Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat started late tonight.   I have a jack o'lantern with candle on my front porch, the light is on, and the wooden door is open, so hopefully, the trick or treaters will feel welcome.

It is almost 7:30 pm and I have had only a few groups of children show up, unless I missed some soft knockers. 

The most amazing thing is that the very little children are much more interested in the jack o'lantern with candle than getting candy!

I Don't Like That Smoke Smell

I decided today that I wanted a jack o'lantern to celebrate Halloween, so bought a pumpkin and carved it out this afternoon.  I tried it out in my dining area: I had a candle, and the dining area is dark enough to demonstrate the effect with a lit candle.  I did not need the candle to burn long, so extinguished it quickly.  That resulted in a lingering smokey odor in the house. The cats spent a lot of time sniffing the air, and wandering about.

The behavior of the cats indicated to me that they were concerned about the smoky scent in the air. They did not try to engage me, so I am not sure that my cats would be very helpful if we had a fired occurring, but, on the other hand, they were very restless, and if I were not asleep, I would notice this restless behavior.

Sympathic Cold, But No Power Outage

It was cold enough last night for the furnace in my house to turn on last night. I am thankful for that, and I have a very warm bed in which to sleep.

The sun is bright today, the air temperature was never below freezing this morning, and has mightily warmed up, to 58 °.  However, there was a very early, large snow storm in my childhood home area. In addition to the snow, there are wide spread power outages, and some of my family have informed me they are safe but without power (cell phones, ipads, etc.)  I am experiencing sympathetic cold.  The sun is brilliant in my back yard. The winds are from the north, so my back yard is protected from its full force. I will be able to enjoy my back yard today.

Currently, though, I am feeling chilled and have the space heater helping me to stay warm.

Accidental Voting

November is election time, in Texas as in most or many states across the country. In Lubbock County, there are no local races, so the only voting is for amendments to the state constitution.

I peruse the local newspaper, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
 http://lubbockonline.com/ almost every day; I do have a home subscription, and if I do not read it daily, I make a point to get "caught up"  with the newspaper regularly. I get the headlines on line for the Austin Statesman http://www.statesman.com/ which helps me to keep up with the state political news.

I actually get news from other sources, not relevant to this posting.

Somehow, I had glossed over the fact that there was an election, although I had seen the propositions in the newspaper recently. 

Thursday night, after work, I stopped at one of the local supermarkets to pick up some things I needed for work the next day; I use the side door, in an effort to get in and out really quickly, even in the rush hour crowd. In the course of shopping, after I wandered around the store for a bit, I decided I really needed a grocery cart. I went to the front of the store, and saw the voting area. 

It was devoid of voters, although there were plenty of workers and voting machines.  Obviously, the shoppers going by were not interested in voting. I had not thought much about it, but decided it was an opportune time to vote, and this would help me not to forget, as there had been very little publicity about these elections.

So, quite accidentally, I decided to vote.  I am glad I did. I feel voting is a very important obligation of my citizenship. A duty as well as a right, that I should cherish and safeguard.

Incense

I really like the smell of incense, especially the woody scents.  There are many scents available in incense.  Some of the light, fruit scents do nothing for me, but a scent like pine or sandalwood is really soothing for me.  I forget to use incense, but when I do, I really appreciate it.

Accumulating Stuff

I am a pack rat.  I have a hard time throwing things out. I have stacks of stuff for which I do not have adequate storage, but I think I am not quite a hoarder.

I bought some foot cream today. I noticed as I put it in the medicine cabinet, how much "stuff" I have accumulated: I have aspirin and other analgesics; I have analgesic creams, ace bandages, flu and cold medicine, witch hazel, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, antihistamines, medications for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, petroleum jelly, triple antibiotic cream, Mentholatum, Vick's vapo-rub, topical anti-itch compounds and pain-killers, gauze, bandages and what have you.

This is not bad.  As I need something to take care of myself, I purchase it.  I am blessed that I can have a well stocked medicine cabinet.

But sometimes, if feels like I am just accumulating stuff.

The Best Deal in Town

Years ago, I remember reading a story in a magazine, I think maybe The Reader's Digest, about someone moving to Alaska from the lower 48 states. This person did some comparison shopping and discovered that mailing household goods by the United States Post Office https://www.usps.com/ was the best deal they could get.

I sometimes use private shipping companies, especially when I am shipping over-sized boxes (which may most frequently occur at Christmas time), but most often, I use the United States Post Office.

I have heard all the derision about the USPS. I have heard the complaints about poor service, lost mail, "going postal", limited access and hours, and the occasional dishonest employee.  But really, when you think about the amount of product that this agency handles, daily, the few problems that this agency experiences pale in comparison. Where else can you get regular home delivery? And, the truth be known, sometimes mis-addressed mail actually gets delivered correctly, anyway.

I bemoan the rate hikes, as does everyone else. I use electronic funds transfer through my bank to pay many of my bills. I send email greetings instead of snail mail, with maybe the exception of greeting cards for special occasions. But, if the USPS was not there, I would really miss it.

I frequently purchase books, and mail books or media. The rates for this type of mail or phenomenally inexpensive!

For rapid service, priority mail rates are a little high, but insure rapid delivery, if needed.

I appreciate that I have a post office in my neighborhood.  I am flattered that the weekday clerks do not ask me for identification, as they all recognize me as a regular customer. The weekday clerks at this post office are very pleasant and friendly.  Sometimes, the weekend clerks unwittingly  belie the fact that they do not want to be working on Saturday; I can not fault them for that, except that it goes with the territory, and they signed on for the territory.

The regular mail carrier for my neighborhood knows who I am by sight. He frequently exchanges greetings and pleasantries when I am home and he is delivering mail. Although I do not know him personally, I feel he is a very positive, neighborly ambassador for the USPS.

The USPS services have changed over the years: they now offer packing supplies and even sell greeting cards in the lobby locations in Lubbock. They have a kit to help if you move.

On line, you can purchase postage, either stamps, or for packages. You can check zip codes, and get a lot of other services, including tracking mail.

The USPS is where a citizen goes to apply for a passport.  My experience with this process was positive.

So, all things considered, I think the USPS is one of the best deals in town.

It Started as One of Those Days

I had ordered an inter-library loan book, and received an email that it was available, but at the main library branch, and not the branch near my house, to which I had asked it be delivered. I did not call to verify this, as I had business near the downtown library, so checked there in person, only to be told the book was at the branch near my house.

No problem, I also had business in that part of town, so went to the branch library. But, they could not find the book: they check the inter-library loan bag, the hold shelves (where it should have been) the administrative shelves, and the stacks. It was not there. The book is not checked out to me, so personally, I am not concerned about this, except that it is a book I do want to read.

The check out clerk suspects the book will show up in an inter-library loan bag on Monday. I have reason to suspect she is correct:  Usually, in addition to an email alerting me that the book is available, I receive a phone call from the branch library informing me that the book is available. I did not receive such a phone call on Friday.

I would hate for the book to be lost. 

From the library I went to the post office, to purchase postage paid post cards.  Frequently, when I order these, I am offered post card stamps.  But, I do not want just the stamps, I want the post cards.  The clerk had difficulty locating post cards, but found some; not as many as I ordered, but some.  I use them for a monthly meeting announcement, and I actually have enough left from last month's meeting, so that is not an issue. The clerk told me this was the first time she sold post cards.

I have considered in the past purchasing post cards at an office supply store, and just purchasing the stamps.  But the deal the United States Post Office provides can not be beat: each card only costs $.03 vs. about $.09 per card from an office supply store.  

Things got better when I went to purchase groceries and supplies: I found everything that was on my list, and came in under budget.

Sacking Groceries

Do you ever wonder at the method people use to sack groceries.  I often wonder about the rhyme and reason of this.

One of the things that I have noticed is that if I bring my own reusable sacks, almost all the cashiers stack the scanned items in a pile before they start placing them in the sacks.  I have an insulated sack, and if I bring that, I unload my refrigeratables from the cart first, so they can be packaged in the insulated sack first.  Even so, many of the cashiers "forget" to use the insulated sack.  This makes no sense to me.

The other thing I wonder about is mixing non-food and food items.  I appreciate sackers or cashiers who double wrap toxic items.  And, I appreciate not mixing food items with clothing, detergents, paper products, cleaning products and the like.  But I am always amused that pet food is sacked with these other non-food products. I wonder if the sackers and cashiers are told to do that, or if they consider pet food as "non-food" products, and treat it the same way automatically.

I, on the other hand, think of pet food as food items, and if asked, I would say sack it with my other food products.  I do not speak and tell the cashier or sacker to do this, but maybe, I should.

Bad Habits

I am convinced that my cats learn from each other.  I have already mentioned the change in the balance of power with my three cats, and that Haiku has come out of herself more than she used to, exhibiting more confidence.

Well, I think Haiku has been learning bad habits.  Both Sake and Taki are biters.  Sake is easy to dissuade from biting, but Taki keeps coming back, almost frenetically.  The other day, I was concentrating on working on my computer, and Haiku came over to the TV tray next to the desk, obviously looking for some attention. I began petting her, and she bit me.  I told her "no," moved my hand, but a few minutes later, she did it again. Not hard, much like does Sake, unless she is angry, just "love bites."  But I again told her "no."  She has not tried to do this again. 

I have to think she was just mimicking the other two cats, and wanted to experiment with this behavior. I know as humans, we do that, even, sometimes with unexceptable or inappropriate behaviors. We do it to experience the new behavior, the possible thrill of getting away with a risky behavior, or for the secondary gains of the behavior. We do it, to learn what others gain from such a behavior. And, if it is not in our nature, we may not ever do it again. I hope this is the case with Haiku.

Learning Patience

I am not a very patient person, and I never have been.  I sometimes get exasperated easily, and I definitely give up easily, rather than wait and be persistent.

Over the years, I have learned to deal with my impatience in various ways.  One includes that if I think I am going to be in a situation in which serious waiting will be required, I have an activity planned: a book, puzzles, knitting, for example. That helps me to wait.

When I went to work at the prison, my patience was tried: I was at the mercy of correctional officers who had tasks other than getting patients from their cells so I could interview them. I had to deal with meal time, count, work and school, too.  It was one of the most difficult adjustments I had when I went to work in the prison. But, I am the better person for learning that patience.

In the last few weeks, I have worked on several computer installation projects that require patience: installing and uninstalling software is a slow process, and the technician doing it has to be patient while the process is occurring. Clicking too quickly to proceed ruins the process.

I have spent a great deal of time dealing with this activity recently. I have learned to sit and just wait, and watch a screen. I did not get impatient, and I was able to get through the process. 

A good life lesson.

Knitting and Kitties

I did not do much knitting when Taki was very tiny.  I suppose now that was a mistake.  Whenever I pick up my  knitting now, it is like she has a sixth sense, and comes around to play with the yarn.

She is very possessive about the yarn and aggressive about grabbing at it. Diversion to other toys does not help. Redirecting does not help. Loud angry sounding "nos" does not help.

The last two days,  have tried to do some serious knitting and it has been quite a struggle.  The more time I spent knitting and discouraging Taki, just by redirecting her, and putting the yarn up when she tried to grab then, the less interested she became in the knitting.

It is still hard. But a little easier to knit.

Baseball is not a Timed Sport

So there are many sports that set a specific time period during which the game is played.  Baseball is not one of those sports. It is played according to innings, 9 for a major league game. 

Announcers often make a big deal about the length of the game. The average professional baseball game lasts 2.5 hours.  Traditionally, the Yankees and Red Sox are teams that have very long games, and when they play together, the games can be even longer. 

Games last long for a couple of reasons: hitters are very good at extending at bats with foul balls or there is a lot of offense and scoring.  I think both reasons make a game interesting.  If there is a duel between a hitter a pitcher, it adds to the suspense of the game.  If there is a lot of scoring, that makes the game more exciting. Especially when both sides are doing a lot of scoring and keep the game close or tied.

There is often talk, not just in baseball, but in other sports, about speeding up the game. Presumably, this is to keep the fan interested.  But I think it has to do with television time. I have to wonder, before sports were televised, if anyone cared how long the games were.

But television time is expensive, and stations allot so much time for games, then have other programming they want to show, for the money. Long baseball games can create havoc with programming plans.  And for the non-sports viewer, this can be very irritating, and alienate the viewer.  So, television has to keep the balance between pleasing the sports fan and the uninterested in sports viewer.

Company

Sometimes, we just need some company.  Someone to talk to, to share with, to be with. Sometimes, that company does not have to be human.  Which is why pets are so wonderful.  They can be such good companions. They can be attentive, affectionate, playful, soothing. It have been proven that having a pet can be healthy for us, helping to decrease stress and even lower the blood pressure.

I am grateful I have really good pets.

An Arid Environment

An arid environment can be very difficult to endure. It influences the body in many ways.

Hair is susceptible to static. Skin is susceptible to dryness. Sometimes even cracking and chafing.

Mucous membranes dry out: this in particular leads to nose bleeds.

Eyes become dried out, scratchy and reddened.

Talcum powder can soften the scratchiness of skin, but is drying. Lotions or mineral oil (baby oil, scented mineral oil) help. Lotions have different properties: facial cream, hand cream, body cream, foot cream. Additives are important: aloe, vitamin E, scents.

Conditioners for hair can help.

Eye drops can soothe, and decrease red eyes.

Dry is hard. But we survive.

Surviving the Dust

Lubbock made national news with the dust storm that blew through last evening.  According to The Weather Channel, it was not an official haboob, as that requires an electric storm along with the wind and dust. We just had dust and wind.

Thank you to my dear freinds who have check in with me to ask if I was okay.  As far as I have been able to tell, the wind damage was limited to broken twigs and downed leaves in my back yard.  I saw some large limbs down and lots of leaves on the ground in my neighborhood.

I have seen a cloud of dust roll in like that before, only it was black dust,  I was out in the open in a park. It was not as violent as this storm, and I was in my vehicle before the strongest of the storm hit.

I remember a TV mini-series "Centennial" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076993/.  The opening scenes show a very black dark rolling wall of dust, much like the one I saw years ago in the park.  I thought it was the stuff of Hollywood. But, by the time I had lived in Lubbock 2 years, I knew this could happen.

This rolling cloud was red. I had the sense of flames all around, but of course, that was not the case.

A friend from the Northeast called to check on me.  She said she would rather deal with snow. My comment tonight, as was my comment the first time I endured a serious dust storm in Lubbock some 30 years ago is "I did not have to shovel dust."

An Amazing Wind Storm

Until I moved to West Texas, I never thought about wind storms. We had one today.  The winds picked up some time this afternoon.  The temperature was in the 90s°.  We could see the dust blowing.

I went home from work a little early.  When I left work, the winds were from the south west.  By the time I drove the 12 to 15 minutes to my house, the winds had changed to be out of the south west. 

I had already fed the cats and sat down to read the newspaper. It was 5:45 PM. I looked at the clock.  There was very thick red dust outside, so thick, that it was almost as dark as night. This lasted for a while, and as it dissipated, it appeared the wind came from the north.  I have heard some movement of things outside.  http://www.kcbd.com/story/15715382/wall-of-dust-sweeps-across-south-plains

It was too amazing!

And now, there is still wind, but less dust.

Following the Rules

I frequently talk to my patients about why people follow the rules. Many of them acknowledge that they follow the rules because they are concerned about the consequences, and think they will get "caught."  The readily acknowledge that they often do things that are against the rules because they think they can get away with it.

We discuss following the rules because that is the right thing to do. We talk about what it would feel like  if someone follows the rules, and does not need to worry about being watched or caught, and what a difference that might make in some one's outlook or attitude.

Very few of my patients buy into this prospect. For those of us who are not convicted of felonies who do buy into this idea, it may be difficult to understand why some do not.

There are people in this world who think that they are larger than the rules, the rules do not apply to them, and they can do anything without getting caught, or if they can get caught, they are so superior, they can get out of it.  This is not unusual for a teenager, but when this attitude continues as an adult, these people continue to break the rules, and the behavior usually escalates. 

This thinking seldom changes, once the person has become an adult.  These persons are always working the angle, trying to get by with something, cutting it close, doing whatever they can to get by.  

I see people every day at my place of employment who have this attitude.  It is so sad.  It leads to a life time of criminal behavior and more likely than not, lots of prison time.  Is that attitude worth the loss of freedom?

A Spoiler

I may be unusual, but having some one tell me the outcome of a movie, story or book does not generally concern or upset me. If I know the outcome, it usually helps to sharpen my perceptions as I read, view or hear the story.

If it is a good story, one I have read, heard or viewed before, I already know the outcome. Sometimes, that makes the anticipation of the story even better.

I just finished reading, or re-reading, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.  I  have seen so many versions of the movies, I can not remember if I actually ever read the book or not.  So, finally, I did read the book.  The movies are so good, but the book really is much better. I think that is how it usually is?

"In The Sanctuary of Outcasts"

I have just started reading the Osher Life Long Learning Reading Circle book selection for the month of October, "In The Sanctuary of Outcasts" by Neil White. Mr. White committed a white collar crime (he used checking accounts to steal money from banks to try to keep his business afloat) and was sentenced to a year in a Federal Correctional Facility. The facility to which he was confined was the Carville, Louisiana facility which was co-located with the national Leprosarium.  Now called Hansen's disease, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002323/ the myth and horror of this disease is still not understood well by the general public.

I have just started this book.  I suspect I will learn a great deal about humanity and suffering and ostracism.

It will be an interesting read.

Being Thankful

I work in a psychiatric prison.  I see patients who are very psychiatrically decompensated, very psychiatrically fragile, stable, and malingering.

No matter the status of the patients I see, I am reminded daily that "there but for fortune, go you or I" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0MMMLLnsjU&noredirect=1.

Remember how fragile are our freedoms.

If we do not vote, fight and advocate for our freedoms, we contribute to their demise.

God Bless America

"God Bless America" is a song written by Irving Berlin, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin.  I remember a rendition of it by Gene Autrey, with a prologue that we do not usually hear http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/godblessamerica.html.

Most people associate the history of the song with Kate Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Smith.  The popular urban legend of the song is that when the Philadelphia Flyers played the song at their games, or when Kate Smith sang it at their games, they were more likely to win than lose.

In 2001, after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, "God Bless America" was sung by the Senators and Representatives on the steps of the congressional building.  Major League Baseball adopted the song, and it is sung during the seventh inning stretch for some games, usually on Sundays, special occasions, and post season play.

It is a good song.  And brings tears to my eyes.

Challenges and Opportunities Revisited

Friday at work, a former employee, who had been RIFFED in 2003, visited the unit with her class. She went on from being RIFFED to becoming a professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This was a challenge and opportunity for her and she made the most of it.  She is a good example of just this!

Opportunities and Challenges

My department at work is being reduced in force (RIF) due to budget contraints and there are three people who are losing their positions, but we are all being effected by this.  Each person has their own reaction to this, although all three losing their positions agree the situation sucks. And, the six of us left behind, agree. But one of the most optimistic responses is from the youngest of the group:  while she thinks the situation sucks, she is using the situation to explore what employment opportunities she can, and to try to make the most of each exploration.

So, this is a lesson on how we react to bad news.  We can chose to think that this is the worst thing that can happen, or we can decide that this gives us an opportunity to try to do something different.

I have been through this process before.  In 1987, after 10 years at Catholic Family Service, Inc, Diocese of Lubbock, I was told my position was demoted to half time.  I do not know if my supervisor told me, when a new Federal grant was instated, my position would be instated to full time. I do not recall hearing that. I found a new job.  I spent three and a half years at the county hospital, then moved on to a position at the Texas Department of Health.  There I was able to advance my career, so when I moved to the Montford Unit, TDCJ under contract to TTUHSC, I had a good salary history that was not matched, but made comparable. 

So, this is what social workers deal with regularly. I have been blessed.  We move into positions where we can, and do what we can to get the best positions we can, given the constraints of funding and opportunities. 

Sometimes, we have to decide that the opportunity to help is worth more than the monetary recompense.  That is hard. But, we have to think about why we are in social work.  

Control

I like to be in control. I like to be in charge, sometimes, but I like to be in control. I like to make decisions about what I am going to do, when I am going to do it, and how I am going to do it. I learned from a supervisor that taking pro-active steps in a difficult situation can help to stay in control.

I like to know what the plan is, where I am going.  I like predictable.  While I can work under pressure to meet deadlines, I like to work ahead so I do not have to work under pressure. I started this habit when I was in college, after several disastrous last minute attempts to do assignments in junior high and high school.

I discovered that I was an "adrenaline junkie" when I worked at the county hospital. Not to my liking: but when I had a weekend off, it took all weekend just to calm down enough to relax.  After a while, I did not like that.

When I worked in the county hospital, I tried to anticipate discharge needs when patients were admitted. I check on my wards before leaving for the night, to deal with potential overnight emergencies. I still check on what is happening in my assigned areas at work to be aware of what may turn into an emergency, and what I can ward off.

I try not to wait to the last minute to prepare to pay bills. I try to plan ahead for my vacations, time off from work, chores. From my mother, I learned about planning routes and not back tracking, to me more efficient.

I try to be flexible, but sometimes I realize I am such a creature of habit that I am not spontaneous. I think I might get some pleasure by being spontaneous.   But, I am not. 

Being in control is not a bad thing or a good thing.  It is just the way I am.

Bed Time

Sometimes, it is time to cut our losses, say the day is done, and it is time to go to bed.  I think that is true of tonight.  I have had some stressful events today with which to deal, and have succeeded in getting through them with some modicum of success. I am facing some stressors tomorrow.  But all will be well, and we will do the best we can.

Tonight, I need to give myself permission to relax, re-group, and rest in preparation for tomorrow.  So, it is bed time.

Giving Back

We are all asked to give back to our communities to help the communities improve. There are lots of ways of giving back, and lots of levels of giving back.

We can become involved as a volunteer in a community agency or organization: whether as a worker bee, a board member or a donor.

Voting is a way to give back to a community, by being involved in the political arena.  Being further involved as a member of a political organization, and attending meetings, caucusess, or conventions is a way of giving back.

Corresponding with your political leaders, whether on a local, county, state or federal level is another way of giving back.

Community and civic organizations like the Rotary, the Lions, the Kiwanis, the Soroptimist are ways to give back.

Missionary work is another way to give back.

We can also give back professionally: we might mentor someone at our place of employment or in our profession.

There are some formal ways to give back: programs like the Peace Corp, VISTA, Habitat for Humanity, Americorps are ways to give back.

We do not have to select one way of giving back and stay with it for a life time.  We may pick and choose over the course of our life to give back in ways that meet our needs as well as those of our community as we go through life. 

The important part is that we give back.

Shared Space

I know I have written about the balance of power between the cats in my house.  For the longest time, Sake dominated Haiku, who was sweet, submissive, and demur.  Haiku seemed pleased to have a home where she was treated well, got special food treats, plenty to eat, no one yelled at her, and she could cuddle. Sometimes, when she slept on my chair at the computer, I used to sit on her unwittingly, so when she saw me approach, she would speak up.  And, I set up a chair for her, with the afghan that used to be on my computer chair, near my computer chair.  So, now when I approach, she still speaks up, but I just greet her as she is on her own chair.

After I got replacement windows, a lot of that changed, and Sake and Haiku could be in the same place at the same time: on the sofa, on my bed, in the garage.  They just wanted to be near the open windows and proxemics did not seem to matter.

When I brought Taki into the house, the balance of power changed again.  Haiku is less demur, and more confident. There are many times, when all three of the cats sit with me in close proximity.  Most recently, as is so often many mornings, Haiku comes to the northwest side of the bed, Sake to the southwest side of the bed, and Taki comes from the east and roams up and down.

Yesterday, we sat on the sofa:  Sake was on my arm to the right, Haiku on the foot rest, and Taki to my left.

I enjoy the cats sharing space with me.  The balance of power changes, the proxemics change, but the characters involved in the process stay the same.

Fresh Air

We have moved into a weather pattern that includes the opportunity for rain.  This pattern may be continue for the next several days. I woke up this morning and learned that there had been some rain overnight. I had the bedroom windows open and there was no moisture in the house, so, the rain must have been very gentle, and not from the south. 

There were gray clouds all day over where I work.  And, when I came  home, I learned that there had been enough rain to fill a 2.5 gallon bucket with roof run off, and the rain gauge had .25 inches of rain.

There are many blessing of rain. One is the cleansing of the air.  I am pleased to have the fresh air.

Allergies

When I lived in Western Massachusetts, I never noticed that I had allergies to air borne pollens. I did have violent reactions to poison ivy, sumac, and other substances that I do not even know what they were.

I lived in Lubbock, Texas for about seven or eight years before I started having allergic reactions to varous air borne irritants.  I do not know what they are specifically, but they do bother me, especially in the fall.

Most interesting, though, was when a good friend and I walked our dogs in a city park.  There were places in the park, at various times of the year, that if we tarried, produce in me a very pronounced allergic reaction: sneezing and mucous congestion.  Yet, if we moved just a few feet, the congestion would clear up immediately.  Very interesting.

The Evening Air

The evening air was beautiful tonight: there was a breeze, but not too strong, and the temperature was pleasant.  I was able to sit outside for some time, before the Yankee vs. Detroit game was on TV. I did some yard work, I read the newspaper, I read the novel I am currently reading.

The air was great.  But, I sneezed.  And sneezed. And sneezed. There was obviously something in the air that was affecting me.  When I moved inside to watch the Yankee game, the sneezing stopped. 

Are you the sensitive?

Women's Rights and Historical Novels

I am currently reading two series of historical fiction mysteries: one by Tasha Alexander
http://www.tashaalexander.com/index.html set in late 19th Century England, about Emily Ashton, a fairly liberal, for the time, independent thinking woman.

The second series is by Miriam Grace Monfredo, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/miriam-grace-monfredo/must-maiden-die.htm set in Seneca Falls, New York shortly before the War
Between the North and the South. Seneca Falls was a place where women's rights suffragettes were active, and was part of the underground railroad.

Both series discuss the constraints on women during these periods in history: their lack of rights, their dependency on husbands for support and standing in society, their lack of credence as capable professionals. 

We take for granted how far women have come in the equal rights realm.  I remember as a yound child there were many things I could not do because I was a girl.  In junior high, I wanted to take shop.  I wanted my parents to go to the school board and open the opportunity for me.  My father said he would do that if my mother agreed. She did not. Some few years later, shop was opened to girls.

When I was in high school, I wanted to take the NRA rifle safety course.  This was not an original idea. My neighbor, Kate, had taken the course some few years before, and she was my role model for this.  My father had to go into the session the first night and clear the way for me.  The instructors of the session literally giggled at having a girl in the class.  Many of the participants were male students in my class, and they knew I was smart.  I passed all the tests with 100%.  The instructors were chastened  by my performance.  

The point is women have come a long way.   When I bought my house in 1992, I was not concerned about credit or having the right to sign for property, but these were issues as late as the 1980s. 

We are not just fortunate to have the rights we have as women. History is replete with stories of the sacrifice and sufferening that suffragetes endured to enable women of the future to have the rights and the closer equality that we have. As women, it is important to be mindful of past suffering that gave us our place in the social, political and employment strata. 

Evacuation!

I am watching the Weather Channel airing a story about people caught in a flood, who did not evacuate when told to do so.  I understand this.  I think my tendency would be to want to stay in my home with my creatures.

But, I see this, over and over. People do not evacuate, then the situation becomes critical, and these same people call emergency services to be rescued. Their expectation is that emergency services workers will put themselves in peril for their poor judgement.  I have to wonder how I would behave in such a situation. I do not know.