November 11, 2008 Remembrance Day

Don't forget to wear your poppy tomorrow.


For The Fallen (fourth stanza)
by Lawrence Binyon, 1914

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Isn't It Wonderful Voting Is So Boring!

At some point in their lives, I brought each of my young sons with me when I voted. This was when we had polling booths in Oregon, before the advent of everyone voting by mail. One son, and I can't remember which one it was, told me when we were on our way home "That was boring, Mom."

My response was "Yes! And isn't it wonderful that it was boring!" He looked at me, confused, and I continued. "We drove five miles to our polling place and arrived here without any problems. In some countries, people would have had to walk half the day or more. No one stood outside the polling place to intimidate us. No one had guns. No one told me I had to vote a certain way or he would hurt or kill us or your Dad would lose his job. I had privacy when I voted and I put my ballot into a locked box. I know it will arrive at the county courthouse safely. The poll worker checked to make certain that I was eligible to vote and later someone will check my signature to make certain it was I who voted and that I only voted once. My vote is secret; I don't have to tell anyone how I voted. I was able to vote freely and easily and I know my vote will be counted. Voting is boring. And oh, we are so very, very lucky that it is."

Saturday Shopping Trip

John and I did our usual Saturday shopping yesterday. We went to Albany and bought groceries, went to the thrift bread store where I snagged English muffins, bread sticks, and a loaf of raisin bread along with loaves of our everyday bread, and filled the SUV with gas which has gone down in price to $2.13 a gallon. Then we headed for Corvallis, driving by the river, a beautiful drive.

We stopped by the Folk Club where I found a small, decorated star shaped box for my collection and then, as it was still cloudy, but not windy or showery, we went to the Farmer's Market. There weren't many people, only a few dogs, and the babies were all snuggled up in their strollers. Musicians, one a lone violinist and the other a group of three men playing instruments and singing folk tunes, at each end of the market. There were mushrooms, kale, pumpkins and squashes for sale. There was also jars of honey, cauliflower in shades of yellow and purple as well as white, peppers in red, green, yellow, and variegated. I bought a bunch of lovely dahlias. We spent some time at the library, picking out books, CDs, and DVDs and then headed home. It was a lovely, quiet day.