I Never Have Enough Spoons

The older I get (But I'm only 38!) the more tired I become. The fact that I was born with Spina Bifida only makes me more tired. I have learned that SB seems to age the human body at a higher rate than that of my able-bodied counterparts that are my age. Most days, I am okay with that. 

When I was younger, and really not THAT long ago, I could go shopping, out to eat, party, drink and stay up all night...only to do it all again the very next day. I was the epitome of the social butterfly always on the go and wanting to do things. Little did I know, I was wearing my body out! 

It's sometimes very difficult for me to accept that I'm too tired to do something...again, I'm ONLY 38. I should be able to do ANYTHING without getting tired. But, I can't. I have a Vitamin D and B-12 deficiency that hinders me also. It only makes me more tired! ACK!!! It frustrates me to no end when I'm exhausted for what I think is absolutely nothing. Because back in the damn day, it WAS nothing for me. 

So, what do I do about it now? Not a damn thing. I get the rest my body needs, when it needs it. I take my vitamins religiously and I trudge on. I don't let it stop me...aches, pains, vitamin deficiencies, Spina Bifida....all of it, be damned! I do what I want!!! At the end of the day, I will be negative in my reserve of spoons, but I don't regret whatever I did to use up all of my spoons! I only have one life. And, I'm gonna spend it to the fullest extent of my abilities while I can and when I can. 

So, what's all of this talk about spoons, you ask? Read 'The Spoon Theory' written by Christine Miserandino here. In short, it's the true story of how Christine explained what it felt like to live with a chronic illness, in her case Lupus, to her best friend using----you got it...SPOONS! It's a wonderful story that helps people understand what it's like for people to live with "visible" and "invisible" disabilities. That's a disability that you can't see as easily, as say, mine. You see my wheelchair and you KNOW I'm disabled. But you can't always "see" that Christine has Lupus. 

"I asked her to count her spoons. She asked why, and I explained that when you are healthy you expect to have a never-ending supply of “spoons”. But when you have to now plan your day, you need to know exactly how many “spoons” you are starting with. It doesn’t guarantee that you might not lose some along the way, but at least it helps to know where you are starting. She counted out 12 spoons. She laughed and said she wanted more. I said no, and I knew right away that this little game would work, when she looked disappointed, and we hadn’t even started yet. I’ve wanted more “spoons” for years and haven’t found a way yet to get more, why should she? I also told her to always be conscious of how many she had, and not to drop them because she can never forget she has Lupus."

I use up spoons just getting out of bed in the morning to get in my wheelchair. Then again in the bathroom to shower and again getting out of the shower...3 spoons already used up before I have been up for 30 minutes...another an hour later getting in the car from my wheelchair. Yet another when I get to my destination and have to get out of the car into my chair. I use a "spoon" every time I get into or out of my chair. Depending on what I am doing on any particular day, that can be a dozen spoons...often more. Then wheeling myself around in the chair uses spoons too. Cooking and cleaning uses spoons, because I use up more energy doing those things than maybe my able-bodied counterparts that take it for granted. Shit, I'm exhausted just thinking about all of the "spoons" I use on any given day. It's no wonder I use up all of them before the end of my day. 

Still, I trudge on. 

You or my doctors may say, "Geesh, Dawn! Take it easy. Slow down!! Don't do so much!" Ummm....no. This is MY life. I will use up my spoons if I want to! And I do want to!! It's how I know I'm living...and being happy. When my day is done and I have no more spoons to give, I know that my day has been lived to the fullest. 

So, I'm going to continue to live my life and use up my spoons. 

Lighten Up! No One Is Taking "Christ" Out Of Christmas

Every year I hear people complaining about the sentiment of saying "Happy Holidays" instead of the sentiment "Merry Christmas". We always hear that atheists or political figures are trying to take Christ out of the season by saying Happy Holidays and not the old-fashioned "Merry Christmas". I could not disagree with this belief more. There are many religions that do not celebrate Christmas or any other Christian holiday. They have their own way to celebrate their God. The 1st one that comes to mind is people of the Jewish Faith. I have several Jewish friends. So, more often than not I will tell them Happy Holidays or Happy Hanukkah. I would never tell someone that I don't know, Merry Christmas. Not for fear of offending them....but because I RESPECT their freedom of religion. It is this reason that people are taught in the Customer Service field to say Happy Holidays unless they know the customer's choice of religion. Hanukkah is in December, as is Kwanzaa. Since the month has several holidays, it just makes since to sometimes say "Happy Holidays". That said, I am a Christian and I proudly celebrate Christmas with my family. Here's a rundown on the word, "Xmas".

Xmas

 The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass, while the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as "Christ".
There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas", but its use dates back to the 16th century. The abbreviation of Christmas as "Xmas" is the source of disagreement among Christians who observe the holiday. Dennis Bratcher, writing for a website for Christians, states "there are always those who loudly decry the use of the abbreviation 'Xmas' as some kind of blasphemy against Christ and Christianity". Among them are evangelist Franklin Graham and CNN journalist Roland S. Martin. Graham stated in an interview:
"for us as Christians, this is one of the most holy of the holidays, the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. And for people to take Christ out of Christmas. They're happy to say merry Xmas. Let's just take Jesus out. And really, I think, a war against the name of Jesus Christ." Martin likewise relates the use of "Xmas" to his growing concerns of increasing commercialization and secularization of one of Christianity's highest holy days. Bratcher posits that those who dislike abbreviating the word are unfamiliar with a long history of Christians using X in place of "Christ" for various purposes.

The word "Christ" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated in English for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used. "Christ" was often written as "Xρ" or "Xt"; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as 1021. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters χ (Ch) and ρ (R) used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ"), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ. The labarum, an amalgamation of the two Greek letters rendered as ☧, is a symbol often used to represent Christ in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian Churches.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the OED Supplement have cited usages of "X-" or "Xp-" for "Christ-" as early as 1485. The terms "Xtian" and less commonly "Xpian" have also been used for "Christian". The OED further cites usage of "Xtianity" for "Christianity" from 1634. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, most of the evidence for these words comes from "educated Englishmen who knew their Greek".

In ancient Christian art, χ and χρ are abbreviations for Christ's name. In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, Χ is an abbreviation for Χριστος, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma); compare IC for Jesus in Greek. So, it really befuddles me that someone of Franklin Graham's stature and background as an evangelist, doesn't understand this. Yet, I feel that his statement above has lead many Christians to believe that the term, "Xmas" is "taking Christ out of Christmas". Really, it's the exact opposite.
No one is trying to take Christ out of anything....last I heard, Christianity is still the largest religion in the world." People just need to do some research before they make such comments. 

Apparently Education Is A Bigger Problem

So, my last blog discussed the death of actor Paul Walker and how the media's coverage of it disgusts me. This next post is about how our education system disgusts me.

Nelson Mandela died a couple of days ago too. PUHLEEZE tell me you know who he is?! No??? You fucking suck, then...and so does your education! This isn't a bash on Paul. I think if you read my last post, I respect him a great deal. He was a VERY compassionate, loving humanitarian that no one can say anything bad about. (Though, I'm sure someone will make up some horrible lies about him and sell it to some stupid magazine for a million bucks).

This is about how grown ass adults over the age of 30 can tell you who all the characters are from Jersey Shore and Desperate Housewives of whatever damn city. They can tell you what Paris Hilton is doing or where all the Kardashians are. But they don't know who the fuck Nelson Mandela is. If you're one of those people, you're not going to find out who he is from my blog either. Read a fucking book. Google him since you are so great with internet stories. Whether the stories paint him in a positive or negative light isn't the point. Just that you will not be a part of the problem of this world.

Media Is A Problem

So, one week ago today, a much loved celebrity--Paul Walker--died in a car crash where his friend was driving and Paul was the passenger. It was a horrific accident and both Paul and his friend are believed to have died within seconds.

The reports started coming in from TMZ that Paul died immediately. You know, I'm beginning to think TMZ works for the NSA. TMZ has spies EVERYWHERE and reports on EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. Just as soon as TMZ was reporting on the accident, a website was reporting that the story was a hoax...when in fact, the hoax was a hoax! Who the fuck does that??? Hoaxes are ridiculous! Whether the hoax is that the person is dead or alive, it's hurtful. These people may be celebrities. But they have families that aren't. I cannot imagine how hurtful these "stories" are to the parents, spouses or children of the celebrities. Just because someone is a celebrity, it doesn't mean they should be subjected to this.

Then there is the aftermath of the situation. Cameras in the faces of the family and friends of Paul to see how they are coping. How the hell do you think they are coping? They just lost their son...their father. And then you go and put a microphone and camera in their face to get their reactions?! Paparazzo is a bunch of sick animals. All in the name of money. Gotta get that big story...that outlandish picture...hurt people be damned. Who cares, right? It's just a celebrity and their families....they don't have a heart anyway, right? They aren't "normal" anyway, right? And what about the driver? Is his life so unimportant because he isn't a celebrity that he is not mentioned...at ALL?

My disdain of the paparazzi came when Princess Diana died. I still believe they killed her. Yea, she died in a wreck. But that wreck was caused because she and her friend were trying to get away from the paparazzi and have some privacy. I will never believe otherwise. They killed her.

Laws need to change. Everywhere. Respect needs to be given to people that are grieving, or on a date, or just trying to have a family outing. A celebrity shouldn't have to give up that right just because they are a celebrity. They are someone's child/spouse/sibling/parent before being a celebrity and their families arent the celebrities that need a camera in their faces 24/7.

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"

This story still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it or read it. It's the one thing that makes me think that if I were to ever have kids, I'd want them believing in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

'Is There a Santa Claus?' was the title of an editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897, edition of The (New York) Sun. The editorial, which included the famous reply "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become an indelible part of popular Christmas folklore in the United States.

In 1897, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, a coroner's assistant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971), whether Santa Claus really existed.

O'Hanlon suggested she write to The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." He unwittingly gave one of the paper's editors,Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question and address the philosophical issues behind it.

Church was a war correspondent during the American Civil War, a time that saw great suffering and a corresponding lack of hope and faith in much of society. Although the paper ran the editorial in the seventh place on the page, below even one on the newly invented "chainless bicycle", its message was very moving to many people who read it. More than a century later it remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the English language.

In 1971, after seeing Virginia's obituary in The New York Times, four friends formed a company, called Elizabeth Press, and published a children's book titled Yes, Virginia that illustrated the editorial and included a brief history of the main characters. Its creators took it to Warner Brothers who eventually made the Emmy award-winning television show based on the editorial. The History Channel, in a special that aired on February 21, 2001, noted that Virginia gave the original letter to a granddaughter, who pasted it in a scrapbook. It was feared that the letter was destroyed in a house fire, but 30 years later, it was discovered intact.

Some people have questioned the veracity of the letter's authorship, expressing doubt that a young girl such as Virginia would refer to children her own age as "my little friends". The original letter, however, appeared and was authenticated in 1998 by Kathleen Guzman, an appraiser on the Antiques Roadshow, at $20,000–$30,000.

Virginia

Virginia O'Hanlon's full married name was Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas. She was born on July 20, 1889, in Manhattan, New York. Her marriage to Edward Douglas in the 1910s was brief, and ended with him deserting her shortly before their daughter, Laura, was born. She was listed as divorced in the 1930 United States Census.

Virginia received her Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College in 1910, a Master's degree in education from Columbia University in 1912, and a doctorate from Fordham University. She was a school teacher in the New York City ISD. She started her career as an educator in 1912, became a junior principal in 1935, and retired in 1959.

Virginia received a steady stream of mail about her letter throughout her life. She would include a copy of the editorial in her replies. In an interview later in life, she credited it with shaping the direction of her life quite positively.

In December 2012, radio station WGNA-FM in Albany, NY  secured a never before published photo of Virginia finally meeting Santa on Christmas Eve 1969, two years before her death.

Virginia died on May 13, 1971, in a nursing home in Valatie, New York. She is buried at the Chatham Rural Cemetery in North Chatham, New York.

Legacy

Every year, Virginia's letter and Church's response are read at the Yule Log ceremony at Church's alma mater, Columbia College of Columbia University.

The story of Virginia's inquiry and the The Sun's response was adapted in 1932 into an NBC produced cantata (the only known editorial set to classical music) and an Emmy Award-winning animated television special in 1974, animated by Bill Meléndez (best known for his work on the various Peanuts specials) and featuring the voices of Jim Backus, Susan Silo and Courtney Lemmon, with theme song performed by Jimmy Osmond. In 1991 it was adapted into a made-for-TV movie with Richard Thomas and Charles Bronson. In 1996, the story of Virginia's inquiry and the The Sun's response was adapted into a holiday musical "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" by David Kirchenbaum (music and lyrics) and Myles McDonnel (book).

In New York City, local television journalist Gabe Pressman has recounted the story each Christmas for the past thirty years.

The last two paragraphs of Church's editorial are read by actor Sam Elliot in the 1989 film Prancer, about Jessica Riggs, a little girl who believes the wounded reindeer she is nursing back to health belongs to Santa. Jessica's story inspires the local newspaper editor, as Virginia's letter did to Church, to write an editorial which he titles Yes, Santa, there are still Virginias.

On September 21, 1997, the exact 100th anniversary of the original publication of the editorial, The New York Times published an analysis of its enduring appeal.

In 2003 "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" was depicted in a mechanical holiday window display at the Lord & Taylor department store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

In 2009, The Studio School in New York City, honored Virginia's life and legacy. Janet C. Rotter, Head of School, announced the establishment of the Virginia O'Hanlon Scholarship, speaking passionately about their commitment to offering need-based scholarships for students of merit. Virginia's descendants continue her legacy.

Another indication of the popularity of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is the use of "Yes, Virginia, there is (a) (subject – person, object, activity, and/or concept)" (or similar phrase) insatire, parody, and as an idiomatic expression to insist that something is true.

                                                   Francis Pharcellus Church, author of the famous editorial

                                                       Virginia O'Hanlon (circa 1895)  

                                              The original letter.

                                              Original article in The New York Sun

The Commercialization of Thanksgiving

I remember "back in the day", when nearly every business was closed on Thanksgiving Day. There were a few convenience stores that were open for a half day...and maybe a whole day for the people travelling by car. And there were a few restaurants, mostly fast-food that was open for the same reason. Or they may have been open for those people that don't observe Thanksgiving for whatever reason. Shopping malls were closed. The holiday was set aside as a day to observe the things you were thankful for...and to give homage to our forefathers, Native Americans and Pilgrims from way back. Families cooked and ate together.....maybe watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a few football games on TV. It was the "kick-off" to the holiday season...and a time of togetherness. 

My, how times have changed! It seems as though we have forgotten about togetherness and being thankful. Now it's all about the mighty dollar. It's true what they are saying...Only in American can you have a holiday to show that you are thankful for what you already have. Only to shop and trample all over complete strangers the next day to buy shit that you and your kids don't need. But, wait!!! You don't have to wait until the following day, known as Black Friday anymore! There's a list of nearly 20 retailers that gives a big "F*ck You" to it's employees and forces them to work on a holiday dealing with mobs of people that have seemingly gone mad...instead of having dinner with their own families. Some of these stores will even be open at 6am...on Thanksgiving Day. They are telling their employees they HAVE to work and if they ask for the day off or call out, they will be fired. 

What the hell? Why does EVERYTHING have to be about the bottom dollar? I understand that this year there are far less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But why do retailers get to treat their employees virtually like slaves just to make a few bucks. Keep in mind, these employees are almost always making minimum wage, which at the time of this post is $7.25 an hour. Often times, these employees feel like they HAVE to work holidays just to help make ends meet. 
When can we get back to the basics....back to what is important during the holidays...family togetherness and teaching our kids what is TRULY important???

Now, I will admit, for the first time EVER, I am going out to eat at a restaurant tomorrow. But you can bet that if my waiter/waitress is good he/she will be getting one hell of a tip...just for putting up with us instead eating their own Thanksgiving Dinner in their own home...with their own families. It's the least I can do to say, "Thanks" for making our holiday a good one. 

Thanksgiving: What Was Originally Served

Today, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes any number of dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But if one were to create a historically accurate feast, consisting of only those foods that historians are certain were served at the so-called “first Thanksgiving,” there would be slimmer pickings. “Wildfowl was there. Corn, in grain form for bread or for porridge, was there. Venison was there,” says Kathleen Wall. “These are absolutes.”

Two primary sources—the only surviving documents that reference the meal—confirm that these staples were part of the harvest celebration shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony in 1621. Edward Winslow, an English leader who attended, wrote home to a friend:

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others.”

William Bradford, the governor Winslow mentions, also described the autumn of 1621, adding, “And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion.”

But determining what else the colonists and Wampanoag might have eaten at the 17th-century feast takes some digging. To form educated guesses, Wall, a foodways culinarian at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, studies cookbooks and descriptions of gardens from the period, archaeological remains such as pollen samples that might clue her in to what the colonists were growing.

Our discussion begins with the bird. Turkey was not the centerpiece of the meal, as it is today, explains Wall. Though it is possible the colonists and American Indians cooked wild turkey, she suspects that goose or duck was the wildfowl of choice. In her research, she has found that swan and passenger pigeons would have been available as well. “Passenger pigeons—extinct in the wild for over a century now—were so thick in the 1620s, they said you could hear them a quarter-hour before you saw them,” says Wall. “They say a man could shoot at the birds in flight and bring down 200.”

Small birds were often spit-roasted, while larger birds were boiled. “I also think some birds—in a lot of recipes you see this—were boiled first, then roasted to finish them off. Or things are roasted first and then boiled,” says Wall. “The early roasting gives them nicer flavor, sort of caramelizes them on the outside and makes the broth darker.”

It is possible that the birds were stuffed, though probably not with bread. (Bread, made from maize not wheat, was likely a part of the meal, but exactly how it was made is unknown.) The Pilgrims instead stuffed birds with chunks of onion and herbs. “There is a wonderful stuffing for goose in the 17th-century that is just shelled chestnuts,” says Wall. “I am thinking of that right now, and it is sounding very nice.” Since the first Thanksgiving was a three-day celebration, she adds, “I have no doubt whatsoever that birds that are roasted one day, the remains of them are all thrown in a pot and boiled up to make broth the next day. That broth thickened with grain to make a pottage.”

In addition to wildfowl and deer, the colonists and Wampanoag probably ate eels and shellfish, such as lobster, clams and mussels. “They were drying shellfish and smoking other sorts of fish,” says Wall.

According to the culinarian, the Wampanoag, like most eastern woodlands people, had a “varied and extremely good diet.” The forest provided chestnuts, walnuts and beechnuts. “They grew flint corn (multicolored Indian corn), and that was their staple. They grew beans, which they used from when they were small and green until when they were mature,” says Wall. “They also had different sorts of pumpkins or squashes.”

As we are taught in school, the Indians showed the colonists how to plant native crops. “The English colonists plant gardens in March of 1620 and 1621,” says Wall. “We don’t know exactly what’s in those gardens. But in later sources, they talk about turnips, carrots, onions, garlic and pumpkins as the sorts of things that they were growing.”

Of course, to some extent, the exercise of reimagining the spread of food at the 1621 celebration becomes a process of elimination. “You look at what an English celebration in England is at this time. What are the things on the table? You see lots of pies in the first course and in the second course, meat and fish pies. To cook a turkey in a pie was not terribly uncommon,” says Wall. “But it is like, no, the pastry isn’t there.” The colonists did not have butter and wheat flour to make crusts for pies and tarts. (That’s right: No pumpkin pie!) “That is a blank in the table, for an English eye. So what are they putting on instead? I think meat, meat and more meat,” says Wall.

Meat without potatoes, that is. White potatoes, originating in South America, and sweet potatoes, from the Caribbean, had yet to infiltrate North America. Also, there would have been no cranberry sauce. It would be another 50 years before an Englishman wrote about boiling cranberries and sugar into a “Sauce to eat with. . . .Meat.” Says Wall: “If there was beer, there were only a couple of gallons for 150 people for three days.” She thinks that to wash it all down the English and Wampanoag drank water.

All this, naturally, begs a follow-up question. So how did the Thanksgiving menu evolve into what it is today?

Wall explains that the Thanksgiving holiday, as we know it, took root in the mid-19th century. At this time, Edward Winslow’s letter, printed in a pamphlet called Mourt’s Relation, and Governor Bradford’s manuscript, titled Of Plimoth Plantation, were rediscovered and published. Boston clergyman Alexander Young printed Winslow’s letter in his Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers, and in the footnotes to the resurrected letter, he somewhat arbitrarily declared the feast the first Thanksgiving. (Wall and others at Plimoth Plantation prefer to call it “the harvest celebration in 1621.”) There was nostalgia for colonial times, and by the 1850s, most states and territories were celebrating Thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, , a real trendsetter for running a household, was a leading voice in establishing Thanksgiving as an annual event. Beginning in 1827, Hale petitioned 13 presidents, the last of whom was Abraham Lincoln. She pitched her idea to President Lincoln as a way to unite the country in the midst of the Civil War, and, in 1863, he made Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Throughout her campaign, Hale printed Thanksgiving recipes and menus in Godey’s Lady’s Book. She also published close to a dozen cookbooks. “She is really planting this idea in the heads of lots of women that this is something they should want to do,” says Wall. “So when there finally is a national day of Thanksgiving, there is a whole body of women who are ready for it, who know what to do because she told them. A lot of the food that we think of—roast turkey with sage dressing, creamed onions, mashed turnips, even some of the mashed potato dishes, which were kind of exotic then—are there.”