tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46280818822505504412024-03-12T19:52:17.059-07:00There's a place I dream aboutContent and pictures owned by Danette Baltzer Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.comBlogger533125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-13472750005320830192021-06-19T13:39:00.001-07:002021-06-19T13:45:22.929-07:00It's time to come home<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been away for a long time. I've been on Facebook Twitter and there is no truth there. Not because I am not willing to tell the truth but because I am boxed in by my different worlds. I have work friends and bosses, family and family friends, old friends and new friends that all know me from different angles. Sigh... it's simply too much pressure. And humorously, they would probably say I was outspoken and they were inspired (or annoyed) by me speaking my truth. And they would all be right. I am outspoken. In some regards. <br /><br />I think I will start here and full disclosure, I posted this to Facebook but I am including some info that I could not post there because my son is on Facebook and I did not want to tell his story there where others in our family would read it or judge it. <br /><br />This is going to be a long post. It’s about mental health, policing, housing and a system that is incapable of true help. It’s a true story but not a complete story. It’s ongoing... complex... and unsolved. I don’t have the answer but I know what isn’t working.<br /><br />My (Black) middle son has significant mental health issues that as a kid made it impossible to do homework, function in class or participate in sports. He has been treated for mental health issues since he was 5 and been in the hospital more than once for trying to kill himself. As a child he would throw hours long temper tantrums. H O U R S long. Sometimes as long as 6 hours. He was known to sit and bang his head on the door and scream and cry. I took him to thereapists and child psychiatrists and we tried any number of meds and techniques. He was diagnosed with Sensory Integration disorder and they recommended brushing and pulling his arms, having him suck on straws. <br /><br />Nope. <br /><br />He was diagnosed with Mood disorder-- unspecified (they said in children they couldn't say Bi-polar which is probably best as he isn't and I have a better sense of what he is now) but that meant they tried all kinds of mood stabilizers, non of which worked. <br /><br />In 4th grade they kicked him out because he kept taking off and hiding when he became overwhelmed. Later in middle school he was referred to the Mental Health Corp of Denver to their treatment center because the special needs department at his large public school couldnt help him. <br /><br />It wasn’t long before MHCD kicked him out because THEY couldn’t manage his behaviors.<br /><br />As an adult the situation worsened. His inability to control his emotions and process prevents him from him from holding a job, being able to pay bills, maintain a residence, and all the adult things. More problematic is that the general attitude towards mental health in this country is that people should medicate and get their shit together.<br /><br />But medication comes with its own set of problems. They often leave the person out of it or tired all the time (just a few of the side effects) which means it’s still hard to work or keep track of the things you need to do. Many medications used for mental health problems have been in use for a long time and do little to actually help. For example we still administer drugs for bi-polar disorder that we used 30-40 years ago (primary drug of choice is lithium). But lithium can cause blindness in some and has many other terrible side-affects in others. But we don’t care that it doesn’t really help as long as they’re drugged up enough to stop being a nuisance.<br /><br />Ultimately, the expectation is that families should take care of their struggling family members. But for all the advice and all the tips& strategies I was given over the years, I was not capable of helping him calm himself down, learn to think things through and handle the next situation better. So, fifteen years later, many of the same issues trigger him into a deep depression, or worse, into aggressive behavior. <br /><br />Which then leads me to the next problem.... <br /><br />Over the years his teachers, social workers and other professionals always told us to call the police when he was escalating- meaning he was breaking things, yelling or being threatening. And I did a few times- guiltily knowing it could go very poorly for him- for all of us. Mostly the police said there was nothing they could do and I was always relieved that it didn’t result in police taking him away in handcuffs but that was generally when he was younger. There didn’t seem to be anything anyone could do. I certainly don’t feel safe when he is punching walls and telling me he wishes I would die but it never feels criminal either. When he was living with me and I called the police he was always protected by my whiteness, my calm and he was never arrested. However the last time I called the police, they told me I needed to evict him because they weren’t coming to my house anymore.<br /><br />He did move out- out of state and now there is a different situation...<br /><br />Now that he's in relationships with women his own age and they're arguing or he's just being who he is when he's losing it. the police aren't likely to just check and make sure he's not suicidal. They are more likely to assume it's a domestic dispute and he is more likely to get arrested. Generally I hear, “well he has to face the consequences of his behavior” or “he’ll have to learn...” I’m never sure what to say to this. <br /><br />Police are expected to be mental health experts , social workers AND to negotiate highly volatile situations like the Columbine shootings or Aurora shootings and often with less training on these issues than a hair dresser. Mental health crisis are the TOP reason police are called to a scene. In this high stress world MORE of our population are struggling with crippling anxiety and depression and other mental health crisis. We need change. Real change.<br /><br />In my sons case involvement with police has just added difficulty on top of difficulty — he now has to follow court orders, see a PO regularly, find and keep a job and whatever else the court orders. He starts with good intentions and quickly becomes overwhelmed and then either gives up, or worse, looses it again- which then means he winds up interacting with police again. It’s a terrible vicious cycle. And no real help in sight. Just a vague hope that the medication he has been ordered to take will make him docile enough to stay out of trouble. But will it really help him do the basics? Help him negotiate negative interactions? (or just his inner dialogue that tells him he’s worthless?)help him find and KEEP a job? Pay the rent? Pay the electrical bills? Keep his phone on?<br /><br />The evidence is not on his side.<br /><br />Too many people on our streets are struggling with the same issues* (my son is unhoused btw). Their families can’t live with them. Medication didn’t help enough to enable them to do basic functions in a high functioning society and so they sleep where they can, eat when they can scrounge up enough money- either on the corner with a sign or doing odd jobs- and do what they need to do to stay safe. There is no stand your ground law for the unhoused and the streets are dangerous- not just from other unhoused who may be desperate but also from those who see unhoused people as less than, non-people, and decide to take things in their own hands. Police are either less than helpful or a threat.<br /><br />We live in a troubled world and it is becoming more difficult to negotiate by the day. As I said at the beginning, I don’t have all the answers but I do know that what we’re doing isn’t working and we need to change. We need complex answers to an increasingly complicated issue. I also know we don’t like having to admit the problems are complex. We want simple solutions- follow this diet to lose weight, read this book to become a millionaire, follow these steps to become a happier you.<br /><br />If only life weren’t, well, LIFE....It might be that easy.<br /><br />I hope, before you jump to a knee jerk reaction against calls to defund the police that you find out the details of what they mean. They don’t want to just eliminate police altogether- they want to change what police do. We definitely need police to arrive at a scene like Columbine with the training and experience they need. We don’t need police to deal with a mentally ill person the same way they do Timothy McVay. Better yet they shouldn’t have to get involved. That is part of the defund police plan- having the properly trained person at the scene of our emergencies.<br /><br />*not all unhoused people have mental health problems. Some are caught in other societal problems such as eviction which then makes it incredibly difficult to get another place to live.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x11IuuZQcj4/YM5U9TwanEI/AAAAAAAAnOc/VpY4A4eB-TY1iSPUfx9tw7m4HAZsO6apQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7642.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x11IuuZQcj4/YM5U9TwanEI/AAAAAAAAnOc/VpY4A4eB-TY1iSPUfx9tw7m4HAZsO6apQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_7642.HEIC" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></p>Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-3238563221952158802019-02-24T17:57:00.002-08:002019-02-24T19:59:29.106-08:00Smash the Patriarchy<span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early archeology of Biblical history reveals that there were multiple religions in the Palestinian region well into the early days of the monarchical period, one these being the female goddess Asherah. Biblical references to to Asherah, a goddess who some scholars argue was the consort of El or Yahweh, others argue was the consort of Ba’al, can be found in I Kings 18:19, Genesis 49:25 and 2 Kings 23:4. The worship of Asherah and other deities were seen as “artifacts… a source of inspiration and comfort” rather than “as Pinocchio that might come to life.” Religious leaders of the period would have us believe that sexual depravity was rampant among the pagan religions of the region, in fact, archeology tells us another story. The writers of the early text describe the people as deluded and gullible. They told the people that Yahweh was the one and only god and it is their waywardness, their faithlessness that leads to Yahweh finally turning his back on them.</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is widely seen by scholars as a way to get the people to turn away from the worship of pagan gods and pull them into the national religion of Yahweh and it was, coincidentally, god who ordained the kings of Israel. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Interestingly in later writings, Yahweh is a loner, in sharp contrast to other religions, he has no consort. Most deities of the regions had a female consort but in Judaic mythological imaginings there was no divine female to be by his side. Later Israelites tell the stories of the female divine in the Shekinah and as one scholar points out the text seems to indicates the “Israelites experienced the same goddess-hunger that can be found in peoples and cultures around the world.” Unfortunately, these references to the god-mother have been lost to Judaism and today there is only the barest reference to the feminine deity. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the New Testament, there is little distinction in how they perceive the Father deity although we do see women gaining more prestige in the early church because of their proximity to Jesus and testimony of his teachings. Women were engaged in prophesy and ecstatic experience. However, resistance to women’s leadership in the church follows pretty quickly. Paul writes to the Corinthians and sets all straight with a hierarchical chart, "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." I Corinthians 11:3</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the church gained political power after Constantine’s death bed conversion, the king/god relationship becomes a way for the church to wield political power. Roman emperors shift away from the Pagan gods and there is a move to cleanse Roman society of their deities and the Roman lifestyle- one that allowed men whatever sexual pleasures they desired. whether male or female, while women were largely regulated to serving men. Within the Catholic tradition there is an introduction of the Virgin Mary at this time so the pagan rituals are folded into the new state church but Mary relegates women to motherhood and childbearing rather than giving them a goddess. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pope’s influence over the Kings was potent. In 800 Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish ruler Charlemagne as Roman Emperor, a major step toward establishing what later became known as the Holy Roman Empire: from that date on the Popes claimed the prerogative to crown the Emperor. </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the Pope condemned a king the whole country was condemned to hell. When King Henry the VIII decided he wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (she could not give him a son and he, meanwhile, had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn), what ensued was a major crisis as Henry appealed to the Pope to try and get him to annul his marriage and the Pope attempted to maintain control of the English head of state by disallowing the dissolution of his marriage. Finally Henry broke from the Catholic church and aligned himself with the British reformation. Since this was more for convenience than from doctrinal change of heart, as king he is now the god appointed King and the head of the newly formed church of England but not without great consequence for England which would later become embroiled in a battle between the two religious powers. (Anne Boleyn has been immortalized as a protestant saint for being beheaded for her protestant leanings when in fact she was beheaded when Henry’s roving eye moved elsewhere). </span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-645af050-7fff-77c2-2ce9-6466f36099a7"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the beginning the Biblical myths created a religion that deified a great Patriarch in heaven. If God is in his heaven and is a Father ruling his people, then it is in the nature of things that society be male dominated and later, white since the church was interpreted and translated by Greco-Roman men. Marriage, sex, all societal roles are seen within this context and, as a result, the oppression of women is right and fitting, the natural order. This is so pervasive that even people who do not believe in god are influenced by this ancient patriarchal order. </span></span></div>
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</span>Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-43141103573736872952018-10-28T19:47:00.002-07:002018-10-28T19:47:30.962-07:00In the beginning was the word<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;">"and the Word was with God, and the Word was God</span><span style="background-color: white;">. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him..."</span></span><br />
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I was raised with those words as a foundation to my being. Jesus died for my sins and his Father loved me so much that he sent His Son to die for me so that I could live. It was simple... </div>
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As a woman the image of God as Father meant a lot of really complicated things to me and the connection between the white Father figure in the Bible was something one didn't really need to think about- it just... WAS. The sad reality is that it is so ingrained in the culture that you don't even have to articulate that you think god is white or male but the feeling that God is indeed male and white is just there. </div>
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As I grew older I questioned that belief and it led me away from the church, away from belief in a male deity. Any deity actually. I won't go into a long theological diatribe about my own belief system I have had some thoughts I have been left with today that I thought about posting to FB but it would take up too much of a post and also, it's not necessarily something I want to share with everyone. So for those who clicked on the link, I assume you have some interest. </div>
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If God is our father (and let us admit that the preponderance of images of the all the ancient texts show god as male- the female images that women worshiped in pre-bibical times were wiped out by the men, the men who wrote the bible and the few that are left are quite scant.) then men take on a relationship to God that women don't have. It's undeniable and it's subconscious. Men can try to deny this or reorder how they interact with the people in their lives so they more accurately align with who they believe God is, but the intention is still the same, the Men and God have a particular relationship and it is deeply ingrained in our culture. And that's just one of my observations: Men are too close to being God-like no matter whether you are liberal or conservative- it is deep in the religious psyche. So much so that it infects the non-religious. </div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-58829181066822722112017-12-13T15:41:00.000-08:002017-12-13T15:41:25.239-08:00Breakage<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">You
called me ‘white’ the other night. You called me white and negated everything
our life has been about. You might not have realized what you were doing or
what you were saying but it was the green bile of what separated your father
and I when we were at our worst, fighting about you kids, particularly you- the
son, the heir apparent, and my part in your upbringing. And what would
ultimately lead to divorce.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The last
and most significant time was right after “the sexual harassment” phone call
from your elementary school. The principle called for a meeting about our son.
“He exposed himself to a little girl on the bus” a very disapproving voice
spoke into the ear piece. I was alarmed. Douglas had difficulties with knowing
what boundaries were appropriate in the best of scenarios. He walked away with
strangers and tried to hold hands with people he didn’t know. He exploded over
the slightest discomfiture- real or perceived. Life had been complicated for
him since he was three let alone now as he hit the the pre-teen stages. It’s
not fair that we assumed it was him without asking any questions but he was
already well known for inappropriate behavior and it wasn’t unusual to get a
call from school saying he’d thrown a temper tantrum or run out of the
classroom so here we were- one more thing. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The
problem was that we weren’t quite sure how we were going to get through to him.
Your dad was ranting about how Douglas was going to be labeled a sex offender,
police would be called, he could wind up in jail or even dead, that’s how boys
wind up shot if he didn’t learn to behave… (those were days before Trayvon
Martin and Philando Castile- a time before there was a national conversation-
or avoidance of one depending on who you are talking to- about how many young
black men were killed for being black in America) I agreed hesitantly but
pointed out that the even bigger problem was that we couldn’t seem to get him
to see how his consequences were related to his behavior <b>at all</b>. How was
that going to change now? We were at our wits end when we sat down with the
teachers and she began, “So, we need to talk to you about the incident that
occurred on the bus with Mack.”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Mack? </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">As the
teacher told it you pulled your pants down to show her your underwear. The
school was very alarmed at this “sexual harassment” toward one of the little
girls. I am not one to explain away your behavior, saying you were “just being
a boy” but it was a bit of an overreaction considering that at six years old we
had not yet had occasion to explain to you that exposing or even threatening to
expose yourself to other people, let alone girls, was not appropriate. But
schools don’t really take that into consideration and at the end of the day, it
doesn’t really matter because it falls upon the parents to react appropriately-
or not. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">>This is where being a
sentient being comes into play I suppose. Parents who want their children in
general and boys in particular to act in the world as positive influences and
not as users and takers. As a parent you hope to raise young men and women who
make choices that are human but TRY to think of others. I want to reiterate
here that boys and girls are human. They will make mistakes along the way and
sometimes we learn our most poignant lessons through mistakes. The important
thing is to learn via our mistakes and not become trapped in them OR to repeat
them.<</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In my
mind, the situation then alters. You were and are a smart and sensitive kid. We
could talk to you about your behavior and feel with some sense of security that
you would understand. I knew you might shed a few tears because you got caught
and it was embarrassing, but sometimes embarrassment is as good a consequence
as a kid needs to not try that again. As your dad and I walked out -well, I say
walked but your dad rarely walks. He pounds the pavement as though he has to
beat it into submission. I half trot behind him and climb into my seat and
breathe a sigh of relief, “Well that was a shock, it wasn’t Douglas for once!” </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“I know.
I was surprised too.”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">We both
laughed a little at the mistake. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“Yeah, it
kind of changes how we’ll handle things. Mack can understand the situation a
little better although I think they kind of overreacted considering he’s six.
But we need to have the conversation with him…” </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“He
definitely needs to know better. This stuff isn’t going to cut it. He needs to
know that a black man can’t get away with that. He could wind up in jail.”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">WOAH! I
thought we’d were in agreement that our youngest had more sense than to do
something that would get him put in jail. Aside from that, was he really saying
that the only thing that was important was to make our child, or for that
matter any of our children, afraid of the police. What if the police weren’t
around? Wasn’t your behavior as a basic HUMAN important? </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“Well
yeah,” I fumbled with my thoughts a bit. I have always felt like I’m on my back
foot at moments like this. “It’s important that he doesn’t do anything that is
going to get him in trouble but it’s more important to raise him just to be a
good person. I mean just putting the fear of the police in him isn’t enough…”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“You have
no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” His voice raised was more intense
then I liked dealing with and the dread that came over me was a familiar one.
“He can’t run around doing things that are going to get him in trouble with the
police. You have no idea what it’s like.”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“I have
no idea… “ I have no idea? I’ve been the one to bail him out multiple times
through the past 15 years. I have been the one who talked to him on the phone
while he was in tears as he sat in the holding cell until we could figure out
how to pay because his own family wouldn’t help, and I had no idea…?? “Listen
all I am saying is, that can’t be the only thing. I mean yes, it’s important to
raise him to abide by the law and to keep himself out of trouble, but he also
just needs to be a good person, a force for positive in the world and that
isn’t going to happen if all we’re focused on is making him afraid of the
police. I want my son...”<br />
“Don’t tell me how to raise my son. I am raising the boys.”</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“<b>Your</b>
boys?” </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“You don’t know how to raise
black boys. I am raising the boys. You stay out of it.” Because I was
white </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">was the
unspoken end of that phrase. I’d heard it before. It had come up when he wanted
to pull out the ace and take the hand to win the “game” and he always wanted to
win. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“Don’t
know about raising boys…?” The words made their way up my tightened throat but
they were stuck in my soul. Sixteen years of compromise, tears, humiliation and
isolation strangled me. Why was I still doing this? Why was this my life?
</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And now I
sit here in the darkness, the labor of eleven years healing wiped out and olds
wounds were now bleeding profusely. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“You
don’t understand, you’re white…” </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">I wanted
to burst back in your room, grab you by the ears and say “I’m your mother. I
understand more than you think I do and I have carried my share of the burden,
even if it was by choice.” But I kept my tongue. No Bandaids tonight. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-contextual-alternates: no; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-18671367348770917692017-02-20T18:44:00.000-08:002017-02-20T19:13:26.727-08:00[Sugar doesn't] really fix anything, except for everything.”*So the hardest part of letting go of sugar in your diet is the initial cravings you feel. It takes approximately a month to clean your body of the toxins that keep you addicted to sugar. <span style="text-align: center;">It takes a high level of commitment to your body and healthy living to decide you want to clean up your eating, However, I will PROMISE you, it's worth it! There are diets out there that you can follow or you can set out on your own. If you do it on your own, you might want to see if you can find a buddy to do it with as it's not an easy life change and support is critical. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RdgGmBQ35UQ/WKuQpK_hkUI/AAAAAAAAUe0/65t1r-_EWOcocKmH6YirlZzwTt0j5ZctACKgB/s1600/IMG_2483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RdgGmBQ35UQ/WKuQpK_hkUI/AAAAAAAAUe0/65t1r-_EWOcocKmH6YirlZzwTt0j5ZctACKgB/s320/IMG_2483.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Shopping is a whole new adventure as it means reading a lot of labels if you want to eat anything that comes in a bottle or is pre-packaged. Even many (or most) organic foods have added sugars in them and if you want to clean up your eating, that's the first thing you want to tackle. I was surprised when I found out that even meats like bacon and ham are usually cured with sugar. The important thing to make sure and do is to eat things you enjoy AND to eat plenty of fruits. I am a fairly picky eater and I don't like a lot of the vegetables that many enjoy but keeping to the foods that I do enjoy has made this journey so much easier. </div>
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One thing I thoroughly enjoy every day is a hot cup of chai, especially in the winter. In the summer I am more likely to have iced tea but the creamy sweetness of chai is something I wasn't willing to eliminate from my diet. Fortunately, chai is delicious and even made more tasty by adding honey. I also use 100% real Maple syrup for sweetening some of the foods that I make in order to keep from slipping back into my addiction. As a migraineur honey is a great substitute as it is also an ant-inflammatory. I make a delicious granola once in a while with maple syrup as the sweetener. </div>
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I hope it's a challenge your ready to take! And as a bonus, here's a recipe that I love for a bean soup:</div>
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1 lb dry black beans (or 1/2 black beans, 1/2 red beans). </div>
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8 c. of water</div>
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1 yellow onion</div>
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1/2 green pepper</div>
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1/2 red pepper</div>
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3 lg cloves of garlic</div>
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1 jalepeno pepper finely chopped</div>
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1/2 -1 tsp of cumin </div>
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1 tsp thyme</div>
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1 tsp sea salt</div>
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1/2 tsp pepper</div>
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2 bay leaves</div>
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1 T. basil </div>
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dash of cayenne pepper</div>
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dash of red pepper flakes</div>
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1 lb. of raw chicken (breast or chicken legs)</div>
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Cook the "fast" way according to directions on package (takes beans about 3 hours to cook fully) or in a crockpot for up to 8 hours)</div>
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Add water as necessary. </div>
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Serve with sour cream and/or grated cheddar cheese. I also serve it on top of brown rice. (white rice has too many starches and has been connected to an increase in diabetes). </div>
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The Pampered Chef Rockcrok is a great way to make this recipe and it comes with a s<a href="https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/dbaltzer">low cooker set</a> which is available March 1st! </div>
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*quote from<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4463656.Ashly_Lorenzana" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Ashly Lorenzana</a></div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-49845126060094919902017-01-24T14:59:00.002-08:002017-02-20T20:51:03.584-08:00You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in. <span id="docs-internal-guid-2ab8b8db-5efd-0a04-dbe1-6d1f7291fe46"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2ab8b8db-5efd-ade5-43b9-6ec5f9ee2d2f"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I talked a little about releasing weight in my last post- and I mentioned the 5 letter word that can surprisingly bring out the fight in a lot of people. I say this because I am on a Migraine support group on Facebook and I know that whenever the issue of sugar is brought up, people immediately get angry. On other posts on nutrition, you see the same kind of reaction. Perhaps you aren't surprised by this, but I was. I knew I ate a lot of sugar but I didn't realize just how much until I started looking at ALL the food I eat. But before I get into specifics about what I have done to change my diet, it's important to look at WHY and HOW it came to be that sugar was such a mainstay in our diets. In September 2015, I read an article on (what else) migraines and how sugar is an inflammatory. The idea suddenly struck a chord with me and I began tossing out dietary changes in my mind. A friend of mine had eliminated sugar in her own diet so I talked to her about my thoughts. She recommended that I watch 'That Sugar Film' to get more information. What I learned was fascinating... </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1955, the government started looking at what causes people to gain weight after Senator George McGovern had a heart attack. He decided it was time for recommendations that would help people know what to eat to prevent heart disease. The intent was good. The result was not good. Two scientists were at the forefront of the argument at the time: </span><a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/2/449S.full" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ancel Keys</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was one of the scientists who argued that fat was the leading cause of heart disease and unwanted weight gain. On the other side of the discussion was </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Yudkin</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He looked at the dietary history of humans, the the data on heart disease and he was struck by its correlation with the consumption of sugar, not fat. Keys' study was flawed because he shown a correlation between heart disease and saturated fat, but he had not excluded the possibility that heart disease was being caused by something else. Unfortunately the institutional power and the money was behind Keys and fat was demonized. The food industry responded by cutting back on fat in food and increasing the sugar to improve the taste. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I initially began my journey, I was having a migraine 2-3 times a week and that was in spite of taking 3 preventatives. They weren't always migraines that kept me from working or from activities but it did always affect my day. And it did mean I was taking too much pain relief- a medication that reduces the vascular inflammation associated with migraines but also carries with it very ugly side effects. But the preventatives themselves also affected my daily activities. I took two seizure meds and though they kept me from having debilitating migraines, they caused a great deal of spaciness and lack of concentration. There were also other side effects that I wasn't able to track as easily, like the potential for gall bladder problems. All of this added up to my desire to find another way to address my migraines.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I still wasn't sure but it was worth a shot! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Migraine brain (without the pain)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-2ab8b8db-5f01-8643-bab5-e86e10280e7e"></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*This is a really brief summary of what occurred but you can learn more by going to this </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">article</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or reading the book </span><a href="http://thatsugarfilm.com/books/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That Sugar Book</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Damon Gameau or watch the film 'That Sugar Film' for a more entertaining look at the topic. </span></div>
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Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com014292 E Hawaii Cir c, Aurora, CO 80012, USA39.685916 -104.8221929999999714.163881499999999 -146.13078699999997 65.2079505 -63.513598999999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-8928271276875648842017-01-16T10:16:00.002-08:002017-02-20T20:49:02.045-08:00“How did it get so late so soon?” Dr Seuss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2ab8b8db-5f00-27a1-945b-d2fab6edf198" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been away so long that I'd almost forgotten how to log on! I've been absent because I have been doing a lot of social networking for my workplace. I post 3-4 times a week and it takes quite a lot of creative energy to figure out what I'm going to post, checking on other library system's posts, commenting and saving things I might want to post later. It's been a pretty interesting process as almost all of my networking has been on Facebook- which I swore I would never use- but then my boss asked me to be the Facebook administrator for our branch and unable to say "no" I was soon quite busy trying to get new followers for our new page. Through this process I found it a good learning experience and hopefully the things I learned there will assist me as I blog here again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, the focus of my blog is going to change. While I would LOVE for it to be a platform for advertising my writing, I have not yet found a publisher for my book and I am not really planning on self-publishing any time soon. I am writing a children's book so perhaps that will be something that I can put in focus in the future. In the meantime, I am going to use my blog to discuss something else that people may find interesting: Weight-loss! Or as book I read stated it, releasing unwanted weight. The point is you don't want to "lose" weight because that implies that it can be found again. And indeed nearly all (if not all) weight-loss programs wind up with the person who participates in their programs gaining the weight back if not adding extra pounds. The key to really releasing weight according to most </span><a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1730520" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dietary experts</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is to change your lifestyle.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well since October of 2016, I have done just that and in the process I have lost 50 lbs and I have reduced my migraines by more than 50% (which some of you may remember have been a huge problem for me) AND not only am I keeping it off but I continue to drop weight slowly but surely without thinking about it. It's not magic and it's not a breeze, I'm not going to kid you, but it does work and you will feel better then you have in a long time once you have fully engaged in the lifestyle changes I am going to challenge you with. And it's definitely a journey not a prescribed program.</span></div>
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<br />Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-62948417516471742982016-04-23T10:52:00.002-07:002016-04-23T10:54:07.341-07:00Spine PoetryApril is poetry month and a work challenge was to create a poetry out of book titles,,,<br />
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Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-30543413383318017862015-12-26T14:11:00.001-08:002015-12-26T14:14:32.171-08:00Going in to the New Year<div class="mobile-photo">
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Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-17620167185324721372015-10-18T19:59:00.002-07:002015-10-18T19:59:45.386-07:00Just for a few laughs... <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you do this?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laughing so hard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photobombing already! We were supposed to be in the picture together!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My daughter Cassidy (Leyla's mommy), Leyla, and me</td></tr>
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<br />Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-85319090415855528472015-08-23T20:16:00.003-07:002015-08-23T20:30:24.512-07:00What is the cost?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It wasn't what I'd thought life would be like, watching my daughter lying in the hospital room while she mumbles that she wants to go home or she loves her dad. My nose is plugged with the emotion I've bottled up, the occasional tear drifting down only from happenstance rather than emotion. The bars on her bed are the only thing keeping me from curling up on the bed next to her and finally allowing the tears to flow.<br />
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"Hey Mom" Her voice is almost a whisper. "what are you doing here?"<br />
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"I came to make sure you were okay, of course, silly." I brush back the hair from her forehead and give her a small kiss.<br />
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"Oh I'm fine." She reaches out to me with her mummy wrapped arm and grabs my hand. "jusss fine. I'm just sooooo tired. I don't know what they gave me but I could sleeeee----p alllll....."<br />
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"You sleep. I'm going to sit here for a while and make sure you're okay. I will have to leave in a while to go back to work but I wanted to come see you and make sure you were okay."<br />
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"Thank you mommy. I love you."<br />
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"I love you too hon." I sit back to watch her sleep thinking she would slip into quiet unconsciousness but her head tosses back and forth as she moved into immediate restless delusion. <br />
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"Don't call me a liar. I'm not" She is talking loudly but the dream is her companion. "Hit. Don't hit..."<br />
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"He's gone, hon" Her eyes are still closed, involved in the conversation of her nightmare. "Shhhh." I console with little result. "I love you. Just relax."<br />
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The nurse peeps in and notes that the doctor will want to see her alone in a few moments to check vitals, says her condition is stable, alcohol levels are low enough that she is out of danger and the cuts on her arm were stitched up and she'd have scars but she could probably be released under parent supervision later today when she is sober enough. I'm skeptical but relieved.<br />
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I lean back into the chair, trying to relax but the muscles are taut with anxiety and apprehension. Too much, Too many times. Too hard to bear. I'd made mistakes. I know I did. I made mistakes that couldn't be unraveled but it's too much to think that it started with that day sitting on that doorstep in my wedding dress, wondering, dreading, but telling myself it was the Right thing to do. It was What the Church Wanted. It was what the Parents Wanted. It was what my Baby needed. It was what GOD wanted. It was what was RIGHT. And as a result it would all work out. right? RIGHT????<br />
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IT would right???????? Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-48991106583857305732015-07-03T15:10:00.005-07:002015-07-03T15:10:36.362-07:00Am I back?I have no idea. <div>
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I have been without a computer for a long while and before that my computer screen had dead pixels and it was getting harder and harder to do any writing on it. I temporarily have an older computer to work on but it's got 3 gigs of RAM and it keeps telling me that I don't have enough memory to do the things I'm doing on it (BOO!). But I can't very well complain when the computer was semi free so I will make due for now. </div>
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I've been missing the blogging world and have been pleased to find a few of my blogging friends on Facebook even though it's not quite the same dynamic there. I don't post a lot personally but I am an administrator for my library's FB page so I've taken a lot of the social networking lessons I've learned here and applied them there. I thank you all for the advice you've offered freely because I've felt like I had a lot to offer when I was asked to be the administrator there. </div>
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I've also learned a few things from the Social Networking professional they hired to teach us how to more effectively use social network. One lesson she hammered away at is that to promote yourself successfully you have to post frequently. She recommended at least 5 times a day. Post on a variety of topics- being safely controversial is always good but not so controversial or offensive that you scare people off. That was one lesson I'd already learned from my years blogging but not one I am always good at remembering :) </div>
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Cute pictures and sentimental posts always catch a lot of people's eyes.... Let's see. I know I'm missing some but I think all my blogging friends can add to the list of things they have learned over the years- so... </div>
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<b>What have you learned about social networking that you would tell a new person if you were giving a seminar? </b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RM2d97b5Mgc/VZcH_gp1I9I/AAAAAAAAL0U/dQSKNnh4gDg/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RM2d97b5Mgc/VZcH_gp1I9I/AAAAAAAAL0U/dQSKNnh4gDg/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" /></a></div>
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(Obligatory cute baby picture to catch your attention. My granddaughter. )<b> </b></div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-64877180065218479052015-03-20T09:47:00.001-07:002015-03-20T11:03:39.885-07:00Happy Vernal Equinox<style type="text/css"> @font-face { font-family: 'Roboto Light'; font-style: normal; font-weight: 300; src: local('Roboto Light'), local('Roboto-Light'), url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v14/Hgo13k-tfSpn0qi1SFdUfYX0hVgzZQUfRDuZrPvH3D8.woff2) format('woff2'); unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2212, U+2215, U+E0FF, U+EFFD, U+F000; } @font-face { font-family: 'Roboto Regular'; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; src: local('Roboto Regular'), local('Roboto-Regular'), url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v14/oMMgfZMQthOryQo9n22dcn-_kf6ByYO6CLYdB4HQE-Y.woff2) format('woff2'); unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2212, U+2215, U+E0FF, U+EFFD, U+F000; } @font-face { font-family: 'Roboto Medium'; font-style: normal; font-weight: 500; src: local('Roboto Medium'), local('Roboto-Medium'), url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v14/RxZJdnzeo3R5zSexge8UUYX0hVgzZQUfRDuZrPvH3D8.woff2) format('woff2'); unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2212, U+2215, U+E0FF, U+EFFD, U+F000; } @font-face { font-family: 'Roboto Bold'; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; src: local('Roboto Bold'), local('Roboto-Bold'), url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v14/d-6IYplOFocCacKzxwXSOIX0hVgzZQUfRDuZrPvH3D8.woff2) format('woff2'); unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2212, U+2215, U+E0FF, U+EFFD, U+F000; } .preheaderContent a:visited { color: #606060; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; } .headerContent a:visited { color: #EB4102; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; } .footerContent a:visited { color: #606060; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; } </style> <br />
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<tr><td class="spreader25" style="-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; height: 25px; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;"><br /></td> </tr>
<tr><td align="center" class="headerContent" style="-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: #505050; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 100%; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle;" valign="top"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Hi all! I've been away for a while and I'll explain more in another post... in the meantime: Happy first day of spring! Or Happy Vernal Equinox!!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Fun Fact about Spring: There is a persistent myth that at the vernal equinox, and only at the vernal equinox, can you stand a raw egg on its end. There is an equally persistent rebuttal that says it’s not possible at any time to balance a raw egg on its end. Neither assertion is true. With a little patience (or sometimes a lot), you can balance a raw egg on its end at any time of year. The first day of spring has nothing to do with it.</span></td> </tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-saIeY_iG5Vo/U7yC5DBmMFI/AAAAAAAAH-w/8amz2HjNJOk/s1600/20140705_143927-MOTION.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-saIeY_iG5Vo/U7yC5DBmMFI/AAAAAAAAH-w/8amz2HjNJOk/s1600/20140705_143927-MOTION.gif" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Made a gif of my little Leyla. So cute! A little scary though that it did it on it's own. It also makes photo albums of my pictures. Dates and puts the place in for me. Yup, a little scary. </div>
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or like this one, it did a little finishing up on it. Framed it, changed the color... All a little creepy. Someday I'll wake up and my phone will have chosen my outfit for me. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In other news... </span></div>
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I hate to hear this but the Guardian had an article today that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey?CMP=fb_gu">author median incomes</a> are collapsing. The article stated,</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px;">According to a survey of almost 2,500 working writers – the first comprehensive study of author earnings in the UK since 2005 – the median income of the professional author in 2013 was just £11,000, a drop of 29% since 2005 when the figure was £12,330 (£15,450 if adjusted for inflation), and well below the £16,850 figure the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says is needed to achieve a minimum standard of living. The typical median income of all writers was even less: £4,000 in 2013, compared to £5,012 in real terms in 2005, and £8,810 in 2000.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px;">Despite headlines about record-breaking deals – most recently </span><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/06/truth-behind-six-figure-deal-harry-styles-fan-fiction" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="">for a slice of One Direction fan fiction</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px;">, which earned Anna Todd a mid-six-figure deal with Simon & Schuster – the "vast majority" of writers receive advances that are well below the level that would make them equivalent to a salary, said Smythe. "I know very few writers who earn above the Minimum Income Standard, and that means that they need second jobs," said Smythe. "Awards and critical acclaim used to be enough, in the heady days of 1970s </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/publishing" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="More from the Guardian on Publishing">publishing</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px;">. It's simply not, now.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.987144470214844px;">"Most people know that a few writers make a lot of money. This survey tells us about the vast majority of writers, who don't," said Cope. "It's important that the public should understand this – and why it is so important for authors to be paid fairly for their work."</span></blockquote>
I guess for me, this is why it's important to push the value of reading in our society. Those of us who are readers (and writers) assume that the rest of the world are like we are. And even if we have a vague idea that there are fewer people reading we don't take it terribly seriously, because well, we're reading and some people we know are reading so it will be okay. In fact, statistics show that fewer people are reading and fewer people will continue to read unless there is a push give a love of reading back to children. We have drained the life out of it with testing and reading levels and time limits, etc. It's time to give kids back imagination and fun! The love of a good book!!<br />
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In that vein, I remember what gave me a LOVE for reading: my second grade teacher used to read aloud to us. Specifically she read the Boxcar Children and Ramona the Pest. Her dramatic readings took me to the school library where I began my own forays into the many beloved titles.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">What gave you a love for reading? </span></i></div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-22430646418465125372014-06-19T19:17:00.000-07:002014-06-19T19:17:12.868-07:00Favorite Bookstore memories?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333; font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The Guardian had an article today
that I wished I'd responded to today </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jun/18/bookshop-memories-your-pictures-and-stories"><span style="background: white;">Bookshop memories: your pictures and stories</span></a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> but since I have a blog I don't have to write
in to them and just have somebody skim over my part dreaming about their own
memories. I can write it here and then I can ask my blogging friends about
their own bookstore memories. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">So I have two that I will share… The
first is about the Tattered Cover. It is a one of the best bookstores in Denver
and I've enjoyed going there for years. Romantically Maurice and I had our
first date there 9 years ago on June 12<sup>th</sup>. Sadly, this particular
location (which was a great one!) has moved and been changed to a home décor store
and exercise studio. But they are still in three locations around Denver which
we frequent will some regularity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The second is my first big shopping trip buying books. I was preparing to
go to college and I had save money to buy the things I needed for the year
ahead. Most would think mostly about clothes, towels, shampoos… etc, Not me. I
had about $400 (I think). I’d been more or less commanded to set some of that
aside for clothes but the rest I’d designated that toward… books! So I headed
off to the mall to do my shopping and spent a lovely afternoon at Walden books
(back when they had such a thing at the mall). I bought trade paperbacks so that
my small budget would go further (I didn't know how many used bookstores there
were in Denver at that time). Herbert, Hemingway, Hawthorne, Bronte, Austin, and
Tolkien were among the names that were added to my library that day. I was so
thrilled to walk out of the bookstore, my arms filled with some of the best
literature I could find. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">So what about you? Do you have a bookshop memory? I’d love to hear it! <span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-24940861699499699972014-05-25T12:03:00.000-07:002014-05-25T12:03:15.255-07:00The comfort zone... This week has been a week of chaos. I don't remember feeling off my stride in the position I'm in as I have for the past week. We were interviewing for two shelving positions and were short handed. I was trying to get everyone breaks and lunches but that can be tricky when the person you're interviewing is chatty.<br />
<br />
Part of it was The Weather<br />
Tuesday hail started pouring down and pummeling cars. (I was checking on my car a bit anxiously- it's in the back of the lot)<br />
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Sirens were going off and we all headed to the community room for 30-45 minute intervals. All in all we got to have this much fun three times this week with 7 tornadoes being spotted in the Denver area on Wednesday. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/05/21/denver-colorado-area-socked-by-extreme-hailstorm-tornadoes/">Washington Post</a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We are not in Tornado Alley and I can't remember ever having this many tornado warnings this many days in a row. It was reminded me of being a kid in Oklahoma and Kansas! To top it off we had a meeting I'd forgotten with our new manager on Wednesday (tornado day) when we also had interviews and that afternoon I was asked to cover... </span></div>
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<a href="http://kids.denverlibrary.org/assets/fun/storiesbaby.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://kids.denverlibrary.org/assets/fun/storiesbaby.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Book Babies is our singing/story time for 0-2 year old and I've never even been in the room during that time. But we had no one else to do it and it needed to be done on Friday. Now I'm not a complete novice... I taught pre-school back in... deep time. But I haven't hokey pokied in ages so I was going to have to limber up and ungrease those wheels. I've been spending my working hours counting beans, making the schedule, and making sure stuff is getting done. I am not used to playtime at work. Major brain shift. To make it more complicated I was making a deposit just before I went in to play and my deposit was short! GACK!!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To end the week on a further uncomfortable note, a job posting came up for a new position in a different library system. It's a little nerve wrecking even thinking about putting in an application but sometimes you have to stretch your wings... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Speaking of which, time to do some editing and writing. What new things are coming your way? </span></div>
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Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-23241240556798091622014-05-12T14:41:00.001-07:002014-05-12T14:46:59.012-07:00snow, snow go away. come again in the NEXT IN SEVERAL MONTHS!!!!! <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-np2Kcp_AI_c/U3E_ojTLFjI/AAAAAAAAGRI/6fY-Kgucmm4/s1600/20140512_084034-SNOW.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-np2Kcp_AI_c/U3E_ojTLFjI/AAAAAAAAGRI/6fY-Kgucmm4/s1600/20140512_084034-SNOW.gif" height="320" width="240" /></a> </div>
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It's almost mid May! This snow needs to vamoose!!! </div>
Looking at the
average temps for Denver this morning, it's not that it's unusual for
Denver to get the last frost in May. But the average last frost is April
28 and for the last 10 years more of those days are falling later and
later. Weather is definitely chaotic here! <br />
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I'm sorry folks, get on board
with climate change. Even Shell Oil, BP and the other oil companies
admit it's real, they're just planning on profiting on the misery of
those who can't protect themselves. </div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-66900797127135356092014-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:002014-04-27T18:41:25.879-07:00Humpty Dumpty...It would be too much of a cliche to say my mind was elsewhere. Ha! Who doesn't get behind the wheel and half a block down, their mind is already midway through the day, planning lunch, thinking about phone calls that need to be made, or the to-do list that you'd write if only you could write legibly while writing?<br />
Might try it just this once...?<br />
Or get that phone call out of the way if the phone is just within reach..."<br />
Glancing up, a blurred look at the cars in front of me and over to the seat as reach over for my coat. Failing to find the object I was looking for in the fleeting moment I thought it was safe to try. I look back at the street. Red light. Cars chestnut lights in front of me. Too close. <br />
Foot down!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To the floor! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Brake!</span><br />
oh my god<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">OH MY GOD!!!!!!!</span><br />
<i>im in one piece. </i><br />
Okay. I'm...<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">okay</span><br />
<b>You okay? </b><br />
It's all business from there. Calls to insurance. Exchange of information. A tow? <br />
It wasn't till later when I thought through the driving classes I've taken lately for work. The reminders of how fast it happens.<br />
It will never happen to me. It happened to me. Just a glance. I looked. I didn't see. The light didn't register. Too distracted and I was multitasking.<br />
Lesson learned. And learned hard.<br />
Did you know that talking on a cell phone is as bad <a href="http://www.cellphonesafety.org/vehicular/era.htm">as being drunk</a>? And people get in accidents all the time while driving distracted from eating or putting on makeup. <a href="http://www.safeny.ny.gov/drow-ndx.htm">Sleeping</a> is also as bad as being under the influence.<br />
Well, so now I have this cute little car: <br />
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But I didn't have car payments before.<br />
SighDanettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-10437730774562860702014-04-13T20:45:00.000-07:002014-04-13T20:45:25.106-07:00Spring showers... <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lead to snow here in Colorado </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(and eventually spring flowers)</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It never fails. We need the moisture, no doubt about it but I am ready for spring and I've been reveling in the early blooms I've seen here and there. Today while the snow is falling outside my window, I was editing some of the pictures I took last year to brighten a gloomy day.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYOD1KrFGpo/U0syoMoysrI/AAAAAAAAFvo/5IcSxhaDDJk/s1600/100_6087-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYOD1KrFGpo/U0syoMoysrI/AAAAAAAAFvo/5IcSxhaDDJk/s1600/100_6087-001.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A wild columbine- so rare to spot. It's scientific name: "<i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"><b>Aquilegia</b></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> (common names: </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Granny's Bonnet</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> or </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Columbine</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">) is a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Genus">genus</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> of about 60-70 </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Species">species</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plant" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Perennial plant">perennial plants</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> that are found in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Meadow">meadows</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Woodland">woodlands</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_(botany)" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Spur (botany)">spurred</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> petals </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">of their </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Flower">flowers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">The </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Blue_Columbine" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Colorado Blue Columbine">Colorado Blue Columbine</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> (</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">A. caerulea</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">) is the official </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_flower" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="State flower">state flower</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Colorado">Colorado</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">.* </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">There is of course a whole sad reference to the Columbine which I won't recount here but the flower is undeserving of such remembrance. It is a beautiful, graceful flower that graces the landscape it dwells in. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A wild rose- "<i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"><b>Rosa arkansana</b></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> (</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Prairie Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> or </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Wild Prairie Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">; </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonymy" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Synonymy">syn.</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">R. pratincola</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">R. suffulta</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">,</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">R. suffulta</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> var. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">relicta</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">) is a species of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Rose">rose</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> native to a large area of central </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="North America">North America</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, between the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Appalachian Mountains">Appalachian</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Rocky Mountains">Rocky Mountains</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> from </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Alberta">Alberta</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Manitoba">Manitoba</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatchewan" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Saskatchewan">Saskatchewan</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> south to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="New Mexico">New Mexico</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Texas">Texas</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Indiana">Indiana</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">."*</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">The rose has a whole section in Wikipedia which discuses it's symbolism but just briefly I thought it's classic symbolism was interesting. Isis was just one of the goddesses to whom the rose was sacred. Her rose appears in the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">late classical allegorical novel</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><i style="color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Ass" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="The Golden Ass">The Golden Ass</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">as "the sweet Rose of reason and virtue" and saves the hero from his bewitched life in the form of a donkey.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 13.333333015441895px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">The ancient</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Greeks">Greeks</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">identified the rose with the goddess of love, Aphrodite as did the Romans with their goddess of love, Venus. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">"In</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Rome">Rome</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where secret or confidential matters were discussed. The phrase </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_rosa" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Sub rosa">sub rosa</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">, or "under the rose", means to keep a secret — derived from this ancient Roman practice."*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And this is a beautiful flower we have growing in our front garden- the Poppy. "P<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">oppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Papaver somniferum">Papaver somniferum</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> produces edible seeds, and is also the source of the crude drug </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Opium">opium</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Morphine">morphine</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> and has been used since ancient time as analgesic and narcotic medininal and recreational drugs."* Not this one though. It's a common poppy and simply provides beauty. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qh8SegPvjQo/U0tZVVyRHoI/AAAAAAAAFwA/fMFitp-cdn8/s1600/100_6058-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qh8SegPvjQo/U0tZVVyRHoI/AAAAAAAAFwA/fMFitp-cdn8/s1600/100_6058-001.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">However, reading on... "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: Sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of the common blood-red color of the red poppy in particular. In Greek and Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">Poppies used as emblems on</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headstone" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Headstone">tombstones</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">symbolize eternal sleep. This symbolism was evoked in the children's novel</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"> </span><i style="color: #252525; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="The Wonderful Wizard of Oz">The Wonderful Wizard of Oz</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 21px;">, in which a magical poppy field threatened to make the protagonists sleep forever.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">A second interpretation of poppies in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_mythology" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" title="Classical mythology">Classical mythology</a><span style="line-height: 21px;"> is that the bright scarlet colour signifies a promise of resurrection after death.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 13.333333015441895px;">"*</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_arkansana">Wikipedia</a></span>Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-1154225118641440902014-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:002014-04-06T10:31:20.401-07:00A is for April<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm not doing the A-Z challenge. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FngYqxjmYno/U0GOn54g4RI/AAAAAAAAFmk/DuERpmNxkfw/s1600/20140401_130431-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FngYqxjmYno/U0GOn54g4RI/AAAAAAAAFmk/DuERpmNxkfw/s1600/20140401_130431-001.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I'm just excited that spring is here!</span></div>
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<br />Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-86472199068723672032014-02-01T08:44:00.001-08:002014-02-01T08:59:07.051-08:00The awe factor<p dir="ltr">Well I can't help myself! I had to share the news that I have a new baby granddaughter- Leyla-Rae. </p>
<p dir="ltr">She is a week old and already lifting her head to see what's happening in the world. I'm planning visits to the museum for a few weeks from now to begin filling the little mind with the wonders of the world- I'm kidding, of course but I do plan on taking her early and letting her play in the Space room and romp among the dinosaur bones. I plan on having many happy hours teaching her fun stuff about mummies and tombs. Such fun! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Its lovely to have such good news right now because its still been rather bleak around here. I am hoping springtime will cheer me up- as it usually does. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-E7yVOXJ0UUE/Uu0nMQWFt3I/AAAAAAAAFPw/HPr0iqjlS7Q/s1600/download_20140131_215429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-E7yVOXJ0UUE/Uu0nMQWFt3I/AAAAAAAAFPw/HPr0iqjlS7Q/s640/download_20140131_215429.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DBfvSMWEVB0/Uu0nNwW98XI/AAAAAAAAFP4/ognlqhr9juI/s1600/download_20140131_152507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DBfvSMWEVB0/Uu0nNwW98XI/AAAAAAAAFP4/ognlqhr9juI/s640/download_20140131_152507.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D1IX5G3EEjY/Uu0n16cCmiI/AAAAAAAAFQA/5seT3mYPJoQ/s1600/download_20140129_101433%25257E2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D1IX5G3EEjY/Uu0n16cCmiI/AAAAAAAAFQA/5seT3mYPJoQ/s640/download_20140129_101433%25257E2.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ypaiwRTQqCQ/Uu0n2dFSBRI/AAAAAAAAFQI/JkrgaNvbaWg/s1600/download_20140128_165815%25257E3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ypaiwRTQqCQ/Uu0n2dFSBRI/AAAAAAAAFQI/JkrgaNvbaWg/s640/download_20140128_165815%25257E3.jpg"> </a> </div>Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com8Cory - Merrill, Denver39.690426 -104.94765tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-44926819262486783012014-01-18T07:47:00.000-08:002014-01-18T09:09:43.747-08:00Why Insurance in America sucks pt. 4 (this time I'll be brief) and... Actually this isn't so much about insurance as medical care because in general the problem is medical care- which includes dental. Part of the reason that medical care sucks in the United States of America is that there are too many hidden costs and you don't find out about them until after the fact.<br />
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You don't find out that your insurance won't pay for a new dentist in the office you've been going to for years until after he's done a full round of X-Rays on your mouth because you assumed that the office took your insurance when in fact it apparently depends doc by doc. You have to ask! Buyer beware!! <br />
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You can't find out the doctor's office is going to charge you for the experimental treatments they offered (or how much!) so that you can decide if you want to buy the device the doctor is recommending (not covered by insurance) until weeks after you had the appointment because in some cases the front office doesn't even know- their billing office makes those decisions.<br />
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You can't find out the difference in cost of one emergency room visit from another- so unlike other markets you can't shop around. But that's not how the "free market" is supposed to work: i.e. I can go from one car dealer to another to find out who is going to offer me the best deal or if Argonaut Liquor is offering a wine on sale I can get Keg Liquor to give me the same wine for the same price. But you usually won't/<b>can't</b> find medical care costs up front and can't choose which is going to be cheapest or ask them to give it to you for the same price. And no, you don't always get the best value for your money. I mean after all, a urine analysis is what it is. Do you need to pay $500 more for it at one hospital than at another?<br />
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So that's all I'm going to say about that. For now. Except that I think we are all suckers for not screaming at our government to give us a single payer option and giving it to us now. They can pay for wars that go on and on and on without any kind of result and not bat an eye but doing the right thing on healthcare is too expensive. Well, that's not the reason, I know, but I am not going into a political rant right now. :)<br />
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Quack, Quack. <br />
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It's been pretty dry and fairly warm here (except for a couple of days when we dipped down with the whole country into the ungodly cold temperatures a few weeks back) and there's not a whole lot of snow around. We could go on some nice walks except for my shoulder still makes it difficult so these are pictures taken from last year...<br />
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<b>What I'm reading? </b> <br />
I've finished reading a friend's novel right now and giving him some feedback. It's a good solid literary work and I hope he finds a publisher although it's a struggle out there as we all know. <br />
Hope things are going well where you are!<br />
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Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-22606896638618722162013-12-31T16:35:00.003-08:002013-12-31T17:30:12.379-08:00GOODBYE TO 2013! & why not promote literature and defend free expression?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Happy New Year!! And just to get things started right I
thought I'd share a few thoughts... so 2013 is finally leaving and I for one am
happy to see it go. Goodbye to the worst year I can ever remember. There are a
few challenges ahead because 2013 brought the loss of a colleague at work from
domestic violence, a frozen shoulder which I am still recovering from (<i>6
weeks of Physical Therapy and making some progress but a ways to go</i>),
migraines that intensified to a ridiculous level, some difficult challenges for
my</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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daughter which I've described <a href="http://conch-to-be.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-crazy-one.html">here</a> and
some frustrations at work which are not ending but I hope I will either adjust
to, the changes ahead will make things better or... maybe I'll find a new job? At any rate, there are still things to deal with but it was a pretty bleak year. </span></h1>
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<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">But the sun is setting on all that (<i>get it, the picture is of the setting sun?- haha</i>) Sorry. </span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"> Since the
shoulder is on the recovering end, I know that I am on the upside of that and
the migraines seem to be improving with my new device which I've also told you
about <a href="http://conch-to-be.blogspot.com/2013/10/hope-for-migraine-sufferers.html">here</a>. My older daughter is having a baby in January so there are some
good things coming and I am just crossing my fingers “All shall be well,
and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well." Hope
springs eternal as they say.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">I'm just full of cliches today. </span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">So let's have a glass of champagne and hope for a better year together!</span></h1>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MrFoRiBQAts/UsNifS1dJjI/AAAAAAAAExg/H6vtWG3Z43k/s1600/100_6006-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MrFoRiBQAts/UsNifS1dJjI/AAAAAAAAExg/H6vtWG3Z43k/s320/100_6006-001.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">From the <a href="http://tumblr.libraryjournal.com/">Library
Journal</a> tumblr site: "Librarians at Oakland’s main library have collected the
scraps of paper ephemera left behind in returned books, shoved into nooks in
the library shelves or secretly slipped to librarians."</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span>
</h1>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/25/42/72/5648034/3/628x471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/25/42/72/5648034/3/628x471.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 18.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Finally as an FYI... </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Support
PEN American Center</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Any
amount you donate to PEN by December 31 will enter you in a drawing to receive
two full-access tickets to PEN's Tenth Annual World Voices Festival, April
28-May 4, 2014.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span></h1>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">PEN American Center is a global
community of writers working to promote literature and to defend free
expression.Check them out at <a href="http://www.pen.org/">www.Pen.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Contributions provide
unrestricted operating support, helping make possible a broad range of advocacy
and literary programming. No amount is too small. </span><br />
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<![endif]-->Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-65645575253031051892013-12-25T09:14:00.001-08:002013-12-25T09:18:31.753-08:00Merry Christmas!<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWJ3MPPZu3w/UrsSlDG8uDI/AAAAAAAAExE/KGSJ_wP7jQE/s1600/image-799398.gif"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5961378959453894706" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWJ3MPPZu3w/UrsSlDG8uDI/AAAAAAAAExE/KGSJ_wP7jQE/s640/image-799398.gif" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you're having a lovely day where ever you are! </span><br /> </div>
Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628081882250550441.post-49548289965976027642013-10-27T19:55:00.003-07:002013-10-27T21:07:32.667-07:00literary conspriracy theory countdown <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I won't say I'm a proponent of
all of the theories I will post in the days running up to Halloween but this
first one has always been a mystery and a bit horrifying considering who the
victim was...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">So, let’s just look at the facts
shall we?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/projects&evals/sem2_mag1/chantellemag/poe_pic.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/projects&evals/sem2_mag1/chantellemag/poe_pic.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">On October 3, 1849, Edgar
Allan Poe was wandering the streets of Baltimore delirious, he was later
described as being "in great distress, and... in need of immediate
assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker. Rushed by
carriage to the Washington Medical College, he died alone that hospital on
Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the morning.<sup id="cite_ref-Meyers255_70-0"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></sup>Odd
enough that Poe was in Baltimore (he was headed for Philadelphia) but the author
of the macabre was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in
his dire condition or... <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">why he was</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wearing clothes that were not his own</b>? According
to witnesses, Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name
"Reynolds" on the night before his death although it was not clear to
whom he was referring.<sup id="cite_ref-71"> </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Newspapers at the time reported the author's death as
"congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation",
common euphemisms for deaths from disreputable causes such as alcoholism. Though
Poe was known to drink to excess he was not a hopeless alcoholic<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4628081882250550441#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>,
it is unlikely that his drinking him brought him to a strange city in strange
clothes where he would die for unknown reasons. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I have always thought, since I wrote
a paper on Poe in high school, that there was foul play but since all medical
records, including his death certificate, have been lost since that time and
Poe’s death remains shrouded in mystery.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://31.media.tumblr.com/4155a947c9f3cc7271e6c7056983ad99/tumblr_mhee9a8f3Y1qzwgyso1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://31.media.tumblr.com/4155a947c9f3cc7271e6c7056983ad99/tumblr_mhee9a8f3Y1qzwgyso1_1280.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image: ChicagoPublicLibrary.tumblr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What do you think? </span></b> </span>
<br />
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<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4628081882250550441#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1] http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poealchl.htm</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
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<![endif]-->Danettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043881305977386629noreply@blogger.com8