Health Care Passes House -- Senate Next

U.S. House of Representatives has passed the health care bill. Next the Senate must do the same, reconciling their bill with the House bill.



I think our Congresspersons should stay in session all the rest of this year, if need be, so they can complete a citizens assignment to get a bill to President Obama for signature by December 31, 2009.

Happens in business quite frequently where special projects require employees to work long hours, days, even weekends sometimes, for successive weeks to meet a deadline. Our Congresspersons have postponed addressing the health care issue for years and years, so an end of the year deadline is not unreasonable now, finally. If our Senators and Representatives really concentrate, don't waste time with political blather, posturing,and game-playing, maybe they can be home for the holidays, or sooner. That's an incentive employees in business often are given.

Representatives and Senators work for us. We need to let them know we're way past the point of tolerating their "business as usual" approach to legislation important to us -- we mean business! Each of us has power with our vote that can affect whether or not they are re-elected come Election Day.

Here's a refresher course describing Congressional bills evolution from birth to realization. This is the process I recall learning from Jr. High/High School civics/government classes.

A Congressperson writes a bill or receives one written by a lobbyist that is then presented to Committee for consideration. If the proposed bill garners Committee passage it can then be presented to that Congressperson's House or Senate membership. Wikipedia effectively provides the following description beginning with a bill in Committee:

"A decision not to report a bill amounts to a rejection of the proposal. Both houses provide for procedures under which the committee can be bypassed or overruled, but they are rarely used. If reported by the committee, the bill reaches the floor of the full house. The house may debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House of Representatives and the Senate differ. A final vote on the bill follows.

"Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other, which may pass, reject, or amend it. In order for the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill. If the second house amends the bill, then the differences between the two versions must be reconciled in a conference committee, an ad hoc committee that includes both senators and representatives. In many cases, conference committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added unrequested spending, significantly departing from both the House and Senate versions. President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "If an orange and an apple went into conference consultations, it might come out a pear."[23] If both houses agree to the version reported by the conference committee, the bill passes; otherwise, it fails.

"After passage by both houses, a bill is submitted to the President. The President may choose to sign the bill, thereby making it law. The President may also choose to veto the bill, returning it to Congress with his objections. In such a case, the bill only becomes law if each house of Congress votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority. Finally, the President may choose to take no action, neither signing nor vetoing the bill. In such a case, the Constitution states that the bill automatically becomes law after ten days, excluding Sundays. However, if Congress adjourns (ends a legislative session) during the ten day period, then the bill does not become law. Thus, the President may veto legislation passed at the end of a congressional session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress."

Congress Listen -- Americans Want Change!

Congressional Senators, Representatives -- are you listening?

The American people are angry!

The American people want change, Change, CHANGE!

We don’t care to which political party you’ve given your allegiance, since both major parties have been betraying the American people through too many Administrations.

We don’t like much of what you’ve done for many years, regardless of the political party in power, or who is President.

We don’t like much of what you’ve NOT DONE for many years, either, including allowing our health care and social security systems to flounder without taking truly meaningful measures to ensure their solvency.

We don’t reject the idea of jettisoning both major political parties for a third party committed to the American people over the special interests you’ve come primarily to represent.

We don’t like what you’re doing now to protect the commercial interests over the interests of the individual in the instance of health care reform.

We don’t like the fact that all American citizens will not have health insurance.

We don’t like that many of you ignore the fact the majority of American citizens want a public option in our health care reform.

We don’t like the fact so many of you are determined to provide for-profit insurers more money by requiring citizens buy insurance from those companies rather than providing a truly viable competitive public option choice.

We don’t like the fact you’re not willing to make available an affordable health care plan to all American citizens such as we offer you.

We don’t like the fact some of you made an effort to hoodwink us into believing adding a “trigger” to a healthcare plan was an effective helpful addition rather than the meaningless proposal it was.

We don’t like all the campaign contribution $monies$ you receive from for-profit insurance and pharmaceutical companies with the unsavory implications that behavior suggests.
(Readers, check on “Open Secrets” the $$$$ your Representative(s) and Senator(s) have received.)

We don’t like the fact that financial markets self-policing regulating authorities did not do their job leading to banks, investment houses, other institutions dissolving and little has since been done to correct that situation.

We don’t like the fact that through the years government regulations were eliminated contributing mightily to the financial markets collapsing debacle.

We don’t like the fact that what market and government financial regulations did exist were not enforced.

We don’t like the fact that meaningful regulations are not now being established for both our banking industry and the financial markets.

We don’t like the fact that financial insiders from the previous Administration literally gave away our tax money to the financial world which the current Administration enabled while individual citizens continue to receive little or no benefit.

We don’t like the fact our tax monies were given to all those banking corporate entities without requiring accountability.

We don’t like the fact so many years went by and so little was done to address the critical issues surrounding climate change.

We don’t like the fact that even now select energy commercial interests are being promoted by many of you under the guise of responsiveness to climate change, despite knowing those companies products are detrimental to citizens health.

We don’t like the implication you do not respect American citizens strongly expressed views as evidenced when you disregard us.

Quite frankly, there are many more actions you've taken, or non-actions, that we don’t like, but I’ll let others describe those here or elsewhere.

Enjoyable Blogs Part 2

"Grammology" with Dorothy offers a variety of topics about family, parenting, travel, health and career from “Gramma’s” perspective. Earlier this month she elicited comments from readers as to whether or not they planned to take the flu, pneumonia shots and get vaccinated for the H1N1 Swine flu. She wrote about her husband’s hip surgery and the same day having a grandchild born. Coping with even one of these events alone can be quite enough I would think, but we aren’t given those choices.

Currently Gramm shares some thoughts about happiness in relation to our personal self-esteem. Earlier pieces have her waxing philosophical at times wondering about taking time to enjoy the moment. She engages in questions regarding our young teenagers relationships, how they view love and sex. For those of us interested in the ideas, beliefs of the younger generation today, especially if we have grandchildren, or want to compare current thinking to our own childrens views and our own, a topic such as this can be very informative. I’m always interested in what’s the same and what’s different with other people, other generations, other cultures from my own perspective.

This blog has had visits from me periodically for a long time, so needs to join my blogroll.


"gabbygeezer" is the moniker former newspaper editor Dick Klade has adopted. I’ve always had a pretty negative view of “geezer” term usage applied to males. It has always conjured a picture in my mind of a less than respectable really old man. Perhaps it’s another of those stereotyped words and I need to view the term in a much lighter, even humorous vein. Reading his profile he certainly sounds respectable enough, has written a couple of books, not that book writing automatically makes one respectable. He describes the contents of one of his books as featuring stories much like those he writes for publishing on his blog.

My interest in reading more of what he writes was captured when I clicked on the 2006 Archive button and read the July 12th post, "Give Yourself A Proper Sendoff," I’ve decided what he proposes is the way to prepare “…for life’s last great journey” as he candidly words it. I highly recommend you click your way over to Dick’s blog, read that post. Furthermore, I think we all might want to consider writing for ourselves as he did for himself – sort of our last blog and testament.

Dick is a blogger who has more than a passing interest in the Green Bay Packers football team, but then living in Wisconsin I shouldn’t expect less. You’ll find a few blog pieces about his Packers as he examines their current woes. His last piece, as I write this, raises concern over a one-time favored Packer player who returns home now playing for their arch rival’s team. The score is in on that game, so I wonder what Dick will have to say on that matter?

Those Packer fans are never lacking in passion for their football team. After all, the town’s residents own the team, as my football fan husband explained to me years ago. The town’s whole population are avid Packer supporters. I recall in the early sixties a young Green Bay couple we met at a southern Ohio university. The fortunes of the then invincible Packer team was uppermost in their minds and conversation throughout the season. Better that you read for yourselves in one of his earlier pieces what Dick has written about the Packer’s and Green Bay resident’s $$ investments than my trying to explain.

“Grapplin’ with Gremlins” Oct. 15th Dick poses some interesting observations he’s noticed between keyboarding type on a computer screen and “print appearing in ink on paper.” It is a puzzle and one about which I hadn’t thought before. I expect he might be interested in knowing whether or not any of you reading this have been aware of what he reports observing. So, click over their and share your opinion.


"First 50 Words" is the blog where Virginia DeBolt introduces written ideas, generally accompanied by thought provoking pictures, inviting readers to “Write the first 50 words of your story in a comment.” I find writing limited to 50 words to be an enjoyable experience since I try to rigidly adhere to that number. No doubt more serious writers use this blog as a stimulating writing exercise, with some even developing complete stories from their created beginning. I’ve considered continuing some of my own offerings after I leave there, and may well do that some day.

Some of the more interesting recent writing prompts there are accompanied by a variety of photos, faces most of us would recognize. Take a look, you might be motivated to write about “A Beautiful Woman,” or a “A Handsome Man.” Then, there’s “Happy,” “Sad,” “Honey.” I’ll bet we could all write an interesting story on “Customer Service, “ or how about “Twirl,” – that could send our thoughts circling in a dance. Here are a couple of the most recent topics, “Crane,” and the humorous idea “The Cat Set Back.”

I started visiting this blog periodically soon after I started my own blog. I don’t know what has taken me so long to add "First 50 Words" to my blog roll. Yes, this is the same Virginia, the "TGB Elder Geek" who simplifies ‘computer technical stuff’ you’ll find in her posts listed there.


There are other blogs whose writers I enjoy reading. Eventually, I’ll add them. One bookmarked blog grouping has been erroneously deleted when we cleaned my desktop P.C. and set up my laptop. One such blogger whose link I lost drew story pictures frame by frame recounting events. Perhaps in the future I’ll find some of them in the blogosphere again.

Enjoyable Blog Varieties

Here are a few enjoyable blog varieties that I've placed on my blogroll with more to be added later. These are receiving some long overdue recognition here. They are randomly listed with no significance to their order.

'Elder Music' with Peter Tibbles appears as a regular feature on “Time Goes By” (a blog already listed here.) You might want to visit there if you’ve been missing his Sunday musical features. He has been a radio disc jockey becoming familiar with all genres’ of music as you’ll read in his profile. I note he is on Facebook, but I don’t believe he has a blog. I’m sure he’ll welcome comments on TGB, or any you want to leave him here.

(Correction added following Peter's comment here -- he is NOT on Facebook. Sorry, my mistake, Peter.)

Peter’s ‘Elder Music’ posts generally include music audio/videos such as his recent “Classical Again – Part 2 of 3.” He interestingly integrates little-known facts about the composers, music and performers. His earlier writings with music have focused on “Fifties EPs,” “Pop Music Through The Years,” and “Some Jazz.” Unusual music groupings include “Songs You Love To Hate.” He also offers “Australian Pop” allowing us to experience music tastes of another nation some of which are the same as our own. I expect we can continue to look forward to more entertaining music Sundays with Peter. You might want to check some of his earlier music offerings at 'Elder Music.' if you’ve missed any of them.

You’ll note some other 'Elder Music' listings, too, with commentary written by TGB’s Ronni Bennett including titles like: “Cat Songs,” “Dog Songs.” “Old TV Tunes,” “Happy Music” and some all time favorites written by “Johnny Mercer.” Cowtown Pattie at “Texas Trifles” even provides an enthusiastic offering of “Texas Tunes.”


"Xtreme English" writes “love notes to the English language.” Avid readers, especially elders, will appreciate her profile note you’ll want to be sure to see. Her blog writing offers some serious thoughts with a sometimes humorous undertone – often of incredulity when it comes to our nation and the world functioning sanely, or is it insanely? Consider her recent post, “Yup, that’s what we need all right, more WAR we can’t pay for.”

I was especially intrigued with her October 2nd piece “Things to Think About” with “TED” video. She features some really delightful classical music on several subsequent posts. One, includes a true story of our times about an extremely talented well-known celebrity musician and his musical performance experience in a Washington, D. C. Metro Station.

This is another blog I have enjoyed during my sometimes erratic blog visiting travels. Finally, I’m adding her to my blog roll. I know it’s a cliché’ and writers are supposed to avoid using them, but ….. better late than never.


"Cyberspace Dawdler" by Alan G. has come to my attention more recently. I’ve enjoyed my visits there which all started, as best I can recall now, with a discussion about fish. To be more precise, carp. A link Alan G. provided led me to a fascinating story about a particular type of carp that can be deadly to fisherman with it’s wild leaping out of the water – grass carp. He actually caught one, and lived to tell about it! You best read the true fish story: 'Hello, Catfish' posted Sept. 26.

Fishing isn’t all Alan G. does, he writes songs. He is a musician, after all, so he's written an original piece or two. Inspiration comes in many ways, so you must read another of his true stories about how 'The Tomato Song' (posted Oct. 7th) came to be.

Fishing and being a musician isn’t all he’s ever done since he’s also had “a real job” like every self-respecting musician I’ve ever known (not counting the mega-stars) usually says. You can read about all that on his "Cyberspace Dawdler."

Getting back to some of his other blog posts…..these titles intrigued me:
'How naïve were you waaaaay back then…..?'(posted Oct. 23.) Time is the fifties, there were words we didn’t say and finger gestures we did not do, if we were nice. I had lots of laughs reading Alan’s account of his youthful learning experience, adding one of my own, about what they all meant.

And then there’s the 'Proust Questionnaire,' but you can explore his blog and find that on your own. I think by now you gain a sense there is occasional irreverence in some of what he writes. If you enjoy reading a good story, having a few laughs, getting your memories for the “old days” tickled, even thinking a bit more seriously on some current topics, then you’ll want to click yourself over to "cyberspacedawdler."

I’ll be writing about more blogs to be added to my blog roll another time.

"Trigger" Congressional Buyout

Health care reform emerging from the U.S. House of Representatives appears to include a Public Option. Just how that choice will occur, if it does, in the final bill the House and Senate members must formulate, then pass and send to the White House for our President’s signature, remains to be seen in the next few weeks, months ahead.

Bipartisan support for this bill has been abandoned by the sole Republican who earlier alarmed her political party by supporting in committee the bill’s formulation until the Public Option was added without the "trigger" element she wanted. Others in both political parties seem to lack the courage to step forward and vote positively for what the majority of the American people have said they want -- the Public Option.

I strongly urge reading Ronni Bennett’s recent discussion on “Time Goes By” – ‘The (Non)Public Option.’ She gives a succinct analysis on the bill-castrating “trigger,” also offering a view of what is really going on in Washington. She provides an excellent source link to a web site, Open Secrets, by which we can easily see some of the specific corporate and interest groups efforts to wield congressional influence. Their self-interest views may well take precedence in our legislators issue positions over those actions that would be in each individual citizen’s best interests – including yours and mine.

"Open Secrets" is an excellent credible web site reference, for now and in the future, that tracks the monies our duly elected Congressional persons in House and Senate accept in campaign contributions and provides other factual information. Everyone supporting any political party, also Independents, would be wise to read there exactly where the monies and the legislation come together.

"Follow the money!" in relation to specific issues before Congress. Being an intelligently informed citizen is especially needed now and in the decision-making process regarding whether to re-elect some of our Congresspersons on their next election day.

Presently, the correlation of that site’s data can inform us on such issues as health care reform. We may recognize a need to stress our favorable view for a Public Option to select Congresspersons to offset the weight of their political contributors unfavorable views. Your Representative’s and Senator’s name is easily located there.

What's especially interesting right now are the monies the health insurers and pharmaceutical companies are pouring into our Congresspersons’ campaign coffers.

We can be assured that these health care reform plans coming out of Congress are being tailored to be exactly to the benefit of those companies income and not our own best interests, especially if they eliminate the Public Option.

Once again the American people are being sold down the river. Far too many citizens are allowing themselves to be deceived into believing these companies and interest groups so-called compromises reflect legitimate bargaining. Their actions are part of a show-case design process in which they support, alternately protest, then acquiesce to some weakened plan variation. They are attempting to convincingly mislead the public into believing that they are genuinely seeking a solution to the health care issue instead of sincerely assisting with the development of a viable system that’s needed and best for our nation.

The insurance, pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists are all about strengthening their monopolistic grip on the American health care purse contents. These companies have enlisted far too many of our Congresspersons who either directly or tacitly cater to them. Our nation's intense need for health care costs to decline will not occur except on a most superficial level, if at all, and costs will continue to rise unless private insurers are challenged with an alternative system giving everyone choices including a Public Option.

I care about the kind of country and government that will exist for each of us, our citizenry and future generations. This is not the time to throw up our hands in discouragement and swear off further advocacy for a Public Option, or to abandon our future voting privilege.

It is time now, and will continue to be time, to let our Congresspersons know our views and that we hold them accountable for their actions based on our informed knowledge.

We now have an unprecedented number of ways to communicate our views quickly and easily. Our taking action is always important during the best of times and the worst.

“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
A truth as important today as when issued by Plato.

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment."
Another truth of which we should be mindful from educator Robert M. Hutchins.

This is not to say we must dedicate every waking thought and action to focusing on issues of our day. We want to enjoy life, lead active lives in all respects, but we do need to devote some time to exercising our right and responsibility for living in these United States by participating in the striving democratic system within our republic.

Health care reform is one of the most critical and important issues of our time. Continuing to do our utmost to bring about needed health care changes including a Public Option may be the most crucial action we can take that will directly affect our own lives, significantly impact that of every American and future generations to come -- our legacy.

Third Year Blog Anniversary

Three years ago I took the great leap into the blogosphere with "Along The Way." I'm giving my blog a slightly new look for the second time. Launching my blog when I did was a consequence of accidental mouse clicking, coupled with my panic at having done so and lack of technical knowledge to rectify the situation.

I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog but had already intentionally passed twice on doing so. I first thought I might start on my husband's October birthday, and later on my own but did neither because my blog was not ready. I was awaiting some future to-be-determined date. I definitely was busy making plans. That said, I am reminded of one of my favorite sayings, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

I fully expected first to acquire many new computer skills, create a unique appearing blog, shape and polish writing subject matter, establish categories about which I would write, and generally organize my blog in an orderly fashion before ever beginning publishing. Then when suddenly my blog was "out there" for all the world to see I lurched ahead. I had little idea of what I was doing but concluded the prospect of writing here was intriguing.

My technical skills were very limited as I had only started using a personal desktop computer a few months earlier. I could easily see the many attractive features I might want to adopt from various blogs I visited. My aspirations and expectations were to quickly learn how to adapt many of them for use on my own blog, but that was not as simple as I thought.

Primarily the difficulty for me was needing much more concentrated time than I had to devote to the different tasks. My expectation of coming to my computer for fifteen to twenty minute blocks daily or focusing an hour or two on acquiring more technical knowledge was not a realistic approach that worked for me. Given the events during that life period, I also had need for self-indulgent time which could waffle between extreme activity and doing nothing.

My reality was that I became what some might consider addicted to writing, of every kind. The fascination of connecting with all these interesting bloggers I had never personally met who were scattered about every U.S. State and around the world caught my attention. I enjoyed commenting on their blogs, and exchanging lengthy incredibly frequent emails with some. I can best describe my activities then, as I have before, that I was like a squirrel running madly round and round on a perpetual nonstop rotating wheel. Time to learn many technical skills could not fit into that regimen, much less allow me many instances to explore the rest of the Internet.

My periodic part time work in health care as a Speech-Language Pathologist demanded some preparation time. Though I was no longer providing inpatient and outpatient therapy in acute care hospitals, or a local rehabilitation hospital, the retirement community settings I primarily was serving could become very busy with complex therapeutic patient needs. In addition to their speech, language, voice, hearing, visual and cognitive problems, I was continuing to encounter many individuals with a wide range of eating/drinking/swallowing difficulties.

My husband's pre-mature death some five months before I started my blog was a major life adjustment for me that absorbed time in multiple ways, becoming much more complicated than I could ever have imagined. We had shared much but each of us had acquired our own niche of responsibilities that we pretty much left to one another. After his death I gradually began to encounter much he had routinely handled, for which I had then to assume responsibility. He had remarkably left information and records I found that were of great aid. There were also a multitude of "little things" of major proportion I had to ferret out on my own that erratically, but perpetually, surfaced when I least expected.

I've not recorded all my specific life ups and downs in writings over these past three years, but a glance at the archive postings frequency from one month to the next reveals a wide variation in blog post numbers. The reasons for this vary, but here are a few influencing factors. Sometimes the numbers reflect my emotional state. Other times they show how I self-imposed set publishing demands, and how, occasionally, I became disenchanted with my perceived blogging obligation, so I stopped writing.
Some other instances correlate with social activities, trips I've taken away from home, or when I've had visitors.

I have been genuinely interested in the topics about which I have written. Following that criteria I can always count on at least one reader, me, the person for whom I initially stated this blog was being written. Once again I have surprised myself with the realization as to how much I value all of you who come to read my words. You have proven over and over again what I've always believed. As much as we are all different in many ways, we are also very much the same in so many other ways. Our differences are what make life interesting for me. Our sameness is what causes me to feel a deep sense of belonging to others, such an important component for mind, body and spiritual health. Thanks to each of you for being you and sharing some of yourselves with me.

Almost Forgot ..... A Special Occasion

My mail arrived containing an envelope that clearly looked and felt like a greeting card of some sort was inside. I wondered to my self what was the occasion that would prompt a card? I carefully slid the letter opener along the envelopes flap, removed the card and read the words that answered my question .....

H A P P Y

B I R T H D A Y !

Why, yes, I realized, I am another year older.

The sentiments inside the card brought tears to my eyes as I knew they were heartfelt personal expressions from the sender.

Do others tend to forget their birthdays, too, as they've gotten older, I wonder?

Of course, the day rarely goes unnoticed by others who care about us so we aren't likely to completely forget the day, and I don't want to. That card arrived yesterday, the day before my birthday which is today, so I'll have all day long to celebrate.

Last year at this time I was visiting my son and his wife. We drove to northern Michigan where we enjoyed dinner with his wife's parents. Coincidentally, my daughter-in-law's mother's birthday falls on the same date as mine, or is it that my birthday falls on the same date as hers? A dear friend who lived in Florida and I also shared the same birth date.

I passed on a last minute opportunity suggested by friends a couple weeks ago for a long desired repeat of a driving trip my husband and I took years ago up the east coast to Maine during peak fall colors. My friends flight east leaves today. Maybe another year. We'll enjoy their photo journal after they return and we experience one of our laughter-filled weekends together.

You may check WeatherChannel.com for fall foliage maps across the United States. Some lovely fall photos can be seen on that web site, also.

Time for me to start celebrating. This song holds special significance to me. I initially heard this musical arrangement at my then very young daughter's first dance recital. I think I'll listen to it again today.

Kool and the Gang's YouTube video can't be embedded so I'll have to click on this link to "Celebration."Why don't you join me?

Climate Change - Blog Action Day

This is Blog Action Day! Addressing the very serious topic of climate change in a superb informative colorful concise photo and link-filled article is the writer at "Darlene's Hodgepodge."

I strongly urge readers to click on the link above and acquaint yourselves with the myriad issues facing our world today -- not to be discouraged, depressed or frightened, but to discern what each of us in our own small way can do to mitigate some of the effects. We can choose ways in which to adapt our own lives as we adjust to these climate changes.

We feel these changes in California as we cope with drought. Our city and water company have instituted some voluntary conservation measures. These consist of determining a typical range of water usage for various size households. Water rate charges will be broken down into increasingly larger amounts with pricing accordingly. Watering restrictions for our yards, washing autos continues to be voluntary but likely those will begin to become more specified and limiting. Soon dollar penalties and fines will likely be administered.

I am in the process of converting part of my yard to drought resistant plants, eliminating some grass in this normally desert-like area of Southern California.
I will write more about this in the future.

I am enthusiastic about learning better ways in which to adapt to our environment and determining how to best preserve for future generations this spectacular planet on which we are privileged to live. I hope you are, too.

Blogs of Interest

During the past months I slipped into my blog roll without fanfare some more blogs I enjoy visiting. They deserve a bit more attention in case you aren’t already aware of them and haven’t already been visiting them.

“Photoblogging In Paris” features the photographic delights that Claude shares with us from Paris and her travels elsewhere.

I first enjoyed Claude’s commentary and photos in her blog titled “Blogging In Paris.”

Claude has created a new blog emphasizing her photography. I am ever more mesmerized by the wide range of colorful photos she offers from that of the simplest objects, ancient to current architectural locations, spectacular scenes and lovely flowers that bring much viewing pleasure. Her most recent post visually showcases her trip plans to a faraway exotic location. I’m looking forward to the forthcoming photographs.

"Darlene’s Hodgepodge" is a most enjoyable visit with a variety of interesting commentary from the humorous to extremely serious. Her Southwest perspective includes sharing photos and family accounts that enable me to know her better. Sometimes pithy observations on current pertinent issues accentuate her advocacy on matters such as health care reform that is of such vital concern today.

Darlene evidences such a positive outlook that encourages me on effectively adjusting to health changes as they occur throughout our lives. She has had the unique experience of receiving a cochlear implant to enable her to hear again, some of the details of which she has interestingly shared. Most recently I’ve been fascinated with her occasional accounts of the re-learning process required to appreciate the pleasures of listening to music again.

"Hattie’s Web" takes me many places including to Hawaii’s Big Island which holds special personal interest to me. I’m always interested in what’s happening with Pele’, the periodically erupting volcano whose continuing lava flow into the Pacific Ocean is actually increasing that State’s size. What other U.S. State can say their land mass is growing? If Pele’ begins ‘dancing,’ as I like to characterize what happens when her lava flows, Hattie will know and share her observations. During Pele’s long quiet times I can enjoy the variety of Hattie’s commentary.

I’ve been virtually traveling with Hattie recently to some delightful European locations. Now that she has returned home she’s written a fascinating piece providing a list with brief reviews of many books she’s been reading. Hattie is not shy about expressing her views on the vital issues affecting Island life locally and nationally, often raising broad-ranging ideas that are important to me, too, on the Mainland.

Hope you enjoy visiting these bloggers as much as I do. I’ll be adding some new blogs I've recently started reading very soon.

Special Dates Bring Memories

This has been a significant annual date to me for more than forty years -- over half of my lifetime. Remembrances from other years of this day have kept slipping into my thoughts ever since this month began. This is the important date when our family celebrated my husband's birthday, the date I lovingly remember and on which I prefer to focus rather than that other date on which he physically departed this life.

This date has threads to other times that join in my thoughts to this one. One such date that always enters my mind is when we wed, so I usually have similar memory triggers earlier in the year when that month arrives. I recall how we conspired to keep secret from family, friends, and co-workers the fact we were getting married that evening after we each finished work. Ostensibly, we were going on separate unrelated vacations that happened to coincide. I didn't know until later that he had confided to his best friend our plans, because the friend came from out of town and always stayed overnight on that weeknight at my husband's apartment.

This mutual friend of ours, my husband's long time best friend, commuted some distance every day from northern Ohio to central Ohio to perform with the musical quintet on the live television show where my husband and I met. This was the one night a week when the friend's schedule allowed him to stay overnight and not have to make that long drive from his home to the studio for an early morning air time. My husband told me later he couldn't just give our friend the key and not explain why he wouldn't be there. I thought, I probably could have. But I realized he had a lot of history with this friend since they had met in college about fifteen years earlier; were bound also by their professional connection in my husband's various jazz musical instrumental and vocal groups. My local relationships didn't have the same depth of time as his, having existed for only three or four years beginning when I moved to that city.

After we returned from our honeymoon trip we learned that friend had confided our wedding news to another of their close friends, a casual friend of mine. This illustrious group had all been bachelors together as I mentioned recently in this link to my "Route 66, Music, Memories" piece noting they had shared a cross country driving trip. Only on returning from our honeymoon did we learn how precariously close we had come to being subjected to the humor and whims of these friends vivid imaginations of how best to welcome us back to our apartment on our wedding night. I had already moved my belongings to my husband's bachelor abode so we both could immediately begin living there. Spending our wedding night in what was now our apartment was the plan, then we could leisurely leave whenever we pleased the next day for an extensive driving trip to include Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

I'm still not sure to this day how or why these buddies managed to restrain themselves from instigating some of their hastily planned mayhem during the time we were being wed. They even resisted initiating any pranks while we were gone on our trip. Maybe they were afraid they wouldn't have adequate time in our apartment before we returned following the ceremony, since they didn't know whether or not we had additional plans that night. We did, and went out to dinner after saying our vows. Also, they might not have wanted to risk us catching them in our apartment. Should we arrive unexpectedly a lot might have been happening between the bride and groom once the downstairs only entry or exit door was closed and we were climbing up those stairs. They might have thought about the possibilities and determined the experience might best not be shared among so many of us.

They're really quite wonderful guys so maybe they had compassionate feelings. Still, there's always the possibility they might have been intimidated by how I might react since they didn't know me nearly as well as they did my husband. Come to think of it, maybe, pure and simple, they didn't want to antagonize my husband. We never knew. I'm sure they spent some enjoyable hours plotting what they might do, trying to figure out if they could get away with it. To this day I'm not convinced they ever admitted all they had in mind. They had great fun sharing with us a few commonplace activities they had resisted initiating, including short-sheeting our bed and removing all the labels from the canned goods on my husband's kitchen shelves.

The memory threads from my husband's birth date lead to additional highly significant memories. These select annual dates in differing months are the ones in which our children were born. We shared events unique unto themselves surrounding our babies births that were separated by a few years in different states on opposite sides of the country. We were, indeed, such ecstatic parents -- this couple that had been so busy living life that for many years they had made no time for marriage and had never seriously contemplated bringing new lives into this world.

So, this date my mind is filled with episodic laughter, my thoughts are flooded with many memories and my heart is overflowing with love. I think of our children and now grandchild. As tears fill my eyes to the brim, I am so proud and grateful they and their families are in my life. Somewhere I think their father knows we're thinking of him with much love.