Happy (almost) New Year!

It has been way too long since I have posted. My Christmas was fine, thank you, and better than that, so was the Christmas my two daughters had, despite (different) changing circumstances in their lives. One is now looking for work while in grad school, the other is moving to New York. Adventures all, and a little nerve-wracking for the Mom who only wants her children to be well and happy. So far, so good.

In any case, 2011 here we come. In some ways it will be very different, in other ways, much the same. I just got my latest letter to the editor printed in my local rag.  I got ticked off by a doctor (and MD already!) who scoffed at hunger programs as being unnecesary because he had no hungry knocking at his door, nor did he see anyone dying of starvation. Hard to see what one does not look for, and as to knocking, they are likely locked out of his gated community in San Clemente. E tu, Mr. Antoinette?

I have this last week of the year off, and am using it to get a few things done...getting my (now paid-for)  car painted, clearing out closets, de-decorating, trying a couple of new recipes. All  this made easier by not worrying about work (not too much, anyway) and its immediate demands. House-cleaning for the mind , too.  I will be taking out a dead rose tree, with an eye to replacing it with a new one. Metaphor for my internal life too? Not so much New Year's resolutions, as end of year clean out and garage sale of the mind. You don't have to wait for a New Year, but having a little time to bum around lends itself to doing a few things for yourself, inside and out. Having a few less things on your mind allows you to spend more time on a few select items. 

So, take a deep breath-clear out the debris (from your car,  closet, or mind) and have a Happy New Year!

The Charlie Browniest

This has been a somewhat tense week, mostly because of what I let myself get all tangled up about. Work stuff, (new responsibilities with not enough information/clear explanation)  Christmas list stuff (it is not easy being head elf of the family) and other miscellaneous brain fryers. And don't ask me about driving in Arizona.

It is difficult to get into the spirit of the season with a knot in your stomach. It also magnifies other more minor irritations  to beyond their normal range.

However, some things about the Christmas remain the same. Advent calendars, advent wreaths, chocolate. And then there is "Charlie Brown's Christmas". The kids who voiced the gang must be nearly 50 now, what with it having done in the 60's, but I still love the music and the sentiment. I also am on "Christmas Carol" watch. I am in charge of letting everyone know when the various versions of the movie will air. My brother and I just love them,though I think his favorite is "Scrooged"  with Bill Murray. We have already seen that one this year. I also am waiting for the perfect time to watch my all time favorite Christmas themed movie, "Love Actually."

Tonight, I am watching Charlie Brown Christmas, and am soon to heat me up some hot chocolate. Next up is  Very Glee Christmas. Talk about your juxtapositions.

Anyway, the point (and I do have one) is that the everyday stresses and strains should not put the Christmas spirit on the back burner. Old traditions, new traditions, observe them all and enjoy that eggnog and hot chocolate, sometimes with a drop of brandy thrown in. And don't forget Toys for Tots, Sparks of Love, and all your food pantries.  Any problems you have with work should remind you to be grateful that the HAVE work. If you've got, give.

Goooooo Christmas!

Speaking of voices in the wilderness

I sometimes wonder why I keep reading our local paper's letters to the editor, when they aggravate me so. After the recent election my relief that we were not entirely turned over to conservative and/or tea party candidates was drowned out by the whining of those who didn't get what they wanted in California. Letters and columns of disgust at our socialist, "statist  workforce and dependancy class" who "simply outvoted the productive class." Um, I am socially liberal, and work more than full time, and work very hard, thank you...and not for the state, thanks. This middle class as victim is getting on my last nerve.  I am middle class, folks. It is not exclusive to the politically conservative. I cannot and will not vote for someone who would outlaw abortion and prevent gay marriage. I presume such social concerns are at least part of what kept Carly Fiorina from being elected over Barbara Boxer, who is  unabashedly socially liberal.

Worse than the above letters was the flat out statement that the Senate Minority Leader made, without the least hesitation, that the first goal was to make sure that the President was a one term president. He and his colleagues are more concerned stopping anything from being accomplished, and showing us who is in charge now, than attempting any co-operation to do the work of the people. Did no one learn from the mistakes that the Dems made when they "took over?" The bullying? The take no prisoners attitude? They pushed, the Republicans did all they could to make sure nothing that they pushed for got done. Does no one notice where this has gotten us? I truly believe it was more the disgust with all of that, than anything else, that got the bum's rush on so many.

The minute President Obama was elected, the whining and wailing and ranting began. Socialist, facist, nanny state. Anger that the government was going to get into everyone's life. Yet they would control the most personal issues like marriage and choice over abortion. And the viciousness of the attacks on those they feel threatened by, be they illegal immigrants, "leftists" or those who wish same sex marriage, is just dismaying. I often despair of just who I am surrounded by in this County.  Now that much of the country voted a conservative majority in, they hiss that we in California are clueless because we did not vote in their choice of candidate. Worse than that is the attitude that the working people were outvoted by the indolent. The arrogance of it is so very gauling. Then I read the one or two letters who sound an awful lot like me, and shouted a hurrah over my morning paper. I am not the only voice piping up in this angry wilderness. I guess we best stick around and keep writing.

Small but mighty

I have set a new personal record for the smallest airport I have ever flown into. My previous record was the one in Yuma, AZ , a city that has a special place in my heart, as my parents eloped there, over 60 years ago. The airport there has four gates, which are actually doors. Whichever one is open when you land, that's the one you go in. The desk crew moves over to check you in through the gate when you depart. However, my new smallest airport ever is  the one in Prescott, AZ, to which only Great Lakes Airlines flies. There are a few flights a day, but only one to and from CA per day, from Ontario. The girls downstairs who check your bag in, are the ones that are up at the gate in Ontario. The co-pilot is standing at the foot of the stairs when you board. There is no attendant, as least not on this route. It is only an 18 seat plane ("every seat is both a window and an aisle.")  When you get to Prescott, you land near a building which resembles a post office from the outside, and  a house from the inside.  Inside there is not a baggage claim conveyor. There is a door inside which the luggage is placed. There is a fireplace which enhances its resemblance to a house, and I think it has fewer square feet than my small house does. The Hertz counter is a cubbyhole with a desk and a very nice young lady who runs down the street to fill the car up. When you return you just leave the car out front ("we'll find it!") . When time for departure comes, the same guy checks you in, take your bag, opens the one door to the field, and loads your luggage in after you go through security. That is small. Oh, and no gift shop. Yuma has one.  Prescott does have a six stool, three booth lunch counter with the nicest ladies in the world running it. Everyone at this airport are the nicest I have met, including the TSA agents, who outnumbered the passengers. Big time it ain't but big-hearted it is. Oh , and the flight itself is a hoot. Not particularly rough, though noisier than a commercial jet, as it is a twin engine turbo prop. I know I am dating myself when I say it reminds me of my childhood TV watching, and hearing the announcer call out "Skyyyyy Kiiinng!!"  Look it up on imdb.com. 0 : )

A funny thing happened on the way to my soapbox

First of all, I should say that I have been away from this blog, visiting my daughters in Seattle. I learned (most of ) the ins and outs of the new light rail. I look forward to it going all the way through to Capitol Hill one day.  I had a really wonderful time, spending time with my girls and their s.o.'s (of whom I am very fond).  Both  daughters seemed to get a kick out of saying "this is my Mom," whenever they ran into their friends on the Hill, which was every time we ventured out. My youngest works at a store on the Hill, and everyone seems to know her. My elder daughter (who also works in the area) is involved in the Community Council as well as park and gardening projects all over the area. We ran into a recent acquaintance of hers from school, and he said, upon my introduction, "You're the one who wrote to Tom Carr!"  I am famous (or infamous) in a small way for doing battle by email with their former city Attorney.

I sometimes think that I would be more at home (at least in terms of attitude) in my daughters' city. I can tell you that reading their local paper's letter columns (for that matter, most of their columns) does not make me mad. The overall attitude of the city, and the Hill in particular, is acceptance, which I find sorely lacking around here these days. I wonder if I would lose my blogging edge if nothing made me mad? ....Nah, something would set me to writing from time to time .

In any case, I was heading for the sanctuary of my church for the second service today, and ran across a long time member/friend.  I think of him as far more conservative than myself, and somewhat set in his ways. On occasion we have disagreed on something when serving on the same committee, and I have found myself saying to myself that "I love him, but.." and am sure he has said the same.  We said hi, and as he passed me on the way to the church office he said  "I save all your letters to the editor." He then added, "and I agree with them all."  Blow me down, I would not have thought that. One, that anyone actually notices my letters, and two, that my old friend actually agrees with the opinions expressed therein. I guess I am not entirely alone out here in the OC wilderness. 

Emails of terror

I am more than weary of the oft-forwarded  emails claiming to warn you of some awful threat, word or deed. 9 times out of 10 they are hooey. About a third  of the hooey missives are old and long debunked, perhaps dressed up or updated to appear current or more true. Another third are just plain false. (usually the really frightening ones, like tarantulas in the cactus, monsters under the bed, etc.)  A third have a nugget of truth spun into some great tale to prove the senders point about "those people" , that party, that race, that politician. Not that some politicians don't deserve a shift kick, but hoist them upon their own words, not those cut and pasted into  a hodge podge intended to make some case against them.

It has become a fine art to make such hooey of the above three types sound legit enough to concern or at least interest  the recipient enough to forward it to numerous friends and family. The more it is repeated, the more it takes on a life of its own.

Hello out there. Before you forward it to your mother, your aunt, your baby sister, check it out first! My own mother only sends them to me to check the veracity. And if you are the ones sending out the ones that tell only half the truth to make some political or social point, shame on you. Make your point with the truth. Originality is underrated. Debate the truth. Differences of opinion have value. Trying to bring people over to your view with (substitute your own word for hooey here ) is just plain hooey.

PS re I know it when I see it

A letter to the LA Times editorial page today spoke on the subject of bullied kids and the often terrible consequences. Guess what she quoted on the subject of being careful what you teach your children, intentionally or not? Yup, Mr Sondheim's "Children Will Listen."  Great minds think, and appreciate other great minds, alike.

I know it when I see it.

Hate--Hate speech--hate crimes. There has been some debate as to whether a crime should carry a heavier penalty if it is deemed a hate crime. Part of that debate has been whether any government or law enforcement body can properly define what a hate crime is, as opposed to "just" a terrible crime. I leave that for finer legal minds than mine. However, legal definitions aside, I think I know good old-fashioned hate when I see it and hear it. I think we all do. I give you in example that "church" (in name only if you forgive my saying so) which has made it their mission to spread the message that God hates gay people, and hates this country for accepting  them,( how well we are doing that and in what fashion I will take on later)  and moreover,  that He is making sure our military die in service to their country as a demonstration of that hate.

This congregation of hate-spreading people (notice I am not dignifying them with their name) spend the majority of their time seeking out the funerals of military personnel, and doing their best to further torment the families of the deceased by making sure that they are well-informed on the subject of God's hate for their loved one. How they have the guts to call themselves people of God, I will never know. If ever there were candidates for a lightening bolt from above, and good smite-down, these are them. Their actions have been taken to court, and thus far their hate-filled actions have been protected by the legal opinion that they are protected by their constitutional freedom of religion. One aspect of the debate is whether there can be any conditions put on this freedom, as there is on freedom of speech (i.e. the oft-cited example of not being able to shout fire in a crowded theater). I will interested to see where this ends up. In the meantime I want to suggest we all rise up to decry their actions, their attitude and their use of God's name in a way that I consider it taking it in vain. Sullying it beyond recognition, really. There are those who have risen up , and have my undying respect. One motorcycle group had taken it  as their task to attend military funerals and serve as a human shield between these people claiming to speak for God and the bereaved family. Bless them.

I go to church , I believe in God, and I believe that God loves us, for all our flaws. Were I a better person I would have to admit that he might even love these people too. I do not. I am horrified by their actions , and resent the Hell out of their daring to say they speak for God. . They are the worst part of the problem with people turning  away from the Church, which they see as filled with judgemental condemning people.

There is so much good we could be doing in God's name. Feeding the hungry , sheltering the homeless, helping those who hurt. I think that last thing we should be doing in God's name is causing pain.

The mere repeating over and over that being gay is a sin leads to an atmosphere in which our children turn away from what they see as the condemning church, and so many still hide who they are and fear being discovered. Bullying and other cruelties support this fear.

A gay young man was recently outed by a secret sex video made and spread on the Internet by his roommate. In the face of this, he killed himself. Other children, harassed and denounced and degraded by schoolmates about their sexuality, have also taken their own lives. Where did their  classmates learn their cruel  and condemning attitudes? There is a song (so well written by Stephen Sondheim) from Into The Woods, called "Children Will Listen"  It says, in part  " Careful the things you say, children will listen...careful the things you do for they will see..."

I know hate when I see it and hear it, as well as its close cousins prejudice and condemnation. Rise up against that whole damned family. The child you save (figuratively and literally) may be your own.

Mom can haz blog!

My eldest daughter has her own blog about Life on Capitol Hill in Seattle, and I got a mention when she found out I have started this one. It vastly amused her that I have found my way into the blogosphere. She really gets a kick out of my participating in all these modern contraptions, despite my having come from the days when the idea of computers in your house ran along the line of Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine. Yes, it is/was a real book. If you really want to see how far we have come, give that a gander. Horse and buggy I kid you not. When I started at my present job 15 years ago, my computer did not have Windows, and I was using the Word Perfect word processing program like a big electronic typewriter. I don't remember why, now, but when we first got Windows on our office machines, I kept inadvertently closing (unsaved) whatever I was working on. That seems so funny and antiquated to me now.

Kids gather round and Grandmama will tell you how faxes used to come through the receiver of a phone (you had to answer the phone yourself, and put it on the fax cradle) and were printed onto a paper wrapped around a metal cylinder. Now you can download your boarding pass onto your Iphone...well if you are not a T Rex like myself who does not (yet) own an IPhone....

Times they area changin' and Mom is coming along with them, if not at top speed. I do love email, because I can send forth my letters of protest (political, customer service, product complaint oriented or otherwise) and get responses in far less time than the old Pony Express style of the mailed letter. Terrible typist that I am, being able to edit and correct without that white liquid or erasable paper is a Godsend. Anyone who had seen my handwriting considers themselves blessed that I can use Word.

There is also the matter of my deep-seated need to protest those things not right, by writing . Nothing doth so feed the wrath of she who must email like someone else's snark and/or density when a word processor is handily nearby. I have two teed up right now over a 1) A glitch in the computer of my medical group's new prescription processor that is causing me to have to pay triple my usual co-pay and 2) My cable provider's postcard announcing that they are fighting the good fight (to pay as little as possible) with  block of cable stations which are my standard weekend viewing, the result of which may be the vanishing act of said stations from my channel lineup. Oh no you didn't! Fighting for me, you say? Fighting to pay the smallest fees for broadcast rights, all the while steadily increasing my monthly bill? I want my HGTV!  Ah well, that is a post for another day.

 I am figuratively sharpening my quill.

Speaking of civility (or the lack thereof)

Have you seen (um, heard?) the tone of the letters to the editor in the local newspaper lately? Political discourse has deteriorated to the level of  "You're dumb! Nah Nah and so's yer mother!" Name calling like I have not witnessed since grade school--and I am probably not giving the kids enough credit.

We have lost the ability to conduct civil discourse.   I miss  late William F Buckley Jr's turn of phase.  Staunch conservative he was, but so well spoken. A touch of snark, perhaps, (well, more than a touch) but snark is better than a sneer. Killingly polite, was that man. He skewered all comers of all political ilks.

I have always found that I am more polite in writing than I might have been if speaking to the opposing view. The time it takes to write it out usually brings a more reasoned tone. Not so much these letters columns, and opinon pieces that I am reading (and railing at)  .

Is intelligent disagreement impossible?  I don't see how calling the opposition leftists, socialists, facists, or immoral advances anyone's cause. Nor am I amused by  jingosim- smiling, shouted or otherwise. . I am not advocating being passionless, far from it. But who can hear any salient point above the noise?

Chivalry, RIP--Civility, Code Blue...

Civility, like its forefather Chivalry, is, if not dead, then certainly on life support and hanging on by a toenail.

 It is perhaps my rapidly advancing middle age crankiness, but it seems to me that the quality of driving in Southern California has deteriorated markedly in the last 20 years or so. I have never seen a better example of "it is all about me" than the drivers that grudgingly share the freeway with me on a regular basis. Turn signals are considered optional and  are rarely in sync with the direction that  the driver is actually going. To use your own signal is to invite the person in the next lane to stomp on the accelerator and fill the gap you were going to move into. That is "their" space, after all. Thus, the tailgating resembling the Autopia at D-land.

Also optional is the observance of the requirement to only use your cell phone in a hands-free mode. I do believe I am the only sucker who thinks you have to obey that law. As I cannot keep a earpiece in my ear to save my life, I am resigned to driving around with a full  headset on, ala the old time operators, while watching you drift and weave and change lanes without warning while you yak away on the cell phone in your hand..  Nothing says self absorbed twit like driving like a drunken sailor because that call was more important than us both living to see our destination.

Likewise self-absorbed, or perhaps just thoughtless, was the yahoo who left the remains of his fast food meal in the gutter at the center of the end of my driveway. Thoughtless enough if it were merely tossed, but this was carefully placed, in gutter, next to the barrels at the curb awaiting collection on trash day! Of course, one has to be civilized to be civil, and pigs is pigs, after all.

I more than occasionally wonder that civility as gone the way of the dinosaurs, only to be reminded that there are still some just plain nice people left out there. They wave you into a break in traffic in front of them, let you merge cheerfully, rush to hold the door open with a smile...all things which I thought only I and my family still did.  It should not touch me so deeply that these once-common courtesies are still observed, but touch me it does. Almost gives you hope.

Civility may be gasping for breath, but these gestures are life's oxygen.

Sticking my toe in the water

I have not the foggiest if anyone will read this, other than me, but I had the title and the basic premise, and thought, well here I go: A  Los Angeles raised Valley kid, living in the shadow of D-Land for the last 30 years.  I have done battle (unintentioned when it began) in print with persons as far flung as the (now former) Seattle City Attorney. I do write a nifty letter. My "letters to the editor" of the local paper often find their way to print, which I think is a hoot. I imagine they irritate more often than they cause a raised coffee cup, and a "you go" from the readers.  Occasionally they provoke a response, which, I guess, gives them the last word...which I would prefer to have for myself, ~neener neener~ . That is, perhaps, why I am trying out this blogging thing.  That, and exercising that ancient English degree for other than the most charming and literate of business letters.  Opinions I have many, and the cat doesn't really give a hoot. 0 : )