On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. The Suffragettes worked tirelessly - against what must have seemed like insurmountable odds at times - to ensure we women would have a voice in our own government.
To the young first time female voter of today, voting in the upcoming election may seem like the natural order of things ... but in the history of our nation, it is a relatively new occurrence for the female population to be able to walk into that voting booth and cast our vote for the candidate of our choice.
Without question, this August 18th, we should take a minute to remember the Suffragettes and how their dedication to such a worthy cause changed the political landscape - not only in their time, but for all time! To honor the legacy of these brave women, it is incumbent upon women today to continue the practice of an informed citizenry and educated electorate - which requires more than just casting a vote, but becoming an informed voter!
This November women should go to the polls with a working knowledge of our founding documents as well as an understanding of the candidates' platforms and voting records to proudly cast an informed vote while remembering the Suffragettes who made the opportunity possible!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
"The Modern Mother of 1934" by Anna Roosevelt Dall
Truth and wisdom are true and wise no matter what the year!
The Modern Mother of 1934 as seen by Anna Roosevelt Dall...
The modern mother's great job is to bring up children who are brave, strong and adjustable to the changing world in which they live. That doesn't mean that these children can't be rebels; there is such a thing as being a well adjusted rebel.
If I had to put down a dictionary definition, I'd say a modern mother: Has a background of knowledge about child growth, physical, mental and emotional; has as her objective for her children their growth into self-reliant, independent men and women (yes, even independent of their mothers) ; has a friend-to-friend relationship with her children which includes all the characteristics of friendship - consideration, respect, confidence, and good manners; teacher her children the fundamental qualities of honesty, truthfulness, kindness, and tolerance by self-example instead of constant preaching ...
You aren't suppose to be perfect, and you might be very dull if you were. There's nothing worse than the mother who takes herself too seriously. Mistakes, and even the admission of mistakes, are to be expected! ... But mothers, like depressions and measles, can and do improve!
~ Anna Roosevelt Dall
The Modern Mother of 1934 as seen by Anna Roosevelt Dall...
The modern mother's great job is to bring up children who are brave, strong and adjustable to the changing world in which they live. That doesn't mean that these children can't be rebels; there is such a thing as being a well adjusted rebel.
If I had to put down a dictionary definition, I'd say a modern mother: Has a background of knowledge about child growth, physical, mental and emotional; has as her objective for her children their growth into self-reliant, independent men and women (yes, even independent of their mothers) ; has a friend-to-friend relationship with her children which includes all the characteristics of friendship - consideration, respect, confidence, and good manners; teacher her children the fundamental qualities of honesty, truthfulness, kindness, and tolerance by self-example instead of constant preaching ...
You aren't suppose to be perfect, and you might be very dull if you were. There's nothing worse than the mother who takes herself too seriously. Mistakes, and even the admission of mistakes, are to be expected! ... But mothers, like depressions and measles, can and do improve!
~ Anna Roosevelt Dall
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Declaration of Independence
Begin a tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence at your 4th of July celebrations ... Lest we forget!
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Signed by ...
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Signed by ...
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
545 People
545 People
by Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.
In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault ... They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall!
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits!
The president can only propose a budget.
He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House? PELOSI!
She is the leader of the majority party.
She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.
If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper
by Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.
In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault ... They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall!
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits!
The president can only propose a budget.
He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House? PELOSI!
She is the leader of the majority party.
She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.
If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper
Friday, June 6, 2008
"Lucky Jones"
With Fathers Day approaching, my thoughts turn to my dad. Although he has been gone for nearly 12 years now, the man he was and the legacy he left live on in those who knew him ...
My dad’s given name was Harry Donald Jones. Grandma affectionately called him Harry Don, childhood friends called him Donnie, business associates knew him as Don, but it was my Aunt Kathryn who gave him a nickname that was an apt discription of his life ... Lucky Jones.
Yes, he was lucky alright ... lucky in school, sports, business, love and life. But it was my brother, Jeff, and I who were really the lucky ones ... after all, we got Dad for a father.
For over forty years we had him in our lives. He taught us to swim, bowl and drive. He taught us to make change, check our math and treat people with respect. He told us he loved us and showed us he loved us. Yes, we were the lucky ones.
He was a dedicated son, loving husband, talented photographer, WWII veteran, respected businessman, wonderful dad, attentive grandfather and an all around decent human being. He was never too busy to listen, never too tired to help and was always there for us. Yes, we were the lucky ones.
Looking back on Dad’s life, I think its safe to say that while Lucky Jones started out as just a nickname, it ended up being the legacy he left his children.
I guess you could say that makes us second generation Lucky Joneses. Not a bad legacy, to be sure.
My dad’s given name was Harry Donald Jones. Grandma affectionately called him Harry Don, childhood friends called him Donnie, business associates knew him as Don, but it was my Aunt Kathryn who gave him a nickname that was an apt discription of his life ... Lucky Jones.
Yes, he was lucky alright ... lucky in school, sports, business, love and life. But it was my brother, Jeff, and I who were really the lucky ones ... after all, we got Dad for a father.
For over forty years we had him in our lives. He taught us to swim, bowl and drive. He taught us to make change, check our math and treat people with respect. He told us he loved us and showed us he loved us. Yes, we were the lucky ones.
He was a dedicated son, loving husband, talented photographer, WWII veteran, respected businessman, wonderful dad, attentive grandfather and an all around decent human being. He was never too busy to listen, never too tired to help and was always there for us. Yes, we were the lucky ones.
Looking back on Dad’s life, I think its safe to say that while Lucky Jones started out as just a nickname, it ended up being the legacy he left his children.
I guess you could say that makes us second generation Lucky Joneses. Not a bad legacy, to be sure.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thoughts on Stay-at-home-Mothering vs Daycare
The debate between stay-at-home-mothering vs daycare can sometimes get ugly but these thoughts have been rolling around in my head for some time now ... so here goes.
"I do not believe that all woman should stay home and have babies, but I am firmly convinced that all mothers should stay home and raise their children."
Now before I continue (or find some folks up in arms about the impracticality of my statement) let me also say this: I realize there are always exceptions to every rule. Some circumstances which would affect a mom's stay-at-home option might include: divorce, single parenting issues, mental and/or physical illness, finances, etc...But for lack of a set of circumstances beyond a mom's control, I do believe a mother's place is with her children. And if not possible at any one given moment in time, that should be the ultimate goal. And not just for the children, mind you, FOR THE MOTHER as well!
Mothering is a wonderful experience and I know I am certainly a better person for having dedicated my time and energy to full time parenting. Not only did my kids always know (as Doctor Phil says ;-) that their home was "a safe place to fall" - but as their mother in this process, I reaped the benefits (then and now) of a uniquely close and enduring relationship with my sons.
BTW, in a libertarian world, with no income tax, it would be much more do-able financially for moms to stay-at-home. :-)
Just a thought ... and as always, comments are appreciated.
Jan
"I do not believe that all woman should stay home and have babies, but I am firmly convinced that all mothers should stay home and raise their children."
Now before I continue (or find some folks up in arms about the impracticality of my statement) let me also say this: I realize there are always exceptions to every rule. Some circumstances which would affect a mom's stay-at-home option might include: divorce, single parenting issues, mental and/or physical illness, finances, etc...But for lack of a set of circumstances beyond a mom's control, I do believe a mother's place is with her children. And if not possible at any one given moment in time, that should be the ultimate goal. And not just for the children, mind you, FOR THE MOTHER as well!
Mothering is a wonderful experience and I know I am certainly a better person for having dedicated my time and energy to full time parenting. Not only did my kids always know (as Doctor Phil says ;-) that their home was "a safe place to fall" - but as their mother in this process, I reaped the benefits (then and now) of a uniquely close and enduring relationship with my sons.
BTW, in a libertarian world, with no income tax, it would be much more do-able financially for moms to stay-at-home. :-)
Just a thought ... and as always, comments are appreciated.
Jan
Monday, April 28, 2008
"Bake Back America"
I love the phrase AND the concept, Bake Back America! I first heard it used by a friend of mine, Debbie Hopper, who is the founder of Mothers Against the Draft.
During our conversation, we discussed how generations of moms have been successful in promoting and funding causes they believe in with tried and true methods such as bake sales ... and rather than reinventing the wheel, we moms with causes today might want to return to those same tried and true methods.
And since many moms share the desire to "Take Back America" ... take it back from the socialist, the fascists, and those in power who have conveniently forgotten the limitations of government set forth by the Constitution itself, combining the bake sale tradition with the goal of returning our country to its founding roots ... the name "Bake Back America" seemed like a perfect blend.
So ....
In the long tradition of American mothers and grandmothers, The Mothers Institute is planning a series of bake sales in an effort to bring public awareness to the organization and to serve as fundraisers for the Institute, the Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups and community endeavors. In preparation for such upcoming events, MI is holding its first "Bake Back America" Recipe Contest and they are looking for YOUR best bread, cookie, cake, and pie recipes! The top three winning recipes will be posted on their website, distributed to the Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups and baked all across America during the first Bake Back America Bake Sale (date to be announced). In addition, the first place winner will also receive a Mothers Institute Apron.
Individuals may submit up to three recipes. Submissions may be sent in via The Mothers Institute website by visiting the homepage, clicking the Subscribe-Contact page and typing your favorite recipe(s) into the Message box. Or you may go directly to the Contact page via this link: http://www.themothersinstitute.org/Subscribe.htm Submissions will be accepted through May 30, 2008
During our conversation, we discussed how generations of moms have been successful in promoting and funding causes they believe in with tried and true methods such as bake sales ... and rather than reinventing the wheel, we moms with causes today might want to return to those same tried and true methods.
And since many moms share the desire to "Take Back America" ... take it back from the socialist, the fascists, and those in power who have conveniently forgotten the limitations of government set forth by the Constitution itself, combining the bake sale tradition with the goal of returning our country to its founding roots ... the name "Bake Back America" seemed like a perfect blend.
So ....
In the long tradition of American mothers and grandmothers, The Mothers Institute is planning a series of bake sales in an effort to bring public awareness to the organization and to serve as fundraisers for the Institute, the Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups and community endeavors. In preparation for such upcoming events, MI is holding its first "Bake Back America" Recipe Contest and they are looking for YOUR best bread, cookie, cake, and pie recipes! The top three winning recipes will be posted on their website, distributed to the Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups and baked all across America during the first Bake Back America Bake Sale (date to be announced). In addition, the first place winner will also receive a Mothers Institute Apron.
Individuals may submit up to three recipes. Submissions may be sent in via The Mothers Institute website by visiting the homepage, clicking the Subscribe-Contact page and typing your favorite recipe(s) into the Message box. Or you may go directly to the Contact page via this link: http://www.themothersinstitute.org/Subscribe.htm Submissions will be accepted through May 30, 2008
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