Happy 2010

There's a little less than an hour left of 2009 on the west coast. Friends and family have already rung in the new year on the east coast and in the Midwest, and some of them are most likely already in bed asleep. The aughts are almost over. (as in '09)

Ten years ago tonight, my daughters were 3 1/2 yrs. and 1 1/2 months old. We celebrated by watching the ball drop in Times Square on the New York ABC channel, 9:00pm our time, then put them to bed and had a quiet evening. In those days I was getting sleep where I can get it.

Tonight there was Beatles Rock Band, Facebook conversations, instant messaging, and a Doctor Who marathon that became a "The Nanny" marathon.

There is no question that, while not as euphoric as last year's New Year's Eve celebration was, with the lingering euphoria of Barack Obama's victory and anticipation of his inauguration, tonight's celebration is hopeful and joyful.

The past year under President Obama's leadership we have been able to relax a bit, to feel a little more secure in the state of the country and the world. In spite of multiple crises, we have been led by a man who deeply cares about the welfare and future of the country and its citizens, and has the intellect to deal with the stumbling blocks, with an optimistic eye.

President Obama reflects that American optimism in his New Year's address. (see it here)

I am looking forward to the next decade, with the same optimism for the future that my grandfather looked at the approach of 1910, and the same optimism with which I greeted 2000, for a bright future for my children.

Happy New Year.

It's Almost Christmas

"It's almost Christmas..."

I'll bet there's a bad holiday-themed pop love song out there that starts with those words. And I'll bet it's been used in one of the many sappy Christmas movies that flood Lifetime, Hallmark Channel and ABCFamily this time of year.

I have a confession. I love watching those movies. And I'm determined to write one. Although it will probably be a parody amalgamation, it will still be full of all the corny things that make us keep tuning into them year after year.

So take a look at that picture, there. Okay.

What comes to mind?

Whatever it is, that is what those holiday movies are all about. Just replace the actors with Dean Cain or one of your favorite TV actresses, and you've got it.

Happy Holidays.

The First Snow

It's Sunday evening.

The children are in their rooms creating, dreaming, and anticipating. My other half is playing an online interactive computer game, which for some reason doesn't turn him into a total geek. He and #1 got back a while ago with our Christmas tree, which is now in its stand in the living room "falling" before the lights are added. He did plug in the

I just let the dog in from outside, his fur wet from falling snow.

It's finally snowing.

After a week of sub-freezing and at times frigid temperatures and clear skies, we are getting snow. It's fine, wet, barely sticking, but it's snow.

It's the first snowfall of the season. Last year at this time the kids had already missed five days of school for flooding, vandalism and snow. For the first time in three years, there have been no school closings. While November and December snows are typically rare, the past couple of years have raised expectations.

This snow won't last long. It's going to start raining tomorrow.

But, for now, it's snowing.

Pearl Harbor Day

Growing up, I heard first-hand accounts from parents, grandparents, relatives and their contemporaries about how they heard about the bombing at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on a December 7, 1941. My parents were kids; my grandparents, who remembered WWI, carefully navigating their way out of the Great Depression that devastated a generation. My mother-in-law remembers because it meant the Americans would soon be there to help defend Australia against the Japanese. (See the recent film "Australia.")

Everyone remembered most clearly the speech by President Roosevelt "...a day that shall live in infamy..."

But will it?

I thought about that today. And I wondered: Were there significant dates in past centuries on which later generations listened to stories about where people were during previous wars? Perhaps about Lexington and Concord, or the burning of Atlanta? Perhaps, to those eye witnesses, those events were as infamous as Pearl Harbor.

The existence of mass media will keep events like the sinking of the Lusitania, or Pearl Harbor or 9/11 vivid in the memory of history. But I just wonder what it was like to sit and listen to those events recounted.

Thanksgiving Eve

It is almost Thanksgiving again, which in our house has come to mean two things: parent-teacher conferences and Nutcracker.

As usual we are blessed with capable, intelligent children whose teachers are full of praise. We saw a lot of A's at the middle school, and lots of 3's and 4's at the elementary school, both of which are populated with talented teachers and effective staff. It makes the conference time a little mundane, but always, always in a good way.

With parent-teacher conferences come short school days as well, so I still get up at 6:00am even though they're home by noon.

This morning in a rare occurance my middle schooler missed the bus. As we were driving through the lovely rural landscape, we were treated to a breathtaking sunrise with pink and lavender clouds, blue skies, and amazing clarity in spite of patches of fog. Over and over one of us would exclaim, "If only I had a camera!" The golden orange leaf on the back of the forest green SUV in front of us. The everchanging shadows and colors in the sky. The etheral fog patches shrouding cottages on the side of the road. We were treated to a morning of sunshine before the rain moved in again.

Today was what is becoming an annual event, the marathon Nutcracker dress rehearsal. The majority of the children's cast is double cast, so they run the show twice, in full dress, for each cast. In between the parents are responsible for the children, so there is a lot of time spent at the Seattle Center. Today included a best friends lunch and a lot of giggling. I am told. I was home and managed to get my shopping done for tomorrow.

And so I have many things to be thankful for this year. For talented, healthy children. For amazing landscape and weather in the mountain foothills. For no flooding or snow/ice storms (yet). For the flexibility to be there for my children with a minimum of fuss. For giving us a good year in spite of the recession.

Tomorrow we will celebrate by wearing pajamas and eating chicken. Tonight, we are winding down, ready to count our blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving

Good Things

Good things of late:

Harper Collins reissued the six "high school" books in the Betsy Tacy series, in a set of three, two books to a volume. They use the wonderful Vera Neville artwork, and are fine quality all around. Can't go wrong with books loved by people as varied as Bette Midler, Meg Cabot, Nancy Carlson and me.

I am listening to the absolutely fabulous cast album of "White Christmas The Musical." In addition to the songs used in the original film (which itself is actually a remake of "Holiday Inn"), it includes such fabulous Irving Berlin classics as "I Love A Piano" and "Let Yourself Go." We saw it a few years ago in San Francisco where this production originated, and loved it. What other modern musical uses a 40-piece orchestra these days?

It's early November, and the trees are changing colors and losing their leaves. The other day I was driving through a windy patch, and leaves swirled and danced like in a Disney movie.

Last spring I stumbled across a patch Girl Scouts can earn, The Coat of Many Colors patch, based on Dolly Parton's song. This fall my daughter's troop is collecting coats to donate to a local organization to earn the patch, and people are donating like crazy. I am excited to see something so useful be so successful.

Twitter.

A nonsequiter

Sometimes something happens that catches me by surprise and causes me to exclaim out loud.

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day. At times the rain was so heavy that it was almost impossible to see the road when driving. Flood watch centers opened to monitor flood levels of the local rivers, and last night we had a rare thunderstorm. It was cool overnight, in the '40s, and this morning the chill in the air was pronounced with the lingering dampness.

I was driving my 4th grader to school this morning when I saw patches of snow along the side of the road. For a split second I thought nothing of it, then I exclaimed out loud. A few yards from the first one, another one, and then another. They all looked like the last, sad remnants of a snowy winter, those last stubborn, icy patches.

But this is November, and the snow levels were barely low enough to provide a dusting in the passes, much less near sea level. As I drove on, no more snow patches were evident, and I waited to catch sight of Mount Si, a small mountain not part of a range that looms over the Snoqualmie Valley. Even Mount Si (file image right) had no snow on it.

Where did that snow come from? I can only assume that a truck of some sort came out of one of the passes with snow on it, and lost it along that little stretch of highway. Or the snow fairy came and left it there to surprise people on their morning commute.

However it got there, it was a nonsequiter.

What a Week!

I have been busily sewing costumes for my children for the past three weeks, for a costume party last night.

Next time, I need two months' notice.

One went as the Meta Knight from the Kirby Nintendo game; the other as Princess Peach from Mario. I made the most complicated costume dress in the history of patterns, plus a cape with several panels and a standup collar, and a karate-type tunic. Of course all there patterns had to be altered. It's a good thing I can kind of do that.

The party itself was fun, as always. This year the host family dressed as characters from Alice In Wonderland, with the toddler as Alice instead of the blonde 10-year-old who, along with her 12-year-old brother, was a Joker without the cards.

We went as a Ghostbuster and a ghost (me). I wore the Martha Stewart yards of tulle "Glamorous Ghost" costume, except I put on scary makeup (I made my 9-year-old cry) and almost won the Scariest Costume contest. Unfortunately I tied with a 12-year-old and the 10-year-olds gave it to him so he "wouldn't have a temper tantrum." I didn't have one, so it was probably a good choice.

My older one did, though, because the Meta Knight costume was awesome and should have won for either best costume or most original. Instead, one person won three of the six categories...

In spite of that, the food and the company were great, and we even saw a little of "Rocky Horror Picture Show."
In past years they have run it through the whole party, but now there are so many toddlers that "Casper, The Friendly Ghost" ran for the first three hours of the party. Yes, the original series, not the movie. It is fun to see how priorities change when there is a baby in the mix.

Also this weekend, Purdue beat Ohio State!! #8 ranked Ohio State! and the Vikings won! A good weekend for football.

Nutcracker rehearsals are back on again, and once again wreaking havoc (although we don't mind!) with our schedule. It is such a great experience for the kids, and fun that #2 is in the same role as #1 was at the same level.

So it was quite a week. Now I just have to clean up the remains of the sewing tornado in the dining room so we can be civilized again.

Progress

The last health care bill has made it out of committee today. Thank you, Sen. Olympia Snowe, for being willing to publicly support the idea, even if the details aren't all you would prefer.

Lots of work ahead, of course, for the different bills to all compromise and become one. And there will be hell to pay if we end up with the "co-ops" instead of a public option. But overall it is very encouraging. I am cautiously beginning to hope that we might actually achieve meaningful health care reform this year.

And not a moment too soon. Every day the Congress negotiates, debates, postpones, it delays the day when a bill will take effect. Any bill will take a few years to completely take effect, so the sooner we get started, the better.

Get to work, you people in Congress!

Supreme Court Week on C-SPAN

For the next week C-SPAN has programming that illuminates the Supreme Court of the United States and how it works.

Included are interviews with all nine justices, including Sonia Sotomayor. If there is any question as to why President Obama nominated her to the court, watch the interview she did with C-SPAN.

Sewing Costumes

This year we were going to go, as a family, as the Ghostbusters and a ghost or two to the annual costume party where prizes are given. It is very competitive, very subjective, and this year there is supposed to be a family costume theme prize.

Unfortunately everyone wants to be something different. So although we will still have a Ghostbuster, we will have instead Meta Knight and Princess Peach.

Which brings me to the sewing part. The Meta Knight is an original design based on a video game character, and no one sells a Princess Peach costume. So on Saturday we spent two hours at the fabric superstore finding patterns that can be adapted and fabric.

When I said, "Now we need to buy notions," there was an exclamation of surprise and dismay. I wasn't about to go back and buy all the thread and odds and ends needed, so we did the hard work of finding the trims that will make the costumes look like they should.

Of course I have already been back to the fabric store for additional things. And I discovered the greatest invention yet: fabric glue stick. I can't way to try it out, and see if I can save myself a couple of hours.

The kids are supposed to help me, too; we'll see how that plays out. I hope they do; I am sure they will be better than I am at some of the construction work.

We will see how it goes! And we will go to the party as an assortment of pop culture figures.

Health Care Reform (again)

Have an hour and a half? I can make it worth your while. Watch the "town hall" meeting Joe Biden, along with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, conducted at a senior center in Maryland. He clearly and powerfully outlines not only the need for health care reform, but just what will and will not happen.

Joe Biden's comment, "Mom, it's hokum. It's a bunch of malarky," regarding the so-called "death panels" has been widely quoted. But he said a couple of other things I like even better.

He talked about his Senate history of defending Medicare, and he posed the question: Why would he, and the other people who worked so hard to defend and preserve Medicare, suddenly try to get rid of it? As he said, "It just doesn't make sense."

Biden also pointed out that the same people who are claiming now to be trying to save Medicare while making dire predictions about government interference and benefits reductions, are the same ones who have opposed Medicare, and were some of the same who voted for the law that will take effect in 2010 that will reduce Medicare benefits paid to doctors by 27%. If nothing is done to change that law.

The reality of this is, as I have said before, that the health insurance companies are the ones who will benefit if things stay the way they are. The companies make enormous profits each year, including subsidy payments from the government (Medicare Advantage, anyone?), and right now are unregulated and in control of who gets what kind of coverage, and what we pay. There is no reason, based on recent history, to expect that they will not continue to raise premiums, exclude people for coverage, and pay their executives million dollar bonuses.

The reform package being considered by the Congress does not go nearly as far as it could in reforming a system crippled by greed and no accountability on the part of the insurance companies. However, there at least are some regulations, a guarantee of coverage for everyone, and an attempt to bring down costs. It includes a government option that will provide coverage for people who can't afford private insurance, and will make it competitive with the insurance companies.

The opponents can pontificate and bluster all they want to. But no matter what argument they make, their interest lies not in helping the people, but in preserving the profits of the insurance companies. And that sends us the message that the profits of business are more important than the individual.

So I want to say to the opponents of reform: Show me your criteria for deciding who gets coverage and who doesn't. Because without reform that is what is happening. And any kind of bill without a guarantee of coverage for every American means they have decided that there are Americans who don't deserve to be able to afford their health care. I just want to know who those Americans are.

Broadway Buzz | Patrick Swayze, Who Went from Broadway to Film Stardom, Dead at 57 | Broadway.com

Broadway Buzz | Patrick Swayze, Who Went from Broadway to Film Stardom, Dead at 57 | Broadway.com

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Friday Night

It's Friday evening, and the kids are occupied with Mario on the Wii, the dog has taken over the bed, and outside it is raining.

Today we registered the boat with the state, and paid the user tax (like a sales tax on an out-of-state purchase when you don't pay sales tax in that state) so we could get the title and registration, along with the required stickers.

College football season starts tomorrow; Purdue plays Toledo and will hopefully win the game. Although no one is expecting Purdue to burst out in the first year under Coach Hope, there is always a possibility that they will have a great season -- Purdue went to a bowl game following a dismal year in their first year under Coach Tiller; Minnesota went to a bowl game their first year under Coach Holtz. Precedent!

The Betsy-Tacy high school books are being reissued, and I'm very excited! Each book contains two volumes, and the covers are using the original Vera Neville artwork. (See the covers and read what the editor in charge has to say about them on her blog.) They were my favorite books growing up, and I reread them often, even more than the Little House books and the Louisa Mae Alcott books. I readily confess that, as an adult, I have continued to reread them. Maud Hart Lovelace's fine writing and attention to historic accuracy, along with her focus on family dynamics, gives the books an authenticity that lasts.

I read the books to my own girls when they were small, and they went on to read them on their own. (When my older daughter realized she could read independently, it was Betsy-Tacy she chose to tackle, rereading the first chapter for two weeks until she could read it smoothly.) These days I often hear one or the other of them say, "That is just like what happened to Betsy!" or "Didn't (fill in here) happen in one of the Betsy Tacy books, Mom?" In October I will be buying the new editions. As often as we reread them, we can never have too many copies.

The kids have gone up to bed, and it is quiet in the kitchen except for the soft patter of rain outside and the tick of the clock over the doorway. Another Friday night draws to a close.

The Gonzales Cantata

Someone has rewritten the 2007 Roberto Gonzales testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee as a cantata. Check it out here.

Teddy Again

I watched the thousands of people stream past Ted Kennedy's coffin, and the memorial service tonight.

Things I have learned, both profound and mundane:

Ted Kennedy was almost mystical in his ability to know the right thing to say or do, and at showing up when he was needed.

John Kerry had hip surgery.

John Culver, former senator from Iowa, could be a standup comedian.

Orrin Hatch can be sweet and goofy.

Vicki Kennedy rocks.

Joe Biden owes his political career to Ted Kennedy.

Ted Kennedy loved to sing, especially show tunes.

It is endlessly absorbing watching people file past and pay tribute to a great American.

No matter how often one participates in funeral arrangements, there is always confusion about the transportation.

"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" sounds best in an Irish accent.

Dogs love to watch Brian Stokes Mitchell sing, too.

Tween-aged boys will always mug for a camera.

Health care is going to pass.

Only a barking dog can silence Joe Biden.

There are still a few senators who actually think that the Senate is a place to do the business of the American people and not to further political ambitions.

You can never spend too much time doing things for others.

The governor of Massachusetts grew up on in Chicago.

Doris Kearns Goodwin was a good friend of Teddy's.


I am sure there are many more things to learn. But the one biggest lesson in all of this is: No matter how rich, prominent, notable, etc., people are, at the end of the day they are still just members of a family.

Kennedy Remembered (2) - George's Bottom Line

Kennedy Remembered (2) - George's Bottom Line

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Farewell, Senator

The news just broke a little while ago that the great senator from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Edward "Ted" Kennedy, passed away from the brain tumor he had been so fiercely fighting.

At this moment in history, it is sad to see the great Lion of the Senate sail away on his journey to be reunited with his friends and loved ones, just on the eve of real health care reform.

Over the last year I have missed his passionate, dignified speeches from the floor of the Senate as he championed cause after cause for the average American. And I will continue to miss his rhetoric. He was able to gracefully and powerfully speak to any issue and make it seem solveable and noble. Often it seemed that he was a greater champion for the middle class than those politicians sent from the middle class to the Senate.

A brain tumor is not a pretty way to die. The effect it has on the person's ability to communicate, the decline it causes and the sadness felt by his loved ones is poignant. My mother died of a brain tumor, a result of her breast cancer. I know that tonight Teddy's family is feeling relief that he is once again whole, relief that their burden is lifted, profound sadness that he is gone completely from their lives on this earth, and an awareness of the gaping hole left in their lives. But I also hope that they feel the joy of his moving to a new life free of pain and sorrow, where he can once again see his brothers, and embrace his mother, and receive the reward God has for him for his dedication to the idea that God's people feed, clothe and care for one another.

Ted Kennedy will continue to be sorely missed. But I think that those he has inspired will step up to take on his mantle of service, and achieve all the dreams he strove for in his many years in the Senate.

But for now, we'll shed some tears.

Shuttle Launches In August

Discovery is due to launch in about half an hour.

If it stops raining, and the lightning stays away.

If you have been to Florida, you know that if it's August there will be lightning. One year we sat on the runway for an hour, ten yards from the jetway, because there was lightning on the tarmac at the Orlando airport, and the guys who wave in the plane couldn't do their job.

The last shuttle launch was scrubbed a few times (after being delayed several days for a mechanical issue) because of lightning in central Florida.

I hope Discovery launches tonight. But if it doesn't, I'll be watching them resuit and try it on the next launch date. And the one after that, if necessary.

To the Tetons and Back

Last week we drove to the Tetons for a "destination wedding" of friends of ours, Beth and Barney.



Avid mountain climbers, they decided that, since so many people would have to travel regardless of where they held their wedding, they would get married in a place special to them that they could share with their friends and family. (Run on, sure; but true.)



We stayed at the beautiful Spring Creek Ranch, a resort of a series of individual villas containing two to four spaces each, with one of the top five rated destination spas in the U.S. The view of the Tetons is spectacular.



We drove for two days, stopping for the night in Boise, and arriving on Friday in time to attend the rehearsal dinner. About the time the wedding rehearsal itself was scheduled (we weren't at it), the skies opened up with torrential rain and hail. It cleared up in time for the outdoor barbecue that evening, where we had prime rib and made s'mores.



Saturday was the wedding day. In the morning we spent a little time in Jackson, Wyoming before dressing and getting our shuttle van to the wedding, on the property of the Snake River Ranch near Teton Village. They chose to have the wedding in a field surrounded by groves of trees; the reception in an open field with the Tetons as a backdrop.



The wedding coordinator provided white umbrellas for the guests, which were used frequently before the wedding began as showers and sun alternated. Then, as the wedding began, the showers began in earnest. The groomsmen and the groom and officiant (the groom's cousin) shared umbrellas; the bridesmaids came down the aisle, shepherding flower girls with baskets of rose petals, carrying umbrellas. The sun came out, and the bride started down the "aisle" with her parents. Halfway up the rain began again to fall through the sunshine, and the umbrellas popped up again like so many mushrooms. The rain continued for the first five minutes of the ceremony; the sun stayed out, the rain stopped, the umbrellas came down, and there wasn't rain again until after sundown when everyone was safely ensconced in the reception tent.



This wedding could easily have been very high-end; the bride and groom could easily have afforded an elaborate wedding. Instead it was understated, with great food, the wedding party doing some of the decorating, and a parting gift of English gingerbread cookies, a British tradition.

It was cold at night; the forecast predicted snow in the slightly higher elevations. We didn't see it, but there were warm baths and a fire in the fireplace when we returned from the reception

We spent one day enjoying Teton National Park, and boated (briefly) on Lake Washington. The drive home was uneventful, but interesting. We stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument for a couple of hours, and enjoyed driving highways instead of interstate. We drove through lovely little towns, and only encountered a car or two an hour. We stayed in the same room in Boise, and finished our trip the last day in time to pick up our dog, so we could return home all together.

It's been a week since the wedding, the newlyweds are on their honeymoon, and we are back to our daily lives.

But the Tetons still loom large in our memories, and mention of them elicits oohs and appreciative comments from family and friends. And those few days of crisp, cold mornings, and frosty nights made me eager for autumn to fall.

Both Clintons Are Influential

Recently with the release of the two journalists from North Korea, America's perception of President Clinton's influence has risen, and inevitably there has been a desire in the press to pit him against his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. There has been talk that she has kept a low profile, and perhaps will not distinguish herself in the role.

But of course the answer to this speculation is simple. She is working hard to try to restore the reputation the oldest and historially most prestigious cabinet position.

Hillary Clinton has been working tirelessly to try to get the department under her charge back into fighting shape. She has also been meeting with foreign governments and participating as a member of the president's national security team. The woman has not been idle.

Central to her strategy both within her department and in her foreign polity strategy, Secretary Clinton evokes "smart power." '>Watch the video to listen to her explain why it is so important, and what it all means.

Do don't make the mistake of underestimating our Secretary of State. She might not be in a position to do flashy things like broker hostage releases in person, but she is wielding her unique influence both at home and abroad.

Has It Been 15 Years Already?

15 years ago this week we were on our honeymoon in Walt Disney World, about to settle into married life in northern Virginia.

On Thursday we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary, and, even though we are both grayer and stouter, and living near Seattle, it doesn't seem nearly that long.

For our 10th anniversary, we renewed our vows in Walt Disney World (it worked out better for us than it did for Jon & Kate), with our daughters as flower girls.

This year we wanted to do something special for a special year, but we have vowed never to go to Florida in August again. This time, we wanted to do something just the two of us.

On Friday night we checked into the Salish Lodge and Spa, a world-reknowned hotel located at the top of Snoqualmie Falls, which has provided hydroelectric power to parts of the Seattle area for over a century. We had the Snoqualmie Suite, which, overlooking the falls and the plant, has the best view in the resort.

When we entered our room, there were red rose petals scattered on the bed, and two bottles of champagne cooling on the table. In addition to a bottle of champagne from the Lodge, a friend sent us a bottle and congratulations.

We had dined on steak and salmon in the dining room, and shopped a little in the gift shop. We arrived too late to take advantage of the spa (including two hot soaking pools available to all hotel guests), but we enjoyed a lovely wood-burning fire in the fireplace in our bedroom as we sipped champagne and enjoyed the quiet serenity.

In the morning we had a four-course country breakfast that left us stuffed. We soaked in the hot pools, which left us completely relaxed. We were disappointed when the time to pack and check out came so quickly, but we were left with the memory of a peaceful, special time together.

Hillary Clinton Laughs Off Bolton Criticism (VIDEO)

Hillary Clinton Laughs Off Bolton Criticism (VIDEO)

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The Health Care Debate

The health insurance industry has needed reform for over 30 years. (I have commented on this before.)

The bottom line: This country is disgraceful. Milliions of citizens are without means to pay for health care, and our government caters to the wealthy insurance companies.

Do I sound like a socialist? Perhaps.

But, instead, I ask the question: Who in this country does not deserve to receive medical treatment?

Right now, the opponents of health care reform are essentially sending us the message that the profits of the health insurance companies are more important than the ability of the citizens to get basic care. They will couch it in different language, such as suspicion about cost, pending doom to life as we know it if the insurance companies are put out of business by a cheaper, government-sponsored plan, a nefarious plot by the government (ie them) to erode our health care and force us into a bureaucratic nightmare of socialized medicine.

Of course, most of us, who have health insurance, are mired in a bureaucratic nightmare of private health insurance companies, limiting our access to care, dictating our costs, dictating what procedures we can have. But for some reason, this is good.

It is a bunch of malarky. The real truth is: The only ones who stand to lose by this are the insurance companies. And even then, they only lose if they refuse to change the way they do business.

Health insurance is not a sacred cow. It is simply an industry that arose when an opportunity to make a profit presented itself.

Is it really necessary for a company to make a profit while the physicians, patients, and other health care professionals pay for it?

I say no. Health insurance is not a necessity. Affordable, accessible health care is.

We're Having a Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave...a tropical heat wave...the temperature's rising....

Western Washington is in the middle of a heat wave with atypical tropic-like humidity. Temperatures today were in the 90s, and tomorrow it is expected to be 101 in the city. So hot, in fact, that the think it will even be over 100 at SeaTac Airport, home of the official temperature, where there's always a prevailing cooling breeze.

This is a first for Seattle, topping 100 degrees. Ever. Never before, at least not in the official records. It will also be the hottest heat wave. The last one, lasting 18 days, had high temperatures ranging between 78 - 85. Tomorrow is going to beat that.

We have air conditioning. When we moved here, "everybody" said, "Oh, we don't need air conditioning, it is never hot long enough." We put it in anyway. And now, it is so hot it can't keep up.

But even though it's struggling, we are still cooler inside than outside...

Soon enough will come another strong marine push, and things will cool off enough to make it comfortable again.

But for now, we are happy we had it installed.

It's too darned hot..it's too darned hot...

Health Care Reform

As the debate rages on about health care reform (which really seems more like insurance reform at this point), I wonder what is taking so long. We have needed this for decades.

Thirty years ago, when I was just starting out in the working world, I had to find a job with insurance benefits because no starting jobs paid enough to cover out-of-pocket health care costs, much less individual health insurance. Not long after that, the Reagan recession hit, and there were hiring and salary (and benefits) freezes, and it was considered insane to leave a job for one without benefits.

By the time the economy recovered, the cost of individual health care had risen to the point where many companies that had offered it were discontinuing the service, passing it on to remaining companies. And then we were saying that costs had to be brought under control, or pretty soon no one would be able to afford it.

So here we are. Health care costs have skyrocketed, health insurance companies control which doctors their insureds see and which procedures they will pay for while making huge profits, and we have a Congress that's wringing its hands, worried about their campaign financing.

The time to reform, including a public option, is now. Not down the road, not when it's politically expedient. There is NO EXCUSE for millions of people unable to get basic medical attention because they are unable to pay for it. There will always be naysayers, people afraid of changing the status quo. But we reach a point where the status quo becomes more dangerous than change. This is one of those points.

So stop yapping about this might happen and that might happen and oh we shouldn't do this and that. Find a way for everyone to have equal access to health care. End of story.

Songs Get Stuck In My Head

I am whistling (and I rarely whistle) "I Enjoy Being A Girl" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song."

I hate that song. Or, rather, I hate the lyrics. I do enjoy the melody (hence my whistling).

The song has been stuck in my head all day. I believe it's because a friend's son is in a summer production of "South Pacific," and my head has been bouncing around all things Rodgers & Hammerstein.

My thoughts are a bit like the Microsoft Bing ads (disclaimer: this is not an endorsement nor commentary on Bing), where one person asks a question and another person sets off in a ramble of websearch-style "related" subjects. Say one thing, and in a space of about a minute I will be talking about a subject that I have related, leaving other people confused, and, at times, a little frightened.

It's especially true with songs. And once my mind settles on a song, it will play over and over in my mind, sometimes for days. I will find myself singing it, humming it, whistling, or analyzing lyrics. This is fine if it's a song I like, but when I find myself doing it with a song I dislike, it drives me batty.

And "I Enjoy Being A Girl" drives me batty: "I'm strictly a female female..." yech. Even though I understand the character, yech.

Years ago, when I was first starting out on my own, I lived in a women's residence in downtown Minneapolis. It had a large, comfortable lounge on the 2nd floor where there was usually a piano along with the stuffed chairs and a good view of the parades from the large plate-glass window. There was also a large, cement-floored basement/rec room, with a ping pong table, vending machines and a console television where the women could also gather.

But one weekend a year, the basement was off limits. The piano was moved by elevator to the basement, the furniture pushed aside, the stairway blocked off to residents, and the producers of the ampitheater musical in Medora, North Dakota, would hold auditions for the summer's production.

And the communal areas of the residence would be filled with the sounds of singing, piano, and dancing. Over and over we would hear "I Enjoy Being The Girl." I got so I knew the first verse intimately. I could have stepped in and auditioned with it, I knoew it so well. (I would never use that song, though; I'd pick something that hadn't been sung fifty times already.)

So now "I Enjoy Being A Girl" reminds me of when I was young and poor, regretting that I couldn't afford to quit my job for the summer and go sing and dance in Medora.

The show still runs. And, I suppose, young women still audition with Rodgers & Hammerstein. Or maybe the old standards sit gathering dust while the new wannabes sing songs from "Hairspray" and "Legally Blonde."

In Mourning for Walter Cronkite

The news of Walter Cronkite's death, if not unexpected, is still a blow. Much more than the untimely deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, this death deeply grieves me.

From the time I can remember, every evening the voice of Walter Cronkite floated through our living room as my parents watched "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite." He was the one who described the events following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was the one who told us about the conflict in Vietnam, and he was the lone voice who opined that the conflict was lost. His was the voice I heard in the late evenings on election nights when I was already in bed and my parents were waiting for election results. For kids, he was the narrator of the "You Were There' series, teaching us about great moments in history. Perhaps most significantly, he was the voice of the space program. So iconic that NASA had him narrate "The Dream Is Alive," their IMAX film about the shuttle program.

When Walter Cronkite spoke, we trusted him. He set the bar high, demanding excellence in broadcasting, integrity in journalism, and insisting on the truth. Edward R. Murrow set that standard before him, but Walter Cronkite figured out how to balance the truth with compelling presentation, to get people to listen and learn. Even in retirement, we listened to, and trusted, Walter Cronkite. If you doubt that, read what other television journalists say in this excellent blog entry in the New York Times.

While Farrah and Michael's deaths have shaken Generation X, forcing them to face the prospect of being adults, Walter Cronkite's death affects us Boomers differently. His does not define the death of our youth, but rather, defines the passing of an era of truth-telling in news. And not the hasty, let me say it first truth, but the kind of truth that can stand up to rigorous challenge, because it was fully investigated.

So tonight I grieve the loss of a symbol of integrity and truth. Rest well, Walter Cronkite. I'm sure that your place in heaven is a favored one.

Sotomayor: Day 2

Day 1 of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Hearing was all opening statements, most notable for Al Franken's first committee appearance as a senator.

Today, Day 2, started the first round of questioning. (Round 1 finishes tomorrow.)

If there is any question that Judge Sotomayor is well-suited to the Supreme Court, one only need watch her first day answering questions from the committee. Whether a "friendly" or a "hostile" question, she answered all with gravity, care, and respect. I was especially struck by how respectful she was throughout Sen. Lindsey Graham's frustrated questioning, often interrupting her before she barely began answering as he tried to corner her into saying something imprudent, or to prod her into showing the temper he insisted was pointed out by so many who had been in her courtroom. At one point, she even inadvertently paraphrased Sarah Palin when she explained that she didn't bother to use labels in reference to her judicial philosophy. (Not that I'm comparing her to Sarah Palin! She would leave the almost former governor a babbling mess if they were to ever debate.)

What she displayed was a thorough understanding of how the law functions, and repeatedly demonstrated why she was such an outstanding choice for the Supreme Court. She definately proved that she is smarter than anyone on that committee.

As she patiently and kindly corrected senator after senator about the particulars of cases she has heard, and displayed a thorough understanding of the rulings by the Court, I could imagine her easily holding her own with the other justices, kindly correcting them as to the decisions they referenced if they recalled them incorrectly. She certainly seems like someone who will make sure that the courts under her supervision will be well managed, the unglamorous part of being a Supreme Court justice.

I say hurrah for Sonia Sotomayor! While it is outstanding that she is a woman, and great that she is latina, if she were an old, crusty white guy, she would be the perfect pick. I can't wait to read her opinions when the Court reconvenes in the fall!

My Weakness: Elimination Musical Comedy Casting Reality Shows

Okay, kind of an awkward title.


But tonight as I sat watching the 2006 elimination show, "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" with Andrew Lloyd Webber on a throne and a dozen actresses who have long since gone on to other things, and became obsessed with watching the final episodes, I realized: I watch these shows.


Of course I watch "Dancing With The Stars" and "Project Runway" (doesn't everyone?), but I generally avoid the rest of them. But then I got to thinking: I watched "Grease: You're The One That I Want" in the same format as the abovementioned show, when they were casting the latest production of "Grease!" for Broadway. (BTW they ended up with the wrong Danny, and the production itself was really glossy and artificial.)

I watched "Step It Up And Dance." (They got it right that time.)


And then I suffered through the series on MTV that cast the new Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde." (She is no longer in it.) (Oh. They cast the wrong person there, too.)


And I even watched the lame Nick Lachey-hosted (need I say more?) show on which they cast someone to sing the over-the-credits song at the end of "High School Musical 3." Of course, there was Kenny Ortega once or twice, which made it more tolerable. But the judges -- ech!


So I realized -- if someone is casting a musical, I'm there watching, desperately hoping that the judges actually know what they are doing.

So when the next one comes along, and the wrong person inevitably wins, I'll be watching, picking the right one.

the 5th of July

What did you do on the 4th of July?

It's was a beautiful day, if you like hot. The temperature hit 90, warm enough to heat up the ice-cold mountain water in the wading pool.

The dog had a half an hour in the wading pool, with water up to his chest. He found out that when he walked across the pool he would get a treat. He ate a lot of treats yesterday.

Under the "My Husband Can Do Anything" category, mine worked on building the garden shed. The kit comes with cedar shingles in strips, which makes shingling infinitely faster. It looks charming nestled in the woods. His dad, who was a master carpenter, would be proud of him.

A lot of time has been spent playing the "Ghostbusters" game for Wii, and using WiiFit.

Last evening we watched "1776" on TCM, even though we have it on DVD. But DVD doesn't have Robert Osbourne. Watching it reminds us that, in politics, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

In explicably the headline all day on Huffington Post was Sarah Palin's resignation announcement. Wouldn't she be the headliner on FOX News instead?

My favorite quote of the day was a tweet from Robb Corddry: "I'm working today. Guess who else worked on the 4th of July? The Founding Fathers!"

Meanwhile, the White House held a picnic for members of the military and their family that finished with the fireworks over The Mall, and all of it was livestreamed on the White House website.

On the 4th we celebrate our independence, and remind ourselves of what a miracle our free society is. Then on the 5th we go back to living our lives, thankfully without the pop, boom and crack of fireworks. But there lingers a spirit of cameraderie, as people rememisce about how they spent their day.

Happy 5th of July, everybody.

TMI

So Mark Sanford has been going on and on about his relationship with his South American mistress.

It was bad enough that he decided he had to say that it was not just sex, but love, as if that's going to justify it. ("Oh, well, if he loves her, then heck. What does his wife have to be upset about?" Oh, wait. What were those marriage vows again?)

But then he has to go on and on and on and on about it. It's as if once the bottle was uncorked the flow just won't stop.

Does he really think we want to know about it? He can talk all he wants, but the fact remains that he broke one of the Ten Commandments, plus did something that pretty much everyone outside of the Playboy Mansion (and maybe inside) thinks is morally wrong.

And now he won't shut up about it! Won't someone please put a cork in him?

Hurrah for Al Franken!

Today came the happy news that the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Al Franken is the winner of the 2008 Senate race in Minnesota, and should be certified. Governor Pawlenty signed the certificate, so all that is left to do is for Al to be sworn in when the Senate reconvenes. After six months, the Senate will finally have a full 100 senators, and the Democrats will have 58 senators -- with the two independents who generally vote with the Democrats, that will give them the 60 vote supermajority the Senate is currently requiring for passage of legislation, and without any Republicans.

I am thrilled that Al Franken will be in the Senate. It almost makes me want to move back to Minnesota. Al may not be liked or trusted by everyone, but he is a Paul Wellstone disciple. And Paul Wellstone believed in two things: grassroots organization to win, and being honest and respectful to his constituents. Paul Wellstone had the respect of Minnesotans because of that dedication. He always put the good of the state before the good of the party, and that's how it should be.

Al Franken will take that kind of sensibility into his office, and I think he will represent Minnesotans well.

Now I just hope, as many Democrats do, that the Democrats will stop being so milquetoast and will aggressively institute President Obama's agenda. To continue to do things the same way they've been done for years is foolish. The 2008 election sent what should be a clear message that the average American, outside the Beltway, wants things done differently. President Obama wants to create a leaner, more efficient government. The Republicans don't like it, because they are the ones who should have done that and didn't. They are in recovery, protective mode, and not thinking about what is best for the country and for the people. That has to be the Democrats' job now. the Republicans will complain about not having their say, but the reality is: the minority has never had unlimited ability to control the Congress, and that is one thing that shouldn't change.

So, hurrah for Al Franken! Now let's see some real change.

So Many Passings....

This has been an unexpectedly busy few days for celebrity deaths.

First we were told of the death of the premiere 2nd banana, Ed McMahon. As Johnny Carson's sidekick, he made it seem easy. He knew when to be quiet, when to chuckle, when to laugh, when to comment, and always how to make Johnny look good. It isn't easy for a funny man to play 2nd fiddle, but that is just what he did, and brilliantly.

At the same time, news came that the beloved, great newsman, Walter Cronkite, was gravely ill. We braced for the death of one of the icons of my generation, the Voice of Space, but it never came.

Instead we were saddened by the news of the death of Farrah Fawcett, who battled cancer to determinedly and graciously. She was an icon that transcended generations, making the Boomers want to be or be with her, and inspiring the following generation as one of Charlie's Angels. She could act, too; although Cheryl Ladd was a good Angel, it was never the same after Farrah left. She went on to prove it was no fluke on Broadway and in TV movies: "The Burning Bed" was one of those films that legitimized television films.

But then her death was overshadowed by the unexpected death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Although he led a somewhat bizarre personal life, one thing no one will argue is that he was a brilliant musical performer. He single-handedly transformed pop, which is a feat in itself. The "Thriller" video transformed music videos forever. His first album as an adult, after being a megastar as a child, exploded onto the musical scene, proving that the transition can make people forget you ever were a child. His success paved the way not only for other black singers, but for blacks in almost every field, arguably including Barack Obama.

Just as we started to get used to the idea that MJ was gone, today we heard of the sudden death of pitchman Billy Mays, and television pioneer and early-year superstar, Gale Storm.

The death of a cultural icon is always unsettling. While we watch our loved ones grow older, or ill, and reluctantly accept death as a part of the life cycle, celebrities through film and photos seem to stay the same. We want, maybe even need, them to stay the same. So when they die, we aren't really prepared for it. This week has reminded us that life is fleeting. And, more importantly, maybe we shouldn't rely so heavily on icons for consistency: after all, they're just humans, too.

So, be at peace, Ed, Farrah, Michael, Billy and Gale.

Damp Dog

Really, it's just what it sounds like.


Collin found something to roll in last week, something smelly and disgusting. He had been bathed and deshedded at the groomer the week before.

So today at the off-leash dog park, he had a bath at the do-it-yourself dog washing station. It's a bit like a car wash, with everything on a timer. (No conveyer belt.) Now he is shiny and clean, but smells like damp dog.

Go Away and Come Back When You Want to Help America

I have had it with the self-righteous indignation of the Republican minority over health care reform, and the weak whining of the Democrats in Congress.

I am fed up with hearing, "We don't want the government getting between the patient and the doctor, with a bureaucrat determining care, and telling you you can't see your family physician."

And that is different than right now how? Right now doctors look at insurance first before determining treatment. And even when they make their best decision, an insurance company will still deny payment of a claim because they don't think the doctor made the right decision. Which is exactly what the Republicans claim will happen if there is a public option for health coverage.

I have to find a doctor who is a "member" of my insurance company's plan in order to receive coverage; if I choose to see a doctor outside the system, or, God forbid, out of state, it is a crap shoot whether or not I will be reimbursed. More than one year we have paid out of pocket expenses for our children's care after a certain point a wellness check with mandatory booster shots has put us over the "limit" the insurance company set for the amount they will pay annually for a child's doctor visits. And we still are required to pay our co-pay. And we have what is considered a good health plan.

Congress is not concerned with the well being of the health care industry, they are concerned with the well being of the health insurance industry. It is ludicrous that we function within a payment system that measures its success on how much profit it makes. So it doesn't matter that 60 percent of bankruptcies are a result of health care bills; it matters that the CEOs and executives of health insurance companies continue to make millions of dollars a year. And where does that money come from? From the premiums paid by those people who filed for bankruptcy.

The Republicans sanctimoniously speak against a public health insurance option as being anti-free market. What a bunch of hypocrites! Their health insurance, which they have for life even after leaving the Congress, is public health insurance!

In light of this opposition to government health care, I have a proposal. Completely eliminate any government health care, and let the members of Congress use COBRA or purchase private health insurance. Let them get those denial letters for payment of a prostate exam, or be told which specialist to see or what kind of treatment they can receive for cancer. Let them make a choice between sending their children to college or providing them with health care. Then when they stand before their peers and speak out against a public health insurance option, they will not be hypocrites.

I am sick of this. The Democrats need to stop worrying about looking like bullies just because FOX News says they are. And the Republicans need to just go away until they are ready to face the fact that the American people elected a Democratic majority and the president they did because they wanted a change from the way things have been done for the past 25 years.

And through all of this, they have yet to present an alternate plan that will allow anyone in the country to get medical care without worrying about whether or not they can afford to pay the bills. And forget that tax credit; a tax credit doesn't help when you are facing a 100,000 hospital bill and you make $19,000 a year.

It is time to stop debating. We are hearing the same debate, the same arguments, we have heard since the beginning of the 20th century, especially for the last 20 years. We are long past due to provide basic health care to anyone in the country. We are America: when we do something right, we do it better than any other country. Congress needs to stop worrying about where they're going to get their campaign donations, and restore the dignity of the American people, by making sure everyone can get medical care without having to fight for it.

Another reason I like Obama

Today the president spoke at a town hall-style rally touting health care reform in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The story about his writing a note to excuse a 10-year-old girl from class has been all over the news. Of course that's great copy, and the stories brought the moment to my attention.

But later when I watched the interchange, it reminded me of why I like him so much.

We all know that her father jokingly mentioned her absence of school, and that he was surprised when the president took him seriously. We also know that he did write the note. But this is why I like him so much: When he was finished with it, he folded it and walked off the stage to hand it to her. She scurried up to get it in that great fluid run that children have, but he met her halfway.

Another president would have joked about writing it, written it afterwards, or in the least have had a lackey run it to her. Not Barack. Maybe it's because he's a professor.

So maybe it's time we had a teacher in the White House.

Whatever it is, that moment separated it from a stunt and made it a natural action. Way to go, Barack. I can't wait to hear what the naysayers say about it.

Has Everyone Forgotten The Great War?

Growing up I used to sit and listen to my grandfather tell stories from his navy days during WWI. He was only enlisted for a short time but he had a lot of stories. When I rode with him to "caddy" when he golfed at Fort Snelling Golf Course in Minneapolis, he would sing (and I would learn) WWI songs: "It's A Long Way To Tipperary", "Smile, Smile, Smile! (Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag)", "Over There", and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm? (After They've Seen Paree?)" to name a few.

Lately, however, the litanies of wars in which Americans served seems to be missing WWI. It misses some other wars too, such as the Spanish-American War, but World War I is different. It was the first World war. It was the first modern weapon war, the first to use chemical weapon. Just into my 50s, I'm not that old, but old enough to have a grandfather who told stories of both world wars, and from an adult perspective. He was in college when he enlisted for WWI, and a father who had successfully supported a family through the Great Depression when WWII rolled around.

So it saddens me that all too often WWI is relegated to minor skirmish status. The Australians still celebrate Anzac Day, and they were only involved in the war because they are part of the British Empire. What we celebrate now as Veterans' Day in November was originally Armistice Day when the treaty to end the war was signed. But how many people know that? Not many, I imagine.

Someday, thirty years from now, will WWII become a footnote? Will people stop going to Normandy because it was all so long ago, last century?

We mustn't forget WWI. After all, WWII is #2 because of #1. It was a time when Americans felt compelled to pitch in and help their allies without hesitation, when the U.S. still was the strong nation that had the luxury of being the guys who had their backs.

We remember the Revolution, the Civil War, WWII. Let's not forget WWI.

Thirteen years ago (part II)

Thirteen years ago at this time I was sitting in the nursery, rocking my baby. We had just brought her home a few hours before, and the cat was still getting used to having a baby in the house. My aunt was arriving in a day or two, but for now it was just the three of us.

I was in the rocker that my husband found and bought for me. Unhappy with the quality of the rockers in the pricey baby store where we loved to shop (where we were introduced to Britax car seats, and where we bought a fabulous stroller and the high chair that converted to a seat on the floor), he searched around Eugene for a better rocker. Finally he discovered, in a furniture store near the Springfield line, a rocker hand made in North Carolina, with ball bearings that give the smoothest rock ever.

So I sat in that baby's room, crooning lullabies, and trying to to let the gentle glide of the rocker lull me to sleep. I confess that more than once I found myself almost dropping the baby as I nodded off.

Eventually we discovered that the movement of the bassinette woke her up when we put her down, and i gave up and kept her in bed with us, a mesh rail to prevent her rolling out. She never came close.

But thirteen years ago tonight, I was blissfully ignorant of all those adjustments, and I just knew that I had a pretty perfect baby.

Thirteen years ago...

Thirteen years ago at this time I was sitting on a big red chair with a heating pad under me, watching "Hello, Dolly!" and trying to ignore back labor.

I had already been on the phone twice with the helpful nurses in the Birth Center at PeaceHealth Hospital in Eugene, who kept telling me to take Tylenol, use a heating pad, take showers, walk, keep eating lightly ("Have a bologna sandwich!" one of them told me), and don't go in until I had to. I was also on the phone more than once with my sister-in-law, who kept telling me to not go to the hospital until I had to.

So I tried to ignore the painful cramping, as I contemplated the reality that back labor isn't in the back at all, but a lot lower.

Thirteen years ago on this day I was packing my bag with the rose pink sweater, hat and bootie set that "Nana" (my mother-in-law) crocheted (along with three other sets, two sweaters and a dress) after she learned the baby was going to be a girl.

Thirteen years ago everyone was exclaiming about how unusual the 90 degree days we had been having were at the end of May and early June, and how big the full moon was.

Thirteen years ago I was about to enter a sleepness night the culminated in a 5am trip to the hospital where they didn't send me home.

And thirteen years ago, my life was about to change forever.

Honoring My War Heroes

Growing up, Memorial Day meant two things: The first grilled hamburgers of the summer, and the Indianapolis 500. It also meant that on television would be coverage of the president placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, and his speech, but that was just background; something the adults watched.

As an adult, though, I have come to understand and honor the service and sacrifice of men and women in the military. Although on Memorial Day flowers are laid on the graves of all loved ones who have died, it is really to honor the people in the service who served and died.

And so I want to honor the people in my family who served in the Armed Forces. How fortunate for us that none of them died in battle.

1. Sigvald Lillehaugen, my grandfather

Growing up we heard stories about my grandfather's time in the Navy during WWI. From him I learned the words to "Pack Up Your Troubles," "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," "Over There," and snippets of other WWI songs. A first-generation Norwegian-American who grew up on a North Dakota farm, he was a student at Concordia Lutheran College, Moorhead, Minn., when he and a buddy hopped a train to Minneapolis and enlisted at Fort Snelling. After basic training he was made a communications officer, or "radio man," as he called himself. I still have a photo I found of him standing on board ship, radio in hand. He served only a year before he was discharged on hardship when his father died and he had to go home and take care of his mother. Although he never quite said it, I could tell he was disappointed that he never got to serve in combat. He was proud to be a Navy man, and always had a bet on the Army-Navy football game played for years on Thanksgiving Day. He died just short of his 92nd birthday.

At the reviewal the evening before his funeral, two members of the American Legion arrived to present a flag. They laid it across the casket, then quietly saluted him. It was a glorious moment that filled me with pride.

2. Floyd Nordland, my dad

Dad was 16 when he graduated from high school, and WWII had just ended. Smart and ambitious, he wanted to go to college, so he enlisted in the Army. He served his two years in the Phillipines, where, he used to tell us, he spent his time playing basketball and baseball when he wasn't on duty as a file clerk. When he returned home, he went to college, where he lettered in baseball, and became a coach and Biology teacher. By the time he retired, he was a college professor. He doesn't talk about his two years in the service much, because he served between wars. However, he stands as proudly as anyone when the Army's song is played in concert, and he always cares about the outcome of the Army-Navy game.

3. Fred Thomson Sr., my uncle

Uncle Fred served as a Marine in Korea, something he never seemed to talk about -- certainly I didn't know that about him until I was an adult. However, he had the dignity and strength of character that distinguishes men who served as Marines. He was a funeral director, first joining his father and uncle in the family business, then later on taking over. He conducted business with compassion and caring and a quiet faith that permeated everything he did. When he died from cancer, he was honored as a Marine and a hero. He was one of those men, though, who if he had never put on a military uniform, would still have been a hero.

4. Manvel Lillehaugen, a cousin

Manvel was a dreamer and a writer, a history professor who was respected and loved by his students at Minot State. My grandfather was his "Uncle Sig." Drafted in WWII, he served in Europe, including as part of the forces who freed France. A man who at first seemed the last person who would "make it" in the Army, he served with distinction, and went on to write memoirs that included stories of his time in the service and the war. When he died suddenly, his unpublished memoirs were found among his things, and his brothers and sisters posthumously published them along with other short works.

5. John Nordland, my uncle

Uncle John was one of my dad's brothers. He served in WWII in the Rangers, and was one of those guys who scaled the cliffs on D-Day. He rarely talked about his time in the Rangers, but he had his medals displayed in his modest home. He met his wife, Claire, a Cicilian-American, in New York while he was stationed there, married her, and brought her back to Minnesota. He worked as a carpenter, eventually disabled from war wounds, and spent many years in and out of VA hospitals. My dad would quietly tell us, "Your uncle was a real hero."

6. William Wallace, my father-in-law

I never met my father-in-law; like my mother, he died shortly before my husband and I met. In fact, losing a parent so recently was one of the commonalities we found. Bill served in the New Zealand Army during WWII. We have his medals, and in Australia my husband used to pull them out and wear them on Anzac Day. Although he would like to honor his father in the same way here, it is "against the rules" for anyone other than the decorated U.S. soldier to wear medals awarded in service. Bill went on to marry and move to Australia, where he worked as a master carpenter, beloved and respected by everyone who knew him. In the dangerous war in the Pacific, when Australia was in real danger from the Japanese, he helped keep Australia free.

7. James Moore, husband of my daughter's 1st grade teacher
James is a young Marine who recently married my daughter's 1st grade teacher. When my daughter was in 1st grade, however, they were still newly dating. He served (last I heard) 3 tours in Iraq, one of which was while my daughter was in 1st grade. He and his buddies not only were pen pals with her class, but with another 1st grade class in the elementary school as well. In fact, he said that if his platoon buddies wouldn't write, he would write to all the kids himself. (Fortunately he had help.) To those children, and the children in Mrs. Moore's other classes who wrote to him, James is a hero. He is now stationed in Virginia where they are starting their married life.

So this year, as I watch the president lay the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I will be honoring these men, as well as the men and women who are serving both at home and abroad.

The Final Shuttle Run

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis comes back to Earth on Friday after freshening up the Hubble telescope. And when that crew lands, it will be the end of the Shuttle Program.

While the shuttles flew a lot longer than originally planned, it will still be a bittersweet moment when it touches down. And even more so, because it feels like the end of a chapter in my life.

I am a child of the Space Age. I was five in 1962, and I remember watching every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launch. If it took place during school, we watched, or listened on the radio, in the classroom.

In my home town of West Lafayette, I was able to get out of school on the day when Neil Armstrong made the first speech he made after walking on the moon to an audience at Purdue University. I sat far, far back in bleachers, and you could hear a pin drop as he quietly spoke of his experience.

I remember when the Apollo program finished. It was disappointing that the final two moon missions were cancelled. But there was SkyLab and the promise of a space station ahead. And plans to build a re-usable ship, which eventually became the shuttle program.

But now feels different. Plans of returning to the moon, and continuing on to Mars, are constantly spoken of. The past two presidents have pledged to support a return to the moon, but NASA's budget gets cut. I feel like I may not live to see man return to the moon, when we originally thought that men would be on their way to Mars by now. New modes of space transportation are "in the works," but they seem more conceptual than anything.

We need to continue with space exploration. How sad it will be if I am prophetic, and my generation dies out before man again enters space in a U.S. craft. Surely we are more of a leader than that.

Self Editing

"Happy talk
Keep talking happy talk..."
-Oscar Hammerstein, "Happy Talk" from South Pacific

"You've got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative..."
-Johnny Mercer, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive"

My life, like everyone's is full of a variety of events and emotions, positive and negative. Yet, when I sit down to blog, or write in my journal, I edit myself, recording the positive and remaining silent on the negative. Even when I write about the negative, it is in a positive way.

Why is that? Self-preservation, perhaps. I keep thinking that someday someone else will be reading my journal, or today or tomorrow someone will be reading my blog, and I want to look good. Goodness knows I don't want to embarrass myself!

Or maybe it's the Norwegian-American stoicism that taught me to ignore the bad and concentrate on the good. In a way, that is also self-preservation, but it is also a sense of a greater good.

For instance. My older brother is in the hospital right now. He was rushed there unable to breathe, with sky-high blood pressure and fluid on his lungs. Heart attack is ruled out but they continue to test. However, I don't feel like writing about being worried about him. Instead I want to write about how he is under the care of a friend of his who saw his name on the admittance list and stepped in and took over his care. And how thankful I am that he is in good hands, and I am confident he will recover and be better than he was before he took ill when he comes out.

I don't consider myself inspirational -- I leave that to other people who truly are gifted with being an inspiration. Instead, I think there is enough bad stuff in the world, and we all know about it. After all, conflict and struggle make a better story than competence and good work. But we need more of that.

While I am an idealist, I am not naive. In fact, in my life, I am very good at finding the the "no"s in a situation. But when I write, I don't want to make it about the negatives, I want to make it about the positives.

And so I self-edit.

Please Agwe, Don't Flood My Garden...

Other than a performance tomorrow before the school, my older daughter is finished with her run of "Once On This Island" (Junior version) in the role of Agwe, goddess of Water. Even with the limitations of a stage in a commons of a middle school with minimal wingspace and no fly space, they do a pretty good job. Here are some photos of Agwe in action:

And Agwe's box, designed and executed by herself (see her standing on it above):

Crafting as a non-crafter

I consider myself a non-crafter, because it doesn't come easily to me. Face it: others always make things look better than I can. Fortunately, as busy people do more crafting, there are more and more pre-made things to just put together and create a beautiful craft with little or no talent.

Set decorating is a lot like crafting, which is why I usually leave it to others to do, and concentrate on costumes and makeup in the backstage realm. So it was with an inner groan that I learned that my older daughter "gets" to decorate her box for the musical, "Once On This Island Jr." She is Agwe, god(dess) of Water. Each of the four gods has a cube they stand on that elevates them upstage behind the action, as they observe everything that happens. The cube is painted black, and they are supposed to decorate it with things that represent their character.

I had a couple of ideas, and the costumer gave us some leftover shells and plastic sea plant stuff that she had used on the Agwe costume. I thought and thought about it, devising my vision, only to find out that my daughter knew exactly what she wanted to do.

So armed with shells, seaweed and a glue gun, we are creating what will be an interesting, cohesive art piece on the front of her box. Because, unlike me, she has an ease of artistic vision and execution. Fortunately, I can use a glue gun, and can quickly buy into someone else's vision. (I'm also a great editor.) Luckily I have also learned efficiency in crafting, because I am helping her. And we'll have one hour to do it.

May Day

With Obama in office, May Day is no longer a disaster signal, but once again a beautiful spring tradition.

My younger daughter's 3rd grade class went for a walk around the neighborhood by their elementary school, handing out flowers and greeting people. The daffodils are finished blooming, and the azaleas and other flowering bushes are beginning to brighten the yard.

Yesterday I put up two hanging plants -- fuscia and red geraniums respectively, and I was inspired to fill the cedar planter on the back deck with geraniums, pansies, and other colorful flowers.

As I bought those red geraniums, I thought about my grandparents, who always had red geraniums in planters on either side of their front stoop in their house in South Minneapolis. Putting in geraniums every spring makes me feel like I am carrying on my grandfather's gardening legacy. He taught me so many things about gardening and yard work.

Many times I would talk to him while he used a hoe to edge the sidewalks, keeping the grass from growing over it, and pulling weeds from the cracks.

"Edging is just a small thing," he would say, "but it will mean a lot to your neighbors. Keeping your front yard neat-looking improves the neighborhood, and is a sign of respect for your neighbors." "If you weed a little bit every day, then you never have to spend a lot of time weeding." "Pull the dead blooms off a flowering plant and they will bloom again." "Petunia flowers are done when they come off easily." "Always plant petunias on the edge of your tomato bed and it will keep away the rabbits." "Corn should be knee high by the fourth of July." "Always water in the evenings."

And he always managed to weed without getting his hands dirty. Perhaps it was all those years of farming experience in North Dakota when he was growing up, or just years of experience tending his own garden. But I'd end up with hands black with the rich earth, and he'd quickly brush his hands and look like he'd just sat down to dinner.

Spring also brought baseball season. Every year on Opening Day, Grandpa would call me, whether the Twins were home or away for the first series of the season. The first opening day after he died, I called my grandmother and said, "Grandpa always called me on Opening Day."

"I know," she said, "He always said, 'I have to call Ann.'"

The smell of warm earth and geraniums and the sound of the crowd and the crack of the bat bring such strong memories of being with my grandfather at their Minneapolis home that sometimes the memory seems more real than the present. I can almost hear Herb Carneal saying, "O and two. Here's the pitch..."

I am still a Twins fan, but these days I more closely follow the Mariners. And I have an edger instead of a hoe, and a driveway that is almost as long as the block my grandfather lived on. But when spring comes I am out there planting my geraniums and half waiting for the phone to ring one more time.

Flu nervousness

I remember when the swine flu hit for the first time, in the early 1970s during the Ford Administration (or, according to Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn, during the Carter Administration because it's directly linked to the Democrats!).

I was nervous then, largely because it was a new strain and there was no previous experience treating it. Generally, we all panicked, especially since we lived in the fantasy that animal diseases didn't affect humans.

So the swine flu is back again. This time I'm just as nervous as I was the first time. But why? Other than having two children, which changes perspective.

It is somewhat of a Pavlovian response -- hear swine flu and panic. But do we really need to panic? Of course not. Worldwide health organizations and health professionals are aware and actively tryin to prevent its spread. Of course we all wish it would just go away completely, but flus generally circulate and then go away later.

So just stay vigilant. Wash your hands often and avoid putting things into your mouth with your hands unless they've been washed.

And above all, don't panic!

Obama To The Rescue

This afternoon President Obama visited the FBI in DC and spoke to an enthusiastic crowd gathered outside. (No word on how many of the surrounding roofs were lined with security.)

Shortly after he began his speech, he stopped and said, "Did someone just faint? Right there (points) I think someone just fainted. Is there -- is there an EMT somewhere? (pauses) Okay, give him some room, give him some room. This used to happen a lot on the campaign trail. And most of the time, all they need is a little water and some air. People would be gathered outside like this, waiting, and then I'd start talking and talk too long, and people would start dropping left and right."

Then he continued his speech. One can only assume that he had to stifle the urge to rush down and help.

No word on what happened with the fainter, but I assume that he was in good hands.