Who said that?

Do you remember Robert Fulghum's book from way back when (i.e., 1988) titled "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"?

Definitely. Conventional wisdom that we all used to learn in kindergarten--hold hands, stick together, clean up after yourself, etc.--- is cited as Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in American kindergarten classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if adults adhered to the same basic rules. What a concept! 

But now, I think that Facebook has officially taken the place of kindergarten. Everything you ever need to know? All that wisdom? It's there. Only problem is, we're all adults there. Shouldn't we have learned these things a long time ago? 


I spent (read: "wasted") a bunch of time on my birthday last week, collecting a variety of different "likes" on Facebook. There are sure a lot of life lessons to be learned among all the grownups there. Here are just a few of the life lessons I've seen. (Spelling, grammar and punctuation corrected for clarity):

• The older I get the less I care what other people think!
• My kids are my world!! If you feel the same press "like"!!
• Disappointments are not failures, just God's way of saying: "I've got something better!"
• Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
• Being nice to the people you don't like isn't called two-faced, it's called growing up.
• Life is too short to stress yourself with people who don't even deserve to be an issue in your life.
• Dear Lord, please give me the strength to not slap an idiot today......Amen.
• Karma is a bigger bitch than I will EVER have to be!
• You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have ...
• Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.
• Illegal immigration is not a new problem; Native Americans used to call it 'White People'.
• I have PMS and a GPS, which means that I'm a bitch who will find you!
• I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
• I love God, my family, and my friends. Who's with me??
• If two people are happy together, then leave them to it. It's THEIR lives.
• ****Newsflash**** If you don't want other people to know your business, don't post it on Facebook!
• She's my daughter........break her heart and I can make your death look like an accident!!!
• Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out ... but I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies.

Some of these "words of wisdom" make me laugh. Others make me think. A couple of them put a lump in my throat. I like all of them. I'm not going to click "like" on any of them, though, because I still don't understand what all those "like" buttons actually do. Each one seems to take you to a different darned application that of course promises to protect your privacy even when you know there is no such thing. So here, for your enjoyment and edification, is my list of "likes."

This is Marsha's wisdom for her 56th year. Or at least for today. 

Just wonderin'

I don't often comment on the news, but two news pieces have really caught my attention this morning.

The first: A Victory for Gun Advocates in Royal Oak

As a general rule, I really don't have a problem with people who legally carry guns. Please note that I said, "legally carry." For every "law abiding citizen" who is proudly licensed to carry a gun, there are several more who have no right to handle a weapon at any time, in any place. But they do. One clip I watched yesterday showed a well-groomed, upstanding looking young fellow, with his holstered handgun clearly in view, earnestly pleading that "only criminals commit murder." The people who are licensed to carry have had extensive background checks, etc., etc. Point well taken. However, I contend that one becomes a criminal when the murder is committed. No matter who you were five minutes before.

My question is, why would you feel like it was important to carry your weapon at a music festival? Please, just give me one legitimate reason why any law-abiding citizen would have a need for a gun when they are at an event where the major activities are viewing art, listening to music, eating some tasty festival fare and, presumably, enjoying a beverage or two? (Stereotype alert:) We're not talking NASCAR or an Elvis festival, guys. This is not going to attract people who want to carry guns in the first place.

Maybe there is something I'm just not seeing here, but since when did saying "your guns are not welcome here" become an infringement on everyone's constitutional rights? I'm not saying that you don't have a right to carry a gun. Perhaps you do, and that's between you and the law; I have nothing to say about that. But to bring one along to a family oriented festival just because you can, seems just a little presumptuous to me.

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. And that's all I have to say about that.

Really, that's not all I have to say about that ... but it's all I'm going to say right now.


The next news article of note was actually a blog post that I found on someone else's Facebook wall. I found this equally intriguing: History Eraser Button 

Over the last few weeks there has been quite the brou-ha over a group that has proposed to build a mosque in New York City, somewhat in proximity to what has come to be known as Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Centers that were destroyed by extremist terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now, I don't personally know anyone who practices the Islamic faith, so I'm just sayin', I believe that most Islamic people are basically peace-loving, normal people. I have studied enough about religion in my lifetime to know that the tenets of their faith are actually quite similar to those of us of the Christian persuasion. Yes, some of them look and dress differently than typical "Americans." Again, that is their right and they are entitled to practice faith as their conscience dictates. Right? Isn't that one of the principles on which this nation is founded? Or is it only if they are "like us" that they're allowed to have religious freedom? Or the freedom to build their house of worship wherever they happen to own property?

This blog article caught my interest because it's mostly pictures. That whole "thousand words" thing definitely applies here. It was amazing to see the variety of seemingly acceptable property uses within a stone's throw* of Ground Zero. But the couple hundred words below the pictures are also very thought provoking. I applaud the blogger, Daryl Lang, for his stand on this issue. His point: There are a lot of diverse activities within the same general distance (two or three blocks) from the former World Trade Center site. Some of them are ethnic restaurants, others are delicately described as "gentleman's clubs". There are also enterprises like t-shirt stands hawking WTC/Ground Zero souvenirs. Talk about stomping on "Hallowed Ground*".

I took a few additional moments to follow the links to this page for The Community Center at Park 51. Fascinating. It's not even a "Mosque," but a Community Center. At this proposed community center, they not only want to reach out to diverse Muslim and non-Muslim populations in New York City, but to promote cultural understanding, mutual respect, environmental sustainability, education, service, and spiritual growth for all.

A place like this deserves to be built, regardless of its proposed location. And wouldn't it be nice if Americans decided to support the fact that a group--of any creed--really wants to promote cultural understanding or education or sustainability or spiritual growth for all. 


I don't know. Somehow, I see a connection here, but I'm still grasping at it a little bit. Like, it's OK to trample on the rights of respectable Muslims, because a few other Muslims are extremist terrorists who might blow something up. But it's not OK to trample on the rights of responsible gun-owners, even though some people who own guns will shoot people.

Am I getting it now?

Just wonderin' here.

--------------------------------------------
(*Sarah Palin's word. I hate to even mention her name within my blog, so I made her a footnote at the end.)

Gazpacho = Summer

I made some awesome Gazpacho this afternoon. Ate it for dinner and it was great; waiting for tomorrow when it will be even better (if David leaves it alone long enough for there to be leftovers--we shall see!)

Here's my recipe as I've adapted it from my BFF Linda. Obviously you are welcome to adjust proportions according to the flavors you want to stand out in your own creation!!

About 38 ounces Spicy Hot V-8
1 cucumber, chopped
3-4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 whole green or red pepper (Sweet pepper)
1/4-1/2 ts. Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
1 T. fresh basil
1 ts. garlic powder (or 1 clove fresh garlic)
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 ts. cumin powder
2 T. fresh parsley
1 ts. fresh chives
1/2 ts. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a large covered bowl and allow flavors to blend 4-6 hours, or even overnight. Serve chilled.

Caveat Emptorium

Last night, David surprised me by bringing home corn, tomatoes and peaches from a local farm stand.

Even though I already had pizza dough in the breadmaker, I gladly refrigerated it for use today, so we could enjoy farm-fresh produce for dinner.

But while putting the so-called "home grown" tomatoes and peaches--yes, the guy at the farm stand made a point of telling David they were *home grown*--into a bowl, we discovered this on one of the peaches:

Dude. You forgot to take the label off. 

Well, we have learned over the last few months that there are farm markets and there are farm markets. I know that there are other stands that offer produce that is not-quite-but-almost-in-season, and if those farmers are honest enough to admit the tomatoes are from Georgia or Tennessee or Kentucky or Ohio, I will take that into consideration when making my buying decisions. But when you represent yourself as a local farm market, selling home grown produce and you are selling produce with a commercial label on it, it's a little hard to accept. Even if that label does say "Produce of Michigan." 

It makes you call into question how much you can trust those labels, or the people who put them there. (Who is "Greg," anyway?) At least, I question it. Then again, maybe I just think too much.

And you know what, those peaches didn't taste nearly as good as I had anticipated. They were, in fact, pretty hard to swallow. 

My problem is, I think too much

So, last night's schedule called for a "fast food" meal. If you are at all conscious of what you eat, it's not easy to decide between the myriad of choices available.

At least in this case we were somewhat limited by our destination. Our selections included McDonald's (which is a big fat never in our books), Taco Bell, KFC, or Wendy's. My vote was for Wendy's, mostly because I always thought Dave Thomas was a nice guy, and I know they have good salads. And they have a motto of "Eat Fresh" in their television commercials. Unfortunately, I don't think much of Dave's legacy is left in the Wendy's restaurants (a misnomer if I ever heard one) of today, but I'm sucking it up.

We arrived at Wendy's to discover that they have a new salad menu and the choices all looked interesting. I was thinking maybe I could do fast food, after all. I chose the Apple-Pecan-Chicken salad ($5.99) and headed back to the table.

Well, obviously the problem is that I think too much.

First of all, my "freshly-prepared" salad came, of course, with its ingredients carefully measured into a plastic bowl with lid. The pecans (heavily salted) came in their own little packet as did the pomegranate vinaigrette dressing. So it probably started out getting a C for packaging.  But I understand this is one of the sacrifices you make when you eat fast food. And inside there were a nice variety of chilled greens, blue cheese (the "real" bleu cheese seems to be reserved for the Wendy's Bacon Blue Cheese Burger, or at least that's how it's advertised), dried cranberries, and apples. And a HOT grilled chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces, spread across the top.

OK, I really don't want a HOT chicken breast on my COLD salad. However, that was probably not too much of a problem since the temperature inside this Wendy's was probably just upwards of 40 degrees. I could not even drink my iced tea because my teeth were already chattering. The frigid temperatures made short work of the hot chicken on top of my salad greens, thank you very much. I'm not sure my mouth is ready for a 1" square of chicken, either, but a knife could help me out on that one.

I guess I stopped over-thinking things for a bit when I started eating the salad. It tasted good to me. The chicken had a really nice texture, easy to eat, and actually I didn't even need a knife to cut it up because it was so tender. There was a flavorful something on the outside of the chicken too. Hmm, maybe I could do this. Yummy blue cheesy chunks and my favorite, dried cranberries. The pomegranate vinaigrette was not bad, either. Then I bit into a chunk of apple. And I started thinking again.

What was it about this apple? It tasted ... sort of like an apple, but not really like an apple. It was incredibly crisp and white especially when I thought about how long ago that salad was made. Even if it had been made just before the dinner rush, it was probably close to four hours old by the time I ate it. And it had been encased in plastic all that time, even though I don't have very good luck with keeping apples "fresh" looking (or tasting) that long even in my expensive Tupperware that promises to keep things well preserved. Then David pointed out that even if the salad had been prepared just recently, the apples probably came pre-sliced.

So I wondered, how long since these apples had seen a knife, much less a tree? It didn't bear thinking about. And what kind of chemicals did they put on this "fresh" apple in my "fresh" salad to keep it looking so nice and crisp? Umm ... for that matter, what kind of chemicals were in the greens, and was the cheese blue or bleu (and did it make a difference)? Was the chicken fresh off the grill or fresh out of the microwave? Suddenly I started eating more slowly. The fresh salad was starting to take on a different personality, and I wasn't so sure I wanted to be friends any more.

I realized that it's not just fast food restaurants, but everywhere, they are actually re-defining our conception of "fresh" food. Actually, they are trying to re-define our taste. I could recognize "apple" in my salad, but comparing it to an apple I bought at the orchard last fall, it wasn't exactly an apple. But after all, how many people in this world are lucky enough to live just a few miles from an apple orchard that is actually only open in season? So who knows anymore what a real, fresh, apple really tastes like? Or even looks like? Who would know if they added a couple dozen chemicals to make it look nicer and taste real crisp even though it's probably been chopped up for days ... or weeks? And if they know, would they care ... because they have come to expect that this is what it tastes like to "eat fresh"?

And I thought about the kids meals at fast food restaurants and all the so-called healthy substitutions they are offering these days. Applesauce (processed, sugar added). Apple slices (with how many chemicals to keep them "fresh" while they are wrapped in more ubiquitous plastic). Apple fries. Apple fries? What kind of process does one have to undertake to morph an apple into "apple fries?" I'm sure it does not bear thinking about.

And yet, parents (and grandparents) are thinking that they're simply happy their children now have healthy choices in fast food chains. I'm not so sure about that.

I'm worried that my grandchildren won't even like a real apple when they taste one. It won't taste like what they are used to. They already don't like my real buttercream frosting in place of canned, or regular juices as opposed to "Hi-C", or real broccoli and cheese as opposed to the Lipton packaged broccoli-and-cheese junk meals (somewhat akin to Hamburger Helper), because these things don't have tons of chemical additives, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Obviously, I'm thinking way too much.

A smattering of everything

It has been exactly four weeks since I've blogged and now I have so much stuff swimming around my brain I am not sure where to start.

First, an update on The Beav. Sadly, he passed away on July 21. As he began to improve a little bit from his seizures on July 4, we took him to the vet to see if there was any hope of a recovery. The vet said it may have been a virus and a steroid shot and follow up medications could help. They did ... a little. But he never got over the drunken sort of walk that he had when he started to come out of his initial illness. And he never got back to eating or drinking much; most days David gave him water by syringe and I had to feed him by hand and that wasn't pleasant for any of us. The entire 2-1/2 weeks were sad and stressful for our family but ultimately he did die very peacefully and for that I am grateful. Like I said at the outset, we did the best we could for him and that is all we can do.

Wally, on the other hand, seems to be thriving. He didn't pay too much attention to The Beaver during his last days, but he did (and still does) a lot of yowling that I'm chalking up to some kind of confusion and/or grief. Those cats have been through a lot in the past few months, probably more than we are really aware of. So I'll deal with an otherwise-healthy, needy and affectionate cat who seems to be underfoot more often than not.

Now if only Wally and Tigger could come up with a truce. Unfortunately, that aspect of cat-drama has not abated. All ideas are welcome. I still might have to call that cat lady in Ann Arbor for advice.

Oh, and the weather has been horrendous. I love summer and I enjoy hot weather, but the humidity has been more intense lately and the mosquitoes are the absolute worst they have been in seemingly years. I had started to think that I was becoming immune to mosquito bites. Ha ... I will probably come up with the next case of West Nile Virus if I'm not careful.

On the food front, things have been interesting. For one thing, we have been eating a lot less meat in the past two months. And we are pretty much fine with that--even David, who has always been Mr. Carnivore. But in addition to meats being off my radar, I'm starting to look at everything else in the grocery store with a rather large dollop of suspicion. And I'm not just talking about my local market, which I have always sworn is simply the last stop for the produce truck. Things are not a whole lot better when I go to Trader Joe's or Plum Market. It's a little unsettling as I wonder what's going to happen when the farmers' market fare dries up this fall.

Will I starve? I doubt it. But starting to look seriously at everything I eat is ... well, serious stuff. And since the fresh fruits and veggies from farmers' market have figured very prominently in what we are eating this summer, I'm going to have to get some serious inspiration for winter cooking or else we'll end up back with the same-old, same-old. Stay tuned, and if you have some suggestions for me I will appreciate them.

July was just a weird month, overall. Family drama is always a given. Then there are all the cat issues. (I guess that's "family" too.) There has also been some major drama in the volunteer organization to which I've dedicated about half of my life, and I'm feeling very discouraged about that. But I don't feel like there is anything I can do at this time, especially when so many of the people involved are totally apathetic and the rest are even more discouraged than I am. Those who have tried to take action are delivered "sanctions" from those sitting on high. So, I remain on the sidelines, continue doing my volunteer jobs and hope that something will come clean, eventually. Right now it all looks very dirty to me.

I'm also watching with interest as some new revelations unfold at our church. Nothing on a grand scale but I am content not to be an "insider" right now. I read a very insightful book this month called, "If the Church Were Christian" by Philip Gulley. Philip (I feel like I can call him by his first name because I've read so many of his books and now we're 'friends' on Facebook :-)) is a Quaker pastor in Indiana and he's written some amazing fiction books as well as some very great non-fiction. I love his simple way of weaving a story that makes you laugh out loud (even when you recognize yourself as one of the characters in the story), and yet at the same time he has a way of getting to the point of a serious issue very quickly. This book makes me feel like I can make a difference in the direction of my own faith, and maybe even in the direction of a group of faithful people. It's worth some further reflection. You may be hearing more about it from me in a subsequent post.

So, while this post doesn't completely wrap up my month of July, nor does it answer all your questions (as if you had a multitude of them wondering what has happened to me) but it makes me feel better to be back in the writing and blogging groove again.

I'll be back, hopefully sooner than later.