LA Riots

On 4-29-1992, I was living in Guatemala. I had no TV, and no phone, never mind internet and little news from the outside world. Once a month I travelled into the capitol on the Chinita- our town bus, to get my living stipend and pick up mail in the Zona 10 Peace Corps office. The bus left my village at just after 2am, and we got to Guate’s Zona 4 at about 6:30am.

I would go to the office, swap the books I read for new ones in the library, picked up my mail, which always included Newsweek, provided free to volunteers, see the nurses for whatever medical supplies I needed and head to the bank when it opened. Banks always had guards with automatic weapons, which was a change from our US system… odd how after a while it became common place. I would cash my check and do a little bit of shopping (sometimes an American treat, sometimes fresh fruit) and then I would head for the Zona 4 terminal to catch the Chinita in time for its 1pm departure for Saltán.

I was… in Peace Corps terms… a bit of a site rat. I didn’t spend weekends in the capitol, I didn’t attend tons of Volunteer parties, I rarely travelled. Instead, I worked and spent time with my counterparts, and the people in my village.

So I had NO IDEA the LA riots happened, until they were over. And then, what I had was a Newsweek magazine with a cover photo of engulfing flames. And I read about the riots in South Central LA, and I read about Rodney King and the officers acquitted… 53 dead, many injured.

And I was shocked.

But there were heroes in those dark days.

Most know the name Reginold Denny as a white man who was dragged from his truck and beaten by a mob. But would you know the name Bobby Green Jr.? Lei Yuille ? Titus Murphy? His girlfriend Terri Barnett ? These are the four individuals who risked themselves to save a stranger. Lei Yuille raced to the scene with her brother and joined Denny in the cab of his truck, comforting the severely injured man. Terri and Titus soon joined her. Bobby, a truck driver, took over the wheel of the truck, and with Mr. Murphy on the sideboard and Terri ahead of them in her car leading the way, these strangers worked together to get Denny to the hospital. These four saw the news report of the beating like everyone else, but these special people rushed to the scene-unarmed- to help a stranger. They rescued Mr. Denny and drove him to the hospital in time to save his life.

A Guatemalan man, Fidel Lopez was also beaten to unconsciousness stripped and mutilated then covered in gasoline. But he was saved from death when Rev. Bennie Newton put himself in between the crowd and Lopez, saying that he would only be killed if the crowd was willing to kill the reverend as well. He took Lopez to the hospital when no ambulance would come. Rev Newton gave $3000 dollars as a donation to help Mr. Lopez and his family. That is Christian love in action. A man who lived the words he preached.

A Japanese American, Takao Hirata, was robbed, assaulted and unconscious when he was rescued by Greg Alan-Williams (He plays the Coach in Necessary Roughness, which I love) and handed over to a man driving a van, who got Hirata to the hospital… saving his life.

Random acts of amazing courage.

I prefer to remember these brave individuals on the twenty year anniversary.

Praying for a good family

My friend from grade school lost his youngest brother last week. Paul was struck by a car and killed. An accident, a tragedy.

My heart breaks for my old friend and his parents who have to put another child in the ground. Even at 36, Paul was still their baby.

Sometimes I just don't understand this plan God has.

I am praying for my friend and his family.

Chernobyl

Twenty-six years ago today, a nuclear reactor exploded in the USSR, more specifically, in Ukraine.

I was at Hunter college at the time, and hung out with a group of Ukrainine students, and played cards between classes.

News of this event was scarce at first, as the USSR tried to suppress information.

The initial report was:

"An accident has occurred at Chernobyl nuclear power station. One of the atomic reactors has been damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to the victims. A government commission has been set up."


Talk about understatement.

Eventually the whole world learned of a reactor that failed during a test, the explosion and fire that spewed radiation across Ukraine and neighboring countries, as well as spreading radioactive dust across Europe. The reactor design was inherently flawed...

My friends took part in protests at the USSR embassy in Manhattan. There was little more the exiled population could do to help their country.

Many gave their lives at Chernobyl, trying to stop the blaze. Many suffer from cancers today that have been linked to the accident.

Today, the USSR is a distant memory. And Ukraine is honoring the memory of all who have suffered from Chernobyl...

SB 310

I was asked to share this with all my Ohio friends- It was written By Chris DeLange and is the latest news on SB 310:

Today marked the 6th and final committee meeting for SB310. There was no testimony presented. Senator Balderson made a few amendments to the bill:

-The fee cost/structure for snakes was altered dramatically in our favor. There is now only a $150 fee for possession, and a $300 fee for propagation REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY SNAKES YOU HAVE. This was a HUGE victory for us! With this in mind, even IF they somehow manage to manipulate the system and add other snakes back onto the list, the fee system won't kill us!

-The Director of the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture is able to recommend the addition of animals he deems dangerous, BUT it has to go through the administrative rule change process (which involves public testimony) AND it then has to go to a joint (House and Senate) congressional committee that - based on the evidence provided including testimonies - will determine if the addition is justified. Senator Balderson ALSO included a 2 year moratorium on any additions. THIS IS ALSO A VERY GOOD CHANGE.

After the amendments were voted on (favorably), the Senator fielded questions from the rest of the committee members regarding the bill. It was pretty obvious that most of the committee members didn't really know much at all about the bill and were taking Balderson's word for it that it was a "good bill". It was then voted out of committee unanimously.

From there it went almost straight to the full Senate floor right after lunch during the General Session for the day. Senator Balderson gave a short speech about the bill including how difficult is has been for all involved. It was then voted on by the full Senate. SB310 had near unanimous support with only a single Senator voting against it (Senator Jordan from the north central part of the State). SB310 will now pass on to the House for further markup and consideration.

In the House it will follow the same steps it did in the Senate. There will be a number of committee meetings (likely in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee) where testimonies from both sides will again be heard. This is also where the House will have a chance to make any amendments they see fit. I overheard an interview the local news conducted with the Ohio HSUS and ASPCA reps and they both said they will be pushing to make it more inclusive and much more strict in the House (they both want to see boas added BACK onto the list, as well as an increase in fees and the omission of the "12ft" rule for constrictors - among many other things). We need to be sure to keep the pressure on!

Once the meetings are scheduled, I'll be announcing them here. I'll also put out a phone/email list for people to use.

I know this is getting very tiring (believe me... I don't even know how many hours I've sunk into this bill so far), but we need to remain strong in our opposition to SB310! We need to attend these meetings just as faithfully as we did in the Senate! The HSUS and ASPCA (as well as others) are not going to give up, and we need to maintain our efforts to keep them at bay! We did a FANTASTIC job of showing the Senators that we FAR outnumber the proponents, but we need to repeat this showing in the House!

SB310 has seen HUGE and VERY POSITIVE changes to the "Restricted Snake" portion of the bill, but very little has been done to help the Restricted Primate and Dangerous Wild Animal people. For us, this bill is about as good as it's going to get. Unfortunately, the same CANNOT be said for the rest of those involved. We need to keep fighting for them! If this bill passes (and I believe it will), it needs to be watered down enough so we are able to swallow this "pill" and still be standing after the fact.

Again, please let me know if you have any questions, and PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR OHIO FRIENDS!

-Chris

DWTS

So what was new on DWTS...

Maria Menounos tripped on the stairs, or hit a step on the edge, and ended up off count, but did beautifully.


Melissa Gilbert danced while being serenaded by Smokey Robinson. A Cinderella moment, she was graceful and just lovely to watch.

Jaleel was back in form, which was delightful to see.

William Levy did not have as technically difficult routine this week, and I wonder if his ankle is hurting more than he says.

Katherine Jenkins never disappoints.

Donald Driver is a top three contender- I expect to see him in the semi-finals.

Roshon Fegan was in the bottom two again… his fans need to start voting or he may be next to go…

And Gladys said goodbye… at the end of Motown week. Bittersweet.

I will miss Gladys Knight. She is a class act. That said, Motown week was just wonderful. The musical performances were just amazing. Smokey Robinson can sing to me ANYTIME… And at times the music distracted me from the dancing. Just lovely. I can’t remember enjoying DWTS more than this week.

I have no idea who will win overall, because it is just so close bottom to top.

And then there were seven.

The Ohio Senate and SB 310

So the bill was adjusted:
It is still going to include some reptiles, but boas are no longer included.

My cousin John from CinCity is back up in Columbus today, and says there is a big crowd of opposition speakers and that it will be another long night.

I am hoping that the final product will be a well structured well thought out plan.

Here's hoping!

DWTS

Oh my, what a week!

So Maria Menounos not only slammed her jaw on the dance floor during practice, she got to kiss her partner during a steamy dance routine. So steamy in fact that they got to give the encore dance. They were impressive.

Gladys Knight hit a few snags in her routine and her score showed it. Not terribly surprising as she was touring and preforming as well as dancing. The viewers saved her. With her huge fan base, that is not surprising.

Melissa Gilbert came back from her neck injury and danced in a cute little costume, but with the dance standard so high, good is just not good enough. Again she was close to the bottom of the leader board. I am not sure if it is her fans or Maks’ that saved them.

William Levy and Katherine Jenkins are two of my three to make the finals… they are strong performers and I love to watch them dance. William even gave advice to our young Disney dude.

Donald Driver and Roshon Fegan keep improving… In other seasons they would have made the finals… but this year… I just can’t see it.

And now the bottom two…

Gavin DeGraw… even he wasn’t surprised to be there…

and

Jaleel White?!?!

How on earth did that happen?!?!

But now there is the dance-off. A new invention to “save” better dancers from being sent home too soon.

Now the bottom two get to dance for their lives. And it worked as planned.

Jaleel rocked the Cha-Cha and saved himself, while Gavin was sent home.

And then there were eight…

Standardized testing

New York has decided to ban certain words from standardized testing, and while some, like divorce, make a little bit of sense, some need to be seen to be believed. I am really hoping the article is a spoof. But I doubt it.

Looks like I left just in time...

To read the article:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/28/new-york-city-schools-ban-loaded-words-from-tests/?hpt=hp_c1

Granny is 95 today

Happy Birthday Ellen Moore!!!

95 Today!!

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall softly upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune, Rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward.

We love you!!

95 years, 1 husband, 10 children, 42 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren (so far)...

When someone lets you go before you are ready to say goodbye…

http://www.incourage.me/2012/04/when-someone-lets-you-go-before-you-are-ready-to-say-goodbye.html



Have you ever believed something was written just for you? I read the title above and got goose bumps. I was right at that place at exactly the time I read it.

Recently a friendship of mine ended. It just needed to after running a rocky course over the last while. I am not happy about it, even though I know it is the best thing for both of us.

People change.

Or maybe they are exactly as they always were, but the lighting and situation alter what you see. In either case, there is sadness, even when it is expected, your choice, what you want and need…

Loss is always hard.

I have walked away before. There are folks out in the world that I have not seen in decades. A choice by one of us.

It doesn’t mean there is not love there.

Sometimes love is behind letting go. Even when you are sad.

The Titanic hit an iceburg 100 years ago tonight

2,223 people were on board the Titanic, 1,324 were passengers. It struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912, after 6 iceberg warnings were received. 1,517 died. 832 were passengers. 50 were children. Under 400 bodies were recovered and many of those required burial at sea.

Of the 492 passengers who survived, 70% of the women on board were saved. Only 20% of the men on board were rescued. Of the crew of 685, only 214 survived.

"Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg, resulting in serious loss of life. Full particulars later." Bruce Ismay, in his wire to the White Star Line.

100 years later, we remember.

Friday the Thirteenth

No traffic driving to work... Bright and sunny, cool but not cold.

A peaceful day... After a crazy, stress filled week.

So why am I waiting for the other shoe to drop?

April 13, 2012... Our second Friday the thirteenth this year...

Just saying...

DWTS

Sherri- so sad to see you go...

And then there were 9...

Sharing From Peace Corps Connect

Not sure the link will work so I am copying the article here, my comments are in blue- this is where I found it:

http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/02/12-reasons-to-date-a-returned-peace-corps-volunteer/


12 reasons to date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer:

We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. (Spanish anyone?)

We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it. (Salsa anyone?)

We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps
Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it. (Especially in my year of new things)

We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus. (Thankfully I only had to do this for an HIV course in college)

We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers. (I killed the spiders.... and the rats, scorpions... but not the crab. Him I swept outside. Now my geckos eat my bugs and the snakes in my house are pets.)

We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.

We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? No problem. Does it have running hot water? What luxury!

You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.” (GPS helps!)

Waiting for a late train or bus with us? Don’t worry. Been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective. (Chicken's pecking your ankles, anyone?)

Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out. (My kids call it my hippie style)

Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.

And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.



Poster MJ then commented:

12 reasons NOT to date an rpcv (just for fun):

You might get tired of hearing “In peace corps….” stories all the time.

While you like sharing with your partner you don’t want to catch whatever creepy contagious disease we got from living like the locals (parasites, giardia, guinea worm, the plague)

Peace Corps volunteers are nomadic by nature so if you seek stability, have plans to settle down, or have considered home ownership (really even a 1 year lease), we aren’t your kind of people.

Before going on vacation with us you will probably need to get a vaccine, at least one.

We will insist on preparing you food from our host country. You will never know if we are just bad chefs or if the food was really that terrible.

You might get offended when we have pictures of adorable barefoot kids all over our apartments, but none of you (or any other Americans)

We genuinely believe that tevas/chacos are appropriate for work, dates, exercising, weddings, and everything else always.

We will complain about easy life is in America and how everyone takes everything for granted.

We love foreign music no matter how squealy, shrill, or bizarre it may be.

When we hang out with our RPCV friends we get sucked into a vortex of nostalgia that lasts for weeks.

We don’t believe careers in developed countries are meaningful, this includes yours.

It will be very difficult for you to get us to talk about any part of our lives besides Peace Corps

Me again. Notice I do not comment on the "Why not to date" list... I am guilty of nine of the twelve, but that may not be a bad thing...

The Irish Census

There is much celebration about the US releasing the 1940 Census, and it is a wonderful thing to take a step back in time and see where your family was sixty years ago.

I know, because a few years ago, my cousins found our grandfather's family in the 1911 Irish census. And we all took a look at our family 100 years ago.

I went on to identify all four of my grandparents' households. The Murphys, Moores, Kevlehans and Kellys, all in their home towns. The mixture of Monaghan, Sligo and Kilkenny that became my family. Farmers and laborers and housewives. The housefull of scolars at Annaughkilly...

The census reported how many children were born, how many had died, and if the household members could read or write. And to see the signatures of my great-grandparents was a pretty amazing experience.

And now the 1901 census is on-line, and we can look back to the turn of the century. I can find my great grandmother, who had died by 1911... My great grandfather too.

What a gift to all of us now... The gift of our history.

Easter

Today is the annual reminder that Jesus Christ rose from the dead for all of us. This was the Greatest gift ever given, one we have no hope of fully repaying.

I choose, today, to honor this gift. To love... always.

Good Friday

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

In my times of sadness, in my times of great joy, for all that I have and all that I know, for the love and grace in my life, I thank You. Your sacrifice brings me all things, Your love is unmatched.

On this the day we celebrate Your death on the cross, and I am, as ever, in awe. We can never live a life good enough to deserve what You have already done for us.

Thank You!

A "New" Game

Last night, I went to visit my cousin, Kat who drove in from the East Coast with her mom and kids to see our aunt and the family here.

My cousin is my age, but looks much younger. (She still gets proofed buying wine) We were best friends as children, and it was lovely for my family to spend the evening with her and her children. We chatted about when we were young, how her older brother had saved us from a rip tide, how she nearly fell out my bedroom window as a child... It occurred to us that nothing short of a miracle got us to adulthood.

And her (reallly far too old already) daughter introduced us to Catchphrase. Similar to Password but with an element of hot potato, the ticking timer goes quicker as time winds down...

Hillarious how your mind goes blank when there is a word you can't say.... And it is easier to play when you know each other well. When Kat said "What Stella did..." I knew immdiately "got her groove back"...

So it is on my wish list. As are more visits from my cousin.

DWTS

My top three from last night:

Well... I just love our classical singer, Katherine Jenkins and her dance for her dad who died of cancer made me weepy... And scored her the first 10s

William Levy talking about how he thought butter was ice cream when he first came to America reminded me of the book "The Long Night of the White Chickens" which describes a child brought up under similar circumstances and how on her first night she ate a stick of butter... His salsa was hot.

Melissa Gilbert, who was dancing to celebrate the fact that a year ago she was using a walker to get around, danced and had fun- full abandon and it showed.

I agreed with the bottom three on the show facing elimination:

Jack Wagner
Gavin DeGraw
Gladys Knight

And I am looking forward to Galdys doing Tina Turner next week, as she was the first of the three saved. Gavin was the next...

Goodbye Frisco Jones...

And then there were 10

Rex

Yesterday we took some photos of John's corn snake to send to Minnow Films. Isn't he handsome?

So What Did You Think?

Yesterday's post was of course all about April Fool's day. Three things are true, I am currently on eHarmony (and one fellow did insult me as described), my kids did see the Hunger Games yesterday, and my Granny Kelly did have her last child after her 45th birthday.

The rest of yesterday's post was pure fiction.

Did you enjoy it?

I have a problem

Shocked beyond words…

I just don’t believe this is happening again. The vomiting is bad enough, but even when I haven’t eaten I feel burning in the back of my throat. After ten years you would think I would have forgotten it all. But it came back in a wave.

What will people say?

I am not sure how I ended up here again. Where do I even start? How in the world can I explain? I am way too old for this crap.

But I guess it was January. I joined eHarmony in an effort to restart my love life- okay maybe it was more like cardioversion.

Hit or miss, fellas who were looking for different things than me. One who said I wasn’t physically attractive enough to suit him. Odd how he waited so long to totally insult me.

How do you meet normal people anyway?

Turning 45 this year, I wanted to find someone who was looking for me for a change. Someone kind, someone amazing, generous, and then he sent an ice-breaker saying hi...

It is high school all over again, only now I wondered if he would e-mail back... And he did.

Then came talking.

And then came meeting...

He was just lovely...

We danced a little, ate well, and had the most amazing night, even after desire overcame common sense.

Work has been hectic, so I didn't give it much thought at first, but after two weeks of not really being worried, I grew a little concerned,

Finally, after the kids left for the Hunger Games, I decided to confirm I had nothing to worry about.

It was unlikely.

I am old.

After five minutes I discovered the stick was blue. This really isn't the element of my Granny Kelly's life I planned to emulate...

I wish I could have a drink...