Inauguration celebrations, hurry up!

Impossible as it is to spend a waking hour without someone mentioning Barack Obama and the Inauguration, I'm not caught up in the excitement.

Yes, I took notice of his choice to ride a train through several major towns and give speeches on his way to Washington D.C. It reminded me of FDR and his special train -- the Ferdinand Magellan-- which is housed in a museum here in Florida. And more than that it reminds me of my uncle, Homer Guyton, who was the engineer driving the train once for then President Eisenhower. His moment of fame perhaps, but I think Uncle Homer was more excited about Marilyn Monroe visiting him in the cab and sounding the train's whistle.

It seems, for many, to be appropriate that Obama will take the vow to protect and defend our country on the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The emphasis on race seems old fashioned to me. As we move forward race seems secondary to education, ability, wisdom, knowledge, leadership qualities. More important to me is that this is a man of the world -- a father from Kenya -- raised in part in ***Venezuela by grandparents brought up on the determination and humility taught in Kansas or was it Oklahoma. But he came into his own, molded by the power and pride and swagger that only belongs to Chicago.

It was interesting to hear one of the pundits describe Mr. Obama in meetings. It isn't a bunch of hangers on trying to garner favor with him, tell him what he wants to hear, agree with him. Instead, the man described a typical discussion with everyone contributing to the conversation to move it forward to finding solutions. And then he said something I hadn't really put into words for myself before but knew it to be true. Barack Obama's self esteem does not rest on being the one with the right answer. He has no ego involved in discussion. What he does seem to want most of all is to find the best solution to each and every problem.

The next time I vote for a president on any elected official, I will pay closer attention to where his or her ego lies. Is it imperative that he be 'right'? Or is it more important to find the right solution regardless of whose idea it may be? Seems like a good test and better than many we've used in the past. Much better than 'cute ass.'

So, I am rather frustrated and anxious to get past all of this celebration and on to the day after, the week after, the month after. I so desperately want Mr. Obama to be all that we think and hope and pray he is. He likes the comparison to Lincoln. Which brings up something that Ms. Kerns Goodwin mentioned recently. "Anyone who studies Lincoln becomes a better person."

It seemed like a weird thing to say, but she added that any researcher who has ever made Lincoln the focus of their work has mentioned that. She felt it as well. He makes everyone seek to be a better person simply by association with him, his words, his actions, his humility. I wonder if he had been placed on this earth with a different face -- a beautiful face -- would he have turned out differently?

I think Mr. Obama could certainly have chosen worse men to emulate than Lincoln or even FDR. Although I often think the best one of the Roosevelts is still Eleanor. I think FDR was a better man by association with her. But, I digress.

Although, maybe what Mr. Obama found in Chicago that transformed him or brought him to the realizations he now lives by, is named Michelle. She does remind me of the strong black woman of slavery and poverty who keeps her family together and protected. I understand that Mr. Obama will be living with two strong African American women -- his mother-in-law is moving into the White House, too.

It takes a strong man to live in that household. And I have confidence those two, plus his daughters will not hesitate to tell him when he's behaved stupidly. Ahhh yes, I'm looking forward to the day AFTER the inauguration. And the next four years. It is a strange, foreign feeling, one I hadn't felt for more than a decade. Maybe I haven't felt it since John F. Kennedy was elected. It is a new day and I pray a good day for all of us.

***As was pointed out by Bob in his comment, I misspoke -- Obama did live for a time in Indonesia, NOT Venezuela. And according to Wikipedia, he lived there with his mother and his stepfather. I apologize for NOT doing my homework!

All we want is work -- and respect

My roots grow deep in blue collar and rural soil. My father a steel worker, his father built oil derricks, my mother's father and his ancestors for generations were farmers.

My husband worked at several factory jobs until returning to college to become an accountant, so we know quite a bit about the lifestyle and the people.

The bottom line is: we want respectable work that gives us a comfortable income so that we can raise our families and be part of a family.

I don't need a $400 purse, designer jeans, exotic vacations or an expensive car and most of the people I know feel the same way. They want to be able to send their kids to college, provide a safe, comfortable home, and have some fun doing the work they love.

This morning I heard Paul Gigot, editorial editor of the Wall Street Journal, voice his opinion that the capitalism in its present form had served us perfectly well for the last 30 years. This current situation was just a glitch and once it was fixed, it could be 'business as usual.'

I sat up and yelled, "What Lala Land do you live in?"

The last 30 years?

In my home town, the last 30 years turned it from a thriving manufacturing center into a ghost town. Jobs went overseas; benefits disappeared; retirees were left without a network. Insurance and health care costs, just when they most desperately needed it, skyrocketed. Some lost their pensions because of new government regulations.

Businesses sold out and moved at a whim due to junk bond and stock market trades which had nothing to do with the quality of the products being produced. Companies lost any consideration for employees, they were dehumanized, and were simply part of the profit-loss equation. Corporations shrugged off any responsibility toward their employees, saying they were paid for their work, that's all they needed -- and they could certainly get by with less -- much less. And when they left their employ -- they were on their own, even after 30 years of devotion to the company.

College tuition aid dried up in the last 30 years. Well paying jobs evaporated to be replaced by minimum wage, part time employment. The product took second place to growing careers and amassing wealth for the top 10 percent. Unions disappeared and the employees became voiceless. Anyone who fought this move toward invisibility became quickly unemployed.

We watched our income fall behind cost of living. The prosperity of the 40s and 50s dwindled.

We watched Neal Bush and the Savings and Loan scandal get swept under the rug. We watched funds sent to other countries, along with jobs and nothing invested in infrastructure, retraining, or new jobs. We watched family farms sold because the commodity prices were kept so low a farmer could not survive.

Oh yeah, I suppose if you invested in the dot.coms and the computer stocks it was a great 30 years. But for the most of us, we watched our way of life disappear and nothing to take its place.

So Mr. Obama, please, as you put together this new package that is to take us out of this recession, please know that we want to work. We want to be respected for the products we produce. We want to be able to provide for our families. We want to earn enough to take care of ourselves. We don't want handouts or bailouts. We want work!

Other countries have faced the evaporation of manufacturing jobs. In Sweden, the city of Malmo was dependent upon heavy industry. In the 1980s a recession devastated this industry base -- sound familiar? Well, instead of relying on medical jobs and service occupations, the city regenerated its urban landscape and along the way provided jobs for the current population. They began with a bridge. It connected the city to Copenhagen and opened up greater economic opportunities. The leaders had vision.

I lived for almost a decade near Rockford, IL, a community similar to Malmo, yet their leaders had no vision. They didn't see beyond the hopelessness of lost jobs.

Denmark reinvented its economic base, by seeing green. If you want an alternative energy source -- a solar panel, a wind generating turbine -- the odds are it will originate in Denmark or the research and development came from Denmark. The whole country has devoted itself to profiting on this new technology.

Why can't we do that?

If the government wants to spend trillions on a bailout package, give us something tangible. Infrastructure rebuilt, or remade to reflect a green society. Give us jobs and let us help rebuild this country. Fund research and development so that we can once again lead the way in innovation and technology. I'm so tired of seeing every gadget and creative invention come with the stamp of 'made in Germany, Japan, China....'

We look like a bunch of lazy people with our hands out and that is not the American way. We work, we build, we survive and we strive -- so let us do what we do best. Get out from under the shadow of corporate American and re-find the spirit of American ingenuity and victory over adversity.

I want a new form of capitalism that is for all Americans, not just the top 10 percent. My parents experienced it and everyone was respected, whether doctor, lawyer, CEO or farmer and factory worker.

Let em know in Washington that we want to do more than 'shop.' We aren't just consumers, we are contributors to our common good. My roots grow deep in the soil of America and I'm damn proud of my ancestors' blue collars and calloused hands. We know how to work. Just step out of the way and let us get to the job of rebuilding our country. OUR country.

No more piling on!

As I write this the interview between Barack Obama and Tom Brokaw is playing out on Meet the Press. I'm hearing a real discussion, not just sound bites and platitudes.

The election is behind us.

I'm breathing easier than I have for nearly a decade. That sounds strange, I'm sure, because we are probably in the worst situation economically and globally than in my entire life. But finally, I feel that we actually have a mature, capable, ethical, moral, problem-solving man at the helm. I see him building a reputable team to assist him.

The last few weeks I felt relief and hope filter into my thinking. But it became obvious that I have kept alot of frustration, stress and concern -- alot of just plain fear -- bottled up. I question everything and doubt most of what I hear from everyone. And I expect the worst.

When everything came to a head a few days ago, I realized that I needed to find a better way to deal with life's problems. I reached out to friends and colleagues on my favorite writing community, Internet Writing Workshop, and asked for their recommendations for meditation online, books, whatever. And while their suggestions began arriving in my inbox, I began doing my own search.

I believe in the divine. I believe that there is no such thing as a coincidence.

So, when I 'stumble' across a site, I have this faith that something has led me to it. And right now, I'm glowing with that synchronicity that brought me to the wisdom of the Living Life Fully website.

I shared the site with my fellow writers and just this morning I received this response:

"Thank you for this! I've been receiving the meditations for two mornings now. Wow! They are inspiring. This was a true gift. " --Ann

That's how I feel!

The first message I read on this site was exactly what I needed to hear after having been yelled at by my supervisor at work. While I was feeling like I was living the wrong life and wondering where the real 'me' has gone, I read:

Don't feel sorry for yourself if you have
chosen the wrong road--turn around!

Edgar Cayce

After a few paragraphs discussing this concept, it ended with another quote. Almost verbatim what a couple of friends -- fellow muses -- had been telling me:

When you find yourself overpowered, as it were,
by melancholy, the best way is to go out and do something.

John Keble

But the first quote I received in the daily meditations sent to my inbox is now copied and hanging in my locker at work:

Hold up your head! You were not made for failure, you were made for victory; go forward with a joyful confidence in that result sooner or later, and the sooner or later depends mainly on yourself.

Anne Gilchrist

I discovered that simply hearing positive reinforcement, an understanding voice, soothes my throbbing emotions and helps me find a better balance. We are all our hardest critic, worst enemy when it comes to cheering ourselves on. It is time that I stopped piling on when everyone else is down, or yelling or frustrated or attacking me. I don't need to 'feel hurt' I need to raise my chin, smile and remember that I am not made for failure.

With that in mind I can keep things in perspective and realize that it isn't so important what others think of me -- especially those who are not actually looking or listening or are aware of who or what I am. What is important is that I realistically see myself and ease up a bit and just let me enjoy life. Perfection is not my goal. Growing, learning, improving, and most of all enjoying the process -- that's my goal.

No more piling on! The goal has changed and I am the one in control of reaching it!

Americans What Have We Been Thinking?

Do you ever wonder what the companies who inundate the airwaves with their commercials really think about the very consumers they hope to attract? And how do those commercials make you feel, especially if you are a member of the target audience?

This morning the Capitol One credit card commercial, in the wake of the events last night and McCain's and Obama's words of unity and working together and sacrifice and making a change, seemed to reflect America consumers who need to rethink their priorities.

We have laughed at Captain Armadillo who retreats inside his shell when confronted unexpectedly with his wife. My husband says I over think these things for hidden messages. But it looks to me like we have a man who puts the needs of the universe on hold so that he can design a credit card. A card that is made simply to feed the greed for luxury and living beyond our means and purchasing things that polluted our environment in the making, cluttered our lives, pushing out what is truly important, and then ends up in landfills -- a whole 'nother problem.

In addition, he puts a photo of his family on the card and is proud of this 'image' of the perfect family. Yet, when confronted with a real flesh and blood wife offering him avocados (not sure what they represent) he, faster than a speeding bullet, insulates himself inside his protective shell and by the end of the commercial has not re-entered the world nor faced his wife.

Another Capital One commercial features a Captain Nemo type sea captain. He is more concerned with putting his darling Captain Barkey pet's photo on his card than rescuing his first mate who is in the clutches of a giant squid. Yes, I see the humor. But when you put the commercial in the context of a corporate giant seeking consumers -- I don't feel the love or respect. Is that how we are seen? Self-serving, selfish, blind to the needs of our fellow man, more devoted to our pets than to our fellow workers? Obsessed with more credit? Buying? Spending?

Perhaps now that we Americans are hearing a message from our leaders other than 'go out and shop', our behavior and priorities seem so shallow and well, embarrassing.

Would we be in the situation we are, economically, if we had more self-respect and civic pride? I wonder what our world would be like if we actually all gave 10 percent (or more) to improve our world, rather than improve our image of wealth.

Talk about a house of cards. Americans buying larger houses, adding technology that costs hundreds of dollars just because it is new and wearing clothes that copy the style of the rich and famous -- all purchased with plastic bringing us payments we can't afford. We work two and three jobs to maintain a fake lifestyle. When do we get real?

Maybe the change starts with a make over of each American in the image of our forefathers and mothers who knew what the priorities were and didn't spend their days worrying because the neighbor had a better lawn or designer dress or the latest appliance or technology. Yes, we must be consumers and grow the economy, but perhaps we need to make our purchase choices with a more discerning eye and look toward tomorrow, not just instant gratification.

And maybe we need to take another look at the commercials and determine just what those companies think of us? We have been gullible. We have fallen for the snake oil sales pitches. We have spent money we didn't have and never will. We have been childish in our choices saying "I want," rather than "How can I help." And we have taught our children these behaviors.

We all feel the need of change. I hope it will start with us.

Do I think Capitol One is the only corporation who has led us down the garden path to in the name of profit? No. Do I think the commercials will stop? No. It is up to us to make informed and responsible choices. We've made a good first step with choosing to elect a president out of hope, rather than fear.

Brainy Quotes offers several 'definitions' of Hope:

Hope

---

A desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; an expectation of something which is thought to be desirable; confidence; pleasing expectancy.

---

One who, or that which, gives hope, furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good.

---

To entertain or indulge hope; to cherish a desire of good, or of something welcome, with expectation of obtaining it or belief that it is obtainable; to expect; -- usually followed by for.

---

To place confidence; to trust with confident expectation of good.

---

To desire with expectation or with belief in the possibility or prospect of obtaining; to look forward to as a thing desirable, with the expectation of obtaining it; to cherish hopes of.

And one step forward from hope -- faith: "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Let's put our faith to work and see what happens! Change, it happens one step at a time. One decision. One effort from every one of us.