Victory Gardens, War Bonds, and Patriotism

I grew up during World War 2 when even the poorest among us raised a Victory Garden and bought war bonds.

I've often wondered while watching the news today

why the government no longer sells war bonds. Is it

ingenuous of me to think that would be one way to

decrease the U.S. budget deficit? Granted, movie

stars and famous folks hawked war bonds in that

era instead of protesting and taking pot shots like

they do now.

I know these are very different times, and that during World War 2 the war bonds were

affordable for just about everyone. We put pennies,

nickels and dimes in a jar and whenever enough

coins were accumulated, we bought a war bond.

This week my husband and I planted a Victory Garden. It isn't necessarily

dedicated to war victory, more like victory over ever increasing grocery prices

for the vegetables we prize. Even the famous store that will not be undersold

has raised prices so high we can barely afford to shop there on a fixed income.

Our garden is a raised bed organic garden, 10' X 10'. Potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and peas will be planted in it. We learned from past experience that a garden that size will produce a LOT of veggies if the soil is prepared right.

Maybe it's my age, but it seems to me that America has forgotten what patriotism is and is not. I don't believe our country is always right, but we're blessed

here in ways that every country everywhere can see and understand. No matter how spoiled and weak we Americans seem to be, we rise to overcome whatever problem presents itself. That's why people come here legally, illegally, and any other way they can. They want a small piece of our blessings as a country. They want freedoms like the ones we enjoy and the ability to earn a living wage.

Our little Victory Garden behind the garage is a small gesture we make to show how we feel. Like my grandparents before me, I help with the labor of bringing our garden to fruition. We do it because we can, because we're free to use our property as we see fit, within legal parameters. Our garden represents

our support of American soldiers everywhere, and our willingness to sacrifice to better our lives and our country.

Now, if we could just buy war bonds, life will have come full circle for me, back to the years when Americans were hopeful, self-reliant, and proud.

An Exceptional Two Weeks For Me

First, I tied for first place in the New Squid category of the International Friendship Day contest on Squidoo with my Friends of the Heart lens. My prize is a Twitter page background created by a skilled graphic artist. Can't wait to see it!! You can view my page at http://www.squidoo.com/friendsoftheheart.

Second, I've been gone a week visiting the Rowe Sanctuary in central Nebraska, seeing Sand Hill Cranes up close and personal. The Platte River has always fascinated me. I get a sense there

of ancient times and places. Sand Hill Cranes have been on earth for millions of years. One 12 mile area of the Platte is now their migration flyway. They spend the day eating waste corn in harvested fields adjacent to the Platte. At sunrise they fly out to the fields. At sunset they return to the river to roost. The sight of thousands of cranes in flight or roosting on the river is beyond my ability to desribe.

Now I'm home, trying to document my thoughts before they fade. For more pictures and thoughts you can visit http://www.squidoo.com/sandhillcranes

I'm Just an Old Country Girl....

....So I realize politicians don't give a hoot what I think. The nice thing about this country is that I can say what I think whether anyone listens or not.

I find humorous the recent wailing and gnashing of teeth by Republicans re: Obama's stimulus plan. Now, I come from a long LONG line of die hard Republicans. I'm not defending either party here, just saying what I think. Now back to the GOP wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Where was all their wailing when Pres. Bush ramrodded the country into the Iraqui war? Or when he proposed the Wallstreet Bailout and they approved it with no oversight whatsoever? Where was their teeth gnashing when the Bush-sponsored bailout produced no results, other than already rich bankers having our tax money to take trips, grab big bonuses, and remodel offices. Do the House and Senate Republicans think our memories are that short? If so, they need to guess again.

I'm sick of hearing Republican politicians whine about Obama and the Dems when they share the guilt for what happened in this country equally with their Democratic peers. Maybe part of their problem is that they allow Rush Limbaugh to be a Republican spokesperson. They should let the CITIZENS be their spokespersons and no one else. After all, it is the citizens of this country who provide their privileged life style.

Not to let the Dems off the hook, they helped create this economic hell right along with the GOP. They allowed big business to ship jobs outside the country, and supported said big business every step of the way. They helped allow trade deficits to grow and prosper, to the detriment of their homeland. And they expect the common man to pull in his or her belt and sacrifice, while they continue to receive free health care, a pension fund for life, and continue to take non-essential trips on the taxpayer nickel in the midst of economic chaos. (a recent trip to Italy comes to mind.) Dems and Republicans alike are guilty of feathering their nests while expecting citizens to sacrifice everything so they can continue to live large.

Before retirement, we paid, paid, paid our taxes. One April the IRS made a mistake and said we owed them $500. They came down on us like ugly on an ape by May and threatened dire consequences if full payment was not forthcoming immediately. Our tax prep person said we did not owe the money but we needed to pay it or the IRS would red flag us. We paid it, and by July the IRS returned our money, sans interest of course. I want to know how politicians get away with not paying their taxes? Is this yet another case of Rank Has Its Privileges? I suspect so. Common citizens have to pay their taxes or suffer bad consequences but politicians can do anything and come out smelling like a rose.

My point is, I'm willing to sacrifice. Most Americans are willing to sacrifice. So when do our politicians join in the sacrificial process? Cut their salaries, limit the pension fund for life to years served, or pay for their own health insurance??

I'm just asking.

A Strange New Day for Me.....

I started out by BLOGGING here. No one could have ever convinced me I'd BLOG anything anywhere, but here I am.

Then I became a Squidlet over on SQUIDOO. No one could have ever convinced me I'd be making SQUIDOO lenses, but at latest count I've made ten.

Hmmmm. Then someone invited me to join FACEBOOK. I thought no way, no how, but now I'm on Facebook gathering friends and joining groups.

I said in a previous blog post that I don't TWITTER. Never say never cause now I'm a TWEEP on TWITTER.

Slowly and gradually, people I like have been dragging me kicking and screaming into the 21st century. You can hunt me up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER if the mood strikes. And I'd really be thrilled if you'd leave comments in the guestbooks on my lenses on SQUIDOO. I'm not a very accomplished lensmaster but my heart is in each Squidoo lens I make. The topics vary:

• http://www.squidoo.com/economylessons is about my grandparents and their life as documented in My Name is Esther Clara.
• http://www.squidoo.com/beckslovelessons is written from Beck's point of view. Beck is the main character in The Alley of Wishes.
• http://www.squidoo.com/friendsoftheheart is a testament to my long time friends. (This one is mentioned above as part of a contest to commemorate International Friendship Month.)
• http://www.squidoo.com/laurelspersonal-philosophy is just what the title implies.
• http://www.squidoo.com/kentuckymountains features photos and prose about the years I lived in the Kentucky mountains.
• http://www.squidoo.com/litbits tells about my writing experience from first book to last.
• http://www.squidoo.com/homelessinamerica features personal experience with and concerns about the homeless population.

OK enough of blowing my own horn. I'm not sure if blogging, squidooing, facebooking, and twittering has helped enhance my reputation as a person or a writer, but they've been interesting and new experiences.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH

I decided to join the International Friendship Month contest sponsored by Gypsy Owl over on Squidoo. I thought this was a wonderful way to memorialize my friends. My friends are a blessing, every single one of them whether new friends or old. The main problem was whittling down the list. I have long time friends and computer friends, writer friends and relatives who are friends. For the purpose of this contest, I decided to focus on long time friends.

Anyone not registered with a username and password on Squidoo won't be able to vote for me in the contest. But you can go to my page and leave a message if you want to. No pressure. :)) You can find my friendship page at the following link:

http://www.squidoo.com/friendsoftheheart.

Gypsy Owl is a kindly and helpful Giant Squid over on Squidoo. Giant Squids have 50 or more lenses (pages). This is a designation I'll never reach. I'm happy being what I call a Squidlet, making lenses about the people, places, and things that bring joy and meaning to my life. The friendship contest lens can be found at the following link:

http://www.squidoo.com/Lens-Contest. You'll find some interesting and heartwarming lens links there.

With all the bad, awful, unbelievable news we see around us, heartwarming and kind lenses in this contest are a welcome change.

Thoughts for a New Year

When I was a kid in kindergarten, I used to think I'd die in the year 2000. Don't ask me why I thought that. Guess it was just a wrinkle in my childlike reasoning because here it is 2009 and I'm still kicking.

Sinking into discouragement at the outset of this new year would be easy. Who would blame us for our dark thoughts? Discouraging news is everywhere. Yes, we have the promise of hope from a new President, but even that has its downside. The new broom has to work with the same old dust and cobwebs. Can he sweep them clean? Forgive my doubts that a strong, young, determined broom can clean the Beltway's focus on "rescuing" already wealthy bankers and cohorts from the mess they've made for someone else to scrub. I'm not alone in thinking that even millionaires and billionaires who mismanaged the funds of investors should not be on house arrest, living in luxury or waiting for a tiny slap on the wrist for their misdeeds. To clean up and paraphrase Al Pacino's famous line: They belong in freaking JAIL.

I'm no economist, but my thought is if our politicians want to grant billions and trillions of dollars to anyone in hopes of jump starting our economy, that largesse should go to the citizens and taxpayers. Give every citizen of legal age $100,000, or even $10,000 and we'll spend it on things we've needed or wanted but are afraid to buy right now. Give us enough and we'll pay off our credit cards or our homes and start fresh. We'll shop til we drop. Yeah, I know I'm stupid for even having such a thought. Such a "bail out" might lift some people out of poverty and our politicians certainly would not want THAT. However, the Congress, Senate, and American people have seen no results from the first gift to our big banks so perhaps it's time to change focus.

Like most Americans, I don't expect my government to give me anything. I set my budget and live within it. If a few extra bucks accumulate, I might splurge and buy that new toaster I've been needing. If not, I'll do without. Too bad our elected politicians don't spend taxpayer money with the same thought in mind. They expect us to sacrifice, but are not willing to give up anything from their own benefits. They'll keep their health care and pension fund for life while citizens are losing theirs. Something is wrong with that picture. No politician should have entitlements for life, especially if they do nothing to earn such benefits.

Still, I am in charge of my own destiny. I am the one who determines how my life proceeds, so I'll continue what works for me and mine. Meanwhile, I'll entertain a small modicum of hope that our new broom will actually make inroads into the glutted mess our government has become.

Merry Christmas!!!

Back in those olden days when I was a child, Christmas had a very different meaning than it does now. Christmastime was magic then, with twinkling lights reflecting in the eyes of children, and stories of the Christ Child keeping our focus off the presents under our tree. Mom and Grandma made sure we understood the Baby Jesus was the reason for all the gaiety, presents, and colored lights.

Now, in my golden years, reminiscence is the Christmas I celebrate in mind and spirit. No Grinches or Scrooges or Humbugs can discourage me. I remember the glory days of Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's, days when all their children and grandchildren gathered in their small house. The scents and sounds of Christmas come back to me like a gift of memory: turkey cooking in Grandma's well used Westinghouse roaster; her secret recipe stuffing baking in the oven; frosted molasses squares resting fragrant amidst a cookie tray so loaded down with hand decorated treasures that the mind boggles now just thinking about it; a cacaphony of chatter and laughter while relatives talked at once in every corner of the house.

No Christmas is complete without recalling Mother's decorated packages. Even the most humble pair of socks came in a package so beautifully decorated that children hated to disturb the wrapping. Mom labored over wrapping every present for hours.
She created breathtaking winter scenes -- drawn first by hand, then finished with colored glitters. Santa Claus with his sleigh and reindeer flying through a night sky, a family of deer drinking from a stream meandering through snow drifts, a nativity scene so glorious it should have hung in the Louvre.

Mom's Christmas cookies were the same. No simple cookies ever graced her trays. Santas with white frosting beards and red candy sprinkle suits, Rudolphs with red sprinkle noses and colored lights hung around his neck, Christmas trees loaded down with lights and gifts, and Angels, stars, candy canes so beautiful that recipients were hesitant to bite into the creations.

No matter what my situation now, I never feel isolated, lonely, or blue at Christmas time. My mind takes me to those gentle places in the past where Mom and Grandma and Grandpa and family celebrated the Christ Child's birth by sharing their gifts of good food and decorated cookies. Merry Christmas and God bless us, every one.

I'm a squidlet on Squidoo

Have you Squidood yet? I wouldn't even have known about it if not for my publisher, Dandelion Books. Editor Carol Adler emailed me and suggested I try my hand at making pages -- Squidoo calls them lenses -- on Squidoo.

I'm not too gung ho about social networking sites on the internet. You won't find me on Facebook or MySpace etc. because I don't have the patience or knowledge to socialize online. But I dutifully made a lens on Squidoo. Imagine my surprise when other kindly squids actually read what I wrote and left positive comments!! Not only that, creating a lens was as easy as writing a blog on Blogspot. One lens lead to another, then another, until I had four. With each new lens I learned something new.

Now, I'll never be a Giant Squid or Squid Angel. Giant Squids are prolific and have many helpful, creative lenses to their credit. Squid Angels dispense blessings far and wide throughout SquidLand. I'm not too prolific or creative, but being a member is part of the fun. Several Giant Squids have been supportive of my fledgling efforts. I even came in third in a Season of Thanks contest at Thanksgiving time. Such excitement!! I even have FANS on Squidoo. Imagine that.

If you have something to offer that might be helpful to others, consider adding your expertise to a Squidoo lens. And if you have the time, check out my handiwork. My lenses are rudimentary, but they come from the heart. Stop by. Leave a comment on my guestbook, or maybe even make a lens of your own. I'll stop by if you do and leave you a friendly message. That's how they do it on Squidoo.

Here are my lenses:

http://www.squidoo.com/economylessons

http://www.squidoo.com/beckslovelessons

http://www.squidoo.com/laurelspersonal-philosophy

http://www.squidoo.com/tomsheehan

Thoughts of the season.....

Like most Americans, I'm tempted to dwell on the floundering economy and bailout info we're force fed 24/7 by the media. If government bailouts of big banks and big business wasn't so outrageous, I might even find a bit of humor in the process. If I mismanage my budget to the point that we lose our home, our vehicle, and everything we own, no one will care. We'd be considered foolish failures, pariahs. Folks would whisper about us and cluck their tongues. But.....when bankers or auto makers mismanage their businesses into the ground, the Beltway races in to rescue them from their follies.

This last weekend I experienced life as it is in small town America, life as it should be and is for a majority of us. The rural economy may be sluggish, but I saw no signs of hopelessness in my little town on Saturday. I started my day at a pancake feed to benefit local service groups. Then I browsed a fantastic craft fair, the proceeds of which went to support local schools. I ended my day at another craft fair where all the proceeds went to a fund established to help build a new hospital. Later in the day a soup day was hosted by a local restaurant to help offset medical bills for a local couple. The turnout for each event was huge and crowded with people eager to spend whatever they could afford in support of projects larger than their own immediate needs. I saw many smiling faces this weekend on people happy to be a part of solutions instead of contributing to problems. That is life outside the Beltway.

I don't mind supporting projects that accomplish good results, such as the church ladies who contribute school supplies for grade school children. I enjoy contributing to the greater good when it comes to schools, hospitals, food banks, or common citizens. In this small, rural town you'll hear no whining about needing bailouts or handouts. What you WILL see is people who contribute wherever they can and try to take up the slack ignored by state and federal entities.

Generous spirits thrive everywhere during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. But in my rural Kansas town, generosity flourishes year round.

Hunger, poverty, "entitlements"

With all the coverage lately of government bailouts, I've been reminiscing about a childhood lived in poverty. I was nine when my parents divorced, leaving Mother on her own to feed, clothe, and raise four children. Dad made good money, but for some reason did not feel obligated to support his children. Mom worked at low paying jobs to support her brood but really had to struggle and pinch pennies when it came to Christmas or buying school clothes and supplies. We had a local Sears store then and she made good use of the layaway plan. She started every January laying away things for the next school year or Christmas. A dollar a week accomplished a lot in the 1940s and 1950s.

I can't say we little urchins were ever actually hungry, but our diets left much to be desired. High calorie, high carb, high fat foods were cheap when I was a child. Mom made huge pots of navy beans or noodles or potato soup which we ate with bread or crackers to put a chunk in our young stomachs. Menu variety included pancakes, french toast or a tasty meal Mom called "eggs a la goldenrod." For that delicious meal, Mom hard boiled 2 or 3 eggs then stirred them into a white sauce -- milk and flour -- spooned over toast. We did not always have meat. On Sunday she'd fix a roast or fried chicken. Other days of the week were often meatless. Most of our protein came in the form of lentils or eggs.

I know poverty first hand from those childhood years and understand how desperately low income parents want a better life for their children. My mother was one of those desperate parents. Contrary to the picture painted of low income parents, she did not sit around waiting and hoping for handouts. She plowed on, earning what money she could and spending the majority of her income on her kids. She could not afford to buy a house, to wear fancy clothes and shoes, or anything else that was a non necessity.

So when millionaire politicians cast aspersions on people who get "entitlements" while bailing out the millionaire bankers and businessmen who have mismanaged their businesses into the ground, I think of my mother. She wouldn't have paid attention to entitlements for the very rich. She would have been too busy fighting to survive. But I pay attention to every word describing every bailout. Rich bankers and businessmen who need a bailout should have to bail themselves out like my mother did -- by working and struggling and managing a budget and pinching pennies and taking care of business. They shouldn't stand around whining with their hands out waiting for taxpayers to shovel more entitlements down their bottomless pits of greed.

Grief and Loss revisited

My mother died in December of 1984, eight days before Christmas. She was 65 years old and I wasn't ready to lose her. I floundered at the time and have been floundering in one way or another ever since. I wanted to keep her in my life as a beloved nurturing presence. I'm sure my siblings felt exactly the same. I think we all reverted to children in our hearts when she died. Her loss transformed us into orphans. No aspect of my life has been the same for me since 1984.

Over the years I read books on grief and loss. I had my head shrunk by experts. Nothing helped or made sense. Recently I had the good fortune to read a journal about grief and loss by another soul floundering in the aftermath of a loved one's death. Something in this man's struggles spoke to me as no other book had. How did I learn about this book? I knew the writer, and empathized with his struggles. His simple words, gouged from a grieving spirit, helped me understand -- where nothing else had -- that human grief is a refining fire we all must face eventually as an unwelcome part of life.

You won't find this book on amazon or at your local book store. It was published by the Idaho State University Press. The author is Michael Corrigan and this is by far the most helpful personal narrative of grief and loss I've ever read.

The title A Year and a Day was taken from the Irish tradition of mourning a death for one year and one day. During that time, Corrigan kept a journal documenting the shock, horror, rage and grief he felt while trying to survive the death that shattered his life.

If you're grieving a devastating loss and your mind has reached the point where you can process information, this is the book to read. You'll have to order it directly from the Idaho State University press at 208-282-3215 or email the editor William Harwood at harwbill@isu.edu.

Can money and appearance buy success???

I'm a writer who would like to be successful because my message is in the medium.

Palin is a politician who would like to be successful in her bid for U.S. vice president.

Other than riding life's merry-go-round while reaching for the brass ring, that's where this comparison ends. We are apples and oranges, or more likely water and champagne, me being the water.

Before proceeding further, I need to make it clear that I am not a Palin basher. Like Hillary before her, everything she wears, says, or does is run through the media sausage grinder. Journalists give her male counterparts a pass while broadcasting her every real or imagined flaw and foible ad nauseum, ad infinitum. The new kid from Alaska didn't stand a chance from day one, while the other new kid from Chicago skates above the fray, reaping life's bounties.

OK, now that that disclaimer is out of the way, here's my point. Palin and I both would love to be successful in our chosen endeavor. She has succeeded, at least in part, where I have failed, because she dresses the part. That 150k spent on wardrobe, hair, makeup, shoes has certainly helped gild the lily.

On the other hand this writer / sow's ear has had a hell of a time transforming itself into a silk purse. It would cost at least HALF that 150k to do something with my hair, and that's IF a world famous hair dresser could be found with the skill to transform me. A make up makeover would be equally daunting. Maybe a Hollywood make up artist would know what to do, but I'm not at all certain about that. The clothing makeover might just be hopeless. Transforming a Marjorie Main type into a charismatic beauty is harder than you realize.

My last public appearance as a writer was quite successful. More successful than I'm used to. In preparation, I got a seven dollar hair cut and combed as much hair as I could over my bald spot that shines like a beacon on the top of my head. I put some lotion on my face and applied a dab of wine colored lip gloss that cost three dollars ten years ago when I bought it. And I bought a new outfit, which looked pretty good on me -- slacks twelve bucks at WalMart and a quite flattering sweater that cost sixteen dollars in a catalog. So let's see: seven dollars plus three dollars plus twelve dollars plus sixteen dollars equals thirty-eight dollars. If you add in my five year old sixty dollar shoes, my appearance that day cost almost a hundred bucks.

The appreciative audience loved me and my message. They bought all the books I had with me and would have bought more. They asked if I would please come back and talk to them again. I basked in that approval and appreciation for weeks. Just imagine what I could have done with 150k worth of improvements!! I might be in New York on the Today show or interviewed by Ellen Degeneres. My books might be on the New York Times best seller list. Oprah might choose me for her book club. I might have been a contender!!

Yep. If lots of moola can ensure success, with 150k I might have been a contender.

Good thoughts to ponder.....

Someone sent this to me over email today. I thought, considering the tangled messes we are reaping from Washington DC and the banking industry, these points were well worth repeating.

Whatever we give to life, life gives back.

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

If you plant hard work, you will reap success

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

If you plant faith in God, you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Yes, whatever we dish out will come back to roost on our own shoulders. So when will self-serving politicians and crooks reap what they sow? Hope we live to see it.

Campbell Brown and me.......

In past blog posts I've talked about the obscene amounts of money spent by both presidential candidate campaigns. I think that two men who pretend to care about struggling citizens should curtail their spending. Tens of millions of dollars have swirled down the sewer of attack ads on TV, for example. That money would be better spent by putting dollars where their mouths are -- homeless shelters and food banks, or other exceptional humanitarian needs.

My thought has been that maybe I'm the only citizen who resents such waste of time and money, that maybe I'm delusional or simply gone crochety in my old age. But tonight on CNN, Campbell Brown -- No Bias, No Bull -- suggested that the millions per week wasted by these candidates should be sent to food banks trying to serve the families of taxpayers who lost jobs.
Whether large city or tiny rural community, food banks are struggling now with empty shelves and decreasing donations. I can't speak for cities, but people in the rural area where I live are beyond generous when it comes to supporting their local food bank. Even so, food needs have increased here, as they have everywhere.

So, if Obama and McCain want to convince Campbell Brown and me that they really truly do care about struggling people in harsh economic times. her idea has great merit. Every week until election day, each candidate could give a million dollars to support foodbanks around the country. I'm just skeptical enough to think that won't happen. The Fed probably has some goofy law against it, but I can dream. I doubt any of those high priced TV ads will change the minds of voters at this late date.

Campbell, you go, girl!!!! What a wonderful idea!!

A hopeful perspective......

Matt Ford is an AP journalist touring the battleground states, interviewing citizens and covering issues that matter to voters. These videos of everyday Americans demonstrate the hope, determination, and grit of citizens from every walk of life. Yes, people are discouraged on many levels, but the message in these videos is what individuals are thinking and doing, personally, to adapt to our current economic storm of higher prices and shattered family budgets.

Regardless of our current troubles, the world still looks to America for hope. Think about that for a second. Wall Street excesses, our dependence on middle eastern oil, and out-of-control pork barrel politics have wrecked our economy. This economic free fall has impacted every other country in the world. The scenario seems grim but, still, they look to America for financial salvation and answers. Matt Ford's stories clearly demonstrate why.

John McCain said recently our economy is essentially sound. By that, he said he meant the American people who work, pay taxes, and keep the wheels of this country turning. These thumbnail videos of American citizens prove that McCain was right. Times may be grim, but every person featured in these videos has found a way of making sense out of the chaos, not for the world, perhaps, but for themselves and their families. They've devised ways to work around the problems that plague working class families in hard economic times.

While viewing these videos, I thought of my maternal grandparents. By any measure you might use, my grandparents were poor. They raised four children during the Depression and hardship was their daily companion. They sacrificed along with everyone else during the Depression and the World War Two years, never doubting that America would continue to thrive and survive.

Anyone who reads this blog should consider viewing Matt Ford's profiles of American taxpayers. None of them are rich or famous. None are happy with the economic problems they're forced to deal with on a daily basis. And yet, these people inspire hope. They represent small slices of life in America and provide a glimpse into why this country thrives, no matter what. American taxpayers are not sheep being lead to the slaughter. They are taking action to help themselves, just as they have always done in hard times. That, to me, is a hopeful perspective.

Here is a link to Matt Ford's citizen profiles related to the big issues of this election year:

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/big_issue/

Tag I'm it......

Aston West over at the Western Chronicles tagged me. The tag rule is that I must list six things about myself here that people don't know about me. I don't really understand tags very well. Don't know where they originate or why, but since Aston West is one of my favorite heroes, I'll play along. Here are my six revelations:

1. Because of my nursing philosophy, my empathetic concerns for others, my work with the homeless, and the type of books I write, a fan suggested I receive an honorary doctorate from a major university. I doubt that happens, mainly because of my low key way of doing things, but I was pleased to know anyone thinks that highly of me.

2. Female pattern baldness runs in my family and I inherited the trait. Except for maybe warts on my nose, I can't envision anything worse than stumping books in public with my scalp shining like a beacon in the fog.

3. Beck Sanow, the delicious and stalwart hero of my fictional book, The Alley of Wishes, is based on a real person who actually existed. The creation of this hero was a gift to my mother.

4. I have a zany sense of humor but very few people know that.

5. I'm a radical activist for justice, equality, and compassion. The politicians and potentates who know that about me don't appreciate my activism or my opinions, and don't personally give a hoot what I think, but I keep on trucking anyway.

6. I have several major psychiatric diagnoses that I've managed for over twenty years without medication. (Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation to others as a way to manage psychiatric conditions, just saying medication did not work for me so I learned ways to work around my diagnoses.)

OK Aston, there are your six revelations.

On to another semi-unrelated topic

OK, you're safe now. I'm off the topic of wishing and on to something else. Grandpa's stock answer when anyone "wished" for anything was, "Wish in one hand and s--t in the other and see which one gets full the quickest." Grandma and Grandpa were a wealth of such salty sayings. I grew up seeing the intangibles of life -- wishing, hoping, day dreaming -- through their eyes. They didn't smother down my imagination, but forced me to look at life realistically.

Would I ever be a princess? NO. you came from sturdy peasant stock, so ethereal beauty, fragile vulnerability, and petite, ladylike charm do not exist anywhere in your makeup.

Would a knight on a white charger show up some day to whisk me away? NO. Knights don't look twice at girls who labor their way through life and don't know one fork from another.

Would I ever have a horse of my own to ride? NO. Horses cost too much to feed and maintain so ride your bike and be glad you have it.

Grandma and Grandpa have frequently been on my mind lately. They'd have plenty to say about the political hi-jinks on the news, and would be raving mad about the bailout of big financial institutions that have mismanaged themselves into the gutter. They didn't trust the stock market or investments because the Great Depression was too stark a memory. They didn't trust most politicians, with a couple possible exceptions. Dwight Eisenhower was one man they trusted. Politically, I can't recall another they thought was worth the powder and lead it would take to blow him up. (Another Grandpa saying. "That guy isn't worth the powder and lead it would take to blow him up.") Of course, if he were overheard saying that now, Homeland Security would come calling.

My point is, Grandma and Grandpa were forced by life and circumstance to live in the real world. They didn't come from money and knew they would never be rich. They had no expectations of financial windfalls or miraculous bailouts. And they certainly did not believe their government would rescue them in tough times. Like most Americans today, they worked hard to feed, clothe, and nurture their children. They paid taxes, saved a bit of every paycheck, and found their joy in simple things. They didn't spend big or live "high on the hog." They didn't fritter away money foolishly and had no respect for politicians who spent taxpayer money like drunken sailors.

Every day, when I watch the news, I wonder what Grandma and Grandpa would have to say about the excesses on Wall Street and in Washington D.C.

Wishing, Part Two

In my last post I discussed some wishes. My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek at the time, which is probably a poor technique if I want to see those wishes come true. One of my wishes was as follows:

"I wish excellence, kindness, honesty, courage would be rewarded and failure, dishonesty, meanness, sneakiness punished. Before you say "OH but dishonesty and crime ARE punished!" stop and think about this one. That may be true for poor crooks but not rich ones. Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and various politicians and CEO's and you'll see where I'm going with this wish."

I saw a Danziger cartoon that illustrates clearly why I doubt excellence and honesty will be rewarded with any regularity. The cartoon showed the CEO of Fannie Mae -- Daniel Mudd --
and the CEO of Freddie Mac -- Richard Syron -- pushing wheelbarrows loaded with their severance packages away from the wrecked businesses they helped ruin. Mudd's severance package was $9.3 million and Syron's $14.1 million. If this cartoon represented a true picture of the situation, there will be no punishment for these two failures. No shame at a botched job. No regret at a colossoal failure. They toddled off to their mansions with a severance package that should have been returned to the coffers they raided. They laughed all the way to a bank that is no doubt still solvent.

Here's a thought for our government. Pick a senior citizen fighting cancer, living on $600 a month and TEN dollars worth of food stamps a month, barely able to survive, and give that person a million dollars. Find NINE of them in similar circumstances and give each one a million dollars. Find fourteen low income families -- two working parents struggling to support and nourish and clothe their children and keep gas in the family car -- and give THEM a million bucks each. If you're gonna reward the failures of big business CEOs, why not branch out and give big bucks to people struggling with courage and succeeding against all the cards you've stacked against them? Start a trend that focuses on the overburdened among us instead of your privileged bigwigs pals who've failed so dismally.

If you do that, I might still believe that wishes come true.

Wishing will make it so???

I read an article recently about a woman who tested that old axiom. She wished for certain things for a year, and all -- or most -- of her wishes came true. Maybe I'm just old and cynical. I used to believe whatever I could envision would happen, but that was many moons ago. These days I'm skeptical. Here are a few wishes I'd like to see come true, not necessarily in the order of top priority:

• I wish all elected and appointed politicians at the local, state, and federal level would spend taxpayer money as if it were their own and live within a strict budget like they expect us to do;
• I wish homeless people, poor working mothers (parents), and common folk had the same power and respect as millionaires, billionaires, politicians, and power mongers;
• I wish cures could be found for all catastrophic diseases - cancer, alzheimer's, ALS, etc.
• I wish excellence, kindness, honesty, courage would be rewarded and failure, dishonesty, meanness, sneakiness punished. Before you say "OH but dishonesty and crime ARE punished!" stop and think about this one. That may be true for poor crooks but not rich ones. Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and various politicians and CEO's and you'll see where I'm going with this wish.
• I wish some of the excellent writers I know could have the honors, sales, and recognition they deserve. This goes along with the prior wish that excellence should be rewarded.

My wish list is much longer than that but those are a few of the less selfish and frivolous ones. Maybe tonight I'll pick one at random, wish upon a star and see what happens.

My husband read a sci fi book!!

Yesterday was chilly and cloudy so hubby spent most of the day indoors. Instead of watching the telly, he picked up a book I won in a contest. He read one page, then another, then sat stretched out on the couch and continued reading. As far as I know, this is only the 5th book he's read in our more than 40 years together. He's read my four published books just to make sure I said nice things about him, but otherwise he's a tv watcher or worker bee and not a reader.

The book that held his rapt attention all afternoon was Heroes Die Young by T.M. Hunter. It's a small book of 136 pages, which is probably what appealed to hubby at the beginning. But what held his attention was the sci fi action and adventure and the book's hero, Aston West. West is a humorous, self-effacing, reluctant hero who delivers with courage when the chips are down.

When he finished the book, hubby said, "Well that was pretty damn good! Is this Hunter guy a famous writer?"

I said, "No, but if there's any justice in the world, he will be some day."

My apologies to all the fine, unkown writers whose work deserves more attention than it gets. You all know who you are because I communicated that clearly through my reviews of your work. I singled this one out because a man who rarely reads anything was so intrigued by it he spent the day reading instead of watching reruns of CSI on Spike or Forensic files on Tru TV.

Congrats, T.M. Hunter, for enticing my husband into reading your book. Readers of sci fi out there, remember T.M. Hunter's name. You might even consider following hubby's lead and reading Heroes Die Young.