The Invisible Storm: Texas Steps Up and Kicks Ass in the Aftermath of Katrina.
The city of San Antonio Texas. The obvious allusion is that there's a Storm brewing; but it's more like an earthquake.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
The first thing you see on entering the warehouses the refugees call "home" is the Red Cross registration desk for Volunteers. Whilst I blurred the pictures deliberately to protect identities, thye actually DO move that fast and efficiently trying to get everyone signed up and working. This airman in particular had been at this desk almost 16 hours, and was looking forward to going home for abite to eat in 8 or 9 hours . . . and then working Saturday as long as they'd let him. "These are my People; I'm from Baton Rouge," he said. "They need our help, and I'm not gonna let them down."
The Job Fair in progress 24/7 at Kelly AFB in the Refugee quarter. Major employers from all over San Antonio are screening and hiring folks on the spot for everything from truck driving to hair cutting to nurses to engineers. (By the way; I should mention that the refugees are housed in air-conditioned Motor Pool warehouses that ate roughly 100 yards wide by 500 yards long -- and there are FIVE of these monstrous hangars end-to-end full of people!) The Job Fair occupies the entirety of Hangar #2.
A view of one smaller shelters in San Antonio; called a "Special Needs" shelter because the occupants have more medical or other problems. Putting these folks in smaller shelters (such as this one ruyn by a local Baptist Church) allows them better attention so that hopefull these folks won't fall between the gaps of a social system stretched incredibly taut.
The face of FEMA: the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In fairness as well as to counter the negative stuff you hear on TV; FEMA has never been designed as a "hands-on" relief agency, but as backup to the Agencies already in place (i.e., your local Red Cross, Catholic Chartities, Salvation Army, and local government.) The FEMA guys appear in their khaki army fatigue pants and navy blue polo shirts and ask what we need; and what we need appears the next day -- in massive quantities. You have to be very careful what you ask for. Yo ask for wheelchairs, you very well might end up with 50 of them. You complain about transportation problems and three brand-new 15-passenger Econoline vans are sitting in your parking lot the next day. You need water? You get three semi trucks full of it before sundown. We've learned to be specific and cautious in our requests.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Busy, Busy, Busy. . . . No Time to Talk Right Now.
I wish I could somehow convey with words the majesty, the grandeur, and the mind-numbing horror of a near-miss from Hurricane Katrina to my friends and family up north. The Refugees are pouring into San Antonio and the strain on the local economy is incredible -- and probably unimaginable.
I got the call we had refugees at work Sunday afternoon and headed in to work a partial shift to help out the weekend nurse. Ariane and I bought quite a few supplies at Wal-Mart (wet-naps, fleece blankets, band-aids, antibiotic ointment, and Tylenol -- and specific clothing for one of out patients -- shoes, pants, & underwear.) Friday I get off for Labor Day, and I'm heading over to Kelly AFB to volunteer some time.
I wish I could put this into words better. This was a dress rehearsal for something worse -- and God help us when THAT happens.
More later.
~~~JD~~~
Monday, August 29, 2005
Notebook of Weather Observations Whilst a Hurricane passes me by . . . .
Saturday 8/27 5:00pm: Looks like Katrina is going to be the largest, closest hurricane to South Texas since we moved here in 2002. Haven't seen any changes to the weather yet, though.
Sunday 8/28 7:00am: Weather's a little weird this morning. The land "Where the Sun spends the winter" (old San Antonio Tourist slogan) is overcast and grey; looking more like Winter than Mid-August. Showers are peppering us intermittently even though It hasn't rained steadily here since April (and rarely does in the Summer.) The clouds are odd as well: they're all high broken overcast cumulus clouds with a fair amount of sunshine peeking through.
Sunday 8/28 12:00pm: Counting Louisiana license plates on the way from church: 2 or 3 seen. (We rarely, if ever, see any Louisiana plates this far from the border.) Northwest Church of Christ had planned a water-party picnic to celebrate returning to school next week -- and got more water than they dreamed of. Well, the crops needed it pretty badly.
A lot less sunshine than this morning, too.
Sunday 8/28 7:00pm: The wind shifted this afternoon. Airplanes usually fly overhead on the landing pattern to San Antonio; now, they're taking off overhead as the wind has shifted to the Northeast. That doesn't happen too very often down here.
Magnificent Sunset; plenty of fat cumulus clouds to highlight and glimmer in the last vestiges of the setting sun.
Monday 8/28 7:00am: Wow -- just, Wow. Most incredible sunrise I may have ever seen in my life as high overcasrt and low, scudding, purple clouds frame the blood-red rising sun in the east. Almost didn't get a sunrise at all with all the cloud cover; but eventually it poked through and put on quite a show.
Wow, indeed.
Monday 8/28 12:00pm: It's only 85 degrees in the Alamo City; the forecast today was for 98 degrees. I seriously doubt it'll get there. It's actually quite cool and pleasant with the overcast. For once the air conditioner in the office I work in is cold in the extreme, instead of just being able to keep up.
Monday 8/28 4:30pm: First time I've ever driven home since we moved here that I didn't need tha A/C full-blast on and my sunglasses. Full scudding steel-grey sky in progress overhead; and the dust patterns on my windsheild say it's been drizzling on-and-off most of the day.
At a stoplight on the way home I see another weird weather thing I've never seen before. The clouds are coming out of the east and making a left turn above the city and heading south. I wondered if I was losing my mind until I realized; it's the cenmtral rotation of the clouds around the storm's eye.
Man, that's gotta be one kick-ass storm to influence the weather this directly over here. I'm a Midwestern boy who's seen lightning storms, blizzards, tornadoes, and green skies -- but this is truly awe-inspiring.
Counted 27 Louisiana license plates on the way home.
Wow.
~~~JD~~~
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Katrina Bitch-Slaps Gulf Coast; Film at 11 . . .
The above picture is of a Hurricane Evacuation Route sign on I-45 heading north from Galveston Island, which I mentioned in a previous post. It's a weird thing to see one of these along the Interstate in good weather; and another thing entirely to watch them as you're evacuating your home and loved ones from a killer hurricane's path; like my neighbors in Louisiana are doing right now. We're feeling the effects right now here in San Antone. This morning the Airport started lauching airplanes in the opposite direction as usual (to the North rather than the south) as the winds shifted from Hurricane Katrina. The skies are intermittently overcast as feeder bands sweep north from the storm; we even got a bit of rain as well. 
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Life Is What Happens To You On The Way To Do Other Things . . . .
The oddest thing happened to me the other day.
For the first thing, I've noticed that Interstate highways leading away from the Gulf Coast (I-37 from Corpus Christi TX; I-45 from Galveston TX; I-65 from Mobile AL) all have exta-wide right shoulders and little blue-and-white signs every 2 miles that read "Hurricane Evacuation Route." It's a bit weird watching the little signs leading away from the coast for 50 miles or so, but nice to knolw somebody had the foresight to think of such a contingency.
Makes sense, right? In case of impending hurricane, they use the shoulder too for added traffic capability.
The second thing? Well, last Sunday we decided to go to beautiful Corpus Christi Texas. Fabled land of Spring Break debaucheries, Sunshine, and the world's greatest coastal fishing, as well as the home of the U.S.S. Lexington -- the feared "Blue Ghost" aircraft carrier of WWII. Seems like a safe bet for a day trip, right?
Heh. Guess again.
Admission to the Lady Lex was about $21.95 per person -- substantially greater than we planned. After touring the old girl (which is in substantial need of repair, unfortunately) we drove though downtown Corpus looking for a beachside seafood joint, figuring it'd be chaper and fresher closer to the Gulf, right?
Again, Heh-heh-heh.
With apologies to any residents of the Belle of the Gulf, she's certainly seen better days. The downtown looked like a hurricane had been through there recently, although it's almost certainly been 10 years or better. Vacant lots; closed stores; and a general air of urban semi-blight prevailed. After miles of driving up and down Seaside Blvd looking for a place to eat, we eventually returned to our starting point to an old-fashoined Diner which had very good food -- but not the seafood we had our taste buds set on.
A nice day, slightly disappointing overall, but not terrible. Still, disappointing, and a bit creepy and sad.
So this past Friday (five days later, for those completists out there) I took a day off for another excursion. After a quick pit-stop at the ever-delightful Buc-ee's (see previous post) which has become my nephew David's favorite kitschy tourist trap, drove on to Houston TX and the Johnson Manned Space Center. There we saw the sights and (almost) took the tour of the Center before it started raining and abbreviated out tour.
Since we had some extra time on our hands, we decided to toodle the 27 miles down I-45 to Galveston Island and see what was out there as well. A trip unplanned; almost as an afterthought, but that road less traveled has made all the difference. We found Houston's Chinatown that we'd been looking for (for almost 3 years!) We also found a plethora of Seaside souvenir shops, bars, and cheap excellent seafood joints like we'd been searching for the previous weekend, and ate until we were stuffed. The place we found had the BEST deep-fried soft-shelled crabs I've eaten since i was stationed in Augusta Georgia 21 years ago -- just magnificent. Out waiter was a teenaged Russian emigre attending U.T.-Houston, and was both surprised and thrilled I spoke a bit of conversational Russkiy.
Imagine that.
Galveston's pretty enough and reasonably-enough-priced that we talked about maybe moving there. Oh yeah, that'd break my heart; having to live on the ocean and eat fresh seafood every day.
God Provides, indeed.
~~~JD~~~
Sunday, August 07, 2005
A Brief Note Before I Run Off . . . .
Been awfully busy lately, so I haven't had much time to update lately. We've got our nephew David visiting from Paris (the one in France) so we're almost constantly on the go somewhere on the weekends -- which is when I usually post, y'know.
Plus to make matters worse, my USB ports on our brand-new laptop are on the fritz; which means I can't synch up my camera to post any new pictures. We've figured out a fix; but it will take me an hour or two of uninterrupted time to do it -- which I haven't had lately.
So we're all alive an well. Work is going very well for both of us; and we completed our move last weekend. Pictures when they become available. Gimme a week or two.
~~JD~~
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Hurricanes & Moral Quandries . . . still don't help me do the Laundry!
It's a Saturday, which means here at Casa Largo we clean the house: vacuum everything, steam clean the "accidents" the cats have had recently; empty every garbage can in the joint, and do the laundry. Since we're in the process of moving to a new apartment the end of this month, that means everything, and I mean EVERYTHING gets washed. Linens, towels, blankets, comforters -- everything.
And, of course, we're expecting Hurricane Emily to storm through here later this week with some much-needed rain -- so we're trying to get a leg up on the situation by doing everything as early as possible. So, we're pretty busy.
That means a lotta laundry to be done!
As I'm doing the cleaning, the laundry, the vacuuming, and the garbage, I'm catching little bits on Fox News and the Internet. Three things really caught my eye that just make me shake my head in wonder. Maybe I grew up too morally bound to understand this "alternative lifestyles" thing -- buy I'm sorry; I just don't get this:
1) Natalee Holloway -- Sending an 18-year-old girl off to Aruba with "chaperones" who go to bed at 8pm and don't supervise these teenagers drinking underage and wandering off with locals into the hills for sex? Whose Idiot Idea of a good-time graduation gift was that? When I was driving limousines for a while I saw several parents try to rent "fully-stocked" limos for graduation -- including booze and pot for their high-school Seniors!
This reminds me of those "I've-gotta-be-friends-with-my-kids" kind of parents. I feel awfully bad for the Holloway/Twitty family, but what did they expect here? A Disney movie ending?
2) Shasta Groene -- Her mother has a half-dozen kids -- most of which by different fathers, by-the-by -- and invites total strangers into her house for drug parties? And when the family comes up dead and the two youngest kids missing -- whose fault was that? Shasta Groene and her brother pay the price . . . . but how did we get to this place? Didn't anyone from the Idaho Department of Families and children suspect anything? Didn't some member of her family suspect she might be in a potentially unhealthy or dangerous situation?
3) I stumbled across a blog here on Blogspot (and you'll forgive me; but I can't remember how I found it -- must've been the "Next Blog" button) called "Discreet London". This fellow has the chutpah to describe the affairs he has with other women in gloriously excruciating detail. But when his wife wants a divorce because she's having her own affair, he's at a loss for words. He makes this discovery, of all places, at a massage parlor:
The masseuse made eye contact with me; I could tell she was confused too. As soon as she clamped eyes on me, I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed of being here, and ashamed of not being able to get it up. Then, I did something I haven’t done in ages; I burst out in floods of tears.
Once the sobbing started, I just couldn’t stop. I was wailing like a baby, which only served to confuse the young lady even more. I’m sure whatever experience she had as a prossie didn’t prepare her for this sort of thing. I guess punters don’t break down crying very often.
It was very awkward, I could sense her unease. I sat up on the table and saw her looking at me, her expression bordered upon the horrified. I think looking me in the eyes was more than she could bear and she finally wrapped her arms around me and held me against her with my head resting on her shoulder.
I was back in my car before I knew it, heading back towards my home. But I wasn’t ready to go back home yet, so I decided to just drive around. I drove aimlessly, without purpose or destination for a little while before realising I had no place else I could go. Finally, I gave up and just went back to my house.
Maybe I just needed some human contact, perhaps the orgasm I didn’t have wasn’t really what I required. Maybe I just needed a good cry in the arms of someone sympathetic. Well, “the cry� wasn’t that satisfying and “the arms� were less than sympathetic, but at least it was something. It’s more than I'm going to get elsewhere, that's for sure.
Really.
Y'know, what did he expect? He's getting exactly what he was going to give his wife -- shattered marriage, shattered dreams, broken home -- and he's crying about it?
Lie with dogs -- wake up with fleas. You are judged by the company you keep, indeed. Don't get me wrong on any count here -- I feel really bad for the poor participants of the above-described tragedies. But I really feel somebody ought to be shaking the living crap out of these folks, telling them to wake up and smell the coffee, already!!!
The self-delusion of rationalization is a Sad, sad, and dangerous thing.
~~~JD~~~
Thursday, July 14, 2005
NURSING: Noble Profession of Comfort and Care . . . ?
. . . . or just a Royal Pain in the Ass?
I'm a Nurse. More specifically, I'm a male Nurse, which many see as a contradiction in terms. Very specifically, mostly by other (female) Nurses.
An example, if I may. I always tell people I've been a Nurse for 25 years, because I consider it to be true. I re-enlisted in my second tour in the Army to become what they call a 91C10 (or "Ninety-One Charlie") to get better promotion opportunities. I attended a ten-week Combat Medic Course from June to August 1980, followed by the ten-week "Ninety-One Charlie" course from August to October; which was swiftly followed by six months of on-the-job training at Fort Leonard Wood Missouri from November 1980 to March 1981. So after 11 months of medical training I was officially awarded the title of 91C10 in March, 1981.
And promptly had it taken away in April.
You might ask why -- I know I sure as heck did. I had re-enlisted for a specific job -- only to have it rescinded a month later? What's up with that?
The explanation were complicated. It seems that several (if not, indeed, MANY) of the graduates of the 91C10 course were challenging the LPN (or LVN, depending on your state) boards of their home states and being granted licenses in their home states after graduating as 91C10s. At that time in the early 1980's LPN Nurses were a two year degree, and someone somewhere didn't like the idea that eleven-month wonders could become Practical Vocational Nurses.
I've frequently found that when an explanation is that complicated, somebody's hiding a nasty truth. The theory I've heard from more than one Army nurse is that it was not the quality of the nurses that civilian nurses found unpalatable; and the quality of these nurses was never in question. (Army-trained nurses consistently score in the top 10% of their licensure boards.)
It was the fact that the military was filling the nursing pool with male nurses. They were Gender Offenders; highly competent, capable nurses that were almost exclusively male in a traditionally female profession.
I laughed the first time I heard this, and you might, too. In the intervening years I've seen far too many nurses make rude, sexist comments to dismiss it easily.
Another story might illuminate more completely. I was interviewing for a nursing job in Valparaiso IN one time, and had a ten o'clock appointment with the Director of nursing to interview. I arrived to my interview in a shirt, tie, and dress slacks.
As I was waiting for my interview, the UPS girl came in to pick up a package. The receptionist called into the Director's office to tell her UPS was here to pick up, and her 10:00 am appointment was there as well. (The UPS girl was dressed in the traditional brown Dickies uniform of UPS workers, I might add.)
The Director of Nursing came out with a brown-wrapped parcel, which she put into my hands, saying "that needs to be there tomorrow, okay?" She then took the UPS girl into her office -- and as soon as the doors closed, the laughter began.
The laughter died fairly quickly, though. The Director of Nursing interviewed the UPS girl for almost five solid minutes before realizing her "mistake." When she finally did come out and get me for my interview, she spent almost a half-hour convincing me I wouldn't like working there -- that I was more of a "Home Health Nurse", and would be happier there.
(In other words, you're not good enough to work for a regular employer. Go work with nurses who have to worry from day-to-day about if they'll have work tomorrow.) And lest you think this is simply my own paranoid ravings, the demographic that the Nursing profession is losing fastest is males with under three years of nursing experience. Has been for the last 15 years, too.
The one thing about the "Center" where I recently worked? You don't have to be a female nurse to be sexist about men you work with.
Some days I just despair; but most of the time I laugh my butt off at the idiots I used to work for. I must be feling melancholy this week, otherwise I don't know why I'm sharing this.
Heh.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
"Buc-ees, Oh Buc-ees, He's our little Beaver Friend!!!!"
Sometimes, in fact MOST times, south Texas is the most beautiful place in the civilized world. Green verdant plains abut desert highlands with a lush variety of wildlife and climactic settings. The warm, gentle breezes feel like silk caressing your skin in the heat of a luscious red sunset evening. The juxtaposed meeting points of differing cultures from American South to Mexican Norte to 18th century German to traditional Central American Catholic makes for a fascinating jumble to tastes, artistic styles, architectures, and holidays I�d never dreamed of before venturing south of the greater Chicagoland Area.
And then there's the times it's just plain Weird with a capital "W" -- but the best kind of Weird, as in "unusual, significant, different, and outstanding from the crowd." Case in Point: Buc-ees Travel Stop, Souvenir Store, and Eatery. Texas Eats and Texas Treats; Fabulous Bathrooms, and a brand-name Beaver that just won't quit.
Buc-ees (a definite hyphen in that spelling) is to the casual eye just another tourist trap waystop on Interstate 10, 52 miles east of the I-410/I-10 east interchange on the east side of San Antonio. But if the multiple billboards advertising the oncoming exits don't catch your eye (one coming from Houston loudly proclaims "IT'S A BEAVER!!!") most likely nothing will. As you exit the Interstate the differences between Buc-ees and their cross-interstate competition become abundantly clear.
First, the place is immaculately clean. I think they must scrub the oil spots off the concrete at night just to make the place look cleaner. There is not one single scrap of paper; not one straw wrapper; not one piece of errant cellophane to be found. I wouldn't feel bad eating off the floors of this place; it's that clean.
Second, everything here is first class merchandise and facilities. I've eaten in four-star restaurants where the bathrooms were not this immaculately kept and appointed. You almost expect there to be a valet in the corner with mints and colognes. (And I suspect that there would be, but this being rural Texas, the surrounding townsfolk might consider this too "fruity" and rise up to burn the danged place to the ground.)
Third, the souvenirs they sell are not junk. They're actually quite nice and respectable stuff that you'd be proud to show off as your travel trophies. Much of it is made by local artisans, like the five-foot wind chimes that sound just beautiful; or the wooden plaques proclaiming through burnt-on lettering such modern profundities as "I'm a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie-doll world" or "MISSING: Husband, bass boat, and hound dog -- Reward for the dog." There's also the stained- and cut-glass treasures, such as the (above) cut-glass fireplace screen, or the (below) stained-glass portrait of the Head Beaver himself. Oddly, though the Stained-glass Buc-ee is priced easily $100.00 above anything else in the window, the saleslady told me "we price it higher to prevent selling our logo, but we still sell two or three every year."
Finally, this place is better organized and more positive in outlook than Wal-Mart on their best day. The salespeople are friendly and don't hover. The offer advice and samples without prompting, and are happy to help in any way. The management is quick to correct any slips, but without browbeating their staff. These folks actually are happy to work there.
There's a few downbeats though -- as in any tourist trap everything is priced a bit upscale, but not terribly so. The lines are a bit long, but there's almost always 5 or 6 registers open. And the vast selection of beer in the cooler just seems wrong to my eyes, having been brought up in the North where Open-container laws are the norm.
If you get the chance when driving I-10 between San Antone and Houston, you need to make a rest stop here. It's well worth the look-see; the "Wall Drug" of South Texas.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Confessions of a Mad Diabetic, Part I
This is pretty hard, really.
Diabetes is a glandular disease. It means that your body has either (1) lost it's ability to produce Insulin, or (2) has lost it's ability to use Insulin properly. (Insulin is the hormone that transports sugar -- or glucose -- into the cells, so that the cells can burn it for fuel. No Insulin, No glucose. No glucose, no fuel -- and that is a very bad thing.
Fortunatley I have the second type, which is called Type 2 Diabetes (imagine that!). This type you can workd with, if you can just get your diet habits under control. So that's what I've been trying to do the past 3 or 4 weeks. So the first step is getting rid of all the excess sugar in one's diet.
That is a massive statement in and of itself. Try to imagine this in your own life. Nothing with free sugars or concentrated sweets in it anymore.
Goodbye soda pop. Goodbye Pepsi, goodbye Coke, goodbye Dr. Pepper, goodbye Sprite. Goodbye Root Beer. (Of course, you can drink all the diet stuff you want -- but you have to get used to it first. It's not really that bad -- but it's the "getting-used-to" that's the bear.
And of course, sodas are just the beginning. No more sugar coated cereals -- which pretty much limits you to shredded wheat, cheerios, and rice crispies.
Goodbye Ice Cream, of course. Goodbye popsicles.
Goodbye pancake syrup (so goodbye pancakes and waffles.)
Goodbye all that good junk food. Goodbye candy bars; Goodbye granola bars. Goodbye Twinkies, Ho-Hos, and Ding-Dongs. Goodbye Sticky Buns.
And, (sob!!!), Goodbye Doughnuts.
Once you learn to identify the "concentrated sweets" and eliminate them, you've got 50% of your diet under control. The rest is what we're learning in our Diabetic Classes. Certain things will elevate your blood sugars, and others won't. Obviously concentrated sweets surely will, which is why we cut them out of the plan right off.
The good foods I can eat (If you remember your basic food groups from High School nutrition) are your have meats and fish group and your vegetables. The meats and fish have calories and fats, so you want to get the leanest cuts possible, right? (Goodbye bacon, goodbye pork chops; goodbye ribs, goodbye fried chicken.) Vegetables -- you can eat all you want of the vegetables.
Fruits have lots of sugars in them, but not nearly as much as a candy bar, so you have to be careful. But generally speaking, if you want a small bowl of cherries or 2-3 apricots after dinner for dessert, go for it.
Then you have your starches, or as they call them today, Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates (or "carbs" as the Atkins people like to call them) are essentially two or more sugar molecules locked together with a weak molecular bond. When those carbs hit your small intestine they become sugar molecules again, which can play merry havoc with your blood sugars.
Sugars include breads and pretty much anything made with grains. Buns, rolls, any kinds of breads -- you have to treat them like they're sugars and go very sparingly on them. So you can have a peanut butter sandwich, but only use one slice of bread. You can have a taco, but only on tortilla. Eat all the Taco Salad you want, but don't eat the crispy shell bowl. Corn and peas are also so loaded with carbs that they're treated like carbs rather than vegetables.
So Phase I of my dietary adjustment plan (that is, from the end of May until last Monday) was weeding out the Concentrated Sweets. Phase II has been to decrease the fatty meats and carbs, and increase the fruits and veggies wherever possible.
I had my first hamburger tonight in two months. It tasted like manna from heaven, baby -- manna from heaven. And I'm learning to love Smoothies, too -- just small ones, not super-sized dietary monsters.
My blood sugars have come down from an average of the high 200's (and as high as 374 the first day I got my glucometer) to the 140's -- which is not bad at all. (Normal blood sugars are 70-140.)
I swear to you -- the Dairy Queen store across from my local comic book store calls my name like the Sirens of myth when I drive by.
I'm gonna get through this -- but the bear has his teeth quite deeply in my shorts some days.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
Valpo Shows Off Masterpiece Seats
Blogger's note: I think this idea is "absolutely brilliant," as the Harry Potter kids might say. A magnificient variant of the "Painted Cows" Theme of several years ago, this one both promotes local art and classical appreciation. Having said all that, my neice is one of the artists mentioned therein. Enjoy!
VALPARAISO: Painted benches to go on display this month
BY PHIL WIELAND
pwieland@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:53 AM CDT
VALPARAISO | It's almost like dallying on a Dali or parking your posterior on a Picasso.
On Friday, the city's Parks Department unveiled its Masterpiece Seats, the first in what Parks Director Steve Doniger hopes will be an annual community art project in the tradition of the Chicago Cows and the Crown Point Bulldogs. The seats are park benches painted by local artists, and they will be on display all over the city beginning later this month.
Each of the 24 benches is painted with a copy of a masterpiece by a renowned artist, but it has been altered, sometimes in very subtle ways, to include a feature that is identified with Valparaiso.
For example, Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" was changed by artist Tracey Hunter-Doniger to include the Valparaiso University chapel in the landscape. When Becky Ashcroft recreated Claude Monet's "Japanese Bridge," she used the bridge in Ogden Gardens for the centerpiece of her masterpiece.
Other examples of "the Valpo touch" given the works of famous artists: a Viking ship floating on "The Great Waves" of Katsushika Hokusai when done by local artist Haylee Schwerdt, and a Valpo Velvet French vanilla label on a bench filled with copies of Andy Warhol's Campbell's chicken soup cans painted by Valparaiso High School advanced art students Christy Brown and Lindsay Popka.
High school art students Kaitlyn Cook, Lindsay Williams and Kathryn Dulla chose another Warhol work, the four portraits of Marilyn Monroe, and turned it into four portraits of Mayor Jon Costas. Valpo Velvet or Valpo are easy to detect in other paintings while the local connection in several of the benches is still a mystery to Doniger.
"I'm proud of how the whole project came together," Doniger said. "We started three months ago, and it took six weeks to get the benches. The artists had a window of five or six weeks to do their work. Everybody came together and did outstanding work."
The Valparaiso Arts Commission, made up of volunteers who are local artists, art students, park staff and community members, was set up by the Parks Department to assist in the creation of the art projects.
All 24 of the benches are sponsored, and 10 of them have been purchased for permanent display. The high school band bought one of two versions of "The Three Musicians" by Pablo Picasso for Band Director Dan Pritchett. The local artist is Chris Mooraidian. The parents of the Science Olympiad team at Thomas Jefferson Middle School bought one for display at the school. That bench was still being painted by the artist Friday.
The benches that are not sold for permanent display will be auctioned off in September to raise money for next year's art project. Doniger said the details of that project will be revealed at the auction, but it will involve something that can be displayed permanently at Foundation Meadows Park.
The benches have to be weatherproofed before being placed on display. Anyone interested in joining the Arts Commission or buying one of the benches for $800 can contact Barbie Johnson at the Parks Department, 462-5144.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Sunday, June 05, 2005
In Many Ways, the News Is Not Good . . . .
I think I'm ready to talk about this now.
I've been at home for about 6 weeks now off work. The problems started the third week of April when I came down with the flu on a Wednesday or Thursday. While I've been known to get the flu before, my vitamin regimen (3 multivitamins a day with 1000 mg of Vitamin C -- plus 10 mg Pepcid for the stomach and an aspirin for the heart) usually prevents anything but the worst flu.
By the Saturday the 101.2 fever had broken, but only down to 99.5; which is high for me (I usually run in the 97.2 range. Being a nurse, I check these things a lot when testing thermometers.)The head congestion had settled in my lungs, and I had an almost continual hacking cough that was not only giving me headaches froim coughing so much, but also tore my itsy-bitsy umbilical hernia (the size of my thumb) open much larger (the size of my fist.)
I took a few days off the end of that second week (Wed/Thur/Friday) and went back to work Monday and Tuesday with the low grade fever; and went to the clinic Wednesday when I couldn't stop coughing long enough to type and started having breathless episodes and chest pain after coughing. THAT was scary enough to wake me up.
After two weeks off work being treated by the Physician's Assistant at the Clinic, all we knew was that it wasn't (a) Tuberculosis, (b) Hepatitis in any form, or (c) AIDS. We did find out that I had an abnormality in my liver enzymes, and that my EKG was "a little off" according to the Primary Physician.
Meanwhile, my supervisor at work was saying things to my co-workers like " . . . if he's as sick as he says he is . . . " and threatening to terminate me "so we can hire some more nurses." This despite faxing all my paperwork I received (and the "Off-Work" slips) to her after every appointment, and staying in contact every three days per their own policy.
So on the Friday of the third week off, after hearing the above comments, I decided to drop off my paperwork in person. For my effort I got escorted off the premises and placed on "Administrative Leave" and escorted off the premises.
Huh!
So I've been on Administrative Leave for three weeksnow when I get a call Thursday from the Director of Human Resources. I'm going back to work Monday morning. (Translation: "We tried to find some dirt on you for three weeks and haven't been able to; so we need nurses desperately -- so come back now.")
Meanwhile, here's the score from Dr. McMahon's tests:
1.) I'm diabetic. I don't appear to be Insulin-dependent, but we still don't have a good handle on it yet. The glyburide they're giving me is having some pretty awful side effects -- so there's some tweaking to be done there, obviously.
2.) I have "Reactive Airway Disease." This means when Ai cought hard or exercise, the outer portion of my lungs shut down, leaving only the bronchus open. It means it's hard as heck to get rid of lung infections (like chest colds or pneumonia) and very easy to get bronchitis. It's one of the reasons I'm still coughing two months later without any cold or upper respiratory infection present.
3.) My Ulcer is re-activated. Dr. McMahon switched me from Pepcid to Nexium when 10 mg of Pepcid became 20mg became 30-40 mg.
4.) We're still not sure about the ticker. I have a Treadmill Stress Test June 16th, and possibly an angiogram after that. Personally, I don't see anything grossly unusual with my EKG, but she's the doctor.
5.) I also have a surgical consult for some time in July to see about surgery for my ugly little umbillical hernia to finally get it fixed.
6.) ALL of these things are directly related to STRESS. And the only place I'm having lots of stress lately . . . .is work.
So . . . . you might think I might not want to go back to that particular job.
I have an appointment Monday morning to discuss just that with them. Stay tuned. I'm pretty sure it won't be a very polite conversation.
~~JD~~
Thursday, June 02, 2005
This is Otis on the Left, who is allegedly a cat . . . .
. . . . but he thinks he's a puppy. To the right is Samantha, whom Otis thinks is his Mom. (Please note they are both sitting in exactly the same pose; paws in front, tails to the left.) It's even more hilarious when they sleep together or groom each other.
The lovely and Gracious Miss Mommie, . . . .
. . . . sitting at her new Dining Room table. Note that all chairs are bar stool height, so no-one's feet touch the floor. She just loves this! We take delivery the end of Juloy when we move into our new apartment.
Things to Think About while you're Off Work in Texas
Barbecue.
Barbecue is almost it's own food group in Texas. We have barbecue joints down here like they have McDonald's on every corner in Chicago. I can drive 2 miles in any direction and find a Bill Miller's; a Suzie's; a Grady's; or a Casey's barbecue.
But while those are all very respectable and delicious barbecues in their own rights, It's Rudy's Barbecue that's the best. (http://www.rudys.com/index.html). There's only 3 of them in San Antonio, but they're well worth the drive. I like the Leon Springs Store the best -- it's the original. It's not actually a restaurant -- it's a meat market that has tables so you can eat what you buy on the premises (an interesting loophole in Texas law.)
And Barbecue down here differs VASTLY from the backyard grill barbecue I grew up with in Indiana. Up north you take the meat, slap it on a gril for 10-20 minutes, and add ketchup and mustard. Down South you first prepare the meat with a Rub that has salt, peppers, and spices. The meat is grilled for 8-10 hours (yes, hours) and sauce is added as an aside, or slathered on after cooking. Meat is Never cooked with sauce on.
While each griller's Rub recipe is a closely guraded secret, so is each griller's Sauce recipe, which varies from region to region. Each region had certain elements that are more prevalent that the sauces are based on. North Carolina sauces are more vinegar and mustard based, whilst Kansas City sauces are more molasses and tomato based.
Texas sauces are also tomato based, but also have a healthy helping of peppers -- jalapeno and otherwise. The best ones are not so much hot, but spicy and flavorful. That's what Rudy's excels in. If you follow the link to the website, they'll send you a bottle, and you can taste for yourself.
Or, if you come visit, we'll take you out there one night. Heckuva place, that Rudy's
~~JD~~
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Why We Don't Play Much Chess at Our House (In the Middle of Our Street.)
Why we don't play much Chess at our house.
Teen-Age Angst in South Texas, Part 1006
This is Julian. Julian Loves his Mom, and his Mom dearly loves all things involving cats -- particularly the Pink Panther. Julian also thinks his Dad is a bit looney. That's why he's so patiently posing with an annoyed look with the Pink Panther (for Mom) while Dad snaps the picture (It was Dad's idea, y'know).
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Experiment Day Four; ~or~ Let's Just Say "Merry Christmas" and Get It Over With Already
Or are we allowed to say that here in America?
Just in case you were wondering, here's how you say "Merry Christmas" in a buncha different languages:
Afrikaans: Gesëende Kersfees
Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees
African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Milad Majid
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
(Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian: Pace e salute
Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician: Bo Nada
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! German: Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
Maltese: IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento: Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serb-Croatian: Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Serbian: Hristos se rodi. Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic
Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!
(I have no idea what "Yoruba" language is, myself. I'll just take it on faith that THIS WEBSITE HERE knows what it's talking about.)
Yet in America today it's almost blasphemy to wish people a "Merry Christmas" or even to show any kind of religious connotation related to Christmas. School and government officials live in fear of being sujed by some whack-job who is "offended" (god forbid!) by mention of the Almighty or the birth of his Son. Retailers emulate the schools and local governments, again to avoid "offending" someone.
Yet the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that celebrating Christmas in schoold is not only legal but permissable. Why all the fear?
The answer to this is found in the book 
Gibson's book is a godsend to the local school boards/governments/etc in that he details just what is and is not permissable in celebrating holidays. It makes buffoons of the Nutjobs who have brought these lawsuits by quoting interviews with them, and is a wonderful resource to anyone who wants to fight these nutjobs when they raise their ugly heads in whiny, mealy-mouthed protest.
And I promise you will be astonished with some of the crap they've gotten away with. There's actually a town here in Texas where it's not even permissable to wear the colors Red or Green at Christmastime.
Yeesh!
Highly Recommended. Click on the book to buy it at Amazon.com.
~~JD~~
Saturday, February 12, 2005
I've Been Assimilated !!!
For those of you not part of the Palm Pilot / Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) revolution, it is well and truly here.
I bought my first PDA in the fall of 2001 (after the crash of Professional One Limousine.) I bought it with my first paycheck after the fall, mostly because I saw a co-worker (a temporary nurse from an Agency) at the Nursing Home I was working at using a PDA, which caught my eye almost immediately. She had loaded a Nursing Drug Handbook onto hers, which meant she not only had one availabe at all times on the job, but the lookup was lightning fast, too -- saved a lot of time.
Fast **and** accurate? I was sold right there.
My first PDA was made by a company called Handspring. They were the cheif competitor with Palm; which Palm also recognized when they bought them out. (They're called "PalmOne" currently.) The similarities were obvious; both Palm and Handspirng shared their Operating System, Programs, and desktop software. Handspring differed in that they had an Accessory Port into which you could plug available hardware; like a camera, GPS device, additional memory cards, E-books . . . all kinds of neat stuff. Although I never bought any of the hardware, I liked the idea of having it available.
Well, a PDA is designed to last about 2-3 years, and mine was almost 4 . . . so I decided to upgrade. I had gotten tired of lugging around both the PDA and a cellphone, so I looked for one that combined the two. Researched out the different models, checked around for the best deals, and found the TREO 650. Top of the line and brand-new; it has many times more memory than the older Handspring, as well as a built-in camera, video recorder, calculator, and internet browser. I've also downloaded software so I have databases to contain all the information I need to know about my patients at work; plus my drug book, a Taber's Medical Dictionary, and three different versions of the Bible. I'm going to buy more software to load the entire DSM-IV (psychological diagnostic manual). With the old Handspring I was lucky to get the Drug Book and the Bible in there.)
And, of course, the old reliable Palm OS still has the dependable standbys of "Contacts" (which pretty much has every name and phone number of everyone I've ever met -- painstakingly entered from my old Address Books over time); an Appointment Calendar to keep track of meetings, work schedules, and such; the "Memo" feature which lets me keep everything from genealogical information to favorite quotations to Erikson's Stages of Adolescent Development; and the "To-Do" features, which lets me make lists of things I need. Shopping Lists. Christmas Lists. List of the Garth Brooks albums I need to complete my collection. List of my Disney videos . . . etc, etc.
And a cellphone. And a Realplayer MP3 Player. And I haven't even figured half this stuff out yet.
So very . . . . Star Trek!
The good news about this is that you'll be seeing more photos since i now always have a camera with me. This may not be a good thing, as you'll see below. Julian surely doesn't think it is . . . at the moment.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Rodeo, Robin Calls, & Miscellany
(1) I'm Experiencing the Joys of Tooth-Whitening.
My dentist here in San Antonio was running a special on Tooth-Whitening ($99.00 -- quite a deal, really) so I bit (pardon the pun) and shelled out the cash for it. (Most insurance plans won't pay for bleaching.)
I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the process. First, they make an impression of your teeth; then they make a mold of your mouth so they can make a mold for the bleach solution to sit on your teeth -- a retainer, of sorts.
You have to do the bleaching for 30 minutes a day for 2 weeks. They say after 5 days you have 90% of the whitening you'll ever get. If that's so, I'm very happy with the results. I'm certainly not "American Idol" white, but the difference is noticeable. My teeth actually look white for the first time in a long time. Women return my smile. Children no longer laugh. Babies no longer recoil in fright and shreik in horror.
Yeah, it was worth it. It may have been a silly, narcissitic thing to do, but it was worth it. So now with the full beard, no more glasses, and shiny white teeth, I dunno if anyone will recognize me if I ever get back to Indiana.
(2) It's Finally Springtime in South Texas.
I tell you, these three-week winters are KILLERS! This winter was particularly vicious; it actually got to 28 degrees Twice!
It's funny the little things you notice, or rather, don't notice until they're gone. As I walked out to my car in the pre-dawn dark this morning I heard the a familiar sound I haven't heard in a couple of years. It was a sound of my youth; one of the first bird calls I'd been able to identify in Boy Scouts. A song so clear and common it literally sings of the Midwest. Yet hearing it here in South Texas for the first time, I realized suddenly how much had changed in my life.
It was a Robin's call.
I recognized it instantly, yet just as quickly realized it was completely out-of place here. Robins are a "seasonal" bird here, as they pass through on their way to-and-from Mexico during migration. The call of the Robin in South Texas bookends the coldest part of winter here.
So, strangely enough, the "first Robin of Spring" in South Texas means the same thing here as in Northwest Indiana. We just don't have the pleasure of their company through the Summer months, and I miss them.
(3) South Texas has no County Fair!
Seems almost obscene, doesn't it? Up North in Indiana the year just isn't complete without a trip to the Fair in August. And while lots of the counties around San Antonio have county fairs, Bexar County does not.
It does, however, have a Rodeo.
Rodeo comes the week before Ash Wednesday, and it's just exactly what it sounds like. Calf roping; bull-riding; broncho-bustin' Western goodness.
It costs a ton (about $20.00 a person to get in, and about that for parking, so it's pricey) so we haven't been there yet. But it's been too long since I've smelled that pungent odor of methane from the south end of a northbound cow, so we may well do it this year.
After Easter it's the "Battle of the Flowers" Parade. I'm not sure I can even adequately begin to explain this. Think of it as hispanic Mardi Gras done after Easter instead of before; and throw in lots of Tequila and firearms.
God, how I LOVE this place.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
The Best Laid Plans . . . .
It's funny how these things go. Once upon a time I had this plan to publish a 'blog every week. It would be a 'blog of "something substantial," he said, (sounding just a bit like Pooh Bear when he said it.)
(Well, that's what I get for reading Winnie the Pooh before blogging, I guess.)
But it's funny how life gets in the way. I'm trying to recall who said, "Life is what happens when you're making plans for your life," or something close to that. John Lennon?
So my life has conspired to get in the way of my carefully considered 'blogging schedule. Too bad for me.
I darn near got registered to start the RN program at San Antonio College last week, but a glitch in their onliine registration process dumped my registration (and 2,500 other students' as well.) So by the time I found out what had happened, all but one of my courses had closed.
Darn close, though. I'm looking into a more flexible program at another college that I could take over the summer. I could've gotten this done in a year at San Antonio College -- maybe less at St. Phillip's.
In the meantime, the job at the Center for Healthcare services is humming along nicely. Some of the usual clique-ish stuff, but as usual I'm very job-oriented and Customer-centered, so they can pretty much say what they want, as long as I produce results.
And, of course, as much as I'd LOVE to tell you what the results are, I can't do it due to "Privacy Concerns."
Meanwhile, the every-ten-years "Rebuilding of my Mouth" has restarted with a vengeanced. Since we moved to San Antonio (and it's much-lesser fluridation of the water) my teeth have suffered greatly. Northwest Indiana had maximum fluoridation of water, along with significant naturally-ocurring amounts of fluoride in the groundwater. South Texas is a recent convert to water fluoridation, so the fluoride in the water is minimal.
And brother, my teeth can tell. I've broken three teeth since we moved her, and loste a few fillings to boot. So yesterday I had an all-morning procedure to clean and polish my teeth. None of this 30-minute tooth cleaning I'd grown up with; no sir! This requirede full mouth anesthetic (They even offered me sedation, but I just couldn't see that.) Next week is the relacement of the broken teeth, which should be fun.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I had a LOT of dental work done when I was here in 1983-1984 for Nursing school, too. Hmmm . . . .
An aside here; ever notice holw many of John Wayne's movies are made in Texas? I'm watching "The Sons of Katie Elder" this morning on AMC (they're always good for Saturday Morning Westerns), and every 15 minutes or so a Texas reference pops out. Big John just loved this state -- no mistaking it.
Meanwhile, the lovely and gracious Ariane is humming along in her second semester of Nursing school at UTSA. She got 2 "B"'s and and "A" in her Biology, Micro, and Freshman Comp class last semester, and really looking forward to this semester. She's taking more hours -- that's all I know. (She likes to keep me in the dark.)
Julian is out with friends this morning, doing some Math project for school. Apparently he's inherited his gradfather's head for numbers, but his mom and dad's sense of ethics -- so he should go far. He seems to be a very popular guy. He knows every girl in his Middle School, and they all know him.
Popular Kid -- and so much smarter than his Dad, apparently.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
I don't know why Miracles surprise me anymore . . .
For the past week we've been waiting for word about Ariane's family in Mauritius. (Mauritius was right in the path of last week's tsunami in the Indian Ocean.) Yesterday we found a website Published in Mauritius(http://www.tropicscope.com/eventreadmore.asp?ID=2142) that says this:
"The tsunami caused by the major earthquake in Asia has not caused any casualties or damages to Mauritius. Although the wave crossed the whole Indian Ocean on Sunday the 26th of December, from the Far East to the coasts of Africa, the people of Mauritius have hardly noticed anything on this Sunday. . . Although the sea level went up and down in an extreme manner creating strong currents in some places, the coral barriers around the island of Mauritius protected the island form drastic rises in sea level. The phenomenon lasted about one hour and has not caused any damage anywhere and no deaths or casualties have been reported."
By the way, Diego Garcia is fine too. Same Coral reefs.
Considering the inundation of the Maldives to the North (76 confirmed deaths) and the incredible death toll in Sri Lanka to the south (8,942 confirmed dead at this writing) this is truly a miracle from God!
I'm sure these small miracles won't be reported in a press wallowing in the sorrow and horror of the tsunami. But they are truly miraculous. I don't know why I'm surprised, really. Yet the Israelites, even after witnessing the miracles in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the pillar of fire that lead them across thedesert in Sinai, still doubted the power of God enough to build the Golden Calf. ( Exodus 32:1 -- "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"
Humans. We're some funny people that way.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
I meant to post this weekend; Really I did . . . .
. . . but several things conspired against me. First, Time-Warner Cable came in and gave us a new converter box Friday; which promptly lost us our Internet service until I spoent half of Friday fixing it.
Then I got up early this morning to post a bit late, and saw the news on the earthquake in Sumatra. The 9-point-Zero earthquake in Sumatra. The earthquake that moved the entire island of Sumatra 100 yards to the southeast.
The earthquake that sent a wall of water careening around the Indian Ocean as high as 143 feet, killing as many as 12,000 people so far. Twelve-Thousand-Human-Beings.
Now, you might wonder why I'm so freaked out about this tsunami halfway around the world. Two reasons: (1) The Marine base at Diego Garcia is right in the middle of the Indian Ocea, and only three feet above sea level (So I'm worried for any friends I might have out there), and . . . .
(2) the Island of Mauritius is not far from Diego Garcia. That's my wife's (Ariane's) birthplace. Got a lotta family there that I've met and like personally.
And we haven't heard a peep out of either island since the tsunami.
The Air Force is calling it "technical difficulties."
Pray hard, everyone. I certainly am.
~~~John~~~
Thursday, December 16, 2004
I think I'm Sick this Week . . .
. . . . and I mean that -- truly.
I'm sick . . . of all the negative attitudes about Christmas.
I'm sick of people carping about how tired they are. I'm sick of hearing how "commercial" or "mercenary" Christmas has become. I'm sick of hearing people whine about "I'm not ready" for Christmas. I'm full-up-to-here of people telling me "It just doesn't feel like Christmas."
Well, put on some Christmas Music already. Sheesh! See previous post already! (and this weekends coming post, I might add.)
And those of you living in Northwest Indiana and the Greater Chicagoland area, I got your back on that one. Volume 2 of "JD's Favorite Christmas Songs" was mailed yesterday after unavoidable delays -- but's it's on the way now. First part of next week, you betcha.
Meanwhile, turn on that local station playing nothing but Christmas Music, and (as Bugs Bunny would say) "Unlax."
Last Minute Note: If you REALLY want to let the years roll off you fast, find the new (for this year) Christmas Album "Rat Pack Christmas" -- I found my copy at Target last night. Sammy Davis Junior does a cover of "Jingle Bells" that cannot be explained with words; and there's two songs from the old Dean Marting Christmas Shows, including my favorite -- a duet by Frank Sinatra and Dean of "It's a Marshmallow World" that just is too much fun for words.
Go. Buy! Unlax already!
Saturday, December 11, 2004
We do Christmas BIG around Casa Largo. We consider Thanksgiving a dress rehearsal for the pre-Noel antics that will permeate the atmosphere from Turkey Day to January 6th. We celebrate Thanksgiving; Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas Week, Christmas Eve, The Day itself, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and right out to Three King’s Day, too. (Also known as Eastern Orthodox Christmas; and hereabouts in Texas as “Three Kings Day� as well) It’s very much a “frame of mind� thing. You celebrate Christmas, like any other holiday, just as much as you feel like it; and we love it here. All you Scrooges, avoid replying. You’re not changing my mind, babe.
I personally have one of the largest collections of Christmas music in captivity. Some of my favorites have to include:
********************************************************************
Jingle Bell Rock: Randy Travis (Country)
Probably the best version of this song ever done. From one of the “Very Special Christmas� albums to benefit Special Olympics. If you can’t rock to this, you’re dead, baby.
Hardrock, Coco, and Joe: Stormy Weather (TV Classic)
A TV favorite from growing up on Chicago TV. Covered by the group “Stormy Weather� from Gary IN recently.
O Tannenbaum: The Vince Guaraldi Trio (TV)
If you don’t think of Charlie Brown while listening to this, you were raised in a cave. From the soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special.
White Christmas: Bing Crosby (Christmas Classic)
Just too classic to pass up. From one of the Time-Life Christmas collections you see advertised on TV late at night, which are absolutely essential to any serious Christmas music collection.
Run, Run Rudolph: Chuck Berry (Rock-n-Roll)
Rock On, Chuck. What a masterpiece. The topical 50's references to “Sabre jets� and “Shooting Stars (F-84's and F-86 jets of the early 1950's, respectively) are a great historical reference. Plus you can really hear in the music just how much FUN he’s having with it.
Los Peces en el Rio: Mannheim Steamroller (A Neo-classic)
From one of the magnificent Mannheim Steamroller Albums; an eclectic mixture of techno-pop punk and classical harmonies. It’s a Mexican song about the fish in the river singing at Christ’s birth.
Here Comes Santa Claus: Elvis Presley (Rock-n-Roll)
One of the King’s better efforts; he’s having ‘way too much fun with this song, and it shows.
We Three Kings of Orient Are: Miles Davis, Larry Carlton, David Sanborn, & Paul Shaffer (Jazz)
From the Bill Murray vehicle “Scrooged� that also starred Karen Allen, Buster Poindexter, and Bobcat Goldwaith of about 15 years ago, this one is a riot. A damn good jam, this song is only heard in passing on the movie soundtrack as Murray’s character is seen passing the starving musicians he’s fired in one scene. And, yes, it’s the Paul Schaffer from David Letterman!
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree: Brenda Lee (Rock-n-Roll)
Getting ‘way too much airplay lately from all the “Home Alone� movies, but a goodie, nevertheless.
Feliz Navidad: Jose Feliciano (A Neo-Classic)
Sentimental value from the 60's. So sue me. I even know what all the words mean, too.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town: Bruce Springsteen (Rock-n-Roll)
Greatest-Christmas-Song-Ever!: The Bruce Springsteen version from the early ‘80's which has only recently been re-released.
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer: Elmo & Patsy (A “Weirdo� Classic)
And now, for something completely hillbilly . . . (to break up the somber mood, mostly.)
Jingle Bells: Glenn Miller & the Modernaires (Jazzy Big-Band Classic)
Recorded at the BBC studios by Glenn Miller’s Army Air Corps band; with a weird little “Mexican segue� by his drummer, Ernie Caseas. If you love swing, this is the thing. Thank God for CD’s, or this would’ve faded into obscurity.
Veni Veni (O Come O Come Immanuel): Mannheim Steamroller (A Neo-Classic)
A magnificent take of the original Gregorian chant with some electro-pop simple cover melodies. Makes me cry if I’m alone at night.
Christmas In Dixie: Alabama (Country)
Another favorite in recent years that got almost played to death about 10 years ago; but now is a sentimental favorite.
Holly Jolly Christmas: Burl Ives (A TV Calssic)
From the old “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer� TV special of 30 years ago. I can see that darned singing snowman now . . . . looked just like Burl Ives, too!
The Christmas Song:The Chipmunks (A “Weirdo� Classic)
Another good one from the year I was born (1958) to make your mom ask, “Where did you get THIS?� Lately it’s becoming more accepted as a “Classic� Christmas song. Julian’s Christmas Band concert played this last week.
Merry Christmas Baby: Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown (A Neo-Classic)
Another monster from one of the “Very Special Christmas� albums; just an original blues song that’ll make your eyeteeth hurt listening to it. Probably on my Top Five favorites of all time.
The Little Drummer Boy: Harry Simeone Chorale (Classic)
You’ll know this one the minute the bass chorus kicks in with the “Rum-Pa-Pum-Pums.� My Nana (grandma) used to play this to death at Christmas, and it’s hard not to imagine her living room without this song.)
Sleigh Ride: Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops (A TV Classic)
Another classic you’ll recognize three bars into the song. You hear it a lot on commercials as background music; but I always heard it on Captain Kangaroo’s old TV show on CBS this time of year.
The Christmas Song: Nat King Cole (Calssic)
This one, too. Nat’s where it’s at, baby. His daughter Natalie never did this justice, but Nat sure does.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Temptations (Rock-n-Roll)
May very well be the best Motown Christmas song ever produced. You keep expecting this to be hokey, but they do such a DARN good job with it, it works, and makes you all teary-eyed. And hard not to “chair-dance� along with it.
Jingle Bells: The Singing Dogs (A “Weirdo� Classic)
And this will cure the teary eyes right damn quick, you betcha. Nice to have this one just so you can say “Yeah, I’ve heard that.� The recent attempt by “the singing Cats� to duplicate this doesn’t even come close. This one was made in the days BEFORE sampling – so each of these notes had to be laboriously recorded, taped, re-taped, and spliced into place. What bizarre devotion!
Silent Night: Boyz 2 Men (Rock-n-Roll)
An acapella four-part harmony version that’ll raise the hair on your neck, for sure. Puts tears in my eyes with those soulful rhythms.
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Every year I make new copies of "Favorite Christmas Songs" that I play until the CD wears out. This list was my "Original List," which I gave as Christmas presents last year on CD.
Next Week: This Year's List!
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Arts-ing and Crafts-ing for Fun, Profit, and Influencing People
Ariane is convinced I'm going through a mid-life crisis lately. It's not a really big or nasty change of life for me. I'm not fooling around on her; I don't want a hair plug transplant, or a sports car; or even a motorcycle. (Well, I'd like the motorcycle, but that's a long-standing request.) My problem is . . . . I've taken up Arts & Crafts.
No, Really!!!
I've discovered this little artsy-craftsy nook in my soul that yearns to make cute little things for people. Why now, I dunno; it just **IS**, for lack of a better explanation. Above is one of my earliest attempts at making nameplates for everyone in my office (a hobby my supervisor is both thrilled with and highly encourages) is shown above. She requested Pink as her primary color with green trim; and it turned out fairly well, if I do say so myself. (I just wished Tanisha had a shorter last name!)
Sharon's was a nameplate I really didn't expect to turn out that well. She specified red as the background with yellow trim, with "bluebonnets" as the flower (a spring flower native to Texas -- gorgeous things.) It surprised me how well it turned out, though, and Sharon appears to like it a lot. So I shouldn’t gripe, I s’pose.
This one I did this weekend also. I had to improvise the decorations; but fortunately, "Hobby Lobby" has an entire aisle of dollhouse decorations & furnishings; so the tiny calculator and money worked well for our gal in reimbursements. I later added a fairy to it, since Jana requested a fairy. I ended up making one from a wooden soldier, some creative painting, and 2 butterfly wings. Apparently Fairies are seasonal – who knew?
And finally, this is my latest masterpiece; an example of what I'm sending in my Christmas gift boxes this year. Pretty snappy if I do say so myself; I've already had two offers to buy the one on my desk at work, so I imagine this coming weekend I'll be haunting the aisles of "Hobby Lobby" once again, and driving Ariane crazy.
And frankly, I think she’s just pulling my chain. Some guys get Sports Cars in their mid-forties; or fly off to Cancun. This is turning out to be a pretty affordable (and productive) mid-life crisis, if I do say so myself.
Heh-heh.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
It's Thanksgiving Already?!?
Wow. Time Flies, eh?
I suppose the cliched and sentimental thing would be for me to count my blessings on Thanksgiving Day. So, pardon me if I do just that; It's hard for me *not* to become sentimental and a bit maudlin when I think about Thanksgiving Day at my Nana's (grandma's) house. From my earliest memories I can remember the extended family convening at Nana's in the late morning/early afternoon. My uncle Gerts would lead us outside to rake the leaves and sometimes to play a little football, or catch with our baseball gloves, depending on the mood. We'd rake the small ton of orange-yellow leaves down the embankment out front for pickup by the city and quickly inundate all parking spots out front. (One year we almost buried my Uncle Howard's car!)
Then we'd have dinner, with the 9 cousins (and later all the spouses as well), Nana, Great-grandparents Albright and Foster ("Grandma Florencey" to most of us), Great-Aunt Hattie, Uncle Howard (Nana's brother), and Shurrs, Gertsmeiers, and Longs all assembled. We'd have card tables for the kids, and a huge dining room table with two insert leaves for all the adults.
And the food! Uncle Gerts always carved the turkey with an electric knife into a mounded platter of steaming hot bird; plus dressing, oyster casserole, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, cranberry dressing, Nana's incomparable melt-in-your-mouth buttered rolls; and pie, pie, pie! Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan -- I can't associate any other holiday (with the possible exception of Christmas; which was a carbon-copy of Thanksgiving) with so much good food.
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So, what am I Thankful for?
First, I'd have to be thankful for my new job, which is just an absolute blast. (And the primary reason for my lack of posts this month.) It's certainly a place where there's a lot of work to be done; but working with Mentally Retarded folks gives you instant feedback and immediate satisfaction that you've done something useful. The previous holders of my position have pretty much been **a lot** slower in their work pace than I am, so I'm very much appreciated for my efforts there. (And when the Boss tells you "your energy is very much appreciated!," you know you're doing good work.)
And isn't that all we really want out of life eventually? To have been told we were good workers? (Matthew 25:21)
Second, I have to be Thankful for my Family. My wife and son have been so supportive since we moved down her (and even before, with the business bankruptcy) when everything looked incredibly bleak; yet they stood beside me and loved me unconditionally. Plus the family members who have written, e-mailed, called, and just let me know they miss us and love us through it all.
Thirdly, I’m going to be Thankful for the men and women of the Armed Forces, who hold a near-and-dear place in my heart for obvious reasons (being a Desert Storm veteran myself, for those casual web-surfers who’ve just dropped in here). I really, truly think that someday this “War on Terrorism” we’re fighting now will be looked back on by the world as the defining moment of the evolution of American from Colonial rebels to World Power to Light of the world. It’s history in the making, and these guys and girls are making it right here, right now.
And donÂ’t forget to send money to the USO for Christmas. You make a difference, too.
Finally IÂ’m going to be thankful for, of all things, the Internet. Just to the folks fighting overseas the Internet has made such a fantastic difference in being able to contact their loved ones here. I was lucky to get phone calls twice a week for ten minutes; these guys get videoconferencing for a half-hour! Plus they can web-surf their hometown newspaper for the latest news almost every day as well.
For me, it means I can post this happy little blog and keep in touch with people I havenÂ’t seen in years, but still think of often. How cool is that?
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Hi-Dee-Ho, Sports Fans! It's been a busy two weeks (three?), and I completely lost track of how long it's been since I posted. Since then, however: (1) I got promoted at work, (2) Ariane bought a new computer, (3) Julian has been appointed Ambassador to Mexico (Okay, not really) and (4) It's started raining like HELL down here. So there's a post in the near future; just give me a few days. Thanks for the patience!
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