Let the children grow!

from www.youtube.com posted with vodpod

This video says it all.    No one could have said it better then Dr. Randy Pausch.

Sometimes intentional,  often times unknowingly, there are those that try to  break and kill the natural hope and dreams that children are born with,  but in reality the ability to hope and dream never dies.   It hides deep within,  along with the child that some adults were never fully able to be.    Happiness begins with the discovery of self and love of self.   I was 40 years old when my journey down the path of self discovery began.  It was a long difficult road with many hidden doors and obstacles, but behind many doors I also found treasures.  The best treasure of all was finding myself and letting the child within me live.    With self love comes the ability to recognize real love and to give real love.  With self love comes the ability to really appreciate life and all it has to offer.   With self love comes the ability to embrace life with a passion.   Self love is not an ego trip, it’s not being selfish,  it’s knowing, respecting and loving who you really are.    It’s being able to smile from the soul even on a rainy day!

Peace

Sunny Day Delight

A bright brisk day here!  Spring can’t be to far off even though bad weather is on it’s way again.   My bedroom window and those in the kitchen and the slider to the balcony all face east.  It’s so nice to wake to the early morning sun.   I even got brave and had coffee on the balcony this morning!  

Returning home from the library  early this afternoon I spotted a pileate woodpecker trying to demolish a near by tree as he looked for food.  The sun was in the wrong position to get a good picture of him,  hopefully soon I can get a photo.   From the looks of the tree he’s been a visitor here quite often lately.    

I don’t know about all of you but I think this election year will be the longest one in history.   I’ve decided after the schizophrenic Hill-antics of this past weekend that even if she were to run for the US Senate again here in NYS that I,  as an independent will help campaign against her.   Ralph Nader looks good compared to her.  At least he is consistent!    The 13 yr. old grandson saw her on tv Sunday and said she was a wacko and asked why she was making fun of religion.  What could I say? 

Peace!

Friday Quick Notes

My 13yr. old grandson has been here for the past 5 days and I finally got a few, very few minutes to post something. He’s kept me busy as well as he’s been using my computer himself. Being the first grandchild,  ”D” has a special place in my heart. Working maternity I was even able to give him his first official bath. What a scrawny little one he was! His younger cousin “R” stayed over one night and his friend arrived the next day, so it’s been a busy week!  Snow has been falling lightly since 7am but we don’t have the mess that is accumulating south of us down in NYC and along the coast where the main part of the storm is traveling.I’ve had to go back to my original blog template and colors. The black theme from yesterday is not me. I need softer colors that show light and warmth. “R” agreed that they were best also, but then we are much alike. I hope you all like this look.

I will get back to blogging after he leaves late tomorrow before the younger grandson returns for his weekly visit! At least I will try!

Peace!

Living History or Monday Morning Catch-up

Yesterday it hit 54F   but this morning has graced us with a light snow. I sure can’t wait for spring. Waking early each day and having to wait so long for the sun to rise is not conducive to an energetic start to the day!  I have some peace and quiet here this morning. Spouse is working days the 7 yr. old left yesterday and no children visiting till late today! I love the grandchildren visiting but too many days in a row gives me caffeine jitters even if I don’t drink the coffee! If the spouse is added the clock stops ticking and I am left frozen in time!

My maternal grandmother died when my mother was young and I’ve never been able to find out too much about her. My father would not allow my mother to tell us anything about her. She was a Native American Indian from Northern NYS as far as I have been able to find out. My maternal grandfather who was English and Irish died when I was about 4 yrs. old. The only time my paternal grand parents seemed to pay any attention to us was when they needed help spring cleaning. If we visited we felt like we were in their way, yet one cousin practically lived at there home. I want to know my grandchildren. I want them to know me. I hope that one day they will be happy to have known who I was.

I enjoy special talks with the grandchildren. Each child is unique. I’ve recently started writing what one could call a kind of diary for each child. Noting my thoughts and experiences, including those I have of them individually. I am also adding photos that one day they may want with captions to capture the moments they were taken.

What did I say about no children till later today? It’s 10am and son just called to say he’s on his way with 3 kids and leaving one!            ……..slaps self in head…..

Will blog hop later!

Peace!

Time for a knock out!

from my.barackobama.com posted with vodpod

Hillary Clinton came out of the corner with lead filled boxing gloves and began running an ad  in Wisconsin that was intended to make Barak Obama look bad for  refusing to debate with her there. Seriously, how many debates do we need?  Personally I am tired of the debates!  In all my years I can’t remember so many debates in an election, especially a primary!

The above video is the new ad that Barak began today in response.    Enjoy!

Peace all!

The Iceman Cometh and Taketh the Lunch

Just a couple inches of snow followed by freezing rain fell here over night, not the 5-8″ of snow some were predicting. My lunch date with friends is canceled today as we decided not to mess up the beauty of the freezing rain as it continues to coat the trees and roads. Several of us get together once a month. The attendance varies as some work, some stay home to raise their children and some of us are retired and personal schedules get in the way. The one thing we all have in common is that we worked together at various times over the years. The gal that started this tradition retired several years ago and this was a way to keep in touch with friends young and old. She resides in Florida during the winter months and lunches would come to a halt while she was gone. It was usually hard for me to attend a lunch most times due to my work schedule and personal life but now that I am reitred and have time, I decided to take a chance on the weather and stretch our lunch dates through the winter months. 

Over the years we would go out for breakfast after work and take my word for it, you never want to sit with or near nurses after they have worked all night! The conversations we had would have turned your stomachs inside out! That was something that one of us would point out to the others when they would catch someone peering at us from another table when someone was speaking of blood and gore, bones and body parts! I mean after all who wants to be eating a triple egg cheese omlette and hear someone describe the state of a placenta? There was usually 10 or more people at these after work breakfasts. That alone drew stares and of course how can you keep the noise level down with all those nurses de-stressing?

Our lunches now are quite different. There’s usually any where from 4 to 8 of us that attend. A gal still working might catch us up on news from our old work place but most of our conversations now are more pleasant! We catch up on family and personal news and some make plans to meet for other activities. The only blood and gore spoken about might be a quick remark about what’s happening in our world today or a child’s skinned knee, not an incident at the hospital! I’ll have to try to find another day before this short month ends for our lunch date. Such is the way of winter here in NYS.

Obama seems to be on a roll. I’m sure he knows the ruthlessness of the Hillary Machine and will try to keep a step ahead of their fall out. If not, we all loose IMHO. One can only HOPE.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace!

Another Day, Another View

Not much snow here to brag about but it sure turned cold! I had my usual visit from “R” this weekend. “R” will be 9yrs old on Valentines day. Kids grow way too fast if you ask me. Spouse had to make note that the older grandson, “D” will be able to drive in 2 years!   I always enjoy visits and conversations with the kids. We have a way of connecting when we are alone. “R” fascinates me in that his mind works so fast. He is quick to absorb and analyze, if and I mean IF something interests him. “R” is the little guy who taught himself how to learn to spell and enjoys classical music as well as his video games of course. He surprised me once again by his thought processes Saturday night.

Now a bit of background is needed here before I go on. “R’s” mother is working full time at a pizza parlor and goes to a community college full time. She is basically his full support.  He doesn’t watch much TV and has had no exposure to politics or what is going on in the political world. He’s only in 3rd grade. Also, when the kids start a serious conversation with me and ask questions, I try to entice them into thinking for themselves by giving them facts and asking them what they think. I’m fascinated by the workings of a child’s mind and I feel it’s important to expand their power of self thought and reason.

He was reading a book and I had the TV on watching CNN for the results from the Maine caucuses. It was late, but he usually stays up till 11pm with me and then sleeps Sunday morning. Some time after 10pm Barak Obama came on live from a rally in Virginia. “R” put down his book and asked me what was going on. With many questions from him, I ended up giving a mini civics lesson. I had to explain and draw pictures as to what a primary election was and how it leads to a presidential election. As he listened to Barak he asked me to explain what he was saying about education and health care. Yep this is a 9 yr. old! I explained that Barak wanted to make it so that kids like him could go to college free if they gave up some of their time to help other people. After answering all his questions he said he liked “this man Obama.” He also said he wanted to see the lady who was in the election.

Sunday he left the video game he was playing and came to watch Hillary at a rally on TV.  After watching and listening to her for about 10 minutes he said, “I don’t like her.”   I told him she wants to do many of the same things that Obama wanted to do.   “R” said, “I still don’t like that lady.   I think she lies.”              hmmmmmmmm…..

If you viewed the video on the right called ” Does he know the Issues”   You might  like seeing the  “Obama vs Clinton: video. It’s the same reporter interviewing a Hillary supporter.  What a contrast!

I”m starting to think that thing called age is creeping up on me after a weekened with “R”!   I hated civics class!

Peace!

Out of the mouths of babes

Ice covered trees around the apartment building today. Winters sure aren’t what they used to be in New York state. We used to have much more snow and many sub zero winter days.Now the forecast usually calls for freezing rain or an occasional small snow fall or a mixture of both. The rule of thumb years back was to make sure your snow tires were on by Thanksgiving Day. Now we hope to have snow by Christmas day. At least this year the north country a.k.a the Adirondacks received enough snow to keep the skiers and snowmobile enthusiasts happy. I’m not complaining about the milder weather, I rather enjoy being a little warmer but though the glistening icy landscape might be pretty, it’s much easier to drive in snow then on icy roads. It’s nice not having to drive to work any more and worry about the roads! I’ve been saying for 20 years that the weather has been changing. But did anyone listen to me? No. I just wish someone would pay me just a fraction of what the government dishes out just to let us know what we already know!

Many people question the enthusiasm that the younger people have for Barak Obama, and wonder if they have any clue as to the issues, or where Barak stands on the issues.  One reporter had a surprise with his trick questions to one such young adult.  See what one reporter found out, check out the top video in the right column of my blog.

It gives one HOPE for our young people!  Let’s give them HOPE back!

I have always said that if everyone took time to look through the eyes of a child,  what a wonderous world this would be!

Peace!

The Many Faces of Hillary Clinton

 I wonder how long it will take Hillary to decide which mask to put on each morning if she is elected president. I’ve really been trying to hold back on talking to much about Hillary Clinton. After all she and hubby put enough negativity in the campaign already, but after hearing her interview with CNN’s Kiran Chetry this morning I have to say something. We’ve all pretty much heard what Hillary said in an appearance on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”    ………..  “Sen. HillaryClinton, D-N.Y., this morning left open the possibility that, if elected, her government would garnish the wages of people who didn’t comply with her health care plan. “We will have an enforcement mechanism, whether it’s that or it’s some other mechanism through the tax system or automatic enrollments.” 

In this morning’s interview for CNN she avoided answering a question twice concerning a penalty for not joining mandated health insurance calling it inaccurate. She then goes on to mention that insurance companies would be regulated differently,  costs lowered and quality of care improved. She also strongly suggested that Obama had republican ways of thinking and talking three times. She also stated that it sounded like the Obama literature was written by republicans and the health care industry. You can see the interview video here.  

What really angers me is how stupid she thinks many of us are that we can’t see what she is doing. What upsets me even more is there are many out there that won’t see how she is twisting words and facts. She has stated “lobbyists are people too” and defended her decision to take their contributions. She doesn’t mind the lobbyists in Washington, after all they have supported her. When she ran for NY Senator she received high contributions from defense contractors and the health care industry. She is the first New York Senator to sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Now I have to ask myself,

1. How much did that effect her vote to go to war with Iraq?

2. How will this effect bringing our boys and girls home?

3. How will that effect how we conduct ourselves in Afganistan?

4. How can she effectively work with health care to bring medical costs down? 

At the time she accepted those contributions, Frederick H. Graefe, a health care lawyer and lobbyist in Washington for more than 20 years, said,   “People in many industries, including health care, are contributing to Senator Clinton today because they fully expect she will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008.”  “If the usual rules apply,”  Mr. Graefe said, early donors will  “get a seat at the table when health care and other issues are discussed.”  “Senator Clinton has received $150,600 in contributions from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, which she accused in 1993 of “price gouging” and “unconscionable profiteering. ”The New York Times  who have endorsed Hillary Clinton for President posted this artical,   Once an Enemy, Health Industry Warms to Clinton on July 12, 2006.”     where the above quotes can be found. 

We will all be mandated to help further increase the profits of medical insurance companies and penalized if we don’t.  Obama didn’t say all people wouldn’t be able to be covered by insurance but that you would have a CHOICE to be covered with affordable insurance and that he would work to bring medical facilities to areas that needed them,  along with working with the medical field to lower costs. Now I ask you, was it Obama’s or Hillary’s health care plan that was written by the healthcare industry?  Who’s this flip floppin’ witch trying to convince?  One hand washes the other as they say.  She still can’t admit she made a mistake voting to go to war. She talks down to all of us and plays us as stupid. She talks of the negative and what can’t be done. She has great experience for playing the same old man politics that has been running Washington and our lives for years.   Is that the kind of experience people want?   

She has pitted one minority group against another. The old man establishment needs this to keep the status quo. Keep the underdogs fighting so they can’t see what we are doing. Toss them a bone here and there and they won’t take away from our feasts.Sakes alive! She sounds like she’s had her plans written by the Republicans. Oh my.I can give you more Hillary flip flops and lies but that’s enough.

Attorney General walking down the hall of the Whitehouse approaching Hill and Bill:

Att. General: President Clinton I have that brief for you.

Hill and Bill: Yes? Come into my Office.

Att. General: Yes sir, err… um Yes MADam!

On a brighter note I spent some time today giving rides to 16 seniors who had no transportation to get to their polling places today. Lovely people. and all said they voted for Obama! NY is not completely Hillary’s!

Peace!

Keiko Matsui – Safari

from www.youtube.com posted with vodpod