Sunday, October 26, 2008

Politicking with United Power

One of the best things about my neighborhood church is the fact that it supports United Power for Action and Justice, a coalition of local churches/synagogues/mosques and community action groups. Two weeks ago, middle daughter and I went to a political rally, sponsored in part by UP, in support of a new constitutional convention in Illinois. UP hopes that a new Con-Con will provide a remedy to the stalemate that prevents so much needed legislation in the state capitol.

Other United Power events we've attended:
1. A scheduled political debate between the candidates for U.S. Senator from Illinois four years ago - our first up close look at Barack Obama (the other candidate didn't show up - later we heard he had dropped out of the race).

2. A meeting between members of local mosques and anyone else who wanted to meet them. It was great to pray together, talk one-to-one, and hear the Muslim leaders encouraging their members to "get out there and make yourself known" by joining school boards, running for local offices, etc. Not easy for them in the year or two after 9/11 when Muslims anywhere were vulnerable to hate crimes.

3. A meeting two years ago with the now embattled governor to ask for his support for state-funded health insurance for children in low-income families, among other things. My son jumped from his seat in the high school auditorium where we met on a Sunday afternoon and disappeared as soon as the last speaker started his closing remarks. When he turned up in the parking lot later on, he said he wanted to speak to the governor in person to tell him about the pressing need for state funding for public transportation in Chicago - and did so! How he got past security is unknown.

In addition to working for many excellent causes to benefit forgotten people, UP brings together a wonderful mix of people! It's always good to be part of it.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Family Relationships Formula

In the course of sending out invitations to local, but distant, relatives for a family birthday this month, I found myself trying to explain how some of us are related. "Second cousin, once removed," is usually beyond the comprehension of most of us.

Luckily, the reference librarian in me discovered a nifty website that explains it all. Try out What Is a First Cousin, Twice Removed? from Genealogy.com. They have a table that you can use to plug in yourself and the person to whom you are somehow related to see where you intersect with the exact degree of your kinship.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Little Poop

Now that I've read two of the Agatha Raisin mysteries by M.C. Beaton, I'm reminded of how much fun it is to read about nasty people. Vicarious pleasure, I'm sure. Agatha has been described as "Miss Marple, on a bad day."

When I started first grade, my family moved to a small house (large - to a 6-yr-old) in Bismarck, ND. My next youngest sister and I shared a room and a double bed, which allowed us to entertain ourselves in whispers after lights out with stories. Using the naughtiest word we knew, we named our very favorite story heroine, "Little Poop." She did all the things we wished we could get away with, but never could - calling the mean neighbor bad names, peeing in the alley so she wouldn't lose her turn in a game, etc. If the story got really good, our giggling got out of hand and one of our parents would start warning us to cut it out - or else. Sometimes we got the "or else," but those stories were great fun. It makes me smile to remember.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Cubs Lose Again - Life Goes On



Once again, the Cubbies have remained true to their tradition of leaving fans crying in their beer steins (or vats). #1 son won a lottery for an opportunity to buy playoff tickets and by the time he got the money together, was able to buy only 1 ticket for the Tuesday game. He could have sold it for a nice profit, but no, he had to use it himself to be fully immersed in the tragedy.

My husband grew up not far from Wrigley Field - one of the few remaining outdoor stadiums (stadia?) left in major league baseball, I think. Back in the day, he would gather with other penniless youngsters on Waveland Avenue hoping for a homerun ball to clear the fence. Catch the ball and you got in to see the rest of the game for free.

Since we are "northsiders," our entire family is part of Cubs fandom. One son-in-law, who was a left-handed pitcher for the U. of Illinois baseball team, had a condo a few years ago within a few blocks of Wrigley. It was always fun to visit there when the team was playing - you could hear the cheers for base hits from their front window.

In a perverse way, I'm sort of glad the Cubs failed again. We wouldn't know how to be true fans if our team really earned the championship. Back to loving the losers.