REGULATIONS, RULES AND ROGUES

Beware of rogues who promote the idea rules and regulations are the cause of America’s problems. Our federal government was led for too many years by a philosophy such requirements weren’t needed, that the American people could count on those in the financial and corporate world doing what was right for all citizens. Additionally, those at administrative lower levels were lax, possibly encouraged or instructed to not even enforce existing regulations. I understand the desire to do as we darn well please, but I draw the line at allowing my willful acts to impinge upon what might jeopardize the welfare of others. Unfortunately, there are individuals who don't share such concerns, so laws, rules and regulations are made for our own protection.

We individuals have been subjected to the undesirable consequences of those who exploit in the name of money by ignoring regulations. We’ve seen this to be true in the automobile industry, in childrens products, in the food industry, and in coal mine operations to name just a few business types. I recall news stories during the past months involving major corporations around the world. We’re still reeling from our nation’s financial status coming close to collapse, but saved only because of the dollars you and I paid to bail out the offenders.

Even now the legislative battles continue over making needed changes to prevent a repeat of such folly. Congress is currently in the process of creating changes into a single bill before submitting for our President’s signature. So far, bankers and Wall Street’s financial managers have initiated few voluntary corrections to right prior corruptive practices in their institutions and markets. So, we must expect our legislators to adopt needed reform and top level administrators to insure regulations are enforced. We must monitor and continually prod our congressional and executive branch officials to act on our behalf. Frustratingly, all too often parties “log jam” meaningful action. They rigidly adhere to ideological positions – in the name of garnering power -- instead of genuinely participating in the art of compromise.

Presently we are exposed to another example of company officials hiding behind their distancing from ordinary people by virtue of what I refer to as “corporate think.” Those officials apparent prevailing beliefs based on their behaviors justify actions that might otherwise be considered immoral, unethical or questionable at best, just because “it’s business.” (Sounds like organized crime’s approach – think, “Godfather” movie.) Such a state seems to foster lack of respect for rules, regulations, and guidelines generally established to ensure operational or product quality and safety. The unscrupulous ignore these protective measures against potential disaster as in the instance of deep sea oil drilling. Possibly this has been due to willful negligence, but ultimately the major impact is on people and our coastal environment.

Certain drilling standards have allegedly been circumvented causing the operation to go awry. Compounding this violation, there were no provisions as required to address preventing oil spillage in the event a worst case scenario happened. This is contrary to guarantees implied or given by the company. Disaster has resulted. We can’t trust such companies to be honest. Regulation must not only be required but responsible regulators must check and be accountable. I don't really like the fact circumstances persist that incite me to write about such negligence, especially deliberate offending actions taken in the name of acquiring money, gains for excessive profit -- but that is “corporate think” in action.

Listening to the BP President's testimony before our U.S. Congress regarding polluting gushing oil, following that notorious Gulf of Mexico deep sea oil drilling rig explosion for which his company is responsible, was appalling. I suppose we can’t expect him to be too forthcoming given the potential legal liability, as I’m sure his attorneys have cautioned him, especially since the investigative determinations about precisely what happened has not yet been completed. Are we to believe he was a renegade whose behaviors didn’t reflect his company’s approach to business? That company president has been relieved of overseeing day to day recovery operations following his taking time off to attend his yacht Bob’s race. What do we expect from his replacement? Better public relations acumen?

Consider BP’s safety track record. The Alaska Dispatch describes BP is paying fines in the millions from a 2006 Prudhoe Bay oil spill on land to which they admitted guilt. BP is fighting additional fines you can read more about in Jill Burke’s article:

“BP denies the 2006 spills polluted wetlands, shorelines, rivers or the Beaufort Sea. It also denies it mishandled asbestos, a federally regulated substance, during work to prepare the pipeline for inspection. And it denies dozens of allegations that it violated a handful of other federal regulations.”

Reading this gives me real concern for conditions in our Gulf affected States – so far Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

What is required to insure BP behaves responsibly? Our President’s expectation that BP establish a sizable escrow account is a meaningful effort to insure financial security for some incurred costs. Read more and view videos at this White House website link.

(The Congressman from Texas sullied the name of Barton with his apology to big oil so come re-election time voters know where his allegiance lies despite his later forced muddling apology. I wonder what his reaction would be if oil from the ocean were polluting parts of his State? )

See this BP history of pollution fines with a quick glance timeline chart beginning in 1960:

Is BP another corporation “too big to be allowed to fail?” Shouldn’t we continue to forge ahead at full speed to eliminate our nation’s oil dependence?

A Federal Court Judge’s ruling has negated our President’s 6 month moratorium on deep sea oil drilling. Presumably the ruling will be appealed. Some fishing and other businesses protest the moratorium as creating more financial loss and human hardship in jobs. Others believe the long range goal for businesses and the environment is best addressed by determining more effective preventative and corrective measures for possible future spills before resuming drilling. Legally the ruling may be just, but law application does not always result in fully moral and ethical results in every respect.

The oil pollution saga continues with many more unpalatable facts yet to emerge I fear. The hurricane season has begun with expectations the storms may be as severe as the year that brought the devastation of hurricane Katrina to New Orleans, Louisiana. Their effects of spreading oil on our nation’s Gulf shores do not bode well for either wildlife above or below the sea’s water. Deep in the ocean the oil keeps gushing at a rate far greater than BP officials led all to believe as the estimates have kept increasing with each pronouncement of company and government officials.

Live feeds from remotely operated vehicles (ROV) can be downloaded at this BP link

The consequences of this environmental disaster exceed any meaning the word tragic conveys, considering the number of affected human lives and the likely alterations for generations to come. Is it too much to expect that maybe – just maybe in the future.....

– responsible individuals will enforce established regulations at official governmental regulatory levels, in the financial world, and at corporations?

– elected officials representing the people will enact legislation to insure there are no loopholes enabling others to escape their legal, moral and ethical responsibilities?

- consumers can be confident in the quality and safety of products?

– voters will scrutinize the actions of those we elect to determine who acts on our behalf and who doesn’t, then vote accordingly?

What do you think?

Dogs, Cats and Their Humans

This human’s life has been filled with a variety of pets through the years, including numerous dogs and cats. Recently I heard some pet lovers describe what the pet we choose says about the human owner’s personality. The discussion included a viewpoint saying cats are owned by people who like to feel rejected. Dogs are purportedly more social and interested in establishing relationships which is presumed to be their owner’s trait. Dogs have larger brains than cats but this may not necessarily imply greater intelligence. I'm sure dog and cat owners have many more arguments from their individual points of view.

Dogs are usually not noted for being fastidiously neat with their eating habits, but Ginger at Breakfast does pretty well. Thanks to one of my writing class buddies for bringing this YouTube video to my attention.

My first pet recollection is of a cute little black scottish terrier. My grandmother didn't like that dog and he must have sensed her animosity. Those days before dishwashing machines grandma insisted on being ours as a way to contribute to our household when she visited. One evening as she was standing at the sink busily washing and rinsing dishes she began to feel an increasingly warm sensation in one of her felt slippers. Glancing down at her feet she saw this sweet little dog relieving himself on her. We suspect he was giving her a message, but he also succeeded in reinforcing her negative view of him.

A few years later, the only dog I ever disliked (though not initially) came into my life, a petite goldish-colored fully grown pomeranian. She merely tolerated everyone except our family member who had created her behavior by spoiling and catering to her. I recall us relaxing in the living room with an Aunt who was visiting for the first time. She shifted her feet ever so slightly on the carpet. This dog sleeping across the room was apparently startled and annoyed by my Aunt's action so rushed growling, snarling and snapping at her toes. She didn't bite my Aunt, but scared this woman whose pet at her home was a much larger friendly lovable German shepherd police dog. We'd never seen this behavior before from the prissy miss pooch and didn't see it ever again.

Eventually, our family moved to the country where we had a variety of pets including German pomeranians, cocker spaniels and a stock collie dog (read his story by clicking on these links: "Betrayal and Heartbreak" ; "King's History".)

We also had numerous cats of various colors and dispositions. We raised puppies selling them to carefully screened new owners, but the kittens had to be given away. The number of pets we owned diminished to two, varying through the years, then eventually decreasing to none as we relocated across the country and back again to a Midwest Great Lakes state.

By now I was a young, single adult, longing once again for a pet. I purchased a reddish golden-haired male pomeranian puppy that became quite self-centered as he grew to adulthood. I had to move away so wasn’t home enough to oversee his discipline. Another person with health issues assumed that responsibility but excessively indulged this cute little dog’s misbehaviors with the result being he became quite self-centered. He was seldom left alone, but following the death of this family member who had catered to him the dog’s care became a problem as he started receiving long overdue discipline. If he was left alone for even a brief time while we went to the nearby grocery market he made his rebellious or mourning statement by leaving a puddle on the floor by the kitchen table leg.

I wasn’t allowed a pet in my apartment, but we luckily found a home for the dog with the understanding I could visit a few weeks later to see how he was adapting to his new owners. Adapting! When I visited, he hardly paid any attention to me in his new urban environment that allowed him more room to run untethered outdoors, to splash about in a small wading pond and reportedly enjoy sleeping in the bed between this older couple. They were delighted with him as they had been grieving the loss of their aged toy pomeranians prior to acquiring him. I could immediately see he had trained them well and was clearly living in doggy heaven here on earth.

We excused inappropriate bathroom behavior from our cat I describe later when we learned he had an infection. Cats can be quite independent with their personal habits. The video of this neat and clean cat is the first I’ve seen that not only uses the toilet, but also toilet paper.

After I wed, my husband and I became enamored with a kitten birthed by a three-footed wild mama cat living in a nearby woods whose confidence we won over a year's time. We adopted him and he matured into a lovable personable attractive handsome long-haired silver gray cat. Sadly neighbor dogs allowed to run loose later killed his mother. He accompanied us in all our moves about the country through his fifteen plus years lifetime.

A few years after his death a ten month old German short-haired pointer we rescued from the local animal shelter joined our household. She proved to be a challenge as we began to understand why her previous owners had given her up. Reportedly they had been unable to successfully train her to be a bird dog. I'm not sure how she had failed because she often pointed birds in our back yard which impressed us.

What didn't impress us was that she was hopelessly neurotic, chewing a bottom portion of our long saved for brand new living room drapes on a couple of occasions soon after we brought her home. She must have overheard me say if she did that one more time I would return her to the dog pound because there were no further incidents and she remained with us the rest of her life. Of course, the irreparable drape damage had been done. This dog's behavior clearly revealed she had been the victim of abuse, probably in the name of discipline, so we felt compelled to re-educate her in a loving manner and must have succeeded to some extent. She also grew a bit larger, plus she became a much more active dog than we had anticipated.

This high strung lady dog didn't tolerate other animals in our back yard forcing me to rescue more than one opossum. One time, hearing the sudden deep growls, barks and yips, we opened the back door to quickly discern she had tangled with a skunk when a most acerbic unpleasant odor permeated the evening air and her. She could not tolerate being alone outside for long if we were home. She persisted in behaving like a jumping jack, tirelessly leaping up and down on her back legs as if on springs, to peer at us through the living room window – very distracting and entertaining as she never tired. She was incredibly jealous of any other pet that might seek my attention.

She viewed herself as a lap dog which was a delusion on her part due to her size. When she couldn't sit on my husband's lap, she soon initiated the idea of squeezing in beside him on his reclining chair which he ultimately encouraged. She often sought attention behaving much like a puppy causing us to wonder if she had been separated from her mother at too early an age. She lived a long full life with us bringing our family overall pleasure, successfully recovering from one cancer surgery. A few years later recurrent cancer spread throughout her body to a degree life was no longer viable. We reluctantly and tearfully had her “put to sleep” as the euphemism is worded.

Individuals living in confined quarters probably prefer having a pet whose needs can be more easily met without the necessity of walking a dog outdoors so cats seem logical. Some individuals in need of exercise incentives might choose to have a dog to regularly walk outside. I'm seeing many more dogs walking their humans in our neighborhood this year -- all sizes and breeds from fluffy little Shih Tzus to handsome Siberian Huskies with all sorts of mixed breeds in between.

Travel and sudden trips become more complicated and expensive with a pet. I wouldn't take mine with me though I know many have begun doing so in recent years. I come from the era when people and children were the humans while pets, however dearly loved, carefully cared for, were pet animals. Now my impression is that distinction does not exist for many humans with pets. I'm still opting for no pet presently as my experience is the care and inconveniences associated with even the most healthy cat or dog outweighs the companionship I would enjoy.

The question of which is the best companion and most intelligent pet -- a dog or cat remains a matter of opinion, I think. Dogs may foster or require their human to adopt a more physically active lifestyle than cats. Dogs may need more attention and human interaction. I’ve found dogs to be more attentive including with eye gaze, feelings sensitivity, being emotionally responsive and better listeners attuned to the nonverbal aspects of their human’s language. I've shared my life with both type pets in apartments, houses in city, suburban, and rural environments. My experience indicates the answer about which is the best pet is partially dependent on the particular dog’s or cat’s breeding, disposition, human owner's personal preference, living situation at the time of adoption.

About some other pet preferences -- raccoons, ferrets, squirrels, hamsters, rats, snakes, birds, fish, reptiles.....then, there are the bigger animals, horses, cows, pigs.....if the creature lives, moves, someone will adopt it as a pet. Wait.....what about those pet rocks a few years ago and now we have robots.....what next?

Could my attachment to my netbook, cell phone, IPhone or IPad be considered some sort of pet? No-o-o, my refrigerator, oven, microwave, coffeemaker aren’t pets, are they?

Robots to Stop Gulf Oil Spill ???

The latest attempt by BP using robots to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill for which the company has been so ill-prepared to resolve is reported to be risky. Refer to today's issue of the L. A. Times and probably other major newspapers for further information. An Internet news search for current up to the minute specifics wll reveal the success or lack thereof which will be of critical interest in the hours and days ahead.

Refer to the previous post for broader discussion of regulation and supervision shortcomings involving government and corporations from my viewpoint.

"Mud" in Gulf of Mexico and California

Special "mud" is being injected (or is BP now doing something different) into a blown out undersea well spewing huge quantities of oil and gas in a so far unsuccessful effort to contain that devastating fluid flow. Louisiana marshes, wetlands, dragon flies, other insects, turtles, birds, sea creatures are all under assault by this offshore deep water oil drilling gone awry that is killing the full grown, young and eggs containing future generations. Human families and livelihoods are experiencing life altering havoc and an uncertain future.

Once again individuals in government departments have possibly compromised their supervisory regulatory roll of insuring large corporations meet required measures to safeguard their employees and act in the public interest. The once arrogant slogan “Drill, Baby, drill!” has pundits paraphrasing now with “Spill, Baby, spill!”

Months preceding this environmentally destructive event the news was filled with the drama of West Virginia coal miners dying in underground mines. This large corporate owner operation was revealed in documents to have repeatedly violated safety regulations for which the company was fined. Meaningful inspections and then corrections designed to prevent this disaster may well have been compromised.

I suggest we should all be wary of any candidates for political office who rant against regulations when clearly a need for such has been proven to be necessary as we also consider the financial crisis to which our nation has been subjected. We can partially thank all those political administrative and legislative government leaders responsible for giving us deregulation in our financial system for these crises. Also, those responsible for oversight somehow overlooked or carelessly ignored enforcing existing regulatory stipulations. So we voters are challenged to carefully examine those for whom we choose to vote in our spring Primary elections and later in our General Elections this fall.

A different type of damaging “mud” from that in the Gulf is flowing in California. Currently I am being bombarded with repetitive recorded phone messages from proponents of various candidates and issues. They even fill up my answering machine when I’m not home to accept the calls. My daily postal mail is filled with print mailers and there is an excessive abundance of television ads that are mostly quite negative attacks on some candidate’s opponent. All this advertising has been most successful in influencing my vote – I’m not going to vote for any of them.

I note the California Republican Party has had a litany of candidates but now seems to have boiled them down to two – one a government official, the other from the IT world. They are busy with their anti-opponent statements on TV, phone and in print as the money they spend flows in torrents. The Democratic Party candidates have been much more low key with their field having recently narrowed primarily to one person – a former Governor. Probably the Democrats are reserving their funds for campaigning after our Primary Elections. I shudder to think of all the promotion we voters will be subjected to in the general election campaign if candidates are able to spend so much now within their own parties for the Primaries.

Consider the fact California has the largest economy of any U.S. state, is actually one of the ten largest economies in the world. Keep in mind recent news organizations have stated our state's economy is in worse shape than that resulting in the Greece financial crisis which impacted all of Europe. Certainly California has been building toward this financial condition for many years but we can’t blame the national financial crisis though our sad condition was exacerbated.

When I think of our elections this year I recall a few years ago, despite our raging state debt, the Republican Party promoted spending even more monies we didn't have in a special election recalling our then Democratic governor though only two years were left before a regularly scheduled election. I resented such squandering of resources we didn't have in order to pay for that special election. I thought how naive for anyone to believe replacing our then Governor with the opposite parties macho Republican candidate movie star glamour would somehow resolve our state's money debt issues, but he took over the office. I derived no satisfaction a few years later when that Governor was reduced to proposing the exact same cost saving measure for which he had condemned the Governor he displaced. Meanwhile taxpayers are still out all the money we had to pay for that special election.

I have yet to hear any of California’s current candidates for Governor offer workable concrete ways to correct our state's budget deficit problems. They seem oblivious to the fact that until our state legislators find common ground to present a timely realistic balanced budget each year any governor will be unable to act to resolve our state's financial condition or at least move in that direction.

Despite this state governmental challenge I do look forward to this Primary election because there is one issue about which I'm especially enthusiastic. If this issue passes, we may actually allow all California voters to select a slate of candidates not as limited as now. We'll be able to cross political party lines with our vote in Primary Elections. Legally voting in a California Primary Election will no longer require us to register ourselves with a specific political party thus forcing voters to select candidates from only that parties roster. The later General Election allows us to vote across political party lines for any candidate on the ballot but currently Primary Election voting is much more restrictive. Passing this measure will change that Primary Election voting situation. For those of us who rarely or never vote any one political party ticket in a general election, we'd also like more options when we vote in a Primary election.

If I conclude our government is persistently dangerously lurching too far toward any radical or extreme state I am likely to give serious consideration to a candidate from some other political party than the one in power to try to bring balance to the system. Too many of our electorate from both of the major political parties have fallen far short of acting in the best interest of those of us they've been elected to represent. After this upcoming Primary Election we’ll have to decide what incumbents to re-elect and the new candidates we choose to represent our best interests. I look forward to the June Primary Election results determining who will be candidates as California’s Governor and how they plan to approach our state’s financial problems.

Resolution of the Gulf of Mexico worst-ever-in-our-nation oil disaster remains unknown at this writing.

Lena Horne Remembered

Lena Horne died May 9, 2010 at age 92. I've always greatly admired her as a jazz singer, movie actress and performer. One of her most appealing qualities to me was her fierce independence. I never saw her perform in person but would have welcomed such an opportunity. She was outspoken becoming very active in the sixties civil rights movement.

The very first theater movie I can remember seeing when I was eight or nine years old, alone at an afternoon matinee without adult accompaniment, was Cabin In The Sky in which Lena Horne appeared. I thought she was beautiful, sensual, with a unique singing style and vocal quality that resonated with me. I didn't know anybody whose looks, gestures, could communicate so much sensuous feeling with such rhythmic graceful body movement. She continued to do so on those rare occasions in succeeding years when I would see her in other feature films as well. A later movie "Stormy Weather" with a title song of the same name became her signature song.



I recall reading some years ago of the friendship she had with the actress Ava Gardner; how they both were auditioning at the MGM movie studio for the lead in "Showboat." Studio heads reportedly thought the viewing public wouldn't accept this 'negro' or 'colored person' (as her race was referred to then.) Consequently Ava was given the roll, then frustratingly said she was constantly admonished by producers that somehow she was supposed to "sing like Lena." I knew nothing of that movie casting dynamic then, or of racial casting inequities bandied about in the entertainment world. Here's Lena singing in 1967 "You'd Better Love Me While You May."



A CBS tribute to newsman Ed Bradley following his death several years ago included his favorite interview which was with Lena Horne when she was in her mid-sixties.

In later years I relished viewing Lena Horne: A Lady and Her Music a recording of her 1980's one-woman hit Broadway Show. She was in her seventies but, as ever, had class, style, conveying confidence and pride, sensuality while demonstrating a physical agility in such a way that could make very woman envious.

Newsman Ed Bradley's interview with her, a segment of which was replayed in the CBS Television tribute to him upon his death elicited just the right tone I would have expected in her response to him. This YouTube Bradley/Horne interview is about 2 minutes in length 5.44 minutes into the recording.

PBS News Hour showcased interviews with Ms Horne when she was 80. Included is Margaret Warner's with jazz singer Nancy Wilson in 1997 mostly about Horne's civil rights and racial significance.

Lena Horne was a 1984 recipient of Kennedy Center Honors and their website features her biography:

Visit "Here In The Hills" blog Monday May 10th which features a lovely tribute along with a link to a fascinating piece written a few years ago by another musical talent.

Here's Lena Horne singing "Moon River":

Mother's Day & Saying

Four months have passed since ending my blog as the year 2009 concluded. Hardly a day since then has gone by that my mind hasn't been prompted by a multitude of sources with thoughts of topics tempting me to write. I enjoyed the time away, especially the first two months of 2010, then was doubly glad to have the succeeding months away when unexpectedly a succession of possible health issues crimped my style. Subsequently figuring my own Income tax again this year kept me busy as did continuing my part time work. I have now formed a much better idea of how much time I want to expend here and to what degree I want to impose expectations for myself. So it is that I resume blogging having been most recently stimulated by thoughts of my mother on this special day.

My mother enjoyed language, words, and the double-play of meanings. The author, Dorothy Parker, prominent in my mother's time was quite adept with word humor as a later quote will attest.

Best wishes to mothers the world over.

Phrases, Sayings and Idioms

Lying in bed one recent night thoughts of the world's financial precariousness caused me to wonder why so many corporate, financial and government leaders fail to accept and implement problem solving solutions provided them in ways to benefit their country's population multitudes. Somehow I evolved into thinking about how we receive information for ourselves or that we provide others and yet do not apply what is in their or our own best self-interest. What came to mind was typical of what I've often experienced since my mothers death years ago. One of her sayings will pop into my mind as did this one:

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

My curiosity led me to this information from phrases.org.uk Interestingly that Old English Homilie was recorded as early as 1175, the oldest English proverb that is still in regular use today.

"The proverb 'lead a horse to water' has been in continuous use since the 12th century. John Heywood listed it in the influential glossary A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue:

'A man maie well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will.'

It also appeared in literature over the centuries in a variety of forms. For example, in the play Narcissus, which was published in 1602, of unknown authorship, subtitled as A Twelfe Night merriment, played by youths of the parish at the College of Saint John the Baptist in Oxford:

Your parents have done what they coode,
They can but bringe horse to the water brinke,
But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke.

It wasn't until the 20th century that 'lead a horse to water...' got a substantial rewrite, when Dorothy Parker reworked it from its proverbial form into the epigram 'you can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think'."

I don't mean to offend the sensibilities of any mothers reading this but Parker was quite a wit.

'09 Year Ends ♪ ♪ ♪

Everything comes to an end!
Memories linger on.

Auld Lang Syne by BBC's Symphony Orchestra




LYRICS

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup !
And surely I'll be mine !
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne. CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine ;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne. CHORUS

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne. CHORUS

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gives a hand o' thine !
And we'll tak a right guid-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne. CHORUS

♫ Happy Holidays ♫

Hope your holidays are bringing you much joy and pleasure!

Ray Conniff and The Singers create a holiday mood prompting many happy memories for me with their medley of Christmas songs:


I've chosen to be home this holiday season. Family members are unable to join me here in sunny California. Our current daytime temperatures are in the sixties to seventies, but colder days with rain are predicted for next week. Given the Midwest's and East's snow, sleet, and icy weather conditions, I'm glad to not be experiencing travel delays and air cancellations trying to fly to those destinations. I even respectfully declined an invitation to join close friends to share in their festivities with their Las Vegas family. I just want to be quietly leisurely at home this year for reasons not even fully understood by me.

Traveling is not a deterrent, but long distance air trips are less inviting to me than they once were. Jet Blue has provided my most recently appealing direct coast to coast flight. I experience the actual comfort level on many other domestic airlines as barely acceptable and often quite undesirable, even if all goes well flying across country with required plane changes. I miss the exciting anticipation of flight travel I recall enjoying years ago.

The risk prospect of maybe having to rough long hours waiting in an airport lobby, slouched down in an uncomfortable seat, or in a corner on the floor, is also less inviting than when I was much younger. Even trying to seek flight or airline scheduling changes should that be warranted seems much more complicated. No longer familiar to me is how to readily proceed using today's ticketing systems to achieve quick timely flight or airline change actions should I be unexpectedly stranded in an unfamiliar airport suddenly needing one of only a few much-in-demand seats others would also be seeking.

I'm too late flying east this winter as I've already missed one of my favorite seasonal joys, walking in the first snowfall, watching the flakes gently falling around me and feeling the brisk bracing cold air on my face. I am content to settle for seeing snow-capped mountains through my kitchen window. Here are those mountains much as they look today though the photo was taken last spring from a nearby park:



Family and friends are disappointed we'll not be with each other in person, but we can avail ourselves of instant real time communication by voice, live pictures/video, including print via email/chat, given the computers and cell phones camera systems for communication available to us today. I've always embraced the idea special occasions could have a make-good or rain check day for in-person sharing, just as my mother and I sometimes needed to institute. We did not have to rigidly celebrate together an important occasion on a specific date if life's events made doing so unduly complicated. This approach sometimes could prove to be doubly enjoyable with two celebrations, one apart, and another later, together.

Expecting to be alone this holiday I elected to forgo decorating a larger Christmas tree. Instead, I'm enjoying this tiny little tree with miniature ornaments that other years I usually have set out as a separate room decoration. I particularly like miniatures of many items.



Family members had a huge box sent to me with strict instructions to not open before Christmas. I decided to let them see how large and cumbersome this box was, but I got cute and draped a red throw over it. I knew they wouldn't be able to tell whether or not I had violated the "don't open before Dec. 25th" requirement. Then, I determined to set my little tree atop the red throw-draped box, scatter around a few early greeting cards I had received and take a photo. I suddenly thought I'd fill the picture frame with a few of my indoor plants. I caution you in my haste this amateur gave little consideration to a professional artist's photo composition as you can readily see.

Here's how my Christmas Eve day has evolved. I started with an early morning hair appointment seeing a different hairdresser since my regular gal is visiting family out of state for a couple weeks. I'm quite pleased with my hairs finished look, but what will really determine success will be how well this styling maintains itself with very little help from me through the next few days.

Next, following a quick hot oatmeal and fresh fruit breakfast at home, I proceeded to a modest work day with fewer patients since I've decreased the number of days I provide services at one of the retirement community sites I serve. This season is being professionally rewarding as I have patients progressing to safely eating and drinking foods that more closely resemble a regular consistency (i.e. rather than through a tube, being pureed, or requiring liquids to be thickened.) We're all thrilled with such progress as is the individual, their family, and the facility staff. We rarely fully appreciate the joys of eating and drinking as much as when swallowing problems impair our ability to safely do so.

I then rushed off to the new-to-me Elephant Bar restaurant to join for a holiday lunch the rehab team members with whom I work -- the first we've met as a group this year. I was delighted with the establishment's food, menu choices, prices and ambiance, so will look forward to introducing my friends and family members to the restaurant when they visit in the future.

Returning home I was greeted by welcomed holiday greeting cards filled with friends pictures and letters. After enjoying them, I took a short nap, though I don't usually do so in the afternoon, but I felt really drowsy. I awoke this morning with a rare but slight headache, possibly sinus-related. I also am aware I've probably not been getting adequate sleep for quite a few nights so must resume greater care to curtail my night owl tendencies.

The remainder of my afternoon and evening has consisted of consuming a small green salad, small quarter inch thick turkey slices with cornbread dressing and gravy along with a self-mixed cranberry pomegranate juice beverage. For desert I ate a piece of pecan pie and sipped a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I managed to work in viewing some TV news, glancing through some newspapers, checking some emails as the PBS evening of Christmas music programming began.

'Along the way' I did eat a couple chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. Well, actually, I started out with only two cookies, but then somehow I think there were only a few left so I brought them in to have nearby my computer as I type this just in case I might need an energy boost. You'll be surprised to learn I have needed to replenish my energy supply so those cookies are now gone. Not to worry! There are enough other cookie containing vessels plus additional candies and goodies in this house to easily keep me rejuvenated throughout this holiday season. Hope you, too, are amply supplied with sustenance to please your taste buds.

Medical Insights with Dr. A. Gawande

Fascinating reading is available in two books by Dr. Atul Gawande I’ve read during the past couple of years I am finally briefly reviewing here. I was reminded of my intent to share my impressions of this author’s writing and books when I read “Health Care Reform Revelation” at “Time Goes By” introducing blogger Ashleigh Burroughs who blogs at “The Burrow.” I highly recommend you spend some time reading Ashleigh’s account.

Dr. Atul Gawande is a highly respected researcher and writer whose books I consider to be quite entertainingly informative since I first noted some of his science writing in the New Yorker Magazine. Given our concern with our nation’s health care state you may want to click on this June ‘09 piece I wrote “Health Care Dollars Dilemma” based on his then New Yorker article.

A biography of Dr. Atul Gawande notes this surgeon and writer has extensive medical credentials acquired in his young life. He has associations with Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.

”He has published research studies in areas ranging from surgical technique, to US military care for the wounded, to error and performance in medicine. He is the director of the World Health Organization's Global Challenge for Safer Surgical Care.”

“In 2006, he received the MacArthur Award for his research and writing. His book COMPLICATIONS: A SURGEON'S NOTES ON AN IMPERFECT SCIENCE was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002 and is published in more than a hundred countries. He was editor of THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE WRITING 2006. His most recent book, BETTER: A SURGEON'S NOTES ON PERFORMANCE is a New York Times bestseller and one of Amazon.com's ten best books of 2007.”

Dr. Gawande writes in layman’s language an account of some of his own medical experiences. “Complications…” is a compilation of New Yorker articles he wrote using real-life scenarios, how doctors gain experience, cope with mistakes, consider ethical issues. He realized later he was using these writing experiences to understand matters that bothered him.

The basis of “Better…” is the doctor’s very honest straight forward descriptions of his training to become a surgeon. He illustrates how patients grapple with surgical decisions weighing risks, making choices. I urge you to click the links on each book’s title for more specific in depth content.

I believe exploring issues from the medical provider’s perspective helps each of us as patients to better interact with our own doctors. Dr. Gawande certainly represents well the thoughtful, caring, intelligent, compassionate doctor, able to view treatments, surgical considerations and ethical issues in a manner such as I desire from my own physicians.

Mother's Gift of Life

Nature's way of providing life for all creatures is seldom easy. "Life Is Hard," one of my earlier pieces here, features videos of sea turtle eggs hatching. The hatchlings struggle to escape their shells in a process designed to test and build their strength preparatory to coping with the world they would enter after first emerging from a mound of sand, to then rush seaward.

We see each tiny turtle's long neck extending forward with their head's piercing eyes absorbing new sights they encounter while seeking their saltwater destination. Under their protective still-soft shell four short paddle-like legs protrude moving to carry their bodies across the sandy beach toward the ocean. Humans present serve to protect these babes from airborne predators, but upon entering the ocean to experience the joys of turtle life, these hatchlings are on their own to experience not only life's pleasures but potential deep sea dangers.

I've had the opportunity to observe the birthing of various creatures. Chickens, ducks, geese and hummingbirds I've noted all emerge from eggs the mother keeps warm in nests above the ground. The method by which some other animals I've seen give birth is quite different. The mother carries the egg inside her own body through the beginnings of intelligent life for varying time lengths depending upon the species. I think of certain animals I've been privy to seeing born including kittens, puppies, piglets, and calves.

The most personally significant and profound births have been those of my children. Having been witness to all these other births, during which I noted each mothers demeanor and process, I intentionally elected to experience natural birthing. I had only the slight apprehension one might expect could accompany any such major new important event. When the time came, an overhead mirror enabled me to view my participatory process when one of my own children made their joyous world entrance.

All of these memories come to mind because coincidentally following publication of my "baby turtle" blog topic I received a link to a truly unique animal birthing event quite unlike any I've seen before live or on video.

This is a very graphic video, so be cautioned if you perceive viewing life processes and events as objectionable.

Spectacular birthing of baby elephant, Riski, which means prosperous, is seen with English commentary in this 6 minute video taken at Elephant Safari Park, Taro-Bali. Unexpectedly the mother realizes special life-stimulating efforts are required for her baby to survive, much like that with human newborns. Thanks to DiAne Gillespie for sharing the elephant video link of this tension-filled miraculous never-routine life-affirming event.

DiAne Gillespie is a multi-talented artist, woman, mother, wife. She shares her appreciative perception and interpretation of life's beauty with her creative art and music (view her website by clicking on her name above.)

U.S. Remembers The Day

Sunday, December 7, 1941



Commemorating the forever altered lives of so many

…some of us recall the day

…some of us recall our parents describing the day

…some of us recall a school history book account of the day

The horrors of war had once more been set in motion.

My deepest gratitude to all those whose lives were sacrificed then and later
so our families could survive in a continuing free nation.

Life Is Hard

This is an interesting video link about effects of climate change on the world wide declining sea turtle population I discovered after publishing this piece. The "saving sea turtles one nest at a time" appeared in a NYTimes Nov. edition, video runs about 5 mins. with a brief introductory commercial.


A few months ago my daughter sent me photos of newly hatched baby turtles racing for their lives to the Atlantic Ocean's protection. Airborne predators were circling above their South Carolina beach sand covered nest and pathway but were discouraged from attacking by human presence. Once the hatchlings were in the water other unseen sea creatures with which they would later have to contend were probably present awaiting to confront these naive innocents. Or, do you suppose they're genetically predisposed to instinctively know danger awaits them there?

My daughter and granddaughter happened on the end of the scurrying turtle babes exodus from their nest describing all this to me. The only short video they were able to make is at the end of this piece. The other videos depicting the activity I selected from the Internet.


I think this must be an exciting event to witness happening. I've always been intrigued watching baby chicks emerge from their eggs as well as piglets, puppies, kittens and other animals birthing. I was motivated to view some baby turtle YouTube videos I enjoyed and will share a few here.

When the baby turtles begin to hatch from their eggs, then leave the nest the activity is referred to as "boiling."



Here's a short video of one baby hatching that reportedly took over 20 minutes to escape the egg.


The baby turtles receive care and assist of individuals designated to help protect the various endangered species as can be seen in one of the videos. Enabling survival of turtles along those east coast areas is an organized activity in which designated coastal residents and other regular residential visitors engage. The adult female returns yearly to perpetuate the species. These little hatchlings who survive will return here to lay their eggs. This is why it is so important they be allowed to struggle from their nest, through the sand and across the treacherous beach imprinting the pathway in their brains for their return trip when adults.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles -- official reptile of South Carolina -- protected as an endangered species.

I recall seeing a television program years ago documenting ocean turtles challenges for survival, their mothers nesting, laying of eggs and the little ones cycle to adulthood. The Pacific Ocean's Green Sea Turtle is also endangered. My memory from that program is still haunted by the vision of sea gulls, frigate birds swooping down from the sky to grab in their talons these tiny defenseless baby turtles plodding as fast as their little legs could carry them toward the ocean's waters.



This is one of the helpers my daughter's short video shows trying to keep the hatchling from being washed back on the beach.

I've never observed this fascinating turtle event, but perhaps some of you who live near the ocean locations, vacation, or visit turtle nesting sites have.

Route 66 Ends at Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier is now the official end of historic U.S. Route 66, originally established November 11, 1926. Finally, this highway made famous in song by Nat “King” Cole ends directly at the Pacific Ocean where unofficially many have presumed the highway terminated anyway.

Here’s a short ABC News video account noting the recent Route 66 events of November 11, 2009 at Santa Monica Pier.

The road from Chicago to L.A. has been variously known as the humorist Will Rogers Highway, colloquially as the "Main Street of America" or the "Mother Road" in John Steinbeck’s novel "Grapes of Wrath." This was the road taken by migrants traveling West “including those escaping the devastation of the drought’s “Dust Bowl” in the 1930’s.

I wrote earlier about "Route 66, Music, Memories" including a video of Nat Cole’s vocal solo backed by his musicians. An additional video features a years later recording of the vocal group Manhattan Transfer’s popular arrangement made about the highway. This link is a Rolling Stones version for those who might enjoy a rock arrangement. Maybe it’s just a matter of my personal music tastes, but after listening to several Stones YouTube versions I concluded their arrangements, instrumentation and sound quality hardly did justice to Bobby Troup’s tune. Maybe the first arrangement we ever hear of a song somehow influences our preferences whoever is the performer. You may be the judge.

A 1960’s television series named Route 66 caught the viewing public’s fancy for a few years. Here’s Nelson Riddle’s memorable recording of the shows musical theme.



The "Route 66" TV series made television history by being shot on location entirely. Ironically few scenes were ever shot on the actual U.S. Highway 66 which is so typical of reality in TV series and movies. The show’s seriousness in the beginning focused on pertinent issues of the time that often had political implications. CBS network executives reportedly were concerned about the potential adverse effects on viewership such thought stimulating episodes could have and wanted the show to add more “broads, bosoms, and fun.” Finally acquiescing to network demands the producers “introduced young female guest stars such as Tuesday Weld and Suzanne Pleshette” Another such young actress, Inger Stevens can be seen in this nine minute video of the first of her two appearances on the show.



The person posting this YouTube video noted he was doing so as a tribute including to older TV series “…in the best interest of Fair Use…” He added his intent was to bring new appreciation for the talents of Inger Stevens whose death was untimely.

Series stars Martin Milner portrayed Tod and George Maharis was Buzz. Milner is retired, still lives in Southern California. There’s quite an extensive Route 66 blog with comments as recent as September 2009 specifically about Maharis for anyone interested in reading more. Several writers reported their positive experiences having personal contact with him, including a woman who worked for him for about a year and another individual identified herself as having written about him on Wikipedia.

I enjoyed that television series. We didn't drive a Corvette, but my husband and I did share enthusiasm for short to long cross country driving trips. He traveled all of Route 66 years before we met. Years later we drove the historic route's highway segments that were still open.

Weekend Jinx Before Thanksgiving

This piece was written before I experienced the most recent malfunction that peaked last night with my laptop. Previous and current blog comments, along with some other computing functions are affected. I’m unable to access my comments and don’t know whether or not visitors are able to comment now. Some of this may or may not be associated with occasional blog comment troll corruption the past two weeks. Hope to resolve before weekend over.

♥ HAPPY THANKSGIVING ♥

Have you ever noticed that if any appliance or utility is going to breakdown or malfunction the occurrence is almost always on a weekend, close to a holiday or special celebratory occasion, if not actually on that very day?

I can recount numerous instances when that has occurred, including a Thanksgiving Day years ago when the guest bathroom commode overflowed. In the kitchen we were busily preparing our dinner feast so didn't welcome this distraction. Makes me wonder if I’m the only one to whom these crazy-making disruptions happen, or if some how I’m jinxed?

This current event was one of those jinxes designed to upset a weekend just before another Thanksgiving holiday. I was convinced that not only was I slated to face a physically uncomfortable weekend or longer without heat, but that I could likely expect resolving the problem would result in major furnace repair costs. How disappointing to much later discover I brought this all on myself. I can’t blame the equipment, an incompetent service person, some other household member, or even a pet.

The work week had not been exempted from requiring my involvement in emotionally filled situations with patients and family members. They were necessarily having to make major life changing decisions limited by choices, none of which were desirable. I welcomed the week ending.

Finally, on my way home I made a brief stop to purchase some fresh vegetables and fruit featured at one of my local farmers market type grocery stores. My mouth salivating from the colorful food’s visual stimulation, I was primed for dinner and spending the remainder of the evening engaged in mentally relaxing activities. First I would wind down with PBS financial reports followed by national and International news, then Bill Moyer’s habitual thought provoking weekly program.

I had long since perused the now quite old news from my daily newspapers delivered to my driveway about 5 A.M. early that morning. Even then their news was old, but I still enjoy holding a newspaper in my hands, scanning the pages, sometimes settling in to read more in depth some respected writer’s perspective about some issue. What grabs my attention lately are the ongoing investigations into monies paid to individuals associated with our California Public Employees Retirement (PERS) pension plan investments. I read with disgust some more excessive consulting monies being paid, financial greed going on, as some other cities, counties and States have discovered within their own similar pension plans, but I digress.

My default mode in many instances when I bypass reading, television, other activities is to seek my computer’s screen and keyboard. That night I violated my commitment to myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour, meaning before midnight, or at least right after Charlie Rose’s PBS TV show ended at 12:30 A.M. but I finally retired. When I awakened much later Saturday morning I delighted in lounging in bed, then performing my regular exercises and listening to L.A.’s one remaining all news radio station, KNX. Instantly, I hear the latest local, national and international news including sports headlines, weather and freeway driving conditions. If I want more in depth information on any story, I make note and can refer later to the Internet.

Another radio conveniently located in my bathroom is perpetually tuned to National Public Radio (NPR) allowing me to enjoy their fare on every visit. I’m inclined to believe I listen to this station more since I’ve gotten older. I don’t think it’s my imagination that I perceive myself taking more frequent excursions to this increasingly popular room in my house and lingering there longer. A couple more radios in other rooms, including one old-fashioned dial radio that also plays cassette tapes, allows me to extend whatever program fare I might choose to follow further when I leave those back rooms.

Saturdays and Sundays KNX airs two special several hour long shows, portions of which I occasionally hear. The first program is a call-in cooking show conducted by former caterer, Melinda Lee. Everything you might ever want to know and information you might never have thought of to ask is discussed either by her, call-in listeners or on her web site. She almost makes me want to cook some previously untried by me foods as a consequence of the serious but fun manner in which they’re discussed. I wish she had been on the air years ago when I was cooking more.

Her program is followed by “Make It Work” with Jeremy Anticouni and Tim Conway, Jr offering the latest tech news, other technical information and support with their on-air program and after-the-show webinar (that’s a live listener participation Internet interaction.)

Lolling in bed debating with myself about when I would arise, I began to notice my bedroom felt much colder than usual. This realization occurred somewhere in the middle of Melinda Lee’s resolving one home cooks concerns about how to prepare sweet potato fries prior to Thanksgiving Day and another caller’s query about what kitchen pan could be used to bake some fancy concoction since he didn’t have the exact one specified in the recipe. The remainder of her show and that of Jeremy’s and Tim’s became background commentary for me as my actions necessarily began focusing on the house heating question.

I slid out of bed, slipped on some shoes, walked across the room to stand beneath the wall register situated above the master bath doorway. My arm reached upward with outstretched fingers to just above the register’s edge. Yes! There was air coming out, but it felt rather cool. I turned and walked out into the hallway to the thermostat (without my reading glasses) but could determine the temperature was heading toward 60 degrees, lower than where I had it automatically set to turn on. I moved the thermostat settings to jog any possible interior mechanisms sticking, but detected no appreciable change in the furnace function.

A few years ago I elected to keep my semi-automatic thermostat when our son offered to install a new completely automatic digital unit shortly after his Dad died. I just remember hastily thinking I don’t want anything new, nothing changed until I can become more familiar with the status quo. Now, I was thinking, I should have let my son put in that new unit, as I bent my head slightly to check the settings for first the air conditioning and then the heat. I squinted my eyes to better see those small printed words. Even though they weren’t clearly visible the settings on each seemed to be appropriate. A few trips back and forth to feel the register air, then alter the thermostat A/C and heat settings, listening to the furnace sounds confirmed no change, no heat.

I opened the door to the furnace closet immediately noticing the chart my husband had drawn and placed inside the door to track the permanent filter cleaning record. Uh oh! I had forgotten all about that little cleaning task these past six months. I had broken my very efficient upkeep record established since assuming that new filter care responsibility from my husband those few years ago. Surely, the filter couldn’t be so dirty as to prevent any warm air, but what did I know, maybe it was possible. Nothing to do but clean that filter now.

Hastily returning to the bedroom I pulled a sloppy-looking pair of knit slacks on over my pajama bottoms, grabbed an everyday wear fleece jacket I put on over the P.J. top and headed back to the furnace. Out came the filter with my usual struggle after reminding myself which of the furnace door fronts had to be removed first in order to remove the other one. I double-checked for the arrows presence on the filter frame’s end so I’d be sure to re-install the unit proper side down later and know which side to penetrate with spraying water when I cleaned it.

The not unusually dirty-looking filter and I went outside where I immediately turned on a water hose forcefully spraying the cleansing force all through that filter. I was really hurrying because the time was now 2 p.m. The sun was out, but would be falling off the horizon’s edge all too soon after being hidden much of the previous hours after I had awakened for my expected leisurely day. Once the sun is out of sight, the outdoor air becomes increasingly colder and my filter’s drying time might not be sufficient, I knew.

Unable to stimulate my furnace to produce heat I decided a call to those who installed our unit was the next step. Considering this was a weekend, probably they wouldn’t be available for service until the first of the coming week. I knew we were predicted to have some cooler temperatures this weekend, ones that would normally cause me to want to take the edge off with some heat indoors, especially at night.

Having grown up in the Mid West I was well-acquainted with fall chills and winter’s truly cold freezing below zero climate. After almost forty years in the southwest and southern California I have become acclimated and more sensitive to temperatures I once wouldn’t have thought of as very cold. The temperatures I could expect without heat this weekend until service repair people could come would be considered a lovely warm winter day in traditional colder climes, but not quite so for me anymore. So, I reconciled myself that with heavier clothing layers, an extra bed blanket or two I could be quite comfortable without furnace heat. Consequently, I concluded I might as well wait a while to call the furnace repair men or the gas company.

About three hours later the sun was gone from the sky, the outdoor and inside air was decidedly becoming much cooler, so any further fast filter drying time was past. I examined my furnace filter noticing only the slightest darkened color indicating moisture residue at one frame corner’s bottom edge. I determined the filter was mostly dry enough and returned the now clean product to it’s permanent furnace resting place where it now belonged.

Furnace doors replaced, closet closed, I turned to look one more time at the thermostat, thinking that I should try starting the furnace one last time just in case the filter’s cleanliness state actually had the power to prevent heat blowing through. This time, the hallway was just enough darker I sought a small flashlight to shed a little light on what I was doing, and picked up a nearby pair of my reading glasses.

What a surprise was in store for me with my visual perception enhanced! The heat setting was off, out of place by one mark. Once I set the thermostat correctly, put the desired temperature marker in place, this caused the furnace to not only turn on as it always had before, but enabled the blower to fully emit warm air. I’m still not sure what exactly happened, because the furnace was providing heat periodically as needed all this Fall. I had definitely awakened some mornings to the luxury of warmth.

I do recall a week or so ago a too warm room one wee hours morning. I, apparently, had forgotten to turn the heat down before I went to bed, so I stumbled from the bed half-awake to adjust the thermostat setting without my reading glasses. I can’t be sure, but believe there is a distinct possibility this is when I may have set in motion the events that disrupted my day.

I have learned that I better use my reading glasses and even a flashlight anytime I decide to adjust the furnace thermostat. Most importantly to me since we’re having consistently Southern California-cold nighttime temperatures, I do have heat and didn’t need to hire a repair person. Also, my furnace filter received a needed long-overdue cleaning. I’ll add the filter-cleaning task to my written calendar schedule now instead of assuming I’ll remember to do so every month or two.

I remember wanting to purchase an extra permanent filter when we had these high energy saving combination A/C and furnace units installed, but my husband insisted that wasn’t necessary. I think if the filter wouldn’t be dry enough to re-install sometime after cleaning, a spare on hand might be wise. I still like that idea, or maybe I can just use a disposable filter as a spare, so think I’ll look into those possibilities. Hm-m-m! Next time my son visits, I think I’ll allow him to install a new fully automatic digital thermostat, or maybe I’ll undertake the job myself.

♥ Hope you’re all enjoying your favorite holiday foods,
are toasty warm as I am. ♥