Random Thoughts

Be sure to watch "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Thursday, October 1st, where an organization I care about, Women for Women International, will be featured. Tune-in to the "Oprah" show this Thursday to hear Oprah's call to action and to see how we can actually change the course of history in our lifetime for women and girls around the world. Oprah, inspired by New York Times best-selling book " Half the Sky " by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn will deliver a call to action to women. This eye-opening hour reveals powerful stories of women overcoming adversity to realize a better life for themselves. Check your local listings for channels and times and invite friends and family members who aren’t familiar with Women for Women International to tune in. I hope you will watch! Merry ME http://us.mg203.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.partner=sbc&.gx=0&.rand=04r0sdtmu2rin

Does anyone out there know how to fix the spacing on this blog site? I type, double space between paragraphs and publish. Much to my dismay somewhere between the writing screen and the published screen gremlins attack the spaces so that when you see it, there is no space at all between paragraphs. At other times, for no reason that I can fathom because I do it the same way every time, I get too many spaces. What's up with that? Then, as you can tell (and so can I because I've already previewed it) the spacing is perfect. Just like I typed it. Weird. Weird. Weird. If you can help, please advise. Feeling space challenged, Merry ME

"God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalms 16:1 Last week when the Hospice social worker was here dad and I got in a discussion that was deep and painful. Even the lady whose job it was to keep us focused got a little lost. It wasn't so much like a volcano that suddenly erupted; more like a pot of water you put on the stove. First it gets hot, then little bubbles start to come to the top, then it's boiling away. To continue that metaphor, as we talked I believe all three of us looked for a lid to keep the hot water from splashing over the top. I cried - nothing new there. Yet through my tears I couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable my father was. It was clear emotional discussions are not his forte. He couldn't keep his hands still, or look above the table cloth. In typical fashion when he is not at ease, Dad tried to end the conversation by saying it was not needed. In spite of the pain of the moment I had a clear image...

"Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around.” Bill Watterson Dad announced last night after saying grace, "I feel mean." Forgive me for saying this but I thought was what's new? Then I realized the fact that he was announcing his mood was new. So I listened and tried to figure out what was going on. He wouldn't (couldn't) elaborate. I asked if he knew why he felt that way, he said no. I asked if there was anything I could do, he said stand back. I quit asking. We ate, like most nights, in relative silence. Jack and I discuss our day's events, never intentionally excluding Dad. He turns a deaf ear on any conversation that does not begin with an extra loud effort to get his attention. DAD! If asked, he'd tell you he feels lleft out, like a third wheel. If asked, I'd tell you he's as free to jump in as anyone else. He chooses to play his woe is me card. Dad has pretty much made it known that he does not like to be asked: How are you ...

"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895 I would consider my mother a girly girl. When I was little (and not so little) I loved to sit on her bed and watch her get ready to go out. My parents party a lot but, usually at Christmas there were the mandatory office parties to attend. I remember that she had two really special dresses. One was red chiffon, with a full skirt that swayed back and forth when she walked. The other was her basic black cocktail dress. It was made of crepe, and hugged her curves in an A-line style. My dad had (has) a bit of a shoe fetish. Since mama was petite she would wear pointy-toed high heeled shoes, most often bought by my father. I think her dress up shoes were always black. On the afternoon of her rare night out, Mom would primp. She washed and curled her hair in the days before blow dryers or curling irons. Over the years she used rag curlers, b...

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?" Sally Edwards* For three days I have been writing about the experience of watching my daughter, Weneki, participate in her first triathlon. I say first because something tells me she might be doing it again next year. The ideas are out of my head and onto paper. Like a homemade loaf of bread the story is in the resting stage after being kneaded and shaped. I've covered it up for awhile before going back to it for yet another rewrite. I have never seen a triathlon in person so I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that my determined daughter had been training for nine months - swimming, running and biking building up both her physical and emotional muscles. This race would not only be a test of her ability to perform in three race venues, it was the culmination of a task she'd set before herself. On that chilly morning over 800 women gathered singly and in groups to await the start of the race. I ...

"To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change. " Charles Horton Cooley I just got back from a whirlwind trip to the other side of the country to visit my daughter. Actually it was more than just a visit. It was an opportunity to witness the dynamic, awesome transformation of the girl I once knew into a woman capable of setting a goal and crossing the finish line with vigor and grace. The growing has been happening for years, I just haven't been around to watch. In my mind's eye Weneki is often still that little brown eyed, chubby-cheeked baby I held in my arms. In reality she is an athletic beauty to behold. At the beginning of the year Weneki set before herself two major goals. First of all she returned to college for a nine-month course that proved to be daunting but not un-doable. Second, she began training for the 1st annual Trek Women's Triathlon. Mor...