IN THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT

Boo!! This is the weekend for trick or treat, costumes, ghosts, and scary beings. It's weird enough that Pat Robertson is going off today on the origins of halloween, demons, devil worshipping, bad for kids and all that. And on CNN I read a column about some group that is SURE that candy being given out to kids is cursed, "blessed" by witches, and they spin a tale that would make Stephen King envious. But the scariest thing I can think of is Glen Beck. Glen Beck doesn't just come out on halloween: he's around all the the time. If you've got the stomach or heart to watch.

I know, there's a big hullaballoo going on because a certain network can't seem to come to grips that "their party" didn't quite make it in the last election. I'm not sure if it should be causing as much a stir as it is now, but it's not unprecedented. Former administrations had the same go-rounds with the media, which with today's selective memory, they seem to have forgotten. With the invention of taping and digital recording, it's very easy to "recall" these incidents. Not sure that the administration or advisors should have taken a stance, but fair is fair. (But not Fair and Balanced.) I won't even go into the "characters" going to the Tea Parties.........but I digress.

Glen Beck surely can't take himself seriously. His viewers can't seriously believe this man represents the majority mindset or intelligence today. He can take the most far out nonsense, make faces, use funny (?) voices, use disputed facts and debunked theories, draw pictures, quote scriptures, and cry within two minutes time. He makes Rush Limbaugh seem like a Franciscan monk. (Ok, that's a stretch.) Don't they have medication for that?? He scares the heck out of me! And he doesn't wear a costume!

He's a money maker for the network, even though sponsors are getting very leery about his carryings on. Would you want your goods or services associated with that mess? What really scares me is that people ---his fans-- think he's godlike, tells it like it is, spouting the TRUTH about all the behind the scenes "conspiracies" in our government, all the freedoms in the Constitution being taken away. He loves his country: I guess he just lets the rest of us malcontents live here. (You can buy his new book, of course.) Add in Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Alex Castelanos, Neil Cavuto with encouragement from Mr. Murdoch and you've got a witch's brew to be proud of. A pot ready to boil over at any minute. And Glen beck is the master chef.

Where is Emeril Lagasse when you need him??

ROAD TRIP AND ROCK N ROLL

We went to Tennessee this weekend. Had to have my red-dirt-and-mountains fix. Also, we were trying to get a handle on the housing (or condo-ing) market in the eastern part of the state. When we make the jump next year, we want to know where to land. There is always so much to do in the Tri-state area, and not enough time for just a weekend. But for those who went to Asheville, they might be there a little longer thanks to the rockslide on Rt. 40, the main drag to ANYWHERE down there.

While we were in Maryville--a great town that is undergoing a rebirth of the arts, economy and social life--we stopped at a neat new eatery: Hot Rods 50"s Diner. Ashley Schwartz is the owner, and her food and staff were great. Such a good vibe. The pictures were taken at the diner. If you're in the area, just a little ways from Knoxville, stop in.
It will make you feel good.

FIX THE REPAIRS

Well, not much time to write this morning. I have to take the car back to the dealer service. I have a Nissan Murano, which I absolutely love. Never any problems with it even after 67,000 miles.

I took it in for a complete tuneup, which was over due. This cost a lot of money. Now only 2 or 3 days later I have an annoying hum on the passenger side, up under the hood. Sort of like when you used to put playing cards in the spokes of your bicycle wheels so that you sounded fast. (Or so we thought.) This had better not cost me a thing.

Update: Did you know that leaves caught in an air filter can be very annoying? Duh....but I'm glad that's all it was. The guys were very nice, as always. But more interesting was talking with a feisty gentleman who also had his Murano in for service. His name was Ron and he lives in Yellow Springs. (Hey there, Ron.) Such an interesting conversation: we had a lot in common and talked about politics, religion, and people. But in no particular order. How very JABBERWOCKY.........

Convenient Amnesia

"I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. I will go to the people and the programs that are the brighter points of light, and I will ask every member of my government to become involved. The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in."

—George H. W. Bush, 1988

It seems like the right wing news "journalists" like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michele Malkin, Charles Krauthamer, and Bill O'Reilly are having a heyday with President Obama's community organizing and efforts to promote more volunteerism in our country. They are promoting it as "government enforced" or subsidized programs akin to socialism, of course. Another way to gain government control of the masses and have them do the government's bidding of undermining our Constitution.

They seem to have forgotten that the American way, the right way, the only way to help our country is to help each other. They also seem to have forgotten The Thousand Points of Light program of George Bush, their Republican president. Hmmm........

Indian Summer

At least that's what it feels like today. Unfortunately, it's also time to get the patio furniture put away and the fountain drained until next spring. I hate that! I want to sit outside everyday. I want a glass of wine in the evening, sit and listen to relaxing music. Where did the summer go? It's true, I'm sad to say, but it goes by faster each year. Either we're too busy and need to slow down, or maybe not shoot so many weddings on the weekends. Maybe it's global warming making our seasons all wonky. Maybe I'm just getting lazy.......

BIBLE RE-DO: PART TWO

"So I guess they'll have to take out most of the gospels, eh? after all, Jesus fed the multitudes for free, raises lazarus from the dead without a copay, heals the sick and blind again without a copay or a specialist's note, defends a prostitute, etc etc. sounds like a raging socialist to me, i guess all of this will be deleted?"

It seems as if there are others who feel the same way as I do about the Conservative Bible Project. The quote above is from a comment made in a Tennessee newspaper in response to an article about the same subject. Remember people, the south has the reputation for being very bible-based. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. The teachings of Jesus, and the stories of the old testament may guide us to lead a full, honest, giving, sharing, and selfless life. The world is not all about ME, folks. We are all in this together.

I don't believe a lot of these conservative religious folks like to think of Jesus as a rebel, or even a liberal. But he was. He lived and worked, and recruited from among the everyday common folks. He shared food and lodging; he went against the organized religion of the day; he gave away his belongings to the poor, and he asked that everyone be treated the same. Sounds very democratic to me, too. Can you imagine what the health insurance, oil and energy, and big business lobbyists would do if he was around (in the flesh) today?

THE BIBLE THE RIGHT WAY

Would someone please tell me what in the heck is wrong with people today?? Is Fox Opinion Television putting something in the water? In the air? Is it emanating from the television screen in your living room?

The Conservative Bible Project run by the son of Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative rights activist, wants to change the current version of the bible. (Conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible_Project) It's too liberal for him and his group. Granted the bible has been updated, condensed, retranslated, added to, and messed with for centuries. Several books have been left out. Some were books written by women: they didn't add to the true message of what Jesus was trying to say, I guess. Well, at least not according to the priests and other male scholars who were parsing together the King James Bible that is used today. Let's see: Jesus associated with women, worked with women, trusted women, helped women, defended women. And as far as we know he couldn't have been gay---the conservatives would have THROWN OUT his words, not printed them in red.

Yep, these people feel the need to make the bible less liberal, more masculine, and generally more to their liking. To me it fits right in with their usual "keep women in the kitchen, barefoot, and pregnant" theories that have worked so well for decades. The conservative party, or whatever, is no place for an intelligent, forward thinking woman today. Unless you like being the token Barbie, forgiving your errant spouse when he "strays, but loves his wife, and begs forgiveness" publicly. And if you happen to have been born gay and are politically minded, forget it.

Well, it probably won't make much difference anyway. They've forgotten about the separation of church and state somehow. And they only quote bible passages when they want to twist them to mean what they say against someone else with a different point of view. So, I guess it already says what they want it to.........

IQ OF A CREDIT THIEF

Ok, I'm ticked off: some guy in Illinois was having a high old time on my dime. Actually he was using my Chase debit/credit card numbers. I've got the actual piece of plastic in my hand...or I did until I cut it into a million pieces. Ok, maybe only twenty.
Got to give a big "high five" to my bank though: this happened Saturday, and as of today (Wednesday) they can't even manage to get a faxed report from headquarters for me to sign to say "yeah, that's what happened to my money." It's not their money that was stolen, and not their money that won't be there when the automatic payments come out in the next few days. As a matter of fact, I just read on Huffington Post that J PMorgan Chase made umpteen kazillion dollars profit this quarter. Glad that stimulus money could help you out, JP. Now about my $354.00..........

Seriously, I don't know how these guys do it. The credit card thieves, I mean. (I know how the other big guys do it.) If you're going to be big and brazen in your attempt to get something for nothing (again, the thieves) why not do something big? Go buy some nice clothes, jewelry, have a fabulous dinner----on me. Rent a nice car for the weekend, and maybe a rendezvous in a swanky hotel, complete with chocolates on the pillow. Live it up.

What's with the purchases at Walmart? Did you get the car and the motorcycle filled up at Exxon,too? Hope the pizza at Stella
Albino's was good? Beers to go with that? Who needed the gift from the hospital gift shop, and I hope the surgery went well. If I'd known, I would have sent flowers.............

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Well, there's no peace in the blogosphere......or any other form of media today. Our president is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and two-thirds of this country goes bonkers! No punch is pulled. No heartfelt congratulations are offered. Right-wingers are aghast and spewing forth the usual poison. Lefters are saying it's too early in his career. Some folks are rooting for that career to end quickly. Teabaggers are planning their next disruption. Whites are shouting "affirmative action" prize. Blacks are high-fiving each other. Bloggers are making the usual crass remarks about Michelle Obama and her looks. Twitters are wishing they could use more than 140 characters today.

What is wrong with this country? For being such a supposedly "Christian" country, or at least one based on the morals and ethics of such, we suck. We have no respect for anyone. We have no values. We can only hope for the worst for others, because then we feel better about ourselves. We relish others' misfortunes, laugh at others' mistakes and foibles. We are voyeurs in the lives of people on television and movies: people that are shallow, selfish and who wouldn't even be noticed if they weren't shoved in our face constantly. Political figures, supposedly of good character and working hard for our concerns in government, are living the "do as I say, not as I do" lifestyle of charlatans. Talk show "journalists" push their agendas brashly and unquestioned.

President Obama stated that he was humbled by this award, and that he was undeserving. It was an award not just for him, but for all those people who are trying to make this world a better place. (Ok, not a direct quote, I know. But the message is the same. I'll leave the parsing of words to the pundits.) Yes, it does seem too soon on one hand. He's not been in office a year yet. He's getting opposition from so many people on what he wants to accomplish: people that are steadfastly partisan in their views. Any form of change from the status quo is the end of the world to them. "The way it's always been is the way it should be. Anything else is socialism, ungodly, sending the country off a cliff, galavanting around with foreign devils, showing the world we're just a bunch of wusses!"

Wait a minute: this Nobel Peace Prize.......it's winners are chosen from the world stage, correct? And I know there are many people just as or even more deserving than our president. His accomplishments are not fully written yet. Maybe that's not the point. It's the EFFORT to achieve this peace, or the coming together of the world at this time that is the point. Someone is actually trying to do something without taking over every other country forcefully, leaving those people with a sense of dignity whether deserved or not. Someone recognizes that America is not the only country in this wide world, but does have a leading role to play.

If only the people of America understood that peace is not something we go in and demand. It is something we work for, and not by ourselves. This is the message that our president is trying to get out. It is something that we at home need to get into our heads, too. All this right wing hostility and left wing condescension, all this "we said, they said" needs to stop. This country is a glaring example of what the world at large should not be. I'm not being pollyanna-ish here. Just realistic. Maybe, that too, is a good reason to award the Nobel Prize to our president: what can be accomplished on the world stage HAS to be done here a home, regardless of all the opposition. There has to be change.

OCTOBER: WEAR PINK............for whom?

October, as you all know by now, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Pink is everywhere: pins, soup cans, headbands, sweaters, NASCAR cars, sports figures, purses, food containers. I've personally known two wonderful people who've died from breast cancer--a nurse in our office as well as the wife of the doctor I worked for. This is serious business.

It is also big business. A well-funded, organized, high profile, years' long campaign involving all sorts of businesses, entertainers, media, and political figures. You'd think that with all the money and attention being focused on this disease we'd be further along in its eradication. The medical establishment, as well as its branches in the drug and medical supply industry, should be pretty close to a cure by now. Wouldn't it be great business and political strategy to be the first to come up with a cure for breast cancer? Or any cancer, for that matter. Just think of the financial reward for that development!

Just think, no more women having to suffer with breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, harmful drugs, wigs, prosthetics, long hospital stays and doctor visits. The cost savings alone (whether insurance or out-of-pocket) to patients would be tremendous. Then there would be no need for the big Pink Push every year, all the commercialized fundraising. The drug companies and related entities would not have to produce and market all those drugs and....................oh, sorry.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, but a woman's breasts are better marketing. A very personal and emotional subject. Breast cancer to a woman and also her family is devastating. I thinks it's time for businesses to stop playing on those emotions for some sort of financial gain. That's right.....a woman just said that. Who's really getting the best end of this deal? I don't believe for one minute it's the women suffering from breast cancer.

ALZHEIMER'S Can be Jabberwocky

Lewis Carroll created memorable stories and poems around nonsensical, strange beings. Silly words and situations were his forte. I love the way the make-believe words roll off my tongue. " Twas brillig..."

Alzheimer's patients find themselves in strange situations, making nonsensical statements not of their choosing. Their words do not come easy, if at all. It pains me.

My mom has Alzheimer's.

She still gets around, considering she broke her left hip in January which necessitated surgery and rehabilitation. She walks with a walker now. Due to macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts she is blind: no sight in her right eye and almost none in her left. All those eye surgeries in the past can only do so much. She used to be five foot nine, with dark brown hair. She took pride in the fact that she always had a slim figure--thin almost. Now at about five foot four, with her thinning grey hair, she barely weighs one hundred pounds. She just turned eighty-nine.

Now in a very nice Assisted Living Center, we've not bothered to mention the Alzheimer's to her: it would serve no purpose. Everyday she's up and about as best she can be. Always dresses for the trip to the dining room: slacks, blouse, sweater, earrings, necklace, lipstick. No nightgowns or robes there, folks. She loves bright colors, especially red. Even though I try to organize her clothes closet, the outfits she chooses are of her making. She can't see, remember?

Alzheimer's alone can be a cross heavy enough for someone to bear, but the blindness to her is devastating. To not remember where your matching earring is can be annoying, but not see it to retrieve it is maddening. When she can't remember what she had for breakfast (or even if she had any), she can't readily see the snacks and fruit we keep stocked for her in her small refrigerator or shelf. Alzheimer's is cruel, but blindness is torture. She tries to go play bingo..... She has to listen to shows on television that have some sort of narration......She tries to recall her grandchildren's names by the sound of their voices. I have to tell her who I am.

And so it goes. Alzheimer's has it's own little path through a person's life. Right now everything is OK, not great but OK. Things are worse than several months ago, but we'll appreciate that for as long as we can. She downsized from a two room apartment to a large studio. Things are easier for her now. As easy as they can be. Alzheimer's can be an unruly roommate over the long run.