Some old pictures

Hi All!

I tried to load these on Facebook, but it wouldn't recognize the file they were in and I couldn't figure out another way around it. I don't think I have posted these before. If I have, then they are for those who haven't seen them yet.

Love to All
Mic

Tim, Me and Les


Mom and Dad


Aunt Bonnie (Bleil) Hall and Grandma Beth (Atwell) Bleil


Aunt Bonnie and Aunt Jeanne (Bleil) Russell


Karen


Dad, Mom, Grandpa Leslie Fowler, Nana (Hey, I have NO clue what her first name was! Can anyone help?)


Rick, Grandpa, Chris, Mike, Nana, Debbie, Art Jr (Did I get it right?)


Mom


Mom and her friend Bobbi (so says the back of the picture)

My Scotland and Brugge Trips

Finally have some time to post some of my photos from my Fall trips to Scotland and Brugge. I had a wonderful time on both trips and was able to meet our "cousin" in the Aberdeen area. She and I had a lot of fun and I look forward to her visit here in February and mine back up that way in May.

Precious

The other night I saw the film Precious (based on the book Push by Sapphire). It is about a teenaged girl from Harlem, who despite her mother's physical and sexual abuse and her father's raping her, manages to discover a world that can exist for her outside of it all. She is kicked out of school for becoming pregnant again (for the second time by age 16). What the school doesn't know is that Precious' father is the one who has fathered both children, not some boyfriend. Precious does well in math, but her language skills are nearly non-existent. The principal, realizing that there may be more to Precious' situation than Precious is willing to tell, suggests to her that she attend an alternative education program that will prep her to get her GED.

It is one of the most moving films I have ever seen. It will make you laugh, cry, get angry, and realize just how blessed you are that "there but for the grace of God, go I". It will make you appreciate the ones who love you even more and make you realize that there are some who are only self-serving that you should leave by the wayside. It will also make you see the role that ignorance plays in daily lives and to realize that those who suffer from it deserve compassion. It will show you hope exists in all circumstances, no matter how dismal.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who reads this. What you take away from it is worth much more than the price of a ticket.

Here's the trailer:



Off to get the book...that is bound to be even better than the film.