Weds., March 5, 2008, Nashville, TN, 6:24 p.m., C.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Johnathon here.

Sorry for not writing; things have been crazy at best, particularly at church.  We are gearing up, practicing for our annual Easter Cantata, which will take place in only a few short weeks.

In the Cantata, I will be doing the sign language, as I do every  year.  I enjoy it, especially since I get to help people who can't hear understand what's going on during the dramatization.

Ronee' will be singing "The Old Rugged Cross", just as she does every year.  She does a really good job with that song.

Speaking of Ronee', she made it to Hollywood.  She auditioned for "America's Got Talent"; she wowed the judges.  Now lets' see how far she gets this time around: last year, she made it to Hollywood, but the next week, she was cut, so her run didn't last long. 

She was told to come back again the following year, so this is why she tried out again.

Mama has been really busy at work: working lots of doubles, and last week, the ER had a scare: a kid with diphtheria was brought in.  He was in really rough shape; however, they managed to save his life, and he's recovering, slowly.  The kid didn't get his shots; this is how he got diphtheria, which is a contagious bacterial infection striking the throat, nasal passages, and airway.  It can be fatal; it's that serious--and extremely rare in today's medical world.

Of course, as you can imagine, the hospital made the news; everyone wanted to hear about this kid who had a once-feared childhood disease.

It was really interesting, she said, and I got nervous because I was scared that mama'd get diphtheria; but she'd already been vaccinated against that, thank God.

She makes sure we keep our inoculations current.  So, there's no worrying about getting diphtheria in MY family!

That's be horrible!  I saw a movie about it once ("Balto").  Diptheria causes patients to have severe difficulty in breathing and a high fever as the toxin attacks the lining of the throat, nasal passages, and airway. There was a little girl that had it, and for a while she was sick.  Very sick.

Of course, "Balto" and his team of sled dogs saved the day when they got the antitoxin to the people of Nome, Alaska, in the nick of time; the little girl (and others stricken with diphtheria) recovered once they got the shot that saved their lives.

Whoops!  Sorry, but mama is calling; time for me to shut this down, grab a burrito, and head on out to the van, as we head on over to church.  I gotta' go.  I will write in here again; take care and God bless!  Love ya!

~Johnny. :)