Gathering Up The Pebbles

Horse Riding Lessons

2010-01-18T09:21:00.008-05:00

As I mentioned before, L. took horse riding lessons through all of the summer and into the fall. We weren't able to get too many pictures as we didn't want to startle the horses in the barn with the flash going off. L. took the lessons at Shadarobah horse rescue and some of the horses are timid around humans and not very trusting due to the situations they were rescued from. One of the best things about the lessons is that L. was able to share them with her cousin E. After being apart for almost a year, it was great that the two girls got to do this together.

Phtt. Phtt. Phtt. Time to Blow the Dust Off!

2010-01-13T09:43:00.004-05:00

Shhhh! What's that? Shhh!!! No, that! Did you hear that? It can't be can it? I believe it is the sound of Angie punching away in her sophomoric style on the keyboard while signed into her long long, I mean LONGGGG neglected blog.

Seems to be that time... Time to blow the dust off the 'ol blogger account and get back to the business of sharing, because I am after all, as we say around here, a sharer.

I guess this would be the proper time in my post to apologize, to beg and plead for forgiveness from the four people who once upon a time checked my blog regularly, so here goes. If you're still out there...

Good! Thanks! I appreciate your understanding and your forgiveness. Time to move on with the show...

So, what you may ask, have we all been doing around here that I have been neglecting to share?

Let's start with me, not because the world revolves around me, but because I rarely in my life go first. I have been working, spending time with my family, trying to give our children a noteworthy educational experience and doing volunteer political work. What? Oh, I see. You thought I was off doing something glamorous like working for Habitat for Humanity or managing a philanthropic foundation. Nope. That's for the next decade. Until 2021, I am dedicated to the life of mom, homeschooler, business owner and political activist. If that's not glamorous, I don't know what is. I also have finally quite smoking! I've made it past four months and there is absolutely no going back this time. How did I do it? I got really angry at big tobacco and decided I was never giving them another cent of my money. I personally think it's healthy kind of anger...

Scott took last summer off from taking classes which means he is taking his very LAST class this semester. Taking the summer off was totally worth it as he was able to go with us to every one of C.'s t-ball practices and L.'s horseback riding lessons. We also went camping and spent lots of time outdoors. It was a wonderful summer! It was a tough fall though. It's always tough when you are ALMOST done and so looking forward to being done, but just have a few things to finish up. So we are very very excited for the spring when Scott will finish his last class. Scott has also continued to build his freelance graphic design business in the last year. Together, we got some major projects done around the house, repairing, painting and redecorating our stairwell, upstairs hallway, the bathroom and C.'s bedroom. Finally, Scott had to put up with me quitting smoking, which I can tell you was not pretty, but he was awesome and supportive without ticking me off - a talent not many have mastered. ;)

As always, L. and C. have been quite busy. L. began horseback riding lessons last spring at Shadarobah Horse Rescue. She took lessons throughout the summer and into the fall. She got to know dozens of horses who had been rescued from a variety of sad situations, she learned so much and working with the horses helped her focus on her immediate tasks. Since October, L. has been taking gymnastics classes. She is enjoying it immensely. Thank goodness she does not have the timid heart and self-consciousness that always plagued her mother. In the last six months, our little reluctant reader has blossomed into an avid reader. Much like her mother, she does not want to put a book down once she has started it.

C. gained a bunch of confidence this year with the help of his T-ball practices and some very nice coaches who were patient and allowed his parents on the field during the first few practices until C. got comfortable. C. also discovered the joy of bowling. Last summer we went to a birthday party at a local church that has a bowling alley in the basement of one of its buildings and C. played his heart out. In the fall we signed him up for bowling classes. He's now got more strikes and spares under his belt as a 6 year old than I do as an adult. He has expressed an interest in golf too and I have to just chuckle to myself. When he was a baby I used to talk to him all the time when I was holding him and one of the many things I used to "suggest" was that he would much rather bowl, golf or play baseball than play football. C. has also become an avid reader and yesterday when I served lunch, he was in the middle of a book. He asked me if he could please read while he ate. Man, I would've loved to have grown up in a bookstore!

Most recent picture of our two beauties.

Best T-Ball Player in the World!

2009-08-19T22:38:00.011-05:00

Our little boy took T-Ball classes this summer!

Weeks and weeks of fun!

He needed a little convincing when the whole thing started...

But by the third practice, he looked forward to it immensely!

Here he is with his buddy from the neighborhood.
They were part of a great team!

Scott decided to drop his summer class so we both got to go to every practice!
Good choice honey!

I think the Reds might want to look into this kid!

His skills are pretty amazing!

What? Wildcat next summer? We'll have to see...
I think we'll need to talk him into that too.

Decades Apart

2009-06-25T23:57:00.006-05:00

How do you grieve? I grieve alone. Well, almost. The whiskey manhattans have been served... a promise made IS a promise kept, my dear beautiful sweet friend. And now you're gone... Some roads lead us to places we never expected. It's wonderful when those places are good. My friend Jan was good and I miss her.

At the peak of our friendship, Jan was in her mid to late sixties and I was in my mid to late twenties, but Jan was a fireball of experience, fun, wisdom and opinion. I loved her opinions! We didn't always agree and sometimes I think I left her truly mystified but the banter was always friendly. We were four decades apart and yet, some of my best times were hanging out with Jan... talking, laughing, dining, drinking, going to shows and parties and trying to understand why the world wasn't the way we wished or thought it should be... Sometimes, I think Jan was living her sixties years as she had wanted to live her earlier years. I was honored to be one of the people she liked "living" her life with.

One of the best things about my friendship with Jan was that she accepted me truly for me. She never asked or expected me to change a thing. I made mistakes in those years we hung out. Some of them ridiculous and some of them seemingly monumental at the time. We'd laugh and then she'd tell me about some mistake she'd made in life and we'd laugh, because what did it really matter when you were sitting with a good friend enjoying the moment?

I grew up a lot in those years. Jan was a witness to my stories as I muddled through boyfriends that didn't make sense, got my first teaching job, married my best friend, tried to figure out why some of my friends were making some of the choices they were making, rejoiced in the success of the people I love, became a mother for the first time, watched my own mother die and slip from my life, gave birth to my second child, quit my career and followed an entirely new professional path by the seat of my pants. In all of this Jan never flinched. She watched. She listened. She talked. I listened. I talked.

The second best thing about our friendship is that I accepted Jan for who she truly was. When I first met Jan, I was introduced to her by her given name, but I soon discovered Jan in the shadows living a life expected of her by society, family and work. Who doesn't do this in their own way? When Jan retired, she said hell with it all and lived her life for the first time as she had always wanted. I loved her for this. I loved being with her and knowing that I was a part of her life and her happiness. Jan was my mentor, my sometimes parent, but most all she was my friend.

Life is complicated and riddled with the emotions and expectations of people who sometimes don't see things the way you want them to. Sometimes family comes first and Jan and I made a choice about two years ago. We stopped calling each other and going out. This is another story entirely and the choice we made probably should have happened years before it did for everyone else's sake but ours.

Jan is gone now and I miss her, but I have been missing her for awhile now. We used to joke that if reincarnation were real, we would be born twin sisters that looked like Julia Roberts in our next life so we could grow up together and cause all kinds of trouble... I miss Jan and I hope she waits for me...

Finally, I am tired of grieving alone, so let it be not alone this time.

For you my friend... The best part of being a woman is the prerogative to have a a little fun...
We had a lot fun didn't we? I love you Jan.

Man! I Feel Like a Woman - Shania Twain

2009-06-03T00:15:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I posted. Oh well. Thought I'd share these. I just finished reading an article about laughter being good medicine and then found the Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse of the Heart (Literal Video Version) linked on one of my FaceBook friend's pages. Funny stuff!

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (literal video version)

Billy Idol - White Wedding (literal video version)

My "New" Relationship With My Computer

2009-04-09T10:49:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. I haven't even been reading any blogs and I apologize. I miss reading all your blogs, but I've really been spending very little time on the computer unless it's work related. Ever since we moved the store last September, I've been so focused on getting the store in shape and expanding the business that most other things have taken a backseat; i.e. my social time on the computer, my social life period. The extent of my social life at this point revolves around FaceBook (it's quick and easy like frozen fish sticks for dinner) and seeing our friends when they come in the store for the children's activities and classes we hold. So my social life resembles a big black hole, but that's okay because the business so far is somehow making it through the economic downturn. I can't tell you how many businesses have shut down around here in the last six months. Hopefully, we can continue to hang on until things start to improve again.

When I'm at home, I try to steer clear of the computer because I just end up doing work related stuff. And I've been trying to be at home when I'm at home. It's hard to leave the store at the store and I don't always do a bang up job of it, just ask Scott how many times he's tripped over the boxes of books I bring home to list in my inventory, but I decided over the winter that I really must try harder so that I can focus on our family, our schooling, our new puppy, our cats (although they're really not crying for attention) and our house.

Recently Scott and I got new cell phones and I seriously considered getting one with internet capability for the business and then, I thought better of it. I really love my computer and I couldn't run my business without, but I must draw the line somewhere.

Just For Fun!

2009-03-09T11:22:00.002-05:00

SNL-The Rock Obama
I've had this same dream recently myself. Weird!

I'm Baaaack....

2009-03-07T23:27:00.003-05:00

Oh, don't fret. I haven't really been gone... I've just been hibernating and working my tail off at the same time. Considering that, my life is certainly a mystery isn't it? I always struggle through winter. ALWAYS! But this year has been exceptionally hard. This winter has brought a great deal of destruction and death around. I won't go into detail, but it's been hard. I am most thankful for my family who keep me sane on a regular basis and put up with my "idiosyncrasies". I am also extremely grateful for my friends who never gape at me when strange words flee from my mouth or I'm in a "mood" which has been for most of the last four months. I am urging spring on from the depths of my being and cannot wait for the daffodils to emerge. We always have a ton in our yard so hopefully our new puppy won't be able to devour ALL of them.

For now, Janis and I are going to wait for warmer days. See you at a blog near you soon.

Now That I'm Getting On In Years

2009-02-24T12:06:00.005-05:00

I'm officially turning 38 today. All month I've been in this funky moody that can only be described as being caught somewhere between the mashed potatoes and the peas in a traditionally prepared shepherd's pie. I feel too old to be young and too young to be old. I think that's how the saying goes anyway. Not too old to be off to a drag show with my friends in a couple days though! I certainly hope the Cher and Bowie impersonators are there! Maybe they'll sing I Got You Babe for me! I'm definitely doing up my 'do like Cher's in the second video below for my night out. Who's old? Not me! ;)

Finally!

2009-02-17T12:24:00.004-05:00

Well, I FINALLY feel like a human being again! That was one of the longest colds I ever remember having. I'm feeling better just in time for the homeschool science fair the kids are participating in this Saturday.

The kids are working on their projects and are super excited about them. L. has made an invention. It is an Automatic Cat Feeder made from all recycled materials. It's pretty cool. I'll have to post pictures of it in the future. We've also been reading about inventors and inventions. Between the toy store she runs inside our bookstore and her inventions, she's becoming quite the little entrepreneur.

C. (with a little help from daddy) is making a model of a volcano that actually "erupts". Daddy built the frame and then last night we all had fun coating the frame with plaster cloth. The mountain shaped object has been drying over night and tonight C. will start painting it. About a week ago or so I read the size limitations for the science projects to the kids and totally bummed my son out! As soon as I finished reading, he exclaimed, "Oh man! I wanted to build a life-size volcano!" This sent Scott and I into spasms of laughter (because we think our little boy is so darn cute). My spasm ended in a coughing fit as I was still fairly sick at the time. No one can say, our kids are not ambitious!

The last thing I'll babble on about today (can you tell I'm feeling better?) is our first puppy play date. Saturday evening we were invited over to our old friends' for dinner and so the dogs could play. JR and Heather have a well-trained and well-behaved Siberian Husky that is 1 1/2 named Koki. We have an 8 month Basset named Sissy who has now completed her second dog training class. We've seen progress, but we still have a long way to go to reach Koki's standards. :)
Heather made a delicious meal for our family and the dogs had a blast! Sissy played so hard she wore herself out and our usual energetic puppy was pretty docile on Sunday. Heather took some pictures while we were at their house. These are two of my favorites.

2009-02-05T03:47:00.002-05:00

Angie says... I've been feeling a bit peaked lately and haven't visited the blogosphere much. I'll be making rounds again as soon as I kick this cold or flu or whatever it is I'm experiencing. I've had three people ask me if I've eaten peanut butter this week. No, I haven't been eating peanut butter and I know I'm supposed to look peaked, but no one says that to me anymore, so I'm saying that's how I feel. This whole thing is making me a bit of grump too. That and the economic travesty we've all been side-swiped with. How long can I keep ignoring it? About as long as I could ignore this dang peakedness.

SLACKER!

2009-01-24T11:47:00.006-05:00

So Randal tagged me just recently to write six random things about myself. Okay, okay, it was really 8 days ago and I'm a big slacker. If it makes you feel better, we'll just change my name to Angie Slacker and move on.

Okay then I've added a little twist to my random things. I've created a music theme here. After this, I have to post 25 random things about myself on FaceBook. I really should get some work done. Plus, 25 things? I'm going to have to make some things up for sure!

1. I love disco. Please don't hate me because I'm glittery. And if you think that little guarded secret didn't almost get me kicked out of the punk rock scene once or twice, think again. I especially love going to a good drag show to see the Queens in town light up the floor.

I Love the Nightlife - Alicia Bridges (Alicia gets a good snarl on in this one!)

2. I've never been able to understand why the band members coming out of the grunge scene had to wear white leather high tops. It just ruined the whole outfit! You're musicians for Pete's sake NOT athletes and what's wrong with a nice pair of kickin' boots?

Now that's the ticket! Everyone needs a good pair of pirate boots, even if your name isn't Orlando or Johnny.

3. John Taylor is, was and always will be my favorite member of Duran Duran.

See, we even agree on issues...

4. I know all the lyrics to every song on the Grease soundtrack and all the dance moves.

Summer Nights

5. I used to play saxophone and sometimes wish I still did, but my sax was ruined years ago from too much marching around on football fields in the rain. One of these days, I'd like to get it restored.

Boots Randolph - Yakety Sax

6. With my combined love of disco and new wave, I believe it only makes sense that I then moved on to Glam Rock. Those guys wear more glitter, heels and makeup than ANYONE!

Mike Monroe - She's No Angel

Woo! Hoo!

2009-01-20T16:01:00.003-05:00

Today and Tomorrow

2009-01-19T13:28:00.006-05:00

Every door I knocked on, every phone call I made, every time that I was received with kindness and even when I wasn't ~ The food I cooked and served to others, the lines I worked at Obama events, the tanks of gas I bought, everything I did to support President Obama's campaign was all worth it! To see our new president out in the community today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, our national day of service fills me again with the hope and optimism I felt working all those volunteer hours. Knowing that more people than ever on this national holiday all over the country are volunteering to help others is thrilling! Today is a great day and tomorrow will be even better! It's been almost a year since I earnestly started volunteering my time (and my family's) to the Obama campaign. 2008 was a year we won't ever forget and our optimism for the future is tremendous. I'm stopping to cherish the moment.

IT'S A NEW DAY! will.i.am.

Save the Caracal

2009-01-17T13:25:00.003-05:00

L. wanted to share with everyone (especially her cousin Eden), information on her newest favorite cat and her newest second favorite animal, the horse being her very favorite animal of course.

Caracal: Species Spolight - Big Cat TV

2009-01-16T12:45:00.006-05:00

Okay, first I must say. 4 days and counting...

Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks

Then, I must say. Bring on the CHANGE!

Hat tip: John at Left in Aboite
Solid As Barack - Ashford & Simpson

Blizzard Warning and Below Zero Temperatures!

2009-01-13T08:42:00.006-05:00

Well, here we go again. I think I need to move a bit further south. Snow, ice and temperatures hovering between 10 and 20 below zero (with the windchill) make me edgy and maybe even a bit crazy. I know, those of you that live in Chicago, Montana and other areas of the country that have received 300+ feet of snow already this winter are thinking "wimp" and I would have to reply with a feeble "yes". I am a wimp when it comes to winter weather. I hate driving in it most of all and I hate all the dreariness that settles in this time of year.

Now this is really more of what I had in mind when I woke up and heard blizzard warnings on the radio this morning. I've decided not to "misunderestimate" the blizzard warning so I'll be stopping by the grocery of my way home tonight for supplies.

Depsite the ICE!

2008-12-29T14:10:00.010-05:00

Despite the worst ice storm I can remember hitting this area of Indiana in my lifetime, we have been enjoying the winter and the holidays thus far! The above picture makes my heart... do something crazy. My little girl looks like a young lady in this picture and my little boy cannot really be 5 1/2 already! Oh my! By the way, L. isn't discriminatory about her holidays. She wears her holidays clothes all year along, especially her Halloween clothes. I think she is the only child who has three pair of candy corn decorated pants in her drawer.

Rosy nose and cheeks! It's been quite cold already this year!

Still afraid of Santa? No! ho! ho!

Our annual Santa on Train event! Who needs the mall! We get to see Santa and ride on a caboose all at the same time!

This year it was L.'s turn to top the tree with the star.

Oh lookey here! I got what I wanted for Christmas! We all did! Our new puppy Sissy is wonderful and easily became a new member of the family.

C. and Sissy became pals right away!

More pictures to come soon!

All I Want For Christmas...

2008-12-16T10:11:00.009-05:00

We've been thinking about getting a dog for quite some time now. After election season was over, I took a look around our house and decided if we were ever going to get a dog, we were going to have to make some changes.

First of all, my husband and I are "collectors" of stuff. I believe it is a genetic disorder and unfortunately our poor children have probably gotten a double dose of it... In the last year, I've begun looking at our "collections" in a whole new light. The thought most often creeping into my mind when taking a look around our home was, "My word! Get a hold of yourself. You don't need half this *&@%!" As a result, I have been going through our house room by room during the past six weeks and have gotten rid of so much stuff! It has felt liberating and for the first time in awhile there is actually room in our house for the people who live there and in my opinion, a new addition to our family...

Secondly, we were going to have to stop being such procrastinators about projects that need done around the house, from rooms that need repaired and/or painted to seasonal chores. I know what you're thinking, "Wow! Junk collectors and procrastinators! What could be worse?!" Well, we may be old, but not so set in our ways that we couldn't do something about changing them. So the house is getting cleaned out and some long neglected projects are sprouting wings. Gee, I've even started feeling like a responsible adult lately.

So me and my new found responsible self started looking online at some of the dogs available at the different shelters in our area. On Sunday, I found this handsome chap you see pictured above with the red scarf. My hubby refers to him as the Randy Travis of dogs and expected him to say, "Well, hi there little lady" when we went to meet him at the shelter yesterday. This sweetie pie is a Treeing Walker Coon Hound named Tank and my husband and I both really fell in love with his quiet gentleness right away, but the kids were not so enamored with him and Tank didn't seem too interested in them either. Tank is also a good size dog, really larger than we had been planning for, but man is he a sweetie... After much deliberation and visiting with Tank for awhile, we tore ourselves away and asked to see a couple other dogs we'd spied online.

The next dog was named Azrael and is a Beagle/Terrier mix. Holy cow! I've never seen anything so high strung in my life! This little dog was definitely not our type. We're a pretty mellow bunch and this dog had more energy than all four of us put together times ten! He frightened the beeswax out of C. because he was, I swear moving faster than the speed of light. So early into our visit at the shelter we had already struck out twice!

Next, we were shown the little Basset Hound you see pictured below named Sis. I am a HUGE fan of Basset Hounds, but was a little reluctant about Sis because we had seen online that Sis is only 8 months old. We had really planned to adopt an adult dog, but when Sis came into the room she stole my heart immediately and it was all I could do not to scoop her up and run out and load her up in our car! Scott and L. also fell in love with her. We were also impressed with how well she started listening to us right away! C. however was still freaked about by the brief "visit" with Azrael and began insisting that he no longer wanted a dog and just wanted to leave. Scott and I knew he was just freaked out and would get upset half way back to Fort Wayne about saying he didn't want a dog because he really did want a dog, so we asked the guy who was showing us the different dogs if we could just hang out for awhile so C. could calm down and give Sis a chance.
The guy said that would be no problem and finally after much encouragement, C. went over to the squeaky toys with me, picked one out and threw it across the room. Sis ran over, chopped down on the toy and came scrambling back over to C. while wagging her little tail and doing her best to be just as cute as possible. I swear Sis knew exactly what was going on and was doing her best to win us over. Well, her little "show" was successful and after a few more toys tossed about the room for Sis to fetch, C. was laughing and grinning and exclaiming how much he loves Sis and had changed his mind and really did want a dog! So that was that! I went to the front counter to fill out an application for adoption while Scott and the kids said temporary goodbyes to Sis. We now have to wait a few days for the phone call to find out if we're approved or not. Man, I hope so! I can't think why we wouldn't be.

And on the way home, C. told us all about how he and Sissy ( I believe Sis has a new name) is his best friend and he knows that when L. doesn't want to play with him, Sissy will. We were all pretty excited last night and still are today. It's going to be tough waiting all week, but is probably a good thing so we can go do some shopping for Sissy. You know, Sissy will be needing food and treats and bowls and a few toys, a leash and probably a crate. Whew! L. finally understood last night why we've been telling her these last few years that owning a dog is a big responsibility.

In order to be able to afford Sissy this year, Scott and I have agreed not to spend any money on each other for Christmas and the money we usually spend for a family gift or a little post Christmas weekend vacation will be used to adopt Sissy. Things are tighter this year than ever before and some may think we're crazy to take on the added expense of a dog, but now more than ever with these economically trying times for everyone, I assume the animal shelters will have more animals than normal. In fact, we were told that Sissy's owners turned her into the shelter because they are going through some tough times and don't have the time or the money right now to take care of Sissy. We can't wait to bring Sissy home! Our family will and Sissy will always have Tank to thank for bringing us together. I really really wish I could think of someone to adopt Tank. Like I said he's a big sweetie pie. I hope he finds a good home soon. If you know of anyone, please let me know. I hope we're able to bring Sissy home next week before Christmas! Besides a wonderful time spent with my family, she is all I really want for Christmas and since we got home last night guess what I've been humming?

You Mean I'm NOT 16?

2008-12-08T15:50:00.004-05:00

My friend Jim is home from Iraq!!!!!!! Jim is another old friend of mine. He and I met in trig class in high school. We had the worst teacher I think that ever taught. Mean, old and grumpy that guy was. That's okay. Jim and I sat in the back of the class passing notes and putting graffiti on whatever was within reach that could absorb ink.. desktops, chairs, notebooks, textbooks, skin and jeans with names of punk rock bands, song lyrics, skulls and other such punk rockedness. A couple years later Jim lived with my mom and I for awhile and so Jim was always very much like a brother to me.

Jim left for Iraq about a year ago. He was deployed shortly after his brother Josh had returned from his stint in Iraq. So in the last few years, Jim and Josh haven't seen each other much. Jim now lives in Bloomington and Josh lives in Ann Arbor. The brothers decided to meet back in the old hometown for a little family reunion last night and guess what? The two were generous enough to invite the rest of us along for the evening!

I can't tell you how good it was to see Jim and Josh! It was a long night full of crazy stories, laughter, bad jokes, hugs, pints and pints and pints of Guinness and of course, by the end of the evening loud punk rock music. We met about 5:30 on Sunday evening for dinner at Henry's and did I mention pints of Guinness? and I crawled into bed just before 6:00 am this morning! What the heck? I guess I forgot I'm not 16 anymore! It was a great evening though! I'm feeling all nostalgic and will be pulling out the old photo albums soon. Thanks Anne for this photo from last night!

Snow Early?

2008-12-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

This was the scene Sunday in our backyard. Our little snow bunnies were ready for it though! They played outside for awhile and then daddy called them in for hot cocoa. By afternoon it was wet out but most of the lovely snow was gone.

2008-12-02T09:29:00.006-05:00

The night before last our little boy looked at me and Scott and asked us, "What are the two best ways to melt cheese?" We said we weren't sure. He exclaimed, "Either throw it on the sun or put it on pizza!" and then ran around the living room laughing hysterically. This child has been making me laugh since he was a baby. I've never heard an infant with such a deep belly laugh. And now that he's older he's got such a quirky sense of humor, much like his daddy.

Plus, look at that hat! How could he go wrong when he loves wearing a cool hat like that?

Friends

2008-11-30T03:48:00.007-05:00

It has been such a long week... I have felt such sorrow for my friend Jessie who lost her father last weekend. The funeral was today and it pained me beyond what words can convey to see my dear sweet friend and her family in such pain. I've felt helpless and I've cried and cried most of the week. I know what it feels like to lose a parent. I've lost both of mine and even though it will happen and does, I wish all my wishes that the people I love wouldn't have to go through this kind of pain. I know I could never have gotten through my mom's death without my friends and especially my Jessie who was there for me in so many ways.

I've truly never seen anything like what I witnessed in the last two days. There were literally thousands of people in our city who gathered at the viewing yesterday and the funeral today. Our local news reported on Mr. Henry's life and the funeral today. My friend's father, Mr. Jerry Henry was revered by our community. He was a man of great conviction who was a tremendous husband, father and grandfather let alone a tireless activist and an absolute inspiration to others. I owe many of my convictions and my motivation to work upon these convictions to the Henry family as well as my own mother who taught me well and loved my friend Jessie and her family immensely.

In the Henry family I've always seen a reflection of what is good in the world and what makes us human in the best sense of the word... I thank them each for that...

I miss Jerry, Sr. this evening. I miss that he always called me Angie Fletters (close but not exactly my maiden name - I'm proud to have been Ms. Fletters to Jerry) which became a joke between he and Jessie and myself. My heart breaks for Jessie, one of my best friends and in the midst of my confusion and sorrow I wonder how to relieve my own sorrow so I can be of any use to my friend. I have a community of friends that knew Jerry and know my beloved Jessie who I can call in the middle of the frickin' night to say how much this day broke my heart... but it is still hard to get to sleep...

Jessie, I cannot say more at the moment... I know you'll see this (songs that make me think of you - some I've heard you sing) before you receive my letter and I love you without a doubt in the universe. Thank you for being my friend. Please know that I can think of nothing but you right now.

John Mellencamp - Ain't Even Done With The Night (Our Anthem My Dear - I think I've spent more all nighters with you than anyone else... as I am this evening...)

Simple Minds- Don't You Forget About Me

Try a Little Tenderness from Pretty in Pink (Gotta always love the Duck Man)

Don McLean - American Pie

OMD - If You Leave

Joe Cocker- With A Little Help From My Friends

A BIT OF A DISTRACTION

2008-11-26T12:47:00.006-05:00

It hasn't been the greatest week around these parts... The result being a knot the size of a golf ball directly below my cerebellum making it just short of a miracle that I'm able to type right now. So, when I stumbled upon this meme on Randal's blog and it engaged me in a humorous way, I decided what the heck, I need a distraction! At least until we start our Thanksgiving feast at noon tomorrow. I can tell the stress is weighing on my husband too. He's spent most of his sparse free time this week muttering, "turrrkey... mashed potatoessss... chicken and noooodles... suuugar cream piiiiie..."

Other Names Meme:
1. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s first or middle names): Elizabeth Chester. Sweet I think the Witness Protection Program might be placing me in England. Oh damn! I'm not suppose to tell am I?
2. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad): Hap Smoke (using their nicknames). I never drive five over the speed limit so my career won't last long anyway.
3. STAR WARS NAME: (the last 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name): Zaange. Damn! I so suck at pronunciation of unfamiliar words and names. I can't even refer to myself in space. Help!
4. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Turtle. This sounds more like some cocktail we'd make up at a party at 3:00 AM.
5. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you wish you lived): Renee Boston. I'm half way to stardom already!
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add “THE” to the beginning): The Black Jack Daniels. Not Heroic. Just Plain Pitiful.
7. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name): Anza. That's cool! I may have just discovered my pen name.
8. GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Moose Tracks Chocolate Chip. Okay that just sounds like a way better ice cream flavor. Not a gangsta name.
9. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pet’s name, one time street name location): Koko Washington, Bubblenose Washington, Sand Washington. You pick for me. I'm going to be busy packing so I can move to Taylor Street and be Koko Taylor!
10. PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on): Snowball Maplewood. That's just disturbing!

( I personally changed some of the descriptors to protect the innocent, namely me.)

I'm not tagging anyone. That's what I'm giving you all for Thanksgiving... But if you're in need of a little light mental distraction, please have at it!

In Memoriam

2008-11-24T11:24:00.004-05:00

One one my best friends for 21 years now is the youngest Henry child. Over the years I have been blessed and honored to know the Henry family. I have always greatly admired Jerry and Marge for their caring and compassionate ways, for their strong determination to do the right thing, for their humor, for their goodwill, for so many reasons. My heart goes out to the Henry family, especially my dear friend, Jessie and her wonderful mom, Marge. Jerry will be enormously missed by all those whose lives he touched.

Henry Family Patriarch, 82, Dies

Holly Abrams and BenjaminLanka
from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Jerome "Jerry" Henry Sr. was the father of 17 children, including Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. He suffered a stroke in May, after which his health slowly declined, family said.

Jerome Henry was likely best known for leading one of the largest Catholic families in the city that not only included the mayor but also local investor Jerry Henry Jr., local businessman Matthew Henry and Tony Henry, who owns the Deer Park Lodge.

But his loved ones, and those he touched throughout his life, will also remember him as someone who cared about the members of his community.

"He was an advocate for social change," said his son, Jerry Henry Jr. "He was a champion of the poor."

He leaves behind his wife of 59 years, Marganelle, and 16 of those children. Tim Henry, one of their sons, died in 1977. Henry also had 57 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.

The family was so large that it made news by having its own bowling league - not team.

Jerome Henry spent more than 20 years serving as director of the Catholic Social Services, starting in 1968. Stephen King, was a counselor who worked with Henry there for 12 years.

"He was just good at supporting people and finding and encouraging the best in us," King said. "He was a man of very deep faith. I'm missing not just a friend but a mentor."

His service there won him the Sagamore of the Wabash award from then Gov. Evan Bayh.

"He was probably the most genuine person anyone could ever meet," Mayor Henry said. "He was truly a public servant. He dedicated his life in the field of social work to be of service to his fellow man, and he lived by that."

In his later years he went on to serve as member of the for Fort Wayne Community Schools board for two terms and continued his involvement in local charities including the United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Fort Wayne.

"He cared an awful lot about the less fortunate in our community whether they were children or adults," said Steve Corona, vice president of the FWCS board. "He was a social worker really in many different ways."

He also described Henry as a man who valued his family.

"He was just a very, very caring person," Corona said.

Growing up, the Henry children didn't have many material things, Jerry Henry Jr. said. But they all received a greater gift - seeing a father love his wife.

"My dad did that every day of their married life," he said. "My dad was very, very proud of his family."

Jerome Henry was especially elated when his son became mayor.

"He was so proud when Tom got elected," Jerry Henry Jr. said.

A lifelong Democrat, Henry ran for office several times himself, although he never won a partisan seat. His children also served as members of the Wayne Township board. Even though the Henry family is linked to Fort Wayne, they didn't always reside here.

A 1944 graduate of Central Catholic High, Henry spent two years serving in the Navy during World War II. After that he moved the family to Indianapolis and went on to earn his master's degree in social work from Indiana University. During that time the current mayor was born.

Employment took the family to Jackson, Mich., for three years, where three more children were born, including the first set of twins, and then to Ann Arbor. He later took a job at the then Fort Wayne State School, and the family lived on the school's farm, next to where Canterbury Green apartments now stand.

An outspoken advocate for social care, Henry served as superintendent of the Indiana State Reformatory in Pendleton for two years, from 1966 to 1968, and pushed for sentencing programs to reward non-violent offenders who exhibited good behavior.

"No one will ever fill his shoes," Tom Henry said. "He was such an addition to our community. He will be missed."

Arrangements are being handled by D.O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes.

Upon his retirement, he told The Journal Gazette, "I tried to make a difference. I've helped a lot of professionals get started. I've had a beautiful family and a beautiful wife. I've had a great life."

Courage Campaign

2008-11-21T09:33:00.004-05:00

Courage Campaign is the online organizing hub for progressive Californians. One of their current projects is working to repeal Prop 8.

From Courage Campaign's blog:

Repeal Prop 8: 275,547 strong and counting...

By Lucas O'Connor, Courage Campaign - Nov 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm PST

Also listed in: Courage Campaign Staff

An army for equality is forming. It's happening because ordinary people are standing up to fight for the most fundamental premise of this country: that all people are equal. That everyone is entitled to their beliefs, but nobody can be forced to share those beliefs. That as Quakers say in their traditional welcome:

We will not defer to thee in opinion or ask thee to defer to us. What thou thinketh ye shall say, if ye wish, without giving offense. What we think, we also say, believing that truth hath many aspects, and that love is large enough to encompass them all.

That love is large enough to encompass them all.

More than 275,000 people have signed the Courage Campaign pledge to repeal Proposition 8. A group larger than Buffalo or St. Paul. This past weekend, pure grassroots energy and organizing generated 100,000 people in all 50 states and 8 countries standing up for equality; coming together and pledging their commitment to the notion that love is large enough to encompass all aspects of truth.

Please sign the pledge to repeal Proposition 8! Thanks!

Grammar Controversy

2008-11-20T09:09:00.005-05:00

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy by Andy Borowitz

Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

What Do I Do Now?

2008-11-08T10:20:00.009-05:00

What do you do after you put so much of your heart and soul, time and energy for so long into reaching a goal once the goal has been achieved?

1. You rest a lot which is exactly what I've been doing. I've become friends with my pillow again.

2. You reflect on the journey. Since Tuesday, I've been filing through the memories of my journey during the campaign, my friends who worked by my side, the wonderful people I've met and the places I've been during the campaign. I'm still finding it quite hard to put my experience and my emotions into words. But I will...

3. You try to wean yourself off the news. What I can't seem to give up? Jon Stewart and the Daily Show, The Colbert Report and The Rachael Maddow Show. Oh well, at least they make me laugh.

4. You get back to work for goodness sake! Now, I have been working all this time, but the thing I haven't done during the last month is organize my new store since the big move. The places the public sees are all fine and dandy, but my behind the scenes work area needs some immediate attention for sure. For instance I have not been able to locate my stapler since the move and who the heck knows where my log in info and passwords for some of my distributors are... in that little green book... wherever that is.

5. You clean your house. Ugh! Let's not talk about that yet! I've got all winter to get things back in shape no?

6. You go on a date with your husband. Scott and I haven't seen each other much this fall. Me - with the store, Allen County 4 Obama meetings, knocking on doors, making phone calls and Scott - working, doing all his freelance stuff, classes that have kept him away from home two nights a week and projects for those classes that have kept him busy the other nights. It definitely needs to be date night soon!

7. You try to reassemble the shattered pieces of your social life. I realized yesterday how little I've been able to connect with most of my friends in many months. Please forgive me. But we have a new president. One that I think most of you are pretty happy with.

8. You don't rest for too long. You decide what to do next. You pledge to keep those you just put in office (or didn't as everyone I voted for on a state and local level did not win, except for school board). In my case, I'm posting my senators and congress persons "contact info" close to my phone. I just know they're looking forward to hearing from me.

I'm also planning on putting some time and energy into our local Human Rights Campaign. I met the woman who runs the local group during the Obama campaign. Love her! Plus, the one thing that got me down this week was the outcome of Prop 8 out in California. So sign me up! I'm ready to help out locally and nationally. Here's what you can do.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered Baby!!!!!

2008-11-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

YES WE DID!!!!!!!!!

GOTV!

2008-11-03T03:58:00.002-05:00

I've lost track of the number of doors I've knocked on this weekend... It's been a long hard invigorating campaign, but I can't believe anyone is really sure of the outcome in just less than 48 hours. (And because of that, I find it personally hard to sleep at this point).

Our own children have been a part of this long journey for '08 - through the primaries and the general election. We have wanted them to experience the process and details so that they may one day become voters who seek out the truth of the issues facing our great nation during their times to vote... to one day vote their minds and their hearts.

We have tried to not "villianize" the candidates we don't support and to also instill the importance of voting to what is most important to them. As our children are young, they currently support the same candidates that their mommy and daddy do (ask any parent who doesn't experience this), but as I've said we have done our utmost to respect other candidates in all the races and have done our best to explain the different offices and our reasons for supporting one candidate over another.

For my husband and I, this election is more important than any we have participated in, in our voting life... For our children. Please vote on Tuesday! It is of the greatest importance that all our voices be heard.

The Wassup Guys

2008-10-27T07:49:00.003-05:00

I found these videos over at John Good's Left in Aboite this morning. Thanks John! I had totally forgotten about this ad. Do you remember it?

8 Years Later - (Warning: Alice, DO NOT drink coffee while watching this one;)

Campaigning in Indiana - Amazing!

2008-10-24T10:35:00.006-05:00

I grew up in a household where politics was something I was definitely aware of. My dad was a union steward for the UAW at International Harvester in Fort Wayne and my mom was always a supporter of the democratic party. I remember asking my mom during the 1984 presidential campaign why candidates never came to Fort Wayne, why we never saw any of the commercials, why we never got a fliers in the mail, why nobody had yard signs, nothing, zilch, nada? After my mom's explanation I was indignant as phrases like "in the bag" and "need to focus on other states" swirled in my brain. Thus was born my dissatisfaction with the electoral college.

I am now 37 years old, I have a cynical attitude of the electoral college and for the first time in my lifetime a democratic candidate has put Indiana "in play". It's been an amazing several months between the primaries for the dems and now the general election. Since April I have seen Barack Obama twice and was able to shake his hand. I saw Michelle Obama and the Obama girls last May right before the primary and just last week I got to see Michelle Obama again which was an exciting experience! This was Mrs. Obama's third trip to Fort Wayne.

Tomorrow, the republicans are focusing a bit on the Fort Wayne area themselves. Governor Sarah Palin will be in Fort Wayne and though I'm personally not her biggest fan, I do welcome her and I'm excited for all my republican friends who will have the opportunity to see Mrs. Palin speak.

It's great to have Indiana "in play". Now if we could just do something about the electoral college perhaps even more of the people in the country would feel a part of the election.

Glam Baby Glam

2008-10-15T14:57:00.004-05:00

Woke up today in a pleasant mood after chatting half the night away last night with Laddie, one of my oldest and dearest friends. Have I ever mentioned we're old roomies from back in the day and belong to the same glam rock support groups (all of them)? Love you Laddie and these are for you!

Hanoi Rocks - Back to Mystery City (Live '85)

Remember when we saw Hanoi in '85? Yea, me neither, but most of our early years lean to the fictional side of things so why not include this in our autobiographies?

New York Dolls - Personality Crisis

Oh great! Whenever I listen to this song it gets stuck in my head for days. Our anthem Laddie?

Faster Pussycat - You're So Vain

Man some glam rockers do not age well. I know you hear what I'm screaming. Perhaps, Faster Pussycat should have looked into other careers after they peaked with this video.

Johnny Thunders - Pirate Love

Argh! Matey!

Lords of the New Church - Method to Our Madness

Need I say more? Except why didn't we host our own video music show? We would've been so good at it... Hugs and swacks Laddie! See you soon!

The Moment...

2008-10-13T12:09:00.006-05:00

I watched the footage of that one town hall meeting last week. You know, the one everyone is talking about... and I watched as Governor Palin stood before crowds whose members yelled out the most atrocious comments I can imagine. Were these campaign rallies or lynching mobs? The scenes made my stomach turn and twist, my heart ache and sent shivers down my spine.

In my life I have tried to be a part of relationships and groups that share my philosophy that we are all truly equal despite our differences. Meanwhile, I have sought to distance myself from people who emit hatred towards others, so I sometimes lose touch with the reality that this kind of ignorance and anger exist out there in the world. And whenever I am confronted with it, I'm no less appalled or shocked than I was the time before that or the time before that. I never become desensitized to the horror of it.

I've stood my ground and spoke up when I couldn't believe and couldn't stand what I was hearing. Whether it's been relatives or people I considered close friends, this kind of seething hatred toward people who are of a different skin color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, those with disabilities, etc. is intolerable in my book. It's where I draw the line. I can't stand this kind of ignorance and I can't stand the excuses people use for justifying this kind of hatred and ignorance. It's not an easy stance to make sometimes as I've hurt people I've cared about as well as myself, but it is necessary if I am to live with myself.

I've wondered since I witnessed John McCain take the microphone away from a supporter and defend Obama to the Town Hall crowd and was confronted with boos as he did so, what Senator McCain felt. Was he as horrified as I was? Did he see his Straight Talk Express crash and derail itself beyond repair?

The Moment

Monday 13 October 2008

by: John Cory, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Arizona Senator John McCain. (Photo: Gunby / AP)

Senator McCain. Was this the moment? The epiphany? The realization that stoking the flames of bigotry and fear had come home to roost?

As I watched your town hall gathering, I wondered what was going through your mind when you came face to face with the incendiary results of your campaign tactics. What did you see and feel when that elderly woman said Obama was an Arab? Or the man who said he feared an Obama presidency? And all the others?

I saw your face. I watched your body language as you took the microphone and quickly distanced yourself from that one.

At that moment, did you see your reflection in the mirror of her eyes? A reflection, not of a maverick, but a pariah? Did you see the decades of American scar tissue? Birmingham? Burning crosses? The noose? Did you see that awful year in American history when Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated, cut down in the prime of their dreams for a better America?

Did you hear the echo of Dr. King's words about being "judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character," and suddenly realize that it was not your opponent's character in question - but yours? Perhaps you heard the whisper of Langston Hughes when he asked, "What happens to a dream deferred ...? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?"

Did you suddenly smell the rot and fetid acrid aroma of fear and hate, the carcass of mendacious political tactics decaying at your feet? Or did you sniff the flop-sweat of your own campaign standing in a puddle of decimating poll numbers?

I watched your mouth dry up and wondered if you could taste the bitter words like "Arab," "terrorist," "treason," "kill him," - all served up on the plate of red meat politics by your campaign. Did it make you choke and want to spit out the rancid flavor of ignorance and violence? Or did you want to savor the success of the politics of personal destruction?

Did you feel the cold chill of defeat? Did your heart pound with the all-encompassing realization that you would never be president? Could you sense that the America you appeal to is stale and dying out and being replaced by the freshness of hope and tolerance and a rainbow of change?

No doubt, the media will genuflect before your image and be pushed by your campaign spinners to reanoint you as a maverick and honorable man in rising to the defense of your opponent. But your ads still sully the airwaves. Your surrogates still spew their venom. After all, this is just politics. People need to understand that. Nothing personal - it is just politics.

But here was this moment. And you know it, regardless of whether or not you were reading from cue cards or just looking down to avoid having to face the ugliness before you - you know.

And when the crowd booed as you struggled to use words about decency and honorable character to defuse the situation you created, you must have recalled the words from Proverbs, "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind ..."

This is not a moment for you to be proud of in this campaign. Garnering credit for coming to the defense of Senator Obama is like an arsonist claiming heroism for saving lives after having set fire to the building in the first place.

It does not matter how the media or your advisers and consultants spin this moment because it can only reflect badly on you. If it is tossed off as politics as usual, your campaign appears shallow and less interested in what's best for America than what is best for John McCain. If it is said that there is no room for this kind of rhetoric in a presidential campaign, then you look weak and unable to control your own staff that continue to push these messages. If it is about leadership and going against the flow, then we see that a McCain presidency will be divisive and reinforce the meme of "two Americas." We have already had eight years of a divided country from the man who ran as a "Uniter not a divider."

This was a defining moment.

And you, sir, lost.

A Day to Celebrate

2008-10-11T11:51:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a day my heart felt a little lighter and my smile broadened. Human rights and equal rights for all took another little step forward.

The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a state ban on same-sex marriage yesterday, ruling that it "discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation" in violation of the state constitution.

The 4 to 3 ruling made Connecticut the nation's third state to legalize gay marriage through the courts, joining Massachusetts and California.

Here's Some Good Reading

2008-10-11T11:36:00.003-05:00

You know you can't wait to sit down and read all 263 pages of Steven Branchflower's Report to the Alaskan Legislative Council. I'm probably the odd ball out here (nothing new), but I can't wait! No time today with work and then my first Hindu wedding ceremony to attend this evening, but I know what I'll be doing early Sunday morning. For a first hand report on The Release of the Branchflower Report head on over to The Mudflats.

Four Days in Denver - Behind the Scenes at the 2008 DNC

2008-10-10T13:30:00.002-05:00

I highly recommend!

25 days until the election! Please don't forget to vote!

The VP Debate

2008-10-03T12:43:00.002-05:00

For an accurate account of last night's vice presidential debate head on over to Randal's place, L'ennui melodieux. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll realize watching the debate would have been a lot more fun with a bottle of wine at your side. Gosh darnit Randal, you're the best. Wink

Cry Me a River

2008-10-01T08:28:00.005-05:00

Do you ever feel like you're being set up? By the powers that be in our nation? Yes! Almost every time I've turned around in the last eight years and here we go again! Since the UN visits and Katie Couric's interview, people are sniffling and saying how sorry they feel for Sarah Palin. I, yes even me, in a fit of unrest uttered the words softly the other night as I watched clips of the interview and then I said to myself, "Self, what the heck is wrong with you? This is another Karl Rovian Nightmare Before the Circus you're watching! This little pity party the press is throwing for Palin is on the surface embarrassing, but underneath repulsive and just a bit contrived don't you think!?" And guess what? Surprise! Surprise! I agreed with myself. By the time the debate rolls around Thursday night the expectations for Palin's performance will be set so unbelievably low that as my husband puts it, if she makes it through the debate and has breathed everyone will be so impressed with what a magnificent job she did. I think Mrs. Palin is putting on a wonderful act at the circus these last two weeks and the spectators are eating it up! I had to include this article from Salon.com by Rebecca Traister because it is right on the money!

The Sarah Palin pity party

Sept. 30, 2008 | Is this the week that Democrats and Republicans join hands -- to heap pity on poor Sarah Palin?

At the moment, all signs point to yes, as some strange bedfellows reveal that they have been feeling sorry for the vice-presidential candidate ever since she stopped speaking without the help of a teleprompter. Conservative women like Kathleen Parker and Kathryn Jean Lopez are shuddering with sympathy as they realize that the candidate who thrilled them, just weeks ago, is not in shape for the big game. They're not alone. The New Republic's Christopher Orr feels that Palin has been misused by the team that tapped her. In the New York Times, Judith Warner feels for Sarah, too! And over at the Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates empathizes with intelligence and nuance, making clear that he's not expressing pity. Salon's own Glenn Greenwald watched the Katie Couric interview and "actually felt sorry for Sarah Palin." Even Amy Poehler, impersonating Katie Couric on last week's "Saturday Night Live," makes the joke that Palin's cornered-animal ineptitude makes her "increasingly adorable."

I guess I'm one cold dame, because while Palin provokes many unpleasant emotions in me, I just can't seem to summon pity, affection or remorse.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just like all of the rest of you, part of the bipartisan jumble of viewers that keeps one hand poised above the mute button and the other over my eyes during Palin's disastrous interviews. Like everyone else, I can barely take the waves of embarrassment that come with watching someone do something so badly. Roseanne Barr singing the national anthem, Sofia Coppola acting in "The Godfather: Part III," Sarah Palin talking about Russia -- they all create the same level of eyeball-squinching discomfort.

But just because I'm human, just because I can feel, just because I did say this weekend that I "almost feel sorry for her" doesn't mean, when I consider the situation rationally, that I do. Yes, as a feminist, it sucks -- hard -- to watch a woman, no matter how much I hate her politics, unable to answer questions about her running mate during a television interview. And perhaps it's because this experience pains me so much that I feel not sympathy but biting anger. At her, at John McCain, at the misogynistic political mash that has been made of what was otherwise a groundbreaking year for women in presidential politics.

In her "Poor Sarah" column, Warner writes of the wave of "self-recognition and sympathy [that] washed over" her when she saw a photo of Palin talking to Henry Kissinger. Palin -- as "a woman fully aware that she was out of her league, scared out of her wits, hanging on for dear life" -- apparently reminded Warner of herself. Wow. Putting aside the massively depressing implication that Warner recognizes this attitude because she believes it to be somehow written into the female condition, let's consider that there are any number of women who could have been John McCain's running mate -- from Olympia Snowe to Christine Todd Whitman to Kay Bailey Hutchison to Elizabeth Dole to Condoleezza Rice -- who would not have provoked this reaction. Democrats might well have been repulsed and infuriated by these women's policy positions. But we would not have been sitting around worrying about how scared they looked.

In her piece, Warner diagnoses Palin with a case of "Impostor Syndrome," positing that admirers who watched her sitting across from world leaders at the U.N. last week were recognizing that "she can't possibly do it all -- the kids, the special-needs baby, the big job, the big conversations with foreign leaders. And neither could they." Seriously? Do we have to drag out a list of women who miraculously have found a way to manage to balance many of these factors -- Hillary Clinton? Nancy Pelosi? Michelle Bachelet? -- and could still explain the Bush Doctrine without breaking into hives? This is not breaking my heart. It is breaking my spirit.

The Atlantic's Coates takes a far smarter, but ultimately still too gentle, approach to Palin in his blog. He writes, compassionately, "There are a lot of us lefties who are guffawing right now and are happy to see Palin seemingly stumbling drunkenly from occasional interview to occasional interview." Coates asserts that McCain "[tossed] her to the wolves" and notes that while she surely had some agency in this whole mess, "where I am from the elders protect you, and pull you back when you've gone too far, when your head has gotten too big."

Where I come from, a woman -- and especially a woman governor with executive experience -- doesn't have to rely on any elder or any man to protect her and pull her ass out of the fire. She can make a decision all on her own. (Palin was more than happy to tell Charlie Gibson that she made her decision to join the McCain ticket without blinking.) I agree with Coates that the McCain camp was craven, sexist and disrespectful in its choice of Palin, but I don't agree that the Alaska governor was a passive victim of their Machiavellian plotting. A very successful woman, Palin has the wherewithal to move forward consciously. What she did was move forward thoughtlessly and overconfidently, without considering that her abilities or qualifications would ever be questioned.

Christopher Orr writes sympathetically about the scenario that Palin may have envisioned, in which she tours the country on the wave of adoration that buoyed her out of St. Paul and through a post-convention victory lap. In his mind, she might well have continued to give winning, grinning interviews, charming the pants off regular folks all across the country, if the accursed McCain campaign hadn't nervously locked her in a no-press-allowed tower. Orr compares Palin to a talented athlete who, as a result of being over-coached, doesn't soar to new physical heights but instead gets "broken down, [loses] confidence in his game, [becomes] tentative, second guessing himself even to the point of paralysis."

Surely if Palin's political muscles were as taut and supple as Orr suspects, the campaign would not have been so quick to put her on a special training regimen.

It was so predictable that we would get to a pity-poor-helpless-Sarah phase. The press was already warming up for it on the day McCain announced her as his running mate, when NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell speculated that McCain's choice was designed to declaw scrappy Joe Biden, whose aggressive style would come off as bullying next to the sweet hockey mom from Alaska. Now, of course, we know about the hockey moms and the pit bulls; the more-powerful-than-expected Palin juggernaut forestalled the pity/victim/mean boy/poor Sarah phase.

So here it is, finally. And as unpleasant as it may be to watch the humiliation of a woman who waltzed into a spotlight too strong to withstand, I flat out refuse to be manipulated into another stage of gendered regress -- back to the pre-Pelosi, pre-Hillary days when girls couldn't stand the heat and so were shooed back to the kitchen.

Sarah Palin is no wilting flower. She is a politician who took the national stage and sneered at the work of community activists. She boldly tries to pass off incuriosity and lassitude as regular-people qualities, thereby doing a disservice to all those Americans who also work two jobs and do not come from families that hand out passports and backpacking trips, yet still manage to pick up a paper and read about their government and seek out experience and knowledge.

When you stage a train wreck of this magnitude -- trying to pass one underqualified chick off as another highly qualified chick with the lame hope that no one will notice -- well, then, I don't feel bad for you.

When you treat women as your toys, as gullible and insensate pawns in your Big Fat Presidential Bid -- or in Palin's case, in your Big Fat Chance to Be the First Woman Vice President Thanks to All the Cracks Hillary Put in the Ceiling -- I don't feel bad for you.

When you don't take your own career and reputation seriously enough to pause before striding onto a national stage and lying about your record of opposing a Bridge to Nowhere or using your special-needs child to garner the support of Americans in need of healthcare reform you don't support, I don't feel bad for you.

When you don't have enough regard for your country or its politics to cram effectively for the test -- a test that helps determine whether or not you get to run that country and participate in its politics -- I don't feel bad for you.

When your project is reliant on gaining the support of women whose reproductive rights you would limit, whose access to birth control and sex education you would curtail, whose healthcare options you would decrease, whose civil liberties you would take away and whose children and husbands and brothers (and sisters and daughters and friends) you would send to war in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and wherever else you saw fit without actually understanding international relations, I don't feel bad for you.

I don't want to be played by the girl-strings anymore. Shaking our heads and wringing our hands in sympathy with Sarah Palin is a disservice to every woman who has ever been unfairly dismissed based on her gender, because this is an utterly fair dismissal, based on an utter lack of ability and readiness. It's a disservice to minority populations of every stripe whose place in the political spectrum has been unfairly spotlighted as mere tokenism; it is a disservice to women throughout this country who have gone from watching a woman who -- love her or hate her -- was able to show us what female leadership could look like to squirming in front of their televisions as they watch the woman sent to replace her struggle to string a complete sentence together.

In fact, the only people I feel sorry for are Americans who invested in a hopeful, progressive vision of female leadership, but who are now stuck watching, verbatim, a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

Palin is tough as nails. She will bite the head off a moose and move on. So, no, I don't feel sorry for her. I feel sorry for women who have to live with what she and her running mate have wrought.

By Rebecca Traister

We Survived the Move (Alternate Title: Too Many Books!)

2008-09-30T08:13:00.005-05:00

1321 East State was completely empty as of Saturday afternoon. It tugs a little on my heart strings to see "my" little building void of the bookstore. It looks just like it did three years ago after we gutted the building, painted everything and put in new carpet. The visual is deceiving to my brain and makes me realize with my children standing in the empty store with me how much they have grown since we launched our family business. It's been quite a ride and we look forward to the journey continuing...

6929 Stellhorn Road is FULL! I mean FULL!!!! I cannot believe how much I had stuffed in our little building because we have filled the big building up! Everything is a mess but it is all in one place and so I am starting to sleep better at night again.

Scott and I are so thankful to all our friends and family who came to help us move everything Saturday. We had about 20 friends throughout the day helping us load and unload boxes of books (up basement stairs nonetheless!), pack up all the odds and ends I hadn't gotten to yet and take apart and move all our various shelves, counters and the humongous kids' playhouse. You know you are loved when your friends are willing to go through things like this for you! I was overwhelmed by the kindness and support of our friends and family. I got a little teary a few times on Saturday. Scott and I so appreciate all the help from everyone! We love you (yes, you too Terri! Go wash off the whoogies now)! You've helped make our business a success throughout the years. I promise I won't be moving the store again before any of our young children are completely grown! Oh and by the way, my friend Sheri was one of the huge posse who helped move and she brought entertainment for the children! This lady possesses a way cool moonwalk and the kids just loved it! Thanks Sheri!

Progress at the New Store!

2008-09-25T23:48:00.020-05:00

The very beginning of our new endeavor! Once we got in the building, I decided I wanted
to paint the whole place! You know, give everything a nice clean coat of paint and
start fresh - make the space ours! About five weeks ago
we started painting in the big back room which will serve a number
of purposes. It will be our warehouse, our shipping area, my office area
and it has a very special area just for the kids where they'll be able to play,
chill out, hang out with their friends when they are visiting us and do school work.
"Mommy, this wall definitely needs some paint!"

Look at our little boy go! He catches on quick!

C. spelling his name with the paint. Hey, you gotta entertain yourself
to keep the job interesting! L. in the background helping to paint too! Dang, maybe I
should hire my kids out!

C. assisting grandpa.

This is the back wall of the big room where the kids have their area. I found a good
deal on some mis-tint pink and then we let the kids paint whatever they
were inspired to paint. L. painted this life size horse with its golden mane and tail.
She wishes her painted horse could come alive so she could ride it.
C. painted a tree and pond and then framed his picture.

This is the front room where the main part of the bookstore will be
before we did any work to it. My hubby and father-in-law put in a drop ceiling
last weekend. I was very impressed and quite thankful for their expertise!

The front room in progress! Of course it's purple. Don't be silly!
What other color would I pick? I'm happy to say this room is now done!
This one room is as big as my entire old store was. I'm so glad the painting and carpet
cleaning in this beast of a room is done. At this point half the bookshelves are
also up and ready to fill with books this weekend!

This is a before shot of the room that will serve as our classroom and meeting room
for homeschool groups. C. loves the teddy bear border and insisted that we keep it!
I wasn't real hip to the idea, but gave into his wishes because I'm a mom and
that's what I do - give in to my children!

I have to say that after we painted the room in colors that complimented the border,
I really like it now. I love these blues. I just walk into this room and
feel calm. I find myself gravitating to this room a lot lately.
I won't lie and say this move hasn't been
enormously stressful because it has, but oh, how worth it!

Another before shot. This is the room that I lovingly refer to as the "quiet" room.

A shot of the "quiet" room after the painting was done, with some of the furniture
in place and just a couple books thrown on the shelf so I could start putting books on shelves.
Arranging books on shelves is not just a hobby or an obsession anymore!
This room is intended to be a room for moms and dads with
more adult oriented books in it and I don't mean the kind they sell at truck stops.
Moms can also go in this room to rest with sleeping infants or
to nurse when classes and such are going on in the adjoining classroom
otherwise known in our family as the teddy bear room.

Another shot of the "quiet" room. My friend Cindy will use the white cabinet
to display her handmade soaps, lotions, lip balms and whatever else she comes
up with to pamper all us hardworking moms. Cindy also makes baby slings
which we'll display on the wall, I think... Trying to figure out where everything is
going has been no easy task and I'm sure it will change over time.

So there you go folks! We're making progress and I honestly cannot be happier
with all the new space we've acquired. There's another room in the store that
I don't have any pictures of yet. It will have the kids' playhouse in it and toys for
all the customers' kids to play with while mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc. shop
leisurely. This weekend is the big moving day! We'll be clearing out the old store
completely. I have to say I will miss our little brick building on State Street
where we got our start three years ago, but maybe not too much. More pics to come,
but I probably won't be hanging out in the blogosphere too much in the next
two weeks. October 7th is opening day at the new store!

For My Mom!

2008-09-25T01:44:00.002-05:00

This is for my mom! My mom and I used to listen to Helen Reddy on eight track and then on cassette in her little 280ZX after my dad died and we traveled the country together to help ease the pain. My mom raised me by herself, owned her own business, worked looooong hours to make ends meet, loved me no matter what, did the best any child could hope for, took care of my friends, volunteered all over the place and went to Washington to march for the preservation of her daughter's and granddaughter's rights - all this just among a myriad of amazing things she did that helped make me the person I am today. I miss my mom so much! She would be proud of me I know (this I strive for) and would have been a huge activist in this presidential campaign. I have twice the work to do... for the future of my children and in honor of my mom, the greatest woman I have ever known. In essence, this is who I am... a daughter who loves and honors her mom and a mother who wants the best possible future for her children and loves them unconditionally.

You and Me Against the World

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar

I Can't Say Goodbye To You

Comment To My Dear Friend Who Has Worked By My Side During This Election

2008-09-21T01:08:00.010-05:00

My friend Cindy posted this video of Barack addressing staff in Chicago after the primaries. Cindy and I worked without much rest, as did so many during the primaries and we're Fired Up and Ready to Go for the general election!

My comment on my friend Cindy's post of this video...
It personifies a lot of what I've been thinking and feeling the last several months but often have a difficult time articulating except to my friends.

We shook this phenomenal person's hand girl!!!! I believe history will show that people in our country like you and me and our friends, family and neighbors made this happen, made things move in a different and better direction.

I believe in the future, many of the naysayers will say they were never naysayers at all. How many people do you think would say today that they would've never voted for Kennedy or Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt?

We're some of the first to attest that all the volunteering hasn't always been easy, but how many votes do you think we helped get out? From Dayton to Fort Wayne, thank you for being a part of one of the best things I've ever been a part of my friend! We've been a part of the POSSIBILITIES and there is no turning back and no hearts broken at this point because "we've" collectively achieved so much! Nothing will ever be the same now. It will only be better because we have gotten to know so many of our neighbors through this campaign and we've been an intricate part of ALL of our hopes and aspirations for the people in our country, for the expectations of our leaders, for the way the rest of the world views us, for the accountability we expect!

Hope, trust and belief may be cynical words on many persons' tongues at this point but not ours my friend! No matter what, we will continue to work on a path of love and acceptance and common sense for all our brothers and sisters who need a hand, who can rise up because someone listened to them or spoke kind words to them or helped them in a multitude of ways from the heart and soul of humanity.

This election is about our entire country - not just about a certain kind of christian or the straight people or the people who have health insurance or the people who can buy above their means or can't buy anything at all, etc. It is about all of us striving to work together to REDUCE and ELIMINATE the numbers of those who are starving, the uneducated, the homeless, the unwanted pregnancies and those who suffer unnecessary physical, emotional and verbal abuse as children, women, gays, people with either or both physical and mental disabilities and minority religions.

In this video I see friends I met during the primaries and people I've never met but who worked and loved and were inspired just like myself and all the wonderful people I've known during this journey!!!!

This election is unlike any other I've ever witnessed and when my children see this election season from history's perspective, I hope they will understand why this candidacy, this president was so important to their futures as people, as Americans. No matter what though, our children are learning the things I've spoken about here and in the generation to come we have much to look forward to!

Be the change you want to see in the world - Ghandi

Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

2008-09-19T22:59:00.003-05:00

I had to post this because I'm tired of hearing from the right that Obama would tax the hell out of the middle class. Maybe my definition of middle class is completely skewed, but it appears that Obama's plan gives tax cuts to all incomes below $226,000 and gives a larger tax cut to those that make less than $111,000. The bottom three groups amount to 60% of the taxpayers in this country which Obama would give larger tax breaks to while the groups McCain wants to give the largest percentage of tax breaks to amount to 1.1% percent of the taxpayers in this country!
From the Washington Post

What's New?

2008-09-19T00:33:00.011-05:00

I'm so very fricking tired... painting the new store... calling utility companies and spending eons on hold... moving heavy boxes of books... tossing and turning at night because I can't stop thinking of all the little details that need to be taken care of. It'll all be worth it though in about another three weeks! The place is really shaping up and more than tripling the amount of space is exhilarating. October 7th is opening day! I've got pics of the progress, but lack the energy to post them currently.

I also find myself gazing forlornly across the street from the new store at the neighborhood I grew up in. Did I mention that before? That ironically our new location is directly across the street from where I grew up? Lot of memories for me on that end of town. It's a little eerie and yet feels not so oddly familiar, but man, it makes me miss my parents. Remembering isn't so bad though. Forgetting is the thing you don't wanna deal with. One of my earliest memories is listening to Jim Croce (on 8-track of course) with my dad. I couldn't have been more than three years old. October will mark the 30th year since my dad was killed. In some ways I've never grown up...

Photographs and Memories

Time in a Bottle

Operator

You Don't Mess Around With Jim

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown -
Used to make my dad fast forward this one on the 8 track over and over and he would. I'll tell ya', fast forwarding on an 8 track isn't easy...

Saturday Night Presents Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin

2008-09-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

2008-09-13T01:20:00.004-05:00

The other day my kids and I were walking to our store (one of the perks we'll be giving up at our new location, but such is life) and we walked by a home that had been tee-peed. It had rained, so these folks had quite a mess in their yard and on their sidewalk.

As we walked by my daughter commented, "There is so much litter around here". I explained what had happened. My daughter was perplexed and asked why anyone would do such a thing. I continued to try to explain that it's something some teenagers do for fun and to be silly. L. then proclaimed in my own mother's voice, I swear... "Well, that just doesn't make any sense!" You see my daughter is very passionate about things and yet very logical (like her daddy).

And my son who is quite thoughtful, yet very emotional about the realities of the world (much like his mother) exclaimed, "Well, I think that's just rude to the EARTH!"

I had to chuckle to myself as I realized their reactions to this situation so personified their sweet personalities and what is so evident about each of them.

Showy and Sparkling Style Award

2008-09-12T22:29:00.009-05:00

I received this lovely blog award today from Robert at Left of Centrist. Thanks Robert.

I pass this award on to some of my favorite bloggers who I think are BRILLIANT and have a showy and sparkling style all their own!

1. Cindy - My political and spiritual advisor who can listen to me rant for amazingly long periods of time and is one of my dearest friends at Tracking the Edge

2. Marla - Another good friend whose artwork is fantastic and whose insights and compassion in raising her beautiful daughter through those heart warming and frustrating moments inspires me and always reminds me that we are after all merely human at All That is Dazlious

3. Frances - In a perfect world this groovy lady with an ear for a good tune and a mind for a good book would be my real life neighbor and dance club, cocktail drinking, bookstore exploring buddy (not necessarily in that order every Saturday night) at Strange Delights From Under the Lilac Tree

4. Sheri - A friend from back in the day who I've reconnected with who is also an inspiration to me and still has very cool hair after all these years (I wish I could say the same) at Ain't That Sherific

5. Jill - Another real life friend who rocks the house with her openness, kindness, beautiful smile and sweet contagious laughter at I am a Magnet

6. The Nitza Family - Who I love dearly despite their need to abandon me for an entire year (just kidding -I'm working through it with therapy) to have a most excellent adventure at Nitza Family African Adventure

7. Randal (sorry Randal, ladies and families first tonight) - Whose wit and sarcasm always improves my daily outlook on life, keeps us all honest and encourages us all to drink while bloggin' every now and then at L'ennui Melodieux

I would've also bestowed this award upon John Good and Enigma, but they've already received the award from other bloggers.

I think I've exceeded my quota of bestowing awards this evening, but what the heck, I'm throwing caution to the wind tonight after a couple of beers. See Randal, some of us do heed your advice.

What's Up Guv?

2008-09-12T09:17:00.003-05:00

And here's Robert's latest video. This parody of the current political campaign season made me laugh out loud. Thanks Robert!

My Friend Robert's Letter to the Editor

2008-09-12T07:46:00.001-05:00

OBAMA SEEKS BETTER FUTURE FOR AMERICA

Many of us who watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Denver’s Invesco Field either sat stunned at the beauty of his words or jumped up and cheered. Here was a man who was not only laying out a plan for us and future generations, but he was also warning us to stop looking to the past for our solutions. The world we live in today is far from the world our grandparents experienced during the ’30s and ’40s under FDR. This is not the land o’ plenty our parents took their opportunities from in the ’50s and ’60s. This is a country that started forming under Richard Nixon and was brought to an anti-fruition under the failed policies of George W. Bush.

Obama has challenged all of us to be better. He challenged the entire country to change from a course charted in the direction of destruction to a path toward betterment. He actually gave us a challenge. He channeled the spirit of John F. Kennedy by giving us a decade to wean ourselves from the dependence of foreign oil and limited resources. A new Apollo challenge awaits us. All we have to do is make the correct choice in November.

Standing in the way of our amelioration is a barricade of generations of bigotry and distrust; a bulwark of spin and obfuscation; a fortification of avarice and rapaciousness by men and women of power. This will not be easy. The Karl Roves and Randy Scheunemanns of this country will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the average voter. They will endeavor to paint a picture of Obama as a weak and inexperienced Pollyanna with his head in the clouds and his feet in quicksand. They will sit in their country clubs and try to delineate him as an ostentatious elitist. They will hope the voters in this country fail to notice the irony of their vignette.

It is far too easy to fall into the trap of despair, especially when you see the great odds against us, but if history has taught us anything about this country, it is that indomitable spirit that lurks somewhere beneath the surface of all real Americans, a dogged determination to find the courage and wisdom to do the right thing, even when faced with overwhelming odds.

We were supposed to lose to the British. There was no way we could ever bring the Confederacy back into the union. The depression and dust bowl of the ’30s spelled the death knell of the United States of America. The Nazis were an unstoppable juggernaut, and we were told that the Japanese would never surrender. Yet, even in the face of these insurmountable barriers, we were able to reach deep inside ourselves and find a way.

That way is within reach today, but it is up to us to have the courage to fight for it. We must not be armchair quarterbacks in the fight to put Obama into the White House. We must put ourselves into the game and take to the field.

As Obama has told us time and again, this campaign is not about him, it is about us. But it is not simply about us. It is about this country, it is about our children and our future. It is about time we change course and avoid hitting the icebergs set afloat by those people and events that stand in the way of us completing our journey.

Vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

ROBERT ROUSE Fort Wayne

Published Journal Gazette 9-10-08

Frenzied Politcal Infatuation... Just Saying

2008-09-10T10:08:00.002-05:00

"Strange, that some of us, with quick alternate vision, see beyond our infatuations, and even while we rave on the heights, behold the wide plain where our persistent self pauses and awaits us." - George Eliot

Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant

Volunteers Needed

2008-09-09T09:09:00.002-05:00

I'm heading over to Democratic Headquarters tonight at 7:15 for our Allen County for Obama weekly meeting. Please come and join us.

Joe Biden in Kailspell, Montana

2008-09-09T01:27:00.004-05:00

I spent a fair share of time during my younger years in Montana not far from Kalispell, so I had to take a look at this. Go Joe!

Um...

2008-09-08T23:49:00.003-05:00

My bloggin' friend Frances posted this video by Robin Thicke the other day over at Strange Delights From Under the Lilac Tree and I can't stop hearing this song. I've checked out Robin Thicke's other songs and I have to say I just don't dig any of them near as much as I dig this one.

When I Get You Alone

Is It Wrong?

2008-09-08T23:04:00.002-05:00

Is it wrong to be painting your new digs for three days straight, forget to eat lunch and dinner because you're so focused on the task at hand and then when you get home at 10:00pm eat a day old cookie from the bakery up the street for dinner and wash it down with a glass of wine? Just wondering.

The new digs are coming along... I'll post pics of my new 2,400 square feet soon!

The Excesses of the Elite

2008-09-07T09:35:00.003-05:00

How Much Is Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit Really Worth?

by Vanity Fair

September 6, 2008, 12:27 PM

Last week, the Vanity Fair fashion department priced out the ensemble Cindy McCain wore to the Republican National Convention. Far be it from those of us at V.F. to criticize people for buying fancy clothes (you've met our advertisers, right?), but even we were astonished when the estimate came back: thanks to a pair of earrings our expert valued at roughly $280,000, the prospective First Lady's get-up appeared was assessed at approximately $300,000!

That got us thinking: what does $300,000 mean to Americans who don't have the luxury of inheriting a gargantuan beer fortune?

To Cindy McCain, $300,000 is the price of an outfit.

To most Americans, $300,000 buys ...

... one and a half houses, given the national median home price of $206,500.

... a year's worth of health care for 750 people.

... the full array of back-to-school supplies and clothes for 500 kids.

... enough gas to drive cross-country 543 times.

... 365 round-trip flights from Washington, D.C., to Anchorage, Alaska. (John McCain should have splurged on at least one.)

... a three-course steak dinner (at Mat-su Resort) and a movie ticket (for the Mat-su Cinema) for every man, woman, and child in Wasilla, Alaska.

The excesses of the elite have been an afront to my being my entire life. This is one of the reasons why I've always been and will always remain a Proud Liberal American.

Botswana... Okay, So They Have African Wildlife...

2008-09-06T03:36:00.008-05:00

Okay. So Botswana has cool wildlife, but we have raccoons and chipmunks and squirrels right here in the traversed area of Fort Wayne...
Giraffes and Wildebeests? Really? Who needs 'em? Did I mention lately how much we miss the Botswana Nitzas? Did I mention I got to talk to my sister-in-law via Skype the other night about the current political "atmosphere" in the states and I miss her soooo much? I know I'm dang lucky to have a sister-in-law that I so dearly like as much as I do and shouldn't whine and complain that she's so far away, but I do. It's all about me after all isn't it?

GOP CONVENTION SPIN, PART I - FactCheck.org

2008-09-05T11:03:00.003-05:00

From FactCheck.org

Lieberman and Thompson make misleading claims about Obama on Day Two of the party in St. Paul.

Summary
Joe Lieberman and his former Senate colleague Fred Thompson both made misleading claims about Obama in their prime time GOP convention speeches on Tuesday. We've heard two of them before – many times.

Lieberman said Obama hadn't "reached across party lines" to accomplish "anything significant," though Obama has teamed with GOP Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Lugar to pass laws enhancing government transparency and curtailing the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons.

Thompson repeated misleading claims about Obama's tax program, saying it would bring "one of the largest tax increases in American history." But as increases go, Obama's package is hardly a history-maker. It would raise taxes for families with incomes above $250,000. Most people would see a cut.

Lieberman also accused Obama of "voting to cut off funding for our American troops on the battlefield." But Obama's only vote against a war-funding bill came after Bush vetoed a version of the bill Obama had supported – and McCain urged the veto.

For a more detailed analysis click here.

GOP CONVENTION SPIN, PART II - FactCheck.org

2008-09-05T10:54:00.005-05:00

From FactCheck.org

Palin trips up on her facts, and Giuliani and Huckabee have their own stumbles on Night 3 of the Republican confab.

Summary
Sarah Palin's much-awaited speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night may have shown she could play the role of attack dog, but it also showed her to be short on facts when it came to touting her own record and going after Obama's.

We found Rudy Giuliani, who introduced her, to be as factually challenged as he sometimes was back when he was in the race. But Mike Huckabee may have laid the biggest egg of all.

Palin may have said "Thanks, but no thanks" on the Bridge to Nowhere, though not until Congress had pretty much killed it already. But that was a sharp turnaround from the position she took during her gubernatorial campaign, and the town where she was mayor received lots of earmarks during her tenure.

Palin's accusation that Obama hasn't authored "a single major law or even a reform" in the U.S. Senate or the Illinois Senate is simply not a fair assessment. Obama has helped push through major ethics reforms in both bodies, for example.

The Alaska governor avoided some of McCain's false claims about Obama's tax program—but her attacks still failed to give the whole story.

Giuliani distorted the time line and substance of Obama's statements about the conflict between Russia and Georgia. In fact, there was much less difference between his statements and those of McCain than Giuliani would have had us believe.

Giuliani also said McCain had been a fighter pilot. Actually, McCain's plane was the A-4 Skyhawk, a small bomber. It was the only plane he trained in or flew in combat, according to McCain's own memoir.

Finally, Huckabee told conventioneers and TV viewers that Palin got more votes when she ran for mayor of Wasilla than Biden did running for president. Not even close. The tally: Biden, 79,754, despite withdrawing from the race after the Iowa caucuses. Palin, 909 in her 1999 race, 651 in 1996.

For more in depth analysis click here

I Just Can't Help Myself...

2008-09-04T20:24:00.003-05:00

I've remained quiet this week during the Republican Convention and kept my rage, I mean my comments to myself on McCain's VP pick... Thank goodness for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show.

Mocking You and Me... Again

2008-09-04T11:23:00.002-05:00

Let's clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

Barney, Barney, Barney, Barney

2008-08-29T09:25:00.002-05:00

And you thought the most famous person from Indiana was Evan Bayh, Dick Lugar, Michael Jackson or John Mellencamp. Move aside boys, Barney Smith is today's SuperStar!

Had to Steal, Had to Share

2008-08-27T23:10:00.005-05:00

Okay, I just had to steal this pic from my friend Sheri's blog. What a great photo. Those are some of your Indiana delegates at the Democratic National Convention folks. How exciting! Hope all my friends there are having a fantastic time! You guys rock and I can't wait to see you when you get back. Fired up and ready to go!

The First Day of School...

2008-08-26T08:56:00.015-05:00

Last Monday marked the first day of the new school year for most of the schools
in our area. Last year the kids and I headed out of town to Indianapolis
and this year I decided to make it a tradition for us. So last Monday we
got up early and hit the road. We headed to Indy to the Eiteljorg Museum.

Uh, we'd been watching the Olympics a lot... I don't know how L. does things
like this so easily. She went right over to that magnetic board in the kids area
of the museum and put the Olympic rings together in no time at all.
My brain just isn't wired that way.

Now I can color and I usually do so with my tongue sticking out of my mouth also.
I'm always fascinated with my children as I realize how different some of their
talents and interests are and yet how alike they are in so many ways too.

Mommy, how long would it take us to get home by stagecoach?

The Eiteljorg has hands on activities for kids throughout the museum.

You can see Aunt A. there in the background. One week away from starting her
first year of college, she decided getting out of town for the day with us was
a good idea and we definitely enjoyed her company!

After we left the museum, we walked over to the IMAX and saw
"Whales and Dolphins in 3D". This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!
I've been to a few IMAX shows, but never a 3D one. L. spent most of the film
trying to reach out and touch what we were seeing.
C. on the other hand wasn't a big fan. I have to admit,
the visuals were intense. Maybe when he's older, he'll like it better.

On our way home we had to make a stop at Trader Joe's, because there
is no where decent to shop for groceries around here. When we were in the car on
our way home, I asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was. L. said
it was the IMAX movie. C. said, "Mommy, my favorite part was the giiiift shoooop."
He is so his mother's child.

My American Prayer - Dave Stewart

2008-08-22T20:37:00.002-05:00

A Full Saturday

2008-08-18T23:59:00.014-05:00

We had lots going on this past Saturday. To begin our day, the kids and I got up early to go participate in our local Black Expo parade with Allen County for Obama or the AC4O as we commonly refer to our group of volunteers. This was so much fun! Lots of good cheer and friendly faces all around. I just love being a part of this group. We have met so many fantastic people through our involvement with AC4O.

The sun was bright and the parade route long, but we were determined to represent our party's nominee. Our group was also prepared. Lots of bottles of water were a must!

L. loved the horses of course and she met a new friend who was marching with us.
They became good friends quickly and her new friend doesn't live far from us,
so we'll have to get together soon.

We made it! Like I said, it was a long haul, but Mommy remembered the wagon.
Man, my shoulders hurt... My kids have grown a lot since last summer.
After the parade, we headed to the book store for a few hours of work.

After we closed the store, we headed out to Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society for their open house weekend. Grandpa is heavily involved with this organization and we go out to ride the caboose and see the other train cars including a 765 steam engine whenever they have anything going on.

Actually, C. won't ride in the moving caboose, but he'll sit in the one that's finished and not hooked up to the diesel engine.

Hey, there's grandpa awaiting more passengers! All aboard!

After our train excursion, Scott went with his sister for her to get her first tattoo. An old dear friend of mine did the tattoo for her at the shop he and another good friend of ours run together,
Device Tattoo and Gallery.

The completed tattoo. Whew! What a day!
We sacked out on Sunday. Well, almost. Scott had an illustration to finish
and I went up to the store to work for a few hours.
L. and C. rested and played all day!

Family Fun at Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum

2008-08-13T18:09:00.025-05:00

We went on a little mini family vacation to Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan the weekend before last. We stayed at the "Pink Palace", swam in the evenings and had a fantastic time at both the Village and the Museum. I highly recommend this excursion, especially if you're into cool old stuff!

This is one of the working farms at the Village. It is the home of tire and rubber guru, Firestone. It is a self sufficient farm complete with a large garden, barns, a flock of sheep, horses, cows and chickens on the loose in the yard. Three ladies and three men were going about their daily chores while we visited the farm. If you've ever wanted to head back in time about 150 years this is a great place to start.

L. was thrilled to see the horses of course!

The garden is bigger than my backyard! A compost area was located at the back of the garden.

Daddy's idea of heaven! One of the first buildings we found after leaving the farm was the Printing Office. L. and C. each got to roll a print through the printing machine and Scott was in his element! Scary, but I think he could walk into a hundred year old Printing Office and know just what to do.

Look at that Roundhouse! This was a fun building to explore. It's filled with different train cars including a steam engine which can even be viewed from underneath. These Greenfield Village people think of everything!

As you walk around the village you are continuously passed by Model T's and other turn of the 20th century vehicles.

C. was so excited to weave his very own bookmark on a table top loom. This was soooo cool. Both kids loved doing this. After we were done, we then visited the shop down the road that houses about 5 different weaving machines from different eras. Because the kids had just used the table top ones, they could really understand how the larger looms used to make rugs and clothing actually work.

Another horse for L.

Old fashioned tin type studio anyone? Scott could not get over how perfect the lighting was in this building.

At The Henry Ford Museum, L. enjoyed running along with Wilbur Wright as Orville successfully manned the first flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.

The Dymaxion Home. The only one in existence although I wouldn't mind having one. Of course, I'd need to scale back on some things and would need a Dymaxion library to house all our books.

Oscar Mayer WeinerMobile. This was a hit with our kids. Need I say more?

The oldest school bus still in existence. This is one of my favorite things at the museum.
Blue Bird, you've come a long way baby.

Lots of hands-on activities for the kids are available throughout the museum.

L. helping to put together a Model T. They do this throughout the day and by the end of the day, it's been put together entirely by all the kids visiting the museum that day. Then the kids can come back and sit in the completed vehicle. Unfortunately, our pics of the end of the day didn't turn out.

Scott's favorite thing in the museum. An original copy of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. How cool is that?

L.'s favorite thing at the Museum was the retro Marshmallow Loveseat. C. thought it was hilarious that it's called a loveseat. We don't have a loveseat, so he'd never heard the term and just cracked up about it.

Woo-Hoo! This sums up the feelings about our two day adventure!

Having a Day... A Great One

2008-08-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

Today's just been one of those days that as they say on eBay was a smooth transaction. We painlessly accomplished all of our school work before 11:00am, enjoyed a nice walk to the store and had several of our friends stop by to visit and shop at the store. Tonight, I'm taking my girlfriend out to dinner who has been helping me out enormously at the store and am looking forward to a relaxing dinner. And like the cherry on top of my sundae of a day, my hubby sent me this video which I found delightfully entertaining. Enjoy!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Lots of Changes in Our World

2008-08-07T00:42:00.004-05:00

Lots of changes have been happening in our world this 2008. So many that tonight I snuggled my little girl as she cried about missing friends we don't see anymore, the World Travelers portion of our family being gone for the next year and the newest change, our beloved little bookstore will be moving to a new location soon. I signed a lease on a new building about a week and a half ago and am just completely overwhelmed with future moving plans. It will be hard to say goodbye to our little brick building we have so lovingly cared for over the last three years, but the "breathing" space we will acquire will be well worth it! We will be in our new building by the beginning of October and it will just about triple the size of our usable space, but it is a big change for each of us! I'm sure L. and C. are feeling mommy's stress level. Once we are moved, I know things will "level" out a bit emotionally, but as of now things are bit topsy turvy. Change is hard and I feel like crying myself, but in honor of looking forward to the future...

Now if I could just fix the things I didn't mean to change... that I've screwed up in the past...

We Have Touch Down!

2008-08-05T00:30:00.002-05:00

All World Explorer Nitzas have touched down safely in Africa! Whew! Now, I can stop stressing out.

Oh, stop it. Really! I don't always have something to stress out about!

The Sooner They Get Going...

2008-07-26T06:30:00.006-05:00

I've been up since the early morning hours preceded by a very restless night's sleep. Our sister-in-law and our youngest niece started their 36 hour journey to Africa this morning. My sister-in-law will be working for the next year in Gaborone, Botswana on a Fulbright Scholarship. Yes, it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, we're extremely impressed with and proud of our talented sister-in-law. My brother-in-law and our oldest niece and nephew will be leaving early this Tuesday morning to join them. Their trips include three separate flights, one of which is 16 hours long!!!! They are brave brave souls!

I've not been looking forward to them all leaving and being away for the next year even though I know this will be the most amazing experience for them all. It's just that we will miss them all terribly! For the past five years, the other Nitzas (as L. calls them) have lived two blocks away from us. We spend a lot of time together... Our son C. and our niece H. are both five and since C. was about a month old, I don't think the two of them have gone more than a week at a time without seeing each other. So, it's going to be weird, but as I told my husband with a huge sigh yesterday as I realized the hours were looming, "Well, the sooner they get going, the sooner they'll be home". And in my feeble efforts to cheer my children, I've told them how the time will go by so fast, the "other Nitzas" will be back before we know it!

Fortunately, despite the Nitza clan being on two opposite sides of the world, we will be using modern technology to our full advantage! Aside from e-mails and web cams, we will be able to keep in touch through the blogosphere. The world explorer Nitzas have started a blog, The Nitza Family African Adventure to report on their year long adventure. I've added them to my sidebar.

So, World Explorer Nitzas, we will miss you soooooo very much, but we will continue to delight and harass you via technology. The Nitza herd on this side of the globe wishes you a great and fabulous adventure!

Girls Night Out!

2008-07-21T23:38:00.003-05:00

Recently, I have been woefully "absent" from my daughter's life. We are certainly together most of the time as my kids accompany me to work most days. But our mornings are filled with school work (we homeschool year round so we can take days off when we need to), our evenings are filled with chores and errands and our time at the store has been so crazy lately that there is little time for me to actually sit down and hang out with my kids. I recently realized that there has especially been little time to hang out with my lovely girl just the two of us and that she is rapidly growing into a young lady who someday soon will not want to hang around me too much for all the usual and maybe not so usual reasons that daughters distance themselves from their mothers. Wait, do you hear that? Yes, I thought you did too. This song stuck in my head over and over again...

Cats in the Cradle - Harry Chapin

Well, no one wants that do they? Once is fine, but continuously all day and night long. The madness had to stop! Luckily the cure is a rather easy one. Scott and I combined our intellectual prowess and came up with a plan. Once a week we'll be spending some much needed individual time with each of our children.

So, tonight was GIRLS NIGHT OUT and the boys stayed home. L and I went to dinner, went to see Kit Kittredge and just to save on gas, did a few errands on our way home. After we got home, we just hung out in her room together for awhile talking about things. It was the best evening! One of the things I love most looking back on my own childhood were the times when it was just my mom and I going somewhere or playing a game at home together or even out running errands together.

Kit Kittredge is a great movie. L and I read all the American Girl sets last year and I think Kit is one of my favorites. L was on the edge of her seat at times and at others she was just cuddled up next to me with her head on my shoulder. sigh...

Apparently, the boys had a nice time together. I was informed that C told Scott, he didn't want Daddy and C time to ever end.

And What Did I Do Today?

2008-07-21T13:03:00.004-05:00

I bathed three cats and the above picture depicts about how well it went. I couldn't get actual photos from the event at our house as my hands were otherwise occupied with trying to wet, lather and rinse without getting my face torn off.

And this is exactly how happy the cats are with me still despite my efforts to speak in a soothing tone throughout the process, wrap them in warm towels, hold them on my lap whilst petting them for an extended time after the procedure and feeding them treats. I'm not sure I'll ever be forgiven. And that's what I get for trying to use all natural means to keep the fleas at bay this summer. Can we say NOT working!

Good News

2008-07-17T23:29:00.006-05:00

Hello all. Sorry I've been absent so much lately. Summer is my busy time at the bookstore and online. I see the economy affecting things, but this independent seller is hanging on... I've been spending much of my free time with my nieces, nephew, sister-in-law and brother-in-law as they will be leaving in less than two weeks now to spend the next year living abroad in Africa. I know this will be a tremendous experience for them and am so excited for them, but as the date has grown closer, I've become a little sad as I will miss the dickens out of them!

My hubby played this great video for me tonight. Mick Jones from the Clash and Tony James from Generation X as Carbon Silicon. If you were fans of either of these bands way back when, you'll be feeling old, but this song is great! My favorite song of the week. I post this in dedication to my good friends. I think you'll appreciate it. Take a listen.

THE NEWS

If You Love Your Vinyl...

2008-07-07T00:13:00.004-05:00

Visiting Frances blog, Strange Delights From Under the Lilac Tree tonight, I found the following gem... I've been struggling with the idea of getting rid of some of vinyl lately and this gives me another good excuse not to. By the way I love the name of Frances' blog. Right up my alley, eh? I think Frances and I would make lovely neighbors. Too bad we're 6 or so states apart.

Sleeve Face

Oh My! That Little Punk

2008-06-25T22:41:00.005-05:00

Tonight we had a nice dinner out at The Acme, one of those local businesses I was telling you about located on the same street as my business. Lately, we've had lots of people over for dinner, most under the age of ten and so it was nice just to sit down with our family and not have to do any of the work. I've been running full steam ahead at the store and our dinner out was relaxing for me.

My relaxed state didn't last very long once we got home though. See, there's this boy in our hood who's very nice and polite. He always says hello, asks me how the bookstore is doing and wished Scott a Happy Father's Day two weeks ago. Since the warm weather broke and school is out, we see him several times a day riding his bikes around the block. I say bikes because this charming ten year old fellow has what I think of as your traditional type bike. You know the kind, the ones you pedal. He also has a motorized bike. It's a crazy looking bike with a motor and you can hear him coming from the other end of the block.

Well, we got home this evening, C. looked out the front door and saw our neighborhood friend sitting on his traditional bike on the sidewalk in front of our house and said, "Oh mommy, it's the boy L. likes." Goodbye relaxed state. Hello anxiety! I looked at L. and said, "You like him?" (in a very loving tone of course). And do you know what my eight year old little girl did? She blushed! Let me say that again. She blushed! She then stammered over her words and finally got out the words, "Well, I uh like his bike."

My anxiety level wouldn't have hit the richter scale like it did except for what happened next. My daughter who is very stubborn (hmm, I have no idea where she gets that from) has flat out resisted learning to ride her bike without her training wheels. In fact, she just got very mad at her daddy a few days ago when he lifted the training wheels up higher and insisted that they would be gone before long. She was so mad at him that she told her great aunt all about it on the phone just last night and proclaimed that she DID NOT want to learn how to ride a two wheeler. So, in the moment after my daughter blushed the shade of a radish, she looked at us and said she wanted the training wheels off her bike and would daddy please help her learn how to ride without them. I clutched at my heart as I realized that her motivation lay in wanting to impress the little Eddie Haskell on our block. And yes, in that brief moment this nice kid became a little punk in my mind as I envisioned my blushing daughter and him hanging out on the corner on their bikes. My mind can do terrible things to me, but honestly it was like peeking through a window into our future teenage years and I just wasn't ready for that tonight.

George Carlin Farewell

2008-06-23T10:59:00.005-05:00

I woke this morning to the news that one of my favorite celebrities, George Carlin died last evening at the age of 71 of heart failure.

I'm not big into profanity. In fact, I usually wince when I hear it. Guess my mom did a good job of convincing me that some words sound nasty because they've been deemed nasty. So despite Carlin's infamous use of profanity and the "Taboo Seven Words" spectacle, I was drawn to this man's comedic social commentary. I enjoyed him most when he was making fun of me. I loved that he could really make us take a look at ourselves and we'd agree that most of the things we do, say and think are really quite idiotic.

In honor of George Carlin, I plan to laugh out loud several times today and make fun of myself.

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck."

"Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?"

"If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?"

“Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist”

“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that ...”

GeorgeCarlin.com

George Carlin Mourned as Counter Culture Hero

How George Carlin Changed Comedy

Say It Ain't So

You Say It's Your Birthday!

2008-06-22T08:35:00.016-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted pics of our daughter's big birthday slumber party. Well, exactly two weeks after her big celebration, we threw another big birthday slumber party for our little boy. Yes, we are insane, but our kids love us for it!

The idea here was to feed them lots of pizza and kool-aid so they'd have a bunch of energy all night!

Coming down from their sugar high. We hypnotized everyone with Pokemon videos.

Time to proceed with more sugar - Ice cream and brownies!

We made every attempt to dye the kids' faces blue with food coloring placed strategically on the brownies.

We were thinking that a child size version of the Blue Man Group is just what the Mid-West has been lacking.

Cute little performance artist!

Now I know you are wishing you were five years old and one of our son's closest friends cuz' this was too much fun!

The one on the left is our son's best friend. One day, C. started to tell me he loves his friend more than anyone else in the whole world. C. quickly recovered and said he loves his friend as much as he loves me, daddy and his sister. Of course, the one on the right is the most adored sister. These two kept the rest of us laughing hysterically all evening with their antics.

Pokemon, Bionicles and a Star Wars Light Saber for gifts? Perfect!

The next morning the kids folded and flew paper airplanes for quite awhile. This was the daddy-planned activity and it went over tremendously! 3-2-1

Lift off!

More feet pictures. I'm not sure what is behind these pics from both parties, but there
was lots of giggling about it at both parties, so what the heck.
Wave your feet in the air like you just don't care!

All Work and No Play

2008-06-09T21:16:00.004-05:00

Well, my blogging friends, I haven't been around much for quite some time and I hope you weren't feeling neglected. I've just been working my tail off. And at this point, all work and no play has made me one grumpy Gus...

Summer is the busiest time for my book store. I get lots and lots of books in as people do their spring cleaning and finish up their school years. I also startseeing a lot more customers as people begin to prepare for their new school years. This year has been a little different though. With the injury I've sustained to my ankle, it is harder for me to get around. I do everything slower and am wiped out at the end of the day. Luckily, I had my friend Terry in the store with me the last two weeks. She helped me out an unbelievable amount. I wish I could hire her. Maybe one of these days my little store will do well enough that I will be able to hire someone.

On that note, I just want to say... "Break the Chains. Buy Local". I know there are tons of small business owners all across the country and at times you might have to pay a dollar or two more for a product, but the investment you're making in your community is worth it! Those are the same small business owners that eventually, if they can stay in business long enough and make a real go at it will be the people who buy those vacant buildings in your area and fix 'em up. I think about my own street where my business is located and all the businesses on the street are locally owned. We have two bakeries, one that also sells sandwiches and salads, three little restaurants, a meat market, a flower shop, a candy store, a tailor, a liquor store, an insurance office, a barber shop, two salons, a bar, a dentist, a shoe store and a gas station owned by a family in the area. We even have the main offices of the big car wash business in town on our street. I'm constantly thankful they haven't moved their offices out to suburbia somewhere. What would the street look like if our neighborhood and the local community didn't support us?

I'll be the first to say, it ain't easy. The baker across the street from me runs a one man show as I do. He hires someone every once in awhile to run the front counter, but otherwise he's over there everyday at 4am getting ready for the day and often doesn't leave until 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. There aren't a lot of perks to running your own business, but there is the satisfaction and pride of looking around and knowing that you do it, that you make it work.

Personally, I'm in the business I'm in as much for personal reasons as I am for our community. My main clientele at this point are homeschoolers. I feel good that I can sell curriculum to homeschoolers at such a discounted price because most of what I carry is used. I also am glad to be there for family's who are just embarking on homeschooling and need someone to talk to about curriculum. I've tried to educate myself well, not just on homeschooling materials, but on the groups in our area who support homeschoolers so I can pass the information on. Try finding service like that at a big box store. And that's really what it comes down to. Service.

So have no fear really. I may be a grumpy Gus because I'm working too much and not playing enough, but if you come in my store, I'll try not show it, because I love doing what I do.

A Historic Day!

2008-06-04T07:51:00.004-05:00

Last night was an historic evening for our country. While I sat around glued to CNN, my friend Robert over at Left of Centrist was being productive. Great video Robert. Thanks!

I'll Stand By You

2008-05-23T00:18:00.009-05:00

Did you ever have a friend who you remember meeting for the very first time? Whose smile and kindness you carry with you always? And the years go by and suddenly you realize that you've known your friend for more than twenty years and you're so thankful your friend has put up with you all these years? And whenever you think of that person, you see your years together - the triumphs and mistakes, the joys and despair reflected in that person's eyes along with a world of love because your friend has always undeniably been there for you? That friend who has loved you no matter what and has come to you when you needed them most. Whose joy is your joy and sadness is your sadness. If you have had a friend like this and I hope you have, you know that you could do nothing, but return all that friend has given you. I love you and thank you J. and I'll always stand by you, especially now. You deserve all the love, grace, strength, kindness and empowerment life has to offer you as you have always granted those you love this much and more. For you my dear friend in your time of need, a few token songs...

What Do You Do When Your Little Girl Turns Eight?

2008-05-20T09:08:00.014-05:00

TURN THE HOUSE OVER AND NO ONE GETS HURT.

Our baby turned eight this year! Oh geesh! She celebrated with a slumber party with four of her best friends and her brother, of course.

Scott took C. out to a movie for a bit and while the boys were gone, the girls played with Play-Doh and Polly Pockets. I came to the startling realization that I no longer had a role to play during my daughter's parties, other than preparing food, fetching donuts and hanging around in case of an emergency.

Later in the evening, the mayhem commences.

Zebras for eyes!? That girl has had way too much sugar and fun!

M. made L. a really sweet card. C. in the background asking just one more time, "How many days until my birthday?"

No! We're not ready for bed yet!

Please don't make us go to bed.

They're so tired, they're starting to fall like bowling pins.

There they go. Time for bed, yes? What do you mean, no?
I think the kids finally fell asleep around midnight. Surprisingly, no one slept in the next morning. Although, I wanted to.

Parental Moments or a Tale of Five Kitties

2008-05-15T10:34:00.007-05:00

It all began innocently enough years ago. I brought home a little calico kitten when our daughter was just about to turn one that the special education teacher at the school I worked at at the time brought in to pawn off on some unsuspecting soul. We named her Koko, coddled her, fed her, gave her a roof over her head, kept her as a safe little indoor cat, let her watch the cartoons on PBS and she has rewarded us thus by warming up to us just once a year when we put catnip in her stocking at Christmas and escaping from the house the day we left to go to the hospital to give birth to our son. Of course, WA-LA, Koko had kittens about 5 weeks later.

L.'s favorite by far is Bubblenose. C. is just happy with whichever cat won't run away from him at the time. Our daughter witnessed Bubblenose being born, the last of a litter of four born on the carpet at the foot of our bed and she named him Bubblenose because of the glob of muscous that came out his nose when the little bugger exhaled soon after coming into this world. She thought this was extrodinary and named him right away. The other kittens had to await names, but eventually became Bubblenose (the first Bubblenose's brother who shares the same orange coloring of his coat) and Blacknose and Blacknose who were both girls and both had dark coats of fur.

Eventually, I was driven to the brink of madness with a new baby and a three year old to take care of, the other usual grown-up duties that I call my life and five insane critters running over, around and in front of my feet every time I moved within my house and so the decision was made to eliminate a little of mommy's stress. This decision however may never be fully forgiven by my little girl as she still laments the horrible act her parents committed by giving away Blacknose and Blacknose. We thought we were being pretty generous indeed by keeping two of the cats, but apparently not... We did insist that L. rename the second of the two orange cats and thus the poor cat who was not granted the talent of blowing mucous out of his nose became Sand.

My daughter loves to take care of each of them, but sometimes her loving care leads to unexpected truths about how an eight year old thinks the little guys should be taken care of. Last week one day it was lightly raining and Bubblenose was outside. When L. let him in, she picked him up and noticed he was a little damp. Right away she told me she was going to dry him off and headed towards the bathroom. My mommy alarm went off and I asked her what she was doing. She said she was going to the bathroom to get a towel to dry off Bubblenose. I explained that the little bugger wasn't very wet at all and he would be just fine. L. said she had dried him off one other time with a towel and he liked it. Oh really? Unfortunately, though mommies and daddies often already know the answers to our questions, we ask them anyway and I asked her what she had done with the towel when she had dried off Bubblenose before. She said that well, she had hung it back up of course, because that's what I'm always telling her to do with her wet towels when she gets out of the bath. Oh dear. It's a good thing we own a bookstore and not a Bed and Breakfast.

The Daily Grind Plus Some

2008-05-14T01:42:00.003-05:00

My fellow bloggin friends! How I miss you all! NO time to post or visit. I'll be back around soon. So distracted lately... My aunt visiting for a wonderful week. Both of my little pebble gatherers celebrating birthdays complete with sleepovers with friends on two different Saturdays (thank goodness little kids don't care how clean your house is). My husband slipping out of town to speak at a national conference in his field of expertise. Trying to make a living. Getting ready for a huge homeschool book bash this weekend. Working on my website for my bookstore. Trying to nurse my decrepit ankle back to health (yeah, I've apparently ripped a tendon or ligament not sure which from my bone. I stopped listening when my doctor said the word ripped and just cringed). Spending time with my in-laws and my sweet nieces and nephew who will be pushing off to Africa for a Fulbright Scholarship awarded to my smart as a dickens sister-in-law in just 8 short weeks. Welcoming my neighbors' son home from Iraq! YES! And trying not to worry about my dear "brother" whose in Iraq until the end of 2008. Trying to help get the next president elected. On top of all the usual... It's been quite a last three weeks.

Elated and Exhausted

2008-05-08T05:20:00.009-05:00

I'm elated over the results of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. While we didn't garner a win in Indiana, the results were very close. Here in Allen County which was considered a battleground area, Obama won by more than 9,000 votes! I was overcome by emotion for a moment when my husband showed me this on the computer Tuesday night. I was just thrilled and in awe as I thought of all the people who've worked so tirelessly during the last 4-8 weeks to make this happen. It's amazing when you feel like you've truly made a difference for what you believe in.

Barack Obama in Fort Wayne at Headwaters Park after speaking to the crowd.

One of my last attempts before the primary to get the vote out was to cook and volunteer for the picnic we had at Headwaters Park with the Obama family on Sunday afternoon. We must have served over 4,000 people. It was truly amazing. My friends, Sheri and Robert Rouse and their children were lucky ducks and got to meet Mr. Obama. Cindy and I got to shake Barack's hand and my little girl says she'll always remember Barack Obama standing right in front of her!

The senator shaking our hands! Cindy and I both shook hands at the same time with Barack. He extended his hand to shake my daughter's hand but she was so overwhlemed by everything that was going on, that she just stared and smiled.

Unfortunately, Monday morning I severely twisted my ankle. I had previously injured my ankle in March slipping on a sidewalk that had not been cleared. I went out on my front porch to put items in our recycling bin, stepped on the edge of our welcome mat wrong and given that my ankle was still pretty weak, the next thing I knew, Kapowee! I was down for the count on my front porch, recyclables flying out my arms and into our front yard. Man, did that hurt! I crawled into the house and writhed in pain for a few minutes. I've been trying to stay off my feet since, so rather than doing more canvassing like I had planned, I made phone calls and sent e-mails Tuesday, reminding people to vote. I can't tell you the thoughts that have run through my head since falling... I find it completely ironic that I twisted my ankle on our WELCOME mat while recycling. Mmmm... As a result, I've removed my mat, plan to become a hermit and refuse to consume anything so I won't have to deal with recycling containers anymore. I'm not coming out of my house until the city puts a weed violation sign in my yard! Fortunately, I will still have contact with the outside world via my computer and cable.

I'm heading to the doctor this morning. The swelling has not gone down since Monday and at this point I'm considering that perhaps I should have headed to the ER despite the cost.

I wasn't able to attend the primary watch party at La Margarita with all my friends new and old who worked so hard in Allen County to rock out the vote for Barack. Robert shared some pics of the event and you can see them here. I have never worked with such a dedicated group of people who are also immensely kind and full of good humor. I will miss the people who came in from the national campaign. I don't know where they will be off to now, but I will be thinking of them and know their sincere dedication and honest hope for improving our country and the world will be both inspiring and motivating to the next group of Barack supporters they work with.

Our Time Has Come

2008-05-02T22:22:00.004-05:00

I have a busy weekend ahead of me and so, I just want to remind all my fellow Hoosiers that it is our time to vote on Tuesday, May 6! Please make your voice heard. No matter who you vote for, your vote does matter and does count. I leave you with this... until next week.

Barack Obama Recap of Indiana Campaign

4 DaysTo Go!

2008-05-02T13:09:00.002-05:00

Four days left until the Indiana Primary! I'm still here, I just haven't had much time to post or read the blogs lately. I've knocked on lots of doors and have had the opportunity to speak with thoughtful voters, representatives of each of the three candidates. This has been an unforgettable experience for me. I'm sure 40 years down the road, I'll be saying, "I remember back in 2008 when the Indiana Primary meant something for once. Oh ya, deary, those were the days." ;)

Finalists Announced For Obama in 30 Seconds Contest

2008-04-29T13:33:00.007-05:00

They're all pretty good. Here's
one of my favorites.

It Could Happen To You

View all 15 finalist videos and cast your vote too.

Barack Obama on Energy & the Environment

2008-04-28T18:20:00.005-05:00

Plan for a Clean Energy Future

“Well, I don't believe that climate change is just an issue that's convenient to bring up during a campaign. I believe it's one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation. That's why I've fought successfully in the Senate to increase our investment in renewable fuels. That's why I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise our fuel standards… And I didn't just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. I went to Detroit, I stood in front of a group of automakers, and I told them that when I am president, there will be no more excuses — we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil.”

The Problem

Foreign Oil: America's 20-million-barrel-a-day oil habit costs our economy $1.4 billion a day, and $500 billion in 2006 alone. Every single hour, we spend $41 million on foreign oil.

Climate Change: As a result of climate change, glaciers are melting faster; the polar ice caps are shrinking; trees are blooming earlier; more people are dying in heat waves; species are migrating, and eventually many will become extinct.

Barack Obama's Plan

Reduce Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2050

Cap and Trade: Obama supports implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Obama's cap-and-trade system will require all pollution credits to be auctioned. A 100 percent auction ensures that all polluters pay for every ton of emissions they release, rather than giving these emission rights away to coal and oil companies. Some of the revenue generated by auctioning allowances will be used to support the development of clean energy, to invest in energy efficiency improvements, and to address transition costs, including helping American workers affected by this economic transition.
Confront Deforestation and Promote Carbon Sequestration: Obama will develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Invest in a Clean Energy Future

Invest $150 Billion over 10 Years in Clean Energy: Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be devoted to ensuring that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.
Double Energy Research and Development Funding: Obama will double science and research funding for clean energy projects including those that make use of our biomass, solar and wind resources.
Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce: Obama will use proceeds from the cap-and-trade auction program to invest in job training and transition programs to help workers and industries adapt to clean technology development and production. Obama will also create an energy-focused Green Jobs Corps to connect disconnected and disadvantaged youth with job skills for a high-growth industry.
Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders: Obama will establish a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize and Americans learn the new skills they need to produce green products.
Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund: Obama will create a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to fill a critical gap in U.S. technology development. Obama will invest $10 billion per year into this fund for five years. The fund will partner with existing investment funds and our National Laboratories to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S
Require 25 Percent of Renewable Electricity by 2025: Obama will establish a 25 percent federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind and geothermal by 2025.
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology: Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.

Support Next Generation Biofuels

Deploy Cellulosic Ethanol: Obama will invest federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the system by 2013.
Expand Locally-Owned Biofuel Refineries: Less than 10 percent of new ethanol production today is from farmer-owned refineries. New ethanol refineries help jumpstart rural economies. Obama will create a number of incentives for local communities to invest in their biofuels refineries.
Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Barack Obama will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard to speed the introduction of low-carbon non-petroleum fuels. The standard requires fuels suppliers to reduce the carbon their fuel emits by ten percent by 2020.
Increase Renewable Fuel Standard: Obama will require 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be included in the fuel supply by 2022 and will increase that to at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol by 2030.

Set America on Path to Oil Independence

Obama's plan will reduce oil consumption by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030. This will more than offset the equivalent of the oil we would import from OPEC nations in 2030.

Increase Fuel Economy Standards: Obama will double fuel economy standards within 18 years. His plan will provide retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers, so that they can build new fuel-efficient cars rather than overseas companies. Obama will also invest in advanced vehicle technology such as advanced lightweight materials and new engines.

Improve Energy Efficiency 50 Percent by 2030

Set National Building Efficiency Goals: Barack Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. He'll also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.
Establish a Grant Program for Early Adopters: Obama will create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps to implement new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.
Invest in a Digital Smart Grid: Obama will pursue a major investment in our utility grid to enable a tremendous increase in renewable generation and accommodate modern energy requirements, such as reliability, smart metering, and distributed storage

Restore U.S. Leadership on Climate Change

Create New Forum of Largest Greenhouse Gas Emitters: Obama will create a Global Energy Forum — that includes all G-8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa –the largest energy consuming nations from both the developed and developing world. The forum would focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.
Re-Engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change: The UNFCCC process is the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem and an Obama administration will work constructively within it.

Barack Obama's Record

Renewable Fuels: Obama has worked on numerous efforts in the Senate to increase access to and use of renewable fuels. Obama passed legislation with Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) to give gas stations a tax credit for installing E85 ethanol refueling pumps. The tax credit covers 30 percent of the costs of switching one or more traditional petroleum pumps to E85, which is an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend. Obama also sponsored an amendment that became law providing $40 million for commercialization of a combined flexible fuel vehicle/hybrid car within five years.
CAFE: Obama introduced a bold new plan that brought Republicans and Democrats, CAFE supporters and long-time opponents together in support of legislation that will gradually increase fuel economy standards and offer what the New York Times editorial page called "real as opposed to hypothetical results."

Just What the Boss Needed

2008-04-26T11:46:00.006-05:00

Owning my shop and working for myself definitely has its perks. Those perks don't include vacation time, sick days, venting about my co-workers with my friends or cursing my boss under my breath as she passes by, BUT it does include things like hanging out in the blogosphere without get yelled at, eating my lunch whenever I happen to be hungry, "borrowing" fifty cents from the register for a soda and as I discovered yesterday, wearing my slippers while I'm at work sorting, cleaning, shelving and just generally lugging books around.

Lately my feet have been killing me and my ankle I twisted about 6 weeks ago has swollen up again. So yesterday, I thought what the heck, I'm just going to wear my comfy slippers at the store. I don't think any of my customers noticed, but most of my clientele are moms who are on their feet all day too. I'm sure they would've approved if they'd noticed. It got me through the day. My feet were a lot more comfortable and I speculate I accomplished a lot more than I would've otherwise.

She Works Hard for the Money - Donna Summer

Senator Obama on Autism and Disability

2008-04-26T10:14:00.003-05:00

“We must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination .... policies must be developed, attitudes must be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities.”

Senator Obama on Autism and Disability

Barack Speaks on World Autism Day

Taking a Look at the Issues - Barack Obama on K-12 Education

2008-04-24T12:01:00.006-05:00

Here's a shout out from Indiana. Our primary is less than 2 weeks away and we've got lots of people working hard to help Senator Obama win Indiana. One of things I want to focus on on my little ol' blog here is a positive look at Obama's stand on the issues. I'm not going to start slamming Hillary, but I'm going to speak up for Barack in one of the ways I know how. And regardless of who you vote for in the the last few states to hold primaries, just vote. Please. It's your right and a privilege not everyone in the world has and I hope you'll take advantage of it.

It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.

“I don't want to send another generation of American children to failing schools. I don't want that future for my daughters. I don't want that future for your sons. I do not want that future for America.”

Obama's K-12 Plan

Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. He will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.
Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.
Expand Summer Learning Opportunities: Obama's "STEP UP" plan addresses the achievement gap by supporting summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children through partnerships between local schools and community organizations.
Support College Outreach Programs: Obama supports outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college.
Support English Language Learners: Obama supports transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.

The Bush Administration's Environmental Policy

2008-04-24T08:45:00.005-05:00

Don't be fooled by recent news that George Bush cares about the global environment! I could hardly believe when I heard a spokesman from the administration last week stating how George Bush was doing this and doing that for the environment and it was up to the next president to keep the ball rolling that he had put into motion. Does anyone remember us pulling out of the Kyoto Treaty at the beginning of this administration? Can Bush and his clan be honest about anything? I swear the last seven plus years has been like living one long season of Survivor, i.e. the contestants will say anything and do anything to get what they want, including telling lies to your face and stabbing people in the back.

Hundreds of EPA Scientists Report Political Interference
By Judy Pasternak
The Los Angeles Times

Thursday 24 April 2008

An official with the independent group that conducted the survey says it indicates the widespread nature of the problem.

Washington - More than half of the scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency who responded to a survey said they had experienced political interference in their work.

The survey results show "an agency under siege from political pressures," said the Union of Concerned Scientists report, which was released Wednesday and sent to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

The online questionnaire was sent to 5,419 EPA scientists last summer; 1,586 replied, and of those, 889 reported that they had experienced at least one type of interference within the last five years.

Such allegations are not new: During much of the Bush administration, there have been reports of the White House watering down documents on climate change, industry language inserted into EPA power-plant regulations and scientific advisory panels' conclusions about toxic chemicals going unheeded.

But Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based nonprofit group, said the survey documented the widespread nature of the problem at the EPA. "What we've been up against until now is anecdotal evidence," Grifo said.

She acknowledged that scientists who were frustrated or upset might have been more likely than those who were satisfied to respond to her organization's survey, but added: "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported political interference in their scientific work. That's 900 too many."

EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar noted that administrator Johnson had had a 27-year career as a scientist himself.

"We have the best and finest scientific community in the world at EPA," Shradar said. "All of the issues we deal with are issues that we all are very passionate about. It's important that we let the scientists do the science and allow policymakers to do the policy work."

The survey respondents were split over the impact of political interference on regulations. According to the report, 48% believed that the EPA's actions were "frequently or always" consistent with scientific findings, and 47% believed that agency policy "occasionally, seldom or never" made use of scientific judgments.

In optional essays, scientists repeatedly singled out the Office of Management and Budget at the White House, accusing officials there of inserting themselves into decision-making at early stages in a way that shaped the outcome of their inquiries. They also alleged that the OMB delayed rules not to its liking. EPA actions "are held hostage" until changes are made, a scientist from the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation wrote.

Some also accused members of Congress of inappropriate intervention.

All of the respondents remained anonymous.

J. William Hirzy, an EPA senior scientist and union official, said that politics trumped science at times during the Clinton administration as well but that "what we're seeing now is . . . the favoring of energy interests, coal-fired power plants. That's something different in this administration."

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) wrote to Johnson on Wednesday asking him to be prepared to respond to the findings at a hearing next month of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T08:35:00.004-05:00

Today is Earth Day and our family is encouraging everyone to check out EarthDayNetwork .

We are also encouaging everyone to call your representative or senator and ask them to enact tough and fair climate change legislation. 1-202-224-3121

Find educational resources and lesson ideas to encourage caring for our world every day of the year.

Have a beautiful earth day! Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Obama in 30 Seconds Contest - Vote for Robert!

2008-04-21T19:46:00.005-05:00

Good friend and fellow blogger, Robert Rouse at Left of Centrist made an ad for the "Obama in 30 Seconds" Contest. Check out his ad through the link below and get the chance to rate and vote on Robert's ad among others. What fun!

http://obamain30seconds.org/vote/?v=view-420-RJrCZD

Good luck Robert!

Flashbacks

2008-04-20T23:31:00.003-05:00

We got cable a couple weeks ago. After almost 20 years of living without the seductress, I've discovered that I'm still the same ol' girl I used to be. What channels do I peruse? The music video channels of course. I was bred on the stuff and am as happy as a child on her birthday as I clutch the remote, grin like a school girl on picture day and if you look in my eyes, you can see them spinning away with black and white swirly-ma-jings. I have however discovered a few things have changed in the last twenty years: there are now about 5 billion music video channels, I don't understand why there are reality shows on music video channels, I am NOT hip at all and I still miss 120 Minutes. That's okay though. Apparently, everything 80's is the craze, so I have ample opportunity to see all my old favorite videos again. So, in honor of my cable bill which should be arriving soon, I give you this...

Duran Duran - Planet Earth

Gene Loves Jezebel - Motion of Love

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

Jesus and the Mary Chain - Happy When It Rains

Toni Basil - Mickey

Aha- Take on Me

Looking for a Little Respect for My Vote, Not a Dismissal

2008-04-19T14:54:00.008-05:00

I don't normally do this (post criticisms or publicly convey my frustrations of fellow democrats), but I came across the following at Daily Kos and at this moment I am fed up. I am fed up with being dismissed by Hillary's campaign during this primary season. First, I was a "latte-drinking, Prius- driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund baby". That little categorization forgot to include the word liberal and I seriously wondered when my coffee loving, environmentally conscious, hippy, philanthropic (I wish) self's vote became worthy of such criticism. Let's see, I've also been called a hopemonger, a dreamer, politically ignorant of the issues, a kool-aid drinker, unrealistic and most recently, childish because I support Senator Obama. I personally have not called Clinton supporters or the supporters of any candidate this year any names at all, but especially those meant to demean or hurt. I believe everyone has a right to align themselves with whichever candidate reflects their stand on the issues (even if I don't agree) without being abused or belittled. Now, I'm being called an activist, which by all means call away, but apparently, I'm being dismissed for being an active liberal in the DEMOCRATIC party. Seriously? I guess I must just be "infatuated" with Obama and don't really understand the democratic platform. Right Cindy? ;)

If Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, I'm sure I won't be so easily dismissed in November and she'll want my vote then. And as Hillary pointed out in Wednesday's debate, “I am sure we will have a united Democratic Party. I will do everything possible to make sure we can win and I am confident we will have a Democrat in the White House next year.“

Clinton trashes "activists" and MoveOn at closed-door fundraiser

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 04:53:43 PM PDT

And the battle of the tape recordings of closed-door fundraisers escalates.

In short, Clinton doesn't like us and doesn't agree with us.

"Moveon.org endorsed [Sen. Barack Obama] -- which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down," Clinton said to a meeting of donors. "We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and It's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me."

By the way, MoveOn never opposed the war in Afghanistan. The organization was created specifically to help her husband Bill Clinton survive impeachment for getting you-know-what. MoveOn's Eli Pariser responded:

"Senator Clinton has her facts wrong again. MoveOn never opposed the war in Afghanistan, and we set the record straight years ago when Karl Rove made the same claim. Senator Clinton's attack on our members is divisive at a time when Democrats will soon need to unify to beat Senator McCain. MoveOn is 3.2 million reliable voters and volunteers who are an important part of any winning Democratic coalition in November. They deserve better than to be dismissed using Republican talking points."

Well, for a campaign that has morphed into nothing but "Republican talking points", it shouldn't come as any surprise.

I'm curious though, what part of our foreign policy approach doesn't she agree with? The ending the war in Iraq part? I'd like more details on that one.

Respect - Musical Goddess, Aretha Franklin

3 Trillion Dollars

2008-04-19T09:38:00.002-05:00

3Trillion.org

hat tip: Chapterhouse

Write the Letter Anyway

2008-04-18T07:22:00.009-05:00

In Answer To Your Query - Naomi Lazard

We are sorry to inform you
the item you ordered
is no longer being produced.
It has not gone out of style
nor have people lost interest in it.
In fact, it has become
one of our most desired products.
Its popularity is still growing.
Orders for it come in
at an ever increasing rate.
However, a top-level decision
has caused this product
to be discontinued forever.

Instead of the item you ordered
we are sending you something else.
It is not the same thing,
nor is it a reasonable facsimile.
It is what we have in stock,
the very best we can offer.

If you are not happy
with this substitution
let us know as soon as possible.
As you can imagine
we already have quite an accumulation
of letters such as the one
you may or may not write.
To be totally fair
We respond to these complaints
as they come in.
Yours will be filed accordingly,
answered in its turn.

I came across this poem in Garrison Keillor's Good Poems for HARD TIMES a few weeks ago. Since, I've revisited the poem many times both on paper and in my thoughts. I think this poem depicts exactly how I feel when I'm frustrated with events in the world. I'm left screaming, "Hey, this is NOT what I (we) ordered!" But I've also often felt that if I write that letter, make that call, tell a friend I'm offended by something, march the streets with strangers or make my voice heard in any way that the response will be exactly what this poem depicts, "Thanks for your input, but if you really thought we'd respond in a positive way then you're one crazed cracker!" I'm done feeling this way though. Go ahead and file my comment, concern or complaint in the kitchen trash can or proverbial federal dumpster, I'm going to keep making myself heard and encourage everyone I meet to make the phone call, walk in the march, speak up and write the letter anyway.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

No Debate For Me

2008-04-17T08:48:00.004-05:00

I wasn't home last evening to watch the debate between Obama and Clinton. I was volunteering at our local Obama office instead. And from what I can tell from the articles, video clips and comments all over cyberspace today, I'm glad I didn't waste my energy watching it. I've never been a big fan of George or Charlie. I'd much prefer watch PBS with Jim Lehrer or Gwen Ifill properly take care of executing a political debate. Watching ABC try to do politics is like hearing George Bush claim he's advocating for the environment (but that's another story I heard this morning on the BBC).

Volunteering at the Obama office here in Fort Wayne is one of the best things I've ever done. The people I've met are amazing and it is so inspiring to see so many people involved in the Primary election. Everyone is upbeat and focused on getting the Senator's messages out there in the most positive ways. I assure you I've not heard one person bashing Clinton. That's not the kind of atmosphere or attitude we're trying to create. I'm sure the same sort of excitement and hard work is going on at our local Clinton office. It's unbelievable that Indiana is consequential this time around. I wouldn't miss it!

Yes We Can!