I Finally Feel Like Writing Again

March 31 was the day I last blogged, mourning the death of Wanda Warner.  Yours truly has been in a blue funk since then, but I feel myself coming out of it now.  Obviously, losing a friend to cancer is hard, but her death, while difficult to bear, was not the only reason for my state of mind.  Don't want to take time to enumerate the reasons, but suffice to say that I feel like writing again.  Writing has long been an outlet of mine since the Clemson Writing Project back in 1983.  Dr. Virginia Stanley (V) and Dr. Ron Lunsford got me to think seriously about writing then and I have done that since.  One of the greatest things I ever did was to join CWP ad get to know Virginia.  She is a smart, funny, wonderful person.  Composing, evaluating, or assessing - it makes no difference to me.  I love to talk writing instruction, but I love reading good writing more.  This causes me to read books like a maniac, then slack off for a while.  Some books challenge my beliefs, some my intellect, and some my sense of humor.  I want to write like that and I try.  Composing, organizing my thoughts, and word-crafting give me a clear mind and a happy heart.  Success in the effort is rare, but I have to keep writing.  It is a big part of my sanity strategy - to stay sane enough to stay out of assisted living as long as possible.  So expect to hear from me more often.  As always I invite and want your comments - even if they say, "you suck - turn off the computer."

When Great Souls Die

My friend Elizabeth Bost turned me on to the following poem when another great soul died. I thought of it when I learned of the death today of my good friend and wonderful colleague, Wanda Warner, following a two year battle with pancreatic cancer. Like everything else she did, she fought cancer with a positive attitude, great courage, and grace. Wanda was a rare breed, possessing rare intellect, rare compassion, rare leadership skill, and rare fortitude. Having known her for ten years now, I can tell you that she was exceptional human being. We grieve because our families have become good friends. We hurt for her husband Dick and son Andrew, and we hurt for ourselves. I am glad that she suffers no longer and is in the arms of her Saviour. I miss her already and will for some time to come, but I am grateful to have worked with her, known her, and been her friend. So I share this wonderful poem but they exceptional Maya Angelou.

When Great Souls Die

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests
small things recoil into silence
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe briefly,
see with a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls
dependent on their
nurture
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed and informed by their
radiance
fall away. We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable
ignorance of cold dark caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
--Maya Angelou

Is This What They Meant?

During the last election candidates all over SC, sspecially Nikki Haley, beat the drum for transparency in government.  In the March 19-20 Edition of the Seneca Journal, one page in particular caught my eye, because all of the stories were about Gov. Haley and Lt. Gov. Ken Ard.  The first story was about Gov. Haley removing Darla Moore from a state board, I forget which one, and replacing her with a campaign donor of hers.  Now, she is entitled to do that, but you gotta wonder if the appointment was more about campaign donations than qualifications.  Mrs. Moore is a noted philanthropist, having given significant money to both USC and Clemson.  Now you may say, "That's not so bad."  You would be right about that.  By all accounts Mrs. Moore was a good member, but she is a mite independent.  We certainly would not want that standing in the way of the new governor, now would we?  The next story involved her replacing the entire SC Arts Commission Board with her own appointees.  A different approach to the Arts for South Carolina?  I should say so.  Their task is to de-fund the Arts Commission of state money.  In other words, get your own people in office to do your bidding.  That cleans up the old way - having to lead people to see the wisdom of your ideas.

The final story about Governor Haley was most troubling.  Her application for a Lexington County hospital job claimed she had made 125 K as accountant for her parents' business, when, in fact, tax records show that she made 22.5 K.  When asked about it she simply said she didn't do it - that somebody else, at the hospital, must have completed the application for her.  The hospital released a statement saying that was not true, and that she might consider involving the authorities regarding her stolen identity, since someone else completed the application.  As a retired principal, I must say that a 3rd grade student often uses the "I just didn't do it" defense.  Quite often, it isn't the truth.
Coupled with the use of the same defense when accused three times of infidelity, it makes me wonder if our new governor plays fast and loose with the truth.  Those three men did not confess to their wives if it were not true, just to protect a political candidate.  At first I thought, Mark Sanford in a skirt, but I think that gives the former governor too little credit.  What will she not do to get her way?

Ken Ard is accused by the Ethics Commission of 92 violations of the state Ethics law.  According to the report, he bought clothes for his wife, vacations, including flights, for his family, and other violations involving the use of campaign money for personal expenses.  I feel particularly aggrieved because I voted for the guy.  If true, these accusations represent an egregious disregard for ethical behavior.  If I read the news right, his response was that he had done nothing illegal.  Well, Bless Your Heart!  Once elected, all officials OWE US their most honest efforts at good, ethical government.  Come to think of it, this is about as transparent as it gets.  Do anything to get elected, then do anything to get your way.  Finally, do anything to get re-elected.

Fat Boy Blues

OK.  Many of you know that I have been trying to eat healthy and lose weight since my heart scare last year.  So far, everything is great, weight, cholesterol, and bp all coming down.  So far I have lost 45 lbs. from a high of 338.  Several months ago I tried to use Wii Fitness with my grand kids, but it gave me a message saying that I was over the 300 lb. limit and to come back when I got below 300.  That was bad enough, but I set that as an interim goal, sort of like not needing an extender for an airplane seat belt, or being able to see your feet when you weigh.  This week, doing the math, I figured that I was under 300 enough to give it a try.  I would get started and surprise my granddaughters by playing with them.  Alas, it was not to be so.

This afternoon became the afternoon to try, so I took it out, connected everything, and fired that baby up.  While I waited for it to warm up,  it gave me a nice lecture about balance and posture.  Then it told me to get on so it could analyse me.  Now this next part may seem unbelievable, but I swear its true.  When I stepped up on the platform, there was an audible grunt or sigh from the machine.  I kid you not!  I hurt the Wii Fitness machine, and I know because it said, "Ohh!"  In a minute it came back with a message asking if I was "fidgeting", then asked me to get off so it could reboot.  It did and asked me to get back on - same result.  This happened nine times before I gave up.  Always the same messages and sounds, always the same result.   I know I'm under 300, so my balance must have been shaky, as it often is.  Don't misunderstand - I like fat humor more than most people.  Ralphie May is one of my favorite comedians.  But seriously, Nintendo, is it really necessary for the game to grunt when a big person steps on the platform?  We could have skipped that part and had the same results.  What's next - a chair that exhales deeply when I sit in it?   Come on, man!  A little encouragement would be nice.  Oh well, the pool will open in a few weeks and the Wii won't matter.  Maybe by Fall I'll be able to stand without fidgeting so much.

Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls...

Watching the events unfold in Wisconsin and Ohio, education professionals have to feel a little kinship with our brethren in these two states.  The Governors say this as about balancing their respective budgets, but I have my doubts.  If you read carefully, it becomes obvious that this talk is a smokescreen.  The real purpose of these laws is union busting, thus rendering political  opposition penniless and powerless.  Without unions, labor has no voice in affairs that directly affect them, and the current political leaders will still have their current financial and political support.  Just look at what they are doing now and imagine what they might do if unfettered with collective bargaining.  It is an assault on free speech and association that they are conducting.  If the First Amendment protects Westboro Baptist Church and their despicable speech and actions, surely it can do the same for public employees.  Listening to the rhetoric, you would think teachers and other public employee greed is to blame for their admittedly dire financial situations.

"What does this have to do with me?" you may say.  South Carolina is a not a collective bargaining state and that suits me fine.  Look, I know that reasonable people may disagree on collective bargaining for public employees.  But don't doubt for a second that success here will embolden Republicans all over the country to go after employee pensions, health insurance, and fair employment and dismissal in other states, especially in non-collective bargaining states like ours.  Here, as you know if you've paid attention at all, we are at the whim of the General Assembly, and that no member of an absolute majority ever has a bad idea.  My friends, we had better get ready to defend ourselves, because the assault is coming to your state in one form or another.  The bell tolls for thee.

Farther Along

Sitting up tonight, thanks to Predizone, reflecting on a tumultuous events abroad in recent times, it occurs to me that the Middle East, and with it, the world is going to Hell in a hand basket.  No one knows what the outcomes will be concerning the chaos in the Middle East.  One thing is for sure - it will not be pretty.  What's more, it will likely produce even more instability than ever before now.  We made a bargain with the devil and the despots have kept their end of the bargain - they have mostly checked Islamic extremists in their own countries.  In doing so, they oppressed their own people to the extent that average citizens have started this movement.  The gap between rich and poor is wider than in any region.  But be sure that Radical Islam will have its day.  If average citizens make sure that these new democracies are modern and secular, the George W. Bush's vision of a democratic Islamic world will have come true, sending him surging in presidential rankings.  If the extremists in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and even Iraq follow the surge of their fellow crazies in Lebanon and Gaza, then we will surely have a bigger mess than before.  Already, gas and oil prices have shot up, and they will skyrocket if this unrest continues.

While Western Democracies struggle to catch up with the curve,  more and more it looks like we won't, we will not influence the results of these people's uprisings.  Be sure that, once ignited, the desire for freedom is ultimately unstoppable, though it might be quelled in the long run.  We are for freedom and democracy, but recently, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other radical terrorist organizations have done well and/or won elections in Lebanon and Gaza.  In the meantime we look like we support the despots at the risk of alienating even the ordinary citizens of that region, yearning to be free of oppression and to have free and fair elections for a change.

Iran is a special problem for the West.  First, they are led by a madman, and governed by a council of religious fanatics.  Second, while violently putting down his own protesters, he criticizes Libya for doing the same.  Third, he is reckless, predicting the end of times by 2012, provoking Israel, and tweaking the collective nose of the western powers.  In other words, Iran is intent on capitalizing on these events to meet their vision for Islamic Republics all across the region, influenced of course, by Iran.  They seem intent on provoking a confrontation with the West.  If that happens, it will be Katy Bar the Door. 

My Bible tells me that these things will happen.  Despite all the doom and gloom, I still believe that things will work as they are supposed to to accomplish God's own purposes in his own time.  That said, I pray for wisdom and vision for world leaders, including our own.  None of this excuses any of us from doing all we can to make the world a place of peace and justice for all people.  I believe that the outcome is already decided, and that our understanding of it all will at another time.  In the words of an old and wonderful hymn, "Farther along, we'll know all about.  Farther along we'll understand why.  Cheer up, my brother, and live in the sunshine.  We'll understand it all bye and bye."

What is Happening in Egypt?

What is really happening in Egypt?  A flat out revolution.that's what.  For now, it doesn't appear to be Islamic in nature and origin, but that bears watching as events progress.  It does appear to be a popular uprising for freedom and democracy at this moment, but that could clearly change.  Mubarak has been in power for 30 years, thanks to hazy elections and fuzzy math in vote counting.  He normally wins with 90% of the vote, so I have to believe that those elections have been a sham.  Before him were the great Anwar Sadat and Gamel Nasser.  Egypt, under their leadership has been a force for peace and stability in the region for several years, but repressive and unaccountable to its own people.  Those chickens have come home to roost and Egypt stands at the abyss of chaos. 
There is no turning back.  Democracy and freedom will prevail.  The only question is how bad will it get before the changes needed are made.  Will the military side with Mubarak and prop up the status quo, or will it allow citizens to protest and stay on the sidelines?  Will it oppose or support the police in the crackdown that has begun, but will almost surely escalate?  Will the movement morph into an Islamic Revolution, or make Egypt as a secular democracy? 
No one can know for sure, but it seems clear to me that democracy may yield a government in Egypt far less interested in peace and stability in the region.  We can, and should, support the democratic aspirations of the Egyptian people, but we may not like what comes out of that.  Look no further than the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, or Iraq and Afghanistan for that matter, to see some of what the results of our support for democratic reforms in the region might bring about.  Until then, I plan to pray for peace and justice, in Egypt and the rest of the world.