by Andrew
Stan Moffat
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
there is a new "hawker in our town"... and popcorn salesman!! This is Mr. Austyn Lee Moffat putting a sales pitch on Grandpa Moffat, whom he found to be very easy to sell popcorn too.. I bet you don't know I love the stuff??!! Phillip and Austyn went to a fishing tournment and enjoyed the day together. Phillip is helping with Austyn's Cub Scout troup, too. And ole Austyn had on an orange pair of crocks to match! how cool is that? So, if you need any popcorn, the money goes to a worthy cause and they truly appreciate our ordering.. so let the phones light up!!!
Stan Moffat
Grandma Moffat and I, mainly Grandma Moffat, watched Madison Ann and Andrew Paul while their Mom and Dad took a short break from all the action and went to Arkansas to enjoy a long weekend. They had a great time and so did I, however, Grandma was a bit worn by the end of the weekend.... haha... yeah right... !!
Stan Moffat
Saturday, September 23, 2006
The Invitation -- Oriah Mountain Dreamer
The Invitation
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or
have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes"!
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or
have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes"!
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Thursday, September 21, 2006
got a note from Kyle Brown in Bville...
I know some of my family met and knows Kyle Brown, and this am when I opened my email, there was a wonderful note from him. He is doing well, and will write more later, but wanted to say hello and I am to pass on to Jake a big howdy from Kyle... so Jake... Hello from Kyle!! enjoy the day...
Music Lessons Boost Kids' Brains.... Grandma Ann sent this too me this am..
Music Lessons Boost Kids' Brains
Sept. 20, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(WebMD) Music lessons may foster brain development and improve memory in young children.
Researchers have found that not only did the brains of young, musically trained children respond differently to hearing music, but musical training also appeared to improve the children's memories over the course of a year.
"That the children studying music for a year improved in musical listening skills more than children not studying music is perhaps not very surprising," says researcher Laurel Trainor, in a news release. "On the other hand, it is very interesting that the children taking music lessons improved more over the year on general memory skills that are correlated with nonmusical abilities such as literacy, verbal memory, visuospatial processing, mathematics, and IQ than did the children not taking lessons," says Trainor, a professor of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario.
If further study confirms these results, it could give parents good reason to put up with the hongs and screeches of aspiring musicians.
In the study, published in Brain, researchers compared brain responses to music and other brain development measures in 12 children between the ages of 4 and 6 over the course of a year.
At the start of the study, half the children were enrolled in Suzuki music school; the other half did not take music lessons outside of school. Researchers found developmental differences between the two groups during the year-long study.
As expected, children taking music lessons showed greater improvements in melody, harmony, and rhythm processing than those not studying music. In addition, musically trained children showed a greater brain response to hearing a violin tone in an area of the brain involved in attention and sound discrimination.
But researchers also found that children taking music lessons showed greater improvement on a nonmusical general memory test in which they had to listen to a series of numbers, remember them, and then repeat them back.
"This is the first study to show that brain responses in young, musically trained and untrained children change differently over the course of a year. These changes are likely to be related to the cognitive benefit that is seen with musical training," says Trainor.
SOURCES: Fujioka, T. Brain, Sept. 20, 2006; Vol. 129: pp. 2593-2608. News release, Oxford University Press.
Sept. 20, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(WebMD) Music lessons may foster brain development and improve memory in young children.
Researchers have found that not only did the brains of young, musically trained children respond differently to hearing music, but musical training also appeared to improve the children's memories over the course of a year.
"That the children studying music for a year improved in musical listening skills more than children not studying music is perhaps not very surprising," says researcher Laurel Trainor, in a news release. "On the other hand, it is very interesting that the children taking music lessons improved more over the year on general memory skills that are correlated with nonmusical abilities such as literacy, verbal memory, visuospatial processing, mathematics, and IQ than did the children not taking lessons," says Trainor, a professor of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario.
If further study confirms these results, it could give parents good reason to put up with the hongs and screeches of aspiring musicians.
In the study, published in Brain, researchers compared brain responses to music and other brain development measures in 12 children between the ages of 4 and 6 over the course of a year.
At the start of the study, half the children were enrolled in Suzuki music school; the other half did not take music lessons outside of school. Researchers found developmental differences between the two groups during the year-long study.
As expected, children taking music lessons showed greater improvements in melody, harmony, and rhythm processing than those not studying music. In addition, musically trained children showed a greater brain response to hearing a violin tone in an area of the brain involved in attention and sound discrimination.
But researchers also found that children taking music lessons showed greater improvement on a nonmusical general memory test in which they had to listen to a series of numbers, remember them, and then repeat them back.
"This is the first study to show that brain responses in young, musically trained and untrained children change differently over the course of a year. These changes are likely to be related to the cognitive benefit that is seen with musical training," says Trainor.
SOURCES: Fujioka, T. Brain, Sept. 20, 2006; Vol. 129: pp. 2593-2608. News release, Oxford University Press.
Another thought for the day....
I envision a future where more of us will call ourselves artists and work together to make an art concerned with the primary issues of life. I envision a future where art is once again honored for its power to inspire, teach, transform and heal. I envision a future where all people dance together, where the circle is open enough for both children and grandparents. --Anna Halprin
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Townes Van Zandt... a Texas singer/songwriter was taken with Morning Glorys...
And I now know why. They are each unto it's own, an individual beauty! NO two are alike at any point. All are amazing in their presentation. And I must admit, I am smitten with this amazing love of them as well. Grandma Moffat did another awesome job of raising them by our front door. The heat worked against her and the drought.. but just look at the beauty that is there...
Enjoy... Stan
Enjoy... Stan
Hammer Time... Hummm???
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.
-Abraham Maslow
-Abraham Maslow
Monday, September 18, 2006
Jake came home for about 24 hours and we got to see his new toy... you know, big boys have big toys... haha... Jake is welding in the oil field chasing the big rigs and keeping them "turning to the right" for Bronco Drilling in the OK and TX panhandles and Southwest KS. There is a team of guys and they do quite well doing this but they give up a lot too, working 15 to 18 hour days and then having 2 to 4 hour drive times... equals very little sleep, but he is truly enjoying this. He bought this rig thru our bank on his own and will have it paid for in about a year. Needless to say, we are all very proud of him and how he is doing. He actually started for himself on Thursday and as of midnight Sat. night (3 days) had earned more money than I earned the first YEAR Ann and I were married! sigh... but that's what lifes all about right? haha...
Stan Moffat
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Aunt Fannie in Baptist Hospital...
Aunt Fannie fell and cut her finger and ended up in Baptist Hospital over the weekend. She should be heading home today or tomorrow. They kept her to get her regulated again and going ok... Aunt Freda helped her get an ambulance to the El Reno Hospital and then to OKC... Uncle Ivan is doing ok, but a bit ragged from all the extra. He and Aunt Freda sure have a very busy life full of sharing and helping everyone they meet and family too...
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Two Choices
Subject: Two Choices
What would you do? You make the choice! Don't look for a punch line; There isn't one!
Read it anyway. My question to all of you is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children,the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe,that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,"Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not ex pecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field.. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, gri nning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in sof tly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward ho me.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching wer e on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home! Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.
That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.
Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
What would you do? You make the choice! Don't look for a punch line; There isn't one!
Read it anyway. My question to all of you is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children,the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe,that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,"Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not ex pecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field.. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, gri nning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in sof tly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward ho me.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching wer e on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home! Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.
That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.
Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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