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School’s Out for the Summer…..What are you doing?

  • Posted on June 19, 2011 at 4:28 pm

Schools been out for a bit over a week now and I am still too busy for words.  It makes it difficult to carve some time out to post my thoughts, but this is what I have been thinking about.  First of all, I’m still working on that “school stuff”.  I haven’t really checked out of my art room even though it’s basically ready for the summer because I still have to turn in my orders for next year.  Anyone that is an art teacher can tell you how that goes.  I put together what I want on a spreadsheet and low and behold I have to make cuts.  You would think I’d get better at this after all of these years; but I’m too busy trying to get the best bang for my buck.   I’m also taking two technology courses online that I want to finish by the middle of July.  They are self paced but that is a lot to accomplish by the goal date I have set as there are many written assignments that accompany each of them.  I have to say that I have really enjoyed all of the courses I’ve taken this year, even though I whine about the work load to anyone that is prone to listen to me!

The other day I came across this editorial written by President Carter.  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/08/earlyshow/living/money/main20070028.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.1

It’s nice to finally see some sanity about our drug laws expressed by a person that could be actually taken seriously.   I highly suggest reading the piece and even reading the initiative put together by the Global Commission on Drug Policy.  The link is there.  I glanced through it and got what I needed from it.  I have talked with many students that have a parent incarcerated for drugs.  Most of them are drug users.  It has never made any sense to me why we have put so many people behind bars for using drugs.  They are taken out of being a productive member of society and then we, as taxpayers, end up having to take care of them and their children too.  There has to be some sanity brought to this issue.  If you read through President Carter’s editorial the number of people in prison has gone up so drastically in the last thirty years that it is really alarming.  I also know that prison has become a profitable business.  This article from a few years ago is interesting.  http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/41481

Here is a piece from the article that I think kind of tells it all:

“Prison analysts say contract prison labor is poised to become one of America’s most important growth industries. Many of these prisoners are serving time for non-violent crimes. With the use of tough-on-crime mandatory sentencing laws, the prison population is bursting at the seams. Some experts believe that the number of people locked up in the U.S. could double in the next 10 years. According to Prison Watch, the expansion of the number of prisoners will not only increase the pool of prison labor available for commercial profit, but also will help pay the costs of incarceration.”

Imagine that!  We have an industry that is actually growing in our country!  Thinking about all of this, earlier in the week I got an email about healthcare and single payer.  Attached to it was this cover of a book.  Of course I was thinking I should know who Tommy Douglas was, but I wasn’t sure.  I looked him up online and of course I remembered he was the man that brought Medicare to Canada.  I’ve known about him for years and that his grandson is Kiefer Sutherland and that he was voted the “greatest” Canadian.  When I was looking him up I realized that I really want to watch “Prairie Giant the Tommy Douglas Story.  I have put it on my Netflix but it seems to be unavailable.  For the moment I am settling for snippets from Youtube.  You must watch this and think about our own politicians here in the United States.

I think we must be living in Mouseland because we keep voting in CATS!  In our case we have red and blue cats but they are still cats.  They tell us they want to help all of us mice out but truthfully they just keep helping the fat cats.  I think we need to get more mice in office.  Why do we keep electing a government made up of fat cats anyway?  I cannot think of many senators or representatives that live like most of the people I know.  Our very own representative, Rep. Fred Upton, has a net worth of somewhere between 7 and 25 million dollars.  While he greets us at meetings in a sweater that looks like it belonged to Mr. Rogers, he is far wealthier than he appears!  He may want us to believe he is one of us, but his wealth shows another story.  You can check out “Open Secrets” and see where he is getting his campaign money from. http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/CIDsummary.php?CID=N00004133&year=2009 It’s interesting.  His alliance isn’t necessarily with the mice that are his constituents.

Tommy Douglas was a minister and he did have a gift for storytelling.  Here is another story that is really interesting with a good analogy.

His story will make you laugh, but it is a good analogy.  All of us at the middle and bottom of the economic ladder need to stop fighting with each other.  Maybe we would then be able to get representation that is more like us mice and less like the cats!  Maybe if we can start listening to each other, we can all get a little bit of that cream.

I also came across this piece which kind of sums up my week.  Here is one small business owner just trying to make a living.  We all know how everything seems to be made in China these days.  This one takes the cake!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/08/earlyshow/living/money/main20070028.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.1

Hopefully, I’ll leave you on a happy note because it looks like she may be back in business.  I think we all have to keep pressing on to do what we can to solve the economic problems of the 21st Century global economy.  The competition is steep especially when China can make some little trinket for next to nothing.  As an artist, I know what it takes to create something.  I value that.  Most people just see an object and don’t really understand the whole creativity thing.  I’m a potter, but my favorite mug I bought last summer from a couple of guys at the St. Joseph Art Fair.  I could be drinking my coffee out of a three dollar mug from China.  I prefer the $22 mug from the two men I met.  They are the Pottery Boys.  You can see more of their work here.  http://www.potteryboys.com/

My favorite coffe mug made with a labor of love.

When I cradle my mug I have a sense of connection to another human being that threw it on a wheel.  It’s not plastic.  It’s special.  I can feel the caresses the artist gave it when he decorated the sides of it.  He may have done it on a thousand other mugs, but this one is mine and it is original!  The glaze crawls gracefully down the side in an imperfect pattern which adds to its beauty.  I encourage all of you to visit an art fair this summer and buy something from an artist.  If an artist is doing an art fair, more than likely, that is how they make their living.  This is a part of commerce that we all can partake in.  You make be going to the art show to be entertained.  They are there to make a living.  They are a part of the small business world that most people don’t even think about.  Keep these artists in business by buying their wares.  You won’t regret it.  You will remember the artist and enjoy the beauty of what you have purchased and you will be doing something to help the economy!

Just Say, “No!” to PetCo

  • Posted on August 24, 2010 at 7:09 pm

I went to PetCo today and I must say that store is way over rated.  Even though I love my kitty and my doggy I don’t think I’ll be spending much time at Petco.  I went in looking for a dog house.  They had one expensive ugly thing that looked like a plastic igloo.  I decided I’d go ahead and buy the one online that I had seen earlier.  I bought a toy for my dog which cost ten bucks and is already destroyed a half an hour after giving it to Brodie.  I found PetCo prices way out of touch with reality.  It’s the same Chinese junk anyone can buy at Wal-Mart or K-Mart but it’s more expensive at PetCo.

I must say they do have quite a selection of goods.  That is probably their saving grace.  I saw a variety of different rawhide treats in big buckets.  The price was $2.49 a pound or so I thought!  When I got to the check out I had a pound and it was ringing up at around ten bucks.  I was puzzled.  The clerk told me that it is $2.49 for a quarter of a pound.  Imagine my surprise!  I pointed to the sign and under the large lettering for $2.49 was very small lettering that said ¼ pound!  That’s a nice little trick PetCo but I left that treat for your clerk to put back.  I knew I was going to Sam’s Club and I can get a lot more treats for my money there.  I had looked at buying my puppy food at PetCo but the brand I wanted is cheaper at TSC which is right in Sturgis.  I decided I’d buy my pet food at TSC when I really need it.  I have plenty for the time being.

The only reason I am posting this is to announce that PetCo is one big box chain I’ll be passing on.  I love my animals but I can find better deals elsewhere.  I did end up buying some cat food basically for the same price I have paid at my local Kroger store.  Yes, you are probably thinking that it saves time to go to just one store.  However, I don’t usually go out just for pet supplies.  I am usually doing other shopping anyway.  I am not going to let PetCo become my pet peeve.  I’ll just avoid it in the future!

Interrupted Peace

  • Posted on April 6, 2010 at 9:31 am

I was sitting on the deck this morning in my nightgown drinking my coffee and marveling at the peacefulness of the day.  The sky is rather gloomy looking but so quiet and calm.  The only perceptible sound was the soft chirping of birds as I sat thinking.  I wanted to let my new puppy explore the backyard.  He seems so timid.  Just prior to going out I was lamenting how achy I felt.  As I sat there I noticed my aches lessening and my mind drifted to other thoughts.  I was thinking about random things like how I bet it isn’t so peaceful for people in Iraq or Afghanistan.  As I looked around my backyard I saw the dried up brush from last years flowers but I also saw the potential of the new growth as it is beginning to break through after the cold winter months.  I had a sense of hope about the potential for this coming year beginning with a new puppy and a sense of being at peace with myself.  I thought about how hectic some people make their lives with rushing around and speeding up their lives with all of the new technology gadgets.  I even thought about that saying, “Stop and smell the roses.”  By the time I was finished with my coffee and I decided to take the dog back in I was ready to contemplate my day and decided to write about my peaceful experience. I walked back into the reality of my day by taking an Aleve tablet and then sitting down to type.  I popped up Microsoft Word and thought, “What’s that smell?”  The reality of the day is Brody, the new puppy, had for the second time pooped in my downstairs bedroom.  I can’t imagine when he snuck in there to do it as I immediately took him out before and after his meal.  I thought what a contrast in my morning, peacefulness to frustration with doggy potty training!  Cats are so much easier to train.

Brody, the new puppy, guilt free after his little deception!

Snow Bella, always a quick learner, and always distracting me from what I want to do!