The Goddess of Compassion and Mercy

Compassion and Mercy, our wish for the world for 2009 and beyond.

Joseph was Jesus Step Father

Only one brave person took a chance and voted in my latest poll, who was Jesus Step father.
I heard that phrase many moons ago when I was teaching CCD at St John's Church.
A more experienced teacher was doing a lesson that was explaining how Mary had a baby and Joseph wasn't the father. He was Jesus step father. Brilliant, says I !!!

Roanoke Va- Kroger

Gas prices are about 1.39 a gallon at the Kroger sponsored gas station here in Roanoke VA.
The special benefit of having and using a Kroger shopping card is that gas magically becomes
1.18 a gallon or less, depending on how much shopping you do at Kroger. We have fun running thru these regional types of grocery stores. Their organic sections offer different products, both fresh and pre packaged. Also, we are below the Mason Dixon line, so the regional foods are representative of local tastes. We came across the sweet tasting product that is a sister to egg nog-boiled custard
http://hootsbuddy.blogspot.com/2006/11/boiled-custard-recipe.html
According to our son, it is sweeter than egg nog. Since we were all feeling the holiday weight gain, we declined the opprotunity to try it. Follow the link above if you are curious about making some for yourself

The Christmas Child

That's the title of a song written by our choir director Dave Christi, c 1987. W e sang it along with many others at midnight mass last night.

Father George re read a homily, that still doesn’t make sense, even the second time around. He ended the sermon with “ Love Conquers All”
Toni Morrison, in an interview with AARP magazine about her new book, A MERCY, is quoted as saying
“ everyone knows that children don’ t feel any of this. ( racisim) You have to be instructed, told, It has to be reinforced.
Let me see if I can blend their thoughts together;

“A child is born on Christmas Day” “And if we only follow HIS way, we’ll see the light on Christmas Day.” LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Yes, all we need to do is love one another in the simple manner that Christ taught us to love one another. Not the romantic type of love that is known to disrupt our lives, but the AGAPE love, the love that a newborn child has for the humans that care for it during infancy, building trust and human love. Our little children learn to love- or hate. They are born with the ability to only love, adults teach little children to take the path to distrust and dislike.
“Traveling in the night from the plight of Herod’s men Three Kings close in on Bethlehem” our journey nears an end, and if we only follow HIS way, we will see the light, every day.

GOD and Christ, from my perspective, are one in the same. And, I also believe I worship the same GOD as my Jewish neighbors and my Muslim neighbors.
We are all searching for Good Orderly Direction
Merry Christmas

The Dove

This is my 2008 addition.
The Historical Society of Woodstock held a holiday fundraiser and one of the members took a lot of time to paint this beautiful little " dove"

Dove's represent peace, they represent hope, as they were sent out by Noah and came back with olive brances. This gave Noah hope that land was nearby.
Didn't Noah have great faith in GOD!

I just love this little tree. I decorate it with white lites, white snow flakes, sea shells and angels. The over all theme is green ornaments, most depict Irish characters. I branched out one year and bought a scottish gentleman and one or two ornaments that depict german and italian people. That rounds out the gene pool!

The tree is a symbol of my favorite hobby, genealogy.

We met at the Woodstocker Restaurant

What a wonderful place to work. Coffee was a quarter and the tip was a quarter. I was 18, working the 6 am to 2 pm shift. John was the cigarette vending guy who came in and sat at the counter, drank lots of coffee and read the NY Post, beginning at the sports section, and ending at the front section. I thought that was a little odd. We were never formally introduced, however, as we were to learn later, we caught each others eye.
Russ Roefs was the owner at the time, the restaurant was in the Bradley Meadows Plaza in the area where the Sunflower Natural Foods Store is now. The morning from 6-9 was the hopping with men, heading to work, making connections, planning their day. The waitresses were the entertainment as well as the servers of advise, sass and beauty!!

The pollsters are correct

Janine did not meet John at the Boiceville Inn. Though John did have a cigarette machine there and was known to frequent the popular Boiceville hangout, Janine was just 18 and new to the process of going out at night at that age. Woodstock had plenty of lively night time hot spots to hang out in during the early 1970's. The Jug, the Espresso, the Joyous Lake, the Pub, all pack to the door on a summer weekend night.

Are you still writing Christmas Cards?

I am. Each year I swear I am going to send less, save some cash and time. Most of the folks that we get cards from we only hear from once a year, at Christmas. I've been known to lament, that a relationship does not make. However, perhaps it does. Sending Christmas greetings is a way of sharing the love of Christ with others, and that is the simple action we are all called to do, each day we are on the planet earth.

Caroline Kennedy

Could we please have a New York Senate representative that is representative of all the people, not just the political elite. Where has she been all these years, cloaked in privacy, quitely living her life of privilege.
My advice to Governor Patterson, son of Basil Patterson, just say no thankyou to Caroline.
Advise her to run in 2010. Achieve the seat the old fashioned way.

Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown

The Jewish festival of lights begins tonight at sundown, and I wish all my Jewish brothers and sisters a very happy Hanukkah season.
Hanukkah, if I understand it correctly, is a story about miracles.
We need to believe that miracles can happen, even in this skeptical 21st century world we live in.

Snowy Sunday

I'm prepping for a busy two days with AVON deliveries. I posted on my blog list two sites that I have visited on a regular basis for the past 3 or 4 years. Danielle Bean's site is run by Danielle who is a homeschooling mom of a 6 kids, as far as I can tell. When I feel overwhelmed with my day, I visit her site and feel renewed in strength. St. Patricia is part of a Poor Clare Monastic Community in Oregon. She has a wonderful sense of humor, is very down to earth and very reverant at the same time.

Ceramic Nativity

I made this little set back in the mid 1980's. It's one of three that we have. I'm not sure yet where the other two will go.

Christmas is in celebration of the person we know as Jesus Christ's arrival on earth.

A little visitor that created quite a stir.

The Perfect Christmas Tree

This years small tree rates as one of the

best trees yet. I can't believe I placed

98% of the ornaments on the tree.

It truly is a charlie brown tree, the

back of it is bare, allowing it to fit up

against the wall.

Our newest ornament, the copper cactus from Arizona is in the center.

Hunger Grass in Winter

This really is the view from my kitchen window! We are having the first really big snow here in upstate NY. I love to look out at the birds flitting about in the feeders as the snow is swirling around the corner of our house. The blue switch grass, aka hunger grass in Ireland, reminds me of those who died of starvation in Ireland. The legend is, this type of grass grew up around the bodies where the people lay down and died. It's a terrible part of history that is re occuring today in other parts of the world.
The sedum, such a beautiful plant in the fall, also stands and holds it's own to the winter wind.

Soul Singing

A few years back, I decided I wanted to include singing in my life once again. I was a Kingston High school choir member for 4 years, standing in the upper rows on the bleachers during the performance. When my mom was alive, we did a fair amount of singing at the Pub, late at night, with Jimmy Barlow, my cousin Shelli and others. And, it's always fun, even today, to sing background for my dad when he strikes up an Irish tune.
A woman who I had just met through the Library board, Julie Kirby, announced that she was doing a workshop in soul singing. I signed up and spent a winter Saturday reconnecting with my singing energy. It's wonderful how the universe connects the dots for us if we let it.
I asked Julie if she would give me a few lessons, and she agreed. I had just joined the choir at St John's Catholic Church in West Hurley. I learned to gain confidence in my music voice from Julie.
Julie and Laurie Kirby have a web site associated with their group
Princes of Serendip They frequently can be heard playing at benefits for local people and local causes. Perhaps, also on Monday nights at the Irish jam and New World on Rt 212
http://www.princesofserendip.info/

Check the site out, they have a new CD out this winter.

Peace on Earth

In 2006 we were inspired to create a luminaria peace sign on Mower's Field on Maple lane. Allan, Alexa, Janine, John and Colleen filled bags with sand, candles and placed them about in the familiar configuration made famous in the 1960's. Pop onto the woodstock fleamarket blog to view another photo.
Join us this year at 3Pm as we place the luminarias again, and offer silent prayers of peace for all sentient beings on the planet earth.

Photos of Santa in Woodstock

I will upload family photos over the weekend. Check back!!
I apologize for the late start on the show tonight. We had technical difficulties.
Many thanks to Ann Washington for appearing tonight.
Thanks to Johnny Mower the tech for his patience.

Records Management Coordinator

Jackie Earley, our town clerk, is the town of Woodstock Records Management, or Document coordinator. I spoke with her assistant, Lyn Sehwerert and she confirmed that there is not a program to digitize town documents at this time. According to Lyn, Jackie has made attempts to begin some sort of document storage, however each time she applies for the grants, the money dries up.

I will continue to develope reasons why it would be good to fund digitization of older town records. Perhaps it makes sense, as we are beginning to think about spending more money to investigate building or remodeling a building for town offices, to purchase digital scanners and programs to accomodate town records management.

Joe Holdridge Sr

Joe wins, he was the first Woodstock Santa!

Buy a digital scanner

I have a lot of thoughts on the conundrum the town board faces.
To buy the Elna Ferrite building or not to buy, that seems to be one of the questions.
To sell or not to sell the Old Town Hall building, that seems to be another question.

What seems perfectly clear this beautiful snowy morning, digitize digitize digitize.
Town records don't need to be stored in metal file cabinets in the 21st century.

They can be safely scanned into digital files, easily retrieved from a data base, not a brick and mortar building.

Tossing Shoes

Perhaps, Muntader al- Zaidi, in his anger, has a good idea.
Instead of warring nations killing each other, we could begin the
tradition of tossing shoes at heads of state to show our disapproval of a nations
policies.
The agreement would be, that then the national leaders would have to sit down and
talk to each other face to face, without the multitudes of weapons and soon to be
dead soldiers in between them for a cushion.

Do You Believe in Santa?

Yes, I've seen Santa twice; once at Macy's in New York City and many times on the Village Green in Woodstock NY. When I was a little toddler living on Ohayo Mt road with my grandmother I woke up one chilly christmas eve to hear Santa's sleigh bells
jingling. The big old farm house was quiet, the Christmas tree in the living room was brightly decorated and there was no one around. Under the tree were a few presents. Who left the presents?
This Wednesday night at 8 30 PM EST on CHannel 23 or via the internet at www.woodstocktv.org and the ustream link, I will interview Ann Washington, long time member of the Woodstock Christmas Eve program.
Add your Woodstock Christmas memories to the blog and watch us Wednesday night as we share ours!

Southwest Indian Foundation- Holiday Plea

We drove through the Navajo Nation lands this past fall, and the writer is NOT exaggerating. JM

Dearest Friends,The snow is falling and there is a stiff north wind hitting the reservation. I have been studying the weather patterns and reports. It is supposed to be a rough winter. I have had an aching in my stomach these past weeks. As you probably know, I am working fast and furious to put together our Christmas Baskets. I have committed to over 1710 families for Food Baskets over the next three weeks (there is talk of 415 more elderly we recently got a request for). I know this may just sound like an empty number. You don't know these families, and it is difficult for you to see the great need at that great distance. Every year I am asked what kind of families we help. I think it is vitally important for you to know just how dire the situation is for our families, and how much we need you. I have many families I cannot presently help! Let me introduce you to one family: Gena is a five-year old little girl who lives in a one-room hogan with her grandmother and her brother and sister. Her grandmother, Anna, has the daunting responsibility of rearing and educating these three children of five, seven, and ten years of age. If you walked into their Hogan, you would not believe it. There is a dirt floor with a kitchen table and one chair. They also have two cots where they sleep, which is all the furniture in the home. The children sleep in one cot, and Anna sleeps in the other. This is one of the poorest families I have ever met, even according to reservation standards. Anna's daughter, Sue, died during delivery of five year old Gena. The children's father has traveled out of the area to find work. He comes back occasionally to see his children, but Anna has the greatest share of the work. She raised her own family in the same conditions, and now she must take care of the next generation. Anna is one of those quite heroines you find occasionally. I have found her telling stories to her grandchildren of the old traditions, the old ways, and walking in virtue. I remember the last time I was there; Gena was sitting on Anna's lap. Anna was telling Gena about her mother, Sue and what a good woman she was. Anna was telling her of when Sue was a little girl and she used to put Sue on her lap. Gena starred at her grandmother with wide and wondrous eyes. Anna told me she makes due with just enough food to keep the children alive. We have helped them with a few things, but I get very anxious this time of year. The winter will be harsh, and their home will be cold. Don't you think we can provide at least one good fulfilling Food Basket a year, so Anna and the children can share the joy of the Christmas Season? Anna told me that she did not have any money for Christmas gifts. We have ordered 4,000 stockings for children like Gena. These will be filled with candies and small toys--and they will go to those children that will not have any gifts this year without these stockings. Looking at Gena and Anna sitting together, I could not help but think that even the most hardhearted person would not be genuinely moved. It is one little part to play. It does not seem like a lot, but it would make all the difference in the life of Gena and her family. Won't you please be as generous as you possible can? The cost of a full Basket is $58.60. Please follow your heart. Giving is what Christmas is all about. I can't imagine anyone more in need than Gena. There are thousands just like her living in poverty. Let us bring a little joy to their lives.What is in a Christmas Food Basket.Let me ask you one favor: Please, Please consider helping more this year, as we have been forgotten. Please consider giving more that you would have. If we could just recover a bit from our shortfall, then there would be some hopes. Let us get food baskets and stoves to these destitute families for the holidays. May God bless you and your family always, especially during this blessed season.God Bless You always,Deacon Dan Nez MartinP.S. For one small child sucha as Gena, her very world may be restored with hope by just having some act of love on Christmas morning, Please help me. P.P.S. You can give Two gifts in one. As indicated by our pledge card -- you can send a donation for a food basket. If you wish to give this donation in another's name, just mark the indicated spot. We will send you a beautiful card that you can fill out, and send it to a loved one notifying them that you have this food basket in their name for a Christmas gift. Everyone comes out a winner! Bless you! If you have any questions or comments, I am available at billy@cia-g.com. Wishing you the very best always. Bill McCarthySouthwest Indian Foundation505-863-2128 Take a look at these attractive items, and let us know if you are interested. You can order online at: southwestindian.com

Blind Date at the Steel House

What a hoot! I know I am getting old when I leave an event because the music is to loud.
We got to the Steel House an hour early and sat and enjoyed Woodstocker Eric Erickson
warm up playing guitar and singing light easy listening songs from the '60's. My kind of music, songs I can sing along with and bring warm fuzzy feelings within the words.
The cover band hired for the event, Blind Date, came along and Eric was dispatched back to the hills of Woodstock. Their music was fairly good. All the band members were engaged and the singer was doing her best to draw enthusiasm from the audience.
Back at the tables, we were using sign language, finishing sentances as each song ended, and generally trying to figure out what happend to us 50-60 somethings.
Back in the day, I would stand in front of the speakers and listen to Jerry Moore and the work band play at the Village Jug and be perfectly happy!

Our Disinformed Electorate

I dream of the day when people spend more time critically thinking about issues involved in the democratic process
Below is part of an article from FACT CHECK. ORG
Let your voice be heard. If something doesn't sound right, say, WAIT A MINUTE!!

Our Disinformed Electorate
December 12, 2008
by Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Brooks Jackson
We saw more aggressive fact-checking by journalists in this election than ever before. Unfortunately, as a post-election Annenberg Public Policy Center poll confirms, millions of voters were bamboozled anyway.
More than half of U.S. adults (52 percent) said the claim that Sen. Barack Obama’s tax plan would raise taxes on most small businesses is truthful, when in fact only a small percentage would see any increase.
More than two in five (42.3 percent) found truth in the claim that Sen. John McCain planned to "cut more than 800 billion dollars in Medicare payments and cut benefits," even though McCain made clear he had no intent to cut benefits. The first falsehood was peddled to voters by McCain throughout his campaign, and the second was made in a pair of ads run heavily in the final weeks of the campaign by Obama.

One reason is obvious: Political ads run thousands of times and reach far more people than articles on FactCheck.org. On our best day, we were read by 462,678 visitors. By contrast, the Obama campaign aired two ads claiming that McCain planned to cut Medicare benefits a total of 17,614 times at a cost estimated to be more than $7 million – which is several times more than FactCheck.org's entire annual budget.There are deeper reasons as well. We humans all have a basic disposition to embrace our side's arguments and reject or ignore those offered by an opponent. Our polling reflects that. After taking differences in age, race, gender and education into account, Republicans were still 4.4 times more likely than Democrats to believe that Obama would raise taxes on most small businesses, and Democrats were 3.2 times more likely than Republicans to believe that McCain would cut Medicare benefits. Simply put, partisanship trumps evidence.This also helps explain why so many people accept the most preposterous claims circulated by chain e-mail messages and ignorant or irresponsible bloggers. Our poll found nearly one in five (19 percent) falsely think Obama is a Muslim, and even more (22 percent) find truth in the claim that he’s nearly half Arab. Republicans were 2.8 times more likely than Democrats to buy the Muslim claim, and just over twice as likely to swallow the half-Arab notion.This is "group think" in action. We humans tend to marry, date, befriend and talk with people who already agree with us, and hence are less likely to say, "Wait a minute – that’s just not true." Consultants also dupe us by exploiting our partisan preconceptions. People tend to believe Democrats are more likely than Republicans to raise taxes, so McCain was pushing on an open door when he repeatedly claimed Obama would raise taxes on ordinary voters, and not just the most affluent. By the same token, Obama found it easy to sell his bogus claim that McCain planned to cut Medicare benefits by 22 percent, because Republicans have a reputation as opponents of social programs.Voters aren’t highly knowledgeable about government to begin with. Our poll shows that nearly one in three (31 percent) think Congress or the president, not the Supreme Court, have the final call on whether laws are constitutional. Nearly one in 10 (9.9 percent) think Republicans still control the House of Representatives, even though they’ve had two years to catch up on results of the 2006 elections. And voters, once deceived, tend to stay that way despite all evidence. Nearly half in our poll (46 percent) agreed that Saddam Hussein played a role in the attacks of September 11, even though no solid evidence has ever emerged to support this notion. None of this bodes well for the future, in our view. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on campaigns that systematically disinform the public can only make the task of governing harder for the eventual winner. But are we discouraged that our efforts didn’t prevent this? Not at all. If we hadn’t tried, it might have been worse.

Perry Como

" What a blessed place the world would be if we had that Christmas feeling all year"

Words from a song sung by Perry Como in 1985. I don't know the author at the moment.

What does the phrase Christmas spirit mean to you?

The Bishops Wife

A must see movie for the Christmas season. Cary Grant portrays an angel sent from heaven to help the Bishop ( David Niven) regain his footing in life with his wife portrayed by Loretta Young. The message is simple, angels walk among us, we just need to be open to being aware of their presence

Give the Gift of Local History this season

Fall- Winter 2008-2009

Dear Woodstock Friend and Neighbor,

Why, might you ask yourself, would you want to own a memoir of a local family?
The Woodstock that the founding families moved to and raised generations of families in has essentially evolved into something new. Descendants of the founding families are aging, memories and recollections are fading, the essence of “old Woodstock” is at risk of being lost to the rush of modern life. Let me introduce you to my latest local history book, American Tapestry, The Mowers of Maple Lane.

The book was self published thru ANAM CARA PRESS in 2007.

Copies are available thru me at $16.00 each. 845-679-6744, lifesjourney@hvc.rr.com. They can also be purchased at Golden Notebook, Lotus Fine Art, and Readers Quarry in Woodstock as well as Book Trader in Saugerties.
I also have copes of the Arcadia Publishing Images of Woodstock and Woodstock Revisited available for purchase at 20.00 each.

The story of a Woodstock family, 100 years of property ownership, and Mower’s flea market
selected excerpts:
#1 Post Civil War era Woodstock- Saugerties area is gradually becoming a summer get away for people living in the city of New York. Local historians have done a tremendous job of portraying the exciting times during which Noah and Mary Catherine were raising their young family. The great Catskill Mountain houses were being built on the southern and eastern most ridges of the beautiful mountain range. Any local person with an entrepreneurial eye could choose from a variety of service business to set up, with the hope of earning a living as a result of this influx of people from outside the Ulster County area. Noah continues to farm and work the quarries. The family attends worship services at Christ’s Lutheran Church, located high on the rock ledge just outside the village of Woodstock, near Chestnut Hill Road. Walter and Nelly were baptized at this church. Their little daughter Rachel’s passing at one and a half years old is recorded in Christ’s Lutheran Church records. Rachel, named after her grandmother, died at home; her cause of death was listed as teething. She was laid to rest on a beautiful June day in 1881, along side her Sitzer relatives in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery.
#2 Now part of the summer season ritual, John resumes his regular habit of stopping at the Maple Lane house to check for trespassers. Any local resident driving down Deanies Alley can see that the John and Esther’s gardens are now over grown, with the flowerbeds gone to seed. A stately deep purple lilac tree stands tall in the center of the field. It serves as a reminder of the shrieks of laughter and the gentle flow of country life that was once visible on Maple lane. At the time of Al’s death, in order to retain the property and the house, insurance money had been used to purchase it from the facility where Esther Jones Mower had been in residence for twenty years. The pressure to sell the property including the empty dilapidated building was mounting, and the taxes were due.
#3 A Memorable September, 1999 Storm: Hurricane Floyd
John was away in New Jersey attending a two day accounting conference the night that Hurricane Floyd, a category 4 storm, descended on the New York metropolitan area. No one gave the storm much thought other than it might bring some welcome rain to the Hudson Valley. The first indication that something was wrong was when a phone call came in from Maple Lane neighbor, Dorothy Telson.
“Janine there was a loud swoosh and crash on the property” said Dorothy.

Signed copies are available from the author for $ 16.00 each.
845-679-6744, lifesjourney@hvc.rr.com

Mike and Mike in the Morning

Tired of listening to the reports of murder and mayhem on the drive time news? If you have a even a small interested in sports, change over to ESPN once in a while from 6 am to 9 am and watch Mike and Mike in the Morning. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=mikeandmike

The 7AM chat topic today is filthy rich ball player salaries. The NY Yankees brought C. C. Sabathia into the corral with a $40 million dollar ( annual salary) carrot. Mike Greenberg put up the stat that the average American median income is $ 50,238. C. C. will work for 1/2 an inning and earn that figure. It's no wonder that you have to mortgage the farm to go see a professional baseball game. We prefer the AA and AAA ball games, you can see them locally and there is less of the celebrity circus atmosphere. Just baseball and fun, for a quarter of the price.

Is there a comparison between a ball players salary and a GM CEO salary? Is it a situation of equitable pay for equitible work?

http://www.directorship.com/gm-ceo-comp

Do ball players manage their money better than GM?

Who else knew about this culture of bribery?

FBI Says Illinois Governor Tried to Sell Senate Seat
Blagojevich Charged With Bribery, Conspiracy
Video

Illinois Governor Arrested on Federal Charges
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on federal charges. Prosecutors have been investigating Blagojevich's administration for at least three years.
» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER

» Links to this article
By Carrie JohnsonWashington Post Staff Writer

Woodstock Fire Company Commissioner vote

With approximately 500 people voting, incumbant Jim Brunner won the right to remain a fire commissioner, besting Jim Hanson by 5 votes. 247-242.
Fire Co. # 5 Representative, Mike Lourenso succeded in beating incumbant Steve Dallow and Duncan Wilson 263-220-62 votes garnered respectively.

The quotation is from the article written by Brian Hollander in the 12-11 Woodstock Times.
"And though there was some grumbling in the room that the commissioner election process had been "politicized" this year by candidates approaching the Woodstock Democratic committee seeking endorsement (the committee eventually sponsored the non-partisan meet the candidates event) most seemed pleased with the townspeople's response. "I'm glad to see a big turnout," said Howard Shultis, lead teller for the election, as he announced the results. "This was the biggest one I ever have been to. It's really good for the community to come out and vote."++"

In my opinion, the fact that the Woodstock Democratic committee was approached to be involved is another sign of how much the social structure of Woodstock has changed. To support Howard's comments, it is very positive to have such a large number of people be involved in the democratic process of electing fire commissioners. In the past, the number of voting participants was generated by the interest within the members of the fire company and their families.
I wonder why the Chair of the Woodstock Republican committee wasn't contacted to see about Republican participation in the "non - partisian " candidates night>

Zimbabwe- Cholera and Yo Yo Ma

Cable TV is wonderful isn't it? In the comfort of our home, with our feet up on the couch, snuggled under blankets, we watched BBC America News and learned about the Cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, caused in part by the terrible leadership of Robert Mugabe. This human catastrophy is not caused by global warming or natural drought, but by human greed. The water purification process plants have been closed, leaving the citizens of the area to dig for water in
areas were the ground water is contaminated.
Just to lighten up the evening a little, we switched to OVATION! Yo Yo Ma is a blessing to the planet earth. The show followed him as he recorded music with people from all over the globe, with the theme of their music- JOY

Can we invade Zimbabwe with JOY.
http://www.yo-yoma.com/

My Irish Christmas Tree- Put Christ back in Christmas

I started the tradition of setting up a small Christmas tree in our kitchen 4 years ago, because I wanted to see bright lights in the kitchen area, not just in the living room. I decorated it with white lights and green and white ornaments, angel ornaments, and Irish ornaments, with a sampling of Italian and German decorations to round out our family genealogy.
Four years later, it is now a tradition, and a tree that I look forward to decorating. I've left it half decorated this morning, as I have to finish my AVON Christmas order and get off to work in Kingston. I'm going to try an experiment this year, I'm going to wish Christians - Merry Christmas and people who are Jewish, Happy Hanukkah. Christ belongs in Christmas a little more, I believe. Jesus is after all, the reason, for the season.

Pearl Harbor Day- do you recall where you were?

excerpted from the draft biography of my dad, John Fallon.

It was a typical winter day in Syracuse New York. The cold air and overcast sky held promise of snow for later in the evening. – Students transferring to Syracuse from other regions had to acclimate themselves to the primary color of winter, gray. The green grass along the sidewalks traveled by the students was now winter brown, a light dusting of snow, created by the moisture of Lake Ontario blanketed the campus. Onondaga Lake, whose shores were home to Syracuse manufacturing plants, was considered unswimable, her waters being terribly polluted. It was a setting in which one might find it easy to feel gloomy, even more so if you weren’t doing well in your freshman classes. Many of those students who enjoyed the long central New York winter climate would occupy their free time with skiing or other winter sports. Unless one sought out something bright, something cheerful, you might find yourself in a rather down mood most of the time.
Nineteen year old Jack found himself in just such a down mood. Maybe varying the routine would help. As part of their scholarship responsibilities, both young men worked serving and cleaning up after the “pay their own way” students in Sims Hall. When they were done working in the kitchen, washing and drying other student’s dishes and silverware, it was customary for Jack and Shimmy to sit together and eat their free meal.
It was Friday; classes were done for the weekend, so Jack’s friend,
“Shimmy” Maynard Schermerhorn, and he decided to grab a late afternoon bus downtown for dinner. Shimmy was a football guard from western New York, near Binghamton NY. A brisk walk down off the hill and dinner in a real restaurant would make the day more pleasant. Their dining destination was a Schrafts restaurant on Salina Street, eight or ten blocks east of the Syracuse University complex. "Schrafts" was the moniker for a chain of restaurants run by the Schrafts Candy Company. It wasn’t the fanciest place to dine, but it was warm and welcoming and the Jack and Shimmy had an enjoyable meal and conversations about school and football.
They provided themselves with a break from their dining hall routine and a chance to get away from the tensions of studying. Adding to their pleasure was the enjoyable dinner music that was piped in over the restaurant’s sound system. They were relaxing at the table after completing their meal, especially enjoying a musical piece played by Freddie Martin and his orchestra. It was one of Jack’s favorites. He knew the song from its Americanized title, “Tonight We Love; and could sing, in his Irish tenor voice, its English lyrics. The melody was from a classical concerto called Piano Concerto in B Flat.
Abruptly, the music stopped. Jack and Shimmy paused, wondering why the music suddenly went quiet, the song not yet at its conclusion. After some static, a man’s voice apologized for the interruption and the announcer stated that it was felt that the patrons should be told the news that Japan had attached the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor on this day, December 7, 1941.
Shimmy and Jack looked at each other in disbelief. They were both wondering how this event would affect their futures. Shimmy was already a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Corps. (R. O. T. C.) He let Jack borrow his uniform one time to dress up and clown around for a snapshot. Though it didn’t fit right the effect was fun. Jack wasn’t in R. O. T. C. but he was aware that he would be faced with making a decision about his status under the Selective Service Systems draft provisions.

Vince Gill and Amy Grant

What a beautiful concert they gave at Eisenhower Hall, West Point last evening.
2 1/2 hours of Christmas music, both traditional and Christian.
Amy had the audience stand and sing Silent Night and Oh Come all Ye Faithful.
Magnificant.
The US Military wants to know that you are on the base. Each vehicle was stopped twice,
once to show your formal id and the second time to scan the drivers license.
We recalled 20 years ago when we attended football games, there was free travel about the campus with out showing id.

Give the gift of history

This is one of my favorite family photos, Hazel Mower Riseley and her husband Maurice Riseley.

I didn't know a thing about them until I began researching the Mower family 20 years ago. Their family story has been recorded in my latest book, " American Tapestry, the Mowers of Maple Lane"

Give the gift of Woodstock History this season! email me at lifesjourney@hvc.rr.com.

A great kick off to the holiday season

We all had a wonderful time shopping Woodstock last night.
Everyone was in a joyous mood.
The ice carver infront of Chez Grandmere produced an ice
tree and an ice candle in a traditonal holder.
Frosty the snow man was wandering the streets handing out candy to the little children.
My granddaughter caught a glimpse of him taking his head off!
She had quite a puzzled look in her eyes.
I purchased an Irish Santa hat in preperation for my next favorite holiday

Traffic and Parking

At the Woodstock Library this weekend,
0:00a -1:00p ANNUAL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE
10:30a Story Hour
1:00p -3:00p TEEN Manga
5:00p LIBRARY FORUM: Traffic & Parking in Woodstock: Opportunities and Challenges. A talk by Georges Jacquemart


http://www.woodstock.org/

The Forum on Traffic and Parking sounds interesting, unfortunately, I'll be out of the area.

Yeah! it's Friday

My neighbors have started putting out their outdoor Christmas decorations. Though it is pitch black out, I can see little sparking white, green and red lights on the next street over.

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR
Friday, December 5, 2008

Your thoughts show
+++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts can feel like they are private and hidden deep
inside of you. Yet they have an influence that extends far
beyond you.

What if others could know what you were thinking? Would it
change the content of your thoughts?

In many ways, other people can and do know what you are
thinking. Because your thoughts are faithfully expressed by
the life you lead.

The Author is Ralph Marston and the rest of the essay can be found on
http://greatday.com/

A cloudy dreary day in Woodstock

Perfect for sleeping in.
Perfect for putting a few Christmas decorations around the house.
Perfect for filling a bag full of clothing items I no longer use.
Less is BETTER

Women Children and Climate change # 5

The event was opened by Doris Schapira LWVUS Observer to the UN. One of her roles is to advocate for issues of concern to the LWV, speaking with government delegations about these issues and works with the coalitians of NGO representatives on issues of mutual concern, especially the NGO Committee on UNICEF- Working group on Girls.

• I got the sense a focus of this group was human traffic-ing and the sex trade involving young girls.

The first speaker was Rachel T. Harris the campaign coordinator of the Women's Environment and Development Organization ( WEDO website) Her organization is working to promote both adaptation to and mitigation of climate change living environment changes.

• As I was listening to Rachel, my first thought was, are women the only agents of change for our planet?

1.3 Billion people in the world live in the deepest level of poverty and 70% of them are women

Developing countries, or underdeveloped countries, live in a fragile balance and as climate change effects crop failure, fuel shortages ( wood gathering) clean water, disease spread, displacement and civil war as a result of unrest- women and children live - or survive- in conditions that result in the changes brought about.

• What was missing in her remarks was Where are the men and boys?

The second speaker was Maaike Jansen the United Nations Environment (UNEP) Programme officer

Maaike spoke of the need to put women's voices back into the solution equation. She spoke with frustration about the progress of the Kyoto protocol and the USA lack of participation.

• Those of us who live in a developed country are very isolated from the disease spread that occurs as a result of heavy rains and flooding to areas not accustomed to such weather.
• The young, the elderly and the infirm are subject to dengue fever, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition- all which can cause death.
• www.un.org/climatechange
• http://www.unfccc.int/

Africa is the hardest hit of developing countries and contributes to the global warming climate change problem the least.

• Missing in this discussion was: the role played by each countries government in helping to solve the health problems.

The last speaker was Michele Ferenz the United Nations Children's Fund Senior Consultant

Michele was advocating for a human rights based approach to the problem helping children in the climate change agenda arena. Her organization is working to inform and educate the developed countries about how climate change amplifies the current problems.

• I agree, each human being has the right to food, shelter and safety. What is missing in the conversation again is what role each country's political leaders play in making their home country's situation better or worse.

3.5 million deaths last year due to malnutrition and 1/3 of those deaths were children under 5 years old. Those of us who have little children or grandchildren, just imagine what its like to watch a loved one starve to death.

As the other speakers mentioned, vector borne disease is increasing, for example

Malaria in sub saharan Africa, 2000 deaths a day, children under the age of 5.

All groups have linked climate change to increase in behaviors such as child abuse and human trafficing.

A statistic was given that more that half the worlds children live in areas of Urban poverty in 2008. This lead the group to speak to the devastation by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the number of people who were living in poverty before the disaster and who now live in worse conditions.

We left the conference and as we drove back to Ulster county- thru the streets of one of the most important cities in the world, New York city, I was struck by how vulnerable we all are.

Many Americans are living one pay check away from financial disaster.

In order to not feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems we face as humans on this wonderful planet, I seek out a small local problem and do my best to help it come to a resolution. I'm sure that there are many others out there that do the same.

Historical Society Display and Holiday Sale

Plan your weekend shopping around this wonderful first time event.

http://www.woodstockhistory.org/

Holiday Exhibit and Sale
Join us at our newly renovated building decorated for the holiday season. There will be an exhibit of Christmas cards from the Historical Society Archives as well as baked treats, ornaments, and books for sale.
Saturday, Dec 6 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Eames House, 20 Comeau Drive.

Women- Climate Change # 4

Organizatons that sponsored the UN Briefing on the Impact of Global warming on Women and Children around the world.

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

http://www.aauw.org/

http://www.zonta.org/site/PageServer

http://www.lwv.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

http://www.weact.org/
http://www.gfwc.org/
http://www.lwvny.org/
http://www.un.org/
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.unicef.org/
http://www.wedo.org/

Women- Children and Climate Change # 3

We are picked up by Garnette at 9Th Ave and zip over to the UN. There is a very convenient parking garage across the street. With the car safely stowed, we walk over to the visitor enterance of the UN and proceed through the security screeners. When we pick up our security badges at the conference table, we spend a little time walking around the public gallery.

• World Poverty
• Climate Change

The buffet lunch in the Ambassador Dining Room was magnificent. We sat at tables along the outer edge of the dining area with a view across the river of the 59th street bridge and Queens.

When I received the invitation to pay $ 40.00 for my lunch, there was a note that the Dining Room had a dress code. NO JEANS. No PROBLEM. There were visitors from all over the planet in the dining room. As many ethnic populations that you can imagine there are inhabiting planet earth, a representative was dining at the UN, properly attired, on food fit for kings and queens.

I paused for a moment as I started to eat the slice of red velvet cake, and had an image in my mind of the picture in the public gallery of little Palestinian children playing in their refugee camps.

• I had a visitation from my dear departed mom, Winnie. I heard her voice, put down that damn fancy silverware and march right out of here. This opulence will never be seen by women and children in third world emerging countries! I chuckled at the thought, sent her blessings and stayed put.
• It's ironic. It takes people of financial means to help people who don't have the financial means.

Women Children and Climate Change # 2

We entered into Manhattan via the Lincoln
Tunnel, and I was reminded about all the traffic one encounters during the morning rush hour. Climate Change, as the UN Briefing would remind us later, is brought about in part by an increase in greenhouse gases. (human causes vs natural causes ) Vehicle emissions are a large contributor to the increase in carbon in the atmosphere.
( someone correct me if I got this wrong)
My mind drifted for a moment as we entered the tunnel

• I'm on public transportation.
• I caught the 7 AM bus that arrives at Port Authority at 9 35AM
• I still haven't gotten to my destination- the UN
• The United States and China are said to be the biggest contributors to carbon emmissions
• How are we going to change the habit in the United States of people using their private cars for transportation to work?
• Whose going to tackle the Chinese government and convice them they need to stop using outdated industrial manufacturing methods that contribute to air pollution and water pollution?
• Where is the DAVID that is going to take on GOLIATH

Women, Children and Climate Change

Where do I start?

• The trip on the Trailways bus- public transportation- convenient, $ 25.00 one way.
• The conversation on the way down with Irene Miller, AAUW member and passionate worker for NYS Clean Money Clean Elections was stimulating. The general idea of clean money clean elections- public funds raised by NYS through fees or taxes would be earmarked for candidate election expenses, thus bypassing the donations made by weathy individuals and corporations who may then expect favors from the elected official. The NYS legislature is not fully on board with the idea yet, and the push back is, according to Irene, incumbants don't want to let go of their special interest money.
• I like the idea for the following reason. Clean money would be available for independant individuals who wanted to run for office. New people with fresh ideas in our democratic style of government, a sure way to bring CHANGE.

UN visit with the AAUW

I'm very excited. Today will be my first visit to the United Nations. I will be attending a conference at the UN with other American Association of University Women about Global
Warming and its effects on women and children around the world.

We had cloudy skies inWoodstock last night, I missed the conjunction of the moon, Jupiter and Venus.

New York Times Article - the power of the Clintons

New York times article quote- Nov 29, 2008 written by Peter Baker http://www.nytimes.com/

"The former president’s web of business and charitable activities raised questions about how he could continue to travel the world soliciting multimillion-dollar contributions for his foundation and collecting six-figure speaking fees for himself from foreign organizations and individuals while his wife conducted American foreign policy."

"Mr. Clinton has never revealed his contributors, but among those whose identities have become known over the years are the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar and a tycoon who is the son-in-law of Ukraine’s former authoritarian president."
"For his speeches, Mr. Clinton could command as much as $425,000 for one hour, often paid by foreign companies or individuals who might have an interest in American foreign policy. He gave at least 54 such speeches last year for a total of $10.1 million. Even as his wife was first approached by Mr. Obama about the State Department job this month, the former president was heading to Kuwait to speak at an economic symposium sponsored by the National Bank of Kuwait."


I do consider myself something of a student of human nature.
The press indicates that Hilliary Clinton will be annouced today as the Secretary of State for the Obama administration.
The article lays out the background work that was done to insure that her hubby, the former President, Bill Clinton, provided transparency with regard to one of the foundations that he created, to help solve many of the worlds problems. Obama's lawyers and Clinton's lawyers worked to make sure that the names of over 200 contributors was made public.
I find it hard to imagine that Bill and Hilliary Clinton will be viewed by the world as
seperate entities. I was hoping for CHANGE, moving away from participation by the Clinton family and the Bush family in our national government.

My Favorite Woodstock Event

http://www.woodstockchamber.com/

This Friday, Deceber 5th is the annual Woodstock Holiday Open House. All the shops are decorated with bright shining lights. The display windows are part of a decorating contest and the visitors get to judge which shop window has the greatest appeal. All the shop keepers and their staff are in a joyous mood, welcoming hundreds of people thru their stores from 5-9 PM This is the one event that many locals come outto and visit their home town shopping center.

Perhaps I'll see you there!