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Minimalism and Joy
July 11, 2016
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life changing magic book
I have been listening to the popular book by Marie Kondo, the life changing magic of tidying up. She is an expert in this field who has a very specific way to approach all possessions in consideration of the happiness of the objects, as well as the joy of the owner. Her technique is being adopted all over the world, but she is from Japan, a country where living space is much smaller typically than housing in the US. She has been kind of obsessed with organizing and tidying since she was a very young child. Her overview of the practices as well as the pitfalls of common elimination and storage strategies is brilliant. Formulas, as she demonstrates, must be simplistic, or they backfire.
addicted to junk pick up
She has helped me see the light about my yo-yo decluttering habits. Exactly like yo- yo diets, the system that does not holistically evaluate the perfect items to keep as well as the way to permanently let go of objects will end in rebound to the status quo. In the exact same way people buy weight loss products rather than making a permanent life style change, some of us buy organizing and storage products rather than just trimming down the volume of what needs to be stored. She has my number. I am addicted to the concierge pick up service offered by Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. When they call I always gather a load for them to pick up in front of my garage. Since I began this practice I have significantly reduced my total volume of items that I own. It makes me feel accomplished every time. However, this temporary feeling of successful lightening of the load is always…I can admit now it is always….followed by more junk that creeps back up and fills my office desk, my closets, and sometimes my garage. I am too old to allow this to continue. This is just mastery over my space, so I am not sure what is so difficult.
I love systems, and think the end result must be heavenly. She promises that if you go through each and every item as instructed your breakthrough to minimalist living will be complete. I am sure she is right that dealing with your stuff is dealing with your past. If you only deal with part of it, you will never be finished. One of her points really hit home for me: You can deal with your stuff right now, later, or never. Right now is the only one that does anyone any good. The stuff contains that “emotional baggage” about which we hear so much. When you have properly dealt with the reasons you keep stuff, you have fully examined the past and put it to rest.
Do you struggle to stay tidy, gentle reader? Or are you a natural?
Wearing the Bulletproof Vest
July 10, 2016
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Oakmont police force 1947
When I was growing up in a small suburb of Pittsburgh my town had a small police department. Oakmont was so small that neighborhood policing was natural, as well as the only option. Everyone knew everyone’s business and everyone’s children. The photo above of the 1947 Oakmont force with the mayor was only a few years before I took up residence in the town. This was taken, no doubt, on Memorial Day after the parade at the cemetery. This is probably all the motorcycle cops, with the mayor in the middle. None of the people in this picture could have imagined how much the role of the police would change in society.
motorcycle cops today
I had a frank discussion recently with Officer Marquis, who is a motorcycle cop at TPD. I asked him what it is like to wear the vest. His answers surprised me because he brought up an issue I had never considered. He told me how hot it makes him. OMG, you are out in Tucson in the summer wearing leather boots, and now you need to add a ceramic vest to protect your vital organs!!! How cruel and unusual can your job be? I was just thinking about the way the weight compresses the spine, but he made me see another way the vest has unintended consequences. The K9s are not allowed to wear their vests for too long because it will overheat and damage their organs and possibly their brains. Meanwhile, we are roasting our human cops. Officer Marquis wears a lighter style vest with ceramic inserts that he adds when he wears it. I think this eliminates a few ounces of the total burden..but then there is the physical mastery of the bike, which is heavy in itself. Tough job.
We talked about his bike and other interesting stuff. He seemed pretty happy about his job, despite the roasting factor. I asked him if he feels like a target (this was months before the world truly went barbaric). He said yes. On his motorcycle he is obviously less protected than the car cops. He was not complaining and I am absolutely sure he would not have brought the subject up had I not done so. I went on to ask a couple more cops that day if they felt like targets. The other two said no, but I wonder what they might answer now, after the the violent events of last week. All cops have to feel like victims now, because it is a very reasonable assessment of the situation that prevails.
The lady cop vests look particularly uncomfortable. I am not sure how they are fitted, but this lady told me hers was as long as possible (makes sense). She said she does not feel like a target. I was apparently the only person from the fashion police who had ever asked her about it. It does not flatter the female figure, to say the least. Even Jessica Rabbit would look like the Marshmallow guy from Ghostbusters in the lady cop vest. This lady cop wears hers well and does not mind wearing it, but one can only imagine how attractive she is in real life.
lady in vest
I have become obsessed with this vest question. It is symbolic as well as physical. It does compress their spine and add weight for their skeleton to carry, as well as keep them safe. It heats them up and makes it hard to cool down. The looney in Dallas wore one himself. In Tucson the cops have to pay for their own because city taxes are not set aside for that. I am shocked that the city can get away with that. In private industry I don’t think you can demand that workers risk their lives and BYO safety equipment. Can you think of an example of that, gentle reader?
I doubt that people here know that there is a charitable organization here with a purpose of providing the vests to the individual cops. Adopt-a-Cop is the program provide this necessary safety equipment to the force, since as taxpayers we are not even doing THAT. We need to step up to solve our civil unrest problems on all sides. This seems like a basic step to take, Tucson. Let’s buy them vests. Then let’s get some new politicians who will put the vests in the city’s budget.
When Does The Ship Come In?
July 9, 2016
— 3 Comments
Pacific
When I was a freshman a the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 I was an idealist. I was a folk singer, hum dinger. I protested the war in Viet Nam and civil rights atrocities. We thought that an egalitarian, high minded society was just around the corner. We thought the empire of fascist evil would end as soon as Barry Goldwater died. We knew less about world affairs then, but we knew that war was not only the only true sin amount nations, but also unconstitutional in the way it was being waged with no declaration. Since 1968 the United States has been at war with at least one part of the world all the time. Peace has not been achieved, and civil rights have been all but forgotten. Now we have the for profit prison system to mass incarcerate people of color, and laws designed specifically to feed that system. Our war on drugs has produced an epidemic of cheap heroin and an addiction crisis.
I was too young to march on Washington in 1963. I was busy living as an ex-pat petroleum princess in Venezuela. I spent a lot of time listening to Radio Havana because it was the only station that we got with a strong signal on the radio. I usually turned it off when Fidel went off on his speeches, but I liked the music from Cuba. Back in those days Venezuela had a natural contempt for Cuba and Fidel, and dependence on oil companies for their entire economy. This worked very well for the preteen petroleum princess, but not so well for the impoverished worker class. Like the historical Buddha I was exposed to suffering I never could have imagined in the world. The really interesting part was that my parents had no problem with the semi slavery and obscene show of wealth we enjoyed. I didn’t either until I thought about it. Now my own country has almost the same level of income disparity I observed in 1963 in Venezuela. The hippies have not yet accomplished our mission. I wonder if in the chaos and violence of this time, so similar to 1968, we might finally see the ship come in. The whole wide world is certainly watching.
Pacific
Mind the Gap #NoJustice
July 8, 2016
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There are gaps of understanding between the citizens and the police. This has always been the case. Today we face an ever growing divide that makes everyone in the United States vulnerable to senseless violence and hate crimes of all kinds.
We have a new police chief in Tucson who has come to teach us neighborhood policing. When he held up a hashtag sign in his former town of Richmond, California, he was criticized widely across the nation for betraying cops. The Police Union in Tucson soundly rejected his bid to become chief over this sign. Thank goodness they lost the battle and Chief Magnus has started the very serious task of bringing our cops together in unity not only with each other but, for the first time, with the community. He has reorganized the department, focusing on more stable local assignments so the cops learn more about the same area all the time. He has eliminated some of the “specialties”, as recommended by the DOJ’s 21st Century Guidelines for Policing, in order to make each cop more full service and user friendly. He knew he was moving to a much bigger city, but I don’t think he could have imagined how much we needed him down here in Tucson. This will be a very big job for him, but I am glad he has started it.
Chris Magnus
Welcome to Tucson, Chief Chris,”357″,Magnus. You are just what the doctor ordered.
Slipping Standards of American Justice
July 7, 2016
— 4 Comments
The daily reports of violence make life in America scary and real. I see the trend that has been targeting young black males, but I am a little old lady, as WASP as WASP can be. I do not trust the police as far as I can throw them. They make my neighborhood very unsafe by refusing to respond when crime is reported. I don’t fear brutality, but everyone where I live has suffered years of police mendacity that has destroyed any trust there might have been in our local law enforcement agencies. The new sliding scale introduced for the unprecedented Hillary e mail case is all about intent. Now it is more important to decide if the entity meant do violate laws rather than to know if laws were broken. That is how there can be a homicide with no person who committed it. The crazy trend to reach a verdict without any trial or jury, by letting the FBI decide, or by letting cops murder people without even arresting them has gone way too far. We are not safe in our homes or on the streets of our cities. The system is not rigged, per se, it is just entirely corrupt. It is not a matter of good cop/bad cop. It is a dysfunctional system that is not attached to justice, but to a separate reality in which there is no law but their opinion. My Puritan ancestors would plotz to know what has become of their nation.
What would the ancestors do?
- Create a public school system for the purpose of teaching civics
- Reward those who tattle on any infraction of the law
- Publicly shame those who break the law
- Keep a very close watch on the constable to avoid corruption
- Make every man woman and child defend the nation through service
- Punish everyone who deviated from their religious beliefs (that was where they lost it and went off the rails)
We can never go back to colonial America to find out how we lost our ethical boundaries and our civil rights. Murders by cop are live streamed to the world today. I have not watched this last one because I saw the one from Baton Rouge yesterday, and I can’t take in another one. The victim’s mother has decided not to watch it for her own mental health. We need to find a way to stop the bloodbath. I am calling on all my relations to give me insight into this crisis.
white senior issues
John Mead, 8th Great-Grandfather
July 4, 2016
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headstone
My 8th great-grandfather came to America as young boy with his parents and became a founder of Hartford, Connecticut.
John was born about 1628 in England and came to Connecticut with his parents as a young child. He married Hannah Potter, daughter (or possibly stepdaughter) of William Potter of Stamford. John and his brother Joseph moved from Stamford to Hempstead, Long Island, and returned to Connecticut by 1664. John died 5 Feb 1699, probably in Connecticut. John was one of seven original proprietors of Greenwich, CT, as described at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctfairfi/pages/greenwich/greenwich_index.htm
“On February 5, 1664, the Seven Proprietors made a formal request to the General Assembly in Hartford to be allowed to separate from Stamford and to support its own minister and lay out its own lands. The Seven Proprietors were John MEAD, Jonathan RENALDS, John HOBBY, Joseph FERRIS, Joshua KNAPP, Angell HUSTED, and Jeffrey FERRIS.
On May 11, 1665, the General Assembly in Hartford declared Greenwich a separate township, and authorized funds for the hiring and support of an orthodox minister. In 1672, the so-called “27 Proprietors” bought land from the few remaining Indians to the west of the “Myanos River.” This land became known as “Horseneck” because of the neck of land now known as Field Point was the common HORSE PASTURE. ”
John signed all documents with a mark, but had several books in his estate inventory, so he could probably read but not write.
John and Hannah had eleven children:
John, b. abt 1658, married Ruth Hardey in 1681.
Joseph, b. 2 May 1660, married Mary.
Hannah, b. abt 1661, married John Scofield 12 Jul 1677.
Ebenezer, b. 1663, married Sarah Knapp in 1691.
JONATHAN, b. abt 1665, married Martha Finch.
David, b. abt 1665, married Abigail Leane 16 Dec 1707.
Benjamin, b. May 1666, married first Sarah Waterbury, second Rachel Brown.
Nathaniel, b. abt 1669, married Rachel.
Samuel, b. abt 1673, married Hannah.
Abigail, b. abt 1675. Fairfield Probate Records cited in The Ancestry of Elizabeth Barret Gillespie, “reveal that she was incompetent to manage her own affairs: ‘Whereas John Mead Sen’r, deceased, of Greenwich, haveing not made Satisfieing provision in his will for his daughter Abegaile Mead, She being not Capable of doing for her Self as may be desired by Reason, whearof Ebeneaz Mead of Greenwich dos hereby, in the presence of ye Prerogative Court, Engage to pay unto ye s’d Abegaile Mead, his sister, ye Sum of therty and five pounds, to be paid unto her According as he Shall Apprehend She Shall stand in Need of it for her Comfortable subsistence.”
Tomac Burying Ground
John Mead’s House
John Mead (1634 – 1699)
8th great-grandfather
Benjamin Daniel Mead (1667 – 1746)
son of John Mead
Mary Mead (1724 – 1787)
daughter of Benjamin Daniel Mead
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Mary Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
The following anecdote, which has been preserved by tradition, shows his character: One day when he was quite an old man, as he was going for his grist on horseback to the mill at Dumpling Pond, before he reached the Mianus River he overtook and old Quaker jogging slowly along, loaded with a heavy budget. In a real spirit of kindness he offered to take the Quaker’s load upon his horse, and thus give him a lift on his journey. No,replied the Quaker, thee don’t get my bundle, for I can read men’s thoughts. Thee wants to get my bundle, and then thee’ll run off. Thee don’t get my bundle. Very well, was the simple reply, and so they went slowly on together. At last they came to the brink of the Mianus River. Here the Quaker was really in trouble. How to cross a river, two or three feet deep, dry shod, was quite a puzzle. But he gladly accepted a second offer of assistance from the horseman. The bundle was mounted in front, John in the middle, and the Quaker behind. Arriving at the centre of the river, in pretending to adjust his stirrup John caught the Quaker by the heel and gave him a gratuitous bath. Such treatment was too much, even for Quaker forbearance, and the victim, with his hands full of pebbles, would have taken summary vengeance, had not the other party threatened to put the bundle under a similar course of treatment. This threat, and the lecture following it, gradually cooled off the Quaker’s anger. John informed him that all had been done for his good, to teach him a lesson. And the lecturer said he hoped the stranger would never again profess to read men’s thoughts. For, said he, I asked you to ride, kindly in the first place, when you refused; but at the second time of asking, I really intended to do as I have just done. So saying, and tossing the bundle back, he rose on, leaving his companion to apply the moral as he thought best.
Happy 240th Birthday America! — Cherokee Billie Spiritual Advisor
July 2, 2016
— 3 Comments
“America, God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood…from sea to shining sea!” Happy 240th Birthday America! “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” President John F. Kennedy Freedom […]
via Happy 240th Birthday America! — Cherokee Billie Spiritual Advisor
Patriotic Poetry by the Man in Black, Johnny Cash
K9 Piper Salutes the Blue Angles
July 2, 2016
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My latest K9 crush is a border collie who works for the US Coast Guard on Lake Michigan, at an airport. K9 Piper patrols for wildlife around the airport and fulfills various duties with his human partners. Because he often works on an active runway he is fitted with special goggles to protect his eyes. He looks darling in them, but they serve a very useful purpose. He also wears ear muffs to protect his hearing when a plane or helicopter is landing. The look is so cute I can hardly stand it.
This week he is working his popular instagram profile to salute the Blue Angles Navy flight team. I love the way his eyewear provider custom designed tribute goggles to honor fallen Angel Captain Jeff Kuss. Piper’s eyewear represents the best kind of partnership when he lets folks know about high quality dog goggles (for those who need this sort of thing) and sends his own personal canine message of tribute at the same time. #HappyFourthofJuly #airportk9 Piper. You rule.
These Images Of Jupiter’s Auroras Are Awe-Inspiring — Real Stories – UPROXX
June 30, 2016
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Facebook/Nasa Over the last couple years NASA has had a few emotional hits and a few selfie-inducing misses. But what they do best, and what we can perpetually depend on them to do, is blow some minds with their extra-terrestrial imagery. Recently, they upped the bar when images of Jupiter’s auroras came back from the…
via These Images Of Jupiter’s Auroras Are Awe-Inspiring — Real Stories – UPROXX
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