Voters

You all knew it was coming. Voter picks for 2006. Most are pretty predictable. Mason is pretty boring not even a gambling debate.

Senate

Mike DeWine – Yes
Pro life
Voted for School Vouchers
Voted for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006

Sherrod Brown – No
But I do agree with his assessment about Immigration and trade problems need to be solved in order to solve immigration issues.

My biggest problem with Brown is that the ACLU backs him.

Governor

I am not a big fan of either.

Ken Blackwell – Yes, Sigh
Pro life
Voted for School Vouchers – and wants to expand the voucher program
Healthcare – he thinks the biggest problem is people suing doctors? Are you kidding?

Ted Strickland – No
I do agree with his views of healthcare. Senior care and medical care cost are the biggest problems in healthcare and are not being addressed.

Congress
Very boring race.

Jean Schmidt – Yes
Pro Life
For School Vouchers

Victoria Wulsin – No

I would skip to the issues now – but they are almost all school levy reductions – of which I am voting yes for all but the last.

The only issue in Mason worth talking about is issue 3.

Issue three
Lower the contribution limits from individuals to $1,000 to a state legislative candidate or county political party, $2,000 to a candidate for statewide executive office, and $5,000 to state or national political parties. Corporate contributions to political parties would be banned.

I am going to vote yes on this issue because I have found the campaigns to be so off issue and out of control that I would like to see less of them. The commercials do not talk about issues anyway so I say get rid of them.

Fall Softball

Its all over. I am counting the days until spring and the first pitch.

Family

Moving always brings out the “nesting” in me. I have been journaling a lot about my early years and about my family.

For whatever reason people drift in and out of our lives and we loose connections. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as enough friends or enough family. Each person we interact with enriches our lives. To say that there is not enough time in our busy lives is selfish.

Recent illness in people that I love has made me think about how I spend my time. Alone time is good, it regenerates my spirit and allows me to think about life. It allows me to journal and pray – which gives me perspective on myself and those around me.

It is also important to focus on those around us. Too often we say things like, “We should get together soon”. But how often do we?

I am going to make a concerted effort to connect with people that I really do miss and want to have a closer relationship. I want to make those, “We should get together soon” statements a reality.

Throw it in Boxes

I hate moving. I have never been more irritated for a longer period of time. I like organization and planning and this move has none of that.

Next time I move I am hiring a company to come and pack and move me and I will just go see a movie.

A Last Look at Summer

The Search for Beauty

I began reading The Binding Chair – Kathryn Harrison. Set in nineteenth –century China it depicts a story of a girl whose feet were bound in the name of beauty and sold into marriage as a forth wife. Her entire life is peppered with the pain that is caused by her family’s insistence on the cruel tradition. She becomes bitter because of her disability and begins to self-destruct.

What is beautiful and how far will we go to achieve it?

Will we bind our feet making it impossible to run? Will we cinch our waists making it impossible to breathe? Will we remove ribs making it impossible to carry children? Will we choose death over life if it means dying beautifully?

Wee Me at the beach with Canyon