Too close for comfort

The other night, we noticed a fire truck going down our street. We would not have noticed the siren-less truck if it hadn't been for our truck obsessed son who heard the distinctive rumble of the engine and ran to the door. We looked down the street and saw a couple of police cars in addition to the fire truck. Wanting to stay out of the way, we stayed indoors.

I opened up our local paper today and discovered what the commotion was. Apparently, there was a home invasion. This happened in the early evening hours, pre-dinner maybe. Two guys kicked in someone's door, told them to get on the floor, and stole a few small items. Luckily for the victim, there was someone in another room who called the police. The two bad guys were caught.

I am not one to frighten easily. I have, unfortunately, been close to some very violent fights at my school. I usually feel more frustration and anger than fear. This little event down the street doesn't frighten me, but it does have me feeling a little wary. The town in which I live is probably on the verge of an economic depression, as is Michigan just across the river. As more people fall into poverty due to a loss of jobs, I do worry about an increase in crime. I realize that the community needs people who are more economically secure to do more to mitigate some of the hurt for the poor. My husband and I, while we don't have a lot, do have fairly secure jobs. It is time for us to step up somehow.

Eight Long Years

I have been waiting for this moment for eight years. I know that I am not the only one. One week from today, we will be done with the Bush/Cheney administration. Yes, the inauguration takes place in January, but Tuesday, November 4 signals the end of the worst President in the history of the United States.

I remember being stunned at the results in the 2000 election. In an unusual move, I allowed my first hour class to watch Channel One to follow the Florida recount. My parents live in Florida, so the whole spectacle gave me reason to tease them endlessly. Finally the Supreme Court stopped the counting and we were stuck with Bush and Darth. At that time, I thought that Bush was a fool who had one term written all over him. Little did I know that I was the real fool.

Jump ahead to the 2004 election and I plunged into a deep depression. I simply could not believe that GWB was re-elected. I remember distinctly watching the events of the Orange Revolution unfold in the Ukraine and wondering why I wasn't in the streets protesting our election results.

Next Tuesday represents the most important election of my lifetime. The choices are clear and distinct. We, as a nation, could choose a doddering old man who has spun a narrative of fear and xenophobia around his opponent and decide that we do not trust those who have funny names. This choice would lead us to further, more bitter division.

On the other hand, we, as a nation, could choose a hope-filled man who speaks of bridging the fissures that have arisen since (in my opinion) President Clinton took office. This candidate seems unafraid to look for the tough solutions to the problems we face today. I may not agree with all of his stances (particularly in the area of foreign policy), but I at least feel that this candidate will be more intellectually curious and willing to act based on principal.

Please - vote for Barack Obama next Tuesday. Let's piss off the Klan and send a signal to the world that the United States has found its moral backbone.

Careless

Perhaps I am not the most detailed oriented person in the world. That fact should probably disqualify me as the PAC chair for my union, but no one else wants the job, so....

I am working on the report right now and I have just realized that I have made a fairly large mistake and will have to start all over. It is a monotonous report to complete and I need to pay better attention. I'm just really bothered that I set myself back about an hour and a half.

I'm just glad that I don't have to complete entries for a make-up artist to the tune of $22,000.

Read the label

Several months ago, I was baking something ( I don't remember what exactly) and using cinnamon. I must have been taking a break when I decided to read the cinnamon box. I glanced at the ingredients and saw that besides the cinnamon, the company, McCormick's, had also included hydrogenated oil, maybe cottonseed oil. I was completely dumbstruck and decided to purchase organic cinnamon instead.

I was making my last batch of applesauce for canning last night and I noticed that I would have to buy more cinnamon today. I decided to read the label on McCormick's cinnamon again to see if there was still oil listed in the ingredients. Sadly there was, so I again purchased the organic cinnamon.

Because I have nothing else to do, I called McCormick's went I got home from the store. The customer service representative let out a surprised laugh when I asked her for an explanation. She told me that if the company receives a shipment of "high quality" cinnamon that happens to come from the upper branches of the tree, it will be drier due to having less natural oils. When that cinnamon is processed, a very small amount of oil is sprayed on the grinder so that the cinnamon does not go all poof in the air. Apparently, according to the woman on the phone, a customer could purchase cinnamon six months from now and not see oil listed on the box.

I know that you're smart out there, if for no other reason that you are reading my blog :) Please be sure to always peek at the labels before you buy anything. You never know what companies will try to slip past you.