Tired

I'm tired of me
I'm tired of life.
I'm tired of ....everything.
I'm tired of the fact that no matter how i intend for a conversation to go..it ends with me in tears.
I'm tired of the fact that I feel it necessary to apologize for my feelings.
I'm tired of being alone.
I'm tired of effort with no results,
I'm tired of having to be adult,
I'm tired of keeping back-up insults,
I'm tired of having no one to consult,
I'm tired of regrets that keep creeping in,
I'm tired of wanting to re-begin,
I'm tired of guilt not wearing thin,
I'm tired of trying, and trying, and trying,
I'm tired of unfulfilled teenage dreams,
I'm tired of not feeling part of a team,
I'm tired of not being able to scream,
I'm tired of nursing low self-esteem,
I'm tired of people ignoring me,
I'm tired of eyes that don't wanna meet,
I'm tired of faking happiness

Hope

Last week I was googling, hoping to find interesting things before my brain melted down. I came across this:



 The message stayed with me. I repeated the words in my head and it made me feel good each time I did. I kept thinking about it as I walked around, wondering who put the message there and why.

The words stayed with me a few days, each time I'd think them I'd have pleasant thoughts. I imagined a person touched by the unexpected kind actions of another. I imagined the happiness of someone being told they inspired someone else. I imagined someone grateful for another person but too shy to say so. I imagined people who inspired me and others. I imagined that I was filling someone with hope just by being me.

Everything I imagined was nice, everything made me connected and happy.

I began to think the message's only purpose was to inspired happy thoughts. And for me it did. I think the mystery was a big part of it. Why this message and to whom? The mystery kept me thinking about it. And it was nice.

And so it continues... your existence gives me hope. Hope for the future, hope for you, hope for me. Hope for humanity. Thank you.

Hope

The Hope of Loving

by Meister Eckhart

What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?

I think it is the hope of loving,
or being loved.

Doing a happy dance...

Obama wins nomination, CNN projects

Barack Obama has secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination, according to CNN estimates. The Illinois senator makes history as the first African-American to lead a U.S. major-party ticket.

Much happy dancing going on here!!

Wow!

Almost 40,000 people turned out for Nebraska's first Democratic caucus and with a resounding voice, proudly declared Sen. Barack Obama Nebraska's Democratic choice.

"Numbers from across 98 percent of the state's precints showed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with 68 percent of the vote and 25,887 supporters to Hillary Clinton's 32 percent and 12,347 voters."

At one point, the caucus  area in Sarpy county exceeded building limits due to huge turnout of Sarpy county voters which triggered traffic backups for miles, complaints from voters and delayed the start of the caucus. One caucus officials said when they closed off registration, there was still traffic backed up to get in along Highway 370.

OMGosh...how sweet is this?

After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.

The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.

Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.

--Per People Magazine

Admit it...you were a fan. It's ok.

Omaha in the news again...

and again, it's not in a good way.

Sniper Kills Drive-Thru Customer.

The accused shot this young, promising woman (Brittany Williams) who was in the drive-thru. The police are calling it a random shooting, but are entertaining the possibility that it was a hate crime (The accused is white, Williams is black).

Not only did he shot this woman, but "while officers were conducting their crime scene investigation, a white 1996 Chrysler Sebring drove through the crime-scene tape, police said" (quote from story), and the driver was the accused (Bormann).

Apparently he felt it necessary to hit the drive-thru himself. I wonder about the gene pool in Omaha sometimes.

Best part of the Caucuses last night??

Seeing Chuck Norris.

Hands down.

To Jason:

Congratulations, you are a Lieutenant now. Everything you've worked for in the last ten years has finally come to fruition. You have no idea how proud I am of you..you've taught me the meaning of perserverance and working towards your dreams.

I love you and I can't tell you often enough how proud I am.

/salute

May your families find peace in wake of this tragedy...

 

Gary Scharf, 48

John McDonald, 65

Angie Schuster, 36

Maggie Webb, 24

Janet Jorgenson, 66

Diane Trent, 53

Gary Joy, 56

Beverly Flynn, 47

Mall shooting in Omaha

I can't believe it. This isn't supposed to happen anywhere, let alone my "home"town. This is Omaha...we're in the middle of a cornfield, a sleepy little city--and now 9 families won't be seeing their loved ones again. 9 families have been torn apart, and countless others damaged.

This is about a 5 minute drive from my house, it's one of my favorite shopping places and now, I dont' know if I will ever be able to go back there, without thinking about this. Last week a grenade was found in this mall's parking lot, and now this. I don't know if it is related, but it's scary.

CNN coverage

9/11

"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

 

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

 

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

 

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

 

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one"

 

-----John Lennon 1971

“I came here looking to see a good leader, I don’t,”

"...student then asked McCain a question about what he would do for “LGBT” rights – the initials stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bi Sexual, and Transgender people. McCain was confused by the question and admitted to the audience that he did not know what the initials meant. Once it was clarified, McCain told sophomore William Sleaster that he was opposed to any form of discrimination, but he supported the military’s current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and that he opposed gay marriage.

“I believe that the sanctity of marriage between man and woman is unique and should be preserved, and I understand the controversy that swirls around that issue, and that debate needs to be continued to be held, but I support that position,” McCain said.

“You want to take away someone’s rights because you believe it’s wrong,” Sleaster followed up.

“I don’t put that interpretation on my position, but I understand yours,” McCain responded, seeming to enjoy the back and forth.

“I came here looking to see a good leader, I don’t,” Sleaster said before leaving the microphone to some boos and gasps from the audience and an eventual scolding by a school administrator. **see rest of the article here **

Why on earth would the student have been scolded? He was stating an opinion, and was well with in his first amendment rights, he wasn't "disrespectful". He clearly stated why he had come, and what he found wasn't what he was looking for. I applaud him for having the courage to stand up and say what he was thinking, and for the fact that he was following a major political topic unlike many of his peers.

Kudos to you, Mr. Sleaster!

Books gathering dust?

"There it sits on your nightstand, that book you've meant to read for who knows how long but haven't yet cracked open. Tonight, as you feel its stare from beneath that teetering pile of magazines, know one thing -- you are not alone.One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday."(see the rest of the article from CNN here)

WTF? One in four didn't read a book at all? How is that even possible? I don't think I can go 4 hours without picking something up to read, let alone an entire year? The article goes on to state that less educated, lower income, and minorities are the least likely to read a book. I say we start promoting reading to adults in these areas, and the children will follow. If a child sees an adult reading, and enjoying it,on a consistent basis they are more likely to pick up a book and continue that habit into their adulthood, teaching their kids about the joys of reading and continuing the process down the line.

I know my kids see me reading all the time, while I am making dinner, before bed, on the weekends when we are all just hanging around the house...and you know what? All of my kids are reading, and enjoying it!

Leif Nott

http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/nott.htm

It's been 4 years today. He was a great friend, and an even better husband and soldier. Say a prayer or think good thoughts for his widow, Melanie, and his parents Les and Rafealla.

Leif had no problems making anyone feel at home, or making people feel at ease. He had this way of cracking people up....I'll always remember him walking thru the halls in his letter jacket with the biggest grin on his face, just because...

The world is missing one of its best and brightest.

Cool things happen here, on occasion!

The space shuttle Atlantis, docked here in Omaha because of storms in Florida.

Pretty, white and female

If you heard the name :Elizabeth Smart, Natalie Holloway, Laci Peterson, Chandra Levy or Kelsey Smith , you’d know exactly who they were and could more than likely spout off a few quick facts regarding them, correct?
Do you know who Stepha Henry , Latoyia Figueroa, Amber Harris, Sintia Mesa, Chris Pineda ,Brendan Gonzalez or Tamika Huston are? Do you know anything about them? Who they are, where they are from? No? That is rather disheartening.

The people named all have one thing in common, they were/are missing. There are a few differences though; the people in the second list aren’t white, a few aren't female, and none are in the upper echelons of the socio-economic structure, and there’s one other important factor, they didn’t get the media coverage that those in the first list got. In fact, the Stepha Henry case got bumped for coverage of Paris Hilton’s front gate, on the day she went back to court. That’s what I consider important news, don’t you? Cable news executives say they don’t pick stories based on the race of the victims. "The stories that ‘go national’ all have a twist or an emotional aspect to them that make them interesting," said Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox News." Link to story

Isn’t a missing woman, man or child of any race, nationality or creed; emotional in and of itself? I’m sure it seems so to the friends and family of the missing. All disappearances have twists, they are all interesting. They all deserve the same amount of coverage. Why is it that no one seems to want to hear or report on the missing who aren’t young, white, pretty , wealthy or female.(More often than not, it's usually all of the above)Roy Peter Clark thinks he knows why. "It’s all about sex," said Clark, vice president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg,Fla.Young white women give editors and television producers what they want. "There are several common threads," Clark said. "The victims that get the most coverage are female rather than male. They are white, in general, rather than young people of color. They are at least middle class, if not upper middle class." (Link to his story)

I think it’s time that all missing person cases were covered the same way. Either they all get hours of media attention, or no one does. For more information on this "Missing White Woman Syndrome" read This Wiki article.

Writers note--I realize that not all white missing white women have received media coverage. There are tens of thousands of people that are missing that haven’t received the same coverage that those that I listed have received, and I am not demeaning those that have received vast amounts of media coverage in any way, shape or form. However, I stand by my statement that all missing people deserve the same sort of coverage, regardless of age, race, nationality, socio-economic class, creed, or sexuality.

Tragic Loss (not just for the Patriots..)

But for New Orleans as well.

Marquise Hill drowned on Lake Ponchartrain Sunday night. He was a defensive end for the New England Patriots, but he was much more than that.

He spent most of his time and money helping to rebuild his hometown of New Orleans, LA. Even in his last moments, he was helping to calm the woman he was with "I spoke with the girl and her mother this morning and they said he helped her stay calm. He ended up saving her life, keeping her calm until she could grab onto a buoy," said Elias , who added that Hill can swim, but was not wearing a life preserver." ( Link to quote)

Link to Boston Globe Story

What the dead know –Lippman, Laura

I can’t see why the “critical praise” on the cover called her such a great criminal writer. I had the “mystery” figured out about 1/3 of the way in, and the meandering, slow way she took to reveal and then very quickly finish up was mind numbing

Bad bridesmaid : bachelorette brawls and taffeta tantrums : tales from the front lines– Agrell, Siri.

(I thought it was gonna be funny, read more like an article than a book.Wouldn’t recommend it to anyone)