Email Mystery--How's This for Nostalgia?

I got a big surprise recently when I opened an email from a friend.

While I appreciate the gesture, as a general rule I ignore forwarded emails meant to inspire, enlighten, or entertain me. First, I don’t want to contract a computer virus. Second, I have far too many unread emails already. I usually delete them, but there are always exceptions. At times, a good joke is just what I need. The email I reference here, came to me twice from two different people. The first time I took notice, but the second time, I really took notice.

As a baby-boomer with a penchant for the good ole days, I decided to take a look at this one, entitled, "How's this for nostalgia?"

Perhaps you have seen it too. It began with a picture of 'those ugly gym uniforms' we all used to wear. I smiled as I scrolled down looking at the pictures that resonated with me from the past.

When I got to the part that statement, "They (teachers) threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed…and they did it!" there was a picture attached that really caught my eye. 

Immediately upon seeing the picture, I recognized some of the kids.

This is my class, I thought. As I looked at them, I began to remember a few of their names—Gilbert, David, Elmer, Sue, Sally, Jimmy, Rosanne, Theresa, Sharon, and Cynthia. That was all I could muster. I have no idea any of their last names were, except for Sharon. I attended her birthday party. She lived across the street from our school. I wasn't in this picture, but I still believe this to be my class. If this was my class, this picture had to be taken around the late 1950's.

I struggled to read any identifying information on the plaque placed on the floor, front and center with the name of the school and date the picture was taken, but to no avail. It was all too blurred to read. I could tell that it said, Chicago, Ill., however.

I immediately went to an old photo album where I located my kindergarten and first grade pictures—1957 and 1958. The pictures contained those same kids I mentioned. I believe this picture was taken the following year after my family had moved out of that school district.

The picture above is from my first grade class. That's me—front row, fourth from the left.

In '57 and '58, I attended James Hedges Elementary School on Chicago's south side. The school is still there today, but the website yielded no information about those good ole days. I plan to write to the Chicago Public School District to see if there is any way to verify this information.

This picture so haunted me that I googled "How's This for Nostalgia." I learned that several sites by that name contained similar, but not identical information. Only a few sites contained this picture. That leads me to believe that someone, perhaps one of my long-lost classmates, added their own school picture to the nostalgia email.

I would love to solve this mystery, so if you know anyone in this picture, or anything about the origination of this email, please comment or send me an email.

Jury still out in Illinois' Ex-Gov. Blagojevich case

Illinois Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Illinois Ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich looks just as dapper today as he did when this picture was taken in 2003 while he was still Illinois' governor. He made an appearance at Union Station in Joliet, IL to speak to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.

Today, Blagojevich awaits a verdict by a jury of his peers after weeks of testimony was delivered in a federal court room in Chicago. Blagojevich stands accused of 24 charges, including racketeering for allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he won the Presidential election.

It is amazing that a man who is accused of acting in his own best interests over and above the very people he was supposed to represent, can still appear as cool as Blagojevich does during television appearances and in interviews.

At the time I took these photos, I was one of the people Blagojevich was supposed to represent, though I didn't feel very adequately represented. 

I was among a small group at Union Station that afternoon, in an effort to lobby, and I use that term very loosely, against the state's plan to build a new airport, the South Suburban Airport, near the small town of Peotone, some 40 miles south of Chicago.

C.J. Ogalla lobbies Gov. Rod Blagojevich

We did get noticed, thanks to the adorable C.J. Ogalla, shown at right, who was just 7 at the time. She wrote a letter to Blagojevich. It was heartfelt and touching as it echoed the feelings her mother has expressed for years.

C.J. lives with her family on a working farm near where they want to build the airport. Her mother Judy has been an avid fighter for a long time, vowing she and her husband will never give up their family farm for a project that isn't needed. Blagojevich continued to support the airport while in office.


Blagojevich's latest criticism stems from the fact that he brought his daughters into the courtroom. Why not, he has consistency claimed he is innocent? It is not odd that he would want his family by his side to show their support for him. Besides, it would look good to members of the jury. And looking good is what Ex-Gov. Rod is all about.

Healthy eating

Healthy eating—it seems that is a common thread in every magazine you pick up and with people you chat with in line at the grocery store.

I have been trying to do my part as well. Today, I discovered the trifecta, of healthy eating—brown rice. I made some earlier in the week, for lunch. I started by sautéing onions, diced carrots and cut-up broccoli. I love mushrooms, so I added those too. Then I added the rice and cooked it in beef stock. It was so much better than plain, bland rice. It was a satisfying lunch.

The following day I cut up lots more veges—red pepper, red onion, more mushrooms, and celery—for a stir fry. I added the rice and a little stir fry seasoning. It was delicious.

Today, with some leftover, I stuffed it all into a green pepper, topped it with a little parmesan cheese and cooked it until the pepper was soft, about 30 minutes. It was very filling and very tasty.

My lunch is always accompanied by a huge glass of iced tea. Whey I drinking it with a meal, I don't use sugar in it. When I brew my tea, I use two tea bags filled with black tea and two with green tea. Sometimes, I use flavored green tea. When I drink iced tea as a stand-alone beverage, I sometimes miss the taste of the loads of sugar I used to use in it. Sometimes, I add honey. I'm not really crazy about that, however, so most often, I just add a squeeze of fresh lemon instead, forgetting about the sweetness.

I admit that I have become a Dr. Oz junkie. I record all of his shows and don't miss one. I wish he would clone himself and place a Dr. Oz copy into every medical community across the country. I am less than impressed with the doctors I've found in my neighborhood. They seem to be interested only in pushing pills rather than encouraging healthy living. That is no answer as far as I'm concerned. Preventative medicine is probably more important than trying to repair the damage once it is done.

Changing a lifetime of unhealthy eating has been difficult, but I think the rewards far outweigh (no pun intended) the effort. With just a few changes, it is easy to see the difference. I feel much better and have more energy. And there is no pill that can do that.

Growing food in my own backyard

One of my greatest joys is weeding my herb garden. Not only does a weed-free garden look spectacular, but it smells so nice while I'm doing it. Pulling quack grass from around a mound of lemon thyme or clover that has found its way next to a sage bush brings sweet fragrant rewards. The same is true with the unwanted invaders near the lavender, dill, and rosemary.

Growing my own herbs and other edibles is a longtime passion of mine. But it isn't just because bringing food from the backyard to the kitchen table or opening a jar of canned tomatoes in the dead of winter is so satisfying. It is also because I am becoming increasingly concerned about the cost of the food we buy at the grocery store.

The cost is not just the price, but the potential health risks. What we think is natural food may have been altered via technology.

I am becoming increasingly concerned about the impact that large corporations, unregulated imports, and loose standards in our own country are having on the food we eat. No one should die or become ill from eating food they thought was nutritious.

From what my non-scientifically-trained mind can glean from what is occurring today, there could be an inherent danger, if not immediately, but in the long term, from eating genetically modified food. I am not convinced that large bio tech companies responsible for changing the basic structure of the food we think we are eating is the right thing to do—at least not without adequate controls and testing. I doubt these huge corporate entities give a rip about my health.

Learn more about genetically modified (GM) foods from Jeffrey Smith, the author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods. Smith is the Executive Director of  Institute for Responsible Technology

The answer may be in a growing trend—locally-grown food. Not only is it nice to know where our food comes from, but it may be essential to our health and well being.

The advantages of locally-grown food, especially when it comes from our own backyards are numerous, not only to ourselves and to our families, but to the well being of mankind.

It all comes back to my garden. The more I learn about how things are done beyond the reaches of my own backyard, the more I am drawn to that little patch of food growing there.

Gulf Coast disaster worsens every day

The Gulf disaster is more frightening every day as the situation seems to become more complex than first thought.

While fear is one of the predominant emotions invoked by the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there is plenty of room for anger as well.

I have always and will continue to be angry that greed trumps common sense. The question of the hour has to be, is it safe to drill into the earth's 
crust at depths far below the ocean's surface in our quest for black gold?

I can scarcely believe that there are still calls for off-shore deep-water drilling for oil, especially by the same people that are being harmed the most and crying the loudest by what might prove to be the largest environmental disaster to face modern man.

Important decisions should be made by intelligent people rather than wealthy people with something to gain.  Worshipping the almighty dollar has violated the rights of individuals, countries, and perhaps all of humanity. I hope it is not too late to learn from our mistakes.

Even if the oil leak were plugged today, irreparable damage has been done to ecosystems beneath the sea. These are ecosystems that we have not even fully explored. Some species will likely be eradicated before man can fully understand them. All species are important to the overall survival of all of us. I am not a scientist, and yet it is clear that the situation in the Gulf is dire.

Food for thought—check out the following: http://www.viewzone2.com/oilnuke.html

Image thanks to: Kenneth Cratty / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

World record steer dies

My husband John and I are sad to say we lost a neighbor this weekend.

Lurch, the local "Guinness World Records" African Watusi steer who gained world acclaim in 2003 because of the size of his enormous horns, succumbed to cancer Saturday. Lurch was 14 years old.

At the time of his induction into the record book, Lurch's horns measured a circumference of 95.25 cm. or 37.5 inches--the world's largest. And they were still growing.

Born in 1995, Lurch came to live at Rocky Ridge Refuge in Gassville, Arkansas when he was only five weeks old. He shared 15 acres that Wolf inherited from her father, with a number of other animals, under the care of refuge creator, Janis Wolf who relies on donations and volunteers for the care and feeding of all her animals.

Lurch made the national television spotlight when he and his friends were highlighted on the Ellen DeGeneres show a couple years ago. Donations helped build a new barn and feed for the animals.

Wolf, who holds a masters degree in  human rehabilitation and experience as a veterinary technician, is the sole caregiver to as many animals as happen to turn up at her place. She has devoted everything she has to her animals which, include a water buffalo, zebra, llamas, sheep, goats, countless dogs, cats, baby deer, raccoons, and all other kinds of critters. She has animals who have gone blind, become crippled, or just don't have a home. There are plenty of dogs and cats to be adopted as well.

Wolf has lost a special friend with the loss of Lurch.

Watch a video tribute to him at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z46M6Fcik4E

Aghast at Grey's Anatomy final episode

I understand what the producers of Grey's Anatomy were trying to do during their season finale May 19, but their good intentions were over-shadowed by what some might consider over-the-line offensive.

That said, the actors deserve high praise for their work. The portrayal of their characters was stellar because it was so believable. We responded to the terror they were living through. They were believable and credible, and nearly all should win Emmys for their performances.

The story itself was a very good one, which done properly could have been historic in the annals of dramatic television. But it wasn't. Instead it relied on over-the-top graphic violence. I feel a little betrayed by that. Are good ratings reliant upon violence over substance?

While evoking emotional responses in the viewers was probably their goal, producers may have gotten more than they bargained for.

I for one, and I can only speak for myself, watch television shows like Grey's Anatomy, as a respite from reality. A little reality is good because it makes a show believable. But in my mind, Grey's Anatomy's final episode took this way too far. To me, the show was a little too real, mirroring the fears that already exist in our society. An emotionally-damaged man going berserk on his wife's doctors is a far too possible and frightening scenario. It is neither something I want to think about nor something I want to see in my weekly television viewing lineup.

If I wanted to see pints of blood oozing from victims of gunshot wounds, smeared all over the floor, furniture, and clothing, I'd watch the 6 o'clock news. But even they don't show the act of shooting a likable little nurse in the head at point-blank range while she bleeds out on the floor. I watch TV to escape that the knowledge that such violence occurs in streets all across the country. I choose to avoid that kind of violence in the movie theater.

Furthermore, the last thing I wanted to see was the death and injury of characters I've invested years in getting to know that I've admittedly grown fond of. After all, isn't it the intention of a television drama to produce believable and lovable characters? Grey's Anatomy accomplished that. But then to slaughter them before our eyes caused undue personal distress in what was an otherwise great show.

Was all that graphic violence really necessary to carry out the plot? I don't think so. Case-in-point: one of the best scenes was when the shooter was taken out either by the S.W.A.T. team or his own hand, off-camera. We knew what happened. It was odd that he was the only character we didn't see shot, since his death was the one we could have easily coped with. Our sense of justice would have been satisfied since he caused all the carnage to the characters we care about.

Another thing that was totally wrong with this final episode was that at the moment of the highest drama, there was yet another cut away to a commercial. The plethora of ads during this show seemed excessive and appeared at awkward times--more so than usual.

I will at least give credit that the show did end on an emotional high note, bringing couples together who had drifted apart. After the horror they and we witnessed, it was refreshing to see couples who had lost their way, reunite.That was believable.

I will still watch Grey's Anatomy, and I look forward to next season. But, due to the insensibility thrust upon the viewing audience, don't be surprised if there are some who just don't go back.