Women writing, effecting change in themselves and in the world

This weekend is not going as planned, due to snow canceling Emily's plans to visit for the long weekend. But I've had 24 hours to get used to the idea, and have decided to take the "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" approach. So I'm enjoying a slowed-down world of snow and ice and bright sunlight outside, quiet music playing inside... a day of open time for reading, cooking, writing, and maybe a walk in the snowy cold after while. (I'm trying not to think the T word, but reality will sink in and I'll probably get started on that project this afternoon!)

An e-mail popped up a few minutes ago with links to four articles by and about women writers and women writing. On a quick glance, they look to be really good, full of hope and ideas! I share them here in hopes that my readers will find these articles thought-provoking also. (If you are not Catholic, please don't be put off by the fact that the articles were published in a Catholic newspaper -- they are not, for the most part, about issues only of interest to Catholics.)

Women Writing for (a) Change
Heidi Schlumpf looks at Mary Pierce Brosmer, who run a school called Women Writing for (a) Change, which teaches collaborative writing as a creative, therapeutic and spiritual practice.


Contours of the daily and domestic
Melissa Musick Nussbaum says that she is drawn to writers -- they are women -- who observe the contours and appreciate the significance of the daily and the domestic.

Ethnic bias is no longer an option
Diane Scharper recommends five women writers who, she says, "can provide us with salutary insights into ourselves as we live in a world full of international tensions."

How the remotely possible could become real
Maureen E. Daly reviews a book titled Ordained and in it finds a plan on how to pressure a pope into calling a worldwide council and revising the rules of ordination.

Snow Cream -- Charlotte in the news!

There's no danger of my making any -- most of what we got here is sleet, ice, and frozen rain. I won't be going anywhere today :-)

A segment on today's Weekend Edition Saturday was from WFAE! (I was going to post a link to it, but couldn't find it on the NPR or the WFAE site.) Basically it was a reporter trying to find out why Charlotteans go to the store and empty the shelves of milk, bread, and eggs when any amount of snow is predicted. (This really happens, and then some: I went to the bakery on my way home from Charlotte yesterday afternoon and the bread shelves there were completely empty. They even were down to only four loaves of bread in their freezer!) The conclusion was that the milk, and perhaps the eggs, depending on one's recipe, are needed to make "Snow Cream". (Or "Snow Creme" if you prefer.)

Snow Creme Recipe
1-3 Cups of Snow (make sure it's clean!)
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream or other cream of choice
1 T. Sugar
2-3 drops Vanilla flavoring
In a separate bowl, mix cream, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add snow to desired consistency. Eat and enjoy!
All ingredients can be adjusted to suit your particular preferences. You might want to try some other flavorings: cinnamon, butterscotch, almond, or eggnog mix.

(Recipe published and e-mailed by the Upper Palmetto YMCA this morning in their "we're closed today on account of snow" message.)

Calling all Locavores!!!

Excellent program here (aired this morning) about eating local during the holidays, and in general...

Vatican II -- a blog post of interest

For those of you who are interested in such things, here's a post that is intriguing.

Does children's free play matter?

Why is this even a controversial issue? Here's a link to an article on the topic that should be read by every parent, every grandparent, every educator, everyone who loves children....

I just returned from a four-day visit with a family which includes a twenty-month-old child. Even at that early age, it is so clear that free play and unrestricted (i.e., unprogrammed) access to interaction with the people around him is all-important (not to mention delightful to observe or be a part of.) The learning in such play is not something easily measured, especially at that age, but it is so absorbing and satisfying to the child that we must not discount its value! Later on, this toddler version of free play will expand to include the imaginative play described in the article linked above.

accomplishments:

Math Final for my class half made up ...check

Water siphoned out of broken dishwasher ...check

Evil (and dirty) filter removed from heat pump intake ...check

Mushy avocado finished off ...check

Car cleaned out ...check

Clothes washed ...check

Futon taken off bed and put in spare room ...check

Airbed installed in bedroom ...check

Ice packs ready for tonight ...check

Recycling removed from porch ....hmm....

Lesson plan for class tomorrow ready ...sort of

Dining room table piled high with STUFF ...check

Oh, well.

Fight Hunger, at every opportunity!

The Eastern York County CROP Walk is this afternoon! Join me, in person or in spirit!

Meta-Dodecahedron!

Today's topic at the Math Club meeting was "Building with Zome Tools", an idea of Dr. Harold Reiter, our illustrious founder. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of how this would work out, but it was wild and crazy and noisy and lots of fun for the students! Here's a photo* of the final product, a dodecahedron using "meta-balls" for the vertices:


It's interesting how there are such clear curves here -- there are NO curved pieces used in the construction! Even the connectors, little white "balls", have no curved edges.

Here's another view:



Minutes after these photos were taken, the dismantling of a couple hours' work began to be dismantled.

The students, making this creation, were as focused as I've ever seen them. It took the 32 or so students about 1.5-2 hours to make 16 of the meta-balls, and connect them together to make the dodecahedron. Teamwork, curiosity, determination, and playfulness were all plentiful! And they had energy enough left after the dismantling process to focus on another activity, a math relay from a past year's Duke Math Meet. Amazing.

The other really great thing that happened at this meeting was that the parents pitched in to help like more than I've ever seen them do. All in all, it was an inspiring morning, and gave me renewed enthusiasm for the Club.

*The photos are from my cell phone... Unfortunately, the battery for my real camera was at home, still in its charger. Clearly, I need to take pictures more often!

Fighting Hunger and Poverty!

On Sunday, October 25, I will be walking in the Eastern York County Crop Hunger Walk. I support the Crop Walk particularly because 25% of the funds collected locally stay in the local community. In Rock Hill, clients of Pilgrim's Inn and other local agencies benefit from Crop Walk funds. Pilgrim's Inn is a local, grassroots organization that has developed programs to help women in crisis, assisting them in getting their lives on track as well as helping them through the crisis at hand with food, housing, counseling, and job training. Pilgrim's Inn is in the process of implementing the Rapid Rehousing program in Rock Hill, which is an innovative new program to help women to get into apartments and jobs without a lengthy stay in the emergency shelter.

Another portion of the funds are used worldwide in refugee resettlement and other programs working to alleviate hunger and poverty. One of the more attractive things about this organization is that they are a coalition of people of various faiths working together, regardless of differences in theology and so forth.

Please consider helping out financially, but if that is not something you are able to do at this time, please pray for the success of this year's Walk.

reviews of various things....

Just a quick list of reviews, w/ links:

Capitalism, A Love Story -- I saw this last Friday night with a good friend, and we both thought it was great! I highly recommend it. It made me think about things differently... plus parts of it were highly amusing. I came home and put some of Michael Moore's other flicks on my Netflix list. My friend recommends especially his non-documentary, Canadian Bacon.

This video, which James D. shared today on FB, is short but very cute -- and reminds us to take the stairs...

Still reading Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church's Betrayal of American Nuns, by Kenneth Briggs, which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in recent Church history, social justice (inside the Catholic Church as well as in the wider American culture), women's issues, etc....

While searching for articles about Double Crossed, I found this article by Luke Timothy Johnson, whom I heard at the Kennedy Lecture at Charlotte's St. Peter's Catholic Church a few years ago. I haven't read the article yet but hope to go back to it soon and read the whole thing.

Books are our Friends!

The public library is one of my favorite places to be. I have often thought, Maybe they would let me just move a cot in here and spend the night once in awhile... A happy thought... I suppose it comes from my early training with books -- I can still hear my mother saying, "Be good to your books -- books are our friends!"

At least twice and sometimes three times a week, I find myself in a library, due to my work, and sometimes I have an extra few minutes. As I browse the library shelves, the books seem to jump into my hands and shout, "Read me! Read me!" I have little resistance to such demands, regardless of how limited my reading time will be and how slowly I read. So I end up with a smorgasbord of books and books on CD (now that there's a CD player in my car!) and music CD's, and sometimes a movie or two as well. Even magazines once in awhile!

So... life is really full right now, and I'm working on facing up to the fact that I won't get to read all these library books before they are due, even with many renewals. So a pile is going back today, but first I wanted to list them here to share and perhaps stimulate some discussion... What are you reading? What are you having to take back unread? What happens when you go to the library?

Well, in case anyone's interested, here is the stack --

Books:

• The Power of Less, by Leo Barbauta. Full of good ideas on how to de-clutter one's work-life and life in general. I browsed through it a couple times but don't have time/energy right now to work my way through it. (Flipping through the book as I write this, I find I am currently working against his rule about single-tasking: When you work on a task, don't switch to other tasks. I was writing a Module test for my Math 150 class before I started this blog post.)
• Archimedes' Bathtub/The Art and Logic of Breakthrough Thinking, by David Perkins. Fascinating. I got part way through it, and will put it on my short list of books to get again. It's one of those books that draws from all over history and other disciplines, which is particularly interesting to me.
• Euclid in the Rainforest/Discovering Universal Truth in Logic and Math, by Joseph Mazur. It's the story of the author's travels (through the rainforest and perhaps other travels, I don't know yet) intertwined with math and logic problems he encountered along the way. I'm part way into this, and finding it pretty interesting. But it's also frustrating as there are math errors peppered through it (I think not on purpose.)
• The Myth of Ability/Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child, by John Mighton. I have read this before, and picked it up again to get ideas for teaching my Math 150 course. (Didn't have time to do much with it, and we've moved beyond the scope of the book now.) It is a great book, though -- I highly recommend it. It tells the story of the JUMP math program, which would be a wonderful tutoring program to implement in every school system throughout the country.
• Childhood Unbound/Saving Our Kids' Best Selves -- Confident Parenting in a World of Change, by Ron Taffel, Ph.D. So far enlightening, but it may go back soon due only to lack of reading time...) I'm continuing the effort to understand the challenges faced by parents today that are different from the ones my generation of parents faced. Also, trying to see if there are any sane voices out there writing for today's parents. So far, I think so. One of his ideas that stands out in my mind:

  Almost the same way one would think about sexuality and substance use, delaying kids' absolute access to screen time is essential. (author's emphasis.)

• Tear Down This Myth, by Will Bunch. A book about politics. Picked it up recently and haven't started it yet, so will keep it for a little while.
• Double Crossed/Uncovering the Catholic Church's Betrayal of American Nuns, by Kenneth Briggs. This one I am going to try to finish, as it is fascinating and instructive in many ways beyond the topic at hand. I was taught by nuns for my first nine years of school, and have had lots of other contact with them through the years. Almost all of that was a positive experience. When I was a child, I thought (like many Catholic girls of the time) that I might be a nun when I grew up. Sometimes I still think about it, so reading this book is helping me to think more realistically about it.
  
• The Creative Family : how to encourage imagination and nurture family connections, by Amanda Blake Soule. I picked this up to share with a babysitting client, who is delighted with it. It has a wide range of projects, crafts, and other activities for families to do together, presented in a very do-able way.

Books on CD --

• Every mother is a daughter/the neverending quest for success, inner peace, and a really clean kitchen (recipes and knitting patterns included), by Perri Klass. I might finish this one, but listening to recipes on CD is not cool. (I can't imagine listening to knitting instructions - haven't gotten to those yet!) On the other hand, fast-forwarding through the recipes is helping me get through it faster. Hmmm... why am I continuing to listen to a book when "getting through it faster" is looking attractive? It's going back.
• Mrs. Pollifax, innocent tourist, by Dorothy Gilman. Never read it, love to listen to these books... it's a keeper for awhile.
• Holiday on Ice, by David Sedaris. Haven't been able to make myself listen to this -- I have an aversion to doing anything Christmas other than in December and January, so it's going back. (I didn't know it was Christmas stuff when I picked it up - was in a hurry.)

Music CD's:

• Several by George Winston and other Windham Hill artists -- wonderful music anytime (except in the car.)
• John Fahey, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke. Guitar music; I’ve had it before and loved it…and still love it.
• Linus & Lucy, Music of Vince Guaraldi. Happy happy music!!
• Tales from the acoustic planet, by Bela Fleck Haven't listened to it yet, but I like acoustic music...we'll see!
• Saturday's rhapsody, by Jim Chappell. Good listening while making up math tests and lesson plans.
• Music for airports, by Brian Eno. Interesting. Comforting, somehow.
• Also CD’s of Gordon Lightfoot, Norah Jones, and Gershwin.

And one movie:

• Neverwas. Watched it last night; it had it's shining moments. Ian McKellan was great, and the sets & props were wonderful, magical. Despite what you might read about it, however, it isn't a movie for children.
  

xkcd rocks!

After a several-week drought from reading xkcd, I find that some of the recent comics have been very relevant to my life -- that is, I have found some of these things happening to me at times... notably:

I've been doing this with various TV series (I'm gradually Netflixing some of the better ones from a long time ago...)

I have had this sort of thing happen when in a group...

Plus, I saw this gem last time I checked in. (It hasn't happened to me but I just like it.)

getting rid of STUFF

I spent a lot of time yesterday sorting through books (and other things, but mostly books) trying to make myself unload a lot of them. I'd hoped to be able to post a list of the books here in case any of my readers want any of them, but so far that hasn't come together. It probably won't, I guess, since the boxes of books are out in the car already... but I am not getting rid of any family heirlooms or anything irreplaceable. Don't worry.

If there is anything in particular that you are looking for, ask me. I'm in a giving-stuff-away mood! Remember that any urgent requests need to be phoned in -- I still don't have internet at home so access is sporadic! (Like, tomorrow [Tuesday] I don't think I will be able to get online at all. Wednesday afternoon, maybe.) But, good news: Friday I am getting internet at home again!

June in review

So, it's been awhile since I posted... a lot has been going on. There was

• a graduation in Virginia (fun!)
  
• a car wreck (not so fun) (don't worry, I'm okay, it was just the car that was totalled)
  
• a trip to Chicago (mostly happy and very busy)
• first and second Rock Hill students (both at Winthrop, about .5 mi. from my condo)
• and a new [to me] car at the tail end of the month (sigh of relief, mostly).

And in between, babysitting, tutoring, and once again stretching myself a little *thin. (*Figuratively speaking only...)

People ask me how the sitting is going. Here is my take on it: they are a lot easier to manage when they are someone else's kids. Also, this: raising/caring for children is just like doing math...it takes a lot of persistence, creativity and patience; there are a lot of things you have to do over and over again; people don't understand why you like to keep doing it so long; and it helps if you get a good night's sleep once in awhile.

Thank you to all of you who gave me the support I needed in so many ways to get through June, as well as the prior year. I couldn't have made it without you.

English Dogwood and paperback swapping...

Judy tells me it's an English Dogwood.

I spotted this last night on her street, here in Rock Hill. I was astonished to see what was apparently a dogwood in bloom here in June!

On Facebook this afternoon I spotted a link that might interest the book readers among you who are trying not to accumulate piles of books. It comes highly recommended. Paperback swap....

Weather: the drought-reducing type...

Click on the title above for the current 10-day forecast in Rock Hill, and note that the next day we are predicted to have less than a 50% chance of rain is Friday, May 29! We have already been having rain since at least Saturday and it may have started on Friday -- I can't remember now... Our default weather mode these days seems to be rain. NOT that I'm complaining!! It is so green and lush here now! I was going to post a photo of how green it is here, but didn't get one taken yet. Maybe tomorrow or whenever I get online next....

In the meantime, here is some photos of another lush place I have been to lately: Houston's bay area.

Guest blogging by willowlaughter

Hi all! I'm doing a small guest-blogging spot for my mom, lidarose. As I'm not much for writing, I'll be showing two photos from last Christmas in California with lidarose, my husband J, my sister samadhiseeker, my brother, my sister-in-law, my grandmother, and various other sundry relatives. In any case, here are the photos:

Our family tradition of tossing the gift bows/ribbon onto the Christmas tree continues...

On the road to Loma Linda - look! There's snow in Southern California!!!

spending time in the library

It has been pointed out to me that I have been absent from the blog-world for awhile. I'm here, just not getting online much, and when I do I have work to do, and am not taking time to play. Mostly I'm at the library, but sometimes at Earthfare or Panera Bread or some other free WiFi place. Work is still slow -- one or two students every day, sometimes more or fewer, and a couple of child-sitting jobs every week. No temp work yet, but I never give up hope. Work on the garden at Pilgrims Inn in Rock Hill is progressing very slowly.... Visits to Houston and CA (weekend before last) were both very good, and last weekend's Math Club picnic passed wetly (the third thunderstorm of the morning flooded the picnic shelter but it was time for the picnic to be over anyway at that point) but I think all-in-all, a success.

I'll have photos of all the above available online when I remember to connect my camera with the laptop!

spring!!

I just uploaded some photos of spring at the Oratory to my Google photos...


Here's a link!

Let me know if it doesn't work, please!

update

I'm back in Rock Hill (well, Charlotte at the moment) and will not have internet for awhile until I have more work. Just letting my readership know, in case you want to contact me...use snail mail or cellphone; my chances to get online will be sporadic.

More about the trip soon, when I have some time to write.

The journey continues...

We made it to Clarksville, AR tonight, but I'm worn out. Hopefully tonight I can get more sleep than last night.
We had a really interesting day. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. I had never been there before, and neither had Carrie. It was a moving experience just to be there and walk around the grounds.

We also made it to Okemah to see the water towers.

Too tired to write more, or even post pictures (hence the links!)

Tomorrow: Tennessee!!

Writing from Amarillo

I'm in a hotel room in Amarillo... so far the trip is going well! I have about 150 photos that I want to post, but that isn't going to happen. But here's one that I liked today:



We saw some petroglyphs, but didn't have time to see many... there are hiking trails that take a long time and I imagine there is much more to see than the little bit we saw. Here's one example, with a couple of petroglyphs (on right and left):


We are already on Central time -- I will lose four hours this week: one extra on account of stupid Daylight Savings Time. But that means I ought to get to bed -- I'm going to turn over a new leaf tomorrow a.m. and get up early enough to leave when I said we would!

Day one of trip...

This will have to be a retroactive post, as I didn't get around to writing any yesterday. We had a great first day, and saw some things that were new to both of us. We decided to take a detour on a section of [the former] Route 66 between Topock and Kingman. We stopped at Needles, CA, before the detour, and I talked with a nice ranger who told us some about it and about Needles, too, for that matter. [Doesn't Needles ring a bell? It's the home of Spike, Snoopy's brother! The ranger said Schulz placed him in Needles because that's where he himself spent at least part of his youth. He said there are two theories about why Spike is often seen with a saguaro cactus, even though there aren't any in Needles: either Schulz traveled to the Whipple Mountains about 60 miles south of Needles and saw some there -- it is one of only three places they occur in CA ones in California! -- or he just used them because that's how people everywhere think of American deserts.]

The view from Needles -- I took this one to remember that I was in Needles and to show how green the desert was as we went through. It's the Mojave Desert and it was very green everywhere we went in it. I was so surprised! (The second photo was nearby, and it shows the green even better. Even the mountains were green!)



Anyhow, the detour was really interesting, and almost too exciting in places -- the road is narrow, and on the high pass over the mountains there are very sharp turns. As the Needles ranger told me, it's a safe road if you obey the posted speed limits! Before the pass, the road goes through Oatman, and old gold mining town. There are burros wandering all over town, lots of them, and people are allowed (even encouraged, it seemed to me) to feed them! The town was crawling with tourists. here are a couple of photos:




This place, in Oatman, had lots of wind chimes. Carie thought the number and size of the visitors' motorcycles was impressive, also!

Breastfeeding in public - Facebook discussion

This article was linked to by a friend on Facebook... it's an interesting analysis of an issue that's been around for awhile.

I can remember back when my children were small, one of the more popular movie theaters in Charlotte asked a nursing mom to leave the theater when she was nursing her baby during a movie there, on grounds that she was offending other patrons. (She was nursing discreetly.) Local nursing moms staged a peaceful protest and convinced the theater to change their policy.

Now the same issue sparks controversy on Facebook... It's a little disheartening that in 25 years or so, we are still fighting this battle, but I have every hope that this younger generation will be able to make progress on this issue.

Missing blog, missing blogging....

Hey, everybody! It's been so long I'm afraid my blog is going to disappear into the ether if I don't write something, quick!

I am in Denver, visiting for a couple days with an old friend from Charlotte. It's been a good visit, though too short.

Denver sure is a beautiful place. There is a large park near here with two lakes in it, so we've had some good walks. Also they have a great independent bookstore here: Tattered Cover. A beautifully laid-out store with congenial employees. Lots of places to sit and read with great views of the mountains.

I miss the olden days of being able to post a photo once in awhile, linking to interesting stuff that I found whiling away an hour or two exploring the web... Can't remember the last time I just websurfed for fun for awhile. It may be some time before I can do that again: I'm headed back home soon, but I won't have web access there (except at the library) until I can afford it again, and that could be awhile.

Hm, good movies I've seen lately, & good books:
Movies:
Martian Child (I do love a good John Cusack movie once in awhile)
Syrian Bride (very intriguing and thought provoking + excellent acting)
I've seen some other movies lately but I can't remember them all. Still working my way through Numbers, Lost, etc.

***I forgot Crazy People, which I watched with Joseph a few nights ago. As he pointed out, I slept through some of it, but I still enjoyed it very much! (the sleeping was not because of anything in the movie -- I was just exhausted!) It is vulgar in places, so be warned -- but it was so funny! A great spoof about the lack of truth in advertising, as well as an affirmation of the worth of people whom our society has deemed worthless due to mental difficulties, etc.***

Books:
The Opposite of Fate, by Amy Tan (memoir/essays, very very good!)
Griffin & Sabine (beautifully drawn)
the first book of Frazz comics :-) :-) :-) :-)
Unbowed, by Wangari Maathai (I'm in the middle of this, but it is wonderful, such a beautiful voice....)
Simplicity, by Richard Rohr (This is the first Richard Rohr book for me, but it won't be the last! It's great. I'm still in the middle of it.)

Oh, well. I'd better go to bed. More posts soon, I hope -- maybe on the upcoming road trip!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just want to wish all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a link to a Thanksgiving column I enjoyed reading.

day-after-election-itis; Yay for cousins!

Just tonight when I logged onto my e-mail, I found the latest installment of James Howell's eReligion & politics series: the morning after. I have been thinking a lot about those who are devastated by McCain/Palin losing out to Obama/Biden, and wishing I could give them some comfort and encouragement. I don't think they would accept it from me (and indeed, none have yet actively sought out my shoulder to cry on, figuratively speaking) but I think this short essay could be quite helpful.

The "Yay for cousins!" refers to my cousin Philip and his wife Silvia and their two young children who visited here from yesterday afternoon until early this afternoon. I hadn't seen Philip since he was a pre-schooler, so it was exciting to reconnect and to meet his family. The children were especially sweet and funny, and it lifted my spirits so much to spend some time with them on a couple of walks today. Meanwhile Mom shared her memories with P & S, through photo albums and stories, and they were so appreciative to learn more about their extended family. All-in-all a wonderful day for everybody!

Anonymous comment; Obama charitable donation issue

I have had to remove an anonymous comment because it contained what I consider to be fabrications about Obama's dealings with Rezko and with Kenyan politician Odinga, as well as more of the kind of unfounded character assassination and hyperbole that was rampant in the video I referred to in my post of October 31. I refuse to allow commenters to use my blog to further their own agendas.

Having said that, I will address one point that "anonymous" raised because it illustrates a common problem with so much of what has been going on with attacks against Obama. The anonymous commenter claims that, according to their tax returns, the Obamas made very small contributions to charity when figured as a percentage of their taxable income from 2000-2006. This is true. The a.c. also claims that John McCain was much more generous over the same period of time. I don't know whether this is true or not, and I don't really care. But I have two comments to make about this issue:

First, comparing the Obamas' charitable contribution figures to John McCain's for the same actual calendar years is comparing apples and oranges. I'm not even sure if there is a way to make justifiable comparisons, but it would seem that comparing McCain's figures for when he was the same number of years in the workforce as Obama, taking into account whether law school and college loans (did he have any?), housing costs, putting money aside for his children's future, supporting extended family and so on cost him the same as what they cost Barack and Michelle Obama over this period of time...is there any way to make a fair comparison? Do you see what I'm getting at here? These are candidates who are in completely different stages of their work lives; family circumstances for both of them have been very different; the benefits McCain receives due to his military service; Cindy McCain's personal financial status vs. Michelle Obama's -- all these things, and more, make McCain's financial picture very different from Obama's. I am not saying this to excuse the Obamas' possible lack of generosity, only to say that making reasonable comparisons of the two candidates' financial situation in any way is not really possible. How individuals, whether public figures or not, approach charitable giving is a complex matter, and usually changes a lot through the course of a person's life. Perhaps this is the reason that so little mention of this w.r.t. the current campaigns is to be found recently in the mainstream media.

Second, I would hope that everyone who has the financial means to do so -- including all the current candidates for public office -- would be willing to "put their money where their mouth is" and give as much financial support as possible to genuinely worthy causes. But whether this has been the case or not with the Obamas does not carry anywhere near enough weight to make me want to vote for McCain and the Republican party.

Much of what McCain and the Republicans stand for -- as well as their methods, their perspective, and what they have done over the past eight years -- is so opposed to what I believe, and much of what Obama and the Democratic party stand for is in line with my belief or at least somewhat close. I don't totally agree with the Democratic platform, of course, but it comes much closer to my own views in most cases. I also believe that while Obama is not perfect by any means, he is basically a decent human being, intelligent and creative, well-educated, capable of providing strong and thoughtful leadership for our country, and sincerely committed to finding and implementing the most reasonable and moral solutions to the huge problems that face our country at this moment in time.

One last thing: I will continue to delete comments which contain personal attacks on any candidate, and I have changed the way comments are handled (at least for the time being) so that I will be reviewing comments before they are posted. Please be patient with me if I am not able to review your comment immediately after it has been presented; I am currently only able to be online once or twice a day. But rest assured that I will attend to comments asap when I am online.

Barack Obama probably doesn't need my endorsement, but...

Far better writers than myself have been putting out millions of words lately in support of Obama's candidacy and in explanation of the issues, but I felt compelled to add my two cents worth after receiving a panicky message last night from an individual I know who shall remain anonymous here. The panicky message, entitled "Watch this about Barak Obama before you vote!" included a link to a YouTube video chock full of misinformation about Obama and misleading footage of the WTC collapses on 9/11 and other violence intended, I assume, to instill tremendous fear into the heart of the viewer and to convince the viewer that Obama was somehow responsible for 9/11. It didn't work on me -- well, at least I wasn't filled with fear... but I was moved to reply with my own views backed up by extensive references, should this individual be interested in knowing the truth of the matter. The subsequent reply I received back indicated that my efforts were futile and the references ignored. So I thought to myself just now, why not turn my reply into a blog post? At least my hard work wouldn't go completely to waste!

I watched the video you sent the link to. I watched the whole thing. It really got me thinking...

I am a supporter of Barack Obama because I believe his platform, especially on social justice issues, is what this country needs at this time. Furthermore, Obama has the intelligence, will, and political capital to get people to work together at all levels to solve the difficult problems facing our country right now and in the near future. You can find out more at these links:

Obama on the issues

A thoughtful, brief analysis of this year's candidates and party platforms

A thorough analysis of Obama's platform in the light of Christian values

Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on Meet the Press

I've also compiled a list of sources for impartial, well-researched and documented information in response to the video:

On Obama being Muslim (link here or here), and about Muslim support for Obama and the American Muslim view on the election in general,

On William Ayers and Obama's connection to him, reliable info is here and here),

A general rebuttal of the views of Jerome Corsi, who appears to be the source of much of the video's misinformation.

Since I sent that reply, I have come across a couple more sites that I also like very much:

The Top Ten Reasons Conservatives Should Vote For Obama

and

"A Citizen's Guide to Voting"

hmmm...seems like there was something else, but I can't remember what. Oh well. It's time to try to get some sleep anyhow. Tomorrow Mom and I are going to drive up to the mountains in search of rain.

(If anyone wants the video URL and/or my longer, snarkier first draft of my reply, drop me an e-mail and I'll send them.)

Thinking people, part 2...

I didn't know there was a third site for the cause! It's http://www.catholicsforobama.org/ and it looks at least as good as the other two. (My source tells me that this one was linked to an article in the NCR.)

Wish I had more energy to write about all this, but I'm beat. Even too tired to watch my Netflix movies, which are gathering a thick layer of dust....

Calling all thinking Catholics...

Today these two links came to my attention, and I want to share them with my readers (on the off chance they haven't already found them...)

Roman Catholics for Obama/Biden

Catholics for Obama/Biden

My hope is that before folks succumb to the rhetoric of McCain and Palin on the abortion issue and on Obama in general, they will consider examining the analysis of the issues on these excellent sites.

Political post

Just wanted to post a link to the L.A. Times' lead editorial this a.m. It is one of the better editorials I have ever read.

Another day trip!

Saturday held another opportunity for Mom to have a break from me for the day! My Aunt Carrie and some of Mom's neighbors and a window washer and his wife kept things exciting here at Braemer* while I drove off into the mountains in search of St. Andrew's Abbey. It's a Benedictine community about 60 miles or so northwest of Redlands, on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains in the high desert. The views on the drive over the mountains were spectacular.
This photo was taken on CA 2 right before the Grassy Hollow Visitor's Center, facing, I think, about SSE.

I didn't know if I would like being in the desert, but it was beautiful, the air was cool, and it was so very peaceful and quiet. Just what I needed. I arrived at about 11:30 and almost didn't make it past the bookstore/gift shop in the welcome center -- I could easily have stayed there all day, reading and browsing among my friends, the books -- but they close for a couple hours in the middle of the day for Mass and lunch, so I was forced to move on :) (Thank goodness!) It was a wonderful afternoon of rest, peace, and meditation.

On the drive back I took a few photos of the desert, which had these wonderful joshua trees everywhere.

Also, on the approach to I-15 on CA 138, there were these enormous white rocks that I just had to stop and take a few photos of. The photos don't really do them justice, however.

*Braemer is the name of the apartment complex my Mom lives in.

nothing like world travel to broaden the mind...

Here's an interesting suggestion for changing the requirements in the Constitution for the post of Pres. and VP....

current events

The Blessing of the Waves happened at Huntington Beach on Sunday a.m.... I wasn't there but Father Christian was! Father Chris went body-surfing after the ceremony... He also told us that for his part of the prayer service, he used a cleaned-up version of the prayer from this column by Dana Parsons.

I was in HB Sunday for the Sts. Simon and Jude Parish Festival. It was unlike any I have ever been to: they had an actual midway with about a dozen rides!





It was great to be there with Fr. Dan; he was really working the crowd!

Fr. Michael made a big "splash" by allowing the parishioners and other festival-goers to attempt to flush him... [check with me to see a photo of Fr. Michael - I removed it from here after seeing a story on the ever-present, ever-vigilant CNN about people stealing photos from blogs and photo sites for commercial use.]

A sane voice, a breath of fresh air!

This is the most cogent piece I have read yet on how/why a Catholic can, with good conscience, vote for Obama. My mind was already made up already, this just adds fuel to the fire.
I know we're all supposed to be obsessing about how to rescue Wall Street, but once in awhile perhaps it's good to take a break and get back to the business of living. I'm going to go work on the quilt top I'm putting together for Aunt C.'s quilting group...it feels good to be doing something totally unrelated to what my day-to-day is, and something that will benefit someone in need besides!

note: posting times on this blog are EDT -- I'm not up in the wee hours posting, I promise!

Anger, Peace...

Just a quick post to alert my readers to a column that I think is very important, with a message that resonates on several different levels. Let me know what you think.

a week of respite

During this week off from medical appointments and other medically-related time constraints, Mom and I are relaxing a bit and catching up on things that we've gotten behind on in the past month or so of Mom's intense cancer treatments. So, I've been catching up on looking stuff up on the web. This morning I came across this article which gives me a lot of hope, not so much for the immediate future but for the long term. A breath of fresh air amidst the mainstream media glut of campaign "news", dire predictions of financial disaster, people hanging upside-down, and so on....

Farewell, Beijing...

Well, I suspect my readers have been as caught up in the Olympics as I have, more or less. In addition to watching the various events (some of them over and over and over again) and getting my Mom's take on them (like her comment on the water polo: "If they are going to have Water Polo, they ought to have to use horses!"), it's been fun to hear the back stories of the athletes and the Games, and to read about them as well.

I'm going to miss the daily special "Beijing 2008" section in the LA Times devoted to the Games, with its chatty columns and terrific photographs, even though I didn't have time to read most of them...yet. (Almost all of them are in a stack in my room, with the exception of a couple that I donated to the box-packing effort when I forgot and took all the other newspapers out prematurely to the recycling center...)

Anyhow, there were a couple columns today that I thought would be of interest to other Olympics aficionados. There was one with a different take on the medals stats, and another with lots of questions (my readers mostly know how I love questions!)

A day or two ago there was also this one about how the Chinese handled the Games and their population's involvement in them.

Oh, and one more link from this morning's Calendar section, this one to a little known historical aspect of the Games: the artistic medals!
Well, I'm off to reconstruct my pre-Games life... but I'd love to hear my readers' take on the Games. It might help us all through the withdrawal...

New feet!

First pedicure ever!

once a mother, always a mother

It seems to me that the never-ending job of a mother is to help her children to find worthwhile activities, suited to their interests, for them to participate in. Hence my reason for posting the link above! (Be sure to read the "About" part of the page...)

Hey -- after all, it was listed under "Kids & Family" in the newspaper!!

today has been a good day...

...with a lot of help from a cousin and a friend, and I'm sure others' prayers and loving thoughts figured in there heavily, as usual! Thanks all! I feel very much peace this evening.

Click here (or on the title above) for a visual treat! I haven't had time to go to this great website for a few days, so I was glad to have a few minutes just now and find this photo.

just a couple of links for Star Wars fans, waiters, and foodies...

I found these two articles in the L.A. Times today really interesting, and I thought some of my readers might, too.

The first one brings back such memories of Joseph and Hank playing with Hank's Star Wars spaceships (I know I'm not saying that correctly, but cut me some slack, I am really beat...)

The other reminded me of conversations with Hank about waiting tables, and with certain family members and others about food...

Banana Peach Bread

Just wanted to post this link -- I had ripe bananas and some fresh peaches, nectarines, and a few leftover blueberries, and found the recipe linked above. So far it seems to be turning out great! I substituted yogurt for the sour cream and used the fruit listed above instead of using canned peaches. Will add an addendum about how it tastes later...I just pulled it out of the oven and have to leave in a bit for pilates class...

Update: Delicious and moist!

I can't remember what I was going to blog about...

So, I can't recall what were the earthshaking things (oops, not literally!) I was going to blog about...it was one of those falling-asleep moments when everything becomes crystal clear... So I'll just say that it's morning here and it looks deceptively cool and inviting out the front windows of my mom's apartment.

The pictures I take just don't convey what I'm really seeing. So just take my word for it -- bright blue sky, big trees, lots of shady lawn, flowers, quiet, quiet...

Here are some other views of Redlands and the surrounding mountains, in a different season...

The title of this post links to one of the prettiest buildings in Redlands, the Morey Mansion. But there are lots of other really great houses here, too -- I mean, the architecture is unusual and the house are really well preserved. Almost everybody has a garden, and the town is awash in roses, crepe myrtle, and other beautiful and exotic flowers that I don't know the name of. Outside mom's back door there is a lemon tree which is covered in lemons (mostly green at the moment) and several rose bushes, and further on there are some large bushes behind someone else's patio that are sometimes covered in morning glory vines with huge purple blossoms -- they were recently cut back but they still persist, as morning glories will! (I know they look blue, but they are really purple!)


My exciting outing of the weekend, since I managed to miss the dance performance Friday night at the Redlands Bowl (I am very sad about this!), was a little nostalgia trip to what is commonly known as "the Fifth Avenue Pool". I went there as a child with my aunt and her children, among them my cousin Mary. This time it was Mary and her 20-year-old son Luke and his girlfriend and me. I remember the pool, an old reservoir, as being huge, so big you can barely swim across it... well, like many places of my youth, it has shrunk down quite a bit! But the water is still cool, if not cold, and there are lovely old trees to shade the lounge chairs and patio tables. Even a slide, if i could only have worked up the nerve to go down it -- no fear of the sliding part, just embarrassment about being about 45 years older than the other kids using it!) Anyway, I came home refreshed from the good company and a dip in the pool.

My missing paternal grandfather -- found!

Today while my Mom was going through some photos, she came across one that had special significance for me. It was a photo of my paternal grandparents, and though I knew my paternal grandmother, I had never in all my 55 years seen (that I can remember) a photo of my father's father, who died in a car accident in 1926 when my Dad was two years old. For those of you who may be interested, here they are, Bill and Bess Lackie:

My Mom thinks this was probably taken at Bess' parents' house, though Mom never went there herself.
On the back of the photo, it reads:

Pet. if you will send this
picture back to me I will
send you some more
that you can keep
Ever your brother
W Lackie
this is Bess and Bill

(I'm not sure of the "W" -- it could be "H".)

Earthquake!

Yes, we felt it here in Redlands! It lasted from 5-7 seconds or so... It felt to me like some huge piece of furniture or maybe a grand piano was being moved upstairs, causing a lot of rumbling and the building to shake... actually, that's what I thought it was at first, until I realized what a dumb idea that was... We are all fine here. Mom didn't even notice the quake, though her sister, Carrie, did. Of course now it's all over the news.

If you click on the link above, and move your cursor to just below the "R" in San Bernardino, you will see where we are.

long time gone...

This post is just to say a brief hello before I fall into bed... The days are long and the nights very interrupted lately. But I am glad to be with my mom. Her condition at the moment is complicated, but her mobility is improving, that's one good thing. Also, she is not in much pain at all from the hip now.
Mostly I am doing well, just haven't had much sleep in recent days. But I do nap almost every afternoon and hope to get back to swimming & exercising tomorrow!
I miss all of you and hope to be back in more frequent contact at some point. Maybe just posting here will be all I can do for awhile, though.

Going Green!

Check out Sally and Sadie's new book, Going Green! I am excited that this is finally in print, and hope that it will sell very well!!

More photos...this time, my own!

Here are a few photos from my recent trip to Baltimore. Some are from the Longwood Gardens, and some need no explanation :)

Wow!

Hi, all!
Click on title for an amazing photo.
Will try to post again soon!

Constellations

Just sitting here among the random clutter that accumulates in a week or so (that's how long since I dumped the last pile on the dining room table to be sorted out) and wondering if I will ever get back to posting more often... Yes, I will, when this current storm of students abates, which won't be long now: all the schooled kids' exams start in three to four weeks. But in the meanwhile...

I had a conversation with a student about constellations recently, and we talked about the Ancients seeing their gods and heroes in the stars... then this poem came in the daily Poem-a-Day e-mail a few days ago. A happy confluence of events!

I hope all the folks in NC and Indiana will go out and vote today! Keep the momentum going!!

new links

I've added a few new links to the list in my sidebar: xkcd, which I ought to have had a long time ago; Anamorphic Sidewalk Painting, just because i think it's amazing; and a link to Timmy Abell's website, which I discovered the other night when I was looking for Jim Taylor's cd "Come Before Winter" (my favorite cd ever.) Timmy Abell is a fantastic folksinger for children and families, and Jim Taylor...well, you'll just have to listen to his music sometime -- I can't do it, or him, justice in words.

Maybe someday I'll have time to do a "real" post again...sigh....

National Poem in your Pocket Day

Just a quick note to let my readers know about this special day coming up Thursday!
I found out about it from this article in the Charlotte Observer.

I'll probably be carrying Milne, but not sure which poem... How about you?

quick funny! ...for all you advanced students out there...

Click on the title above to read something that will make you smile, I can almost guarantee it!
I'll try to get back to posting more often one of these days, now that my "far" travels are over for a little while.

Happy Pi Day!

No time to write much today, but I direct my readers to the article about Pi linked in the title of this post.

All my theme songs for today involve circles....

A newsy week...

...but most of it is other people's news, so I'll keep mum for the time being and let them share it, or in other cases, just let the story unfold.

So in the meantime, I have a movie recommendation: The Painted Veil. I just watched it, and it is wonderful. The acting (mostly panned by Lawrence Toppman, but I'm not so choosy as he is, I guess), the story, the score, the cinematography -- all so well done, so rich. Those of you who speak French -- you would love this song that is in it near the end, and if/when you do see it, I wish you would tell me what the song is about.... I am very sad that I never learned French. The music reviewer linked above doesn't agree with me about this, but I thought the song very appropriate, and quite beautiful.

Another item of interest -- completely different topic: Kay McSpadden's latest column will resonate with those of you who are regular readers of this blog (well, as regular a reader as you can be when I'm such a sporadic writer!) Actually, it will resonate with anyone who is a regular reader of anything -- books, magazines, cereal boxes, billboards, whatever. Please consider her plea seriously and do what you can to help. My reading this column this evening came on the heels of reading an article I had clipped awhile ago about the alarming number of, and rise in, dropouts from high school and middle school. I believe there is a very close connection between the two issues of early reading experiences and students failing to complete their education. As many of you know, I am a strong supporter of homeschooling, but the reality is that the vast majority of the young people in this country do not have that option. So I believe that it is only right and just that we do whatever we can to improve the schools and enhance opportunities for students who are attending school. There is a lot of bad going on in education today, but there is a lot of good, also. Kay McSpadden is an example of the best of the teachers out there, and I believe she can help us all find ways to participate in improving the futures of schooled students. (She recently published her first book, Notes from a Classroom. I have it and started reading it just the other day...a great read!)

Okay, I know these are really two different blog posts, but I'm too tired to try to figure that out now. I've been battling the flu since Wednesday night and hope to get past it soon.

Update: I realized this morning (3/9) that there really is a connection between my two topics above: there is scene near the end of the movie, not really essential to the plot or anything, that has a bunch of Chinese orphans lining up and receiving a book each, one by one... I don't know why the director put that in there, but it did serve as a reminder to me that I wanted to write about the article by Kay McSpadden.

instability

Help! My Firefox has become unstable -- for the past couple months it has been having this bad habit of locking up on me at random moments. I have tried defragging my hard drive and uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox, but I don't know what else to do. I have looked on their site for a FAQ addressing this but what I found hasn't helped so far, except that they recommend I run the program in Firefox Safe Mode. I'm doing that. So far so good...but is that a fix? Any suggestions???

More for the Foodies :-)

Just noticed this article in yesterday's Observer's previously untouched Food Section. The title of one of the recipes, "Lighter Than Mom's Tuna-Noodle Casserole", caught my eye. I think some of my regular readers have expressed interest in Tuna Noodle Casserole (a la Grandma) on occasion... maybe this will be a healthier version, if not tastier (because of course, there is nothing quite like the original!)
Also, some of you might be interested in another approach to cooking dinner -- the write-up was in Co-op America's newsletter, Real Money.

need calculator

Just a quick note before I drop into the bed, to see if anyone out there has a used TI-83 or 83+ they can part with... One of my students, who is in dire financial straits already, had hers stolen (along with a lot of other stuff, lots of it irreplaceable) from her mom's van on Saturday. She called tonight to ask if I knew of where to get another or if I had an extra I could loan her. So I'm putting the word out there, as I don't have an extra... Any help you can give will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Update: I have had at least one offer already (see comments) but if anyone else sends calculators (or if you are local I can pick them up) I will put them to good use. I always have or know students who are in need. Recently I have begun to do some volunteer GED tutoring and they need calculators, too.

For all you foodies out there...

Click on the title for an article that was in the Ch. Observer yesterday. I don't have time for a post right now -- I'm headed out the door to a long Thursday -- but thought I'd give everybody an opportunity to start the day with a chuckle, the same way I went to sleep last night after reading this article. (Apologies to Rachel Ray, wherever you are...)

collecting

Having seen Everything Is Illuminated* over the weekend, and having had discussions recently with various people about clutter (a perennial problem for me), this morning's StoryCorps segment immediately caught my attention... It is either a springboard for new ideas of things to "collect" or a cautionary tale -- I choose the latter :]

*The protagonist collects things... Everything Is Illuminated is a really good movie, and the soundtrack was especially wonderful. I think it would be even better on the big screen, as the scenery is beautiful as well. For you dog lovers out there: there's a dog in the movie that is absolutely fantastic. She was almost my favorite character, and she's in almost every scene.

Smiley Library

Last night while looking for links that discuss "book addiction" I discovered this humorous piece and through it found the blog Library Dust. My interest has been piqued, and this morning (when I ought to be getting ready to go to work) I started reading back posts from the beginning, and came across this one. It's all about Smiley Library! That's the public library in Redlands, CA, where my aunt and uncle and cousins have lived for the past 40+ years, and now my mother lives there, too. So I've been there lots of times. I even watched, with my dear cuz Mary, some of the filming of a movie there late one night a year or two ago. What a hoot that was! (I wish I knew what movie...)
Reading about Smiley brought back memories of visiting other libraries in small towns I have visited over the years. When my kids and I traveled (in their growing up years) we often visited towns and cities that were new to us. The two places we went to loved to explore in particular were the local grocery store and the library. In addition to Smiley Library, some libraries that stand out in my mind are the ones in Dublin, GA, Haddonfield, NJ, Burlingame, CA, Atlanta Ga (the old Carnegie library with its squishy floors and the Ida Williams branch, now the Buckhead branch) and the first library I ever went to, which was in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- it was a children's library and I loved it very much.
I'd put more links but I've gotta run!
Addendum: I left out two of the best libraries: The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County and the York County Library. Both are fabulous!

Update: Now that I have posted this, the "Library Dust" blog has been taken down. The author has started a new blog, On the Job, but it just isn't the same!

Books, reading, and good news....

The thing about reading slowly that frustrates me is that there are waaay more books that I want to read at any given moment than I have time to read even if I had years to read them all... For example, I have three books on tape out from the library (I listen to these in the car; I'm currently in the middle of two of them) and I am reading at least four books (mostly from the library) and have at least two others out from the library that I want to get into asap -- one is about one of the current presidential candidates and the other is Perfectly Legal by David Cay Johnston, the author I referred to in yesterday's post. (I couldn't get his latest book at the library so I decided to try this one in the meantime.) Anyway, "book greed" is how I like to think of it, but that's really too charitable a description. There was a period of about 6-8 years when I couldn't get through even the shortest novel (for reasons that are still somewhat unclear to me) but ever since I got back into reading a few years back it's become sort of an obsession. When I was a kid I read all the time (albeit very slowly) and now I feel as though I am getting like that again.

On another topic: I have my first real Rock Hill student next Friday! Finally the next phase of the transition has begun!

p.s. Don't hesitate to click on the link in the title. It cracked me up -- and I think I'll still be chortling about it when I wake up in the a.m., like when Lizzie posted her "That's an airplane?!" comment....

David Cay Johnston on Fresh Air

Just wanted to post the link above for anyone interested. I am not a die-hard Fresh Air fan, but this segment really struck a nerve -- very well done and a real eye opener. David Cay Johnston is the author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill) which sounds (from the interview) like something we all should read. What got my attention was they were talking about Cabela's, a huge store out in the middle of Nebraska... I've seen lots of signs for it when travelling in that area. For more, go listen to the interview.

I'll try to post again soon. I'm still writing Christmas cards and "treading water" in other respects.

Corollary to the "When Mama ain't happy" saying...

I just want to say, when Mama's kids are happy, Mama's happy! So I'm happy today! (See here and here to see why.) The third kid and the two spouses haven't weighed in online, but I'm reasonably sure they are happy, too. (Though I think one of them has a sore throat? I hope her hubby is taking good care of her...)
I'm also happy because we had .88" of rain in the past 24 hours. ("A lot" for us these days is anything more than a quarter of an inch!)

Long time no here...

I know it's been a long while since I posted... I've been busy with this and that...
One thing is, I brought 90 books into the house at one time (that's a record for me) and now I am trying to sell most of them... (Hopefully I'll get to post about that tomorrow or Saturday!)

Also I was away for awhile. And had some company, too. All good :-)

Anyhow, I am enjoying listening to The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon on tape as I ride back and forth to the emerald city almost daily... Also have discovered a new (to me) e-mail list to be on -- as if I had time to read another thing -- but it's by a favorite writer, James C. Howell, who is a Methodist minister at Myers Park Methodist Church in Charlotte. He is the author of Servants, Misfits and Martyrs: Saints and Their Stories, among other titles, and he has written a number of columns for the Charlotte Observer.

flying high

I know I shouldn't be awake at 5:30 after going to bed so late, but I woke up with a belly laugh, just like I went to sleep: one of the last things I did last night was look at Facebook, and there was a comment on this photo from Lizzie. The comment was, "That's an AIRPLANE?" It brought on one of those laughs that comes up from way down inside, a really satisfying outburst. I slept like a baby, until I woke up at 5:11 with everything coming together in my mind. The photo...the conversation with willowlaughter I had earlier in the day about the poor quality of airplane air ("as bad as a very smoggy day in L.A." -- learned from NPR's Science Friday)... the fact that I had just made my forty-hundredth airline reservation this year (yes, "forty-hundredth" is a number, I'm a mathematician and I know!)... and a blog post was born.
First of all, I didn't even notice the odd way the plane was decorated. That's partly due to the fact that I have very little decorating sense, but also because everybody expected airplanes to look like that back in the day. Flying on an airplane used to be FUN! Here were some of the attractions for me -- and some of them still exist: anybody could come see you off at the gate (sometimes it was a real party!), and once you got on there were no phones to answer (this could soon change), comfy seats with lots of pillows and real blankets, plenty of free food and drink (I remember at least once eating a steak meal - in coach! With a real knife to cut with. No, I wasn't always a vegetarian...), no TV and of course no movies (there wasn't even a way to do that at home), no potential terrorist threat (although the occasional plane was hijacked, you didn't have to worry unless you were flying near Cuba), a lovely assortment of magazines for your reading pleasure (no SkyMall or airline mags back then), steaming washcloths 2/3 of the way through the flight to freshen up a bit (that's what Joseph is doing in this other photo), free playing cards and wings for the kiddies (and probably other stuff, too -- they were all into entertaining children) and when you got off the plane, your friends and/or family were there to meet you at the gate! Ah, those were the days! We didn't have problems with people raging at the flight attendants. Of course, the downside was people were allowed to smoke on the airplane, if they sat in "the back" (meaning the last half of the plane!) I guess why I like flying (or did, until I OD'd on it with at least 14 flight-segments this past year - a personal "best") is I am still living in those days, back in my mind. Pure escapism, like going to the movies -- only better, because you get to create your own plot, with the backdrop being the scenery out the window and the lovely, colorful decor. I loved it. And here I go again!

Expanding my vocabulary

I've never seen a myrmidon
I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow
I'd rather see than be one!

p.s. This exercise (but not the word!) reminds me of my father, whose birthday it is today. He would pick a vocabulary word (out of a 1000-word box we kept handy) and post it at work. He "required" his apprentices (? interns? I hesitate to call them myrmidons...) to use the word appropriately in a sentence sometime during the day. He also liked it when we did that... and it became our habit to ask him what the "word of the day" was and talk about it a bit, at dinner? breakfast? (My memory is so fuzzy -- maybe one of my brothers can help me out here... I wish we could recreate some of these long ago moments...) Anyway, Dad loved words (as does my mom) and it appears this love of words is shared by his grandson -- and Dad would have relished this new exercise instituted by Z!

The non-violent way of life: an example

I just read this excellent essay by John Dear, and couldn't restrain myself from sharing it with my readers. I have not been to the Abbey of Gethsemani before, but I have been to the Trappist abbeys at Moncks Corner, SC, and in Conyers, GA: Mepkin Abbey and the Monastery of the Holy Spirit respectively. I can attest to the strong spirit of peace in these places. Reading John Dear's article makes me want to go to Mepkin for another visit. Alas, my path does not head in that direction anytime in the near future... but in the meantime there is The Oratory, a sanctuary within the bustle of college and town life, with peace-filled prayer opportunities and a community dedicated in all sorts of ways to social justice and non-violence issues.