It's Halloween

Well I'm just glad to have the day off after several days of parent-teacher conferences where I had to be at work from 7am until 7:30 or 8:30 p.m. I just paid a $50 copay that I don't really have for a 10-minute doctor appointment to tell me what I already knew: I need an MRI, but now I have "approval" to get one. I imagine even with insurance the MRI will be expensive. Oh well, alhumdooleluh I have a roof over my head, friends, family, deen, good health overall, and so much more!

As for Halloween, if kids come to the door tonight I have some candy and temporary tattoos waiting for them. I know the exchange student living at my brother's house is excited about her first Halloween. I have mixed feelings about the holiday, but I am looking forward to "falling back" this weekend as Daylight Savings ends. I'm a Daylight Savings fan, I know some people don't like it but I do.

The last of my parakeets died today - Zelda. I think she lived about 4-5 years. I still have two Cockatiels and a Lovebird.

Tonight I will probably watch the annual Halloween Live Ghost Hunters special on Sci-Fi.

Pink Hijab Day

For Breast Cancer Survivors, Victims, Friends, Research

A man and his horse

So mom was dropping me off at my house today after running some errands together, and as we're getting ready to turn onto my street, we see an old black man riding an old black and white horse up the street. We stop and talk to him for awhile. He lives in Fountain and his horse is housed on Old Pueblo Road (south of Fountain). But he rides his old horse everywhere all over our little town. Every weekend he rides his horse up to his grandkids' house so they can see and play with the horse - that's what he was doing when he saw him. He said he also takes his horse to McDonald's and Walmart. How cool is that?

Two ridiculous videos for your entertainment and Pink Hijab Day

Global Pink Hijab Day is next Wednesday - for the cure.

The Swedish Chef's kid? A leprechaun?
The "lyrics" according to the original poster:

Bamse and Little Hop strolled out in the woods
then came Shellman, Steppilimushroom, tripped on a cat
Bamse said: Come here, come here, kitty kitty little kitty, and you'll get a meatball when we come there
as soon as they saw grandma's house high up one the hill, Little Hop ran so fast all the way there
and Bamse said: Now you're running too fast, too fast. Wait for us, we have no long legs and Shellman he is tired, tired.
Come in, come in, in my cabin and you'll have meatballs with lingonberry and a lot of ice cream.
Don't you want some honey, big strong Bamse?
No thanks, no thanks not now I'm satisfied.
Then the little house mouse said: The honey is stolen
Bamse ran so fast, so fast, and caught Jansson's cat.
Noopsy Banoopsy little cat, you'll get a stomach ache
And now the story came to it's eeeeend!

Clown Car Fail....


They must've been really uncomfortable in there, I hope they're all okay.

Pop Quiz: How many???

Some Commentary on News

Colin Powell Condemns the Ugliness of the Republican Party

Colin Powell: I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said such things as: "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is: he is not a Muslim. He's a Christian. He's always been a Christian.

But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is: No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she can be President?

I was very pleased to hear someone say this, especially a non-Muslim high-ranking Republican. It is about time that someone noted the giant pink elephant in the room. This country still has prejudice and phobias that are simply immoral and unjustified. But this is a positive move I was grateful to hear. Alhumdulillah.

On the other side of the Atlantic, politicians seem to be moving the other direction:

UK Minister Wants No Hijab At Schools?

Now I am not clear whether he meant hijab or niqab. He said:

"But at school you shouldn't wear one. It's harder to get a good education if you wear a veil as you're more cut off."

If he meant hijab, he is clearly mistaken. It is no harder to get an education in hijab than in any other clothing. In fact, his policy shift would do far more damage to Muslim girls' ability to get a good education than any piece of cloth.

The hijab phobia in Europe is continually alarming. It really comes down to a manifestation of European countries' immigration woes. They have so many Muslim immigrants that they have not successfully integrated into society and the workplace compared to the United States that they feel fear over losing their national identity as they see it.

Whatever the root cause, to propose or force a young girl and her family to choose between education and what she/they believe is a commandment of God is outright cruelty and entirely unnecessary.

The Jewel of Medina

So a lady who knows only enough about Islam to get a lot of it wrong wrote a book that is sex-obsessed and very historically inaccurate and presents important figures in Islam in negative lights without any factual basis for those characterizations. Is the book garbage? Apparently so. It is fiction, yes, but applying such grossly negative and incorrect attributes to real people of great importance in a major world religion is simply irresponsible if not intentionally malignant.

I think yes, people should speak up about such things, but as to how it should be done, I defer to Qur'an:

When the foolish ones address them answer: “peace” 25:63

– “The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: ‘peace.’”

Agha Mahdi Pouya and Mir Ahmad ‘Ali’s Commentary of 25:63:

Even the aggressive attitude during the exchange of views should not be countered with harshness. The gracious servants of God say on such occasions: “peace.”

Once a hoodlum met Imam ‘Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-‘Abedin (AS) and assaulted him with a barrage of insults and abuses for no reason at all.

The Imam (AS) said:

“If what you say is true, may God forgive me; and if you are lying, then God may forgive you.”

It is said that the Jews used to abuse Jesus (AS) whenever they met him in public places, but he always had a good word for them, because, according to him, a man brings out that which is inside his self or soul.

China tightens grip on Muslims

This seems to be heading in a very bad direction. I feel so bad for the Uighur Muslims that they are even oppressed to the point of being prevented from fasting in the month of Ramadhan and praying in some cases. Even their hajj is state-controlled? What is the Chinese government afraid of really?

How to Supplicate

From Understanding the Month of Glory.

What is Du`a?

Dua is a simple acceptance of the difference between the existences of God and the human being.

-The existence of Allah as the source of all good, perfection, independence and bestowal.
-The existence of the human being as a vessel of poverty, need, dependant on constant bestowal and favor.

Thus the human being needs to ask for and receive the favors of the Almighty. He is in constant need for what only Allah can give Him. To help him achieve his dreams, to give him success and happiness in this world and the Hereafter, he needs the favors of Allah.

The Almighty God, in His mercy and love for the human being, has allowed believers to ask from Him, and has promised to answer them. This is a great favor of God. The following Qur'anic verses show how Allah invites believers to ask from Him:

* And when my servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the supplicant when he calls upon Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me, that they may walk the right way. (2:186)
* Call unto Me, I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell. (40:60)
* Call your Lord humbly and secretly, He loves not the transgressors. (7:55)
* And call on Him, fearing and hoping, surely the mercy of Allah is near to those who do good. (7:56)

Many Hadith also emphasize the importance of supplicating to Allah:

* Du`a is the weapon of the believer, and the pillar of faith, and the light of the heavens and the earth. Holy Prophet (s)
* Know that He who owns the treasures of the skies and the earth has permitted you to pray to Him, and has promised you acceptance of the prayer. He has commanded you to beg of Him in order that He may give you, and to seek His mercy in order that He may have mercy on you.

He has opened for you the door of repentance. Therefore whenever you call Him, He hears your call, and whenever you whisper to Him, He knows the whisper. You place before him your needs, unveil before Him yourself, complain to Him for your worries, beseech Him to remove your troubles, seek His help in your affairs, and ask from the treasures of His mercy what no-one else has the power to give, namely long life, health of body, and increase of livelihood. Imam Ali (a) Letter 31, Nahjul Balagha

Allah loves the believers who ask from Him, and supplicate constantly. The Holy Prophet (s) has said that on the Day of Judgement, two men with very similar deeds will enter Heaven. One of them will see that the other is granted a rank above him. He will ask Allah: "My Lord! We have the same actions. Why have you preferred him over me"? Allah will reply, "He asked from Me, and you did not".

Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (a) often encouraged his companions to ask from Allah. He once said to Maysar, his companion : O Maysar! Supplicate, and do not say the affair has been destined. Surely there are ranks with Allah which cannot be reached except through asking. If the servant (of Allah) closes his mouth and does not ask, he will not be given anything, so ask and you will get. O Maysar, the door that is knocked often is most likely to open.

Dua is a great tool given to believers by Allah. Using du`a they can achieve great things and overcome many problems. One who has been given the power of Dua can never lose hope, as in his hands lies a great weapon. It is man's own loss if he does not make use of the tremendous potential of Du`a.

Effects of Dua

1. Pleases the Almighty

Allah loves that believers should pray to Him constantly. He says in the Holy Qur'an: Allah would not care for you were it not for your supplications. (25:77).Ahadith also tell us of how Allah loves those who pray and ask from Him:
* God loves nothing better than that His servants ask from Him. Imam al-Baqir (a)
* Supplicate, for there is nothing like Dua to get you closer to Allah, and do not leave out your minor needs, for the One who is the Master of the major needs is also the Master of the minor ones. Imam as-Sadiq (a)
2. Gives Peace and Contentment

A person who prays to Allah, putting all faith and trust in Him, never feels alone or lonely. He has harnessed his own insignificant power onto a being who is the Supreme Power, and who has promised to answer His call. This gives him great peace of mind. It makes him confident that with the help of Allah, all things can be done. He knows also that whatever happens to him is the decree of the Wise, the almighty. Says the Holy Qur'an: Those who believe and whose hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah, surely by Allah's remembrance are hearts set at rest. ( 13:28)
3. Increases Knowledge and Humility

Most duas teach us about the greatness of Allah, and His qualities. They also make us aware of our lowly position and our helplessness. That is why Allah says: Call unto Me, I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell. (40:60) Those who do not ask from Allah are described as the proud ones. Believers are encouraged to pray all the time, and for all things - even those which seem minor. Allah once told Nabi Musa (a), O Musa! Ask Me for everything, even the mending of your shoelace. When a human being realizes that he is in constant need of the favors of Allah, this will prevent him from becoming proud and arrogant. It reminds him of his own neediness and poverty.
4. Changes what is destined

Du`a reverts what has been destined. Although Allah decrees all things, He has given us the ability to make changes through Dua. The Holy Prophet (s) has said: What is destined cannot be averted except through Dua. Another Hadith says: Indeed caution cannot save you from what is destined, but what can save you from it is Dua. Imam `Ali(a)
5. Averts Difficulties

Many problems and difficulties in life can be avoided by praying to Allah. He is in complete control, and can keep away all afflictions from those who ask Him for that. The following Ahadith explain the importance of Dua for avoiding difficulties: Whoever fears difficulties should supplicate, Allah will never let the difficulties come to him. Imam as-Sadiq (a) Surely Dua meets the difficulties, and the two join together until the Day of Judgement. Imam al-Kadhim (a)

Etiquette of Du`a

As we spend more and more time reciting Duas during the holy months of Rajab, Sha`baan, and Ramadhan, it is necessary to know the correct etiquette of Dua. Supplicating to the Almighty should be done in the appropriate manner - in the manner that Allah loves - in order to benefit fully from it. The following are some of the Etiquette of Dua according to Hadith.

Begin with Bismillah: A Hadith of the Holy Prophet (s) says: No dua which has Basmalah (saying of Bismillahir Rahmaneer Raheem) at the beginning of it is rejected. A dua should begin in the name of Allah, putting all trust and hope in Him alone. Describing Him as Kind and Merciful creates confidence that the dua will not be rejected.

Send Blessings on Muhammad and his family: A Hadith of the 6th Imam (a) says: Whoever has a wish he wants Allah to fulfill, let him begin with blessings on Muhammad and his family, then let him ask his wish, and end by sending blessings on Muhammad and his family. Allah is nobler than to accept the first and the last (the blessings) and reject the middle. Salawat is a dua for the Holy Prophet (s) and his family. Whoever includes that dua is assured of the acceptance of his dua for himself.

Praise and Glorify Allah: Every Dua should begin with the praise of Allah, the recognition that He alone has the Power and Might over everything. A supplicant increases in his humility as he acknowledges the greatness of the Almighty. He realizes that everything is in the control of God, and if He wishes, the dua can be accepted and answered immediately.

Acknowledgement of Sins: When supplicating to Allah, one should be aware of and confess that one is a sinner, undeserving of the favor of Allah. Humility and apprehensiveness are commendable qualities in the one who supplicates.

Pray emotionally: Allah says in Hadithe Qudsi to Nabi Isa (a): O Isa! When you ask from me, supplicate to me the supplication of the grief stricken, the overwhelmed, the one who has no helper . . . and do not supplicate to Me except in an emotional state. Your grief should be only one. Whenever you pray to Me in such a way, I shall answer you. A soft heart and tears are the best weapons of a human being in his quest to achieve nearness to Allah. When one prays emotionally, the Dua is very sincere and acceptance is assured.

Pray for others: Whoever prays for others pleases the Almighty greatly. A Hadith of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a) says: Nothing is more swiftly answered than a Dua recited for others. According to the Holy Prophet(s), the Dua of a believer for other believers is returned to him as many times as the number of believing men and women from the beginning of creation to the Day of Judgement.

Have confidence that Allah will answer your prayers : When praying, the supplicant must have trust that Allah will answer his prayers. A Hadith says, Whenever you recite Dua, assume that what you need is at the door.

Du`a is always answered

Whoever asks something from Allah, his du`a is always heard and answered. Sometimes it is not answered in the way the supplicant expects. No du`a is rejected. Allah is more noble than to tell His servants to ask from Him, and then reject their du`a. Many Ahadith tell us of how Allah always answers the supplicant, and is pleased with Him. A believer who prays and asks from Allah, is guaranteed one of three things:

* Either his du`a is answered immediately
* Or he is given a reward for it for the Hereafter
* Or a difficulty is averted from him

During the month of Ramadhan, believers try and spend as much time in du`a as possible. This is the month in which du`a carries even greater reward than usual, a month in which the mercy of Allah guarantees immediate acceptance of du`a.

Revert Muslim Conference Part 2 - some notes

A Report of The 2nd Annual International Revert Conference in Brampton, Ontario, Canada 10/11-10/12 2008



The Revert Muslim Association (RMA) has been online and growing since 2005. The organization endeavors to serve people who adopt Islam as their religion. I recently participated in the 2nd annual conference organized by RMA. In attendance at the conference in Ontario were born and reverted Muslim alike, young and old, male and female, a beautiful mix of races and ethnicities, most residing currently in the U.S., Canada or UK, but citing their birth places from all over the world.



The energy at the conference was very positive and palpable. Participants, delighted but exhausted, chose from more than 30 lectures over the two days, learned together, inspired one another, ate together, offered salat together, and made new friends.



After the recitation of Qur’an and opening remarks, the first lecture of the conference was by speaker Khalid Khaleef-Jabari about the history and compilation of Qur’an and tafseer as well as the importance of continually reading Qur’an in a language one understands. His reflective and eloquent style let attendees know they would be actively engaged and learning throughout the conference. After Br. Khalid, Maulana Rizvi also spoke about understanding the Qur’an. He advised to read Qur’an for it to guide you, not to read it to support preconceived ideas. Further, he commented on the need to understand the Arabic of Qur’an not with the modern Arabic meaning, but in the meaning of the Arabic of Hijaz at the time of the Prophet (saw). He gave the example of the word ta’am in Surah 5 that in modern Arabic means food but in Qur’anic Arabic means only non-meat food. Another topic he touched on was Shia translations of Qur’an. He is hoping to finish his translation in the coming year, insha’allah and gave the opinion that the translation by Qara’I is currently the best one available in English.



Participants then attended a session on salat fiqh – either level 101 or 201. Session 101 covered the basics of performing salat while 201 went into more detail about praying in Jamat, Jumu’ah prayers, and praying while traveling. I attended the 201 session hosted by Shaikh Saleem Bhimji. A few things I learned included details of how to join a Jamat prayer late, what distance constitutes travel requiring shortened prayers, reward of praying in congregation (equivalent to 23.5 years of prayer alone!), and that five people are needed for a Friday prayer. We then exercised our fortified knowledge by praying together and then had time to socialize and eat.



The first session people attended in the afternoon was either about the Spiritual Reality of Food or Addictions in the Muslim Community. I attended the presentation on addiction by Br. Ulrick Vieux, a psychiatrist at Harvard University. He provided great insight into the phenomenon of addiction in general and its existence and treatment in the Muslim community.



The next session was on meditation in prayers – one session for women and one for men. I conducted the women’s session and talked about importance of presence of heart and concentration in prayer, the basis of meditation in Islam, and techniques for improving focus for prayers and for general use. Participants practiced some simple meditative techniques. Several reported back to me the next day about their efforts to keep track of their mind-wandering during prayers and try the techniques.



After tea and cookies, the next speaker, Dr. Maryam Shobani, talked about women role models in Islam, particularly Fatima Zahra (as). She moved the audience to tears as she relayed her personal experience of losing her son and her return to speaking 3 years after the loss.



For the next session, participants chose between a session on Breaking the Cycle of Abuse or Thawaab of a Muslimah. I attended the sister’s only session lead by Sr. Arifa Hudda on Thawaab of a Muslimah. She began with a hadith stating that women in particular manifest the names of Allah swt tangibly. For example, one of the names of Allah swt is Creator and this is manifested through women in pregnancy, another name is Provider of Rizq, and this is manifested in women in their breast milk. She narrated traditions that Allah swt is more compassionate to females than males because they have a crucial role to play in the family and society in the rearing of children and providing tranquility in the house. The jihad of a woman is to have noble ethical treaits in her house. She then stated the enormous rewards mentioned in hadith for women while in their monthly cycles, or when performing obligatory ghusl after the monthly cycle, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, etc.



After prayers and dinner, the next session provided the choice of single-gender sexual etiquette lectures or a mixed lecture on being divorced with children. I attended the session for women about sexual etiquette. Since some content may be best for people over a certain age, if you wish to hear details of this lecture, please contact me privately. I had a chance also to review some notes from the presentation about divorce. I was able to see that some of the topics discussed were the roles of custodial and non-custodial parents and about not involving children in the conflicts between parents.



Hasnain Rajabali then lectured to everyone on challenging one’s security and comfort zone by asking questions and seeking the answers about our faith and beliers If your beliefs hold true, they become stronger under challenge, but if they do not hold true, then you need to move away from those beliefs.



Sunday provided another iman-revitalizing set of lectures, prayers and socialization.

After Qur’an, the first lecture was by Br. Joe Ramagli on Islamic Liberation Theology. This is the topic of his master’s thesis under the stewardship of Sheikh Idris Samawi Hamid at Colorado State University. He explained that a liberation theology is a religious movement to make socio-economic changes. Islam is not just a commitment to metaphysical truths but is a practical deen. Islamic theology seats Allah swt as the source of justice and walayah, or dynamic loving between Creator and creation, is the core of Islam. If a person commits an act without walayah, then it is not an Islamic action.



It was then my turn to speak again, this time on the topic of prejudice (‘asabiyyah). I began with the tradition on ‘asabiyyah in Sayyid Khomeini’s 40 hadith to developing an understanding of what prejudice is. Prejudice is a major sin, and like all major sins, if even a mustard seed of it is allowed to remain in one’s heart, it can cut one off from the faith. Further, major sins tend to work in clusters – if you let one mustard seed of one major sin stay in your heart, it invites other major sins to take over the heart as well. Participants took a quiz to self-evaluate if they have any prejudice, and then stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination were all defined carefully. A lively question and answer session followed.



For the last morning session, participants chose either Tribalism or Muslims with Disabilities. I chose to listen to Sr. Roshni Hafeez, a blind revert from Glasgow, Scotland speak about Muslims with Disabilities. She said that a disability is not the impairment that a person may have, but rather it is the barriers in society which prevent an impaired person from being able to participate and benefit fully. For example, a person who speaks only English but can find only Urdu lectures at his local masjid is impaired by not speaking Urdu, but the disability is that the society of the masjid prevents him from benefitting from the lecture unless they provide translation, etc. She talked about the unfortunate prevalence in Muslim cultures to look on impairments as a shame, tragedy or curse, and then she and a brother in Toronto talked about actions being taken to address the needs of Muslims with impairments.



For the first afternoon session on Sunday, participants chose The Psychology of an Islamic Community, Parenting, or Establish a Social Network. I was involved in the discussion about Establishing a Social Network. Participants discussed the issues of reverts in particular that make the need for reverts to reach out to and support one another especially crucial. We talked about pairing up with other reverts like the model of the Ansar and Muhajireen. All reverts can participate, as can born Muslims, and it is not necessary to have all the answers, but rather just to be a consistent companion.



The next session was either Hajj, Striving for Excellence in Our Institutions, or Hijab. I went to the Hajj session hosted by Sr. Shaheen Daya. She helped demystify the hajj experience for reverts. She discussed what happens in hajj, how to prepare for it, how to find a group to travel with, and the necessity of performing hajj and related fiqh.



This was followed by a session on Sunday before evening prayers was either Activism and Media Relations, Financial Investments, or Witnesses to Our Actions. I attended the session on Witnesses to Our Actions. This session was basically expounding on 9:105 in Qur’an that shows that our actions are witnessed by Allah swt, the Prophet (saw) and mu’minoon (in this case meaning Ahlulbayt (as), rather than believers in general). We learned that everything we do is witnessed, but even more importantly, the intention is witnessed. Two people can do the same act but receive different punishment or reward based upon their intentions. I did not attend the financial investments session but heard a little about it later on. The speaker Br. Robert Virdeen talked about a number of increasingly popular investment and banking tools to buy houses, pay for college and more while avoiding the concept of riba or paying interest.



The last session for the evening prayers included a session on Taqlid, Youth’s Role in Preparing the Society or a demonstration of Ghusl Mayyit (washing of a dead body). I went to the taqlid session hosted by Br. Hasnain Rajabali. He explained the necessity, as written in Qur’an, for the common people to follow or emulate those more learned in the matters of practice. It is logical for the people to follow the most learned. If one does not stand out as most learned, any of those that the experts point to as being highly learned are appropriate. There are many people, male and female, who reach this level of knowledge, but only a few of them publish their rulings and allow people to emulate them. Some of them are of the opinion that the people should follow just one person but can refer to other scholars on issues on which that scholar is not positive. But other scholars are leaning toward the idea that followers should be able to pick from the rulings of any of the most learned as they wish in a situation when one scholar does not stand out as the most learned. Br. Rajabali was of the opinion that at this point a person could choose to do either method of taqlid and still have his obligation fulfilled.



After prayers and dinner, the evening ended with a Question and Answer Session of all the speakers still present. Most questions were directed to Br. Hasnain Rajabali or Shaikh Saleem Bhimji. The last question of the evening is one that I particularly remember. It was about evolution. Br. Rajabali stated that the idea that humans evolved from prehominids is not supported by science or Qur’an. DNA evidence points to a single pair from which all of humanity originates. However, in the matter of evolution as a general process through which Allah swt has created, this is supported by science as a possibility and that possibility is not negated by Qur’an or other Islamic literature.



The evening ended late and people made their good-byes already talking about plans for the next conference. Video of many of the conference happenings should appear at the RMA website in a few weeks, insha’allah.

Revert Muslim Conference - Part 1 (insha'allah)

I don't know if I'll get around to writing up my notes from the conference tonight, but at least I can try to share a few photos. I had a wonderful, spiritually rewarding time as did everyone else, it seems.




I nosed my way into the picture with several of the young sisters. Sr. Roshni is patiently sitting in the background.



Sr. Maryam taking my picture right when I take hers (see the flash - we really timed it well, and not on purpose.) At this time we were exhausted and silly, about 1:30 a.m. at the center after the end of the conference waiting to close everything down and go back to the hotel one last time.



These sisters were all my roommates except Sr. Fatima on the left. Next to her is Sr. Maryam, then me, then Sr. Roshni and Sr. Zainab.



Home - the view as I leave the airport in my hometown Monday morning.

Which Candidate Do You Really Prefer?

Take Harvard's Project Implicit Test to find out!

Steve Fossett

I'm sure most have heard by now that Steve Fossett's plane has been found. I think missing persons cases are one of the greatest tragedies anyone left behind has to endure. The mystery and incompleteness of the ending is torturous. An acquaintance of mine had to suffer through her mom being missing for a few months. Eventually they found her and her car in the bottom of a pond or lake. A very sad end, but by the time it came it was also a relief, just to have some idea of what happened and have her found.

The Steve Fossett case was a big deal because he was a daredevil, a bit of a celebrity. I actually participated in the search for him, looking at hundreds of satellite images for his plane using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. It was fascinating work - see some of the sightings people made. I suspected we would not be looking for an intact plane, but rather anything that could be wreckage. I believe the search did turn up a number of previously unlogged small plane wrecks - I wonder how many of those involved other less publicized missing persons cases? It was a case of random people all over the world coming together to do something needed. That doesn't happen too often, it seems. What if people did that for just anyone, not just a famous person?

House

I guess my washer and dryer were old. My washer was leaking, but not on cue so that my brother couldn't fix it. So I broke down and ordered new from Sears. The delivery came and said, "Yep, these are ancient." I didn't think they were that old, but yes, they had been my brother's, then my parents', and then mine.

But I am the worst appliance buyer. I had a limited budget and read the measurements and it seemed everything would fit right, but I guess the exhaust hose (I had to buy a new one, old was a fire hazard) on new dryers fits differently than on old ones. So, I had to take off the doors of the little closet where my washer/dryer go to get the dryer to fit. So now I have to walk through my house seeing the messy laundry closet all the time. Same thing happened a few years ago when I had to buy a new refrigerator - I measured the place where it went, but not with the doors open. When they delivered it, it turns out the doors were bigger and could not open all the way without hitting my stove. I left it like that for years until my brother moved the water line for me and now the refrigerator actually is in the 'dining' room.

I have a leaking bathtub faucet that I need to fix, too. I am trying to trim the tree out front but now I have these big branches on the ground I'll have to figure out what to do with them. I've got weeds and Dutch Elm trees coming up everywhere. - just lots of little things that sometimes make me wish I just had an apartment again instead of a house - or else a whole new house with nothing needing fixing.