Small Things Count

“It’s just a little dog poop.”  Think again. 10.7 million tons of the stuff is produced by our  country’s 78.2 million dogs.  That’s 6% of the 165 million tons of yearly waste going into our landfills.  Try more digestible dog food.  (And PLEASE pick up after your dog!)

[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go to My Free Books).

Martin Luther King, Jr. lays it out straight in today’s Thursday Thought quote. There is a big difference in the effects of love and hate.

That’s one possible title the marchers could use.  Or “Walk to End Abortion.”  Or “Walk to Save Babies’ Lives.”  Or any number of things.  But not “Walk for Life.”

I know people who participate in these walks and stand outside abortion clinics to try to get women to consider options other than abortion.  They’re good people, well-meaning people.  But so many of them are not interested in the larger issue of preserving life.  Many support executions and the right of a person to commit suicide when pain becomes too unbearable or for doctors to do it for them (euthanasia).  Many would express the view that we should assassinate tyrants and bomb regimes even before all peaceful means have been attempted to resolve the conflict, even though some innocent civilians might be killed in the process.  How is any of this “for Life”?

Actually, I don’t want them to change their walk’s name or their description of their stance: “pro-life.”  I just want them to live up to those labels.

What the heck is a “motley crew,” except an old band (Crue)?  Today’s lesson, Children, is about where this familiar phrase came from (sorry…the language-loving teacher in me breaks out once in awhile).  It refers, of course, to a group of misbehaving ne’er-do-wells.  That’s today.  In the sixteenth century the costumes worn by court jesters were made from a cloth called “motley.”  Soon most stage performers adopted this style, with its many colors in a patchwork-design.  It became such a distinguishing trademark for these people that groups of them became known as “motley crews.”   So, next time you want to frolic and gambol across a stage, first dig out your motley and get your crew together.

Maybe the season is making me giddy, but I liked this and decided to pass it on to you. My readers who are dog-lovers will enjoy it. As for the rest of you…well, Merry Christmas anyway.

Rosalynn Carter not only understood the human condition but also lived it. Her quote, for today’s Thursday Thought, is something we should all keep iun mind asa our roles in life shift.

There are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers. — — Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter

I didn’t know this. I’ve always been concerned that a glorious tree was harvested, decorated, enjoyed, then tossed away when it was no longer of use. Now I find that it is put to WONDERFUL use!

This cartoon just tickled my funny bone in the midst of this super-serious shopping season. I needed the laugh and am passing it on to you.

This video really brings back memories. The pain. The confusion because doctors didn’t know much, if anything, about polio. The scare in society that kept this 3-year-old isolated because people feared getting it from me, the fear my parents experienced, and the iron lung (my parents told me there were too few of them to meet the need and, since I was going to die anyway, they wouldn’t give me one—I’m 78 and still here). Now what scares me is the anti-vaxxers who refuse to give their kids the polio vaccine that ended the epidemic and almost eradicated polio (cases are increasing). I hope this video is seen by them and a million others. I will be putting it on my blog and my two Twitters (I refuse to call it X!). Thanks for sending it out.

Can’t do anything about a problem? Today’s Thursday Thought quote tells us how to handle it.