Welcome To Kansas - Now That It Is Safe!

My, my, my, another Kansas blessing thanks to our legislature and governor.  We are safe!!  A new law bars Kansas courts from basing their decisions on foreign law.  You know.  No Shariah law in Kansas!  Of course, there wasn't any danger of Shariah law to start with ...... absolutely none. Yet, right wing "hate radio," the Koch brothers, and Fox News have planted a crop of fear and lies as healthy as Kansas wheat. Whew! That was close!  Some of our citizens are not quite sure how laws are made, but still they are certain that Shariah law will spread like blight across the land.  (Here's a good primer on what Sharia law is.. and is not.)

My late husband would have been shocked beyond words to learn, that as a pharmacist, he could now refuse to fill a script, if he believed it went against HIS beliefs on abortion. (Of course, he would have had to have held such beliefs.)  He would also have had to "reasonably believe that the script would result in the termination of a pregnancy." So, if all those suppositions in this case were true, he would have been in a position to refuse to provide birth control.  YIKES!   Richard had three careers in the field of pharmacy. Not one of those three careers took the form of "dispensing punishment."

NOOOOOOO!

I was too young -- in love -- or just didn't care to know anything about the politics of the Wrigley family.  My truth is bound up in Chicago Cubs wrapping paper.  One of the first questions my new boyfriend, Richard, asked was, "Who do you like better the Cubs or the Sox?"  We were both attending Drake University in Iowa. I came from Chicago - he came from Rockford.  I was to learn much about Richard in the answer to that question.  Of course, for him, the correct answer was the Cubs.  He had been a loyal fan since age six.  He was lucky enough to meet many of his idols.... yes, Ernie Banks, he toured Wrigley Field, and he watched a game from the press box.  He told me that heaven would look like Wrigley Field.  Enough said.  Soooooo how has it come to this?  This awful awful man.  This bigot - this racist - this hater..... this Joe Ricketts.  Oh Richard, how do we ever make this right?

Really? Do Go On!

I just saw a headline in The Times on my iPad.  "Unions That Divide: Churches Split Over Gay Marriage."  Instantly a remark from the wife of a local pastor came to mind. We were talking about love, hate, and civil rights.  (She is a tad unorthodox to be sure.)  She said, "WE ARE THE ONLY ARMY THAT SHOOT OUR OWN WOUNDED."  If that unsettling, but true piece of insight is also shared by her husband, the pastor, all is not completely lost in Oz.

Graduation

Gov. Sam Brownback and his handler/owners, the Koch Brothers will have to wait for a few weeks. It is graduation season in these parts, and some wonderful, sweet things are happening.  It comes with two views.

My graduate, the 18 year old grandson is going to have a reception with three other young men.  In this instance, the four families will join together at a club house to celebrate the passing of the years, the accomplishments of their sons, and the joys of parenthood...... the pay off so to speak.   Having attended a number of these truly lovely functions, I am delighted to share with you that they are pure joy.  Each graduate is allowed to shine, and it is my firm belief that in a perfect world everyone should have a "shinning moment" at least once in their life.  Lets just hope this is the start of many such moments.

As a grandparent my joy is on so many different levels. I find I discover a new one almost daily.

The Papa, (the grandfather,) passed away in 1998. It is his memory, his legacy..... that level..... that  all our joy is based upon.  He revered education as one does their religion. I can not stress that enough. He served the community on our local board of education for more than a dozen years.  Every year it was his honor to be among those who awarded diplomas to the graduating classes.  He often told me that was his favorite part of serving on the board.  He loved this time of year.......the graduation season.  Shine grandson SHINE!

A Gold Medal

My mother used to ask,"Do you expect a gold medal for doing the right thing?"  Well, yes. I guess I did. Praise is always nice, isn't it?  I am now awarding a gold medal to President Obama for doing the right thing.  Thank you Mr. President for saying you are in favor of gay marriage.  Gay marriage is one of those things that is so right ---- so very right that you really don't need someone else's approval, but still it is nice to hear, especially when you are used to hearing from the haters.  I think I will consider this comment from the president a truly sweet Mother's Day gift.  Well imagine, my getting a gift from The President Of The United States.  Wow!

Tornadoes

Well, it is Kansas after all.  I have three grandsons here.  Two of them were at separate venues last week-end. The eldest, eighteen, was at one of his jobs running a concession stand at a sports complex.  At the time, there were three of them running the stand. The clouds formed, the air became still, the sirens stared to wail.  My grandson, one other young man, and a young girl, took cover in a rickety old bathroom ------ not one of those great concrete bunkers so often available.  It was so unpleasant, I suppose, that they stepped outside only to find that it was not only not all clear, but the funnel cloud was quite close.  They made a run for it ------ to a nearby church ---- gained entrance, and started to calm down.  Actually, as my grandson told his mother, the calming down part is not exactly true.  It seems the girl was, and had been, in total melt down. This was my grandson's first experience at instilling confidence in someone who had become dependent upon him. He was determined to get her through this terrifying experience.  He might have even surprised himself.  What he didn't know was that his younger brother was doing the exact same thing, at the exact same time at a different venue.

The younger grandson is sixteen. He was at the high school at football practice when the sirens started to wail. All the young men were herded inside to lower level hallways.  This grandson found that he was sitting next to a boy that he head never met before.  The new face was terrified.  He had never ever seen such terror on another child's face.  The boy said he had just moved here from JOPLIN!  All that my sixteen year old could think to do was suggest they start talking and keep talking about football.  They should share everything they could think of on the subject, and try to block out the sirens. I was told it seemed to have helped a great deal, and our new friend from JOPLIN made it through.

I think I can say that both of my young men will never forget their Kansas afternoon.  It is quite possible that the young girl, and the young boy they helped will also remember. You know, basic kindness goes a long way, and sometimes it actually can be found here ----- at least in the young.

Note:  Tornadoes are not tornadoes unless the funnel cloud hits the ground.

Kansas wasn't always like this.  Like what?  We are, as of today, officially the most conservative state in the union.  The score is kept by keeping track of how our sterling legislators vote.  What does this mean for me?  It means... constant aggravation, to put it mildly!  Because like I said, it wasn't always like this.  There was a time, when we first moved here in 1965, that Kansas had a conscience.  It was always Republican, but the Republicans were pretty decent; not as unkind and mean spirited as they are today.  Now we have Rev. Phelps.  Now they call the Democratic Party the Democrat Party.  (Should we be calling them the Republic Party?  How juvenile.)  Our state seemed like the first to pass that new voter registration law without  a single person speaking out.  It wasn't until it became a national story that some people in Kansas finally said, "Hey wait." (I had to explain the law to a few of my friends .... as to exactly why it was bad.  At least they understood!)  Much of the drafting of the "Papers Please" bill for Az. was done by our dear Kris Kobach.  Look him up.  What a guy.  Mitt loves him, or he did until a few days ago.

O.K.  That's enough to start.  My health you know!  I ain't young for God's sakes ...... got two chronic conditions that are highly aggravated by stress.  I know...... who doesn't?  See, here's the problem... I'm the only one in my crowd that watches Rachel, mutters to my dear, very liberal, cat Adelaide,  and until now, when I received this perfect Mother's Day gift of a blog  --- all set up -- from my very understanding son and the recipient of my tortured emails, I was quite isolated here in OZ.