Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Today marks the third anniversary of the Hurricane in New Oleans that swept in and devastated that community while the Bush administration watched on with apathy. Today, three years later, 80 unclaimed bodies were buried and given a solemn service replete with trumpeters. How can it be that in a city that size, 80 souls can go unclaimed? Were they no one's mother, aunt, brother or uncle? Were they homeless people that people walked by each day, recognized but never really seen? There were babies that were unclaimed, most likely they were swept away in the arms of their terrified mothers. Today I honor the tradgedy of the levy failures and I pray that in the future our government will rush to aid any victims of such a tragedy instead of standing by and watching as they float away to their watery graves. Heck of a job Brownie.

Hell Yes We Can!

Tonight was a monumental moment for us in the United States of America. Tonight we saw our nominee for the president of the United States, an African American, speak about our country in ways that we haven't heard in many years. He reminded us of who we are, and who we can become. He made us feel included and dared to use words like compassion and empathy. He made me believe again in an Amercia that can unite together to solve our problems that have become so ingrained during the last eight years. He called us to action, he called us to unity, and I pray to the God who holds the red rubber balls, that this man Barack Obama, will become our next president of these United States.

To Her With Love

Please enjoy watching me eat this slice of humble pie as I wholeheartedly applaud Senator Hillary Clinton's performance at the Convention last night. I was absolutely wowed and actually almost in tears as I heard her verbalize what all of us were hoping to hear. I give her major props for going above the call of duty on this speech. She could have grandstanded and made the speech about her, instead she lead the charge toward a better world. She is a true Democrat and I now have more respect for her than ever. If only everyone would put the petty bickering aside now and get our full energy around electing our nominee, we could win this. We MUST win this election or I fear that our country will be ground down to dust by the likes of McCain and his ilk. Thank you Senator Clinton for giving the most gracious speech I've ever heard. Your dignified presence last night is the true clarion call to anyone who hopes for a better future for our children and grand children. Excuse me now while I eat my pie . . .

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Anyone my age has heard the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain", even if you don't admit it. One of the lines of the song goes: "In big rock candy mountain, the cops have wooden legs. The bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft boiled eggs." Okay, this is a long boring way of leading me to my pet peeve (pun noted) with regards to the Clinton attack dog: aka-James Carville. I've always liked Mr. Carville, especially when he goes head to head with his wife on Sunday morning talk shows. He's all "Gosh and golly", but he knows his history and does not hold back with his opinons. Last night the Clintons' let the attack dog out of his cage and sent him on the dais to discuss the Convention with the likes of CNN. He was a bulldog with rubber teeth. He growled about the fact that the Convention was boring, he chastised Obama for not doing enough to make ammends with the Clintons and he practically blew a kiss to John McCain. I don't think James Carville will be happy until Barack Obama puts a towel over his arm and offers mint julips to the Clinton's on a silver tray. But guess what? It's a new day James. Your rubber teeth aren't leaving much of a mark anymore. Your whining and water carrying for the Clintons may bring you some brownie points with them, but it leaves us all feeling a bit sorry for you. Wake up dude, there's a new guy in town and he's the guy on the ticket, not Hillary. It only serves to divide the party and foment bitterness when you continue to grouse about what you lost. It's over man, get-over-it. Bare your teeth in the right direction-at the Right. We need you on our side Mr. Carville, but you can't have it both ways. Either step up to serve the Democratic Party with the nominee-Barack Obama, or go over to the dark side and stand watch as our country sinks further and further into the black hole that the Bush administration has created. James-Stay! Good boy!

The Bucket List

Okay so you've seen the movie, you know the drill. For me, it's been hard to even allow myself to even think of having a bucket list, as my life was pretty much about survival for a number of years. But in the last few years life has become easier, and I am able to dream about what I want the second half of my life to look like. I need to come up with more things, but one of them, learning to sail, is in the process. I had my second lesson today on the water, and I was amazed at how much easier it seemed. It was more familiar, and I wasn't as intimidated. Could it be that life is this way too? That as we approach obstacles, if we just push off headlong with sails up, we will find our way? As we tacked back and forth across the lake I saw more clearly that with sailing, you can never just get to your destination directly, but instead you are constantly criss crossing the water in order to make best use of the wind. I want to live with sails up. I want to remember when life seems tough, that the tacking back and forth is the way it's always been and I want to enjoy the scenery along the way as I go. I am trying to get the list together, and I would love to hear other's lists as well. I will share a couple of my items still left to do:

Kayak off Catlina Island with the migrating whales in February

Write a book

Become debt free

Reach my goal weight ( don't ask!) and maintain a healthy fitness level

Take a photography class

This week I will remind myself to live each day with sails up!

The Dating Debacle

I heard a woman interviewed today discussing the whole idea of dating late in life. She was pragmatic about it and when asked about the odds of finding your true soul mate after fifty she replied: "The odds are good, but the goods are odd!"

I just can't top that. And any of us who are treading water out here in the dating pool knows that this is the God's honest truth. Carry on.

The Ultimate Bully Pulpit

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Dear God,

I saw this box in the hallway of a hospital today and at first I thought it was a sweepstakes box. I thought if I filled out the form I might win a car, or at least maybe win a six month membership to the local fitness gym. But somehow this little round box covered in flowers, sitting on a lace tablecloth drew me in closer, and I saw that it said: Prayer Requests. Now you and I haven't been getting along lately, and you know very well why. You have a real funny way of throwing that big red rubber ball down here, and I am pretty tired of the welts my family and I are getting. And I'm tired of running back and forth trying not to get hit. What is it that you want anyway? You want me to just step up to the line and let you drive one full force right at my head like the bully's in elementary school? Sometimes I think you are a bully, or at the very least a sadist. I honestly don't give a shit that you are Omnipotent, you are a distant deity who hides behind a curtain of mystery and allows folks to stumble around in the dark, unable to find answers. That's a bit sick don't you think? Would it be too much to ask that you just spread the misery around a bit and quit picking on the same people? Aren't there rules about that somewhere? And I know full well that the old "What goes around, comes around" idiom is complete rubbish. So much of what I thought about you has turned out not to be true, I don't even know you anymore. I'm not even sure I want to see you anymore, I need to sort things out. You disapoint me, you let me down. I thought I could count on you and I see that it just isn't so. And lastly, you are a piss poor communicater. I do all the talking and you just sit there silent. Well, I did write you something, and I put it in the box. There were so many folded pieces of paper in that little box I could hardly stuff it in, so I hope you even read it. And, if you feel like throwing me a bone, you know where to find me. I'm stumbling around, trying to find my way, dodging the red rubber ball.

Ahoy there, it's my life!

I took a three hour sailing class today and it was both exhilirating as well as nerve racking. I didn't know a thing about boating, but just felt a pull to learn to sail. After a mini lesson in rigs and sails we were out on the water tacking, tumbling and cutting through the water in the quiet silence of the open lake. I am a novice to the bone and didn't grow up with boats of any kind. But it's the season of my life when my children are grown, my education is complete, my job is secure, but I am still longing to learn something new. I biffed more than once making my way back and forth across the boat; trying to get my hands and feet to learn to do something completely new. Every sense was awakened and alert as I tried to process WAY more information that I can possibly remember in one day. When we came ashore the instructor was very kind and asked if I would like to come back and do it again another day. His patience and clear directions were appreciated more than he knows. I'm a slow learner. I fall a lot. I ask a lot of questions, more than once. I need things repeated. I require a patient teacher. I don't know if I can master this sailing thing, but I was able to overcome my fear today and try something new. It's the trying that counts in my book, the risk taking. As I grow older I want to look for new adventures, not wait for them to come to me. It's a challenge because more and more it feels comfortable just staying in my comfort zone, curled up on the couch with a good book. I want to continue to ask more of myself, to challenge myself to learn new things, even if I tip it all over in the process.

"Don't mess with the bull son, you'll get the horns!" - The Breakfast Club

Yesterday I was traveling through the midwest countryside with my sister when we came upon a herd of cows that were particularly cute. Lately I have been compelled to photograph the things I find delightful or unusual. We stopped the car and I hopped out, talking to said cows as I approached the thin wire fence. They were wary, eyeing me with some trepidation. They moved closer to one another, huddling and staring at me as if they had never seen a humanoid before. The bull did not look at me directly but instead made a big show of stomping back his hind feet (hooves?) and directing the dust in my direction with a deep lowing sound. I didn't get it at first and was talking away to the ladies, snapping their pictures, asking them to pose for me. When I didn't get the hint the bull became very direct. He moved in front of his ladies and gave me a menacing look, then lifted up his head and bellowed! He stomped and bellowed again and I knew right then that if I didn't run to the car, that little wire fence might not be enough to keep me safe from the bull who was not amused by my photo session. I literally ran back up to the car and hopped in, laughing as we sped away.
Okay, so it wasn't Pamplona, but it was an interesting interaction and it reminds me of a life lesson that has been on my mind: setting boundaries with others. When there are people in our lives who have overstepped their welcome, it's okay to stomp a bit of dust in their direction to give them a clue. And if somehow those same folks don't get it at first, it's a good idea to speak up good and loud and make your intentions known. After that, if they don't get it, I say dig in, put your horns down and send them packin!
Bottom line: We teach people how to treat us, how close they can get, how much of us they can have and how long they can stay. If there are people still hanging around our lives covered in dust, we haven't yet learned to bellow.

Houston, the Ego has Landed!

Okay, this has been a bad week for two prominent women in politics. Both of them claimed that they were wronged, and the outcome is nothing short of breathtaking. Elizabeth Edwards, God love that woman! Her husband decides that during a year when he was putting his family through the grueling sacrifices needed to run a bid for the highest office in the land, to commit adultery with a younger single woman. After being outed by the National Enquiror, he finally had a come to Jesus interview with the very respectable Bob Woodruff. He beat his chest, he mea culpa'd and said all the right things, but guess what dude, you disgraced your family, peed all over your marriage vows and put a whole lot of energy into a sterotypical bimbo when you should have had your head in the game of politics. But what has your wife done? She looked at her life, and her kids and said "I decided to stay in the marriage because one day John will be the only parent they have." This my friends is a wise woman. She is giving her children a very big gift by moving past her husbands unspeakable selfishness, and being the best mother she can be. She knows that with her diagnosis she only has a finite amount of time to give to them, and she isn't wasting it on the emotional fallout that is the backwash of such narcissistic peccadillo's. Her pain of course is making headlines everywhere, and John Edwards should be held accountable for his actions, even if they include a child.
The second woman in the news, Senator Hillary Clinton, also still seems to be smarting from her loss. OH boo hoo, her legion of fans are still at the wailing wall, bitter with the unimaginable truth that their candidate lost. But you know what-she did. She lost. Get over it and move on for the love of God! This last few weeks the people who voted for Hillary have continued to speak up and make their needs known. They feel powerful, they feel like pushing the rest of the Democrats around, and now they want their candidate to have her name on the floor at the Convention. Hillary, being the sore loser that I believe she is, keeps claiming that there is nothing she can do about it. "Aw shucks, what can I do, they want to be heard!" You know what she could do if she had one ounce of class and really gave a rat's ass about the party? She could, in one speech, tell her followers how much she appreciates all that they did for her, and how much she feels loved by the adoration and attention. She could then, if she wanted to, ask them, each and every one of them, to show their support for her and her ideals by PUTTING THEIR FULL SUPPORT BEHIND BARACK OBAMA. But this is not what she's been doing. She's been virtually invisible since she lost and many have offered that she and Bill secretly hope Obama loses so that she will have a better chance of running in 2012. I'd like to be all dewy eyed and optimistic and say it isn't so, but the truth is pretty transparent, and both Bill and Hillary are letting their sychophantic fan base work as their surrogates to continue this psuedo election bid for Hillary. It's a disgusting show of arrogance on Senator Clinton's part, and any shred of respect I had for her is gone. She plays the helpless female in this whole issue, when in effect she has great power and chooses to keep it hidden so that maybe, just maybe something will happen at the eleventh hour and she will finally get her day in the sun. This is a lady that should take a lesson from Mrs. Edwards. You've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run. Senator Clinton, the cards are all out, you're holding a losing hand and you need to fold em and walk away.