Some of these accidents have occurred on dark, rainy nights. But many have occurred on sunny afternoons.

At least two of  these accidents have been fatal.  All  have caused pain and suffering.

My guess is that MANY of these accidents were caused by inattentive drivers.

What’s your guess?

Though the snow created some amazing images this winter, like many, I'm longing for Spring to arrive this year.

The edges of the lake are flowing water, not ice, today.

Daffodil sprouts are now five inches high in my garden.

Spring arrives in 16 days according to the calendar.

Do you think the piles and mounds of dirty snow will be all gone by then?

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Image: Carlos Porto

to see how things have progressed in the umpteen years since I attended.

To my dismay, but not to my surprise, NOTHING seems to have changed.  But the stand-out is the dress code, emblematic of all that was 1965, with the possible exception of the mention of “multiple piercings.”

My favorite line: “Judgement (sic) concerning the appropriateness of any student’s attire rests with the administration.”

Such is, and was, the life of the teenage girl who attends(ed) this school.

Now I ask: If  “judgement concerning the appropriateness of any student’s attire rests with the administration” how and when do students develop their own judgment concerning appropriate attire?

This, in a nutshell,  was my experience attending a Catholic girl’s high school. “No need to think for yourselves. We’ll do it for you!”

Below,  if you are curious, is part of the CURRENT dress code,  which, if memory serves me,  is identical to the 1960’s.

“Students are required to adhere to the following dress code:

* Uniform skirt or uniform pants (when Permitted)
* Skirts are to be a presentable length for school. They may not be rolled up at the waist.
* The School shoes must be worn at all times-either the loafer or lace shoe, whichever you choose.
* Dark stockings are required; black, charcoal gray, navy tights or dark knee socks must be worn. Fish net and patterned stockings are not permitted. Students are to arrive, remain, and leave in the school uniform/dress code.

On days that uniforms are not required, it is expected that each student will select attire which will not call attention to her in a negative way. Judgement concerning the appropriateness of any student’s attire rests with the administration.

Students may not have visible body piercing (e.g. eyebrow, lips, nose, tongue, etc.) except for earrings, and no more than 2 pair of earrings may be worn at school (these earrings should be small in size.) No headwear is permitted in class. Only one neck-chain may be worn-and one ring on each hand.”

Is this still the way to go?

Do you think this teaches anything?

Nevertheless here’s the real  bottom line: It  really doesn’t matter where it started. We, the people, and by extension our representatives, need to stop arguing along DIVISIVE  party lines and start FIXING the problem,  for “the common good.”

The blame game gets us nowhere, fast.

Can we agree on that much?

Texting and talking on a handheld or a handsfree cell phone is as, or more, dangerous than driving drunk!

Here’s a thought for all you moms and dads who still defend your habit of driving while talking on your cell phones or texting, despite the ever- growing body of  evidence that PROVES you are driving while impaired. (No matter  your self-proclaimed and non-existent superior, multi-tasking abilities.)

Your babies, toddlers, children and teens are watching your every move.  And as every parent knows, there’s no adage more true than “Monkey see, monkey do.”

Let’s fast forward.

One day in the not- too-distant future your darling 3’6″ seven-year old superhero will be your darling seventeen-year old, testosterone-fueled, completely invincible (at least to himself) 6’3″ superhero with a brand new driver’s license. Your golden boy or girl will be behind the wheel of a several- thousand-pound vehicle with cell phone or PED in hand… or NOT.

If nothing else can persuade you to put down that phone or PED and to lead your kids by your BEST example, the thought of your eventually-adolescent, hypocrisy-sniffing offspring doing exactly what you are doing today should chill your blood.

It does mine.

According to the United States Department of Transportation statistics, simply talking on the phone (handheld or NOT ) while driving is like driving legally drunk with a blood alcohol of .08.

Texting and driving makes you 23 times more likely to be in an accident that day.

Do you want your kids to drive with those odds?

Then don’t do it yourself.

Repeat after me:

I will not drink and drive.

I will not text and drive.

I will not phone and drive.

Join the movement. Click on the icon in the right column to buy a bumper sticker!

My friend Deborah posted  a video clip, One Bad Decision, on her facebook page today. The kid in the clip is a friend of one of  her sons.

They all live near here.The police officers, EMTs, nurses and surgeons are local. So is the video production company.

But the message is UNIVERSAL and so important to us all in this age  of ever more “distracted drivers.”

Yeah, it’s painful to watch.

And yes, you’ve likely heard it before.

But watch it anyway.

And then pass it on.

Send it to everyone you know.

Even if you think they know better.

Oh, and grab a box of tissues.

Repeat after me: I will not drink and drive. I will not text and drive. I will not phone and drive.

one bad decision

The hummingbirds, and I, love cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis) .

The native plants, that is.

” Invite nature and beauty into your landscape with native plants. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Fall Native Plant Sale is filled with a premier selection of over 200 species of nursery-propagated native trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, vines and ferns native to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Delaware Valley Region. The Fall Native Plant Sale will be held at the Visitor Center area of the Preserve on Saturdays and Sundays, September 12 and 13, and September 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.”

Natives, which here in the Northeast include azalea, viburnum, redbud, holly, river birch, dogwood, clethera, bearberry, pasture roses, honeysuckle, clematis, iris, bee balm, cardinal flower, black-eyed Susans and many, many more:

1. are beautiful.
2. survive on available water, once they are established.
3. don’t usually run rampant.
4. invite indigenous wildlife to your yard.
5. nurture  the native birds, butterflies, moths and bees.

Talk about sustainability.

FYI: Bowman’s Hill runs this fundraiser twice a year, to support their efforts at education and propagation.  So if you live in the area, plan a trip for this weekend or next.

Sunny and indomitable, Black-eyes Susans are native to much of the United States.

If you don’t live nearby, why not look up native plant sources for your area?  Here are a few I found:

Agrecol in the Midwest, sells $2 packets of native flowers and grasses.

There’s a big list of suppliers for a big state like Texas native plants.

Michigan natives abound.

Don’t be shy. Leave a note (see “comments”) or email a photo to write4@att.net  about a favorite native that grows in your garden. If you don’t have a garden, just tell us about a favorite native from your home state or country.

You all have them. Those several pairs of  shoes you never wear… but can’t bring yourself to throw out?

The fashion faux pas shoes. The  gee-when-did-my-feet-grow shoes? And those cool cross-trainers that gave you dime-sized blisters both times you wore them.

New shoes. (Courtesy of soles4souls.org)

Some of the shoes Soles4Souls.org has collected went to tsunami survivors and to those who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. Others go to the homeless, or to shelters for battered women, or to hospitals. Way better then going to waste in the landfill.

And Soles4Souls will happily accept not just your shoes, but the gently-used shoes and boots your toddlers have outgrown, your teenager will no longer leave the house in, or that just plain hurt your  husband’s feet.

Click here for your closest Soles4Souls drop-box location.

Quick, easy, painless sustainability and recycling. By my reckoning, unless you add chocolate to this deal, it just doesn’t get any better.

See an earlier, related post on sustainability.

And then do a good deed for your shoe-aholic friends by passing this post onto them.