Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a
well. The animal cried piteously for hours as
the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the
well needed to be covered up anyway;
it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and
help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he
quieted down.


A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally
looked down the well. He was astonished at what
he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his
back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and
happily trotted off !

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds
of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well
is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out
of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred

Free your mind from worries

Live simply and appreciate what you have

Give more

Expect less

AND NOW ............

The story continues . . ......... The donkey later came back,
and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him.
The gash from the bite got infected and
the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover
your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

This is my brain today - dead & empty....

I tried to think of something to post, but I keep coming up empty.

Maybe later.

My two older kiddos went to the Saturday race at Talladega with their dad & stepmom. They had such a great time. Outside, they have tents set up for different vendors who give away items & show off some of their cars from prior races. Below is a pic of B sitting in one of the cars. Tay didn't get her pic made, but she still had fun. I believe they're already planning on attending the next race in the fall too.

I used to work at both races here, but haven't in a couple of years. I miss that check, but the hectic schedule & crowd on the roads were a pain. It was still fun. I'm actually thinking about maybe working again in the fall. Who knows.

I did watch the end of the race. It was definitely not a spectacular finish, to say the least. Maybe October will be better! Jeff Gordon won, but I was actually kinda hoping Jr would since it was his dad's birthday. Sr was one of my favorites.

(I tried to post the pic, but it didn't show up & even hid the rest of my post!) *shrug*

Well, Lulu ended up spending the night with one of her friends, so I had to make this one alone. Of course, I was meeting my friend, her sis & family there so I wouldn't be alone.

OK. Last night was the 2nd annual for the local competition of Searching for the Stars. It was actually quite fun (but no AI by any stretch), but there was some real young talent there.

When I got there, I saw Emey first off. She's 14 now & SO beautiful - & tall! I've watched her from birth to now grow in to such a gorgious young woman.

The auditorium was filling up fast. The MCs were 3 local Ministers. There were 7 judges from other states. They had 3 groups - 1 being the youngest & 3 being the older ones. Emey was in group 2.

When he introduced Emey, he made the comment "I've heard this little girl sing & let me tell you, it's scary!". I thought that was a great compliment.

She was first to perform in her group 2. Here she comes out in white pants, black shirt & her blonde hair in perfect curls - beautiful (& hot too for a 14 yr old, if I may say so, as told from the cries of the males in the audience! Man they grow up early these days.) Her music started, she started moving & here comes "lil Aretha Franklin" with RESPECT. She was awesome & had such stage presence! I was blown away by her powerful voice!! Yes, I was the beaming "aunt" in the audience.

You know the black churches that have the most awe-inspiring choirs that just make you want to jump up & get your groove on while praising His name? Well, the next little girl did just that. I could just see her in front of the congregation singing her heart out for Our Lord. Man she was the stuff & a voice straight from Heaven! Yes, this is the girl that won in their group, but she did deserve it. We all knew it. Emey applauded her & had no problem with the results. Her comment afterwards? "This was fun & was good experience for me. Maybe next time will be my time. I'll just keep on trying." I thought that was a very mature attitude to have.

The 3rd group had a pretty young woman who is headed off to the Miss Alabama pageant & is pursuing her studies in music. She was extremely good, but so were most of the others. The winner of this group was a man who decided to "go it old school" & sang acapella - using his hands & feet, along with the claps of the audience, to keep time. OMG he had a power voice. Remember me talking about the girl that won group 2? Well, he is her counterpart. Oh man he was singing & praising to his hearts content. The audience was so in to this too. Incredible....

This was quite fun & entertaining watching these striving young artists embark of what they hope to be a great musical career. I left silently wishing them all good luck in their future musical careers. We will see some of these youngsters again some day.