Dishin' the Dirt with my Friends

Hello Cousin

2009-12-11T06:20:00.003-06:00

Borrowed from quotidianmeander.blogspot.com

We're All Cousins
I got this nice idea from Richard Dawkins, the evolutionist.

Everybody knows that we all have a lot of ancestors. We each have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so forth--the number doubles each time you step back another generation.

If you go back to approximately the time of Jesus, say 32 generations, that means you have approximately 8 1/2 billion ancestors. Go back only a little further, and you have trillions.

Trouble is, there weren't eight and a half billion people on the Earth when Jesus was alive. In fact, there have never been eight and a half billion people on Earth--there are only six and a half billion now, and there are more people alive now than have ever been alive at once before.

So what does this mean? Only that not all of your ancestors were unrelated people. Jeff Foxworthy has a joke that goes, "If your family tree has no branches, you know you might be a redneck." But the fact is, somewhere back in everybody's family tree, distant cousins were marrying distant cousins. As Dawkins points out, the metaphor of a family "tree" only works for a small number of generations. Then, the metaphor becomes that of a river, because human DNA, and bloodlines, are constantly dividing and recombining, dividing and recombining.

If you're following this, you probably can see another implication of this: you, and I--each human being on Earth, in fact--have ancestors in common.

It's just a question of how far you have to go back in time. With your first cousins, you only have to go back two generations. With your next door neighbor, maybe you have to go back twelve or fifteen generations. With some guy in another country, maybe twenty or thirty. But somewhere back there, you share common ancestors with every other person on Earth.

Note that you don't have to be an evolutionist to believe this, either, because it completely squares with the Bible. According to that story, we're all descendents of Noah, and before that, Adam and Eve.

It turns out that every human being on Earth is fairly closely related, too. Dawkins says that you and I both share more DNA in common with an African Pygmy or an Australian Aborigine than a yellow Labrador retriever has in common with a black Labrador retriever.

Oddly enough, the two strains of human DNA on Earth that are most distant from each other are both black Africans. How that happened, nobody's quite sure.

In any event, one doesn't have to be very observant to notice that we human beings spend an awful lot of time and energy focusing on our differences, on separating ourselves and our group from every other group. And of course, fighting with each other.

It might be a good idea, then, once in a while, to remember that we're all cousins.

The Real Reason for the Season

2009-12-06T15:37:00.003-06:00

The Real Reason for the Season, By David Loehr from austinuu.org

Christmas is really quite a new holiday. In our country, it only caught on after the War Between the States – or as some longtime Southerners know it, the War of Yankee Aggression. And in spite of all the hype about Christmas as a religious holiday, many Christians still don’t accept it as having anything to do with Christianity.

Modern Jehovah’s Witnesses and other fundamentalists still see Christmas as a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice. They note that Jesus didn’t tell people to celebrate his birthday in his Sermon on the Mount. In Boston, a fundamentalist religious group has run advertisements in the subway proclaiming that early Christians did not “believe in lies about Santa Claus, flying reindeer, elves and drunken parties.” They don’t mention that early Christians didn’t celebrate Christmas either, didn’t have any idea when Jesus was born, or that Jesus also never counseled people to engage in self-righteous games.

It’s kind of ironic, but almost nothing about Christmas that people really love has anything at all to do with Christianity or Jesus. Yet people have been celebrating at this time of year, the winter solstice, since prehistoric times.

Though really, even the winter solstice is mostly an excuse rather than a reason for the season. In our modern calendar, the solstice occurs on 21 or 22 December, though in the old Julian calendar, it sometimes came on December 25th, and was identified with December 25th as far back as the 3rd century, when the Romans had their week-long Saturnalia and the festivals celebrating the birth of the invincible sun, not Jesus.

As far as we can tell, observations and celebrations of the winter solstice may go back 10,000 years – thousands of years before any of today’s religions had been born. In some ancient mythology, the Great Mother Goddess gave birth to a new sun god on that day. Sun gods are pictured with a glow of light, or halo, around their heads. So most of the paintings of Jesus portray him in the stylized way solar deities are portrayed. The solstice was celebrated in many cultures at this time, and by definition that 25th of December – the day the sun was “reborn” – was the birthday of all sun gods, of whom there were many. If you go to Wikipedia, you can find a list of over 100 solar deities, all of whom are “born” each year on the same date – though most of those gods have long since been forgotten. All gods die, and gods who last a few hundred or thousand years have lasted a very long time, as gods go.

So while over a hundred different religious cults and sets of rituals are known, each one of them was a kind of “cover” story over the real reason for the season, which had nothing to do with all those local and temporary gods.

In another twelve days, we will have the shortest day and longest night of the year. Leaves have died and fallen from a lot of trees; it’s been getting dark earlier and getting light later in the day. If we were living through this for the first time, we might think the world was slowly coming to an end, and the light would just continue disappearing until it was completely gone, and we might engage in some pretty desperate hoping.

But this isn’t the season of hoping the sun will come back, and it hasn’t been for over a hundred centuries. It’s the time of knowing the sun will return – after all, they knew exactly which date to plan their parties around, even thousands of years ago, and Stonehenge was built around 4,000 years ago to frame the sun’s rays precisely at the winter and summer solstices. They didn’t hope, they knew. We know full well that the sun will start returning and days will get longer, and we are safe in the hands of Mother Nature, for she will always give birth to the light again. That’s part of the message of this most optimistic of seasons: this is our home, and it’s a safe place for us.

In the fourth century, the emperor Constantine, whose religion was Mithraism, wanted to combine Mithraism and Christianity. He gave Christians protection from prosecution, but then assigned Mithras’s birthday – December 25th, since Mithras was a sun god – to be celebrated as Jesus” birthday as well, and also assigned Sunday – the day named after the sun god – as the holy day of Christianity. Until then, Christians did not have a holy day. Christian writers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries used to brag about having no holy days, unlike those heretical pagans who were always naming days after their gods – like Sun-day. So officially, Jesus started being born on December 25th in the middle of the fourth century, and we’re still meeting here on Sunday, the holy day of a dozen sun gods whose names we no longer even know. But Christmas didn’t start then, because from the very start, Christians wouldn’t buy it. Even 1700 years ago, they knew it was a pagan holiday about a sun god, so the day just wasn’t an important day for them.

A lot of people are surprised to learn that Christmas wasn’t an important day in modern times, either. But it’s a very recent holiday. In England in the 17th century, the Christian Oliver Cromwell ordered people put in jail if they were caught celebrating Christmas.

And when the Puritans came to America, they would not allow the celebration of Christmas, because they too knew their history. Our Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under our new constitution. Christmas was a normal workday.

Christmas didn’t start catching on in our country until the last third of the 19th century, and then it had almost nothing to do with Jesus, and everything to do with Santa Claus.

In 1822, a dentist named Clement Moore wrote the poem we know as “The Night Before Christmas.” It’s still a magical poem, and it became immensely popular. That’s the poem we all know, about the visit of old Saint Nicholas flying up onto the rooftop in his sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, slipping down the chimney to bring presents to the children, then as he flew away calling out, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” There’s nothing about Jesus or God. Nothing about the winter solstice, either – just jolly old Saint Nicholas, presents, and a wonderful, magical atmosphere. After this poem caught on, the Santa Claus story became very popular.

Then in 1843, Charles Dickens published his Christmas Carol the week before Christmas. The US Congress was still meeting on Christmas. They kept meeting on December 25th as a normal workday until 1856. Meanwhile, the Santa Claus story became more popular, and the idea of Christmas as a special day – a day with family and a big Christmas dinner – caught on over much of the country. Two years after Charles Dickens published his story, in 1836, Alabama was the first state to make Christmas a legal holiday. But from the start, as in ancient times, it was about family, friends, sharing good food together, and celebrating – with a big boost from commercialism, just as in ancient Rome.

Christmas cards were introduced in England in 1843 – the same year Dickens published his Christmas Carol. They were simple lithographed cards that said “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

The first Christmas cards in the U.S. were used by merchants for advertising. So making money from this season has been a part of it since it began, as it was also in ancient Rome. We also owe our modern picture of Santa Claus to a cartoonist and a soft drink company.

Thomas Nast was the political cartoonist and illustrator for Harper’s Weekly from 1859-1886. He was born in 1840, so started his career as our country’s first top-quality political cartoonist at the age of nineteen. He gave us both the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey. And in 1863, at the age of 23, he drew Santa Claus dressed in a fur-trimmed suit. Up till then, Santa Claus was usually drawn either as an elf or as a tall thin man. (That’s why it hadn’t strained the imagination so much that Santa could get up and down chimneys.) So Thomas Nast gave us the symbols for Santa Claus and two political parties — and it’s still safe to say that more people love Santa than those other two animals combined. In 1870, Christmas became a federal holiday for the first time, and in 1907 Oklahoma was the last state to make it an official holiday. But as late as 1931, nine states still required public schools to remain open on Christmas day, still saw it as a normal work day.

But this new holiday didn’t have much at all to do with Jesus or God, and everything to do with the ancient festivals and giving presents. And the gifts which have become the main point of the season for all children and many adults were traditionally given on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6th, not Christmas.

St. Nicholas was a real person, a wealthy 4th century bishop known for his generosity – though not really a saint. The most famous legend about him tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman’s father had to offer prospective husbands a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry – much as it still is in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries around the Indian continent. This poor man’s daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into some kind of slavery.

Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. It’s also the origin of the three gold balls that you can still sometimes see hanging outside of pawnshops. St. Nicholas”

Day was celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6th, beginning in 13th century France. So the first part of our modern Christmas to become popular was the gift giving associated with St. Nicholas, but not any story about the birth of Jesus.

But combining gift giving with a religious holiday is like combining fireworks with the celebration of our nation’s declaration of independence on the 4th of July. Guess which one will trump the other one?

Some people in this country were giving gifts for St. Nicholas Day, which had become a secular holiday. But by the end of the 19th century, merchants succeeded in getting people to combine St. Nicholas” Day with December 25th, and give the gifts for Christmas, to help focus the shopping season. Earlier, Christmas gifts were almost always made by hand to give to your family and friends. But between about 1880 and 1920 merchants managed to sell us on the idea that they should be bought, and gift-wrapped in fancy paper. In the 1930s, they got President Franklin Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving back from its former date of November 30th, to November 23rd, so there would be a longer Christmas shopping season. A few years later, Congress made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November, and the Christmas shopping season has officially started the day after Thanksgiving since then “though now it seems the Christmas ads start after Halloween.

You notice that so far, Jesus, God and Christianity have hardly been mentioned at all. Our modern Christmas was begun by storytellers, cartoonists and merchants, creating the shopping season that is the most profitable time of the year for them. It features holly, ivy, mistletoe, evergreens, fir trees, and the lights and fires and parties that go back to before Christianity existed, probably to before any religion still alive existed. But also notice that none of these stories talk about the winter solstice, either.

Our favorite Christmas music isn’t religious, either, though our favorite music comes at Christmas. The Number One selling record of all time is still Bing Crosby’s 1942 version of “White Christmas,” and the Number Two selling record of all time is still Gene Autrey’s 1949 recording of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

The single most important picture that established our image of old Santa Claus as the fat guy with the white beard in the red suit with white fur trim wasn’t by the political cartoonist Thomas Nast who started it, but another commercial artist. For 33 years, from 1931 to 1964, the Coca-Cola Company published ads picturing this fat Santa in his red suit and white fur, holding a bottle of Coca-Cola. Then in 1957, Dr. Seuss published his story of the Grinch who stole Christmas, a kind of cartoon version of the Scrooge character. And again, the “Christmas spirit” the Grinch had tried to steal wasn’t about religion, but about parties, celebration, giving presents and having a wonderful time together.

Today, Christmas has become an almost completely secular holiday. That even seems to be becoming the law. In 1999 a US District court ruled that Christmas decorations didn’t violate anybody’s religious beliefs because as they put it, “The Christian holiday has become almost completely secularized.” One of the great ironies of Christmas is that it really isn’t a Christian holiday – or even a religious holiday – at all. It is, as that court said, a secular holiday, just as St. Nicholas Day was and St. Valentine’s Day is.

So all the focus on gifts, merriment, meals with friends, singing, evergreens, mistletoe isn’t distracting from the reason for the season. It is the reason for the season, and has been for thousands of years before any of the world’s religions had been invented.

From all of the ancient and modern histories, whether around Rome or around the U.S., it looks like the real reason for the season was the need to celebrate, to get together with family and friends, to surround ourselves with merriment, and to just come alive. That’s a victory of the human imagination, inventing the brightest holiday in the midst of Nature’s longest nights.

What this season has been about since prehistoric times is coming alive. Early Christians said that the old Roman Saturnalia had parties, drinking, good food, singing, dancing and laughter – as though that were a bad thing. But remember, most of this partying was done with their families and friends. The winter solstice was an excuse for it, just as the 4th of July is an excuse for shooting off fireworks. But the solstice wasn’t the real reason, any more than any holiday is. We love holidays because they give us permission to come alive more theatrically and openly than we can do the rest of the year without being seen as a bit odd.

During 4th of July fireworks displays, all those “Oooohs” and “Aaaaahs” you hear when the fireworks go off aren’t in memory of a bunch of men signing a declaration of independence. They are the delighted gasps of our inner children, thrilled with being alive and being together. And that’s the real reason for the Christmas season, too.

I keep thinking of the wonderful words from theologian Howard Thurman, when he said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I had never thought of them as having anything to do with Christmas, and doubt that he meant for them to be. But they are about what this season is really about.

This is the most creative, positive and human of all our holidays. Fifty or a hundred centuries ago, some people were facing another solstice season. The days were short, the nights were long, and it could look like the end of the world. They knew it wasn’t – the world isn’t likely to end unless we boil it away or blow it apart. But once they started lighting fires, somebody got a very creative idea: let’s have a party! Let’s do an in-your-face to Nature, by having our biggest, brightest party right in the middle of Nature’s most dismal days!

There were other facts that made this a perfect time for huge feasts. They often slaughtered many of their cattle at this time, so they wouldn’t have to feed them throughout the winter – so there was a lot of fresh meat available for the feast. And the wine they had made last summer was finally ready to drink. Well, that’s a sign from the gods!

The best parts of nature have always been claimed by the mythmakers of the day for their particular story. In ancient Rome, the official storytellers said what’s going on here is the birth of that invincible sun. A few blocks away in the neighborhoods of Mithraism, they said no, it’s really the birth of Mithras, who was both the sun god and the Son of God. Disciples of Apollo would claim the time for him, and remind you that the only reason the sun even comes up in the morning is because Apollo drags it across the sky behind his golden chariot.

Then after the fourth century, Christian mythmakers said No; it was the celebration of the birth of another Son of God named Jesus that just happened to come on the birthday of Mithras and all the other sun gods. Then they connected it with the earlier story about Joseph and Mary, a wandering star, shepherds and wise men, and the rest of it.

These are all such wonderful stories! They are far more imaginative stories than the truth, which is pretty dull: “Well, the days will start getting longer for six months, then they’ll get shorter for six months, and they’ll probably keep doing that forever, as they’ve been doing on this planet for over four billion years. Now there’s a boring story! Nobody is lining up to see that movie!

Meanwhile, back on earth, a lot of people are getting ready to party. They’ve preparing a menu, inviting friends, deciding on the right gifts for the right people, whether they make them or buy them. They’re picking out fancy wrapping paper, hanging all sorts of things on real or artificial green trees – a lot like people did in ancient Rome, in the communities of Mithraism – the fir tree was Mithra’s sacred tree – and in more times and places than we can count. That’s the real reason for the season: a rare chance to come alive, to celebrate the gift of life by offering gifts to those in life who mean a lot to you, a chance for good food, good friends, and family who, if we can’t quite love having them around for the holidays, can at least tolerate them in good humor, and hope they return the favor.

It’s a time to get out not only our best behaviors, but some of our silliest and most child-like behaviors, too. My god, this is the season when full-grown people talk about flying reindeer, take their children to a million malls to sit on Santa’s lap, then line up and pay good money to see that ballet with mice that dance, and a magical nutcracker who comes to life.

“Comes to life.” That’s it. The real reason for this season has always been coming back to life. Not coming to worship the invincible sun, not coming to Mithras, not coming to Jesus, but coming to life. And all the stories, music, costumes, decorations and parties are like training wheels for us, to help us get back into that habit of being more alive – a habit we seem to slip out of so easily that it’s a good thing we have arranged this annual reminder that more than anything, what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Everyone Has a Story

2008-06-19T11:46:00.004-05:00

I'm a closet follower of the Daily OM. This was the most recent post I received from them, and I loved it so much I wanted to post it here.

Everyone Has A Story
Interesting People Everywhere

It’s easy to forget sometimes that everyone has a story to tell if we take the time to listen. We are so accustomed to hearing the stories of people in the news that we sometimes lose track of the fact that the random stranger on the bus also has a fascinating story about where they came from and how they got to be where they are. The sheer variety of paths taken in this world, from farmers to CEOs to homeless people to world travelers, is indicative of how much we can learn from each individual. Sometimes the shy, quiet person at work has the most amazing life story and the biggest dreams, it is up to us to take the time to find out.

Some people travel a path of wealth and privilege, while others struggle with only themselves to rely on, and both have great stories to tell. Each person learns lessons, makes choices, and develops a unique perspective, which only they can claim and share. Even two people who have had very similar lives will have slightly different experiences, leading them to a different point of view, so each person remains a treasure trove waiting to be explored. When we take the time to ask questions and listen, we find that every person has a fascinating story to tell and an utterly unique perspective from which to tell it.

Bearing this in mind, we have the opportunity to approach the world around us in a new way. There is never any reason to be bored at a party, or on the bus, or in a conversation with a stranger. When we retain the spark of curiosity and the warmth required to open someone up, we always have in front of us the makings of a great story. All we have to do is ask.

Kissing Hank's Butt

2008-03-18T09:36:00.004-05:00

It seems I'm really loving RonLawHouston lately. This one made me laugh till my sides hurt.

ronlawhouston

This little bit of religious satire is called "Kissing Hank's Butt" by Jhuger.

This morning there was a knock at my door. When I answered the door I found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple. The man spoke first:

John: "Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."

Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's butt with us."

Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His butt?"

John: "If you kiss Hank's butt, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the snot out of you."

Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"

John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His butt."

Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."

Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the butt?"

Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."

John: "Then come kiss Hank's butt with us."

Me: "Do you kiss Hank's butt often?"

Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."

Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"

John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."

Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"

Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the snot out of you."

Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's butt, left town, and got the million dollars?"

John: "My mother kissed Hank's butt for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."

Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"

John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."

Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"

Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."

Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"

John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"

Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."

John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's butt He'll kick the snot out of you."

Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."

Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."

Me: "Then how do you kiss His butt?"

John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His butt. Other times we kiss Karl's butt, and he passes it on."

Me: "Who's Karl?"

Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's butt. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."

Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His butt, and that Hank would reward you?"

John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."

From the Desk of Karl
Kiss Hank's butt and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
Use alcohol in moderation.
Kick the snot out of people who aren't like you.
Eat right.
Hank dictated this list Himself.
The moon is made of green cheese.
Everything Hank says is right.
Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
Don't use alcohol.
Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
Kiss Hank's butt or He'll kick the snot out of you.
Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."

Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."

Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."

John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."

Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"

Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."

Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the snot out of people just because they're different?"

Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."

Me: "How do you figure that?"

Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"

Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."

John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."

Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."

John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."

Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."

Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."

Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."

John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"

Me: "We do?"

Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so."

Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"

John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."

Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"

Mary: She blushes.

John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."

Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"

John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."

Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"

Mary: She looks positively stricken.

John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"

Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"

Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears."I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."

John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."

Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."

Mary: She faints.

John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the snot out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's butt for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."

With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.

Hardwired for God?

2008-02-24T11:20:00.007-06:00

I recently came across this interesting post on Ronlawhouston's blog. I thought I would share.

It is, I think, the spiritual version of the chicken-and-the-egg debate.

God in the Brain

Suppose that you show a group of people three sets of words. The first group consists of neutral words like "chair." The second group contains erotic words like "sex." The third group contains religious words like "God." For most normal people, they will become excited by the erotic word group. However, if you conduct the experiment on people that suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy, they will become excited by the religious words.

Temporal lobe epilepsy like other forms of epilepsy gives physical seizures; however, it is also associated with vivid religious hallucinations. In the Bible, the book of Acts contains Paul's account of his calling. We know that he was struck blind for a time. He also talked of afflictions of his flesh. Could Paul have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy? Similarly the founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Movement, Ellen White, suffered a brain injury at age 9 that dramatically changed her personality. She also claimed to have powerful religious visions.

Leaving aside the theological question of the existence of God, there appears to be hard wired into humans an ability to experience religion. In culture after culture throughout the world, there are different expressions of this religious experience. Even noted atheist Richard Dawkins believes there is an evolutionary advantage to having a brain that can experience religion. I've experienced these "transcendent" experiences and have had to grapple with exactly what they mean.

The question becomes whether God is created in the brain, or whether the brain is an antenna for God.

Big Smile

2008-02-02T09:09:00.000-06:00

Mom comes home Monday!

GREAT NEWS !!!

2007-12-31T15:04:00.001-06:00

*Great news this morning.

Mom is allowed to keep the walker in her room and WALK to the bathroom with an aid present !!!!

This is progress. Major Progress!

Three months ago she couldn't get out of bed without a stretcher.

Update #4

2007-12-26T08:47:00.000-06:00

Let's summarize.

The storm moved through on December 9th and took away our power for 11 days. (Until the 19th.) Vacation started on the 14th, I was still in the dark for "6" days of vacation -- totally wasted. By the time the power came on I was using holiday leave and not my personal annual leave which is a precious commodity.

In the middle of the power outage mom's MD of 35 years, who is 85, (One year younger than her) closed his practice. He was also sent to Saints' and we learned that he had been admitted in a state of rapid decline and was sent home for hospice care the day before mom arrived. She is morning his lost. She has seen him every 8 weeks for years and they consider each other friends. Belleview gave her to another MD who comes in, but doesn't really know her history. He is a cocky young rooster who tends to piss us all off. I was going to go in to meet with him at 7:30 in the morning (he visits patients on Thursdays and has only seen her twice), but mom just called and said he came in this morning because he is leaving town for 2 weeks and if there is a problem they will call another MD for her. He stayed approximately 2 minutes and flew out before she could even ask any questions about her hospital stay (more in next paragraph), or request a new perscription for Nitro. I am trying to get her with a geriatric specialist who was recommended by the head of that department at OUHSC. While at the hospital on the 24th, I discovered that her nurse had tried to call me on the 20th and somehow my new cell phone had dropped the message. (Can you hear me screaming?)

Two days after the power came on Mom began having chest pains (angina) (Fri & Sat) and was taken on icy roads to Saints' (Sunday) for tests and new meds. (too old for surgery) We have gone from living on the floor (minus 4 days at an overpriced hotel when I got carbon monoxide poisoning) to living in chairs at the hospital. She came back to rehab late Monday (Christmas Eve.) and they had given her room to someone else, packed up all her stuff, thrown out any open bags of anything that was in her drawer, lost her favorite pillow and embroidered pillowcase, suitcase, laundry basket, AND given away her flowers. I spent Christmas eve, and Christmas day screaming at people and making them go all over the facility until they came up with most of her stuff. We were unable to get back the flowers. They had gone home with someone. They'd closed out her records, including her meds which they have to reorder and it takes 24 hours, expecially at Christmas. My bloodpressure shot up and I had to take double pills to get rid of the headache. I've also just been told that ambulance transportation to and from the hospital is going to cost us close to $500, a little under $250 both ways because they used a streatcher instead of a wheelchair (which she was in too much pain to sit in) which would have cost us 2 times $75. It may cost more than that because there is an issue of whether or not Medicare will pay for an ambulance. How the hell do they expect critically sick people to get to help if they can't use an ambulance?

The family has decided to get together at a restaurant "tonight" for a Christmas dinner and a bitching session.

All in all, this ranks right up there with the Christmas of the bologna sandwiches only megga times worse. At this point I just want to get to January and kiss this fuckin' year goodbye.

Update #3

2007-12-20T21:40:00.000-06:00

Within moments of launching the last post, the power went out again and stayed off through Wednesday. For two more nights we slept on the floor in front of the fire place. This time with a space heater powered by very long extension cords running across the yard, over the fence and plugged into a neighbor's house. (They, fortunately, had power.)

I think I am starting to get seriously lethargic and depressed. I could never live in Alaska. Extended darkness and lack of light get to me in a really big way. I was sort of surprised at how quickly and powerfully it impacted me.

I don't think candle light will ever feel romantic again.

Update

2007-12-17T07:18:00.000-06:00

When the storm moved through Oklahoma last Sunday (8 days ago) It left ice, downed trees, and knocked out power for over 500,000 homes.

My power was out Sunday, on again briefly then off again and didn't come back on again until yesterday (Sunday again)We stayed in the cold dark house with nothing but a fireplace until Wednesday when I got some kind of poisoning from breathing fumes from the gas jets in the fireplace. My husband miraculously found us a room for Wednesday night. (one bed) my daughter and I stayed there for one night. (She contracted the flu and 100-101 temps as of the day before the power went out.) Sent the dog to the vet to keep warm. The vet also had no power, but managed to get a generator to keep the animals warm. We transferred to a different room on Thursday night, when my husband and son joined us. My husband was getting bronchitus. Snow moved in on top of the ice either Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun. I can't remember. The days have blurred together. We stayed in that room until Sunday when our power came back on. How many days is that? I have no idea.

The power is now on (thanks to a team of guys who came up from Houston), puppy is home from the vet. My daughter is better, but still has a cough. My husband is getting worse. After several calls to Cox, we now also finally have TV and internet.

Mom road it out at the skilled nursing center. They lost power for 2 days but had a number of large generators to keep them going. Power was out all this time at my house, my brother's house and my mom's house. It was a difficult situation. The most depressing thing to deal with was the darkness. It was unbelievable how quickly that got to me.

Cross Your Fingers

2007-12-07T08:41:00.000-06:00

Mom has had her first good week since the middle of September. Everybody cross your fingers, say a few prayers, and visualize healing energy. (Or anything else you can think of doing. Candles are good.) Therapy went well this week and she is getting cranky. (Okay the cranky part is not so good, but I'm thankful anyway.) This is the first real glimmer of hope I've had since she injured her hip.

Welcome to December

2007-12-01T12:04:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all your prayers and concern.
We had a pretty nightmarish week with mom, but the last two days have been somewhat better. I've been practically living at the skilled nursing facility. I've come to believe that she was released from the hospital too early (straight from critical care to rehab) but they were following Medicare regulations--which sometimes suck (pardon my bluntness). My concern now is that she is exhausted. She needs her strength and energy back. My husband has given her a stuffed energizer bunny, like the one in the commercial with the little drum, and told her it was to help her when her own resources felt a little drained.

Keep her in your thoughts.
I love you all.

(In the meantime - here's a lively little jingle to help us keep our spirits up!)

Life Gets Complicated

2007-11-04T07:12:00.000-06:00

I thought I would post a very quick update and let everyone know what's going on.

Just when I thought life was going to calm down a little, my 86 year old Mom injured her hip Sept. 26th (thankfully NOT a fracture), layed in bed for a month, became weak and loss the ability to get up on her own, took too many asprin and other pills for pain, and by October 24th began bleeding internally and throwing up blood. We spent over a week in the hospital in critical care. Thursday she transfered to a skilled nursing facility for rehab hoping it will help her regain the strength to walk with her walker and drive again.

She is really frightened at the mess she's in and wants me with her most of the time. That's lowered just about everything else in my life to a very low priority. If she can't regain the strength to walk, it will have a substantial impact upon the length and quality of her life.

I still try to read the blogs about every other day before I go to bed.

You guys have great and sometimes very funny things to say.

Don't Worry.
I'll be back.

Update

2007-10-15T05:55:00.000-05:00

Just as things settled down at work, mom took a turn for the worse. She is 86 and within the last 3 weeks has become bedfast. There is a lot of lower back pain when she tries to sit up or stand. Needless to say we are all very worried.

My brother and I are trying to provide all her home care (food, meds, insulin, portapotty, taking care of her very elderly half blind incontent dog, human contact, etc.) Because we both work, this sometimes becomes quite challenging. Mentally she is as sharp as ever.

For a while, I will continue to be slow in posting because her needs will have to come first, but I will try to keep up the blog.

Rayke wanted insight, so here is a little something for all of us to ponder.

You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip. ~Jonathan Carroll, "Outside the Dog Museum"

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. ~Oprah Winfrey

You learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry. ~Author Unknown

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. ~Author Unknown

And my favorite:

Our love could change the orbit of the earth. So, if a meteor ever comes hurtling towards earth with the guarantee of destruction, top scientists may call on us to, well, you know, do it like crazy for the sake of humankind. ~Author Unknown

To Sleep - Perhaps to Dream

2007-09-30T05:08:00.000-05:00

It's 4 a.m. - I'm suddenly awake 3 hours ahead of schedule and using the time to catch up on people's blogs as well as my own. I love this bronze, "Time" by Brian Moneypenny depicting the constant flow of time through our hands.

There is something about time and thoughts that are magical - mystical. In a deeply spiritual way, we create ourselves and our lives through them. An energy, like the music of the soul, vibrates out from their joining, merging into the universe of all that is, and somehow becomes our reality. It is enough to take your breath away.

Today I am sharing some wonderful quotes about time. I am borrowing many of them from my friend Jasmine.

It's at night, when perhaps we should be dreaming, that the mind is most clear, that we are most able to hold all our life in the palm of our skull. I don't know if anyone has ever pointed out the great attraction of insomnia before, but it is so; the night seems to release a little more of our vast backward inheritance of instincts and feelings; as with the dawn, a little honey is allowed to ooze between the lips of the sandwich, a little of the stuff of dreams to drip into the waking mind. I wish I believed, as J. B. Priestley did, that consciousness continues after disembodiment or death, not forever, but for a long while. Three score years and ten is such a stingy ration of time, when there is so much time around. Perhaps that's why some of us are insomniacs; night is so precious that it would be pusillanimous to sleep all through it! A "bad night" is not always a bad thing. ~Brian W. Aldiss

And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

I wonder sometimes if I will kick and scream my way into the next life, crying "Oh, but God I have only yet begun to play in this one. I just discovered how the game works. There are so many more games I would love to play and learn. – Jasmine

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. – Andy Warhol

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. – Annie Dillard

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that the stuff life is made of. – Benjamin Franklin

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. – C.S. Lewis

Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, from the film "Star Trek: Generations"

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. – Emily Dickinson

... we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless. – Paul Bowles

Come out of the circle of time
And into the circle of love.
-Rumi

Time is free, but it’s priceless.
You can’t own it, but you can use it.
You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.
Once you’ve lost it, you never get it back.
- Harvy MacKay

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

And my 3 favorites:

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast. ~Author Unknown

If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters. ~Author unknown, attributed to Jim Davis

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” – Albert Einstein

Plotting Retreat

2007-09-21T07:11:00.000-05:00

The weekend was spent at a working ranch in western Oklahoma surrounded on all sides by cows! Okay. I've been corrected, they are not technically cows, but steers. Cows are female. These were all "male" cattle who have had unspeakable things done to unmentionable parts of their anatomy. Think eunuch. Of course, I didn't notice that their moos were any higher pitched, so I guess any hope for an Oklahoman Steer's Choir is out, even though there were definately long lowing tones in the air.

Di's house was at the base of Navajo mountain.(Mountain by Oklahoma standards, that is) It was sooo quiet. We loved it. Great hot tub! (Ask Sheila and Donnell.) Navajo mountain is begging its own story. I'm thinking fantasy/futuristic/paranormal.

The following are 3 photos of our faithful group, minus one who hadn't arrived yet, laboring away at awesome plots that will stand you on your ears once they're published. (Ignore the dates. Something was wrong with the setting on Julia's camera.)

Donnell, Di, Me and Sheila.
Notice that I am wearing one of Rinda's awesome T-shirts from her
Write Snark Cafe Press. I won this at the last writers meeting and it has become one of my favorite things to wear.

Donnell and Di working on ways to torture their heroine. It was frightening that they were able to come up so quickly with such evil ideas. Hmmm. Perhaps I should be worried and sleep with one eye open.

Sheila, Julia, Myself, and Di taking a break.
Thanks to Julia for the photos.

How true it is !

2007-09-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing !
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing !
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing !
10:30am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing !
12:00pm - Lunch! My favorite thing !
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing !
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing !
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing !
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing !
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing !
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing !

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary

Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine
lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort
of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I
nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing
that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I
once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had
hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates
what I am capable of. However they merely made condescending comments about
what a 'good little hunter' I am. Imbeciles!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in
solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the
noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power
of 'allergies'. I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my
advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors
by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow --
but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog
receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more
than willing to return. He is obviously insane. The bird has got to be an
informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain
that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for
him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

Tropical Storm? In OKLAHOMA??

2007-08-24T23:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday was an amazing night. We had a tropical storm develop over the sooner state.

Erin moved up through Texas as a rain storm and reformed over Oklahoma. It was much less intense than it would have been over the ocean, none the less, it flooded the western half of the state and did some pretty serious damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Erin_(2007)

Tropical Storm Erin is the second tropical cyclone to make landfall on the United States in the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth named storm of the season, it formed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 14 from a persistent area of convection. It attained tropical storm status the next day, and on August 16 Erin made landfall near Lamar, Texas and persisted over land across Texas before moving northward into Oklahoma.

Early on August 19 after entering Oklahoma, Erin suddenly re-intensified to reach winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) a short distance west of Oklahoma City.[15] The Norman, Oklahoma National Weather Service remarked the intensification "[resulted] in what amounts to an inland tropical storm;"[16] at 0930 UTC the system presented an eye-like feature and a spiral rainband, and produced wind gusts of over 80 mph (130 km/h).[17] However, a few hours later, the depression began weakening again,[15] and late on August 19 Erin degenerated into a remnant low pressure area as the circulation dissipated over northeastern Oklahoma.

Then, if that wasn't enough weirdness for one evening, we had the storm produced gigantic lightening like jets above the clouds.

Space Weather News for August 23, 2007>> http://spaceweather.com/>>>>

On Aug. 20th, an amateur astronomer in Oklahoma scanned the sky for meteors using a low-light video camera--but instead of meteors, he recorded a bizarre upside-down form of lightning called "Gigantic Jets."

Discovered in 2001, Gigantic Jets are enormous discharges that leap upward 50 miles high from the tops of thunderclouds. They are related to better known sprites and elves, but are larger and more dramatic. The Oklahoma Jets are the first ever photographed over the continental United States and they may provide key data to researchers working to understand the phenomenon.

GIGANTIC JETS: Think of them as sprites on steroids: Gigantic Jets are lightning-like discharges that spring from the top of thunderstorms, reaching all the way from the thunderhead to the ionosphere 50+ miles overhead. They're enormous and powerful.

"Gigantic Jets are very rare," explains atmospheric scientist and Jet-expert Oscar van der Velde of the Université Paul Sabatier's Laboratoire d'Aérologie in Toulouse, France. "The first one was discovered in 2001 by Dr. Victor Pasko in Puerto Rico. Since then fewer than 30 jets have been recorded--mostly over open ocean and on only two occasions over land." That's why researchers are excited by the events of Aug. 20th. On that night, amateur astronomer Richard Smedley of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was hunting for meteors using a low light video camera when he caught two Gigantic Jets instead. "They were much brighter than a typical meteor--more like a fireball," says Smedley.

To appreciate the size of these things, consider the following: "They came from a thunderstorm more than 100 miles away." This means the Jets were about 48 miles tall measured upward from the top of the thundercloud. Because they connect thunderstorms directly to the ionosphere, Gigantic Jets play some role in the global flow of electricity around our planet, but how big is that role? "No one knows," says van der Velde. "This is cutting-edge research and these photos from Oklahoma provide an exciting new case-study."

Only in Oklahoma.

Quick Update

2007-08-15T06:58:00.000-05:00

Orientation begins today. I think I'm mostly ready.

Classes begin Monday and my syllabus is still unwritten. (I've never been this behind.)

We're short handed at work. [In an office with 1.5 counselors 1 is on baby leave and the .5 counselor (me) is working extended hours and trying to keep everything covered until Oct. 1st.]

Jen's preparing to transfer to UCO (Graphic Design)

My son's sleep cycle became so disrupted that his psychiatrist has put him on sleeping pills at night.

The tree men came and took out several trees, including Mr Broccoli, an old damaged pine that looked like a toothpick with a small tuft of green at the top. The airconditioning men came and replaced the duct work in the attic. Ben's car gave up the ghost and had to be in the shop for a week.

Our new daschund, Sadie, who we got just before the trip, is only now beginning to get the idea of doing her business outside. BUT... she won't bark to go out. Her signals are the same as when she wants to play. You have to ask her if she wants to go outside. If she runs madly to the door, she wants out. Otherwise, she uses the carpet and can't seem to understand why we get upset.

Critique group is working full steam again. (This is a good thing.)
Ideas for all kinds of projects are spinning in my head and I can't wait to have the time to get to them.

Tons to do at Ben's office and some of that is getting put on the back burner because the many of the Friday's that I normally work for him are now spent at OSU. (I can do some of it at night or on Saturdays, but I'm tired at night and Saturday is my house cleaning and errand day.)

I'm paying Jenn $50 to cook 4 healthy meals a week and help with light housework. However, she starts classes and a new job in the Cyber Cafe on Monday so I don't know how long I'll have her help. At that point I will be home from work before she is (6:30)

My fantasy is that life will be back to normal by October 1st.

Ben got a super deal on AlphaSmarts the other day. They are all older but work well. Some need new cords to download to the computer. These can be gotten easily from the company. The only difference I can see from these and the later models is that they don't have infa-red download capabilities, and they look older and more boxy. Anyway, I'm going to ask around at the meeting on Saturday and see if any of the other writers want a cheap AlphaSmart.

Got to Go. I need to be at work early today. (And won't be home until after 9 tonight due to faculty inservice meetings. I hate when that happens)

Love you all.
Back Soon.

Touching Base

2007-08-06T03:31:00.000-05:00

Yes. It has been more than 2 weeks.

I'm envolved in so much right now, I'm brain dead. I promise I'll be back online soon. I still catch all of your blogs a couple of times a week, so know you're loved. There is nothing bad going on, I'm just involved in a lot of projects and really, really busy. I'll be back soon.

B

Sweet Freedom!

2007-05-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

In spite of every roadblock and obstacle that you can imagine, I SWEAR to you we ARE leaving for Phylly and DC early Saturday Morning, I don't care how much we are running behind!

Freedom!!!
I can smell it.
I can taste it.
I can feel it creeping ever closer and it is almost within my reach.
I will not be denied.

This has been a rough and busy semester, make that year. I am so ready for and in desperate need of a break.

Get me outta here!

I'll be out of pocket and incommunicado for approx. 2 weeks.

Our first stop is the King Tut exhibit. It is only visiting 4 cities and Philly is the last stop on the list. I saw it once about 25 years ago, but no one else in the family has. The kids weren't even born yet. We purchased advanced tickets over a year ago and everyone is really excited. AND, I've NEVER been to PHILLY. So of course while there we are going to eat the infamous Philly Cheesesteak, see the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' house, Constitution Hall, the Ben Franklin museum and any thing else we can find that looks old and historical.

Next stop DC.
We are taking in all the typical tourist stuff. Again, I was there maybe 30 years ago, but no one else has been there. I've heard that the White House is still white, go figure, and they have a few more statues and memorials. Actually, I love that kind of stuff.

The best news of all is that my goddaughter, Lisa, is going to come down from NYC and meet up with us for a day. I am so eager to see her!!

While I'm in the neighborhood, if anyone wants me to drop in and deliver a message to George W., just let me know.

See ya in 2 weeks.

Sir Conlan Matthew Fields has ARRIVED

2007-05-12T00:53:00.000-05:00

After a long wait, a rough labor and a c-section, Todd and Sheila's young prince is finally here!
7 lbs 15.5 oz.
Twenty inches long.
Bright Blue eyes with light brown hair.
And... BEAUTIFUL.

Life

2007-05-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

"Recognize that life is what you get when you’re born ...
living is what you do with it." -- Jim Allen

"It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between." -- Diane Ackerman

"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as in hoping for another life, and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life." -- Albert Camus

PTSD

2007-04-30T08:18:00.000-05:00

The psychologist takes out their notepad. Writing furiously, they take down the following information: Adolescent male; victim of trauma at a young age; Behavioral problems; Loner; Does not function well with peers. Finally the psychologist takes down the reason for the visit: Violent; Attacked numerous individuals; killed many innocent victims.

While many people might be thinking Columbine or Virginia Tech the actual study here involves adolescent male elephants. Elephants have similar life spans to humans. Their adolescent period ends at a similar time to humans (around age 17). What is interesting is that scientists are beginning to believe that elephants can also suffer from Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Since the early 1990's some young male elephants in South Africa have been exhibiting many bizarre behaviors. They have been raping and killing rhinos, they have been attacking people and other elephants. What scientists are beginning to believe is that this is caused by trauma in elephant communities.

Elephants, like humans, are profoundly social creatures. When a close family member dies, elephants have elaborate mourning and burial rituals. The pressure on elephant families has caused many young elephants to be either orphans or not properly socialized. The theory of PTSD in elephants is further reinforced by techniques that have helped stem these problem behaviors. One of the most effective techniques is the introduction of older male elephants into the social structure. These older more mature males curb the violence of the disaffected adolescents.

While humans are unique in many of their characteristics, there is more and more research that shows that many animals share many of the same characteristics as humans. Elephants know hurt and loss. Surprisingly, elephants also can be healed. There are several non-profit groups in Africa that specialize in healing traumatized elephants. They have a remarkable success rate in healing these animals and reintroducing them into herds.

The paradox is that it was human behavior that created this problem. Indiscriminate killing of adult elephants for their ivory is believed to be one of the primary causes of PTSD in adolescent elephants.

So, are we really that different from the animals?

from: http://www.xanga.com/ronlawhouston

The Rules of Being Human

2007-04-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.

You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life. Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.

There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success. Maybe more.

A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude and ultimately your behavior) then you can go on to the next lesson.

Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn.

“There” is no better than “here”. When your “there” has become a “here” you will simply discover another “there” that will again look better than your “here.” Don’t be fooled by believing that the unattainable is better than what you have.

Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you. Remember that through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort you can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.

The answers lie inside of you. The solutions to all of life’s problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen and trust yourself.

Happy Holiday! (Pick one)

2007-04-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

Cultural historians find, in the celebration of Easter, a convergence of the three traditions - Pagan, Hebrew and Christian.

According to St. Bede, an English historian of the early 8th century, Easter owes its origin to the old Teutonic mythology. It was derived from the name Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.

The English name "Easter" is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.

The Easter festival, as celebrated today, is related with the Hebrew tradition, the Jewish Passover. This is being celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year. The JewishPassover under Moses commemorates Israel's deliverance from about 300 years of bondage in Egypt.

The Feast of Easter was well established by the second century. But there had been dispute over the exact date of the Easter observance between the Eastern and Western Churches. The East wanted to have it on a weekday because early Christians observed Passover every year on the 14th of Nisan, the month based on the lunar calendar. But, the West wanted that Easter should always be a Sunday regardless of the date.

To solve this problem the emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325. The question of the date of Easter was one of its main concerns. The council decided that Easter should fall on Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. But fixing up the date of the Equinox was still a problem. The Alexandrians, noted for their rich knowledge in astronomical calculations were given the task. And March 21 was made out to be the perfect date for spring equinox.

The dating of Easter today follows the same. Accordingly, churches in the West observe it on the first day of the full moon that occurs on or following the Spring equinox on March 21., it became a movable feast between March 21 and April 25.Still some churches in the East observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival.

Pagans, however still celebrate Eostre on the somewhat movable date of the vernal equinox.
In the Islamic world vernal equinox marks the celebration of the New Year.

Eggs and Easter have almost become synonymous. But . . .
"What is so Special in an Egg?"

It is the influence of the traditional spring rites that made Easter so egg-special. And myths coming down to us from an incredibly distant past have shown man's relationship with the egg to be very deep seated one. This is caught in old Latin proverb: Omne vivum ex ovo. This means "all life comes from an egg".

Not just the Latin saying, eggs are just laid well over all corners of the world. From ancient India to Polynesia, from Iran, Greece, and Phonecia to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, from Central America the west coast of South America there are reports of myths of the whole universe created out of an egg. Thus, it is not unusual that in almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life.

In Europe an egg was hung on New Year trees, on Maypoles, and on St. John's trees in midsummer. Indeed, all meant egg as a symbol of the regenerative forces of nature. Later during the Christian period, it was believed that eggs laid on Good Friday, if kept for a hundred years, would have their yolks turn to diamond If Good Friday eggs were cooked on Easter they would promote the fertility of the trees and crops and protect against sudden deaths. And, if you would find two yolks in an Easter egg, be sure, you're going to be rich soon.

Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox. But it is not very clear how those colored eggs have come in to dominate the Easter basket In fact, they have become so popular with the Easter celebration, that they even started to dominate the ancient concepts of the symbolism of eggs. It is speculated that it was introduced in Europe, or, rather Western Europe, during the course of the fifteenth century. This was when missionaries or knights of the Crusades are thought to have brought in the concept of the coloring of eggs westwards.

We Lost Our Dear Daisy

2007-03-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

We lost Daisy Monday afternoon.

She'd gotten into the trash and evidentally ate something very deadly and fast acting. She was sick all night Sunday. Monday morning I took her to the vet. At that point we thought it was just an upset tummy and she would be fine. About 2:30 Monday afternoon, the vet tracked me down at the Orthopedic surgeon's office where I was having a followup appointment and told me Daisy had taken a bad turn for the worse and lapsed into a coma. Jenn & I left almost immediately and by the time we reached the vet she was gone.

He said when he went to draw blood he found clumps of red blood cells but no serum or white blood cells. Her temp dropped from a fever of 103.4 (normal = 102) to 90 in a matter of minutes before she went into the coma. He said he'd never seen anything like it and he has been practicing for 46 years. A preliminary autopsy showed the worst spleen damage he has also ever seen. It's been a nightmare.

She was fine 24 hours before. It's hard to even think much less talk about it. The family is devastated. We've all been crying for the last two days. I'm heartbroken.

Good News / Bad News

2007-03-24T05:38:00.000-05:00

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
Dr. Seuss

Bad News: Today my physical therapist concurred with my orthopedic surgon -- no more walking for exercise.

Good News: The therapy has gone very well. The pain in the tendon is greatly diminished and as long as I don't over use it my foot and ankle should be okay. The tendon is damaged and will never fully recover, but for now the surgery to fuse bones together doesn't appear to be necessary. YEA!!!

Everyone is saying I should switch to bicycling, which would take the pressure off of the tendon. The way my PT explained it. A deteriorating tendon only has so much life left in it, sort of like a gun with a limited number of bullets. I need to pick and choose how I spend those bullets. Our goal now is to extend the life of the tendon for as long as possible. The exercises I have learned will need to be done for the rest of my life. That's not too bad because they aren't very difficult and they seem to work well. And, he taught me how to properly use a cane. (You hold it in the OPPOSITE hand to the injured foot or ankle.) I've been doing it wrong all my life.

I've hated being dependent upon my daughter and others for transportation. I'm hoping that the Orthopedist will release me to take off the big black boot and to drive when I see him on Monday. I've been a "very" good girl these last several weeks and I'm hoping it is going to pay off.

Happy St. Patty's Day

2007-03-17T08:05:00.000-05:00

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.

Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

May the saddest day of your future be no worse
Than the happiest day of your past.

May the roof above us never fall in.
And may the friends gathered below it never fall out.

May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.

May there be a generation of children
On the children of your children.

May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent!

May the Lord keep you in His hand
And never close His fist too tight.

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Walls for the wind,
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks beside the fire -
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire!

May God be with you and bless you,
May you see your children's children,
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May God grant you many years to live,
For sure He must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And heaven is overflowing.

May peace and plenty be the first
To lift the latch to your door,
And happiness be guided to your home
By the candle of Christmas.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

What kind of Empath are you?

2007-02-26T07:45:00.000-06:00

You scored as Artist.
You are an Artist Empath,
one who creates their own reality
and infuses the realities of others
with your energy & emotions.
You are poetic and sensitive.
You turn your feelings into creations
and share them with the world.
Everything you touch turns to song
and is freed by the color of your eyes.
Your spirit dances with the winds
and paints delight in the evening sky.

(from the "Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Empaths/)

Artist

80%

Traveler

80%

Judge

80%

Shaman

75%

Fallen Angel

70%

Universal

70%

Healer

60%

Precog

60%

What Kind of Empath Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Freezing Fog and Thunder Snow

2007-02-01T01:10:00.000-06:00

Tonight the Prognosticators of Precipitation were describing in great and glorious detail the white crap that was falling out of the sky. (And more’s to come, they tell us!) Reporters gave out dire warnings of road conditions (With video of every fender bender, flipped car or truck, and an 11 car pileup.) I was sitting with my family in front of the TV, feeling glummer than ever, when suddenly Mike Morgan looked straight into the camera, into my living room, into our already nervous eyes and warned us, with great meteorological solemnity to be on the look out for “Freezing Fog!”

Now my first thought was “Oh My God! Freezing Fog.” (I’m a real coward when anything more solid than a raindrop falls from the sky and freezing fog sounded pretty serious.) “We’re having Freezing Fog!” Suddenly I began laughing hysterically, “What the hell is Freezing Fog?” All around the room, equally puzzled eyes reflected a shared confusion. “Well, fog is when moisture hangs suspended in the atmosphere,” I said. “Maybe it’s little specks of ice that hang suspended, like sparkling white lights hovering across the road, spearing unsuspecting drivers as they slide into it.” My husband suggested that it may be more of an ice cube hovering like a frozen Borg (from Star Trek) in the atmosphere. You could walk into it and knock yourself out. Or worse, demolish your car as you slam into a wall of ice that shatters every piece of frozen metal or flesh that’s in its path. Or maybe it freezes everything it touches, like Mr. Freeze in Batman. Or like Lot’s wife, I would suddenly turn, not to salt but tiny frozen crystals that would scatter in the heartless wind.

Hold us in your prayers and healing meditations as we battle this unknown force. Do a ritual of protection and light the most powerful candle you've got. Freezing fog is a little known enemy and it’s dangers are deeply hidden. While we have scance understanding of this demon we face, we are determined to face it with great courage.

AND. . . if the storm intensifies, there is even a possibility of “Thunder Snow!!!”

Only in Oklahoma!

999 Multiple Personalities

2007-01-26T08:59:00.000-06:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
999
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

There are 998,895 people in the U.S. with the first name Betty.
Statistically the 37th most popular first name.
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Betty are female.

There are 299,969 people in the U.S. with the last name Sanders.
Statistically the 75th most popular last name.

There are 999 people in the U.S. named Betty Sanders.

I did the same search with my maiden name, Becquart, and found that there are no other people in the United States with that name. (I'm not surprised. Becquarts are a small group.) I'm thinking that is perfect for a pen name and not easily confused with someone else.

That's if I ever write again. It has been years and years since I have felt this kind of depression. It began around the first of the year and intensified during the time of the "Winter Blast of 2007." At least that's what the media called it. Cabin fever was pretty bad at the time. Ironicallly, the family had the best Christmas Holiday that we've ever had, and at the moment there is absolutely no logical reason for me to be depressed, but there you have it. If this damned cold weather would let up, maybe I could get out walking and generate some endorphins.

When the dark gray grumblies strike, how do each of you fight it off?

OMG !! I'm on eBay !!!

2007-01-06T15:46:00.000-06:00

Periodically I do a search for "Becquart" because we have some family members in Europe who are fairly famous. (race car driver, chess champion, chemist, inventor of a world renown carrousel) This time when I entered it, my book, "Shadow Garden" popped up. It was unexpected. I haven't thought of myself as Becquart in so many years that the shock was like being struck by lightening.

I was young at the time. Just out of college. I read the poems now, and it is like they were written by someone else. Amazing!

This book actually won the OWFI Pegasus award that year, and in 1976 was presented to a Convention of Poets Laureate from all over the world who met in Washington DC during the US Bicentennial. A number of Poets Laureate around the world own my book. Don's art work is outstanding. He has since become legally blind. I think his artwork had as much or more to do with the success of the book than anything.

LOL. I can't believe it's on eBay!

The Adventure Begins - 2007

2007-01-05T11:53:00.000-06:00

My brother has lost 7 pounds on SouthBeach!!!

Can you hear the envy in that statement? I had an apple for breakfast, asparagus and cottage cheese for lunch, and I'm seriously looking at the exercise bike that is sitting in the corner of the bedroom. I've got to get really serious about my diet. I rejoined WeightWatchers with a friend, and I'm visualizing my head on slim, svelt, sexy bodies. Watch for miracles to occur in the near future. I am sooooo determined.

Christmas was fantastic! After killing off Christmas, remember the post, we all got together, relaxed and had a wonderful holiday. After the maddness of the post Christmas sales had slowed down a bit, I scheduled an appointment at a local photo studio and we had a group picture taken of the entire extended family. (That sounds awesome, but we really aren't that big.) We proofed and picked them on the spot and I'm picking up our photos on the 12th. We've all decided this is a great new tradition. There has been some talk of doing the photo earlier next year and using it for Christmas Cards. Life is Good!

It is so peaceful now that the New Year is begun that it almost feels eerie. This is the first year in ages that I haven't started it off exhausted. I may actually get to attend the next writer's meeting on the 20th. I can't believe I missed the Christmas Party this year. I haven't seen everyone in so long I am having withdrawal symptoms. Donnell has an online writing class going, which should be exciting. I've done some drumming and folk dancing lately. And I'm "finally" going to the doctor about my stupid sore ankle and foot next week. (Remember the cane I've been using on and off?) It really makes the dancing thing very difficult.

Goals for the year? Have you got any? What are they?

It's 2007.
The Adventure has Begun!

Happy New Year

2006-12-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian new year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical or agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the New Year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. But tampering continued until Julius Ceasar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year’s Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year’s resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth at Solstice forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with baby, which was determined to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. (The beginnings of today's Christmas, I believe. And the reason why his birthday is celebrated at a time nowhere near when they think he was actuallyl born.)
The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the New Year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year’s Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne" is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The lyrics can be found here.

Fried ELF Testicles

2006-12-24T16:04:00.000-06:00

Fried Testicle Recipe
(Submitted by Tunka the Ogre)

1 pound ov testicles*
1 cup ov beer
1 egg, beaten good!
3/4 cup ov flour
1/8 cup ov yellow cornmeal
A little salt and ground black peppa
Vege oil**
1 tablespoon hot peppa sauce
Some ov dem papa towel dings.

* Ya can use Elf or Dwarf testicles. Dwarf testicles are da size of a walnut and are more tenda dan da slightly larga Elf testicles. Squeamish humans can use Calf or Bull testicles if dey want.

** Use 'nough oil ta cova da testicles, ba fill your frying containa only halfway ta da top ta keep dem from bubbling ova or splattering ya.

Wit a sharp knife, split da tough thin muscle dat surrounds each testicle.
Remove da skin (you can remove da skin easy if da testicles are frozen and den ya peel while thawing).
Slice each testicle inta thick ovals.
Toss da slices in a bucket ov beer and let'em sit far 2 hours.
In a shallow bowl, mix da eggs, flour, cornmeal, salt and peppa.
Remove testicles from beer;
drain and dredge thoroughly in da flour mix.
Ina large, deep pot, heat da oil to 375°F.
Deep fry 3 ta 4 minutes or until golden brown (will rise ta da surface when done).
Drain on da papa towels.

Happy Holidays!!!

Reindeer Dogs !!!

2006-12-21T21:55:00.000-06:00

Rudolph roasting on an open fire?

Just in time for Christmas, Illinois hot dog stand sells ones made of reindeer
The Associated Press
Updated: 10:10 a.m. CT Dec 13, 2006

GLENVIEW, Ill. - Just in time for Christmas, they’re selling reindeer hot dogs in suburban Chicago.

With grilled onions and mustard, it will cost you eight dollars at Fred Markoff’s hot dog stand in Glenview.

The reindeer dogs are made in Alaska and actually contain a bit of beef and pork because reindeer meat is so lean and dry.

Markoff says he first tasted the reindeer hot dogs on a visit to Alaska a few years ago and decided to offer them as a December special at his stand.

His other specialties include smoked alligator-and-pork sausages and buffalo bratwursts.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16159852/

Gourmet's Christmas Dinner

2006-12-18T19:18:00.000-06:00

Whole Roasted Reindeer
With Christmas Elf Stuffing

This recipe has been around for many years in many fashions
but in recent years for some reason has fallen out of favor.
Here we shall return to a true classic dish of alternative
fine dining.

The list of ingredients is as follows:

1. 1 reindeer, appx. 125-175 lbs., skinned, dressed (though
not in a tux; ha, ha) and head mounted if you so desire.

2. 6-9 Christmas elves cleaned and finely diced, appx. 8 lbs.
useable weight.

3. 8 lbs. celery, finely chopped.

4. 8 lbs. onions, finely chopped.

5. 8 lbs. carrots, finely diced.

6. 1 gallon vodka to numb the elves before you peel them
and dice them.

7. 32 lbs. dry bread crumbs.

8. 3 gallons chicken stock.

9. Salt, pepper, to taste.

10. Fresh garlic, 1-6 lbs. as you desire.

11. 3-4 gallons of olive oil for basting the roasting
reindeer.

A. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery in a large pan,
using some olive oil, until tender.

B. Brown the diced elves in the same pan until lightly
browned.

C. Mix the vegetables, elves, bread crumbs, and the chicken
stock, season to taste with pepper, salt and garlic to
taste.

D. Stuff the dressing in the reindeer, then sew the deer
shut.

As for roasting the whole reindeer; it is usually difficult
to find to an oven large enough to do the job. So you will
have to be creative.

My personal favorite is to prop the reindeer up on a neighbor
kids wagon. Then roll the whole shebang into the local grouches
garage and set fire to the garage. If you can keep the local
fire department at bay for 3-4 hours the reindeer will be
perfectly done.

This recipe will serve 175-225 hearty alternatively inclined
diners.

P.S. Never hunt elves in the same area each year. They have
long memories for such little beasties and they won't fall
for the vodka trick twice in two years.

I killed Christmas !!!!

2006-12-09T08:12:00.001-06:00

If pushed far enough, a person can snap, Slip over and down the slippery slope and careen past the edge of sanity. It was happening. I could feel it. Christmas madness stalking me, laughing it's evil laugh, rubbing it's sadistic hands together in capitalistic predatory glee.

But last week there was a flash of clarity, survival instincts clicked in, and I seized my electronic weapon of choice, an average size, cordless telephone, and struck out at the evil that had become my enemy. The deadly blow was swift and effective.

The fatal act took only an instant. A couple of quick confirming phone calls and my misery was over. Years of buying everybody's presents for everybody else and many out of my own paychecks (many in our family are elderly or disabled and "only I" could get out to the shopping centers-until finally everyone began exchanging gift cards each year. "I'll trade you a JC Penny for a Wal-Mart."), years of doing "all" the cleaning, "all" the cooking for both sides of the family, most of the shopping, the greeting card creating, packaging, mailing, and putting away, and cleaning up has finally come to a screeching halt. No longer am I the Lone Ranger of Tradition Preservation. What is a tradition anyway? Sometimes it is good and provides stability, but sometimes it is an evil deceptively camouflaged in sugary sweetness and light that keeps getting repeated because someone "always did it that way" before. Because it is "expected." Wasn't Satan called the "Angel of Light?" Anyway, I was beginning to see similarities.

I hate Christmas. I've hated it for years, ever since the responsibility for literally everything fell on my shoulders with the weight of chain-maille. December had become the month of migraine headaches and the taking of extra blood pressure pills. To make matters worse, since I've been teaching at the college, it also falls during the stressful end of the semester and final exams when things at work are the craziest. Then topping off the stress level, last year we had the religious war over the ability to call Christmas a Season or Holiday. (That "your belief vs my belief" tantrum "really" made everybody feel more spiritual- I doubt anyone attracted many converts with that anal retentive tirade.) I personally don't care what people say. Anything is a little more soothing than the harsh bell ringing and commercially loaded assault on all things spiritual. Christmas was handed over to the money changers in the temple years ago. The stores are all just hustling junk for holiday shoppers, not preaching sermons. They use various greetings to lure shoppers into spending money. By insisting that only one branch of one religion's sanctioned form of greeting be used, those groups are giving sanction from the church for religion (via that greeting) to be twisted into a tool for corporate gain. When did Christmas get associated with going into debt up to your eyeballs and buying elaborate gifts that no one really wants in order to rescue the ledger balances of every store in America? I don't know. I do know that there is NOTHING SPIRITUAL about all this crass commercialism in the name of Jesus or any other purported deity regardless of what greeting you force people to say. Holding a special service at church, giving token gifts to charity, or saying a few prayers doesn't salvage the fact that it is corporate and sometimes personal greed pushed to an extreme. It isn't even a celebration of children anymore. Each toy is a self-contained ad for a movie or TV show. Christmas has become an evil thing and yet we all feel obligated to perpetuate it. Is this really what Christmas means to us? It shouldn't be. (If it were truly a spiritual celebration, we would be collecting alms for the poor, not worshiping at the checkout isle of every store in the country.)

So, what to do? I felt it stalking closer. I had my first serious headache of the season. Family started moaning about not having enough money to get people gifts without feeling guilty that they couldn't afford to give as much as someone else. (Dread and guilt, feeling impoverished, inadequate, and bad about yourself, nothing spiritual about that.) The heavy discussions about which photos to use for Christmas cards began hanging over my head like an evil Star of Bethlehem. The massive house reorganization took place in time for Thanksgiving which was flanked on both ends by a series of birthdays for 6 family members and those of a couple of friends. We do nothing but purchase overpriced gifts from the end of October until December 25th. Last week I put up the self-lit tree I purchased in the sales at the end of last year. It was smaller and much easier to assemble. I sat on the window seat next to my new tree and tears began to fill my eyes. There is NOTHING SPIRITUAL about Christmas other than using religion as an excuse for creating it. This misappropriation of religion in the name of capitalism is like an evil virus, a red and green plague, that sweeps America each year along with winds cold enough to freeze your tits off.

So sitting there with tears in my eyes, images of the movie "War Games" with Matthew Broderick began to dance like sugar plums through my head. At first the message was soft, distant, fighting to break through the fog of all the hype. Then, in a deep reverberating whisper, I heard the voice of the computer at the end of the movie delivering it's message against nuclear war. It spoke to me like the voice of God. "The only way to win, Betty, is not to play."

This year, and in years to come, we are giving no gifts, none, zip, nada to each other. Corporate America will have to find a way to survive without us. We'll gather for lunch on the 25th, and it will be a family day, much like Thanksgiving. We have decided to make a bigger deal of birthdays and scale this "Holiday Season" crap way way down. We'll keep one small Holiday Tree because it is pretty and gives us colored lights at a time of year when it turns dark too damn early. We'll hang out together and eat because we like each other. It won't have to be me cooking a gazillion course meal by myself and doing all the cleaning after. It could be turkey, or it could be soup, hamburgers, bologna sandwiches, or even a cafeteria. The important thing will be the being together and nothing else. No more massive decorating around the house or in the yard. I'm debating sending cards. If I continue, I may cut the list way way back. Or, I could make them New Years cards instead, or St. Patrick's Day, or 4th of July.

I have become the Holiday Samurai slashing and cutting out any and every thing that perpetuates the madness. But we are adding one new tradition. By making the holiday a celebration of family and our love for each other, we have decided to get a large extended family photo done each year.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, when I was asked "Are you ready for Christmas?" I giddily answered, "Yes," and suddenly realized that I was. I almost cried all over again.

I feel free. I feel happy. I was even humming holiday songs at the grocery store and I've always hated them before.

At last I can "honestly" wish you all a "Happy Holiday!"
And may the spirit of Christmas live in your heart.

2006-11-23T09:06:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

I will spend my day cooking and entertaining family. We woke up this morning to the realization that the dishwasher just broke. HA! It's going to be a challenging and fun day.

I'm thankful this holiday for my friends, family and little dog, Daisy.
You are the riches and treasure of my life.

Wii Madness and Testostrone Overkill

2006-11-19T10:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my son's birthday.

We ended up with 12 boys. They went through 4 pizzas, 24 deviled eggs, 3 types of chips and dips, 4 liters of pop, sandwiches, and assorted snack items. We had to run out and buy extra cake to have enough.

Jenn says there was "way" too much testosterone in the house. From noon till after midnight the sounds of Yugio and computer games were everywhere. There was only one fight, with one boy being asked to leave. The highlight of the evening, of course, was the arrival of "The Wii."

For anyone who has been out of touch with "Geek News" recently, Nintendo's new Wii was released at midnight last night. In some parts of town people were camping out in tents, for god's sake, just to purchase the thing. Months ago my husband had promised our son a Wii for his birthday, never guessing that it's release was going to equal that of the cabbage patch dolls a number of years ago. Sooo.... there was my husband sitting in line at Wal-Mart for 4-5 hours just to get the voucher that gave him the right to purchase the Wii at midnight. Even after the dispensing of the vouchers (10 p.m.) no one left the line. It was an unbelievable experience, but true to his word, about 12:30 this morning here comes the best dad in the world through the front door and carrying a plastic Wal-Mart bag. The boys were ecstatic. You would have thought he just walked in the house with the solution for world peace. A good time was had by all, and today is "really" going to be a day of "rest."

I'm rethinking my decision to join Weight Watcher's in October. (2 weeks before my birthday on the 20th) I had birthday party and cake at work, party-dinner-cake with family, Bryan's birthday and cake yesterday. A close friends birthday dinner and cake is today, my brother's birthday dinner and cake tomorrow, (skip Tues.) and start cooking T-Day dinner on Wednesday, eat it on Thursday, (diet a little over 1 week) and then Jenn's birthday dinner and cake on Dec. 4th followed by a month filled with dinners and parties leading up to Christmas. Arg! If I can survive the next 6 weeks, I can do anything, but I'm making no promises.

Little Know Thanksgiving Facts

2006-11-12T18:14:00.000-06:00

Lydia
Maria
Child

In the 19th Century, Lydia Maria Child became known as an outspoken abolitionist, a women’s rights crusader, Indian rights activist, novelist, journalist, and was a pioneer in children's literature. But she is known today primarily by a poem she wrote in 1844, "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day." The poem was set to music and became the Thanksgiving song we know today as "Over the River and Through the Woods."

No one knows who wrote the melody.

Child was born in 1802 and became a well-known Unitarian author and editor.

When Child began writing, there was virtually nothing published especially for children. In 1826 she started the first children's magazine, Juvenile Miscellany, a tiny paper periodical she edited, writing many of the didactic little stories herself. The publication enjoyed wide support for nearly ten years.

In early 1833, she was named America's pre-eminent woman writer. Her successful literary career came to an abrupt end that same year when she published “An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans”, often cited as the first antislavery book. In it she reviewed the history of slavery. She insisted that slavery had an evil impact on both slave and slaveholder, and she outraged her Boston friends by describing Northerners' prejudice against blacks and the segregation that existed in Northern cities. As a result, subscriptions to Juvenile Miscellany were cancelled and Child was forced to resign as editor. Her readers stopped buying her books. The Boston Athenaeum trustees revoked her library privileges. Nevertheless, long before Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Uncle Tom's Cabin” was published, Child's book won many converts to the antislavery cause.

"An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans" argued in favor of the immediate emancipation of the slaves, and she is sometimes said to have been the first white person to have written a book in support of this policy.

In 1839, she was elected to the executive committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and became editor of the society's National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1841. In 1861, Child helped Harriet Ann Jacobs, with her Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

During the 1860s, Child wrote pamphlets on Indian rights. The most prominent, "An appeal for the Indians" (1868), called upon government officials, as well as religious leaders, to bring justice to American Indians. Her presentation sparked Peter Cooper's interest in Indian issues, and led to the founding of the United States Indian Commission and the subsequent Peace Policy in the administration of Ulysses S. Grant.

She died in Wayland, Massachusetts in 1880 at the age of 78.

Here are the lyrics to "Over the River and Through the Woods"

Over the river and thru the wood,
To grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Thru the white and drifted snow, oh!

Over the river and thru the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh hear the bells ring,
"Ting-a-ling-ling!"
Hurrah for Thangsgiving Day.

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the woods,
And straight through the barn-yard gate,
We seem to go
Extremely slow
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the woods,
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/childlydiamaria/a/lydiamariachild.htm

http://j.w.d.home.comcast.net/whs/Lydia_Maria_Child/lydia_maria_child.htm

New Sayings for the Internet Age

2006-10-30T22:21:00.000-06:00

Home is where you hang your @.

The e-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail.

A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.

You can't teach a new mouse old clicks.

Great groups from little icons grow.

Speak softly and carry a cellular phone.

C: is the root of all directories.

Don't put all your hypes in one home page.

Pentium wise; pen and paper foolish.

The modem is the message.

Too many clicks spoil the browse.

The geek shall inherit the earth.

A chat has nine lives.

Don't byte off more than you can view.

Fax is stranger than fiction.

What boots up must come down.

Windows will never cease.

Virtual reality is its own reward.

Modulation in all things.

A user and his leisure time are soon parted.

There's no place like home.com.

Know what to expect before you connect.

Oh, what a tangled website we weave when first we practice.

Speed thrills.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use the Net and he won't bother you for weeks.

Friday the 13th

2006-10-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

Well according to Christian history Friday was just not a good day.

Of course there is Good Friday when Christ was crucified.
Adam and Eve also supposedly ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday,
the Great Flood started on a Friday,
the builders of the Tower of Babel were tongue-tied on a Friday
and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday.
Wow Friday was just not a good day in Biblical history.

Then there is also the fact that Friday was named after Frigg , a Norse goddess, according to Everything2.com In Norse Mythology, Frigg is the wife of Odin and the goddess of love and fertility, patron of marriage, motherhood and women, symbolizes fertility, love, foresight, cunning, wisdom, and the moon, and she weaves the clouds. She is also the daughter of Fjorgyn and the mother of Balder, Tyr, Hoder, Hermod, and Bragi.

It is said she knows every person's future, but never reveals it to anyone, and spins the thread of fate. With this knowledge, she tried to prevent Balder's death by asking every object in nature for an oath not to harm her son, but she forgot to ask the mistletoe and Balder died from a fig made of mistletoe.

She resides in Asgard in the hall Fensalir ("Water Halls" or "The Ocean Halls") and is rumored to have had affairs with Ve and Vili. It is her job to represent the approachable side of Odin which he is unable to show. Her messenger is Gna, the messenger and traveler goddess, who rides the skies on the horse Hofvarpnir.

Since she is very similar to Freya, it is thought she could possibly be her in another form and Friday is possibly named after one or both of them. They are both mentioned one after another in Lokasenna when Loki reveals Frigg's affair while Odin was away which is the sort of behavior one might attribute to Freya and Frigg could simply be the persona Freya acquired when she married out the Vanir gods into the Aesir. She is also known as Frigga and is thought to also be called Saga as in the Prose Edda it is said that Saga was an Aesir goddess who lived in Sokkvabekk (Suken Hall) which can be compared to Fensalir. It is under this name she is mentioned with Odin in the Poetic Edda:

It has been hinted that Freyja's character was not irreproachable, and that thence arose Friday's ill-repute, but such an hypothesis is wholly untenable. She also had a sacred animal, a black cat. Friday was a holy day for the pagans.

Triskaidekaphobia may have also affected the Vikings — it is believed that Loki in the Norse pantheon was the 13th god. This was later Christianised into saying that Satan was the 13th angel.

The Mesopotamian Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1686 BC) omits 13 in its numbered list. This seems to indicate a superstition existed long before the Christian era.

A specific fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevadekatriaphobia.

The following extract from a translation of a Saxon manuscript of about the year 1120 may serve to illustrate the credulity of that epoch in England, and the odium attaching to Friday:

Whoever is born on Sunday or its night, shall live without anxiety and be handsome.
If he is born on Monday or its night, he shall be killed of men, be he laic or be he cleric.
If on Tuesday or its night, he shall be corrupt in his life, and sinful and perverse.
If he be born on Wednesday or its night, he shall be very peaceable and easy and shall grow up well and be a lover of good. . . .
If he be born on Friday or its night, he shall be accursed of men, silly and crafty and loathsome to all men and shall ever be thinking evil in his heart, and shall be a thief and a great coward, and shall not live longer than to mid-age.
If he is born on Saturday or its night, his deeds shall be renowned, he shall be an alderman, whether he be man or woman; many things shall happen unto him, and he shall live long.
Gleaned from http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/mhs/mhs54.htm

"Of all superstitions, perhaps the most pervasive -- and yet least explicable -- is the aversion to the number thirteen.

Many buildings (particularly hotels) tall enough to have a thirteenth floor will not number it as such. We are told that the registration of Princess Margaret's birth was delayed so that she would not be entered as number thirteen. So firm is its grip upon us that even hospitals, those supposed bastions of rational thought, decline to label their operating theaters with the number.

"Thirteen is especially unlucky terms of dinner parties, referring back to the Last Supper or the Norse feast: it is believed that one of the thirteen diners will die within a year. But the fear exists in every occurrence of the number. Throughout the western world people can still be found numbering their houses '12 1/2,' to avoid living in number 13. The state lotteries of France, Italy, and elsewhere never sell tickets with that number. Hotels and hospitals, and similar institutions, often have no room numbered thirteen; and many big hotels, like the new Cavendish Hotel completed in London in 1966, also have no thirteenth floor.

What is it about the 'devil's dozen' that poses such evil portent? The answer, as with so many superstitions, is biblical. Thirteen gathered in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper. 'And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.' (Mark 14: 17-18). 'Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot . . for he it was that should betray him.' (John 6: 70-71).

According to another interpretation, the number 13 is unlucky because it is the number of full moons in a year. Women living in a natural environment tend to have their period during a full moon. A woman typically has 13 periods in a year. In the past, a woman who "bled" during a full moon was seen as a witch. The fear of women's connection to the moon, as well as the association of the full moon with mental disorders has, according to this theory, caused the number to be seen as bad luck, and connected to supernatural forces.

As for Friday the 13th: a lamentable intersection of unlucky number and dire day. 'And on a Friday fil al this meschaunce,' wrote Chaucer in 'The Nun's Priest's Tale'. The superstitions surrounding this fateful day -- particularly Good Fridays -- are numerous: a child born on Friday is doomed to misfortune; do not feed anyone butter churned or eggs laid that day. Courting, and especially marriage, on Friday is a folly. Do not move to a new home or new job on that fateful day; do not rise from an illness; and please, please do not take a journey -- for as the fishermen say, 'A Friday's sail, always fail."

And, if having the 13th fall on a Friday isn't bad enough enjoin it with the apperance of a full moon and watch the metaphysical muck fly!!

Most superstitions and stories about bad luck date back to antiquity.

Are you superstitious?

Be it rational or irrational, what methphorical ladder do you not step under? Does it help?

The Story of Jack O'Lantern

2006-10-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

When the term jack-o'-lantern first appeared in print in 1750, it referred to a night watchman or a man carrying a lantern.It was after this story that beliefs changed, people began to believed that spirits and ghosts left the grave on Halloween and would seek out warmth in their previous homes.

A stingy drunkard of an Irish blacksmith named Jack had the misfortune to run into the Devil in a pub, some say on Halloween night. Jack had too much to drink and was about to fall into the Devil's hands, but managed to trick the Devil by offering his soul in exchange for one last drink. The Devil turned himself into a sixpence to pay the bartender, but Jack quickly pocketed him in his purse. Because Jack had a silver cross in his purse, the Devil could not change himself back. Jack would not let the Devil go until he promised not to claim his soul for ten years.

The Devil agreed and ten years later Jack came across the Devil while walking on a country road. The Devil wanted to collect, but Jack, thinking quickly, said "I'll go, but before I go, will you get me an apple from that tree?" The Devil, thinking he had nothing to lose, jumped on Jack's shoulders to obtain the apple. Jack pulled out his knife and carved a cross in the trunk of the tree. This left the Devil in the air, unable to obtain Jack or his soul. Jack made him promise to never again ask for his soul. Seeing no way out, the Devil agreed. No one knows how the Devil ever managed to get back down!

When Jack finally died years later, he was not admitted to Heaven, because of his life of drinking and being tightfisted and deceitful. When he went to apply for entrance to Hell, the Devil had to turn him away because he agreed never to take Jack's soul. "But where can I go?", asked Jack. "Back where you came from!", replied the Devil. The way back was windy and dark. Jack pleaded with the Devil to at least provide him a light to find his way. The Devil, as a final gesture, threw a live coal at Jack straight from the fire of Hell. To light his way and to keep it from blowing out in the wind, Jack put it in a turnip he was eating.

Ever since, Jack has been doomed to wander in darkness with his lantern until "Judgment Day."

Jack of the lantern (Jack O' Lantern) became known as the symbol of a damned soul.

It was after this story that beliefs changed, people began to believed that spirits and ghosts left the grave on Halloween and would seek out warmth in their previous homes.

Villagers, fearful of the possibility of being visited by the ghosts of past occupants, would dress up in costumes to scare the spirits on their way. They would also leave food and other treats at their door to appease the spirits, so they would not destroy their homes or crops, but instead move on down the road. They also began to hollow out turnips with a face either painted or carved into it, and place lighted candles inside; hoping the image of a dammed soul would scare the spirits away.

Since I am part English and part Irish, I choose to believe the Celts and place Jack o’ Lanterns on my porch to welcome my deceased family and friends, hoping they will always find comfort, love and happiness within my home.

Additional information:

References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was nasalized by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." Shakespeare referred to the "pumpion" in his Merry Wives of Windsor. American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin." The "pumpkin" is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.

Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. They also roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The origin of pumpkin pie occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes.

Special thanks to LadyofAvalonLand for this post.

Blood Moon Rising

2006-10-07T23:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the night of Full Moon.

October Full Moon is the Hunting Moon, Blood moon and sometimes the Harvest Moon.

In the past, this was the time of hunting and storing.
It was the start of the hunting season for those who lived off the land.
It was also a time to give thanks for what was harvested during the year — not only what was harvested for the body but what was harvested for the spirit. It is a time to reflect and give thanks for the plants and animals that died to allow the balance of nature to be maintained.

This moon is known as the Blood Moon because it reflects the final harvest of livestock and the ultimate sacrifice of the Harvest King as he leaves the world above for the mysterious transformation to be found in the Underworld.

To the Celts this moon — known as the Harvest Moon — was a time of harvesting and storing of crops, preparing for the long winter. They also associated it with protection, prosperity, and healing. It is a time for spells that increase psychic abilities and fertility.

It is a good time to reflect on this moon and think about how we are a part of the natural cycles. A time to begin preparations for the New Year, Samhain or Halloween.

The Importance of a Moment

2006-10-02T00:19:00.000-05:00

Life is made of millions of moments,
but we live only one of these moments at a time.

As we begin to change this moment,
we begin to change our lives.

"How quickly not now, becomes never."
-- Martin Luther

"Talk does not cook rice."
-- Chinese proverb

"Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!"
-- Donald Gardner

"The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started."
-- Dawson Trotman

Procrastination seriously drains our energy and our morale. What remains undone nags at us.

"Do, or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

2006-09-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

Cave of the Storm Nymphs
by
Edward John Poynter

Don't Ask - Don't Tell

2006-09-20T17:13:00.000-05:00

I'm wondering if this should be one of those "don't ask, don't tell" weekend experiences.

Left for the conference on Friday afternoon, arrived late after meeting friends for dinner that evening, checked into my room at the lodge, killed a scorpion, killed a large black ant, stepped through the French doors out onto the deep twilight and after a few steps almost walked up on a skunk. (All this in the first 30 minutes) Ammanda and I backed slowly away from the skunk and didn't get sprayed, but it was an ominous beginning. Later that evening I started feeling bad, by noon Saturday I was under the covers in my room, where I stayed until I could get a ride back to the city on Sunday. When I arrived I found out that a family friend had committed suicide Saturday morning. (Funeral Friday) Missed work Monday and Tuesday because I was still sick, returned today, still exhausted, to learn of the death of someone else in a car wreck this weekend, and that another friend's son had attempted suicide last night. Then I had to leave in the middle of work to pick up my daughter, who works across town at the zoo, because she was throwing up and couldn't drive herself home. I haven't heard from my husband since early this morning, and I'm almost afraid to.

There is a theory that it was Scorpion karma coming back at me because I killed the one I met in my room instead of putting it outside. (Rinda, who doesn't kill anything, had run around the room saying, "Don't kill it! Pick it up! Let it Live!" Like I was really going to reach down and pick up something that could cause me great pain. Okay, I get her point, and she did say she was looking for a box. But I did go ahead and smack it with my shoe anyway.)

I don't believe the karma theory, of course. But then again....? Jeez.

OMG !!!

2006-09-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

I think I'm seriously worried about myself.

When I got home tonight I was exhausted and my blood sugar was dropping. Everyone in my family had already eaten so I ran out to Madison's Pancake House for a salad. When I finished eating and returned to my car, I thought it was odd that the door was unlocked because I'm normally fanatical about locking my car. I got in the car and was surprised to find the radio playing. MY KEYS WERE IN THE IGNITION. THE CAR WAS RUNNING. I had left my car unlocked and running while I was inside eating dinner!!!

I'm really freaked out. I never do stuff like this. Maybe I'm more tired than I realized. I'm certainly glad someone else is driving to the writer's retreat at Quartz Mountain this weekend.

Kitty Needs a Caption

2006-09-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

C'mon....I know you can come up with something!! Here's some captions so far....
"MOM!!!!!"
"Holy Cat Nip ! "
"Where's the mouse on this thing?"
"Catnip price raised to $5.00 a bunch. It's criminal! All politicians are dogs!"
"Wheeeeeeeeeee! Kitty Porn!!!"
"Yes! I love playing ' Shoot that dog' video game online. Take that Fido!"

*idea borrowed from http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=MeezerGirl

Oklahoma Outlaws

2006-08-31T23:05:00.000-05:00

Aren't we a creative and handsome looking group.

Merline Lovelace took this photo at the last writers meeting.

Now I ask you, wouldn't you buy a book from these people? Lots of books?

Above you see the friends of my heart.

Women who inspire me, encourage me, and give me faith.

Great writers, one and all.

Ladies,

I salute you.

The Darker Side of Love

2006-08-25T08:40:00.000-05:00

http://www.msubillings.edu/art/leaves_with_hole.htm

A poem by someone I met on the internet.
We've all known people like this.
Emotional vampires who turn love into a weapon of mass destruction.

Healthy Like Kryptonite

Here she comes,
all strung out on herself again,
flies in from her tall buildings of needs,
wearing her cape of woe.
Being broken is her superpower,
thriving on it, she remains
strong, vacuous,
with an ache that would
sweetly suck the twinkle off
the brightest of stars
if it would promise to love her back.
Oh, why does she always feel so alone?
He listens, clucks and nods,
taking two steps backwards,
making a mental note to
stop answering the phone.
He has developed
a healthy fear of
hearts that
love like black holes.

Maureen Dolan Â©2006

Update:

Things are hectic but going well.

My "closet" office looks like Grand Central Station,
I've been assigned a classroom with old equipment that I don't know how to use,
student center management rented out the room where the Kick Off Luncheon was scheduled to be held and didn't tell us (30 min before we were to begin we were scrounging around for a new location),
the cafeteria shorted us on pizza and we began to run out of food (quick trip to Little Ceasers),
and I've injured my arch and been hobbling around on a cane for a couple of weeks.

LOL. Such are the challenges of life. It wouldn't be an adventure without them.

I'm Not Lost - Just Hibernating

2006-08-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

Sign on building: The Beer Store

Fall semester begins next week. Between meetings and students coming in, I've been swamped. (But in a good way) By the time I get home in the evening, if I get home in the evening and don't have yet another set of Inservice meetings, I'm exhausted and brain dead. Next week (the first week of classes) will probably be worse. After that things should ease up some. I'm still trying to keep up with people's posts. Don't give up on me. I'm with you in spirit.

SCREAMING AND SHOUTING !!!

2006-08-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

Everyone go read Heathers Blog! She's MOVING!!

It Gives One Pause for Thought

2006-08-07T23:36:00.000-05:00

Fourteen Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Source Free Inquiry.co
5-28-3
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

From Liberty Forum

Jenn's Car was Burgled Last Night

2006-08-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

We know that her car and the neighbor's were both hit. We don't know how many other cars in the neighborhood were broken into. She'd left her purse in her car on the floor board. Credit cards, gas card, driver's license, cash, checkbook, and a sketch pad with all her recent art were all stolen. A purse and a tote bag - gone. Glove box emptied.

Jenn discovered it this morning at 6 a.m. when she was leaving for work. The police just left. It's left us all with sort of an adrenaline induced unsettled feeling.

Jeez.

In Memoriam

2006-07-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to the memory of Rocky and Scruffy. Beloved family pets.

Within hours of each other, our much loved Gerbil and Hampster passed on to the great squeeky running wheel in the sky. I can see fluffy white scruffy now, running around Hampster Heaven with a jowl full of seeds and anything else he can sniff out. Little brown Rocky, his partner in crime, lurking in the dark shadows of the heavenly throne, keeping his eyes open and his nose twitching for anything interesting that might pass by.

May the sunflower seeds be plentiful there, the bedding be cleaned often, and the water tube never run dry.

Blessed Be

The Joy of Writing

2006-07-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

The Joy of Writing

Why does this written doe bound through these written woods?
For a drink of written water from a spring
whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle?
Why does she lift her head; does she hear something?
Perched on four slim legs borrowed from the truth,
she pricks up her ears beneath my fingertips.
Silence - this word also rustles across the page
and parts the boughs
that have sprouted from the word "woods."

Lying in wait, set to pounce on the blank page,
are letters up to no good,
clutches of clauses so subordinate
they'll never let her get away.

Each drop of ink contains a fair supplyof hunters,
equipped with squinting eyes behind their sights,
prepared to swarm the sloping pen at any moment,
surround the doe, and slowly aim their guns.

They forget that what's here isn't life.
Other laws, black on white, obtain.
The twinkling of an eye will take as long as I say,
and will, if I wish, divide into tiny eternities,
full of bullets stopped in mid-flight.
Not a thing will ever happen unless I say so.
Without my blessing, not a leaf will fall,
not a blade of grass will bend beneath that little hoof's full stop.

Is there then a world
where I rule absolutely on fate?
A time I bind with chains of signs?
An existence become endless at my bidding?

The joy of writing.
The power of preserving.
Revenge of a mortal hand.

By Wislawa Szymborska
From "No End of Fun", 1967
Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh

Wild Wild Weekend

2006-07-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

Yes.
There was a plotting party.

A wild and raucous group of writers stealthily converged at a mobile home hidden deep in the Quartz Mountains.
(Only Jo and Tammy -- who had yet to arrive at the time of this photo -- can tell you how deeply hidden)

Blood was spilled, bodies buried, aliens sighted, and hot sweaty sex was everywhere. I can't disclose more or I would have to kill you.

It was sworn in blood and sealed with a spit-in-your-palm handshake, "What happens at the trailer, stays at the trailer."

I'm Back

2006-07-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Wonderful Anniversary.

Leaving tomorrow for a "Plotting Party" but will be back on Sunday. I know I'll be seeing some of you there.

Can't wait.

I'll Be Back...

2006-07-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

Very old photo.

This is a quick announcement.

Friday (July 7th) is my 25th Wedding Anniversary. My husband and I are having a big party and I'm going to be very busy the next few days. I'm probably not going to be online much until next week. If any of you should happen to miss me, that is the reason.

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Weekend.

Variety is the Spice of Life

2006-07-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love the odd or unusual. Especially people who are a little off center from the norm. We are all so much richer for the diversity they provide.

(Okay. Maybe part of this is because I've always lived a teenie bit outside the box myself. At one time my book collection was so extensive that I had to store them in boxes, cover them with cloth and make furniture out of them. When I married my husband I had to get rid of approximately 3000 books to make room for him. I would like to tell you that those were most of the book collection, but I really do try not to lie. Ben has been known to throw his body between me and a book store. The books are a little more under control today, but...

I want everyone, RIGHT NOW, to go to Ammanda McCabe's website and read the post she just posted on eccentrics. These people are fascinating. I'd never heard of "Emperor" Norton of San Francisco, who proclaimed himself to be "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico" in 1859.

Go. Now. Read.
I should create a word document and start collecting these people.

* Speaking of eccentric check out the oassdomination link on Gena's blog.

***Jenn's New CAR!!! (How my family has spent its last week)

Lake Texoma Revisited

2006-06-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

Well. I finally remembered to pick up the photos of Father's Day and the trip Jenn and I took to Lake Texoma. It stayed sort of cloudy and comfortable the whole time.
Wish we were still there.

Archery turned out to be a lot more fun then we would have imagined. We're taking about talking some classes.

Below is Goddess Jenn the Huntress. Doesn't she look cool?

Thoughts That Follow Solstice

2006-06-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

Solstice has had me thinking about the ancient past. The contrast between how so much remains the same while life itself is so different. The solstice and other events of nature have always been here as long as there has been life on earth. Yet the lives we humans live today bears very little resemblence to those of our most distant ancestors. Below is a poem I wrote a few years ago after reading an article about the lives of various groups of ancient women.

Womanhouse

(Our female ancestors first built
Themselves and their families
Round shaped shelters.
-Faith Wilding-)

Dwellings, round and earthen,
sheltering wombs
spun of reeds and grass,

houses of thread and time
built by ancient mothers as
sacred spaces. . .
protective environments.

Single rooms,
life supporting chambers,
vaginal and warm,
somewhere between inner and outer,
between public and private.

A woman space,
wisely woven from love and duty,
encircling the rituals of daily life.

© 1998 Betty Becquart Sanders

Welcome SUMMER !!!

2006-06-20T08:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Solstice to All !!!
Summer arrived this morning at 7:26. I slept through it, of course, but it happened just the same.

Solstice and Equinox

Long before the dawn of any of the modern Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths, rituals followed a more simplistic path. Guided by the natural cycle of birth-life-death-and-renewal, the ancients marked their seasons by celebrating each phase of the wheel of life. Both male and female principals were honored, God and Goddess, and each was given honor as the sun and moon entwined in their cosmic dance.

The festivals that mark the change of season—winter, spring, summer and fall—have been transposed to our modern world. This site explores their meanings and how the old ways of honoring these times have been assimilated into our rituals of passage today.

The Summer Solstice
With the warmth of the season caressing the land, the celebration of the Summer Solstice brings forth a truly joyous recognition that we can now enjoy the fruits of our labors in the past season. It is not surprising that this same spirit of pleasure and fun had carried over into our modern-day recognition of this, the longest day of the year.

Falling this year on June 21st (7:26 a.m. EST), the Summer Solstice is a time of light and of fire. It is a time to reflect upon the growth of the season: the seeds that were planted in the earth and the seeds planted in our souls. It is a time of cleansing and renewal. It is a time of love and growth as well.

The Summer Solstice and Honeymoons
The moon of Midsummer is, in pagan tradition, called the "Honey Moon" from the mead made of fermented honey drunk after the many marriage ceremonies held on the Summer Solstice.

Links to instructions for making Meade:
http://www.meadmadecomplicated.org/
http://www.rlc.dcccd.edu/mathsci/reynolds
/micro/lab_manual/food.html
http://winemakermag.com/feature/231.html
http://sca_brew.homestead.com/files/recipes/Crystal_2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead

Love Poem

2006-06-20T00:28:00.001-05:00

Loving Being

There are only two choices.
We are either fearing being
or we are loving being.

If you aren't loving being,
it's really quite easy to fix: become a loving being.
If you don't know how to become a loving being,
hang out with loving beings who are loving being.
You'll catch on!

© 1998 Bob Boyle

Update and Profound Thoughts

2006-06-19T07:52:00.000-05:00

Had a GREAT weekend.
Texoma lodge was really run down and we were very disappointed in it but we managed to have a good time anyway. In addition to the reading, writing, sketching, etc. we drove to Gainsville to do some shopping, won $55 gambling at a local casino, and spent Saturday evening playing pool and sitting on our porch sipping wine, smelling the rain and watching water droplets fall into the pool and on the leaves. The weather was overcast and cool the whole weekend and felt wonderful. We also took a class in archery. Let me tell you, I think Jenn and I have finally found "our sport". We are not the most athletic types, but we even stayed outside doing it when it started to sprinkle.

Last night Jenn and I met with some friends in Edmond to celebrate solstice. What a lot of fun. We made those little flower wreaths for our hair and spiral danced around a tree, singing and chanting. What a great end to a wonderful weekend.

I read this article on Bonyari's Blog and found it facinating. What do you think? Are there gender differences in friendships? Are women more backstabbing. At first I was a little insulted by it, but the more I think about it.....

Genders in Friendship and Backstabbing

I happened to watch a news program a few days ago. There were 2 authors talking about a book they wrote on genders and friendship, I think. It's supposed to be a general knowledge that men's friendship is activity-based, and women's friendship is affection-based (besides other common factors such as ages, education, class, social status...) Well, this is new to me since I never thought of it this way. A quick check on the friends database confirms this gender difference for me. My friends tend to be in groups that have little or nothing to do with each other. I have a group of friends that I went to school with. Most of us are physics, electrical engineers. We took the same classes. And the friendship was formed and grew through classroom activities. Then I have another group of friends who are Vietnamese. There's only one thing we share in common, our origin. I share my times between these groups of friends. I don't do every single activities with a group. My friends are activity-based, with only a few exceptional great close friends.

Women have a different type of friendship, I think. You ladies have partners in crimes, bestest of friends, twins... and you do every single thing together. Shopping, eating out, gawking at hot/cute guys, complaining about what an insentitive jerk your bf is, crying to each other in breakups...

I guess this is why we've seen more backstabbing in women than men. You know each other so damn well. And when a friend betrays, every little dirty details of your life will be revealed to the world. And that's not to mention the vengence. Man, it creeps me out thinking about how evil someone so innocent can turn over night.

Thinking about this now, I don't feel so bad that I never had someone that I can call best-friend. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few great friends who I trust and share my private life with. But even these, the friendship is not in the way you ladies call your bestfriend. I'd rather have a peace of mind than having a friend stabbing my back.

Running Away from Home

2006-06-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Jenn is getting off a little early today and we are running away from home.

Actually, we are going to spend the weekend at lake Texoma sitting on our keesters, reading, writing, sketching, and having an otherwise great time. Everyone go post a story from the photo on Rinda's Blog so I'll have some great reading when I get back. (bottom of the post for Friday June 9th)

I probably won't check in again until Monday. Speak of me kindly, think of me often, and don't have any fun until I get back.

Stubborn Ounces

2006-06-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

Twice in One Week! Holy Cow!!

I read this poem years ago and loved it. Saved it. Kept it on my bulletin board for a long time. And then one day, it disappeared. I didn't know how and I didn't know where it went. I'd thought I'd read it in the church newsletter so I spent one afternoon recently going through the archives of all the newsletters since 1980. Then while wading through the dark abyss of the backroom McGee closet looking for wedding memoribilia (specifically our vows), I pulled open a drawer and GREAT SCOTT there it was.

I am going to share it on my blog, partly because some of you might like it, but mostly so I'll have it printed somewhere where I won't lose it again.
Life is Good.

“Stubborn Ounces”
(To One Who Doubts the Worth of
Doing Anything If You Can’t Do Everything)
By Bonaro W. Overstreet

You say the Little efforts that I make
will do no good: they never will prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where Justice hangs in balance.

I don’t think
I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
in favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

FOUND IT !!!!! Mystery Solved.

2006-06-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow!!!

We took apart 2 houses looking for the ring. Then this morning, after Jenn got up, Ben set down next to her and in a somber tone said, "We've got a problelm. Mom's wedding ring is gone." In a casual offhand manner Jenn said, "I've got it."

Ben woke me up (which he seldom does on a weekend - not that I sleep in a lot or anything) to give me the news. I'd even gone to bed last night telling my brain to find the ring in my dreams. I drifted off to sleep visualizing in as much detail as possible all the places I had been yesterday.

It turns out, Jenn left for her date last night about 15 minutes after we left for Yukon to have dinner and game night with friends. Before leaving she had gone into the bathroom and saw my ring laying on the counter where I had taken it off to put on lotion. Worried it might get lost or go down the drain, she put it in her room on the jewelry box to protect it. Since she was home and asleep by the time we got in, we didn't talk with her till this morning.

I'm emotionally exhausted.

I've Lost my Wedding Ring

2006-06-11T01:54:00.000-05:00

We were getting ready to leave a friends house tonight and I looked down and my wedding ring was gone. (It had belonged to my great grandmother.) After 25 years of marriage, I looked down and it wasn't there. I'm really depressed. We didn't find it after searching their house, or our house. I was all over the place today. A dress shop in Edmond twice, Barnes & Noble, Sams Club, Walking for 2-3 blocks in downtown Edmond, and I ate a a cafe. It could be anywhere. I'm sick, really sick. Ben said, if we don't find it, he will have another one made, but it won't be the same. How could I lose it and not know it? This is terrible.

Mike Barker's Writing Exercises

2006-06-10T10:05:00.001-05:00

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite sites for writing exercises. http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/exercises/exercises.html

GTG. I'll finish this post later.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

2006-06-05T22:53:00.000-05:00

The Good:
I found a dress and I have 3/4 of the invitations addressed.

The Bad:
The storm this morning knocked out power at the university. We were without electricity and lights until 10 a.m.. When I arrived they had the sliding doors to the buildings propped open to provide some circulation. When I left this afternoon we were still without airconditioning. (It was the upper 80s today) and I still had no computer connection. I received a call from the Parks Dept and the PO# I faxed them to reserve a pavillion for a picnic in September was not received at their end last week so they were canceling our reservation. I refaxed and they still didn't get it. I put it in an envelope and mailed it. I am now wishing I had driven across town and given it to them. (It would have gotten me out of the hot building) The class I teach starts tomorrow and I still don't have the access code for the Prentice Hall website for instructors so I can download powerpoints, etc. Except for finding the dress it has been a very frustrating day. I'm beginning to think I'm not as patient as I thought I was.

The Ugly:
Todd left a message on our machine. It sounds like my computer is DEAD!!! Something about the mother board and not being able to install the basic software after several attempts. (Sad face and much crying, whailing and gnashing of teeth in OKC. My computer was my friend.)

Oh well, at least I found my dress.

In Deep "Do" and Sinking Fast

2006-06-04T08:24:00.000-05:00

OMG. I'm getting married!!! In 5 weeks!!!!

Okay. Not really married. And not that we've been living in wanton sin all these years. (LOL, at least not in legal terms) But there isn't really a good word to call it.

Ben and I have been together 25 years as of Friday, July 7th. We are "renewing our vows", except that sounds like they expired. We are "getting married again" except that sounds like we got divorced. "Reaffirming our vows" sounds like we slipped down the slippery slope of forgetfulness and now have to remind ourselves. This issue of what it actually is we are doing has become a big issue. In truth we know what we are doing, but words are tricky little boogers.

I'm in a panic. Okay?

I mean, I'm a writer not a party planner. So far I have reserved the church and the minister. Yesterday I went to Sam's, made my invitations, and had them printed off. That's it!!!

FIVE weeks! And no dress, cake, balloons, food, band/dj, flowers, photographer, consideration of what kind of small ceremony to have. Not only am I not good at this kind of thing, I actually really suck at it. I'm in such trouble.

Sheila and Ammanda have offered to help me find a dress. But when? I have so much shit to do! How did this sneak up on me like this?

Everyone write down 1st UU Church in Oklahoma City, July 7th, 7 p.m. That way, if I don't get around to mailing invitations, those of you who can actually make it will know where to come.

I think we've finally settled on "25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration" and are making it more like a big party than a fancy formal thing. Think of me often for the next few weeks. I have no idea what I'm doing.

A Book - Emily Dickinson

2006-06-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!....

Emily Dickinson, A Book

The Branch Weighed 6,500+ lbs

2006-06-01T16:02:00.000-05:00

(Update from my brother)

The crain that lifted the tree trunk off my house had a scale on it - showing how much weight it was lifting....

The tree was cut back from what was laying all over the roof of the garage to the point on the edge of the roof (picture below)

That 10-12 foot section from the edge of my roof...to the main tree it split off from. That section alone weighed 3,400 lbs.

The whole length of tree branch was in the 6,500 to 7,000 lb range, all laying ON my garage

There Must be a Million Stories in This.

2006-05-30T14:21:00.000-05:00

I am going to take Rinda’s plot the photo idea and apply it to this journal entry I found on another blog, http://www.xanga.com/sayJames . (May 30th post)
All I know about the author is that his name is James and he lives in California.

Using this as a springboard for inspiration, what is the whole story? Or what happens next?

Back when I was a student at UCLA, I lived in this dorm building called Sunset Village (‘SV’). It’s a great place with lots of amenities. Great food, tennis courts and swimming pool right next door. If you plan to attend UCLA and want to live on campus, I highly recommend Sunset Village. It’s like a vacation villa.

As you know, daily meals are included in dorm living. Everyday I line up at the cafeteria entrance like everybody else. I swipe my ID card to get in. Back then (don't know about now), SV food was the best, and residents from other dorms would try to sneak in to eat here. So there was always a person (cafeteria employee) standing at the entrance to make sure only SV residents are allowed in. Most of the time the ID checker is a student who works part time. But a few times a week a middle-aged lady would be the door person.

I don’t know when it first started. One time I went to the cafeteria and the middle-aged lady was the ID checker. As I walled by her, she had this facial expression of "fear" when she saw me. I didn’t think much of it because I had no idea what was wrong. Her "feared" look continued to show whenever I walked in when she is on duty.

We are not allowed to take food out of the cafeteria. We eat all we can and that’s it, no take outs. But sometimes I try to sneak small items out anyway, and so do other students. If you get caught, they just ask you to put the food back. One time I had a sandwich in my hand walking behind another guy who had an apple in his hand. We were trying to sneak food out. That middle-aged lady stopped the guy in front of me and asked him to put the apple back. But she did not stop me and just let me waltz out of there with the sandwich. Now that did raise my eyebrows a bit thinking why did she let me go?

Here comes the good part. One day I went to get dinner. As I swiped my card and walked through the entrance, that lady actually spoke out to me. "Do you know of any angels?" she said. At first, I didn’t catch what she said. So I turned around and said "excuse me," "were you talking to me?" She repeated her question again. " Do you know of any angels?" Wow, now I was thinking what a question to ask a guy who’s just trying to get supper.

I paused and tried to think if this is a trick question. I then said, "do you mean ‘angels,’ ‘angels’?", while drawing a circle above my head with my right index finger and then flapped my arms to simulate wings. She said "yes." She then said whenever she saw me, she saw angels following above behind me. I said "oh, really?" "I really don’t know any angels, but thank you for telling me." I tried to act cool and then walked away and proceeded to get food. Obviously I had an uneasy feeling afterwards. I didn't eat much that night.

Update on Bill's House

2006-05-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

Bill's insurance is going to cover the damage. Had it been his tree and not his neighbors, he would have had to pay a large deductable. Since it is his neighbors tree, they are sounding like they will pay the whole thing. They are rebuilding the garage roof, reroofing the whole house, and replacing the damaged fence.

1st pic - May 10

2nd & 3rd pic - May 26
The journey begins...

Da Vinci Code - Don't Trust the Critics

2006-05-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

What the F* is going on? I went to see Da Vinci Code last night. Other than the fact it was a very exciting movie, I am hard pressed to see what all the uproar has been about.

Yes. The two main villians were members of Opus Dei. I've seen movies where the villians were Republicans, Democrats, Methodists, and members of the ladies auxiliary. So what? Didn't these people watch the movie before they started ranting about it?

Critics said it was long and boring. Except for the first few minutes, time flew by faster than in most movies I've watched. I didn't "feel" like I'd been watching a 2 hour movie. It was fast paced and very exciting. It was a wonderful movie.

I didn't see anything in it that would undermine a person's faith in Christianity. It left the believability of the main "doctrinal challenge" in the plot very vague and unprovable at the end. Basically saying, it's what you believe that counts. The only character I saw who really hated Christianity was one of the villians. (can't say more without ruining it for you.)

I think we have just seen months of Much Ado About Nothing, and very little praise for what is a very excellent movie.

I read the book and didn't see how they could possible pack in all the key points and make the movie work, but Ron Howard did it. The movie is amazing. This critic would highly recommend it to everybody.

Computer Blessing

2006-05-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

Rinda's blog on magic inspired me.
I am lighting candles and incense and chanting this 3 times as I pass Sage over the area where my computer normally rests.
Who knows?
It might work.

Blessings on this fine machine,
May its data all be clean.
Let the files stay where they're put,
Away from disk drives keep all soot.
From its screen shall come no whines,
Let in no spikes on power lines.
As oaks were sacred to the Druids,
Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.
Disk Full shall be nor more than rarity,
The memory shall not miss its parity.
From the modem shall come wonders,
Without line noise making blunders.
May it never catch a virus,
And all its software stay desirous.
Oh let the printer never jam,
And turn my output into spam.
I ask of Eris, noble queen,
Keep DISCORD far from this machine.
http://www.witcheswell.com/

*Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife. She is Ares' constant companion and follows him everywhere. Eris is sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble. She has a golden apple that is so bright and shiny everybody wants to have it. When she throws it among friends, their friendship come to a rapid end. When she throws it among enemies, war breaks out, for the golden apple of Eris is the Apple of Discord. She did this once during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and this act brought about the Trojan War.

Three Cheers for Todd

2006-05-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

My computer is back with Todd!!
Great things are about to happen.
I can feel the positive energy swirling in the atmosphere.

Everyone send prayers or positive thoughts his way.
This borrowing laptops business is getting really old.

What is your World View?

2006-05-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

You scored as Cultural Creative.

Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational

Cultural Creative

81%

Existentialist

69%

Postmodernist

69%

Idealist

56%

Modernist

44%

Fundamentalist

44%

Materialist

38%

Romanticist

38%

What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com

2006-05-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

Remember the photos of the tree that damaged my brother's house in the May 11th post? The neighbor's insurance company refuses to cover the damage because they claim it was "an act of God". Bill told them he had spoken to the neighbor months earlier about trimming it and he had assured Bill that insurance would cover it. Their response was, "Do you have that in writing?"

They're all a bunch of damned crooks.

Still Crazy After All These Years

2006-05-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

I planted some birdseed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.

I had amnesia once -- or twice.

I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?

Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

If the world were a logical place, men would ride horses sidesaddle.

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.

Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.

Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.

Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

How can there be self-help "groups"?

Is there another word for synonym?

The speed of time is one-second per second.

Is it possible to be totally partial?

Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?

If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?

Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man who can't get his pants off.

It's not an optical illusion. It just looks like one.

Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

Psalm to My Mother

2006-05-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

Since this has been previously published in various places and it's copyright well established, I decided to publish it online for Mother's Day.

Psalm to My Mother

Before the beginning of my recorded time
she was,
From everlasting to everlasting,
the only Eve I know.
Beneath her ribs she carried me,
by her labor I was delivered,
bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh.

Hers is a sacred name,
as all our names are sacred.
And I am Betty Louise,
mother of Jennifer Ann,
daughter of Alice Louise,
my life-giver. My creator
who is the daughter of Eve called Jenny June,
who is the daughter of Eve called Clara Francis,
who is the daughter of Eve called Eliza Ann,
who is the daughter of Eve called Sarah.
And the holy line goes on, through nameless women,
gone but never in our hearts forgotten,
to the beginning of all Eves.

And our seeds shall endure,
be established as the moon,
as a faithful witness in heaven.

Amen

coyright Betty Becquart Sanders

My Brother's House

2006-05-11T15:56:00.000-05:00

Remember the rain and wind storm that moved through OKC in the early morning hours Tuesday night?

Look at the gift it left my brother.

This is his neighbor's tree. The neighbor he has been telling to be trim back his tree because it was getting too heavy and would blow over into my brother's "back" yard with a good gust of wind. (Neighbor's response: "I'm not worried. That's what insurance is for."

This is my brother's front yard after the tree came down.

This is the side of the house and part of the roof damage the tree caused. He doesn't have pictures of the back and roof yet. The impact there was worse.

The neighbor's response when Bill knocked on his door and told him what happened. "No Big Deal. I've got insurance." Of course, Bill has yet to hear from the company or the adjustor. And, if you'll notice in the 1st photo of the tree, it didn't even damage the neighbor's fence.

Grrrrr

Rate My Life Quiz

2006-05-11T00:12:00.000-05:00

Who makes these things up?

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	9.1
Mind:	8.7
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	9.2
Friends/Family:	7.2
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I'm writing the name TODD into my list of Heroes. & 6 Meme

2006-05-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

I was at Sheila's house last night.

Todd has FIXED MY COMPUTER.

It took almost a week and he had to replace the operating system. Some of my downloaded programs will be gone and I will need to reload them. He thinks he managed to save all my documents. I'll need to double check all e-mail addresses. Repairing it was a major job. I so owe this man.

It will be a while before it is back online with everything reloaded, etc. (Maybe Sunday or Monday) I miss my desk. I miss my chair. I miss my stuff. I'm hopping up and down with excitement.

I'm almost back. "The mother and child reunion is only a motion away!!!"

6 Meme from "M" and "Xdell"

I’m a certified scuba diver.

I’ve photographed a total eclipse of the sun.

I’ve danced naked in the rain and posed as a nude model.

I had to get rid of a couple thousand books to make room for my husband when we got married. (I’m getting ready to do another clearing out. We can’t just keep buying bigger houses.)

At one time I was a publishing poet and won a lot of awards. (Also made very little money. Sort of like novels when you think about it.)

I have historically had the blackest thumb in America, maybe the world. In the 12 years we’ve been at this house, I’ve planted 4 gardens and killed them all. I can’t bear to think of the time and money I’ve spent killing things. This year I am following a book called “Square foot Gardening”. It is a form of container gardening where you create your own soil. I had a Master Gardener, who is a close family friend, come and tell me exactly where to build the garden plot. So far things are looking taller, and greener, and I’m holding my breath. This may be the year I break the jinx.

I've met Bill and Hillary Clinton.

And these are only the things I can print in a public post. (It reminds me of the joke about an old maid's tombstone. It read, "I may have been a Miss, but I didn't miss much!")

**If you are counting these posts then you probably have realized there are 7 instead of 6. One is a lie. The question, my friends, is which one? I'd love to hear guesses and why you chose it. After a few days, I will disclose the truth.

Rayke's 1st Blogger Post is Up

2006-05-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

It has happened.

My friend Rayke has joined us in the realm of Blogger posters.
Drop by his site and read his introduction. Introduce yourselves.

We already know he is a good story teller.

I'd repost his photo but my computer is still out and blogger won't let me download photos from the laptop. It also won't let me make comments at some sites. (Rinda, yours is one of them and I wrote a really neat story based on your photo!!)

I had a great night last night. I went to Edmond and danced around a MayPole with a group of my friends. Who knew it could take so long to cover a pole with ribbons? I think either the ribbons were too long or the pole was too skinny. We still had a lot of fun and a big feast with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and chocolate. Mmmm.

I'm Under Attack!!!

2006-04-30T08:20:00.000-05:00

Ants are everywhere.

I've killed dozens of the little demons this morning. (I know Buddha is rolling over in his grave because of my assault on a life form. But...) these are ants. They bite. And they are coming in at the window which is located exactly where Ben & I want to place the bed when we move our room back here. Apologies to Buddha, but I'm not sleeping with friggin' ants. Just a minute ago there was one crawling on my mouse! Eewwww!

We sat out ant traps yesterday and they are bypassing those completely. Crawling over and around them to be exact!

This is war!

I'm going into full combat mode and I will worry about my Karma later.

Ants, ticks, mosquitoes, and scorpions.
The four pests of the apocalypse.
(Okay. I've only got ants, but you get my point.)

I'm heading to the garden center for munitions.
Victory WILL be MINE!!!

My Pooter is in the "Great Tech Hospital" across town..

2006-04-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

Sheila and Todd came by tonight and took away my computer. It turns out Todd is something of a computer expert and has all kinds of things to fix it with. He used to do computer repair for the goverment. I'm feeling really confident that he is going to be able to fix it. He thinks he is also going to be able to save my files. It's a complex process of taking them off, putting them on another machine, fixing mine and then returning them.

I'm so excited!!!!!!

Good News Bad News

2006-04-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

Bryan thinks my documents, photos, etc. might be saved. They are experimenting with something Friday. Cross your fingers. I can access my cox account remotely, but it's difficult and they just changed the format which seems to make it worse for some reason. I can't reply or get into previously opened e-mail. Even with Bryan's machine I'm having some access problems with Blogger, but Xanga seems to work a little better. I've logged into it some from work when I think no one is looking. Jeez. I'm sick of this. I'm hoping the worst is almost over. I miss you guys.

Where'd the fun go?

My computer is still down.

2006-04-22T08:57:00.000-05:00

It looks like I may lose everything on the hard drive. The only time I will be able to log on is when I borrow someone else's machine. Eventually, I'll be back. Until then, don't discuss anything fun.

What is your earliest memory?

2006-04-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

What is your earliest memory?

Look deep into your past.

Write about the first thing or things you remember.

Was it your mother's smile?
The view from between the bars of your crib or playpen?
Do you remember your first steps?
Your first report card?

Mine was when I was barely 4 years old. It was early Spring and I was sitting on the floor in the living room. I was leaning against the screen looking out into the front yard. Mother had told me that "we" were going to have a baby. I really, Really, REALLY wanted a baby brother but she wouldn't make any promises. I sat for a long time looking out that door at the green grass, the two pine trees, and the bright blue sky dotted with puffs of white clouds. I was talking to God, cutting deals and begging him to give me the brother of my heart's desire.

In late November my brother Bill arrived. Mom always said we were lucky, but I knew better. I'd made God an offer he couldn't refuse and it will be our secret forever.

Remember My Office???

2006-04-14T09:44:00.000-05:00

Remember when I told you that my office space had been eliminated so they moved me and my desk into the storage closet?

Well. . .

Now I am also the kitchen!

Immediately behind my chair is the short refridgerator, with a microwave on top of that, with a coffee maker on top of that. I have to be really careful when I roll my chair back.

There is also a flatbed dolly that is now being stored in the area between one of the three large storage cabinates and a bookcase.
The office is approx. 9'x6'. The bookcase and fridge are cramed into space on the shorter opposing side walls. The three huge storage cabinates run along the entire 9' back wall. My desk and file cabinate are on the opposite wall next to the door. I face that wall and have my back to everything else. (It is a good thing.)

This is a really interesting experience. I learn what everyone is having for lunch, snacks and drinks. I'm getting in touch with my sense of smell. I'm sure this fridge (since I'm practically living in it) is going to get cleaned out a lot more often than my fridge at home.

Buddhist Computer Viruses by Dr. Richard Blackwell:

2006-04-13T20:39:00.000-05:00

PHURBA VIRUS: annihilates anyone who sends viruses along with their computer and their server. also purifies the network.
CHENREZI VIRUS: downloads programme into your computer which causes computer to do nothing else but pray for all beings to the exclusion of any other operation.
KALACHAKRA VIRUS: downloads extremely complex ritual into the computer which operator must perform before computer will perform any other operation.
HAYAGRIVA VIRUS: enters computer through a back door and takes entire control of your computer by force.
TROMA VIRUS: chops your files and operating programme into small pieces transforms them into wisdom nectar then feeds the nectar to non-buddhist computers which it visualizes as demons.
MAHAKALA VIRUS: protects your computer from all other viruses but requires you to offer meat and liquor daily through a special opening with which it replaces your floppy drive. EKADZATI VIRUS: allows only one file on your computer.
PADMASAMBHAVA VIRUS: subjugates your computer and takes it with it on the path.
TARA VIRUS: only allows female operators access. causes computer to give long lecture to male operators concerning views on male-only enlightenment.
MANJUSHRI VIRUS: downloads a programme which causes your computer to begin an endless debate over any information you enter.
DZOGCHEN VIRUS: deletes all programmes including operating programme leaving only the blue screen of the unborn dharmata.
MENDROLING variation produces white screen of the clear light essence.

Dr. Blackwell: Healing-Touch-UK. (English)
Photo Source: http://www.eso-garden.com/index.php?/weblog/C5/

Thang Nguyen & Taxes

2006-04-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

This is my brother's friend Thang Nguyen. He has been in the United States since 1981. His story of his escape from Saigon, South Vietnam is amazing. He has written about it and posted it on the outdoor network site. I wanted to share it with all of you. The USA has gained a wonderful person. And he is a GOOD cook too.
http://www.okcoutdoornetwork.org/Thang_T_Nguyen.htm

The time has come!

April 17th is just around the corner, AND. . . my sweet hubby is a CPA.

This is a man I love dearly. When the gnashing of teeth and crunching of bitten nails becomes too much to bear, I spend my time, when I'm not at my office, at his office. I've been at one place or the other all day.

So, between now and the 17th, I don't know how often I'll be online.
Think of me often. Only "7" days to go.

Today the Wind Blew

2006-04-08T01:09:00.000-05:00

http://www.artbywicks.com/

Little Wind

Little, wind blow on the hill top;
Little wind, blow down the plain;
Little wind, blow up the sunshine;
Little wind, blow off the rain.
-Kate Greenaway

Wind on the Hill

No one can tell me,
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.
-Anon

Western wind, when will thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?
Christ! If my love were in my arms,
And I in my bed again!
-Anon

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
-Shakespeare

Wind. I repeat
(to myself, for there is no other),
I am wind.
I am the air itself,
and belong only
to movement.
For I am Eternal.
I am the cleaner of souls.
Worship me!
I bring Rain,
Sun,
Hurricane.
I would refresh you with a breeze,
or steal the warmth from your bones.
I bring both hardship
and relief.
For I am Eternal.
I am Wind.
-Anon

Today the winds raged across the state.
My stockade fence, already broken loose from previous assaults,
waved at me in large "S"s all day and into the night.
It still stands, a testament to either miracles or durability.
With the winds came the rain and harsh bone chilling cold.

How is it poets never write about the pain?
The violence? The unending assault upon the body?
The long low moan ripping at the soul?
Today the wind danced across the sky like a storm trouper in combat boots.
Kicking and flailing as it went.
A vast expanse of parking lot became a combat zone.

The wind, with it's coyote howl, may sing all night.
The music of the spheres, perhaps.
How do you sleep with such a lonely concert blaring just beyond the rattle of your bedroom window?

Meditative Music - Rain

2006-04-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

This is a very nice music play thing for a short meditation: Rain

Play around with your mouse ... and click ...

http://www.storynest.com/Pictolaby_web/works/p08.htm