ArtSeesDiner

Becoming a writer is no easy task. It requires the willingness to realize that you might not be able to write at all. So with that said, or written as it were, I am attempting to become a writer. Yes, me, I am moving away from blogdom, not to be confused with boredom, although they are both of the "doms" and in keeping with that stream of jargdom, I welcome you to the kingdom of ME, by way of The Box!

Sex, Politics and a Gender War!

Writer’s note…I was originally going to link the ABC video display of the “Crush on Obama” video, but decided that I did not want to do anything to promote it. I refuse. I have intentionally not linked the sexy politics link because I do not want to use this statement to make it easy for clicking there either.

First of all, I want to extend my apologies to Barack Obama. Clearly the “crush on Obama” video is a degrading piece of garbage that further identifies America as not being worthy to call itself a civilized society. We already have enough “sex” associated with politics, but to use it to promote and to link the idea that only R& B, bootie shaking starlet, wanna be’s is the way to get elected is over the top. I do not know the totality of the whole video, nor do I know too much about the liberal movement behind sexypolitics.com, but I can assure you, I do not want to read it, I do not want to know too much about the approach to use sex as a lure. Being informed is not sexy, people, it is smart. What is pleasing to another person aesthetically is not always, “sexy”, actually for some the constant reference to sex is offensive!

I am ready to go away from the concept that “sex” sell. It also kills, and distorts and destroys when it is not used appropriately. I am embarrassed to consider myself as a Democrat, an open minded thinker when it comes to education, healthcare, economics, the government’s role, etc. At this point I am praying that if Hillary Clinton does not get in as the Presidential candidate that a republican wins strictly because I do not know if we can handle a strong liberal front right now. (Liberal thought is not always immoral pandering!)

Furthermore, this escapade, using a video to minimize, to attract, to defile, (what was the purpose, was it suppose to be funny, is it funny to see an overweight older gentleman hanging on a robust young woman?) the political process has made me more determined to see a woman in the White house. It is time to stop using T&A to sell.

I found it absolutely hilarious that the sexypolitics.com actually promotes a book on Feminism, is that a joke or what? At what point did feminism align itself with reducing women to nothing more that T&A? Or is the newest form of feminism equated to the “sex in the city” thong wearing version?

Isn’t it plausible for Obama to be elected because of experience, intellect, demeanor, conviction, character, do we have to align him so deeply with pop-culture, as in “Obamania?” Isn’t it enough that he is worldly, a Harvard Graduate? Do we need to display to the rest of the world Is that really and truly the only version of America that there is?

Can anyone else see this charade, found in using Hooter-style models to promote politics in the United States is demeaning, and potentially damaging to what we should be doing to encourage, promote and make equal women in this country?

I say one way to bring a positive focus on women is to elect a woman as presidential candidate. Every father that has a daughter should be thinking about the future of their daughter. Every mother that has a daughter should be promoting with a firm conviction and end to the use of women as mere sex objects?

Stop the Madness!

See what your gas guzzling SUV’s, extensive square footage homes and excessive need for driving everywhere has netted for the fifth wealthiest petrochemical producing hoarder has done! Then go fill up and say oh well, “so what’s another $4 a gallon anyway, it is all about me getting around! By the way, when you can no longer afford to keep the lights on, remember - there is always a car that can’t be driven parked on the street for you and your family to sleep in.

By the way, can someone tell me why in the world we think it is okay for a family of five or less to have a 5,000 square foot (or more) home? Can someone tell me why it is necessary to build a monstrosity of a home for three people to live in (look at the newest suburban homes)? Does anyone see how we have been manipulated into investing in the housing market, when did the debt to income ratio disappear? The person making $160,000 a year and buying homes in excess of $500,000 becomes everyone’s debt as recent history has shown us! The auto industry encouraging after years of warnings regarding gas guzzling cars to buy “luxury” is a scam, who is the biggest investors into the production of SUV’s? Excessive consumer spending which has glorified into pop culture excessive spending which only has made a few on the top super rich?

Does anyone understand that if we collectively gave up just one week of income, driving, spending, that we would shut down the powers that be to the point that we could literally bring areas of the economy to a screeching halt? If small business men and women would all collectively support a job walk off, if corporations that are seriously going “green” would give up the “green” for a week that they would once again regain the control that is necessary to stop the billion dollar madness? Take action, believe me neither, McCain, Clinton, or Obama can do anything if we do not demand it, and take control. Let us learn from the Sons of Liberty and take action into our own hands collectively. It was British control in 1776, now it is the Middle East that controls this, are we sadly becoming a colony of the Middle East, the East? “Stop now what’s that sound everybody look what’s going down”…that song is a strong battle cry!

Oh, and to all of you who have the gas guzzlers, the oversized homes, the over-run credit cards…just because you make enough money to pay the bill, that does not give you the right to use more than your share! It is called gluttony and greed!

Building bridges, or is it more like the bridge found in Billy Goat's Gruff?

So that is where all of our steel, initiative and infrastructure has gone! China is building bigger and better, gaining momentum from using steel from Russia, precious metals from Africa and using our greatest minds and initiative. Yay China, you are growing in leaps and bounds. Introducing an Oreo cookie that is not the same as the Ole American one, is it better? While we are removing those “precious” metals that Chinese toy manufacturers have accidentally slipped into our children’s toys, they are utilize mass quantities to build their infrastructure. Where did the Chinese Government come up with that much money to build the biggest bridge in the world? Haven’t governments all around the world worked to sustain the longest wall, and now is it possible that we have also built the largest bridge. What I want to know is that great bridge in China a bridge to democracy, a two-way bridge or a one-way bridge? Ask yourself that question. I am still confused by the relationship between democracy and communism? But the American way is based on relationships that are determined by who you are in bed with at any given moment.

Cold Spring Thoughts

I am sitting in Cold Spring New York as I write this, and truly it is a cold spring day, rainy wet somewhat undesirable. We realize so often that the undesirable is necessary for the desirable to take root and to grow. That is what springtime is really about. The warm sunny days must be balanced against the cool, wet spring days or the force of nature upon the tender shoot would be so great that the tender root will wither before it has opportunity to fully stretch and grow and become what it is suppose to be, a strong root, a tree, a flower, a fruit.

Following a reflection (my daily one) I felt compelled to share my limited words of wisdom. Today’s focus is on being that sometimes lonely tree, that one tree in the distance that balances out a beautiful sunrise, or maybe a sunset, the lone tree that could make a difference to the horizon. We never know when we will be that tree or be called to be that tree. It is in those fleeting unexpected moments that words are spoken to us, words that can make or break a tree.

I remember one time in particular. It was right after my six and a half year old son passed away. I did not want to leave Children’s Memorial Hospital intensive care waiting room. How could I? My baby was lying in the other room only 20 feet away from me. I wanted to grab him, take him home, pretend that none of what had just happened, happened. It was devastating. I remember a social worker came up to me and just looked at me. I guess she knew, she had seen it all too many times. I looked her in the eye and said, “I can’t wake up tomorrow, I can’t!” I remember wanting to just fall into a heap on the floor, no I wanted to run, run so far and so fast away from myself that I would not have the physical strength or momentum to look back. She grabbed me firmly by both shoulders and gave me one reaffirming shake and said with a conviction that could bring down a strong oak tree, “do not let your children go to the grave with your son!” I remember how stunned I was, almost offended. How could she lack such compassion? Did she not see that I was dying too?

Later it came to me, not only was her firmness, her conviction that which could bring down an oak, it was also an unseen gentleness, the hand of God reaching through the moment to make fertile the soil for future healing and possible accepting of the sun that would follow a gentleness that could nurture a tender root to grow.

With this thought I was reminded of something that was written in the margin on the page of today’s reflection. This was my response to the reflection years past. “We get it wrong ~ a foe is the one we hurt, not the one who hurts us, necessarily ~ A friend is who we nurture, not necessarily who nurtures us – it all comes from us! It is us who determines friend and foe, “Blessed are you the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning.” Ruth 3:10

I Want To Go Back!

I want to go back in time to a place of innocence. When people that were elevated to leadership status actually were leaders and earned a respectable right to be in the position that they were. You believed that they must be if they were elected by the people for the people.

We are currently watching a race unfold before us. We have three candidates, are any of them what we really need as a nation. A nation about to lose top billing, a nation that has embraced communism in name of the “big buck” embraced ideals different from that which we were founded upon all in the name of “oil”? Can we put into a White House two separate people a wife/victim or a husband/victimizer? Yesterday it came out that Senator Clinton was in the vicinity of her husbands tryst with Monica. A time back I discovered that Senator McCain has married the woman he had an affair with while married to a woman that had stuck by his side waiting his return from the POW camps. The article pointed out that he started the relationship the night he met her, was it a marriage of position initially? Can we entrust a country to people that would put the sanctity of marriage in jeopardy for political gain?

I will not speak of Senator Obama except to say, it clearly at this point and time appears that he is a man who has risen above his own brokenness in family, and is seeking to set it right in his private life, proudly bringing a degree of normalcy into our understanding of the “American” family.

There is more to this blog than the political arena. Daily I am sickened by the revelation of how demonic the electronic age is. My heart hurts over the decay of family life all as a result of the internet, cell phone, text messaging, ease at which we enter deceitfully relationships. We hide, and the deceit grows out of us like weeds in the abandoned playground of decaying neighborhoods. We hear phrases like, “go ahead its okay to look” is it really? Is it really okay to just look? Is it really okay to just enter into someone else’s home to just share an “innocent” correspondence or two? Case in point; Would any man really tolerate a Joe Shmoe just coming up to his front door and asking for Jane. “Is Jane home? I am her old friend, I just want to sit down and talk with her in her bedroom for a while, just turn your head Joe, pretend that this is all innocent banter. It won’t take long….oh and buddy don’t worry, if your relationship is solid, you don’t need to worry, we are just “friends”! Do you honestly think Joe would be okay with that? Should he be?

How about if Jane just happens into her bedroom and discovers Joe quickly switch screens and wait until Jane leaves a room to enter back into the communication that he was having with an unknown entity? Let’s translate that into a human to human contact, shall we. Joe is seen talking with an unknown woman and up walks Jane, the conversation quickly ends. Joe looks at Jane as if, “yes?” The unknown woman turns away, Joe carries on light inane conversation with Jane and as soon as Jane walks away, (with no introduction mind you) the conversation proceeds with the unknown. Tell me how many people would go on their day feeling okay about that one? But you see, if Jane were to confront Joe over the internet/computer exchange, she would be accused of being paranoid, suspicious, and a comment like “hey, I can have friends, it is just an email!”

Do you see where this is going? How many relationships are going to end this year as a result of a communication breakdown as a result of a communication breakdown? I sit in restaurants, public places and see men and women coming into the establishment and watch as one of the couples sits while the other one is staring at a hand held device, fingers moving quickly on the keys. All attention is on the small less than 2inch by 2inch screen that manages to hold all the attention away from the person across the way. As a child I was taught to ignore the person you were with was rude. To bring the handset of the phone to the table was bad manners.

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, and there is evil, deceit and it is growing at the speed at which one can type and hit send. For me, I want to go back in time. To a place where each family had one phone number and it was the family number assigned to the man of the house, because women were preyed upon. Where women if they did live alone were advised to list first initial only, to a time when people did not hide behind communication devices. Where men and women understood the boundaries of friendships between people of the opposite sex once they were in committed relationships, to a time when people did not need to be glued to electronic devices, but could actually enter into human exchanges with the people that mattered in their lives. Have we gone too far? Clearly I believe we have, and I resent that there is even a need to be concerned about it.

What does an heiress, a Madonna wanna be and a prostitute have in common?

What does a spoiled heiress a Madonna wanna be and a “broken home” little lady of ill repute have in common? Absolutely nothing! Yep, you got it, nothing, Except for the very thing that every woman has; the ability to sexually arouse a man. The very thing that identifies a human being as being a female is being certain biological attributes. Crudely put, T&A. Add in hormone producing organs, glands and there you have it. Please do me a favor, stop the madness. If you are over the age of 22, the age of the little, prostitute, then grow up and let it go. A inappropriately behave man sought pleasure in a woman that is the age of a girl he could have fathered. To me that is bordering on a form of pedophilia, it does makes me wonder. This little girl is going to be made rich off of paid for sex. The last I heard prostitution is a criminal act, immoral act, an act that is not looked upon in any culture as something to glorify. But as the new American way goes, do what you want today, grab the cash and tomorrow you will be held in high esteem. Whether it is a Miss America winner and her oral exploits on Penthouse, only to be elevated in a Very short time as a pop star, or a an intern to a president weeping on National television over her being victimized! WE glorify that which should be tarred and feathered and sent to a nunnery for future rehabilitation.

So now let’s really talk about women. When are we going to stand up and take what is rightfully ours? We sell out to the cheap imitation of woman-hood; we give over to 22 year olds what most of us have had to work our fingers to the bone for daily. We keep on selling out to men daily. Their lust, greed, weakness, only to weaken ourselves, we are the majority, but we act like the minority, we allow others to oppress us daily. The media is the biggest criminal in all of this. I have two more major issues to touch on to get the “soapblogging” bug out of my system.

“Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro stepped down on Wednesday from her finance position with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, a campaign spokesman said The decision came after Ferraro, the only woman to run on a major U.S. party's presidential ticket, said Clinton's rival, Barack Obama , would not be ahead in the Democratic presidential race if he was not black. Ferraro was a member of the campaign's finance committee and raised funds for Clinton's White House bid, the campaign spokesman said. (Reporting by Deborah Charles, editing by Lori Santos”)

Geraldine Ferraro made an inappropriate statement regarding Obama’s color, it is interesting and unfortunate. Ferraro was constantly referred to not as Senator Ferraro, or Democratic Candidate Ferraro, but segregated regularly as being a woman. Hillary Clinton is regularly being isolated as being a woman. If she were the front-runner (Senator Clinton) then the Obama camp would be weeping sad little losing tears over her being a leader because, she is a woman, and he is black and “yada, yada, yada!”

It is time, time indeed for us to stop segregated anyone based on their gender, age, ethnicity, etc. Can we honestly refer to Obama with a “race” label? Isn’t he as much Caucasian as he is African? We are all members of one race, we can interbreed, therefore we of different ethnicities, but not race. Can we please throw the race card away? I feel bad for Ferraro, I guess it is easier to perform criminal acts and get positive outcomes from the publicity then to make an ignorant comment. We must face the next 5 years of people backing down because we cannot be politically correct when we are facing a politically incorrect situation. We have candidates running, a woman and two men. Actually, we have three candidates. Who is the most qualified, the most in-tuned, the most willing to take on the next 5 years of our rapidly failing society? I am not sure, but when I know it I will reference them as President!

Geraldine, you might want to take lessons from the 3 femme fatales at the beginning of this blog, they know how to get out of all kinds of criminal offenses.

The next major issue dealing with women is the sad description of how to keep your man from cheating, by a self proclaimed dating guru was featured regarding the criticism of Spitzer’s wife not immediately dumping the dude. Now understand that part of the article was taken out of context, and does highlight what a man would do if his wife was caught with another man. (Can we please keep in mind that the Governor of New York spent on this prostitute what most New Yorkers make in a month!) www.Dontdatehimgirl.com suggests that a wife, please her man in the bedroom. Let him experiment, that men seek sex outside of marriage because they are not satisfied. Okay, she might be right, but how about respect? How about committing to a relationship and working through the inadequacies of each other? Women, it ain’t all about sex at home, it is about making the guy feel like he made the right choice! Security is the key, but that is another blog all together.

The truth is a man who pays $4,800! For a sexual encounter is an addict. There is little to nothing that can be done short of therapy. Let us also note the age of the little lady of ill-repute. I have daughters her age and if I knew that they were in a sexual relationship, paid or otherwise with a man of Spitzer’s age, I would hunt him down and let him know how borderline - pedophilic I thought he was. So, the truth of the matter is, what this all comes down to is further oppression and victimization of women against women, victimization of women by society, and victimization of women by men!

Juvenile Murderers, should age minimize the punishiment?

Question: At what point can someone hide behind the implicit innocence of being a child? I ask this as I ponder many situations when we use the term “child” to point finger of blame, or to turn the finger of blame away from someone that has committed a societal wrong, a heinous crime. Do we go too far in the categorizing of age and the predominance in identifying age as the acquitter or wrong, or a definer of wrong?

I will begin by focusing on an incomprehensible crime against a young boy that brought joy to my neighborhood. My children were his playmate, and the friend of his siblings. I was schoolmates with his mother. Ultimately I would become deeper friends with her and her partner. My daughters, well unfortunately and honorably they would be his pallbearers. The young boy was Christopher Meyers, his murderer, Timothy Buss.

I was told months prior to Christopher moving into our small neighborhood that Timothy Buss was released from prison after serving only 12 years of a 25 year sentence for the brutal murder of Tara Sue Huffman. I was told by Tara Sue’s brother that he was out and that some of his family still lived in the neighborhood that I lived in. A quiet small safe neighborhood only 60 miles south of Chicago along the beautiful Kankakee River might no longer be a safe haven. I remember all too well Tara Sue’s brother warning me to keep an eye on my kids, not to let them roam freely in a neighborhood where a monster might return. I told my neighbors about it, they told me I was paranoid…

When we discovered Christopher missing, my heart ached, I was sickened. I told my family that the authorities needed to look for Buss, to find Buss. I told the Sheriff the same thing as we were all looking and praying for evidence that Christopher was okay, that he was just displaced. Christopher was found on the 15^th of August, brutally murdered miles from his “safe haven.”

Timothy Buss was 27 when he returned to his old neighborhood to once again perform unconscionable acts against an innocent little boy. Christopher was raped, sexually mutilated and stabbed over 50 times and then buried in a shallow grave. Buss murdered Tara Sue Huffman when he was 13 years old and she was only 5. He raped, sodomized and bludgeoned her to death then stuffed her into a barrel in a landfill. He only served 12 of the 25 years he was sentenced. He was viewed as a child? I say he is a monster.

Now he is serving out his sentence, he did receive the death penalty, and additional counts added on. This time the court made sure he will not ever be released.

Now before us is another case a heinous crime against not one, but three, a husband, wife and an unborn child. All murdered in the safety of their own home. The crime against this family, the devastation of the woman’s sisters, parents, nieces, nephews, friends for generations to come is real, it is as alive as it was the day they received the unfortunate news. The man’s family and friends for generations to come is alive and haunting them as they are all facing the reality ~ the murderer is about to be released.

Nancy Bishop-Langert and her husband Richard Langert along with their unborn child were shot to death by a 16 year old neighbor boy. Originally sentenced to life without parole this is now being overturned and the family is facing the release of this man, who is being released because he was a “child” at the time of the murders. The details of the crime are relevant in that it was cold-blooded and calculated.

So the question remains, at what point does age matter? Are we delusional in our society to determine how we treat mentally ill adolescence? On one hand we say that a child past the age of 12 is unable to receive child services in the same manner as when they were dependent children. Then we say it is acceptable and fair that a young woman 16 year old has the right to seek an abortion. Depending on the issue, we determine what age is appropriate. Should age be the determining factor in the punishment assigned to a heinous criminal, a monster? Yes, they are human, but clearly we are surrounded by the potential of repeat offenders. Timothy Buss is an example, we risk every day exposing ourselves to violent offenders when they are released from a prison sentence when there was a heinous crime against humanity.

Please visit my dear friend’s website and see the work that she is doing. In this election year, ask yourself “are you truly protected in your safe zone?” Be informed!

http://www.illinoisvictims.org/ go to the juvenile LWOP and read more about it.

Beam ME up Scotty!

Can you imagine? A child sitting in the classroom, visibly bored, trapped in the mundane. The clock ticks, one, two, three…Mrs. Smith announces, “Sally Smith, your mother will be picking you up at 2:05 for your orthodontist appointment, please proceed to the office…” The mind of the fidgeting 4^th grader races to the game boy sitting in his book bag back in his locker. He thinks of nothing more than beating his last score, when all of a sudden it happens… Ms. LaLuna is suddenly standing before him, looking him straight in the eyes. He shakes his head, pinches himself, wonders, “am I imagining, is a figment of my imagination, am I in one of my gameboy games. This is cyber-dude!”

His mind is now captivated, no longer thinking beyond the classroom, beyond the moment. “Mr. Chorak said there would be a visitor, I imagined someone to tell us about standardized testing and how important it is to “try your best, test matter!” But this, this is unreal!”

No this is not unreal this is possible. It is plausible. It is necessary. Imagine for just one brief moment how transforming it could be. A virtual teacher, no a virtual specialist dropping into a classroom to take over the lesson to teach about a concept that children of all ages struggle with, whether it is fractions, the Revolutionary War, a literary device…it matters not. What matters is that the classroom is keeping pace with the world around the child. We must move to the point that we recognize that we do not teach math, science, reading, history, but we teach the child, the individual.

The business world spends thousands upon thousands of dollars to initiate best practice in delivery forms that will intrigue, enhance, capture the adult student, yet we ignore what best practice in education for children, adolescence and maturing adolescence. We are ignoring research on how the mind of a young person works. The biorhythms of our students, how we learn must be at the forefront of education.

Virtual teachers, it is plausible, technologically possible, and probable. The time has come. This will never do away with the primary educator in the classroom, but it will further the instruct ability of children around the world. Teachers in the classroom in the “real” are necessary as facilitators, but to expect any one person to deliver day in and day out all the information and instruction that a pupil needs in the course of a school year limits the overall development of a child at any given time. We can embrace the tendency of the human capacity to learn. Research shows that most humans learn best through visual delivery (videos, media, etc) of information. The engagement of this type of process is forthcoming and as an educator I am thrilled at the idea of being delivered to a classroom in Beijing on a Friday afternoon to share poetry with a group of 12 years old students! Now that is cyber- DUDE, Scotty beam ME up!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/582475.stm

The Power of Music and Finding your own Beat!

As I approached my heart quickened with the sound of drums, all sorts of drums keeping a steady 4 – 4 pattern. Not all the patterns were the same, some of them fast, others slow, the timbre was varied but the rhythm was sustained. I turned the corner to find children dancing with anticipation over the possibility of getting to hold stick in hand. The growing fervor of drum and beat was moving them beyond containment. Weaving my way through little ones, no taller than my thigh, I looked past the man at the door, ahead to see a circle, and an inner-circle where adults all focused on their task, the task to blend their independent pattern to greater meaning. Amidst the growing turbulence was a peace. Those sharing their beat were calm, peace shown on their faces. They were one with a greater power.

"If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away. " H.D. Thoreau

There was no fear of losing pace with companions. It was a safe zone, a place where individuality was brought together in a circle, a continuum, and so the music played on. I was asked at one point (we all were) did I experience any enlightenment? Yes, I did, for one brief moment my dream of being a drummer was fulfilled. For that one moment in my own continuum I was free, free to pound out “my” rhythm, my existence was real. I was free to be me and part of the band.

I set out on a path yesterday to join a friend who is giving his entire life to establishing a Music Wellness Initiative, Eric Myrzyn, Executive Director of http://www.music-wellness.org My commitment to him is to spread the word of MWI, to support him as a friend as I would any friend. It is also because I believe in MWI. I have had the privilege of being a musician with the organization. I have seen firsthand the power of music as a healing tool. The undeniable power of music to bring people together, to transcend hatred, pain, cruelty, brokenness and to bring about unbridled joy is evident. Yesterday I was supposed to be an observer. I was just someone bringing back information and hopefully a degree of clarity to a man who seeks to promote wellness. I came away with far more. I was inspired again. Music is a common language. Music is a language that holds unifying power. The organization that sponsored the drum circle and day of music melding towards greater understanding is Music Crossroads through a Recreational Music Making Partnership, located in Indianapolis Indiana, the crossroads of the United States. It was pointed out to me that music recreation is that of being “re-created” through music. No matter whether a child hearing a familiar song, or a performer learning a new musical phrase, a guitarist focusing on attaining that difficult chord, a drummer with a new progression, you enter into the movement one way and exit re-created.

My kudos go out to Matt Carter of Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, John Fitzgerald of Remo, Inc for leading the “marchers” and providing the percussion instruments, The Shepherd Community Center for sharing their space and the thigh high percussionist, The Indianapolis Foundation, inspiring philanthropy and Albert Schnazi of Integrated Solutions for facilitating an afternoon of enlightened dialogue.

It is no mistake that yesterday morning as I was reading scripture and asking the Lord what He wanted me to know that day that he brought me to 2Chronicles 34:12 “All those (Levites) who were skillful with musical instruments were in charge of those who carried burdens, and they directed all the workers in every kind of labor…” yes, we are called. If the Lord calls musicians to lighten the load, make the burden less, then I guess that is the who in the vast puzzle of life, and I indeed was enlightened!

Blessings!

First of many "America's Best Kept Secret"

It seems that every time I begin to think about the politics of the United States, I am drawn back to my Senior Thesis, written in 2000 in order to obtain my degree in history from Olivet Nazarene University. For an entire year I pondered what I was to write about. I wasn’t your run of the mill history student, as I was more interested in the way that people thought, why they did what they did, and how that psychology drove forward human development. With that in mind I began to search for that morsel of delectable, historical musing that would keep me interested for the next year of research and development towards the right to obtain that much coveted BA in history.

After some reflection, one question kept coming back over and over again. Why was the women’s movement abandoned by W.E.B. Dubois at a time when there could have been advancement for all people in America? What was his motivation given his leading role in as a social scientist? This question came to mind a few years earlier as I was doing research for a literary analysis of Mrs. Warren’s Profession, by G.B. Shaw. My curiosity was piqued and it never really left me. The question led me to a man that would gain my attention, and to this day, I ponder the role that W.E.B. DuBois played in the history of the Black man in a country that would betray not only him, but the Very people that he believed should have immediate integration without delay. I look forward to sharing with you my discourse on a man that shared for the first time with the world, the “Soul of Black Folks.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described it best, “history cannot ignore W.E.B. DuBois because history has to reflect truth and Dr. DuBois was a tireless explorer and a gifted discoverer of social truths. His singular greatness lay in his quest for truth about his own people. There were very few scholars who concerned themselves with honest study of the black man and he sought to fill this immense void. The degree to which he succeeded disclosed the great dimensions of man.”

"The Notebook" Old School Love and Real Love, does it exist?

The Notebook: I realize that this movie came out some time ago. It is true I am not an avid movie watcher. For me catching a flick a couple years after the release does happen sometimes, okay most of the time. It is my norm. But that is okay for me, as I really do not run with the crowd. In fact I have this tendency to run away from the crowd. I just do not like to do what everybody else is doing until it is my doing. That to most means I am out of the loop.

The Movie: It was to many the love story of the decade. Many people told me “go see it”…”just see the movie”…”you have to see it!” For others it was a nice depiction of true love and the American way. To others it was shmarmy, a little too sappy at best and a little too unrealistic for a society that has a divorce rate of well over 50%, and an increasing number that classify themselves as domestic partners of both the heterosexual and alternative type. So, first love being last love? Hmm, that is a bit much don’t you think? Cynics would agree that that type of love and marriage too? Poppycock! (okay I dated myself)

If you look a little closer into the characters you see truth about relationship and the promises we make or fail to make to ourselves at the core. First prevalent truth revealed. It is that the first person that you love, I mean really love, will be the last person that you really love. Some will say there are many people that you will love in your lifetime. Common thought is there are many fish in the sea. Few people buy into the “Penelope and Odysseus” story line. So you could argue this point, or you can identify different classifications of love. The love that Noah had for Allie in the movie was a total commitment to a promise. That was his truth. He could include another woman into his life, his house, but could never promise again that which he promised his one true love. He would not find home.

The bigger point is this, how many of us do not really love, those which we think are our first love? Far too often people marry out of pressure, identifying themselves with the, “it is the thing to do.” Many feel that they cross the point of no return in relationships so they hang on for dear life, or emotional death. The fear of hurting another and putting their feelings, wants first is not putting them first. You are actually putting yourself, your guilt, your pain before their own in many ways. Eventually if you are not really in it for the reasons that you should take a life partner, then it will implode! You will both end up hurt anyway.

Noah asks Allie “what do you want?” She is faced with a decision to go with the one she truly loves or the life that she thinks she loves and a commitment to marry another. Discernment when we must make a choice is indeed a very hard thing. Whether is entering into anything, job, major purchase, relationships, etc., we can be deluded into believing we feel something we think we feel. We want something we think we want. Believe something we think we believe. It only becomes right when it all aligns, when what we feel, want, think, and believe comes together. It is then that a promise can be uttered. Then a commitment backs the promise. Through that we can see absolute truth revealed in our lives.

Sometimes I wonder if we rush so much into relationships for all the obvious reasons that we ignore obvious reasons why we should not, only denying ourselves that Noah and Allie love. Did Noah indicate anything to Allie in his youth that he would care for her and make her home even when she did not remember him? Was there anything that he did which indicated to Allie that he would continue communications even when she forgot home? Yes, he did, he was a promise keeper. He kept first the promises to himself and then to the ones he loved. He made home and knew that it was the essence of her that would fulfill it and he knew that it was her presence that made home for his heart.

Okay, so it was a movie, but it was more than a movie. It is a glimpse at something lost in our culture. We do not love for love’s sake. We do not marry with the intent to fulfill promises. We do not keep promises. More importantly, we make promises we should not make in the first place. Prenuptual agreements, contracts, keep us all in a state of mind that a promise, a word can be abandoned with a blink of an eye. Believe me, I am not saying divorce, break-ups are not sometimes necessary. I have been down that road. What I am saying is this: We have set ourselves up to avoid the ability to make a long-lasting loving relationship with a promise at the core. We go about it the wrong way. What is necessary to have a sustaining relationship with another person? What is needed in order to nurture the relationship to a place of health and growth? I know for myself it is about time. I struggle to maintain healthy relationships with family and friends and work a full-time job, and take care of me. How can I possibly give all that is necessary to nurture the man in my life, nurture the relationship if I have to schedule it in? It is all something to ponder. There is nothing worst then feeling alone with someone in the other room, or worst sitting on the couch with you.

As for this romantic, I do believe that love like Noah and Allie’s exist. Maybe, just maybe, we do not always get it. Or, maybe, just maybe, we let the “one” pass us by. Fear of taking a chance and just going up to the one we are drawn to and saying, hi! We convince ourselves we are silly. Giving up too soon and listening to others around us when they say, oh, he/she is not for you, there are a lot of fish in the sea, find another to fill your time. But then again, that kind of thing only happens in movies.

Friday rantings about health care, the primary election, and other ME points

http://talkwithme2.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/a-friday-ranting-about-health-care-the-presidential-election-and-a-little-more/

Autonomy, Boundaries, what is that all about?

Autonomy, what is it really all about? Do we even care anymore who is peeping in our windows? Think about this in terms of the cyber-revolution. There once was a time when we regarded our own personal space, as a personal space. No one really knew what went on behind closed doors. There was a reason for that. It kept us all in check. Shrouded were the mysteries of the individual and contained in a place that only few, if any held a code, a password to...the rest of the story www.talkwithme2.com/soapblogging or http://talkwithme2.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/autonomy-boundaries-what-is-that-all-about/

Have a great day!

changing with the tide, grabbing hold of a soap bubble and riding the wave

SoapBlogging, the intentional soap boxing arena that allows for the individual writer, in this case ME, to write freely, not caring one iota as to whether or not anyone reads the banter of one who has so much to say! Today I am reminded of how haphazard the world really is, and unpredictable too. Recently I was forced into yet another career change. I would love to blame myself, my lack of attention, inability to communicate, undesirable appearance, lack of insight into the needs and wants of the world around me, lack of fighting spirit, and the list could go on and on. But, after a second thought, (and believe me it takes little to no time to come to this conclusion) I embrace this reality…jobs, career, friends, family, are much like marriage. Sometimes you just come to the conclusion that there is a lack of cohesiveness, continuity, personality conflict, in short, “it just don’t work!” Now that is not to remove blame, as many times there is just downright evil at work! If you are intentionally cheating, lying, stealing, philandering whether in a marriage, or even with another co-worker, (I will fill you in later) then, well, a negative begets a negative!

So here is ME, back to the drawing board, starting over. This time, will I get it right, so…just Kottke shared in today’s blog http://www.kottke.org/08/01/imperfectly-interesting It is my fondest wish that my lack of perfection, my degree of imperfection, will actually be my “ace in the hole” my signature mark. It is today that I start anew and truly endeavor to become the SoapBlogging queen of 2008, the writer extraordinaire, the guiding light to all those lost souls on the internet seeking some degree of value in the written word. It is through our dialogue, our discourse that we will come together in the “third place.”

It is with a strange degree of sadness and relief that I forge into this phase of my life with a whole lot of knowledge regarding the disparity, the condemnable reality of the health care crisis, with an emphasis on hospital’s role in the pillaging of the uninsured and a lack of understanding that asks, so now what do I do with this insight? Stay tuned, you will probably find out!

Mary Caroline Link, "let her cry for she's a lady, let her dream for she's a child..."

Mary Caroline Link

Her curly red hair was hard to control, almost as hard to control as her desire to love and be loved. Her green eyes would flash. It is strange today as I was reminiscing about her, I wondered if I really remember ever seeing her cry. Her face would become strained, the pain embedded deep within each of the lines on her face, an aging that came fare too soon for a 1940’s starlet beauty, but I do not remember tears. for the rest of the story go to...

www.talkwithme2.com/soapblogging

Medical Credit Scores and You!

Medical Credit Scores a new way to discriminate against the uninsured and those with chronic medical issues!

Can you imagine walking into an Emergency Room and being told to go somewhere else because your medical credit score is not high enough? Will there be a security deposit prior to a hospital stay? Are we watching a new form of discrimination unfold? Can you imagine being told that you or your loved one cannot have open heart surgery until you pay for it first? Is that plausible? What purpose could there be to have medical credit reporting if it is not going to be used? Is there any way that the purpose is to benefit the poor, the uninsured? Do not kid yourself into believing that Federal Law protects the American people. The fine for refusing treatment is so small and many hospitals trust that they will not be "found out". It is more cost effective run the risk of a slap on the hand then to deliver treatment. Now understand not all hospitals will do this. But the reality that there is even one hospital out there that would be allowed to is enough. Tenet Healthcare Corporation has many hospitals Tenet is funding the mediFICO, in the amount of 10 million dollars, one third of the cost to get this up and running by May of this year. http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49618

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed_medfico_0102jan02,0,4105866.story

Just a thought

“You may never know what results come from our action. But doing nothing, there will be no results” M. Gandhi

Often times I pray to my Father that He show me the paths to take, to show me the deepest parts of myself, “who am I, I plead!” I realized today that I cannot fully, completely understand me, until I understand Him who made me, who knew me before I was conceived and grew in my mother’s womb.

As I was in my morning reflections today I was brought to the idea of reaching up to the Lord with outstretched hands, reaching up to the heavens and asking Him to show me who He is. Let me know you more. As that thought came to my heart, not just my mind, but my heart as I was reminded of something that the Holy Spirit spoke to me the other night, just before I went to sleep.

I was reclining in bed asking for guidance. My job situation was not going well, (still is not) and I said, “I do not even know what to pray for, what favor or blessing to ask for, you know me, you know my needs, show me in which direction I should go.” I felt the Spirit respond that I should pray for Him! I thought, wait one minute, me, lowly, insignificant me, pray for the Lord our God? Then like a wash of warmth, a fire, that lasted for about 10 seconds came over me, and I realized then, that all I can do is simply, ask “what can I do for You?” That is it, what can I do to bring Glory to the one who knows me best? To ask the Lord to show me the path that I should take, I first need to ask Him to show me His path, once I see that, then I can see the path that He desires for me.

I read today in one of my reflections that no one seeks God naturally, our sinful inclinations prohibit that, that it is our natural tendency to hide when we are in a place that is not worthy of our understanding of what God is. The disciples of Jesus did not immediately understand, they had to go through a few years of basic training before they even got to the point, and even then on His last night, they had a hard to staying awake! They were human and so am I. The good news is that God will honor my response, your response to His leading by teaching me/you more about Himself. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God, are children of God…” Romans 8:14

Romans 8

The Lord called his chosen to be adopted brothers and sister of Him that would set free His own from the bonds of sinfulness, death, darkness. We often go through life believing as Christians, or those who seek Christ-like existence that we must have done something, we ask "why is this happening to me?" When we look deep into the Word, and we say that we are lovers of the Lord, lovers of God, it is best to say "this is happening for me!" For the Word holds many truths, and the one that I hold near to my heart today is this...all good things come from the Lord and is given unto those that love Him who called us into adoption through the Spirit. So I call out from the deepest place in my heart Abba Father, you are the Potter and I am the clay, I am a broken chipped, weathered pot and through your Gracious Hands, I can be made a piece of art, to be viewed through Your eyes, my hands become Yours, my ears, my eyes, my heart, all are yours, Lord what can I do for you today?

Ditka's pot roast nachos - 2 forks and a spoon up!

I must admit having a weakness for choosing "super" nachos, when available. I've just gotta know. To some degree, it's that I live my today's as though they might be my last chance at nachos.

This particular instantiation is pretty special. It's the best of what you might usually expect (chips, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, etc.), but with a fabulous barbecue pot roast meat. It'll spin your sombrero.

Chicago was great.

But while I'm admitting menu weakness, I may as well admit I'm one of the few people who truly believes there's no place like home. I'm a big time homey. There's no deal like being happy at home, for this muchacho. And I'm lucky enough to know it always, and even when confronted with the most tantalizingly convincing advertising for elsewheres. There's no elsewhere advertising strong enough to convince me I should leave home. I'm totally immune, and generally have to be carted off in a straight-jacket, kicking and screaming helter skelter. Inwardly, at least. Obviously I don't want to be too big a baby about it outwardly, otherwise nobody wants to be my friend. But that doesn't mean I don't long for home the minute I leave it for some allegedly utterly mind-bogglingly amazing elsewhere.

priceline, The Tremont Hotel, and Chicago!

The Tremont Hotel located in the heart of the Magnificent Mile houses the famed Ditka's Restaurant. Right off of Michigan Avenue nestled a block west on Chestnut Street was a hidden treasure for me and the gang this past weekend. Only a hop, skip and a jump from Rush Street, and a room's eye view from the John Hancock Building, it was a jewel in the crown of our Festivus weekend. On my modest budget I was able to afford a weekend of fun, family, friend, and fellowship.

Thanks to www.Priceline.com I was able to get the room for a steal! Seriously, I ended up with 3 rooms for 2 nights for the same standard price of one room. Now hear this my avid readers, this is not the first time this has happened. I have stayed in Washington D.C. in October, upstate New York in December, and in Chicago-land area 4 times since Thanksgiving of this year and have paid no more than the cost of a quality meal at a local steak house each night! I highly recommend Priceline, they do deliver!

Now as far as the Tremont Hotel goes, it was sweet. The people made the place for me. Their down home hospitality was the selling point for me. The old world charm reminded me of a larger Bed and Breakfast. The down side is that I had to look too hard for coffee. The Starbucks right across the street was nice, but the temperatures were sub-zero and the idea of walking across the street before I was fully awake was not appealing at all! I am a coffee addict, sadly, so for me a cup of coffee or 2, or 3, before I really get moving is sublime. There was no room service, so that wasn't a solution. There were no cute little coffee-makers in the room, so that didn't do. There was coffee downstairs tucked away in a beautiful dark wood cabinet surrounded by an oversized leather couch, comfy chairs and a baby-grand piano, that was nice, but not real accommodating. My girls and I did find it warm and cozy to take the coffee back to one of their rooms and curl up to some morning girl talk before heading out to shopping!

Our day began with brunch at Ditka's. A word to the wise,...go for the Pot Roast Nachos! Steve is still talking about the "best nachos he has ever had!" Following brunch, we hit, H&M and found some great buys, then it was out the door to the right and up the escalator to Filene's for yet another shopping bag or two of outstanding purchases, all things I really needed...; )! Then across the street to Water Tower Place for a nice leisurely wait in the mezzanine with Intelligensia Coffee in hand, served by the Mario, this barista definitely takes coffee to the level of decadence! The shopping day was topped off with a make-over at MAC cosmetics in Macy's, compliments of Amanda and Steven.

Along with our fun shopping day we dined at Pizano's on State Street, the pizza was delicious, and left us all satisfied; of course we also enjoyed angel hair pasta with marinara and meatballs that actually passed the Steve test! The Melting Pot provided for a 3 hour indulgence that left us all feeling quite content. The Excalibur for dancing afterwards was a nice way to go "Old School" as we stayed on the main level and danced. It reminded us of how much fun it is to have fun and let your hair down.

So again, thank you Priceline for making it possible for me to take the gang for a family festivus, and make memories that will keep us warm through these long Midwest winters! Next stop...well, who knows? That is up to my friend priceline

one, two, unbuckle my cocoon

And what's my side of the metapolymorphic story? Chopped blogger?

Being quintessentially ADD do I look back to beginnings that blur and drip and likely strike the love of my life as evidence I was scarcely there. And while I didn't have a good explanation for it when I began this paragraph, somewhere in the midst of replacing the word 'proof' with the word 'evidence' did I remember that I was in the midst of real life fathering, something I've done only 3 weeks a year in the last 8 years. So it taxes me like Uncle Sam on Republican steroids. And George Mitchell can take that to the Major League Bank and toke it.

What I do remember is overdosing on my favorite emotion: fascination. Holy whoa'ly, this girl's got not only "it", but several elements and qualities - and maybe even an aura (for those who believe in such a "thing") - that I ain't never had the privilege of encountering up close and personal... is what I was feeling. And still am, even more so now than then.

Girl can't help it. She's ME, eternally uppercase.

Get to know her here, people, and feel a little of my a lot.

Metamorphosis, Beatles 101 and life taking on wings!

“and then on August 24th of 2007, the sky suddenly parted”

Yes, I know that sounds a bit extreme, but that is what the guy wrote! Yes, you see, I came across his profile, his amazing brown eyes flashed at me, his serious, smile-less face was looking write through me. I had to know him. I had seen him months earlier, but it was not a situation that I could reach out and communicate. I wasn’t ready.

I came across him again, in the most unusual of places, I will not tell the story as it is reserved for my grand-kids when they are post-25! Anyway, it isn’t that big of a deal, but then again, it is huge! I went on one of those social-network sites for the purposes of grabbing glances into my daughter’s lives, as well as some of my family members. I was detached, out there on my own you might say. Starting a new phase in my life, and I was missing out on so many stories that I heard them sharing. So, I broke down and joined. I found it to be cathartic, enlightening, fun, I stretched my minimal techno skills from a level 1, to a level 2.5! Now, I am desiring to be the blogging queen, through my “soapblogging” endeavors, maybe I will discover the writer within.

It is also a desire to become an “Indie” producers of sorts. Through my writing and my singing, something creative should transpire. Time will tell. Oh, the guy that claimed the sky parted…well, I fell in love. I did not think it was possible, I thought those days were over. I was going to be the strong-willed, independent type that would forge on alone, determined to make it without the love of a man. I vowed friends and only friends with men for all eternity. Well, I was wrong, again. Now, I am forging a life with an amazing man, friend, buddy, singing partner, I really like this human being, really! Can you believe he insist on doing the dishes! He won’t let me help! I get to cook, and he enjoys the gastronomic endeavors of this culinary queen, little writer, wanna be ~~there is also another trade-off~~ I have to go through my Beatle’s lessons, Woody Allen, 101…listen to him sing and play the guitar and piano…struggle as I learn how to play, cribbage…just to name a few… and laugh every step of the way!

The Steve and Mary Show is off and running. Not long after the 24^th of August and the sky suddenly parted, so did the pathway down to pick up luggage at the airport terminal. LaGuardia hasn’t been the same since this curly blonde haired piece of fluff showed up in red ballet slippers and a Charlie Brown t-shirt, scared out of her wits, but knowing with every step towards the amazing smile, brown eyes laughing, strong physique adorned, proud, in the favored orange man that life would never be the same and chances passed up for decorum were not going to be lost on this girlie girl. Some moments in time are meant to not be passed by! Thank you Lord for going with me…~~As he hugged me, NO, cocooned me, I indeed went through a metamorphosis…now this butterfly is ready to fly and dance, dance a dance that all princesses should dance at least one time in their lives. My new mantra, which is actually an old mantra, but a new mantra, as it is a new year….”BRING IT ON!”

Blessings!

oh, to be standing in line when the contributor invitations are handed out!

It's a great honor to be invited to this blog, and even more so into the author's life. Tune in regularly for sincere banter and reflection upon a pair of humble attempts at living for more than one's self. And please forgive us if and when we fail therein.

We don't know more than you. We just like typing more.

As much as I like the sound of that, I obviously don't know your heart well enough to know that last part for sure. But I do know that of all my education, the only course I took beyond the foundational triple-R's which ever saw much practical application was that semester of typing in high school. While I do miss the exercise of a manual typewriter (not to mention the peace of mind of the absence of a text buffer), typing remains for me what I imagine dancing must mean to those with both a left and a right foot.

Anyway, it's better than good to be here.

Newest Happenings in the Life of Talkwithme2

I began this explosion of blogging back in December of this year. Now, do not get me wrong, I have been writing almost daily on myspace.com/mezzomoon since June of 2007. I did a little bit before when I was into posting my poetry on poetrywars.com
Now my interest have become more of a blended, advocacy, independent producer, ie Indie, to a poet, creator, entrepreneur, etc. You can find some of my additional work on www.talkwithme2.com as that is my home website. There you will find my soapblogging defined, some of my poetry, and my creative sensitive side. On my bloglines.com site where my blog is called soapblogging2 and my name there is also talkwithme2.
It is not so much that I am stroking my ego, it is more that I believe that I like everyone else has something to share.
I am relatively pragmatic in my approach to many things. I hope to be able to share, stimulate, enlighten, and personally grow as I extend my word weaving into the cyber-world.
If you are looking for a little entertainment check out some of my musical endeavors. thesteveandmaryshow.blip.tv or youtube.com/jethrick
That is all for now, have a blessed, miraculous day and realize that even in your worst state of mind and place you are better off than most, but then again it is all relative! Blessings!