Thursday Thirteen Resolutions

According to Willowcreek's Network, my highest score is in Wisdom, and second highest are Administration and Giving (tied). These are not popular, fun "gifts." These traits are sensible, insightful, practical, fair, commonsense, thorough, objective, responsible, resourceful, disciplined, organized, efficient and conscientious. See what I mean?

Because I write on a variety of topics, and so many blogs, I have to be cautious about criticism. You just have no idea how much is excluded (I keep a written journal), so I make an effort to redirect some energy. Not always successfully. First, I drafted this 13 list and then went through and deleted the word "try." Try is a really wimpy verb, and I criticize others who use weak verbs and sloppy sentences. It's unlikely I'll be able to keep these--I think I've already broken number one and number four, but here goes.

1. When I see an outrageously dressed person, brown cotton eyelet full circle skirt, gray pumps and pink bandana I will turn my head or close my eyes instead of drawing a sketch.

2. When I see someone who has problem at the sample table of the coffee shop, I won't speculate what losing or gaining 20 lbs could do for his/her health and knees.

3. When I see a smoker, I will resist cataloging wrinkles, coughs, and yellowed fingers using my strongest traits.

4. I will resist going to church so I won't be tempted to comment on things that upset me or theology that doesn't make sense.

5. When I see a loose dog or cat, I will pray for the critter's safety instead of criticizing the careless, bad mannered owner even my neighbor with the Vizsla that wants to join us on our deck during dinner.

6. When I see an ugly, unreadable, squirrely webpage or blog, I will not scan through it looking for the webmaster or comment section.

7. When I accidentally come across Katie Couric or another gloomy news reader, I'll just change channels.

8. When I hear or read about what the idiots in Congress are doing, I'll refrain from calling them names--or the people like me, who elected them.

9. I will blog less at my regular site and work on my hobby bloggy and illegal immigration blog. I stopped blogging for a week and dropped 300 points on TTLB.

10. Since I'm such a good problem solver, I'll satisfy this need by finding and fixing problems in my house, car, garage, closets and bookshelves or experimenting with new recipes. By 2010, I can probably have these under control.

11. I will try to keep track of only 2 or 3 Republican 2008 candidates and not poke fun at or make rude comments about the other moral midgets others.

12. I will ignore family problems. Mine and yours. No one wants to be someone else's fixer-upper or project.

13. I will refocus on my art. A critical eye is needed in perspective, value, hue, tone, and quality. I think it's been a year since I did this one.

3880

The sad record of the Left

"There are no megalomaniacal mass-murderer that the Left has not supported, no Democracy that it has supported." Read the list here by Steve Haas at American Daughter.

Let's move the UN

This building is obviously too expensive to repair, so I think it is time to let another country enjoy hosting it. Free up some parking places in New York. Give those mansions of foreign diplomats to the homeless hotels.

HT Amy

3878

What's uglier than power line towers?

Lots of things.

Wind farms

nuclear power cooling towers

solar panels dotting the neighborhood

piles of firewood for cook stoves

earth mound houses and huts

banks of batteries for a cloudy day

fields of corn to be fed to automobiles

3877

Reading the want ads in JAMA

You might think it's about the work. Not so, if these want ads tell the story.

A Columbus, GA position provides malpractice insurance, a great climate and accessibility to all the attractions in Florida.

Puyallup, WA offers a diverse community where you can live the lifestyle you want.

Philadelphia offers opportunities for research on smoking, obesity, depression and suicide.

Mercedes, TX wants you, but you must have proof of legal authority to work in the U.S.

Southeastern Kentucky counties offer excellent pay and a naturally beautiful mountain location.

Boulder offers a partnership track in a fabulous location.

If you take the job in Columbia, SC, you'll live and work in a wonderful coastal area, 2 hours from Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and the Sea Islands.

3876

Here's a pup you don't want

A few weeks ago I showed a cute puppy that needed a good home. He'd been badly abused. Here's a "puppy" that fits over your oxygen tank if you abuse your lungs with cigarettes. He's called Oxy-Pup and comes in two styles.


This photo is from a display in China and is supposed to represent how many cigarettes one smoker would consume in a year. I saw it at The Laundress, who has now gone a full year without smoking. Good girl.

3875

Remember the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

That was a study that went on about 30 years in the 20th century among poor black men in the south to see what happened when syphilis went untreated while they were receiving "free" health care.

"The United States Public Health Service, in trying to learn more about syphilis and justify treatment programs for blacks, withheld adequate treatment from a group of poor black men who had the disease, causing needless pain and suffering for the men and their loved ones.

In the wake of the Tuskegee Study and other studies, the federal government took a closer look at research involving human subjects and made changes to prevent the moral breaches that occurred in Tuskegee from happening again."[CDC]

In my non-medical opinion, we're doing the same thing to black children in Africa under the guise of malaria research. I was absolutely sickened by the latest issue of JAMA (May 23/30, 2007, Vol. 297, No.20), which is entirely about malaria testing of combination drug therapy primarily on children of Afghanistan, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, and Ghana. I don't understand all the big words, but I do know that while "healthy" children with high parasite loads were receiving short term medications, they weren't receiving insecticide treated bed nets, currently one of the more effective methods to combat malaria since do-gooder environmentalists inspired by Rachel Carson got DDT removed from the market in the 1970s.

I can also read the treatment outcomes--yes, no one died (oh goodie), but the side effects were observed (remember these are children!) which included anorexia, coughs, weakness, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, pruitus, seizures.

"The overall health of the children in this cohort was excellent. There were no deaths and no episodes of malaria that met WHO criteria for severe malaria. There were 19 episodes of malaria that were considered complicated and treated with quinine for the following reasons: single seizures, hyperparasitemia, inability to sit up or stand, persistent vomiting, and lethargy." ["Combination therapy for uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria in Ugandan children" p. 2210]

No one ever died from DDT. Not a bird. Not a baby. Just mosquitoes that killed babies. But every year more than a million people now die from a disease that was virtually under control in the 1970s. Most of those who die are children. JAMA is usually politically astute on social and political issues--left of center all the way. It's all aboard the global warming band wagon. It tippy-toes around the environmentalist disaster with this ridiculous comment:

"Following the collapse of the global eradication campaign in the early 1970s, malaria control programs around the world dwindled as funding dried up, technical guidance became confused and at times contradictory, and much of the global community seemed ready to accept that malaria was an unavoidable fact of life in tropical regions."

What nonsense! The eradication of malaria collapsed because somebody was more worried about bird eggs than African children living to adulthood. It's a very nasty disease to survive, let alone to die from. The survivors have life long disabilities. And there are many long term effects from the anti-malaria medications, to which the parasites are becoming resistent, so those meds are becoming stronger.

I shudder to think of all these people (pregnant women, babies and developing children) sleeping under or on pesticide treated nets and mats, the other brilliant plan to fight malaria. A ridiculously expensive plan, even if it were to work, and even if mats and nets could be distributed to every household in danger. It is so much easier, safer and cheaper to kill the disease at its source--the female mosquito! For 2003 it was estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa to get bed nets to 80% of the population would require 175.2 million insecticide-treated nets. I wonder how safe it is to work in a warehouse filled with thousands of ITNs, or to drive a truck load of them over bad roads in the hot sun to distribution centers. And roads. Are there roads by which these ITNs can get to the people who need them?

Meanwhile, the researchers/authors discuss how many women and children might be sleeping under the same net, and would that affect the number. How many angels dance on the head of a pin.

3874

More abortion tax dollars wanted by Planned Parenthood

Since it started offering abortions in the 1970s, Planned Parenthood has performed over a million abortions, many of them with our tax dollars. No, it doesn't get all its funding from the public trough, just about a third through Title X, and it's coming back for more. Some people actually donate money to this death machine, which I suppose is the balance of its budget. 5,000 abortions a week isn't enough--it wants $100 million more--even as its abortions are up and its other services such as important health tests for women, are down. Having a Republican President who had a Republican (wimp alert) congress was no protection for those babies. President George W. Bush and the Republican-majority Congress Increased Title X to a record $288.3 million in FY 2005. And what about PlaP's claims on its website that Title X money isn't used for abortions? Well, let me think. Dump it all into one pot, pay the other bills like mammograms and high blood pressure and salaries and rent with it, and use the other accounts for surgical abortions. It's an industry--and the product is death. All that's needed to shut it down is to check the number of teen abortions against the number of reports to child welfare agencies on underage children seeking services. That won't happen.

Now that the ban on chopping up the few babies who make it alive to the birth canal was upheld, the Democrats are really panicked. "Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Jerrold Nadler have introduced a bill, called the Freedom of Choice Act, that would dramatically expand federal protection of abortion rights beyond what is required by Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The bill would invalidate many federal, state and local abortion laws, including the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act." [ACLJ] However, Democrats have always played straight with us on this issue; they are pro-abortion. It is the Republicans who are too squeamish to stand up for what they said during their campaigns for office.

Go here to fight additional funding for Planned Parenthood with your tax dollars.

3873

Populist pandering by politicians promising penalties

A reader's comments in USAToday, June 5:

"As long as we live in a society where people drive their Yukons and Expeditions 3 blocks to the store instead of walking, where roads are jammed with people driving to work while half empty trains and buses pass them by and where leaf and snow blowers have replaced rakes and shovels, I will be keeping fingers crossed for $6/gallon gasoline."

You do just have to sigh when Congress panders for votes over the few gas stations that raise prices beyond their profit margin. Like they never do anything unethical or for a profit (like William "Cold Cash" Jefferson, Democrat, Louisiana).

Did I ever tell you that it's been 40 years?

Yes, we moved to Columbus, Ohio 40 years ago this week. Hardly seems possible. For some reason I remembered that this morning on my way to the coffee shop, thinking I still feel like a visitor!

I was recruited in February 1967 at the University of Illinois by the personnel officer of Ohio State University Libraries to come as a Slavic cataloguer; he located a job for my husband with an architect he knew through church. The night we met Sam Calabretta (partner in that architectural firm), I fell in love with the idea of moving to Columbus. My husband was a bit more conservative and wasn't really sure it was right. But Sam was so upbeat about the possibilities here, we were soon sold on the idea. My job wasn't as good as the one I left, but my husband's was probably 10 times better. And since the children arrived soon afterward and I didn't return to work until 1977 in another position, it worked out fine.

On our job interviews in April, we found a lovely apartment at 2120 Farleigh Road in Upper Arlington. We didn't know we weren't in Columbus (it's a suburb), and after six months we bought a home about 5 blocks from the apartment and we lived there for 34 years.

Our apartment on Farleigh, 2nd from left
I didn't take many photos of the inside; this was at Christmas. We had that TV until the 80s. The wreath behind me was made from IBM cards and sprayed with gold paint--a very popular 1960s craft. We still have that chair and the dining room hutch in the back ground. I think we still use some of the x-mas decorations, too.

3871

When guys open up

their hearts fall out. Something amazing happened at my daughter's garage sale on Friday. Two different men, nice looking in the 50-60 age range, told us their deepest secrets and hurts. I think it was because my son-in-law was in the garage. They were really talking to him--my daughter and I just stood by, mouths open, bug eyed.

One guy told SIL that he'd lost his church job because of a personal scandal--he'd come home and found his wife in bed with another--woman. No matter what my SIL injected into the conversation to move on (of sorts, but it was really more like a confessional), the guy just kept giving details. His girlfriend was in the neighborhood interviewing for a job, he said, so he was just filling time at our garage sale.

Then about an hour later, another guy about 60 came in. His t-shirt identified the company, which was one my SIL had had a problem with. So he shared some information on who to call to get an adjustment. From him we found out that he'd been married about a year to a wonderful Christian woman, but his former wife, with whom he'd been in business, had had an affair with a friend via the internet. Good-bye marriage, but he got the property and business. When SIL expressed sympathy, he said, "Oh well, I hadn't been in love with her for 3 years, and she was sort of a flaky tree-hugger, worship-mother-earth type."

Maybe it was the heat. The women who came just walked in, looked, and either bought something or left.

3870

Hispanics--the made-for-politics racial category

"With the beginning of large-scale non-European immigration in the late 1960s as a result of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, entrants from Europe fell from over 50%, 1955-64, to less than 10% in 1985-90, while Third World entrants rose rapidly. This opened an opportunity for lobbies to create new categories of 'disadvantaged minorities.' Thus the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a powerful interest-group in alliance with the Democratic Party, succeeded in establishing a racial category known as 'Hispanic,' which included latin mestizos, people of predominantly European, black, and American Indian descent, descendants of long-assimilated Californios and Tejanos, and other groups who once spoke Spanish--almost anyone in fact who found it advantageous to belong, so long as they could not be accused of being 'Caucasian' or 'Aryan.' This pseudo-race came into existence as the result of statistical classification by bureaucrats." Paul Johnson, A history of the American people, Harper Collins, 1997, pp. 956-57

3869

1776, the good, bad, and hopeless

I don't particularly like war stories. After all, the U.S. has been at war with some country some where throughout its existence. But lest you get indignant, so have most countries, unless you're reading a modern history published in the U.S. for use in our schools, then all communist and marxist countries/governments are given a pass, and all Americans are invaders, pillagers or scoundrels.

Still, David McCullough's 1776 is a very sobering book. It only covers one year of our revolution which lasted until 1783, but there are so many times the Americans came close to remaining British subjects. In 1776, Americans had the highest standard of living in the world. I imagine there were many asking, Why are we in this war? Many Americans, Loyalists, and British wanted the war to end with peace talks because of the high losses.

"In a disastrous campaign for New York in which Washington's army had suffered one humiliating, costly reverse after another, this, the surrender of Fort Washington on Saturday, November 16, was the most devastating blow of all, an utter catastrophe. The taking of more than a thousand American prisoners by the British at Brooklyn had been a dreadful loss. Now more than twice (2,837) that number were marched off as prisoners, making a total loss from the two battles of nearly four thousand men--from an army already rapidly disintegrating from sickness and desertions and in desperate need of almost anyone fit enough to pick up a musket. . . The British were astonished to find how many of the American prisoners were less than 15, or old men, filthy, and without shoes. . .

What lay ahead of the Americans taken prisoner was a horror of another kind. Nearly all would be held captive in overcrowded, unheated barns and sheds, and on British prison ships in the harbor, where hundreds died of disease. . . Washington is said to have wept. . ."

The Fort was not reclaimed by the Americans until the end of the war in 1783, and it was renamed during that time for a Hessian, Fort Knyphausen.

3868

Call me anything but Muslim terrorist

Four people have been charged in the US over a plot to bomb John F Kennedy airport in New York, US officials said. [BBC]

Four people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been charged with planning to blow up New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, U.S. officials said on Saturday. [Reuters]

Three suspects have been apprehended with a fourth at large, all believed to be part of the plot with connections from New York to Guyana to Trinidad, authorities said. One suspect was taken into custody in New York as part of a federal-local investigation, and two were apprehended in Trinidad. The at-large suspect is in Trinidad, reports said.[MarketWatch]

Authorities said Saturday that they had broken up an alleged terrorist plot to bomb aviation fuel tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, arresting a former airport worker and two other men with links to Islamic extremists in South America and the Caribbean. [Washington Post]

Three people were arrested and another was being sought Saturday for allegedly plotting to blow up a fuel line that feeds John F. Kennedy International Airport and runs through residential neighborhoods, authorities said.

The plot never got past the planning stages. It posed no threat to air safety or the public, the FBI said Saturday.[AP]

The plotters sought to blow up the airport's jet fuel tanks and part of the 64km pipeline feeding them from New Jersey. Three of the four suspects, who included a former airline cargo handler, have been arrested, federal law enforcement officials said. [Breaking News Australia, via Reuters]

And six people were arrested a month ago in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey.[AP]

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have reported that four arrests have been made in a foiled plot to blow up jet-fuel supply tanks and pipeline at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), in New York City. The DOJ suggested the plot was interrupted in the early planning stages through cooperative law enforcement work in the United States and abroad.[Wikinews]

We've got FOUR, we've got PEOPLE, we've got ARRESTS, we've got PLOTTERS, we've got SUSPECTS, we've got a WORKER and a CARGO HANDLER . . . I guess even using the word MEN is too politically charged these days.

3867

Great Grandma's sunscreen

It was called common sense coverage.



Gardeners, golfers, sunbathers and tanning salonistas need to know: Skin cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in the United States and accounts for about 2% of all cancer deaths. In 2005, about 59,580 individuals in the United States were expected to develop melanoma and approximately 7,770 (62,000 and 7,900 in 2006) were expected to die of it. (JAMA and Proc Natl Acad Sci USA) Melanomas are often resistant to radiation therapy and to many chemotherapeutic agents. That's a huge price to pay for being fashionable.

The next time you hear reports of how many soldiers have died since 2003 in Iraq, ask yourself about these preventable deaths. Twice as many in 1/4 the time.

Update: In Tara Parker Pope's column (WSJ, June 5) she reports that a white cotton t-shirt is almost no protection, and even less if wet. A green t-shirt offers 50% more skin protection than white, but even that is only an SPF of 10. You can buy clothing treated with sun block. Rit Sun Guard is a laundry additive which increases the UPF rating to 30 and lasts for 20 washes.

3866

Climate change map

This map, which appeared in JAMA 296:8 and is found on www.sciencesource.com, is supposed to show the possible hazards of global climate change. As you can see, it is Europe. According to the article, the summer of 2003 was the hottest in Europe in 500 years. It used to be very cold in Europe, and warm in Greenland (which is how it got its name).



But wait! The white areas showed no change and the blue areas were cooler, not warmer (the map here is small, but on the larger map, there are many white spaces). To my untrained eye, over half of Europe was cooler or unchanged in 2003. France, however, was very hot. This article was about how epidemiologists can get on the global bandwagon by researching microbial foodborne illnesses, diarrheal illnesses, changing disease patterns during El Nino warmings, incidences of tick borne illnesses due to milder winters, and waterbourne and foodborne illnesses all linked to weather disturbances. Also, more malaria, but then, that's been caused by well-meaning but deadly environmentalists who got DDT off the market so bird egss would be OK. "Think big," they are told. Be afraid, be very afraid.

3865

Are you serving alcohol to underage drinkers?

About a month ago there was a big hoop-la in our community because a limousine driver reported to school officials that his passengers on the way to the Upper Arlington prom in the Arena District had alcohol. About 10 other limos were searched and 125 kids didn't get into the prom that night, even those who didn't know there was alcohol in the vehicles. Some parents were furious; some kids were heart broken.

And where are you on this? Are you serving alcohol to kids? The parents of the guilty, or older friends of the teens, obviously purchased it. If you own stock in any alcohol related industries, you too are serving children. An article published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (2006;160:473-478) reports that the short-term cash value of underage drinking to the alcohol industry was $22.5 billion in 2001--17.5% of total consumer expenditures for alcohol. Well-designed public service announcements about "responsible" drinking are a drop in the ocean of booz. But the study didn't stop with that. It went on to figure the consumer expenditures for underage drinkers to maintain their consumption as adult drinkers with abuse and dependency, which equaled at least $25.8 billion in 2001. Teen age brains are still forming and alcohol and cigarettes consumed before adulthood have much more serious consequences for addictions and health. If you can get to 21 without starting, you probably won't have a problem and will be responsible.

So, the combined value of illegal underage drinking and adult pathological drinking to the industry was at least $48.3 billion, or 37.5% of consumer expenditures for alcolhol in 2001. Some estimates mentioned in the study place it even higher than that, at $62.9 billion and 48.8% of consumer expenditures.

If any business were to lose over 17% of its consumers' purchases, it would be hurting. But how much are they, and stockholders, hurting us? The alcohol industry needs to cultivate the underage drinker in order to be profitable, and no amount of chit-chat or sweet talk about "responsibility" is going to change that. But you don't have to participate in this fairy tale--just get it out of your portfolio. Just say No to alcohol profits.

The abstract of this article appeared in JAMA, July 26, 2006, Vol. 296, no. 4, p. 373.

3864

Garage sale finds

Although a number of "pickers" had already gone through the jewelry, I noticed this piece, which was black and priced at $.50. I suspected it was silver, or silver plate, so I took it in the house and cleaned it up with silver polish. I don't wear much jewelry, but I thought this was interesting. It seems to be strung on a piece of leather, and I may look for a way to shorten it. I wore it to a party last night with a black t-shirt and white slacks and got more compliments than I'd ever had on anything I own. And when I told the women the price. . . what fun!



This piece was maybe $1.00 and still in the May Co. box with the price tag. It too was black from tarnish, but I thought it cleaned up nicely. Looks cute with a t-shirt.



Of course, my daughter didn't even get $1.50 for these--she just gave them to me, but if you had been there, that would have been your price.

One of the cookbooks I got (out of hundreds, new and never used), was a Taste of Home 2002 Annual. I used one of the recipes for our neighborhood party last night. Very tasty. I could have figured this one out on my own, but when I saw it I realized I had the ingredients and wouldn't need to go to the store after a hot day at the garage sale. I arranged bright red strawberries, with stems, and Granny Smith sliced apples (dipped in orange juice to prevent browning) on a pretty glass sectioned platter, and in the center included "Fudgy Fruit Dip":

1/3 cup fat-free sugar-free hot fudge topping
1/3 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt (I used low-sugar strawberry yogurt)
1 1/2 teaspoons orange juice concentrate (I didn't use this)

I think I used more like 1/2 cup of of the fudge sauce and 1/2 cup of the yogurt because I had a large plate of fruit. It makes a nice dipping consistency. Browsing a new cookbook is the fun part, but in this case, I actually found something I could use.

3863

Big garage sale today

I'm off to help with my daughter's garage/estate sale. The proceeds will help pay off the bills for her mother-in-law's final illness. She was about to bring up a load of clothes all with the original price tags while we talked on the phone last night. I suggested she use two ladders with a beam between because the garage was so stuffed she had no place to put them. Two ladies who had been pestering them to take a peek had just been let in the garage by her husband. "Oh my God," I heard one of them shriek. So she sold about $200 in costume jewelry, and I don't think anything was priced over $3.00. She said you can't even tell anything is gone.

It's going to be a long hot day--the area needs rain, but just not today, please. I may not get my 2.5 miles in.

She's tough!

8 boxes of cookbooks
Lenox roses
Vintage purses
china and costume jewelry
Update: I got 2 wonderful silver necklaces for $.50 each (although she actually just gave them to me for helping), and a Taste of Home annual cookbook which I've already used, and some Christmas coasters.

Thursday Thirteen--my new walking goal

--the distance to Lakeside, OH and back by Labor Day. I'm not really walking to Lakeside, just counting the miles while I walk. Getting in shape for a trip to Ireland in the fall.

1. 250 miles to Lakeside round trip.
2. 100 days between Pentecost and Labor Day.
3. That's about 2.5 miles per day
4. Walk early--might be in the 90s today.
5. Wear good shoes.
6. And thick socks.
7. Wear sun screen.
8. Drink a lot of water.
9. Stretch before starting.
10. Listen to some good audio-books while walking.
11. Maintain good posture.
12. Take a long the camera for special moments.
13. Keep track on the ticker.

3861

The message in favorite children's books

Neo-neocon has an interesting entry on favorite children's stories, and which were her favorites as a child.

"When I was very little, for example, I detested the familiar story of The Little Red Hen. Its relentlessly self-reliant dog-eat-dog Protestant-ethic world seemed so chilling. Forget "it takes a village"—this was individualism with a vengeance. And yet, later in life, there were times when I found it necessary to apply its heartless lessons, and to Do It Myself (and she did).

A more benign early childhood book was The Little Engine That Could. This one was about trying, trying again; about having in faith in oneself and finally succeeding against huge odds. Being rather little myself, and the youngest in the family, it gave me hope (it’s interesting, also, that the Wiki link mentions the story as being a metaphor for the American Dream; it occurs to me that it could also apply to the jihadi dream).

But a much greater favorite was Ferdinand the Bull. Ah Ferdinand, Ferdinand, he of the fragrant flowers under the cork tree. I didn’t know the word “pacifist” (nor is it mentioned in the book), but the idea of opting out of struggle and strife into a simple life of non-aggression and nature was remarkably appealing.

According to Wikipedia, it turns out that Ferdinand has a bit of a political history. Published around the time of the Spanish Civil War, it was widely seen as a pacifist tract and even banned by many countries. And if you look at the comments at the Amazon listing for the book, you’ll find many people whose lives were quite affected by reading it, citing its "timeless pacifist message."

I'm not campaigning against the book itself, which I loved. But I wonder how many people never grow past the fairy tale notion that evil will disappear if we would just sit under that cork tree and smell those flowers long enough. As one of the Amazon commenters points out, in a real bullfight Ferdinand's lack of ferocity would cause him not to be shipped off to pleasant pastures, as in the book, but to be killed–which is the almost invariable fate of bulls in that activity anyway."

I remember the first two, but don't believe I ever read about Ferdinand. Maybe he came along later. My favorite story for Mother to read to us was "Wee wee mannie and the big big Coo," which is about a very cantankerous cow (Big Coo) that won't behave until told (by Wee Mannie) to misbehave, kick and bellow and then she does just the opposite. I don't think there was a political or pacifist subtext to it, but Mother was very smart, so who knows? She probably didn't know that in the traditional version, Big Coo is threatened with a knife and then she decides to cooperate. Olive B. Miller, the editor of My Book House, probably thought it was too violent an ending for children.

3860

My daughter's garage sale

Tomorrow I'm going to help with my daughter's garage sale. But I can't put anything in it because she says she already has too much stuff. Not only was she the world's best daughter-in-law when her mother-in-law was in her final illness, but she is helping to finalize the estate which will help with the nursing home bills. Her MIL was a "collector," if you know what I mean. She loved many things. Beautiful things. Things never taken out of the box or wrap. So yesterday my daughter called about some chests (yes, plural) of silverware and wanted to know how she should price them. "Are they silverplate or sterling?" I asked. She didn't know, but I told her how to find the name of the companies and patterns. She's of a generation that doesn't want to polish silver and owns very nice stainless, but no silver. When she told me the names, I told her not to price them until I had a chance to check the internet china and silver sites. Then I called her back. "Do not put them in the sale. Don't let anyone know you even have these in the house. We'll find a dealer."

3859

New walking goal

Our Easter walk is finished, so we're selecting a new goal. I set Pentecost to Labor Day, mixing my holy days and holidays. I figure a round trip walk to Lakeside and back to Columbus at about 250 miles, although my husband says 244.

3858

Vegetable Lasagna

Yuk! I had a brilliant idea yesterday, inspired by two products I hadn't seen before--a ribbon lasagne that was supposed to fit a 9 x 12 pan with no boiling, and a 4 cheese tomato sauce (brand name unfamiliar). So I whipped up a vegetarian lasagne--didn't use a recipe, but did use turnip greens lightly grilled in olive oil, onions and yellow peppers and black beans. Anyone for lunch? It could have really used some sausage or mozzarella. So this morning I looked at my niece Julie's recipe which she contributed to my 1993 family cookbook, "Taste the Memories."

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

8 oz. lasagna noodles, cooked
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, or thinned paste
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2-3 tsp. salt
1/2 - 3/4 pound sliced mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil
3/4 cup dry small red beans, cooked tender
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Rinse and set aside the cooked noodles. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until transparent, but not brown. Stir in the tomato, oregano, basil, parsley and salt. Cook the sauce about 1/2 hour, simmering it and stirring often until it has thickened. Stir in the sautéed mushrooms and cooked beans.

To assemble the lasagna: place a layer of the noodles on the bottom of a shallow baking dish, put 1/3 of the tomato sauce over the noodles, spread a layer of ricotta or cottage cheese over the sauce, then a layer of mozzarella cheese, then sprinkle 1/3 of the parmesan cheese overall. Repeat the layers twice more, ending with parmesan. Bake the lasagna in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serves 8. 1 portion=approx. 18 grams of usable protein, 41% to 50% of average daily protein need.

And Julie added: "This is my first and still favorite vegetarian recipe." I guess buying the sauce with cheese already in it was my mistake. Or maybe it was the turnip greens.

Mothers, daughters, cousins, nieces, sisters, etc. in 1999

3857

Religion in the schools

Last week when I was on my blogging hiatus, I came across two cases of spiritual/religious advocacy in our schools, one at Stephenson Elementary in Grandview Heights, the other at Ohio State. On May 24, Channel 10 ran a story on using yoga to fight obesity in children:

More and more public schools, yoga centers and gyms across the U.S. are beginning to offer yoga classes for children, 10TV's Heather Pick reported.

"Yoga for kids is a little different than yoga for adults," said instructor Julia Sims Haas. "We use a lot of the same poses but it's presented in a fun way."

Sims teaches young children yoga techniques as part of the Afterschool Adventures Program at Stevenson Elementary School.

"It really encourages kids to learn about their body, learn about the world around them, and get in touch with themselves so they can have a healthy approach and lifestyle," Haas said.

Kathleen Lemanek, a pediatric psychologist at Columbus Children's Hospital, said that everyone, including children, has some stress in their lives.

"What is going to stress a second grader is going to be very different than a tenth grader or, for us, but anything that's unexpected, unpredictable that can be stressful," Lemanek said.

She said that yoga teaches children to breathe more efficiently, calm their minds and strengthen balance, gain flexibility and improve posture.

They recommended that your pediatrician give approval, but you might also check with your pastor. Yoga is an integral part of the Hindu religion. It is not just an exercise program, although it is presented that way. It's about as honest as having the children gather for afterschool story time and then finding out the only stories presented were from the Bible, and at the end of each story, there was prayer time. That would never make it past the school board or principal, would it? But Yoga? Oh, it's just about fitting your body into prayerful positions to worship various Hindu dieties.

Then I was researching digital archives at Ohio State. The fancy name for it is "institutional repositories," or at OSU, Knowledge Bank. So I was looking through the list, noting how inconsistent the catalog subject terms were, learning that each department makes up their own (unfortunately), when I came across a video presentation of a lecture on the battle between Black Hawk and Keokuk back in the early 19th century. That sounded pretty interesting, so I brought it up. Imagine my surprise when the faculty member of Ohio State who introduced the guest speaker, gave sort of a laudatory praise to "Our Grandmother", who by definition in that culture is the Creator, Supreme Being and Author of Life. A lecture on some aspect of Christian history or literature or Crusades battle would not open with a prayer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (whom Christians accept as Creator, Supreme Being and Author of Life). At least in my many years at the university, a department sponsored event didn't open this way, although special invited guests for para-church organizations using a university room might.

So why the double standard for Christianity and other religions?

3856

How's your golf swing?

We live near a fabulous golf course. When I'm driving to or from home, I see a lot of bad golf swings. I know nothing about the game, but I know when a belly is in the way. Extra pounds looks like the culprit to me.

In today's Wall Street Journal, Tara Parker Pope writes about fitness and your golf swing.

1. If you need the cart, you probably need to improve your fitness level.
2. Short drives--lack of flexibility may be your "at a desk" life style.
3. Accuracy--posture, arthritis.
4. Inconsistent swings--lack of strength in the core muscles.
5. Game falls apart after a bad shot--you need stress management.

The women who use the OSU golf course seem to be in much better shape than the men.

3855

Look a little deeper at our medical statistics

Whenever government controlled health care is trotted out, the left points out miserable statistics about who isn't covered by insurance, our infant death rate, and how our per capita health care costs (government + private) are the highest in the world.

The left, particularly feminists and pols who depend on a steady supply of victims, won't point some dirty little secrets they've contributed to the problem of poverty and health care. For instance, more than one third of infants in the U.S. are born to single mothers, most never married, teens and non-white. Many of these babies are premature and will require extraordinary health care costs the rest of their lives. They will struggle in school, need special classes, and go on to have more babies. What and who has promoted removing men from the family and giving women money to do so with Uncle Sam as the absent step-father? The federal government and the programs, although well-intentioned at the beginning, have been promoted and marketed by the left. Conservatives, not wanting to be "mean" have gone along, and along and along, contributing to the problem through inaction and acquiescence. The liberals only solution to the problems they helped create is to kill the little ones before they are born and enroll in the system.

We have millions and millions of illegals in this country. Liberals encourage them to be illiterate in two languages in the failed name of diversity and multiculturalism. They are not learning English--some are afraid to leave their homes, let alone learn how to call for a squad or read a prescription. They miss or don't know about vaccinations and don't get health problems taken care of until they show up in the ER. They can't read to get a valid driver's license. They bring in diseases that have long been conquered in this country. Who is protecting and encouraging them in this unhealthy life style? Not conservatives.

Why would you compare this mess to Canada, which easily controls its borders (one being ours, one being too cold, and two being too wet) and rations health care or to Argentina which is 98% European and mono-cultural with zero diversity and strict immigration?

We already have government health care; it's called Medicaid for the poor and Medicare for the over 65. It is expensive and rationed. Why would the rest of you want it? When the new shingles vaccine became available the first thing I was told was that Medicare didn't cover it--so I paid for it because it is worth it (I've seen shingles and definitely want to avoid it). My Medigap policy is very expensive and doesn't always cover and by the time I finally get the bill that has been passed around, it is 6 months later and I've forgotten the appointment--and that's what the rest of you want?

Next time you hear Hillary or John-Boy touting universal government health care, peek under the rug and ask which universe and how much care.

3854

New restaurant in Marblehead

Yesterday we enjoyed breakfast at Avery's in Marblehead, OH. It's a new place, almost next door to the book store that is raising money for the new library, on the main street (i.e., Main St.) through town. Wonderful baked goods, yummy pancakes, fresh fruit. It fills up early. We got there about 8 a.m., but when we left at 9, it was full. There's also a new coffee shop I hadn't seen before. Coffee spills, possibly, or is that the name of my other, other blog? We went with Lakesiders Jim and Marian from Toledo. She's also a retired librarian.



Do you like to quilt? Quilts by Elsie sells quilt patterns for lighthouses. Here's one for Marblehead.

3853

Just about now

they are dedicating the Veterans Memorial in Forreston, Il, 2 p.m., May 28, 2007. It had been talked about for some time, but in 2003, Dave Snapp, a Korean War vet took the ball and ran with it. Journal Standard Story The names of veterans includes the Civil War to the present.



My dad was the 13th District Commander of the American Legion, which had a total membership of 6,500 when he was membership chairman, and he was post Commander of Forreston in 1950.

3852

Lakeside is Open!

We enjoyed our three day holiday at the lake, although yard work, gutter cleaning and ceiling repainting isn't exactly a holiday, still it is fun to be there and see the cottages being opened and cleaned. They've had a lot more rain there than we've had in central Ohio and all the lawns and flowers look great.

Coffee 'n Cream at 2nd and Walnut

Ooh-la-la on 2nd

On Holiday

My most loyal reader called to ask why I wasn't blogging. Thanks, Bev! Hope you all (in the USA) have a nice holiday week-end; time to go to the cemetery, decorate some graves and say Thank You.

Meanwhile, I found an interesting blog for you to visit--especially if you've ever been a student or a teacher, which would be just about everyone. It's called Rate Your Students. Near as I can tell, both students and teachers send the site comments about classroom experiences and assignments which are then posted by the blog hosts. Here's a good one.

The next time you give a formal presentation and kick off your flip-flops on the way to the front of the room, perhaps you shouldn't come to me two days later demanding why your effort grade wasn’t higher. Also, I have no problem with you bringing your well-behaved child to a class because the daycare fell through, but I must admit that I wonder about your parenting skills when I lean down to warn you that we will be watching a couple scenes from an R-rated movie that contains adult language and you say, “Oh, we’ll just stay here. She’s used to it.” I suggest you reserve her “Girls Gone Wild” consent form in advance. Oh, and her suite at rehab. Maybe you can get a window room.

I mean, is that priceless, or what? Haven't we all seen that sort of effort or parent just about everywhere? Or this one from a music teacher:

Your knowledge is bounded by your bigotry. I get it. You're indie. You hate everything that reeks of formalism and conformity. You like bands with names like “The Decemberists” and “A3”, but you will immediately stop liking them as soon as you hear that I know they exist. Every time I give you an assignment like writing 4 part choral harmony, or programming a hip-hop drum part, you have to protect your indie cred by informing the entire class that this type of music sucks, and that you don't need to learn how to do this because your own unique artistic voice will always only consist of poorly played guitar riffs layered 50 times and washed out in reverb. Two things: first, the fact that you think Coltrane sucks does not, in fact, make Coltrane suck. It makes you a narcissist with a myopic range of cultural influences, which is basically the exact opposite of people I like. The second thing is this. Your parents are spending $30,000 a year to send you to this school, where you chose to study music in a formalized setting, from people who make their living in this industry, and where a significant portion of your education will come from imitating the artistic masters who came before you. I don't know what indie cred is, but I'm pretty sure that you lost all of it when you chose this path. Wanna be indie? Drop out, move to Silverlake, rent a room from a cross-dressing coffee shop owner, work at an organic grocery co-op in NoHo for minimum wage, and practice your instrument 9 hours a day. If you want to be the thing, be the thing, don't just wear the clothes.

RYS will be blogging light during the summer, but I'm sure the archives are good.

3851

New Blogger feature

Blogger.com has a new automatic save feature--at least I've only noticed it recently. However, something's not working right and I think it might be related to the SAVE NOW feature. If you ignore the automatic and save anyway, I think you might be turning off the comments feature. Four or five times recently I've discovered my comments feature has been turned off--not on the whole template, but just selected entries. I'm not doing anything to go into "options" and reset the comments feature, so I think something in the automatic saving feature is doing it. Also, the automatic SAVE NOW seems to be resetting the time. So if you've drafted something, let it sit a bit, do another entry, publish that one, won't the newly saved (but older) entry be out of order? Any thoughts?

3850

Women who snore

Yes, we do. Maybe not as loud as the guys, maybe we don't rock the house or scare the dog, but we snore. Especially if we are fat. Today I was reading "Menopause not always to blame for sleep problems in midlife women" in the May 2 issue of JAMA (I'm not caught up, sorry). Lynne Lamberg reports that sleep complaints from midlife women (and we all have them) may not just be menopause. They may be more subjective than objective, too, because sleep lab studies show that postmenopausal women had better sleep overall than premenopausal women! Just a guess here, but I'm betting Lynne hasn't reached the hot flash, soak-the-bedsheets, wake-up-dripping stage of life yet. Here are some of the other causes

job stress

care responsibilities for aging parents

ill spouse

bed partner's snoring (I think it's funny that you have an "ill spouse," but the person you sleep with is a "bed partner." But I digress

obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

restless leg syndrome (RLS)

Women with sleep apnea (and you know who you are, dear readers) "commonly present with insomnia, depression, fatigue, and hypothyroidism, and they are more likely to have higher body mass indexes (BMIs)" than men who have the same condition. The article then proceeds to discussing the medical profession's cop-out--encourage the woman with OSA to use CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). It only requires 6 hours of use nightly to restore sleepiness to normal levels--but it does nothing for the sex life, so many women refuse to use it.

Restless leg syndrome (feels like bugs crawling) also is aggrevated by higher BMI and by smoking. It too can cause depression, drowsy driving, impaired concentration, anxiety and all that other stuff we mid-lifers get. Again, the medical profession recommends a medication that affects the brain center.

So after reading the article, I asked my husband a simple question: "Do you think I snore as much as I used to?" He didn't hesitate to think. "No."

I wasn't enormous--I was just at the tipping edge of my range on the BMI scale, but I did lose the 20 pounds I didn't need (see my TT about food triggers). The reason I asked wasn't just this article. I had noticed I wasn't waking up as much at night and was wondering what was different. I didn't connect it with the weight loss. This is not medical advice, but if you ask your doctor about your sleep problems, I'm guessing you'll be told to lose weight. I'd at least pass on the CPAP or the meds and try 10-20 lbs to see if that helps.

Whoa! Wrong blog!

The questions I see on my site meter (that bring strangers to my blog) aren't as amusing as some I see reported by other bloggers, but this one's got to be the best.

"i wan to collect money for a low income woman to go to college in texas"

I hope this was from the woman and not the boyfriend or husband wanting to cash in on a government program.

3848

Falling off the wagon

My husband was out of town last night, so we didn't have our Friday night date, and my Philly Cheese sandwich and fries that I look forward to all week. So I ate my vegetables alone. Then I ate several ounces of cheddar cheese alone. Then an ice cream bar alone. He still wasn't home by lunch today. So I ate my vegetables alone. And then about 10 small sugar free oatmeal cookies alone. Thank goodness he's home now and I can return to my diet maintenance and get a Philly Cheese tonight!

KeeWee has a really cute diet post. If I share it with all my women friends, I'll loose 10 lbs. Actually, I don't want to loose any, so I'm glad I know chain letters don't work. But you'll have a good time reading it.

3847

Depression in teen girls

A study published in a recent issue of Archives of General Psychiatry links low birth weight and depression among adolescent girls, but not boys.

There were 1420 participants in this study done in North Carolina, 49% of them females. The cumulative prevalence of depression among adolescent girls with low birth weight was 38.1%, compared with 8.4% among girls who had normal birth weight after controlling for other adversities. When adversities were present, they affected the low weight girls more than the normal weight. The thinking is that fetal development has consequences for stress response. Low birth weight did not predict other psychiatric disorders in either boys or girls.

"Prediction from low birth weight to female adolescent depression: a test of competing hypotheses," by EJ Costello and others. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2007;64:338-344.

Not much has changed in 13 months

Here's what I wrote about immigration on April 11, 2006

Bridges to nowhere. Gender politics. Pork Barrel Polkas. Deranged fringe elements of both parties. Killing the unborn legally with impunity. Really, I thought I'd seen every disaster our Congress could move out of committee, but this immigration thing takes the cake, doesn't it? And it's not immigration. That's what you do when it is legal.

This new thing, the one they are cooking up behind closed doors, the one to fix IRCA the 1986 law that only increased illegal immigration after establishing amnesty? I'm calling it Bipa-Pabi--the bi-partisan pandering bill, because big business likes it, big agriculture likes it, unions like it, Democrats like it, and . . . the President likes it. Be suspicious. Be very suspicious.

Bush is losing support of conservatives--not because of the war, but because of his amnesty course. Bob McCarty rescinds his legacy post: "I’m poised to rewrite the Bush legacy of 2060 five decades early: If “W” signs the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (a.k.a., the SHAMNESTY™ plan), he will lose my support and that of millions of truly patriotic Americans and, as a result, won’t deserve a place in history among our nation’s greatest leaders.

3845

Whales or racism?

I've lost count of how many times I've heard a radio news report on those whales who've gone miles upstream near Sacramento, CA. Or how many times I've heard the sad, sad story about a rural church in Ohio that burned down this week and now the members are struggling to "move on" with their lives. But the story about the 5 African Americans who kidnapped, tortured, raped, murdered and dismembered a couple of white college students? Not a peep except around Knoxville.

Why do we get swamped with stories about the Duke lacrosse students being guilty before the evidence is even gathered with national coverage and the Jesse noose posse getting ready to hang them on the basis of the accusation of an exotic dancer who's done this before. But barely a word except on the internet on what was obviously a racially motivated, brutal torture and killing. If this had been a bunch of white guys (and one woman) torturing and raping a black man and woman, or someone cutting off the penis of a homosexual, we would have had riots in the streets with the network and cable news media whipping up the frenzy with hordes of cameras and "journalists."

I have no doubt that the psycho-sicko crew will get their much deserved punishment, or that we have sufficient laws to cover this without hate crimes legislation--the two young people couldn't be more dead if there had been a motive other than hate. But what sort of punishment should the media get for slobbering all over the Duke story peeking under every possible rock looking for racism (except on the part of the woman) when some white athletes hire a woman who has willingly chosen this lucrative type of profession, and ignore the other? And Don Imus using the word Ho to insult black female athletes--the media acted like the world would come to an end. Well, it actually did end for Newsom and Christian. Why do we get endless hours of Anna Nicole or whales who try to swim upriver and yet the two older Ohio women who disappeared 4 weeks ago barely get a blip. It took 3 weeks to make it to AP and Fox.

I don't want the media to make news; I just want them to report news.

WaPo defends the media coverage of the mutilation murders

Dear Pat W. Johnston, Director of Consumer Services

Give it up, Pat (I think it is a made-up name like Betty Crocker, or Mr. Goodwrench). Stop sending me credit card offers. I don't care if you have NO ANNUAL FEE. I don't want your 20,000 bonus miles. I don't need your annual percentage rate of 9.24% (0.02532% daily) because I never carry a balance on my credit card. You have spent so much money, time, paper and postage on me. Do you think I'm being coy when I send your love letters back? And if I were to accept, here's what I'd have to do:

Authorize you to check my credit and employment history (which you've already done to pre-approve me)

Authorize you to transfer my current balance (don't have one)

Agree to limit my legal rights, including my right to go to court, to have a jury trial, and to participate in class actions

Accept an offer that is void to residents of GU, PR, VI and all other U.S. dependent areas, but apparently not to illegal immigrants who might be using my SS number and Tax ID that Ohio State lost in a hacking incident recently

Accept that I won't know my limits or the full details of the agreement until after you approve me

Accept that if you do make a mistake in billing, I must contact you no later than 60 days after the first bill, but if I phone to report the error (press 1 for English), I won't be preserving my rights. I need to write you a letter!

If I stop payment on an automatic withdrawal from my bank account because of your error, the letter (not a phone call) has to reach you three business days before the automatic payment is scheduled

After I've jumped through all those written letter and mail deadlines, you get 90 days after the 30 days you took to acknowledge my letter. You know what Pat, if that is really your gender-free name, this is beginning to sound as though you've got all the goodies on your side, doesn't it?

And if the merchant is the problem, he has to be in Ohio, within 100 miles of my current mailing address.

Then you have another bunch of rules specially made for Ohio residents about anti-discrimination. Credit must be equally available to all creditworthy customers and credit reporting agencies maintain separate credit histories on individuals upon request. In Ohio? Really? So that's how you got my name and address and put me in your data base? You can't get credit reports in other states except Ohio, New York, and Vermont? And I can't even begin to figure out what you said about married Wisconsin residents, but it sounds pretty strange.

Now that I've read all the way to the bottom, I see that you've already looked at my credit report and pre-screened me. Instead of tearing up these offers, I should have been calling the consumer opt-out number 1-888-567-8688. What do you want to bet that they'll ask me my social security number and there won't be a live person, and the recording will assure me all this is confidential?

Derek has been keeping track of Pat's letters. According to one of the commenters at his blog, these are more than just benign, pesky offers--these scum scams check your credit rating twice a month which degrades your credit! Another commentor added that calling the opt-out number didn't stop the offers.

3843

Dry Clean Only!

This is a terrible dilemma. The tag says dry clean, but you haven't worn it in ages, and you hate to even donate it if it isn't clean. What to do? What to do! Wash it on gentle, slow cycle, in Woolite and see what happens.

I have a white linen, two piece outfit that definitely says, Dry clean only. Linen is just awful for wrinkling. So, pay $10 for drycleaning and have it look like I'd kept it for 5 years in my computer bag the minute I fasten my seat belt? I wore it a few times in 2002, but we're at the lake most of the summer, and for the last two summers I was too fat to get it zipped. Now it fits, but is 5 years old. So I washed it. Seems to be OK, but if not, at least it will be clean when I donate it.

After I stopped working, there was little need for blazers, and I've gradually eliminated them, keeping a navy blazer, and a beige one, which is linen and rayon. Its label too said "dry clean only," but so what. I live on the edge. I'm a retired librarian with 10 blogs! It seems to look fine, my arms have grown a bit in the last 7 years, but I wore it today because it was a bit cool.

Friday Family Photo

Yesterday the WSJ ran a parenting article about overscheduling children in their summer activities. In my mind's eye I replayed the dozen or so summers I remember when I was a child--they seemed to run forever--hot, hazy and relaxed with hours of finding shapes in the clouds and bugs in the grass and bubbles in the tarred streets for bare toes.

At first I couldn't imagine my mother managing my summers for me, but looking back I realize she was quietly (she was always quietly doing something) planning my schedule. In Forreston I attended summer recreation program at the community school for games, swimming and sports. From age 11-16 I attended summer camp at Camp Emmaus. In elementary school I had babysitting jobs; in high school I detasseled corn, worked at the drug store, at a feed company and the town library. I had a horse, or my friends did, and we rode them down hot, dusty roads. After age 14 I was dating and going on picnics at the Pines, to the roller rink, to movies out of town and locally. My church CBYF had weekly Sunday evening meetings; my girl friends and I had slumber parties; the town had summer band concerts (still does) where you bought bags of popcorn and hoped to see someone special even if you didn't hear a note; and there were 4-H projects to get ready for the county fair. And the projects Mom would invent to keep us busy! Gardening, canning, cleaning, cooking, sewing, laundry. Oh my! That could cut into a sleepy summer day's reading.

Obviously, this is not a summer photo, but my mother's camera broke around 1945 and we don't have many pictures of my childhood. There was no extra money to get it fixed, she once told me. I thought hanging upside down was just about the most fabulous trick, and it was performed on our back yard slide on Hitt Street in Mt. Morris. The two board and batten barns you see in the background were actually garages, but in those days, many barns from an earlier era had been converted. We had a "real" garage, one side for us and one side for our neighbors, the Crowells. The barn nearest in the photo was behind Mike Balluff's and Dick Zickuhr's homes, and the one further away I think was behind Doug Avey's house or possibly the Aufterbecks. At the left edge I think I can see a chicken coup. There were no horses in town, but a lot of people still had a few chickens for fresh eggs.

There are no leaves on the trees, and I'm wearing a coat, head scarf, and slacks which must mean it was cold. Little girls only wore slacks if it was really cold--the rest of the time we were in dresses. The coat was probably a hand-me down from one of my sisters. I think it was navy blue, double breasted with large white buttons, most likely made by my mother.

So maybe childhood schedules aren't so different. What do you think?

3841

This 'n That

Are you happy yet, Algore? Food prices are soaring--hurting the poor. Putting corn in the gas tank to please the global warming fundamentalists is raising gas prices, raising the cost of corn that is used in a lot of products, taking some products out of production as farmers switch to the high demand for bio-fuels.

Best quote in the Republican debate was the one from Tancredo on conversions on the road to DesMoines. Fox questions are definitely better than the softball lobs the other media mavens throw.

The Lexus LS 600hL ($104,715) owner's manual has 1,097 pages, according to WSJ story. Gone with the Wind has only 960 in paperback. But it has been edited, so it could've been larger. It won't fit into the glovebox, so needs a special place in the trunk (who reads books in the trunk?). There is a supplement of 74 p. for a quick reference.

The growing middle class of China and India might have a thing or two to say to folks who think they'll turn around global warming by reducing the life style of Americans.

Jonathon Clements of WSJ advises new college grads to aim at accumulating a savings goal of 2x their projected income. He suggests funding your employers 401(k) plan and your own Roth IRA. I suggest you first look for the sound investment of a good marriage. The new financial divide isn't racial, it's marital. Nothing like the support of 2 sets of parents for a good safety net.

Washington DC ranks second (New Hampshire is first) in per capital alcohol consumption in the U.S., falling to 4 gallons/person in 2004 from 6.6 gallons in 1970. (Politico, May 14)

I overheard a woman from Bulgaria telling her co-worker that she was surprised that the planners of her high school reunion in Bulgaria were able to track her down in another country with another name (married now) to invite her to the reunion. Maybe our government could learn something about tracking immigrants from the Bulgarians?

The federal government is taking over the private Richard Nixon library which had been managed by a private foundation. Nixon's papers, 44 million pages of records and 3,000 hours of audio tapes are "secure" in the National Archives. NARA security was no problem for Sandy Berger who barely got a slap on the wrist for stealing 9/11 documents. Timothy Naftoli will be the librarian. Of course, he's not a librarian, he's a historian, more evidence of how weak and disrespected the American Library Association is. Maybe they should try being less political and more librarian?

I was listening to Catholic radio talk show today. A grandmother who has custody of her grand daughter called with concerns about what was being taught at her parochial school. They were designing mandalas in art class and being taught yoga in gym class. For this Catholics are paying money?

There's a Relay for Life in our suburb May 18-19. We're about 99.5% white; due to international adoptions and some university folk, the population mix of the schools might be 98% white. The poster must come from "headquarters," which this year has decided on a diversity push. So the poster shows 8 happy, smiling young people participating--1 Hispanic, 2 African American, 4 Asian, and 1 middle-eastern.

For Mother's Day I got the DVD of Dreamgirls.

Between 1962 and 2004 the marriage rate for black women has steadily declined from 62 to 36%; among whites, from 84% to 64%. At mid-20th century, the least educated were the most likely to be in an interracial marriage, but by the end of the century, the most educated were most likely to intermarry.

It was no surprise that Upper Arlington's library levy passed. They've raised our taxes another $800,000 even though they have more money than they know what to do with. That's $61 per $100,000 of assessed home value.

3836

Poetry Thursday--Oft in the stilly night

This poem by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) was the selection for May 17 in my "A poem a day" book, so I decided to do a little research. It certainly reflects the thoughts and conversations of people my age. That stays consistent over the years. It was put to music and very popular in the 19th century. I haven't written any poetry for awhile, but am reading it.

Oft in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Fond Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me:
The smiles, the tears of childhood's* years,
The words of love then spoken;
The eyes that shone,
Now dimm'd and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken!
Thus in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me.

When I remember all
The friends, so link'd together,
I've seen around me fall
Like leaves in wintry weather,
I feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed!
Thus in the stilly night
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad Mem'ry brings the light
Of other days around me.*boyhood's was in the original

Moore was a precocious child, publishing his first verses at the age of 11. As a boy he studied French, Italian, and music, and in 1794 he entered Trinity College. Later, by dint of his verses and singing, he became a familiar and well-liked figure in London, where he had gone to study law.

With the first publication of his Melodies, he found himself both rich and a popular hero. Although not a revolutionary, he was a friend of Robert Emmet; and his songs, which were performed for and acclaimed by the English aristocracy, had the effect of arousing sympathy for the Irish nationalist movement.

Influenced in part by Scott's historical novels, Lord Byron's "oriental" tales, and the popularity of the newly translated 1001 Nights, Moore in 1817 published Lalla Rookh, a narrative poem set in the Mideast (or at least an 18th-century Irishman's conception of the Mideast). It was wildly successful, selling out in a matter of days and running through half a dozen editions over the next six months. It quickly became the most translated work of its time. In 1818 Moore published the first of his National Airs, and in that collection appeared the song "Oft in the Stilly Night." Lord Byron was a devoted friend; and after the poet died in Greece, his personal memoirs fell into Moore's possession. In one of the great belletristic tragedies of the Romantic period, Moore and the publisher John Murray decided to burn these priceless pages — probably out of concern for Byron's reputation. Moore later wrote a biography of the poet, which was published with the Letters and Journals of Lord Byron (1830). In poor health and his mind failing, Moore died in Wiltshire, England, in 1852. Thomas Moore, Music in the works of James Joyce

Do you read the ads?

This morning I noticed a full page ad for Allstate.

Why do most 16 year olds drive like they are missing part of their brain? Because they are." [graphic showing a brain with a piece missing]

A teen-brain hasn't finished developing. The underdeveloped area is called the dorsal lateral prefontal cortex. It plays a critical role in decision making, problem solving and understanding future consequences to today's action.

Car crashes injure about 300,000 teens a year and kill 6,000."

Other research shows that if you add alcohol or drugs to that teen brain, the hole really never fills in the same way it would if it had the opportunity to be drug free. Immaturity in the 30s and 40s may be a result of a teen brain that never grew up in a timely fashion. The fabric to stretch over that hole is thin and frayed. Important things that should have been learned at 16 or 17, come much harder if learned later.

The other day I heard that if you can keep your teen from drinking or smoking until they are 20, the chances are good it won't become a problem for them. They'll have the maturity and self discipline to limit their behavior. Sounds like we could save a lot of lives just by raising the legal driving age a year or two. If you can keep a teen-girl from having sex with her boyfriends until she is out of her teens, chances are good she will not end up on welfare because she will probably finish her schooling and not be popping out babies or having abortions.

Just a bit of digression. Who do you suppose it is, social/political conservatives or social/political liberals, who think teens need early freedom to experiment, to "learn to be responsible" by making the wrong choices, who need to find their gender identity by exploring, who don't need filters on computers or ratings on music, or should have alcohol at the parties their parents provide. Who is it that wants to park the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff rather than put up some road blocks and fences along the dangerous curved road to prevent the disasters? Hmmmm. Who seems to have a piece of their brain missing and can't foresee the future consequences of illegal immigration, diversity laws, over regulation of business, special hate speech laws, "taxing the rich" out of business, running out on our allies, and aborting the future generations at about a million a year?

Just wondering, of course. About that missing piece of brain among our legislators and candidates for 2008.

Allstate information on teen drivers

Another reason to give up smoking

This is a new one on me. Back pain. I've had back problems and pain off and one since my horse fell on me when I was 12 years old. Holding two babies, one on each hip aggrevated it when I was in my late 20s. But I've never been a smoker. Just the mother of one. Now there are new guidelines for aching backs from the NCQA, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (I assume that's medical insurance). $90 billion a year is being spent on x-rays, CT scans, injections and surgeries! Wow.

One of the top suggestions of the guidelines is to quit smoking. Smokers with back pain have more severe back pain that lasts longer and they have poorer outcomes after surgery.

Fear of litigation on the part of doctors is the primary reason you might getting the help you don't need.

Let's see: Cancer; heart disease; lung cancer; wrinkles; body odor; bad breath; slow healing; COPD; and now back pain. Geesh. Smoke gets in your eyes--and everything else, apparently.

Seen in the WSJ.

Lil Luke still needs a home

This beautiful, badly injured Bichon is healing nicely in his foster home, but still needs a permanent home and some help with the vet bills. Checkout Hollywood Dog for details. Jinky really wants him gone!

If you'd like to help, or are interested in providing a family:

Brent Air Animal Hospital
11560 West Olypmic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-478-0011

Thursday Thirteen--New Cable Shows

Cable is increasing original series. We started watching "The Closer" which premiered in summer 2005 because there wasn't much else on. I've really enjoyed Monk, too. Yesterday in a special advertising section I noticed a list of those that will start this summer or early next year. Unfortunately, we'll miss most of the premieres because our summer home doesn't have cable. But here goes.

USA--"The Starter Wife," mini-series with Debra Messing

TNT--"The Company"--about the Cold War era.

FX--"Damages" Glenn Close as a ruthless attorney

TNT--"Heartland" about an organ transplant specialist

TNT--"Saving Grace" has Holly Hunter as an Oklahoma City cop

USA--"Burn Notice" is a spy thriller

TBS--"The Bill Engvall Show" blue collar comedy

TBS--"House of Payne"--family sit-com

Comedy Central--satirical comedy "Lil' Bush"

Bravo--"Hey Paula" reality show about Paula Abdul

A&E--(to start Jan.1, 2008)"Confessions of a matchmaker" reality show about Patti Novak of Buffalo

USA--"The Coreys" reality show about former kid stars Corey Hains and Corey Feldman (I'm not familiar with either one of them)

Discovery Channel--special even series "Ten ways to save the Planet"