New Year...New Focus

It's been a tough 13 months, but now that we're officially in to 2012 I can honestly say that I believe the WORST is behind me. I say that with trepidation, as whenever I "claim" improvement, some demon somewhere decides to crash land in my soup and splatter my optimism all over my happier little face! Anyway, the point is, that the best part of 2011 occurred at exactly 11:59:59 December 31st 2011, and even that lasted too long!
As a New Year resolution for 2012 I have decided to rebel against the medical establishment that has filled me up with toxic medicines. The side effects of such "panacea's" has been a host of debilitating side effects that have rendered me too ill to function in this world. I may live longer...but living in bed is not all it's cracked up to be...sorry John and Yoko...but you know it's true!
I've also decided to take a closer look at our Canadian issues, as opposed to being glued to the everyday disasters of the US. Sure, they maybe more "sexy" than us Canadian folk...but at my age "sexy" is highly over rated!
So in honor of my new found interest in Canadian politics, please follow this hilarious YouTube link, or look it up yourself on you tube (if you're paranoid) entitled Canada for President...you'll love it! (if you're Canadian...if you're not then just skip it!) Happy New Year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XBNQTZyssg&context=C374fcc6ADOEgsToPDskJh1vTAnhiEaIpqZVwEgU0w

Jesus Christ and the german shepherds!

As you know, if you read CAN U C ME, I lost my Mother this summer, and although Mom and I had a checkered past, we had become closer, and I knew more about who she was. So when the Funeral was set and we were off to the Church I knew that this is where she would have pictured herself being 9 from an earthly perspective, as she had spent many years at Holy Rosary. I no longer attended mass with my parents when I visited, if I was well enough I attended a Methodist Church, and although at first I know my family was disturbed by that, but appeared to accept it as time went on. Anyway, after Mom had been taken, and we watched the Hearst carry her away, I suddenly felt a longing to be alone in the beautiful Church, away for the business of the reception. Catholic Churches still hold a reverence for me, and one of the most beautiful parts are the splendid stained glass windows. I took my time, going from window to window, and talking to God and Mother while I went. I finally came to the window that depicts the wonders of the birth of Christ Jesus. Mary and Joseph were there, the manger, and Jesus in swaddling clothes and the....my mind thought it was deceiving itself at first, (some deeper Fibro Fog that was distorting the images I saw), but try as I might I couldn't remove the 2 German Shepherds lying in the front left corner...I called in my family, just to ensure I wasn't having some psychotic break...and they too saw the German Shepherds...upfront...in the Manger Scene!!!!!
Apparently the priest who ran the Church during it's window making days, liked German Shepherds! Well I like German Shepherds too, but I heartily doubt I would even think that I had the right to insert my own personal passion into a piece of art commissioned for the beautification of the communities Church!!! Apparently there are "German shepherd" images inserted in other areas...what if the next priest has a passion for tarantulas!!!!
Now what would Martin Luther have said about that!

6 yr old Kindergarten student brings loaded gun to school...

3 children hurt in Texas elementary school.
I can barely begin to think about this!  4, 5, and 6 year olds sitting down for lunch at their school and suddenly gunfire erupts when a six year old drops a loaded gun out of his pocket!  I don't think I could send my child back to school after that.  My son is still in elementary school, and I try hard not to think about the chances of something devastating happening in our rural schools.  I try to console myself with the thought that we are in the country, so the risks of kids getting hold of a hand gun are considerably reduced.  However, the large majority of our community are either hunters, or know hunters, so there goes my thought process.  I think I should really learn to enjoy soap operas ( Oh they're cancelling those aren't they) or get large print books to read with someone nice to read them to me, or just watch The Waltons, and Road to Avonlea, shutting out the horribly exhausting reality that our world is going to rack and ruin.
I'm going back to bed now!!!

STAND CANADA - DO SOMETHING NOW

We have a huge opportunity in our hands right now. 
We can shake our heads in dismay about the atrocities of the Holocaust and the SS Death Camps...we weren't there...what could we have done?
We can consider the annihilation of the Armenian people..it was so far away...we weren't sure what was happening!
Think about the days of terror in Rwanda...while the United Nations was discussing whether or not it was genocide...the Hutu's had slaughtered 800,00 men women and children in 100 days! Read about it from a Canadian perspective in "Shake hands with the Devil " by Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, a strong and dedicated Canadian Peace keeper who led his men to try and stop the the genocide, but was brought to his knees because he could only watch, but was given no power to do anything because the government again argued as to whether or not this uprising was in fact  a "genocide" as described in the Geneva Convention. His dedication was not in vain, for he is a powerful witness to the evil that was done, and at great cost to himself mentally and emotionally. It's easy to ignore something when it's not in your face.  Well then put it in your face...in your head..carry the images you will see when you "google" Darfur or read my posts and then go to               Stand Up Canada and you will find an easy way to write a letter, and even who to write it to.  Pen and paper gets hand delivered (now isn't that funny) and encourage others to write too.  Start a Chapter in your own School or Church.  You may think it won't make a difference, but politics is an interesting game...if enough people make an issue and some noise about it, they will have to respond.

Education in Death; The killing of Phoebe Prince

"South Hadley High School- Our Working Mission:

We pledge to create a challenging and supportive academic community in which each student will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue post-secondary options of their choice and act as a responsible citizen in a diverse and global society.."

This mission statement has a great set of words, unfortunately it is just words!  We need not centre out Hadley High for all our scorn, although it's tempting to revenge the death of Phoebe Prince, she is one of many victims who have fallen because nobody would take this systematic abuse for it's criminal nature.  Harassment has long been a recognized "crime", but for some reason because the victims are not of legal age, we seem to consider "bullying" an acceptable right of passage. 

"Nine Massachusetts teens were indicted Monday for driving a pretty 15-year-old "new girl" from Ireland to suicide in a case that has become a symbol of high school bullying.The sweeping charges - which come after months of complaints that the bullies weren't being punished - include statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury, criminal harassment and stalking. Phoebe Prince, a new arrival at South Hadley High School from a tiny seaside hamlet in County Clare, was mercilessly tormented by a cadre of classmates later dubbed the "Mean Girls" by Massachusetts newspapers."The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe designed to humiliate her and to make it impossible for her to remain at school," District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said. "The bullying, for her, became intolerable."
"Students said Phoebe was called "Irish slut" and "whore" on Twitter, Craigslist, Facebook and Formspring. Her books were routinely knocked out of her hands, items were flung at her, her face was scribbled out of photographs on the school walls, and threatening text messages were sent to her cell phone."

It's simply amazing to me how a "youth culture" so thoroughly entrenched in the acceptance of the "unique and shocking" are they themselves SO SAVAGELY INTOLERANT!

I was bullied, I imagine because I was English and had an accent. My sister was also relentlessly bullied, my oldest son suffered harassment all through his High School years, probably because he is smart, hardworking, and not a redneck!  I did the unthinkable for many years, although I wanted to go to the school, Paul insisted that things would get worse if I did that. So I did nothing. Then one day he dropped his books and pummeled a kid who had made the mistake of tripping on Paul's last nerve!!  Things seemed to improve after that, and as a result I learned from Paul, not to insist on "non violent" intervention.  I know it goes against everything Christlike that I know of, but I want Matthew to feel that he has some control over what is happening to him.  I don't want him to feel that I'm sending him out there, where there are mean kids who want to break his spirit, with his hands tied behind his back.  I have shared my feelings with his teachers and although they may not be overjoyed, most admit they would advise their kids the same!  Do mean students come from mean parents? Probably, so expecting support from parents is usually not effective...but neither is letting it go, and worse yet is when your child gets labelled because he has stood up for himself against the bullies!!! I once got so enraged by the bullies where we lived grabbed the hair of a boy who had been holding my son's hair while kicking repeatedly...that's not such a good thing to do, especially when the kid (who is now wetting his pants) screams and his mother shows up!!! But there again, I wonder if somewhere in his little head he remembered the crazy lady, and thought twice before yanking and kicking some other child, whose mother wasn't quite so crazy!

So, the death of this young girl, just 15 years old, who emigrated from Ireland just last fall, is now the "poster girl" for changing the management of school bullies. Well, I hope to see it happen.
Other wise, Lady Liberties inscription will have to be changed to read....
"With silent lips.Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"...THAT IS UNTIL YOU START SCHOOL AND THEN YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!

Pain Management - Caution or Cruelty, the thought continues...

Back to pain! Partly because it never really goes away, and partly because I believe that if pain was managed properly, then addiction would not be the issue that it is. It is my Pharmacist, not my physician, who has helped me through this next 10 days by supplying me with a limted number of pills to use until my Doctor comes back from 10 days vacation. I hate to think what I'd be saying now if that wasn't the case, if my Nurse Practitioner and Pharmacist didn't go to bat for me. But then I probably wouldn't be saying anything, because I'd be in bed rotating packages of frozen vegetables around the most painful parts of my body. The other alternative to this is to sedate oneself out of the pain using gravol, or taking my sedative meds early. The kicker here is that I do have a semblance of a life, which includes my most marvelous, son who needs me to be here for him. I count and ration my pills,(It reminds me of Fagin in Oliver Twist counting his money) because if I have an appointment to attend and drive to, I may need more medication than I've got...so that has to come from another day that I have to then write off for functioning ie.walking the dogs or doing laundry or picking up groceries.  Instead I must  stay in bed...again. I am always robbing peter to pay paul. I feel more intensely about my pills when I'm always afraid I'm going to have a flare up and have no help for me which again affects Matt.
I get my limited number of pills for the month, and that's it...there's no room for flare ups, no room for getting me through laundry and cleaning day. So often, there are many thinks that don't happen unless I add my own little helpers to the mix, like Tylenol 1, 4 tabs Q 4 hours,plus a gravol...
I'm not surprised at the "stomach contents" list of dead celebrities...Were they killing themselves, or just taking one thing after another just to get relief that no one physician will give them. This is serious stuff...People are dying because of it, and I don't think they have to.
Why can't I get the maximum dose, and be relaxed in the notion that I have back up for flare ups, and  don't have to keep counting pills, because I'll have enough to deal with not only doing the shopping, but unloading it, and putting it away, and the two days of painful hell that follows it. It would be nice to have one less thing to worry about.

Controversy: S. Korea DQ'd in short track relay, China gets gold - Fourth-Place Medal - 2010 Olympics Blog - Yahoo! Sports

I thought that speed skating was a pure and simple sport with skaters wearing their golden, long bladed skates, and their skin tight bodysuits, and a variety of fashionable eye wear... skating rapidly with skill and determination, around a rather small oval.

I have been shocked to learn that even speed skating can be filled with controversy! In fact, it can be life threatening, and for more than just the skaters! The article below gives you the scoop on the main event, however this unfortunate chief referee is now apparently under guard as his life has been threatened. Apolo Ohno says "Oh No" to his disqualification tonight, which gave Canada a bronze in addition to a gold. I'm sure there will be much more negative publicity and bad feeling which makes me wonder... Why do we have "Olympic Games"? Yes we're in 3rd place which is awesome, and we have tied our previous medal count from the L.A. Olympics in the 70's (but I don't remember them because I was just a baby!), and it has been hugely exciting to watch( even though the only station I could find playing the hockey game was OMNI 1, commentating it in "Slovakian" which I know you will be surprised, I'm not really fluent in Slovakian . But really when you think of all the money that has been spent, bad feelings aroused, and a life lost it makes me wonder whether or not this is where we should be investing our countries money ??? Read this article! There were lots of beautiful moments too, but I'm not sure if it's really a forever deal. Read the article and tell what you think? But my advice in the words of mothers everywhere is....
"If you can't play nice ...then GO HOME!!" 

Controversy: S. Korea DQ'd in short track relay, China gets gold - Fourth-Place Medal - 2010 Olympics Blog - Yahoo! Sports

Just another day at the mall! Right!!

2:30 p.m.
So here I am, sitting in the hospital, waiting, again! Sometimes I’ll run into someone who I haven’t seen and the inevitable questions begin…How are you? …Fine I say!!!(It would take a century to explain where I’m at so I don’t) and my answer seems deceptive. ` `
I think that before you become ill, you should receive some kind of training, or preparedness exercise, that will give you a fraction of a glimpse of what “being sick” really is, and you have the choice to continue or go back to work! Regular people just do not get this….they all think….okay some…not all… that you are actually entertained by this illness, condition or circumstance. That somehow this is a great vacation from your otherwise mundane life.
Let me tell you being sick, is a lot of work.
It simply amazes me how people get through it, balancing appointments, treatments, side effects, and all the tasks required of all well people. In addition, there is paper work to file with insurance companies, pharmacies, and various government organizations. Most continue to work, until they can no longer handle the chaos…and are probably worse for the wear.
Qualifying for benefits is another adventure best left to the hardest of hearts! The best qualifier is to be dead! Anything above that requires the strictest scrutiny, on a level not far from level orange on the American terrorist threat scale. You think I jest…I do not!
3:25 p.m.
I couldn’t have picked a better day to drive into the city! The forecast was for “light snow”…and sunshine…which is true….there have been a few seconds when the sun broke through the dense dark clouds…but it was still difficult to see inside the whiteouts! I wonder how much longer I’ll be waiting...hopefully it will still be daylight because I hate driving in the dark!!!....Oh great!….my name is finally called….Bye

The Joy of a little Haitian Boy...so sweet

Please watch this video ... it is the hope that people need to keep knowing that God is with us.
A small boy...survivining for 7 days with no food or water... in the darkness and pulled from the miry pit with a smile that is bigger than himself! Arms raised...he welcomes the light, the freedom, and the cheers of onlookers and rescuers!!!!
He didn't complain...or say "why me"...he didn't ask "what took you so long?"
He smiled a smile that said more than anyone could verbalize.
It's sad that only when you have sooooo little....you appreciate much.
But maybe, he is more blessed than those of us who have too much? You think?
Maybe this small waif of a child can teach us how to approach life in this world of disparity....somesoooo rich it defies imagination and logic...others so poor it is embarassing to know that they exisit in this world ...with us...and so little compassion.
#/video/world/2010/01/21/moos.mile.wide.smile.cnn?hpt=C2

And the DISASTERS keep coming

Iran started me blogging, and Haiti has brought me back. I have been very ill (again) and although my New Years resolution was to blog daily, amesseduplaptop.... diabled keyboard, and exhaustion combined with gastrointestinal combustion rendered me useless and finally in the Hospital...but I'm in prime health compared to the millions of poor souls in Haiti. We can go to the moon, but we don't seem to be able to provide swift and effective rescue operations for those on our own planet. I simply don't understand it. The emergency donations are flowing in,which is great, but lets go a step further and sponsor the 300,00 children who are living or dying in Haiti, and keep sponsoring them until Haiti is the best place in the world for them to live.

We Are The World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxT21uFRwM

If there's one thing only that comes from this man's struggle, I pray that it is his message to love one another...constructively. Whatever his demons it was and is a good message...one that we should all ACT on.