2677 What does it mean to be 22 today?

Elise has just graduated from Hofstra and with her mom is staying in our Lakeside cottage this coming week with our cat while we fly off to Helsinki to see Riitta and Martti. Her mom will be teaching some art classes and she'll be assisting. She was pretty tired, having driven through from NY, and we sat on the porch chatting Thursday morning before my husband took her sailing. She was eating cold nachos and sour cream for breakfast. She laughed, and said, "I'm just being 22."

It reminded me that I really don't know very many young--really young--adult women, except through the internet. Mainly through Thursday Thirteen. For all I know, cold nachos for breakfast is the cold pizza of the 80s (which my kids thought was great). It surprises me to come across women bloggers 25 or 26 talking about their school age children. It wouldn't have surprised me at all when I was 25 (one of my close friends from high school is a great-grandmother), but these days, adolescence seems to stretch into the early 30s. When I meet women directly with babies and toddlers, they seem to be late 30s or early 40s.

When I was 22, I was a working, going-to-grad-school mom. I've never felt as old or tired as I did then. I don't regret any of it, but don't remember that translating Russian medical journals in a tiny apartment with a cranky baby was a lot of fun. Still, I distinctly remember that when I was a child, my only goal was to become an adult and be independent. Mission accomplished.

2676 Now this is library humor and parody worth reading

No FatStalker here. This is the real thing. RLG. Regressive Librarians Guild. It's so regressive, it actually uses the word "librarian." Think Kelo on steroids. They want to take your land so they can build libraries on it. They want everyone to dress like a librarian dress in drab Communist gray.

2675 The Fat Cat

Edie, my son's cat, is jealous that Abby (my daughter's Chihuahua) has had so much time on my blog, here and here. I suggested she lose some weight first, but she stomped her dainty little paw, then tipped over, and said, "Does this kitchen tile make me look fat?"

2674 The well-dressed librarian (retired)

Here's the fashion plan for the trip to Finland and Russia: black, cream/khaki and white. Boring but easy. No one will accuse me of being a fashionable, stuck up American tourist (although they might guess my career track). I ran into K-Mart this morning and picked up a few things--I mean, summer stuff is on sale. If it shrinks or rips, I can always crochet a rug like Mom did (lol--that'll be the day).

I bought a little black dress, probably too little, it is an 8 and it's been 20 lbs since I wore an 8. Folded for travel, it is about the size of a farmer's hankie. I bought a swim suit--a style that I swear I haven't seen since the 50s. 50% off and 50% more coverage than most suits. It might be my ticket into the sauna. I do not do naked. I used to belong to a health spa when I was in my 20s and was shocked to see what 45 year old women looked like. Now I'm 20 years the other side of awful! It's also a size or two too small, but K-Mart is providing mirrors that make you look slimmer instead of like you're at the carnival fun house.

I don't have time to do my usual watercolor sketch, but here's the general plan for the suitcase. For the plane trip (very long) it will be the loosest black slacks, a coral t-shirt, a cream jacket with generous pockets, and coral print scarf. I'm so pale, coral looks good on me.

This trip will be quite international. Most of these clothes were made in China and Mexico, however, in looking over the tags, I also saw Costa Rica, Lesotho, Australia, Ukraine, Vietnam, El Salvado, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Hey, better there than here if workers are being shipped in containers to work in sweatshops or coyoted across the border. Trade agreements will keep potential illegals in their home countries (instead of joining labor unions here and becoming democrats). If they are going to take American jobs, better to do it there.

2673 Friday Family Photo

Thirty years ago we flew to California to visit my in-laws. Because my husband's parents divorced when he was very young, we didn't know them all that well. We had a great week and particularly enjoyed getting to know my husband's brother and sister. I think this is Huntington Beach. We're visiting the sibs in September for his sister's wedding.

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things I wouldn't know if I didn't read the Black Swamp Trader and Gazette.

There are a lot of local festivals in small towns in the Firelands area of Ohio. Some areas of Ohio used to belong to Connecticut, and during the American Revolution, British troops destroyed property along the sea coast of Connecticut. In order to repay colonists for their losses, Connecticut gave these colonists 500,000 acres of land. These were called the "Firelands" and were set aside at the western end of the Western Reserve. This newspaper serves some of these small communities as a "free circ."

1. Mondays are grandparent days at the President Hayes Center in Fremont, OH.
2. Bowling Green is having a classic car show on Main Street July 8.
3. Grand Rapids, OH is having Rally Days, July 8-9.
4. Pemberville, OH is having a German Christmas on July 8, and a cruising night on July 6.
5. Genoa, OH is having a classic car and truck cruise-in every Wednesday.
6. Mansfield, OH and Richland County are having Fall Foliage Festivals--there are several--and you can visit Malabar Farms where Bogie and Bacall were married.
7. Marblehead, OH had its 7th Annual Ice Cream Social on July 1.
8. Norwalk, OH is having a classic car show with live radio broadcast every Thursday through August!
9. There will be a Dutchtown Hatchery Festival in New Washington, OH on July 7-8.
10. Milan, OH is having a Food and Wine Celebration with 20 renowned chefs on the grounds of The Culinary Vegetable Institute on July 15. On Tuesday nights, all the cruisers will be in Milan.
11. Berlin Heights, OH is having its 2nd Annual Marble Tournament on August 6.
12. Fostoria, OH is having a Fostorial Glass and Heritage Festival on July 14-15.
13. The 2nd Annual Lincoln Highway Yard Sale (through Ohio and Indiana) is noted for Bucyrus, OH, August 10-12 and stretches for 250 miles. Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival is August 17-19 (don't try to drive through Bucyrus on those days unless you want to eat).

Since I've only been to Marblehead, Bucyrus, Milan, and Mansfield, I can't guarantee these are all fabulous places to visit (or even that they are all "Firelands"), but there are small town festivals and events everywhere which support local history and merchants. Visit one in your area this summer.


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2671 Who is this masked librarian?

Someone is attempting to write a right wing librarian parody--at least I think that's what it is. Shush, Annoyed, Tomeboy, Oyarsa, and a few others get featured with the word RIGHT very prominently. And since I write right on more often than they do (I'm retired and they have to work for a living) and because I rightly pointed out a flaw to a very sensitive but excellent writer who writes in parenthetical phrases too deep to plumb some time back (around the time the blog started) for using the word "right" but not the word "left" in discussing the WIDE range of thought among librarians, pardon my run on here, I think my astute analytical skills have figured this one out. I think he really took it hard that time I said I felt no obligation to provide marijuana culture books or advice in the agriculture library since it is illegal. Oh those baby boomers!

But since I only get occasional hits from that parody, I guess I'll be big and overlook his tantrums because no one seems to be reading it. He doesn't pick on the guys much. Just old pensioners like me. Sigh. His regular stuff (technology) is outstanding, but politics just doesn't seem to be his gift. Besides, it helps the stats if someone wanders in. It's been up almost a year and I've just come across it.

2670 You're getting this third hand

Politics. It's never very pretty.

"The upper echelons of the ALA [American Library Association] are a wasteland of irrelevant political intrigue and foolish commentary. The ALA Council either is itself composed mostly of scoundrels, or (as I believe) lets itself be hijacked by political scoundrels who, in the words of one SRRT scoundrel I overheard in New Orleans, "really know how to get resolutions passed." She considered it a point of arrogant pride that they were able to herd the other librarians like sheep. I was too polite to tell her what a rude and ill mannered little troglydyte she was. And of course how unimportant she is."

Annoyed Librarian

The SRRT's [social responsibilities round table] siblings and cousins are in every fraternal and professional organization, including churches, herding the sheep. Ignoring them or not attending the meetings doesn't discourage them--it emboldens them.

2669 The Oath and the Pledge

Sure, you can say the Pledge of Allegiance; it's not a government document and was actually first written for a children's magazine by Francis Bellamy, a Christian Socialist.

But could you say or even read and commit to the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America?

Oath:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

According to chapter 2, "Naturalization and nationality" in Companion to American Immigration the right to naturalize recognized in the U.S. Constitution represented a conscious repudiation of feudal subjectship when individuals were bound without their consent to sovereign overlords and states they ruled. The Articles of Confederation left citizenship up to the individual states, however the U.S. Constitution empowered the federal government to establish naturalization (Article 1, Sec. 8).

A new oath of allegiance was being planned for 2003, but the CIS came under heavy criticism for not allowing enough time for public debate. I would guess that following on the heels of the demonstrations by illegals held in May, the public discourse if held in 2006 would not be kind to diluting this oath.

There are many Americans living abroad for many years who would never be able to say this oath if it were required for coming back. Not that they want to (return), but the country in which they reside probably won't allow them to become citizens (few countries make it as easy as the U.S. and Canada), and they don't want to be stateless.

Cross-posted at Illegals Now.

2668 Are expensive shoes worth it?

You probably don't think $90 is expensive for a pair of shoes, but it's about $80 more than my favorite pair that has held up for three years. Perhaps I shouldn't be depending on a librarian for fashion advice, but Blonde Librarian who is living in Germany says that white athletic shoes really give you away as an American. I don't know why that should be bad, but I remember we used to chuckle at the German exchange students who even in high school wore hose and sandals for every day wear when everyone with a plug of sense knew you should be wearing white, roll down anklets and suede tie oxfords.

But I digress. About three months ago I went to the New Balance store in the Tuttle Mall for some hoity-toity, colored athletic shoes. Well, I didn't want them to glow in the dark or enable me to leap tall buildings with a single bound or be wrapped in velcro, so I chose a very handsome sleek black leather loafer style by the Dunham label. I was even able to get them in 8.5AA, my size. But they were $90, with a 90 day wear guarantee.

I broke them in gradually so they would be comfortable on our trip to Finland and Russia, beginning with about an hour a day. I even wore them a few times on short one mile walks to make sure they wouldn't be a disaster for a day outing. They are extremely comfortable and I don't feel like I've dressed from the missionary barrel when I wear them. This week I noticed that the inside lining is starting to disintegrate and I can feel the impression of my foot and toes on the inside--like I might expect if these were a year old or more. All shoes these days are made in China, but not all Chinese shoes are equally durable. You can keep your snooty name brands and expensive advertising; it's back to K-Mart for me.

2667 New Jersey Casinos forced to close?

Is this supposed to be bad news? Will Grandma have to stay home and read a book, go out to lunch with her former bridge club friends (they've lost contact), or put some of her check in the bank instead of playing the slots for an artificial high? Tell me why this is bad. That New Jersey won't be raking in money from the poor, addicted and addled.

2667 On Being White in America

Although I haven't found a scholarly article that traces when the worm turned and it became bad to be White in America, I'm sure I could find such a chapter in a Tammy Bruce, Ann Coulter or Bill O'Reilly book (I'm aware of them, but haven't actually read any of their titles). At the university level, however, such an expose wouldn't get you promotion or tenure in 2006, and even having such a title or article in your library, might get you censored or suspended.

It would make an interesting bibliographic essay or review article--just tracking the literature, beginning around 1965. But because wiping out WIA, all vestiges of the European in the United States, is a positive goal for academics, I'm not anticipating finding a department or area studies** program to determine and anlyze the motives, money and machinations behind this movement among historians, educators, sociologists and college administrations. Economists and political scientists are still a bit conflicted--waiting to see which way the wind blows. Just throwing the phrase "marxist hegemony" or "mainstream media" at the problem just doesn't explain such self-hatred, or why the majority have bought into the brainwashing. Have our collective brain synapses been tangled by our entertainment industry? Is it the fast food that is causing our brains to turn to mush? Is it the happy, clappy music at church in place of Euro-based liturgies?

This theme ungirds just about everything I read about "diversity" or "multiculturalism." The push for multiculturalism is not rooted in the idea that we all benefit from exposure to difference cultures (although the early proponents may have thought that), but that it is bad and evil for this country to be majority white and anglo. Every other culture and ethnic group has value--but ours must be destroyed. The push for abortion begins and ends with the educated white women, not with the poor and minority women, whose offspring still have value. Increasingly, being Catholic, if you are also white, will get you no "brownie points" (pardon the pun); and if you are a middle-class or wealthy African-American, you just might be white on the inside (oreo) and have sold out your heritage since you are too rich and educated to be an Uncle Tom. If your surname is Hernandez you will be more welcome in academe than if it is McAdams, even if your grandfather settled in Indiana and no one has spoken Spanish for 3 generations.

If you've seen a bibliographic essay which traces this peculiar death wish for the last 40 years in our society, please point me to it.

[These thoughts emerged while reading A Companion to American Immigration (Blackwell, 2006), which although it depends heavily on secondary sources, also includes many interesting (and biased) scholarly works.]

**In a flash of library humor, some of our workshops on handling specialized digital material when I was at Ohio State, used the fictional "Department of Canadian Studies"--perhaps the organizers thought there was no such field, at least not in Ohio. However, wiping out the White Canadian is also a goal of multiculturalism, so we share more than a long border.

[Disclaimer: I used to call myself an 8th generation American, but then I started doing genealogy in retirement and dug up all manner of evil white ancestors on our eastern shores and colonies before the 18th century.]

2665 The Lakeside Kids' Sail

Members of the S.O.S. (Society of Old Salts) volunteered their time yesterday to take children out for a sail on Lake Erie. It was supposed to have been Sunday, but the water was too rough. These guys took 71 children out for a good time. One by one.





Lakeside, Ohio

2664 Celebrating our 230th anniversary as a nation

Lakeside had two parades--the children's at 10:30 and the regular at 11 a.m. It was hot and humid, but everyone was in great spirits.

Even the spectators were dressed up!

Kevin Sibbring, the Director, was our parade marshall

The Guys Club Cordless Drill Team: their motto is, "We're working on it."

One guy is probably Uncle Sam, but the other looks like he's supposed to be in the fall festival parade.

Lakeside, Ohio
July Fourth

2663 We're going to the dogs

These guys are dressed up for the Fourth of July.





Lakeside, Ohio

2662 Where to eat in Lakeside, Ohio

We're eating in today (holiday) but there are some great spots for such a small town. The hotel also has a dining room, but we haven't quite figured out the schedule. Changes each summer.
The Abigail Tea Room, full dinners, closed on Mondays. Home made pies.
Erie Food Market, for great deli items to go and a full service grocery with a personal touch. At noon there is a guy grilling hamburgers and brats outside.
Last year this was the Irish Tea Room, now it is Oo-La-La--haven't tried it yet
Sloopy's Sports Cafe--the only game in town off season
The Patio--fabulous warm donuts in the morning, great complete dinners with specials. My husband has an art show here. On the left is the Whistle Stop for ice cream and sandwiches.
Coffee and Cream is the coffee shop which also runs an outdoor grill for special events and week-ends. Toft's Velvet ice cream, Bassett's bakery and deli items.

Lakeside, Ohio

2661 Fond baseball memories

The family renting the cottage across the street has a bunch of kids, and each has a baseball glove. We've enjoyed watching them from our porch. One little guy who is really plucky, has a glove that almost goes up to his elbow. Back in the years when we had a grand daughter (lost her in the divorce), she was here one summer eyeing the kids (different family) playing catch in the street. She sauntered out and stood near-by in the grass, shagging their missed balls. Then the dad invited her to join in and she was out in the street in a flash. What they didn't know was that she was a darn good little athlete--she clobbered the "locals." Soon their dad was throwing mainly to her.

2660 The Traveling T-shirt

We're going to take some Lakeside t-shirts with us to Finland. Our FinFriends are BIG people--and I hope they fit. No sense trying for a "made in America" shirt, because technically they don't exist. But they do, actually, regardless of what the label says. Chances are the cotton was grown in Texas, the designs were done by an American graphic artist, and the retailers and wholesalers are from Florida, NY or NJ. But most importantly, the trade agreements and restrictions are crafted by our government.

I've been paying more attention to the lowly t-shirt since I began reading, "The travels of a t-shirt in the global economy," by Pietra Rivoli (Wiley, 2005). Unfortunately, it is in my stack of vacation reading, and on top of my immigration title, my book club selection, and boning up for Finland and Russia, I won't get it finished. It is still a 14-day book at my public library, so I'll be returning it tomorrow.

Here's the final conclusion, so as not to leave you wondering: To the World Trade protester she writes "Appreciate what markets and trade have accomplished for all of the sisters in time who have been liberated by life in a sweatshop, and . . . be careful about dooming anyone to life on the farm. . . . the poor suffer more from exclusion from politics than from the perils of the market, and [activist energy should be focused on] including people in politics rather than shielding them from markets." But the author also provides kind words for activists who she believes [and follows in the book] have made a difference--but she urges them to look both ways.

I highly recommend this book for an easy, enjoyable, fascinating read/course in the global economy written by an economist with a gift for story-telling.

2659 School teachers and pay scales

Per hour, they make more than many professions--certainly more than librarians. Why do we persistently argue that teachers are underpaid?

"Data from the U.S. Department of Labor show that in 2002, elementary school teachers averaged $30.75 per hour and high school teachers made $31.01. That is about the same as other professionals like architects, economists, biologists, civil engineers, chemists, physicists and astronomers, and computer systems analysts and scientists. Even demanding, education-intensive professions like electrical and electronic engineering, dentistry, and nuclear engineering didn't make much more than teachers per hour worked. And the earnings of teachers are much higher than those of registered nurses, police officers, editors and reporters, firefighters, and social workers.

Some argue that it's unfair to calculate teacher pay on an hourly basis because teachers perform a large amount of work at home--grading papers on the weekend, for instance. But people in other professions also do offsite work. The only important question is whether teachers do significantly more offsite work than others."

Read the entire article about myths and education.

What freedom means

Because tomorrow is the Fourth of July, the Cleveland Plain Dealer carried small op-eds about the meaning of freedom, apparently publishing submitted essays. Mary Nguyen wrote that her parents were immigrants from Vietnam--"there hasn't been one conversation about my future that hasn't included the fact that they left their entire families, their entire lives, behind so their children could have freedom in America." Her parents dedicated their lives to raising 6 children to give them the finest education they could afford. Now, she says, she has the freedom and opportunity to fail, falter or learn.

I don't know how old Mary is, but she will always be older and wiser than another woman whose essay seemed to focus on a "watershed" event in her life--Angela Davis' afro. To her, freedom was wearing her hair any way but straightened--braided, natural, or blonde. Yikes.

That may have been the shallowest essay on the meaning of freedom I've ever read, and why we need immigrants (legal) to renew our faith.