Does Power Go to their heads

I don't get it. Why do people that have what appears to be everything flush it down the toilet? What goes through their minds. In the most recent case that is developing of Tiger Woods, he has done it not once but several times. The same was true of Bill Clinton. Then there was Gary Hart who dared the media to catch him.Well, I guess they managed to catch him. I am just fascinated by this philosophy of untouchable cockiness. I would be so thrilled to be at such a point in my career / life, I would worry that it could disappear at any moment. I would not tempt fate. Now mind you, I'm sure there are plenty of us that have made far stupider choices, but our gain / loss ratio is far different. It is like choosing between jumping off a dock or jumping off a cliff. In Tiger's case, I don't know what to think and I don't think we have heard it all, but I feel for him, his wife, and most especially for his children. It looks like he lost his wife, some portion of custody, most likely his endorsements, and who knows what else. He surely has lost my respect. I hope that it is somehow turns out to be some big mistake.

Book Review - Sold

In this time of Thanksgiving, we so often overlook the simple things that we should be thankful for. When you read this book, you will realize the true depth of your thankfulness. Sold is young adult book written in a simple diary / free verse style. The writing style will bring you closer to the 13 year old narrator, Lakshmi, who begins as the hungery Nepaleese child who has just entered womanhoold. As if her suffering without food isn't enough, it actually becomes "the good old days" when her gambling addicted step-father sells her into the child sex trade of India.

This book will tear your heart out. And while it may be easy enough to read for a 3rd grader, its mature content should be left to older children who can process some of the horrors that they will read.

No Guns Allowed!

I was the mother, who swore my kids would never play with guns. I told relatives not to buy even play guns. I admonished the kids when they turned Legos or sticks into guns. I drilled into their heads that guns were bad. Then DS was involved in Cub Scouts. Cub Scouts allows / encourages shooting with bb guns. I was horrified and scared when my husband told me that there would be shooting at summer camp. I made my husband promise that he would take extra care of DS and watch extra carefully when they were at the range. DS came home from that camping trip ecstatic. The range master was impressed with his accuracy. DS had posted 5 shots within the size of a dime. He had qualified as a sharp shooter. This should have been a sign of what was to come. DS was very proud of this and wanted to do more, so we found a range that practiced competitive shooting. This was not a fluke. DS moved up a 22 long rifle and DD wanted to try too. I sat through their safety class with them to see how they were instructed. I cannot voice how nervous I was about this. I had been taught to fear guns. Perhaps what I should have been taught was to fear people who use guns unsafely or with the intent to do harm. Perhaps it would have made more sense to have gun safety classes vs. telling us to never touch them.

Anyway, flash forward DS has now made the alternate spot on the State rifle team two years running and both children have gotten their hunting licenses. DD has even passed the bow course. The rifle sports and hunting opportunities have allowed for great family bonding, incredible self-control, a growth in self-esteem, and patience. If I had known what this sport would bring to our family, I would have brought the kids to the range instead of being so scared.

Having this knowledge also may have saved my children's life when they, along with a friend, found a gun in the woods. All the kids had experience with guns and knew the power they held, they were not curious, and were aware of mis-fires etc. They did not touch the gun, but immediately came to get adults to handle the situation. I'm not sure that their reaction would have been the same had they not experienced the power of a gun and knew they could use a real one the next time they were at the range. In fact, there have been studies showing that children that have been told not to touch guns, will; so if you think your warnings will save your children, you may want to think again.

Kidnapping Brides

At the library where DD volunteers, there are often free magazines that you can take (a great way to Reuse materials by the way). DD loves to take Modern Bride - mind you she is only 14 and a few years away from matrimonial bliss. Together, we look through the magazine praising and heckling the designs. I'm actually surprised how traditional DD's taste is. This time though, the magazine surprised me. Among the beautiful wedding dresses and just before the description of exotic honeymoons, was an article, "This Woman is Being Forced to be Married" by Esther Haynes. Certainly, this was not typical bridal reading, but I am married, so I'm not the typical Modern Bride reader. I have to admit that I did not realize that in our current time such a practice was still in effect.

Apparently, in Kyrgyzstan, a country in Asia, it is still common practice to kidnap your wife especially in the more rural areas. I don't mean like a cute reenactment of an old tradition. I mean a brutal, scary abduction that leads a young woman to the house of someone she may barely know, where she is forced to marry. If she can resist the attacks of the woman of this household and can extricate herself from the situation where even the law turns a blind eye, she may be shunned by her own family for breaking the tradition.

The piece was so compelling that I followed a link to find more on this story which was covered by PBS's Frontline. Please be aware that this is not a story for children and the harsh reality of what is going on can be disturbing, but I believe that you cannot change what you do not acknowledge. Kudos to Modern Bride for bringing up such an important subject.

Going Green - Better for the environment or for someone's pocketbook

I don’t know if it is because I am reading Walden (Henry David Thoreau) to my son at night or if is the Cash for Clunkers or the 10,000 other “Green” messages that we are inundated with, but I am really beginning to be suspicious of this entire marketing message. I am not being kind here I know, but I am beginning to feel it is exactly that “a marketing message”. Please understand, I do believe that we need to be good stewards of the earth and I do believe that we have strayed away from that. I do believe that many of us have our hearts in the right place as we attempt to “green” our lives. But . . .I would be interested to see how much we waste as attempt to do better.

I have been watching decorating shows that rip out entire kitchens or houses because the homeowners want to go green. I have watched congress convince us all to rid ourselves of old vehicles so that we move to cleaner vehicles. I have watched women toss makeup, purses, and clothes to get greener fashions. Where are all these resources going?

I’ve been watching products tout “green” just to entice the consumer: Nothing has been modified, no recipe changed. It is as if two “green” camps have arisen: one, which is really interested in helping our planet, and another, who is trying to reap a benefit from this mindset. The consumer is caught in the middle, trying to decipher which is real.

I think we could take a lesson from our grandparents during the Great Depression, everything that exists has value. Have you ever noticed how people of that generation hoard things? They have button boxes, nails and screws in small containers, extra pieces of wood, etc. etc. Cooking became an art of not just planning one meal, but figuring out how to use the leftovers - - -every last one of them. Isn’t this more green than scrapping everything and starting again? Shouldn’t we bring ourselves back to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle concept? Use less, reuse what you can, recycle what you can’t and then, only then, go buy a new greener item.

Congressman Courtney Responds

DS had to write to a Senator or Congressman about an issue that he cared about. He wrote to Congressman Joe Courtney about the importance of maintaining our national parks. Today, he received a reply. He was so proud. My I-hate-to-read son read the entire 5 paragraph response. While I’m sure it was written by some assistant, I can’t tell you how much it meant to him.

Publically Correct to the Nth Degree

Please know that I believe that it is important to be sensitive to people’s differences and to find all possible ways to be inclusive, but I think that I have heard of the most ridiculous case of this ever. I happened to catch National Public Radio’s (NPR) show Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me yesterday as I brought my daughter to the library for her volunteer service. This show does a great job of making being knowledgeable funny. The host leads contestants through a series of questions about current events. I know this sounds like a nerdy way to spend your time, but I dare you not to laugh out loud. On this particular show, one particular story caught the panel and me completely offguard. It was a story about people with disabilities. I am sure if I asked you whether we should break down barriers so that people with physical challenges have more opportunities that you would immediately agree with me. But and this is a B I G “but”, what if that person is blind and he or she is applying for a job as an air traffic controller.

I’ll give you a minute for that one to sink in. Yes, I said blind and air traffic controller in the same sentence. Apparently on the Isle of Scily in Great Britain, the St. Mary’s Airport is making the job application for air traffic controllers available in Braille. Ok, I’m all for inclusion, but this is SILLY. What is the benefit to anyone? Isn’t this taking the idea beyond its logical conclusion? While it was funny in the news story, it doesn’t strike me as funny in real life. It strikes me as stupid and a waste of money and time. Does anyone have common sense?