hot off the presses...

As promised, here's the link to The Daily News article featuring a quote from (and picture of) #2 Offspring!

coming soon to a newspaper near you...

A little quiz: What upcoming story would you most want to read about?
(a) Rochester vs. Kalama baseball ... [yawn]
(b) What do your neighbors make? ... [who cares?]
(c) Race for Presidency Sparks Interest of Local Teens

Yes, I think (c) is the obvious choice! And it just so happens that #2 Offspring was interviewed for that very story! I don't know anything about the article (other than the topic), but I think it should be pretty darn interesting. (I also think it's cool #2 Offspring has a keen interest in current events.)

So stay tuned! On Monday I'll post the link to the article (assuming The Daily News posts it online).

'graphic' illustration

Just ran across this in today's USA Today. (Hmm... I guess saying "today's Today" is redundant!) The graph shows that the biggest health fear of Americans is losing sight. I can't say that I'm surprised, since all day long people share that very fear with me. Still, it is striking actually seeing it displayed on the graph, with 'losing sight' outranking even 'cancer'. So this "mild-mannered optometrist by day" will continue with the mission to save the world, one retina at a time... or at least help alleviate some fears.

Happy Easter

I've been working with old family photos and ran across some Easter-related ones. These shots really illustrate the difference between #1 and #2 Offspring growing up. Whereas #1 Offspring would boldy pose with anyone or anything (monkeys, elephants, Santa, Disney characters, etc.), #2 Offspring was always much more reticent.

Pictured upper left: #1 Offspring with the good ol' shopping mall Easter bunny. Pictured below: #2 Offspring not posing with the Easter bunny at preschool. Since he steadfastly refused to go anywhere near the bunny, the teachers finally resorted to taking two separate polaroids and advising us to just go ahead and mentally fuse them. #2 Offspring defends his 'just say no to the rabbit' decision to this day. When looking at the pictures yesterday, he remarked, "Seriously... He looks creepy!" Pause. "Really! Doesn't he look creepy?"

Holy Fire and the Homeless

A couple of items in the news caught my eye today.

#1. In Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, thousands of worshippers gathered to light candles and dance in celebration of the Orthodox Easter "holy fire" ritual. (Some also poured hot wax on their faces, but I'm not touching that one with a ten foot candle holder.) Every year, the church patriarch emerges from an underground tomb with the flame which is then shared with all the worshippers. This "holy fire" is next taken on special flights to Athens and beyond to connect the worldwide Orthodox faithful to their spiritual roots. I had never heard of this event, but apparently it dates back 1200 years or more. (Hmm... where have I been?)

#2. Our local newspaper had an article today on the increasing number of attacks on homeless people. You can read the disturbing story in its entirety here. The National Coalition for the Homeless reported 142 attacks last year against homeless people in our country, including 20 homicides. Michael Stoops, director of the coalition said, "Homeless people are the newest minority group in America that is 'OK' to hate and hurt. It's as though, somehow, they're viewed as less deserving, less human than the rest of us." There is a move underway to get these attacks categorized as hate crimes (which is what they are!)

So as both articles were bouncing around in my head, I couldn't help but connect them. The "holy fire" celebration is a powerful symbol, yet life (and faith) also calls for definitive action. My hope is that "holy fires" can be lit within ourselves to help people who are marginalized in our society (i.e. "the least of these").

Interested in learning more and helping? Click here.

finding old friends...

Hubby and I dropped off #2 Offspring for a college visitation today, so we had a little free time while he was checking out the music and history departments. There was a used record store not far from campus, and we wandered in. As I was flipping through the dusty old LP's, I ran into some old, forgotten friends. Talk about blasts from the past! There were lots of albums I hadn't seen (or thought about) in years. Just to name two somewhat obscure ones from '72: Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (nice rock band/orchestra collaboration) and Climax featuring Sonny Geraci (not surprisingly a one hit wonder with "Precious and Few"). Wonder where ol' Sonny is now...

The drawback of vinyl is its "scratchability" (the sound of which drives me bonkers), but I do miss the larger size (12X12!) of the LP jackets. I think we gained some sound but lost some art with the shift from LP's to CD's. Ah, but that trade-off thing is part of life, isn't it?!

quote of the day...

Was organizing "My Pictures" and ran across this one which I took last summer in North Dakota. Ah, Dakota. *Wistful sigh*
I love the expansive sky there -- great place for your soul to breathe.


Willa Cather described it this way: Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.