Out With The Old

Wouldn't it be great if you could look into a crystal ball and see the world being cleaned up? Talk about wishful thinking!

The next couple of nights television will be filled with reviews of the year past. I wonder if anyone will try to look into the future!

Will we get out of Iraq as scheduled? They have said in no uncertain terms it is not negotiable! Will we make progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan or are more of our soldiers going to lose their lives in  what looks more and more like a lost cause?

What will Israel do about Iran's nuclear program? What will Britain do about being a haven for terrorists?

So many questions. Will the Republicans do anything worthwhile with the opportunity given them? I have severe doubts. Same old leadership. Groan.

Then there is the absurd. Will Obama come up with a real birth certificate? While he's at it he could provide his transcripts from Columbia and Harvard. I'd like to know just how much of a scholar he really is!

Will we finally get tired enough of Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell for them to disappear from the media? That can go for a few dozen celebrities too!

Will NoLabels or The Modern Whigs  come to the fore as a viable third party?

Well, there you have it. Some of what I'll be watching. I'll keep most of my predictions to myself. I'm too likely to be wrong.  I hope.

Oh, last but certainly not least! Will Brett Favre finally retire?

Ignorance Isn't Necessarily Bliss!

When we travel I usually look forward to time away from computers, television, radio and newspapers. The pure bliss of going forth into the temporarily unknown. Yesterday,
Kevin Horrigan, a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, addressed the same topic.

Like me only with far more depth of knowledge, he realized he needed a break.  He too realized how difficult the prospect was.  Everything going on in the world would continue but without his knowledge.

Funny, how worrisome it can be.  Not knowing.  Today is such a day when it should be easy.  I'm sitting here listening to the gentle sounds of the snow blower doing it's job for the second time today.  That's how much snow we're getting.  It's absolutely beautiful outside.  When the snow stops the deep freeze arrives and we won't be able to move anything until a thaw.  There is nothing pending in the short term forecast.

Do I feel guilty for not helping?  No.  There's nothing I can do anyway.  I put on tall boots earlier and waded my way to where the birds gather and spread seed.  With some hesitation I might add because yesterday a hawk got a quail.  I was upset.  I blamed myself.  Hub tried to make things better, telling me hawks need to eat too.  Still...

See?  This is an escape into basic mindlessness.  Just a moment in life.  Neither good nor bad. The only sin is writing this on my computer. I should then go into the den, find something good to read  other than a newspaper or magazine, maybe with a warm cup of tea, and just wile away the afternoon.

But I won't.  I'll go to Drudge and read the headlines one last time and Huckleberries to see what's going on locally.  I'll check in with NoLabels to see who has joined in the discussion groups I've joined.  It's all about politics and the news.  I'm obsessed with it.

I think the problem with trying to get a break from it, escape it, for a period of time is that I know when I return, things will have happened.  Some nonsensical, others serious.  I will have had thoughts on all of it and something to say to be sure!

That's it.  Life goes on whether or not I'm participating on any level of awareness. Whatever it has been, I have missed it.  That is, to me, troublesome!

"Weighing" In

The current sub-story that continually comes to the surface these days is the Fatting of America. It has been getting a lot of play because of Michelle Obama's push for better nutrition for school kids. And because of new laws requiring calorie counts on menus. These are government backed brainstorms to fix a 'growing' problem.

The government is also the reason, though it seems to be the last to realize it. The culprit, of course, is diet. Having stepped on the scale this morning I am hugely aware of it! That, however, is of my own doing over the holidays. Other than the annual indulgences which most of us give in to, it can be hard to get all the fruit and vegetables we need. Why? Price.

For seniors, it's extra tough. We didn't get a cost of living increase for the second year in a row because they don't count the cost of fuel or food in the consumer price index, making it appear there is no inflation. Of course there is, but that's government bookkeeping.

In this morning's Wall Street Journal we find another government aided cause.  Joblessness.

Why studies are needed to figure these things out is beyond me. No job, less has to go further. Especially money and food! What's most expensive? Fruit and vegetables! What's least? Food laden with starch, fat and sugar.

Sure, people abuse themselves when it comes to indulgence. I do. Especially during the holidays. January always brings with it a month on the strict version of the South Beach! But when it's all you can afford to eat and feed your family, that's the way it goes. It's not all the parent's fault!

Could parents encourage their kids to become more active? Absolutely. Could they themselves? Absolutely. But when do the bad calories out weigh good exercise?

Rather than spending money on studies to figure out joblessness makes for poor diet, would it not be better spent putting people back to work and getting the price of healthy food back to affordable levels?

I don't think Congress has a clue how to do either. Neither party. So they'll continue to wring their hands then decide to send the TSA, or some like minded organization, out to monitor our shopping bags and our dinner tables.

Tonight, on mine, they'll find soup and salad. We can afford the greens this week. And that's about all!

McEuen Field ~ Maybe a Not-So-Merry-Go-Round

We have a park here in town  about to undergo some major renovations. There has been a team working on a plan for quite some time. It is not without controversy, which is standard. Many would like it to remain as is. Others, including the team, want it to become a "destination" park, whatever that is.

The concept was unveiled in the paper last week. It is ambitious and bound to be expensive. Where the money will come from will be a major issue.

It has a Facebook page. There is to be a public meeting for discussions, questions and suggestions. On the surface, that all sounds wonderful, but if you've lived in this area for a time you probably realize things are not necessarily as rosy as they may seem.

Here's where I see a potential snag. A 90 year old carousel that was a mainstay on a long gone pier back in the 40's and 50's has become available. Post Falls, our next door neighbor, would take it if Coeur d'Alene decides against it. It belongs in Coeur d'Alene.

It could face demise, be broken up and sold piecemeal as have so many others. It is one of only about 100 left. This too is something that has to be paid for and a structure of some sort would be needed to protect it from the elements. I'm not so sure about that if it is restored properly. Many, like the one pictured in Paris, as you can see, stands on it's own.

A private group is looking into this as a possibility along with funding mechanisms.

Now granted, it doesn't need to go in the revamped park. What troubles me, however, is a comment by the Mayor who said "We're not looking at buildings, per se, so I don't know if it could fit." Let that red flag that just went up be overly active paranoia on my part!

My question, if the plan before us is truly only a concept open for discussion, why couldn't it fit? The steering committee's mission statement says,

Our mission is to develop a dynamic master plan, that allows the park to evolve into a destination park, with compelling and memorable features that serve the greatest number of uses for the greatest number of people, of all ages and abilities... "

What better attraction for kids?  What better piece of memorabilia of the city's past?

Okay.  I love carousels.  The music and the animals are enchanting.  If it hadn't been for space constraints when I started, I'd be carving carousel animals rather than chess sets.  I grew up visiting the historic Kennywood Park carousel in West Mifflin, PA.  I spent my free time in Paris wandering the streets looking for and photographing their many carousels.

Let my fears be unfounded that this is an opportunity about to be missed.  It's just that sometimes things we're told are open for discussion have already been decided. It has been known to be the nature of local politics.