Little Women (and why I just finished reading this at near middle-age)

I just finished reading Little Women, and just realized why I hadn’t read it when I was a girl. I learned how to read early (before Kindergarten), and consequently many of my birthday and Christmas gifts from family were books. My beloved grandparents gave me Little Women when I was eight, but it just did not keep my attention.


I think I know why: my dear grandparents also gave me the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was a bit of a tomboy in my youth, and I am sure I related much better to Laura in the Big Woods and the Prairie than I did with proper Meg, Beth, Amy, and even Jo. Laura was somewhat of a tomboy also, and her adventures as her family moved across the Midwest (including Minnesota), grabbed my interest and held it. When I was young, I also appreciated the more simple approach to life in the Little House books – Ma versus Marmee, small towns versus travelling to New York and across Europe, and just being polite instead of worrying about one’s place in society. Certainly the writing styles of Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder were quite different too; Ms. Alcott even occasionally referred to herself as the storyteller, while Ms. Wilder kept herself out of the narrative completely.

Now that I am older and (ahem) more mature, I appreciate the grace and charm of the March family a little more. Of course, I found myself liking Jo the best (the tomboy), but also found myself caring for the rest of the Women as they grew up and left the March home. It also gives me a different perspective on how life was around the same time as Laura grew up.

A part of my childhood is now complete and I can return Little Women to the bookshelf (next to the Little House books).

Who's got your vote?

Yes, I believe it's way too early for all of the 2008 Presidential election crap going on right now (my gosh - how many debates have there already been???).

However, I found something that may help me determine who deserves my vote - by gauging how close a candidate is to me on issues I find important.

You can use it too! Check this out: Select A Candidate(TM), courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio. Simply enter your leanings on certain issues, and how much the issue matters to you, and you will get a list of the candidates in the order of your preference!

I will check this online tool again when it's actually election year...

35W

First things first: my heart aches for those who died, were injured, or were at all impacted by yesterday's awful tragedy in Minneapolis. My thoughts are with the victims and their families, as well as the emergency workers who are risking their safety to rescue and recover people.

Growing up in Roseville, I had plenty of opportunities to cross the 35W bridge on my way to Minneapolis. I did not like that bridge. When I was a younger driver, I was never thrilled to go over any bridge (an irrational fear, I know), but that particular bridge was bad because the exit I typically took (Washington Avenue) required me to merge to the far right hand lane while driving over the Mississippi. I preferred to stay to the middle lane on bridges so I wouldn't accidentally go off the side (I said this was irrational, didn't I?).

I thought that I was past my fear of bridges until now.

This morning as I drove to work, I had to cross the Minnesota River from Eagan to Bloomington. Even with my exit approaching, I found myself in the inner-most lane -- just like old times! Man, that bridge is longer than I thought! It seemed like it took forever to cross.

I can't begin to imagine what the survivors of this terrible collapse must feel. I truly hope they all get whatever help they need (I see a lot of post-traumatic stress syndrome coming to Minneapolis). May their hearts be calmed and bodies be healed.

The Bremen Town Musicians

This is a statue in Bremen, Germany of the world-famous Bremen Town Musicians. Yes, they are a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster (what did you expect?).

To learn about these incredible musicians, read their story.

My Watch

The watch I am wearing today is special to me. I purchased it in Toulouse, France in 1989. It has a phrase on it that expresses my core belief about people.

Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits.

Translation: All people are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. This is from Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

To me, this means that the manner in which you are born (e.g, male, female, white, black, Jew, gay, Peruvian, Bushman, etc.) should have no bearing on the dignity and rights you have.

Does this mean that I think everyone should be treated equally? No. But the important part is that how we are born is not the determining factor in how society regards us. It should be how we choose to act. Dr. King put it best when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." In other words, what we choose to do with ourselves should seperate us -- the content of our character.

There are good people and bad people of every color, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Goodness or badness has nothing to do with how one is born. Is this the way the world works? Yeah, right. Not even close. But it is an ideal for which we can all strive, can't we?

A horrible, horrible day

Question: What happened on September 11, 2001?

No, really. What really happened that awful day? I have checked out a few conspiracy sites here and there, but felt that they were merely made by conspiracy hounds, just like the ones we still have trying to figure out JFK's assassination (40+ years after the fact). I also saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and found President Bush's behavior a little odd in the days and weeks after the attacks (e.g., going golfing while Ground Zero was still smouldering, joking about the attacks, etc.).

Then I found this: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6708190071483512003&pr=goog-sl

The more I watched, the more I felt sick to my stomach (and my heart). Now I REALLY want to know what happened that day. Too many things just don't make sense.