Hey!! LOVE the BRAD (H-O-T) idea!!!!!!! DD & I share well How 'bout some cheese dip & a bunch of bikers????????? DD, can we share with Joni???? Love YOU, Lindy

We just play when we feel like it. We know everyone's information now...except for those who haven't sent me their birthdays...hint, hint... It's not like the secret pal lists where ONE person sends ONE person stuff. On this list, if you feel like sending someone something, you can look on their information and see what they like. If someone is feeling down, you can look on their list and get their address and send them a FEEL BETTER! card. Or if you are cleaning out your closets and you see that you have a purple widget You don't want and you remember that someone on the list collects purple widgets, you just sent it to her with a "Hello! How are you?" note. If you're at a yard sale and see a good luck charm for 25 cents, you think oh I remember someone on the list collects these! And then you get home and see that Kim and I both do, so you think hmmm, Kim is nicer than Joni so I'm going to send it to her! Or maybe you see a photo of Brad Cotter in a magazine and you think "I've gotta make a copy of this and send it to Dixie AND Lindy because they'll fight over it." Or if you see some cute stationery, you remember that more than one person on the list likes stationery, but think...hmmm, which one of these people are in a bad mood and could use a pick me up? There are no rules with this thing. You just do with it what you want to. You are under no obligation to send anyone anything and if you want to send one person 10 things and an occasional other person one thing on occasion, that's fine. If I'm in a mental funk and forget someone's birthday, then there will be the rest of you to send the cards. Basically, it's just that some of us love buying little presents at yard sales, discount stores, Wal-Mart, etc. and we all love each other so we wanted to get everyone's information so we could send little "stuff" if we felt like it. Since we know what everyone likes, we won't be sending people things they don't want...and we will know more about what they do want. If you see a candle that's heavily scented with vanilla, you will know that Dixie, Lindy and Gisella likes vanilla scents, Kim doesn't, Joni doesn't like ANYTHING scented, and Becky HATES vanilla. Whew! (You might want to carry the list with you when you go out and about because you aren't going to remember everything all at once.) Anyway, I hope that explains it a bit. There are no rules. You just do with it what you want to. Love, Joni who knows if you see Antonio Banderas on the street covered in cheese dip that you will send him to me...although I'm sure someone from CNN, Entertainment Tonight and The Enquirer will beat you to it...

Ok, now tell me how we play????? Thanks, Linda

I haven't heard about BCBS, but I've heard of people who do everything the insurance company asked and then they make them do something else. One time at Brookwood, I was talking to a girl in the lobby who was, who had to be, at least 600-700 lbs. And she said she had been working towards this for so long, but every time she would do everything they asked, they would add something else. If Aetna doesn't add something else, it will truly surprise me. It ought to be illegal for them to do something like this. I mean....use you for example, since you're a nurse. Say your supervisors come to you and tell you they are going to pay you an extra $2000 a month if you take 3 classes for continuing education. You take those classes and go to your supervisors with proof that you have taken those classes and say, "Now, I'm ready for my extra $2000 a month." Your supervisors say, "Good! You've done those 3 classes. NOW, we will think about giving you that extra $2000 a month if you take 5 more classes for continuing education." Nuh-uh. You'd say, "That's not what you said. You said if I took those 3 classes, that I would get an extra $2000 a month." And you'd get a lawyer who would tell them real quick that that's not the way they get to do things. So why do the insurance companies get to do that? If I get to have this surgery, I will be so shocked. Have you called the obesity lawyer who is supposed to be working for you? I know what you mean about not being able to take this crap much longer. I have given up too many DECADES of my life already. To have this surgery available and see that it is saving lives and to not be able to have it...it's too much. And to know that premiums are being paid to these insurance companies who are keeping the money is just too much. There has to be something we can do to stop this stupidity from going on. I wish I knew what it was. I don't think I will live much longer without this surgery. I know I won't. Hopefully a miracle will come along for both of us. I don't hold out a lot of hope for one since I've actually spoken with Aetna on many occasions. But I have to hope that there will be ONE PERSON on Aetna's payroll who will look at my papers and see that I need this surgery. Love, Joni

Grandpa's Hands Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, he said in a clear strong voice. I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK, I explained to him. Have you ever looked at your hands he asked. I mean really looked at your hands? I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making. Grandpa smiled and related this story: Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle. Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friend's foot. They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ. I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandpa's hands and led him home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and wife I think of grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face. When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue praying for one another . Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.