Lessons learned
6 years ago
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Say It Isn't So, Mr. Hooper...
Recently Sesame Street celebrated its 40th anniversary. I love everything about Sesame Street (oh, except for Elmo -- I really don't like Elmo at all. Doesn't it ever bother anyone that he's supposed to be teaching children and yet he refers to himself in the 3rd person?) Anyway, I love Oscar and Big Bird and Snuffleufagus. I love Bert and Ernie and the Tweedlebugs. I love Gordon, Maria, Luis, Susan, David, Linda, Olivia (Gordon's sister, of course). I loved Mr. Hooper and cried when I found out he was gone. I never did get too attached to the new guy, though. I loved learning Spanish and the Ladybug picnic song and Kermit and that guy who would bang his head on the piano when he couldn't think of simple song lyrics. I bought one of my sisters a big Sesame Street encyclopedia once and she says it is one of her favorite books. So, imagine my dismay when I read, this morning, that you can buy early years of Sesame Street on DVD now, HOWEVER, they come with a disclaimer on the outside of the packaging that says, (and I kid you not)"For nostalgia purposes only. These episodes may not meet the needs of today's pre-school child." What???? Are they joking? Apparently not. Apparently there are issues: kids on SS didn't wear bike helmets, Cookie Monster eats unhealthily, Cookie Monster once or twice smoked a pipe when doing Monsterpiece Theatre, so this would seem to advocate smoking. Gordon once gave one of the kids from SS milk and cookies in his home (shocking!) Ernie and Bert live together, etc, etc. The bottom line is that someone, somewhere, thinks that the old SS isn't good enough. Oscar is too grouchy. Big Bird hallucinates an elephant-like friend. Too much violence from the aforementioned piano playing head-banging guy. We should all just try to forget what we learned from our friends at Sesame Street and go watch some more Hannah Montana.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Send in the Clowns
I really hate to say this, but I'm feeling just a tad bit embarassed about being an American right now. I'm sure it will pass, but if you would spend just a few minutes reading the news on CNN, you might be embarassed too. Hmm, what do we have today?:
1. A crazy family pretends that their child has been lifted away in a homemade balloon, prompting local authorities and the military to spend precious time and money. In the process, they convince their children to lie to all these important people. Apparently this is done in the hopes of securing a reality television show. Hmm...
2. A "beauty queen" who makes questionable photographic and video decisions and sees nothing wrong with parading around in a very small bathing suit in public becomes a national spokesperson for family values. Hmm...
3. A 19 year boy whose only claim to fame is exercising poor judgment with the daughter of a politician also makes questionable modelling decisions and says that he may want to pursue a career acting in films. Some now consider him a minor celebrity. Hmm...
Are people losing their minds? We are trying to hold together a civilization and this is the raw material we have to work with?
When will the artisans, chefs, architects, volunteers, medical researchers, nuns, and inner-city school teachers get the recognition due to them for their contributions to society? Maybe their problem is that they are doing TOO MUCH.
1. A crazy family pretends that their child has been lifted away in a homemade balloon, prompting local authorities and the military to spend precious time and money. In the process, they convince their children to lie to all these important people. Apparently this is done in the hopes of securing a reality television show. Hmm...
2. A "beauty queen" who makes questionable photographic and video decisions and sees nothing wrong with parading around in a very small bathing suit in public becomes a national spokesperson for family values. Hmm...
3. A 19 year boy whose only claim to fame is exercising poor judgment with the daughter of a politician also makes questionable modelling decisions and says that he may want to pursue a career acting in films. Some now consider him a minor celebrity. Hmm...
Are people losing their minds? We are trying to hold together a civilization and this is the raw material we have to work with?
When will the artisans, chefs, architects, volunteers, medical researchers, nuns, and inner-city school teachers get the recognition due to them for their contributions to society? Maybe their problem is that they are doing TOO MUCH.
Monday, November 9, 2009
I Don't Even Know What to Call This...
You may be wondering why it has taken me 3 months to post something new. (Alternatively, if you have known me for any length of time and aren't just a blog stalker who's never actually met me, you're not all that surprised.) It's actually because I've spent the last 3 months trying to remember the username and password to sign into the blog. OK - that's an exaggeration. That's just what I've been doing for the past 15 minutes. (See my very early blog on passwords.) The real truth -- nothing, and yet everything to blog about. Nothing that seemed substantial enough to pass on to you, my faithful readers (when I say readers here I am trying not to assume that anyone other than my parents are reading this.) But I have to break my silence to muse on the simple and the profound -- the noteworthy and the not-worthy. Here goes:
1. I spent the early part of Friday morning at the dentist. What a great way to begin the weekend. I loathe the dentist. I've never had any real dental problems, but I don't like the idea or the experience at all. In fact, one time I even mentioned to the dentist, in case he wasn't aware, that people generally despise going to the dentist. He actually looked kind of hurt, like he hadn't considered this at all when weighing his post-secondary options. In any case, on this particular trip to the dentist, like others before it, the hygienist mentioned, with some surprise (this is perplexing) that my gums tended to bleed a little. Imagine the shock she must have suffered -- she poked and prodded at some of the most sensitive tissue on my body, with a sharp metal hook, and lo and behold, some blood. I've often wanted to point out the irony to her, but usually think better of it. If she was a nicer person and had a better sense of humor, she wouldn't have become a dental hygienist, right? (Apologies right now to my cousin Jenna, who I'm sure is the exception when it comes to dental hygienists...) In exchange for this tiny bit of early morning sadism, I was presented with a travel sized tube of Crest and a reminder card for my NEXT dental visit.
2. H1N1. I prefer the colloquial title, "Swine Flu." In a nutshell, it's enough already. On pretty much a daily basis I receive CNN news updates, health reminders from the university Health & Safety person, notes from HR reminding us to prepare for an untimely absence from work, fliers in my newspaper announcing where to get my vaccine, additional announcements about how there's not enough vaccine so don't bother coming down. My personal favorite announcement was in this week's newspaper (I'm going to call it the Small Town Times -- small stories from a small town) - an insert reminding people that lines could be long when you come for your vaccine so bring "treats and toys for the youngsters." Really? Who uses the word youngsters? Here are a few things I know about Swine Flu, from this helpful lot of information:
a) You can't get it from eating bacon (yay!)
b) I'm not in any of the high risk groups, so really I can pretty much ignore everything I read
c) Apparently there is some confusion in my church about whether you can contract it from passing the peace (this is also known as handshaking time in all the non-liturgical churches) or taking communion. Some people are refusing to do either one. I figure if I contract Swine Flu from taking communion, then there's probably nothing I could have done to avoid getting it, if you know what I mean
d)I am more indispensible at work than I knew (or less than I thought -- I can't remember)
e) The vaccine is simultaneously dangerous, not dangerous, the most worthless thing in the world, a miracle drug, still exerimental, extensively tested, plentiful, and scarce.
3. My newest introspective revelation is that I am a self-proclaimed blog stalker. (Brace yourselves - I may have just coined a new phrase. Probably not, but maybe.) A blog stalker is someone who reads the blogs of people he or she doesn't know and then feels personally involved in these people's lives. A couple of cases in point -- some friends of ours have recently gone through an international adoption. Out of curiosity one day, I followed one of the links on their blog to another family's blog about their adoption journey. The story was heartbreaking and joyful and I found myself completely wrapped up in it. I read it from start to finish and found myself checking back with them on a regular basis to follow the process. If this family was to ever find out that a total stranger was shedding tears daily over their lives, they might be a bit frightened, disturbed, or at the very least, confused. Another one -- a friend of a friend suffered a tragedy a couple of years ago when her husband was killed in combat, leaving her alone with several young children. I didn't know this family, but I knew OF them. I found myself from time to time wondering how they were doing. I don't know if it was the military connection or having young children, or my own thinking about death, which I do on a regular basis. In any case, this wondering was re-opened for me yesterday as our church had its annual Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day) service. I was again thinking about this woman and her children. (Let me again remind you that this woman doesn't even know I exist.) So, I did what any normal curious person living in 2009 would do: I Googled her. That led me to a blog written by her and her new husband, who lost his wife of nearly 25 years to breast cancer. Imagine (if you know me at all and aren't yourself a blog stalker) the tears that I shed reading the story of how they came together in their grief and found love and formed a new, large family. Again, these people would surely think that something is wrong with me and that I have, in fact, no life. I can't decide if the blog stalking is perfectly healthy -- after all, it is a great thing to share one another's stories and burdens and it is these stories that help define our human-ness ---- or if it is unneccessarily obsessive and I should be spending more time writing and living my own story. Thoughts to ponder. If you are a blog stalker yourself, and don't actually know me personally, I don't judge you. You're welcome here!
4. This is not intended to mock, but merely to amuse. This is an actual excerpt from one of my children's vocabulary quiz (a matching exercise): Question: A church leader, Answer chosen by my child: Pneumonia . Maybe all the talk of H1N1 threw the child off their game. I really hope that's it.
1. I spent the early part of Friday morning at the dentist. What a great way to begin the weekend. I loathe the dentist. I've never had any real dental problems, but I don't like the idea or the experience at all. In fact, one time I even mentioned to the dentist, in case he wasn't aware, that people generally despise going to the dentist. He actually looked kind of hurt, like he hadn't considered this at all when weighing his post-secondary options. In any case, on this particular trip to the dentist, like others before it, the hygienist mentioned, with some surprise (this is perplexing) that my gums tended to bleed a little. Imagine the shock she must have suffered -- she poked and prodded at some of the most sensitive tissue on my body, with a sharp metal hook, and lo and behold, some blood. I've often wanted to point out the irony to her, but usually think better of it. If she was a nicer person and had a better sense of humor, she wouldn't have become a dental hygienist, right? (Apologies right now to my cousin Jenna, who I'm sure is the exception when it comes to dental hygienists...) In exchange for this tiny bit of early morning sadism, I was presented with a travel sized tube of Crest and a reminder card for my NEXT dental visit.
2. H1N1. I prefer the colloquial title, "Swine Flu." In a nutshell, it's enough already. On pretty much a daily basis I receive CNN news updates, health reminders from the university Health & Safety person, notes from HR reminding us to prepare for an untimely absence from work, fliers in my newspaper announcing where to get my vaccine, additional announcements about how there's not enough vaccine so don't bother coming down. My personal favorite announcement was in this week's newspaper (I'm going to call it the Small Town Times -- small stories from a small town) - an insert reminding people that lines could be long when you come for your vaccine so bring "treats and toys for the youngsters." Really? Who uses the word youngsters? Here are a few things I know about Swine Flu, from this helpful lot of information:
a) You can't get it from eating bacon (yay!)
b) I'm not in any of the high risk groups, so really I can pretty much ignore everything I read
c) Apparently there is some confusion in my church about whether you can contract it from passing the peace (this is also known as handshaking time in all the non-liturgical churches) or taking communion. Some people are refusing to do either one. I figure if I contract Swine Flu from taking communion, then there's probably nothing I could have done to avoid getting it, if you know what I mean
d)I am more indispensible at work than I knew (or less than I thought -- I can't remember)
e) The vaccine is simultaneously dangerous, not dangerous, the most worthless thing in the world, a miracle drug, still exerimental, extensively tested, plentiful, and scarce.
3. My newest introspective revelation is that I am a self-proclaimed blog stalker. (Brace yourselves - I may have just coined a new phrase. Probably not, but maybe.) A blog stalker is someone who reads the blogs of people he or she doesn't know and then feels personally involved in these people's lives. A couple of cases in point -- some friends of ours have recently gone through an international adoption. Out of curiosity one day, I followed one of the links on their blog to another family's blog about their adoption journey. The story was heartbreaking and joyful and I found myself completely wrapped up in it. I read it from start to finish and found myself checking back with them on a regular basis to follow the process. If this family was to ever find out that a total stranger was shedding tears daily over their lives, they might be a bit frightened, disturbed, or at the very least, confused. Another one -- a friend of a friend suffered a tragedy a couple of years ago when her husband was killed in combat, leaving her alone with several young children. I didn't know this family, but I knew OF them. I found myself from time to time wondering how they were doing. I don't know if it was the military connection or having young children, or my own thinking about death, which I do on a regular basis. In any case, this wondering was re-opened for me yesterday as our church had its annual Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day) service. I was again thinking about this woman and her children. (Let me again remind you that this woman doesn't even know I exist.) So, I did what any normal curious person living in 2009 would do: I Googled her. That led me to a blog written by her and her new husband, who lost his wife of nearly 25 years to breast cancer. Imagine (if you know me at all and aren't yourself a blog stalker) the tears that I shed reading the story of how they came together in their grief and found love and formed a new, large family. Again, these people would surely think that something is wrong with me and that I have, in fact, no life. I can't decide if the blog stalking is perfectly healthy -- after all, it is a great thing to share one another's stories and burdens and it is these stories that help define our human-ness ---- or if it is unneccessarily obsessive and I should be spending more time writing and living my own story. Thoughts to ponder. If you are a blog stalker yourself, and don't actually know me personally, I don't judge you. You're welcome here!
4. This is not intended to mock, but merely to amuse. This is an actual excerpt from one of my children's vocabulary quiz (a matching exercise): Question: A church leader, Answer chosen by my child: Pneumonia . Maybe all the talk of H1N1 threw the child off their game. I really hope that's it.
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