Prayers Please

On this wonderful holiday of giving thanks, we bow our heads. Please add a prayer for the victims and their families of the violent attacks in Mumbai and Kabul over the past 24 hours.. We must also pray for the attackers. Pain and destruction only adds to the darkness of the misguided and ignorant.

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

We’ve Named The Turkey Ralphie . . .

When I was in the French wine business, we Americans were ridiculed [at Thanksgiving] for roasting some dry ass turkey, and calling it a celebration, and it was hilarious to them. You can say what you want about French people, but I really like them. Besides, my turkey is never dry, but they never believed me. The French only appreciated that this was the time of year they would sell the most wine in the states. They just don't understand what Thanksgiving is to us.

The airports have suffered through their busiest day today. People have been traveling around the country since last Friday evening, trying desperately to get to their destination for the holiday. I'm certain there were filled parking lots, long lines through security checkpoints and waiting to board planes. Children screaming and crying, flights overbooked or canceled and very frustrated travelers. Since it is our busiest time at work, we have a legitimate excuse not to travel for the holiday. (Any reason not to visit "Dysfunction Junction" is just fine with me!)

I have spent today visiting with The Boy and his Girl. He came this afternoon and helped me at the store buy food. His Girl came over earlier this evening, while I prepped the bird and baked some things for tomorrow. They will spend the holiday with her family, and come over in the evening for dessert. The Baby is coming to spend the holiday with us tomorrow afternoon. She's bringing two vegan dishes to the table. The past five years, I've cooked vegan, except for the big ass turkey in the oven. The rest of the traditional food was very adaptable to The Baby's vegan diet, with very little change really. The first year I actually cooked two meals, but we've learned about soy milk, vegetable margarine and other small adjustments. I'll make a mental note to put Dylan on the iPod, for The (hippie) Baby.

In past years, I have delighted in our children's friends coming over Thanksgiving evening, and joining us for dessert and RT's strong, "whup yo ass" cappuccino, and so it will be again this year. It's so wonderful to have seen these kids grow up before my eyes over the years. The paths they all have taken are different from each other's, but I get to see them once a year, all gathered together, hug, tell jokes and share stories of recent and past times. They are all young adults now, and I am so proud they come over and am included in their special time of laughter. It's the best part of Thanksgiving for me. It makes me smile.

Then onto Friday, the media is now calling it "Black Friday". This is the day when stores open at four freakin o'clock (yes, a.m.-?!?!?!?!) and people are looking for the huge sales retailers have for Christmas. Though all the workers at our office are off on Friday, RT and I will probably be working. I left the office on Tuesday at 10 p.m. with the briefcase loaded down, knowing I could make more headway over the long weekend. The rest of the city is probably going shopping this day. I just can't. I've done it once, and just can't do it again. The promises of sales and getting an extra 20% off something, but having to be at the store at 4 a.m. does not appeal to me. The parking, the rude people, the endless lines at the cashiers and in traffic are too frustrating, especially when we are all supposed to be getting ready for the most peaceful day of the year. I would rather sleep until nine, and let the sunshine through the windows, gently waking me. I would rather pay full retail for every Christmas present. I would rather work. I would rather have a finger cut off. I would rather do anything than to go shopping this day.

Saturday, I assume the "sales" continue, but I will see if I can get to the Christmas tree lot the Church runs and purchase the Christmas tree. A chili day of about 50 degrees is expected, and I'll keep the warmth in the fireplace going all weekend. Decorating the tree will easy, if I have no help from well meaning people.

I am beat from this week already, and will spend most of tomorrow finishing the cooking of this annual feast. Planning, food shopping, cooking and balancing time will come to the exact time of 4:00 p.m. Tomorrow, when we will all officially give thanks at our house and eat too much food. My exact placement of a table set and food precisely prepared to replicate a picture from a fine cookbook will take only 20 minutes to destroy, devour and demolish. Then it's up again, to clean up after the freakin mess, yet another hour or two in the kitchen.

Yet, it all seems worth it for the sake of tradition, and being truly grateful for what we have been blessed with in our lives. It has become a day of warmth in our home. A day of reflection, to just be with one another, even if for a little while, and appreciate what we mean to each other. Have a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving.

TALKING A BLUE STREAK

To the person who wrote to me, be forewarned. I've had to defend blue before, but it's been a few years. Honestly, the last time I defended blue was during a fun and drunken rant with RT, when we were dating many years ago. RT is going to read this and say "Here she goes". So, just for you, I defend blueness, again, though I'm really too busy right now.

Thanks, I think (???), for noting my page hasn't changed in awhile. However, I kind of like the blue. No, actually I love the blue on my page. If I change the page, I promise it will still be some shade of blue. It's my favorite color (duh), but that's not the only reason. Blue is a color, but it is a state of mind and can be so many different things (like me). One could also have the blues, and I love to listen to blues music too. If you are a liberal in this country, some (but not I) wear the color of blue proudly. Be careful in the UK though, they think the opposite.

Some blues are indescribable until you see them for yourself. There is the azure of the sky overlooking the Grand Canyon, the deepest teal of the Caribbean or the cornflower shimmer in someone's eyes. Nothing compares with the symbolic purity of the veil of the Blessed Mother or the starched navy of a soldier's uniform. It is amazing to see the darkest of the midnight sky, the periwinkle in violets, robin's eggs, the mysterious blue of the Pacific Ocean, or the gleaming gray blue of a jumping fish. There is immediate attention given to the pompous blue some royalty wear, or the aqua crispness of a swimming pool. The powder blue of my children's eyes at birth when they reflected back to me. The bright turquoise earring against a suntanned neck or the cigarette blue smoke lingering in the night air. Even the coldness of steel in a city skyscraper or the electric bolt of lightning is amazing. I see all of these within the hues of blue.

Old sayings, still being used today, are still constantly spoken, acknowledged and understood. Once in a blue moon to be a rare experience. Something borrowed, something blue is good luck for a new bride. To be true blue is to be considered a loyal and loving friend. Rhapsody in Blue is a wonderful and genius success of Ira Gershwin. I have always been entertained and intrigued by Babe the Blue Ox in Paul Bunyan, the Blue Man from The Five People You Meet In Heaven and the Las Vegas Blue Man Group. When I hear "wild blue yonder", I proudly think of my father, a patriotic Air Force veteran, and other soldiers who have defended our great country.

There are small blue things that make me grin, like the bluebird of happiness, blue cheese, blue skies, Blue Dog (George Rodrigue), blueberries, blue jeans, Moody Blues, Smurfs, Blue Cross Blue Shield or the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Have you noticed Apple's default colors are blue. Microsoft Windows default colors are blue. MySpace is blue. Facebook is blue. Google is blue. Yahoo is blue. AOL is blue. Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC all use blue. Why do you think they did this? Did you write a letter to any of them?

Out of the clear blue, you ask me about page color. Blue is an attitude, and I believe in blue. After considering your comments, there is just no other color. I hope you understand now.

HOPE, HELP & HUMILITY - HFH 2008

The 2nd Annual Hope For Haiti Gala was last Friday evening and from the buzz in the grapevine, was a more successful than last year. I was so proud of JT (M.D.) when he spoke to the crowd - he took my breath away and finally, precisely spoke the words how I felt upon my return from Haiti. The band was fantastic, dinner was great, wine flowed and purses and wallets opened throughout the evening. Fr. B was there, along with the new full time doctor for the clinic. Afterwards, he was headed to New York to visit with his mother. His biggest hope of easing just a little misery of the people of his parish was certain.

After having my physical Tuesday (with the same doctor mentioned above), I realize how thorough he was, and how genuinely kind he was when speaking to me. His office staff set me up with another appointment, for a specialist later in the morning, and I was able to get swiftly through the entire process within a few short hours. All I have to do is jump in the car and write a check for my health care. Some of the Haitians travel by foot for miles and miles, taking days sometimes, in hopes to see one of the doctors or nurses during one of JT's team's mission trips. Their frenzied mission week is filled with love and hope for the people.

I am humbled to be able to have it so easy. With a life expectancy of about 42 years old in Haiti, I would be pushing the odds there at my age, and that would only be if I would have survived before the age of five. The one thing JT touched on last Friday, was being able to hold the children, ease their pain and crying. For the worst cases, they hold them, giving them arms tightly cocooned around their frail bodies, and restful passing from this world. Sometimes, knowledge, intentions and money are just not enough to save a life, though our prayers and tears want it so desperately.

There are so many problems there, it is difficult to describe which problem is more important and which cause there to support. The medical mission is vital, as they have prolonged so many lives, and have successfully treated HIV/AIDS cases and many other diseases since they began their visits. The education program is high at the top of the list, as they are learning small things like brushing their teeth and washing their hands - practices which rarely existed in this community. The water program is imperative, as this is a major source of their illness and high mortality rate. The soup kitchen is now serving five days per week, and they are striving for the full seven days, to help the malnourished and starving people. This doesn't quite cover all of their problems though. There is still deforestation, and when the four hurricanes hit them this past summer, wrecked the already wasted land and what had been built. The government has consistently kept these people oppressed for the past 80 plus years. There is a puny job market and no industry, which keeps 85% of the population in constant abject poverty.

I am so proud to be a supporter of this amazing team of people. This Friday, another person and I will pack up a pallet or two of diapers, baby formula, vitamins, prescription medicine and over the counter drugs and get them ready for shipment to Haiti. Items have been collected by a large source of the team and volunteers (and "scavengers" in the medical field), but we must also sort them, exactly as the Haitian government has instructed us to do. We hope their nonsensical rules do not change before the shipment arrives in the Haitian port.

We all continue on with our daily life and battles, but they all seem so minute if compared with others in the world.

http://www.saintmonicasinhaiti.com/

Not associated with our Hope For Haiti program, it gave us a sense of relief to see Ty Pennington and Extreme Home Makeovers to support another Hope For Haiti organization. The broadcast was the November 16th episode featuring the Frisch family.
http://www.danitaschildren.org/

LUCK OF THE IRISH - BUT I’M ITALIAN !

Good things have been coming my way lately. Not only the sweet unexpected little things, but huge events have been working out very well in my life. I don't know what it is, and I know I should believe that Heaven is smiling or maybe a loved one is looking out for me up there.

I haven't had a traffic ticket in about 17 years. It sounds hard to believe, or maybe you're thinking she doesn't drive much. On the contrary, I drive often, and even travel to other Southern U.S. cities in my car. I travel twice weekly about 25 miles each way to see The Boy and 55 to 60 each way to see The Baby in the city of Atlanta. Our main highway in Atlanta is the US version of the freakin Autobahn. Crazy ass fast drivers and tailgating 18 wheeled trucks is the minimum requirement for driving on I-85. I guess I look more "normal" than the rest of them and usually stay in the first two right lanes. I let them all speed around me. It doesn't matter how fast I drive, most people still are faster than me.

Tonight I was pulled over, near my home. A county deputy in the grocery store parking lot saw me swerve around a confused lady, and apparently, didn't like that I went around her to avoid her. I wasn't sure which way she was going, so I pulled around her, rather than being hit by her. I didn't speed past her, as I was only in first gear anyway. Try to speed in first gear - impossible!

I admire the police and appreciate what they do for us. I was kind and when he talked to me, I listened to what he was saying. "I was trying to avoid being hit by her. She changed her mind and was cutting across the two lanes of traffic in her confusion, almost sideswiping me, but I understand you need to do what you have to do." While I waited, I called RT on the phone and we actually laughed about it. Just from being 17 years overdue, we figured I'd get a ticket. Then he came with a "verbal warning".

The first four months of this year were unbearable for me for too many reasons. With some amazing advice from someone, I began to concentrate on things I could actually do something about. I put all my energy into the tasks at hand. Though there are a couple of things still haunting me, the rest of the year has been awesome.

A lady friend of mine told me that I was "such a lucky person". I don't really think luck has much to do with this newfound success. I think perseverance is the key, and keeping your mind on track. Not including the "warning" from the deputy, I can already count three successes this week, one of them huge, but they were all well planned and executed. It's difficult at times, but I have been letting my brain do the work, instead of my heart, and it helps to keep the disappointments further away. My mind can change and rearrange a plan, where my heart can not and does not change emotions as easily. I am trying harder not to take things personally, while trying to see things from the other side or from the other person's point of view. Smiling more often may be playing a part too.

I know the other shoe will fall one day, but I'm going to ride this wave like a bucking bronco and hold on for dear life. : )

"Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure." -- Earl Wilson

United States of America

I have had to defend my vote with people, especially since the election results. Though our state won in the presidential race, some people are being incredibly mean and I don't understand it. Our country's election results have always had an ebb and flow - from party to party. Eight years of conservatism, then eight years of liberalism. It sways back and forth, and if you live long enough, you see the times change like this.

Everyone wants their candidate to win. I got my way on a few of the issues that were on the state and local ballot, but the results did not go the way I would have liked, in regards to the presidential election. So what do we do now? Some are even yelling, not asking, but yelling, about unity with the newly elected. Television, newspapers, blogs, web pages, news channels show people screaming at each other.

Not getting my way is something that I've learned to deal with since my first temper tantrum as a child. I can deal, but to unite is ridiculous. Because Grandma didn't give me a cookie when I was two, doesn't mean I didn't want it - and I still disagree with her decision, some 46+ years later! I STILL want my damned cookie, but I'm dealing with it. I didn't join the Clinton cause in 1992/1996, nor did the opposing side in 2004/2008. Bi-partisanship does not exist in this country, because there are still too many differences.

No, I will not bitch, as the emotion is not worth the time. I will not argue nor defend my vote any more either. Bitching and complaining would truly take away the reason of my vote, as I voted on my values and principles. Pointing fingers and waiting for someone to fail is opposite of my religious beliefs.

Besides, I can always see the glass as half full, instead of half empty. I have to try to see some good in the election results, beginning with it being a historical election. Yes, it will certainly go down in the history books. The second is the candidates he beat in his party's primary. Thank God! I think he, by far, is the better candidate from those who ran in their primary! Third, we got to witness a strong woman running. Although there have been some in the past, i.e. Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro, Sarah Palin was a real contender. It's nice to see an assertive woman in a place of power, even if it is with the remainder of her term as the Governor of Alaska. It gives me hope of my place in the world, especially in the business world.

I will continue to pray, work, pay bills, and run a business and household. So far, not much has changed, nor do I expect any president or politician, from either party, to change too many things. It usually takes them 3 1/2 years to convince the Congress and Senate, if they're lucky to get their way.

I guess we'll all have to wait and see what our President-elect does and says. Though I do not agree with the final decision, I can deal with it. There is nothing I can do, but continue to be a strong American and support the Presidency of our awesome nation.

If you want to keep screaming out "unity", maybe if we could all - both parties - just quit yelling at each other, we would be more united. If we could speak to each other, and quit throwing blame everywhere, we could be more united. If we simply see that we all living in this country together, maybe we could even call this place, oh I don't know, maybe the "UNITED" States of America. Seems simple.