Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy: Signs of the Times

Bloody Monday And More: Harder Times Ahead

2009-01-28T10:35:00.003-05:00

January has not begun well. As consumer confidence fades, more jobs are lost daily. Two days ago, major announcements came from at least 7 companies that more jobs would be cut, so many job cuts that the media dubbed this past Monday "Bloody Monday". Caterpillar, Pfizer, Sprint-Nextel, Home Depot, Texas Instruments, and ING are just some of the companies who announced job cuts in the thousands.

Home values keep dropping and almost every American is afraid for their job - if they still have a job.

Store closings continue. The upcoming vacation season looks pretty bleak although Pollyannas in formerly prime vacation resort towns like Branson, MO refuse to see the handwriting on the wall. The closing of theme park Celebration City with little warning last fall, the end of the Grand Palace, armed robbery at a local pretzel shop, store closings at the famous outlet malls (Oneida, Famous Footwear), and a decline in tourism last year fail to dampen the optimism of some Branson business owners. Of course, it is a futile effort to fight against despair. Even original theme park giant Silver Dollar City has extended their deadline for the best value on season passes and is offering a "free" magazine subscription with every pass ordered! Wow....sure makes families who are cutting back want to buy those expensive passes just so they can get a magazine in the mail!

Job markets are tight and growing tighter.

I wish that President Obama - who is working hard to do something to help the economy - would realize that the economic stimulus that would help would be to put the money in the hands of the American people. Spend some of those billions giving money to us working folks and we'll spend - we'll pay off bills, buy clothing and shoes, splurge on a long-desired television or stereo, go out to eat, see a movie, and more.

Outlook: Bleak

2009-01-23T13:24:00.002-05:00

The outlook continues to be bleak as 2009 moves to the end of the third full week this month. Earlier this month, I decided that this year sucks and it does, in more ways than one. On a personal level, my world has been rocked by the sudden and unexpected death of my father.

On a national level, despite the encouraging hope I feel because President Obama is firmly entrenched at The White House, shirt sleeves rolled up and working hard, the outlook is bleak.

There will be no Air Fest in Joplin, Missouri this year. Nor will St. John's Regional Medical Center host their annual Blast From The Past this year, citing economic reasons.

Missouri Southern State University (my alma mater) as well as Pittsburg State University are both enacting budget cuts. No more child care center at MSSU, farewell to the men's soccer team, and a hiring freeze is in effect.

Public schools are tightening budgets as well.

In the broader world, our nation is saying good-bye to Circuit City, to Meryvn's, and to Linens 'N Things. In an article on Forbes.com, money gurus predict that 2009 will see more businesses closing their doors. They list Lane Byrant, Starbucks, and The Gap as in trouble. Chains at risk include Eddie Bauer, Pacific Sunwear, and jewelry giant Zales. One went so far as to suggest that it was possible that Sears-K-Mart might not survive the year.

Filene's, founded in Boston back in 1908, is closing down eleven stores nationwide, limiting the "running of the brides" for bargain basement prices on wedding gowns to fewer locations.

Job cuts are coming for Microsoft, Xerox, Harley-Davidson, and many more.

Bad news for clothing retailers and manufacturers - one third of U.S. women have no plans to buy clothing this year, apparently making do with what is already in the closet and dresser drawers.

Sony posted their first loss since 1995.

The jobless rate continues to soar with a current unemployment rate of 7.2, a rate actually higher if those who lost full-time work but replaced it with part-time jobs because that is all they could find are added in, it grows to 13.5%.

524,000 jobs were lost in December 2008 alone.

I go shopping at local small town retailers and find myself all but alone in the wide aisles.

Americans are driving less; I saw this fact confirmed on CNN yesterday but I have seen it, day after day as traffic grows lighter.

The restaurants, both chain and local, are empty and some are struggling to fill the void with dollar menus and specials.

The outlook for this year is bleak but with Obama at the helm, I have some hope although I don't expect a quick fix. He is, after all, President, not Superman!!

Not Such A Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-07T15:16:00.002-05:00

While I would like to wish all a happy new year, it doesn't seem very possible. On a personal level, I have no doubt that many of us will find happiness and pleasure in many, many ways but on the economic level of our lives, the outlook is bleaker than ever.

Just as I expected, once the false rush of holiday shopping faded away, things out there are slow. No one that I know spent as much on Christmas this year, choosing simple over expensive and returning to the time tried and true maxim, "It's the thought that counts."

Last evening's local paper was filled with signs of the times. Magic Moments, a riding therapy program, is on the verge of closing due to a sharp drop in contributions, the fuel that kept the organization going. Another article - national, not local -bemoaned the fact that churches and charities are suffering because people have less to give and are giving less. An article with our local state rep warns of budget cuts to come because the state has no money. Neither does the city government of the town where I live.

Help Wanted columns have dwindled to almost nothing. Most days, in the local paper, an ad to start selling Avon (which I doubt many people are buying) for $10 upfront investment is the one and only employment ad.

I made a quick dash to the local Wal-Mart Super Store on Monday for folders for one of my kids' school projects and found the store empty. It was almost eerie....entering by the front grocery entrance I could look to the back of the store without seeing a single other shopper. In the garden center, they still have Christmas decorations, cards, and paper stacked to the ceiling, still not moving much at 75% off. Today at the Dollar General, the same held true. Few people are shopping and those few are buying necessities only.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Hard Times.....Not Christmas

2008-12-09T10:25:00.003-05:00

In the shadow of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the new company that bought out Annheuser-Busch earlier this year is making cuts. Three fourths of the St. Louis based employees will lose their jobs, company wide a total of 1400 jobs or 6% of the workforce.

It doesn't end with beer. Telecommunications giant A T & T is cutting 1200 jobs, Dow trims 20% of their workforce or 5,000 jobs,
3M cuts 2300, Sony does away with 8,000 livlihoods, Wyndam Worldwide makes a statement on the state of leisure travel by cutting 4,000 jobs in their time share operation, United Air cuts 1200, and there are many more.

Even those with a job are finding out that there will no longer be company matching for 401k accounts, hearing about hiring freezes, wage freezes, and the word is that Christmas bonuses will be slim to non-existent this year.

The Chicago Tribune is filing for bankruptcy, taking along the LA Times and other newspapers for a bouncy ride.

On the local scene, Club Video, one of the three remaining video rental stores is closing down soon. Another of the video stores, Crown Video, closed their remaining one of two locations to downsize. They should have re-opened last Friday but the opening was moving to today. As of late yesterday, work was still ongoing at the store so it's doubtful that it will open today. The third remaining player, Movie Gallery, is part of a chain closing down stores so only time will tell if they stay or go.

It seems that most folks have cut out reading a daily newspaper, renting movies, and drinking beer along with not buying furniture or appliances unless necessary.

Unemployment numbers continue to soar, matching highs from more than thirty years ago in December 1974. With the downward trend likely to continue, I hope that we don't match or come close to the all time record set during the Great Depression years of 25% unemployment.

At Lowe's, look for savings on Christmas decorations. All - except live items like trees and wreaths - are 50% off but at least in my local store, items are not flying off the shelves.

It's beginning to look a lot like....hard times....with Christmas just around the corner.

Daily Newspapers Now Cost 75 cents!!!!

2008-12-01T16:20:00.002-05:00

I admit that I stopped taking the daily regional newspaper, The Joplin Globe, a few months ago for several reasons. One is that with my return to work I simply didn't and don't have the time to sit down to read the morning paper. The second reason is that there just wasn't much in most editions. Add to that the ever rising cost and I decided to end my subscription. I still get the Neosho Daily News, the Gate House media paper that prints my "Hindsight" column each Wednesday and in all honesty, I don't miss the Joplin Globe much. I miss their slant of gloomy, depressing, sad news even less, something they began slanting toward a few years ago, enough that many people jokingly call it "The Joplin Gloom".

Today I was in Joplin and happened to notice a newspaper box outside the restaurant where I had lunch. The price of a daily Joplin Globe has gone from 50 cents to 75, the price of the Sunday paper from $1.50 to $1.75. Since a few copies of the paper were available to diners, I picked up a copy and glanced over it while we ate our lunch. There wasn't much in the paper and it was brief.

Briefest of all were the classifieds or want ads. Even a few months ago, the classified section was several pages in length. Today, the entire classified section covered the front and back of the last page of the paper. In the general employment column there were just four jobs listed, two of which were for Globe home delivery carriers. Four jobs.

I know how sick the economy is at this time. I know our nation is in a recession and hard times are here for many people but four jobs, just four jobs, shocked me.

It also scared me.

I am forty-seven years old and I do not remember a time when the job listings in any paper were so sparse. I am thankful, just past Thanksgiving, that I have a job and that I am not out pounding the pavements in search of employment.

While I was out and about, dining, doing a little shopping, and accompanying my husband to a doctor's appointment, the Dow was falling more than 600 points. Every stock I saw listed on CNN was done, the bank where I bank is down, the bank that holds our mortgage is down, and almost every retailer I patronize is down.

More signs of the times and they are far from reassuring. Hang on, American boys and girls, we're still in for the ride of our lives on this rollercoaster.

Black Friday Falls Short For Retailers

2008-11-29T15:20:00.003-05:00

Black Friday, the now annual day after Thanksgiving shopping blitz known for offering special prices during a limited time, wasn't quite black enough for most retailers. In a year marked with economic uncertainty, Black Friday 2008, made history with three deaths. The first was a Wal-Mart employee trampled under the heels of over zealous bargain hunters who, in addition to trampling the life out of the man, tore the store doors off the hinges. The other deaths happened at a California Toys R Us where two would-be shoppers shot either dead in a dispute.

Despite the deaths, Black Friday seems to have failed to deliver. Although the final numbers won't be released yet, estimates indicate that the number of shoppers out and abroad in search of bargains was down by at least 11% or by six million shoppers. Worse yet for retailers is the word that although some shoppers were out, competing with violence and vigor, they bought less.

I did not compete in this year's event; I seldom do although I have a few times. To me, none of the door busting bargains were bargains enough to warrant getting up at 3am, driving through the cold rain to tussle with other shoppers or trample the odd employee in the process.

A less than expected Black Friday means retailers are in more trouble than they thought. Look for deeper discounts in the days to come - a ploy that will work only if budget concious, cash strapped, credit limited Americans will turn loose of a few more dollars.

Most are clutching the greenbacks in a tight fist and are loathe to let go.

The recent announcement that Steve & Barry's will now close all 173 stores in a matter of weeks instead of just reducing the number of stores hits hard. My own two near teen-aged daughters are heartbroken that one of their favorite stores will shut the doors forever but it's just one of many closings.

On a trip to the mall one day last week before Thanksgiving, I saw few shoppers with bags or making purchases. Of the few who cruised through Northpark Mall, most were lookers. Most of the smaller, niche type stores were empty and many had the sole, bored employee standing at the front, staring out in the mall with a glum expression. Reeds Jewelry is having their swan song going out of business sale at Northpark but I saw few bargains worth opening my wallet to buy.

Those empty stores shy of shoppers reflect a coming trend as reported by the Associated Press yesterday, one that has commercial real estate foreclosures soaring. Calling it the "first inning of the commercial mortgage problem", AP reports that it isn't just home owners who are losing their homes but business owners, even malls.

According to the story, more shopping malls, shopping centers, and retail stores are about to be foreclosed on if they don't pony up payments. That translates into more empty parking lots, lonely mall spaces, and retail store shutdowns that put more folks out of a job.

This recession is starting to hit close to home wherever we look. Just before Thanksgiving, Leggett and Platt in nearby Carthage announced layoffs that would remove 2-3 people in every department according to The Joplin Globe, the area-wide newspaper that reports on each and every layoff or company downsize but their own recent staff cuts.

It's beginning to look more and more like a bleak Christmas for retailers and if Black Friday is the canary in the coal mines for retailers, there is danger ahead for many!

Remember Downtown Shopping? Make Mall Memories While You Can

2008-11-18T19:00:00.002-05:00

If you're like me, you might be able to remember the days when folks went "downtown" to shop, down to the original business districts in botwns large and small. On those merchant lined blocks, shoppers walked in and out of stores, toting shopping bags.

But then came malls and the downtowns began to die, to wither on the vine. In many areas, downtowns had to evolve into something different to survive.

Now with the current retail situation fast approaching critical, mall shopping may soon join downtown shopping as a pastime of the past.

The following list can be found on many sites and lists just some of the nationwide retailers who are or will soon be closing doors on many (in some cases all) of their stores.
Circuit City stores... most recent (? how many)

•Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered

•Lane Bryant,, Fashion Bug, and Catherine's to close 150 stores

•Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January

•Cache will close all stores

•Talbots closing down all stores

•J. Jill closing all stores

•GAP closing 85 stores

•Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January

•Wickes Furniture closing down

•Levitz closing down remaining stores

•Bombay closing remaining stores

•Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.

•Whitehall closing all stores

•Piercing Pagoda closing all stores

•Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

•Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ (New Brunswick)

•Macys to close 9 stores after January

•Linens and Things closing all stores

•Movie Galley Closing all stores

•Pacific Sunware closing stores

•Pep Boys Closing 33 stores

•Sprint/ Nextel closing 133 stores

•JC Penney closing a number of stores after January

•Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.

•Wilson Leather closing down all stores

•Sharper Image closing down all stores

•K B Toys closing 356 stores

•Loews to close down some stores

•Dillard's to close some stores

Reading the list made me realize that the nearest mall, Northpark Mall in Joplin, will soon have many "space for rent" signs because a number of the above are now found at the mall.

Job Cuts, Layoffs, and More

2008-11-12T06:27:00.002-05:00

Back in the days when my Uncle Roy wore his blue mailman's uniform and walked his route in my hometown of St. Joseph, MO, the United States Post Office seemed like a solid place to work. After all, it was a government job and the mail had to be delivered. I imagine he felt like he had job security and until recently I would have thought that a postal job was about as secure as jobs could be.

But I was wrong. Yesterday I learned that the USPS plans layoffs early next week that number in the thousands, from four to eight thousand planned cuts. What effect those layoffs will have on both postal employee families and our own mail delivery is uncertain as well as unknown but neither will be positive.

Health care is another area that would seem to offer job security but in these uncertain, troubled times, it is no longer the case. In nearby Joplin, the largest area hospital, St. John's Medical Center, has announced a second round of layoffs, the exact number not to be revealed until some time on Wednesday. As Joplin's third largest employer with about 2500 employees, the cuts are expected to be extensive.

In the local area as well, La-Z-Boy Midwest, my husband's employer, has made some cuts although here the cuts haven't gone as deep as at other company facilities. Over recent years, more than one other La-Z-Boy plant has shut down so cuts are better than closing.

In nearby Kansas, a fifth wheel manufacturer is closing their doors in the very near future. In Atchison, Kansas, a flour mill operation is shutting down.

These are a but a few of the plant closings and company layoffs around the Four State Area. Retail employees are not immune, either, as sales drop, so are hours scheduled to work and some are trimmed from the rosters.

Predictions for less seasonal help this year around the holidays paint a bleak picture for those hoping to pick up some extra dollars.

Job cuts, layoffs, plant closings, and store closings, all signs of the times.

Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself

2008-11-11T11:16:00.003-05:00

This column recently ran in the Neosho Daily News, where my column "Hindsight" appears each week. It was also picked up by dozens of other Gate House Media publications across the nation. So courtesy of both Gate House Media and the Neosho Daily......

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, told the American people in his first inaugural address that the only thing to fear was fear itself. He uttered those words at a time when the nation’s economy was going down, headed for what history would prove to be some of the bleakest times for our nation. People were afraid, afraid of hard times, afraid of losing their homes and their jobs, worried that they might not have enough money to buy milk and bread to feed their families.

Those same worries are common today. Raised on stories of the Great Depression, shaped by parents and grandparents who survived those hard times and lean years, the current economic downturn feels like something I have rehearsed for all my life. I am frugal, influenced no doubt by my Granny who saved rubber bands, margarine tubs, and glass pickle jars. I have followed my parents’ example to save money, to squirrel away spare cash for a rainy day and to pay cash for major purchases if I can.

As a child who listened at the feet of her elders, I know the stories and memories by heart, almost as if they are my own, not borrowed history. I remember how my grandmother could not buy a gravestone for her infant daughter who was born and died on the same day in 1933 until she became a widow in 1971. She spent a portion of the money she received to finally put a permanent stone to mark Shirley Ann’s grave. I recall well the story about my great-uncle who spent his wages from a day job digging ditches on potatoes so that he could feed his family more than a single day. I have heard about the house that my grandfather lost in Hastings, Neb.

My maternal grandmother grew up in luxury and comfort, in a huge brick house and when she was a senior in the spring of 1932, her future was bright. She had enrolled in the University of Missouri at Columbia, poised to study and had a summer job lined up working at the Missouri State Capitol. Instead, her father’s sewing machine business failed, the bank where he kept his money failed, and so their home was lost along with most of her possessions including her own car, a rarity at the time. She went from living well to living with relatives, a bitter old uncle who begrudged her every bite of food she ate.

I remember well a rainy day when I was 12 or so, a day when my cousin and I huddled in the little bedroom above my Granny’s kitchen. We talked then, in 1974, about our fears that someday we might face our own Great Depression. Our concerns were not surprising since we knew the family stories as well or better than we knew the litany of the saints.

We grew up, we graduated from college, and we built lives. More than a year ago, however, we both began seeing the signs of a weakening economy, indications that prosperity was fading away and that the American dream was in danger of becoming a waking nightmare. Yet in the media, little was said until early this year when it seemed that the looming “recession” burst out of nowhere into the public mindset.

I am always frugal. In 2008, a year that I fear will go down in history as the season when the American economy unraveled, I have shifted into miserly mode, into slacking off unnecessary purchases and trimming costs where I can.

Fear has no fangs unless you have something to lose, and I do.

President Elect Barack Obama!!!!!!

2008-11-05T08:34:00.003-05:00

Election Day here in southwest Missouri was a beautiful autumn day, warm and sunny. The fall leaves were at their full glory, better than they have been in several years. It was the perfect day for the election and turnouts here, like everywhere across the nation, were record making.

By evening as my near and dear gathered around the television and compter screens to watch returns, I was antsy, nervous and excited because so much depended on the outcome of this historic election.

I have been an Obama supporter since the early days of the presidential primaries, choosing Obama over Clinton, and my support has never wavered.

In these months and long weeks as we marched toward the day of decision I found my support growing stronger as I learned more about this intelligent, talented, man named Barack Obama.

I did my best to fight the smears, to spread the truth, and to speak up as loudly as possible in support of Obama.

When the returns first began to trickle in, my nerves were on edge, wondering if this would be another defeat because in the past my vote has too often been defeated.

But with glory, with wonder, and with awe, I was able to watch as Obama gathered electoral votes, sweeping red states and turning them blue. We cheered when he won Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida!

It is official and it is without doubt that Barack Obama, the self-dubbed skinny guy from the Southside of Chicago is our new President Elect, soon to become the 44th President of the United States of America.

New winds of hope and change are indeed stirring, undeterred by the low level rumblings of the neo-cons and right wingers who refuse to see this great man for who he truly is or understand what he represents.

I salute our new President Elect, Barack Obama, with joy and renewed hope for our future in this great nation, the United States of America!!!

Signs of the Times

2008-09-30T11:48:00.003-04:00

Eight years of Republican policies are coming home like buzzards to roost and feed on the carcass of the American people. With the failure to pass the bail out measure or any legislation that might offer relief to the crunched taxpayer, the signs of the times are beginning to be evident even to folks like head-in-the-sand President Bush and "the-economy-is-fundamentally-sound" McCain.

In our small town, the Eureka Pizza outlet closed without warning, just as it did in the "big" town just up the highway. In recent months, a family owned furniture store with decades on record doing businesses here also closed.

The closest Denny's Restaurant, in the same "big" town of Joplin up the road is now closed. It had been a fixture on Rangeline since before my family moved my then ten-year old self to the Ozarks and it is now gone.

I fear we're going to see many more business closings in the weeks and months to come.

One other thing that we're seeing is an increase in armed robberies. Crime flourished during the years of the Great Depression with folks like Bonnie and Clyde robbing banks, in company with Charley Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. Al Capone reigned over Chicago although to give the mobster his due, he also ran a soup kitchen and bought clothes for working men.

In Springfield, Missouri, there was an armed robbery at the Dollar General Store.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880930005

In other news, the Branson boom seems to be waning away, despite protests to the contrary. I have seen the changes for myself on our three visits this past summer but in this article, challenges seem to be ahead for a city who counts on tourism to survive.

http://www.bransoncourier.com/branson-news/Tri+lakes_cvb_Lennon_dan-1016.html

In my days teaching classes as a sub in the local schools, I am seeing large numbers of students who are using last year's binders (which are falling apart), ragged tennis shoes, lunch boxes that have seen better days, and one student who brought two slices of bread for lunch. There was no meat, no cheese, not even mustard on the bread.

Hard times are coming and just how hard is the question of the hour. It would seem that our government is failing us in the hour of our need.

Brother, Can You Spare A Dollar?

2008-09-23T10:29:00.003-04:00

Back in the bad old days of the Great Depression, there was a song based on the popular phrase, "Brother, can you spare a dime?". In the current economic crisis, a dime won't be nearly enough so we'll ask for a dollar although as the dollar continues to devalue that won't be enough either.

This economic meltdown is bad. The same economy that last week Presidential hopeful John McCain called fundamentally sound is about to collapse onto the backs of the American public. People are crunched and scrunched in about every way possible but too many Americans are still ostrichs, head buried in the sand.

Me, I'm concerned. The last time the stock market had such major dips within a few month period, it crashed on what came to be known as Black Friday, October 29, 1929. Bernacke and Paulson are not the only students of history, folks, and it happened. The events leading up to it were frighteningly similar to those we're experiencing right now but with a few differences: the money amounts were nowhere close and the government wasn't attempting a bail-out. Left alone, I have no doubt that George W. would be promising that prosperity was just around the corner with a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage so I'm thankful for our Democratic Congress who at least sees we as a nation are in some deep shit.

Put on your hip boots because even if the bail out works - for now - things are not likely to improve much for some time.

The bailout is the finger in the dike, a valiant effort to hold back the crashing tide of a complete and total economic collapse.

Although I'm just a small town mom and writer and now teacher, I saw the warnings for just this kind of economic disaster two years ago. If I could see it, why couldn't our elected officials? But they did'nt.

Signs of the times that I have seen within the last few days around my corner of Missouri including closing fast food restaurants, the least amount of traffic I have seen on roadways since I got my first drivers' license back in the year 1978, and more people going back to work. I am among them.

I have felt that we're riding an economic roller coaster for quite awhile now. At this point, it's too late to get off and the ride operator has just walked away. We're aboard, for better or worse, until someone takes control and brings the coaster to a stop.

Hang on. As they say in one of the Harry Potter books my kids read, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still just a pig

2008-09-11T09:27:00.002-04:00

This old political saying has gained sudden new life after Barack Obama used it to describe McCain's right wing views on the economy and change.

But the comment exploded after Republicans - note the irony in this - decided he was referring to Sarah Palin, the self-proclaimed hockey mom and pit bull in lipstick.

Maybe she should listen to Carly Simon's song, "You're So Vain" because I bet she thinks this line is about her and it's not.

Coming up to two weeks since she was chosen as McCain's running mate, I find I don't like Sarah Palin any more and actually less.

Pit Bull Palin or The Hockey Mom With Lipstick

2008-09-05T10:37:00.003-04:00

I don't like Sarah Palin. That's plain to anyone who reads my blog. I don't believe that she is experienced enough or savvy enough or smart enough to play hardball as Vice-President of the United States of America. If she were a he named Stan Palin from Alaska, there would be no McCain/Palin ticket.

I could list many of the things that I dislike about the woman, everything from her ignorance on many historical matters and issues but for now I'll hit hard about the pit bull with lipstick.

Pit bulls are dangerous dogs. They are not sweet family pets or even loyal guard dogs. Pit bulls are bred to fight to the death, to kill. They attack without provocation, often helpless small children or older adults.

In the last few years there have many fatal pit bull attacks in the United States. When I was newlywed back in 1994, my husband and I were acquainted with a family whose six year old daughter had her face almost torn off by a pit bull, a dog that she had seen many times before at a family friend's home. She survived but many do not.

Her self-comparison to a pit bull seemed especially strange when in Alaska, Palin's home state of which she is the current governer, was the scene for a tragic pit bull attack which ended up with a six year old girl being taken off life support and existing in a vegative state within the last three weeks

Either Palin is an uninformed governer or she doesn't care. I vote for the latter.

A lipstick wearing pit bull or even a barracuda (Sarah's other most flattering nickname) is not my idea of a suitable Vice-President or God forbid, Commander in Chief.

Is Kool-Aid The Official Drink of the GOP Convention?

2008-09-03T12:11:00.003-04:00

The question that occurs to me as Republicans appear to rally around last minute Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is whether or not Kool-Aid is the official drink of the GOP Convention this year.

Palin, a virtual unknown until less than a week ago in the Lower
48, has become the darling of the GOP. Republicans old and young seem to flocking to her like bees to a blooming flower. Evangelicals like her because she didn't abort her youngest son and forgive her all her sins. Somehow they don't seem to mind that she is not only a working mother but a now absentee mother. Wonder how young Trip, the infant, is doing on formula now that his breast feeding Ma has gone off with Senator McCain?

I long ago decided how I would vote in this all important election year, for Barack Obama. I celebrated when he cinched the nomination although if it had gone to Hillary Clinton, I would have voted for her in November. I don't like Hillary Clinton but her goals are more in line with my own goals. She supports issues that are important to me.

Palin doesn't. If McCain thought that the choice of a woman would sway Hillary supporters, he was wrong.

She is inexperienced and ignorant. She didn't know what the duties of a vice-president are and she thinks that the Pledge of Allegiance was written by the Founding Fathers. Apparently she has no idea that it was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892, more than a hundred years after the Founding Fathers founded this nation. Nor does she seem aware that the words "under God" were not included until Congress approved their addition in 1954.

She is not ready to lead, she has family issues that she needs to deal with, and she is for too many things that I am against.

I am pro-choice; she is pro-life.

Almost every day since her candidacy was announced, new storms have exploded over various aspects of her life but the Republicans are worshipping at her altar with fervent faith, real or feigned.

There is no real substance to Sarah Palin. And she presents what I consider a very real danger to the United States of America should she become Vice-President or God forbid, President.

That is why I have to think that the GOP is serving up Palin-laced Kool-Aid at their convention because supporters are falling into party lines, led by the nose.

Obama Doesn't Look Like The Average President And He Has A Funny Name

2008-08-01T17:10:00.003-04:00

Once again - just as with his "small town" remarks during primary season - McCain and his minions are up in arms about something Barack Obama said.

And once again, Obama's remarks resonate with me, especially since they were said in my home state of Missouri.

First, it's no secret that Obama is not exactly white. And he does, by the definition of many rural folk, have a "funny name".

I know. My maiden name of Sontheimer has been referred to as a "funny name" for decades, ever since my family moved from an urban environment to southwest rural Missouri.

He's the son of a black man and a white woman so he's not just "white". Saying so isn't playing the so-called "race card". Instead it is just simple fact. If he didn't say it, someone would accuse him of pretending to be white or all black or something.

I've had pizza orders that never arrived because they thought I had a "funny" name and that the order was a joke.

I had few teachers who could whip their lips around the syllables of my surname, even after I explained how simple it is to really say.

The "funny name" tag has stuck to me for years and if Sontheimer is funny, so is a last name like Obama.

You have to understand that in rural Missouri most folks have simple names like Brown, Clark, Richards, White, Hunt, Hawkins, Scott, and such.

Most rural Missourians idea of an ethnic name is Murphy, my married name or O'Connell or another ancestral name, Zumwalt.

Obama is way out there for many people.

The Boys of Summer Have A Short Season

2008-07-15T11:22:00.001-04:00

It is hard to believe but my son’s summer baseball season is almost over with just a few games remaining before the end of the season for the youth baseball program in Neosho. This season seems to have been even swifter than last year as Patrick has played at Morse Park on hot Saturday afternoons and humid evenings for the past month or so. His first game was just before school ended for the summer and his last will be within the next week. About the time it seems that the kids really become a team and start to get into the game, the season ends early, even before the Fourth of July.
Although I never played any organized sport as a kid, my younger brother did and his baseball season in Neosho seemed to stretch out through most of the summer instead of condensed the schedule into four or five weeks. My husband, who also played some youth baseball as a kid in Neosho, remembers it the same way.
Summer seems to shorten as we grow up so it would seem that a longer baseball season would be something that most of the kids who play would enjoy. My son enjoys playing ball but just as the season is winding down, he is at his most enthusiastic. At the library, he checked out three books about baseball and at home, he wants to practice in the yard as much as possible. He’s proud of this year’s team uniform and colors, a vibrant green for Neosho Box and Wood, his current team. In the short season, he has hardly had time to break in his new hat although he has managed to get it pretty dirty on more than one occasion.
When I told him just a few more games remain on the schedule, he was more than a little sad that it is almost over so soon. When the last game of the Summer 2007 season is played, he can add another team T-shirt and hat to his collection, things he will wear with pride throughout the next year and he can begin looking forward to next year. Twelve months, though, seems so long to wait until he can be one of the boys of summer again but the length of the season and numbers of games are beyond my control.
I will add another team and individual player picture to the wall beside his first team from last year and more baseball memories will add to his growing collection of life memories. His hits, the balls he has fielded, the shared moments in the dugout, the practices, the late games that stretched past his bedtime, and the after game rallies with the team will all be history soon. His coaches this year will add to the group he already calls “his” coaches and no matter what team he may be on next year, he will have a special fond feeling for the coaches he has known so far.
Before those last games are over, I will take some more pictures at Morse Park myself, savor the time spent in my lawn chair near the field and cheer my son to play his best but to have fun whether his team wins or not. Once the season ends, we will have more evenings and Saturday afternoons free but I will miss the youth baseball games. I am not much of a sports fan and I seldom watch televised sports of any type but when it comes to watching a live baseball game, I’m there – especially if my son is playing.
Soccer moms have become the cliché but I am proud to be a baseball mom and sad to see the season almost at its end

Small Town Remarks Are Accurate And I'm Not Offended By Barack Obama's Insights

2008-04-14T07:31:00.002-04:00

As I'm sure most Americans have heard by now, Obama is under fire, this time for remarks he made about small towns. The media's calling it a major stumble and outrage is rampant.As an Obama supporter who lives in a small town, though, I am not offended. In fact, I am actually impressed that Obama understands the plight of small towns as well as he does. We who do live in small towns can pretend that we live in Andy Taylor's Mayberry or some other sweet fantasy but the reality is about what Obama described.I'm sure this will create heated debates but here's what Obama said:"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said Sunday, according to the Huffington Post web site."And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not," Obama reportedly continued. "It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."And here's my take on what he said, one statement at a time:1. "the jobs have been gone for 25 years and nothing has replaced them".....that is sad but true in many, many towns. Where I live, twenty five years ago there was a Tyson Foods plant, a Sunbeam plant, a Teledyne (formerly Rocketdyne) plant, and La-Z-Boy Midwest. Today, of those, only the La-Z-Boy plant remains. Big news there is that the sewing department is outsourcing to Mexico over the next few months and two other LZB plants have or will close. 2. "somehow these communities are going to regenerate but they have not".In my town, there is a downtown square. Twenty-five years ago, it had multiple businesses, department stores, shoe stores, hardware stories, two five and dime stores, three jewelry stores, two photography studios, furniture store, appliance dealer, ladies wear shops, several viable restaurants, three banks, two dry cleaners, and several drug stores.Today, the Square is mostly empty; most of the businesses that are present are resale shops and flea markets and "antique" stores that don't have any valuable antiques for sale. One bank and one gift shop are all that remain from twenty five years ago. A few businesses - about three - have moved to another of town but most are just gone and they have not been replaced with comparable shopping.We have fewer grocery stores, no department stores (unless you want to count Wal-Mart which was here twenty-five years ago too), and less of everything.3. " "It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations".Many people here are bitter - they don't see a future for young people, many of whom leave to work and live elsewhere. Folks around here are fond of their guns and hunting season is a really big deal. I'm not opposed to that in any way and sometimes hunt myself but there is a very real "gun culture" that exists. Religion is big and this town has more churches than anything else. Going to church here is just the beginning. Church is not just Sunday but Wednesday night not to mention the endless church dinners, fund raisers, youth events, studies, vacation Bible schools, women's groups, men's groups. I have no doubt that I will be accuse of being anti-religious but for many people, without their church, they would have little life outside work. Heck, the schools have a policy not to give homework on Wednesday because it's "church night"."Antipathy to people that are different"....this is very common here; the locals are suspicious of anyone not born and raised here with at least three generations of local kinfolk. So you have two groups - natives who hang together and view the "outsiders" with suspicion, even those who have lived here for thirty, forty, fifty years. "anti-immigrant sentiment"....in the past fifteen years we have seen an ever growing Hispanic population, many of which are immigrants. And there is a huge anti-immigrant sentiment here as well as an anti-trade feeling.If anything, I'm not offended but surprised that any politican could peg the characteristics of small town life as well as Obama has. Can Obama solve all these issues or make the quality of life better? Maybe so and maybe no but at least the man is aware of the problems, he sees the negative changes that have occured, and he is willing to try to do something about it. That's more than we have had from any politician or elected official except our local state rep, a former school classmate who does his best to work for his constituents.Having the ability to see the reality, to view the truth, is just another of the many reasons that I support Barack Obama.

Super Tuesday: VOTE

2008-02-04T11:07:00.000-05:00

On the eve of the twenty plus states participating in presidential primary elections tomorrow, I would like to urge every citizen to VOTE. Whether you vote for change (which I hope because this nation needs change, needs progress, and needs hope to continue to survive) or not, please vote.

This is one of the most pivotal and important election years in American history. The future course of our nation will be determined by which candidate - and which party - triumphs at the polls in the November General Election.

My choice is Barack Obama. I am a Democrat and in my voting life, I have seldom been as excited, as impressed with any candidate as I am with Senator Obama. He may be young but he is as experienced as many a former President when they took the Oath of Office. He has both ideas and ideals. His message of hope is one that our nation needs.

Some women question my choice. Why would I, a woman, choose a man over Hillary Clinton? My answer is simple. I honestly think that Obama is the best person to fill the office of President. Voting for Hillary because she is a woman, basing my decision on gender alone, would be discrimatory. So would voting for Obama because of his skin tone.

Vote. And if you want to see a brighter, healthier, safer future for us all, join me in voting tomorrow for Senator Barack Obama!

Another Day, Another Dollar And Snow!

2008-01-31T07:59:00.000-05:00

A winter storm is poised to strike across the Ozark heartland today, enough of a threat that the local schools have cancelled classes for the day despite the fact that the snow has just started. That means that my three kids have another holiday from school and at least I don't have to worry about them bouncing around on a bus in the middle of a blizzard or white out conditions.

Writing wise, it has been a fair enough week. On Sunday, my short essay about birthday parties of my childhood appeared in the pages of STAR MAGAZINE, the Sunday supplement magazine put out by the Kansas City Star. The essay can be found here:

http://www.kansascity.com/631/story/454299.html

One of my short fiction pieces was accepted by Everyday Fiction, a delightful site that publishes a new short story each day. I have the daily story delivered to my inbox and my story, titled "Grandfather's Smoke" will debut on February 10. Everyday Stories can be found here:

http://www.everydayfiction.com/

Word came that another story will appear in the upcoming new fiction anthology from the Ozark Writers League, out sometime this spring.

My weekly column, Hindsight, in the Neosho Daily News, featured a vintage photograph of the local area from the 1939-1942 era. That was an important and exciting era on the local scene, a time when an Army signal corps training center replaced family farms.

That column, popular enough that I had several phone calls last evening in praise, can be found online here:

http://www.neoshodailynews.com/opinions/x603850944

Freelance writing is often like panning for gold. There are many days when you yield little but some gravel but then there are the days when a gold nugget appears in your pan!

The Great Need of the Hour - And For America in 2008

2008-01-21T14:27:00.000-05:00

With our nation in crisis at many levels, it is time for change. 2008 is an election year, a time in which we Americans can choose change. Today, on the day set aside to remember Martin Luther King, candidate Barack Obama gave this speech, a speech that resonates with me and I hope it strikes a chord in the hearts of my fellow Americans.

For those who may not have seen or read the text elsewhere, I give you Obama's speech:

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: The Great Need of the Hour
Atlanta, GA | January 20, 2008
The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.

But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram's horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.

Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.

And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:

"Unity is the great need of the hour" is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.

What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Unity is the great need of the hour -- the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it's the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.

I'm not talking about a budget deficit. I'm not talking about a trade deficit. I'm not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.

I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.

We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame -- schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.

We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can't afford a doctor when their children get sick.

We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.

We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.

And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.

So we have a deficit to close. We have walls -- barriers to justice and equality -- that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.

Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily -- that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.

All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.

But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes -- a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.

It's not easy to stand in somebody else's shoes. It's not easy to see past our differences. We've all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart -- that puts up walls between us.

We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don't think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.

For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays -- on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.

So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others -- all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face -- war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.

Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.

But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.

The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country's ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.

And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.

That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words -- words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.

He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.

That is the unity -- the hard-earned unity -- that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope -- the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.

The stories that give me such hope don't happen in the spotlight. They don't happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She's been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.

And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.

And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.

And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope -- but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone

In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America.

2008: A Blank Slate

2008-01-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

2008. I roll those words around on my tongue and they sound strange, somehow foreign. As a baby boomer, I have not yet grown accustomed to years that begin with the numeral two because my mind is still stuck on the familiar 19. But that's gone and this is now so I'm doing my best to acclimate to the 21st century and a brand new year.

Today is the first "real" day of the new year - my huband is off to work, the kids away to school and I am home alone. I should be industrious and get right to work but I have my first cold of the season so my nose is clogged, my mouth is dry, and I have yet to summon the necessary energy to get started so I'm updating the blog instead. God knows it needed an update!

Anthologies.............

2007-12-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

I was delighted to receive copies of two anthologies this week that include my work. One is a collection of Ozarks theme fiction from the Ozark Writers League (OWL) titled "Echoes of the Ozarks III". My short fiction, "Ghosts" is included among many other well-written stories by other OWL members. Some are well-known writers, others not as much but all of the stories I had read so far are outstanding and I reccommend the volume to anyone who enjoys either the Ozarks or short fiction. The book retails for $14.95 and can be ordered from the OWL website or the publisher, AWOC.com. It may also be found in some bookstores in the Ozark region.

Another book with my work included arrived from Canada. "True Real Estate Stories" is an interesting volume of collected stories that involve real estate. This one was put together by Tom and Kerrie Everitt. Stories range from the unusual and even parnormal to the humorous and the just plain strange.

Both works reflect my many long hours of hard work and are measures of success in the writing world and I'm proud!

Two Weeks Till Christmas And Counting......

2007-12-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked two weeks until Christmas - my kids are counting and I am in the middle of a hectic holiday schedule that has me wondering if I will get all the details in order before December 25th.

Monday's ice storm slowed me down but I am thankful that the worst of the weather went north of Neosho. We never lost power although we waited for days with fingers crossed that we would not suffer a major outage like we did last January. That horrible ice storm is something I prefer never to experience again although our neighbors to the north seem to have been hit about as hard. News out of my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri is that northwest Missouri is now iced as well with some of my relatives experiencing the downed trees and loss of power.

Today I'm reminded once again how much I like the small town atmosphere of Neosho. At my son's "Farewell To South" program at South Elementary last night, my husband and I saw many folks from the past. Watching our children (and in some cases their grandchildren) grow together is one of those threads of Neosho life that you can't duplicate elsewhere. As the kids prepare for the move to the brand new Carver Elementary School, it's interesting to note that my husband attended South School when it was brand new so it seems somehow fitting that our son will leave it for yet another new school.

Kind words and a comment from an old classmate also brightened my day. As I've aged like a fine vintage wine I have come to appreciate very much those old classmates who shared a common experience. To Lynn, thank you! And yes, I do remember you.

Christmas is more and more a time for memories, a day as important as much for the past as for the present. Our Christmas tree is at long last up and decorated. Now that we live in town we also decorated the outside of our home for the first time. Our blue icle lights hang from the front deck, a strand of multi-colored lights brightens the front porch, a small holiday lighted train, a festive lamp post, and a huge white bear all say our "Merry Christmas" to the neighborhood at large!

The Witch of November Is Here

2007-11-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

Gordon Lightfoot's soulfull ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" has been one of my favorite songs since the 1970's and today I couldn't help but think of the lines,

"The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin"

Here in the Ozarks, the witch of November is stealing away the remants of autumn, an autumn that lingered on like a lover who knows he must leave but can't quite say goodbye. Fall lasted longer that it does in some years and we enjoyed some beautiful Indian Summer days through yesterday, days with temperatures in the 70's.

But today, a powerful cold front approaches and the high for the day was reached before daybreak. Strong winds are blowing through the few leaves that remain on most of the trees. My huge maple, probably a century or more old, has bare branches now and although we have raked leaves, the yard is covered with more to rake.

The winds and the bare November look of the day brought to mind the song and in a sad reality, it seems proper somber weather to bury the young girl who was raped and killed not quite two weeks ago.

Little Rowan Ford will be laid to rest today after being raped and then strangled by her stepfather and a family friend. It is a tragic story and one I won't dwell upon here.

For my thoughts, read my column ("Hindsight") in today's Neosho Daily News. In recent weeks, my column has been available as part of the online version of the newspaper.

November is here; fall is fleeting and so my thoughts turn toward Thanksgiving next week. It is one of my favorite holidays and one I anticipate with pleasure.