Pawprints From Space

The suspense is killing me.   Okay, not literally "killing me" but distracting me, making me wonder, getting impatient here ...   What over you ask? Well it ain't what Santa's bringing me for Christmas! Nope, it is Mars Rover Curiosity's "big find".   It appears that SAM (Sample Analysis on Mars) a piece of equipment on the rover found something that has mission control "very excited". But they aren't talking. In fact the date of release of info keeps getting pushed back.   Bloggers are going nuts, conspiracy theorists are ranting and raving, even Fox News has gotten into the act. In fact: John Grotzinger, the Project Scientist for Curiosity, said in an interview, "This data is gonna be one for the history books. It's looking really good." And thus he launched the imaginations of everybody out there.   What worries me isn't that this is some ground-breaking find that will put theories and conservative ...

As we move through life we change perspectives.   When we are children we see our world in one way and as we mature that view evolves (ideally) with us into a more mature view. Granted you have to wonder about some people who seem to remain stuck in the toddler's perspective of what's mine is mine and by the way EVERYTHING is mine. But overall I like to think the majority of us move along the path towards, for lack of a better term, enlightenment.   Certain exceptions must be made for political campaign season obviously. But I digress...   So ... perspective and growth. I find it interesting that some people of my acquaintance believe that when you're young it is understandable to be idealistic and thus have a live and let live, take care of each other and the planet. But that as you age you "grow out of that" and realize what life is all about. Really? And what is life all about then according to this perspective? Making money and keeping it as much ...

Autumn ... change  Not the dying of the world but sleep. Plants seem to die and yet they do not. They go to sleep. The roots are nice and cozy down deep in the soil, or the seeds tucked quietly away waiting for the returning sun. Leaves whisper along the streets, skipping ahead of the wind and chasing each other along paths and across grass .. like laughter skips along with children. Nature at play. Cooler air makes animals frisk and frolic, the oppressive heat of summer a fading memory. Even indoor cats get all puffy tailed and race around the house with sudden bursts of kitty-insanity. Horses play tag in pastures and even normally calm cattle suddenly kick up their heels. Cooler air is invigorating to all. And yet ... Change is difficult, change is sadness as well as joy. The bright flowers of summer have faded away, the sweet birdsong of spring is a memory. These warmer months enchant poets to craft words of love. Autumn and winter coax forth phras...

Where have they gone? The dedicated community service folk. You know the ones, the people who get involved and roll up their sleeves. The sort that jump right in there and "do what needs doin" regardless of the cost in time or money. Service clubs across the area - perhaps across the country - are asking this question. So are nonprofits struggling to find board members and volunteers - let alone donors. School districts long for parents to get involved and actually DO something other than complain. It's sad.  Whatever happened to civic responsibility? To giving back to a community that has given you so much? And more than on the national "make a difference day" - I am not talking about one day a year. I am talking about working to make your community a better place EVERY day. Whether that is by being a vocal cheerleader for what's great where you live, shopping local or actually being part of something greater than yourself. Your communi...

Guess what: This is NOT a political piece! So relax, you can breathe now ... maybe   It is always SO much fun to have to explain what you meant when you said what you said because some overly sensitive/paranoid individual (or group of individuals) jumped to a conclusion. Just ask a political candidate.   As a person who specifically says exactly what she means, this drives me nuts.   For example: I will say that I "have" to be somewhere to do something. And I do. Why? Because I have made a commitment to be there.   Maybe that is to show up for work. Maybe it is to help my mother out. Maybe it is to attend a party I have RSVP'ed to in the affirmative. Maybe it is an event. Maybe it is a volunteer organization. Maybe it is a meeting for an organization. Whatever "it" if I have somehow, some way committed to be there then .... I HAVE to be there. It is that simple. If something unforeseen gets in the way I call and let someone know I can't be ...

I am reminded recently, daily it seems, of a phrase ... why can't we all just get along . Probably paraphrased but poignant all the same in the midst of all the negative advertising, mud slinging and viciousness of the political "season". And that's just among friends on Facebook!! Never mind what the various candidates in local, state and federal elections are saying about each other. That rhetoric might be nasty but it can't hold a candle to the way people are bashing - and defriending - each other online for daring to have a different opinion. There is apparently no such thing as civil discourse these days when it comes to the election. People who are supposed to be friends are ripping into each other and simply being cruel. There is no call for it. None. Part of what makes it great to live in the United States is the fact that we can voice different opinions! You can have a say (by voting) in what goes on. To hear some of these people talk it is t...

Like so many people I've decided I need to take off some pounds. This is a common goal for women of une certain age I know but I have had enough of going through several items in the closet before finding the one thing that fits. This is eating into my sleeping time! Have to get up earlier than I'd like just to figure out what'll fit the figure. On the up side the proportions are still in the hourglass category - there's just too much damned sand in said hourglass. Plus there is a wedding at the end of September and I have a dress I'd like to wear but at the current levels of hourglass "sand" I'll be lucky to get one leg in it. And the bride is a size zero so PRESSURE!! I have discovered a couple of new tools to aid me in this quest: a web site and phone ap called "Lose It!" which can be found here: http://loseit.com/  The aps for the phone works with both the iPhone and Android platforms and it is free. The other thing I like is that ...

It doesn't matter what your political leanings are, if you are female at certain points in your life you're going to be told you need certain screenings (Pap test, mammogram). You may find out that you have certain medical issues that require medications typically used for contraception (endometriosis, menopause, control of acne, regulation of the menstrual cycle, etc.). You may have some insurance, no insurance, not enough insurance or one of those so-called Cadillac plans.  And you might wonder why a drug for men's reproductive "issues" is mandated to be covered by insurance and yet the mere idea that a type of drug for yours is causing such a ruckus. Within weeks of Viagra's hitting the market in 1998 more than half of all prescriptions for the drug were covered by insurance. The Pill? Not so much. Which is REALLY silly since The Pill is cheaper than a pregnancy. AND contraception tends to mean that there are fewer abortions as there are fewer unplanne...