This is me:
I am over 60
I am female
I am white
I am Christian
I am a Democrat
I am against assault rifles
I am against clips that carry over 10 shots
I don't always agree with unions
I believe in helping care for those who cannot care for themselves
I believe everyone has the right to health care (not just the healthy and wealthy)
I believe in a woman's right to choose (that does not mean that I am pro-abortion - it means it is none of my business what another woman decides)
I am for the after-morning pill for anyone who thinks she needs it
I am for men helping financially raise children they spawn (but I am against women who let a man think she is using birth control when she is not)
Rape is rape
I don't like people who scream from the mountaintops they are Christian but don't want to help their neighbor (or someone else's neighbor for that matter)
I believe in anyone being able to marry who they want to as long as the person is old enough and able to make decisions (not mentally challenged)

Was America established on Christian Principles?

As a Christian, I have wondered whether or not we were established as a Christian nation as that is what I have always been told.

I found on this webpage the following and cannot attest to its accuracy:

George Washington attended Church of England or Episcopal Church services in Virginia but considered himself a Christian Deist. Deism is a philosophy with belief in a supreme creator of the universe but rejects prophecy, miracles or revelation.

John Adams was a Congregationalist who became a Unitarian, believing in resurrection but rejecting the Trinity and Jesus as divine.

Thomas Jefferson was also an attendee of the Church of England but was a man of the Enlightenment. He read the Bible but did not believe Jesus was the Savior.

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Here is another website, which, again I cannot attest to accuracy.

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These are the only references I could find in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights to God or religion. I did not find any reference to Christianity:

The Declaration of Independence:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Constitution (1787): Article VI:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Bill of Rights (1789): Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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I have concluded, perhaps incorrectly, that our forefathers were believers in God but did not establish our country on Christianity or any particular religion. "Separation of church and state" is attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others.

You have a classroom of 20 children in a public school; 16 are Christians, 3 are Jewish, 1 is a Muslim. This public school is paid for by taxes. Should a prayer be read by the teacher, principal, another student? I believe the Supreme Court made the correct ruling: no prayer.

I have come up with a really good idea. Perhaps, the parents can lead a prayer in their home before the child goes to school. Many of these same people who say we should have prayer in school say we should not have sex education in school as it should be taught at home. Perhaps, religion should as well??

Is it okay for a child to make a silent prayer? Of course, it is. I sometimes find myself praying in line at McDonald's, in the grocery store, driving down the road.

My Mother

I guess I was one of those typical teenage girls. I didn't like my mother. Well, maybe that is not the correct way to say it. We just did not see eye to eye. I look back and wonder why. My mother did everything for me. As I was growing up, we were not wealthy. We probably were not even middle class, but I certainly did not know it. If I needed something, I always got it. If I wanted something, I almost always got it.
Then there was the love. There was lots of it. I think my parents told me every single day that they loved me. If they didn't, I think they did. If it was not in words, it was in something else they did or said.
When I look back, my parents were not particularly strict except in some things. They had some strange ideas: nice girls did not wear bangs. I have no idea where that idea came from, but my parents did not want me to have my hair in my face. (Now that I am an adult, I wear bangs - probably because I could not back then.) Another one of my mother's odd rules: nice girls did not wear colored underwear. I had nothing but white cotton underpants - the brief kind.
My mother's specialty, however, was making memories. We had Christmases that I think of almost every day. It was not the presents; it was the presentation. One year I got a package of gum for Christmas. I looked at it and said, "Thank you." Then I knew: another presentation. I looked closely, really closely, as she had opened that package of gum so carefully that it was not apparent at first sight. After opening the package, I still had to look very closely to notice that every single piece was opened. I pulled out a piece of that gum and, wow, there was money. There was money in every single wrapper! I opened another package and instead of a gift there was a note: get up from the chair (oh, yeah, I forgot - she always told everyone where to sit), walk five steps straight ahead, turn left, and so on. I finally got to the place and there was a microwave hidden away in the utility room. I always liked those wonderful presents, but I loved the presentation.
When my children were young, their dad and I divorced. They were with me that first Christmas, so it was still a good holiday. The next Christmas, however, they were to spend with their dad. I knew it was going to be awful. I dreaded that day for months. Finally, the day arrived. The girls opened their gifts, and their dad came to get them. (We were already at Mother and Daddy's.) After we had our Christmas lunch, Mother said, "Get up, we're going to the store." My mother worked at one of the local shoe stores. She had gotten permission from the owner of the store to take me even though they were closed. We spent several hours in that store in Christmas afternoon with my trying on every single pair of shoes in my size, and she bought me several pairs. I cannot even remember how many. My mother, in her own way, made a Christmas day I had been dreading for months the most memorable one of my life. It still was not perfect: I did not get to spend it with my girls, but it was special as I got to spend it with the lady who gave me life and a joy for life.
Now, I am much older. My daddy passed away last year, and my mother is not the same as she was before. Her memory is fading, and it makes me so very sad. The person who gave me the best memories I have is losing hers.

Pancakes

Pancake is described on dictionary.com as "a thin, flat cake of batter fried on both sides on a griddle or in a frying pan; griddlecake or flapjack."

Those of us who enjoy pancakes think they are much more than that. Eating a pancake, imho, brings back some of the happiest memories of my childhood and adult life. We pancake lovers just see a pancake and think of those days when we were children and our mothers were kind enough to make us pancakes. They were not an everyday thing - we had pancakes on special occasions. Perhaps the occasion was Saturday or Sunday, a birthday, Christmas morning; but, one thing was for certain, that pancake made that day special.

I can remember my mother making us pancakes for dinner one evening (actually we had them at night as much as in the morning), and the pancakes were piled high on our plates with whipped cream (the real kind) and strawberries between each layer and then piled high with cream and berries. I cannot remember how old I was (probably between 12 and 15) but remember that meal as if it were yesterday.

Then, I remember the pancakes my former mother-in-law used to make. Charline's pancakes were fluffy and wonderful. They were always made with buttermilk. I can still see that large measuring cup that she made them in. My kids loved those pancakes as well, and I wish my grandkids could remember her pancakes. (Libby Lu does not remember eating her wonderful pancakes.)

Now we have Libby Lu, and she loves pancakes. At first, mine were not good at all. The first time I made them in an iron skillet, and they were black and tasted awful - had to throw them out. I then realized if I cooked them on an electric griddle they would be better, but they were still flat. I finally remembered (after Lauri's remark one day) that buttermilk was the answer. Now, our pancakes are great! Libby Lu's G. P. and Becky gave her a "pancake maker" (as they call it) for Christmas. The first time I used it I didn't read the directions correctly and made a huge mess. "Billy Dave" reminded me that I had the thing upside down. Now, Billy Dave shoots them out of the "pancake maker," and they are all uniform in size and taste wonderful!

Why am I discussing pancakes today? Yesterday morning Billy Dave and Libby Lu brought me pancakes in bed to celebrate Valentine's Day. I must say yesterday was the most wonderful Valentine's Day of my life, and I think that was because of pancakes. I can now add Valentine's Day 2010 in my pancake memory bank and will always have a smile in my heart (and my stomach) for that day - those pancakes - and for those that I love.

E-Bay

The last time I sold things on E-bay I said I wouldn't do it again as it is so much of a hassle. Why did I forget? Now, I've got to get boxes (I didn't charge enough for postage to use the post office boxes), get the boxes labeled and take them to the post office. Did I even make enough money to make it worthwhile? Probably not...only got $1.50 for a pair of jeans that were too short for me and in really good condition.
It's still a great way to "go green." This way people can reuse items that we once used (or rather, bought and were too small).
Will I sell on E-bay again? Probably so...as Libby tells me, "Your memory is not very good."

Genealogy

People that know me know that I am a great lover of genealogy - perhaps obsessed is a better description. It doesn't even have to be my own genealogy - anyone's genealogy is interesting to me. I think about hearing my Granny Vance talk to me about her growing up in Owensville - living on the farm, going to the nearby school, attending "singings," family get-togethers and wonder why I was not interested when she was alive.
I can remember her telling me about she and Grandpa Vance's wedding. I cannot remember exactly what she said, but I do remember that it was not just a wedding but a huge community outing. She said people came to her parents' home, some stayed overnight. I have never been able to figure out (since I did not ask her) where all these people stayed. The house was small - a dogtrot in the middle with a kitchen and living room on one side and a bedroom on the other. The house still stands and has been modernized some, but the front still looks the same. It still has a tin roof; the dogtrot has been closed it but you can still tell where it was. The chimney was falling down, and it was replaced with a french door and a small deck. I bet Grandpa Caldwell would have loved that deck. I do remember Granny telling me about his sitting on the front porch looking out over his pasture. I think she told me he had sheep as well as cattle. Oh, back to the wedding. She told me that everyone around came to the wedding.
I did not get interested in genealogy until just a few weeks after Granny Vance's death - after looking through some of her paperwork. She kept everything.
How I wish I had listened closer, written things down, maybe taped some of her talks with me. Nearly every time I said someone's name, she told me they were "kin." I laughed as I knew everyone could not be "kin." Well, I have found out that about everyone who lived in western Saline County is "kin" and some of them were even on my mother's "side."
If you happen to read this, talk to your parents, your grandparents and write information down. You may find it interesting someday even if it sounds boring today!

Arkansas Ties

I am an avid genealogist (not a professional - an amateur). Through this "hobby" (or is it an obsession), I have "met" many people - mostly just through the 'net and have visited hundreds (if not thousands) of websites.
One of the most interesting is Pris Weathers' Arkansas Ties
Pris' site contains a wealth of Arkansas information, and she is adding information weekly if not daily.