Gotta love it. The Desoto Times publishes my photo, which was provided to them by the RiverKings PR folks, along with my name and info, and they choose to just call it a “courtesy photo” and be done with it. They published it in Thursday’s paper and online this way. As a “trying my damndest” local photographer, I need to get my credit when it’s due. Sucks when folks want to use my work when I offer to give it to them for nothing more than credit and they choose to use it without giving me my props.

Thanks for the courtesy Times staff….NOT.

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater then any obstacle…

Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.

If you don’t have a sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all.

Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.

A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water.

How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.

Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.

No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.

There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.

There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number.

I’ve reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.

Be careful reading the fine print. There’s no way you’re going to like it.

The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

Do you realize that in about 40 years, we’ll have thousands of OLD LADIES running around with tattoos? (And RAP music will be the Golden Oldies!)

Money can’t buy happiness — but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.

At a certain age, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Stolen right off of Nude Steve’s blog

I’m a recovering military wife, and this broke my heart.

Dear military wife,

I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news.

I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn’t know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for.

I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven’t heard from my husband.

I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so.

I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn’t coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren’t yet old enough to understand.

I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home.

I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with.

And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting.

For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel. I can not tell you that you must be strong. I can not say that you shouldn’t be angry, because you “knew what you were getting into when you married a military man”.

I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes.

What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as “just another soldier” - - I will never have to walk in your shoes.

I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now. I have figured out that you are not like other women. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess.

The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America.

You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American.

I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment. Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me. Until this moment, I had no real reason to…. Until I heard of you.

Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us…but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down. Military families make this nation what it is today.

You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Because of you and your family…I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land.

Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay.

Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new
day, everyday.

I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom.

I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable.

However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are…what you are doing…what has happened today…or what will happen tomorrow…Your husband will NEVER be “just another soldier” to me…. And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten.

You are all in my prayer’s everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

May God Bless You

From the DeSoto Times

By Ron Caldwell/Times Sports Editor
(Updated: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 8:18 AM CDT)

The RiverKings will sign rookie David Nimmo today for the 2007-08 season. Nimmo was a standout last year for the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

SOUTHAVEN - The RiverKings continue to stockpile talent for the 2007-08 season during the off-season.

The team plans to announce today (Tuesday) the official signing an incoming rookie who led his collegiate team in scoring and to the NCAA Tournament last year.

RiverKings head coach and director of hockey operations Kevin McClelland said that the team has signed 6-2, 220 pound center David Nimmo, who is coming off of a four year career with the Division I University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers.

Read the rest here

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . having a drivers licence.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers licence.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

Addiction Experts Say Video Games Not An Addiction

Doctors backed away Sunday from a controversial proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder akin to alcoholism, saying psychiatrists should study the issue more.

By Reuters
InformationWeek
Jun 25, 2007 12:49 PM

CHICAGO - Doctors backed away Sunday from a controversial proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder akin to alcoholism, saying psychiatrists should study the issue more.

Addiction experts also strongly opposed the idea at a debate at the American Medical Association’s annual meeting.

They said more study is needed before excessive use of video and online games — a problem that affects about 10% of players — could be considered a mental illness.

“There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn’t get to have the word addiction attached to it,” said Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Read the rest here

I just want to know how you get to be an “addiction expert”!

I used to wonder why men continue to eat food they know will upset their tummy, but now I see that the inability to say “NO” to food starts at an early age for those afflicted with the Y chromosome.

Q. What does HMO stand for?

A. This is actually a variation of the phrase, “HEY MOE.” Its roots go back to a
concept pioneered by Moe of the Three Stooges, who discovered that a patient could be made to forget the pain in his foot if he was poked hard enough in the eye.

Q. I just joined an HMO. How difficult will it be to choose the doctor I want?

A. Just slightly more difficult than choosing your parents. Your insurer will provide
you with a book listing all the doctors in the plan. The doctors basically fall into two categories: those who are no longer accepting new patients, and those who will see you but are no longer participating in the plan. But don’t worry, the remaining doctor who is still in the plan and accepting new patients has an office just a half-day’s drive away and a diploma from a third-world country.

Q. Do all diagnostic procedures require pre-certification?

A. No. Only those you need.

Q. Can I get coverage for my pre-existing conditions?

A. Certainly, as long as they don’t require any treatment.

Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms of medicine?

A. You’ll need to find alternative forms of payment.

Q. My pharmacy plan only covers generic drugs, but I need the name brand. I tried the generic medication, but it gave me a stomach ache. What should I do?

A. Poke yourself in the eye.

Q. What if I’m away from home and I get sick?

A. You really shouldn’t do that.

Q. I think I need to see a specialist, but my doctor insists he can handle my problem. Can a general practitioner really perform a heart transplant right in his/her office?

A. Hard to say, but considering that all you’re risking is the $20 co-payment, there’s no harm in giving it a shot.

Q. Will health care be different in the next decade?

A. No, but if you call right now, you might get an appointment by then.