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Our Daily Thread 8-12-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1865 disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister.

In 1867 President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him when he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.

In 1877 Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and made the first sound recording.

In 1898 the Spanish-American War was ended with the signing of the peace protocol.  The U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Hawaii was also annexed.

In 1939 “The Wizard of Oz” premiered in Oconomowoc, WI.

In 1964 Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game.

And in 1981 IBM unveiled its first PC.

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Quote of the Day

“Man has made 32 million laws since the Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai… but he has never improved on God’s law.”

Cecil B. DeMille

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We’ll start with some of Mr. DeMille’s work.

Then some Wizard of Oz.

And Mr. Buck Owens has a birthday today.

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Anyone have a QoD?

41 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 8-12-13”

  2. okay, I have a question. I would like to put a picture next to my name, but when I went and looked at the instructions it seemed like you had to have a wordpress blog to add a picture. Is there a simple way to do this?

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  4. However I did go to the weight room today and made it back to 25 minutes on the elliptical and upped some of my weights. Interesting to up the weight here because everything is in kilos and that is 2.2 pounds. So that’s why I’m tired 🙂

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  5. Jo, I believe I signed up for a blog account, but that does not mean you have to start a blog. Good for you on upping the challenge on your exercises regimen.

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  6. Jo, you do need a WordPress account which gives you access to start a blog but isn’t necessary to post here.

    Buck Owens is another of my favorites. I love that a newer generation got to know him through Dwight Yoakum and that only Dwight could combine Buck Owens and the Violent Femmes.

    I have to get started on my day soon. I have a lot of ground to cover today. I will actually be figuring out how to start a WordPress Blog.

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  10. Oh, and read the comments from various Missouri politicians. Could you tell which were Republicans and which were Democrats if the R or D were not next to their names? It is unfortunate that it is blatantly obvious. I say “unfortunate” because of a certain “r” word and its various forms used by those with a “D” after their name.

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  11. We need a tune to go with Peter’s Country Song.
    I’ve said for a long time that what country music needs is another song to the tune of “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes”. This may be it. 😆

    Enough of this!
    time to get with it.

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  12. Peter, if a clown had dressed as Reagan during his era, I seriously doubt that “racism” would be the first thing people would think of. They might think it was rude (and it might be), but somehow all disgust with this president falls under “race.”

    Kinda makes me think of a conversation I had with my sister Saturday. I told her I don’t really think much of statistics; they can be misused for anything. I’ve seen some billboards of how many people die each year of “smoking-related deaths,” and I’m pretty sure that every time a smoker dies and it isn’t really obvious it had nothing to do with smoking (e.g., he gets hit by a drunk driver), it goes down as a smoking-related death, even if the person died at 95 and most would consider his death not premature. She said oh yeah, for sure she doesn’t take that statistic seriously anymore. On the paperwork from the doctor regarding her husband’s death, the doctor had noted under “risk factors” that he struggled wih high blood pressure (he didn’t) and he was a smoker (he had never smoked). But if you die of an apparent heart attack in your forties, you must be a smoker with high blood pressure, right?

    And if you disagree with a black person on anything, you must be a racist.

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  13. The one positive that I saw from Obama’s election in ’08 was that we’d elected a black president — and that’s a long way to come for a nation that just a few decades ago was struggling to move beyond long-established segregation laws and legally sanctioned discrimination. I thought that in itself spoke volumes about our nation and potential growth toward a more color-blind society. (Although I suspect Obama’s race also made him the rock star that he was among voters and served as a major boost to his election.)

    But the irony seems to be that race relations have now only worsened due to that election. Everything’s about race. I’m not sure how that happened, but Cheryl’s right, the president’s race seems to be the focus of outrage whenever anyone criticizes him or his policies.

    It’s why critics “really” don’t like Obama, whether they come out and say it or not.

    As a Christian I’d say the rodeo show was in bad taste and disrespectful. But crass political satire is part of our national tradition, for better or worse, no president has ever been immune.

    Listening to the president on the radio the other day, it struck me again how he seems to always been lecturing us, how he seems to outright disdain those who disagree with him. He’s simply not a good leader. He further divides, always.

    This has been an eye-opening time, to be sure. And I don’t think we’ll recover from it quickly (if ever in my lifetime anyway).

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  14. Donna- I couldn’t agree more. I see this era as the beginning of the end of what our Founding Fathers established. Sometime in the next 50 to 100 years, the USA will have a different constitution with far fewer liberties than what we now enjoy. And with the political correctness crowd gaining more power, there will no longer be freedom of speech. It will be one of the first freedoms to go.

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  15. Funny,

    I don’t remember cries of outrage from the left while they were at anti-war rallies with Bush=Hitler posters complete with mustaches, or when they were burning him in effigy, or calling him every name in the book…..

    Ain’t selective outrage the best? 🙄

    And Cheryl’s right, the only reason anyone ever disagrees with Obama is because they’re racists. Again, 🙄

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  16. The efforts to control speech really do worry me.

    That the entire notion of “hate” speech — the definition of which is really quite subjective — has become somewhat accepted in our society (and is taught/reinforced via the schools) is a huge red flag in my mind.

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  18. I am so far behind on reading comments on Our Daily Thread. I just got up to Sunday morning’s comments. But I am up-to-date on the other threads. So I’m jumping in here to explain about the prayer request I just posted.

    Forrest has two very stubborn people as parents, who are at odds with one another & frequently butt heads. (And yes, sometimes they are buttheads. 😉 )

    Today’s “drama”, which was quite stressful for me, concerned R wanting to pick up his son, since it is his day off. Lately, R thinks he can drive into town (he lives about half an hour away) & call to say that he will be picking Forrest up in 5 – 10 minutes. One day, he would have missed Emily & Forrest completely if he had called 5 minutes later, as she was getting them ready to leave for shopping (in the town he just left).

    Emily wants him to call the day ahead to make plans to pick up Forrest. R thinks he can just show up & take his son. (With no legal custody agreement in place, he pretty much can, from a legal standpoint.)

    So early this afternoon, he calls to say that he will be picking Forrest up in 10 minutes. However, Emily, Chrissy, & Forrest were at the local supermarket doing a bit of grocery shopping.

    Long-story-shortened-a-bit – There was a flurry of calls among all of us. R calling me, me calling Emily, R calling Emily, R calling me again, & so on. Emily, angry at his refusal to call ahead to make plans, refused to tell him where they were. R said he would hang out in our yard waiting for her. She said she wouldn’t come home until he was gone. (Being home alone at the time, I was a tad nervous about what he might do.)

    He did not end up waiting in our yard after all, but he did call me & threaten to call the police. He also made some more ridiculous allegations about Emily. Emily finally said she would be home when they finished at the thrift store.

    Well, he found them at the thrift store (no, I didn’t tell him they were there), & ripped Forrest right out of Emily’s arms. We have no idea where he’s taking him or when he’ll be back.

    Emily does not want to just “roll over” & let R take Forrest whenever he feels like it. I understand that. But I reminded her that she is dealing with a highly irrational person, & her actions merely served to stir up his irrationality.

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  19. One of our key leaders at my company is a black woman who was raised here but lived for 20 years in Los Angeles. She is married to a white man and they have children. I have been lucky to have some frank conversations with her. She pretty much agrees with my views. What I find telling though, it every time we have a conversation I feel I have to preface it by saying, “I am not prejudiced and if I say something offensive I am just trying learn”.

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  20. The reason Emily doesn’t want to go to court for a legal custody agreement is that then R would have Forrest more than he does now. As it is now, he sees him about once or twice a week, for a few hours each time, sometimes less. A custody agreement would probably include him having Forrest every other weekend. Forrest is not ready for that, as he is still quite attached to his mommy.

    Remember, Emily is doing extended breastfeeding with him, so even though he will be 3 in October, he is still in the weaning process. This is considered pretty odd in our culture, but throughout much of history, & still in certain parts of the world, this is normal.

    And quite frankly, R probably couldn’t handle his son for a whole weekend. He often wants Emily to come along with them to help handle Forrest.

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  22. Karen, good for Emily with doing extended breastfeeding despite our culture’s (mis)perception of that. I spent a total of twelve years nursing. Two of them until their third birthday, one for 25 months, and the other three between one and two years. I would have nursed two of the 1-2 year bunch longer, but I got pregnant while nursing, and I just did not have the physical reserves to handle pregnancy and breastfeeding at the same time.

    I think nursing must provide a tremendous source of comfort and security for Forrest in his very turbulent world. Tell Emily I am proud of her for continuing her nursing relationship with her son for the length of time she has.

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  23. Kim – I was pulled into it. R kept calling me, but I would say very little. I hung up on him when he used “the f-word” to me. Then I would call Emily to tell her of his latest threat & try to get her to just come home & deal with him.

    Oh, I forgot to mention that when R said he was going to hang around our place waiting for her, Emily insisted I call the police because he’d be trespassing. I didn’t want to get involved in that, thinking it would just be pouring more gasoline on his fire. Fortunately, he didn’t show up here.

    6 Arrows – Thanks. I’ll tell her that. 🙂

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  24. Kim – I don’t know about the law in other states, but here in Connecticut, if there is no legal agreement, either parent has the right to have him whenever they want. They could play a rip-roaring game of volleyball with Forrest, if they wanted to. Thanking God it hasn’t come to that.

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  25. Karen,

    Perhaps a custody arrangement would be best in the near future. I don’t know the laws where you are, but around here not having one can lead to serious problems. With no order, and since he is the father, your daughter has no right to make him return the child. Most divorce lawyers around here recommend if you have physical custody, don’t give the child for visits until an order is issued, since the other parent can keep them and do the same to you. Without an order, he has no obligation to return him unless he wants to. Be very careful, and consult an attorney.

    And I agree with Kim. That’s abusive, and shouldn’t be tolerated. And he has no right to hunt her down like that. That’s stalking. And if he shows up unannounced and unwanted, call the police. He has no right to terrorize your family like this. He will continue to do so if you all continue to allow it. Stay safe and speak to an attorney about your daughters options. Do it soon. Like today.

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  26. 6 Arrows – I agree that the nursing is a great source of comfort to Forrest. Which is probably why he is resisting her attempts at weaning. Did any of your children greatly resist weaning? How did you handle it, if so?

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  29. It’s gonna rain here again and they have closed the pass down in Manitou….this has been quite the summer…..
    Karen….is R paying any sort of child support? (not trying to be nosy…just wondering) If he isn’t….he has no “rights”…..period. I’d be taking him to court…the ‘ol put up or shut up…but, then again…it’s really easy for me to sit here and play Monday morning quarterback huh? Praying the Lord will give you all wisdom in how to handle this before someone gets hurt…. 😦

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  30. Karen, any time your are in fear for your safety it is best to call the police. Better safe than sorry. I think you have been given the BEST advice in consulting an attorney. I don’t have a law degree in any state. Best to find out what a reputable attorney in your state has to say.

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  31. NancyJill – No, he isn’t paying any child support.

    I “lost it” with Emily a little while ago.

    She had said not to tell Lee about what happened, because he didn’t need the stress. But I felt that he should know about it, especially if there were any repercussions, so after dinner I filled him in.

    As he walked out of the room, Emily said to me, “Thanks a lot. That was so disrespectful.” She said that it was her business, not mine. I protested that it was my story, too, because I was involuntarily involved, & that I thought Lee should know what happened.

    If she hadn’t said these next words, then I probably wouldn’t have said what I did after…

    She said, “It’s about me.” And I kind of exploded, “Everything is about you, Emily. Everything! And I’m not the only one who thinks so.” (Chrissy & Lee have said this kind of thing in private.) I think there was another sentence or two in there, but that’s the main part.

    And then I felt bad. But I think it had to be said, I just wish it hadn’t come out like that. 😦

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  33. Karen,

    Regarding weaning, only one strongly resisted the process (6th Arrow), although 2nd Arrow did ask me (and maybe cried some, I don’t remember) every day for a couple weeks after I weaned her to let her nurse again. (She was one of the two who nursed to her third birthday, and was very adept at verbalizing her wishes.) I’d made my decision, though, and held fast, and she got over it, and is now a well-adjusted 20-year-old living away from home. 🙂

    With 6th Arrow, though, I began the process of weaning at a much earlier age than I’d really wanted to, I think soon after she turned one. I had major dental work that needed to be done, and I knew the potential for getting metals into my milk supply was pretty strong, due to mercury fillings already in my mouth that would be disturbed during the dental work. I didn’t want her exposed to that through my milk, so I started the weaning process so I could get the work done within a reasonable amount of time (it wasn’t urgent immediately, but the more time that went by without getting treatment, the worse my dental issues would get).

    Long story short (well, not really!), she really resisted my efforts to cut back (I had probably tried to eliminate too many feedings too quickly), then she’d be miserable, and I’d nurse her more often some days, then less often other days. I got plugged ducts a lot because of such an erratic nursing schedule, which wasn’t fun. I didn’t really want to be weaning her, since she was born when I was 45 and I was figuring that my childbearing days would probably be ending soon after that. I’d enjoyed nursing so much over the years, and I didn’t want that special relationship to end early because of some stupid dental work.

    So I’m sure she picked up on my ambivalence, as she has always been very perceptive, and highly verbal — she started speaking in sentences the week of her first birthday.

    Anyway, I’m way off the subject now, and you are probably wondering when I’m going to get to the point. 😉

    You asked me, “How did you handle it…” Well, not very well! But for what it’s worth, I’ll pass along some things that came to mind when I read your question.

    First, Karen, let me say this gently, not meaning any offense to you. Emily’s decision to try weaning Forrest is her decision, not yours. I don’t think you need to involve yourself in that. (Sure, after I’ve launched into this big, long post already! My brain works in funny ways sometimes, and I don’t always think of important things I want to say until after I’ve typed a lot of other stuff — and I don’t want to erase all my efforts from before I got to the pertinent things.) 🙂

    So I’ll just say, if Emily is interested in tips on how to wean Forrest, my advice to her would be to first of all examine her reasons for initiating weaning, and the timing thereof. In other words, why and when? If she has compelling reasons for weaning now, then she might want to think about having a specific schedule, nursing only at given times of the day, say, upon waking, before naptime, and before bedtime at night. When she decides to cut down further, to two and then one feeding (and none, eventually, of course), she should try to find other nurturing activities to do with him, probably not sitting on the couch, though, for example, if that is an area he associates with getting nursed. She should find other ways to connect with him at the times and in the locations he is accustomed to nursing.

    There needs to be some substitute for the nursing when it is done, replacing something special with a new something special, so that at the end of nursing, there is a segue to something else, rather than a loss and emptiness.

    That is my two cents worth, but I would pass this information along to Emily only if she seeks advice on weaning.

    And BTW, Karen, regarding your post @ 17:56:28, Lee is your husband, and Emily needs to understand that, as such, she has no business telling one parent that s/he should not tell the other parent something. A husband or wife of sound mind (which you are) is in the best position to determine whether the knowledge of certain information or events that have occurred would be harmful for one’s spouse to know about. It was rightfully your decision to make about whether to tell Lee about what happened, and she does not have the right to decide otherwise.

    I do believe I am done with all my opining now. 🙂

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  35. Karen, I was going to say the same thing. I’ve asked a woman not to tell her children something, or not to tell her mother something, but anything I tell one spouse is with the understanding she might tell the other. There are exceptions to this–for example, my husband is an elder at our church, and as such he sometimes knows things he cannot tell me, which is hard for him. But in general, no one has a right to tell me something that I can’t tell my husband.

    There are probably times my stepchildren would want to say to their dad, “Don’t tell Cheryl this.” Andhe won’t repeat their troubles in front of them lest it embarrass them, but he will privately tell me why so-and-so was so quiet at supper or whatever. I’m not their biological mother, but I am playing the mother role, and I am also his wife and help meet. I don’t keep things from him, either, unless it regards someone with a birthday surprise or something of that sort.

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  36. 6 Arrows – Don’t worry; I’m not getting involved with her decision to wean, but I know she is working on it & thought you might have a tip or 2 that could help.

    I agree with both you & Cheryl about my right to tell my husband the events of the day.

    Forrest is finally safely home. Emily doesn’t seem to be upset with me over my outburst.

    And now I need some sleep.

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  37. Ah, there we go. The misbehaving clown has been slapped with a “lifetime ban” from the rodeo.

    Now while I agree his actions were disrespectful, this is exactly the kind of overreaction that concerns me. Mocking a leader is par for the course (or should be) in a free country.

    It’s not to be tolerated in authoritarian, tyrannical countries, of course.

    But we’re not one of those, are we? 🙄

    http://news.yahoo.com/mo-state-fair-bans-rodeo-clown-mocked-obama-183933790.html

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  38. Thankful that Forrest is safely home, Karen. And I hope my marathon-length comment to you wasn’t too blunt or insensitive (the weaning business part) on a day that already was stressful for you. My apologies if it was.

    I pray you have a night of restful sleep.

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  39. Donna- I hadn’t heard about the ban. Sad, since the guy apologized on his facebook page earlier today. I guess an apology doesn’t work unless your name is Bill Clinton.

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  40. I’m not sure exactly how you discipline a clown 😮 , but it seems like his employer could have certainly written him up, fine him, whatever — something short of a “lifetime ban”?

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  41. Second Arrow is coming home tomorrow night, and will be here all day Wednesday and that night, also. She hasn’t been home in a while, so it’ll be nice to see her again. There are two little arrows who are very excited, because the mattresses from the bunk bed (a single and a double) will be brought up to the living room, and pushed together on the floor, where 5th and 6th Arrows will get to have a “sleepover” with biggest sister. They can’t wait! 🙂

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