For those of you who are just beginning to read this column or have forgotten
ever having read it, let me introduce myself--for those of you who might
remember both me and the columns I write, a simple "Allo' Chickie" will suffice.
I am Constance Cooper Clarke Yoxall, formerly of Chicago, then a resident of
Liberal (having been chased out of several states but never anything involving
the law!) and now, residing in Kerrville, Texas--except for the treasured times
I come back to Liberal, with Himself, and get to treat it as a vacation!
I had left knee replacement Jan. 26 and I had forgotten what fun that
procedure is, in the 11 years since my last one! I can attest to the fact that
there is an excellent pre-op procedure that the Orthopedic surgeons are doing
now--on the day of your surgery but before the actual surgery, they put a little
"pain ball" in your upper groin area, where it remains for 3 days. No.1, my
surgeon, Robert Mitchell who, by the way, got a degree from my college, Washburn
Univ. of Topeka, is well regarded in the area of Knee and Hip surgeries in our
part of Texas (no, his medical degree came from K.U.) and he sent home some
excellent pain pills for my use--so, now, 7 weeks later, I occasionally have
"twinges" in the knee, but am up and walking Rufus, doing therapy exercises and
have lost some weight 'cause I really am not hungry.
So, those are the facts I've been dealing with and in the spirit of reality,
I will now say the column is about Non-Fiction titles. One last word on knee
replacement for those who are considering it--if you haven't made up your mind
to begin the therapy, the next day and for the next 3 months, don't waste your
surgeon's time and skill but be fully prepared to endure pain and the eventual
lurch/limp that will require a cane for the rest of your life and a big dose of
regret! And do not--do not--utter one word of complaint--you brought is on
yourself, Miss Tweedle! Hopefully, you'll choose the smart turn in the road.
Onto
books for the column and what a varied lot they are! From Polar Bears, to India,
to the economic picture for those trying for a better economic future forecast.
Let's look at "
The Great White Bear; A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar
Bear", by
Kieran Mulvaney, and be amazed at their contradictions as much
as their similarities. For instance, they are white bears whose skin is black,
they carry a massive body weight, walk in silence, and cross ice to catch prey.
I found this odd, they live in an extremely cold environment and yet their
problem is staying cold enough. These giant white entities "may wander thousands
of miles over the course of a year, yet they begin life buried underneath in a
snowdrift." Arctic nations have tried to cut down on and be mindful of the
number of bears being killed for any use, not realizing there would be a greater
danger, coming up, than how many seals were available or large fish for midnight
snacks.
One of this country's top experts in seeing where and when and why
animals go to where they travel says, "Almost all of what we know about polar
bears we know from capture/recapture; flying out in helicopters, darting them,
catching them, ear-tagging them, and then doing it again." Hudson Bay is a
unique place to watch some of the interaction, in safe settings for some of the
Summer, at least, to observe people and bears. The young bear, for example,
might at shaking off the effects of a dart gun or shot, be ambling across the
fields, headed for the ocean, and, safely back, are the usual crowd of
eager-to-see-the-bears tourists and, believe it or not, locals. I didn't realize
that Polar bears, upon seeing its prey of a fat seal on the ice floe ahead,
flattened itself against the ice and carefully inched towards its prey. I
thought they made a lumbering run at its dinner. Okay. Back to frightening
facts. As the sea ice retreats--experts say that the ice that remains in place,
now, through the Summer will be gone in 20 years--it affects the plankton and
other facets of the area--and this is a real disaster looking to happen. Come
and read this and then see how you might express your concern and what, if
anything, can any of us do? Or are we witnessing the end of a species? If
nothing else, take a few minutes to read the last chapter, "The Future", on Page
215 and reflect.
And another
thing you might find worthy of reflecting on, particularly as you are hearing
more and more of the international news, is India--what it was and what it's
becoming now. Ergo, read "
India Calling; An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking",
by
Anand Giridharadas, and this gentleman was going back to his
homeland "less interested in its gold rush than its cultural upheaval" as old
thoughts, traditions and customs collide with the new order. He uses the prism
of his family and childhood memories "as he introduces us to entrepreneurs,
radicals, and religious seekers, but, most of all, to Indian families." The main
thing he finds is parents, children, cousins and siblings bending the meaning of
what it means to be Indian today and the chapter of the Upstairs Chachas and the
Downstairs Chachas and their individual ways of living and eating and standards
"is worth the price of admission by itself."
Both halves of the same family
lived in the same house, one in the upstairs and one in the downstairs, and
while there is some--some intermingling of the two halves, it always seems to be
disaster when they do. Men talk and tell their stories and opinions, in groups,
women are silent and expected to remain without opinions or voice them. I can
tell you now, that I would be put to the stake if they'd expect me to not
express thoughts and opinions! Today, they are an independent power, in many
ways, but one big hurdle--goal, if you will--eludes them--"we do not have
anybody's kingdom over us but still we are not that much free--we need financial
freedom, which we do have now--so when young people come ahead, the new
generation, and they will start to live in the way we're talking about, India
will really become independent, and we will really become a superpower. We will
not depend on anybody else." This was said to our author by a wise and revered
man in India, and it seems to be predicting what will eventually be--India will
gain confidence and sense that new and different things are possible and it will
become a superpower. Will it happen in 20 or 30 or only 15 years? We'll see,
won't we?
Somehow, books with titles like this one--"
Secrets of Happy Couples; Loving Yourself, Your Partner, and Your
Life", by
Kim Oliver, tend to turn me off, but then, it may be of value
to couples who haven't been married for 60 years, so, let's see what it offers.
I think this author sounds very reasonable in saying that there's nothing wrong
with how to display or fit in with the other one our ideas of family values, for
instance, and how we individually plan to do that in order to fit in with our
mate's plan. The trick is in how to implement the 2 of you and come up with one
workable plan. She says, "it is important to remember that all disagreements
about strategies are most easily resolved when you take the time to discover the
values that are important to each of you--regarding dating, driving privileges,
family visits, holiday time, whether to get a pet, etc.--that are not being
honored by the conflicting strategies." I just feel that if Himself does
everything my way, Life will be less conflicted, the dog won't go hide under the
bed during a "discussion of opposing ideas" and there will be singing and
dancing from dawn till dusk!
Another excellent point is to listen to not only
what your partner is saying "but also what he or she is feeling." Most of us
feel that the "problem", whatever it is, is the other person's fault and the
real problem lies with our refusing to accept that the problem is ours--rather,
our thinking becomes, "if I am upset by something you do or don't do, then I am
certain that you and you alone are the problem and I am going to do everything
within my power to ensure that you understand just how much of a problem you
are---I am taking my problem and trying my hardest to make it your problem." I,
personally, winced at this last professional tid-bit as I've certainly done
that! Actually, this book has some good points in it--you might come and check
it out and wince with me.
The
last book, "
Disciplined Dreaming; A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough
Creativity", by
Josh Linkner, is about, in businesses, being aware of
outsourcing, money availability, cost cutting and automation--all of this, to be
sure--"but we can't lost sight of the driving force of prosperity, the reason
that any company exists in the first place--CREATIVITY. Josh is president of his
own company and, in the spirit of sharing, outlines a proven step-by-step 5-step
process that will help you and your company team get real and get successful.
You can use "The Opposite" as a technique to take ideas to a new level--change
the accepted version of only one cereal that's good for breakfast and make
several, a Post did--Rice Krispie cereal was made into a candy bar and is now a
competitor for Mars Bars or Hershey or anything else. Should you need recipes to
create the company's "treats"--guess what? They have recipes on the products or
you can get them off the computer!
Use "demos" for your ideas/products. Think it
won't work? I merely mention Rachel Ray and other chefs you see everyday on
TV--in the TV studio on their "kitchen" show. They show you how much fun it is
to make a green bean casserole or decorate a child's birthday cake--everyone is
willing to go right out and get the ingredients and try the recipe out that
week--why? Because the presenter made it seem so possible and fun "I am trying
to impart to you the Power of One. It takes only one fresh idea, big or small,
to make a difference--to change your career, your company, your region, your
country, and one idea is all it takes to change the world. In fact, one idea is
the only thing that ever has." So, sit and think what your idea could be--no
matter how small it might seem (remember little wheels on big suitcases?)--take
the tools and concepts you'll learn in this book and charge! Forward! You
can--and should do it.
The time has come, the walrus said, to exercise my knee--sit too long and you
get "static knee" and you are encouraged to get up and walk around. Thank you
for reading this and I hope I've piqued your curiosity enough that you'll want
to read one of our selections. Warm weather is just around the corner, so stay
positive, and stay warm. Take care. . .Bye-Bye.
It's not officially National Garden Month yet but my fascination
has peaked as everyone around me has started muttering about and accumulating
seeds and plants that they're harvesting this year. I happened to be in my
sister's kitchen a couple of days ago and exclaimed "what is that?" to the cool
plant on her fridge. It was a Tillandsias.
The library has a copy of 'Carrots love tomatoes: secrets of companion planting for
successful gardening' by Louise Riotte for those trying to decide how to lay out their
garden or 'The plant finder: the right plants for every garden' for the person
who is not able to make up their mind on what to plant.
Another Children's Healthy Fun Fair is on the records. What a successful event it was with over 600 people coming through our doors in the four-hour period. Hats off to all the people who gave of their time to help out at the fair. If those of you who attended know of something else you would like to see offered, we are always open to suggestions. Stop by the library, or email us with your ideas to make our fair even better and mark your calendars for March 3, 2012.
Spring forward...Hope everyone remembers the changing of the clocks. This is when an hour of sleep is 'snatched' away, leaving many of us with what surely feels like jet lag! Though daylight time was first begun in the United States in 1918, it didn't achieve much popularity and eventually states were allowed to decide for themselves about its observance. As time went on, every state in the union implemented this practice, with the exception of Arizona and Hawaii. The requirement of date to commence and date to cease is uniform. Those dates are currently further apart from the typical first Sunday in April start to last Sunday of October end that the United States used to from 1987 to 2006. This year we will have daylight savings time until Sunday, November 6. The time is always adjusted at 2 a.m. local time.