Ageism Is Alive and Well! Well, it is not really well!

http://wftc.membercenter.worldnow.com/story/21559231/delta-captain-retires Imagine if all congressional leaders were forced to retire at 65? The sad reality is as we continue to hear that the IT giants average is under 35, we are in a big heap of trouble. It is strange isn't it? What is strange you ask? Well, the majority of Americans are over 35 years of age, yet, we have little say in age discrimination. 70 million women are over 40. Isn't it in the best interest of all to keep us working? Oddly there are more woman over the age of 80, than there are in sub-group 60-65. less This is only for women, for men it is 62 million over the age of 40. Isn't it in the best interest of the economy, social security, retirement, insurance, the taxpayer to keep us working, and use our experience to guide the young hipsters under the age of 35. Well, one way to resolve this issue is for half of the nation to refuse to financially sponsor any corporation, organization, or enterprise that refuse to understand the value in the aforementioned concept. THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS PEOPLE!

Just a Few Factoids -"Bush, the 110th congress and our Obama"

I did not pen the following statement on Bush the 110th Congress and Obama. Please read it with an open mind and then do your homework. PRELUDE: Today I filled my tank of gas, a measly 12 gallon tank. I paid $48 at the pump! The start of 2008 was a good one for me. I was moving into a new community in a new job, and while I took a cut in pay, I applauded the job, and I applauded the fact that finally, I would be able to get ahead. Gas prices were high, but reasonable. The cost at the grocery store was good. Milk was under $2.50 a gallon. (you can always measure the cost of inflation by two liquid assets, milk and gas...Dean's milk is always within .25 of a gallon of gas) In January of 2009 there was a significant change. My costs began to sky-rocket. My costs, your costs soared overnight. They have grown at an unprecedented rate.Speeding ahead, 2012...milk at Walmart right now is over $3.50 a gallon, gas today was 3.89 a gallon. 6.5% of my take home pay is going into gas, just to get to work! You see, there is no sliding scale when it comes to food, local taxes, taxes on goods and services, gas, the cost of insurance the cost of automotive repairs. It is 6.5% of my modest teacher's salary. It is 12% of my daughter's take home pay. It is even higher for those who are underemployed, or unemployed. The cost of living in the United States does not see a face, a race, a gender, a class, it sees only that which feeds an over sized government on all levels of government. We the people are the employer, and we the people need to start doing some significant firing in order to balance our household budgets. We cannot afford to live here anymore. So, onto "Bush, the 110th congress and our Obama." The day the democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009 it was actually January 3rd 2007 the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, the start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995. For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress: At the time: The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77 The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5% The Unemployment rate was 4.6% George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION! Remember the day... January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES!!! THANK YOU DEMOCRATS for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment... to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOS! (BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac???? OBAMA And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie??? OBAMA and the Democratic Congress So when someone tries to blame Bush... REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER! Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal and steering wheel they were driving. Set the record straight on Bush! "It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know just isn't so." (Ronald Reagan). And as for Obama gutting Medicare, a fact which David Axelrod says is a Republican lie: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/president-obama-in-2009-pledged-to-veto-attempts-to-undo-medicare-cuts/

Love, Life and Sacrifice...Why?

Why is it necessary to leave so many of the thing you love in order to leave that which you do not love? Love, it is a word which identifies for some a word which describes the ultimate emotion, for others it is as ambiguous a word, one can imagine. In reality, it does not matter. The fact remains, in order for me to leave a marriage that was destroying me emotionally and spiritually, I would have to leave the man that I promised to love, honor and cherish til death do us part. Well, death did cause us to part. The death of who I was, who I wanted to be, who I felt I had been designed to be. I did love, honor, respect, and cherish the man that I met when I was only 16. I loved, honored, cherished, respected and care for to the best of my ability all that we shared together. It came to an end. The long drawn out period of neglect and abuse that I suffered in the name of loyalty and love could no longer be ignored. I had developed a duality as a coping strategy. I put me up on the shelf and stifled my growth at the age of 16. Only weeks before my 17th birthday. When most girls were experiencing the joy of being a Senior in High School, I was struggling to stay alive. I was humiliated to the point that I turned over control of my life to someone much more powerful than myself. I do not wish to spend too much time beleaguering this point, but, what I do want to address is the loss that I have suffered as I sought to gain my life back.

Divorce does something terrible to the individuals involved. The individuals extend to households that no one could imagine that it does. I was born and raised in Kankakee Illinois. It was my home town. I knew the cracks in the sidewalks that led to downtown Kankakee, the cracks that led to Cobb Park. These were the places that I walked with regularity. I knew the church that I would long to sing in, the smell, the color of pinks and golds that adorned the walls. I knew the statuary. My children knew them too. I made sure that they would know them. They would respect, love, and honor the church for the beauty that she is. My home town would not be mine anymore. As easy as he took my innocence at the age of 16, he would take all that knew from my earliest memory of me. To say he stole it is in my heart the truth. I did not give it to him. I never imagined that I would not remain in the church, in my neighborhood, in my community. The reality is, I had to go. Constant harassment, defilement, fear, drove me away. I left after 2 years of being divorced. Leaving him actually caused more distress for me than I imagined. I had hoped that he had become stable enough for me to start my life over. There was only one way to start my life over, to leave.

As a Catholic Christian, I had done the ultimate sin against the church for a lay person. I was no longer in keeping with the sacrament that I took when I was only twenty five years old. I was married in a civil ceremony when I was only twenty years old. After some time, I felt in order for my children to be raised in a solid Catholic home, our marriage would need to be blessed by the church. The irony here is that if I had never had it blessed, the church would not have recognized the marriage as a sacrament. But, I did it to ensure that my children would be easily able to make their sacraments.
I remember feeling as I stood before the priest with my now ex-husband, that the Lord would bless this marriage. That somehow my ex would have a change, a profound change. That now I would be treated better, that I would be a honorable Catholic wife. I would now be able to sing in the church that I grew up in. That my children would complete which was denied me when I was a little girl. I was taken away from the community that I loved, my friends where I was quite popular, and accepted at the end of third grade. I would become a public school kid. It took a long time before I attained acceptance, and it only lasted a few years before my ex would defile my understanding of myself.

I committed my life to many things, to being a mother, a friend, a sister, a wife, a music minister, a community activist. These were the things that I believed defined me. At the core of this definition was my role with the church. My relationship with Jesus Christ and my understanding of my role in that relationship. I was special because I could sing to Him. I could minister with something that most could not. My voice. I had no idea that leaving a destructive marriage would destroy that which I loved most. I had no idea that I would no longer minister in front of my children, or now my grandchildren. I would never have imagined that leaving him would deny my grandchildren from seeing their grandmother in her sweetest light. In her role as a cantor in the church. All the weddings, funerals, masses that I sang on a weekly basis were gone.

This is all heavy on my heart today because today I will go to church with one of my students who has sought me out because he knows I am Catholic, and he wants to become one. He sees the same beauty in the church that I see. He asked me to take him to church. I want to show him the absolute beauty, I want to minister to him. I want back what I once held so dear and was equally able to express. How can I tell Sister, the liturgist, the RCIA director that I am divorced, and now living with a man out of marriage. It is sad that in order for me to be who I am and love how I love that I cannot minister in the way that I love to minister, through my music, in the church. What journey am I on, and where is the One that I love taking me? Today I will sing from the pew, in the church that I love and trust that He knows my heart.

Wind Blow Some Solace in My Direction

It has been a week of high winds and with it great upheaval. The northeasterly that blows through the farthest southern tip of Lake Michigan is a force to be reckoned with. One cannot imagine the strength and depth with which the wind and water combined does to not only our shoreline, but to the minds of those caught in its path. So it was over the past 2 weeks in the life of an educator. While I struggle to understand the multitudes of personalities that I encounter in one day, I also struggle to understand me and the role I have in each of the lives that I encounter. I want to understand, to get into the minds of, all the while settling my own mind. Like you, this is not an easy task. How to maintain peace in the midst of the northeasterly, that is the greatest of all tasks. I am getting better at maintaining my resolve while I turn face into the wind and accept the strength and conviction found in the power of nature. While I teach my integrated chem/phys course, I am constantly reminding my students that it is the law of the universe to constantly find stability. Nature does what nature does. It does not read books, or go into lengthy discussions about how to stabilize, it just does it. Unbridled freedom dictates how it will go about stabilizing itself. Human nature does not quite have it that easy. Rather, it takes into consideration things such as individual rights, due process, history, condition, circumstance, all the while taking into consideration, cause and affect. So it is that the great northeasterly does what it does best, spirals the onlooker into an unpredictable spin. The good news is that eventually it will land. As it was with Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, she knew that she was who she was, and knew where to rest her head, where to find that peaceful solace.

What about those who do not know where to lay their heads, or those who are incapable of finding peaceful solace? That is the million dollar question, and what we as educators face daily in our school environments, how do we handle the young lady who has not slept in 2 days because her familial dysfunction? How do we tell her that the most important thing in the world is that she graduate from High School, and question why she would dare to skip Spanish 101? Do we teach her a life lesson by throwing her into sweep room, the place where those discontent with school go for punishment? Do we suspend her, because she is insolent and disobedient? Do we hug her and say, "wow, you have shown great character by coming to school anyway, even with your eyes so swollen due to lack of sleep and tears." Do we escort to the counselor where she can find a peaceful solace? Do we feed her as Jesus would have done? Or would we throw stones, "she is just one more we will have on welfare-row?"

Yes, this young lady is real, and I encountered this yesterday. This beautiful young lady was one of my first encounters coming to Michigan City Area Schools in August of 2008. I had her every morning, and she was a tough cookie. Our relationship escalated one day when she became physically and verbally threatening to me. I could not understand why she had such dislike for me. I didn't really want to know why, I just wanted my peaceful world back. I wanted her gone. I loved her as I do all of my students, I cared for her, but, I couldn't reach her, so I thought. I held my resolve much like I do as I face the northeasterly. She was subsequently suspended for 3 days for "intimidation of authority."

We got through the school year, and she went on to high school I taught 2 more years at the middle school. Mid-way through her freshman year, and my second year at the middle school, I got an email from her. I did not respond, as I did not believe that she should be emailing me from her class at the high school, nor did I want to get involved. A couple more months went by and a teacher from the High School wrote me and said, "this young lady wants me to let you know that she is going to juvie, (juvenile detention) and that she thinks of you, and wants you to know." I was shocked. What impression had I made on this girl, what do I do with this information? I assured the teacher that I would be praying for this young lady, and to please keep me informed.

Speed ahead to 2011. My second day of school this young lady sought me out. She heard rumor that I had come to the high school She made sure she came up to greet me and gave me a huge hug. She does not have any classes near mine, nor is her locker, but, she seeks me out. I know when she is troubled as she will be in my corner of the world. She has come to my room a couple of times when she is hungry. I feed her a breakfast bar, or whatever I happen to have. She sought me out, you see, she knows I will ask if she is ok. Is it possible that we are the port in the storm? How often am I the storm? Either way, it is okay, you see, the universe is constantly in a state of stabilization. Like the northeasterly, it has its purpose. Call waters for too long create a state of complacency, and stagnation. Far too often only the bad bacteria grows and it devours those things that allow for flourishing life-forms.

I have begun to read a book titled "Five Percent." It is written by the Peter Coleman of Columbia University. It is helping me understand that it is considered that 5% of all conflicts are irreconcilable and the reason behind this phenomena is that there are 57 areas that prevent conflict resolution. When one begins to understand that there are those factors embedded in human function, one comes to understand that maybe the only thing one can do at times is to stop, listen, and nurture a person through until nature has time to stabilize.

ArtSees Diner Audio Welcome, featuring Lullabye of Birdland

ArtSees Diner Audio Welcome, featuring Lullabye of Birdland

Another Day another Dollah, Makes you Wanna Hollah!

Seriously, that is about the extent of it all.
Today, has been one big crisis after another. Not for me personally, but for this country that we are living in. So, in keeping with the crisis mode that I have been in all day, I decided, rather than try to make some eloquent, creative essay of said events, I would create a bulleted, talking points, overview of the nightmare, called, March 23rd!
1) Whilst showering, it came to me, like a bolt out of the blue, (or maybe it was the rapid turn from perfectly warm to chilly cool, upon partner's flushing)education, teaching, how it should all be handled. Clearly, something needs to be done. It is a sad state of affairs. Two major union groups all fighting for the money of its members in order to demand what is fair and equitable. Because, god forbid, anyone do the honorable thing in the first place and demand a quality work place for its professionals. (Okay, I digressed...give me a break, I am in education!)So, education is compulsory. Every child in this country has a right to a public education, a free education on top of it. The Federal government has enforced its will upon the smallest of school districts in an attempt to level the playing field. I don’t know if it is because they are really concerned about Johnny being able to read, as much as they want to be superior to other countries. Regardless, the reason, it is what it is. So, the government regardless of branch is mandating all children be taught to read and write and meet certain standards. Yet, and this is the kicker, every school district is relatively different. From district to district, teachers are paid different. From state to state, different expectations are in place for the teachers, which explains why you need certification from state to state, yet the Feds, are saying all children must be able to pass what they deem is a “standard.” So, then, why not make teachers government employees, much like postal workers, military, police, firefighters? All educators have to pass through the same rigid standards as the military. As they progress on, they climb in rank. As they continue on and they fail the standard of excellence, then they are asked to go back to training, regroup and come back, and are rewarded as such. As they have done their service in the trenches, they are rewarded for good service and are allowed to retire with a good pension, and a retraining. This keeps the blood fresh, moves educators ahead and equalizes all aspects of the profession. They are a part of a huge pool of professionals, and as a result benefits, become extremely affordable. This also guarantees a fair and equitable way of ridding the system of the “fat.” It also ensures that there is equitability in the delivery of the product.
2) On my way to work, I was listening to WLS, and the guest announcer Jonathon Hoenig’s interview with Jesse Jackson. He was asked if Nancy Pelosi’s carrying a gavel in was (imagine the imagery that came into my mind, puke!) equal to the Civil Rights passage. His answer, “absolutely!” I thought to myself, “What?” (listen here ) Hoenig recalls that we have spent 17.6 Trillion dollars on welfare since Johnson. Then he identifies the illegitimacy rate amongst blacks, as being at 70%! As Hoenig points out to Jackson these statistics and asks if healthcare isn’t just another enablement, Jackson quickly points out that it is not a race issue. Well, anyway, after I was stunned at the statistics, and Jackson first equating it to the Civil Rights passage, and Martin Luther King, he advises Hoenig that it is not about race. At that point I arrived at school and had to get to work.
3) My day was filled with the daily frustrations of being an educator in this current climate. I filled my student’s heads with as much knowledge as I could in a 6 hour day. Touching on every content area I could. Spinning around on my heels faster than our computer system (outdated mind you) could spew out new data. Then I resigned my day with a meeting of the minds with my 2020 Challenge team. The refreshing part about that is that there are a couple of future leaders in that group. The day was filled with fear, concern, uncertainty about the impending RIFing that I am sure to be handed on the 15th of April. You see, I have only been in the district for 2 years. Although I am a veteran educator with honors, experience, and multiple endorsements, I am viewed in MCAS as a newbie. Go figure!
4) Next, my travels bring me home. Nothing bad there, really, although, I have been inundated with all the ramblings of the day. Healthcare this, Education that, IRS this, Divorce settlement that! What I really want is to literally shut my brain off for a while. I don’t want to think, to worry, to try to grasp the reality of my world.
My world; All in all it is a wonderful thing. Many times it is quite beautiful. But the larger world, the really big picture ain’t so good. I mean, daily we uncover how out of control our government is. How out of control our commerce is. The reality is that there is so much wrong out there. I have many answers, most people do. The sad reality is this, we have no say! Oh, one more thing…today I went to apply for a job at another district. The anti-RIFing CYA! Guess what, before they even wanted to know my credentials, my ability, my track record, they wanted to know my gender, my age, my social security number, and yes, my race. So much for Federal laws! I will count that district out. Any organization that puts that before my credentials, the credentials that matters, would do anything they wanted, even cover up pedophilia in their sports program. In the future, you can run my social security number, after you have offered me an interview, not before! Jesse, we need to talk!
Goodnight!

The Kiss

The Kiss is a watercolor painted by me yesterday. I am fascinated with trees. Trees hold all the knowledge in the world. As they stand guard over a neighborhood, forest, city town, they are witness to all the comings and goings of man. The things a tree must see totally intrigues me. So it is with my "Lady Tree" she is my queen, what I long to be.
A couple of months ago I began painting her as I painted my dear friend and step-mom's Christmas gift. It was a simple tree with dogwood blossoms and the sign of life, renewal, and friendship at the core. As I witness her emerge, there she was in the midst of the design a graceful lady. Just like Nancy, graceful, non-waivering, consistenct, strong, proud beautiful.
Later that day, I painted a smaller version of the original painted for her. From that I created a summer, fall and winter version of the same tree. I was transfixed as I without intent created the tree morphing through the stages of a woman's life. Someday I will reproduce that for you my reader to see. Until then, I merely use the forward of this blog as a introduction to my Valentine present to myself. The Kiss.
The Kiss was painted yesterday to honor Klimt's The Kiss. I love that painting. Every Valentine's day I cast my sights back to any pictures on-line that I can find of it. So, it is that I decided to create a nature's kiss. The Kiss by M.E.LaLuna as featured at the beginning of this blog takes the lady and shows her gracefully dancing with her lover, hands entwined.
Love is nature's dance. A Lady full of grace, stands watch over lovers and dreamers.