If I could ask God a few Questions, it would go something like this:

The Big Bang Recreation

CREATION QUESTIONS

If in the beginning, there was nothingness; who or what made you?

What made you create the universe as we know it?

Do you control every aspect of our lives or do we?

Is Destiny a reality? If so, what is the purpose?

Why are there Black Holes?

PURPOSE

What was the point of creating humans, animals etc.?

Okay, in an effort to be delicate (this is me you're talkin' too remember) Why is a monthly cycle necessary for women to have babies? Surely you could think of a better way?

Did you make the human body as it is so humans could understand how to perform surgery and heal others? I'm thinking the human body could be made a little more efficiently. (Not that I'm criticizing...I'm just sayin')

Other than the humans that were mentioned in the Bible, who are you most proud of the way they lived their life?

What is the meaning of life? I have my ideas, is that the way it is supposed to be? Feel free to jump in.

HOW COME?

There are some recurring themes in our civilization; there are people and groups who seem to follow their own way from the mainstream culture. (i.e., Jesus, Noah, Moses, Martin Luther King, Jr., Buddha, Mother Theresa and a slew of others). Aside from the obvious, how come they are viewed as outcasts?

How come people consider the literal words of the Bible as what actually happened. Is it? Just askin', cause, "In the beginning, there was Adam and Eve...they had 2 sons, Cain and Abel. Cain slew Abel. Cain took a wife.." (Where did she come from?) I'm just sayin...

How come some people are seemingly more persecuted than others?

How come Catholics believe the Pope is a direct communicator with you?

How come the Pope wears elaborate robes and hats when Jesus dressed as a commoner?

How come their seems to be so much corruption in various religions?

DO WE...

Live in a parallel universe?

Live among other life such as aliens?

Ever stop the continuum of Reincarnation? if so, when?

FINAL QUESTIONS

How long do we "layover" before we reincarnate again?

When I try to think through "GOD", the meaning, the existence the true reality of it...it is beyond my comprehension. Why are we so feeble intellectually?

BY THE WAY

Thank you for my sense of humor. It has definitely come in handy.

Thank you for those who surround me...even the ones who try my patience and those who have hurt me. I've learned a great deal about myself from it. The experiences were not wasted on me.

Thank you for allowing me to be a writer. It's allowed me experiences that I could never have imagined.

Thank you for allowing me to be a musician when I was younger. It's allowed me experiences that I could never have imagined.

More Musings Later-

This blog post was intended to pontificate about our lives and the meaning thereof in earnest. I did mix humor with (gasp) religion. What can I say? God made me this way.

P Diddy, Doc Hollywood and Me

About a week or so ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing my P Diddy Doctor, AKA "Doc Hollywood".

You're probably asking yourself, What in the hell is a P Diddy Doctor?

"P Diddy" is my nickname for Parkinson's Disease. Other people think I am referring to a rapper. It's all the same, only I don't rhyme when I have my symptoms.

Anyway, I freelance for Parkinsons Hope Digest and they are running the series. You're probably thinking, I do believe I'd rather watch paint dry than interview a neurologist about Parkinson's. I hear you. But, I LOVE my P Diddy Doctor! And, I will give you the type of conversation we had that didn't make it into the Hope Digest. Photography by: Mindy Schwartz.

Me: When you diagnosed me, you seemed to nail it almost immediately. How were you able to determine a firm diagnosis right away?

Doc H'wood: I'm good.

Me: Don't give me that! I'm not writing that down.

Doc H'wood: Whatever! (laughing) (Then he launches into his diatribe of neuro dialogue).

Doc H'wood: She keeps taking pictures of me. What should I do? Pose?

Dr. Martin Wagner, AKA Doc Hollywood

Me: Act natural if that is possible.

Doc H'wood: Ok. (He continues pontificating about getting honors in all his neurology and psychology classes at Baylor University.)

Me: You went to some excellent schools. I can almost see your brain throbbing from knowledge. Your receptionist told me you went to the "Domenican Republic Brain Academy, specializing in P Diddy disease."

Doc H'wood shoots me a look.

Me: Kidding. Take a joke, Doc! (He is laughing at me)

Doc H'wood: Nice shirt

Me: I think of you each time I wear it. It's better than wearing the other one I have...

Doc H'wood: What happened?

Me: I wore my 'I'm not getting jiggy with it, I have Parkinson's" shirt to the Opryland Hotel. I arrived at peak blue hair time (senior citizen time=4pm). They were PISSED. They followed me all over that hotel and fussed at me! I couldn't convince them I had the disease! They thought I was making fun of them. Jeez, if you can't laugh at yourself....

Doc H'wood: I wished I could have seen that.

I shoot HIM a look.

Me: That's why I like you. I remember the first and only time I complained about having Parkinson's to you.

Doc H'wood: What did I say? I don't remember.

Me: I was moaning about it one day during my appointment and I noticed you weren't saying anything. I looked up at you and you handed me my scripts and said, "Yeah, it sucks." I left your office and sat in my car and laughed until I cried!

Doc H'wood: You're weird. Not really, you crack me up!

Me: Really?

Doc H'wood: No.

More Musings Later-

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UPDATE: My sister's cancer HAS NOT spread! We are all faithfully praying for her and will continue to do so. I would be grateful if readers of this blog would pray, send good thoughts, etc. for her as well. Read about her journey HERE: "Every problem has a gift for you in its hands."

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Grief is all in a Day's Work for writer, Linda Della Donna

There are literally hundreds of thousands of millions of writers out there in internet land. Some are very well-known and some aren't.

Linda Della Donna will soon be on everyone's radar. She is one of the few writers that deals with the emotional issue of grief and is quite skilled at it, unfortunately. Della Donna lost her husband to cancer some 3 years ago and in an effort crawl out of a depression so deep, she had to write her way out. She wrote about her feelings, her loss, her frustration, anger and took solace in time she spent with herself.

Out of that heartbreaking loss came "Griefcase" a safe place for widows to convene and share their feelings and heartache while they heal. From the tablet of a legal pad is now bounding a full fledged website that will offer message boards, practical information for the newly widowed or grieving, a blog, e-books and more.

I nominated her for CNN's Hero of the Day. I don't know if Anderson Cooper will be knocking upon her door for an interview, but hell, I think he should.

Read what she's all about and you'll be making a point of reading Griefcase too.

www.Griefcase.blogspot.com

More Musings Later-

Have you Noticed?

that writers are making the news?

Remember when a young teenager suffering with ADD/ADHD lost his way from his group on a camping trip? They were camping in the mountains where the evenings and nights got pretty cold. Well, the teenager remembered a book he had read recently where the fictional character also lost his way in the woods and followed the same survival techniques as the book's character. Amazingly, the teenager was found a few days cold and hungry, but very much alive.

Then unfortunately, the mentally ill killer from VA Tech was plastered all over the news as his former professors revealed that he took creative writing classes. His writing was so violent and angry that his teachers had geniune concerns for not only their safety, but his own. Sadly, we all know the results.

There is power in the written word. I hope one day, we can all write with care and responsibility.

More Musings Later-

Great Writing Allows You To See

I've had quite a few people ask me "What does it take to be a great writer?" There are all types of answers depending on the style of writing and so forth.



But for me? Great writing allows you to see. My favorite type of writing and reading for that matter, is storytelling or fictional writing. I've read some books and by some well-known authors (or their prospective ghostwriters I suppose) that were...well...not so memorable. Do you ever find yourself reading a chapter and then suddenly realizing, "What is going on in this chapter? Who is this character again? Why are they acting a certain way?".


When that happens to me, 2 words inevitably come to me. Famous author or not. BAD WRITING.


If I'm reading about a character, I want to know what they look like, what they are thinking, if they have crooked teeth, bad skin, a stutter or any other distintive trait. I want to SEE them in my mind. I want to know this person like the back of my hand.


If this character is so largely forgettable in a book, then why introduce them? My favorite example of this is John Grisham's "The Firm". When I was reading about Mitch (the main character). I instantly got a picture of a clean-cut version of Tom Cruise. And, when I read about his adventures, I could SEE Tom Cruise in my mind's eye.

By the same token, the reason I am such an OPPONENT of Laura Ingalls Wilder's TV version of her wonderful books is mostly because of the "Pa Ingalls" character. When I read her books, I SAW Pa. I knew that his hair was straight, course and thick. He had a matching beard. His hands were calloused as a result of his hard work. He was well-liked in the town and provided for his family. He was not necessarily handsome, but he was like any other homesteader in early American times.


He was NOT the curly headed, handsome, clean shaven actor in the series. And, Laura Ingalls' character wasn't the actress I saw either. I knew that when Hollywood tired of the actual events that happened in the book they would embellish. And, boy did they. The Ingalls adopted a boy so they could have that all-important son, Mary married a blind teacher, Pa never aged but Ma did and so on.

From L - R Standing: Carrie, Laura, Grace
From L - R Seated: Mary, Pa, Ma Ingalls

None of that ever happened in the book. Mary never married, Pa and Ma aged at the same rate, Laura's 2 sisters (Carrie and Grace) died fairly young, and the only boy the Ingalls had was stillborn. Those are the facts.


I know these things because Great Writing Allows You To See.


More Musings Later-

Love this Life- Ode to Crowded House

For those of you that are fans of the band Crowded House, you will recall that tune on one of their CD's entitled "Love this Life". It's one of those songs that you listen to and the more you listen, the more you "get it".

The gist of the meaning is this: There may be "junk" in your life or past (isn't there always?) but regardless...there are blessings in each person's life. Love your life, because it's what YOU created and it's a gift.

Too philosophical? Okay, revised meaning: Get over yourself and appreciate what you have!


Thanks Neil Finn, you're one helluva writer.
More Musings Later-

The Secret to My Success Interview

Linda Della Donna from New York interviewed me a couple of days ago and she asked some really intriguing questions.

Read all about it: Thanks, Linda!