This is probably going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it can't hurt.

If anyone out there finds a woman by the name of Angela Dawn Wood, or runs into someone who knows her, please tell her(them) I'm looking for her. She'd be 36 now,was born in February (mid) of 1974 I believe, and the last I heard her father was in Indiana and her mother was in California. She has a daughter who'd be about 14 now, name of Gypsy Rhianna (or that could be Rhianna Gypsy ... I always heard her called Gypsy). I'm thinking she may be staying with her father in Indiana, but I could be wrong.

It's important to me, yes. I thought I had more time to contact her, but she's moved. Figures.

Two Choices

What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'



The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a fatherI also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.


I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play.. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'


Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field.. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.


At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.


However, as Shay stepped up to the

plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.


The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.


Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.


Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball .. the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.


All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'


Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

Shay, run to third!'


As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team


'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.


Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!


AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces..


If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?


A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.


You now have two choices:

1. Delete

2. Forward

Midways through the semester, and I have officially decided to drop a useless class. I don't need it, certainly not now. I have enough on my hands with networking and office 2007. By the way, I can officially get my first certification after the networking class if I choose to do so. CCNA, I can get. You read right. Not my field of interest, but it would look good on a resume.

Enough people bitched at me that I finally stopped chopping my hair off. I hate the length it's at now ... it needs at least six inches before I can do anything with it other than hide it under a hat. But everyone can STFU now, I'm growing it back out.

I think I'm done. I could say more, but why bother?

I hate naming entries, sue me.

My illustrious half-brother, whom I could choke to death most of the time but still love dearly, has become a follower of Lilith. Let me just say this ... I'm so proud of the little shit. Okay, not so little .. he's taller than me, lol. But seriously. It's kinda nice to have someone else in the family who understands where I'm coming from when it comes to religion.

One of my best friends has decided that my religious views are unacceptable, and therefore is no longer speaking to me. Wow, dude, really? *smothers laugh* Ok, you go have fun trying to find god. I'll remember this the next time you start questioning your religion and want me to give you my input on it. I did tell you not to ask, now didn't I? Pfft. Moron.

Obviously, I consider him no loss. I'd rather hang with people who have a working brain, and don't just follow along blindly. I saw this coming long ago ... he kept trying to drop hints at me that I needed to 'find religion'. *shrugs* Can't help it that what I desire isn't what he approves of.

In other news, I'm upgrading the computer, replacing hard ware, etc. I'm liking 7 Pro. I wasn't completely sold on it at first, but hell, it was free. I can't bitch about that. A good friend has gotten me a larger hard drive for Yule, and a shiny, sleek black Linksys router for my 'hatch day'. I can be wireless if I want to! I already plugged in more memory, and may end up getting two more gigs before it's all said and done. We'll see.

Oh, by the way ... Belial, Azazel, Asmoday, and Lucifer are all male. They aren't girls. And Lucifer is not blond. I keep hearing how the 'bible' says he was blond ... um, no. Never gave a hair or eye color, sorry. Ask him to drop by, you'll see for yourself. Well, if he finds you worthy of a visit ... And Satan is Satan, Azazel is Azazel, Samael is an asshole - er, he's Samael I mean, and Lucifer is Lucifer. They're all separate deities.

Oh come on. Did you really expect me to quit being a snarky bitch? Not gonna happen, sorry.

It's a new year, I need to clarify some things now.

I'm done with Chaos, with FF7, with that whole scene. Just don't ask me about writing anything dealing with that. Yes, I changed some things here. Yes, my life has changed that drastically in the last few weeks.

I won't say I'm done with the lord of Mandos or Sauron, but I'm not currently interested in writing about them.

Tone is so hard to impose using words on a screen, so before you fly off that handle at me, how about asking me what I meant regarding the following things I'm going to say?

I'm fed up with being challenged on my religion, my appearance, my lifestyle, my likes, my dislikes, etc. I'm fed up with being judged for my religion, appearance, lifestyle, interests, etc. I'm fed up with hearing 'I'm sorry'. You're sorry? Sorry for what? Did you cause whatever may be happening to happen? Were you involved? If the answer is no, I really don't want to hear that you're sorry. This is my life, not yours. I don't want your sympathy. If I have a complaint, I only need to vent for a moment and then I'll be fine. If it's bad enough, trust me sweetheart, I'll go to MY gods for guidance and help. That's one reason they're there.

I don't need to be 'saved'. I don't want to be 'converted'. I'm happy with what I have, believe me. I have had far more peace in my life in the last week, two weeks than I have had in a long time. Well, since fucking X-mas. THAT day can forever burn in Hell. So can the majority of New Year's Eve, actually ... not the tail end though. No, that part was ... exceptionally nice. It is nice to know you're wanted, needed, and appreciated by those you would walk through fire for.

I have spent time with my brother, and spent time with two men who mean everything to me. I will not name them here - they know who they are. If not for them, I find myself unsure where I would be at current. Their affection, their caring has meant more to me than I can express here. Do I love them? Oh yes. Yes, I do. Beyond measure. I'm not sure anyone else will ever touch me like they have - and no, I don't mean sexually. Get your mind out of the gutter. Between them and some good friends (and my brother), the last 7-12 days have been good ... well, with the exception of some bad judgment New Year's Eve. I take the fall for that.

I don't know yet what this year holds for me, but I plan to make the best of it. College is back in session now. I have three to four more quarters, and I'll be finished with that. I've a friend who's been tempting me to move to Ohio. I'm definitely keeping it in mind. It all depends on where I'm at, when the time comes.