Last Saturday, I participated in my first ever Take Steps, Be Heard Crohn’s and Colitis walk. I was excited. Through the generosity of family friends, I raised $295.00. The big day rolled around. The skies were threatening rain, but it only sprinkled. When we got downtown to the civic plaza it was empty. There were people there, but I was expecting a whole lot more. So despite the very low turnout, I was determined to make the best of the day. I met the new executive director for the southwest chapters. He seemed really nice. He has Ulcerative Colitis. He told me he is passionate about finding a cure for the diseases that we at times make us suffer. I was impressed. After the walk in which myself, my husband and boys walked at the pack of the small group, there were sandwiches and chips. There was a lot of food leftover. Obviously a lot more people were expected. The executive director asked if I knew of any group that could use the sandwiches. I said well sure. We could give them to the homeless. Unfortunately, there is a large homeless population in Albuquerque. He looked at me and said don’t feed the animals. I was shocked. I just stood there. I didn’t know what to say. I said well we usually try to help as much as we can. I think he knew what he said was not pc and if he was making a joke it wasn’t funny. After that comment, I just wanted to get out of there. I took the sandwiches and the box of chips and we drove down to the Rescue Mission. My husband went inside and asked if they could use them. They said of course. There were men, women and children waiting for dinner. Two kids ran up to him and asked if they could have some of the food. Those were the animals the executive director was talking about. I kick myself that I didn’t say something. I just couldn’t get past it. After two days, I finally emailed the national walk coordinator whom I met at the walk. I got a quick response. She was at another walk in North Carolina, however, she is going to call me. I just can’t imagine anyone let alone an executive director of a non profit organization saying something so insensitive. Did I do the right thing? What would you have done?
Reflections
On my way to work at the Medical Society of New Jersey that morning of September 11th, I was zooming up I-95 heading to Trenton, New Jersey. I remember thinking to myself what a beautiful day. It was the perfect day. The sky was so blue and there was not a cloud in the sky. I got to my office and someone told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I thought it had to be a small plane like a Piper Cub or something. Out of curiosity, I made my way down to the break room where a TV was showing the building. As my co-workers and I stood there watching, a second plane hit the other tower less than an hour away from us. We all stood there transfixed. My brain was racing trying to figure out what was going happening. We all slowly went back to our offices. Sometime later, my husband called me. He told me the Pentagon had been hit, too. Nothing made sense. He also told me that I might not be able to get home that night. We lived on an Air Force Base and the base was in lock down. Later in the afternoon, we heard about Flight 93 crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. It was so hard to make it through the day. Somehow we all did. I made my way back down I-95. I was able to make it home that night, but not after having my car searched and my ID scrutinized. When I drove down the tree lined street of the main housing area it struck me that no one was outside. It was so quiet. We usually could hear the airplanes taking off, but that day the runway was silent. Giving my husband and stepdaughter a hug, I sank into the couch. For the first time that day, I cried. I cried for the people killed and their families. I cried for my country, the United States of America. I felt hopeless. I wanted to go and help comfort those who were missing love ones. The only thing I could do was pray.
Ten years ago today, 9/11 occurred. To me it feels like yesterday. The emotions that I felt, I still feel. It is so important for us as a nation to remember this day. It is a day of remembrance and reflection. We need to teach our children about this day. There are some that say 9/11 is a day of service, but it is not. It is a day of remembrance and always should be. Tomorrow, 9/12, when our country forever changed, is a day of service. Let us not forget how we felt on 9/11, but also don’t forget how you felt on 9/12. As we remember and reflect, we grow stronger in our resolve to make the United States remain the greatest country on Earth.
So much to say….
I have been meaning to write for so long and now that the unofficial end of summer came yesterday, I am ready to write. There is so much going on. The 2012 presidential election is already heating up. The Republicans have ten candidates seeking the Republican nomination. There is one guy that I have never heard of and another guy that I only know because he was a former governor of New Mexico where I reside. Right now the top three are Rick Perry, current governor of Texas, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and Michelle Bachman, congresswoman from Minnesota. I have to admit I haven’t really studied any of them in depth as of yet. I know that I do not want Michelle Bachman as the candidate. She is too out there. We currently have a president that is so far left and our country is suffering. We need someone in the middle. Traditionally our nation’s values are conservative, however, not everyone holds the same values. There is no reason for our country not to be able to function if we don’t agree. Right now, our country is dysfunctional. It amazes me that there are still people that blame President George W. Bush for the problems we are facing. President Obama clearly owns the economy. He has been president for over two years now. This is his mess. Blaming the other guy doesn’t work anymore. It is tiresome and gets old really fast. On Thursday, President Obama will be speaking to a joint session of Congress. Apparently he is going to tell the nation his plan to get people jobs. This should be good. Yesterday, he was in Detroit at a Union Rally. Not a very good start for the president in my opinion. He talked about $7 million dollars in construction jobs that would help rebuild highways, bridges, etc… Weren’t those the shovel ready jobs that he urged Congress to pass as part of the Recovery Act in 2009? We still haven’t recovered and President Obama joked about those shovel ready jobs, too.
President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness met today in Durham, NC at Cree Inc., a company that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting. One of the Council’s recommendations to President Obama was to streamline the federal permit process for construction and infrastructure projects. It was explained to Obama that the permitting process can delay projects for “months to years … and in many cases even cause projects to be abandoned … I’m sure that when you implemented the Recovery Act your staff briefed you on many of these challenges.” At this point, Obama smiled and interjected, “Shovel-ready was not as … uh .. shovel-ready as we expected.” The Council, led by GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, erupted in laughter. (Fox Nation, June 13, 2011).
Gee, I wonder if all the people who are currently out of work think this is fun. I really don’t see what President Obama can say that will help. I understand that Congress is a big part of the problem. I also wonder what happened to the man that was elected president who said in his victory speech after he was elected president, “I will listen to you… I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation… Block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.” He added that “A new dawn of American leadership is at hand.” Well from all I read and watch and study he has not listened. In fact, he doesn’t like it when someone has an opposing view. He will cut the person off and talk in circles. It will be interesting to see what he does say in his speech on Thursday night. I will just have to watch the highlights on the news. I will not be watching. I have more important things to do like going to my son’s open house at school and taking him to soccer practice. Life does go on, but I do pray every day that our country will be able to fill in the fractures that this president and congress have made in our country.
Making me feel better
A lot has been going on. There is a lot of stress. We are moving and it’s been hard to accept even though it’s just 30 minutes away. Then my brother who for years hasn’t really had much to do with us finally severed the ties. I wrote the post below to help me through the feelings I am having. Although I do feel a sense of relief and a weight being lifted off me, I am still sad. I don’t expect comments and that’s okay. I write because it helps me to feel better. My mom told me a long time ago that when you have something going on in your life, the best thing to do is to write. I know that now we can share things instantly with the world. I could have tweeted. I could have put it on my Facebook status, but instead I chose to blog. The thing about Musings of a Banana is it’s my journal. I am able to write about things that make me think, things that make me want to scream and some things that make me want to cry. Writing can be a very healing experience. It can really open up those feelings that are hard to say in words out loud. The post below was for my benefit. If you read it, don’t feel like you must comment. I have faith that one day I will not have an estranged brother. He will be back, but until then I choose to write and it makes me feel better.
Losing something that was never really there
I recently lost my brother. He didn’t die. He just has decided not to have a relationship with me. This is an answer I have been waiting to hear for awhile. It hurt when I read the email, but at the same time I felt some relief. All of these years I was trying to have a relationship with someone that didn’t want to have one with me. I was sending emails, cards, presents and making the actual phone call only to receive silence on the other end. I tried. I really did try. Now I have a brother and an estranged brother. He is the one that we don’t talk about. He doesn’t have anything to do with any of us. We never did anything to him. My parents supported him in everything he has ever done. If he was playing football, baseball or what ever sport was in season, my parents were there. I was there too. When he joined the Navy, my parents and I were there when he was sworn in and then when he graduated from basic training. When he got married, we were there. Then that’s the end. He got married. When I got married, I also married my husband’s family. They are a quirky bunch, but they stick by you. When my brother got married, he left. He wasn’t the same person. He and his wife had children and they became their own insular family. They have no contact with us. His wife’s family is not together. She doesn’t talk to her dad. Her mom is living her own life. She has a brother, but I don’t know about him. It is a sad feeling when you lose something especially something that has been with you since you were born. But it’s hard to be sad when what you had hasn’t been there for a long time.
A royal wedding, Osama, Pakistan and child support
I know, I know what a lengthy title and probably a little strange too. It has been far too long since I have been musing and really need to get it all out. So first things first. I didn’t get up at 2:00 am and watch the royal wedding. The only royal wedding I did that for was when Prince Andrew and Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson got married. I was 12 so I think it gets a pass. So while I did not get up and watch I did hit the internet to see what her dress looked like and to see the first kiss (or two) from the balcony. I am not awestruck, but I have to say I am a sucker for such pomp. The British have a reputation as being boring, but they sure do know how to put on a wedding. So after the royal wedding, Osama was found and killed. It was a like a wedding present to the world from the United States more accurately the Navy Seals. I was sitting in the living room when my husband came in and told me that Osama bin Laden was dead. I didn’t believe it. Then I saw President Obama on the Fox News and knew he wasn’t kidding. Personally I thought the guy was dead a long time ago. How wrong I was. He was not in a cave, but in a house watching videos of himself on Al Jazerra. Which leads me to Pakistan. If they think anybody believes that the government or military did not know that he was living just a few blocks away from Pakistan’s equvialent to West Point well I have ocean front property in Arizona. According to the Pakistani ambassador if it is found out that someone knew about Osama living among them in Pakistan, heads will roll. I don’t take this very seriously, but maybe something will happen. Pakistan has received $18.6 billion dollars since 2002. They shouldn’t be receiving anything at all nor should any other country. I totally agree with Ron Paul on this one. No foreign aid! So while that is all playing out, the NFL and possibly the NBA will have lockouts. The front page of the sports page in the Albuquerque Journal had a story about how the lockout would affect child support payments. Seriously, child support payments. In the players handbook about what to do during the lockout one section is devoted to child support and alimony. One women quoted in the story has a child with Antonio Cromartie, an NFL player who reportedly made $1.7 million last year. Her child is one of 9 by 8 different women. He needed an advance on his salary last year just to pay his child support. Then there is the basketball player, Shawn Kemp. He has 7 children with 7 different women. The list goes on and on. I don’t get it. In this video clip( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHe1AT-rk50&feature=player_embedded#at=42), Cromartie lists all of his children. Most are 2 to 3 years old. What the heck! We wonder as a society what is happening to our children. Which now leads me to something else I should have put in the title – polygamy. I am not a supporter, however, I wonder what is worse a man married to 2 or more wives who is involved in his children’s lives or a guy who has several children with women he is not married to and has very little contact with them? The players and there are certainly players in the NFL and NBA that need to learn to keep it zipped. Do they have children in every city that has a NFL or NBA team? There are young, aspiring football and basketball players who look up to these guys. I just hope they only admire their athletic ability and not their ability to father children. Okay so I ranted a little and it felt good. As summer is on it’s way, I will have more time to muse and rant. I am looking forward to this. So go forth and rant, rave and muse. It does a body good.
Does honor mean anything?
Brandon Davies, a star player on the BYU basketball team has been suspended for the rest of the year due to an honor code violation. The interesting part of this story is the amount of attention this story is getting. Now BYU currently sits at number 3 in the college basketball polls have lost the possibility of winning the NCAA tournament. At least that’s what some commentators believe and it’s all over the honor code. When students decide to go to BYU they must sign the honor code. It’s something that is a known fact and it’s not kept secret. The honor code is important especially since BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which I am a member. If the student is a member of the church, the honor code should not be hard to follow. I am not saying that things do not happen because of the honor code. I am just saying that the honor code is something the majority of the students have already been living. But I guess what really gets me is the crazy reactions from columnists, sports writers, etc… on this issue. One columnist, Alexandra Petri, who writes for the Washington Post said BYU is just bizarre. Others can’t believe that pre-martial sex is frowned upon. Others, mostly sports writers, have written BYU’s basketball team off. Apparently the offending player was the team. Now they will have to limp through the rest of the season even though they are 27-3. What has happened to the morals of our country? We don’t have to look very far to find they have gone down hill. We certainly don’t have examples in Washington or Hollywood. But I believe BYU has set a great example that shows that no matter what honor is more important than basketball or any other sport for that matter. We need to get it thorough to our young men and women that we don’t go off to school to party hard and hope to graduate. We need to teach them that by being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtous and in doing good to all men that these things will get them farther than any drink, indiscretion or other immoral behavior will get them. This young man has a huge support group and he will not be thrown out on the sidewalk. That is one of the many wonderful parts of the LDS Church — redemption. I applaud BYU for upholding the standards that have been set forth. And by the way, I think the basketball team can pull it together. Go Cougars!
The 13th Article of Faith:
aWe believe in being bhonest, true, cchaste, dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we fhope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to gendure all things. If there is anything hvirtuous, ilovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
So many things to do….
I love writing. I still write letters and will continue even if it’s not the hip thing to do. However, I have been lacking in the writing department lately. I feel somewhat overwhelmed. It’s my own fault. I got myself into this mess. I am the Box Tops for Education coordinator at my son’s elementary school. I love Box Tops. It’s free money for our school and who couldn’t use some free money especially the schools. The deadline for the last submission is approaching and I am knee deep in Box Tops. They are all counted, but I am hoping for more so we can reach our goal. Then there is the art program in school. Our small school district has one art teacher and he goes from school to school. He will start teaching at my son’s elementary school in March. Until then, I have been teaching art in my son’s 1st grade class. It’s a lot of fun, but can be a lot of work too. Finally, there is the Tiger Cub den that I lead. We meet every Wednesday and I really need to start delegating. It just seems easier to just have the activity planned and then ask for help. So those are the things that I do on top of my transcribing that I do at home, being a wife and mother and trying to get in some me time. Oh, and my 1st grader starts soccer next month. I have a friend who is very talented. She started a blog about the projects she has done. They are great. It has inspired me to do some projects of my own. My sweet husband got me a Silhouette machine (kind of like a Cricut) and I have been learning to use it. I want one whole day just to create. I don’t see that happening in the near future, but I have lots of ideas. I have also noticed that my blogs aren’t as up to date as they should be. I don’t think I am managing my time wisely. So with projects to create, box tops to count, scout meetings to plan, art to teach, and blogs to write I really need to get the ball rolling. There really is enough time in the day. I just need to use it!
Sensitivity to the max
After the horrific shooting that took place in Tucson, the sheriff of Pima County came out and stated the shooting happened because of “the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government.” After he made this statement, a fire storm of liberals and other left leaning pundits came out of the woodwork to blame Sarah Palin, talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sean Hannity among others. During the 2010 election, many congressional districts were listed as “targets”. This wording was apparently inappropriate and could have set the shooter off. The left leaning media must think the American people are stupid because they continued to play this up as if the shooter, Jared Loughner, should be let off easy because he was being encouraged to commit the act of violence. We now know that he was not encouraged by any one except for maybe the voices in his head. So instead of trying to bring the country together especially after a act of violence that left six people dead and seven others wounded in various stages, we are now bombarded with the sensitivity police. I should have not used the word “fire storm”. It’s insensitive. Any words that conjure the image of guns or violence is wrong. The Arizona shooting did not start this. It has been going on in our country for many years. The Columbine Shooting in Colorado was horrible. It is an incident that should not be forgotten. However, our society can sometimes take things away from incidences like Columbine or the Tucson shootings and take things out of bounds. A 17 year old Eagle Scout in Massachusetts was suspended from school for 20 days because he had a 2 inch knife in his car. It was not in the school on his person, but in his car. A Rhode Island 8 year old was told he could not wear a hat he had made to honor the military because it violated the schools ban on drugs and weapons at school. The hat had an American flag on it and green army men on it that held guns. Just this month in Oklahoma City, a first grader was given in school suspension for using his fingers to pretend to shoot a gun. The principal said he would be given a harsher penalty if it happened again. These are examples from schools, but we also have an example from John King who hosts the John King USA show on CNN who recently said this, “Before we go to break, I want to make a quick point. We were having a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race just a moment ago. My friend Andy Shaw used the term ‘in the crosshairs’ in talking about the candidates. We’re trying, we’re trying to get away from that language. Andy is a good friend, he’s covered politics for a long time, but we’re trying to get away from that kind of language. We won’t always be perfect. So hold us accountable when we don’t meet your standards.” Should he also apologize that the very network he is on once had a show called “Crossfire”? This is all getting out of hand. We are back to the point where political correctness doesn’t mean anything because it seems one can’t open their mouth without being politically incorrect. So I leave you with a quote from Susan Powter, that chick with the shaved blond hair in the 1990s, “STOP THE INSANITY!”
Permission Slips & Happy Meals
A woman in Sacramento is suing McDonald’s over Happy Meals. She says that McDonald’s markets directly to children because of the toys. Well, duh. She also says that McDonald’s makes it hard to say no to her children. She wants McDonald to stop making her job as a parent easier. What does she do when her children want a toy or a sugary cereal at the store? Does she give in because it’s hard to say no or does she say no? This lawsuit may become a class action lawsuit. So if the courts allow this suit to go forward, we could all get 15 cents from McDonald’s and that’s not even enough for the dollar menu. Now another crazy story is on my radar. In the town of Brookline, Massachusetts the elementary school has not said the Pledge of Allegiance for 5 years. Starting in January, the principal will begin reciting the Pledge with the students at least once a week. A letter was sent home with a permission slip. Imagine having to give permission so your child can say the Pledge of Allegiance. Now the ACLU is involved. They don’t think it should be the parents decision, but the children should decide. These are elementary school aged children. Most elementary school kids I have been around can’t decide what they want for lunch much less decide whether they should say the Pledge. So one parent in California hates that she has to say no to her children and a school in Massachusetts has sent out permission slips. So here is a call to arms. Eat a Happy Meal and then recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Just make sure you wipe the ketchup off your face first. Mmmm…french fries.