Dear Readers,
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be posting a lot of articles and short stories as I clean up my site and update. My hearts desire is to share the many short stories and articles I’ve written over the years. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Lori
Hi everyone,
I am in a contest at Trazzler.com to try to win a trip for two to Hawaii. I wrote a really short review of a beach on Maui that is about one paragraph. Basically, starting today and ending December 23rd, whoever gets the most “votes” wins the trip. I am asking all my family and friends to please go read the short paragraph, register for free at the site (I promise they will not bombard you with spam, I have been on their list for over a year and I only recall getting one message every few months. I think you can choose how much info they send you too.). Once you are registered, you can choose “Add to Wishlist” on the page of my short review (link below). This will give me a vote when you wishlist my paragraph about Palauea Beach. The highest votes right now on any of the entries is only 17, so it is still winnable, I think. Thanks for any help you can give me. I really appreciate it. Here is the link:
http://www.trazzler.com/trips/palauea-beach-in-honokaa-hi-96727
Warmly,
Lori Soard
Help! All I should really and can really say publicly, dear friends, is pray for me. I really need to be blanketed in prayers and so does my family. I can’t do anything, but God can. My heart is broken and I’m weary. You can message me privately if you need details. I cannot post them publicly at this time.
Today, I lost my best friend of fourteen years. I remember the day we went to pick Scarlette. A big Dean Koontz fan, he’d convinced me through his books of the loyalty and intelligence of Golden Retrievers and I was determined to get a Golden Retriever puppy for my two-year-old daughter, Caitlin. It is one of my few whims that was a really good decision. When we arrived at the home of the breeder, he took us out back where mom, dad and puppies were. About nine puppies came tumbling out of the garage opening he’d cut out for them. They were jumping and pouncing. How would we ever decide?
Then, my husband noticed that one puppy was shyly hiding in the garage opening, just watching all the others. He pointed at her. “I want that one.” I wasn’t so sure. She was more red than golden. The man handed her to me and she snuggled up under my hair, which was long at the time, and put her nose in the crook of my neck. My heart melted and there was no doubt that this was our new dog.
A huge fan of Gone With the Wind, I named her Scarlette Sadie, but we always just called her Scarlette. The name suited her with her reddish blonde fur, although her temperament was much sweeter than the movie/book character’s. Scarlette was good in so many ways that I could never describe them all in a single blog post. She loved us in that unconditional way that dogs have, but she also never wanted to disappoint us. She barked once as a puppy. I told her no and she never barked again unless it was to warn us of what she felt was danger. I think I heard her bark four times in fourteen years.
When she was a year old, we found out she had heartworm. My husband thought I was giving her the heartworm preventative and he thought I was. No one was giving her the pills. The only way to get rid of heartworm is to poison the dog almost to the point of death with arsenic. She had to go through this three times. I sat up with her all night all three times. She would take a ragged breath and stop breathing for a minute. I’d pet her, talk to her and beg her to stay with us. She’d start breathing again. Somehow she fought her way through and seemed to completely recover.
She tolerantly dealt with the inevitable tugs and pulls from my babies, toddlers and eventually teenagers. As long as they were with her, her family, she didn’t care about anything else. She tolerated my cats and the little dogs in our home that nipped at her heels as she got older. Sometimes she would give a long-suffering sigh when our little miniature dachshund, Gretchen, would snatch some food from her yet again. I always made sure she got another scrap to make up for it.
When the kids were little, they would jump off my parents’ dock into the lake. Scarlette watched them with a parental eye and if she felt they were getting too far from land, she would jump off the dock, grab them by the back of the lifejacket and pull them to shore. They would get so angry at her and would shout, “Stop it, Scarlette!” But she knew without a doubt they were her family and it was her job to protect them.
She loved to get into my tomatoes every year. In fourteen years, I’ve not had a good tomato crop, because she waited for them to just start to get ripe and then ate them off the vine. This last year, I finally gave up and let her eat as many as she wanted, knowing it would be her last year to eat tomatoes.
About seven months ago, Scarlette had a horrible seizure one night and was taking what I know were her last breaths. I was going through a rough patch at the time, dealing with some accusations from someone I had thought was my friend about my character that simply weren’t true and hurt that anyone could take the tiniest thing and twist it to around in the way that this person was doing and think I was malicious and mean. No matter what I said, this person still believed the worst of me. All while I’d done absolutely nothing to her but live my life in an oblivious bubble where I didn’t realize how much she hated me just for being me. I can honestly say I’ve never had such maliciousness turned on me before. Scarlette helped me through. She loved me. She laid her head in my lap and looked up at me with those warm brown eyes and just put the focus on what was right and good about this world.
I was hurt, confused and I knew I couldn’t bear to lose this dog while all this turmoil was going on. So, that night seven months ago, I dropped to my knees and begged God to let her stay with us just a little longer. I told Him I really didn’t feel I could handle her passing right then. He granted my request and she got better just minutes later.
As the months went on, the personal situation we were dealing with grew worse and the person more malicious toward my family. However, Scarlette also slowly grew worse. Her seizures started to grow closer together and the medication the vet gave us wasn’t really helping. I noticed she could no longer play with the kids. She spent most of her afternoons snoozing, as she is in the picture above. She started to snore like an old man. Her appetite decreased. I would sit on the floor and coax her and she would finally eat her food. Piece by piece, we would sit for thirty minutes or more - her eating and me doling out a few bits at at time and coaxing her to finish her meal. She had good days and bad days, but slowly the bad days began to overtake the good days in number. Today was her worst day. She had back to back seizures until she could no longer stand, could not hold her tongue in her mouth and was hurting and miserable. Today, I knew it was time. I couldn’t let such a wonderful companion suffer any longer. I knew she was going to a better place. After all, there are horses in heaven, so I know there must be dogs. (If you believe differently, don’t bother to comment about it. I really don’t want to hear it.)
God knows what my family has been through this year, and He knew the point that we came to accept some hard truths in our personal situation with the so-called friend and move on. He knew when the timing was right and when we could bear her leaving us. He never gives us more than we can handle and even though losing her today was very hard, we are left with so many wonderful memories of the best dog I ever had. These memories are like precious photographs stamped onto my heart. When the world is hard, I will remember this smart and beautiful dog and how much she loved me. Not because of anything I did for her, but just because I was who I was. She just loved me for being and I loved her for being so special and sweet. I know that God has a very special place in heaven for Scarlette. She has a nice big yard, a little creek out back and as many tomatoes as she wants to eat off the vine.
The temperatures have crept into the single digits and snow covers every spare inch of ground. How I long for the moment when the crocuses begin to peak their purple bonnets above the frost one chilly winter morning. That usually signals spring is near.
The groundhog, that scoundrel that calls himself Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his cozy dwelling (ceremonially, of course), as he does every February 2nd, and promptly saw his stinking shadow. C’mon Phil! Can’t you give us a break just once? Those of use who’ve been snowed under for over a week could truly use a break from the cold temperatures. Even a hint of hope would probably get us through.
I would say that this cold weather is for the birds, but birds are smart enough to fly south for the winter. Scary thought, but apparently I’m not even as smart as a bird, because here I sit, bundled up in blankets and stockings, wishing I were somewhere warmer.
Oh, and I just remembered… my dog dug up the crocus bulbs last fall. Is this an indication, like that of the groundhog seeing his shadow, that winter will last longer this year?
Hi all, I have a new article up at my Examiner page. Here is a sneak peak:
Whether you have wonderful Christmas memories from your childhood or your memories are lacking in that area, chances are that you want to create magical Christmas moments for your children that they will treasure for a lifetime. Every family has unique traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. Sometimes those traditions are commonly shared by many different people: purchasing and putting up the Christmas tree, having ham on Christmas day or going shopping the day after Thanksgiving.
I came across this hilarious story this morning and thought I’d share. Sounds like Fat Boy will be nursing a hangover from his adventure 
This is the moment a ‘drunken’ pony fell into a swimming pool after gorging himself on fermented windfall apples.
Read more and see pics at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1077831/Pictured-Fat-Boy-pony-got-drunk-fermented-apples-fell-swimming-pool.html
Dear Friends:
This blog post may anger some of you. I won’t apologize for that. Whether you agree with my politics or not, I do stand on very solid principles that have never wavered for the last 20 years of my voting life. At the very least, you should respect my steadfastness and loyalty to my core principles. I base my beliefs upon the Bible. While I haven’t always followed the Lord in the way I should, I have grown a lot in this area in the past few years and have grown bolder and more outspoken on these issues. This year, I will be voting for John McCain in the general election. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything McCain stands for, I do agree with far more of his policies than Obama’s. I’ll be honest, I just don’t get why Obama is up in the polls.
The man is an excellent speaker, when he has a script in front of him. But, without a script, he stumbles and mumbles. Even with the script, he really doesn’t say much of anything. I disgree so strongly with his votes for partial birth abortion and his stances refusing to vote against infanticide, that for those reasons alone I would not vote for him.
Add to those points his many connections with people I consider to be terrorists and criminals and his childhood ties to Islam. The book Obama Nation outlines many of these ties. How anyone could consider voting for this man after 9/11, I just don’t get. Have people forgotten the horrors of that day so quickly. Just this past week, there have been ties to another Muslim extremist who put in a word to get Obama into Harvard.
Once you’ve read a book like Obama Nation, you realize how this man lies and says whatever he thinks people want to hear. In other words, he is willing to do anything to get into the White House. If he is willing to lie now, what will an Obama presidency look like if he were to make it into office?
But, enough about the man. What I really want to talk to you about is why I am voting for McCain. John McCain is a war hero. He served his country nobly and was tortured horribly for his patriotism. When he was given the chance to leave the concentration camp he was in, he chose to stay behind with the men under his command. The torture continued.
I also believe McCain to be a man of integrity. I can believe what he says and I also don’t think he will just say whatever to get elected. How easy would it be for him to make broad promises? One of the biggest reasons to vote for McCain, whether you are Republican or Democrat is to keep a balance of power between the White House and Congress. Imagine another Democratically controlled government. I find his economic proposal to be much more reasonable. Our taxes will be lowered instead of raised. Quite frankly, there is no way that Obama can fund everything he is proposing without raising taxes on nearly EVERYONE. Sure, he says only those making over $250K (I have problems with this too because of small biz), but he hasn’t told the truth about many other things, so why would he tell the truth on this one either?
Although I rarely listen to Rush Limbaugh, because his paper tapping grates on my nerves, I did catch a bit of his show today. He mentioned that there are rumblings that as soon as Obama is elected (but before he is sworn in) that the Democratically controlled congress has plans to roll back anything they’ve recently passed that is too conservative, including the off shore drilling our country so desperately needs. I hope this isn’t true, but it wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
Please do your research. Don’t just believe what the Main Stream Media feeds you. They are so biased it is unbelievable. Find alternative sources of information and dig into the background of both candidates. I think you’ll be surprised at what you find.
If you are a Republican, I urge you to vote. When good men do nothing, evil triumphs. Do something. If you need a ride to the polls, call a friend. If you don’t really like McCain, consider voting for him anyway. You are voting against something that would truly do our country harm, in my opinion.
You can help the McCain campaign by making phone calls for him and urging others to get out and vote. Here is the link:
http://www.johnmccain.com/PhoneBank/?guid=0A517F03-C3ED-4A24-A14A-3BD9D5F32F2F
Happy voting!
Lori
We had a death in our family and a dear friend lost her grandmother this week. I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandfather, my grandmother and legacies. It just got me to thinking about how what we do in our lives, how the paths we choose, leaves behind a legacy that can impact many generations.
Take the one side of my family. I had a great-grandfather, who to put it bluntly, was a drunk and just downright mean. I never knew him (not something I’m upset about from the stories I’ve heard). He passed his legacy down to his son, who in turn drank himself into the grave, although I don’t ever remember him being mean. This legacy has continued to be passed down, generation to generation.
The other side of my family, I had a grandmother who was a good woman. She did what was right, she loved the Lord, she raised children by herself when her husband died. She was good, and kind, and honest and forthright and sincere. She had the sweetest spirit and outlook on life. By contrast, she has left a legacy, for the most part, of happy families, most of whom are saved and gentleness and peace.
This all got me to thinking about the legacy I’ll leave behind. Sure I try to go to church, do what is right, be a good person. But I’m also impatient with my kids at times. I’m cranky, tired, busy. I don’t always take the time to stop and help others when I should, it’s just sort of hit or miss. And I have made a commitment to do better. To pass a better legacy than even the one I was given to the next generation. To make up for any little holes in that legacy and to most of all let them know they are loved unconditionally, so they can always hold that close to their hearts.
So, ask yourself today, what is your legacy? What are you leaving behind for future generations? Your attitudes have a ripple effect. Will your ripples turn into rings of joy or circles of despair?