Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
WHITE TRASH CHRISTMAS
Special tribute to a dear mate who is spending Christmas in a caravan park............
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
HOME -THAT WARM AND COMFY PLACE WE ALL FEEL SAFE IN. THAT SPECIAL PLACE WHERE THE HEART IS....
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
WHERE EVER YOU ARE
British Military Wives sang this song for Remembrance Day but it still calls out to all loved ones, men and women, far from home this Christmas season.
Friday, December 16, 2011
A CHRISTMAS STORY 2009
 |
| Rhoads Family - Colleen Cummings A-P |
Whilst Christmas 2008 is not looked back on with undiluted pleasure, Christmas 2009 is a bright Christmas moment long remembered fondly.
Am re-printing the story of that Christmas, as it appeared in local paper on Christmas morning. The Rhoads family have gone on to greater things. James, the father was taught the trade of 'property management' by the old geezer and has gone on to help owners with troubled properties get turned round. Last checked the family was doing well.
Christmas miracle for family in Linda
December 25, 2009 12:32:50 AM
Nearly a year ago, James Rhoads started a business of reselling items from storage units where renters had fallen behind on payments.
People sometimes pleaded with him for items they'd left behind; often, other than for personal items, they were out of luck.
But after the contents of his own storage unit was sold, and his family of six had to sleep at friends' houses or sometimes a 1996 Plymouth Voyager, he's gotten a new perspective.
"Everybody out there, they aren't really that bad of people," said Rhoads, 34, adding he hasn't always felt that way. "There are bad seeds out there, but the majority of them are good."
The reason the out-of-work cement mason has a better outlook these days has to do with what's happened to his family in the last two weeks — going from a Christmas with little hope to what his wife Chandra Rhoads calls the best one she's ever had.
In a modest Linda apartment, the family has furniture, bedding, food and $500 worth of Christmas gifts. All of it donated, including the unit where they live.
The Rhoads' journey started as the economy tanked in the last few years. James Rhoads went from making $4,200 a month and planning to buy a home for his wife and their four children to being out of work so long he can't even take advantage of the unemployment benefit extensions recently approved.
Short of money, the family left a rented home in Linda a few months ago where the electricity had been shut off and a ceiling had collapsed, and headed for Oregon, where they thought a new home awaited them.
When that fell through a month ago, the couple and their four children — Jamie Rhoads, 12; Alex Gomes, 9; Haley Rhoads, 5; and Jimmy Rhoads III, 3 — piled into the van and drove back to Yuba County for what they believed would be a temporary stay at a friend's home.
It was temporary. But for two weeks, as James said he searched for an apartment he could move his family into, he began to fear living in the van would be more permanent.
Because the family had only Aid to Families with Dependent Children for income, they couldn't afford the normal rental requirements for an apartment. And other apartment managers wouldn't take in a family that big for relatively small quarters.
When he approached the managers at Linda Villa Apartments in Linda earlier this month, James Rhoads said he'd decided honesty was the best policy.
"I was discouraged," he said. "So I just put my story out there."
Rob DeFrees, who works with Linda Villa's managers, said Rhoads' story struck a chord.
"I looked him in the eye and thought, 'If ever there was a situation where I should trust my gut, this is the time,'" DeFrees said. He agreed to let the family rent an apartment on a voucher for homeless families.
But after losing the storage unit's contents, the Rhoads had little which with to fill the apartment.
"As far as Christmas, we were kind of thinking we weren't going to have one," said Chandra, 31.
DeFrees wrote a story about the family on his blog, and published it Dec. 13. Doing so proved to be a snowball thrown down the side of a mountain, the result being an avalanche of generosity.
People began sending DeFrees e-mail messages: What can I do?
"I wanted to believe if people had the opportunity to help on a personal level, they would," DeFrees said. "I'm just overwhelmed at it all."
One person who responded was a woman named Bonnie, who thought at least she could bring over blankets and other bedding. Then she saw how little the family had.
She made phone calls, sent e-mails. More offers of help came in. Bonnie, who declined to allow her last name to be published, said she thinks being able to do something small for someone resonated with people.
Many of her fellow parishioners at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church helped, as did the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, Supervisor Andy Vasquez and a furniture store.
Those who contributed had two things in common: They wanted to help, and they didn't want credit.
James Rhoads beamed earlier this week as Alex and Haley zipped around the apartment complex's parking lot on donated bikes.
"I like my beds, and I like my new bike," Alex said, pedaling just behind his parents as they walked. Alex mentioned his brother's birthday was Christmas Eve.
"Then we get a lot of treats," he said, to laughter from James and Chandra.
"I used to think less of people who were bad off," Rhoads said. "Now I think, I've been there."
In exchange for a break on rent, Rhoads has been hired as a maintenance man at the complex, and other part-time jobs will start soon. He's hoping to stay long enough to earn money toward a more permanent place.
The family is also planning its own giving back, starting by taking extra sleeping bags and blankets to the homeless.
When she talks about what's happened, Chandra Rhoads stops in the middle of her sentence.
"It's going to be awesome," she said of today's celebration, her eyes welling with tears.
People sometimes pleaded with him for items they'd left behind; often, other than for personal items, they were out of luck.
But after the contents of his own storage unit was sold, and his family of six had to sleep at friends' houses or sometimes a 1996 Plymouth Voyager, he's gotten a new perspective.
"Everybody out there, they aren't really that bad of people," said Rhoads, 34, adding he hasn't always felt that way. "There are bad seeds out there, but the majority of them are good."
The reason the out-of-work cement mason has a better outlook these days has to do with what's happened to his family in the last two weeks — going from a Christmas with little hope to what his wife Chandra Rhoads calls the best one she's ever had.
In a modest Linda apartment, the family has furniture, bedding, food and $500 worth of Christmas gifts. All of it donated, including the unit where they live.
The Rhoads' journey started as the economy tanked in the last few years. James Rhoads went from making $4,200 a month and planning to buy a home for his wife and their four children to being out of work so long he can't even take advantage of the unemployment benefit extensions recently approved.
Short of money, the family left a rented home in Linda a few months ago where the electricity had been shut off and a ceiling had collapsed, and headed for Oregon, where they thought a new home awaited them.
When that fell through a month ago, the couple and their four children — Jamie Rhoads, 12; Alex Gomes, 9; Haley Rhoads, 5; and Jimmy Rhoads III, 3 — piled into the van and drove back to Yuba County for what they believed would be a temporary stay at a friend's home.
It was temporary. But for two weeks, as James said he searched for an apartment he could move his family into, he began to fear living in the van would be more permanent.
Because the family had only Aid to Families with Dependent Children for income, they couldn't afford the normal rental requirements for an apartment. And other apartment managers wouldn't take in a family that big for relatively small quarters.
When he approached the managers at Linda Villa Apartments in Linda earlier this month, James Rhoads said he'd decided honesty was the best policy.
"I was discouraged," he said. "So I just put my story out there."
Rob DeFrees, who works with Linda Villa's managers, said Rhoads' story struck a chord.
"I looked him in the eye and thought, 'If ever there was a situation where I should trust my gut, this is the time,'" DeFrees said. He agreed to let the family rent an apartment on a voucher for homeless families.
But after losing the storage unit's contents, the Rhoads had little which with to fill the apartment.
"As far as Christmas, we were kind of thinking we weren't going to have one," said Chandra, 31.
DeFrees wrote a story about the family on his blog, and published it Dec. 13. Doing so proved to be a snowball thrown down the side of a mountain, the result being an avalanche of generosity.
People began sending DeFrees e-mail messages: What can I do?
"I wanted to believe if people had the opportunity to help on a personal level, they would," DeFrees said. "I'm just overwhelmed at it all."
One person who responded was a woman named Bonnie, who thought at least she could bring over blankets and other bedding. Then she saw how little the family had.
She made phone calls, sent e-mails. More offers of help came in. Bonnie, who declined to allow her last name to be published, said she thinks being able to do something small for someone resonated with people.
Many of her fellow parishioners at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church helped, as did the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, Supervisor Andy Vasquez and a furniture store.
Those who contributed had two things in common: They wanted to help, and they didn't want credit.
James Rhoads beamed earlier this week as Alex and Haley zipped around the apartment complex's parking lot on donated bikes.
"I like my beds, and I like my new bike," Alex said, pedaling just behind his parents as they walked. Alex mentioned his brother's birthday was Christmas Eve.
"Then we get a lot of treats," he said, to laughter from James and Chandra.
"I used to think less of people who were bad off," Rhoads said. "Now I think, I've been there."
In exchange for a break on rent, Rhoads has been hired as a maintenance man at the complex, and other part-time jobs will start soon. He's hoping to stay long enough to earn money toward a more permanent place.
The family is also planning its own giving back, starting by taking extra sleeping bags and blankets to the homeless.
When she talks about what's happened, Chandra Rhoads stops in the middle of her sentence.
"It's going to be awesome," she said of today's celebration, her eyes welling with tears.
It may be a small blog, but this old geezer reaches out to many, many kind folks with hearts as big as Texas. When you ask if you can make a difference, just remember the lesson of this story. One person has the power to change lives, a small change that leads to bigger changes.
Christmas, it is all about the giving and not the getting......
Thursday, December 15, 2011
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
My dears, MOI made a promise to not fill these pages with tales of woe or grief this holiday season and will honour that. What will follow is the re-telling of Christmas 2008, or rather the days of Christmas 2008, and how the whole of these days makes Christmas the special season it is. Christmas is a blend of hope and unhappiness, and how both can mesh and still leave one with joy in the heart and the true Spirit of Christmas alive.
The orchestra has picked out a lovely tune to set the mood..............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMD056C3IRs Do listen as you read.............
Last night as the sun set and the sky turned dark, the Christmas lights from the tree in my office were shining brightly for all on the road to see and enjoy. MOI had tied back the curtains and lifted the window blinds, offering a brilliant view of the warm glow of the tree that stood in the window.
MOI was reading mail on the computer and Paul was standing beside as MOI had received a touching story and wanted to share with him.
Suddenly,there was a loud crash, followed by a rather large brick that had been hurled through the window. With such force had it been thrown that it knocked over the Christmas tree, smashing ornaments, breaking limbs of tree, shattering the glass on a picture on wall and covering MOI and most of the room with shards of glass. Paul was standing quite near the the window and was able to catch a glimpse of a figure in the garden of the property next to office window, saw the person run into the house next door and slam the front security gate.
MOI called the coppers. Since neither MOI or Paul had been killed by the brick and while shaken were still very sound of body, so MOI dialed the non-emergency number for the coppers. The poor lady who takes the calls informed MOI that the coppers were ever so busy and it would be some time before they could come out to take a report.
Looking out the window it was very clear where the brick had come from and in what direction it had been cast from. The house next door had all of the lights off, even the lamp that comes on when there is movement out front. As if to confirm the winning aim, the lights all came back on and folks from the house next door came out to give a look about. In short order the lady who rents the property even showed up and stood in the garden looking up at the smashed window.
My legal angel tells me that the tale can be told so long as MOI tells what he knows to be true and does not try to name one who is not known to. That the lady can be talked about as she is part of the community and took it upon herself to have an open chat on the front garden that any on road could have heard. In short there is much MOI can say and not cross any line that defames a person or property that is not part of the event that happened to MOI on this occasion.
Neither MOI or Paul actually saw the person throw the brick through the window. Paul did see a person run into the house trying to hide face and enter the house next door. The hole in the window leaves no doubt where one had to be standing to hurl the brick. MOI managed the property for the Natal's and is 'au fait' with the bricks that are on that property, and where they sat in the garden, there is no doubt in my mind that the brick sitting on the floor next to MOI will match one from the garden next door. NO DOUBT!
Proving who hurled the brick is another matter and that is one that may never be solved. Since MOI was not killed by the brick and just damage to property was done, it is not a crime that the coppers will spend a great deal of time trying to solve. That is the way of it.
The lady who rents the property had much to say and wanted all of her followers to hear what she had to say. When MOI saw her looking up at the broken window, MOI told her that the coppers had been called and that a person from her 'room and board' was seen running into the property after the brick had been hurled.
"You did not see shit, how could you with the blinds down"; the lady told MOI. Point of fact the blinds were up and curtains tied back.
"You are nothing but a piece of shit, if you were to stop taking dicks up your ass and mind your own business, maybe people would not throw rocks through your windows". "You are nothing but a sick evil faggot that everybody wishes would leave the neighborhood".
My dears, however sad the events of last night are, there is a true Christmas tale here and MOI hopes that you will keep reading to see it unfold.
It was MOI who got the owners to rent to the lady with the 'room and board', knowing full well that the 'clients' required special care and watching. The lady promised that she would do that, even go so far as to say that drugs and alcohol were taboo in her 'room and board' operations. It was MOI who begged the owners to give small Christmas presents to the 'clients' last Christmas. It was MOI who provided a very large holiday pie to the house, and made sure that a small boy got presents for Christmas. Over and over the old geezer kept the Spirit of Christmas in his heart and made sure that the lady had everything she required to help her 'clients'.
The lovely gentlemen in the orchestra are telling MOI they have another tune to play for you........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVylexEGY-A Give it a listen to.............
'A Home', the wish of each and every 'uncovered' and mentally ill person in Fresno. That is what the old geezer believes.
"I hear that in many places something has happened to Christmas; that it is changing from a time of merriment and carefree gaiety to a holiday which is filled with tedium; that many people dread the day and the obligation to give Christmas presents is a nightmare to weary, bored souls; that the children of enlightened parents no longer believe in Santa Claus; that all in all, the effort to be happy and have pleasure makes many honest hearts grow dark with despair instead of beaming with good will and cheerfulness." ~Julia Peterkin, A Plantation Christmas, 1934
Christmas 2008 will be a hard time for many folks on the road lived on. There is no cash and single mums and poor families are not able to have a tree and there will be no presents. For some there will be no holiday meal. Many of the children on the road will never see Father Christmas, or even believe that he is real.
MOI has had much given to in life and MOI will don his Father Christmas costume and walk up and down the road and try to have some small treat for every little boy or girl who wants to come out and meet Father Christmas. That is what Christmas means to MOI.
The orchestra is full of Christmas and they want to play more..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0SWPnryXl8
That there was love in the world would be so grand and MOI knows that however horrid the things said of MOI are, MOI knows in his heart who he is and what he believes.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
My dears, it is Christmas........................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCM1MXtMtFk
My dears, the window will be repaired, some sort of lights will be placed in window in office, the poor tree might be able to be fixed, the picture can be fixed, the special ornaments will be replaced in time with new ones, and the crystal figures on desk will be remember if not enjoyed anymore. MOI leaves you with a quote that sums up MOI perfectly.........
I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens
Monday, December 12, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
CHRISTMAS TREE LOOT
Truth be told, it is the giving that makes for the best of Christmases. My hope is that each and every one will find loads of presents under the tree with YOUR name on the packages. There is still timev to add to the pile....
SANTA MOMENT....
There are some who would like to run over the poor man. It is Christmas, go with the flow, there just might be something in Santa's bag for YOU.....
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
CHRISTMAS TREE IN ROME
My friend in Rome sent this snap. They were putting up the Christmas Tree in Rome. Lovely.
One realizes that all over the world, people are joining in the celebration, a celebration of good cheer and being kind to one another. This makes the old geezer realize just how connected we, the entire world are. More's the pity we do not feel this spirit the whole of the year....
Monday, December 5, 2011
SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER
Christmas is all about the giving, not the getting. Truth be told the experience left me with memories that will last a life time.
When is the last time you played SANTA???
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