What's in a Name?

If your town is anything like mine you have a bumper crop of political signs on each street corner. To be honest, one seems the same as any other and since I am not motivated by the sign to vote for the candidate, I pretty much dismiss them all. However,I thought this candidate made the most of it:

"Michael Whimpey: A Strong Voice for Our Community."


Go Whimpey!!

Save Darfur

I just finished watching the trailer for "Darfur Now", a docudrama coming out next month. While I realize that this is an emotionally charged snippet I can't help but ask myself why are we fighting a questionable war in a country that hates us when we could be fighting to save lives in a country that needs us?

How did politics get in the way of people helping other people? Really, isn't that what it comes down to? It's not the US conquering/saving Iraq/Sudan it should be the people on this continent with so much to give helping people on another continent with so little to hope for.

Yes, I'm an idealistic optimist. Someone's gotta be.

Homework Sucks!

I had a friend of mine, a teacher, jokingly tell me that she believed more cases of abuse happened during homework time than any other. Now that I have a ten year old who is struggling in math I wonder if that could be a real statistic. The thing is, I don't think it's the children being abused. Seriously, I have never been told I'm wrong, rude or just not helping more times than I have been in the past few months. I have developed the skin of an alligator when it comes to insults and I have to say, I am developing the patience of Job. So, for all those children out there who hate homework and feel miserable doing it, you're not alone! Your parents feel your pain.

More thoughts..

Here are some more thoughts I've had since my last post. (You need to read the last entry or this won't make sense)

Equality doesn't mean being the same. There is a big difference between being equal and being the same. Rather than being "color blind" Why can't we appreciate each other for the color that we are? It's ok that she's white and it's ok that he's black or brown or purple for crying out loud.

Equality doesn't mean letting people do whatever they want. I think this is potentially a whole other discussion. We can save this for later.

Ooh, I really would love for people to respond. This could be a great discussion.

Trying to understand

Ok, folks! I'm jumping in with both feet on this one.

My older children and I are reading "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry". When we first started it, I was extremely anxious. After all, the "N" word is used several times. I have been so happy to find that this book has led to some fantastic discussions and some serious thought. We have talked about the "N" word and what it means (every time I read it I want to gag.) My oldest, who is ten understands the point of the book best. I was moved during our reading last night by the passage in chapter six when Mama is talking with Cassie after her encounter with rampant racists in a nearby town. Cassie is upset that someone would think they are better because they are white:

"Ah shoot! White ain't nothin'"

Mama's grip did not lessen. "It is something, Cassie. White is something just like black is something. Everybody born on this earth is something and nobody, no matter what color, is better than anybody else."

"... Baby, we have no choice of what color we're born or who our parents are or whether we're rich or poor. What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we're here. And I pray to God you'll make the best of yours." (pp 127,129)


Why is it that after so many years we still don't get that? There are a lot of things I am confused about regarding black people just as I am sure there are many things others are confused about regarding Mormons. Mostly my confusion stems from fear of offending. I will admit, when I see a black person, I am more consumed with not offending this person than actually attempting to be friendly. I'm not scared of black Americans, I am scared of offending them. As a white woman from a predominantly white area, I don't know what to say/do. All I have for reference is the media (yeah, I know) and books. It's hard to sift through it all to determine what's accurate. There is a part of me that is terrified by posting this entry and yet I am sincere in my thoughts.

Will we ever figure this out? I truly think the big question when all is said and done will be: Did we learn to love each other?

At a crossroads

I read an article about a woman being saved from an oncoming train by a police officer. The interview included a blow by blow from the hero officer. As I got further into the report I realized that the woman who was saved was really very silly. The officer, in his patrol car on break, watched from across the intersection as this lady's car intentionally stopped on the tracks. According to the owner of the car, she was lost in an unfamiliar city and had stopped to figure out where she was. Her first mistake: stopping on railroad tracks. After a minute, the officer, knowing that the Amtrak passenger train came through at about that time of night, approached the women in the car. It took him several attempts to persuade her to exit her vehicle. According to him, she was not fully aware of the danger she was in. Her second mistake: not listening to the police officer.

Only moments later, the Amtrak train barreled into her abandoned vehicle pushing it down the tracks causing it to burst into flames. A few of the passengers were treated with oxygen after breathing in the gas fumes from the explosion and all the passengers were delayed five and half hours waiting for another engine.

It's a good thing someone was thinking clearly that night. A little common sense could have avoided the situation all together. Sheesh!

Very Thankful

As I was putting my house to bed tonight I had a moment to sit and appreciate my home. It's not the most ornate or even the cleanest but I found myself feeling truly grateful for it. I am going to take a moment tonight to sit and sip some hot cider, lean back in a comfy chair and take it all in. Here's hoping that you have a moment to yourself to appreciate what is good in your life.

Check out my Slide Show!

Here's a recap of summer!

close shave

Here's a photo from our jaunt in the mountains. Can you find the problem with the second picture?

Fall Break

Yesterday was our first day of fall break. I'm ready to pull my hair out. The volume level in my house is off the charts. I think we are going to do a photo hike later, after baby's nap. I'll see if I can post some of our photos.

I'm a fan!!

I got to go cheer my sister on in the Portland, Oregon marathon this weekend. I was supposed to walk it with her but totally chickened out. I have to say that I had a much better time cheering on the participants.

We downloaded several fun songs from ITunes for the event: Eye of the Tiger, The Rocky Theme, Superman Theme, Walking on Sunshine and a few more. We got a hold of a bull horn and portable CD player and stood on the side of the road playing the songs on the CD player through the bull horn. You could hear the music a block away. It was awesome! At the beginning it was fun to get everyone pumped up. Everyone was all smiles and filled with excitement. Mile 7 was much the same. At about mile 19 you could see the fatigue and that's when the cheering became more than fun. It truly felt like a responsibility. My sister would pass and we would continue to play music for the people who followed. We stood for 2 hours in one spot to make sure we got everyone. At mile 26 we truly felt honored to play "We are the Champions" and cheer them on the homeward stretch. I didn't walk the marathon but I was so glad I went to cheer. I've realized I don't want to walk a marathon but I think I could be the world's greatest fan.

Kudos to my sister for finishing her second marathon!! Way to go!!

Thought for the day

A lazy mom is one who does everything for her children.

Bait and Switch

Any mother who has purchased a Disney DVD will know exactly what I'm getting at with this post. I have a bone to pick with the folks at Disney home entertainment. I would like to say to the far-reaching, ever-manipulating Disney machine: "stop putting a trailer for every movie ever made by Disney on the preview section of each DVD"! And by the way, that "Fast Play" option is nothing more than a bait and switch. There is nothing fast about fast play. In fact, it's the "scenic" way to the "feature entertainment". Here's a little news flash, the people who are putting your DVDs into the player are BUSY MOMS!! we're tired of having to "select the main menu" before we select the movie. I would estimate that I've wasted a good week of my life standing in front of the TV waiting for the movie to load. Trust me, you have enough of a PR machine to not need the endless previews before each movie. All you're doing is ticking me off!