You know that old saying about how truth is stranger than fiction? Well,have I got a story to share with you.

Okay, for anyone who has called recently, you know I've had a houseguest for the past few weeks. And for those who haven't called, I've hada house guest for the past few weeks (smile).

It's no secret that aside from the phone line and the work with the poorand homeless that I do, I also do volunteer work with prisoners. I'vebeen going in and out of the prisons, both here in Michigan and aroundthe country, for so long that I can't remember when I wasn't.

There's a man that I've known, I'll call him Robert to respect hisprivacy on the net, who ws released in mid-January after doing 23 years.During those 23 years that he was locked up, his mother and sister died.He lost touch with his other sister and various other family members. He had no wife or girlfriend to come home to. Not wanting to be a burden tothe other convincts (now released) that he'd jailed with, and with nosupport system waiting for him out here, he went to a homeless shelterin Detroit upon his release.

Again, not wanting to be a burden to anyone, he kept a low profile whilehe tried to get his life back together. Unfortunately, one day heslipped and fell and ended up in the emergency ward of a downtownDetroit hospital. He broke his fall with his hands and while he didn'tbreak his wrist, he did something far worse, messing up the tendons inhis wrist. He ended up on the operating table having a myriad ofstitches and metal rods inserted in his arm.

Someone at the hospital recognized him and called my Uncle David, whofaithful readers will recall came home seven years ago after doing 20years in the joint. When Robert was released from the hospital, UncleDavid brought him to my house to convalesce.

Thanks to the internet Uncle David was able to help Robert locate his sister, who in turn has plugged him in to aunts and uncles and cousinsaround the country. Robert went from no family one day to back in thebosom of family love the very next day. He's been on the phone almostnon-stop catching up with everyone.

His sister was shocked to hear from him when he first called her. And itwasn't just because they'd been estranged for so long.

See, thanks to the internet, she was able to find out what day hedischarged from prison. She came all the way to Michigan from down southto surprise him and take him back home with her.

What happened?

When she presented hersef at the desk of the prison, some foul-assedguards told her that her brother had died two monthes ago and was buried on Cherry Hill, the cemetery for indigent prisoners at Jackson, Michigan.

Perhaps the guards made a human error?

Nope. Robert was a very well known, let's even say notorious prisonerand every guard at that prison knew he was alive and well. And if theydidn't know Robert, all they had to do was type him into the prisoncomputer and they'd have seen he was alive and to be released.

They were just foul.

Mercifully, it's all ending well. God is good. Robert is reconnectedwith his family and despite the pain from his wrist, he is smilingear-to-ear and making plans to visit with them all.

hugs, Tawny

My Aunt Sylvia came up from Michigan City, Indiana about a month ago to help care for her sister, my aunt, Gloria, after her back surgery. Aunt Sylvia was up here for two monthes right around Thanksgiving to help care for her other sister, my aunt, Anniebelle, after she had back surgery. I'm not quite sure what's up with that, two sisters needing the same operation, they're not twins, they're a good twenty years apart in age, even having them in the same hospital with the same surgeon, but truth is stranger than fiction or so they say.

I haven't seen Aunt Sylvia this trip because, well, she ticked me off the last time we spoke.

It was back when the wind chills around here were running -24 and it was so cold you hurt when you had to go outside, even when you were all bundled up. She called and asked me to go to the store for her and Aunt Gloria. What did they need? Nuts. You read that right. They wanted me to go out in -24 degree weather to get them a can of mixed nuts.

Even counting to twenty before I answerred her, I wasn't able to keep the frost out of my voice, nor the attitude.

Now see if it had been an emergency and they needed a prescription filled, something like that, I may have grumbled to myself but I would have put on twelve layers of clothes and headed out. But a can of nuts? I don't think so.

I don't mind doing for folks, I like to help people out, but I hate when they're inconsiderate and that was oh so inconsiderate.

Kind of got me to wonderring: why? Why would they do me like that?

Oh well, Such is life.


Tawny

For all of you sissies (and you know who you are!) and all of you who are sissy lovers, here's a blog just for you. http://sweatshopsissy.wordpress.com I found it in last week's issue of the Metro Times (www.metrotimes.com).


Tawny
248-615-1300

Blah blah blah Valentine's Day. If you really want to do something wonderful for the love of all mankind, then read on. It's cut and pasted from www.HollyNear.com, only the best singer in the whole wide world!

Oppose the War In Iraq!
The anti-war movement has stepped up its activities keeping pressure on the new congress to reject "the surge" and to bring the troops home now. The war against the people of Iraq is morally unconscionable, economically irrational, environmentally disastrous and constitutionally illegal. The war is a spiritual drain on our nation, a global embarrassment and a threat to our domestic security.

Regardless of our personal focus (GLBT rights, environment, anti death penalty, children, violence against women) there is no issue that can not legitimately integrate the need to immediately end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. This war interrupts and offends all work for peace and justice.

I encourage you, and I hope you will encourage others, to be vocal and visible in our opposition to the war. Dont keep your opinion a secret. Although polls vary, often 70% of the population in the US is opposed to the war. So why do we feel like a minority? Because we can’t see each other.

We dont need to talk conservatives into changing their minds about the war. We need to encourage those opposed to the war to be visible.

Sure, it would be great if everyone would go to the demonstrations. But start with simply asking your friends, neighbors, family and co-workers if they would be willing to be visible. Bumper stickers, posters in windows, buttons. And if people are not willing to do that, let's find out why. Why is it so frightening to people to be part of the majority opinion?

Then we need to make sure that our representatives know that if they continue to vote for this war, we will not continue to vote for them.

As far as I'm concerned, all war is obscene. But this one doesn't have any of the usual excuses. It is not helping in the building of democracy. It is not preserving the well-being of the people. The infrastructure has been destroyed, not built.

Creative bumper stickers and window posters are available from Syracuse Cultural Workers.
Order some and hand them out to friends.

Check out this web site
http://www.costofwar.com
for the amount of money being spent on the war.
Show this web site to your friends and family

Check out Ben, the ice cream guy. He has an easy to understand analysis
http://www.truemajority.org/oreos/

Support any or all of the peace groups with which you resonate.

Gold Star Families for Peace
or
United For Peace and Justice
or
the local peace efforts in your own town
or
Code Pink
or
American Friends Service Committee
or
Viet Nam Vets Against War
or
Voters For Peace
or
your choice, but please don't be silent!


Anybody can send flowers. This is the stuff that counts.

hugs, Tawny

Thought you'd get a kick out of this sign that a friend made for me. Sure does make the business look like a million bucks, doesn't it(smile)?

hugs, Tawny

For all of you wonderful folks living in upstate New York, wow! The amount of snow that's been dumped in that area is mind boggling. You can say what you want about the frigid temps in the midwest, but I'll take cold any day over that much snow.

Here in Farmington Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit, we've had maybe two or three inches of snow all season. Okay, maybe five or six inches, but whatever, it hasn't been much. Not enough for the kids to use the sledding hills here in town.

Another few weeks and it'll be spring.

Tawny

Okay dokey, here's the tip for you folks who want to buy something really sweet and romantic for your loved one for Valentine's Day or any day: Andrea Bocelli's new cd, Amore. Yes, it's operatic, and yes, it's in Italian. And it's absolutely beautiful romantic music. I picked up a copy for myself the other day when I was at Costco and I love it. I have several other of his cd's and they're all good. You can't go wrong with Andrea Boceli.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Today isn't any warmer than yesterday. The actual temperature is something like 3 above with wind chills of about minus 20. Me, I'm still hunkering down in the house. I'd like to get up and go someplace, I haven't been out of the house since Friday, but just heading down to the end of the driveway to fetch the mail about froze me to death and I had on my coat, scarf, boots and gloves.

On the plus side, all of the laundry is caught up, the house is clean from head to toe, and I've got a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies cooling on the table. It could be worse.

Do you like frozen pizza? For the most part I'm not too crazy about it. Most of them taste like cardboard. But I picked up a 3-pack of Brick Oven Pizza, Roasted Vegetable with red, yellow and poblano peppers, made by Rick Bayless, when I was at Costco last week and they are surprisingly good.

Dinner tonight is going to be ox tails and beans and rice. Don't you wrinkle up your nose! It's good stuff. I have the ox tails and the pinto beans simmering away in the crockpot as we speak. I'm going to make a pot of basmati rice (my favorite when it comes to rice) and a pan of cornbread to go with it.

Okay, well that's it for today. Hope you're staying warm. I'm trying to.

hugs, Tawny

What a perfectly good excuse you have--if you need an excuse, that is--to veg out and watch the Super Bowl and all of it's hours and hours of pre-hoopla today, it's freezing cold! At least it is here in the midwest. And it's way too cold to do anything but hunker down in the house.

That's what I'm doing. Hunkering down. I'm curled up in the family room on the recliner with the electric blanket, the cat and the channel changer.

The only thing missing is you!


hugs, Tawny