All Righty-then

I am going to try to join the technical age. I have just added a 'widget' to my blog site.. .this, in honor of my science-oriented offspring. altho it is not the center of my life, I do enjoy keeping up with science news. The topic that first led me to discovering this Discovery widget was the story on the diary of the Jewish astronaut Ramon who died in the Challenger explosion in January 2003.

as the story mentions, the display of the diary pages in the Israeli Museum coincide with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. [about the time I was born] .but it is also the time of year for the Jewish high holidays. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur-- both which also happen at the time of year for me that I often find myself in deeply reflective mood-states.. . I enjoy taking vacations in the Fall, when it is cool and spend time doing nothing but sitting and reflecting. .that, to me, is what vacations should be all about. This year, I will begin a trek to CO, WY, and a first-time visit to Montana & Idaho. . .then back through UT, CO & NM before returning home.

By then, I should be tired, but refreshed and ready to hit the ground running for the busy season at the AGI office. LM

hopefully I can find more widgets that would interest my friends and blog-watchers.

what to do??

Although most of my life at this time centers around my work, I do have a family--and it is a rather interesting one, I think. When it comes to politics, a recent visit to my parents' home in NW Kansas reminded me of my roots as my sister and I had lively discussion about our memories and the ferver with which my 99-year-old Dad is still a staunch Democrat. So, I feel quite comfortable there. My son, however, and a couple other friends do not lean in that direction, and he and my daughters often exchange friendly sparring over their conflicting views on candidates and party politics in general. The girls are liberal Democrats, like me, but possibly for different reasons.

Our discussions are good-natured, but we all share the concern about what this country's future will bring for the next generation-- my grandchildren. My father's father left his home in Europe in 1908, seeking a better life for his family, and my parents survived two World Wars, the 1930's Depression and all the other 'crises' in 20th century USA/world history; they are neither wealthy nor poor, but they are comfortable. Media makes life rather overwhelming for most, but TV news is not the way to make decisions on most topics. It is for entertainment. Politics should not be entertainment, but it seems to have come to that.

I am hopeful, yet concerned, that wisdom and 'right' [justice] will prevail. Politics and leadership are not synonyms. How can we become a wiser nation? There are no simple solutions, or single, absolute right answers. Being rushed into making decisions is never a good way to deal with problems. Finding the facts takes more than just reports and convincing rhetoric and polls of the public. . it takes deep reflection. I wonder if our leaders have had the time to do that. LM