Ah, a funny thing about this fear so many are talking about, I’m not afraid to work, just that I can’t find the job. Period.
 I’ve re-invented myself many times over. Age 12, forced to take part in a debate, best thing to happen to a "don’t notice me kid." Age 14, began writing poetry, poorly, but kept it up. Age 21, became a mom, never so sure of any "career" or what & how to do things in my life. (Kept writing & drawing.) Age 35, decided to get back into my lifelong passion, Art / Painting. Age 40, Wham! I entered college. (Mom was right, "Life begins at 40.") I was scared I’d blow it, being dyslexic, but exhilarated. The biggest risk in my life was to go for a degree in Art Education! Age 50, I got my BA and a job, as a sub. And yes, Liz, teaching kids I learned much from them and loved every minute (even the pesky ones). I kept hoping the district would need another Art teacher, even part time … no such luck. Three years ago, I was let go.
 So, I understand where you’re coming from, Chris. "Where to from here? That is the million dollar question…" You love what you do, but it’s taken from you. You send out resume’s anywhere, go to an interview, feel great, but nada. Numerous dead ends, and you get into a rut. I stopped doing my art, the only thing that kept me sane. I have a lot of interests, and put all  aside, for lack of $. I have a ton of things I can do, but no "papers" to prove them to an employer.
 What Candice said helps some, go out & do something, keep busy. So, I volunteer at a food pantry. But now I NEED a job, as my husband took a less stress / less pay job and this economic free fall has cost him the COLA he was supposed to get this year. We’re borrowing from our meager savings we have to make ends meet (& we DON’T shop, charge, or spend much!) So, I joined wOw Virtual Interns. But I wonder, how is that going to help me find something, just using facebook & LinkedIn? I know it’s just begun, but if I’m spending so much time on the net, how can I find that job suitable for me, or how do I get anything else done? Yes, that’s the scary part for me, having to rely on the web for work.
 I don’t like being this negative, but with so many people out there, with so many gifts & talents (& the advantage of "youth"), and so few jobs available, what’s a "golden girl" to do?

Well, Dr M K ” Nothing beats emotional and physical intimacy of a sexually alluring kindred soul out your own generation and cultural background who is financially independent, well educated with a generous and kind heart.” Spoken like a truly immature male specimen! Like it’s been said before & after here, men are afraid of women who “know what THEY want out of life”, and are too smart not to fall into the “I need a man to survive” trap! Women over 50 are secure in themselves, have a life store of knowledge and direction, and dare to speak up for what they want & believe in. These days, women over 50 are savvy and sassy. The average man doesn’t like either, he’d rather go for the pampering one and if she’s a cutie all the better! He doesn’t want his Mother, but a woman like he thinks his grandmom was, docile, coddling, and thinking of him alone! Too many men think with their zipper down!

Great story J J, I was lucky, had a bunch of fabulous teachers, most of them Sisters - Charity & Mercy Nuns, intermingled with a few “laity” ones. The one who “woke me up to life” was young Sister Marie Peter, Sr of Charity, grade 6. I was left back in her class, today I’d be classified as Dyslexic (which I was in college - still can’t spell without spell check!) In the first place, she welcomed all 7 of us “second timers,” encouraging us and loving us through the “trauma” of it all. She had us do a lot of poetry, and reading a multitude of books outside the class - not for the boring book reports either! She had us do debates, rather than the doldrums of spelling bees, and other stuff, more fun, more creative. Looking back, twice I may have caused her to think I needed Psychological help! First, we had to memorize (gag!) a poem, more than 8 lines long. I couldn’t memorize to save my life! Fortunately, visiting over the summer, my Aunt read a poem to me that I fell in love with. The poem? Annabel Lee, Edgar Allen Poe. Before Sr M P got to us to memorize a poem, I could recite Annabel Lee in my sleep. Then came Art classes - no artist she, that I know of. We had to draw a tree. While everyone drew their green circles and brown stick trunks, some with apples, or the triangular pine trees, I drew a barren, leafless trunk and branches in a grey sky. Sr Marie Peter’s reaction? She LoVeD the poem I choose (way more than 8 lines) AND the way I recited it - with feeling, just like my Aunt had read it to me. With the tree, she leaned over me, gently asked why I drew it like that. Says I, “Because that’s the one I see out the window.” She looked outside, smiled, and praised me for being so “Observant.” What a neat compliment to me (who often felt like the school dummy!) Her favorite phrase to us was that we should be aware of all around us. “Observe, observe, observe” was her mantra. It couldn’t get better than that! But, lucky for me, it did. I had begun my trek out of childhood, to find MY way into the world from Sr. M P. Thanks to her & others like her, I just choose to forget those few grumpy, raspy old - before their time - codgers who thought children were meant to stand there & spout back their “wisdoms”!

Love all your GF’s quotes, L G, esp. - “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” Something the present administration has NOT done! So, thanks for sharing all those, not the typical ones you see often … & all are thought provoking! My family’s indebted to FDR, my uncle was part of the WPA Artist’s in NYC and my Dad worked for Laguardia on his public works building in NYC, right after College. My Mom actually worked for an “Odd Lot” firm, her first job, on Broad St. from June ‘29 to Mar. ‘31! (the latter was after the crash, when she & others began cleaning up the mess!) She talked about what that was like, which I taped & transcribed. Scary! My family always talked about how FDR gave hope to all, giving folks work to improve their lives, and those all around the country, which inevitably helped Americans feel connected to each other & the cause. What’s happening now, does not surprise me. Back in the 1980s, my Mom said we were headed for a crash (same policies Coolidge put in). But THIS time, it’s more complex than then, fewer regulations, more “inventive” financial tactics, like Wall Street financing the Mortgage debacle! IF FDR was here now, he might just make the boneheads who created the crisis bail themselves out, with their excessive CEO bonuses & “retirement” (after only a few years) pay & options! FDR spoke to the people, not down to them. He knew that in a crisis, you don’t “Go shopping” (i.e. Bush after Sept 11), but you pull together, pool all your resources, dig in, knuckle down, find solutions, and act with all you can muster. He realized putting people to work to help others have a better way of life was how to get all back on the track, and create a “greater” community.

Since when have we become obsessed with things like “anti-bacterial soap”? To me, it’s a just a ploy by the makers of such things, so we’ll spend our money on their junque! My grandmother used to say something like, “A child grows healthy by eating a peck of dirt in their lifetime.” It’s not the same, but it’s close enough. Don’t think it was literal, just an expression folks. Kids aren’t as healthy as we once were, because they are coddled too much. Their parents fret and worry about the smallest things, and then pass that fear onto their kids! And those kids grow up and continue the cycle. A little dirt never hurt anyone - and not all bacteria is bad, much of it is what KEEPS us healthy! - just like Frannie, Maggie, Sam phyllis, caro,l & Frank have said.

YOU GO GIRL! Boy have you said a mouthful! Competency? In GOP politics? Remember, they choose Eisenhower, good as he turned out to be (sort of - at least he warned us about the Military Corporate Machine - you know, the one GW is pushing - his mercenaries & lucrative defense contracts ;+} - who had NEVER VOTED ONCE in his entire LIFE!!! The audacity of the GOP rears its ugly, competative head once more. KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ - Winery - & lets get to work for a better America!

OPPS - meant to say - DON’T register on the thinking of … “… many of these - if not most, register on the thinking of a population that cold fit in any one of our large cities, with plenty of room to spare.”

Hey there fellow Alaskan. What’s the weather like today? Has the “Mountain dust” shown up yet? I’m a “former” Alaskan! Glad to hear from one who has the real scoop on Sarah for a change. So many rumors flying around. Bear with me, I have a few questions for you. * What’s the median income now? It was about double the rest of the country when we were there, thanks to the oil companies giving the state their “gratitude money.” * What exactly is considered “middle-class” in AK these days? * Have those good folks in Juneau decided when they are going to listen to the voters who said (4 times while we were there, I might add) “move OUR capital” nearer to us - J Q Public - yet? I personally voted twice for that! It was supposed to go just above Wasilla - somewhere near Houston, I think? * How can can you expect us in the “lower 48” to take seriously a group who would vote your Senator back in a primary, while he’s under investigation for accepting cash to double the size of his house, yet not report it as income? And that bridge! Didn’t even phase him that there was a plea, from another Senator to use that money to rebuild the bridge from Miss. to LA. (And he wasn’t from either state! Now That’s gravitas!) * And how you expect anyone from “outside” to resoundly support someone who hasn’t seen or known first hand the crushing economic disasters we’ve had down here, much of it due to Wall Street & Oil Greed? Remember Enron? * Give her her due - she did stop his “bridge to nowhere” - but what did she do with the money? Did she give back the $ to the Feds? or use it for other things in AK? And was it really moxie on her part, or just because she realized it was a ridiculous proposal to begin with? Please understand, when those of you in AK who keep sending Stephens & that other guy - forgot his name already- (both of whom have been in DC since the tundra used to freeze), we don’t exactly see what you do - in those you choose to represent you. And yes, it’s very harsh up there. But that’s more the climate than anything else, not the economy, or cutbacks by the Feds to the large cities & states. You’re lucky to have oil paying the bulk of your bills, and haven’t had half of the problems we’ve had down here. Your economy is based on Oil! We lived in Anchorage and have been to Wasilla, Fairbanks, St Mary’s, Kodiak, all up & down the Kenai, and to Valdez - before the tanker leak, and the pipeline leak (that our friend was called upon to be the engineer to fix the problem), and many other villages & towns. All are smaller than most of ours. Take Wasilla and triple it, that’s how many live where I do. Our jobs have gone overseas. Our hospitals are closing. Our insurances costs are out of sight for most of us. Our prescriptions are sending our seniors into bankruptcy - for get those under the poverty level - zip - 0 - nada for them. Our cities & infrastructure is decrepitly old, but we can’t repair them. Our schools struggle with over crowding, lack of good updated supplies, and help for teachers and students alike. Our taxes are killing the middle class and seniors, many of whom need to use our Food pantries. Our middle class is becoming poorer by the day. Our utilities are straining our pay checks. Our gas and food prices jump up every week, though lately, gas has gone down a few pennies. And our sons and daughters are in a mistaken war, loosing life and limb, with no help from the Feds for them! There’s so more, but I’ll spare you, but those are some of the things I don’t believe Sarah has much knowledge about. Having lived in AK, many of these - if not most, register on the thinking of a population that cold fit in any one of our large cities, with plenty of room to spare. So, forgive us down here in the trenches, if we’re not exactly enthusiastic supporters of someone so connected to Oil, and so disconnected to the people in the lower 48 - to represent us, either as VP, or God forbid, as President! Just because she was a mayor for a small lake town, or Governor for - how long has it been? less than 2 years? - doesn’t automatically give - anyone the best of qualifications to be in the National scene.

Linda, Linda, Linda - poor Linda. True, the Pres. enacts laws, the Congress makes them & the Judiciary interprets them … BUT … you say: “I have a great problem with her stance on Choice. I believe it is a woman’s choice to control her body. I also have gay friends who are married. I do take heart in McCain’s comments with Pastor Warren that he is Anti Choice but also a Federalist and does not think it is the federal government’s right to enact legislation on the subject…” Think about this, so far, GW’s Judicial appointments have usurped the rights of home ownership (eminent domain), a city’s right to “control” gun ownership in their own city, and too many more individual & civil rights issues to count. They have interpreted the law - too often based on their own personal ideals, rather than the laws the legislature put in place. SO, with about 3 Supreme Court Justices about ready to retire … what do you think they’ll do on this issue when McCain appoints more anti-choice Justices to the bench? Can you be sure he’ll find some “moderates” when he’s pandering to the neo-conservitives by picking a woman with such a strong stand on that issue? I have my doubts.

You GO Whoopie! Saw you this AM on the View, you done good girl! Sorry Vicky, First of all, does it matter that Obama’s “Black”? “Half black”? or “African American”??? Does it matter that Palin is a woman? No, neither count. It’s what they stand for that counts. And Sarah stands for much of what I don’t. If she’s the “miracle” - then I’m not Catholic (which I am) and still, I could not, in good conscious, vote for her because of her stance on the many issues important for all of us! Vicky, have you ever lived in Alaska? I have for 7 long frigid years! Do you have any idea who really runs AK? It certainly isn’t the citizens up there, whose politicians show a total distain for their constitutants. The Alaskan public voted 4 times (while we were there!) to move the Capitol from Juneau, where you had to have bucks to get to, only 2 ways - by plane or boat. Yet the politicians opted to stay - far from their voters as possible. (Wouldn’t want to make it easier for the bulk of the population living in Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and everywhere in between to get to see you, now would we?) Alaska and it’s people are OWNED by the Oil industry. And Sarah will be a big boon to the Oil industry and visa versa (She even proudly said that hubby, Todd, works for an oil company - when he’s not fishing that is!). Oil runs AK & visa versa. Every Alaskan has gotten $1,000 - per individual - per year, since 1981! The AK oil companies subsidize Alaskan economy in several other ways too. They pay plenty to the State, so the state can give each Alaskan that annual “gift” (non taxable by the state - only by the Fed), which makes AK’s State taxes a joke! Because of this oil money, Alaskans pay the least state tax of all the rest of the 50, & have no sales tax. Alaskans also pay a ridiculously lowered utility bills, Heating, Electric & water - about 1/3 what the rest of the nation has to fork out! To top it off, AK has the greatest surplus cash reserves in the nation. No problems with the state having to cut services up there! And if Sarah is middle class - then check out the median income up there - the highest in the nation. In 1978 it was $35,000, when the rest of the nation was around $20,000! I’d bet it’s at lest double what your state median income is … I know it’s double what mine is! And despite some native opposition, Anwar being in a Federally protected wilderness, she wants to give oil companies more rights, to drill there. SO, why not? Let the oil companies mess up that ecosystem like they did in Prudhoe Bay - their storage barrels leaching into the ground and water all over the place, and later, they had to plug a leak in the pipeline. (That on top of the Valdez oil spill - that fishermen still say is affecting their livelihood. Does she care that the tundra is warming up - no longer frozen in the winter. It’s becoming “wetland” & giving off carbon dioxide, rather than absorbing it, as it has been for thousands of years! Probabily not, long as there’s them there black gold in those lands! The only reason oil prices are so high, has nothing to do with the Supply, like the oil companies want us to believe, BUT its because Wall Street & the Oil Companies want it so, it’s their own bottom line they care about. They made billions after Katrina, said it was lack of supply? And they have done so every year since. Just look at all the areas they have permission to drill in, but they aren’t. And check out for yourself, how much their profits rise every year, all while they haven’t invested a dime back into drilling in the “permitted” areas they’ve already leased. Nor have they built any more refineries (for the last 20 - 30 years!), or looked for better ways to harness renewable energy. In fact, they’ve been fighting that since Carter (‘75) warned us about an eventual energy crisis! Yeah, Sarah’s one real smart cookie - smart as a fox “cookie” in a hen house. And she knows where her bread is buttered. With oil!

I had a neighbor who had lots of grudges, but fortunately, we had one before her, who advised a similar saying. “When you come across a person you are having a difficult time with,” she said, just keep saying “Bless you, Bless you, under your breath. It does wonders for you, and may even have an effect on the other person.” I’ll never forget Mrs Law for that bit of advice. Because of her thoughts, the second neighbor & I made our peace, because I kept saying it as I ran into her, and as I looked out my back window! (It also helped that I came up with a good proposal to solve one of her biggest issues with my kids picking her flowers.) My Mom was like that too, she had a real forgiving heart. I miss her a ton.

PS, I loved your Dad, his involvement in getting St Jude going, & his story of how he got into it, and you too, for keeping it in the minds of all of us.

I agree, family and giving of self is what’s most important. At 62 years, I’m seeing the rewards of putting my family first, and teaching them the value of giving. I’m a member in the St Vincent de Paul Society at our church. I work in our food pantry & am our Church’s representative for the SVdP Voice of the Poor, the advocacy branch. Boy, are these eye openers to what’s going on day to day in our society & what the legislature in D.C. is doing. My husband & I have been doing similar volunteer work for most of our marriage. It sure does the soul good to be involved in other’s lives, no matter how small the thing you do may be!