Outpouring of Support

Last night a fundraiser was held to assist two elderly people in our community.  Their house was caught up in a fire that took out four homes shortly before Christmas and the woman of the couple nearly lost her life, but was saved by several firefighters.  It wasn’t a fire caused by a smoldering cigarette, or a pot left on the stove.  It was a fire caused by the senseless violence of a gang of young men who threw a firebomb at a house that was attached to their house.  Theirs was a total loss and the only things left are the four walls holding up the structure. 

The fundraiser was mostly organized by their son, who has a catering company in a nearby town who does beef and beer type events.  One reason I attended was that one of the civic organizations that I belong to assisted in the organizing and selling tickets.  However, most of the planning was done by the son and most of the guests were friends and family of the parents.  It was really heartwarming to see that many people come to support those two.  500 tickets were sold, and needless to say the place was packed, as you can see in this photo.

Samuel Johnson said, “There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.”  In most cases I believe this to be true.  There are so many people who could care less about what the implications of their actions on those around them.  Case in point the totally selfish action of the gang member who put four families out their homes to settle some misguided sense of justice.  However, last night’s outpouring of support for two members of the community to help them rebuild their lives goes against those words.  We all have it in us to join together and give a leg-up to another.  I just wish more people would rally around and do what is right for a change.

Let's Make Learning Fun

I read an article about an independent project that was put on Facebook by a friend of mine. A school in Massachusetts allowed some high school kids to create their own curriculum for a year and it changed the life of many of them.


Reading about these kids moved me to tears because I think about the failure of so many young folk in my community who don’t complete their education. They probably get lost along the way and fail to catch up and end up dropping out. To them education is not important and they fail to see the reason why a high school diploma at least will give them a leg up in the ladder of life. Life on the streets gives more relevance to where they are right now. The boring study of algebra has no significance to what’s important in their lives. When I hear of schools like the one in the article, I know that some place, somewhere, there are people who care.

If school were an interesting place, a place that gives the students the desire to learn and explore the world things could be different. But teachers are put in a situation where they want to teach these young minds, but they are caught between the desire to make a difference in a young person’s life and making sure they perform all the tasks they have to in order to meet the school’s expectations. I spoke to a teacher a few months back who was so frustrated with the paperwork she had to fill out with the No Child Left Behind policy, so could hardly do her teaching. I could see how utterly hopeless she felt and imagined that her original desire to become an educator fell by the wayside. So we’ve ended up with schools pushing kids through like a factory making parts for widgets.

My son recently finished school. It was the most boring thing for him to do. He was not challenged with interesting discussion and fascinating problems to solve. He was not allowed to think creatively about how to solve a dilemma. He was given standardized tests and rote memorization and the last year was a struggle. I know a lot rests on his shoulders, but maybe if the high school where he went had more to offer it would not have been so difficult. His teachers wanted him to succeed and we had many discussions about how it could be better, but I think they could only work with what they were given in terms of the curriculum.

We need to engage kids again. We need to allow them to explore their environment and tell us what’s important to them. We need to create more a partnership in learning. These kids are our future and draining them of all creativity and a zest for life doesn’t bode well for us in our golden years.

Pills

I hate being on pills. There used to be a time when I didn’t mind it, but now I associate medication with old age and it saddens me and makes me feel like a failure. About three weeks ago I had a medical situation and my doctor sent me for blood work and some other stuff. It came back with my cholesterol levels as being too high and my blood pressure was through the roof. So now I am on blood pressure medication and a statin. The blood pressure medication makes me tired and when I went back for a check up after taking the pills, she did see an improvement so she said I could take half a tablet for the blood pressure. I am still on the hook for the statin until I have more blood work in three months and lose the weight. Truthfully I haven’t been doing much to lose the weight. Bicycling season is coming up so I figure I can eat the same things and bicycle and should be fine. It happened last season I hope it will happen again. I don’t eat bad stuff, I just eat too much of it, and the regular exercise was enough to drop the weight so I am counting on that again.


I just turned 57. I don’t’ look 57 and I am sure I don’t act 57 and further more I don’t feel 57. My concept of 57 is really based on my mother at that age and the celebrities I grew up watching in movies and on TV. Like Cher and Goldie Hawn, and Sophia Loren. They don’t look their age but it’s because of plastic surgery and makeup and air brushing. I know I won’t be able to maintain my youthful appearance forever and I am noticing fine lines where I haven’t seen them before. My skin has that old lady appearance that I see on my mother and that saddens me more than anything. There have been changes that I don’t like having to wear my reading glasses more and more. Sure I really don’t mind the absence of menses, but I hate the hot flashes. So there are tradeoffs.

Yesterday I went to an event celebrating Women’s History. The woman leading the event was a friend of mine and when I walked in she was singing along with a song about hot flashes. We all laugh about them but they are not comfortable; not comfortable at all. But it is one of those things that we all have to go through, I suppose. That is if you want to take pills for it. More pills. We have become a nation of pill takers and the older I get the more annoyed by that I become. I don’t want to be fixed by a pill; I just want to be fixed. So I will continue to take my pills like a good girl, and continue to eat right and exercise and hopefully soon I will be able to get off this medication and strive for living life naturally again.

Freedom of Speech

Do we have freedom of speech? Our constitution guarantees us freedom of speech with the first amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression, which was ratified 12/15/1791. It states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Our founding fathers realized that the one thing that our new country could provide was to give people the ability to live their lives in a manner that was free from persecution for their beliefs. For example the early members of the Religious Society of Friends, were tortured and harassed for believing and practicing their religious beliefs in their homeland of England.

However, I sometimes believe we take this right a little too far. The most recent situation of the teacher in Bucks County caught blogging about her students is case in point. Did she really have the right to say all those things under this amendment? Or are we harnessed by our employers to watch our words carefully for fear of retaliation and expulsion from our places of employment. My personal belief is that we are somewhat restricted based on the potential ramifications our words can realize. Even though she has the right to say what she wants she represents her school – her place of employment – and as such should have been mindful of how others might think of the school. If she had blogged in such a way to be totally anonymous, then maybe she could have vented all she wanted and not caused such a fury.

This incident reminds me of a story I just finished reading; The Help by Kathryn Stockett (a great book IMHO). Back in Mississippi during the 1960s a black person could be beaten to death for interacting with a white person. The maids in this story were given the opportunity to possibly turn these unspoken rules around if they would only speak up and tell stories about their experiences in a book. At first they were reluctant to do so for fear they would be fired, or worse, beaten for the stories. But after a while, they began to come forward one after another to allow the person compiling the stories to submit the manuscript. However the author, a white woman, did not put her name to the title because she too was fearful of retribution due to her involvement with the maids. They had the right but there were potential consequences if they exercised that right to its fullest.

So the question remains. Do we have full freedom of speech? Freedom denotes the ability along with the absence of consequences. Until our society is willing to accept without agreement, I believe we don’t.

New Beginning

Last night one of my friends became a Councilperson in the town where I live.  There was a vacancy and she was appointed to complete the term.  I really wish her the best and know she will be a great asset to the board.  She is intelligent, has a real grasp on that the issues are in the town, and has proven that she is a person who can get things done. 

I was there, in her shoes a few years ago.  As a council member I represented a different portion of town, and the issues my constituents had are slightly different that the ones her district has.  But we are all living in the same town and there are certain issues that are universal. 

Not that I can see this ever happening to my friend, but it got me thinking about why a person would go into public service.  I wouldn’t exactly say that being a council member was fun, and there was certainly no money in it.  But it was very rewarding.  There were times when I was totally insane with things to do, but most of the time I enjoyed doing the job. 

The really fun part of it was the notoriety that came from being a public servant in a small town.  I can see that for some people, being famous even in a small town can really go to their head.  I know firsthand that sometimes you get a feeling that there is nothing that you can’t do, whether it’s right or wrong. 

Take for example a councilmember who served with me who ended up being arrested for insurance fraud and tax evasion.  I mean being a council member is not like being the president, but this person felt he was so above the law because of his position that he wouldn’t get caught.  He engaged in so many bad things and would vehemently deny all of it when confronted puffing up his chest as if to say, “I am a council person, how dare you accuse me of such actions!”

Corruption happens, and it happens so often that there are many websites that talk about the corrupt and dangerous political leaders.  One such site talks about the top 10 corrupt politicians in America.  On the site, they mention they could have done 100, but they picked just 10.  That’s saying something right there.  

That all being said, there are plenty of excellent public servants, on every level who are excellent at what they do and work very hard to improve their districts.  Just as easily as you can find websites devoted to spelling out all the bad things politicians do, there are a few that laud the great ones; Churchill, Sir Winston, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Kennedy, John F. JFK just to name a few.  Those are the ones we hear about often.  It behooves us to study them and identify the attitudes, behaviors, careers, decisions, and effect of leaders who have changed the world.  These are the kinds of public servants who haven’t let the notoriety go to their head. I know my friend will be one of those excellent public servants.

Fear

The shooting in Arizona has left me sad and frustrated. I have been grapping over the issues of gun rights for a long time. I have generally been on the side of sensible gun rights feeling that since the situation is out of hand in most cases, gun owners have to take sacrifices. The rest of us do. For example, just because I feel like, and am capable of, driving my car at excessive speeds, I have to give up that desire to save lives of those around me. Gun owners should expect no less.


Today I had a conversation with a friend of mine who is a gun owner and very adamant that people should be able to defend themselves in whatever manner they feel. It is one of the few things we disagree on. However he and my son for that matter believe that if everyone was armed, the violence would be less. I don’t agree basically because the American culture is by and large based on fear and that is why we have such diverse discussions about gun control.

Michael Moore pointed it out very well in his movie “Bowling for Columbine”. He took the position that Canada has more guns per person than we do, yet has less violence and people feel less of a need to defend themselves and their possessions. This is primarily because of our culture and wonderfully discussed in the book The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things [Paperback] by Barry Glassner. I strongly recommend this book as the author contends that out worries about all manner of things are totally blown out of proportion by a mass media. We are a nation of fear-mongers.

Dreaded Winter Colds

Wow, it’s been several months since I posted last.  I have been very busy over the summer, and I know it’s not any excuse, but I apologize.

Before Christmas I got sick with a cold that was going around that has a very bad cough.  A coworker told me of a natural remedy to help your body fight the virus.  It is called Oil of Oregano and it works very well.  I was able to get over the cold relatively quickly, except I had a nagging cough that has lasted for several weeks.

Today the cough got worse and the first thing I went to was the oil.  I must warn you that this stuff, which you take three drops twice a day and it tastes HORRIBLE.  I added Slippery Elm oil as well as doing Echinacea and Golden Seal tea several times a day, and using Zicam tablets every four hours.  The treatment I devised for myself worked very well, so starting today I started the regime to nip this think in the bud. 

Give it a try the next time you feel yourself coming down with a cold.