On Saturday August 30, three years and two days after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, I saw a segment on Good Morning America about an extraordinary 3rd grade art project at a New Orleans elementary school. The children were asked to create two boxes—one filled with memories from the storm that changed their lives; the second to contain their hopes, wishes, and dreams for the future.
For these children, the memories of Katrina are still palpable. This was never more evident to me than in these words from 9-year-old Rodney Green.
"People are still suffering from the storm. People still don't have houses, food, and water. And people don't have enough money to afford it because of the storm. People are still struggling. Katrina never left," he said. "The water may have gone, but she never left.
As the powerful winds and rain of Gustav head towards these same shores, the resiliency of the men, women and children of this battered region will once again be pushed to extraordinary limits. People will suffer from yet another storm. Homes, many just recently rebuilt, and houses in the final stages of becoming homes, stand on the precipice of disaster.
The water may have gone, but she never left. And now Gustav is about to join his sister.
(Originally posted to KidsTerrain.)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Just What We Need, More Hubris (Dear John McCain...)
To: John McCain:
I'd like to submit my qualifications for Chief of Staff. (Actually, I've more executive experience than Sarah, but she's already nabbed the VP nomination). But if Sarah truly believes she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, she just may need me there in the wings as her Chief of Staff.
Here's a comparison of our résumés for your convenience:
Sarah Palin: Governor of Alaska for 18 months; mayor of Wasilla, pop. 5,470 (2000 census), BA Journalism; won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest (age 20), some sort of executive business experience, member NRA.
Rita Schiano: Owner Rita Schiano Freelance Writing/Editing; Owner The Reed Edwards Company; current Director of Communications KidsTerrain, Inc.; Owner/manager/chef Casual Cafe* restaurant (1989-2000); Vice President of Book Operations Executive Enterprises Publications Co. Inc (New York); past President and Vice President of BNI-Sturbridge, past Vice President Woman in Business; BA Philosophy; MA course work Miami University; Miss Teenage America pageant (took top 13 year old, Miss Central New York; member Rotary International District 7910; member Woman in Business; member Business Network International (Sturbridge Business Builders); member ASCAP
Sarah's belief in herself to be qualified for VP (and possibly the presidency) has inspired me to look deep within and find the hubris needed to throw my name in the running for Chief of Staff.
* 26% Close in first year; 61% close after 3 years...we were in business 11 years before pulling a "Seinfeld" -- going out while on top of the game.
I'd like to submit my qualifications for Chief of Staff. (Actually, I've more executive experience than Sarah, but she's already nabbed the VP nomination). But if Sarah truly believes she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, she just may need me there in the wings as her Chief of Staff.
Here's a comparison of our résumés for your convenience:
Sarah Palin: Governor of Alaska for 18 months; mayor of Wasilla, pop. 5,470 (2000 census), BA Journalism; won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest (age 20), some sort of executive business experience, member NRA.
Rita Schiano: Owner Rita Schiano Freelance Writing/Editing; Owner The Reed Edwards Company; current Director of Communications KidsTerrain, Inc.; Owner/manager/chef Casual Cafe* restaurant (1989-2000); Vice President of Book Operations Executive Enterprises Publications Co. Inc (New York); past President and Vice President of BNI-Sturbridge, past Vice President Woman in Business; BA Philosophy; MA course work Miami University; Miss Teenage America pageant (took top 13 year old, Miss Central New York; member Rotary International District 7910; member Woman in Business; member Business Network International (Sturbridge Business Builders); member ASCAP
Sarah's belief in herself to be qualified for VP (and possibly the presidency) has inspired me to look deep within and find the hubris needed to throw my name in the running for Chief of Staff.
* 26% Close in first year; 61% close after 3 years...we were in business 11 years before pulling a "Seinfeld" -- going out while on top of the game.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
It Gets More and More Insane....
On the news today I heard that the Iraqi government will have a budget surplus of $79 billion dollars this year. Does anyone else out there see the insanity of this? Our national debt has increased an average of $1.80 billion per day since September 2007. To date, the Pentagon tags the cost of the Iraq war at roughly $600 billion and counting. And Iraq has a $79 billion dollar surplus?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
S'plain It To Me, Lucy
How come those folks who use the "Never send a boy (read Obama) to do a man's (read McCain) job" have no problem sending boys to war?
Friday, July 25, 2008
A Cruel and Needless Death…
As this story continues to be in the news, I decided to share my thoughts on this as posted originally for KidsTerrain's Expert Blog Series last November...
I’ve been mulling over this topic for several days now, trying to wrap my mind and emotions around this horrific story. It is sad enough when a child feels so despondent that the only alternative is to take one’s life. But, in the case of Megan Meier, knowing that a parent…a neighbor who lived just four houses down from the child…played a part in this child’s death overwhelms me.
Megan’s parents were not neglectful; they did not allow their daughter unfettered access to MySpace. According to journalist Steve Pokin of the St. Charles Journal, Megan’s mother monitored quite closely whom her daughter added as a friend to her MySpace page.
The cyber-friend was ‘Josh Evans,’ a sixteen-year-old, good-looking boy (a fake photo) who claimed to live nearby and who was home-schooled. With her mother’s permission, Megan began on online friendship with ‘Josh.’ Once Megan’s trust was gained, the contact from ‘Josh’ grew nasty and vile. ‘He’ posted comments such as, “Megan Meier is a slut.”
The truth of this story may never have been known had another parent—who learned of the phony account from her own daughter who had access to the ‘Josh’ profile—not told Megan’s parents about the hoax several weeks after Megan’s death.
What sticks in my craw, not only in this case, but in the virtually unrestrained world of cyberspace, is how, once again, the law is not protecting our children. The woman who created ‘Josh Evans’ phony profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department she “created Josh’s profile” to gain Megan’s confidence and find out what Megan was saying about her own child online.
There is no law on the books to hold the neighbor-parent responsible for her actions. And it has taken nearly a year for the Megan Meier story to hit the national and international news. Megan’s parents are now leading the charge to create more legal safeguards for children on the Internet.
Incidents of cyber-bullying seem to be growing exponentially. For parents and teachers, dealing with child bullies is tough enough. But when the bullying of a child is done by an adult—a neighbor, a child’s friend’s parent—it’s enough to make me want to throw the right to privacy out with the bath water.
(Posted originally on 11/29/07 for KidsTerrain)
I’ve been mulling over this topic for several days now, trying to wrap my mind and emotions around this horrific story. It is sad enough when a child feels so despondent that the only alternative is to take one’s life. But, in the case of Megan Meier, knowing that a parent…a neighbor who lived just four houses down from the child…played a part in this child’s death overwhelms me.
Megan’s parents were not neglectful; they did not allow their daughter unfettered access to MySpace. According to journalist Steve Pokin of the St. Charles Journal, Megan’s mother monitored quite closely whom her daughter added as a friend to her MySpace page.
The cyber-friend was ‘Josh Evans,’ a sixteen-year-old, good-looking boy (a fake photo) who claimed to live nearby and who was home-schooled. With her mother’s permission, Megan began on online friendship with ‘Josh.’ Once Megan’s trust was gained, the contact from ‘Josh’ grew nasty and vile. ‘He’ posted comments such as, “Megan Meier is a slut.”
The truth of this story may never have been known had another parent—who learned of the phony account from her own daughter who had access to the ‘Josh’ profile—not told Megan’s parents about the hoax several weeks after Megan’s death.
What sticks in my craw, not only in this case, but in the virtually unrestrained world of cyberspace, is how, once again, the law is not protecting our children. The woman who created ‘Josh Evans’ phony profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department she “created Josh’s profile” to gain Megan’s confidence and find out what Megan was saying about her own child online.
There is no law on the books to hold the neighbor-parent responsible for her actions. And it has taken nearly a year for the Megan Meier story to hit the national and international news. Megan’s parents are now leading the charge to create more legal safeguards for children on the Internet.
Incidents of cyber-bullying seem to be growing exponentially. For parents and teachers, dealing with child bullies is tough enough. But when the bullying of a child is done by an adult—a neighbor, a child’s friend’s parent—it’s enough to make me want to throw the right to privacy out with the bath water.
(Posted originally on 11/29/07 for KidsTerrain)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Deadly Summer Games
A deadly game has been growing in popularity across the country. Known as The Choking Game, kids get a quick high by stopping the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. Yup! You read it right…
How do they play this so-called game? Sometimes they choke each other until one passes out. Or they may use a ligature. The latter method is extremely dangerous because more and more kids are “playing the game” alone. And the effects of the high are addictive.
The Choking Game can cause the permanent death of brain cells. Physicians say, too, that the variation in blood pressure “may also cause strokes, seizures, and retinal damage.”
Others do it because it’s “cool” and risky. Most of the kids who have died from this were not children in trouble. Most were well liked, active, intelligent, stable children who wanted nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. This was an activity they felt was safe. Children have no clue about the physiological principles involved and need to be told by the adults in their lives how dangerous this is.
Why kids are taking such risks with their lives? Think back to your adolescent and teen years. We all wanted to be cool. And, I dare say, most of us engaged in risky behavior. Most of us luckily survived, and without our parents even knowing the crazy things we did. Kids have no sense of their own mortality coupled with a strong sense of invincibility.
So what’s a parent to do? Talk with your kids…talk with your school officials, and talk with other parents. Open communication and education are always the best means.
Oh, and don’t fall into the “not my kid” trap. Ask yourself this question first: What stupid, idiotic activity did I do when I was their age? I bet most of us can up with at least one dumb thing we did. I know I can.
(Written for KidsTerrain)
How do they play this so-called game? Sometimes they choke each other until one passes out. Or they may use a ligature. The latter method is extremely dangerous because more and more kids are “playing the game” alone. And the effects of the high are addictive.
The Choking Game can cause the permanent death of brain cells. Physicians say, too, that the variation in blood pressure “may also cause strokes, seizures, and retinal damage.”
Others do it because it’s “cool” and risky. Most of the kids who have died from this were not children in trouble. Most were well liked, active, intelligent, stable children who wanted nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. This was an activity they felt was safe. Children have no clue about the physiological principles involved and need to be told by the adults in their lives how dangerous this is.
Why kids are taking such risks with their lives? Think back to your adolescent and teen years. We all wanted to be cool. And, I dare say, most of us engaged in risky behavior. Most of us luckily survived, and without our parents even knowing the crazy things we did. Kids have no sense of their own mortality coupled with a strong sense of invincibility.
So what’s a parent to do? Talk with your kids…talk with your school officials, and talk with other parents. Open communication and education are always the best means.
Oh, and don’t fall into the “not my kid” trap. Ask yourself this question first: What stupid, idiotic activity did I do when I was their age? I bet most of us can up with at least one dumb thing we did. I know I can.
(Written for KidsTerrain)
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Get Back In The Hangar!
Are you obsessed with your children? Do you hover about them, tending to their every (and often misperceived) need? Have you planned your child’s life from Day One almost to the point where you need a Day Planner or Blackberry dedicated to all his or her activities–soccer practice, dance lessons, violin lessons, play dates, and on and on ad nauseam?
Well, then you’ve graduated to a new class designation. That’s right, you’re no longer just a Baby Boomer, you’re a Helicopter Parent.
Mel Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill and author of Ready or Not, Here Comes Life (Simon and Schuster, 2005) says today’s children “may well shatter.” He believes children are being coddled and protected to a degree that threatens their later ability to stand on their own.
Now a recent Wall Street Journal article thinks the blame belongs on Mr. Rogers (Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled July 5, 2007; Page B5). Now isn’t that typical of us Baby Boomers! Let's look beyond our own actions and place the blame elsewhere, like on that gentle, sweater-wearing, soft-spoken cultural icon.
The WSJ article quotes Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, as saying he wishes more parents would offer kids this perspective: “The world owes you nothing. You have to work and compete. If you want to be special, you’ll have to prove it.”
Beverly Low, a dean at Colgate University, in an article in the Albany Times Union (January 27, 2005) says that where before parents would drop their kids off to college and get out of the way, parents now constantly call her office intervening in a roommate dispute or questioning a professor’s grading system.
So next time the urge to hover (meddle) strikes you, stay grounded. Do what a parent should do. Help your children make good choices. Show them that self-reliance ain’t just a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay in English Lit. It’s the way to survive and thrive in the grown-up world.
(Originally written for KidsTerrain.)
Well, then you’ve graduated to a new class designation. That’s right, you’re no longer just a Baby Boomer, you’re a Helicopter Parent.
Mel Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill and author of Ready or Not, Here Comes Life (Simon and Schuster, 2005) says today’s children “may well shatter.” He believes children are being coddled and protected to a degree that threatens their later ability to stand on their own.
Now a recent Wall Street Journal article thinks the blame belongs on Mr. Rogers (Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled July 5, 2007; Page B5). Now isn’t that typical of us Baby Boomers! Let's look beyond our own actions and place the blame elsewhere, like on that gentle, sweater-wearing, soft-spoken cultural icon.
The WSJ article quotes Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, as saying he wishes more parents would offer kids this perspective: “The world owes you nothing. You have to work and compete. If you want to be special, you’ll have to prove it.”
Beverly Low, a dean at Colgate University, in an article in the Albany Times Union (January 27, 2005) says that where before parents would drop their kids off to college and get out of the way, parents now constantly call her office intervening in a roommate dispute or questioning a professor’s grading system.
So next time the urge to hover (meddle) strikes you, stay grounded. Do what a parent should do. Help your children make good choices. Show them that self-reliance ain’t just a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay in English Lit. It’s the way to survive and thrive in the grown-up world.
(Originally written for KidsTerrain.)
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