Cherries and Pits

John Charles Thomas for IMDb

2013-11-08T12:48:00.000-05:00

There is so much to say regarding Mr. Thomas that is needed for changes to IMDb listing which, for whatever reason, has been hi-jacked for another entertainer. Because I wish to provided all necessary information in one place, I've decided to post to my Blog (which hasn't been used for much of anything of late) so here it is.

Mr Thomas's 1922 Passport Application includes an affidavit from his parents which indicates his actual birth date is September 6, 1890 and contains a photo which clearly reflects a person other than that whose photo has been added to IMDb. While some of the other resources indicate a birth year of 1889 and 1891, it would seem that the Passport Application and attendant Affidavit of birth should supersede other online info. See:

The California Death Index lists his death date as 13 December 1960. See:

Further his listing at Hollywood Walk of Fame tends to confirm that the information provided by Kaiser is not for John Charles Thomas. See:

John Charles Thomas-Hollywood Walk of Fame

This Post About John Charles Thomas at Get Satisfaction indicates the breadth of the problem. The birth/death information needs to be corrected and ALL of the photos related to Joseph Toner need to be removed. The thread contains a lot of research provided by Maggie Dwyer which also serves to substantiate this request to have info changed as well as having all of the photos removed.

2011-11-16T10:49:00.001-05:00

Rin-Tin-Tin, Susan Orlean, and Me

Fiction is my poison of choice and I’ve been addicted since my very first Nancy Drew book wayyyyyy back when I could buy a used book for a quarter and sell it back for a dime. I worked my way through all of Carolyn Keene’s teenage detective stories, book by book. I haven’t stopped reading since and now I’m collecting those old Nancy Drew books.

I’ve always been drawn to books because of story, the fictional magic carpet that allowed me to travel to different places, different times and still have the comfort of my own bed in my own room. East of Eden, On The Beach, Exodus, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, The Haunting of Hill House, and many others, fueled my imagination and love of prose.

But only recently have I been absorbed by a real story, a biography of a dog and the man who loved and trained him; one where I found more than a story to draw me in, more than a world different than my own. Recently, Susan Orlean took me on a wondrous journey with Rin-Tin-Tin that wound through my own memories like a path in the woods that disappears and reappears on a whim. When I began reading Orlean’s “Rin-Tin-Tin” I wrongly assumed it would be just a well-written biography of Rinty and Lee Duncan. It never occurred to me that I would learn so much or that it would become a door to long forgotten memories of my own.

Of course I have really fond memories of the TV show, the Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin; it was a favorite of mine. And though I actually preferred that show to Lassie, I knew much more about Lassie and the Weatherwax family. I’m not sure why that is so, it doesn’t make sense to me now that I think about it, but there it is. So reading about the early days of Rin-Tin-Tin and Lee Duncan were a revelation. I was totally unaware that Rinty had made so many silent films and I had really never heard of Duncan. But what I found in the book was a strange and nostalgic trip though my own life; memories of growing up; memories of a time that seems not so long ago.

I was born and raised in Glendale, California; the “Jewel City”, a ‘bedroom community of Los Angeles. I lived there until I was 35....a memory-packed 35 years. And strangely, a lot of that time intertwines with the story of Rinty and Duncan and Bert Leonard. Bert Leonard, who Orlean describes in beautifully descriptive terms, lived on Los Feliz Boulevard. Los Feliz, which runs from Glendale, just north of Forest Lawn, to Western in Hollywood. A road I traveled a lot in my youth; to Griffith Park Fountain, Griffith Park, the Observatory, the Zoo, Ferndale, the Carousel, Riverside Drive, to Western and down to Hollywood Drive.

Above Los Feliz is a Frank Lloyd Wright structure known as Ennis House. The house we drove to frequently when teenagers before we knew who Frank Lloyd Wright was, because the exterior had been used in the ‘horror’ film “The House on Haunted Hill”.

We drove down Los Feliz to Hollywood Boulevard, to Stan’s Drive Inn for a burger, then back up Sunset to Western, and back to Los Feliz, back home. It was our weekend ‘drive’. Well, you get the idea.

Rinty, the beautifully sleek, intelligent and agile German Shepherd that I watched on the TV at my Nana’s house. My Nana, dead these many years; born about the same time as Duncan. Wispy memories mixing with real people mixing with ghosts from the past.

I’m grateful to Susan Orlean for the learning experience, for the joy of her prose. But, I’m more grateful for the slew of memories that poured out of the pages of a book that really had little to do with my life, and everything to do with the world I grew up in. Thanks, Susan.

Michele Bachmann and Shooting The Messenger

2011-09-20T10:20:00.000-04:00

During an interview with Matt Lauer of the Today Show, Michele Bachmann strongly implied that it was possible for a young girl to "suffer from mental retardation" because of taking the HPV injection. She made the statement in response to this question by Lauer: "Do you feel he placed the health and safety of young girls in the state of Texas behind, or below, the need for campaign funds?" (at 2:00 mark). Interestingly enough, it appears that Ms. Bachmann fully intended to get the remarks about retardation into the interview whether or not Lauer asked such a question.

Immediately prior to the question being asked, Ms. Bachmann made some interesting and reasonable claims about Gov. Rick Perry's "probable" crony-capitalism in unilaterally signing an Executive Order mandating the vaccine for young girls. These were strong statements which, from her point of view, rightfully questioned Perry for not taking the issue through hearings and the legislative process. Her case was beautifully made but apparently she didn't think it had the necessary punch and decided to add

"...(Perry) signed a requirement that all innocent twelve year old, or eleven year old, girls in the state of Texas be forced by the government to take an injection of what could be potentially a very dangerous drug, and after the debate last night........."

Matt Lauer Interview with Michele Bachmann

Given what came next in the interview, is there any doubt what she was going to say to reinforce her statement that the drug was potentially very dangerous?

Now Ms. Bachmann is trying to distance herself from the statements made during that interview saying:

"All I was doing is relaying what a woman had said," Bachmann told The Associated Press after touring a manufacturer in Waterloo. "I relayed what she said. I wasn't attesting to her accuracy. I wasn't attesting to anything."

The statement is disingenuous at best and an out and out falsehood at worst. Ms. Bachmann, you should honestly own up to the gaffe and take responsibility for it. If you weren't trying to imply that the drug was so dangerous as to perhaps cause mental retardation, then why in the world did you feel the necessity to ensure you got the statement on air? It was irresponsible. You need to own that, admit it, and then you can move on. But to put the blame on an innocent and clearly mis-informed anonymous woman, well, that is really dangerous.

Michele Bachmann's sphere of influence is a hundred thousand fold greater than that one anonymous woman with her unsupported statements about her daughter. She knows that and yet she chose to repeat the claim on a major network television show. Not only chose to repeat it, she made damned sure she got the statement on the air because she wanted the implication out there. Ms. Bachmann cannot and should not assume that the American public is so stupid as not to understand what she was doing. We do. Can you say, SCARE TACTICS?

TO ALL THE MOTHERS WHO MADE MY EXISTENCE POSSIBLE

2011-05-09T18:17:00.001-04:00

Mother -

Lila Pearl Thornton- 9 Aug 1917 -16 Mar 2002- m. Efton Defee Sloan

Grandmothers -

Icy Belle Foust 22 Sep 1891-10 Oct 1984 -m. John Franklin Sloan

Rosa Isbell 25 Jan 1893-6 Jul 1973-m. Luther Benson Thornton

G Grandmothers -

Mary Ellen Dunaway 25 Mar 1867-5 Aug 1915-m. George E. Sloan

Fidelity Hughes 14 Feb 1867-25 Jul 1925 m. John Alexander Foust

Autha Emmett Pittman 19 Jul 1871-24 Jun 1930-m. S. J. Isbell

Anna Marie Unknown Oct 1852-13 Feb 1920 m. William Patrick Thornton

GG Grandmothers -

Missouri Ellen Allen 8 Apr 1839-30 Jan 1914 m.Mack Henry Hughes

Nancie Jane Daniels 1851-1926 - m. Frank Dunaway

Carolyn Hazeltine Hackney 12 Dec 1852-20 Jan 1929 -m. John Eli Pittman

Nancy Ann McPherson 20 Feb 1825-17 Mar 1904 - m. Phillip T. Foust

Nancy Unknown abt 1836- ?? - m. Edmond W. Thornton

Serenia J. Richardson 6 Nov 1838-8 Feb 1920 - m. John B. Sloan

Matilda Ann Wade 1827-30 Jun 1904 - m. Jeremiah Marion Isbell

GGG Grandmothers-

Susanna Cleveland 16 Feb 1806-1 Dec 1888- m. Pendleton Isbell III

Frances Collins 1797-???- m. Benjamin Allen

Mary Davis 1813-???- m. John Walker Hughes

Mary Odiel Dumay abt 1808 - ???- m. Samuel Dunaway

Mary Frances Lockett 20 Jan 1833-22 Apr 1910-m. John W. Hackney

Nancy Mary Morrison ???-??? m. Alexander Sloan

Sarah Margaret Roberts 12 Oct 1771-16 Jun 1841 - m. Philip Foust , Jr.

Melissa Unknown abt 1820-??? - m. George W. Richardson

Elizabeth Walker 1794-abt 1866 - m. William Stallworth Thornton

GGGG Grandmothers -

Martha Barker abt 1805-??? - m. Georgia William Hackney

Obedient Callaway abt 1783-aft 1812 - m. Jeremiah Cleveland

Marie Anne Capuchain ???-??? - m. Pierre Riche Dumay

Catherine Clapp 1744-??? - m. (John) Philip Foust

Mary Davison ???-??? - m. Eli Thornton

Margaret McTeer abt 1766-aft. 12 Aug 1832- m. William Sloan

Mary Rowan 30 Jun 1788-1 Sep 1858 - m. Levingston Isbell

5G Grandmothers -

Elizabeth Unknown ???-1847 - m. Samuel Rowan

Anna Barbara Albrecht 10 Oct 1719-1 Mar 1802 - m. John Foust

Martha Boykin ???-??? - m. Thomas Thornton

Sarah Brewer btw 1725/1755 - ??? - m. Francis Callaway

Dorothy Davenport 1769-1830 - m. Robert Boyd Hackney

Sarah Henderson 14 Oct 1758-14 Apr 1827 - m. Pendleton Isbell

Agnes Ann Martin 26 Apr 1740- 5 Aug 1823 - m. Robert McTeer

Mollie McCann ???-bef 1809 - m. John Cleveland

Anna Margaret Strader 18 Jun 1717-1 Jan 1785 - m. John Ludwig Clapp

6G Grandmothers -

Frances Unknown btw 1710/1725-??? - m. Francis Callaway , Sr.

Hannah Unknown ???-??? - m. Henry Isbell

Margaret Anderson 1699- bef 1745 - m. James McTeer

Hannah Baker 1742-??? - m. Martin Davenport

Martha Coffee???-??? - m. John Cleveland

Anna Elizabeth Grauel abt 1693- ???- m. Johann Peter Faust

Elizabeth Patrick ???-??? - m. Burwell Brewer

Anna Margaretha Unknown abt 1678 -??? - m. Johan Jost Clapp

Elizabeth Unknown 26 Apr 1721-23 Dec 1796 - m. William Martin

Frances Unknown abt 1730-1811 - m. Thomas Henderson

Jane Unknown bef 1715- 11 May 1764 - m. John Sloan

7G Grandmothers -

Unknown Cox ???-??? - m. Henry Isbell

Kunigunda Mohn 7 May 1646-29 Oct 1721 - m. Johan Faust

Elizabeth Potter ???-??? - m. Nicholas Clapp

Milly Pressley 1667-1770 - m. Alexander Cleveland

Catherine Unknown ???-??? - m. Joseph Callaway

8G Grandmothers-

Elizabeth Unknown ???-??? - m. James Cox

Elizabeth Fischer 1619-1653 - m. Hans Faust

Unknown Lewis ???-??? - m. William Isbell

Anna Maria Wilhelm ???-??? m. Hans Mohn

9G Grandmother -

Elizabeth Fuchs 26 Nov 1588-??? - m. Christolph Mohn

10G Grandmother -

Ursula Deynes ???-??? - m. Anton Fuchs

And to all of the others I've not yet identified - Happy Mothers Day to you, too.

The Smallness of Some Politicians

2011-05-03T10:43:00.056-04:00

Shaking my head over Sarah Palin and others ignoring the role the President and Administration had in the take down of Osama Bin Laden. Yes, the Intelligence Community and the Military were the "feet on the ground" and they deserve unbounded accolades and kudos, to be sure. However, to ignore the role that President Obama and the Administration played in this event is tantamount to putting your head in the sand and shouting it isn't so, it isn't so, it isn't so, much like the "birthers" continue to do with the "Certificate of Live Birth" issue.

There is a "status update' going around on Facebook which encourages others to repost that it was the Military who got Osama, not the President:

"Let's be clear on this: OBAMA did NOT kill Bin Laden. An American soldier, who Obama just a few weeks ago was debating on whether or not to PAY, did. Obama just happened to be the one in office when our soldiers finally found OBL and took him out. This is NOT an Obama victory, but an AMERICAN victory!! Repost if you agree"

There is so much that is factually incorrect with this paragraph that I cannot begin to debunk it here because my focus is on the 'intent' of the message. It is a blatant political slap at the President housed in a "pro American", "pro Military" guise. It is mean-spirited, childish and demonstrates a level of ignorance that I hate to admit resides in this country of mine. No thought - just copy and paste, easy, peesy and dumb.

Nothing happens in a vacuum; it took tenacity, power of conviction, decisiveness, and leadership to authorize the on-going search, guide the administrative process, to give the orders and place everything on the line. President Obama had the decency to call and tell President Bush about the event and mentioned Bush's role in the eventual take-down of Bin Laden during his announcement on Sunday night. President Bush and Vice President Cheney had the decency to congratulate everyone connected to the event, including President Obama.

So why in the world would Sarah Palin and her followers display the pettiness and the derisiveness they are displaying with their current attitude? A "three inch fish" may be "bait" where you come from, Sarah Palin; but where I come from you are an opportunist with a chip on your shoulder as big as Half Dome. You have no business even thinking about being President of this country since you appear to have no ability to apply decency and diplomacy in your every day life. Any President of this country needs to display those traits clearly and unabashedly. You are out of your league.

THE SHEEP THING

2011-04-30T08:19:00.001-04:00

"You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts". ~Daniel Patrick Moynihan

My husband has been saying that a lot of political rhetoric is designed for the sole purpose of appealing to those who can’t or won’t look more deeply into the issues and who will blindly follow, like sheep, those who ring the ‘follow me’ bell. Instead of educating and helping people to understand the issues, some ‘politicians’ appeal to the lowest and basest instincts of the masses, feeding the fire of fear and hate.

At first I thought he was being a bit too harsh to both the people and the ‘politicians’ but the more I read and watch, the more I have come around to his way of thinking. Following the lead of a provocative statement made by a ‘politician’ is an easy way to make a statement, make a stand, have a voice - even if it isn’t your own.

I was going to provide several examples to illustrate my point but, you know, I just don’t think it is necessary. All one has to do is to read through any news headlines in a given week and you’ll find plenty of evidence. Or, better yet, take a look at some the the “factual” political e-mails that get forwarded and forwarded for years without people ever checking the real facts of the matter. It is scary. Really.

There are millions of people to whom this applies, and I actually may have been one of them from time to time in the past. But the ever growing preponderance of the ‘sheep thing’ seems to have seeds in the escalating use of the internet and social media. It has become far too easy to “share”, “retweet”, “forward” these ‘facts’ to others with just a click of the button and off the story goes to family, friends, acquaintances, strangers in a silent whoosh. Food for more of us sheep; that is, unless the ‘black sheep’ takes some time to find out the truth of the matter before sending it on its merry way to others.

I’ve actually angered friends and family by pointing out the inaccuracies in some of these ‘factual’ matters. My husband says I should just ignore them and go about my business letting my loved ones alone with their illusions and believing things that are blatantly untrue or purposely misrepresented. Let them just 'whoosh' this information to others so that they, in turn, can 'whoosh' it on its way to others while I silently send the missive to the trash can. Maybe so. It certainly would return my social world to a calmer and less distressing venue if I just followed along without saying a word; becoming a quiet gray sheep.

Somehow, though, it seems to me that if I love these people, care about them, I should somehow give them the information they don’t have and let them make decisions themselves. I don’t want to insult them or embarrass them, that isn’t my intention.I don’t want them to think the way I think, that is silly because I often haven’t made up my own mind about what I actually believe - I’m still mulling it over and would love to discuss it on a rational level. But I do love and care about them enough to want them to think about what they are saying and doing before they do it so that they aren’t placated into thinking that being a ‘sheep’ makes them accepted and loved.

I love them and care about them and trust them enough to share my thoughts, beliefs and opinions with them. It just seems that this isn’t they way they see it. It appears that what they see is someone trying to one-up them, hurt their feelings and to make them feel “inferior”. So, it comes down to my wanting to feel accepted and loved and maybe I can only do that by becoming that gray sheep instead of the black one.

Can sheep cry?

Ho-Hum "Birther" Rhetoric Has Got To Go!!

2011-04-26T13:47:00.001-04:00

Has anything caused more derisiveness lately than the reemergence of the “Birther” argument? Donald Trump’s exceedingly unprofessional and arrogant approach to this issue appears to appeal to those who just plain don’t like Barack Obama, very possibly just because he is black. It must seem to these people as if this is a ‘legitimate’ method to ensure he doesn’t run, and therefore, cannot be elected --- again.

This Snopes on Obama's Birth Certificate report contains any number of sound and logical reasons why the “Birther” movement should be put behind us altogether but, alas and alack, it persists.

If you follow Mr. Trump’s inflammatory statement made on the Anderson Cooper’s 360 on Monday night (April 25, 2011) “And a birth certificate is not a certificate of live birth, which is a much much lower standard as you know.”, then I am in deep trouble. My own “Certificate of Live Birth” is the source document that I used to obtain my U.S. Passport, Drivers’ Licenses, Marriage License, and my Social Security Card. If that document is a lesser standard and, therefore, unreliable, then I guess a whole lot of US citizens from many states are in the same boat as President Obama.

In less personal terms, I’m wondering what type of “Birth Certificates” all of the other candidates provided to the State Department along with their applications for candidacy. The Senators who vetted the Electoral College during the election seemed not too concerned until after the election was confirmed. Can someone tell me why Barack Obama should be held to a higher standard than any one else? Is it because he is African-American or because he went to a Muslim school at some point? Exactly what is it?

Let me make this perfectly clear, I am a registered Democrat and I didn’t vote for President Obama. I voted for John McCain, despite the silly and unrealistic running-mate that he and his party chose. I didn’t vote for President Obama simply because I felt he did not have sufficient experience to hold the job. Apparently a plurality of voters thought differently, for whatever reason. Therefore, he is now our duly elected official. Move on.

The rhetoric of the “Birthers” in general, and Donald Trump in particular, is detracting from the real issues of the 2012 election. Those important and critical issues such as the budget, the deficit, immigration laws, tax reform, etc., etc., etc. are getting lost in the useless bruhahaha that is the on-going ‘birther’ argument. Focus on what is real, and important, and what will ultimately define the potential candidates. Please.

Mr. Trump and Ms. Palin, find a real and valid platform and stop making yourselves look like idiots and big-mouths. Research, learn, speak to the issues. Otherwise, you look like ignorant racists, not potential candidates. Rise above it. Please.

EDIT: Maybe this will make it easier to move on, I hope: White House releases Obama's long form birth certificate.

ALL THINGS, THIS AND THAT - HAPPY

2011-04-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

I am tired of the BuDgEt already. After S&P preempted the discussions with their BOO! tactics, it appears that the bi-partisan VPOTUS led discussions might have a decent chance to work. So, I’m leaving that discussion behind for the moment and turning to all things SPRING and NEW and FRESH!!

WAFFLES: I just bought a waffle maker and it should be delivered tomorrow. Now, it is true that I shouldn’t be finding new ways to eat carbs, but the idea of a crisp, fluffy waffle with melted butter and syrup or with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for weekend brunch? Can you say YUM? Now I’m on the lookout for waffle recipes. If you know any or can suggest a site where I can find the yummiest, let me know.

NEWS YOUR WAY: Have you seen TROVE ? It is a new, clever “Pick Your News By Interest” website. Love it. Give it a try.

CAKE: Check out this yummy “Heavenly Chocolate Cake Roll” that Deb and smitten kitchen have up on their website today. It is perfectly perfect for Spring Holiday meals. I’m wanting to give it a try. I am. smitten kitchen is a wonderful food blog and if you have any interest in a fun approach to cooking and eating, give it a try!

CUPCAKES: The adorable and perfectly perfect Grandson is visiting this weekend. I’m certain that his Mom has plans for coloring eggs and other crafts but I thought that he and I could make these cute cupcakes for dessert: Cute Bunny Cupcakes Looks like fun to me!

GARDEN: The sneaky Clematis that I’ve been struggling to grow in the front yard might actually be under control! For three years I’ve been trying to train it to twine around my carriage light and I might have found the answer, finally! I staked three sets of garden twine into the ground around the pole and tied the ends to the crossbar that runs just beneath the light. The clever little plant is already wrapping its tendrils lovingly around the twine and there is a definite, but slow, change in growth direction from horizontal to vertical. Success at last? I sure hope so.

GARDEN: We purchased plants for the rail boxes and herbs for the herb pot. I was all ready to get to planting Monday and Tuesday but was defeated by rain. I may try today but may be defeated by laziness and a hair appointment. Photos to follow when the plantings are done and results start to show. I just KNOW you all are holding your breath. I mean, come on...me and my magical green thumb? Yeah, right.

READING: So for the last couple of months I’ve pretty much focused my reading on Internet stuff and pulpy fiction on my IPad. As soon as I’ve finished the #10 Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, I am going to go back to my hardback books and tackle some literature. Maybe “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy or “The Instructions” by Adam Levin. There are so many more to pick from but those are sitting right on my bedside table and deserve to be opened and read, don’t you think?

I do need both Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver to publish something new for me to read. I do love their books.

I’m off now to consider cleaning and planting and loving on the dogs....or maybe just sitting and practicing omphaloskepsis. Sounds good to me.

DAY AFTER TAX DAY MUSING

2011-04-19T09:40:00.001-04:00

Taxes, Budgets, Money, Deficits, Debt Ratings-makes my head swim. There is a wealth of information out there but a dearth of understandable facts about any of the aforementioned subjects. If you read anything on-line, you can be overwhelmed with information that leads no where in particular and every where in general, a circuitous route to crazy land. I’m there. Trying desperately to get out.

DAY ONE: GE and Federal Taxes

While the chant goes on “Corporations Should Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes”, I wonder about the logic of it all. Take GE, for example, did they not pay their “fair share”? Depends on your definition of “Fair”, I suppose. There are protests springing up all over the place regarding “companies using loopholes in the tax code to avoid paying their fair share.”

“LOOPHOLES”. Are these loopholes legal? An entire bevy of tax accountants and lawyers did what they were paid to do, utilize all the benefits of the U.S. Tax Code and the result for GE? Well, as a result of General Electric Credit Corp having sustained huge losses and a large percentage of income generated off-shore, GE paid no taxes in 2010 for the 2009 Tax Year. Sounds awful doesn’t it?

But, if those “loopholes” exist and are legal, wouldn’t you expect any right-minded person (or corporation for that matter) to take advantage of them? Wouldn’t their shareholders expect, no, DEMAND that they utilize every advantage at their disposal to improve profits by reducing tax liabilities? Do you, as an individual tax payer, utilize your legal “loopholes”? I’m betting you do or your tax preparer does.

Giant corporations are not entirely “evil”, like all people and entities, there is another side. GE employed 134,000 people in the US in 2009, 154,000 in other countries. GE and the GE Foundation donated millions to various worthwhile charities. From their website: “In 2009, GE announced that it will spend $3 billion by 2015 on research and development and focus its healthcare business strategy to deliver better care to more people at lower cost.” They have also announced they are building a $600M Solar Panel factory which will employ 400 people and produce a thin-film product which produce renewable energy.

All bad, of course not. And tax incentives, in part, are responsible for the 'good parts'. So what is the problem?

Apparently the BIG problem is the U.S. Tax Code. Ahem, well, YEAH, of course it is. I can’t begin to understand the code as it applies to my own personal financial situation so it isn’t surprising that I don’t understand the code as it pertains to Corporations. Is there a Corporate equivalent to the Alternative Minimum Tax for individuals? Is there a tax on income earned overseas? Is there some sort of credit for jobs created in the US and/or is there a penalty (of sorts) for jobs created overseas instead of the US?

Can we fix the code or do we have to throw out the old and start anew? If so, what happens to the previously promised loss-carry-forwards and tax incentives that exist from the old code? Do they just “disappear” creating chaos and uncertainties for everyone, including the employees, investors, and debt holders?

I'm still at a loss, still muddling around in crazy-land. Anyone out there have a simple answer? Anyone have a reasonable answer? Anyone have an answer at all?

The Congress and Business As Ususal

2011-04-07T23:18:00.000-04:00

I am angry. I'm angry that our elected representatives are using scare tactics, blackmail, and dubious motives in their attempts to get the 2011 Budget approved. This is April 2011. The budget should already be approved and we should be on to new business. But, no...they are waging a political war at the expense of the people that they represent.

We are facing an unnecessary shutdown because each person involved wants to be seen as the "winner" and wants their "opponent" to be seen as the "loser". In my book, you are all losers.

This is grade-school behavior, not leadership. This is pandering to the basest instincts of human behavior, not leadership. This is plain wrong.

You all count on the general population not understanding what you are up to, and I suppose to a degree that is true. The count on you, they trust you, they think they have elected someone who cares about them - and you are letting them down.

I will do everything in my power to make it clear to these trusting, kind, and naive voters that you, all of you, are laughing up your sleeves at them. You are lower than low. These believers in the system deserve more than you give them. They deserve to be properly represented...and you are not doing that. You are making a mockery of what the voters grew up believing was the best political system on the face of the earth. You do not deserve their trust or their votes.

I have my next career..my next mission. I intend to write, and write, and write until I can write no more. I may not reach more than 1000 people, but how many can they reach?

It is so over.

Whatever Your Party, Your Responsibility Is To The Country

2011-03-30T10:10:00.003-04:00

UPDATE April 6, 2011: I and hundreds of thousands of others are getting angrier by the minute. Posturing and rhetoric will not relieve you of your duty to the people you represent. There should be NO discussion of a 2012 Budget until such time as you pass the 2011 Budget.

I further propose that ALL members of Congress remain in session 24/7 and that all members be required to be in their respective seats until such time as they manage to reach an accord and pass a 2011 Budget. Further, if the members of Congress fail to pass the 2011 Budget thus creating a Shutdown of Federal Agencies and a Furlough of Government Employees, all members of Congress should continue to work 24/7 without pay until such time as the Budget is passed.

Ladies and Gentlemen of Congress:

This is the Oath of Office you have all taken:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Do you see anywhere in that oath mention of party loyalty, donor allegiance, lobbyist alliance, or anything of the sort?

Honorable, responsible, fair, integrity, respect, honest, ethical, scrupulous, purposeful, resolute, trustworthy.....those are the attributes we expect from our representatives and seldom, if ever, find. These are the 'lofty ambitions' you should be working towards, not money, or re-election, or power, or any of the hundred other things you appear to have on your collective minds other than the business of this country.

Perhaps you all need to re-visit your obligations to those you represent. You'll never make everyone happy and content, but you do need to make the effort to do what is in the best interest of the people. Make a wholehearted effort to get the job done. Put pride aside and find a solution. THAT is what you are being paid to do, THAT is why you were elected, THAT is your charge.

Are you up to it? I, and millions of others, sure hope so. Because if you cannot dig into your conscience and find the means to take care of business with honor, responsibility, integrity, respect, honesty, ethics, purpose...then we as a nation are lost.

I must do something" always solves more problems than "Something must be done." ~Author Unknown

Dogs , Spring, and My Lack of Motivation

2011-03-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

It took me quite awhile (can you say almost a year) to figure out how to get that Google Search Box out of the middle of my posting area so I could post. Well, that's as good an excuse as I can come up with right now.

But, here I am. Sitting on the downstairs couch with the two 'new' pups sleeping loudly at my side. They are really cute, sweet dogs but they will never live up to Miss Shadow in my book. Still miss the old girl, a lot. Besides, we grew old together and these pups are young and energetic while I am not.

It poured last night, then sleeted, then iced. Yucky stuff that. This morning, however, is bright, sunny, windy, and cold; this weather is not conducive to getting me off my butt and doing all of the "Spring" chores that I should be doing. I'm content to waste time fiddling on the computer, drinking coffee, and well, doing not much. No motivation.

Where is it, that motivation? Where is it hiding? How can I find it? Sigh. My big challenge for the day. At least I figured out how to get rid of that Google Search Box in the middle of my posting area. Now THERE is an accomplishment!! See, I am doing something.

It Is Time

2010-05-24T14:19:00.001-04:00

Shadow has told us, in no uncertain terms, that it is time. It is us who are fighting for her to stay just a little while longer because we know that not having her here will leave such a huge hole in our lives. Mitchell pointed out to me that we have had her for just about a quarter of our entire lives.

That is a long time and yet it seems just like yesterday that she came tripping down our driveway in Connecticut, ears flopping and little legs getting tangled up in her excitement to be running. From that moment on our lives were filled with her love, sweetness, and mischievousness. Now all of that energy and joy will be just a memory. Already the pain of that is causing bouts of sobbing and holding onto her for just a bit longer. She licks my face and lies back down sighing. She knows that we will do right by her even if it is the most painful thing we have ever done.

Just a few more days and one small light will be extinguished but it is one that has lit up our lives with the brightest of lights.

To My Fellow Airline Travelers........

2008-08-27T12:51:00.004-04:00

You know that last flight you took? You remember that person immediately behind you or immediately in front of you? That was me. I paid a lot for that flight and you, fellow traveler, made my trip so much more uncomfortable and aggravating than necessary. Now come on, you KNOW how to be nice, and thoughtful, and considerate, and courteous, right? Right!

So here are a few not-so-gentle reminders for next time.

1. If you have a boarding pass with a seat assignment, it isn’t necessary to check in with the boarding desk at the gate. It is especially not necessary to do it twice.

2. If you have a boarding pass with a seat assignment, WAIT until your Group Number is called to try and push your way into the plane. Pushing and shoving really isn’t necessary. You have your seat and it will be there when you get on. If someone else is in the seat, the airline attendant will straighten it out and, you just never know, they might just upgrade you to First Class if the airline made a mistake.

3. Listen to the restrictions regarding carry-on luggage carefully. Generally for domestic travel you are limited to one carry-on bag and a small personal item per person. The carry-on bag should be placed an overhead bin close to your seat (not up front over someone else’s seat, therefore depriving them of that space). If people pay attention to # 1 and #2, this shouldn’t be a problem. Carry on luggage with wheels should be placed in wheels first (front to back) if possible. It makes for more room for others. The small personal item should be placed under the seat in front of you. If you are in a bulk head seat (a wall in front of you – not another row of seats) you must place all of your items in the over-head compartment during taxi, take-off, and landing. Don't argue with the attendent, they aren't her/his rules, he/she just has to enforce them.

4. When the Seat Belt Sign is illuminated, make sure you are in your seat. Stay in your seat, don’t get up. Buckle your seat belt and stay in your seat. Make sure your children stay in their seats as well. Failure to adhere to the seat belt sign is not only dangerous to the person roaming about but to other passengers as well. A flying body impacting a stationary one could cause severe damage to both people. Stay in your seat!

5. Turn off your cell phone when the attendant requests it. Turn them off. The rules apply to you too, really they do. Yes, you! You do know that others can see you checking for those text messages. Turn the darned thing off!

6. When reclining your seat please check behind you as you do so gently and slowly. Knees and other body parts belongs to another human being depend upon your understanding and kindness…remember, the person in front of you may only be as kind as you are to they guy behind.

7. When you need to get up out of your seat, please be aware that the handhold you use to pull yourself out of your seat is actually the back of the seat in front of you. That reclining seat can be pulled down and jarred significantly when sufficient weight is placed on it. Remember the guy behind you may treat you only as well as you treat the person in front of you. Be considerate and understanding. Karma, you know.

8. See numbers 6 and 7 regarding the following: placing large items in the magazine flap in front of you; placing feet on the back of the seat in front of you; allowing children to kick and pummel the seat in front of you; allowing children to bounce and rock in their seat; allowing children to hang over the back of their seat…..hey…you do know that there is someone behind and in front you, right?

9. If you are in an aisle where another person is in the center seat, be kind and considerate; let them use at least one of the armrests! Window and aisle seats don’t automatically get use of two armrests a piece! It is hard enough to sit like a mummy in a center seat without the ability to rest at least one arm!

10. Listening to your i-pod or other type mp3 player at excessive volume can permanently damage your ears. Safeguard your hearing and that of the passengers in nearby seats by maintaining a reasonable sound level. If we want to listen to hip-hop or acid rock we can choose those pieces for our own enjoyment.

11. Try, really try, not to get up and do your travel exercises or head for the lavatory when the beverage cart is in service. You’ll get trapped on the wrong side of your seat for sure and the cart will have to bump into elbows and knees, yet again, in order to let you by. Besides, the cart inevitably will not return to the row where it left off and those aisles just won’t get beverage service.

12. Upon landing, keep your seat belt fastened and stay in your seat until the pilot turns off the seat belt sign. You are trapped in the plane until it is at the gate and the door is open, you aren’t going anywhere. Stay in your seat, with seatbelt fastened. Do NOT get up and start opening the storage bins.

13. When it is time to de-plane, do so from the front and in row order unless requested to do otherwise by the flight crew. Waiting for the others in front of you is only courteous and reasonable. Everyone wants off that plane; lots of other people have connecting flights, why do you think that you are more important than the other passengers? Do you think you paid extra for the privilege of knocking other people out of the way?

14. Walk through the plane and up the jet way. Please don’t stop right in the middle of the pathway to check a bag, or make a call, or ??????? If you must do these things, step out of the way, against a wall or somewhere similar. You stopping in the middle of deplaning passengers creates the same result as a rush-hour rear-end collision.

15. Check that baggage! Make sure that the bag you take is yours, check the luggage tag. Lots of bags look alike and the person whose bag you take may not be capable of chasing you out to the taxi stand. Really.

The Light In Our Lives

2006-07-11T15:45:00.002-04:00

Her beautiful brown eyes look deep into my soul and my heart wells up with a love so big it nearly bursts. And then it aches with hurt to think that one day she’ll be gone. She’s my best friend and confidant; when I’m down she lifts me up, when I’m sad, she makes me smile, when I’m happy, she shares my joy. She always brings love into my life.

She sleeps in the most peculiar positions imaginable and snores a funky ‘garumph’ that makes her lip quiver just a tad. The first thing every morning she does a silly little dance that make me giggle and shake my head. Her appetite knows no bounds; she eats everything on her plate and isn’t shy about asking for more. She is gaining a bit of weight, though; she doesn’t like exercise like she used to, I think it’s her knees. She loves being with me and never, ever complains about what I want to do, she just goes along. She’ll curl up on the couch next to me and sleep through whatever I’m happily watching on TV. She’s happy as long as I’m happy and as long as I acknowledge her existence every now and then. She is perfect in every way.

He is an imp with doe eyes that, somehow, always look sad and can break your heart with just one glance. They seem to still reflect his orphaned beginnings, as if he fears he might one day be abandoned again. He clings ever so tightly, can’t bear to let go even for a second. That fear and insecurity provide for stomach issues for him, I’m afraid. He requires a lot of love, reassurance, and a special diet but, that’s OK, I don’t mind, not at all. Poor darling, he is so adorable but a little light on the intelligence factor. He could never join Mensa, no, not him. Ah, but never mind, his charm and loyalty are his strongest and most loveable traits. He keeps me safe and warm, and I always feel needed; it is a pact that we have. He’s my buddy and a really, really good guy.

Together they are the light in our lives, our joy first thing in the morning and our trusted comfort the last thing at night. Our ‘kids’, our ‘friends’, the energy and light that binds us. Shadow and Spider, that’s who they are.

Just Can't Get Into It!

2006-07-06T11:19:00.002-04:00

What is it with manufacturers, retailers, and others whose merchandise they wish you to buy? They advertise, market, pay people to do demographic work, pay others to “market display” their wares, and entice you to shell out your hard earned cash to purchase items you might not need---only to get them home and find you are unable to use them due to horrific safety packaging or insane labeling or annoying price tagging. You know what I mean.

Take that audio/video cable you bought to maximize the effect of your new home theater system; it takes you five minutes to hook up the cables but an hour to get them out of that cardboard and plastic prison they came enveloped in. When all your nails have been broken and all the available cardboard has been ripped apart, you hunt down the scissors, or box cutter to whale-away at the plastic. You might be lucky to free the cable before you cut your fingers on either the cutting implement or the sharp plastic edges.

And then there are those DVDs and CDs so beautifully gift-wrapped at Christmas or on birthdays. The celebratory wrapping is a snap to get through, but the shrink wrapping on that little plastic case, well, good grief, it takes a ‘jaws of life’ to extricate it from the shrink wrap. And, once that feat is accomplished, you have to get past the ‘stuck for life’ security tape on either end of the dang case. So, your fingernails are once again ripped to shreds and the movie and/or music is already outdated by the time the thing is out of its cellophane. New Age music is now required to calm the savage beast which has been unleashed; ummmm, ummmmm, ummmmm (it isn't helping.)

But my worst bugaboos are those nasty sticky labels placed on glass or ceramic pieces. These little devils are designed to tell the potential purchaser the ‘cost of the item’, who ‘designed the item’, the ‘discount to be taken’, or some other marketing message. Some very helpful sales person places these lovely little darlings right on the front of the glass, cup, picture, bowl, frame, or other decorative piece you just have to have for your house. The trouble is that sticky little monster is on there for good, defying laws of nature and chemistry. No amount of tugging, scraping, fingernail polish remover, or stuff manufactured to remove the ‘sticky stuff’ will budge the ‘goo’. I’ve had to return frames, artwork, and decorative pottery because the labels seem to be what the merchandiser was selling rather than the item to which the label was stuck.

HELLO!!!! What possible good does it do for these masterful merchandisers to craft such wonderful marketing campaigns and then sabotage the sales with packages and labels that diminish or negate the sale altogether? It is mindless marketing. Boo, Hiss, Bah-Humbug.

My “PIT” of the month rant.

Prose, Prose, whr4 art thou, Prose?

2006-06-05T10:56:00.002-04:00

I find text message and message board “speak” not only difficult to read but incredibly annoying and sad. A whole generation is growing up with the mistaken belief that “How R U?” is grammatically correct and that misspelled words are totally acceptable because a “message board isn’t a spelling test”. Apparently these electronically charged youth are under the odd misconception that what they learn in school is solely for the purpose of passing a test and matriculating from one grade to another until they finally graduate from some form of “higher education”. Proper spelling and grammar isn’t to be misinterpreted as useful or something that “real” people do in everyday life.

If you love the English language and appreciate well written prose and have not yet had the exasperating experience of attempting to read and understand messages posted on a message board, or your cell phone, I will be happy to supply you with the newest form of communication. Here are but a few examples of which I speak.

RU Gng Out 2Nite? (Are you going out tonight?)

IM ABT2 LV NW BHM B4 UNO IT (I’m about to leave now, be home before you know it.)

K CU (Okay, see you.)

This truncated version of language is showing up not only on message boards, but now you can find them sneaking into e-mail, essays, and other, more formal, forms of writing. I am not the first (and hopefully not the last) to be completely aggrieved at the potential for loss of language skills. The BBC carried an intriguing article not long ago about students and the use of “Text Lingo” in schools (makes me shudder to think on it):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2814235.stm

It would seem that this latest evolution is just the next step in the progressive decline of language. Newspapers took a perfectly good language and created Headlines, Hooks, and Captions. Since television’s advent into our lives, the little talking box has grown in size while its use of the language decreases in value. Today we are subject to Graphic Splash, Buzz Words and Sound Bytes. Literature has changed so dramatically that it is hard to believe that today’s best-selling authors have ever read the likes of Steinbeck, Hemingway, Austen, Bronte, Fitzgerald, or any other purveyor of beautiful words and thoughtful prose.

I wonder, has the written word transformed the reader or have the demands of lazy readers and writers transformed the written word? Where do you think they went, all of those lovely lost words and sentences?

As 4 me, I lng 4t dy wen wrds wr wrds n lang wz lang dat I cud read n wrt w/o a transl8R! drivN me %-)

Nature's Time Machine

2006-06-02T08:48:00.000-04:00

It rained last night. It didn’t begin as that gentle, soft, easy rain that lulled me to sleep with my window open. The storm began to the northeast, how odd that seemed, with dark clouds gathering in an inverted bowl shape and bolt lightening hitting just beyond the field of students practicing soccer. I waited impatiently for the kids to run for cover, waited for the teacher to send them in, but they continued the practice. The scene was oddly surreal, as if two photographs had been edited together, each part having no business being attached to the other. The storm, as if minding the teacher, kept its distance from the field until the practice was completed and the students safely inside. Unleashed, the clouds and lightening and thunder and rain all rushed over the field toward the house and we watched in fascinated wonder at Nature’s excited dance of freedom. The air cooled and the breeze filled with a hundred scents, only a few we could identify. By bedtime, the frenzied boogie had calmed to a lovely waltz of soft rain and gentle breezes so that the windows could be opened when the lights were out.

Suddenly I wasn’t in Virginia anymore, I am at home in Glendale the first summer the Dodgers played in L.A.; my window open and the clock radio crackling with the voice of Vin Scully, hearing for the first time the names of Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Jim Gilliam, Don Drysdale, and Sandy Koufax. Zap! I am the only one awake at my grandmother's house in La Crescenta, reading Photoplay while I listen to the pine trees whipping about outside, the smell of dusty rain in the air. Zing! I am sitting on a screened porch at a Maine cabin near Camden, watching a late summer squall flash across Penobscot Bay.

Time travel by smell, what a glorious trip.