Quit Complaining and Do Something About It

I keep seeing stories all over the internet about how we seem to care more about Whitney Houston's death, Kim Kardashian's wedding, Jeremy Lin's game stats, and Demi Moore's rehab stint than we care about our soldiers who die fighting for our country.

Let me fill you in on a little secret: Whitney, Kim, Jeremy, and Demi have spent more time in our homes than nameless, faceless soldiers in camouflage ever have. Whitney has been singing to us for a couple of decades and we know all the words to her songs to sing along, Kim is so outragous we can't wait to discuss her the next day around the water cooler, Jeremy is bringing the crowds into the sports bars in droves, and Demi - well, she's played everything from a soldier to a stripper and we just love her cuz she's hot.

But soldiers? They all look alike in their uniforms and we know nothing about them. That's why we don't care about them. We can't be expected to cry for every person that turns up on the obituary pages just because they served our country. But we should. And we could. Here's how: sensationalism!

Let's Get Real (Personal.....)

It seems the older I get, the more strongly I feel about certain issues. As usual, I am already fed up with politics months before the elections are scheduled to take place. I'm especially fed up with those old men who want to tell us what we can and cannot do with our own bodies. The GOP has some very dangerous opinions about health care and when life begins.

Let's start with a "for instance." I'm going to use someone I know pretty well as an example. When she was young, she suffered a burst appendix which left scar tissue on her ovaries, fallopian tubes, and other areas of her internal organs. She was told she would never become pregnant due to these issues. Using this information, she found it unnecessary to use contraceptives and was basically given a license for having unprotected sex. (So far, she and her husband fit perfectly into the ultra-conservative Republican profile.)

Never Too Old to Learn New Tricks

It used to be that I felt I learned something new almost every day. Lately, not so much. Now I have to make a concerted effort to find something new to learn on a regular basis. Is this a normal part of getting old? Fortunately, I love to read.

I recently found a book about table manners and setting an elegant table written by an old English butler. Cookbooks have always been fun for me to just read through, but this took me to the other side, to the duties of waiters and staff in the most royal castles in Europe. Truly inspiring!

Corey, The Amazing Super-Hero of Our Family (Part I)

While it often makes me sad to think of my son and how much I miss him, in honor of his birthday next week, I want to tell you a few stories about him so you can see what made him so special to us.

It all began with an unplanned pregnancy the summer before my senior year of high school. It was 1977, and people had mixed opinions on single mothers back then. Where I lived in rural Minnesota, however, people were mostly conservative and there were those who felt it their duty to enforce a moral code over everyone else. One woman even called my mother to tell her not to allow me out in public for fear of my influencing other young women to follow suit. Even though I'm sure it pained her to have people talking about her and her family, needless to say, my mother told her to mind her own business. I attended classes my senior year with everyone else only because there was no way they could stop me. The high school principal had strongly suggested I seek home schooling or simply drop out as so many had done before me. I refused. I was actually going to attend classes in my "condition" and it caused more than a small amount of commotion. I remember one day in December of that year when sitting in history class, there were more classmates chuckling at the movements of my belly than actually paying attention to the teacher. My friends stuck by me and we all learned from the experience together.

What Ever Happened to Manners and Etiquette?

While people-watching in a local bar last night, I suddenly realized there are no rules anymore. People don't know how to eat with their mouths closed, talk without food in their mouths, how to sit properly, how to hold a knife and fork, or even have basic consideration for the people at the next table.
It's not that I expect things never to change over time, but some things should never be thought "acceptable" as far as I'm concerned. We could blame the media, of course, since television shows and movies over-exaggerate bad behavior to get laughs - but why do kids feel the need to emulate these things - does it make them feel like movie stars or something?