About Sarah Palin, for folks seriously considering supporting her for public office:
September 30,2008
Couric asked Palin about her taste in periodicals:
“ COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where, it's kind of suggested and it seems like, 'Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C. may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska?' "Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Reminder About Sarah Palin
A Reminder About Sarah Palin, for folks seriously considering supporting her for public office:
Katie Couric Interview September 24-25, 2008:
Palin defended her comments on how Alaska's proximity to Russia enhanced her foreign policy experience.
COURIC: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign-policy experience. What did you mean by that?
PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada. It, it’s funny that a comment like that was — kind of made to cari — I don’t know. You know. Reporters —
COURIC: Mocked?
PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.
COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.
PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--
COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
"Help at Home" Helpers Help Themselves
As a disabled person, I have for many years received assistance in my home from various individuals and agencies. The good people at the State of Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services assist me with this help. I appreciate this very much.
For the last few years, this help has come from an agency in Waukegan Illinois. (Part of a regional service provider of the same name, apparently.)
I should preface this by saying that not many people enter my bedroom. It is my most private space. I have friends whom I have known for 30 years who have never set foot in my bedroom. I sleep there every night, my landlady goes in occasionally to change a light bulb. And, of course, my helper, whoever she is at any given moment, goes in to change sheets and vacuum, put clothing away after it is washed & dried.
My birthday is in December. Because of weather difficulties in Illinois in December, I had my party on Saturday, June 20th of this year. On the morning of June 20th, I went into my bedroom to get my mother's wedding ring, which she gave to me when she was dying, and which I wear on special occasions. Simply put, it was not there. The small jewel bag in which it is kept was also missing. Not wanting to ruin my party, I kept my own counsel, and enjoyed my party. I would call the police on Monday.
My helpers from Help at Home come three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Monday morning, before My helper was to arrive, I called the local police department to report the theft. I then called the manager at the Help at Home agency, to try and speak with the Manager, Mona Armstrong, to inform her of the theft, and the impending police report. Someone named Frank told me that Mona was unavailable, but he would inform Mona.
A police officer came and took my report. I had noticed a few other pieces of jewelery missing, smaller pieces. Over the next few days I noticed more and more jewelery missing. I realized that my camera is also missing. My camera is a Canon PowerShot SX110 Digital Camera, with a 10X zoom. It is one of the great joys of my life. To say that I am heartbroken by these thefts is an understatement.
The Help at Home people have cooperated, with urging from the State, with the police.In the meantime, although I did ask for a two days of no service until I could have a lock installed on my bedroom door; I have had only perhaps six hours of help from Help at Home since I reported the incident. The Help at Home agency refused to give me the name of their insurance company, after assuring me they were insured. they told me I would have to get that information from the corporate office, for which they refused to give am a telephone number. This is an ongoing story. I will keep you posted.
For the last few years, this help has come from an agency in Waukegan Illinois. (Part of a regional service provider of the same name, apparently.)
I should preface this by saying that not many people enter my bedroom. It is my most private space. I have friends whom I have known for 30 years who have never set foot in my bedroom. I sleep there every night, my landlady goes in occasionally to change a light bulb. And, of course, my helper, whoever she is at any given moment, goes in to change sheets and vacuum, put clothing away after it is washed & dried.
My birthday is in December. Because of weather difficulties in Illinois in December, I had my party on Saturday, June 20th of this year. On the morning of June 20th, I went into my bedroom to get my mother's wedding ring, which she gave to me when she was dying, and which I wear on special occasions. Simply put, it was not there. The small jewel bag in which it is kept was also missing. Not wanting to ruin my party, I kept my own counsel, and enjoyed my party. I would call the police on Monday.
My helpers from Help at Home come three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Monday morning, before My helper was to arrive, I called the local police department to report the theft. I then called the manager at the Help at Home agency, to try and speak with the Manager, Mona Armstrong, to inform her of the theft, and the impending police report. Someone named Frank told me that Mona was unavailable, but he would inform Mona.
A police officer came and took my report. I had noticed a few other pieces of jewelery missing, smaller pieces. Over the next few days I noticed more and more jewelery missing. I realized that my camera is also missing. My camera is a Canon PowerShot SX110 Digital Camera, with a 10X zoom. It is one of the great joys of my life. To say that I am heartbroken by these thefts is an understatement.
The Help at Home people have cooperated, with urging from the State, with the police.In the meantime, although I did ask for a two days of no service until I could have a lock installed on my bedroom door; I have had only perhaps six hours of help from Help at Home since I reported the incident. The Help at Home agency refused to give me the name of their insurance company, after assuring me they were insured. they told me I would have to get that information from the corporate office, for which they refused to give am a telephone number. This is an ongoing story. I will keep you posted.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Greek Islands Spinach Pie
July 2, 2009
Greek Islands is one of the great Greek restaurants of Chicago. That's where one takes visitors from out of town.
Spinach Pie - Spanakopita
Greek Islands Restaurant, Chicago
Ingredients:
2 lbs Fresh Spinach - chopped
1 lb Onions - chopped
2 Bunches Fresh Green Onions - chopped
1 lb Feta Cheese - crumble
5 Eggs
1 Cup Olive Oil
1 lb filo Dough (comes in sheets)
1 Bunch Dill - chopped
1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Melted butter
Directions:
Sauté the onions in the olive oil till browned.
Add the Spinach and cook for 5 minutes
Mix in the eggs, Feta Cheese, pepper, and Dill.
Making the Pan:
Layer the bottom and sides of the pan with a filo dough (5-8 sheets). You should layer the dough so that when we finish stuffing with the spinach, you can wrap the dough around the stuffing to seal in the spinach. You can butter between every few sheets of the dough. Add the spinach stuffing and wrap the dough. Brush with butter or olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 300° F. Please note, every oven is different and you may have to increase or decrease the temperature. Baked the pan for about 1 hour, when you will see the dough change to a golden brown color.
When it is just family, Diana's Bakery is the place to go.
Greek Islands is one of the great Greek restaurants of Chicago. That's where one takes visitors from out of town.
Spinach Pie - Spanakopita
Greek Islands Restaurant, Chicago
Ingredients:
2 lbs Fresh Spinach - chopped
1 lb Onions - chopped
2 Bunches Fresh Green Onions - chopped
1 lb Feta Cheese - crumble
5 Eggs
1 Cup Olive Oil
1 lb filo Dough (comes in sheets)
1 Bunch Dill - chopped
1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Melted butter
Directions:
Sauté the onions in the olive oil till browned.
Add the Spinach and cook for 5 minutes
Mix in the eggs, Feta Cheese, pepper, and Dill.
Making the Pan:
Layer the bottom and sides of the pan with a filo dough (5-8 sheets). You should layer the dough so that when we finish stuffing with the spinach, you can wrap the dough around the stuffing to seal in the spinach. You can butter between every few sheets of the dough. Add the spinach stuffing and wrap the dough. Brush with butter or olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 300° F. Please note, every oven is different and you may have to increase or decrease the temperature. Baked the pan for about 1 hour, when you will see the dough change to a golden brown color.
When it is just family, Diana's Bakery is the place to go.
Scientology: It was intended to be a joke!
June 22, 2009
Scientology: A religion whose idea was born at a Science Fiction Convention in the early 1950s during a conversation among drunken Science Fiction writers. The general consensus was that any one of them could invent a religion and make a fortune at it. The idea was that owning a Religion beats working for a living.
Some interesting things surface as people involved in the cult some to their senses and leave. This piece from the Tampa Bay News is interesting.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012148.ece#comments
Scientology: A religion whose idea was born at a Science Fiction Convention in the early 1950s during a conversation among drunken Science Fiction writers. The general consensus was that any one of them could invent a religion and make a fortune at it. The idea was that owning a Religion beats working for a living.
Some interesting things surface as people involved in the cult some to their senses and leave. This piece from the Tampa Bay News is interesting.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012148.ece#comments
Live Twitter from Iran - June 17, 2009
June 17, 2009
A rather heartbreaking series of tweets from the night, by a Twitter user in Iran. He is a medical student whose 3-year-old daughter, apparently while out in the streets with her older brother, gets lost. The stream of tweets extended over several hours. I barely slept.
"My daughter had to cross vali y asr exactly where people were shot I am afraid
I am holding her little dress
I am the voice of the students of Iran. This is not right ...it is murder all we want is freedom we do not want violence
She is my life...my daughter is the reason I am a medical student and the reason I fight for justice
My daughter has been bruised by baton I hear also my brother injured by baton and is more injured but I do not know much now
I think basiji have base near here
Thank you very much for support
I am worried more now more than three days no sleep is daughter injured...I am smoking like chimney
I hear news of rally but I am treating woman and finding my daughter
The pain of not knowing is worse than injury
Using American alcohol on wounds fight infection
Good day for revolution for people bad day for family
Some boy has come in he said someone shoot at him he has small wound from baton on eye
I ask him what did you do child he said when someone shoot at you, you shoot them back.
Oh god!
This child is near 14 years... why must kids fight for the mistake of old mullahs?
I have aged 10 year in 3 days
I am not afraid to die for freedom I am afraid to die without getting it for my daughter
We are young// the kids fighting are very young but we our minds are captive to old men in silly dresses
Why should the youth obey the old when their ideas are not our ideas when their actions are violent... this is not Muslim
This is not fair... we are free in our minds let our bodies and our mouths be free to say what we want.... to do what we want
I am afraid most of the world does not care if we are free or slaves
My brother has many friend in regime he should have sent word by now
Saw police wear green scarves riot man was crying
Well I want to find email addresses of doctors and link them too the medic.
Doctors are trying to get to rural areas, as there is less support there
Far as eye can see people in every corner people everywhere...revolution is close to end... Ghandi would be proud
I cannot count the numbers too big."
A rather heartbreaking series of tweets from the night, by a Twitter user in Iran. He is a medical student whose 3-year-old daughter, apparently while out in the streets with her older brother, gets lost. The stream of tweets extended over several hours. I barely slept.
"My daughter had to cross vali y asr exactly where people were shot I am afraid
I am holding her little dress
I am the voice of the students of Iran. This is not right ...it is murder all we want is freedom we do not want violence
She is my life...my daughter is the reason I am a medical student and the reason I fight for justice
My daughter has been bruised by baton I hear also my brother injured by baton and is more injured but I do not know much now
I think basiji have base near here
Thank you very much for support
I am worried more now more than three days no sleep is daughter injured...I am smoking like chimney
I hear news of rally but I am treating woman and finding my daughter
The pain of not knowing is worse than injury
Using American alcohol on wounds fight infection
Good day for revolution for people bad day for family
Some boy has come in he said someone shoot at him he has small wound from baton on eye
I ask him what did you do child he said when someone shoot at you, you shoot them back.
Oh god!
This child is near 14 years... why must kids fight for the mistake of old mullahs?
I have aged 10 year in 3 days
I am not afraid to die for freedom I am afraid to die without getting it for my daughter
We are young// the kids fighting are very young but we our minds are captive to old men in silly dresses
Why should the youth obey the old when their ideas are not our ideas when their actions are violent... this is not Muslim
This is not fair... we are free in our minds let our bodies and our mouths be free to say what we want.... to do what we want
I am afraid most of the world does not care if we are free or slaves
My brother has many friend in regime he should have sent word by now
Saw police wear green scarves riot man was crying
Well I want to find email addresses of doctors and link them too the medic.
Doctors are trying to get to rural areas, as there is less support there
Far as eye can see people in every corner people everywhere...revolution is close to end... Ghandi would be proud
I cannot count the numbers too big."
40 things you never wanted to know about me
June 4, 2009
1. Do you like blue cheese dressing?
Prefer Blue Stilton Cheese, no dressing.
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes?
Yes, a pack a day in my early twenties. Couldn't afford them. Quit.
3. Do you own a gun?
Not now, Not ever. Don't want one. I have a little list of people without whom the world would be a better place. It is better this way.
4. What's your favorite drink at specialty coffee shop?
Whatever is cheapest.
5. What do you think of hot dogs?
I don't think about them. I just eat them.
I eat one two or three times a year. Kosher, all beef.
6. Favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life
7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Coffee
8. Can you do push ups?
I'm lucky, I can still do crunches every day!
9. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
My mother's wedding ring.
10. Favorite hobbies?
Reading, Scrabble, reading, crossword puzzles, reading.
11. Do you have ADD?
If so, they are all afraid to tell me.
12. What's one trait that you hate about yourself?
I have been known to speak bluntly to people I thought needed a reality check. I wish I were more tactful.
13. Middle name?
Hartsfield
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
Dinner is late. Time to cover the bird for the night. I need to clean house tomorrow.
15. 3 things I drink the most.
Water, tea, coffee
16. Current worry right now?
1. China is going to continue to pretend the Tienanmen Square Massacre was no big thing; people will believe any lie repeated enough.
2. The New Governor of Illinois is threatening to cut funding to the programs that provide Home Health Care to the disabled and elderly; Nursing home care will cost ten times as much. That affects me.
17. Current hate(s) right now?
More of an intense dislike: Someone needs to tell Dick Cheney he's not president any more. And I didn't like him when he was.
18. Favorite place to be?
1. Vancouver, B.C. and 2. Florence, Italy.
19. How did you ring in the New Year?
Ate properly, watched midnight in Times Square in New York City, went right to bed. Woke up grateful to be alive.
20. Like to Travel?
Not a big fan of flying over water. Never have been.
Trains are my favorite.
21. Name three people who will complete this.
Beats me.
22. Do you own slippers?
Yes.
23. What color shirt are you wearing?
Yellow
24. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor?
Never heard of it.
25. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Anything from folk tunes & show tunes to Arias & Hymns.
Favorite girl names?
Sylvia, Irene, Edith, Ariadne, Eleanor.
27. Favorite boy names?
Stephen, Michael, Abraham, Tiberius, Harry.
28. What's in your pocket right now?
Handkerchief, driving gloves.
29. Last thing that made you laugh?
A very tired old joke about engineers:
"Optimists say the glass is half-full. Pessimists say the glass is half empty. An engineer says the glass is twice as large as it needs to be."
30. Worst injury you've ever had?
Radiation burns on my feet and ankles, age 10 or 11.
31. Do you love where you live?
Absolutely. I have good neighbors, a hedgerow outside my dining room window, bird houses and a feeder, flowers, heat, running water, a separate room for my car (garage).
32. How many TVs do you have in your house?
One, with a DVD/VHS player connected to it.
33. Who is your loudest friend?
I am the loudest of my friends.
34. Does someone have a crush on you?
Yes, boring.
35. What is your favorite candy?
Plain Vanilla Caramels made by Trappestine nuns at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey. They make chocolate ones, and chocolate covered ones, but why mess with perfection? Support the good sisters: Trappistine Caramels
36. Favorite Sports Team?
Chicago Cubs.
37. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Sleeping.
38. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today?
"Oh, Hurray! I made it again!"
39. What is your favorite Holiday?
Lughnasadh: Primarily a grain harvest. Corn, wheat, barley and grain products are prominently featured.
Fruits and vegetables which ripen in late summer are also a part of the traditional feast.
The Goddess is honored as the new mother who has given birth to the bounty, The God is honored as the Father of Prosperity.
40. What are your plans for tomorrow?
House Cleaning. Planting the garden. In no particular order.
The Next Teevee Survivor Series
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports
and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must
take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
and complete science projects,
cook, do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills
with not enough money.
In addition, each man
will have to budget in money
for groceries each week.
Each man
must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives,
and send cards out
on time--no emailing.
Each man must also
take each child to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.
He must make
one unscheduled and inconvenient
visit per child
to the Urgent Care.
In the middle of the night.
He must also
make cookies or cupcakes
for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside
and keeping it presentable
at all times.
The men will only
have access to television
when the kids are asleep
and all chores are done.
Each man must
shave his legs,
wear makeup daily,
adorn himself with jewelry,
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep fingernails polished
and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain OR slow down from other duties.
They must attend
weekly school meetings,
church, and find time, at least once, to spend the afternoon
at the park or a similar setting with each child.
Each child must have a sleepover with two friends, not counting their siblings, at least once.
Each Man will need to bathe each child every night. In addition,
each man must read a book to every kid, and get their teeth brushed AND flossed, each night.
In the morning,
feed them, dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size
and doctor's name.
Also the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear and
what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island
based on performance.
The last man wins only if...
he still has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse
at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over
and over again for the next 18-25 years
eventually earning the right
To be called Mother!
Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson
And Spring comes around again. the trees and bushes in the hedgerow are beginning to green up. The birds are sitting on eggs, and I have already seen my second Robin! Everywhere I go there are bright yellow daffodils peering back at me. The bright red tulips are set off by their white neighbors.
The bird feeder is once again swamped with Cardinals, Red Winged Blackbirds, and the usual complement of chickadees, wrens, sparrows, and finches. I can hear a woodpecker this year; have only seen him once.
Goddess Bless Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson. Her husband Lyndon is remembered for the Vietnam War. When she decided the huge billboards were coming down, come down they did! She will always be remembered as the woman who worked hard to have wildflowers planted along state and federal highways. Her legacy is greater than her husband's.
If you drive through this amazing country, you see the native plants, and cannot help but think of her.
The bird feeder is once again swamped with Cardinals, Red Winged Blackbirds, and the usual complement of chickadees, wrens, sparrows, and finches. I can hear a woodpecker this year; have only seen him once.
Goddess Bless Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson. Her husband Lyndon is remembered for the Vietnam War. When she decided the huge billboards were coming down, come down they did! She will always be remembered as the woman who worked hard to have wildflowers planted along state and federal highways. Her legacy is greater than her husband's.
If you drive through this amazing country, you see the native plants, and cannot help but think of her.
Bernard Madoff - Famous Thief March 13, 2009
From CBS News:
"Bernard Madoff's lawyers have appealed his jailing, saying he should be released until sentencing because he never fled, even knowing he could expect to die in prison.
Madoff's lawyers filed papers with a federal appeals court Friday.
The disgraced money manager pleaded guilty Thursday to 11 felony counts, including securities fraud, in what may be the biggest fraud in Wall Street history. His $10 million bail was immediately revoked.
His lawyers also say they need to consult with Madoff to prepare for his June 16 sentencing, and his jailing makes that difficult.
At Madoff's plea hearing yesterday, defense attorney Ira Sorkin argued Madoff deserved to stay out because other high-profile financial criminals accused in multi-billion-dollar frauds were not jailed until sentencing, but Chin disagreed, telling prosecutors he did not even need to hear their bail arguments.
"In light of Mr. Madoff's age, he has an incentive to flee, he has the means to flee, and thus, he presents a risk of flight," Chin said.
A federal appeals court will hear the bail appeal Thursday.
Madoff woke up today in a 7 1/2 by 8 foot jail cell as Prisoner 61727-054 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. And whatever the outcome of his bail status appeal, he'll soon be on his way to much harder time in prison, following his June 16 sentencing."
I am almost convulsed at the content of this story. Why shouldn't the nasty little thief go to jail, please? Send with him everyone else involved in his Ponzi scheme. There are people who are literally going back to work in their 90's because this guy stole their money. There are people who are homeless because of him. Talk about stealing from the poor to give to the obscenely wealthy! Put him away and grind up the key!
His lawyers told the judge his wife, who has a butt-load of the money, has offered to pay for private security guards to watch him. She would, of course, be paying the security guards with stolen money, but so what? Eh? He's an old man. Let it slide.
Talk about a crock. Let him rot and die in jail. I don't mean the country clubs they send politicians to, either.
This just annoys the hell out of me.
You know I will be ticked off when the Federal Appeals Court sets him free.
AP - "Bernard Madoff and his wife had $823 million in assets at the end of last year, including $22 million in properties stretching from New York to the French Riviera, a $7 million yacht and a $2.2 million boat named "Bull," according to a document his lawyers filed Friday."
"Bernard Madoff's lawyers have appealed his jailing, saying he should be released until sentencing because he never fled, even knowing he could expect to die in prison.
Madoff's lawyers filed papers with a federal appeals court Friday.
The disgraced money manager pleaded guilty Thursday to 11 felony counts, including securities fraud, in what may be the biggest fraud in Wall Street history. His $10 million bail was immediately revoked.
His lawyers also say they need to consult with Madoff to prepare for his June 16 sentencing, and his jailing makes that difficult.
At Madoff's plea hearing yesterday, defense attorney Ira Sorkin argued Madoff deserved to stay out because other high-profile financial criminals accused in multi-billion-dollar frauds were not jailed until sentencing, but Chin disagreed, telling prosecutors he did not even need to hear their bail arguments.
"In light of Mr. Madoff's age, he has an incentive to flee, he has the means to flee, and thus, he presents a risk of flight," Chin said.
A federal appeals court will hear the bail appeal Thursday.
Madoff woke up today in a 7 1/2 by 8 foot jail cell as Prisoner 61727-054 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. And whatever the outcome of his bail status appeal, he'll soon be on his way to much harder time in prison, following his June 16 sentencing."
I am almost convulsed at the content of this story. Why shouldn't the nasty little thief go to jail, please? Send with him everyone else involved in his Ponzi scheme. There are people who are literally going back to work in their 90's because this guy stole their money. There are people who are homeless because of him. Talk about stealing from the poor to give to the obscenely wealthy! Put him away and grind up the key!
His lawyers told the judge his wife, who has a butt-load of the money, has offered to pay for private security guards to watch him. She would, of course, be paying the security guards with stolen money, but so what? Eh? He's an old man. Let it slide.
Talk about a crock. Let him rot and die in jail. I don't mean the country clubs they send politicians to, either.
This just annoys the hell out of me.
You know I will be ticked off when the Federal Appeals Court sets him free.
AP - "Bernard Madoff and his wife had $823 million in assets at the end of last year, including $22 million in properties stretching from New York to the French Riviera, a $7 million yacht and a $2.2 million boat named "Bull," according to a document his lawyers filed Friday."
Different Times February 28, 2009
I grew up in the early fifties, when toys were mostly made of real world stuff. Jump ropes were made of real rope. Just like the clothes line! Clothes pins were made of wood. They bit little fingers.
In Spring, the first flowers to appear were Crocus and Tulips. It was forbidden to pick them. We could carefully pull a few of the lily-of-the-valley flowers from their leaves, with long, long stems, for keeping in a little jar and smelling pretty. We picked flowers for my Mother from the flower garden. And sometimes, little fist-fulls of Dandelions. We avoided the rose bushes, because they, too, bit.
We had climbing trees. There were also apple and plum trees, two kinds of each! We could not climb the fruit trees. There was a honeysuckle bush, and lilacs and forsythia. We had Hydrangea, Clematis, and Marigolds. There were Snapdragons, and Zinnia! We picked flowers for my Mother from the garden, and sometimes, little fist-fulls of Dandelions.
I liked the feel of wood blocks, different sizes and shapes.
I liked the little wooden men, probably 6 inches tall, shaped like cut-outs from a cookie cutter, that my father had made for us: copies of a toy from his childhood. I loved that they had different wood patterns, each one cut from a different scrap of wood. I loved that they were sanded smooth, almost rounded on the edges. I had a hobby horse, with a wooden head and a stick body, with hair that looked like it came from a string mop. We had monkey puppets that were made from real socks that we watched Mother buy!
I loved Lincoln Logs. We had probably a whole toy box of them. My mom got most of them at yard sales. In the city, where I lived, there were always yard sales. That's where our marbles came from, too. real glass marbles. Occasionally we got smooth stone marbles, which we couldn't use with the glass ones, or the glass ones would break.
I loved the metal toys, too We made things with erector sets. I learned how buildings went together long before I went to school. I had a red metal car that had pedals for propelling it around the block. We had roller skates that strapped onto our shoes. I still have my skate key!
I had a metal tricycle, red, with a real leather seat. It was heavy steel. We had O-Gauge Lionel Trains, that ran on a track around the basement walls, on a ledge, with little houses and backgrounds of Paper-Mache`. My favorite was the Giraffe Car.
I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday the weekend we built the "Mountain" with a chicken wire armature.
I loved my dolls, which did not walk or talk, or wear high heels, or date, or need a wardrobe mistress. Raggedy Ann lived on my bed. My favorite dolly had dress up clothes and play clothes, just as I did, two sets of clothes. My mother made the second outfits for our dolls, from scraps from her own clothes, or scraps from our clothes. Our dolls weren't sacred.
They played in the yard with us. they got dirty and we learned to wash them carefully with a damp (not wet) washcloth. Our stuffed animals became collector's items, because they were Steiff animals, with little metal buttons in their ears. A duplicate of my loved-until-he's-worn lion cub is selling on e-bay for $70.00. Mine isn't for sale, thank you very much.
We used handkerchiefs, which we made to practice our sewing skills. We could pick out any fabric from the fabric bag, (which was the good stuff that didn't go the the rag bag,) and my Mother would cut a careful square for us, which we would then hem. It always seemed to take forever. But they have lasted, some of them, to this day.
We had a sandbox in the back yard. We played on the grass, we got muddy. We had to go in through the basement door, because there was a "mud room" there. When was the last time you heard of someone having a mud room for letting their kids get undressed from wet clothes, and clean enough to enter the living quarters? Everybody had mud rooms then.
Older kids played in the alley, playing something like baseball, or hitting tennis balls against the garage door, or even pitching pennies out on their front steps. (Something of which Mother did not approve. We didn't do that.) There were Checkers, and Chinese Checkers, and Clue, and Risk and Monopoly and Chess. Not to mention jigsaw puzzles!
We had a vegetable garden with flowers around the border. They all grew from seeds. We had gardening tools. Regular size. We pulled weeds, and watered the garden on dry Summer evenings. We were happy when the radishes were ready, and amazed at how those tiny seeds became big carrots! We grew Chard. Does anyone besides me remember Chard?
We grew string beans, lettuce and tomatoes, cucumbers. Our salads came from the garden. We learned that lettuce plants will keep making more lettuce if you harvest just the outer leaves. We also learned young that two hills of Zucchini were plenty for a family of five!
I think childhood is very different now. Plastic toys help kids to grow up accustomed to the feel of plastic everything. We have somehow deprived children of the feel of "real stuff." Most kids don't play with marbles any more. I don't even know if Lincoln Logs are still made. Children don't often get to see seeds turn into flowers and vegetables, as nearly as I can tell. "Food" comes from "the store". Playing outside means sitting in the car and text-messaging your friends.
I'm grateful to have grown up when I did. Before bread came in plastic bags, it was something Mother made. We made applesauce, and apple butter, used real Maple syrup on pancakes. We whined about walking eight blocks to school. In Chicago, eight blocks is only a mile.
We rode the bus to go places, when we were old enough to go alone. It cost a whole quarter!
I must be getting older, to be looking back on those days so fondly. We were the kids of people who survived the World Wars, the Great Depression, and Korea. Maybe we weren't rich, but we never knew it.
In Spring, the first flowers to appear were Crocus and Tulips. It was forbidden to pick them. We could carefully pull a few of the lily-of-the-valley flowers from their leaves, with long, long stems, for keeping in a little jar and smelling pretty. We picked flowers for my Mother from the flower garden. And sometimes, little fist-fulls of Dandelions. We avoided the rose bushes, because they, too, bit.
We had climbing trees. There were also apple and plum trees, two kinds of each! We could not climb the fruit trees. There was a honeysuckle bush, and lilacs and forsythia. We had Hydrangea, Clematis, and Marigolds. There were Snapdragons, and Zinnia! We picked flowers for my Mother from the garden, and sometimes, little fist-fulls of Dandelions.
I liked the feel of wood blocks, different sizes and shapes.
I liked the little wooden men, probably 6 inches tall, shaped like cut-outs from a cookie cutter, that my father had made for us: copies of a toy from his childhood. I loved that they had different wood patterns, each one cut from a different scrap of wood. I loved that they were sanded smooth, almost rounded on the edges. I had a hobby horse, with a wooden head and a stick body, with hair that looked like it came from a string mop. We had monkey puppets that were made from real socks that we watched Mother buy!
I loved Lincoln Logs. We had probably a whole toy box of them. My mom got most of them at yard sales. In the city, where I lived, there were always yard sales. That's where our marbles came from, too. real glass marbles. Occasionally we got smooth stone marbles, which we couldn't use with the glass ones, or the glass ones would break.
I loved the metal toys, too We made things with erector sets. I learned how buildings went together long before I went to school. I had a red metal car that had pedals for propelling it around the block. We had roller skates that strapped onto our shoes. I still have my skate key!
I had a metal tricycle, red, with a real leather seat. It was heavy steel. We had O-Gauge Lionel Trains, that ran on a track around the basement walls, on a ledge, with little houses and backgrounds of Paper-Mache`. My favorite was the Giraffe Car.
I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday the weekend we built the "Mountain" with a chicken wire armature.
I loved my dolls, which did not walk or talk, or wear high heels, or date, or need a wardrobe mistress. Raggedy Ann lived on my bed. My favorite dolly had dress up clothes and play clothes, just as I did, two sets of clothes. My mother made the second outfits for our dolls, from scraps from her own clothes, or scraps from our clothes. Our dolls weren't sacred.
They played in the yard with us. they got dirty and we learned to wash them carefully with a damp (not wet) washcloth. Our stuffed animals became collector's items, because they were Steiff animals, with little metal buttons in their ears. A duplicate of my loved-until-he's-worn lion cub is selling on e-bay for $70.00. Mine isn't for sale, thank you very much.
We used handkerchiefs, which we made to practice our sewing skills. We could pick out any fabric from the fabric bag, (which was the good stuff that didn't go the the rag bag,) and my Mother would cut a careful square for us, which we would then hem. It always seemed to take forever. But they have lasted, some of them, to this day.
We had a sandbox in the back yard. We played on the grass, we got muddy. We had to go in through the basement door, because there was a "mud room" there. When was the last time you heard of someone having a mud room for letting their kids get undressed from wet clothes, and clean enough to enter the living quarters? Everybody had mud rooms then.
Older kids played in the alley, playing something like baseball, or hitting tennis balls against the garage door, or even pitching pennies out on their front steps. (Something of which Mother did not approve. We didn't do that.) There were Checkers, and Chinese Checkers, and Clue, and Risk and Monopoly and Chess. Not to mention jigsaw puzzles!
We had a vegetable garden with flowers around the border. They all grew from seeds. We had gardening tools. Regular size. We pulled weeds, and watered the garden on dry Summer evenings. We were happy when the radishes were ready, and amazed at how those tiny seeds became big carrots! We grew Chard. Does anyone besides me remember Chard?
We grew string beans, lettuce and tomatoes, cucumbers. Our salads came from the garden. We learned that lettuce plants will keep making more lettuce if you harvest just the outer leaves. We also learned young that two hills of Zucchini were plenty for a family of five!
I think childhood is very different now. Plastic toys help kids to grow up accustomed to the feel of plastic everything. We have somehow deprived children of the feel of "real stuff." Most kids don't play with marbles any more. I don't even know if Lincoln Logs are still made. Children don't often get to see seeds turn into flowers and vegetables, as nearly as I can tell. "Food" comes from "the store". Playing outside means sitting in the car and text-messaging your friends.
I'm grateful to have grown up when I did. Before bread came in plastic bags, it was something Mother made. We made applesauce, and apple butter, used real Maple syrup on pancakes. We whined about walking eight blocks to school. In Chicago, eight blocks is only a mile.
We rode the bus to go places, when we were old enough to go alone. It cost a whole quarter!
I must be getting older, to be looking back on those days so fondly. We were the kids of people who survived the World Wars, the Great Depression, and Korea. Maybe we weren't rich, but we never knew it.
What if we Run Out of Seeds?
Thu Jan 29, 2009 from Reuters
Millennium Seed Bank
The Wellcome Trust Millennium Building is home to the Millennium Seed Bank Project. It opened in 2000 and is an integral part of the Wakehurst Place visitor experience, together with the Mansion and gardens.
As well as providing space to store thousands of seed samples in a large underground vault, the building includes advanced seed research and processing facilities, and a state of the art exhibition about seed conservation.
Some of the diversity of UK native flora is shown in the eight exterior parterres, which show habitats from the seashore to the uplands.
Millennium Seed Bank Project
In depth: the work of the Millennium Seed Bank
The Millennium Seed Bank Project is an international collaborative plant conservation initiative. This worldwide effort aims to safeguard 24,000 plant species from around the globe against extinction. It has already successfully secured the future of virtually all the UK's native flowering plants
The aims of the Project are to:
• Collect and conserve 10%, over 24,000 species, of the world's seed-bearing flora, principally from the drylands, by 2010.
• Collect and conserve seeds of the entire UK native seed-bearing flora by 2000.
• Carry out research to improve all aspects of seed conservation.
• Make seeds available for research and species re-introduction into the wild.
• Encourage plant conservation throughout the world by facilitating access to and transfer of seed conservation technology.
• Maintain and promote the public interest in plant conservation.
• Provide a world-class facility as a focal resource for this activity.
The UK Programme has already collected seed from over 95% of the UK's native higher plants. This is the first time that any country has underpinned the conservation of its flora in this way.
Britain's world-famous Millennium Seed Bank at Kew is facing a funding crisis, which may lead to it pulling back from its target of collecting seed from one-quarter of the world's flowering plants by 2020.
If you wish to support Kew's research, conservation or education work or the Gardens and Collections, donations can be sent to:
American Society for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
c/o Terri Seei
1530 S. State St. # 501
Chicago, IL 60605
USA
Millennium Seed Bank
The Wellcome Trust Millennium Building is home to the Millennium Seed Bank Project. It opened in 2000 and is an integral part of the Wakehurst Place visitor experience, together with the Mansion and gardens.
As well as providing space to store thousands of seed samples in a large underground vault, the building includes advanced seed research and processing facilities, and a state of the art exhibition about seed conservation.
Some of the diversity of UK native flora is shown in the eight exterior parterres, which show habitats from the seashore to the uplands.
Millennium Seed Bank Project
In depth: the work of the Millennium Seed Bank
The Millennium Seed Bank Project is an international collaborative plant conservation initiative. This worldwide effort aims to safeguard 24,000 plant species from around the globe against extinction. It has already successfully secured the future of virtually all the UK's native flowering plants
The aims of the Project are to:
• Collect and conserve 10%, over 24,000 species, of the world's seed-bearing flora, principally from the drylands, by 2010.
• Collect and conserve seeds of the entire UK native seed-bearing flora by 2000.
• Carry out research to improve all aspects of seed conservation.
• Make seeds available for research and species re-introduction into the wild.
• Encourage plant conservation throughout the world by facilitating access to and transfer of seed conservation technology.
• Maintain and promote the public interest in plant conservation.
• Provide a world-class facility as a focal resource for this activity.
The UK Programme has already collected seed from over 95% of the UK's native higher plants. This is the first time that any country has underpinned the conservation of its flora in this way.
Britain's world-famous Millennium Seed Bank at Kew is facing a funding crisis, which may lead to it pulling back from its target of collecting seed from one-quarter of the world's flowering plants by 2020.
If you wish to support Kew's research, conservation or education work or the Gardens and Collections, donations can be sent to:
American Society for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
c/o Terri Seei
1530 S. State St. # 501
Chicago, IL 60605
USA
January, 2009
January 22, 2009
Day after Barack Obama took office.
And he said, among other things:
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
I think we can hold our heads up in the world again.
I watched tee vee more yesterday than in the past year put together.
I am living in amazing times.
When I was a child, and traveled to the American deep South, as it was called in that time, people of color could not even drink from the same water fountains as whites.
I have lived to see a man of mixed race elected President of the United States.
I could not BE more delighted.
All my hopes and prayers and dreams go with him.
God bless Barak Obama, and God bless people of good heart throughout the world!
God bless us, every one.
Day after Barack Obama took office.
And he said, among other things:
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
I think we can hold our heads up in the world again.
I watched tee vee more yesterday than in the past year put together.
I am living in amazing times.
When I was a child, and traveled to the American deep South, as it was called in that time, people of color could not even drink from the same water fountains as whites.
I have lived to see a man of mixed race elected President of the United States.
I could not BE more delighted.
All my hopes and prayers and dreams go with him.
God bless Barak Obama, and God bless people of good heart throughout the world!
God bless us, every one.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Madoff Theft Leaves Elie Wiesel Broke
CBS Evening News: Holocaust Survivor Talks About Impact Of Madoff's Ponzi Scheme
Elie Wiesel On Loss, Starting Over
NEW YORK, May 16, 2009 | by Jeff Greenfield
High on the list of people taken by Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and holocaust survivor. On Saturday, Wiesel talked about his loss, and about starting over, in an exclusive interview with CBS News correspondent Jeff Greenfield.
"For the first moment I felt a kind of not physical but spiritual, mental nakedness, that everything was taken," Elie Wiesel said.
It was late last year when Wiesel learned that he and his foundation had lost all their money at the hands of Bernard Madoff.
"For the first moment of course was almost paralyzing," he said. "Then we shook ourselves up."
And that is what Wiesel wanted to talk about in his only television interview - how someone finds the resilience to "shake themselves up" in the face of such a blow.
"When my life seems to be partly or wholly in ruins, I build on them. I may even use the ruins for the buildings. Second, I will never allow anyone to change my life or destroy what I have done with it," he said. "Somehow what I must keep in mind is what I think of myself."
There is nothing sentimental about Wiesel's view of the world; he believes that evil is a palpable presence; he does not explain what happened as a mark of God's mysterious will.
"Too easy," he said. "Human beings should be held accountable. Leave god alone. He has enough problems."
"I would imagine that one of the assets you could draw on was literally a worldwide community of friends and colleagues," Greenfield said. "Were they there for you?"
"No, not really," Wiesel said. "Very few, very very few. But this happens. It doesn't affect me, I gain a lucidity. The masks have been dropped."
Others - people he had never met - did come through.
"Five dollars, ten dollars, children. One of them sent us Chanukah money. And he said, "I prevailed upon my parents to match the fund."
And in a sense, the horrors of what Wiesel lived through six decades ago - watching his parents and little sister die in the concentration camps - provides him a sense of perspective.
"When I was young I lost everything. And almost everyone else. And so all the other fortunes mean much less. Look, if I were alone in the world, I would have the right to choose despair, solitude and self-fulfillment. But I am not alone," he said. "And if someone is, I have to be present to someone who is alone. And of course that is the sense of my life. Look at my age. I have to be self-conscious of what I'm trying to do with my life. "
©MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved
http://eliewieselfoundation.org/eliewiesel.aspx
Elie Wiesel On Loss, Starting Over
NEW YORK, May 16, 2009 | by Jeff Greenfield
High on the list of people taken by Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and holocaust survivor. On Saturday, Wiesel talked about his loss, and about starting over, in an exclusive interview with CBS News correspondent Jeff Greenfield.
"For the first moment I felt a kind of not physical but spiritual, mental nakedness, that everything was taken," Elie Wiesel said.
It was late last year when Wiesel learned that he and his foundation had lost all their money at the hands of Bernard Madoff.
"For the first moment of course was almost paralyzing," he said. "Then we shook ourselves up."
And that is what Wiesel wanted to talk about in his only television interview - how someone finds the resilience to "shake themselves up" in the face of such a blow.
"When my life seems to be partly or wholly in ruins, I build on them. I may even use the ruins for the buildings. Second, I will never allow anyone to change my life or destroy what I have done with it," he said. "Somehow what I must keep in mind is what I think of myself."
There is nothing sentimental about Wiesel's view of the world; he believes that evil is a palpable presence; he does not explain what happened as a mark of God's mysterious will.
"Too easy," he said. "Human beings should be held accountable. Leave god alone. He has enough problems."
"I would imagine that one of the assets you could draw on was literally a worldwide community of friends and colleagues," Greenfield said. "Were they there for you?"
"No, not really," Wiesel said. "Very few, very very few. But this happens. It doesn't affect me, I gain a lucidity. The masks have been dropped."
Others - people he had never met - did come through.
"Five dollars, ten dollars, children. One of them sent us Chanukah money. And he said, "I prevailed upon my parents to match the fund."
And in a sense, the horrors of what Wiesel lived through six decades ago - watching his parents and little sister die in the concentration camps - provides him a sense of perspective.
"When I was young I lost everything. And almost everyone else. And so all the other fortunes mean much less. Look, if I were alone in the world, I would have the right to choose despair, solitude and self-fulfillment. But I am not alone," he said. "And if someone is, I have to be present to someone who is alone. And of course that is the sense of my life. Look at my age. I have to be self-conscious of what I'm trying to do with my life. "
©MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved
http://eliewieselfoundation.org/eliewiesel.aspx
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
About My Birthday!
Yesterday was my 59th Birthday! Next year I move into my 60's. Odd, as I don't feel significantly different than I felt at my 25th birthday, or my 50th birthday. I AM wiser, though, and my body is getting more decrepit, so perhaps I am getting older.
This year I am only having a few members of my family and some very close by friends in for an open house. I've been in the hospital, been really sick, and I can't face a big crowd. I simply cannot sit up very long yet. I have started working on my core stability issues again. I've had a couple of bad falls, and I know I need to work out lots more, just to stay upright. Falling is real no fun. In literally minutes, I can feel a Fibromyalgia flare-up starting again.
I didn't go to see Edith in Arizona in December. I was in the hospital the day I was supposed to fly out. Perhaps next year.
I'm waiting until I feel emotionally stronger before I go and see _MILK_. Those were difficult years to live, and following the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, there came the mass suicides and murders in Jonestown, many of whom were San Francisco natives. After that came Gay Related Immune Disorder, GRID, later on called AIDS. We all know people who are no longer with us, but the AIDS Pandemic wiped out many entire phone books. I try not to go there, because there is so much unresolved grief. I am fortunate in that I still have many friends, some from before AIDS, some made since then. I count my blessings every day for my friends. You know who you are. I appreciate all of you.
Chicago has gone full blown Winter starting in December this year. The High today was 15F, and snow has been falling all day today. On the bright side, every tee vee channel in Chicago has shown _Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown_ at least once, so I will never have to forget any of the words again. But seriously, I have been listening to Advent and Christmas Music, and the halls are decked, in a small way. Happy Holidays to you and yours. Cheers, Stephy
This year I am only having a few members of my family and some very close by friends in for an open house. I've been in the hospital, been really sick, and I can't face a big crowd. I simply cannot sit up very long yet. I have started working on my core stability issues again. I've had a couple of bad falls, and I know I need to work out lots more, just to stay upright. Falling is real no fun. In literally minutes, I can feel a Fibromyalgia flare-up starting again.
I didn't go to see Edith in Arizona in December. I was in the hospital the day I was supposed to fly out. Perhaps next year.
I'm waiting until I feel emotionally stronger before I go and see _MILK_. Those were difficult years to live, and following the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, there came the mass suicides and murders in Jonestown, many of whom were San Francisco natives. After that came Gay Related Immune Disorder, GRID, later on called AIDS. We all know people who are no longer with us, but the AIDS Pandemic wiped out many entire phone books. I try not to go there, because there is so much unresolved grief. I am fortunate in that I still have many friends, some from before AIDS, some made since then. I count my blessings every day for my friends. You know who you are. I appreciate all of you.
Chicago has gone full blown Winter starting in December this year. The High today was 15F, and snow has been falling all day today. On the bright side, every tee vee channel in Chicago has shown _Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown_ at least once, so I will never have to forget any of the words again. But seriously, I have been listening to Advent and Christmas Music, and the halls are decked, in a small way. Happy Holidays to you and yours. Cheers, Stephy
Sunday, November 16, 2008
On reading, And goodbye to a friend
Obama winning helped me feel better. It reinforced my belief that we can be America again, not a Fascist State.
So sad, too bad; I lost a friend during this campaign. I discovered someone I have known since his childhood believes "We don't need a (N word) for president. So, I move on, old friend. I thought you had grown up. Tsk. Sigh, Goodbye. If I live long enough, racism will be ancient history.
I don't think I have heard that word since the early 60's out of the mouth of a person I called "friend". Sad to leave behind a long time friend, but I don't need racists in my life. Life is too short. I no longer feel the need to change people. I just get them out of my life. I prefer to surround myself with people who have higher expectations of themselves and their friends, and great respect for people in general and as individuals.
When I meet a new person, I tend to sort first for honesty and integrity. I suspect I also sort for intelligence, or, more specifically, a thing called "Mother Wit" being worthy of the brain God gave them. Using that brain to think and be of some use in the world. I also sort for willingness to give back to one's community.
Most of my friends volunteer, or have given serious hours of their life, to volunteering at something, be it at a local Animal Shelter, at a Homeless Shelter for human beings, at a Shelter for Battered Women, a Church, whatever.
I'm reading again, back to a book every day or so. I re-read "The Grapes of Wrath", and the descriptions John Steinbeck writes are still breathtaking, but this was not what I would call an ideal time to read about the plight of the Family Joad, and so many others who suffered through the Great Depression and Dust Storms. Let's face it. I don't need depression right now. The writing is beautiful, poignant, etc., but not just now.
I have taken to reading everything Rita Mae Brown has written in the last two or three years. She writes good little Mystery novels with her cat, "Sneaky Pie".
She also has a series about a Virginia Hunt Club which has informed me a great deal about Fox Hunting in the USA. it seems that the hunt clubs here only chase a fox to ground, and don't harm it. I've learned a lot more about horses and hounds than I imagined there was to know. Delightful. Check her out at your local library.
Poor Oprah Winfrey can't afford the Free Public Library in Chicago, so she needs that Kindle, of which she spoke so highly. ("Remember, Only $360.00 plus tax. Buy one for your spouse, your best friend, your kids, everyone!" What planet is she living on?) Also, can't donate them to used book stores, or give them to friends to read when you're done.
With the current economy, so many Americans unemployed and laid off, and more to come, the idea is ludicrous. It really annoys me almost into incoherence. But that is a different post.
Another book I am recommending is Dennis Kimbro's "What Keeps Me Standing, Letters from Black grandmothers on Peace, Hope, and Inspiration." Hunt for it at your local Bookseller as "What Keeps Me Standing". I read it from the library when it first came out, and immediately called my local Woman's Bookstore to order it.
I particularly recommend it for people who suffer from a belief that people of color are different from palefaces. Inside we are all the same. Same hopes, fears, family struggles, dreams. Barack Obama's win has done a lot to boost my hopes and dreams. I hope it does the same for you.
On a more serious note, PLEASE buy your books from Independent Bookstores! We NEED not to have huge corporations deciding what will be available to us and what will not.
So sad, too bad; I lost a friend during this campaign. I discovered someone I have known since his childhood believes "We don't need a (N word) for president. So, I move on, old friend. I thought you had grown up. Tsk. Sigh, Goodbye. If I live long enough, racism will be ancient history.
I don't think I have heard that word since the early 60's out of the mouth of a person I called "friend". Sad to leave behind a long time friend, but I don't need racists in my life. Life is too short. I no longer feel the need to change people. I just get them out of my life. I prefer to surround myself with people who have higher expectations of themselves and their friends, and great respect for people in general and as individuals.
When I meet a new person, I tend to sort first for honesty and integrity. I suspect I also sort for intelligence, or, more specifically, a thing called "Mother Wit" being worthy of the brain God gave them. Using that brain to think and be of some use in the world. I also sort for willingness to give back to one's community.
Most of my friends volunteer, or have given serious hours of their life, to volunteering at something, be it at a local Animal Shelter, at a Homeless Shelter for human beings, at a Shelter for Battered Women, a Church, whatever.
I'm reading again, back to a book every day or so. I re-read "The Grapes of Wrath", and the descriptions John Steinbeck writes are still breathtaking, but this was not what I would call an ideal time to read about the plight of the Family Joad, and so many others who suffered through the Great Depression and Dust Storms. Let's face it. I don't need depression right now. The writing is beautiful, poignant, etc., but not just now.
I have taken to reading everything Rita Mae Brown has written in the last two or three years. She writes good little Mystery novels with her cat, "Sneaky Pie".
She also has a series about a Virginia Hunt Club which has informed me a great deal about Fox Hunting in the USA. it seems that the hunt clubs here only chase a fox to ground, and don't harm it. I've learned a lot more about horses and hounds than I imagined there was to know. Delightful. Check her out at your local library.
Poor Oprah Winfrey can't afford the Free Public Library in Chicago, so she needs that Kindle, of which she spoke so highly. ("Remember, Only $360.00 plus tax. Buy one for your spouse, your best friend, your kids, everyone!" What planet is she living on?) Also, can't donate them to used book stores, or give them to friends to read when you're done.
With the current economy, so many Americans unemployed and laid off, and more to come, the idea is ludicrous. It really annoys me almost into incoherence. But that is a different post.
Another book I am recommending is Dennis Kimbro's "What Keeps Me Standing, Letters from Black grandmothers on Peace, Hope, and Inspiration." Hunt for it at your local Bookseller as "What Keeps Me Standing". I read it from the library when it first came out, and immediately called my local Woman's Bookstore to order it.
I particularly recommend it for people who suffer from a belief that people of color are different from palefaces. Inside we are all the same. Same hopes, fears, family struggles, dreams. Barack Obama's win has done a lot to boost my hopes and dreams. I hope it does the same for you.
On a more serious note, PLEASE buy your books from Independent Bookstores! We NEED not to have huge corporations deciding what will be available to us and what will not.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Ugly Republican Triumverate
Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld. With not an iota of either good sense OR empathy shared between them.
In my life I have never hear such personal attacks as McCain's attacks on Barak Obama. And we owe it all to the Ugly Three, and their "baa baa sheep followers."
For a supposedly civilized human being, John McCain's campaign has involved more vile tactics than I have seen since Lee Atwater plastered America with his "Fear Willie Horton" Campaign against Michael Dukakis. Once he had pancreatic cancer, Atwater help a small press conference in which he admitted he had been a real sh*t, but it was too little, too late. His apology to Willie Horton didn't remove the brand from the man's name.
Unfortunately, the Republican insiders, the powers behind the throne, if you will, are still using Lee Atwater's playbook. These include Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Donald Rumsfeld. Announce that "God, the American way of life, Patriotism and Goodness are all on your side" Paint the opposition as the exact opposite: Anti-God, Anti-Patriotism, Anti-American, Socialist, and Bad, and repeat the lies often enough, and the poor stupid voters will believe you. Why not? It worked for Hitler. It worked for Stalin.
It IS NOT Anti-American to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. Tt is the responsibility of every citizen to do just that! That is what makes it a Democracy. We are a Democratic Republic.
I've had a belly-full of those kinds of tactics. I'm surprised more Americans aren't repelled by it.
Readers Digest is written for a vast number of the American Population. It is worth noting that, in their careful editing of whatever they publish, it is written for an audience that reads at the fifth grade level. There is nothing wrong with that, if you consider that the vast majority of Americans only read at that level. We graduate them from Grammar School, Jr. High School, and High School, and they still can't read. And I don't blame teachers, I blame parents who are so busy trying to make ends meet so the rich can have tax rebates that they haven't time to read to their children.
I blame this economic mess we are in on the Republican Party's Deregulation of the Banking and Credit Industries, as well as stupid economic policies. We will leave the cost of bailing out Wall Street and Banks to our Children's Children's Children. What a legacy.
In my life I have never hear such personal attacks as McCain's attacks on Barak Obama. And we owe it all to the Ugly Three, and their "baa baa sheep followers."
For a supposedly civilized human being, John McCain's campaign has involved more vile tactics than I have seen since Lee Atwater plastered America with his "Fear Willie Horton" Campaign against Michael Dukakis. Once he had pancreatic cancer, Atwater help a small press conference in which he admitted he had been a real sh*t, but it was too little, too late. His apology to Willie Horton didn't remove the brand from the man's name.
Unfortunately, the Republican insiders, the powers behind the throne, if you will, are still using Lee Atwater's playbook. These include Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Donald Rumsfeld. Announce that "God, the American way of life, Patriotism and Goodness are all on your side" Paint the opposition as the exact opposite: Anti-God, Anti-Patriotism, Anti-American, Socialist, and Bad, and repeat the lies often enough, and the poor stupid voters will believe you. Why not? It worked for Hitler. It worked for Stalin.
It IS NOT Anti-American to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. Tt is the responsibility of every citizen to do just that! That is what makes it a Democracy. We are a Democratic Republic.
I've had a belly-full of those kinds of tactics. I'm surprised more Americans aren't repelled by it.
Readers Digest is written for a vast number of the American Population. It is worth noting that, in their careful editing of whatever they publish, it is written for an audience that reads at the fifth grade level. There is nothing wrong with that, if you consider that the vast majority of Americans only read at that level. We graduate them from Grammar School, Jr. High School, and High School, and they still can't read. And I don't blame teachers, I blame parents who are so busy trying to make ends meet so the rich can have tax rebates that they haven't time to read to their children.
I blame this economic mess we are in on the Republican Party's Deregulation of the Banking and Credit Industries, as well as stupid economic policies. We will leave the cost of bailing out Wall Street and Banks to our Children's Children's Children. What a legacy.
A Book Recomendation:
My_Stroke_of_Insight_A_Brain_Scientist_s_Personal_Journey
byJill Bolte Taylor
Everyone who has ever had a stroke must have this book read to them, slowly. Everyone who ever knew anyone who had a stroke must read this book. The author was a brain scientist with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy. She described her experience of having a stroke, the loss of her faculties, her surgery, and recovery over a period of almost a decade, to someone like the woman she was before the stroke.
Her descriptions of how to help a stroke victim on their return from a hospital are remarkable. The relationship between herself and her mother, who taught her how to see and think and read and move again, is remarkable and touching.
Most important, it offers proof and hope to stroke victims and their families for as complete a recovery as is possible. The Appendices contain suggestions for evaluation of stroke patients, as well as a list of 40 suggestions of how to interact with Stroke Victims to best help them. Fascinating. Decidedly 5 stars.
byJill Bolte Taylor
Everyone who has ever had a stroke must have this book read to them, slowly. Everyone who ever knew anyone who had a stroke must read this book. The author was a brain scientist with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy. She described her experience of having a stroke, the loss of her faculties, her surgery, and recovery over a period of almost a decade, to someone like the woman she was before the stroke.
Her descriptions of how to help a stroke victim on their return from a hospital are remarkable. The relationship between herself and her mother, who taught her how to see and think and read and move again, is remarkable and touching.
Most important, it offers proof and hope to stroke victims and their families for as complete a recovery as is possible. The Appendices contain suggestions for evaluation of stroke patients, as well as a list of 40 suggestions of how to interact with Stroke Victims to best help them. Fascinating. Decidedly 5 stars.
Monday, October 27, 2008
I Looked In The Mirror
This morning when I got up and brushed my fangs and washed my face, I looked up and recognized the woman in the mirror. It was me. It's good to be back.
In all I cried for sixteen days, about twenty hours a day, and had all the symptoms one might expect. All that is left now is the impending sense of doom (to be expected) the flashing hot & cold, and creeping depression. I figure this, too, will pass.
Thanks to all of you who prayed or sent out good thought my way. I appreciate it.
Today I picked out another orchid picture from the Botanic Garden Orchid Show to share. If I knew the names of these things I would give them. There were so many orchids I had never seen before I was completely overwhelmed by their names. And most were strange hybrids of things with three names.
Monday, October 20, 2008
A couple of years ago, my left ankle literally fell off my foot, and I was in agony for months. Casting didn't help, Medicine didn't help. Nothing helped. I would have done literally anything to be out of pain. I did. I allowed a doctor to prescribe for me a synthetic opiate. I was pain free within a matter of days. For two years I withdrew more and more from my family and friends, enjoying being out of pain. Suddenly it was not good any more. It had become A Bad Thing.
A few weeks ago, I got a Cortisone shot in the painful ankle. About a week later, much of the pain in my ankle was gone, leaving me still taking, and dependent upon, that synthetic opiate. Four weeks ago, I titrated very carefully down, under my doctor's supervision, and now I have been without the medicine for two and a half weeks.
I'm having some unpleasant physical effects as my body gets accustomed to functioning again. This is to be expected, I am told, and may continue for some time.
I feel like I am getting my life back. I've been crying for the past ten days. My GI system is involved. My pain is still chronic, still severe, and my body, of course is still craving the medicine. I never thought it could happen to me, because I was so opposed to the idea of opiates my whole life. I am still opposed to them. I made an error in judgment, and it is costing me a lot of grief.
During those two years, one of my best friends died, and my younger sister died. I'm getting all those feelings of grief anew, in my right mind. The feelings are overwhelming. I'm still under doctor's care, and getting counseling about drug dependence for disabled individuals.
Pain is insidious. It can be overwhelming, and the desire to be out of pain is very tempting. Don't make the mistake I did. This is exceptionally no fun. Those of you who pray, please pray for me. The rest of you are requested to send out good thoughts to the universe on my behalf. Be back when I can.
A few weeks ago, I got a Cortisone shot in the painful ankle. About a week later, much of the pain in my ankle was gone, leaving me still taking, and dependent upon, that synthetic opiate. Four weeks ago, I titrated very carefully down, under my doctor's supervision, and now I have been without the medicine for two and a half weeks.
I'm having some unpleasant physical effects as my body gets accustomed to functioning again. This is to be expected, I am told, and may continue for some time.
I feel like I am getting my life back. I've been crying for the past ten days. My GI system is involved. My pain is still chronic, still severe, and my body, of course is still craving the medicine. I never thought it could happen to me, because I was so opposed to the idea of opiates my whole life. I am still opposed to them. I made an error in judgment, and it is costing me a lot of grief.
During those two years, one of my best friends died, and my younger sister died. I'm getting all those feelings of grief anew, in my right mind. The feelings are overwhelming. I'm still under doctor's care, and getting counseling about drug dependence for disabled individuals.
Pain is insidious. It can be overwhelming, and the desire to be out of pain is very tempting. Don't make the mistake I did. This is exceptionally no fun. Those of you who pray, please pray for me. The rest of you are requested to send out good thoughts to the universe on my behalf. Be back when I can.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Direct from Progrgessive Magazine October 8, 2008
This is worth reading. The Progressive Magazine is one of the better things ever to come out of Wisconsin. I have just copied the whole thing and put it here, because it's almost 3AM, and I'm too befuddled to think of how to paste in a link. Okay, I confess, I can't find the file that reminds me how to paste a link. It's probably on the other side of my two headed hydra of a computer.
The Obama Difference
By Howard Zinn, October 2008 Issue
It seems that Barack Obama and John McCain are arguing over which war to fight. McCain says: Keep the troops in Iraq until we “win.” Obama says: Withdraw some (not all) troops from Iraq and send them to fight and “win” in Afghanistan.
As someone who has fought in a war (World War II) and since then has protested against war, I must ask: Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from recent history? Have they not learned that no one “wins” in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of human beings die, most of them civilians, many of them children?
Did we “win” by going to war in Korea? The result was a stalemate, leaving things as they were before: a dictatorship in South Korea, a dictatorship in North Korea—but more than two million people, mostly civilians, were dead, and we dropped napalm on children, and 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives.
Did we “win” in Vietnam? The answer is obvious. We were forced to withdraw, but only after two million Vietnamese died, again mostly civilians, again leaving children burned or armless or legless, and 58,000 American soldiers dead.
Did we “win” in the first Gulf War? Not really. Yes, we pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait with only a few hundred U.S. casualties, but we killed tens of thousands of Iraqis in the process. And the consequences were deadly for us: Saddam still in power, leading us to enforce economic sanctions that led to the deaths (according to U.N. officials) of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and setting the stage for another war.
In Afghanistan, we declared “victory” over the Taliban but the Taliban is back, with the attacks increasing, and our casualties in Afghanistan currently exceeding those in Iraq. What makes Obama think that sending more troops to Afghanistan will produce “victory”? And if it did, in an immediate military sense, how long would that last, and at what cost to human life on both sides?
The resurgence of fighting in Afghanistan is a good moment to reflect on the beginning of our involvement there. Let me offer some sobering thoughts to those who say, as many do: Attacking Iraq was wrong, but attacking Afghanistan was right.
Go back to 9/11. Hijackers direct jet planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing close to 3,000 people. A terrorist act, inexcusable by any moral code. The nation is aroused. President Bush orders the invasion and bombing of Afghanistan, and the American public is swept into approval by a wave of fear and anger. Bush announces a “war on terror.”
We are all (except for terrorists) against terror. So a war on terror sounds right. But there was a problem, which most Americans did not consider in the heat of the moment: We had no idea how to make war against terror; nor did Bush, despite his bravado.
Yes, Al Qaeda—a relatively small but ruthless group of fanatics—was apparently responsible. And there was evidence that its leaders, Osama Bin Laden and others, were based in Afghanistan. But we did not know exactly where. So we invaded and bombed the whole country. That made many people feel righteous: “We had to do something,” you heard people say.
Yes, we had to do something. But not thoughtlessly, not recklessly. Would we approve a police chief, who, knowing there was a vicious criminal somewhere in a neighborhood, ordered that the neighborhood be bombed? There was soon a civilian death toll in Afghanistan of over 3,000—exceeding the number of deaths on 9/11. Numerous Afghans were driven from their homes, turned into wandering refugees.
A Boston Globe reporter, two months after the invasion of Afghanistan, described a ten-year-old boy in a hospital bed: “He lost his eyes and hands to the bomb that hit his house after Sunday dinner.” The doctor attending him said, “The United States must be thinking he is Osama. If he is not Osama, then why would they do this?”
We should be asking the Presidential candidates: Is our war in Afghanistan, which both of them approve, ending terrorism, or provoking it? And is not war itself terrorism?
One might assume from the above that I see no difference between McCain and Obama, that I see them as equivalent. Not so. There is a difference, not a significant enough difference for me to have confidence in Obama as President, but just enough for me to vote for Obama and to hope he defeats McCain.
Whoever is President, the crucial factor for change will be how much agitation there is in the country on behalf of change. I am guessing that Obama may be more sensitive than McCain to such turmoil, since it will come from his supporters, from the enthusiasts who will register their disillusionment by taking to the streets. Franklin D. Roosevelt was not a radical, but he was more sensitive to the economic crisis in the country and more susceptible to pressure from the Left than was Herbert Hoover.
Even for the “purest” of radicals, there must be recognition of differences that may mean life or death for thousands. In France at the time of the Algerian War, the election of de Gaulle—hardly an anti-imperialist but more aware of the inevitable decline of empires—was significant in ending that long and brutal occupation.
I have no doubt that by far the wisest, most reliable, with the most integrity, of all recent Presidential candidates is Ralph Nader. But I think it is a waste of his political strength, a puny act, to expend it in the electoral arena, where the result can show only weakness. His power, his intelligence, lies in the mobilization of people outside the ballot box.
So, yes, I will vote for Obama, because the corrupt political system offers me no choice, but only for the moment I pull down the lever in the voting booth.
Before and after that moment I want to use whatever energy I have to push him toward a recognition that he must defy the traditional thinkers and corporate interests surrounding him, and pay homage to the millions of Americans who want real change.
One more clarification. My lessons from history about the futility of “winning” should not be understood as meaning that what is wrong with our policy in Iraq is that we can’t “win.” It’s not that we can’t win. It’s that we shouldn’t win, because it’s not our country.
>i>Howard Zinn is the author of “A People’s History of the United States,” “Voices of a People’s History” (with Anthony Arnove), and “A Power Governments Cannot Suppress.”
If you thought it was frightening before
I read an article here
about the ongoing financial meltdown, which I thought might be interesting to others, as well.I know Yahoo News isn't the top of the rock, but it made sense, and commented briefly on a speech the president is to give in the Rose Garden today, which I expect will be another Rah Rah "the economy is getting better every day" speech.
I've almost no doubt that once Bush is out of office the press will be allowed to use the word "Depression" instead of "Recession," to describe what is happening to worldwide economy as the global markets respond to the ongoing crash here in the USA. Naturally, the republicans will find a way to blame Barack Obama. It is going to take years to recover from this market crash, and by then dubya will be out golfing on the back eighteen. I can see the train coming, but I can't stop it. I keep hoping it's all a bad dream and I will wake up.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Finally an Autopsy Report For My Sister
Irene and I were together to talk about finally receiving the autopsy report on my baby sister, dead this past March at fifty-three. We also got all the toxicology and tissue reports, as required by law. Between us and a few friends who practice medicine, we were able to make sense of it.
It turns out her physician apparently paid little attention to the medications he was prescribing for her, because literally EVERY medication she was taking interacted badly with EVERY OTHER medication she was taking. All prescribed by one physician. Which brings me to my point.
In the majority of medical schools, there is no requirement for pharmacology studies. It is offered, because Pharmacists also study there, but it is considered optional for Medical School students. Most physicians receive what education they get about medications from those neat-as-a-pin sales men and women usually women, working for the pharmaceutical houses that make the drugs. This is just wrong. This absolutely has to change.
Doctors should have a minimum of three credit hours of Pharmacology for every year they are in medical school. You can't transfer your liability or responsibility for the "other effects" of medicine to an unknown pharmacist somewhere, to look out for your mistakes and cover your butt. Some pharmacies have computers that do just that, as a courtesy. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the prescribing physician. She or he has possibly attended a seminar about the drug. More likely, they have listened to and trusted a sales consultant who is paid to talk up the good effects, and downplay the other effects, of the drugs their companies make. The doctors I know socially tell me, "These people are usually very knowledgeable about medical language, and seem very trustworthy." That is a very comforting thought to someone, I'm sure. Not me.
The same Pharmaceutical Houses are advertising to all and sundry about their erectile dysfunction medicine during prime time. (Try explaining THAT to an eight year old!) Another example: Almost everybody has heard of Lyrica, the televisions are full of ads for it. It's a fairly new drug much vaunted for treatment of Fibromyalgia and the pain of neuropathology from whatever cause. That's the drug that gave me grand mal seizures and put me in intensive care for two days, with my blood pressure at less than half of normal until my third day in the hospital. Just between us, seizures scare the living poop out of me. It's probably there, on the Patient Information Sheet. Have you ever seen the little bitty type on the "Patient Information" sheets? I can't read them with a magnifying glass.
"Oops, nearly died? Sorry. Come back soon and we will find something else to try." Read: experiment with. I think NOT.
So between her blood pressure medication, her medicine for panic disorder, and a generic substitute that "is really remarkably close to the original drug" according to my pharmacist, for her anti-depressant, and with less than normal quantities of any medicine in her blood and tissues, literally minuscule quantities, my stone cold sober sister's heart stopped and her lungs stopped working. Period. The end. Accidental death from toxic interaction of prescribed medication. I'm sad and angry and there is nobody for me to blame, really. A lawsuit would take years. And in the end, we couldn't buy a new Sylvia. What would be the point?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Baby Giraffe
My first connection with the outer world since my sabbatical in the hospital was this lovely photo of Brookfield Zoo's Newest Baby Giraffe, shown with his papa.
Yes, it is true, Lyrica seemed like the answer to a prayer, it was relieving pain, but making me dizzy and stupid. It made my ankles swell more and more huge until I was sure the skin would burst. Then, to add insult to injury, I woke up the other morning feeling that post seizure ick I've seen in my two sisters most of my life. My tongue was shredded.
I called the Neurologist who prescribed the Lyrica, and begged him for not the emergency room. Bootless cries, that. My poor house guest had to get up early and drive me to the hospital, where she sat with me from 11A.M. until almost ten at night. Bless her heart With my blood pressure int he toilet, I managed to stay three days. It's like that with Medicare. Three days, whether it is an ingrown toenail or heart surgery. Many thanks to Beedith for finding me again in the hospital. I was relatively incoherent when I called her.
So, what do you think of our new Giraffe? I think he's real cute.
Beedith and Her Robert Came to Visit Me
They came to my house and swooped me up, and after Robert put me in the car, and my walker in the trunk, off we went in search of Brunch. I ordered an omelet with chicken, broccoli, onion and cheddar cheese in it. (Concentrated protein.) I asked for a fruit plate.
I forgot to tell them NOT to send hash browns, so they sent a pile of hash browns high enough to feed a family of four. I sent it right back, asked for some carry out containers, immediately packed up most of the omelet, and most of the fruit, and ate a reasonable, small portion of my breakfast. What came home with me will feed me for a week. People who are post Gastric Bypass surgery eat minuscule portions of food, and take lots of vitamin supplements. That's what I do, anyway.
I was fortunate to be having an excellent day, so going out was not a stress on me at all. I only had pain medication three times today. Missy Edith had brought me a gift, but it waited in the hotel room while she visited me, so it will go back to Arizona and be there when I visit in November/December. Yippie! Something to plan for and save up energy-spoons toward. If you don't get the reference to spoons, go to this link: It is a 2 page PDF that explains a lot about being disabled to the Temporarily Able-Bodied population.
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/navigation/BYDLS-TheSpoonTheory.pdf
We had a very nice visit, and I took some quite silly photos of them to lighten up their day. The cause of their visits to the Midwest is the ill health of one of Robert's parents. That they made time to visit me was a kindness on their part, and I appreciate it more than I can say! In the immortal words of Bob Hope: Thanks for the memories...
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