Buffalo Gal

My birdfeeders are busy every day. The rosebreasted grosbeaks and the red finches love the safflower seeds I bought to attract cardinals (no luck).
The goldfinches and (unwelcome) cowbirds) love the finch food. The blankety-blank blackbirds love everything…and so does the red squirrel. Between blackbirds and the red squirrel I know I could shoot a gun and actually kill a creature!!!!
I am so tired of those pests.
I watched an eagle soar yesterday on the air currents which were strong due to a south wind pulling in warm, damp air from the southeast. What majesty!
The huge eagle did not even move its wings–it just kept on soaring.
One of my past teaching colleagues had a cup that said: “Don’t let the turkeys get you down; soar with the eagles”

Ben Franklin wanted the national bird to be the wild turkey and it would have been apt…..turkeys are native birds but so are eagles and I much prefer the beautiful bald eagle. We see so many of them now. Decades ago..due to DDT—there were no eagles to be seen around here but all that has changed. They soar high over the Buffalo River and can spot a fish from hundreds of feet up in the sky.
WRENS: there has never been anohter bird like a wren for singing all day long. I lvoe to hear them from dawn til dusk and our trees must be full of them..the songs are continuous. The wrens leave early and I miss them when they go in August. Such sweet singers!

STRUTTERS: I watched two male cowbirds square off over some food. They stick their tales in the air and fluff their feathers and strut toward each other trying desperately to get each other to back off. Cowbirds are nasty…they take over other birds’ nest and do not build their own. They are bullies to other birds at the feeders.

FLUFFERS: any male birds are “Fluffers” when they challenge each other. I have seen fluffed up orioles,finches and blackbirds. They apparently fluff so they look larger and more threatening. It is interesting behavior in birds and I thin of human males and their ways of
fluffing”….like driving vehicles with loud mufflers, driving LOUD Harley motorcycles…putting hundreds of lights on pickups (to attract females like brightly colored male birds).
The Pickers among birds are the quiet birds…the Mourning Doves and the Chipping Sparrows who pick diligently at leftovers between the deck boards. They really clean up the birdseed that gets dropped or kicked out of feeders by the big bully birds. I have seen blackbirds kick food out of dishes frequently…and the doves and sparrows are so grateful!!!
My daughter in law who taught me everything I know about birds and feeding them used to love her pair of Mourning Doves who would pick up the birdseed under her feeders. They were diligent and came every day to clean up after the other birds.
I am waiting for Papa Oriole to bring his little ones to the jelly feeder soon. That was the most wonderful day when I saw that happen a couple of years ago. The Papa bird showed the little ones how to lean forward and grab a bite of jelly. A red finch papa did the same with a line up of little red finches. Such great parents….birds are wonderful.
If human parents could take care of their Young like the birds do…we would have a lot of happier more well adjusted human children.
The birds know it is a 24 hour a day job that must be done while the offspring are young and vulnerable.
It is a pity that humans can be so self centered that they forget that important parental element that birds are created to do.
So were we…but we have fallen on our faces on that part of parenting…at least a lot have done that.
It is a lovely golden evening. I have some very fluffy dry clothes to pick off the clothesline tonight.
Last night afew clothes left on the clothes lines got a big extra rinse in the rain storm that went through early this morning. The clothes that got rain-rinsed smell even sweeter after they dry.

I LOVE puns and wordplay. I got some fresh puns from my cousin who lives in CA. She HATES puns but sends them to me out of love and friendship.
So here are some that are new to me.

–I changed my I Pod name to Titanic…It’s syncing now.

—when chemists died, they barium.

—Jokes about German sausages are the wurst.

—A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is a well-seasoned veteran.

—I know a guy who is addicted to drinking brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.

—How does Moses make tea? Hebrews it.

—I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.

—The girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’d never met herbivore.

—I am reading a book about anti-gravity. I can’t put it down.

—I did a theatrical performance about puns. It is a play on words.

—They told me I had type A blood , but it was a Type O.

—A dyslexic man walks into a bra

—Class trip to the Coca Cola factory. I hope there is no pop quiz.

—The Energizer bunny was arrested for battery.

—I did not like my beard at first, but then it grew on me.

—-Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher? She couldn’t control her pupils.

—when you get a bladder infection urine trouble.

—I tried to catch some fog but I mist

—England has no kidney bank but it has a Liverpool.

—All the toilets in New York’s police stations have been stolen. The police have nothing to go on.

—Venison for dinner? Oh deer!

—I used go be a banker but I lost interest.

—Hanuted French pancakes give me the crepes.
(I now they are getting worse)

—Cartoonist found dead in home; details are sketchy

—earthquake in Washington DC is obviously the government’s fault

—Be kind to your dentist; he has fillings too.

OK now you can let out a collective GROAN!!!!!

Arnold Cusmariu wrote an article with the title of the blog…what color is Obama’s parachute? This is assuming Obama loses the fall election.
In it he speculates about the fall – out if Obama loses in November of 2012.
The ex-president will have a few options. One of them is called “Have teleprompter, will travel” in which he speaks all over the country like Bill Clinton has done since his presidency ended. But Obama does not have as much to recommend him as Clinton….Obama has not got a lot of accomplishments to charge big bucks for speaking.
“The one term president who left behind massive debt and an economy in shambles would have little to brag about” (Cusmariu)

He can work on his presidential library like other presidents have done. Historians will be seeking the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and that may become a problem for the presidential library displays.

So there is always a book he can write.
Cusmarieu has some good ideas for chapter titles in this book:
And I quote him:

“—How I smoked dope , Associated with Terrorists, and Listened Dutifully to a Lunatic Preacher Cursing America but Got Elected President Anyway.

—How I sent in the A-Team to Bump Off An Old Geezer In Pakistan while I watched TV with my buddies and ate popcorn.

—-How I doubled the number of green jobs in America just by including garbage collectors, bus drivers, bicycle shop clerks in the official statistics.

—How I achieved the impossible : spending money like a drunken sailor to no good end and running up the national debt to unprecedented levels.

—-How I attempted to build a healthcare system in America based on the Highly Efficient and much – admired Soviet model.

—How I sought to protect reproductive rights of American Women by picking a fight over contraceptives with the Catholic Church.

—-How I became part owner of the Big Three automakers, but the ingrates didn’t even have the decency to take me golfing at Augusta National

—-How I proved the MSM lackeys can be relied on to cover for me and serve as an extension of the White House press office.”

Now that would be a good book and would no doubt make the best seller list—- at least in the conservative newspapers.

But the biggest biggie of all would be this. Obama could join the PGA golf tour and get to play golf nearly 365 days a year; he could make a little money if he won a few tournaments.
He has been practicing all through his first term so often that I believe he could be a real star in the PGA.

Meanwhile Michelle could return to her previous Chicago job where she did little or nothing and earned a 3 figure salary doing it.

There are endless possibilities for a president who is retired by the voters of the nation.

Let us just hope that he does not go out encouraging riots by sore losers on his side (those few who remain) .

“Worst of all Obama could precipitItate a national crisis by declaring martial law and refusing to leave the White House and the presidency.” (Cusmariu)

This would bring a stern rebuke by all the branches of government and might even result in extradition to another country…..I wonder where that would be???

It all remains to be seen but is kind of cheery to think about the possibilities.

As usual I spent Monday morning proofreading the local newspaper copy sheets. Then I continued searching the archives for things I looked up last week.
I came across a real life HORROR story from the 1930s when the mummified body of a baby (newborn ) was discovered in the attic of a business building when workmen were preparing to do roof repairs. The body was wrapped up in newspapers and had been there for more than one year according to the archive reports.
I was stunned. I had heard about this local tale from a man who is well into his nineties and remembers the discovery in the downtown attic.
The archived newspaper did not mince words. A young woman had been charged with the death of the baby which she admitted was hers but she said the baby was dead at birth. Because the corpse was mummified and had likely been in the attic for a year or more, the authorities sent the body to the University of Minnesota for forensic tests. The young woman was put in the Clay County jail til the results from the University came back. She had also told who the baby’s father was and the archives said something to this effect:
the father was a well – known rogue (and womanizer) who had been charged with this kind of behavior more times than this one. MYSTERY!!! No name was revealed although the name of the young woman was splashed freely in about 4 stories week after week.
When I heard the story from “Robert”(not his real name)…. (the 90 – something man who is still clear minded) he said that the father was a prominent man…and had indeed forced himself on other young women.
It seemed to be common knowledge around town.
This archived account was almost too salacious and awful to take in. This happened in a small town way back in the depth of the Depression years? I was taken completely aback.
It made me remember another horror story about a dead baby and a dead mother…only this was more recently in the decade of the 1950s.
The local doctor was called to a farm where a woman had died. She was a Downs Syndrome woman and the doctor who could not get anything out of the mother or the brothers of the woman, soon determined that the Downs Syndrome woman had given birth to a baby. Further investigation led to the discovery of a dead baby that had been thrown down into an old well.
There were no charges if I recall correctly. The mother and the brothers were deemed mentally incompetent…… Almost as mentally handicapped as the mother of the dead baby. But the horror part of the story was that one or both brothers had raped their handicapped sister and impregnated her; the mother had “delivered” the baby… probably kiling it in the process… and the body was thrown in the old well.
It was a true horror story…..and so was the one I found in the old archives today.
Back to the dead mummified baby in the attic : the young woman who admitted to being the mother of the baby was kept in the county jail for a length of time and a grand jury was to be called later in the year and the woman would be charged with murder.
Then the forensic report came back from the U of MN with the news that the cause of death of the baby could not be determined so the authorities dropped all the charges and the case was over and done with. The woman did have to spend 90 days in jail and I did not clearly understand if this was done after the clearing up of the murder charge.
What baffled me is that the woman, alone, bore the charges and the humiliation of being revealed in local newspapers of the time with the sad details of the story released fully. One wonders how she every put her life together again.
The father of the baby paid no penalty whatsoever. The entire blame was placed on the admitted mother of the baby.
This is an age old story —-a woman is charged with a felony for “killing her baby” at birth probably in total desperation not to be “found out”. One wonders how she spent the 9 months of her pregnancy before the child was born. I have heard horror stories about young women who “strapped themselves in” with killer girdles and other foundation devices to hide their conditions. This alone could have harmed an unborn child or led to its death prematurely or at birth. The birth was probably done in secret also to avoid the humiliation of people finding out about the young women who bore these babies “out of wedlock” which was the term used in that era.
It also leads to wondering what truly desperate young women did to “get rid” of unwanted or out of wedlock babies…..did they go to quack abortionists and the “old women” who were known to do crude abortions on young unmarried women to save them the humiliation of bearing a child when they were unmarried. Such crude attempts to abort babies led to deaths of women by what was called “blood poisoning”.
I am still reeling from having accidentally discovered this long ago HORROR STORY this morning.

I have done my news cruise this morning and I wonder why I torture myself this way on a lovely sunny day. I am drawn like a moth to the flame to national news and local news…most of it troubling.
The local story about a mother leaving her child in a hot car asleep with ther windows shut at a Wal Mart a couple of days ago makes me wonder about the gene pool surrounding us. It sounds like an episode from “They Walk Among Us” with the stories about the idiotic things done by people that result in injury or death. If someone had not seen that little boy in the closed up car he might have died quickly too from the over 100 degree temps. that can build in side a closed car on a hot sunny day.
It is hard to comprehend the utter stupidity and ignorance involved in this incident. Doesn’t the publicizing of numerous deaths of children in cars by negligent, self absorbed, forgetful parents register with ohter parents of young children?? I would have broken the window myself if I had seen such a thing…I know I would have and I would have done it for a pet trapped in a closed up car on a hot humid day also.I proably would have been arrested for “property damage”.

Lanny Davis’s comments about the “vicious people in the Obama Whitehouse are disturbing also. With the news of leaks coming out of the WH (staff no doubt) and B.Obama’s denials and statement that nobody in his Whitehouse would do such a thing is incredibly unture. (it’s a lie) Every adminstration has had leakers but this time the leaks have put a brave Pakistani doctor who assisted the Seals operation in Pakistan in prison for the rest of his life. He probably won’t live through his sentence but will die either of mistreatment or murder carried out by the authorities. And all because this WH had a great need to “dance in the end zone ” and reveal classified and dangerous information about our Intel and national security matters. To get re elected as a “tough guy” who “got” Bin Laden. But not to worry: Eric Holder hasd announced that HIS DOJ is going to investigate it all. Now if that is not a classic “fox watching the henhouse ” I do not know what is.
No administration of any president’s adminstration should investigate itself on such damaging charges. Nobody will be brought to justice…. you can count on it. And leaks will continue in order to enhance a political campaign.

I guess I wilL stick to local news like the big parade on Rodeo Saturday in our town. Yes—- it is rodeo time but I do not attend the rodeo..I am too tender – hearted to watch small calves being roped and thrown doen and tied up by the professional cowboys. I cannot stand to see the steer wrestling either and I wonder how PETA or the SPCA are not doing their bit to stop rodeos. Probably too big a profit to stop it. People love rodeos and the stuff they do. At least with the bucking horses and the bull riding the critters have a better than equal chance agianst the cowboys.

I have made 2 – 6 mile round trips to town this morning….to catch the post office open so I can buy stamps. Silly Me went in at 8:30 to find that the PO is only open from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays. What the heck…..our vehicle needed to get a little carbon blown off by 12 miles to town and back twice in one morning.
It is not the same postal service we used to have when I was growing up. Then it was real “service”. And does anyone remember the 3 cent first class stamps???? I used a lot writing REAL letters to my husband to be one summer long ago. We actually used our hands to write letters then..letters that when saved are the perfect things for writing books and family histories..along with the long forgotten art of keeping diaries. I still have my letters to my sweetheart of the late 1950s. We do not need to write letters now…after 52 years together.
When I drive to town on the gravel backroads I engage in a rural tradition: giving a small wave to all other motorists on the gravel road as they go by blowing clouds of dust at you and you at them. Until I studied Howard Mohr’s book HOW TO SPEAK MINNESOTAN I did not know about the Minnesota wave when meeting others on back roads. It involves raising your index finger off the steering wheel for a brief and friendly greeting to other drivers whether you know them or not.
I was so ignorant before I read Mohr’s book that I thought my neighbor was “givng me the finger” when we passed on the gravel road. I did not realize he was WAVING TO ME…Minnesota style. I have now mastered the art of raising my pointer finger off the steering wheel and saluting other drivers on the dusty back roads. You cannot do this at Highway speed..nobody pays attention to you anyway..they are too busy driving 80 mph while texting or talking on the cell phones that have grown onto the sides of their heads.
I met an old Model A Ford going to the Car Show this morning..another part of Rodeo Days. It had skinny wheels and was driving carefully on the loose gravel. I even raised my whole hand and waved at the driver!!!! My Dad had a 1932 Ford Model – A for years and years which he used to drive to his business each day in nice weather. My sister and I would go to the corner of our block when he was coming home for a noon meal and we got to ride on the running board back to our house with Dad holding onto us with one hand out the window. Good memories of childhood days.

We are going to ther parade this afternoon….we attend rodeo things about once every 25 years so we will be 100 years old the next time we do the rodeo and its events. Last night we had a meal at the community center put on by the local boy scouts. It is their major fundraiser for their summer camp-out in South Dakota so they are well supported by a great community who eats the pitchfork steak fondue or the roasted hot dogs along with baked spuds and baked beans and ice cream and muffins. The scouts are such gracious hosts; the attend to the diners with refills of lemonade, water and coffee. They keep the tables spotless and circulate and ask if you need anything else. Good boys who serve their communities well. Good dads who serve as scoutmasters andd assistants and teach their sons valuable things.
It is Norman Rockwell slice of Americana to go to a boy scout event.

My coffee cup is growing cold and icky. Time to close the blog for June 9 2012.

Sad news in the world of horse racing today. “I’ll Have Another” the horse who has won two of the big U.S. horseraces already will not compete for the Triple Crown honor due to injury to a leg tendon or ligament discovered by his trainer just today.
Many horse racing fans are devastated. This horse was so promising…such a shoo-in for the Triple Crown but injury to the frail leg of a racing horse ends his racing career .
Now he is to be put out to pasture with mares and act as the “stud” in the literal sense. He may have a few good years “covering” the mares before further injury to his frail legs occurs.
Have you ever looked at a race horse’s legs? They are so thin and frail – looking it is a wonder that more of them do not break instead of just getting a sore ligament.
A good racer is “used” to win big things for his owner and his fans who place big bets on his winning race after race..but it comes to an end with over-use of those frail thin legs.
It is merciful that horse trainers take a horse out of action when it is injured instead of using painkilling injections and other drugs to keep them running.
There could be a lot of
American men who take note of “I’ll Have Another” being put “out to stud”. Male humans might think “now that would be the life….in a pasture with eager females might indulge in dreams of what it would be like to be a human put “out to stud”…with human females.
Well maybe not…but I bet there would be a few takers.
I clearly remember a young fellow I knew who said after helping with dog breeding in a vet clinic that he would like to come back to another life (Karma) as a male German Shepherd!!!!!

Not too long ago there was an editorial in the FORUM regarding the
Fargo Marathon this year. It was glorified as a 26 mile race of endurance, hard training, dedication, and other superlative descriptions of what it takes to be a Marathoner.
All true—- but I had a thought after I read it that the human body can only take so much muscular and skeletal abuse—similar to a prime race horse like “I’ll Have Another” being over-used to the point of injury and permanent damage to horse’s skeleton and muscular/ligamental system.
Over – use and over – training and over – racing are not good for horse or humans.
I had just read information about the bad effects of long distance running/racing and its negative effects on a human body prior to reading the FORUM’s editorial on the Marathon.
Marathoners must end up their careers with running injuries that stop them from pursuing their Marathon goals also.
I have three children who are all in healthcare professions….all of them dealing with human musculo-skeletal health issues. One is a surgeon and sees terrible results of pounding the pavement on a human foot. The others have dealt with injuries from over-excercising or over-running and what it does to hips, knees and ankles. It is not always a glorious and victorious scene as the end of the
Fargo Marathon is always portrayed in the media outlets.
I would suppose that long distance runners who have devoted so much energy, hard training and determination might think it is worth it to sustain injuries that sideline them for long periods or for the rest of their lives.
I would not enjoy growing old having injuries I gave myself from any “sport”….especially the particularly brutal ones like football and hockey or even basketball , volleyball, track and field or other sports that lead to life – long pain and injury. I remember another older adult friend who could not walk normally or climb stairs due to high school football knee injuries. His life as an adult was changed negatively because of playing football for a high school team.
Why so many choose this path in their lives remains a bit of a mystery to me…but I am sure it is no mystery to those who do them.
Racing horses and racing men and women—who use their legs to race…are similar in that they can end their “career” in an instant of a severe injury or a break in a bone from the running they do.
It made me think about it.
But I do not run— so maybe I am barking up a tree that I should stay away from!!!!

How times have changed since that historic day that Allied Forces landed on the beaches at Normandy in the beginning of the final drive to free Europe from the Nazi occupation of WW 2.
Troups from Britain, America, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, free France…Poles and troops from other occupied European countries combined forces on land, sea and air to deal a final death blow to the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler.

What is truly amazing on this day is to recall and hear the words of then – President Franklin Roosevelt who went on the radio nationwide to PRAY for the men and women of the armed forces storming the Norman beaches on that day.
Can you imagine our current president praying….ever…. about anything..publicly ??? I wonder what prayers he does pray if he does at all? He says he is a Christian but Christians are supposed to be “fruit inspectors” and I do not see fruits of the Spirit exhibited in
Barack Obama. Check out the 5th chapter of Galatians for both the “fruits of the spirit” and the “fruits of the flesh ” and see what you think about the present president.
Can you imagine the UPROAR today if a president prayed as Roosevelt did in June 1944. There would be a massive uprising from Athiests and those screaming “Separation of Church and State” which had little or no meaning in the years of WW 2. The uproar over the Fargo Ten Commandments monument would be pale in comparison.
Only in the America of WW 2 and the decade after WW 2 would Americans be favorable about the President of our nation praying for the armed forces of our nation who were in grave danger on June 6 and the many days before and after that date. Many would die on June 6, 1944 and many more thereafter while the Nazis stubbornly held on til May of 1945 when final victory in Europe came after the years from 1939- 1945 took such a toll on nations in Europe and elsewhere.
I am going to add the prayer of Franklin Roosevelt to this blog entry but right now the internet will not allow access…most likely because so many are reading it at this time as Americans and others who remember that day remind themselves of ther horrible day of crisis.
President Obama, as usual, has paid no attention to the June 6, 1944 anniversary day of remembrance. You simply ignore it if you are as dedicated as B.O. is to trashing that kind of America we knew in WW 2 days and afterwards.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S PRAYER ON D DAY JUNE 6 1944
“Almight God: Our sons and daughters the pride of our Nation , this day have set upon a mighty endeavor—– to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in purpose.
They will need Thy blessings Their road will be long and hard. The enemy is strong. He may not come with rushing speed, but he shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy guidance and the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried by night and day, without rest until the victory is won……Mens’ souls will be shaken with the violence of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest . They fight to liberate.
Some will never return. Embrace these. Father and receive them, Thy heroic servants…..into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home–fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters and brothers of brave men overseas prayers are ever with them–help us Almighty God to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith….Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of prayer. I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance in prayer. As we rise to each new day let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength–strength to do our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make to support our armed forces.
Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come…..
And O Lord, give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in the keenness of our spirit to never be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessings we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.
Lead us to the saving of this country, and our sister Nations into a world unity that peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done Almighty God. Amen”

My daughter in law who lives near the Twin Cities along with my son and two of the most perfect grandkids one can set eyes on (brag brag)
writes so well. I am so thriled when she sends me some of her writing and she did just recently in a blog titled “Imperfect Parenting 101″.
I cannot help but share some of her thoughtful observations.
Apparently the blog was triggered by a recent TIME magazine cover and article about “Attachment Parenting”.
I have not heard of this practice since I have long since been a parent to a baby or a toddler. I did recognize a few things I did as a young mother with my own babies but certainly not the whole idea of attachment parenting.
Here are a few characteristics of attachment parenting which was developed by a couple by the name of Sears (both of them I am sure considered child rearing experts)
**Carry out the Baby B’s which are
bonding, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedsharing,boundary building.

Having read a lot in the past about other cultures’ (especially more primitive cultures) methods of raising babies and young children I immediately thought of several cultures that practice Attachment Parenting without the help of child experts who have PhDs.
I thought of Inuits and also cultures in the islands of the South Pacific I have read about. They do the “Baby Bs” and have done them for time immemorial.
How about in the United States?
Attachment Parenting would involve a mother being at home with her own baby for a lot of years til the child reached school age. That particular child rearing concept went by the wayside starting after WW2 when women continued working outside the home and taking their babies and toddlers to others’ places for childcare. A lot of times it was a Grandma or an Auntie but lately Grandma and Auntie are also working outside the home and Daycare came into being. No chance for any attachment parenting principles there.
I never had my babies sleeping in a bed with us due to the common warning at the time (early 1960s) that a parent could crush a baby accidentally. I never thought it would make for a very good night’s sleep for either Mother or Father. But Attachment Parents probably expect to be of sleepless for the sake of the Baby B’s.
I kind of wonder if a lot of Attachment Fathers choose to sleep in another room and another bed if they are the ones who have to go out and earn the entire living for the mother and the babies.
I liked the observations made by my daughgter in law because I agree with them.

“Well honestly? I find that children raised under these methods may eventually grow up to be polite, respectful, successful children, but when they are children the tend to be disrespectful , self-centered, disobedient, and difficult…………It seems to be the common belief with these “free methods” that any type of discipline,order, structure, or control restricts the development and prevents the child from growing into themselves. There seems to be a core understanding that children are innately good and that their growth and behavior don’t carry along with it any malice or meanness.”

My own view on these thoughts is that children are INNATELY mean and malicious and have always been so.
There is no “innate goodness” in humankind..those qualities have to be carefully taught from the time a child is young. There is no creature on earth as self – centered as a baby or toddler. I have personally witnessed such children..in public places with parents who seem too inept or too committed to very little firm discipline at all. I think those parents are downright irresponsible to allow a toddler to rule their life and ruin life for people who have to be around them when they decide to have their self – centered “hissy fits”—- often in public at the expense of other people.

I remember watching a young child about 2 years old– in action while visiting at another son and daughter in law’s home. The mother of the child was completely oblivious to what the two year old was doing and the father stood there looking helpless while this 2 year old tyrant threw my grandchildrebns’ toys down a flight of steps, methodically breaking a lot of them. Absolutely nothing was done to restrict this monster toddler by either of the parents. Their handling of this 2 year old reminds me of the listed characteristics of Attachment Parenting.

My parents’ generation believed in disciplining chilren early and often if they misbehaved and it was not any “gentle guidance” as Attachemnt Parenting advises.
The biggest mistake in this theory is that children are innately good. It is simply not true.
My generation grew up to be responsible, considerate of others and with a very defined work ethic taught to them early in their childhoods.(speaking generally about an awful lot of babies and toddlers from the 1930s)
I like the idea of bonding with a baby and spending as much time as needed to do so. I believe that breastfeeding is not only the healthiest way to feed a baby but is also very good for bonding between mother and child. (Dad gets left out a lot though) How do the attachment parents feel about that aspect? Maybe Dad has to do more bedsharing and babywearing but he can’t take the baby to his job…..he does not have the innate ability to feed the hungry baby. The theory goes awry in many areas.
I remembver a cartoon I saw years ago about two parents (mom and dad..male nad female) who were in a child psychologist’s office with their recalcitrant young child. The father has his arm around the child and the father’s thumb is inserted in the child’s mouth as the father asks the burning question:
“Do you thing we are being too indulgent with him?”
The cartoon was so funny I have never forgotten it.
The website article I read about attachment parenting gave this example of A.P. “The parent will put away all breakables in the house and allow the child to explore and touch what interests them. ( I wonder if this includes electrical outlets explored with a metal fork?) When the child is older (school age) the parent will restrict them from throwing a ball in the living room.”
Uh-Huh. I have visited in homes where the child at any age has no restrictions whatsoever and the watchwork is be prepared to duck and and dodge alot.
If you google “Attachment Parenting” or find the article in a recent Time magazine, you may be able to understand some of the horrible behavior you have witnessed in stores and theaters and at other public venues.
It is—- at the very least—– quite instructive.

I am a confirmed Soccer Grandma! I am a big Shanley Girls’ Soccer Fan!
The Deacons girls’ soccer team won the state title Saturday in Grand Forks.
They were definitely the best team in the state. They cruised to their first two victories in the state playoffs but their opponent Saturday..lacking really good soccer skills and good team play, took the route of kicking the ball out of bounds every chance they got. It was frustrating to watch such tactics….if the opposing team had even had a partial set of skills that the Shanley girls had, it would have been a really good game..but those skills were totally lacking.
It was great to see our granddaughter’s soccer team take the title..they came so close last spring when they lost in the title game in a final sudden death “shootout” with Bismarck Century.
Yesterday they turned the tables and showed why they have not lost a game this season.
We were so happy for them..especially for our granddaughter who was chosen to be on the all state, all tournament team. The look on her face was priceless when her name was called…it was a look that said “What? Me?”
She was totally shocked but she is a well rounded soccer player and I can easily see why she was picked: she is excellent on defense and offense and knows how to go for the goals; she can kick with both right and left legs equally as powerfully and with skill. She is superb team player and a good passer. That was where the Shanley girls shined..they could keep the ball in play all down the field totally frustrating their opponents. They had skills unlike the other teams in the state playoffs.
I am also first time GOER to Buffalo Wild Wings! That is where the team wanted to go after it was all over and so we OLD FOLKS joined the girls and their families. There were plenty of other grandparents there too..like us… with a look on their faces like “we have never been HERE before”.
The food is pretty spicy but I think we all survived. One set of grandparents had red shirts with “Syd’s Grandma” and “Syd’s Grandpa” emblazoned on their shirts. Very Cool.
We did not get home til the midnight hours on both
Friday and Saturday so that is pretty exhausting for the 70 – somethings of which we are a part.
But I would not have missed those games and that final for anything.
I am so grateful for good health to be able to go to those games. I even have to be grateful or the waning stamina I fund myself dealing with each day.
But I can still climb up the bleachers and cheer like a wildly yelling Banshee along side my son who lost his voice roaring for the Deacon girls.
Sunday the team was invited to a lake home on Pelican Lake to celebrate their victory even further. I know they were hoping for sunshine since they all have nice tans already–on their legs below their soccer socks and their arms and faces… but they probably wanted to even things out a bit more today.
It does not matter; they will enjoy each other’s company and the hospitality of one of the parents who invited them all to come to the lake today. They are tired out and probably need to pay back a sleep debt….but summer vacation can take care of that.
The best thing in their young lives has jsut happened…they won the state class A girls’ soccer title and that is enough for now.
They could do it again next year; the will only reload—not rebuild thanks to freshmen, sophomore and junior players who already excel at the game.
GO DEACONS! This Grandma is proud of all of you!