Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 5:44 a.m.~

Dear Journal~

Dang.  You'd think now that I'm out of school (praise the Lord!!), I'd be sawin' logs now.  Nope.  Can't sleep.  Too keyed up.  Things goin' on in my life.

It's me.  The kid people call "Rat-Nose".  Mark Ratinauer. 

I am back in my original digs; house fixed up since the tornado smacked it around a little; glad I'm out of my aunt and uncle's lair.  Never could convince them about Christ; very frustrating!

If anything, they've shut me out; tell me I'm nothin' but a holy roller, a pest.  That made me mad; we're not on speaking terms now.

I just hope my folks understand the pressures I feel as a Christian.  Every week pastor tells us to try to witness to people about Christ, spread the Good News, but usually am only met with resistance or anger, bitterness.  So I just back off for a while, dust myself off, and try again.

Call me stubborn that way. :P

Still goin' with Teena; she still sings like an angel.  She opens her mouth in song, and I melt, I absolutely melt!  I still say she should try out for "America's Got Talent":  she'd win, hands down!  I'm serious here, folks; God's gifted her with an incredible singing talent!

Now that school is out, I have been sleepin' in, sometimes not rising out of bed before two, three in the afternoon.  The only thing that gets me out of bed on those lazy days are the parental units screaming, "You lazy good-for-nothing slug!  Are you gonna sleep your life away?"

To which I want to answer "Yes", but I'd be riskin' a good crack across the mouth for that one. :P

My parents don't like it when I backsass them.  It drives them bat-crazy!!

Met a new friend online, actually two:  a brother-and-sister team from Tennessee, in Music City.  Both are about my age (maybe a little older), both have health problems, and they also perform.  Names are Johnathon Sandusky and Ronee' Reaux.  Don't know why their last names are different; maybe Ronee' is more of a half sister, don't know. :)  Anyway, we all chatted for over an hour; it was a nice convo.

They said they'd talk with me again maybe later today or sometime this weekend. 

Mama and daddy monitor my computer activities; they have to.  Too many bad nuts out there in Cyberland, just waiting to prey on unsuspecting kids.  Sad when even the computer isn't safe.  That's why I'm not allowed to go to sites like MySpace, and even U-Tube can be questionable.  Scary!

I just hope Johnathon and Ronee' 's parental units are watching their activities on the computer; I will have to say some special prayers for them, that God keeps them safe!

I also met a guy from Australia; his name's Pete, but I can't understand most of what he says.  He says he's Aboriginal; I guess that means Native Australian.  Anyway, his language, his sayings, are a world in itself.  He said he'd talk with me again too.  So now in a course of a few days, I have three new cyberfriends, two in Tennessee, and one in Australia.

Pete's the baby of the bunch:  he's only 13, just turned.

Well, gang, I am going to get back to sleep; getting stupid all of a sudden. *YAWN*  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is the Rat-Nose signing out of here.  Take care and God bless!

~Love, your friend in Texas, "Rat-Nose" (Mark Ratinauer). :)