3997

Some people get it

John and Debbie for instance. They are from Southern California, but they eased into the Lakeside scene like oldtime midwesterners. There are risks inviting people to a tourist spot that isn't so touristy, where the pressures of the real world just start to slip away after 24-48 hours (for some it takes longer; for others it never happens). Another risk is you might try to keep them too busy, thinking they will expect constant activity. But these newlywed relatives knew they could walk around, chat with the folks, watch the boats, or lean on the fence and take in miniature golf.

Our friend John B. loaned us his golf cart, so we did the "tour" of the RBA houses that my husband has designed new or the remodeling to remove some of past disasters of the 1950s when people tried to modernize 1890s and 1920s cottages. We had five evenings of great programming, and a ferry ride to Put-in-Bay, good eats at the local restaurants and on our deck. We put them on the plane this morning early, and hope to see them again soon.

Brother and sister grew up a continent and 10 years apart but are happily making up for lost time. You're only a child a brief time--it's never too late to be a family even if your parents couldn't do it.

Lakeside is Open

Now that I'm back in Columbus, I'll download (and upload) a few photos of some of the Lakeside scenes I've been saving but couldn't use. (My laptop has failed; my PC won't read discs, so I need some tweaking of my technology.) The "season" at Lakeside is 9-10 weeks and includes cultural and spiritual programming from about 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Some of the businesses, which include small restaurants, a coffee shop, deli-style shop with fresh flowers and delivery, ice cream shops, a tea room, several gift shops, candy store, sundries, artists' cooperative, a dress shop, movie theater (only one in Ottowa county), bicycle repair and golf cart rental, and Cokesbury book store, have varying opening and closing hours. I'm usually the first customer at Coffee and Cream, which opens at 6:30 a.m. where I catch the news and read the paper. Sloopy's and Dockside have been selling snacks and pizza by the slice at the concerts in the park on Sunday evenings. What Lakeside doesn't have is any establishment that sells alcohol. This helps contribute to its nice atmosphere for families with children. When you visit one of the islands or another tourist area, you can immediately see the difference.

3995

With Roger in the coffee shop

Now the hotel computer is down! Am I a jinx or what? But Roger brought his lovely Mac into Coffee and Cream, so I'm alerting my "regulars" (AZ, Bev, etc.) that I'm down for the count until I can get back to Columbus.

3994

Back to the Lake, pt. 2

We arrived around noon on Thursday, and found we had an invitation to our neighbor's 90th birthday party, so the four of us enjoyed hamburgers and brats from the grill and were able to chat with some friends and neighbors. It's always fun to show first timers our little community and watch them gradually decompress from the real world as the peacefulness sinks in. Deb had been here many years ago when her daughters were about 12 and 13, but she doesn't remember much. My husband took them to several of the cottages for which he was the architect, although we'll use a golf cart for the BIG tour (I think there are about 33 or 34). I ran into Roger and Judi from Atlanta area who are in town for a few days--always great to see them and catch up on their growing family. We met in 1989 when we were both new homeowners. They moved south around 1994, but their hearts remain in Lakeside.

The program Thursday night was "Irving Berlin; The American Dream in Song" a multimedia presentation of the life and work of Irving Berlin. I loved hearing the old songs, and one or two with which I wasn't familiar. The female vocalist, Erin Kufel was just outstanding. At my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, the grandchildren gathered around the piano and sang, "Always," for them, which was popular when they were dating. Tonight is Gaelic Storm, an Irish group, and tomorrow night is the always popular OSU Alumni Band. I see that the community theater offering July 31-Aug 3 will be "You can't take it with you," but we won't be here to enjoy that.

3993

Back to the lake

We picked Debbie and John up at the airport in Columbus on Tuesday afternoon--flight was just a few minutes late. We got them settled at our home, showed them around a bit, then met our daughter and SIL for dinner. Wednesday we did some sight seeing in Columbus and drove out to our son's home--bringing home some lovely cukes from his thriving garden.

We visited the State House and the Supreme Court building (Ohio Judicial Center) to see the art work and had lunch at Schmidt's in German Village, splitting a cream puff four ways. There's an interesting display on censorship in the education center of the judicial center--the whole education center is worth seeing, but this particular exhibit is very good and a piece of art in and of itself. I don't know who wrote the content, but although we now smile at some of the films the judges were required to review, one can definitely see that despite censorship, the steady downward spiral of the entertainment culture has continued. We also drove through the campus of Ohio State University, but it is a bit difficult to see. The main library is being gutted and is inaccessible for about four years, the student union is being torn down, the oval was closed to automobiles over 30 years ago due to student riots. We did jump briefly out of the car and looked at Mirror Lake. Foliage is so dense I could occasionally point to a roof top and say, "That's the building that was reconstructed to look like the original . . . ."

Thursday Thirteen

13 summer looks that look uncomfortable or unsightly

1) Thong underwear
2) No underwear at all
3) Thong sandals
4) Crocs--any color, but especially bright pink or lime green--on men
5) Lacy, fringed, irregular hem lines on women,
6) 3-4" high heels and the bottom of bare legs
7) Laptop computers being lugged around with a purse and large bag
8) head bands
9) back pack purses on rounded shoulders
10) Heavy, beaded jewelry
11) Something dangling from the ear that isn't an earring
12) women with bare backs and a tattoo
13) and fringy, thinning pony tails on middle-aged men

3991

Inside our alphabet soup

of federal agencies--FDA, USDA, HHS--I find it hard to believe we didn't already have someone doing this.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) Jul 18 - The United States is forming an import safety panel to report to President George W. Bush in 60 days following a string of incidents that have raised questions about the safety of products from China, the White House said on Wednesday."

3990

The Rule of Six

For you young mommies (or even not so young) here's an interesting post on The Rule of Six, by author Melissa Wiley, who homeschools. I raised my children with this Rule of Six (and probably seven or eight if you add in something about nutrition and/or health and sports) without thinking about it, and I'm sure my mom did too. Melissa started out with five

• Good books
• Imaginative play
• Encounters with beauty (through art, music, and the natural world—this includes our nature walks)
• Ideas to ponder and discuss
• Prayer

and then also added "meaningful work" to make it six.

If I can add some hindsight here. . . It doesn't always result in what you hope or expect, because these are people, not programmable robots. Children come into this world with everything in place--physical features, personalities, talents and intelligence--everything except their values, and those they can accept or reject. Some children will never enjoy reading as adults, some will never be imaginative or musical; some will hate art shows or never pause for a beautiful sunset, some will want to discuss ideas you care nothing about and find meaning in things you'd keep in the closet or they may prefer silence and being alone; you might be Pentecostal and find out you've raised a Catholic nun, and the work they choose may not be your idea of "meaningful." Just two examples: I have two brown thumbs, can kill any house plant that isn't artificial, and my son loves to garden; I loathe any task that might require knowledge of how an appliance works, but my daughter thinks nothing of installing a ceiling fan or light fixture. Without advice or example from me, after their 20s, they discovered these interests.

My advice is follow the rule of six because it will make a parent's life more interesting and enjoyable, and any child can benefit from that.

3989

So much for cover design

Are library staff visually challenged? It was bad enough when they started throwing away the book jackets (which often included information not in the book), but now they are obscuring the cover too!

3988

This ad has bad karma!

And it should go down in the Annals of Stupid Ads. Have you heard (radio) the ad where the guy and girl are splitting up because he has grown lobster (or crab) claws. He accuses her of discriminating against him because she doesn't like his hands (claws), and she accuses him of being a non-volunteer who isn't contributing to society, so he has grown claws. Stupid, your name is the Ad Council. It gives new meaning to Dumb and Dumber.

A nationwide study among 18-24 year olds conducted by the Ad Council and Lightspeed Research in March 2007 found that 95 percent of 18-24 year olds believe “what goes around comes around” and the vast majority (69 percent) believe in “karma.” Additionally, young adults are more likely to attribute the positive experiences in their lives to their positive behaviors (75 percent) as opposed to having “good luck” (56 percent).

I'm a Christian. We don't believe we are good because of what we do, but we do believe in one who was good on our behalf. Karma is a hindu belief--you get to come back, and come back and come back until you get it right. In that faith, you get what you deserve. In Christianity, you get what you don't deserve--mercy and forgiveness and a new start. With "karma" if you're bad, or don't pay attention, well, you just might end up with claws instead of hands. It's sort of works Christianity without the cross.

God's plan made a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning
We trust that the story
Will end in God's glory
But at present, the other side's winning-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

3987

We're losing the tall race

I'm not surprised we're not the tallest country anymore. Holland now has the record. We used to be a predominantly European nation. Have you seen the height of the 12 million illegal aliens? I'm only 5'5" and I'm way taller than most of the guys I see on the construction crews, you know, those jobs Americans don't want?

Are dads less handy these days?

There's an interesting discussion going on over at the Juggle, the Wall St. Journal work blog. Tom Weber admits he has to call in his own father when something around the house needs to be fixed. My husband is pretty handy, but we do call on our son for advice on the cars, and our son-in-law on many tasks, particularly trimming our bushes or moving furniture. I literally don't know which end of the hammer to use. I think I get that from my dad. If he owned a tool, I never saw him pick it up. My mother did everything around the house, including painting, wallpapering, wiring, plumbing and carpentry and the outside stuff too, like gardening, mowing and climbing ladders to hang storm windows and clean gutters. I really hated that, and vowed I'd never do it. That's why I say I got it from Dad.

Remembering Lady Bird

Rick Librarian has some personal memories and book ideas for remembering Lady Bird Johnson, a really classy woman. She will be missed. I heard an interview with Doris Kearns Goodwin on Saturday about Mrs. Johnson and her relationship with LBJ. She lived at the ranch while helping LBJ with his memoir. If all she is remembered for is environmentalism, it will be a pity.

Monday Memories--Visitors from California

This week we'll be hosting my husband's sister Deb and her husband John who live in California. Last summer we traveled there to be with them when they got married. We had a great time doing things together and seeing the sights. This photo is Deb and me together at their home last September.

3983

Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas

Millions of dollars in damage and thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed in the recent downpours and flooding. Oil spills are preventing returns for clean-up.

We don't have cable here (Lakeside), so perhaps there's been significant Katrina-type coverage, but I've only seen a few minutes on the regular news and a couple of inches in the paper. I think they can't quite figure out how to blame George Bush or to make it about race and poverty. But stay tuned.

3982

Crash risk in general aviation

There was a brief article in the metro section of the Plain Dealer yesterday about a pilot killed in an ultra light. Jonathan Gamble, 65, died at the Portage County Airport just after take off. He was a very experienced pilot.

The death rate for general aviation is much higher than for commercial aviation. The April 11, 2007 issue of JAMA examines this and why with improved technology and training, not much has changed in the last 30 years. General aviation flights are 82 times riskier, and account for most of the deaths and injuries caused by flying. JAMA. 2007;297:1596-1598.

In an examination of the crash risk of private flights, researchers found that general aviation flights averaged 1,685 crashes and 583 deaths each year from 2002 to 2005, accounting for 91 percent of all aviation crashes and 94 percent of all aviation deaths. Small aircraft flying at low altitudes make general aviation flights especially vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. For general aviation pilots, flying out of “see and avoid” conditions into conditions that require them to fly using their instruments is the most perilous scenario for pilots who have not obtained an instrument rating. Additional risk factors include pilots flying while intoxicated, sudden incapacitation (heart attack or other health issue), older age, being male, having a nonconformist flying style (e.g. being a daredevil) and having a prior record of an aviation crash or violation. Physician pilots are also found to crash at a higher rate per flight hour than other pilots. From a summary in a press release

Laura Bush

Despite being dissed by some cranky members of the American Library Association who don't know a good opportunity for positive PR when they see one, Laura Bush's numbers remain high. There is a great article about her in the Wall St. Journal week-end edition.

Mrs. Bush nudges the conversation along toward a point she wants to make: Fighting disease in poor countries also pays other tangible benefits, including expanding economic growth and liberating women. Sometimes this happens with the smallest of projects -- like providing clean drinking water to a school:

"Especially the economic part of it, the girls who are kept out of school because they are the ones looking for water, or . . . have to walk however far to the water well and bring it back, and so they aren't in school. And that's one of the reasons the clean water, the PlayPumps [merry-go-round water pumps] that we inaugurated in Zambia are very important -- and they're in a schoolyard -- so that if girls don't have to search for water for their families, they're more likely to be educated."

If reporters pay close attention to what she says and follow up on it, they are likely to find that Mrs. Bush is willing to take controversial stands. On her recent flight to Africa, she told journalists traveling with her that the U.S. needs to be "efficient and effective" with foreign aid money. No one on the plane asked what she meant.

For one thing, she supports using the most effective defense ever developed against malaria -- an insecticide called DDT, which has been vilified by environmentalists even though it was essential to eradicating the disease in the U.S. decades ago."

You go girl! Article here.

3980

Whose line?

Hoover Auditorium (seats ca. 3,000) in Lakeside was packed last night to experience "Whose line is it anyway" with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood. With help from the audience which supplies ideas, they improvise skits, and even a little opera. I was laughing so hard tears were running down my cheeks. Both performers appear on the TV show by the same title.

Earlier in the evening we met with other donors at the train station for a reception and pep talk from the chairman of the Foundation Board, Dale Knobel, and Kevin Sibbring, the President of Lakeside. We saw lots of friends, ate too many yummies, and heard some great music.

The art show opened Thursday and I think it is one of the best we've had here. My husband has sold two of his paintings, and we bought one by Robert Moyer. I think he will be teaching at the Rhein Center in a week or two. I think he is a terrific artist.

We pick up Deb and John at the airport in Columbus on Tuesday and then will return here on Thursday.

3979

Upkeep for the Joneses

One of the cottages I passed on my walk yesterday had the name, "Upkeep for the Joneses." Here at Lakeside, many people give their cottage a name, and it sometimes is passed along to the new owner. Ours doesn't have a name, but we tell people we live in the Thompson cottage, the previous owner's name. He died in his 80s and was born on that site in the previous house.

Robert J. Samuelson writes about the happiness scale in the Washington Post, and syndicated elsewhere (I saw it in the Cleveland Plain Dealer). Although much wealthier than they were in 1977, Americans still rate about the same on "happiness." So money doesn't buy happiness.

In 1977, 35.7 percent of Americans rated themselves "very happy," 53.2 percent "pretty happy" and 11 percent "not too happy," reports the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In 2006, the figures are similar: 32.4 percent "very happy," 55.9 percent "pretty happy" and 11.7 percent "not too happy." Likewise, in most advanced countries, self-reported happiness has been flat for decades.

Go figure. After the basics are satisfied, we can spend a lifetime chasing something we think money will buy. My husband says the happiest people he ever met were the Haitians he got to know last February on a mission trip. By our standards, they had nothing.

One of the happiest people I've talked to recently is suffering (without complaint) from a post polio condition, and is retiring soon with a very limited income. She talks enthusiastically about selling her home and moving into a small apartment on her son's rural property. She has a very full life of service to others, some as a missionary with YWAM and is joyful and excited about life.

No social scientist can explain this. And although she is a committed Christian, even that isn't an explanation, because I know many Christians who aren't happy even if they do serve others and they aren't pleasant to be around. I suspect she was born with some "half full" genes.

3778

Reminders

My former daughter-in-law is a beautiful woman--but she must have thought she needed a lot of help, because I keep finding her cosmetic bottles at our summer cottage. I've benefited from her hand lotion, moisturizer (hair), nail polish remover, and shampoo. She was (is) also a great cook, and bought a lot of spices I'll probably never use, but I haven't thrown them out. After the break up, we also lost our step-grand daughter (now 16), and today I came across some of those reminders, too. I opened the sewing cabinet and found the little dollies and crayons and coloring books I bought for her when she was around 3 or 4. We'd sit on the deck and have tea parties. They looked up at me with their eyes wide open, waiting.