It is indeed a desirable thing to be well-descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. Plutarch

May 15, 2012 It has been almost a week since I last posted an entry on this blog. I have been busy still working on my new website (Sammy's Angels Miracle Network), working in the garden, and working around the house on small projects. I have also gone to the movies and window shopping a local antique shops. Since my cancer cure after surgery on April 3, 2012 I have been experiencing a renewed sense of self and purpose. I have also been researching my ancestory on my father's side of the family. My father's father and mother came from Eastern Europe (Poland)in 1907 and 1910. They met at Coney Island in New York. I know a great deal about my grandmother's family but almost nothing about my grandfather's family. I would like to travel to Poland one day to meet any remaining family and learn more about my grandfather and his family. Records of my grandfather and grandmother entering America can be found at Ancestory.com. The records show the date, time, ship, and port of departure for each of them. Poland is the country listed as the place where they were came from when they came to this country. However, I do not know anything about where in Poland each of them were born and raised. So, I have been doing research to find out this information and any other information that will help me learn more about my roots. I have often wondered if and to what extent, World War II had on the family members who did not choose to immigrate to America. Did any of them survive the war? Were any of them killed or imprisoned in a concentration camp when the Nazi's invaded Poland? Were any of them imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto? What is the remaining family like now? Who are they? What are their professions? So many questions. After my grandparents were married in New Jersey, they moved to a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. My grandfather worked in the mines around Port Carbon and Minersville. Rumor has it he died of the Black Lung. Over the years, no one ever talked about the old country or any relatives who might have been living there. No one ever talked about my grandfather or his family. I had three aunts and seven uncles yet not one of them ever metioned having any family in Poland. So, my quest continues to find out information on my own. Hopefully, one day, I will visit Poland and find answers to my questions, or maybe find a few relatives. Sammy's Angels Miracle Network is now on line accepting donations. Click the link that will take you to this website from this blog to see what we have going on right now.

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing. Proverbs 28:27

May 4-9, 2012 Sammy's Angels Miracle Network is now on line at: sammysangelsmiraclenetwork.org This is a website dedicated to the collection of donations to be given to people with a life altering illness, who do not have medical insurance, or who do not have full coverage medical insurance, and have medical and/or household related bills they cannot pay. Donations will go to individuals, couples,or families to help pay medical bills, household bills, buy food and clothing, and pay for child or pet care during their illness. Currently, we have a single, unemployed woman with cancer associated medical bills that total approximately $3,000.00. We are in need of donations in ANY AMOUNT to help her pay these bills. We are also looking for individuals, couples, or families who need financial assistance with bills due to a life altering illness that has effected their financial situation. If you know of any one who can use our assistance, please go to our website: sammysangelsmiraclenetwork.org Provide us with their contact information. We will contact them to find out how we may assist them with their medical related bills. DONATE NOW safely on line with our secure PayPal account, or with a credit card. Any doantion amount is greatly needed. I have been working on this website for some time now. The website went live on the internet today. It has been a dream of mine since my own cancer diagnosis to start this website. I know there are many people who do not have the financial means to deal with a life altering illness, pay medical bills, pay household bills, feed their children, and pay for child or pet care during surgery and/or treatment. I am hoping to raise enough donations through this website to help some of those people pay some of their bills. You can help. Check out our website and make a donation today. sammysangelsmiraclenetwork.org

For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you because I have many people in this city. Act 18:10

May 2-4, 2012 Several years ago, I had my phone number changed because of all the calls I was getting (for another person) from creditors. The calls were not for me but for several other people who apparently had my phone number before the phone company assigned it to me. The calls were coming in at all hours of the day and night. Eventually, I turned the ringer off so I could get some sleep. After a while, I decided to get a new phone number at a cost of $30.00. My new phone number was just as bad as the old number. Creditors stated to call for other people I did not know. I did not answer any of the calls because they were not for me. Creditors do not listen to anyone. If you tell them the truth, that you are not the person they are looking for, they get worse. Their calls increase and their messages clog your mail box. How many of you are getting calls from collectors for other people? I know there are a lot of people across the United States who are being harassed by these people on a daily basis. Today, I decided to do something about the calls. Below are a few of the phone numbers of collectors who call and harass me on a daily basis and have for years: Asset Acceptance 301-223-0039 Asset Acceptance 410-881-5363 This company has been calling me for years asking for a Barbara Peterson, when the phone number is clearly listed in my name. I am not Barbara Peterson, nor do I know a Barbara Peterson. I wonder how much these collectors get paid to harass Americans on a daily basis? I also wonder what is our government doing to stop the harassment? The same company has also used local phone numbers to get me to answer my phone when they call. If I do not recognize the phone number on my caller ID, I do not pick up the phone. I listen for the message. Below are a few of these local numbers: 512-843-8802 512-377-9034 Something must be done about these about these creditors who harass Americans for years. I for one am tired of not being able to answer my phone because of the rude calls, or being awoken in the middle of the night to answer a cll that is not for me, or having a phone message box full of calls from creditors looking for people who no longer have the telephone number I now have. I am asking all of you who are also receiving calls from creditors looking for people that you do not know, to go to a social media (Facebook) and start posting the company names phone numbers of these rude, misguided creditors. For so long, calls from creditor have been considered a sign of a character flaw judging honest, hardworking people as unfit. In these poor economic times our country is going through now, many people cannot pay their bills. Many people do not have jobs, and unemployment does not pay all of the bills. Keeping the family fed, clothed, and a roof over their heads takes priority. Go to Facebook and post the phone numbers of harassing creditors. They need to be stopped immediately. Let’s expose they creditors for whom and what they are. Let’s shed some light on how they are getting away with the harassment. For too long, people have been afraid to speak up against these creditors out of fear of retaliation. Do not be afraid any more. A united front to stop them is needed to let them know they can no longer hold us hostage with our own phone.

Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Proverbs 17:6

April 29, 30 2012 The month of April is over. March and April of this year have gone by so quickly. Sunday was another beautiful day in Austin. I spent my day sitting on the patio in the cool morning, working in the yard, and taking it easy. I am a thinking person. Always in my head processing new information, reprocessing old information, and spending a lot of time analyzing my own life, especially the past. Even at my age now, I am still realizing the ever lasting effect certain events from my childhood still have on me in my adult life. All throughout my life I have struggled with an identity crisis, anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. I use to think there was something really wrong with me because of my lack of coping skills in certain situations, as well as my fear of making mistakes. Over the years, however, I have come to learn the origin of these feelings and wonder what life could have been like if I was not subjected to them. The origins I speak of have to do with the way I was parented. My parents did the best they could in raising my brothers and me. Their own coping skills were strained at best, especially my father. He was anxiety ridden almost all of his life. I suspect his anxiety stemmed from the demands his father put on him. From stories I have been told about my father growing up under the iron fist of his father, my father was never good enough or smart enough to measure up to his father’s standards. Growing up, I too could never measure up to my father’s standards. To him, I was incompetent at everything. If I made a mistake he severely scolded me, not just once for the same thing but years later he was still bringing up my mistakes made years before. I could never do anything right. He saw me as a weak person who could be easily threatened and manipulated. One thing he didn’t understand was that I was a child. I didn’t know a lot as a child because no one ever taught me anything. I was expected to know everything at an early age. Not knowing then, that I had to be taught how to do things in life, I began to see myself as an incompetent person who would never measure up to being as good as anyone else. This caused me great anxiety and depression at an early age. I entered school already feeling like a failure at the age of five. I became extremely self-conscious. I was afraid to make a move or do anything independent of my mother (who protected me) because I felt I would fail at anything I tried. My father’s lack of faith in my abilities, created my lack of faith in myself. His sever judgment of me on compounded matters worse. I fell short of his every expectation, as he had predicted. As a teacher, I saw the same behavior in my students who came from backgrounds similar to mine. I really felt for these kids. I went through school, struggling with almost every subject. School itself was anxiety provoking for me. I was always on edge in school, fearing the teacher would ask me a question I could not answer. Reading and math was a struggle for me. I persevered and graduated from high school and eventually graduate school. My father never acknowledged my accomplishments as an adult. Eventually, I was able to accept that he never would acknowledge any success I would experience and was able to move on with my life learning to believe in myself. One of the most important things parents can give their children is the ability to believe in themselves no matter what their struggles in life. Parents are our children’s first teachers. If we give our children the message they are failures with us, they may never be successful. If they do become successful it will not be without a high price wrought with anxiety, depression, and a life lion struggle to feel as good as everyone else. The next time you become upset with your children, put yourself in their place before you talk to them. Think about how you wanted to be talked to as a child before unleashing your anger on them. Talk to them in a way that will get the message across without making character judgment statements. A child may see to survive your attempted character assassination on the outside but on the inside you are slowly killing them. .