tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50564174653290486182024-02-20T07:17:19.481-08:00The Artfull CodgerArtfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-48812751526154756482017-01-01T07:52:00.000-08:002017-01-01T07:53:08.846-08:00Happy New Year HopesIt is a clear and cold morning but Face Book is loaded with warm wishes. <br />
<br />
Happy New Year.<br />
<br />
Indeed. <br />
<br />
My daughter has reminded me that four years ago we were on a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas. That was so much fun. <br />
<br />
The cruise had randomly assigned us to a table of total strangers that turned out to be a miracle of sorts. The characters, from all over the country and world, mingled and interacted so well that everyone thought we were old friends from the start.<br />
<br />
I am trying to get a photo out of my archives to show but that may take a while. In the meantime, it is an extraordinary mental exercise revisiting those snippets of sheer pleasure where no one had an agenda...no rules...and living in the moment was enough. <br />
<br />
We visited the piano bar one night. The pianist was very obliging for his "Jersey Girls" and we asked him to play Jerry Lee Lewis' "Balls of Fire". The piano started pounding and he gave a enthusiastic impression of the master. We had most of our dining group present.... and I even had a moment of madness and tried to dance. <br />
<br />
The exuberant group and dancing spilled out into the corridor just in time for a visit from the ship's top brass. By this time the small lounge was packed. The Captain and Cruise Director had popped in to see what the noise was all about... and gave a thumbs up. <br />
<br />
After they left, our pianist cheered....he said we just got him a positive review. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah! <br />
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Of course we gave him a handsome tip. We dropped in the next evening and his substitute told us that he couldn't talk after singing and playing our session and needed a day off. We were hoarse too...but a round of Cosmos fixed that. <br />
<br />
Sometimes we need to remember that joy is a common quantity. Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-10080856757793751212017-01-01T07:21:00.002-08:002017-01-01T07:24:22.511-08:00Incorporating Inclusiveness in the New Year
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Reflections
on Intersectionality<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Systems of privilege
and inequality exist in culture and are marked by differences that relate to a
norm. When norms are broken, there are consequences. Women and Gender Studies is
a means to analyze the complicated interactions of multiple identities.
Awareness of privilege and discrimination, as related to perspectives and
context, can contribute to change. In her essay “Intersectionality”, Vivian M.
May says, “Intersectionality calls for analytic methods, modes of political
action, and ways of thinking about persons, rights, and liberation informed by
multiplicity.”(WVFV 81)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Normative and
conventional elements run like power cables under a building, unseen, but the
source of all available energy to drive essential services. Stereotypes operate
as short cuts, speed up society, but result in unequal treatment of
nonconforming groups. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intersectionality points
out these areas of oppression of all forms, not just sexism and racism, in
order to pinpoint different aspects that contribute to disharmony. It is crucial
to ferret out those elusive elements which lurk in individual experience to influence
context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">May points out that
“Some forms of dependence (heteronormative, middle class) are more idealized
(e.g., women’s dependence on men who are their fathers or husbands for
protection and care), whereas others are stigmatized as deviant and in need of
remediation (e.g., poor women’s dependency on the state via welfare) (80)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is socially approved; the other perceived
negatively. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the case of
disability issues, intersectionality may actually diminish activism. The issues
are indistinguishable from each other when placed in opposition, as “enabled”
versus “disabled”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The accent on
oppression diminishes universal issues of handicapped persons because it assumes
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">political</i> norm for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">physical</i> lack of access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By insisting on classism and racism to prove
discrimination, intersectionality interferes with change predicated on
disability and gender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Alison Kafer, writing
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Feminist, Queer Crip</i>, voices her
concerns about cultural and social stigma from stereotypes concerning persons
outside the hetereonormative existence. The FBL billboards messages emphasize
“courage”, “determination”, “opportunity”. She says, “Who is involved in
determining the characteristics valued in a particular community? Who is
included in—or excluded from---the community itself? (100)” The pop culture
approach to the physically disabled, as only needing to work harder, or change
their attitudes toward their limitations, must be contested. She advocates for
activism and dissent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">May says,
“Intersectionality offers a vision of future possibilities that can be more
fully realized once a shift toward the multiple takes place”. (81)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When surface assumptions create a norm that
seems to accommodate most of the population, it runs the danger of becoming
stagnant. One example, concerning Brazil, is found in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intersectionality</i> by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge. Since
Brazil has a history of colonial invaders intermarrying with native peoples, it
has promoted a policy of racial democracy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This seems inclusive on the surface, but a
group of feminists with African roots gathered to protest being homogenized.
Coming together as African-centered women to preserve heritage is a
locus-resource for non-blacks to experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Narrowing into specific interest groups
therefore provides an almost infinite number of intersections. This “shift
toward the multiple” fertilizes the imagination and stimulates change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What might seem counter-productive for Brazil’s
political theory of racial democracy, might lead to other groups following
their example. What may seem positive, by subscribing to popular community
values, is actually counter-productive for a disabled individual whose
perspective from a bed or chair will never change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Piercing the stereotype of limitations will go
a long way to enable empathy and activism. This heightened awareness of the
“other”, whether racism, sexism, classism, or crip, will result in greater
sensitivity and appreciation for all kinds of diversity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Understanding the approaches that enable tolerance among human beings of all races, cultures, and ranges of ability is absolutely necessary for survival of the species.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-52009440729391649812016-12-13T16:33:00.002-08:002016-12-13T16:39:40.920-08:00Thoughts on Disability<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Defining
Disability and Driftwood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have to love this
author, Alison Kafer. She begins her chapter, “A Future for Whom: Passing on Billboard
Liberation”, by commenting on Superman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
comments while looking up at a billboard of Christopher Reeves which is
intended to inspire recognition at his dreadful accident and acknowledge his
courage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the public relations
campaign behind this feel-good message is subversive. Actor Reeves is
associated with his most famous role of Superman. Now he is paralyzed and
unable to survive without help from personal aides. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kafer points out that the billboard image of
his disability, other than an oxygen tube in the corner, lessens the impact of
his disability. . The considerable financial and medical resources which
supported his existence are not visible. They are invisible by intent. “Values.com/Foundation
for a Better Life” sponsors the billboard and their agenda is politically ultra
conservative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Reeves is white, male,
and his billboard photo appeals to conservative values by taking advantage of
America’s white/male/hegemony. He is obviously super-masculine in spite of his
physical paralysis. This is deliberately tendered as success due to his manly
“courage”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are a different gender
or race, you are invisible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Community values trump
individual obstacles. By making public perception one of individual
vulnerability, by not acknowledging the enormous numbers of physically and
mentally impaired coming home from war, the attitudes presented by FBL’s
Superman billboard thrust the burden of disability on the individual. The
message is one of “buck up” instead of “how can we help”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This politicization of
disability is intended to diminish and quiet activists who campaign for
accommodations for the handicapped, or as Kafer puts it, the “queer crips”.
Anyone who is outside the norm, whether sexually, racially, or disabled is
different and queer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Numbers of elderly
are expected to swell the ranks of those outside the norm. Consider that stereotyped
wheelchair persons are commonly perceived as less intelligent and therefore
undesirable. For decades, handicapped persons were sterilized so they could not
have children who might pass on “defective” genes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Politicizing ignores reality and makes the
elderly and disabled expendable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A wheelchair bound
person spends a lot of time waiting for suitable vehicle transportation which
leads to the concept of “crip time”. Crip (read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">crippled</i>) time has to allow for situations that do not accommodate
physical needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only is the issue
one of access, but the unexpected aspects of physical transport lead to living
in the moment. This philosophy arose out of the HIV and AIDS era, when recovery
was dismal and any future belonged to others. Crip time cannot be regulated by
the clock; it moves to a disjointed rhythm that depends on need and services. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the most egregious attitude toward
handicapped people is the notion that a disabled person is limited because they
are not trying hard enough. Kafer writes, “…FBL’s website clearly delineates
the group’s perspective by encouraging ‘adherence to a set of quality values
through personal accountability and by raising the level of expectations of
performance of all individuals regardless of religion or race’ (89)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By emphasizing community values over personal
needs, the conservative position makes it clear that vulnerable disabled have
to, and should, fend for themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Disabled
who dare to speak out, these“queer crips”, have to fight hard for ramps,
elevators, public access across many venues, but more importantly, just to
maintain their position in public consciousness. Kafer says, “I envision a
media campaign that favors dissent at least as much as unity, that recognizes
political protest and activism as signs of courage, that is as concerned with
collective responsibility and accountability as personal (100)”. It doesn’t take
much to give a hand up. Someone living in a physically challenged body just
wants to get on with living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-65559703664724464412016-12-13T16:28:00.000-08:002016-12-13T16:28:35.295-08:00"Intersectionality" and Equality
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Intersectionality
Toolbox<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In their highly
regarded text, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intersectionality</i>,Patricia
Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge write, “Intersectionality is a way of
understanding and analyzing the complexity of the world, in people, and in
human experience.” (2) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
intersectionality technique shows how many peoples interact and influence each
other. Their guide is helpful to understand and analyze how differing contexts
of human experience impact social and political results. By suggesting multiple
possibilities for study, that might otherwise be overlooked by stereotyped
bias, it promises that a specific inequality is not as likely to fall through
the cracks. The authors note, “… intersectionality can be a useful analytic
tool for thinking about and developing strategies to achieve….equity ((3)”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Major social elements
such as race, class, gender, sex, etc. exist in nearly infinite range of
possibilities. Considering complexities and permitting unexpected combinations
can produce positive results. Intersectionality rejects the usual “normative”
position in order to open up to the possibility of a more equal and level
playing field. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Inequality issues of gender
and LGBTQ can also be studied in the intersectionality framework. This is
helpful on constructing gender identity for those not able to advocate for
themselves. The authors note, “Relational thinking rejects <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">either/or</i> binary thinking…opposing theory to practice, scholarship
to activism, or blacks to whites. Instead, relationality embraces a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both/and</i> frame…examining their
interconnections (27)”. These interconnections pave the way for inclusiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an interesting example, intersectionality
shows how powerful wealthy business interests interfered with the political and
social structure of Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. FIFA soccer lobbied for
laws that restricted everything from travel to food concessions outside the
venue. Without considering the way all Brazilians might be affected, the concerns
of poor men and women were not included in tournament planning. Because many
people enjoy sports, it was assumed that even poverty stricken people would be
in favor of the extravagance. The opposite occurred. Brazilians suffered hardships
from the exclusivity of arrangements aimed at an international clientele
instead of local population. In spite of high expectations, Brazil lost the games
and lost millions of money. The scandal following the games suggested massive
bribery and corruption. The power domain enjoyed by the organizers had been
based on the assumption that sports benefit everyone. That was certainly not
the case for women because only men can compete in the tournament. That was not
the case for non-athletes because the sport is exclusively for extraordinarily
talented athletes. A level playing field, for most of the country outside FIFA,
definitely did not exist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Intersectionality, used
to study Brazil, discloses many social aspects not addressed by the common
assumption that there are no racial barriers. About a thousand Brazilian
feminists felt they were discriminated against and gathered to express their
African roots. This was contrary to Brazil’s policy of racial democracy which
emerged from its history as a colonial mix of native and outside nationalities.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The authors note that
the black women’s movement in Brazil, “shows how intellectual and political
activism work by growing by a specific set of concerns in a specific social
situation, in this case the identity politics of the Afro-Brazilian women
(28)”. This focuses thinking about social inequality and power relationships in
various contexts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The importance of
context broadens the appreciation of specific kinds of problems in social
situations across the world and the awareness that one size does not fit all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-42688992848466337742016-12-04T08:17:00.003-08:002016-12-04T08:17:29.482-08:00The Transgender Need for Recognition
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Transgender
Dilemma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Leslie Feinberg was a
transgendered activist who wrote the groundbreaking novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stone Butch</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blues</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feinberg died in 2014 but her novel is
relevant in our culture as America’s political institutions resist inclusion. Her
lead character of Jess Goldberg comes from Feinberg’s own bitter experience as
a lesbian Jewish woman trying to fit in as living as a man. Trapped in a
homophobic society by the male power structure, her struggles are tragic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The forces which shaped her identity jump off
the page with intensity that cannot be ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As Dan Frosch
previously noted, “…gay and transgender advocates say transgender students…are
vulnerable to bullying and harassment” since institutions measure against a
norm. Nonconforming persons are targeted. In the novel, Jess Goldberg and her
friend Mona are jailed following a police raid against gays. She says, “The
drag queens were in the large cell next to ours. Mona and I smiled at each
other… Then she walked forward with them, rather than be dragged out (35)”.
This is Jess’s first experience with police brutality against gays. The text
continues, “About an hour later the cops brought Mona back…she could barely
stand…blood running down (35)”. Mona tells inexperienced Jess, “It changes you…what
they do to you in here…everyday on the streets---it changes you, you know?”
(35) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The queer person does not fit in and therefore
constantly fights for recognition. Feinberg’s character is not just lesbian,
but yearns for female love and a life gendered as a man. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jess struggles to find someone who understands
her quandary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lives as a border
dweller, vigilant, with a foot in two worlds, trying to survive and how to fit
in. Without a model to follow, the unscripted journey fraught with disaster.
She dresses as a male but is incomplete without a companion to share her world
of fluidity. As Jess’s lover Edna puts it, “I don’t want to go back to the bars
and the fights. I just want a place to be with the people I love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to be accepted for who I am, and not
just in the gay world (218)”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Leslie Steinberg
underwent hormone therapy and ultimately decided against continuing disruptive
treatment. Toward the end of her life, she reconciled with the body she was
born in and tried to increase awareness of the needs of gender queer issues. She
is gone too soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deciding not to undergo gender modifying
surgery becomes a political barrier to those identifying documents that signal
change for a transgendered person. New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie has
vetoed legislation, allowing birth certificates and passports to show transgender
name and sex change, unless the person has submitted to sex change surgery.
This means that not only is there still a challenge to a person’s liberty to be
at peace with one’s self, but there is a political mandate to inflict potential
harm on a person’s body. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much has
changed institutionally since the homophobic abuse of pre-Stonewall police
raids on gay and lesbian bars, as so graphically pictured by Jess Goldberg in
Steinberg’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stone Butch Blues</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-18949122497500915272016-11-18T13:42:00.001-08:002016-11-18T13:42:22.481-08:00Inscribing Gender on the Body: We Cannot All Be a Ten
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gender
Expectations Shape the Impossible<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When you meet someone
for the first time, several things register: the overall impression of male or
female sex, specifics like hair, eyes, makeup or lack of it, clothing that
reinforces male or female gender, erect confident posture, or a yielding slouch
that signals submissiveness. This immediate “read” is complicated if all the
elements do not fit. American culture values thin, white, young as the
desirable norm. This unspoken but powerful yardstick discriminates against
Blacks, Asians, Latinos, the elderly and disabled, who are compelled to remake
their body image to fit in. Long hair is usually gendered feminine. However, if
the person with long hair is wearing trousers and work boots and wants to use
the Gents restroom, it provokes harassment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dan Frosch writes about Coy Mathis, born a boy but now at the heart of a
challenge to anti-discrimination against transgendered people. He writes, “…gay
and transgender advocates say transgender students…are vulnerable to bullying
and harassment (246)”. Political decisions and institutions cater to the norm
and these forms of “other” have to constantly fight for recognition and
consideration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Women in American
culture feel pressured to have a larger bosom and some resort to plastic
surgery implants. In Donald Trump’s world, a woman with a small bosom has a
“hard time to be a 10”. This sexist labeling lies behind the insecurity many
women feel that they do not measure up to an unwritten norm. Joan Jacobs
Brumberg, writing in her essay Breast Buds and the ‘Training’ Bra, notes that a
girl’s insecurity begins early. She says, “…in gyms and locker rooms of
post-war junior high schools, girls began to look around to see who did and did
not wear a bra…and this visual information was very powerful (206)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As mass produced clothing produced a need for
standard bra sizing, it also creates the idea of measuring up to a norm that
had to be reinforced in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She writes,
“The old idea that brassieres were frivolous or unnecessary for young girls was
replaced by a national discussion about their medical and psychological
benefits…. An adolescent girl needed a bra to prevent, sagging breasts…which
would create problems in nursing her future children (206)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bra also draws attention to the sexual
possibilities of breasts, rather than their biological function of nursing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is an obsession for everywoman to
present as a “ten”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A woman’s hair
represents an inescapable biological connection to gendered expectations.
Thinking of hair as beautiful is culturally graded by sex but can also be
exploited as a way to enforce power. In the white privileged culture in the
United Stated, long fine straight hair is seen as beautiful. Minh-Ha T. Pham,
writing in her essay “If the Clothes Fit: A feminist Take on Fashion”, says,
“Professional women of color …consciously and unconsciously fashion themselves
in ways that diminish their racial difference (247)”. Asian women perm their
hair; Black women straighten their hair. She continues, “If fashion has been
used to introduce new ways of expressing womanhood, it has also been a tether
that keeps women’s social, economic and political opportunities permanently
attached to their appearances (248)”. Women in the daily eye as part of their
job, find that one’s natural styling is discouraged in favor of a treatment
that appeals to a media enforced norm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rose
Weitz, writing in What We Do for Love, says, “If we ignore cultural
expectations for female appearance we pay a price in lost wages, diminished
marital prospects, lowered status, and so on (119)”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One last thought: age gives one a different set of values. Seniors Rock. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-40764251237170228942016-11-10T17:44:00.003-08:002016-11-11T08:50:30.482-08:00Thoughts on Gendering in Presidential Election<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How Americans view sex
and gender has never been more relevant. We had a former First Lady and
Secretary of State with an unparallelled executive resume on paper. However by
gendered perception, the female candidate was doomed to second place. If
authoritative and assertive, she was regarded as bitchy and bossy. Photos of
her with her new grandchild could have softened the portrait and then she was
accused of lacking “stamina”. Her opponent was filmed crowing about his
voyeuristic ability to dominate the naked women competing in his beauty pageants,
and it was dismissed as men’s locker room talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To top it off on Election Day, one woman was interviewed as saying she
voted for Trump because “a woman should not be President”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This persisting gendering of women contributed
to an unexpected Republican victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Culture
Creates Concepts of Sex and Gender <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Susan M. Shaw and Janet
Lee, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women’s Voices and Feminist
Visions</i>, note, “…gender is constructed through intersection with other
differences among women such as race, ethnicity, and class…related to other
systems of inequality and privilege (116)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gender assignment, identity and expression contribute to notions of sex
and gender in ways peculiar to the United States. Sex is decided at birth, according
to obvious genitalia, and subsequent growth and behavior is channeled into
expected patterns according to this binary. If a person’s internal sense of
identity does not fit expected gender patterns, sexual labels go beyond binary
choices. Subsequent gender expression, which does not follow the binary view,
shapes social interactions which can unsettle one’s sense of self. (119)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Countries beyond America do not challenge transgendered
identity in the same way which results in varying degrees of tolerance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Evelyn Blackwood
discusses the many kinds of masculine expression among females in West Sumatra
and Indonesia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since gender is defined
by intersections with other identities, each with their own perspectives and
agendas, it follows that some combinations will occur as exceptions to the
norm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Transgender</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
may be applied to identities or practices that intersect queer socially
constructed binaries based on the usual male/female expectations. Female-bodied
persons may identify and live in ways which are casually stereotyped as male
gendered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes this takes the form
of transgendered females who “appropriate and manipulate cultural stereotypes
of ….a hybrid form of masculinity…as possessing a male soul in a female body
(150)”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of these identities in Indonesia is that
of “tomboi”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To deal with describing the
gender-fluid woman Dedi, instead of using “him” or “her”, Blackwood creates an
unusual form, “ h/er”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She says, “Dedi
was dressed in h/er typical man’s attire and appeared to be quite comfortable
around h/er family (151)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tomboi
enjoys moving about freely and sleeping wherever she wishes. She is not
concerned about sexual violence because her manner is masculine and tough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Women are closely
watched so freedom is encoded as masculine privilege.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pressure for the female-bodied butch
tomboi to marry, presents difficulties. Blackwood says, “Marriage is the most
troubling challenge to their positionality as men (152)”. If married, would be
forced to live in the constant role of female. This is uncomfortable so many
transgendered put off the issue as long as possible. Dedi has compromised by
following female gendered expectations when at her mother’s house, as long as
it does not challenge her assumed masculinity. She will do repairs around the
house but will not cook. She is not viewed as a sexual rival by other men, but
rather as a woman with special insights. The text says, “…Dedi recalls h/er female
body as part of h/erself, giving voice to a cultural expectation that female
bodies produce female ways of knowing (154)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This shows that she has incorporated her body as part of her total
identity, not merely a phase or convenient pose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the article h/er
creates a space for Dedi in the discussion, Indonesia terms of address are much
more complicated. She notes, “People tend to employ gender-marked kin terms
when addressing acquaintances or close friends… (154)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This results in tomboi identity being
expressed in public as a shield for moving freely, but gender-marked terms are
dropped when she is more secure at home and her defenses are down. The
transgender aspects of Didi’s persona also do not disrupt her culture because
family practices still read them as female. Blackwood says, “Social relations
of kinship and family connected tombois with discourses of femininity…and
offered the efficacy that tombois attained as intelligibly gendered beings…that
create space for themselves and their partners (155)”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seniors Rock!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-58924140510111106572016-11-07T07:06:00.002-08:002016-11-07T07:06:43.523-08:00Intersectionality: Walking in Another's Moccasins
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Socially
Constructed Differences<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
one is cisgendered, with gender identity matching the societal assigned gender,
one is privileged to live in a world of normal expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, a transgendered person
faces every day with challenges that change with each new situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Navigating the public forum is fraught with
occasions that are uncomfortable, or even criminal, since gendered privilege
dominates the environment. The bathroom use issues in N. Carolina come to mind.
Living in a body easily recognized as either male or female does not oppose
dominant ideology. Therefore, as Evin Taylor says, when one is cisgendered a
person “generally needs to spend less energy to be understood by others (94)”. Culturally
established hegemony drives politics and institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Poverty: In the absence of a way to understand the
structure of society based on classism, discontented people look for
scapegoats. Women and the poor are especially vulnerable. Poverty has created a
class of females who work more than one job and still cannot achieve the level
of men who are paid more. (98) This is problematic in many organizations which
may fire employees for merely sharing pay check information. Yeskel says, “…being
poorer or richer than others leads to secrecy and silence (99)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She adds, “By definition it is impossible to
have equality between classes while still having classes (99)”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Disabled: Susan Wendel says, “…the biological and
the social are interactive in creating disability (101)”. Standards of
normality lead to social construct which excludes full participation in society.
Expectations of performance give rise to the identity of being inadequate, and
therefore disposable, if not one of the superior abled individuals. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Society’s failure to protect the vulnerable
from wars, disease, and many other elements, creates the inequity of persons unable
to physically measure up to a norm. Social factors that allow high risk working
conditions, contaminated environments and poverty contribute to increasing numbers
of disabled persons. Improved medical care results in partially abled survivors
instead of deaths. Wendell includes the elderly, “since more people live long
enough to become disabled (102)”. Disability is not merely a question of
physical access but is also a construct of the mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Patricia Hill Collins, writing in “Toward a New
Vision”, points out that the interlocking nature of race, class and gender is
an essential element in analyzing the true nature of social relationships
following the legacy of slavery in America. (p74) This <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intersectionality</i> begins with understanding the overarching hegemony
of white male privilege that affects women, both white and black, and the many
poor who lack agency and a voice. Collins says, “Widespread, societally
sanctioned ideologies used to justify relations of domination and subordination
comprise the symbolic dimension of oppression (74)”. This means that dominant
groups apply universal categories to those viewed in order to push them away
and diminish their status. The dominant force in America is white and male. If
you are a white woman, you are lesser in status to prevailing white male
privileged patriarchy. If you are a black man, a black woman or poor, you rank
even lower. The English language privileges the masculine form in discourse in
spite of cultural changes which now see women in gender roles formerly held by
men. This creates a need for gender neutral terms like “mailperson”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Symbolic values make shortcuts that can ease
everyday challenges but this perspective of stereotyping does not lend itself
to analysis and objectivity. There must be equilibrium. For example: like a
metaphoric seesaw, superior images of white womanhood must be balanced by
lesser images of black women. (74) To correct this stereotyping,
intersectionality increases awareness of privilege and prejudice and opens up
multiple perspectives. Intersectionality enables an individual’s experience to connect
and interact with another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking in
another’s moccasins has never been more applicable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-81972831284067604302016-10-27T11:28:00.000-07:002016-10-27T11:28:09.229-07:00Empowering Beyond FeminismHere are some comments from my Women Gender Studies for this semester:<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Empowering
Beyond Feminism <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Admitting women to a
patriarchal world of higher education opened the topic of women to study and
research. Prevailing hegemony presumed that knowledge came from men, was about
men, and women were merely a limb on the tree. A new focus on women validated uniqueness
and awareness of gender issues. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing
in Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions</i>, Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee note, “WGS
is generally associated with feminism as a paradigm for understanding self and
society (13)”. Feminism now expresses intersections of gender across diverse
identities of race and class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shaw and Lee say,
“Patriarchy…shapes how women and men think about the world…and their
relationships with one another (15)”. The first wave of feminism emerged to
give women a voice in political matters affecting them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nineteenth century suffragettes stumped for
equality and, by 1920, finally won the right to vote in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A second wave of feminism was directed at
inequality in the workplace and family, with special emphasis on sexuality and
reproductive freedom. However, injustices affecting women, and those who
identified as women, were world-wide issues. The intersections of
post-modernism, LGBT voices and multiracial awareness resulted in a third wave
of feminist activism. Thanks to the Internet and economic globalization, women
across the world are connected against institutional male inequality. (17)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diverse perspectives and motivations
contribute, even as they complicate, political progress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Beverly Guy-Sheftall describes the strides that
women’s studies have made in the forty years. Efforts to mainstream into male
dominated curriculum have come a long way to balance gender in the academic establishment.
Heightened awareness and sensitivity in a predominately male society produce
advocacy for women of color and the poor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Black women’s studies, incorporating
intersectional analysis into topics of women and gender, contributed to the
third wave. (31)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Bonnie Thornton Dill says, “We wanted feminist
theory to incorporate the notion of difference… (32)”. If girls are stereotyped
as not able to do math, they will be limited to lower status opportunities. If blacks
are stereotyped as less intelligent than whites, then they will be steered to non-academic
opportunities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intersectionality means
that gender depends on elements of race, class, etc. which reinforces a
classism of white privilege. (32) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Bell hooks defines feminism as “…a movement to
end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression (37)”. America’s
white/male/power balance shifted when white women gained agency. While they
made gains in the workplace, they were still allied with the system which left
women of color struggling. (39) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
thinks that sexism, not men, is the real problem. Although patriarchy is
sexist, this does not make feminism anti-male or feminists man-haters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4. C.V. Harquail writes, “When it comes down to
distinguishing between women and feminists, we need to separate marketing and
politics (43)”. The essay proposes a model of Facebook for women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She says, “Feminist design of a product is a
political action….intended to change power relationships and advance social
change… (44)”. Faced with challenges stirred up by technology, the male
(technology) can be subverted by designing women who are determined to reflect
feminist priorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span>Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-47111973254716432192016-07-16T10:44:00.001-07:002016-07-16T10:44:30.544-07:00Inside Business noted that Microsoft has delayed its Windows 10 goal because the phone business collapsed. The connection is weird....seems like they wanted to hit the billion mark for customers. Well, after talking to Kapersky guys, I figured I did not have the time to adjust to a new system. Now it looks like the July 30 deadline may not apply to the free upgrade. <br />
<br />
Hmmm. Stay tuned. <br />
<br />
In other news, Quentin Keynes now has a face book site. I was trying to find my BlogSpot and lo, behold, using the Quentin article got me to his site. He passed a couple of years ago but his life was really interesting. I knew him back in the 60's and 70's....and we used one of his Jensen's on our honeymoon. Sigh. <br />
<br />
Well, that's all for now.....<br />
<br />
Senior citizens rock.Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-72294638366853825612016-07-16T10:38:00.001-07:002016-07-16T10:38:44.392-07:00The Artfull Codger: Meanderings for a Country Mouse<a href="http://theartfullcodger.blogspot.com/2016/06/meanderings-for-country-mouse.html#links">The Artfull Codger: Meanderings for a Country Mouse</a>Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-639499179987268662016-06-07T08:18:00.000-07:002016-06-07T08:18:22.414-07:00Meanderings for a Country Mouse We dodged a bullet this weekend and the storm was not as bad as it could have been. The best part is this upcoming week promises a stretch of light-as-a-feather weather. The air is crisp, cool, with a hot sun that reminds me of trying to make hay decades ago in the fickle weather of late May and early June. <br />
<br />
We spent many mornings waiting for the dew to dry enough to tedd what we cut the day before. Then it was a roll of the dice to see if it dried enough to rake. I loved those days...tedding, fluffing cut grass so it dried underneath... an excuse to get outdoors in the first part of the day. <br />
<br />
The tricky part was timing raking and baling. Raking picked up the hay so it could catch the breeze and rolled it in neat rows from one side of the meadow to the other. Nature could sabotage your efforts at this point. In the late 70's some farmers sprayed their bales with nitrogen to dampen spontaneous combustion. This was an added expense that also increased protein content, enhancing roughage for cows. However, it was thought that the additional nitrogen might be too much for equine digestion. So we made hay the old fashioned way, by waiting on the weather to assure the correct moisture for our bales. The problem was that the nutrient value would evaporate with plant juices. If too wet, there was a fear of fermentation and a very real threat that spontaneous combustion inside the bales could burn down the barn. <br />
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Haymaking led to some rather bizarre anecdotes. There was a local phenomenon that spread rapidly back in those days without cell phones. One farmer would chew on his pipe and tell another that "S" was "making hay down by the river" and a spontaneous row of pickups would mosey down the river road....to watch "S" making hay. Black braids and lots of turquoise jewelry added to the exotica of the Arabian horse breeder getting a suntan...while covering bottom land with her gray ford tractor...topless. <br />
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I remember using our road tractor and lowboy in the fields to pick up the hay bales. We mowed several acres under the power line right of way which was straight enough to get a big rig in. That seems like a lot of work but in the long run made a lot of sense, if you thought out of the box. We trudged after that trailer in the hot sun, tossing 40 pound bales up to the trailer. Then the guys stacking lifted them up to the desired height. Every trip was a mathematical challenge. Stacking meant they would and could topple. So it was theorized that alternating direction would lock the load. Then posts inserted in the sides of the rig gave additional purchase to tie down. In hindsight, it was fairly efficient, even if unorthodox.<br />
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There was a fair amount of controversy about the right haymaker mix for field hands. Most concoctions included molasses or maple syrup for sugar, home-made vinegar or lemon juice to cut it, and lots of strong tea. Sweat took salt and electrolytes out of the body so the contents of these jugs were serious business. There is a version hitting grocery stores now by Turkey Hill Ice Cream that harks back to these fortifying drinks for field workers. <br />
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Unloading hay was the other half of a dusty and dirty job. We split people into those outside and those inside the barn. There was no way around the physical effort to get hay from field to the barn. The hay elevator transported bales up to the loft (no more than two bales on the lift at a time). Then someone hauled each one off at the top of the barn, tossed it laterally to the left or the right, where inside workers dragged each bale to its assigned place. There were more workers at the top of the piles inside, with dust building up in spite of the handkerchiefs over your face a-la-Jesse James, and part of their job was to see that the temperature did not soar into dangerous ranges. There were round vents with fans at each end of the hay loft. The heat building inside vented outside. For at least three days after the hay making, barn checks with a hand between bales, were essential. If anyone could feel heat between bales he would tear back to the house and we would all go out to monitor. Every year there were barn fires so we did not want to have an incident. Moving loads around kept mold down and guaranteed that the hay could be enjoyed down to the last sprig.<br />
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The only way hay making seems to have improved is that now huge round bales are rolled up and covered for months. I guess this means that the heating from curing hay dissipates in the open air instead of building up in a barn loft. But moving the buggers is a real problem. We used to try for two cuttings off the same field so those round bales would be a hassle. There is an ailment called "farmer's lung" which comes from inhaling the dust and mold spores in those hay making days. Later efforts to mechanize the production of fodder for equines might decrease the incidence of crippled breathing. Looking at the situation today, it does not seem that a great deal has changed. Horse enthusiasts import hay bales from out of state so our local fields now grow McMansions. Out of state sources seem to be still baling along with old methods. Perhaps these out of state farmers use paid labor instead of family members but the job seems basically the same. Privately, this country mouse thinks our hay was vastly superior to the dry stuff trailered in from Maine....<br />
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Seniors still count. <br />
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Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-4804256410694841162015-07-24T14:19:00.001-07:002015-07-24T14:19:07.418-07:00Summer Updates for Old TimesIt has been a while since writing to everyone and I better get something down or my blog will vanish into the cloud. Face Book is seductive. Every time I sign on, it gives me the feeling that there are real persons out there. Blogging is like dropping an egg from the Empire State Building: you don't get to see the results. Having Nancy connect on FB with her bear photo has unleashed a storm of memories and things to talk about. Also, my summer class was cancelled because it did not have enough students signed up. This means that I have some mental energy bottled up so I may as well let it out. <br />
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By way of news, I have been elected Chairperson for the Advisory Council of the Mercer County Office on Aging. These folks used to intimidate me because they were so capable and smart. I hope that I have grown enough to be comfortable in their company. <br />
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This summer is half over and the days are getting shorter. I treasure each minute of daylight and cram little items that might prove the stuff of memories. I wish that more of us could connect and share our experiences and hopes for future endeavors. After all, you are only as old as you feel.<br />
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Seniors Rock!Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-66004870622997795552013-09-11T14:40:00.001-07:002013-09-11T14:40:10.829-07:00Remember and RestoreToday is 9/11. September the eleventh, in the year twenty-thirteen.... Somehow that does not seem consistent, but what does it matter anyway?<br />
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We think about the events of a day that will live in infamy, because it showed Americans just how vulnerable we are. The very weapons used by terrorists on that awful day were commonplace---airplanes filled with commuters, ordinary wives, mothers, sons, fathers, best friends, businessmen, who added mass to the terrorist's methods of destruction.<br />
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Since then, we have instituted elaborate screening methods and eves-dropping surveillance that has intruded into the very concept of freedom and privacy. The question is: are we as a nation any safer for it?<br />
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Time. <br />
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The passing of time, the methods to record time, the very reasons for the concept of time have varied according to cultural demands of the society using it. Agrarian societies rise with the sun, eat at midday or when they are hungry, and sleep when it is dark. It was only with the advent of industry that people structured their lives by the common denominator of time.<br />
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Now we struggle with the weight of those years which have passed. Over a decade since the twin towers collapsed, and the cost of the war that followed is yet to be measured.<br />
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In the span of a morning, filled with sunshine and promise, almost 3,000 people died. It is estimated that it will cost over a trillion dollars to treat the wounded warriors resulting from war efforts to even the score. Our responsibility is to remember and to restore.<br />
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Now, we take time in this morning of 9/11 to murmur prayers and promise that we will never forget. It will take longer, with God's help, to forgive.<br />
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Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-2904438545924391452013-08-01T13:03:00.001-07:002013-08-01T13:40:51.543-07:00Life on South Clinton Avenue Smells and We're Not Going to Take It Anymore! Right on schedule to break the heat wave, rain pours through the trees and splatters on the hot patio bricks. The odorous mist it sends past my window smells of piss.<br />
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Unmistakable. Usually I love the smell of rain just after it starts, likely more of a textural change than scent....except on South Clinton Avenue in Trenton. <br />
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We have been trying to clear vagrants and loiterers from the premises for months. Finally the Trenton cops gave us a special number to call to get faster response. I hope that it gives them enough complaint calls so they can move us up in priority.<br />
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We have had everything you can imagine....drinking, gambling, drugs, hookers...just about anything that you usually associate with quality of life issues. Noise, debris, and the ignorant dog walkers are not the only ones who leave feces behind. <br />
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Which brings me to the topic at hand...piss. How hard is it to find a bathroom in Trenton? If you are drinking in a bar or restaurant, use theirs. If you are at home, you should have no problem. I want to point out that public drinking is against Trenton law and you can be arrested. Since public drinking would lead to imagining the need to public pee, stay home. <br />
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How about that, all you creeps out there that think our senior citizen residence is a Trenton public business place: GET OVER IT! <br />
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Elderly people live at Pellettieri Homes and Pennrose Management has been doing little to solve this issue. Over a decade of complaints has not convinced these out of state "managers" to deal with the situation so we continue to look for solutions. <br />
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There seems to be a perception that Trenton stinks. We have a mayor under indictment who campaigned for votes by promising to cut the police force. I point out that he did keep his promise. However the dirt bags that put him into office may be some of the ones who are now pissing on any buildings they think are part of the hated establishment. <br />
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I hope the rain lasts for hours. It will take quite a while to erase the evidence of these non-resident alien trespassers. <br />
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We have requested our building management to hire a security guard. Since that has not happened, it may take a catastrophe to get Pennrose involved. Heaven help us.<br />
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Please take note: We're not going to take it any more!<br />
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Seniors rock.<br />
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<br />Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-12704829376765511232012-09-27T20:46:00.000-07:002012-09-28T14:32:56.969-07:00What? Trenton Churches Say "Don't Vote!"America is my country. This is my America the Beautiful and I share it with you and yours.<br />
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<em>Imagine my disbelief today when I was told that Trenton voters have been urged not to vote.<br />
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Trenton churchgoers have been advised to stay away from the polls this November.<br />
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At first, I thought someone was joking. Then several people chimed in that this was indeed the case. Everyone had a different slant on the story, but it all boiled down to the fact that church leaders, pastors, preachers in Trenton want voters to stay home. <br />
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Ministers are preaching from the pulpit that this election is a lose-lose for their churchgoers. When I asked for particulars, I was told the following:<br />
1. If you vote Republican, you vote for a Mormon. </em>(OK. That is no secret, what is wrong with that?)<br />
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<em>2. Romney is a Mormon and therefore he is not a Christian...or anti-Christian...or just working with the Devil and believes in polygamy. (</em>Come on people, this is the 21st Century<em>)</em><br />
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Well, it looks like a slam dunk for the President. That is until the preaching continues thus:<br />
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<em>1. If you vote Democrat, you will be voting for a black man who is in favor of gay marriage, which is a sin... (</em>What? GLT tolerance has permitted more people to contribute to our nation's diversity. Also, not every American is a Christian so the Bible is not universal doctrine.)<br />
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<em>2. The President is a black man who is not behaving like a black man...(</em> guess you can't please everybody. President Obama has turned out to be color-blind)<br />
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Going to church is a rich experience and a welcome chance to recharge spiritual batteries. It seems to me that these local clergy need to have their heads examined. <br />
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There is supposed to be a separation of church and state in this country. This is a heck of a good reason to reinforce that.<br />
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Meddling in affairs of state by superimposing individual religious preferences is absolutely contrary to our Constitution. <br />
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Clear your heads, everyone. If some robed chucklehead bellowing from a pulpit is trying to get your attention and sway your vote, walk out!<br />
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Churches presently enjoy tax exempt non-profit status in the City of Trenton. If parishoners do not go to the polls, that situation can be very neatly corrected. <br />
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This is a glorious and open society with Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddists and Hindu. There are also Native American, Wiccan, and many other faiths, worshiping side by side and tax exempt, in our City of Trenton.<br />
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We do not have a State Religion with good cause. <br />
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Our culture and its mores are based on principles set down by our founding fathers. If you remember in the very beginnings of our country, only people who owned land were able to have a voice in determining the future of the republic. Women had to petition to be heard and finally got the right to vote <em>reinstated</em> in the twentieth century. That's right. If single, and property owners, women and free Blacks could vote under the original Constitution. By 1809 the states had taken that away. The Civil War emancipated slaves, but women were shut out until more recently. One of the most cherished and sacred privileges a citizen can have is to vote.<br />
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When election day rolls around, tension builds and television ads for the candidates drive us nuts. It is all part of the decision making process. Finally we take our ideas and preferences to the polling place. Pressing levers behind curtains, or marking paper ballots the old fashioned way, we take a stab at making our voices heard. We do our part to steer our ship of state to the next four years of hope or disaster.<em></em><br />
<em><br /></em>If you don't vote in this election, kiss your place in the community, <br />
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"Goodbye."<br />
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Seniors vote.Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-40194262122534910702012-09-15T09:34:00.002-07:002012-09-15T09:34:25.472-07:00Bubble Up, Not Trickle DownSome time ago, I suggested that a ten percent raise in Social Security Benefits would spur the US economy faster than another "bailout". Consider this:<br />
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Most of the money theory floating around presently makes a big deal about the old-fashioned idea of "trickle down". This means throwing funds at big business to make it so happy that new jobs will budd and burst off like maturing amoebas.<br />
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Ick. Messy. Running a country like Jackson Pollock paints.<br />
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Surprise, surprise...it does not seem to be working. <br />
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Business moguls and their boards of directors have to answer to stockholders and everyone is on board with the capitalistic notion of making money---not spending it. Bonuses have to be earned and accounted for, dividends are nice, poison pills make sure that noone steps on your parade, and the orgy continues. So where is the money?<br />
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The problem in this present business climate is that big business is hoarding (gasp, choke, urk!) the surplus monies they were supposed to be reinvesting. Reinvesting in capital improvements, plant expansions, research and development, and even jobs is on major hold because the international climate is uncertain. The value of the dollar changes so rapidly that there is a real dread of making a big mistake by making a Big Move.<br />
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Whatever, whatever, is an economist to do?<br />
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Senior citizens, living on Social Security, are not worried about the "Big Move". Seniors are more concerned with the nitty-gritty and down to earth problems of food, shelter and medicine. Even a ten percent increase in a thousand dollar check is a big difference in an elderly person's life style. <br />
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Consider that funding from Social Security is spent in the middle segment of the economy. If someone needs to eat, that person is not likely to put a down payment on a fur coat or 42 foot yacht. Social Security payments go to a restaurant, a local shop or even a US Savings Bond for a grandchild. This is a steady segment of the economy that will produce jobs. That Wendy's or MacDonald's restaurant hires local people. Staples, Walmart, Target, Petsmart, Lowes, etc. are not bringing in executives in jets to man cash registers. No, not at all. The jobs that senior-spending support are definitely in the middle or lower middle of the employment range and correspond to that part of our country-wide recession hit the hardest.<br />
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Jean Batiste Say was the origin of the popular phrase that "supply creates its own demand." But if you cannot find a market before your goods are discounted, you are out of luck. One example is Kohls discounting 30 percent, handing out 20 percent coupons, and then topping it off with cash coupons for another visit. If you have a bloated inventory, you have to get cash flowing. John Maynard Keynes (uncle of Quentin Keynes, my African explorer friend, as per previous blog) observed that when people did sell something, it did not guarantee that they would spend the proceeds. In previous recessions, folks have been known to chipmunk and stash money in a mattress. I guess nowadays it would more likely be in the freezer behind the pizza rolls....whatever.<br />
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My point is that there is going to be more turnover and less hoarding in the middle of the economy. <br />
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And that is my soapbox for the day.<br />
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Seniors rock.<br />
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Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-53523556519731837622012-09-14T19:24:00.001-07:002012-09-14T19:24:29.929-07:00New Jersey History<a href="http://njh.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/njh#.UFPmeLCUs-o.blogger">New Jersey History</a><br />
Here is some great information on what makes NJ tick. If you want to know where you are going, you have to know where you have been. Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-74780095990164149172012-09-04T13:19:00.000-07:002012-09-04T13:19:02.649-07:00This Business of Medicare Vouchers....For several weeks now, I have had a Google Alert for news of the Ryan Plan for Medicare. Not surprising, it scared the heck out of me. <br />
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Ryan's plan was conceived because there is a fear that Medicare is running out of time to be able to balance its books. <br />
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That is a bit of nonsense if we are to accept another government form of accounting as being the unassailable truth. This is like looking up at Mount Fuji and knowing that gazillions of people before you have made it to the top. However if you don't feel like you will be able to breathe, or your knees won't take you that far, you are indeed likely to be skeptical of someone who tells you it is going to be duck soup. In this case, miso and duck soup. At any rate, you don't believe that this bozo has all the facts.<br />
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Well that is the case with the Paul Ryan Plan for Medicare. I don't care what anyone says, I want to have the facts for myself. <br />
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And thus the Google Alert that force feeds me article after article concerning this skinny numbskull's well meaning attempt to innovate. Only problem is that his ideas are really not that original.<br />
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For example, his savings for Medicare, which are going to come from vouchers, are the same as the savings projected by the Obama Administration for current policy changes. The Ryan plan will divert the savings into the national "defense fund" whereas Obama will use the monies in medical areas.<br />
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Haven't we had enough of Republican war mongering...excuse me, war policy? Somewhere in the Obama numbers is one TRILLION DOLLARS for future projected costs of the disabled coming home from these recent war exercises in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />
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My heart bleeds for our young men and women who thought they were doing the right thing after 9/11 and found themselves less than they were before. They are coming home as heroes but jobs are not waiting for them and, if disabled, jobs may never be there in the same context as they were before.<br />
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We are coming up on Grandparent's Day. Every year for a decade, it has coincided with the 9/11 weekend. The Grandparents Grove at Mercer County Park is gorgeous this time of year and the Office on Aging maintains a bulletin board with a calendar and all sorts of news. Check it out!<br />
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Perhaps this year we can remember and celebrate family values and traditions while embracing changes in our society. Perhaps it is the desire to leave something of ourselves behind, but seniors are especially good at thinking of others. We must look ahead at those challenges to our economy and how we can now reach out and help our disabled soldiers move forward. <br />
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By the way, the Ryan vouchers have been estimated to cost the average senior between $6,000 and $12,000 extra, above present Medicare amounts, just to keep comparable coverage. <br />
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This column will include further information and investigation into the options put forth by changes in medical coverage during 2012.<br />
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Seniors Rock!<br />
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Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-42875003727493376142012-08-19T13:18:00.000-07:002012-08-19T13:20:12.518-07:002012 Results of NJ Senior Art Show: Huzzah!Mercer County Artists defy category and description. This year's exhibition of Senior Citizen artists showed an amazing range of imagination, inspiration, and ingenuity. Sometimes it takes a lifetime of experience to provide such a rich depth to artistic expression. Its not that we feel superior to those youngsters struggling to find their voice, its just that we are so bursting with life stories that we don't know where to start!<br />
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Many senior recreation centers give older adults their first lessons in art; sometimes art comes from just dabbling and doodling with pen or brush. However it happens, the Mercer County Senior Art Show gives everyone an opportunity to show their final results. Show exhibits are divided into both professional and non-professional categories so that the competition continues to encourage "Sunday painters". <br />
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The Mercer County Senior Art Show is presented each year by the Office on Aging/Department of Human Services, the Division of Culture and Heritage of Mercer County, and with the auspices of the County Executive Brian Hughes. This year's show was elegantly hosted by the Springpoint Foundation at Meadow Lakes in Hightstown, New Jersey. <br />
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The winners from this year's Mercer County Show will go on to the statewide show in the fall. Kate Somers, the jurist for this year's county show, has over 20 years experience and is currently the curator of the Bernstein Gallery at Princeton University. Somers remarked that her choices for this year's prize winners "resonated---each for a different reason."<br />
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We are proud to list the winners:<br />
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Acrylics--Non Professional<br />
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1. Beth K. Wham, "2011's Hot Models"<br />
2. Frank M. Scarpati, "Roses"<br />
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Craft--Non Professional<br />
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1. Sue S. Chiu, "Lidded Basket Jar" clay craft<br />
2. Katheryn Deguire, "Homage to Judy Stein" stained glass<br />
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Mixed Media--Non Professional<br />
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1. Ahuva Arie, "The Balcony" collage<br />
2. Mary S. Johnson, "The Crocodile" mixed media<br />
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Oils--Non Professional<br />
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1. Richard Snarski, "Peter's Pool" oil<br />
2. Norman Fesmire, "Sam" oil<br />
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Photography--Non Professional<br />
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1. Judy Filipponi, "Biding Time in the Village" digital photography<br />
2. Anne Benedict, "The Great Egret is Landing" photography<br />
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Photography--Professional<br />
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1. Gerald P. Sternberg, "Tree of Life" photography<br />
2. Walt Varan, "Untitled" photography<br />
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Watercolors--Professional<br />
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1. Suzanne M. Hunt, "It's a Hoot" watercolor<br />
2. Margaret Rosen, "Prism" watercolor and ink<br />
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Watercolors--Non Professional<br />
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1. Terry Goldstein, "Village on the Hill" watercolor/gouache<br />
2. Huiyi Huang, "Longlife & Happiness" watercolor<br />
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Works on Paper--Professional<br />
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1. Victoria Chu Moy, "Caryatid" Conte pencil<br />
2. Robert Allard, "West Creek Chair house" pencil<br />
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Works on Paper--Non Professional<br />
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1. David T. Potts, "The Sea Maiden" pen and ink<br />
2. Ming Ji, "Lakeside", Chinese ink<br />
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Special awards were presented to the following artists for their extraordinary efforts.<br />
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<u>Best in Show</u>:<br />
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*Frank Snarski, "Peter's Pool" oil<br />
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<u>County Special Mention</u>:<br />
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*Manfred Peil, "Untitled" pen and ink<br />
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<u>Mercer County Intern's Award</u>:<br />
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*David Potts, "The Sea Maiden" pen and ink<br />
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Wow! This show was terrific and everyone who participated deserves applause for a job well done.<br />
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Seniors rock!<br />
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<br />Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-59786401209407162992012-07-26T16:01:00.002-07:002012-07-26T16:01:38.276-07:00Rename Grandparent's Day?Grandparent's Day is celebrated in September. Lately, it has been overshadowed as it falls the same time as memorial events for 9/11. Perhaps this is a good time to remarket the concept.<br />
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Grandparent's Day should be an occasion to gather family members and children around their elderly relatives. The idea is to share family heritage and traditions that might have been taken for granted or ignored because everyone is too busy and going their own way.<br />
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Having a warm fuzzy day honoring grandpas and grandmothers is welcome respite from our hard driving life styles, but today's culture just wants to get past the "grannie" part of the idea. <br />
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There is a current car commercial that features a senior couple heading for a beach party while the grown son is making his own dinner in a microwave: <br />
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"They always said I had the fun parents. Now where is the fun now?" The son is back home, and living with Mom and Dad, but reflects attitudes about growing old that are more mainstream today.<br />
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The stereotype of Gran knitting in her rocker, and Grandpa chewing on his pipe while reading the newspaper, are out of fashion. Today's baby boomers are trying to stay employed as long as possible and do not like to be reminded that they are headed out to the scrap heap.<br />
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The mention of "Grandparent's Day" is likely to be met with conscious denial by baby boomers not ready to retire. I know of an 84 year old who does not want to go to nutrition centers because that is where the "old people" are.<br />
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There is a need for the care and comfort and leadership which seniors supply without equal. However, getting this resource to the younger generation is the problem. If we see this as a delivery problem, as a marketing problem, maybe changing the name will update the concept.<br />
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Seniors have love and experience in abundance. Children left out because they don't have grandparents could be otherwise feel included if the celebration of love and tradition were just called something else....<br />
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Seniors rock.Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-26000559852325713012012-07-21T07:38:00.002-07:002012-07-21T07:38:41.496-07:00From the Personal File: Medicaid Kranks AlongSometime in the early spring, the knob that supports my walker handlebars snapped off. The maintenance man here at my apartment complex offered to repair it. After several days, he finally located a screw long and small enough to fit and installed it. In the meantime, the retailer who had supplied me with my original walker years ago gave me another without charge from a stock of used pieces. <br />
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This knobby issue was not to be the end of my troubles. The brake and cable on the left side sheared off leaving me with no brakes. Once again the retailer sat down for an estimate. Parts and labor were as formal as going to the automobile repair shop. The technique was about the same, the part wasn't too bad, but the labor (to attach a cable to the outside of the walker frame?) doubled the amount. <br />
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It looked like a new machine was the practical way out.<br />
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Enter Medicare and Medicaid. If you need a new mobility issue, there is a time limit. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Well I definitely made the time line and I was entitled to a new "mobility device". The next step was to get the doctor to write a prescription and fax to the retailer.<br />
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Glitch # 1. The retailer calls me and says that she can only give me a walker without a seat. <br />
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"What!" She explains that my Medicare "mobility" party will only pay for part of my rollator. <br />
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Glitch #2. I called my visiting nurse again and found out that she was leaving for another position outside the politically supervised agency supplying me with services, but, not to worry, the additional sum would be picked up by her office.<br />
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Flash to July. Now this has been going on since March.<br />
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My walker is now in pieces. It was merely dilapidated in March and by now it is dangerous. <br />
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Picture this: The brakes were gone, scotch tape wrapped and secured the cables away from the handles so I could grip them, one of the hooks of the wire basket attaching it to the walker had sheared off, the seat had broken off and now rested unsecured between two bars of the main frame, and the four hard rubber wheels were cut and ragged from rolling over Trenton's rough streets and cobblestones.<br />
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Glitch # 3. I called the retailer to see how soon I could pick up my replacement. The answer was not good. Since the script from the doctor, submitted to Medicare's "mobility" clearinghouse, left an amount not covered, they were not going to give it to me. <br />
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Glitch # 4. My visiting nurse director had not yet assigned me to another case worker. I got a letter this week advising me that they were assigning someone.....well... I had to call on Friday. <br />
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Glitch # 5. The worker answering the phone from another agency, (they had gone outside since they felt they were overloaded) who patiently explained to me she did not know what to do. (!) She was new to the situation and had to find out how to "handle" the situation. <br />
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Glitch # 6. When she found the papers to file or whom to contact, she would "get back to me". <br />
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I almost exploded. I explained to her that I cannot use a wheelchair due to my particular injuries, can't afford a powerchair ($60,000 for van, $10000 for lift, and $8000 for chair) and rely on my ten year old Hyundai and my Medicare walker to stay active in the community.<br />
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I also told her that my walker seat has served as my writing surface in class since desktops are not low enough for my peculiar situation....and that this past week was expecially hard for me. During my exam, the seat of my walker fell through the frame! My exam papers, calculator, pens and scratch paper went flying in a noisy jumble to the floor. <br />
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I was mortified.<br />
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Aside from being forty years older than the next oldest student, I try to stay out of the way with my walker, huddled against a wall in a front chair so I don't take up much room. There was no way that my situation could escape notice this exam day! I was embarrassed and distressed. I was also frustrated...but by the time I could get home to phone, any office contact would be fruitless because most Trenton offices close at 4pm. Needless to say, my call to nursing services commenced first thing the next day. <br />
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As of this moment in time, I need a working rollator. I can use the frame to roll down the hall, but the seat is not attached and there are no brakes so it is not safe to use.<br />
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I guess I have no alternative than to wait until that Monday call with an update.<br />
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It started with a knob, and now is a heck of an example of how disconnected, (Yeah, Lord!) disconnected the system has become. The total cost of a premium walker with seat and push bar is around $250. We are probably talking about $50 dollars difference between Medicare and Medicaid....so what the heck is the problem? If they gave me a wheelchair, it would be in the thousands....<br />
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I wonder if nursing services might not want to replace the two case workers who left since they handled the problem by moving cases into other outside agencies....just wondering is this is after all an administrative economy move. <br />
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Just wondering....and things krank, krank, krank along. (That is the sound of my walker kreaking and kranking along...)<br />
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Oh, I offered to expedite things by advancing the difference between Medicare and the visiting nurse share and was told ......there is no provision to reimburse patients! <br />
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Man, this system sucks.<br />
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Seniors rock!Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-78506558121782809632012-07-20T10:18:00.000-07:002012-07-20T10:18:02.008-07:00Trenton's Mud Is Not Saratoga SpaAfter two years of murkiness, the FBI finally stepped in and raided the homes of Mayor Tony Mack, his brother, and one of his associates. Instead of clarifying long standing issues of cronyism and misdirection of funds, the result is a congealed mess of uncertainty for Trenton residents.<br />
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Legendary Saratoga Springs is known for mineral rich springs and herbal mud baths that are reported to relax and heal body and soul. If you try mud therapy, where the sticky smelly stuff oozes into every pore, being surrounded by Mother Earth makes you feel pampered and special. Think more mud might work for Trenton?<br />
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Consider mud. If you live in the city, you are surrounded by sights and sounds, seeping into every cranny of being, garbage juices and mortar dust...did you know that blood smells like iron and leaves a metal tang on the palate...which decomposes to a sickening sweet fetid note that hangs in your clothes until someone cleans up the mess? Not exactly the herbal version.<br />
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After time passes, organic matter becomes melded into mud. Leaves and trees, sand and critter carcasses, layers and layers of all sorts of organic stuff, imbedded with artifacts and fossils, merge on the way to becoming coal.<br />
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Trenton has no shortage of mud: marina mud, Delaware flood overflow, alley way gully washes, and of course Trenton-special City Hall Mud. We almost have a patent on that recipe. <br />
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Well, the Feds want the recipe. <br />
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Think we will ever find out how they are doing in their search? <br />
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Even the governor indicated that reasons for these surprise raids are not forecast in advance and even an educated guess, based on speculation, might have less than a 25% chance of getting right.<br />
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Instead of clarifying matters, mud therapy under FBI hands is likely to leave us just feeling dirty and worse off than before.<br />
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But we are used to that.<br />
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Hopefully things will be better and any positive parts of the Mack administration tenure will surface and reassure residents that voting him in to office was not all bad.<br />
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We senior citizens remember when this city was vibrant and full of light. Now it behooves us all to see that corners are hosed down, the crap hauled away, and the city is left once again to find its way.<br />
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One more thing: <br />
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Don't forget. The Mercer County Senior Art Show is underway at Meadow Lakes in West Windsor. The awards reception is August 3 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Artwork not going on to the New Jersey Senior Art Show will be released to artists immediately following the reception. Paintings may not be taken down before the show is over. Call 609-989-6661 for information.<br />
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Art rocks!<br />
<br />Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-47615737667305375962012-07-11T06:27:00.004-07:002012-07-11T06:27:47.018-07:00Mercer County Senior Art Show 2012 Entries for this year's Mercer County Senior Art Show are due on July 16 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and the show runs from July 18 to August 3.<br />
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Once again, Meadow Lakes, Springpoint Foundation has generously offered the use of their beautiful facilities to Mercer artists and artisans. The address is 300 Meadow Lakes, East Windsor, and their phone contact numbers are 1-800-222-0609 and 609-987-8900. <br />
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The closing reception for artists and friends is August 3 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Winning works will be held to go on to the statewide New Jersey Senior Art Show held in the fall. <br />
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Once again, art categories range from acrylic painting to photography. For a Mercer County Senior Art Show brochure, please contact the Mercer County Office on Aging at 609-989-6661.<br />
If you were not able to make the registration deadline by June 29, please call for updates.<br />
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The continued success of Trenton's Art All Night is a wonderful reminder of how vital art is in New Jersey. The New Jersey Senior Art Show, limited to artists aged 60 and over, demonstrates to budding artists that they are embarking on a lifetime of productive and rewarding activity...<br />
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Art rocks!Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5056417465329048618.post-50983271001740819512012-07-01T14:08:00.002-07:002012-07-20T10:26:28.066-07:00It Seems Like YesterdayNow that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, the elderly and disabled can look forward to a more holistic and affordable approach to medical needs. The dreaded "donut hole" will be fazed out and eventually closed. Visits to the doctor to check out your overall condition before you get sick are now covered under the new law.<br />
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Most of us seniors know someone who has been affected limited income, stretching Social Security checks, trying to pay for prescriptions and doctor deductibles while leaving room for food. The cost of medical care has gotten so high that serious illness can lead to modifying treatment or even bankruptcy. Many doctors told me of their dismay with a system that was broken and needed to be fixed. Now that this law is going into effect, hospital stocks are up in spite of the rest of the market's skepticism about European developments. Traders felt that "Obamacare" is good for the hospitals and good for business. Who knew?<br />
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As I was going through some old family papers today, I compared some of the newspaper clippings with current events. How did medical costs, the basic cost of surviving a medical emergency in our hazard-filled high tech-environment, get to be so extremely expensive?<br />
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In an article written in the Blairstown Press on July 19, 1899, the editor writes: "Vernon, the 11 year old son of Allen Frutchey of Upper Mt. Bethel was killed when driving a reaping machine on his father's farm. For some reason, the horses ran away and he was thrown off the reaper. His little sister who was sitting on the seat with him was unhurt." This was before automobiles and ambulance service so the poor chap succumbed.<br />
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Another entry reads: "The mother of Mrs. Ervin Beck, Mrs. Lavina Emery, died at the former's home in Walnut Valley at the age of 79. Her husband died several years ago meeting a horrible death by falling from a haymow onto the tines of a pitchfork. The deceased was the mother of...." This was before antibiotics and emergency care that could have saved him. She died at home of old age... <br />
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In a later column dated July 19, 1922, the Press editor records: " Merrell Landes fell thirty feet from the haymow on the Charles Lewis farm and was hurt, but not seriously." In those days, if one was able to walk, thrifty hardscrabble farmers likely did not seek medical assistance because of what it might cost.<br />
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During this period of time, one local physican customarily charged $1.00 for visits and $1.50 if he had to set an arm or fix eyeglasses. During prohibition, one doctor prescribed whiskey for his patient and charged $1.50 for a pint to treat "digestive disturbances".<br />
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In a Blairstown Press article dated July 15, 1937, the editor states: "Two boys, Harold Aber, 18 and Junior Nolan 17, of Union City, were hurt when they fell from a rumble seat along the Hope Road. They had been to Blairstown and were hitch-hiking back to Hope where they were visiting. Edwin Schneider gave them a lift and they were having a fine time enjoying the "fun" of standing up in the rumble seat. After a while Schneider missed them and turning back found them along the road. Aber (was) unable to walk and Nolan unconscious. They were taken to Newton Hospital." Here ends the record but one wonders how they got there. Now there was a medical facility in Newton, Sussex County, but it was a good 12 to 15 miles from the scene of the incident. Perhaps Schneider drove them there himself.<br />
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The Press also states in the July 15, 1937 article that "Irvin Phillips, 83 died at the home of his son Edward of Yellow Frame." Elderly people were cared for by family members and many died at home. There is a shift under the Obama administration philosophy to caring for persons in their own homes instead of the current reverse graduation process of hospital-rehab-nursing home that we see so often today. <br />
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The Press also notes in the July 15, 1937 article that "Mrs. Otto Haldiman was painfully injured when the horses ran away. She received a sprained ankle and bruises...Mrs. Orphia Hall has returned from Easton Hospital after surgery....Miss Grace Raynolds returned from Easton Hospital after an appendicitis operation..." Easton Hospital was about 30 miles away, in Pennsylvania and across the Delaware River.<br />
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By 1951, rural area residents were sometimes served by going all the way to Orange Hospital in Orange, New Jersey. Urban areas could support medical facilities to perform complex surgeries.<br />
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Costs had increased from the 1930's but were still low. One financial record in l972 shows doctors visits were up to $11 to $15 per visit, Newton Hospital's radiologist charged $4 to read xrays and all patient bills were sent to the insurer, Prudential Insurance of America, Medicare B Division, for reimbursement. It appears that Medicare paid the hospital bill of about $100 per day or less. <br />
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As employers competed for a depleted work force following WWII, they found that offering medical insurance was an incentive for hiring men. That optional offering morphed into the entitlement situation that currently exists. When an employee is cut out of his job, he loses his health benefits which affects his entire family. This evolved into one of the deciding factors for the present state of the Affordable Care Act, justifying many insuring entities instead of more efficient centralization.<br />
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Employer coverage is not taken lightly by someone in the job force. The threat of losing medical coverage supplied by an employer's pooled coverage is mainly because of the difference in cost. A company writes more favorable terms for a client with many employees who do not make claims for coverage. The employer, in turn, looks for young and healthy employees so the insurer will give him the lowest rates. <br />
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Independent coverage can also have terms dictated by the insurer which often meant that coverage could be denied for preexisting conditions, making it prohibitively expensive to be a single policy. <br />
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Regardless of the political posturing, having a central government-run healthcare entity is the most efficient. Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, and most of the rest of the world has taken steps to assure that their citizens are covered by basic health services. Having a centralized offering worked for them but the United States has been reluctant to change. <br />
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This bring us to Obamacare. <br />
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Yep.<br />
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It looks like we may be taking a huge step forward by taking some small steps backward. Or is it the other way around? We are taking the first step forward to get back to what we had before...before medical overheads and drug costs became so enormous that they could lead to bankruptcy, or before employers figured insurance consequences were part of a resume...<br />
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My opinion is that we have nothing to lose by giving it a chance. We could be worse off if insurers continued to dictate vital terms of service and medical emergency rooms continued to cope with costs from uninsured patients.<br />
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America rocks.<br />
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<br />Artfull Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640322903051802549noreply@blogger.com0