Grace Lee Boggs, American radical, communist and author

We get Detroit PBS here at the lake, and I watched a fascinating documentary of Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese American, and no matter what other descriptions you give her--feminist, radical or activist--she is an American old time Communist, always disappointed, but always hopeful. She married a black man and spent her life in various causes for African Americans and particularly Detroit. While she was marching, writing, and agitating for poor blacks, women and Asians in the U.S. soared ahead, and she seemed quite elderly before she noticed that Asian Americans are by far the most successful demographic in our varied population. In my opinion, that was capitalism, not communism, and it passed her by. She ignored her own heritage. She's 100 this year. I'd recommend the film, especially if you are from Detroit or enjoy 20th c. history.

Should we be rewarded for our good works?

I read the Columbus Catholic Times, a hand off from a family friend. I'm learning a lot. Just this week I noticed a difference in how Catholics and Protestants use the concept of giving. Catholics suggest "works of mercy" or "works of charity," and Protestants say, we will change poverty, schooling, politics, the environment, etc. if we just chip in $10 for the food pantry, or a backpack for a Highland Elementary school child, or cleaning up a town in Kansas after a flood or tornado. There's a huge difference. We are to give because Jesus gave first, not because we will end poverty (we won't) or make up for the terrible home of a child (we can't). According to Matthew 25, we will meet Jesus in those acts of kindness and service, so we do them without expecting the reward of change. Meeting Jesus is the reward.

Why is college freshman orientation two weeks?

This baffles me.  I’m sure I had freshman orientation when I was dropped off by my sister at Manchester College in the fall of 1957.  Was it a day, half a day, to learn the names of the campus buildings and admire the upper classmen and learn how to get our weekly quota of clean sheets in Oakwood Hall and learn the meal routine in the dining room (where I gained 20 lbs.)?  But that’s just not good enough for our delicate millennials.  They have to be brain washed—even if their families are liberals, it won’t be good enough.  The strings to normalcy must be cut and cauterized.  And for conservatives?  Wow.  Let’s hope their parents warned them.  This is from an excerpt on Facebook written by a dad attending parts of his son’s orientation.  He thought it couldn’t get worse, but it did . . .

They had a ceremony with speakers, singing by the glee club, etc. The kids received an inspirational coin, etc. I looked on the program. "Oh good. An invocation." Being the apparently naive person that I am, I was not prepared for what I heard. A "moment for prayer and meditation" turned into a cross between a confession and admonition about how selfish we are, how we've taken more from the earth than we give, and how we hope to heal the planet. it ended with "in your many names we pray." I opened my eyes, looked at my wife and rolled my eyes.

Afterward I reminded my son that he's in the midst of severe liberals. He smiled and agreed. It will be interesting to follow this over the next several years.

In politics, the truth can hurt you

When the left abused Romney for saying 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax when explaining to donors why tax issues don't matter much, he was absolutely right.  It was a sound bite and he didn't give them a dissertation on why that is true. It's not a criticism, it's a fact, and it has to do with tax law, age of our population, the recession, etc. Here's some good information on how both parties have worked to make that possible. And it's still true today--revising tax laws still don't matter to many voters, but Bernie the Socialist will claim it does. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/18/who-doesnt-pay-taxes-in-charts/

Walk with a Doc

Do you sometimes think one person can’t make a difference?  Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist at Mt. Carmel hospital in Columbus, Ohio created the program “Walk with a Doc” to encourage his patients to get more exercise. The walks are an  hour long, with the physician leader giving a short, health-related talk. Dr. Sabgir started this in 2005.  Now, just 10 years later  the program has grown to 150 walks in 36 states and five countries.
http://walkwithadoc.org.

Celebrating 70 year anniversary of VJ Day

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII (we used to call it VJ Day) The Lakeside symphony orchestra performed a fabulous program last night that included a Marine honor guard, representatives of all the branches of the military during Hymn to the Fallen, the full orchestra, a chorus that included Lakesiders, the Terra Choral Society and local church choirs, two conductors, Robert Conquist and Michael Shirts who wrote some of the selections,  Shirley Stary as narrator, guest artist Joan Ellison of Cleveland who performed popular WWII era songs made popular by Vera Lynn (now 97), and a slide show to accompany the music. The scenes of the cemeteries for those who didn’t return were just stunning in magnitude. Tear and cheers, standing ovation. I can’t even fathom the amount of work and coordination to took to get all this accomplished with so many people, groups and jurisdictions participating.

Stand up for good health

If you are sedentary, just exercising after work won’t help much.

“The fight against sedentary behavior cannot be won based only on the promotion of regular exercise," he wrote. "A person walking while at work for 2 hours, standing for another 4 hours, and performing some daily chores at home for another hour will burn more calories than jogging or running for 60 minutes."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/ExerciseFitness/52877

“Researchers attached a monitor to nearly 700 participants over 7 days and found that each additional 2 hours per day spent sitting was significantly associated with higher body mass index (risk ratio 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05; P<0.001), waist circumference (Beta=2.12, 95% CI 0.83-3.41, or around 2 centimeters; P<0.001), fasting plasma glucose (about 1%), total/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (5%), triglycerides (12%), 2-hour plasma glucose (4%), and with lower HDL cholesterol (0.07 mmol/L).”

Lakeside Farmer’s Market

Back from the Farmer's Market. I've already steamed and eaten the beet tops. I'm always surprised that so many people don't know how delicious they are and throw them away. Remove long stems, rinse carefully, put in a pan with lid, turn on the heat for about 2-3 minutes (I've never boiled them), put in a bowl with butter and salt, enjoy all those vitamins and minerals. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2353/

Also got zucchini, home made strawberry jam, peach pie, corn (one ear), pint of blueberries in addition to the bunch of beets. Still have lettuce, tomatoes and onion from Tuesday.

Leg crossing and body alignment

Although I do a lot of walking in the summer (5-6 miles a day in short segments) I also do a lot of sitting in lectures and programs. Sometimes it takes several blocks to get the kinks out when I start for home. So I finally decided I'll need to break a very bad habit--sitting with my right leg crossed over my left knee. Yes, as always, I researched it, and was horrified to read all the back, neck and leg problems that causes. That's why your hairdresser always (at least mine) tells you to uncross your legs when you're getting a hair cut. Really throws everything out of alignment. But breaking a habit of 60+ years is very hard. Now, I'm only 12 hours in to this new life style change--hope it helps. My FB friend Debbie says that she gave it up after years of pain, and it was like a miracle!

When seated with your feet flat on the floor and both buttocks in contact with the chair, the force of the position is applied naturally and equally to the lower body.

However, when sitting with the legs crossed, all the downward force is applied to only one side of the lower body, concentrated on one half of the buttocks, the sacroiliac joint and the hip socket. http://www.sciatica-pain.org/sciatica-from-crossing-legs.html

http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/Handouts/patellofemoral_pain/patellofemoral_pain.html

Cross-legged sitting resulted in a relative elongation of the piriformis muscle by 11%, compared to normal sitting and by 21% compared to the length of the piriformis when standing. It should be noted that the leg that was crossed over top of the other was resulted in the greatest elongation. The leg crossed over the top is in a position of
relative hip flexion, hip adduction, and hip external rotation. http://www.damienhowellpt.com/pdf/crossed%20legs.pdf

Wednesday night picnic at Lakeside

Not exactly a tradition for us, but we do go frequently.  Hot dogs with assorted relishes, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato chips, watermelon, and sandwich cookies.  It’s sponsored by the children’s ministry, and they have a great group of volunteers who cheerfully, set up, prepare, serve and clean up for huge crowds. This photo was taken last Wednesday with Jim and Marion, our friends from Toledo who’ve recently decided to sell their adorable cottage.

Then during Civil War week a few years ago (2011) we attended the picnic with Rod and Lynn from our church in Columbus.

Our friends Joel and Angela (2010)

Everyone gets plenty of food.

And Asian Americans?

I was just reading yet another demand for racial equality--actually, I didn't even read it, just passed it over because it’s more black/white hustlers and academics making the demands.The FBI and DoJ statistics are ignored; the marriage rate is ignored.  Why not look at another demographic that does better than whites in all areas?  Asian Americans excel in almost all areas that are tracked by our census and academics--household income, education, health, marriage, lack of poverty, BMI, low crime, etc. I just can't remember a demand by whites or blacks or Hispanics that they should have what Chinese or Japanese or Korean Americans have. Have I just missed those articles?

• Only 10.8% of Asians in America are considered obese, compared with the 33% of whites, 42% of Hispanics and 48% of blacks with a BMI of 30 or higher.

• Asian Americans are a smaller percentage of the population, so perhaps they get left out of the studies, but transgendered are less than .01% and they certainly make the news in health, wealth, celebrity, etc.

And immigrants?  A higher proportion of foreign-born (55%) than native (48%) households were maintained by a married couple (US. census). Among the regions of birth, householders born in Asia (63%) and Oceania (62%) were the most likely to be in a married-couple household. Within Latin America, households with a householder born in Mexico were the most likely to be maintained by a married couple (58%).Marriage is the strongest predictor of childhood poverty and adult crime; it's a much better safety net than anything the gov't provides.

Lakeside cottages—late 20th early 21st vernacular, pt. 1

Our first summer at Lakeside was 1974.  Things were pretty primitive by today’s standards, or even standards of the 70s, but there was an upswing.  There were a few cottages being remodeled, as Americans began to look for vacations spots closer to home to compensate for higher fuel costs.  Still, for many years we brought a fan with us, and a small vacuum cleaner—two items most cottage rentals didn’t have. In 1973 51% of new houses in the U.S. didn’t have air conditioning--by 2014 it was 9%. 19% of  1973 new builds had 2.5 baths, but by 2014 it was 30% with  an additional 30% having 3 bathrooms (not even on the radar in 1973). 64% had 3 bedrooms  and 23% 4 bedrooms 40 years ago, compared to 44% and 46% today.  So you can see we’re getting cooler, cleaner, and more separated even as families get smaller.  Mean square footage of a newly constructed home in America is almost 2,600 square feet. And so it also goes in Lakeside.  The new builds are BIG, granite counter tops in kitchens, multiple bathrooms, and AC.
https://www.census.gov/construction/chars/completed.html

20th century

This is on Oak, near 7th.  Not sure of the age, sign on the house says established 1988, and now for sale, nice side yard.

Not sure of the date, but this was a popular modular home of the 20th century. Also on Oak Avenue. Most of Oak south on the last street was developed from 1999 on.

Clipped low gable with lots of porch and screened areas.

Gable roof with dormers, nice porch. Steep hilly construction site.

A three dormer gable, modular home on Oak. Parsonage for the United Methodist Church.

Another modular home, probably year around.

10 writing tips

Injuries from falls vary by race, ethnicity and gender

I've had 2 bad falls in the last 2 years--one on the basement stairs, and one on my bike. No broken bones, but huge bruises one which will be permanent. So I'm paying attention and have learned some odd things: whites are more likely than blacks or Hispanics to have fall injuries and death; the death rate for men is 40% higher than women; the death rate from falls has gone up sharply in the last decade; 75 is a lot more dangerous than 65; there are over 258,000 hip fractures and the rate for women is almost twice the rate for men; hip fractures are much more common in white women than black.

http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.html

• Twenty to thirty percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures, and head traumas. These injuries can make it hard to get around or live independently, and increase the risk of early death.
• Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
• About one-half of fatal falls among older adults are due to TBI.
• Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls. The most common are fractures of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle, pelvis, upper arm, and hand.
• Many people who fall, even if they are not injured, develop a fear of falling.  This fear may cause them to limit their activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, and in turn increases their actual risk of falling.

In 2013, the direct medical costs of older adult falls, adjusted for inflation, were $34 billion.

Grapes are “the berries”

• Stilbenes
  • resveratrol
  • piceatannol
  • pterostilbene
• Flavanols
  • catechins
  • epicatechins
  • procyanidins
  • proanthocyanidins
  • viniferones
• Flavonols
  • quercetin
  • kaempferol
  • myricetin
  • isorhamnetin
• Phenolic Acids
  • caffeic acid
  • coumaric acid
  • ferulic acid
  • gallic acid
• Carotenoids
  • beta-carotene
  • lutein
  • zeaxanthin

In addition to the above-listed nutrients, grapes have also been shown to contain the hormone and antioxidant melatonin as well as unique oligopeptides (small protein-like molecules) that have anti-bacterial and other properties.

From WHFoods Weekly which has more information on these delicious, healthy treats.  I love August and September when I can get California grapes.  I love to mix them in green salads with sliced onion.  Yum.

Obama’s Iran deal depends on our stupidity to trust our President

Income mobility in the U.S.

Today I was looking at a report on income within quintiles, and see that in the bottom, about 50% move up, quite a few to the top. But in the top, many move down. Their real income went down. Median incomes of all taxpayers increased by 24 percent after adjusting for inflation. There's still a lot of mobility in the USA. However, the report was for 2007, and I checked and can't find anything newer from Treasury. I think it's just too painful for the O-admin to see it. Better to whine about a gap than praise mobility.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/Documents/incomemobilitystudy03-08revise.pdf

The key findings of this study include:
• There was considerable income mobility of individuals in the U.S. economy during the 1996 through 2005 period as over half of taxpayers moved to a different income quintile over this period.
• Roughly half of taxpayers who began in the bottom income quintile in 1996 moved up to a higher income group by 2005.
• Among those with the very highest incomes in 1996 – the top 1/100 of 1 percent – only 25 percent remained in this group in 2005. Moreover, the median real income of these taxpayers declined over this period.
• The degree of mobility among income groups is unchanged from the prior decade (1987 through 1996).
• Economic growth resulted in rising incomes for most taxpayers over the period from 1996 to 2005. Median incomes of all taxpayers increased by 24 percent after adjusting for inflation. The real incomes of two-thirds of all taxpayers increased over this period. In addition, the median incomes of those initially in the lower income groups increased more than the median incomes of those initially in the higher income groups.

Google the Donald to see who he really is

Michael Smith nails it again. (From his FB page)

I think Trump is a "new deal" (lower case) Democrat pretending to be a Republican, and so many are falling for it. Love Michael’s Crusades example:

"Trump is actually executing a brilliant strategy of deception. He has the establishment GOP thinking he is all Tea Party and he has all the Tea Party thinking he is the establishment.

For being critical of him, I have been called a neocon AND a right wing extremist within an hour of each other.

Trump is running a variant of the Iranian "Death to America" scam. His followers are reacting just like Obama did to the Iranian mullahs by saying, "they say that but that's not what they mean." If I wanted to destroy the Republican Party once and for all, Trump would be the kind of interloper I would send in.

During the Crusades, Christians held an impenetrable castle in Syria, commanding the main route through the area. The Krac des Chevaliers was built by the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and it was so impenetrable that even though the Muslim army outnumbered the Christian knights 20 to 1,the 12,000 Muslim soldiers equipped with state of the art siege engines could not breach it. It was only taken over in 1271 via an act of deception when the Muslim general, Sultan Baibars, captured it by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master that caused the knights to surrender. Of course, he promised the knights safe passage and then beheaded them after they surrendered.

I guess they were chanting "Death to Hospitallers!" but the knights didn't think they meant it. Once this fortress was lost, the Christians were completely driven out of the Middle East.

Trump has brought the same kind of letter to Krac des GOP with his populist, anti-political correctness shtick but his credentials are just as fake as Sultan Baibars' forged letter.

For goodness sake, I know we want a strong presence - but go do a little googling on Donald's former positions. He's a Democrat when he needs to be and a Real Republican™ when it furthers his goals. One thing he has never been is a conservative. Trump has made billions by doing whatever is necessary to make a deal work. This man has no allegiance other than to "the deal" and his current deal is that he wants to be sitting in the Oval Office.

We have 16 other strong choices (well, probably 10), let's not be so blind to the deception. We have good, strong candidates with all the upsides of His Hairness and none of his downsides. Trump is nothing less than Sultan Baibars in a bespoke Savile Row suit.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers

One fit widow

What has not killed me has made me stronger. I’m a mother, a business owner, athlete, and a widow. I lost my husband, and then I lost 80 pounds and found that living through loss can change you – dare I say for the better.

How to help the grieving. http://www.onefitwidow.com/how-to-help-the-grieving/

Alzheimer’s disease

This could be turned around a bit.

1. Agree instead of argue

2. Divert instead of reason

3. Distract instead of shame

4. Reassure instead of lecture

5. Reminisce instead of saying remember

6. Repeat/regroup instead of saying “I told you”

7. Do what they can instead of saying “you can’t

8. Ask/model instead of command/demand

9. Encourage instead of condescend

10. Reinforce instead of force.