Observations From Hadleyville: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

IT'S OFFICIAL: NO CANCER

Had a PET Scan done. Saw the Oncologist today for the results. He said definitely no cancer found in the whole body. He added that the scan results could not be better. I'm calling this good news.

UPDATE:

Doctor ran a CBC blood panel plus a thyroid check to see why I'm so tired. He said it had nothing to do with the Tamoxafil I'm taking. Should hear results by Friday.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

ESTHER: GOD USES THE STRANGEST PEOPLE

We're going through the Book of Esther at church. Here is the first message in the series.

Each year churches act out Christmas and Easter pageants. In the same way, Synagogues act out the story of Esther every March/April

Esther tells the story of a plot to make Genocide of the Jews the Official Policy of Persia. The story shows how God moves through his Providence to make sure his divine will is carried out on earth.

Cast of Characters

A. King Ahasuerus:

* Something of a despot

* Prone to change his mind

B. Queen Vashti:

* Ahasuerus’ favorite of the Harem

* Her refusal to put on a show caused a crisis

C. Mordecai:

* A Jew who is a minor court official of Ahasuerus

* He is loyal to the king AND his people

D. Queen Esther:

* An orphaned Jew who becomes Ahasuerus’ Queen

* Her Cousin Mordecai is her surrogate father

E. Haman:

* The “Snidely Whiplash” character of the piece

* Because he feels slighted by Mordecai, he decides

to wipe out ALL the Jews

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”