Prompt Day 3 Opinion and Belief

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action.

1. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family?

2. What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

I will admit this openly and here with my five or six readers I am not sure that i have any truly strongly held beliefs that my friends and family do not share. It is not that I do not keep friends or family with divergent thoughts, opinions or ideas rather I don't feel an opposition or in some way had it stand out as an active (vigilant) way to live it. 
This is what I wrote on the train on the way home...
This is incredibly difficult. I would not and could not say I have any one singular belief that my family and friends oppose or do not share. I have beliefs or practices that some may disagree with but I have found that the friends and family that are true to me and themselves continually question and challenge those beliefs while accepting that we also differ. I too challenge and question their beliefs. I believe my belief would be "You must be patient with everyone as we are all evolving."

One such evolution that I was going to write about and did write about on the train but now decided not to is my desire to understand the basis of other religions. I was raised Irish Catholic. I was not raised blind, racist, or ignorant. The summer of 2001 I had the privilege of taking a class on religions of the near east which covered Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Bahai among others. We had  Spanish Catholics, Pakastani Muslims, Southern Baptists, German Lutherans, and a few Jews in the class and it was taught by an ex Scottish Episcopalian Minister. What a way to learn prejudice and reality. It was fantastic. It was one of the first times I was able to open my mouth and say I find rejoicing in death absolutely awful. I have always been questioned about the fact that I do not support the death penalty (yes even if it were a family member who was killed and I have experience in this matter).  But now I am going on more than I want about this. Let me just say this-I have faith, I believe in a God who is just, who is harsh and loving, who tests us and who pushes us to our boundaries at times to teach us. Our religion is how we name our god. Using his name to kill, maim, justify injury, justify hatred, or preach injustice is not religion or godly Remember that. It is hatred, it is evil. God will know. in any religion.
So how do I live it? I experience other religions. I ask about them, I participate in them. I try to learn what I can about them to understand them. I do not actively preach them. I read proverbs from the bible in the same manner some read poetry or the writings of Confucius.

What I really wanted to write about that is my belief that I know many of my friends just laugh off about me is my recycle/cloth diaper/whole foods/make it at home thing. It is something I am passionate about and actively live.
Recycle/Reuse I love recycling. I grew up with it. My parents were big into recycling-everything from newspapers to rags. We had the rag bag, we had newspapers, we had cans, we reused the plastic bins port wine cheese came in, we reused or recycled everything. We purchased a ton from thrift stores and for the most part it was a good way of life. Recycle and reuse.
Cloth Diapers--Wylie was in cloth from birth to underwear. It took a bit more effort. It took a bit more money in the very beginning. It paid off in his healthy bum and the fact that we created very little trash and he was potty trained rather efficiently (right up until we moved!) but he was poop trained much faster than most. I have educated and shared my experience with several friends and the nice thing is they then did the cloth transition which made me very very happy! :)
Whole Foods-Wyatt makes fun of me for this one but gets it completely. I make my own yogurt, grown my vegetables, try to get small chickens that are organic and free range/farm raised (not full of antibiotics and actually ran in the fields) and getting my beef from a butcher that can tell me the farm the cows came from and that I can take home and grind the beef myself. We actually bought frozen organic vegetables when Wylie was first beginning to eat solids and steamed, pureed, and froze them in ice cube trays. Other parents acted like I was nuts for doing this and that it took so much time out of my day. It took minutes.

Finally we cook a ton of meals at home and make our meals from scratch. easier and more interesting. Yes it takes a bit more time but it is just better for my family.

The Trust 30 Project

My library time has greatly diminished with my commute time having gone up significantly. I decided I will work on the trust 30 project and post here. To learn more about Ralph Waldo Emerson's Project go here.

Day 1:

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.

2. Write the story that has to be written.

Here is my Fifteen Minutes
I start simply with ...
It is late afternoon and I am on the train home from Baltimore listening to the familiar cling kaching that indicates our departure from the station. The first I heard it I thought it was one of the many art or music students playing on their iPhones. I was wrong. It was at first annoying and now it is comforting. There are many times I am wrong and many I am right. The days, weeks, months and years when right and wrong aren't part of the conversation are much more numerous. I do know this and do remember this always. It is the ability to move in those days taking 1, 3 and even 5 glorious minutes to just observe the world around without right or wrong as part of the internal conversation with myself or others that I love. I may or may not know the back story but I do know what my brain and heart are thinking. I make up the story  and chose to just observe not judge. Sometimes I am surprised. Everyone should remember to take the time to observe.

I can see the contrails in the sky white against the blue and wonder if Wylie would point out that the passing cloud makes an X that marks the spot, which of course would make me wonder and then ask "What is it marking?"

I have five minutes left and now need to write the big stuff. There are a few things I firmly want to be in place forever.
1. Hand written letters-A signature, a quick note, the thought of pen to paper with a stamp means more than an email or text. Trust me.
2. Books are the key to the world. -Reading lets you travel, explore, see, hear, taste and smell worlds beyond. It is a ticket unlike any other. Taste the flavor of African nations, smell the market in India, hear the dialect of ancient Greece. Learn Klingon

Wylie- You are my greatest creation and my proudest moment always. I will love you forever and always.
Wyatt-You love me as I evolve even when I don't love myself. I am forever lucky to have someone willing to live with my evolution.

Trust 30 Day 2

View from Playa del Rey

Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. The force of character is cumulative. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

If the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks, then it is more genuine to be present today than to recount yesterdays.

1. How would you describe today using only one sentence?

2.Tell today’s sentence to one other person. Repeat each day.

Today is...

"It is a blue sky and breezy conversation with an old friend kind of day"

This has been the day of beautiful weather, lunch with a friend from the west coast and a conversation about a project that keeps coming back in a way that is a friendly haunting. It really is a breezy kind of day. I would like to keep the days like this for a little while. I'd also like some excitement but nothing too dramatic!

New Library to check out

We moved to Virginia which means I now need to learn and check out the local Fairfax County library system. I'm actually excited to do this and share this with Wylie. Hopefully we will find a great librarian as we did in Los Angeles.

I will have to go in with something showing my current address, something with photo identification, and verify my name and address.

Interestingly you can get a library card through the county for $27 if you do not meet the eligibility requirements by living or residing or attending school in the county.

Our local branch is Kings Park. I'm happy to report it has Saturday hours. I'm sad to report it has equally wacky hours like the Los Angeles Library.

Read all about the library here.

AMAZON KINDLE HAPPINESS

I received the Amazon Kindle as a gift for Christmas in 2010.
I love it.
Things I love about it:
1. I have enjoyed finding free books through Amazon which means I've been revisiting many of the classics that are now free domain.
2. I have enjoyed the ability to "try" a book before buying it for the Kindle through free samples which are more than two pages and give a really good sense of the book.
3. I have enjoyed that I can put my crochet patterns and recipes in .pdf format on the Kindle which means I'm not traveling around with a ton of random pieces of paper and then losing said piece of paper. It's on my Kindle. I can bring the patterns and recipes to share without hassle.
4. It is fantastic that I can put work documents in .pdf format (mainly reports and research papers) on it. It cuts down on the paper I travel with as well as it opens up my commute to getting the reading I need to get done for work.
In short I love the Kindle.

The one and only thing that bugged me about the Kindle:
1. NO LIBRARY ACCESS. I hated that. There were programs out there to strip e-books from the library of their programming that kept them from being loaded onto a Kindle but that just didn't feel right and in most cases was a hassle. I tried it and it didn't work.
The NOOK had library e-book access. It was a bummer not to have that access.

MY YAHOO MOMENT:
Kindle is opening up its lending library program to 11,000 libraries later this year which means I can start getting my library books on the Kindle. So so so so so excited about this.
Of course I will still continue to go to the library to get books as it is still fun to have a book in hand that is hard cover etc.
Of course Wylie still loves going to the library as well which means our use of the public library isn't going away anytime soon.

The Five Finger Rule...

I follow Emily Rosenbaum via her blog Wheels on the Bus. She tells it like it is and then throws in some great insight as to why and how you might be feeling the way you are in a situation. Love it.
Once again I read something that on the surface seems okay but then totally makes sense as to why I hate it.

Emily writes about a Five Finger Rule to identifying if a book is too easy, just right or too hard for you or your child to read. Pick a random page and read it to the bottom. Every time you come across a word that you do not understand or can figure out in context raise a finger (try not to raise the middle one please). If there are five fingers up at the end then the book is too hard. If none too easy.
Think about it. Pick up the book closest to you and see what you think. The book closest to me is a business book (boring I know) about The Influentials. I know all the words, I know all the context, so the book must be too easy, but if it is so easy why on earth can't I finish it. Because it's boring and not very new in thought and idea.
My Dilemma:
As a child I was continually encouraged to read at home being the youngest of three I read what was on the shelves and in the bookbags, parents bookshelves, siblings rooms etc. I read any and everything and I read far too much Lois Lenski, Judy Bloom, and Agatha Christie. I loved reading it was my world.

As a child and young adult I was continually encouraged to read but was completely and utterly limited continually about the subject matter of what I read at school. I remember hiding books (the idea!) from teachers because I would be in trouble for reading them. I am not talking about Flowers in the Attic or Forever. I'm talking about Hitler Stole Pink Bunny, The Last Empire, Blue Valentine, Zoo Boy. These were touching on things I couldn't possible experience or understand immediately but they exposed me. They made me want to know more. Most stuck with me later in life and to be honest there isn't a book I won't try.

As Wylie gets into elementary and middle school I want him to read. I want to encourage him to explore with his mind and take that learning and exploration with him through life as he learns and goes new places. I also want to be supportive in his school. Tough because as a child I read what I wanted and pretty much ignored what my teachers said were too hard.

So what do you think?


So what do you think? How do you rate a book

50 Books Children Should Read

A Thank You to MM/Granny who sent me the list with the insight that Alice in Wonderland was a little nonsensical but good. :)

This is a fantastic source of great books and what I like is while they are gender "neutral" in most cases the stories are about daring, independence, chance and experimenting with positive and sometimes negative results. We have been reading a few series of chapter books to Wylie that are perfect for little boys full of mischief and excitement with just a dose of moral undertones to teach a lesson.

There are many books on the list that I read between the ages of 8 and 14 that had a profound impact on my life. Ones that when I read the title I have the immediate sense of the story, the images and the emotion that I felt while reading them.

This is from the Independent UK.

The 50 books every child should read,

Education Secretary Michael Gove says that children aged 11 should be reading 50 books a year to improve literacy standards. Mr Gove made his comments after observing a school in Harlem, New York, which sets pupils a "50-book challenge" over a year.

Three of Britain's leading children's authors and two of Independent UK book experts each picked 10 books, suitable for Year 7 students. The authors chose books that have brought them huge joy, while expressing their outrage at the "great big contradiction" of Mr Gove's claim to wish to improve literacy while closing libraries across the country.

Michael Morpurgo said: "This target sounds like a neat solution, but the Government is depriving the massive number of children who don't read of the chance to discover books."

From Philip Pullman:

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.--Indispensable. The great classic beginning of English children's literature.

2. Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. What effortless invention looks like.

3. Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner. A great political story: democracy in action.

4. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. As clear and pure as Mozart.

5. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken. If Ransome was Mozart, Aiken was Rossini. Unforced effervescence.

6. The Owl Service by Alan Garner. Showed how children's literature could sound dark and troubling chords.

7. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Superb wit and vigorous invention.

8. Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson. Any of the Moomin books would supply the same strange light Nordic magic.

9. A Hundred Million Francs by Paul Berna. A particular favourite of mine, as much for Richard Kennedy's delicate illustrations (in the English edition) as for the story.

10. The Castafiore Emerald by Hergé. Three generations of this family have loved Tintin. Perfect timing, perfect narrative tact and command, blissfully funny.

From Michael Morpurgo:

1. The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson. The heroine is blessed with such wonderful friends who help her through the twists and turns of this incredible journey.

2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The first few pages were so engaging, Marley's ghostly face on the knocker of Scrooge's door still gives me the shivers.

3. Just William books by Richmal Crompton. These are a must for every child.

4. The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde. This was the first story, I think, that ever made me cry and it still has the power to make me cry.

5. The Elephant's Child From The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The story my mother used to read me most often, because I asked for it again and again. I loved the sheer fun of it, the music and the rhythm of the words. It was subversive too. Still my favourite story.

5. Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson This was the first real book I read for myself. I lived this book as I read it.

6. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. A classic tale of man versus nature. I wish I'd written this.

7. The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono. A book for children from 8 to 80. I love the humanity of this story and how one man's efforts can change the future for so many.

8. The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy The story of two children who go to find their father who has been listed missing in the trenches of the First World War.

9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett. I love this story of a girl's life being changed by nature.

From Katy Guest, literary editor for The Independent on Sunday:

1. Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah. Story of a young Ethiopian boy, whose parents abandon him in London to save his life.

2. Finn Family Moomintroll (and the other Moomin books) by Tove Jansson. A fantasy series for small children that introduces bigger ones to ideas of adventure, dealing with fear, understanding character and tolerating difference.

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. It's rude, it's funny and it will chime with every 11-year-old who's ever started a new school.

4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Written for a teenage audience but fun at any age.

5. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein. Be warned, these tales of hobbits, elves and Middle Earth are dangerously addictive.

6. The Tygrine Cat (and The Tygrine Cat on the Run) by Inbali Iserles. If your parents keep going on at you to read Tarka the Otter, The Sheep-Pig and other animal fantasies, do –they're great books – also try Iserles' stories about a cat seeking his destiny.

7. Carry On, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse. A grown-up book – but not that grown-up.

8. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story of a family fleeing the Nazis in 1933.

9. Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett. Elaborate mythological imagery and a background based in real science. If you like this, the Discworld series offers plenty more.

10. The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson. The pinnacle of the wonderful Jacqueline Wilson's brilliant and enormous output.

From John Walsh, author and Independent columnist:

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Irresistible puzzle-solving tales of the chilly Victorian master-sleuth and his dim medical sidekick.

2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Age-transcending tale, both funny and sad.

3. Mistress Masham's Repose by TH White. Magical story of 10-year-old Maria, living in a derelict stately home, shy, lonely and under threat from both her governess and her rascally guardian.

4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Inexplicably evergreen, trend and taste-defying 1868 classic.

5. How to be Topp by Geoffrey Willams and Ronald Searle. Side-splitting satire on skool, oiks, teechers, fules, bulies, swots.

6. Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. First of the action-packed adventures with 14-year-old Alex Rider.

7. Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. "Dulce et Decorum Est" for pre-teens.

8. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Lively, amoral, wildly imaginative debut (six more followed) about the money-grabbing master-criminal Artemis, The author called it "Die Hard with fairies".

9. The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. Inspiring wartime story of the Balicki family in Warsaw.

10. Animal Farm by George Orwell. Smart 11-year-olds won't need any pre-knowledge of Marx, Lenin, Trotsky and 1917 to appreciate this brilliantly-told fable.

From Michael Rosen:

1. Skellig by David Almond. Brings magical realism to working-class North-east England.

2. Red Cherry Red by Jackie Kay. A book of poems that reaches deep into our hidden thoughts but also talks in a joyous voice exploring the everyday.

3. Talkin Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah. A book of poems that demands to be read aloud, performed and thought about.

4. Greek myths by Geraldine McCaughrean. Superheroes battle with demons, gods intervene in our pleasures and fears – a bit like the spectres in our minds going through daily life, really – beautifully retold here.

5. People Might Hear You by Robin Klein. A profound, suspenseful story about sects, freedom and the rights of all young people – especially girls.

6. Noughts and Crosses by Malory Blackman. A book that dared to go where no one thought you could with young audiences because it raises tough stuff to do with race.

7. Einstein's Underpants and How They Saved the World by Anthony McGowan. A crazy adventure set amongst the kids you don't want to know but who this book makes you really, really care about.

8. After the First Death by Robert Cormier. Cormier is never afraid of handling how the personal meets the political all within the framework of a thriller.

9. The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. A book that allows difference to be part of the plot and not a point in itself.

10. Beano Annual. A cornucopia of nutty, bad, silly ideas, tricks, situations and plots.

So I add to this list:

1. The Old Mother West Wind Series-The life in the forest that you never knew existed.

2. Dragon Stories-Short stories about dragons written in 1901.