An Open Letter To My Family and Friends

     My daughter-in-law, Ann, is in the real estate business, so it was only natural that she became upset when she received an e-mail saying the Obama Health Care Plan contains a section saying that people selling their homes will have to pay an additional 3.8% real estate SALES tax. One quick click onto www.snopes.com showed that this tax will only be applied to certain wealthy people who sell their homes for at least $500,000, and then there are qualifications that this is connected to investments. Very complicated but definitely not applicable to ordinary middle-class sellers and in keeping with Obama's campaign speeches.

     I noticed that she had sent this real-estate email to her children as well as her husband. These are my grandchildren and since I live 4 hours away and don't get to see them too often, I decided they need to know my simple philosophy of my relationship to my country's politics as I'm sure they're bombarded with Internet messages of all kinds. I want them to know what I have learned through my 76+ years.

     Now I've decided I will let all my friends know where I stand. I am no economist and no public policy expert let alone a politician, so this is pretty simple advice.

Dear Ann, Jessica, and Christopher, Don't believe everything you read sent by a political party. Go to a website that is objective. I use www.snopes.com and www.fact.com

This thing about a 3.8% real estate tax is covered very well on snopes.com. If you're interested, read it. 

If you are watching Fox commentaries on tv, switch once in awhile and watch MSNBC. If you're watching MSNBC, switch once in awhile and watch FOX. Then watch CNN; personally I find them the most objective of the 3 channels. 

Politics can be fascinating, but in my 77 years, the ones BEHIND the one running for a political office are often very dishonest and will do anything to WIN. The playing of the game is what is important to them because they are trying to outwit the competition, and they lose sight of consequences. When you live in a democracy, you've got to be watchful, compassionate, and educated and then keep yourselves that way as you age. (I say "compassionate" because Jesus taught us to watch out for our brother, and his teachings have made up my personal ethics.)

The reason many politicians get so far is because they are charismatic. They may have speechwriters who are literally putting words in their mouths, then they make fantastic promises, and uneducated people respond just like they would to a celebrity. The common man (some educated, some ignoramuses) casts his vote and then has to abide by whatever becomes the law.

What it comes down to is that as long as we live in a representative government, someone has to take money from us (taxes) to build roads, schools, bridges, National Parks, the mail service, the Treasury jobs, dams, reservoirs, utilities, communication systems, etc. It seems like the Preamble to the Constitution which says make laws "for the general good of the people" causes most of the arguments. Is the Health Care Plan for the general good of the people? Is an educational system for the general good of the people? Are National Parks for the general good of the people? Is the Post Office for the general good of the people? Is an agency dedicated to helping people during and after a national disaster for the general good of the people? If the national disaster is in New Orleans, is it? If it's in North Dakota, is it? Is providing money to support college education for the general good of the people? Is providing money to support music programs for the general good of the people? Research for a cure for cancer? Alzheimers? Money for Dance programs? Sports? Olympics? Theater? Paintings? Storytelling? 

The way you answer these questions places you on that continuum between Conservatism and Socialism--the right wing and the left wing, neither of them are all good or all evil.  Conservatives want a minimum of government services, with a minimum amount of federal aid. They want the states to provide more and pay for it (which means American people may get some services in Virginia and very few services in Indiana). The Socialists want government to provide a lot of services and have departments to be in charge of them so there is uniformity across the country, but it creates a huge bureaucracy. (Bureaucracy means, however, lots of jobs for data processors, computer technicians,office managers, accountants, lawyers, window washers, teachers, mining administrators, Park rangers, pollution experts, water control experts, social workers, and foresters, as examples.

A helpful thing you can do for yourself is to figure out just what you believe. Do not copy whatever someone else thinks. Each one of us fits on the continuum in a different place and we all have a right to our own beliefs. No one is all good, and no one is all evil. Figure out what your ethics are (do you ascribe to courage, honesty, loyalty, abiding by the law, citizenship, friendship, trustworthiness etc.) Who or what do you value? Family? Children? Teenagers? The Elderly? Neighbors? Music? Education? The Handicapped? Sports? Nerds? Clubs? Community Service? Who or what are you willing to care for and nurture?

Well, your email about the real estate tax set all these thoughts off in me and I felt a need to share them with you. The United States of America needs thoughtful, educated, and compassionate citizens. Then our country, no matter whether it goes left or right, will be on the right track. 

So remember, this advice and philosophy is coming from a woman who has been married three times, has given birth to three unique children, has lived 70 years with a physical handicap, grew up in a working class family, put herself through college after she had started a family, who was born during the Great Depression and lived through World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Space Race, the Viet-Nam War, Desert Storm, the Iraqi War, and now the Afghan War, who got a graduate degree, became a clinical social worker in the mental health field, ran her own business, is personable, makes friends easily, loves her family of origin and her adopted family, tells good stories, and has taken care of innumerable cats and dogs throughout the years.  I think I ought to know something, even though I am left of center on the continuum. Love, Mim

     

A Tribute To CHD

     CHD are the initials for my Dad's name, Carl Henry Diederich. He was born on January 17, 1896 which would have been 115 years ago. My Dad died in 1982 at the age of almost 87.


     CHD, as he liked to sign his name, lived all his life in Garrett, Indiana--except for his first nine years. He was born in Mellonhagen, Germany in the Province of Mecklenburg. This Province is the farthest north and the farthest east of modern day Germany, right next to Poland. Its northern border is the Baltic Sea. When CHD was 9 years old in 1905 he came with his parents, three brothers and two sisters to America. Older relatives had already come and were leading financially rewarding lives working for the B&O Railroad in Indiana.


     Here is the earliest picture I have of my Dad. It is of his school in Mellonhagen dated 1902. He is in the light suit in middle of the the first row 3rd from the right and left. (I note the boy with the dog and wondered about why old world school masters are purported to be stern.)

     This next picture is of CHD on his confirmation day; he is a young teenager. Shortly after that, his father showed up at school and made him quit (age 14) to go to work in the railroad shops. This is where they repaired the railroad engines and passenger cars among other things. He worked there until in his early 20's when he took the exams to become one of the train crews. In 1917 he met my mother, Rosa. They married and started a family, two sons (one died shortly after birth) and three daughters; I am the youngest. Here's a picture of Rosa and Carl shortly before they were married in 1917.

     I loved my Dad. I thought he was as handsome as any movie star. Especially when he was in his conductor uniform or dressed up in his overcoat, Fedora on his head, and smoking a fat cigar. Favorite outings were with him and my mother going to the movies, then stopping at the ice cream shop afterwards. Or riding with them on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the DeKalb County Fair. He won a big stuffed Lassie collie for me playing Bingo at the fair. He sang "Oh Tannenbaum" every Christmas and dressed up as Santa. I remember some of the stories he told of his memories of Germany and have told them publicly. Here's my favorite picture of the two of us together; I'm somewhere between 1 and 2 and he's in his Conductor's uniform.

      
     I'm happy to say that life circumstances allowed me to be geographically close to my Dad the last two years of his life. He volunteered to move to a Seniors home and to our great surprise truly enjoyed it. He sang in their choir, befriended a young mentally challenged resident, was a substitute grandfather to a visiting lad from the local school,  produced a resident's newsletter, and flirted with the female staff. Here's a photo of him in his 80's.

     My one regret about my Dad is that I haven't been able to say "Happy Birthday" more than 87 times. Happy Birthday, Dad, wherever you are.

And That's The Week That Was Jan.2-9

     There's only one word to describe this past week and that's S N O W ! The week started out with snow; that melted, and then it snowed again the middle of the week. The skies stayed overcast but the sun came out Sunday and the icicles began to drip. When the snow slides off my roof, it startles me because it crashes to the ground with a  loud rumble. On our trips to Alaska, I learned that's called "calving" when the glaciers do break off over a cliff.


     In spite of the melting today, I've still got about 3 inches standing on my deck rails.
And they are predicting more before morning and through Monday, but I'm up late (it's actually Monday morning now) and it hasn't started snowing yet. 

     So, I have stayed indoors all week except for two ventures out. One was to the drugstore to pick up a prescription and the other one was to attend and participate in the Beaver Creek Storytellers "Old Christmas" program. I told the story of "Silent Night" and also a brief history of how Old Christmas came to be an Appalachian tradition. Details about this program can be found on the Beaver Creek Storytellers Blog at http://beavercreekstorytellers.blogspot.com


     I promised myself that I would go outside on weather-friendly days and at least walk, so on Tuesday I went out and shoveled off the family room deck. Not much snow on Tuesday to shovel but plenty of dog piles since my spoiled pets don't like to get their feet cold in the snow so they use wherever they are for a bathroom. That's usually a few feet away from the door. I have no photos of that.


     So the highlight of my week other than the Old Christmas event was making chili. I've not made it much in the past because Rocky didn't care for it. But the cold air made me hungry for it, and it tasted so good I've got only one serving left.


    I don't mind the quiet and the computer keeps me from being mentally inactive and my pets keep me from being physically inactive, but I do hope this coming week is a bit more interesting.  


     

For Auld Lang Syne 2010

The 2010 Report

     This is a picture of my sons, Eric on the left and Alan on the right, with me in front of a beautiful Christmas tree in the elegant lobby of the Ritz-Carleton Hotel in Philadelphia. It is one of the last photos I took in 2010. I took a lot in Philly, but I'm sorry to report that I accidentally deleted all but two of them; this is one.


     I have to admit that I am borrowing an idea from my Facebook Friend's blog written by Miriam Nadel reporting on her achievements and progress towards goals in 2010. Well, I didn't set any goals for 2010 so I can't report on their progress or completion, but I can report on some of the categories that Miriam included.


     The most life-changing event I experienced during 2010, of course, was the death of my husband, Rocky. It meant that I had to learn how to live alone and make many decisions about my life that I had always shared with Rocky before.
I am still undergoing that process and will discuss it more when I talk about my goals for 2011.


     I read 16 books during the year, enjoying The Help most in the fiction category. Of the non-fiction my favorite was Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. I also read a newspaper The New York Review Of Books which I receive every two weeks. You can see the titles of all the books in the side bar of this Blog.


     I also love movies and have watched so many Turner Classic Movies this year that I lost count. So the movies listed in the side bar are not entirely accurate, but by that count I watched 25 movies, 3 of them in theaters. The three were Inception, Reds, and For Colored Girls Who Consider Suicide When Rainbows Are Not Enough, the latter being the most powerful and therefore my favorite.


     I also took the opportunity to see some plays at the Barter Theatre, Blue-Sky Boys, Violet, and The Full Monty. 


     I cut back on storytelling activities this past year, although I did perform four times. One was a children's event at Pumpkin Palooza on Halloween, and at a Sat. night telling at the SW VA Highlands Community College, Graveyard Tales, and Tellabration, the latter three produced by the Beaver Creek Storytellers which I no longer direct. I did do some publicity for that organization, however.


     I attended some storytelling events in which I was a listener, two private parties, one on Summer Solstice eve at Pam Miller's home in Jonesborough, and one honoring Elizabeth Ellis at Linda Poland's home in Tennessee. I was happy to see and hear my old friend, Gay Ducey, at the International Storytelling Center and later in the year attended the Skating On Thin Ice program at the ISC by Kim Weitkamp, Bil Lepp, and Andy Offut Irwin.


     I took five trips during 2010. Two were to Lynchburg, VA which is only 4 hours away. The others were to Indianapolis, Indiana; Taos, New Mexico; and Philadelphia. 


     Now for my goals for 2011. My head is stirring with probabilities, especially about living arrangements for the future. Although I haven't made up my mind when and where, I know a move is coming up. So clearing up projects that are already started should get priority.

• Finish collecting all of Rocky's memorabilia and biographical information together and preserving it in some fashion.
• Finish Rocky's book on humor and find a publisher.
• Get clearance from Barter Theatre's Board of Directors and proceed to publish Rocky's book, Jenny Of The Barter.
• Clean out garden house and give items away to friends and relatives.
• Speak to a real estate agent about selling Castle Yonder; make decision.
• Continue to participate with the Beaver Creek Storytellers.
• Invite friends to lunch or dinner at least 4 times during year.
• Produce a workshop on drumming.
• Exercise by walking outside every weather-friendly day.
• Finish the crocheted blanket for Stella.
• Read 20 books.
• Attend the Virginia Gathering in March.
• Complete the truck title red tape. 
• Write my Blog at least once a week; keep the BCS blog and website up to date; 

     Well, I think that will keep me busy enough for the year.  I'll report exactly one year from now. Happy New Year, All