Does the 12th Iman = the antlchrist?

Just who is this 12th Iman that is expected by some Muslims? Is he the Antichrist? There are a lot of parallels. Think about it - I am!

Interesting foods

Nancy and I enjoy trying different foods, so when we see these, for us, exotic things in a grocery store there is a temptation to buy them (usually resisted, though). When in the south we keep seeing various Hispanic foods, some looking interesting, some not so much. Having no idea what most are or how to prepare them, though, we seldom pick any of them up. Recently we were looking at some roots and decided to make the plunge. We picked up a Jicama, a Yucca, and a Malinga root. It turns out that the Jicama is normally eaten raw and we found it to be quite tasty. We were told that it can also be cooked and stays rather crisp, much like the chestnut in Chinese cooking. We were told the other two were boiled like a potato, so that is what Nancy did. We found both to be very bland and almost tasteless. The Malinga had a bit more taste than the Yucca, but our curiosity being satisfied I think we will stick to potatoes. The texture of both is rather interesting. The Malinga has a texture much like well cooked beans rather than the somewhat grainy potato texture. I would have to say the Yucca is best described as very soft with no texture at all - almost like boiled okra, although not that bad! When the cost (over $1.00/lb) of these is factored in we will henceforth stick with good old American potatoes and rice - at least until we see something else that looks interesting. The only thing that we might possibly buy again would be Jicama.

Loss of an old friend

Today was a sad, yet exciting day as we learned of the passing of an old friend, Stella Whitehouse, on Tuesday, Feb 1. Stella was 91, and has been looking forward to the day she can meet her Lord and Savior in person. Now she has. Last summer we were informed that Stella had less than 24 hours to live, so we rushed over to the hospital to say our goodbyes. What did we find? Not what one would expect of a "dying" person to be sure! She was sitting up in bed, as excited as we have ever seen her at the prospect of finally meeting Jesus. With this attitude it is hard to mourn her passing, even though we may miss her. We had an enjoyable hour or maybe two reminiscing about various memories.  Stella had been dealing with a form of Leukemia for perhaps 20 years, and was no longer producing red blood cells. Supposedly, the only thing keeping her alive was blood transfusions and she had told the doctors that she wanted no more of those. Of course, the 24 hours went by with her still alive, then she improved to the point that she was released from the hospital and went home. The old New Englanders just do not die easily!

Who was Stella? For many years she had been the head secretary of the Plant Science Department. I was not in that department, but when I joined the University of New Hampshire faculty I was informed that if I wanted anything from that department I would have to go through Stella! Not really true, but that was her reputation. If she had been a man she may have been considered a curmudgeon, but that is not really a fair description. A curmudgeon is usually thought of as an ill-tempered (and frequently old) person full of stubborn ideas or opinions. Stella was not ill tempered, but she did not easily suffer foolishness. Her stubborn side was not misplaced because it was based on correctness - some based on years as a secretary and some from being a long time New Englander. She was never reluctant to correct someone who was in the wrong, be it with manners or grammer. I was once chastised for not removing my hat upon entering a building, and I am sure I was no the only one ever receiving this chastisement. Misquote a bible verse and you would usually be corrected and be given the reference if you needed it. Mispronounce a word and it would be corrected. Misuse the English grammar and you would be corrected. It could sometimes be irritating, but mainly because you knew you were wrong and just didn't like being corrected. One of our mutual friends had a rather serious stroke, almost dying. He has had a long road back, but his brain generally works fine - he just cannot easily get his thoughts into words. Interestingly, in her presence he only needed to speak a few words and she could usually finish his sentence.

Goodbye Stella. Many will miss you, but mourn your departure we cannot do. We can celebrate your homecoming with you, though. Enjoy yourself and bask in the glow of the Lord's presence. We will meet again by and by, and you can continue to correct our grammar for eternity!

Transition time

Right now we are sitting at Lazy Days RV (near Tampa) while a couple problems left over from December get taken care of + a couple of new ones that cropped up. We left the great campground east of Fort Myers yesterday and are headed for the NC/SC border where, for the next two months, we will be working at a Christian camp a few miles east of Interstate 95. We hate to leave southern Florida, and hope it will not be too cold where we are going. At least the big storm crossing the country is apparently not coming that far south. As has been our practice we spent January volunteering at ECHO in North Fort Myers. I spent the month trying to get their on-line bookstore straightened out. Probably a third of the books in inventory were not on line. I was unable to complete the task, but should be able to continue the work in my free time. I don't know what is facing us at the NC camp, but whatever the task it will be physical, not mental.