Random Acts Of Kindness

There is one random act of kindness that I would welcome with open arms. That Mother Nature quit dumping on us! Snow that is. Snow blowers are breaking down faster than the parts stores can restock. To think it was only February when we last went through this and another storm with "significant" snowfall is due Christmas eve.

It is the time for neighbors to rally around neighbors. KREM 2 has just wrapped up another of it's "Big Dig" efforts where people armed with shovels, blowers and plows were sent out to the far and not so far reaches of the community to help people dig out. I haven't heard of a single refusal of help!

That leads me to a story out of Eugene, Oregon, where a group of high schoolers decided to form a club to see if they could change the world with one random act of kindness at a time. Their initial efforts were met with skepticism, expulsion from a mall by security officers and being questioned by police! What a shame!

The "Random Acts of Kindness Club" was the brainchild of a high school senior who felt her community wasn't doing enough. While some of what they gave is a bit esoteric, the thought is what counts. They gave free hugs at a football game. They offered leaf raking services and were actually turned down. One woman told them to "Go do your random acts of kindness somewhere else!" Wow, kids. C'mon over!

Another called the police fearing the kids intended to burglarize her house. During Black Friday they gathered at the mall to give out cards with a mint wishing recipients a "nice day". That one seemed to catch on until security booted them based on the mall's "no solicitation" rules. The fact that they were actually giving something, not soliciting made no difference.

Not to be daunted, the next venture is a hot chocolate giveaway. According to club founder Kelsey Hertel, "People can't accept the fact that there are other people who just want to be nice." She also observed, "Our culture is so based on greed that people don't believe goodness is real."

It's nice to see such an astute young lady trying to make a difference. It's a shame, that as a young lady, she has met so much opposition from those of us who ought to be doing the teaching. I hope with time her venture becomes more successful.

It's also nice to know that in our little corner of the world acts of kindness are the norm, no matter the age of those performing them.

Puppy Love

It occurred to me this morning, watching Bacchus struggle through snow as deep as he is tall, that many of our pets suffer consequences similar to our own. Health issues being one. And how some of us are more fortunate than others.

In today's USA Weekend magazine, there was a heartwarming article about Woodson, the lab who appeared as the five month old Marley in Marley and Me. Woodson, unknown to his breeder and trainers at the time, had been born with a severe case of hip dysplasia. It was discovered some time after his acting duties had ended and he had become the family pet of the author of the book on which the movie was based.

When he called the breeder to let him know, he was offered the same choice many of us in similar positions, have had. Return the pup for a healthy one. Everyone knows what that means. The pup would likely be euthanized. Needless to say Woodson had already become a family fixture and the option was no option at all.

We've been through that with two of our Saints. The first was a $50 cull. Had I not had a soft heart he would have been destroyed. The breeder was that blunt. He had even been isolated from his litter mates. There was nothing physically wrong with him. He just was not up to breed standards. His ears were more like a Bassets than a Saints. He had double dew claws which they hadn't bothered to remove and he'd had no shots. I took him anyway. He became our Ugly Mug to be a companion to our first Saint, Snifter. He was one lucky dog. He had a family who loved him and a vet who, if possible, loved him even more and he had a good life. He had a good life.

Bacchus is the second case. He was the expensive guy. His breeder had mated his mother with a Saint from the breeder from whom we got Oaf, our third Saint. Oaf had such a sweet disposition, we couldn't resist getting another from his line.

When we arrived to pick him up he was freshly shampooed and waiting in his crate. He was adorable. By the way, the breeder tells us, he has entropion in both eyes. You don't have to take him if you don't want to. Right. As we handed her our check.
that results in the lashes rubbing against the eye which, depending on where it hits, can cause blindness. Then the other whammy. Would we have him x-rayed for dysplasia before he was nine months old. Though neither parent had the malady, she wasn't sure it wasn't in the gene pool and she needed to know whether or not to breed either parent again.

Wow! After having driven from Rochester, NY to Virginia to pick him up! We took him anyway. He's had two surgeries on his eyes and they've been corrected as much as is prudent. And he is dysplastic in both hips.

He's been on a supplement regimen since day one. So far so good. The formulation is so good my chiropractor suggested I take it too. Unfortunately the flavor that makes it palatable for Bacchus is awful. I'll stick with a non-liver flavored human version, thanks.

Both dogs are pretty darn fortunate. Though born with unpreventable maladies, they both landed in families that love them to pieces and will do anything the budget will allow to give them full and happy lives. Both families are fortunate enough to have the means to do a lot. If Woodson should need a hip replacement, he will no doubt get one. He's just a kid.

Bacchus, knock wood, will remain comfortable for a good long time yet. He'll be nine soon. That's getting up there for a Saint, but I'm heartened that he's doing better than me!

Lucky dogs. I wish all the kids out there who have health problems from day one could receive the care these guys do. Oops. I'm not going to get into the politics of health insurance on this one.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

I called this house "home" for 24 years. I've not lived in one that long since.

That's why I found an AP headline, Americans less likely to roam: study, of interest. The article states a lot of statistics showing that Americans do not move around as much as they once did.

I guess it's an issue of circumstance. We moved to Pittsburgh from Chicago in 1945. Dad was with Westinghouse and that was where the job was until they moved it to Buffalo in the 60s, told him it was his if he was at his desk the following Monday morning. That was on a Friday. He opted, as they had hoped, for early retirement. That was the end of the era when companies cared for their employees and in turn the employees were faithful to them.

When Hub and I married, in the late 60s, the trend of following the career path no matter where it lead was just beginning. In the first few years we moved from Pittsburgh to Princeton, to Des Moines, Hartford, Denver, San Francisco and Houston. Time between moves lengthened after that. Los Angeles, Seattle, Rochester, NY and now Coeur d'Alene.

Each and every time I considered it a grand adventure. We still have good friends from each and every city. I guess I would have made a good Army "brat".

I find it of interest when a promotion is refused because it would mean a move. Or that kids can't be taken out of one school system for another. I understand wanting to be close to family and the wrench it gives when you leave behind friends, but both will still be there. Family for sure, and if the friends are really good friends. As for how the kids will fare? That depends on the attitude of the parents.

I've asked many people why they've chosen to stay in a particular place. Especially ones that are economically depressed. Places where making a move would improve their lives. It's so beautiful is an answer. Or I've never had any desire to live any place else.

What is lacking? Plain old curiosity. That's what I don't understand. No adventuresome spirit. When Kodak was dieing in Rochester, NY and jobs were available in operations in other cities, people would not move. I would guess it's the same in any company town". Like Detroit with the auto industry. Like northern Idaho with the demise of the timber industry.

The article claims that the trend is due to an aging population. Maybe, but I would question that assumption. We may be gaining in numbers but it's the young who do the majority of the moving - when they do.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to retire in the old home town or state. One day we'd like to get back to Montana. It's in our blood. We have, however, never regretted our nomadic years. The people we've met and what we've learned about them and from them. The places we've seen. The experiences we've had that one can't do on a visit. Like experiencing autumn in New England. Or Texas. You cannot get the full taste of the Texan lifestyle without having lived it!

If Obama's plans for job creation and stimulating the economy require a move, I truly hope the younger generations will jump on the band wagon for a great ride. I cannot believe they'd ever regret it!

"Bushed" Bush

Have you noticed how terribly, terribly tired George Bush looks these days? Like every last ounce of energy has been sapped from his being. I actually feel badly for him.

Here is the man who has held the most powerful position in the world for the past eight years and reduced it to something far less. I wonder what his expectations were when he first took office.

Though President-elect Obama tells us there is only one President at a time, it hardly seems so. He's on television all day every day announcing policy and introducing those who's responsibility it will be to carry it out. Bush has been pretty much relegated to giving exit interviews.

I found his talking points memo, titled "Speech Topper on the Bush Record", a sad commentary for it's brevity. Some of the main points included his keeping us safe after 9/11, the lifting of the economy through tax cuts, curbing AIDS in Africa and maintaining the honor and dignity of his office.

Listening to the media pick this apart has been interesting. It would seem to be moot as to whether his actions as President kept us safe after 9/11 or it was so planned by those who attacked us. The economy is anything but stronger. To his credit he did a great deal to curb AIDS in Africa. There is so much more that needs to be addressed that was not.

Maintaining the honor and dignity of the office. Some speculated that meant the absence of a "Lewinsky" type scandal. That's fair, but when you consider the number of our rights that have been diminished if not obiterated, taking us into a war based on faulty intelligence, his fuzzy logic on what is and is not "torture" and the inept response to tragedies of nature within our own borders, I wonder about that dubious "accomplishment".

I wonder if once he's out of office he'll come to see his tenure more as we see it or if he will live out his days believing that history will vindicate his actions because of his pureness of motive.

As most former Presidents, he plans to write a book. I wonder if it will be introspective or defensive. It may have a great deal to do with whether six months out of office he looks rejuvenated or still an exhausted version of his former self. He should look tired. It might indicate he has actually spent some sleepless nights along with we the people he was elected to lead. Introspection may give him some peace. Defensiveness will confirm what many already believe. He never did quite get it.

What Qualifies One For The Senate?

According to WCBS TV , a reporter following Caroline Kennedy on her upstate "listening tour" had this to ask, "But you've never held public office so what experience [do you have]?"

Maybe it's time to take a look at what qualifies an individual to serve in the U.S. Senate! Especially when you consider the bunch that's in there now and those aspiring to be. Consider the stellar character represented by Ted Stevens and Larry Craig for example. Hillary Clinton had never held public office before being elected to the Senate. Were they not all considered adequately "qualified" when elected?

The Senate is a pretty exclusive "club". There are only 100 Senators. Two from every state; not like the gazillion of Representatives from gerrymandered districts! To find two people from each state that have their state's interest, as well as the nation's, at heart should not be that difficult. Is there any reason to assume Caroline Kennedy does not?

Being educated, having character and ability seem far more important to me than whether or not one has previously held elective office. I know. That may actually mean Al Franken, better known as a comedian than a politician, is superbly qualified. After all he is a Harvard man. And that is the crux of the argument. I based my support for Obama on much the same criteria. Intellect, character and education. Caroline is also a Harvard grad plus a J.D. from Columbia Law. The worst thing I can say is, "Not another lawyer!"

Actually, the fact that she is not a career politician is a plus in my book. Yes. She has far different life experiences than many of us, but what we have in common is equally important. A view of the world and life from outside the beltway.

Who would ever have thought the Kennedy name would be a negative? Is that a reason for David Patterson to not appoint her? I should hope not.