I take GREEN seriously.
A recent travel company cited a town as being "green." There was no criteria for the selection other than a people's choice selection. They selected things like an annual town festival originally designed for Earth Day, a few lame environmental organizations that have seen their day. There was no analysis only a mere "vote me in."
A real green town would evaluate business and business practices that occur daily. It would include sustainable business practices, educate and influence the "public to consider the goods and services they use in their own communities and to encouage more sustainable choices. " For example, they would NOT use plastic bags at all. Smoking inside or outside businesses would not be permitted, nor would tossing cigarettes and trash outside. The town would be committed to these practices and they would be enforceable.
Here is one such organizations criteria for a real green community might be:
http://www.greenalliance.biz/what-makes-us-green
I love my town. As a patron on many levels, I want my town to educate and influence the public. It can no longer be a one way acquisition. What makes people fascinated with a real green town is real effort to ensure it is.
Green.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Phones
Just the other day, I posted a question on Fb about the UK leaving the EU. There were a few thoughtful responses. Kind responses. Then there was a response from a person who until now, I enjoyed reading. Without going into what was said, the writer was beyond arrogant. Devisive. They want public dollars to pay for everything. And that just will not be a workable solution. But folks, that seems to be what we have. Spend away, take no responsibility. How do you think we got to this place?
What we really need a a system change. The Dems and the Repubs are not working. They are entrenched in themselves too much. It is always about them and not about the issues at hand. If you want to know something about egos, look at who in the public eye continually has themself photographed. Politics, actors. Wannabees. Then look at with whom they stand. Then look at who shares it. I sure do not want to see it. Why would you?
From all the belief systems ~ religion and political I have seen, the only one that really works is the Buddhist mind set. Now Buddha never wanted to be an icon. Although it seems people need a figurehead. I was gifted with a Buddhist beeswax candle from a family member. It is dear because of the person who gifted it. But with most folks, they need a figurehead because they can't be their own self-leaders.
We need self-leadership. Standing up for right, helping people out. I jest and say we need a revolution. We don't. We need the inner self to grow and develop. To stand up, speak out without risk of their job or alienation of 'controlling' friends. A real friend is someone who always stand with you. The rest, well - they know where the front door is.
I have been helping a friend for some time through some pretty rough situations. The friend is all over the place on so many levels. It hasn't been easy. At times I just want to shake them and say WAKE UP, the clock is ticking. It ticks for all of us. I, too, have mirrors.
There are some futurists who do not believe humanity will survive another one hundred years. I don't spend much time worrying about the future. The present is hard enough work. So I won't be spending too much time in the Town Square a.k.a Facebook. It has become far too trite, a Peyton Place of sorts. My real friends know where I am.
Just a phone call away.
What we really need a a system change. The Dems and the Repubs are not working. They are entrenched in themselves too much. It is always about them and not about the issues at hand. If you want to know something about egos, look at who in the public eye continually has themself photographed. Politics, actors. Wannabees. Then look at with whom they stand. Then look at who shares it. I sure do not want to see it. Why would you?
From all the belief systems ~ religion and political I have seen, the only one that really works is the Buddhist mind set. Now Buddha never wanted to be an icon. Although it seems people need a figurehead. I was gifted with a Buddhist beeswax candle from a family member. It is dear because of the person who gifted it. But with most folks, they need a figurehead because they can't be their own self-leaders.
We need self-leadership. Standing up for right, helping people out. I jest and say we need a revolution. We don't. We need the inner self to grow and develop. To stand up, speak out without risk of their job or alienation of 'controlling' friends. A real friend is someone who always stand with you. The rest, well - they know where the front door is.
I have been helping a friend for some time through some pretty rough situations. The friend is all over the place on so many levels. It hasn't been easy. At times I just want to shake them and say WAKE UP, the clock is ticking. It ticks for all of us. I, too, have mirrors.
There are some futurists who do not believe humanity will survive another one hundred years. I don't spend much time worrying about the future. The present is hard enough work. So I won't be spending too much time in the Town Square a.k.a Facebook. It has become far too trite, a Peyton Place of sorts. My real friends know where I am.
Just a phone call away.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
The Tide Knows
I just do not know what to think. How can I?
Mass murders seemingly more frequent than what I knew in early times. More fear, more control, less rights. Good people lost. I think about the Crusades and the good people lost in the name of religion. And the continual struggle of people just wanting freedom.
But none of this is new. Many of our forebearers left Europe because of the rigid controls, only to come to the new land to usurp its resources, its land, its people, its life. Are we really any different than those who sought to control us?
Sitting alongside an inlet at lunch, I watched the tide go out. Perched atop a local restaurant, the undulating ripples told a story. The tide comes in, the tide goes out. We are told it is because of the
"moon's gravitational force pulls on water in the oceans so that there are "bulges" in the ocean on both sides of the planet. The moon pulls water toward it, and this causes the bulge toward the moon. The bulge on the side of the Earth opposite the moon is caused by the moon "pulling the Earth away" from the water on that side."
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/tide-cause.htm
But "Most people grow up thinking that the tides are caused by the moon, and indeed that gravitational 'pull' of the moon is a major factor, as is the gravitational effect of the sun but there is another major factor, which is less often mentioned, and that is the force created by the rotation of the earth itself.
http://www.astronomyknowhow.com/moon-tides.htm
Now I haven't seen any of this 'science' so like many, I am more of a skeptic than ever. Is it true?
know what I was told, what we are told. We all carry the "red" book in a way. Propaganda. Behave and follow the system. But can we really know the answers? The truth?
But the system has let us down. It doesn't care for all people. It never did. Red people, black people, yellow people, straight people, gay, lesbian, transgender people. Nor does it care for non-human living things like animals, dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks. It is set up by and for white men. Nor does the 'system' protect them. It only protects what the current power structure sees as valuable.
How sad for them that they don't know my friends. And all the possibilities that were lost at the Orlando club, and in the civil rights march, in domestic violent, in these continual and senseless wars. As sad as it is for the families - the devastating effects are worse for all of us. The negative energy is palpable.
As I look around the planet, I see so much oppression. New greed, new power mongers try to get in. Those in power continue to usurp it. Everyone wants a piece of the action. We even sell land. Land? Can anyone really OWN land or anything. It all comes from the earth. Yet, we continue to sell it, to sell mineral rights, to drill baby drill. We sell animals, plants, food stuff propagated from the earth and we have sold and continue to sell people.
I think about all the people, many at the dawn of their lives who were only trying to hang out with their community. They were senselessly murdered for being who they are. Flags everywhere are flying at half staff. But that is only a token gesture. A silent one.
Sitting at my table by the window , I see the tide go in and the tide go out. But the tide, like the people have memories. Memories are stored for a time when it isn't so painful to remember.
For now. Forever.
Mass murders seemingly more frequent than what I knew in early times. More fear, more control, less rights. Good people lost. I think about the Crusades and the good people lost in the name of religion. And the continual struggle of people just wanting freedom.
But none of this is new. Many of our forebearers left Europe because of the rigid controls, only to come to the new land to usurp its resources, its land, its people, its life. Are we really any different than those who sought to control us?
Sitting alongside an inlet at lunch, I watched the tide go out. Perched atop a local restaurant, the undulating ripples told a story. The tide comes in, the tide goes out. We are told it is because of the
"moon's gravitational force pulls on water in the oceans so that there are "bulges" in the ocean on both sides of the planet. The moon pulls water toward it, and this causes the bulge toward the moon. The bulge on the side of the Earth opposite the moon is caused by the moon "pulling the Earth away" from the water on that side."
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/tide-cause.htm
But "Most people grow up thinking that the tides are caused by the moon, and indeed that gravitational 'pull' of the moon is a major factor, as is the gravitational effect of the sun but there is another major factor, which is less often mentioned, and that is the force created by the rotation of the earth itself.
http://www.astronomyknowhow.com/moon-tides.htm
Now I haven't seen any of this 'science' so like many, I am more of a skeptic than ever. Is it true?
know what I was told, what we are told. We all carry the "red" book in a way. Propaganda. Behave and follow the system. But can we really know the answers? The truth?
But the system has let us down. It doesn't care for all people. It never did. Red people, black people, yellow people, straight people, gay, lesbian, transgender people. Nor does it care for non-human living things like animals, dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks. It is set up by and for white men. Nor does the 'system' protect them. It only protects what the current power structure sees as valuable.
How sad for them that they don't know my friends. And all the possibilities that were lost at the Orlando club, and in the civil rights march, in domestic violent, in these continual and senseless wars. As sad as it is for the families - the devastating effects are worse for all of us. The negative energy is palpable.
As I look around the planet, I see so much oppression. New greed, new power mongers try to get in. Those in power continue to usurp it. Everyone wants a piece of the action. We even sell land. Land? Can anyone really OWN land or anything. It all comes from the earth. Yet, we continue to sell it, to sell mineral rights, to drill baby drill. We sell animals, plants, food stuff propagated from the earth and we have sold and continue to sell people.
I think about all the people, many at the dawn of their lives who were only trying to hang out with their community. They were senselessly murdered for being who they are. Flags everywhere are flying at half staff. But that is only a token gesture. A silent one.
Sitting at my table by the window , I see the tide go in and the tide go out. But the tide, like the people have memories. Memories are stored for a time when it isn't so painful to remember.
For now. Forever.
Monday, June 6, 2016
In The Garden
"I'm nearly packed," I told my mom.
She had gotten her first National Science Foundation Grant and stipend to study science that summer of 1965. This year she would study geology.
Our next door neighbor agreed to take care of Humphrey for us. We would be gone for two months. The grant paid a stipend for six weeks. We would take one week to get out to Ephram, Utah and another week to come home.
Two months before, I saw my father back a U-Haul into our tiny Woodlawn driveway to pick up his things. He and my mother were filing for divorce after twenty-five years of marriage. I don't recall any affection between the two of them. They did stand by one another and worked on a few projects around the house. But Good Friday, 1965 was a day I would never forget. No warning, no explanation.
In truth, it was a good thing my parents divorced. Dad was not happy with mom and often would go months without speaking to me for no reason. Mom was irritable, turse and lacked significant warmth. However, she was a very good person and I learned a lot from her.
But the return from the trip would forever stay in my mind. I was happy to be home, happy to begin my sophomore year in high school. Happy to see Humphrey.
I ran into the house and looked for him in the tiny plastic water filled aquarium. But the aquarium wasn't on the counter as it often was. Just as I opened the back door to allow fresh air to come into the house that had been closed up all summer what I saw would be forever on my mind.
My cat greeted me quickly enough as she was outside waiting to come in. I don't remember questioning her care which was to be done by our next door neighbor, Miss Mary. I did see the cat food can sitting on the stove. The plastic aquarium where Humphrey lived was also on the stove. It seemed quite odd to see Humphrey's house without him inside. I suspected perhaps the aquarium had broken. Inside that was an empty can of Ken-L-Ration. That is what we fed our cat. Atop the can which was filled with garbage was Humphrey.
Humphrey?!
How cold and callus. Putting my expired and beloved turtle in a can with garbage underneath him. Miss Mary was never my favorite person. She and my mom shared a love of English literature - Chaucer, Agatha Christie novels and the like. I don't remember her having a love of animals. And, I certainly did not that day or for the rest of my life.
Clever. That is what my Mom said of Miss Mary. She found her a remarkably talented woman. I found her totally devoid of warmth.
After my things were removed from our family car, I found a box for Humphrey. I covered it with foil. Even at age fifteen, you want to give your beloved turtle a proper send-off. I laid him to rest, with a few prayers just outside our front door in the garden.
I think of Humphrey often. Some fifty plus years later, I am still appalled about his demise. Did Miss Mary forget to keep water in his shallow aquarium? Did she forget to feed him? I will never know the answers. I do suspect she did at least one of the two. Especially since he was found atop an empty trash filled can of Ken-L-Ration.
Humphrey Buck Turtle, I will never forget you.
She had gotten her first National Science Foundation Grant and stipend to study science that summer of 1965. This year she would study geology.
Our next door neighbor agreed to take care of Humphrey for us. We would be gone for two months. The grant paid a stipend for six weeks. We would take one week to get out to Ephram, Utah and another week to come home.
Two months before, I saw my father back a U-Haul into our tiny Woodlawn driveway to pick up his things. He and my mother were filing for divorce after twenty-five years of marriage. I don't recall any affection between the two of them. They did stand by one another and worked on a few projects around the house. But Good Friday, 1965 was a day I would never forget. No warning, no explanation.
In truth, it was a good thing my parents divorced. Dad was not happy with mom and often would go months without speaking to me for no reason. Mom was irritable, turse and lacked significant warmth. However, she was a very good person and I learned a lot from her.
But the return from the trip would forever stay in my mind. I was happy to be home, happy to begin my sophomore year in high school. Happy to see Humphrey.
I ran into the house and looked for him in the tiny plastic water filled aquarium. But the aquarium wasn't on the counter as it often was. Just as I opened the back door to allow fresh air to come into the house that had been closed up all summer what I saw would be forever on my mind.
My cat greeted me quickly enough as she was outside waiting to come in. I don't remember questioning her care which was to be done by our next door neighbor, Miss Mary. I did see the cat food can sitting on the stove. The plastic aquarium where Humphrey lived was also on the stove. It seemed quite odd to see Humphrey's house without him inside. I suspected perhaps the aquarium had broken. Inside that was an empty can of Ken-L-Ration. That is what we fed our cat. Atop the can which was filled with garbage was Humphrey.
Humphrey?!
How cold and callus. Putting my expired and beloved turtle in a can with garbage underneath him. Miss Mary was never my favorite person. She and my mom shared a love of English literature - Chaucer, Agatha Christie novels and the like. I don't remember her having a love of animals. And, I certainly did not that day or for the rest of my life.
Clever. That is what my Mom said of Miss Mary. She found her a remarkably talented woman. I found her totally devoid of warmth.
After my things were removed from our family car, I found a box for Humphrey. I covered it with foil. Even at age fifteen, you want to give your beloved turtle a proper send-off. I laid him to rest, with a few prayers just outside our front door in the garden.
I think of Humphrey often. Some fifty plus years later, I am still appalled about his demise. Did Miss Mary forget to keep water in his shallow aquarium? Did she forget to feed him? I will never know the answers. I do suspect she did at least one of the two. Especially since he was found atop an empty trash filled can of Ken-L-Ration.
Humphrey Buck Turtle, I will never forget you.
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