Have a great 4th and wonderful weekend! :)

Myspace 4th of July Comments & Graphics

I hope all of you have a wonderful 4th. :) Enjoy the fireworks, cookouts and whatever you usually do on the 4th.

Happy Independence Day! :)

As always,
Ginger :)

Have a Happy 4th... :)

Myspace 4th of July Comments

I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe 4th. I have been sick the last few days with migraine headaches. It was so horrible. :( I am feeling a bit better today. I am still taking it easy. :) so i am not going to write long one but let you know I am still alive and kicking. :) ha... in case you arent coming online. I posted the graphics and hope you will enjoy the 4th. Happy Birthday America!!! :)

Hope you will enjoy reading the Heartwarmers! :)

As always,
Ginger :)



~ Welcome to Heartwarmers ~
http://www.heartwarmers.com
The best thing to happen to mornings since the Sun!

Your morning thought for the day:
Let every nation know, whether it wishes
us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear
any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the
survival and success of liberty.
-- John F. Kennedy


The flags will be flying this weekend as Americans celebrate
Independence Day, the 4th of July. We hope you have great, and safe,
holiday weekend.
Today, Joe explains the difficulty he had when he was a kid
trying to understand what "unalienable" meant. We can remember
having problems with "indivisible."
The Declaration of Independence may only be words written on a
piece of paper (actually parchment, which is made from sheepskin) but
words have meaning and words are important -- very important. That's
why we can never take them for granted.
Let's all make sure those words are kept alive in each of our hearts.

____________________________________________

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
by Joseph Walker

"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..."
I don't know why the moment is frozen in my memory, but it is --
my fourth grade teacher, Miss Greene, is introducing us to The
Declaration of Independence. Maybe it's because she is such a fine
reader, or maybe it's because I have a crush on her, but it feels as
if every phrase shoots directly from her lips to my soul.
Especially that last phrase.
At age 10, I'm really into happiness, so learning that my
headlong pursuit of it is one of my "unalienable Rights"... well,
suddenly I like the Founding Fathers even more than the Yankees.
Not counting Mickey Mantle, of course.
Only one problem. I had no idea what the world "unalienable" means.
"I think it means you can't have it," George said when I asked
him about it during recess.
My heart sank. But then I thought about it. "I don't think
that's right, George" I said. "Why would those guys get excited
about rights they can't have? It doesn't make sense."
So I went to the smartest person I knew, JoAnn.
"Well," she pondered, "I know 'alien' means someone from another
planet, so 'unalienable' must mean something you can't bring in from
outer space."
She seemed to know what she was talking about even though I
couldn't for the life of me figure out what it had to do with
anything. Which is why I decided to summon my courage and ask Miss
Greene (not that she was scary or anything -- it was just... you
know, that crush thing).
"It's a very good question, Joe," she said. "Let's go to the
dictionary to find out."
Holy cow! Why didn't I think of that?
Soon I learned that an "unalienable Right" cannot be
"surrendered or transferred." Now, that was more like it. I had the
right to pursue Happiness, and no one could take it from me.
No one, that is, except Mom.
"Good," she said when I announced my intention to devote the
rest of my life to my "unalienable Right" to pursue happiness. "Now
go clean your room."
Somehow this wasn't working. Where were the days of frivolity,
where breakfast was pie and root beer and "work" was getting up to
change the channel? Where were the 10-speed bicycles? These were
the things I was sure I needed to be happy. And Happiness was my
Right.
I've learned a lot about happiness since then -- sometimes by
getting what I wanted. I had a job where I had to watch TV eight
hours a day and it became a chore. I had a 10-speed and the chain
kept falling off. I had pie and root beer for breakfast once. It
made me sick.
Mostly, I've learned that happiness isn't a possession.
You can't buy it, and no one can give it to you. It's a
feeling, and it usually involves things like family, peace, security,
love and service. It doesn't always come easily, but it is always
worthwhile.
And I think that's what the signers of The Declaration of
Independence had in mind when they affirmed humanity's God-given
right to "the pursuit of Happiness."
They weren't talking about momentary pleasures -- they were
talking about long-term, whole-souled, capital-H-type Happiness. It
isn't something you can touch, but something you feel. It isn't
something you get, but something you are. It isn't a lifestyle, it's
a way of life.
But it IS something you have to pursue. Only the journey won't
take you far and wide -- it will take you deep within yourself. You
may not rack up any frequent flier miles, but you will return with a
much grander bonus -- peace, contentment and Happiness.
After all, it's your "unalienable Right."

-- Joseph Walker

____________________________________________
Joe is a Heartwarmer Gem and a newspaper columnist.
____________________________________________

No hurry... petswarmers...

~ Welcome to Petwarmers ~
http://www.petwarmers.com


We know many of you are bird lovers, and so are we. Earla
shares a touching story about the birds in her life and how a
temperamental girl -- aptly named Sassy -- found true love.
They are beautiful to look at, aren't they?

___________________________________________

NO HURRY
by Earla Jean Hollon

For almost five years Trinity, our male Pacific Parrotlet, and
Rainbow, a Black-mask Lovebird, lived together as best friends.
Rainbow had nursed Trinity through two serious potential
illnesses during over the years. Rainbow force fed Trinity when
Trinity lost his appetite, and helped Trinity stay upright on the
perch by pressing tightly against Trinity as Trinity leaned against
the bars of their cage. And when Trinity's legs were temporarily
paralyzed during one illness and had to be propped upright in a
makeshift nest, Rainbow nestled down with Trinity and seldom left his
side.
Our avian veterinarian and I firmly believe that Rainbow helped
Trinity not only survive, but to recover completely.
In October of 2007, Rainbow fell ill. Now it was Trinity's turn
to try and help Rainbow.
And how hard he tried. How hard we all tried. For five months
Rainbow was ill and endured oral medications given to him twice
daily, along with weekly visits to an avian specialist where blood
was taken. All kinds of tests were run, new medications were
dispensed. Trinity was now force feeding Rainbow, and gently
grooming Rainbow's once glossy feathers, now ragged and dull.
Rainbow started sleeping at night on the inside of a little coconut
hut. It was too small for Trinity to join Rainbow, so Trinity
perched close on the outside of the little hut. Rainbow sticking his
head out of his hut often to receive kisses from Trinity.
Sadly in February of this year, Rainbow had lost his battle. My
husband and I were terribly sad, as was Trinity. Even though I
showed Trinity Rainbow's body before we buried him, Trinity called
for Rainbow over and over for the next couple of weeks. At night,
Trinity made sad sounding noises that we had never heard him make
before. We knew Trinity not only missed Rainbow, but he was lonely,
as he had never been alone in his cage before.
The third week after Rainbowís passing, I could not stand
Trinity's sad little voice any longer. I purchased a female Pacific
Parrotlet to be his companion. I was warned that she had two
previous owners who rejected her because she apparently had a very
bad attitude. I named her Sassy and was told the name definitely
suited her.
I brought Sassy home and placed her in a small cage, close to
Trinity's flight aviary. Within minutes, Sassy was clinging to the
side of the cage, looking at Trinity and calling out to him. Trinity
clung to the side of his cage answering her cries.
I let Trinity out of his cage and he immediately flew to Sassy's
cage. They started talking to each other in Parrotlet language and
soon were trying to groom each other through the bars of the cage. I
opened the door to Sassy's cage and Trinity climbed inside to be with
her. And as they say, "That was that."
Sassy moved into Trinity's flight aviary the same day and they
bonded to each other immediately. I have to admit, although I was
glad that Trinity really liked Sassy, it made me feel slightly
betrayed for Rainbow. Emotionally I thought to myself how could
Trinity get over Rainbow so fast. But intellectually I know that
birds do not think, feel and respond as humans do.
Trinity loved Rainbow, but Rainbow was gone. I think he sensed
that Rainbow would not be coming back and here is the fat and sassy
little Sassy, crazy about him from the start.
Sassy loves Trinity and is very good to him, grooming him,
kissing him, cuddling up to him, and feeding him. Sassy, however,
does not like my husband or me. She doesn't like our other birds,
either, nor does she like the dogs and cats.
That's okay though, because we bought Sassy as a companion to
Trinity and she has filled that role admirably. We have faith that
with time, Sassy will calm down and accept us as well. We are in no
hurry. Parrotlets can live 20-25 years and I hope and pray that
Trinity and Sassy will be with us that long.

-- Earla Jean Hollon

___________________________________________
Earla lives in Pasadena, Texas with a very patient husband and a
small zoo, which consists of dogs, cats, sugargliders, turtles, and
birds.
___________________________________________