Serial Readers

One of my parenting quests is to raise all nine children to absolutely love books.

I've worked hard to expose each of my kids to classic literature, though I have succumb over the years to such questionable fare as Captain Underpants. "At least he's reading." I mumble over and over to myself in a Yoga like mantra.

The big kids know that if they're reading, I won't ask them to clean, so holding a book is akin to a "Get out of Jail Free" card. Except I do draw the line when kids engage in re-runs as a tactic. "If you know how it ends, you can put the thing down and come make your bed."

But with every success in parenting, there is a downside. Every morning, my newly five year old son comes down for breakfast and asks to "look at the box." as he eats his cereal. It doesn't matter if it's Cracklin’ Oat Bran or Frankenberry Blue, he sits transfixed by the back of the cereal box and heaven help the child that wishes to either look over his shoulder or actually pour a serving for his or herself.

Being children, there are those who KNOW this is his habit and recognize that the fastest way to enjoy and annoy is to swipe the cereal so that they can read the back with the claim, "You can't read" as an excuse. Mom gets irritated when breakfast makes the five year old cry. And when Mom gets irritated, mom plots.

Now I have been after my older kids to read their assigned books, to which the kids have responded, "Feh. It's summer." But we live in a modern age, and Mommy is armed with a copying machine and the assigned reading materials.

So tomorrow when kid one sits down to Cherrio's, he's going to find the first page of "Cricket in Times Square" taped to the back for his viewing pleasure, while earnest eaters of Strawberry Mini-Wheats will enjoy a passage from "The Cay" or "The Witch from Blackbird Pond." Consumers of Fruit Loops shall feast upon the words of E.B. White.

That's not counting the snip from Hemmingway's Farewell to Arms I posted on the back of the milk! And I'll keep a book handy for the five year old so he too can enjoy reading, and tape it to the back of my Special K.

I can't wait for the first meal of the morning.

Now, my next problem is to somehow post algebra problems on the sandwiches at lunch. If Johnny has ten potato chips and Rita has three...

I Am Sarah Palin

I'm mad.

A lot of people who consider themselves smart, bought the Tina Fey package version of Sarah Palin.

The reality is that most of us are much closer to Sarah than we are to Barrack Obama. We didn't go to ivy league schools. We didn't spend our whole career orchestrating our way into the White House. Most of us were busy living our lives and like Sarah, in some situation, saw a problem and determined that if no one else was going to tackle it then we'd better.

Most moms who wind up Presidents of the School Board or Dads who wind up managing the finances for a volunteer organization, do so not because they have the training or the background but because they were willing to take risks and put themselves out there to do things. They trusted that their natural wisdom and enthusiasm and ability to listen to others, would guide them through the bumpy parts of taking on unexpected or difficult tasks.

Even now, as the election is long since past, political pundits smear her experience and intelligence. Since when is being a Governor or a mayor for that matter, such a paltry accomplishment? Many of the critics can't claim even to have been elected dog catcher in a town smaller than Wasilla.

As a side note, (before she announced her resignation), Sarah Palin worked in her state to manage things such that while there are countless states struggling to meet their fiscal obligations, Alaska is not one of them. Her FY Budget 2010 passed and was signed into law and ballanced by spending less than in FY 2009.

Apparently all the clever beautiful people in California can't be expected to manage a budget even with all their experience and better pedigrees and better management of the press.

This is what real people (leaders), do when money and situations get tight. When families need to save money, they cut back on extras like gym memberships or maids or yard service or subscriptions. They get their house in order by making sacrifices, by doing what will actually work (spending less money), rather than opening up a wallet and charging a credit card to the max to go on with buisness as usual in a time of crisis.

I don't know if Sarah Palin is planning to run for President or if she pulled out because the daily pain of fending off snarks from SNL and Vanity Fair and the countless frivilous law suits that have been ginned up by willing political hacks and attack dogs, cost her family financially and personally.

What I do know is that the harpies that hated her before she announced her resignation, hate her no less now.

Given the tenor of the Senate, House, White House and soon to be court, not to mention the entertainment industry and media, why does this one woman merit all this bluster and rage?

Answer: She doesn't. There must be a bigger reason for all this anger.

It's the 46 million who voted for her.

As one of them, I consider attacks on her person to be disengenuous and politically motivated attacks on me too.

One woman resigning cannot merit this much gleeful hate.

The hate must be for the 46 Million didn't vote for the current president or his party. Destroy this woman as much as possible, and others who think as she does, won't have the courage to speak or act on their convictions. They won't want the same treatment for themselves or their families.

So to them, I have one thing to say, "I am Sarah Palin."

The World According to Sherry

Today is my birthday. At 43, I’ve decided one paltry wish doesn’t cut it, so I’ve created ten; one for each decade I’ve been semi-aware of my own being on this planet. (I don’t count those three years of supremely awkward adolescence which I’ve blocked out of my permanent long term memory for strictly medicinal reasons).

I wish:

10) That celebrities would not be eulogized for virtues they did not have, nor worshiped in life or death by fans in lieu of finding actual purpose and meaning for suffering and death, or actual people who embody sweetness and light.

9) That politicians would stop embarrassing themselves by never being silent when silence would serve them best, and stop thinking that money and power exonerate them from acting like decent human beings, even towards members of the other party or (gasp) their spouses.

8) That the media would try for one day to cease and desist from

a) espousing hate for anyone who didn't agree 100% with Obama and the Democrats on all things and

b) cease praising every sneeze, look or action taken by Obama and the Democrats. But then, if they did this, and #9 and #10, they'd probably only be left with discussing Texas bar-b-que, recipes for Chocolate Cake and the weather for the upcoming fireworks on the 4th of July.

and for equal measure that those who only find fault would also at least practice the art of backing up all criticism with facts and parallels to illustrate their points. See Helen Thomas if you are looking for tips.

7) That people spend less time online or watching television, and more time reading a good book in the shade of a tall tree while drinking a favorite beverage or eating a fresh peach. Although, if the TV was doing a big bit about bar-b-que, chocolate cake and fireworks, I'd probably be more interested in watching.

6) That people who are fretting about this country going to hell and the people who think we're already there, would find the little bit of the world that they call heaven and breathe in the air there to remember, it isn’t all bad. (And if you have some bar-b-que and chocolate cake, I bet this is easier to remember).

5) That the government would remember it's our money. That we would remember, it is only money.

4) People who asked for advice would actually follow it. (Meaning, enjoy the cake and the bar-b-que and don't start talking about calories or what have you, just eat it and smile).

3) All "reality television" would be banned as destructive to the souls producing, providing, staring and watching it. (Jon and Kate Plus 8 dig). The WashPo did a piece over the weekend on how it was the number of kids, i.e. if only the insurance had covered a more expensive form of IVF, that did in the marriage. Yeah. That was it, the number. It wasn't the 24-7 pseudo transparency of a television "reality" show as opposed to a commitment to each other and genuine intimacy. It was the number of kids because of the type of insurance...yeah, it got under my skin.

2) I’d remember everything I'm supposed to do today.

1) I'd actually do whatever it is.

And we'd have some Texas Bar-b-que and chocolate cake and ice cream for the day after spending a good three hours under a tall tree drinking a diet coke and finishing a good book. Then we'd go swimming and finish it all off with fireworks. So there it is, the pre-planned wish for July 3rd.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your grills.
Enjoy the day. I'm now going to sit under a tree and read my book until someone brings me cake.