Good Riddance 2008, Happy New Year

Thank God 2008 is finally over, however it is not going out with a whimper. Problems with the economy, war in the Middle East and political strife in the US Senate. Even though the market has been up the last several days, it is still going to close about 4000 or 5000 points lower than its highest point of the year. The Detroit 3 automakers are still in trouble and the help they have received is little more than a band aid. The banks are still being very tight with money, and the housing market is still upside down. More and more Americans owe more than their homes are assessed for. Until the housing issue is resolved the economy will continue to be bad.

The fighting in Gaza is troubling to watch and the lack of compassion on either side is terrible. The only winners are the arms merchants and the US is a major supplier to the Israeli's. I for one am getting sick and tired of watching the news and seeing American built AH-64 Apache helicopters and and F-16 fighters making bombing and rocket runs on Palestinian homes. I agree with my government that Israel has a right to exist but Israel needs to agree that so does a Palestinian State. I know that Hamas has been shooting rockets into Israel but the comparative levels of damage aren't even on the same page. The concept of an eye for an eye doesn't work, has never worked and will not work in the future. I believe that there needs to be an arms embargo on both Hamas and Israel. No American arms for Israel until they sit down and have meaningful talks to form a Palestinian State. The US needs to work with a multinational force to stop the random rocketing of Israel by Hamas.

The comic soap opera that is Obama's Senate seat is just too much. The appointment of Roland Burris is only the latest piece in a drama that shows American politics at its worst. The Senate Majority leader said that they would not seat Burris as is their right per the US Constitution. This right has been used in the past to keep out unqualified persons ,however that was in the 1870's during re-construction and was used by white democrats to keep out blacks that had been elected to the Senate from the South. So a white democrat is going to keep out a black democrat, sounds like we haven't changed all that much in the last 130 years.

Yes, good riddance to 2008 and all the controversy and hello 2009. I hope that "no drama Obama" is up to the task.

Snowfall

I have been watching the snowfall for the last several days and just thinking how peaceful it all looks. Having worked as a 911 dispatcher for 24 years however, I know that it is anything but peaceful. Auto accidents, slide offs and old persons with heart attacks after shoveling snow not to mention all the broken hips. Even still there is a peacefulness if you can sit inside and look out a window by the fireplace and just watch the changing landscape.

The yard is now covered in 6 inches of snow and it looks great. I'm not the best lawn and landscape guy in the neighborhood so believe me the snow helps. By the window I'm looking out of is a large spruce tree. In and around the tree are bird feeders and they are alive with birds and squirrels. The tree is dusted with snow and the white and blue green highlights are just beautiful. The tree is also full of birds. The birds are using it to get out of the snow and the wind so inside of the tree is alive with movement. The squirrels are so bold, running up and down the feeder poles. There are at least seven of them out there all jockeying for position at the bird feeders.

The backyard is also looking more peaceful and beautiful than it ever has. The backyard is normally full of trees and weeds and yard work tools. Did I mention that I'm not the best landscape person in the world. It is just amazing what 6 inches of snow can do to beautify your yard. One of the apple trees at the back of the property has many Granny Smith apples on it that we never got around to picking. The birds and the squirrels have been feasting on them all Fall and now Winter. The apples covered with snow make it look as if we decorated the tree white and reddish brown round ornaments. The yard is looking just great and wait "Tee Tucker can you explain all this yellow snow?" "Harriet what are you doing? O gawd do you have to do that there!"

Anyway the yard looks just great if I remain inside sitting by the fireplace. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody

Comfort Food

A family member has started a Church, The Donut Church. Now before anyone gets upset this is all tongue in check, but it has gotten me thinking about food. All societies have favorite foods, comfort foods, which are made in times of trouble and celebration. All these foods have one thing in common, they are all high in fat and calories and we love them. We eat them when we are happy. We eat them when we are sad and troubled. We eat them because they almost always make us feel better or they bring back memories of our childhood and the comfort our parents and family brought us.

I know that the reason we like these high calorie high fat foods is buried deep in our subconscious mind and has to do with self-preservation. It is why our species has survived through the eons. Pack on the fat and make it through the hard times. Unfortunately that has become a problem for our society. The hard times used to mean no food but that is not something we in the present day Western World have to deal with. So we are becoming a society of overweight unhealthy individuals.

My love of comfort food which includes maple bars, ice cream, bread and just about anything chocolate has helped me become a type 2 diabetic and at least 80 pounds overweight. I know that this is going to hard to do but we need to start to rewire into our subconscious just what a comfort food is. Celery instead of maple bars, apples rather than ice cream and salad instead of chocolate. This will of course take thousands of years to change but we need to start or we will start to resemble the humans in the Pixar movie Wall-E.

So I will start to change my habits before the clarion call of Donutarianism makes me throw in the towel and run screaming to the nearest Krispy Creme.

A Little Fish Story

While watching Carter this afternoon we started doing some arts and crafts. We had just read a book about unusual fish so Carter had me cut out paper fish for him. We then began to color the cut outs. I got the little fish and Carter got the large shark. While coloring the shark Carter asks me what is the name of the little fish that live with sharks and eat the scraps. I told him that they were called remora. So he starts drawing remora on the shark. A small one by the tail and a larger one by the mouth. It was larger because it was closer to the mouth and got more food scraps. He then turned the cut out over and drew a very large remora. When I asked him why it was so large he tells me it has a health problem. It has a health problem because it eats only a 1/4 pound of fish a day and yet it still gets bigger. I tell him maybe it is because it is eating fried fish. "Grandpa there is no fried food in the ocean. I told you he has a health problem!"

Just Looking For A Clue

For years now Caroline has sang the Scooby Doo theme song to the kids. She has sang it for our boys and all the grand kids. She sang it on a snowy night drive from Middleton to Boise with numerous made up verses for over an half a hour for our granddaughter Grace. She has sang it as a loud raucous anthem and all the kids have gone to sleep with her singing it at as a lullaby. It is not surprising that the cartoon shows have been favorites with all the kids. Carter has especially enjoyed the shows but of all the kids he has given it his own spin. He and Carol while out walking the dogs and carrying a flashlight would stop every hundred yards or so and Carter would shine the light on something and say "look another clue". When they got back home he would then solve the mystery after they sang the song. It was usually the neighbors spying through the knot holes in the fence. He also plays a mean game of Blue's Clues but there is no singing in that game.

A Little Politics

I have been following the Detroit Bail-Out talks with interest and just little amusement. The same Senators that didn't even bat an eye to the 770 billion dollar Wall Street Bail-Out with no assurances and no oversight now are worried about how the Detroit Three will use 15 billion dollars. These are the same people that brought us the biggest deficit ever and now they are preaching fiscal responsibility. Then there is the Car Czar. Whenever there is a problem that the congress can't legislate us out of they want a Czar, a Drug Czar, a Security Czar, an Education Czar and a Health Czar. It sounds good and may even look responsible on paper but what have these czars ever done. Do any of them have the tools they need to do the job. No, congress and the president always manage to strip them of any real power to deal with the problems.

There is also a class warfare element to this. The congress is made up of mostly rich people that have held their offices for 12-18 years and most held other federal or state elected office before they made it to the house or senate. They are white collar workers. Wall Street is made up of white collar workers which the congress moved very quickly to help. The Detroit Three are made up of mostly blue collar workers and congress which has not done an honest day's work in years doesn't understand or care what happens to these workers.

Then there is the governor of Illinois. It is hard to know if he is the nation's biggest crook or just a dumb, venial jackass. I think he is a combination of them all. I was listening to Sean Hannity and laughing myself sick as this wacko tries to spin this story into a giant conspiracy with Obama at the center. I will agree that if Obama is even at the periphery of this it will not be good for Obama but I can't believe he is stupid enough to have anything to do with that idiot. So Sean, just this word of advice, no matter how loud or often you say it this is not going to be the undoing or downfall of Obama.

A Carter Christmas

The year Carter was 3 was a big one for Carter. He received so many gifts it took almost 2 hours to open them all. Of course he had to play with all of the toys as he opened them and he wanted pictures of him wearing the clothes he got. Before we were going to eat his mom and dad told him he needed to start putting away some of the toys. This of course brought tears and him sitting stubbornly in the living room playing with the toys. Carol said she would help him put the toys away in his room. So they started moving arm loads of toys into his room and into the closet. This was still taking some little time as he and grandma were still playing with the toys too. His mom told him that if he didn't hurry up he would lose his toys and wouldn't be able to play with his favorite toys. So as he and Carol are putting the last toys into the closet he pushes Carol into the closet and closes it. Yes, he put away his favorite toy, grandma because she would play him. To this day there is a closeness with those two that even I envy.

Remembering Christmas Past

After writing my last post I got to remembering other Christmas's past. We were stationed at Wiesbaden AFB in Germany. Two of the gifts the boys got were bubble pipes and dark glasses. At some point they got two of my uniform hats out and put them on with the bubble pipes and glasses. Bobby struck a very Douglas MacArthur like pose, the picture is priceless.

The next year we were at Ramstein AFB, it was late on Christmas Eve and the boys were still up. The door bell rang and Carol and I looked at each and shrugged but Bobby says "it is Santa Claus" and runs for the door. He opens the door and there stands Santa. His eyes just about fell out of his head and he ran and hide behind Carol. It was one of the guys that I worked with and he just decided to play Santa. It was great and the boys really liked it and didn't forget it for many years.

The most memorable for me recently were the times I played Santa Claus for the Boise Police Department. We went to many parties and small gatherings, they were all fun. For me the most fun was seeing the look in the eyes of the littlest kids. They were so open and trusting and it was always just great to hear them yell " Santaaaaaa!" One of the best was a gathering of kids that all had type 1 diabetes. I was given a large bag of sugar free candy canes and in I went. Most of the parties I would have the kids sit on my lap and they would tell what they wanted but at this one they wanted me to read them a story. I read the "Polar Express" . I had never heard that one before but I read it and it was great and the kids loved it.

Christmas Time in the City

I think it is official now but I listened to Christmas music today so it must be Christmas time. The older I get the harder it has been to get really excited about Christmas. When the boys were little it was easy just to sit back and enjoy it all through their eyes. As they got older, read that as teenagers, they lost some of their enthusiasm for the holiday. The grand kids made it more fun again but with only Carter here in town it is just not quite like it was when the boys were younger.

I remember when they were both not in school yet and every present was the best thing they had ever gotten. So were the boxes they came in. We had just gotten back from Germany and were living in Seattle with Carol's parents and that first Christmas back was big. Grandpa Ben, Carol's dad, woke the boys up at around 0530. All of Carol's family was there, Carol is number 5 of 8 kids, and all their wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends and just friends were there. It was huge. The boys were so excited. A couple of days later one of Carol's really good friends came by with a present for the boys. I remember Bobby, 4 years old at the time, ripping the wrapping paper off in a frenzy and saying, "Aunt Nancy it is just what I always wanted", before it was even totally unwrapped. Now that is the kind of enthusiasm I wish I could feel these days. 

I think the last Christmas that we did really well with the boys was the year Bobby was 14 or 15. We got him a drum kit. His eyes were as big as I ever remembered them being when he saw it sitting there in front of the tree. I can't remember just what we got John but he was really happy too. 

We have over the years parred down who we buy gifts for. With as many members of Carol's family as there are the logistics were just becoming overwhelming. Now we buy things for the kids. If you are under 19 you will get a gift. Once we had grandchildren of our own it became more fun again to go a little overboard with gifts but that may change this year with me being retired and the economy being what it is. 

So I will put the Christmas songs on the stereo and work really hard to have a Holly Jolly Christmas while I enjoy Christmas Time in the City with all those Silver Bells.

Thanksgiving Pig Out

I believe that I have mentioned that I'm a type 2 diabetic, so I had fun trying to keep my blood sugar in line this last Thursday. Believe me it is harder than you would think. I only did sort of okay. My blood sugar was at about 151 mg/dL after eating for most of the afternoon. For those of you that don't know, normal is between 80 and 120 mg/dL. Its hard with all the foods that are rich in carbohydrates that are sitting there just waiting for you to eat them. I took my insulin but it is truly hard to know just how much you are eating and if it is something you didn't make just how much hidden sugar there is. The last thing you want to do is take too much insulin and pass out.

The other thing that makes the holidays hard are well meaning relatives. I have never hidden that I'm an insulin taking diabetic and that I need to monitor what I eat rather closely but I don't need anybody else to keep track for me. You know the people, the ones that ask you if you should be eating that or that grabs your hand as you pick up something to eat. I know they mean well but it is maddening and at least with me, can be counter-productive. Believe me I know what I'm doing when I eat something, especially if it is high in sugar or other carbohydrates. Telling me only brings out the stubborn little boy in me that is going to do it anyway.

So there is one more big holiday left and it is the hardest, Christmas and all the cookies and candies. I will be counting the carbohydrates and taking my insulin and testing my sugars. You can watch me and even shake your head but rest assured that I know what I'm doing and am taking the measures I need to keep my sugars in line.