Thursday, April 30, 2009

Haters

This past Fall, I was asked by my supervisor to take a self-contained class of elementary Braille readers. The teacher who usually had them would be out for treatments for lung cancer. I let her know that I would have to have treatments of my own for a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. My treatments would require that I be able to leave once per month for three days.

I knew the teacher whose place I would take. I warned by super that she may not like the fact that it would be me taking her place. I didn't want to say that she had racial issues. My supervisor assured me that she, the teacher, would be okay with it and that she was more interested in having someone who knew braille and knew how to work with elementary children with visual impairments. I prayed about it, adding that to my prayer list. This teacher had been the kind who would sit in my art class with her students and smile and have a friendly conversation with me and then go directly to the principal's office to complain about something she didn't like in my class.

Later, I had one of her students for summer school. I was familiar with him from my preschool days. The child was definitely ADHD and was on meds for it. Going strictly by the Sally Mangold books and completing endless worksheets was boring him out of his gourd. I couldn't blame him. It was boring for me, too. But then this teacher was notorious for only using this particular book so that any child with any other disability or learning difference--well, they would have problems and not be able to succeed. She was known for being perpetually angry with these children.

Anyway, I took the stories and the signs he was supposed to learn and modified them into funny stories to hold his attention. We'd add more signs and have him read for shorter periods. He was very intelligent and was only completing kindergarten to move into the first grade. By the end of the summer, he'd completed more signs that he was supposed to even though he was not present everyday and missed the last two weeks. Whenever there were visitors on campus, the lead teacher would bring them to observe my class because she was very impressed with the children's progress.

After regular school started the summer school program director came by my school to tell me that she had complained be cause I didn't ever so strictly follow that Mangold text. By the way, it was so old that I saw in the front of the book, the name of a student we had fifteen years earlier back at the school for the blind. I forgave her for that but it seemed in telling her I forgave her she became even more angry. She returned a letter I wrote to her saying that. Anyway, that was YEARS ago and you'd think that would be over with. I did.

So this fall I taught the kids with my own style. I cannot bear to have them sit and braille all day, Blind children have to go, do and touch just like sighted children. I don't believe Sally Mangold even intended her books to be used in such a way. The para continued to teach the old Mangold while I would do language lessons that enhanced their reading, language and spelling. Sometimes they would volunteer to write poems and stories for me.

The principal enjoyed my class and came to observe about five times during the semester. I'd photographed all our activities and made audio and video recordings. They were compiled and made into a video for Christmas presents for the parents and our principal.

Well, the word got back to this "teacher" that I was doing a spectacular job with the kids and just having TOO much fun. This lady tells her doctor that she is ready to go back to work. When she gets back, she immediately starts talking with parents about how I really didn't teach the children anything. It was all in their imaginations. Of course they knew better, because most of them had been in the class and they had that really nice video Christmas present!

One of my coworkers said, "Wow! Such insecurity!" While I was downloading my teaching certificate on line she decided to look up the other teacher's certificate and said, "Well, here's why we're so insecure about you. You're a Black woman with more education and more certifications than she has. How dare you!"

Even though I am back to being itinerant and hardly at that school for a full day, I'm supposed to be, in her world, talking to the children to try to take their affections from her. I think her chemo treatments may make her a little delusional and that she returned to work too soon. So I forgive her again and seventy-times seven times I will because I have to. That doesn't mean that I don't watch my back.

That is why the email below is appropriate. One of my Kairos brothers sent it to me. I'm not sure that these are actually words from Maya Angelou, but they fit. Here it is:
-----------------------------------------------


This is cool! Sounds just like a coworker of mine. She's so much of a hater she's become delusional--big time! Join me in prayer for her and others like this.






Haters/ By Maya Angelou

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their
time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.
They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever
good enough!

When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...

That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your
blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing
you blessed...

It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be
like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they
have...

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they
don't know my story...

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you
can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man/woman to hit the curb
(if he/she isn't about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parents being
in the home

Haters can't stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.
Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be
on our side.

How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are
*(VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not
mean having a job. You can have a job and still be
unfulfilled.

A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.

3. By remembering what you have is by divine
prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when its your
time to leave this earth, you want to be able to say, 'I've lived my
life and fulfilled my dreams, Now I'm ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, 'Don't look at
me...Look at who is in charge of me...'

Pass this to all of your family & friends who you know are
not hating on you including the person who sent it to you.

If you don't get it back, maybe you called somebody out!
Don't worry about it, it's not your problem, it's theirs.
Just pray for them, that their life can be as fulfilled as
yours! Watch out for Haters...BUT most of all don't become
a HATER!

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man
should have to seek Him first to find her.'

Maya Angelou






Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Things to Do and Not to Do

Written for my nephews a few years ago

Things to Do and Not to Do

Jul 29, 2004, 9:02am »
If you are staying with Aunt Kathy, even if you think you are helping, please do the following:

  • Answer Aunt Kathy when she calls. Don't just leave a trail of cheese curls to wherever you are figuring that will suffice.
  • Do not help Aunt Kathy make a new chocolate drink my stirring up the whole pack of her sugar free chocolate covered raisins into a glass of milk.
  • Do not try to clean the TV screen with a paper towel dampened with juice, Sprite or Hawaiian Punch.
  • Do not tie all of the seat belts together in the back seat of Aunt Kathy's car.
  • If you are feeling the least bit woozy, please let Aunt Kathy know before you get into her car. The same goes for having to go to the bathroom.
  • You have Aunt Kathy's permission to close all doors that lead to the outdoors when you go through them.
  • You have Aunt Kathy's permission to get out another roll of toilet paper or simply inform Aunt Kathy that the roll is empty--oh yes--and you do have permission, if you don't already, to actually USE toilet paper.
  • Look at the trash can when dropping items into it.


More to come to this list as the week goes by.
SistaKathy


When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it----Bernard Bailey
Additions to the List Forthcoming

  • No, you do not have to help Aunt Kathy paint anything or surprise her by painting something for her that belongs to her.
  • Yes, you may wash your hands before meals, after using the restroom, after sneezing, and after scratching anywhere inside your nose or in your little pants.
  • As coffee has the opposite effect on children, of course you may have a cup or three.
  • Do not put audio tapes, toast, baloney sandwiches. or crackers in the VHS. Do not put video games, YuGi-Oh cards, Oreo cookies, or chicken nuggets in the DVD player. Aunt Kathy doesn't like those shows.
  • Toss your own mysteriously used tissues. Aunt Kathy loves you but doesn't trust your little green tissues.
  • You do not have to press any keys on the computer to help Aunt Kathy type her papers. I will use spell check thank you very much.
  • You do not have to share any drink in which your little face has already been in--especially if your nose is the above mentioned color.
  • Most pets Aunt Kathy may happen to have do not require that you brush, bathe, blow-dry, share gummy worms or hot fries, shave, brush with my toothbrush or yours, dress, or assist in using the potty.
  • Aunt Kathy does not need you to acquire pets for her--especially in the form of lizards found in the garden, palmetto bugs, ditch frogs, spiders, or that striped
    legged creepy creature scientist have yet to classify.
  • If Aunt Kathy is laying down with her eyes closed, that means she is asleep and Dragon Ball-Z is not considered an emergency for waking her.


Last Edit: Apr 19, 2005, 12:15pm by

Saturday, April 25, 2009

My Beautiful Necklace


I'm more of an everyday earring wearer.I'm not much of a necklace wearer. I prefer silver and not much glamour about it. This is the only necklace that I'm more likely to wear everyday. It's not much to look at and it's not silver or "bling-blinging" gold. This is probably my third or fourth such necklace and not my last.

You see, this necklace is very special. It is made of plastic shopping bags, a lollipop stick and the silver in the center of the cross is from a gum wrapper. I wish I knew how it was made from those things but I've never seen the craftsman make them All I know is that he does and that it takes him a lot of time to create each one of them. One could say that he has the time on his hands to make them, because, you see, this craftsman is incarcerated in one of Louisiana's prisons.

One of our Kairos brothers brought bag full of these necklaces to a Kairos team unity meeting. He told us that each donation for them would go to Kairos Prison Ministry because the young man, the craftsman who had made them was a Kairos graduate and know the value of the ministry. The young man's father was also a Kairos volunteer on the outside and brings quart size zip lock bag fulls of these necklaces from his son after each visit. Donations to Kairos are his only request.

Each person who tool one last winter donated $5 each. I bought about 3 of them. Each person who bought them, we have found, has had a story about their necklace after leaving the room. Last week three of us were together and each one of us, in acquiring another necklace, had something that had happened to us involving our necklaces. Each of us met people who needed encouragement and prayer and each of us had given our necklaces away--sometimes to perfect strangers.

My most memorable necklace story was from going to the hospital before work for an early morning blood test. There I met three people in Waiting Room A. There was a friendly lady who arrived about the same time I did who didn't appear to meet a stranger. She started talking to me and pulled the shy man with one leg into the conversation. The third lady came into Waiting Room A and sat beside me. She also felt encouraged to talk and share by the first lady who was called to the back by a nurse. But she began to talk to me.

She told me how her sister had just passed and the funeral was that very day. But she'd volunteered to allow everyone else to go to the services while she waited for her niece to come out of surgery. Then she would take her niece home to take care of her.

Just then the vampire nurse called me to the back to extract a blood sample. When I came back through Waiting Room A the lady was still there. She told me that her sister had died from the complications of lupus and her niece's surgery was also due to lupus. I assured her that from what I'd read and from people I know with the disease that lupus was controllable under doctor's care and of course, staying in prayer. She seemed happy and comforted to discover she was talking to another Christian. She told me her niece's name after I told her of the wonderful prayer warriors I knew in my church, prison ministry and on line.

As if on cue, a young man came down the hall pushing a gurney with a tiny young lady on it. "There she is! There's my niece!" said the woman. She'd told me how cute and tiny her niece was. She was in her early twenties but looked like she was in middle school.

"Hi, Niece!" I chirped."Well, you are a cutie, just as your aunt described you!"
She blushed as her aunt scampered to her side and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I will have you both in my prayers," I added as I excused myself to go to work.

As I got down the hall, my hand touched my necklace and I had to turn back. i took off the necklace and I approached the gurney. When I told them what it was made of, Niece said, Wow! That's amazing!"

Then I told them who made it and why. I told her that I wanted her to have it to remind her that someone was praying for her. All I asked was that she remember that and do it for someone else.



When a few of us had our prayer vigil for Brother Hermann Schluter while he was in the hospital, I believe one of the reasons God had him awake and cheerful was so Richard could give him his necklace. Richard said the same thing in the hospital room: "There's something about them that makes you have to give them away.

Later I saw Brother Checo give one away to one of the young ladies who works with changing the laws for incarcerated youth. He said it was his third necklace also!

There's something about that necklace that one wants to have it and one has to give it away. Something joyful. It's like the gospel: It's not to be kept to oneself but spread around as any other good deed. I love my necklace, but I don't intend to keep this one for very long either. It's a beautiful necklace indeed!

Recommended Article By Ms. Kathy: Disney device enhances accessibility for guests with disabilities

Hi Kathy,
Your friend, Ms. Kathy, has recommended this article entitled 'Disney device enhances accessibility for guests with disabilities' to you.

Disney device enhances accessibility for guests with disabilities
Posted By Patricia Bauer On April 17, 2009 (7:00 am)

Article taken from Disability News | PatriciaEBauer.com - http://www.patriciaebauer.com
URL to article: http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2009/04/17/disney-device/

Bias against blind book lovers

This story was sent to you by: Ms. Kathy

--------------------
Bias against blind book lovers
--------------------

By Marc Maurer

April 14 2009

I love to read, and I've been doing it ever since I was able. My wife is also an avid reader. But my wife and I are blind, and because I lead the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind, we have many blind friends. And although many of us read everything we can get our hands on, we can't get our hands on very much to read.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.blind14apr14,0,2676842.story

Visit baltimoresun.com at http://www.baltimoresun.com

Ms. Kathy wants to share this Medical News Today article with you

Dear Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog,

Ms. Kathy saw this a_rticle on the Medical News Today website and thought you might be interested in it:

-- Comments --
Another reason to QUIT SMOKING, HUNNEE!

************************************************************

Tufts Medical Center Researchers Create A New Predictive Model For Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Researchers at Tufts Medical Center have created a formula for predicting how likely it is that individuals with certain genetic profiles and lifestyle behaviors will develop advanced Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a potentially blinding condition that currently affects an estimated two million older Americans and is increasing dramatically as the population ages...

To read the full article, please go to:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147342.php

************************************************************

Friday, April 24, 2009

Blind Learn to See With Tongue

Blind Learn To See With Tongue
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2373573n

CBS News Online

Your friend,
Kathy

AFB: Technology for the Blind

Technology

Technology has revolutionized daily life for all of us, but it has had particularly dramatic benefits for people who are blind or visually impaired. Until only recently, the world of print information—newspapers, books, signs, menus—was largely closed off to people with little or no sight. But the power of computers has now brought this world within reach for those unable to see. Computer technology, including specialized hardware or software that simulates the human voice reading the computer screen or renders hard-copy output into braille, designed to help persons with disabilities perform daily tasks, has changed the lives of countless individuals with visual impairments.

Assistive or adaptive technology, as it is called, has exploded many barriers to education and employment for visually impaired individuals. Students with visual impairments can complete homework, do research, take tests, and read books along with their sighted classmates thanks to advances in technology. Adults with visual impairments can continue to work and pursue a tremendous range of careers in mainstream society because of the use of computers and other devices.

A variety of information on technology can be found in this web site section, which features descriptions of adaptive equipment, offers tips on using technology effectively, and gives technology specialists advice on making web sites and computer applications accessible to people who are visually impaired.

Source Link

Discovery Blind Sports

This is for the DBS of Kirkwood, California.
http://www.discoveryblindsports.org/

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Eye Trouble May Have Affected Galileo's Observations

Newser Alert
This story from Newser has been sent to you by: Ms. Kathy

Ms. Kathy's comments:
I found this on Newser -- the place where you Know More, Search Less...


Eye Trouble May Have Affected Galileo's Observations

Published Thursday, January 22, 2009 1:24:01 PM

Galileo’s vision problems may have distorted some of his
findings, Reuters reports. Scientists want to exhume the
scientist’s body to determine, through DNA tests, the
exact nature of his eye condition. “If we knew exactly what
was wrong with his eyes we could use computer models to
recreate what he saw in his telescope,” said the director
of a Florence museum.
More »

Newser, LLC
65 E. Wacker Place
Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60601



Documentarian Films Through Prosthetic Eye

Newser Alert
This story from Newser has been sent to you by: Ms. Kathy

Ms. Kathy's comments:
I found this on Newser -- the place where you Know More, Search Less...


Documentarian Films Through

Prosthetic Eye

Published Wednesday, March 11, 2009 8:00:00 AM

A one-eyed documentarian is planning a film on privacy
shot using a camera implanted in his prosthetic organ,
the AP reports. Rob Spence, who plans to become a
"human surveillance machine," got the idea when he
realized how small his cellphone camera was. His eye
muscles will move the camera as they do his functioning eye, which
he hopes will put his interview subjects more at ease.
More »




Squirrels in Key Largo suffer from tumors, blindness

Ms. Kathy has sent you the following story:


Posted on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009

Squirrels in Key Largo suffer from tumors, blindness
By KEVIN WADLOW

Squirrels in Key Largo have been stricken by a virulent disease that causes grotesque tumors and often blindness.

The disease -- squirrel pox -- occurs nationwide in squirrel populations but has never been reported previously in the Florida Keys, said local wildlife experts.

''We started getting a lot of calls in late January, mostly from the area between [mile markers] 101 and 103,'' said Marsha Garrettson, manager of the Key Largo Animal Shelter run by the Humane Animal Care Coalition.



Key Largo Squirrels

Ms. Kathy has sent you the following story:


Posted on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009

Squirrels in Key Largo suffer from
tumors, blindness
By KEVIN WADLOW

Squirrels in Key Largo have been stricken by a virulent
disease that causes grotesque tumors and often blindness.

The disease -- squirrel pox -- occurs nationwide in squirrel

populations but has never been reported previously in the

Florida Keys, said local wildlife experts.


''We started getting a lot of calls in late January, mostly

from the area between [mile markers] 101 and 103,'' said

Marsha Garrettson, manager of the Key Largo Animal

Shelter run by the Humane Animal Care Coalition.



RONZONE: An obligation to stop premature births - Opinion

RONZONE: An obligation to stop premature births - Opinion

Fw: Braille Fail

That is totally crazy!

MsKathyssLogo2.gif picture by mskathy0724

http://www.kathyskids.org

Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

My daughter found this and emailed it to me.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Adrianne
To: Ma
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:33:24 PM
Subject: Braille Fail


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Color Choice

My favorite color is blue. You would think so with the all the blue on this blog, but because I like blue is not the whole story. I have a medium dark color as a background with light writing because there are eye conditions for which that arrangement is more comfortable.

For instance for a person with ocular albinism a white background from a computer screen may give off too much light or glare making the eyes tire more quickly and sometimes even washing out the print. Persons with aniridia, Stargardt's syndrome, macular degeneration and cataracts may have the same problem.That is why I advise teachers who have students with these conditions to consider these problems when creating PowerPoint presentations, Smart Board activities, directed browsing activities, over head projections and the like.


I also chose blue because with most colorblindness, blue is most often the color that can be detected. Total colorblindness is very rare. Colorblindness may also accompany some other conditions such as those above and retinitis pigmentosa.

Kathy Michael has been published



Kathy has written something for DivineCaroline and wanted you to know about it.


What He Said

By Kathy Michael
When my daughter was a little, she could memorize the songs and lines from her favorite videos and music tapes. Her collection was of Sesame...



A Life Dedicated

By Kathy Michael
Brother Hermann. When one really does what God wants us to do per the Great Commission it is necessary to step outside the four walls...



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Blind Ettiquette

A friend of mine, Theresa Parker McAdams, and I came up with this list. She was blind and I was a teacher of the blind so the principal thought it would be a good idea for us to share an office/classroom that year.The list was inspired by how atrociously I felt she was being treated at that school and how I had to fight for my students. Later another teacher, Janice Woods and I added to the list. We had a computer class together and she helped as a person who had never worked with the blind by asking the right questions.

  • If I bump into you with my cane, I will say, "Excuse me." If you should see me coming, say: "Good morning"--speak to me and call my name so that I will know that you are there. That will greatly help with my not bumping into you.
  • I am not deaf. Please use your normal tone of voice. I don't have "super-human" hearing either but I do rely on my hearing more.
  • Warn me of things I am about to touch things that are about to touch me. Say: "Here's a wet paper towel." "Here's a cold can of soda." Please don't just plop things into my hands, start wiping my face, give me an injection or push or pull me somewhere.
  • Don't drag me places or push me in front of you. Even with 20/20 vision you cannot see through me to get either of us from one place to another. Nor do you need to drag me like a puppy. Let me walk with you using the sighted guide technique.
  • You don't have to change your language to avoid sight references. I also say "See ya later" and "Let me see that."
  • Don't talk around me as if I'm not in the room. Don't ask my sighted friend what I would want or how I feel. I can speak for myself.
  • I should face you when I speak to you. Please reciprocate that courtesy by facing me when you talk to me. I can hear your voice go off to the side.
  • When you speak to me in a crowd, call my name or touch me to let me know that you are talking to me.
  • In class, if you are writing on the board or pointing to a chart speak in specifics. I cannot see what you're talking about when you say this or that. Instead say this plant or that chair. Use "it's on the left" and not "it's over there."
  • Don't project your feelings. If you are thinking "Gosh, if I were blind, I wouldn't be able to.." and then assume that to be true of me. That is projecting and it most often does me a disservice rather than a service for me.
  • Ask me if I will need help with a task---or I will ask for your assistance if it is needed. Do not assume that I need your help and start helping.
  • Don't assume that I don't read books, watch TV and movies, send emails, read newspapers, surf the "net" or participate in sports.
  • Knock before entering a room. Speak to me and let me now your are there and who you are. Isn't that a common courtesy afforded to anyone?
  • I can maneuver steps and staircases. Don't assume I need to avoid them because of my eyes. If my legs work just fine, my cane helps to detect drop-offs.
  • Don't "blind-spy." It is the ultimate in rudeness to ask someone to get my reaction while you listen in without making your presence known to me.
  • Replace furniture. In a classroom, office or lunchroom, I'd appreciate you pushing chair back in place and putting any of my things back where you found them.
  • My cane is a tool which helps me explore my environment. It is not a toy or a stick. Please respect it.
  • My dog is a tool like my cane. When its harness is up it is working. Please do not distract it from its work.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Visual Conditions Checklist

This is not the one we use at school but it may be helpful to you at home.

CLICK HERE

What He Said

When my daughter was a little, she could memorize the songs and lines from her favorites videos and music tapes. Her collection was of Sesame Street, Toddler Songs, Raffi, Disney Cartoons and a few Warner cartoons that my dad liked.

People WC (with children) know that toddlers have a favorite video or CD that has to be played continually until they know every word and every note. It is their job then to drill it into their parents' heads. Parents will then hear the entire video or music not only in their sleep but very often during waking hours. It's called SCVMT which stands for Small Child Video or Music Torture.

Another peculiarity of SCVMT is that the child may begin to quote such videos and music in conversation. My daughter once hopped in the front seat of my mother's car and when my sister placed her in the back in her toddler seat she exclaimed "I won't stand for this!" and pounded her fist on the head rest much like the prince's father in Disney's Cinderella.

My daughter is now 22 years old with very good taste in music. Why? Because of MMVPB--Mom Music/Video Payback. Besides that,I was brought up to be an avid reader and raised her to enjoy the world of books, too.

My husband will read Scripture and a few news articles. He can watch TV for several hours straight.To my amazement, he can watch some of his favorite shows and movies over and over. Let me add another "over" because the condition is just that severe. He has another syndrome similar to one mentioned above called HMMTLS or Husband Memorizes Movie/Television Lines Syndrome. It's torturous effect is often much worse than SCVMT.

When we were married two and a half years ago he panicked when he discovered he was moving into a house that had basic satellite programming without any of the movie channels.He quickly had me add his name to the account so that he could pay for all of the premium programming. Now when we cannot find how an emptied water bottle returned to the frig I hear the opening monologue for Law and Order I know where it originated. When I'm off to work on a cool day and need head covering I may hear him say to me, "That's some bad hat, Harry."

If M.A.S.H. the movie is on for the umpteenth time, I can hear the entire screenplay coming from his lips along with the movie. I hear "Hustle and Flow" and all it's rap lyrics.

My husband knows almost everything Denzel Washington ever uttered on screen. The one I like best is a line I'm inclined to use as well and that is from "Inside Man" when someone is stating the obvious: "Thank you, bank robber. I'm learning so much today."

I've discovered he's not the only one with this condition as he will sometimes be on the phone with a friend and they will have an entire conversation in movie lines.

"We all go a little mad sometimes." (Anthony Perkins as NORMAN BATES in Psycho)

Thought provoking

From a recent email...





Yes it is! Thanks! I'm forwarding to some friends who will appreciate it, too.

Thought provoking......




This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen...


A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work,
they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God,
the barber said:
"I don't believe that God exists."



"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?



If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.


Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber.
And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed.
"Barbers don't exist because
if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."


"Ah, but barbers DO exist!
That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer.
"That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help..
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."


If you think God exists, send this to other people---
If you think God does not exist, delete it!


BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS !!!!!!





Heard about your DAY........







It will get better tomorrow!!


This is how I heard YOUR day was going....

First you had trouble getting out of bed

You had a stiff neck

You washed your hair and couldn't do a thing with it

Your new diet really doesn't seem to be working out

You pulled a muscle when you tried to exercise

Your new hat looked better on you at the store

You keep losing things

The boss chewed you out at work

You got caught in the rain at lunchtime

Then the lunch you had didn't seem to agree with you

You feel trapped

Uninvited guests showed up at dinnertime

On top of that you think you're coming down with the flu

And finally, you're alone in the house at night when you think you hear a noise in the basement

MAYBE TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER!!


Monday, April 20, 2009

Tank Denizens Help Cure Blindness

I just saw this on canada.com

See how fishies are helping to cure blindness:

CLICK HERE or copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.canada.com/Tank+denizens+help+cure+blindness/1510150/story.html


_______________________________________
This is a free service courtesy of
Canada.com (http://www.canada.com
)

An article from www.miamiherald.com

Ms. Kathy has sent you the following story:


Posted on Sunday, Apr. 19, 2009

Duct-tape daredevils
By DAVE BARRY

(This Classic Dave Barry was originally published June 20, 2004.)

These days we take flying for granted. We walk aboard commercial airplanes, and although we don't understand how they work, we're confident that, thanks to the extremely sophisticated technology embodied in these complex machines, some teeny part, possibly in the toilet, will malfunction, and we will be delayed.

But sometimes planes actually fly. And when they do, they become soaring monuments to the brave pioneers who made modern aviation possible - people like Wilbur and Orville Wright Brothers, Amelia "Air" Hart, and Earl P. Flinchwater, who developed the computer program that guarantees that no two passengers on any given flight ever pay the same fare.



Sunday, April 19, 2009

Blind to Be Cured with Stem Cells



From
April 19, 2009

Blind to be cured with stem cells

BRITISH scientists have developed the world's first stem cell

therapy to cure the most common cause of blindness. Surgeons

predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be

generally available in six or seven years' time.


The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with

new ones created from embryonic stem cells. It was pioneered by

scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at

University College London and Moorfields eye hospital.


This week Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical research

company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy

to patients.


The treatment will tackle age-related macular degeneration

(AMD), the most common cause of blindness. It affects more

than 500,000 Britons and the number is forecast to increase

significantly as people live longer. The disease involves the loss

of eye cells.



Under the new treatment, embryonic stem cells are transformed

into replicas of the missing cells. They are then placed on an

artificial membrane which is inserted in the back of the retina.


Tom Bremridge, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society,

said: "This is a huge step forward for patients. We are extremely

pleased that the big guns have become involved, because, once

this treatment is validated, it will be made available to a huge

volume of patients."



Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into all types of

body tissue. Their use is controversial, however, because it

involves the destruction of human embryos.



Laboratory trials completed by the British team have

demonstrated that stem cells can prevent blindness in rats with a

similar disease to AMD. They have also successfully tested

elements of the technology in pigs.



The team is led by Professor Pete Coffey, director of the London

Project to Cure Blindness, working alongside Lyndon da Cruz, a

surgeon at Moorfields.



Coffey said the treatment would take "less than an hour, so it

really could be considered as an outpatient procedure. We are

trying to get it out as a common therapy".



He welcomed Pfizer's agreement to manufacture the

membranes, saying: "This is a major development because of the

size of the partner. We need a big pharmaceutical company to

scale it up.



"We have nearly 14m people within Europe with AMD. This will

ensure that the therapy gets through to clinical trials in a safe and

effective manner."



Professor Peng Khaw, director of the Biomedical Research

Centre at Moorfields and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology,

added: "This shows that stem cell therapy is coming of age. It

offers great hope for many sufferers around the world who

cannot be treated with conventional treatment." He added: "All my

patients say to me is, 'When will this stem cell treatment be

ready? I want it now'."



Pfizer's role would be crucial in bringing production of the

membranes to an industrial level.


The team is applying for regulatory approval for trials from the

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the

Human Tissue Authority and the gene therapy advisory

committee.



The clinical trial, due within two years, is expected to be the

second in the world to use embryonic stem cells on humans. The

first, on patients with spinal cord injuries, will start this year in

America.