Photo of the Day - Bamboo Raft on the Li River

Beautiful tall stands of bamboo grow along the Li River near Guilin, China, and local people craft rafts from the long poles. This man was poling his raft near our riverboat in hopes of selling his wares.

The Law of Unintended Consequences

It's an ultimate irony. George W. Bush insists "we" brought freedom to Iraq by deposing Sadam Hussein's government, but have we unleashed and given freedom to a spirit of hate and persecution? Tonight, 60 Minutes showed a report on the persecution and murder of Christians in Iraq. We've seen reports of terrible treatment of women, those women that Bush was so proud of having liberated, who are now worse off than under the dictator Sadam. We have liberated the sectarian violence. If freedom were only the freedom to live a good life and respect one's neighbor, it would be a desirable outcome, but if "freedom" means violence, hatred, death and destruction, anarchy and chaos, what have we wrought?

We keep hearing that the news out of Iraq is "better." Better because there is less killing, not because it has stopped, not because the Iraqi government has risen to the occasion to unify the country, not because the country is pulling together to find a common, peaceful future. Well, it's a start . . . but will it lead anywhere? Anywhere we can be proud of? It looks grim to me.

Photo of the Day - Hong Kong at Night

Hong Kong has changed immensely in the 25 years since I was last there. The number of skyscrapers in such a small space is astounding, just as it is in Shanghai. This photo was taken from the Star Ferry about 10:00 PM.

Disgusted with the lot of them - and us

They talk a good game about working together bipartisan to solve problems. Then they turn right around and call each other names, misstate each other's positions, and stymie any progress. The lot of them. When did it become more important to block the other party than to govern the country? When did it become more important to misrepresent the facts and the opponents than to work on real solutions? When did it become acceptable to spend wildly and act as though taxes to pay for it was irresponsible? Have they all gone completely nuts?

When did causing anarchy in a country, killing its citizens, ruining its infrastructure, and trying to engineer disruptive, fast social and economic changes equate to bringing freedom? Is freedom really, as the song says, "just another word for nothing left to lose"?

Where is a real statesman, stateswoman, who looks at all the immense problems facing our country and the world and is more interested in truth and solutions than playing word games to win?

Where are real voters who care more about truth and issues than reassuring platitudes, more about major issues than symbols, emotional issues, and avoiding paying their fair share? Where are people who realize that American can't and shouldn't rule the world, who respect other countries and cultures, who realize we can't change them to fit our specifications? Where are Christians who even recall the Golden Rule?

Even if a real statesperson ran and won the presidency, the opposition party would see to it that he or she could not govern, could not get a program through Congress. They are more interested in a political football game than in our country. They all talk a good game, sure, love to throw in what they think Americans want and how patriotic they are, but when do they look at the big picture? When do they look at what will WORK?

We love to quote Harry Truman, but what politician today is willing to let the buck stop with him or her? Willing to talk plain truth and tell it like it is?

Where is it written in the Constitution that political parties have this kind of power? Did our founding fathers have any clue that we would have politicians running up unimaginable debt and not be willing to pay for it? Would they be horrified at the attempts to create an imperial presidency and negate the carefully crafted checks and balances? Would they be rightfully frightened at a president that encouraged the formation of private armies, paid more than our military, to avoid keeping the military we need?

And what about the "free press" that is supposed to keep us informed? What passes for "news"? They report on the the political campaign as though it were a football game or a horse race. They focus on who is ahead in the polls, who spends the most money, who has the best television ad, who made a mistake or misspoke, but NOT ON THE ISSUES, not on whether any of them have plans that work, not on their previous records, other than to make passing mention of it here and there. It's like a long beauty contest, reality show, or sports event. Where is the serious reporting?

The so-called debates give us a little bit of a chance to see the candidates in action, but it's really a series of farces. None of them have time to really explain any answer, or to actually DEBATE each other. It's more like a spelling bee. A bunch of would-be presidents standing up there answering shotgun questions with very short time limits on the answers. About all you really find out is how fast they think and how well they can position themselves.

If you really want to know about them, you have to go and dig, spend a lot of time, and hope you aren't getting a bunch of biased "information" put out by someone with an axe to grind.

We've had eight years of bad government. The saying is, we get the government we deserve. Let's hope we don't continue to deserve anything like this!

And, let's hope we quit looking for miracles and voting to avoid paying for what we want . . . or give it up and decide we don't want our government to do it. Until the public uses some sense, we can't expect Washington to do it. They want to get elected, and they will do just about any damn fool thing we want to get what they want. Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire C-SPAN

What happened to Cheney's sense of reason after 1994?

Photo of the Day - Dragon Post on Xian City Wall

Although Xi'an (China) is most famous for the terra cotta warriors, we were impressed with the intact city wall. On the wall are these dragon lantern posts, very stylized and attractive.

Space Based Solar Power

Photo of the Day - Hong Kong Ceiling

This is the beautiful ceiling in one area of the Harbourside shopping center in Hong Kong, an ultramodern enclosed center with high class brand name stores beyond my means and an incredible contrast to the more traditional Hong Kong shops just a couple of blocks away, those much more familiar to me from my visit there 25 years ago.

Space based Solar Power

Think about the possibility of unlimited solar power beamed from space. This idea is not new, but in light of the dwindling oil reserves, Mid East unrest, and increasing world energy demands, an office at the Pentagon and a group of scientists and interested parties including astronaut Buzz Aldrin are advocating the development of this energy source. A press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC presented the interim report. Accounts of the conference are online, including audio from NPR, and the interim report is also available. If you are interested in this exciting possibility, please see the Sites for Curious Minds section on the right side of this blog, or Google "space based solar power" and Pentagon for more.

Photo of the Day - Water Buffalo

Along the Li River near Guilin, China, we saw many mother water buffalo with calves.

Photo of the Day - Beijing Panda

This panda in the Beijing Zoo was quite the performer. We were fortunate to be there early in the day when he was active, climbing and seemingly posing. Ever seen a dirty panda? It was wet and rainy, and some of the pandas had gotten their pretty white coats quite mussed up, but this fellow was still looking spiffy.

Photo of the Day - Sweet Gum leaves

I like photographing groupings of leaves. It amazes me all the different shades of green, and other colors, that leaves have.

The Larry Craig Witch Hunt

Have you read the police officer's account of what happened in that airport bathroom? Even if the motions that Craig made with his feet and hand were signals soliciting gay sex, so what? He didn't harm anyone, and I certainly don't see how he was "disturbing the peace." Whose peace? No one except Craig and the police officer even knew what was going on.

Whether Craig was actually trying to proposition someone or not, we may never know, but if someone other than a police officer had been in the next stall, nothing would have come of it. Either the guy would have just ignored the signals or told Craig to keep it to himself, or, if both we so inclined, they may have engaged in some actual activity, but probably not flagrantly in front of other people in the restroom.

Women get propositioned all the time, or have come-on remarks or gestures made to them, in ways that are far more direct and annoying, or disturbing, than this incident, but most of them aren't made into criminal cases.

So, did Sen. Craig deserve to have his name dragged through the mud, his family embarrassed, and his political party desert him and treat him like dirt to be washed off? No, I don't think so. Not for THESE actions at any rate.

However, I do worry about his judgement in pleading guilty and thinking it would just go away. Not in our poison political atmosphere.

Shame on his colleagues for pushing him to resign. I'll bet a fair number of them have done worse things than this. Just no police officer on the scene . . . .

How many have drunk driving citatiuons and convictions, for instance? That's FAR more dangerous to the public and far more disturbing of the peace.

I don't know whether Sen. Craig is a good senator or not, whether he is gay or not, or much of anything else about him. I don't think he was entrapped. No one enticed him into doing what he did. But what he did does not deserve this nasty witch hunt.

Doonesbury takes on the federal debt

According to today's comic strip, the Republican presidencies, Reagan and the two Bushes, account for 70% of the federal deficit . . . . since 1776!

Whatever happened to Republican fiscal conservancy? They ought to be ashamed!

The Invisible Elephant

I just listened to the Democratic debate in Iowa. While I like the candidates, they, just like their Republican counterparts, and the journalists questioning them, are all ignoring the mammoth invisible elephant. Sure, we want a lot of things, but how are we going to pay for them? We can't pay for what we are doing now! We have become the world's largest debtor nation, our excesse being financed by foreigners. Thirty years ago we were told that the federal debt and deficit spending didn't really matter because we "owed it to ourselves."

That has long since ceased to be true. We are mortgaging our present and our future and risking our way of life by spending beyond our means, and far beyond our willingness to actually pay for it. I think too many Americans think Uncle Sam has deep pockets lined with excess cash he can just throw at anything we decide we want. Wake up! He not only doesn't have cash in those pockets, the only way he gets any is from our taxes or borrowing from China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the like. We are like children who don't see why our parents can't buy everything we ask for. We don't see the consequences of our unwillingness to pay our own way.

Our federal government is like a family spending it's way into bankruptcy, paying the mininum due on a raft of credit cards, juggling the debt and spending more and more, but no one in the family is willing to cough up something to pay down the principal, or refuse to spend more. And the Republican "religion" that taxes should be cut is crazy. Like the family saying, well, we have all this debt, but let's take a salary cut and make it even harder to pay our bills. (Yes, I know, they think it will stimulate the economy and bring in more taxes, but where's the proof? Faith is not enough.)

The current financial industry and housing market meltdown is part of the same foolish psychology -- unregulated companies loan too much money to people who can't pay it back. Greed is great until they start to feel the pinch - and then ask Uncle Sam to help out. Who is more foolish? The lenders? The people who spend more than they can pay? Our government doing the same? It's a country and society-wide illness. We all need a 12-step program for overspenders!

There are many deserving programs that we would like to have, but it's time for an across the board evaluation of what the basic needs are, not the extras we would like to have. It's time to figure out how we are going to really pay for the things that matter most and admit to ourselves we can't have it all.

And let's stop pretending "welfare" is a bad word if the government is going to hand out corporate welfare in the billions. Go back to some reasonable regulation and make corporations behave in a fiscally responsible manner so we don't have to bail them out -- with Chinese dollars.

Are any of the candidates on either side courageous enough to tell the truth about this? Or are they all just going to keep promising more and more that we can't pay for?

The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

The Assault on Reason by Al Gore should be required reading. This passionate account of the assault on our constitutional freedoms and the lack of informed citizen participation in our democracy is moving, critical, and compelling. If you care about America, if you care about the Constitution, if you care about where our country is headed, read this book. Don't take the freedoms you have for granted, and call your government to account. And use the internet for more than surfing and buying stuff. Stand up for net neutrality and preserve and help to shape the internet as a tool for democracy and good government.

Photo of the Day - Pink Bouganvillea

Having flowers all year around is a joy, but I was surprised to discovered a difference in the seasons even in southern Florida. This year brought a profusion of blooms in the spring which has continued all summer.

Be Careful What You Wish For

They say be careful what you wish for -- you might get it. I'm finding new ways to understand that saying. For instance, I never thought I would spend hours of my life picking up little white stones and throwing them back into landscaping beds. No, I didn't wish for that, but I did wish for a nice house in a warm climate, and having achieved that, what came along with it was nice landscaping, with little white pebbles in the beds all around the house.

It never occurred to me that they wouldn't stay put! However, two things keep encouraging them to jump the dividers and end up in the grass (or sand, depending upon whether we have succeeded in coaxing any grass to grow in a particular location). Fir most likely cause is my husband dragging around a heavy rubber hose to water with, and dragging it through the beds and pulling the stones off with him. The second is an incredible downpour, the likes of which we had last night.

And that occasioned water high enough to come into the low windows on our sun porch and cause a flood on the carpet, necessitating dismantling two bookshelves and then digging in one such "popcorn bed" to try to make a better channel for said water to escape. And picking up MORE little smooth white pebbles and tossing them back into the beds.

Yes, I like my house. But I had no idea it would mean I'd become a pebble picker.

Photo of the Day - Red Double Hibiscus

Flowers seem to have endless variety and beauty, and light from behind adds more nuances.

Save the Internet - Maintain Net Neutrality

The internet has proven to be a fertile ground for the citizens of the world, allowing freedom of speech and a place to start even the smallest of businesses. We have all been vastly enriched by the information and opportunities available, from communications to news to online shopping.

One of the prime reasons of the success of the internet is this openness and opportunity. We don't allow telephone companies to determine who we can call or what we can talk about with them, so why should we let our government allow ISPs to determine what content we can offer or access online and make the internet an instrument of big business? Don't let Congress destroy freedom of speech and access on the internet!

Don't confuse a "free internet" for free internet SERVICE. We all pay for internet access through networks. BUT, the INFORMATION available should be unfettered. Big business should not be able to co-opt the internet and use it for themselves alone. They have plenty of opportunities to use it and profit from it without destroying what has been so successful.

Don't kill off freedom, or the goose that keeps laying more golden eggs. Let Congress know how you feel before they vote. Let them know before June 15. Check the Sites for Curious Minds Links on the right column for more information.

Photo of the Day - White Peony

What lush, glorious flowers peonies are. When they grew in our garden in Kansas, the blooms were so large the stocks could barely hold them. The air was fragrant with their scent. Ants love them, so they aren't the best flowers to bring inside, despite their beauty and perfume, but they are gorgeous to photograph.

Thoughts on Rain

It's been a long drought. I don't think we've had any rain since March. We've been spared the fires in Georgia, northern Florida, and California, but several days the air has been thick with smoke that has blown south to us. Even the weather is relative. There can be too much of a good thing. We've had comfortable, beautiful weather, but our plants and water supplies are suffering.

So, here came Tropical Storm Barry, ironically right on schedule the first day of hurricane season, and brought us the perfect, gentle, many-hour rain. Some places got the downpour and flooded streets, but we were the grateful recipients of the best rainfall. We hope the fires have been quenched and the overworked firefighters will at last get a rest.

People greeted each other with thanks for the rain instead of complaints about it.

Maybe in a month, when we have the daily downpours and have to rush to shut down and unplug our computers to be safe from the lightning strikes, when we have hurricane warnings, we'll be less enthused about rain, but for today, we are thankful.

Photo of the Day - Palm Flowers

Until I lived in tropical environments, I never thought about palm trees and plants flowering, yet they have interesting blooms. They are usually long feathery-looking tassles, and they can make quite a mess when they fall. Some are very long and sweeping. I've seen some three feet long. This is a smaller variety. I've also learned there are many species of palm, and I have no idea what they all are. They do produce seeds (fruit), and I've lived with coconut palms. More on those another time. None of the palms I have now has edible fruit, that I know of.

Photo of the Day - Bottlebrush Flowers

The variety of forms of flowers is astounding. Some don't even look like what I grew up with thinking of as flowers. The bottlebrush tree has brilliant red flowers that truly do look like a bottle brush.

What No One Says About Why Education is Failing

I've read all kinds of explanations about why our public schools are "failing" our children, and why SAT scores are down, but two of the biggest reasons for it are rarely mentioned, if ever.

I had a series of outstanding elementary school teachers, and nearly all of them were what we used to call, in those politically incorrect days, "old maids." They were intelligent, committed women who had to support themselves and had few career options open to them, primarily teaching, nursing and office work. That meant that teaching attracted a lot of them, and they put their hearts and minds into it. They devoted themselves to their careers, and that meant they devoted themselves to their students, who were "their kids."

At least in my city, at that time, they also lived in the school neighborhoods. I still remember showing up at wonderful Miss Rose's apartment door with a jar of snails and crayfish I had fished out of the creek in the park. I'll love her forever for teaching me to read!

These women weren't all "sweet." I had a very strict fourth grade teacher who didn't approve of my reading adult novels, though to her credit, she didn't take them away from me. There was no nonsense in Miss Risser's class, and although I'm sure she did, I can't ever remember her laughing. I do remember her reading to us, especially Ben and Me, about Ben Franklin.

Miss Lambotte had us do all kinds of amazing hands-on activities in second grade; churning butter and making bread when we were studying pioneers, and making a large model of a covered wagon. We constructed a papier mache sleigh and reindeer. Can you imagine the mess of flour and water paste and paint? We cleaned it up.

She also taught us useful ditties that I still think have value, though I don't hear my grandchildren learning them. Like, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking."

Miss Jerrard taught choral music in all the elementary schools in town. In each one, she produced a creditable chorus that put on a full Christmas pageant.

Miss Socolofsky taught art. How I wish we'd gotten those lessons more than once a month! Her projects were interesting, fun, and everyone had a finished product they could be proud of.

Yes, in those days, not all kids were good students. Some weren't interested and some were less capable, and some had difficulties. No one was "diagnosed" as having dislexia or Attention Deficit Disorder in those days, and kids weren't medicated to make them sit down and be quiet and focus, yet the classrooms were orderly and most kids did learn. I think individual differences were more accepted then.

These teachers must have spent many extra hours and I'm grateful to each of them. I got a first rate education from them, even if Miss Rose did have to use the Dick and Jane books to teach us to read. Anyone who started on them won't ever forget "See Spot run. See Spot run, run, run. See Jane run. See Jane run, run, run. See Dick run. See Dick run, run, run. See Spot and Dick and Jane run." Argh! Boring, but we soon graduated to better stuff!

We didn't have much of any homework in elementary school until reports in about fifth grade. We graded papers in class, so we found out immediately whether we did them right or not, and had to correct them. This seems to me to be a much better way of reinforcing learning than handing homework in, waiting to have it graded, and then just getting a grade. (I know not all teachers do that, but I certainly saw a lot of that with my sons.) And, homework might not even count much, or just get a checkmark for being done. That wasn't the case in my elementary school. You knew it all counted!

Now for the second part of the equation. Parents. Particularly Moms. While I'm not saying that Moms should have to stay home to raise kids (and I didn't always, myself), I do think it is very difficult as a working mother to have the time to invest in children's school work. There just aren't enough hours in the day. This is particularly true now with kids getting more homework. Some kids do it on their own, but many don't. And even if they do it, without a parent checking it, they might just be practicing doing things wrong, which is hardly a good educational result.

Also, some parents don't support the school, and just want their kid to get good grades, regardless of the work they do.

I remember wondering how some of the kids whose parents either didn't have the time or the interest (or even some extra cash for supplies) could possibly do a science fair project. Even if the child is doing the work themselves, someone has to help them get supplies at the very minimum. I remember my son wanting to construct a chlorophyll molecule model. It ended up being over 6 feet long and nearly 2 feet in diameter. He might be able to tell you how many styrofoam balls were required and how much paint to color the various types of atoms, but I just know it was mighty impressive when finished and he never could have done it if I hadn't been willing to get the supplies and transport the giant thing to school -- where his science teacher ended up mounting it on the wall.

We've had several teachers in our family. Each has struggled with the lack of student reading and math skills and the lack of parental interest. They all say it's the parents of the good students who show up for parent teacher conferences, not the parents of those who are struggling or unmotivated. What kind of message does that send?

Parents need to realize that the school can't educate their children well without parental support, and that means more than telling a kid to do their homework. It means spending time making SURE it is done, and done right. I means tutoring the kid who "doesn't get it," not doing it for them. It means showing up at conferences and making sure kids know school is important.

Are grades important? Yes, they are. When my older son was in fifth grade in a German school, the school unilaterally decided not to give him a report card because they said they didn't think he could get good grades and they would not grade him differently. When he found that out, he said he didn't see the point in doing his work if he didn't even know how well he was doing. So, they agreed to grade him, and he did just fine. There is, or should be, some motivation to succeed, and there has to be some way to measure success.

Here's to the terrific teachers I had. I, and all my classmates, were the beneficiaries of their lack of other opportunities. We were fortunate! I hope they felt they were, too.

Photo of the Day - Enoshima Fishing Boat 2 - Japan

Japan offers endless opportunities for fascinating photos. Enoshima fishing boats were colorful and unusual. This one had an extra -- the open air urinal.

Photo of the Day - Cactus Flower

When photographing flowers it's an added bonus to find an insect on them, especially on the unusually shaped cactus flowers.

Photo of the Day - Wakulla Springs Water

Water is endlessly fascinating as a photographic subject. The patterns of movement, light and shadow draw the eye. They can be restful and relaxing or exhiliarating. This shot was taken near sundown at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida. The pattern on the water is caused by the spring water bubbling up to the surface and the last of the daylight reflecting across the dark water.

Photo of the Day - Unusual Texas Tree

Unusual trees make great subjects, but you don't often get a combination of the right lighting and "atmosphere" as well as a clearing with the shape of the tree showing up clearly. I was fortunate to find some near a creek in Texas. The area reminded me of the woods in the movie "Bridge to Terabithia."

Hotel Towels and the Environment

On several trips, I've noticed signs in hotel room bathrooms stating that replacing towels daily with fresh ones is hard on the environment, and that those willing to help out should hang up their towels rather than leaving them on the floor or in the tub.

It's a good idea. It would save precious water, keep detergent pollutants out of the water, and reduce the use of electricity, which would also contribute less to global warming. We don't change towels every day at home, so why not? I'm all for it.

However, I've discovered that even if I hang up my towels, the maids STILL replace the towels. And, it is hard to hang them up wet so that they will air dry, because hotels simply don't put in enough towel racks. Most of them have one rack upon which they stack all the towels . . . bath towels, hand towels and washcloths. You can't put them back that way and expect them to dry out.

So, if they are serious about not changing towels daily, they need to be sure the maids aren't changing them when the room occupants have done their best to hang the towels wherever they can (mostly over the shower curtain bar), and even better, put in adequate towel bars so that more people will be encouraged to hang them up.

Photo of the Day - Red Hibiscus

Hibiscus is such a lush flower! We have several hibiscus bushes and their large, intensely colored blooms are a joy. These bushes are old and had gotten "leggy" so I was persuaded to cut them back drastically. It was hard to do. I hate cutting back shrubs. I hope the results will be worth it -- more foliage and blooms, few long sticks with leaves on the ends. I need a course in gardening!

Who wanted to go to war?

Yesterday while having lunch I overheard a woman at the next table pointing out to her friends that "99.7% of the people in this country wanted to go to war, wanted to just go over there and get it over with." Her point was that "we" all wanted to do it, and now the country is turning against the war, forgetting that we were eager to start it.

I don't know about her statistic, but I believe that in general she's right -- but she failed to point out that the reason so many people were for it had to do with four issues. First, we were traumatized and horrified because of the 9/11 events and wanted someone to pay for it. Our government led us to believe that attacking Iraq would serve that purpose, because they saw "links" between Iraq and al Qaeda. Second, our government practically drummed into us that if we didn't go over there and attack Saddam and cause "regime change" they'd be coming over here and blowing us up with dirty atomic bombs or killing us off with anthrax or smallpox. Third, our news media were beating the war drums all day long every day, especially Fox news. And fourth, we (the public) didn't have a way to evaluate whether anything we were being told was credible, and our elected representatives in Congress didn't question it because it would have make them look soft and unpatriotic. If they had, they wouldn't have been reelected.

For the record, I was not for the war. I stated from the beginning that it was wrong. Even if Saddam did have the dreaded weapons of mass destruction, so did many other countries and we didn't go preemptively attacking them. It's a terrible precedent. Saddam was a terrible dictator, but he was effectively contained . . . more effectively that we knew.

Now we've made a horrible mess of things, unleashed a civil war where warring factions are trying to see who can gain power, and our naive idea that setting people "free" means they will automatically become democratic peace-loving people is in shambles. The country is in worse shape than it was before we attacked. There is less security than there was under Saddam, and there's no end in sight.

Now our news media talk out of the other side of their collective mouths. They ought to be ashamed of their part in bringing this sad situation about. People are dying every day for our arrogance and there doesn't seem to be any solution in sight. Evidently we didn't learn the right lessons from the Vietnam War.

Meanwhile, whatever happened to the swaggering statements that we were going to find Osama bin Laden? In the streets of Bagdad?

Flags at Half Mast

Someone asked me today why the U.S. flags are flying at half mast. I answered that I believed it was in honor of and grief for the murdered students and faculty at Virginia Tech.

Then I went on to say that 100 times that many of our military personnel (and many thousands of innocent Iraqis) have died violent and painful deaths in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet I don't see our country's flag flying at half mast for them. They deserve it a hundred times over.

What happened at Virginia Tech was horrifying, and my heart goes out to all those families and friends who lost loved ones in such a cruel and senseless way. I don't mean to diminish in any way their suffering, or the fact that the nation should show it cares.

But what about all those men and women who served their country? How badly has their country served them?

My flag flies at half mast in my heart every day, and each day when I see the "Honor Roll" of those killed, shown on the News Hour, I shed tears for them.

The flag should fly at half mast everywhere until our soldiers come home.

Photo of the Day - Coleus

While flowers are beautiful and showy, sometimes foliage can be dramatic. It often grows in pleasing compositions, the way leaves are grouped and displayed. There are an amazing number of shades of green. I remember when I was a kid, most of us just colored all green leaves and grass "green" and didn't seem to notice the many differences in color.

Coleus leaves are variegated and textured. With several different varieties, you could make a leaf bouquet nearly as colorful as a floral one.

My printer goes belly up

It's hard to imagine sometimes how dependent I've become on my computer -- until I have a problem with it. I wonder if there were something that automatically graphed how many hours I spend in front of it whether it would be the biggest time slot of my life. I hope not, even though I enjoy it a lot.

Last night my "trusty" Epson Color Stylus 740 contracted a "general printer error" and wouldn't work. I spent the entire evening trying to fix it (no luck) with a variety of sources of "help" including printer discussion groups on the internet. It's hard to complain. This printer has served me well for seven years. However, I'm not pleased that I just bought a slew of ink cartridges for it, and now I can't use them.

The thought of buying a new printer doesn't upset me financially, but having to decide which one to buy does. More time down the drain.

Does anybody make a printer that uses a huge black ink cartridge that's cheap? I learned from observation that some printer ink is disgustingly expensive! They sell the printers cheap and then sock you for the ink. I would certainly love to find one that is more economical to operate!

Photo of the Day - Unusual Insect on Ixora Leaf

Maybe someone will see this photo and be able to identify this unusual insect for me. I happened to be outside with my camera and wondered what was lying along the main vein of this leaf. As I got closer, I could see that it was a long, skinny insect. I've never seen one like it before -- or since. This insect is just over 4 inches long.

Photo of the Day - Tree Roots at Urabandai, Japan

Japan has wonderful forests and the shades of green there are a bit different than I've seen in the USA and Europe. I always find knarled tree bark and roots interesting, too, and this clump of tangled roots at Urabandai, Japan looks like it could come to life and crawl away.

Photo of the Day - Enoshima Fishing Boat - Japan

This fishing boat provided an amusing study in contrasts between the old style wooden boat and the modern blue plastic pail upended on it. The tranquil water in the Enoshima bay added reflections.

Reading Music - A complex skill

I promised myself that once I completed our complicated move, I would treat myself to music again. Not listening to it, but singing it. In the many years since I left home to go to college, I regrettably stopped playing the piano and violin, and only during one short period did I sing in a chorus in Germany.

After so many years, I can no longer play either instrument well enough to experience the same joy I once did, but I can still sing well enough to join a chorus.

I plunged right in last October, joining a women's chorus and the mixed chorus of the German American Club, singing in German, English and Latin.

As soon as I started, it struck me how reading music is far more complex than reading printed words. You have to read words to sing them, but at the same time you also have to read and keep track of several other things. Most basic, you have to understand the time signature and the rhythm of the piece. Unlike reading text alone, where how long you "hold" a sound doesn't matter, in music, you must know precisely how long each note must be held, depending upon the speed of the piece and the time signature. You have to know how the time is designated by the appearance of each note, and how long to be silent when there is a "rest."

Rhythm alone is not a song. You must also be able to read the notes, not just what the note is, but whether it is sharp or flat - and then be able to sing or play it accurately and on key.

Beyond that, there are esoteric instructions, usually in Italian, that designate the style in which the composition is to be performed, from "largo" for slowly, and :pianissimo" for very softly to "forte" for loudly.

There are marks to indicate when one should increase the sound level (crescendo) or decrease it, whether to hold a note longer than it normally would be in the measure, whether to slur the notes or hit them in a staccato fashion, and in some pieces, even when you can take a breath.

All this would be complex enough, but add to that the harmonizing or melodic parts for other voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass, for instance), and accompanying instruments (piano, guitar, flute, percussion, etc.) and you begin to see how reading music is completely different than reading text.

If you are playing an instrument rather than singing, you must also have the technical competence to play what is written, another whole set of hand-eye and ear skills.

I've heard that studies show that children who learn to play musical instruments and read music do better in school. There are many possibilities why this could be so. It might be that if they have parents who encourage them to learn music and make sure they practice, those parents probably provide the same encouragement and devotion to their children's schoolwork.

Or, perhaps children whose parents are willing and able to provide a musical instrument and lessons are (on the average) better educated and possibly of a higher economic status. I don't know if that's true, but I have a different theory. I believe the complexity of learning to read music trains the mind to focus on complexity and detail and provides mental discipline.

Playing or singing music also brings joy and a feeling of accomplishment and status. Those, too, are helpful in achieving success in other areas.

It is a sad and detrimental situation that schools that are having budget problems do away with music and art programs or make them so costly they are out of many children's reach. They provide far more than an enjoyable creative outlet. Beyond what I've already mentioned, playing music or singing engraves itself on the mind. We can remember tunes and songs long years later. It is a creative outlet with the opportunity for interpretation and improvisation.

Playing with a band or orchestra, or singing with a chorus, brings the added discipline of playing and performing together, the wonder and uplift of being surrounded by the sound of music. Since I started singing again last October, I've sung in six performances. The melodies still sing in my mind. Give your children the gift of music -- not just listening to their iPods, but learning to read and perform.

Photo of the Day - White Rose

Sometimes I like to move in very close to flowers, leaves, grasses, bark, anything with pattern and texture. The effect can be quite different than photographing the whole. This is a white rose that is past it's prime. The entire blossom didn't look especially pretty any more, but this macro shot turned out with nice shading and detail.

Photo of the Day - Tree at Mount Vernon

This dramatically beautiful tree is on the east lawn of Mount Vernon towering over the broad Potomac River. I don't know how old this tree is, but I read a sign on a tulip poplar tree on the west lawn that said Washington planted it in 1785. The grounds of Mount Vernon are beautiful. If you go, be sure to allow time to wander the forest trail down to the riverbank, time to read all of the interesting signs about what you are seeing.

Photo of the Day - Mount Vernon

I hadn't been to Mount Vernon for 30 years, and since that time, they have restored more and built an outstanding museum and education center. It was a blustery March day, but the sky was beautiful at times, so the clouds made up for the lack of leaves on the trees.

As I get older, I appreciate far more the wisdom and sacrifices of Washington. Our country was immensely fortunate to have gotten it's start under a man who did not seek to consolidate and hold personal power. What I learned yesterday was that he was also an innovative farmer and conservationist who warned when he left office of the destructiveness of party politics. Our present day policians should all be required to read his biography and writings and take them to heart.

Photo of the Day - Konza Prairie in June

This is another of my favorite photos of the Konza Prairie near Manhattan, Kansas in the rolling Flint Hills. The nature trail winds through creek valleys with trees and on the hilltops covered with prairie grasses and wildflowers. When people tell me Kansas is flat, I laugh. While it is in the western half of the state, the eastern half is quite hilly in places. Trudge up the hill in this photo and you'll get a wide view of the prairie while you catch your breath.

Photo of the Day - Orchid

You never know when a photo opportunity will present itself. I was having lunch at Little Harbor and the tasty sandwich came with an orchid. I prompty put it on the table (eating outside in the "winter" is wonderful here) and photographed it.

The Volunteer Army and the Lack of Major Protests

Yesterday evening we were watching the "Honor Roll" of our dead military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan and I said to my husband, "Each of these people volunteered to serve their country, and look how the country has repaid them, by spending their lives in a war that should not have happened." Some, perhaps many, believed in the mission. Some served in spite of misgivings, but they all served us and were willing to chance death to do it. They ranged in age from 18 to 43. One was a woman in the Navy. We see a brief flash of a photo on the screen with their name, rank, age, and home town, but none of us know the stories of their lives and deaths.

Our President says we should not leave because of those who have already sacrificed their lives, but why should more make that sacrifice because someone else has?

My husband asked why we didn't see the major war protests that we did during the Vietnam War, and I said, "Because there is no draft." Partly it's because we don't have the larger numbers of people in our armed forces that we did in that war, and not as many deaths (yet, and I hope there never will be!), but a big reason for it is that most of our young people don't feel threatened. They don't fear having to serve in uniform and risk their lives, because no one is forcing them to do it. And those who volunteer can be "brushed off" in some sense as having "asked for it."

Meanwhile, fewer and fewer of our Congress members and administration have ever served in the military. They have little understanding of either military life or tactics, much less strategy, yet they are the ones expending the lives.

We are paying a high price, not only in lives, but in broken bodies, broken families, and the monetary costs of the war.

If you have not read Woodward's STATE OF DENIAL and Ricks' FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE IN IRAQ, please do so. And also the article in the Army Times, "The Seven Pillars of Modern Iraq." You can find the link on this page.

Getting Behind

I'm disconcerted to see that I've skipped several days of posts. Not even a photo. Aside from raking leaves (better than scraping ice off a windshield in February), I've been engrossed in some graphic arts projects that may take up a good part of my time for the next couple of weeks.

Photo of the Day - Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

It's hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to construct this fortress with walls right in the sea, in such an isolated location in the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of the masonry walls and the tropical colors of the sea, the angles and clouds, made for many interesting shots.

Photo of the Day - Bonfire

Photographing fire is fascinating. Because it is ever-changing, with subtle and brilliant light and color, you don't really know what you're capturing until you see the image. I photographed a bonfire in Pittsburg, Kansas, which was part of a family celebration. This photo seemed appropriate for a winter day, when even in paradise we could use a bit more warmth.

More Thoughts on Life in Paradise #4

Even in paradise, people get sick, and I felt like the energy was sucked out of me on Monday and Tuesday, and stayed up all night sleepless Tuesday, starting Valentine's Day behind the curve, waiting for the roof repairman to come back and fix a leak that was still leaking. (Did you know that roofs leak in paradise?) Then we spent four-and-a-half hours shopping for such exciting things as snail bate, fertilizer, a new dishwasher (not yet purchased), new dryer vent, and the like.

Not much romance for a Valentine's Day.

Today it's "cold." If I were still living in Kansas, 58 degrees in mid-February would seem like a heat wave, but here, with a chilly damp wind and no sun, it's "cold." We still made it out the door for a six mile bike ride, bundled up with jackets and gloves. Perspective does change in paradise.

I'm finding it is hard to set aside the time to write all the things I'd really like to, but I'm making a list so I don't forget them. I'm a list champion. I have lists for everything, and without them, I'd forget more than I'd get done.

Photo of the Day - Pink Peony

Roses may be the traditional flowers of love for Valentine's Day, but this lush pink peony seems to fit just as well to me. Our yard in Kansas had a profusion of white and pink peonies. The flowers were so large and heavy that the stems could barely hold them, and if there was any rain, they couldn't manage. Peonies smell wonderful, but I've never seen a peony perfume fragrance.

A Favorite Quote - Andre Gide on Kindness

"True kindness presupposes the faculty of imagining as one’s own the suffering and joys of others." -- André Gide

Photo of the Day - Limestone Column Detail

I've been fascinated with architecture since I was about ten years old, and I enjoy photographing unusual buildings and smaller architectural details. This capital on a limestone column is part of the beautiful detail carved by stonemasons that built some of the older stone buildings at Kansas State University. The KSU campus is a lovely, park-like setting, and unusual because nearly all of the buildings are constructed from native Kansas limestone.

Few Regrets - Trying to Regain the Joy of Music

One of the few regrets I have in life is that I didn't keep up with my music, the piano and violin I learned as a child, the guitar I taught myself to strum as I sang, and my voice, which I have sadly neglected.

When I was in junior high and high school, I loved to sing but was so self-conscious, fearing that I didn't have a good voice, that I wouldn't sing when anyone could hear me, not even in church. Somehow, by the time I was in college, I had gained enough courage to sing folk songs and play guitar for audiences and took a semester of chorus, which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially singing Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana."

Unfortunately, by that time, I no longer had a piano or my violin (my younger sister was still in school playing the family instrument) and without the instruments at hand, I was more or less forced to give up on them. I graduated and lived around the world, where I continued to sing, including one stint with a German choir, but I missed the piano particularly. It had been my outlet for joys and sorrows, a place to express emotion and teach myself new pieces.

I only had nine months of piano lessons, when I was in the fifth grade. Music "ran in my family." My father had studied to become a concert pianist but became a chemist instead. He could play virtually anything, though he lacked the "feel" to make the music really resonate emotionally. My grandfather played piano, violin and clarinet, and was always in a band. In addition to playing music and singing, I loved to dance to it, making up my own choreography. I danced on stage, too, as a teen.

The reason I only had nine months of lessons was that my teacher, a university piano instructor, wanted to make me into a professional, classical pianist. She made me work hard. I didn't mind practicing. It was her harshness that I had trouble with, and the fact that she didn't want me to do any other activities.

I was in a stage play called "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" and I was the Patchwork Girl. The week of final rehearsals, there was a conflict with my piano lesson. I asked my teacher whether I could take my lesson at a different time. She raked me over the coals, told me I needed to decide what I really wanted to do with my life, and sent me home in tears. My parents decided that after the spring recital, they would not send me back.

My father tried to teach me, but that didn't work out well at all, and less than two years later, he was dead and my mother couldn't afford to pay for piano lessons.

I never stopped playing, like some kids do when the lessons stop. I played and practiced on my own. I bought new sheet music and piano books with money I earned babysitting.

When I was living in Germany, in a small village, I spotted a beautiful Jugenstil piano in my landlord's living room. I asked him whether he played, and he said he didn't. He had acquired the piano from someone whose home he remodelled. They hadn't wanted it.

I expressed admiration for the beautiful old instrument, and to my surprise, he had his brother and six local farmers bring a hay wagon over and haul it to my house. It needed tuning, but soon I was playing daily. After not having a piano, and not practicing, for years, it was a keen disappointment that I could no longer play as well as I had when I was seventeen. I could read the music, but I couldn't coordinate all my fingers and read it at the same time. No matter how much I practiced, I never regained my earlier skill, but I still enjoyed playing until we moved away and I "lost" my piano again.

From the time they were babies until they were in junior high, I sang songs to my sons at bedtime every night. I don't know whether they remember that, but I know how much I enjoyed it.

Through the years, after I left Germany and no longer had Hanni's piano, I still yearned to be play and sing again, and I promised myself that when I moved to Florida, I would. Now I sing with two choruses, one a women's chorus, the other a mixed chorus that sings German and American songs. It's a new challenge to remember to read the notes, count the rhythm, and stay on key, but I'm enjoying it.

Photo of the Day - Butterfly

This lovely butterfly was at the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa last summer.

More Thoughts on Life in Paradise #3

Ever had a sprinkler system? I hadn't until moving here. You'd think it would be a simple and trouble free way to keep your lawn and landscaping watered, but no. Yesterday was the third time we've been out there for over an hour trying to adjust things. First off, there's an control box in the garage. You set the days of the week, times of day, length of time, and percentage of water spraying out for each of the "stations." One station isn't one sprayer, it's a group of them.

When we bought the house, no instructions came with it, and no map of where the various sprinkler stations were. I figured out how to set the controls, but as a complete amateur, I had no idea (and still don't) how long to have the water on. This is a critical point since some of the landscape plants apparently don't like too much or too little water.

Another issue is where are the sprinklers? Unless you clear the wells out about once a month, some of the pop-up sprinklers disappear under a load of sand, leaves and grass, which washes in during the rains and grass grows over them. Apparently, the former owners hadn't been concerned about this -- or watering at all -- since when we bought the house, the yard was practically a beach without water (no real soil here, just dirty sand) and many of the sprinkler heads were buried. My husband and son went around the yard stabbing through the sand with a sword (no kidding) to try to find them. The located some, bu not all of them.

Normally, because of watering restrictions in Florida, we have to water before sunrise or after sunset, and only on a designated day of the week, so it's not possible to actually see what they are doing. However, we kept hearing that one near our bedroom window was spraying on the house. Not good. Then we found water on the garage floor. It wasn't coming from the roof (thank goodness), and there is no source of water in the garage, so the only possibility was water coming from outside -- through the wall, apparently.

So, we went out with a diagram of the house perimeter and yard I made to try to actually find all of the stations and mark them on the diagram, note which station turned them on, and where the spray went. I discovered that not only was that one spraying on the house, it was broken. So were a couple of othe ones flooding the ground, including one by the garage wall. Some didn't pop up. So, we fixed what we could.

Since then, we've been out there a couple more times. You have to be prepared to get soaked doing this, which would probably feel good during a 90-something summer day, but was quite cool yesterday in the 60s with a breeze. We found several more of them spraying the walls of the house and flooding at the base. Looks like we have more work ahead. I think we got them mostly pointed away from the house, at least.

Now, to figure out how long to have them run . . . and next, how take care of some of these plants I know nothing about.

A Favorite Quote - George Bernard Shaw on Reformers

"The best reformers the world has ever seen are those who commence on themselves." -- George Bernard Shaw

Photo of the Day - Dandelion

This was an extraordinarily large dandelion that had gone to seed. When I've tried to photograph them up close, I've found it hard to get the whole thing in focus because of the short depth of field at that close distance, but this one turned out nicely.

More Thoughts on Life in Paradise

It was another gorgeous day and I spent five hours out in the yard doing things I never would have done "up north." Like using a blower to blow leaves and debris out of the "popcorn bed." Now, these have nothing to do with popcorn. They are landscaping features, curved beds made with concrete "siding" that is about 4 inches tall, rounded, and full of chunks of rock about the size of a popped kernel of popcorn. These are painted white and filled in with smooth white pebbles. Planted in them are the landscaping features, from varieties of palm to flowering shrubs I never encountered "up north." These include hibiscus, ixora, alamandia, Crown of Thorns, holly trees, and much more.

You'd never guess how much work it takes to take care of this stuff. In "paradise" you can "garden" all year long. With a yard the size of ours, you could make a full time job out of it. Or, do like most of the neighbors and pay a landscaping service. Until I moved here, I never knew that you needed to constantly cut fronds off the palms, for instance. Now I am also trying to learn why my hibiscus has yellow leaves and there are red spots on the ixora leaves.

And today I was raking leaves. Bags full.

Well it was lovely out there, and it was a lot better than shoveling snow or scraping ice off a windshield!

Thoughts on life in "paradise"

Several places I've lived have been described as "paradise." When I lived in Hawaii, friends wrote and asked whether it was really true, whether it really was "mai-tais on the lanai" and fun on the beach. Well -- yes, it was, but it was also the same daily chores we have everywhere -- work, dishes, cleaning house, paying bills. Real life doesn't disappear in "paradise." But, you do get to forgo the time spent on scraping ice off the windshield and shoveling your car out of the snow (which I had my fill of in Chicago!), and you can walk on the beach in the winter.

Although typhoons are a possibility in Hawaii, we didn't have one during the three years we lived there. We escaped hurricanes in Puerto Rico (arriving the year after Hurricane Hugo did so much damage) but did experience several tropical storms. Now, in Florida, we wonder what's in store.

Most of the year it's beautiful here. My Florida friends say the risk of hurricanes is worth it. I hope so!

Yesterday was a glorious day. Perfect for walking, riding a bike, or enjoying a book in the hammock. We rode our bikes the usual six miles (some days it's not so pleasant -- too hot, too humid, or chilly and windy) and it felt like paradise.

In the "winter" (I still think it's amusing they even use the term here), it's often warm enough to go to the beach but not warm enough to swim, with the water under 68 degrees. Still, it's lovely to walk on the beach with bare feet in the sand . . . even if I have to go home to deal with roof leaks, an ant invasion in the garage, and a mis-adjusted sprinkler system. Real life exists everywhere . . .

Photo of the Day - Key West marina at dusk

Key West is full of interesting photo possibilities, from the old fort to the unusual architecture, the plants, chickens, and boats. This shot at dusk, with a hint of sunset color, looks restful, but also holds a hint of the adventure of the sea. Again, two of my favorite subjects, sky and water.

Photo of the Day - Odd Tree Growth

I like to photograph both the beauty and oddities of nature. This tree had grown in a very unusual shape near Table Rock Lake in Missour.

A Favorite Quote - Pittman on Family Lore

"Family lore can be a bore, but only when you are hearing it, never when you are relating it to the ones who will be carrying it on for you. A family without a storyteller or two has no way to make sense out of their past and no way to get a sense of themselves." -- Frank Pittman

Photo of the Day - Red Tulips

This clump of tulips was growing beside a driveway. It's amazing it survived. I don't know why anyone would plant bulbs so close to where people drive and trample, but here they are in all their glory.

A Thought about the Iraq Situation

Iraq is a festering sore from which we pulled off the scab.

I wish we had the means to heal it, and I hope the turmoil doesn't spread far beyond the bounds of the Saddam problem we once had contained.

We should have looked ahead.

Photo of the Day - Old Barn

I find ramshackle old buildings or machinery standing out in fields fascinating photography subjects. What happens when people just neglect them? I've missed some photo opportunities because I was on a highway that didn't make it possible to stop for the sight, or because I failed to have my camera with me. I spotted this old barn along a road in northeastern Kansas and was lucky enough to have a camera along, even though I had to tromp through some mud. It also has another one of my favorite themes, a wide sky.

A favorite Quote - George Bernard Shaw on Liberty

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." -- George Bernard Shaw

Photo of the Day - Dry Tortugas National Park

The Dry Tortugas west of Key West, in the Gulf of Mexico, offer vistas of turquoise sea and sky, along with Fort Jefferson fortress, beaches, and wildlife. This unusually shaped spit of land seems to lead off to the horizon and adventure.

A favorite Quote - Anais Nin on Courage

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. -- Anais Nin

Photo of the Day - Flowers on the Prairie

Here's another example of the beautiful wildflowers that bloom on the prairie. If you read pioneer accounts of travel through or life on the prairie, among the details of wild weather, harsh conditions, animals, and more, you will find descriptions of the beautiful wildflowers that carpet the prairie from spring to fall. The colors are vivid and intense. (And the grasshoppers are huge!)

Florida Tornadoes

A colleague of mine moved from Florida to Kansas for a new job, and her family in Florida practically wrote her off as dead, thinking she would never survive the tornadoes there. When we moved from Kansas to Florida, family in Kansas felt the same way about Florida hurricanes. When I was writing a children's book that featured tornadoes, I did a lot of research and was surprised to learn how many tornadoes Florida has -- and therefore even more surprised at my colleague's family's reaction to her move. I've lived in some dangerous places, if you consider the destructive power of weather and the earth -- California and Japan for earthquakes (yes, I was in some, but luckily didn't experience damage or injury), Kansas and Florida for terrible storms, whether tornadoes or hurricanes. Is there a safe place in the world?

My heart goes out to all the families that lost their homes, and in some cases lives, in the tornado early this morning in central Florida, and those who lost everything in the Christmas Day storm. I'm thankful that my family and our homes are unscathed.

A Favorite Quote - Ben Franklin on Theory v. Fact

"One of life's great tragedies is the murder of a beautiful theory by a gang of brutal facts." -- Benjamin Franklin

Photo of the Day - Sand Dollar

At sunset on Anna Marie Island, Florida, the tide had gone out leaving this sand dollar on the beach with the water streams carving the sand around it. The slanted rays from the sun added dimensionality and tone to an essentially monochromatic photo.

Thoughts on Moving

I've moved 18 times in my life, 15 of them since I left my childhood home. I was one of those kids that went from kindergarten to sixth grade at the same school, all three years of junior high at the same school, and ditto with high school. It wasn't until I became an army wife that moving became a regular event in my life.

Civilian friends who could not comprehend the military lifestyle asked me if I liked moving, whether I missed my friends and family. The answer to both is yes. Well, actually, it wasn't the moving itself I liked, it was "having moved." I learned to enjoy the sense of adventure, particularly since many of those moves involved going overseas to locations that, given my prairie town childhood, seemed incredibly exotic -- Germany, Japan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the ability to travel in those areas of the world. I would have missed learning so much, seeing all those places, meeting so many interesting people, making lasting friends. I would have missed learning a smattering of several languages and becoming fluent in spoken German. I would have missed the opportunity to learn new arts and crafts, to photograph things I would never have even seen any other way.

Of course I missed my family, particularly during the first overseas tour of duty in Germany, the farthest I had ever been from my family. I was fortunate that my husband's German family was close by and welcomed me with open arms.

Of course I missed my friends, but I tried my best to stay in contact with them, just as I did with those newer friends I made along the way.

I just went through a long and complicated move and hope to stay put for years now, but still take trips around the world. At a certain point, moving becomes too physically demanding without a lot of help.

I'm looking forward to new friends here, and I hope the old ones all come to visit. I'm looking forward to new discoveries. I grew up in a fine place. I lived in many.

Photo of the Day - Hibiscus

This beautiful bloom was one of many unusual varieties of hibiscus I photographed at Busch Gardens in Tampa.

A Favorite Quote - Burke on Compromise

All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter. -- Edmund Burke

Observation - Men and Small Sports Cars

My husband was admiring a BMW sports car, another one of those small cars like the Miata that seem like toys next to a regular sedan. I remarked that I didn't understand why a large man who wanted to show off his masculine affinity for a fast automobile and his well-padded wallet would choose the smallest car he could find -- and the hardest ones to get in and out of.

Photo of the Day - Yellow Flower and Insect

Here's another one I can't identify without help. This bright yellow flower grows on the prairie. I managed to catch an insect on it.

A Favorite Quote - Jefferson on Honesty and Wisdom

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. -- Thomas Jefferson

Photo of the Day - Seaweed on the Beach

Walking on Anna Marie Island in Florida, late in the day as the sun was setting, I came across many varieties of seaweed which had washed ashore and been left by the receding tide. The many colors were a surprise. They ranged from light to bright and deep shades of yellow, green and maroon. Here is one example.

A Favorite Quote - Mark Twain on Lies and Truth

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. -- Mark Twain

Photo of the Day - Primrose

This primrose was glowing on the Kansas prairie.

A Favorite Quote - Pearl S. Buck on Doing Right

You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings. - Pearl S. Buck

Photo of the Day - Shell Fountain - Atlantis Resort

The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas is full of arresting architectural details (for those than can tear themselves away from the beach or casino). This fountain captivated me, with the black stone ball that turned continuously as the water poured over it, and the delicate colors of the shell basin.

Learning to Use Computer Dictation Software - A Humbling Experience

We thought it would be great to be able to "simply" dictate words into a word processor, so we got a program to do it. I read that it was critical to do the voice recognition passages so that the program would learn one's voice and get the words right, and I dutifully read some passages, but was anxious to try it out "for real." I did pretty well, but never having had to do dictation for a secretary or dictaphone in past years, it was a challenge to realize I had to tell it when to capitalize, put in punctuation, etc. Worse, though, was learning how to correct the inevitable mistakes in "understanding."

What was really fascinating was watching the words march across the "page" in the document without me having to touch the keys. Seeing it take shape made it a lot easier to remember when to say, for instance, "comma" or "paragraph."

My husband thought this was going to be easy. He had heard our son talking about how great it was, and he didn't see any need to read the instructions. He did read the practice passages, but it seems to have a very hard time understanding him. He does have a bit of an accent, but it's not that pronounced. I asked him whether he had read the instructions. Of course not!

It turned out that he had the microphone plugged in wrong, hadn't calibrated it, hadn't set it as the input device, and was talking into the wrong side of it. On top of that, he decided to import songs into iTunes at the same time, and that created an audio input that seemed to "compete" with his voice input and inserted words from the songs interspersed with what he was trying to dictate. The results were hilarious!

Ahh, these wonderful inventions. If we can only master them!

A Favorite Quote - Einstein on Insanity

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

Photo of the Day - Feathery Growth on Bamboo Stem

At the Gamble Plantation in Sarasota, Florida, we were fascinated by a grove of very tall bamboo. The oldest canes were covered by lichen and the "joints" of the bamboo sections had heavier growths that looked like small, leafy plants. This one was much larger, about four inches across. It was delicate and unusual.

A Favorite Quote - Ghandi on Change

"You must be the change you wish to see." --Gandhi

Photo of the Day - Flowers - Morning Glories?

Oddly enough, though I especially enjoy photographing flowers, I don't know the names of the varieties or much of anything about growing them. Although these look like "morning glories" to me, I don't know if they actually are, and I photographed them late in the afternoon. Do they bloom then? These were growing in the wonderful garden at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia, last May.

A Favorite Quote - Douglas Adams on "Foolproof"

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams

Photo of the Day - Red and Green Peppers

Sometimes I think we miss the everyday beauty around us because it is "ordinary." We go to the fruit and vegetable stand to pick out groceries and don't see the marvelous color, variety and composition of the baskets, bins and trays of produce, and most of the time, probably don't have a camera with us (except perhaps a cell phone camera these days). I happened to have my camera with me when we stopped at a local market stand and found myself fascinated by the photo possibilities. This bin of peppers begged to be photographed.

The Power of Story

People have been telling each other stories since language began. Before it was written, there were storytellers. Today, we have many kinds of storytellers, from oral storytellers telling everything from folktales to memorized literature, to writers who write their stories in books, movies, television, radio, tapes, and even on interactive computer software. We are addicted to stories in every form, whether neighborhood gossip, picture books, novels, the evening news, talk shows, or those daydreams in our heads. We tell ourselves stories. And stories are meant to be shared. Coming together to share a story is one of the oldest ways people have enjoyed themselves. What is visiting with friends but sharing our own stories. The love of stories is "built in."

If we were looking for a way to describe people as different from animals, we could do well by naming homo sapiens "the storytellers." And for stories, two things are prime ingredients: imagination and persistence. There can be no story without an imagination that thinks, "What if . . . ?" No story without the persistence to keep honing the words and telling it.

One of the marvels of being human is that ability to imagine and communicate stories, good stories, ideas that hook the listener or reader. How about those books you just couldn't put down? The books your children begged you to read, "one more time"? The TV show you couldn't turn off? The daydream that took you far away, so far, you didn't hear what was going on around you?

So, let us enjoy and appreciate the magic and joy of shared stories, to become a part of that human experience, to hear other storytellers, other voices, other places, other times. Through story we can experience the past, the future, the joys and sorrows of others, imaginary places and creatures, tall tales and true. We can participate in the stories of our shared culture, and those of other cultures. We can learn about the world around us, from the sorrows to the joys, the arts to the sciences. We can find that we are not alone in our fears and problems, that there is joy and laughter somewhere in the world, that there are people like us and people who are different. We can learn our human language.