Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Day 88 -- Full of Crap
Even as I heard myself saying it in class today, I knew I was being a hypocrite. My students are in the midst of their policy debates, all of which have something to do w/ current Native American issues. I got on my soap box after one debate and lectured about changing traditions and that if we stand still, we die. Not exactly what I was harping about yesterday. All that pendulum swinging and moderation.........what was I thinking. I'm the frickin' pendulum.
Day 87 -- Too Much Government
(NOTE: I wrote this on 06 December 2011, but my Internet was down so it didn't get posted until 07 Dec.)
It makes no sense to me. Why do governments feel the need to tell people how to live their lives? State governments are waging war on obesity by taxing high caloric foods. I heard one expert today on Iowa Public Radio suggest that insurance companies should charge a higher premium to obese people just as they do to smokers or people w/ too many DUI's. Supposedly these obese people are costing me money....still haven't sorted out that line of reasoning. If they want to be fat and die an earlier death, then who are we to tell them that's wrong? Obesity could be the great equalizer that gets overpopulation under control.
Nigeria is trying to pass a law that would ban all public displays of homosexuality and make gay marriage illegal. All this in an attempt to reduce the number of people w/ HIV/AIDS b/c Nigeria has the second highest percentage of the African population w/ this disease. I guess that government doesn’t care that 80% of those infected are heterosexual. How can a government tell a person who to love and how to feel and w/ whom to have sex? We are a world of reactionaries that force the pendulum to swing to its complete counterpart and think this will solve the problem. All that happens is that the pendulum will come back w/ equal force to the other side, and w/ each swing it loses strength and momentum until ultimately it comes to rest in the center. When the pendulum rests at its center it wastes no energy. Its moderate stance allows it to remain in balance. Moderates are accused of having no opinions, no backbone. Yet eating in moderation and balance promotes health. Sex is exercise. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Sex makes people happy. What can be wrong w/ that? Swinging the pendulum to complete denial of certain foods or of sex only lasts so long and then the person swings to the other side and gorges on every decadence that had been previously abstained. Moderation is tolerance. Tolerance is moderate. Why can’t we learn to tolerate, moderate, and accept each other as we are? Why must governments define who we are?
My daughters and I want to get matching tattoos in honor of my mother. The tats will all be a sprinkling can, which she collected, and the handle will be in the shape of a support ribbon. We’ll each have a different colored handle and flowers on the can to represent her cancers, my cancers, and my older daughter’s Crohn’s Disease. My younger daughter is 15, and in the state of Iowa (in which I reside) and the state of Minnesota, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to get a tattoo even w/ parental consent. These state governments are telling me as a parent what is best for my children. The state in which I was born and have lived most of my life, in which I have been educated, worked, and paid taxes finds me incapable of acting in the best interest of my children.
Governments have too much control, too much power. My government is supposed to be “of the people, by the people, for the people.” This person says, “Back off.”
It makes no sense to me. Why do governments feel the need to tell people how to live their lives? State governments are waging war on obesity by taxing high caloric foods. I heard one expert today on Iowa Public Radio suggest that insurance companies should charge a higher premium to obese people just as they do to smokers or people w/ too many DUI's. Supposedly these obese people are costing me money....still haven't sorted out that line of reasoning. If they want to be fat and die an earlier death, then who are we to tell them that's wrong? Obesity could be the great equalizer that gets overpopulation under control.
Nigeria is trying to pass a law that would ban all public displays of homosexuality and make gay marriage illegal. All this in an attempt to reduce the number of people w/ HIV/AIDS b/c Nigeria has the second highest percentage of the African population w/ this disease. I guess that government doesn’t care that 80% of those infected are heterosexual. How can a government tell a person who to love and how to feel and w/ whom to have sex? We are a world of reactionaries that force the pendulum to swing to its complete counterpart and think this will solve the problem. All that happens is that the pendulum will come back w/ equal force to the other side, and w/ each swing it loses strength and momentum until ultimately it comes to rest in the center. When the pendulum rests at its center it wastes no energy. Its moderate stance allows it to remain in balance. Moderates are accused of having no opinions, no backbone. Yet eating in moderation and balance promotes health. Sex is exercise. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Sex makes people happy. What can be wrong w/ that? Swinging the pendulum to complete denial of certain foods or of sex only lasts so long and then the person swings to the other side and gorges on every decadence that had been previously abstained. Moderation is tolerance. Tolerance is moderate. Why can’t we learn to tolerate, moderate, and accept each other as we are? Why must governments define who we are?
My daughters and I want to get matching tattoos in honor of my mother. The tats will all be a sprinkling can, which she collected, and the handle will be in the shape of a support ribbon. We’ll each have a different colored handle and flowers on the can to represent her cancers, my cancers, and my older daughter’s Crohn’s Disease. My younger daughter is 15, and in the state of Iowa (in which I reside) and the state of Minnesota, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to get a tattoo even w/ parental consent. These state governments are telling me as a parent what is best for my children. The state in which I was born and have lived most of my life, in which I have been educated, worked, and paid taxes finds me incapable of acting in the best interest of my children.
Governments have too much control, too much power. My government is supposed to be “of the people, by the people, for the people.” This person says, “Back off.”
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Day 85 -- Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The four inches of snow we got yesterday has put me in the Christmas spirit. I started my day off w/ an hour-and-a-half of removing snow from my driveways, sidewalks, and the sidewalks for three of my neighbors. Once the snow blower gets going, it just doesn't know how and where to stop. My younger daughter's Christmas concert was this afternoon......she's so talented........she had a flute solo......I'm so proud. She has certainly blossomed during her sophomore year. I swear I just blinked, and she became a woman.
After the concert, I picked up a Christmas tree. This is the first year I've done it by myself.....my daughters said they care more about the decorating of it than the choosing of it. While getting the tree ready to put in the stand, I had to trim off some of the lower branches and cut off about three inches of the trunk. I'm very accustomed to using a bow saw, but I can tell that I've lost some upper body strength. I think this has more to do w/ being 47 than the lymphoma. I got the sawing done, but I had to dig deep. I remember this asshole of a teacher that I taught w/ at Urbandale High School. He said that women could never play football b/c we didn't have the stamina to keep pushing even when we had nothing left. I wish I would've had the courage then to tell him that he had no idea what it's like to keep pushing when you have nothing left until you've given birth. That's how I felt tonight cutting through that tree trunk. And when that three-inch piece hit the ground, I felt like I'd pushed out a baby, yet I still found the strength to lift it into the stand and carry it into the garage. Stamina, my ass.
My house is a mess right now as I'm cleaning and taking down all the things that will be replaced w/ Christmas decorations. This is the icky stage, but Mom always said that you have to make a mess to clear a mess. At this rate, my house should look gorgeous.....in about three days.
After the concert, I picked up a Christmas tree. This is the first year I've done it by myself.....my daughters said they care more about the decorating of it than the choosing of it. While getting the tree ready to put in the stand, I had to trim off some of the lower branches and cut off about three inches of the trunk. I'm very accustomed to using a bow saw, but I can tell that I've lost some upper body strength. I think this has more to do w/ being 47 than the lymphoma. I got the sawing done, but I had to dig deep. I remember this asshole of a teacher that I taught w/ at Urbandale High School. He said that women could never play football b/c we didn't have the stamina to keep pushing even when we had nothing left. I wish I would've had the courage then to tell him that he had no idea what it's like to keep pushing when you have nothing left until you've given birth. That's how I felt tonight cutting through that tree trunk. And when that three-inch piece hit the ground, I felt like I'd pushed out a baby, yet I still found the strength to lift it into the stand and carry it into the garage. Stamina, my ass.
My house is a mess right now as I'm cleaning and taking down all the things that will be replaced w/ Christmas decorations. This is the icky stage, but Mom always said that you have to make a mess to clear a mess. At this rate, my house should look gorgeous.....in about three days.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Day 84 -- Snow Globe Patriot
I felt like I was in the midst of a snow globe tonight while walking the dog and staring up at the street lights. Like someone had shaken my world and then dropped me in the middle of it. How can snowflakes space themselves so perfectly. They're all exactly the same distance from each other. They don't come down in clumps, just single flakes equidistance. The first snowfall is always beautiful.....light, airy, silent. I'll be singing a different tune in February when it's the 71st snowfall.
I slept very, very well last night thanks to the brownies and a couple of gin and tonics. I had no aches and pains, and b/c I was well-rested, I got a lot of work done around the house. I just don't understand why this country feels it necessary to vilify a substance that can promote sleep, appetite, and happiness while lessening aches and pains. Instead we legalize substances that promote cancer and cirrhosis. Sure makes me proud to be an American.......NOT.
I slept very, very well last night thanks to the brownies and a couple of gin and tonics. I had no aches and pains, and b/c I was well-rested, I got a lot of work done around the house. I just don't understand why this country feels it necessary to vilify a substance that can promote sleep, appetite, and happiness while lessening aches and pains. Instead we legalize substances that promote cancer and cirrhosis. Sure makes me proud to be an American.......NOT.
Day 83 -- Bluebirds & Brownies
(This post is a day late thanks to those brownies!!)
I saw two bluebirds in my backyard this morning. They were especially welcome since I've been feeling a little blue the past few days, and bluebirds have the mythological connection to happiness, good health, and prosperity (see http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bluebird_of_happiness). So w/ them in mind I headed to my friend's house for some of those brownies.
I saw two bluebirds in my backyard this morning. They were especially welcome since I've been feeling a little blue the past few days, and bluebirds have the mythological connection to happiness, good health, and prosperity (see http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bluebird_of_happiness). So w/ them in mind I headed to my friend's house for some of those brownies.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Day 82 -- Tuba Christmas
Tuba Christmas makes me smile. There's just something about Jingle Bells played on baritone and bass brass that gets my toes to tappin'. Sharing it w/ my daughter and others at our historic Carnegie Library gets me in the holiday spirit. I wasn't, however, able to be completely mindful of the music while trying to get my daughter to stop texting and be more mindful of the music. "Mom, I'm a teenager," she said. "That's how I listen."
I took a pain pill last night and slept soundly so I'm feeling better. Still a little achy under my left arm. One of our proctors at the college, stopped by my office this afternoon. She just wanted to let me know that she had a friend w/ Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma who lived w/ it for 30 years. She finally died of Alzheimer's. Yesterday my best friend invited me over for her super, special brownies. God certainly knows when to send us angels to lift us up.
I took a pain pill last night and slept soundly so I'm feeling better. Still a little achy under my left arm. One of our proctors at the college, stopped by my office this afternoon. She just wanted to let me know that she had a friend w/ Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma who lived w/ it for 30 years. She finally died of Alzheimer's. Yesterday my best friend invited me over for her super, special brownies. God certainly knows when to send us angels to lift us up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)