Memorial Day

This is Sunday of Memorial Day weekend - - - it brings so many memories - - of so many wars - - I remember Dec.7, 1940 - - I was in college - - Pearl Harbor ? ? Where is THAT ? It is part of the US? I never learned that - - no one ever told me there was a Pearl Harbor.

Then came Korea, and Vietnam, and Kuwait, and Afghanistan and Iraq - - and ? How I pray there not be any more.

We take our physically best young people, our mentally best - -put them in uniform - - and then send them out where our 'enemy' can shoot at them! It is insane !

Thousands of years ago the Bible tells us of the history where people took their most treasured child - usually the oldest - - and sacrificed them on an altar to God. These people were then told - - do not bring children - - an animal will do just as well.

Thousands of years later we still take our most treasured of children and send them off to a place where they might be killed. Will we never learn? There must be another way - without killing - - to settle differences of opinion - -to assure the safety - even the smallest one of the countries. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY - - - WHEN WILL WE LEARN IT ?

I had the privilege to know, honor, and love two of these wonderful service men - - one who endured the Bataan Death March - plus 5 years in prison camp. The other on an LST took part in landings in Africa (Remember - Rommel?) - and Italy, and southern France - - then on to the Pacific to Iwo Jima and Okinawa - -and on and on.

To these men and so many more men and women I give my greatest respect and honor them today.

However I would pray and pray and pray that we - - as nations in this one world - - learn to settle our differences in some more civilized way.

God said "Stop sacrificing people to worship - -or to any other cause (my addition)". Let us listen - - with our hearts and minds and souls.

That's my 'preaching' for today. I feel deeply about it - as you may have noticed. But people - all people - of every nation or race or 'whatever' are God's creation. We need to respect this more than we do.

With deepest respect and caring and love, Hallie.

Senior Standouts

I have been reading with interest the students the Plain Dealer has been featuring as 'Standouts' in this part of Ohio. As I have been reading about them, I became interested in their names - - and what that might indicate about them. Here are a listing of these students:

Willis Koomson

Chardonay Brown

Aleflyah Lokhandwaia

Katerina Glyptis

Stephen Gacka

Jaimin Shah

Titiana DuBose-Butler

Arielle Stambler

Nemanja Raduka

Anne Song

Nabil Darwich

Kelsey DeForest

Teguru Tembo

Samantha Fay

How many have what we would call 'American names' ? I wonder how many different countries their parents came from - - what blessings and gifts these seniors have brought to this country.

And there are still some people who believe we should limit immigration - - look what we might have lost!

Let us give thanks that we still accept the poor and rich - - and outcast and acceptable - - and unusual people we have coming this way.

Let us welcome them with open arms - - accept their 'strange' accents - - and understand underneath that 'different' exterior is an unusual person and a person we are glad to have joined us.

Growing Old isn't easy !

Growing old is strange - - the clothes we wear - - even our shoes - - how I loved those narrow feet with high heels and pointed toes ! And Now - -we must be practical ! The constant admonition "DON'T FALL !" - - as if that were something we might chose to do ! So the shoes - - ah me, those shoes.

And all parts of us grow old - - even the smallest parts - - even those toes. And they don't stay straight any more - -they curl over each other and create problems. And we can't even cut those darn toe nails any more - - they have gotten so thick and curled it takes a specialist to do the job. DARN !

And as they grow crooked it sometimes takes special things to keep them a little more comfortable. Like that 2nd toe curled under the big one - a doctor gave me a small elastic, tubular bandage to put on it to protect it. So every night I take it off, wash it, dry it, and put it on my dresser for morning. Then in the morning I need to get it, put a drop a hand lotion on it so it will slip on more easily on that toe.

So I chose my slacks for the day, pick out a matching top, remember that little 'thingy' for my toe - -put it for safekeeping on my little finger - -get a drop of hand lotion to put on it - - go pick out the socks and shoes for the day - - take a sock and stretch it - they are always too tight - put on the sock, - -the start to put on the shoe - - but that little 'thingy' is still on my little finger - - - -so - - off comes the sock - on with the 'thingy' - then the sock and shoe - -

Getting dressed can be so complicated !!!

Christian muons

In Tuesday's Plain Dealer (pg. 6A) I found the most interesting scientific fact of the century (so far) - - I think it is. From that 'crazy' instrument - the 'particle accelerator' scientists found 'muons and 'anti-muons'. To be scientifically perfect, these should be created in exactly the same number.

But they were not. Somehow 'muons' were created a fraction more than 'anti-muons'. This extremely small difference - when multiplied millions of times - - created a universe when human beings could exist. Muons were considered the positive force - anti-muons the negative force.

This reminds me of the story of the butterfly which fluttered its wings in Tokyo and created a cyclone in NYC. Or - when I was a child - the story of the horse which lost a nail from his shoe - and therefore the horse was lost - because the horse was lost, the squad was lost, etc. Until the battle was lost, - all because of the loss of a nail in a shoe.

Such very small items speaks so positively to me as a Christian. One person can truly make a difference - - science has proven - - . Small good actions do get multiplied - and big changes happen.

Isn't it amazing how science and religion can really say the same thing !

THINGS HAPPEN ! !

For two days I was gone from my apartment. When I came home, something looked different - - I wasn't sure what it was. I looked all around - then looked outside.

You'll never guess what happened. In those two days the groundskeepers decided there were some trees that were too dense - - trees had to be removed.

THEY TOOK MY LOVELY PINE TREE ! ! IT IS NO MORE ! ! !

I had used that tree to frame my photos - you can see it on the picture at the beginning of my blog !! You will see it no more ! ! (weep - weep - )

Now I'll have to find another way to frame my pictures. But I must admit, I can see more - - in the direction the tree stood. I'll have to learn to look that way more often.

But I do have a few very unusual snow pictures of that tree from last winter. I'll wait till snow season comes again - then I'll share them with you.

Now, it is just a cold, rainy spring day. So be it.

Weather

Tonight it is raining hard, cold, and sometimes windy - not a pleasant night at all !

I wonder about my 2 friends from Project Learn who became homeless. I really hope and pray they have a place inside - dry and warm - to spend this night. There is no way I can help them - I don't know where they are - - or if they still 'are'.

But prayers reach out everywhere - - these 2 men are in my prayers - I'm sure somehow the Lord will take care of them.

In this great country of ours, there should be no homeless people - - somehow we need to learn to make shelter for every single person. Dear Lord, teach us.

Cleveland Clinic major growth - PD 5/4/2010 - and homelessness

The lead article in Cleveland's Plain Dealer was excitement concerning the 20 year plan for expansion of the Clinic. Sounds wonderful ! New buildings - more people employed - growing 'to the edges if its 168 acre campus'. WOW ! This area stretches 'roughly from East 85th to East 105 streets, and from Cedar Road to Chester Ave.' A fantastic plan - -changing the way the area looks - modern buildings - overhead walkways, etc.

But then I began thinking - - 10 or 15 years ago First United Methodist Church of Cleveland ran a shelter for homeless women and children. When we started there might be 15 or 20 women and perhaps 2 or 3 children. When the church finally had to involve other agencies it was because the church could no longer safely house 80 or 90 women and children. The growth in homelessness was dramatic.

I began to wonder where these homeless people were before becoming homeless. Then I remembered when Metro Hospital had that wonderful expansion which enabled it to become one of the leading health institutions of the area. And Metro truly does an outstanding work in bringing health to not only well insured people, but also to those with no insurance and no finances. It really does a magnificent job.

BUT - the expansion came because many of the older houses in the area were bought, razed to make the property available for the hospital. However, even though the houses were old - and perhaps not so well maintained - it did not mean that they might be empty.

I was working with Project Learn in that area and was teaching the adults basic reading skills. We knew men who had lived in the Metro Hospital area - the house where they had rented rooms was sold to the hospital - -and now the men had no place to live. They did not make enough to rent an apartment - - but one room in a house with several other men was within their reach. But now -- they were homeless. They had no address to give an employer - - no phone where they could be reached - - no place to hang their clothes - - and on and on. One slept with a friend who was a night watchman in a junk yard - - another just 'disappeared'.

I worry about the exciting developments of the Cleveland Clinic - and how many more homeless people it will create. And I have no answer as what to do about it. But there are many people - living on the edges of society - barely 'making it' - -people who need inexpensive places to be - - -.

The men I knew would not have liked an apartment-type dwelling. The 'rooming house' created a home for them. They were not isolated from others.

Someone - somewhere - should in some way acknowledge this relationship - - and start bringing solutions of homelessness into the planning of the exciting expansion of the Clinic. People are as important - and really more important - than buildings - - no matter how beneficial the new buildings might be.

HELP ! WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE POTENTIAL NEW HOMELESS PEOPLE ?

PROUD ? ! ?

I have just seen the first goslings of the season. They are not 'newborns' but look as though they are 2 or 3 weeks old. In the picture you notice how far away the other geese are from the goose family. They know how fierce the parents can be if their little ones are threatened. I wouldn't try to get close either. But aren't they 'cute'. (Our maintenance people would turn purple if they heard me say they were cute!)

Birds and other 'wild life'

Several days ago I saw that our great blue herons had returned. They have a 'nesting group' (I know there is a name- just can't think of it at this moment) about 30 miles from here.

I have watched them for several years - and wondered about their name "great blue heron'. I understand the 'great'. Their wing span is about 7 feet. But 'blue'? They are a greyish bird - - I guess you might name it a blue-grey - - but it would not be outstanding. Then I saw one flying just overhead. I looked up - - the underside of its wings were a bright blue - the color of the sky above it. It was spectacular. Now I readily agree they are truly the 'GREAT BLUE' herons.

Isn't interesting how things can change in an instant when one sees the object from a different viewpoint! And how rarely we are able to see 'the other side' and make judgements from our single sight.

The picture you see is of our Canada geese. There are 2 pairs there - -see the one in a distance - rather separated, but definitely 'a pair'. should another goose come close, it would be in trouble. These are such beautiful - and outstanding birds - to look at and enjoy.

BUT _ _ Here they are considered a nuisance. They 'poop' - only on our sidewalk - it seems. The maintenance staff are constantly being call to come and 'clean it up!' It all depends on how we see them - - and how they affect our lives.

I guess it is the same as with us - - how we see one another - - how it affects us - - and how we feel we need to respond.

And think - - all of these random thoughts just from one 'great blue heron'.

Have a great day!