Unbeatable Black Friday... while supplies last

This is a recycled post from last year when I was still a MySpace blogger.  I've always felt that Black Friday was in complete contrast to what Christmas is about; and what happened last year on Black Friday really pounds home the point...

It's Walmart's Fault the World Sucks!

       I guess by now, most everyone's heard about the WalMart worker that was trampled to death, while working the doors on Black Friday.  I don't know if it's been confirmed, but another witness said a young woman suffered a miscarriage in the crowd.  (later found to be untrue, but could have happened)  That was Walmart's fault, too.  And you've probably heard about the shooting in the Toys R Us store.  That was probably Toys R Us' fault.  

     In the Walmart event, the blame is for not having appropriate crowd control.  Are you kidding me?  So if I go shopping and they don't provide enough security, I can knock someone down, use them for a doormat and blame the store for my behavior?  And how can you possibly not feel someone's body under your feet?  Granted, the people at the front of the lines are probably not to blame.

      I was in a crowd like that once, when some soap opera stars visited a local mall.  It scared me to death!  I had put a friend's daughter up on my shoulders to protect her.  It was only seconds before we were surrounded by a shoving mass.  A guy next to me was pushing against me so hard, he was twisting the toddler's let against me making her cry.  I told him he was hurting her, to which he replied, "Hey Lady, we want to see too."  OMG!  What kind of animal responds that way?  There were mothers using their baby's strollers to push their way through for a better spot.  Yes, the babies were in the strollers!  Luckily my friend and I were able to slowly work our way backwards and sideways into a music store where we took shelter until the crowd dissipated.  We were terribly frightened!  I understood what it was like in that Cincinnati rock concert crowd.  It stunned me how civilized people could act that way!

      I haven't seen the footage showing the Walmart shoppers entering the store, but I'd bet the people in front had little control of their own movement.   When the first ones felt the body underfoot, they probably could do nothing about it.  We can't expect two or three decent people to be able to hold back a crowd of hundreds.  I can't imagine feeling a person being tramped by my own feet and not being able to stop and help them up and out of harm's way.  It would be a nightmare that haunted me forever!

     Personally, I've never participated in Black Friday shopping.  I've heard horror stories about how people grab things away from others.  Fights break out in toy departments.  The worst of human nature is put on display for the sake of profits.  Modesty aside, it is beneath me to act that way!  My own daughter came very close to being the only little girl in town without a Cabbage Patch doll for Christmas one year.  I wasn't about to fight for one!

     So who is to blame in the Walmart tragedy?  For starters, the people who did the pushing!  It's a shame we probably won't be able to isolate the individuals that started the chaos.  They should be brought up on charges of manslaughter at the very least!  So do I think the retailers are innocent?  Certainly not.  But not just because of insufficient security...  I don't think it's entirely a store's responsibility to control the conduct of the individuals shopping there.  (Don't we know it's wrong to shove people?  Do we need a large police officers' presence to prevent this?)  But the retailers do cause the chaos by turning Christmas shopping into a race... a competition to see who gets there first.

     Lots of stores advertise a much-wanted item at a ridiculously low price, only to offer just one or two items at the price.  Whoever is third in line is out of luck, unless they can shove their way to the front of the line!  When did this start?  Why did this start?  Why not just mark a reasonable percentage off for that entire day?  Or how about everyone that makes a qualifying purchase that day is entered into a drawing for the dirt-cheap deal?  After all, isn't it about getting shoppers out spending money in their stores?  Not about selling that one hot item at 4 am?

     I will continue my boycott of Black Friday, but it will have no effect.  There are too many people out there looking for that great deal.  Besides, I look forward to Thanksgiving.  I'm not about to cut it short so I can get to up at 2 am to go shopping!  Whatever it was that Walmart offered that morning, I hope the person that got it realizes it wasn't worth the price...

2008 Black Friday sale ad

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing  be tasty 

 

May your turkey be  plump, 

 

May your potatoes  and gravy

Have never a lump.  

May your yams be  delicious

And your pies take  the prize,

And may your  Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your  thighs!

  76y/

 

 

Yummy for Your Tummy!

My good friend Anne at Comfort Food Warms Your Soul is having a Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange. 

 I know you've all got your favorite holiday recipes, some handed down through generations.  Well, I guess you could say this is a three-generation hand-me-recipe.  My granddaughters love making these.  This is my favorite homemade cookie.  It's sweet, chewy, crispy, and super easy to make...  all the things that make a cookie good!

When my daughter was very young, I sent off a dollar plus some box tops (I think) to redeem for a Jello recipe book.  All the recipes call for a Jello gelatin or pudding product.  This recipe contains instant pudding and a cake mix, so all you calorie-conscious readers beware!

These cookies are great to include with edible gifts for Christmas, as they are green!  They look lovely paired with candy-cane cookies on a platter.  I'm sorry I don't have a photo of them, but I did upload the recipe as a jpg file!  So save it, try them, and let me know what you think.

Hello, Bydgoszcz!

I have an obsession...  Well, I have more than one, but I'm only going to talk about one for now...  My tracking widgets have turned me into an OC monster! 

Well, maybe not THAT kind of monster.  More like this...

I have the same tracking widgets on all three blogs.  My visitor counter from pax.com keeps a running total of visits to my blog.  I don't know why I have it there.  I'm convinced it's not accurate, and I rarely look at it. I use the ClustrMaps widget to keep a record of all the countries that have visited my blogs.  I seldom check it either, but I like it anyway.  But honestly, the widget that I blame for my obsessive/compulsive behavior is the MapLoco widget at the bottom of the page...

This widget tracks the cities that have visited my blogs.  It's not accurate either.  I live in Xenia.  I have had visitors from Xenia show up on it.  But I show up as Dayton.  I don't know exactly how it decides what city to register.  I've also had visitors (I can tell by the comments they leave) that don't show up at all!  Not that it's really critical anyway; I just like to see all the cities around the world that pass by my blog.  It truly amazes me that someone in Bahrain read my blog!  I'm not sure I could find Bahrain on a map if it wasn't for Google!

The thing about this widget that really makes me OC...  It doesn't keep the data!  That's right...  read 'em while they're there!  It updates every twenty-four hours.  That means, if I should happen to get a visitor from the space station or Mars, and I don't check it that day, I'll never know.  NEVER!

I wish I would have placed these widgets on my blog when I first started them.  Or, at least, would have started keeping track of the cities when I first got the widgets, but I didn't. until around mid-July.  I'm not sure really when I started, but it probably closely correlates with when the dust started accumulating on the furniture.    OK, maybe my priorities are a little out-of-whack.  (What exactly is whack?)

Soon, my curiosity took over...  How long would it take for all fifty states to visit my blogs?  The OCD kicked in...  I set up a spread sheet. (Not this one.)

 

Everyday I checked the widget and recorded any cities not already on my chart.  I'm very organized, so this was a quick task.  It was going to be a temporary thing.  It didn't take long to collect a list of cities from forty states.  I found it's kinda like dieting...  the closer you get to the goal, the harder it becomes.

Since I've been logging the data, I'm still waiting for visitors from Delaware, Wyoming,  Rhode Island, and both Dakotas.   Yet, I've had visitors from Argentina to Yugoslavia.  I've actually been visited by seventy-three different countries!  Isn't that amazing?  And I'm not even one of the 'popular' bloggers!   I thought about giving up on the tracking.  Maybe I'll never have a visitor from South Dakota.

I thought about stopping when I reached a thousand cities...  Now, that time is upon me. Yes, this afternoon I crossed that threshold.  Yesterday I had reached nine hundred ninety-six world cities.  Today I had these new cities visit me:  Bhopal, India; Selfoss, Iceland; Espoo, Finland; Trabuco Canyon, CA, USA; Bydgoszcz, Poland. 

Should I hang in there?  Will Delawareans get bored enough to travel to my blog?  It has been fun to share with my two oldest grandchildren (also part-time bloggers) the new countries that show up on my widget.  Although, honestly, I think they lost interest long ago.

Recycled Dust & Old Neighborhoods

We had some business in Dayton this week, so while we were in town, we decided to stop at the shop and load up on sawdust. 

We know some guys that have a pattern shop.  Their trash collectors do not allow them to put their sawdust in the trash, so we told them we could help them get rid of it...  We use it in our stalls.  You know how I love to recycle!

We have to make sure we know what kind of wood it came from.  Some wood shavings aren't safe to use with horses.  And sometimes it's too dusty, so I just spread it around outside.

Looks like the dust collectors blew up before we got there!  Normally, most of the sawdust goes into this collector system:

Those black trash bags on the left are filled with sawdust, as is the door under the big funnel-shaped thing.  We ended up with seven large garbage bags full of pine dust and shavings.  That will top off our bin and get us through the winter. 

We don't keep our horses inside much.  Maggie stays in at night unless it's really warm out., and we keep her in during heavy rains.  The other two only stay in if it's icy out.  They have a run-in shelter in the paddock.  They don't let Maggie in it.

After we left the shop, we decided to drop in on a friend I used to work with.  He lives one block over from my old house in the city.  No, I wasn't a country girl until six years ago!  I loved the city then.  Now, I can't imagine going back!

 I always loved the big trees that lined the street.

 Fourth house on the left. 

It wasn't much, but it was mine!  Built in 1907, it was a DIY dream.  I left it for the burbs in 1999.  Then, after tying the knot with Mr J, we bought some old farm land outside of Xenia.  The rest, as they say, is history...

Ghost Blogger

I came in the bedroom the other day and caught Mickey on my laptop...

  

 

 Seems she was working on a Thanksgiving Day post...

Happy International Overalls Day!

Lille Diane at Woodstock Lily gave me the heads-up on this one...  What item of clothing deserves its own special day, if not overalls?  They are a part of our history in many ways; from farming to hippiedom, overalls have been there!

 ~

Ah, remember the seventies? 

Big, puffed sleeves?  Huge, pointy collars? 

Yeah, I was 19, and I was cool...

 ~

Oh, but NOT as cool as Mr J...

~

He still wears his overalls or, as we lovingly refer to them, 'bibs'.

I love the 'No Crack' feature!

~

Bibs span the generations. 

From old dudes like Mr J to babies, bibs are universal.

~

Bibs are appropriate for any occasion...

even greeting a new baby sister!

~

There's something about wearing bibs that just makes you happy!

~

They're great for playtime, too!

~

And team them with a peasant top...

What a fashion statement!

~

Nobody wears bibs like Lexi...

~

But don't compare yourself to her...

Just don those overalls and have a happy day!

Homeless for the Holidays

Winter is coming on and the holiday season is upon us.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, many of us are feeling gratitude for our many blessings.  It is a time when we sometimes turn our thoughts to those who are less fortunate.  When the first snow of the season finally hits the ground, I am saddened.  I love snow, but I can't help but think of those who are without shelter.  While I sit comfortably in my warm room looking out at nature's blanket, others are huddled closely together, trying to conserve their body heat.

Soon our families will be gathered together for a feast of thanksgiving.  We will stuff ourselves until we're hurting.  We will divvy up the leftovers for nibbling over the weekend.  But there are many who have no invitation to the family dinner.  For them, it's just another day of trying to survive.

Thankfully, there are people that not only care, but do something about it.  Cindi and Mark of Target: Dayton are two of those people.  They not only share the gospel with the homeless of Dayton, but they meet their needs.  They serve meals to those that attend the services.  They gave out over 400 pairs of winter gloves in October alone.  God has blessed them with enough donations to buy this chuch:

You can see the nice buses they are blessed to have.  They provide transportation from homeless shelters, low-income housing, the RTA bus hub, and the public library.  Last month, over 4000 people road their shuttle buses to Target Dayton Ministries.

This is one of the choir members.

She also helps out around the place.  She was all excited because I told her she could come visit our farm.  She wants a home in the country someday...

They prepare over 4000 meals a month, so they need a kitchen adequate to handle the load.

They also need a large place to serve the meals.  Last month, they served 1500 people a hot breakfast, and over 2500 people were served a hot dinner.

 

Cindi is very organized.  The tables are numbered to help the volunteer servers.  It is amazing to watch how efficiently their system works.  I've never seen a professional caterer do as well a job at getting a large number of people served pronto!

So why am I telling you about them again?  Well, if you live in the Dayton Ohio area, they could sure use your help and/or your donations.  If you live somewhere else, there's likely a similar place near you that needs volunteers, money, supplies... 

Whatever your situation, there is something you can do to make the world a better place.  Maybe you have decent clothes in your closet that you no longer wear.  Maybe you have a few hours a week to spare.  Maybe you have a van or car and could take someone to an appointment.  Maybe you're good at reading or Mathematics.  Cindi told me about a guy that gets to keep damaged boxes of syrup.  Evidently a lot of boxes get damaged, because Cindi doesn't have to buy syrup anymore!

Please think about what you have or what your talents are, and how God can use you to help someone else.  There is no better feeling than knowing that because of you, someone else had a better day...

There is a link to Target: Dayton! in my sidebar.  If you would like to make a donation to their cause, you will find an address on their home page.

May God bless you and yours this season, and may you never be without a home.

Eggszact Science

It's been almost six years since we moved onto this farm.  It's been a lot of hard work to turn it from an abandoned, overgrown corn field into a productive farm.  It's still a work in progress, but we're now reaping the rewards.  And even though we've had a lot of experiences over these six years, we're still learning everyday... especially about chickens and eggs!

A lot of you comment about the rich color of our egg yolks.  DJan, believe it or not, your store-bought eggs started out like these.  Yeah, a long time ago!  That's the problem.  The cooked eggs I'm showing you are usually around a week old.  The ones you get in the store?  Who knows.  Eggs, properly handled, do keep a very long time!  But, like anything else, over time they loose nutritional value and taste.  That's the big difference.  It takes time to go from the nest to the grocery shelf.  So, for the same reason we seek out fresh veggies from the farm markets, you should be buying your eggs fresh from the farm.

Most of the comments we get about our eggs are about the taste and the colors.  You've seen in previous posts how the brown eggs range from almost white to deep brown, some even almost mauve!  Then there are the green ones... some mint green, some sage, some olive, some aqua.  They look lovely on a tray.  Not only do they vary greatly in color, they also vary in size.

I've posted pics of the extremes, from the tiny egg I had for lunch to the one that had to hurt!  Aside from those, our eggs range from small to jumbo.  We don't separate our eggs by size the way you find them in the stores, so when we box them up, we try to mix the sizes so that each cartoon contains about the same amount.  We do, however, try to keep out the small eggs and the jumbos.  Customers really don't want the small ones.  When they open the carton, they want to see big eggs.  That's fine with us... the small ones are our favorites!

We've discovered that the ratio of white to yolk is not the same for the smaller eggs.  The yolk is a much bigger percentage in the small eggs!  When I had a friend tell me she prefers more white, I was astounded!  I thought everyone like the yolks the best!  Is there anything tastier than egg yolk sopped up with rye bread?

And the jumbos?  Well, most of them are double-yolk, and well...  you know.  Lots of yolk!  Actually, we wouldn't mind putting them in the cartons to sell, too.  Problem is, the lids won't shut!  Yeah, jumbo eggs take a larger sized carton, so we set those aside for our own use.

We've just learned there is a down-side to fresh eggs (...aside from the cost, the filth, the work, etc.)  You can't boil them!  I don't eat a lot of boiled eggs, so if Mr J or FIL have boiled any of our fresh eggs before, I don't know how they turned out.  Last week Mr J decided he wanted some hard-boiled eggs.  After the determined time had passed, we cooled the eggs down.  I always remove the shell before putting them in the fridge, so I thought I'd be sweet and remove the shells from Mr J's eggs.   OMG!  What a mess!  The shells wouldn't come off.  They stuck and pulled chunks of egg off with them.

We found out what went wrong from the resident chef at the Bengal Barn.  Something about the membrane not yet being detached from the shell.  An egg must age two to three weeks to allow air to enter and the membrane to detach.  Otherwise, you'll never get the shell off without practically destroying the egg!  So did ya ever think an egg could be too fresh?

Now Mr J has two dozen eggs set aside for Thanksgiving.  He wants some hard-boiled and some deviled eggs for the big dinner.  I've decided to split the hard-boiled eggs and lay them out on a tray like deviled eggs to show off their beautiful innards!  I'm thinking about using the double yolks for the hard-boiled.  Yum!

I mentioned proper handling...  Egg shells are porous and chickens poop alot.  These two facts combined spell trouble.  It is important to clean any poop off the eggs before storing them, but you have to be cautious in how you clean them.  If you scrub the eggs wrong, you can actually push the contaminates (nicer word than poop) through the shell!  You can't soak the eggs in water, nor can you let them sit to dry.  The water will soak into the egg.  I won't share all the details.  If you have chickens and want to know, just ask me...

Here's a cute tidbit to tie up this post...  If you feed your chickens garlic or onion, you can get flavored eggs!

Now, don't you feel eggstremely eggducated?

Eggscelent Inspiration!

I'm still thinking about Sunday...  We had a special service at church.  Our first service feature the pastor's sermon on being thankful, and it was a good one!  But the second service was all about Target: Dayton!  The Target Dayton Choir came to sing and testify at our church.  I recently talked about the ministry they do for the homeless and the addicted in the city.  There are many that have hit rock-bottom and yet were saved because their paths crossed that of Target: Dayton Ministries.  I believe the church is still home to one of the largest AA groups in the area.  I'll have to check on that.

I remember when they came and told about being able to purchase the really large but empty church building.  They survive on donations.  Their members cannot support the ministry with tithes, as most of them haven't even a home. 

Apparently, Cindi's (Director of the choir, organizer of the meals, and wife to the pastor) dream for years has been to take the choir to New York to see the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir perform.  She would have never taken from operating expenses for the trip, but donations  came in that allowed her (with a bit of help from the Man upstairs) to not only take the choir to New York, but gave them the opportunity of a lifetime... They actually SANG with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir!

During their performance, they ran a slide show of the wonderful things they did and saw while in New York.  It was truly amazing.  In between soul-shaking solos from members of the choir, some of them stepped forward to speak of what the trip meant to them.  The first man made me reach for the tissues...

He spoke of how he had been down on his luck.  Addictions had gotten the best of him.  He was suicidal.  Then Target: Dayton! entered his life and told him about Jesus.  Now he's stayed in a hotel where President's have slept and sang with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir!  Ah, God is good...

Yummy Eggsplanation

Thanks to the digital camera era, I can take as many pictures as I want to make sure I get a good shot...

...that is, when I remember.

Do you remember my tiny egg?

I promised pictures when I cracked it open. 

I decided to have eggs for lunch today.

 

I didn't expect a yolk, but it had a teeny bit of yellow inside.

It actually looks bigger in the skillet than I thought it would; although it is just a 6" skillet.

The other egg was twins.  I love double-yolks!

Yeah, I know it's a lot of butter.  Doesn't the little one at the top look cute? 

Well, not as cute as a baby chick, perhaps... but still kinda cute.

OK, I promised you an eggsplanation.  To make a short story long...

We had four hens to start with.  Once they started laying we had four eggs everyday.  Then we got the babies.  (Check some of my April/May posts.)  This fall, they began laying.  But we only get around thirty eggs a day, with almost fifty hens.  I thought maybe lots weren't laying daily, but intermittently.

A friend was over last night and offered his theory.  Some of our hens probably hadn't started laying yet, and this was most likely a first egg for one of them.  He hadn't seen one quite that small, but said that a lot of times the first egg will be a lot smaller than the others.  That's a relief!  If they all started laying these Cadbury sized eggs, Mr J would starve!

1-2-3-First Down!

And today I didn't have my camera.  After a wonderful church service and getting our animals tended, Mr J and I headed to the Bengal Barn.  Mr J's been there many times, but it was a first for me...

DIL and her mom are die-hard Bengal fans.  DIL's mom and dad hang with friends to watch the Sunday Bengals game in a small barn.  It started long ago when a couple of friends grew too rowdy to remain indoors during the games.  The barn had a gravel floor and a tiny TV set.  They stood on a rubber mat, huddled together in the cold, to root for their beloved Bengals.  The barn's come a long way since then...

It's easy to spot as you drive down the country road.  It's the small barn with lots of cars parked outside, and in the doorway is a Bengals canopy marking the entrance into the world of Who Dey!   If you don't like orange and black tiger stripes, close your eyes before entering.  I don't know whether to liken it to a museum or a shrine.  Bengals paraphernalia lines the walls and hangs from the ceiling.  Everywhere you look.  There's even a Bengals onesie hanging on the wall, waiting for Brady to arrive.  Once he's outgrown it, I'm told it goes back on the wall.  A bright Bengals-orange tablecloth is piled with scrumptious dishes.  Behind the black curtain is a potty chair with Bengal striped handrails and, of course, a Bengal striped TP holder!

Mr J is a Brown's fan, as is his son.  It never bothered Mr J to be a Dawg surrounded by Bengals.  However, I was told today that his son stayed 'in the closet' for two years in this crowd!

Even though the majority of the decor was orange and black, the barn itself was mostly green.  Seems most of the items inside were donated or re-purposed.  The headboard of an old water-bed was painted black and now adorns the front of the bar.  The bar is trimmed in orange.  Shortly after I arrived, I was handed a Sharpie and told to sign.  Tradition has it that the first visit is marked by signing the orange trim on the bar.  Mr J had written "Go Browns" on his first visit.  It appears to have been accidentally washed off.

The cheering crowd brought back warm memories of my armchair quarterback days.  And every time the Bengals made a first down, the crowd erupted with, "One, two, three... FIRST DOWN!"

It's Beginning to Look at Lot Like...

Springtime!  No, it doesn't look like Christmas, nor does it feel like Christmas.  It's almost 79 degrees outside.  I'm wearing a T-shirt and getting ready to go bathe my horse.  Definitely not Christmasy!

This morning we went to a festival called Christmas Around Sabina.  It is a beautiful little farming community about a half-hour from here.  My DIL's family is from that area.  It is not your typical festival where several blocks are closed off with booths in the streets for vendors.  In fact, driving through town, it is hard to notice there is a festival except for the heavy traffic, many parked cars, and people carrying goodies everywhere.

Her family used to set up 'Grandma's Country Kitchen' in her aunt's house, but this year moved it into Kelly's Cafe.  A relative owns the cafe, and, since they didn't have enough employees to work the festival, they weren't going to be open through the festival.  So they decided to move the 'kitchen' to the cafe.

This old brain of mine forgot to pull the camera out of my purse... sorry, no pics!

Her family makes gift items and baked goods to sell, as well as a carry-out meal featuring (of course) Grandma's homemade noodles.  They had all kinds of canned goods, including watermelon rind pickles!  There were crocheted dishcloths and pivoting flag poles... but mostly sweets!  I bought a mini-loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and one of chocolate zucchini bread.  I also bought a cake made with fruit cocktail and coconut.  Yum!  Mr J thought some of the stuff looked too rich for him, so he settled for a pecan pie... Does that even make sense?  Maybe he doesn't remember how rich those are.

I sure hope I can get my laptop close enough for my arms to reach after eating all that!  If not, it was nice knowin' ya...

Another Day on the Farm

I've posted lots of egg pictures recently, but I couldn't resist posting a couple more...

Remember the really HUGE egg?  Well, here is its opposite:

I've seen eggs smaller than this in a robin's nest, but from a chicken?  I'll have to take a picture of it frying to show you later...

Maggie has been doing something strange lately, so I called the vet and arranged a farm call.  Yes, some doctors do still make house calls! 

This is Dr. Brett, Mr J and one very dirty Maggie Mae.  Luckily Dr. Brett had good news for me.  She has a skin fungus (a very simple remedy) and she has old-timer's...   Yes, she's just old and having a few problems that just come with the age.  (eightyish in people years)

Maggie has lost a few teeth, and it is more difficult for her to chew her food.  The strange habit she has developed is just a symptom of her food not being chewed well enough, and getting stuck in her throat.  It is time to make a major change to her diet.  She'll no longer be tossed flakes of hay while corralled with the other horses.  I'll chop grass hay for her.  She will also get soaked alfalfa cubes and more senior feed, perhaps in a mash.  Plus it's time to up the calories to add fat for winter.

Horses, just like people, have different nutritional needs as they age.  It's a bit more work, but it means better health, and perhaps a longer life.  Maggie is definitely worth it!

In Honor of Veterans

THE FINAL INSPECTION

 The Army Soldier stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, Soldier,

How shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek?

To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.

Because those of us who carry guns,

I can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep.....

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the Soldier waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you Soldier,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell.'

~Author Unknown~