Here it is, readers. Look at the photo below, and leave your guesses in the comments. Which foods are from the market, and which are from my backyard jungle, er, garden?
Market Feast!
Oh, by the way, these didn’t fit in the first photo, so they get their own.
Tomato! Tomahto!
Well, readers? Take a guess and leave a comment.
I wear two hearing aids. They’re tiny but powerful digital electronic devices that tuck behind my ears and feed sound into my middle ear. This technology makes a huge difference in my life. My hearing loss is an important part of how I face the world: how I work, how I use a phone, how I listen and interact with others. It’s not all of me, but it is part of me.
In 2011, I jumped through a series of hoops to document my disability for my employer. I have a great job, and I’d like to keep it. This emotional obstacle course was tough on me, though. Phone call after phone call, email after email, fax after fax, one office visit after another – all this to keep working in my field. When I finally met with the last doctor on the list, he expressed surprise that I had handled my own accommodations for most of my working life and my education. He was impressed that I knew of a position that would suit my abilities, and even more impressed that I’d already gone ahead and gotten the job. He documented my hearing loss and made his recommendation: that I keep my position teaching virtual school.
I’ve never kept my hearing loss a secret from employers and coworkers. Unfortunately, honesty can be a dangerous policy at times. Discrimination against disabled people still happens, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, there is hope for improvement.
Today’s young adults grew up side by side with their disabled peers. Disabled or not, they’re friends, classmates, and teammates. Coworkers is a natural next step.
The number of disabled veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars calls attention to the issue of employment. These (mostly) young men and women want to pursue rewarding careers and support their families, just like their peers. They are a large and visible group that can’t be easily ignored or put down. These newly disabled join those blind or deaf from birth, those handicapped by illness or accident, and those with unexplained challenges.
Now is the time to be inclusive. Now is the time to look forward and make reasonable accommodation an everyday occurrence.
I fear a Romney-Ryan presidency. Both Romney and Ryan have already voted for laws that minimize women’s rights. They support Voter ID laws that present obstacles for low-income voters and people of color, those who do not have ready access to paperwork or the money to procure the necessary documents. Romney and Ryan would move our country’s philosophies backward, not forward. Romney’s actions and speeches show him to be out of touch with the mainstream, and I consider myself, hearing aids and all, part of the mainstream.
Barack Obama will move us forward. He recognizes that all people are created equal, regardless of gender, race, disability or sexual orientation. He believes in hard work earning rewards, and he supports policies that will support the middle class. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies cannot refuse to accept me just because my hearing loss is a pre-existing condition. Based on his record, President Obama is the leader who will best support disability rights in the workplace.
Information regarding increasing numbers of disabled veterans from Senator Tom Harkin on Huffington Post.
Vacations, Paydays, and Weekends
If you are enjoying a day off from work today, remember that holidays like this were negotiated by labor unions.
Have a good Labor Day.
Political party conventions offer free air time for candidates, really. In an election like this one, so close (and yet so far), every minute counts. Or does it? Let’s analyze a little.
Item: Paul Ryan gets the crowd fired up and ready to go, but he gets his facts wrong. Progressive web sites start calling him “Lyin’ Ryan.”
False: President Obama didn’t save a General Motors plant in Wisconsin.
Truth: First, Obama wasn’t even in office when the GM plant closed.
False: President Obama ignored recommendations of a bipartisan debt commission.
Truth: Paul Ryan actually sat on that commission. And he led Republicans in voting down the commission’s own recommendation. So the commission never gave a report to Obama, because Ryan himself voted to kill the report before it could.
There were more conflicting statements in Ryan’s speeches. Keep an eye on the press. Move On Civic Action is sponsoring a petition asking members of the press to “…Fact-check and call out candidates when they lie. You have an obligation as journalists to educate the public on the facts of the major campaign issues.”
Item: Clint Eastwood talks to an empty chair.
That’s the trouble with free air time. Anything goes – almost. In the same vein as “Buyer Beware” let’s add “Listeners, look it up”. Check the facts. Check the sources. Voters, let’s not allow falsehoods like Ryan’s or oddball statements like Clint’s influence our votes.
After all, President Obama looks mighty nice in his chair. He belongs there.
We ended the summer with a bang and a boom of fireworks. The night started simply: some good tunes from Amigo’s favorite radio station on their highly decorated and LOUD truck.
…play something country!
We did what they say on the ads; we enjoyed the fun, and stayed for the game. Peanuts, funnel cake, refreshing beverages – and a dancing umpire?
When all else fails, dance!
No fowl, er, foul here!
This was a visiting mascot, too, that we’ve never seen before. Fang, we think, had a broken, um, er, tail.
Can you see it?
Here’s a closer look.
Really. What kind of a doctor handles mascot injuries? Who will put the spring back in Fang’s tail? And why are those people dressed like burgers? Never mind. Just watch the game, and enjoy the fireworks afterward.
I almost posted a quiz – a list of feminist slogans and quotes along with a list of years, with an opportunity for readers to match the two. Instead, I offer you an chance to reminisce about creativity in the feminist movement. Remember the Barbie Liberation League? In the 1990s….Grandma Daisy does this sort of storytelling best, so here she is.
Oh, children, your world is different, thank goodness. I lived through a fascinating and yet difficult time we called the Women’s Movement, or Women’s Liberation, Women’s Lib for short. We reminded lawmakers and voters that we are people, endowed with basic human rights along with our, ahem, voluptuous figures. To put it bluntly, we didn’t need balls to make good decisions about …. oh, your mother is listening. I can’t say that in front of you young ones., so back to the history behind the story. We had rallies, we held demonstrations. We ran for office ourselves instead of waiting for men to take care of our needs. We worked to pass laws that protected our right to make health care decisions.We built awareness of the importance of birth control and how much that birth control meant for our freedom, our liberation. We fought for equal pay for equal work. Laws passed, medications improved, but attitudes were harder to change.
Sometimes women got creative to make a point. The Barbie Liberation League was one such example. We females were determined to be good students and make it “cool” to be smart. Math and science were supposedly men’s territory, so girls had some catching up to do. Adult role models like teachers and nurses pushed us young ones to go farther, higher, faster into the world of advanced math and sciences.
Barbie dolls. You know the doll, right? Of course. They’re at the bottom of your sister’s closet with the rubber ducky and the worn out blankie she won’t throw away. Barbie, the doll with the unrealistic figure (39-21-33 at 6 feet tall were the proportional measurements, if you’re into trivia) was a favorite of many young girls. Girls knew she wasn’t realistic, but some tried too hard to look like her and became anorexic. A doll for a role model? Well, it happens.
When the Talking Teen Barbie came out, she had a limited vocabulary. Unfortunately, the people who programmed and recorded Barbie’s phrases had been in a fog throughout the entire women’s movement. Take a look at these examples.
Will we ever have enough clothes?
I love shopping!
Math class is tough.
Wanna have a pizza party?
In the old toy store aisles, G.I. Joe was a parallel type of doll, er, action figure, on the little boy side. His vocabulary was macho and tough – what they called “all male” back then.
This is going to be rough. Can you handle it?
I’ve got a tough assignment for you!
Mission accomplished. Good work, men!
The Barbie Liberation League took action. They bought Talking Barbie and Talking G.I. Joe from toy stores, swapped out the voice boxes, and then repackaged the dolls and returned them to the stores. Little boys and little girls got Barbies that said, “Vengeance is mine!” and G.I. Joes that suggested, “Let’s plan our dream wedding.” When Joe proclaimed “Math class is tough”, it sounded ludicrous.
Well, darlings, that was the point. If a man couldn’t say it without sounding idiotic, why should a woman repeat that phrase and internalize that philosophy? Talking Barbie wasn’t pulled off the market, but the feminists and the Barbie Liberation League had made their point. Being female didn’t mean being less intelligent. It still doesn’t.
Anyway , my grand-precious ones, some day I’ll tell you what we did when the guys at our college claimed that women couldn’t play jazz. Hah! We showed them, all right. Now go practice your trombone, and I’ll tell you that story later.
It was a bright and windy day, not a dark and stormy night. I came outside and found the deck umbrella had gone for a field trip. Wheeee!
upside down, but not inside out
Unfortunately, it was in the path of a neighbor – one with feathers and a beak. This neighborly critter left its mark.
Yep, there it is.
What — You were expecting gang graffiti?
Dear Hillary (Clinton, naturally;);
I admire your work as Secretary of State. Heck, I’ve admired you since you refused to sit home and take a supporting role to your governor husband! Bake cookies and host teas? Only if it’s a house party to support my favorite candidate, and then I’m willing. But back on topic, I understand your decision not to run for president again. Let me know when you choose to mentor a successor: I’ll be there to support her and vote for her. Woman, you are amazing.
— Still a Feminist after all these years
Dear Paul (Ryan, of course);
I am a person. When you draft a bill you call “personhood”, remember that women are people, too.
— Firmly Female
Dear Mitt (Romney – are there any others?);
You’ve established a history as one who looks down on others who are not like you, whether that difference be long hair or blindness. You’ve also established that you did not respect teachers, even those who taught you. Well, Mitt, I am hearing impaired and a teacher. In order to get my vote, you’ll need to show that you do, after all, respect teachers and people with disabilities. I wear my hair long, too. I hope that’s not a problem.
— Daring to be Different
Dear Entrepreneurs;
When I was growing up, I saw a tee shirt that proclaimed “A woman’s place is in the House — and the Senate.” Add the White House to this design, and you’ll have a winner.
— A Potential Investor
Dear Mr. President;
Thank you for recognizing the complexity of the health care labyrinth in the United States and taking the first steps to make that care more accessible to all.
To your good health; Daisy
Hey Rush;
You, sir, have less of a brain than the Scarecrow of Oz. At least he did a great deal of thinking. I’m not sure you think at all. On the other hand, I’m sure you don’t.
Dorothy
Dear Todd (Akin, that is);
Are you serious? Where were you in biology class? First year health? Please drop off the House Science committee. You obviously weren’t in class when you needed to learn the basics.
– Teacher of Tomorrow’s Electorate
Dear Tammy (Baldwin);
I remember when you first ran for Congress and I wished you represented my district. Now you’re running for Senate, and I’m excited and energized at the possibilities. After meeting you, I’m even more impressed. I’ll continue to support your Senate race in any way I can.
-Wowed in Wisconsin
Dear Isaac;
Thanks for demonstrating to the G.O.P. that no matter how much money they spend, they cannot change the weather.
— Blowin’ in the Wind
Dear President Obama (I still love hearing that title!);
Thank you for publicly stating that you want the same opportunities for your daughters as anyone would for their sons. You set a prime example by installing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I would expect no less from the leader of the free world.
Daisy, a Dedicated Democrat
In my travels, both real and virtual, I see many visual messages. From the Southeast to Midwest, join me on my journey.
In Tampa, Florida, the locals welcome the Republican convention.
From the Milwaukee area, I bring you The Overpass Light Brigade: brilliant.
From a nearby parking lot, on the bumper of an original VW Beetle:
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Actual answer on test (the question doesn’t matter):
I did what it says in the book like how your supposed to but My answer or thought may or is wrong. The median is the middle whisch is 6and hte mode is the number?
Later a sixth grader signed his email to me thanking me for my patience with him –
Thanks for your help! Sensory, C.J.
Sensory. Sincerely. Sure, I can see why he was confused. Or at least why his spell check didn’t get it. Maybe.
Teachers go back to work next Monday in my district. I’m looking forward to meeting my new students and their families and – oh, it feels great to be looking forward to the school year starting!