Gotta watch the image

Okay, so it doesn't really translate to looking like me.  It's the intent that counts.Bag lady. Now that I'm back in the town of our big recycling project I get a nagging feeling that I have an image to uphold. In a small town you never know who is watching and talking about what you do.

i never know if the person behind me in the grocery store line is watching me, knowing that I am that woman who has been writing all those articles in the paper about recycling. I don't dare use a plastic bag!  The word just might get around that I don't walk the walk that I talk. 

I have been saving all my plastic now, even though we don't have any place for me to recycle it yet.  I' tell Michael that I'm saving up.  I'll need lots of plastic to demonstrate the program. It is all going out into the garage for now.  Knowing Michael, if this program doesn't get started soon I don't know how long he is going to let it accumulate out there. I won, for now but knowing him...

Today on my run I continued my analyses of the trash along the road.  I didn't pick up a single can or cigarette pack this time.  I want to see how long it will be there before anyone else picks the stuff up. Wednesday, I will again take my bag out and collect anything that is still there. That may the title of my next news article.  

Tomorrow, I have two meetings, one for each hat. In the morning it is to check out the recycling site specs and in the afternoon it is to check out the BBBF site. Hopefully, I get to the right place for the right reason at the right time.

Follow That Dream

In the Parade magazine section of the paper today a short article caught my eye. It was an excerpt from a book by Allison Arden titled Book of Doing .  I was so impressed with her message that it had to be my entry for the day.  Here it is:

1. It's never too late to start doing.  Age can be an excuse regardless of how old you are.  Don't let it stand in your way- ever.

2. Find time for what you love.  Even if you can't devote as much time as you'd like to your new passion, every minute you spend on it is worthwhile and helps you plant seeds for the future.

3.  Do and tell.  If you're excited about what you're doing, don't be shy.  Tell friends.  When you're frustrated, they'll help keep you going.

4. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks.  Some of the most amazing things have been accomplished by people others thought were crazy.  so let your actions flow freely, without negativity, apprehension, or self-consciousness.

I couldn't have said it better myself if I had tried.

Run, Michael, Run!

Okay, so the frog is just an attention grabber.  Actually, I had downloaded him to put on my Big Burger Bash Festival poster. I love saying BBBF. I think it has a real ring to it. Hopefully, June 2nd has better weather than we are having right now. Not much fun to have a festival in 30 degree wet, windy weather. I haven't been out in two days.  Brrr!

Great news today! The Episcopal Church gave us $6,000 for our plastics recycling program! Just a few thou more and we can make that phone call to the baler company. I will be off and running with the PR next week. Radio, computer link, newspaper, national Keep America Beautiful program. Sooo close!

Michael got home in time for dinner from his races in Missoula tonight.  I expected that he would come limping in the door after the way he came home from last week's races. The weather this time was ideal for running on a flat course compared to last week in the heat.  What a difference a few degrees make! His total score for the three races brought him second place. Felt better about his times anyway.

Sorry, no musings today.  Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.

Command center on

I was trying to find a particular picture for my blog today, but, as typical of me, I hurriedly drop them into folders, then can't find the one I am looking for.  So, I decided to forgo the pic for now and continue with my musings, if that is okay with everyone.

Michael left for Missoula this morning to run his races with his friend, Tram, tomorrow.  Yes, as I said before, races. Three consecutively. I told him to have fun.  I hope he does.  I'm beyond finding that fun to do. One race now and then, perfect conditions, for the right t shirt, fine. Rain, wind, possible snow, five hour drive one way, not fun. To each their own.

 But, on a miserable weather day like this, that gives me free rein to work on all of my projects today.  I have set up my command center, with phone, notebook, pen and computer, working hard at promoting my two current projects, ROWL and Big Burger Bash Festival. As impatient as I can be with getting the feedback I am expecting, I guess my progress is measurable so far.

The most frustrating part is connecting with large corporations and major contacts.  Those who can do the most for us, are the most challenging to reach. Of course, I'm sitting here, just me trying to contact just them.   Where as, to them, I am a nobody out of so many nobodies with the same agenda. However, I know they are interested in helping programs like ours, even if  they can be pretty elusive. But, just like the post office,"neither rain, nor snow, nor slow response will deter me. I will get through and I will succeed!"

 Isn't that the way advertising works?  You have to make so many contacts before you can expect success?  And have I made contacts! Next week I'm going to library fund raiser where there will be lots of contacts.  I can already see them run when they see me coming.

This morning, as I headed out on my run with my litter bag, I thought I would analysis the litterthat I collected when I got home. So I opened up the back and started checking it all out.  What I discovered was that most of what I had collected was aluminum cans, plastic pop bottles and fast food drink containers.  The second most common litter was empty cigarette packs(I won't pick up cigarettes).

Now this is very interesting to me and, I believe, quite a study of people and human nature. The people, who it seems, care the least about their health also care the least about their immediate environment. They take little pride in themselves, as well as what their community looks like.

So, for public conscience to develop, I guess where we need to start is with the person's self esteem. If they loved themselves and cared about their health they would stop smoking and drink less pop.
Therefore, that would take them to the next level, loving their environment, resulting in taking better care of it.

There again, I'm not a psychiatrist and don't intend to cure everyone and solve the problems of the world.  But, I will keep picking up the litter that these poor misguided individuals keep strewing about. That I can handle.

On a roll, up and down!

Core committee for ROWL- Elaine, me, Charlotte and Roger

Talk about a roller coaster ride!  Nine o'clock last night I get a call from the reporter, with a ten o'clock deadline, that the pictures hadn't come through to him to include with his article about the recycling program. Try as I might I couldn't get them to him. So after disturbing the photographer's wife(yikes!) to ask if her husband could send them for me(he was asleep), my mind clicked in.  Sometimes it takes a hiatus, you know. Anyway, I realized the error I had made in the email address, corrected it and sent it off to the reporter.  Must have been too late for the copy, however, because the article was printed without the pics that we had worked sooo hard to get done in time. What a loser!

But today, I talked to the Albertson's manager and he is all excited about working with us, even wanting to put containers in his lot for the program.  Tomorrow I hope to have a longer talk with him and see where we can go with it.  He said they need to improve their "image" and this would really help them.  Sure, we'll help you out.  Now give us some money!

However, I didn't hear back from the shed guy today as expected, so need to go after him tomorrow.  Right now I'm keeping a low profile after my goof last night. Some days it's just better to cool your jets a bit and let things just happen. But, I'm ready for my plan of action for tomorrow!

Makes your head spin!

Wow!  Talk about highs and lows! One day you are a bit discouraged by feed back and the next day you bounce back like a ball on a roll. After my morning run(that part was discouraging when I found there was still lots of trash that needed picking up) I went, with letter in hand, to talk to the Argus editor about printing my answers to the questions posed by the past writer.  She was more than supportive and really wasn't concerned that my letter went over the word limit. Can I ever say anything in ten words or less?

When I got home I received a call from the reporter from the Gt Falls Tribune for a phone interview about our project.  He didn't know that getting me talking is one thing, shutting me up is another. Anyway, he wanted pictures ASAP since he wanted to run the story for tomorrow.  Wow!  So I contacted some of the committee members, including our own photographer among us, and we were able to do an impromptu get together for a photo op. In fact a lady, with a truck full of bags containing cans, came by and we used some of her bags in our picture, which she was gracious enough to take our picture with. OK, so we had to stage the picture, I admit. What else can you do at the last minute? The picture was sent to me and I forwarded it to the reporter, meeting his deadline.

In the middle of all this, a committee member and I went in search of a shed for the project. At the first shed company we came to we asked if they would like to donate a 10'x10' shed and in return they would have their name on it saying they donated it.  That free advertising is worth a lot for them.  He was very interested and asked us not to ask anyone else so that could have first shot at it.  So I promised we would wait until tomorrow for their answer.  I am very optimistic that we will get our shed.

Some days are like this.  You are afraid to breath or the bubble might burst. Other days you feel like your bubble has burst and can't be re inflated no matter how hard you try.

Happy Earth Day!

What a glorious day for it to be Earth Day in Montana! It is perfect weather for us to get out and collect trash today.  My sister, Joyce, and I(Anne was playing golf, I don't blame her one bit and Michael is running three races in Gt Falls with a friend) took a long walk today with out bags.   We even emptied them so that we could start over, bringing us to the equivalent of four bags of trash!

Now that I have collected trash in three different venues of late, I do believe I have become an expert on trash.  I could pretty much tell you where a piece of trash was found just by the type and condition of it.  For instance, the trash in Lewistown has pretty much been there through out the winter, so the condition of it is pretty bad, to say the least. All of this stuff has lain under the snow for months, attesting to its present condition.

However, the trash along the streets in Florida is fresher, usually there only a few days at best.  Some one is always out walking and picking it up.  We snow birds are like that. There was a mix in Indiana, some fresh, some evidently there through weather.

What was interesting in each location was the lack of concern of those who lived right by the trash. I guess when you see it every day it just disappears from your vision. Yes, it is their responsibility to clean it up.  However, if they won't I will.  They may not see it, but I do and it disrupts my sense of peace and well being when I see it.

Besides, I feel good about myself and know I'm healthier for taking a walk. Michael may be covering more miles than I did at his races today, but I got more out of what I did.  If you haven't tried it, do and you will see what I mean. Maybe Anne and Michael picked up some trash where they were, too.

The price of getting out there

Thanks, Rusty, I needed that.
So today I got my first experience with a questionable reaction to our recycling program. Someone wrote a letter to the editor(which appeared next to my Earth Day article, actually) and posed lots of questions about the viability of the project.  They were all legitimate questions, which we had hashed over and worked out for months to get where we are today.  I'm sure to a person without the history of the process would wonder why we are going about it in the way we are.

So my first reaction was to write a letter back(politely of course), giving all the answers to the questions posed and the reasons for the decisions made.. Obviously, if those questions are out there then we haven't done a very good job of conveying that information to the public. The truth is I am not used to dealing with public opinion. So far everyone's reaction has been very supportive and positive.

However, I am not used to being in the public eye, so to speak.  So this is what politicians have to deal with everyday?  Distortions of the facts and negative reactions from those who have closed their minds with preconceived ideas. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just bury ones head in the sand rather than try to do something that might get a reaction you don't want to deal with. Is that why there are so many people who "don't want to get involved"?

Yes it would be easier, but then look at all the challenges and feelings of accomplishment they would be missing. I guess I'll just put on a thicker skin and plod right along.  Hey, at least we are getting attention now!

In the eyes of the beholder?

I heard Dr. Oz relate on the news tonight, after the 49 year old pitcher had won a game, that what keeps people young is their passion for life.  It is the feeling that you are doing something worthwhile with your life and loving it, no matter how old you may be. I have to agree with that. Inside I feel like I could take on most anything I feel strongly about and succeed, belying the outside appearance of time taking its toll.
Have you noticed that inside you really don't age the same and that you maintain your youthful thinking, most of the time?  So it is a rude awakening, sometimes, when you happen to wake up some morning and notice in the mirror that you aren't that young thing anymore, at least not on the outside. Then you begin to wonder if others are limited by that view of you.

Maybe it would be easier if we were the same age on the inside as we in reality are on the outside. Or is the inside the reality and the outside just a disillusion? Then people like me wouldn't go around acting like some twenty something, forgetting that people don't view you the same way you may see yourself. Case in point, the face painting Brandy and I had. I loved it and would have kept it on for days if it hadn't been for the the reality check that set in. Brandy looked cute where as I no doubt looked like an oldish lady trying to be young again. But,I wasn't, I just thought it was pretty cool and I still hated to wash it off.

So maybe this is the way that God lets us extend our youth, even when we physically begin to develop our aches and pains and can't wear those size 4 pants anymore. If you don't know what I am talking about, just wait a few years.  You will. If you're lucky.

Cold nights

These cold nights this time of the spring sure do induce snuggling at night.  Sure helps having a warm body to cuddle up to as the night grows colder. Better than an extra blanket.  Actually, the cooler days have been a nice break from the heat of Florida this time of year. It's easier to layer and shed then try to dress cool enough in hot humid weather. Looking at the predicted weather map for the summer, it looks like Montana is thebest place to be, with record heat most everywhere else in the nation expected. I won't get into it with people about whether it is global warming or not.  I just want to stay comfortable. I don't function well in the heat.  I understand why people south of the border take long siestas.

I've been working back and forth between plans for the ROWL recycling project and the Big Burger Bash Festival, trying to keep the two activities separated in my mind. My sister, Anne, has taken the reins with making contacts for the BBBF, really freeing me up to concentrate on publicity for both.
Isn't publicity the key to the success of any endeavor?  You need to get the word out.  No such thing as over kill in the realm of tooting your horn, I do believe.
I can't get over how great it is bouncing ideas around with others when making plans.  Sometimes I think my idea is the end all until I hear someone else's fresh take on the subject and realize their idea out paces mine by a mile. All of these ideas make for fantastic plans that we can all eagerly pursue. 

Now if we could just figure out how many burgers to buy.

We're back!

I literally hit the ground running when we got back into town Monday. We traveled two 13 hour days of driving to get here from Indiana, but when it was all said and done, we were glad we just got 'er done so we could get settled in as quickly as possible.

We took the high road, coming back via Minnesota and North Dakota for a change. A smart move since there were tornadoes south of us, leaving us to just deal with the violent rain storm. Interesting experience, though, when we came to Circle, Montana and stopped for gas. When I came out of the restroom, there was the station owner pumping our gas and washing our windows!  I felt like I had stepped back into the 60's and told him I hadn't seen that happen in many years.  He acted like that was to be expected by anyone anywhere. Where had I come from to expect anything less.  Great!

By 2:00 pm the next day I was on the bus back eastward to Billings to see the musical "Mama Mia" with my sisters. I'd rather drive in the car all day then spend three hours each way on a hot,crowded bus and getting home at 1:00 am any day. But the performance made it all worth the while. Can't get those tunes out of my head ever since, though.  Pretty catchy.

Today, was getting back to business at hand, meeting with some of the ROWL committee to keep things moving ahead. Great being with a bunch of fellow recycling fanatics. We don't bore each other, anyway.

Round Two!

The second day of shopping~  Whew!  First stop was house shopping. There was an open house where Brandy wanted to go to look at a model home, since they are looking to down size a bit. We hit a bonanza with a huge tent full of food and enough going on to keep us busy for an hour while it poured outside. We each got our face painted ( I went for the rainbow effect) and lots of silly pictures in a photo booth, wearing crazy hats and glasses. It was like a free carnival!
Since we saved money by not needing to buy lunch, we had extra shopping to do, of course.  We hit my favorite, a consignment store( a cut above the thrift store don't you know) and my purchases were even on sale today.  Wow!  We were really on a roll! Then, of course, I had to find a great pair of versatile, metallic shoes (40% off) to bring it all together. I wonder if Michael will appreciate all the money I saved him today.

We were quite the celebs wearing our face paint where ever we went.  After all you don't find too many 70 year olds walking around nonchalantly shopping while wearing face paint. These days, though I think you can get away with just about anything.  Maybe not in Lewistown though, I bet. I wonder if it will last until I go to the " Mama Mia" musical next Tuesday night?  Wouldn't that just be too cool! Of course I would need a new outfit to go with it.

Shopping!

Me at the beginning of the shopping day.

Me at the end of the shopping day.

I spent the day up in the ritzy area of Indiana, Carmel, shopping with Brandy, Michael's daughter. Mostly nice to look at but not within my reach. My mother would say,"You can look, but don't touch". All I can vouch for is that shopping is hard work!  We're going out for another go at it tomorrow.

Earth Day is coming up April 22.  Lots to do to prepare for that special day.  First, I need to fire off one of my articles to the local paper alerting everyone.  I want to include some ideas for novice recyclers to get them started.  What better day to get started than Earth Day, wouldn't you think.  It's kind of like New Years when it is the perfect time to make changes in your life for the better.  So Earth Day becomes the day that we turn over a new leaf to begin our new attitude towards our home planet.  If anyone has some ideas to include in the article that will help get people jump started in recycling, let me know and I'll include them in the article.

Maybe I could make my commitment to be to recycle my wardrobe and start over. Not!

Indiana on My Mind

Indiana is a beautiful state, with winding, narrow roads along rolling hills. The foliage is way ahead of what we will find in Montana, I'm sure, as the trees are bursting with their fresh green growth this time of year.  I took a short run this morning through the neighborhoods around Brandy and Rusty's home.  All the lawns are covered with lush thick grass that has obviously had an ample dose of fertilizer over the year.

There are several empty lots through out the area, dispersed among some of the houses that bear "For Sale" signs. I found it interesting that in a respectable neighborhood, replete with lovely homes through out, there would be the amount of trash thrown about as there was. I wasn't in a position to stop and pick it all up along the way.  Yet it prayed upon me leaving it behind. So I vowed to take the dog for a walk and, fortified with plastic bags from the store, I would clean it all up. 

So, after a day of visiting Michael's dad and brother, Denali and I started out on our promised walk. As I stopped to pick up the trash, I found it interesting that most of it was in in front of vacate lots and homes. Yet at each place, someone lived in the house next door. Now, I don't know about you, but if there were empty plastic bottles and soda cans next to my house, I wouldn't care if they were mine or not.  I would pick them up and dispose of them. It wouldn't take much forethought about that for a moment.  It is there, it doesn't belong there, therefore I will pick it up.  I don't need to know who put it there, how it got there, or why. Information not needed for the task at hand.

That's just the way I see it. But, I do have to confess that all of that collected trash just ended up in the trash. No recycle bin here. Oh well, at least when I go out for my next run it will be a lot more pleasant for me, anyway and just maybe someone out walking their dog.

Never sell short any source of ideas

For information, the first is a dated picture of son and family from visit to Lewistown. The second is a more recent picture from visit to Florida. This was taken within the tree at Silver Springs Park that is reputed to bring good luck. They do a good job of providing us with some quality time with the grandkids, Emily and Robert, when they come to visit.

We stopped for a brief over night visit in Atlanta with my son and family last night. This time of year, everyone is pretty busy with their lives and we are in the "get this trip over" mode at this point. We have one more stop in Indiana to visit Michael's family before heading due west for the final leg of the trip. Michael and son-in-law have a race date to keep and I have a shopping trip to make with his daughter.

Emily drew a cartoon for me for our recycling project that is outstanding and worthy of a place in the promotion of the project. She also came up with a very clever idea of a way to make the O in ROWL, the anagram of our slogan, Recycle Our Waste Lewistown  in our project, into the recycle symbol, with the arrows in a circle.  I'm excited about incorporating  that idea into our signs at the recycle center. 

I wonder if she charges a royalty fee for her ideas? We probably can't afford her.

Just shows, you never know where the next great inspiration is going to come from next and just shows the reality that this is a community project, as it should be. This disproves the concept that too many minds and ideas can cause mud soup and muck up the whole thing. Just when I think I have it all figured out, someone with an even better idea than mine comes along with a far better one.  I love it!

Happy Birthday, Kathy!

Forty nine years ago today my daughter Kathy and I were pretty busy, to put it mildly. She did a great job of coming into the world that day in Chicago, Ill., and has been making me proud ever since. My smart, beautiful daughter has always been a person who stands up for her convictions, an asset that I admire. She has always been loyal and protective of those close to her, an asset that betrays the soft spot she has in her heart. She is not only my daughter, but a very dear friend of mine who I have always had a great time sharing my adventures with

I want to assure her, though, that even though she approaches the AARP point of no return, she has nothing to fear. She'll still have many years for not only biking, hiking or what ever other physical adventures she wishes to take on, but wonderful opportunities to stretch her creative self. Actually, I need to reassure her that in many ways the best is yet to come.  The older she gets the more she becomes herself, with not the restraints of letting it show.  She can just let it all out and stretch her you muscles.  I think that is the best part of nearing that mile marker and I hope she'll just go for it. 

So happy birthday, daughter. Make it the best for yourself.  You deserve it.  And thanks for being my friend.

Good bye, Florida!

Tomorrow we head out to return to Montana for the next six months.  There are two difficult days of the year, and this is one of them.  The other is when we prepare to reverse the process. It is always a bigger job then I remember it to be.  However, this year I have streamlined and condensed my pile of stuff I can't live without, hoping I don't regret it sometime during the summer.

It's not like you can just go out and replace something easily up in Lewistown.  The possibilities for shopping are pretty slim. But, then that defeats the entire purpose of learning to do with less and that is one of the goals that I have been trying to achieve.  It works like this: I stay out of the stores for one thing.  When I do go, I ask myself do I really, really like the item, do I really, really need it and do I really really want it? 

I think it would surprise consumers how little they actually go through that process and just mindlessly shop.  It is either out of boredom or the high they get from the bargain they think they are getting. What they don't realize is it isn't a bargain if it doesn't fit the above criteria, no matter what the price.

Now, I'm not saying I have never been in that frame of mind and that I don't go there from time to time still.  However, the awareness of this chink in the armor helps avoid it when the time comes. Actually, doesn't the hunter always say that it is the hunt that is more important that the actual kill?

Sitting out on the lanai for our last meals here I realize how much I enjoy the space and will miss it up north. Yet I know that once we settle in we will find aspects that we enjoy just as much in a different way. But there is nothing like having the various species of birds to commune with in Florida.  Not saying we don't appreciate the chick-a-dees that we have the challenge of keeping fed up north.

Happy Easter!

Easter is pretty special when you have gone through Holy Week and walked the path of Jesus for that week.  I kind of groan at the beginning of the week when I think about how many hours of services we have during the week.  However, as the week progresses and you relive the final week of Christ's life, you get into the mindset that you really don't want to miss any of the action. We even went to church today, even though we celebrated Easter last night at the vigil.  Our plan was to have a leisure morning and chill out for a few hours before dinner at Nancy and Jim's. But, it turned out we both knew that we really would rather be with other Christians this morning sharing our alleluias.  That's how it is by the time you get to the climax of the week. Special.

After reading about the man who stood all the time while awake for a week, I decided the best way to write in my blog each day is to do it standing.  By the end of the year I'll have burned enough calories to maybe lose one of those stubborn pounds. Guess I'd better not get my hopes up, though.  I think it is one of those things you have to get used to before you can really commit to it for the long haul.

Then secondly

I expect that some of you, remembering from your school days, that if you reference a first in your writing, then you must have a second. I expect also that you noticed that I broke that rule yesterday by having a firstly, but not followed by a secondly.  Believe it or not, that was deliberate.  Another thing you learn in writing is to be as brief as possible, without losing clarity. I limit the length of my entries so as not to bore my loyal readers too much, I hope.
So, continuing with my discussion about the brain yesterday, secondly, how closely you are in heart to the people who think differently from you determines how emotionally that difference of minds effects you. It doesn't bother me emotionally if someone I don't know very well disagrees with me, either politically, spiritually or how they live their life.  However, I might have a bit of angst with those who are a part of my life. I may feel reluctant to discuss our differences and care more about how my opinion might effect our relationship. It is a conundrum that the people you may be closest to are the people you might be least comfortable sharing those thoughts with. 

Now don't any of you go to wondering what prompted this topic or if it is directed at you.  Most of my thoughts do not have a personal reference, as such.  Just musings of mine.

On another topic, the trail was pretty crowded today with people walking multiple dogs .  Not the usual dog and owner ratio, with even up to four dogs each.  Too many dogs for me to get to know by name.  Just a friendly," Hello cuties!".

Michael's calves must be acting up again.  It smells like wintergreen around here.

Being Human

The human brain is what distinguishes us from all other living creatures. It can be both a blessing and a curse, at times. When you stop to consider it, there is a terrific amount of information coming at our brain from every angle all day long. 

First, we must consider the information that is basically ingrained, part of our DNA of who we are, acknowledging that even that became part of our thinking before we were ever aware of the fact, as young children. From the moment we were born we began developing thoughts about our world, however small, at that point.  We didn't have many filters at that point. What our parents told us we believed.

However, as time went on and our world expanded we began taking in ideas from many sources  which we were exposed.  At this point we began to filter out what didn't compute with our thinking and what we could incorporate into a new concept or a fresh view of an old concept. As time goes on, some ideas collide with each other, causing conflicts within our thinking. Between what we hear from the various news medias and what we read from so called experts in the health fields, for instance, our thinking can become clouded and confused.  This is a natural consequence of information over load.

With all of this information in mind we make decisions the best we can, trying to maintain our moral, ethical  and personal integrity as best possible. Sometimes those ideas collide with the thinking of others in our world, causing disharmony  and discourse in our life. When that happens all we can do is try to reevaluate the situation with all the information we have on hand, change or confirm our decision and continue on. Hopefully, that brings about the peace within our brain so that it can proceed on, taking in the next challenge to be navigated.

So, today I say give your brain some space and credit for accomplishing this formidable task it strives to survive every minute of everyday. And thank your brain for a job well done, usually.

Changes over time

Right up front a disclaimer: I am not making fun of this lady, but just getting your attention to make my point for today. No, it is not a picture of me, for those of you who don't know me or may have thought I had changed quite a bit from when you last saw me. And no I don't smoke.

Today, I was thinking about how we watch our kids and grand kids grow up and change. Just as we are proud when when see them evolving into responsible, productive people, at times we hold our breath as they blunder through yet another stage in their life, praying that they will come out on the other side wiser and more mature. Since we don't see our grand kids that frequently, we are much more apt to notice how they have grown and developed than their parents are.

Yet, I hadn't particularly thought about the changes our children are looking for in us, as we progress through our remaining years.  Our kids don't see us very often so the changes, I am sure, are more dramatic than if they were with us every day. I am sure they are watching to see if we are standing up as tall, showing more wrinkles,or becoming increasingly more forgetful than our last visit.

So it is our job to dispel those fears as much as possible, while at the same time gently preparing them for the inevitable to come.  I think that it is probably a bit unsettlingfor them to see those cracks in the people who were always the bulwarks of your existence in the past. There is some denial, while at the same time, some preconceived notions about old age stereotypes and what they expect to see.

So,as we prepare for our visits, don't look too closely at our sags and bags or try to stump us with remembering some trivia.  Heck, we just might surprise you!  See you all soon.

Ahh, that felt great!

A very hot run this morning was topped off with a delicious dip in the pool. There is nothing that revitalizes you more than a cool swim, however brief.  It did the job.
 
The next thing I need to do is make a list of all that needs to be done here before we leave.  So far, it has been pretty much hit and miss, with my usual scatter tactic approach.  Since the latter part of the week will be completely absorbed with church going obligations, I need to make quality use of my time here out.

That said, my friends called this morning and want to get together this afternoon to play dominoes, here, on our lanai.  Guess I should make the attempt to work it in, to try an recover my reputation and not leave here as the neighborhood party pooper.  So enough blogging for now.  I'll just have to save my words of wisdom for another day.  I'm sure you will all survive that just fine.

But, I do intend to take another dip in the morning.

Shall we live for today?

May be our last ride on the trail for the season. A couple asked if we wanted to have a picture of us together, so we took advantage of the opportunity. I had stopped for a picture of the magenta flowers that have sprung up by the side of the trail. Lovely!

So, once again, I got to thinking(I know it is scary) as I made my decision to go for a bike ride instead of meeting the women in the neighborhood at the pool for coffee and donuts this morning. I thought about how they say you can live your life for today, or you can life it for tomorrow.  The implication is that if you live your life the way you want( assuming recklessly) today, then you won't have a very good tomorrow in your life ahead. 

The more I thought about that, though, I realized that isn't necessarily true. Let's assume instead that you enjoy your life that is lived on the "sensible path".  Let's say that you really do prefer to eat the healthy bran muffin over the sugary donut and the grilled salmon over the steak. You would prefer to get out for an invigorating bike ride rather than sit around and chat for a few hours (we just all saw each other a few days ago). 

The point is, we can really prefer a healthy lifestyle and not feel that we are being deprived of the "better things in life" as some people would lead us to believe. This provides us with, not only good living today, but a predictably great old age to enjoy as a result.

So when I hear people say,"You are missing out on all the delicious fat and sugar and not having the fun of eating out all the time".  I say,"Hog wash!" Some of us really don't think that is the good life. Yes, I really do prefer to go to bed with my teeth flossed and would hate not to. Getting my eight hours sleep really does make me feel great the next day. These "boring" routines others prefer to forgo are what allow me to have the best at both ends. There is only one thing I don't like to do today that I would skip if I could, washing my hair every day. Now that is a bore.

Do the right thing

After taking an antihistamine for two days for my ant bites, I finally have my mojo back today. My morning run felt pretty good after lying around for two afternoons. I would never make it as a druggie I can say that for sure.  One little pill makes me feel like a zombie and I hate that feeling.  So today I'm back on track, getting things that need to be done whipped out pretty much. Now to just watch where I'm walking and stay out of ant hills.

I've been thinking about causes we take on.  Some people might say they don't want to recycle because they don't want to take on that obligation. They just aren't into jumping on to that "band wagon".  I understand how it is.  I may feel strongly about some particular situation, yet not really want to "get involved".  I don't want the obligation to "join" that such and such movement. Unless it effects us personally we usually aren't interested.

For instance, I don't want to join the SPCA or work at an animal shelter particularly.  But, I would certainly intervene if I saw someone mistreating an animal. Or I don't plan on joining any organization to protect children, but I certainly will stop someone from abusing a child and help provide for those who are without. There is no limit to the number of causes one could become involved with, I'm sure. We have to pick and choose what we feel is important enough for  us  to make a personal commit to.

So, the best way to figure it all out, I think, is to decide not only how it impacts us personally, but how it impacts the world we share. You don't need to join an environmental group or wear a t-shirt showing your support for clean air, etc.  However, just as with the mistreated animal and abused child, you have a moral obligation to intervene, you also have a social obligation to pick up  trash instead of ignoring it.  And you have a social obligation to take care of the environment by keeping plastic and other non biodegradable items out of our landfills. This is a commitment we, as a human race, owe to each other. We share our home planet and owe it respect  just as much as we owe respect to other living beings who share it with us.

It isn't just jumping on another cause or band wagon that happens to be out there. It's not joining up with some "group" because it's the "in thing" to do. However, you are doing a good and decent act that can only help make this world a better place for us all.

That's my opinion anyway

The politician says," We're always happy to accept campaign contributions and listen to lobbists' views; but in the end, we always vote solely on principle.
P.S. Our sole principle is we like money".
I read in the paper about how in Romania you have to bribe the doctors and nurses for everything. Heaven help you if you have to go into the hospital for medical treatment, because if you can't cross the palm of everyone there you can't even get clean bed sheets. In fact it is so bad that babies are taken out of the country for life saving treatment, because they can't get honest help at the state of the art hospital, from the doctors to the orderlies.

This got me to thinking about how it has become in this country in the political arena. Same idea exists in our political system.  With all the PAC and lobbyists, you don't have a chance of having your vote count. It takes money to have a voice. The more money, the bigger your voice. It has nothing to do with what the politicians say they promise to do for their country.  It has everything to do with who gives them the most money. 

They can call it whatever they want, but by any name it is still bribery.  When will they quit deceiving themselves and get honest with their constituents?  And we, as citizens, allow this to happen. This is why I advocate for there to be a certain amount stipulated from the government for each candidate to use for campaigning and no more.  Even the playing field so that maybe an honest person without huge money might have a chance to become president.  Hey, maybe we'll get another Honest Abe!

The second thing to do away with is the financial influence of lobbies.  Businesses should pay a person to bring their concerns to the attention of a congressman without on the side giving them money towards their PAC, as they do now.  This way they go to the floor with necessary information, without influence towards their vote.

Of course, changing what is working for the politician will never happen. This is one vote which I can guarantee the outcome. No, I'm not a cynic.  I just don't think this is how our forefathers envisioned our political system to work. Can we please have do overs?