4006

The stuff of urban legends

I know a young, beautiful woman--early 30s I think--who married the wrong man when she was very young. A sweet baby and nasty divorce followed. She lacked a college degree or a trade so she began waitressing in an upscale restaurant and did well. There she met a businessman who noticed her people-skills and who offered her a job in marketing for a small TV station. She took the job, and again did very well--she used the same engaging personality and attention to her customers that she used at the restaurant. Recently she was offered a position in a larger market and took the plunge. The offer? $133,000 a year.

Now, I heard this story from her dad, and let's say he exaggerates a bit, because I think she inheritied his charm and sales skills. Even if you shaved the salary some, it's still a pretty good story, don't you think?

4005

Naturally aged skin

That'd be mine. Yes, I stayed out of the sun--haven't had a real sun tan since I was 19 (although skin damage starts very young), and I'm not a smoker. But I am very fair. Sun, cigarettes and pale skin are the big three for wrinkles. So can this be reversed? Yes, according to a new study in Archives of Dermatology, 2007; 143:606-612.

The study was done on 36 residents of nursing homes with an average age of 87 using topical 0.4% retinol lotion, 3 times a week for 24 weeks on the arms.

"Conclusions: Topical retinol improves fine wrinkles associated with natural aging. Significant induction of glycosaminoglycan, which is known to retain substantial water, and increased collagen production are most likely responsible for wrinkle effacement. With great skin matrix synthesis, retinol-treated aged skin is more likely to withstand skin injury and ulcer formation along with improved appearance."

Or you can put on 20 lbs. and fill out your own wrinkles (that's not in the article, but is from personal experience).

WebMD summary
ScienceDaily summary

4004

What you do when young and eager on a field trip

Kathryn has a great story about a botany trip she made in college when she dreamed of being a botanist. She goes on to tell about a find of an extinct animal reported in the news, but I thought the first part, where she promises us some stories about how her views have changed is interesting. It's also a good example of how college students can get a bit manipulated by their professors.

4003

What happened in Ohio in 1963?

There's something very odd about Ohio's adoption laws. If a person was adopted before January 1, 1964, their files/records are open (to the adopted person) with two pieces of ID and $20. If they were adopted between January 1, 1964 and September 18, 1996, their records are sealed and you'd better be ready to move heaven and earth to find out who you are (were).

An adoptive person older than 21 and who was adopted between Jan. 1, 1964 through Sept. 18, 1996 can petition the court that granted the adoption to request Vital Statistics to search for releases received from the biological parent(s). If a release is found, a notice is given to the court to release the adoption record.

Does this seem odd to you? Ohio Department of Health

Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of the so-called open adoptions--B-mom picking out advantaged couples from essays and interviews, exchanging photos, A-mom inviting B-mom to the birthday parties, etc. Most of the cases I know of the interest in exchanging information drops off on both sides after a few years. It's the developing child I think about. What activist group or social worker ever decided it would be easier emotionally to know your B-parents knew where you were, or had your photo from your toddler years, but still went on with their lives without you? Who decided there would be less guilt and depression by parents who surrendered a child just because they chose the adoptive parents?

That said, an 18 year old should have complete and open access to all the documents, the originals and the doctored. S/he is no longer a baby who needs privacy and protection, but an adult who should have the same civil rights as the rest of us.

4002

Can you take a picture for us?

Sure, they said . . . and then they posed.



We don't know their names, but they are friendly neighbors, and then they took our photo.



My husband has cleaned out the basement--says all the dead spiders are gone (this will make my SIL happy who will be there next week and is not fond of them). Very few houses in Lakeside have basements--and that's definitely one of the negatives--spiders. He's had some glorious days of sailing--even went to East Harbor with S.O.S. (Society of Old Salts). He says the programming on Wednesday and Thursday was terrific. Our friends Dave (also an architect) and Pam from UALC came up for a few days and they got together. This was their first visit to lakeside. A print of one of my husband's watercolors of the miniature golf course was presented, matted and framed, to a donor at the program Wednesday evening. This was a big surprise and thrill.

4001

Goldfish and wine

Our dinner guests, my niece and her family from Florida, went to Cincinnati first for a Reds game, then stopped to see the Pete Rose display and the museum, then got caught in a traffic tie up. So I'm alone, munching goldfish crackers (Pepperidge Farm) and sipping Merlot. Usually, I don't allow crackers in the house--for the obvious reasons--I scarf them down. We're having pork roast, gravy, baked mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, sliced garden tomatoes (thanks to my daughter's neighbors), cukes and peppers sliced, and lemon fluff pie with cherry topping. I think I've eaten half of the goldfish crackers.

4000

Everybody talkin' 'bout peace ain't passin' it

Sunday I had the opportunity to hear a sermon by Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church, at Lakeside Sunday service at Hoover Auditorium (I'd already attended worship on the lakefront). Regardless of what you think of his theology or the larger umbrella of "the emergent church" you'll never hear a more entertaining Christian. He even jokes about being a bald guy with a son named Bart and a daughter named Lisa. He's a member of a predominantly African American congregation, and can preach it with patois better than anyone I know. If you were to hear it on a recording, you'd never guess he's an Italian American.


I always listen carefully for the gospel--not the social, feel-good, do-gooder peace and justice gospel, but the real Jesus-died-on-the-cross-for-your-sins, because without that you're just kiddin' around, giving people false hope that they can get into the kingdom with good works. And he did mention it--at the end of the sermon. If you're in a liturgical church that sings traditional hymns and has a lesson from the NT and OT, you can fill in what the preacher misses. But why should you need to?

Thirty some years ago I had the impression that Prof. Campolo and I were on the same page. Of course, I'd been a works-Christian most of my life before 1974, so maybe it was just that with the fresh blush and bloom of the Gospel, I didn't notice that some people who called themselves Evangelicals had become bored with the Good News of Jesus and wanted to "move on." Or maybe he came to the conclusion that there were no unbelievers in the pew. Wrong. If the folks aren't saved, Tony, there's not much point to a stunning sermon about the spirit.

Thursday Thirteen--13 Words for sheep

Feminist librarians say naming (cataloging and classification) is a form of power. Yawn. Librarians always say that about information, i.e., knowledge is control, power, etc. That's why they have such fabulous salaries and get government appointments. Ha. But other professions besides librarians and government bureaucrats also name by gender, role, age, economic value, hierarchy, etc., too. Like sheep farmers. One time I saw a list of 50+ English words for sheep (most of New Zealand and Australian origin where sheep are essential to the economy), only a few of which I remember. Here's a few I found on the Internet . . . plus a poem. Just because I'm a formerly powerful librarian.

Photo by JD Lasica
1) buck - uncastrated male sheep
2) dam - sheep mother
3) ewe - female sheep of breeding age

Two tooth ewes (not pregnant)

4) ram - entire male animal that has reached sexual maturity at around six months
5) wether - male sheep castrated at an early age before secondary sexual characters have developed. A bellwether is a sheep with a bell leading the flock (also called a mob).
6) hogg - a sheep up to the age of one year; one yet to be sheared
7) hoggett - castrated male sheep usually 10 to 14 months old.
8) lamb - young sheep still with its dam (mother) or up to five months of age. Qualified as

ewe lamb or
ram lamb or
Cade lamb - regional term for an orphan lamb

9) shearling - regional term for sheep up to first shearing
10) Gimmer - regional term for a young ewe that has not yet born a lamb.
11) Tegs - regional term for fat lamb in second season
12) Theaves - another regional term for a young ewe up to first lambing.
13) Tups or tips - male sheep, usually an entire breeding male ram
-----------------
My sheep poem
by Norma

Buck, dam,
Ewe, lamb,
Wether, hogg,
Hoggett, ram--

Yearling,
Gimmer,
tups, tegs, tips,
Theaves, shearling--

Waltz Matilda, waltz!*
----------------------
*Waltzing Matilda is Australia's unofficial anthem. The spell check says it has never heard of any of these words.

3998

Shocked and awed researchers

One of these didn't shock me, but several did.

74% of the 3% who suffer from "restless leg syndrome" seem to have evidence of a gene link according to recent articles in the NEJM and Nature. And naturally, someone's looking for or promoting a drug for it. Have you ever wished they'd just stuff that human genetic code back into the family's closet of skeletons?





The mega-veggies diet low in fat didn't give breast cancer survivors long term protection anymore than the 5 servings a day diet with average fat of the control group. Even though both groups also decreased caloric intake over time, both had small increases in weight. Seems some physical activity is needed. JAMA, July 18, 2007, (v. 298, no.3)




If government health care is so great (according to Democrat candidates on the campaign trail), isn't it odd that doctors are dropping their Medicaid patients? Ever wonder why Obama and Miz Clinton want to Fema-tize health care? Maybe they don't like black people and poor people?



Soda pop, diet or regular, seems to be adding to the metabolic syndrome problem--that's high blood pressure, high glucose levels, pre-diabetic, etc. Now this is just anecdotal and purely my own observation, but I've never seen a person of normal BMI who drank a lot of or was panicked without soda pop. I think Americans drink about 50 gallons of soda a year, Canadians about 30 and Brits about 22. So you see, someone is getting my share since I drink maybe 3-4 cans a year. People can be addicted to the carbonation, the sugar, the sugar substitute or the caffeine, or a combination of two or three.

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?