Deep In The Forrest

Jewel was on Howard Stern's Show (on Sirius ) this week and she sang the following song, The Needle And The Damage Done (Neil Young). It was pretty haunting, sad and I've had it stuck in my head ever since. So I take a moment to think about all of the people who have loved, and lost anybody they loved to a horrible addiction or disease. No matter when, why or how, it hurts just the same, and leaves a hole in our hearts forever. Even though we know that they're safe, loved and still living on in our hearts and right by our side, watching and hearing every word, and every tear, we miss them terribly. Here's to needed hope for the ones not yet too far gone. Sending out healing, love and strength to everyone... Love, Aunt Jackie

"The guardian angels of life sometimes fly so high as to be beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us." - Jean Paul Richter The post you are about to read is about my late niece, Jolie Samantha. Although she passed away at the most unfair age, 20, this is not a sad post. So I beg of my sister Vickie (her mom) if she reads this, please don't be sad at all. I know that she is with us, when we are happy or sad... but especially when we are happy because Jolie loved to laugh, and found good and humor in everything and everyone she met... she was the most pure-hearted and kindest one of us all... When I laugh remembering some of the silly things we all used to do, or the silliest movies that we watched and loved, I know she is near, belly-laughing with me. It is because of a new show that I saw advertised that gave me the urge to post this about her. The show is to be called "The Two Coreys". Yeah you know them. They infiltrated the movies "tog...

I began my day with a bowl of cereal and a banana, waking up to what began a surprisingly easy-going start to my day. All of the lights eerily turned green, seemingly 'just for me', and all the roadways were unusually clear. Fate just seemed to be on my side! Not even one slow or 'tormenting' driver jumped in front of me. Struck me as a little 'too' nice almost. The radio programming was to my liking, there were no clueless first-time visitors to my garage to make the quest for parking impossible, and there is even the promise of a nice rain on the horizon. Then I cranked the day up a notch by checking out This Week In Pictures from MSNBC , pretty interesting. Basically, though, isn't it terrible that one might be inclined to sit back and appear cautiously skeptical when things go right? Shouldn't we be able to embrace a "good day" with open arms?? Why was I so taken by surprise by this? I know I tend to feel like I have 'not-so-great' ...

All I needed was another thing to make me worry about loved ones, or to obscess over death-related matters. Yesterday, Mr. J makes the "mistake" (as he put it) of telling me that he was 'nearly' struck by an 18-wheeler (large commercial truck). It seems that the light turned green for him, the truck ran the red light and they swerved to miss each other. He said it was so close that he could feel the wind even in his truck. We've discussed the bad drivers around Memphis, and that is no lie. I can understand that a truck of that size is unable to maybe stop at a red light if he is very close, but odds are he was probably plowing down the road at death-defying speeds when this happened. Also, Mr. J has to be aware that people run red lights all the time, and to watch more closely before he begins to drive. He really could've been killed! It could happen anywhere anytime, I know, but the fact remains... it scared me thinking that I could have had a call in the mid...