LUNCH TIME POLL

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

I’ve been reading comments by individuals all over the country since President Obama released the news that he will not allow the pictures of Bin Laden’s corpse to be published. There are so many strong opinions on the matter and emotions run deep, for obvious reasons. Those of us who have some connection to people killed in the 9-11 attack masterminded by Bin Laden can’t help but feel that justice was done, but I wonder if we really need to see the graphic, gory photos to prove it.

I must admit, I disagree with the President on many issues, but I feel he is entirely correct in not releasing the photos. Why should we allow his followers to “enshrine” him with a photo that we would provide, marking him as a martyr? Our government has documented the death, used DNA to be sure it was actually the right target, and our amazing Navy Seals gave a full account. That should be enough for us.

People in our society, especially children, have become too desensitized to death. Violent death is a horrible, appalling thing, no matter who the victim, or in this case the target is. I agree, Bin Laden suffered the consequences of his actions, and rightly so, but must we lower ourselves to morbidly curious beings with no thought of the effect this photo will have on those who will see it?

I say let’s celebrate our brave service men and women instead. Print photos of Navy Seals and pilots and all those who played a major role in seeing that justice was done. Those are the kinds of pictures our children should be seeing, not corpses with part of their brain missing!

What do you think? Do you still feel the photos should be released? As I always say, all opinions should be heard and respected. Tell us how you feel... 

SHAKE, RATTLE, ROLL and the "TRUFFLE SHUFFLE"

The Case of the Crazy Corgi

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

If you’ve ever had a Corgi, you know that they have teeny, tiny legs and a BIG, BIG heart! Our Dudley is no exception. He’s fiercely loyal and adores my husband and me. He loves to play fetch with his squeaky raccoon and adores having his belly rubbed. Sounds like a pretty normal, happy go lucky, little pup, wouldn’t you say?

Dudley always got along with our other dogs, and even our cat, Piper (RIP). He and our Sheltie, Gracie would run around the yard, snuggle and even eat from the same bowl, at the same time! Life was beautiful. One of Dudley’s favorite occurrences was when Grandma came to visit. He’d follow her around, lay on her feet and eat up all the granmotherly love she showered on him. Then, out of the blue it happened. Dudley turned into the crazy Corgi!

WHEN FORTY FEEL LIKE SIXTEEN

DRL is thrilled to introduce our newest contributor...
Michele Rohyans

Starting out in a new relationship is always an adventure. Before we begin, I want to make it clear that this is not a bitter piece; in fact, it is very much the opposite.  This is a piece about the joy of opening your heart just when you were pretty sure you were OK with life just as it was...

When you are in your teens romantic love is a completely new concept, and you rush in, as you do most things at that age, with the assurance that there is no way anything painful will result...until it does. However, young hearts, most young hearts anyway, are quick to heal. Soon you are off and running again down that dangerous, twisting, rocky, hilly path, at break neck speed, forgetting that just a short time ago one of those emotional trees rose up in the middle of the path (when you were least expecting it of course) and SMACK! You went down with a thump as one of the lower limbs skewered your heart breaking it into a million pieces (melodramatic I know, but that is how things are when you are in your teens). Yet, and at the time it is really not what you want to hear, this is “puppy love” and like training wheels on a bicycle serves to prepare us for the next phase which is love in the twenties.

WANNA LAUGH?!?!?!

A professor of mathematics sent a fax to his wife. It read:

"Dear wife, You must realize that you are 54 years old and I have certain needs which you are no longer able to satisfy. I am otherwise happy with you as a wife, and I sincerely hope you will not be hurt or offended to learn that by the time you receive this letter, I will be at the Grand Hotel with my 18-year-old teaching assistant. I'll be home before midnight. - Your Husband"
When he arrived at the hotel, there was a faxed letter waiting for him that read as follows:

"Dear Husband. You too are 54 years old, and by the time you receive this, I will be at the Breakwater Hotel with the 18-year-old pool boy. Being the brilliant mathematician that you are, you can easily appreciate the fact that 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18. Don't wait up."

Crusin' - Wickedly Good Fun!

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

There’s only one word to describe a cruise to the Bahamas – luxurious, sumptuous, opulent! Oops! That was three words! Well, it can’t be helped because it truly was all those things!

We started out from Port Canaveral on a Monday at noon. When I drove up A1A and rounded the bend right before the Port, the ship suddenly came into view. Amazing! The Monarch of the Seas is the smallest ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet but it looked tremendous to me! What an awesome sight to behold!  It seemed to glisten in the sun and my tummy had that excited flutter as we drove closer.

Checking in was a breeze and we went right up to the “Windjammer” to meet two other friends for the fabulous lunch buffet. There was so much food: hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, cold cuts, hot entrees, a festival of fruits and an exquisite exhibit of desserts! I gained a pound just looking at it!

After enjoying the buffet, we went in search of our cabins. I had booked both rooms and explained to the travel agent that we wanted to be together both in location and in the dining room. Well, we had a problem! (Not Royal Caribbean’s fault at all!) My friend and I were on the 6^th floor in the absolute bow of the ship. Our other friends were on the 4^th floor center ship. I’m handicapped and since all 4 handicapped rooms were booked before I booked ours, I hoped to be at least near the elevator. The travel agent assured me that the room would be set up to accommodate me and my scooter and that all would be well. We wound up in the ONLY room whose doorway stuck out halfway into the hall because it was so far up in the bow. Needless to say, the scooter couldn’t get at an angle to get in the room. When we opened the door, there was one double bed made up and the room, while very nice, was miniscule to say the least! We also found that the 6^th floor is the most inaccessible deck on the ship. To get to certain places we had to go down or up a deck, across the ship to another elevator and down or up even further.

STICKY SWEET

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Patty B

"Never mind about 1066 William the Conqueror, 1087 William the Second. Such things are not going to affect one?s life ... but 1932 the Mars Bar and 1936 Maltesers and 1937 the Kit Kat - these dates are milestones in history and should be seared into the memory of every child in the country." 

- Roald Dahl

"Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power. it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits."

-- Baron Justus von Liebig

"As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate."

-- Sandra Boynton

LUNCH TIME POLL - HELL WEEK

Dawn Boyle

It's that time of year for us here in New York. It is ELA's this week, which are the State Tests given to elementary school children. When I was younger we had the IOWA Examinations. I remember them being no big deal. Now a days an entire school year is based on the ELA'S alone.

The pressure we put on our students and on the teacher is ridiculous. I have a few friends that their kids were a bundle of nerves for these tests. I have told my kids from the beginning that all they have to do is their best, it is no baring on their actual grade at all.

It is Hell Week for you?

Does every school participate in some kind of State testing?

Do you feel that these tests are completely useless? 

Share your thoughts with us!  

REST IN PEACE LITTLE ANGEL

Dawn Boyle

I teach a small group of children religion. We meet once a week from September through April. My class of kids happens to be children of my friends. We have been together as a group for 3 years. We are there for each other when someone needs a ride to class, we celebrate the joys of a new baby coming into someone's family, the holidays and have also dealt with the loss of a grandparent. We have an amazing little group of now 10 year olds.

I will never forget the day when a parent was dropping off their child and was obviously very upset. She had just learned that her nephew was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, which is a rare form of cancer that affects children. That day started our days of prayer. We offered up every class to our classmate Barbara's cousin Kyle. We participated in fund raisers and dedicated our Walk-A-Thon to Kyle and his cause, which landed our picture in the church bulletin.

We learned that only 30 percent of children that are diagnosed survive because there is little money spent on research. Neuroblastoma is the leading cause of death of children under 18 by disease.

 I have been receiving emails from an outstanding site that allowed the family of Kyle to make updates about his progress. Their story was so incredible. I read about triumphs and doctors visits, about time spent with family and his best friend, I also read this morning about his passing.

Today I sent an email out to my class and their families with the sad news of Kyle's passing and it made me think what could we do to honor Kyle? I decided that it would be best to spread the word about Neuroblastoma, and let my friends and readers know about this horrible disease that is not getting enough funding or attention. Please see the link below about Kyle, about donating in his honor and to finding the cure for Neuroblastoma.

REST KYLE JAMES WILLIAMS REST and GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILY

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kylejameswilliams

TAKE MY BREATH AWAY - NO MORE

Dawn Boyle

I go through bouts of insomnia, usually due to stress. I find myself up at night watching old movies. I usually fall asleep before it's over. The other night I woke up about 1:30 and couldn't get back to bed. I flipped through all 7,000 channels. NOTHING...I looked through all the On Demand, again NOTHING. I started surfing again and found Top Gun. It started to make me think, what happened to Tom Cruise.

I was madly in love with him in his Top Gun, Risky Business Days. Still loved him in Cocktail and faintly remember All the Right Moves. But it made me wonder why this "GOD" of my youth was the least of my favorites as and adult. How and why did my taste change so much?

He still has that wicked killer smile and is very handsome, but he lost me when he married Nicole Kidman. Remember that freakishly odd movie they did together? What was it called...Eyes Wide Shut. Talk about BIZARRE! Then when he started jumping couches and ripping Brooke Shields a new one, I was physically repulsed by him. For some reason I was totally over Tom Cruise. In fact if I was given a "MOVIE STAR PASS" and my choice had to be Tom Cruise...I would not take it! I guess the L. Ron Hubbard, Katie Holmes, Suri, Tom is not my ideal anymore. I am pretty sure he is not Katie's anymore either. I bet she wishes she stayed with Chris Klein...LIVE AND LEARN!

I was also in love with a few of the other OUTSIDERS....no other repulses me as much as Tommy. How about you? Oh and I still have dreams of waking up one day and looking like Diane Lane.

SOUL FOOD

Barbara Ward-Finneran

Be intentional. Choose whats right and good for you. 

Everything that you want is with in your reach... 

Choose it. Live for it. Be on fire for it. 

Praise and bless your dreams and desires, as this will dissolve negativity - praise and bless yourself so you shift into a new positive frequency.  

Allow the feedback of your good feelings to direct you to accomplishing your goals.

Keep the promises that you make to yourself!

Photo Courtesy of Barbara Ward-Finneran and Drawn 2 Design, LLC

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