Election Night

The democrats had an election night party at Carl's Bar tonight, to celebrate. And, it was a celebration.

We were all watching the TVs. When this photo was taken I was watching Governor Sebelius give a speech once it was clear she was the winner. It was clear all night, but it was official at this point.

This was right after Phill Kline had conceded the Attorney General race. I swear, that man is evil. The sad thing is that he doesn't even realize he's evil - quite the opposite - he thinks he's doing the right things.

Trish and I were doing a bit of quiet celebration over that. I am so incredibly glad to be rid of him.

As I write this, we still don't know the senate races, but the house is going democratic. Thank goodness democrats have finally awakened from their long slumber and come up with a plan.

VOTE!

GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!

Even if you and I are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, please GO VOTE. We need everyone to participate in this process.

Garrison Keillor in Lindsborg

Tonight I went to Lindsborg to see Garrison Keillor at Bethany College. It was part of the Johnson Lecture Series, named for Charles and Lucy Johnson who endowed it. Mr. Johnson is gone, but Mrs. Johnson was seated just a couple of rows in front of us.

We weren't really sure what to expect - if it would be a serious lecture or more like a "News from Lake Wobegone" or something inbetween. It was more like a "news" segment. He had everyone laughing multiple times throughout the program.

He also had the entire group sing on more than a couple of occasions. There are many talented musicians in Lindsborg so we sounded pretty darned good as a group.

Greg took lots of photos and was generous enough to share them with me.

We went to the book signing afterwards and I got my photo taken with him. I'll have to dig up the one from sometime in the 80s when I saw him in Minnesota and have a matching set.

He was quite charming to everyone in line waiting to get books signed.

Of course, this is the second time he has been in the area in just a little over a year. He was here for the Kansas State Fair in September of 2005, and did a live show from here. Governor Sebelius played herself on the program and was quite a hit. He was singing her praises to people tonight.

Of course, Garrison is a democrat. Yet one more thing about him to love.

And, this is a good time to remind you to GO VOTE!







I ran into a bunch of people I know. Greg is always teasing me that I know someone everywhere we go and tonight we were waiting for the doors to open and I heard someone say, "Patsy Terrell!" It was Susan, who I used to work with years ago. She said she had seen my website and found a photo of her mom on it from the Christmas parade last year.

Greg had a good chuckle. He looked at his watch and said, "OK, we're 45 miles from home, and within 12 minutes you've run into someone you know." Later I ran into Trish. She was there with Judy and Ellen who I just saw in passing. I also ran into Don from Kansas Dialogue. And, the capper of the night, I saw Lew - someone I adore that I worked with many years ago. We only had a moment to chat but he asked for my contact info so hopefully we'll get together soon.

As we were waiting in the line for autographs, we were chatting with this nice couple. We later learned it was the president of Bethany and his wife. We had a great conversation with them about everything from Gorbachev's visit last fall to population trends. I just love being around smart people!

Michael Kelly Blanchard

Wednesday morning I went to see singer/songwriter Michael Kelly Blanchard. He was brought in by Prairie View's Food for Thought series.

His presentation was about telling our stories, and how important it is to do that. He suggested various categories we could look at - home, heritage, animals, work and fun.

He used some beautiful turns of phrase in his brief bits of conversation between songs. One of the first was that "we have an art gallery in our soul" that we're walking around with every day, those things that we carry with us all the time. It caused me to think about just how true that is.

He did a number of songs with incredible phrases in them. One I made note of was in a song where he was talking about the house he grew up in. "Where souls are grown and then they're set free. Wood and stone 'round flesh and bone, call it home to me."

I spent my growing up years in the same house. It stands empty now that my mother is gone, and it breaks my heart a little every time I drive by it.

Call for Change

If you are ready to see a difference in this country there's something you can do in addition to voting.

Are you ready to have people in charge who aren't listening to the hypocrites who are devoting their energy to banning gay marriage while they're having gay relationships? I am. I've had about all of the "moral" Republicans in charge that I can take.

That's why I've been making calls for change. You can do the same thing. It's very, very easy to do. In less than five minutes you can be talking on the phone to someone who can vote in an election on Tuesday that can make a big difference. These are people who are likely to vote for democrats, but don't always vote in the off year election. We need every democrat to vote this time - we need everyone to bring change.

This is a great way to make a difference. You can affect national politics, going far beyond your own local and state races, where you can vote.

Whatever you do, VOTE on Tuesday.

Sometimes very small numbers of votes decide an election and that's going to be the case this time. Make this election count.

Haggard's Lifelong Sexual Problem

WARNING: This is not a typical post. Sexual language is included here. SKIP IT if you're offended by such things.

The former reverend, Ted Haggard, one of the leaders of the evangelical movement, and a man who had access to the president, has admitted he has a "lifelong" sexual problem. For those of you who don't speak religious double talk, let me translate for you - he was having sex with the gay male prostitute.

He doesn't have a sexual problem - he has a truth problem. The man's whole life is a lie. I feel for his wife and his children, although his wife is not demonstrating a good deal of judgement yet. Hopefully she'll come to her senses and be his "former wife." But his children - they're stuck in the mess he has made with no way out. This is what happens when we lead a life of lies. I believe a wise man once wrote, "what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

The problem that neither he nor his church members, or any of the others in the evangelical movement, have caught on to is that it's not the gay sex he should be embarrassed about. It's the hypocrisy. So you're having anal sex with a man. Big whoop. It happens every day. Not in my world, mind you, but in plenty of people's worlds. It happens with women, it happens with men. It happens. No one cares.

But, when you are preaching about how wrong it is to be having gay sex the other 29 days of the month and then getting blown by a gay man the remaining day, *that* is a problem. Again, no one cares if you're giving head - it happens every day. Men do it. Women do it. So what? But people care when you are blathering on incessantly about how horrible it is for people to be gay, and then salivating to get your lips wrapped around another man's equipment. (Yes, my inclination was to be far more graphic than "equipment", but I refrained. Please feel free to add slang descriptor of your choice.)

OK, admittedly, I don't know the details of which sexual acts Haggard performed with the male prostitute, or others he had sex with. (Oh yeah, you can bet that his first gay experience was not at age 47. Just like Foley, there are more stories to come.) I'm only speculating about which acts for the effect, but isn't it a fun game for those of us who love seeing the hypocrisy of "religious leaders," the "moral majority" and the holier-than-thou republican party.

I gotta tell you, I can just barely keep from doing a continual happy dance as I watch the Republican's moral high ground crumbling beneath them. If you want to set yourself up as the moral party (that would mean for people who hate people who aren't exactly like them - that is the Republican definition of "moral" as far as I can tell), that's cool, but try to make sure those you're giving access to the president - to counsel him - are not banging gay male prostitutes when they're not busy preaching about how people should not be banging gay male anythings. Because if you're going to be the "moral" party then you better make sure your counselors and elected officials are leading whatever your definition of a "moral" life is.

The hilarity of the whole thing is that republicans keep trying to make issues out of things that the "religious" will flock to, only to then do the very thing they purport they're against. You've got Foley being inappropriate with young men - something anyone of any party can get upset about. You've got the financial scandals - too numerous to mention. And now you've got your religious leaders who counsel the president (and, yes, he did - they're just trying to distance themselves from him now) doing that in the time he's not busy doing the nasty with a male prostitute.

To top off the whole twisted story, Haggard's wife says she's going to stick with him "until death do us part." Oh please. Give me a break. Hire yourself a good attorney and strike while the iron is hot. Honey, it ain't the only secret he's got. Don't torture yourself with what he was thinking about while he was making those five children with you - just get out. Get the hell out. Get out now.

And, I hesitate to be the one to mention this glaring fact that seems to have gone unnoticed - but it was UNMARRIED gay sex to top it off. Sex outside of marriage - a sin in and of itself. Never mind there were two penises present during the unmarried sex. But, of course, because of people like Haggard, unmarried gay sex is the only kind available.

I'll admit, I don't care about marriage one way or the other - gay or straight. I've never been married and I've never longed to be married. But if I wake up tomorrow and decide I want to be in a legally binding, state sanctioned relationship, I have the option because I'm attracted to the opposite sex. I see no reason everyone shouldn't have the same options. It doesn't bother me when my straight friends get married. Why should it bother me if my gay friends get married?

And gay marriage is one of those topics - like abortion - I've stopped talking about. Because I think it's just used by the Republican party to polarize people so they can get any nutburger in office just because they're pro-life and anti-gay. I'm fed up with it.

And, again, I can't miss the opportunity to mention - if republicans really wanted abortion to go away, it would be gone now - they've had the white house, congress and the freaking supreme court for years. It's not going away because they want it to remain a hot topic. If it went away then they would have to have some real platform other than anti-abortion, anti-gays, anti-whatever.

People don't decide to be gay. Just like people don't decide to be straight. Ask Haggard how well that has been working for him? People are gay or people are straight or people are inbetween. When did you decide you were straight? Exactly. You're attracted to the boys or you're attracted to the girls. It's not a decision. It's just a fact.

Voting in Hutchinson

People often ask me who to vote for. So, for people who are in the local area, here is a list of some of the candidates I'm voting for in Tuesday's election. Obviously, this is a partial list, but here it is. I'm publishing it now so if you have any questions you have time to get answers from me or someone else.

Governor - Kathleen Sebelius
The reasons are obvious. She's done an extraordinary job and is a natural born leader.

Attorney General - Paul Morrison
He has been a long history of good work behind him. He will do a great job as Attorney General. I met him this afternoon and found him very personable, which is just a bonus.

Congress - John Doll
He's running because he truly wants to make a difference. He is a guy who understands what it's like to work for a living - really work. He and his wife, Janet, have been campaigning very hard.

State Board of Education - Jack Wempe
Jack is a super great guy - intelligent, kind, patient - the epitome of a gentleman. He has a varied history in political arenas and will be a tremendous asset to the state.

I will also be voting yes on the local school bond issue. I vote yes for everything that is for the common good, and few things fall into that category more than schools.

If you have any questions about other races, I'm happy to share my thoughts, but these are the main ones I'm concerned with that have opponents.

When in doubt this time I think it's safe to vote democrat. We don't have any nutburgers running on the Democratic ticket this time. I will be voting for people from both parties, as I usually do. Of course, as Bill Clinton pointed out today, many of the democratic party candidates running this time used to be republicans. Read more about it in the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/18/AR2006101801679.html

Wherever you are, please go vote on Tuesday. If you don't vote, you're just voting for whoever wins, only it's worse if it's not what you want because you could have changed it. So, don't let the opportunity slip by - vote on Tuesday.

Thank Heavens it's Friday

This has been a week of running from one event to the next. I'm glad it's Friday and I can breathe a little over the weekend. I just want to be still. Just for a little bit.

Monday was the governor's visit and Mark arrived for a visit. It was also the night for Chicks. Generally we go around the circle and share at Chicks but I never shared Monday night. I guess it was just the way it was meant to be.

Tuesday was the Dillon Lecture with David Franz. Mark went with me and then we went with Greg to Roy's for lunch as soon as Greg got back from Joplin. Of course it was Halloween night so I enjoyed handing out candy for the kiddies.

Wednesday I got up at 4:30 to do some things before the 7 a.m. Food for Thought series. I left there and went straight to leadership, then from that to dinner with Greg and Mark before Mark took off.

Thursday I had a physical scheduled. Amazing how you can feel fine and just going to the doctor makes you start thinking about all the things that could be wrong with you. I'll just hope I get a good report.

Today I had lunch with Trish and ran into one of my former board members who I really, really like. I also took time to go to a reception for Paul Morrison who's running for attorney general. I had nice chats with Randy McEwen and Kathie Moore, as well as saying hello to other folks. I visited with Joyce Morrison a little bit. I'm so optimistic that Paul Morrison will be our next AG. Otherwise I was focused on MHA things today - I had a ton of things to do and got most of them done, although I'm still working on a couple of them here at 9 p.m.

The big news from last night was that I found - quite by accident - my tickets for Garrison Keillor's speech in Lindsborg on Monday. I had ordered them some time ago and had called saying, "hey, I never got these." Well, last night I was working in my home office, rearranging things, because I put together some shelving to go into a wardrobe I have in here. I was sitting on the floor and reached over to pick up a catalog that had fallen off my desk - who knows how long ago. Anyway, I pick up the catalog and out falls this envelope from Bethany College. I guess the envelope got stuck in there in the mailbox and I never saw it. I'm so glad I found it last night instead of next week when we would have missed it.

So, Greg and I are going and I wrote a couple dozen people last night, asking if they were interested in the extra tickets. Two people responded, so they got the tickets. It occurred to me later that some people have their email set to not allow bcc, and I didn't want to expose everyone's email addresses, so some may never have gotten the message. But, that's the price of not controlling your email, I guess. And, fortunately, Jan and Marci were both interested so the tickets found good homes! I didn't want any of them to go to waste. You could order six at the most, so that's what I did. It should be an interesting evening.

Dr. David Franz at Dillon Lecture Series in Hutchinson Kansas

The Dillon Lecture Series on Tuesday, Oct. 31, was by David Franz. He's a bioterrorism expert who served on weapons inspection teams to Russia and Iraq. He's originally from Buhler, just outside of Hutchinson, so it was a homecoming for him.

He told us about being in Russia in early 1994 as part of a team working to hammer out an agreement. At one point the leader of the team turned to him and said, "Col. Franz, you and the Russian Colonel go and work out the wording on this section here. After all, it's only science." Franz said that they were able to agree in about 20 minutes, which they felt good about. It was a turning point for Franz because he realized that science could be a common language. And he has been thinking of it that way ever since.

Franz said he thinks the first time the US really thought about terrorism was the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He reminded us it was Oct. 2001 when the anthrax letters were sent. He said overnight the budget for bioterrorism went from the 1997 level of 137 Million to the 2001 level of 6 Billion. Overnight.

Franz joked about his role as an "expert." He was preparing for an interview with Mike Wallace on October 4, 2001. Wallace came in and said the story was breaking about someone in Florida being ill from breathing anthrax. Franz said his comment was, "No way. We haven't had a case of inhalation anthrax in the US since 1978."

He is also working with K-State to develop a major research facility there. Being a trained veternarian, he has a particular interest in animals. He said the biggest threat to Kansas is probably foot and mouth disease, which doesn't hurt humans, except economically. He said it's very easy to use and hard to trace - the problem with lots of these things and the reason five years later we don't know who sent the anthrax. He estimated the cost to Kansas of one foot and mouth disease outbreak would be $30-40 Billion.

He offered some really interesting figures from various research about how our stance on the world stage affects us. For example, in Indonesia, in 2003, support for the US was 23% and support for Bin Laden was 58%. After the tsunami and the US sent aid (albeit small), in 2005, support for the US rose to 40% and support for Bin Laden dropped to 23%.

Similarly, in Pakistan, in 2003 support for the US was at 23% and support for Bin Laden was at 51%. After we sent aid for the earthquake, support for the US rose to 46% and support for Bin Laden dropped to 33%. And 81% of those said the earthquake relief was important in their decision.

What does that mean? It means we could do a whole lot more for ourselves - and others - by sending aid. And it's far cheaper than war. It's far more effective in changing public opinion.

Franz ended his speech with an Edward R. Murrow quote, "It's the last three feet between people that count."

Full Day

I will try to get caught up on blogging over the weekend. It has been a busy week so far. I may post more halloween pix, but here's one of me last night. Needless to say, I scrubbed my face before we went out to get dinner. I was way too "sparkly" for public. I love these long dresses as costumes because you can add many layers underneath was warmth, which was necessary last night. It's even colder tonight - 27 at the moment.

It has been a very full day for me today. I'll post pix later but I have to get some sleep first.My day started at 4:30 a.m. - I intended to sleep a couple more hours, but I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I had a 10 hour day of running from one thing to another without a break and I need some rest.

This morning at 7 I went to Food for Thought with Michael Kelly Blanchard. I left there for leadership, knowing I'd be late for it. But, I arrived just as they were finishing the gathering question so it was decent timing on my part.

Today was tourism and Martha was one of the presenters. She was wonderful - truly inspiring. It was a great panel.

Then we toured the salt mine this afternoon - an amazing experience. I did take some photos underground that I will share. From there we went for a tour of City Beverage.

Finally it was dinner with Greg and Mark at the Dutch Kitchen before Mark headed home. It was good to have him here. I was sorry I couldn't visit with him more but today was very full.

Halloween

It has been a very busy Halloween day. Mark and I attended the Dillon Lecture this morning. It was really good, and I'll be posting more info on it. Of course, I got to see a number of people I know, including Alan Montgomery. We chatted with him for awhile after the lecture. He and Mark used to work together and we've all known each other for more than 20 years - hard to believe, but true.

Tonight Greg brought over lots of Halloween goodies and he and Mark decorated the house. Susan, Jesse and Terry all stopped by. It has been a fun night, although a bit chilly. The weatherman said yesterday that it would be "breezy" today and unfortunately, he was correct.

Governor Visit

Governor Kathleen Sebelius was in town today for a reception. This was an event open to the public at no charge. We had a couple hundred people come, which was great.

There were lots of other candidates there, including John Doll and Jack Wempe, who both have major races on their hands. I'm not going to try and list all the candidates who were there because I know I'll miss someone. But, I will be providing a list of who I'm supporting in various races before election day. People often ask me and I'll just provide a list here on the blog. Sebelius, of course - also Jack Wempe and Paul Morrison.

Mark Treaster and Jan Pauls are both running unopposed, but they were both there.

Kathie Moore did an incredible job of organizing. Lots of people brought food, but someone has to take on the organizing and that was Kathie. She did it beautifully.




I ran into Kip from my leadership class and got to meet his wife and introduce them to some of the folks locally. One of the things I love about democrats locally is we're a very welcoming group overall. I even got a pic of Kip with the governor.




Trish was there, of course. It's always so good to see her. She was chatting with Pat Potucek. I told Pat how much I was enjoying getting to know Scott, her son, in leadership. In fact, I think I just had his photo on here a few days ago from our Kincaid tour. Ever a mom, she said, "Does he talk too much?" I assured her he did not. It made me laugh because moms always worry about us.




One of my contributions to the day was a decorated cake. I hadn't done one in a really long time. It's fun to do every once in awhile. People kept asking if I did them professionally. I'm starting to think maybe I need to go into that business. However, the amount of money I'd want to do it is probably prohibitive. I certainly wouldn't do it for Walmart prices. But I bet mine tastes better than the Walmart ones do too.

Missing Ike

Bumper Sticker seen in a parking lot the other day... it was night so I couldn't take a photo, but it was pithy so I remember it.

"I miss Ike. Hell, I even miss Harry,"

Call for Change

If you want to see a difference in this country, here's something you can do in addition to voting for it. In fact, even if you're not registered or can't vote for some other reason, you can still help create a change in this country.

Voter turn out is going to be THE deciding factor in the upcoming election. If Republicans get their voters out, they will win. If Democrats get their voters out, they will win. If any single segment of the voting population decided to turn out they would carry every election.

This is something YOU can do to effect change. YOU can make a huge difference. Sometimes a very small number of votes carry an election.

From Move-On:

In 2006, Democratic voter turnout matters big-time. Many races will be decided by just hundreds of votes�and those races will determine the future of Congress. MoveOn's Call for Change program allows people with busy lives to spend as little as 15 minutes mobilizing voters in key races from their home computer and phone.

The goal is to make 5 million calls this election season�2 million have already been made. Here's what some MoveOn members have reported back:

This is easier than any political calling I have done. The print is large, you click on the screen rather than filling in tiny boxes. I like being able to call from home.
�Shelby, Spokane, WA

The best part is the flexibility of the program. I can call when my schedule permits, in small time slots: while I'm waiting for a fax, or have a half hour to spare.
�Diana, Los Angeles, CA

The tools, the script, the ease in which you can do this is wonderful! It could not be easier, and you can make a lot of calls in a short amount of time.
�Tomi, The Woodlands, TX

Republicans and Democrats

When I was driving across Missouri a couple of weeks ago I was struck by the number of signs I saw for Jim Talent (R). He's the incumbent who is in a dead heat with his challenger McCaskill.

I wasn't that knowledgeable about either of them, although people I know who live in Missouri have spoken highly of McCaskill for the last couple of years.

It's about stem cell research. Missouri is trying to become the first state to protect stem cell research. Not surprisingly, the Republican is against it and the Democrat is for it. Actually, Talent says he's for stem cell research and against human cloning - but he voted with the president to throw out fertility clinic embryos instead of using them, so in reality, he's against stem cell research. Actions ALWAYS tell the real story - words are just words.

The great irony is that neither of them will really have squat to say about stem cell research in Missouri, other than their own votes. It's an initiative that people will be voting on at the same time they're voting on this race. It's a great example of how one issue can polarize a race. It may or may not be an important issue. In this case I would contend it is important, but so often it's a nothing issue like abortion.

Again, let me state for those of you who haven't caught on to the obvious - if Republicans really wanted to outlaw abortion it would be done. You've had control of the white house and the congress for years now. If anyone really wanted it done, it would be done. Have you noticed that no one talks about it except at election time? That's so they can get you to vote for them on this ONE issue, without paying any attention to the fact that they may be idiots otherwise. I'm not saying all Republican candidates are idiots, but some are, (just as some democrats are), and they get voted into office based on ONE issue and then we're all stuck with them. It's foolish to vote for anyone based on one issue - we live in a very complex society.

I was impressed this morning to hear a St. Louis voter say that she was voting for McCaskill, even though she thought Talent had done a decent job, and her decision had nothing to do with stem cell research. I'm encouraged to see thoughtful voters - even if they're not in agreement with my views.

Michael J. Fox's ad has increased support for stem cell research by 5%, but there's no word yet if Patricia Heaton's ad against it had any effect. Of course, Rush Limbaugh saying Fox was "faking it" in his ad no doubt garnered more attention for it than it would have had otherwise.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say I support stem cell research. I think we have to be forward thinking and look for new advances in medicine. This is, by far, the most promising thing we have on the horizon and affects a large number of diseases - and probably more we aren't yet aware of. The idea that stem cell research leads to human cloning is just ludicrous. Please, read a little bit about the science involved - that's so ridiculous it's not even worth the effort it would take for me to type more words about it.

This race has reminded me of something I've noticed before. It makes no sense to me why it would be this way, but I've noticed it multiple times.

There's a view of the world that is "progressive," meaning that we want to move ahead, try new things, be experimental, are open to new concepts. Then there's a view of the world that is about maintaining the status quo and eschewing anything we don't know everything there is to know about it. More and more democrats are the former and republicans the latter. That makes no sense to me. A political affiliation is generally about HOW to do something, not about WHAT to do. But anymore it is about the most basic concept - are we moving forward or are we staying where we are?

I've noticed this on a ton of issues, stem cell research being just one of them. Looking at other structures for health care, innovative ideas for day care, giving people who live together rights (and I don't mean just gay people), etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on but over the last few decades it always seems to be republicans arguing for why we should not do something different, and democrats pushing for the new.

Maybe this is why the republican base is the wealthy in general - if you've got the money, you don't want change - you want to maintain your position. If you're wealthy and healthy, with great health insurance, a job where you can never be laid off, and no concern for the environment I can understand why you'd vote Republican. If you're not all of those things I cannot understand why you would want the average republican candidate in office. Why would you not want to look at some innovative change?

This country could never have been founded by a group of today's republicans. They would not have wanted to venture into something new that we didn't know enough about. They would never have broken free of British rule. They would never have written the constitution. Although they may have gotten on the ships to come here for religious freedom, they would never have created a situation where every man could choose his own religion. Still, 200 years plus later, they're trying to shake that very basic foundation of our country.

It is going to be an interesting election.

Saturday

It has been a stunningly gorgeous day - in the 70s with just a slight breeze. Cool enough to wear long sleeves but warm enough to be outdoors.

I snapped this photo yesterday. Fall has definitely arrived.

I have accomplished a ton of things so far this weekend. I decided I should take advantage of the beautiful weather to do some outdoor things that may become difficult as temperatures drop.

Yesterday I cleaned out my car, which was no easy feat. I still need to go vacuum it, but at least I gathered up the things that were lying about and delivered them to where they belong.

Today I went and got some Roy's. I ran into Alan, one of the guys in my leadership class, while I was there. So, I ended up chatting with him while we ate. He's a neat guy, who's also an artist. He was in my visioning group the first night of our retreat and I enjoyed getting to know him a little bit.

Afterwards I popped into The Dancing Grouse for a few minutes. I hadn't seen Diana in a couple of weeks.

This afternoon I managed to put together some of the shelving I bought to go into the wardrobe in my home office. I've put together three of them and have one more to go. I'm on my way out now to get some bins to use for storage in there.

The nice weather prompted me to wash off the front porch. It's quite the project because I have to move the many rocks I have by the front door in order to do it. When I was cleaning out the car yesterday I ran across a really cool rock I had picked up somewhere and forgotten. It had gotten lodged underneath the seat, but I rediscovered it yesterday. So, I added it to the stack of rocks by the door. I even took the globe off the light and washed it, and cleaned the front door.

I may just leave the globe off the porch light until after Halloween. We might want to replace the bulb with a colored one instead of the white one for the night.

My recycling experiment has been successful so far. My bag of glass, plastic and aluminum is almost full, as is the paper one. But, my actual trash is very minimal. Unfortunately, they only take recycling stuff every two weeks so I'll have to hang onto it until Friday.

I also made a cake tonight for an event on Monday. It's cooling now so I can frost it tomorrow. I fixed myself eggplant parmesan for dinner. I need to run the dishwasher again before bed so I can get up to a clean kitchen in the morning to make frosting and get that done. I'm doing an autumn theme - not sure exactly what yet - maybe sunflowers.

I'm also reminded that my oven is still not perfectly level. I will get more shims and work on it a bit more.

Well, I'm off to grocery shop. I want to do some more cooking tomorrow and I like to start fresh with everything I need.

Creative Thinking - Art of Gracious Living #43

Creative Thinking - Art of Gracious Living #43

Creative thinking is the ability to apply knowledge to seemingly unrelated situations. It's the reason no knowledge is ever wasted.

My high school teachers would be happy to know I still use algebra and the periodic chart, even though I do not work in a field where you would think it necessary.

When we can take information learned in one arena and apply it to another that is the essence of creative thinking. Creative thinking is essential to leading a gracious life.

Hear more about it by listening to the Art of Gracious Living Podcast #43.



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Art of Gracious Living #42 - Being a Guest

When you're a guest, your job is to create the event. Your host is providing the setting and the circumstances, it is incumbent on you to bring yourself to the event fully.

You're invited to an event because the host thinks you'll add something significant to the occasion. Bring your personality and your charm. That's all that is expected of you.

However, a small hostess gift is always appropriate.

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Thursday

Trish and I had breakfast today and it was great to see her. If I don't get to have lunch with her every week it just seems like my week is incomplete.

She, Teresa and I had lunch earlier this week, but it seemed so quick. So, when Trish asked yesterday about breakfast I said yes. Afterwards I did a pile of MHA things, not that there isn't more to do. Isn't that the way with all jobs?

Greg called tonight. He is safely back in the states after his trip to London. It was good to hear his voice. I can't wait to hear all the details of his trip. I haven't been to England in many years now so it will be good to get a first hand report.

Tonight I've been working on some podcasting stuff and also playing with the map of where I've been.



create your own visited states map

Kincaid in Haven Kansas

Leadership today was in Haven, Kansas. It's a town of nearly 1,200 people about 15 minutes away from Hutchinson. Despite their size, they have a lot of manufacturing there, not the least of which is at Kincaid.




Brad Stephenson, the manufacturing manager, gave us a tour. They make equipment geared toward seed producers. A large part of what they make is sold to universities.

They have agreements with a company in Finland that provides a combine that they then modify to work for seed producers.

Because test plots are done in 20 feet rows, and the seed can't be mixed, special equipment is required to harvest that so it can all be tested.




Some of the folks in our tour group were really knowledgeable - namely Pam, Dan and Brad. They all have experience with manufacturing and/or farming.

Scott also seemed to know quite a bit about all of this. He was asking lots of great questions.

That's one of the things that's always interesting on these tours - the questions people bring up.

Our host was very patient with us and explained how they've built their business over the years.

Part of the way is by adding to their products. They now make these machines that spray a water mixed with wood or paper cellulose that makes a covering over exposed soil to cut down on erosion, such as at road construction sites. It's also used at landfills and such.







It was an interesting way to wrap up the day. The topic today was economic development, which I enjoyed.

Creative Sisterhood

Tonight was Creative Sisterhood. Only four of us came, but it was a really good evening. There has been a lot going on in the lives of a couple of us, especially Teresa.

So much has happened in my life since we last met that I neglected to mention a couple of really major things. It's just been a busy time.

I really value this group so very much. It has been a way to connect with my spirit in a different way than I do in going through daily life.

Tonight I made chocolate pie. It's the first time I've made pie for the Creative Sisterhood group. I was just in a pie baking mood. I'm happy to say the crust turned out really well - very flakey. I used the last of my European Cocoa in this pie.

I had to call Mary Ann for instructions. I hadn't made chocolate pie in ages. My mom has a recipe that you can make either coconut or chocolate. Coconut pie was the first thing I cooked - all that stirring. I remembered there was a particular way you were supposed to mix in the ingredients but I couldn't recall.

I have my mom's recipe box and pulled out her recipe card. But she didn't have any instructions listed - just the ingredients. She made them often enough she didn't need instructions. But, I had to get some input. I'm lucky I could call Mary Ann for help - she has always been a second mom to me. Today was the first time I've ever called her for cooking advice. I knew it was a bridge I was crossing, but it felt perfectly natural - for both of us.

Martha really enjoyed the pie, and even gave it a good Vanna White just for the blog.

The meringe was really good, too. I only like "southern style" meringe, which is another way of saying it has more sugar than the norm in it. Three egg whites, and two tablespoons of sugar per egg white - yes, six of them total. Of course, the usual cream of tartar rounds out the recipe. I'm not a big meringe person, but this was tasty. If I'm going to make it, I like it to be big and fluffy - you can use just two egg whites if you want a smaller pile. But, don't put more than 2 T of sugar per egg white - they won't fluff up if you do.

I'm including the crust recipe here - it's basic, but always good. The trick is keeping everything cold while you're making it, and putting it in the fridge if you're not going to bake it right away.

Pie Crust

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water

You can leave the salt out if you wish.

Lump

I have been a lump today. I decided to take today off to get my life in a bit of order. I didn't accomplish much. I was just a lump. I haven't been out of my house and it's after 10 p.m.

Yesterday I went out to Quivira but I realized last night that I had not spoken to anyone all day. The same for today other than brief phone calls.

I'm not depressed or annoyed or anything like that. I think I've just not had enough quiet, alone time lately and I'm "catching up" on it.

I am, however, here at 10:19 p.m., going to go grocery shopping. I can't face another bowl of soup.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

Today I decided to get out and enjoy the nice day. It was a little chilly, but sunny and nice.

I took off to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, which is about 30 minutes away from Hutchinson, and is an amazing place. It is a place I can go to here that I really connect with.

One of Patsy's Rules for Living is that when you've lost your way you have to go to some place where you can reset your compass. That place for me is the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in Cairo, Illinois. But, Quivira has become a place I can do that here.

It has taken me a long time to grow to appreciate the prairie. It's a subtle kind of beauty. But once you take time to see it, you find it has many layers of color. And the sound of wind on the prairie is unlike anything else.







I took time today to walk a nature trail called "Migrant's Mile." It is pretty short - about 3/4 of a mile - but at the furtherest part of it there's a bridge that spans a marsh.

There are cat tails on each side. I've never seen so many in one place. You can also witness the effect of "Plant Succession."

Underwater plants die and as they decay form a matted covering called humus. The humus provides a place for larger plants - like cat tails - to anchor so their roots can get nourishment. Grasses and other plants along the shoreline will gradually grow into the fertile drying humus left behind when the aquatic plants decay. Over time the shorelines will meet in the middle of the marsh and the marsh will disappear.




Marshes provide habitat for a host of plants and animals, and are disappearing because of being drained for development.

The ones here are not in danger of that, of course, because it's a federally protected area.

I'm often surprised at how well such things can be organized. There is a plan in place here so the neighboring farmers work in partnership with the government. They grow crops on a share basis and the farmers harvest their share and leave the rest for food or habitat for animals. It's a great system and benefits everyone.

Quivira is known for birds. It's a major area for that. However, what I saw lots of today were deer. At one time there were eight in one place.




There's always plenty to see in nature and I think it's good to be outside in the sunshine and seeing nature work. There is a cycle to things that we can easily lose sight of because of the way we live our lives, in very artificial circumstances.

I believe this is the plant that monarch butterflies feed on that makes them toxic to predators.




At one point on the trail there were lots of trees with mushrooms growing on them. The different colors and shapes were extraordinary.




October skies are the bluest of the whole year, and I always make it a point to appreciate them.




Like I mentioned, Quivira is known for birds.

Kris and John's House

Tonight I went to Wichita for a gathering at the home of Kris and John, who I met at Kansas Dialogue. They are friends of Andrea's and were a great addition to dialogue.

They decided to create a "mini-dialogue," to introduce some folks in Wichita to the concept. They generously invited me to join Martha and Andrea as the "veterans."

It was a nice evening. They really put some energy into the gathering and it showed.

I always love getting to meet new people and there were a couple dozen of us there tonight, and I knew none of them other than the four of them. Interestingly enough, at leadership last week they asked how people felt about coming in the first day. My answer was that I was excited at meeting new people. Everyone else who answered had some trepidation about it. Maybe it comes from being a journalist for so long - you're used to doing what I called "dropping into people's lives" for awhile.

I asked John and Kris if I could take their photo for the blog. That's John standing, and Chris in the middle. Andrea is on the right and that's Bill in front. It was a lovely evening.

Four Hours

I have four hours before I go to an event tonight and I am working to motivate myself to be in constant motion between now and then. Admittedly, some of that time will be spent preparing for tonight and getting ready, but I need to work on my house - seriously need to work on it.

I've been gone so much that I've just been bringing my suitcases home, dumping them out, washing the clothes and repacking. Once again, I'm reminded that I should just toss out everything that's in my closet because I don't wear it. However, I did just this week get some winter clothes out of it so I guess I am wearing some of those things. Yeah, that's right. Those are the out of season clothes. OK, even I can't believe that.

The problem has been that everytime I've repacked I've left some things behind - in the living room - not where they belong. So, I need to deal with that. I'm a big "piler" of things and that just leads to a great big old mess.

To top it off, I have to clean everything in my kitchen because I've had a mouse. The mouse is now dead and dispatched out of the house, but of course I think he's been all over everything in the kitchen so I've got to wash it all. Again. I just did this a couple of months ago. Lucky me, I get to do it all again because of that nasty little thing. I despise them in a way that cannot really be explained with words - not in a "I'm scared of them" way, but in a "I'm disgusted by them" way. Don't write and tell me how wonderful mice are and how awful it is that I killed them. I'm not living with them. You can if you wish, but I'm not going to. I don't go hunt them down, but if they get in my house, they're not getting out alive if I can help it. There's a whole huge planet outside of my house, but these 2600 square feet are off limits.

I've got the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer going. I must get me going again...

Francs, Limps and Cordobas

A friend is leaving for London tomorrow and as a result I've been going through some of my travel things, in case he could use them. At this very moment, my luggage backpack is on its way to London, a place it has not been before. I bought it for a trip to Central America, years after my last visit to London.

In digging things out for him, I have had reason to run across bits and pieces from various times in my life. I found a 100 Franc note from France. Not sure how I missed it because on my first trip to Paris after the Euro conversion I went to the Bank of France near the Bastille and turned all my francs into euros - well, I thought I had anyway. I guess I'll just keep that note as a souvenir - not that I needed a $20 piece of paper souvenir, which is about what it would have been worth when I bought it, but I have it anyway. It's now worth about $15 but I'm not sure it's worth another trip to the bank during a trip to convert it and I'm not sure you can convert them any more unless it's a certain amount. Oh well... guess that's something to figure out.

I also ran across some Cordobas from Nicaragua - they're worth less now than when I bought them. I think that's when you know your economy sucks - when the dollar has lost ground against the Cordoba. I also have some Honduran limps and it's the same story for them - they're worth less now.

This has made me think about travel - as if I'm not always thinking about it anyway. Since I changed careers a few years ago I've done a lot more traveling within the states as part of the job. It's pleasant to be able to do that, but you start to get the feeling that you've been traveling when you've really just been away from home. They're not the same thing. And I'm guessing this is part of the reason I've felt so out of sorts at times in the last few years. I need a lot of newness in my life and travel gives you a big dose of it at one time.

Of course, the fact that the dollar continues to decline against other currencies means that travel is more expensive. The dollar was roughly equal to the Euro for quite some time. Now you spend about $1.26 for each Euro. So, you're paying 26% more for everything you buy.

So, you have to scope out somewhere that you can afford to go... always a challenge when the economy tanks.

Beautiful Day

When I first looked at weather bug this morning it said it was 29, so I guess it finally really froze, no question about it. However, as the day wore on it got to be a beautiful day. By late afternoon it was wonderful - still cool, but nice enough with just a light jacket.

I had a lunchtime meeting, but went to eat with Julie after that. We went to the Airport Steakhouse. It has been redone and is much nicer than I remember it. Our food was good and it was cool to watch the small planes landing and taking off. I had no idea the Hutchinson airport was this busy, but there were lots of people coming through - most carrying either briefcases or golf clubs or both.

After lunch Julie and I went to Dillon Nature Center for a walk. It was just gorgeous out. Things are starting to look like fall around here.

Leadership to Collins

Today was Leadership Class and it was city and county day. So, we had visitors from the governing bodies.

Afterwards, we went on tours to three different businesses. My tour was to Collins Industries, where they build school busses. Bryce, the gentleman giving us the tour, gave me permission to take some photos. I've never been to a manufacturing plant, so it was interesting.

One of the most interesting things he said was that the side panels on busses are actually glued on. The rivets don't really hold them in place. It's a glue made my Loctite, and they use about six tubes for each small bus. The tubes are about the size of caulk.




There were nine people in our tour group, including Wanda on her crutches. She was quite the trooper and there was a lot of walking inside a large plant.




They make different kinds of busses - from small ones to large ones. The white ones are generally used by child care facilities. They customize them to order - nothing is built in advance. They make 23 different kinds of busses, but there are 1300 different kinds of customization they can do.




They have a sophisticated system to keep track of how much effort goes into each part of the process. Just an aside, the yellow paint is more expensive to do than the white, but they don't charge extra. You just can't charge extra for yellow paint on a school bus. It wouldn't be right.