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The Rose Garden and Divorce

  I have a friend who went through a mean-spirited divorce.   The day before the decree was granted, her husband’s last act of anger was to tear down a barn swallow nest that had been a part of their lives for many years.   The birds had come back every spring to raise their young, making a mess of the porch, but a delightful display for her and her children.   My friend came home to find the ruined nest on the doorstep.   No reason, no sense, no graciousness, just petulant anger.   Our current President has sent in heavy machinery and destroyed the White House Rose Garden.   He has covered it with concrete, turning it into a large patio, like the one he has at Mar-a-Lago.     Since he has no knowledge of the history of this garden, let me share it with you. The Rose Garden was created by Ellen Axson Wilson, the first wife of Woodrow Wilson.   She was an artist so gifted that she received her own art show at a prestigious New York ga...
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Kennewick Man and Columbus Day

  Nine thousand years ago a man died along the Columbia River.  About 40 years old, he stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and his 160 pounds were all lean, compact strength.  He was no stranger to injury.  In his life, he had skull injuries, 5 broken ribs and a spear point lodged in his pelvic bones.  In each case, he recovered, which means he had someone to care for him.  At the time of his death, cause unknown, he was buried with dignity.               He is called Kennewick Man.  He came to North America long before the peoples currently called Native Americans arrived.  DNA evidence proves he is not related to them.  If there is a real, “first” American, it is this man, most closely related to two far flung groups: Polynesians and the Ainu of Japan.  If you are a Native American, and think you have an historic right of ownership to North America, look over your shoulder....
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Lessons Learned From a Bassinet

The bassinet in which I placed my first child was the same one which my mother had used for me.   It was, in fact, the same bassinet that had held my mother and each of her sisters.     Every one of my cousins slept in that bassinet.   Eventually the bassinet was used for my grandchildren.   Not just my grandchildren, but my cousins’ grandchildren also used this same bassinet.   There have been five generations of babies who have used that sturdy, whicker basket.   The legs have been redone by skilled fathers.   The mattress and flowing draped cloth that formed the liner and skirt have been new with each family.   It has become the pride and honor of each of these mothers, whether members of this family by blood or marriage, to pass this bassinet to the next expectant member of my mother’s family.   The bassinet must have been built with incredible care, and it surely has been treated with equal reverence.   It has also been paint...
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