High atop a mountain sits a monastery with a statute of Prophet Elijah in Israel. He was said to be a miracle worker who lived in northern Israel during the time of King Ahab in 9th Century BC. He defended the worship of the Jewish God over Baal.
The man pictured was selling prayer beads as you enter and exit the area.
Ray Gann has been making cabinets nearly his entire life. He is originally from Nashville, Tennessee, but moved to LaVergne with his parents at age 15.
In 1983, he opened Gann’s Cabinet’s in LaVergne, Tennessee. After years of service to happy homeowners and businesses, he somewhat retired leaving the cabinet shop in the hands of others during the day while he comes in every couple of days.
Almost a year ago Mr. Gann came down with a bad case of pancreatitis for the fourth time in his life. After being rushed to the hospital he had a heart attack. A coma followed the next 28 days and some family members thought that he wouldn’t survive.
Despite the odds being against him, Mr. Gann survived and he said he has a new outlook on life that includes emotions that he never felt before about living. It was a better life…
There are more than 200,000 pancreatitis cases each year in the United States. It has many causes, but one constant similarity exists among the cases… pain.
In case you are curious, pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreases. Of course, the pancreas is a necessity as it produces the digestive enzymes that allow your body to properly breakdown and ultimately absorb protein.
When pancreatitis attacks occur, so does pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, vomiting and more. Chronic pancreatitis usually starts between the ages of 30 and 40 and males are more likely to have it than females. Some cases of pancreatitis are deadly with 132,700 deaths worldwide in 2015, the latest year with study results available.
A big thank you to those of you who have helped me with blankets and sleeping bags. I gave my last sleeping bag to John (pictured), who served in the National Guard. He then gave the bag to his friend, as opposed to keeping it for himself. So, I gave John blankets and he was so appreciative.
For the count, that is 310 sleeping bags in the past 3 months.