I Gave Her My Heart, She Gave Me A Pen

"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley. I believe he already knows you." --Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), To Kill a Mockingbird.

"What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living is, I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it"
"She's gone. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen." -- Lloyd Dobler (John Cusak), Say Anything

"I'm a full-time dad. I'm a working parent. I'm a mother and a father. I'm a guy who reads parenting books and cookbooks before I go to sleep. I spend my weekends buying tutus. I'm learning to sew. I'm Mr. Napkin Head" --Graham Simpkins(Jude Law), The Holiday

"Well, like I told Max... I was trying to cut my way through your wire because I want to get out".-- Capt Hilts (Steve McQueen), The Great Escape

"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." --Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling), The Notebook

Ok--so what is up with all those quotes? Oh, I'm just sitting here thinking of some of my favorite on- screen characters. On the way to work this morning, I was just thinking about Atticus Finch, and what a wonderful man he was. A "True Southern Gentleman" trying to raise his children to have manners, compassion, and respect for others. I just love when he so formally and respectfully introduces Scout to Boo (Arthur) Radley. Of course, there are many other scenes in that movie that I just love. I also enjoy his conversations with Scout,as they snuggle together sitting on the porch in the evenings.

Lloyd Dobler. I could dedicate an entire blog post to the "favorite" Lloyd Dobler sayings.

"I draw the line at 7 unreturned phone calls."

" How many of them really know what they want, though? I mean, a lot of them think they have to know, right? But inside they don't really know, so... I don't know ,but I know that I don't know"

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. "

What is not to love about Lloyd Dobler?

And, even as a little girl, catching glimpses of The Great Escape, while my dad was watching it, I knew that Capt Hilts, with his baseball glove and ball was the coolest guy around.


And, I cant forget to mention Mark Ruffalo, while talking about my favorite on-screen men. His characters in Rumor Has It, Just Like Heaven, and 13 going on 30 are just irresistible.

So, what does all of this have to do with anything? Oh , nothing really. Just sharing, once again, those random thoughts bouncing around in my head. Happy Friday!

St. Bernard Project Tribute

Well, I am back from my trip to New Orleans. It was an awesome experience and I would love to go back again. It has been such a busy week, that I didn't really feel organized enough to be posting yet. BUT--as I was just trying to catch up on some other blogs, I saw that it was Tribute Tuesday on The Seven Clown Circus Blog.

OK--so again--not really organized since I've been back--but want to take this time to do a quick tribute of my own, and to spend a few minutes on my own blog, so it doesn't feel so neglected. So here goes..........

St. Bernard Parish is a community adjacent to New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina hit the area in August of 2005, the population for this Parish was 67,000. There were 27,000 homes and 14,000businesses. All 27,000 homes were inhabitable after the storm. Now, almost 4 years later, there are still countless numbers of houses that are still in need of repair so that they can once again become homes for families to move back into this community.

So much has been done in this area, but there is still so much more to be done. FEMA has already started removing the trailers that families have been living in. Some of these trailers have been parked right in front of the homes that the families once lived in. But, when the trailers have to be removed, some people will again be homeless. There are still 1000 families displaced in St. Bernard Parish. 75% of homeowners did not receive sufficient funds to rebuild their homes.

That is where the St. Bernard Project comes into the picture.

This is a non-profit, community based program that is helping to get people back in their homes. The Project has helped to rebuild 221 homes, and are currently working on 30 more homes. I had the privilege of working with the St. Bernard Project last week on a home. And like I said, it was an awesome experience.

So-----My tribute today is to the St. Bernard Project for putting together this awesome organization and helping to get people back into their homes.

Not So Easy Work In The Big Easy

This is the home we are working on. It is already stripped down to the studs. Our job is mold remediation. In other words--every last piece of wood (beams, studs, rafters) must be scraped down with a steel brush. Then it every bit of it gets wiped down with a cloth, and a special chemical that will help kill mold. And then, we will paint on a substance to also kill any mold and to seal the wood. The picture above shows how the home was marked by people who went in to search homes after the flooding. Notice the date they were able to get to the house. 9-18 (Sept 18th). That is 19 days after the Katrina and the flooding took place. Thankfully, there were no casualties in this home. That is what the zero means. The initials indicate the name of the organization who searched the home.

My blogging time is gonna be very limited this week. I left on Sunday morning heading for New Orleans with some members from my church. We will be here this week working on some homes with the St Bernard Project. It has already been such a great experience. I look forward to writing more about the home we are working on and some of the stories I have heard from people who have lived through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Happy 4th of July

HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE

Happy 4th of July! Today we celebrate our Country's Independance. We celebrate our freedom.

And I want to thank the men and women of our Armed Forces who have given their time and sometimes their lives to help us to have that freedom.

And, here's just a little something in honor and memory of my dad, who I think was one of the greatest Army soldiers of all time. There may be a smidge of favortism in that statement, but probably not much.

As a matter of fact, lets just honor all the branches of the military.

Marines

Navy

Air Force

Coast Guard

This Gives Me The High-Rise Heebie Jeebies!

The tallest building in the U.S., the Sears Tower in Chicago, has added some new features. 1,353 feet in the air, on the 103rd floor, are some balconies. Not just any balconies. No--these balconies have transparent walls, floors and ceilings. I don't know about you, but just typing those words gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. If you dare step out onto the balcony, it gives the appearance, of walking out on air over the city. I don't know about you, but I just felt my legs go weak just thinking about it.

And look at these kids. Just laying there as if its no big deal. 103 stories high, now! I think I'd just freak out watching anyone walk out on a see-through floor like that. Just ask anyone who has been on a ferris wheel with me. No talking--No laughing---don't move--not one muscle.

I couldn't do it. Nope. I would feel like the bottom was going to fall out. What if there was a crack in the floor? What if it wasn't attached onto the side of the building very well?

Pardon my English, but I just have to say, "AIN'T NO WAY! UH- UH. NO WAY!"