http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:40:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Several weeks ago I read about a suicide on the flyover at Highway 290 and IH 35 not far from where I live in Austin, Texas. This suicide has been on my mind ever since and my heart has ached for both the victim and her family. For "her" because ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/06/09/her-name-was-jill/ Today I was going to vent my frustration - triggered by a telephone call. The call sent my thoughts decades in reverse. Childhood memories triggered. Yes, all the way back elementary school. Certainly I’m not alone in remembering the days when someone in the class, not you or me, but ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/27/i-am-so-glad-life-is-not-fair/ Click on Thumbnail for FULL VIEW http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/22/greece-scrapbook-pages-13-15/ http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/22/digital-scrapbook-page-12/ greece-acropolis-page-001.jpg Today's sightseeing was the Stoa of Attalos, Temple of Hyphaestion and Ayii Apostoloi, the only one of nine churches to survive (1,000 years) within the walls of Ancient Agora. This area was once the commercial center of ancient Athens. Dry and dusty, it’s still a beautiful area where the view ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/16/band-aids-on-my-toes/ The Parthenon I woke up four times during the night even after taking a sleeping aid. As soon as the sun was up, I was out of bed. I journalled about the previous day, read a devotional, and began reading the book, “Sailing Between the Stars” by Steven James. Kellyn was ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/16/sailing-between-the-stairs/ I am vacationing in Greece, primarily in Athens. This is the location my youngest daughter selected because she is interested in architecture and archaeology. Thankfully, we had frequent flyer miles to burn. We’re renting an apartment for two weeks. It’s typical European, at least for the parts of Europe I’ve ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/05/16/trip-to-greece-day-4/ Two impoverished boys born a world apart: Fred, a native Mississippian was an American soldier in Germany at the same time Nikolai was imprisoned as a Russian soldier. Unwittingly their lives would be woven together for a lifetime and how much so would be revealed more than sixty years later. ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/04/17/a-cord-of-three-strands/ I called a former classmate’s mother to try to reconnect. I haven’t seen him in nearly twenty years. Her evasiveness made me wonder, Could it just be a mind gone bad? I told her who I was, my daddy’s name –one that establishes our reputation. I went on to say ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/04/08/the-masks-we-wear/ On my way to teach a class this morning I stopped by a local donut shop for a sausage, cheese and jalapeno kolache. The man at the counter placing his order in front of me requested donuts for his wife, a variety of donut holes for his son, then for ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2009/04/07/donuts-and-diet-coke/