Something for Everyone on Norma's Blogs

I just "met" another amazing blogger. I had been reading one of her blogs, Collecting My Thoughts, off and on for several months, and I had visited Church of the Acronym and Coffee Spills at least a couple of times each, although I hadn't realized that the same retired librarian wrote all three. Last night Norma made a comment on one of my posts, and I discovered that she has SIX blogs! In trying to see the "big picture" this morning, I have come to the conclusion that Norma has something for everyone. Her librarian's mind is evident in the organization of her writing.

Collecting My Thoughts is a blog in which she posts some of her poetry, philosophical writing pieces, essays, stories, and commentary on news items. I got a real laugh out of a piece she wrote and linked to the 100 most often mispronounced English words. On this blog she has written about such varied topics as: rising postage prices, Social Security reform, and the medical conditions of autism and Asperger's.

Church of the Acronym is dedicated to church news, inspiring readings and motivational links. Here she deals with issues related to church and society such as the so-called Christmas Controversy of 2005.

I am not totally clear on what is included on In the Beginning. I believe she displays and critiques first issues of magazines.

Hugging and Chalking is dedicated mostly to the issue of weight control. She had an interesting post on Holiday weight gain. I also found out here that Google has a Blog Finder. Thanks for that tidbit, Norma!

Coffee Spills gives the reader slices of life as experienced in the coffee shop.

Memory Patterns links her memories of specific sewing projects with family memories, some of which give her readers visual and verbal glimpses into life in a bygone time. I enjoyed seeing pictures of old sewing patterns and in some cases those photographs linked with pictures of her family members wearing the clothing made with the patterns. BTW, wow have pattern prices jumped!

Thanks for reading -- and enjoy at least one of these blogs.

Christmas Then and Now

Several years ago, before the so-called Christmas Controversy was a popular topic of conversation, Comedian Dave Barry made this comment:

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukka!' or (to the atheists)
'Look out for the wall!'

And concerning this week's primary occupation for many of us, Barry said,

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall.

Why We Blog

Why do people blog?

This question has been raised to me several times in recent months. Good question. I am not sure there is an answer. I do not understand WHY I enjoy writing my thoughts and ideas or WHY I want others to read what I write. I spent a while this morning googling phrases such as "why write", "writing expression reason", etc. and came up with little in the way of answer to this question.

I did find this quote that has some bearing on my reasons for writing:

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. -Gilbert Highet, writer (1906-1978)

Many of us who like to write believe our written words to be representives of our minds alive on the paper (or screen, as the case may be.) The following quote by Lee Martin, author of The Bright Forever, conveys more of my thoughts and feelings about why I write:

I've always, from a very early age, been in love with language and narrative. The reason I think I've made writing my life, in a sense, is because it's the way I interact with the world around me; it's the way I think about what it means to be alive on this planet Earth, and what it means in terms of our interactions with other people. I often think that writing is a very spiritual
pursuit, not so much in terms of traditional religion but in the terms of communing with the world and its people.

Why do we blog? Who knows?

**********
(You can read a review of The Bright Forever here.)
I am unfamiliar with both this author and this book;
I just found interesting the author's statement about why he writes.

Jesse Jackson's "Causes"

I loved this statement in Yelling at the Windshield's post about the celebrity bash in honor of gang founder Tookie Williams:

You can tell that any given issue has jumped the shark the moment Jesse Jackson arrives on the scene.

Aslan and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Rebecca of Rebecca Writes has a good post on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe this morning. Be sure to read not only her post but the comments that readers have made. Good discussion. I regularly enjoy reading Rebecca's comments on issues, especially Biblical issues.

A Blogger's Christmas Gift

Sherry, over at Semicolon, is offering to send a book as a Christmas gift to her readers. She is offering some great titles, especially some really good adolescent literature, such as Jacob Have I Loved and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. What a thoughtful, generous blogger. You might want to check out this post. Her site is always interesting and uplifting.

Mental Floss

Even if Mental Floss weren't a really great magazine, it would deserve points just for its name! The following "Holiday" quiz is from their monthly e-newsletter. Twenty-five points apiece -- what is your score? Don't peek at the answers!

What popular holiday movie did the FBI reportedly consider pro-Communist?
(a) The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

(b) A Christmas Carol

(c) It's A Wonderful Life

(d) Home Alone

2. Where do Jewish households traditionally display the menorah during Hanukah?
(a) Next to the Torah

(b) On the dining room table

(c) By the fireplace

(d) Outdoors or in a window

3. According to ancient mythology, which of the following was NOT a legend about mistletoe?
(a) It grows into a poinsettia.

(b) It is an antidote to poison.

(c) It is a weapon used to kill a god.

(d) It is a fertility drug.

4. In the Netherlands, Santa Claus has a sidekick. What is his name?
(a) Papa Noel

(b) Black Peter

(c) Mrs. Claus

(d) The White Elf

Answers:

1. C. In 1947, the FBI deemed the film rebellious in its depiction of Potter (who represents capitalism) as the enemy and Bailey (who represents the common man) as victorious.
2. D. The candelabra are not lights for the home but lights to the world, publicizing the holiday's miracle.
3. A. Because the berries often cause a rash on sensitive skin, many people falsely believe the entire plant to be poisonous. Mythology suggests it was once a miracle drug, an antidote to poison and a weapon that killed the god Baldur.
4. B. According to parents, Black Peter (or Zwarte Piet) accompanies Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Legend says that Saint Nicholas once freed a slave named Peter, who (out of gratitude) chose to be his servant. Others suggest he is associated with the devil and kidnaps children who have been naughty.

See a new fact and quiz six days a week at http://www.mentalfloss.com/

Joan and Grandchild are Persons of the Year

Check out this picture of me and one of my precious grandchildren on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. Our picture was on the electronic bulletin board at Times Square. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, quite a few other people were also featured!

Read this interesting post at Alone on a Limb.

Clemency Granted for Tookie Williams

It would be interesting to know how many bloggers have written about this man over the last few weeks -- probably tens of thousands.

Carol at The Median Sib details the clemency that our great country has afforded Tookie Williams over the last 24 years since a jury of his peers convicted him of multiple murders. This particular post is well worth the read.

Children's Christmas Cantata

Last night we visited our children's church in order to see 3 of our grandchildren participate in a musical program. The girls sang beautifully with the rest of the children's choir. E. was a shepherd in his hastily-put-together costume. Here are the few decent pics I managed to get -- I am not a good photographer.

Satire - Beatitudes for Teachers

I just read a cute piece over at Street Prophets. I was referred there by Darren of Right on the Left Coast, a blog I read every day. Keep in mind these beatitudes are satire. What teacher (or student, for that matter) doesn't recognize these common classroom questions and comments?

Monthly Book Report

This is the first edition of a planned monthly book report; however this first report will cover about 5 weeks of reading. I will come up with a format for the reports as I go along, but for this report I will simply list the books I have read and give a VERY brief summary and/or recommendation. Perhaps I will devise a rating system later on. Okay, now......TA DAH!!!!!!

Books by authors whose works I have often read:

Dark Horse by Tami Hoag – Ms Hoag has written several New York Times bestsellers. I found this one more engrossing than her usual whodunits.

Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – Mr. Kellerman is a master of phrasing – I always enjoy his use of language. Examples: "Seeing him made her eyes ache." "(a person) with all the warmth of ceramic tile." "Her face was rodentine." This is not one of Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels but a Petra Conner one. Both Delaware and Conner are serial characters. This police-procedural mystery kept me reading.

False Testimony by Rose Conners – This political and legal mystery follows a recurring main character, lawyer Marty Nickerson. Ms Conners writes very realistic dialog and has a very engaging style. The first 2 chapters of this book could serve as a textbook example of how to grab the reader with action from the first words.

No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark – Typical Mary Higgins Clark thriller – I couldn’t put it down. Many twists and turns in plot, great character development.

The Closers by Michael Connelly – Another Harry Bosch mystery. Harry solves a cold case. I enjoyed this one a great deal.

By authors I was not familiar with before:

Julie and Romeo Get Lucky by Jeanne Ray – very light tone – a love story with middle-aged main characters. Unusual, mildly interesting. I found myself reading it more as a writer than as a reader or participant (Thoughts such as, “A writer wouldn’t have to do any research to write a novel like this – maybe this is the kind of novel I need to write, instead of the kind I like to read.”)

Any Human Heart by William Boyd – Didn’t finish this one. Written as a series of journals of a British man, beginning when he was a schoolboy and continuing throughout the twentieth century. The vocabulary and use of language was fascinating; but in the end, there was just not enough plot to keep me reading. Some examples of the language use: “I stirred the memory soup in my head, hoping gobbets of ------ would float to the surface.” “When faith hath died, WE must paint the colours on the sky.” “They took a verbal walk through the case.”

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey – true, first-person narrative of drug addiction and recovery. An Oprah Book Club selection. Very raw, somewhat repetitive, over-all interesting, but not read-every-word involving. I read this after seeing a review on The Median Sib -- there is a link for the book in her sidebar. Here is a review.

The Ladies of Garrison Gardens by Louise Shaffer – a generational tale, combining mystery, romance, the poor vs the rich. Being a GA girl, I kept visualizing the story events taking place in Callaway Gardens in central GA.

Heartbreak Hotel by Jill Marie Landis – a light mystery, romance. Interesting, not spellbinding

This Dame for Hire by Sandra Scoppettone – A clever, light-tone mystery. I found the dialog a little overdone and flip -- trying too hard to fit into the period (the 1940's). I found myself thinking far too often of the writing style instead of the story. I expect this character, detective Faye Quick, to be a continuing protagonist in future books by this author. I enjoyed this but generally prefer a deeper and more involved plot.

A Young Brain

In our society of "youth worship", anything purporting to extend one's youth is gratefully and eagerly snatched up by most Americans. Somehow we are more likely to try a new lotion or cream or even surgical procedure to create the outer appearance of youth rather than to make changes in our daily lifestyle which will actually keep our bodies and minds more youthful. Study after study suggests that the best way to really extend our youth is to make changes in our daily living habits. These changes can help us to stay younger mentally as well as physically.

There are a number of strategies we can use intentionally to decrease the occurrences of "senior moments", those times when we experience forgetfulness and are reminded of the fact that our brains are not as young as they once were. These are not new strategies, but they are based on negating some of the factors that contribute to forgetfulness, such as fatigue, stress, depression, poor health, and side effects of some medications.

Here are 10 beginning suggestions for intentionally keeping one's mind sharp.

1. Exercise regularly. exercise increases blood flow and provides oxygen, glucose, and nutrients to the brain. Read this and this.
2. Eat a healthy diet. The magnesium in dark green veggies helps maintain memory. Read this and this.
3. Learn something new. How about learning a language? See the link to a Spanish Learning Blog on my sidebar. Maybe you could learn to play the piano by ear? Learn html code to create a better blog?
4. Get enough sleep. Anecdotal evidence shows that this is especially important in helping keep NEW knowledge in the memory. Read more here.
5. Devise strategies for remembering. Draw diagrams, take notes, underline passages, use mnemonic devices.
6. Socialize. Conversation has been shown to help maintain brain function.
7. Get organized. Make checklists for common activities; have a regular place for storing certain objects; form habits so that procedures are routine.
8. Turn off the TV. Some experts say that TV watching decreases brain power. Read this Johns Hopkins article.
9. Write it down. Writing transfers items from short to long-term memory. Even if you never need to refer to the written reminder, the act of writing helps you remember the information. (This is why note-taking is so important in school.)
10. Solve brainteasers. Do puzzles, play card games, etc. These help improve memory. Play concentration, pinball, pool, chess, checkers, scrabble, crossword puzzles. There are numerous sites on the internet for these.

Making even just one change could help. As Nike is famous for saying, JUST DO IT.

Addendum:

• Read this good article, published 3/11/2004 in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, for some addition information and suggestions for fighting forgetfulness.
• Check out this Readers Digest article on How to Remain Mentally Alert.
• A great site on the internet for memory-building is Happy Neuron.
• Some good books on this subject: The Memory Workbook by Douglas Mason and Michael Kohn; Improving Your Memory by Janet Fogler and Lynn Stern; and Total Recall by Joan Minninger. All of these books can be found at Amazon.com.
• Googling the words "improving memory" will bring up numerous helpful articles and activities.
• Other sources used for this post: Emory University, Alzheimer's Association, Memory Fitness Institute.

Blue Star Chronicles

My sister, owner and operator of Merry Christmas, began a new blog yesterday. I just checked out Blue Star Chronicles, and it looks to be another great success.

Beth's son is serving our country in the Army and is currently stationed in Germany, so many of her posts will be informative and encouraging of our military troops. She has a wide range of interests and will write about many of them, I am sure; but her primary interest right now, understandably, is support for the men and women who are serving our country during this troubling time in American history.

So, check out Blue Star Chronicles. As a bonus, her post today features a picture of my beautiful niece (also my Birthday Buddy) with her Army boyfriend.

Natalie - Writing Apprentice

The Word-a-day email today included this quote:

Words are the soul's ambassadors, who go / Abroad upon her errands to and fro. - James Howell, writer (c. 1594-1666)

Perhaps this is one explanation for the fact that some of us are more comfortable expressing our thoughts in writing than in the spoken word. Some of us need an ambassador to go abroad for us.

One of our granddaughters has inherited my love of writing. She is in first grade and absolutely loves to write already. At her school, students are taught not to be concerned for spelling yet -- just to sound it out and get their thoughts on paper (or screen as the case may be.) When Natalie first began to write on the computer, she placed 5 or 6 spaces between each word trying to follow handwriting instructions to "put a finger-width between words." I can just imagine her putting her finger on the screen and spacing until the next word was appropriately spaced according to that directive.

My daughter sent this copy of a writing piece Natalie did in school this week. The writing prompt was: "If I were a reindeer..." The blue words in parentheses are my translations of her inventive spelling.

If I were a reindeer I would be frst in line. I would led the way. My name would be Merry. I would be a gril. I would be hefol (helpful). I will be nice to the auther reindeer. I will be pesfeol (peaceful). I will lisen to Santa. I will be like the auther reindeer. I will be nice to Rudolph even konw (though) all the auther reindeer are mene.

Of course, the following composition she wrote this week won our hearts!

I love my grandparents becalls (because) they play games with me. They taek me plaes I weat to go. They let me play outsiad. They let me spend the night at there heows (house). They teak me to the moves. They teak me to go get ice cream. They have a jar of pennis (pennies) and they let me dump it in the mony jar. They are fun. There heaws (house) is big.

Thanks to Natalie for subbing for me and writing my blog entry today.

Nativity Scenes

I love a good Nativity scene and have several that we enjoy each Christmas. The key word in the above sentence is neither its subject nor its predicate. It is one of the adjectives modifying the subject. The key word is "good."

On the other hand, if you'd like to check out some Nativity scenes which would not likely be described by that particular adjective, take a look at some I found by linking to Sherry at Semicolon. There are three pages of Nativity scenes the likes of which (I hope at least) you have never seen before! Can you say "gauche"? Or maybe "tacky"? How about "tasteless"? Even "affronting"?

Basketmaking for Gift-giving

Carmon, at Buried Treasure Books, posted a very interesting craft idea on Dec. 4. She described how to make an attractive gift basket using 3 or 4 paper grocery bags. She makes these, fills them with small related items, and gives the completed baskets as gifts. In case you have trouble linking to her site, here are the directions and a picture of one of her completed baskets. As you can see, Carmon used some pretty white with red bags for this basket. Regular brown paper sacks would be attractive in a different way.

• Fold the top edge of the first bag down approximately 1 1/2 inches, then continue folding down until the folded edge is 1-2 inches from the bottom of the bag.
• Do the same with the next bag, but don’t fold down quite as far, so that when you nest it in the first bag, the bottom of its folded edge touches the top folded edge of the first bag.
• Then fold the third bag the same way so that it nests properly inside the second. All three bags will now be nested together to make a basket.
• If you wish, you can also use another bag to make a handle: Cut around the bag making a loop about 6 inches wide. Fold the edges of your loop to the center of your loop all the way around, and glue down, then put the loop between the bottom and middle sections of your basket (take the bags apart to do this), gluing it to the inside bottom and up the sides of your basket, then nesting the bags together again.
• You can tie a big bow to the handle to make it prettier. You could stamp or paint a design on the outside of the baskets.
• Line the basket with pretty tissue paper, and use your imagination to fill it up. (How about a movie rental coupon and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn for a movie buff?)
  

Update on Cooper

Don't forget to check Cooper Bell's website on the Caringbridge website. There is a permanent link in the sidebar of this blog.

Potty Post

I know you will think I have completely lost my sense of refinement and dignity with this post. I am sorry. I will, in the immediate future, attempt to reclaim my reputation as a blog with serious and thought-worthy content. I will soon revert to my typical edifying blog-content. But today, blinking away tears, I have to ask you this: Have you ever sat in a room alone and laughed aloud until you cried? I did this morning.

If you would like to start, or continue as the case may be, your day in a similar manner, just go to Mother Tongue Annoyances, a blog I read every day. This blogger, Tim, usually deals with issues of grammar, punctuation, and literary expression. Yesterday, however, his post was entitled Public Restroom Etiquette Part II. In it he refers to a previous post entitled, predictably, Public Restroom Etiquette Part I. It would make sense to read the two posts in order, but actually sequence doesn't seem to matter.

This writer's use of language is what makes the post so entertaining. He should consider contacting professional comedians to apply for a writing job. He closes this post with these words, which explain in part why I am linking to his post rather than actually quoting on this site his funny lines.

Hey, readers, I apologize for the especially high raunch factor of today’s post. Please note that I do not write for "shock value." My blog posts arise from an amalgam of personal inspiration and intimate conversations with close friends, family members, and associates.

Tim also linked to an article that was responsible for my having to hurry to change my undies before venturing out this morning. This hilarious related piece is on the blog Witt and Wisdom. It is an old post from 2003 entitled More Restroom Etiquette. This post, while decidedly heavy in the "raunch factor" as Tim called it, was masterfully funny.

For more entertainment and enlightenment, check out the International Center for Bathroom Etiquette. No, I'm serious here. There really IS a site with this name!

For another link, read Male Restroom Etiquette on the site, Everything2.

Well, enough for this "Potty Post." Perhaps this topic was especially funny to me today because I have a consultation tomorrow to schedule a colonosopy. Remember Daddy's Roses will resume sedate posting another day.

Have You Ever...?

Michael at The Euphemist did this meme the other day -- it could be interesting .....I revised and shortened it somewhat for this post. If you are in the mood, find one or two you'd like to respond to, then leave a comment or write your own post about it and link to Daddy's Roses.

Have you ever...:

Crashed a friend's car? No. I have seldom driven a car belonging to someone else.
Been dumped ? No
Been fired /laid off? No
Snuck out of your parent's house ? No! Not sure I'd admit it if I had. My mother reads this blog.
Gone on a blind date? No
Lied to a friend? I am sure I have -- at least along the lines of, "Don't worry about it. Your hair looks fine. Really!"
Skipped school? No. I loved school. I don't even remember skipping any classes in college.
Been to Canada? Yes, an eon ago! Visited my sister and her husband when they lived in Buffalo, New York; and we spent a day in Toronto.
Been in a fist fight? No, you got a problem with that?
Been to Mexico? Yes. Several times to port cities while on cruises and once to Mexico City.
Eaten Sushi? You kiddin'? I don't even eat COOKED fish if I can help it!
Met someone in person from the internet? Several -- all very nice people.
Taken pain-killers? Surely there is no one who can answer no to this one!
Had a tea party? Nope, not that I can remember -- but then memory is not my strong point.
Cheated while playing a game? Don't think so.
Fallen asleep at work ? Actually yes! I was taking an antihistamine, and I absolutely fell asleep one day while working with a small group of children at a table. I was with children, however; so you know it was a 10-second snooze!
Felt an earthquake? Yes, just a few years ago - right here in NW GA.
Touched a snake? Why would I?
Been robbed? Not exactly. Been pickpocketed, though. That is my strongest memory of the great Coliseum in Rome!
Petted a reindeer/goat? Can't remember if I have - maybe with the grandchildren at the Yellow River Game Ranch.
Won a Contest? Yes. I won $100 shopping trip to KMart about 20 years ago. I also won the State Declamation Contest when I was a senior in HS. I was selected Teacher of the Year at my school -- is that a contest?
Been in a car accident? Not a serious one -- 3 relatively small ones.
Had braces? No
Eaten a whole pint of ice cream or a whole package of cookies at a sitting? Not at a sitting -- maybe at a walking or a riding.
Witnessed a crime? No
Swam in the ocean? Oh Yeah! Many times -- something I really enjoy.
Sung karaoke? No, I wish I had the social courage.
Paid for a meal with only coins? Yes, several times (fast food meals)
Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose? Don't think so. We're not talking other liquids and other orifices, right?
Crashed a party? No
Worn Pearls? Not real natural, made in oysters,ones.
Jumped off a bridge? Nooooo
Eaten dog/cat food? No!!!!!!!
Kissed a mirror? No
Glued your hand to something? fingers to fingers
Been kissed under mistletoe? Would I kiss and tell?
Done a one-handed cartwheel? Yes! I used to love gymnastics and was on the tumbling team in college.
Talked on the phone for more than 2 hours? 'fraid so.
Didn't take a shower for a week? Maybe as a kid?? Not since I can remember.
Picked and eaten an apple right off the tree? Yes. Yummmm And tomatoes right off the vine (or should I say, "right off divine"?)
Been told by a complete stranger that you're hot? Not by a complete stranger, a partial stranger, or anyone I know!! A complete stranger did tell me I was "pretty" when we were in Jamaica though. Of course he was trying to get me to come into his craft booth and buy something!

Christmas Hymns and Carols

Many of the old Christmas hymns and carols are beautiful music and poety. However, one Christmas song I have never liked is Away in a Manger. Today I read a post by another blogger that expressed my feelings about it. (I wish I remembered where I read this post, so I could credit it. I just found it interesting to read my thoughts already so well expressed.) This blogger wrote:

To the people who translated 'Stille Nacht' from German to English: Saying that the Holy Infant is 'tender and mild' makes Him sound like a Roast Duck....For that matter, is it just me or does 'Away In A Manger' rob Jesus of all His majesty and awe by attempting to turn him into a well-behaved lullabye dolly? I
think so.

I would add that I am sorry that this particular Christmas song is one of the best known and most often sung and played. It says so little compared to the beautiful words in other less-well-known songs. The tune is so bland compared to the majesty and rousing joy expressed in, for example, Joy to the World.

Today I Am 40!

I wish I could go back and redo my post from November 24th, in which I announced my age. I just got a much better idea from reading a post by Some Geek in Tennessee. He wrote:

I'm 25 today!Honest! Of course, I decided my age has I nicer ring to it if I express it using a base 16 numbering system. So what I have told you is true... from a certain point of view. Yeah I didn't buy it when Obi-Wan said it either. But if our politicians have taught me anything, it's to always present things in the best possible light and stand firm even when what I am saying appears to be an outright lie.

By that reasoning I could change my post to say: "Today I am 40." Okay, I'll take it!!!

Tee Off for Cooper

Just a quick update: The golf tournament for Cooper Bell's treatment (see my previous posts and the Caringbridge website) went extremely well. There were more applicants to play than could be accommodated. Three golf courses were filled, lots of people and companies sponsored holes, and everyone had a great time. The goal of $20,000 was met and almost tripled! If you haven't checked on Cooper in awhile, look him up. He finishes his current treatment on Monday.

Breakfast with Santa

Our local homeless shelter will have about $10,000 more to work with during this Christmas season as a result of the Breakfast with Santa event held at First United Methodist Church this morning.

Many volunteers work hard for weeks to take care of the details necessary to pull off this event. Every year some of our grandchildren come from out of town to attend with us. The church's primary assembly hall is decorated, and each party is seated and served by one of the youth of the church or the Boy Scout troup. After breakfast, the puppet ministry of First Presbyterian Church provides a lively and entertaining puppet show for the children. At the end of the puppet show, Santa comes in, and the central gathering ends.

The attendees scatter to participate in various activities around the church. Children can visit with Santa and have their pictures taken and made into a Christmas tree ornament. They can visit a live nativity scene, hear the Christmas story read by an angel, pose with the holy family and wise men, and make a related commemorative ornament. They can visit the face-painting center. They can go by the craft center and make another simple craft.

Everyone has a wonderful time, and some of our citizens who are experiencing hard times benefit from the proceeds.

The posted pictures are of our grandchildren. I will post some additional pics in my photo album.

The Twelve Days of ...uh...er....huh?

A couple of days ago I checked PivotPoint's Daily Chuckle (their slogan is "We build smiles") and got a GOOD chuckle! The post was a make-fun piece on American society's current fixation on avoiding the word "Christmas" and any reference to any idea, thought, word, or glance that might, possibly, conceivably, by stretching your imagination to its limit, be considered in any way the least bit offensive or objectionable to anyone on the face of the Earth, or on any other planet of course, no matter how obscure that possibility of offense might be.

The piece was entitled The Twelve Days of ...er...um . The funniest one to me was the 8th day of the Eurocentrically-imposed midwinter festival, on which my significant other in a consenting adult monogamous relationship gave to me "eight economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products from enslaved Bovine-Americans." Check it out. It is hilarious!

For more discussion of the topic of the political incorrectness of the word Christmas, take a look at Merry Christmas. For another interesting post on this issue from a Jewish viewpoint, see the November 30th entry at Moral Health.

Quotes to ponder

How does a person become who he/she wants to be? How can we help children develop in the best way possible for a happy and productive life? I just found this quote again:

Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life. -Giorgos Seferis, writer,diplomat, Nobel laureate (1900-1971)

Someone asked me about a term I used in a previous post -- I mentioned an email "roundabout". I think the following quote from E.B. White is apropo. Moooooo!

The living language is like a cow-path: it is the creation of the cows themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change. A cow is under no obligation to stay. -E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

Self-Esteem in Real Life

Along about my 5th or 6th year of teaching in public schools, the education establishment jumped on a new wave (surfing is one of the activities it does best!). On teacher workdays it seemed that all our workshops dealt with the subject of building self-esteem in children. Giving children a good self-image became the be-all and end-all in education for quite a few years. (I will no doubt write on that topic sometime -- it has long been one of my soapboxes; but I have another objective for this particular post.)

When that silver ring began to tarnish a few years later (yes, I know that is a mixed metaphor), the public and many educators began to talk of what children SHOULD be learning in addition to how wonderful they are. The following list of things children NEED to learn in school began to appear often -- sometimes printed in newspapers, often circulated in email roundabouts, etc. The list was attributed to a variety of sources. I believe Ann Landers printed it uncredited; and I have read that it originated with Bill Gates (not true.)

Here is the list that has been circulated most frequently: (Rule #3 needs updating so as to connect to the economy of 2005.)

• Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.
• Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
• Rule 3: You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you "earn" both.
• Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.
• Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping; they called it opportunity.
• Rule 6: If you screw up, it's not your parents' fault so don't whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.
• Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your room, and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. So before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
• Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.
• Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
• Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
• Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The truth is this: Charles J. Sykes is the author of DUMBING DOWN OUR KIDS. He created the list for high school and college graduates. These were things he said that he did not learn in school. In his book, he tells how the "system" may have created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and set them up for failure in the real world. His book is subtitled Why American Children Feel Good about Themselves but Can't Read, Write, or Add.

Most circulated lists did not include the last few of the items on Sykes's list. That's a shame; these are good ones too. Here is the rest of the list:

• Rule 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.
  Rule 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.
  Rule 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.

You're welcome.

So, Dear Reader, bring it on! What would you add to Sykes's list? What vital lesson about living in the real world did you not learn in school that you should have learned?

Multi-segment blogging

I am multi-segment blogging this evening. I have several short posts to include in this one entry.

• The 1000th visitor to Daddy's Roses never claimed the prize; however the 1001st reader did, and I am mailing a copy of my meal-planning booklet, Let's Eat In Tonight, to Kathryn of Suitable for Mixed Company. Congratulations, Kathryn. I hope you enjoy it.

• The "Tee Off for Cooper" Golf Tournament is in progress as I write. They had more applicants to play than could be accommodated and had to turn golfers away. I will let you know when I find out how much money was raised for Cooper's treatment. Go by the CaringBridge site and read an update on Cooper Bell.

• A couple of great book-related posts, one on the Chronicles of Narnia and one on Harry Potter can be found on my brother's blog - Alone on a Limb.

Happy hump day!

Ponderables :-)

My niece, Amanda, forwarded an email roundabout this week. You have probably seen it. It was called PONDERABLES. Some of the more interesting of the questions believed to be worth pondering were these:

1. Why do you have to "put your two cents in"...but it's only a "penny for your thoughts?" Where's that extra penny going?
2. What disease did cured ham actually have?
3. How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
4. Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
5. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
6. Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

But I couldn't stop smiling as I thought about these two:

• Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out!"
• Why would anybody watch a white thing come out a chicken's behind and think, "That ought to taste good."

Go ahead. Admit it. You know that you have actually pondered these important questions, too.

Going once....

That 1000th visitor still has not claimed his/her prize.

What's up with TTLB?

I just checked my TTLB status for the first time in a few days -- what's going on? I have suddenly gone down about 4 steps in the ecosystem -- although the ranking number is about the same! Wondering what I had done wrong, I checked 7 or 8 blogs whose rankings I happen to know in relation to mine (mostly family members and very good friends). And guess what? EVERYBODY has gone down several levels! What's up with that? Apparently TTLB is revamping and throwing around their ranking labels with abandon.

Winners?

From this morning's news:

A couple in Kentucky won the $65.4 million jackpot in the Powerball lottery in the year 2000. Happy story? Not exactly.

In the 5 years since their 2000 win, according to this article, their life has been full of problems. When they won the jackpot, the couple split the winnings and went their separate ways so each could "fulfill lifelong dreams."

The (now ex-) husband became involved in expensive legal wranglings with a former wife about unpaid child support, and he had "numerous" other run-ins with the law. These included DUI arrests, bar brawls, and lawsuits to reclaim huge sums given to casual acquaintances when he was drunk. He died in 2003, at the age of 45, according to this news article, of "multiple ailments complicated by alcoholism" while living in an elegant replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon Estates.

The (now ex-) wife also had problems. Last December a man was found dead of a drug overdose in her beautiful home overlooking the Ohio River that this lottery winner had bought with some of her winnings. Also, a case is pending in which she is trying to evict the current residents of a second home she had purchased.

The eviction hearing in this case was scheduled for this coming Wednesday; but this "lucky" lottery jackpot winner was found dead, at the age of 51, in her 5,000 square foot, custom-built, geodesic dome home yesterday. She had been dead several days before she was found. No cause of death has been listed until toxicology reports come back. Officials say there were no signs of forced entry.

What a sad story! This couple won a huge amount of money 5 years ago. I am sure they thought it was the beginning of life on Easy Street for them. How could they, a couple in the prime of their lives - in their 40's, possibly know what the next 5 years held for them? There are many sad aspects to this tragedy, but two words keep jumping on the trampoline in my head -- CHOICES ---- VALUES ---- CHOICES --- VALUES

(sorry I could not find a way to link to this story without including my homepage -- I am sure you can find it on the web for reference.)

1000th visitor

If you ----

1. are from the United States (at Lat/Long 38,-97),
2. use AOL,
3. breezed by this blog early this morning at about 1:38 AM then hurried right on out to somewhere else in cyberspace,

you were my 1000th visitor and have won a token of my appreciation! Just email me your snailmailing info, along with your choice of prize (see post of November 17), and I will speed your chosen item along the postal passages right to your door, or mailbox as it may be.

If I don't hear from the winner by Monday or Tuesday, the 1001st visitor, who is from Heppner, Oregon, can claim the prize. This visitor came by a few minutes after #1000, visited about 15 minutes, and uses Centurytel for an ISP. Let me know.

Happy Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving Birthday!

Today is the 34th anniversary of my 30th birthday. Do you have any idea how hard it was to write that sentence?

I am STILL that little 2-year-old who actually ate the mud pies she made with her big sister, Janice. (My mother has a photo to verify this, but I don't have a copy to post.)

I am STILL that 6-year-old girl who thought it was a great adventure to "go to the store" for my grandparents --- walking all the way from their house, past my granddaddy's barber shop, past the swimming pool, across the street and into the general store -- all of 2 blocks in our tiny milltown of the 40's!

I am STILL that shy 8 year old who dreaded going to an unfamiliar school after moving to a new community.

I am STILL that Daddy's girl who got time alone with Daddy because Daddy loved all of his 7 children and wanted to spend quality time with each one individually. I am still that Daddy's girl -- even though Daddy has been in Heaven waiting for me for almost 20 years!

I am still that 8th grader who thought I would die of embarrassment the day I stepped off the schoolbus and, in full view of the whole busload of students, lost my crinolines (anybody remember those huge, full, yards and yards of netting worn under full skirts in the early 50's?) This huge, heavy, ridiculous piece of underwear fell right off and puddled on the ground that day as I stepped off the school bus.

I am STILL that 15-year-old who tried so hard to fit in with the other cheerleaders (all from prominent local families) when, by some fluke, I made the squad (even though our family was new to the community and lived on decidedly-NOT-prominent 9th Street.)

I am STILL that thin-but-thought-I-was-fat 22 year old bride, happily marrying a preacher although I had always sworn I would NOT live in parsonages any longer.

I am STILL that young teacher working waaaaaay too many hours to make lessons memorable and to help children learn -- and learn to love to learn.

I am STILL that young mother making the rounds of the ball-practices, ballgames, PTA meetings, and piano lessons. (All this in my spare time after making lesson plans and grading papers after school!)

I am STILL that mother trying to be wise enough to help my teenagers build foundations for success in their adult lives.

I am STILL that first-time grandmother standing in the hallway at Northside Hospital and hearing my son say, "It's a girl!" and feeling this rush of unbelievable love looking down at the child of my child.

I am STILL a grandmother who has now experienced anew that rush of joy and love 5 times more since that day almost 13 years ago.

As my mother has often told me, "The great thing about aging is that you don't lose all the other ages you have been."

This is true. I am STILL all the ages I have been.

On this Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005, my 64th birthday, I am truly grateful for my life, my experiences, my joys, even my sorrows.

I thank God that I am living the life of the truly wealthy; for the only true wealth is LIFE!

John Ruskin and Thanksgiving

The quote for today (see sidebar) is by John Ruskin. I didn't want you to miss it -- it is one of the great ones. When you are thinking today and tomorrow about what you have to be thankful for, especially if you are judging your life by the rich and famous (and often fictitious) folks you see on TV, remember this: "There is no wealth but life."

Rejoice! You are alive! You are wealthy!

Children and Boundaries

Jane (Cozy Reader) wrote yesterday about a news segment she saw. According to this report, a new study shows that children who are spanked are more likely to be aggressive. Jane gives a long and logical response in which she points out that an occasional spanking might reinforce a concept that is not being learned by a child and that some alternate disciplines also have potential negative side-effects. Near the end of Jane's post there was a paragraph that rang a bell with me:

Children want parameters. They want boundaries. As parents it is our task to set those boundaries for them. When they understand the expectations they will be much happier. When we set forth the consequences, then there are no surprises.
We do our children a disservice when we do not teach them that there are consequences to their actions.

Kathryn, of Suitable for Mixed Company, made a comment that also resonated to this long-time teacher, mother, and grandmother. She told of talking to kids who were shopping in her bookstore. She often had to explain to them appropriate and acceptable behaviors for the bookstore setting; and the students often seemed almost relieved to know that someone was watching them and that someone thought they were capable of good behavior. She wrote:

These kids were starved for somebody to tell them what constituted good behavior. They wanted to know what the unwritten rules were that other people seemed to know, but they didn't.

As a society, we are working hard to provide our children with every imaginable advantage; but often, parents and the adults of our society are failing to provide the social skills necessary to be successful in adult life. In order to learn how to interact successfully and productively as adults, children must learn what behaviors are expected. It is essential for them to learn that other people have rights and feelings, just as they do. This ability is, according to psychologists, one of the defining differences between contributing members of society and the sociopath who drains society.

Slithering Reptiles and Other TTLB Critters

Daddy's Roses advanced from Crawly Amphibian to Slithering Reptile in the TTLB ecosystem of blog ratings several days ago. My aversion to snakes has kept me from acknowledging that fact. I'd like to slither right on ASAP -- what's next? Flappy Birds? Well, at least they're just annoying, not fear-inspiring!

Thanksgiving - Then and Now

Ruth, of the blog Ruthlace, wrote a fascinating reminiscence piece this morning about cooking in the 1930's. I had never realized where the expression "cooking from scratch" came from. I was happy to learn the origin of the expression.

I guess it is a good thing that I was not a young homemaker in the 1930's. What a chore cooking was then! I am inclined to resent having to spend an hour getting a meal put together; but those women spent virtually all day long most days cooking, cleaning up from meals, and preparing food to cook again.

With today's conveniences, I can usually get a decent meal on the table when necessary -- one that is nutritious and fairly palatable -- but cooking is not something I enjoy doing or an activity from which I derive satisfaction.

I guess that one of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is that my mother and some of my sisters ARE good cooks and DO enjoy cooking -- and I get to eat what they have cooked. YUM! Bring on the turkey and its yummy companions.

Organized Christmas

Are you ready for Christmas? Today I googled "simplify Christmas" and found a really good website!
Cynthia Townley Ewer has a site called Organized Christmas. The site includes MANY well-written articles with such titles as Teaching Children to Give, Making Christmas a Family Affair, In Praise of Simple Gifts, and Gifts Solutions - Think Consumable. She has Christmas Countdowns, Calendars, Organizers, recipes, gifts to make, stocking stuffers, printables, and lots of other items of interest.

This same site, in spite of its name, includes ideas for other holidays as well. I think you will find something of interest here.

New Photos Posted

I just added 5 pics to my "Grandchildren" album. These were taken in the last two days -- at Model Middle School ballgames Friday and at Fort Daniel Academy's Thanksgiving program.

Teaching Public School in the 21st Century

I retired from my public school teaching career in 2003. I did not retire because I had finished enough years to collect full retirement (I had not); I did not retire because I no longer wanted to teach (I still love to teach); I retired because it has become impossible to do the job I love (teach children) in the regular classrooms of our nation's public schools.

Today I was reminded again of this depressing fact when I talked with a friend of mine who is still an active teacher. She told me how the teachers in her school had just been informed that there is to be a new division of duties. It seems that the staff member -- whose two-part job consists of (1) overseeing the "opportunity room" (a euphemism for the isolation room used by students whose extreme misbehavior in the classroom makes isolation necessary) and (2) calling substitutes for teachers who find it necessary to be absent from school -- this employee, it seems, has "too much on her plate" and can no longer call subs. Since this employee's plate is too full, some of her duties will be scraped onto the plates of the regular classroom teachers.

Earlier in the year, the plates of the custodial staff had also become too full. This unfortunate situation resulted in off-loading janitorial duties onto the "plates" of the teachers. They were to take on the responsibility of most of the daily cleaning of the classrooms, moving of furniture, cleaning of desks, stacking of chairs, cleaning up of vomit or fecal matter that occasionally "happens" in classrooms.

When the secretarial staff's plates became too full, several paper-work and computer-work jobs were added to the teachers' plates. Because the bus drivers, cafeteria workers and office staff have such full plates, it became the teachers' jobs to make the phone calls and prepare the paperwork related to misbehaviors on the bus, in the cafeteria, or on the playground.

Can these teachers do the job they want to do and the job they have been trained to do -- teach our children?

When will the teacher plan how to best teach each individual student in her overflowing classroom? How is the teacher to have the mental and physical reserves to analyze each learning problem and work with twenty-something sets of parents to help each student be successful? When does this teacher have time to do professional reading or grade papers or average grades? Why is no one considering whether or not the teachers "have too much on their plates"? Why have the teachers' plates become the scrap bowl, holding everyone else's leftovers? Will our children's school years drift away while those people trained to teach them -- those who long to teach them -- are required to spend their days doing custodial and secretarial tasks until they stagger under the weight of their overloaded plates?

President Jimmy Carter's Thanksgiving Proclamation

The following is a newspaper clipping from my filing cabinet that escaped the shredder this week. It is a statement issued twenty-six years ago by the president of the United States. (The italics and boldings are mine.)

"Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated in this land not in a moment of unbridled triumph, but in times of great adversity. The colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia had few material possessions to help them face the dangers of the wilderness. They had no certainty that the harvests for which they gave thanks would be sufficient to carry them through a long winter. Yet they gave thanks to God what what they had and for the hope of this new land.

"In the darkest hour of the American Revolution, when the young Republic faced defeat by the strongest military power on Earth, our forefathers also saw fit to give thanks for their blessings. In the midst of a devastating Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed a day to express gratitude for our 'singular deliverances and blessings.'

The ensuing years have multiplied our nation's blessings. We have been delivered from repeated perils, and we have been blessed with abundance beyond the imaginings of those who offered thanks in the chill of approaching winter more than three and one-half centuries ago.

"Succeeding generations have broadened the freedom they cherished and the opportunity they sought and built a mighty nation on the strong foundations they laid. In this two hundred and fourth year of our independence, we have good reasons for gratitude: for liberty in a world where repression is common, for peace in a world of threats and terror and war, for a bounteous harvest in a world where hunger and despair still stalk much of mankind.

"Like those who came before us, we come to give thanks for our singular deliverances and blessings, in a time of both danger and great promise. May we be thankful in proportion to that which we have received, trusting not in our wealth and comfort, but in the strength of our purpose, that all nations might be similarly blessed with liberty and abundance and live in peace.

"Now, therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, do proclaim Thursday, the 22nd of November, 1979, as Thanksgiving Day. I ask all Americans to give thanks on that day for the blessings Almighty God has bestowed upon us, and seek to be good stewards of what we have received.

"In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of September in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-nine and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourth." Jimmy Carter

Thanksgiving Questions

At the Friday Forum these questions are offered up this week.

• 1. What do plan to do for Thanksgiving? (Are you cooking? Staying at home?Going to visit family?)
• 2. What are some Thanksgiving traditions that you have?
• 3. What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?
• 4. Do plan to start Christmas shopping after Thanksgiving or are you alreadyfinished?
• 5. Think about what you are blessed with and list them if you'd like.

I'd especially like to read your answers to #5.

1000th Visitor

Choose one of these tokens of my

appreciation .....

Daddy's Roses will likely have its 1000th visitor within the next 6 days! That is amazing to me. When I started this blog, I just took advantage of an opportunity to communicate in a new way. Blogging provides a chance for me to combine several of my favorite things in life -- reading, writing, computer-use, hashing over ideas, and communicating with people. I certainly never expected to attract a lot of readers, and I am aware that my readers are almost all family and close friends.

However, I am taking a cue from other blogs that have awarded a prize to the person who makes a milestone visit. (Reasoned Audacity awarded a Blogging Tee Shirt to its 100,000th visitor and The Median Sib gave its 1000th visitor a one-of-a-kind BlogHog tote bag.) In this spirit, Daddy's Roses stands ready to acknowledge its 1000th visitor with a token of appreciation.

Our 1000th visitor may choose: (1) a pretty 2005 Line-A-Day Calendar featuring roses, (2) an autographed copy of my little booklet, Lets Eat In Tonight, or (3) a one-of-a-kind handmade fabric bookmark (no picture available.)
So, if you are reading this blog on or about Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving and my birthday), check the sitemeter at the very bottom of the page and see if you are the 1000th visitor. If you are, email me your address and your preference of a prize, and I will get it off in the mail to you with my thanks ASAP.

Shredding Our History

I am alive! My husband didn't have to shoot me when he got home last night. I won the battle (not the war -- just the battle)! I managed to get through the two filing cabinets. The job would have gone much faster if it had been as I expected. I thought I could just toss cancelled checks, bank statements, tax documents from 1967-onward; but noooooooo. Did you realize that almost EVERYTHING of a business nature that was generated before 1990 (or thereabouts) included the person's Social Security Number? Well, I didn't either.

As I began to toss old business, educational, and professional records (6 filing cabinet drawers' worth), I discovered that our Social Security Numbers were on virtually everything. Every credit card application, every credit union and bank statement, every job application, every job contract, every graduate school application (and I must hold the record for the number of graduate schools attended to achieve only a master's degree!), every grade report and other communication from graduate school, every document related to our children's college finances --- do you get the picture? I had to dig back through the bag of trash and pull out almost every envelope to see exactly what info was included on the document. After finding our SSNs on almost every communication, I decided it would be less time-consuming to just assume that every document contained some personal information begging to be stolen by some identity thief.

Everything had to be shredded. I shredded our entire financial, educational, and professional history from about 1967 through 1995 (I kept the last ten years' worth of financial records.) At one point the shredder complained and refused to work any longer. After a rest, though, it agreed to finish the job. Anybody need shreds for packing breakables? I have about 10 bags full!

But rejoice! Both the shredder and I are alive and cutting up today!

War of the Papers

When my husband left for work this morning, I told him, "If I don't have those two filing cabinets cleaned out and organized when you get home this afternoon, just shoot me."

My name is Joan and I am a wordaholic.

I keep magazine articles. By this I mean I keep family-relationship articles, mental health articles, home decorating articles, articles with cute craft ideas, money-management articles, humor pieces, recipes, puzzles, articles about organizing your home and office, self-improvement articles, even home-repair articles! HA! As IF!

I also keep whole magazines, books, books, books, books, books, event programs, church bulletins, newsletters, funny email jokes and stories, catalogs, books, bill-paying records, books, doctor-visit records, grandchildren's drawings, thank-you notes, birthday cards, books, and other not-so-easily-categorized PAPERS!

As I walked through the dining room this morning, I heard a rustling coming from the stack of papers there. I think I caught the whispered word "revolution" just before I looked that way and all became suddenly silent. As I turned away, the urgent word "now!" was distinctly audible. Those papers just sat there looking SO inncocent; but we all know that the appearance of innocence is one of Evil's best tools.

I CANNOT sit at the computer for hours today while the papers convene a quorum and elect officers. Their first order of business, I am sure, would be to evict us humans from the premises so that they can complete their takeover.

So, I will do my duty before they can rally their troops. I will protect my home. I will sign off now, don my battle gear, and fight the War of the Papers. CHAAAAAARGE!!!!!!

Reason for Reading

I enjoyed reading a post on The Median Sib yesterday. Carol, who is a reading specialist in an elementary school, asked students what they like best about reading. Two students responded with answers that helped explain to me why I enjoy reading so much. They said, essentially, that they become part of the story when they read.

True! I often feel almost bereaved when I finish reading a book I really enjoyed. It is like leaving family and friends, knowing you will not see them again. One reader of Carol's post commented that this very feeling is why she enjoys reading books that continue the same characters book after book. I had not really thought of it that way, but it is very true.

Some characters that I continue to visit by reading book after book are:
Jan Karon's Father Tim; Michael Connelly's detective Harry Bosch; Janet Evanovitch's investigator Stephanie Plum; Patricia Cornwell's medical examinar Kay Scarpetta; and Lawrence Sanders's loquatious but articulate Archie McNally, now written by Vincent Lardo since Sanders's death.

Ideas for Writing and a Quiz on Quotes

I am spending WAAAAAAY too much time at the computer these days.

One internet site that I keep returning to is the Encarta Encyclopedia quiz page. Encarta is full of good stuff, but quizes always rope me in. You might be interested in seeing how much you know about famous quotes. If so, try this quiz.

When I am trying to decide what to write about, I frequently find myself checking out the daily writing prompts on Writer's Digest.com. Then I look at The Daily Meme , although I haven't yet actually written on a topic found at either of these sites.

Here are links to some of the good blogs I have been visiting from time to time: Amy's Humble Musings, Brandywine Books, Buried Treasure Books, Begin Each Day As If It Were On Purpose, My Miscellanies , the Jolly Blogger and the Spanish Learning Blog.

Let's face it, if I haven't found something I want to write about after all that reading, I must not want to write today.

Photos

Check out new additions to my photo albums.

Look in the "Grandchildren" album for some pics of BN's birthday party at Zoo Atlanta in September and of BEN's first day of school. I uploaded a few pics into the "Family" album from Josh and Charlee's shower on August 26 .

All pics are courtesy of my daughter, who generously gets doubles of her photos and shares with me.

Retired Educators Day

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has declared today - November 13, 2005 - a special day to honor retired educators. Of course, since I am among the 60,000 retired educators in Georgia, I appreciate that recognition. I also appreciate it on behalf of my daughter, son, daughter-in-law, sister,brother, niece, and numerous friends and former colleagues, who are active educators at this point in their lives and will some day join our ranks.

The 60,000 retired educators in the state of Georgia touched and influenced the lives of generations of children, motivating them to become the best they can be at whatever they attempt. They inspired generations of children to develop their abilities and talents to become contributing, responsible citizens. Most of those retired educators continue to use their lifetime experiences to enrich our lives, in other venues now such as church, community organizations, and government. Many are still great sources of insight and direction for younger citizens.

Who are the educators that deserve at least a little of the credit for who and what YOU have become?

Thanks to the GREA Bulletin (a journal of news and reflections for retired educators of Georgia) for some of the information contained in this entry.

Mount NeverRest

If you are a mother of small children, you might like to read Humble Musings . This mother of 4 children under the age of 7 often has interesting posts about family life on her blog. I was amused today at her usage of the term 'Mount NeverRest' (possibly not an original reference to the mountain of laundry in any home where children reside, but one that I had not heard before.)

CaringBridge and Cooper Bell

Please remember to keep praying for Cooper Bell. Check the update on his condition at the CaringBridge site and Cooper's page (link here).

Happy to be a Crawly Amphibian?

Hey, I just checked this blog's rating in the TTLB Blogosphere Ecosystem, and we are now listed as Crawly Amphibian! When I last checked, I had bypassed Insignificant Microbe (the lowest level), Multicellular Microorganism, Wiggly Worm, Crunchy Crustacean, and Lowly Insect. At that point I was a Slimy Mollusk ranking 22,948th in the system. Since then I have skipped right past Flippery Fish and become a Crawly Amphibian ranking 15,342th in the listing of blogs!! WooHooooo! Ce - le - brate good times -- come on! Now Daddy's Roses only has to work its way through 8 more categories to the very top!

Just thought you might like to know. Thanks, dear Reader.

Veteran's Day 2005

I spent awhile today writing an entry for my Mother to post on her blog. I am at her house helping her while she recovers from surgery. She cannot wear her glasses and has some vision problem one of her eyes, so she can't read or use the computer right now. We spent an hour or two while she told me what she wanted to write about Veteran's Day. I wrote it, we reread and I rewrote (times 2 or 3) and finally posted a piece that suited her -- or else she just gave up and said, "post it." I hope you will check it out. (Click this link to read that piece.) It is a tribute to veterans, specifically WWII vets and more specifically my father.

Blogging Woes

I am still with my Mother trying to take care of her a little bit since her surgery, and I am having trouble getting any writing posted.

First things first: Mother is doing well, but she is pretty miserable. Her face is all swollen and bruised, and she is feeling weak from the anesthesia. But she is accustomed to being totally self-sufficient, and I haven't actually been able to help her much. She won't ask for help. I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to visit though. We have had good conversations (especially day before yesterday when she had almost totally lost her voice and couldn't talk!) Just kidding, of course. Her voice is back, though it is still raspy and intermittent.

The other thing: It is difficult to write using someone else's computer. It is especially difficult to spend a lot of time online when the computer uses a dial-up modem. The process is painfully slow AND I am aware every second that I am tying up the phone line and someone might be trying to call.

So suffice it to say today: I have several possible posts in my head and in notes -- especially as relates to Veteran's Day today. I intend to sit at my own computer when I get home and get them down on paper. I plan to go home tonight or tomorrow when my sister Carol comes from Tennessee to spend the weekend with Mother.

I am going to ply Mother today for some more WWII stories to add to the ideas I am already toying with. (Oh, I am just going to leave that dreaded preposition-ending sentence that precedes this one!)

God bless all the men and women who have served our country through the years; and God bless the memory of those who have died in its service.

Blogging - the pulse of a nation?

Among the blogs I read every day is Reasoned Audacity. This morning Charmaine is live-blogging a blogger workshop at the National Press Club. While the participants are presumably mostly bloggers, attending also are representatives of the organized news media (of course, since it IS the National Press Club!)

One of the concerns being discussed is whether people can get a balanced view of the news when they are "self-selecting" by reading bloggers' takes on the events of the day. As Charmaine points out, credibility has always been an issue whatever our news source. Certainly most bloggers slant the news to fit their viewpoint and to be persuasive to their readers; but it is clear to any fairly intelligent reader that OPINION is what is being offered along with news in a blog. The real concern, in my opinion, is that many people accept the news they see/read presented by the established news organizations as strictly fact, but that news venue is also sometimes slanted and filled with opinion as well.

I see a definite connection between blogging and what I wrote a few days ago about travel. When Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness... charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime", he was suggesting that as travelers become exposed to many cultures and viewpoints, their horizons are expanded. The same mind expansion is also a likely outcome with exposure to blog-presented news/opinion. Writing and reading blogs is an effective way to share opinions, beliefs, thoughts, etc. Isn't that what communication is, after all? JMHO

Mother

Today was full of anxiety among my kin. Mother had surgery this morning to remove a tumor on her right maxillary sinus. She is doing well tonight, and the doctor gives us reason to hope that the mass was benign.

Thinking of mother so much today and remembering with gratitude all she has been and is to me, I found a poem I wrote 8 years ago and decided to post it here in her honor. I love you, Mother.

Decades of MOTHER
Dedicated with love and gratitude to my mother

A baby girl is born in a cotton mill town
Joyfully welcomed by loving parents and ten siblings.
In her ninth year, happy days of hopscotch and marbles are
Darkened by the death of beloved “Papa.”

A vivacious teenage wife sees her husband off to war,
Crying tears of loneliness and fear.
Then taking up the mantle of family responsibility,
She becomes, for a time, both Mommy and Daddy to two little girls.

A beautiful twenty-something homemaker buys no pretty new dresses --
The four children need shoes and school supplies.
There are few evenings out with her husband – money and time are in short supply.
Family sharing, homework help, and spiritual guidance are first priority.

A tireless thirty-something mother helps her husband earn his degrees,
Wipes runny noses, cooks nutritious meals, encourages interests,
Sits by sick beds, listens for a call in the night,
Talks to teachers, waits for a teen to come home.

A lovely forty-something woman goes off to work each morning --
And home to work each evening.

She studies toward her college degree late at night.
For this mother of seven and grandmother of two,
The true necessities of life are ample stores of stamina, hope, joy, and faith --

A fifty-something matron sits, arms around a teenager.
Her older children are parents; her younger ones face adolescent agonies.
Bouncing an infant grandchild on her knee, she listens intently to her teen’s heartache.
She offers concern, insight, wisdom, prayer, and love.

A sixty-something student -

becomes a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Divinity.
A sixty-something wife -

grieves the death of her husband of forty-eight years.
A sixty-something mother/grandmother -

comforts her family, gathered in common grief.
A sixty-something widow -

adjusts to the foreign aloneness of the once bustling home.

A seventy-something pastor ministers to others’ needs.
She listens, comforts, prays, encourages, challenges, and shares.
She is mother, grandmother, confidant,

and mentor to many not of her blood.

The story continues -

joys multiplied, sorrows divided, and love shared.

-- JST May 1997

Diffuse Pontine Glioma - Cooper Bell

Diffuse Pontine Gliomas are tumors located in the brainstem. They are usually difficult, if not impossible, to treat because the cells grow intermingled with normal cells. Those diagnosed with the disease are usually between 5 and 10 years of age.

A handsome young kindergartner from our church has been diagnosed with Diffuse Pontine Glioma. Cooper Bell experienced his first symptoms barely a month ago, and now he is in treatment.

CaringBridge has set up a website for friends and concerned strangers to keep up with Cooper's progress and learn about his disease. For more information or to leave a message of encouragement for this family, go to caringbridge.org then visit "cooperbell". To participate or contribute to a golf tournament being planned to help with his medical expenses, go to our church website, douglasvillefumc.com , and follow the links. (update wee hours of Tuesday: I don't know why but the info is no longer on the church website. Perhaps a phone call or an email request for information would be the best approach.)

All of us can relate to the agony of parents seeing their six year old seriously ill. Please pray for Cooper, his little brother Parker, and their parents.

Mark Twain and the 4-Year-Old

While I was searching for the Mark Twain quote about travel, I found this one and was immediately overwhelmed with mirth thinking about my youngest grandchild.

When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.

As is true with many 4-year-olds, E has a vivid imagination -- so vivid that it becomes reality to him. There have been MANY incidences lately in which E has told his parents stories which were obviously born in his imagination but which he perceived as actual.

For example, he was looking at the pics in my on-line photo album with his parents and sisters. As they commented on the cruise we have just returned from, the sights we saw while we were away, and the size of the ship on which we traveled; E began to earnestly describe the cruise he went on with Gram and Granddaddy last time he visited them. He told about the Panama Canal, the big boat, and all the pumpkins for halloween.

His daddy finally challenged his narrative, "E, is this a REAL story?"

Patiently, with a tolerant sigh, E responded, "Daddy, you KNOW I don't know any 'real' stories."

Life with Mark Twain, Nadine Stair, and Me

While I was searching for the quote in my last post this morning, I found a number of others of interest.

I thought of my attempt to write my profile for this blog when I read this Mark Twain quotation: Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.

What about this advice? Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. I wish I could have done as he advised when I woke up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep--- unfortunately my troubles didn't seem to have ears or heels I could get a firm grip on --

This one reminds me of one of our current buzzwords in leadership cirlces - "intentional". We do have to become more intentional in our living, don't we? Mark Twain said: I am different from Washington. I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won't.

Certainly whole blog entries could be written on this one: Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. Think about this one awhile.

And tie that one in with the humor and wisdom shown in this one.
The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one's clothes.

Those last two Mark Twain observations are intertwined with this great one from Nadine Stair with which I agree and will end this post.

If I had my life to live over, I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would perhaps have more actual trouble, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds, I would pick more daisies.

Travel

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."--Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad (1869)

I was impressed by this quotation when I first heard it several years ago; so I spent some time this morning searching the web for the exact wording. Interestingly, this particular quote is not often included in collections of Mark Twain quotations.

I just finished reading the most recent post on Brannon's Eurotrip. My niece is traveling in Europe for 100 days, and so far she has visited France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece. Today's entry was posted from Corfu. I am so thrilled that she has made this wonderful opportunity for herself so early in her adulthood. As an older adult who had traveled outside the United Staes little until the last few years, I also really envy this experience.

Just some musings this morning...

Travels and Homecomings

After spending 10 days in some GORGEOUS away-from-home places, it is good to be home!

I have renewed appreciation for:

1. Divine Creativity as seen in the beauty of the emerald sea, the fluid and inviting coastlines of caribbean islands, the brilliant sunrises and sunsets over the sea, the variety of the human face throughout the world, the wonderful smell and taste of Costa Rican coffee; impressive natural waterforms like Dunn's River Falls near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

2. Human Creativity as seen in the lovely crafts sold in the craft marts near all the ports (including the colorful Molas made and displayed in Panama by the Kuna Indians and the exotic wood creations designed and sold in Costa Rica); the shows produced by talented singers, dancers, and comedians (Have you ever seen "Sarge"? He was a little crude at times, but completely hilarious in the three shows we saw him in. I have seldom seen a performer who seemed to enjoy his work so much); the spectacular ice carvings, fruit and vegetable carvings and bread sculptures created by trained artist-chefs; and the thought-provoking word-creations by talented writers such as Joan Brady, who wrote Heaven in High Gear, one of the 8 books I read while sitting on a luxurious cruise ship surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters.

3. The Panama Canal - The term "engineering marvel" is not misapplied to this great achievement. The canal is almost 100 years old now. Have you ever realized and appreciated the generosity our country showed by funding and building this important passage for the benefit of the whole world? You can actually watch a ship go through the canal in real time by logging on to pancanal.com. Of course, that is assuming that a ship is going through when you log on.

4. Home - Dorothy (in the Wizard of Oz) nailed it when she said, "There's NO place like home."

Check out my Photo Album for a few of my pics.