A Whiter Shade of Male

However the elections went this week, there will be no women on my county Board of Supervisors.

That’s because no woman stood for election. And none of the supervisor incumbents are female.

With the retirement of the lone woman on the Board of Supervisors, the higher octaves will resound within the county courthouse only from “assistants.”

I always felt better knowing a woman was on the Board. I hoped she pulled strings and made passionate arguments behind the scenes to ensure that the females of this community were heard.

I hoped that as our white county fathers looked at economic development opportunities, she made them think about the employment situation of all of the county’s citizens, not just those able to grow a beard.

I was dismayed that so many incumbents ran unchallenged on the ballot (write-ins not withstanding), because we deserve a choice. I was also unhappy because no female chose to run for office. When the polls closed Tuesday night, for sure we knew we would start 2008 with a slate of five male supervisors. The good ol’ boy network is in place at least until the next election.

This lack of diversity runs throughout county government.

We have a male county administrator and two male deputy county administrators.

The Finance Manager is a guy, too, as is the head of Public Works, the Zoning Administrator, the Building Inspector, the Director of Parks and Recreation, the Library Director, the Emergency Services Director and the County Attorney.

All five members of the Planning Commission, appointed by the supervisors, are dudes, not dudettes. So too are all five members of the Board of Zoning Appeals, also appointed.

The county’s Constitutional Officers – Treasurer, Sheriff, Commissioner of Revenue, County Clerk, and Commonwealth’s Attorney – do not shave their legs.

The General District Court and Circuit Court judges, as well as all of the county’s magistrates and the members of the Electoral Board, are men.

The school superintendent shaves his face in the morning.

The mayors of all three towns – Buchanan, Troutville, Fincastle – could walk around shirtless and not receive a citation.

Women turn up in county government in appointed positions which have little notoriety – Library Board, of which I am currently chair, Social Services, and the Industrial Development Authority.

Women run mowers for Parks and Rec – I have seen them – but do not serve on that board. Nor do they serve on the county’s transportation committee.

We serve the men in charge. We are the county administrator’s administrative assistant, the assistants to the deputy county administrators, the deputy court clerks, deputy sheriff’s or investigators, deputy treasurers, deputy commissioners, assistant attorneys, administrative assistants.

We do not hold the power.

The major exception is the School Board, where two females (only males ran as write-in candidates in one district and two other male-held seats ran unopposed) help mould the policies that define how we bring up our children. The School Board, I must point out, has no taxing authority and cannot do something major, like build a school, without permission from the five (male) county supervisors.

Several of the towns also have a council woman or two. Perhaps smaller government allows for more diversity.

The other exceptions are Director of Social Services, county voter registrar and the county Health Department Director, positions held by women. Those are state jobs, however.

Essentially the county is (not quite) a microcosm of the country. We have a female Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and Head of the State Department (Condoleezza Rice) in the federal government and a smattering of female congressmen and senators with a similar number at the state level. (The state has a male governor. Our county’s state representatives, whoever won, speak in baritones, too. In case you hadn’t noticed.)

The supervisors, including the lucky winner in the one seat that had a race, seem like nice guys. I have worked with the incumbents for several years and recently interviewed the hopefuls. None strike me as being petty or indifferent to women.

But they have little clue about what women face in the workforce or elsewhere – just like I can only speculate how difficult, or not, it is to be a man. We may not like it, but gender plays a role in everything we do, from the way we’re perceived at the grocery store to the amount of respect we garner when we step to the podium to object to some big developer’s project.

I know there are witty and intelligent women in this county. I meet them every day; they are the same women I described who work in the lower levels of government. Some are moms at home taking care of their children. Many run small businesses here. Others volunteer at school, strive to conserve county resources and historical structures – or drive to work in the city.

But on the whole we do not lead and we do not hold positions of power.

I wonder why.


**A version of this ran as a column in The Fincastle Herald on November 7, 2007. I made some editorial changes for the blog which consist of eliminating a name or two, mostly because I think I would be unhappy to find my name unannounced on somebody's blog and don't want to subject someone to that.**

Scared Yet?

I'm sure I will be accused of a radical reading, but it seems to me if House Resolution 1955 passes, and I am sure it will, anyone who says (or maybe even thinks) "somebody should to go to Washington and kick Congress's a** for making such stupid decisions" may as well hold out their wrists for the handcuffs.

Joe McCarthy is probably wriggling with joy in his grave.

You might also check out this article:
When Does the Lesser Evil Become Just Evil?

And while you're at it, read this:
A Paper Coup
and this:
Rapture Rescue
and this:
Midnight in America
and this:
Blackwater: Are You Scared Yet?

At this point I am more afraid of my "government" than anything else.

***
Here's HR 1955 - Read it carefully.

110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1955

←→
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 24, 2007
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
To prevent homegrown terrorism, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM.
(a) In General- Title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle:
`Subtitle J--Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism
`SEC. 899A. DEFINITIONS.
`For purposes of this subtitle:
`(1) COMMISSION- The term `Commission' means the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism established under section 899C.
`(2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- The term `violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.
`(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term `homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
`(4) IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- The term `ideologically based violence' means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs.
`SEC. 899B. FINDINGS.
`The Congress finds the following:
`(1) The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be utilized to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism.
`(2) The promotion of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence exists in the United States and poses a threat to homeland security.
`(3) The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.
`(4) While the United States must continue its vigilant efforts to combat international terrorism, it must also strengthen efforts to combat the threat posed by homegrown terrorists based and operating within the United States.
`(5) Understanding the motivational factors that lead to violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence is a vital step toward eradicating these threats in the United States.
`(6) Preventing the potential rise of self radicalized, unaffiliated terrorists domestically cannot be easily accomplished solely through traditional Federal intelligence or law enforcement efforts, and can benefit from the incorporation of State and local efforts.
`(7) Individuals prone to violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence span all races, ethnicities, and religious beliefs, and individuals should not be targeted based solely on race, ethnicity, or religion.
`(8) Any measure taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism in the United States should not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents.
`(9) Certain governments, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have significant experience with homegrown terrorism and the United States can benefit from lessons learned by those nations.
`SEC. 899C. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE PREVENTION OF VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE.
`(a) Establishment- There is established within the legislative branch of the Government the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism.
`(b) Purpose- The purposes of the Commission are the following:
`(1) Examine and report upon the facts and causes of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States, including United States connections to non-United States persons and networks, violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in prison, individual or `lone wolf' violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence, and other faces of the phenomena of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence that the Commission considers important.
`(2) Build upon and bring together the work of other entities and avoid unnecessary duplication, by reviewing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of--
`(A) the Center of Excellence established or designated under section 899D, and other academic work, as appropriate;
`(B) Federal, State, local, or tribal studies of, reviews of, and experiences with violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence; and
`(C) foreign government studies of, reviews of, and experiences with violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence.
`(c) Composition of Commission- The Commission shall be composed of 10 members appointed for the life of the Commission, of whom--
`(1) one member shall be appointed by the President from among officers or employees of the executive branch and private citizens of the United States;
`(2) one member shall be appointed by the Secretary;
`(3) one member shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
`(4) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
`(5) one member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
`(6) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
`(7) one member shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives;
`(8) one member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives;
`(9) one member shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
`(10) one member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
`(d) Chair and Vice Chair- The Commission shall elect a Chair and a Vice Chair from among its members.
`(e) Qualifications- Individuals shall be selected for appointment to the Commission solely on the basis of their professional qualifications, achievements, public stature, experience, and expertise in relevant fields, including, but not limited to, behavioral science, constitutional law, corrections, counterterrorism, cultural anthropology, education, information technology, intelligence, juvenile justice, local law enforcement, organized crime, Islam and other world religions, sociology, or terrorism.
`(f) Deadline for Appointment- All members of the Commission shall be appointed no later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle.
`(g) Quorum and Meetings- The Commission shall meet and begin the operations of the Commission not later than 30 days after the date on which all members have been appointed or, if such meeting cannot be mutually agreed upon, on a date designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each subsequent meeting shall occur upon the call of the Chair or a majority of its members. A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold meetings.
`(h) Authority of Individuals to Act for Commission- Any member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action that the Commission is authorized to take under this Act.
`(i) Powers of Commission- The powers of the Commission shall be as follows:
`(1) IN GENERAL-
`(A) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE- The Commission or, on the authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this section, hold hearings and sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, receive such evidence, and administer such oaths as the Commission considers advisable to carry out its duties.
`(B) CONTRACTING- The Commission may, to such extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this section.
`(2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Commission may request directly from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the Government, information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the purposes of this section. The head of each such department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent practicable and authorized by law, furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Commission, upon request made by the Chair of the Commission, by the chair of any subcommittee created by a majority of the Commission, or by any member designated by a majority of the Commission.
`(B) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DISSEMINATION- The Committee and its staff shall receive, handle, store, and disseminate information in a manner consistent with the operative statutes, regulations, and Executive orders that govern the handling, storage, and dissemination of such information at the department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality that responds to the request.
`(j) Assistance From Federal Agencies-
`(1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION- The Administrator of General Services shall provide to the Commission on a reimbursable basis administrative support and other services for the performance of the Commission's functions.
`(2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES- In addition to the assistance required under paragraph (1), departments and agencies of the United States may provide to the Commission such services, funds, facilities, and staff as they may determine advisable and as may be authorized by law.
`(k) Postal Services- The Commission may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as departments and agencies of the United States.
`(l) Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act- The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission.
`(m) Public Meetings-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission shall hold public hearings and meetings to the extent appropriate.
`(2) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION- Any public hearings of the Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the protection of information provided to or developed for or by the Commission as required by any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order including subsection (i)(2)(B).
`(n) Staff of Commission-
`(1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION- The Chair of the Commission, in consultation with the Vice Chair and in accordance with rules adopted by the Commission, may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff director and such other personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection may exceed the maximum rate of pay for GS-15 under the General Schedule.
`(2) STAFF EXPERTISE- Individuals shall be selected for appointment as staff of the Commission on the basis of their expertise in one or more of the fields referred to in subsection (e).
`(3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The executive director and any employees of the Commission shall be employees under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title.
`(B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION- Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to apply to members of the Commission.
`(4) DETAILEES- Any Federal Government employee may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement from the Commission, and during such detail shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employment without interruption.
`(5) CONSULTANT SERVICES- The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
`(6) EMPHASIS ON SECURITY CLEARANCES- The Commission shall make it a priority to hire as employees and retain as contractors and detailees individuals otherwise authorized by this section who have active security clearances.
`(o) Commission Personnel Matters-
`(1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS- Each member of the Commission who is not an employee of the government shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which that member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of the Commission.
`(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES- While away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Commission, members of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Commission.
`(3) TRAVEL ON ARMED FORCES CONVEYANCES- Members and personnel of the Commission may travel on aircraft, vehicles, or other conveyances of the Armed Forces of the United States when such travel is necessary in the performance of a duty of the Commission, unless the cost of commercial transportation is less expensive.
`(4) TREATMENT OF SERVICE FOR PURPOSES OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS- A member of the Commission who is an annuitant otherwise covered by section 8344 or 8468 of title 5, United States Code, by reason of membership on the Commission shall not be subject to the provisions of such section with respect to membership on the Commission.
`(5) VACANCIES- A vacancy on the Commission shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. The appointment of the replacement member shall be made not later than 60 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs.
`(p) Security Clearances- The heads of appropriate departments and agencies of the executive branch shall cooperate with the Commission to expeditiously provide Commission members and staff with appropriate security clearances to the extent possible under applicable procedures and requirements.
`(q) Reports-
`(1) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 18 months after the date on which the Commission first meets, the Commission shall submit to the President and Congress a final report of its findings and conclusions, legislative recommendations for immediate and long-term countermeasures to violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence, and measures that can be taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence from developing and spreading within the United States, and any final recommendations for any additional grant programs to support these purposes. The report may also be accompanied by a classified annex.
`(2) INTERIM REPORTS- The Commission shall submit to the President and Congress--
`(A) by not later than 6 months after the date on which the Commission first meets, a first interim report on--
`(i) its findings and conclusions and legislative recommendations for the purposes described in paragraph (1); and
`(ii) its recommendations on the feasibility of a grant program established and administered by the Secretary for the purpose of preventing, disrupting, and mitigating the effects of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and, if such a program is feasible, recommendations on how grant funds should be used and administered; and
`(B) by not later than 6 months after the date on which the Commission submits the interim report under subparagraph (A), a second interim report on such matters.
`(3) INDIVIDUAL OR DISSENTING VIEWS- Each member of the Commission may include in each report under this subsection the individual additional or dissenting views of the member.
`(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY- The Commission shall release a public version of each report required under this subsection.
`(r) Availability of Funding- Amounts made available to the Commission to carry out this section shall remain available until the earlier of the expenditure of the amounts or the termination of the Commission.
`(s) Termination of Commission- The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits its final report.
`SEC. 899D. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE STUDY OF VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM IN THE UNITED STATES.
`(a) Establishment- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish or designate a university-based Center of Excellence for the Study of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism in the United States (hereinafter referred to as `Center') following the merit-review processes and procedures and other limitations that have been previously established for selecting and supporting University Programs Centers of Excellence. The Center shall assist Federal, State, local and tribal homeland security officials through training, education, and research in preventing violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in the United States. In carrying out this section, the Secretary may choose to either create a new Center designed exclusively for the purpose stated herein or identify and expand an existing Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence so that a working group is exclusively designated within the existing Center of Excellence to achieve the purpose set forth in subsection (b).
`(b) Purpose- It shall be the purpose of the Center to study the social, criminal, political, psychological, and economic roots of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in the United States and methods that can be utilized by Federal, State, local, and tribal homeland security officials to mitigate violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism.
`(c) Activities- In carrying out this section, the Center shall--
`(1) contribute to the establishment of training, written materials, information, analytical assistance and professional resources to aid in combating violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism;
`(2) utilize theories, methods and data from the social and behavioral sciences to better understand the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological aspects of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism;
`(3) conduct research on the motivational factors that lead to violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism; and
`(4) coordinate with other academic institutions studying the effects of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism where appropriate.
`SEC. 899E. PREVENTING VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM THROUGH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.
`(a) International Effort- The Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Department of State, the Attorney General, and other Federal Government entities, as appropriate, conduct a survey of methodologies implemented by foreign nations to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in their respective nations.
`(b) Implementation- To the extent that methodologies are permissible under the Constitution, the Secretary shall use the results of the survey as an aid in developing, in consultation with the Attorney General, a national policy in the United States on addressing radicalization and homegrown terrorism.
`(c) Reports to Congress- The Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that provides--
`(1) a brief description of the foreign partners participating in the survey; and
`(2) a description of lessons learned from the results of the survey and recommendations implemented through this international outreach.
`SEC. 899F. PROTECTING CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES WHILE PREVENTING IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM.
`(a) In General- The Department of Homeland Security's efforts to prevent ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism as described herein shall not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents.
`(b) Commitment to Racial Neutrality- The Secretary shall ensure that the activities and operations of the entities created by this subtitle are in compliance with the Department of Homeland Security's commitment to racial neutrality.
`(c) Auditing Mechanism- The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer of the Department of Homeland Security shall develop and implement an auditing mechanism to ensure that compliance with this subtitle does not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of any racial, ethnic, or religious group, and shall include the results of audits under such mechanism in its annual report to Congress required under section 705.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting at the end of the items relating to title VIII the following:
`Subtitle J--Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism
`Sec. 899A. Definitions.
`Sec. 899B. Findings.
`Sec. 899C. National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Ideologically Based Violence.
`Sec. 899D. Center of Excellence for the Study of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism in the United States.
`Sec. 899E. Preventing violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism through international cooperative efforts.
`Sec. 899F. Protecting civil rights and civil liberties while preventing ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism.'.
Passed the House of Representatives October 23, 2007.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk1st SessionH. R. 1955AN ACTTo prevent homegrown terrorism, and for other purposes.

Dona Nobis Pacem

The Peace Globe initiative is a blogger movement to promote world peace. Many bloggers are participating in the hopes that things will change.

Poverty. Hunger. Cold. Wars. Global Warming. Health. Wrongful imprisonment. Greed. Corruption. Ignorance.

It's a long list of troubles. The issues circle this ol' globe and not a single area, including my own, is immune.

I believe there can be a better world. A world where resources are shared and not hoarded by the few. A world where the land is respected, not raped. A world where the small and weak are regarded with wonder, not tramped on and forgotten.

There must be another way. The one we're using isn't working very well.

Seemingly one little voice crying out amidst the turmoil won't be heard, but maybe the hundreds, thousands, millions of us who know that the world can be a nicer place if we only decide it will be can raise our voices until the sound smashes the sound barrier.

Maybe then those with the authority will listen. Because that is the power of prayer, and I pray every day for a better and more just world. Please join me.

Amen.

A Tragic Tale

The news made the round in whispers about town yesterday.

Dead, they said. For a long time. Not missed for weeks.

He was about 26.

You know him - or maybe someone like him. He lived across from the school in the more run-down community. Bill - not his real name, but I know his real name - was raised by his great-grandparents following who-knows what events that precipitated such an upbringing.

He attended the same schools as I did, though years later. He haunted the halls that my friends' children walked, played ball with them. I understand he was a slugger in the rec leagues, a fierce hitter, and a force on the basketball court.

He had no way to go to college. No money for that. On top of that he had epilepsy. Finding work was difficult.

He ended up at a retailer and a fast food joint. His great-grandparents passed away. He remained in their home, living without electricity.

He was one of the working poor. Right here in my town. He was a shadow, one of those people you see but don't see. You know someone lives in that house where the lights never shine, but ... it's not your business.

It should be our business, shouldn't it? Here in this county where you can't travel down any country road without running across a church? Where the Christian crowd is such that the churches have to spend their fortunes on bigger buildings and more ministers ... and not on those who might need a hand up?

Shouldn't we have done something?

I cannot believe it. To die and to lie for weeks before someone finally thinks to miss you. Can you imagine how that must've been? To be that lonely? No one to call. No one to cry out to? No one to hold at night? Not even a friend who's only a name on a blog.

Such sadness that must have entailed.

I did not know this young man personally; I never met him. But I feel guilty for his death all the same. I drove by his house. I saw but did not see.

I did nothing.

It's easy to think that this can't happen to you or to someone you know. So easy to believe that the entire world lives in your comfort zone. Reality is hard and difficult, dirty and dangerous and damned near enough to drive you insane if you think on it, so it's best forgotten.

But we need to think on it. In a land so full of wealth, how can we stand back and let one person go another day without meeting basic needs?

I don't know if this story will be told anywhere else besides here. Someone who actually knew Bill could certainly tell it better. I know the story is making the rounds locally, in whispers, with heads shaking and a few people resolving to do more.

How many deaths will it take, I wonder, before we all make that resolution?

Diet and Exercise

My efforts to lose weight are proving fruitless.

About 24 years ago, when I weighed a whole lot less, I fit into a very tiny-waisted wedding dress.

Today I suppose I'd need a barrel.

My weight began to creep up almost immediately after I married, but I kept it in check. My husband also has weight issues and his favorite diet when we first married was the Scarsdale Diet, which was very similar to the Atkins Diet.

So occasionally we'd do some half-hearted Scarsdale Diet and things would be lovely.

Then it was time to have a baby, and endometriosis reared an ugly, painful head. Infertility loomed. I was 23 years old.

The doctors put me on a variety of drugs, some of which mimicked pregnancy in an effort to "kill" the endometriosis so I could then have a baby.

My weight blossomed like a stink flower overfed on Miracle Grow.

Then at the tender of age of 29 came the hysterectomy and hormone pills. Boom. Instant menopause. Also instant migraines and more weight gain.

My weight crept and crept. Up and up. Conspicuously missing was exercise - I wasn't raised to exercise. I lived on a farm, I slung hay bales when I was young.

But I no longer did those activities. Hiking, something I loved to do but my husband did not, became infrequent because I feared to go by myself as the world churned with rage.

I worked part time and full time jobs and put myself through college. I stayed busy but my work was not physical.

In August 2003 I took a trip to Williamsburg. The weather was hot and humid. I huffed and puffed during the entire trip.

I vowed to lose weight. But nothing happened.

My husband went on the Atkins Diet in 2004 and his pounds fell off. I followed suit and lost weight too. I also gained problems with depression and constipation. I felt terrible.

I went off the diet. But even today, bread makes only rare appearances in our house; we eat much better and healthier. I began buying organic - fresh fruits, veggies. Not so much processed food. Fewer snacks.

I attempted to exercise in spurts, but nothing stuck. I couldn't find the time and I didn't think it would help.

Finally, in December 2006, I began walking very slowly on the treadmill. Before this I would attempt to do miles at a time and become frustrated when I couldn't, so I didn't go back. This time I just did five minutes and called it a day. Then I did seven minutes. Then 10.

In a month I was doing a 1.5 miles every day. I began to lose weight. Things looked good. I was feeling better.

Then the dizziness struck. I couldn't keep my balance when I was walking the floor, much less a treadmill. Desperate to keep my momentum, I bought Denise Austin tapes. I did them as best I could. A couple of times I lost my balance and fell on my face, but I persevered. In July I was able to get back on the treadmill.

In August 2006, I developed shin splints. This hurt a lot.

I bought a recumbent exercise bike so I could get off my feet. I began lifting small weights.

Finally in November I hopped back on the treadmill. I worked myself back up to 20 minutes a day. Then Wham. February of this year brought me plantar fasciitis that turned into a heel spur.

And here I am, still limping along. I am walking 10 minutes a day on the treadmill, sitting 10 minutes on the bike. Occasionally I go to the sports complex and walk around it twice, which is supposed to be about a mile. Some days I make it around four times before my feet hurt so bad I can hardly make it to the car.

I also lift weights. I do some exercises on a medicine ball, I get in the floor and stretch. Occasionally I do a Tai Chi routine with a video tape. What's really missing, though, is good cardio and I know that.

My feet are still hurting, though they are better. I ignore it and do the best I can.

The weight has crept back. I'm not quite where I was in 2005 but I am close. I crave sugar a lot. I try not to give in but often do. I eat 100 times better than I did even four years ago, but the weight keeps coming.

Despite the return of the flab, I feel better than I did 2 years ago. I have more energy and I am stronger. I can walk longer distances without feeling winded. The effort has had tangible results.

Just not the results I want.

I'm not asking for solutions, I'm just trying to put it out here where I can look at it. To many people I am sure I haven't done enough. Not enough willpower, some think. No self control.

Maybe they are right.

But for me, the changes I have made have been difficult and in some respects incredible. I know I can do more, if the injuries will halt long enough for me to figure it out. And I really want to find a way to change my eating habits that doesn't leave me feeling depressed, or sick or weak or any of the other things that diets often do to me.

I have to be able to think and work and get through the day.

I am not looking for longevity. I figure I will live as long as I am supposed to. But I would like to feel good while I'm on this earth. I'd like to be able to walk to McAfee's Knob without wondering if someone will have to ride up in a 'Gator to get me back down.

I consider myself to be in terrible shape. Mrs. E., bless her heart, told me during our recent first "get to know a fellow blogger" meeting that I didn't look anything like she expected from my descriptions. She did not think I looked as bad as I believe I do. Her words made me feel a little better about myself.

I would like to lose 15 pounds by Christmas. I think this is doable, even with Thanksgiving.

I just don't have any idea how to go about it at this particular moment.

Keeping Warm

A friend who lives in England told me she keeps her house at 57 degrees at night and 67 degrees during the day in winter (after I translated for Celsius, which is what they use there).

in the past we have kept our house at 68 degrees in winter, night and day. However, with the price of electricity rising - APCO has a request before the SCC and has been granted leave to go ahead and start charging higher rates again - we've been looking at other options.

We heat with a heat pump and a furnace. The electric bill used to cost us about $200 in the winter. This past January/February/March, it hit $300+, and we expect it to do the same in the upcoming season. It's quite a punch in the paycheck.

We don't quite know what uses all the power. Our house is not that large - 1,500 square feet - but there you go. Maybe we don't have enough insulation or something.

So we're considering keeping the house between 60 and 64 degrees. However, 64 degrees is cold for me to sit and work at my desk. I huddle in a blanket but my fingers freeze and typing slows down. I have an electric space heater that I use but my husband swears it takes as much power to run the small electric heater as the furnace (although I don't believe that myself). The government differs with my husband's thoughts on this matter. It says if you cut the thermostat back and use a space heater in one room you save money.

We also have a fireplace with a stove insert. The wood stove requires the built-in fan to run by virtue of its design. The stove insert blasts heat into the house, so much so that it makes the living room nearly unusable. The heat traps itself in the front room. We have to run electric fans to blow it through the rest of the house.

The wood stove is nowhere near the room I use for an office; I am in the other end of the house.

I am not sure we're gaining anything with the wood stove. Plus I am allergic to many trees and the wood smoke from the fireplace generally makes me sick.

I am wondering what other people do for heat, and how warm they heat their homes. I am wondering if people are able to keep the cold at bay.

I am hoping for a mild winter with lots of rain.

Right or Left Brained?

Becky at Peevish Pen pointed me toward this test that tells you whether you're right or left brained.

I was rather surprised.

13 Random Lines

1. From National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States. Page 13, the sentence that encompasses Line 13:

Making up the eastern third of Kentucky and Tennessee and extending into Virginia and Alabama, the Cumberland Plateau is composed of sedimentary rocks deposited 250 to 350 million years ago during the region's transition from shallow sea to continental uplands.

2. The American Heritage Thesaurus, Page 13, Line 13:

"To oversee the provision or execution of: administrate, carry out, dispense, execute (Compare conduct). (defining the word "administer")

3. Folk Medicine: A New England almanac of natural health care from a noted Vermont country doctor. By D. C. Jarvis, M.D. Page 13, Line 13:

The amount of sugar in your blood is one teaspoonful. This amount is so essential that, were it reduced to a half teaspoonful, you would lose consciousness.

4. An American Childhood, by Annie Dillard. Page 13, Line 13:

Oops. Page 13 just says "Part one". So 13 pages from the end, Line 13:

Pretty soon all twenty of us - our class - would be leaving.

5. Last Days of Glory, by Tony Rennell. Page 13, Line 13:

One conspirator sent a suggestion of how the positions in the private office should be carved up, putting himself down for a promotion and a handsome L1,000 a year salary, and ending his note with the ridiculously melodramatic suggestion that Reid should 'burn it at once if you think best.'

Okay, that's enough of that. It's not 13, though. Yikes.

FYI: Virginia Voluntary Water Conservation

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Office of the Governor
Timothy M. Kaine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2007

GOVERNOR KAINE ENCOURAGES VOLUNTARY WATER CONSERVATION AND CALLS ON LOCALITIES TO UPDATE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLANS
~Warns that drought conditions could become acute in the spring of 2008 if lack of rain continues ~

RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today urged localities to update water conservation and drought contingency ordinances and plans and begin preparations to implement those plans. The Governor also encouraged citizens and businesses to strictly follow all calls for water conservation issued by public waterworks or local governments.

In areas where local water conservation requirements have not been initiated, citizens and businesses should voluntarily conserve water to the greatest extent possible. This includes minimizing non-essential outdoor water uses such as irrigation and vehicle washing as well as reductions in indoor water uses.

“Assure that there are no water leaks in your home; limit showers to periods of less than 5 minutes; turn off the water when you brush your teeth; and only operate dishwashers and clothes washers with full loads,” Governor Kaine said. “These simple actions when performed by millions of citizens throughout the Commonwealth can result in a significant reduction in the stresses placed on our water resources.”

The entire Commonwealth is currently experiencing significant drought, which intensified in the six weeks preceding last week’s welcomed wide-spread rainfall. While last week’s rain addressed many short term drought impacts, the underlying long term precipitation deficit remains.

Fortunately, the Commonwealth is approaching the time of year when water demands will diminish greatly. With the end of the active growing season, the water needs of actively growing plants will be virtually eliminated and human demands for most non-essential outdoor water uses will cease. If, however, weather predictions of a dry winter materialize, Virginia is poised to experience significant drought with the onset of the growing season in the spring of 2008. The long range weather outlook calls for the potential for above normal temperatures and below normal rainfall through January 2008. While it is unlikely that serious water shortages will occur prior to the spring of 2008, it is essential to prepare for the potential for serious water supply impacts in the coming months.

All local governments should review existing local ordinances requiring mandatory non-essential water use restrictions at this time. Any locality that has not adopted such ordinances should consider doing so now. All local ordinances should be consistent with the mandatory non-essential water use restrictions contained in the Virginia Drought Assessment and Response Plan. It is likely that these ordinances will be required in the spring of 2008.

“The best drought responses are those that take into account the individual nature of water supplies and the users of those resources, and these must be developed at the local water system level,” said Governor Kaine. “We must use the window of opportunity that we have between now and the spring of 2008 to develop the best local response plans that we can. I applaud the efforts of the 55 water suppliers in the Commonwealth who have implemented existing water conservation plans to address the impact of the current drought on their systems.”

The Governor is also directing all executive branch agencies and institutions to review existing drought water conservation and contingency plans or develop new plans and eliminate all non-essential water uses at this time. The elimination of non-essential water uses must be consistent with the requirements contained in the Virginia Drought Assessment and Response Plan.

Today’s actions are in addition to those the Governor has already taken to address specific drought impacts on farmers and forest lands. As the result of Governor Kaine’s request that the US Secretary of Agriculture declare the entire Commonwealth an agricultural drought disaster area, all Virginia localities are now eligible for federal disaster assistance to address agricultural drought impacts. On October 18, the Governor issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the Commonwealth that includes a ban on all outdoor burning. The most immediate danger related to the drought is the potential for a significant fall wildfire season.

“I ask that all citizens be vigilant in controlling potential sources of wildfires,” said Governor Kaine. “This includes being mindful of parking vehicles in proximity to fuel sources such as dried grass as well as avoiding all outdoor burning. While the recent widespread rainfall has provided some temporary reduction in wildfire potential, this relief will rapidly dissipate without additional periodic rainfall. The current ban on all outdoor burning will remain in place until further notice.”

For water conservation tips, visit: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/waterresources/waterconservation.html

The October Drought Monitoring Task Force report is available at: http://www.deq.state.va.us/waterresources/drought.php#DroughtStatusReports.

The Virginia Drought Assessment and Response Plan can be found at: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/waterresources/pdf/droughtresponseplan.pdf.

Quarreling with the News

Today in The Roanoke Times (some links are to other news outlets because I have such a difficult time finding things on the Roanoke paper's website):

Item 1.
On page 1.
"Young adults use more medicines"

... "This is good news, that more people in this age range are taking these medicines," said Dr. Daniel W. Jones, president of the American Heart Association.
Still, he said many more people should be on the drugs that lower cholesterol or blood pressure and which have been shown to reduce risks for heart attack and stroke....

How in the world can this be "good news" - that more people are taking drugs? Maybe for him, the prescriber, it's good news, but these drugs are, in my opinion, relatively unproven. They haven't been around 100 years. Who knows what they actually do to people. Not to mention side effects.

No. This is NOT good news. Good news would be "more young adults are eating proper portions of healthy fruits and vegetables and eschewing candy, soda, and other processed foods."

What a nation. We think popping pills solves everything. Egads.

Item 2.
Virginia Section, Page 1.
Living in Limbo

Salem is one of the 10 sites NS picked for its intermodal facility. Two of the sites are in Botetourt County, but no one seems to think they're sites that would be chosen because they are miles from the interstate.

Salem residents are concerned because they don't know where the site is going. The Virginia Rail office was to have made a decision first in February, then in April, but nothing has been forthcoming.

The area of Salem chosen is near where my grandmother lived. I spent many days on East Riverside Drive, which is across the Roanoke river from the proposed site.

The Roanoke River has a tendency to flood in this area; my grandmother was wiped out three times before she moved to Front Street (which is also close to this train facility).

There are old people, and young people, who live near this facility, and it will not be a place that facilitates good health. Smoke and noise, etc., not to mention the stuff that they cart through there, will cause health problems.

Item 3.
Virginia Section, Page 3
Drought in Southeast is expected to cut nation's beef supply.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association spokesman Joe Schule says the sell-off of
breeding stock will ripple through the industry until breeding animals are
replaced.

"You piece all those small producers together, you've got, normally, a very vibrant cattle industry in the southeast region and really a big part of the cattle economy," Schule says. "It's definitely going to continue the stagnation of the cattle herd."
That will hurt consumers, Schule says, because supply is a big factor in the price of beef.

We are in this space, my husband and I. We haven't the feed to get through the winter, and the price of hay has doubled, which we cannot afford. We're trying to hang out as long as we can... though I am not quite sure why.

I don't expect the weather to suddenly become more predictable in future years; I think it will be less so. The small farmer is going to have a devil of a time trying to exist, much less make ends meet.

With the housing boom busted, I don't see so many farms being sold to subdivisions; instead, I see farms being foreclosed on and folks ending up living with their children (because most of the farmers are older people).

Item 4.
Virginia Section page 5

Man recorded life in 5-minute segments

This fellow, now dead, wrote 37.5 million words in a journal. Which is a somewhat like a blog except without hyperlinks.

My initial reaction was that he needed to get a life and look outside of himself. I'm not sure what that says in terms of my own blogging and journal writing. I believe strongly in journaling and writing about your feelings, etc., etc.

Just not to the point of actually not living.

Nickel and Dimed

I was sure my plans for Saturday evening had been busted as soon as I woke from an unexpected nap. I had been reading and I fell asleep with a book in my lap. The clock said 6:15 p.m. and I was to pick up a friend in a half hour.

I wasn't dressed.

Suddenly I realized that I never called the box office at Hollins University to reserve seats for the play we were to see. What if it was sold out?

Panicked, I called to check. An answering machine picked up. I left a breathless message about wanting to reserve two seats for the evening.

Then I hurried to dress.

When I picked up my friend, I confessed I wasn't sure we'd have seats. "That's okay, we'll just go get something to drink (as in a soda, since neither of us drink alcohol)," she said.

Fortunately, there were plenty of seats available and my worries were for naught.

We went to see Nickel and Dimed, by Joan Holden.

The play is based on the book Nickel and Dimed, on (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich.

I have not read the book.

The play emphasized how difficult it is to get by on minimum wage or near minimum wage. Heck, let's face it, unless you're making at least $40,000 a year, it's hard to get by in this country, and not everybody can make $40,000 a year because we don't pay people what they're worth. There are firefighters and policemen on food stamps, for pities sake.

And the costs are skyrocketing, what with increases in gas, electricity, and food. Basic living items. When did a gallon of milk climb to $4.80? I don't buy it often and that's what the last gallon cost.

The play was about Ehrenreich's undercover work for the book. She went to Florida, where she found a job as a waitress. She could not make ends meet there without taking on a second job as a maid in a hotel, and even then she could barely pay the bills. Not to mention do anything else, because she was worn to a frazzle from working 12 hour days, every day.

Her coworkers had hard lives, too, and they are all portrayed through the play. We see how difficult it is to bring up children or be pregnant without health care because you can't afford it.

In Maine, Ehrenreich worked as a house cleaner for a national franchise firm, and as a dietary aid in a nursing home. She discovered that non-corporations are better to work for than corporations.

In Minnesota, she worked for "Mall Mart." The sleaze factor of this retail corporation simply oozed from the stage.

The actress who portrayed Ehrenreich, Susie Young, did an outstanding job. I was very impressed with her performance.

The play must have made some in the audience quite uncomfortable - it was family weekend at the university and many of the girls at Hollins are, let's face it, from the upper class. Heck, it made me a little uncomfortable and I am nowhere near the upper class.

But I am not in that working class living paycheck to paycheck, and for that I am grateful.

The play offered no alternatives, no solutions. I am not sure what those solutions are. Fair wages, for sure, but that becomes a catch 22. If the price of eating out becomes cost prohibitive, then the waitresses are out of jobs completely, after all. Most of the solutions that I can think of fall under the "socialism" scream, and we know how terrible many people think that is.

I will read this book now. I should have read it sooner.

Books: Destiny

Destiny
By Elizabeth Haydon
835 pages
Copyright 2001

This was the finale of the Rhapsody trilogy (Rhapsody and Prophecy were the other two). I've read these three books over the last six weeks. All three were quite long.

Destiny suffered a bit from a strange subplot that mostly made no sense to me. Rhapsody had part of her memory taken from her by her lover/husband, and this played a big part in much of the non-main-plot action. I found it mostly annoying because it really served no purpose other than to make the book go on and on.

Another oddity about this series of books is that a "time editing" character" named Meridian shows up at the very beginning and end of each book. The reader is clueless as to who this person is and what it is he is attempting to do, aside from alter time to keep the world from burning in fire. We finally find out his purpose in the Epilogue of Destiny. It was clever but I didn't much care for it. I won't go into detail in case someone out there is a rabid fantasy reader.

Frankly, the story would have been just fine, and maybe a little stronger, without the time editor, if it had just been told as the good v. evil epic that it was. I suppose the author couldn't bear to lose the cleverness of it. I also think the final book would have been stronger without the subplot of the memory loss thing.

The writer does a nice job at world-building, and her characters are (mostly) strong. Some of the scenes drone on a bit, and the characters, mostly all of them, seemed determined to inflict much emotional trauma on each other before declarations of absolute love and fidelity. I found that a bit annoying, too.

The main plot works out very well with good resolution.

It may sound like I disliked the book, but I didn't. I think I am a little disappointed that I didn't find it as enthralling as the first two, though.

3 stars

A Tale

A post at Blue Ridge Blue Collar Girl about moths reminded me of a tale I read a very long time ago.

I have not been able to recall the name of this story, or where I saw it. I did a search on the 'net but came up empty handed. Perhaps someone will recognize the story from my paraphrasing and elaborations here and point me towards the original version so I may give proper credit. I am taking many liberties with the basic plot and writing this story:

**Update 10/28/2007: Beth found a link of a very similar story for me. I am not sure if this is the same one I read; I tend not to think so because I don't recall the queen being involved and I thought it was a ghost story, not an angel story. However, it is close enough that it could very well be.**

Now on with my "version" -
****

The Ghost That Saved The Train

The night sky showed stars glittering like diamonds as Ben blew the whistle on the steam engine. The train gathered speed as it carried its passengers through the October night along the grade toward London.

He'd traveled the route many times now, and always felt his pulse race as he headed into Finnigan's Straight Away. The slight incline helped the train move quickly down the tracks toward the trestle bridge.

Suddenly a ghostly figure appeared in the lights before the train. The man waved his arms up and down, frantically signalling the train to stop.

Alarmed, Ben applied the brake for all he was worth. The train screeched and finally slid to a stop, scaring passengers and crew alike.

Ben jumped from the engine and walked down the track, seeking the man who had stopped him.

He found no one.

Puzzled, he sat down for a moment. In the distance he could hear the river and knew he was not far from the trestle bridge. On impulse he walked the track while his crew waited anxiously, trying to calm the passengers. What he found nearly made his heart leap from his chest.

The bridge was out.

The ghostly man had saved the train from pitching over the ravine and into the darkness. He had saved many lives, whoever he was.

Ben hurried back to the engine. It took a long time to find safe passage for the passengers, and even longer to back the train down to the nearest station.

The unknown man preyed on Ben's mind. He wanted to thank this savior. As he headed for bed, he walked around the engine's front and noticed a large moth, now dead, attached one of the lanterns the train used for light.

He picked up the lantern and went into a dark room in the station.

When he lit the lantern, there before him on the wall was the outline of the man he had seen, only this time the arms were not waving.

The moth had saved the train.

13 Minor Annoyances

1. Books on tape that haven't been rewound. I know it is so difficult to hit that rewind button. It's a courtesy thing, though.

2. That stiff plastic from hell that is used for packaging, like on batteries and scissors. I need scissors to open the packages. What if it is your first pair of scissors, how do you get into it, I wonder?

3. Paper cuts. They hurt worse than a big bold bleeding cut.

4. Loose buttons. I wore a brand new pair of pants on Tuesday and the buttons fell off. I ended up using a paperclip to hold my pants together until I could get home. What's up with that?

5. Cell phones. They are handy but do we have to have them on during supervisors' meetings? Or dinner? I leave mine in the car all the time. I don't particularly want to be reachable when I'm in the grocery store or visiting a friend. I don't use it when I'm driving, either. I'm not really sure why I have it. Emergencies, I guess.

6. Pop ups on websites. Yeah, it's all about capitalism and getting my money away from me, I know. But too many pop ups and I don't visit at all.

7. Authors who don't know when to shut up. I really don't care if J. K. Rowling thinks Dumbledore is gay (Harry Potter books). What she wrote is what she wrote, and I don't have access to the mini-camera in her mind, just what she puts on paper.

8. Multiple charity requests. Every day, in the mail, people send me things wanting me to write them a check. What is it with you people? Yes, I know, you do good things. I support your good things. But I send you a check on my schedule, not yours. In the meantime you've wasted good dollars sending me multiple mailings over the course of the year. I ponied up all I could afford at the time. Give it a rest. You'll get yours when I have it to give.

9. Reality TV. Fortunately I don't watch too much TV anyway, but I wouldn't mind watching if something came on that was creative, had possibilities, seemed inventive, etc. Like Seinfeld. Or Designing Women. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Anything that has a plot.

10. Meetings that take all day. I attended a meeting this week that was NINE hours long. Do you know how sore your bottom gets after you've sat almost all of that time?

11. People who think that driving in the rain means ... driving like it isn't raining. I know we've not had rain in a while, and maybe people have forgotten that it's slippery, but slowing down is better than dying. Over the course of the last two days I've seen several wrecks. I watched one tractor trailer jack-knife in front of me. He was going too fast and then suddenly this stop light popped up out of nowhere. Bad stop light.

12. People who complain about the rain. We've had a drought. Get over it. Rejoice because you'll have drinking water. A little water on your head won't hurt you.

13. What's your minor annoyance? Maybe it's people who acknowledge minor annoyances...

Get Out the Vote

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half. - Gore Vidal

The hallowed halls of the Virginia General Assembly never heard such a speech as the one Mary Johnston gave before the learned politicos on January 19, 1912.
An advocate for a woman’s right to vote, Johnston, an area native and by then a much-accomplished and well-respected author, told the legislatures that she paid $1,000 annually in taxes to the state, yet had no voice in how the revenue was spent.

Her family settled western Virginia and had fought in all of the country’s wars up to that time. Yet recent legal immigrants, who knew nothing of democracy, she said, were treated as if they knew better than she what the interests of the state might be.

“We are asking that those who live under the laws of a state … may have something to do with the making of those laws,” Johnston said in another speech, this time before a meeting of governors. “We are asking that we who pay a very considerable portion of the taxes of the State and of the country may have a voice in the apportionment of those taxes. We are asking that we who work may have a say as to the conditions under which we work.”

For six years, Johnston gave up much of her life so that women could obtain the right to vote. She suffered from vicious personal attacks from anti-suffrage groups. She did not give up.

How sad then that today, the local voter registrar expects less than half the entire population of the county to turn out when the polls open on November.

Less than 100 years after Mary Johnston took a stand and fought for the right to vote, have we thrown it away? If just half the population votes, and half of those are female, then only 25 percent of the women in this area will bother to exercise a right for which some women were imprisoned.

Not long ago, I heard someone on a late night radio talk advocate a change in the voting laws so that only landowners could vote.

I have heard other people advocate taking the vote from women and from minorities. No doubt about it, at this very moment, there are folks working to undermine a linchpin of democracy that 50 percent of you, male and female, black or white, apparently take for granted.

If you don’t vote, they could very well be successful, because you can be sure they will vote for candidates who think similarly.

Voting is your right. It is also your duty as a citizen to take this single action every year to ensure that the county or the country is overseen by the best person.

So make plans now to go vote. Tell your boss you may be a little late the morning of November 6.

It’s that important.

The Lesser Of ...

In my quest for conservation, I wonder sometimes about the choices I make. Or don't make.

With water, which I am greatly concerned about, I wonder if I am better off washing an oversized load. The rule of thumb is to not wash until you have a full load so I suppose so.

Then there is bathing. Do I shower, or take a bath? I had always heard you use less water in the shower, but I wondered how that could be so. So two nights ago I took a bath. The tub filled in under 3 minutes (which is the short little time I am trying to stay in the shower).

Today I took a shower, but plugged the tub.

Apparently you do use less water in the shower, because in 3 minutes the tub was nowhere near as full as it had been when running water through the spigot. It looks like it would take a 6-minute shower to fill the tub through the showerhead.

The difference is the length of time you get to stay in the hot water. If you take a tub bath, you can soak your sore aching muscles. You can't do that in a 3 minute shower. You barely get clean in a 3 minute shower.

Then there is electricity. I try to cut stuff off but all kinds of things are "instant on," apparently still using wattage. My computer, for example. And my printer.

So I began cutting off the battery backup completely, which hopefully cuts the computer off entirely. I also began cutting off the printer.

Then I noticed that every time I turned the printer back on, the ink jets primed themselves. I think that means the printer is using a little ink every time I hit the on switch. I wondered if the printer uses more ink than it saves in electricity when I cut the printer off. It takes fuel to make the ink, after all. Plus there is my expense - am I saving money or losing money?

Then there is the electric heater. If I use the electric heater and just heat one room, leaving the rest of the house cold, but end up having to cut the furnace on to heat the rest of the house anyway, which has become much cooler, am I really saving anything? We haven't cut the furnace on yet this year, but we'll have to soon.

And then there is the fireplace. My fireplace only works with an electric blower, because it's really a stove insert. If we use that, and have to run the electric blowers all the time, what are we saving?

It's a conundrum, is what it is.

Autumn in the Valley

A collage of muted colors

Note the brown, dry field.

The trees, if they are turning, are taking their time.

Books Recently Read

Drop Dead Beautiful
By Jackie Collins
Copyright 2007
500 pages

4 stars

Mad Dash
By Patricia Gaffney
Copyright 2007
355 pages

3.75 stars

Books: Prophecy

Prophecy
By Elizabeth Haydon
Copyright 2000
697 pages

This is the second in a three part trilogy, the first being Rhapsody.

Rhapsody, a Namer, travels with Ashe, a mystery man, to see a dragon. The dragon likes her a lot.

Ashe turns out to be someone else in several reincarnations of his very long life. Rhapsody eventually figures out who he is, except for the fact that he is her long-lost soul mate, though she does get to that. The reader has known this all along (or at least I did) so I don't think I'm revealing a major plot point.

Ashe also has a doppelganger who is bad; his counterpart is under control of the F'dor, the most evil thing in this world. Rhapsody goes out to kill the doppelganger. In the process she also kills her sister, who has been taken over by the F'dor.

The book ends with a very odd sequence where Rhapsody agrees to give up a night of her memories to Ashe. This includes the realization that Ashe is her soul mate. I am not sure why this information was necessary to delete but I suppose it will be apparent in the third book.

There are many other subplots - a vine that is eating up the world, another king who wants Rhapsody for his own and wishes to declare war on Achmed (Rhapsody's friendly assassin), a piece of living earth called The Sleeping Child, Rhapsody's learning that she is the champion of leaders whether she wants to be or not, etc. Far too much to discuss in a paragraph or two.

I will be reading the last of the trilogy, Destiny, beginning this evening, probably.


Recommended for folks who like long fantasy books with good characterization and depth.

4 stars

Rain!

We received a half-inch of rain yesterday. It seemed to all fall in a few minutes. A downpour.

Much of it ran off because the ground is simply too parched to take it all in. We need a good soaker.

This was not enough rain to enable me to stop taking 3 minute showers. We need inches before that can happen. But I am sure the grass and trees enjoyed it.

Rain?

The skies are gray and overcast. There is a threat of rain.

But only a threat. No large, life-giving drops are falling to take the sting from the parched earth. Mother Nature's tongue is hanging out and the sky offers no succor.

Hello, Autumn.

The leaves have finally - finally - begun their annual parade of color. The reds outside my window are muted; the oaks still sport green leaves. The poplars have yellow and brown coloring. Fall is not at its peak yet, but I don't expect to see anything striking.

Beneath those green oaks, a turkey hen delicately picks up her feet. Her head bobs as she grasps insects. She stops and stands erect, looking ... looking. She fluffs her feathers and moves on, down the hill to vanish into the gully.

The air is moving with a breeze; the limbs of the blue spruce dance a slow waltz. The sun might break through the haze - yes, there it is, casting its rays across the dry, brown land.

No rain today, no salvation for the thirsty.

13 Resources for Writers

Creative Marketing Solutions. Marcia Yudkin is a marketing guru. She has a free newsletter that comes out on Wednesday. Highly recommended.

LibrarySpot. Encyclopedias, research resources, etc.

ThinkExist. Quotations finder.

Encyclopedia Mythica. A resource for myths, legends, religions, lore of all kinds.

Character Building Workshop. Great list of character archetypes.

Biblomania. More than 2000 works of literature along with study guides, also research references.

Book of Days. A listing of calendar events and word definitions. Very interesting site; useful for history writers especially.

Guide to Grammar and Writing. It is what it says it is.

Freelancer's Copyright Guide. By the National Writer's Union. Information about copyright.

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. An interesting place to browse; some of the free reading is helpful.

Craft of Writing. An article about using MS Word's editing features; especially helpful for the "track changes" feature.

Funds for Writers. A listing of grants, contests, etc., for writers. Two free newsletters, one for small paying contests and another for higher paying contests. Highly Recommended.



Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The good stuff is available if you can become a member, but some of the free reading online is interesting. Of particular interest to freelancers is the "Writer Beware" section, which lists organizations and persons to avoid in the writing business.

Prophecy

Grease on lips.
Fat on hips.

Dealing with Drought

For us, this year has been far worse than any other for the lack of rain.

In previous drought years, it seemed we'd get just enough of a passing shower to make the fields grow.

This year, we have not made enough hay and our cattle's future is quite uncertain. We're looking for hay to buy, but if it can't be found, they'll have to go to market.

I am worrying about our well. I have placed an oven timer in the bathroom to ensure 3 minute showers.

I am sorry to say that, growing up on a well and always living on a well, water has been a commodity I've taken for granted. I have taken my share of 15 minute showers. It is hard to beat a long hot shower when your muscles are sore and you're aching from a day of hard gardening or whatever.

I also keep pails in the bathroom to catch the cold water from the spigot. It takes a long time for the hot water to find its way to the tub. I use the cold water on my flowers.

In the Times today, the story was the drought isn't as bad as it was in 2002. We beg to differ.

We think it is worse.

Defining Success

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.
- Albert Einstein

A conversation this morning led me to wonder how people define success.

Apparently in today's society, it is all about the money. If you have it, you're successful, if you don't, you're not.

Ostensibly that also includes the things that people can see to indicate success. If you have millions of dollars but drive an old clunker and live in a little house, most people will not consider you a success. Or so it seems.

In the Roanoke Times today, there is a story about a man who lived unpretentiously but left $50 million. No one knew him when he lived, but now that his finances are known, he is a success. (I can't find the story online but it was in the Virginia section.)

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

All of my life, I have judged success not on material things but on happiness. If someone is happy, I think she is successful.

Most artists are successful people, but they aren't necessarily wealthy. Art is not valued in this country so it is a hard field in which to earn money.

But the value of creating - to do it is to be successful, whether you sell it or not. To create is to succeed, don't you think?

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. - George Washington
Carver

You can be successful in many ways. I experienced a time in my life that left me beaten and downtrodden. I did not stay down. I consider that a success, even though my hard work to feel better gave me no material possessions.

It did bring me peace of mind. Isn't that success?

I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the
aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. - Helen Keller

I have always worked. I began working when I was 15 and haven't stopped. I have not always worked full time but I have always had income of my own. I have never depended entirely on my husband for anything.Even when I was very ill and had six surgeries in as many years, I worked.

I also put myself through Hollins University. It took me eight years but I am the only one in my family with a B.A.
Is that not a success?

Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those
who try nothing and succeed. - Lloyd Jones

The person I was speaking with today called someone "white trash" - and they didn't mean it in a way that indicated success. It reminded me of a conversation I have several years ago with my brother.

He called me "white trash."

When I asked him why he would lay such a title upon me, he said it was because I lived in a small house and could not have children.

My house is 1,560 square feet. My husband and I built it with our own two hands. We paid about a third for this place than it otherwise would have cost. We hauled the wood and nailed the nails. We (and I really mean my husband, he did most of it) put in the plumbing, the wiring ... everything.

It is our house through sweat and through dollars.

It is dwarfed by my brother's large 3,500 square feet house (which my father actually paid for). Compared to the monster homes in Ashley Plantation, I do indeed live in a little bungalow.

But it's a clean bungalow, filled with nice furniture. It's spacious enough for the two of us.

And as for the children, yes, my inability to conceive is a failure. My ability - and my husband's ability - to move forward in spite of this terrible blow, when we both wanted a baby so very desperately, is a success.

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. - Pearl S. Buck

My work does not earn me very much money. Writing is difficult and let's face it, it just isn't the greatest paying job.

But I do it well. I have a wall lined with awards. My name is known to about 30,000 people.

I serve as chairman of a government board, thanks to an appointment by a supervisor; I water-witched the well for the local circuit court judge. I hob-nob with county officials, know several sheriffs on a first-name basis; if you want to play Kevin Bacon, I'm just three degrees from some very high-ranking people.

But I don't drive a Lexus or live in a mansion. I don't have money to burn and frugality is part of my daily practice. And for those reasons, I suppose, I am not a success.

But only if you use the world's definition.

By my own, I'm not doing a bad job.

Tree Frog

A Murder of Crows

An Anniversary

Yesterday evening at dusk my husband and I stopped by the cemetery. I wanted to replace the flowers at my mother's grave.

I had been angry with her for the last year; ridiculous, I know, since she's been dead for seven years. But in my anger I had not visited the cemetery.




I replaced the flowers on one side of the tombstone with bright plastic fall mums. The old flowers looked faded and worn; apparently no one has been there for some time. My father probably hasn't been up there since the funeral, based on comments I've heard from my sister-in-law. She used to take my nephew by regularly because he missed his Nana, but perhaps he's out grown that.

Today would have been my parents 45th wedding anniversary, if my mother had lived - and my parents had stayed married. Most likely they would have been divorced. Their divorce was four days away from being finalized when my mother passed away.

Their marriage was stormy. They married because my mother was pregnant with me, and neither ever forgave me for (a) being born and (b) not being a boy if I had to be born. My brother was born three years later.

They fought verbally and physically. Most of my memories involve tears. There must have been good, pleasant times but they have always been overshadowed by the bad. When I do remember good times, they stand out starkly in comparison to the rest, like snapshots that belong to some other family.

I did not consider theirs a happy marriage and as soon as I was old enough to understand what "divorce" meant, I wished they would get one.

It wasn't until 1995 - and I'd been (very happily) married for 12 years myself by that time - that my father left my mother for another woman. My mother had been telling me he slept around on her for many years.

Despite everything, she loved him, and each time she'd file papers he'd come back and sweet talk her, and she'd forgive him. Then he'd leave again. He never filed for divorce; I think he didn't want to make a property division. It wasn't until my mother knew she was dying that she attempted a divorce in earnest, and I honestly think that was for my benefit. She knew my father would never give me anything.

So Happy Anniversary, Mom. Dad's remarried and I still don't speak to him. You haven't sent a message to me from beyond in several years. I hope that means you're happy. I know you were never happy when you were alive.

I am sorry about that.


(The photo was taken in 2006.)

On Your Feet

During the months I have been dealing with pain in my feet (plantar fasciitis and a heel spur) I have had many people tell me what I do for a living.

"You must be a nurse" seems to be the predominant guess from shoe clerks and snake oil salesmen who profess to be able to help.

The second-most frequent guess is "You must be a teacher."

They usually look crestfallen when I tell them I am neither. This happened to me Friday when I stopped by The Healthy Foot to pick up a pair of inserts for my sneakers.

It made me think about these poor people on their feet all day. All they have are mass market shoes to put on their worn tootsies. Not shoes made to fit them but shoes made to fit anybody.

The list of people who are on their feet a lot must be pretty long. Store clerks, mail carriers, policemen (who walk the streets), assembly line persons, and of course nurses and teachers are just a few of the careers that require healthy feet.

My husband is on his feet a lot for two of his three jobs - farming and septic tank installation (firefighting being the third job; he's on his feet there, also, when he's actually on a call). He wears a size 13 shoe and has toes that are longer than my fingers. His feet used to cramp up on him; once so badly I had to take him to the emergency room. He also had a bout with a heel spur several years ago. But he hasn't complained of his feet in a long time.

My nephew on my husband's side of the family has feet that are now in size 16 shoes and he's still growing. I can use his sandals for snow shoes. I imagine when his big feet hurt, everything about him hurts.

My feet are size 7 and my toes are short and stubby. I have always thought my feet very ugly and consequently I generally ignored them. I was always told I had flat feet and would one day have trouble out of them, and I suppose that day has come. I will not take my feet for granted again, I think, regardless of what I think they look like.

To all the people who have to stand up all day, my shoes are off to you.

Peace Globes

Mimi over at Mimi Writes has declared November 7 as another "peace globe" event.

Instructions about how to get your globe can be found here.

Go get one and decorate it and show everyone how much you want peace. It will never happen but it is a pleasant idea.

I have participated in this event several times, and it is fun to see how other people decorate their globe. Plus it's nice to feel like you're part of something for a while.

November 7, by the way, is the day after election day in the United States. Everyone please vote on November 6, even if you think it is a waste of time. While I suspect most elections these days are fixed, the effort shows you care. And if enough people actually do vote, it might skew the messed up machines enough to make somebody notice.

Post Op Report

The stitches on my lip came out today. That was a rather painful, even with a topical numbing agent, but fortunately all over and done.

I have what looks like a little crater missing from my lip, but the doctor assures me it will fill in and in a few months I'll never even know what happened.

He treated this as a mucocele, which is a damaged salivia gland, because that is what he thought it was. But the biopsy came back as a fibroma, which he described as a collection of scar tissue.

This makes me suspect that the digging into my lip to remove the salivia gland was unnecessary and that really all that needed to be removed was the lumpy thing.

In any event, it's over with, and I suspect aside from a little discomfort today from the pulling of the stitches all is well.

Now I just have to wait for the bills to come in and see what the insurance did and didn't pay.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen ways to improve your day:

1. Smile. Even if you don't feel like it and would rather pout, make your face smile. If you're talking on the phone, smile so that you sound like you're enjoying the conversation.

2. Laugh. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with your friends. Buy a joke book if you have to. Recall the funniest thing that ever happened to you and grin and grin about it.

3. Daydream. Spend a few minutes outside of yourself. Think about your dream vacation in Hawaii or Belgium or wherever. Imagine you're there, hear the sounds, feel the breeze. Think about the shoes you'd buy to wear; whatever turns you on.

4. Buy yourself a present. It could just be a pack of chewing gum, but note when you make that purchase that it is for yourself and don't just buy it out of habit. Tell yourself you deserve this, by golly. You're worth a pack of gum.

5. Stay in the present. Forget your worries and stop thinking of the past. For just a minute, feel the air around you. Hear the sounds of your workplace or home, see the colors of the room, feel the air you're breathing as it passes through your nose. If you're eating something, focus on how it tastes, its texture, how much you like having it in your mouth.

6. Brush your hair and/or reapply makeup. Straighten your clothes. If you look your best, you feel your best. Heck, you might want to go all-out and take a shower and start all over again if you're having a really bad day.

7. Read a book or magazine. Reading can take you out of yourself for a while. When you stop, you often have a new perspective.

8. Find a friend and have lunch. You can turn it into a b*tch session if you need to, but you might just find the companionship is the balm you seek.

9. Praise someone else. Telling other people that they've done a good job, or look nice, or have a nice smile or a pleasing voice or whatever can make you feel special, too.

10. Do something nice for someone else. I am constantly amazed at the reaction I get from people if I let them get in front of me when I am in line at the grocery store. I do this all the time if someone has fewer items than I and I've never had someone be ungrateful. This is a relatively simply act of kindness - actually it's just good manners - so think how the world might be if we all went out of way to be mannerly to one another.

11. Relive a good memory. Maybe it's the day your husband proposed. Maybe the birth of your child. Maybe the day you were promoted. Whatever it is, recall it with great satisfaction. Remember that you have this memory because people care about you and because you deserve things.

12. Finish the task. Sometimes it is the things hanging over my head that loom like dark clouds. I put them off and shove them away because something about them bothers me or is unpleasant. But if I buckle down and get to it, then when it's over with the sun shines and all is well. This is hard for me to do but it does work.

13. Have a hug. I don't care what kind of mood I am in, if I can get a hug from my husband or a friend or even a stranger, everything is better. We go through life with our shells surrounding us, afraid to touch each other, and it is so sad. I think we need a great hug-out day so that we can all get the Touch Vitamin we so desperately need. So here's a cyber-hug to you! {{{{{{YOU}}}}}}