Yep, It's A Political Moment

Alright, I just have to take a moment here. Ok, maybe a few moments. It won't be too long, I promise, but I kind of have to. I am annoyed, frustrated and a little scared, to be honest. Politics.Why is it a Career and Why are We Letting Partisanship Destroy Our Country?

This probably comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me or has read my blogs, but I am what is called  a Liberal. However, I'm a pretty moderate liberal. I kind of slide back and forth along the lines of financial conservative and social liberal. I would never vote a straight ticket, I vote based on issues, positions and records, regardless of party. If there were a line in the middle, I'd be hanging over both sides, and here's the thing, just about everyone else I call a friend skirts that line as well. No, they're not all liberal and the proportions shift a bit, but they share some common traits, such as intelligence, compassion and the ability to think.

I have a lot of friends who are die-hard Republicans. However, when it comes right down to it, most of them (probably 95%) are pretty moderate on the social stuff, at least most of it. Same thing with the majority of my Democratic friends. Most of them are pretty moderate too. I think it's called common sense and I tend to like people who have it. The vast majority of us know that other people have and are entitled to have opinions that differ from our own and for the most part, except when it infringes on life, liberty and human rights, are alright with that. Even if we're not, most of us have the social skills to get along regardless, a skill many politicians could benefit from incorporating.

I actually believe that the majority of American Citizens are more moderate than extreme in either direction. Unfortunately, although moderates are the majority of the citizenry, almost none of them make it to Washington. If they do, they have either resigned, refused to run again after a time in Washington due to disgust at their inability to effect real change or become corrupted by the system. There are a few who stick it out without appearing to be tainted, but not many.

A friend of mine, a Republican, ran for the office of State Representative here in Michigan about 10 or so years ago. He is a person I both like and admire, a genuinely good person who wanted to run because he thought he could do some good for the State he calls home. He doesn't care what color or religion anyone is and just wanted to help the state move forward.  He is a family man who loves his very intelligent wife who has a career she excels at and enjoys.

He is one of those guys who would never betray his marriage vows and is an extremely involved and loving father. Of course he's not perfect, no one is, but he's a good guy, a hard worker, an honest person who had great ideas. Kind of a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" guy; pretty much everything you could ask for in an elected representative. I volunteered time to work for his campaign and I'm a Democrat. So did other Democrats I know. Basically, everyone who knew him wanted to help, he's that kind of guy. He is also an intelligent man who has a lot of common sense and didn't lie while he was campaigning or spout platitudes. He discussed issues, intelligently. 

I am convinced that the combination of honesty, intelligence and common sense, along with party politics, are the reasons why he didn't win. He lost in the Primary to a 19 year old with no education who spouted off whatever the party officials told him to say, using poor grammar to boot. He contradicted himself frequently and obviously had no idea what any of the issue were, but had the advantage of his family having been in the area for a long time, plus the money of those who wanted a yes man in the position (which they got, by the way). He (the now State Representative) has demonstrated time and again since he was elected (and re-elected, God Help Us All!), that he is an idiot of the first order who has no understanding of any of the issues needing attention in the state or his area of representation.

No, in case you are wondering, I do not know him personally and so have no reason to dislike him, except for the repetitively and spectacularly poor judgement and ignorance he shows while very poorly executing the job he was elected for. He routinely spouts off about things he obviously knows absolutely nothing about and makes what have to come close to the stupidest comments and suggestions that I have ever heard when he is asked about any issue and quoted in the paper. Yes, there is a record of it. For real. However, he is a Republican in a very conservative area and that's all a lot of people look at, unfortunately.


This man, the current representative, whom I shall leave unnamed, has frequently been quoted in the Newspaper for variations of statements like "I didn't really understand what it meant," referring to a previous vote on a bill when he changes positions later - like a few weeks, not years, later - on (Hello! Is that not your job to understand the legislation being voted on?!!). He is also at the top of the list when it comes to state legislators who accept money and free stuff from lobbyists. He is also on the record as having missed a rather large number of votes. A genuine, all around stand up guy who puts in his time doing the job, that's for sure (if you didn't catch the sarcasm there, sorry I was so unclear, please look again).

This pretty much captures the intelligence level of the current Representative for our local area, unfortunately. Sigh.

This is who the people of his district chose to represent them at the state government level, while ignoring a for real good guy. I have come to believe this is repeated nationwide on a regular basis. In case anyone is interested, do some research and check out who the majority of the state legislature in South Carolina is funded by. It isn't their savings accounts. Then you can look into recent voting that killed technology development over five years in development that would have benefited schools and unemployed workers trying to gain skills for employment (in a state that is horribly behind on both) and is tremendously financially beneficial to a certain corporation.

Anyone still wondering why our government and country are a mess? Just maybe a nation who votes based on whether they like someone's commercials deserves what we get. I have to hope for better though, I really do.  In a bizarre kind of paraphrase of the Sodom and Gomorrah Story in the Bible, as long as there are a few intelligent, informed voters around, hopefully we won't descend into complete idiocy.

Protestors in Bahrain

The Framer's of our Constitution, or the Founding Fathers, as they are so often identified, did not envision professional politicians for their new Republic. Quite the opposite, in fact. Most of them served at great sacrifice to themselves and their families and envisioned a system where good men (they weren't quite to the gender equality point yet, although women like Abigail Adams did their best) would volunteer their time to help the Nation go forward and solve problems, then after a few years, go back to their lives and previous career. Obviously, this idealistic scenario didn't last very long.

 
People in other countries right now are literally dying in order to try to have the opportunity to elect their own government. Our ancestors did fight and die for it. We have troops who are still fighting and dying for it today and we're wasting it.

I believe if our Founding Fathers, for the most part people of integrity, who, although with vastly differing political views, understood the importance of compromise and common sense as well as independence, could see the state our government is in today they would be horrified. They were nothing if not practical.

When I say today, I am not referring to our current President, who, considering the mess he inherited and the very limited powers of the Executive Office (have you read the Constitution lately?) has done a pretty decent job, but to the Political System in general. Both parties included for the most part, although lately the irresponsibility seems much greater on one side, they seem to take turns at this. Career politicians are like arsenic to freedom. They shouldn't exist in the United States and weren't intended to when our initial government was organized, so why is it that our government is now full of them? Voter apathy, that's why. We're lazy as a nation and we are paying the price.

At the last Primary, this Chicago Precinct had 49 out of over 700 registered voters show up to vote. Unfortunately this is not out of the ordinary for any location. Maybe we deserve what we get? At the last State Election, the lovely people running the election site told me I was the 30th person to vote that day. I voted at 7:30PM. Frightening, hmm?

The average person, regardless of party affiliation, has become more and more disconnected from the political process, to the point where only about 30% of the registered voters turn out to vote for the most important elections. For smaller, municipal elections, most areas are lucky if they get a 3% turnout. That is horrifying, pathetic and also somewhat understandable. Here's why: Although we are told as children that every vote counts, that's not actually true, especially when it comes to Presidential Elections. The Electorate Vote is what matters, and individual votes are only a part of that. That's wrong, part of an outdated system that does not come close to representing the electorate and it should be changed.

The more socially active and educated segments of society, who are traditionally the most active voters, are smart enough to figure this out, especially our youth. They see what happens, they see politicians bashing each other and blaming the other party for every little thing that goes wrong, regardless of truth, and wonder why on earth they should waste their time. This is the group that has traditionally voted. So now you're left to the group who does whatever their TV tells them. That cannot possibly be a good thing.

Has anyone been following the news recently?
 Perhaps you recall a recent and ongoing scandal involving Secret Service members and prostitutes in Columbia?  Republicans are blaming this on President Obama. Seriously, are you kidding me?

Of course, it's wrong. It's reprehensible and they should be held accountable, but does anyone REALLY believe that President Obama had any idea of what was going on, much less was at all involved in a cover up? Does anyone actually believe this has never happened before under a Republican Administration? Of course not!

If a Republican President were in office right now, the Democrats would be blaming him/her too, no question. It's completely ridiculous and it's the way things are done these days, it's all about blame and "winning the point." Politics is a game to way too many, if not all, of the politicians running our government these days. The fact that their decisions impact the lives of real people every day doesn't sink in, much less matter. Yes, there's a problem.

Alright, so now you know where I stand and that I am more than a little cynical (Oh, I have stories, there's a reason for the cynicism, believe me, that doesn't mean I'm resigned though). That being said, the situation in Washington, D.C. is worse right now than it's ever been, I don't care what political party you call home. Even if you are a Republican, if you are honest with yourself, a recent article by the Washington Post (Not written by Liberal Journalists, either, but by academics who study government and are not known as radical liberals!) hits the nail on the head. For all of us, we shouldn't be as worried about the Party getting the blame as we are about the culture that's encouraging the current situation. Regardless of your Party Affiliation, I challenge you to read it, do your own research and try to stay open-minded. There is a problem and it's bipartisan and it is real.

I don't claim to be an expert (although I obviously have strong opinions; backed by research, I might add), but I do not think Mitt Romney is as conservative as he's coming across right now, his record doesn't support it. Just as Obama isn't as liberal as he came across before getting the Democratic nomination for the last election. However, without shifting positions the way he (Romney) has, there was no way he could get the support of the Republican Party in order to get the nomination. Which is the same position Obama was in four years ago, as is any candidate over the past 10 - 15 years. When a candidate has to pander to the most extreme and smallest branch of their Party to secure a nomination, there's a problem. Yes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but is that really the way we want our government to run?  

Read it, research and make up your own mind, by yourself, not by listening to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Jon Stewart or Conan. You have a brain, use it. Stephen Colbert is ok, though, just because he's so damn funny. Yes, that was my attempt at a joke.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html

Following are a few paragraphs in the hope that even one person who doesn't read the article will read this much and be inspired to look at the facts, just a little. These are all taken verbatim out of the above article at the Washington Post. Please see their footnotes for source confirmation. Happy Voting!

Republicans often dismiss nonpartisan analyses of the nature of problems and the impact of policies when those assessments don’t fit their ideology. In the face of the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, the party’s leaders and their outside acolytes insisted on obeisance to a supply-side view of economic growth — thus fulfilling Norquist’s pledge — while ignoring contrary considerations.

And seven Republican co-sponsors of a Senate resolution to create a debt-reduction panel voted in January 2010 against their own resolution, solely to keep it from getting to the 60-vote threshold Republicans demanded and thus denying the president a seeming victory.

Democrats are hardly blameless, and they have their own extreme wing and their own predilection for hardball politics. But these tendencies do not routinely veer outside the normal bounds of robust politics. If anything, under the presidencies of Clinton and Obama, the Democrats have become more of a status-quo party. They are centrist protectors of government, reluctantly willing to revamp programs and trim retirement and health benefits to maintain its central commitments in the face of fiscal pressures.

No doubt, Democrats were not exactly warm and fuzzy toward George W. Bush during his presidency. But recall that they worked hand in glove with the Republican president on the No Child Left Behind Act, provided crucial votes in the Senate for his tax cuts, joined with Republicans for all the steps taken after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and supplied the key votes for the Bush administration’s financial bailout at the height of the economic crisis in 2008. The difference is striking.

The GOP’s evolution has become too much for some longtime Republicans. Former senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska called his party “irresponsible” in an interview with the Financial Times in August, at the height of the debt-ceiling battle. “I think the Republican Party is captive to political movements that are very ideological, that are very narrow,” he said. “I’ve never seen so much intolerance as I see today in American politics.”

And Mike Lofgren, a veteran Republican congressional staffer, wrote an anguished diatribe last year about why he was ending his career on the Hill after nearly three decades. “The Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe,” he wrote on the Truthout Web site.

*D-Indiana Senator Evan Bayh also declined to run for re-election, in spite of the fact that analysts claimed he could have held the seat indefinitely, due to his popularity and an extremely full "war chest," i.e., funds raised for re-election. He cited disgust with Partisanship and disenchantment with the Washington political system among several reasons he chose not to run for re-election.

Thanks for reading and as always, I welcome comments!


*ABC News, February 16, 2010

Day in the Life: Mother, Wife, Slightly Psychotic, a tad OCD, Creative and Pretty Much Just Me, Part 1

Welcome to a day in the life of a slightly psychotic, little bit OCD, creative, busy, frequently amused and seriously annoyed (often at the same time) Mother, Wife, Business Owner and Writer, Part 1. Actually this part is pretty much background. We'll get to the actual daily stuff later, I promise.

I am a modern woman. I grew up on Women's Lib and the ERA (which as a kid I was told by very religious and conservative parents and church was awful and would destroy society but I always thought made a whole lot of sense. I also always admired Gloria Steinem even though I was taught she was the feminist equivalent of the anti-Christ and no, I was not the easiest child for my parents to deal with. Karma is a serious bitch.). Although it was never spoken about in my home, I grew up knowing I could work if I wanted to when I grew up. I did want to and I have. I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and so on and so forth, except that really, I hate cooking bacon.

 I grew up on these commercials and I believed them. I truly believed I could grow up, have a career and a family.

 I have never even smelled Enjoli Perfume, that I know of at least, but I will never forget the name or the face of this woman in the commercial. I think I was about 7 or 8 the first time I saw it and I can't help but wonder how many other girls between the ages of 6 and 16 growing up at that time in history felt the same way.


 This was truly a cultural icon, a commercial that changed the world, strange as that may seem. Perhaps that means companies ought to give some thought to ethics and morality as far as the messages they are spreading, and be held responsible? Just a thought. This wasn't a bad message, far from it,  but kids are impressionable and who knows what they're getting from some of the stuff on TV.

Bacon makes a huge mess and the house smells for days. Plus, I don’t really like it all that much so I rarely bring it home. If we (my family) are making a big brunch which we do once in a while in addition to holidays, I make my husband or teenage son cook the bacon. They like eating it so I figure they can cook it. They do it well and we’re all happy. Other than this, I do about 95% of all the cooking in our house, which, when I want to, is good.


When I’m busy with other stuff and I don’t want to, I resent it like crazy. I am SO not a saint; trust me, and the difficulties that come with working and having a family were never mentioned when I heard about Equality growing up. Probably just as well because really, there isn't any, is there? Every woman I know, including those who are the breadwinner with a husband who stays at home (and I know several), does the vast majority if not all of the housework and often the childcare. Not fair and not equal, but also reality for most of us. 'Nuff said, a topic for another time.

For me personally, the same resentment holds with with laundry and especially cleaning, neither of which I enjoy in the least so I spend a fair amount of time seething and swearing under my breath at the rest of my family members who don’t seem to care if we live in a pig sty or have clean clothes, sheets or towels. I do care, unfortunately, so end up spending far more of my time than I’d like cleaning and doing laundry just so we’re not living in a pig sty and wearing dirty clothes. To be fair, my son does do some of his own laundry (He’d probably do more except that he leaves it in the washer or dryer frequently, then I need to use it and just finish what he’s started).

Add caption

My daughter has done laundry on rare occasions. Both kids know how, I promise. They were both forced to do chores growing up and know how to clean too. Now they're teenagers though and enforcement is difficult, as any parent of teens knows.

 Every once in a while my husband will do a load of laundry too. He does load the dishwasher fairly often, which is much appreciated. He also sometimes spontaneously mops the kitchen floor and has cleaned a bathroom at least four times that I can remember. I’m not sure why or what brings this on, but I don’t really care, I have learned to just appreciate those moments when they happen. He also occasionally gets very particular about refilling all the bathroom soap dispensers. Again, not sure why or what sparks it, but I wish he’d start spontaneously cleaning the bathrooms, doing and/or putting away laundry, or vacuuming, dusting or whatever other cleaning thing needs to be done more often.

These are things that I spend my time doing and I don’t particularly want to. It gets interspersed with paying bills, arguing with insurance companies (something I've been doing a lot of over the past couple of years due to some illnesses and unusual circumstances we've been dealing with) and really fun stuff like that. As we all know and I keep trying to convince my daughter, there are things in life you have to do that you don't want to. It's reality, just the way things work.

 This is the photo on my business cards. It's from the first photo shoot we did, the daughter of one of my neighbors, who got a modeling contract from photos taken at the shoot. Cool, huh?




                        A couple of vintage shoes, a hat, several compacts
                         and  some jewelry. I am passionate about Vintage stuff, it's our physical history, it defines our culture, marks the changes and milestones; plus tells us both who we were and who we are as a people. What we take from it is up to us.

I also am fortunate enough to spend a good chunk of time doing the stuff I do want, like and need to do, which I don’t resent at all. Of course, I haven’t even touched on the time spent on personal stuff regarding kids, families and all the complications that come with them. Anyone with children knows they frequently require enormous amounts of time and energy, both physical and emotional and it does not get easier as they get older, it just changes, yet another topic for another time.

 I started a business a couple of months ago that I worked on setting up for almost a year previously and which I love. For anyone reading who doesn’t know, it’s an online vintage store through Etsy, called Shelley’s Vintage Life and the link is below so please check it out and pass it around to anyone and everyone you know! : )  My challenge, as is that of any woman who has a family and works outside the home as well as in, is to get the stuff done at home, and get the stuff done I need to for work.

That part is no different when working from home than when I worked for someone else. Of course it takes work. Huge amounts of work which takes time. I love working from home, except it’s harder not to get sidetracked. When I worked for someone else, I spent about 7 or 8 hours on at least one of my days off doing housework. Now I spend a couple of hours a day or more doing housework, but I also work at least a few hours every day of the week. I probably do more now, but seem to get less accomplished.

I think because I am home more I see more stuff that needs to be done now, whereas when I wasn't around much, it was easier to ignore. Working from home is great in many ways, and more difficult in others. To my great frustration, my family cannot seem to grasp that I actually have to spend time working, in order to get work done. No Work = No Money. Pretty simple actually but if I'm home, how can I be working? GRRR. We'll get there, eventually. I hope.

Here’s the link to my store, please check it out and pass it around!!!

www.shelleysvintagelife.etsy.com

'Tis a sin to Kill a Mockingbird

 " 'Tis a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird." A couple of nights ago I watched “To Kill A Mockingbird,” which I haven’t seen for years. I haven’t read the book for a while either, but now I am going to reread it as soon as I get home. What a powerful and amazing movie, made possible by one of the most incredible, insightful and revolutionary novels of all time, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

One amazing thing about this book and the author is that she lived the events in the book (and movie, although some artistic license was taken). It is loosely based on events that happened when she was a child. Although she won the Pulitzer Prize, she never wrote another book after this one (or at least published, who knows what will come to light after her death?). I can see why, how on earth could you top “To Kill A Mockingbird?”

We all see the world through our own filter, so as a writer who writes to process events and emotions, in my version of how she wrote the story, it began with processing things that happened when she was a child, trying to make sense of it, so she wrote it down, combining various elements into one story.  It was a story that had to be told. I am conjecturing all over the place, but I imagine someone (perhaps Truman Capote? We know he sent her to the publisher.) read what she wrote and insisted she try to get it published. She wrote it as fiction, but it’s based on real events and prejudices and speaks to people of all ages, ethnicities and ideologies.

It is truly a novel for the ages as well as a cautionary tale and a reality check; there are so many threads I could follow when writing about this book it’s hard to pick one area to concentrate on, but I’m going to try. Basically, the book is about being human, the good and the bad. If we take the book and even the movie seriously, asking ourselves, “what would I do in this situation if I were (insert character of choice here), there is a lot we can learn about ourselves. Asked and answered honestly and thoughtfully, this question can help us figure out what we do and don’t like about the answers and change what we don’t.

Wisconsin’s Repeal of Equal Pay Rights Adds to Battles for Women

by Michelle Goldberg Apr 7, 2012 4:45 AM EDT  **Headline for online news Ezine "The Daily Beast," one of many examples of prejudice alive and well in 2012.


The book puts faces and reality to the problems of race in America, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of real human beings. Although it’s been over 50 years since the events of this book unfolded, we all know that there are still huge problems and racial divides. I write this in the aftermath of the tragic shooting of a young black man whose only crime appears to be being black and wearing a hoodie in a middle class community. This happened in an area not too distant from where we are vacationing now. It is a tragedy regardless of how things are resolved, not a situation I am going to pursue right now, as I am hoping the legal system will work the way it is supposed to, however things turn out.



The KKK, while diminished in numbers, is still alive, well and busily spewing their hatred and violent rhetoric. Their primary targets are the ignorant and uneducated, which says quite a lot about the organization.



What happened? He is gay.

Race is not the only cause of prejudice and bigotry that is alive and well here in the United States in 2012, but it’s probably the most prevalent. It happens all the time and affects everyone, some peripherally, some directly and obviously.  When I see the outcome of the courtroom scene in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” it literally makes me sick. Yes, even though I know what will happen. After all, I have read the book and seen the movie multiple times. Not exactly a surprise, but the accurate portrayal of human nature at its worst makes me ill, as it does every time I read or hear on the news about something horrible human beings have done to each other.

 At the same time though, the story portrays the courage and nobility that we, as humans can and do achieve, which is inspiring and uplifting. Yes, this movie always makes me cry. I know similar situations have happened hundreds of times and still do in one way or another, just as every day, ordinary people go out of their way to do what is right.  It’s a beautiful illustration of the both the best and the worst of human nature.

Have you ever watched a nature show on the Discover Channel or PBS and seen how various animals will either abandon a runt or deformed newborn offspring or actually kill it? This also happened often in primitive tribes where survival was an everyday war. We are better than that, we should be better than that. We are all human beings. Separating ourselves by class, race, religion, sexual orientation or anything else does none of us any good. 

The tiny cub on top, it's the one squeezed out. It died.
People don't need to do this. We can do better.



Human Beings, as well as the animal kingdom, have a tendency to align ourselves by similarities and create a class system in any situation that favors the elite. We elevate those who carry whatever tendencies are seen as desirable, usually things like income, appearance and ability. The rest are disposable. In my mind, that is the antithesis of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and every other religion I’ve had the chance to learn anything about. The urge and desire to abandon or annihilate those who are different and somehow threatening to us comes from the animal side of our nature, not the human side.  Giving in to stereotypes and hatemongering is giving in to baseness. We are better than that, or we should be. At the very least we should be trying to be better than that. That’s the difference between humans and animals; humans can think about what we’re doing and change our behavior if it’s not right.

 Bullying is receiving a lot of attention right now, as it should. No matter what name it’s called, it’s a form of prejudice and says more about the one doing the bullying than the victim. Almost everyone I know has been a victim of bullying at some time or another. Until we recognize prejudice in all its forms and refuse to let it happen it will continue.  “The only thing required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” Thomas Paine (often mistakenly attributed to Edmund Burke but there is no evidence he actually ever said this).



Florence Nightingale gave up an extremely
priveleged life to help victims of war.

 

Teens who made a difference in their school when
they decided bullying wasn't ok anymore.

So how do we do it? How do we differentiate ourselves from the animal kingdom? First of all, it takes recognition. Often, it takes courage.  It takes conscious thought. It takes effort. It takes a willingness to stand out, to be counted, and to be different. Frequently, it’s hard.  Sometimes it carries penalties with those you know, love or associate with. It can cost you friends. This, though, the willingness to stand up for what is right is what determines the kind of person you really are. Sometimes, it’s not hard at all. Sometimes it’s as simple as being friendly, reaching out to someone different than you, giving someone the benefit of the doubt, being willing to be friends with someone who is different than you.

In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Scout has a problem with getting into fights at school. Atticus tells her not to fight, but what he’s really teaching her is not to fight with her fists. Not to fight physically using force. Someone who loses a fight through physical prowess is conquered, not converted. The only way to win this particular fight is with our minds, our hearts and our actions. Only when we all recognize the humanity of those different from ourselves and recognize the ways we are the same and not different, through education and non-stop effort, will things change. Change the hearts of men and you can change the world, an idea promoted by Jesus Christ, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr., to name a few individuals someone might recognize.
 

Jesus Christ was all about reaching out to others.

 Watching the movie made me think. Reading the book will make me think some more. Hopefully, it will help me to become more of the person I want to be instead of settling for where I am. In the immortal words of one of the best speeches/sermons ever written, by MLK Jr., “I have a dream.” I share his dream. I hope that the world our grandchildren live in can be one not torn by the strife and divisions of prejudice, in whatever form. Ultimately, I want to like and respect the person I see in the mirror and I hope that my children and their children will be proud of the person I was, long after I'm gone. Thanks for reading.