Live and Let Di

Avoidable Tragedy

This morning the ubiquitous hotel gift of the USA Today did not show up outside our room. So I stopped by the front desk and they gave me a copy of the local newspaper, the Charleston Post & Courier. You know I can't start my morning without a newspaper, any newspaper.

The headline on the front page was 3 Dead in Boating Nightmare. Several people who live on a small island which is only approachable by boat were returning home when their boat capsized 15 feet from shore. None of the passengers were wearing life vests and none knew how to swim! The tragedy is magnified by how preventable it was. An 11-month old baby survived because he was in a boat seat, but by the time help got to him his body temperature was in the 80s and his survival is still uncertain.

If you live on an island that has no bridge linking it to the mainland, shouldn't learning to swim be a priority? And failing that, shouldn't you scrupulously abide by boating laws requiring life vests? I admit that I have ridden many times in boats without wearing a life vest. But I am a good swimmer. Arguably, I should still wear one in case I am knocked unconscious in a boating accident. But I don't. So I'm being kind of hypocritical here. I admit it.

The final piece of the story that left me pondering people's choices and the solutions they posit was this:

Smalls, the injured infant's grandfather, said he hopes residents will reconsider the need for a bridge after this deadly accident.

Residents fought attempts to build a bridge from mainland in the 1990s, arguing that it would open Sandy Island to development. They said they preferred to go back and forth by boat.

Is the way to prevent this kind of tragedy a matter of taxpayers paying millions to build a bridge or for residents of the island to take responsibility for themselves and learn how to swim and adhere to boat safety rules?

Di

Don't Mess with the First Mom

Besides re-introducing chartreuse (while looking fabulous in it, I might add), what were we expecting of our new First Lady during her first week? While every First Lady seems to pick various causes to support, Michelle Obama's first action was to align herself with mothers everywhere by extending her Mama Bear claws to protect her children.

TY is the company which was known for introducing Beanie Babies. Beanie Babies turned into collectors' items which left generous aunts aghast as their nieces immediately ripped the tags off their Princess Diana Beanies. (Can you tell that this actually happened in my family, my daughter being the ungrateful wretch who was more interested in playing with her toy than eventually profiting from it?) Collectors, determined to profit from their perfectly preserved, originally tagged, cutely named beanbags, were eventually left with tons of inventory and no demand.

TY has now decided to introduce its newest Girlz, "Marvelous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha." But Maternal Michelle isn't going for it! (If I were to become First Lady, my cause would be to eradicate the use of  "Z" as a letter with which to make words plural in an effort to add a little "gangsta" panache to any word.)

Okay...maybe most of us don't have to worry about someone taking our children's names and likenesses and trying to profit from them. But we share a discomfort when someone we don't know is taking pictures at a kids' park. We cringe when we see 5-year olds made up like Vegas showgirls to compete in "Little Miss" pageants. Many bloggers use pseudonyms for their children for fear that using their real names might somehow allow them to be exploited. And many Moms avoid potentially limiting adjectives to describe their daughters, hoping that they don't miss the opportunity to be "marvelous" because they have been labeled "sweet."

Michelle, I'm sure that during your term(s) as First Lady you will make us proud by adopting issues and causes that are critical to our country and complementary to your husband's agenda. But I, for one, applaud your first action...to protect your family. Yes, you can! And yes, you will! And yes, we all can.

Di

Potential Christmas Trauma

Today in the newspaper, there appeared an obituary for a gentleman who was a professional Santa. And next to the obituary was a picture similar to this (see, I've learned I can't copy pictures from the N&O...copyright infringement or some such thing):

I understand that the young believers in our community are probably not the typical demographic for the obituaries. Or that they even know what "obituary" means. But, the subtext of "Obituaries" on that page reads, "Death Notices."

What I'm picturing is the little kid whose Mom unwittingly lays out today's paper to keep the glue, markers or paint off the table. He can read a little and knows what death is because he saw The Wizard of Oz and the whole "Ding dong the witch is dead" thing. So, death, Santa, same page...instant trauma!

Or how about the kid whose chore is to line the birdcage with the discarded newspaper?

How about the kid who reads my blog?

Oh...sorry about that.

Di

Migrant Mother

***This post is also running on the TriangleMom2Mom site where I write each week***

As I was eating breakfast with my 12 year old son the other day, I saw a story online about the famous “Migrant Mother” photo taken by Dorothy Lange in 1936, that captured the pain and hopelessness people felt during the Great Depression.

 There has been a lot of discussion in my family about gas prices, the stock market, lack of jobs and the far-reaching effects of the current state of our economy.

I showed my son the picture and told him that the subject of the picture, Florence Owens Thompson, had seven children and that she and her family had to live in tents or cars as they traveled from farm to farm in California picking cotton. I wanted him to understand how devastating that time was and, I guess, how fortunate we are today. I said, “Her kids didn’t even get to go to school. They worked in the fields with their Mom every day just to survive.”

His response, “Well, I guess that’s what she gets for putting all of her money in the stock market.” A fuller explanation of the Depression followed, an explanation that I hope he gets when he is taking American History in high school. I feel that as we get further and further away from historical events, they become defined by one particular thing and the details are lost. For many, the stock market crash equals the Depression just like “Let them eat cake” defines the French Revolution.

As we experience our current economic situation and I see the effects on us and people close to us, I hope that history doesn’t repeat itself, plunging us into the bleak times of the Depression. And most of all, I hope that we can tear ourselves away from the news channels, their constant stock market analysis, their sterile statistics on unemployment rates and their talk of multi-billion dollar bail-outs and remember that, like the Migrant Mother in the 1930s, there are individuals, families and children whose very survival is impacted by the economy today.

I hope we don’t see the percentage of unemployed without remembering that the people who comprise that percentage are struggling to put food on their tables and making decisions between purchasing their prescriptions and paying the electric bill. I hope that the economic good fortune that many of us have experienced for most of our lives, doesn’t make us view those who are in need as slackers who collect welfare and would be fine if they just got off the couch and got a job. I have heard this sentiment on several occasions from many different people. Call me a Liberal, a label I wear proudly, but this opinion is appalling to me!

The Migrant Mother in the picture was 32 years old when the picture was taken. Look at the picture again. Think about it.

Di

Smiling Faces

These are some smiling faces from the global markets who have been working for hours while we were hitting the snooze button:

I hope to see these kinds of faces on Wall Street today!

Di

Why we vote the way we do...

Maybe we could get Barack to make her the Secretary of Hilarity or something.

Di

I have enough friends, thank you!

Last night was the town hall meeting debate between:

And his worthy opponent: 

Now, I think everyone has heard about the Biden/Palin drinking game. Every time Sarah Palin says "maverick" or winks, you have to take a drink.

Just a few minutes into last night's debate, my friend Pilar said..."OK, every time McCain says, 'my friends,' everyone has to drink."

First of all, I'll bet there are scores of hungover Democrats this morning. And second of all, I value my friends. I hold them near and dear to my heart and would do anything for them. But you, John McCain, are not my friend. There can be such a thing as too many friends...and adding you to my list would definitely cross that line.

Di