Why Oh Why Do I Do This To Myself?

I just finished reading Thurston Clarke's excellent book, "The Last Campaign: Robert F Kennedy and 82 Days that Inspired America." I also recently bought "A Time It Was," a mostly-pictorial full-color rendition of the same period of time in 1968, when Robert Kennedy ran for the Presidency of the United States. This probably brings my RFK book library to something like 15 volumes.

The problem with every one of these volumes is that they all end the same. I despise the ending of the RFK story. It half kills me every time.

Every five years or so, I buy the newest RFK books, getting all involved again in the excitement, hope and promise of the campaign -- and then get my heart broken all over again, which leaves me pondering, "If only he had stayed in Malibu at director John Frankenheimer's beach house, as he wanted to do, and not let the networks coerce him into going to the Ambassador that night to give his acceptance speech... If only he hadn't been taken through the kitchen at the Ambassador... If only Sirhan had hit him a millimeter behind where he shot him, he would have been fine after a few weeks of rest and recovery... the past forty years of our history would probably have been so much nobler and better... we'd be so much farther along..."

If only, if only...

Alas, there is no happy ending in any of the books.

But I keep buying them.

I guess it's because I never want to forget what it's like to feel palpable hope that things can get better for all of our citizens and for the world. I guess it's because I want to be reminded that one dedicated individual can make a difference that can rock the world -- for good -- as readily as callous or crazy individuals can rock it for evil...

I want Barack Obama to win this time because for the first time in four decades, I think he's the kind of guy who cares enough about citizens who are under-represented and so much less well off than most folks in America.

Every one of Robert Kennedy's issues are still with us: Native American teens commit suicide at three times the rate of the general population because they have so little hope; people of color and poor white people are given hand-outs rather than hand-ups -- and even the handouts are given with such degrading condescension that recipients cannot accumulate enough pride in themselves to believe they can make a change in their circumstances...

The rich get richer -- and some get more corrupt the richer they get -- and the middle class and poor get poorer and more challenged.

RFK believed and spoke of one thing that was prescient back in 1968: He said that within forty years an African-American could be President. Back then, most people -- black and white -- probably believed it was a preposterous prophecy. (A few still may.)

This year his prophecy should come true -- and then, perhaps more compassionate programs will be instituted that will make the rest of his hopes for America come true, so that no American child goes to bed hungry, or loses out on education or college because of poverty, race, gender or disability... so that no father or single mom has to hold down two or three jobs to make ends meet... so that a medical crisis doesn't bankrupt anyone...

We've been waiting a long time for the dreams of Robert Kennedy and all the people he loved to come true. I'm happy to think that we'll soon be heading in the right direction again.

His story can have a happy ending, finally. And soon.

I pray that it will.

Barack can help heal the divisions and the stains that continue, as of this writing, to mar our national soul.

What a Shocker! Tim Russett Has Passed Away

What a shocker to hear about Tim Russert's unexpected passing. I could tell he was a lovely man. Very sad... [Prayers have gone out to his family.]

As a result, I've felt more or less like a deer caught in headlights, all while doing everything possible to tie up loose ends prior to the "Smith sisters" big move:

1) calling all the utility companies and putting in shut off dates and advising of the new address

2) arranging to have my homeowner's insurance dropped from the condo on a certain date

3) emailing the people who send me magazines or newsletters (Moody Bible Institute, Charles Stanley Ministries, Shambala, etc.) to provide my new snail mail address

4) getting stuff consolidated and taped up in the garage for next weekend's move

5) peeling away old caulk and installing new in the areas in the condo that need a fresh, "Welcome To Your New Home!" look.

It has been a very long day, but oh so productive! I'll only have two other places to advise of the move after the fact: Department of Licensing and the Employment Security Department. There's no way at their websites to notify them in advance of a move, or they would be done by now, too. (I'm an inveterate "gun-jumper." I think my whirling dervish dad had a lot to do with instilling this particular dysfunction into my cranium. I'm almost insanely "pre-punctual" in matters having to do with time management. As a result -- and this is a good thing -- I have never felt any pressure regarding stated or pre-determined "deadlines," because I do my stuff waaaayyy ahead of them!)

My condo closes on the 23rd, our new place closes on the 25th -- both are in escrow, and the appraisal on mine came in at $1K above what the buyers offered for it, so they're very happy about that... and word has come down the pike that their loan was approved, which has been the only "wait and see" hurdle to the deal... so WAHOO!

In the next day or so I'll get the MLS listing URL posted here so you can take a "sneak peek" at where we'll be living real soon... our own li'l slice of heaven in the Pacific NorthWet.

Just today a neighbor of Jackie's here in Spanaway put out a perfectly good vanity with a sink in it, along with an added faucet (still in the box), and put a FREE sign on them. Wouldn't you know it? It's EXACTLY the kind of thing we were going to have to buy to adapt my side of the new place -- so Phil and I walked over and brought it here to Jackie's, saving a few hundred dollars at least! God has a way of smiling on things when it's right! I take this as His approval of our new home!

This evening I received word that a client at Elance wants to hire me for copywriting services long-term for what I think will be half a day every day. This is phenomenal news! I suppose it's possible he might even need me more than half a day. So I'm counting my blessings and would be walking on the ceiling tonight if only "grabity" would let me. [Oh, to be a gecko tonight!]

As you can see (by clicking on my photo in the left-hand upper corner, which will take you to my Elance profile and reviews), my fees start at $25/hour at Elance -- ten an hour more than I was making in my last position and five an hour more than I made at Warner Bros in my last position there. Of course, I have to cover my own health insurance and have my own Internet connection and get my own paper and other stuff, but it's still do-able because I can work from home, so I don't have to drive my car, put expensive gasoline into it, or spend time commuting to and fro from hither to yon and back. So, all in all, it's a win-win situation for my Elance clients (they don't have to pay any overhead on me) and me! WHEEE!

Remember: If you need a freelance writer for any reason, think of me! I'll do my level best to impress you! Promise! Within the next twelve months it's on my agenda to be earning a substantial living as a writer...

Please Visit www.fightthesmears.com ...

There's a new website dedicated to squelching baseless rumors about Senator Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for President. Here's the URL: http://www.fighthesmears.com/.

If you're an Obama supporter, please visit the site and bone up on the answers so you can respond, within your spheres of influence, to the concerns people may have about Obama.

If you're concerned about Obama's candidacy because of something you have heard about him, please visit the website to get the truth.

If you've heard something else, not yet addressed at the website, please go to http://www.snopes.com/ and type Barack Obama into the search field. You may well find the matter you're concerned about listed there, and it will be noted as "True" "False" "Undetermined" or "Various" (parts true, parts false). Snopes.com is the premier Urban Legends website, and is not affiliated with any political party.

And of course http://www.barackobama.com/ is also a great place to go to read his stand on all the issues facing us in the years ahead.

Then there's my earlier blog (June 7th entry) titled "In Defense of Barack Obama."

DeForest Kelley Remembered at TrekMovie.com

Thanks so much to Trekmovie.com for compiling so many great memories of De on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of his passing...

http://trekmovie.com/2008/06/11/remembering-deforest-kelley/#more-2063

...and in over 100 emailed responses, there is not one negative or derogatory word at all about him -- just love, love, love, respect, fun, and honor.

De's fans are expressing the decency that "knowing" him (whether near for from afar) and loving him gave them... in their own words.

Take a moment and remember. Click on the link and add your own special reflections. I did.

And if you want to buy and read the two books that are out about De, the titles are DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES (I wrote this one) and FROM SAWDUST TO STARDUST: The Biography of DeForest Kelley, STAR TREK'S Doctor McCoy, by Terry Lee Rioux. Both should be read to get the full story of the man, his times, and his inestimable legacy.

To save money on my book about De (or any of the other books I've written), click here:

http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~mdownes/kris/kristinesmith.html

In this way you'll be taken to my book website and from there straight to AuthorHouse.com, the publisher, eliminating the middlemen (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, et al), and you'll get a really great price and lightning-fast delivery! Going through an online bookstore will slow things down and cost you more. (I love to save De's fans money, 'cause I'm on a shoestring budget, too!)


Thanks!

Jim McKay Leaves this Wide World for Greener Pastures

I was saddened to hear of Jim McKay's passing. For those of you too young to remember him, he was the face and voice of The Wide World of Sports for many years. During that time, he found himself smack dab in the middle of history while reporting on the 1972 Summer Olympics in Germany. 12 Israeli athletes were sequestered for long hours by a group of terrorists, and were eventually assassinated by them. With three words all our hopes and prayers were crushed: "They're all gone."

As with JFK's and RFK's assassinations and the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, every one of us alive at the time knows that the world's population stopped and held its breath in unison during those grueling hours in '72. We were shocked, horrified, glued to the set, wondering, hoping, praying...

Only one other time -- and it was a happy time -- was the world made captive by a single event: the moon landing. "The Eagle has landed...That's one small step for a man... one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, three names etched into our collective memory.

Our national and global times are captured in our brains in vivid snapshots (JFK Jr. saluting his father's flag-draped coffin) and sound bites ("They're all gone."). We know where we were (if we were alive) when Pearl Harbor was attacked, when the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, during VJ Day and D Day (I wasn't alive for these, but my parents spoke of them with the "quiet awe" reserved for only the most powerful of emotions)... The Challenger and Columbia disasters... The Kennedy and King assassinations... Columbine and Oklahoma City... September 11th...

The 1972 Olympics are among those times for baby boomers. And Jim McKay's face and voice are the "synaptic snapshots" (along with hoods and rifles) of that momentous, terrible time.

It's so sad that, in our present times, terrorism has become almost the norm -- no longer as jaw-droppingly alien as it was in the 70's.

We've gone to the moon and almost down the tubes using the same technology in the past fifty years. As advanced as we are scientifically, unless we advance in leaps and bounds relationship-wise with our fellow man across the globe, and decide to "boldly go" forward together (despite our differences and past sufferings), these terrible, terrific technological times may indeed be "the end times."

I'm ready -- and not ready. I have grand-nieces whose lives have barely begun. I'd hate to see them facing worse than we have had to face (and here in America, within our homeland, we have been truly blessed, and have suffered less than almost any other place). I pray that all those with progeny across the globe will think about their own children and grandchildren and elect to stop the madness so that the world all of our children inherit will be relationally superior to the one we live in.

It's up to us. We're the grown-ups. Let's put on our grown-up panties and deal with it, one-on-one. Let's ask ourselves: What can each of us do, every day we wake up, to make the world a little saner, a little safer, and a little more "sacred" (set apart for holy happenings with others) than it is right now?

Jim McKay kept even the wide world of competitive sports sane with his quiet, unbombastic, friendly commentary and demeanor. Quite the feat. I honor him beyond my ability to describe it for that.

And I pray he has Little League and Major League successors as adept, so all participants -- players and fans -- realize that winning isn't everything and that good sportsmanship is what matters, win or lose!

Thanks to John Anderson for this AMAZING FEATS Link...

http://www.snotr.com/embed/612

Now, Here's a Thought -- From Billie Rae Walker!

Received this thoughtful (and wise, and balanced) email from Billie Rae Walker this afternoon and it gave me a grin...

Wouldn't it be terrific if Dems and GOP'ers worked together THIS closely and got us back together as an "American family" again (but alas...) :

GREETINGS FROM YOUR FRIENDLY "REGISTERED INDEPENDENT"‏

Hi Kris....

I hope you enjoyed the play this afternoon. If I lived next door I'd be right there with you.

I'm also so sorry to hear that your long-time friend is frightened of Senator Obama.

You know, of course, that I've strongly supported Senator McCain since before the New Hampshire vote..... and will continue to do so, as I feel that he can best protect us in this dangerous world [I'll cling to my faith AND my gun thanks..... tho' I don't believe Sen. Obama meant any harm by his reference to folks like me].

I also believe that both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are people "of integrity" [Senator McCain's words, by the way..... and he knows both of them]. These dedicated public servants, any one of them, would do his/her best to lead our country well and protect our citizens.

My "dream ticket", by the way, would have been President McCain and Vice-President Obama [to become President next, after he had some experience], with Secretary of Health and Human Services Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of State Joe Lieberman. Since that's probably not possible [there are a lot more Independents out there these days, but not enough], I hope Senator Obama asks Senator Clinton to be his Vice-President. If he doesn't, then I'd like Senator McCain to cross the isle again, as he has so often done..... and ask her to be HIS Vice-President!

Senator Clinton's fate has reminded all of us that women in our country historically have to wait at the end of the line [Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton lived to see African American men get the vote, but did NOT live to see women vote..... and women still didn't have the vote when my mother was born]. If they don't want Sen. Clinton [and her husband] on board, there have to be many, many qualified women in BOTH parties who would fill the bill admirably [but they can't call her "sweety"].

Although not a supporter of Senator Clinton [probably because she likely came to live in my state in order to become the Senator from New York ..... a great political springboard, which Senator Robert Kennedy also chose to do - by pushing out a long respected NY Democrat, [Kenneth Keating], she has been a great Senator and is deeply committed to the people I think. [Bobby Kennedy was committed heart and soul, there is no doubt.]

Whichever gentleman now becomes President of the United States, I hope he offers Senator Clinton an active place in his administration, as she would be a terrific asset [tho' what position to offer her husband would be a puzzle].

On a similar note, Senator McCain and Senator Obama could each offer the other's administration a great deal [and they have already worked together in the Senate].

So, like the lifelong Registered Independent/moderate that I am, I will ignore the name-calling on BOTH sides [I do NOT think Senator Obama is a danger / I do NOT think Senator Clinton would let her husband run the White House / I do NOT think that Senator McCain is a clone of President Bush !!! ].....

I will go to their web sites and read their positions, just as you do. Since I lean to the "right" on national defense, gun control, etc. / lean to the "left" on social programs, health care, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, etc./ and stand in the "middle" on immigration, environmentalism, abortion, stem cell research, etc..... it would be impossible to find a candidate that shares all my views. (The same is true for most voters I think).

I have dear friends (like you) on BOTH the "right" and the "left".... very few in the middle, however. Senator McCain is basically a moderate [which is why his party did not choose him until the voters forced them to], while being VERY strong on national defense, so I strongly support him..... although I certainly respect Senator Obama's belief that diplomatic talks will triumph. I just believe that Teddy Roosevelt was right: "Walk softly but carry a big stick!"

At the end of the day, however, I will just continue to pray (as I know you do) that the Lord will protect our country, guide our leaders, and watch over us all ---

"Our Fathers' God, to Thee.... Author of Liberty.... To Thee we sing; Long may our land be bright..... With freedom's holy light..... Protect us by Thy might...... Great God, Our King".

God Bless....

Luv you,

Billie Rae

In Defense of Barack Obama... To a Friend...

Yesterday afternoon I received an anti-Obama rant from a dear friend, telling me that if I was going to vote for Obama, he could no longer be my friend. He's a Navy veteran and I was pretty much devastated all night long.

What he sent to me to "prove his claim" that Obama was "dangerous" was a tirade against Democrats -- up to and including Bobby Kennedy -- along with the oft-repeated and never proven "claims" (debunked at snopes.com and at Obama's website) that he's Islamic (the Reverend Jeremiah Wright problem should have quieted that rumor for all time), bent on disabling the military, willing to talk to Hamas, and other stuff.

I was so upset that my friend believed -- and feared -- all these things that I laid awake part of last night, feeling angry. But then I thought, "Eegads, if this one, intelligent, patriotic man believes this, I'm guessing a lot of other people do, too!"

So I thought I'd better put down, in black and white, all the reasons that I believe Barack Obama is a safe person to be leading our nation. Here's the email response I sent to him, and I hope it settles other peoples' minds as well:

"Even before reading your response -- which I'm sure will upset me since you're so upset and fearful of Obama -- I want you to know I've slept on this overnight and I don't want to lose you as a friend, even though we disagree, so I prayed on it, and here's what I've come up with:

Just for starters, with a name like Barack Hussein Obama, it's perfectly safe to assume that this man's life, background, resume and connections have been gone over with a fine-toothed comb by Homeland Security, the FBI, the CIA, and anyone else with any kind of suspicion since 9/11. So go ahead, as you wish, and decry and disbelieve the "biased" (in your estimation) news media and his website -- even forget snopes.com, which is totally apolitical and independent -- and THINK ABOUT IT!

Now, if you're creeped out just because he's a Democrat -- as you seem to be -- this is where we can legitimately disagree and part company with honor. I'm a Democrat. I've voted Republican in the past, so I'm not a blind Democrat. I know Barack and Hillary and Bobby aren't (weren't) perfect human beings, but their policies and attempts to establish justice and a level playing field for every American resonate in my heart. I don't have an evil heart, and I know you don't either.

Democrats are patriots, too,as I've said so often in my blog. RFK was my favorite politician ever and Barack runs a close second. So for you to be afraid of Obama concerns me greatly.

If you really believe all the rumors about him, it's your duty as an American citizen to contact Homeland Security and the FBI and CIA and tell them of your suspicions, and supplying any evidence you can find on the Internet or elsewhere to underscore why you think he's a threat. I have done so when suspecting a neighbor of mine, because I sensed there was something "not quite kosher" about him. (It turns out I was wrong, but I did the right thing and reported him, as you should, with supporting evidence.)

I trust Obama. I trusted Bobby. I feel certain, given our times and the present administration's emphasis on terrorism and villainy, that Obama has been "vetted" as no candidate ever has, with a name like his.

With this as a starting point, why don't you simply do a little research: read his two books (THE AUDACITY OF HOPE and DREAMS FROM MY FATHER), or visit his website and read his stand on the issues you care so much about.

In a nutshell: The man is not going to castrate our military forces, or weaken us in any way. If I thought he would, I wouldn't be supporting him and would sit this election out (because I don't think McCain can bring our nation to the place it needs to be over the course of the next four to eight years), or I'd be writing in the name of a person who I feel would be superior to either of the two on the ballot.

I also don't know what you have against Hillary, but lots of people have believed the stuff the opposition party has put out about her, and so she's a bit of a pariah these days. I think it's sad and unfair, but there you have it. It is what it is.

In conclusion, I think you've been listening to opposition spin-meisters who are, for the most part, unprincipled loud-mouths. I don't listen to McCain's opposition spin-meisters -- I go to his website, read his stand on the issues, hear his speeches, and make up my own mind. I encourage you to do the same, because I believe to the core of my being that, unless something awful happens to him (God forbid!), Barack Obama is indeed going to be our next President, and I would hate to see you looking upon that event as "the day America died" when it is nothing of the sort. We'll survive Obama. We survived Bush. I believe Barack will be one of our greatest Presidents if he/we can take his vision for America and bring it to fruition. It will take all of us, working together, since we'll only have eight years to give it a shot.

So I feel hurt that you'd think I haven't thought this thing through. I've studied this campaign like no other. If we disagree, we disagree. But I'd hate to lose your friendship over it. If I do, it was no friendship to begin with. I have a number of terrific friends who disagree with me and have thoughtfully told me why -- but none have tried to sway me with the unsubstantiated renditions of Obama's "disqualifying qualities" that you have.

Think about it. The man is known by every "national protection agency" in existence, and he would have been "outed" and would be in prison instead of running for the highest office in our land if there were anything real in the reports and emails you've received or heard about him.

I love ya, pal, and I want to be your friend... but if that's not possible after this email, I'm sorry for it and wish you well. I bear no ill will toward you and hope you will feel similarly once you have settled down just a little and really thought this through...

God bless you and God bless America!

For Those Too Young To Remember Bobby Kennedy...

..here are a couple of retrospectives from NEWSWEEK to give you a little more insight into the man:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/139161?GT1=43002

http://lifestyle.msn.com/mindbodyandsoul/womenintheworld/articleglamour.aspx?cp-documentid=7796071&GT1=32001

Please read them. And let me know if you hear of anything on TV that will commemorate his life BEFORE it airs. I want to watch as much of it as I can. If there are DVDs (copyrighted professional DVD's, not knock-offs) available of the program(s), let me know how to order them.

Thanks!

And here's the speech Bobby made (YouTube) in Indianapolis the night Martin Luther King was assassinated. You'll get a great insight into the man by hearing it. It was extremporaneous -- he didn't have time to write or finesse it, yet it's great, like his heart...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gigsZH5HlJA

I also just today added a couple of YouTube videos to the earliest blog about Bobby (Forty Years and I Still Miss Bobby), earlier this week. Please view those as well...

And, here's Bobby's eulogy, by Edward M Kennedy:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=24895974&#24950687

Finally, here is the eulogy again, with a montage of photos illustrating the points being made by Senator Edward Kennedy in the eulogy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiCLi9ddqlM

And Chris Matthews remembers: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25010601#25010601

Thanks!

A Historic Evening... Obama Wins the Democratic Nomination

Mark your calendars. Today will go down in history books across the nation. This evening, Barack Obama earned enough delegate votes to become the party's nominee for President of the United States. It has been hundreds of years and generations in the making but tonight it happened: a great African-American will become the nominee of the Democratic Party for President at the convention this coming August in Denver.

Today a false ceiling ("only white Anglo Saxon men can successfully run and become President in these United States") has been brought down --- and good riddance. Now ALL Americans of every race (and I believe both genders, because of the valiant efforts of Hillary Clinton for the nomination, during which she came so very close to breaking the false ceiling for women) can know, to the core of their spirits, that the only potentially crippling obstacle to their dreams, hopes and ambitions is the quality and the strength of the energy, faith and devotion they bring to achieving them.

I believe Barack will win in November. The breath of hope and excitement that resides in the breasts of millions of people will energize politicians and public alike to work hard and do whatever it takes to lift America and Americans to the next level.

We're a good people and a good country. The next eight years will re-establish that in the minds of people across the globe.

I'm so looking forward to that!

http://www.theroot.com/id/46735/page/1

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Got a lovely P.P.S. tonight from a dear friend, Margot Worthington in Denver. She's always so swamped at work (and takes it home with her, too) that she can rarely catch my blogs, but when she does... well, she always makes me feel SO great afterward. I'll put my toe in the rug and blush a little as I publish what she wrote. (As Mark Twain once confessed, "I can live for a week on a compliment." Me, too -- a MONTH!)

P.P.S. .....I LOVE your writing ....you're just so AMAZING!!! I get so wrapped up in everything that you write. I know I don't tell you that enough, but you're such an excellent writer. You have this magical ability to draw your "reader" in and experience what you have experienced. Lissa said the same thing to me not long ago via email. She said she was crying as she listened to the end of your audio book [DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories. I have precious few copies of it left on audio but it's still available in an e-book and as a hardbound and soft cover. The URL address to order it is above in my signature line.] . I have to say, what you have is NOT just a talent, it's a TRUE gift from God.

Oh, good. I can take my toe out of the rug now because Margot finished by giving credit where credit is due in her last line.

And I give a hearty AMEN to that!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hillary's FABULOUS concession speech

(If you didn't hear it in its entirety, please do so here):

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&vid=c3dae578-7695-45c1-8ea9-705a0e28683e&playlist=videoByTag:tag:politics_elections:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:mk:us:sf:ActiveStartDate:sd:-1:vs:0&from=MSNHP&tab=m1191248204226&GT1=42003

It's Coming 'Round Again... Kennedy/Kelley Month...

June has never been a particularly good month for me.

As June approaches every year, I think of Kennedy and Kelley -- the two men who inspired me most: RFK in the political realm, DeForest in the creative and personal realm. Both passed away in June (June 5, 1968 and June 11, 1999).

If a person is shaped and molded by the people whose stories and personalities most resonate with her, I'm one ugly duckling whose faint swan-ness can be traced to the influence of two men the entire world knows about as a result of the way they lived their lives. How deeply they touched the public's imagination and conscience!

Bad things do happen to good people. Bobby's and De's death dates are scars, painfully branded onto my heart and mind. Every June I feel newly orphaned. I realize, "My heroes have been gone... 40 years...nine years." Every year the number of years since I've seen them inexorably increases. But it just never hurts any less. Sometimes I wish it would -- but that would be forgetting. And I can no more forget these two benefactors than I can un-live the times and the memories.

Every June I also acknowledge (usually just to myself, but this year to you) that I never feel I do "enough" to carry either of these men's legacies forward. And that pains me. I have always thought I was given these men as role models (by God) so that I would continue to emulate them to some degree for the rest of my life after they were gone.

For the longest time after Bobby died, I thought I "should" get deeply involved in politics and joust at the windmills Bobby took on. But after Watergate, my ardor to be seen as a politician plummeted. I didn't want to be thought of as "one of those" -- so pervasive was the belief and assumption by society that 99.9% of politicians were unsavory, to say the least. Of course that perception wasn't and isn't true, but I wouldn't have felt any more comfortable going all out to be a politician after Watergate than I would have felt deciding to be a bank robber. Not my style -- smoke-filled rooms, clandestine operations, "Deep Throat"-ing around trying to get something decent done in an environment of criminality... No, thanks! Think I'll pass!

I failed Bobby. I have his heart for justice, but not his guts for taking on what's wrong and doing whatever it takes to make it right.

Then there's De. I didn't "fail" De. I feel good about that. Oh, sure, I would have liked to have written a screenplay that would have brought him roaring out of retirement with a big, eager grin, a screenplay that would win him an Academy Award at the end of his life. That would have been grand. I wish I had believed in my ability to string words together as much as he did -- in time to do that for him.

But if I had, would I have been in a position to just be his friend, and to drop what I was doing (wherever I would have been doing it as a screenwriter) to help him at the end of his life? And Carolyn afterward?

Probably not. So I was exactly where God wanted me to be.

We all are. Some of us just don't know it yet.

I'm going to be missing Bobby and De for the next few days in lots of ways. Don't know for sure if I'll blog it or not. But just know that if you, too, are feeling the loss of either of these two men, I'm with you... and I know how much it hurts.

http://remember-de-kelley.weebly.com/de-video.html

Forty Years -- and I Still Miss Bobby Kennedy...

Hope died for millions of people of all races, colors and creeds the day RFK died (June 5, 1968), a hope that has recently been resurrected after forty long years by Barack Obama's candidacy to become our next President. Senator Obama is a life-long benefactor in all RFK (and JFK and EMK) began and wanted to continue to do....

I was stunned, shocked and devastated when Bobby died. It has been only recently that I have felt a change in the pulse of America, to a point where what Bobby brought to the table as a statesman and man of faith may again happen.

No one not yet born (or too young to remember) the times when Bobby lived and died will ever know what a massive and heart-rending blow RFK's death was to the nation and the world during the contentious, horrendous, fractured 60's. (But renting the recent movie BOBBY by Emilio Estevez will give you some idea. I highly encourage that so you can see extended interviews and coverage of his campaign and the way he touched people. Click the links below for a foretaste.) RFK was our brightest beacon of hope -- to right so many of the wrongs in this country and the world. He was as beloved in South Africa and elsewhere as he was here.

I think of him often and hope he can look down and smile at what is beginning to happen again. His name and legacy are written all over it.

He was the best of the best.

Miss you beyond words, Bob!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsKlzr2fuCM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVya7EXj50&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ReAG6jNVs4&feature=related

Where Are They Now (People in the Ambassador Hotel the night Kennedy was shot; RFK's widow and children...)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24895033/?GT1=43001

Praying for Ted Kennedy's Surgery and Surgeons Today...

Senator Kennedy is undergoing surgery to remove as much of the gliolastoma as possible prior to chemo and radiation treatments.

Please join me in praying for him.

Thanks!

Amazing Dream... Gotta Tell You About It!

Just before waking this morning, I had a vivid dream so true-to-life that I felt I was "living" it. When I got up, it remained with me in a palpable way, so I need to tell you about it...

In the dream, I was at a state fair -- one of those sprawling landscapes where people are milling in all directions laden with cones of cotton candy, elephant ears and scones, cute little (or very large) carnival toys won, and with kids or friends of all ages at their sides.

For some reason I can't remember now (whether I was invited, or a request went out for extemporaneous thoughts, or what-have-you), I began to speak about why I thought Barack Obama would be and should be our next President. I don't recall what I said (probably similar to something I said at the caucus when I was a precinct captain back in March that caused so many undecideds and a couple of Clinton fans to decide for Barack that day), but as I spoke, I could see, right away, that a few of the people gave me a brush-off signal as they turned and walked away, either in complete disagreement with me, or thinking that politics had no place at a "fun" fair, or for whatever reason. But most of the people stayed, and I could tell that they weren't all automatically Obama fans. But they were curious, respectful, and listened.

I do know I was passionate and fully "sold out" with what I was saying, because the effect on the audience was obvious and as I ended the spiel, people cheered and clapped and shouted nice things. (But, again, not all of them...)

To leave the area, I had to ascend a flight of stairs, and as I did, others in "my" audience began to step forward and, with equal passion and level-headedness, began to express why they thought one of the other candidates was the one who should be our next commander in chief.

I stopped halfway up the stairs, thinking, "Hey, I started a trend here! And these people are as passionate about their candidate as I am about Obama!"

So I decided to stay on the stairs and listen to what my fellow Americans were saying about their favorite candidate.This went on for a while (because those who spoke weren't just speaking about presidential politics, but about local or regional races as well).

As it seemed to be winding down, I started to ascend to the top of the stairs and spotted a red-faced (not angry, just determined) former President Clinton (with his wife in tow by the hand! Very unlike Hillary, to say the least), coming down the stairs, dedicated to bucking the crowds coming up in enough time to tout HIS favorite candidate before the crowd below dispersed.

As the Clintons reached my level on the stairs, I realized I needed to tell them, from my heart, how much I thought of them, too, as leaders and patriots. I said, "President Clinton (as Hillary was still behind him and I hadn't come face-to-face with her yet), I just want you two to know that if Barack weren't in this race, I would SO be a spokesperson for Hillary, the way I just was for Barack."

President Clinton, still in a civilized rush to get past me to get to a microphone, responded, "I understand." He wasn't unkind or unfriendly; it was just a statement of fact -- he did understand -- he just felt Hillary was the candidate who should be our next President. I "got" that.

As Hillary came by me (still being brought along by Bill), I realized, almost painfully, that I was in her demographic (white, middle-aged woman) -- she did, too -- and I looked into her eyes and said, "I'm sorry!" She said, "It's okay..." but she looked sad, even hurt, momentarily. (Not mad.)

For some reason, I went back down the steps with them and stood close by as people began to recognize that President Clinton and Hillary were present and began to regroup to hear what they had to say.

Just before he spoke, Hillary looked at me again and I could just tell that she had heard my Obama speech. (It hadn't been anti-Clinton in the least. It had extolled her virtues as well and stated that I hoped they would form a ticket and run together in the fall.) She still looked sad, and resigned to her "fate": that people were going for Barack who would otherwise have been in her court just as forcefully. Tears came to her eyes and she realized she was about to cry (not a good thing for a Presidential -- or any other -- candidate to be seen doing if they want to win. Remember Edmund Muskie?). She quickly said, "Oh, my!" as she realized what was going to happen.

Quickly, quietly, she said to me, "May I?" -- and I started tearing up, too, and brought her to me and held her against me while she recovered (which took at least ten seconds), patting her on the back and saying silly things into her ear to cheer her up and so onlookers would think we were just exchanging hugs and comments to show "no harm intended or taken," even though I had just spoken for Obama.

She recovered quickly and as Bill started to speak, I began to wake up...I was still upset by the dream. I remain upset by it -- enough to blog it and let you know what I believe my conscience (a.k.a. the Holy Spirit, in my belief and vernacular) was trying to get through to me as I dreamed it.

Presidential candidates are people, too. They get their feelings hurt -- and they probably cry during rare private moments, so that their human-ness isn't caught and "spun" as a weakness or seen, by the stoic among us, as a disgrace.

There are very real hearts and hurts involved in any campaign. Most candidates (wish I could say ALL candidates, but I know that's not always true) are invested, heart and soul, in the issues and concerns they care so much about. Most could make better money elsewhere in the private sector. But because they care so much, they undergo scrutiny few can pass (nobody's perfect), wear themselves to a frazzle talking day and night in the hope that their constituents will catch their feverish passion for righting wrongs and jump aboard their bandwagon and help get them elected, or at the very least, that they'll decide to vote for them.

My dream was telling me that if -- when -- Hillary loses the nomination to become the Democratic candidate this fall, I will be as upset as she is (sharing her disappointment equally -- and I will cry, even though she can't) and almost as upset as I would be if Barack were to lose it.

I care about both of these candidates -- deeply. Their stand on issues is almost identical. They are good people. Because I have to pick just one, I hope they'll end up on the same ticket so I can vote for both of them in November. But that is truly something the nominee of the party must decide -- and I steer clear and say that my heart-felt desire for an Obama-Clinton ticket might not be the best way to go. I just don't know. And neither does anyone else, or it would be a done deal already.

What I'm saying is, I hope you are "living" the candidates' campaigns and not just "enduring" them. All of the candidates are in positions that can impact our lives for years or generations. Elections are important. Pundits can spin them every which way but loose, but in the end, it is the voters who make the choice.

I hope you'll remember my dream and pay attention to the candidates of both parties. Be kind. And don't gloat if "your" candidate wins. For every winner, there's another winner who just did not win "this time." They're all patriots and they deserve our thanks and our prayers.

'Nuf said. I abdicate my soapbox and await your responses.

Offer on New Home Accepted... and My Condo is in Process

OK, we're getting seriously excited now. The offer on our favorite choice of new home has been accepted and all is proceeding well with the condo sale (so far). I'm getting boxes from grocers and Jackie and I are packing 4-8 boxes every night. WAHOO! (Slow and steady wins the race. She won't let me pack without her going through everything first, so I have to wait until she's home evenings and weekends to get anything done.)

We'll be having the inspection done on Tuesday, with an electrician, home inspector and other parties, to be sure the home (built in 1959) is in good shape (wiring-wise and in other ways). The people who owned it remodeled just a few years ago and it looks fabulous, but the inspector needs to crawl around (underneath and overhead) and be sure that everything is in order so we can proceed with the plan to move there.

The inspection on my condo will be done soon -- if it hasn't already happened. I'm giving a one-year home warranty on it, because I know it's in fantabulous shape and that the buyers want to feel confident that it is.

When Jackie gives me the listing of the new place, I'll place a hyperlink to it from here so you can see it in all its glory. It has a HUGE back yard -- there's over an acre of property, so we're getting the former owners' riding lawnmower, too. (Even then, it'll take upwards of half an hour to mow it.)

Other than that, I've had a number of Elance gigs last week and this, so I'm semi-self-employed and am already getting repeat business... so over the next few months it's likely I'll be getting into a ballpark where I'll have substantial part-time income even if
-- I mean when! -- I land a full-time job here in the Tacoma area.

I need to apply for a business license as soon as we get moved, since I will have made almost $1K (possibly more) by then as a freelance writer. I'm waiting to get the business license until I have a stable address I can claim as the business address; don't want to put the cart before the horse. Besides, there's enough to do right now, just getting ready to move two households in a little less than a month. One thing at a time!

It feels so great to have my life coming back together, and to see the freelancing thing coming along so nicely (and so fast!). It gives me great hope and keeps my confidence-level high. (Most people who have been unemployed for six months have a confidence level of about -0.05. It's a humbling experience, even when there's no underlying cause for the work separation, as in my case.) If there's anything I'm sure I can do with excellence, it's stringing words together!

Top o' the morning, troops!

I stayed in a recliner on the back porch last night, acclimating my two kitties to back porch living (in a fenced back yard with two teensy weensy dogs) because we're going to be needing the garage from now on, to start putting the boxes that Jackie and I load up out there. It was a very pleasant night, luckily. Archie and Ashley were delighted to have me in their presence all night again. Proof: I had one or the other of them on my tummy and chest most of the night. They'd wander the yard, scoping it out, and then would come trotting back to jump up and sit with me before heading off again.

The change is more traumatic on the wee dogs than it is on the cats. Kokomo (all of two pounds, if that) raced under the porch to confront the "intruders" to his domain, but the moment Archie hissed at him, he yelped and came running over to me to complain, in a rush of little whimpers, "There's a MONSTER under the porch! With fangs and a really unfriendly attitude, Auntie!" (You weren't aware I was fluent in dog, were you?)

Before the afternoon was over, there was a cat (Ashley) and a dog (Kiki, who's even smaller than Kokomo) on my chest, more or less ignoring each other, so the "introduction" has gone well. I expect in the next few days the dogs will ignore the cats completely.

In the meanwhile, I have a demilitarized zone set up on the porch that only the cats can get into, to separate themselves from dogs and visiting grand nieces. It's the cat's sanctuary. I feed them there and they have all the amenities of the rich and famous therein, so they can get away without even seeing the dogs whenever they want to. (I have to keep the cats happiest, because they have the option of jumping the fence if they don't like the arrangements; the dogs don't.)

This afternoon Jackie and I are going to look at two houses again that we've already seen, and then one more we've only seen from the outside, and decide which one to place a bid on. Jackie wants to bid tomorrow.

This evening I need to go to the condos for a meeting at 7. That won't take more than an hour. I'll bring packing tape back with me from my garage.

This morning I took a drive to a print shop and a liquor store to load up on empty boxes, so Jackie has something to put stuff in. (Liquor store boxes are great because they come with cardboard separators, so glassware and fragile stuff can go into them without wrapping them first and nothing will break.) I'll visit the print shop every couple days until Jackie has as many as she'll need to get everything boxed that needs it. I'll help box stuff, of course, but she says she has to go through everything first because she's going to donate and dump some stuff, and I can't help her decide that.

The longer I've lived without my stuff, stashed away in my condo garage, the less I want to keep any of it, but I do have over 250 journals and lots of De stuff that I have to keep -- the De stuff for a museum someday; the journals so I can re-visit them when I get old and feeble and forget everything that happened in my life, ha ha ha. (Not really. I will probably never read them again.) I figure my journals might be of some value to people in ages hence. Everybody is so busy writing (and not saving) emails that I think individuals in my generation won't have much written down that's gonna survive. Someday I might go through it all and pitch a lot of the miscellaneous memories, but some of it may be of value to someone someday... and if not, hey, someone else can throw it away! I spent too much time creating all of it to feel much like burning it!

That's about it for this time, unless some breaking news happens sometime later today.

Have a terrific day!

House-Hunting Follow-Up...

Jackie and I have three places we're interested in now. We need to look at one of them tomorrow and then decide on which of the three to bid on. They're all terrific.

If my condo sale closes on June 23rd, I have to load the garage stuff on the 21st or 22nd; then will probably keep the U-Haul loaded with the stuff until Jackie and family return from Hawaii, at which time our new place will likely be available to move into. (It'll be cheaper to keep the U-Haul, and easier on our muscles and bones, than unloading my stuff into a storage unit and then loading and unloading it again a week or so later.)

If possible, we'd like our new place to close the day after my place does, so we can get most of the stuff moved from both of our places to the new place before Jackie and all fly to Hawaii. That would give me a week to get my place in order before they return and we all work on getting her place in order. But even if it closes shortly after July 4th, we'll be all right. I can keep my stuff in a U-Haul for two weeks more cheaply than I can keep it in storage for what their minimum amount of time is... I think. I'll cheeck to make sure.

Decisions, decisions...

But we're getting mighty excited now - that's for sure!

Wallflower Stay-in-the-Corner Kris Breaks Out!

I'm laughing at myself, suddenly realizing that over the course of the past year "Kris, the former mouse-in-the-corner" has boldly gone where few mice have gone before, proclaiming an inordinate interest in two of the most-controversial (and least-discussed-in-polite-company) topics: religion and politics!

This, from a person whose ethos is "Live and let live," "Don't make waves," "Do to others what you would have them do to you."

Eegads! Is it possible that I'm a peacemaker with a peacekeeper's agenda? hee hee hee (Not really.) Perhaps I'd better have my head examined! What'cha think?

I'm not a public, drop-of-the-hat "street evangelist" -- too frightening. While I love discussing the saving knowledge and power of Jesus Christ with the already-aware (sisters and brothers in Christ), I can be a real wuss when it comes to introducing the topic while out in the secular world. I think, "I'd hate it if someone came up to me and started yapping about their God." I still feel that way sometimes (depending on the denomination doing the yapping, since I know scripture well enough by now to know of so-called Christian denominations so "out there" as to be totally unbiblical). So I generally steer clear -- except when blogging (because people elect to come to blogs to read, ponder, and consider the topics in them).

And only recently have I become a political activist again (for the first time since 1972, which was the first time I could actually vote in an election). I was so bummed by the drubbing McGovern got against Richard Nixon in the '72 election, despite Nixon's obvious culpability in the Watergate scandal, that I slowly backed away from going out and campaigning hard for future candidates. McGovern won only one state (Massachusetts) -- and a parish in Louisiana where my fellow co-laborers in politics that year and I worked our hearts out to make sure he won. And I campaigned for him primarily because Bobby Kennedy (who had been assassinated four years earlier) had sincerely introduced McGovern once as, "the most decent man in the Senate --" and then had added, joking, "in fact, the only one!"

So it should come as no surprise that this year I've gone all out for Barack Obama. I'm a left-leaning conservative (as was RFK, contrary to public perception), feeling that we need to be sure that even the concerns of "the least of these" (in Christ's words -- the underrepresented poor, ill, lost, and multiply-challenged) are addressed and that ways are found to lift them up and make sure they are not left behind to suffer in our land and abroad. Only when every family can find work that sustains them and that blesses them and others can we say we are on the road Christ trod and wants us to be treading right along with him these days. While we "liberals" may sometimes lean over so far as to lose our balance in fighting for the rights and well-being of those less fortunate, it has been our efforts over the past forty years that has brought us to a time in our history when a black man can run for the highest office in the land and have some chance of actually getting it. While there is residual, deep-seated resentment of this fact in some folks more elderly and their impressionable progeny, I see great hope in knowing that the old way of thinking is definitely on its way out and that America's future will now rest in every hue and both genders of capable hands, hearts and minds.

A lot of folks are under the impression that if someone is religious, that automatically means ultra-conservative and Republican. A reading of God's Politics by Jim Wallis will quickly prove otherwise. I have SPIRIT 105.3 (a Christian radio station in the Seattle-Tacoma area) and Obama bumper stickers on my car. I'm sure more than a few people do a double-take when they see the two co-existing in peace and harmony on the fender! That's good, as long as they don't drive off the road and hit a tree or a pedestrian.

Christians come in all shapes, colors, sizes and political parties. And we talk to each other and disagree without coming to blows! Imagine that! ("By this shall they know you are My people -- by your love one for another.") (That might not be an exact quote of the scripture; I'm writing this off the top of my noggin.)

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Hot off the press! I just received an offer on my condo! It'll soon go into PENDING mode. WAHOO!

HALLELUJAH! I Think My Condo Has Sold!

Great news! It looks like I'll be getting a bid on my condo tomorrow morning. I'm very excited. Keep me in your prayers that it all goes well and that in a month Jackie and I will be moving to the place we found that we love -- my Realtor is checking in on that possibility right now...

There are two we really like... and the prices are coming down and there are literally dozens of other options. Getting the money for my condo was the hard part, in this economy, but it looks like it's going to happen now.

I'm so happy!

WHEEE!

Surprise, Surprise! One of My Poems is in the Current Issue of the Shambala Newsletter!

I was mighty pleased -- and wildly surprised -- to open the latest issue of the Shambala newsletter and find one of my poems (LEO) emblazoned across the inside front cover! Tippi placed it on her own editorial page and wrote around it, so yes, it's a major honor!

If you go to the following URL, you can register as a member of Shambala and help out this worthy cause... and they'll promptly send you the current newsletter, chock full of great stuff, including my heart-rending poem about the status of lions from ancient Greece to now!!!

http://www.shambala.org/

I volunteered at Shambala for a number of years and cannot recommend a non-profit organization more highly than I can Shambala.

If you love captive wild animals (or their wild counterparts, living free) and want to help Tippi's wild ones thrive in luxurious, open fields (she rescues them), logon today and find out more about her and her Roar Foundation.

You'll be glad you did. Prepare to be wowed: Bill Dow's photos of Tippi's wild wards are breath-taking!

Top o' the mawrnin' to ye all!

My sister is on her way to Cle Elum with a friend this morning for a two-day visit with a lots of school chums from days of yore. She was excited-as-a-school girl when she took out of here this morning. I hope they all have an absolute blast.


Yesterday I took a break from writing and bidding at Elance for an hour and went to see grand niece Isabella (age almost 6, in July) in her school play. She was a flower, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot. But she was absolutely the best flower there -- knew all her lines, reminded the girl next to her of her lines the time she forgot them, looked as sunny as the flower she played, and did everything she was supposed to -- without it looking at all rehearsed. Methinks she's a natural. Watch out, Hollywood!

There isn't much other news. I'm blogging at Writer's Edge (Christian writer's blog) as well, so if you want to find out where I am spiritually, that's the place to be frequently. (Not that you won't find it here, but I'm all over the place with this blog, so you may have to hunt to find my spiritual ponderings here!)

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. It's a solemn occasion, remembering those we've lost, but they'd all want us to enjoy the weekend the rest of the time, as they would if they were here.

"You're Gonna Make It, After All!"

No two ways about it -- God is 110% amazing -- all the time!!!

He closes one door and opens all the windows, lets air in, lets sanity in, lets love in, lets me wait (fully funded) until I finally do what He created me to do all along: What I love most in all the world! WRITE! COMMUNICATE! CONNECT!

I've been straddling the fence for so long I'm saddle sore. I've been listening to the old tapes play in my head ("Making a decent living as a writer is almost impossible," "Get your head out of the clouds and your feet back on the ground," "Get a real job and stop this nonsense...") and distancing myself from them, recognizing them for what they are: the expressed fears of two parents who were rock solid practical and worried that I'd starve to death trying to do what I have loved doing since I first put words together into a sentence and made something come alive that didn't exist before I wrote it down and made it happen. They had no faith that I could compete in the realm of writers -- and win often enough to feed, clothe and shelter myself adequately.

The past few months have given me the time I needed to try things out -- Elance.com, and other types of outreach. And every day recently something new has come in that's EXACTLY what needs to happen in order for me to reach my destination on earth: full employment doing exactly what I love in all the areas where my passion lies: for Christian folks, for animals, for elders, for small businesses on small budgets that need a world-class copywriter, and can't afford one.

Recently I've done four small projects and one larger one. And today I was contacted by a fellow on the east coast who wants me to be his copywriter and write ads similar to what I did all of 2007 in my last position -- for ten dollars more an hour than I was getting! Providence!

And there's a copywriting agency that has seen press releases I wrote to tout my books and my convention appearances. The people there want me to be "on call" to write press releases for their clients as they come in (since press releases aren't their bailiwick and they want to be a full-service agency). Other people want me to write e-books on pet care. How perfect is that? I grew up with animals -- every kind available to me, from naked, unfledged birds, fallen from nests, to an African serval! Two Christian entertainers had me write press releases for them, and another live entertainment venue had me write a marketing article and will have me writing their press release and their website content soon.

And I can do all these projcts from the comfort of my own home! No gasoline costs. No commute. Just glorious writing, doing what I love!

I feel a sense of adequacy -- even extreme competency -- when I write that I feel at no other time. I've been an exemplary secretary and administrative assistant, but put those careers side-by-side to what I can produce as a writer, and there's no just comparison: I am, far and away, better as a communicator (on paper) than I ever was in any other capacity.

God gave me a passion to write as far back as second grade. That should have been one huge hint about the destiny He placed me here to pursue, wouldn't you think? Heck, it should have clinched the matter! I should have stopped trying to be a people-pleaser and dedicated myself to being a God-pleaser... to using the passion He gave me, to run with it, no holds barred, no looking back, no listening to the fears and worries of loved ones who just didn't get it.

I now realize I have been more or less "occupationally and emotionally depressed" for most of my life, living a life of quiet desperation (except when joyfully lost in a writing project), doing what was "expected" of me by the naysayers, what I had proven myself "good" at during all the years I was afraid my folks were right about my prospects as a writer. Yeah, I was "good" at that other stuff, but I'm BEST at THIS!

No more. I feel a sense of joy and expectation now as a direct result of turning myself loose ("Damn the torpodoes! Full speed ahead!") and seeing where my enthusiasm for the written word can take me.

I'm humming the Mary Tyler Moore theme and thinking every word relates to me as long as I'm "in the zone" in front of my keyboard "wordsmithing" every day -- and blogging every night.

Who can turn the world on with a smile?
Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?

Well, it's you, girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement, you show it.

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can never tell, why don't you taste it?
You're gonna make it after all.

You're gonna make it after all!

What a lunatic I've been all my life, listening to old tapes in my head when I should have been moving full speed ahead!

Hey, I'm a late bloomer, what can I say?

It's never too late to have a happy future!

If you have a passion you're not pursuing, and it's not harmful to anyone else and can be viewed as a blessing by other people -- STOP LISTENING TO WHY YOU CAN'T OR SHOULDN'T PURSUE IT AND PURSUE IT ANYWAY!

It'll rock your world!

Prayers for Steven Curtis Chapman and Family

Very sad news for the Chapman family.

http://www.music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=315536&GT1=7702

Please send prayers for the Chapman family, and include the relative who hit the little girl and killed her with his vehicle.

Kennedy Paralysis...

I sent a letter to Senator Kennedy this morning, wishing him all the best and promising frequent prayers for a miraculous healing. Writing it made me think back to the time when my boss ... well, here's the story (as expressed to Sentaor Kennedy as part of my letter)

From 1981-1985, I worked as a Field Services Rep and Field Services Director for the Animal Protection Institute of America, an animal welfare agency, from my home in the Pacific Northwest and from API’s headquarters in Sacramento.

During that time I was mentored by Ted Crail, Creative Services Director, a man some said was “impossible” to work for. I never found him that way. He was simply a perfectionist and wanted everyone to work and strive for their full potential. He was lovely to me, because he knew I always was striving to be top-notch.

I was assisting him one day, researching a bill sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy. He asked a question I couldn’t answer, so he said, “Call Senator Kennedy’s office and get the answer.”

CALL SENATOR KENNEDY’S OFFICE?!!!!

“Oh, my God in heaven!” I thought. “I can’t do that!”

Since he didn’t hear me grab for the receiver right away, and I was inordinately silent suddenly, he turned to me, to find me in Kennedy paralysis.

“Hello?” he inquired.

“Call Senator Kennedy’s office?” I tried not to squeak.

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Uh…”

Did I dare say, “I don’t recall ever being asked or expected to phone an icon”?

He finally “got it,” without my saying another word.

“Look, Kris, Senator Kennedy is a public servant. He has an office phone that rings at least a hundred times a day. I’m not asking you to do anything that a hundred other people don’t do every day. It’s no big deal.”

I finally confessed, “It’s a big deal to me.”

I had never refused to carry out a single direction of his – until now. He had a deer caught in his headlights, unable to process the information in a sane, rational manner. I heard the words. My motor functions simply froze and I became catatonic.

“OK,” he finally conceded. “I’ll do it. Sit there and watch how easy it is.”

I sat there. I watched how easy it was. Masterful. Fun. Interactive. Even a laugh or two!

Never did try it myself, though… Too, too scary!

It was a humbling experience, to realize the high regard in which I held someone – to a point that actually speaking to him would have paralyzed my vocal chords and stayed all physical movement in my chair…

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Senator Kennedy, consider this my once-in-a-lifetime “phone call” to you. I will darken your door no more.

I just want you to know… you mean the world to me… and you are in my prayers hourly (often, more often)!

Kennedy diagnosed with malignant brain tumor

Disturbing news about Senator Ted Kennedy. My own mother passed away from a malignant brain tumor (glioblastoma multiforme) nine years ago. I'm very saddened to hear that Senator Kennedy has been diagnosed with a glioma, which is only phase one of a more complete diagnosis.

Senator Kennedy and his family are in my prayers that the tumor is both operable and eradicable.

He has been in the Senate since he took over his brother John's unexpired term in 1962. Far from a perfect man, he has never let that stop him from doing a lot of great things for people. I believe his place in American history is already secured and that his achievements in the Senate will be honored for generations to come.

My heart is heavy today, upon learning this sad news.

From Alison in England.. Supporting Obama from Afar!

From Alison Winter in the U.K.:

"I hope you are OK. It's tough being uprooted. But I think it's good that you are so passionately behind Obama. Outside the U.S., we all want a Democrat because U.S. foreign policy under the Republicans has been just wrong, frankly. Hillary has gone for too many cheap shots, I think.

"I don't know anyone here who doesn't want Obama to win. If the Democrats don't get behind him fully, then their race is just too weak. As lovely as having a 'change' is, be it for the Democrats, a woman or a black man, it makes John McCain the safe and secure option. In your current economy that's going to appeal to many people.

"On behalf of the foreigners, please do everything in your power to promote Obama (I know you are, but I want you to know just about everyone outside the U.S. is behind you). We can't vote, but we still have to deal with the consequences. Maybe this is why your current situation has occurred - to use your writing to really promote him. What do you think? I love what you've written so far."

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Thanks, Alison. Glad to hear (in an earlier part of your email) that your fortunes are changing for the better. You deserve it and have earned it!

I do have one disagreement with something she said above. I don't think there's a snowflake's chance in Hades that a Republican will win this time. McCain is not a "safe and secure option" unless we want an extended Bush philosophy out there tripping up our chance to redeem ourselves globally and knee-capping ourselves domestically. And he doesn't seem to have much of a clue about how to help the economy, either. I just don't see voters choosing him. The Republicans have had their day for eight years and it has brought us little else but misery in nearly every aspect.

McCain, too, has taken cheap shots, seeming to indicate that Obama is a Hamas darling. Hamas has said they'd like to see him as the next President, yes -- but that's because (they went on to say) he was like JFK -- a statesman and a strong, no-nonsense, admirable opponent when it comes to foreign policy. That hardly qualifies as a Hamas "endorsement"; it's a viewpoint shared by much of the world. Just because Hamas sees in Obama what the rest of the world sees in him is not scandalous; it seems to me even a wee bit hopeful. A calming of saber-rattling.

I see two sides to the same coin here, not to disparage McCain too much. He, too, is a staunch patriot and a great American. But he's a peacekeeper, a warrior, where Obama is a peacemaker. McCain is a hammer and addresses most things that need to be addressed the way a hammer addresses a nail: Ouch! (I can be a bit of a hammer myself at times -- an aspect I deplore in myself and have worked hard to alter. And most of the time, I succeed, thank God -- just by giving space to the predominant "warrior" emotion and letting it run its course before I run my mouth.)

Here's the fundamental difference:

Peacekeepers are usually international military powers whose paradigm is
"Power is king. Power keeps people in line. Power wins." They are viewed globally by many as dangerous, provocative, blinders-on strategists: How do we "win" this thing?

Peacemakers calm the rhetoric, the protocol, the intense emotional battering that goes on when there's a right and a wrong, an agenda to fulfill, a "war to be won." Peacemakers find ways to compromise without giving away the farm. They work hard, usually behind the scenes, to discover diplomatic and humane solutions that honor the fact that we all are God's children, whether we acknowledge it or not. (God sees it this way, and I for one do not argue with the Almighty.) Religions divide; relationships unite.

The world is a dangerous place right now. We have to fix things on many fronts: environmentally, economically, ideologically, globally and locally.

My sense is that the person best-suited to lead this great effort should be a peacemaker -- someone well-versed in respectfully understanding and listening to everyone who feels passionately about surviving in the world. And that person, in my well-considerated and studied opinion, is Barack Obama.

Yeah, I know: this means that, at times, he's going to be listening to and interacting with people that many would like to see blown to smithereens for their intolerance, dangerous passions, and past and proposed aggressions.

I didn't say he was going to agree with or condone all he hears; nor do I think he'll act foolishly on what he hears. But he is the man most likely and best-trained to open dialogue, calm the rhetoric, respect differences (again, without giving away the farm), and find a way forward -- to a future that embraces diversity, finds common ground, and treats people with respect, and the love expressed in the heavens.

That's my take on this.

Ciao for now!

Good Newsweek Article...

Check it out...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/136440/page/1