Senior Mum

Flaming Cowboys

The new Big Tex has been revealed.  May he be more safe than he was.

Flu Shot Mama

We got the Girl her flu shot some weeks ago because we do not wait around where she is concerned.  I was sort of hoping I could find free ones for the rest of us, but no dice. The rest of us got ours today.  Mission accomplished!  Go get yours!

A Tale of Epi-Pen Destruction And Fire Stations

One day late last summer, I looked at my calendar and saw that I had at some point in the past written "check epi-pens" on the day that I had reached on those paper petals of time.  I checked my daughter's epi-pens.  Two were expired (not the ones she was carrying - her doctor had renewed us a little early that year due to a newer, better brand of auto-injector that has come out, so we had some extra ones - not usually the case) and one expired in September.  It was almost September, but I left that one alone and wrote "get rid of expired epi-pen" on September first in my calendar.

I took the two expired ones to CVS.  I told the pharmacist that they were expired and to please destroy/dispose of them safely.  I have done this quite a few times now.  I cannot imagine just throwing one of these in the trash and worrying that someone going through the trash would get hurt by it.  I will not chance that.  Although this task had always been accomplished without a hitch before, this time the pharmacist turned me down.  He said they did not get rid of them anymore.  I said the pharmacy was where I had gotten them and what was I supposed to do with them?  He said to take them to the fire station.

I went to a fire station.

The fire station said it did not have an ambulance and I needed to go to a fire station with an ambulance for that.  I asked where the nearest one was and went there (all those field trips and I did not realize they did not all have ambulances).  Although there was one of those Safe Haven signs at the fire station with the ambulance, their doorbell did not work and no one answered when I knocked, although the fire truck and the ambulance were both there.  I knocked some more.  I dug a phone book out of my car and called fire administration on my cell and asked them to let the folks at that fire station know that there was someone outside.  They said okay.  Time passed.  A fire fighter came out.  I told him what CVS said and he took the epi-pens.  I thanked him.

Then in September, I did it again with the other epi-pen.  Still had to call fire administration to get someone to answer the door except this time that did not work either so I went to another fire station.  They were cleaning their fire truck or some such thing so I was able to walk right up to them and hand over the expired epi-pen.

I am grateful the fire fighters are there to take the epi-pens, but if you need to abandon an infant, the hospital might be a safer bet in terms of actually finding a human to hand the kid off to, I think.  At least until that doorbell gets fixed.

Banned Book Week

Lone Star Ma says.....
                                          ...read subversively.

Red Tent Nightshade Stir Fry

Chop one small eggplant and one large serrano pepper and saute in a pan with non-stick spray while steaming some brown rice.   Add steamed brown rice to stir fry (for those Red Tent staaarch cravings) and chop one tomato.  Add tomato.  Crack two eggs into stir fry for iron and protein and mix until eggs are cooked.

Serve with a green salad that includes avocado and more tomato and maybe some crumbled falafel.

Offer some to any other grumpy women in the household.  When they refuse, you will at least know you tried.

Enjoy.

House Stands For Hunger: Call Your Senator

The House voted to make draconian cuts in food stamp funding on Thursday.  Senate Democrats say they will never allow the cuts to pass the Senate. Call your senator and make sure, Mamas.

Hunger: Call Your Congressperson

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act.  Normally, this is part of the agricultural policy known as the Farm Bill, but it got left out of the rest of the Farm Bill in July because the cuts being proposed to this part - the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP - part, by Republicans, were so draconian that things got a bit heated.

This is what the Republicans want:  to cut $40 billion from food stamps over a decade, eliminating benefits to 4-6 million hungry Americans and making it more difficult for hungry people to apply.

This is what private charities say about taking up the slack:  no way.  They are already taxed well beyond what they can provide what with the economy in the composting toilet and all and cannot help 4-6 million more people.

Should kids go hungry in America while corporations get bailed out by public money?  Let your Congressperson know what you think.

Rock On

The Lone Star Baby was telling me about a bad dream she had in which she was a runaway - not, she said, a Runaway like in The Runaways, but a runaway from a scary monster school.

How many nine-year-olds would feel the need to clarify, when using that word, that they were not referring to the first all-girl rock and roll band?  Because, of course, any reasonable person would assume that was the reference they were making ...

Ingrid

Everybody stay safe.  Prayers for Mexico.

Syria And Strange Bedfellows

I have nothing but compassion for the Syrian people, but do not want the U.S. to engage in military intervention.  I do not think violence is ever the answer, although I certainly do not claim to understand the situation enough to have a viable answer.

I understand this, though:  I do not for a minute believe that there is truly a "new isolationist wing of the Republican Party".  I will accept the Paul family as sincere (in this point) when they speak against military intervention in conflicts in other countries, but these other Republicans?  Not for a minute do I believe that this is either philosophical or situational for them.  It is about one thing only:  contradicting the President.  I disagree  extremely with the president over military intervention and am totally disgusted by how militaristic he has become, but these Republicans would contradict him if he said that Hitler was a mad man.

I almost choked the other day, before Russia's diplomacy, when I heard a Republican legislator say on the radio that there were not just two choices - military action or doing nothing - but that Assad should be tried in the International Criminal Court at the Hague.  I totally agree and I wish I thought the Republicans really believed in such measures, but I certainly do not.

I hope Russia's diplomacy works.

First Day School: Peace Studies

Some months back, but since the last time I have posted about First Day School, I was teaching the Lone Star Baby a Peace Testimony lesson involving The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss.  As we discussed it, I realized that she did not really possess the historical context needed to get everything I wanted her to get out of the story (although she understood the point).  She was not really familiar with the Cold War and although she knew a bit about the horrors of the Holocaust, it was pretty sketchy.   I decided we needed to back up, do some history on U.S. and World Wars/conflicts/policies of response and spend longer on the Peace Testimony as it applies to them, and then to everything.

Since then, we have talked about the Holocaust more and about non-violent responses to the Nazis.  We read The Yellow Star, which is just a legend, but a good legend to use as a starting point for discussion. On the same trail, we are now reading Number The Stars.  We have missed a lot of Meeting this summer what with all the health issues drama and all, and with all of us settling back into routines, so we have not gotten very far yet.  Today, we met though and continued with Number The Stars. 

I Heart Union Thugs

Happy Labor Day!