Once Upon a Time...

IT IS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL MESSAGE!!

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend, although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, will I be alone.'

Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?
'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'
His answer struck her Like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day: Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.

Be Blessed Not Stressed

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Boy Assaulted in Shower Comes Forward

By Marc Scolforo, Of The Associated Press
3:02 p.m. EDT, July 26, 2012
HARRISBURG — For months, the identity of the boy who was sexually assaulted in the locker-room showers by Jerry Sandusky was one of the biggest mysteries of the Penn State scandal. Now, for the first time, a man has come forward publicly to claim he was that boy, and is threatening to sue the university.
The man's lawyers said Thursday they have done an extensive investigation and gathered "overwhelming evidence" on details of the abuse by Sandusky, the former assistant football coach convicted of using his position at Penn State and as head of a youth charity to molest boys over a period of 15 years.
Jurors convicted Sandusky last month of offenses related to so-called Victim 2 largely on the testimony of Mike McQueary, who was a team graduate assistant at the time and described seeing the attack.
"Our client has to live the rest of his life not only dealing with the effects of Sandusky's childhood sexual abuse, but also with the knowledge that many powerful adults, including those at the highest levels of Penn State, put their own interests and the interests of a child predator above their legal obligations to protect him," the lawyers said in a news release.
They did not name their client, and The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sex crimes without their consent.
The university said it was taking the case seriously but would not comment on pending litigation.
University President Rodney Erickson and the board of trustees, a school spokesman said, "have publicly emphasized that their goal is to find solutions that rest on the principle of justice for the victims."
The statement from the man's attorneys said Victim 2 suffered "extensive sexual abuse over many years both before and after the 2001 incident Michael McQueary witnessed."
McQueary testified in December at a hearing that he had seen Sandusky and a boy, both naked, in a team shower after hearing skin-on-skin slapping sounds.
"I would have described that it was extremely sexual and I thought that some kind of intercourse was going on," McQueary said.
McQueary reported the abuse to school officials, including Paterno, but none of them told police. In a recent report conducted by former FBI Director Louis Freeh and commissioned by Penn State, the investigators excoriated Paterno and the other administrators for not attempting to identify Victim 2, saying it showed "a striking lack of empathy."
Trustees fired Paterno, who has since died, because he failed to do more about claims against Sandusky, and the scathing independent review said several top school officials looked the other way because they were afraid of bad publicity. The NCAA has vacated 112 Penn State wins.
In a pair of voice mails recorded last year, released with the statement and posted online by the lawyers, a voice that's purportedly Sandusky's expresses his love and says he wants to express his feelings "up front."
The voice mails are dated Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, less than two months before the former Penn State coach was arrested on child sex abuse charges. Sandusky was convicted in June of 45 sex abuse counts and awaits sentencing.
The second voice mail asks whether Victim 2 would like to attend Penn State's next game.
Sandusky left "numerous" voice mails for their client that fall, the attorneys said.
Before the trial, defense attorney Joe Amendola said he had met with a man he believed he might be Victim 2 and the man told him he had not been abused by Sandusky. Amendola said he was not convinced and did not intend to subpoena him, but also said Sandusky himself was insistent they had the right person.
The statement from Victim 2's lawyers leaves many questions unanswered, including whether he had been in contact with prosecutors before or during the trial, whether he remembers McQueary, and whether he is the same person who met with Amendola.
"Jerry Sandusky's abuse of Victim 2 and other children is a direct result of a conspiracy to conceal Sandusky's conduct and the decisions by top Penn State officials that facilitated and enabled his access to victims," the statement read. "We intend to file a civil lawsuit against Penn State University and others and to hold them accountable for the egregious and reckless conduct that facilitated the horrific abuse our client suffered."
The statement did not say when the lawsuit would be filed or contain details on what redress the plaintiff is seeking. The lawyers said they would not have further comment, and messages left for their spokesman were not immediately returned.
Several messages seeking comment from Amendola and Sandusky's other lawyer, Karl Rominger, were not immediately returned.
Prosecutors had said on several occasions they did not know the identity of the boy, and they offered no reaction to the lawyers' announcement Thursday.
"We can't comment, given both our ongoing criminal prosecutions and our ongoing investigation," said Nils Frederiksen, spokesman for the attorney general's office.
The attorneys who released the statement include several based in Philadelphia and in State College, home to Penn State's main campus — where the shower assault took place.
Copyright © 2012, The Morning Call

A tragic situation!

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penn State's Football Program

In the Sports section of today's Morning Call (Tuesday, July 17) Bob Costas was quoted as saying "Penn State ought to have the good grace" to suspend its football program. James Carville stated in response; "that's a really dumb idea."

I have respect for Bob Costas as a sports announcer, but he really has no business chiming in on the Penn State scandal. I agree with James Carville; Bob, it is a really dumb idea and you should just stay the hell out of it!

The student athletes at Penn State should not be punished for something that happened many years before their time.

Costas indicated that if Penn State did not withdraw for a year or more. He went on to elaborate; "But if they don't, it's a pretty good bet that the NCAA will step in and render its version of the death penalty."

The NCAA has no authority in this matter. So far, the NCAA has made no comment with respect to the Sandusky matter and it shouldn't, in my opinion.

Carvell commented that "Lives have been ruined, so the answer to it is, 'Let's go out and ruin some more lives.'" "Let's take a kid , a college football player, who was in second grade when this happened and let's suspend the program." He went on to suggest that we cancel all contracts so that every vendor, every motel owner in Happy Valley and lets ruin all their lives in retaliation. "This is a really bad idea," according to Carvell. I happen to agree!

Skip Bayless, an ESPN commentator stated in response to a comment by Stephen A. Smith (another ESPN analyst) as to whether the program should be shut down by the NCAA or the Pennsylvania Legislature: "This is the most absurd overreaction I could have imagined. This is the most evil ongoing crime ever associated with the world of sports. But you're connecting the wrong dots. The NCAA regulated one thing and one thing only. And that is competitive on field advantage gained from any of this ongoing evil? None was."

I am ambivalent about the removal of JoePa's statue; but we should bear in mind that the statue is a tribute to his lifelong football career and his and Penn State's accomplishments, not a statue praising his moral character.

What is your opinion on the Penn State football program; should Penn State play or not?

And so it goes...

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Take Me Fishing!

 

A few years back I created a plaque for each of my grandsons. All of my grandchildren call me Gran D'. The theme was; "Take me Fishing!"

My oldest grandson is Everette John Papsun (EJ) who will be 22 in September 2012.

The youngest of my grandchildren is Sebastian Nicholas Pompa and he will be 18 in August 2012.

I truly miss the times when EJ, Sebastian and I would go fishing together. We never caught a lot of fish and we never landed the whopper we were hoping for, but the times we spent together were the absolute best of times.

Click here to view a simulation of the plaques: Take Me Fishing

And so it goes...

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The Seasons of your Life

 

Life can be compared to the characteristics of the seasons. There are times when you are faced with cold, hard, stormy weather in your life. Then there are times when you can make a new fresh start and grow. So when you are facing tough times remember that God has deemed a time for everything under heaven. You can't give up when in the winter of your life because you could miss the promise of your spring and the beauty of your summer.

And So It Goes...

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