CACOPHONY

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by the world in which we live. Terrorist groups, school shootings, the opioid epidemic, the Tide Pod challenge. How did we ever get here?
I see and hear from people all the time about gun control, immigration, violent video games, pharmaceutical lobbies, discipline, the list goes on and on.
I am left to wonder just what has changed over all these decades. I see technology as the root of our problems, or more specifically, our use of technology.
The further back in time that we look, the closer our family ties were. Transportation was slower and our communities were more rural in nature. This meant that most of our time was spent with family. We also spent time in our schools and places of worship. Our upbringing was defined by those that we were exposed to.
Enter the television.

When I was young there were three stations and PBS if you used the UHF dial. The news was one hour nightly and most of the programming was variety shows and sitcoms. There we became aware of things happening beyond our community. Still, we watched TV as a family. 

It wasn't long before we developed the TV dinner and tray tables. The family meal was becoming a thing of the past. Soon, TV became the babysitter, keeping the kids occupied and out of their parents hair.

Today we have 100+ channels and in order to fill all of that time the networks have had to create programming that is often meaningless. We have channels dedicated to sports, food, news, weather, history. We have information (and disinformation) overload. 

I remember the first home video game.

It really wasn't much more than a way to pass some time. Board games and card games with family and friends was still much more entertaining. Today's games are much more realistic looking, more addictive and solitary.

Along came the home computer and with it came the internet, although at 2400 baud it was slow. 

The computers of today allow us access to pretty much anything and everything that we can conceive of. It is wonderful to be able to keep in touch with friends and family that live all over this country. I love finding new recipes with just a few clicks of the mouse. But I also find my inbox full of links to 'cheap viagra', 'meet singles', 'bitcoin opportunities', yada, yada, yada.

When we are young, we're taught how to be a contributing family member. Then we are taught how to be a member of our school and our church. In high school we are taught how to be a member of our community. It was in early adulthood that we learned how to be a member of the world at large.

Society these days, exposes children of very young ages to the world at large. We expect them to be able to develop a worldview without laying the groundwork in our homes first. 

In my time, kindergarten was a fairly new concept. Now we have preschool. Children need that time to experience and learn family membership and to have the people in their lives model how to be 'good' people before they are sent forth into the larger world.

We have abdicated our roles as parents to the so-called experts and to technology. 

There was a time when communication occurred face-to-face or over landlines. You actually had to sit where the phone was located, (and where you were within earshot of your parents) in order to use it.

In the modern world, children compete with technology for their parents' attention. Parents compete with technology for their children's attention. Look around on any street  and you will see people walking around with a phone capable of delivering violent games,, internet craziness, news and nonnews, viewpoints with which we strongly agree and viewpoints with which we strongly disagree. Our young people have developed an addiction to these phones and we are the ones who give it to them.

DON'T FORGET - YESTERDAY

It seems that lately the books I read, the conversations I have, the news I hear, a recurring theme is Alzheimers and forgetting. Since this disease runs in my family and is the thing I fear most, I have given a lot of thought as to all of the things I don't want to forget.
It really isn't the places I've been or have lived. I have many fond memories but if they were to fade away, I don't think it would destroy me.
I would like to remember the people that I have loved and those that have influenced me. Knowing who I can turn to, who I can trust would be a very good thing. Even so, if my memory of them was lost, I doubt if I would know that it matters.
The things that I have experienced such as childhood, parenthood, life experiences are things that I could let go of too. I have already lived them and they are part of my past.
What I truly want to hold on to is the lessons that have been the end result of the places, people and experiences of my life. The me that I have become. The knowing of my place in the universe, as small as it may be.
Confronting those things that had held me in their grip from my past, when I looked honestly at them, showed me that at every age of my life, it was I that had the greatest influence on every level. Rage, guilt, shame washed way.
The lesson that I determine my life is a lesson I never wish to forget.
The lesson that guilt and shame creates a wall between myself and spirit, a sin even greater than any 'crime' I may have committed is one that I hold dear. I never want to forget that.
Learning to be grateful in the face of adversity knowing that all things lead back to spirit is another lesson that was hard to learn and that I never want to forget.
Every life is an opportunity to learn, to advance the spirit. The lessons of my life have created a me that I can live with, a me that I don't want to forget.

A FULL CUP

I love my morning cup of coffee when I have the day off from work. The day lies in wait for whatever I choose to do with it.

Those calm quiet moments, waiting for daylight to come, are a joy for me. I sip and ponder what the day will bring.

On workdays, I tend to hurry through two cups, counting on the caffeine to help jump start my day. I have a time frame to go by after all. That's not a bad thing. It's nice to have the decisions already made for me as to how to proceed with the day.

No matter which type of day it is, one of the things I do as I drink my morning joe is to try to greet the day with a smile. I find that if I can intentionally bring a positive attitude to my morning the day will nearly always continue to be a good day.

I saw this gem on my Facebook feed and found it definitely worth sharing. Perhaps it will give you something to pause and think upon.

SUE'S RECIPE

I admit it, I'm especially proud of myself today. Because of the high cost of beef these days, our dinner menu has been a steady diet of chicken or pork. Salads have been rare because I truly love the fresh farmer's market produce and let's face it, Walmart's produce sucks. Not exactly an iron rich diet and I tend towards anemia. One thing I do have plenty of in the freezer (thanks to some butchering friends) is liver. So tonight was liver and onion night.
I had made it once before and I was less than impressed. In other words, yuck. So I was determined that I would create the ultimate liver dish. I actually succeeded. It was almost delicious.
So I present to you, Sue's Liver Recipe. Maybe you need iron, or are just adventurous, but try it. Besides, I wanted to write it down so that I could make it again just as good.

Early prep: In the morning, place the liver in a colander or strainer and rinse until all the blood is washed out. Place the meat in a Ziploc bag with milk to marinate all day. (this reduces the bitterness).

Approximately two hours before dinnertime: Slice an onion, saute in plenty of butter. While the onions are cooking, put one can of cream of mushroom soup, and one can of water with a beef boullion cube into a casserole dish. Add another half can of water, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp. of brown sugar. Put your cooked onions into the casserole dish. Now brown your meat in the butter you cooked your onions in. Heat oven to 325. Stir all of you ingredients in the casserole dish then add your browned liver. Press the meat into the liquid so that it is covered. Cover dish with foil and place in oven for about one and a half hours. After one hour, pull out, stir, add another boullion cube, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Replace foil and return to oven.

Serve with mashed potatoes. The gravy has enough flavor to cancel the bland/bitterness of the meat and this makes a lot of gravy.

Bon Appetit!
Sorry there's no picture. I wasn't expecting it turn out so good. The leftover night was even better!