Sandy-battered East Coast braces for cold, new storm - U.S. News
Monday, November 05, 2012
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Post-storm construction hiring may aid US economy
Post-storm construction hiring may aid US economy
SANDY MAY CREATE MANY NEW JOBS. THINK ABOUT IT. Toney
SANDY MAY CREATE MANY NEW JOBS. THINK ABOUT IT. Toney
Saturday, November 03, 2012
Tornado Safety & Preparedness
Tornado Safety & Preparedness
In the wake of destructive and historic Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, we now know that Mother Nature does not play favorites in when or where she can deliver catastrophe.
As northwest Georgians, Alabamans and Tennesseans learned on April 27, 2011, areas formerly believed to be immune from tornadoes and severe wind and other storm damage in reality could be struck with weather of sometimes catastrophic and tragic ferocity.
I found the above information on The Weather Channel's web site. You may want to use it to be mentally and physically prepared in the event that severe weather, especially tornado and wind events, threaten. -- Toney Atkins
In the wake of destructive and historic Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, we now know that Mother Nature does not play favorites in when or where she can deliver catastrophe.
As northwest Georgians, Alabamans and Tennesseans learned on April 27, 2011, areas formerly believed to be immune from tornadoes and severe wind and other storm damage in reality could be struck with weather of sometimes catastrophic and tragic ferocity.
I found the above information on The Weather Channel's web site. You may want to use it to be mentally and physically prepared in the event that severe weather, especially tornado and wind events, threaten. -- Toney Atkins
APPRECIATING MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY, NOW AND THEN
APPRECIATING MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY, NOW AND THEN
Veterans Day 2012 is Monday, Nov. 12. If you know a veteran of World War I or World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Iraq War, the ongoing war in Afghanistan or any other conflict in which American servicemen and women have participated, please make it a point to tell them "thank you" in some form or fashion. We have heroes living among us who often go unrecognized and/or unappreciated. Now is the time to change that. -- Toney Atkins
Veterans Day 2012 is Monday, Nov. 12. If you know a veteran of World War I or World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Iraq War, the ongoing war in Afghanistan or any other conflict in which American servicemen and women have participated, please make it a point to tell them "thank you" in some form or fashion. We have heroes living among us who often go unrecognized and/or unappreciated. Now is the time to change that. -- Toney Atkins
BEYOND JUST SAYING 'THANKS' TO VETERANS
BEYOND JUST SAYING 'THANKS' TO VETERANS
Thanks to Phil Restino of Daytona Beach, FL, for this Veterans Day piece. Click on the link above.
Thanks to Phil Restino of Daytona Beach, FL, for this Veterans Day piece. Click on the link above.
Friday, November 02, 2012
171,000 Jobs Created In October, Unemployment Stays Under 8 Percent
171,000 Jobs Created In October, Unemployment Stays Under 8 Percent: pThe American economy added 171,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly but stayed below 8 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 120,000 jobs to be created. The private sector added 184,000 jobs, while the public sector lost 13,000. The number of jobs [...]/p
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Romney Campaign Blames Obama For Closed BBQ Restaurant With Repeated Health Violations
Romney Campaign Blames Obama For Closed BBQ Restaurant With Repeated Health Violations: pA new ad by the Romney campaign, titled “Bill’s BBQ,” highlights a small chain of barbecue restaurants in Richmond, Virginia, which closed in September. The ad suggests that the closure of the 82-year-old company went out of business because President Obama has not improved the economy. But a ThinkProgress review of news reports and public [...]/p
UFO sightings in Myrtle Beach area go back to 1930s - UPI.com
UFO sightings in Myrtle Beach area go back to 1930s - UPI.com
The above link is being posted to offer something light during this very serious period of news from the tragic Superstorm Sandy and the campaigns of President Barrack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney in what is expected to be an historic 2012 election on Tuesday, Nov. 6. -- Toney Atkins
The above link is being posted to offer something light during this very serious period of news from the tragic Superstorm Sandy and the campaigns of President Barrack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney in what is expected to be an historic 2012 election on Tuesday, Nov. 6. -- Toney Atkins
Conservatives Bash Christie For Cooperating With Obama Post-Sandy
Conservatives Bash Christie For Cooperating With Obama Post-Sandy: pAs New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) joined President Obama today to survey the devastated shores of the New Jersey coastline, conservative commentators launched into political attacks, calling him “fat and a fool,” and claiming that the tour of the damage was a shared campaign event. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who normally reserves his [...]/p
GOP Candidate Opposes Abortion Exception In Cases Of ‘The Rape Thing’
GOP Candidate Opposes Abortion Exception In Cases Of ‘The Rape Thing’: pJohn Koster, a Republican running for Congress in Washington, became the latest candidate to opine on abortion exceptions in cases of rape and incest over the weekend at a fundraiser with Rep. Tom Price (R-GA). Koster said he would support abortion only if the woman’s life was in danger, but would not extend the same [...]/p
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Romney Campaign Staged Donations At Storm Relief Event
Romney Campaign Staged Donations At Storm Relief Event: pAs the East Coast and parts of Ohio struggled to regroup in the devastating wake of “Superstorm” Sandy, the Romney campaign hastily transformed a scheduled victory rally in Dayton, Ohio into a non-political “storm relief event” on Tuesday. According to BuzzFeed, the campaign encouraged supporters to bring hurricane relief supplies and “deliver the bags of [...]/p
Anti-Gay Preacher Blames Hurricane Sandy On Homosexuality And Marriage Equality
Anti-Gay Preacher Blames Hurricane Sandy On Homosexuality And Marriage Equality: pA Christian religious leader has already claimed that Hurricane Sandy is further proof that “God is systematically destroying America” as political judgment for the “homosexual agenda.” John McTernan previously made similar allusions about Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Isaac (2012), which he reiterated in his urgent call to prayer posted Sunday evening (via Gay Star News): Just [...]/p
EXCLUSIVE: Romney Campaign Training Poll Watchers To Mislead Voters In Wisconsin
EXCLUSIVE: Romney Campaign Training Poll Watchers To Mislead Voters In Wisconsin: pMitt Romney’s campaign has been training poll watchers in Wisconsin with highly misleading — and sometimes downright false — information about voters’ rights. Documents from a recent Romney poll watcher training obtained by ThinkProgress contain several misleading or untrue claims about the rights of Wisconsin voters. A source passed along the following packet of documents, [...]/p
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
HOW TO HELP VICTIMS OF SUPERSTORM SANDY
BY TONEY ATKINS
As we watched the live television coverage of the terrifying and historic Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29-30, and particularly observing the horrifying pictures of the aftermath in the Northeast and even into the South, with unseasonable snow and winds there, it was hard to imagine what it must have been like to go through the destructive event.
While living in Florida in the early-and-mid-2000s, I experienced several hurricanes during one season, each with its own frightening and devastating character, but none with the utter power of Superstorm Sandy, which has impacted more than a third of the eastern United States. We're still getting some out the outermost winds of the storm in northwest Georgia as I write this on the evening of Oct. 30.
There were power outages, flooded areas, damaged homes and businesses and even injuries and deaths in the storms I went through. There were the inconveniences of gas stations without electricity to pump fuel into cars; inoperable ATMs, again because of power outages, closed restaurants because foods lost refrigeration, downed trees across power lines, streets and even into homes and onto vehicles. Water in some areas was polluted undrinkable; cell phone service was sporadic. I could go on and on.
Those of us who are not there can only guess how the victims of Superstorm Sandy are feeling, what they have lost and what kind of stress they are enduring because they feel helpless, not knowing what the future holds.
Power companies from around the nation are en route to the scenes of destruction. Others are heading the same direction to help with reconstruction, medical needs and aiding the newly homeless or displaced fellow Americans.
Everyone can help in the recovery effort by making donations to the American Red Cross, the only charity my late father, World War II veteran Charlie J. Atkins, supported because of his experience with the organization during the war.
Anyone wanting to help can go to the web site, http://www.redcross.org/support/donating-fundraising/donations for information and even to make donations without leaving home.
None of us know when our lives will be impacted by Mother Nature's often unpredictable tragedies and when we might help, so it pays to pay it forward. Those who need us now will be grateful.
As we watched the live television coverage of the terrifying and historic Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29-30, and particularly observing the horrifying pictures of the aftermath in the Northeast and even into the South, with unseasonable snow and winds there, it was hard to imagine what it must have been like to go through the destructive event.
While living in Florida in the early-and-mid-2000s, I experienced several hurricanes during one season, each with its own frightening and devastating character, but none with the utter power of Superstorm Sandy, which has impacted more than a third of the eastern United States. We're still getting some out the outermost winds of the storm in northwest Georgia as I write this on the evening of Oct. 30.
There were power outages, flooded areas, damaged homes and businesses and even injuries and deaths in the storms I went through. There were the inconveniences of gas stations without electricity to pump fuel into cars; inoperable ATMs, again because of power outages, closed restaurants because foods lost refrigeration, downed trees across power lines, streets and even into homes and onto vehicles. Water in some areas was polluted undrinkable; cell phone service was sporadic. I could go on and on.
Those of us who are not there can only guess how the victims of Superstorm Sandy are feeling, what they have lost and what kind of stress they are enduring because they feel helpless, not knowing what the future holds.
Power companies from around the nation are en route to the scenes of destruction. Others are heading the same direction to help with reconstruction, medical needs and aiding the newly homeless or displaced fellow Americans.
Everyone can help in the recovery effort by making donations to the American Red Cross, the only charity my late father, World War II veteran Charlie J. Atkins, supported because of his experience with the organization during the war.
Anyone wanting to help can go to the web site, http://www.redcross.org/support/donating-fundraising/donations for information and even to make donations without leaving home.
None of us know when our lives will be impacted by Mother Nature's often unpredictable tragedies and when we might help, so it pays to pay it forward. Those who need us now will be grateful.
First Thoughts: Government's high-wire act - First Read
First Thoughts: Government's high-wire act - First Read
MSNBC's "First Thoughts" about political situation in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Click link above. -- Toney Atkins
MSNBC's "First Thoughts" about political situation in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Click link above. -- Toney Atkins
Q&A: Riding Out the Storm Safely
Q&A: Riding Out the Storm Safely
CLICK LINK ABOVE FOR NEWS TO USE FROM WEBMD THAT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL IN THE AFTERMATH OF SANDY OR OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS. -- TONEY ATKINS
CLICK LINK ABOVE FOR NEWS TO USE FROM WEBMD THAT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL IN THE AFTERMATH OF SANDY OR OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS. -- TONEY ATKINS
Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly
Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly: pFormer FEMA Director Michael Brown offered criticism of President Obama’s early responses to Hurricane Sandy yesterday, including a dig at the administration’s response to last month’s attack in Libya. Yesterday, ahead of the storm’s pummeling of the eastern seaboard, Brown gave an interview to the local alternative paper, the Denver Westword, on how he believed [...]/p
How Romney And Ryan Would Severely Impair Disaster Relief Efforts
How Romney And Ryan Would Severely Impair Disaster Relief Efforts: pThe federal government’s ability to respond to natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy currently bearing down on the East Coast, would be significantly hindered under a Romney-Ryan administration. At least three times, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have publicly demanded that the federal government only disburse disaster relief funding if Congress agreed to offsetting budget cuts [...]/p
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Gingrich Defends Mourdock’s Rape Comments, Advising Women To ‘Get Over It’
Gingrich Defends Mourdock’s Rape Comments, Advising Women To ‘Get Over It’: pJust days after several key Republicans sought to distance themselves from Indiana senate candidate Richard Mourdock in the wake of his misogynistic comments on rape, top-level Romney surrogate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich tried a different approach, taking the time to defend Mourdock’s comment that a forced pregnancy resulting from a rape [...]/p
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Condi Rice Pours Cold Water On ‘Benghazi-Gate’
Condi Rice Pours Cold Water On ‘Benghazi-Gate’: pFormer Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice broke with the majority of her party last night on Fox News, as she tried to hit the brakes on the right wing’s politicization of the recent attack in Libya. Host Greta Van Susteren asked Rice directly and repeatedly about a set of emails uncovered by Reuters. In what [...]/p
Did Climate Change Help Create ‘Frankenstorm’?
Did Climate Change Help Create ‘Frankenstorm’?: pAs the East Coast braces for a possible direct hit from Hurricane Sandy, meteorologists are closely watching the storm’s “freak” formation. They’re calling it “unprecedented and bizarre,” a “perfect storm,” and a “frankenstorm” that could cause historic storm surges, last for multiple days, and cause over a billion dollars in damage. After hitting Jamaica and [...]/p
Monday, October 22, 2012
COMING SOON: DOOMSDAY???
Dec. 21, 2012, in reasonable theory, should be a date that we are still recovering from a definitely harrowing and historic election and preparing for a merry Christmas and a happier new year.
However, the ancient Mayans had different visions of how we might be observing the holiday season: Doomsday or, as some believe, a day of massive spiritual awakening and renewal.
A major problem for many people will what kind of party to plan for which scenario on the night before. (If the Republicans win the election, a prediction of apocalypse seems more favorable, with special effects courtesy of God.)
In any event, NBCNews.com has a nonpartisan story about the prediction of earthly catastrophe at the following link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49494036/ns/technology_and_science-science/#__utma=14933801.1384125391.1350886070.1350886070.1350886070.1&__utmb=14933801.4.10.1350886070&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1350886070.1.1.utmcsr=msnbc.msn.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/id/3032128/ns/weather&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned By=msnbc|=1^12=Landing Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit Type to Content=Internal to Mixed=1&__utmk=112949252&__utma=14933801.1384125391.1350886070.1350886070.1350886070.1&__utmb=14933801.4.10.1350886070&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1350886070.1.1.utmcsr=msnbc.msn.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/id/3032128/ns/weather&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7C=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=112949252
Pray for more love and peace, now and post-Dec. 21. -- Toney Atkins
However, the ancient Mayans had different visions of how we might be observing the holiday season: Doomsday or, as some believe, a day of massive spiritual awakening and renewal.
A major problem for many people will what kind of party to plan for which scenario on the night before. (If the Republicans win the election, a prediction of apocalypse seems more favorable, with special effects courtesy of God.)
In any event, NBCNews.com has a nonpartisan story about the prediction of earthly catastrophe at the following link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49494036/ns/technology_and_science-science/#__utma=14933801.1384125391.1350886070.1350886070.1350886070.1&__utmb=14933801.4.10.1350886070&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1350886070.1.1.utmcsr=msnbc.msn.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/id/3032128/ns/weather&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned By=msnbc|=1^12=Landing Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit Type to Content=Internal to Mixed=1&__utmk=112949252&__utma=14933801.1384125391.1350886070.1350886070.1350886070.1&__utmb=14933801.4.10.1350886070&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1350886070.1.1.utmcsr=msnbc.msn.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/id/3032128/ns/weather&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7C=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=112949252
Pray for more love and peace, now and post-Dec. 21. -- Toney Atkins
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Rubio Develops ‘Romnesia’ While Trying To Explain Romney’s Position On Contraception
Rubio Develops ‘Romnesia’ While Trying To Explain Romney’s Position On Contraception: pLast week, President Obama joked that some Romney surrogates are suffering from “Romnesia” — an ability to forget the candidate’s old positions on major campaign issues, in favor of his new positions. On Sunday, during an appearance on Meet The Press, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was presenting severe symptoms of that condition, spending a good [...]/p
Ohio Secretary of State Says Restoring Early Voting Is ‘Un-American’
Ohio Secretary of State Says Restoring Early Voting Is ‘Un-American’: pDuring his keynote speech at an election law symposium at University of Toledo on Friday, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R) claimed two recent court decisions restoring early voting on the last three days before the election was “un-American.” Husted has sought to restrict early voting, even openly defying a court order to lift [...]/p
Saturday, October 20, 2012
At Last Night’s Debate: Romney Told 31 Myths In 41 Minutes
At Last Night’s Debate: Romney Told 31 Myths In 41 Minutes: pDuring the first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado Romney managed to tell 27 myths in his 38 minutes of speaking time. But at his second encounter with Obama in New York, the GOP presidential candidate — who has run a post-truth campaign from day one — outdid himself and crammed 31 myths in 41 minutes: [...]/p
Friday, October 19, 2012
How The Model Tax Plan Romney Cited Could Raise One Middle-Class Woman’s Taxes By $6,000
How The Model Tax Plan Romney Cited Could Raise One Middle-Class Woman’s Taxes By $6,000: pOur guest blogger is Seth Hanlon, Director of Fiscal Reform at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Throughout the campaign, Mitt Romney has refused to give details when asked how he plans to pay for his nearly $4.8 trillion in tax cuts. In Tuesday night’s debate, audience member Mary Follano asked Romney how his [...]/p
Obama Diagnoses Romney: He’s Suffering From ‘Romnesia’
Obama Diagnoses Romney: He’s Suffering From ‘Romnesia’: pPresident Obama unveiled a new line of attack against Mitt Romney during a campaign stop at George Mason University Friday, arguing that the GOP presidential candidate — who has changed his views on key policy issues — suffers from Romnesia, a condition that causes one to forget their past statements and beliefs. “[H]e’s changing up [...]/p
Number Of Gun Dealers Increased By 3000 Under Obama
Number Of Gun Dealers Increased By 3000 Under Obama: pThe moment President Obama took office, the NRA’s primary product became paranoid theories about how Obama plans to seize gun owners’ guns. Even after Obama served as president for nearly three full years without signing a single new gun regulation — his primary contribution to gun law is a minor bill allowing gun owners to [...]/p
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON: TONEY’s JOURNAL, Oct. 16, 2012
By TONEY ATKINS --- www.toneyatkins.com/
The world seems to be falling apart around us. Everyone seems to be pointing fingers of blame at everyone else for the natural chaos that has grown in intensity in weather tragedies (tornadoes, floods, drought) in our own country, along with what seems to be a hike in earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis and other unexpected phenomena since just before the dawn of the 21st century. Much of this has come about in just the past few years.
People seem to be more on edge about everything, especially here in the United States. Hate, frustration and mistrust have multiplied in what seems to be an increasingly frightening world. We take advantage of, use and abuse, our friends, acquaintances, our neighbors and, even worse, our families. The whole nation needs to swallow a Xanax or some other kind of chill pill before we continue this embarkation to hurt, destroy or kill our fellow human beings.
Maybe folks should start listening to God instead of simply professing to know Him.
I will return to those thoughts in more detail as I proceed with what is the first page of a journal that I have decided to keep for the future to reflect back on the past and compare it to the then-present, especially considering the ominous predictions for a potentially devastating end-of-the-world future scenario. This thought hinges particularly if he prophecy should come true than some kind of Armageddon or the earth-changing event arrives on Dec. 21, 2012, as the ancient Mayans believed when they created a calendar which strangely ends on that date, with an emphasis that leads many to believe that something very dramatic and potentially unpleasant may occur, even though there are no clues to the times or the places.
All one has to do is watch how people have changed since 1999 yielded to the year 2000. Yes, there was even a bizarre atmosphere surrounding the earth as partygoers danced to Prince’s “party like it’s 1999 blasted from stereo speakers in nightclubs either before or after the new year came in. There had been fears that a strange Y2K computer bug would be unleashed as each time zone reached the midnight hour that New Year’s Eve – fears that everything controlled by computers would shut down, leaving us virtually powerless in a world in which more and more of our lives were becoming dictated by the Internet and all of the things that were in some way connected to and dependent on the Internet.
Nothing dramatic happened. The world continued to turn on January 1, 2000. We still had electricity; we could get our money from ATM machines and pump gasoline into our cars. We could watch New Year’s festivities on TV, cook refrigerated foods on our stoves. We could spend hours on our computers, powered by cable TV companies or even new Wi-Fi operations. We could dance the night away, not concerned about whether all of our luxuries and creations would be there tomorrow.
Life and its trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows and its parties went on. All was relatively good in the world as 2000 rolled in. We thought.
********************
I have personal news to report on this Oct. 16, twelve years later. A small growth on my head had increased from the size of a small mole earlier in the past year to a larger, irritating and sometimes painful “something” that seemed to be burrowing into my head, with a couple of scaly mini-towers forming on top.
It became a matter of concern, especially when nurse practitioners assured that it “looked like a mole.” I was afraid to mess with it because warfarin, a blood thinner, had been prescribed after I took a tumble onto a gravel sidewalk when my vision failed to convey to my brain that there was an extra step on the doorsteps and I crashed to the ground. A week later, I was in the emergency room, where doctors determined that I had at least one blood clot and that I would need the medication to thin my blood and fight clots for an unspecified length of time. I was told that I should be careful in shaving and in using cutting instruments, because even a small cut could cause me to bleed out. Therefore, I refrained from trying to scratch or pull of the offending thing growing on my head.
I finally got a doctor to look at the protrusion, and he immediately did a biopsy.The parts he cut out disturbed him, and he sent the piece to a lab somewhere to be analyzed. A week or so later, I was called and told to see a surgical specialist. The caller would only tell me that cancerous cells had shown up in the biopsy.
Needless to say, a certain amount of stress kicked in, although I never let fear take control. How could a small knot, that was starting to break off in small pieces but never coming loose be potentially dangerous? The “c” word had me a little bit worried, but I rested my hope in that it might be benign, that it could be removed and that it hopefully would not spread.
Being without transportation, I made arrangements with some fine neighbors who went with me to consult with the specialist. As I had anticipated, he said surgery was necessary to cut a larger area than he first thought. He said any treatment necessary in the aftermath would have to be determined after the operation, which he considered to be too serious to conduct in his office.
I was put to sleep with the same kind of anesthesia that allegedly killed singer Michael Jackson because of his abuse of it, the surgery was conducted efficiently by a fine doctor and his staff, I returned to the land of the wide awake and was taken home by my caring neighbors to heal, with stitches protruding from the new spot on my already balding head.
I finally had the stitches removed this past week. The surgeon was friendly, courteous and everything that a doctor should be when he honestly revealed to me that the surgery was essentially unnecessary. While the initial biopsy had revealed some cancer cells, he said, no cancer cells, benign or otherwise, were found in testing of the larger area of scalp that he had cut into.
A couple of months of concern and some anxiety, even a bit of pain at the spot – any worry was for naught, but I didn’t know that until a good doctor removed the intruder and deemed it to be harmless. You could have fooled me. I was delighted, thanked God, felt and still feel very blessed.
The only words that disturbed me were “unnecessary surgery.” I don’t regret it. So far, I haven’t felt any unusual impacts. Hallelujah! It’s one less major thing to worry about.
Monday, September 10, 2012
9/11: WE MUST NEVER FORGET
SEPT. 11, 2001: TERROR BECAME REALITY
Re-edited and reposted from 2011
BY TONEY ATKINS
The approach of the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.
Equally disturbing is the fact that many ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly and privately asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country.
That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the Obama administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens? Have we become less Christian, less Godless, in our personal spirits to the devilish extent that we are permitting our lives to be ruled by hate, not love, thus unknowingly invited Armageddon?
In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.
I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the huge building. It initially appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.
As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.
At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"
WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.
I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.
The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He soon organized an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)
Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)
Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with stunned disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.
Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the occasional sounds of military jets which seemed to scream very low over our building during the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.
During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.
Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2011. Despite the eventual discovery and killing of bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1, 2011, under the command of President Obama, no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda and the stabilization of Afghanistan. (Not long after 9/11, then-President Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks on America and initiated a war in that country. That ill-advised war resulted in the deaths of or injuries to thousands of brave military personnel.))
Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome other hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.
The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.
Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is generally referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, even fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?
Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. These radical unpatriotic and destructive citizens who seem to prefer hate and war over peace should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.
We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today.
Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own country's borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.
The approach of the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.
Equally disturbing is the fact that many ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly and privately asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country.
That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the Obama administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens? Have we become less Christian, less Godless, in our personal spirits to the devilish extent that we are permitting our lives to be ruled by hate, not love, thus unknowingly invited Armageddon?
In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.
I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the huge building. It initially appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.
As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.
At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"
WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.
I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.
The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He soon organized an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)
Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)
Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with stunned disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.
Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the occasional sounds of military jets which seemed to scream very low over our building during the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.
During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.
Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2011. Despite the eventual discovery and killing of bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1, 2011, under the command of President Obama, no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda and the stabilization of Afghanistan. (Not long after 9/11, then-President Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks on America and initiated a war in that country. That ill-advised war resulted in the deaths of or injuries to thousands of brave military personnel.))
Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome other hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.
The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.
Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is generally referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, even fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?
Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. These radical unpatriotic and destructive citizens who seem to prefer hate and war over peace should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.
We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today.
Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own country's borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.
Monday, June 25, 2012
TONEY ATKINS’ CUSTOM SLACKER RADIO
LISTEN AND DANCE
TO MUSIC YOU MAY HAVE
FORGOTTEN YOU REMEMBER!
DJ Toney Atkins, known several years ago to karaoke and dance fans in the Greater Daytona Beach, FL, Area as "Toney A," shares many of his favorite artists and tunes on his new custom Slacker Radio stations. The online stations are free, thanks to a few short commercials and display ads (but no popups). See and hear what Toney has been listening to lately, fondly remembering his active DJ days, by clicking on one of the links below:
OR TRY:
DANCE AND WORK THAT BODY -- GET RID OF THAT STITCH IN YOUR GITALONG AND PUT SOME BOOGIE IN YOUR GROOVE THANG! ADD A SMILE AND YOU'RE READY FOR GOOD-TIME DANCING OR WORKING OUT TO ENHANCE YOUR ALREADY AWESOME BODY. PROGRAMMED BY FORMER DAYTONA BEACH DJ TONEY A:
http://www.slacker.com/station/custom/236130995/1339028926
*********************************************************************************************
BABY BOOMERS: THE MUSIC OF OUR YOUNGER DAYS: DESIGNED FOR THOSE BORN FROM THE EARLY WAR YEARS IN THE 1940s THROUGH EARLY ‘70s -- DJ TONEY A WAS BORN DURING WWII, JUST BEFORE THE "BABY BOOMER" GENERATION WAS SPAWNED. THE FORMER FACTORY WORKER, COLLEGE STUDENT, MINISTER, SCHOOL TEACHER AND NEWSPAPER WRITER AND EDITOR SAW AND HEARD MANY CHANGES IN MUSIC, FROM BIG BANDS TO THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL, ALONG WITH OTHER EVOLVING GENRES AND FADS. HE WAS THERE WHEN ELVIS BECAME KING AND THE BEATLES INVADED AMERICA AND THE WORLD. HERE, HE HAS PROGRAMMED MANY FAVORITE ARTISTS AND SONGS FROM THE ERA BETWEEN THE 1940s THROUGH THE EARLY 1970s:
http://slacker.com/r/HwJrj
**********************************************************************************************
MASSIVE MUSIC MASHUP, PROVING VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE… -- UPDATED: MASSIVE MASHUP OF HUNDREDS OF TONEY A's FAVORITE ARTISTS AND NEARLY 5,000 SONGS -- FROM ROCK TO EXTENDED DANCE CLUB CLASSICS, OLD SCHOOL FUNK, COUNTRY, SOUTHERN ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK, R&B, SOUL, JAZZ, EASY LISTENING, ONE-HIT WONDERS AND OLDIES-BUT-GOODIES TO NEW RECORDINGS OF DIVERSE GENRES -- SOMETHING FOR NEARLY EVERYBODY:
http://slacker.com/r/HLZPX
**************************************************
MIXED GENRES -- MULTI-GENERATIONAL MIX OF ROCK (CLASSIC, POP, OLDIES), DANCE CLASSICS, COUNTRY, SOUL, JAZZ, OTHER GENRES, ALONG WITH SOME CURRENT HITS AT TONEYA1 RADIO:
http://slacker.com/r/HSF98
*********************************
ROCKIN’ COUNTRY -- DJ Toney A programs the following station for his favorite and most-requested country and Southern rock artists and songs when he provided the music at clubs and private parties during Speed Weeks and Bike Weeks for about 10 years in Daytona Beach, FL:
http://slacker.com/r/HrfvR
*********************************************************************************
AFTER ROCK ‘N ROLL WAS BORN -- Get the gang together for an "oldies" party, focusing on the '50s and '60s, but with a bit of the '70s thrown in. Hundreds of artists and songs programmed by DJ Toney A from the massive Slacker library will bring back memories from days gone by, so put on those dancing shoes for a blast from the past:
http://slacker.com/r/21PXy
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
I highly recommend Slacker Radio ( www.slacker.com/ ), where you can find what is possibly the largest streaming music on the web, and you can even create your own personal "radio stations," tailored to your tastes, along with enjoying the choice number of Slacker stations. This is an unsolicited endorsement. -- Toney Atkins, www.toneyatkins.com/
TO MUSIC YOU MAY HAVE
FORGOTTEN YOU REMEMBER!
DJ Toney Atkins, known several years ago to karaoke and dance fans in the Greater Daytona Beach, FL, Area as "Toney A," shares many of his favorite artists and tunes on his new custom Slacker Radio stations. The online stations are free, thanks to a few short commercials and display ads (but no popups). See and hear what Toney has been listening to lately, fondly remembering his active DJ days, by clicking on one of the links below:
DANCE OFF THAT BIG BOOTY -- No offense meant, because my buttocks are quite large and need a lot of twisting and whatever else is possible on the dance floor. If you "pracercize" to these hits, you could have a heart attack, so you might want to stick to your usual dancing and walking routines. This is a Slacker Radio station based on DJ Toney Atkins' personal playlist, so get ready to party:
http://slacker.com/r/lh8zHOR TRY:
DANCE AND WORK THAT BODY -- GET RID OF THAT STITCH IN YOUR GITALONG AND PUT SOME BOOGIE IN YOUR GROOVE THANG! ADD A SMILE AND YOU'RE READY FOR GOOD-TIME DANCING OR WORKING OUT TO ENHANCE YOUR ALREADY AWESOME BODY. PROGRAMMED BY FORMER DAYTONA BEACH DJ TONEY A:
http://www.slacker.com/station/custom/236130995/1339028926
*********************************************************************************************
BABY BOOMERS: THE MUSIC OF OUR YOUNGER DAYS: DESIGNED FOR THOSE BORN FROM THE EARLY WAR YEARS IN THE 1940s THROUGH EARLY ‘70s -- DJ TONEY A WAS BORN DURING WWII, JUST BEFORE THE "BABY BOOMER" GENERATION WAS SPAWNED. THE FORMER FACTORY WORKER, COLLEGE STUDENT, MINISTER, SCHOOL TEACHER AND NEWSPAPER WRITER AND EDITOR SAW AND HEARD MANY CHANGES IN MUSIC, FROM BIG BANDS TO THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL, ALONG WITH OTHER EVOLVING GENRES AND FADS. HE WAS THERE WHEN ELVIS BECAME KING AND THE BEATLES INVADED AMERICA AND THE WORLD. HERE, HE HAS PROGRAMMED MANY FAVORITE ARTISTS AND SONGS FROM THE ERA BETWEEN THE 1940s THROUGH THE EARLY 1970s:
http://slacker.com/r/HwJrj
**********************************************************************************************
MASSIVE MUSIC MASHUP, PROVING VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE… -- UPDATED: MASSIVE MASHUP OF HUNDREDS OF TONEY A's FAVORITE ARTISTS AND NEARLY 5,000 SONGS -- FROM ROCK TO EXTENDED DANCE CLUB CLASSICS, OLD SCHOOL FUNK, COUNTRY, SOUTHERN ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK, R&B, SOUL, JAZZ, EASY LISTENING, ONE-HIT WONDERS AND OLDIES-BUT-GOODIES TO NEW RECORDINGS OF DIVERSE GENRES -- SOMETHING FOR NEARLY EVERYBODY:
http://slacker.com/r/HLZPX
**************************************************
MIXED GENRES -- MULTI-GENERATIONAL MIX OF ROCK (CLASSIC, POP, OLDIES), DANCE CLASSICS, COUNTRY, SOUL, JAZZ, OTHER GENRES, ALONG WITH SOME CURRENT HITS AT TONEYA1 RADIO:
http://slacker.com/r/HSF98
*********************************
ROCKIN’ COUNTRY -- DJ Toney A programs the following station for his favorite and most-requested country and Southern rock artists and songs when he provided the music at clubs and private parties during Speed Weeks and Bike Weeks for about 10 years in Daytona Beach, FL:
http://slacker.com/r/HrfvR
*********************************************************************************
AFTER ROCK ‘N ROLL WAS BORN -- Get the gang together for an "oldies" party, focusing on the '50s and '60s, but with a bit of the '70s thrown in. Hundreds of artists and songs programmed by DJ Toney A from the massive Slacker library will bring back memories from days gone by, so put on those dancing shoes for a blast from the past:
http://slacker.com/r/21PXy
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
I highly recommend Slacker Radio ( www.slacker.com/ ), where you can find what is possibly the largest streaming music on the web, and you can even create your own personal "radio stations," tailored to your tastes, along with enjoying the choice number of Slacker stations. This is an unsolicited endorsement. -- Toney Atkins, www.toneyatkins.com/
Friday, June 22, 2012
IF I SHOULD DIE, HELP THE NEEDY
By TONEY ATKINS
NORTHWEST GEORGIA -- When there is a world or national crisis impacting people in tragic ways, we usually don’t hesitate to pull out our checkbooks or credit cards to help provide aid to the victims.
What many of us don’t always see is the tragedy in our own communities – individuals and families living in poverty, often going hungry and even homeless during the tough economic times which began when U.S. companies started sending jobs overseas and continuing into the 21st century with increasing economic woes due, in large part, to the government’s huge investment in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the failure to create new jobs at home.
A large number of veterans of those and previous conflicts are among those who are now fighting to survive in the world today. Many people are barely surviving on Social Security, disability, unemployment checks, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, none of which are truly sufficient to live a decent life. Elderly senior citizens who live on fixed incomes sometimes have to choose between buying medication or food or other basic needs, and they don't always have relatives who can or will help them. Food stamps, when someone can qualify, don't really go that far in ensuring a healthy diet.
I have heard some folks say that people are in these dire situation through their own fault or because they choose to do live in poverty. That is far from being true, although, unfortunatly, there are many who do abuse the system and ruin things for people who are genuinely hurting because unforeseen circumstances put their lives into tailspins.
I have gone through crises when I needed help and needed it as soon as possible. As I write this, I’m dealing with health issues that are to the extent that, being totally financially broke a week before payday and still owing some on rent. These issues also have me questioning my own mortality without being morbid or self-pitying or being a hypochondriac about it.
Knowing the suffering that impacts more residents than we like to think about, I’m publishing a kind of “will” here that I pray will be followed whenever my spirit passes from this world. I have no material things, especially since selling my car to continue surviving, and no really close relatives to fight over what I don’t have or who would even have to deal with matters of my demise -- you know, those "final arrangements."
When I die, I want any body parts that I haven’t destroyed to be used by doctors to help and possibly save others. I do not want to be put on life support if my recovery will leave me in a vegetative state or dependent on others for the rest of my life. I do not want a funeral service, because it would be too expensive just for the presence of a few if any acquaintances with schedules as busy as they are today. I definitely want whatever is left of me to be cremated, not buried. My spirit will be in the hands of God’s judgment.
Especially, with apologies to florists, please do not send flowers, unless you want to send them to patients in nursing facilities.
I would like for anyone who might want to provide a remembrance of me to do so by donating to certain churches that I know provide emergency help in various ways to local residents. These churches have wonderfully and tremendously helped me in the past, putting the message of true Christianity into caring actions in their communities. If your own church does the same thing, please donate there. Otherwise, I would appreciate it beyond physical death if you would designate that your generosity is especially designated to the needy or “community benevolence” program of the specific church.
My designated churches include:
Oakwood Baptist Church
115 Oakwood Street - Chickamauga, Georgia 30707
Also: 247 Market Place Lane - Ringgold, GA 30736
706.375.5760
*********************
First Baptist Church of Fort Oglethorpe, GA
2645 LaFayette Road
Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
(706) 866-0232
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Westside Baptist Church
1914 LAKEVIEW DRIVE
Rossville, Georgia 30741
phone: 706-866-9213
**************************
Rossville Church Of Christ
1100 MCFARLAND AVENUE
Rossville, Georgia 30741
phone: 706-866-1119
****************************
I pray for a long life to come, so please don't wait for me to die to help those in need, and preferably do so in your own name through a church or an established organization, including food bank missions. Remember that you never know when tragedy can come to your doorstep and you might need the helping hand that reaches out to you.
Thank you, and God bless you.
NORTHWEST GEORGIA -- When there is a world or national crisis impacting people in tragic ways, we usually don’t hesitate to pull out our checkbooks or credit cards to help provide aid to the victims.
What many of us don’t always see is the tragedy in our own communities – individuals and families living in poverty, often going hungry and even homeless during the tough economic times which began when U.S. companies started sending jobs overseas and continuing into the 21st century with increasing economic woes due, in large part, to the government’s huge investment in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the failure to create new jobs at home.
A large number of veterans of those and previous conflicts are among those who are now fighting to survive in the world today. Many people are barely surviving on Social Security, disability, unemployment checks, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, none of which are truly sufficient to live a decent life. Elderly senior citizens who live on fixed incomes sometimes have to choose between buying medication or food or other basic needs, and they don't always have relatives who can or will help them. Food stamps, when someone can qualify, don't really go that far in ensuring a healthy diet.
I have heard some folks say that people are in these dire situation through their own fault or because they choose to do live in poverty. That is far from being true, although, unfortunatly, there are many who do abuse the system and ruin things for people who are genuinely hurting because unforeseen circumstances put their lives into tailspins.
I have gone through crises when I needed help and needed it as soon as possible. As I write this, I’m dealing with health issues that are to the extent that, being totally financially broke a week before payday and still owing some on rent. These issues also have me questioning my own mortality without being morbid or self-pitying or being a hypochondriac about it.
Knowing the suffering that impacts more residents than we like to think about, I’m publishing a kind of “will” here that I pray will be followed whenever my spirit passes from this world. I have no material things, especially since selling my car to continue surviving, and no really close relatives to fight over what I don’t have or who would even have to deal with matters of my demise -- you know, those "final arrangements."
When I die, I want any body parts that I haven’t destroyed to be used by doctors to help and possibly save others. I do not want to be put on life support if my recovery will leave me in a vegetative state or dependent on others for the rest of my life. I do not want a funeral service, because it would be too expensive just for the presence of a few if any acquaintances with schedules as busy as they are today. I definitely want whatever is left of me to be cremated, not buried. My spirit will be in the hands of God’s judgment.
Especially, with apologies to florists, please do not send flowers, unless you want to send them to patients in nursing facilities.
I would like for anyone who might want to provide a remembrance of me to do so by donating to certain churches that I know provide emergency help in various ways to local residents. These churches have wonderfully and tremendously helped me in the past, putting the message of true Christianity into caring actions in their communities. If your own church does the same thing, please donate there. Otherwise, I would appreciate it beyond physical death if you would designate that your generosity is especially designated to the needy or “community benevolence” program of the specific church.
My designated churches include:
Oakwood Baptist Church
115 Oakwood Street - Chickamauga, Georgia 30707
Also: 247 Market Place Lane - Ringgold, GA 30736
706.375.5760
*********************
First Baptist Church of Fort Oglethorpe, GA
2645 LaFayette Road
Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
(706) 866-0232
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Westside Baptist Church
1914 LAKEVIEW DRIVE
Rossville, Georgia 30741
phone: 706-866-9213
**************************
Rossville Church Of Christ
1100 MCFARLAND AVENUE
Rossville, Georgia 30741
phone: 706-866-1119
****************************
I pray for a long life to come, so please don't wait for me to die to help those in need, and preferably do so in your own name through a church or an established organization, including food bank missions. Remember that you never know when tragedy can come to your doorstep and you might need the helping hand that reaches out to you.
Thank you, and God bless you.
| 1 John 3:17-18: If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. |
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
BELIEF IN GOD DECLINING? WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?
BY TONEY ATKINS
A disturbing new poll, released in June 2012, indicates a growing trend among young adults and teenagers to believe that God does not exist – that there is no Higher Power in the Universe.
Dan Merica, of Cable News Network (CNN), reported: ”The percentage of Americans 30 and younger who harbor some doubts about God’s existence appears to be growing quickly, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. While most young Americans, 68%, told Pew they never doubt God’s existence, that’s a 15-point drop in just five years.”
The CNN report continued: “In 2007, 83% of American millennials said they never doubted God’s existence.”
However. CNN, reporting on the poll, said: “More young people are expressing doubts about God now than at any time since Pew started asking the question a decade ago. Thirty-one percent disagreed with the statement ‘I never doubt the existence of God,’ double the number who disagreed with it in 2007.”
“There is no God,” a young man in his 20s, told me in an interview. “I’m living in hard times. I have nothing. I look around and see hypocrisy, hatred and violence. I have prayed time and time again, but my prayers are not answered. The Bible says to ask and you will receive. I’ve received nothing, no answers, no nothing” He did not explain exactly for what he was praying.
“Prove to me that there is a God,” he challenged.
“Prove to me that there isn’t a God,” I responded.
I explained that I see a Creator in the intricacies of creation, the marvel of how our bodies just happen to be made with all its parts designed to keep us, along with all the creatures of nature, alive and functioning, with each part doing what it is supposed to do. We have a brain with the capacity for intelligence to see the world but also to have faith in what our eyes can’t see.
I am far from being an authority on physiology or spirituality, and my argument failed to convince the young man. “Show me real proof and I might believe,” he said.
Admittedly, I went through a long period of doubting the existence of God until I was in my 20s. I was not a church-goer in my childhood and adolescent years, but I was brought up in a moral if not a Christian home.
When I was in my third year of college, a pretty girl, for whom I had carried quite a torch, invited me to her fundamentalist church for our first date.
I was impressed by the heartfelt singing of old-time upbeat spiritual songs. I saw beautiful expressions on the faces of many in the congregation as they worshipped. I heard testimonies of what several individuals said that God and His earthly son, Jesus, had done in their lives. They all appeared to be normal, down-home folks who happened to have something special in their lives. The pastor taught from the New Testament of the Holy Bible in a way that I could understand, and I began to grasp in a new way the message that Jesus delivered to His followers.
I was greeted with genuine friendliness when I was introduced to several members of the congregation as Jo and I were leaving the church building after the service.
Admittedly, lust was my ulterior motive for going to the church in the first place, but I found that the young lady's outer beauty extended to the inside. Her pretty face carried a gorgeous smile, and her sense of humor hadn’t changed over the years. But there was something different, something more special about her.
Attending the church services over the next few weeks became an established part of our friendship, and I found that I looked forward to being in that building where ordinary, down-to-earth people believed in a God unseen, but Who still seemed somehow mysteriously alive and present in and for the members of the congregation.
In my spare time, I began reading the teachings of Jesus in the first four books of the New Testament. His message of peace, love and hope had meaning for me that I was only just beginning to comprehend.
I bought a copy of the Rev. Billy Graham’s book, “World Aflame,” and read parts of it at night during breaks from studying my college courses. I was becoming more and more aware of an emptiness inside and something dramatically missing from my life, and the words in the book were food for thought and for my aching soul.
On a particularly depressing day in late winter, I was inexplicably anxious and upset. I skipped a night class and drove to the Civil War national park a few miles from home. I climbed to the top of a stone tower and gazed around the park under cloudy, dreary skies. I had never felt so alone.
I wanted to stop at the home of the pastor of the church I had been attending, but cars outside his house indicated that he had company, possibly the minister who was to begin a revival the following night.
At home, I lay on my bed. Instead of studying, I continued to read the Rev. Graham’s book. I would like to say what passage struck a major chord within me, but I really don’t remember. For the first time in my life, I knelt at my bedside and sincerely prayed, asking God and Jesus to forgive me of my wrongdoings and to come into my life and change it.
A huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
The first sign that something was different came moments after I turned off my light. There was a loud clap of thunder in the distance. Previously, I would have gone into panic mode. I had been terrified of storms for several years after a windstorm uprooted a tree within a few yards of where I had been standing. An unnatural, all-encompassing fear would have me walking the floor in terror until any storm thereafter would pass.
On this night, however, I went straight to sleep without fear and awoke the next morning full of peace and joy. I remember singing all the way to the college campus. I was happy.
Many other events would occur in the following years that convinced me that a Higher Power was at work in my life.
I became active in the church for several years, and there were wonderful times. I would like to say that as times changed, I lived a perfect Christian life, but that would be an outright lie. However, my belief in God remained intact and I knew that He (or She) answered my prayers, although not necessarily how I wanted, but always in ways that were best for me.
That faith is the only answer I have as to reasons I survived almost being killed several times, as well as overcoming health, financial and other problems.
Our minds are complicated. Our bodies are complicated. The world and the people populating it are complicated. The Universe is complicated.
I love the Internet, which continually baffles me with its complexity and remarkable ability to provide all kinds of information into my home computer, on some folks’ cellular telephones and even onto television sets.
But the Internet, which can spread facts and knowledge, is not always a good thing. Many people with evil intentions infect it, not only with destructive viruses, but with destructive misinformation. People rarely converse with each other face-to-face these days. They email or text. Instead of spreading love and positive hope through the Internet, many spread vitriolic lies and hatred, and a lot of times, the Internet can be terrifying in its relative anonymity.
For some people, the Internet has become a god. They worship it for hours on end as life goes on around them. They miss out on the simple human pleasures that we used to enjoy as recently as a generation ago. Values have changed dramatically, and not always for the best. Truth is put to the test more than ever before. The Internet and its offspring can infect and affect the human mind.
Despite all the good it can accomplish and the convenience that it has added to our lives, the Internet has hardened our hearts, diminished our humanity.
More and more, there are wars and rumors of wars around the world. Dictators slaughter their own people in fear of losing power over them. Politicians lie and make promises, but rarely explain how these promises will be carried out to the benefit of the populace. People maim and kill others, often without apparent reason. Where marriage was once "till death do us part," it has become more like a boyfriend-girlfriend existence, breaking up when things go wrong and going on to other relationships, leaving the children to suffer because of their parents' actions. Too many adults commit criminal sexual acts on under-age boys and girls, not caring about the consequences of their unspeakable actions. Too many people are content to live their lives in ignorance of the truth instead of living in reality.
God's fault? Hardly. He gave us the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and bad.
I truly feel a sadness for those people who say they no longer believe in God. They don’t know all that they are missing in good times and bad -- all that is life.
God is not just inside a church building. He is inside the people who fill those buildings, no matter what their denomination may be. He is inside all of us, waiting to be recognized and acknowledged so that His Spirit can awaken us. He waits for us to treat others with respect, love and decency in a movement that, if spread, could make this planet a much better place to live.
A world without God? How empty that would be. How sad.
A disturbing new poll, released in June 2012, indicates a growing trend among young adults and teenagers to believe that God does not exist – that there is no Higher Power in the Universe.
Dan Merica, of Cable News Network (CNN), reported: ”The percentage of Americans 30 and younger who harbor some doubts about God’s existence appears to be growing quickly, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. While most young Americans, 68%, told Pew they never doubt God’s existence, that’s a 15-point drop in just five years.”
The CNN report continued: “In 2007, 83% of American millennials said they never doubted God’s existence.”
However. CNN, reporting on the poll, said: “More young people are expressing doubts about God now than at any time since Pew started asking the question a decade ago. Thirty-one percent disagreed with the statement ‘I never doubt the existence of God,’ double the number who disagreed with it in 2007.”
“There is no God,” a young man in his 20s, told me in an interview. “I’m living in hard times. I have nothing. I look around and see hypocrisy, hatred and violence. I have prayed time and time again, but my prayers are not answered. The Bible says to ask and you will receive. I’ve received nothing, no answers, no nothing” He did not explain exactly for what he was praying.
“Prove to me that there is a God,” he challenged.
“Prove to me that there isn’t a God,” I responded.
I explained that I see a Creator in the intricacies of creation, the marvel of how our bodies just happen to be made with all its parts designed to keep us, along with all the creatures of nature, alive and functioning, with each part doing what it is supposed to do. We have a brain with the capacity for intelligence to see the world but also to have faith in what our eyes can’t see.
I am far from being an authority on physiology or spirituality, and my argument failed to convince the young man. “Show me real proof and I might believe,” he said.
Admittedly, I went through a long period of doubting the existence of God until I was in my 20s. I was not a church-goer in my childhood and adolescent years, but I was brought up in a moral if not a Christian home.
When I was in my third year of college, a pretty girl, for whom I had carried quite a torch, invited me to her fundamentalist church for our first date.
I was impressed by the heartfelt singing of old-time upbeat spiritual songs. I saw beautiful expressions on the faces of many in the congregation as they worshipped. I heard testimonies of what several individuals said that God and His earthly son, Jesus, had done in their lives. They all appeared to be normal, down-home folks who happened to have something special in their lives. The pastor taught from the New Testament of the Holy Bible in a way that I could understand, and I began to grasp in a new way the message that Jesus delivered to His followers.
I was greeted with genuine friendliness when I was introduced to several members of the congregation as Jo and I were leaving the church building after the service.
Admittedly, lust was my ulterior motive for going to the church in the first place, but I found that the young lady's outer beauty extended to the inside. Her pretty face carried a gorgeous smile, and her sense of humor hadn’t changed over the years. But there was something different, something more special about her.
Attending the church services over the next few weeks became an established part of our friendship, and I found that I looked forward to being in that building where ordinary, down-to-earth people believed in a God unseen, but Who still seemed somehow mysteriously alive and present in and for the members of the congregation.
In my spare time, I began reading the teachings of Jesus in the first four books of the New Testament. His message of peace, love and hope had meaning for me that I was only just beginning to comprehend.
I bought a copy of the Rev. Billy Graham’s book, “World Aflame,” and read parts of it at night during breaks from studying my college courses. I was becoming more and more aware of an emptiness inside and something dramatically missing from my life, and the words in the book were food for thought and for my aching soul.
On a particularly depressing day in late winter, I was inexplicably anxious and upset. I skipped a night class and drove to the Civil War national park a few miles from home. I climbed to the top of a stone tower and gazed around the park under cloudy, dreary skies. I had never felt so alone.
I wanted to stop at the home of the pastor of the church I had been attending, but cars outside his house indicated that he had company, possibly the minister who was to begin a revival the following night.
At home, I lay on my bed. Instead of studying, I continued to read the Rev. Graham’s book. I would like to say what passage struck a major chord within me, but I really don’t remember. For the first time in my life, I knelt at my bedside and sincerely prayed, asking God and Jesus to forgive me of my wrongdoings and to come into my life and change it.
A huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
The first sign that something was different came moments after I turned off my light. There was a loud clap of thunder in the distance. Previously, I would have gone into panic mode. I had been terrified of storms for several years after a windstorm uprooted a tree within a few yards of where I had been standing. An unnatural, all-encompassing fear would have me walking the floor in terror until any storm thereafter would pass.
On this night, however, I went straight to sleep without fear and awoke the next morning full of peace and joy. I remember singing all the way to the college campus. I was happy.
Many other events would occur in the following years that convinced me that a Higher Power was at work in my life.
I became active in the church for several years, and there were wonderful times. I would like to say that as times changed, I lived a perfect Christian life, but that would be an outright lie. However, my belief in God remained intact and I knew that He (or She) answered my prayers, although not necessarily how I wanted, but always in ways that were best for me.
That faith is the only answer I have as to reasons I survived almost being killed several times, as well as overcoming health, financial and other problems.
Our minds are complicated. Our bodies are complicated. The world and the people populating it are complicated. The Universe is complicated.
I love the Internet, which continually baffles me with its complexity and remarkable ability to provide all kinds of information into my home computer, on some folks’ cellular telephones and even onto television sets.
But the Internet, which can spread facts and knowledge, is not always a good thing. Many people with evil intentions infect it, not only with destructive viruses, but with destructive misinformation. People rarely converse with each other face-to-face these days. They email or text. Instead of spreading love and positive hope through the Internet, many spread vitriolic lies and hatred, and a lot of times, the Internet can be terrifying in its relative anonymity.
For some people, the Internet has become a god. They worship it for hours on end as life goes on around them. They miss out on the simple human pleasures that we used to enjoy as recently as a generation ago. Values have changed dramatically, and not always for the best. Truth is put to the test more than ever before. The Internet and its offspring can infect and affect the human mind.
Despite all the good it can accomplish and the convenience that it has added to our lives, the Internet has hardened our hearts, diminished our humanity.
More and more, there are wars and rumors of wars around the world. Dictators slaughter their own people in fear of losing power over them. Politicians lie and make promises, but rarely explain how these promises will be carried out to the benefit of the populace. People maim and kill others, often without apparent reason. Where marriage was once "till death do us part," it has become more like a boyfriend-girlfriend existence, breaking up when things go wrong and going on to other relationships, leaving the children to suffer because of their parents' actions. Too many adults commit criminal sexual acts on under-age boys and girls, not caring about the consequences of their unspeakable actions. Too many people are content to live their lives in ignorance of the truth instead of living in reality.
God's fault? Hardly. He gave us the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and bad.
I truly feel a sadness for those people who say they no longer believe in God. They don’t know all that they are missing in good times and bad -- all that is life.
God is not just inside a church building. He is inside the people who fill those buildings, no matter what their denomination may be. He is inside all of us, waiting to be recognized and acknowledged so that His Spirit can awaken us. He waits for us to treat others with respect, love and decency in a movement that, if spread, could make this planet a much better place to live.
A world without God? How empty that would be. How sad.
Monday, June 18, 2012
MY AUNT BETTE: PRECIOUS, WONDERFUL MEMORIES
BY TONEY ATKINS
I just learned today that one of my two favorite aunts died last Thursday. Her service and burial, of which I was unaware, were several days ago, and I’m left with another hole in my heart.
Bette Dodd, my late mother’s sister, was always a bright spot in my life. Her smile and laughter would brighten a room. From the time she was in high school, this always-beautiful blonde bombshell refused to let me call her “Aunt Bette.” She was Bette to me.
I recall, with a smile, the days when I looked forward to going to the ice cream shop where she worked after school. Then, there was the time she took me to see the original black-and-white version of “The Thing” in the 1950s. Her scream during the climactic scene nearly burst my eardrums.
She always laughed at the way I pronounced the word “familiar” when I was a child. I always said “fame-uh-ler.” Even into my adulthood, she never let me live it down, even though I had long before corrected my pronunciation.
During my crazy adolescent years, I insisted one day that she hop into my old Crosley vehicle to go into the northwest Georgia countryside to meet my latest sweetheart. As we were riding down the dirt road in the middle of nowhere, we both noticed a tire passing us by and going into a ditch. It didn’t dawn on either of us for a minute that the tire had come off my car. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop laughing as I restored the tire to its proper place on the auto, which had seen its better days long before I got it.
She and her husband, the late Willard E. (Bill) Dodd, were generous to a fault. They never failed to be sympathetic when I used them as sounding boards when I had problems at home. As a child, I played with their kids, Ronnie and Marnie, and was so proud of my cousins when they graduated high school and what they later achieved in life.
Although we hadn’t seen each other much during the decades that I lived in Florida, my fondness for Bette never changed. Even when she was in bad health, she was the same old Bette whenever we did talk. I miss her and wish I had visited her more often and that I had been the kind of friend in our older years that she had been when I was young.
My sympathies go out to my cousins and to her friends and relatives. May the beautiful Bette rest in peace. She truly deserves it.
**********************************
OBITUARY FROM THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS:
DALTON, GA -- Bette Dodd, 79, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2012 at her residence.She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard "Bill" Dodd; parents; brother and sisters.She was a member of Grove Level Baptist Church.She is survived by a daughter, Marnie Dodd, of Dalton; son, Ronnie Dodd, of Sale Creek, Tenn.; granddaughter, Sandy Dodd Zigler; very special friend, Robin Harris; nieces, Susan Tankersley and Linda Johnson; nephews, Mark Dodd, Joe Dodd, Tony Atkins and Mike Bell.A funeral service to honor the life of Mrs. Dodd will be held today at 10 a.m. at the Pleasant Grove Chapel of Julian Peeples with Rev. Bill Walker officiating. Burial will be in United Memorial Gardens.The family received friends at the funeral home Friday from 5 until 8 p.m. Flowers will be accepted or donations may be made to Amedisys Hospice, 1510 N. Thornton Ave. Dalton, Ga. 30720Julian Peeples Funeral Home, Pleasant Grove Chapel, Dalton is in charge of funeral arrangements.
I just learned today that one of my two favorite aunts died last Thursday. Her service and burial, of which I was unaware, were several days ago, and I’m left with another hole in my heart.
Bette Dodd, my late mother’s sister, was always a bright spot in my life. Her smile and laughter would brighten a room. From the time she was in high school, this always-beautiful blonde bombshell refused to let me call her “Aunt Bette.” She was Bette to me.
I recall, with a smile, the days when I looked forward to going to the ice cream shop where she worked after school. Then, there was the time she took me to see the original black-and-white version of “The Thing” in the 1950s. Her scream during the climactic scene nearly burst my eardrums.
She always laughed at the way I pronounced the word “familiar” when I was a child. I always said “fame-uh-ler.” Even into my adulthood, she never let me live it down, even though I had long before corrected my pronunciation.
During my crazy adolescent years, I insisted one day that she hop into my old Crosley vehicle to go into the northwest Georgia countryside to meet my latest sweetheart. As we were riding down the dirt road in the middle of nowhere, we both noticed a tire passing us by and going into a ditch. It didn’t dawn on either of us for a minute that the tire had come off my car. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop laughing as I restored the tire to its proper place on the auto, which had seen its better days long before I got it.
She and her husband, the late Willard E. (Bill) Dodd, were generous to a fault. They never failed to be sympathetic when I used them as sounding boards when I had problems at home. As a child, I played with their kids, Ronnie and Marnie, and was so proud of my cousins when they graduated high school and what they later achieved in life.
Although we hadn’t seen each other much during the decades that I lived in Florida, my fondness for Bette never changed. Even when she was in bad health, she was the same old Bette whenever we did talk. I miss her and wish I had visited her more often and that I had been the kind of friend in our older years that she had been when I was young.
My sympathies go out to my cousins and to her friends and relatives. May the beautiful Bette rest in peace. She truly deserves it.
**********************************
OBITUARY FROM THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS:
DALTON, GA -- Bette Dodd, 79, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2012 at her residence.She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard "Bill" Dodd; parents; brother and sisters.She was a member of Grove Level Baptist Church.She is survived by a daughter, Marnie Dodd, of Dalton; son, Ronnie Dodd, of Sale Creek, Tenn.; granddaughter, Sandy Dodd Zigler; very special friend, Robin Harris; nieces, Susan Tankersley and Linda Johnson; nephews, Mark Dodd, Joe Dodd, Tony Atkins and Mike Bell.A funeral service to honor the life of Mrs. Dodd will be held today at 10 a.m. at the Pleasant Grove Chapel of Julian Peeples with Rev. Bill Walker officiating. Burial will be in United Memorial Gardens.The family received friends at the funeral home Friday from 5 until 8 p.m. Flowers will be accepted or donations may be made to Amedisys Hospice, 1510 N. Thornton Ave. Dalton, Ga. 30720Julian Peeples Funeral Home, Pleasant Grove Chapel, Dalton is in charge of funeral arrangements.
WARFARIN: THE DEATH OF ME?
By TONEY ATKINS
Warfarin, a blood-thinning clot-fighter, is designed to be a life-saver, but I’m concerned that it almost has been the death of me or, if nothing else, has wreaked havoc on my body and brain.
Little did I know that almost exactly two years ago, when I took quite a fall onto concrete and gravel after missing a shaded doorstep, the prescribed medicine (an ingredient of which the early use included rat poison) would be affecting me, physically and psychologically.
Regardless of what some people may believe, I am not a rat and I'm certain that warfarin was not given to me to thin my blood to the point of hemorrhaging to death. But I digress.
A week after the July 2010 tumble, a painfully swollen foot sent me hobbling to the emergency room, where a blood clot was discovered in my leg. After at least seven days of self-injections in the stomach area of shots valued at about $1,000, warfarin became my cross to bear for at least two years.
For those not familiar with warfarin (a generic of Coumadin), it is a pill that thins the blood to prevent clots from forming and helps to dissolve blood clots that have already formed. The purpose is to prevent clots from going to the lungs, heart and brain, avoiding heart attacks or strokes.
The patient has to be monitored by blood work at a doctor’s office or in a hospital because the warfarin levels in the blood have to be maintained at a specific level. This may mean a change in prescribed dosages from month to month, and the individual must observe eating guidelines and definitely avoid certain green vegetables and anything containing Vitamin K. Alcoholic beverages are frowned upon, and warfarin can interact with other medications.
All this became a very frightening reality to me about two weeks ago, when I could have bled out and died if I had suffered a serious cut or even if I suddenly developed internal bleeding from an ulcer or such.
Several months ago, my prescribed dosage had been increased to 5 mg. per day. After a recent blood test, it was increased to 5.5 mg. Another test indicated I should take the warfarin once a day for five days and not take it on weekends. Later, I received another phone call from my physician’s nurse saying I should return to the daily dose.
Those boring details take me to the blood check of nearly two weeks ago. I hadn’t felt truly well for some time, but I attributed that to the natural aging process since I had not changed any habits.
After the lab technician took my blood, we both noticed that where the needle had been inserted bled longer than usual but finally stopped. The blood sample was later sent to an outside lab for analysis. That was on a Tuesday afternoon.
I heard nothing from the doctor’s office on Wednesday and assumed all was okay, except for several bruises on my arm. Thursday morning, however, I received a call from the office of the complex in which I live, telling me that it was “very important” that I call my doctor immediately.
After finally being connected to the proper source, I was told that I “urgently” needed to go to the local hospital emergency room, because the test results showed that my blood was about five times thinner than it should be, or in the technician’s word, “critical.”
Needless to say, I nearly freaked out. I opened a can of turnip greens and a can of cabbage and nuked the Vitamin K-containing vegetables in the microwave. I devoured the food as I contemplated the possibilities before calling 911. After all, the test was done two days earlier. A few more minutes before calling an ambulance wouldn’t kill me – I hoped.
During my nearly six-hour visit to the ER, blood work was done, I received an injection of Vitamin K, and an ultrasound was performed to determine whether I had any blood clots. Fortunately, I was clot-free. Possibly because of my vegetable “breakfast,” my warfarin level was down, but far from being where it should be.
The doctor, who I consider to be very efficient, ordered me not to take any more warfarin until I came back to the hospital the following Monday for another blood test in the lab there. (My luck was staying true to form: My insurance would not cover the test and the cost was about $75.)
What I had thought was real drama was only beginning.
The following day, I called my physician’s office for the results of the blood work. The hospital staff had assured me those results would be sent Monday evening, but the report was nowhere to be found Tuesday afternoon at my doctor’s facility. At the nurse's request, I detailed the visit to the emergency room Thursday, what the doctor there had determined and what I was instructed to do.
The nurse apparently contacted the hospital, had a copy of the report resent and had consulted my doctor. She called me back and said my warfarin level was essentially normal and that I should resume taking the medication at double the amount of blood-thinner – 10.5 mg or 11 mg, I don’t recall exactly.
I literally shouted into the telephone: “What are you trying to do? Kill me?” Somehow, I refrained from using the expletives that were swirling in my mind.
I repeated to her that I had been taking 5.5 mg of the blood=thinner once a day for a couple of months. The prescription that she was about to call in to my pharmacist would be twice as strong, thereby making my blood twice as thin as it was when I was when ordered to go to the hospital. I was more than a little frustrated, upset and frightened about what the pills could have done to my body.
The nurse said she would talk to the doctor again and call me back. Minutes later, she called and revised the dosage down to 2.5 mg per day, which was far more reasonable to me.
Two days later, after I attempted to resume my routine, my hearing was more out of whack than usual and, even scarier, my eyesight was dim, blurry and adversely reacting to light to the extent that I could see a little inside my apartment and even less while wearing my eyeglasses and sunglasses outside. I am also having mild hallucinations in the corner of my left eye.
I have written this while wearing sunglasses because the computer screen is too bright and the print is virtually obscure, so please pardon any dramatic errors. The television screen is also hard to watch.
This major vision problem just started Thursday night. The eyesight is a little better this morning (early Monday), thank God, but I am definitely contacting a physician in case there have been serious developments that may possibly have been caused by the unintentional but prescribed overdose of warfarin. I still don’t feel normal, whatever normal is.
I share this experience because I know of other people who have to take warfarin to prevent blood clots. I urge anyone who, out of necessity, have to take this medication to be tested as per a doctor’s instructions and make sure the prescribed dosage is taken, because there can be numerous effects not outlined here.
Also, do not be afraid to question the amount of the dosage if you feel that it is unreasonable.
Several mistakes sent me to the hospital, and I do not want anyone to have to deal with the possible physical damage and the accompanying, sometimes underlying fear and concern about over dosage or even under-dosing.
My story’s ending remains uncertain. Make sure yours or a friend’s or loved one's is a happy one.
**********
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (from http://www.ehow.com/about_6524045_rat-poison-coumadin.html ):
Warfarin was developed from spoiled sweet clover hay. It was known that in some cases spoiled hay lead to livestock deaths due to hemorrhaging. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin attempted to breed a sweet clover plant that would not cause bleeding in livestock that consumed any spoiled feed made from the plant. This research isolated dicoumarol that was patented as an anti-coagulant in 1941. It was refined and synthesized as warfarin in 1948.
Warfarin was initially used as a rodenticide and rapidly became the most widely used rodent poison in the world. According to the Institute of Traditional Medicine, a 1951 attempted suicide incident where an individual consumed a large dose of warfarin but recovered lead to research concerning the use of warfarin in humans. The first human uses of warfarin, called Coumadin when used in humans, were in 1954 when President Dwight Eisenhower was treated with it after a 1955 heart attack.
Warfarin disrupts the action of vitamin K, a substance that promotes blood clotting, as it works in the body. It also disrupts a number of proteins produced by the liver that also play a part in blood clotting. In rodents this lack of blood clotting causes fatal internal hemorrhaging. In humans, with controlled doses and blood testing, the reduction in the blood clotting function reduces the possibility of some medical conditions.Read more: Rat Poison & Coumadin | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6524045_rat-poison-coumadin.html#ixzz1y7Sfz36F
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)