Watch it all, a completely heartwarming way to start the day. I just love the wagging tail–KSH.

You can always tell a real friend: When you have made a fool of yourself, he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.

–Laurence J. Peter in the March 2009 Reader’s Digest, page 184

The landing had to be perfect in several ways, he said.

“I needed to touch down with the wings exactly level,” he said. “I needed to touch down with the nose slightly up. I needed to touch down at a ”” at a descent rate that was survivable. And I needed to touch down just above our minimum flying speed, but not below it. And I needed to make all these things happen simultaneously.”

After the plane splashed down, he turned to his first officer. “We said, ”˜Well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought,’ ” he said.

The plane was evacuated and Captain Sullenberger, “after bugging people for hours,” said he finally learned that all 155 people on board had survived.

Read it all.

Listen to Captain Sullenberger and the tower go back and forth. Totally riveting; I got goosebumps.

Read it all.

Asked about the kind of job he wanted, an applicant at our tax management company stated, “I seek full authority but limited responsibility.”

–Mike Wilkerson in the February 2009 Reader’s Digest, page 53

How weird a year was it?

Here’s how weird:

Ӣ O.J. actually got convicted of something.

”¢ Gasoline hit $4 a gallon — and those were the good times.

Ӣ On several occasions, Saturday Night Live was funny.

Ӣ There were a few days there in October when you could not completely rule out the possibility that the next Treasury Secretary would be Joe the Plumber.

Read it all.

Go here and click on the video at the top to watch (about 3 3/4 minutes). It starts in Auckland and ends in New York. I liked the fireworks in Sydney and the music in Berlin the best–see what you think.

What a lot of fun this is from yesterday’s tournament of roses parade–watch it all.

A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C. I saw many of our nation’s treasures, and I also saw a lot of our fellow citizens on the street ”” unfortunate ones, like panhandlers and homeless folks.

Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. In a natural reflex, I reached in to my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar.

But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money. I just need help finding the post office.”

Beguilingly simple,yet so terribly important, and oh so appropriate at this time of year. Read or listen to it all from NPR

Ok, so we have three dogs and we’re biased–this nevertheless makes the heart glad–watch it all.

An Anglican Chant Weather report?

Man wielding candy cane lawn ornament subdues attacker

A man using a candy cane lawn ornament fended off a knife-wielding neighbor who had been attacking holiday guests at a Sacramento home.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong says the man used the two-foot-tall plastic ornament to subdue the attacker until officers arrived.

Read it all.

I enjoyed this–lol.

If I ever forget that I live in the South, the last line of an obituary in our local paper, the (Mobile, Alabama) Press-Register, would have set me straight: “In lieu of flowers, please send fried chicken.”

–Jacqul Philan of Theodore, Alabama in the November 2008 Reader’s Digest, page 206

Thank goodness for the Onion which helps us not take all this too serously. Read it all.

When my back seized up, I called my doctor’s office, explaining that I was a minister and was in too much pain to deliver my sermon. Could they help?

The woman on the other end asked me to hold. The next thing I heard was a loud voice announcing, “I have a minister on the phone who can’t stand to preach!”

–Gilbert Vieira in the November 2008 Reader’s Digest, page 43

I happened to catch this in the car this week and it really brightened my day–see what you think.

Check it out.

Watch it all.

From the sea-swamped neighborhoods of Galveston to the pine-covered hills north of Houston, people across Southeast Texas awoke Saturday to a stunning tableau of devastation caused by the passage of Hurricane Ike, the first hurricane in a quarter-century to score a direct hit on the state’s most populous region.

The official insistence that it could have been much worse ”” Ike’s late eastward drift lessened a storm surge that had been predicted as apocalyptic ”” was little consolation to residents whose homes were wrecked by water, falling trees and winds that gusted in places well in excess of 100 mph. Or even to those facing an indefinite stay in a hot, dark home that emerged unscathed.

The full extent of the property damage as well as the human toll was still coming into focus late Saturday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff could not yet put a dollar amount on damage, except to say that it would likely rival some of the “legendary” damage figures of storms past.

“By any measure, it was a huge storm,” Chertoff said.

Read it all.

Like many of you we’re trying to get word on what’s happening in Southeast Texas. My folks and eldest son along with Stacy’s family are in Galveston and Harris Counties. We still have our home in League City and many, many friends in the area from our old parish. Our prayers are with you all there.

Here in Louisiana we’re seeing damage worse than Gustav and in some cases comparable with Rita. There’s flooding on the North Shore, levees breaching down south; the poor River Parishes were just sorting themselves out after Gustav and then took another huge pounding. We have friends in Baton Rouge still without power. There will be good and timely updates on our diocesan website: www.edola.org. Bishop Jenkins is working overtime to keep us updated and together.

New Orleans made it through, just some heavy wind gusts and rain. We had the day off from school and work on Friday. I’ve talked to quite a few people, however, who are thinking seriously about leaving the area; they’re worn out. Folks here seem to be taking stock of their lives and situations. “Reflective” is not a mood we often encounter here. I’m still shaken by a former staff member’s suicide and was too depressed on Friday to start working on the house and putting my office back together. This morning I went to bring Communion to a parishioner in hospital; this helped me get my bearings. She told me on the way out, “It was so nice to spend time with you and my Jesus.” Reminded me why I felt called to parish ministry in the first place. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole crew at Sunday Services.

For friends in Texas and Western Louisiana, do know of our prayers and let us know what you need when you need it. We’ll be there for you. And remember no matter how bad it looks, God is faithful and holds you in His hands. Blessings,

–The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer, Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans,

Hurricane Ike’s storm surge flooded Galveston’s historic district early Saturday, sparked fires and knocked out power.

Heavy winds continued to pummel the coastal region more than four hours after the storm made landfall as a Category 2 storm.

It has since weakened to a Category 1, the National Hurricane Center said in its 9 a.m. ET update.

Galveston County’s Emergency Management Coordinator John Simsen urged residents to be patient at a 7 a.m. briefing.

“We have a lot of work to do in terms of damage assessment,” he said. “We don’t understand yet what we’re dealing with …

Read it all.

For those interested.

Dear All,

Thanks so much for your love and prayers during the run-up to Gustav. Much of the impact area is still without power. We quipped — but not joked! — after Katrina that FEMA should put the Southern Baptists in charge. Well apparently they heard us. The Southern Baptists have taken over our parking lot at Annunciation and are cooking 4,000 meals a day. These are being distributed through the Salvation Army. You can see pics of the massive operation up on our website: www.annunciationbroadmoor.org

Just checked the weather blogs (www.wunderground.com) and Ike looks to be heading into the Gulf. We could be heading home next week just in time for another evacuation. Please keep the prayers coming! We don’t like Ike! Know of our prayers daily,

jerry+ op

P.S. Thanks again for all who so generously hit the Pay Pal button so we could afford gas and evacuation supplies. Couldn’t have made it without you . . . literally!!!

The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer
Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans, LA 70125

Check out our websites: Church www.annunciationbroadmoor.orgMission www.annunciationmission.org

Yuck.

Hanna’s path early Tuesday appeared to be a “meandering” loop across the Turks and Caicos Islands, but atmospheric changes over the western Atlantic are expected to steer the storm northwestward over the next two or three days, according to forecasters.

As of 2 a.m., Hanna was a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with 80 mph top winds.

While the hurricane center forecasters said “only modest changes in intensity are anticipated” over the next day or two, Hanna is expected to gain strength before landfall.

Hanna’s line of fire could include the U.S. Atlantic coast from Miami to Massachusetts, according to the hurricane center’s long-range forecast map. Charleston, South Carolina appears in the middle of this “cone of uncertainty,” with Hanna potentially making landfall there Friday.

Read it all.