Mama Carol

The area of possible landfall keeps moving slightly west, with each update. It's now looking more and more like Mobile to New Orleans. That is WONDERFUL news for the area I love so much--western panhandle from Ft Walton to Pensacola.

Now, this I agree with. At least in theory, untrained volunteers aren't going to be reporting abuse if they don't suspect abuse. However, I do see volunteers reporting things because they are afraid of getting in trouble for not reporting it.

The further west it makes landfall the less rain we will get.

Exactly how can you suspect something if you don't notice it? The penalties are only for failing to report what you SUSPECT. If you don't see or suspect something, you can't report it!

And that, my friend, would be the safety net needed. ASK the child how they got the bruise and THEN if you suspect it was abuse, report. If you don't suspect it, you don't have to report it, correct? That has NOTHING to do with training. That has to do with being a human being and having, hopefully at least, some common sense. If you're a volunteer and you see a bruise on a kid and automatically report it as abuse because you MIGHT be fined or jailed, you probably don't need to be volunteering because you haven't got the sense God gave you. It's about the CHILDREN being protected, not

I think there is a HUGE difference between neglect and abuse. We're talking about ABUSE, not neglect. So, a kid goes to school without having taken a bath or putting on clean clothes. No big deal. Really. It happens. They go to school with bruises, fractures, wounds that are clearly not accidental that's abuse and that IS a big deal. And nobody should be made to feel they have to "qualify" to determine what is and is not abuse. They should only report what they feel may be abuse. I'd much rather report someone who isn't guilty of it and it be cleared up than NOT report someone w

I think ANYONE who suspects child abuse, physical OR sexual, should be required to report it. And not just to the next in line in the chain of authority, such as happened at Penn State. It should be reported to police.

We are planning to go to Pensacola for a few days the weekend after Labor Day (two weeks from now). Soooo hoping that we still can make our trip. If they get hit by a Cat 2 hurricane, we won't be going for a few weeks, if not a few months. I have friends down there and am praying and hoping they get through this with a minimum of problems. We have friends on the mainland across from Dauphin Island. They have been flooded twice--once in Hurricane Georges just about a week after they moved there and then their home was washed away during Ivan. Prayers for everyone. While I don't

I have a Google Nexus phone and prepaid service from TMobile. I had an unlimited everything for $50 a month. And it was truly UNLIMITED!

I get HORRIBLE mileage on Shell but pretty much the same mileage with all other brands. My car almost exclusively runs on Kroger gas and around town (Powder Springs to Austell to Dallas to Rockmart and little anywhere else) and I get around 25 in a Kia Optima. On the road, here to Navarre, FL, we get between 30 and 32.

My husband rebuilt a generator for a neighbor and all that was wrong was the fuel lines and the carb. Same thing with the tiller another neighbor had problems with. Both had been stored with gas in the tank. Hubby doesn't even like to leave it in the mower between mowings. I'm sure he will drain the mower before winter. He already drained the pressure washer.

Yeah, that. And don't leave it in your lawnmower, chain saw or small engine for ANY length of time. It will screw them up faster than you can say ethanol.

LOL. We stayed in Florida for three weeks last winter. A week there, a week here, a week there, a week here. On the second trip down there we were talking with the rental manager for the condo. She looked at our rental history and saw which unit we had the previous trip. She said "wow, I went in there to clean it and there was nothing to do other than change the sheets! You even washed the towels and put them away". Yep, I did. I would have changed the bed had there been clean sheets in there. In the mornings, I generally had the bed made before I went to the kitchen.

I almost got hit head-on there a few weeks ago. Some guy trying to turn into the McDonald's and not watching where he was going. Hope everyone is OK.

Oh how I relate to this!!

A lot has to do with the blend of gasoline our area requires.

My daughter graduated from McEachern in 1999 but her boyfriend her junior year graduated from Harrison in 1998.

As I was driving to Dallas yesterday, the price was 3.55 at Kroger on Brownsville. When I got to Racetrac at Cleburne Pkwy and 278 I saw the price was 3.69. At the BP on Dallas Highway and Macland it was 3.79! I was almost out but had enough to make it to Dallas and back to Kroger. As I pulled into Kroger, the gas delivery truck was there. I got gas for 3.55 (minus the 10 cent discount). I would love to know what it is today. Combine a tropical storm heading for the gulf with the upcoming Labor Day holiday and you have a recipe for higher gas prices. Interestingly enough, oil pric

My thoughts exactly.

LOL. Mine, too.

That's the one. I went to summer school there that year.

His parents were the dearest people. I just loved them. It wasn't until we left that church, and actually years later, that I learned who they were.

OMG!! Loretta was in second grade with me at Smyrna Elementary! We were friends. I didn't realize she went to Wills though. I thought she went to Campbell.

And he grew up in Clarkdale! Many years ago I worked with one of his cousins. Joe South's parents lived in Mableton. Only you old farts will know who Joe South is. I actually went to church with them and never realized until later who they were.

That's a great handbook! It was at my side almost the entire time we had tenants. I hope she moves before she is evicted. It will be much easier to get a place without having been evicted from the previous place. Not all landlords check things like that, but we did. We also ran credit reports and verified employment. Good luck to her.