No Title. Just Lots'o Thoughts

If you have a member of your family or circle of friends in a nursing home, you'll want to read this article, which provides a link to a government pdf file outlining nursing homes that were found to be needing improvement, along with those homes that have shown improvements and those that don't. My great uncle lived in such a facility prior to his passing. One of the residents forged checks in his name, pocketing a few grand. He was unable to care for himself due to alzheimer's and a host of other physical conditions, so this makes the situation all the more deplorable. She was of course eventually caught and I urged his guardians to also hold the home accountable, given it was later proven she had a history of similar behavior in previous nursing homes. A simple background check would have shown this.

I have a place for people like this and it ain't a sandy beach in Hawaii...

There's a rumor going around that one of our local bloggers is contemplating running for Darlene Hooley's upcoming vacant seat in the 5th District. Check out his recent blog entry fmi. All in favor say "Aye".



Speaking of the world of sin, er, politics, it appears as though Obama has inched his way to the front, leading by a nose. Our Leftist Savior or just another puppet? Perhaps middle of the road somewhere. I'm leaning towards another puppet, just a little softer, smarter version. Instead of Oscar the Grouch we'll have Miss Piggy's male counterpart. I really want Elmo.



The weather has been unbelievably beautiful, giving cause to lots of walks and yard work. Putting my hands in the soil, feeling that cool softness, experiencing the roughness of the decaying leaves and twigs stirs up that primitive desire to plant, nurture, watch and enjoy. I suddenly longed for 77 degrees (my ideal temperature), the sun on my back, cut off shorts, tank top, sandles, my planting shovel and seeds and starters. Looks like I'll have to wait a few more months for that though.



I wrote to a representative of the local food bank last week and heard back. We're playing phone tag at the moment. I wrote to express my concerns regarding my on-going experience of receiving expired food items and a real lack of healthy, fresh foods (including fruits, veggies, meats and bread). I've shared my ideas and am hoping he's willing to discuss with me some possible solutions. I'm hoping I may even be able to get some type of a job out of this. At the very least, if they don't already have such a position, they need someone who monitors the local food banks to see what's being distributed.



I recently finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank. I read it once, in part that is, when I was a child. For years, I've wanted to read it in its entirety and always put it off or forgot about it. I finally picked up a copy at the library and simply could not put it down. It's gripping, terrifying, deeply deeply sad and shocking, funny and brilliant. What an amazingly insightful, brilliant philosopher she was. So sensitive, so beautifully mischevious. I found it interesting, if not a bit odd, that I found myself relating so deeply to a 14 year old girl. But as I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that regardless of our age, we all inside share a common bond around our need for love, and for so many of us, our perpetual state of confusion over why war must continue to quiet the energy of peace. Her words are her legacy and she left us all an amazing gift in those words.

Maybe our blogs will do just that, in their own way.

Enough for now...