Ozarks Smoke in your blue eyes

Smoking issue

I despise smoking. Smokers smell, they contribute to health hazards. In crowds, they make me smell in a manner that is most offensive when I get away from them; the odor hangs on and ruins my clothes, fouls my surroundings and belongings. (Wipe a wet cloth down the walls of the smoker home, or on the windows of the smoker car. Yech!) With all of the information about health in particular that has been daily available for the last 50 years, I have a really difficult time appreciating the intellect of someone who chooses to begin a smoking habit.

I understand the evils of smoking in terms of health and these days in terms of money. I have great sympathy with the people who think that adding four cents to a pack of cigarettes will keep young people from smoking. I am suspicious of the success future of such thinking, but they have my sympathy.

However, this is an amendment to the constitution. I cannot support a lifetime tag on the amendment of any constitution that addresses an addiction, a health issue and a small tax. This would have to be introduced in a different format to get my support. So, I will be voting NO next week and the smoking idiots can remember that if you play, you pay. Sure, your health care will cost Missouri neighbors, but you will be the uncomfortable one with the ravages of lung cancer or emphysema and with the shortened life. We will miss you, but it was, at the very base of things, your choice and you can choose.

Amendment 2 about Stem Cell Research in Missouri

I have major problems with the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative a proposed amendment for the 2006 elections in Missouri.

Number one, I do not believe this is good for Missouri or the United States. I believe that researchers have not sufficiently resolved the possibilities of stem cell benefits for the ailments and conditions targeted from other sources of stem cells besides embryonic stem cells. I believe there are sufficient other resources for stem cell research and possible resolution of health conditions, both disease and injury. Resources which include cord blood, baby teeth, adult stem cells and others. I do not support the call for the embryonic stem cell supply. There are lines of embryonic stem cells of sufficient supply to experiment. Prove it first with these; then be good scientists and check in other paths to learn if the results cannot be replicated with acceptable stem cell sources. Embryonic stem cells are not acceptable. I must vote NO.

Secondly, the advertising for this initiative makes fools and points the ‘stupid’ finger at Missouri residents and voters by implying that without this amendment being enacted, Missouri residents will be denied the medical advancements of stem cell research. What a totally fraudulent statement to make! That is so insulting. If I were mad/insane enough to endorse this mad scientist idea, I would hope that my pain at the insulting promotion would counsel me to vote NO.

Thirdly, with the caveat that I do endorse stem cell research and that I do not wish to diminish the suffering of people with injuries and conditions for which there is no other encouragement, stem cell research and application/treatment is still a medical procedure. And a medical procedure with limited demand among the general population.

I resist the thinking that would make a medical procedure an amendment to any constitution. Make it a law; make it a proclamation, make it a proposal with term limit, but not an amendment.

I find sufficient reason and personal opinion to vote NO on Amendment 2 next week.

Spring Storms

I told the storm story on email and got some responses:

Friend wrote: I am watching the weather channell are you in the storm cellar.? Reply: Not yet.
Friend wrote: they just said the M word (mansfield) as having 2" of rain
Response: That was last night. The storms rolled around us. This pile of rocks seems to split weather. Ice, tornados, etc go heavily to the east around Houston, or up Interstate 44. There was tornados at St. Mary's last night and Sedalia this afternoon. This morning in KS, Lawrence for one. Funnels over KC, J & Jwoke to sirens and went to their basement spot.

We did put some extra drinking water and batteries in the basement for flashlights & radio. Will probably pack a suitcase with blanket and extra undies, etc. to grab if we need to head out. Ch. 3 & 10 in Springfield are heavy duty storm trackers. When it's cloudy the weather channel doesn't tell us anything, but they were working last night. I have the perpetual weather channel thing on the computer. I get thunder like at the produce department when a warning updates. The icon is red. TV keeps the affected counties down in the corner. When it updates, the machine makes a noise. I don't remember it doing that last night, so maybe they added this aspect.

Our other warning system is Sillyvester the b/w cat. Last night when the storm thunder was rolling in, D. opened the basement door. Silly almost knocked him down running down there. No can find! After the storm was past, we hear a pitiful crying at the basement door. So, we've decided when Silly gets interested in the basement, we'd better be paying attention.

New Beginnings with Spring in the Ozarks

Big thunder boomies and rain here all night, but no storm damage. There will no doubt be some flooding in the "hollers", they aren't putting out weather channel warnings yet. People in other areas had the beejeezus scared out of them with high winds, hail and rain. Table Rock Lake and Branson were the worst last night. The TV people pre-empted much of the night with reports, etc. which is good. The rain has really greened stuff up. Forsythia is getting the yellow flowers. The one that got a good hair cut a couple weeks ago even has a few buds on it. Our neighbor and I were discussing how to trim the ones by the road as we don't want to give them a good hair cut. They are closer to the road, so their three big shrubs stop a lot of dust, noise and give them a little privacy screen. We have one right on the road that stops a lot of dust, with big lilacs paced across the grass toward the house. We're thinking that if we take the trimmer with us when we get the mail and whack a little, we can groom them, but not get us too dusty!

The local saying is that we are 2 weeks from a drought. I think we're cool for a few days.

Determination and a model for us to follow

We are so proud and honored in Mansfield to have been the community of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House books for readers of all ages, but about children's pioneer experiences.

Mrs. Wilder wrote the encouraging and uplifting books at her farmhouse home near Mansfield. Today, Rocky Ridge Farm and her houses are part of a wonderful museum complex honoring her accomplishments, those of her family and the era.

Mrs. Wilder was a determined woman who made a success of her activities in terms of getting them accomplished at every step in her life. She makes a great role model for us here in Mansfield. The goal of the Chamber of Commerce is to get a focus on what she accomplished and teach the community how we can apply her example to our own projects for the betterment and growth of the community.

There are good neighbors everywhere, and we appreciate them. Today, we honor Laura Ingalls Wilder, a neighbor par excellence.

Christmas Spirit is moving into the Ozarks

Today was a veritable round-robin of community Christmas celebrations. Ava started last night and some of the others may have as well. There were parades in Ava this afterhoon, in Seymour at late afternoon and in Mountain Grove and Mansfield this evening.

It occurs to me that we could make a true tour of this day and promote the idea of the various celebrations, schedule things so visitors and local citizens could travel to more than one town if so choosing. The homes along the highway are, to a great percentage, decorated. We could make this an even greater project; carry the trail of lights on into the new year and make our highways an area not to miss when people are coming and going from the sights in Branson.

The weatherman has been begging for snow all week. At Mansfield, about 6:45, there was a STIFF breeze, rapidly dropping temperatures and some mist/snow. We parked so we could view the parade in a nice warm vehicle if necessary and braved the breeze to cross the Square.

The flags were celebrating Christmas! The flag in the oval is located at the Mansfield Veterans' Memorial and the other flags are on the large pole near the gazebo. The moon is shining over the larger US flag and Missouri state flag; while a street light illuminates the US flag at the memorial.

As the floats for the parade approached the crowd waiting near the square, all in attendance stopped for a moment of reflection honoring our troops in Iraq and other parts of the world, defending freedom and democracy.

When is timesaving a big waste?

I have been reading responses to another internet business person's recommendations for saving communication time.

Some of the recommendations are ludicrous, while others have merit. I've decided I need to consider how I truly save time and examine if I waste time and energy by being mean spirited while I think I'm being only a quick contact.

• I commit to respond to email or blogger responses that have content. Communications with content usually need help with a problem or have information that will benefit me and others. Time is an important factor, but the most important side on that is mine. Not that I'm too busy to receive someone email, but that I allow myself the time to think about a response and that I don't respond inappropriately with bad information and/or attitude.
• I can quickly let you know that I have received your message and it has not fallen into the black hole -- if you don't hear from me, be sure to check because maybe the spam program did push you into the black hole and I missed you! In that quick response, I can tell you courteously that I need time to get a decent answer ready for you. An impulsive answer will benefit neither of us.

Silly replies and forwarded email jokes risk being cut off. I'm not usually offended by the sender's thinking of me, but if there's no content or I've seen that joke before, I may just hit delete on my side and keep working. If the sender is family, a friend, or a client whom I really want to butter up, there will probably be a short response!

• I refuse to be bullied by the cost of caller ID. If you are calling to sell me something, I may tell you candidly that

1. I do not have time to take a call like this -- perhaps you called while I am waiting for another call on that line or at meal time or when I am in a conversation with someone else. You don't have exray vision or you wouldn't be a telemarketer; I cannot expect you to KNOW that this is a bad time for me.
2. I do not need or desire your product. I know you are trained to sell and be loyal to your product. My choice isn't a reflection on your product, but expresses my lack of a need or desire for it. That's part of the selling game. There are people who don't buy my product.
3. I do not make impulsive decisions on the phone. I have done that and almost every time been sorry. So, I've made myself a defensive rule from the get-go. Therefore, I probably won't donate to your cause or buy your product. Again, if you were a mind-reader, you probably would have a different job than telemarketing. Or, you wouldn't have called me to begin with.
4. Dear Reader, can you begin to see the futility in being terribly frustrated with the caller? This frustration and even anger is the fine line where I see time and energy being wasted. I commit not to waste my time and energy being provoked.

But, I will make every effort to send you on to your next customer with reasonable civility. This means I may end the call and not involve you in any argument about my choice.

I do not think it is

• funny to take all of your time getting your promotion, THEN tell you I don't want it.
• funny to make rude noises at you on the phone
• funny to lay the phone down and walk away to let you wonder what is going on

There, whether everyone agrees with me, I believe I save time and energy by being civil and not spiteful.

I do have one contact that I need to follow up with as soon as I figure out what I can do for her. She has called me and caught me at a terribly inconvenient time twice and I suspect she thinks I am a sorry contact. She may be right, but because of the inopportune time of her calls, I haven't had a chance to learn about her product to my satisfaction. Darn!

How do you burn your money?

How do you manage your energy costs with increasing prices?

I attended a local energy seminar last night with representatives from energy providors, appliance providers, building supply businesses, and vehicle maintenance experts.

Several common sense recommendations included

• Lower the thermostat
• Wear an extra layer of clothing
• Check for air leaks around windows and doors, then use various products available to stop the leaks. Estimaes of costs under $20 could be regained in energy savings the first month.
• Allow crawl spaces and attics to have some ventilation because condensation from extra moisture in a closed up house becomes a cold pack for your house.
• Have adequate insulation.
• Change or clean air filters for the furnace system.

On your car, it helps mileage to have tires inflated properly, drive a slower, steady speed, combine errands to avoid multiple trips and keep good maintenance for your engine.

These are mostly FREE common sense things to do that can save you money even as the unit price for energy goes up.

Doesn't the warm yellow print for this post make you feel warmer already? And what did it cost you?\

What is your favorite energy saving "little thing"?

Looking Good -- Being Yourself

You should notice a new addition to the links. Heather Kleinman at Cosmetics Connection has been putting out a newsletter reviewing cosmetics for several years.

Heather and her team test the products and send you the reviews! Their opinions seem pretty candid and fairl I'm impressed, so I hope you will be too.

Looking good stimulates our urges to Do Good, Be Good, or however you express the idea of performing at your top capability.

Wear the best clothes you can manage -- you will work better when you're even a little dresses up.

Wear appropriate cosmetics -- Some make-up or mild scent. Always remember to consider the space of those who work around you.

Choose a hairstyle that you can accommodate on your schedule. If you need a shower and run style, you will feel and look better with one than with a choice that requires more effort to maintain.

Be yourself, but give yourself the best tools you can find to work with. Check yourself out -- there is someone in there who wants to look good.

Busy people can get some good points and ideas from researchers like Heather. Saving yourself time and money by letting someone else check out the product contributes to your success.

Look Good Be Your Best Self!

What's your plan?

This morning, I'm thinking there is great risk of getting into a napping mode like our darling Silly in the picture.

But, there are some things on the edges of the picture that we cannot see. Darling Silly isn't just stupidly napping without a care in the world.

He's at the top of stairs approaching a fine deck and view of the country. He's in a good defensive position and down out of the breeze. The sun can just warm him while he watches his domain.

So, do you have your plan? Do you nap in a good defensive position? Do you just let things happen for you?

Plans are difficult to follow through when you are making them on the context of all the other businesses and people you have to work with. There are other people you live with whose needs and plans affect your plans. Trying to keep a many faceted plan that accommodates everyone involved is not impossible. Trying to make a plan that takes care of EVERYTHING involved is not a reasonable goal.

It has long been my opinion that plans are made so you have something to change! My opinion expands to the point that I think a plan should be very flexible and not written in stone. Some items need to be tweaked and even cut. Other things I missed must be added and accounted for.

Unless I have a plan, I cannot measure and be real sure anything happened either for me or to me. If it's happening to me and I have a plan, I can make every effort to make some readjustments and damage control. The things that are damaging me can't be kept in the plan because of sentimental attachments.

If something is happening for me, I must make every effort to get the most out of the benefits.

I have a picture of where I want to be next. Some days the picture seems a little blurred, on other days the depth of field is amazing and I can "see forever". But, it's not a day plan, it's a years plan. I only follow the planned path a day at a time.

There's method in my madness for making Silly's photo look like a puzzle piece. Silly, his deck and his entire domain are a small piece of the puzzle of my plan.

What's your plan?