Friday, July 29, 2011
A Prayer Request For A Friend's Wife
I have a prayer request for the wife of a good internet friend. Ann is in the hospital in Chicago undergoing a new therapy to arrest and possibly partially reverse an auto-immune disease that has put her in a wheelchair. This procedure is much like they do with bone marrow transplants, except they use the patient's own stem cells to reboot the immune system. Ann was doing OK until she got an infection that has caused severe pneumonia. She's now on a ventilator and feeding tube. Her new immune system is fighting the infection, but her doctors think they might have to do a procedure to remove the fluid on Ann's lungs. Ann is also extremely frustrated because the ventilator makes it impossible to speak. Please keep Ann and her husband Bob in your prayers. They are a truly beautiful couple!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Prayer request for a dear friend........
I have a prayer request for a good friend of mine. Jody is a Viet Nam veteran and is now completely dependent on the V.A. for her health care since her husband lost his job due to medical problems of his own. Unfortunately she has developed a medical condition that is very painful and she desperately needs surgery to fix it, but her case has been stalled in the V.A. channels. Sadly, Jody's been advised by family members who actually work for the V.A. to not try to make any waves or her medical paperwork could disappear at the click of a computer mouse. Scary, isn't it? Jody's been waiting the better part of two months to have the surgery scheduled and if she has to wait much longer, it could well become a medical emergency. She's been in constant pain for much longer than that. Please pray that she'll get the medical help she needs sooner, rather than later.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thank you, Lord, that someone cared.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20110623/OPINION03/106230424/Firefighter-puts-panhandler%e2%80%99s-safety-first-%e2%80%94-despite-action-of-Detroit-cops
Last Updated: June 23. 2011 1:22PM .
Neal Rubin: Somebody cared
Samaritan and firefighter put panhandler's safety first — despite cops.
Mike Kozlowski will tell you up front that he swore at the police officer. You might have, too, if you'd been willing to do what he did in the first place.
Kozlowski, 27, was on eastbound Jefferson Avenue Friday morning, about to make the sweeping right turn into the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Straight ahead, he saw something odd: a black sedan, facing the wrong way, toward the cars exiting the tunnel into the United States of America.
In front of the black sedan, near the orange cones and orange-and-white barrels that mark the middle of the Randolph Street entryway, sat a man in a wheelchair. Idling in front of Mariners' Church, Kozlowski rolled down his window.
"I assessed the situation," he says. He left the Army in 2006, after two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, but that's still the instinct. You stop, you observe.
If need be, you act.
The sedan, he quickly realized, was a Detroit police car. The man in the wheelchair was an amputee, probably in his 50s or 60s, missing his left leg and right arm. There were two officers in the car — man driving, woman riding shotgun — and the man was on the vehicle's loudspeaker.
"Get the bleep out of the road," Kozlowski heard. "Stop your bleeping begging. You need to hurry up."
As best he could with one arm, the man began to roll himself west, Kozlowski says, toward the sidewalk. Maybe intentionally, maybe not, the bumper of the car tapped the back of the chair.
Kozlowski threw his teal-colored Ford Escape into park, set the emergency brake, punched the hazard light, and stepped into the street.
Doing the right thing
Nine years ago, fresh from Notre Dame High in Harper Woods, Kozlowski swore an oath to defend his country.
He enlisted as a kid and mustered out, four years and 29 parachute jumps later, as a sergeant. On an early leave, he met a Canadian psychology student named Nicole who's now his wife and the mother of their 31/2-year-old girl. He runs the overnight shift for a food distributor in Detroit, and he was on his way home to Windsor when he walked across three empty lanes, grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, and pushed the beggar out of harm's way.
"I'll be honest with you," he says. "I don't give money to panhandlers." But there are ways you treat someone and ways you don't. Ways that make a situation better, and ways that don't. Ways you conduct yourself in a uniform, and ways you don't.
The police car swung around, facing Jefferson against tunnel-bound traffic, and Kozlowski approached the driver's-side window: "Is that so bleeping hard to get him off the road?" The officer barked back, the F-bombs bursting in air. "He's just a bleeping alcoholic," the officer said.
"No," Kozlowski said, "he's a human being. He's got someone, somewhere, who cares about him."
The officer gave Kozlowski five seconds to get back to his SUV. Kozlowski met the deadline. The police car pulled away, he says, and as it did, the officer in the passenger seat flipped him the bird.
Another good Samaritan
It's not easy being a police officer anywhere, let alone Detroit, and there are surely times when "pretty please" doesn't get the job done. Just as surely, it's poor policy to splash kerosene on a dwindling fire.
Kozlowski hollered a response out his window. The police car swung around behind him.
The policeman wrote him a nuisance ticket — no proof of insurance — even though the card in Kozlowski's glove box clearly say he's covered through October. He'll go to court and show it to a judge who's too busy to worry about the beggar and the language and couldn't do anything about them anyway.
The officer's name is on the citation. His initials are P.J. and his badge number is in the low 800s, and the department can find him if it cares to.
The Office of Public Information didn't return a call, but what could a spokesman say? It's OK to shout amplified profanities at a harmless, armless citizen in a public place?
The panhandler was still on the corner as the officer wrote the ticket, Kozlowski says, and the officer kept badgering him, telling him to move on. Silently, the man turned his chair and started the laborious journey across Jefferson.
Moments later, a fire truck stopped in the left lane. The driver hit the overhead lights, and another firefighter swung open the passenger door and jumped to the pavement.
The firefighter wore a uniform, too, the way the officer does and Kozlowski so proudly used to. He pushed the panhandler all the way to the north side of the street, Kozlowski says, through 10 lanes of traffic.
Then the truck rumbled off, the police car drove away, Kozlowski went home to his family and the panhandler went wherever panhandlers go, knowing that at least on this morning, somebody cared.
nrubin@detnews.com
(313) 222-1874
Last Updated: June 23. 2011 1:22PM .
Neal Rubin: Somebody cared
Samaritan and firefighter put panhandler's safety first — despite cops.
Mike Kozlowski will tell you up front that he swore at the police officer. You might have, too, if you'd been willing to do what he did in the first place.
Kozlowski, 27, was on eastbound Jefferson Avenue Friday morning, about to make the sweeping right turn into the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Straight ahead, he saw something odd: a black sedan, facing the wrong way, toward the cars exiting the tunnel into the United States of America.
In front of the black sedan, near the orange cones and orange-and-white barrels that mark the middle of the Randolph Street entryway, sat a man in a wheelchair. Idling in front of Mariners' Church, Kozlowski rolled down his window.
"I assessed the situation," he says. He left the Army in 2006, after two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, but that's still the instinct. You stop, you observe.
If need be, you act.
The sedan, he quickly realized, was a Detroit police car. The man in the wheelchair was an amputee, probably in his 50s or 60s, missing his left leg and right arm. There were two officers in the car — man driving, woman riding shotgun — and the man was on the vehicle's loudspeaker.
"Get the bleep out of the road," Kozlowski heard. "Stop your bleeping begging. You need to hurry up."
As best he could with one arm, the man began to roll himself west, Kozlowski says, toward the sidewalk. Maybe intentionally, maybe not, the bumper of the car tapped the back of the chair.
Kozlowski threw his teal-colored Ford Escape into park, set the emergency brake, punched the hazard light, and stepped into the street.
Doing the right thing
Nine years ago, fresh from Notre Dame High in Harper Woods, Kozlowski swore an oath to defend his country.
He enlisted as a kid and mustered out, four years and 29 parachute jumps later, as a sergeant. On an early leave, he met a Canadian psychology student named Nicole who's now his wife and the mother of their 31/2-year-old girl. He runs the overnight shift for a food distributor in Detroit, and he was on his way home to Windsor when he walked across three empty lanes, grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, and pushed the beggar out of harm's way.
"I'll be honest with you," he says. "I don't give money to panhandlers." But there are ways you treat someone and ways you don't. Ways that make a situation better, and ways that don't. Ways you conduct yourself in a uniform, and ways you don't.
The police car swung around, facing Jefferson against tunnel-bound traffic, and Kozlowski approached the driver's-side window: "Is that so bleeping hard to get him off the road?" The officer barked back, the F-bombs bursting in air. "He's just a bleeping alcoholic," the officer said.
"No," Kozlowski said, "he's a human being. He's got someone, somewhere, who cares about him."
The officer gave Kozlowski five seconds to get back to his SUV. Kozlowski met the deadline. The police car pulled away, he says, and as it did, the officer in the passenger seat flipped him the bird.
Another good Samaritan
It's not easy being a police officer anywhere, let alone Detroit, and there are surely times when "pretty please" doesn't get the job done. Just as surely, it's poor policy to splash kerosene on a dwindling fire.
Kozlowski hollered a response out his window. The police car swung around behind him.
The policeman wrote him a nuisance ticket — no proof of insurance — even though the card in Kozlowski's glove box clearly say he's covered through October. He'll go to court and show it to a judge who's too busy to worry about the beggar and the language and couldn't do anything about them anyway.
The officer's name is on the citation. His initials are P.J. and his badge number is in the low 800s, and the department can find him if it cares to.
The Office of Public Information didn't return a call, but what could a spokesman say? It's OK to shout amplified profanities at a harmless, armless citizen in a public place?
The panhandler was still on the corner as the officer wrote the ticket, Kozlowski says, and the officer kept badgering him, telling him to move on. Silently, the man turned his chair and started the laborious journey across Jefferson.
Moments later, a fire truck stopped in the left lane. The driver hit the overhead lights, and another firefighter swung open the passenger door and jumped to the pavement.
The firefighter wore a uniform, too, the way the officer does and Kozlowski so proudly used to. He pushed the panhandler all the way to the north side of the street, Kozlowski says, through 10 lanes of traffic.
Then the truck rumbled off, the police car drove away, Kozlowski went home to his family and the panhandler went wherever panhandlers go, knowing that at least on this morning, somebody cared.
nrubin@detnews.com
(313) 222-1874
Strange.............
I do not know what is going on, but at the moment I am not able to post replies on the blogs of others. I hope this is corrected soon!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Big Cats cooling off in the Summer Heat
It's not the heat, but the 1200 lb tiger that'll get ya! Hehe.........
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wesley The Owl..........
If you haven't read the book by Stacy O'Brien, you're missing a beautiful story. Here is a video of the author describing her life with Wesley.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Help for Lucinda...............
For those of you who might never of heard of ETSY, it is a website based on the sale of handmade items, supplies for making said items, and vintage collectibles. As a beginning jewelry artist, I am a frequent visitor/buyer on the site and have made a number of friends there. To say Etsy is more than a site for buying and selling is an understatement. It is a COMMUNITY where people buy, sell, trade, teach, learn, and build real relationships. So it was with great sorrow I learned of Lucinda, an artist/seller who has experienced a terrible loss and of those who are trying to help her rebuild her life. Lucinda had already lost her mom a couple months ago, which I can tell you from recent personal experience is painful enough in itself. Now a fire has claimed the life of Lucinda's young son Kevin, her home, and pets. The thought of her anguish brought tears to my eyes and moved my heart to help in any way I can.
If you would like to help Lucinda's family, of course, prayer would be most helpful. Lucinda's family is going to need a lot of help to get back on their feet and prayer is essential in that happening. However if you would also like to contribute financially and get some cool stuff for yourself too, a site has been set up where you can buy donated items and all the proceeds will go to Lucinda's family. All you need is a Paypal account. There are hundreds of items to choose from in all price ranges, so you are sure to find something affordable and wonderful for yourself or a friend.
http://helpinghearts.bigcartel.com/products
Or if you'd prefer to simply send a donation:
Boardman Family Fund
Knight Communications
10150 Mallard Creek Rd.
Suite 201
Charlotte, NC 28262
GOD BLESS YOU!
If you would like to help Lucinda's family, of course, prayer would be most helpful. Lucinda's family is going to need a lot of help to get back on their feet and prayer is essential in that happening. However if you would also like to contribute financially and get some cool stuff for yourself too, a site has been set up where you can buy donated items and all the proceeds will go to Lucinda's family. All you need is a Paypal account. There are hundreds of items to choose from in all price ranges, so you are sure to find something affordable and wonderful for yourself or a friend.
http://helpinghearts.bigcartel.com/products
Or if you'd prefer to simply send a donation:
Boardman Family Fund
Knight Communications
10150 Mallard Creek Rd.
Suite 201
Charlotte, NC 28262
GOD BLESS YOU!
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