A most lovely place to be with a cool ocean breeze…
with lots of sun-screen and an umbrella 
Archive for July, 2006
… After so many years slaving away as a server in restaurants – raising two sons alone – putting herself and her sons thru college – working full time – attending college full-time – plus clinics – rotations and all – dealing with a housemate from Hell – we can now call her doctor…
On her birthday we find her in Zurich – having left Southern Italy – this trip being a very well deserved graduation gift from her sister. When she arrives back next week – she will be staying in Santa Fe for a short time and then off to Colorado to set up her practice – having a mom turning 90 – and better weather than Santa Fe – she will be leaving us – she has suggested I move up there too – and run her office – well we will see if that happens – in the meantime – this song John Denver sang – reminds me in general of MS – oops – Dr. Sharon – very few word changes…
I guess she’d rather be in Colorado
She’d rather spend her time out where the sky looks like a pearl after the rain
Once again to see her walkin’
Once again to hear her talkin’
To the stars she makes and askin’ them for bus fares
I guess she’d rather be in Colorado
She’d rather play her banjo in the morning when the moon is scarcely gone
In the dawn the subway’s comin’
In the dawn I hear her comin’
Some old song she wrote of love in boulder canyon
Guess she’d rather be in Colorado
Guess she’d rather be in Colorado
Guess she’d rather work out where the only thing you earn is what you spend
In the end I’m in her office
In the end a quiet cough is all she has to show
She lives in new york city
Word and music by bill danoff and taffy nivert
Not really NYC – she will be returning to Colorado for real and we will be the sadder for it – Vaya con Dios – Doc!
Judge Says Teen Won’t Have to Undergo Chemo Treatment for Now
ACCOMAC, Va., July 25, 2006 — – An Eastern Shore teenager with cancer does not have to report to a Norfolk hospital today for treatment.
That’s the ruling this afternoon by an Accomack County Circuit Court judge, after a lawyer for 16-year-old Starchild Abraham Cherrix appealed an earlier ruling by a juvenile court judge.
Judge Glen Tyler said Abraham and his parents will get a new trial in Circuit Court as soon as possible. A trial date was to be set.
The judge also returned full custody of Abraham to his parents.
That ruling suspends an order by the juvenile court judge that required Abraham’s parents to share custody with the county’s Department of Social Services.
Abraham’s attorney, John Stepanovich said the teenager’s appeal is moot if he is forced to undergo treatment.
Carl Bundick, an attorney for the social services department, told the judge the department would not object to suspending the juvenile judge’s order — provided that a new trial takes place quickly.
The state stepped into the case when Abraham refused to undergo more chemotherapy when his Hodgkin’s disease became active again earlier this year. He wants to continue pursuing alternative treatments.
An ABC poll show that over 90% of the public DO support his right to choose !
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
These people are my heroes and the special everyday people Robert Heinlein spoke of in his essay “This I Believe” – I would love to hear from folks with similar stories to share that would show the ordinary human doing extraordinary things; showing us the real heroes of the world. I myself am blessed to have a number of them in my life – they continually practice random acts of kindness…
25 July 2006 9:55 a.m. ET
The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — A homeless man is finding out that it pays to be honest.
Charles Moore, who found and turned in nearly $21,000 worth of U.S. savings bonds, has received rewards worth $4,000, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.
Moore, 59, was originally given $100 from the son of the deceased bond owner, but residents here and in other states decided that wasn’t enough.
A Belleville man sent him eight trash bags full of returnable bottles and a bowl of coins.
Three people pledged a combined $2,500, while two Troy businessmen donated $1,200, a shopping spree at a men’s clothing store and a lead on a job.
“I was thankful for it,” said Moore, who lost his job in Toledo, Ohio, as a roofer, moved back to his native Michigan and can’t find a job.
David C. Smith, of Albuquerque, N.M., gave Moore $1,000. Smith said he and his fiancee wouldn’t have thought twice about what to do if the bonds had belonged to them.
“We would have given him the whole amount, period,” Smith said. “No questions asked.”
Moore said he plans to use the money to find an apartment.
He was searching for returnable bottles in a trash bin when he made the discovery last week. Moore took the bonds to a 24-hour walk-in homeless shelter, where a staffer made some phone calls and tracked down the owner’s family.
___
Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com
Just takin’ it easy –
waiting for their charge – JJ…ahh – life is good!
…he shared photos online – I picked my favourite…
unique perspective of the famous Sears Tower.
this is what happened after those classes – into his very serious mode …
“THIS I BELIEVE by Robert A. Heinlein”- Robert A. Heinlein wrote these words in 1952 and delivered them to a national radio audience in a broadcast interview by Edward R. Murrow. His wife, Virginia Heinlein, read them when she accepted on his behalf NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal on October 6, 1988, awarded him posthumously.
“I am not going to talk about religious beliefs but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them. I believe in my neighbors. I know their faults, and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults.
“Take Father Michael down our road a piece. I’m not of his creed, but I know that goodness and charity and loving kindness shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike. If I’m in trouble, I’ll go to him.
“My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee — no prospect of a fee — I believe in Doc.
“I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town saying, ‘I’m hungry,’ and you will be fed. Our town is no exception. I’ve found the same ready charity everywhere. But for the one who says, ‘To heck with you — I got mine,’ there are a hundred, a thousand who will say, ‘Sure, pal, sit down.’
“I know that despite all warnings against hitchhikers I can step up to the highway, thumb for a ride and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, ‘Climb in Mac — how far you going?’
“I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up. Business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but is a force stronger than crime. I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses and the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.
“I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.
“I believe that almost all politicians are honest … there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true we would never have gotten past the 13 colonies.
“I believe in Rodger Young. You and I are free today because of endless unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River. I believe in — I am proud to belong to — the United States. Despite shortcomings from lynchings to bad faith in high places, our nation has had the most decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found anywhere in history.
“And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown. In the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability, and goodness of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth. That we always make it just by the skin of our teeth, but that we will always make it. Survive. Endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes will endure. Will endure longer than his home planet — will spread out to the stars and beyond, carrying with him his honesty and his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage and his noble essential decency.
“This I believe.”
Mrs. Heinlein received a standing ovation.
Mrs. Heinlein holds the copyright for “This I believe”, and we use it here to honour the Heinlein’s
To this I say – AMEN – Blessings to all…
By ALLISON HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO -
Ronald Reagan had just left office; the Christian Coalition was new, “values” had yet to become a buzzword of American politics and six of the current U.S. Supreme Court justices had other jobs when an atheist sued the city of San Diego for permitting a giant cross in a public park.
Seventeen years later, the 29-foot concrete monument still crowns a hill over the Pacific, defended by the city’s voters and members of Congress.
Now the Supreme Court has stepped in, and the case of the Mount Soledad cross could help determine under what circumstances religious symbols are permissible in public places.
The Mount Soledad Memorial Foundation, a private, nonprofit group that also maintains the monument, erected the cross, dedicated in 1954 in honor of Korean War veterans.
State and federal judges have ordered the cross-removed, saying it represents an unconstitutional endorsement of one religion. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked an order that the city take it down by Aug. 1, giving state and federal courts time to hear appeals this fall.
The high court has inched toward allowing religious symbols in public places if they have historical value or nonreligious meaning. A pair of 5-4 rulings on separate cases involving the Ten Commandments in 2005 established hazy guidelines on what is permissible: A display inside a Kentucky courthouse was deemed unconstitutional, while a 6-foot granite monument outside the Texas Capitol was fine.
“It’s pretty clear you can’t display a Latin cross 365 days a year on top of city hall,” said Douglas Laycock, a church-state expert at the University of Texas law school. “But this cross isn’t at city hall, and it’s been there for a long time.”
Supporters of the Soledad cross call it the centerpiece of a war memorial that salutes veterans, not religion.
“The cross is the quintessential symbol of fallen soldiers in Western civilization,” said Phil Thalheimer, who is chairman of the private group San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial and makes a point of saying he is Jewish.
Philip Paulson, the man who sued over the cross in 1989, is a Vietnam veteran who says that, even viewed as a war memorial; the monument excludes veterans who are not Christian. Paulson has said he would be happy if the 20-ton monument were moved to a churchyard near the hilltop park, or anywhere else that is not public land.
“It’s not an obelisk or just a flag,” said Paulson’s lawyer, James McElroy. “It’s a Latin cross, the most powerful symbol of one religion in the world, and it’s standing in the middle of a public park like a giant neon ad for that religion.”
The cross is ringed by concentric brick walls fitted with granite plaques inscribed with the names and pictures of veterans. But those features were added only after Paulson sued.
“We put up a flag and the memorial walls so that we could satisfy the court’s concern that a visitor from Kansas could tell it was a war memorial and not the Christian church promoting religion,” said William J. Kellogg, president of the Mount Soledad Memorial Association.
In 2004, Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record) of San Diego, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, attached a rider to a spending measure that declared the monument a national veterans memorial. And earlier this month, the House passed Hunter’s bill directing the Pentagon to acquire the cross and manage it as a memorial — a move aimed at protecting it from legal challenge. The bill still needs Senate approval.
In May, Hunter asked President Bush to exercise his powers of eminent domain to declare the site federal parkland, noting that last year 76 percent of San Diego voters approved preserving the cross. The White House has not intervened but has supported Hunter’s newest bill.
In blocking the removal of the cross, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that lawmakers’ desire to preserve the cross increases the chances the high court will eventually get the case.
It is unclear when the Supreme Court might get the case back — if at all. The appeals courts may not rule until the end of the year, probably pushing any Supreme Court hearing into the 2007-08 term at the earliest.
With the new appointment of conservative Justice Samuel Alito, court-watchers say the balance may have shifted in favor of letting existing displays stand.
“They hate these cases because they’re emotional, they’re controversial and they chew up a lot of political capital,” Laycock said. “But if they have five votes, that eases the pain significantly.”
Okay – how long are the atheists of the world going to dictate to us and challenge us as to what we can or cannot show or display in public? It is a christian symbol – well so what! You don’t see a coalition of jewish – buddhist – muslims, et al – suing to TAKE IT down – because – ew – it’s christian. No because what it is – is a MEMORIAL – to honour the fallen troups – is this not a democracy? The majority of people all – want it to stand – so why does the man – get to choose. I AM not a christian – buddhist – jewish – muslim or anything – yet I DO believe – just not in religions per se – I DO believe that everyone has a right to believe in their own way. This man believes in NOTHING – that is his right – but where does it say he gets to make our decisions for us. My vote is let it stand to honour the troups who gave the ultimate price for freedom…
Jack Warden – died in New York – he was 85
Some of his many films were: Brian’s Song [story about Brian Piccolo] – Shampoo – Heaven Can Wait – While you were Sleeping – All the President’s Men, The Verdict and …And Justice for All – TV P.I. Harry Fox – Crazy Like a Fox – From Here to Eternity -12 Angry Men a – The Sound and the Fury – Problem Child – Bulworth – The Replacements.
He was in everything it seemed – playing a rough on the outside – big softy on the inside – he gave us many hours of enjoyment over the years – he will be missed…
Happy Birthday Doc !!! Fly high…
People who had never met Christopher Reeve were emboldened by his crusade. If only President Bush had been one of them
WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Patti Davis
Newsweek
Updated: 5:32 p.m. MT Oct 15, 2004
Oct. 12 – I wonder if President Bush could look into the eyes of Christopher Reeve’s family and tell them that it’s because he values life so deeply that he is preserving clusters of cells in freezers—cells that resulted from in-vitro fertilization and could be used for embryonic stem cell treatment—despite the fact that more people will die as a result of his decision. I wonder if he could stare into their grief and defend the fact that he has released only a few lines of stem cells—lines that are basically useless because they have been contaminated. Or brazenly point out that he has authorized funding for adult stem cells—which do not hold the same miraculous potential as embryonic stem cells.
The sad fact is, the president probably could. After all, Laura Bush went on national television during the week of my father’s funeral and spoke out against embryonic stem cell research, pointing out that where Alzheimer’s is concerned, we don’t have proof that stem-cell treatment would be effective. It wasn’t too long after that interview that she gave a speech in which she chided people for offering “false hope� to the families of Alzheimer’s patients. In a sweetly patronizing tone, she said it’s terribly unfair to all of those who are vulnerable and in pain to suggest that a cure is just around the corner.
Memo to Mrs. Bush: I am one of those poor, vulnerable souls who you think has been misled. I speak for many others when I say that none of us believe a cure is just around the corner. We believe it’s around a very wide bend, which we can’t get around because your husband has put up a barrier to further research. And as far as false hope, there is no such thing. There is only hope or the absence of hope—nothing else.
Christopher Reeve understood that. He knew that everything begins with hope. His vision of walking again, his belief that he would be able to in his lifetime, towered over his broken body. His tireless work, his commitment to help turn stem-cell treatment into a reality revealed a courage that was molded out of fire and pain and tears. It was unbreakable. It was huge. It transcended paralysis. With that courage, he did more than walk; he soared. Many of us learned a valuable lesson about hope from a man whose life changed dramatically on a single afternoon. We learned that it’s limitless, that it’s as real as you allow it to be.
Even if the Bush Administration had flung open the gates to stem-cell research years ago, we would not be at the point of offering treatment today. Christopher Reeve would still have been taken from us. But we would be closer. Other people who are confined to wheelchairs or imprisoned by illness would have more hope. Scientists would be working feverishly to turn this miraculous cure loose on the world. Because they have families too. They have loved ones and friends, and they value them more than clusters of cells that will only ever be clusters of cells. With each day, each month, each year that passes more people will die. We will look at names, at lives, and we will be left with the sad truth that many of them didn’t have to die.
Some people, when they die, leave so much life behind that we wonder how they did it. How did a man paralyzed from the neck down find the strength, the reserve, the energy to do so much in these past years? People who never met Christopher Reeve were emboldened by his crusade; they were infused with faith and confidence, where before things had looked terribly bleak.
He said in an interview a few years ago that when he dreamed, he was never in a wheelchair. In his dreams, he walked and ran and sailed on the sea. He is doing all of that now—far beyond this world and the body that wouldn’t allow him those freedoms. He’s left the rest of us with a responsibility—to never let anyone stop us from one of the most towering medical achievements in history. To never let anyone call our hopes “false.�
© 2006 MSNBC.com
