Happy Halloween

Thriller

I go to a water aerobics class several times every week. We usually do a lot of walking, jogging and jumping jacks in the pool. It is a fun class full of energetic senior citizens. Our instructor decided that today we would celebrate Halloween by dancing in the water. The dance we tried to do was Thriller. Picture a group of about twenty gray haired white ladies, most of them in their seventies and eighties, trying to do the zombie walk in the pool. The life guard nearly split his sides laughing. We got so tickled with ourselves that we had tears of laughter running into the pool. This was one of those moments when being old was pretty fun.
I can assure you that we looked nothing like this.

Pictures of Life

We have one of those digital picture frames sitting next to my computer. I look at it a lot. It contains random pictures of my family and some our many adventures. There is picture of my granddaughter being inducted into the Honor Society followed by a picture of my daddy when he was young and handsome. There is a picture of me at a Halloween party in a bright orange dress and then a picture of my infant son. There are several pictures from our cruise to Alaska and one of us by Niagara Falls. A photo of us with all our kids and grandkids gathered around a Christmas tree comes up after an image my young mother in the funny hat she often wore to church. I have a picture here of my great-grandparents who died before I was born and then one of my grandsons playing at the beach. It is a very random collection of memories. I like that I never quite know what will come up next. It is like my memories of life. It is not a nice, neat series, but just a jumble of life with all sorts of emotions. Life is just a messy collection of moments that add up to make us who we are today. I love my random collection of pictures.

Ashley

Today is granddaughter #1's twenty-second birthday. I find it hard to believe that I have a grown up granddaughter. She was a baby just yesterday. Now she is living in Orlando working in an accounting internship at Disney World. She is a self-supporting grown-up young lady. Time really does fly.
The picture is of her standing in front of Casey's Corner, a hot-dog eatery on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. She worked there for four months before getting in the the accounting internship.
Isn't she beautiful?

Who?

Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Chuck Baldwin. What do these people have in common with Barack Obama and John McCain? They are all running for president of the United States of America.
We received a sample ballot in the mail this week end. I was surprised to see that there were actually six candidates on the ballot plus a write in option. If you are still one of the undecided voters it seems that there are more options than I realized.
Our ballot also has two proposals to amend the state constitution. The first question is whether or not to allow early voting in Maryland. This is obviously already being done in other states. It seems like a good idea to me. Do you have any opposition to early voting? My neighbor says it increases the probability of voter fraud. What's your opinion?
The second question is whether or not to allow state sponsored slot machines. This idea is being pushed by the horse racing industry as a good way to increase funds for public schools. I'm not sure what I think about this one. It seems like lower income folks would be the ones who spend the most here and I'm not too comfortable with the whole idea. I know a lot of people love to play the slots. Bus loads of senior citizens travel to neighboring states to spend a day with the slot machines. What do you think? Are slot machines a good way for the state to raise money for the schools? Or is this just a way to enrich the racing and gaming industry?

Today is my firstborn daughter's forty-fifth birthday. We went out to lunch and had a lovely time celebrating together. Today's lunch was nice, but not nearly as memorable as her twenty-first birthday celebration.

Laurel had been married four months on her twenty-first birthday. She and her sweet young husband were living in Nashville Tennessee. She was far from home and a bit homesick. Her husband and I decided to surprise her on her birthday with the thing she was wanting the most, a visit from her mom. He told her that he had invited a classmate home and to prepare a little extra for dinner. A friend picked me up at the airport and just before dinner I walked into their little apartment. She screamed and jumped up and down for a long time. She just couldn't believe I was there. During the night she tiptoed into the living room to check and make sure that I was really there sleeping on their couch. She was very excited. The next day she had to go to work and I set about making birthday dinner and a birthday cake. Laurel loved spice cake and I came prepared with the ingredients for her favorite cake. I had made birthday cakes for her and her sister and brothers every year. I was a good baker. My cakes were always good – except that year. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but that was the ugliest cake I have ever made. When I started to spread the icing the cake started to split down the middle. I tried to repair the split with toothpicks and more icing. The split widened. There was a large gap that just grew beyond fixing. There was no time to bake another cake so we just celebrated with the world's ugliest cake. My beautiful daughter loved it. We ate every ugly bite with gales of laughter. That birthday cake is remembered with more smiles than any other I have ever baked.

Happy birthday my beautiful girl. I love you.

Autumn

We had a lovely day Saturday. Our son and grandson joined us for day of play. I'll share a few pictures
The color was not quite at it's peak, but the trees were still beautiful as we walked in the Catoctin Mountains.



We rested at Cunnigham Falls.


This covered bridge near Thurmont Maryland reminded us of quieter, more peaceful times.


You had to hold your nose to take a picture of 15,000 turkeys. They really did stink.


The day was topped off with a chance to go pumpkin chunkin'.

The Gift of Music

After water aerobics this morning I went to chat with a couple of my classmates. Their words left me feeling sad, angry and frustrated. They were telling one another why they were voting against Barack Obama. One said the only reason his mother got him up at four-thirty in the morning was to pray. His mother was a radical hippie who was teaching her son to be a Muslim. His mother had never really married his father and she was just going from one Muslim man to another. They were afraid of Obama because he is black and he could never understand how white people feel. I wanted to say many things, but there is no rational argument that is effective against bigotry and racism. I did say I thought they had some misinformation and that I would vote for Obama. They changed the topic and I soon left. I found their words disturbing because they were just a representation of the irrational fear they felt. It depressed me.

This afternoon I went to practice singing with the senior chorale. We are preparing for our holiday program which will be a set of ten hallelujah songs. There is quite a variety of music, everything from Handel to Ray Charles. The music we sang today was all happy, foot tapping , clapping music. It made me feel good to sing it. The room was filled with a happy sound that pretty much washed away the sadness of the morning.

I love that God has given the gift of music.

This is not our chorale singing, but it is one of the songs we are practicing. How can you not be happy singing this?

Weddings

I love weddings. They are such happy, hopeful occasions. Love is in the air. The bride and groom are overwhelmed with romance and wonder. Families celebrate the joy. Friends share the love and the excitement. People travel from around the country to be together for the celebration. Weddings are just fun. Of course there is the whole serious side of the wedding that this couple is promising to share a lifetime together. It is a serious commitment. It is just a beautiful occasion.
This past weekend we joined our good friends Tim and Julie as their son Cory married his sweetheart. He and Brittaney seemed so happy. It was wonderful to see two families come to bless this young couple and to celebrate together.
Congratulations Cory and Brittany! God bless you on this new journey of life.

The bride and groom and Ava share a dance


Ava, the flower girl, daughter of the bride and groom


Drew and Mary Kate, brother and sister of groom


Tim and Julie, the groom's parents

The election next month will mark the twelfth time I have voted in a presidential election. Six times I cast a vote for the winning candidate. Three times I voted for the Republican. I voted for Nixon, as did most of the country, and I voted for George H Bush. I will vote with the Democrats this election, meaning that nine times in twelve I voted Democrat. My first presidential vote went to Lyndon Johnson. LBJ for the USA was the chant around the country. It was shortly after the Kennedy assassination and LBJ was still riding JFK's popularity wave. He won in a landslide against a senator from Arizona, Barry Goldwater. I thought Goldwater was as scary as the current candidate from Arizona. I was afraid that he would take away social security and I was afraid that he would lead us into a nuclear holocaust. The times were scary. I remember lines stretching several blocks to vote in that 1964 election. People waited for hours. This is one of the ads run by LBJ that year.



I am more excited about and interested in the current campaign and election than I ever remember before. It is the first time I have ever felt strongly enough to donate my money towards a campaign. It has been a long, arduous campaign. I will be glad when it is over.

Who was the first person you voted for to be President of the United States?

Debate

I watched tonight's presidential debate. Truthfully I thought it was a bit boring. It was serious and civil and just a repetition of things they have both said before. This was no game changer. I still like Obama. I suspect those who liked McCain before the debate still like him afterward. I will be very glad when this election is over and we can talk about something else. It has just gotten meaner and dirtier lately. It is hard to listen to any more.
Today I went to class at church, went out to lunch with my husband and a good friend, went shopping, got a haircut, ate Chinese food for dinner and went to a deacons' meeting at church. What did you do today?

The Kingston Trio

A man who was an important part of my life died this week. I never met him, but he was a big part of my coming of age. His name was Nick Reynolds. He was the lead singer for the Kingston Trio. The music sung by this group filled my world in the years when I left home and began life as a young adult. It was the music I heard in the dark little cafe, the Ly Bayou, where my husband and I would hang out with a bunch of our college friends and talk about all the big, important issues of life. It was the music I heard on the radio at night in my dorm room. It was the music I played on my record player. Today when I hear these songs I am once again a nineteen year old girl filled with sadness for poor old Tom Dooley and wondering just Where Had All The Flowers Gone. The big question for all of us was whether or not Charlie would ever return.

Lexie Sue

Eleven years ago today I was in the delivery room with my daughter as she gave birth to her third child. It was an unbelievable experience to be present with my little girl as she went through labor and delivery. I can find no words to adequately describe what it felt like to be present at that time. When the moment of birth finally arrived her husband stood on one side and I stood on the other as she delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. My little girl cried with relief and joy as she told me this baby would be named Alexandra Susan. This baby would carry my name. I cried at that and felt overwhelmed with joy. The new father and I stood gazing at this new life when I became aware of a commotion behind me. The obstetrician began barking commands. I heard words like hemorrhage, her pressure is falling, turn up the IV, may need to do surgery. My little girl was in trouble. I was overwhelmed with different emotions as I watched doctors and nurses rush to help her. Scared does not begin to describe the emotions surging through me. I don't know how long it was before the doctor finally said that it looked like everything was under control. They would keep my girl in the delivery area overnight where she would be monitored closely. If she was still OK in the morning we could assume all would be fine. All was well in the morning and the joy again overwhelmed the fear.
Lexie Sue is now a beautiful and talented young lady who brings this family great joy. Happy birthday Lexie Sue.

NASA

This week NASA is celebrating its fiftieth birthday. For forty-five of those years my rocket scientist husband has been involved with NASA and the exploration of space.He has many memories of his years there. He remembers launching rockets from White Sands, New Mexico. He worked with astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee and was stunned with grief when they were killed in a fire on Apollo I. He has worked with projects little know to the public and with one project that won Nobel Prize. He studies the outer reaches of the universe and looks at the light left over from from creation. He loves his job. He is a lucky man.

NASA has given us many advances in science and technology. For me the moments I remember are moments of great human emotion. Do you remember these words?

“Houston, we have a problem.”
“The Eagle has landed.”
“That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“The Challenger has exploded.”

Happy 50th NASA

Choices

Near our house there is a busy highway interchange. The merge lane from the small road onto the highway is two lanes wide. Traffic is merging off the highway and onto the highway in the same merge lanes. The merge lanes are rather short so it is necessary to move into the oncoming traffic quickly and avoid being hit by one of the cars exiting the highway. It is one of those places where you have to pay attention. My husband and I have different strategies for this problem. He moves into the far right merge lane so he can observe the exiting traffic and then crosses both lanes of the merge area into the main flow of cars. I move into the left merge lane so I am closer to the main highway. That way I have less traffic to cross before I am in the main flow. He thinks his way is better. I think my way is better.

This little scenario is similar to the way people in this country are making political choices this fall. We all look at the same problems. We study what is happening and choose the route that seems like the best solution to what we see is going on. We don't always come up with the same solution to the same problem. I do not think my husband is wrong because he has chosen a different way to behave when merging into traffic. He understands that I think another way is better. We respect each others opinion and each of do what we think is best.

I wish we could be that civil about politics. I have looked at the big problems this country is facing and have decided that Obama and the Democrats are the better choice for my vote. I resent being called an assortment of bad names and having my intelligence questioned by those who disagree. We live in a very diverse country. Different opinions are normal. I just wish we could respect one another and not stoop to childish name calling when we come across people who have come to a different conclusion. It would be nice if we could respect one another and behave in a civil manner.

Fall

Today at 11:44:18A.M. EDT it officially became Autumn. I can tell by a quick glance in my backyard that Fall is here. My dogwood tree is covered in red berries and leaves are starting to change from green to yellow and red. The air is crisp and clean. I love this time of year. I love the colors. I actually like raking leaves into giant piles. Sometimes I still jump into those crunchy brown piles and am filled with laughter. I look forward to pumpkin pies, and drives through the colorful mountains to buy crispy apples and maybe a bag full of apple donuts.
My first memory of Fall came the year after we were married, 1962. We went to Sequoia National Park in California that September. Growing up in southern California I had never known any change in the seasons. That Fall the mountains were covered in bright yellow aspen trees quaking in the breeze. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. I stood mesmerized by the color. The pictures we took then still remind me of that sense of awe I felt that year seeing those magnificent colors.
What memories do you have of Fall?

Byrtle

My mom's name was Byrtle. Today is her birthday. She would have been 103 years old. Mom has always been my hero and the example of the kind of person I want to be. Now that I am a senior citizen I am still looking to her for examples of how to behave. This picture was taken when my mom was eighty-five years old. She was posing for a picture to advertise the church basketball team. If Byrtle could shoot baskets at eighty-five I guess I still have a lot of living left to do.

Happy birthday mother.

Sarah Palin

My daughter AM recently posted this on her blog. In my opinion her words need to read by more people,so I am copying her post for you reading pleasure.

Monday, September 15, 2008
Rinsing the second tub of brown soapy water out of the tub where I was washing my son’s lacrosse gear, I was prompted to think of pitbulls with lipstick. Was I, as lacrosse mom, willing to call myself a bitch like Sarah Palin? Isn’t that what she meant when she called herself a female dog?

In order for a woman to get ahead in the world of business, politics, and even church, women have to have a little ferocity. What is called power and ambition in men is often called bitchiness in women. That reaction is so common, that women have taken back the word. I have received chain e-mails defining bitch as a Babe In Total Control of Herself. One of my favorite songs is by Meredith Brookes on her “Blurring the Lines” CD simply called “Bitch.”

I’m sure I have been called a bitch. I heard it when I was a teacher. I imagine it happened behind my back at work a time or two. It may have entered my children’s minds. There have been a few romances gone badly that may have inspired someone to utter the word in reference to me. I’m sure Hillary Clinton has been called a bitch.

As I laid the dripping, Crisp Linen scented lacrosse pads out to dry in the sun, I considered what has moved me to snarl through my lipstick and call someone a bitch. I don’t think I’ve ever called someone a bitch to her face. When someone takes an offensive position, choosing to bare their teeth and overlook a host of more civilized responses, she is being a mean bitch. When a woman behaves offensively, saying cutting words that are impulsively stupid, I might call her a dumb bitch. There are equivalent terms for men who are mean and stupid, but that is another essay. Bitch means mean.

I know some women joke around and call each other bitches as part of their friendship culture, but I don’t joke around like that. Isn’t that the same double standard as black people calling each other nigga? They are both derogatory terms. It wouldn’t be funny if Obama used that word to describe himself. I didn’t think Palin was funny either. She undercut herself with that comparison after have risen so unexpectedly to this height. It was disrespectful. Although we are accustomed to a mean vice president, I don’t think we necessarily need meanness to be part of the job.

What ever happened to diplomacy? How about dignity? I’m tired of leadership that behaves embarrassingly. I want a leader for my country who can reach a hand out to the world without his or her middle finger raised.

I am so glad that we as a country have opened up enough to have women taken seriously enough to run for major political offices. I just wish it was a woman who was valued for her intelligence, diplomacy, compassion and experience.

The choice of Sarah Palin bothers me as a feminist because she seems to have been chosen for her appearance. It seems youth and beauty still trump experience. The same women who faulted Hillary for “only” being the First Lady and a freshman senator are waving around Palin signs with lipstick on them.

What about Senators Hutchinson, Mikulski, or Madeline Albright? Does a woman’s appearance still count for more than her experience? Does she have to be a bitch in high heels? Can’t she just be qualified? I see the answer to those questions in the paper every morning.

I know, I know that Obama doesn’t have any more experience than she does, but he has the dignity and intelligence I think a president should have. I think Hillary would have been better, but it seems that America wasn’t ready for a woman with authentic strength. McCain is too outdated, not to mention Republican. His back up plan, Palin seems ill-equipped for the job. If you took away all the personalities and appearances, I would still vote Democratic. I’m sure that when the Democrats win, Palin will use those eight years to get some authentic experience and study up. Now that she has been yanked into the spotlight, she is here to stay.

Choosing a woman because of the emotion she incites is not exactly the reason I would vote for a woman. When the excitement has subsided, I want someone who can take this country to new heights. We have been brought low these last eight years. This lacrosse mom is looking for a new leadership that will make us a winning team again. I’d love a woman to be in command, but not a bitch.
Posted by AM Kingsfield at 9:22 PM

John

Today is grandson number one's nineteenth birthday. Happy birthday to my sweet, compassionate guitar hero.

The Evening News

Watching the evening news is depressing. I don't mean all the depressing stories about the bad economy, never-ending wars and catastrophic weather events, it's the commercials that depress me. During the thirty minute broadcast I saw ads for products to help my osteoporosis and ads for men with an enlarged prostate. There was one for men who are concerned about their gray hair and one telling the wonders of vitamins for the mature adult. There was of course the ad with a couple sitting in two bathtubs on the beach, which always seemed a bit odd to me. The product they advertise is for erectile dysfunction with the caution about calling the doctor after four hours. These ads are a break from the constant barrage of mud-slinging politics, but they did make feel old.

My assumption from the ads is that only old people watch the evening news.