One of the most inspirational moments in my life came one early September morning. While driving East on the Columbia River Hiway and looking to the early morning sky there were a few clouds floating above the Wallowa mountains out in the distance. The morning sun just peeking over the tops of the mountains spread it's beautiful colors over the clouds in a fashion that no artist could ever capture. Instantly I was caught up in the moment. It was as if God himself were standing there in front of me. For a few moments it was as if I were the only person on earth, and the Lord of Lord's was speaking directly to my heart. A gratitude of a depth I have never experienced before came over me. And I felt warm tears of joy falling slowly down my face. It was one of those moments where two hearts had become one and the language they were speaking could only be heard and understood by a man and his wonderful God. Thank you Father for that most precious moment.

Many, many years ago a young teenaged girl babysat my sister, brother and I. She did this while my mother and two of her sisters went to visit with a brother that had just returned from a tour of duty at sea with the Navy. My father was home at nights, but worked long days in the shipyards as a welder. I am not sure just how long Mom was gone but I would say 2 or 3 days. Many years later as a man in his late thirties I began to have brief glimpses of this girl sitting underneath a huge tree that was in our front yard. She was sitting amongst her school books doing her homework. And for quite a few years I would get this brief glimpse of her. Seemingly out of the blue and at no particular time of day there it would be---same picture always. I was a drinking man at that time of my life and was a functional drinker. I had a regular job and was doing well in life. After my brother took his own life, and I went on an 8 month drunk, I quit drinking. I began to get these mental pictures of our babysister more frequently. Same picture always. Then one day their was more. At the time she babysat us I would have been 9 years old, my brother 5 years, and my sister 4. She was on the bed on her knees and the covers up on top of her head, covering her all but her face. Her knees were spread apart creating an opening one could crawl through on to the bed. And she said "come in under the bridge." The next memory that I have is her on top of me and feeling my penis being bent up straight and then just feeling every thing down there getting very warm. Another mental picture was of me in the bathroom relieving myself and realizing that my penis was very sticky and not liking the feel of it. I know this girl abused my sister also, but I am not sure about my brother. This girl was a friend of the family and was at many family gatherings thru the years. And all of that I never had a clue that something like I had just described to you had ever happened. Did it have an impact on my life? You bet it did. Did it impact my brothers life--yes. And my sister, very much so. It does not take very much interaction like that to have a very large impact on who you are. I have told this story as the truth. And the inspiration to write it came from one of our fellow bloggers. She wrote and article I believe today on abuse. I just felt the need to share my thoughts on abuse. God Bless

Hi guys, well after a very nice vacation its back to business. So what kind of exciting things have you all been up to? I know Doria is all worked up about going off to school, and we all know she will excel in what ever path she chooses. So whats going on with the rest of you? Still doing coffee and breakfast goodies at Taylor's place? Hope so she makes a mean cup of coffee I know. I guess the rest of you are still moving along and have not fallen off in a ditch somewhere.

Well it is nice to be home, and even nicer to be back in touch with friends. Have a great and wonderful day.

Good evening guys and gals. What a beautiful spring evening, wish they could all be a carbon of this one. So I am here with a little up-date at My House. My wife and I are leaving in the morning for a little get away. We shall return in about two weeks. So here is wishing you all the very best life has to offer. I shall miss you all, till we meet again--Ochoco.

Being new at this blogging business, and not ever having written anything but my name and address all these years, I've decided to check you guys out. So this morning I have been bouncing from one site to another while enjoying my morning coffee. First off I went to my favorite sites. Then just kind of bounced from here to there, and found quite a varity of personalities. From the lonely, to the profoundly happy, to the super intelligent, and on to mostly your average human being trudgeing along on the many pathways of life. You guys certainly are an interesting bunch. And along with interesting some of you are very good at design and grouping different things together. I have already grown fond of the lot of you, and wish all of you the best ever weekend.