One Day At A Time....

It's been a few days since Mom's passing.  The funeral services were beautiful.  D and I spent Saturday night at Mom's house, which was...I don't know...awkward I suppose.  I see Mom in every room.  It just doesn't seem like Mom's place anymore.  I can't hear her walking around in the kitchen.  I can't hear her reciting her prayers.  I can't smell her.  Periodically, I imagined her walking into the living room and sitting down in her rocker to talk.  At times, I wanted to cry but decided to snap out of it and remain strong for the others.  D has been a real trooper.  She hurts and see it in her eyes, but she is taking things one day at a time.  In the meantime, I will continue to be by her side and get her through this ordeal.  I miss her mother, too.

Eva Moreno Dominguez, September 2, 1934 - November 17, 2011

D's mom passed yesterday.  I find it difficult to believe she is gone.  For now, it's all about D.

The above photo was taken by me.  I LOVE THIS PHOTO OF EVA. 

I love you Eva.  You were like a mother to me and I miss you dearly.  For now, I will be by your baby girl's side and support her and give her what she needs.  On that you can rest assured.

BACK WITH MORE!!!

I'm back from what seems like a decade-long hiatus.  It wasn't my intention to neglect my blog as long as I did, but as the saying goes, shit happens.

Since August, D's mom celebrated her 77th birthday.  Needless to say, we were elated about that since we weren't sure about a lot of things since her mom's cancer diagnosis back in February.  Her mom is a fighter.  I celebrated (in silence) my 43rd birthday on October 3rd.  No big deal.  It's just another day in the life as I see it.  I know age is nothing more than a number, but for me personally, it's a reminder of how many years I have lived on this earth and I have yet to accomplish goals I had set on my "Goals" list.  I guess it's true what they say, there never seems to be enough time or time waits for no one or time flies by.  I am reminded of what John Lennon sang in his song:  Life happens when you're busy making other plans.  So true!  I know we all have more control over our lives than we care to admit, but I'm still saddened to think that I may not accomplish everything I had set out to accomplish.  I've already lived half of my life.  Another 43 years and I will be 86.  OMFG!!!!!  I will be 86 years old and that's if I live that long anyway since we are not guaranteed the next hour, or minute, or second.  Change the channel!!!!

Politics is more of the same.  I'm not totally happy with Obama, but I certainly would never consider voting for a Republican, especially the loser candidates who think they have what it takes to be the leader of the free world (and I use the term "free" loosely).  

In the world of entertainment, Michael Jackson's doctor was found "guilty" of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson's death.  What a bunch of horse shit!  To be sure, the doctor clearly made some bad decisions, but the person ultimately responsible for Jackson's death was Jackson himself.  He was an addict to pain medication.  He knew the risks and yet, he wanted the drugs.  Karma came back to bite him in the ass!

In sports, there is a somewhat related story.  Penn State's head coach Joe Paterno was fired.  Evidently, he knew about the child sexual abuse that had taken place on campus, perpetrated by his former assistant coach, and did not report the incidents (more than one folks) to law enforcement.  Was the Board of Trustees justified in firing Joe Pa?  Absolutely!  However, they need to fire everyone else as well:  McQueary, the then grad student who witnessed the incident.  Needless to say, most of the student body as well as other supporters are angry about the termination of Joe Pa.  They're all crying foul.  I'm not shocked.  But here's why I think this story is somewhat related to the Jackson case.  There are those in my family, as well as D's, that think Joe Pa got what he deserved.  (I agree.)  The problem I have with them crucifying Joe Pa they way they do?  I cannot understand why they are so ready to stone him to death (and let's be clear, Joe Pa's crime was that he knew and did nothing...he did not actually molest these boys) and they do not have the same loathing for what Jackson committed (and Jackson did confess to sleeping with young boys and stated he saw nothing wrong or inappropriate for a man his age to be sleeping with little boys.)  Personally, THEY HAVE NO BUSINESS DISCUSSING THE PENN STATE SITUATION IF THEY CONTINUALLY PROTECT MICHAEL JACKSON.  THEIR ACTIONS OR THEIR THINKING MAKE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!!!

HAIL TO THE QUEEN! MADONNA TURNS 53!

Madonna's childhood life in Detroit is explored:

Madonna's year at the University of Michigan (GO Wolverines!) in 1978--interviews with friends and former roommates:

Madonna moves to New York City:


Madonna's involvement in the 1979 film "A Certain Sacrifice" is discussed:

In this segment: the beginnings of Madonna's career as a musician are discussed including the formation of her band Emmy as well as her involvement in Curt Royston's short film 'In Artificial Light':

In this segment: Madonna's time with Camille Barbone's Gotham management company and her struggle to forward her music career (circa 1981-1982):

In this final segment: Madonna hangs at Danceteria, meets Mark Kamins, and gets signed to Sire Records, which begins her ascent to the top of the charts:

Madonna's girl, Lourdes (Lola), is making her mark on the world.  With her mom by her side, Lola has launched a clothing line--Material Girl--found exclusively at Macy's.  The clothes are cool and trendsetting and Lola is beautiful.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?

Madonna and Lola ("Little Star") images:

HAPPY 53RD MADONNA!  YOU CONTINUE TO BE SUCH AN INSPIRATION TO ME!

August: Madonna Month

Recently I changed my Facebook profile pic as a tribute to my idol, the Queen of Pop, Madonna, whose birthday is coming up on the 16th!   

Madonna is her self-titled debut album, released in July 1983.  The single "Everybody" is what prompted the much-wanted record deal with Sire. 

I posted the video to "Everybody" on my Facebook wall.  In the following video, Madonna performs her song during "The Girlie Show" live in Japan.

Those Pesky Church Hypocrites!

Yesterday, I prepared Dora's birthday dinner.  She had asked for a ribeye steak dinner and it was goooood!  Happy birthday Bunny!  

I am still elated about the history-making legislation passed by the New York State Senate!  It's made me euphoric.  True to form, the religious fanatics have come out from the landfills to speak their minds.  According to The Advocate, 

"Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Catholic Church in New York were among the most vocal locals in opposition. Dolan, who had very publicly urged legislators to vote against the bill, said its passage will alter "radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage" and released a statement saying:

"We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity, and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves. This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths."

What a pile of bullshit!  The Church has never treated homosexuals with respect, dignity, and love.  On the contrary, the Church has continuously ridiculed homosexuals and has considered homosexuals as an abomination; a group who most assuredly will rot in a fiery place of torment they call hell for all eternity.  Last time I checked, this attitude does not demonstrate respect, dignity, and love.

Contrary to what Dolan stated above, no one is talking about enacting government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach their beliefs about the nature of marriage.  You have your freedom of religion.  You have the freedom to choose the religion of your choice or the freedom not to believe in a god altogether.  It's that simple.  However, we also have a clause in the Constitution regarding the separation of church and state.  The LGBT community does not want to hurt anyone.  They simply want the right to marry who they choose as their life partner.  Besides, don't you think you have to free your Church of all the pedophiles your church hierarchy seems adamant to protect?!?!

Mike Macalusco, the head of a group calling itself Citizens for a Decent Community, labeled gay marriage "a total collapse of morality in New York State” and said the hard-fought amendments intending to protect religious institutions were “baloney.”

Get a life Mike!  If you examine other countries who have extended marriage rights to their LGBT community, you will find their countries to still be in order.  There's no anarchy.  But since you had to talk about morality, then let's go there.  I find the alarming divorce rate sad and atrocious...perhaps immoral.  After all, most of the reasons cited for divorce is "adultery."  Where's your morality now butthead?!?!

EQUALITY in the Greatest City in the World!

The state of New York passed same-sex marriage bill today!!!!!!  New York loves the gays!  New York, you have just endeared yourself to me even more!!!!!

Putting It Behind Me....

I am feeling better since the last time I posted concerning Terrie's death.  I must admit, the shocking news jilted me and left me feeling distraught.  For the first week, she consumed my thoughts and I could not stop crying at the thought of her taking her own life in such a violent manner.  But then, after a whole week, I began thinking of how badly our relationship ended.  I was attending college in order for us to have a financially sound future.  She claimed I stopped paying attention to her so she find it somewhere else.  She found it in another woman.  She kicked me out of our apartment a week before Xmas and moved in her new love interest.  I was hurt.  When she packed my belongings in the torn and weathered cardboard boxes, she said lots of hurtful things...things that have stayed with me all this time and will always stay with me.  I didn't have anywhere to stay so her sister offered me a place to stay and I took it.  For days, I wanted to die.  I didn't want to get up in the mornings.  I wanted to stay in bed, indoors, away from people.  I cried myself to sleep every night wondering what I did wrong.  Really....what I did wrong?  What bullshit!  She was the one who wandered...who was unfaithful.  I remember coming down with the flu.  She never called to see how I was feeling or if I needed any meds.  I felt so alone.  But I managed to drive to one of the local flower shops (it was Valentine's Day) and arrange for a dozen roses to be delivered to her workplace....with a fever.  Later that same day, I asked her about the flowers.  She allowed her new girlfriend to throw them in the trash!  I was hurt!  Time and time again, she filled my head with empty promises of us getting back together.  She was playing and toying with my feelings.  She kept me on a string!  She didn't care what it cost me emotionally or mentally.  I was a total wreck!  She continued to lie to me...deceive me...hurt me.  And I allowed it.  I became the other woman.  She knew I was still in love with her, but it didn't matter.  Terrie was only interested in pleasing herself with no thought to how she made me feel every day and every night.  And when I would call her on it, she was ugly to me.  The words that spewed from her mouth were vicious.  She had no heart.  Incidentally, her relationship with the woman she left me for came to an abrupt end.  Terrie was hurt and devastated.  She was getting a taste of her own medicine.  But I was more than willing to take her back, watching her cry over someone else.  I gave her a place to stay.  Months later, she left me for someone else...again...a man.  She wanted to marry him for his money.  She claimed she was tired of struggling financially.  She hurt me....again.  Eventually, her marriage came to an end, as I knew it would.  It was a farce.  She moved on to another love interest.  She met someone on the Internet, after she promised me we had a future together.  Another lie.  She hurt me....again.  I believed in her.  I thought she could do no wrong.  She played me for a fool.  She would build me up just to let me down.  She told me she loved me.  I was living in confusion.  The chances I gave her were many...more than she deserved.  I was stupid for believing her.  I was stupid, stupid, stupid!  I had had enough.  In October of 1997, I severed my times to her.  I told myself I would never speak to her ever!  And I stuck to my resolve.  When she tried to speak to me before leaving for Kentucky, I refused her the opportunity.  Frankly, I didn't care anymore.  She was nothing more than a liar and a cheat.  She didn't deserved for me to speak to her.  She left.  I carried on and met other people.  I went out with my friends and had a great time.  I began discovering who I was and began liking myself for a change.  Terrie leaving the state was the best thing she ever did for me.  Then I did something I never thought I'd be able to do--I fell in love again.  When Terrie came around...again...trying to reach out to me, I took the opportunity to tell her that she was no longer a passing thought.  She was floored and she cried about it.  She wanted us to remain as friends, but I questioned, "What for?"  She had treated me like shit for so long, why would I want to be her friend?  And I wasn't.  The last time she tried to contact me was in April 2010.  I said no.  She was my past and I wanted her to stay there.  Now, she's gone.  It seems she couldn't keep it together.  Her sister tells me that Terrie indicated she loved me and always had.  Really?  She treated me like shit and had no regard for my feelings.  What's love got to do with it?  In the final analysis, Terrie knows what she did and didn't do, which was precisely why she told her sister karma bit her in the ass.  In no way am I saying Terrie got what she deserved.  I never wished ill will towards her.  I'm just making sense of my anger and resentment towards the news of her passing.  I feel as though she invaded my space...the space I share with my partner.  I stopped shedding tears for her a long time ago and here I was, shedding tears for her...again.  I felt manipulated.  Wow Terrie, even in death!  No more!  What you did was stupid and senseless, especially because you have a 7-year-old son who needed you!  How could you?  I'll admit, the thought of you still lingers in my head, but time will take care of that image.  You will eventually fade away like a flower.  I guess you thought I would never move on...that I had nothing...that I was nothing....that I could never laugh again...that you destroyed my faith in love...that after all you did, I would never find my way...but I did.  Much to my surprise, I didn't need you.  I only needed myself.  I guess you thought that you were strong, but you were weak.  It takes more strength to cry, to admit defeat.  I had truth on my side.  You had deceit.  I stood on my own and survived.  We didn't.  And you didn't either.   

R.I.P. Terrie (January 31, 1967-May 30, 2011)

On May 30, 2011, my former life partner took her own life.  She was 44-years-old.  The tragic news shook my world.  I am still in shock and disbelief and can't seem to hold back the tears.  The following letter will be placed beside her as she is laid to rest by her two sisters, brother, and son.  The letter is followed by the last song Terrie dedicated to me in 1996, a few months after our relationship ended.

June 5, 2011

Terrie:

This letter is the most difficult letter I have ever had to write.  In fact, this is a letter I wish I didn’t feel compelled to write, but in view of the tragic circumstances, I cannot keep from doing so.  How I wish you had never left this world the way you have chosen to leave it.  How I wish you had never felt the need or desire to want to leave, wrongfully thinking that you were better off gone or that we were all better off without you.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  You were loved and it is my hope that you were aware of that love when you took your last breath.  I don’t understand why you did it and I’m not going to pretend to understand.  I have never understood why you made the decisions you made in life…why you ended our relationship…why you never wanted to try to revive our relationship…why you chose to share your life with people who never had your best interests at heart…why you never allowed anyone to help you…and why you decided to “check out” and the manner with which you did it.  Why?  WHY?  WHY?!?!  You left people who loved you very much namely your son.  I know you know this already, and perhaps, you believed you were doing everyone a huge favor.  Oh my dear old friend, you were so very wrong.  You have left a void in so many people…Seth, Margie, Chad, and Sarah.  To be honest, your death has affected me, too.  And how could it not?  Terrie, you were my universe, my first love, the love of my life, my angel who brought me in from the cold, my anchor during life’s storms, my rock, my strength, you were everything to me.  I loved you with every fiber of my being.  I loved you more than life itself.  There was NOTHING I wouldn’t do for you.  But you turned my world upside down on December 17, 1995.  The pain was horrendous.  I didn’t want to live.  My life had been torn apart.  I was broken.  I wanted to die, but I survived.  I moved on with my life and, in the process, I found someone else to love.  We have been together thirteen years now and I am happy.  I wish you had found the same happiness.  It is now apparent that you did not and I find that disheartening and I am sorry. 

I know you sought my friendship.  We attempted a friendship several times with no success.  When we spoke on the phone, the conversations usually ended with hurt feelings because of rehashing the past.  Terrie, my dear friend, I didn’t want that for either of us.  What was the point in it?  Our breakup was tumultuous enough, why add more hurt?  Our relationship was a chapter in my life I wanted to close. 

And now, you have left an indelible mark in my heart.  My heart hurts because of what you have done to yourself.  And I am left with visions of you ending your life in the violent way you chose to do it.  I know you felt you had your reasons.  You were ripped and bruised and you couldn’t think of better days.  Life was cruel to you.  I know the story.  You wanted the pain and the hurt to end.  Envisioning your lifeless body makes my heart heavy and it makes me want to scream loud enough for you to hear me.  Terrie, can you hear me?  Can you see me?  Can you see my tears?  Can you feel what I feel?  Where are you?  Are you watching everything unfold?  Is it what you wanted to see? 

Margie tells me you felt guilty about the hurt you caused me.  Terrie, the past is the past and it should have stayed there.  I forgave you long ago, but in case you don’t remember, I will do it again….I FORGIVE YOU.  IT’S OKAY.  I SURVIVED.  YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO FEEL GUILTY ABOUT THE HURT.  You now have the peace you wanted and we will eventually find ours.  In the meantime, we will think of you and cry for you.  We will remember everything about you.  For what it’s worth, our breakup taught me a great deal about life and how to deal with the ups and downs.  We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we deal with it.  Give yourself credit for being the first person to show me how it felt to be loved because I know you loved me.  But life happens and it throws us a curve ball.  TERRIE, I KNOW YOU LOVED ME.  We had an awesome relationship while we had it.  And I will never forget it…nor you.  

Our Example, Not Our Power

I was reminded of Osama's death today...someone told me another joke:  Hey there, did you hear about the latest Bin Laden cocktail?  No, man, what's in it?  Two shots and a splash of water!

I suppose these jokes are expected to run rampant but should they?  Most people would no doubt agree...why the hell not?  The man was a monster.  He was responsible for killing thousands.  9/11 and its aftermath was brutal.  We were left with anxiety, uncertainty, and insecurity.  Our innocence was lost.  It spawned a more paranoid style of politics and the Bush administration ran away with it...blank check in tow.  Wars without end surfaced the international scene.  America was running around like a chicken without its head.  And one mistake after another, America lost its stature as world leader.  Therefore, it's not surprising that there were thousands of people in New York City's Times Square cheering and celebrating the death of one man.  It got me thinking, and in the end, I was shaking my head.

Uh...time for a reality check folks!  Not all fear will disappear with one man's death.   Most Americans will tell you, there's a huge difference between good patriotic fun and sinister nationalism and the distinction sets the good 'ol US of A apart from other countries.  Really?

You mean the kind of sinister nationalism that demonizes "aliens" at home and abroad?  You mean the kind of sinister nationalism that stereotypes Muslims (or anyone who "looks" Middle-Eastern) post-9/11?  You mean the kind of sinister nationalism that raises deep suspicion, prejudice, and violence directed against Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Japanese Americans, and European immigrants?

I am not denying the fact that Osama Bin Laden was an evil man and was guilty as sin, but how do we find the legal basis for killing him?   Self-defense?  According to a pronouncement by Philip Alston from the UN, "targeted killing can be legal...the killing of suspected terrorists is permissible only in self-defense or in the defense of others."  BUT Alston also chided Washington for "failing to provide a credible public accounting that would clarify whether the Bin Laden raid or, for that matter, the CIA-conducted drone attacks met the standard." 

Could we, then, make Bin Laden into an "enemy combatant?"  We invented the term, but we did it without international law status.  We only invented the term to get around international law while pretending to stay within its bounds.  Since most Americans believe America is an exceptional country, then it's only reasonable that exceptional people create their own rules, right?  Hmm, we would most definitely condemn others for doing it, but hey, they're not exceptional, right?  Aw, but alas, this kind of thinking has it's own consequences.  Really?  What?

Let's just put it this way:  When we make it a habit to exempt ourselves as exceptional people from international standards, in other words, when we (through our actions) tell others "do as I say and not as I do," we give leaders elsewhere (good and bad) a justification for conducting their own kill operations.  The bottom line is:  "We may think we are serving justice, but the more likely consequence is frayed international trust and cooperation and ultimately less security for the U.S."  

Remember, "the world has always been more impressed by the power of our [America's] example than by the example of our power."--President Bill Clinton

Just sayin'.....

Vans Warped Tour Dallas 07-03-10

Caty's 4th...Happy Birthday!

Caty was born four years ago today.  We brought her home around July/August.  We had decided to stop by PetSmart to look at the kitties...never thinking we were going to adopt a pet.  Adopting a pet was not our intention.  

There were many cats and kittens at the time, meowing and meowing, wanting to be petted.  Only one kitten, however, was rather quiet.  She just looked at us and watched every move we made.  Dora fell in love with her.  She loved the way this kitten just sat so prim and proper, never making a sound.  She wasn't a timid kitten.  She had a happy face.  We brought her home that day and she has been a part of our family for four years now.  

According to the animal rescue representative, Caty is lucky to be alive.  Caty was born with a severe upper respiratory infection.  The mama cat was nowhere to be found when animal rescue found her.  They took her to the vet and immediately began treatment.  Caty had been connected to a breathing machine and she was fighting for her life.  In fact, the vet didn't think Caty would survive the infection.  Thankfully, she did.  Now she graces us with her presence.

Caty (pronounced Katie or Katy...the vowel "a" has a long "a" sound) is a sweet cat.  She has a charming personality.  She's not a timid cat either.  When she hears the doorbell, she quickly runs to the door to see who is at the door.  She meows at our visitors as if she is saying, "I'm so glad to see you."  

 

Caty does not have a mean bone in her body.  She is quite gentle and loves her humans.  She loves her condo, her house, and her toys.  Caty is an indoor cat.  The only time she is outdoors is when we are all out in the patio or backyard.  When we're feeling down and out, she lightens our spirits.  For that, we love her!

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY CATY!!!!!!

The Naming of Cats

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, or George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

T S Elliot

The Sesquicentennial of the Civil War

The nation is celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War and with all of the hoopla comes the question that will always ensue a great debate--"What caused the Civil War?"  States' rights or slavery?  Would it make sense to say both?  States' rights?  No, not states' rights...a single "right" to enslave human beings. "Everything stemmed from the slavery issue," says Princeton professor James McPherson, whose book Battle Cry of Freedom is widely judged to be the authoritative one-volume history of the war. I have also read his other book Ordeal By Fire:  The Civil War And Reconstruction, which explores the causes of war: the disputes over slavery in the territories, the attempts at compromise, and finally the start of the war itself.  Another leading authority, David Blight of Yale, laments, "No matter what we do or the overwhelming consensus among historians, out in the public mind, there is still this need to deny that slavery was the cause of the war."  Reconciliation, however, can only come by way of honesty.

This Friday, the film The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, opens in theaters.  I am so there!!!! 

I'M BAAAACCCKKK! New Look...New Attitude...New State Of Mind!

(Be sure to click the play button to the right to hear the theme song to my blog and/or to watch the video.) 

Hey peeps, I am back.  I won't apologize for the long hiatus because I needed it.  Work has kept me busy, but I will keep this blog as current as possible.  As you can see, it has a new look.  My new attitude...well...it's rather simple...DO NOT SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!  In other words, either you know me or you don't.  Either you agree with me or you don't.  Either you love me or you don't.  Either way, the world will continue to rotate on its axis and I will continue to take life one day at a time without batting an eyelash.  It's that simple folks.  Why the new attitude?  The new state of mind?  I have gotten my inspiration from the City of New York.  Referring to New York City, H. G. Wells once stated:  "To Europe, she was America.  To America, she was the gateway of the earth.  But to tell the story of New York would be to write a social history of the world."  And now for a little history...New York was briefly the U.S. capital.  It consists of five major boroughs--Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island.  

Ah yes, Manhattan.  What is there NOT to like?  Believe it or not, Peter Minuit supposedly bought the island from the Native Americans (Manhattan is a Native American name) for about $24 worth of trinkets.  I suppose you could say future real estate market value was never discussed during the transaction.  

By reading the history of Central Park, you get a social history of the city.  New York's Central Park is the first urban landscaped park in the United States. Originally conceived by wealthy New Yorkers in the early 1850's, the park project spanned more than a decade and cost the city ten million dollars. The purpose was "to refute the European view that Americans lacked a sense of civic duty and appreciation for cultural refinement and instead possessed an unhealthy and individualistic materialism that precluded interest in the common good. The bruised egos of New York high society envisioned a sweeping pastoral landscape, among which the wealthy could parade in their carriages, socialize, and "be seen," and in which the poor could benefit from clean air and uplifting recreation without lifting the bottle."  In the process of constructing the park, many people who had been living in the area (some as legitimate renters and others as squatters) were evicted.  

In the first decade of the park's completion, it became clear for whom it was built. Located too far uptown to be within walking distance for the city's working class population, the park was a distant oasis to them. Trainfare represented a greater expenditure than most of the workers could afford, and in the 1860s the park remained the playground of the wealthy.  As the city and the park moved into the twentieth century, the lower reservoir was drained and turned into the Great Lawn. The first playground, complete with jungle gyms and slides, was installed in the park in 1926, despite opposition by conservationists, who argued that the park was intended as a countryside escape for urban dwellers. The playground, used mostly by the children of middle and working class parents, was a great success.  As the park became less and less an elite oasis and escape, and was shaped more and more by the needs of the growing population of New York City, its uses evolved and expanded.  

Today, as the major site of most New Yorkers' recreation, the park hosts millions of visitors yearly engaging in such activities as rollerblading, fine dining at the Tavern on the Green, watching free performances of Shakespeare in the Park, and relaxing and sunbathing in Sheep's Meadow. 

So there...you have a few pieces of trivia to share with your friends.  

I grew up in a small town, which explains my love affair with the big city...any city.  The skyscrapers...the city  lights...I get chills just thinking about it.  But New York City has always been a future destination for me.  I'm just saddened by the fact that I never had the privilege of seeing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  Hats off to NYC for being you!

"One hand in the air for the big city, street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty, no place in the world that can compare, put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah....

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh, there's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York,

New York,

New York,

 

 New York."--Empire State Of Mind, Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keyes)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!

Matthew celebrated a birthday on April 2nd!  Congratulations little man! 

A Pig Is Still A Pig!

I read a bumper sticker yesterday morning that left me a bit uneasy. It had a picture of the Confederate flag with the words "Heritage, not hatred." Hmmm.......

Yes, it left me uneasy. I know, I know, to the Southerner, the flag is a symbol of the joys and values of being Southern. To a civil rights activist or an African-American (OR ME), however, the flag will never be an acceptable symbol. An...d why should it be? The bumper sticker mentioned "heritage." Heritage of what? Southern iced tea? Grits? Cotton? That "peculiar institution" known as slavery? Many Southerners continue to subscribe to the idea that the Civil War was fought for states' rights. Ah yes, but states' rights to do WHAT? The question must be asked--and it must be answered--to buy, sell, or trade slaves. Who else would mind the cotton fields or the tobacco fields or the rice paddies? 

I have also heard the Southern argument: "It is my right to display the Confederate flag!" To be sure, you do have that right and I am not denying you that right. But would it be just as okay to display the Nazi flag? Sure, why not? By the same logic, a person should be able to display any flag he/she chooses...regardless. To the Jewish person, however, the Nazi flag or the Swastika will never be an acceptable symbol. 

Either way, both flags are reminders of abuse, hatred, and bigotry. Southerners may consider it to be just a symbol, but it is still entrenched in racism. BOTTOM LINE: YOU CAN DRESS A PIG IN HIGH HEELS AND AN OUTFIT EVEN VERA WANG WOULD ENDORSE, BUT THE PIG WOULD STILL BE A PIG.

TEXAS TRASH OFF 2011: SATURDAY, APRIL 2nd, 2011

Dear family and friends:
It is that time of the year again...the time when our family group gathers to take part in this annual event not only to help keep Texas highways beautiful and clean, but to honor and to remember Philip!!!
We always have fun and we always welcome ALL participants!!!
The start time is always at 8:00 A.M.so that we may finish up early and to take advantage of the cooler weather.
Most often this event is capped off with a get-together of food, goodies/desserts, and always with good conversation.
Note: more details on a possible post-event gathering later.
Friendly reminders to be sent as we near the clean-up via:
- Emails, Facebook, Twitter, texts and word of mouth -
So please mark your calendars...and help spread the word.
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 @ 8:00 A.M.
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THANKS and much LOVE to all from the
GUZMAN/DOMINGUEZ Family!!!