Women -2014

A few decades ago there was a sick joke going around supposedly quoting O.J. Simpson on his frustration with women and why he was forced to decapitate his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

Women, ya can't live with 'em, you can't cut their heads off.

A harsh, but false statement.  In many places in the world women and girls are still being put to death (and some by decapitation) through no fault of their own.  In addition, on a routine basis, they're  being mutilated, raped, beaten, forced into child marriage forced into genital mutilation and forced into child prostitution.

I'm proud of a dedicated group of folks in my church, many of them close friends, who are working hard to eradicate human trafficking which involves sexual and physical slavery - both right here in Central Florida, and around the world.

A few weeks ago I read Jimmy Carter's new book A Call to Action.  In it he comes on strong about how religion is used around the world to abuse women.  And he's calling out the three major world religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

In his book, President Carter, through the Carter Center, lists 23 actions called Mobilizing Faith for Women.  Following are a few of the 23 with which I particularly agree.

• Remind political and religious leaders of abuses and what they can do to alleviate them. 
• Encourage religious and political leaders to relegate warfare and violence to a last resort as a solution to terrorism. 
• Abandon the death penalty and seek to rehabilitate criminals.
• Induce individuals nations to elevate the end of human trafficking to a top priority.
• Help remove commanding officers from control over cases of sexual abuse in the military. 
• Apply Title IX protection for women students and evolve laws and procedures in all nations to reduce the plague of abuse on university campuses
• Expose and condemn infanticide of baby girls and selective abortion of female fetuses. 
• Strengthen UN and other legal impediments to ending gentile mutilation, child marriage, trafficking, and other abuses of girls and women. 
• Adopt the Swedish model by prosecuting pimps, brothel owners and male customers, not the prostitutes. 
• Condemn the use of sexual violence as a tool of war. 
• Condemn and outlaw honor killings. 

You may not agree with the above list but I hope it makes you think. 

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John Sanford Novels

John Sandford

As you know, I read books.  Lots of books.  Some for intellectual stimulation, some for spiritual guidance, some for pure knowledge - and some for pure pleasure.

And for pure pleasure I can always count on a John Sandford novel.  Most of his crime novels feature protagonist Lucas Davenport.  We've come a long way together but at this point he's rich, at the top of his game career-wise , happily married to a surgeon, but still out catching the bad guys (and gals.)

Sanford has written about 24 books featuring Lucas Davenport.  The titles all end with the word "Prey."  This is good and bad.  It's easy to find the titles but "Did I read Winter Prey or Hidden Prey or Invisible Prey?"  Not sure.  All 24 sound alike.

In recent years Sandford has written at least six novels in the Virgil Flowers series.  Last night I finished Mad River - a Virgil Flowers novel.   Very satisfying.  Virgil Flowers is a younger guy.  He's tall, blond and good looking.  He's pretty much irresistible to women.  He's been married and divorced three times.  He's killed people in the line of duty.  He talks to God every night before going to sleep.

Now don't think I'm recommending Sandford novels.  You may not like them.  But don't think because I'm a little old Methodist lady that you'll be bored by them.  They are gritty crime novels,  with a high body count.  Always.  The characters use bad words.

But, to me, the writing is rich.  Sandford finds the humanity in every one of his characters.  The books are warm and funny.  I'm pretty good at speed reading, outlining and skimming.  I have no desire to do that with these novels.  I like reading every word.

In the beginning of Mad River, Virgil has spent the night drinking with his friends.  His boss, Lucas Davenport (who has only a small part in this book) calls him about a new murder case but asks Virgil to get himself together before visiting the crime scene.  What I know about their relationship is that Lucas cares for and is protective of Virgil.  But what he says is this:

"How're you feeling?"

"Stone-cold sober, if that's what you mean."

"Good. It'd be best if you were gunned down in the line of duty, and not killed in a drunk-driving accident. "

No, it's not Shakespeare but it gives me pleasure and takes me away from real life for a time.


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See It Fit

Love these colors

As you know, I don't wear dresses or even skirts.  It's pants all the way.  Also,  I don't like to shop and especially don't like to try on stuff.

What do you think?

However, my (former corporate attorney, former prosecutor, current matriarch of a big family)  daughter, Sarah, along with her partner, has started a new company.  It's called SeeItFit.  You can find it on the Internet, upload a photo of yourself and try on clothes all day long while sitting on your couch drinking root beer.  You can try on super expensive clothes or sexy clothes or even dresses - with
no one to judge you.

I chose these outfits but the accessories are suggestions from SeeItFit.

My favorite outfit but nix on the
chandelier earrings.

What a concept!    I especially like the stripped dress and jacket.  I might even think about wearing a dress like this sometime.   What do you think?

Check out:   https://seeitfit.com


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Now Is When I Want to Live

Cathy and great grandmother
Effie.

A couple of postings back I wrote about "Is the World Getting Better or Is the World Getting Worse?"  Today I talked with a person who believes life is definitely worse.  Well, I didn't actually talk with him.  I listened and listened and listened.

I believe that, by almost every measurement we can make, life here on earth is better.  Yes, I know that there are individual circumstances that make life miserable for some.  I've just read Jimmy Carter's excellent new book on how awful life is for many women around the world.  We need to work to fix that - and many other things that are broken - but they can be fixed if we chose to do it.

Max and great grandmother, Cess.

On the other hand, life is good in so many ways.  Here's an example:  Here is a photo of my grandmother and my baby daughter, taken around 1963.  My grandmother had 13 children and a life of hard physical labor.  It shows.  She died soon after this photo was taken.  When I asked what had happen, it was explained to me that she died of old age.

Here I am a week or so ago with my great grandson.  We are about the same ages as the folks in the other photo.  There are all sorts of "better" things going on in this photo.

And I have no intention of dying of old age any time soon.


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Majesty Building - Update

Over the years, I've written a couple of times about my personal frustration with the Majesty Building on I-4 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.  Started well over a decade ago, it looms over everything.  It's the tallest building between Orlando and Daytona Beach.  I see it everywhere I turn.

 It bugs me. Why? Because it's dark and lonely.  It's nick names are "The Mistake on the Lake" and "I-4 Eyesore."

When my grandson, Ken, was a young teenager, he and his friend sneaked up to the top of the empty Majesty Building and dangled their feet over the side.  Scary to think about.  Since then, Ken has:

• Graduated from middle school
• Graduated from high school
• Graduated from college
• Found a great job
• Been promoted
• Bought a house
• Had a couple of serious love affairs

But the Majesty Building is still unfinished.

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Is the World Getting Better or Is the World Getting Worse?

Professor Patrick Allitt

On Wednesday night we went to the annual Emory University Alumni gathering here in Florida.   It is always an exciting evening.  As you know, we kinda go under false pretenses.  (I used to be married to an Emory graduate.)

The event, this time, was held at the new Alfond Inn in Winter Park.  It's a beautiful new hotel full of great modern art.  Dave and I hang out there from time to time.

Emory provides their very best representatives to speak at these events.  This time it was Patrick Allitt.  Who?  I never heard of him so looked him up and he seemed to be a big time academic and a history professor to boot, so I didn't have my hopes set very high.

He was fantastic!  He was funny.  He was optimistic!

He started by saying we Americans love disasters and we love making dire predictions.

1950s - The Atom Bomb is going to kill us!
1960s - Pollution  is going to kill us!
1970s - Cancer is going to kill us!
1980s - Population is going to kill us!

So far, we're still here.  He gave a funny example in saying that, in the 1800s, scientists predicted that cities and towns across America would never get bigger - because - horses were our means of transportation and if we kept growing we would all be knee deep in horse manure.  And then chest deep in horse manure!

According to Professor Allitt, we're great problem solvers.  I agree.  He also said this:  "Resources are not finite.  They are infinite."  I agree.

I sincerely believe that, even with all of our world wide problems, planet earth is the best, most  hospitable place it's been since it was a paradise in the Garden of Eden.


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Does Struggling Change Us?

Struggle brings us to crossover points in life after which we become new people, sometimes worse, often better, but always different.   - Joan Chittister


On Wednesday we finished our study, "Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope."  We had such a great group of folks.  The discussion was rich.

The writer states that "Struggle changes us.  It grows us up."  I agree that struggle changes us.  But many of us are done in by it.  We lose everything, sometimes even our lives.

I clearly remember a couple of struggling times in my life that could have gone either way.  I had to consciously make a choice to care for myself rather than be consumed by other people's needs. It seemed selfish at the time but, looking back, I don't think I would have survived otherwise.

I have lived a long, hard, wonderful, and sometimes scary life and I have the emotional and physical scars to prove it.  But I'm here and I'm transformed.

And, as my African American preacher friend likes to say:

Easter is A Comin.'


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All the Way With LBJ

Lyndon Baines Johnson, our 36th president, has been in the news recently.  First, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is staring on Broadway portraying LBJ in the new play All the Way.

And now President Obama is heading to Austin, Texas today to honor President Johnson and the Civil Rights Act he signed 50 years ago.

President Johnson was a complex man serving as president in a complex time.  He was physically unattractive, rude and crude.  He took office several hours  after a beloved, handsome, charming President Kennedy was shot in the head.  President Johnson was sworn in with Jacqueline Kennedy standing beside him with her husband's blood all over her pink suit.

During Johnson's time as president some of my friends thought he was wonderful.  Some of my friends thought he was evil.  I think he was a complex man, with an almost impossible task.

But he did get the Civil Rights Act passed.  He knew how to horse trade with congress, something that might be impossible in this day.  

In 1966 when my husband, Ken was in theology school at Emory University and we were extraordinarily poor, living in a country parsonage with two babies, we, in kind of a magical way, received an invitation to the President's Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C.

I remember having to almost move heaven and earth to get our children cared for and get plane tickets.  But we did it.  It was a great experience and we met a number of exciting people with whom we stayed in touch when we eventually returned to Florida.

The invite here is for Ken only.  Because the prayer breakfast, at that time was segregated by sex.  He had breakfast with LBJ.  I had breakfast with Lady Bird.

Resting in Washington D.C., 1966

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Indiana Jones and the Dead Sea Scrolls

In the '80s I went to Jerusalem and saw the dead sea scrolls.  Big whoop, right?  It's a bunch (around 900 or so) bits and pieces of Hebrew writing on animal skins found in caves between the '40s and '50s.

As it turns out, it's the greatest theological find of the last several centuries.  But it may take several more centuries to know fully what they're all about.  These theological/antiquities folks are slow and boring.  We want instant.

But something, dead sea scrolls wise, exciting happened on Friday. We had this young Hebrew scholar from the University of Central Florida come to our Speaker Series.

By the way, he's not Hebrew.  He's a red headed Swede.

He reminded us of how a Bedouin sheep herder wondered into a cave and found five scrolls in two clay jars.  He thought about the same thing you and I would.  Big whoop!

Dr. Ken Hanson

The story, as told by Ken Hanson, about how the scrolls went from one sheep herder to another until somebody figured out that they were written in Hebrew - and others found out they were worth millions of dollars, was totally mesmerizing.

Hanson did all the parts:  Part Indiana Jones, part Bedouin sheep herder, part Jewish scholar - all in costume.  And he never stopped moving.

I hope that, in my life time, the average Judao Christian person will come to understand the power and importance of the dead sea scrolls.


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Where Shopping Is a Pleasure

I love Publix Supermarkets.  I especially love my local store, Publix at Palm Springs Crossing.  This store has seen me through many phases of my life.  Once, when I was going through a particularly hard time,  this older stock guy always came out from the back to talk with me - and even chased me down the isle a couple of times to make sure I was ok that day.  He was my Publix therapist.

I'm proud that Publix has an excellent reputation for taking care of its employees and its customers and has an exemplary record of public service.

 But Publix has had one continuing problem here in Florida that I can't get my head around.  For years they have refused to deal with the  plight of Florida tomato pickers.  These folks work for sub poverty wages under miserable conditions.  They've been beaten, sexually and physically abused and have even lost their lives.

Coalition of Immokelee Workers, an advocacy group for tomato pickers,  would like Publix to be part of a fair food program.  Publix has extensive influence over suppliers.  Currently, the request is an extra penny a pound for tomatoes.

Other retail food providers like Burger King, Walmart (Walmart?) Trader Joe's, Subway and McDonalds have signed on.  Publix refuses.  I don't get it.  It makes me sad.

Many folks, when they are at their Publix checkout, leave a penny and a note to encourage Publix to do the right thing.  At my Publix customer care counter they now have a penny jar so customers can make their point easily without holding up the line.

I'm working on filling that jar!


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I Love My Camry

As you may remember, I drive a 2000 Camry LE.  It's a sweet ride.

In 2001 I was thinking I might need a car.  We had two older cars but my husband, Ken, was no longer driving so I, essentially, had a car and a spare.  We've always driven cars until they died because cars are terrible investments.

But then my son, Scott, who buys and sells all sorts of commercial real estate, bought a small used car lot on Orange Avenue, the main street going north and south in downtown Orlando.

I saw this as a sign from God.  Also, a short window of opportunity.

So I bought my little Camry with matching leather seats and sun roof.  It's now 14 years old so I hesitate spending any more big money on repairs.    So when the door handle broke in half the other day I was depressed.  We took it to the body shop guy who said the repair would be $213.00.

What to do?

Dave came home, got on the computer and found the exact matching door handle.  It arrived yesterday.  The cost was $8.95.  The body shop guy will install it on Monday at a greatly reduced price.


Sweet!


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