The Responsibility of Every Citizen to Vote! You Fought for it, Exercise the Right!

Disdain for our elected officials is at an all time high. There are significant divisions along party lines and within the two predominant political parties. But also, voter apathy is a contributing factor.

In particular women and people of color feel disenfranchised.  But voter apathy and the failure of all citizens to exercise their right – no responsibility as a citizen of this country – to vote is a cause of the polarization.  The apathy or anger that keeps women and people of color from the polls gives power to the far right or far left with agendas that have stymied Washington.

My parents taught me from an early age that if I do not cast my vote I have not right to complain about the state of affairs. It does not matter if the candidates in the primaries or general elections are running unopposed. I can write in a name in protest if I do not support the unopposed candidate. But I cannot rightly argue about the state of the precinct, county, city, state or nation if I do not participate in the process.

 

Many people think that a single vote doesn’t count. But it does. Many elections have been won or lost by just a few votes. My father at one time lost a city council election by less than 40 votes.

Apathy results in the status quo. Change is possible. But it begins with each one of us making the effort to vote, encouraging like-minded people to run for office, and starting with local elections. 

 Remember those who marched, fought, went to jail, suffered beatings and were victims of murder to achieve
the vote for women and people of color. Consider that women did not have the right to case a vote until 1920. That is less than 100 years! While the 15 Amendment gave Black men the right to vote in 1870, there was still harsh intimidation and violence preventing the exercise of that vote, which necessitated the Civil Rights movement that resulted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 

We as citizen of the United States of America have rights and privileges that others throughout the world envy. We have the right to select those who govern us. Let us not abdicate our responsibilities and rights lest some of those extremists take away our rights to enjoy the rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that our forefathers envisioned.

Halloween For Adults~ A Murder Mystery Party

My spousal unit and I stepped out of our comfort zone to participate in a murder mystery party for Halloween. We are no strangers to dressing in costume as Civil War living historians and I’ve always loved donning costume for any occasion, but this was different.

We were invited to portray characters in Murder at the Maverick Saloon. Each participant was provided with a name and outline of our character’s story. One person was the murderer.  When we arrived we were given additional background and tried to stay in character. After the untimely death of Ed Malone at the speakeasy, an investigation into the death proceeded.

Flappers, gangsters, politicians, female aviators, fashion designers, torch singers, down & out detectives, suffragettes and saucy woman club owner gathered to dance, smoke, and sip “bees knees’ cocktails!

Everybody was high spirited, good natured, enthusiastic and had great fun staying in character. What a delightful way to celebrate Halloween, life and friendship.

I had the pleasure of campaigning for women’s suffrage. Todd portrayed a bit of a shady character that relished facilitating things for the deceased.  Neither of us committed the heinous crime. But we had a grand time indulging in fantasy for a few hours.  Thanks to Chris, Gina& Jessica!

How Embracing Yoga Has Positively Changed My Life-Part I

In my youth I avoided yoga as something only crunchy vegetarian tree huggers practiced. It seemed foreign and inaccessible to a klutzy, ungraceful woman who embraced daily wine, a USDA prime steak so rare it mooed, and couldn’t imagine twisting my body into the pretzel like shapes shown in magazine ads. 

Then in the spring of 2002 I looked in the mirror and saw I’d lost my muscle tone, gained the post 40 fifteen pounds and considered that I’d experienced excruciating back pain for no apparent reason. It was time to act if I wanted to enjoy life to my chosen age of 96.

So I joined a fitness center that included various toning, Pilates, aerobic and yoga classes.  I decided to give yoga a try. The classes available that fit within my schedule were a more advanced power yoga class and a more gentle Hatha class.

These classes weren’t easy; I struggled; but I found that I’d been completely misguided about yoga.

 

There was no expectation that I immediately contort my body into inaccessible poses. Instead, I found that true practitioners of yoga encourage one to accept what one can do on any given day, understand that all bodies are created differently and some bodies are not physically capable of all poses, and that I needed to do what was right for me on any given day.

I kept going back. The environment wasn’t ideal at a mixed-use fitness center. Yoga was not the focus, only an offering among many fitness options. The instructors were not certified yoga practitioners / teachers. But, I learned a lot and decided that this was a path for me to embrace a holistic approach to mind, spirit and body health.

Starting My 2nd Re-upholstery Project

Even though I purchased the fabric for this project last spring, I’ve procrastinated. There were other projects that needed my attention over the summer such as spreading mulch, painting the interior of the house and pulling up ceramic tiles in the laundry room and kitchen.  And, I found out just how much work it takes to remove move than 1000 staples, keep track of fabric pieces and then re-assemble a wing chair.

I discovered why it costs so much to have a wing chair recovered. The instructions that I’d found online and You Tube videos provided some guidance. However, my chairs were custom made 25 years ago and I knew I would be dissatisfied with the results if I took short cuts. I also knew that if the job did not look professionally done my husband would not allow the chair in our living space. Better a cat defaced heirloom quality chair than an obvious DYI that screams “good enough for government work”!

My first project turned out great for a first effort. But that chair sits in my office, the darkest room in the house where nobody is likely to see the flaws. This chair, however, accents our family room where it will be on display to all who come calling. So there is a bit more pressure to kick it up a notch.

At least I’ve learned some valuable lessons from round one. Buy extra fabric.  Mark each piece of fabric as it is removed – the order and location. Use the pieces carefully removed from the chair as pattern pieces and cut the fabric generously.  Be cognizant of the fabric design and measure, measure, measure to ensure the design is centered and all pieces are laid out in the same direction! Do not rely on a staple gun, staples and glue alone.  To get the fabric pulled tight it is necessary to use upholstery thread and needle and hand sew the pieces together on the chair. Trim can hide minor mistakes. A nice throw can also disguise minor flaws.

So I started this evening during Jeopardy and managed to remove the bottom back pieces in about 2 hours. That’s why I’ve put this off. I now know just how much time and effort this project will require. But I know now that I can do this and that I will be pleased with the result at a fraction of the price of a new chair with cotton/linen fabric.  So tallyho!

Everyday Heroes & Heroines – My Sister!

 

I truly believe that each of us are privileged to know and love everyday heroes and heroines – not those that exhibit bravery in extraordinary circumstances – but the unsung brave who fight everyday to survive in an inhospitable, sometime unfair world.  These are not athletes, movie stars, television personalities or military fighters. Instead they are people that are faced with adversity or challenges that get up every morning, get out of bed and just take the next step no matter how painful.

A little more than 10 years ago a diagnostic exam noted a lump in one of her breasts. She scheduled a lumpectomy. A lumpectomy is an ordinary procedure undergone by thousands of women throughout the world daily. Some women receive scary results. Others are relieved. My sister was relieved. The lump was benign.

However, the procedure that required general anesthesia caused a latent autoimmune disease to come alive – lupus. It took several years to diagnose, caused her to lose weight she couldn’t afford to lose, turned its dastardly attention to her pancreas & digestive system, awakened celiac disease, and caused her to face days, weeks, months, and years of uncertainty.

Once her myriad of doctors ruled out every other potential cause of her deteriorating condition, they determined she had lupus and finally found a pharmaceutical cocktail that could make life tolerable.

Most people in her shoes would have succumbed to the fear, the frustration, and loss and curled up into a ball of denial or self-pity or embraced the concept of disability. But she did not.  She refused to accept that a disease would cause her to give up a career she loved as a PhD and teacher; that she could not be there for her children; that she should just give up on life and be a shell of what she strived so hard to accomplish.

So she underwent experimental treatment, continued to teach, researched recipes and prepared food for her family that she couldn’t eat, traveled to seminars and family events and took her own food, celebrated small victories and refused to give into defeat.

Last Friday her doctor told her she needed emergency surgery. Her daughter, my niece, was scheduled to be married 8 days later. Delaying the surgery could have been catastrophic. So she scheduled the surgery for Monday and knew she would press through the adversity and be there for her daughter on Saturday.

Fortunately, she has some amazing friends that gave love, support and encouragement.  She pushed through the pain, made the decision to celebrate life, ensure the wedding went forward as scheduled and caused everybody who knows her to admire the fortitude, dedication to family and love of her children.

We are sisters and have had our disagreement, arguments and misunderstandings over the years. However, I can think of nobody that I admire more as an everyday heroine.