Long Time NO Post!

Didn't realize how really long it had been since I had posted something.  FaceBook seems to have taken over for the past several months.  But, here I am.  I have a book review to post and may be back later to post other thoughts and musings.
I recently finished Star Parker's Uncle Sam's Plantation.  It took me forever to finish it.  It has very interesting information, but my reading attention span has decreased over the past year.  I have been reading mainly magazines, and shorter online articles.  I think it has something to do with my sleep patterns.   Snore, Snore....but, here is my review.


I came to the close of Star Parker's book, UNCLE SAM'S PLANTATION, with some mixed feelings. I heartily endorse the "How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It" statement, underneath the Title, but I do not wholeheartedly agree with some of her generalizations. She has definitely done her homework, including living in the situations she describes, and providing the reader with an impressive amount of research on her topics, which include, to name a few, What Is Poverty?, Liberals Hijack History, The Welfare State, and OPM (Other People's Money). She does a great job of showing how "Uncle Sam" has undermined the family, hijacked the dream of personal wealth for marginalized people, and contributed to the breakdown of societal mores. As a late 50'ish female who came from the "left" in my college years, to become a "liberal" in my middle years, and now a self proclaimed Libertarian, I found her analysis of the state of welfare and how our current social, economic, and political conditions have evolved, refreshing. I particularly liked Chapter 9, where she summarizes the Freedoms that we are losing and need to start protecting (Freedom in the Womb, Freedom in Education, Freedom in Health Care, Freedom in Retirement, to name a few). I think she does a disservice though, to the many honest, hard working, caring, moral people whom she excludes when she discusses the definition of Family. I have lived long enough, and seen enough different family "configurations" to know many such people who are positive contributors to society but that do not fit into her discussion of the Traditional Family; and I have seen more than enough "Traditional" Families that have not made a healthy imprint on society. To pull a few quotes from the author's last few pages......"Whoa! Wasn't this country supposed to be about freedom?", and "There's no substitute for the fruits of personal responsibility." Star Parker's book does a startling job of discussing those freedoms that we are in danger of losing, or have already lost, and the resulting consequences if we do not strive to protect them.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Andy Andrews latest book, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, is a wonderfully packaged inspirational message about how every single thing we do matters.  He uses examples from history to show us how one thing, one action, can lead to another and then another, that "snowballs" into something that really effects more people than the 2 or 3 that were involved in the original decision or action.  It gives us a long term view of otherwise short term actions.  For those of us who sometimes have "blinders" on, taking life one day at a time (which is not always a bad way to do things) it provides the reminder that what we do today does have an effect on what might happen tomorrow. Although I found his examples of the "Butterfly Effect" to be very interesting historically, I think perhaps it might be hard to relate some of the more mundane, "ordinary" events in our lives to such broad, far ranging effects.  BUT, this is perhaps the main focus of the book----to help us do this, to help us see day to day decisions and events on a much broader scale.  As an inspirational package, it is very well done; a beautifully made, well written book with a wonderful, uplifting message.


THE BOY WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
    by ANDY ANDREWS
This is the companion book to THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.  Written for children, the book relates the story of how the lives of Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, inventor George Washington Carver, and Vice President Henry Wallace were influenced and interwoven by decisions and choices that were made around them and by them.  It's core focus comes from the message in  THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, that each person is made to make a difference, and that everything you do matters. It is very beautifully illustrated by Philip Hurst, and written in language that will engage both younger and older children.  I found it to be very entrancing to read to myself, and think that it will be inspiring, and thought provoking for the children I read it to, besides just being a plain good bedtime story.

Oh Canada!

Mike and I had a great trip to Canada last weekend.  We had 5 nights, with one night in a hotel in Ottawa, two nights camping in Gatineau Park, across the river in Quebec Province.  Then we had 2 rainy days, Saturday and Sunday, so we drove toward Montreal.  Since this was a fairly spur of the moment, play it by ear trip, we didn't have reservations in Montreal.  We found out quickly that all rooms anywhere near where we wanted to be were taken up by parents of McGill students, and perhaps other local colleges.  That was the weekend before the start of school.  SO, we headed back out of Montreal and up toward Mt. Tremblant.  We stopped in a scenic little village called Ste-Agathe-Des-Monts, about 2/3 the way up to Tremblant.  There we found a room at a Super 8!  with a fairly large indoor water slide/park.  Another day I would have been thrilled to try it out, or if Hayden had been there.  We went out to eat and visit a local music bar instead.  The last night we spent in a wonderful old inn at Quebec City, in the Old Town (Upper).  We had the afternoon and the next morning to explore Old Quebec, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is now on our list of places to go back to, along with Canada in general.

To backtrack just a bit, before I go off to work, we also thoroughly enjoyed Ottawa.  It was very green, and being right on the river had lots of scenic waterfront to see, and the architecture was entrancing.  We did a lot of walking, rented bikes, and saw a lot of historic sites.  Camping was also wonderful.  We rented a canoe, walked some, and enjoyed the wildlife (4 legged kind).  If it had not rained the weekend, we would have continued in the camping mode as we headed east.

I have put all the photos up on flickr, along with a few videos and photos of Hayden in Haverstraw with me earlier in the month.  As I have time I will post a few of the best photos here, but for now, please feel free it look at my flickr site.

Gloves

I just had to post this photo after reading Margaret's most recent entry.  I too have a photo of gloves that I just love.  Mine was taken in Nova Scotia a couple years back while visiting a friend.  And, while I am looking at that trip's photos, here is another one I really liked; with two versions:

The one photo has a rain drop on the lens.  I was trying to "erase the smudge look" and ended up experimenting with color saturation.

THE SELFLESS GENE

The Selfless Gene  LIVING WITH GOD AND DARWIN,  by Charles Foster, is a very thought provoking book.  The blurb on the back of the cover says "Intelligent, provocative, and highly readable..... a reconciliation of what are popularly seen as two opposing worldviews."  I must agree with this, although the "highly readable" part I might beg to differ.  I have always, since childhood, had a tug of war in my head and heart concerning how to reconcile what I was learning in Sunday School with what I was learning in science classes the other 5 days of the week.  For those of us, like me, who have a deep interest in the natural world around us, and an innate curiosity with a leaning toward scientific process and inquisitiveness, The Selfless Gene provides a wealth of information that may help us integrate two different views, and perhaps somewhat resolve the inner conflict. 

 
The technical writing aspect of the book is very readable; "plain English", so to speak.  The wealth of information offered though, and the intense amount of research (with almost 40 pages of notes and bibliography) put into the author's discussions throughout the book made it a gargantuan project for me.  I frequently put it down  after reading only 4 or 5 pages to ponder and mentally chew on what Mr. Foster was offering up.  This made for rather slow going in getting through the book. It is a book that I feel I will refer back to and re-read to see what parts I have "missed".  I appreciated the fairly neutral position of the author. I have shied away over the years from some treatments of the subject of Darwin versus Creation due to the sometimes hysterical nature of each side.  It was refreshing to read a calm, academic discussion.  It provides the possibility of accepting aspects of both beliefs into a personal ideology that I can live with. The book will not be satisfying to those who are extremely diametrically opposed, but for those of us who see a world that includes both natural evolution/selection (a "wholly self-centered process") and God, it provides some promise of peace.

In his closing paragraphs Mr. Foster asks the reader to consider that "consistently, another force has been at work molding the shape of the biological world--the force of community, of altruism, of selflessness.  Sometimes this force might have been the tool of natural selection--there is no problem at all with that.  Sometimes it might have been a self-energizing force."  It is a book that I will read again, and recommend to anyone needing answers to the ongoing debate.

Father's Day

It is a hot Father's Day here in New York.  I hope all the father's I know are having a good time, wherever they are!  I just tried calling mine, but the lines must be busy so I will try again.  Even if I can't be there to wish him a Happy Day!,  I am thinking of him.  In more care free days I would have jumped on a plane to go visit, and I have had that thought several times the past few days.  I know I don't go visit often enough.  I have picked out some of my favorite photos to post though.  If I had a scanner I would go through all the boxes of old photos I have and scan in some of my older memories.

A Lazy Day

I started this day thinking I would finish the boat cushions.  BUT, not yet.  After a busy weekend with Hayden, I guess I needed a "do nothing" day.  Anything to avoid the cushions.  They are not that difficult.  I do not know why I keep avoiding finishing them.

We had a good weekend.  I went to pick Hayden up from his after school program on Friday and we headed back up to Poughkeepsie.  We have a little routine, I am sorry to say.  He ALWAYS wants to stop at the rest stop right before the NY State Thruway, to eat at Burger King.  I have never been a big fan of BK, but he loves the chicken nuggets.  And, I can never deprive him of food after we have all had to almost force him to eat in the past.  So, BK it is.  I usually get a salad, or the grilled chicken sandwich and then sometimes we splurge on an ice cream.  I was ready to be home though, so we decided to get ice cream at the grocery store on the way.  I shop at Stop and Shop and they have handheld scanners so you can scan and bag your own groceries as you shop.  It is really cool to do this.  I can keep track of exactly how much I have spent as I go along.  I take my own bags, for which you get a 5 cent discount per bag.  Hayden loves to scan the bar codes.  And the scanners give you extra coupons and discounts, so he scrolls through those and tells me what the specials are for the day.

We had high hopes of swimming over the weekend, at the marina, whether or not the boat got launched.  But, alas, it turned out to be a partially rainy weekend.  We managed to walk the dog between showers, and ride bikes in the park at sunset on Friday.  But, Saturday we changed our plans due to weather and spent a couple of hours at the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum.  They have a fairly new exhibit with a mastodon found in Hyde Park several years back.  It is a small museum, with some exhibits that really do need updating and maintaining, but Hayden always enjoys the interaction with other children.

After the museum we decided to do a geocache.  We had done some a previous weekend with his mom and dad and really enjoyed it.  I printed out the coordinates of one close to us and we took off on our bikes.  The sun came out and we found raspberries on the way there.  We filled our tummies and carried on.  The geocache was pretty easy to find, just at the coordinates listed and we signed the log and took a really neat marble someone had left.  We left an unopened sample of some EcoTools earth friendly hand lotion.  For those of you not familiar with it, geocaching involves looking for "hidden" caches, usually an old ammo box, a watertight container, or some other weather proof thing, by using a handheld GPS to go to a set of coordinates and then searching for the exact spot. It gives hikes and walks a new meaning, and a fun goal.  There is always a log book and pen to sign your name and leave a little message, and you can take or leave small items in exchange.

It was still a nice day when we got back from that so went to play mini golf.  Hayden is getting better at this.  He is beginning to remember the rules, and some of the etiquette involved in golf activities, and his aim and focus are improving.

When we weren't out of the house we did some serious game playing.  He likes "What's Gnu?", so we played that, and of course Crazy Eights card game.  We played a few Scrabble words on Facebook, Chinese Checkers, and then read books before bedtime.

Sunday morning the weather was still a little damp and gray, but not really raining.  We met his mom and dad at a U-Pick farm, Lawrence Farms Orchard, which is about halfway between our two homes. We have picked there for 3 years at least now and really enjoy it.  It is up on a ridge that looks east over the Hudson River Valley.  We usually pick strawberries, but this time decided to pick cherries, sugar snaps, and I picked some turnip greens and red curly leaf lettuce.  There is a children's village, with scaled down houses, school, church, jail, etc. for the kids.  And there are horses, goats, a ram, a turkey, chickens, and a beautiful peacock.  I have a new appreciation for the price of cherries in the store now, after picking them myself.  Not an easy job.....  I want to go back in mid July and pick apricots and maybe make jam.  For apple picking in the fall, we have several other places to pick that are our favorites.

It has been awhile since I posted, so there is really toooo much to catch up on.  I have all my recent photos up on flickr.com though, so they can all be seen there.  I had a great time in Chicago with Celeste and Sue, and have LOTS of photos from that trip.  It is a great city......think New York without the noise, grit, graffiti, litter, and about one fifth the number of people.  The open spaces were beautiful and the proximity to the clear fresh lake water was a plus.  We visited Navy Pier (pretty touristy), did two different boat tours, one at sunset out into Lake Michigan, and the other up the river with a very knowledgeable Architecture Foundation guide. We had drinks and dinner with some of Sue's family at a hopping Irish Pub downtown one evening, sampled good Cajun fare one night, and a boisterous sea food  cafe on the river another night.  I wandered around Grant and Millennium Parks, took the buses, subways and els around town, and spent the only rainy morning in the Field Museum.  I really think it is somewhat better than the Natural History Museum in NY.  The public transit around Chicago was very efficient, clean, and quiet.  It links both the airports with downtown, making ground transportation very easy.  Sunday night Celeste and I went to see "Blue Man Group", a live production that is really hard to describe if you have never heard of it.  Suffice it to say it involves Blue Men, lots of drumming, not much speaking, but lots of audience interaction.

For Memorial Day weekend, I did manage to get some family time, despite the fact that I had to work one of the nights.  On that Saturday we all went to do our first couple of Geocache's, with great success, in an area of Harriman State Park called The Silver Mine.  And on Monday I drove to Rob and Rachel's for lunch and a swim in Hayden's new pool.  You really must look at the photos on flickr to see the amazing pool.  It was nice to get some holiday time with family.

Fourth of July I am able to go visit Mike for a long weekend.  Air fares have sky rocketed, but I had some US Airway frequent flyer miles to use.  USAir doesn't go very many places that I fly, and they make it difficult to use their FF miles.  I have tried several times in the past to use them to various places, Lincoln and Omaha included, but without success.  I was totally amazed that I was able to use them for part of a trip to see Mike, especially over the holiday weekend.  It has been since April that we were together, so it will be good.  Then he will come up here some time in August, after he hauls the boat out for the season.

My boat is coming along, but slowly, with all the cool wet weather we have had.  The barrier coats of bottom paint need a pretty narrow temperature and humidity range to cure.  It will be a short boating season for me, but this is a once in a lifetime maintenance thing.  So, that brings me back to the cushions.  Guess I will go cut out the rest of the fabric for now.