Saturday, February 25, 2012

Edgar and Audie

I have been fascinated with two very different individuals. I think I was a teenager when I first heard about Edgar Cayce. He was a man who claimed to "know" things. Other people believed he knew things as well. He was able to put himself to sleep while lying on a couch and then he would answer any number of questions about many topics. He seemed to know things from the past, the present and the future. He was a "psychic." Since the time of his death in 1945 his "prophecies" and "readings" have been collected along with books and articles written about him into a museum of sorts. From what I have read now he is even more well known than he was in his lifetime.

When I was a teen and reading about Cayce, I didn't really believe he had powers or abilities. I guess now as an adult, I've changed my thinking about him and others like him. I think that if they have abilities, they come from Satan. We know that God does not use people to prophesy since the Bible was written. We also know that back then there were people who "knew" things outside of God's influence and were called "witches." There was a woman in the New Testament who was used to make money for some men because she could "prophesy." After she trusted Christ as Savior, her abilities went away. God changed her and she could no longer be used by Satan.

While reading about Edgar is very interesting, I wouldn't think it would be wise to do an all-out study of him and his "readings." I believe the more we are fascinated by ungodly things, the more power they can have over us.

Another man who fascinated me in my life was Audie Murphy. I first became aware of him as an actor in black-and-white westerns and war movies. I found out he had been a World War II hero, and as a matter of fact he was the most decorated soldier of World War II, receiving 33 awards including the highest honors possible. He personally saved or directed the soldiers under his command to save many, many people during battle. He was a fearless fighter and an extremely accurate marksman.

Audie was put on the cover of Life Magazine as the most decorated soldier of the War where his picture was seen by James Cagney who invited him to Hollywood. He became an actor and acted in 44 movies, some with small parts and others as the lead. He had written his biography, To Hell and Back, and it was turned into a major motion picture with him as the reluctant star (he wanted Tony Curtis to play his part). It was Universal's top grossing movie until Jaws. I thought he was wonderful and made wonderful and inspiring movies.

Audie even wrote some country western songs, some of which became famous. He was an amazing man with many talents.

Because Audie Murphy was a small man when he tried to enlist in the service (5'5 1/2" and 110 pounds), he had a hard time getting into the service. Several of the armed services turned him down, but he was finally accepted into the Army. What an impact he had on many people's lives.

I think he is one of my personal heroes.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Frankenstein Revisited

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't a second head. Maybe it's where the Frankenstein screw fell out of my neck and the doctor had to replace it with stitches. I still have the stitches. I'm getting them out tomorrow. They have become a little bit irritating. The cut is almost healed. I'm just hoping my original head doesn't come off when the stitches are removed.

There was a man who wasn't happy with himself and so he decided to have his arms and legs removed so he could be more streamlined and perfect. However, once he got used to having no arms and legs, he realized he still wasn't happy. He went back for more surgery and had the doctor remove everything but his head. He really liked living this way. He just rolled everywhere he wanted to go. Even if he rolled into the gutter, he could just roll right back out and get to a better place.

One day he decided he was going to go a step further in his search for the ultimate existence. He went back to the doctor and asked him to remove everything but one eye. He thought he would have the very best view of the world if he only had an eye. He lived as an eye for awhile. It seemed to be a pleasant way to live. He had few distractions and had clear vision.

One day while he was seeing the world, a man with big feet was walking near him. While the man was seeking his own clear vision of the world, a bird in the sky distracted him and before he knew it he had stepped on the man who was only an eye.

The moral of this story is...the man should have quit while he was a head.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

When You Lose a Second Head

For a number of months I have had a bump on my neck--some kind of cyst, I guess. It wasn't beautiful, but it wasn't terribly ugly either. A couple of weeks ago it became larger, and my husband (gracious man that he is) said it looked like a second head. It was very ugly and very painful. I decided it was time to go to the doctor and have it removed.

When the doctor saw my second head, she said I needed to be on antibiotics for a week before she worked on removing it. So I took antibiotics and it diminished in size and pain. Because it was still ugly, I kept it covered with a large band aid which had the added benefit of irritating my skin. So now I was sporting a second head and a skin irritation that made me look like I had been exposed to something like agent pink.

I went to the doctor again this past Thursday. After many little shots of anesthesia and after she worked on the head for about 50 minutes, it was all removed. Four stitches were added to seal the deal, and I was told to put cream on the site along with a bandage and to use paper tape to help the skin irritation.

Now three days later the whole thing is looking much better. The stitches aren't pretty, but they have reaped some sympathy for me here at home, and I think they'll do the same thing at work. The paper tape has not worked very well--it tends to migrate to other parts of my neck or onto the neck of my shirt. I think I will only wear a band aid when I'm out and about for just a couple more days.

I hope with the removal of my second head that I didn't lose any important brain cells. It didn't seem to know much anyway, so I think I'm good.

The moral of this story seems to be when you have a growth, have it taken care of before it morphs into something very painful and unpleasant. I probably won't learn that moral. I'm a great one to procrastinate. That's one of the rules I live by.