Are We Running From our Cross or Are We Facing It?

Today as most of you know is Good Friday.

Today the day that Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed, and in His prayer He asked God if it was His will would he let this cup pass (meaning did He really have to go through what He knew was the inevitable) and when God did not respond as such; Jesus said "Not my will, but your will be done".

Shortly, thereafter Jesus was arrested and brought before Pontius Pilate, condemned by the Jews of the synagogue's. Was beaten and on his beaten back was placed a huge cross that He was made to drag through the streets and up the hill to Golgotha (also known as the place of the skull) .

Most of us know the rest of the story as Jesus was laid on the cross His hands and feet nailed to it and when it was raised, His entire body's weight hung from those three nails. While He hung there he was mocked and scorned. People wondered why if He was the Son of God did He not bring Himself down, but He did not. He was doing His fathers will.

He was fulfilling His destiny. He was facing His Cross.

Are we/you Running from our/your Cross or Are we/you Facing It?

At tonight's Good Friday Service Father Porter, of Holy Name of Jesus Church, here in Pocomoke, spoke on this very thing.

He gave an example about the Great Northern Plains of North America. When in the plains one can almost see forever. One can go miles sometimes days depending on your route without seeing another human. But what you are almost guaranteed to see are large herds of cattle, and Bison.

Ranchers say there is a big difference between a herd of cattle and a herd of Bison. The Great Northern Plains have some of the most extreme weather on the planet. In the summer they experience incredible dry heat, and in the winter they can easily get 8 to 14 feet of snow. The snow storms are so strong and so harsh it is a miracle that anything survives them. Storms can be seen coming great distances across the horizon, the sky blackens from afar and the winds begin to blow and the smell in the air changes.

The cattle sense this change, and their instincts tell them to get outta there. As soon as they see, smell and feel the oncoming storm they begin running the other way. They run and they run, sometimes falling of cliffs, sometimes falling and being trampled. Sometimes running so far that the herd gets themselves lost without food or water, but they are alway eventually overcome by the harsh winter storm and ranchers record loosing tens of dozens of cattle each year because of this behavior.

The Bison on the other hand, sees, smells feels, and may even taste the storm coming, but the Bison unlike the cattle hunker down for the oncoming storm. They turn their massive heads into the wind, lock their massive legs against the strong torrents and they ride it out. After the winter is over, so few Bison are lost.

The difference apparent; the cattle run from their problems/storm/cross and the Bison face them.

I gotta be honest I stand up to some really big things in my life and face them head on, but some things get me scared and try to avoid them. But you know what the things I try to avoid are always the ones that jump up and bite me in the butt.

This year, with this new birth of spring the celebration of Christ's resurrection, I'm going to work on facing those things.

Anyway, I thought it was a poignant story and I thought I would share it. I hope all of you can identify areas in your life and face them head on and don't be afraid because God knows who we are, where we live and what we're facing.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Stephanie K. Burke

Delmar Firefighter Wayne Barrall Is A Liar

The document above is an official court document showing the outcome of Judge Beauregard. Wayne wrote a lengthy letter, (7 pages long) to the Anti Albero Bloggers making the exact following statements to them as well as the Delmar Fire Department.

"I was also given a “no contact” order for 30 days on Joe Albero. His grandson was never mentioned during the court case"

"Again nothing was said about the grand child."

Again, his 7 page letter filled with lies clearly shows, (IMO) this man has some VERY serious problems understanding law and order. Read lines 3 & 4 Wayne, or should I say, Elmer W. Barrell.

The documents do NOT lie, Elmer W. Barrall does. I can only hope the Chief of the Delmar Fire Department realize just how habitual this guy is as well as his denial of the law.

Bubba's New Bike Route?

Even though the Salisbury Police Station is only one block away, even though it's supposedly illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk, let alone a scooter, there's no fear in the City of Salisbury. Now that's what I call a Bike Route.

OC 104 Pulls Another Stunt

THE HIP HOP COFFEE SHOP ON WOCQ-FM (OC104) IN SALISBURY/OCEAN CITY, MD. HAS PEOPLE TALKING AGAIN. THIS MORNING BILL BAKER "THE RUMPSHAKER", JESSICA, AND CROOKIDD HAD THEIR STUNT MAN, "SWEEEET ALFIE" PLAYING ONE ON ONE AGAINST LISTENERS AND HAVE THEIR CHANCE TO WIN PHILADELPHIA 76ERS TICKETS AND A BRAND NEW PAIR OF BASKETBALL SHOES FOR THEIR OWN "MARCH MADNESS CONTEST". TONS OF LISTENERS POURED INTO THE STATION PARKING LOT AS PAUL BUTLER (SPORTS CASTER ON WBOC-TV16 IN SALISBURY) WAS THERE AS THE SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE AND TO COVER THE EVENT. THEY ALSO GAVE OUT FREE COFFEE AND DONUTS FOR LISTENERS WHO CAME BY.

Illegal Immigrants Should Not Be Granted Licenses

MARYLAND NEEDS DRIVER'S LICENSE REFORM

Illegal Immigrants Should Not Be Granted Licenses


Annapolis – House Republicans today called for passage of the bipartisan Proof of Legal Presence Act of 2008. The bill, HB 288 is being heard in the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon.

“Maryland is the only state in the union that has not moved forward to require proof of legal presence before it issues a driver’s license," said Delegate Ron George, the lead sponsor on the bill. “Currently, the MVA processes 2,000 out-of-country applicants each week – that is an increase from 1,054 per month only a year ago,” said Delegate George. “That is a 660% increase in only one year. At that rate of increase, next year that number will jump to 8,000 licenses per week or 32,000 per month.”

As drafted, the HB 288 prohibits the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) from issuing an identification card, driver’s license, etc. to an individual born on or after December 1, 1964 who cannot provide acceptable documentation certifying citizenship or lawful presence in the United States. Starting December 1, 2017, the prohibition applies to anyone, regardless of age. The bill also allows the MVA to issue such a license or permit to an individual who is lawfully present but who is not a citizen provided that the license, identification card, or permit is effective only for as long as the individual is authorized to remain in the United States under federal law.

“The flaws in our driver’s licensing system make Maryland a magnet for anyone coming to this country illegally and present a huge risk to our citizens,” said Delegate George. “First and foremost it is a security threat, particularly given Maryland’s close proximity to Washington D.C.”

The New Fire Station Tour

While I'll have several more posts to put up about the new Fire Station, I thought I'd go through what transpired verbally through my tour on Monday.

Originally when the meeting started there were 12 people there. As time went on it grew by a few more people but that was about it.

Chief See started off by telling everyone this was the second largest project the City of Salisbury has ever taken on, behind the new Waste Water Treatment Plant.

This building will replace the old Station 16. This station will house 8 bays for a working Fire Department. Special Ops will get 3 bays and the outdoor equipment will now be kept indoors. Gordy mentioned that piece by piece each piece of equipment will be replaced, new.

They mentioned the 53' tall Drill Tower but also mentioned that they will still go to Princess Anne to use their $2,000,000.00 burn facility for additional training. Makes me wonder why, since they have one of their own right up the street? Nevertheless, that will be up for surplus as well.

They stated that Gillis Gilkerson came in $53,000.00 below anyone else when bidding on the project. They are 30 days ahead of schedule. The building is 41,655 sq. ft and they even mentioned a typical Fire Station is 16,000 sq. ft. Depending on the numbers they threw out, which were divided and all over the place, they stated the building cost the Taxpayers $193.00 per square foot to build.

They mentioned it sits on 7.5 acres of land that they paid $311,350.00 for. I doubt they included this figure into the cost of the build out. As a matter of fact, I'm fairly confident they conveniently left that out. After all, it is a part of the overall cost.

At the end of the day the facility cost $9,553,927.00 so far. They went on to brag about how it's 3% below the budget for the project.

On April 1, 2008 the furniture and fixtures will be in and completed by the end of April. The video monitoring system throughout and around the building and audio and visual equipment will also be completed by the end of April. They also mentioned the old Station 16 will be available by July 1, 2008. You know, the $800,000.00 building they wanted to give away to Bill Ahtes. At this point I flat out asked See & Gordy, who owns the old Station 16? I heard it's owned by the Volunteers and their reply was, a simple title search will tell you that Joe. NO, that wasn't the answer to my question. Obviously they refused to answer it in front of everyone there.

A visitor asked if they'd be holding any banquets there and See replied, "Our Volunteers don't have time to do fundraisers." I want my guys doing training instead. He went on to say, Station II ran aprox. 800 calls last year. The Volunteers went on about 400 of those calls. (More of the same OC BS). The Volunteers don't go on ambulance calls Chief. Therefore, 1/2 of the time they could have been holding banquets. Besides, you could even afford to PAY a crew to cook and clean for these events, just use the facility. They did state that the Training room would be available to the Public for certain meetings.

You must be buzzed in when you walk into the facility. Gone are the days you can just walk into a Fire Station. I will have photos to follow this article.

The Turn Out Gear Room will house 110 racks for this equipment. Each set will cost the Taxpayers $1,800.00 each.

The Dormitory will sleep 8 people. There are no doors to close off each room. God forbid someone wake up at 3:00 AM after a night out and run face first into a door, right? Somehow they stated they could sleep 20 to 22 people there? There was another small area they figured they could put bunk beds in. See stated when he first started, they slept in the front seat of the Fire Trucks, so this is quite the luxury facility.

There is a Locker Room that houses 96 lockers. As mentioned earlier, there are 6 Unisex Bathrooms.


There is also what they call a "Safe Room." This is the area off to the side of the Fire Station in which I honestly feel is VERY misleading! The reason I say that is, if I were to hear this and raced to the Fire Station for safety, I would head to the main entrance of the building, wouldn't you? That's NOT the case here. The Safe Room is actually an entrance off to one side of the building, SO WHAT'S THE POINT?

The Paid and Volunteer Firefighters have their own Offices throughout the building. Of course, the Paid are in one wing and the Volunteers are in another, on opposite ends of the building.

At the end of my tour I turned to a friend of mine there and I said, Did that feel like a $10,000,000.00 Tour to you? He replied, F%$k No! Me either! The only thing that actually impressed me about the place was actually the kitchen. The way they boasted about all the plasma tv's going in everywhere kind of ticked me off. You'll be waiting in the front entrance and while doing so you'll be turned on to 24/7 videos of fires the Salisbury Fire Department have been to. The big $25,000.00 doors will be blocked by a museum, so what the heck did they buy them for? The Volunteers offered to pay CASH for all the new furnishings and guess what, Chief See & Deputy Chief Gordy said NO! They put it on the Taxpayers instead! Pieces of sh!t!

Like I said, whenever these guys want some money, I'd hang up the phone but not before I'd tell those SOB's to LET IT BURN, I don't give a sh!t!

The Dispatch in OC Delivers A Fantastic Story

Wendy Elliot brought to my attention the following article.........

MD Coast Dispatch

Vilified Cabbie Helps Saves Man's Life

By Shawn J. Soper, News Editor
Originally published March 21, 2008

OCEAN CITY- With an ironic twist of fate, an Ocean City woman vilified last summer by the local and national media when she was charged with murder in the death of her unborn fetuses was a hero of sorts this week when she helped save the life of an elderly man who collapsed in a West Ocean City store.

Christy Lynn Freeman found herself in the right place at the right time this week when she helped revive and later comforted an elderly man who collapsed from an apparent heart attack while in the checkout line at the Staples store in West Ocean City. According to witnesses, around noon on Tuesday, an elderly man waiting at the copy center in the store keeled over and hit the floor and Freeman, who was near the victim in line, first performed basic CPR techniques on him and helped keep him lucid until paramedics arrived.

According to Staples copy center manager Natosha Collick, who was on the scene on Tuesday, the elderly man collapsed and hit his head on the floor after what appeared to be a heart attack or stroke. Collick said Freeman immediately began basic CPR techniques on the victim, perhaps saving his life.

It appeared that he had a stroke, she said. He was unconscious for a minute or so, but she [Freeman] helped revive him. She said she had taken a CPR course and it looked like she knew what she was doing. She checked his vital signs after he was revived and she did a very good job.

After 911 was called, Freeman stayed with the victim and continued to monitor his condition while waiting for paramedics to arrive, according to Collick.

She held his hand and kept him alert, asking him silly questions he should know the answer to, she said. He hit his head on the floor when he fell and she sat there holding his head in her lap until the paramedics got there. She really had no concern for herself during the whole thing.

As most will remember, Freeman was arrested late last July when police found the remains of her stillborn infant wrapped in towels under a vanity in the bathroom of her Ocean City residence. The case against Freeman escalated when the remains of two more fetuses were discovered at the bottom of a trunk in her bedroom and fourth was found in a recreational vehicle parked in the driveway.

The strange case created a national media circus in the resort at the height of the summer tourist season. Most of the major networks set up shop in and around Freemans residence on otherwise quiet Sunset Drive in Ocean City as the story unfolded.

Freeman was initially charged with murder in the death of the first fetus discovered, but prosecutors later dropped those charges and proceeded with a murder charge in the death of one of the fetuses found in the trunk believed to be a twin born sometime in 2004.

During a jailhouse interview following the discovery of her most recent fetus on July 27, Freeman told an OCPD detective one the fetuses found in the trunk was the first of two twins she delivered in 2004, which she allowed to die in the toilet. The admission led state prosecutors to drop the charges against her for the death of her most recent child in late July and apply first-degree murder charges against her for the death of her full-term or near full-term infant in 2004. Freeman later said she made the confession under duress out of concern for her longtime boyfriend Ray Godman and the couples four grown children.

In August, States Attorney Joel Todd presented the preliminary evidence to a Worcester County grand jury, but any indictment was put on hold pending the final report from the state medical examiners office. In September, the medical examiner said the cause of death of three of the fetuses was undetermined and the manner of death was ruled not applicable, which essentially meant they were not viable fetuses at the time of their death.

Basically, the medical examiners report said there was no proof of life with any of the fetal remains examined, and without proof of life, there could be no prosecution for homicide. Todd then recommended the grand jury not indict Freeman based on the findings of the medical examiner. In September, all charges against Freeman were dropped and she was released from jail after several weeks had passed since the initial discovery back in late July.

Seven months later, life goes on for Freeman and her family. Their Classic Taxi business, which took a big hit during the weeks and months after the case began to unfold late last July, now goes by the name Flashback Taxi, but the unmistakable cars are still seen prominently on the streets in and around the resort with Freeman often seen behind the wheel.

German U-Boat Enigma Machine

Cape Hatteras has a brand new museum which is being completed at the very tip next to the ferry service. The Graveyard of the Atlantic museum will house artifacts from both the land and sea of the Outer Banks area. The coolest find they have is a German Enigma Machine from a U-Boat which was sunk off Hatteras and the machines were used for sending and decoding messages. The acquisition of the machine by the Allies was an important piece to turning the tide in the war. The machine, as the local historian said, was able to generate over 400 million lines of code. The pinnacle of this exhibit, the Enigma Machine still mechanically works! After a few parts gets refurbished, due to the ocean dissolving them, the machine will be able to work by hand. Pretty impressive after surviving an attack and the sea. The type-writer is submerged in a solution to make it stable so it may eventually be placed in open air.

The exhibit when finished will be a great must stop for vacationers!

The Salisbury Fire Department Weight/Workout Room

Chief See stated that some 116 Firefighters die each year due to heart attacks. Well Chief, my guess would be the cigarettes and trying to keep tabs on who's at their home when they're stuck at the Fire Station. However, Chief See would like everyone to believe that this state of the art workout facility will keep his men and women healthy.

Pardon me for saying this Chief but your fat. I too carry extra weight on me but as of recently I chose to go on a diet and am quickly losing what I gained this winter. You made no mention of working out in there, therefore I expect you to be in that 116 statistics, sorry to say. Gordy isn't far behind.

Nevertheless Folks, See also stated there is not one facility in any Salisbury Fire Department for them to work out. Well, that's not exactly the truth. They used to have commercial equipment that was donated to them but they THREW IT OUT in order to build this new facility and buy all brand new equipment. Someone stated here not that long ago that there were also arrangements to take it to the dump, while another Firefighter allegedly pulled up and reloaded the equipment to take home.

That being said, let's now talk about the 5 high tech PLASMA TV's going into this room! Yes, you heard me right. Chief See stuck his chest out talking about how this facility will be no different from a professional gym. Only the very best for the Boys and Girls there, eh Chief?

I know of maybe a hand full of people that will actually take advantage of it but like a Pool Table, it will soon become a thing of the past and once the local Gym starts bringing in new equipment, the Taxpayers will be required to update the facility and after a few months it will be worthless once again.

Today's Wildlife Photo

Well, they certainly don't make light fixtures like they used to!

The Kitchen To Die For

"If a Fireman touches it, he will break it." Chief See wanted everyone to know the reason they went for ALL commercial products is based on the fact that "he" believes they're going to break it. That sure makes "ME" wonder what in the hell we're doing buying $1,200,000.00 Fire Trucks for any Idiot who touches it and is expected to break it?

Nevertheless, here's your $10,000,000.00 Kitchen, Ladies & Gentlemen. It's ALL about what these guys don't have at home and feel they deserve at WORK. Oh, and if you think I'm finished, you're wrong!

Let's now talk about the last picture, it's what they call the Day Room. That's where these guys will be eating. Just outside this room is sliding doors that takes you out into an outdoor area where they'll have a Grill for outdoor cooking as well and a large area to relax behind an 8' tall metal fence.

Getting back to the Day Room. There will be not one, but two Wide Screen TV's in this area for the Firefighters. Oh, you're not going to believe just how many plasma tv's there are going in throughout the entire facility.

Nevertheless, this is your new kitchen and dining area. Mind you, this tour was designed to keep everyone out from seeing the multi million dollar furnishings soon to arrive and they don't want you to see. I'll be sure to get another tour before they swing the doors for business.

Ladies, they won't give you your own bathroom, DON'T do any of the cooking! Oh, keep in mind, they'll be doing no banquets or renting a Hall as they believe they're too busy for functions and they're professional Firefighters, not cooks and bus boys. Are you listening Pittsville?

PETA Invades Ringling Brothers

While representatives from PETA stood across the street from the Circus, most everyone visiting completely ignored their presence and they left no impact.

PETA, (IMO) is one of those organizations that can, (at times) go way too far with their complaints. However, in other cases they do a fantastic job exposing some pretty sick people out there. Picketing a small Circus is NOT going to stop people from going in.

So you know, I spoke with several of the people standing out there and they ALL got a last minute e-mail at SU, (they're students) to volunteer. These were NOT long term PETA lovers/supporters.

One person was standing there with a picture of an elephant with straw on top of him/her and what looked like some mud. She thought this was disgusting and not clean. PLEASE! Go to Africa woman! See them roll in the mud, OMG! Then they might even have grass on them, OMG! I'm not saying the life of these animals isn't bad. I certainly wouldn't want to be caged up. However, you Idiots, go around the corner to the local Salisbury Zoo and practice what you preach!

Children Interact With Performers

Yesterday's Pre Show allowed the children to get up front and sometimes in the show with these performers and quite frankly, it was exciting for these kids. How many times in their lifetime will they ever get a chance like this? I know when I was a kid, we couldn't afford to go to any of these shows. I happen to think the price is extremely reasonable and with promotions, I expect to see these events Sold Out.

Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Baily Circus Is In Town

While the Civic Center was kind enough to allow me a private tour of yesterdays Pre Show, many people I spoke to yesterday were completely unaware that the Circus was in Town for a few days.

Show dates are, today at 7:30 PM. Saturday, 11:00 AM, 3:00 & 7:00 PM. Sunday, 3:00 PM and Monday at 3:00 PM. Tickets start at $14.00 but if you check around locally you can get coupons for a $4.00 discount. I believe the up close seats are $32.00 each.

The house was packed last night as people lined the entrance area and well outside the building as they were treated to an up close and personal time with some of the Clowns and performers.

More to come......

Gee Whiz!!!

Communication Workers of America District 7 are outraged after a Qwest supervisor distributed disposable urine bags to about 25 male field technicians.The idea is to reduce the time they spend leaving a job site to find a bathroom and take a potty break and Qwest claims some men had asked for the bags.ICK!
If someone prefers to use the pee-bags that's cool but it should not be mandatory.A spokesman for the union said that the company has made an issue in the past over techs leaving a work site to find a bathroom because of the "time it wastes".If they are out where no people are they can just piss in the bushes like 98.9% of the male population does-and if they are in a place where they cannot pee outside,then WHERE are they supposed to go to pee in the bags?In the cabs of their company work trucks?Whats next?Buckets to sh*t in?
Utility companies have been buying these bags from a company called American Innotek for years for their outdoor workers and thats accomodating,but no employee should be pressured to use them instead of using a real bathroom somewhere.