Directions And Typos

I often think men get a bad rap for not asking for directions. I mean we know the world is round and we will eventually get where we are going. You do have to wonder if a man was involved in the following train trip. Read the article about the trip here:

http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/19/overnight-train-takes-passengers-to-wrong-city/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.travel.aol.com%2F2010%2F08%2F19%2Fovernight-train-takes-passengers-to-wrong-city%2F

Do you think the train operator was a man? I also wonder if the guys in the following article weren't on the train and reading all the billboards along the way to find grammatical errors:

http://www.asylum.com/2010/08/10/great-typo-hunt-jeff-deck-benjamin-herson-correct-grammar/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylum.com%2F2010%2F08%2F10%2Fgreat-typo-hunt-jeff-deck-benjamin-herson-correct-grammar%2F

OK, these guys weren't on the train in the first article because the train was in Europe and the guys were in the United States. But considering the navigational skills of the train operator they could have ended up in the United States. Maybe a little wet when they got here, but it could happen. Speaking of all wet, are the guys driving across our county correcting grammatical errors all wet or did they create a worthwhile project? As I am one that is often annoyed at the wrong use of the apostrophe I'm on the side of The Great Typo Hunt being a very worthwhile project. Are you with me or against me?

Your comments are always appreciated.

WHO AM I? Yesterday's answer was Mary Aloysius Molloy

I was born in 1948 and died much to young at age fifty-seven of adenoid cystic carcinoma, a form of cancer. I was a workplace activist who fought for equal pay, economic self-sufficiency and access to nontraditional jobs for women. I am the former director of the National Workforce Network and a former president of Wider Opportunities for Women, a national organization that works to promote nontraditional employment opportunities and economic independence for women and girls. I developed legislative proposals and testified before congressional committees regarding job training, welfare-to-work and vocational education. I also helped to create women's literacy programs and guided Wider Opportunities for Women in its outreach for women to enter into the construction trade and other jobs not usually filled by women. My efforts contributed to at least four federal laws. I was one of the first to cry outrage at the lack of affordable child care for working mothers. I fought for more television roles for women. With women's groups I helped develop the Self-Sufficiency Standard, which is being used by some states to decide living wages for families based on the number and age of children and geographical location. After starting a my own business that worked on strategies for helping low-income people move out of poverty I took a position with one of my clients and became its national director for one of their projects. Before all of the aforementioned stuff in my background I attended Northwestern for two years and then joined the Peace Corps for two years and served in Ecuador. There I found direction for my life work. Quoting my partner: "She just had such a deep desire for economic justice, and she began to see that in Ecuador," Patrick said. "And when she returned, she . . . began to see some of that in the workforce." When I returned from the Ecuador I graduated from George Mason University. I served on advisory commissions for three U.S. secretaries of labor and the Private Industry Council in Washington. I was the founder of several organizations including the Older Women's League, the National Coalition on Women and The National Women's Vote Project. Among the honors I received for my work are the Ms. Foundation for Women's Gloria Award for Women of Vision and National Award for Women's Economic Justice. While the owner of The Dahn report is asking himself why he hasn't heard of me, maybe you can answer the question, Who Am I?

The Express Lane, Men From The Wrong Century, & Stupid Looking

Life in the express lane gets physical:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100819/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_express_lane_harassment;_ylt=AqhbfMxc6k5UM7ZIIUrW8AntiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2bWs2ZjdrBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE5L3VzX29kZF9leHByZXNzX2xhbmVfaGFyYXNzbWVudARjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzQEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDd2lzbWFuY2l0ZWRm

I don't know where I stand. I've been on both sides of the issue. It irritates me when someone gets in the express lane with way to many items. I want them to go to grocery store jail. I've also on more than one occasion been patiently waiting in the slow lane only to have the clerk in the express lane come over and get my basket and pull me through her lane. Almost immediately someone hammers me for being there with to many items. I didn't even ask to be in the express lane like the woman in the above story. I do think the man's behavior was boorish because like the people that hammered me for being in the express line he jumped to conclusions and assumed the woman shouldn't be there. I also think his fine was a little excessive. What I am going to do from now on when I am asked to be in the express lane is politely turn the checker down. What is your reaction to the story?

Next is an article about men living wrong century. Egypt men. Makes you appreciate American men more.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100818/cm_csm/320365

Does the article surprise you? Disappoint you? Make you want to kick some Egyptian men's butt?

Come of guys if you withdrawing money from an ATM payattention to the resaon you are there and don't be distracted by anything. There is so much about the following article that just makes me shake my head. First head shaking part is the ages of the girls involved. Then there is the disappointment that men would want to even look at fourteen year-old girls. And you can't help but wonder where these girls parents were. Read the article and comment:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100818/od_nm/us_france_breasts

What is your take on the article?

WHO AM I? Yesterday's answe was Maxine Hong Kingston

I was born in 1880 and died in 1954. I grew up as the only child of Irish Catholic immigrant parents in Ohio. In an age when few women attended college I earned my way through college and graduated with more honors at OSU than anyone else up to that time. I went on to earn a master's degree and election to Phi Beta Kappa. I also earned my doctorate at an Ivy League University after which I began my career as a Catholic college educator when I accepted a job with the Franciscan Sisters who were creating the liberal arts College. Myself and another woman persevered and successfully established and administered the new collegiate institution for Catholic lay and religious women. I was unique as the lay dean of a Catholic college but in 1922 I became a nun, and later became the college president. As an educator I worked hard to improve the quality of women's education, wrestled with the unique problems of Catholic colleges, and carefully oversaw the development of my own school. When I retired, the college was a firmly established institution producing outstanding graduate women. I was one of the last among the heroic generation of founders of Minnesota women's colleges. As an educator and innovator I developed a rigorous four-year undergraduate curriculum for a women’s college, comparable to those used by colleges that educated men. I set high standards for both scholarship and public service. The College of Saint Teresa rapidly grew into one of the premier Catholic colleges in the United States but unfortunately is now closed. Who AM I?

Judging Siblings & Wearing Clean Underwear

I have never been a fan of TV's Judge Judy. I think she is extremely rude and discriminates against Hispanics. It is popular TV, however, as her show often outranks Oprah. What happens if in the real world a Judge Judy acts like the TV Judge Judy? She gets suspended.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599201149400;_ylt=AoHsKyIlDu7f5aSGV2Z4Y_is0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNrdm5naTk4BGFzc2V0A3RpbWUvMjAxMDA4MTgvMDg1OTkyMDExNDk0MDAEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM4BHBvcwM1BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDc2VhdHRsZXNqdWRn

What do you think? Should have Seattle's Judge Judy lost her job forever? Is five days suspension enough? Or should she have received no punishment?

Now the next article in my mind is completely off base and wrong on several levels. I know darn well I'm as smart as my older siblings. Maybe not smarter but just as smart. I also dispute that younger siblings are more outgoing. My sister and brother are both more outgoing than I am, I just do a better job of acting like I am more outgoing. Read the complete article here:

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/08/16/first-borns-smartest-birth-order-intelligence/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl3|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lemondrop.com%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Ffirst-borns-smartest-birth-order-intelligence%2F

What do you think? Are you smarter than your older or younger siblings? Are you more outgoing than your older or younger siblings?

I've stated before that one of my favorite columnist is Craig Wilson who writes "The Final Word" for USA Today. Today answers the question, should you wear underwear when traveling? Read his column here:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/finalword/2010-08-18-final18_ST_N.htm

If you are wondering traveling or not I always follow my Mom's advise and wear clean underwear (maybe backwards, but always clean). Boxers too. And you?

WHO AM I?

Yesterday's answer was Jill Kerr Conway. (By the way I love that DR doesn't stop when she figures out the answer. She keeps reading the bios on other web sites. I love that kind of curiosity.)

I was born in 1940 in California to first Chinese immigrants. Dad was a laundry worker and gambling house owner. Mom was a practitioner of medicine. I was the third of eight children and the eldest of the six of them born in the United States. Dad left China in 1924 and brought Mom over fifteen years later. I started writing early and won five bucks for an essay I wrote when I was a mere six. I proclaimed, I Am an American! I majored in engineering at Hippie U before switching to English. At age twenty-two I married an actor and shortly after began teaching high school. We had our first child a year after marrying. We moved to Hawaii where I completed my first novel about women and ghosts. My works often reflect my cultural upbringing, combining fiction with non-fiction. One of my books won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction and another about China Men won the National Book Award. My most recent books concerned poets and peace. I fought for peace and was arrested in Washington D.C. for crossing a police line during a protest against the Iraq war. My anti-war stance has significantly trickled into my work and some of my writings were initiated and inspired by growing up during World War II. Though my work is highly acclaimed, it has also received criticism, especially from some members of the Chinese American community. A playwright and novelist has severely criticized one of my books claiming that I had tainted the purity of Chinese tradition in reinterpreting stories and myths. Some of my writings contributed to the feminist movement as they dicussed gender and ethnicity and how those concepts effect women. I am currently Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where I graduated with a BA in English several years ago. I have received several awards for my contributions to Chinese American Literature. I was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President of the United States Bill Clinton. If you haven't figured out who I am you might look "Through The Black Curtain" to be able to answer the question, Who Am I?

Clothes & Chains

Late again today. I need a day without excitement right now. Caregiver for Mom had an attack at Mom's house. Instead of calling 911 Mom called my sister who went to Mom's house and called 911. I've tried to convince Mom that whenever she or anyone has a problem in her house call 911 first and then call sister or me. You can see how successful I've been at getting her to do that. When Mom told me the signs of what the caregiver was experiencing I immediately thought stroke and if it had been a stroke that few minutes between calling sister and then calling 911 could have been critical. This is one time I am proud to announce that I was wrong. The emergency room doctor diagnosed the caregiver's problem as an ear infection and a reaction to a bee sting. Good wishes sent the caregiver's direction are definitely appreciated.

How do you feel about dress codes? Do they make you more professional? Does it show the stage you are on or in respect? Or is it elitist crap? Courts in many areas are now requiring you leave certain dress styles home. Read the article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-16-court-dress-code_N.htm

I'm actually for getting rid of flip flops on dates, in churches, in court, and I'm certainly not against leaving shorts at home. I'm also in favor of pulling your damn pants up. What do you think?

Could you live in a town without chain restaurants? No McDonalds. No In and Out. No KFC, IHOP, or Denny's. Here is an article about a town that wants no chains.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-17-chain-restaurants_N.htm

Whose side are you on? The towns or the eight people suing them?


WHO AM I?

Yesterday's answer was Gerda Lerner

I was born in Australia in 1934 and became an educator and author. I grew up in isolation on our family's eighteen thousand acres and grew up with no playmates. I was schooled entirely by Mom and a country governess. I spent my youth working the sheep station and by age seven was an important member of the workforce. The farm was successful until a seven year drought. The drought and dad's health put a burden on me. Dad died when I was eleven and Mom moved us to Sydney where we could live a normal life. Being bullied and made fun of at public school I was sent to a private school where I excelled. I graduated with honors from college after which I was denied jobs because I was too good looking and too intellectually aggressive. After traveling Europe with my not so easy to get along with Mom I struck out on my own and went to the United States. I received my PHD from Harvard. While at Harvard I married a Canadian Professor and the marriage ended years later when he died. I was the first woman president of Smith College and was president there for ten years. One of my most notable accomplishments was instigating a program to help students on welfare. I also started a program that allows older women, often with extensive work and family obligations, to study part-time. Currently I am Visiting Professor at MIT. I have received thirty-eight honorary degrees and awards from 'North American and Australian colleges, universities and women's organizations. I started writing my memoirs when my presidential term ended. If you haven't figured out who I am then read about "Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Humanistic Studies of the Environment." Who Am I?

Health Notes

A little late today because I just got back from taking Mom to her doctor for an evaluation of the medicine she is taking. That task had me thinking about drugs and health issues today, therefore, today's blog subject.

I am guessing Pat has already read then following article or another article with the same information. Even though the article is about California because people do move and whooping cough is extremely contagious I really hope that other states are paying attention to what is happening in California and promoting everyone in the danger group to get vaccinated.

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/08/16/california-faces-worst-whooping-cough-epidemic-in-50-years/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Fcalifornia-faces-worst-whooping-cough-epidemic-in-50-years%2F

Another health note is it looks like due to pressure the FDA is recalling a drug that treats low blood pressure. Read the article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100816/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fda_unproven_drug

Two things I learned from the article, that the FDA has an accelerated program for approval of drugs and that if a drug reduces tumors in cancer patients it bodes well for the success of that drug.

As always your comments are appreciated.

WHO AM I?

I taught history at a college not to far from where Ellen lives. I'm also was a visiting scholar at Duke. I was born in 1920 in Austria the first child of an affluent Jewish couple. Dad was a pharmacist and Mom was an artist. My dad resisted the Nazi's and spent my eighteenth birthday in Jail. My family was able to escape from Austria with the help of my young socialist lover and we ended up in the United States right before the invasion of Poland. I married the young lover and after working a series of jobs I divorced him. When I met a young theatre director I entered into my second marriage with a man that was active with the Communist party. I didn't start my college education until my kids were in college and I was in my forties. I received a B.S., M.A., and PHD after which we moved to Los Angeles where my husband successfully made movies. After my husband died I became increasingly involved in progressive causes founding of the fields of both Women's History and African-American History.At one time was president of the Organization of American Historians. I played a key role in the development of women’s history curricula and taught what is considered to be the first woman’s history course at the New School for Social Research in 1963. I would later go on the establish the nation's first Women History Graduate Program. I am considered to be one of the fifty Jewish women that changed the world. I was once quoted as saying "In our competitive society people are trained to be self-made and independent. But they also have to learn how to help others and how to accept help without feeling demeaned and diminished. Because modern society excludes or marginalizes old people and avoids dealing with death, the healthy and the living are full of fears and have no preparation for the process of aging. The steady courage of older people, their patience, their optimism, and their childlike willingness to experience spontaneous joy could serve as models for the aging generation of their children." I am credited for writing a screenplay of a true story about a man that went out of himself to become a member of a different ethnic group so he could understand discrimination against that group. Who Am I?

Boycotting Top Chef + Update Day

The answer to yesterday's Who Am I was an author, a filmmaker, a women's rights activist, a disabilities rights activist, an artist, and not to mention she did it all while having cerebral palsy. Let's celebrate a true hero, HARILYN ROUSSO. Since this is Update Day there isn't a Who Am I.

My life update: One really nice lunch with mom yesterday celebrating my dad's birthday. As many know it is those days that are so hard for the spouse left behind. It is better to meet it head on. Mom took me to Claim Jumpers for lunch. Several of my chores were already mentioned in an earlier post. A day with a cousin going over pictures. Then the normal chores. Filling the car with gas, grocery shopping for two households, watering the lawn to keep it alive during the current heat wave, picking up royalty checks, meeting with a client at the firm that bought my business (he trusts me and requests that I sit in on all meetings), sending out several emails for the guy thing we do every year - football party. The football party has two new members this year since two members decided to move on. The league is now all men, the two new members are a pharmacist and a CPA bringing drugs and taxes to the league. I also spent one night at Mom's, dropped off and picked up dry cleaning, took in one movie - Dinner For The Schmucks (an annoying movie, and did a few other things I don't remember.

On the agenda this week. Today is paying bills, doing a little reading, a little resting, a little shopping. Tomorrow is taking Mom to the doctor, Ordering the food for football night, sending out more emails related to football night. Tuesday is working on a work project, picking up two work projects from the firm that bought my business, and dinner with the family. Wednesday and Thursday are working on all work projects. Friday is lunch with Mom and maybe a little writing and maybe a movie. The two movies on the agenda are Eat, Pray, Love and Charlie St. Cloud. Saturday is practicing my occupation of future lottery winner.

WARNING ONE HELL OF A RANT COMING:

First, I was upset over all the hoopla and the turning into a hero of a Flight Attendant that went off of his rocker. Celebrating bad behavior only encourages bad behavior. He put fellow crew members and passengers in potential danger. How in the world can anyone celebrate his actions? I wonder how many of those celebrating his behavior and making him a hero have complained about the lack of manners, kindness, and courtesy in the world? By celebrating his stupidity are they not being hypocrites? While I don't think he should end up in jail and I would completely support Jet Blue hiring him back after an anger management class I am sure in the hell not going to celebrate his actions or make him a hero. I would be a hypocrite and my integrity would be brought into question.

Speaking of integrity or should we say the lack of integrity, that brings me to Top Chef, a reality show that now, in my opinion, has absolutely no integrity. They have judges that celebrate cheating and judges that don't have enough guts to do the right thing. In the accounting profession one of the standards that we must follow is, "the appearance of impropriety." Which basically means if it appears you got yourself in a tight spot, then whether or not in fact you have done what it appears you have done you are to remove yourself from the situation. It protects the honesty of the profession. I wish Top Chef would conduct itself under that standard. Twice now a chef that is still on the show has appeared to cheat, he has appeared to not cook his own food and has still stayed on the show. The judges, in my mind, have encouraged his cheating and put their own integrity into question by leaving the chef in question on the show. Head judge Tom Colicchio will tell you is that they couldn't eliminate Alex this week because he was on the winning team. Which, frankly, is complete bull shit. What he is really saying, is he and the other judges didn't have the guts to do the right thing. Rules are really guidelines. There is no way rules on any show or in any organization or in any sport can be written to allow for every situation that comes up on the show, in the organization, or in a sport. That is why it takes strong judges, leaders, and referees. When the judges were confronted with an issue of a member of The Red Team cheating the judges did nothing. Well they did award the win to the cheating team. The judges should have shown some leadership and guts and went outside the box. They should have said "it has come to our attention that it has appeared that a chef has cheated. And this is the same chef that was accused of cheating on a prior episode. In order to protect the integrity of the show and our own integrity we in good conscience cannot eliminate a member of the blue team. We have no choice but to eliminate Alex." I have decided to boycott the show. I just can't invest my time in a show with no integrity and with judges to weak to do the right thing.

How was you week? Catch me up with all of your doings. Tell me everything! And answer the question how important is integrity to you?

Running With Babies.

Wow would I ever love to have a had a teacher this supportive! The good article for the week. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things and doing them to benefit others.

http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=128163223640300100

I think the man is a hero but I'm wondering whether or not he could have found something less painful to do to promote cancer awareness. What do you think?

Need help solving problems? Find someone eighteen months old. This is a pretty fascinating article:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/what_babies_are_teaching_scien.html

The article, does it surprise you, fascinate you, or both? Do you believe babies have problem solving abilities at such a young age?

OK, I admit I have an ego. Maybe a small one but one just the same. Every so often I will search my name on Google to see if anyone is saying good or bad things about me. You can see how often I search my name by the date on the article. I am so popular that I had one hit. I was mentioned on The Oregonian's web site in February:

http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2010/02/yodeling_its_not_swiss_cheese_says_blogger_and_other_links.html

Thank goodness I was called clever.

Are you clever too? I think you are but come on now pat yourself on the back and fess up and call yourself clever.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: BRIGADIER GENERAL WILMA L. VAUGHT

You will not find me in Wikipedia but I was born in 1946 and according to my Mom I was eager to be born because I wanted to arrive before the doctor got to the hospital. I had cerebral palsy but mom didn't know it until I was five. Doctors told Mom she was being a hypochondriac. I attended public schools in New York City. Throughout my school years, I never knew other students with disabilities. I only had friends without disabilities. I played all of the games, including punch ball. During my teenage years, my friends started dating, thinking about boys, getting periods and developing breasts. Although I went through all that but felt that I was not going to be part of the dating scene and that sex, marriage and children were not possible for me. I concentrated instead on my studies. I thought my role was to do very well in school and to get good grades and just to achieve. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I began to consider the possibility of a social and sexual life. When I was 22, 1 had an important experience. I worked one summer for a prominent woman economist who had cerebral palsy. When I interviewed for the position, it was like looking in a mirror. Her effects on me are still with me. I was impressed that a woman with cerebral palsy could become so successful in her career, particularly in the "man's field" of anti-trust economics. She also gave me the ability to see that I could have both a career and a social life. My self-esteem really began to improve when I found a career I liked, being a psychotherapist. After attending a psychotherapy training institute for a year, I was asked to leave because some of the teachers didn't think that a person with my disability should become a psychotherapist. They claimed that my disability would be too stressful for patients to handle. They suggested I consider a different career. My life as a disability rights activist began after I successfully sued the institute. I achieved a certain level of self-confidence to be able to consider not just my brains, but my whole self. I wanted more than just to be smart. I became involved in the women's movement. Although I was the only woman with a disability involved with my women's groups, I had a real sense of commonality. I sponsored a mentoring program for girls with disabilities. Named the Networking Project for Disabled Women and Girls, the project allows women and girls with disabilities to meet and share experiences. I wanted to help girls with disabilities avoid certain things that I had experienced, especially the isolation and the acceptance of negative stereotypes. After I started the Networking Project, I wrote a book to help young women with disabilities learn about the experiences of women who had "been there." I'm helped a national youth organization on modifying their Operation SMART program that addresses the under-representation of girls and women in science and math so that it is accessible to girls and young women with disabilities. According to my book I am "Disabled, Female, And Proud" Who Am I?

The Science Of The Obvious

The science of the obvious:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/problemchildrentormentparentsevenaftertheygrowup;_ylt=An_6nJs.XE1W4urGh4JfB9es0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTRvdTRkNmdnBGFzc2V0A2xpdmVzY2llbmNlLzIwMTAwODEzL3Byb2JsZW1jaGlsZHJlbnRvcm1lbnRwYXJlbnRzZXZlbmFmdGVydGhleWdyb3d1cARjY29kZQNyYW5kb20EY3BvcwM5BHBvcwM2BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDcHJvYmxlbWNoaWxk

I've always kind of known that whatever I did was a reflection on my parents. My successes were their successes and my failures were their failure. Where I separate from the article is that during those times of failure my parents were extremely supportive and helped me to recover from the failures. They always also viewed me as a success and promoted the thinking that failures were a normal part of life and often a percuser to successes. What do you think of the article?

Since we are talking the obvious today. Seven thoughts that are bad for you:

http://www.livescience.com/health/090911-7-bad-thoughts-1.html

Cynicism, lack of meaning, fretting, lack of self-control, anxiety, gloom and doom, and stress are the seven thoughts that are bad for you. I'd add a sarcastic one like reading obvious articles but I am practicing self-control. What are your thoughts about the article? Is fretting over the lack of meaning causing you gloom and doom thoughts making you a cynic and leading you to anxiety and stress ending with you losing self-control?

Your comments are appreciated.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: The late great Dorothy Height. Another great woman today.

I was born in 1930 the oldest of two daughters in a farming family. I grew up working hard, and dreamed of having a tough job that would allow me to be in charge. I attended the University of Illinois and graduated in 1952 with a bachelor of science degree. I quickly found a job in the corporate world but at the time there was no possibility of any real advancement for a woman. I joined the Air Force that at the time was advertising equal opportunity for all. Because of my college background I was commissioned as a second lieutenant and completed the Officer's Basic Military Training. I at one time commanded the Women in the Air Force Squadron Section. I became the first woman to deploy with a Strategic Air Command operational unit when I served a temporary tour of duty as executive officer and chief of the Management Analysis Division in Vietnam. When in Saigon I experienced rocket strikes that hit less than two blocks from my quarters. I did not feel fear because I'd gone over with the idea that I wouldn't come back alive and accepted it. I was outspoken about the controversial issue of women serving in the armed force once being quoted as saying, "Women are already in combat, so when people argue about whether they should be permitted to carry weapons, they're really asking whether the military should let women be fired at but not be able to fire back." After completing my year-long tour of duty in Vietnam I was assigned to Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command. I would eventually become the first female officer to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Then I would proceed to become the first woman in the comptroller field to become a brigadier general with my father attending the ceremony and pinning the star on my shoulder. During my career I received numerous military honors, including the Defense and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, the Air Force Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Vietnam Service Award with four stars. I was also the only woman in history ever to serve as president of the board of directors of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. After retiring I worked to establish a memorial to honor women in U.S. military service. I helped to raise over $20 million for the memorial, which was designed and built largely by women. I also worked with the foundation that created the Margaret Chase Smith Leadership Award, which is given each year to women who open opportunities for women in the American military. I am one of the most-decorated military women in US history and am listed in Who's Who in America, in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, won the US Air Force Woman of Distinction Merit Award, and am in the US Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame. Listing only these few of my many awards doesn't do me justice but will help you answer the question of Who Am I?

Don't Pay The Ransom

I've escaped. I'm like a bad penny, I keep coming back. Yesterday was a busy day. Up early to do Mom's grocery shopping at six in the morning. She forgot to tell me she was out of everything. Didn't want to bother me. I had to shop that early because my cousin was going to stop by at eight in the morning to go over family history and I didn't know how long that would be. Mom didn't even have enough stuff in the house for her normal breakfast. I keep telling her it isn't about bothering me, it is letting me know what you need so you don't go without. Not to mention it is easier for me if I can shop when I have the time to do it, instead of putting one more chore in into an already packed day.

Barbara got to our house at about eight-thirty. She got on the road to Montana about four in the afternoon. I learned later from TV news that she must have gotten caught into the traffic from hell because the freeway she was going to be on, I-84 East, was closed due to a fire. Traffic was being routed to surface roads. After Barbars left I had to go to the office of the firm that bought my business and pickup my royalty check. Then it was to the bank. After the bank there was my own grocery shopping. I got home just in time for Top Chef. No time for the blog.

We had a nice day going over pictures with Barbara. My sister brought us Subway sandwiches for lunch. After we determined what pictures Barbara wanted my Brother-in-law scanned and copied everything she needed. I got a stick drive to put everything one.

I did find a couple of interesting things. In one of the scrapbooks there was a picture of a third grade class in 1938. The teacher in the picture was Mom. Also the only grandfather I really new was my Mom's mom's second husband. Grandpa Goldy. Turns out his family founded Yale. Now if only he was a blood relative we would be in line for perks!

Today I wanted share a couple of incredible things. Incredible talent. Incredible medical information.

Tuesday night an opera singer wowed everyone on America's Got Talent. Normally opera singers don't win AGT but this one just might. A ten year old opera singer is pretty unique. There was a little bit of a dispute about whether or not the girl was faking the singing but on the results show last night judge Howie had her sing a few notes on the fly. The girl is real. Here is a video of her performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnR0fzhDD3I

Now the incredible medical information:

http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/08/11/quick-brain-scan-may-diagnose-autism/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl6|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2F2010%2F08%2F11%2Fquick-brain-scan-may-diagnose-autism%2F

A quote from the article:

"Although this method is not ready for normal diagnostic situations, any step to easier diagnosis is welcome," Terry Brugha, professor of psychiatry at the University of Leicester who was not directly involved with the study, tells Reuters.

I agree with him, any step forward is a step closer to a cure.

Questions for the day. Do you think there is anything in your family history that would surprise you? Does your own genealogy interest you? The young opera singer, real talent or is she faking it? Autism, does the research study indicate we are closer to a cure?

Who Am I?

Day before yesterday's answer: Ida B. Wells-Barnett a story that needs to be more well-known according to both Pat and I.

I was born in 1912 and died this year after leading a life where I was an American administrator, educator, and social activist. I was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. I was admitted to college at age seventeen but upon arrival I was denied entrance because the school had an unwritten policy of admitting only two black students per year. I pursued studies instead at New York University, graduating three years later and was awarded a master's degree in educational psychology one year after college graduation. I started working as a caseworker with a city welfare department and at the age of twenty-five, I began a career as a civil rights activist. I fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women. I later joined the national staff of the YWCA. I also served as National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority where I developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs. During the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s I organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi", which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding. American leaders regularly took my counsel, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and I encouraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint African American women to positions in government. I served on a number of committees, including as a consultant on African affairs to the Secretary of State, the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped, and the President's Committee on the Status of Women. A musical stage play is based my memoir. When I died this year my funeral service was attended by President and Mrs. Obama plus many dignitaries. Among my many awards is the Presidential Citizens Medal.I am in the National Women's Hall of Fame and I am listed as 100 Greatest African Americans. "Open Wide The Freedom Gates" and tell me Who Am I?

Ice Cold Fraud

Busy day today. I have a business meeting at ten this morning. Then cousin Barbara is visiting for the day. Then a night at Mom's. Life never seems to be as dull as I want it to be.

Following is what I thought was an interesting article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100807/ap_on_sc/us_sci_ice_island

Is this a sign of global warming or just a natural geological happening? I certainly wouldn't want to run into a piece of ice that was a hundred square miles in size. I don't think this story is a fake but the woman in the following article is.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100809/od_nm/us_cancer_fraud_odd

Personally, I think ten years in prison is to good for this woman. Not only did she screw people out of money she harmed legitimate charities and no doubt now in the future people will be hesitant to donate to legitimate charities because of her antics. You would think a twenty-three year old woman would find a better way to raise money.

What is your take on the article and the woman involved? How would you punish her?

Off to my business meeting. Since I am at Mom's tonight, tomorrow's post will be later in the day.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: Bessie Coleman

I was born in 1862 and died in 1931 and went on to become an American journalist, newspaper editor and, with my husband a newspaper owner. I was an early leader in the civil rights movement. I documented the extent of lynching in the United States, and was active in the women's rights movement and the women's suffrage movement. My father was a carpenter and my mother a cook, the were both slaves until freed at the end of the Civil War. When I attend College I was expelled for my rebellious behavior and temper after confronting the President of the college. My parents and older brother died when I was sixteen. To avoid the rest of the kids separating I dropped out of school to take care of them and got a teaching job. When on a train ride I was asked to move to make room for a white man. I refused to give up my seat seventy-one years before Rosa Parks. The conductor and two other men dragged me out of the car. I immediately hired an African American attorney to sue the railroad. When my lawyer was paid off by the railroad I hired a white attorney. I won my case but it was reversed on appeal. I slowly gained a reputation for writing about the race issue in the United States. I later became co-owner and editor of an anti-segregationist newspaper that published articles about racial injustice. After the lynching of my friends I wrote an article in the Free Speech urging blacks to leave the city. Over 6,000 blacks did leave; others organized boycotts of white-owned businesses. The murder of my friends sparked my interest in researching the real reason behind lynching. I became the head of the Anti-Lynching Crusade. I married at thirty-three to an attorney and we had four children. I kept my own name. I found it hard to balance work and family. But I kept on. Many people that heard me speak were repulsed by the information they were given. I eventually became the first black woman to be a paid correspondent for a mainstream white newspaper. I published a pamphlet that documented my research on a lynching. Having examined many accounts of lynching based on alleged "rape of white women," I concluded that Southerners concocted rape as an excuse to hide their real reason for lynching: black economic progress, which threatened not only white Southerners' pocketbooks, but also their ideas about black inferiority. It was written of me: "...A woman born in slavery, she would grow to become one of the great pioneer activists of the Civil Rights movement. A precursor of Rosa Parks, she was a suffragist, newspaper editor and publisher, investigative journalist, co-founder of the NAACP, political candidate, mother, wife, and the single most powerful leader in the anti-lynching campaign in America. A dynamic, controversial, temperamental, uncompromising race woman, she broke bread and crossed swords with some of the movers and shakers of her time. " Who Am I?

Family History In Pictures

Today's entry could be titled my life in pictures but I will stick with family history. As you all know by now that my cousin Barbara is coming tomorrow to go over Mom's pictures so that she can finish the family history on Mom's side. Going through the many scrapbooks with Mom we found some very neat and sometimes damning pictures. These are really old pictures so the quality may not be the best, take the fuzziness as a way to tell how much better today's cameras are!

I've mentioned on the blog before that my Mom's first cousin, Lt. Edward Grover Delong, was killed in World War II and is one of the few hundreds to win both the Silver Star and The Navy Cross. He also has a PT Boat named after him. This is the boat bearing his name:



This is the beginning of life in order of Mom, Dad, and yours truly:






This is why I hate having my picture taken. My Facebook friends have already seen the picker dude picture. The first picture is one of the few that exists of all five of us. One of us was always taking the picture.

In order from left to right, sister, brother, dad, Mom, and Weird Face Dude.



The one that has already been posted on Facebook. From Top to bottom, Mom, Sister, Brother, and Picker Dude:





The Mongrel Sisters practicing before going on stage to perform at a church bazaar. My dad is in the blue dress.



The following three pictures show my life's progression after the accident.

This was about two weeks after the accident. I was given partial credit for saving the life of the young woman in the picture. We were from the same home town, which was eighty miles from the hospital. The woman was in an accident and was undergoing severe depression and not really working hard to get well. Each day she would get worse. Then I arrived on the scene. We had the same doctor. He took her down to my room, she saw how much worse I was than her and how hard I was fighting despite all the odds against me. My doctor said I had the most positive attitude and the worst injuries of any of his patients during his career. The young woman changed her attitude and was out of the hospital in three weeks. While at the hospital she used to sneak down to my room at night and watch TV with me. I would put the sleeping pill under my tongue and then when the nurse left, take it out so I could stay up and watch TV with her. After I got home she was one of the few people that would come get me and take me out for rides etc. Sometimes she would push my wheelchair through stores. Wonder whatever happened to her.





This was about two years later when I was giving my nephew a ride in my wheelchair. The one bad thing about being thin, is I could fly with those ears. A little poundage makes those digits smaller.




This was about two years later after the last picture. It is the backyard of our home in Klamath Falls. I am with my Mom and Sister. I would love to be that thin today even despite my ears!





If any of you would like to share pictures of your lives, email them to me and I would be more than happy to post them on the blog and make it your family history day!

Comments are always appreciated.

Who Am I?

I may have been used as a Who Am I before but if so it has been a while. I was born in 1892 and died in 1926. I was the tenth of thirteen children born to sharecroppers. My father was part Cherokee. I began school at age six and had to walk four miles each day to an all-black, one-room school. Despite sometimes lacking such materials as chalk and pencils I was an excellent student. I loved to read and was an outstanding math student. I completed eight grades at the one-room school. Every year my routine of school, chores, and church was interrupted by the cotton harvest. At age nine my dad left us. He had become fed up with the racial barriers that existed. At the age of twelve I was accepted into the Missionary Baptist Church. When I turned eighteen I took all of my savings and enrolled in the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University. I ran out of money after one term and returned home. At the age of twenty-three I moved to Chicagoe and worked at the White Sox Barber Shop as a manicurist. There I heard tales of the world from pilots who were returning home from World War I. I started to fantasize about being a pilot. At the barbershop I met many influential men. Because flight school wouldn't accept women or blacks I went to France to become a pilot. I learned to fly in a Nieuport Type 82 biplane. I became not only the first African-American woman to earn an international aviation license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, but the first African American woman in the world to earn an aviation pilot's license. I became a media sensation and was a highly popular draw for the next five years at air shows. But the thrill of stunt flying and the admiration of cheering crowds were only part of my ream. I never lost sight of my childhood vow to one day "amount to something." I did not live long enough to fulfill my greatest dream—establishing a school for young, black aviators. At the age of thirty-four my friends tried to talk me out of flying in an air show because they believed the aircraft to be unsafe. About ten minutes into the flight, the plane did not pull out of a planned nosedive; instead it accelerated into a tailspin. I was thrown from the plane at 500 feet and died instantly when I hit the ground. My funeral was attended by 5,000 mourners. A second-floor conference room at the Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC, is named after Me. Who Am I?

Update Day Returns

We haven't done an update for a couple of weeks so I hope you are all ready to fess up and let me know what you have been doing the past two weeks! There is no Who Am I of the day today, yesterday's answer was Socko shortened to Sox whose real name is Tsuyako Kitashima. You can read about her here:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-01-10/bay-area/17276070_1_relocation-centers-wartime-relocation-redress

My update. Last week was a lot of rest and lot of looking at pictures. I went to two movies, SALT and THE OTHER GUYS, both middle of the road movies. I had one dinner out with the family. Three days at Mom's looking at pictures. I may share some of the pictures on the blog in the next few days. This week starts today with me taking Mom to lunch and to the library. Monday is going through my garage seeing if I have any useful pictures. Tuesday is a night at Mom's and cousin Barbara will be here to go through some of the pictures Mom and I found. She is doing a family history.

Health updates. Dona posted a comment on one of the daily entries "got back results & looks like I am good for a while." Yea! As for my family, my brother's test all came back negative so that is good news. His wife still has some tests left before a final decision is made but right now they think her main problem is thyroid related. Cousin Jack was at the reunion and looked really good but tired easily. Cousin Lavelle, the one with two active cancers, had treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. She called Mom this week, said she is doing good but tires easy. The rest of the health updates I will leave up to you!

Entertainment updates. I think a gal from Portland has a real shot to win Project Runway. On Top Chef it was Tiffany's night as she won both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges. Finally, three men were in the bottom three and Stephen went home. Personally, I think the integrity of Top Chef is extremely questionable as long as Alex stays on the show. The new lineup of Dancing With The Stars will be announced August 30 on Bachelor Pad. Right now rumors have Mel Gibson's ex Oksana Grigorieva, Lindsay Lohan, "Jersey Shore" cast member Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino. and soccer player Landon Donovan as potential hoofsters. The Fall 2010 season of “Dancing with the Stars” premieres MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET).

Remember the lemonade story with the seven year-old girl being shut down by health inspectors? That turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to the girl. A radio station brought the girl down to their studio and opened up a lemonade stand for her on the sidewalk outside the studio. People came from everywhere to buy lemonade from her. My friend Dave V., who owns a heating and cooling company near the radio station, took up a collection for the gal from his employees and then his company matched what the employees donated. The girl is going to Disneyland with the almost two grand collected from everyone and I am betting about a quarter of that was Dave's. I really have good friends. In addition to money the county apologized. Read the county reaction here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/lemonade_stands_get_reprieve_m.html

The Blog is now yours. We want secrets! We want everything you want to tell us! We want introductions! We want you to post anything you damn well please!

Worsts

Today we transition from inappropriate to talking about some of the worst things I found while surfing the Internet.

First up is the worst advise a woman can give. Or is it as case of what works for some may not work for all?

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/07/14/sugarbabe-infidelity-why-women-should-let-men-cheat/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lemondrop.com%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fsugarbabe-infidelity-why-women-should-let-men-cheat%2F

Negotiated infidelity? Are you kidding me? A quote from the article: "Women who cross their legs deserve to be cheated on." To me the crux of the article was you can buy love. This is one person that thinks you can buy companionship but you can't buy love. What is your take on the sugar baby's take on relationships.

Next up is bad food. The ten worst fast food meals:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38543000/ns/today-today_health/

The only one on the list that I eat is the McDonald's big breakfast and that is rarely. When I do eat it, I don't use their syrup, I use my own low calorie stuff, and I don't use their butter, I use my own healthy stuff. Anything on the list that you eat?

Lastly, are the ten worst places to live:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/05/10-worst-places-to-live/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl5|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F08%2F05%2F10-worst-places-to-live%2F

I was surprised Los Angeles is on the list because there is a lot to like about what they have to offer. Phoenix and Memphis are two other cities that I am surprised made the list. Number one on the list was El Centro, California and I though Detroit had a lock on that spot. Any cities on the list that you think should be there?

Your comments are always appreciated.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: Frances Williard

I was born in 1918 and died in 2006. I was born in California to parents who had emigrated from Japan and owned a strawberry farm. I had five siblings. I obtained my famous nickname when my classmates were unable to pronounce my name. When I was twenty-four my mother, three brothers and I were herded like animals and corralled in what was then Tanforan Racetrack in the Bay Area. I shared one horse stall with my family, where we slept on cold, hard sacks they had filled with hay. We had no bathrooms, only makeshift, door less stalls. Dinner consisted of cold cuts and moldy bread. I often would lie awake, thinking to myself: "I can't believe I'm in America." I married in 1945 and became a spokesperson for the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, and fought for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, by which the American government formally apologized and granted reparations to the wartime internees. For my actions in 1998 I was awarded the Free Spirit Award. One of the reasons for the award was that I became heavily invested in the campaign for Redress and Reparations. Thanks to lessons that my father taught me I saw the importance of being involved in this issue. In addition to speaking at Commission hearings, letter folding, addressing, sealing, and stamping, lobbying Congress at the capitol at least three times, and putting on rallies and workshops to outreach to others in the community I continued to work on this issue even after Redress was issued. As a Japanese-American woman involved with this campaign I fit well within the gender dynamic of the kinds of work that women took part in. My roles did not consist of heading up the Commission that put on hearings, or becoming involved in politics, or taking on a leadership position within any organization. My work might be characterized by some as all the "behind the scenes," unseen work that actually made Redress and Reparations possible. Although I spoke on my experiences both at the hearings and with press sometimes about the campaign, and put in countless hours to make Redress and Reparations a possibility my work is not widely known, nor is my story widely told. I am at times referred to a the Godmother of the fight for repayment. Who Am I?

Sex And Retirement

This is my totally inappropriate day. It happens once in a while. My cousin Barbara will be back in Portland Tuesday to talk to Mom about family history and to look at some of Mom's pictures. Mom and I spent a couple of hours yesterday going through pictures to sort out the ones that Barbara would be interested in from the ones that wouldn't interest her. When we were going through some stuff we found some things that various relatives had sent to dad. They may be inappropriate but in my feeble mind they are hilarious.

First up let's talk sex. This was a letter sent to Ann Landers:

"Everybody I know who has a dog usually calls him "Rover" or "Spot". I call mine Sex. Now, Sex has been very embarrassing to me. When I went to the City Hall to renew the dog's license, I told the clerk that I would like a license for Sex. He said, "I would like to have one too!" Then I said, "But she is a dog!" He said he didn't care what she looked like. I said, "You don't understand. ... I have had Sex since I was nine years old." He replied, "You must have been quite a strong boy." When I decided to get married, I told the minister that I would like to have Sex at the wedding. He told me to wait until after the wedding was over. I said, "But Sex has played a big part in my life and my whole world revolves around Sex." He said he didn't want to hear about my personal life and would not marry us in his church. I told him everyone would enjoy having Sex at the wedding. The next day we were married at the Justice of the Peace. My family was barred from the church from then on.

When my wife and I went on our honeymoon, I took the dog with me. When we checked into the motel, I told the clerk that I wanted a room for me and my wife and a special room for Sex. He said that every room in the motel is a place for sex. I said, "You don't understand. ... Sex keeps me awake at night." The clerk said, "Me too!"

One day I entered Sex in a contest. But before the competition began, the dog ran away. Another contestant asked me why I was just looking around. I told him that I was going to have Sex in the contest. He said that I should have sold my own tickets. "You don't understand," I said, "I hoped to have Sex on TV." He called me a show off.

When my wife and I separated, we went to court to fight for custody of the dog. I said, "Your Honor, I had Sex before I was married but Sex left me after I was married." The Judge said, "Me too!"

Last night Sex ran off again. I spent hours looking all over for her. A cop came over and asked me what I was doing in the alley at 4 o'clock in the morning. I said, "I'm looking for Sex." -- My case comes up next Thursday.

Well now I've been thrown in jail, been divorced and had more damn troubles with that dog than I ever foresaw. Why just the other day when I went for my first session with the psychiatrist, she asked me, "What seems to be the trouble?" I replied, "Sex has been my best friend all my life but now it has left me for ever. I couldn't live any longer so lonely." and the doctor said, "Look mister, you should understand that sex isn't a man's best friend
so get yourself a dog."

Now let's move on from inappropriate to completely politically incorrect.

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One third grader, on what his grandparents do, wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona.

Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles, and wear name tags, because they don’t know who they are anymore.

They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now. They do exercises there, but they don’t do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.

At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.

Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night – early birds.

Some of the people can’t get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.

My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and, says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too.

When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

If the two stores above aren't inappropriate enough here is one of the problemns with deforestation:




OK, I know I going to hell for this post. It is a good thing I like barbecues. Comments are appreciated.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: Gertrude Pridgett, or Ma Rainey

I was born in 1839 to a school teacher and died in 1898. My family spent some time in Wisconsin where we converted from Congregationalists to Methodists, a Protestant denomination that placed an emphasis on social justice and service to the world. At eighteen I attended an all female college. In my twenties I suffered a series of personal crises: both my father and my younger sister died, my brother became an alcoholic, and I began to feel love for a woman who would ultimately go on to marry my brother. When I was thirty-two I became president of a college for ladies and was their first Dean of Women. However that position was to be short-lived due to my resignation after confrontations with the University president over my governance of the Women’s College. I then focused my energies on a new career, traveling the American East Coast participating in the women’s temperance movement. My tireless efforts for women's suffrage and prohibition included a fifty-day speaking tour and an average of 30,000 miles of travel a year, four hundred lectures a year over a ten year period, I was elected president of the Woman's National Council of the United States at age forty and held the position for the remainder of my life. The crux of my argument for female suffrage was based on the platform of "Home Protection," which I described as "the movement...the object of which is to secure for all women above the age of twenty-one years the ballot as one means for the protection of their homes from the devastation caused by the legalized traffic in strong drink." I was the first woman represented among the illustrious company of America’s greatest leaders in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. I was national president of Alpha Phi in 1887. Even though the organization I was president of accepted black women in come circles I was considered a racist for implying booze led to an increase of crimes by blacks. I was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. My influence was instrumental in the passage of the Eighteenth (Prohibition) and Nineteenth (Women Suffrage) Amendments to the United States Constitution. I died of influenza and left my home to the WCTU and in 1965 it was elevated to the status of National Historic Landmark bearing my name. Who Am I?

Kids

Today we are talking about kids. There really are some good and talented kids out there. How much money did you make by age eight? I'm betting not as much as this young artist:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/04/8-year-old-painter-kieron-williamson-has-earned-more-than-285-0/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F08%2F04%2F8-year-old-painter-kieron-williamson-has-earned-more-than-285-0%2F

I made money in a lot of way when I was amongst thos referred to as kids. Mowing lawns. Delivering newspapers. My brother and I would weave together pot holders and then I would go door to door to sell them. We also had a pretty profitable lemonade stand. We lived on a pretty busy road in Idaho farm country. There was a road crew near where we lived doing construction and they would come and buy us out every day. We would make more lemonade and it would be gone in seconds. Those adults were really nice to us kids and gave us a lot of spending money. Thank goodness we weren't selling lemonade in Oregon in Multnomah County:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html

I find that kind of idiotic. I can see the reasons for it but what I would have done is given the gal a free pass for the day instead of making her pack up. Then if she returned to the event again she would need a license. What would you do? Power hungry government enforcer? Or a good government enforcer making sure everyone follows the rules?

And what jobs did you work as a kid? Make a lot of money?


Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: Mary Lyon

I have a real name and a stage name and you if you tell me both names you will have my complete respect. I was born in 1886 and died in 1939. I was the second of five children. I had at least two brothers and a sister named Malissa, with whom I was later confused with in some sources. I began performing in show tents at age twelve. I married a singer, dancer and comedian when she I eighteen. From then I performed under a nickname. My husband and I sang and danced together in Black minstrel shows. I was known for my very powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a ‘moaning’ style of singing similar to folk tradition. Though my powerful voice and disposition are not captured on my recordings, the other characteristics are present, and most evident on my early recordings. I recorded with Louis Armstrong in addition to touring and recording with the Georgia Jazz Band. I was discovered by Paramount Records producer J. Mayo Williams. I signed a recording contract with Paramount. I made more than one hundred recordings over five years. I would later own two theaters. I was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. I had a song inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. I was billed with my husband as the Assassinators of the Blues and I was often referred to as The Mother of Blues. Who Am I?

Sue Me, Hire Me, Don't Divorce Me.

I'm back but to emotionally exhausted to talk about personal things so on the blog we are going to do three articles. The idiotic, the obvious, and the insane. You have to guess which is which.

Do you think the guy in the article should be suing the people that made a citizens arrest?

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/burglar-michael-dupree-sues-victim-anthony-mckoy-for-rough-citizens-arrest/19577744?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl9|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fweird-news%2Farticle%2Fburglar-michael-dupree-sues-victim-anthony-mckoy-for-rough-citizens-arrest%2F19577744

If he had turned out to be innocent I would fully support the lawsuit. But if any jury sides with the convicted Burglar I will run nude through my house. Think Dupree has any chance of winning? Are you for or against the lawsuit?

Next up is an article about unemployment and how it leads to the loss of friendships.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/08/03/unemployment-effects-no-job-no-friends/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fjobs.aol.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F08%2F03%2Funemployment-effects-no-job-no-friends%2F

To me it just makes sense if you have no place to go to everyday you have decreased your friendship pool. It is also pretty common to lose touch with people you work with when you don't see them daily. This isn't really a surprising article to me, is it to you?

According to the next article people are staying together and avoiding divorce even when the romance is gone. In some cases they date others, some cases they still live together because it is cheaper, sometimes it is easier for the children if the parents stay together.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/08/02/the-un-divorce-when-leaving-your-marriage-is-just-too-much-wor/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl5|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicsdaily.com%2F2010%2F08%2F02%2Fthe-un-divorce-when-leaving-your-marriage-is-just-too-much-wor%2F

I'm certainly not a fan of staying together for any of the reasons mentioned in the article. Divorce and move on with you life. Don't let money rule love and marriage. What do you think of the trend? For it? Against it? Maybe in some cases?

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: Lillian Moller Gilbreth

I was born in 1797 the daughter of a farming family who had a hardscrabble childhood. My father died when I was six and we all pitched in to fun the farm. . Lyon was thirteen when Mom remarried and moved away. I stayed behind in order to keep house for my brother who took over the farm. I attended various district schools intermittently and taught in them as well. My modest beginnings fostered my life-long commitment to extending educational opportunities to girls from middling and poor backgrounds. I was eventually able to attend two secondary schools. During these early years I gradually developed a vision for a Female Seminary. The college was unique in that it was founded by people of modest means and served their daughters, rather than the children of the rich. The college that I founded opened and I strove to maintain high academic standards. I set rigorous entrance exams and admitted no students under the age of 16. I limited the tuition to $60/year, about one-third the tuition at other female seminaries. I was an early believer in the importance of daily exercise for women, required students to walk one mile after breakfast. In order to keep costs low I required students to perform domestic tasks—an early version of work/study. I also paid my teachers relatively poorly. Though my policies were sometimes controversial, the seminary quickly attracted its target student body of 200. I anticipated a change in the role of women and equipped my pupils with an education that was comprehensive, rigorous, and innovative, with particular emphasis on the sciences. I required seven courses in the sciences and mathematics for graduation, a requirement unheard of at other female seminaries. I introduced women to "a new and unusual way" to learn science—laboratory experiments which they performed themselves. I organized field trips on which students collected rocks, plants, and specimens for lab work, and inspected geological formations and recently discovered dinosaur tracks. I died of erysipelas (possibly contracted from an ill student in her care.) Let's play charades to give you a final clue. The college she founded is two words. The second word is two syllables. First syllable in the second word is used to describe the water served in church. The second syllable in the second word can be used to describe a tree or a peace of furniture. The first word is one syllable that can be used to describe how someone gets on a horse or a beautiful but often daunting geological structure that some people climb. Who Am I?

Returning To Abnormal

The one thing that I noticed as I get older is that my recuperative powers aren't what they used to be. I'm almost all the way back, about ninety percent back but still a little tired. Makes me really appreciate the efforts of all the elderly relatives that came to the reunion. Is that one thing you notice about getting older too?

Blog notes. Short entry today. Update Day returns next Sunday. Who Am I returns today. Blog should be back to normal within a couple of days. Or should I say the blog will be back to abnormal in a couple of days?

Today we are talking health issues. First up is an article about using an adults own stem cells to cure his or hers own illnesses and injuries. One story in the following article indicated a doctor was able to repair a broken ankle by using the man's own cells. You can read the full article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100802/ap_on_he_me/us_med_stem_cells

Now on to asthma and food. According to the following article sixty percent of asthma attacks in children and forty percent of asthma attacks in adults may be brought on by food allergies. The full article is here:

http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/asthma/asthma-diet?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2Fcondition-center%2Fasthma%2Fasthma-diet

I do think we risk a myriad of different side effects when we eat processed food but I just don't know how you avoid it. As to the use of adult stem cells, I am for whatever improves a person's health and lifestyle. What do you think? Your comments are always appreciated.

Who Am I

I was born in 1878 in California as one of twelve children to Bill and Anne. Arguably I am the first true industrial/organizational psychologist and was one of the first working female engineers to hold a PHD. I married Frank and we ended up being Cheaper By The Dozen as we had our planned twelve children. Eleven lived to adulthood. My husband and I were pioneers in the field of industrial engineering. I served as an advisor to Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson on matters of civil defense, war production and rehabilitation of the physically handicapped. I graduated from Hippie U with a both a BA and an MA. I completed my dissertation on The Psychology of Management to obtain my Ph.D from there but did not receive the degree because I was unable to complete the residency requirements. I later earned the Ph.D from an Ivy League University. It was the first degree granted in industrial psychology. After college my work combined the perspectives of an engineer, a psychologist, a wife, and a mother; I helped industrial engineers see the importance of the psychological dimensions of work.
On top of having twelve children, writing books, helping companies with their management skills, managing women consumers, I was instrumental in the design of a desk that was displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair. My most obvious work included the marketing research for Johnson & Johnson and my work to improve women’s spending decisions during the first years of the Great Depression. I was sometimes called "The First Lady of Engineering," and was the first woman elected into the National Academy of Engineering. I died in Arizona at age 94. Who Am I?

The Reunion, The Full Story

A fair warning this is one long post! Before I write about what makes a reunion I'm going to do the background stuff. What makes a reunion great isn't the hotel or the food it is the people in attendance. This was a great reunion because the people that came were great. They came from Florida, Wisonsin, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, California, Wasshington, and of course Oregon. The background:

Because I have written about him on the blog before my cousin Jack did make it to the reunion despite starting chemo the day before he left for here. His wife Bernadine and he really went above and beyond the call of duty just to get here.

The hotel was really nice and the staff there were very helpful. They pretty much accommodated what we asked them to do. Best Western Northwind in King City is the place to stay if you are coming to see us! Make sure you tell the sales manager, Nancy Myers, that I sent you. The sales manager's idea that I have a room right across from the meeting room was right on. It allowed me to use the room to store things. If you are going to have a reunion or other event I would definitely work with the sales manager of your hotel to get a room across from the meeting room, it sure saves a lot of running.

If you are going to cater an event in Portland then Stephanie Pape of The Lamb's Thriftway in Garden Home is your woman. They do weddings and just about any event you there is. Prices are reasonable, she is helpful, extremely conscientious, and more concerned that there would be a enough food then I was. So concerned that I thought I would not only let the cousins down if there wasn't enough food but I would let her down too! She was also flexible. One thing the cousins don't know is when I thought there were going to be more people than planned I called her on Friday and we added a small lasagna and a pound of meatballs. Stephanie also threw in some extra place settings. Simply put the food was delicious. I had the to die for meatballs. Stephanie cooked the meatballs in a bourbon sauce. If I didn't restrain myself I would still be eating them! This was the fourteenth reunion and several cousins thought this was the best buffet. I heard good reports about the lasagna, the chicken breasts, the roasted veggies, the cake, the meatballs, and the scalloped potatoes. There were fifty-one people and there was just a little leftover. I knew the food was good when two of the people in their early twenties were walking down the hall, didn't see me, talking about how delicious the food was. "That food was delicious." If you can please those youngsters then you can please us oldsters! The two things I would do differently are to add more scalloped potatoes because the twelve pounds I ordered disappeared in minutes and then I would heat the veggies differently. On the veggies some of the people that went first thought they weren't cooked enough and some of the people that went late through the line thought they were overcooked. Stephanie was worried about that and didn't start the veggies until she delivered them. What I would do is turn on the burners a little earlier then after the first ten or twenty went through the line I would turn the burners off. However, I don't think you can do much better than the best buffet!

Now on to what makes a reunion. What really great relatives I have. The problem when you start mentioning people is that you always miss someone that should be mentioned but I'll never forget Belva or her husband Don. I would write what I am going to write even if I didn't know that she reads the blog. I may have got the cousins here but Don & Belva kept them here and entertained them! Thursday night Belva and Don hosted a welcome to Oregon evening. They also hosted informal get togethers for Friday Night diner and Saturday lunch. The reunion success is squarely on their shoulders. Boy if you ever want to meet an amazing family then meet Don & Belva's family. Some really beautiful and handsome kids! I enjoyed each and everyone of them!

Cousin Helen and husband Joe paid for the chicken for the Friday lunch. Joe and Helen are perfect examples of what a great group this was. Cousin Bonnie needed a ride to the airport on Sunday. Several people, including my sister, volunteered to take Bonnie to the airport. Of course Joe was one that volunteered and he was the chosen one. He is a really handsome guy that used to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He basically wouldn't let me take Bonnie to the airport because he thought I was to tired and he thought it was more important that I get Mom and bring her to the hotel to say goodbye to everyone. Helen is first cousin Shirley's daughter. Shirley passed away last year. Helen confided this reunion was kind of hard for her because her Mom loved the reunions and it kind of made her sad. Helen is an amazing woman that used to work for the Alaska state legislature. My mom would adopt her in a heartbeat.

Speaking of amazing families you can't go wrong with first cousin Merna and her kids Joan and Al. Merna is a beautiful woman and obviously was a damn good Mom because her kids treated her like a queen. Joan is a delightful young woman that just retired from teaching kindergarten, her husband is a department head at the University of Florida. Joan just appreciates everything even a park she walked to! She thought Cook Park near the hotel was just as beautiful as the Columbia Gorge. Then we have my buddy Al. He accepted my offer to be M.C. Saturday night. Thank God for Al. Just a side note my sister-in-law who really doesn't like that many people wants to be just like Merna. That tells you what a dynamic woman Merna is. Just a side note, Al and my brother's son Greg could be twins.

I really love first cousin Ruth. Then there are her son Paul and his more than delightful wife Nancy. It just isn't cousins that make a reunion, it is in-laws too. One day when I had to go visit the caterer I came back and there was Nancy in my room with Mom making sure she was taken care of. Paul is a handsome dude that takes good care of his Mom. Ruth really couldn't have got to the reunion without Paul and Nancy. Ruth is just so appreciative about such little things! Damn there are good women in my family. Ruth mentioned to me that in some hotels they delivered the newspapers to their rooms. The hotel we were staying in, had the daily newspapers in the lobby. I am an early riser. I walk every morning so I just walked a different route the next couple of days and dropped a newspaper off at the door to her room. I also made her waffles a day or two. She was so appreciative you would have thought I walked to LA every morning for that newspaper! She also told Mom I made her waffles. A woman in her eighties that isn't down in the mouth but so positive and appreciative. I'm proud to have Ruth as a relative.

I already mentioned cousin Bernadine and her husband Jack. Jack is such a good man. My heart just aches that he has to suffer right now. He is doing it with style, humor, and charm. You look up damn good man in the dictionary you see Jack. I really enjoyed my time with Bernadine. She rode with me to the caterer. She has always been a favorite of mine.

Cousin Bonnie was a real trooper just to get here. I picked her up at the airport on Thursday morning. She had gotten up that day at five in the morning to get to the airport. She was fun to talk to on the way from the airport. Reunions wouldn't be reunions without her.

Barbara did something that we all appreciated and it must have taken a ton of work. She put together a montage of family history that was a huge hit. She is going to be back in Oregon next week and I am looking forward to talking more with her.

Cousin Dick and his wife Judy were also fun. Judy liked to walk in the morning and thought the area where Mom lives was absolutely beautiful. Dick has an interesting background including a stint with the FBI as a fingerprint specialist.

There were a lot of cousins I didn't get to spend time with. Delbert and Aldelphia couldn't have made it without their sons Mike and Bill driving them here. I did talk to Bill & Mike a little bit, fun guys. Bryan I didn't spend any time with so next reunion I am going to make a point of seeking him out. I also wish I could have spent more time with the always smiling Glenn and his family. Ever see one of those people that you just know they would be fun to talk to? That's Glen.

I also got to meet Don's niece Joan who was mentioned on the blog before. She is the young woman that had a stroke at forty-six and still spends time helping others. She was great and as cute as a button. My Mom thought her husband was very charming. Here is the post where Joan was mentioned.

http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2010/02/good-bad.html

I saved my family for last. I now even have more appreciation for Mom. As tired as I am at my age Mom must be absolutely exhausted at her age. She also did what she could to help. She wrapped up close to twenty prizes for bingo and special gifts for cousins that came from the longest distance away, etc. She did it despite arthritic hands. My sister made centerpieces for the banquet that added charm to the evening. She also watched out for mom before and during the reunion when I needed to do things. My sister's husband Bob was his helpful self. I didn't realize how much I relied on Bob until the night of the banquet. Sis's daughter Lisa came from Utah, everyone thought she was really pretty. My nephew Greg came every night to the hotel charming his relatives. His wife and two of his children joined us for the dinner. My niece Kristie made a brief appearance. Bless my brother's heart. He and his wife changed some travel plans so they could make the dinner. Thank heaven Grover and Kayce had a great time! Grover loved Joan and bro said he made a new buddy in Ruth. Joan also thought bro was an interesting guy. Kayce was extremely charming and says she now has a new role model in Merna. Grover told me he was so pumped that he didn't sleep after the banquet. This was his first cousin reunion.

Other notes. The ghost tour wasn't that great. Some of the cousins visited the vineyards, some went to Saturday market, some went out for Mexican food, some went to movies, a bunch walked over nightly to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream, some went out for breakfast, but most of us just stayed around the hotel and talked.

At first the task of putting the reunion together seemed overwhelming. The worry about how well it would go and whether or not there was enough food was constantly there. However the excitement of walking into that room banquet night seeing fifty people smiling and having fun was exhilarating. The thank you card and the hugs from Ruth and Merna were touching. The thought while I was putting together the reunion was I don't think I'd do this again. The thought changed during the weekend and as Saturday night ended the thought was I'd do it again in a heartbeat. How about next month?

PS

These are a couple of pictures taken banquet night by my brother from his cell phone, click on the picture to enlarge it.

This is Don & Belva's family, I could name most of them but I am going to stick with the highlights. Belva is the beautiful woman in the white slacks and black top sitting in the front row with her hands on her lap. Don is the one standing the furthest on the left. Joan the one that had a stroke is in a pink top sitting all the way to the right. Joan's husband is standing behind her. Don & Belva's son, Kevin, is standing next to Joan's husband, he is the second from the right. Kevin's wife is the pretty dark haired lady standing next to Don. The really good looking blonde in the white kind of dotted dress is Chris. Went we first met on her arrival, she said "I remember you from twenty-five years ago." I was thinking twenty-five years ago she couldn't have been born. She is forty-seven and looks great.



This is Mom banquet night. Ever see a woman in her nineties looking that good?

Full Report Tomorrow

I napped most of the afternoon. I'm missing my cousins. Will be a full reunion report on the blog tomorrow morning!

This was an absolutely amazing group of people!! A dynamite reunion!!