PICKY EATERS

The eating habits  of children have always tortured parents who wonder if their children are getting proper nourishment.  Nutritionists and psychologists have labored over this problem for years and there are many helpful suggestions on the Internet. For example, here, from Mayo Clinic, is one that offers 10 tips for picky eaters.

My mother used to short order cook to make sure we maintained our 'baby fat' and plump cheeks, much to my regret  (as my body has been trying for decades to rid itself of those extra determined-to-remain fat cells).  My father, who never had a weight problem in his 107 years, used to tell her to leave us alone.  He ate only what his body called for.  If we got hungry we would eat at the next meal.  As was often the case, he was often wiser than she but children can't get into the parental power struggles and he would back off, looking annoyed.

For picky eaters, taste wars with texture and mental images produced by appearance and feel and words like 'squishy', 'like worms', 'like eating trees', and many more colorful descriptions are heard.  However, one of the key things to be understood is that one-size-fits-all caution I so frequently refer to in this blog.  There are many reasons why people may become picky eaters though, for the first time, scientists are examining the genetic aspects.  To read about some recent work in this area, click here.

In fact, the N.Y. Times wrote about the genetics in 2007.  "The study, led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August. Dr. Cooke and others in the field believe it is the first to use a standard scale to investigate the contribution of genetics and environment to childhood neophobia.
According to the report, 78 percent is genetic and the other 22 percent environmental."

THINGS WE SAY WHILE THINKING

Most professional speakers practice speaking to eliminate pauses using the superfluous  'er', 'um', etc.  Some get much more verbal.  They pepper their talk with, 'to be honest', as though we think they were likely to be dishonest and admit it.  Some embellish this with, 'to be perfectly honest'. How would one go about being imperfectly honest?   Another, frequently heard is, 'you know' and variations on that such as, 'you know what I mean' and 'you understand', you know?.

Additions such as these seem to be colloquial and age-determined, used during a pause of breath, and used while trying to form the next verbal expression..  Some I most frequently heard are, 'like' (and there I was, like, looking at him straight in the eye and he, like, said to me....', 'right?' (and there I was, right?, looking at him straight in the eye and he, right:? said to me....), .and 'I mean'.(and, I mean, there I was and, I mean, I looked him straight in the eye and, I mean, I said....)

Others are more personalized or creative.  One person I know adds, 'and all...' at the end of thoughts or sentences.  Yet another heard often is, 'having said that...'

If some you, my readers, can add to this list, I would appreciate it very much.  You can do so by leaving comments on this blog and I will add to the list and, perhaps, add the new ones at a later date.  Some tips to avoid using these can be found on this site.

THE MANY ILLEGAL ALIENS IN THE UNITED STATES

Right now it is popular to focus on Mexicans crossing the border, having babies, and staying on with the hope the parents will become citizens one day through their children.  Why has the United States made it so easy for Cubans to become citizens just by escaping Cuba and setting foot on dry land on our shores.  Have they made better citizens,  That is doubtful.  The blog Too Small to Succeed has a very interesting commentary on this population.  Written is: "The wet-foot, dry-foot policy is absurd. You have Republicans who for the most part are always talking against illegal immigration coming from South of the border, of the “Mexicans”  kind as a bad thing, but why don’t they mention what goes on here in S. Florida?   Could it be because they are pandering to the first wave of  Cubans that came to the U.S. in  the late 5o’ to early  60′s , who by and large are Conservatives and registered Republicans?  As oppose to many that came during  Mariel and those making it to our shores today who are mostly registered Democrats and who voted for Obama? The Cubans of the 50′s & 60′s know the truth, it’s always those who are benefiting  from the Embargo who say otherwise!"  For the entirety of this interesting article a few weeks ago, click here.

Statistics indicate that, while a majority of illegal aliens crossing over our Southern border are Mexican, they certainly aren't all Hispanic.  A recent article in the NY Times gives a more complete picture, statistically, as of 2008.  Births to illegal immigrants have been studied and anyone interested in statistics rather than fantasy, and old propaganda might do well to read that article.  Click here,

AN OLD LADY TO AN OB/GYN

It was time someone peeked at my undercarriage. When I had called to make an appointment, the receptionist asked if I was pregnant.  I needed someone who knew my big belly was fat and not full of baby.  When all the horrible fantasies and memories flew through my head, sanity returned and I understood just why she was asking. That was the OB part of OB/GYN!   I assumed the whole encyclopedic questionnaire I had to fill out would have asked very different questions...I was wrong.  The questions would have made me blush when they had been relevant to my life, like how old were you when you had your first intercourse..  Alas, that was when I was still modest and private..

After a while it became fun to say 'no' to questions like 'do you use birth control?'  If yes, what do you use?'  I wanted to write 'abstinence'  but hadn't yet met the doctor and thought I should play it straight.  She had a good sense of humor and grinned at a few things I said about being a widow.  Being somewhat candid, I often shock uptight people.  She was neither shocked nor surprised when I said I had nothing against sex, I just don't like old men.  I'd already seen one through Viagra, illness, many hospitalizations and tests, bandaged him, emptied his eliostomy bag, sat with the technician who gave him a brain CATscan, watched the doctors probe the cancerous liver nodes, made it through weeks of Hospice care, and learned to adjust to life's reality.  One of the adjustments I made was living by myself and enjoying it thoroughly.  For the first time in my life I was as much in control of my life as one can get.

This doctor explained the diagnostic tree she was thinking through.  I learned more medical possibilities as  she learned about me.  Imagine my surprise when she explained,  her head invisible to me (though her words told me where she was) as she said "You have a beautiful uterus".  Said I, "I'm not unused to compliments, but that is one never mentioned before and I doubt I will be hearing again!"  She flattered me, that I look and act more than ten years younger than my age.  Then she said, "But you probably hear that a lot."  I said I did and gave her my stock answer, " I was born without a manual and have no idea how I am supposed to look, act, and think"

Reaching one's seniority gives advantages.  When every orifice has been looked up or into, when your feet have been in the stirrups but there is no horse under there, when a woman has been palpating your breasts and says, "Wonderful, they're clear", modesty seems quite out of place.  It got shed along with unwillingness to continue to suffer fools, a few years back.  It was nice to walk out through a waiting room of distended bellies and be able to say, "There, but for the Grace of God and aging, go I". My head rang with, "Been there, done that, don't want to do it any more".  Once I again was reassured that growing old has numerous benefits.  A pelvic ultrasound was ordered but we agreed that I may never have to see this doctor again.  She held out her hand to be shaken and said with a sincere smile, "It was very nice meeting you.  You are an inspiration for your age!"  Now, really, how much nicer can life get?

THE WIDOW OF ROBERT KRENTZ (ARIZONA) SPEAKS

Mrs. Krentz speaks of the one thing for which we all ask  but, today,. few get...the right to be safe and free on one's own land. and property  Check out the video as well as the article by clicking here.

In her poignant statements, Mrs. Krentz shares her pain and expresses need for third world countries to work to make jobs and better the standard of living for their own people, an attempt to prevent them from feeling a need to leave their own homeland to survive by attempting to come to the US to do this.

She speaks about what we all know.  Something has to be done, but so far, no one has come up with a solution that has a chance of working.  On the American Thinker site, the problem is described by Norah Petersen as: "The border situation, at its core, is not an economic issue, a cultural issue, or a racial issue. It is a national security issue." This is another article in which you may find interest.  Click here.
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HOW TO SO MANY GET TIME FOR PROTEST MARCHES?

Our world is pretty good though some people want to take back 'their country'.  I don't know how they come to think they can speak for a majority of Americans but apparently violence doesn't question who is with them or the odds against them.  Violence and bullying is power to them.  Al Jazeera covers a very different part of the world.  I would ask you to look at the 8-9-10 front page by clicking here.  Death, destruction and misery is evidenced everywhere, especially in faces.

"Rescuers are attempting to reach about 500 people cut off by flash floods which have killed at least 132 people in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Emergency teams were trying to get food and other supplies to those stranded on Sunday in Ladakh, a remote Himalayan region.
Those cut off by the floods, which have washed away roads, bridges and power cables, include locals and tourists.
The floods were caused by monsoon rains that began on Friday.
Rescuers have said that they fear many more people have died after being buried by landslides" 

Here is more human tragedy while Americans are whining because Obama wants to drop the tax break for the rich was set up to be discontinued in this the tenth year..  To read about places other than our relatively great place for more than in the countries mentioned in this article, click here. 

In the United States, we tend to focus more on political and intellectual issues.  For example, there are those who side with Leon Panetta that there should be truth exposed about the torture practices of the last administration.  Obama objected to this, believing it would become a distraction by the media from the real issues facing the Nation.  Once again, if you click here. you will see how our Nation tends to view priorities quite differently than some other countries.  Read more of the Scott Horton article in the Daily Beast.

The choice seems to be, for many countries it is a matter of putting a stop to fires.  In the United States it is a matter firing those who don't put a stop to those starting them.

9/12-ERS, TEAPARTY AND FREEDOMWORKS FRAGMENTATION

A Mother Jones article sheds light on the confusion and dissent, confusion and infighting the disparate grass roots organizations trying to form one cohesive group.  It seems unlikely that can happen when there is not a cohesive platform.  Glenn Beck made a plea on his radio show for unity.  It would be a miracle of Beck's whining could achieve that when so many opf the key players are narcissists who want the limelight and major role for themselves.

The Mother Jones article  click for full article, written by Stephanie Mencimer, is quite a comprehensive presentation on the subject.  She writes: " If nothing else, conservative activists will have plenty of opportunities this summer to publicly vent their frustrations with the Obama administration. On the afternoon of September 12, FreedomWorks plans a repeat of last year's march on the National Mall. Another group with ties to Beck's National 9.12 Project has decided to get in on the action as well, putting together a three-day extravaganza that weekend that includes a "liberty XPO" at a swank DC hotel and a march on the Mall on the 9^th anniversary of 9/11. Then there's the "Restoring Honor" spectacle planned by Beck himself for the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, on the 47^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech on the same spot. That rally will be followed the next day by yet another protest march, this one sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots."

We Americans who voted for and appreciate Obama's presidency, though we may not agree or sufficiently understand all his choices,  do not appreciate the revolutionary and hostile rhetoric spouted by these groups and their political supporters.  Personally, I view it as treasonous, having been around during WWII when no one felt such hatred for our country and government...when we were all proud of our flag as a symbol and saluted it with our right hand over our heart, and revered and sang the Star Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.  The only people who overtly plotted to overthrow our government were enemies of it as I see many of the ones who are openly stating they are trying to make Obama fail and that they are planning to 'take back the government'!

Hopefully there are more citizens who care for our country than these people who weren't elected to office but believe they could run the country better.  I, for one, do not believe they are being led by people who care to save the United States but are being led by people whose interest is a self-interest to destroy what we had fifty years ago as we were coming out of the last of the 'real' wars.  We were attacked and knew who attacked us.  Countries and their leaders were visible and there to sign their defeat and agreement to end the war.