I have a new toy. About a week and a half ago, I got a new cell phone and my husband got his first cell phone. Both of them are camera phones. A couple of days after we got them, we went bike riding with some friends, and I decided to take a few pictures. One of our favorite bike trails begins in Victoria and goes to Excelsior. At the beginning of the trail, we found this lovely sign.
Featured_Grownups has challenged members of her blog ring to write a memory of the 80's. Mine is not a memory of world events or cultural variation. My strongest memory of the 80's has to be that that is when my mother died.
My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1977. At that time, she had the lower lobe of her right lung removed. She recuperated well and seemed to be in good health until 1979. At that time, the cancer reappeared, and she began chemotherapy. She was living in New Jersey at that time and keeping house for her brother. Since they were both alone and he was losing his sight, it had made sense for her to sell her home in Iowa and move to New Jersey several years earlier. Having my mother located just 60 miles from New York City gave my family and I a nice place to visit and a base for trips into that very interesting city. However, when my mom became ill, it created a major worry, because I was trying to help her from halfway across the country. I had a job and two small children, so the time I could spend in New Jersey was limited. I spent what time I could with her, and every time I left, it was with the feeling that it might be the last time I would see her.
My mom surprised everyone by doing very well on chemotherapy. Although she did lose her hair, she actually gained weight and was healthy most of the time. She did some extensive traveling, made some day trips to Atlantic City to try her hand in the casinos, and enjoyed time with friends and neighbors.
In late fall of 1982, my uncle died. That was a major change for my mom, leaving her alone in New Jersey with no responsibility for anyone else and no family nearby. In the spring of 1983, she decided to move to our small town in Minnesota, so my husband and I acted as her agents to purchase and prepare a house just 2 blocks from ours. When it was ready, we flew out to New Jersey with our kids to help her pack up and to drive her car back here.
We were hoping for at least a few years to enjoy having my mom close to us and for her to watch her grandchildren grow up, but unfortunately, the time was to be short. In the fall of 1984, her bone marrow became unable to recover from the chemo, so it was stopped. She was told that she might not live until Thanksgiving, but she amazed doctors again by surviving to mid-February of 1985. I think she wanted one more Christmas and then she did not want to spoil my birthday, which is in January. The mind and will are very powerful and my mom's were very strong.
We took care of my mom as her illness progressed, and she died at our home. Although her illness was stressful, I am very happy that we were able to be there with her through it. I think that knowing that we did all that we could to help her made her death much easier. I was very close to my mom, being the only child of an only parent, so when she died, I lost my entire birth family. Because we were close, it was very appropriate that my husband and I shared her death. Although I cannot say that it was a happy experience, it was a rewarding one in many ways. I have always been very much at peace with the end of her life.
It is very appropriate to write this today. This is my mom's birthday.
Corn Maze!
We spent Saturday afternoon and evening with some friends. Our activities included a corn maze followed by dinner. We had never been to a corn maze before, and I have to admit that it was pretty easy to see why the word "maze" is included in the word "amaze" because it certainly did! It's huge, and the corn is the old fashioned kind that grows to 7 or 8 feet in height, not the modern hybrid corn that is about 4 feet tall. Visitors are supplied with a map which includes the above picture and some directions. This particular maze has pictures of various African animals located at the points marked with red circles. Finding them can help keep you oriented and assist in finding the way through the maze. Walking along the outlines of the elephant and the giraffe is also helpful. There are staff people posted at points in the maze to assist people who are lost. We talked to one young man who told us that people do get lost and some get quite upset. We did not have trouble finding our way, but it took about an hour to navigate the path.
I particularly enjoyed the petting zoo that is part of the corn maze site. There were several exotic animals including zebra, baby camels, deer and fallow deer, and kangaroos. I kind of wondered how the kangaroos fit into the African theme, but it was fun to see them and be able to pet them. There was food available to give to the animals, so they were all glad to see people.
Attractions for kids included a corn pit, which was similar to the ball pits you see sometimes, except that it was filled with corn. It looked to be about 3 feet deep and both kids and adult were enjoying it. There was also a children's maze made from bales of straw. I couldn't help thinking that it would be fun to bring our grandchildren there sometime.
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As I mentioned in my previous post, last week was quarter break from my college classes. I learned that quarter break is not necessarily a good thing for me. I had a perfectly lovely day on Monday. I was so grateful to have the day off! I did some cleaning, baked some bread, made a pot of chili, and rode my bike uptown to get the mail and go to the grocery store. It was wonderful! Tuesday afternoon, I was again on my bike enjoying running some errands and thinking about what a great day Monday was. I thought to myself that I had to remember to teach my ESL class that evening and to get myself to the after school program on Wednesday. All of a sudden, it dawned on me! Oh, my gosh! The after school program!!! I was supposed to work there on Monday, too! I couldn't believe that nobody called to see why I did not show up! You would think that having a lighter schedule would make things easier, but it didn't. It confused the heck out of me!
I spent 3 days subbing in our local schools last week, two of them in elementary phy ed and adaptive phy ed. I am pretty much of a non-athlete except for things like bicycle riding, walking and aerobics, so the thought of me doing phy ed is pretty humorous, but I can do it if the teacher leaves good lesson plans, which this one did. I spent 2 mornings watching elementary school classes do calisthenics and play a game called pin guard, and 2 afternoons in adaptive phy ed doing passive exercises on kids with cerebral palsy and watching kids roll over and reach for items. The adaptive part is actually pretty easy for me because of my nursing background. My other sub day was in my husband's English classes. Students in there were reading, so I brought a book and read, too. It was nice to get paid to read a good book!
Tomorrow, fall quarter starts, so I get back to my 4 job schedule. I should be able to keep track of my schedule better. I hope so, anyway!
New Orleans!
I have not commented much on what happened following Hurricane Katrina, except to say that I found it unacceptable that it was taking so long to rescue people after the storm was over. Now I would like to comment more.
Do I feel that the ball was dropped in handling the emergency in New Orleans? I most certainly do. Do I feel that the federal government was responsible? Probably, but not necessarily. Those of you who have read my blog for awhile are aware that I am not a fan of George W. I do not trust that he really feels any sympathy for the people of New Orleans and Biloxi. I think his visits there were a photo op. On the other hand, I think he, or at least his advisors, surely recognize the political implications of inactivity in this situation, so it would be in his and his party's best interest to act even if he did not particularly care. I don't give him credit for a lot of deep thinking, but I do think the people behind him are perfectly capable of seeing the lay of the land.
I have taught first aid for many years. One of the first principles of first aid is that you do not go into a situation unless it is safe. If you do, you simply run the risk of becoming another victim and making the situation worse, not better. That was surely an issue after Katrina struck. We who were not there and were not involved in handling the situation really do not know how long rescuers had to wait until they could reasonably expect to rescue and not just make the number of people who needed rescuing greater.
It is also not a fair statement that the federal government was not on the scene immediately. The US Coast Guard and the US Army were there as soon as they could begin the rescue effort. Where they there on orders from the President? Maybe not. Maybe that is why the local commander of the Coast Guard has now been put in charge of managing the emergency. But are they representatives of the federal government? Yes, they are, even if they are acting under orders from local command.
Are there other issues besides the response after the storm that need consideration? I think so. We have known for years that New Orleans was below sea level and was the most vulnerable spot in the country to a direct hit from a major tropical storm. Why wasn't there a more effective plan for evacuating that city? Quite sometime ago, I heard a discussion on one of the TV news magazines regarding the logistics of evacuating New Orleans, and the consensus then was that it would be difficult if not impossible. That may well have been the case, but do I think that all that could have been done was done? No!!!!!! Many times, news footage showed school busses under water. Why weren't those school busses and the city busses mobilized to take as many of the poor out of the city as possible? Not only would lives have been saved, but the busses would not need to be replaced because they would not have ended up under water. (I want to go on record as saying that that thought occurred to me before it was brought up on 20/20 Friday evening.) Some people stayed in New Orleans because they had bad judgement. Some stayed because they could not leave. There should have been a plan to get as many of those people out before the storm as possible. If there had been, the slow response of the President after the storm would not have been such a major issue because the numbers of people needing rescue would have been far fewer. So was the ball dropped there? I think the answer to that has to be yes. By whom? The City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. If you know you have a problem, especially a problem of this magnitude, you have a responsibility to at least try to solve it.
Do I think that the news coverage of this situation has been biased, causing false impressions in many people? Yes, I do. I do not think the bias is necessarily intentional. I feel some sympathy for news reporters who are put on the air for extended periods during an emergency and who have to fill that time with film footage and commentary on situations for which they may not have much background. They have to talk whether or not they have good information. They receive information from people in the newsroom who are trying to gather accurate facts as fast as possible, but time is still limited and they still have to keep talking. For that reason, they say things that are not really based on fact.
One example of this is the emphasis that has been put on the dead bodies floating in the street and the pollution in the water. I heard Dr. Michael Osterholm, who is considered to be the world's foremost epidemiologist, address those issues. He said that while bodies floating in the streets are horrible to see and while not being able to take respectful care of the dead is very traumatic, dead bodies do not present a health threat. They are only a threat if they died of certain very serious communicable diseases, which was not the case in this situation. He also said that the pollution in the water was so dilute that it was not a hazard to anyone with intact skin. For people who were injured, the situation is different, and there will still be deaths of people who have contaminated wounds for days or weeks to come. But for people who were not injured, the contaminated water was not an issue. Dr. Osterholm stated that the real issue was that people were going without food, drinking water and needed medications in very hot weather. That was not the main issue discussed in any of the media coverage I saw, however.
I think sometimes these days we just have too much news coverage. I feel so bad for people who have been rescued but are separated from family members when they hear about bodies floating in the streets. It must be so awful for them wondering if some of those bodies are people they love. I think someone needs to take a serious look at why we put news people on the air to talk for hours with nothing to say.
Another issue I have heard brought up is whether or not the city of New Orleans will be rebuilt, or even should be rebuilt. Do I think it will be? Yes, I do. Some people will not return, but many will because it is their home and they love it. Do I think it should be rebuilt? Yes, I do. Do I think it should be relocated as I have heard some suggest? No, I don't. There is more at stake here than just the city of New Orleans. New Orleans is a major port city. People all along the Mississippi send and receive goods through that city. It is essential to their economy. I live in Minnesota, which is as far north of New Orleans as you can get and still be in the United States. We have ships arriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul regularly through the Port of New Orleans. We depend on that port. We will suffer if it is not there. It takes people to run a port and they have to have a place to live, so there have to be people in New Orleans.
New Orleans is also the home of much of American music and culture because it is the home of jazz. It's true that the music could be relocated, but it would not the the same.
Another issue is the oil from the off-shore drilling at the Port of New Orleans. That's 5% of the oil supply for the United States. That's significant. Recovery of that oil requires people and refineries onshore. Those people also live and work in New Orleans. Whether we like it or not, New Orleans is a major city which affects the economy of the entire middle section of the country directly and the rest of the country indirectly. We need it to be there.
So what is the point of all this? The point is Wake up America!!! We have problems to solve! We need to solve them! With all our resources, we should be able to do that! This problem belongs to all of us and we need to accept that, stop looking for people to blame, and start looking at solutions. We need to take the opportunity to learn what we can from this tragedy. In the interview that I heard, Dr. Osterholm stated that one of the major problems identified after 9-11 was that the police and fire departments of New York City were not on the same radio frequency. That created difficulty in handling the situation effectively. Four years down the road, they are still not on the same frequency. I have a lot of questions relative to that. It seems to me that that would be a good idea not just for New York City, but for any large city or any city at all. Why didn't I hear about it until now? Why hasn't it been done? It seems to me that our government tends to do very visible things like declaring red and yellow alerts or making us walk through the airport metal detectors with our shoes off to make us think that action has been taken, but maybe they are neglecting more important but less visible things that could be done. We can't afford to do the same following Katrina. We have to learn our lessons this time. We have to put systems in place to help keep this tragedy from repeating itself. I heard Hilary Clinton comment on the process that we need to put into place to make sure that the citizens of New Orleans are safer in the future. She says that we need an independent committee to look into the problem and make recommendations. I think that is probably a good idea. Their recommendations need to be made very public and the citizens need to demand to be kept informed on the progress toward implementing those recommendations. Go see what Comet1USA has to say. He said it differently, and in far fewer words.
I mentioned sometime ago that we have been doing projects in our house this summer. They are finished now, or nearly finished anyway. We still have a little work to do on our downstairs bathroom. The main floor bathrooms are completely finished, though, and we have been cleaning up and getting the house back into shape. The room that took the worst beating was probably the guest room, which is directly across the hall from the main bathroom and seems to draw air from that bathroom even with the door to the guest room closed. Labor Day weekend, I spent some time cleaning the hefty layer of drywall dust out of there and restoring the room to usable condition.
While I was in there cleaning, Tigger, our big orange cat came in. We do not let the cats into that room because I like to keep cat hair out of there, so he was anxious to explore a space he hardly ever sees. I had the spread off the bed because I was washing it, and I watched with amazement as Tigger lifted the pillow, pulled down the covers, and managed to get himself into the bed and covered up. He had his head on the pillow for awhile, but by the time I got the camera, this is how he looked.
I pulled the covers back so I could see his face. I think he looks mildly annoyed at me for doing that.
I covered him back up and he stayed in the bed until he felt that his nap had been long enough. Then he wandered off somewhere else in the house. Meantime, I finished cleaning up the room. What do you think of it?
This is the bed. It is about 200 years old and was left to my son by my uncle. Eventually, Andy will take it to his house. For now, my guests enjoy it.
I bought this dresser at an auction when the mother of one of my friends was leaving her home. My friends parents collected antiques and I was happy to get this to go with the bed and also to remember my friend's mother, who was a lovely woman. (She was living at the time of the auction but has since died.) My uncle had a dresser to go with the bed, but Andy already has it.
The bed and the dresser are walnut. I have a marble topped walnut commode that was my mom's that I use for a nightstand. The rest of the furnishings are a variety of other antiques and a bookshelf from Target where I have books for guests to read and some antique pottery pieces. The old radio in the picture here is from Dan's grandfather. The corner cabinet was my uncle's. It is still filled with a variety of small antique collectibles that belonged to him.
Labor Day
Labor Day. It's a funny name for a day when most people don't work. For me, it means the end of my relatively calm summer because starting this week, I go back to having 4 jobs. I like all my jobs, but having multiple jobs is stressful because employers all have expectations and they are not always complementary. It also leaves me very short of time, but I hope that is not going to be as severe as it was last spring.
In the meantime, I have today, Labor Day, to spend the way I choose. In our little town, we celebrate Labor Day very visibly. We have active VFW and American Legion groups and they put up flags in one of our parks.
I really think the flags are quite lovely. They went up on Friday, I think, and they will probably come down tomorrow. The taller ones near the center of the picture are on a permanent memorial put up by the veteran's groups. They are the US flag, the VFW and American Legion flags, and the Minnesota State Flag. The shorter US flags form a cross-shaped corridor around the memorial. Yesterday morning when we went to church, there were people walking through this pathway looking up at the flags waving in the sunlight. It's really very moving to stand in the midst of them.
The park is not a recreational park. It's more of a town square, although it does not have our city buildings at its edge as a town square usually would, and it is not at the center of town. It is on the main highway, so anyone passing through town sees it. The hospital and nursing home are on the far side from the highway. On the other sides there are small businesses, homes and our church.
There is also a WWII helicopter mounted in the park. My husband and I do not particularly care for this particular part of the memorial because we do not like to see symbols of war so prominently displayed, but it is meaningful to the veterans.
I really enjoy the patriotic activities of the veterans' groups. It's a nice reminder of the role they played in keeping our country free and safe. It's important to remember.
On a totally different note, it find it completely unacceptable that a full week after Hurricane Katrina struck, there are still people in New Orleans waiting to be rescued. They have gone without food and water all this time. In our country with all our wealth and all our resources, that never should have happened. Thousands have died because nobody came to help them. It's a striking and very sad contrast to the peace and serenity of our town park with its flag display.
At the college where I teach, students do mid-quarter evaluations of the courses. They are taken out of the classroom to one of the computer labs where they enter their comments directly into the computer system so it is an anonymous process. There are 8 questions that they answer with a rating of 0 to 5. They can write comments on each of the questions. There is a list of descriptors on which they check the ones that they think apply, a section in which they are asked to comment on whether or not they would recommend the instructor to other students, and a place to express thoughts that were not covered by the other areas. One of my students wrote this in that area:
"This has been one of the best courses I've ever taken. I'm not always the best at forming definite opinions and discussing the reasons why I feel one way or another. I can be easily swayed at times. This course has given me the opportunity to really think about the way I feel about things and has given me a wonderful, unthreatening format with which to express my opinions."
Wasn't that sweet? I know I am bragging, but this is my blog and I guess I can brag occasionally. I really found that comment very touching.
I have to get my house cleaned because we are having company tomorrow. We are still trying to get the dust from our remodeling projects out of the house. Projects are almost finished, though.
This afternoon, we are going to the wake for my daughter-in-law's grandmother. She was a wonderful lady. That whole family is a wonderful family.
Last night, most of our family went to see 1964 the Tribute at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Matt was working and Ryan and Jake are too young to be admitted to Orchestra Hall, so they were not with us, but Andy, Jess, Betsy, Madison, Madison's friend Maddie, Dan, and I went.
1964 plays Orchestra Hall at least once a year and is often the only rock group to appear there during a given year. The name of the place is, after all, Orchestra Hall and it is the home of the Minnesota Orchestra, so most of the concerts there are classical or light pop music. The building has perfect acoustics, though, and is ideal for any kind of concert. We had seats in row 8, so we could see as well as hear. I think that's important when you have a couple of 7 year olds along. It's pretty hard for them to pay attention if they can't see the stage.
1964 is the top ranked Beatle tribute band in the world, and they are very, very good. Wearing vintage clothing, Beatle boots, and Beatle wigs, they arrive in character and don't slip out even for a second. It is their aim to recreate the look and sound of the Beatles as faithfully as possible, and it's pretty darned authentic! They play instruments from the 60's and use the same type amps and set up that the Beatles used. Combine that with the many hours that they have spent studying film of the Beatles to learn their accents and stage mannerisms, and you get a show that can really take you back to the time when the real John, Paul, George and Ringo performed to hordes of screaming girls.
I believe that 1964 is the only Beatle tribute group officially endorsed by Apple Records. They have some restrictions on what they can play because of that. They have to confine their shows to the pre-Sgt. Pepper era, but that gives them plenty of great music to perform. It must be enough, because they have been together for 21 years and have played all over the world, including at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall. George Harrison's sister thinks so highly of them that she has entertained them in her home.
Two of the members of the band have even learned to play guitars with their non-dominant hands in order to do a more accurate recreation. I am always fascinated with Jimmy Pou who plays George. He not only has all of George's mannerisms down pat and can recreate his vocals, but he can also do a masterful job on the 12 string guitar. Every time I see him, I think about how difficult it must have been to find someone who could do that!
I never saw the real Beatles perform in concert. To be really honest, I might not have gone even if I had had the opportunity. I have always preferred Herman's Hermits and I was not a big fan of rock n'roll when I was young. Dan is the one who has always been the Beatles fan. I do enjoy their music now, though, and seeing 1964 gives me the illusion of seeing the Beatles. Go if you get a chance.
These are the real Beatles (in case you didn't know) for comparison to the photo of 1964 above. Keep in mind that the Beatles were really in their 20's in this photo and 1964 is in their late 40's.
I have had some experiences lately that have started me thinking about friendship. When I first started blogging, I used to write a lot about friendship because about that time I was going through the very painful end of what I thought at the time was a friendship. To tell the truth, I still miss that relationship, but I no longer believe it was really a friendship. In some ways, that ending was a very good thing for me, even though it was very painful. I had let that relationship become a focus in my life and I was neglecting my real friends because that single relationship was so time-consuming. That was not a good thing. Fortunately, my friends were still there for me when it was over. I think I was very lucky, because friendships don't always survive neglect.
Some of my recent Xanga experiences have brought me back to reflecting about friends and the part they play in all our lives. I have seen the outpouring of concern for Terry Cuthbert during his illness and the mourning of his passing. He certainly touched many lives in many ways. I have witnessed many comings and goings in the time I have been blogging. My SIR list has changed over that time. Some of the Xangans I have enjoyed have died. Some are still here, but we no longer comment on each other's sites. That is OK. Times and interests change and people move on. That is life. I have "met" many lovely people who reach out to others all over the world and have enjoyed sharing a part of their lives.
I have seen Xangans suffering because of problems with relationships in their lives. Those we love can be a great joy, but they can also inflict great pain. That is not necessarily intentional, but it happens and surviving it can be difficult. Xangans often reach out to each other for support at those times. Sometimes I wonder at that. Other times I think it is good that Xanga is here for them. I don't often turn to Xanga when I need consolation because I have people in my life to console me. I suspect that that is not true for some Xangans.
I don't think of myself as a person with a lot of friends, but I think maybe that is a misperception. I have read many times that if you have 3 to 5 real friends, you are very fortunate. I have to count myself as very fortunate then, because I have more than that. They get me through the tough times in life and I am very grateful for that.
I think the folks that many people refer to as "friends" are actually acquaintances with whom they share common interests or perhaps with whom they work. In observing those relationships, it does not seem to me that many of them are actually very close or very personal. I have those relationships also. Those people are fun to be around, but I have found that they often are not there when they are needed. In fact, I think that's how you know who's a real friend and who's just an acquaintance. Friends stick around when it's not necessarily easy or comfortable to do that.
I think we need all kinds of relationships in our lives. We need superficial, fun relationships, and we need friends who will cry with us when we are sad but can still laugh with us over the absurdities of life. We need sympathetic ears and people who will tell us to get off our butts and take action. We can find the people we need in all kinds of places. Xanga is one of those places.
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