PSA (Paul’s Service Announcement) SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK

Chances are you won’t even see it coming. Long before you can recoil, it has you. At first you make little of it, and why shouldn’t you? The pain, if any, is mild, so you brush it off as nothing, just a little bite. Big mistake.

Those old shoes tucked away in the back of the closet. That winter coat you put away last summer. Maybe it was when you lay sleeping and felt something crawling over your face. And when you brushed it away…WHAM! “Something bit me!” You turn on the lights, and you see this little guy.

(Photo credit-About.com)

You watch him scurry away. “Stupid spider.” No, not stupid – deadly, very deadly.

In homes these guys seem to favor cardboard. But have been found in dressers, toilets, clothes left lying on the floor, gloves, infrequently used beds, and etc.

(Photo credit eMedicine Health)

Its venom, according to eMedicineHealth, is more potent than that of a rattlesnake in ratio to its size. One bite, if left unattended according to the University of Minnesota, can in rare cases cause LIVER failure. Its bite can destroy tissue at an alarming rate. The following photos are shocking but very real.

(Photos credit- About.com)

In ten days this man’s life changed forever. The symptoms usually develop two to eight hours after a bite.

What should you do if the Brown Recluse bites you? eMedicineHealth advises you take the following step.

GET TO THE DOCTOR RIGHT AWAY!

The home kit pictured contains glue traps and a charcoal power to help soak the venom out of the tissue, thus preventing further damage.

 

(Photo credit: www.brown-recluse.com)

The states in the map below are where the brown recluse makes its home.

(Photo credit BrownRecluseSpider.com)

For our GOOD FRIDAY, inform someone of this dangerous spider. Have you ever encountered a brown recluse or any other deadly species we should be aware of? Tell us in the comments below. And as always, keep your head up and your eyes open.

DOGGONE

(Photo courtesy of Apertome)

In the last post, I introduced you to my dog Rex, the only dog I ever loved died when I was fourteen. When the story ‘DOGGONE’ came to me, I thought of Rex.

The picture above, although not Rex, reminds me of him. Rex was smart, cool, and he had heart; he didn’t take any mess, not even from me. But he loved me and I him. I like to remember him as a dog on a journey.

 This is for you boy.

 DOGGONE

“Hank, wake up, wake up!”

Hank woke with a start and looked over at the clock.

“Boy, it’s six o’ clock in the morning. What the fu–”

“Spare me the obscenities.”

“Okay, okay, what is it?”

“I’m dying.”

“What? How do you know?”

“Trust me, I know.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Thanks, but no. But there is something I want to do for you.”

Hank sat up.

“Take this map and this envelope. Promise me you will follow the map to the letter. And you won’t open the envelope until you hear the sirens, promise?”

“I promise, boy. Hey, Rex, maybe you’re wrong, maybe you’re not dying, maybe–”

Rex hit the floor with a slam.

“Oh, boy. Right again.”

Hank unfolded the hand-written map, which detailed the many places that Rex, during his lifetime, had buried money.

Hank, over the years, the many times money came up missing I was the one who stole it, not the few friends you chased away.

Now that you’re broke and I’m dead, I would like to tell you where I buried a small fortune in several places on our property.

“Why that lousy mutt!”

Hank! Hank! Calm down and listen!

Four feet from the oak tree in the back yard is buried five-thousand dollars. So get your shovel and bury me nearby – then get digging.

Hank buried Rex in two shakes of a dog’s tail, then went sniffing and dug up the money.

“Whoaaaaa, good boy, Rex, good boy.”

All right, all right, let’s keep moving.

Near the back fence under that smelly bush you planted is ten-thousand dollars.

After some digging and cursing, Hank dug up the loot.

“Rex, you were the best dog. Ever. I miss you already.”

Yeah, yeah, let’s keep moving.

Four feet in front of my doghouse you will find fifteen large.

The doghouse was in a sad state of repair. Hank now wished he’d taken better care of Rex.

Three feet down, just as Rex had predicted, lay the dough wrapped in plastic like the others.

“Awwww, boy, how did you ever do this? Thank you, boy, thank youuuu.”

Hank! Get a grip. Onto the last stop.

Near the patio, four feet from that stupid rock you call art is twenty Gs.

Hank found it so.

“Oooh, Rex, I loved you so much, boy. Why did you have to die? Why? Why? Why?”

“Hey, Hank, are you okay?” asked the neighbor.

“No, Phil, as a matter of fact, I’m not! And for your information, Rex died.”

“Good! I never like that mutt, anyway.”

“Why you no good–”

Hank leaped the fence, grabbed Phil and punched him near to death. Phil’s wife came out screaming, and then rushed to call the police.

Within minutes, Hank heard the sirens then he remembered the envelope.

Dear Hank,

I knew one day you would do something stupid. Whatever it is, I hope the fifty helps.

And to quote the best quote you ever stole: ‘May the fleas of a thousand camels invade the crotch of the person that ruins your day. And may their arms be too short to scratch.’ I love you, my friend, take care.

Love and happiness,

Rex

This story is from the ‘LIFE: AS FRAGILE AS DUST’ COLLECTION. If you enjoyed this story, purchase this short story collection at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, tell us your most heartwarming story about your four legged friend. And as always, keep your head up.

REX

(Photo courtesy of Apertome)

Ever since I could remember, I hated dogs.  I’m not sure how I felt about them when I was younger, but in my teens, a dog away from me was a good dog.

My mother inherited a dog when I was fourteen.  His named was Rex.  From day one, I hated the dog and he hated me.

He growled every time I passed him on my way out of the house.  And he barked when I returned.  Most nights he slept on the front porch.  Honestly, I think he did that to prevent me from coming in.  Stupid mutt.

The routine – I walked past, he cut his eyes and let out a low growl; I would do the same.  We understood each other.  There would never be any love lost between us.

One night, after two months of this routine, I passed him as he lay curled up on the porch – he didn’t growl.  Nope; he got up, left the porch and began following behind me as I rode away on my bike.

That dog…no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t chase him away.  I threw everything but the kitchen sink at him, he just wouldn’t go home.  So I jumped back on my bike and tried to outrun him.  He was way too fast.

When we got home Rex followed me up the steps and into the house.  I sat down to watch TV; there at my feet lay Rex.

From that night on, everywhere I went, Rex followed.  I soon gave up trying to sneak off without him – he was just too smart.

Every time I rode my bike, it was just me and my buddy, Rex.

One Saturday morning, Rex wasn’t sleeping by the front door or out on the front porch.

“Mama, where’s Rex?”

“He’s on the back porch.”

Sure enough, he was kinda sitting, kinda lying down.

“Come on boy, let’s go.”

He sat for a minute, turned those sad brown eyes at me and slowly crawled under the porch.

I called more times than I can remember, but he just wouldn’t come out.  Maybe he’s tired I thought.  So I let him be.  I rode off with my friends.

When I got home, Rex was still under the porch.

“Mama, Rex won’t come from under the porch.”

My mother’s eyes went soft. “Baby, I think Rex died.”

While I was out riding around, the dog I came to love died.  I will never forget that moment and I will never forget Rex.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, come back and read a heartfelt short story I penned and published for Rex.  For now, tell us your most heartwarming story about your four legged best friend.  And, as always, keep your head up.

From Hope Springs Love

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Why have you let the hardships put distance between you? Sitting on the same sofa, you’re light-years from each other. What happened?

How did she become an umbrella tucked in the closet only to be appreciated on rainy days? And sadly for you, he became as a throw pillow that decorated your life.

Are you going to toss away all the years you built together just because you’ve forgotten how to express love? Please think before you answer – how will your response affect the other?

Can you look at her? Can you look at him? Are you going to remain silent and let fear and stubbornness take authority over your lives? Is it worth leaving your precious marriage in ruins?

STOP, PLEASE STOP!

I heard a man pleading with my parents like that many years ago. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen. They didn’t make it.

I want to make it. I want to stay married to my beautiful wife forever and a day.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, my wife and I saw a movie without the kids. To her amazement I wanted to see ‘Hope Springs’.

“You don’t like romantic comedies.”

“I don’t, not really. But I love you and I think it might be funny.”

I won’t spoil the movie, but it was more than just amusing, it was truly a reminder that from hope springs love.

What did you do this week to remind your loved one you only have eyes for them? Leave your reply below.

And remember, you can and will make it if you don’t quit. And as always, keep your head up.

I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU

You pursued her with unbridled passion. Your love burned endlessly. With a love only reserved for her you gazed into her eyes, and spoke so reassuringly, “I only have eyes for you.”    In that moment you could have asked for the world, and she would’ve given it. Instead she gave you more-she gave you her heart.

Throughout the advancing years, have you kept your promise? Is she still the only one you have eyes for? 

Job loved his wife so much he made this covenant with God: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.”

How many men today could make such a pledge? For that fact, how many women? Very few.

Imagine if one stolen lustful glance would blind you for the remainder of your life. I have seen many gorgeous women, but not one is worth my sight. I need my vision. I want to spend the rest of my life gazing on and lusting for my wife.

Truly, it’s a challenge not to let one’s eyes go astray. However, daily, I remind myself that I am an old raisin; what sense does it make for me to try to bundle up with a plump grape?

When I have a sexy, beautiful, mature, experienced, luscious, and intelligent raisin that’s raisin’ our children?

 

Hang with your wife, as you age you’ll be glad you did.

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever, I only have eyes for you.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, let’s remind our someone special that we still, after all these years, only have eyes for them. Remember, this is for the young and old alike, male and female-this philosophy starts when you’re young. And come back on Friday and tell us your story in the comments below. And as always – keep your head up.

Compassion

You never know where you’re going to be when compassion sneaks up on you and wraps your heart in its warm embrace.

For me, it found me sitting in front of the TV. During the commercials, an ad for Christian Children’s Fund flashed on the screen. As always, it’s difficult seeing so many kids living in extreme poverty. Many times, I watched for a while, and then slowly turned the channel. I turned, not because I didn’t care, but because, “What possible good could an average guy like me do?”

In the spring of 2001, I called the number the next time I saw Christian Children’s Fund flash on the screen (now Child Fund International). It’s proven to be one of the best decisions of my life. Why? I got to know and sponsor Erimias.

After the sponsor package arrived, I saw he was a young boy, age eight. Seeing those bright eyes, his brave stare, I felt honored to be his sponsor.

Many letters later, so many filled with joy and accomplishments, some with filled with sadness; since my sponsorship, Erimias has lost both his parents.

He continues to be an outstanding student and is now age 19.

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Six years later, my family and I were leaving a Christian concert. Near the exit, two women stood at a long table. On the table sat rows of pictures of young children with their bio’s attached. We saw Trishna’s picture right away and said to each other, “She’s the one.”

Over the years I’ve been blessed to receive encouraging letters and as you see, beautiful pictures. As of today Trishna and family are doing well.

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Child Fund International and Compassion International are great ways to help needy children. These charities put the money in the hands of parents and let them purchase what their children need.

It’s been a privilege watching these children grow and being able to contribute in improving their lives in a small way.

How was your GOOD FRIDAY? How do you like to show compassion to others? Leave your stories in the comments below. And as always – keep your head up.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

Hey, want to see something funny?

However, these pictures are no laughing matter.

(Photos courtesy of Family from Afar)

One of the most effective ways to change this is to get to the root cause. And making huge shoe donations isn’t the answer.

Consider this: “After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Honduras was flooded with shipments of donated goods. They clogged ports, overwhelmed military transport, and made it nearly impossible for relief agencies to ship in the things they really needed. Those donations did harm, not good. Expired drugs had to be carefully disposed of. Inappropriate donations had to be transported away and discarded. All of this wasted time and money. ” Nobody wants your old shoes: How not to help in Haiti. 

Sometimes the donations aren’t of any real use for the area. As one one-time islander in Honduras explains about the shoes… “I lived through Hurricane Mitch on a little Island called Utila in the Bay Islands of Honduras. So much devastation. The Islanders were quite confused about the container that arrived on a ship to Utila full of high heel shoes. Yes, high heel shoes, the entire container!”  A Day Without Dignity.

Many times our good intentions can cause more harm than good. Donating Shoes and Other Aid Fads. 

However, I know how a charitable heart works and I totally understand the urge to send shoes for these needy children. But let’s find another way to help. As one emergency relief workers states: “Donating stuff instead of money is a serious problem in emergency relief. Only the people on the ground know what’s actually necessary.”

One sure way to offer your assistance is to give to charities that get at the root cause. These impoverished families need programs that fund money to families in search of a better life through education and self-sufficiency.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, let’s help kids all over the world get new shoes. Consider donating money to a local charity or an international one like Childfund International or Compassion International. Both these charities help the child by providing their parents with means to buy goods that are local (including shoes). Come back on Friday and tell us what charity you chose to help. And as always, keep your head up.

Uniqueness Isn’t Weakness

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After an early morning shampoo you discover your hair has turned bright green. Many shampoos and rinses later, you face the fact that it’s permanent.

Do you go to work that morning? If you do, how would you deal with the stares and the constant question, “What happened to your hair?”

What about the snickering? Or the direct insults? Could you bear under such pressure?

Most adults would find it difficult to go through life with green hair. But why would life under green hair be so hard to manage?

Perspective. Other people’s perspective, that’s why.

For our GOOD FRIDAY this week, we were to watch a movie with our children, a movie that would inspire them to newer heights. The movie I picked was The Boy with Green Hair, made in 1948. In the movie a war orphan, after washing his hair, discovers he will have to spend the rest of his life with green hair. Ostracized and pressured to no end to cut off or dye his bright green hair, he runs away and collapses running through the woods. There he has a revelation in the form of poster war orphans who help him see the purpose of his sudden green hair.

After the movie I asked my son would he be embarrassed to sport bright green hair.

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“Embarrassed? I already have the longest hair than all the guys in my school. If my hair was green too, I would be the coolest kid in school.”

How was your Good Friday? What movie did you decide to watch? Leave your stories in the comments below. And as always – keep your head up.

Can You Place an Age Limit on Morality?

If we are truly what we eat, then we are exactly what we consume mentally.

Junk food can and does wreck our bodies. But movies and television shows filled with senseless violence or warped messages destroy our minds.

Many parents have taken a stand, refusing to let their young children watch the likes of a  RATED R movie because most of these films lack any real morals.

Bravo! One giant step for parents and one small step the children.

What? Wait – why is it only a small step for children?

Think about it…

Parents (some, not all) don’t let their children watch movies with moral decline – a good aim.  But these same parents have little to no concern watching those movies while their children are only an earshot away in the next room or upstairs.

These youngsters who aren’t permitted to sit and watch useless entertainment many times are subjected to it audibly.

I know, I know. Parents should have and do have the right to watch whatever they want. While true, consider this. You confuse your child when you say, “You’re too young to watch those kinds of movies. Only mommy and daddy are allowed to see these types of movies.”

For a child, that kind of logic is confusing.

The fact of the matter is this:

You can’t place an age limit on morality.

Yes, there are many things that should be left out of the reach of small children. Movies are just one of many that have, of late, got under my skin.

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m a parent also struggling to find that ever moving line of decency etched in the sand. One only has to look at the latest fare in movies and see there’s a need to closely examine what we let entertain us and unwilling let poison our children as well as ourselves.

We can make a change. For our GOOD FRIDAY, watch a movie with a child or take your child to one – something that will not only entertain them but will inspire them to new heights. Or check out RandomFilmBuff for good suggestions. On Friday, come back and tell us your experience. And as always, keep your head up.

THE COLOR OF PURPLE

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When writing the post DYING TO STAY ALIVE, I had serious reservations. The young woman’s battered face, the facts surrounding her abuse – all shocking. My heart goes out to her and her family.

Just as shocking is the amount of abuse occurring globally. So much so that President Obama in 2010 proclaimed October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Now every October, purple ribbons abound – “Raising Awareness about Domestic Violence.” Wait, isn’t purple the color symbol for cancer? Yes, and it’s the color for Domestic Violence, too.

Think about it, couldn’t domestic violence be viewed as a cancer? And like a cancer, if ignored, it will fester and grow and one day kills, unless it’s eradicated.

I wanted to bring more awareness to this senseless crime. Are you aware of these staggering facts?

According to the Genesis Women Shelter:

  • 1 in 4 women will know domestic violence in her lifetime.
  • 1 in 3 teenage girls will be physically assaulted by a boyfriend.
  • Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women ages 15-44 in the U.S. That’s more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
  • Boys who witness domestic violence in their homes are 1,500 times more likely to perpetrate abuse later in life.
  • 50% of girls growing up in an abusive home will go on to be victims of abuse themselves.

For our GOOD FRIDAY, we purchased and donated clothing to the Genesis Women Shelter. 

Do you know the color purple also represents royalty? And women everywhere should be treated like queens, because that’s just what they are.

If you or someone you love may be a victim of domestic violence, Know the Facts and remember Love Is Not Abuse.

SAFETY ALERT: If you are in danger, please call 911, your local hotline, or (in the U.S.) the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224. Please review these safety tips.