Thoughtful Friday

Posted on by
Reply

I recently discovered some of Doug Peacock‘s books, which are truly insightful in these challenging times. He was probably Edward Abbey’s best friend and was the inspiration for Hayduke. He is still fighting for the land, the animals, and the indigenous people all over the world. I would have loved to have that part of his life. He has traveled the globe studying and writing about things we forget about and are destroying. He has a large group of like-minded friends who have championed the cause to save the earth and its plants and animals. For example, he traveled with Tom Brokaw, who was his neighbor!He recently published stories from his life travels, and so many of them hit a home run. I encourage you to read this book!

From the book Was it Worth it? From the 2020 pandemic:
“The current pandemic will not be our last plague and it is a prime symptom that our center is not holding. Our smug assumptions of the primacy of our civilization are coming apart. Humans are not in control of the world we live in. We are not in charge.” [Emphasis mine.]
[Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 277). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

On his thoughts about climate change:
–“We have not told ourselves the truth. Because it was everyone’s job, it was no one’s job.”
–“There is so much beauty in the world; all we have to do is stick around to see it. For a father who loves the Earth and finds joy in defending wild landscapes, considering our demise as a species is not a pleasant exercise. But we need to see the truth, the raw, unvarnished truth. Science and journalism water down the severity of a changing climate and pull their punches. When we try to extract the most credible science from each, we find much of it filtered through caution and timidity. There are semantic arguments that optimism and hope will color a rosier world, but how we feel about it does not change that unpolished truth. What about temperatures too hot for life on Earth? Or habitats too impaired for survival?”
–“‘That which evolves does not persist without the conditions of its genesis’ is a sentence I’ve found myself repeating monotonously throughout the decades.” [Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 279). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

Considering the current administration’s push to expand development, mining, and deforestation, as well as its efforts to push human beings further into the unspoiled natural world, it makes me ponder why the destructive lies about climate change continue to lead us to destroy the very place we live today. Will the ones who care about the future be able to stop the greed and destruction? Will this current legacy be passed on to the next generation, or can the young ones stop it? Something to think about.

Finally, Peacock stated that we need to “peer into the abyss” and think about how we behave.
“There is great joy in doing the toil of the world, fighting for wild causes, saving pieces of the magnificent natural world. There’s plenty of work; do your job with decency and an open heart. Love your brothers and sisters in all actions, in all relationships. Speak the truth. Extend your innate empathy to distant tribes and strange animals. Arm yourself with friendship and love the Earth.” [Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 281). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

So, as we go about our daily existence, let’s all take a moment to consider what is happening to the planet. Let’s pull out those eco-warrior people that we were in the past and stop being complacent. Stand up to the farmers and ranchers, as well as the developers, and bring back the “Just Say No!” slogan and apply it to insane growth and expansion into our wildest areas. If you have funds, start buying up land to save it from development and put it in a trust for all future generations, just like Peacock’s buddies have done. Ensure that future generations understand that the land held in trust by your family should never be developed. Clean up the drilling sites to stop methane leakage. And keep those crazy, burping, and farting cows off of those lands! There are better ways to raise these animals, resulting in significantly reduced methane release. There are better ways, people! Just write your congressmen and women to make a change! Recognize that we can change if we desire it. Future generations will love and remember you if you fight the good fight.

Enough said. I love you all and will continue to ask you to step up every day that I am here on this planet. Enjoy your weekend!

When We Become Too Comfortable

Posted on by
Reply

Denver voters voted for Propositions LL and MM to fund healthy meals for all children in their schools. Those who opposed Proposition MM—the tax on incomes higher than $200,000.00—had incomes higher than $200,000.00! Wow! However, all the little people stood up and voted in favor of this measure. They know what’s important.

Georgia voters approved a measure to increase exemptions for seniors on school funding, which is expected to cause a deficit in the public school system. I understand that many seniors suffer, but those with more financial means should pay their fair share to help the younger generations. The “I got mine, the hell with the rest of the world” ideology has to stop now. We must become the person our ancestors wanted us to be.

As a senior, I understand that money can be tight, but I believe in paying my fair share of taxes to help fund public schools and care for future generations. And people with more means should also pay their fair share.  Without accessible education and healthy meal programs, we have doomed our future leaders and given power to the multi-billionaires. (Sound familiar?)

When we start to make money, and some of us have done very well, we forget how we got there. Our education was important and helped create healthy and successful people in most of us. Some of us entrepreneurs have amassed a significant amount of wealth over the years, and we’ve lost touch with the humble person who started out with less. I never made it into the $200,000.00 income crowd, but I shared what I had with those who needed it more than I did. I still do that today and have increased my sharing amounts.

So I am asking all of you to adjust your comfort zone. I am asking all of you to go beyond selfishness and consumerism. Consider taking one less vacation, not buying the latest and greatest iPhone, and save a little money to donate to a cause that helps your local schools and food banks. ALL children deserve an education, and teachers deserve to be treated with respect. That’s all I am asking of each of you. YOU made these children, and you also have neighbors who have children. Treat all of the children and families right, and they will honor you when they take over the world!

Colorado Gives Day is coming up on December 9th. Consider giving more than you did last year. Enough said.

I love you all on this windy, warm day. Hope for rain or snow!

Thank You, America!

Posted on by
Reply

Thank you, America, for standing up and voting yesterday, for people who are FOR THE PEOPLE. We have spoken up, and now others are listening. We now have hope that the people who have faithfully supported that terrible person in power will listen to us and consider the people they are supposed to represent, rather than just the man and his party who hold the reins at the moment. We hope that they will start to think for themselves and not be afraid of him and the crazies out there.

Growing up in a time when women and minorities were treated so badly has given me a deep understanding of people like you know who really are inside. They have no empathy for those in need, only for those who will bow down to him and kiss the ring. I am sad that so many of us don’t understand what a true and progressive democracy really entails. I am sad that we don’t see how people are suffering, and even that some of those people don’t believe he is bad for them. My only hope is that we will continue to strive into the next year to vote for people who will get all of government on track. My hope is that we will survive and learn to support each other.

Michelle Obama’s comments on The Late Show last night hit home as to why I am at a loss like her, why we are allowing this bully to continue. Her conversation with Colbert put it succinctly about what is going on with the demolition of the East Wing—our heritage, and I emphasize ‘our’ as in the people’s heritage, not the one living there at the present moment.

She said:
“People have asked me how I felt about the move.” “What I will remind people is that the house is not our house,” Obama said.
“We never viewed it as our house. We were there for a time. We had a job to do,” the former first lady said.
“We always felt it was the people’s house.”
“And yes, every family, every administration, has a right and a duty to maintain the house, make investments and improvements. And there are plenty of things that needed fixing there,” she told Colbert.
“But the thing — it makes me confused. I am confused by what are our norms. What are our standards? What are our traditions?” Obama said.
During President Obama’s time in office from 2009-17, Michelle Obama said, there were “a whole standard of norms and rules that we follow to a T, that we painstakingly tried to uphold, because it was bigger than us.”
The country, she said, must “decide what rules are we following and who is to abide by them, and who isn’t.”
During her “Late Show” interview, when Colbert mentioned the East Wing, Obama quipped, “Remember that?”
Obama described the East Wing, built in 1942 during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and which provided space for the first lady’s staff as well as other offices, as “where life happened [emphasis mine].”
“The West Wing was work — sometimes it was sadness, it was problems. It was the guts of the White House,” Obama, author of the new book “The Look,” said.
“The East Wing was where you felt light.”

Michelle Obama on East Wing demolition: ‘We always felt it was the people’s house’

Her thoughts about the East wing being a place where you can be light bring back the memories of a woman in office who cares about her children, about others of every color, and a sense of family we all strive to have. As I reflect on what is going on in this administration, I still have hope that idiot in office will forego his ego and think about what he has done to all the people as a nation, especially those who are the caretakers and the caregivers, and don’t have the power that money brings to them—those everyday people like me that cares about the state of the world. I hope that we are finally considering how to persuade both parties to do what is right and take care of the people they represent.

These last two months have been about reflection, writing for the greater good, finishing up my books and preparing for publication (SOON!), and trying to give back in a way that I know how. Taking a break from the daily sadness has made me realize that I still need to have my say; otherwise, it stews in my head, and I can’t move on. Others don’t always like what I have to say, but all I ask of each and every one of you is to work hard to bring back common decency to those who are being affected by someone who doesn’t obey the rules. As a people of these United States, we generally obey the rules, so why can’t we expect those in power to do the same? Why can’t we expect those in power to be held accountable for their actions? Enough said for today.

I love you all, and I’ll always keep fighting the good fight. I hope you do the same!

Environment Colorado

Posted on by
Reply

CHECK THIS OUT AND PLEASE PARTICIPATE!
Thank you for signing our petition.

You see, our strategy is based on a simple but powerful idea: Each new person who joins our call to help save the bees from toxic pesticides makes it more likely decision-makers will do the right thing.

And there’s always more we can do to protect wildlife. Across America, human development has crowded out our wildlife, often leaving them without enough space to migrate or find food. The good news is that the next step is simple but impactful.

Will you sign this petition urging our U.S. senators to pass the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act? If passed, this bill will map out wildlife movement and protect habitat along the corridors. The petition reads:

Animals need room to roam, but development has too often divided and fragmented their habitats. This contributes to the dramatic wildlife population declines in the U.S. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The bipartisan Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act of 2025 will help ensure that wildlife across the country has the necessary space to thrive. 

We urge you to support this important bill, connecting nature and saving America’s wildlife all across the country.

Yes, I’ll sign it now.

As our advocates urge our senators to take action and our grassroots staff mobilize local elected officials, citizens, and others to get involved in this effort, you can help by signing our petition.

If you and every other new member who signed up today in your town takes this step, we’ll deliver dozens more petitions to the Senate. When we’re working to help save wildlife and wild places, every voice makes a difference.

Welcome to the team. And thanks for making it all possible.

Sincerely,
Ellen Montgomery
On behalf of Environment Colorado

Editing is an Essential Part of Your Life

Posted on by
Reply

OR: Creating the Right Story
OR: Becoming a Warrior
For the last two weeks, I have been a little crazy (Really? You say, only just the last two weeks?) OK, just stop. Take a seat and read further. I sent my final copy of the book to my editor last week, and I have been on Zoom calls with her, my go-to gal! She has helped me capture each story I really want to write, going through all of my Dru-isms—a language of my weird brain that no one can understand, which pops up on every page I have written. I am also submitting it to my spouse, who tells me the truth, even if I don’t want to hear it. I have too much invested in my characters, so even though I don’t like it, he tells me when it gets weird, and I make the appropriate changes.

Having an excellent editor for your writing, who does the job well, helping you fix your draft into the story that you want to tell, into a work of art, is the best friend you’ll ever have in this business. A genuine editor can help you create a masterpiece. A real editor doesn’t try to impose their story onto yours. It’s important to have that to let go of the piece at the end. So, in a few more weeks, hopefully, I’ll have a product that is worthy of publishing.

But that’s not all of this post. Editing your printed work is just one thought regarding this subject. The second is editing for your life. If you could go back in time, how many stupid things that you did in the past would you delete? I think about this all the time (I know, my brain is a shoe box full of memories I wish I could get rid of! Although it does make a good story!) I have tried to forgive, apologize, and move on, but sometimes they are just stuck there. And, when I am down in the dumps, they rise once again for me to revisit. There are hundreds of articles on how to solve this problem, and believe me, I have read them all. But sometimes the only way I can process the negative tape in my head is to just let them go for a short time. I usually physically leave the house and then go for a swim or a walk, and come home to write about them in my blog!

And my final thought about editing is how to edit those nagging pictures of yourself when you don’t feel you have been courageous. (Sans editing tools on your phone!) In my life, I am always the behind-the-scenes person. I am the one who gathers intel and completes a report. I am the one who does the research. I am the one who advises others. In my writing, I am that hero, that action person who fights the good fight. I pour everything into the characters in the book. But sometimes, I wish that I were that person in the front, that warrior-woman within me, making things happen, protesting all the wrongs in public, rather than on paper. But my rational mind says the only way to create change is to help people understand their actions through the pen, versus taking up the sword.

So, stand up for injustice in the world, and for what you believe is the right thing to do in any way that you can. And maybe it’s okay to encourage others to be brave for you, and you embrace your warrior within.

I’ll leave you with these quotes by Kristen Hannah from her book The Four Winds. Add this book to your bucket list!

  • “He used to tell me that courage was a lie. It was just fear that you ignored.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 403). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]
  • “Courage is fear you ignore.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 403). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]
  • “It wasn’t the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 423). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]
  • “A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. A warrior never gives up. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself. It sounds like motherhood to me.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 426). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]
  • “The world can be changed by a handful of courageous people.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 427). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]
  • “History has shown us the strength and durability of the human spirit. In the end, it is our idealism and our courage and our commitment to one another—what we have in common—that will save us.” [Hannah, Kristin. The Four Winds: A Novel (p. 453). St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]

I love you all on this almost perfect day! Enjoy the coming of fall!

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Posted on by
Reply

Or: Have You Made Your Mark in the World?
Remember the old Cheers TV sitcom show where you walked in and everyone called out your name? (Noooorrrrmm!) The upside of that wonderful local bar is that you got to know everyone and it was a sense of community. The downside of that is that you went to the bar every night before going home.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if everyone knew you as a positive force in your neighborhood, and that you created a life where people will remember you for the good deeds you have done? Wouldn’t it be lovely if you made a difference in the world? Instead of retreating into a cocoon, go out and celebrate life to the fullest. Become the Barbie and create a world where both men and women have an impact!

It’s amazing that one of the most impactful creation on kids, especially girls, was the Barbie Doll and what she represented. She was an inspiration for every young girl from the 1950s on. She could be beautiful and smart, and with each year’s rollout, she grew up more and became a little wiser. Sure, she had lots of clothes and was a stereotypical buxom blonde in the 1950s and 1960s, but Mattel expanded with the times, creating Barbies of all colors, careers, clothing and lifestyles. Who wouldn’t love her? Of course it was all about selling toys and accessories to the company, but to young girls who aspired to be more than what men thought they should be, she became a role model.

Rhea Perlman, who played Carla on Cheers, had an awesome comeback in the movie Barbie. She was the CEO/creator of the Barbie world (the real life person was Ruth Handler, who grew up in Denver, Colorado). Ruth and her husband created Mattel. Barbie and Ken were named after their children.

“Handler was inspired to create Barbie after watching her daughter Barbara, the namesake of the doll, and her friends play with paper dolls. “I discovered something very important: They were using these dolls to project their dreams of their own futures as adult women.… Wouldn’t it be great if we could take that play pattern and three-dimensionalize it?” she recalled in her memoir.
https://people.com/all-about-ruth-handler-children-barbara-kenneth-7562635

At the end of the movie, Perlman revealed that she was the creator of Barbie. And she delivered best advice (the best line in the movie) to Barbie when she was having an existential crisis about where she fit in, what world she would live in, and if her life would end. Handler stated: “That was always the point, I created you so you wouldn’t have an ending.”

Now I think I have stated out loud that I was a big nerd and tomboy back in the day, and we couldn’t afford all the outfits. But our mother gave each of us girls a Barbie when we were pre-teens. Barbie changed our ideas about playing with dolls. She became our hero in so many imaginary worlds we created. We would take those legendary tales and become the people that we were supposed to be.

We all know that our lives will end someday, but we learn to embrace our potential every day that we live. We learn to be helpful to others and ask for help when we need it. We learn that not everyone will know our name, but we strive to be a part of each other’s lives in our community. So climb out your shell, embrace the Barbie and Ken in your lives, and be who you need to be, a positive force in nature. And who knows? Maybe everyone will know your name (In a good way, that is….)  Cheers Theme Song

GLORIOUS RAIN!

Posted on by
Reply

IT RAINED! GLORIOUS RAIN!
My rain barrel is full and my tomatoes, zucchini, and acorn squash are producing and are finally happy plants! I am watering from the barrel every day and it is a wonderful thing. And ZINNIAS! My Georgia friends, ZINNIAS!

I am taking up more grass, and increasing the vegetable garden for next year. And I ordered my Colorado red flagstone to finish my path in the dead grass zone. Thanks to Colorado Materials in Longmont for providing me with the best experience! Kiddo is coming home and his buddies are helping me lay it. Yea!
https://www.coloradomaterialsinc.com/

I have to admit to you that writing about the future post-apocalyptic world has freed my current worrisome mind. There is still so much to do to avoid a real downfall of the republic in my lifetime. But in my make-believe future world, adults are working together to make sure kids are safe, don’t starve, are educated about everything, know how to use tools, and know how to get along. The kids in my book have an incredible life. There are no mean and unreasonable parents or their offspring in my book. There are no color barriers of any kind and they are all loved in equal amounts. No religious pressure, no hate, just love. The last vestiges of civilization should have places like this.

And let’s all realize that this is also the type of world we should have today—a place where we can feed, dress, and keep all children safe, no matter who they are or where they are from. That is what we should wholeheartedly strive for every day that we are alive on this planet! Parents should teach children how to create that better world, and help them understand how to embrace challenges without anger and strife. We can all make a better world if we listen to each other. So stop the hate, love everyone equally, and let’s just get over ourselves!

I hope everyone is enjoying the little things that make you happy today. No doom and gloom. No drama. Just glorious rain! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Be Who You Are

Posted on by
Reply

BUT HELP THOSE IN NEED
In continuing my theme from my last post, FEELING RETRO, I have been pondering about why we strive so hard to fit into someone else’s definition of who we should be. We are all unique in our own way and where we should be right now. But people want to work and do and achieve, and be recognized for their achievements. Sometimes that is a hard thing to do with all the competition out there for fewer and fewer jobs.

I am reading Kristin Hannah again. In the book I am currently reading, The Four Winds, she has researched the Dust Bowl thoroughly and the lands and people who were hit hard during the Great Depression. Her description of the protagonist and her family trekking all alone from the Oklahoma Panhandle all the way to California is a wake-up call on how things could get worse in this day and age. The successful post-WWI farmers lost everything, including all of the topsoil. They had farmed like everyone else who came out of the east coast, scraping the land of the prairie grass and planting wheat and corn, among other things without irrigation. And then the rains stopped. For TEN years. The dust storms not only buried everything that they owned, but people also became sick and died. During the Roosevelt years, they tried to help, but many of those didn’t want to be on the dole. They had been taught that it was wrong. And, they didn’t use irrigation like their current farming methods; and that is yet another subject that needs to be addressed.

When so many people left home and moved to California, they were turned away or shunned. They lived in horrible conditions, camps by the road, and were ridiculed. They had no money for gas or new clothes. The locals said they carried disease and treated them horrendously. Their life was incredibly difficult. (Grapes of Wrath is a must read if you don’t understand).

And even when these Americans worked their fingers to the bone for 10 hours a day, like the woman portrayed in the book, they were given a pittance salary, a handful of coins, which was not enough for gas, and not enough to move out of their situation. They all had hoped for planting or picking jobs, or any job that paid them a wage to move out of the camps. But sometimes they just starved to death.

So the reason I am telling you this, is in reality, this could happen again. The stock market could crash, and many of us on the margins could wind up in a similar situation, especially if there are no services provided by our government. The working class that are being ignored by the Silver Spoon Class will suffer like they have over the past 100 years. There has to be a balance between the upper 1% and those in the middle class and especially those at poverty level. They are not bad people. They just have bad situations. Why can’t we all see this?

We all want to be these entrepreneurs and hit it big! But cheap foreign goods cut us out of the market. Small businesses can’t grow because they can’t get the capital. The largest industry today is the financial or banking industry. Since 1980, the economy has shifted from making real products to making financial products. In other words, the working class suffers once again, blames the past democrats, because every president in office listened to Wall Street instead of providing stability and focused on balancing the government budget. Folks that lost their jobs reason they still shift to the people like you know who. In reality, he has created a situation that is absolutely worse than any democratic president in office. And who benefits? The upper 1%.

“According to the latest official poverty statistics, the poverty rate in 2023 was 11.1%, representing approximately 36.8 million Americans living below the federal poverty line.”
https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/statistics-on-poverty-in-united-states/

36.8 million Americans! Why?
Unfortunately, the government isn’t going to solve everything because they are cutting programs every day. They are creating new rules for the upper 1% to keep their wealth. Working class America will always suffer if we don’t help each other.

So today, I am asking everyone to think about how all of us who aren’t millionaires or billionaires are going to prepare for the inevitable changes to our economy. I am asking us to be prepared, but help out those in need, even when they say they don’t need your help. Don’t blame them for their misfortune or their poverty. Help them climb out of poverty. Give them a clean pair of clothes, and help them get off the streets. Most people are truly just trying to find work and a safe place to sleep. You can save lives if you just care. Give to support shelters, give to mental health centers and drug rehabilitation centers, give to education, and give goods to your local food banks. Help those who need help. Thank you.

FEELING RETRO

Posted on by
Reply

Today I came across the book Sundog, by Jim Harrison and re-read some of the passages. I had forgotten that I had modelled Wendy Blair-McFreel’s character (from the Caitlin Ferguson mystery series) on Robert Strang. This book’s protagonist particularly struck me as to how she should be portrayed. And, after binge reading all of his books so many years ago, I learned to love his prose, as well as his idea and creation of a novella. I would have loved to have met him and discussed his style.

According to Wikipedia,
“James Harrison (1937-2016) was an American poet, novelist, and essayist. He was a prolific and versatile writer publishing over three dozen books in several genres including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, and memoir. He wrote screenplays, book reviews, literary criticism, and published essays on food, travel, and sport. Harrison indicated that, of all his writing, his poetry meant the most to him. Harrison published 24 novellas during his lifetime and is considered America’s foremost master of that form. His first commercial success  came with the 1979 publication of the trilogy of novellas Legends of the Fall, two of which were made into movies.”

Here are a few Jim Harrison quotes that are timeless. I think they are worth thinking about for today:
“One need only dabble in psychoanalytic literature to see how deeply idiosyncratic we are. Catholics and Tantric Buddhists have been wise enough to accommodate this lushness in human impulse; Protestants must subdue their heretical yearnings. They belong to the cult of self-improvement and hammer at their poor souls as if they were tract houses. The point is we are all quite different, and everyone tells us we’re not [emphasis mine]. There is this inescapable, incredible variety of perception and sensation, the little parcels of experience that add up to a whole not necessarily typified by any sort of symmetric unity, but the urge of life herself.”

“We achieve our dimensions for very specific reasons we ourselves ordain. In other words, we already are, at any given moment, what we, in totality, wish to be…. Scarcely anyone at any given time can locate himself in a meaningful sense.”

“I got this theory… that most people never know more than vaguely where they are, either in time or in the scheme of things. People can’t read contracts or time schedules or identify countries on blank maps. Why should they?”

“Don’t you wonder about these first affinities? I’m sure nearly everyone in the world has had them, with all their frightening intensity, which comes from our vulnerability at that age. We “love” before we know how to protect ourselves, pure and simple.”

“Symmetry is a term better suited to engineering than to people’s lives. By the time you wish to become something, you’re already something else…. I’m aware that everyone sees the world differently….”

So my short and sweet answer for today’s woes comes to this:
Be who you are. Learn to love others and yourself. See the world the way you need to see it. Stop the hate. Stop the madness. I love you all on the ponderous night. Stay safe and keep learning, keep reading, and hold your loved ones close.