OUR LIBRARY

In the bookcase in our entryway there are various sections. One of the four sections has books on medical advice; another section is on the books written by and about members of our family, national magazines with articles about our artist daughter and a catalogue of paintings in an art museum done by a famous brother. I showed these precious items to our grandson, who was overwhelmed by his renowned uncles and aunts. My cookbook plus the printed version of my first year of blogs and my husband’s book “Seeking” are in another bookcase.

However, the most interesting section of the bookcase is what our granddaughter found on Christmas Eve, our collection of very old books some of which had belonged to my Mother and my Mother-in-law.

There are six books in all. Victoria became enamored with my personal favorite “Safe Counsel or Practical Eugenics” from 1928 written by several doctors and with special drawings. Every chapter is advice to the modern woman such as How to be a Good Wife, Childbearing without Pain, Other Sex Disorders and Perversions and detailing what makes a woman a “slut” such as wearing too much makeup. Vickie spent a great deal of time giggling at all the hilarious advice.

In the meantime, Kevin sat on the floor reading to us from the 1923 book “Toasts and Anecdotes for All Occasions”. He also took phone pictures of his favorites, maybe to use at a very elegant event in New York City.

My daughter-in-law was reading   “The Book of Etiquette” by Lillian Eicher dated 1924. Others in the old books section were a novel “Charles O’Malley, The Irish Dragoon” dated 1894 with very fragile pages and “Writing Magazine Fiction” dated 1948 belonged to my husband.

My other personal favorite “800 Proved Pecan Recipes, (their place in the menu)” was published in 1925. This was my mother’s only cookbook compiled by 5,083 housewives for the Keystone Pecan Research Laboratory. It was actually very useful because you could leave out the pecans when using most of the recipes. The cover is worn and the pages discolored but it contains recipes written on some of the pages in my mother’s own handwriting. Born in 1906, she would be 107 years old this July. It’s remarkable to know that all of my children and six of my grandchildren actually knew her. She was 96 when she died.

THE HORSES SHOWED UP

It seemed all the Republican “Show Horses” were in attendance at the hearings or should I say the big assault on Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. They prefaced their questions by first thanking her for her remarkable service to our country then accusing her of various forms of treason.

And guess what! They made it possible for her to give them a taste of what the Democrats have known for quite a while; she would be a great first woman President of the United States.

Some of the asinine statements and questions asked proved the opposition really made a big mistake. Anyone watching Marco Rubio and Rand Paul became well aware that these “Horses” were in no way thoroughbreds and should have been left in the barn.

THE LATEST SHOW HORSES

Two new show horses are now on the scene. Of course, they are now the darlings of the Fox News channels, namely Senator  Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio, Senator from Florida.

The new nabobs of negativity are all over the news with their flair for spouting less than truthful views in order to attack the President and show how intelligent they are and what wonderful presidents they themselves could be. The Tea Party favorites will eventually land in the same place as Sarah Palin. You know, in Never Never Land.

AN ALL-AMERICAN BOY

I became obsessed with Lance Armstrong after reading about his overcoming cancer and watching news programs about the Tours De France in which he was the leading cyclist.

I found the sports television channel which was exclusively broadcasting each and every stage of the race. It was difficult, at first, to understand exactly what was going on. Such weird rules as well as weird uniforms. After a week or so of watching every day, I began to understand and could talk with friends I had found that were watching too.

Watching Lance and his teammates made me proud as an American to see the love among them. They all gave such energy to their sport. I learned about their equipment, their food regimen, how they handled a little problem of bladder control. (I didn’t need to know that part.)

I watched daily, enjoying the mountain views, the pastoral scenery, seeing the small towns and then the grand finish in Paris. I was so sorry when it all ended, because I had to wait ‘til next year for more.

I watched in awe as Lance won the race two years in a row. I was sorry it had taken me so long to appreciate his astonishing ability to overcome such odds after fighting cancer and raising millions for his Livestrong Foundation. Lance became my hero.

I tried to watch again the third year, but my passion was gone. The team had broken up and his teammates were scattered to various European teams. I really had none to root for. Lance tried, but it just wasn’t the same.

Now, I don’t want to see him on Oprah (even if I could get her channel, I wouldn’t watch) I don’t want to see or hear from him ever again. He was once my hero, but not anymore.

SHOW HORSE

Show Horse is a term used to describe a politician who always seems readily available to appear on any Sunday political program such as “Meet the Press”. The epitome of a Show Horse is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham or Republican Senator John McCain who seem to be ubiquitous and have formed an alliance where in tandem they attack the President and any other Democratic members of Congress when a television news camera is in their vicinity.  After attacking innocent Susan Rice, they started attacking fellow Republican Chuck Hagel. Next up will be Hillary Clinton.

Do they have aides ready with make-up and a powder puff whenever a camera is anywhere near them. Do they ever vote for anything that would be good for America? So far all I have heard from them is their negativity on anything our President has tried to accomplish since he has been in office after he defeated McCain.

How much longer will we have to put up with a Southern bigot and a cranky old man?

 

 

WHAT DOES A “NO” VOTE MEAN?

 

The US Senate vote for the bill to stop our economy from going off the cliff was passed with only eight of the one hundred Senators voting against it. Florida’s Marco Rubio, was one of those few which isn’t surprising.

Why? He was elected with substantial funds given to him by the Tea Party. He feels he could emulate Barack Obama and become President because of his impressive credentials. What are they? He’s Hispanic.

It’s possible that the Republican candidate for President of the USA in 2016 could be a young Floridian with a great background after he erases all the unethical things he’s done.