To Feel The Love

The last two weeks have been crazy to say the least.  Two weeks ago I got a call about a new job with another Title Company.  If you know me, you know that I have worked at the same place for the last 39 years.  And, to get a new job was exciting, scary and sad all at the same time. 

I hadn't want to really look for a new job, I liked mine, but I was only working part time due to the fact we were laid off part time, and unemployment was a joke.  I tried to cut our expenses where I could but sooner or later I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with the bills. 

I tried working part time at night for Fed Ex but besides finding out why everything is broken when it is delivered it was too hard for me to do and way to dangerous for an old lady.  I applied to a lot of jobs on line and then I got the call for an interview about a month ago for another Title Company doing more or less the same thing I am doing  now.  And when the call came that I got the job, well it was kind of sad at work.  We all teared up because we now knew that the three of us would soon be down to two. 

I spent the next two weeks packing up 39 years of accumulated stuff.  Christmas stuff, stuffed animals, food stuff and how many coffee mugs can a girl have stuff.  All of which ended up in my dining room.  The last day was difficult, but not as bad as I thought it would be.   Presents that I did not expect, a lunch which was delicious and good byes that were heartfelt and heartbreaking. 

Not only had I worked with Annette all those 39 years, Barb came along 19 years ago and became a BFF easily.  How do you leave them?  Well, one thing is that I will visit often.  Thankfully it is close by.  I didn't feel the emptiness until a few minutes ago when I was putting Christmas cookies away.  I didn't pack any for the girls for tomorrow.  It felt like I had a hole in the stomach and I got a lump in my throat.  Instead I will take some to them later this week.

Now just when I thought it couldn't get anymore emotional, yesterday proved to be even more so. 

Saturday we had a Santa's breakfast at our church.  So much fun, so much food.  It was a great time.  At the end when the helpers got a chance to sit down I was eating with another BFF of mine, Cathy.  My mom was sitting next to me and then suddenly there seemed to be a lot of people around.  I just figured they were  talking, but the next thing I knew there was a present.  Gail, a wonderful women from my church had a gift for me.  Now, I don't like to be singled out, so at first I thought what could this be, why am I getting a present? Well, to my surprise it was a painting that Gail did of me.  Me, as Super Stewardship Woman.  Me, with blue wig askew, cape flying and crazy tights.  In that moment I felt like my heart would just pop out of my chest with love.

So,  that's been my week.  I don't know what tomorrow holds, but whatever it is I know one thing for certain, I am loved.  And I don't go through this world alone.  I have so many dear friends.  So many BFF's that I feel blessed.  More blessed than one human being should be.

It has been a rough couple of months but I am looking forward to new adventures, new friends and new challenges.

And that is Another day in Catasauqua

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

I just finished  decorating for Christmas and I decided to take Blade for a walk, when I noticed that the neighborhood is also decorated for Christmas. 

I had just thought that my house was looking a little under-lit probably because I lost my mugo pine this summer so one less shrub to decorate.  All my older stuff had broken, deer, angel and candy canes.  They only last so long.  I was toying with the idea of buying some lighted character or characters for the lawn to spice it up a bit. When what to wandering eyes I should see, but the Hallmark Pickup Truck carrying a Christmas tree.  Yes, and it is adorable.  Then I came across a shark and a NARWHAL!  The narwhal was so cute.  Now I am all excited to go out a look for something for my lawn.

You have to love Catasauqua and North Catasauqua, we know how to light the Christmas night.  I know when I use to walk Pete at night at Christmas time it was almost as bright as day.  So, I guess I will have to do the same with Blade, take a night walk, and some pictures for here, so I can share them with you.  I hope that one house in North Catasauqua still has the chimes that play songs, it was my favorite last year.  This year who knows what is out there.  I am excited to find out.

and that's another day in Catasauqua

When I was a Little Girl, I Kept a Dragon in a Jar

When I was very little,

I thought I kept a dragon in a jar.  Every so often I would let him out to fly around and then I would scoop him back up and place him into the jar again.  My dragon's name was Puff, of course, the song by Peter, Paul and Mary was popular at that time, I was about 6 years old. 

Puff was an actual puff, you know the puff that is bigger that a dandelion puff, the way the seeds of a plant spread.  Anyway, when I was a child I caught one of these big puffs (thinking it was a dragon, hey I didn't know what a dragon was suppose to look like, don't judge me)  and that was what I kept in my jar.  It was truly magical, I had it in the jar for days and I would let him out to fly and I would run around the yard with him.  I sang to him (Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the see and frolicked in the Autumn mist with a girl called Beverleeeee, sorry I am a creative singer) I tried to feed him. but he didn't eat anything.  But like my grandfather taught me, you can't keep creatures in a jar really long, they will die.  So eventually I left him fly away.  I truly loved Puff, I told him all my secrets, well at least the secrets of a 6 year old girl.

So why am I tell you this, well, this morning on my way to work suddenly there was a puff on my car window.  It plopped right directly in front of me, like it was looking at me, then it swirled across my window, just like a little dance and I smiled and all the memories of Puff, my dragon, came rushing back to me.  I even had tears thinking about it.  Isn't it amazing how little things can make you happy.

In this world, as a grown-up, it seems like it takes a lot to make us happy.  Everything seems so technical and we are skeptical of everyone and everything.  But, then I thought about it, isn't the simple things  still what make us truly happy.  Think about it.  A baby being born, love, a smile and even a fart makes us laugh. (Yes, Barbara I am thinking about you!).

Today I am thankful for that magical puff, the one I met today, and the one that played with a lonely little girl back in 1963.  Heck, maybe it was the same Puff.

May you find still find pleasure in the simplest of things.  Don't let life get so busy and complicated that you miss it. 

Smile, because, that's another day in Catasauqua.

Oh Say Can You See

You know, all this controversy with the Star-Spangled Banner and the Philadelphia Eagles and the President got me thinking.  Where did it all start.

We all know that Francis Scott Keys wrote the lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the then 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry
and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shell and  rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. On the morning of September 14, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.

During the bombardment, HMS Terror and the HMS Meteor provided some of the "bombs bursting in air".

The 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" that inspired the poem

Key was inspired by the U.S. victory and the sight of the large U.S. Flag   flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary  Young Pickersgill  together with other workers in her home on Baltimore's Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner  and is today on display in the National Museum of American History,  a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution.   

The song gained popularity throughout the 19th century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4th celebrations.

A plaque displayed at Fort Meade, South Dakota, claims that the idea of making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem began on their parade ground in 1892. Colonel Caleb Carlton, Post Commander, established the tradition that the song be played "at retreat and at the close of parades and concerts." Carlton explained the custom to Governor Sheldon of South Dakota who "promised me that he would try to have the custom established among the state militia." Carlton wrote that after a similar discussion, Secretary of War, Daniel E. Lamont issued an order that it "be played at every Army post every evening at retreat."

In 1899, the U.S. Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner".  In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. The playing of the song two years later during the 7th inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series  and thereafter during each game of the series is often cited as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game.  There is a great story here - (From the History Channel )  "Yet even though the event featured two teams at the top of their games, the crowd was somber that day, writes ESPN The Magazine. Since entering the Great War a year and a half ago, more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers had died. And just a day before the game, a bomb had exploded in Chicago, (the city in which the game was held), killing four people and injuring dozens more. In addition, the U.S. government had recently announced that it would begin drafting major league baseball players.
All this sat heavy on the shoulders of both the players and the smaller-than-usual crowd of fans that day. But during the seventh-inning stretch, the U.S. Navy band began to play the Star-Spangled Banner; and something changed.

As the song began, Red Sox infielder Fred Thomas—who was in the Navy and had been granted furlough to play in the World Series—immediately turned toward the American flag and gave it a military salute, according to the Chicago Tribune. Other players turned to the flag with hands over hearts, and the already-standing crowd began to sing. At the song’s conclusion, the previously quiet fans erupted in thunderous applause. At the time, the New York Times reported that it “marked the highest point of the day’s enthusiasm.” The song would be played at each of the Series’ remaining games, to increasingly rapturous response. And patriotism played a part right from the start, as the Red Sox gave free tickets to wounded veterans and honored them during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner before the start of the decisive Game 6."

President Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States of America.

Now here is an interesting FACT - When the U.S. national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing.   It wasn't until 1942 saluting and taking ones hat off came into play.

Since 1998, federal law (viz., the United States Code 36 U.S.C states that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention; Non-military service individuals should face the flag with the right hand over the heart; Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present and not in uniform may render the military salute; military service persons not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note. The law further provides that when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed. Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform. The law was amended in 2008, and since allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, as well.

The text of 36 U.S.C.  is suggestive and not regulatory in nature. Failure to follow the suggestions is not a violation of the law. This behavioral requirement for the national anthem is subject to the same First Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge of Allegiance.    For example, Jehovah's Witnesses do not sing the national anthem, though they are taught that standing is an "ethical decision" that individual believers must make based on their "conscience."

All this hooting and hollering lately about the Star Spangled Banner and the NFL seems to me to be up to the individual and shouldn't even be dictated by the NFL  it is suggested and not regulatory to stand.  It says you should stand and not you have to stand.  

Yes, we do it out of respect for what the flag stands for in the song.  But even the song has been debated.  It is hard to sing.  The music for the our National Anthem was written by John Stafford Smith, who was from England.  The tune was from "The Anacreontic Song" was the official song of the Anacreontic Society in England.  The Anacreontic Society was a gentlemen's club of the kind that was popular in London in the late eighteenth century.  The Society was dedicated to the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, who was renowned for his drinking songs and odes to love. Its members, who consisted mainly of wealthy men of high social rank, would meet on Wednesday evenings to combine musical appreciation with eating and drinking.  LOL - I don't know why this makes me laugh, it just does.  Because the tune of the Star Spangled Banner is from a drinking song! 

But it all boils down to this - It is a National Anthem, no matter how it got there.  It stands freedom.  The flag flies for a country "which is the land of the free and the home of the brave" .  It stands for liberty and justice for all.  You know, I think our Country has forgotten this.   The flag isn't to be worship, it's not an idol, it is a symbol.  I don't think we are the people we use to be.  We are slowly loosing our freedoms.  We are being told more and more how to act, who to like and what to be.  We are loosing our voice in government.  We are a people divided and that's not good.  That is not what America is.  

For me, I stand and put my hand over my heart at baseballs games.  I even stand at home.  And patriotic songs make shed a tear.  I love America, but I am worried as to where we are headed.

For me...this is another day in Catasauqua.

The Loss of a Firefighter Made Me Think

My Mom always has the WFMZ news on in the morning.  As I passed through the living room this morning they were talking about bringing home the body of Erik Hirner.   Erik was an 11 year veteran of the Reading Fire Department and a life member of the Charotin Hose Company in North Catasauqua.  


Erik lived in North Catasauqua and was only 38 when he departed this life from injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with an SUV.  

Today a procession will bring him home and to the Funeral home in Northampton for a viewing Sunday and Memorial Service Monday.  This is a sad time for all Firefighters and his family and friends; and I am sure that so many are asking why.  

This morning I thought about that on my drive in.  I don't know why; but I do know that we should live our life everyday to the fullest that we are able,  because we don't know when our time is up.   

Now, I don't mean that we should live recklessly or party like it is our last.  I always had this dumb way of thinking, if I died tomorrow, how long would the line at my funeral be and how long would my obituary be.  I know it sounds lame but I want to be more than 3 lines that say....Beverly Werner of Catasauqua died peacefully in her sleep leaving behind a son, 3 grandchildren, her partner and her dog.  No, I want it to say Past President of Consistory, choir member, Sunday School Teacher and occasional Blogger.  I want it to go on and on.  I want people to miss me who didn't even know me personally but knew me as "that nice lady who smiled"  "the lady who always said Thank you kind sir" when the door was hold open for her.  

Lately this world has been filled with a lot of hate.  Social media, which for me, was a way to see what was happening with friends and family has turned into a playground for adults insulting each other's politics.  

Twitter has turned into a weapon.  We have the freedom of speech but lets not turn it into the freedom to be stupid.   Where is the love, where did it go.  

As we mourn the loss of this young man, let it help us not to ask why but to ask how we can be better.

and that's another tear in another day in Catasauqua.

Firefighter Erik Hirner 

Procession & Service Information

Procession from Reading

Departing Reading Hospital 

through the city approximate time 1pm - 2pm

VIEWING
Sunday, June 3rd from 6 PM - 8 PM
Schisler Funeral Home
2119 Washington Ave
Northhampton, PA 18067

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Monday, June 4th at 11 AM
A viewing will be held prior to the service

Schisler Funeral Home
2119 Washington Ave
Northhampton, PA 18067