Evolution and oh, how I love my Swiffer!!!

Dear Mr. Swiffer, whoever and whatever you are – just want to tell you about my experience with your products. I have been keeping house for many, many years, too many to count. I began when there was nothing else to use except a broom, a dust mop, and a terrible, heavy wet mop. I did my part, though. I swept the whole house very single day, I dust mopped in between sweeping, and I mopped whenever and wherever it was needed. It was not an easy thing to do to wring out that heavy, heavy mop. I would not say I was really good at housekeeping, but then with much practice, I got better. And the products also got better. Next came the big, heavy, lug around vacuum cleaner. Everyone had to have one of those monsters. I drug it all over the house several times a week. In between, I used that old dust mop. But my house was clean. Or at least it looked clean. Of course I could not run the vacuum when the children were asleep because the overwhelming noise woke them up. And I could not run it when they were awake because they were all afraid of it. So I cleaned house whenever they were gone somewhere or outside playing.  The noise is probably one of the reasons I can no longer hear well. Next came that whirling vacuum that spun around all over the house.  It had a big hose that got caught around every chair leg and under the tables. And the whirling vacuum got caught under the bed. I usually tripped over the hose at least once a day. But my house was clean, so no complaints. And my children were not afraid of the whirling vacuum and it didn’t wake them up when I ran it during naptimes. So things were better.

Along came the central vacuum system. This was wonderful except that mine did not work very well. I was always having to go back around with that handy old dust mop and pick up whatever the vacuum had missed along the way. I also tripped regularly over the hose. But this was progress, no doubt about it.

But then, you came along. I have never had so much fun cleaning house. I just push that combination broom, dust mop, vacuum, and wet mop  throughout the house and everything looks cleaner all the time. And then I dust regularly with those magnetic dusters that are on the market today. Well, I’ll just have to tell you, I think I have died and gone to heaven for sure. This product even gets the dust out of the corners and nothing ever did that before. And besides that, I no longer have to drag that heavy, dirty old mop around, trying to clean and then rinse and then wring it out over and over again. Nope, not anymore. Now I just put that mopping cloth on this apparatus and mop my kitchen.  No problem, no trouble, and besides it will also mop the bathrooms. All I need now is something that will push this combination broom, dust mop, vacuum and wet mop around my house while I read the paper and have my cup of tea. I would appreciate your working on this upgrade as soon as possible. Thanks again.

The Influence of Advertising or Just Plain Hype

I tried to watch one of the children’s television programs tonite with my daughter, but it was impossible to stay with the story line because of all the interfering commercials offering all kinds of products, not only for the children, but also for the adults who would be watching with their children. Everything offered was something that ‘you must have’. Not only do you want this, but you absolutely, positively need it.

When I was growing up, my mother used to talk of  Christmas at her house when she was growing up. There were 9 children and no father, so they had very little money for anything, much less for items they might want. On Christmas morning, all those 9 children got up and were thrilled and surprised to find an orange that Santa had left each of them. Later on, I read in the 50’s about a minority woman who was moaning that that was all she got for Christmas when she was a child. But she failed to mention that this was the norm for many of the families over the years. My mother never moaned nor complained about this. She thought that orange was a great and grand surprise to have for Christmas. Depends upon your attitude I guess. And on what you think you need to make you happy.

Nowadays, everyone expects to have everything imaginable under the tree on Christmas morning. And why? Because someone says they not only want this, but they need it in order to be happy in their lives. Everyone needs to step back and take a good hard look at their lives. What you need and what you want are two very different things. I might want a lot of things, but I really don’t need them. When I was growing up, I never realized that I didn’t need so many things until my parents told me so. I have heard the words, “You don’t need that” many times in my lifetime. Of course I thought I did need something because my friends all had it, or because I saw it in a magazine or heard about it on the radio. But that didn’t mean that I needed it. And thankfully, my parents taught me not to always want, want, want. They taught me well. I have never had the desire for ‘things’.

One year when I was a young teen, I insisted that I needed this particular kind of haircut. It was called a ‘feather cut’ and all my friends were getting this gorgeous haircut and they looked so beautiful that I just had to have one of those. My parents didn’t argue about it. They told me a couple of times that I didn’t need it, but I kept on insisting that I did. Finally, my mother took me to the beauty shop and I went in, thrilled beyond words. I sat down in the chair and insisted again that I needed this ‘feather cut’. The man tried to tell me that I would have to have a permanent also, but I insisted that my friends all had this wonderful haircut and I was getting one, too. And I was also going to be beautiful. Well, he did just like my parents had done. He didn’t bother to argue with me about it. He just set about cutting my hair. I watched in the mirror and the transformation just simply was not happening to me. I just looked the same. When he finished cutting, I paid the bill, but could not believe the way I looked. Sure enough, he was right. I didn’t need that ‘feather cut’. In order to have that beautiful hairdo, it was necessary to either have a permanent or to have naturally curly hair. But I had insisted until I won. And now I had chunks of hair all over my head. Instead of looking gorgeous, I just looked ridiculous. Where the hair was supposed to ‘feather’, mine sat like a clod all over my head. I was ashamed, but was stuck with the look for quite awhile afterwards. But I learned that just because I wanted that haircut didn’t mean that I needed it.

If you get a chance, teach your children they don’t need all those things they really just want. Teach them they don’t need things to be happy in their lives. Tell them they don’t need that until they learn the value of and the difference in wants and needs.

Hips, Ibuprofen, and Ducks

If you are interested or even if you are not, thought I would tell you my long, sad story. I had a bad fall a few years ago and broke my hip and my shoulder. I always had one leg shorter than the other one and so when I was put back together, one leg is definitely shorter than the other one by another quarter inch or so. So, to make a long story short from the beginning, my good hip started hurting me so I decided to raise that hip up a little bit to sort of match the other one. I put an extra gel sole in that shoe. I walked on that for about a day and a half. Then my knee starting hurting pretty bad. So I took the gel piece out of my shoe and thought that would make my knee stop hurting. Instead, it just kept right on hurting all the time and it was really, really painful. Now, I could not walk right at all. So I was limping around and that made my bad hip start hurting. The good one didn’t hurt anymore.

I limped so much that my foot started hurting and over time it swelled up pretty good. This made my heel where I had broken it several years before, start hurting as though it was broken again. Although I knew it was not. And my foot was drawn up in pain because I could not relax it enough to walk right. I could actually feel my toes retract when I tried to walk. Then, in order to be able to live my normal life since I was in such pain in all directions by now, I had to take a couple of ibuprofen just to get through each day. And even at this amount, I was still in a lot of pain. After taking the ibuprofen a couple of days, it began to have an effect on my stomach which it always does. So here I was, with my knee just ruining my life and my foot hurting all the time and my stomach upset from the ibuprofen, and my other hip hurting sometimes. Oh yeah, by now, the ibuprofen was causing me to have a diarrhea, too. I would have cried but there was no one around to hear me, so why bother. No point in crying if there is no one to hear you and feel sorry for you. So I gave that one up.

But I sure did feel like it most of the time. It was an effort to just get up out of a chair and walk across the room. Of course I could have gone to the doctor, but there was not much he could have done for me except give me more medication and I didn’t feel that I needed that just yet. Not until I was to the screaming stage. Almost there now.

And then I was sitting in a chair the other evening, looking down at my foot that was hurting so much. I was trying to see if it was swelled as much today as yesterday.  Then the thought crossed my mind that maybe, just possibly, my shoe was too small. So I immediately changed shoes and put on a pair that I had in the closet that was 1/2 size larger.

Now, I’m still hurting some, but it is not nearly as bad as it was. And I note that my toe is at the end of this shoe, so maybe I even need a 1/2 size larger than that one. I will have to go to the store one day soon and have my foot measured so I can see if I have grown longer feet.

And besides that, I am at the age where I shrink occasionally. That is, I get shorter over the years. So wouldn’t that be something if I am shrinking from the top and growing longer from the bottom. If so, I will soon look like a duck I guess. Hope I don’t have to waddle like one.

Marketing, oh yeah, this is why we eat turkey for Thanksgiving.

Do you know why you eat turkey every year for Thanksgiving dinner? No, it’s not because that is what is on sale that week. No, it is not because the Pilgrims and the Indians ate turkey. You eat turkey because the turkey growers all got together and promoted the selling of turkeys for Thanksgiving each year.

Don’t believe that? Well, I was there and saw it all and heard what was said, so I know first hand how we all came to eat turkey for Thanksgiving dinner each year.

A couple owned a grocery store a couple of blocks from my home when I was a kid. At that time, neighborhoods all had a local grocery store  on a corner every few blocks. This one was a regular grocery with a butcher behind the big glass counter and a cash register near the front door and a few cans of everything imaginable. They also stocked fresh bread and milk and eggs. My mother went to town each week on the day she kept the car. She drove down to Main Street where she bought the bulk of her groceries for the week. Then when we ran out of something during the week, she would send us kids to walk to the grocery store and pick up whatever she needed. It was usually that bread or milk. She had her own chickens, so it wasn’t eggs that’s for sure.

Anyway, the couple sold their grocery store and started a turkey farm. This was the only turkey farm I had ever heard of. When you grow turkeys, you have to make cages that sit up off the ground. That is where the turkeys are housed. The cages are different looking, so when you drive out in the country and see the turkeys in their jacked up cages, you know instantly what they are.

Well, this lady and her husband had gone into the turkey business in a big way. They had lots and lots of cages all around their property out in the country.

After about a year or so, the lady called my mother on the telephone and asked if she could come by and talk to her. This was in early Fall of that year. Being a kid, I was running in and out of the living room while mother and the lady talked. Seems the lady came by to convince my mother to order a turkey for her Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey would already be killed, of course, and plucked, and ready to roast. Mother listened to all the lady had to say. The lady said that the turkey growers had gotten together in this country and were promoting having turkey for Thanksgiving dinner each year. All of them were out taking orders right now. Mother had prepared different meals for Thanksgiving over the years. Mostly, we just had a chicken hen out of the chicken yard. One year, mother prepared a goose and it was truly awful. But since my daddy worked on Thanksgiving Day just like any other day of the year, Thanksgiving dinner was not a priority at our house anyway.

But since the grocery store lady was a sort of friend, Mother decided to order a turkey that year.

Soon after that, Mr. Roosevelt made a speech on the radio saying that Thanksgiving Day would henceforth be an official holiday for these United States.

And you know what? After that, we began seeing pictures in the newspapers and on billboards and in books of smiling, happy people eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner every year. And sure enough, turkey is what most people expect to have for Thanksgiving dinner every single Thanksgiving. And that is why you eat turkey every year for your Thanksgiving dinner.

You can read this story and many others like it in my books. Only $5 each, they have a wealth of humor, information, and history in them. Try one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Signs of Change

Pay attention to what all God is doing in this world.  Remember when those liberals were chanting about population explosion? Well, they convinced all kinds of people to kill their unborn children. And so now, God has turned that around and most of the people in this country are against abortions. And the total is climbing every day. Those liberals are still spinning around and insisting that they know best, but they don’t.

And then there were those who hollered loud and clear about how global warming is going to kill us all.  Why the Arctic is going to turn in a big sloshy mess any day now. And instead, Antarctica is now experiencing the coldest weather that has ever happened there. Isn’t that interesting though? Remember it’s God’s world. He is going to take care of it just fine.

And now we are inundated with rain, rain, and more rain. I  believe I have been hearing for years how the farmers are most concerned because the water table has fallen so low all over the country. So guess what! God is now taking care of that one. The drought in Texas has been very serious for several years. It has already been taken care of with the recent rains. The farmers won’t have to worry about the water table for quite some time. In our state, we have had more rain this year than has fallen since the late 1800’s. Isn’t that amazing though.

And how about those snows out west. Could it be that the weather is being straightened out there too? And in the process, it will also help their economy as they depend on that snowfall each year. Again, isn’t that amazing. God seems to know what everyone needs and provides just fine. Without a bit of help from those liberals either. They can just keep right on spinning around and whining about all these terrible things that are going to  happen to us. And it’s not going to happen anyway. God will take care of everything in His own time.

And what those liberals do not understand, at least not yet, is that they are through, through, through. Permanently. We won’t have to listen to their extreme rhetoric anymore. I can hardly wait until the media finally tunes them out. They are a past that we don’t need to repeat. Just watch and see how God takes care of everything. Including all their agenda. Pay attention to what God is doing in this world. And then say your prayers of Thanksgiving for all blessings received.

Vitamin D, Turning Back the Clock, and Playing

It was on all the newscasts and in all the newspapers a couple of days ago – The children of this country are suffering from a Vitamin ‘D’ deficiency. Well duh. What in the world did they expect to find with their latest of studies.

It was told back in the 1920’s or maybe even before that the prevalent rickets was caused by a lack of Vitamin D. Then some smart scientist decided that if they put artificial Vitamin D in the milk, the children would just never know the difference. No way. Nothing beats that good old sunshine for a proper amount of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is taken in primarily by the eyes. A child plays out in the sunshine and while he is having the time of his life, he is automatically absorbing that wonderful Vitamin D. His skin is also absorbing the proper amount of Vitamin D. And his bones are getting stronger all the time.

So now, the poor child is inside all the time. In his young life, he is staying indoors in a preschool environment while his mother works. Or he is inside when he is a little older because he is either watching television or playing a game of some kind. And if he dares to get out and go swimming, his mother is dousing him constantly with sun blocker. When is that poor child supposed to get any Vitamin D at all?

Surely someone will wake up in this world and recognize that the ways of the past weren’t all that bad after all. I know I can’t turn the clock back and wouldn’t even if I could. But my children played outside all the time in the pretty weather. They were either building forts out of the hedges in the yard. Or they were riding their bikes and skating on the sidewalk in front of the house. Or they might be playing volley ball or hide and seek in the back yard. What happened to the sidewalks and the yards? Where did they go? Why are our children all forced indoors when they could be having such a super time outside. They might even get to know some of their neighborhood friends. Mine knew everyone within a mile radius.

At that time, we didn’t have to be so paranoid about predators.  No one was going to murder them or snatch them away. No one wanted our children. The children watched out for one another while they were outside. If anyone had even dared to approach one of the children, the others would have made so much noise that the predator would have been happy to leave well enough alone.

Perhaps we need more stringent punishments for those predators. Perhaps we need to have more mothers at home who would allow their children to play in the safe back yard with their friends. Perhaps we need to turn that clock back maybe just a little bit.

Structure

A young boy who comes to church every week with his family always gets my attention. The whole time he is in church, he is glued to his mother. He is either standing with his arms wrapped around her or sitting in her lap or cuddled up in her arms. This young boy is about 9 years old. And then sometime during the service, he has to use the bathroom. Then his father has to take him out to the bathroom. If this was my kid, he would be talked to in no uncertain terms and told to keep his hands to himself.  He needs to sit up straight like a young man should and listen to the service. And he had better use the bathroom before he leaves home, because he is not going to use it while the church service is going on.

I may be wrong, but I doubt it. I never saw any reason for my children to hang on to me and made that very clear with them. I was not pushing them away or ignoring them. I was just simply being their mother who knew that was not the way they should act. And they all knew not to run to the bathroom when we went out in public. They could use the bathroom at home. Of course there were situations where they needed to use the public restroom, but these were few and far between. Everyone knew the rules and everyone followed them. Period.

Nowadays, the mothers can’t accept that these are children who need to be taught and taught well how to behave in all situations. They need to be disciplined when necessary and certainly need direction in the social behaviors. The adage that children should be seen and not heard is still relevant in today’s society. But you would never guess it to see the children in the movies or the churches or restaurants these days.

Parents should be responsible for their children’s behaviors in all situations. If they have not taught them well at home, then they should not take their children out into the public to disturb others.

I have heard the story that one mother asked her pastor when she should start disciplining her child. He asked her how old the child was. She said he was four years old. The pastor said, ‘you’d better hurry home. You are already four years late.’  This is so true. Give your child a shot at life. Give your child the opportunity to grow up and be a responsible citizen. Give your child the necessary discipline to allow him to grow into a responsible person. You owe this to your child. Every day.

Forever War

I remember it like it was yesterday – or maybe today. That usual nice Sunday evening. We had gone over to my parents to visit awhile. They had invited us to stay for dinner and so me, my husband and our children had opted to stay for a quick dinner. It was pleasant and fun for all. Our children were young, too young for battle. The Vietnam War had been raging on for awhile. We all hated that War. Even today, there is never any agreement that we should have been there or done anything in that region of the world at all. We had all had enough War to last us for awhile. But seems that some men never get enough of war. Our politicians just keep right on planning one war after another, over and over again. There was the World War I before my time. But I have heard my parents and grandparents talk about that War to end all Wars. And then after that was the Great Depression which I have also heard my parents talk about. And then about the time people recovered from a little bit of that or perhaps to help the people recover from that, we had the great World War II. That one war was enough to last me for the rest of my life.  I was not very old, but do remember many of the pictures and battles from that one. And then here we come right after that with the Korean Conflict – didn’t want to call it a war at that time. And right on the heels of that ‘conflict’ was the Vietnam War. Enough!!!!

I was listening to a history tape the other day wherein Winston Churchill bemoaned the fact that War had lost its glamour. It was no longer a gentlemen’s game. No longer a place where young gentlemen were honed into wiser old gentlemen who could then sit around with their drinks and cigars and talk about the old days, the glamourous days of their particular war. Their necessary war.

But this particular Sunday evening, we all settled down in the living room after dinner to watch the President of the United States make an important speech about the War in Vietnam. We were all expecting he would say it was over and the men – those that were left – were coming home at last. I was much more tuned into raising my family than I was in the upcoming speech, but I sat down to watch anyway. And then here he came, the President of the United States. He cleared his throat like he always did when he wanted to say something  important. And then he dropped the bomb of the century. He had sent more troops into Vietnam. A lot more troops. And bombers. And all the other stuff that goes into the making of Wars.

All my family, my parents, and my own small family were speechless. How could he do this to us? How could he continue to send our young  men into harm’s way and sit there like it was nothing. How could he possibly justify any of this. And then the short speech was over.  My Dad had been a staunch Democrat all his life. But now, he just got up from his chair and walked out of the room. He had nothing to say in support of the President like he usually would have. There was just nothing to say at all. Not by any of us.

When we did finally regain our composure, we all agreed that we could not understand how any of this could be done. Didn’t make any sense to  us. And we must have been representative of all the other households in our country that Sunday evening. Almost everyone  that we talked to was against the War. None of us agreed that our young men should be sent over and over into that hell of a place way on the other side of the world. We had nothing to gain there and an awful lot to lose. Why was our President doing this awful thing to us again and again.

And then on this Sunday evening many years later, I am watching the news and hear that our current President of the United States is considering sending thousands more troops into Afghanistan. To be slaughtered for no gain once again? The news also gave the tally for today’s fighting. Seems there were eight killed today. Just think of those eight mothers and wives who will mourn every day of their lives on this earth. Think of the tears shed over and over again. Think of that gaping hole left in their lives and in their families. Think of the children left fatherless. And then explain to me once again why we need another War. Why send more troops into that place of horrors full of rocks and mountains where our men will have to fight and defend a position that none of us is quite sure of.

I agree wholeheartedly in protecting our country from terroristic activity. I think our borders should be made more secure. And our agencies should be allowed to do their jobs to find these terrorists and convict them and get them off the streets and out of our country. But I do not think Afghanistan is worth the life of even one of our young men. Protect us at home. That is where we are. Bring our young men home. Get out of Afghanistan. Stop fighting one war after another in this world. It is time for the so-called necessary wars to become unnecessary.

And maybe, just maybe it is time for all of us to pray more and fight less.

Because Every Life Is Sacred

CLICK

Well, as usual, you can count on those Democrats. I am on Mike Huckabee’s email list and got the latest news tonight. Seems the Democrats voted 13-10 in the Senate Finance Committee against Republican Orrin Hatch’s amendment that would have made it certain that federal funds in the health care bill would not pay for abortions. Right now, the Senate Finance Committee’s bill forces the Congress to renew the anti-Abortion language every year. If they do not do this, it will lead to federal funding of abortions.

The vote was along party lines with only Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe voting with the Democrats – as usual. You can always count on her also.

Well, as you can only imagine, the powers that be in the Democratic Party – Senators such as Barbara Boxer or John Kerry or Speaker Nancy Pelosi and even President Obama will never, ever, ever bring up voting against federal funding for abortions – ever again. Not next year nor the year after that, nor even the year after that.  So after this year has passed, it will automatically mean that abortions WILL be federally funded. Whether we like it or not.

Perhaps the Senate has not read any of the latest polls that show Americans are overwhelmingly against abortions. Period. No abortions!!! And certainly not any that are federally funded for any reason whatsoever. But we, as citizens, will not have the power to stop any of this once that bill is passed. Only the Congress will be able to vote to renew the anti-Abortion language every single year. Well, as I said, you can just imagine that happening. Certainly not with this Congress.

Mike Huckabee is asking right now for $11 or more to be donated to his Pro Life Team Huck PAC. They will use the finances to help elect Pro-Life Republicans to the Senate. That is how many Republicans they need to regain control of the Senate. 11. Big number. But can be possible with help.

Huck PAC is absolutely, positively Pro-Life. All the way. You might want to get more information or even sign up for his emails at Huck Pac. Keeps me posted on what is really happening up there in never, never land.

As I said earlier on this blog, watch Huckabee. You might just like him. So far, he is the only one standing up for the real high moral principles. I am watching. We could certainly use a big dose of high moral principles right about now.

C’mon, open your heart and…

Do you remember when – it was o.k. to just relax and enjoy the day?

I remember when the news was just that – news of the day. It was not necessary for three or four people to give their opinions on every issue. We just watched the news in the evening and then made our own comments.

I remember when my children played all around the neighborhood. They could play in and out of houses for a two block area and no one even considered that they might be in any danger whatsoever. How nice that was for us and for them. They played army for days and days. They pretended to make movies of everyone in the neighborhood. They wrote a newspaper and played cowboys and indians and cops and robbers and no one found fault with their behavior. The girls played dressup and Mother May I. And House.

It was really fun to just sit outside and watch the sun set or maybe sit on the carport and watch the rain. Drink a slow cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. A neighbor might drop by and join in with a cup of coffee, too. Or another time, after we had done our washing and ironing and cleaning and mopping and cooking for the day, we Mothers might visit with each other over a cup of coffee and a cookie. And maybe watch our kids playing in the sandbox or jumping rope or riding their bikes.

I remember when Dad went off to work and earned a good living. And Mom stayed home and cared for everyone and all their needs. It was a satisfying and full life for all concerned. Dad was not expected to care for the children – that was Mom’s job. Mom was not expected to earn the living – that was Dad’s job.

We used to read a magazine or a book in the evening. We used to just sit and talk the evening away. We enjoyed one another. We were a family. Sometimes, we had a card table set up with a jigsaw puzzle on it. Some one would sort the pieces, turning them right side up. We might stop for a minute and help put the border pieces on. Everyone in the family would help put the puzzle together. It might take a week or more, depending upon how much time we had. Or we might be busy playing cards together. That was when I learned how to play ‘Sol’. And Concentration. And Hearts. Lots of fun. Many a night spent together.

If it was a good night for television, we might watch the sitcoms together. But they were clean and pleasant and full of laughs for us all. That was before the sitcoms began to have a message for us all. You know, like Dad is stupid and Mom is dumb. Or Dad always wears a suit at home and never actually goes out to work. And Mom has on her high heels and perfectly coiffed hair. And she never has anything to do at all. But we all knew this was  just pretending anyway. So we could laugh at the jokes and enjoy the evening – together.  That was the point. We were together. We spent our time as a family. And we all enjoyed every minute of it.

That was a nice time. Such a nice time for everyone. I remember when.

Take a look at some of my books. You will enjoy them. They are full of some of those ‘remember when times’ together. Thanks.