Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Success
By the way, my very wealthy father-in-law left nothing to his children, because it was his belief that it would cripple them and make them weak! He had witnessed that in his family, and vowed to do things differently with his children. That was hard to accept, but I have to say, 11 years after his death, I realize there was some wisdom in that decision, though it certainly would have made ours and our childrens' lives a lot easier if he hadn't lived by that phiosophy!!
My guess is that a great number of the people living in affluent areas like Scottsdale, either inherited their money or stepped on a lot people climbing that ladder to what some consider "success". My experience has been that those are the ones who have the worst attitude toward persons they consider "lesser" based on their perceived (usually a rash judgement ) superficial 'social standing"..I have had quite a few of those kinds of "friends" in my life and, as I get older and hopefully, wiser, I have finally learned not to waste my time on those people.. Life is short, and there are simply too many nice people with solid values on which to focus my energies.
Lots of people I have known have worked extremely hard and yet never achieved what is considered "success" by popular culture. Some simply do not measure success by the house in which they live, the car they drive, designer clothes, vacations to exotic places, etc., etc . I guess one could say that my husband and I have achieved a modicum of that sort of success. However, we consider our greatest wealth, by far, the fact that we have a wonderful, happy long term marriage (38 years), beautiful, smart , successful children, both of whom we are blessed to have living within 10 minutes of us. Both of them have chosen great spouses and they are all wonderful parents to our granddaughters.
Our goal was to raise healthy (in body and soul) responsible, contributing human beings with good hearts, and I believe we achieved that goal in spades! One of my favorite quotes is "What is essential, is invisible to the eye". It was also Fred Rogers' favorite (Mr. Rogers).
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Wildlife Rescue
My son-in-law and his mom volunteered for years as wild bird rehabilitators (mostly large birds of prey,) here in Arizona at the Adobe Wildlife Center. They used to bring home injured birds that needed special care at night. It was not uncommon to find, large hawks, owls, eagles, etc., tethered in their living rooms!
These people involved with injured birds and other wild animals work tirelessly with no pay! They deserve our gratitude for all of the good work they do!
Bi-Lingual Children
These all Spanish stations and Telemundo are one of the main reasons the booming and ever growing Latino population (especially here in Arizona where we now have, by some estimates 800,000 illegals),are not learning English as the waves of immigrants did in the past. That, and the radical "LaRaza" movement making inroads into some of our schools and Universities.
A very large part of the Latino community here, mostly illegals, do not want or plan to learn English. In Phoenix, our schools have been mandated by the federal government to spend at least 4 million additional dollars to teach these "English learners" children of illegal aliens this year or face steep fines.
If parents would simply turn off these Spanish stations and encourage their children to watch and listen to English speaking media, this might help the problem. In addition, the adults might learn some English.
My 4 year old granddaughter (whose mother and other grandparents are from Poland, and recently became citizens) was fully bilingual at the age of 3, even though she learned Polish exclusively first, by my son and daughter-in-law's choice, as they knew she would easily pick up English later when she was fully immersed into the culture. We had our doubts about that, but now we see their wisdom.
The problem is that most of these kids will never be "immersed" into our culture as the parents, for the most part, want to live in the U.S., enjoy all of our benefits, but still retain wholly the culture of their home (predominately, Mexico and other Latin American countries)!
Here in Arizona, Spanish speakers are so heavily accomodated everywhere (all of our government documents are printed in Spanish), that it is conceivable that eventually millions of people will never have to learn English to live here.
Unfortunately' the parents don't realize that their children's opportunities will be severely limited by their not knowing the"language of the land.
The schools' efforts to teach English to these kids are often thwarted because a lot of the children show no interest in learning English, coming from a household where Spanish only is spoken and the radios and TV are blaring only Spanish programs. Small children are able to pick up languages so quickly if they are exposed enough to them.
If these children were required to learn basic English skills (at their parent's own expense) before they enter kindergarten, a lot of these parents might be motivated to encourage their children to listen to and watch American TV, especially PBS educational programs.
Here in Arizona, just that one cultural change would save the state millions of dollars that could be better spent on other educational needs that would benefit All of our children.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Updating our Ranch Style House
I was born and raised in Memphis but live in Phoenix now. Our ranch house was built in 1962, which is old by Phoenix standards. Having lived here for 30 years, we've thought about moving, but absolutely love the neighborhood, in a North Central Phoenix area (lots of mostly Palm, Palo Verde, and Eucalyptus and Pine trees and a mix of desert lanscaped and grassy lawns) with no two houses alike!
The neighborhood was originally designed with all one story sprawling ranch houses, but in the last few years, I've noticed more and more people adding 2nd stories, concrete tile roofs, stucco, and some houses (especially around the golf course) being torn down completely and rebuilt.
Though most of the new houses are lovely, I believe the character of the neighborhood has suffered somewhat, with the two stories in here now. It is still a beautiful area, however, and we have chosen to stay here rather than buy new.
Having raised our children in this house, it holds priceless memories.
A few years ago, my daughter and son-in-law bought a house in Anthem, a completely new Del Webb master planned community about 20 minutes up the freeway from Phoenix, which is actually a town now.
My daughter missed our neighborhood so much that they moved back last year into a 1977 Ranch style home, 3 blocks from us! She also wanted their daughter to attend the same great neighborhood schools she did.
This is what we have done in the last 10 years to update our home while still maintaining the integrity of the Ranch style:
Replaced the 40 year old cedar shake roof with concrete tile (Monier lifetile). For this we had to hire an engineer to do an analysis of how much we needed to reinforce the roof for the added weight.
Replaced all the windows with low E-4 double pane glass. In addition the large floor to ceiling picture window had to be tempered glass.
Removed one bank of kitchen cabinets to open up the floor space to the famly room.
Enlarged the center island, and added an all electronic cooktop which is completely flush with the countertop.
Overhead is a large European Island style stainless steel range hood with 4 halogen lights.
Replaced kitchen counter tops with slab granite.
Tiled the entire house with 16" (inch and 1/2 thick) handmade saltillo tiles. Added lots of easy to clean area rugs through out the house.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The OIl Crisis
There is a silver lining in the energy crisis we are now experiencing, and that is that high oil prices will spur the U.S. to vastly increase its research and development of alternative fuels.
Although that may not offer immediate relief, I have confidence that the old American "can do" ethic will kick into high gear as it always has throughout our history!
Just the appearance of STARTING TO DRILL off shore and possibly in ANWR, will cause the greedy Saudis to become increasingly nervous about "losing their goose that lays golden eggs".
It won't be long, with American resolve and ingenuity, until all the Middle East has to export will be oil and sand, neither of which the U.S. will need from them!!!!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sad decline of Memphis
Add to your list of Democratically run governments of large cities, my city of Phoenix whose Mayor, Phil Gordon,was recently voted the best Mayor in North America! A lot of Phoenicians, however, are taking issue with that, given his lackadasical stance on illegal immigration (the worst problem we have in Arizona right now).
We also have a Democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, who has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Obama.
As a native Memphian who still has a large extended family there and loves the city, I believe the problems the city has resulting from poor leadership do not fall along party lines. I see them as the result of a very large underclass being deceived into keeping corrupt, incompetents in power, because they think those leaders have a lot in common with them (just by being the same ethnicity) and empathy (they feel their pain), when in fact it is obvious that for the Mayor and his cronies, it is all about power and money and keeping the underclass well, "under".
How many more years under this type of management can the city of Memphis survive, especially with its tax base leaving in droves, remains to be seen. My hope is that the people responsible for electing these bozos wake up and realize that, by continually keeping them in power, they are their own worst enemy!! Meanwhile, a lot of tax payers (Black and White), will continue to "vote with their feet!!"
Retirement and Healthcare
Regarding this issue, I have made an observation in the past few years that I believe is affecting a lot of people my age. I have been blessed with perfect health most of my life. A few years ago, during a routine physical, I mentioned a minor ailment and was given a medication to control it. Well, it seems the side effects from that medication kicked in, and little by little more medications were added to address even more side effects( anxiety, weight gain, etc.etc.) Now I find myself on several prescription drugs which I deem pretty unnessary, and am slowly trying to ween myself off of them. I've also been to the ER a few times because of these drugs, which resulted in my having mandatory heart and lung scans, which it seems the hospitals routinely do if you go in with any chest pain (mine was gerd) and are over 55. Not only did my insurance company have to pay out thousands of dollars because I was also kept "for observation" on 3 occasions, I was also exposed to needless cat scans, xrays (lots of unnecessary radiation, as one cat scan was botched and had to be repeated!) After all of that, I was deemed perfectly fine!
I have finally learned my lesson, and there will be no more ER visits, (I hope for a long time, as I know my heart is "perfect" as the last cardiologist proclaimed), and will treat the chest pain as indigestion! I am also on a mission to lose weight and get fitter, as I believe this is the key to the majority of ailments most people experience as they get older!
It seems I have been on a roller coaster ride with no end in sight. Ironically, had I not had excellent health insurance, I most likey would have treated that initial minor ailment with an 0TC drug and avoided all of the ramifications!!
My mother is 87 and in excellent health except for dementia. Up until a couple of years ago, she had never taken anything more than an aspirin and has never had any surgeries, been hospitilized for an illness, etc. She did not even go to a doctor for 45 years!!
Memphis Music
As a former Memphian now living in Phoenix, I am always amazed at how much people, who have never lived in Memphis, especially the many professional muscians I know here, have a reverence and deep appreciation of the monumental part Memphis has played in changing the landscape of American music.
I really don't believe the average Memphian has any idea of its place in history and the impact that relatively small window in time, during which such great, timeless music was produced, had on the world. Indeed, the music that came out of Memphis influenced a long list of famous artists including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc., etc.
My 14 year old granddaughter is impressed that her grandma actually hung out at a party once with some of the cast members, (Booker T and the MG"S), of "The Blues Brothers" movie, one of her favorites. I was also a good friend of Pam Johnson, (we both graduated in 1964 from Central), whose recording "He's My Guy",is included in the Stax 9 cd set.
I grew up in the same neighborhood as Elvis, though he was 12 years older, and we never met, and, as a child, went to the same movie theatres in north Memphis, (Rialto and Suzore),and swimming pool,(Malone). Several of my relatives attended Humes High with him, including a cousin whom he used to walk home from school! Guess every native Memphian who is over the age of 60 has an "Elvis Story"!!
But I digress. One example of how Memphians,in general, don't seem to appreciate what they had "in their own backyard",is this:
Several years ago, I attended a "Memphis Bop Club" party with an old friend, and noticed that the DJ did not play any Elvis music. When I asked him about that, he,incredulously, replied that he wasn't allowed to play any!!!
The fact that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ended up in Cleveland instead of Memphis (although the Smithsonian Rock & Soul Museum in Memphis is fabulous) is a travesty, along with the loss of the "Memphis Belle", but that's another whole story!
I too, am really enjoying reading the responses on this thread from people who were involved in this phenomenon of American culture, known as "Memphis Music!"
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Are Christians Protected by God?
The good news is that what Jesus offers is free. It is there for anyone who will "take up the cross and follow him". You do not have to earn God's Grace. It is simply given to all believers. Jesus has already paid the price for all of us on the cross. None of us is worthy of his grace, as we are all sinners, but it is there none the less.
Because there is profound evil in the world (contrary to what a lot of people today think), Christians are just as vulnerable,as non-believers,if not more so. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are given the strength to overcome adversity that might otherwise destroy us. The difference between the deaths of the unbelievers in Nanking, for instance, and the Christian missionaries and believers, would have been that in their hour of unspeakable tragedy, the Christians knew that their God was present guiding them and leading them out of the darkness. They were not alone. I'd like to think that, at that moment, they were able to find the "peace that passeth all understanding".
So I guess that my statement that unbelievers are not under his protection was too simplistic at best. Christians have been persecuted throughout history for their beliefs, so to think that nothing bad ever happens to them because they are "protected" by God is certainly not the case. On the contrary. God does not promise that nothing bad will happen to us, just that he is always with us even "in the Valley of the Shadow of Death", offering comfort and the promise of eternal life.
None of us can say who will and will not be saved. I would like to believe that every person in the world who lives a good and honest life, helping his fellow man, and doing no harm, intentionally, to anyone, will be saved, whatever his or her "religion".
I don't believe God cares about the earthly "labels" that humans put on themselves. As a Christian however, I have certain beliefs and do not judge anyone else who believes differently. Fortunately, none of us has to decide one another's salvation. That is in the hands of the Almighty.
Secular Progressive Public Schools in America
I attended the Memphis City Schools for 12 years in the 50's and 60's. We had a "devotional" every morning in homeroom at Central High School with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, and a bible reading of the student's choice. A large number of our student body was Jewish. At Christmas we had a "Christmas" concert which included mostly traditional Christmas songs as well as some Hannakah songs. As a member of the All State Chorus, I recall singing "Anthem for Spring" in the Choir competition in Nashville. The first line was, "Praise the Lord who has brought us a new life, who has ruled that the world be reborn..."
School life was much different then. Central had the most merit scholars my senior year of any school in the city and, as I recall, we were ranked nationally in the top 20 high schools academically! Among the violations that could get you sent to the principal's office were chewing gum in class, running in the halls, or being caught without a hall pass. Girls were sent home to change if their skirts were not the requisite number of inches from the floor, and you would be measured if suspect!! Shorts and pants or jeans were forbidden. Boys on the ROTC rife team were allowed to bring their own rifles to school!
But now that the schools are so "secular progressive" things are soooo much better!!!
Christianity in China
Regarding the recent surge of government sanctioned Christianity in Communist China. My husband has been to China numerous times over the last 10-20 years. His last assignment was as a software instructor at Wuhan University in Guangzhou in 1993. At that time he had been warned not to even attempt to bring a Bible into China, and he was very careful to steer clear of talking about Christianity while he was there.
This new develpment is awe inspiring, and as a Christian, I have to believe that it is simply the answer to millions of prayers, and God's hand upon those people that has brought about this profound change.
Rev. Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle Church /Memphis
I live in Phoenix, was born and raised in Memphis, and have been an R&B fan since the 60's back in the Stax records heyday. Since I was visiting family in Memphis last year, and had never been to the Rev. Green's Tabernacle church, my sister suggested we go that Sunday.
Rev. Green was not there that day, which was disappointing, but the "Spirit" certainly was. After about 2 hours of praying, singing wonderful praise songs with the awesome band, the 90+ year old elder standing in for Al Green that Sunday informed the congregation that it was "testimony" day. My sister was invited up to give a testimony which was very well received. In fact there were several visitors from around the world that day and after her testimony, several more women, who also happened to be white, felt empowered to speak. Some of the most poignant remarks came from a woman visiting from Israel who was a Jew. We left there that day feeling energized and uplifted!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Obamamania
closely associated with far left extremists and self professed terrorists, husband and wife, William Ayers and Bernadette Dorhn,
member for 20 years of a so-called Christian church which has pledged its total allegiance to Africa and honors racist, Louis Farrakan, as well as having had all those years, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an extremely racist, anti-American "pastor", whom Obama called his "spiritual mentor" and the pattern continues....
whose Harvard educated wife has written an anti-American dissertation, as well as publically stated that she has never been proud of her country until now, etc.etc.etc.!
These are just a few of the facts I can think of off the top of my head at 10:30 p.m. this Saturday evening.
And so I ask:
Has this nation so lost it's
collective mind that it would even consider this man as its leader and the leader of the free world?
Well, I'm no political expert, but I am a thinker, and here is my take on this:
I believe people have been totally mesmerized by Obama, mostly because he is a brilliant orator (as long as he has a prepared speech in front of him). Did you notice he absolutely refused to do more than one town hall meeting with McCain, most likely because he would have to "think on his feet" at those forums and face some tough questions from ordinary citizens who "cling to their God and their guns!"
Another reason I believe for this "Obamamania", in addition to the liberal mainstream media clearly showing a bias in his favor, is that, in this time of extreme economic strife and the stress of a long, seemingly never ending war, (both for which Bush and the Republicans have in large part, been unfairly blamed), Americans are so, understandably, desperate for "change". Apparently any "change". People have not stopped to consider that it, most likely, will not be a change for the better with an Obama presidency, unless sending the country into a downward spiral towards socialism and a weakend military at a time of extreme vulnerability to radical Muslim extremists who are developing nuclear weapons, will be a positive "change"!
The "changes" he speaks of have yet to be outlined in any meaningful way, and it seems his stance on serious issues "changes" with the weather! One must also never forget however, that he has a long association with far left liberal persons and organizations and has been called the most liberal senator. A leopard soes not change his spots!
Does America really need a leader who is so polarizing and inexperienced at this very crucial moment in our nation's history?
John McCain is most certainly not perfect, but lacking, at this time, a viable third choice, and taking into consideration all of the afore mentioned facts about Obama, I truly believe John McCain, the ex-POW and "maverick" long time senator from Arizona, is our best bet to be the distinguished next President of the United States of America!!!
4th of July 2008
This was my daughter-in-law's first Independence Day celebration as an American citizen.
The most poignant part of the evening was when we all took turns (except for the 4 year old), reading the entire Declaration of Independence, pausing after each paragraph to discuss its meaning. Not having read it in a few years, I had forgotten that in the last paragraph, there are two references to God:
"appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our intentions", and
"with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence".
It's probably just a matter of time until the ACLU forbids this document from being read in a public arena!
My 14 year old granddaughter seemed especially caught up in the reading, even though she balked at the beginning. We plan to make reading that on the 4th of July a family tradition!
Running on a campaign slogan of "change" at the end of probably the worst administration in the nation's history, and having his "Summer Rock Tour" covered in depth by all three networks' top anchors who are accompanying him, along with Bill Clinton's former military "advisors", (geriatric though they may be), how could Obama lose?
He has all but had the election handed to him by the mainstream media, and now the advantage of the profound economic downturn the country has experienced in the past year.