Thirteen Thursday: The Write Stuff
1. Said to my friend Rosemary at Spoken Word Night while holding my amber Anchor Steam up to the light: “I think it’s funny that I love tea and beer and they’re both the same color, which makes me wonder if it’s really the color I love.”
2. Last weekend Joe had to take a porch vacation on his own. Not only was I working – providing support for an individual with disabilities – it was spoken word weekend, AND I went to TWO baby showers (the last one I went to before these two was probably 30 years ago).
3. The Charlie’s Angels of Scrabble Poetry mission, assigned by Mara and called “Procedure for Scrabble Poem,” had four of us who played on Monday writing poems from the words we played, most of which can be read HERE.
4. And this little stanza used up five of the Scrabble words we played: Heat up the leftovers … Serve them to a foe… Turn war into warm … Edit bet into better … and id into idea …
5.Click HERE to fall in love with kaleidoscopes and flowers.
6. I find it nearly impossible to look in the mirror without tilting my head. I have no idea why. So said “Internal Monoblog,” quoted Blogations.
7. You should see the face I make when I’m putting on eye makeup. I try not to do it because it’s sort of a bug-eyed frown but I can’t seem to break the habit.
8. Remember when you fed your babies oatmeal and you opened your own mouth as if you were the one eating?
9. With one in every 150 children being diagnosed with autism, we should be talking about the cumulative effect that so many vaccines could be having on our children. We know antibiotics save lives, but their overuse has created resistant super bugs and the emergence of deadly infections like MRSA. Why is there no public debate about the overuse of immunizations? Read the rest of my commentary, published Monday in the Roanoke Times HERE.
10. Only in Floyd: A recent ad I received for the April issue of The Museletter(our homespun local newsletter), reads “There is a riot in my barn. You are invited. Bring the children and come see 10 baby goats jump and twist in the air, play king of the mountain on an old radiator, or just nurse and snuggle. Just call-the tour is free.”
11. Even though a number of Americans are still confused by the Bush administration’s rhetoric implying that Iraq played a role in 9/11 or had some connection to al Qaida, the world is not confused, so says a new bipartisan report : Thanks in part to the Iraq war, the next U.S. president — Republican or Democrat, black or white, man or woman — will take office with America’s power, prestige and popularity in decline, according to bipartisan reports, polls and foreign observers. “Since 9/11, the United States has been exporting fear and anger rather than the more traditional values of hope and optimism. Suspicions of American power have run deep,” Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state under Bush, and Joseph Nye, a Pentagon official under President Clinton, wrote in a December report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read the full article HERE.
12. I was recently relieved to be reminded that thinking is still a valuable commodity when I heard Wayne Dyer on PBS, explaining why he didn’t have to help his son register for college, say, “I’m a prophet. I get paid by the thought.”
13. My St. Patrick’s Day Scrabble poem using the words in our game ends like this: Color the blank tiles green … Aim the K in Patrick … on a triple letter score … and the Q in quean on the star … Free lookups for everyone …who can spell the sunshine back into the sky … who play to win more fun!
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here. View more 13 Thursday’s here.
March 20th, 2008 9:29 am
I probably would have gotten mysteriously sick after the first baby shower. I just hate them, for the most part. If I have to taste baby food one more time… Snort. Wonderful list.
As for number nine. I was just called by the school about our son with autism being ill, again and I am almost in tears. If I ever find out for sure it’s the shots, I’m gonna smack someone for telling me they were perfectly safe and we have nothing to worry about. Curiously, that someone was not my doctor who agreed to space them out on a different schedule, but who knows? I feel like an idiot for giving my son the shots now.
March 20th, 2008 9:40 am
So sorry, Nancy. I didn’t know about your son. Neither choice, to vaccinate or not to, is easy to make. The establishment is usually behind by about 20 years in telling us the truth. And what I find hard is that vaccine proponents are almost religious about their belief in them. This is the least I’m hoping for:
that doctors and parents begin to take a cautious approach to the practice of immunization, such as delaying shots until an infant is older, administering one shot at a time, and picking and choosing which ones are given. I hope they keep in mind that some of the diseases children are immunized for were considered normal childhood illnesses that strengthened children’s immune systems when I was growing up. I hope they remember that it took decades before big-profit cigarette companies were forced to concede that their products were dangerous.
But it sounds like your sons were spaced out.
March 20th, 2008 9:40 am
have they discovered yet which vaccine is most likely causing the autism?
March 20th, 2008 9:42 am
#9 right on breeders have found too many vaccines in dogs lower immunity and longevity – its a hyped up – over medicated society said she – a homeopathic devotee.. sk
March 20th, 2008 9:44 am
Shelby, if you read the rest of the article http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/154898 I talk about the likely culprit mix.
March 20th, 2008 10:31 am
You always have the most interesting things on your mind to ‘muse’ about with us in your T-13s (and other posts too). Numbers 9 and 11 ‘resonate’ with me this morning (hmmm … I wonder if you planned those numbers or it they just ‘happened’ as serendipitous danger signs?) … and methinks I might want to play with #5. Thanks (as always) for sharing.
Hugs and blessings,
March 20th, 2008 10:46 am
Great post. The poetry Scrabble game sounds like a lot of fun!
God bless.
March 20th, 2008 11:26 am
have you seen the movie the Incredibles? She makes these amazing faces when she feeds the baby – that’s what #8 reminds me of. I do love your list style – wonderfully diverse and interesting.
Happy TT!
March 20th, 2008 2:44 pm
I was reading the comments on your Scrabble party… altho I’m grateful for the opportunities the legalization of “za” affords, I can’t imagine ever using the word in conversation. Who says that? Let’s go for a za. I don’t think so. Must be regional.
I play online, on facebook with a few friends. But… I am envious of your little get-togethers. I’d love to find a small clutch of scrabblers who meet at a coffee house every couple weeks for laughs and scrabble. It sounds divine.
~S
March 20th, 2008 5:04 pm
Loved the Kaleidescope and Flowers…what fun! Happy Easter!
March 20th, 2008 5:09 pm
Oh, my gosh. I’d forgotten all about the open my own mouth while I was feeding the boys. LOL. How silly was that??
March 20th, 2008 6:12 pm
For some reason I have no talent at all for scrabble, even though it was a favorite in my family. But lucky for me, I’ve managed to avoid going to ANY baby showers over the past fifteen years. Lost a few friends in the process but… made new ones too.
March 20th, 2008 6:15 pm
Know one of the dozen or so things I think are fabulous about you? You’ve relocated and settled in – and though you still take great pride in your birthtown – you always find ways to give a shout out and a hoo-hah to the place you now call home. And I think if you moved again tomorrow to the other side of the earth – you would bring that heart-home right with you to your new place. That’s a sense I get about you. Love it!
March 20th, 2008 10:19 pm
me, too for 7, with make-up(although i don’t wear eye make-up).
and yes on #8. 🙂
March 21st, 2008 12:45 am
Maybe we should put on make-up together and invite some friends to have a good laughter !
March 21st, 2008 3:25 am
Great TT.
It;s hard to believe there still are people who think that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11.
March 21st, 2008 8:04 am
Great TT, as always.
March 21st, 2008 8:43 am
No 8 reminded me of being a young girl and watching my mom put on her mascara and I would say “Mama why do you have to open your mouth to put that on? She couldn’t keep it closed and it just fascinated me. I catch myself doing the same thing and then I close my mouth!
I hope you have a very nice break and holiday Colleen, you and Joe!
March 21st, 2008 9:51 am
Michele sent me back to re-read. I was here last night, but I couldn’t comment for some odd reason. #8? Why DID we do that? I watched a woman feed her baby last night at a cafeteria and she did the same thing!
March 21st, 2008 8:07 pm
I am a big fan of your blog – I like how I feel after reading your posts. I usually feel calmer, happier, quieter, and also more invigorated and inspired!
Like a comment above, #9 resonates with me right now. My son just had his 18 month well baby check (luckily no vaccinations at this appt.) but he’s scheduled for another round at his 2 year check-up. I am sick about it. I am leaning towards not vaccinating, or limiting the vaccinations, or waiting until he’s older. Unfortunately I find it very difficult to talk to the pediatrician (and for that matter my husband!) about the viability of these other options. It seems like a lot of peds get frustrated when talking about vaccinations. Our doctor didn’t like that I refused the flu vaccine for my son. I can’t imagine how he’ll respond if I express my concerns at the 2 yr old appt. Yesterday, at the well appointment, I told him that after my son’s 12 month and 15 month vaccinations, he developed 2 weeks of 7- times- a -day diarrhea. I thought this was directly related with the immunizations. My dr had never heard of that side effect and thought it “just as likely that my son picked up a virus at the office that resulted in diarrhea.” Really? I was slightly offended at his casual dismissal. Why wasn’t he at least curious about this possible side-effect?
Your article sums up my thoughts – only in a much more articulate way! Like your article says, it simply seems reasonable to at least question the vaccination process. Something is not right when so many intelligent and thoughtful parents say the same thing about the 2 year old vaccination rounds. I need to figure out how to talk to the pediatrician. And get more info about alternatives to the vaccination schedule, or which ones can be eliminated – like the chicken pox one. Oh dear, I am rambling here.
Thank you again for your thoughtful and thought-provoking words.
March 21st, 2008 8:15 pm
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Kathleen. Sadly, sometimes we have to educate our practitioners or change them to find those that will at least engage in the discussion. I’m sad that so many of us feel un-empowered within the medical establishment and that those that support vaccines blanketly and are so polarized and fervent about it. Maybe you could print out the article (or others) and give it to your doctor. Maybe you will need to change doctors. Sometimes you can find supportive and knowledgeable moms at La Leche League.