FITLY JOINED TOGETHER

by Danna Shirley

Everyone has a gift, a talent, a special endowment of brilliance. No one can do anything exactly as you might accomplish it or think a thought exactly as you might consider it or make an observation exactly as you might examine it. We are as unique in our entire makeup as the fingerprint on our little pinkie.

Even as we are individuals, we are also unique when fitly joined together in a group. Your family is like no other because you are a member of it, a classroom of students is like no other because each student is important to the dynamic of the whole, and a congregation of believers is like no other because each offers his or her particular God-given talent.

Some may desire to be doctors or nurses; others may not be able to handle the sight of blood. Some may have a gift of sitting down to a piano and playing or composing music; others may be tone deaf. Some may dance or paint or sculpt beautiful art while others may be just as creative with computer graphics on a laptop screen. Some gifts may not necessarily be in the arts but that person is still worthwhile and talented in their particular field. 

Consider these professions as artistic and creative and very necessary to our lives: 

Beauticians/Barbers – Aren’t you glad you’ve found someone that can work miracles with your hair. Once you’ve found them, never let them go.

Carpenters – They can take a design from a blueprint and make a dwelling that gives us comfort and protection from the weather. To some of us it may be a shack and to others it may be a mansion but we are all grateful for having that roof over our head.

Chefs – The dish set before us is faultless; displayed like a portrait on a canvas, the aroma prepares our taste buds for great expectations . . . and you don’t have to cook it yourself! J

Cleaning Services – You’re tired, you’re weary, you’ve worked all day; you come home to a spotless house with clean sheets on the bed, the bathroom scrubbed, and everything dusted. You can relax and enjoy the evening. Your cleaning lady has done her job.

Designers – They cover us appropriately with fashion, style, and the latest trends. They also decorate our homes with drapery, upholstery, and artistic endeavors.  

Doctor /Nurses – Annual checkups are a must to identify and treat any issues that may arise. Don’t ignore signs and symptoms that can easily prevent more serious ailments.

Engineers – They’ve moved us from dirt roads to intricate highway systems, from one-story buildings to skyscrapers, from boats to aircraft carriers, and from twin-engine planes to airbuses. Our travel mode has gone from the tortoise to the hare.

Farmers – They produce the world’s supply of food, keeping us fat and happy.

Firefighters/Police – They protect us from fire and crime. Their skills, dedication, and commitment help save our lives and property and protect us from criminals. 

Florists – They bless us on birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions throughout the year. Oh, how we love getting a beautiful, sweet-smelling bouquet.

Funeral Directors – Everyone needs one at least once in their life and we appreciate hearing, “It was a lovely service.”

Hotel/Motel Managers – When travel is a must, we all look for the cleanest, most convenient place to stop for the night; preferably one with morning coffee, a blow dryer, an iron, and a continental breakfast.

Jewelers – Designers of wedding rings and necklaces, earrings and bracelets; the gift of sparkle and shine.

Military Men/Women – a Million Thanks . . . "A soldier doesn't fight because he hates what is in front of him. A soldier fights because he loves what he left behind." - unknown

MOTTOS:     United States Army – “This We’ll Defend”

United States Navy – “Honor, Courage, Commitment”

United States Navy Seals – “The Only Easy Day was Yesterday”

United States Marine Corps – “Semper Fidelis” (Always Faithful)

United States Air Force – “Aim High; Fly, Fight, Win”

United States Coast Guard – “Semper Paratus” (Always Ready)

Nutritionists – They keep us healthy suggesting all the appropriate foods to eat and the inappropriate foods to avoid. We look and feel better with a proper diet and exercise.

Pastors – They minister to our spiritual lives, our marriages, our families; equipping us for works of service so that we, in turn, can share the love of God. Where other gifts may be temporal, their results are eternal.

Plumbers – They are on call 24/7 and aren’t we glad to see them when the toilet backs up. 

Sanitation Engineers – Having these wonderful workers pick up our refuse from the curb every week is a blessing too large to fathom. Imagine if they went on strike!

Teachers – Blessed people who have the patience to educate; who can sit in a classroom day after day and deal with unruly and sometimes belligerent and disrespectful children. That teacher is gifted because of the time invested in even one child which produces an adult of integrity, ability, and performance that benefits and blesses the world.

Wedding Planners – The bride was lovely; the flowers, the music, the cake were all done to perfection, relieving the family of any and all stress so they can enjoy the day.

Writers/Authors – You have an idea, a glimmer of something not quite developed. It could be a mystery or comic relief. It could be sad and bring forth tears or maybe light romance with hearts and flowers. Maybe you’re a poet with such skill as to touch the emotional core of the reader. Your story of words is as beautiful and picturesque as any oil paint that is applied to a canvas. 

No one person is more exceptional than another and no one is inferior to another just because of their profession or their giftedness. We are all members of society; each one is necessary, each one is a gift to all the rest for we are fitly joined together in this common cause called LIFE! Find your place and fill it with all your might.

DIALOGUE WITH GOD

by Danna Shirley

I wrote the following "dialogue" as I watched my brother-in-law (Jerry Belden) with Parkinsons begin to close into himself, lose his speech, and become bedridden. I tried to imagine what his thoughts must be inside his existence...what my thoughts would be if this were me.  

          Here I am, Lord, hidden in silence in this body from which I can’t escape. The world moves around me but I am still. I want to yell, “I am in here! Pay attention to me!” but they just go on about their busy lives.

          I can’t tell them what I want, what I need. I want to cry out, “Please, get me out of this bodily coma.” They walk all around me, they dress me, change me, feed me, and move me from side to side and from bed to chair.

I can do nothing for myself . . . but I am still in here, still able to think and reason. And my thinking leads me to despair.

When will it all end? How much longer must I exist in this life where I have no control? A week? A month? A year or is it ten?

Oh, God, no! I am Yours. Please take me out of this world and into the next

. . . I am ready for Your Kingdom.

          If you love me, Lord, take me home to be with You!

Jerry died April 15, 2015

EMMA'S CLASS PRAYER 2014-2015

My granddaughter, Emma, is in Christian school in Memphis, TN. The following is her 6th grade class prayer for this year:

God, give me clean hands, clean words, and clean thoughts.

Help me stand for the hard right and against the easy wrong.

Save me from habits that harm.

Help me work as hard and play as fair in Thy sight alone as if the world saw.

Forgive me when I'm unkind and help me forgive those unkind to me.

Keep me ready to help others even at a cost to myself.

Give me chances to do good each day and to grow in wisdom and spirit all for my precious Lord and Savior.

Amen.

THE POLE THAT HIT ME

by Danna Shirley

            You’ve heard the one about the drunk who tells the officer, “I swear. The pole jumped out and hit my car!” Well, that literally happened to me.

            My husband was still experiencing those dreaded headaches and was admitted back into the hospital at Subic Bay. The children and I would visit him every day, driving the winding road up to the Naval Hospital which sat atop a hill looking out over Cubi Point. One especially clear, beautiful, sunny, not-a-breeze-blowing kind of day, I was again on this winding road when all of a sudden something hit the roof of my car. I stopped dead. I was the only car on the road. What had hit me? There was broken glass all over the inside of the car, all over my newborn baby and my little girl. I stepped out to see a power pole lying on the side of the road. This was the last straw. I couldn’t take any more! I stood there and cried!

            A man drove up behind me and asked accusingly, “Why did you hit that pole?” 

          “I didn’t hit that pole,” I said defensively, “that pole hit me!” The damage was to the roof of my car, not to the front or hood. Why would he ask such a question? He continued up to the hospital to get help. People came running down the road all believing that I had hit that pole. Some kind soul put us in his car and drove up to the front door of the hospital where Ron was waiting in bathrobe and slippers. A nurse took Russ to clean off the glass and examine him.

We later learned that the power pole had been planted seven years earlier and had withstood seven monsoon seasons. The tension on the wires had loosened it and eased it out of the ground ever so slightly until the day when I drove by so it could catapult itself to the top of my car.

            At this point the Navy decided that it was time the Shirley family went home to the states. We left all of our household goods and car behind to be sent on to us later. The car windows had to be replaced with safety glass before shipping (a U.S. requirement) and finding the right glass in the Philippines was a chore in itself. Our two-year tour of duty had lasted only seven months and that was long enough for me. Ron eventually received a medical separation and an honorable discharge from the Navy. His headaches eventually ceased, but that’s another story.

When I tell of the time a pole jumped out and hit my car, people have a hard time believing me, but I’ve got the pictures to prove it!

LOVING THE WORLD

by Danna Shirley

During a sermon one Sunday morning my pastor spoke the phrase “Loving the World.” I immediately saw a stark contrast of how some might love the world:

#1 Loving the world because of what IT has to offer YOU . . .

a.        Fame

b.        Success

c.         Education

d.        Money

e.         Material possessions

f.          Addictions

g.        Pride

h.        STDs

i.          Envy

j.          Greed

k.        Jealousy

l.          Hate / Unforgiveness

m.     Sex

n.        Abortion

o.        Racism

p.       Crime

q.        Evil / Sin

r.         Lost and undone

#2 Loving the world because of what YOU have to offer IT . . .

a.           Love

b.           Joy

c.            Peace

d.           Patience

e.            Kindness

f.             Goodness

g.           Faithfulness

h.           Gentleness

i.             Self-control

j.             Grace

k.           Mercy

l.             Forgiveness

m.        Abstinence

n.           Life is sacred

o.           Hope

p.          Faith

q.           Ministry / Missions

r.            Salvation

“For

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

that He gave His one and only Son

that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish

but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16)

ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

Danna Shirley

        I had taken most of the required courses in high school to work in the secretarial field; typing, shorthand, business English, and business machines. I was very good at typing and semi-good at shorthand. Toward the end of my senior year (1966), my teacher had obtained employment applications for government positions and part of the class assignment was to complete the form and mail it to some of the local agencies on her list. Two that stood out to me were the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Berkeley and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Francisco as either a typing or steno clerk, with the steno clerk receiving a higher salary. As an 18-year-old, I hadn't thought my future through to any great conclusion, although going to junior college in the fall was somewhat expected.  

        I was called for an interview by the FBI first. Even though I had been born and raised in the Bay Area, I didn't venture into San Francisco much and never by myself. I asked my best friend, Cathy, to go with me to help find the address. I was as scared of traveling in San Francisco as I was of the interview. I thought it went well but didn't want the job anyway just because of the commute.

        Next I was called by the AEC, which was just a block from the University of California, Berkeley campus. At least this job would keep me on the east bank and I would not have to cross the Bay Bridge every day. Cathy also accompanied me to this job interview and waited in the lobby.

        I remember being impressed with the security throughout the building beginning with the visitor’s pass that I had to wear and being escorted to my first interview; and the next, and the next, and the next. I was interviewed four times that day. Cathy being Cathy (she never met a stranger), grilled the security guard in the lobby and learned that the longer I moved through the interview process, the better it was for me. In other words, I must have made an impression on someone!

I finally received the phone call asking me if I would like to work as a steno clerk in Personnel with the AEC. It would require a background investigation because I would need a Top Secret clearance to work in the building. I had lived in the same house since I was five, so it didn't take long to interview the neighbors and conduct a background check. I was clean as a whistle!   

I began my first job in July, 1966. It was just a few miles from my father’s employment with Dymo Industries in Emeryville so he graciously took me to work every morning and picked me up every afternoon. This was no small task considering the congestion on University Avenue during commute time. In fact, my father found my first car, a 1957 two-door, hardtop, Bel Air Chevrolet which cost $600, $400 of which he loaned to me. I wonder if there was an ulterior motive in that deal? J Anyway, with a few paychecks under my belt and a new car under my seat, junior college went right out the window.

I only stayed in Personnel for a few months before a position in Security opened. I again went through the interview process by the Security Director, Assistant Director, and Visitation Director; I was to be a Visitor Clerk and the best part was it didn't require shorthand. In those days we were using teletype communication and carbon paper for typing.

Every person employed by the AEC and its contractors had a Secret or Top Secret clearance. My job was to clear all attendees to any seminars, conferences, or symposiums letting the host agency know our people who would be attending and their security clearance.

It was quite ironic to me that this young 18, 19, 20-year-old high school graduate had such control over these learned men because they could not get in the door without my say-so! Usually, the ones that were full of themselves didn't bother to go through the Visitor clearance process that would allow them entry. They just couldn't be bothered. They were kept cooling their heels at the front door, however, until I could be notified by phone to give the okay.  All others who knew the process would submit their travel and security clearance requests in a timely manner and their names would be on the list when they arrived. Of course, there was always the one who would not know until the last minute that he would be attending a certain conference and then everything had to be speedily processed. I had my security contacts at almost every facility in the nation: Lawrence Radiation Lab (LRL), Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), Washington, D.C. etc, etc. 

I remained with the AEC, now called the Department of Energy, until I was twenty-one. I made some very good friends there, one of which, Valerie Sullivan, went from being a Security secretary to becoming a Security agent—gun, badge, handcuffs, and all!

When Ron and I had been married a year, he received orders to Bermuda (1970) that required me to resign. Although I had to leave my first job and my parents for the first time in my life, I never had regrets and I've never looked back.

“…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward  to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13-14)

KLUTZY ~ Part I and Part II

by Danna Shirley

As the youngest of three sisters, I have always been a bit intimidated by my older siblings. I am six years younger than Nan and two years younger than Paula but we are all seniors on Medicare now so you would think that this slight trepidation would have been resolved long ago. When I am in my own surroundings, with my own family and friends, I am quite comfortable and secure. I don’t know why being with Nan and Paula sends me into “klutzy” mode but I have been a complete success at klutzy since I arrived in California March 20, 2013.

            Caregiving is for my brother-in-law Jerry who is in a hospital bed in the living room amid all the downstairs activity and noise. I have stumbled over chairs and boxes, stubbed my toe on furniture, and let a door bang shut while he was sleeping. I’m dropping things incessantly and of course I talk too loudly so I’m “lovingly” shushed all the time. Paula takes care of Jerry and all his needs. This is a huge task as you can imagine.

Nan’s duties are cooking and laundry and anything else she sees that needs to be done around the house. She’s very observant and versatile in this way.

I, on the other hand, have tunnel vision and only do what I’m told. I run errands to the grocery and pharmacy, go for medical supplies, go to Home Depot and WalMart, the bank, for fast food, etc., as well as take care of my mother’s needs. While doing the shopping, I call back to the central command post quite often to make sure I have the right item because I definitely don’t want to make two trips on the same day anywhere!

Yesterday I made a run to Piner’s Medical Supply for ‘no rinse shampoo’ and ‘no rinse body wash.’ I didn’t know they made such a thing but I guess if you’re in a hospital bed, that’s good to know. On the way back I stopped at the mailbox which is 0.2 miles from their gated house. I left the car running with my purse inside (including my cell phone) and hopped out to get the newspaper. When the door shut, it locked automatically . . . klutzy!

Now with no phone to call the house, I ran about 1/3 of the way up the driveway and panted the rest of the way to the gate. At the gate I buzzed Paula and through my huffing and puffing exclaimed, “Send Nan down with another set of keys for the van.” I’m so glad she didn’t ask why.

I put in the gate code and started walking to meet her. As she reached me with the keys, the gate closed. Now I’m inside the gate with no opener and the car is still sitting at the mailbox locked with the motor running. Nan had to walk back to the house and use the gate opener from there so I could even get out. Then back down the driveway I ran and unlocked the car. Whew! All of this took place in sight of two workmen putting a roof on one of the houses I passed. I hate looking klutzy in front of strangers. I hate it worse in front of Nan and Paula.

Today Paula sent me to Home Depot for six 25 pound bags of rock salt for their water softener. “That’s rock salt ONLY,” she said, “not rock crystals, not rock pellets, not rock cubes.” So what happens when I get there? Nothing says “rock” and everything is in 50 lb bags. I called central command. Our cell phones raise havoc until we finally get it straight that I should buy the ones in the blue bag. Okay, that’s done . . . yeah!

On the way home I stopped to get the mail and newspaper. I put the car in park, turned off the motor, and took the keys with me. Success! I made it home without incident. Hallelujah!

Tomorrow is another day . . .

KLUTZY ~ Part II

            Now it is a year later (May, 2014) and I have returned to Tennessee for some R & R from my caregiving duties. I thought I left klutzy in California but evidently I brought it with me.

            I’m still dropping everything I touch. I feel my mind is not cooperating with my actions.

            So how do I know this?

I pulled into a station to get $5 worth of gas. I pushed some buttons and voila, I had purchased gas and mistakenly a $5 car wash. How did that happen?

            I went inside and told the clerk, “Hey, I didn’t want a car wash.”

            “Sorry,” she said. “You bought it at the pump. I can’t do anything about it from in here.”

Okay! Okay! So I’ll go through the car wash.

I pulled up to the entrance, rolled down the window to punch in the code, and pulled forward. YIKES! Soap and water blew in and hit me in the face and went all the way across to the inside passenger window. I put up my hand like that would stop anything and reached for the “up” window button. As soap and water surrounded me, I searched the glove box for some napkins. One little fluffy tissue was hidden under all the papers. It quickly fell apart as I wiped my face and hair. 

I had to laugh. I was still KLUTZY in Tennessee! How do I get into these situations? I feel like I’m losing it and I’m only 65. What will I be like at 95…my mother’s age?

All I can hope for is that my family and friends will take care of me and make sure I don’t do mindless things . . . like this J.