Whose idea was this?

During the summers while I was still teaching in elementary school, I taught in an enriched program for gifted students. One of the programs was  for those interested in Legos….aimed at both boys AND girls.    The structures they were able to construct were mind blowing to me. There were roller coasters that came up to my knees. They built and played with helicopters, space shuttles, jetports, windmills, trains, cranes, on and on with motors and moving parts. The girls matched the ability of the boys in putting things together. The sets were marketed to both boys and girls.

Fast forward thirty years to the most recent offerings for girls by the Legos company.   After marketing almost exclusively to boys for at least ten years or more, they’ve decided to go back to marketing to girls. Great, you say? No way. The sets they are marketing show sitting in a hot tub, lunching at the cafe, at the beauty shop, and at the splash pool. To be fair there is the musician (even if she is singing in a club), the inventor, and the vet all displayed in 1950s pastels, especially PINK! (and purple)

I realize this blog is about a month late already from being ground breaking news, but I am no longer aware of what is out there being marketed to children. It will be a few years yet before I have to be concerned when I buy for my yet to be born grandchild.

I am seeing arguments on both sides for these obviously sexist toys. They pander to what society is trying to shove off on growing girls. They are supposed to be self-absorbed empty headed beauty conscious girls content with lounging around and primping.

As toys for boys become more war-like (Legos Star Wars) toys for girls are speeding back to the 1950s honoring the domestic diva beauty queen. Maybe since I am from the generation who became aware there was more out there for young women in the 1970s, I am so upset about this turn around forty years later. What ever happened to this goal of gender equality toys?

Yes, there are girls who will love these new toys. There is a broad spectrum of interests  among girls. There always have been. Legos is marketing to the top of the femininity scale…the sorority girls. I have no idea about what percentage that might be. But what about the rest of the girls, the independent girls, who prefer to be in the science labs, the engineering labs, the architect classes instead of trying out for cheerleading or participating in wet tee shirt contests?

It is my hope that the Legos Company would turn back the clock thirty years and start producing universal toys like they did back then. They were gender neutral. They demanded creativity. They didn’t emphasize sexual stereotypes with mini figs with boobs!

There is a petition from Change.org asking Legos to reconsider its latest entry into the girl’s market. If you don’t care about this matter don’t do anything. But if you do, speak up for the future of the current crop of girls who are learning self absorption is the primary goal of their lives. Namaste Attic Annie

Crabs in a bucket

How and why did our country become divided into two such hostile camps? What will need to happen to begin to mend the tears that have occurred in the fabric of our daily lives?

Some days I give in to the urge to turn on the television in the morning to take the edge off the silence of the house. This morning I tuned into CNN during the discussion of the Romney victory in New Hampshire.

Some spokesperson was being interviewed. He was talking about the number of people who are jealous of those who are “successful”. He said many Americans are against achieving success. I assumed he was saying too many people have a sour grapes attitude.  I didn’t listen to the rest of the interview because, as is often the case, my mind was already reeling with what could be a rebuttal.

If those who are “successful” feel that the only reason they are being singled out is because the vast majority are envious or jealous, I think, to a certain extent with a few exceptions, they are not right. The great majority, I believe, do NOT have a crabs in the bucket attitude as he seemed to be saying.

However, I think they are missing the point and trying to fool themselves. I don’t agree that Americans are against success. Many children in today’s classrooms are still hopeful of achieving that status. By success, I am assuming this spokesperson was referring to monetary success.

“They”, the successful, are resented when the success is achieved through fraud, greed, and manipulation of laws. I don’t think many would resent someone who gained success simply because of honest hard work without the exploitation of others. After all, that’s the American Way…or we believed the fairy tale that it is.

“They” the successful, feel attacked when the rest resent that the amount contributed to the upkeep of our country is not their fair share. One of the things I remember learning in church is Luke 12:48  ”From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” That adage has been around at least 2,000 years. Why is there so much resentment among the successful that they are still being reminded of that fact?

Yes, among the successful, there are those who are very philanthropic. Their gifts to the public are very beneficial. Some do it for the reason stated above….much has been given to them so they give. However, I would love to be a tiny mouse in the offices of their tax accountants who tell them how much to give in order to avoid x amount of taxes, thus avoiding their fair share of the fair share they should be paying.  I was reminded of that when the minister on Sunday commented on the increase in giving the last week of last year stating how grateful we are for such contributions. We are grateful. They money is sorely needed. However, how much tax is avoided by those who gave for such reasons?

It is sad that we are, or are rapidly becoming, a nation of haves and have nots. It is even sadder when the majority only want the minority to gain their wealth honestly and pay their fair share. Namaste  Attic Annie

I found this article about Romney‘s interview on the Today Show this morning. Evidently the talk of envy is coming from him.

I am writing this on Monday even though it is appearing for the first time on Tuesday. That’s the benefit of having many ADD characteristics. I start out doing one thing and end up somewhere I had no idea where I was going. I had no intention of writing about Christina Aguilera yesterday when I started out ninety minutes ago. But that was where I ended up.

I wanted to talk about it being another rainy day and Monday. The rain has been falling non stop since before I woke up this morning. I have no idea when it began. I was too busy sleeping. Last May I went to a doctor I saw several years ago and dropped when I thought I was better. Little did I know what a big mistake that was. There were so many things wrong with me, I was a walking medical encyclopedia. One of my problems was chronic insomnia. Slowly I am developing longer periods of sleep. Last night was one of them. I didn’t wake until 8:00. Ri-Leigh, bless her soul, does not wake me to go out.  She will jump up and insist if she sees that I am awake but otherwise she is very patient.

Other things also seem to be falling into shape and I woke this morning to a feeling of wellness that is alien to me. I love it. I have never been bi-polar but to me this feeling would definitely be on the high end of my own polarity scale. I envy people who feel this energetic every day. To me it is a miracle.

Since I have an aversion to driving anywhere in the rain, I am confined to home. The sounds of the rain falling is very lulling and hypnotic but I am refusing to allow it to con me into losing this elevated mood I am experiencing today. It’s great to feel alive!

One of the things that happens when I feel good is that my words start tumbling out of me. It seems I can whip out a blog or several blogs in record time. I can’t attest to the quality of such blogs but they are easy to spill out. The other thing that happens is that I get the urge to dig myself out of the pit I call my home. When I do not feel well, which has been since last May, things pile up. Usually I find other things to do to occupy my mind until that urge passes, but today I think I’ll do at least a little work. It makes me feel better…like when I change my sheets and crawl into the spring fresh smooth bed at night. It’s a great feeling.

It’s hard to separate into different boxes feelings that might be physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual. I listened to a song sung yesterday by a great vocalist which contributed to my being in a good mood. All of them are contributing to my feelings of love and life. Will this last? Probably not. Will these feelings come again? Probably so. I’m still crying for the pain I feel towards my friend’s loss of a young daughter. I cry at the pain whenever any friend loses someone close. I am sending him my love and willing him to take one step at a time to get through this ordeal. But it’s still not dampening my mood.

My attitudes about so many things are changing. I think for the better. On those days when I realize I am actually feeling I am thankful. Decades of burying all emotions have taken their toll on me but I’m not finished yet. I envision the first spring’s sprout appearing ready to shoot up and produce some beautiful work of some type. I feel myself growing. Monday’s rainy day is a blessing. I feel like I am in and surrounded by love. No, there’s no particular person in mind….except maybe me. Like Martha Stewart says, “It’s a good thing.” Namaste. Attic Annie

What does America have against curves on a woman? It seems all the fashion gurus want are women who perpetually look like emaciated teen age boys.

Granted I am speaking from the viewpoint of a woman who has had weight issues most of my life. When I wore a size 10-12 I looked to myself and others as quite thin.

I am not a big music fan. Perhaps it is because as a child we only had one radio in the kitchen for the whole house. I was never encouraged to enjoy music of any kind. I never intentionally listen to music when I am in the car or at home. I’m not sure why the “plight” of Christina Aguilera even caught my attention.

It seems many want to make her a social outcast because she now has curves. I would dearly love to have her figure. She looks like a woman. She is thirty one years old and looks well nourished. She does not look like an overexploited, overexposed sexy Mouseketeer any longer. Which reminds me….when did the female Mouseketeers change from being the wholesome teenage girls to the provocative teenage vixens?….another topic.

Recent comments about Aguilera have not been flattering. She is being criticized about her weight. I would like to know why. Depending on the camera angle she may now have a hint of a double chin and rounded face but nothing that maybe losing five pounds wouldn’t take care of. She is very normal looking for a thirty one year old.

Her pictures remind me of Mae West. Mae was certainly very sexy for her time even as her weight appeared to fluctuate in her photos. She definitely knew how to be a woman. She definitely knew how to be sexy. She definitely knew men did not appreciate a string bean.

Aguilera seems to have the same attitude. It is the entertainment media who seems to view her weight as a “plight” rather than her. She says she comfortable in her own skin. I applaud her for not caving in the the media moguls who want big boobs and an 18 inch waist before they give any woman the time of day.

Do I think weight is important? Yes. Believe me, I know the consequences physically, emotionally, and socially to being overweight. Have I been “comfortable in my own skin” as Aguilera claims she is? No. To some, she is a very accomplished vocalist. I am not familiar with her works. I’m not really into the dirrty hooker images for young women which are so prevalent these days. I yearn for the years when they were just suggestively sexy. But I do feel a woman should be judged, if she must be, on the health of her body, the generosity of her spirit, and her talent. Not her weight. Namaste. Attic Annie

I was watching TV last week and came across an episode of 8 Simple Rules. I never watched it when it was on the first time. I soon realized what was happening. The wife played by Katey Sagal was deciding she couldn’t sleep in her bed because it was the first night after the funeral of her husband, played by John Ritter. Since that was the only episode I have seen, I realized the series was using the death of Ritter as part of the script. I remember how quickly he had died. On the series, they took the attitude that life goes on.

Last week a member of the choir sang two solos during church. He has been through some very rough spots in his life but as he sang, it was obvious that he was in a very good place. Things were coming together for him. One of the songs he sang was Carolyn Arends song “New Year’s Day.”

I buy a lot of diaries 
Fill them full of good intentions 
Each and every New Year’s Eve 
I make myself a list 
All the things I’m gonna change 
Until January 2nd 
So this time I’m making one promise 

CHORUS: 
This will be my resolution 
Every day is New Year’s Day 
This will be my resolution 
Every day is New Year’s Day 

I believe it’s possible 
I believe in new beginnings 
‘Cause I believe in Christmas Day 
And Easter morning too 
And I’m convinced it’s doable 
‘Cause I believe in second chances 
Just the way that I believe in you 

This will be my resolution 
Every day is New Year’s Day 
This could start a revolution 
Every day is… 

One more chance to start all over 
One more chance to change and grow 
One more chance to grab a hold of grace 
And never let it go 

He’s the type of guy who can really make others feel good. We believed him when he sang of changing and growing and grabbing grace. He made  us all feel good. He made us believe that every day we should resolve that this is our best day. That was Sunday.

Yesterday morning he posted on FB for his friends to pray for his daughter. She had stopped breathing and was rushed to intensive care in Tennessee where he had spent days at Christmas. She was on a ventilator. He updated last night that neurological signs were not good. An hour ago he posted that his daughter was with her mom among the angels in heaven.

The 8 Simple Rules script had the teenage children talking about the last things they said to their father. They were deep in grief for suddenly losing him.

I’m sure my friend is in deep mourning for the loss of his daughter. As far as I know she never regained consciousness. I wonder if he remembers his last conversation with her.

Our lives can be as normal as ever and then suddenly without warning everything can come to a screeching halt. Both the show and my friend’s loss brought that home to me. We are not able to always have that last moment to say good bye.

My father and I were not on the best of terms. He was in the hospital and I should have gone to see him even if it would have been out of a sense of filial duty. However, I really didn’t feel like it. I remember exactly where I was when I decided I would wait until the next day. After all, the doctor had said he was doing OK.

About six hours later we got the call from the hospital that he was dead. I did not take the time to say good bye. I can’t remember my last conversation with him. Those times during my senior year in college were few and far between.

I had that one day. Only one day. To tell my father I really did love him…to ask him if he really did love me. I let that opportunity slide by.

I talk with my son a couple times a month and email him a few more. If you have adult male sons you know this is very normal. He is living his own life. But one thing I have realized that we do more often is end up writing or speaking “I love you.” He often initiates it. He is able to do something I had great difficulty in doing. He is teaching me the importance of letting him know and his letting me know that we love each other. It is then that I realize we have only today. If I die suddenly he will remember that the last time we communicated he ended the conversation with love. Namaste. Attic Annie

Whenever I see videos like this one I am so moved by the idea that all creatures are capable of love. How could any scientist or animal behaviorist prove else wise? I’ve seen it in dogs staying with owners who are injured or other dogs, ducks who  remain with mates, cats who adopt baby bunnies…You Tube is filled with such videos. How can we be so blind as human beings not to notice relationships around us because “only humans have spirits”?

Shirley and Jennie were truly fortunate to find each other. It is the story of a friendship that never died. Their undying love for one another is obvious. It is a very moving story.

Shirley’s handler must have had a feeling of pride beyond anything I will probably ever feel when he said, “I don’t know who the first one was to put chains on Shirley but I am the last one to take them off.” What a blessing to know you helped free another sentient  being.

I am jealous that I feel that I have never had a friendship as close as this one. Such friendships are truly rare and a blessing. Perhaps there is still time to be able to feel such joy. I can only hope. Namaste Attic Annie

True or false? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”…..

Evidently not anymore. It has been many years since I have been anywhere close to a bouquet of roses. I can remember once or possibly twice that my husband sent me roses and that was back some time in the early 80s. The only other bouquet of roses I received was from a male friend (I was hoping he would become a boyfriend) who was supposed to come back home from school in Chicago when I was still in high school. Instead he sent the bouquet as an apology for not coming home and stayed at school. I remember the flowers’ sweet smell.

I was unaware of what was happening to the heavenly scent of the beautiful roses. Two weeks ago, I bought flowers for the chancel for a couple who has been married for sixty years. It was supposed to be anonymous, but that message was not made clear to the church secretary who sent them a letter telling them that flowers were donated for their anniversary and they needed to be at church to pick them up. She told them who had donated them. I was really disappointed because I wanted them to wonder who their friend was….or maybe friends. Due to other obligations they hadn’t been coming on a regular basis for the past few months.

Since they already knew, after the service I walked to the front and retrieved the bouquet for them. I delivered it to the wife at the back of the church and stood there talking with her and another friend. It dawned on me that something was missing. I sniffed the roses still in my arms and I could not smell a thing. I was surprised. Yesterday a neighbor took another neighbor a bouquet of roses to the hospital rehab where she is staying while she is recuperating from double knee replacement. I went along to hold the roses so they wouldn’t spill in the car. Again I smelled the roses and again there was no fragrance to smell.

We talked about it in the car and I was informed that all the scent has been hybridized out of modern day roses. I came home and did some research. Ecuador and Columbia  are leading producers of roses. Growing roses is a major industry.The rose fragrance was bred out of them when they bred for roses that would last longer without wilting. This is the kind of trade off that growers made in order to be able to send produce around the world.

The roses I was holding yesterday were beautiful. But it was no longer the total sensation I remember from earlier days. The roses were so perfect, they didn’t look real. Without the scent, anyone who may be blind would have no use for them. I think such roses should be sold at half price because half of the rose is missing!

Luckily, people still grow roses in their yards so if I’m fortunate enough to be invited to a home where there is a bouquet in the house, I can still smell one of my favorite scents. But that doesn’t happen very often.

Roses are a symbol of romance. The scent is supposed to evoke feelings of love. I see no value in the newlyweds’ bed being sprinkled with rose petals. It’s no different than tearing up construction paper. The experience is just not the same.

I cry for the world that is becoming more genetically modified, hybridized, and cloned every day. If this trend continues, nothing of Earth’s original cornucopia of heaven made sensations will even exist any more. What are we as humans thinking? Why do we think we can or should improve on Mother Earth’s original design? Why this obsession and failed experimentation on almost every living thing? Why do we have such a desire to not have any roses to smell if we wish to stop?

One of my all time favorite Christmas movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life”  by Capra. I’ve seen it many times over the years. I was pleased to see that it is being shown in four theaters in the Fort Worth area today. Followers of this movie are increasing. Unfortunately I cannot attend any of them because my Christmas Eve celebration starts at 5:30 with a dinner with a friend and her family and then 7:00 candlelight service.

It is sad to me that NBC has sole rights to the showing of this film and only shows it once at 8:00 p.m. I will be able to make it home in time to see part of it but I’ll miss about the first half hour or so.

I often wonder why I enjoy this movie so much. It was pretty much panned when it was first out so many years ago. I’ve come up with several reasons.

It was released in 1946 the same year I was born. It gives me an insight into how people lived over sixty years ago. Life was so much simpler then but the problems of living day to day have really not changed all that much. Kids still get sick, young people start out married life with little money, parents still get mad at teachers, corrupt people still try to control their towns….etc etc etc ad nauseum. I guess that is because we are human. We can’t seem to get beyond the day to day problems of just living.

I love the idea that guardian angels can intervene in our lives. Based on situations I have found myself in, I have no explanation other than the protection from my guardian angel that I emerged without harm so many times.

Many times throughout the years I have wished I have never been born because I have seen myself as a very insignificant being on this earth. Then I would think about the baby I rescued in the pool, and the very angry young boy in summer school who learned he could understand math if we went back to the point where he did know what to do and proceed from there. He was going into sixth grade ( a year behind) and was in a third grade remedial math class. He had an attitude in the beginning that was downright scary. The last day of the program he came back into the room where I was alone. For a second I was fearful but then he put his arms around my neck and gave me a big hug and thanked me. Then he turned around and left again. I will never forget that hug.

I think about the patients when I volunteered at the hospital who were grateful that the only thing I did was listen to their heart wrenching stories. I think about the parents and former students I come in contact with occasionally who still thank me for the way and what I taught. They tell me now of their successes.

Most of all I think about my son. A son who has no logical reason for being able to be here. I was married to a traveling salesman who was gone from Monday through Thursday nights and often spent Friday and Saturday nights at the bar. I was told for many years that because of my anatomy It would be improbable that I would ever be  able to conceive or carry to full term. Yet there he was. I had no indication he was even with me the first trimester. When he arrived, I was only in hard labor for about four hours. He arrived at 7:00 A.M.on the day he was predicted to be born after four hours of labor. His estimated date of arrival was a sheer guess on the part of the doctors.

That’s kind of off the track but my point is I heard Jim Carry say of his mother that her life was significant, even though she was plagued much of her life with illness, because she had given birth to someone who was significant. That thought has resonated with me. My son is a significant person and the child that is expected in June will be a significant person as well.

I am learning the value of true friendship. I have never had many friends in my life who I “hung out with” to do things socially. I was never a part of a group in any years in my school life like so many girls. I was an outsider. But over the past few years I have developed friendships that I feel I can count on if I ever really needed help. I think they would come through in a time of emergency just like in the movie.

On this Christmas Eve, I am thankful for my life as it is and has been. Life’s lessons have been hard to learn, but I am grateful that in many ways I am learning them. It IS a wonderful life. I wish a wonderful life to you too. Merry Christmas. Namaste Attic Annie

If you could heavily influence the running of the United States government, what would you change?

Ever since I started blogging, I’ve become much more interested in what is happening in the world around me. I’ve paid more attention to the military and political situations than at any other time in my life. If there is truly a moral law that allows for righteous indignation then I am claiming that state of mind many times as I read what is going on in this world.

If I had the power, I would act on a bucket list of changes before I leave this plane of existence and move to a higher consciousness. These are just some of the things I would consider changing.

I would instruct the military to stop telling the young privates, airmen, seamen recruits, ensigns, and lieutenants in our armed forces that they are fighting for America’s freedom and our Constitution. I would make them completely inform these men and women concerning the purpose of their missions. “To make the world safe for democracy” is a cover up for the real reason we are engaging in conflict about 99% of the time.
There have been very few conflicts since the Revolutionary War that make that a righteous claim. I would scale back the U S Military to where it was a defensive force only. If we are not being attacked, we do not join in any one else’s wars. I would stop the aggression of our forces and the major bullying we do. Eisenhower warned of the military industrial complex a long time ago, but the American public has allowed an all out expansion ever since his presidency and made it seem like it was for  the good of the people. I would make service to our country mandatory for all young persons for two years to rebuild America’s infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, etc. instead of sending them out of our country to destroy.

I would set term limits to our Congress and our Supreme Court. I do not believe the framers of the Constitution EVER visualized the length of terms that some of those senators, representatives, and judges  have achieved. I would ban all inclusions in a bill that do not pertain directly to the bill. This to me is an insidious, heinous practice that has led us down the wrong path to pay offs, vote buying, and corruption.

I would end the parade of lobbyists that have mushroomed into an army unto itself with their deep pockets and one sided corrupted information that is harming the American public in so many ways. I would also change the law that allows corporations to be counted as people with the privilege of using money to buy our government. I would change the tax structure to be more equitable getting rid of all loopholes and ways of hiding extra income. All persons would pay according to their ability, if not in money then in service to the community.

I would force all those who deal with our health to give us all information for us to make correct decisions. The pharmaceutical companies would have to conduct unbiased tests on the drugs they force on the public. I didn’t realize until recently that if drugs are expected to cause negative side effects, the companies just don’t test for those effects or they don’t test long enough to discover effects over time. The idea that drugs should be sold until enough lawsuits for damage force them off the market is pathetic. I would stop the insurance companies from selecting only to cover the young and healthy. I would make hospitals and health personnel charge reasonable and fair prices for their services to stop bankrupting those who are least able to pay even with insurance.

I would do whatever necessary to clean out the vipers in the corporate world who put massive profits over the health and safety of our citizens. The food that we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the cleaning products that we use in our households and on our clothes and body all contain chemicals that are known to cause cancer or are producing super infectious organisms, weeds, etc. as a byproduct.

There is so much to be done to get us back on the path I feel we should be traveling. These few paragraphs are just the beginning of what I would do if I could influence the United States government. Which way would you lead us? Namaste Attic Annie