Hard Times......

The caravan of immigrants from Central America has reached our southern border. They are knocking at the door.....and apparently no one is home. I don't mean that literally. It's just that fleeing your country because of war, or gangs, or bombs, or hunger.....or whatever, and coming to America doesn't seem to be such a good option any more.

Our Lady Liberty has proudly stood in New York's harbor greeting millions of immigrants since she first raised her torch.

                                       Give me your tired, your poor,
                                       Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
                                       The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
                                       Sent these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
                                       I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

I know we are not responsible for all of the world's problems. We may contribute to a lot of them.....but we also help where we can and try to solve some. But the image of people desperate for freedom, for a safe place for their families, for a chance to have a better life being turned away at our border is a hard one for me to process. Liberal old me.....granddaughter of immigrants me. We need immigration laws, we need border protection....but we need compassion. Please we need compassion. I hope people will still come....and that they can go through the necessary processes and add to this melting pot we call America.

I hope we will take them.....oh...but maybe not these people...

....or these

I can't imagine what it feels like to stand on one side of a fence and see and imagine the freedoms that wait just out of reach.....maybe the friendly-looking ones, or the educated ones will eventually get in and contribute to our society. But I wonder who we will have turned away....and what kind of difference they could have made.....I wonder what would have happened had my grandparents been sent back to Sweden. Probably wouldn't have happened....they looked nice, and white and they were from one of those Scandinavian countries.....

Proof Positive......

April 29, 2018 - 27 degrees at 6:00 this morning.....but it's sunny and no wind.

Walking Fenway at 7:00 and I spied it.

Spring in Port Washington!

Should We Go Window Shopping In Chicago.....

Watching the news this evening and I find I am in tears. There is a story on the networks about a man in Toronto who took his van and purposely mowed down people walking along the sidewalk. They were shopping, or lunching.....or just enjoying the day. Now a number are dead and others are injured.  Witnesses say he just went on and on and on and aimed for people.

Dave came into the room and I told him what was being reported and said "This is not the world we grew up in." It's just so sad.....it's just so pervasive.....no matter what you decide to do, go to a movie, or a concert, or school, or walk along the sidewalk in a major city......it's just not safe anymore.

And I realize there is a small chance, statistically, this will happen to me....or my loved ones....or you...but still. And I realize that good people far out number the "bad". It's just so damn sad.

What the hell is going on......

One Bag and And A Runny Nose.....

A beautiful Sunday in Port....Happy Earth Day to all. I decided to take myself for a walk along our north beach with one big trash bag and do a little private clean up. Just a small effort....but it was an added reason to spend a little more time outside on a finally-nice-spring-day!

An hour later and one trash bag filled, I headed for home. I picked up mostly cans and plastic bottles and some pieces of styrofoam Stuff that didn't belong on our beaches. Stuff tossed aside by people enjoying the outdoors.....sometimes within steps of a trash can.

It made me feel good to do just a little....but I had to wonder, once again, why people think it's OK to go for a walk and enjoy our paths, prairies, river and lakefronts, take a snack along for the adventure.....and then leave the remnants behind.

Come on friends.....if you pack it in, pack it out. It only takes a minute to help our little slice of earth (wherever you happen to be) stay a little more pristine. I put my bag into a trash can and sat on a bench in the sun for a few minutes. As I got up I realized the bench had a little plaque on the back - perfect for Earth Day.

Perfect....I felt, selfishly, that it was a little "thank you" to me! I'll try to do it more frequently....include a plastic bag in my pocket for picking up stuff when Fen and I go for our walks. But next time I'm bringing Kleenex......

Inclusive.....

When we take the road between Port and West Bend we are usually on the way to our daughter and son-in-law's house. It's a quick 30 minutes between our place and theirs. On the way we pass through the small town of Saukville....and lots of open land.

I've noticed this church for years as we go on our way.....and I love the doors.

I snapped this with my cell phone while Dave was at the wheel....so it's not the best shot. But the colorful doors leaning against the brick wall speaks volumes. Everyone welcome. I know many other churches have very inclusive policies....but love how this stands out for all to see. Loud and proud.

I don't know the this congregation's denomination, but those doors say "One Nation Under God" better than anything else could......

What Happened to the Beach.......

Fenway and I changed our route a little today - we went around the water treatment plant and continued along the walkway to the north beach.This is Port's swimming beach and it attracts lots of families during the summer. Megan and I've been there with the boys.

It was a beautiful blue sky day, yes there is still snow on the ground, but at least it's not windy. Lake Michigan is calm and the sand that was clouding the water after three days of big winds has drifted back down to the bottom where it belongs....so we see a pretty blue/green expanse.

We walked around toward the beach, Fenway happily sniffing new places, until we got to the end of the sidewalk. And I looked at the beach. What beach? Where is it?

The area where we spread our towels and sat watching the kids in the water is gone. We see maybe five or six feet of sand between shrubs and water. Hardly enough space to go for a walk, never mind stretch out on a towel.

We don't have tidal swings in Lake Michigan, so I know this is due to changing water levels and the results of the powerful waves crashing on the shore and dragging some of the beach back as they retreat.

The view is changing....the beach is shrinking....we may have a lot of disappointed families come summer......

Your Choice......

March in Austin......

April 16th in Port Washington......

I wake to find it's still snowing.....I have no words. Other than next year we're not coming back until May......

Checking the Calendar.....

Sunday, April 15th - two days of winds gusting up to 50 mph. Today the snow is blowing sideways.....pictures through the glass do not do it justice. Not quite a blizzard.....but still.

Happy spring friends.......

Literally Wandering with Friends.....

I can't say just how many times I've driven the interstate highway from Wisconsin down to the O'Hare area.....hundreds??? 94 south to 294 to see my mom in Park Ridge, or to fly out of O'Hare or to go around the bottom of Chicago to get to Indiana and points east or south. Hundreds of times....almost automatic.

So driving to the quilt show in Rosemont (right next to Park Ridge) would be easy. We met at a local park and ride lot and off we went. I'm at the wheel as we go through Milwaukee, talking and laughing, down through Kenosha area and Racine....headed south. And then, suddenly, I was going toward Chicago on 94 - I forgot to merge right to get onto 294. Egads. After some quick discussion/planning I decided to just stay on the highway and then go west on 90 toward our destination. About 15 miles out of the way....but highway instead of stop lights and side streets. So we continue along and talk and laugh.....until I realize that there is no way to merge from 94 to go west on 90.... we are now heading east directly to downtown Chicago. In Chicago traffic.

Sigh. So we get off the highway, now following GPS directions, and circle back to get on 90 west. Ten minutes later we exit the highway and have no problem getting to the convention center - after all, this was my neighborhood growing up! I know how to get to River Road and go south to the show. We find a parking garage across the street, turn in, locate a space on 2D (which my friend writes on the parking ticket so we won't forget!) and we cross the road following signs to the quilt show. Passing over River Road on the covered walkway, make a few turns down hallways....always following the signs....then down the escalator to the ticket booths.

We spend happy hours exploring the quilt show....beautiful work, lots of great vendors, enjoy a quick lunch and then more wandering. A lovely day! By 3:00 we were all tired and ready to head for home.

If only we could find the car.

Evelyn knew where we needed to go. We thought we were re-tracing our steps....back over the road sheltered by the walkway. But when we tried to insert the parking ticket in the pay station it kept spitting back out with some kind of message like "Incorrect ticket"???? After trying several times we pressed the help button and a disembodied voice explained that since our parking ticket had a black arrow on it we were in the wrong garage. We had to go over to the one by the other big hotel across the street

So we tried to re-trace our steps.....back into an unfamiliar hotel lobby, where I went to talk to the bellman who pointed us in the right direction. Once again....the pay station would not accept our ticket or any of our credit cards. Oh my aching back. We approach another employee who looks at our ticket and says "Oh yes....you are looking for the Wilson Parking Garage." (Why wasn't that printed on the ticket?) He gave us directions to walk outside a few blocks, cross a few streets, turn a few corners...and yea! The correct parking garage.

We successfully insert the ticket, make the payment, take the pay stub and get on the elevator to the second floor. Pat knows exactly where we are going.....but we end up in 2C and there doesn't seem to be a 2D. I try making my car horn honk....no luck. We wander....oh my aching back. Finally Evelyn locates the car up 1/2 level and we all crawl in.

Now all we have to do is exit the parking garage, turn on River Road and get back on the highway leading to 294 (again, I've done this hundreds of times). Only we don't exit onto River Road....we come out of the garage on some little street I do not recognize at all. We are now following signs to 94/294/90 and somehow end up on the highway heading to O'Hare Airport! Once again we wander a little but follow Evelyn's GPS talking to us from her phone, turning and twisting and success! The big green sign says THIS WAY TO WISCONSIN.

And we made it - exhausted.....but all happily holding totes with some more fabric, some memories of amazing work on display and a nice day together.

Wandering with friends......I can think of much worse ways to spend a day.



 

An Exotic Pet.....

I've always wanted a hedgehog. Ever since working at the Delaware Museum of Natural History I've wanted a hedgehog.

We used to have an animal sanctuary in the Wilmington area and the staff would come in for occasional educational programs. I always tried to be in the lobby area when they arrived. Cages would be set on the floor while we'd interact with the humans. One young staff member would humor me and take the friendly little hedgehog out of its cage.

She would hold it in her hand, and after hiding its face for awhile, it would lift up its nose and sniff the surroundings as we all "ooo'd" and "ahhh'd" and "isn't it cute'd". Then she would put it down on the carpet and we'd get to watch it explore....slowly at first, and then just fast as its little legs would carry it! The hedgehog would head for the moulding along the bottom of the hallway wall and just race along, until re-captured and taked down for the kids to see in the education department.

Sigh.....and I would wait for the next visit.

Well I guess this is about as close as I'm ever going to come.

I brought this ball moss home from Austin.....and every once in awhile I spray it with water. I have it in a sunny window and am hoping that it will last awhile. So far so good.....now if only it had legs.....

Competing or Complimentary Quotes.....

We were in the city yesterday and I picked up a copy of one of those free newspapers, The Wisconsin Gazette. It's a small newspaper with liberal leanings, but includes information on theater and gallery offerings downtown.

And turning the pages, I found a column entitled "Notable Quotes". The column included about a dozen quotes. Curious, I began to read. The first quote made an impact. "She's in King David cemetery. That is where I go to see my kid now." - Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida. He was speaking at a White House listening session.

And then there was the final quote from Randy Bryce, a Democratic candidate for Congress. "I'm a gunowner and an Army vet. Banning military assault rifles or raising the age of purchase is not the same as 'banning guns for law-abiding citizens,” as Speaker Ryan said....It's about not wanting the same weapons I used in war to be used in our schools and our streets."

A grief stricken father at a White House listening session......I have to wonder, who is listening?

Free Range and the Rubber Ducky.....

Sometime during the past few years there was a huge on-line-news discussion about some parents in Maryland who were in trouble for allowing their young children to go to their neighborhood playground alone. There was a big debate about free-range parenting. And, more recently, Utah passed the first law in the nation "allowing" free range parents to make their own decisions about what their kids could or could not do.

I remember writing my little blog about how my friends and I were "free range" back in Park Ridge, Illinois in the 1950's. We lived and thrived.

But.....I've just learned that I survived an even more dangerous childhood obstacle. The rubber ducky. Happily our kids survived as well!

As the newscasters and doctors describe just what "lives" inside the rubby ducky I get it. The small hole in the bottom, the one that allows the ducky to squeek, also allows water in. And there is no real way to get the water OUT. So over the years that RD spends playing with your toddlers in the bathtub, lots of crud breeds and multiplies inside that cute yellow toy.

Ugh. Now it's disgusting to think about....but I also think, wow....here's another thing for modern young parents to worry about and prepare for and forbid. It's exhausting. All of the equipment that is now necessary for every baby. All of the rules that need to be followed.....the milestones to meet.

I'm glad my sister and I lived through the free range and rubby ducky challenges....and I'm glad Dave and I raised our kids when we did.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Take Your Hands Off the Wheel.......

We spent Easter Sunday at my sister and brother-in-law's condo in Chicago. We had a delicious brunch, fun getting together with family....a very nice day. Later in the day we walked to the movie theater (about a mile down Michigan Avenue) to see "Game Night". Afterwards we enjoyed a nice walk back to her place. Lucky for us the wind was slight so the brisk pre-spring-late-winter evening stroll was a good way to work off some of the brunch.

We stayed overnight and while watching this morning's TV news I saw another report about a driver-less car in California that veered off the road and killed its owner/driver. Fatal car accidents are always sad....perhaps especially so when a young family is left behind. And I realize technology is moving faster every day....keeping up with all the changes is almost impossible. Progress means change....but this idea of the driverless cars and trucks is a troublesome one for me. I just don't trust that technology.

As I drove up the interstate to come home from Chicago I found myself watching the rear view mirror a little more frequently. I move along just above the speed limit, but others (both cars and trucks) go much faster. I see them coming and keep glancing to be sure they are going to move left or right to speed past me. And I wondered what might happen if it was a driverless semi truck in the rear view......with the human "attendant" busy on his/her cell phone or dozing off to sleep, or looking at a book.

It makes me nervous. In twenty years it will probably be commonplace....but then I'll be too old to drive. For now I prefer to see a human being behind the wheel.... even though that really doesn't guarantee my safety.

Technology....amazing and a bit scarey.  Maybe tomorrow I'll blog about the talking wine bottle.....