opineaway

Father's Day

2007-06-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

I lost some of my pictures but here are some. We had a great day with the kids and Pat's family

First Boating Trip of the 2007 Season

2007-05-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

The first two pictures are of Julianna and Abby on their field trip to the nature center (I took them earlier today.)

It didn't take long to get out on the boat. Jennifer just got home from her Ob/GYN rotation and batted her lashes and, of course, we went out on the sand bar island.

Here are some photos.

It's been awhile

2007-05-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

It's been so long, I literally forgot my password.

I'm in that in-between space where I'm done with school for the summer and my children are still in school.

The proverbial calm before the storm.

This past semester was particularly challenging for me. I managed an A in Chem. 103 but have struggled with Chem 104. Dr. Moran was a great prof, he did a fantastic job in lecture, he would lay everything out systematically, and he would give us the theory behind the formulas, etc. But Chem 104 was extremely challenging to me. I ended up with a B. Normally, B's are the cause of much crying and emoting but I was thrilled to have a B in Chem this time around.

Genetics was extremely challenging. I had to remember the Stats I took two years ago, oy. I really love the subject matter, I'm hoping to squeeze in Human Genetics before I graduate.

Biopsych and Developmental were relatively easy but Biopsych entailed a lot of work.

So, I ended up with three A's, one A-, and a B.

It feels really good to clean and declutter the house and turn my attention to the garden.

I can't wait to take the kids out on the boat.

As soon as the kids get out of school this fleeting time of relative peace and quiet will be over and I am looking forward to taking them to the shore, to the sand bar island, and I really want to take Miss Julianna to the Smithsonian to see the Natural History Museum because she is really into Paleontology.

Whistler

2007-01-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

I want to show some pictures from our trip to Whistler/Vancouver.

Darth Pope

2006-12-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

He looks like he's saying, "Rise Lord Vader."

And don't those boys look scared shitless?

School's out and Christmas is Here

2006-12-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot going on the past few weeks. I finished my last two finals last Friday and am baking cookies and preparing for Christmas.

Our church had a ground breaking ceremony. Here are some pictures.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Dojo Christmas party.

Jonathan has been accepted to both colleges to which he applied. He was offered a $1,000/year scholarship at U. Vermont but he also was accepted at Duquesne and they offered him a $9,500/year academic scholarship. They have also noted that he still qualifies for finincial need based grants. This is a good thing since I have a daughter in college, a daughter in medical school, Jon graduating this year, and Jeanette graduating next year and, oh, yes, I'm in college as well. I am so thankful that he is being offered this opportunity. Dh and Jon visited the campus last fall and it's beautiful and the city of Pittsburg is fantastic for young adults. Duquesne is next door to Pitt, so there's a nice vibe in that neighborhood. I can't wait for an opportunity to go visit the campus.

I've just been super busy

2006-10-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to post in Opinaway because I've been uberbusy.

Classes are killing me. They're really intense. Jonathan is playing football and we've been to his games.

Julianna was at a kits Shiah <
Good news, I have straight A's.

Bad news, it will be an accomplishment if I actually keep straight A's.

Jon is 4 wins 1 loss and is getting some prospective offers at a couple of schools.

Julianna won two of her rounds and then loss to a purple belt (she's a green belt.)

Sensei said she did a good kata which brought a smile to her lips and a sparkle to her eyes.

Jon is number 61 in the photo.

Oh, yes, and the girls went to Alaska since I've been here. Jeanette won gold in Team Kata, Silver in Individual Kumite, and Bronze in Individual Kata. Joanna was picked to be on the US Team (she lost to the eventual winner.)

Just in case anyone is wondering, I got kicked off MDC

2006-08-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Very strange, I don't quite know why, someone was suggesting that the board was demonic and I took issue with it and reported the comment.

The demonic comment was allowed to stay and I got kicked off the board.

Let me assure you, I was not being obnoxious or abusive in any way, in fact, it was the other way around.

Here is a cut and paste of the notification. Pretty terse, I'd say. I'm in a bit of a shock, so I'll just leave the c and p and comment later.

This is a message from Ms. Mom at MotheringDotCommune Forums ( http://www.mothering.com/discussions/index.php ). The MotheringDotCommune Forums owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.
To email Ms. Mom, you can use this online form:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=11
OR, by email:
mailto:msmom@mothering.com
This is the message:
Debra,
On 7-6-06 your access to the Spirituality and Religious Studies forum was removed. Several days later, Cynthia allowed you back with the understanding that you would observe the rules or our User Agreement.
On 8-8-06 our moderator Georgia issued you another alert for posting in manner, which violates our User Agreement. Upon careful consideration and discussions with my peers, we have decided to remove your membership from MDC.
I wish you well in your future endeavors.
Jacque
MDC Assistant Administrator

My adventures in putting the laws of attraction to work

2006-08-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Or, in other words, how I ended up getting hit in the mouth and crying when I saw my daughter cry in karate.

I've been working on being positive, believing in the good and possible and manifesting them.

One great area for this is karate.

I'm a brown belt and it's rough being a brown belt because one is a brown belt for a long time and you never feel as though you're getting better; only seeing just how bad you really are.

I've considered quitting, but I don't generally quit.

So, today, with the laws of attraction in my mind, I went into the advanced training thinking, "you are good, just have an open mind and learn and most importantly, do not let anyone intimidate you."

I pull into the parking lot and see Jo's jeep. I'm thrilled knowing my daughter is going to be there, but I'm afraid of her. I see her jeep and supress the fear, I choose to be happy Jo's at karate. I'm a bit afraid of my 16 year old daughter, Jeanette as well. Jo is a Sandan (3 degree,) and Jeanette is a Shodan (first degree,) blackbelts, that is. They're pretty good fighters.

So, the class is going well. I keep remembering to have good posture, use my hips, Jo says I need to finish each move, I go through kata, Sensei tells me to use my hips.

Everything is fine until the end of class. I'm the only one who hasn't fought and Sensei wants Jeanette to have another round because she's going to Nationals in Alaska.

I'm afraid of Jeanette, sometimes Sensei jokes that he's not making me fight one of my kids, but not tonight.

So I decide I'm going to manifest the laws of attraction and not be fear, not be timid, but actually *hit* her and use technique.

We're having a pretty good fight, and I score a punch and get a point. We go on some more and she gets me in the face at the same time I get her in the gut. Sensei says neither technique is strong enough and Jeanette will need to use stronger technique if she expects to get points at Nationals.

So, I go in for a punch and she pops me in the mouth.

I see stars, and Sensei stops the fight.

That was the end of class and we bow out, Janice (a doc.) checks me out but there's no blood. It hurts like hell for a few minutes, but Sensei said it was the best he's seen me fight. I'm a bit weepy from seeing stars, but I look over and Jeanette is crying and Jo's in tears and I fall apart. I don't think I can fight my own daughter, I thought I had hurt her, but she was frustrated with herself (Sensei said he would have given me the match,) but, I realize, no matter what I do, I'd lose, I don't want to hit her in the face because she's my beautiful teenaged daughter, I usually won't get the opportunity and lose because she's my much quicker teenaged daughter. If I win a fight, she's lost, no matter what I lose.

So, one more important lesson here, don't get into a fight you have no hope of winning.

But it was worth getting hit in the mouth to hear Sensei say something nice about my karate.

Even if I die a brown belt.

Global Warming is real, get off your ass and do something about it

2006-06-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

I'll edit this later, but I think we need to wake up, smell the CO2 (haha) and start doing what we need to do to save the planet.

Incidentally, it was the pictures of the melting glaciars and Arctic ice that convinced me about two years ago.

Article with some good pictures of glaciar meltdown

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/default.asp

Here's a good news article http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/06/22/global.warming.ap/index.html

Good informational site about global warming

http://fightglobalwarming.com/

And another

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/default.asp

Some pictures

Some more pictures

2006-06-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

After I get done with Zoology, I want to have fun with the children. I want to learn how to put the boat into and out of the water without DH. It may take all season before I'm secure in that skill.

Trying to post pictures I really want to go out on the boat

2006-06-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Zoology

2006-06-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

I finished my first week of Zoology and it really isn't as dreadful as I had imagined.

First, the classes are *not* M-TH 12-5, rather, they are M and W 12-2, Tu and Th 12-5ish.

Second, Professor Van Meter seems to be very sweet.

It is a shitload of work every day. I took 14 pages of notes in one day!!!My penmanship is dreadful so I will by taking my laptop to type in notes and a sketch pad for the illustrations. (Yes, my line drawings are better than my penmanship.)

As I went to class on Tuesday, I realized how much I wanted to be in school. I had two weeks off and two weeks is more than enough for me to recharge my batteries for another challenge. I met my good friend, Tim Mack getting out of Organic Chem. (He said it wasn't that bad, I got to meet the O'Chem Prof, and see a couple of other people. I feel privileged to be able to go to school after all these years.I applied to the Pre-med program last week, I hope they accept me.Let's see, four years of undergrad, four years of grad, residency, my goal is to go as long as possible without getting a *real* job.

The Divine Feminine and Christian Thought

2006-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

I watched the Da Vinci Code this past Sunday. I have also read the book and found both to be satisfying. I was quite pleased the film, for the most part, stayed with the book. I’ll leave the debate about casting and such to another blog, I want to focus on the concept of the Divine Feminine and how it relates to Christian thought.
I don’t think I’m letting the cat out of the bag by saying much of The Da Vinci Code focuses on the notion that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and Jesus fathered a child before dying on the cross.
This storyline is quite scandalous for much of the Christian church. Some church leaders have encouraged Christians to protest the movie while others devote entire Sunday sermons to the subject and others encourage their congregations to watch the film so they can have an intelligent conversation. Unfortunately, our Pastor falls into the second category. Fortunately, he also falls into the latter category. Um, not that I wouldn’t watch a movie because my Pastor said not to but I wouldn’t have a Pastor who would dictate my movie habits.
My faith rests upon the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Nothing else. I am not particularly obsessed with virginity or the notion that sex is inherently sinful. If Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, it isn’t going to rock my world. If He had sex with his wife, He wouldn’t be sinning. If He wanted Mary M. to lead His church, I am not getting my panties in a big wad. I *would*, however, have some trouble with the concept of a group of people who were directly related to Jesus. Jesus was both human and divine, He, as a man, would have been *able* to father children (unless he was sterile for some reason but, likely, He was as Data would say in Star Trek, “Fully Functional.”
The notion of having direct descendants of Jesus walking around creates an Aryianesque sort of master race somewhere. I would have difficulty with the notion that there would be some more equally created in G-d’s image (so to speak.)
This would mess with my theology in the sense that we are all equal in His sight.
Finally, the notion of the Divine Feminine is enough to send conservative Christian thinkers into spasms. I think there is an innate drive for people to make G-d enough like them to be able to relate to Him in some way. This has created a need within the human heart that is filled with the divine feminine.
The problem isn’t as much the Divine Feminine as the over *masculinization* of G-d in the first place. G-d is not a literal man with some gigantic cosmic penis up in heaven somewhere. Jesus came to this earth as a man, but He didn’t need to be a male to do His work on this earth. Likely he was a he instead of a flip of the coin because of the ung-dly sexism rampant within the culture.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, Male nor Female in the Kingdom of Heaven. Angels are called, “he” in the Bible, but they actually are not gendered. God (or the angels, for that matter,) as male is a strict social construct.
There are qualities of G-d mentioned in the scriptures that are very feminine. The Holy Spirit is given the female pronoun in the Greek. Spirit, Pneumos, is feminine.
Therefore, the problem isn’t the Divine Feminine as a separate G-d (although I do not subscribe to that theology,) rather, for the Christian, it is the Divine Masculine, G-d is the balance of that which is good and masculine along with that which is good and feminine. G-d satisfies the need for both the Divine Masculine *and* the Divine Feminine to be acknowledged and honored.

Getting over the -

2006-05-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

I just got my grades for the Spring, 2006 semester.

I got an A in everything but Botany.

I got an A- in Botany.

Yes, I'm obcessing about the A-. I told myself if I got straight A's, I would apply into the premed program at school.

Does the - exclude the A?

My husband says they're all A's, Daughter says the same thing.

My friends online agree, I'm being silly.

Not only that, I would tell my children an A- is an A and a good grade.

Sooooooooo, I guess I'll apply into the premed program and now the obcession de'jour: they require a *photo* I don't have any pictures of myself.

Oy-vey.

I got suspended at MDC

2006-04-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Gee, what did I do that was so reprehensible that they suspended me?

I opined about a thread that was extremely racist in its content.

There is a poster over at MDC, numom499, that doesn't understand why people of color may be offended by the word, "negroid." and "mongoloid," she claims that they are mere words.

I told her, "so are Asshole, and Retard" but those words, *hurt* people.

I accidentally (honest, it was a typ0) called her newmom499 and she got her panties in a bunch.

So...I called her numnuts, whoops, numom499.

The poor little girl ran to the White Witch of Narnia (commonly known as Cynthia Mosher) and *tattled* on *me.*

I noted that a girl who gets all upset at the substitution of mnut for wmom should understand why a person of color may not like the word, "negroid."

She (I can't help but to imagine a nasal whiney voice) asked why "caucosoid" isn't offensive.

I responded that people didn't shout, "causoisoid" (F-the spelling) as people were being lynched or prevented from immigrating to the US.

Numnuts tattled and I got banned.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot, she called me, "Fat" and "Ugly," but I suppose if you are the right species of wing-nut Fundie, you get to call names without consequence.

I am afraid MDC is going down the toilet.

They really didn't get it. I get banned and the one who "honestly" doesn't understand why the word, "negroid" is offensive walks. And she didn't even start to understand the object lesson I was trying to teach her via that thread.

Oy-vey.

What an idiot

2006-03-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about the guy that's sitting on his roof to protest his wife bringing their two year old and infant into the master bedroom?

He wants his space. He wants his room back. He doesn't want diapers and kid clutter in his room.

What a tantruming brat, I say.

There is nothing in our present culture to grow men up until they have children of their own.

The result? A very large, tantruming child on the roof of his house.

And the media's attention, of course.

But, because the societal standard has increasingly become one of selfishness, this schmuck is getting *support* from many in the general public.

I wonder, does he do much around the house? Perhaps pick up and wash a dirty diaper? Gently parent a child to sleep? Cook? Does he even wipe his own dirty ass?

Somehow, I believe his wife is missing very little by having Homer J. up there on the roof.

Of course, this is the same type of male appendage that protests his wife breastfeeding because, after all, those are *his* breasts. He misses intimacy with his wife, do you think you're going to get any action by embarassing her on national television?

You DO realize that small children outgrow their need to be close with their mother. Give it another couple of years and you would have your room and your wife's body back for yourself. But instead of working together as two selfless *adults*, you chose to behave like a selfish spoiled child. Instead of deeping your relationship by parenting your children, the fruit of your love with your dear wife, you have plopped your broad ass on the rooftop and made a fool of yourself.

What an idiot.

I'm glad I'm married to an adult who doesn't feel the need to compete with my infant children for my love and attention.

Update: our genius on the rooftop happens to be a registered sex offender, imagine that!!
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/NEWS11/60331006

Making of a Man

2006-03-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

Making a Man

My oldest three children are girls and seeing girls transform into women isn’t particularly mystifying because I, as a woman, have personally gone through that process. How a rowdy boy morphs into a man is completely mysterious to my female mind and the prospect of seeing a son though the turbulent teenaged years was something of a daunting prospect.

It’s funny how G-d makes the most of every opportunity and the scripture that G-d works all things for good for those who love Him has, once again, proven itself to be true.

I really cannot complain about Jonathan. He’s a normal teenager. He had a couple of brushes with stupidity when he was fourteen, nothing that would put him behind bars, but enough trouble to warrant the, “You are old enough to screw up your life,” speech from his father and me.
I have a theory that the teen years from thirteen until sixteen are a struggle for most kids, but the teen years from sixteen until college and beyond are sweet reward for the hard work of laying the foundation in earlier years. When he was fifteen, Jonathan started saving for his own car. He started caddying in the local country club and advanced to working in the local garden center. He also did landscaping for side work. His Brother-in-law’s little brother was selling a late model BMW. Jay was to be trusted because he was Kevin’s little brother and because he was anal retentive about his cars. Jonathan spent nearly two years saving his money to buy that sweet ride.
Jonathan turned sixteen; he passed his driver’s test that summer (summer of 2004,) and at the end of the summer was able to go purchase the BMW. The following day was the first day of school.

The very next day, Jonathan lost control of the car in a rainstorm and slammed it into a guard rail, basically totaling the car. Jonathan only had liability insurance on his car and ended up with a total loss. My heart was sick when I went to pick him up at the accident scene. If I had the money, I would likely have paid to have the poor car repaired. I had no words of comfort for Jon, merely words of sorrow at his loss and love for him as his mother.
I prayed for G-d to use this situation for the good, not knowing the intricate pattern woven by unseen hands.

A few days later, Jonathan’s older sister, Jessica, gave him her Jetta. I thought Jessica was about to buy herself another car but she didn’t, Jessica sacrificially gave Jon her car, leaving her with the Harley and Band Van. Over the next several months, I quietly observed Jon transform from a restless boy into a man. He became thoughtful and studious. He has gone out of his way to be communicative and considerate of Pat and me as well as the rest of our family. It takes everything in my power to keep a straight face as he corrects his brothers’ table manners. He is getting recruitment letters from impressive schools and he scored a 95 percentile in the ASVAB’s.

I believe having Jessica demonstrate a sort of sacrificial love toward him was a catalyst for Jon to stretch and grow. He thinks of himself as part of a team, whether it is the football team at school, the sound-team at church, or part of our family, he has lost that selfishness so characteristic of young teenaged children and taken up the mantle of being part of something larger than the self. He is talking about being an officer in the Marines and I give him the, “I didn’t give birth to you and nurse you and sacrifice for you to have your ass shot off because some terrorist got lucky,” but I would be proud of him in spite of being worried about his safety.

It's funny how things work out, several months after Jessica gave Jonathan her Jetta, she was able to buy a very sweet BMW for a song. It's a pretty green with brown leather seats. It's in great mechanical shape as well, the Jetta has been hanging in there for the past two years, Jessica had cautioned Jonathan that the Jetta didn't owe anyone anything, but it has been there over these past two years.

G-d works all things for the good for those who love Him. I would have done anything to spare Jonathan that accident, but it turns out, the accident was a blessing in disguise.

Better to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown into the depths of the sea

2006-03-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

Than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

This story has grieved my heart,

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/418676.html

I hope it is a warning shot across our collective bows to seriously consider why we tolerate people who teach child abuse in the name of our loving G-d.

Jesus said it would be better to have a millstone tied around our necks and cast into the depths of the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble but, instead of a gentle parenting philosophy, Christians have produced some of the most draconian parenting books. The Ezzos, Dobson, The Pearls (material for the above article) are the most punitive writers I have encountered in my research into the world of parenting gurus.

The following thoughts are from my friend, Rebecca Prewett,

http://www.fix.net/~rprewett/millstones.html

More on the excesses of authoritarian and isolationists

http://www.equip.org/free/DF230.htm

Why I don't tithe

2006-03-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Sigh,Our pastor taught about tithing, he does this about once every two years or so.I don't tithe and I don't feel bad about not tithing but my dh has more guilt about it and would likely tithe if I wasn't so opposed to the notion.Why, you might ask, would a crunchy-ish Christian woman be opposed (adamently opposed) to the tithing, particularly the Malachai verses being used to *guilt* people into tithing?Well, let me tell you a personal story about us. We have been in just about every income bracket. We started off painfully poor. We were married and had children ad a very young age. When DD #1 was 3, and DD #1 was 1, we became Christians. We were taught that if we didn't give 10% of our income to the Church, we were "robbing G-d."We were so poor, we didn't have enough to eat of put a decent roof over our heads, and forget about doctors or dentist visits, we made about $10,000/year and we gave 10% of it to our damned Church.We went to another church, the infamous Ezzofied legalistic church (the other one was just about as legalistic,) and we got an even stronger pro-tithe, "if you don't tithe, you're robbing G-d" message from these schmucks.I couldn't afford to take my children to the doctor, I had my children's teeth literally *abcessed* but we dutifully gave 10% of our money to this damned church. DH worked 60+ hour weeks and we were still poor (making about $30,000/year with six children in an expensive geographic location) and we *still* tithed.We tithed to that damned church until they *kicked* us out, gave us crap, and we stopped.This business became part of an article about the Ezzos and turmoil within the church and they claimed they kicked us out because we didn't attend, but we proved we attended. Regularly. Because we had a record of that damned tithe every time we were paid, we paid them the tithe.So, back to the Malachai verse that tells people to test G-d, HA!!!Test G-d, like it's a good idea to put the L-rd to the test.I stopped tithing, stopped giving alltogether for a long time and, guess what happened?Our finances were blessed.And blessed and blessed, we make over triple what we made when we dutifully tithed.What have I learned?Everything EVERY LITTLE THING we have belongs to G-d and comes *from* G-d.G-d Himself has blessed our family with eight beautiful intelligent children and He has also blessed our finances so, primarily, we can take care of our *children*My children go to the dentist. They go to the doctor, they all get glasses if they need them.I am able to give them money for class trips and a new pair of jeans (imagine that, we look like people who have a Father who can take care of His children!!!)It isn't as though we *don't* give, we do give but it is a *gift* not a legalistic tithe. If you measure by our *taxible* income, we do actually tithe, but that wouldn't be good enough for the legalistic people. It's amazing to me how normally grace-oriented people morph into legalistists with regard to this one issue.No, I would rather be prosperous and take care of my own children than to be faithfully tithing to a bloated church whilst my children suffer in pain from abcessed teeth and inadequate housing/clothing/transportation/education/etc.etc.etc.Debra Baker

My Body is a Temple

2006-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

My Body is a Temple

The readings that address women’s bodies are all, collectively, united in themes of women’s bodies and empowerment. I have been able to glean wisdom from every one of these essays and poems. Struggling with lifetime body image and food issues is a familiar theme in my life. One of the major goals I have is to not pass the legacy of body hatred on to my daughters.
My mother regarded herself as fat and my father “gently” teased her for the extra five pounds she retained after giving birth to her third child. When I look at the pictures of my beautiful mother, I could cry in anguish and scream in rage simultaneously. She was thin. Not model thin, but beautiful, thin, and healthy at the same time. How evil was the seed that was planted into her spirit, telling her she was too fat when that extra weight was five pounds her body was wise enough to insist upon cherishing. At the tender age of twenty five, she commenced a lifetime of dieting and war upon her own body. My sister, Linda, and I were quiet witnesses to her lost battles with that five pounds and the other eighty pounds that were to follow; the fruit of systematic starvation upon the wisdom of the body feminine.
I witnessed the passing fads of the diet world, I saw the Atkins diet in its 1970’s manifestation, I saw the Liquid Protein Diet, the Grapefruit diet, the Weight Watchers diet, Jenny Craig, Beverly Hills and many others, too many to mention. When Linda was twelve, she started to develop curves. She was about to have a growth spurt and had put on a bit of padding and developed the curves associated with being a woman. My father made passing commentary about her weight and she went on a diet. She eventually developed Anorexia that sapped her of strength and vitality, reducing her to an emaciated 88 pounds. Like Ms. Chernik, Linda was praised for the self discipline and tenacity associated with losing so much weight. She exercised to excess and was unable to even maintain her own body temperature in winter.
I, on the other hand, was on constant diets and disciplined myself to weigh 120 to 125 pounds. I thought I was heavy and no one ever (not once) told me I was thin. In retrospect I was extremely thin for a 5’8” teenager. I would look into the mirror and see an obese woman. I continue to look in the mirror and see an obese woman. Food was the enemy, put on the earth to torment virtuous women. I would only eat as much as I needed to stay healthy and not pass out in class.
When I think of the false image of feminine beauty as a tool of the Patriarchy to weaken women and keep them “in their place,” I am filled with rage. Our bodies are temples. As Christians, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, but, in another sense, our bodies are temples of our own spirits as well. How dare anyone weaken our precious dwellings. Four years ago, I started training in Shotokan karate. For the first time in my life, I have thought of food and exercise in ways that go beyond the limitations of beauty. Food is fuel. Good food will serve my body while unhealthy food will compromise my health. The goal of exercise is to make my body strong and competent to do good work. I am not beautiful in the traditional sense but my body has nurtured and gestated my children, it has empowered me to give birth without the aid of drugs or the intervention of the male medical establishment.
My breasts may be unperky, but they have nourished my children and they have done so gloriously. My hands are large and calloused but they have done the work of a man. They have helped to demo the garage, the hall bath, and the front porch. They have helped to tile the sunroom and countertops. My hands can transform themselves into fists. My fists can break two boards. They can also wipe away the tears of my tender young sons and daughters.
My feet are “too large for a woman.” I wear men’s ski boots but you really do not want to be kicked by me! As a matter of fact, the only people who are stronger than me are my grown daughters. I believe I have broken the cycle of body hatred and dependency on the Patriarchy to feel beautiful and worthwhile because my daughters have never been on a diet and do not struggle with body issues.

Paper 1

2005-11-01T05:04:00.000-08:00

Debra Baker
ENG 205
Timothy D. Ray, Ph.D.
Literacy Narrative

Reflections of Literacy My Personal Vignette
I have early memories of being read to as a child. At some point in time I started to become aware that the same words were used in the same order when my mom or dad turned to the next page and I associated those words with the pictures I enjoyed. This was different from precious memories of story telling such as when my Grandmother told me stories of her life as a child on a farm in rural western Ireland. Every time she told a story it was different in some way. When someone read me a story from a book it was the same; it followed a set of rules. Similarly, I remember adults discussing books and debating about the meaning of the book. It dawned on me that, although books have set print and the same words are read every time the text is read, every individual can take different things away from the same book. This created a sense of excitement about reading books and created in me a desire to enter the wider world of the written word.
I remember being thrilled when I read my first book, “Hop on Pop” even though the text was silly and made no sense, it was wonderful to accomplish the task of reading an entire book “all by myself.” In Second or Third Grade I graduated to “chapter books. I distinctly remember “becoming” Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. This element of literature was appealing to me because I could travel to times past and feel as though I was experiencing the lives of children who lived in that era. Soon Laura Ingalls, Anne Shirley, and Caddy Woodlawn became my good friends. Much later I identified with Meg in “A Wrinkle in Time” and was taken into dimensions of the imagination. Many of the books I loved as a child had the quality of drawing the reader into the world of the author’s creation. At the same time I started “Reading to learn” instead of merely learning to read. I think this was crucial to involving me in the created world of literature.
When I was in elementary school I had a traumatic experience that stunted my desire to learn in the school environment. I still pursued knowledge through independent study but I had absolutely no interest in proving to, what I perceived as, a hostile organization that I was either intelligent or literate. When I was in high school I was accidentally placed in a gifted English class. The gifted students were studying more advanced literature such as “Walden” by Thoreau and “Brave New World” by Huxley. These books captured my interest and I was able to thrive in that class in spite of my poor academic record. My teacher, Miss Chamra, went from being an adversary to a friend. She guided me toward more literature that might interest me. I enjoyed reading “Fountainhead” and “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. I was attracted to the themes of the rights of the individual verses the oppression of the beaurecratic state. Anthem was particularly inspiring at the time because it took the characters from a soulless collective mind through the wilderness to the awakening of the individual mind. This theme fed my own awakening as a teenager. As a young reader I also enjoyed an eclectic variety of literature. “Island of the Blue Dolphins”, “Little Women”, “To Kill a Mockingbird (not in lit class), and, I’m embarrassed to say, bodice-ripping romance novels. I must also confess that the latter was the subject of much humor between me and my best girlfriend at the time. We actually received too much of our sex education from this dubious source. When my friend’s mom saw what we were reading she tried to steer us toward historically accurate books but the characters either had uninteresting love lives or unhappy endings.
I appreciate an eclectic variety of literature. I still love children’s books and one of the greatest joys in my life is watching as one of my children enters into Narnia or Middle Earth for the first time. I devour a good mystery. I would eagerly discuss, “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown, “The Secret Life of Bees,” or Pullman’s “Dark Materials” trilogy. I also enjoy more practical books such as cook books and books on nutrition and health. I am presently in the midst of reading “The Elegant Universe” and “The Book of the Five Rings” but I have been told that it is quite an accomplishment to actually finish reading those books.
I hope to go into the medical field and keeping up with research and what is in the medical journals will be a critical element of being a healthcare provider. Literacy can be as practical as knowing what pain medication is contraindicated in patients with heart disease to the pure poetry of Tennyson or Yates. In fact, it can be argued that literacy is what the individual or group wants it to be because the fruit of literacy is opening up the beholder to the larger world of what could be as well as the great wealth of what is.
Nothing, however, beats the pure joy of watching your children enter into the world of the written word. My most recent experience with an emergent reader is my son, Joseph. Joseph struggled a bit learning how to read. It wasn’t that he had a learning disability he simply didn’t enjoy the process of learning how to read. In a world of X-box and Game boy it just entailed too much effort. At the end of third grade he was given the assignment of finding a book to read in his free time. He was reluctant to chose a book and I, with great pleasure, suggested, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. I told him to give it two chapters and if he wasn’t enjoying himself by the end of Chapter 2 he was no longer obligated to continue reading. By the end of chapter 1 he was eager to delve into Chapter 2 and a new reader was thus born. Over the following summer he read most of the Narnia series and completed “The Magician’s Nephew” and “The Final Battle” in the beginning of Fourth Grade. Little did he realize that the fantastic world of Narnia had created readers in several of his older siblings. And so the tale of literacy has come full circle I am in the process of laying the foundation of literacy in my youngest, Julianna and I cannot wait to share some precious books; some of my best friends with my own little one.

Paper 2

2005-11-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

How Students Learn to Talk Like a Doctor Even If They Never Play One On TV

Oftentimes, patients wonder whether their doctor is speaking the English Language when they are trying to explain an illness or diagnosis. The doctor is, in fact, speaking, what could be argued, is a dialect of English or a fusion of English and Latin. There is generally a process by which ordinary students acquire the language and presence of a physician. Much of this literacy has its genesis in the classroom and lab of medical school.
On the first day of medical school, students are given a white coat and recite the Hippocratic Oath. They undergo this initiation ritual in order to mark a tangible transition from civilian to the unique world of medical school. Not only are they preparing their academics and ethics for the critical work of medical practice, they are also in the beginning of the process that will eventually make them fluent in medical language (Maher.)
Classes like anatomy require the medical student to remember vast quantities of relevant information. As they dissect their cadavers, this information becomes animated (excuse the pun) and many students experience the thrill of having all the information they learned in high school and college become significant. It is not unusual for students to grow attached to “their” cadaver giving them names and imagining their personalities. Oftentimes, they make their first postmortem diagnosis in anatomy lab. All of the prior academic achievements becomes manifest in the act of tangibly incorporating itself in the form of a real (albeit not live) human being (Maher.)
The process of learning the medical terminology is similar to acquiring the vocabulary of a foreign language. In this case the language is a fusion of Latin and English. In 1066, the Normans conquered the Anglo-Saxons and the predecessor of contemporary English became the language of the servant. The word “Serf”, in fact, has the same origin as “Servant” and “Slave”. The language of the conquered was Angelo-Saxon (Angeloish, the predecessor of English.) The language of the conqueror and subsequent Aristocracy was French. The language of the Clergy and university was Latin (Van Dam.)
During the Middle Ages, medicine as a science was somewhere in its embryonic state. Up until the Eighteenth Century most sick or injured people were treated by local healers, many of whom were women who had acquired knowledge of herbs and folklore. Thus, the language of the banquet table was French where words such as pork, beef, and poultry were manifested. The peasants who labored in the barnyard and kitchen gave us Angeloish words like pig, cow, and hen. The Clergy, who had a monopoly on the Church and university, spoke Latin. Because the clergy held a near monopoly on literacy and formal learning, Latin became associated with literacy (Mareckova, et. Al.)
During the Renaissance, universities began to develop medical colleges and Latin was spoken. Latin eventually became a dead language and the emotional baggage associated with language learned as a child was removed from Latin, giving it the ability to be used as the “Lingua Franca” in the clinical setting of medicine and science (Louden, 127.) A little-known curiosity, that which is commonly regarded as coarse, vulgar, banal words are the words of the people who were conquered by others (Van Dam.) This is why we talk of pigs in the barnyard and pork at the table. We wash our children’s mouth with soap if they say, “shit,” but use of the term, “feces” is respectable. It is used by the doctor when he or she needs to make reference to the product of a bowel movement. Because of its status as the language of academia instead of the language of any people, Latin gives a sterile air to words that are normally charged with sexual or scatological meaning. This mechanism gave rise to the use of Latin in a clinical setting (Loudin, P74.)
I have seen this evolve in my daughter, Jennifer. Jennifer is a Second Year medical student at PCOM. Recently, some of my grown children were over at the house and Jennifer started to discuss a case of uterine and rectal prolapse. I’m considering going to medical school and I was interested in the case. Encouraged by my interest, Jennifer continued discussing the case. Her husband, Kevin, and one of my other daughters, Jessica, didn’t know the definition of ,“prolapse,” and subsequently asked Jennifer to define, “Prolapse.” Prolapse is a condition in which an organ falls out of place. Jennifer offered to show me some pictures that she could access with her student account. Of course, I wanted to see the pictures. Kevin had the sense to stay in the kitchen, but Jessica followed us to the computer for a look at the pictures. In her own words, those pictures ruined her day but Jennifer and I were able to set aside our usual emotional response to a disturbing sight. I believe the Latin clinical terminology helped us to accomplish the emotional distance we needed to learn more about this physical condition (Baker and Maher.)
The use of Latin, as opposed to the use of vernacular languages, gave the knowledge of even medical vocabulary the essence of privilege because the only way people could learn Latin was through formal tutelage rather than in a naturalistic setting. The only way people acquired this specialized literacy was through the social gatekeepers. For centuries this was the privilege of white European males (Ehrenreich and English.) This stratification created a divide between the folk practitioners, who were frequently women, and the products of the universities who were exclusively men. Women who had knowledge outside that of a housewife were often held suspect. In fact, many, if not most, of the women accused of witchcraft were midwives and herbalists (Erenreich and English.) It is not surprising that the result of these persecutions was the rise of maternal and infant mortality as well as epidemic plague. While the folk practitioners were being suppressed the doctors, who were the products of university education, were being immersed in Latin and developing specialized nomenclature and abbreviations. Since Latin carried no emotional baggage from anyone’s culture those privileged to know it were free to dialogue in an increasingly clinical manner.
The development of Latin as a language of medicine and science allowed the publication of scholarly papers that could be read by people regardless of their native language. This ability to dialogue and share research in a (at that time) fast pace is partially responsible for the explosive evolution of medical science that has not slowed its pace to this very day (Mareckova, et Al.) I belong to a discussion group called “The PA Forum.” “PA” is shorthand for “Physician Assistant,” a midlevel practitioner who holds a master’s degree. Sometimes the PA’s in the forum give those of us who are students real cases to diagnose. In one thread, for example, an experienced PA offered us an opportunity to diagnose a challenging case that he encountered as an Emergency Room PA. “50 yr old male without prior significant medical hx or risk factors admitted for lower gi bleed of unk etiology X3 weeks. h+h 11/33, nl abd ct with 3hr contrast.” The thread continues in this fashion. Much of this is medical shorthand that is necessary when communicating quickly. “Hx is history, GI, is gastrointestinal (your gut.) Etiology is the cause, h+h refers to heart rate and nl abd is, I believe, normal blood count (PA Forum, Sept. 28.)
In some regards, English has replaced Latin as a universal language but it could be argued that English has assimilated Latin nomenclature and vocabulary and synthesized it to create a specialized language with deep structural roots in Latin. These structural roots have become dynamic with the transition from scholarly works being written in Latin to the present practice of writing scholarly works in the English language. English has a way of assimilating the best qualities of other language traditions enabling the writer to be precise and expressive at the same time.
One skill expected of a good doctor that is almost exclusive to the medical field is the ability to translate the specialized language of medicine and interoperate it in lay English for patients. This skill begins in medical school when students role play clinical situations with actors who play patients. Jennifer recently informed me that she just performed her first rectal exam. Of course, we were amused. I asked her if the students performed the examination on one another. She said, “No, there is a traveling troupe of professional assholes from Johns Hopkins.” Needless to say, it was a challenge not to spew my drink! I was laughing heartily as my imagination took a turn toward pondering what members of this troupe placed in the “occupation” part of their tax forms. Much later, as interns, students get to learn how to incorporate “bedside manner” as they work as apprentices under the watchful eyes of attending physicians.
After the arduous process of studying medicine, young doctors will emerge with the specialized language of medicine at their command. The ability to speak medical English with ease and fluency is an essential tool in their repertoire as skilled healers. As such, they will bridge the gap between an ancient dead language and the dynamics of English in a unique fusion manifested in medical literacy. Their time in residency harkens back to apprenticeships and mastering the linguistics of medicine is one of many skills new doctors develop under the tutelage of their attending physicians. These specialized language skills allows the physician to quickly and accurately convey his or her thoughts to colleagues and allows patients to feel confident that the doctor possesses the very skills and wisdom they need in order to be or stay healthy.

Freaky Friday

2005-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Presently I'm in a bit of a haze because I'm being overwhelmed with school work. Chemistry in particular. I started to think I'm really life reflecting art. The kids movie Freaky Friday in particular.

The original Freaky Friday with Jodi Foster in particular. I am like the ditzy mom who couldn't possibly handle her kid's school schedule and I called this fiasco upon myself rather than having some quirky curse imposed on me.

Oh, I'm doing fine in the writing emphasis class as well as the Public Speaking class. Heck, I've been writing and blabbering at the mouth my entire adult life but Algebra/Trig, Ha!! What was I thinking, I'm like the Palentologist digging up fossils trying to remember my Algebra.

Biology seems fine but I have the sneaking suspicion I'm dropping the ball in some way.

And that leaves me with Chem, my nemesis. I can't remember much Chemistry and I'm literally sick thinking of actually *failing* that class. I am memorizing my Ionic bonds and their charges and I am not too proud to accept the math help from my seventeen year old son. Something called, "Factor Label Method" has helped me manage really large and really small numbers. Hey, they didn't teach us that back in the day.

I'm really afraid of failure. I've been trying (as in working 80 hour weeks) but I worked for four hours trying to figure out the excel last Saturday and the Chem. Lab instructor took one look at it and said it wasn't formatted correctly (hello! You were supposed to teach us how to create an excel graph in chem lab but you ditched out of lab an hour early and I muddled along the best I could on my own!!!. I'm beginning to think she rides a Nimbus 5000 to school, oy-vey and she gets to park it in that nifty bike lot by Peoples.

So I'm praying I don't wish to switch back but that I will somehow get into my science groove and perhaps I should start putting some ginko into my tea before bed.

Sorry the first blog is so whiney I promise the next one will be better.

Debra Baker