Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!/www.memurray.com/wordpress.com

Happy New Year!

2018 was full of surprises, some good, others not so good.

I finally became a published author, in spite of having the severe form of fibromyalgia! I won’t quit writing! It’s in my veins! Creativity is a gift! Thank you, Lord!

Yay! It’s 2019!

I am more than happy to see another year. I will use every minute it has to offer, wisely. Quitting is not my style. I pray to see my sister and talk to her about old times and recent times on the phone or in person.  I pray that her dementia will reverse. I pray for good health for my husband, friends, relatives, myself, and my pets.  May 2019 be a joyful and prosperous year for all of us. May it also be the year when a cure for any dreadful illness is discovered.

Christmas Day

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Church Window of Jesus Christ

What does Christmas mean to me? It is a time to reflect. It means that the Lord, in spite of knowing that He was going to suffer tremendously,  was born in a meager little manger in the cold,  and then later gave up his life to save us from ourselves. Thank you, Dear Jesus, for all that you have done for us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast Day

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Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 12 is our lady of Guadalupe’s feast day. I generally try to attend mass or at least visit the church to thank her for all the things that she has done for me. But I was surprised when I went to my favorite church and discovered that it was locked. Usually, the church has always been open for special occasions. I just assumed that if I went to church, the door would be open but it wasn’t. Perhaps, locking the church is a sign of the times. But I still wanted to talk to the Blessed Virgin, so I went to another church. It also was locked. Luckily, a small chapel next to it was open and I managed to spend a few minutes in there to thank the Blessed Virgin for bringing us home safely from our trip to the Rio Grande Valley and to ask her for more favors. Lately, I have pestered her a lot, but I know that somehow she will come through and answer my prayers.

December  3, 2018, A Memorable Day

First Story:

December 3, 2018-A national day of mourning.

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U.S. Flag

Our beloved 41st president, George H. W. Bush passed away on November 30, 2018. A memorial service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. at 11 a.m. ET, December 3, 2018.

Next Story:

Trouble north of Johnson City

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Patrol Cars

On a cold December 3, 2018, my husband and I were on our way to Brownsville, Texas, to visit my brother and sister. Everything was going fine until, a few miles north of Johnson City, my husband said, “I have to pull over. I see trooper lights behind me.”

Well, my hubby pulled over too fast, and we hit a rock as our SUV traveled to the right-of-way. A loud clank startled me, and so did the trooper who stood at the passenger side window, telling me to open it. The incident had traumatized me, and I suddenly became an incompetent window opener. I couldn’t open the window. For some uncanny reason, the button didn’t work. So I opened the door, probably not the right thing to do, but I made sure the deputy sheriff saw my hands.

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Deputy Sheriff Fisher

The trooper told my husband, “Do you know why I pulled you over? You were speeding. I clocked you at 83 mph.” I’m not sure if this is exactly what he said, but Leadfoot (my hubby) apologized.

The deputy sheriff was very nice because he only gave us a warning.

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Blown out tire

Since the door was open, I looked at the side of the car, trying to figure out if anything had happened to it. That’s when I noticed the front tire had blown out. The sheriff also saw it and offered to help us. He didn’t leave us stranded on the highway, waiting for help.

Deputy sheriff Fisher called Deputy sheriff Fox. Between the two of them, they tried to help us replace the tire, but they couldn’t get to the spare. The tools needed to get the spare were not in their compartment.  Evidently, last year when we had a tire replaced, somebody at that business stole our equipment, and we didn’t find out that it was missing until we had this accident.

Deputy Sheriff Fox

The officers checked their toolboxes for anything that could be used to open the compartment.

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Officers looking for tools


Deputy Sheriff Fisher/www.memurray.com/wordpress.com

Deputy Sheriff Fisher

Deputy Fisher called someone at the Peterson tire store. A young man came by with the proper tools and replaced the blown out tire with the spare. My husband tried to give him some money, but he didn’t accept it, neither did the officers.

I asked the officers if it was okay to take pictures because I wanted to put the story on my website. They didn’t object, but one said a funny comment, “As long as it’s not something bad about us.”

I told them that I wanted the world to know that they had been extremely kind to us. With their help, we made it to San Antonio. The trip took us a while since the spare didn’t allow us to drive over a speed of 40 to 45 miles.

The Immaculate Conception

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Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Brownsville, Texas

Saturday December 8, 2018,  Catholics and other Christians celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is our belief that the Virgin Mary was conceived without sin. December 8 is a holy day of obligation which means that many Catholics should attend church and hear mass to honor the Blessed Virgin, and to thank her for all the things that she has done for us.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

 

 

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Rabbit and Turkey Toasting

Today, many of us will be celebrating our good fortunes. This year I have so many things to be thankful for: my wonderful husband and friends; being alive even though I have a painful chronic illness; my pets are in good health. ( Twister didn’t lose his leg.); the Dallas Cowboys won!  I could go on and on, but I promised to make brief posts.

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U. S. Flag

Honoring President John F. Kennedy

There is another thing that I need to mention today. Tomorrow is my mother’s birthday. She is gone, but is always in my heart. Unfortunately, the day before her birthday, Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated. So, today I also celebrate him because he didn’t deserve to die like that. Unfortunately Thanksgiving has been assigned to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month, and it just happened to coincide with President Kennedy’s assassination. So, let’s be happy that we had such a great man serve as president of the United States and remember him in our prayers.

Veterans Day

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U. S. Flag

On November 11, we always honor our military veterans, but it seems to me that our armed forces should be honored ever day for the sacrifices they make to protect our country.

My brother passed away in 2016. He served  in the army. My brother-in-law passed away several years ago. He was a marine. My husband served in the army, and is still by my side.

To all military veterans, men and women,  I issue a heartfelt “Thank you”!

My Third Publication!

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Doing the Happy Dance!

On Bullying

by M. E. Murray

In my short story, “On Bullying”, a college premed student, bullied throughout his life, takes extraordinary measures to fight his harasser. “On Bullying” was accepted for publication in the January 2019 Issue of  The Scarlet Leaf Review. Again I was overtaken with emotion. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

All Souls Day

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Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church

Nov. 2 is all souls day. Today Christians throughout the world pray for the souls of their dearly departed friends and relatives.

All saints day is Nov. 1, the day after Halloween. This is the official day to  thank the saints, especially the Blessed virgin, for all the good things they have done for me. I pray to them for help everyday, and they have answered many  of my prayers.