A Special Soul Named Beverley

There are people that come into your life and go and leave an impression and there are people that leave little impression. Then once in a while there’s a person that comes into your life and leaves a life-long and indelible impression. This is about someone that easily fits in the latter category.


Her name is Beverley. You only needed to meet this lady one time to understand why everyone loved her. She was a Christian, make no mistake, and would be happy to tell you if you dared ask, but she was also a lot of other things. She truly would be the life of any party that you were fortunate enough to have included her in and trust me you would be fortunate. She was full of life and could make anyone who talked with her light up with that same spirit. Her cooking was one of her gifts that she loved to share and was beyond generous in doing it.


Beverley also loved children. I think that this had a lot to do with her childlike spirit and mischievous nature that children could not only identify with but gravitate towards. She served children through our parochial school for almost 40 years. That amount of years alone should tell you this lady was special. She was dedicated and loyal and anyone fortunate to have known her for any length of time was better for it. She loved everyone and everyone loved her.


So Beverley has gone on to glory. My guess is she is running the kitchen up there and also planning the dinner parties. Heaven truly has received a special soul. I write this short article not to give you Beverley’s life story but to honor her the best way I know how. I’m certain a full novel could be written about Beverley’s life’s adventures.


If after a full and fruitful life it can be said you were loved by all that knew you and left this undeniable mark on in this world then I think that is really the highest form of being a Christian. We will miss you Beverley….I will miss you….and look forward to being once again by your side at the eternal banquet.

Still Alive and Writing

It has been quite a spell since my last writing partly because I have been busy looking for gainful employment and partly because life has just been crazy. I also needed a break from doing this for a bit but as long as I enjoy writing I will continue to do so.

I am still working on finding work. It is a full time effort and with our current economic climate that some politicians love to call a recovery I have found it a competitive and trying experience. I promise not to make this entry full of whining about my own situation because I have too much in my life to thankful for and it seems petty to stay on that subject.

My brother recently had an unplanned event of receiving a triple bypass surgery. He came through it well and has a challenging road ahead with respect to lifestyle changes but at least he HAS a road ahead. I spent a week in winter wonder land and tried to just be helpful when I could be and get out of the way when that was called for and hopefully I successfully was able to distinguish the two scenarios. As I said goodbye it occurred to me that the Bourey boys are taking right after their Dad….shake hands and say thanks and I’ll see ya next time. It’s just not in our DNA to express too much in the way of feelings but the beauty of it is we both know how we feel about each other and that’s what counts. The prayers and support from not only my family and friends and church family but Linda’s Methodist family as well were overwhelming. This whole event was evidence once again that life is what happens while you are making other plans. So I know I speak for my “older” brother when I say thank you for everything you have done to support him.

So while I promised to not overdo the employment subject I need to say a little about it. First, my lady has been nothing but supportive of my efforts and patient about the process, probably more patient than me. I know this likely goes without saying but job searching is an arduous and tiring process and without my support structure in place would literally be unbearable. I am faithful that the right opportunity will present itself as long as I continue to persevere.

I am not going to get too political today because frankly there is too much material and I would not know where to begin. I do continue to feel dread about this economy and about our Government’s continued efforts to be in control of everything possible in our lives. I will speak more on this in upcoming posts but for now I must dive, once again, back into the job boards.

To close, I wish for everyone who reads this to have a blessed Easter and I hope you come just a little closer to our Lord if just for Easter Sunday. Your body will come to an end…..but your soul still has a chance.

Thirteen And Counting!

Thirteen years today. Thirteen years ago today I said I do and am I glad I did. Some of you know my history but I thought after my previous marriage and all of the challenges faced I would never do it again. And then came along Linda. This lady with a youthful spirit and incredible heart that I had no choice but to fall in love with immediately. To be fair I’m pretty sure I didn’t fall into her plans either. This balding guy with a daughter in the throws of near teendom offered her plenty of challenges as well. The God came along and said hold on you two…..you need to be together!

Yes we’ve had our share of bumps in the road but nothing, including cancer, could ever shake the one thing in our lives that could and will never be shaken…our love. I am blessed and privileged. I have been taught more things in this 13 years about myself and about life then I ever could have imagined and I owe who I am at this moment to this wonderful lady.

So this is a short entry because I could not fit enough words on this site to describe and express my thankfulness. I love you dear lady and look forward to many MANY more years of this journey of life beside you.

OK...One Last Political Rant

First I want to say that this will be my one pre-election post. I made a statement I would not bombard my Facebook friends and family about politics at this point and I guess this might be a little end-around but since my cousin had the gumption to make his statement I shall make mine. You can all stop reading if you don’t care and that’s the beauty of this type of exchange.

This has been as hideous an election process as it was billed to be. If you listen to the pundants, everyone is being dishonest. Truth used to be simple and straight forward and now we have cyberspace to muddle everything up. I frankly have not been able to tell who is being honest about the numbers. At this point I am not focusing on these numbers. I am focusing on the records of the two major party candidates. Actions really do speak louder than words and you can either choose to ignore what has taken place these last four years or you can take notice of it. I choose to take notice.

always thought that one of the great things that separate our country from most is our freedom to have the chance to be what we want to be. Many countries don’t extend that freedom to their citizenry. I think that one of the aspects that set us apart, at least in the past, is our individual attitudes that we will work hard to become successful. This success used to be celebrated as achievement and now it is considered by one party to be a tag of greed. If you make something of yourself, according to many Democrats, you did it by rolling over many less fortunate. Oh, and if you become successful you are now out of touch. I do not and will never subscribe to this bashing of the successful. I realize that many of the jobs I've held in my life were due to the successful.

If you know me, you know where I stand. I've always been about individual rights. I’ve always been against an every expanding ever encroaching Federal government. I want the truly needy to be provided for. I also want to give these people the tools to lift them up out of that situation and experience success on their own. I place a lot more value on helping someone realize the satisfaction of achievement than I do subsidizing people to remain in poverty. I think the conservative platform mirrors the way I feel.

Finally while my local choices are rooted in Conservatism I also know everyone is different. I am not Republican and I am not a Democrat, I am a Conservative. While our presidential choices are not ideal I also know there is no ideal candidate and we will never agree 100% with any one of them. That being said I will not vote to re-elect a candidate that does not subscribe to the ideals of a hand up and not a hand out. I will not vote for a candidate that has continued to increase spending at record levels with little to show for it other than a huge deficit. So that is my choice this season. You all have the privilege to vote how you think and to express your opinions as well. I can only be hopeful that the next four years things turn around.

Laws??? Are You Kidding??

I am trying to remain positive. As I was driving around our fare city the other day it occurred to me that I was a very small minority of people actually following traffic laws. As this observation sank in, it made me wonder about our society in general. Now before anyone gets defensive just forget it. I don’t care if you’re a new driver or a seasoned citizen you all, with small exceptions, ignore most basic driving laws. So to me the deeper question is why?

Have we become a society that is so self absorbed that everyone and everything else takes a back seat? What I am getting at are driving laws the only laws we ignore? I think it’s a good question. I think it is a matter of both respect and of integrity. I have a deep respect for the law and the people that are charged at enforcing the law. Do you?

Do you respect and consider everyone else in this world? I’m not just talking about driving and really I pose these questions about our human behavior in general. Go to a public location and watch how people react and interact with strangers. I think we are sliding into an impersonal and inconsiderate kind of society. We would rather e-mail the person two cubicles away then actually talk to them and we actually KNOW them to some degree. What does this say about us?

I don’t go to theaters a great deal anymore and it is because, you guessed it, inconsiderate people. Go to a store and just try to talk to anyone you don’t know. Often you are scanned with a lack of trust about your actual intentions for just a friendly conversation. Even our house of worship is a place where we must really intentionally reach out to newcomers and it is work for many of us because we just don’t do it anywhere else.

So back to the driving observation. I try to stay within a modicum of the speed limit. Can you imagine that? I drive our beltline and I don’t care when it is people fly by me with absolutely no regard to any sense of danger they may be causing. Do they not care? Many of these people are probably your neighbors that you think a great deal of and that begs the question why do they drive the way they do?

It may all come back to the old adage about how it is so much easier to look at others and not at your own mirror. I really think for some people that behavior has become so habitual no matter what type of behavior that they are completely clueless about whether it is a good behavior or bad one. Don’t get me wrong. I have faults. Plenty of them, however, I just have to wonder if people actually care about anything but themselves any longer. The more serious question is can this type of behavior be changed.

You may have guessed it but I don’t have answers to these questions. The only way I see to make any change is one person at a time. I will continue to obey the speed limit to the annoyance of so many and who knows…perhaps someone else may take a step back and say hey….I guess I was breaking the law.

Things

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything but thought I would write a few thoughts about things going on in my life and around me. The first thing is I’ve been involved in something I had not considered I would be for a long time but here it is; I am officially on a job search. My company has made the decision to exit the security business so along with that exit is my position. I took a while for me to accept this fact and although I have slowly been ramping this effort up I will now begin a full out assault on finding a position. I don’t feel sorry for myself as I really feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to stretch and learn many new skills. That said, job searching and all of the peripheral issues that go along with that course of action is hideous. I liken this to learning someone you love has cancer. Until you actually fill those shoes you are unaware just how so many are affected by this setback. So anyhow, I ask for your prayers and support in my latest life endeavor. I am confident that this is only a temporary hindrance for me and I know the right fit is out there and I will find it.

On a more positive note, my lovely woman is approaching that 5 year milestone of being cancer free! She has always told me that although the label survivor is attached to this success she considers herself to be a liver of life and not just a survivor. This lady is special and she would be the last one to know it but she is an inspiration to so many around her. One of my true gifts in this world was to meet Linda and I am continually reminded each and every day how much of a gift she is in my life. So to suggest she is just a survivor would be a disservice to what she means to me and to anyone she touches…she is a gift.

I have dialed back the political rhetoric and opinions. There seems to be a very bulky supply to go around already. I am boycotting the last debate. These debates become more just commercials for each candidate and less issue and fact driven and as Forrest Gump would say that’s all I’m gonna say about that!

While I could continue to write and rant about bad drivers, unruly children, lack of personal accountability by some, etc….I will close for now. I need to focus my energies on the more important issues in my life….

New and Improved??

New and improved is such a everyday claim that no one really believes it anymore. I recently wrote a submission in our church newsletter about this phenomenon. I don’t care if it’s motor oil, laundry soap, yogurt, cereal or Ginsu knives they are all new and improved. I guess I understand some of these things as technology invents a new additive (Probably will be deemed carcinogenic in the future) that cleans better, lubricates more (OK Cuz get your mind out of the gutter) or tastes better but some things do mystify me a bit. How about these new lower cholesterol laden eggs? What’s that all about? I guess they feed the chickens less bacon and butter. Have you notice that ice cream gallons are in many cases no longer gallons for either the same or increased pricing? There’s progress and something new and improved. How about new and improved bottled water? Is it coming from a different part of the New Jersey River now? No actually it was the bottle they supposedly improved…what they did was make it thinner plastic…same tap…different bottle.

I wonder if we’ll ever come to a day when society just says that’s it. We can’t make a single thing any better now. Everything you have is as good as it gets. Now move on, nothing more to see here. I guess I doubt that as we will never be satisfied and man will always be trying to build a better mousetrap. By the way have you looked in Lowes at mousetraps? They are getting pretty fancy at killing those rodents. Now I don’t know about you but I somehow doubt a mouse will fall for the fake techno-cheese facsimile on some of these little traps and if they do well they really should be off to mouse heaven or wherever those little gnarly creatures go.

I love how a cereal maker improved their cereals. Replacing the second ingredient in many of the cereals, the first being sugar, is whole grain. So I guess everyone can now feel good about eating their frosted flakes because the grain is now whole. I can feel the pounds just falling off now.

Here’s another one I like; you really can’t improve much on bleach but they managed to do it. They made a spill proof bottle. (Or was that spill resistant?) Anyway I put it to the test…..=fail. I do have one question regarding yogurt. Yes yogurt. Where did this Greek style yogurt come from and why didn’t they just start with the Greek stuff. I actually can tolerate the Greek stuff.

Now to be fair there are products that definitely could be classified new and improved. They are mostly electronic in nature such as computers, TV’s, etc. TV’s have come a long way from the era where we put colored plastic covers over out black and white TVs and called them color TV’s and computers…well they have continually improved.

That’s it for today. Think about new and improved items that are or are not improvements and post them here and have a new and improved day!