Can Children Dare to be Different??

Recently there has been quite a bit of media attention around the increasing amount of autistic spectrum diagnosis. Now, I do not mean to make light of a situation that is obviously a serious issue for many children, I do however have an issue with "autism paranoia".
Years ago, I experienced some "concerned" comments about my own child. There was a slight speech delay and a tendency to "line up toys". It was implied that I was not a great parent for having these issues evaluated, tested and the child tortured. It did not matter that I knew this child was happy and fine....
Then there is another childhood quirk called "flapping", namely a child gets excited and flaps their hands while hopping up and down. My child does this and we find it very cute. But with "autism paranoia" in the air, this same tendency (if you Google it) is considered a horrible red flag and needs to be (and I quote) "redirected to a more appropriate gesture such as clapping". What the hell??
Why am I supposed to redirect my child to become a robot? He is happy, gets good grades, well behaved, and has more empathy towards others than I ever did. It just seems that once again, "fitting in" trumps all rational thinking. Doesn't anyone see that if we only focus on making our children "normal", they will never be extraordinary and dare to achieve greatness??
Do you think that artists, musicians, or scientists "fit in"?? No-- they do not--what makes them awesome are their differences and ability not to fear them.. If we continue to obsess about every childhood quirk, molding our kids to be exactly like everyone else, don't be surprised when their most daring aspiration is to become an ordinary administrative assistant at beige interiors limited....

The Ugly Truth

The other day, I had the unfortunate experience of recognizing my own naivete, regarding how many humans actually want to be humane.
As I was sorting some old papers and articles, I came about an old book review of the "Bell Curve". Race controversy aside, the book seems to statistically explain a common phenomena I observed working with poor and disadvantaged social groups, usually white. It kinds of hits you in the face that the ability to rise up and achieve in society is very often determined by genetic intelligence. Simply put, the smarter your parents were, the more likely you'll make good decisions and be somewhat successful..
Now then, it seemed really obvious to me (and to folks like Warren Buffet) that this genetic tendency towards success or failure naturally shows a good reason to help the unfortunate with more social programs, right? Wrong.
As I read further in the book review, they stated that conservative think tanks embraced the "Bell Curve" findings from a public policy perspective, as it justified eliminating food stamps, medicaid, housing assistance, etc. Say what? I had to re-read this part. As I continued, the article clarified: since these impoverished social groups with lower intelligence will always be poor and never achieve middle class lifestyles, there was no point to subsidize their offspring and encourage breeding.
The only thing they left out, was the logical conclusion of this argument-- that the poor and stupid should just die.
I could not believe this ugly truth.. The same argument I had been using for years to justify social programs - they were using as an argument against ! I always thought Ayn Rand was something of a cruel anomaly with her rants about the "dullards" needing to die, but now I see she is not alone. What a cruel, cruel world we live in.

Add Your Mobile Phone Number

I need to take a moment and comment on the overly bossy request to "add my mobile phone number" when logging into "Blogger". This same bossy little request is also suggested by my email account provider...
The trouble is, these fine folks at Blogger and elsewhere, seem to imply I must actually have a Mobile Phone. Why is it assumed that any live human being, breathing and online, must have a cell phone??
We did temporarily try to fit in with "society" and acquired a "Go-phone" or some sort of similar apparatus. I believe it took about two weeks before my husband lost it in the Bush. (not like a forsythia or something--but off the road system in rural Alaska). Now how does that make our life more secure?

Here are other things we don't have (in case Blogger insists we do): A bathtub, stairs, central heat, or a doorbell. Things we do have: an outhouse, antique glass carboys, moose poop, and stray dogs. Now how I do I enter those numbers upon logging in??

Confusion at the Party

As an outsider, who seems to be blessed by constant exposure to nothing but conservatives and/or Republicans..let me explain why their party is currently so confused...
Conservatives and Republican aren't the same thing--but they think they are. (very funny)
The easiest way to categorize these folks would be to split them in half: Urban Republicans and Rural Republicans.

Urban Republicans like less government, big money, hard liquor, and tend to be socially tolerant. They have no problem with working wives, day care, "government schools" and college. In their opinion, poor people get what they deserve, as they are just lazy. Urban Republicans are secretly quite suspicious of church, home schooling and vegetables.

Rural Republicans, really like the word "conservative". They care more about social issues than making big money. University educations don't really make sense to them, except that they may do more harm than good as they encourage things like "choosing to be a homosexual"...Rural Republicans actually care about the poor, but want to help them without government spending.

The only thing I see these two sides actually having in common is mutual distrust of government. I believe less government makes more sense in the world of the Rural Republicans, as their churches actually perform many government type services on a smaller scale. Urban Republicans simply want to be rich oligarchs--and they know that Government is just standing in their way of world domination..

I would say that's it in a nutshell. It's quite ridiculous, as the Republican party has no idea how to deal with these pretty much opposing view points. Currently they have candidates that represent both sides (Gingrich is an Urban Rep., Santorum Rural Rep.). Interestingly enough, this only helps awaken their voters to the inconvenient problem of two types of Conservatives trying to squeeze under the same hat--and it just doesn't fit.

How to Be A Good East Coast Citizen

Before I begin my obvious tirade, let me explain that the East Coast I am referring to--is the crazy busy corridor between DC, Northern NJ and NYC....
Having spent a bit of my time in this 'cluster of stress' myself, I suggest a simple brochure be given out to newcomers, to make them feel more welcome...

Step One: Acquire dead end job. Make sure you don't actually like the work.
Step Two: Purchase a vehicle and house that you can't afford. These items will help you feel superior to others. You now have the liberty to say: "so and so is lazy". Or weird, or stupid, or socialist...whatever word you choose that makes you feel better about yourself. Make sure you talk about this all the time.
Step Three: Become insanely busy so you get really, really, grumpy. If anyone catches you not being busy, glance at your cell phone to pretend you are.
Step Four: Now that you are grumpy and driving a kick ass car, (while glancing at your cell phone)-- make sure to use your middle finger often-- especially at other drivers. Part of feeling superior is to always remember that your destination trumps all others. Especially when sitting in traffic.
Step Five: Enjoy a slice of pizza. One of the blessings of the East Coast is good, cheap pizza--appreciate it!
Step Six: Purchase asthma inhaler (self-explanatory)
Step Seven: Make sure to tell everyone you meet how stressed out you are. This will no doubt make them cherish and admire you.
(That's it--Simple directions for a complex corridor).

Icy Jane Thaws Out

I have been out of commission for some time, as my fingers and toes froze over in the record breaking Alaskan cold this winter. Luckily, I chose one of the arctic survival methods known to inhabitants of the North: a trip to Hawaii. Of course it sounds elitist--but the traditional cold weather coping mechanisms just didn't cut it this time (which are: saunas, hot tubs, booze and murder).
Anyhow, I prefer my warm weather destinations to be off-the-beaten path, causing me some worry that our destination (the island of Oahu--home to Honolulu) would be a bit too civilized for my liking. How do I quantify off-the-beaten path?? Well that's simple: chickens roaming in unexpected locations. I am the only human I know of, who breathes a sigh of relief, upon discovering a free range chicken in an airport parking lot... As the loose hens serve to remind me that this particular destination is neither overly developed nor boring.
Sadly, the Honolulu parking ramps contained no roaming roosters. Just a lot of Lei stands and warm (yes!) humid air....Downtown Honolulu looked poultry free as well (probably a relief to most tourists)--but I did spot an unexpected animal -- a performing guinea pig. I already knew that guinea pigs are a tad bit smarter than most people give them credit for (as my grandfather had one that came when called). But this urban Honolulu guinea pig, was an actual street performer. Not only did he hang out on a really busy side walk, but when his owner called to him, the golden piggy would jump onto a little surf board for photo ops! He was actually called the "surfing guinea pig...."
But I regress, we didn't really want to spend time in the city, so we drove over the mountains to the windward side of Oahu. I am glad to report the first wild chicken was spotted just 20 minutes outside of the city! Yes, there are chickens and roosters strutting all over Oahu --especially on the North shore. So there is hope after all-- Oahu is still not completely domesticated and tamed. Although it is obvious that the developers and locals are in turmoil over this: as I did spot quite a few "keep the country, country" bumper stickers and banners fighting eminent domain. Of course, as with any other beach front area in the US or elsewhere, the uber-rich feel that the poor and middle class "don't deserve" ocean front property and they must be removed in the name of sprawling estates....Nevertheless, I take comfort that (for now) those wild places still exist.

The True Trouble With Cold

I am no silly goose, I know Alaska is cold, and I need to endure it as long as I live here. But here's the weird thing: the freezing cold is not nearly as annoying as the cold's lesser known cousin: low humidity...
This phenomena only kicks in when the outdoor temps hit about 5 degrees or colder (which is like half the winter) but nevertheless--it happens quickly.
Automatically your skin just shrivels and static balls spit out of every cloth you can imagine. Your hair will stand on end, agonizing thirst prevails, yet it all pales in comparison to the ubiquitous dog hair!!!
As every Alaskan knows, you will simply be deported from the state if your household does not include at least one hairy dog. Dry, static covered dogs are simply the worst. It makes them shed even more, except now in the dry air the hair sticks to everything like glue.
You just can't purchase enough sticky lint rollers to keep up with it. I know there is some sort of dog shedding vacuum you can purchase (to vacuum the dog!) but this would result in my arm being chewed off . Brushing does not work, as the human doing the brushing is so dry, that the hair just leaves the dog, and sticks to the human....
Nevertheless, if it gets below 0, I get not one-- but two humidifiers going. This helps a little bit, but doesn't fool anyone. You know my angora-looking socks are really just covered in fancy canine fur!