Cape Karen
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms. Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. And they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
What we celebrate today as "Thanksgiving" emerged, somehow, from the gathering of Pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth, MA. The Pilgrims would have starved to death if it were not for the Indians teaching them how to hunt. It wasn't an annual thing back then, as it is now, and they didn't eat turkey. They did eat fowl; ducks and geese - and they ate deer. Carving the duck or slicing the venison should be our tradition; I don't know how the turkey got in there? (Turkeys were skinny, unappetizing birds in New England in the 1600's. No self-basting birds, or pop-up plastic inserts, to tell them when they were done, either. :)
But, regardless, being a dyed-in-the-wool New England gal, I do miss being in New England this time of year. It's fun in the fall to visit the recreated "Plimoth Plantation," to go see the model of the Mayflower, and to go see the little remnant of the original Plymouth Rock. I call it the "Plymouth Pebble," because there is so little of it left. They've moved it twice, and it was broken into two pieces, twice, during lifting; one small original piece remains, encased in a fenced-in site for visitors. (Many people took chunks of stone from it when it was not protected by the fence, which also reduced its size.)
"Thanksgiving" is an everyday event at my age, but the actual day begs for family, and for foods that we do not normally indulge in. My family is far away - scattered hither and yon, from coast-to-coast - and Frank's family are all in Minnesota; so it is just the two of us, and now, a couple of friends who are in the same boat, who will be carving the bird and buttering the squash. I wish our families could all gather together, but, once again, phone calls will have to do.
I hope that this Thanksgiving will bring everyone to a table that is overflowing with good food and good health; and for those of you who can - I hope you will embrace the joy of your togetherness, and never, ever take one another for granted.
And, please remember those who are alone or who have to work this holiday; if you can, set another place or two at your table. Or, visit a hospital, a firestation, or your local police station. Bring them some pumpkin pie! After all, isn't that what Thanksgiving is really all about?
". . .yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
The political scene is just too bizarre and too active right now, to ignore. This week, here in Knoxville, TN, we had a quick visit from Vice-President Cheney. He is trying, in vain I'm afraid, to bolster the image of Mr. Bush, and all his other White House cronies.
The topic of his speech was, ". . . they shouldn't try to rewrite history; we must stay the course. . . ."
(Which begs the question: "What IS the course?")
I have to applaud the UT students, who somehow got inside with their banners, and voiced their war protest; right in the middle of Cheney's boring speech. That it was a small group of students is moot - because at least they had the courage to do it! It sure wasn't like the active protesting we did in the 60's, but they did succeed in getting on the local news, and they were shown being hauled out of the hall by local law enforcement. I think it is a show of hope that some of our youth cared enough to exercise their freedom of speech, that they raised their voices and their "Stop The War" banners.
Go UT!
Questioning, or disagreeing with his policies and actions, is seen by Mr. Bush as "sending the wrong message to our troops." It is said he is so depressed that he has gone into isolation, because of his low poll ratings and all the recent events on The Hill. He feels betrayed. Well, duh!? Supposedly, the only people he is conferring with on a daily basis are: Condolesa Rice, Karen Hughes and his wife. (Three loyal women he can easily manipulate?)
As far as U.S. citizens disagreeing with, or being outraged by, his actions - being 'seen' as disloyal, or harmful to his war efforts in some way - I totally disagree! To not protest, to do nothing, to remain apathetic and indifferent, as our fearless leader makes serious blunder after blunder, is sending the 'wrong message' to Washington, and to our troops. We have every right to be outraged and concerned about the direction he is taking this country. It is one pitiful, shameful, mess.
Just the fact that FEMA is now claiming to be too broke to pay the LA and MS residents their flood insurance claims, is enough to me to indicate that something stinks in D.C. Those folks paid their hefty premiums in good faith - and now they are left adrift while we continue to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into Iraq? That really smells!
I could make a long list of the reasons that 'we the people' should be standing on our rooftops, and loudly voicing our disgust and despair about what is going on in Washington ~ but that would take two or three days of blogging, and it would probably send me into a serious state of isolation, too.
Three more years. . . .O' dear God, three more years. . .
This 'bears' passing on here . . .
"Fantastic news! Late last night, after months of intense pressure from millions of pro-environment activists, the House leadership dropped its plan to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget bill.
In the end, they were forced to retreat after some 22 courageous Republican Congressmen stood their ground and promised to vote against their own party's budget if it sacrificed America's greatest wildlife refuge. With every single Democrat also opposing the budget, the leadership blinked.
It was the kind of showdown at high noon that restores one's faith both in democracy and the sanctity of America's natural heritage.
Make no mistake: we must now remain vigilant!
Senate and House negotiators could still revive the Arctic drilling provision when they hammer out a final budget measure next month (the Senate version of the budget includes Arctic drilling). If that happens, we'll be calling on you to shore up Republican moderates in the House who have promised to oppose and defeat any such last-ditch ploy to sneak Arctic drilling into the final budget legislation.
But last night's development is a stunning setback for President Bush, for Congressional leaders, and for the oil lobby -- all of whom vowed that 2005 would be the year they finally pried the Arctic Refuge out of the clenched hands of the American people.
And it is a huge -- and I mean HUGE -- victory for all of us in the environmental community.
Just one year ago, Washington insiders were saying that Arctic drilling was a done deal. President Bush was claiming a post-election mandate to industrialize the Arctic Refuge, and the pro-oil contingent of the Republican Party had just tightened its majority grip on both houses of Congress.
You couldn't find a pundit anywhere who would give us a wisp of a chance.
But millions of people like you did the impossible! Petition by petition, phone call by phone call, contribution by contribution, you helped us turn the tide in one of the toughest uphill political battles of the past decade. Although this battle may not be over, yesterday was a red letter day for the Arctic Refuge -- the greatest day since it was first protected by Congress 25 years ago -- but it is much more than that, too. It is a triumph for America.
November 9, 2005 was the day that nature prevailed over corporate greed, that beauty triumphed over a dead-end energy plan. It was the day we reminded Washington that preserving wilderness is a core American value -- and that we intend to keep it that way.
I know we can count on your help next month if Senate and House leaders dare to bring Arctic drilling back to the floor for a vote."
John H. Adams
NRDC Action Fund
Everyone has pet peeves; mine are probably pretty common. Here are a few of them:
Jars that are sealed so tightly that it takes a wrench to get them open.
Plastic pouches that require taking up a knife to break open the vacumn seal.
Those little flat, black bugs that live in flour bags and get into other breaded items.
Fruit flies.
Fruit flies. 
Fruit flies.
Also, humans can really bring on the peeves:
Parent's who ignore their screaming children in restaurants.
Mother's who drag their crying child, by one arm, through the Mall.
"Adults" who scream and hit their children, and/or pets.
People who talk in movie theaters while the movie is playing - (does anyone even bother to go to those caves anymore?)
People who honk their horns in greeting.
People who honk their horns, period.
People who cut in line at the grocery store, etc.
People who ride around stores in the carts for the disabled - people who don't really need them.
People who talk on cell phones at the check-out counter; or anywhere in public for that matter. ( I had to listen to a loud, one-sided conversation about breast feeding in the check-out line at T.J. Maxx the other day. It was downright embarrassing!)
People who leave smelly farts behind them.
Telemarketer's.
Litterer's.
Jehovah Witnesses coming to the door uninvited.
Tailgater's.
"Headless drivers" going 20 m.p.h., on a 45 m.p.h. unpassable road ~ forcing me to become a tailgater.
Healthy people who park in handicapped spaces.
All those big-rig trucks on the highways.
Owner's who leave a dog tied-up outdoors, and he barks all night long.
People who let their dogs roam and they do their business in our yard.
People who abandon cats and dogs.
People with rusty, junk cars in their yards.
Junk mail.
Loose magazine inserts.
Etcetera, etcetera. . . ad nauseum.
On November 3, 2005, the U.S. Senate approved budget legislation that hides within it a provision for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
Did anyone even notice?
(The following information has been edited and paraphrased from various newspaper articles. The photo at the bottom of this page is courtesy of the NRDC website with permission.)
Although the Senate vote is a stunning setback - given that the majority of American voter's are against it, Congressional approval of Arctic drilling is not a done deal. The battle, between the protector's and the exploiter's of natural resources in the ANWR, will continue next week in the House where there is substantial opposition to the budget bill, largely due to the Arctic drilling provision.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been off limits to oil drilling for decades. Environmental groups and those who care about the protection of the unique wildlife of that region have kept the greedy human wolves at bay. Now, however, we can only hope that the members of the House of Representatives will continue to protect this unique and pristine wilderness area by rejecting the "Budget Reconciliation" bill when it comes to the floor this week.
Drilling proponents have used an array of unorthodox maneuvers to
attempt to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. By burying the language in a budget bill, they purposefully side-stepped an honest, open, public debate - in an attempt to duck a 'yea or nay' vote on the issue.
By the government's own calculations, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will do nothing to relieve gas prices or U.S. dependence on foreign reserves. In fact, government studies have shown that even 20 years from now drilling in the refuge would save American's less than one penny on a gallon of gasoline ~
The real deal behind all of this Arctic activity is that the polar ice caps are melting. Because of global warming, and the melting of formerly unreachable and economically undesirable areas, the Eastern European coalition, the Canadian Maritime communities and the United States are already beginning a territorial fight; a fight for control and domination of these newly emerging areas. The potential for new shipping lanes, vast new fishing grounds, and, of course, the lucrative potential for oil drilling, are all part and parcel of this multi-governmental endeavor.
That the Bush Administation is for oil drilling - anywhere, anytime - regardless of negative environmental impacts, comes as no surprise. What might come as a surprise, given the general apathy in our country these days, will be watching on our television news as Exxon-Mobile constructs massive oil rigs - smack dab in the middle of the 'former' Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Last week the alarm was sounded in the U.S. Senate.
This week it's going to be ringing in the House. . .
I hope our Representative's are listening.
Let your voices be heard - add your names to the NRDC petition.
www.nrdcactionfund.org
I decided to create a rug-hooked mat of a panda bear and, therefore, I have been poking around at various wildlife and endangered species websites to see what I could learn about these amazingly beautiful and gentle creatures.
I've learned that they are trying to breed the giant panda's at the San Diego Zoo in California, and at various zoos around the country, and that they have had some limited success. 
I've also learned why they are on the endangered species list. Their bamboo habitat's in China are becoming increasingly depleted of two varieties of bamboo; bamboo which the pandas need to survive. (This is due to human expansion. . . of course.)
Without the bamboo forests, starvation is their fate; and with only 1,000-1,600 giant pandas left in the world, this is truly alarming!
I have never seen a panda bear up close and personal, but I sure would like to! I can't even imagine a day when we'll have to tell our children and our grandchildren:
"We used to have these beautiful black and white bears, called Giant Pandas, in China. . . . but then, we deforested their habitat's, and so they all starved to death."
I know there are many other animals on the endangered species list, and they are all equally beautiful, amazing and valuable to our eco-system and our lives - but, for some reason, these unique bears have captured my heart. I am going to "adopt" one, and I plan to continue learning all I can about how I can make a difference. Maybe I can help to save the Giant Panda Bear from extinction.
I hope you'll Google "Giant Panda Bears" and learn all about these gentle giants. Or, visit the San Diego zoo; if you can't go in person, then go to their website. It's wonderful reading, they have great photos, and they even have voice video at some of the websites.
By spending some time online, I discovered that the Giant Panda makes a sound like a sheep - a little bleating, barking noise; that when they are born, panda cubs are only the size of a tootsie roll. When twins are born, the mother bear only has enough milk to feed one cub - so she has to let the other one starve. (Zoos have found a way around that sad fact - they simply alternate the cubs for breast feedings, and they also use pre-mixed formula.)
Once you've "met" them, online or in person, I know you'll feel compelled to join my feeble, but heartfelt, effort. If we try, really try, maybe together we can help them hang on ~ now ~ and into the future.
