 The Shaffer Journal
Volume 3 Issue 12 December 1997
This is our very extra special December 1997 edition. Our human bean stayed up all hours of the night, early morn, and well into daylight to get the Christmas tree placed just right. It was crashing our catpooter to begin with, but our human beanie is a brainy sort with a large brain pan. Purrrrty please enjoy our journal. Us cats are in charge. Dat why it sooooo good. Now don't forget to sign our guestbook either. July 1997 was a sad time for I Ebony, me Abby, and our human bean. Kitty became very sick the early part of July. She suddenly died of a stroke on July 9, 1997. These journals are now dedicated to her spirit. We all loved you, Kitty! Click the cat graphic below to visit Kitty's Memorial page. Kitty Talk
 Kitty born June 6, 1982. Died July 9, 1997.
Santa Clawws is almost here and Abby she gitting a lump of coal and me Ebony getting a furrrry fresh bag of catnip. Berry berry happy holidazes to you all, kitties and human beans alike! I Ebony hab a hare-raising night of cat hell or kitty nightmare. I got loose from my leash and was full of cat joy for at least fifteen minutes. The rest of dee twenty-four hours was a cat nightmare. I had explored to a part of da park I nebber nosed around before. Udder cats hisspitted at me for no good reason. I had my collar and ID tags on. I eben hab my ID chip under my skin. But I still lost. It was nighttime but not cold. It was scary and I getting furrrry hungry. I missed my whiskas break. I hid under plenty of trailers and found web ub nasty old spiddees. Once I saw a human bean with bright light flashed in me eyes. It sounded like my human bean, but I taking no chances and run run run hide. I slept but little all night and into next day. It getting hot and I crying cause I missed human bean and eben dat Abby cat. I saw a human bean tending garden dat look strangely at me. She disappeared. I went under trailer for I not nose what else to do. Din I heard my human bean voice. I snuck out and dare he was with a fresh can of whiskas. We all had a great homecoming and I slept all day and night. Dee grass is not greener on dee udder side of dee park! Me Abby gonna switch presents so Ebony git dee lump of ole coal. I hab sumthin to share with you. I pawed a meow to Santa Claws at a special URL, but it not good no more. So I took it out. But ifing I eber finded another Santa Clawws link, I put it right hare for cat and human beans. Santa answer meowed to me. And he promised me dat I git no lump of coal. I asked for as many cat toys as dat fat Santa fella could bring. I not stingy, but me just want eberyting I kin git!  I Abby like Garfield. He not like other tomcats. He like food and showing dem dummy dawgs what they are not. Dawgs must have been an after thot in evolution. As a matter of fact, me Abby nose dawgs evolved from rocks. Mehehehee, I hear dat from Garfield. I toll you dat tomcat was something else alright! I not normally wike tomcats. I fink day all got mush in dare brain pans. Day got nothing on dare minds but one fing, and we all noses what dat is, I meow for surely. But I do wike Garfield. He got some brains. And he only interested in food and showing up dem dawgies. That two pluses for him. I admire dat tomcat, but he dee only one I do dat furr, you nose? Well, I meow too much about diss fing. I fink it time furr me to go catnap about boids and catnip. Bye now.
Computer Two!
Another problem with my computer, but this time everything would load and then freeze. As you might surmise, I was fit to be tied. But here is what I did. I quit crying and called Dell. They wanted me to reinstall everything from scratch! Okay, plan two. I observed that the computer froze up when it accessed the floppy drive from the Norton System Doctor. I loaded the computer in Safe Mode. All the software was set correctly. I checked out Bootlog.txt and all my software loaded right. Now that can't happen. So I replaced the ddeml.dll file. That solved a small part of the problem. Then I replaced the registry. That got me to the point I could load correctly if bypassing the startup folder. I had the problem narrowed to Norton System Doctor and/or the floppy drive. I deleted the drivers and controller software for the floppy drive forcing Windows98 to reinstall. Now I could load one time and then the problem came back. I then noticed that the computer froze up when accessing the floppy drive during Norton AntiVirus boot scan. I turned that off and the problem went away. I went into Norton AntiVirus configuration and redid all the settings. Now the computer worked all the time every time. The key is a step by step logical approach and BACKUPS! Internet Stuff
ICQ and PowWow32 are great and here is why. While on the Internet anyone can send and/or receive messages, pictures, files, information, voice stuff, and pages. While both ICQ and PowWow32 can do these things. ICQ is better for real-time operations, while PowWow32 with its community functions and white board stuff is better at that. Staying in touch is really very cool now. Hockey News
Hockey excitement is barely containable. The New York Rangers are on the move. It appears that after firing their coach, the Florida Panthers are improving. It is a long season with the Olympics sandwiched in there plus the All-Star Game pitting North America against the World. Yet the Tampa Bay Lightning did not reward their coach with better play. Hockey! Hockey! Hockey! Comparisons
Albertsons, Publix, and Winn Dixie are all great super markets but each have its own strengths and weaknesses. Albertsons has the best prices and widest selections. Publix is the cleanest and most friendly. Winn Dixie has style and the best meats. Overall, I like Publix, because it serves all my requirements the best of the three. I'm a shopping fool, but not enough money! K Mart and Wal Mart are fine department stores but one has become the leader. Yes, Wal Mart is newer, better, and outstanding. But Marathon only has a K Mart, and it does a very decent job for all of our shopping needs. Poetry Corner
My Uncle Dave Canter is now reading poetry for a heavenly audience, but we can enjoy his poetry as well. He is like the Norman Rockwell of poetry. More of his poems are featured at PoetryTwo. "Christmas Season"
January 12, 1990
© December 14, 1997
David R. Canter The Christmas lights are all in place
The tree is standing tall
The Christmas lists are in Santa land
The kids are having a ball Moms planned the Christmas dinner
Dads cut the big Yule log
Everyone's being the best he can
And that includes the dog The cards keep coming in each day
The ones going out are gone
The radio and television
Are full of yuletide songs It's that special Yule time season
That comes round this time of year
When folks are happy and giving
And are full of Christmas cheer In The Park
Christmas in Marathon, Florida Keys, is simply amazing. It is always nice and warm here. Plus it is so much fun here in the Keys.  Don't forget how friendly the people are too. Decorations, Christmas trees and lights, no snow, presents, family and friends make this the place to come. Yet I have to go up north to spend Christmas with the parents, because they don't travel so well anymore. But that is okay, because every once in a while I do like to travel. All of us wish you all a very warm and friendly holiday season. Happy Birthday, Jesus Christ! Do you remember when you were a child? The excitement of this season of joy was too much to hold in let alone contain. There were stars in our eyes then. When we said we loved someone, we really meant it. We couldn't stop smiling. Happy holidays to one and all from Larry the human bean, Ebony the black cat, and Abraxas (Abby) the white cat. "The Mountains of Ao"
I am done rewriting Tears from Ao so that it can continue serialized each month in the Internet ezine called The Outer Rim at http://outer-rim.lweb.net Tears from Ao is now available electronically on the Internet at The Temporal Doorway StoreFront.. Now I can get back to writing The Mountains of Ao chapter ten of twenty-two. For proofreaders, just email me. The Dull Stuff
Inputs and letters to this journal are subject to approval by Ebony. All inputs may be edited for content and become the property of Shaffer Novels/Poetry Company. The address follows:
Shaffer Novels/Poetry Company
PO Box 501833
Marathon, FL 33050-1833
(305) 743-9648
(phone charges billed to callers) Internet URLs:
http://RunesofAo.com/index.htm
http://RunesofAo.com/roa/index.htm
http://RunesofAo.com/aobp/index.htm
http://RunesofAo.com/abby/index.htm
http://RunesofAo.com/ebony/index.htm Special note. Since this journal has become more of an online webzine, we are no longer able to publish advertising. All ads have run to the completion of the period paid for. Our provider is GeoCities, and they do not allow advertising on their free home pages. The majority of subscribers receive the journal now via the Internet free of charge. We have very few hard copy subscribers anymore. We are very sorry if this has caused you any inconvenience whatsoever. [Previous Journal] [Journal Index] [Next Journal] 37‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused!38Look! Your house will be deserted,39for, I promise, you shall not see me any more until you are saying: Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!’
The New Jerusalem Bible: Reader’s Edition, (New York: Doubleday.) 1990.
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