Ten Lessons
Shopping For Gardeners
‘He’s not going to survive this’: Netanyahu in hot water after NYT report on Hamas attack
Katy Tur spoke to Alon Pinkas, Fmr. Israeli Consul General in New York, and Noga Tarnopolsky, independent journalist, about new reporting that Israel knew about Hamas’ October 7th attack before it occurred.
Red Dye #40 Can Make Non-ADD Kids Hyperactive & Alter Brain Function
A child who eats 2 cups of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, a small bag of Skittles, and 8 ounces of Orange Crush soda will consume 102 milligrams of artificial dye, including red dye #40. Behavioral tests found as little as 30 mg can cause adverse reactions.
The Circle of Life
Whitney Fleming writes:
Let me tell you a little story about the circle of life.
Yesterday, my 80-year-old mom told my nearly 50-year-old self to bring my laundry upstairs. Then, she instructed me how to clean a pot I’ve had for two decades. And then, when I was packing a few boxes for returns, she reminded me to make sure I blacked-out the labels or else the post office wouldn’t know what to scan.
And that’s when I responded with, “Mom! This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, you know!”
She just laughed at me and drank her tea and rearranged her magic purse that has everything in it from medicine for every ailment and tissues to nail clippers and candy.
I don’t know why I responded so curtly. I guess I just was tired and didn’t want to be told what to do.
The irony wasn’t lost on me when throughout the day, I said things to my teenagers like, “Hey, did you send in that form yet?” and “Take your coat upstairs” and “OMG! Put that bowl in the dishwasher.”
And each time, they responded with the obligatory, “I know, Mom!”
I would laugh at their exasperation and return to what I was doing.
Last night, my 16-year-old and I went to the wake of a lovely woman who happened to be the grandmother of my daughter’s best friend.
As I hugged my friend, the mom to my daughter’s bestie and the daughter of the deceased, I watched as one of her kids brought a pair of tweezers back to her.
She explained, “As we were coming here, I just started throwing everything in my purse that I thought I would need, just in case. Of course, one of the kids needed them. My mom always did that for us.”
And I couldn’t help thinking about grandmas and their special purses, and how mothers show their love.
Sometimes we show it by nagging–or gently reminding–about looming deadlines and chores that need to be done.
Sometimes it’s by setting rules and boundaries to keep them safe.
Sometimes it’s by doing laundry when your child–no matter what their age–doesn’t have the time or cooking a special meal or changing sheets.
Sometimes it’s laughing off a snarky comment.
And sometimes, it’s simply being there, saying nothing at all.
The universe showed me something pretty special yesterday.
It reminded me of all the love I give and receive throughout the small details of my life, and how lucky I am to have it spread through three generations right now.
A mother’s love is rarely shown in grand gestures, but if we’re lucky, woven into a lifetime of small, meaningful moments of kindness and selflessness and generosity that knows no bounds.
And when the time comes, in the magic purses grandmothers carry–when these grand women start slowing down but still want to be there for their family.
Until it’s time to pass that tradition on to the mothers coming after.
Love your people hard today, in whatever small ways you can show it. Treasure the ways they show their love to you. Don’t take one second for granted.
Octopus vs Underwater Maze
Some fascinating data on our 8 tentacled friends of the deep and a great example of video marketing.
The Wicked Witch Of The West
“I was in a need of money at the time, I had done about six pictures for MGM at the time and my agent called. I said, ‘Yes?’ and he said, ‘Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.’ I said to myself, ‘Oh boy, ‘The Wizard of Oz’! That has been my favorite book since I was four.’ And I asked him what part, and he said, ‘The Witch’ and I said ‘The Witch?!’ and he said, ‘What else?'”
It is ironic that Margaret Hamilton’s performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) was so scary to children, because her first job was as a kindergarten teacher. She loved and doted upon children all her life.
“Almost always they want me to laugh like the Witch. And sometimes when I go to schools, if we’re in an auditorium, I’ll do it. And there’s always a funny reaction, like Ye gods, they wish they hadn’t asked. They’re scared. They’re really scared for a second. Even adolescents. I guess for a minute they get the feeling they got when they watched the picture. They like to hear it but they don’t like to hear it. And then they go, “Oh…” The picture made a terrible impression of some kind on them, sometimes a ghastly impression, but most of them got over it, I guess… Because when I talk like the Witch and when I laugh, there is a hesitation, and then they clap. They’re clapping at hearing the sound again.”
Until the day Hamilton died, she had children recognizing her and coming up to her to ask why she was so mean to Dorothy. She became very concerned about the role’s effect on children, and finally did a guest spot on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to explain that the Witch was just a character in the film, and not herself.
During filming, Hamilton was accidentally burned during a special effects sequence. The impressive special effect was achieved by her stepping onto a trap door (obscured by rising smoke) that dropped beneath her, and then a burst of real fire came up. On one take, the fire came too early, and her costume caught fire. She was off the film for more than a month. After she recuperated, she said “I won’t sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition – no more fire work!”
Happy Birthday, Margaret Hamilton!
Patrick English added:
I’ve posted about this before, but it’s worth repeating … Margaret Hamilton, one of the great character actresses at MGM, married Paul Meserve in 1931; their son, Hamilton (“Ham”) Wadsworth, was born in 1936. And while the marriage dissolved two years later, Hamilton’s devotion to her son would last a lifetime; she worked tirelessly in film, stage and later television to make sure he was well-fed, well-clothed, well-educated and (especially) well-loved.
As every WIZARD OF OZ devotee knows, Hamilton received second and third degree burns on her face and right hand after a filming mishap in Munchkinland. A doctor covered her with salve and bandages, leaving slit holes for her eyes, mouth and nostrils; as Hamilton later recalled, “I looked like a mummy.” But before she was taken home from the studio that day, she called her housekeeper. “I didn’t want my son to see me. He was only three years old, and I knew he’d be terribly frightened. So I told her to keep him in his room and to tell him I was working late and would kiss him good night after he was asleep and would see him in the morning.”
Even though she was experiencing a level of pain she’d never known before (or since), at that moment all Margaret Hamilton cared about was her son.
How Children Perceive Their Grandparents
1. I was in the bathroom, putting on my makeup, under the watchful eyes of my young granddaughter, as I’d done many times before. After I applied my lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, “But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!” I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye….
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 68. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, “Did you start at 1?”
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, “Who was THAT?”
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like. “We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.” The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, “I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!”
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, “Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?” I mentally polished my halo and I said, “No, how are we alike?’’ “You’re both old,” he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor. She told him she was writing a story.
“What’s it about?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I can’t read.”
7. I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, “Grandma, I really think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!”
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, “It’s no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights.”
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, “I’m not sure.” “Look in your underwear, Grandpa,” he advised “Mine says I’m 4 to 6.” (WOW! I really like this one — it says I’m only ’38’!)
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, “Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.” The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. “That’s interesting.” she said. “How do you make babies?” “It’s simple,” replied the girl. “You just change ’y’ to ’i’ and add ’es’.”
11. Children’s Logic: “Give me a sentence about a public servant,” said a teacher. The small boy wrote: “The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.” The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. “Don’t you know what pregnant means?” she asked. “Sure,” said the young boy confidently. ’It means carrying a child.”
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties.
“They use him to keep crowds back,” said one child.
“No,” said another. “He’s just for good luck.”
A third child brought the argument to a close. “They use the dogs,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrants.”
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. “Oh,” he said, “she lives at the airport, and whenever we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”
14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don’t get to see him enough to get as smart as him!
15. My Grandparents are funny, when they bend over, you hear gas leaks and they blame their dog.
Time To Ban Fossil Fools
Eugenicists, all.
Given that intelligence is the ability to solve problems and insanity is the urge to destroy, I consider it a moral duty for all those who cannot come up with a saner, more intelligent solution than “everyone else has to die” to set an example for the rest of us and remove themselves from the gene pool.
This will have the benefit of removing a source of insanity and of raising the average IQ of those left in the gene pool.
Without their destructive influence we can maybe make more progress towards eradicating war, crime and insanity.