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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Wednesday, November 05, 2008 Two miracles A national one, and a personal one. The national one first, that an African-American man could become President of this nation. It's still hard to fully take in. I spent my teen years in the segregated South, where adult blacks still stepped off the sidewalk to allow a white child to pass, where the black school janitors had to carry paper cups with them so they could drink out of the students' water fountains, where a grown black woman, a teacher in the local black elementary school, apologized to a white 12-year-old for having the temerity to offer me a ride when she saw me walking home in the rain. I didn't think I would live to see this day.I was struck by what Christiane Ananpour said this morning, that this election was like the ones she had seen in countries having their first democratic elections--people standing in line for hours to vote, and joyous to be able to do it. It's an apt comparison. We've had a long eight years of non-democratic rule, of seeing our freedoms slowly taken away from us, of subtle and not-so-subtle threats against us as individuals and as a nation. I have no illusions that all these things will evaporate overnight. It took more than eight years for some of them to be put in place--neo-conservative extremists have been working out of sight for decades. But at least this is a start.And to give John McCain credit where it's due, his concession speech was McCain at his best. I could have voted for that man, if he hadn't lost his way. He gave up his principles in order to win votes, and I couldn't respect him for that even if I hadn't disagreed so strongly with some of his positions. But he took back the mantle of decency and principle last night, and he deserves the country's good wishes for that, if nothing else.And the personal miracle? My Australian Shepherd, Rippy, was hit by a car last Thursday. His hip was broken in three places and the vet said he would need a metal plate to repair it, specialized orthopedic surgery that is done in only a few places. Four to five thousand dollars worth of orthopedic surgery that Shelley and I could not possibly pay for. We were looking at the possibility of having to have him put down. But the vet said nothing could be done before Monday in any case, and when I went over to Shelley's house on Monday to see him, expecting to find him lying on the sofa with his eyes glazed in pain, he rose from where he was sitting in the yard and walked toward me. I could hardly believe my eyes. He's limping badly and is clearly in pain, but for him to be able to walk at all is a miracle. Shelley said she took him back to the vet Monday morning, and the vet said to wait about 30 days to let the blunt force trauma heal, and to see how much bone healing would take place on its own. If he still needs surgery at that time, she said it would be a much more simple surgery that she could do in her veterinary hospital. To say that Shelley and I are relieved would be the understatement of the century. Rippy hasn't lived with me in a couple of years--he went to live with Shelley when Clarence became so incapacitated that he couldn't stay home by himself when I was gone. Rippy couldn't be left alone for days at a time, so Shelley took him on the truck with her, and he's lived with her ever since. But he's still my big puppy and the thought of having to kill him because I couldn't afford the medical care he needed was almost more than I could deal with. posted by Liz @ 8:01 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
A national one, and a personal one. The national one first, that an African-American man could become President of this nation. It's still hard to fully take in. I spent my teen years in the segregated South, where adult blacks still stepped off the sidewalk to allow a white child to pass, where the black school janitors had to carry paper cups with them so they could drink out of the students' water fountains, where a grown black woman, a teacher in the local black elementary school, apologized to a white 12-year-old for having the temerity to offer me a ride when she saw me walking home in the rain. I didn't think I would live to see this day.I was struck by what Christiane Ananpour said this morning, that this election was like the ones she had seen in countries having their first democratic elections--people standing in line for hours to vote, and joyous to be able to do it. It's an apt comparison. We've had a long eight years of non-democratic rule, of seeing our freedoms slowly taken away from us, of subtle and not-so-subtle threats against us as individuals and as a nation. I have no illusions that all these things will evaporate overnight. It took more than eight years for some of them to be put in place--neo-conservative extremists have been working out of sight for decades. But at least this is a start.And to give John McCain credit where it's due, his concession speech was McCain at his best. I could have voted for that man, if he hadn't lost his way. He gave up his principles in order to win votes, and I couldn't respect him for that even if I hadn't disagreed so strongly with some of his positions. But he took back the mantle of decency and principle last night, and he deserves the country's good wishes for that, if nothing else.And the personal miracle? My Australian Shepherd, Rippy, was hit by a car last Thursday. His hip was broken in three places and the vet said he would need a metal plate to repair it, specialized orthopedic surgery that is done in only a few places. Four to five thousand dollars worth of orthopedic surgery that Shelley and I could not possibly pay for. We were looking at the possibility of having to have him put down. But the vet said nothing could be done before Monday in any case, and when I went over to Shelley's house on Monday to see him, expecting to find him lying on the sofa with his eyes glazed in pain, he rose from where he was sitting in the yard and walked toward me. I could hardly believe my eyes. He's limping badly and is clearly in pain, but for him to be able to walk at all is a miracle. Shelley said she took him back to the vet Monday morning, and the vet said to wait about 30 days to let the blunt force trauma heal, and to see how much bone healing would take place on its own. If he still needs surgery at that time, she said it would be a much more simple surgery that she could do in her veterinary hospital. To say that Shelley and I are relieved would be the understatement of the century. Rippy hasn't lived with me in a couple of years--he went to live with Shelley when Clarence became so incapacitated that he couldn't stay home by himself when I was gone. Rippy couldn't be left alone for days at a time, so Shelley took him on the truck with her, and he's lived with her ever since. But he's still my big puppy and the thought of having to kill him because I couldn't afford the medical care he needed was almost more than I could deal with.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
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PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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