Both ends of the rainbow at my house this morning.

See this?  It was very cold and wind chill was -16.  This is when I went out to take care of the geese.  When I poked the hole in the surface with the wrecking bar water squirted straight in the air.  That tells me I need to pick up a tank heater to keep my tank from rupturing.

Ok, I got  a dentist appointment this morning so I got to get around.  Just wanted to show you my rainbow.

Milton Hershey School and my boycott on Hershey Products.

In case you missed it, this statement was released on December 1, which was World AIDS Day.  I can not let this one slide by and was on facebook until late last night with defenders of MHS. I must say these people are very biased and uneducated.

Here is the entire statement from the Hershey School:Today, Milton Hershey School had planned to file a request in federal court asking the court to review our decision to deny enrollment to a child who is HIV positive because of concerns for the health and safety of our current students.
We had been in discussions with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, which is representing this 13-year-old boy. Recognizing the complex legal issues, the School was preparing to ask the court to weigh in on this matter. Unfortunately, attorneys for the young man took the adversarial action of filing a lawsuit against the School.
The decision to deny enrollment was a challenging one for us to make. Like all our enrollment decisions, we need to balance our desire to serve the needs of an individual child seeking admission with our obligation to protect the health and safety of all 1,850 children already in our care.
Attorneys for this young man and his mother have suggested that this case is comparable to the Ryan White case. But this case is actually nothing like the Ryan White case. Milton Hershey School is not a day school, where students go home to their family at the end of the day. Instead, this is a unique home-like environment, a pre-K to 12 residential school where children live in homes with 10 to 12 other students on our campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In order to protect our children in this unique environment, we cannot accommodate the needs of students with chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.The reason is simple. We are serving children, and no child can be assumed to always make responsible decisions which protect the well-being of others.
That is why, after careful review and analysis, we determined we could not put our children at risk.

By Dan Stamm for NBC News (Philadelphia)

Now, my take on this.  I am sure the MHS is a privately owned and privately funded school and I am sure they do not have to let this boy in.  That is neither here nor there.  What upsets me is the reasoning and ignorance behind the statements "our decision to deny enrollment to a child who is HIV positive because of concerns for the health and safety of our current students." and "In order to protect our children in this unique environment, we cannot accommodate the needs of students with chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others."
We work very hard teaching people that HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease and must be managed as such, and then we encounter educated people like this that runs screaming from a 13 year old boy who carries the infection, just breaks my heart.
I volunteer with a group that is funded by Ryan White.  The Clinic is funded by Ryan White.  Education is one of the main goals of Ryan White.  The White family did not ever want another child to go through what their son went through, hence the goal of education.  We deal with AIDS clients on a daily basis.  I feed them, hug them, kiss them good bye.  I have set by bedsides as life ebbed from the frail body and held them so they were not alone.  I remain negative.
One of the defenders last night told me they have a trust fund and do not need my piddly amount of money that I spend on Hershey products.  That came as a shock to me because I use a can or two of cocoa every month and sometimes I grab a candy bar.  I will not go into all the conversations on facebook last night, but I must post this one.  Well, never mind.  They have suspended all posts on their site and  it is gone, but I remember it and it went like this "I AM A FIREFIGHTER AND GO TO THIS SCHOOL AND I DO NOT WANT HIM HERE!"  There was more, but it is all a moot point.
So I say this to you;  I will no longer buy any Hershey product. I can not in any way bring myself to put another cent into the coffers of a  member of this world community that refuses to be educated in a disease that strikes the innocent as well as the not so innocent.  We are all God's creatures and Hershey makes no mention of compassion, understanding and they are sending 1,850 students into the world every year to carry on thier message of intolerance.  If the people I encountered on thier site last night are any representation of these self same students I do not want to meet any of them on the street.  They have become mean intolerant big people.  I will stay here in my little world and do my humble service to the clients who need me and I will send a donation to this kid as soon as I get a site for him.  Not for his legal fund, but because it is kids like this who become the Ryan White's of tomorrow.


 
now:\r\nhttp://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000005217789&pubid=21000000000389168\r\n\r\nOr,

World AIDS Day and the bliss of ignorance in youth.

Today being December 1 is of course, World AIDS Day.  I went to the Library at 10 this morning and hung my Memorial Quilt display with the help of John Mark, Linda, Julie and another lady who I forget her name.  Then I went to lunch, Bought goose food, stopped and visited my banker lady, came home, fell asleep in the chair and woke up to a whole new world.
The grand daughter came after school so she could go to the Observance this evening with me.  I forgot the cookies.  I forgot the camera. I forgot my water.  So I was pretty sure I was on a losing streak.  The program was fairly simple and went well.  Linda was the emcee. Joanne Grove presented the statistics which amazed me even now.  I must verify them before I report them, just cause that is what I do. Eddie Three Eagles told how AIDS affects the Native Americans.  And he remembered me from last year. I presented my two new panels and then they were blessed by Rev. Lamb. John Mark then gave his story putting a face on AIDS.  He has been positive for 27 years; over half of his life.  Then we all gave names to people who have passed and wrote their names on a red ribbon and hung them on the tree.  the ice cream cake donated by Dairy Queen was by that time starting to melt.  They should have opened a window and it would have frozen right back up.
The plan was to then go down to the first floor foyer and pick up a candle and have it lit and proceed outside.  Deven and I were inside and I was in no hurry to go out in the 1 degree weather.  Two young teenagers came in past the candle lighters and stopped near us.  The following conversation ensued.
Girl: I wonder why they are lighting those candles.
Me: It is in observance of World AIDS Day.
Girl: What is AIDS Day?
Boy:  That is that disease you hear about.  AIDS!
Girl: Oh, wow!  They are celebrating STD's?
Boy:  No, I don't think so.  I think they are not happy about it.
Me:  We do it in rememberance of all the people who have died.  But listen, we were up on the fourth floor and there is a lot of literature about it up there.  Also an ice cream cake that needs eaten.
Boy:  Gee, thanks. 
And they got in the elevator for the fourth floor. Deven and I looked at each other in amazement.  She is 14 and very wise for her years.  I was amazed that the two on their way up knew what STD's were.  I never figured that out until I was 40 years old.
But World AIDS Day is over for another year and my camera is hanging on the newel behind me where I hung it this morning so I would not forget it.  My quilts will be hanging on the fourth floor for a week and then I will go pick them up.  Guess they are on loan to the Library.  I am rather happy that they will be there so people can see and wonder what they are for.  So I put up a short paper on what they were and why they were there.
Now I am tired.  And it is very cold.  So I am going to nuke my rice bag and my corn bag and call it a night.  And I am going to throw another blanket on the bed.  I love to crawl in a cold bed and pull the covers way up, but I have the hot thing down there on my feet and off to sleep I go.  Life is good.

I am just as serious as a heart attack!

Here I am having a visit with my geese.  There are 13 of those feathery fowl now.  This summer I did away with the pond and bought a really big stock tank.  My thoughts along that line were that it would be much easier to keep clean.  It is definitely easier.  And they love the thing.  Course I had to build them a dirt berm into it and a platform to give them footing to get out.  And in the digging process I screwed up my foot and neglected to go to the doctor so when I do get around to that I will probably have to have it amputated.  That is alright.  Easy come easy go.
So I had reason to be on the Southside a  week or so ago and happened upon a house which is currently being put on the market.  Full basement, 2 bedrooms up and 2 down.  Laundry down.  Patio. Storage shed with electric and cement floor in the back yard.  2 Car attached garage.  And neighbors.  Located on a cul de sac, so low traffic.  3 blocks from my friends Kay and Frank.  And the price is right.  I could sell this place and buy that one and put enough in the bank to live on for probably the rest of my life.
Now, I am thinking about this very seriously.  Yard work would be minimal.  Kitchen is a bit dated, but so am I.  The appliances are all new.  So is the furnace.  Only draw back is no outside fowl are allowed in the city.  Imagine the neighbors when I pull up with my stock tank and 13 honking geese!   If I could get lucky and find someone to buy this place that would take the geese and promise to never sell them, or eat them, or let the fox eat them, I would be headed for town in a New York minute. (That means really fast!)
Winter is coming on and I am sure at some point it is going to snow.  The pond will freeze.  The geese will run out of feed and all kinds of problems happen out doors.  I do not like winter.  Pueblo is not as bad as Hutchinson used to be.  We are kind of in a hole here and severe anything is just not the norm.  But if I was in town, I could just stay in the house.  Well, I still have to shovel the walk.  Except there I would have to shovel the driveway, my sidewalk and the one in front of the house. Here I just mash it down.  Cities have rules.  I forgot that.
So maybe I will just wait a little longer until I am really old and I can go into the Assisted living.  Hmmm.  Wonder if they will let me bring the 2 dogs, cat, 2 looms, machine quilter, embroidery machine, ebay crap.....
Guess I am going to be cursed with living forever!

Hey, I may be on schedule with WAD!

There is my little slide show.  I went down last night and actually started the AIDS Ribbons.  See on World AIDS Day, which will be December 1 at the Hoag Library, I have much to do.  First I had to make 2 new panels for friends who have passed this last year.  I got that done on Saturday.  They will be dedicated at our program by Rev Jeannine Lamb and Rev. Mark Hild.  That is always a very solemn occasion.
I also need to make cookies for the reception and gathering time.  I have a freezer full of those already.  See PFLAG gives out goodie bags to all the clients at the SCAP Christmas party.  So since we need 36 bags this year and have very few bakers, I will do my share.
The last thing on the agenda is our candlelight service.  This is when we dedicate a ribbon to someone who has died from AIDS.  I have 50 made and will probably do another 25 or so.  Already bought the sharpee to write the names with .  We then take them out side to a tree and hang them on as we call out thier name.  Some times we tell a  little about them.
Eddie Three Eagles and his group will sanctify the tree and grounds as per native traditions.  Now this year is special, or at least to me it is.  The Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is my personal project, will hang on the 4th floor of the Library for one full week.  I need to write up a thing on what this is and how it came into fruition.
This will once more be an all day event.  Not at the Library, per se, but both colleges will be doing testing.  That is always a busy time.  Last year we only did the PCC campus and we had no positive results.  In this case, positive is not good.  We are testing for the HIV and positive means you have it.  So we want negative.  We are hoping for the same thing this year.
So this is what I been up to.  Hope to see some of you at the Library.  We are shooting for a 5:45 P M start.  See you there!

Wouldn't it be great if we could keep the kids little forever?

I guess probably the hardest thing for a mother to do is nothing.  There comes that time in a child's life when Momma can't help.  It is called reality.  They must make their own decisions and follow through.  That is where my son is at this moment.  His doggie has lots of problems that are not going to go away.  So.  The hardest thing in this life is to decide to euthanize a beloved pet.  Our pets never hurt us.  They give unconditional love and they do it every day, all day long.  They may not feel well, but they love us.  I can not remember how many times I walked in the vet's office with a dog, or cat, or bird, and walked out with my arms empty.  It never gets easier.  I always thought some day I would get used to it, but I never have.
I do think that I am a better person because of the animals that have gone through my life.  So tonight while I am sad, I am proud that my son can do what is right and know that he will be a better man.  More understanding because he has loved and lost.
Some one wrote a piece once.  It is called the Rainbow Bridge and it tells it just like it is.

Rainbow Bridge

There is a bridge connecting heaven and earth
It is called Rainbow Bridge because of its many colours

Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows,
hills, valleys with lush green grass

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this special place
There is always food and water and warm spring weather

The old and frail are young again
Those who are maimed are made whole again

They play all day with each other
There is only one thing missing

They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth
So each day they run and play until the day comes
when one suddenly stops playing and looks up !

The nose twitches !
The ears are up !
The eyes are staring !
And this one suddenly runs from the group !

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet,
you take him or her into your arms and embrace
your face is kissed again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated

Author Unknown

This has brought me much solace.  Peace Little Oliver.  

Class? Me? No, I don't think so.

Some one told me one time that I had class.  Well, did not so much tell me as mentioned it to someone else and I over heard it being said.  So now yesterday I had  hours alone with myself in the car and I had occasion to think about class.  There seems to be more than one kind of class, as near as I can tell.
If  an older woman walks by, dressed in a sedate outfit, maybe a hat, rings on her fingers and smiling sweetly, one might say "That is one classy lady." 
If a younger woman with an hour glass figure, short skirt and lots of bling sashays by, one might say "That is one classy broad!"
If we are entertained by an act that gives us pleasure, we say "That was a real class act!"
When some one responds well under pressure, they are said to have "class".
Well, I would like to tell you what I perceive as "class".  That would be saying and doing the correct thing at all times when in a public setting.  And what brought this on?  Well, SWM (Single White Male) that I see on a more regular basis than any other SM (Single Male) wrangled an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner at some one's house.  Now, granted had I been cooking I would have probably invited him and he probably would have eaten with me, but I did not, so neither did he.
So, he talks to himself a lot and I am privy to his conversations.  "I will take a bottle of white wine, since that goes with poultry.  I will wear my black slacks, a white shirt, my camel hair jacket, the gray, I think.  The black loafers.  No tie.  What will you be taking?"
"The car."
"What will you be wearing?"
"My green fatigues, if they are clean.  The white and green tennies.  An obnoxious tee shirt and the corduroy coat.  I will snack on a bag of Clementines and tortilla chips with Black Olive Hummus!  And Willie and Charley will serenade me all the way."  Love that country stuff.
The man is over 6 feet tall and so he definitely has the height advantage going there. And  his nose always seems to look longer when he looks down it at me!  He listens to Classical music in his garage for crying out loud!  He knows the origin of every painting on his walls.  One is to be donated to the museum in St. Louis when he goes for his final dirt nap.  (There is another one.  He prefers to think of it as his demise.)
So, to make a long story short, I am here to tell you that class is here to stay.  I am the working class, the blue collar class, the common every day country western lovin' hick or hillbilly class.  My bumper sticker reads, "If it feels good, do it!"  When I wake up on the wrong side of the sod I will be cremated and my ashes thrown to the wind.  That way I do not have to lay in a dress on a satin bed and have anyone look down on me.   But I do want to clarify something before I leave.  I have a lot of classy friends. They know which fork to use and when to not cuss and all kinds of things.  And most importantly , I know they love me just like I am and that makes the whole class thing a matter of perception on the part of the beholder.  SWM considers me a unique individual.
"Gonna' take me to St. Louis?"
"Oh, hell no!"  :)