Mandy

Amanda Jo "Mandy" St. Clair

Born: 03/23/1990 Died: 12/16/2009 Visitation: 4:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Friday, 12-18-2009 At Musters in Calhoun Funeral Service: 1:00 P.M. Saturday, 12-19-2009 Muster Funeral Homes, Calhoun Chapel Interment: Calhoun Cemetery McLean County, Kentucky

Amanda Jo “Mandy” St.Clair 19, of 621 Kentucky 815; Calhoun, Kentucky died Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at Norton Hospital in Louisville. Amanda Jo was born March 23, 1990 in Owensboro. She was a Senior at McLean County High School. “Mandy” enjoyed singing kerokee, playing Wii, working word-find puzzles, swimming and bowling. She was preceded in death by 4 grandparents: Leeland & Manie Jenkins, Barbara Hillard, and Floyd Williamson. Survivors include her mother and step-father, Nancy & Jake Williamson of Calhoun. Her father and step-mother, Danny & Michelle St.Clair of Owensboro. 4 sisters: Tosha Davis and Brian of Newburgh, IN, Tara St.Clair & Ross Woodburn of Sacramento, Olivia Williamson of Calhoun, and Allie Hays of Owensboro, a brother, Malachi Williamson of Calhoun, a niece, Makenzie Davis of Newburgh, grandparents: Tommy St.Clair of Island, Irene Williamson of Owensboro, and Gene & Darlene Brown of Evansville, a great grandmother, Bernadean Dawson of Owensboro, and several aunts, uncles, family, and friends. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Saturday at Muster Funeral Homes, Calhoun Chapel. Friends may visit with “Mandy’s” Family from 4:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Friday and from 9:00 A.M. until time of service Saturday at Musters in Calhoun.

Makes My Head Hurt

Oh, for the love of God...the Vicar is "disappointed" that the billboard was defaced. And he isn't even in the U.S.!  Dude, welcome to the real world, ya moron...

Billboard Depicting Joseph, Mary In Bed Sparks Row

by The Associated Press

New Zealand Herald, Sarah Ivey/AP

A man walks past a billboard outside St. Matthew's Church in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday. The church vicar said the billboard, featuring Joseph and Mary in bed, was intended to challenge stereotypes about the conception of Jesus.

December 17, 2009

A billboard at a New Zealand church depicting a downcast Joseph lying beside Mary in bed and the heading "God is a hard act to follow" provoked more than the intended reconsideration of the meaning of Christmas.
The sign was defaced by a paint-wielding vandal just hours after it was erected Thursday outside the St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland, and triggered passionate and sometimes angry debate on talk radio and the Internet.
Church vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story.
"This billboard is trying to lampoon and ridicule the very literal idea that God is a male and somehow this male God impregnated Mary," said Cardy, who described his church as having very liberal ideas about Christianity.
"We would question the Virgin Birth in any literal sense. We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense," he said.
On the billboard — painted to mimic the fresco style commonly used in church murals — Mary and Joseph are in bed side-by-side. Joseph is looking down. Mary, looking heavenward, appears sad. The caption reads: "Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow."
Auckland Catholic Diocese spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said the billboard implied the Virgin Mary and Joseph had just had sex and was inappropriate, disrespectful and offensive to Christians.
"We would see a billboard like that being used by an anti-Christian group to actually poke fun at the divinity of Christ," Freer told National Radio.
Christ's conception was a profound theological question and the billboard would not "give rise to any intelligent discussion on the birth of Jesus," she said.
Many messages on the church Web site attacked the image, while others defended it.
"This billboard and your 'sermon' is a sacrilege," one visitor, identified as Karen, posted.
Another, identified as Andrew M, wrote: "I for one think this is an excellent billboard. Challenging and thought-provoking. Just what it was intended to be."
Cardy said he understood that some people were upset by the image but said he was disappointed the billboard had been defaced. He said he did not intend to take it down.

Rest in Peace, Mandy

The World Stops Turning

I read the other day that CBS was canceling the soap opera, "As the World Turns" next September after a run of 54 years. I hadn't given daytime drama (beyond my office) a thought in years, nor do I know who stars in them these days. But I used to know!  I grew up with the soaps, thanks to my mother and my grandmother. I continued watching ATWT even after I married and went to work full-time. Of course, back then the plots were discussed at the office and everybody watched the shows. Ironically, there is now an entire channel devoted to the soaps, but I guess fewer people than ever watch them. At least no one ever mentions it.

Everybody I know always talked about "Days of Our Lives," but my mother was a CBS fan.  She watched "The Young and the Restless" followed by "The Bold and the Beautiful" and then "As the World Turns."  After ATWT was over she would change the channel to ABC and watch "General Hospital."  I remember Julianne Moore, Meg Ryan, and Maresi Tomei all playing on ATWT.  But, my favorite storyline had to be Holden and Lily.  I thought Jon Hensley (Holden) was the hottest thing ever, and I taped the show each day and watched it after I got home after work. Of course, no one will ever forget the Luke and Laura story on GH.  And I know that Marlena did everything possible on "Days," including suffering satanic possession, even though I did not watch that one. Occasionally, I would get sick of the plot and stop following, but I knew exactly how to keep up with what was going on, without watching every day.  Around 1988 I hit upon a fantastic Christmas gift idea for my grandmother: a subscription to the "Soap Opera Digest."  She loved it!  Every year I renewed her subscription, and I would read the latest copy when I visited her apartment. After about 15 minutes I was good to go, totally caught up for another couple of weeks. My Grandmother died in 1997, and that's probably when my interest in soap operas died, too.

I never thought about it before, but I never see anyone watching one of the soaps in the kitchen during lunch these days.  I guess it's been years since I did.  Honestly, it's been years since I even thought about it. I suppose that is why the shows are slowing dying.  It makes me a little sad, not because I care about the soaps, but because of the memories associated with them. Memories of my mother and grandmother. They sure did like their "stories." 

Nostalgia

I am beside myself.  I found a site called www.backtobasicstoys.com, and they have many of the toys and games I remember from my childhood.  Husker Du, which was my favorite game, Lite Brite, Colorforms, a bendable Gumby, Etch-a-Sketch, Magic 8-Ball, Evel Knieval Stunt Set, Tickle Bee Magnet game, Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Fisher-Price toys...

Wow.       

Check it out. You'll be glad you did.