New Year's Resolution

Lots of people make lots of New Year's resolutions, but I'm limiting mine to one. This planet we all share is going to be a much tougher place to live on, if not for us, for the generations to come, if we ALL don't band together to slow, halt, and reverse GLOBAL WARMING. If all of us make only one New Year's resolution, it should be this:

I resolve to do my part to learn, practice, and teach ways to reduce global warming.

Ten years ago, despite most of us doing nothing, we reversed reduction of the o-zone layer. This time, if most of us do something, we CAN reverse global warming.

What say you?

Some Christmas Thoughts

Not my thoughts, but some actually make sense.

Hints for Having a Healthy, Happy Holiday Season

Do not take responsibility for everyone else’s holiday happiness! Delegate or divide the work among those with whom you will be sharing the holidays. Don’t rescue, if someone fails to carry out their part, let them find their own solutions and let them deal with the consequences. Don’t take on the responsibility for other people’s attitudes.

Do not reinforce whining behavior by paying attention to it. Don’t let someone else’s stress become your stress.

View any task you take on as a choice you have made. Attitude makes a difference. “I choose to…” rather than “I have to…”

Work at staying in the moment. Don’t worry about tomorrow’s tasks today. Give positive attention to the tasks before you at the moment.

Eliminate a sense of competition. The holidays are not a contest.

Do not be seduced by your own or other’s traditions. Do a “traditions inventory” to see if they are still valid, fit the need and are enjoyable. Be willing to release out-of-date traditions and build new ones. Don’t impose your traditions on others or allow their traditions to be imposed on you.

Give yourself gifts. Nurture yourself. Be a little selfish.

Do things with your family and friends that you can all enjoy. Don’t pretend to be enthusiastic. Look for alternative activities that everyone will enjoy.

Refuse to be lonely, even if you are alone. You can choose what you think and experience. Again, nurture yourself. Remember that doing is an antidote for depression. Look for those places that need you – hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, jails, etc.

Do not overspend. Avoid setting yourself up for “future stress” when the bills come in. Use your imagination to come up with meaningful gifts that say, “I’m thinking of YOU and who YOU are.” Remember love does not come with a price tag or designer label.

Get rid of all the things you dislike about the holidays. Choose your activities and the manner in which you celebrate. Give yourself permission to eliminate things that are a burden or a bother (even Christmas trees, sending cards and family dinners).

Avoid self-defeating habits. You know those things that are harmful to your health and well-being. Do not overeat. Do not drink too much. Get enough rest.

Give yourself time to remember and celebrate the true meaning of the holidays. Read familiar stories. Listen to music. Participate in holiday services if that is appropriate for you.

Take time to remember what is important

List three essential things that will make your holiday season a special experience and concentrate your energy on them.

Do what you enjoy, avoid the tyranny of “should.”

Take care of you
Eat and drink wisely.
Exercise regularly.
Make time to relax.
Get a massage or take a hot bath.

Simplify your celebration
Establish realistic time and money budgets and stick to them.
Scale your gift-giving so it is in line with your resources, values and beliefs.
If you are having a party in your home, consider hiring a maid for the pre-and post-party clean-up.
Do not put unreasonable pressure on yourself to do everything perfectly.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, share responsibility for making the holiday season happen. Ask for help.
Remain tuned to your emotions
Spend some time alone and make time for meditation or relaxation.
Extend love and joy to others – and be open to receiving as well.
Try to judge yourself and others less.
Let things happen rather than make them happen. Remain flexible.
Know that there will be delays, frustrations and disappointments.
Use waiting time to relax and revitalize yourself.
Share any feelings of sadness and discuss how to make the holiday season less painful.
Laugh more.

Help others
Look for ways to give of yourself this season.
Get involved in charitable community programs.
Involve someone else in your holiday celebrations.

White Christmas

Not exactly snow covered hills and trees, but what was left over after shoveling the snowfall two days ago.

Got Gas?

This is the question of the day in Washington. As many business without power include gas stations, those with power have no gas. Also, the grocery stores are both doing a booming business and running out of groceries. Some guy selling gas from his home east of Seattle was getting $15 a gallon.

I've been tagged?

Something I found snooping on someone else's blog. Gail listed me.

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Digging Ditches
2. Fixing Computers
3. Cleaning out dead cats under houses
4. Financial Manager in state government

Four Places I’ve lived:

1. Seattle, WA
2. San Diego, CA
3. Kita-Kamakura Japan
4. Allyn, WA

Four favorite foods

1. Major Food Groups: chocolate, peanut butter, maple (as in bars and syrup)
2. Bird (turkey, chicken)
3. Cow (steak, roast, hamburger)
4. Pasta (pizza, lasagna, noodles)

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. Lord of the Rings (all of them)
2. Star Wars (most of them)
3. Love Actually (sap for romance)
4. Anything romantic with Keira Knightly, Meg Ryan, Kate Hudson, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts (pathatic)

Four TV shows I enjoy:

1. Pro Football
2. Survivor
3. American Idol
4. Anything romantic with Keira Knightly, Meg Ryan, Kate Hudson, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts (yeah, whatever)

Four places I’ve traveled:

1. Red Sea
2. Singapore
3. Bath, NH
4. Sedona, AZ

Four places I’d like to visit:

1. Tuscany
2. Anywhere around Tuscany
3. Anywhere on the way to Tuscany
4. Civil War sites (like Gettysburg)

Four websites I go to (almost) daily:

1. Football (Footballguys, Huddle, Yahoo Sports, NFL)
2. Blogs (Gail - that's an oops, Randy, Brooke, and sometimes mine)
3. Google (I Google everything and everyone) not a web site?
4. Dictionary (so I can't spell)

There.
To pass this on (if anyone even shows up here):

Briscoe - http://www.blogger.com/profile/7175812 (whatever?)
Randy - http://beta.blogger.com/profile/01472972660086103611 (wow)
Brooke - http://www.blogger.com/profile/6947424
IJ - http://www.blogger.com/profile/7117727

The only other blog responders with addresses still showing. Not that half even blog and I don't know how to copy and paste like Gail does.

Washington State in Crisis

We had a double dose of wind storms this week. The baby storm on Tuesday night knocked out power, but the flooding was worse. The daddy storm on Thursday night did to Washington what SF did to the Seahawks. One person drowned from the rain when her basement flooded and she couldn't get out. A dozen more were killed by falling trees.

I have six tall evergreens in my back yard. I do not know how they managed to stay up through some of the gusts, but they and my fence survived vertical. Driving required numerous maneuvers around fallen trees, the most I've seen since the 1993 storm.

Much of Washington is without power still. Drove to and from work though totally dark streets, including traffic lights. No power anywhere. Buildings loomed like a post-disaster sentinels in the darkness. Only car lights broke the gloom, with strobes of light bouncing shadows against the walls. A small portion of downtown Shelton had power and stood out like a beacon of hope. The single gas station and pizza place had lineups onto the street.

My state office building in Olympia strangely had power, but the street in front of it did not. People were very gracious going home in a five lane to two merge, even giving the right side traffic the opportunity to turn left. Very slow going.

I live in a community with underground power direct from a substation. So, 20 seconds of lost power for switching was the sum of the storm. Many of my co-workers are facing up to Christmas without power and came to work to get warm. A fitness club with power had a sudden boom in membership, not for the exercise equipment, but for the showers.

The pattern continues. The snow storm that hit last month is expected to come back tonight. We just aren't having any fun this winter, which officially hasn't even started yet.

Jerame Lynn Pelkey

I woke up at 4:36 this morning to let the cat out. The cat is trapped upstairs by the herd of Pomeranians on the other side of the doggy gate downstairs. So, I have to let her out the front door and let her in from the deck door to the second floor when she climbs the support beam. Poor cat. As I plopped back in bed, I hoped she would stay out until the alarm went off at 5:30. Back to sleep.


I found myself sitting on the living room couch and admiring the newly decorated tree with my family, the kids at home for Christmas, when someone settled down on the floor next to me and hugged my knees. "Hi, Daddy," she said.

"Daddy?" I don't have a daughter, although I have almost a daughter-in-law.

She appeared to be a young girl, well a teenager, probably old enough to drive, and she smiled up at me with some expectation.

"I'm Jerame Lynn Pelkey, spelled J-E-R-A-M-E, your fault for the spelling, and I'm your daughter. Better than Coquette Cheri." She shivered at the thought. "I arrived April 1, 1989, also your fault, and am 17. I'm 5'6", and weigh 125 pounds on a good day."

I tried to figure her out. She seemed to look the right age, and correctly proportioned for 17, actually quite cute, and in good shape. "Do you like that height?" I asked.

"Sure, too tall for the short guys, and tall enough for the tall guys."

I studied her some more, which didn't seem to bother her. She actually spun around to make certain I didn't miss anything, and rehugged my knees. For someone I had never met before, she didn't have a space issue. She wore layered tees and jeans that might have given her an inch of coverage in the back, as long as she didn't gain another pound.

"OK, I'm not as cute as Briscoe, and not as smart as Erin, but close enough. I passed the WASSL and got 1500 on my SATs, have a 3.8 GPA, and play basketball, twice this week."

"You have breasts," I said, rather dumb on my part.

"Duh, Daddy, and very nice ones, too, thank you." She closed one eye and squinted at me with the other. "You aren't still sore at Michael Fletcher, are you?"

"Who?" I couldn't place him, although the memories were tumbling back, sort of. Very fuzzy. I remembered someone named Mike in her life, but not why.

"Mike, the guy you caught trying to feel me up in seventh grade. My fault, he didn't want to, not in your house anyway. I double-dared him."

"Why?"

"Cause I wanted him to know I had a bra. Girl thing, OK. Get over it, Daddy."

I seemed to remember him now. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Cause you are such a prude. Some days I'm amazed I even exist. Mike's glad, though. He says you did good."

"Mike is current?"

"Double duh. Daddy, I like Mike, lots. So do you. He's coming over in a few to pick me up. We're going to shoot some hoops. We aren't doing anything else, Daddy, honest. I'm taking care of myself. Well, kissing, maybe. But not making out kissing."

"Jerame, you don't have to tell me."

"I know, but I want to. I want you to know I'm doing OK, not lonely or bored. I'm gonna have a good future, with or without Mike. I know where I'm going. You helped me, Daddy, by letting me live here for a minute."

"A minute?"

"OK, for almost an hour. Here." She touched my heart. "You let me live here. But, before I go, I need something."

Jerame tugged me off the couch and crushed herself against me. I hugged her back for a minute, then started to let go. "Stay, Daddy, stay. Please. Till you go back to sleep. Hold me."

I held her, my little girl soon to be gone. And we drifted together into sleep.


The cat banging on the deck door woke me up. 5:23 now. 47 minutes. The cat gave me 47 minutes to meet a girl, my girl, who never really existed.

Who was she? Although a dream, she seemed so real, as if I were meeting someone who might have happened, with detailed features, conversation, and a personality uniquely hers. Someone.

I’m writing down what I remember of the dream, mostly because of the very last thing she said before we drifted off.

“Promise you won’t forget me?” she asked, whispering in my ear.

“How?” I must have known it was a dream, or I wouldn’t have asked.

“Blog me, Daddy.”

So, Jerame, my little girl, wherever you are. Consider yourself blogged and not forgotten. Take care.