God made me to write." And I think I learned a lot along the way, but this was really the way He had programmed me to do what He had called me to do, and so it's a much more natural voice for me.

And I just decided, you know, I'm not like making a million dollars a year doiing the historical, so
I might as well not make a million dollars doing the other (laughs). It wasn't very lucrative at that time, and,you know it still beats mcDonald's, but that's about it (laughs heartily). So at least I get some kind of satisfaction out of it.

CINDY: Your writing is full of so many observations about daily things,....I'll read something that you wrote and I'll think, "Yeah! I've thought that very same thing before." And I love some of the descriptives phrases that you use, like, "that's as wrong as low-rise jeans on Hillary Clinton" (LISA laughs) Things like that just make me laugh out loud. Are you constantly on the alert for these kinds of observations to use them in your writing?



LISA: You know what, I'm not. Usually they just pop out of me when I'm writing. Every once in a while some kind of metaphor or image will come to my mind about something and I'll jot it down. But I've gotta admit, I am terrible when it comes to jotting things down. I know writers should always do that, and I don't, and it's awful. I would probably be so much better if I was just disciplined in that area, but I'm not, so I just have to go with whatever hits me while I'm writing. It's TERRIBLE! (laughing).

CINDY: Well, it works--whatever you're doing, it works, and it just strikes a chord and relates very well with your reader. Let's talk about your latest book, Club Sandwich, from Waterbrook Press. Lisa, I'll admit I'm not done with the book yet...I am more than halfway through it, though, and so far I'm loving it. What is this book about?

LISA: This book is about Ivy Schneider, and she is a caregiver, and she's stuck between generations. She has an ailing mother as well as children that she's still busy raising--her youngest is around three in this book. And so,
it deals with the trials that you go through when you're stuck in this situation.

It was something I lived for four years with my own mother. And when I started to take care of her, she had just started to decline then, so it wasn't any real major caregiving at that point, only the tug, when you feel like you're just in a tug of war...my youngest was nine months old at the time, so it was quite a journey. And it was the most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life.

And so, I wanted to write Club Sandwich, because I thought this was something I had lived through and I could address probably more authentically than anything else I had ever written. But I had to decide that I wanted to bleed across the page, and I did, a lot of experiences... while I changed them some what, were pretty much something I had gone through. I did try to change the siblings quite a bit from my own siblings, because I didn't want to lose my family (laughing)

CINDY: I figured that, because from reading your blog I know that you're crazy about your sisters.. And that's another thing that strikes a chord with me. My father just passed away a year ago, after a long illness in which he declined mentally, so much of what you write about in the book, I could really relate to.

How do you get the ideas for your characters, Lisa? I know that's often hard for a writer to explain...can you sort of clue us in on how that takes place?

LISA: Well, you know, different things for different books. Really, every once in a while a character will jump into my head fully developed. One character that did that was Poppy Frasier from The Church Ladies.and also
also Charmaine from Songbird, and she was in the Church Ladies as well...those two jumped into my head fully developed.

I usually get through about half of writing the book before I really know who my character is going to be. Ivy was very hard to define, for some reason, and I guess it was because she shared so many of my thoughts about such tender issues that I guess I was just kind of afraid to find out who she really was.

Another character that was very hard to define was Lark, who was in a book called "Women's Intuition." In fact, she changed completely from the first draft--when I went back, I changed her character completely from one character to another. She was this tiny, scared agoraphobic type person, and when she started out, she was this
heroically built, big, blustery jazz singer.

CINDY: WOW! (laughing)

LISA: It just wasn't working, so I had to go back and change it completely. I mean, you know, I just threw out the first out the first sixty pages of the novel I'm working on, and started fresh. So, you know, 'm not afraid to just go back and do major surgery.


CINDY: You know, these books--The Church Ladies, Women's Intuition, Tiger Lillie, and Club Sandwich---these are the kinds of books that you could hand to someone who doesn't know Christ and they could read the book and
totally enjoy it, but there still is that message in there of Christ. How important is it to you that your readers come away with an affirmation, or re-affirmation of faith in God?

LISA: You know, this answer's gonna surprise you...not very.

CINDY: Really?

LISA: Right. I think that what is going to happen in a heart is going to happen through the Holy Spirit. My books...I really am one of those crazy artists that are trying to tell an authentic story. And I believe truth is of God, and I just put the truth out there...and let God do the rest.

Y'know, because people are going to come to a story, and they are going to find what they want to in it, whether it's their affirmation in Christ--I can't make that happen for somebody. I can't prepare their heart, and I can't do any of that. All I can do is write the best story I can, with the elements that I feel like I know something about, that I can portray authentically, and hopefully have an element of faith in there, because that naturally flows from me...

CINDY: Exactly, yeah.

LISA: And if that touches the heart of the reader, then great. If it doesn't, then you know what? That's OK too... I jsut leave it up to Him, and I'm not trying to manipulate what I do to "sell Jesus" to anybody. I'm trying to do what God's created me to do, and let Him take the ball and run with it.

CINDY: And it's working, it's working very well.



You're living an adventure right now...you uprooted completely from Baltimore to Kentucky, and why is that?

LISA: Well, we decided it was just time to get busy (laughs). And God has really just been gracious in showing us that this was the move He had for our family. And what we've done, we've moved to urban Lexington, Kentucky, which, believe me, is not like moving to urban Baltimore or New York City. Y'know, this is a very gentle little town. But we moved to one of the less-developed sections, and we're just trying to see what it's like to live as Jesus here on the streets.

CINDY: That's awesome.

LISA: We moved in about two weeks ago, and we are with a group of committed believers, and we're living in intentional community, which means we've all moved to this area of the city to try and do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in whatever way God brings the opportunities. And you know, we've only been here a couple of weeks, so I'll have to report to you and tell you what's going on with it.

If anyone wants to find out about this journey with our family, they can always go my website, which is www.lisasamson.com and click on "blog," and that will bring you to my writing blog, which is called "Author Intrusion," and on that blog you can find my family blog on this journey, and that's called "Streets with Dwellings," which is a reference to Isaiah 58, which God used to really call our family '

CINDY: Speaking of the future, what can we expect next from Lisa Samson?

LISA: Lisa Samson (laughing) is writing a book called "Travels with My Uncle." And this character you have seen before in The Church Ladies; her name was India, and she was a music minister at an Episcopal Church and she rode around in a lady-bug-painted VW beetle. She's the main character of this book, and she has been wounded by the church, and she is going to go cross country with her uncle on a trip, and he is dying of cancer, so it's sort of his last hurrah and her healing.

And so they meet a lot of crazy people, as you'd expect, along the way. And so, hopefully it's a story of healing, and what we can do when we allow the Holy Spirit to use us instead of closing all those bad things in a suitcase and taking them with us wherever we go (laughs).

CINDY: Lisa, bless you as you and your husband and your family as you minister...and just keep on writing those great books, we love 'em.

LISA: Thank you so much, Cindy.

My blog has a British accent today...

OK, I'm an Angophile. Maybe it all goes back to when I went to a British school when I was a missionary kid in Beirut, Lebanon back in the mid-60's (Manor House School), but I'm irresistably drawn to many British things. Also, my fantasy vacation would involve chiefly Ireland and Scotland, but also England. It's been a lifelong dream of mine.

So naturally I latched onto this list (hat tip to The Crusty Curmudgeon, via Rebecca), of the United Kingdom's Most Popular Novels.

Charlotte Bronte, author of Jane Eyre

(By the way, my favorite novel of all time is Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, and anyone who reads this blog knows what a big Chronicles of Narnia fan I am.)

Note that the books on the list aren't all necessarily British, just beloved by British readers. I've bolded the ones that I've read. I did great on the top 50, but struck out almost completely on the last half. See how well you do.

The U.K.'s Best-Loved Novels

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

Next 51 - 100 (I've read only three of these):

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton--no, but I've read many Enid Blytoon books and loved 'em67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Speaking of British...Adrian Warnock reports some big things at the Blogdom of God...

Adrian Warnock, who heads the Blogdom of God, (of which my blog is a member)tells us that a "MAJOR exciting development in the Blogdom of God Alliance" is in the offing later this week.

Says Adrian, "This development should really enable us to work together as Christian blogs of all flavours."

Adrian (who bills himself as "British Christian Blogger Psychiatrist Preacher Husband & Dad"), has one of the most well-read Christian blogs with his Adrian Warnock's UK Evangelical Blog.


And from the sublime to the ridiculous...

When it's not being potty-themed and potty-mouthed, I find British humor uniquely hilarious. It's just the way they word things. Although I can't recommend it as family-friendly, I have been laughing up a storm at my son's DVDs of The Office.

My sister Bev tells me Are You Being Served? is hilarious too, although I haven't had a chance to see that one.

I didn't care for the Mr. Bean movie, but I've gotten some great laughs out of his TV stuff.

And Monty Python, at its best, is sidesplitting. Here is one of their funniest skits ever.

Hey, come on, he apologized!

I never said I admired Russell Crowe for his personal life--I just love him as an actor.

But, to his credit, Crowe has apologized for the temper tantrum he threw--and the phone he threw at a New York City hotel employee.

Appearing on David Letterman, Crowe called the incident "possibly the most shameful situation I've ever gotten myself into in my life" and said he's tried to apologize to the hotel employee, but can't reach him on the phone.

Hey, Russell's intentions were good--he was just trying to be a good husband. He was having difficulty getting ahold of his wife, Danielle Spencer, to let her know he was behaving: "I'm trying to fulfill my basic obligations to my wife, who needs to know that I'm at home, I'm in bed, I haven't had too much to drink and, primarily important, that I'm alone."

He blamed the outburst on loneliness and jet lag.

Well, he's issued a nice mea culpa. I'm inclined to extend some grace to him, maybe because he IS one of my favorite actors...but he needs to get that anger under control.

Are jokes going the way of the buffalo?

Back in the early 60's (I think), the New York Times declared that God was dead. Well, they were wrong about that, and maybe they're wrong about their latest declaration that the joke has died.

Yes, the time-honored tradition of joke-telling, if you can believe the New York Times, is done. Gone. Dead. Out of style.

I read this in the Rockford Register Star this morning, so it must be true, right?

According to the article (the only place I was able to find it on the internet was here):

"The joke has died, the New York Times says. To tell a joke at a party or the office, the comics tell the Times, is to mark oneself out of touch or craving attention.

"The joke died quietly without obituaries or mourning. And no one is quite sure what killed it.

"Was it the Internet, ADD or, as comics cite, political correctness? Academics who have been conducting a postmortem have one consensus that most jokes are meanspirited, and young people are not as comfortable offending someone.

"Another theory is young people's short attention span. Yet another reason may be that old style jokes were a guy thing..."

Well, I'm certainly not sorry to say good-bye to obscene or mean-spirited jokes. But the joke itself, at its best, is an art form and one of the small pleasures in life.

If we now have such short attention spans that we can't take thirty seconds to listen to a well-told joke, then that's pretty sad.

One of the features my radio co-host, Darren Marlar, starts the day off with on the air is his "Way Too Early in the Morning Even After Two Cups of Coffee Joke of the Day." I often get a great guffaw out of these jokes.

There are even websites, like the Grif.net, that will e-mail you a joke a day. Why not? It's a long sight better than a lot of the junk you have to wade through in your inbox every morning.

I've gotten phone calls from my sisters or my son expressly for the purpose of telling me a funny joke they just had to pass along, and vice versa. My husband will often call his best friend just to share a joke.

I'll admit, not everyone is good at joke-telling. I myself don't count it as one of my talents. I'll often forget the punchline or pertinent details leading up to it.

I probably get that from my dad. He wasn't the greatest teller of jokes, but he loved telling them and had a ton of them in his repertoire. And you know what? Some of my favorite memories of my dad are about his jokes. Even the corny ones.

Jokes are a necessary part of life. As the Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" (Proverbs 17:22) Most of us could use a good laugh.

Anyway, the New York Times, as I mentioned earlier, has been wrong before.

So, keep 'em clean and keep 'em amiable, but keep the jokes coming.

And as an added little bonus, I give you this one:

Three comedians are shooting the breeze at the back of a nightclub after a late gig. They’ve heard one another’s material so much, they’ve reached the point where they don’t need to say the jokes anymore to amuse each other – they just need to refer to each joke by a number. "Number 37!" cracks the first comic, and the others break up. "Number 53!" says the second guy, and they howl. Finally, it’s the third comic’s turn. "44!" he quips. He gets nothing. Crickets. "What?" he asks, "Isn’t 44 funny?" "Sure, it’s usually hilarious," they answer. "But the way you tell it…"

*********

Why I like Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series...



Thanks to everyone who responded in my comments section about what they're reading now.

Carrie tells me that she just started Sue Grafton's "A is for Alibi," and she mentions on her blog that she was hooked from page one.

Well, Carrie, expect to be hooked on down through the alphabet series, all the way to the most recent, "R is for Ricochet," which I just finished.

Ashley asks:
"How do Sue Grafton's alphabetical mysteries compare to Mary Higgins Clark's mysteries? I love MHC, and my curiosity has been piqued by SG's interesting titles, but I haven't read any of them."

How do I explain the appeal of the Kinsey Millhone books?

Kinsey, by the way, is the 30-something female private investigator who is the main character in the series.

In trying to analyze why I like these books so much, I've decided that, even though Grafton's a great storyteller, much of the appeal is that we get to know and like Kinsey so well.

We know what she likes to eat and that she moans with delight over a quarter pounder with cheese; we know that she's pretty faithful about forcing herself to jog every morning; we know that she's woefully lax about girly stuff like make-up and clothes, but that she's undeniably feminine; we know that she's curious to the point of nosey, that she adores her elderly landlord, and that her childhood as an orphan, raised by an aunt, affects all her relationships and/or lack of them.

Reading a Kinsey Millhone book, the enjoyment of living in Kinsey's world propels me forward every bit as much as the mystery does. And I'm always sorry to see the book come to an end.

I've read a lot of Mary Higgins Clark books, and really liked them, but the Grafton books are a different type of book. Yes, there's mystery and suspense, but the stories are all told from Kinsey's point of view, with Kinsey's personality and the details of her life permeating everything.

Can't wait to bite into "Club Sandwich"!

YAY! I'm not bookless anymore. I just got my copy of Lisa Samson's Club Sandwich, and I can't wait to delve in.

You may be wondering why I don't just go to the library. Well, a combination of fines, lost books and a book literally chewed by my dog amount to a fine I'm going to have to take out a second mortgage to pay for. So until that happens, I rely on the good graces of book publicists, used bookstores, garage sales, and actually plunking down several bucks for a book at Wally-World.

I know, I know, I need to pay the fine! Don't nag. :)

And thanks for the suggestions on reading material. Miss O'Hara kindly suggested Jean Plaidy historical books. Miss O has a very fine website devoted to Plaidy--a website that I visited with great interest several months ago, because I've always been a big fan of Victoria Holt books. Yes, Holt and Plaidy are one and the same.

I was hooked on Holt from an early age, when I read her Menfreya in the Morning. I believe I've read everything the author wrote as Holt and as Phillippa Carr, but I don't think I've read the Plaidy books. I should remedy that.

Come to think of it, I actually blogged about this very thing a few months ago, and talked about other beloved books from my childhood.

Man, I love to read!

So what are YOU reading right now?

Darren Marlar launches his website; Julie Anne Fidler launches her book

My co-host, Darren Marlar, has launched his website, www.marlarinthemorning.com.

It's hard to believe Darren has been here at 101QFL for almost a year! I've truly enjoyed working with him. He has a great sense of humor and a seemingly indefatigable work ethic.

Check out his site; even if you aren't able to listen to the station, the website is full of fun stuff, including the chance to listen to some excerpts from our show. The female voice you'll hear is moi. :)

By the way, have you heard the very strange but oddly appealing "Toast"? Click on the "Best of 18" here. I don't know just why this song is funny to me, but it is.

Warmest congratulations to fellow-blogger Julie Anne Fidler...

...whose first book, Adventures in Holy Matrimony, is due out today.



Nope, I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but if it's anywhere near as engaging as Julie's blog, it's bound to be good. She's funny, outspoken, unpredictable and unguardedly, vulnerably honest, but one thing that comes through loud and clear is her genuine love for God.

Says Julie Anne: "I've dreamed about this all my life. Sorry if I get a little goofy or overly sentimental here, but I spent a lot of years looking at other people's books, looking ahead to the day when I'd be a published author.
I guess I didn't think I'd be 26 when that day arrived, but I'm so grateful for that. I'm glad I'm a young author. Praise God."

Julie, you can certainly be excused for getting sentimental. This is HUGE.

I hope to read the book soon and even interview Julie. Stay tuned.

Been reading some great books...

Over Memorial Day weekend, I guess I didn't get out much. I read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and enjoyed both very much, although they are two very different types of books.

Both have been made into movies (apparently The Scarlet Pimpernel has had more than one cinematic treatment), none of which I've seen. I'd always wanted to see A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but now that I've read the book, I don't know. I'm afraid the differences between the book and the movie might bug me.

Tree is one of those books that I've heard about all my life and had never read. At first it was slow going...for the first chapter or two I was wondering, "What exactly is this book ABOUT?"

Then I stopped caring what the book was about, and just got caught up in the characters and their situations. Author Smith is unflinching when it comes to describing the more painful aspects of poverty-stricken life in Brooklyn just after the turn of the century--but she provides enough hope and humor to relieve the stark reality and uplift the reader. Some rough language (actually, more than I would have expected for a book written in 1943.

At the moment, I am bookless and hating it. True, I tend to get to sleep earlier when I'm not engrossed in a book, but I'm missing out on one of the joys of life.

If you've read either book, I'd love to read your comments.

Good actor, bad boy

No, I haven't seen this movie yet, but you can bet I will be doing so at some point. Meantime, I have to ask why one of my very favorite actors has to act like a jerk in real life?

I thought Russell Crowe had settled down since becoming happily married and the fond father of little Charlie. But according to an Associated Press report today:

"NEW YORK (AP) - Actor Russell Crowe faces second degree
assault charges after allegedly throwing a telephone at a hotel
employee in New York. Police say Crowe got into an argument early
this morning and threw the phone, which hit a worker at the
Mercer Hotel in the face."

Sheesh, Russell. Learn to control your temper.

Meantime, Cinderella Man is getting rave reviews. Here's just one of many.

Worshipping the goddess of anorexia???

Lindsay Lohan looking cute and healthy


Uber-thin Lindsay (right) with Nicole Ritchie

I was appalled and saddened to read an Associated Press "Religion Roundup" story today about the fact that many young girls have literally made a goddess out of anorexia.

According to the story: "Some weight-obsessed girls are worshiping
and praying to Ana to make them skinny.

"Experts say Ana -- short for anorexia -- is a role model to
some, a goddess to others and the subject of drawings, prayers
and even a creed. On weight-loss Web sites, Ana tells followers
what to eat and mocks them when they don't lose weight.

"Many followers wear red Ana bracelets and offer one another
words of 'thinspiration.' At least one Web site encourages
followers to make a vow to Ana and sign it in blood.

"One doctor says she treats some girls who personify their
eating disorder beyond just Ana. To them, bulimia is 'Mia.' And
an eating disorder often becomes 'Ed.'

"Another expert says, 'A lot of times they're lonely and
they don't have a lot of friends. So Ana or Mia become their
friend. Or Ed becomes their boyfriend.'"

This is the first I've heard of this phenomenon, and I find it appalling on several levels.

First of all, it makes me sick that girls are under so much pressure to be thin.

You only have to pick up a celebrity magazine to see girls like Lindsay Lohan (see Lindsay Lohan Too Thin?), who used to be a normal, healthy-looking young woman and who is now little more than a wraith. (Frankly, I thought she was adorable when she was a bubbly, freckle-faced redhead. She's now a stick-thin blonde who some observers say has had her freckles bleached.)

Unfortunately, by starving herself (which she denies she's doing, of course--she totally denies having any sort of eating disorder), Lindsay is simply following the Hollywood credo: You can never be too rich or too thin. Hollywood is completely unrealistic in its body images and expectations. When an actress comes along who has a little meat on her bones, a major deal is made of her excess weight. (Remember Kate Winslet in Titanic? By the way, I love this quote from Kate: "Like it or lump it...I'm not a twig, and I refuse to be one"; or Renee Zellweger supposedly being enormous in the Bridget Jones movies--give me a break!)

Young girls look at the stick-thin role models and think that's what they're supposed to look like.

I've struggled with weight all my life, and even now am trying to get a proper perspective on how to get rid of unwanted pounds.

As a teenager and a young woman in my twenties, I went the starvation route. Well, not quite starvation, but there were days when I had 300 calories or less. The result? I probably ruined my metabolism. I've come to the realization that any weight I lose will be slow and hard-fought. Despite the desire for fast results, a healthy lifestyle with gradual change is the way to go.

But of course, you can't tell that to a teen-age girl, who is bombarded with images of thin women everywhere she looks.

Besides being frustrated by the fact that young women are buying into a warped and unrealistic body image, I'm saddened by the fact that many are so lonely and so needy that they are making imaginary friends out of their eating disorders, or worshipping a "goddess" that doesn't love them and will ultimately destroy them. The voracious goddess of anorexia will take their beauty, their health and ultimately their very lives.

I so want these girls to know that there is a God who loves them, wants the best for them, and accepts them unconditionally. But if I'm being truthful, I'll have to admit that although I'm positive that God loves me just as I am, I can't say the same for people. Realistically, I know that women are judged by how they look. It's just a fact.

You know what? I wish we women could see ourselves as God does, instead of through the warped and distorted lens of today's culture.

To read more on a Christian approach to eating disorders:

The Fight with Food

Remuda Ranch

It's FRIDAY!!!!

...and I'm in the mood for a Friday Feast (by the way, congrats to the Friday's Feast meme on its first anniversary):

Appetizer
Approximately how many hours per day do you spend watching television?--An average of about an hour a day at the most. There is very little on TV that interests me. Of course, there will be the times when I'm alone and can indulge on a H/G TV or TLC spree, or the occasional movie on TV, but those times are few and far between.

Soup
Which colors decorate your kitchen?--Yellow and sage green. I LOVE it. I've never had a yellow kitchen before, and it lifts my spirits wonderfully.

Salad
Name 2 brand names you buy on a regular basis, and what do you like about them?--I buy Estee Lauder make-up on a regular basis--primarily, their Double Wear foundation. I just really like the way it looks, and I never buy any other foundation.

I switch up my hair conditioners all the time, but I use Pantene True Confidence Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
on a regular basis. I find it keeps the itchiness and flakes at bay, while still smelling nice and helping my hair look pretty. I used to use a Matrix anti-dandruff shampoo, but I found the Pantene stuff works just as well for half the price.

(Interesting note, though--since moving into our new home, I'm beginning to wonder if my dandruff problem wasn't the result of hard water. We have soft water here, and I've noticed a big difference.)

Main Course

What is your biggest fear?--Losing a loved one. It's a fear I had to face when my dad died last year, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through.

Dessert
If you could wake up tomorrow and find yourself in another location, where would you want to be?--In my mom's house in Texas. I can't describe the feeling of love and acceptance I get from being with her. And I LOVE Texas.

Bonus Birthday Question
What's your favorite flavor of birthday cake?--Homemade brownie chocolate cake (like a Texas sheetcake) made with buttermilk and delicious homemade frosting. I try to make this cake whenever anyone in my family has a birthday. It's delectable!



Since I won't be blogging for the next few days, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed Memorial Day. May we never forget the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom!

Yes, I'm happy for Carrie, but congrats to a couple of other people too...

...the big news is that a homeschooled 13-year-old won the 2005 National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C.

Nathaniel Cornelius did homeschoolers everywhere proud, topping young people from across the nation to win a 25-thousand dollar college scholarship. Go, Nathan!

And about Carrie...

I didn't get to watch the entire show last night--I have a feeling it was probably bloated with a lot of junk to fit the two-hour time-slot, anyway--but I'm pleased with Carrie Underwood's American Idol win.

As I've said earlier, Carrie has a great voice, very pleasing to listen to, with a good deal of range and power. She's gotten a lot of criticism for her lack of stage presence, but that's something that can be acquired with time and experience.

Her duet with Rascal Flatts last night was gorgeous. I think she's going to be a star.

Meantime, a local girl wins a Christian version of idol...



22-year-old Stephanie Goldsmith of Rockford is the winner of Inspiration Sensation, a Christian singing competition that aired on the Total Living Network. The finale aired May 21st.

According to this Rockford Register Star article: "The 22-year-old Auburn High School graduate is the daughter of Pastor Robert and Phyllis Goldsmith of Greater New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ. She was only 4 when she started singing lead in the church choir."

Congratulations, Stephanie! We look forward to great things for you.

I've been reading some terrific fiction lately...

While on the BCS senior trip, I devoured some page-turners:


Storm Gathering, by Rene Gutteridge


Self Incrimination, by Randy Singer


R is for Ricochet, by Sue Grafton

The first two are terrific Christian fiction. Rene Gutteridge and Randy Singer are great storytellers at the top of their game.

The third is the latest in the Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton. They're not Christian books, but Grafton had me at "A is for Alibi." I'm now up-to-date in the alphabetically named series, and I'm bummed that I now have to wait a while for the next book! Kinsey is an extraordinarily likable heroine, and Grafton really makes you feel that you're right there with her.

I'm hoping to interview Lisa Samson within the next few weeks about her latest book, Club Sandwich.

A new book by Lisa is a major event for me. I've been hooked since Church Ladies, which in my opinion was a breakthrough in Christian fiction.

If I get to read the book soon and interview Lisa as hoped, you can bet I'll be blogging about it!


AFA ends Disney boycott

American Family Association has ended its 9-year boycott against Disney.

AFA president Tim Wildmon says Disney is now "one of the less egregious perpetrators of the homosexual agenda," and that he's encouraged that Disney is making "efforts to connect with Christians" by co-producing the film version of C-S Lewis's 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.'"

To be honest, I never paid much attention to the boycotts, or boycotts in general for that matter. I really question their effectiveness, especially in an era when just about everything you purchase or consume is the product of conglomerates that no doubt include elements that are objectionable in some way. You'd end up having to boycott almost everything!

Down to the wire for Bo and Carrie...



I must admit, my interest in American Idol has flagged somewhat since I haven't been able to watch the show for the past few weeks. But tonight's the night that the winner will be announced, and I must admit that I'm leaning towards Carrie.

She's beautiful, has a great personality and a great voice. She just seems a natural fit for the top honor.

But I won't be upset if Bo wins, either. Everyone says that they're both winners just by making it to the top two--both destined to get record deals.

I'm fascinated by names...

I'm fascinated by names, and have been since I was a little girl. The way they sound, their origins, their meanings.

I've loved the names of my three children--Jonathan, Justin and Elizabeth--since I was literally a child.

Why do people choose the names they choose for their children? I'm intrigued by the process, although I've gone through it myself, with my husband, three times. A given name is so important, so major.

I teach a Sunday School class of third-grade girls, most of them African American. One recent Sunday, I was amazed when I took the roll and found:

Anisha
Jonisha
Shinesha
Monisha
Kinesha
Antonisha
Champagne
Chardonnay
Princess
Shamyla
Shalativa

Oh, and there was also a Kayla and a Maria. Boring in comparison, huh?

I've noticed that many names once considered "old-fashioned" are resurfacing and being considered cool--Sophie, Isabella, Ava--partly thanks to movie stars. Will Julia Roberts' "Hazel" and Gwyneth Paltrow's "Apple" launch a trend?

I am Cynthia Susan, named for my mother Cynthia Anne, and she was named for her aunt Cynthia Pearl. I used to think "Pearl" was so passe, but now I think Cynthia Pearl sounds really lovely.

Just as I'm drawn to all things Irish, I love names of Celtic or Gaelic origin. Granted, they often sound nothing like they look--Sean, Siobhan, Tighe, Aislinn. But I'm a sucker for anything with an "O'" or a "Mc" or "Mac" in front of it, and love the way they roll off the tongue: McDonough, McCullough, McNamara, O'Shaughnessy.

My husband is a Chicago Cubs fan, and there used to be a player named Kevin Tapani. I once thought it would be funny if he had a daughter named Tiffany. Tiffany Tapani. And then, on my recent travels, I saw a sign for a town called Parsippany. What if that's where she lived? Tiffany Tapani from Parsippany. Am I weird, or what?

What names do you love? How did you select your children's names? My inquiring mind wants to know.

It's so Monday...

I answer the Monday Madness questions



I'm just emerging from one of the most hectic time periods of my life.

Friday night, my daughter Elizabeth graduated from high school. She's my baby, so it was a very poignant milestone for me as well as for her. She's not sure right now of her future plans, so it looks like we'll still have her with us for a while at least, which is just fine by me!

Anyway, the graduation went well, as did the open house we had for her afterwards.

Another era begins.

Major stuff is happening at work, which I'm not at liberty to blog about, but which also signals changes for me. Wow, the older I get, the more resistant I am to change!

I can only trust God for the grace to keep putting one foot in front of the other, come what may. After all, my times are in His hand, and everything that concerns me.

Meantime, I'm enjoying having my son Jonathan and his wife Daylyn visiting us from Texas. They leave tomorrow, but it's been wonderful. When I went to bed Thursday night, I had the lovely feeling that all my children were under one roof--that's not something that happens all the time!

Since I have nothing huge to blog about today, I'm going to do something I haven't done in a while...MONDAY MADNESS!

Check it out, and answer the questions with me if you will--either here in my comments section, or on your own blog.

Monday Madness

The following all begin with 'In your lifetime, have you....'

1. ...ridden on a rollercoaster?--Funny you should ask. Last Tuesday, as part of the BCS senior trip, we went to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio--widely acclaimed as one of the best such parks on the planet, and revered for its daring roller coasters. Did I ride? NO. The last roller coaster I rode was the Rattler at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, circa 1994. It freaked me out so badly, I decided never to do it again. I'm sure I rode some previously as well--but never again!

2. ...performed (in any area of the arts) onstage?--Yes. Singing, speaking and acting.

3. ...planted a garden?--No...I wish! I love gardens, both the floral and the vegetable kind, and I love garden veggies. But I never learned how to do it, and I'm woefully ignorant. It's on my list of things to learn about.

4. ...ever had to reformat your hard drive due to a virus/spyware?--Not me personally. Our engineer at work has had to do it to my work computer.

5. ...written a book? A poem? A song?--I've started writing books many a time, but never followed through. I have written poems, but not very good ones...and never a song. Songwriters mystify me--how ARE they able to do that? I totally admire people who can create music.

6. ...sang karaoke?--A few times, but never at a karaoke bar.

7. ...been interviewed by a local tv station/newspaper?--Yes, a few times.

8. ...witnessed a tornado/earthquake/hurricane first-hand?--No, and I hope not to!

9. ...participated in a photo scavenger hunt?--I don't think so. I've done other types of scavenger hunts.

10. ...traveled to another country?--Yes--my parents were missionaries to Beirut, Lebanon when I was a child, and later (when I was in college) to Chihuahua, Mexico. I've been to:

Egypt
Lebanon
Syria
Turkey
Jordan
What is now part of Israel
Italy
Mexico
Canada

My dream is to go to England, Ireland and Scotland--especially Ireland.

And more harrowing adventures...

NYC skyline at night

Well, I'm back in the Midwest--which now appears to be a bastion of elysian tranquillity after my adventures in the nation's Capitol and the Big Apple!

When I last left you, I had reported on our exciting and terrifying evacuation from the U.S. Capitol grounds. (See my last post if you missed it.)

Running through the streets of D.C.-- to the tune of sirens, whistles, shouting and fighter jets--thinking for all the world that we were running for our lives, left us with a generous dollop of post traumatic stress disorder. Or at least it did me. Never mind the fact that we quickly found it was all a big mistake--it was VERY real (although also SURreal) while it was happening.

But the next morning, we loaded up the van for Somerset, New Jersey. The object: a few days seeing the sights of Manhattan, starting with a performance of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway that night. (Staying in New Jersey, by the way, is much cheaper than staying in New York City.)

I was extremely anxious that we wouldn't get to the play on time, knowing that once the performance starts, no one is allowed into the theater until intermission.

I had seen the play in Chicago and I've seen the movie, but none of the kids (including my daughter, who was one of the high school seniors on the trip), had seen the play...and none of us had ever seen a play on Broadway, so needly to say, we were jazzed.

We were told that the train from New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Penn Station in NYC takes about 45 minutes, and it would be a "short walk" from the train station to the Majestic Theater, where our tickets were already waiting for us. As we boarded the train, it looked like we were doing fine time-wise, but with no time to spare, depending on the length of our walk to the theater.

We're chugging along pleasantly, and have just entered a tunnel, when suddenly the power goes out on the train, leaving only some auxiliary lighting. We coast to a stop.

No panic yet...I've been on the NJ transit system before, and I know brief outages do happen.

Then one minute stretches into two, then three, then four...our kids are anxiously looking around and asking, "Is this normal?" None of the other passengers seem panicked in the least, which gives me a modicum of comfort.

But here's the thing. I'm claustrophic. I've been known to border on a panic attack when I can't get a zipper unzipped (ok, I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture.) I'm already having to breathe deeply and self-talk to keep from panicking. On my side of the train, I see nothing but the black wall of the tunnel (later, kids on the other side told me there was a walkway, but I didn't know that at the time.)

Soon, a female voice comes over the speakers: "Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we have lost power. We've been informed that there are currently no trains going into or out of New York City. We don't know why at this point. We'll pass along more information to you as we receive it."

Well, you've got to understand. Along with my mounting claustrophobia, I have just come out of the scariest thing that ever happened to me. I start envisioning the worst: terrorist attack? hours of being in this train with NO WAY TO ESCAPE??????

I was convinced that if and when I did depart the train, it would be as a raving lunatic in a strait jacket!

I manage to quell the rising panic by bowing my head and praying, over and over again like a mantra, "Jesus, please let this train start. Jesus, please let this train start. Jesus, PLEASE start this train!"

Whether it's due to my effectual fervent prayer or just coincidence, the lights flash back on, the engine hums, and we're on our way again! What a relief!!! We were without power for probably only ten minutes or so, but it seemed like the longest interval in my life.

Emerging into Penn Station, we get our bearings and realize the Majestic Theater is eleven blocks away. We have over thirty minutes till curtain time--can we walk that far, that fast?

We do, and with about fifteen minutes to spare. Doug picks up our tickets as we wait in line. We are in Manhattan! We can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The play was fabulous. Hugh Panaro as the Phantom was wonderful--his voice a thing of beauty. Although I find Gerard Butler extremely compelling in the movie, no one pretends that he has a fantastic voice. Hugh Panaro does. We all really enjoyed the play.

After a bite to eat, we head back to Penn Station--only to find out that the fire that caused the power outage has prompted major delays and cancellations. We have to walk to a different station to catch a different kind of train to Newark. This one is nowhere near as comfortable as the other train; due to the situation, it's extremely crowded; we have to stand in uncomfortably intimate proximity to strangers, and it smells strongly and pungently as if someone has just thrown up.

We arrive in Newark to find that we've missed the last regularly scheduled train, but a policeman tells us an extra train will run to accomodate everyone who didn't make it. But he tells us it's going to be a long wait, and to "make ourselves comfortable."

We sit for over an hour on the bare floor of the train station, but finally a train does arrive to take us back to New Brunswick. This one is not as crowded; blessedly, we get to sit down and relax.

Finally, at about four o'clock the next morning, we approach our hotel. We're greeted by a sea of emergency vehicles, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks! Did our hotel burn down in our absence???

No...it turns out it was a pretty bad fire at a restaurant across the street. We later find out that a couple of firefighters were injured, but apparently not in any lifethreatening way.

You would think that the law of averages would save us from any further mishaps. Not so. On the way to a church in Manhattan on Sunday morning, zooming along in five lanes of New Jersey highway traffic, our van suffers a tire blowout. We're stranded on the side of the road for three hours. Triple A comes and tries to change the tire, but the jack breaks. We think the van has fallen on the guy whose working underneath the van, but he shimmies out unharmed, thank God!

The remainder of the trip wound up in fairly normal fashion. We saw and did a lot of wonderful things along the way. I love Washington, D.C., with its stately memorials, and the Arlington Cemetery, and the outstanding and intensely moving Holocaust Museum.

In NYC, besides seeing Phantom, we toured NBC studies, went up the Empire State Building, and shopped till we dropped. New York is an incredible city, with an exciting heartbeat all its own.

But I was quite happy when the van rolled into our pleasantly uneventful town.

I was evacuated out of the U.S. Capitol

and other harrowing adventures from the Berean school senior trip

I'm not going to have time to blog at length about this--it's the first time I've been able to get to a computer on this trip--but yes, I was at the U.S. Capitol building last Wednesday when it was evacuated. Of course, as we know now, it was just because of a small airplane that had made a big mistake and wandered into the no-fly zone. But at the time, no one knew that, and it was pretty frightening!

Our group of fourteen--six girls, six boys, my husband and myself--were waiting in an awning just outside the Capitol building to visit the House of Representatives gallery. We were next in line to go inside the building, when suddenly the group that had gone ahead of us starting coming back toward us. "They're telling us to leave," a woman explained helplessly, and that was when we started hearing people urgently yelling at us to "run, get out, move, run!!!"

People started running frantically off the grounds, herded by police officers and other staff members who kept shouting at us like drill sergeants--one cop even shouted loudly, "Don't you remember 9/11? This is not a drill! RUN!!!"

Meantime, sirens off all kinds were sounding, official cars were zooming by with police escorts, whistles were blowing, and we heard fighter jets overhead. My first reaction was confusion, then disbelief--"This CAN'T be happening!" Then fear sets in, then self-preservation. My husband was struggling to keep our group together. Girls were having trouble running because of sandals and flip-flops; one boy in our group lost a shoe at one point and had to get it back on; all the while people continued to yell at us to "run! move! get out of here!"

I don't know how far we ran, maybe only a few blocks, but we re-grouped in front of the Department of Health and Human Services building, and shortly afterward a security guard informed us that the all-clear had been given. Shaken, out of breath, still on edge but relieved, we started calling family members on our cell phones.

We had been scheduled to meet with our congressman, Don Manzullo, at 2:30 PM. A quick call to his office confirmed the meeting was still on; capitol tours had even resumed.

After meeting with Don, (who I've known since before he was a congressman), he escorted us through the underground passageway from the Rayburn office building to the Capitol, and one of his assistants made sure we got our tour and gallery visit after all.

Looking back on the whole experience, it seems slightly surreal. At the time of the evacuation, I truly thought I was in danger of dying. It really was the scariest thing that I've ever gone through. The fact that we now know there was no real threat doesn't diminish the very real fear we experienced at the time.

Definitely, the Berean senior class will never forget their senior trip!

The drama actually continued on Thursday night, when we went to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and had an adventure on the New Jersey transit system. But that's a blog for another time.

To add insult to injury, a pigeon pooped on my shirt in Manhattan last night.

We still have a few days left in our trip. Say a prayer if you will, that things will go smoothly from here on out! :)

A tribute to my mother

I wrote this tribute to my mother for Mother's Day 2003. Since then, my dad has passed away, but the essence of tribute remains the same.--Cindy

The time: the early 60's. The place: Hobbs, New Mexico. The young woman is getting out of the car, all dressed up to play the piano for a wedding, or a funeral, or some such occasion. I can still see her in my memory: radiantly lovely, wearing a hat and red lipstick.

She is my mother, and although she has always been there in my memory, this is the first clear memory I have of actually looking at her and realizing: This is my mother, and she is beautiful.

Words usually come easily for me...they tumble out of my mind, onto my keyboard with fairly effortless alacrity. But now, as I try to frame the words to paint a portrait of all my mother is to me, I find myself strangely tongue-tied. What words are there to describe someone who is so all-encompassing...so incredibly necessary to my life? Someone who has embodied love, support and nurturing since before I was born, and for all these forty-plus years since?

I'll try to describe her. Nearing seventy years old, she's still beautiful. She has sparkling green eyes; a lovely full,expressive mouth...a dazzling smile. The years have been kind to her, and she is a prime example of how decades of righteous living can influence a woman's face...years free of alcohol ,cigarettes and immoral living. Years dedicated to God's service and unselfish love for her husband and children. She has the sort of radiant, luminous, from-the-inside beauty that defies age.

My mother was not born into the best of situations. Although her parents loved her in their way, she wasn't raised in a Christian home, and she saw and experienced some of the uglier aspects of human nature while still very young.

From these circumstances, while still a young teenager, she became a wife, and a mother to my older sister. It was as if she was born to that role. Even her mother-in-law marveled at how this teen-aged girl immediately became a great mom.

My mother has always liked hot baths...really, really hot baths. There's a story behind that, too. Mother says that when she was a little girl, she realized that she was probably going to hell when she died. No one had told her how she could avoid hell, so she decided she would try to prepare herself for it. She got used to taking baths as hot as she could possibly stand them.

Fortunately, my mother did find out how she could look forward to a home in heaven. As a young mom, she and her mother were invited to a revival meeting at the independent Baptist church in their small west Texas town. Both of them ended up accepting Christ as their Saviour at that meeting, and life would never be the same for either of them.

Somewhere during the same period of time, my father also became a Christian, and as a very young married couple my parents began serving the Lord. The journey eventually took them to Bible college in Missouri, pastorates in four states, and even twice to the mission field.

My mother has so many character traits I admire and wish to emulate, usually with less success than I would like.

She is an unselfish person, with a real servant's heart. She is never happier than when doing things to make the people she loves happy. The words "nurturing" and "giving" characterize the unstinting love she freely gives to her family.

She is a disciplined and industrious person; she eats healthily and in moderation, retaining a girlish figure that would put women half her age to shame, and as my father has often pointed out with a certain pride, she never goes to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.

I've often thought this disciplined side of my mom comes from her Greek heritage. Her father was full-blooded Greek, and his family originated in Sparta, the part of Greece known for people with a history of military toughness, endurance and self-denial. (I sometimes think that gene totally escaped me.) :)

But this is only one side of my mother. She is really fun to be around. She has a quirky sense of humor, a ready laugh and a gorgeous smile. One of my cherished images of my mom is of her singing as she flits around the house, doing chores (I told you she is industrious and always busy).

One of the first words that comes to mind when I think of my mother is ladylike.She is, in some ways, like a Southern belle...decorous and discreet. But if so, she is also like the title of that popular movie of several years back, a "steel magnolia." There is backbone to this Texas belle ,and woe be to the person who wrongs her children! I have never known anyone like my mother to be able to tell a person off--in the most ladylike and genteel way--but leaving no doubt that you have been told off. She is notto be messed with, when it comes to those she loves.

The closest I've ever seen to this is the Dixie Carter character on "Designing Women." I've often chuckled while watching Julia Sugarbaker give someone a dressing-down on that show...I can't help but think of my normally soft-spoken mom. But mind you, she would only do this to someone who truly deserved it.

My mother's walk with the Lord is also something I want to emulate. She is a real prayer warrior. I have so many memories of hearing her pray, and there have been times I have literally seemed to feel her prayers for me when I've been in dangerous or difficult situations. Call me mystical, but there is just something about a mother's prayers!

My mother has endured many trials in her life, and sometimes, I admit, I've questioned why this wonderful woman should be inflicted with so many circumstances that to me seem unfair and unjustified. But these trials have not broken her. Instead, she seems to grow stronger and more lovely with time.

Now, she's going through one of the saddest trials, as my father faces terminal illness. My heart goes out to her, and I feel helpless as I want to be the kind of comfort and support she has always been for me.

I have done such an inadequate job of painting this picture of my mother. I want to convey the beauty, the kindness, the strength, the warmth of this remarkable lady, and I can't seem to find the right words to really do it.

I guess for me, it all comes down to one thing: thanking God for this wonderful mother. My heart really does burst with gratitude. To have a person that you know will always love you, no matter what...that's worth more than my pathetic words could ever express.

My mother's name is Cynthia, and I am honored and privileged to have been given her name. I doubt if I will ever be able to live up to it, but I will never stop trying.

Lots of years have passed since my childish eyes watched that beautiful young woman get out of the car. But those years have only increased her beauty, as well as my love and appreciation for all she means to me.

I love you, Mother! Thank you for everything!

NOTE:--I'll be gone for about a week and a half, and probably won't be blogging during that time. Hopefully I'll be back in full effect by the around May 18th. See ya then!

When God's people pray

"...when you go to God and you go with boldness and you go with persistence and you rush in and you unload what’s on your heart, and first you ask and then you start pleading and then you start banging, know this, that God is delighted with that...delighted with that because He with His perfect love and perfect wisdom and perfect power and perfect provision is able to give the best to His children. In fact, Psalm 84:11 says, 'He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly, His children.' He holds nothing back.”--John MacArthur

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Of course, every day should be a day of prayer for Christians, but I think it's great that we have a day actually set aside to focus on prayer and stress its importance.

I am far from the prayer warrior I should be, yet I am continually amazed at this incredible resource that we have. That we can go with boldness before God, and interact with Him, and talk intimately with Him, and bring our burdens and requests to Him--and He answers! He really does! Amazing. Ineffable. Incomprehensible. The Creator of the Universe, listening to me. Caring about me.

I love Wayne Watson's song, "When God's People Pray":

"He alone can know the need in me, before a single word begins
The Holy Spirit intercedes for me, I will trust in Him.
He will not turn away, when His people pray.

"When God's people pray and take the pains of earth
to the doors of heaven;
when God's people pray there is hope reborn,
there is sin forgiven,
and miracles you can't explain away, when God's people pray."

More Narnia stuff

USA Today has a good article today about the upcoming Narnia movie.

I'm both excited and nervous about the movie. I first read the Narnia books when I was about eight or nine years old, when my parents were missionaries to Beirut, Lebanon.

I'll never forget the immediate sense of wonder and fascination that gripped me the minute I started reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Many years later, I introduced the books to each of my children in turn, and I still re-read them occasionally.

I love Lewis' depiction of heaven in The Last Battle. Re-reading it a few years ago, I got tears in my eyes as the story impressed on me the truth that heaven is real, and so much better than anything we'll ever experience here on earth:

"'When Aslan said you could never go back to Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan's real world.'

..." 'There was a real railway accident,' said Aslan softly. 'Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.'

"And for us this is the end of all the stories. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

After a lifetime of loving these books, I can only hope that Disney will give them the proper treatment and respect that they deserve. The spiritual allegory aspect of the tales is central and crucial, so it can't be glossed over. So far, it's looking good. We can only hope!

Did you love the "Chronicles of Narnia"? Which book is your favorite? (Mine is The Silver Chair.) Tell me about it in my comments section.

I've been tagged

...and, Chicago was wonderful!


Chicago skyline

Rodney of The Journey has tagged me to complete three of the following sentences, then pass them on to five more people. (Here's the way it works, according to Rodney:)

"It's part of a new meme that is travelling through the blogosphere. The idea is if you're tagged, you need to choose 5 (or more if you like) occupations from the list below and then finish the sentence for each that you've chosen.

"You then tag three more people who must do the same. You can add more occupations to the list when you pass it on but you must choose your 5 from the list provided by the person who tagged you. You're also asked to trackback to the blogger who tagged you if you know how."

Here's the list (the ones in boldface at the bottom are the ones I've added):

If I could be a scientist…
If I could be a farmer…
If I could be a musician…
If I could be a doctor…
If I could be a painter…
If I could be a gardener…
If I could be a missionary…
If I could be a chef…
If I could be an architect…
If I could be a linguist…
If I could be a psychologist…
If I could be a librarian…
If I could be an athlete…
If I could be a lawyer…
If I could be an innkeeper…
If I could be a professor…
If I could be a writer…
If I could be a llama-rider…
If I could be a bonnie pirate…
If I could be a service member…
If I could be a photographer…
If I could be a philanthropist…
If I could be a rap artist…
If I could be a child actor…
If I could be a secret agent…
If I could be a comedian/comedienne…
If I could be a priest...
If I could be a radio announcer...
If I could be a phlebotomist...
If I could be Paris Hilton's stylist...
If I could be a movie producer...
If I could be the CEO of Microsoft...


If I could be an athlete...maybe I would exercise more and be in better shape than I am now!

If I could be a rap artist…...I would use my platform to spread beautiful and uplifting messages instead of ugly and hate-filled ones.

If I could be a librarian…...that probably wouldn't be the best thing, because I'd be wanting to spend all my time reading the books instead of doing the work.

If I could be a scientist…...I would do everything in my power to find a cure for Alzheimer's.

If I could be a linguist…...I would probably really enjoy my work, because I love words and am fascinated with their meanings and origins.

I'm tagging Robin,
Beth, and Ashley.

*******

I LOVE CHICAGO!!!

Honestly, I fall a little more in love with that city each time I visit it!

On Friday, my mom and sisters (my mom and sister Lisa were visiting me from Texas; my sister Bev was visiting form Wyoming) and my daughter Elizabeth and I took the el train into Chicago.

We got situated in our beautiful room at the Renaissance Hotel, then were off for some shopping on the Magnificent Mile. What a blast!

We then had some fantastic Italian food at a place called Tucci Benucch, in the Bloomingdale's building on Michigan Avenue. Liz and I split tiramisu; it was delectable.

The next morning, we had breafkast at Ada's on South Wabash, then strolled State Street for some more last-minute shopping before heading back on the el. Liz and I got off at the Cumberland Park 'n Ride where we had left our car; Mom and my sisters took the el all the way back to O'Hare.

It was the perfect finale to a wonderful week with my dear ones. The only way it could have been more perfect would be if it had been about 10 degrees warmer.

What an awesome time. I can't wait to go back!