Some Naked Truth!

So I read an article about how the way to get your protest noticed by the media is to protest naked. As a matter of fact a group of women in the Ukraine (Femen, feminist political activists) have had only to go half naked to garner media interest (yes the top half). They said they tried to protest wearing brightly colored clothing carrying brightly colored signs and banners but the media wasn’t that interested. They have found much more success (in garnering media attention) by going topless, even writing their messages across their breasts and have appeared all over Europe and Russia baring their messages. The group was infiltrated by a reporter. She reported that willingness to flash (go topless) for photos was a requirement for membership and that the protesters get a salary of $1,000 per month. I think the reporter’s point was that the protesters weren’t all about being altruistic and dedicated to the side of the fight against which they were protesting, perhaps some were in it for the money.

But money issue aside, this is about naked. Other than PETA this sort of protesting seems more prevalent (or gets more media attention) across the pond. In New York we have the Naked Cowboy, a busker (street performer-Robert John Burck) if you will, who uses his strategically hung guitar to give you the illusion of naked. When if you go around to the backside you can see the Naked Cowboy is actually wearing tighty whities (along with his cowboy hat and boots).

The Naked Brothers Band never actually got naked, not on TV anyway. Their show was a fictional musical comedy out to prove that rock and roll wasn’t just for adults. (I have been reassured that there is nothing naked going on during the shows, this by my 10 year old grandson who was a fan and didn’t want me to go into a panic about it when I first heard about them.) I guess the show isn’t on TV anymore but you can still see episodes on You Tube. So using naked in the title didn’t assure TV viewer attention (at least not enough to keep the program in production).

Then there’s the book, Naked Economics, which demystifies the key concepts you slept (fully dressed) through in Economics 101 by undressing the dismal science. Naked in the title isn’t be enough to make me want to read that book and neither is the guy on the cover wearing one dollar bill print boxers, although the author claims that this book has all the answers to em-bare assing questions you are afraid to ask. Finally, I come to Naked Juice, a California juice company that sells juice without additives etc. added. The juice may be naked but the bottles aren’t, they all have labels.

So there you have it, as I sit here at my computer (dressed-not naked), I give you my take on some naked truth!

Explosion in My Kitchen!

Got an email from my husband this morning in which he mentioned getting a ceramic owl out of a mold. He had poured it yesterday and one the day before too so, as he put it, he now has a nice pair of hooters. He also mentioned how his little sister, Cindy, who lost her battle with lung cancer, loved owls. Funny how memories of lost loved ones drift through our thoughts.

After reading my email I was taken for my morning walk by my good friends, my walking buddies. The best part of our walk (excluding their company) is starting out under the stars and then turning for the home stretch to greet the sunrise. It is beautiful, different, and inspiring every morning and a blessed way to start each day. Afterward some of us went for breakfast. It was over the breakfast table that memories of another lost loved one drifted through our conversation. “I miss that old lady,” was said softly with great affection by Jim about his mother-in-law, Miss Pat, a sentiment we all shared.

Back home I put some eggs on the stove to boil, grabbed another cup of coffee, and settled in with my computer to work on this blog. Shortly thereafter I heard a noise that was a cross between a firecracker and a balloon popping coming from my kitchen. As I ran up the hall I recognized an odor that I hadn’t smelled since I was in high school, the first (and only) time my parents went away and left my twin brother and me at home alone. Once again burned boiled eggs had blown the top right off the pot and I saw that I would be cleaning burnt egg off the ceiling! As I took the pot off the burner I just shook my head and smiled at the memory of what my mama used to yell as she rounded the corner from the hallway, “I smell something burning, Jo must be cooking!”

You never know what will spark memories in our hearts.

Potcakes

Potcakes are dogs! They get their name because (as strays) they traditionally are fed the caked on remains of peas and rice from the bottom of the islanders’ cooking pots. Yes they were originally a mix of dogs that were brought to the islands over years past and perhaps that’s helped them develop the friendly temperaments they are known for. Potcakes today are a recognized breed in the Bahamas. They tend to have short smooth coats, longish snouts, perky cocked ears, and a weight range between 25 to 50 pounds. They come in all kinds of color combinations and tend to be about 24 inches at the withers. Potcakes are known to be intelligent, gentle, and loyal. Despite these wonderful attributes there are many feral potcakes left to use their keen intelligence to fend for themselves in a daily fight for survival. Often they've been considered nuisances to be killed inhumanely (poisoned or shot) or left to starve. The good news is there are some nonprofit rescue organizations that are working to find homes for adult potcakes and potcake puppies. These groups also work to provide spay and neuter services for feral populations. After meeting a few rescued potcakes on Andros, it is easy to see why their people fall in love with them. Loyal, loving potcakes with homes know a good thing when they find it.

Happy Halloween

It’s kind of sad that celebrating Halloween is taboo in school these days, at least in St. Marys. I know that sometimes kids get to dress up as their favorite book character or what they want to be when they grow up but that isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be when you could be a ghost, vampire, pirate, or princess. Today you can have a fall festival and harvest type decorations but Halloween decorations per se are strictly taboo. Not so though when I was teaching 2^nd grade in October of 1986. We all looked forward to dressing up and going from room to room all over the school in the Halloween Parade. I had decorated my classroom in a Halloween/October theme with numbered jack-o-lanterns and ghosts on my calendar and a bulletin board type picture on my door of a green faced witch sitting at her dressing table putting on her ugly powder as her black cat looked on. As I greeted my second graders at our door, I jokingly told them that it was a picture of me getting ready every morning before coming to school. I pointed to the long hair on the witch and then my own long hair in a ponytail as proof. I didn't think much more about it as we entered the classroom and got busy with our lessons (We were going Batty for Books!). I did, however, notice one student, Reuben, give the picture careful consideration every time he entered or exited the room. (Back and forth from P.E., lunch, restroom breaks etc.) At the end of the day Reuben was the last child to go out the classroom door and he stopped by the picture once again. He looked at the witch and then back at me and said conspiratorially, “Ms. Mount, I know that’s not you.”

I raised my eyebrows and leaned toward him giving him permission to let me in on this and said, “Oh really, Reuben? How can you tell?”

He paused for a minute giving me one last careful look before he said, “It can’t be you, Ms. Mount, cuz you ain't got a cat!” Then he gave me a quick hug and took off with the rest of the bikers and walkers.

Happy Halloween!

Tweeting and Crowing-Political Fowls

I've been reading a couple of blogs, some written by the undecided, and some written by others, many who are choosing not to vote. I see where you are coming from and despite the fact that you have a myriad of reasons for not voting, I am not buying any of them. I am not even going to waste time refuting your arguments. The bottom line is it is the duty and right of every citizen age 18 and older to vote. Who and what you vote for is your business, so get down to business and vote. (I can’t believe I’m quoting this because I really hated it when my boss used it during a faculty meeting but here goes.) "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." In other words regardless of your arguments about the futility of voting, the size of the government, the direction in which our country is going, whose vote cancels out whose, the electoral college, left over resentment from hanging chads, gridlock,  your vote does count and no change occurs when you sit passively doing nothing. Let’s take back our country and let our voices be heard, vote.

Off the soap box now…I am also sick and tired of the political ads (Fowls!) on TV. So much fact checking and so little time and what’s the difference between fact checking and spin? I've tried flipping channels when the ads come on but sometimes even that doesn't help. The ads are everywhere. I've tried getting out of the house but the ads are relentless outside too, on billboards, bumpers, and lawns. My solution was early voting (yesterday) and now that I've made up my mind and cast my ballot I don’t have to listen anymore. So this is what I do whenever political ads come on the TV, I close my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears. And yep, if the volume is so loud that I can still hear it I say “La, la, la,” really loud until it’s over. However well this political ad avoidance technique works for you while watching television (and it works for me since I don’t DVR or Netflix), just remember it works best for political ads on TV, I don’t recommend you try it while jogging or driving.

Tough Nut to Crack! (But it did and now there’s a tree growing!)

Not only is Andros Island, Bahamas a place where they say May We Be Strangers No More, it is also a place with some tough nuts, coconuts! My husband (current resident of Blue Door 711) inherited a few when he moved in over there. They (the coconuts) were in a ring around the small ornamental tree outside his door. I suspect the original reason for putting them there (by a previous 711 resident) was to protect the little tree from the mowers and also for aesthetic reasons. Most of my husband’s neighbors have rings of rock, coral, conk shells, or driftwood around theirs.  Although not as fancy, at least the unhusked coconuts had weathered to a nice shade of gray that didn't look too bad but obviously pointed to the fact that they’d been there for quite some time.  Then one day we spotted what looked like a sharp green spear shooting up from one of the coconuts. It was the first many leaf (fronds) that have followed one after another. We put our (not so) tough nut into a pot (with only the bottom half covered in soil) parked right outside our door where it can happily commune with the other tough nuts while it waits for them to crack. (My husband keeps telling them jokes, but all he’s managed to do is crack himself up!) Actually, under ideal conditions, it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months for a coconut to germinate. Our little coconut palm can remain in the same pot for 5 years and grow to be 5 feet tall, tall enough to have a trunk.  And live happily (and ideally on Andros) ever after!

Zombies!

Vampires are out and Zombies are in. You know the undead, reanimated corpses, and mindless human beings. As a matter of fact, I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye in my very own living room! (Maybe I should call it the unliving room.) But when I looked closer it was just my “before coffee” reflection in the mirror above the loveseat. Believe me when I tell you I now know what Zombie hair looks like and it’s pretty scary, (unless you are a bald Zombie). If Zombies weren't cannibals I’d even consider getting a couple to help with housework and the grandkids’ homework.  But seriously, there are Zombie fun runs where you can be chased by Zombies or if you wish you can be a Zombie and chase the non-Zombie runners. Here in St. Marys you can creep or lurch to the cemetery and listen to tales of local hauntings. For this tour they are calling all local Zombies to meet at the St. Marys Welcome Center at 6 PM! Then there’s 95FM’s Gravedigger’s Ball. Guess what they’re digging up…Zombies! There are even all kinds of Zombie costumes for young kids, even kindergartners  And you know Halloween is just around the corner. Wouldn't one of your little ones (or a little one you know) make a cute sock monkey Zombie? Too bad it is considered uncool for someone my age (over 12) to trick or treat because it's fun acting like a Zombie and as far as pulling together the Zombie look, well I wouldn't have to work that hard.