I had a favorite stuffed bunny that I carried around with me every place I went.  It was a short-haired stuffed animal with a rubber face and you would have thought it was real, the way I carried it around.  I would even wrap it in a blanket like a live baby.

So, my brother and I are sitting in reclining lawn chairs on the big, screened-in front porch of my grandmother’s house, me holding my little bunny, wrapped tightly in a blanket. All of a sudden, there came a strike of lightning right across the road from the house and one very loud, booming crack of thunder.  It scared us so badly that we both jumped up, screamed and ran into the house. I, of course, dropped my little bunny and I remember I looked for that thing for at least two weeks and could not find it. I had given up hope and figured it was lost forever. Then, a couple of weeks later, as I was playing on the porch, I looked under the chair (for the umpteenth time) and there it was, where I had failed to see it before.  It was like a miracle to me and made me very happy indeed.

I have a close friend whose family has been affected by the recent tornadoes in Iowa.  The town his son lives in was 75% wiped out this weekend by a killer storm.  People who he knew that had lived in their homes for 30 years or more lost everything.

Nature is a strange thing.  It can be so beautiful, peaceful and wonderful, then it turns around and becomes mean, violent and relentless.  I wish only the best to those who lost their homes.  But remember, things can be replaced, lives cannot.  No lives were lost where this friend’s relatives live, just belongings.  I know that you can’t ever get back the family pictures and memorabilia and that part hurts the most I guess.

In thinking back, as an adult now, I seem to think of all of the things that could have happened to me while I was out there wandering all alone.  I never ran into a bear, or a snake (and I did a lot of rock climbing in those days) or any rabid animals.  I guess I was very lucky indeed.  I did, however, when I was 16, run into a black panther just up the road from where I lived.  I thought it was the neighbor’s dog, so I whistled and called her name.  The cat turned around and looked at me (thank goodness I was on my bicycle).  I never rode so fast in my life!  My Grandmother said that my face was as white as a sheet.

I also remember riding my bicycle “around the block”, which consisted of a 5-6 mile ride.  I loved it!  I really miss the country life sometimes.

She and Rebel are unique in that they both liked to ride the lawn mower, the snowmobiles and the three wheeler whenever they got the chance.

You see, Theresa’s husband, Terry had Rebel when Theresa and he met.  They got married and Rebel and Theresa became close.  He loved to ride the mower and three wheeler.  Not on the back, mind you, but right up front, so he could “drive”. Well, Rebel got old and passed on into that big doghouse in the sky. He is laid to rest out back under a pine tree.

So, Terry and Theresa got Lacey a few months after Rebel passed.  She took to the house as if she had been there before.  She did all the same things that Rebel had done with the machinery.  It was if Rebel was talking to her from dog heaven.  It made Theresa so happy that Lacey was so much like Rebel had been.  Here is a picture of Lacey and Theresa.  I miss them both, for they live very far away from me now.

Theresa and Lacey mowing the lawn

If the Giants win, I have to wait on him hand and foot for a month (like I don’t do that already!!).  The Patriots are favored this year.

GO PATRIOTS!!!

I think they should let the little girls be little girls.  They are making them grow up way too fast.  And some of the coaches!!!  I think that child beauty pageants should be against the law!!!

He had given me a $500 bonus for Christmas!!  I was not even expecting a bonus, since I have only worked for him for a year.  But man, this was a great Christmas gift.  I have been needing a new television set in my living room for about 1 1/2 years now, mine went out, and I could not afford to fix it or buy a new one.  So, this is buying me a new television set!!!  They have some great sales going on right now.  Thank you Mr. Elliott for the wonderful gift.

I am just thankful that I and my family and friends are all safe here at home.  I know several people who have relatives who are serving overseas, fighting the war, and think of them and how they will miss those away from home over the holiday.

My Christmas wish is for the wars to end and for everyone to come home.  I know that world peace is never going to be a possibility.  I don’t understand why people can’t just live and let live.  It is a question that will never be answered.

So, we celebrate the birth of Christ once more.  I hope everyone has a joyous and safe Christmas.