Esprit de Corps

Nana & Henry Mother's Day 2006

2006-09-19T11:39:00.000-05:00

Grandson, Henry attended Commencement, too!

Wonderful Mother's Day 2006

2006-09-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day Gift. All our family were gathered in St. Paul, MN to attend the University of Minnesota Commencement and the conferring of my daughter's PhD in Environmental Health, School of Public Health.

Rigdon's Esprit de Corps

2006-03-19T22:53:00.000-06:00

We are Family

I'm a widow and the eldest survivor of my family, even though I'm only 17.25 years old in "leapyears" . Still, I work full time as an administrative assistant to the Mayor of Davenport, IA and serve on the board of directors of a couple of non-profit agencies.

Members of my immediate and extended family are: daughter, Jen and Ed, of MD; son, Dallas and Meg and family, of IA; daughter Carrie and Ben and family, of MN; niece, Anne and Bruno and family, of MN; and nephew, Scott and Jenella, of CA. I have four grandchildren and two, stepgrandchildren. We are the Rigdon's and the Carroll's.

We have a wonderful esprit de corps and are fun, bright, supportive without being suffocating and could run this country. But that is not an appointed position, so we choose to be movers and shakers in other arenas. Our occupations are those of engineers (mechanical, civil, electrical), psychologist, entomologists, sales, information technology, consultatant/technical publishing, and public health/epidemiologist. It is a privilege and honor to have such well-educated, loving and fun family.

New USDA Food Pyramid

2005-04-24T18:10:00.000-05:00

The U.S.D.A released the new food pyramid last week and already it is receiving criticism. Remember over a decade ago we were moaning about all the fruits and vegetables we were supposed to consume in one day? Well the critics have likened all the vertical colors in this new pyramid to the Homeland Security alerts and contend that the graphic is meaningless. Further criticism is that the new pyramid is soft on admonishing our intake of fatty foods when obesity is such a nationwide health problem. What do you think of this new pyramid? (Is it a pyramid?)

Visit the USDA site . It is interactive and allows one to input your height, weight, amount of exercise, then add your daily food intake and it will calculate if you've met your daily requirements. There is a host of other information for healthy eating, exercise, plus menus. I think the site is great. But must admit the colors and steps in the graphic doesn't readily depict food to me.

Solar Nutrution - it's not what you eat but when you eat

2005-04-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

I just read an article about solar nutrition or chronobiotic nutrition. It's based on eating certain foods at certain times of the day--based on the relationship of the sun to Earth.

The solar nutritionists believe the human body is calibrated to the cycle of the sun. If one eats foods in the times of their highest energy, depending on the angle of the sun, your body allegedly will digest them better and your body will function more efficiently.

For example imagine a tree, a bush and a root. Morning foods are which get the early morning rays (bananas, apples, kiwi, avocados,mangos almonds, pecans); midday foods are vegetables and fruits that grow up to 4 feet above the ground, along with meat and dairy products as they absorb the sun's energy through the middle of the day; food which grows underground or in the dark receive different radiation from the sun at the end of the day (asparagus, leeks, onions, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, yams, pineapple, water chestnuts, peanuts, eggs, fish).

Check out this book for more information on the subject, "Yes, No, Maybe" Chronobiotic Nutrition, by Marcella Vonn Harting; or visit this eat solar website.

Curious isn't it?

Wisconsin Catfight

2005-03-29T21:12:00.000-06:00

MSNBC - Open season on cats in Wisconsin?

On April 11, Wisconsin citizens in all 48 counties may vote on whether or not to allow "open season" on rural, feral cats. The feral cats are diminishing the bird population. The Wisconsin Conservation Congress is bringing this proposal before the citizenry, in order to give advice to state legislators. It's become a catfight.

Getting the citizens in an uproar reminds me of the Iowa Legislature. Almost every session a proposal comes forth to allow the hunting of Mourning Doves. And every year the bird lovers unite and flood the editorial pages and legislators mailboxes, until the proposal dies in committee.

Taiwan Protest

2005-03-26T21:06:00.000-06:00

The protest in Taiwan against China's anti-secession law drew thousands. Let's hope that talks between the two countries resume and any conflict can be avoided.
More - Yahoo! News - Massive Protest in Taiwan Against China Law

PAX WORLD FUNDS DIVEST STARBUCKS SHARES

2005-03-26T11:01:00.000-06:00

This caught my attention. Pax World Funds do not invest in alcohol, drugs, tobacco or defense contracts, therefore their announcement to divest Starbucks shares worth $23 million. Starbucks announced in February 2005 that they will be manufacturing coffees with Jim Beam alcohol, which will be sold through restaurants and establishments selling alcohol, but not in their coffee shops.

Read Pax World Funds media release:
PAX WORLD FUNDS RELUCTANTLY DIVESTED 375,000 STARBUCKS SHARES AS A RESULT OF COMPANY'S NEW ALCOHOL VENTURE

Ordering soup at Panera's?

2005-03-25T21:44:00.000-06:00

When I first frequented Panera's and ordered soup, I noticed that the order included a hard roll, but no butter/margarine or a knife. I assumed that the items could be found at the station with all the sodas, and accoutrements. Not finding a knife, I headed back to the counter to ask and they handed me one. So that's the drill- you must ask for a knife when you pick up your soup order.

I stopped at Panera's today, ordered soup and proceeded to enjoy lunch while reading the New York Times. Glancing up, I noticed the woman across from me tear off a piece of the hard roll and proceed to swipe the roll bite into that tiny tub of margarine. This is no easy task. My first impulse was to inform her where she could get a knife, but decided against it.

(It reminded me of an incident when I was a camp director. The meals were served family style with full place settings for eight, with one staff seated per table. During breakfast one first day at camp, a young camper reached into the bowl of butter with her first two fingers, swiped some up and proceeded to spread her toast. The staff member did not reprehend the camper, but brought it to my attention immediately afterwards. In a private meeting with the camper, I calmly explained that we needed to use silverware and demonstrated how to use a table knife.)

As I was getting ready to leave, two women sat down beside me. One exclaimed: "Where's the butter?" while the other one said, "There's no knife!". This time I did explain where to find the items. One of the women remarked that it should be customary to include a knife with a roll, without the customer having to ask for one. Exiting my table, I made a point not to glance at the women across from me.

Parents who don't give up

2005-03-23T19:27:00.000-06:00

Friday I was reading an article by John Carlos, Des Moines Register, about "Parents will not give up if child has a chance left". http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050318/OPINION01/503180388/1035/archive

The thrust of the article was about parents not giving up on their mentally and physically challenged children, and featured the parents (Schindler's) of Terri Schiavo and their devotion these past 15 years. Carlos mentions that all of us have seen the videos of Terri and how she responds by smiling at her parents, and how music seems to please her.

The Schindlers have never given up on Terri. They are happy to have her alive, whether or not her condition improves. Removing the feeding tube is a tough call, particularly after all these years. It may have been an easier decision to terminate Terri's life within the first few months, but that wasn't done. Personally, I do not wish to be kept alive on life support, but if I had to make that decision for a child of mine I'm not certain that I would give up either. However, I am not in favor of Congress interfering in this matter.

Our family has first hand knowledge about parents who don't give up. My older brother Warren, was a little over three years old when he ate potato spray laced with arsenate of lead. The potato spray was green with the consistency of malted milk. It looked so good. The hired man left a pail with a small amount of the spray in the barn. Warren wandered into the barn, found the pail and with his mittened hand scooped up the pretty green stuff and ingested it. He was not expected to live. The immediate effect was that he could not walk or talk. The long term effects were brain damage, hearing and site loss, and a fragile psyche. When Warren was able to start kindergarten he was much older than his classmates. My parents moved from the farm to Waterloo, when I was two, in order for Warren to benefit from the first special education teacher/class in the state. My parents never gave up on him during his or their lifetimes.

Words that leave an impression

2005-03-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

Hemorrhagic Septicimia

I must have been 4 or 5 years old, when I first heard the word "hemorrhagic septicimia". It would pop up from time to time, in family gatherings. Initially, I had no idea what it meant but the words had such a lilt to them and after all these years it still conjures up the memories of a happy chilhood and fun, family gatherings. My parents (born in 1900 and 1903) came from large families and grew up living on a farm. Family gatherings were frequent as were discussions about their childhood, antics, "the depression" and farming, which is where the words hemorrhagic septicimia would crop up. When I was finally old enough to ask what it meant, it was explained that it was a disease that affected cattle, in 1912 and 1922. This disease had a significant impact on their lives and livelihood. In those days people raised chickens, pigs and cattle not only as a source of income but as a food source. Cattle with this disease either died or had to be killed, to prevent its spread and the meat could not be consumed by humans.

Even after my parents and relatives moved off the farm, they continued the process of butchering and home canning meat (and vegetables) . Before home freezers, people rented space in lockers to store their butchered meat, rather than home canning it. My parents had locker space in "Potter's Polar Pantry" which also made and served its own ice cream. On a sweltering, Iowa summer evening it was a treat to go to the 'pantry" for ice cream and then go inside this huge, frigid, locker room to pick up your meat.

Today during my "wake up" cup of coffee, NPR reported on "hemorrhagic fever", a form of Ebola, killing 87 people in Angola. It's curious how hearing the word fever conjured up sadness and fear, whereas "hemorrhagic septicimia" only brings happy, family times to my mind.

Go Blue Alum - Randy Wayne White!

2005-03-22T21:44:00.000-06:00

Go Blue (Blue Devils) is the chant for students and alum of Davenport Central High School (Davenport, IA). Randy Wayne White, 1968 Davenport Central High grad, has just published his 12th book, "Dead of Night", released March 18, 2005 . White visited Central High in June 2004, after the release of book # 11, "Tampa Burn" which was #12 on the New York Times bestseller list and includes a visit to Davenport Central . He admits to being a C- student and was a former fishing guide around Ft, Myers, FL until environmental problems restricted that trade. He turned to writing as a monthly columnist for Outside Magazine. His first suspense novel, "Sanibel Flats", featured biologist, Doc Ford who became the main character for Wayne's future novels. Author White also wrote and narrated the National PBS documentary, The Gift of the Game about taking baseball gear to kids in Cuba. Visit his webpage Doc Ford, Official website, DocFord.com

Meet Your Match at Home Depot

2005-03-21T22:38:00.000-06:00

Saturday, while listening to National Public Radio (NPR) I heard Scott Simon interviewing a woman regarding "Checking out singles scene at Home Depot" . Home Depot is the Top 10 places to meet in Detroit! Listen to the interview here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4542584

I'm certain that it's not the #1 place to meet for senior citizens.

Casual Dress Day

2005-03-21T20:47:00.000-06:00

We have casual dress day on Fridays. As I see it, the powers that be never defined what would be acceptable as casual dress. The dress code for Monday through Friday is pretty casual for many staff--some wear jeans, sweatshirts, etc. On Fridays, what people choose to wear really deteriorates. The exception is the revenue staff who collect sewer, garbage fees and business permits. They are not allowed to wear jeans, even on casual days, per their director's policy. The revenue counter is on the first floor and is an open counter, so everyone coming into city hall passes in front of them. Bravo! It would be simpler to amend the casual day policy, to disallow jeans on casual days. Men and women have plenty of choices with chinos/slacks and still look casual but professional.

Mom is blogging!

2005-03-20T22:42:00.000-06:00

I have to admit it, my mom has always been a hip woman while still remaining down-to-earth. So it should come as no surprise to find that she's started her own blog. She never shys away from embracing a good idea, no matter what the technology. I've recently started my own blog and found it a great way to share things with friends and family. I'm sure that was a big draw for my mom, too.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Mom!

(P.S.: Let me know if you'd like some help setting up the site.)

Joy is Emily

2005-03-18T22:41:00.000-06:00

Emily, daughter of Meg and Dallas was born January 7, 2005, is the latest member of our family. Joy!

I could not believe all the new widgets, gadgets and accessories available today for infants. The one I howled over is a machine to keep the baby wipes warm. And I'm having to be re-trained in the care of newborns:

Newborns must be kept on their backs. Studies have shown that this reduces the risk of S.I.D.S. (No more rotating from side, to back, to other side.)
Newborns should not be covered with blankets while they sleep. Reduces suffocation.
Infants cannot be spoiled for the first 3 months of their life.
Hospitals place an anti-theft device on each newborn to prevent kidnapping.
Infants may not have cereal or fruit until they are three months old.
Research the various styles of slings before purchasing. Some cause too much pressure on their tailbone and spine. (In my day there was one choice and now I wonder if it caused any damage.)

Welcome to the world Emily and we cannot wait for your firsts.