http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations A journal of thoughts and ideas that occur to me usually when I'm in the middle of doing something else... like driving, or trying to fall asleep. Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:41:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Forty years ago (oh that makes me feel old), Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. Seven years before that, President Kennedy made a speech in Houston, Texas. The only part of that speech we seem to hear about is one small  part of a paragraph. There was a lot more ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=62 The other day I read a thought provoking post over at the Internet Monk where he decries the way "[w]orship is now a major audience event, led by skilled entertainers, aimed at a demographic and judged by the audience reaction." He goes on to assert: Worship has now become a musical ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=59 I have just spent a great week with my family in Sacramento. My oldest grandchild and only granddaughter just graduated high school and that's something a grandma just has to be there for. My son and his family flew in from Illinois. This is the first time ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=57 My daughter has a heart big as California where she lives. She has done the most courageous and selfless thing I've ever seen her do. In spite of her aching heart, she knows she has done the right thing by letting the love of her life walk away instead of ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=52 Employees at Chrysler's Kenosha Engine Plant are upset because Chrysler is closing the plant and moving operations to Mexico. No one likes to see jobs lost – especially when the jobs are outsourced. But…Many years ago, unions brought about some important changes in labor that protected laborers from abusive treatment ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=50 When Brad asked me to marry him, I told him I was barely domesticated so don't expect me to be domestic.  His response was I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. I, on the other hand, like to manage the finances. (Except when they look bleak.) Brad ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=48 My daughter is my keeper of all dates important.  So I get a message on Facebook from her yesterday asking if I called Jesse on Thursday.  To say Happy Birthday.  Ummm, I forgot?  Actually, I knew it was his birthday, but I got distracted.  Not an excuse; an explanation. There are ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=42 We are experiencing a good long spring rain.  The kind of rain that finishes melting snow, greens the grass and waters the gardens to wake up the flowers. I lived across the border in what is now called Aroostook Village from 1956 to 1958 and  I still have a few memories ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=38 I was raised in a conservative home ­– religious and political. However, I've noticed that the older I get the more moderate (and Libertarian) I become. My opinion regarding separation of Church and State (note the capital letters) is probably at odds with many in my family. Most of the ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=36 We are in what I refer to as weather purgatory.  It's something you only experience when you live in a location where there are four distinct seasons – and the transitions between seasons.  The ugliest of those transitions is the one between winter and spring. The Vernal Equinox may be in ... http://www.cathyheather.net/ruminations/?p=32