The Donut Hole

My husband fell into the Medicare Prescription Donut Hole this week. After a $500 + Rx bill.

Thank you very much Senator Kyle and the pharmaceuticals.

When in Ecuador in 2008, our group of 10 people visited this Shaman.

For the cost of one bottle of vodka and a package of cigarettes he performed a cleansing ceremony on a volunteer.

One can see that he has a whole array of medicinals. The list of diseased he claimed to treat was impressive.

Oh, and yes he his license was posted on the wall.

Fired up? Burnt out?

Sometimes I'm fired up.

What's firing me up right now?

Poetry

Singing

John Updike

Darwin - still a controversy 150 yrs later.

Movies

The success of "Red, White and Blue"

What has me burned out right now?

Taking on too much can burn me out.

I'm a little mad at God right now.

I'm a little mad at Pres. Obama too. Worked hard on his campaign. Worked hard to get the focus on the public option.

Now Mr. Obama, as my Mama would say; "It is time to get the mittens off"

Show strong leadership to the congress on Health Care Reform.

AND end this futile war in Afghanistan

Too many people have died! Soldiers and civilians! Al Gaeda is gone. They have evolved and disbursed to many countries and

communicate via the internet.

The Taliban are where they have always been and will be no matter when we leave.

Tucson's Poor

HopeFest 2009 served 15,000 to 20,000 poor and homeless Tucsonans.

Families arrived the night before and stood in long lines for:

groceries

clothing

haircuts

medical care

dental care

hygiene products

support services

and even prayer.

Many volunteers participated in the HopeFest.

The group that I was with was assigned to the checking in children to the large play area.

This area offered everything from soft slides and jungle gyms, face painting and many games and prizes. Our job was to put arms bands on kids that matched arm and put on the parent or guardian. This allowed the parent to stand in line for various services.

This may sound easy. I assure you that it was not. Trying to keep children IN and adults with the exception of volunteers OUT was a real task. Children cried when Mom wasn't there when they were done playing. Moms worried that there children wouldn't be taken care of. Many moms didn't return for hours.

When Mom or guardian returned, a volunteer had to take parent to find their children and the their shoes. Many of the fun things to do required removal of shoes.

Then, matching wrist bands, families were signed out.

5 hours of bedlam but rewarding being of service.

Several families thanked us for the time and concern spent with the children so that

they could participate in the services offered.

Intellectual Homelessness

What can cause this?

transition,

relocation,

retirement,

age restriction communities,

focus on sport communities,

social isolation,

TV, TV, TV

What can one do about it?

have a wide range of friends,

spread yourself out,

book discussion groups that have wide range of selections - nonfiction, biography as well as fiction,

become involved outside your neighborhood - community at large, politics, church,

Volunteer, Volunteer, Volunteer

Join OLLI - An "Intellectual Country Club"

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at The University of Arizona

Classes offered in Green Valley

http://www.outreachcollege.arizona.edu/seniors/olli/index.html

Cable News

I am giving up on Cable News!

We know that Fox rants! And if not outright fibbing, certainly bending the truth like a boomerang.

But I am also giving up CNN and MSNBC.

What's with Lou Dobbs this last year? Hating immigrants.

And Kieth Oberman? Certainly appreciate his support of Health Care Reform. But throwing papers...I doubt he picks them up.

Chris Matthews. Yells at those he interviews and never lets them say their piece.

And Rachel! Heh! Girfriend! You don't have to behave like the men.

My new source of news........

The Comedy Channel.

Good guests.

More solid information.

And a little humor.

Why the poor eat fast food?-IMO

I rarely grocery shop. That is one of the tasks that my husband took over when we retired.

Every time I go on a diet and/or get the idea that we need to eat more fruits and vegetable, I am alarmed by the proportionately high cost of healthy eating. This morning our bill at Safeway totalled $50.02. AND the fruits and vegetables alone were $25.08.

That is 50% of the bill.

All of the fast food chains now offer $1.00 menu items. Salads at fast foods are nearly $5:00.

I can understand why the busy poor single mom feeds her family fast food. And lets them choose the burgers and fries.

Yeh! I could go to Walmart. I prefer to support Safeway or Frys and encourage the poor to to shop Walmart. IMO

Evolution of a Bruise

10 hours later.

He is doing fine. Tells everybody that I did it.

Pretty much wrecked his glasses.

Man and his dog

An estimated 86,629 injuries from falls each year were associated with cats and dogs.

But we love them anyway.

Poor Ralph

Poor Buddy. He felt so bad.

Laramie Project

The Shoestring Players perform the Laramie Project to standing ovation audiences under the direction of good friends Susan Ford and Dee Dee Jay.

Matthew Shepherd was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. A theater group from NY interviewed the residents of Laramie to get insight into this horrendous crime.

Just last week the US House passed the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crime Bill and it is expected to pass the senate. Now we must pressure Pres. Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to end the "Don't ask don't tell" in the US Military.

Health Care Reform

Green Valley citizens work hard

on health care reform.

Here calling residents, encouraging

them to email and/or call

legislators to vote for

health care reform

Now we have to hope that

there will be a bill worthy

of passing. IMO

Maggie on the Movies

"The Informant" with Matt Damon.

The narrator of the movie is "The Informant", emloying a device I have not seen used to this extent. The dialogue is predominately 'self talk'. I found this somewhat annoying in the beginning but soon got used to this one sided conversation Mark Whitacre has with himself. Based on a true story, Mark works with the FBI to to catch the large corporation (MAD's) in price fixing on the international stage. A biochemist PhD, he climbs the latter into the business end, where his intelligence clashes with his naivety
Did Matt Damon really need his physical appearance altered to carry off this performance?

Perhaps. It was done well and not to the distracting point where you wonder "why the heck did they do that".

IMO 4 out of 5 stars

1* don't bother

2** OK

3***good

4**** very good

5***** fabulous - Do what ever is necessary to get to the movies for this one!

St. Francis Blessing of the animals

St. Francis of Assisi is the Patron Saint of Animals. At he Episcopal Church in GV, animals actually attend the service and progress to the altar to receive the blessing.

Mag and her Westie receive the blessing.

Some dogs have other things on their minds.

All animals are invited. One young boy brought his Geko.

Maggie and Tako wait to be blessed.

On Darwin

I don't remember learning anything about Darwin

or revolution in school.

What I learned I must have heard or read or absorbed through observation.

I DO remember learning about the Creation through childhood Sunday School and Church.

Last May I visited the Galapagos Islands where

Darwin visited and started his thinking about evolution.

Also last year I participated in a group discussion about 21st Century Christianity.

Now I am taking an 8 week class about Darwin and evolution.

Darwin was struck by the variation in the island

life and in particular the birds of the archepelago.

What could be responsible for these variations?

YOU ARE WHAT YOU CREATE!

If you find yourself in the area of Camp Lowell and Swan in Tucson and are hungry, this is a great place to visit. And it is next door to Radiology Ltd. and the Camp Lowell day surgery center. Somewhat "new wave-ish", what ever that means, it has great food and coffees.

Plus I love their motto: You are what you create".