Tag: life choice

…is this the serious content you plan to write about?

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Please, give this blog a chance. We’ll laugh (I hope you find my sense of humor funny). We can take a break from the harshness of life with light-hearted, inspirational and encouraging posts . Plus, some very honest, right from the heart of one Christian trying to live up to the standard of Christ in an imperfect world as an imperfect person blogs.

This blog name is “If you were to ask me”. My name is Donna and here we go. Please feel free to ask questions.

Some of it. The piece on 9/11/01 was very dear to my heart. The condition of our country right now is of grave concern to me. Although this blog is about my thoughts and opinions I don’t want to cause people to feel my way and beliefs should replace their own common sense or beliefs.

Plus, I have another blog on WordPress that is all fictional, poetry, devotional type material and due to health issues I let that go dormant until recently. Finally able to reopen that site (“fvbf”) and launch this one I’ve discovered the changes within WordPress and Facebook have complicated matters A LOT.

Now, that said, I’d like to introduce you to my thoughts for upcoming post topics.

Related to COVID-19:

  • The loss in ongoing “regular” healthcare during this COVID-19 pandemic. Loss of services, availability to allowed services, lack of efficiency…simply to get started.
  • Who are we becoming stuck behind a computer screen for socialization, work, learning, even shopping?
  • Watching someone you love suffer because COVID-19 has limited appointments, tests and service availability to life changing medical services.
  • The ever-going, never-ending debate on whether to wear or not wear a mask.
  • How COVID-19 restrictions and the disease itself is helping fuel the civil unrest in America.

Under “other” category:

  • Of vital importance to me is having you along as I set myself to figure out how the damage and its cost when your family foundation turns out to be built on a cornerstone of lies.
  • Realizing you’ve parented a child who has been indoctrinated with a belief system that bluntly slams in your face the beliefs and values you’ve held as vital for decades of your life.
  • What crazy thing will you do for those you love?
  • Mixed in with this, I hope readers of this blog will start to leave me questions to answer. Depending on the question, the number of queries and the subject matter I hope to be able to answer them all.

—-Donna

(This blog does have filters in place that should automatically rejects foul language.   I don’t use these words and I don’t let others use them directed to me, even in a blog comment. And I’m trying to filter out “spam” as well. Any ads you see on my blogs are placed there by WordPress because I can’t afford to be ad free with them. I do not receive ANY compensation from any ad you click on even though it is on my blog post.)

Have we so quickly forgotten 9/11/01?


With deep sadness I would answer to the title query, “Yes, yes way too many American’s have. “

Some display with their choices of actions and belief systems as evidence that they’ve forgotten America’s worst foreign attack on her own land since Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It was also the “deadliest terrorist attack in world history”. The images of September 11, 2001 are only 19 years in the past, and were horrifying haunting.

The North Tower of the World Trade Center was struck by Flight 11 at 8:46:40 at a speed of roughly 466 mph. The plane was deliberately flown into the 93-99 floors on the north side of the North Tower. Yes, apparently some have forgotten.

The second plane, Flight 175, struck at 9:02:57 at 590 mph between floors 77-85. Both towers would collapse completely. Yes, apparently more than a few have forgotten.

In and around the World Trade Towers, 2606 people lost their lives. Included in that number were 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement personnel. Over 6000 people were injured in the surrounding area. These people were representative of not just America’s but dozens of other countries as well. Yes, apparently some have forgotten.

I had a friend who volunteered to go to the scene in NYC to provide counseling on-site for those still searching for survivors and the clean-up. She shared with us about being with someone who discovered body parts, such as fingers, pieces of hands, arms, feet and bones on tops of nearby buildings. A lot more was lost on 9/11 than those listed on the casualty list. One can’t see that and ever be the same. Yes, apparently multitudes of people have forgotten.

The third plane, Flight 77 at 9:37:46 at 530 mph crashed into the Pentagon with a cost of 125 people lives, 55 military personnel and 70 civilians. Yes, apparently we’ve forgotten.

The fourth and final flight, Flight 93, over a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania crashed at 10:03:11 at 583 mph. This plane was also hijacked by members of the same terrorist cells. Learning about the other planes a group of passengers attempted to overtake the hijackers whose intent was to crash the plane into the US Capital Building. The hijackers then deliberately crashed the plane to keep the passengers from getting into the cockpit. A total of 196 lives were lost when Flight 93 crashed. Yes, apparently some have forgotten.

Only 19 jihadists turned hijackers lost their lives in the four planes. (Stats on 9/11/01 attacks and loss of life were taken from Wikipedia, Casualties of the September 11 attacks. Last edited/updated by Enwebb 9/11/2020.) Less than 1% of the total lives lost. Oh, yes, we’ve apparently forgotten.

In the days, weeks, months following the 9/11/01 terrorist attack something else changed in the United States. American’s packed churches, lined up and waited to donate blood, neighbors checked on neighbors, and volunteering became fulfilling. How frail the thread between life and death became vibrantly clear. When it comes to death, when is not our choice, usually.

Most of all we were all American’s, determined to fight back and prove to anyone watching we would not lay down and let anyone bring death, destruction and disrespect here. That is no longer the united message a section of our population are sending today. Yes, yes, yes apparently there are those who’ve forgotten.

New York was wrecked where once the Twin Towers had stood were gaping holes. Life forever altered on 9/11/01. But, New York recovered. Again, for it wasn’t necessarily that way before the Twin Towers were destroyed, but people could walk down a New York street again without fear of being a crime victim. Sadly, it hasn’t held onto that change. It’s clear the bonding as one people and other lessons we’ve learned from the events of 9/11/01 has been forgotten.

Today New York City is again devastated and the threat is a combination of foreign influence, internal turmoil, and incredibly terrifying leadership in our cities, states and Washington D.C. Across America there is little show of a unity of American’s.

Riots, vandalism, looting, burning buildings, harassment of those trying to live life on the slower end of COVID-19, burglaries in broad daylight, assault and rapes on the sidewalks, murders, assault on police officers… Yes, some have forgotten.

Furthermore, they are saying in behaviors, that some of them don’t give a damn. Come on, people are shouting in the streets “Death to America” and other things I choose not to repeat because of the language used. Yes, I would say, some have forgotten.

Not only are the 244 years of American history being “canceled” but that includes history only 19 years ago. Yes, some have forgotten 9/11/01.

What do you think?

The Cost of Crying Wolf

Across this planet we’re all caught up in the Coronavirus pandemic. If you’re human and alive, this is your war as much as it is anyone else’s. In no way am I making light of the danger we’re facing. In no way am I suggesting we shouldn’t be taking it seriously or how you should handle following the criteria to “flatten the curve” as this medical disaster swarms our land’s citizens.

What’s making things harder to navigate isn’t a new issue.  Let’s be real.  We just don’t know who to trust, do we?

Can’t trust those saturated in their own power so much they believe they are above the laws they create.  Who abuse those powers seeking, truthfully, to be the ones lining their safety deposit boxes and controlling every America’s life.

Can’t trust the “experts” who can’t make up their minds about how the virus is spread, how to prevent it’s spread, how to treat those who have COVID-19 and of course, whether or not wearing a face mask helps or aids in the prevention of contamination.  They don’t really know and many times they will tell you they don’t know and some arrogant reporter or self-serving politician keeps asking them for their expert opinion.  

Which brings me to one group of people we really can’t trust.  The media.  Mainstream.  Online.  Underground.  They remind me of the fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. 

It’s plot is fairly straight forward.  A young lad was assigned to shepherd the sheep for the entire village in a nearby field.  It wasn’t too isolated for the villagers could hear him call for help.  But the boy was bored.  He began pranking the villagers. 

Three times he called for help.  The wolf had come to take the sheep.  Three times everyone dropped their jobs and chores racing to his rescue.  Every time he laughed at them. After the third time he tricked them he was told  no one would come if he called again.

The wolf who had witnessed it all, came out shortly after the villagers left.  He did take the sheep.  The boy did call for help.  No one showed up to assist him.  He was missed when night fell and he didn’t show up for supper.

Some men went looking for him.  The fable’s ending varies through the years.  In some the wolf has eaten him.  Others the villagers find him alone, crying and miserable.  In some they locate the sheep the next day.  In others the sheep are lost forever.  When the boy is found alive he has learned the harsh reality of what happens when you lie to people.  

Sure wish the media would learn this lesson.

Some people in the journalism profession itself saw this day coming.  One was the dean of our hall of journalism at the university I attended.  

At the end of my education the dean saw me in the hallway.  He demanded to speak to me and I agreed.  Then loud enough that anyone else in the hall could have heard, he angrily informed me I didn’t have the heart to be a journalist.  He had a list of reasons why. 

My plan to be a missionary journalist was ridiculous.  I couldn’t get past the truth of a persons whole life to write a piece designed to shred their professional, private, and community life.  He said, “You really expect to look at all sides of something.  That doesn’t make for a good journalist.”

I was stunned.  If the profession he described was the one I’d spent all this time learning about it didn’t describe one I was any longer sure I wanted to work in.  I never worked on a newspaper. 

Except for editing pages of ads for a company that published thousands of newspapers for churches, a dozen attempts at novels, ten years spent doing every aspect of monthly church newsletters and weekly bulletins; for over ten years and the same ten plus years doing weekly bulletins (writing the copy, layout, everything) I have never used that journalism degree.  Though that does sound closer to my original goal.

Yes, the question has crossed my mind, that life altering moment.  But at the end of that road, I don’t see me being in a place I would like myself very much if I had determined to prove that professor wrong.  And now, as media, reporters, lie mongers prevail in the journalism industry, I’m embarrassed by them.  There seems to be little if any sign of the truth being sought.   

I see instead the main stream media filled with journalists, reporters, writers who feeds off the pain of people, who can’t be trusted to report the truth, whose sources are “anonymous” who turn around to be “anonymous sources” who confirm their own lies?  

Who, in this day, trusts what mainstream media or special interest online sources report?  I don’t.  They are the boy who cried wolf.  Lie repeatedly and even when caught, refuse to set the record straight.  They take joy at ripping a person’s life, family, career, soul apart for something they know are lies.  Furthermore, they often include the lives of everyone around them.

I’m really glad now, I took the other road.  I’d rather keep trying to be a author who writes, even if I’m never published, than a liar who reports but  who has lost their own humanity.

—Donna

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