Did you see this in the news?  Computer hackers broke into electronic signs at a busy Austin intersection and changed the construction warning to ”Zombies Ahead! Run for your lives!”

The news people at KXAN-TV in Austin said I could use this picture they took of the message. 

Oh, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt, either by a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine or actual zombies!

Childbirth, surgeries, ER visits, divorces, heartaches, life.  Stuff happens to all of us.  It can be so painful and oh-so-joyful.  Who helps you through the hard times?  Who do you share your happy stuff with?  

In the past eight years, for me, it’s been Suzie, Ron, Mel, Margaret, Lindz, my son, Casey, and my co-workers with their wicked senses of coping humor!  And really, you guys.  This blog has been therapeutic for me.  

What/Who gets you through, and how?

I know what Spuff DIDN’T do today…clean house, pay bills, and I’ve yet to see a solution to world peace out of that fur-covered, pointy-eared brain of hers.   The quality of pets from the animal shelter has really gone downhill.

What do they do all day?

“As southern as I’ve become, I can’t yet bring myself to ignite a brick of Black Cats in the name of The Lord.” –Sherri Talley 12-something -08

“Marcy Novak is prowling around Minden.” –Mark Rowlett on the air 01-15-09

“I wasn’t powling, I was frolicking in Minden.”  –Marcy Novak 01-15-09

“You’re like Chuck Norris with your vocabulary.” –Nick Caloway 01-17-09

“What’s a camisole?”  –Gary Hines, reading a police report 01-21-08

“A camisole?  I’ve heard of that.”  –Gerry May o1-21-09

I’ve started cussing.  I’m not proud of it.  It’s something that just happens when I get scared or shocked, and for some weird reason, that’s happened a lot lately.

First incident:  I’m in deep focus at my computer at work, trying to tune out newsroom chaos and write.  A co-worker sneaks up behind me and pokes me in the ribs.  “Dammit to hell!”  Wow, I just discovered how to quiet a newsroom.

Second incident:  I’m in a gun class, focused on what the instructor is saying.  A guy pokes me in the ribs.  This time is was “GD”, only the spelled out exclamation, that quieted the room.  That’s not something you fire off in a room of gun-toting, conservative Christian guys in the south.  The looks I got!  I deserved them.  Mental note:  Sherri, you have to stop using the word of the Lord in vain.  If you must cuss, the F word is much more acceptable here in the south.   

Little did I know, I’d get my chance the very next day.

Third incident:  I’m going for a walk.  I reach over a fence to pet a cute little dog and zap!  The sound of my skin on the electric fence made a loud sound, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the cry of the F word that resonated in this quiet neighborhood.

My fear is that this practice will prove costly.  Once when I was on the air live, the station took a lightning hit that popped in my ear piece and damaged my hearing.  My mic was off.  I really don’t want to have to turn my paycheck over to the Federal Communications Commission should my habit of late wind up in your living room. 

So, what do you do?  Do you practice saying things other than ‘those’ words?  What words do you use?  I’m open to suggestions.   Just nothing shocking, please.    

20 years ago at this exact time of day, I was wheeled in to Schumpert.  I was scared, excited, uncertain.  Who couldn’t have used a sign that everything was going to be okay? 

And there it was.

Standing in the hallway, apparently there to help someone else, were Shreveport Fire Chief Dallas Greene and Sister Margaret.  I asked for only one sign.  I got two!  All of the sudden, I felt right with the world.  They have no idea how much they helped me. 

And later, when I saw that beautiful baby, crying with his shining eyes, and an entire life in front of him, the world was an even better place. 

I’ll never forget that moment, or the joy my son has brought me in the past 20 years, and those two signs of hope and faith on the day he was born. 

That joy is upstaged only by the sound of Casey’s voice now when I talk with him on the phone or see him when he comes home from college.  He has such an energy and love of life that you can’t help but catch when you’re around him. 

I am a blessed mom.  Happy Birthday, Case! 

Love. 

Got one?  Is it a new approach for ‘09.  For life?  What works for you?A leading market research firm reports no recession in eating out during this economically tough time.  Have you ditched the health club membership or changed anything else?

You know, legend has it that you can burn about 120 calories an hour by blogging. 

He said I was a pretty baby.   

He lied. 

VP Richard M. Nixon told my parents that when he was campaigning for president in 1960.  We were at the Smithsonian.  I was in the arms of Dan and Darlene Talley. 

The truth:  I was actually the ugliest baby on the face of the earth.  When God was giving out tons of hair and odd-colored Shar Pei-like skin on babies, I was apparently first in line.  Dan Talley took one look at his firstborn and said, “Lord, I know she’s scary, but she’s mine and I’m gonna love her anyway.”

So, that’s my Nixon connection.  I really want to see this flick.  You?

A hamster named Hammy.  A schnauzer named Bowser.  You remember them.  They were members of your family when you were a kid.  Let’s pay tribute to our little childhood friends who have moved on to Pet Heaven.  Do you have a favorite? 

Note:  Please don’t bring up the turtles one of my toddler brothers put in plastic Easter eggs.  I’m still struggling with that.