southernangel's blog: "Donna"

I am leaving for Kentucky ..be back Thursday evening...I don't even know why I am blogging this..not like anyone reads my shit anyway.

In fact everyday in little ways, you change the world for the better. You turn tears into smiles, get impossible tasks done and help everything you are a part of run more smoothly. And don't underestimate the power of the small kindness and confidence boosters you dispense daily: Years from now, someone will remember something you said or did and think "Thank goodness for him or her! They are the reason why I am where I am today!

A Modern Parable A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens and a certificate of completion for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower (a reduction in workforce) for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was "out-sourced" to India .Sadly, the End. However, sad, but oh so true! Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US .The last quarter's results: Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads. IF THIS WEREN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!

* You are strong When you take your grief and teach it to smile. You are brave When you overcome your fear and help others to do the same. You are happy When you see a flower and give it your blessing. You are loving When your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others. You are wise When you know the limits of your wisdom. You are true When you admit there are times you fool yourself. You are alive When tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake. You are growing When you know what you are but not what you will become. You are free When you are in control of yourself and do not wish to Control others. You are honorable When you find your honor is to honor others. You are generous When you can take as sweetly as you can give. You are humble When you do not know how humble you are. You are thoughtful When you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are. You are merciful When you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself. You are beautiful When you don't need a mirror to tell you. You are rich When you never need more than what you have. You are you When you are at peace with who you are not.*

* 1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life." 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work." 4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. 5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned. 6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here." 7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself. 8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust. 10. You will forget all this. *

*The person you are on the outside can never be more successful than the person you are on the inside. Whatever it is you desire for your life, develop it first within yourself. You can determine, with no limitations, the person you are inside. And as you do, that person comes to life on the outside as well. Yes, you could take the outer difficulties and internalize them. But then they would soon flow back out from you and manifest on the outside as even greater difficulties. Instead, reach deep within and connect with the highest positive purpose that is surely there. Nurture and encourage that purpose with your thoughts and actions, no matter what may be going on in the world outside. As you do, the best of who you are inside will begin to appear on the outside. Your accomplishments will have the power of purpose behind them, making them real and lasting. Cultivate your very best on the inside. And it will come to life all around you.*

*Remember these five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less. No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard. You can't make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved; the rest is up to the person to realize your worth. It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride. We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give. Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his or her place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older. *

* We may not always realize That every thing we do, Affects not only our lives But touches others, too! For a little bit of thoughtfulness That shows someone you care, Creates a ray of sunshine For both of you to share. Yes, every time you offer Someone a helping hand ... Every time you show a friend You care and understand ... Every time you have A kind and gentle word to give ... You help someone find beauty In this precious life we live. For happiness brings happiness And loving ways bring love; And Giving is the treasure That contentment is made of.

Darkness falls. Lying in my bed I hear noises. Noises of the night. Images form on walls creating shapes For which only the imagination can depict. Shadows lurk somewhere in the darkness Away from the eyes of those who worship reality, And sounds that cannot be understood become objects of fear For those of us who must have an explanation for everything. The blissful hush (which some call peace) Is not the result of the night hours work, But is merely a beginning for a new way of life Which only the people of the night can understand; While the people of reality are ignorant of anything That lies beyond the sun.

PARKLAND HOSPITAL'S HOSPITALITY PROGRAM UNBELIEVABLE!!! Parkland Memorial Hospital, in Dallas, Texas, is a fairly famous institution and for a variety of reasons: 1. John F. Kennedy died there in 1963 2. Lee Harvey Oswald died there shortly thereafter. 3. Jack Ruby,who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, died there a few years later ... by coincidence On the flip side, Parkland is also home to the second busiest maternity ward in the country with almost 16,000 new babies arriving each year. (That's almost 44 per day--every day!) A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants. That's 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas County. According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million dollars in surplus funding. Medicaid kicked in $34.5 million, Dallas County taxpayers kicked in $31.3 million, and the feds tossed in another $9.5 million. The average patient in Parkland's maternity wards is 25 years old, married, and giving birth to her second child. She is also an illegal immigrant. By law, pregnant women cannot be denied medical care based on their immigration status or ability to pay. OK, fine. But, that doesn't mean that they should receive better care than everyday, middle-class American citizens. At Parkland Hospital , they do. Parkland Memorial Hospital has nine prenatal clinics. NINE!! The Dallas Morning News article followed a Hispanic woman who was a patient at one of the clinics and pregnant with her third child -- her previous two were also born at Parkland . Her first two deliveries were free, and the Mexican native was grateful, because it would have cost $200 to have them in Mexico. This time, the hospital wants her to pay $10 per visit and $100 for the delivery, but she was unsure if she could come up with the money. Not that it matters; the hospital won't turn her away. (I wonder why they even bother asking at this point.) "How long has this been going on? What are the long-term affects?" Well, another subject of the article was born at Parkland in 1986, shortly after her mother entered the U.S. illegally. Now, she is having her own child there as well. (That's right, she's technically a U.S. citizen.) These women receive free prenatal care including medication, nutrition, birthing classes, and child care classes. They also get freebies such as car seats, bottles, diapers, formula, etc. Most of these things are available to American citizens as well but only for low-income applicants, and, even then, the red tape involved is almost insurmountable. Because these women are illegal immigrants, they do not have to provide any sort of legitimate identification -- no proof of income. An American citizen would have to provide a social security number, which would reveal their annual income. An illegal immigrant need only claim to be poor, and the hospital must take them at their word. "My husband is a pilot for the United States Navy (Yes, he fought in Iraq.), and, while the healthcare is good, we Navy wives don't get any of these perks! Car seats? Diapers? Not so much. So my question is this: Does our public medical care system treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens?" Yes it does! As I mentioned, the care I have received is perfectly adequate, but it's bare-bones, meat-and-potato medical care---not top of line. Their (the illegals) medical care is free -- simply because they are illegal immigrants? Once again, there is no way to verify their income. Parkland Hospital offers indigent care to Dallas County residents who earn less than $40,000 per year. (They also have to prove that they did not refuse health coverage at their current job. Yeah, the 'free' care is not so easy for Americans.) There are about 140 patients who received roughly $4 million dollars for un-reimbursed medical care. As it turns out, they did not qualify for free treatment, because they resided outside of Dallas County . So the hospital is going to sue them! Illegals get it all free! But U.S citizens who live outside of Dallas County get sued! How stupid is this? As if that isn't annoying enough, the illegal immigrant patients are actually complaining about hospital staff's not speaking Spanish. In this AP story, the author speaks with a woman who is upset that she had to translate comments from the hospital staff into Spanish for her husband. The doctor was trying to explain the situation to the family, and the mother was forced to translate for her husband, who spoke only Spanish. This was apparently a great injustice to her. In an attempt to create a Spanish-speaking staff, Parkland Hospital is now providing incentives in the form of extra pay for applicants who speak Spanish. Additionally, medical students at the University of Texas Southwestern , for which Parkland Hospital is the training facility, willnow have a Spanish language requirement added to their already jammed-packed curriculum. No other school in the country boasts such a ridiculous multi-semester (multicultural) requirement. In the meantime, I have to end my column here. I have to go buy a car seat. Sorry for the length, but this needs wide circulation -- particularly to our "employees" in Congress.