Blog Archives

Birds of a Feather

5/28/2019

Mr. and Mrs. Bird worked very hard.
It took them the rest of the morning to finish their nest.
   “This nest is really the best!” said Mrs. Bird.
   “I want to stay here forever."
from The Best Nest
written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman
   Beginner Books/Random House, 1968

Several years ago I went to a craft fair and bought a bluebird house. I know it’s a bluebird house because the person who sold it to me said the small, round opening is just the right size for a bluebird. At the time, I didn’t give much thought to the exclusivity of my new bird house, only that I would be providing habitat for local wildlife and giving my cats something interesting to watch.
   But it was not to be. Year after year I hung the bluebird house. Year after year it remained unused. Even though we brought it inside every winter to protect it from the elements, the roof was weathering in a nasty way. My husband kept the bird house in his workshop for a while. He finally fixed it up to his satisfaction and a few years ago re-hung it, in time for nesting season.
   Bluebirds are beautiful. I see them often on a walking trail near my house, but I’ve never seen any as close as my own yard. I was hopeful.
   More years passed.
   As I was getting ready to post last week’s blog, a wren perched on top of the house, chirped madly, and flew in, then back out. A few days later I watched it take a string into the house. My husband told me he saw her (?) take in a small twig.
   Ah! nest building. At long last.
   But it was a wren, not a bluebird. I didn’t even know wrens wanted to live in the neighborhood, and suddenly, here they are! I was not disappointed.
   After all, whoever wants to move in is welcome.
   Yesterday’s Memorial Day Ceremonies reminded me that we still live in a free country. All are welcome. A statue in New York Harbor lights her lamp of optimism and opportunity. She beckons to all who seek Liberty.
   So if a wren wants to move into a bluebird house, it’s okay with me. That little family needs a place to feel secure, raise its young, and contribute to their avian society.
   I’ll keep putting out birdseed for the flock of sparrows, the cardinal pair, and the stray chickadees, finches, and tufted titmice (titmouses?).
   Wrens are insect eaters. They’ll need to fend for themselves, but they know they are welcome here.
   So are the bluebirds, if they ever decide to show up!
-—stay curious! (and welcoming)

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The Power of Speech

5/21/2019

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His grandfather sucked a breath through his teeth. "Power is an ugly thing, Fionn. It’s intoxicating and addictive and if you’re not wary of its lure then it can lead you down a very dangerous path."
from The Storm Keeper’s Island
written by Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2018

My older daughter’s first word was “book.” Yep, “book.” Not “Mama,” “Dadda,” or even “go” or “cookie” or “more.” “Book.” She still loves to read. I love books, too! But I digress, before I even get started!
   We learn to speak by listening, experimenting, and practicing what we have learned is effective. That’s communication. Asking for something (information or sympathy or a cookie) and answering, too. And argument is communication, sometimes effective, sometimes not.
   Public speaking is different. The best speeches are impassioned, influential, and important, and only tangentially effective communication. The purpose of public speaking is persuasion. My guy is the best, or I’m the best. Use my product. Use my idea.
   Speeches can run the gamut from insipid to inspirational. Graduation speakers, I’m sure, intend to be impassioned, influential, and important. And inspirational. They intend to impart useful and memorable advice to young adults facing the world on their own, some for the first time.
   Last week, Mike Pence spoke at the graduation ceremony at Liberty University, a Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. (You can find it on YouTube.) His speech sounded to me like a pep rally for the POTUS. He talked about the rousing economy and job market and his version of the accomplishments of his administration.
   He spoke of religious hatred and how it must stop. An admirable thought, to be sure. Thomas Jefferson and his crowd promised that the new government they were proposing would not establish a state religion. All people could believe their own truths, a revolutionary concept in those days, to be sure.
   Pence cautioned the graduating class about his perception of a growing intolerance toward Christians in our country. It is true that our country is sorely divided in many ways. Hatred and fear tend to huddle us up in like-minded and comfort-giving homogenous groups. We seem to have stopped wanting to learn about each other. That wanting replaced by fear.
   Three days ago, (5/18/19) Pence spoke at Taylor University, another Christian school. In response to the invitation to speak, Taylor students created and circulated a change.org petition that claimed “Inviting Vice President Mike Pence to Taylor University makes our alumni, faculty, staff and current students complicit in the Trump Administration's policies, which we believe are not consistent with an ethic of love.” One hundred and fifty signed it within the first two hours. Just by the way, change.org’s stated mission is to “empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see.” They provide a template to develop and circulate petitions, online.
   While most graduates and their guests stayed for the speech, dozens protested it and several walked out, claiming that honoring Pence with the invitation to speak was hypocrisy. He is not living the values he professes to hold.
   The Vice President can say what he wants. He can frighten the graduates and their guests into thinking that Christianity is under attack. He was speaking at Christian schools, after all.
   The First Amendment allows freedom of speech. It does not allow hate speech, fear mongering, or intimidation. The First Amendment also makes sure the government does not favor any particular religion and makes sure the government does not take away anyone’s ability to exercise religion. In other words, the church should not rule over the state, and the state cannot rule over the church. We call this separation of church and state. The separation has been upheld in court time after time.
   This freedom is precious. It assures that all people’s beliefs are valid and no one can be coerced into believing one way or another. Does that prevent discussion, debate, or even heated argument? No. And it should not. That’s the point. A majority of people need to agree before laws are changed. That’s the way America works.
   That some people’s beliefs are challenged is also the way America works. People who have felt intimidated for a long time are not feeling that so much these days. They are speaking out. That’s good.
   Speaking out respectfully, thoughtfully, and truthfully are values we all need to uphold and practice.

-—stay curious! (and choose kindness)

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Money and Funny Money…What’s the Diff?

5/14/2019

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“Keep your money, Amelia Bedelia,” said Pete. “Just bring me two dozen of your little lemon tart tarts every day. I’ll pay you fifty cents apiece.”
   Doris did the math quickly in her head. “That’s twelve dollars a day!” she said. Do you think you can do it?”
   Amelia Bedelia thought it over for at least half a second. Then she gave Doris a thumbs-up and Pete her firmest handshake ever. “You’ve got a deal!”
from: Amelia Bedelia Means Business
written by Herman Parish
illustrated by Lynne Avril
Greenwillow Books, 2013

I’ve always been pretty good at saving money. My grandfather kept his money in a bank and encouraged us kids to, too. Back in the day, banks gave their customers a premium (a token gift that who really wanted, anyway? like etched glasses with the name of the bank on them, or steak knives with wooden handles).
   I never had enough money at one time to “earn” a premium, but my grandpa taught me about interest, the money the bank paid me for letting them use my account. I was little, and I didn’t get how they used it. Giving it to someone else to buy a house didn’t make sense to my six-year-old brain. Grandpa never got into the other half of the interest equation where the house-buying customer paid the bank for using their money, which when you think about it could have been mine.
   When I was old enough to have a job, I opened up my own checking account. My parents taught me how to spend within my means. Even with my math issues, arithmetic and I get along okay. My checkbook is always in balance, but these days, I write less and less checks. I’ve gotten used to automatic deposits and payments. I use an automated phone service to pay my credit card bill, but I draw the line at virtual money. What is that, even?
   Elon Musk, started PayPal. Yep, the SpaceX and Tesla guy. In the mid 1990s, he started a computerized map-making platform used by marketers to find potential customers. Mr. Musk earned his first millions when Compaq, the computer manufacturer, bought his company. Musk used his earnings to start an online financial services company, X.com. In 2000, he bought Confinnity, another financial company and rebranded the merger PayPal.
   PayPal is not a bank. A PayPal account is a holding place for money, like a bank account. The advantage for the account holder is to keep personal information private, away from sellers, whether buying from a company like Amazon or a seller on eBay. The buyer uses a debit or credit card to put money into a PayPal account and the seller uses an access number to receive payment, in an instant. PayPal boasts 73 million users.
   Enter bitcoin. It’s been around since 2008. Other types quickly followed its example. Now, about four thousand types of cryptcurrency exist in the marketplace.
   Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies managed through advanced encryption techniques and maintained by a group of volunteers. The privacy factor is strong, but if you lose your bitcoin through a hack or theft, it’s gone. With no recourse. And, if you buy something, it’s yours. No returns.
   Truth is, I got a little lost in my bitcoin/altcoin research. I don’t understand it very much better than I did before. We’ll use bitcoin as an example. Two distinct aspects make up this type of virtual currency.
Here’s the best explanation I found, directly from coindesk.com
   “Bitcoin-the-token is a snippet of code that represents ownership of a digital concept – sort of like a virtual IOU. Bitcoin-the-protocol is a distributed network that maintains a ledger of balances of bitcoin-the-token.
   “The system enables payments to be sent between users without passing through a central authority, such as a bank or payment gateway. It is created and held electronically. Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by computers all around the world, using free software. Bitcoin can be used to pay for things electronically, if both parties are willing.”
   So it’s virtual money, but real. It’s like PayPal because it acts as a third party for buying stuff. But you can buy cryptocurrency. It is encrypted and safe. Problem is, it is worth what the fluctuating market says it is worth. And the price fluctuates. A lot.
   As of 5:30 (in Ohio) this morning (5/14/19) one bitcoin is worth $8,129.04. Twenty-four hours ago it was worth $7,105.90. Here’s a chart to show you minute by minute fluctuations. https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin
   Some say it is better to buy bitcoin, say, and keep it, an investment. Because who knows what it will be worth when you want to buy something? According to coindesk’s article from January, 2018, bitcoin is accepted many places. https://www.coindesk.com/information/what-can-you-buy-with-bitcoins .
   As for me, I like the concrete sound and touch of those little metal coins jingling in my pocket. I like paying for my stuff at a store with foldable bills. Checks and credit cards and on-line shopping are all okay, too, but where money is concerned, I’m pretty hands-on.
   Literally, a little like Amelia Bedelia.
-—stay curious! (and practical)

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Who’s Minding the Store?

5/7/2019

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The Emperor loved birds and animals, but flowers most of all, and he tended his own garden every day.
   But the Emperor was very old. He needed to choose a successor to the throne.
. . . .
   All the children in the land were to come to the palace. There they would be given special flower seeds by the Emperor. “Whoever can show me their best in a year’s time,” he said, “will succeed me to the throne.”
from: The Empty Pot
written and illustrated by Demi
Henry Holt and Company/Macmillan, 1990

Shortly before I retired, a newly-hired and creative young librarian used a white-board to show a video clip during storytime. I still used filmstrips. You remember those inch-and-a-half or so wide celluloid strips wound around and around and stored in a small metal canister. I threaded one end of the strip through a projector and turned a dial to advance each image, one by one. Sometimes a sound recording was provided, mostly not. I read the words across the bottom of the projected image or from an accompanying booklet to the children who were more fascinated with the machine than the story.
   I showed live-action and animated 35 mm films, too. The kids loved that equipment even more than the filmstrip projector.
   Mostly, I read books to the kids. I used props and we did lots of interactive play. But when it was time for me to retire, I felt confident in the next generation and made room for them and their technology and their new and creative ways of sharing stories and information.
   Our new library leadership is dynamic, creative, and attentive to the needs of the people they serve. All important qualities in a leader.
   Like all businesses and organizations, non-profit and for-profit, countries all around the world also need to transfer power from generation to generation. They all use different means.
   Japan’s Emperor recently announced his abdication. Akihito will formally announce his abdication later this evening (May 7, 2019) and will remain in power until midnight. His era of “achieving peace” will end and his son, Naruhito will usher in his own era of “beautiful harmony.” At age 85, Akihito is planning on enjoying his retirement.
   In 2013, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, citing old age at age 75, abdicated to her son Alexander.
   Also in that same year, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world on February 28, when he became the first pope to resign in almost 600 years. His official statement cited poor health and declining mental faculties. Some say there may be more to it.
   On 11 April 2019, Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a military coup d'état in Sudan.
   Was Oliver North ousted as president of the National Rifle Association last month (4/27/19) or did he resign? That’s a matter of opinion. Many sides of that issue are still being discussed. But too bad, it’s over finances, not a serious common-sense gun-ownership conversation.
   Changes in leadership in our country seem like daily occurrences. They didn’t used to be. Of the 15 Cabinet level Departments in the US Government, 7 are held by an acting secretary? That means they have not been confirmed by Congress.
Interim secretaries are in place at the
   Department of Homeland Security
   Office of Management and Budget
   Department of Defense
   Department of the Interior
   Small Business Administration
   and the ambassador’s office at the United Nations.
    Mick Mulvaney, chief of staff, is also serving in an acting capacity.

This interesting chart from the New York Times shows who left and when:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/16/us/politics/all-the-major-firings-and-resignations-in-trump-administration.html

One can only think how disruptive all these changes are in a government charged with protecting over 320 million citizens. (based on the latest United Nations estimates)

So how can the Emperor in Demi’s classic tale (quoted above) decide who will replace him? The one whose work was best, as determined by the Emperor, would win the throne.
   At the end of the year all but one child returned to the Emperor with a beautiful flower. Ping’s friend teased him about his empty flower pot, but he was encouraged by his father. Ping “went straight away to the palace.”
   The Emperor asked him, “Why did you bring an empty pot?”
   Ping began to cry as he explained.
   The Emperor “exclaimed to one and all, 'I have found him!. . .the seeds I gave you had all been cooked. So it was impossible for any of them to grow.'”
   Ping’s combination of honesty and courage won him the Emperor’s throne.
   It is what we all long for in our country of great opportunity, leaders with honesty and courage, and the will to do the right thing.

-—stay curious! (and vote)

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"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
Author, Advocate, Advisor

Birds of a Feather

The Power of Speech

Money and Funny Money…What’s the Diff?

Who’s Minding the Store?

I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

Archives

"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world." Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020 ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020 Author, Advocate, Advisor

Birds of a Feather

The Power of Speech

Money and Funny Money…What’s the Diff?

Who’s Minding the Store?

I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

Archives

"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
Author, Advocate, Advisor