My Son’s Documentary About Bob Marley

On April 24, 2009 my son Noah was invited to enter a National History Day contest. He chose to work on a documentary about Bob Marley. Throughout the process of his compiling data, writing his script and creating his documentary presentation, I was very impressed with his dedication not only to the process, but also with the degree of integrity he employed. This is a project that he alone can take all credit for. He sat for hours on end finding pictures online, gathering his sources and making his mama VERY proud. Many of the kids at his school had already started their project before we moved to Rio Rancho, so he had quite a bit of catching up to do.

The contest was held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM. The architecture and grounds were visually stunning. I was impressed by how beautiful the center was.

We got to the Cultural Center bright and early, and I was unsure how the day would play out since Simmi was with us. The contest took place from 8:30am-4:30pm and I was sure that something would end up going wrong. Taking a toddler to a full day event is not the easiest thing to do, especially when she has as many health concerns as she has. Simmi did surprisingly well, but around 12:00pm she finally started to get too upset to stay. Noah went before some judges and presented his documentary. I thought he did a great job, but of course, I’m his mother…so I’m going to be partial. There were some technical glitches for a student that was supposed to go on before him and since there were problems, for reasons that still baffle me, the judges decided not to let anyone in to view his work. The students are supposed to be able to view their peers projects and I was a little upset that no one could come in to see his work. I asked one of the judges if I could come in and view it, and she reluctantly said yes. I told her that I would also be filming it…I don’t think she liked that very much. I WISH the sound quality on my video camera was more clear, because while the judges were talking to him about his work, they asked an interesting question, “Who helped you write your documentary? Did anyone contribute to it?” My son is extremely smart and he is an excellent writer. I’d like to add that at twelve years old, he is a better writer than a lot of adults! That is not a biased statement from this doting mother. He has the makings of a great writer, and has a style all his own. I had a feeling that the judges would ask if he wrote the script, and when they asked, my heart sank just a little. Why is it impossible to believe that a twelve year old boy wrote the script? Beyond that question, they felt that he did a good job. They felt that the pictures could have been of a better quality, but over all they liked that he chose Bob Marley for his documentary.

I could have helped him with the pictures, but I felt it was better to for him to take care of the project all on his own. Needless to say, disappointment ensued when his documentary was not chosen as one of the finalists. As we were leaving, he looked at me and asked, “Do you think they didn’t choose my work because they didn’t think I wrote it?” All I could do was say “yes.” We were never told why they didn’t choose his documentary, but I know he is very proud of the work that he did. In that, he is quite satisfied. Disappointment will always come face to face with our children, but teaching them to handle it with grace and dignity is important. I want him to grow up celebrating the accomplishments of others that worked just as hard as he did on their projects. The whole process was a great experience for him and a treasured moment in time for me, because I got to witness my son’s dedication to working in excellence both emotionally and intellectually and in the end achieved his personal best. What more could a mother ask for?

Here is his process paper and following that is a slide I put together of our day at the Cultural Center and finally ending it with his documentary:

The Life and Legacy of Bob Marley
Noah Kleinman
Junior Division
Individual Documentary

Why I chose this topic?

Bob Marley has been an inspiration to me since I started listening to his music.  His message of freedom opened my mind into a new kind of music and what music can tell you.  In my way of thinking his music was a milestone in history.  He is the symbol of peace almost everywhere and to everyone who knows him.  I would someday like to do what he does, and inspire people to let go, live your life to the fullest, and “Get Up, Stand, Up.”

How I conducted my research and created my documentary:

I moved from Maryland to Rio Rancho at about the 2nd semester.  My class was only a few months in on their projects so I joined in and chose to do Bob Marley.  My teacher went to the public library and checked out a few books on Bob Marley.  I took notes on important information in these books and then wrote a narration script.  I then went on to Windows Movie Maker and narrated my timeline first and then went on to Google and an archive site to get the pictures for my narration. I timed it all and added all my titles and music.  I then burned it onto a DVD.  I brought it to the regional contest in my school and got 2nd place.  I knew it needed more content so I researched some more on Google and my teacher found some newspaper and magazine articles and rewrote my script.  I found more pictures and revised my movie.  I got more DVDs and published it.  I was then ready for show time.

How my project relates to the theme:

My project deals with Bob Marley, an individual, who created music that changed some people’s daily lives.  It allowed the South Africans to deal with the apartheid system, and made rivaled leaders of political gangs join hands and be at peace with each other.  Time Magazine even says that he, “…rivals the government as a political force.”  His legacy is still heard in other music styles like R&B and hip-hop.  He will go down in history for this.

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources:
Farley, Christopher.  Remembering Bob Marley,
Time Magazine., 2005
I gathered primary source quotes from this article.

Unknown Author.  The Best Of The Century.
Time Magazine., 1999
I got the Time Magazine’s best album, Exodus, from this article.

Lloyd Bradley.  This Is Reggae Music.
1st ed. NY: Grove Atlantic Inc., 2000
This gave me primary source information on the reggae field before and after Bob Marley.

Secondary Sources:
Unknown Author.  Jamaica Politics and Bob Marley One Love Peace Concert.  RASTA-MAN-VIBRATION.COM
I was able to find secondary source quotes and information on Marley’s One Love peace concert.

Unknown Author.  Bob Marley.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum., 1994
I got primary and mostly secondary quotes, information on Bob’s induction ceremony, and a timeline of the important events in his life.

Picture Credits:
Urban Images
Google Images Search

Someone is Posing as Me!

As of May 2, 2009 the picture on the left is me. That’s right, this bald chick’s hair loss is going in remission. I won’t know for another six months if my hair is stable, but for now it is. I have both scarring and non-scarring Alopecia. Scarring Alopecia’s technical name is Cicatricial Alopecia. The scar exists under the skin and no outward signs of scarring can be seen. Upon close examination of my scalp, you will however see that there are no openings for hair to grow. The holes are closed up. This is a permanent loss of hair that can NEVER grow back. I have these spots all over my scalp. I also have been through a wide range  of other forms of non-scarring Alopecia which is not permanent. Over the last five and a half years, I have not seen as much growth as I have now. I attribute this awesome hair growth to the lack of mold out here in the South West. Hair that seemed to be missing for so long has awakened like Sleepy Hollow. Those hairs that have been sleeping have chosen to awaken white as snow. It is definitely a very interesting look for me.

So here I am in all my glory. No make up, and newly growing almost full head of hair coming in. I posted that picture yesterday on the Women’s Hair Loss Project Network. Well, today, I get a private message on the Network from one of the ladies who was concerned about a blog site she stumbled upon and it had a picture of ME there. She gave me the link, and I was angry beyond all belief by what I saw. Let me give you a little background about the Women’s Hair Loss Project Network and Forum…

The Network and Forum were created to be a safe place for women to come and talk about their hair loss and seek comfort and support. I wrote an article about the Network if you would like to read it here. Anyway, one of the reasons I love the Network and Forum is that you will not find any kind of advertising for hair loss products of any kind. The owner of the site has dedicated her life to helping women who suffer from hair loss. There are lots of forums and membership sites out there and the one thing they all have in common is that they offer some sort of products. Now, there is nothing wrong with making money, but I believe that there should be at least one place in the whole of the world wide web where women can escape from being bombarded by someone peddling a wig, topper, laser comb, laser treatments, pills and potions all promising to grow that head of hair back. The hair loss product industry is huge! There is a lot of money to be made there. On the Alopecian Muse, I have also chosen NOT to sell any products related to hair loss. My reason? I believe that women can be beautiful bald, and if they see that there is yet another option in being bald, why not?! Not everyone can afford expensive wigs, hair systems, loony “laser therapy” that doesn’t work, hair loss potions, or harmful medication that may or may not help in the hair growth process. We are bombarded everyday with these things, and when you are a woman and you are going bald, you will try almost ANYTHING to get that head of hair back. One woman said to me joking around that if hair would grow back by strangers pissing on her head, she would let them do it just so it would grow again. Was she really joking? I don’t think so. Hair loss is such a deeply emotionally scarring process that leaves both men and women feeling less than beautiful. Less secure. Those of us who have experienced it have gone through times of isolation, pushing away even those we love the most out of self preservation.

So…who is the freaking poser? Well, it is obviously a new member of the Women’s Hair Loss Project Network. You wouldn’t believe it if I told you how many people peddling products sign up trying to sell their shit on the Network. Selling stuff will get you immediately banned from the site, but that doesn’t stop greedy people from trying anyway.

This woman copied pictures of me and a few other ladies on the Network and decided to post them on her blog as HER! Beyond the fact that it is not her in those photos, she is using the picture of ME and my new hair growth to sell an e-book titled “Reverse Female Hair Loss” written by a woman named Ashley Michaels. Why would this chick need to use pictures of women on the Network instead of her own? Not only that, but gives a bogus testimony? It is all a big lie and hoax! This woman is trying to get her piece of the hair loss pie and wants to use unsuspecting women to do so! Do you see anything wrong with that? Here are two screen shots of her site:

I plan on also leaving a nice little blog on the Network directed at her, so after I do that she may actually remove the site and/or pictures. I thought a few screen shots were in order just in case she does decide to take down the site. I will also be reporting this to the company she is trying to make money from…namely Ashley Michaels. There are genuinely sincere people out there that do want to help women with hair loss, and I don’t want to disparage Ashley Michaels name or e-book because I have not read it. I don’t know if her book is just a big lie, or if there is some truth to it. One thing I do know though…if I were selling an e-book and bogus claims were being employed, I would sue their asses for everything they got.

A little message for Miss Becky from “Becky’s Hair Loss Blog”:

Becky,

You have come onto the Network “claiming” to be a woman in need of support for your hair loss, but all you have done is show that you are a money grubbing, hair loss whore trying to make money off the misery and vulnerability of others. Why use our photos? Why not use your own? You make me sick beyond belief.

Go crawl back under that rock you came from you fucking snake!

No Longer Yours,

Angela

For anyone wishing to leave Miss Becky a comment on her blog about all this, I highly encourage it! She may end up removing it, so get over there as quickly as possible and leave her your thoughts! Spread the love my friends. What she did was wrong, make sure to let her know!

Here is her site:

http://beckyshairlossblog.blogspot.com/

Bald Beauty of the Day

If Someone Strip Searched My Child I’d Charge them With Sexual Assault!

I don’t usually put out more than one article in any given day, but I guess I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to rant about this! Is it right for a school to strip search a student? Why would this even be up for debate? If someone strip searched ANY of my children, I would bring charges of sexual assault against them. Who the fuck do these people think they are? We are calling it a “strip search” but if a child is FORCED to take their clothes off and humiliated, even if they are NOT touched, I’d bring charges of sexual assault against them! No one, and I mean NO ONE has the right to make children strip down naked in school. Even more absurd is the fact that 13 year old Savana Redding who was strip searched was violated because someone somewhere said that she might have prescription medication on her person. What? Ok, well would it be ok to strip search her if she was accused of carrying heroin on her person? It would be ok then, right? Its NOT ok! And shame on anyone that feels that it is perfectly acceptable to do so because schools need a policy to keep other children safe. Bullshit!

What’s wrong with these people? I don’t care what the “intention” was for stripping a child naked. Is it supposed to be OK to do so if a parent is present? If the school called me in because my 13 year old was accused of selling prescription drugs and wanted to do a strip search I would deny them that access. Does having parental permission make it any less humiliating or even more acceptable? It’s NOT acceptable.

I can not even begin to imagine the humilation this child has had to endure. That is an emotional scar that will stay with her for the rest of her life. How violating for her and worse yet is the school standing behind such a policy and defending their position! Lets now add insult to injury. I hope they plan on suing the school and if the school, which was found in violation of her 4th Amendment rights desides to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter, they should get double compensation! It is like violating this child all over again.

Here is a link to Savana’s affidavit about what happened that day:

http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/drugpolicy/redding_savanaaffidavit.pdf

Bald Beauty of the Day

Does Torture Really Keep America Safe?

Does torture really keep America safe? Who actually believes that? Beyond the fact that torture of any human being is reprehensible and disgusting is the “belief” by Mr. Dick Cheney himself that the release of the “Torture Memo’s” will make our country less safe. It will piss off the terrorists and allow them to “train” for such events if they are ever captured. Is it any wonder the Bush administration lied about it for such a long time? Isn’t it easier to cast doubt and make it look like some sort of open conspiracy than to actually admit to something as sociopathic and psychotic as torture? Who are we? We have known that torture has been going on since around 2002, yet we have chosen to blindly believe what the past administration told us.

Mr. Bush is a born again Christian after all! He believes in the sanctity of life, preservation of marriage between a man and a woman, oh and lets not forget about the ban embryonic stem cell research. I guess people taken in for questioning against their will because someone somewhere had possible credible evidence that the person had some kind of knowledge about an incident involving some kind of group, and then tortured repeatedly and kept against their will and against our laws without proper representation or even being charged with something makes them less than human and therefore open to such treatment. Did you understand what I just said? Should people be taken into custody, held against their will, tortured for YEARS because they “might” know something? How does that keep us safe? I wonder how many men actually know NOTHING at all, and instead of admitting that they were taken in and kept against their will and releasing them, the government just keeps holding on to them. What could be worse than the prison releasing them and sending them back to their country? Well, what would be worse is if those innocent people went back and told their story and their government bringing charges against us. So lets just keep them imprisoned. There are a lot of people being held not only in this country, but around the world, and the thing most certainly forgotten is the fact that these men haven’t been convicted of anything. Everyone is afraid of closing down Gitmo because where will the detainees go? EXACTLY! Where do they go? We don’t even know if they are guilty of anything. We just keep holding on to them.

The thought of releasing them to possibly go back to their country and plan an attack on us strikes terror in so many and is a part of the conditioning that we have had about Muslims or Islam since 9/11 happened. Part of that conditioning has been the ability to fling the law behind the previous administrations back and keep people detained for years without representation and without being charge with a crime.

So how do Christians feel about all this? Do you believe that it is a means to an end? That a little evil is ok for the greater good? I have noticed that the Religious Right has been very quiet about it. Why? You’re vocal about abortion, which is the snuffing out of human life and in many cases actually torturous for unborn children to endure before they are killed…so is the torture of an innocent full grown man any different? And if he is guilty, does that make it more acceptable? I guess the much quoted bible verse “Love your enemies” means something else huh? Now don’t get high and mighty with me, I’m not saying that you would have to invite these people into your home for a spot of tea, but how about speaking up for those who have no voice right now? You do it for the unborn, so why not for the ethical and humane treatment of real live human beings? Even PETA has nothing to say about this. I guess the torture of animals is far worse than the torture of humans.

Torture does not make our country safe. What it does is erode the moral fiber of our country and turn us into sadistic people if we continue to support such things. Christians may say that abortion and gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research actually erodes the moral fiber, as does pornography or drugs, but I will leave you with a final thought-

What does it mean to be godly? Do we really know? To be like the most High God, what does it take? I was asked that once and I had to really sit and ponder it for a while before I answered. My answer to that question was simple. In order to be like the Most High God, you must first realize that others have free will. God does not prevent us from making mistakes or from living our lives. While some might say the answer is to hate sin, or not be a homosexual, to not have sex before marriage, to not lie or manipulate, I believe that it goes even deeper. Its hard to give others free will. We live in a land full of laws. But when do we allow free will to kick in? Another thing I have heard is “Love the sinner and hate the sin.” Such things are directed at us, not the other person. We are to love those who may sin AND not do that thing we call sin. It isn’t meant to prevent others from living their lives, it is meant to offer up our own free will to our Creator out of love for Him and at the same time, reflect that same love back to those we believe are “sinners.” Free will was given so that we may love our Creator freely…to make a choice to direct our hearts towards Him and abide with Him. If we do not offer the beautiful gift of free will to others, are we reflecting the Will of God or the will of ourselves yet standing behind the words of God concerning His thoughts on a matter?

I’m sure that I have opened up a theological can of worms, but I had to say it. I have been pretty silent when it comes to topic of religion, so there it is. Religion is such a deeply personal choice, but I’m really interested to know what Christians in particular feel about the subject of torture. Is it a sin to you? Do you condone it? Or maybe you will take the moral high ground and claim that it was the free will of Dick Cheney and George Bush to institute such tactics. To that, I say that while they have free will, they are not above the law, and as such, while they do have free will and used it, there are consequences according to the law. So should they face those consequences and be charged with war crimes? Part of morality is justice, so will justice be denied? I have far too many questions and of course my own ready opinion…what I want are your opinions. What are your thoughts?

The Beautiful Susan Boyle

By now, everyone has heard about Susan Boyle, the woman who made every one’s jaw drop as she opened her mouth to sing. I LOVE this woman for her absolutely endearing personality, wonderful voice and stunning beauty. That’s right, I said stunning beauty. I have listened to what others have said about this Scottish Lass and I beg to disagree with their charges that she is not easy on the eyes!

I found it appalling that certain news sources would say something to the effect of this:

“Susan Boyle is an example for all those women out there in the world like her.” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Women like her? Is that their way of saying that she is homely, ugly, a dog? She has been called a spinster, “never been kissed”, and lots of other things. They wanted to do a “make over” on her and her response to them was something that only a perfect person could say. Basically she didn’t want to alter her appearance too much because then she wouldn’t be “real.” She didn’t want to give in to appearances and create a “falsehood.” What an elegant way to stick it to the media!

So, why did everyone think that this woman couldn’t sing? Was it because she wasn’t “perfect” according to society’s standard? She was sassy, had personality, and EVERYONE laughed at her and rolled their eyes. You know, all those people that couldn’t sing, couldn’t bear to be themselves physically and probably altered their own physical beauty to “fit in.” Who doesn’t alter their appearance? But back to the original question…why did everyone think she couldn’t sing? I must be really stupid, because I never believed that vocal chords were directly related to facial features and body size! Wow, I feel so sheepish! Here I was thinking that the discipline of singing had to do with vocal training and years of practice.

Is everyone amazed that she can sing because of the way she looks? Why? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed. Was it her age? She is only seven years older than I am! If I got up to sing (and yes I can sing) and people saw me out there, would they laugh at me because I’m a fat 40 year old bald chick? What makes me any different than this siren sensation from Scotland?

Let me tell you what makes her so unbelievably beautiful, not just on the inside, but outwardly too. It is that she is and will always be who God made her to be. It is pure, unadulterated beauty. We suffer from illusions everyday. Women and men are constantly doing things to change who they are physically, and when someone comes along that bucks that illusion, we actually end up adoring them because they do what we only dream of. When someone doesn’t live in the shadows, afraid of what others will think about them, we admire them for their courage, strength and tenacity. Outward beauty they say fades with age, but I don’t believe that either. I think that with time, a person becomes more lovely. Her eyes are lovely and she shows what a real woman looks like. They put make up on her and I thought to myself, “Why?” Is it for our sakes? I think it is. It isn’t that physically she can’t be stomached, its because we can’t take the reality that she is real and we are not. Would she be easier on the eyes with a make over? Yes, but not for the reasons you may think. We have taken on societies twisted and skewed beliefs about what real beauty looks like, and if she puts on that make up, wears some nice clothing, loses some weight then WE will feel better about ourselves. That is at the heart of all of this. It is for the public’s sake that she is asked to do this…not for hers. She is perfect as she is. Her unspoiled purity can not be easily viewed by those who must live according to society’s rules about beauty and appearances. To change her amounts to the Gilding of a Lily.

Bald Beauty of the Day

Bound By Silence

Its been a while since I last wrote an entry, and I have so many things to say but I felt bound by a strange desire to stay silent and I can not for the life of me figure out why.

My heart is grieved by what I hear in the news, and my mind is cluttered with thoughts and images of events of the recent past.

As I was researching for my new article “Craigs List Trash or Treasure: The Naughty Edition” (still yet to be completed) I felt dirty and horrified by the depravity of some that would put themselves out there for the world to see and view. My original intention for wanting to write the article was to talk about prostitution and how some women were using Craigslist to sell their bodies just to pay the bills. What I found instead was nothing more than pornography in the “Personals” on Craigslist. I felt sorry for these people. Some showed their faces, others showed just genitals or other body parts and bodies in compromising positions. It was disturbing to my soul to see such loneliness and the absolute need to be touched or wanted sexually.

The following is from a married man:

muscular cum spurtter, clean ,discreet 4 u - m4w (alb general area)

Hey

Muscular easygoing discreet white horny male 5 11 190lbs small waist clean cut squeeky clean hung and very discreet. I am married need more fun. I can meet most weekdays and sometimes in an evening. Very open minded and approachable. Stamina of bull cum like a horse. Love to meet a cool down to earth clean female, any age or race, thin to hwp as a sex buddy or fwb. Regular hookups are way cool and I am not looking for a druggie, escort, web cam girl or any of that nonsense. I will not join another website. If you are cool and really looking for a safe fun muscular sex buddy, I am your guy. You will need to host or we can find a place. Married, single, divorce etc is all good. I am real, horny as hell and can put out a lot so put me to the test. Oral anal vanilla or fetish is cool. Very open minded here

I have pixs for girls that are really interested. Feel free to send one or two to me. You get my cell number then to. Ok with texting to start out but I am not a cyber guy so let’s hookup and have fun

Thanks

Richie

What is he thinking? What’s wrong with him? Listen up married women in the Albuquerque area, if this sounds like your husband I’d recommend searching through the Personals on Craigslist to see if this is your husband! Any woman or man that thinks their mate is cheating on them should regularly check the “Casual Encounter” section of your local Craigslist Personals!

In the same section of “Casual Encounters” I found an interesting ad…this one, to me sounds a lot like solicitation for prostitution, yet isn’t there a fine line between prostitution and paid pornography? Is there a difference? How come when a woman or man is filmed in a sex act and then compensated its called pornography, BUT if no camera is present its called prostitution? What is the difference…I’d really like to know! Here is the ad:

Are you eighteen? - m4w (hotel)

If so then i am currently looking for an eighteen to twenty something to do a photo and video shoot with (swimsuit, lingerie, etc.). Im looking for a petite to not much larger gal please. You must be comfortable in front of the camera, a positive attitude, and ready to have fun. Please no drugs, std’s, children, or friends. This will be a one on one private session with lots of teasing and foreplay, followed up by a passionate sexual climax. You will be compenstated for your time immediatley after the session. I am a 30 yr old buisness man who first and foremost always treats a lady like a lady.I am not into any kinky stuff and also abide by the following list of requirments. I will be coming into the albuquerque area starting on monday and look to have something booked soon. So if you are interested then please do not hesitate and send a consideration photo. I am extremely busy and will not be joining an other sites to chat, I truely hope that you understand. If you do not submite a photo then you will recieve no response. And lady please understand that there are still some good guys left.

These are just two examples of what can be found on Craigslist. Check it out in your area for yourself. At a later time I will complete my article for “The Naughty Edition” because right now, as I said earlier, my heart is overwhelmed by what I have been reading about and seeing on TV. Lately, it has been almost unbearable. Mothers murdering their children, a Sunday school teacher accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering her daughter’s friend, ridiculous GOP Tea Parties with older people crying out against socialism yet when they get home they will be waiting for that Social Security check to come in the mail. Pirates holding innocent people hostage for money…GOD! These last two weeks have been too much to bear for me.

I’ll find the words to capture my feelings on these topics, but for now I sit bound by this strange silence and my only request is that you bear with me. I don’t have writers block, that’s for sure. I’m holding back the temptation to sound off on what I see without actually having all the facts.

My heart is heavy, saddened by the world around me.

Bald Beauty of the Day

My Darling Daughter Hannah

Today has been a very busy day for us and Simone has been keeping me on my toes. The phone is ringing off the hook and of course I can’t get to it because I’m completely tied up taking care of Simmi…so I let it ring. I had a feeling it was Hannah calling me and I felt so bad that I couldn’t answer the phone in that moment. After putting Simmi in for a nap a few minutes ago, I jumped online and lo’ and behold there is a slew of emails from my darling daughter. In these emails there are pictures attached with her rambling on about how she finally has an ass. The picture to the left is of her and her man. Yes, she takes after me with her sense of humor and she had me cracking up. I had to post the following pictures and her explanation of what they mean:

This is what Hannah emailed me:

“I put together a beautiful commentary for you.”

How to use spandex underwear when your ass gets to big…

Picture 1: Look like Mickey Mouse..or simply a geek

Picture 2: Look cute without anyone knowing you’re wearing underwear on your head

Picture 3: Look slightly psychotic

Picture 4: Totally pass as a ninja

Picture 5: To freak people out

Picture 6: Hostage situation

Picture 7: Ghetto head wrap

Picture 8: A neck band that makes you look classy

Picture 9: A head band that not only makes you look like an idiot from the 80’s but also makes you feel tough.

“To show the world how your mom influenced you to make anything multi-functional and a complete dork.

I love you”

Bald Beauty of the Day

One More Thing For the Birthday Boy!

Ok, I just found out that Matisyahu is putting out a new album called “Light.”  We missed the last opportunity to see Matisyahu live in NY and I’ll never forget the look of disappointment in Dom’s eyes because we couldn’t get there that night. Well, I’ll never let that happen again! I made sure that if he couldn’t see him live, he could at least dance on stage with him! That’s right, you can see the Birthday boy in all his glory dancing as Matisyahu sings!

Here is the link to make your own: Dance With Matisyahu

So now that I have given you a dance and a song from Matisyahu my dear husband, I want to add one more thing…Matisyahu World! That’s right my love, just click the link for Matisyahu World and become a part of their community. There is so much on the site. Here is a message from Matisyahu about the community:

My Husband Turns Thirty

Tomorrow April 2nd, my sweet, sexy and gorgeous husband turns thirty. I know you are probably all doing the math right now right? If I’m forty, uh, then he must be ten years younger! Yes, I married a younger man.

My kids like to joke about the age difference with the following statements:

“When you had Gina (my oldest), Dom was only in the third grade.”

“When you had all four of us, he was just graduating from high school.”

“When you were a freshmen in high school, he was only four years old!”

Yeah, yeah, they like to razz me about the age thing. It does seam weird right? Its strange to me that when I hit puberty my man was being potty trained, singing “the wheels on the bus go round and round,” and playing with his little hammer and toys. How bizarre. When I lost my virginity he was in the first grade, finger painting, singing songs and learning how to use a pair of scissors.

I have to thank his parents though for creating him and raising him to be the man he is. He truly is my better half, and life would be dull, lifeless, bland and very lonely if he was not sharing his life with me. I feel totally blessed to be married to this wonderful person. I just want to go back in time and meet him when he was so young. (Don’t get all perverted on me now!) Have you ever looked at your mate’s pictures from when they were young and thought to yourself “how fun it would be to play with him/her and talk to them”; to go out on the playground for a few hours, make deals and switch lunch, and talk about what we are going to be when we grow up.

While that would be fun, nothing compares to being groped in a pair of “Big Girl Panties.” Yes, this man wanted to chase me all around the house in them. His love and devotion to me never seems to fade. It grows stronger with each passing day. It is an amazing feeling to be loved in that way. To be adored, cherished and held in the highest esteem. It is what every woman dreams of. I didn’t know it was possible to have a relationship with a man and NOT argue at least once a day. They say it’s supposed to be healthy to argue and that if you aren’t having any fights there is something wrong with your marriage. I don’t know who thought up that little beauty, but I prefer the marriage I have now to any other relationship I have ever been in. There is something very freeing for a woman when she knows that she is being listened to AND heard. When she has a thought or an opinion, she isn’t talked down to or treated in a condescending and demeaning way for expressing that opinion. Being free to grow as a woman is important, and feeling that it is ok to make mistakes as well as to be supported in that growth process makes her feel even more secure in her relationship with her man. No mind games, no trying to get his point of view across so that he can be right, because he realizes that we are on the same team reaching for the same goal…to love and understand one another. Its priceless, not just for our relationship, but for our family as well.

For his birthday I am giving him a few cyber gifts, since he is living 2,000 miles away from me.

A pair of Siamese Love Twins. There are two sides of me and this way he can have both at the same time!

Tango Lessons, because it has always been a secret passion and dream of his for us to do the tango:

Looking into my crystal ball, I see him home with me soon! And when he gets here, we will celebrate his birthday the way that all couples should celebrate…in their birthday suits!

Stop by his site and wish him a Happy Birthday! Here is the link:

The Knipfing Report

Happy Birthday Babe! I love you so much and I can’t wait till you are home for good!

Bald Beauty of the Day

Second Hand Smoke Causes Lung Cancer…Fact or Fiction?

In December of 1992 the EPA released it’s now famous report on second hand smoke. The report claimed that SHS causes 3,000 deaths a year, and classified it as a class A carcinogen.

Note: Although the official date of this report is December, 1992, it is commonly referred to as the EPA ‘93 study, probably because it became widely available in ‘93.

This was, and remains, a powerful weapon in the anti-smokers arsenal. If a smoker is only hurting himself, he can argue that it’s no one else’s business. But if he is hurting everyone around him, all kinds of restrictive legislation can be justified.

Did this study show SHS is deadly? Let’s examine the facts carefully.

Fact: In 1992 the EPA issued a report which claimed that Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) caused 3,000 deaths per year.

Fact: ETS is commonly referred to as Second Hand Smoke (SHS). The two terms are interchangeable.

After reading each of the following facts, ask yourself “Does this fact make the study more credible, or less credible?

Fact: The EPA announced the results of the study before it was finished.

Fact: The study was a Meta Analysis, an analysis of existing studies.

Meta Analysis is very difficult to do accurately, and is the easiest kind of study to fake and manipulate. With a disease as rare as lung cancer, leaving out just a few important studies can skew the results considerably.

The term “Meta Study” is often used to describe this type of report, but the word “study” is inaccurate. The EPA has never conducted nor financed a single ETS study. They have only analyzed the studies of others. It is more accurate to refer to it as an analysis, and to its publication as a report.

Fact: The first step in a meta analysis is identifying all of the relevant studies. The EPA located 33 studies that compared ETS exposure to lung cancer rates.

Fact: The EPA selected 31 of the 33 studies. Later they rejected one of their chosen studies, bringing the total to 30.

Fact: On page 3-46 of the report the EPA estimates, based on nicotine measurements in non-smokers blood, “this would translate to the equivalent of about one-fifth of a cigarette per day.”

Fact: Studies that measured actual exposure by having non-smokers wear monitors indicate even this low estimate is exaggerated. Actual exposure (for people who live and/or work in smoky environments) is about six cigarettes per year. (See also the study by Oak Ridge National Laboratories.)

Fact: In 1995 The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a review of the EPA report.

The CRS was highly critical of both the EPA’s methods and conclusions.

Fact: According to the CRS “The studies relied primarily on questionnaires to the case and control members, or their surrogates, to determine EST exposure and other information pertinent to the studies.”

Questionnaires can be notoriously inaccurate, as discussed in Statistics 102, but in this case some of them were not even filled out by the people being studied, but by “surrogates.” In other words, some of the information was unverified hearsay.

Fact: On page 23 of the study, paragraph 3, the CRS noted that out of 30 studies, only five found a statistically significant risk at the 95% confidence level, and one showed a statistically significant negative risk (a protective effect). The remaining 24 studies showed no statistically significant increase or decrease in risk.

Fact: Three other large US studies were in progress during the EPA’s study. The EPA used data from one uncompleted study, the Fontham study, and ignored the other two, Brownson and Kabat.

Fact: The Fontham study showed a small increase in risk. The CRS report referred to it as “a positive risk that was barely statistically significant.” (p. 25)

Fact: The CRS report said the Brownson study, which the EPA ignored, showed “no risk at all.” (p.25)

Fact: The “scientists” who conducted the Fontham study refused to release their raw data for years. They were finally forced to when Philip Morris won a lawsuit to gain access to it.

Most researchers routinely make their raw data available after studies have been published. Does Fontham’s refusal to make the data available make them more credible, or less credible?

Fact: The EPA based their numbers on a meta analysis of just 11 studies. The analysis showed no increase in risk at the 95% confidence level.

Fact: Even after excluding most of the studies, the EPA couldn’t come up with 3,000 deaths, but they had already announced the results. So they changed the CI to 90%, which, in effect, doubled their margin of error.

Fact Worth Repeating: Instead of using the 95% confidence interval, the statistical standard that has been used for decades, the EPA doubled their margin of error to achieve their pre-announced results.

Would any legitimate epidemiologist keep their job if they were caught doubling their margin of error to support a pre-announced conclusion?

Fact: After juggling the numbers, The EPA came up with an RR (Relative Risk) of ETS causing lung cancer 1.19. In layman’s terms that means:

• Exposure to the ETS from a spouse increases the risk of getting lung cancer by 19%.
• Where you’d usually see 100 cases of cancer you’d see 119.

Fact: A RR of less than 2.0 is usually written off as an unimportant result. An RR of 3.0 or higher is considered desirable. (See Statistics 101 for more details.)

This rule is routinely ignored when the subject is second hand smoke.

Facts: In review: The EPA ignored nearly two-thirds of the data. The EPA then doubled their margin of error to come up with their desired results.

Fact: Although the EPA declared ETS was a Class A carcinogen with an RR of 1.19, in analysis of other agents they found relative risks of 2.6 and 3.0 insufficient to justify a Group A classification.

Fact: In 1998 Judge William Osteen vacated the study - declaring it null and void after extensively commentating on the shoddy way it was conducted. His decision was 92 pages long.

Fact: Osteen used the term “cherry-picking” to describe he way the EPA selected their data. “First, there is evidence in the record supporting the accusation that EPA “cherry picked” its data. Without criteria for pooling studies into a meta- analysis, the court cannot determine whether the exclusion of studies likely to disprove EPA’s a priori hypothesis was coincidence or intentional. Second, EPA’s excluding nearly half of the available studies directly conflicts with EPA’s purported purpose for analyzing the epidemiological studies and conflicts with EPA’s Risk Assessment Guidelines.”

Fact: Osteen found other deep flaws in the the EPA’s methodology. In his judgment he stated: “The record and EPA’s explanations to the court make it clear that using standard methodology, EPA could not produce statistically significant results with its selected studies. Analysis conducted with a .05 significance level and 95% confidence level included relative risks of 1. Accordingly, these results did not confirm EPA’s controversial a priori hypothesis. In order to confirm its hypothesis, EPA maintained its standard significance level but lowered the confidence interval to 90%. This allowed EPA to confirm its hypothesis by finding a relative risk of 1.19, albeit a very weak association. EPA’s conduct raises several concerns besides whether a relative risk of 1.19 is credible evidence supporting a Group A classification. First, with such a weak showing, if even a fraction of Plaintiffs’ allegations regarding study selection or methodology is true, EPA cannot show a statistically significant association between ETS and lung cancer.”

Fact: The following is another direct quote from Judge Osteen’s decision: “In this case, EPA publicly committed to a conclusion before research had begun; excluded industry by violating the Act’s procedural requirements; adjusted established procedure and scientific norms to validate the Agency’s public conclusion, and aggressively utilized the Act’s authority to disseminate findings to establish a de facto regulatory scheme intended to restrict Plaintiffs, products and to influence public opinion. In conducting the ETS Risk Assessment, disregarded information and made findings on selective information; did not disseminate significant epidemiologic information; deviated from its Risk Assessment Guidelines; failed to disclose important findings and reasoning; and left significant questions without answers. EPA’s conduct left substantial holes in the administrative record. While so doing, produced limited evidence, then claimed the weight of the Agency’s research evidence demonstrated ETS causes cancer. Gathering all relevant information, researching, and disseminating findings were subordinate to EPA’s demonstrating ETS a Group A carcinogen.”

Most of the media ignored the judge’s decision.

When confronted with this decision, many anti-tobacco activists and organizations harp on the fact that Judge Osteen lives in South Carolina. The obvious implication is that he’s influenced by the tobacco industry in his state. It may also be an appeal to the “stupid southerner” stereotype.

Fact: Judge Osteen has a history of siding with the government on tobacco cases.

Fact: In 1997 Judge Osteen ruled the FDA had the authority to regulate tobacco.

So much for his alleged bias.

Fact: Although this study has been thoroughly debunked by science and legally vacated by a federal judge, it is still regularly quoted by government agencies, charity organizations and the anti-smoking movement as if it were legitimate.

Fact: Anyone referring to EPA classifying ETS as a Class A carcinogen is referring to this study.

Opinion: You should seriously question the credibility of anyone who refers to this study, or any of the conclusions that it reached, as if they were facts. That includes everyone who refers to the EPA’s ruling that ETS is a Class A Carcinogen. Once they do, every subsequent statement they make should be considered highly suspicious until it is thoroughly verified.

Fact: Most of the information on this page was gleaned from Judge Osteen’s 92 page decision, the CRS report, and the EPA’s study.

Fact: The EPA fought to have Osteen’s decision overturned on technical grounds. They succeeded in 2002 on the narrowest of technicalities. The fourth circuit court of appeals ruled that because the report was not an official policy document Osteen’s court did not have jurisdiction.

Fact: In their appeal the EPA did not answer a single criticism on the 92 page report, nor challenge a single fact put forth by Judge Osteen. Not one.

You are strongly encouraged to read these documents yourself. You can find the judge’s entire decision here. The CRS report is available here. The EPA report over six hundred pages long, and we recommend you order a hard copy. It is available to US citizens at no charge. Call (800) 438-4318 and ask for document EPA/600/6-90/006F. The title of the report is “Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders.” It is also available as on line as a pdf file. Note: this is a four megabyte file.

Fact: Carol Browner, the former head of the EPA, still insists that this study is valid!

More Information

The Smokers Club Inc. has complied a wealth of articles about this study and other shenanigans by the EPA.

Enough facts, already. Now for some opinions:

Sidney Zion, in the New York Daily News

The LA Times on the EPA’s agenda

Kudos go to Dave Hitt for putting together a very comprehensive and informative site!  My intention for actually copying all of Dave’s work (with his permission) of the EPA is for an upcoming article I’m writing about Smoker’s being taxed for the new Children’s Health Care Program (SCHIP).

Bald Beauty of the Day

My World Came Crashing Down Around Me Last Night

Last night I thought my world was coming to an end! I was working on a new website for someone and I made a HUGE error when transferring all the files. I actually sent the latest version of Wordpress to THE ALOPECIAN MUSE by accident. I still have an older version, so the new version wiped everything out. I couldn’t believe I did that. I was mortified. When was the last time I backed up my site? UH…when my very good friend (who, by the way saved my ass last night!) showed me how to back it up.

In a panic and while not thinking clearly I called her crying. I thought I had completely erased four months of work. Poof, it was gone. Well, being the Master Jedi that she is, she was able to poke around and she found the data base. I didn’t wipe it all out.

I tried to sleep but I couldn’t. I tried to do anything to get my mind off the fact that I totally fucked it all up, but it just gnawed at my brain like a rabid, blood thirsty rodent. My stomach was in knots and I felt like I was going to throw up. I got back online last night and there was my friend making everything better. I had all kinds of shit running through my head last night. I wanted to just give it all up and say screw it, I’m no good at this stuff! (That wouldn’t be far from the truth either).

I feel the picture on the left best describes my state of mind last night. I felt shocked, naked, exposed and totally alone. That is until I talked to my Master Jedi! She definitely calmed me down and brought a lot of encouragement to me. I am so glad to have her in my life.

Today I felt that all was right in my world again, and to sweeten it just a little more, my husband called this afternoon to tell me that we hit our first goal amount of money to get him home! I want to thank everyone who gifted us with your generous donations. We are still around $1,000.00 short, but as of today we are half-way there. Tomorrow he will be putting his notice in and he will be here in New Mexico with us in four to five weeks…for good!

Bald Beauty of the Day

The Perpetual Witching Hour

The Witching Hour is a phrase often used in superstitious circles when demons, witches or evil spirits lurk about and are at the height of their malevolent power. Usually this is the time after 12:00am. Spooky right? Well, the Witching Hour can also mean something else. Something far more sinister, paralyzing and can leave YOU feeling like a demon, witch or a malevolent being. This witching hour is usually only contained within a short period of time and it can happen at any time day or night. But what brings on the Witching hour? Busyness!

Just “TRY” to concentrate and get something substantial and important done and along comes this creature, soft, warm, smirking and pint sized to make your life a living hell! I have been living in a perpetual witching hour for the last three days. It hasn’t stopped. I’ll explain a little of how the witching hour festers, then throbs and finally pops like a massive zit all oozy and bloody!

Here it goes:

For you parents, have you ever tried to take an important call and two minutes into your conversation little Festus Jr. comes over and starts pulling on your pants, crying, screaming and nothing you do can calm him down…EXCEPT get off the phone? You end the call, hang up and little Festus decides to smile and walk away? Did he want anything? NO! You go to see how he is, and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. He’s playing with his trucks, spinning around wildly and having fun. So you sneak back into the kitchen to get on the phone because of how urgent the call was. You pick up the phone and start to dial and guess who comes barreling into the room screaming like someone was trying to murder him? You guessed it, FESTUS! You scratch your head still being patient, end your second attempt to make that call and as soon as you put that phone on the hook, Festus doesn’t have a care in the world. This of course continues. There is no rhyme or reason for it because it makes no sense what so ever! Does Festus want attention? Hmm, it’s hard to say because when you give him attention he treats you like you don’t even exist.

Here are some other short examples of when the Witching Hour is administered by our power-packed half pints:

• Making a meal
• Balancing the checkbook
• Shopping for food
• Doing laundry
• Making love (just try that one, and it’s enough to turn you off right away!)
• When your friends or family are over
• During the child’s birthday party (”Its my party and I’ll cry if I want to)
• After they are in bed and you sit down to watch your favorite show
• TRYING TO WORK FROM HOME!

What is that? Why is it that children instinctively know when you need to get something important done and that’s when the world is coming to an end for them? They were fine just two seconds ago and now they are caught up in a panicky whirlwind of emotion that only stops when you do NOTHING!

This is what my life for the last three days has been like. I have both self-imposed deadlines as well as external deadlines to meet, and it seems like as soon as I think its quiet, my little cutie pie Simmi is off into a screaming session that only ends when I decide to do nothing at all. Its not a fluke either. When I was creating this child’s website, the screaming was incessant. I always work on articles or other things that are important for me to get done online at night and if I don’t get it finished, I save my work, check it during her nap time and publish. Easy right? But what happens when you have something pressing to do, like LEARN A NEW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? Huh? HUH? Ever since I made a commitment to this new business venture and began the process of learning about Drupal this child has been hell on wheels!

She is intuitively tuned into me. Usually she has a nice long nap during the day and I can do a few things I need to do online. Uh…not lately. No nap. Just jumping in her crib and CHEWING the wood on her crib! Yes, she has totally macked up her beautiful crib. Last week she had a splinter in her gums because she was gnawing on the wood. She has been manic over the last three days, just running around in circles and running up and down the hall.

I didn’t start downloading the system and get to business until 10:00pm last night when she finally conked out. I was up till 3:30am jamming as much in as I could. Today I did nothing. But she was still manic. If I had hair, I’d be pulling it out right about now. My world is in this constant state of flux recently. I was hoping to be refreshed and ready to go, but instead I have a screaming child on my hands and some health problems again.

When Dom came home for those four days, he brought with him some of his clothing. This clothing smelled musty. I don’t think its a coincidence that now I am having a flare up again. The same thing happened when I received the package from Dom with the “Big Girl Panties.” My son and I became really sick. When we opened that box the smell of mold wafted through the air. I haven’t had pain in my joints like I have right now since I left Maryland. I refuse to go back on steroids or anti-inflammatory medication and the only thing that seems to shut off my auto-immune response is being on a raw diet.

Can you tell I have a lot on my plate right now?

I’m Traveling Into Uncharted Territories

I’m traveling into uncharted territories which has me scared shitless and at the same time thrilled as though I’m going on some sort of sky diving trip. So what is this adventure that I am going on? Well, it is the mysterious world of Drupal. Drupal has me intrigued, perplexed and it leaves me coming back like a junky strung out on heroin. I can not even effectively put into words what Drupal is, except that it is an extremely powerful management system for creating dynamic websites.

I have hung around the forum at www.drupal.org and watch a lot of their tutorials, but I feel like some sort of voyeur getting all turned on by the power of this system as they talk about different features and functions. Can you tell that I’m getting addicted, yet I haven’t even sampled the product yet! Why does the thought of this system intrigue me so? I have extremely limited amount of knowledge in computers and forget about knowing anything that has to do with html, PHP or any kind of code.

The reason I’m considering going this route is a few business opportunities I have cooking on the back burner. I need this kind of management system to handle the type of work I’m venturing into. But I feel like I’ll be opening a huge can of worms or get in over my head delving into this. What if I can’t do it? OOO, but I want to try! If anyone reading this post has knowledge or experience in Drupal, leave a comment for me and tell me what your experience has been. After I finish this post and a post over on Simmi’s site, I’m going to be downloading all the necessary stuff needed to run Drupal and start building a site. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I should at least give it a shot.

Four months ago I would have never imagined that I would enjoy the art of web design. I got this cool template maker and that is how I was introduced to Drupal. I created a Drupal template and really got hooked. I also created a Wordpress template as well. I fell in love with all the details and options…but I want more. I want to learn how to bend a template to my will and make it do things I want.

Here is a screen shot of a Wordpress template that I made:

And here is a Drupal template that I made:

Now mind you these two templates are only my first bash at creating something but I really like doing it. Maybe if I get good at it, I will consider doing some sort of work helping to create templates for other people. I have become a template whore. Should I be concerned?

Bald Beauty of the Day

American Airlines Sucks the Big One

March 18th was a nerve racking for me. I was putting my two children on a plane alone for the first time to go and see their dad for spring break. When I first inquired about them traveling with American Airlines, I was helped by a very nice woman who assured me that the kids at no time would be left alone from the time I left them until they arrived and were released to their father’s care. I asked the woman on the phone to hold the amount quoted to me until the next day. Well, the next day rolls around and now I’m on the phone with someone else and ready to purchase the tickets. I give my confirmation number to him and he tells me that it will be more than what was quoted. An argument ensues and now I’m pissed off that they are not honoring the price that was quoted less than 24 hours earlier. It seems that the woman who reserved the flight for us the day before forgot to add $100 for the trip returning to Albuquerque. I begin to explain to the man that the woman who reserved the flight for us and quoted us the price should honor the amount. He counters my statement with “You are just trying to get away with not paying the unaccompanied minor fee for the trip home. You should have known by the simple math that something wasn’t right.” He continues to berate me, explaining that “usually one parent pays for the fee upon departure and the other parent pays for the fee on the way back.” My mouth was dropped open at that point. I NEVER explained my situation or that they were going to meet their father. That never even came up. He just assumed it. My kids could have been flying to see their grandparents or other family members, yet he chose to treat me like I was some desperate single mother trying to trick American Airlines into paying for one of the fees. What was I going to do? I needed to book the flight so I bent over and let American Airlines give it to me!

But it doesn’t end there. The day came to take them to the airport and unfortunately for some reason I thought the flight was at 7:30am. We were pretty much ready to go and I just needed to get the itinerary and flight information and we would be off, when I discovered that we might actually be late for the flight. We quickly got everything loaded in the car and headed to the airport. We parked and rushed to the check-in. We still had about ten minutes to the cut off time (you must be checked in 30 minutes before departure). I was so happy we made it. We got to the counter and I said to the woman “We made it!” and she asked which flight. I told her and she said “No problem, you have time.” At that point she excused herself for a moment, came back and said “This man will help you as soon as he is done.” I looked at her perplexed but I still felt confident everything would be ok. The man to the right of her was chattering away with a couple he knew and they were talking about cookies. I stood there wondering why he wasn’t doing his job. Then finally he begins to check the kids in when he says, “Oh, I’m sorry but you will have to take the next flight out because you missed the cut off time.” I told him I was here ten minutes before the cut off and he said that when we got to him it was past the cut off time. Gee, I wonder why? He was so busy talking about those cookies that he didn’t even notice that we were standing there. But what the fuck was up with the original woman who told me that I still had time? What was she doing the whole time??? She was checking in other people!

I continue to argue with the man and he says that he had a flight leaving at 1:30pm and that wouldn’t arrive in Philly until 9:30pm. I told him that this was unacceptable and he proceeded to tell me that it would be ANOTHER $150.00 for catching that flight! I felt like I was being scammed! I told him AGAIN that I was here before the cut off and that his co-worker referred us to him and that we have been waiting all this time. He asked her and she told him that was actually what happened because she didn’t know how to do an Unaccompanied Minor check-in. So he didn’t charge us the $150.00 but said that we STILL would have to take the 1:30pm flight because the next flight out was booked up. I told him absolutely not, and to get them on the flight that was leaving in exactly 20 minutes from now. He did it and off we ran to the security check point. I was allowed to bring my kids all the way to the gate and see them off, and the attendant gave me a pass to go. Because Simmi was also with us and because of her age she did not need a pass…but this particular security officer did not know that. She held us up for over 10 minutes calling her supervisor. I told her that a pass for the baby was not necessary and she didn’t believe me. Her supervisor came and he told her the same damn thing! So now we had to fight our way through the crowd and go through to their gate. We ran all the way and as we got to gate the plane was pulling away. We missed the flight anyway. I explained to the woman at the desk the whole story and she looked at the tickets and says “Oh, these tickets are for the flight at 1:30pm.” HUH? The man never switched them back and booked us for that 1:30pm flight after all! I started getting even more aggravated and she got the kids on the very next flight leaving at 8:00am. This is the same exact flight that the other man said was sold out.

I watched as my kids boarded the plane and I waited till it left the runway to leave. They were so excited and thrilled to be traveling alone. When they got to Philly safely I felt like I could finally rest. From now on, I will be calling all other airlines to schedule flights for my children. I NEVER want to put them on one of American Airlines planes again. I feel they didn’t honor the amount quoted, then proceeded to insult and accuse me, and finally tried to milk another $150.00 out of me due to their incompetence. They have lost my respect and my patronage.

Bald Beauty of the Day

He Came Home to See Us

On March 18th two major things happened. We were up bright and early to take Noah and Shoshie to the airport seeing them off for spring break and later on that day, Dom was set to arrive in Albuquerque coming home until March 22nd.

Dom decided not to shave the whole time that we were apart and it was quite a surprise to see him with a full beard. He looked like a rugged mountain man, sexy, desirable and ready to pounce! I didn’t know what Simmi would do when she saw him with the beard, but all she did was look into those caring, kind and penetrating eyes…see his smile and hear his voice and she lit up smiling and squealing. Yes, Poppie was home! I have been away from the computer and took time off from my work to concentrate only on us. It was such an emotionally charged four days, filled with laughter, tears, excitement, playtime and fun. We let the world fade away and made the most of our time together.

I wish I had more time with him and I hope soon that he will be home for good. It was quite an eye opener for him to see our home and what we live with. Its one thing for me to tell him that we are living bare boned, but it is quite another to see it in the flesh. Walking into the house, he slowly scanned each room and I could see the concern in his eyes. The reality of our life and what we have (and don’t have) was overwhelming to witness. We have dishes, cookware, silverware, a table and chairs. There is a couch and chair in the living room and a small TV, three mattresses that sit on the floor and boxes that pose as tables. There are no curtains or blinds on any windows, and we each have enough clothes to get through one week. Looking at our unfinished floor was probably the most difficult to view. When we ripped the carpet up, there was just concrete there. The concrete is partially painted from the last tenants and there is glue stuck to the floor where they glued down the foam that goes under a carpet. Its not pretty, I’ll give you that much! In an effort to cover up the bare concrete and protect us from the chemicals and dust that come up through the pores of the concrete, I put down a very heavy duty plastic tarp. This tarp is BLACK like a garbage bag and sealed at the middle seam with duct tape. The sides are stapled to the wall trim. It is perhaps the ugliest thing that we have to look at every day. At this point we can not afford to do any further work on the house because we need to save money to get Dom home here for good. He will have to drive cross country to get here with his car and the last time he did that in December (bringing my car here) it cost well over $700.00 in gas, food and lodging. But I have to say that with him being here, regardless of what we have or don’t have, our house felt like home. He completes it all and fills the house with warmth and love. With him here I didn’t even notice our missing curtains or forced minimalist style.

Saying goodbye was hard, but it was hardest on Simmi. She does understand what “bye bye” means, and as soon as she heard him say that she began to cry…and then scream. It was a hurt sounding cry, deep and sorrowful. When he gets back to Maryland he is going to try to put together a benefit concert to raise money for him to get home and for things we need here in the house. I thought it was a really cool idea, but I often have doubts about how much we can raise. Its a tough time for everyone in this economy.

If anyone would like to help us out, there is a donation button via Paypal on my side bar. Any amount would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Bald Beauty of the Day

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