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Our Daily Thread 11-14-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1851 Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” was first published in the U.S.

In 1881 Charles J. Guiteau’s trial began for the assassination of President Garfield. Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year. 

In 1889 New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) began an attempt to surpass the fictitious journey of Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg by traveling around the world in less than 80 days. Bly succeeded by finishing the journey the following January in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. 

In 1943 Ernie Nevers of the St. Louis Cardinals became the first professional football player to score six touchdowns in a single game.

In 1969 the Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon from Cape Kennedy, FL. 

And also in 1969, during the Vietnam War, Major General Bruno Arthur Hochmuth, commander of the Third Marine Division, became the first general to be killed in Vietnam by enemy fire. 

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Quote of the Day

“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love.”

Claude Monet

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Today would be the birthday of Johann Georg Leopold Mozart.

It’s also Joy Williams’.

And it’s James Young’s as well.

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Anyone have a QoD?

52 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 11-14-13”

  1. I don’t think that I realized the story of Nellie Bly was real. Isn’t there a movie version????
    Morning all, time for me to sleep as market is at 6:30 in the morning, not my best time.

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  2. Good Morning Everyone. It is our second day of starting off in the ’30’s. The dogs are loving it. They come back in from their morning constitutional as frisky and fired up. What is really funny is that when wound up Little 10 Pounder Shi-Poo can out run Big 37 Pound Lab Mix Puppy. Once they tire themselves out they just drop. This morning they are refusing breakfast because the “Big Dawg” (that would be me) refused to put bacon juice on their dry dog food. Rotten Little Beasts.

    I am not sure what is going on in our area but real estate seems to be popping right now. I do have an accepted offer on my Own Personal WWII Vet’s house. Just after we ironed out those details I had another agent contact me to show it.

    Twice this week I have shown Ex-Husband’s house! It has been on the market 76 days without much interest.

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  3. QUESTION OF THE DAY perhaps?

    I have asked this in the past, but WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SOMEONE DID SOMETHING NICE FOR YOU?

    Through Facebook I have connected with another KW agent in the Atlanta area. A few months ago he posted something on FB about wanting to do random acts of kindness. He asked who would like to participate and the only condition of participation is that you “pay it forward”. Yesterday morning I logged in to my FB account and had received a 15 dollar iTunes gift card from him. There was a book I have been wanting to listen to on my morning commute and when I looked it up it was $14.95. The thank you note went in the mail yesterday afternoon.

    Now I have to figure out who and what to pay forward.

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  4. My wife does something nice for me everyday. I am greeted with a kiss, a tender smile and warm hand to hold. Pro 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.

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  6. Good Morning, Y’all!

    Kim…today! Some girls in my 5th period class baked me a Red Velvet cake for my birthday and decorated it like a square from the periodic table. Didn’t work …they still have to take a quiz 🙂

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  7. This is a little thing but I thought it was considerate. The Kid and I went to the movies and a tall woman sat down in front of the Kid. She then turned around and asked the Kid if he could see over her okay.

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  9. Good morning, all. I haven’t been around as much b/c I’ve been so busy with homeschooling Becca. Some days, I’m not sure where the time goes, but it does seem to fly! I’m having some issues adjusting to having zero alone time, after four years of having seven hours a day to myself. I’m so glad I have the opportunity to homeschool my youngest, and I do feel God has called me to it, but dying to self is never easy. I’ve signed her up for a homeschool gymnastics class on Thursday afternoons and she begins a homeschool pottery class tomorrow. I also joined a homeschool support group that meets weekly at a local park and goes on monthly field trips the first Friday of the month. We weren’t able to attend the playdate in the park this week, as Becca had a doctor’s appointment, but we plan on going next Wednesday. I’m hoping we both make some friends–a few women from the group have already reached out and welcomed me, including an older woman whose children are all grown. She told me there are a group of experienced, older women who act as mentors to the younger, new homeschool moms, herself included. We’ve emailed quite a bit and she seems really nice. I’ve prayed for years for a Christian, female mentor and think I may have actually found one finally. As y’all know, my own mother isn’t someone I desire to emulate.

    Kim’s QoD: I’d have to say the women reaching out to me from the homeschool support group has been my most recent brush with acts of kindness. I’m not the best at making new friends — so I really appreciate it when others make the first overtures. I already feel included in the group and I haven’t even met anyone in person yet! It reminds me of my experience of being a new Christian in a huge Baptist church–it was like I was going through sorority rush again (but in a good way). People were always calling me and inviting me to join them in some sort of fun activity. I’d never known Christians like that–it was wonderful. It was through that church (Second Baptist in Houston) that I became a Christian. I will always have a fondness for Baptists.

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  10. Something nice for me?
    Check my Monday/Tuesday? post about the lady finding my cell phone.

    We’re back in Hendersonville. It was a three hour dreve, including a stop at McDonaldsi for breakfast. Winter driving is a pain. Almost any which way you go, the sun is in your eyes.

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  11. I couldn’t find my Monday post, so, SOMEBODY DID SOMETHING NICE FOR ME—

    Monday afternoon, we were in Pigeon Forge, Tn. Elvera was looking in the stores and I went down to watch the Pigeon River. She and I met and we stopped in a place to get warm and have some coffee. There I noticed that my cell phone was missing. So, I left the coffee shop and started retracing my steps looking for my phone. I went all the way back. No luck.
    On the way back to the coffee shop, a lady came running up and asked, “Are you Charlie?” I said, “Yes”, She said, “Here’s your phone”, then turned and walked away. I was astounded, and only said, “Thanks, Thanks a lot”. and she was gone.
    Turns out, she had found my phone, looked on the speed dial and dialed Elvera long distance. Elvera told her that a tall slender guy with a checkered shirt was looking for the phone. So, the lady found me.

    I posted this Monday everning, and some of you read it, because I got some responses about my saying that I can’t imagine how my phone got away, since it is in a holster on my belt. I can’t remember having it out.
    The lady saved me lots of trouble.

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  12. I keep getting confused about what time of year it is, this morning I actually thought for a moment that it was summer … We’ve been having exceptionally warm weather for November, but it’s supposed to get a little cooler starting today or tomorrow.

    Back to JFK. I’m having a hard time with this story which I need to turn in sometime this morning. There’s been a lot of pressure to come up with something special and that reads beautifully (it’s running in several of our papers) — and suddenly it’s like I’ve forgotten how to write. 😦 😦

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  13. annms, good to hear from you, I was just thinking yesterday that you hadn’t been around in a while. It sounds like you’re getting hooked in to a good home school network which I imagine would make such a big difference for a mom new to home schooling.

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  14. “Reactions to John F. Kennedy have morphed and changed over the years, but one thing has remained constant: here was a man lost in his prime for no good purpose.

    If you ask people over a certain age where they were on November 23, 1963, they can describe it, often remembering the emotions: shock, fear, confusion and overwhelming sadness.

    If you ask a younger person, they might flash to the movie JFK, or talk about his beautiful wife or the son who died too soon in a plane crash.

    But everyone knows something good was lost on that day in Dallas–whether it was the nation’s optimism, its hope or perhaps its sense of self as a united country.

    We needed Jackie Kennedy to help us–and she did. We needed to mourn together–and we did. We needed to take away from that horrible event something that would make us better–did we?

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  16. Donna, what Michelle wrote is likely the most beautiful thing you’ll find on JFK.
    People are beginning to look at this through objective rather than emptopma; eyes.

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  17. I wasn’t born until 66, so it’s never been a big deal to me. I don’t know or remember JFK. The Kennedy clan however I am familiar with. And I must say I am not impressed by the rampant adulterers(JFK too), probable murderer, convicted rapists, and liberal politicians that make up the clan I’ve known in my lifetime. They’ve never seemed deserving, or thankful, for the pedestal they’ve been placed on IMO. I just never got the fascination people have with them.

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  18. AJ, I think you had to have lived through the assassination to understand the pull it still has — it is probably similar to 9/11 for younger people. All of us who were old enough, even though we were still kids, vividly recall those days when the nation basically came to a stop. The streets were cleared as people retreated to watch the coverage on television for days on end.

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  19. The last big nice thing was being given the passes to Author 101 University. (I won them in a sense, but I kept messing up on my entry and had to make contact after the teleseminar to say that I tried to enter but was using the wrong email address. I was then given the passes.)

    I met some very nice people at the event. There was a time before the scheduled conference began when you could meet with agents and editors. The first morning I spoke with one who I had previously momentarily chatted with. I was pleased with how that went and did not on that day get back in line to see any others. I went to buy some yogurt for breakfast and sat down to enjoy it before the morning sessions. A very nice lady sat down with me. She probably thought I was just being shy. Her first book is about to release so she knew the ropes. She helped me to be aware of things I would not have considered. So many people there were being supportive of one another. I was very impressed with the event.

    I just sent out thank you notes to the people who gave me the passes and the agents I met.

    I also feel it has been nice to be given the opportunity to do the book reviews for the Christian Library International quarterly newsletter.

    There are other nice things people do everyday. A co-worker drove us all out for breakfast/brunch earlier.

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  24. The nicest thing that has happened to our church in a while, is a 90-something widower wanted to honor his wife of 67 years who died two years ago. He made an enormous donation to our church to fix the landscaping out front, removing all the stairs and tripping hazards, and naming the garden for his wife Priscilla.

    It’s made the front look much nicer, but also provided a level yard for the kids to play during VBS, a smooth patio for snacks between services, and ensured our elderly can enter the church without having to climb three awkward steps.

    A gift for all, but for me, it’s most touching that he did it to honor his wife. 🙂

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  29. Jo – Not only did Nelly Bly really complete her famous journey, but she went out of her way to meet Jules Verne, the author of Around the World in 80 Days, as she went through France. Verne was delighted to meet her, although he did not think she could break the record of Phileas Fogg, his fictional hero. When he learned her itinerary, which did not include India, he asked why she wasn’t going through that country. She replied, “Because I’m anxious to save time, not a young widow.” Verne teasingly replied to Nellie Bly that she might rescue a young widower. In the novel, Fogg rescues a young Indian widow from being burned alive on her husbands funeral pyre – she ends up accompanying him for the rest of the journey and he marries her at the end of the book.

    This is Roscuro. I can’t sign in today.

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  30. Kim’s QoD: On my birthday, one of my teammates, who was extremely busy, took the time to write me a card and stick it in my door. I was so touched because I knew the stress this person was under and yet she remembered that I would be feeling a little lonely away from my family on my special day.

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  31. Kim, one or two of my older brothers, and now my sister, like that “second verse” of “Happy Birthday.” Except our family sings it as “You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too.”

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  32. Had a special kindness just last night. A few weeks ago I broke down in the Highlands prayer time, where we pray for teams translating in the Highlands, and cried from loneliness. Last Sunday one of the couples invited me over for a Thanksgiving dinner (I have had times when I have been totally alone on Thanksgiving) and last night a single mom invite me to a special dinner her daughter is preparing as part of her home ec class. So refreshing and sweet to be included.

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  35. Yeah! Finally got signed in.

    The second verse to Happy Birthday I know is:
    Happy Birthday to you,
    To Jesus be true,
    May God’s richest blessing
    Abide upon you.

    Here the tune to Happy Birthday is very popular. One of their dance recordings that they play at naming ceremonies and weddings uses the tune as a background to the traditional improvised singing they do. It makes me chuckle every time I hear it coming from somewhere in the village.

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  36. You’re welcome, Jo. Glad my treasury of useless information comes in handy sometimes 😉

    I was just going to add that people don’t celebrate birthdays here. The closest they come to it is the naming ceremonies for babies when they are eight days old.

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  37. I have a friend who is Greek. He doesn’t celebrate the date of his birth, he celebrates the day of his Christening. I don’t know if that is true of all Greeks or not.

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  38. Here is another verse for the birthday song:
    Happy Birthday to you,
    only one will not not do.
    Born again means salvation!
    How many have you?

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  39. Happy Birthday, IBNO! ’62 was a good year. 😉

    JFK: I was 14 months old when he was assassinated. I don’t remember my reaction.

    QoD: There have been many kindnesses shown to me lately. People I’ve never met have been praying for me. You know who you are. Thank you.

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  41. Happy Birthday, InButNotOf!

    There’s a tradition of putting an extra candle on the cake, for “good luck”. (Does everyone do that? I don’t know how wide-spread the tradition is.) Lee & I would say to our girls that the extra candle was for God’s blessings. When I blow out the candles on my birthday cake, instead of making a wish, I say a quick prayer (usually for the salvation of my family).

    After singing Happy Birthday, we sing “Cha cha cha!” I’ve never known anyone else to do that, but it started at least with my parents (or maybe with one set of their parents), & we’ve continued it, as have our daughters. Knowing my dad, & his sense of humor, it sounds like something he may have started.

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  43. Happy birthday inbutnotof! Mine was last week but I was in denial so didn’t mention it. 😉

    So michelle became a talking head in my jfk story which should post tonight/tomorrow. 🙂 And the projects editor (who assigned the story to me) responded that she loved the story, it was just what she wanted — and that I “rock.”

    Whew.

    After turning that in, though, I had to listen via live stream audio to an la planning commission meeting that I thought would never end … from 10-3 before they finally voted & I could write my story.

    After that, had to do another story on our iconic bridge’s 50th anniversary which is tomorrow/Friday.

    I’m tired.

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  44. Checking in late here in CO…happy birthday IBNO! And that goes for you too Miss Donna….!! 🙂
    Karen, we sing happy birthday just like they sing it in DUMBO…we’re a weird bunch I know!
    The day JFK was assassinated, I was in the fourth grade…Mrs. Brix was my teacher. We were in class when Mr. Beggs, our principal, walked in. He told us the President had been shot and he had died. The memory of that moment remains fresh in this old brain of mine…..I had laid my head down upon my desk and began to sob…Mr. Beggs walked over to my desk, leaned down, putting his arm around me, he whispered into my ear “God bless you my child”….school was let out early that day and it seemed for the very first time, giggling children were not running about the playground after school…a very somber day…

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  46. We celebrated some staff birthdays at school today. We always end by someone going “Hip, hip” and then the rest of us yell “hooray”
    Don’t know where this tradition came form, but I suspect Australia

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  48. Actually right now it is Friday evening at 5:19pm. Off to the Teen Centre for dinner with friends. Love their chicken salad and fries. or chips as we call them here.

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