He's Baaaaaaack...

to college that is.We returned our youngest to school today for his second semester of his sophomore year and it's always bittersweet for me. I always feel like a little piece of me has broken away and left an empty space. I love having him home and this last break I really saw a change in him. He's grown so much, not physically, he's actually lost weight and is down to a size 30 waist, but intellectually. He's matured and has his own thoughts and ideas. We've had several somewhat heated debates while he's been home the last five weeks.

From prison reform to should juveniles be given life in prison sentences to equality and discrimination in the United States. I see the joie de vevre in him. The activist in him. The youthful hopefulness for the future. I see that my influence has come to fuition. He is his own person, individual, responsible, an independant thinker and a leader. Some of our discussions have been heated at times. For the first time I saw myself as being the older generation. He's young and has the world before him. I'm older and have seen much over the years. I see things that have changed but not for the good. He's young and wants to save the world and thinks his generation can. Maybe they can, I thought mine would. He is so right about one thing, the root of most of America's trouble is the scourge of drugs. They're behind the downfall of so many things in our civilization from crime to over crowed prisons to the break up of families and so much more. Maybe this generation can be the one to over come so many social ills. I can only hope and if they can, my son will be part of it.

A Little Birdie

This small olive green colored little bird called a large-billed reed warbler and is one of the rarest in the world. It was first cataloged in India in 1868 and hadn't been seen since until 2002 in Thialand. Very little is known about it since they are so scarce.

In 2008 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) discovered one of these birds. They returned in 2009 and banded 20 of these warblers. What is so amazing to me is not that they discovered this bird but where they found it. WCS found it in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan along the border of China. What I want to know is why a group of scientists can find one of the worlds most rare birds but the United States Armed Forces cannot find Bin Ladin. (Don't get me wrong, I know they're looking hard, people are losing their lives doing it. I just think he's a master at hiding). It's hoped that the find of this bird will boost tourism in Afghanistan. In 2007 the country made between 4 - 7 billion dollars in tourism. Who would go there for a vacation?

There are certain words in the English language that some use indicriminatly without really thinking about the exact meaning. Take asshole for instance. Some may bandy it around among friends, some may use it to be mean and spiteful. Which ever way you use it an asshole is nothing I'd want to be referred to as. If you want to get specific it's the orifice where human waste leaves the body. You can call me a bitch but don't call me an asshole.

That title is reserved for the biggest one of all.

I purposely didn't post this rant when it happened thinking maybe his comments were misconstrued but as time's gone by he stands by them so here goes... I cannot stomach this man for what he stands for and the statements he makes. His remarks regarding the earthquake in Haiti are truly over the top. In case you haven't heard them he stated that,

"Everything this president sees is a political opportunity, including Haiti and he will use it to burnish his credentials with minorities in this country and around the world and to accuse republicans of having no compassion."

and if that wasn't enough he says,

"This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their shall we say "credibility" with the black community-in both the light and dark-skinned black community. It's made to order for them."

Why in light of this disaster is Limbaugh trashing the United States' efforts to help and accusing Obama of using the crisis for political gain. How is this a political thing? I don't understand how a person can be so right wing, so closed minded as to criticize anyone whose views don't mimic his. The scary thing is millions follow this man and take his opinions as their own. Look at his home boy George W. Bush. He put his head in the sand with the Hurricane Katrina disaster. No criticism there but maybe that was because of the ethnicity of the people affected by that disaster. Is Limb a racist? I tend to think so.

Limbaugh's tirade continued when he insulted a caller to his show who dared to call him out on his poisonous assertions calling her a blockhead with tampons in her ears. He's denounced the president for helping the Haitians for his own agenda but let's turn the tables, isn't he doing the same thing here? Using this disaster to promote his own special brand of hate.

Jon Stewart got it right when he said "I think I know the cause of your heart trouble: you don't have one."

HELP

There's always something going on in the world that reminds me of how good I have it in my little slice of life. Both my husband and I have jobs that are secure, we have a warm house to live in, food on my table, some money for extras. We don't have hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. There are unfortunate people all over the world that need help and right now it is the people of Haiti. The devastation from Tuesday's quake is horrendous. Hospitals, schools, prisons, homes, businesses are flattened with many people trapped.

I know that the blogging community is very generous and I ask that you please think of the suffering Haitian people and if you can make a donation to help them. I chose UNICEF but there are others to choose from. Click the links to check them out.

UNICEF USA

Doctors Without Borders

American Red Cross

I'm sure anything you can spare will help.

Someone to Love

Serving our country in the military must be the hardest job going. I have the utmost respect for anyone who wears or wore a uniform. I'm a little too young to have had any friends who served in Vietnam and now I know parents whose children are in Iraq or Afghanistan. My nephew was in Iraq and took part in the mission that captured the palace where Sadam's sons were living. In the military you're at the mercy of the Commander in Chief and today's soldiers will most likely be sent overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan. I personally believe we will never be out of there. Imagine day in and day out wondering if this will be the day that someone or something will kill you. Then there are the families that these men and women leave behind left to wonder the same thing every day. Add in the horror and suffering they must see everyday. I can't

fathom it.

Whether you agree or disagree with the two wars that we've been thrust into, the men and women serving are some one's son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, grandchild, aunt, uncle and friend and I feel for them. As a mother, my children are my most precious possession and it would be torture for me to have them where human life is so easily disregarded. It makes my blood boil when I hear of another soldier killed in the line of duty in a place we have no business being. My heart hurts for the innocent citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who are also being killed by both sides. I sometimes think that if mothers ruled the world there would be no wars. In case you were wondering what The Runaway Bunny has to do with war I'll tell you... U.S. Army SPC Jason M. Johnson of Albion, NY was killed December 26, 2009 by an IED (improvised explosive device) while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Arghandab, Afghanistan. Johnson was 24 years old and on his second deployment with the 82nd Airbourne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At his funeral his mother Jenny requested that the book The Runaway Bunny be read aloud during the service. The book she explained was a favorite of Jason's as a young child and he would ask to have it read to him over and over again before bed.

*

Jason M. Johnson was some one's son, grandson, brother, uncle and nephew.

Lights

The holidays are over and I'm relieved. My house is back to normal and I'm happy. When I was younger I'd be sad about that and it would take me some time to snap out of it but as I grow older the holidays become more and more work. I'm sure they always were but maybe I had more energy. My kids were young and it was so much fun. Maybe that's why I'd be bummed.

But now at this stage of my life the cleaning, decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking and hype is just too much. Don't get me wrong, I still love this time of year, I'm all about the anticipation and enjoy the month leading up to Christmas but the work that goes along with it, I can do without. My tree was up for almost 10 days before I decorated it and next year I'm thinking something smaller. I think I need some little ones to rejuvenate the holidays. That won't happen for a few years at least.

Now the New Year is here and I don't know where you live but here in New York the days are snowy, cold and dreary. Perhaps people should keep their Christmas lights on at least through January. Just to cheer things up during the darkness of winter. We'll take ours down off of the house but keep the ones lit on our little Japanese maple for a while.