WEEKEND AT GRANDMOMMY'S

This is how Miss Kelly looked when she arrived at Grandmommy's house Friday. She's a new member of the Steiner Ranch Elementary Stallions! She recently registered for kindergarten next year. She looked so cute in her pink and black - even the ribbons in her hair. She reminded me of our rock and roll 50s generation! Check out the shoes - pink, but on the wrong feet! (She told me she often puts them on like that.)

We had a fun weekend. Saturday we went to our local library, where Travis picked out two biography books that contained information on Christopher Columbus. He's been working on a paper about Columbus as a class assignment. He showed me what he had already completed, and we talked about it. He told me things I didn't know about Columbus! Kelly picked out two movies for them to watch if they got bored.

Saturday night people all over the world observed Earth Hour. One hour (from 8:30 until 9:30PM our time) that we turned off all the lights... no TV, no computer or music. As you can see from the photo of Travis and one of the young boys from next door, Tres, we had candlelight and

my great-grandmother's kerosene lamp. Tres and big brother Garrison joined us, and Grandmommy read ghost stories by lamplight. Before the stories, we had a discussion about the reason for having an Earth Hour. I'm not sure if they quite understood "carbon footprint", but each of them perked up when I talked about the ice melting at the North Pole and threatening the extinction of polar bears. I think they will relate that to saving energy in the future. At least until they are older. Travis confessed he would be bored if there was never any electricity. He said he would probably go to bed early. Like they did in my great-grandmother's day!

Travis had told me earlier that he wasn't sure he wanted to go to the park and feed the ducks. He said it made him sad to see the turtles who were usually sitting on rocks near the ducks. I asked him why and he told me he read that all turtles are now threatened with extinction - not just the sea turtles. He and his cousin Tanner have tender hearts when it comes to animals.. not just turtles, although that happens to be a favorite.

Mommy and Daddy always seem to be excited to have a weekend to themselves when Travis and Kelly come to visit me. However, it's not long before one or both of them are checking on the kiddos via text message, email, or if those aren't answered quickly enough (you know they stay pretty busy here!), there is the inevitable telephone call. An old-fashioned telephone in this case. Kelly is already practicing for those marathon phone calls she is bound to

receive when she's a little older. Her pose prompted me to run for the camera!

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While we turned off the lights by choice, I couldn't help but think of the people in Japan - and even the people in Libya, who had no power or water. It will be such a long, long time before there is any sense of normalcy in either country. My heart goes out to all of them. Listening to President Obama speak last night, I was moved by his statement that it was "a moral as well as a strategic necessity" for the United States to assist the rebels in Libya. And of course, he promised as much assistance as necessary to the Japanese in their hours of need. I did not want to hear any comments on his speech this morning. I knew that, as usual, he would be "damned if he did, and damned if he didn't"! As much as I abhor war, I have to agree that it is a moral obligation for the countries of the world to unite against such brutal dictatorships. We do not wish to see more human atrocities as those that took place in Bosnia or Rwanda. We cannot as a democratic country who professes to be a "nation under God", in good consciousness, turn our backs on the the neediest in the world. No matter what shape our economy is in.

The law of return (reciprocity) guarantees us that we will receive what we give. We will benefit in the days to come from the United States standing up for the freedom rights of the oppressed, providing military backup and courage to those who pleaded for our help, and sending as much help as needed to countries devastated by disasters. The more we give, the more we will get!

At least, that's what this Grandmommy believes to be true.

Peace and love,

Marilyn