Fragile

Life is fragile. We all know it, but it's easy to forget. In the wake of Katrina, we've all been reminded. Tell someone you love that you're thinking of them today. Because life is fragile...

Recognizing a Failure

"Our government failed those people."

That's what Bill Clinton said about the Katrina victims on Labor Day. Apparently he had not heard that 46% of people (margin of error 4% - so could be 42% or could be 50%) approve of how this has been handled. He said, "I take it now there is no dispute about it. 100% of the people recognize that it was a failure."

I know, that's what all thinking, reasonable, kind people would believe.

But the surveys tell a different story. You know how that works - surveys where people can say what they REALLY think/feel without having to defend it. Nor surprisingly, it's right down party lines.

Conservatives think everything went fine - no problems - A-OK - ship shape. It's OK to leave victims of a hurricane without food or water for five days - as long as they're people who CHOSE to stay behind because they chose to be poor. Let them live in squalid conditions at the SuperDome, drown in their homes, be without medication and die from exposure. It's all fine. The administration did a great job.

Honest to God, I truly don't know what kind of cruel,heartless, cold people I'm living with in this country. All I know is there are more of them than there are of me and I'm scared. Very scared.

Anyone who's not one of them should be. And - yes - it is an us/them thing. Gone are the days when it was just a disagreement about how to solve our problems. They don't think there ARE any problems.

46% Say Bush Handled Crisis Well

An ABC-Washington Post poll shows that 46% of Americans approve of how Bush has handled this disaster.

We are a heartless nation - at least 46% of us. And everyone of them votes apparently.

The man was on vacation playing guitar while people were dying. http://hughesforamerica.typepad.com/
hughes_for_america/2005/08/august_2930_200.html to see photos of what Bush was doing during the crisis.

People think this is an appropriate response. It was along party lines, so I guess I should say that Republicans think this is appropriate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301164.html

2008

Honore for President

I'm ready for an Honore/Nagin ticket for 2008.

Help Katrina Victims at Your Computer

This is a message from Rain, on one of my discussion lists. She is helping to house victims of Hurricane Katrina and offers this as a way anyone with a computer can help.

I checked it out and am going to be doing it myself, but wanted to post it here right away. This is a way you can do something right now from your computer in your own comfortable home. And it doesn't even cost anything.

With apologies to Rain, I'm just copying over her message below. Lets all DO this!!!

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

A group of people have started compiling *all* the diverse databases and message boards for missing and found notices, into one central database, to better aid the search for survivors and to help people
reunite with family.

You can help by claiming "chunks" of messages on various boards and then entering them into the central database. If you go to the link I posted above, you'll be taken to the main wiki page. On the right
hand side menu bar, you'll see something called PeopleFinder. Click on that and it'll tell you exactly what to do to help, the instructions are clear and very easy. It is just taking data from one page and entering it onto a form a few times. It doesn't take very
long to enter a chunk of data.

Some Normalcy

I've decided I'm overdue for a "normal" post. But everytime I do anything "normal" these days I can't help but think about all those people who can't do even the simplest "normal" things.

However, in keeping with my plan to offer a post about life in general - here's the weekend...

Greg and I had dinner with Terry Friday night. It's always good to spend time with him. He's so funny.

Saturday morning is Farmer's Market day in Hutchinson. Greg and I were on the way to Roy's for some barbecue and decided to stop in.

I picked up some Sand Hill Plum jelly. Sand Hill Plums are a kind of fruit I'd never heard of until I moved to Kansas. I went picking them once with Teresa and she made jelly. I haven't opened what I got at the farmer's market, but I'm betting it's quite delicious. Probably half a dozen were selling it. I picked some arbitarily. We'll see if I become loyal to this farmer's product.

I snapped a pic of Mike working hard at Roy's. They have the best barbecue I've ever eaten, and I've eaten some barbecue.




Tonight, Greg's girlfriend, Mia and his brother, Steve, were in Hutchinson. We all went to Skaets - one of our favorite local spots.







In between I've worked on my house. My dining room is now officially red. Very red. I did the woodwork in there and tomorrow will touch up the ceiling where I slopped paint and it will be done. I also need to hang the curtains.

I got the curtains in the living room done with the valance today and they look nice. I also need to do the ones in my office.

Some days I feel like I'm gaining on the house, and some days I feel like it has its way with me. Today I feel like I'm gaining. It could just be an illusion.

Sig Line

"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." Dante Alighieri

Rowing the Boat

Bush demonstrated numerous times before the first election that he did not have compassion. He was elected the second time after having demonstrated that further.

When we elect someone who has shown they have no compassion, we cannot expect them to suddenly be compassionate. And, to his credit, he never claimed that was one of the qualities he brought to the table.

Letting people sit in the hot sun for days without food or water is just an example of what happens when someone is not compassionate, and surrounds themselves with others who share their views - people who are busy shoe shopping, for example, while this is going on. Not to be confused with people who are playing guitar.

It could have been dozens of other circumstances - this time it just manifested itself as a natural disaster. Knowing that the Bush administration would not demonstrate compassion during such an emergency was obvious from past responses.

So, if A is true, and B is true, then C must be true.
A = the man does not have compassion
B = people vote for the man when this is obvious
C = people do not think this is an important quality

I'm certain everyone who voted for Bush, or chose not to vote thereby casting their vote for him by concession, had multiple reasons for doing so, and this was probably not something they considered. But, therein lies the rub. You cannot elect someone who demonstrates they lack compassion and expect something different from them.

For most liberals, compassion for our fellow man is a HUGE issue. I'm not suggesting it's something conservative individuals never care about, but obviously, it's not considered in the voting booth, or is very far down on the list, and that leads to where we are today.

It's hard for me to believe that a majority of people in the US wanted someone in the white house who thinks this is an appropriate reaction to a disaster - to cut short a vacation and do a cursory fly over on the way back to DC - and leave people without basic necessities for days. And, yet, the fact remains, that he won the election. And, although this is extreme, it's just an example of what can be expected from an administration that is not guided by compassion.

I'm not blaming Bush for the hurricane, although I've seen some people do that. Please, no president is that powerful. Mother Nature will always win out. As I saw on someone's blog the other day, "I'm a liberal but not a loon." (I apologize to the person who coined that phrase as I don't recall where I saw it - but it's a good one.)

I'm blaming the "administration" for the handling of it - pre and post - and that means the man at the top. Now they're dropping in supplies, which they've been saying couldn't be done for various reasons.

When you talk about an administration, the buck stops somewhere, and that's with Bush. And, frankly, the people who have mismanaged this - from Chertoff to FEMA to whoever - do report to Bush. It *is* his responsibility. If the president says, "I don't care what you have to do - get food and water to those people at the Convention Center," it happens. It didn't happen.

Apparently Chertoff wants us to believe he was unaware people were *at* the convention center until Thursday. Please, how stupid do you think we are? Or are you really that stupid?

I do not believe that in order to be compassionate you must hate Bush. But, I don't see how a person could vote for him in good conscience - or choose not to vote at all - knowing he has no interest in compassion for fellow human beings. He has not presented himself in another fashion. He has been very upfront about who he is. He has never pretended otherwise. He is just being the same person he was 10 years ago, five years ago and two years ago. But I'm frightened by the fact that more than half of the US citizens agree that is acceptable and voted him into office, or chose not to vote giving their silent approval of whoever was elected.

I don't hate the man - but I hate his policies. I want less war. I want more concern for humans around the globe - including here. I want us to focus on critical issues instead of smokescreen issues, although that's not a Bush thing - that's a politics thing.

As for the hurricane, of course I had no idea how it was going to happen - and, unfortunately, neither did weather forecasters. One of the first posts I wrote about the hurricane was that weather forecasters need to either get it right, or stop pretending they know.

Many people didn't evacuate in Mississippi because they didn't think it was severe enough - and they weren't told to until much later. They've been told over and over to evacuate and nothing happens. You can only expect people to move when you say it's going to be the worst storm ever so many times.

That doesn't make it "their fault," despite was FEMA Dir. Brown says. If he had the all-knowing power to see that it was going to be horrible, he should have helped evacuate people in advance.

The money designated for the leeves was federal money for the Corp of Engineers. Almost all bridges and levees are repaired with Federal money - it's on an almost "rotating" basis to keep them all in good repair. That line item was zeroed out three years ago for the war effort.

There was a mock disaster that included this very situation of New Orleans being hit with a hurricane and flooded planned two years ago and practiced last year. The leeves could stand a Category 3, but in the practice they knew that a Category 4 could flood the city. So, FEMA should have had some inkling of the potential difficulties.

I grew up near where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers run together, inbetween the TVA and the Land between the Lakes area, so the idea of massive amounts of water is something that I'm familiar with. Thank goodness, I've never been flooded out and I've never had to deal with anything like this, but the concept of it is a familiar one to people who live there. It's as if the officials who are supposed to know what to do, had no clue how to even start. That is unacceptable. And for the director of FEMA to then blame the victims is inexcuseable.

I hold the man at the top accountable for what his people do. Chertoff is his guy. Brown is his guy. I think their attitudes are a reflection of an administration that continually demonstrates a lack of compassion toward human beings. Obviously, the whole thing should have been turned over to General Honore on day 1 and everyone else should have gotten out of his way. He and the mayor have emerged as my favorite characters. I guess this is what it takes to get a politician to really speak his mind.

Beyond this disaster, I'm very concerned that as a society, we have tacitly given approval for this situation by the election of a man who does not demonstrate compassion. To me, that is a larger issue than this immediate situation, for it tells of a continual decline.

I don't need everyone to agree with my politics, which, frankly are an odd mismash of liberal and conservative views, so it would be hard for anyone to agree completely. For many years I was a registered independent. I've also been a registered Republican but left when it became a "religion" instead of a political party. I finally went democrat because I couldn't participate in the primary system as an independent. And, democrats more closely align with my views of what is important in this political party climate that is morally driven.

For me, it's moral to not bomb countries without provocation, to care for the sick and elderly, to give a hand up to those who need it, to help people in disasters, etc. etc. etc. Those are things I find either at the very bottom, or off, of the Republican Party List of priorities from their actions. And actions are what always tell the real story - not words. The last few days we've seen lots of words and very little positive action. How it is "moral" to be killing people in other countries, and letting our own die in the streets, I don't know. I don't agree.

I used to not see there was a divide along party lines with regard to compassion, but that has changed in the last few years.

Party lines used to be about a difference of philosophy in how goals should be achieved. Fine. I may not agree, but I can see how you and me and the guy down the street might come up with different approaches to a problem. They'll all work, but they get to the end differently. I may still think my way is the best, but I'll get in your boat and help row if that's the decision we make.

But party lines now are drawn on very subjective moral and emotional issues. And compassion seems to be something that is extended to those "like me" and not the world at large in the Republican party. Obviously - not every Republican is that way - there are republicans I vote for in every election. But, as a whole, that party has proclaimed itself as a moral compass for the world at large. And, if you want to be "like me" that's fine - if you don't, then I have no reason to extend any compassion to you. Compassion is no longer a given, as it once was.

It scares me that I live in a society where I see more than half of the voters not care about compassion for their fellow humans enough that it's a guiding force at the voting booth. The handling of this situation by the administration is just another example of what was obvious before the election - there is no compassion. For me, this is a huge issue that goes beyond the immediate crisis, because it is indicative of the kind of society we want to be.

I refuse to help row that boat. And I'm going to overturn it if I can. The difference is that I'd try to save the people in the water, not just leave them to drown.

Casualties of War

Not all casualties of war happen on the battlefield. Some of those who died in Katrina did so because money was spent killing people in Iraq instead of taking care of business here.

FEMA Dir. Michael Brown Needs to be Fired

Michael Brown, head of FEMA, is now blaming victims of the hurricane. He says they should have evacuated. Brown needs to be evacuated from his job. Immediately.

This is one of the more insensitive, stupid, things I've heard recently - and goodness knows with Bush in the White House we've heard a slew of stupidity over the last few years.

Well, gosh, and how would you like for these folks who don't have cars, and couldn't afford the gas for them if they did, to evacuate? Why didn't you send busses beforehand to evacuate people if that's what you thought should be done?

How much does the Director of FEMA make? I'm guessing it's more than a single person who was in the Superdome, the Convention Center, or stayed behind because they couldn't afford to leave. I'll bet it's more than whole families make.

Of course, what could we expect from an administration that has no compassion, other than have a director of FEMA who has no compassion? The trick is that compassion is kinda sorta a freaking REQUIREMENT of that job.

Cynic or just Observant?

Am I the only one who thinks that if the New Orleans Convention Center were filled with mostly rich, white people that help would have been there a lot earlier? But since it's mostly poor, black people we aren't in any hurry?

Is it the poor thing or the black thing or both? Who knows. I just know if it had been rich white women on the roofs of their mansions in the garden district that things would have happened right away. Call me a cynic if you must, but you and I both know it's true.

I am livid, sad, horrified and a few dozen other things.

In the midst of all this, Bush says the results are "not enough." Geez... no shit. He gets the award for understatement of the year. We treat people we were bombing the day before better than we have treated our own citizens.

The fact that we can drop supplies from planes everywhere else in the world, but not in New Orleans, mystifies me. The fact that officials can't get to places the media can also surprises me. Media people are telling one story after another of trying to help people, but they have no supplies. These busses that are coming in to get people at the Superdome... Why are they not stuffed with food and water on every return trip for the people who are still there?

People are talking about the violence - well, studies have shown for decades that that is exactly what happens when people get this frustrated and stressed. Again, it should be no surprise whatsoever. If we'd acted quickly, that probably would not have been a problem. Looting? Hell yes. If I have no food or water and am baking in the hot sun and can steal some, I'm going to. Call it looting if you wish.

Officials have known the levees were a problem, and money was earmarked for upgrading them... and then that line item was zeroed out. The money was used for the war in Iraq instead. The New Orleans newspaper has done a series of articles about this over the last few years. So, once again, the problem is not local officials, or even federal officials - but the burning desire to fight a war in Iraq.

Much of the problem with getting help is that the equipment and resources are in Iraq. The planes, personnel, specialized equipment, etc. are all in Iraq.

Until we elect officials who want to stop fighting wars, we're going to have this sort of problem over and over again. For some reason, people are unwilling to believe that wars cost money and lives - and not just on the battlefield. And, they're unwilling to believe that people who demonstrate over and over that they have no compassion will not change.

Whole towns were destroyed, and in some cases huge percentages of the population, because they could not afford the gasoline to evacuate. For some reason, as a society, we have decided this is acceptable. When you vote for people who have no compassion - who do not care about the little guy - or when you choose not to vote and thereby increase the power of others who agree with that mentality, you are saying that you agree.

I do not agree. I tried everything I could think of to get others to see that we were creating a situation where things like this - lack of care and compassion - would be rampant. But, to no avail, unfortunately.

So, here we are. We created this situation by electing people who have no compassion, and then we act surprised that they don't care about the mostly poor, mostly minority, people left behind. So, now while we're all home because we can't afford gasoline, we can try to learn to live with ourselves and the fact that we have tacitly given approval for this kind of treatment of our fellow Americans.

Thank You

Thank You to those who are running our country who know so well what we all need.

Relief

Like everyone else, I've been watching the news from New Orleans. OK, I'm going to ask...

Why is is that we could drop food, water, and various other supplies into Afghanistan and Iraq and we can't drop some in to New Orleans?

What is the problem? Two and a half days seems like a long time to me.

I'm not suggesting we could solve all the problems, but it seems like we could use helicopters and drop bottled water and basic food stuffs to the people we see on rooftops. Seems like we could get some basics to people at the SuperDome and the Convention Center.

How is it that the media can get to these people and officials can't? I realize that might not be the "preferred, official" way of doing things. But, geez, maybe we should just be DOING something instead of planning to do it.

People are dying in the meantime - that would seem to be some good incentive - and yet no one seems spurred into action.

Past, present or future?

Do you live in the past, present or future?

I live in the present.

There's no tomorrow for me. Life is far too uncertain for me to think about tomorrow. I could use up today doing that and I have no guarantee there will even be a tomorrow.

I've often puzzled about this and I believe it's because I lost people from a very young age, so I've always known that life is very uncertain. I don't plan for the future. I don't think about the future. I don't worry about the future. There is never a tomorrow for me - only right this moment.

I've always had a sense that life is very short and we only have a little bit of time and we'd better cram a lot into it so we get to experience things. There's no promise of anything past this second, so we have to get every bit of life out of it possible.

The past is done with and I choose not to belabor it. Like most people, I could find a few hundred things that would send me into years of therapy, but moping about them won't change them, so after having years of therapy, I decided to stop wasting today worrying about yesterday, too.

I am who I am and however I got here, this is where I'm at and I've got to make the best of it. Figuring out what made me one way or another - as of yet - has not changed a single thing in my life. Maybe that works for some people but not for me. So, I decided there's really no point in wasting all that time figuring out "why" something is the way it is if it doesn't help me improve. And, it doesn't work that way for me. Wish it did because it would be so darned simple, but it doesn't.

So, I live in the "right now" - only the present. Not even God changes the past and if I wake up in the morning I'll be surprised - like I am every morning. I wake up and think, "hey - wow - I woke up, I'm still functioning, I have another day, this is great, Thank you God," and I run down my stairs to see what the day will bring. Wow! I didn't know I'd get another day. And here it is. Relish every second for it may be the last one you have.

Red, Red, Red

I've been wanting my dining room red. It was a deep green. I would refer you to paint colors, but both were ones I created and had color matched. Apparently I'm the ONLY person who wants these colors in my house.

One gallon of the green covered the wall. We've used about 2.75 gallons of the red so far. But, as of late this afternoon, I'm optimistic that it's about done. That will be good, because I'm getting low on paint in the most recent can, and I'm also weary of the room being in disarray.

Andrea has helped me paint in there a bunch, and I've touched up tons of times in various spots. I'm hopeful this is about it.

There's a reason "done" is my favorite word.

I knew this going in - but just in case you don't and are thinking about painting a room red - red pigment is not the best at coverage and so you end up doing many, many, many coats to get it to cover. My front door has about 8 coats on it.

Yellow is also difficult but not as bad as the red. Guess what color my living room is? Yup, you guessed it, pale yellow.

I don't know... All I can figure is that I'm a sucker for punishment.

United Way Breakfast

Wednesday morning was the United Way Breakfast to kick off the campaign in our community. I'm fortunate to be director of a United Way agency and this is always a fun event to start the campaign.

Our local director, Rob, is leaving shortly to go to work for United Way of America in Virginia. I'm going to miss him something terrible. I've known Rob a very long time and he's a great guy. It was sad that this was his last kick off breakfast here.

Each year the campaign has a local chair, who spearheads the effort. This year it's Lisa, who's the manager of Dillards.

I sat next to her at the chamber dinner year before last and we really hit it off. We talked about getting together for lunch and it still hasn't happened. How do we let time slip away like that?

Anyway, when I heard she was chairing this year's campaign, I knew she would be an excellent choice. She's a dynamic person - always smiling and in a good mood - wonderful to be around. She's going to have an exceptional campaign, I'm sure.

Sig Line

"Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast." Epictetus (55 AD - 135 AD)

Childhood Dreams

The question posed was - Would you trade your life today for your childhood dream?

My answer:
I can't say that I had a childhood dream in particular. My dreams change constantly, and that has been true all my life.

I don't put much stock in the "future" - never have - there's only right now for me. We have NO guarantees about having a future so why invest your energy in it? You can waste all of today doing that.

Not even God changes the past, and the future may never come, so I prefer to just focus on this moment right now and enjoy it. You can spend your life belaboring the past or longing for the future or wishing away the present.

I just "live" in this moment, am thankful for the dreams I've gotten to live already, assume others will come my way in good time, remain grateful for the experiences that have given me the perspective I have today, and let the rest of it fall where it may.

Dying for Gasoline

The stories are coming in all the time now, of people who didn't have gasoline money so could not evacuate, and therefore perished in the aftermath of Katrina.

What really disturbs me is that we, as a society, seem to think this is acceptable. We must, because we re-elected a man who oversaw a sinking economy, with rising gas prices, knowing it would mean some people could not afford basic necessities. Somewhere along the way, we've decided this is a perfectly acceptable way to operate as a nation.

Safety would be a basic on the hiearchy of needs.

Meanwhile, equipment that could be used for rescue efforts is in Iraq, not to mention personnel. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and the president is detouring to fly over the devastation on his way back to DC from his cut-short vacation in Texas.

I'm so damned tired of him and his vacations that words can't even begin to express it.

Polk's Farm Market

In Hutchinson, we're blessed to have a little treasure trove right outside of town. It's technically in Medora, but that's only a few miles north of Hutch.

It's an old fashioned fruit and vegetable stand and they have the best stuff. Oh my gosh. It's worth the trip just to see what's out there.

Today there were onions and peppers and yukon gold potatoes. Also, apples, plums, peaches, nectarines and pears. Everything looks good there, and there are little samples of various things so you can try out what you want.

Today I brought home some pears. I hated to pass up the potatoes, but since I can't really cook at home now, it would have been a shame to waste them.

The cantalope smelled wonderful and the watermelon looked great but I don't have any counter space to work with at the moment so didn't get any.

Pretty soon they'll have pumpkins beside the building. It's where I always get the pumpkins to decorate my front porch. That's one of the true signs of fall - when Polks get Pumpkins.

Family Safe

My brother that lives in Mississippi has reported in and he's fine. His home is OK, although some of the neighbors didn't fare so well. My sister in law is in the hospital and reported the nurses were using flashlights night before last. I'm thankful that they're alright.

Curtains - Finally

I think one more coat of red paint in the dining room is going to do the trick. The living room has actual curtains hanging for the first time since I've lived here.

I'm headed up to bed. I'm tired and I have a 7:30 meeting in the morning. For some reason, if I don't HAVE to get up, it's no problem, but when I HAVE to be somewhere with makeup on, dressed nicely, being social, etc. at 7:30 in the morning it seems insurmountable.

Go figure...

No doubt part of my control/authority issues. I've got so many issues I need a score card...

For tomorrow I think I'll just do my best to get my butt where it's supposed to be on time.

Forecasters

As we see the video from hurricane areas, and hear the stories of people who chose not to evacuate, I'm still waiting to hear the *real* story.

The real story is that people didn't evacuate because they've been down this road multiple times and the forecasters cry wolf and people get out and then nothing happens. At some point, people start to believe that nothing is ever going to happen.

Yesterday I was watching just as the hurricane hit land. It immediately dropped a category. That's wonderful - and understandable - but no one was talking about that until it happened.

I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't have evacuated, and I know the devastation from this is awful. But to hear the forecasters tell it, every single storm is going to be horrible, awful, the worst ever, get out now.

Well, that can't always be true. Tell people the TRUTH and they'll listen. Instead, forecasters predict every single weather event to be the absolute worst, then they're surprised when people don't take them seriously the 18th time they've heard it. People pack up, get out, and return home to find the only damage to their home is that it was broken into while they were evacuated.

I don't know what the problem is, but we need to fix it.

Is weather forecasting just not very good? It doesn't seem to be, really. How often is it wrong in your area? Tons of the time here. If that's the case, maybe we need to try and figure that out. Or, we need to make it clear that we're just not very good at it.

Are forecasters given to a lot of melodrama? Well, that seems to be the case, too. When I worked in TV, weather people got a bit overly excited by storms. There are people who go out and chase tornadoes. That's fine if that's your gig, but there's no need to alarm people unnecessarily.

I've lived in Kansas more than 20 years and I've never been in a tornado. I'm thankful. I don't have any great desire to experience that. But, to watch the weather forecasters you'd think that every person in tornado alley has barely escaped dying in a tornado at least a dozen times.

Whatever the issue is with forecasting, we need to figure it out. As long as we make every weather event something to fear, people are not going to be able to distinguish what's really worth evacuating for and what's just an overdone drama.

You can't blame people for not taking them seriously when the last few times they did, the forecasters were wrong.

Hutchinson is a Prairie Dog Town

I had never seen a prairie dog until I moved to Kansas. Since that time, I've had the opportunity to get very familiar with the little critters, as they are plentiful here.

I think they're pretty cute. Many native Kansans do not share my enthusiasm. As one told me, "If Lewis and Clark had called them the 'Prairie Rat' we'd already have wiped them out."

Prairie Dogs are communal creatures, living in groups. They build these little mounds, and have extensive tunnels underground. They take turns being the watch dogs, while others run around, doing whatever it is that they're busy doing.

Along K-61, right past the Hutchinson mall, is a large Prairie Dog Town. I've thought for years someone should turn it into a tourist attraction. Kansans look at me as if I've finally knocked loose the one lone marble that was keeping me barely over the edge of being considered sane.

Prairie Dogs have suffered the indignity of being vacuumed up and transplanted to other areas. The ones who survived the vacuumming, died afterwards, as they are territorial creatures. They've been gassed and shot and everything else you can think of. But, they persist.

Of course, those tunnels are counter productive to farming endeavors - particularly those involving live stock, which can be harmed by falling into the holes and tunnels.

A few years ago, prairie dogs took up residence on the other side of the mall, on property that looks like it should have a restaurant or store on it. They quickly colonized the property, dotting it with their mounds, and scurrying to and fro as you drive right by them, only feet away. The driveway is, I'm sure, what is keeping them from going further. The mall, Chilis and Red Lobster are to the west; Lowes and Walmart are to the north; and Home Depot is a little to the east and their closest neighbor.

Just recently, I noticed a new addition to the prairie dog town, that gives me hope the commercial entities have decided to have an uneasy peace with the prairie dogs. On the road where you enter the mall complex, there's a new sign.

For those of you who know of my fascination with signs, and how they can be different in different parts of the country, this one is a beauty. It is not an officially sanctioned State of Kansas sign. At least not yet.

Tiffany House - End of an Era

I went to lunch at Tiffany House today with Susan N., Debbie, Teresa and Virginia. We all had Creamy Tomato Mushroom soup at Tiffany House.

Doug, the owner, has always been such a breath of fresh air. He is genuinely happy to see you when you come in, and gives the regulars a big hug whenever he sees us.

Today, one of the other customers, came over and passed out these song sheets. She had written a little song to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," to commemorate the closing of Tiffany House. We all joined in singing.

Doug had a big hug for her, obviously. I was happy to get to be part of that moment.

Tiffany House is going to be like the Bisonte Hotel and the Wiley Tea Room - local institutions that are gone - and people are going to miss it. They close on Wednesday and I bet people are lamenting the demise by Thursday noon.

Of course, these are the same people who didn't patronize it while it was here. I don't understand people, at all. We have this wonderful thing and don't support it so we lose it. Do we just want Hutchinson to look like any other community. Here's the McDonalds, here's the Target, here's the Red Lobster, with nothing local and interesting? If you want local and interesting you have to support it.

I will miss Tiffany House very much. It has been open for 10 years and I've been thrilled all that time that it was here. I think my record was eating lunch there four days in one week.

Media

The question posed was what does the media think about violence. And why were they not creative in finding things to report on.

My answer:
Having spent many years as one of the "media" people, I can answer this. The job of the news media is to report the news. News, by definition, is the unusual. Creative writing is best left to the fiction writers. News people do not have to "find" things to report on. They report on what happens - the news - and they don't know what it's going to be until after it happens.

If you want to change how it's run, then stop patronizing the advertisers that support the programs. Trust me, the public has ALL the power and the media has NONE to determine what is on the air in commercial broadcasting. The public simply chooses to not use its power.

It is not the job of the news media to determine WHY we have violence, it's their job to report it.

As for television shows and such - again - if you don't like what you see, stop patronizing the advertisers, and it will disappear faster than you can imagine.

However, the real truth, that no one ever wants to accept, is that the public CRAVES seeing the very things we like to pretend we're horrified by. Otherwise the programs would not exist. Humans like blood and guts and sex and violence. That's why car wrecks back up traffic for miles, why a pretty girl in a skimpy outfit changing a tire does the same thing, why people crane to see inside a lighted ambulance when it goes by to see what they're doing to the patient, and why everytime a fire truck or police car goes by everyone runs out of their house to see what it's about. Humans are really quite base creatures. Why can we not accept this?

"Cops" and other such shows are not on because some media mogul thinks it's cool. They're on because they get great ratings and sell advertising time. It's an incredibly simple formula. I don't know why the public wants to pretend it's someone off in a office somewhere deciding what will be forced down their throats on television every Thursday night. TVs have an "off" switch. Please, use it. Regularly.

I've decided that it's much like parents blaming teachers for everything that's wrong with their child - as if it's the school's job to teach everything from manners to sex education to math and - oh by the way - could you feed my kid at least two meals and build up his self esteem while you've got him those seven hours. And, be sure and teach her how important it is to vote, instill in him some moral values, how to work in a team, and good grief - you've got to teach them computer skills.

Views of the media are kind of similar - like somehow the media is causing the problem of violence by giving people exactly what they want. Nothing is on commercial television for long that isn't being watched. Commercial television is very straightforward - the programming is there only to keep you interested to see the commercials. Your attention is being "rented" and there has never been any confusion about that. It has always been very direct.

What that programming consists of is really immaterial to the person programming, as long as it keeps you watching for the commercials and buying the products advertised. When you don't support the advertisers, the programming will change.

People seem to think it's some committee deciding that THIS is what people are going to watch. When, in reality, people have complete free will to turn off the television, or boycott advertisers and affect change. Instead they sit like drones, only muting the box long enough to complain about what's on it.

Hurricane Katrina

I can't seem to take my eyes off the TV this morning. That's not good since the only TV in my house working at the moment is the little one that I moved from the kitchen up to the bedroom during a spate of bad weather. I'm about ready to admit that I need a little TV in the bedroom or the studio or somewhere upstairs for such occasions.

This morning I'm watching all the hurricane coverage. It's fascinating but scary for the people in its path.

I got my wireless working last night so can be online upstairs now so that's a bonus.

I'm gathering with some friends for lunch at Tiffany House today. They're serving Creamy Tomato Mushroom soup - one of my favorites - and this is their last week open. I will go a little after 11 to get a table for us. I am so sad to see them closing.

Early Start

I woke up very early this morning and decided to get an early start on Pond Tour things. Mark stayed in a hotel last night because I had no where for him to sleep. He was going to call me for breakfast when he got up. Turned out that he slept in and I was up early. I never know what my schedule will be.

As soon as I walked out my front door there was a surprise. A dragonfly was making himself at home on my porch. I have some bells hanging by my front door and he was perched there. I took time to snap his photo, of course.


Also, finally, in the last couple of days, I've had some morning glory blooms. I've been concerned they're not going to have time to go through their full cycle and go to seed. These are volunteer ones so I want them to go to seed and do their thing again next year.


I was looking back tonight at pix on the blog of the flower bed on July 10 and I was thinking that the morning glories were growing so quickly then. Now they're huge. Things really exploded in mid August and they've been overrunning me since. This is the first time since I've lived in this house that I've thought the front flowerbed was too small. Generally I'm wanting to make it smaller because I can't fill it up. The sweet potato vines took care of that for me this year.

Today was our pond tour for the Mental Health Association. I'm not sure about the final numbers but I think it went well. I had asked for lots of help with it since I didn't know if I'd be out of the hospital or not.

Bless his heart, Mark drove down from KC this weekend to check on me and to help with the tour. It wasn't planned. He just decided to do it after learning about me being in the hospital. My house is so disorganized I didn't even have a place for him to sleep. He stayed in a hotel.

I feel continually blessed to have such amazing friends. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without them. I'm not sure how people manage with only online friends. Who helps you in a pinch? Who do you stay with when your floors are being refinished? Who works the pond tour when you're exhausted from all the blood that was drawn while you were in the hospital? Who smiles broadly when they see you at the local discount store? Who shares your thrills over a new relationship and your sorrow over a lost one while you celebrate or console with lunch? How can you manage without those connections?

I'm just not strong enough to handle life without those connections - those friends who support me in one way or another.

Mark was a shining example today of what a friend is. Julie was another one - obviously concerned about me and encouraging me to rest. Teresa offered to work for me today if I needed it. Trish was there. I'm blessed. Truly blessed.

Speaking of rest, I'm up hours later than I intended. I had some computer things I wanted to get accomplished and they are all done.

I'm watching the reports about Katrina and feeling for people in its wake. My brother lives in Mississippi, but hopefully it will weaken before it reaches there. This souns like it could be very, very, very bad. Time will tell.

Question of the Day

From one of my journaling lists... If your fairy godmother granted you three weeks, expenses paid, where would you go?

My answer...
Nepal, Morocco, Africa... somewhere very different. My number one rule for living is "Seek. New people, new places, new ideas..." So I always want to go somewhere much different than where I am.

I find most of the world is very "same" anymore. There's a Gap everywhere, right around the corner from McDonald's. I like to see something different - new - exciting - enticing. I can eat at Burger King at home. I might as well travel 10 blocks from my home. What's the point in getting on a plane for that?