A Less Stressful Day

I took today off since I'm working this weekend. I needed a day of relaxing a bit.

Of course, I have pretty much been in constant motion all day, working on Christmas things. I'm not sure being on the move all day is exactly relaxing, but I did get some things done. Not as much as I would have liked, of course.

It takes so much work to get my house the way I want it for the holidays. But I enjoy it so very much. Of course, then I have to dismantle it all, too. But, it's worth it.

I've added another gathering to my December calendar - a get together for my leadership class. It will be fun to see everyone again.

I love to entertain, particularly in December. The house is decorated and it's a breeze to have people over.

Tonight is Creative Sisterhood. I have everything ready and am just taking a little break before everyone arrives. I should probably be collating/folding/stapling my Christmas letter instead of blogging!

"Hoity-Toity"

I am thinking a lot these days about my life and how I'm perceived by others. I have come to realize that some people consider me "hoity-toity." That is so incredibly far removed from who I am and how I was raised that it's hard for me to even wrap my mind around it.

I grew up on a farm in Kentucky - at the dead-end of Terrell Rd., which didn't even have a name when I was growing up on it. It was a house my parents bought in 1949.

My childhood was filled with what we now euphemistically call "risk factors."

My father was an alcoholic, and died when I was 11, leaving my mother as a single parent. I was very fortunate that my mother was an extraordinary human being and an exceptional parent who put what was best for me above all else. Her belief in what was best for me was to get an education and that was all she focused on. Of my four nephews and me, only two of us went to college.

We were poor when I was a kid - don't get me wrong, we were never hungry - but we were poor. Only in retrospect do I realize just how poor we were. I guess being in the first Head Start class would have been one clue. But children don't think about those things.

I remember when the indoor plumbing was put into our house - I was young, but old enough to remember it. My cousin, Jimmy, helped dig the septic tank. I was young enough to think playing in the big hole they were making was fun. There probably are not too many people age 44 who can remember that, but I do. And, frankly, I'm blessed to be able to say that, because it gives me a very different perspective on the world.

I grew up saying, "ain't" and not knowing there was a different way until my third grade teacher, Mrs. Chandler, insisted we change. I would never have had the broadcasting career I had without her influence. I saw my first movie at the theatre at age 11. I was with my cousin, Brian, and it was as foreign to me then as trying to write in Chinese would be to me now. I knew people do such things, but I have never seen it myself.

I was never more than 200 miles from home until I was 13, when we went to visit my Aunt Eva in El Paso.

Verbal abuse between the adults in my world was an every day occurrence. It does something to you when you hear that every day - I'm not sure exactly what - but I'm sure it's no accident that my first career choice of working in radio involved controlling sound.

My childhood had loss, poverty, alcoholism and a good sprinkling of sexual abuse added in. But, when I was living it, I didn't give it a second thought - it just "was." And even in retrospect, I am more thankful for it than traumatized by it. Maybe that's because of the years of therapy, but I can honestly say it's true - now.

Yet I would still describe my childhood as idyllic in many ways. Is that a defense mechanism or is it just choosing to focus on what's "right?" I don't know.

I refuse to be defined by things that happened "to" me. I will only be defined by things I "chose." Those I will take responsibility for, even if the choices were not necessarily the best that could have been made, and I have a long list of those. We all have to learn - some lessons we have to learn "the hard way," and that was true for me with some things. I truly believe you do the best you can with the person you are at the time and when you know better, you do better. I do better now than I did when I was 20. Hopefully in another 20 years I'll do better still.

When I was growing up, I never imagined I'd walk in the Paris snow or bask in the Egyptian sun. I could never have imagined I'd go to Honduras to see the work of the foundation who's board I chaired. I probably didn't know Honduras existed. I could not have imagined I would attend Broadway shows or converse intelligently about impressionist art. Frankly, I didn't even know there were any people like that, much less that I would ever desire to be one of them.

I didn't think about the days I would walk the ground inside the Roman Coliseum, pray inside the pyramid of Unas at Sakkara, or stand inside the ancient circle of Stonehenge. I did not dream of being kissed on the banks of the Nile River, charmed by a Frenchman met on a cruise ship, or being moved to tears at the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.

I didn't dream those things or any others. I didn't have dreams, at least not that I can recall. I'm not sure when I started having dreams. And it wasn't really dreams as much as the belief that things are possible - and that you'd better get about doing them because there may be no tomorrow.

I went to my first funeral of someone I loved when I was five. My great Aunt Ann had been a big part of my young life. Her death taught me things can change very quickly. Don't plan for a future that may not come. I've never felt there was a future - only right now - only this moment - it's all there is.

Somewhere along the way I started to have dreams, but they were still small ones. But I started to dream. I started to want to live a different life. I didn't know what it was, or what it looked like, but I knew it was different.

And as these ideas took hold I developed an idea that the world should be fair - for everyone. That led me to a career in journalism for radio, print and TV. Once I understand how the media worked I realized that could be used in PR and marketing in a different way. Now I use all those skills for mental health, as well as other projects.

How did I get to be this person? I don't know. I'm trying to figure that out. As often is the case, Greg gave me some insight when we were talking. He said I am not a "climber," leaving anything behind. Instead I kept all of what I was raised with and just added to it. Instead of leaving anything behind I just added to it, broadening the spectrum.

Maybe this is why I have been in love with a farm boy and I have been infatuated with a judge. Maybe it's why I love barbecue but my favorite dessert is bananas foster. Maybe it's why I'm familiar with the music of Kenny Chesney and Johann Sebastian Bach. Maybe it's why I stay in touch with people over a long time period - they're still part of my life, even if it's a different time.

Maybe it's why I can never decide where I belong, because I don't live in only one world, but I'm not really accepted by either. I'm a little too rough around the edges for "society" and a little too "hoity-toity" for others.

When people suggest that I'm "hoity-toity," it makes me feel unloyal to my upbringing, although I have no control over how others perceive me. I'm not sure why it matters to me, but it does. I want people to know who I am, with all the stages of my life represented, and still accept me - or not. But I don't want to be judged on only this one sliver of life - for it is just a moment, a brief moment, and tomorrow will be different.

Long days

I have had a very long day, that has stretched into the next day, which is yet another very long day. I'm about to get worn out. It takes a lot for me to feel overwhelmed, but I'm getting close. The first quarter of the year is incredibly busy but this has turned into a very busy last quarter as well. I can go, go, go, go, go for a long time, but eventually I get to the point where I need some rest. I'm there. I must get to bed because I need to get up in five hours.

Buddhist evening prayer

I ran across this today and thought it worthy of noting. It's a Buddhist evening prayer.


Let me respectfully Remind you,

Life and death are of supreme importance

Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.

let us awaken

Awaken

Take heed

Do not squander your lives...

Scenes of Life

I've been so occupied lately that I've not been taking the time to post pix of various scenes in my world, or even write here. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time with politics - locally and calling for races in other places. And, of course, having one day a week devoted to leadership has taken some significant energy. This week is my turn to work with a group to do the setup so it will be even more time.

Last weekend was the Altrusa This and That sale. I didn't help at all. I just could not commit to one more thing when they were asking for people to agree to do various things. Plus, I wasn't sure if I would be in town. But, I was, and stopped by to buy my pecans. Altrusa orders fresh crop pecans to sell there and they are wonderful. I bought five pounds of them to use.

Jocelyn had a booth set up so I ended up visiting with her for an hour or so. It was good to see her. Now that she's in Wichita all week it's hard to hook up with her.




I did go take a walk at sandhills one day with Greg. The hedg eapples are all over the ground in places. These things are great to put in your basement - they keep the crickets away. I don't know why. I just know it works. And if you keep the crickets away you keep the spiders away because they come to eat the crickets.

We have had some great days here weatherwise, although the last few days fall has arrived with more blustery days and night.

But this particular day it was gorgeous outside and we decided to take advantage of it with a late afternoon walk.




Of course, I wrote about going to see Garrison in Lindsborg. I didn't get a chance to mention that across from Presser Hall is this church. They had the lights on so the stained glass was beautiful.




I ran into an old friend at the Keillor performance, but didn't have time for more than saying hello. Sometimes there are people in your world that you have a history with that you don't see for a long time and then when you do it's instant connection again. He and I are like that. We may not see each other for years, even though we live within 30 miles of each other, and when we do I'm reminded of how much I miss him.

However, neither of us makes the effort to connect any other time. I'm not sure why. I used to, but it was just too complex to work out schedules. And, generally, when it's that complex it just means the other person doesn't really want to get together - for whatever reason.

We don't have any "baggage" between us so I'm not sure what the reason is, but it is obviously there. If people are "too busy" for five years to get together, they don't want to get together with you. Five weeks I can understand. Even five months if your life is full. But, not years.

I really enjoy being around him, and when we're together he seems to feel the same, but I long ago accepted that he obviously does not share my interest in getting together.

Teresa has told me before that it "takes a lot of energy" to be around me. So, maybe that's the deal - it's just too much energy for him to expend. Whatever the case. I'll just be happy to see him when I bump into him and let it go at that.

It's not like I'm hard to find - google my name and you can find an email for me in about two seconds. So, if he ever has a desire to get together we can. Otherwise we'll just exchange the occasional pleasantry and let it be.

Jason from ATT

I had a great Random Act of Kindness this week.

I was walking into my office building after a late lunch on Thursday and my cell rang. When I answered a guy said, "Patsy, this is Jason with ATandT." I thought it was a marketing call but thank goodness I didn't cut him off.

He went on to say, "I found your name tag in the Ken's Pizza parking lot. I had a ticket near your office so thought I'd drop it by but I see you're not in." I told him I was just coming into the building and so he waited for me upstairs and gave it back to me.

I thanked him profusely. It was so sweet of him to pick it up, track me down, come to my office and return it to me. The timing was great, as well.

It was the epitome of a Random Act of Kindness.

Being Open - Art of Gracious Living #46

I recently took a trip with a friend. The idea of being open became a motto for us during our travels. We each had experiences we would not have had left to our own devices because we went along on excursions the other person wanted to do.

Greg went with me to tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, Canada. I went to the Alibi Tiki Bar in Portland with him.

Part of leading a gracious life is being open to experience.

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



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Clutter Control Overdone - Art of Gracious Living #45

So much is made these days about clutter control and clearing your space, but it is important to keep the things that matter to you close. Things that make us feel good, that remind us of pleasant times are not clutter, as the experts are so fond of telling us, they are memories and deserve to be treated with respect.

Of course we cannot keep every item that comes into our lives, but we also don't need to get rid of everything that does not have a defined purpose in daily life. Sometimes the purpose of something is to provide comfort with its mere existence.

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



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Infinite Possibilities - Art of Gracious Living #44

It's easy to get caught up in the details of daily life and forget that we have infinite possibilities. We have options that we often don't full consider because we are not looking beyond our current obligations.

Give yourself some breathing room to look at options for expanding your horizons.

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



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Click here for the Art of Gracious Living page at the Podcaster News Network

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Democrats Have Control

It's official now, the democrats have control of congress.

This is my plea to each and everyone of them:
Please, for the next two and a half years, keep your pants zipped. Don't text message anyone about anything. Don't accept any trips, meals or tips. Watch your p's and your q's and your emails and your phone calls. Don't buy porn, don't hire prostitutes and don't surf the net to anything racier than CNN. Don't loan out your car, your cell phone or your laptop. Don't buy or sell any stock, or make any other financial arrangements. Don't have sex or engage in any sexual activity, including conversation, with anyone you're not legally married to. Even then, keep it private. Please, keep your nose clean. And everything else too.

What you do in the next two years will determine whether or not democrats are in the Whitehouse in 2008. Don't screw it up.

Democracy

At this time in every election year I'm reminded of how interesting our system is. In most governments throughout history, and many today, a change in power required considerable bloodshed.

We go from hurling public insults at each other to gracious phone calls. We stop highlighting our differences and try to find our similarities. We eat some chocolate and we eat some crow.

For a short time there is a coming together. And then, in no time at all, we start the cycle over again.

Happy Dance

Well, it's hard to really focus on the news when you're doing a continual happy dance around the TV. However, I've been able to figure out that it would seem democrats are going to control the house and senate. And that Donald Rumsfeld is gone.

People are finally fed up and have put their votes where it counts. And even Bush and Rumsfeld have gotten the idea that people are fed up and want out of Iraq. It's not something Rumsfeld can do and save face so he's gone.

It's ironic that the people who are busy telling us how the terrorists are going to get us - like a boogie-man hiding in a cave - are the same people who were telling us there were weapons of mass destruction, we'd be treated as liberators, and "mission accomplished." Please - all of those were lies. Why should we believe you now?

Get the hell out of Iraq. Get out. At this point I don't care how we get out. Just get out. I'm past the point of talking about how we have to have a plan and carefully consider every point. Get out. Put the planes on the ground, load them with troops, and get the hell out. We don't need any fancy plan, just get out.

I wish, wish, wish, wish, wish this was something the democrats could actually accomplish but I'm not sure what they can do. Hopefully brighter people than me know what they can do and they're putting plans in to place to do it - whatever it is. Just get us out.

Good Day to Be a Democrat

It's a GOOD DAY TO BE A DEMOCRAT! One of the folks is our local democratic party always ends his emails with that tagline. Last night when I saw him I told him I'd been thinking of him all day. This morning, all I can say is that David hit the nail on the head.

We have a new representative in this state. Hallelujah. Jim Ryun is out and Nancy Boyda is in. When we were lobbying in DC Ryun was gracious enough to meet with us but he was practically antagonistic - at least what little personality we saw out of him. I don't know Nancy Boyda, but she has GOT to be an improvement.

In a state race here a twenty-something libertarian candidate got 22% of the vote over the incumbent republican. If that's not an indication the Republican isn't doing well I don't know what is. Had a democrat been running in that election my guess is they'd be the incoming rep.

Watching the statewide races, it's amazing how many school bond issues passed, as well as other "liberal" agendas. Amazing what happens when people get out and VOTE.

THANK YOU for voting, calling, and whatever else you did to start the wheels of change in this country. It has been a long time coming. I hope it's not too late.

Your vote does count. Witness how close the races are in places. This is why your vote counts.

And, I hope every democrat who is coming into office remembers that we put them there for change, and they better deliver. No one is going to be watching that more closely than those of us who have worked on this mid year election. If you think we're going to take the fire off your feet, you've got another thing coming. I've invested my time, energy and money in this - I expect to get what I paid for with my time, energy and money.

Don't screw us over. And, please, don't screw over the people who decided their vote did matter and got out and voted for the first time. Get busy and do something good with this mandate you have. I realize you don't have to do a lot to accomplish more than the outgoing congress, but dream bigger.

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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