Monday 3-22

♣ 22 March 2010~~Week 12 of 2010: 81 days this year…284 remain ♣

♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣

"The picture of health requires a happy frame of mind."

~unknown

"I was born to a woman I never knew and raised by another who took in orphans. I do not know my background, my lineage, my biological or cultural heritage. But when I meet someone new, I treat them with respect.... For after all, they could be my people."

~James Michener, Author

♣ Free Ramblings ♣

It looks like some fairly extensive health care plan will pass tonight. The process has been eye-opening to how this democracy operates. It is messy, it is wrought with lies, emotion, and sometimes anger. It is so hard to believe that these elected officials are really speaking for their individual districts. Our Rep has been interviewed by all the major news outlets because she remained on the fence for so long. She won her last election with 56% of the vote, her opponent got 40%. Now they say her seat may in danger. Yeah, it might be, because she has been a fence sitter and has voted against several big bills that passed. With a 16% win in 2008, she should have been less afraid of her opponents and more concerned about those who voted for her. As I watched some of the C-Span coverage, I must say, the concept of ‘unanimous consent to revise and add to my remarks’ were messy. This means that they will not say anything right now but will put their written comments into the record. No one will hear any more than they are for or against the bill. By revising and adding to their remarks, they will be able to campaign with words they never uttered but their constituents will be lead to believe they said them in front of the members of the House. Crazy. Another messy thing in this process is the number of times the man or women with the gavel had to pound that gavel to remind our elected reps that someone was talking and that there was to be no aisle conversations going on. Not even a Kindergarten classroom would have to be reminded so many times of manners. For those who didn’t watch this process, this was not representatives talking or shouting, or calling out to prevent the speaker from being heard, this was simply groups of people standing around talking to each other and not listening to the speaker. The final thing that surprised me was the fact that the House members, some 435 people, did not spend the day inside the room. Both sides babbled on for most of the day and into the night, about how important this bill really was. Yet, throughout the day, there were seldom more than 50 Representatives in the chamber at a time. At voting times, everyone came in during the 30 minute vote, sat down, logged into the ballot, voted, logged out, and left the chamber. These Reps had already made up their minds, they knew how they were going to vote, and appeared not to want to hear what their fellow Reps had to say. Disgusting.

Outside this chamber, protesters were carrying signs, chanting, and yelling. We are democracy and all that is fine and good. However, some of the protesters had few manners either. A Black leader heard a protester yell out the N-word as he passed, another was spat on as he entered the building, and a gay Rep was greeted with a gay slur inside the building. None of these Reps pressed charges against these protesters. How very sad.

My brother’s wife’s paternal grandfather passed last night. I only saw Carl a couple of times, but he was such a kind and generous man, he made quite an impression. He was 90+ when he passed quietly in his sleep at a hospital. He had fallen, again, a couple of days ago. His wife passed about 5 years ago, and up until two years ago he was still bowling twice a week, and traveling to tournaments every month throughout Illinois. Carl was at one of the Christmas dinners. He so reminded me of my own grandfather. He was spry, enjoyed opening his Christmas presents of t-shirts, socks, and other ‘essentials’ After that each grandchild—all adults were called over to him, one by one chronologically, to get his/her ‘envelope’. At our house, Papa always put the ‘envelope’ on the tree. Both Carl, and my grandfather, had done that since anyone could remember. For those of you who didn’t have this tradition, the ‘envelope’ was crisp new bills, with no card or any handwritten note. A kiss on his cheek or a hug and a few words about ‘you shouldn’t have’ was all either wanted. Carl made his way to the dinner table last Christmas with the aid of a walker. He sat at the head of the table, of course. Before we ate, he stood up, the room quickly became silent, and he offered the blessing. He thanked God for his many years, his wonderful children, and his and their good lives. His kind words touched everyone. His life, his generosity, his kindness will be missed by all who knew him.

The sun shone brightly on our town today. We made it to 60° as more and more of the winter snow disappears. A nice day to spend some time outside. A nice day to enjoy spring. A great day to forget about the blizzards, the ice dams, the road chemicals, and to start looking for new spring growth to be brightening our area. Finally and none too soon.

♣Random Fact: ♣

Giraffes breed throughout the year. Males go from female herd to female herd seeking prospective mates. They zero in on females in heat, often feeding beside them and occasionally tangling necks. Fourteen to 15 months after mating takes place, females give birth to a single calf (rarely two).

***

Female giraffes travel in loosely structured herds, as do young males. However, older males are usually solitary, spending their days seeking female herds containing prospective mates. Males sometimes fight, using their 25-pound heads, nine-inch horns, and strong necks. These battles rarely result in injury.

***

During their first few weeks, calves stay close to their mothers; soon after, they join a group of young called a creche. Baby giraffes are born six feet tall, taller than the average person. They can grow an inch a day and just about double their height in one year.

♣Side Show Stories—♣

ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Florida authorities said an 80-year-old man was arrested for attacking his neighbors' door with a garden hoe because he thought they stole his cookies. The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said the St. Lucie residents called 911 Sunday and reported they were awakened by a "loud banging at the door" that turned out to be neighbor Gene Edward Chambers hitting the door with a garden hoe, TCPalm.com reported Thursday. Chambers told a deputy who arrived at the scene that he first knocked on the door then fetched the garden hoe when there was no answer. He accused his neighbors of sneaking into his house during the night and stealing seven boxes of "Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookies." A deputy who searched Chambers' home for signs of theft found five boxes of the snacks and a Wal-Mart receipt from the previous day confirming he had purchased five boxes. "Chambers was mistaken thinking he had bought seven boxes," deputies wrote in a report.

Chambers was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief. The neighbors' door, which deputies valued at $200, was "damaged beyond repair," the report said.

♣ A quick smile ♣

Law of Mechanical Repair

After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you’ll have to pee.

Law of Gravity

Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability

The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers

If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

♣ Puzzle ♣

Each of these phrases is the anagram of a recent celebrity. Rearrange the letters to identify the celeb.

1 Slovenly Steel Star

2 Pay Mr. Clean-Cut

3 Imagined Hot

4 Cool Energy, Ego

♣ Calendar Information ♣

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

16-22

•National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week

19-27

National Bubble (blowers) Week

21-27

•Consider Christianity Week •Passion Week •Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

22-28

•World Folk Tales & Fables Week

• 21 March Observances—US/UN/World •

National Goof-off Day

As Young As You Feel Day

International Day of The Seal

World Day for Water (aka World Water Day)

•21 March Observances—by country •

Jordan, Lebanon : Arab League Day (1945)

Puerto Rico : Emancipation Day (1873) freeing slaves (I know it's part of US!)

♣ Number One Songs in…

1945► Accentuate the Positive - Johnny Mercer

1953► Doggie in the Window - Patti Page

1961► Dedicated to the One I Love - The Shirelles

1969► Only the Lonely - Sonny James

1977► Fly like an Eagle - Steve Miller

1985► Material Girl - Madonna

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1794► Congress bans US vessels from supplying slaves to other countries

• Born on this day •

…The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

Louis D L'Amour, 1908, author

Marcel Marceau (Mangel), 1923, mime

Stephen Sondheim, 80, composer (A Little Night Music, score for West Side Story)

James Patterson, 63, author (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider)

Sir Anthony Van Dyck, 1599, Flemish painter

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

George Benson, 67, singer, guitarist (“On Broadway,” “Give Me the Night”)

Jeremy Clyde, 1944, rocker (Chad & Jeremy-Yesterday's Gone)

Chico [Leonard] Marx, 1887, comedian (Marx Brothers)

Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich), 1912, actor

Ross Martin (Martin Rosenblatt), 1920,actor: The Wild Wild West

Matthew Modine, 51, actor (Full Metal Jacket, “And the Band Played On”)

William Shatner, 79, actor (“Star Trek,” “Boston Legal”), author (Tek novels)

Andrew Lloyd Webber, 62, composer (Cats, Phantom of the Opera)

Reese Witherspoon, 34, actress (Oscar for Walk the Line)

Roger Whittaker, 1936, (Nairobi Kenya), country singer

…Athletes

Robert Quinlan (Bob) Costas, 58, sportscaster

Cristen Powell, 31, race car driver

…Business, Education

Allen Neuharth, 86, founder of USA Today

…Politics

Orrin Grant Hatch, 76, US Senator (R, Utah)

…Science/Religion

F W A Argelander, 1799, Prussian cataloguer of 324,188 stars

Pat Robertson (Marion Gordon Robinson), 80, television evangelist

Adam Sedgwick, 1785, British geologist

•Today’s Obits •

J W Goethe writer, 1832@ 82

Asa Smith Bushnell Jr, 1975, Secretary of US Olympics (1945-65), @ 75

Karl Wallenda, 1978, falls to death walking high-wire in Puerto Rico, @ 73

•What Happened on this Day •

…The Arts

--

…Athletics

1997► Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition.

…Business, Education.

1933► President Roosevelt signed the bill which legalized the sale of 3.2 percent beer and wine.

1990► Microsoft Windows 3.0 was released

…Politics

1630► 1st colonial legislation prohibiting gambling enacted (Boston)

1790► Thomas Jefferson becomes the 1st US Secretary of State

1882► Edmunds Act adopted by US to suppress polygamy in the territories

…Science/Religion

1457► Gutenberg Bible became the 1st printed book

1733► Joseph Priestly invents carbonated water (seltzer)

1841► Cornstarch patented (Orlando Jones)

1946► 1st US rocket to leave the Earth's atmosphere (50 miles up)

1993► Intel introduces Pentium-processor (80586) 64 bits-60 MHz-100+ MIPS

1997► Comet Hale-Bopp Closest Approach to Earth

♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣

1 Sylvester Stallone: Slovenly Steel Star

2 Paul McCartney: Pay Mr. Clean-Cut

3 Heidi Montag: Imagined Hot

4 George Clooney: Cool Energy, Ego

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