Gloria Ferris

Just received this email from our friend Dennis, the inventor.

Come see the speakers at Euclid side of Halle
Building during the ingenuity fest   Please forward this to all your friends.

Sent from my iPhone
Dennis All-Tronics
Builders of one of the finest  speaker systems in the world.
WWW.Atssounds.com
WWW.all-tronics.net

He has invented the most awesome speaker I have ever experienced.   Yes, it is an experience-not hearing, not listening, but experiencing.  Everyone I talk to who has head them say it is hard to  describe  to those who have not yet seen them and sat in the seat to hear them.  Kind of like being right there in the concert hall.  And a piano, the sound of a piano at its best if you can’t be there live.

Stop by when you are strolling down Euclid Avenue enjoying the Engenuity Fest!

Yesterday I accompanied Tim on his “complete physical” appointment with our primary doctor at MetroHealth.  Our doctor told him that he was an example of a Greek God.  All of his tests came back showing a much younger man than his actual age.  Let me say this, we didn’t really need the boost to Tim’s ego, but I for one was greatly appreciative that his health is so good. I know the girls will be pleased as well.  Those of you who have had parents or friends who take on the role of caregiver know how stressful it can be and how often that person’s health suffers.  Tim attributes a lot of it to his ability to fall asleep any time, any where, and any how.  His doctor and I think there is a bit more to it than that, but whatever works for him.

One of the questions she always asks him is how is he coping with what is going on in my life.  Yesterday, Tim told her that he was extremely worried about me because I was extremely “flat”.  In fact, he said he thought “I was “going away again”.  She turned to me and in her direct and pointed way, she asked”are you depressed?  You know, if you are that is very common and acceptable given all you have been through”.

I paused, said”no”, then hesitated. Not depressed exactly, but discouraged.  All this time, I have treated each event—the heart attack, the stroke, the stroke rehab, the cancer as one more hurdle, and here i am at the last hurdle-the cardio rehab- and I am sore, I am weak, I am so tired.  “Last hurdle, this is not the LAST hurdle this is the first hurdle, the one that begins a long journey of life.  You are beginning training to last a lifetime.  Consider it marathon training.  You train hard, then you ease off, then you go at it again, until it becomes a way of life.  Tim asks her if she is a runner.  She smiles and says “yes”.

Perspective-how important our perspective is on how we face the hurdles of life.  The first hurdle, not the last hurdle-how interesting just a simple switch of perception gives me a whole new outlook on how I see my future-not one of an invalid, but of an athlete-an athlete of life.  Thanks, Doc!  you’ve given me one more reason to love MetroHealth.

Michele Obama reframed the dialogue yesterday at the reopening of the renovated American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there’s free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

Hear, hear.

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | NY1 Living | First Lady Promotes Arts At Met’s New American Wing

Who knew that I would have to be reminded by my husband Tim of what is so important? I am fortunate to have the most wonderful care here (at MetroHealth in stroke rehab), but today this story is about my nurse Michelle.

Yesterday, she spent quite a bit of time with us telling us about Foster and Kleiser’s billboard business and about her uncle who was a poster artist. I believe I may have known him during the political campaigns of the ’70s, but that’s a blog for another day.

So yesterday, when we were having this conversation, I insisted on continuing to call her Marjorie even though I insisted I knew her name was Michelle. I said that Marjorie was a beautiful name and that it would be a good name for her.

To be truthful, I am not sure that I could get "Michelle" to stick in my head. But, what I didn’t realize was that I had forgotten what I had always prided myself on: Remembering peoples’ names. I am putting it in my head early, I have done this since 1972 when I first started student teaching: People’s names are who they are.

I grew up with Mom and Dad, who always were very centered on making sure that people were included and that new people were welcome. Thanks to Tim, I didn’t forget the biggest part of me and I won’t forget Michelle’s name, I know I won’t.

Through the days, I’ll be writing more little snippets, but they may be much different from what you remember, but remember, after all, this is my experience.

Wow, is it great to get back to writing!

Last evening I was with a small group of neighbors working on a group project when our conversation turned to heating our homes this winter- the cost of doing that, what each of us are doing to achieve that, and alternative ways to do it without a large dependence on natural gas.

Our hostess had apologized for the coolness of her home, and since we had finished our original task we turned our attention to heating our homes.   She said that she had turned the heat on when she arrived home from work but the furnace was still catching up.  She then said she was  looking for alternative ways to heat her home.  Three stories is a lot of square footage to heat.  Of course, she said her third floor bedroom was quite toasty.  It was the public area on the first floor that was more problematic.

Interestly enough, none of us had turned on their heat yet.  We all said that we had been wearing bulky sweaters and vests, wool socks, and heating our homes with electric heaters.   We have had some pretty chilly nights, but all of us were stretching the time line to its limit.  We were all aware that this weekend might be the turning point. 

We all agreed that our relationship with normal gas suppliers was deteriorating daily. The news that the PUCO had agreed to allow them to increase delivery charges, when conservation is at its highest point ever,  does not bode well for natural gas prices this winter.  Additionally, the international news that Russia, Iran, and  Qatar are exploring the formation of a cartel much like OPEC for natural gas should concern us all.  Given the fact that the United States has a 3.5% reserve of the natural resource compared to the 60% the cartel would own  means that this commodity will only rise on the world markets just as oil did.  We will definitely not be controlling our destiny if we continue our dependency on natural gas.

One of our group mentioned Mr. Slim heat pumps good to 0 degrees Farenheit.  He said that the electricity is negligible to run the unit.  Right now, he personally uses two $120 electric heaters to heat his 900 square foot home.  He is looking for alternative sources for heating and cooling for his rental properties.  He believes that low energy bills will be a marketing point for getting and retaining good tenants.  We all agreed.

One of our friends installed a geothermal unit.  He said that it did his heart good when he finally received that first gas bill where they owed him.  So my questions are how do we leverage this discomfort with the old models of heating, how do we cut our dependence on natural gas, how do we continue to conserve energy, and how do we eventually get off the grid and form a new paradigm?  We need more instruction than layering of clothes.  HELP!!    

Below is an email that I received after I signed the petition to demand labeling of Gene-Altered Food. 

Dear  Friends,
I have just read and signed the petition: “Frankenfood? Demand Labeling of Gene-Altered Food!”.
Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 10000 signatures – please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/314188001
Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.
Thank you! Gloria

http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/VdK7/qM../AoKSy

Locally grown and locally produced food is one way that Tim and I avoid over processed and gene altered food.  I grew up in the country surrounded by farms and farmers.  My grandfather and his brother were dairy farmers.  My father kept his finger in the pie by buying equipment and working for farmers to supplement his income.  Believe me, as long as I can remember chemicals and genetics were a topic of conversation at the local feed mill, around the dinner table and after church.  The balancing act is only getting more tottery as the years pass.

All I know is that the local farmers I grew up were much closer to the overall environment than the agriculture conglomerates of today.  My father taught me how runoff from fields entered the water supply, how chemical dusting entered the atmosphere and settled downwind, how it was our responsibility to produce the best product possible so that we got the best prices for our wheat and corn and beef.  i wonder what drives agribusiness firms today. Are they as close to the interconnection of our ecology as the farmers of yesteryear or are they driven by return on investment?

Tim is fond of saying that fast food and processing have altered the stature and weight of younger generations.  In comparison to my generation, younger people have consumed more steroids, more antibiotics, more processed and more altered food in their lifetimes.  These alterations will probably become even more commonplace in the future.  Should we not know what we are consuming?  If genetically altering our food is an okay thing to do, why would there be resistance to labeling?  How difficult could it be to create an international symbol that could be stamped on such food?  If altered food is equal to unaltered food what is the problem?

If you believe in quality control of our food supply, take the 30 seconds to click thru and sign the petition.  

Having read the comments on this Plain Dealer article and this one, I couldn’t help but wonder why the commenters attack the very people that need help more than any of us.  How do the borrowers who are victims of predatory lending become the cause of the problem?  I believe that the statistics show that at least 80% of the loans are being paid.  And are we ignoring the fact that at this point in time 10% of conventional loans are 60 days past due?  What are the causes of THAT statistic? How have the women, children, and chronically ill who rely on Medicaid become the reason that an HMO contract is seen by a hospital as too restrictive and not sustainable?

The poor in this country are our children who certainly are not perpatrators but victims and our elderly that live longer lives without resources.  I grant that there is a group of people who have made poor choices that end up the recipient of public assistance, but how large a percentage?  And when we focus on that segment do we diminish our ability to solve the social issues that cause extreme poverty?

For the majority of us, I think that the underlying emotion that fuels this animosity is fear.  After all, many of us in this country are just a heartbeat away from that which we fear.  And if not a heartbeat, just a phrase away.  Downsizing  will certainly start rolling off the lips of employers for many reasons.

Now is not the time to be fearful and attack the victims of what has occurred.  Now is the time to be bold, to invent new ways of dealing with runaway healthcare costs, to innovate new ways to create jobs and to educate our children so that they will be prepared to compete in the world.  A sure way of  losing what we have is to jealously guard it from unseen “foes”.

I believe that the opportunity here in NEO to reverse twenty years of poverty has never been better.  We have the talent, the resources and the capabilities to become very prosperous here if we don’t forget that inclusiveness serves a better purpose than exclusivity.   The possibilities for innovation are almost endless-new ways of educating our youth, creating jobs through new industries, approaching healthcare from the viewpoint of wellness instead of sickness, collaboration among businesses to create an enterprise mind set…. 

I believe that if we heed these words of Hubert Humphrey:

It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.

when moving forward that we indeed will be prosperous.  We as a society–forget government– cannot forget the children, the elderly, the sick, the needy and the disabled.  We should not be looking elsewhere for the answers on how to transform our region.  It is not up to the government.  It is our task.  We must be fearless.

While in Tennessee visiting my granddaughter Teagan and her parents, one day, as I sipped my coffee, I began thinking about the global financial crisis which led me to financiers, stock brokers, and bankers. Suddenly, my mind wandered over to pirates.  At that time, my take was that pirates way back when had a code of ethics that prevented them from plundering certain countries-loyal to the crown and all that. Certain ports were protected. The pirate crews, often retreated to their own islands dividing their booty carousing and living the good life until they ran low on rum and other necessities. They, then.  took another foray out into the world.  Given the romantic notion that we now have of pirates, it is often thought that they did not take more than was necessary to keep themselves and their communities alive and well.

Fast forward to the pirates of today, and it is hard to see where the loyalties of these modern day pirates lie.  Basically, it seemed more like a feeding frenzy of sharks who had been given the hapless pirate who “walked the plank”.  Needless to say, I thought my early morning musings farfetched and fanciful so I parked them in the dark recesses of my mind doubting that they would see the light of day.  And then, today, I read this article from  the October 15, 2008 Science Daily which comments on the recent writings of Dr. Peter Hayes, Senior Lecturer on Politics at the University of Sunderland     

No longer so far-fetched.  But now, my mind wanders to dinosaurs, evolution, and how some species become extinct.  And, as I wander I wonder, is it time for these dinosaurs to die?  And if they die, what will evolve to take their place? 

Warren Buffett knows if you are going to take on great risk, be sure to negotiate a hard bargain and at least have the option to make millions.  I just received my latest edition of The Economist where I learned this. 

I haven’t seen anything on line about the $700 Billion Bailout of the banking industry.  Personally, I like the idea of loaning them the money.  You see, when they get behind on their loans because they haven’t the money to pay back the American taxpayer, we can have our servicing agent, the government, tell them that their “client” has informed them that they can no longer work with them and that they are in default.  We, the taxpayers, will then own the banks.  In other words, we can foreclose on them. Turnabout is fair play.

Why in the world would we the American Taxpayer give the money to the banks without getting something in return?  Shouldn’t we let the free market decide which banks would survive and which would become part of the collateral owned by the United States?  After all, I believe that is what U.S. Treasurer Hank Paulson recommended not so long ago when told that the housing bubble had burst and that the walls were crumbling down.

Of course, no one knew just how far the rolling stones would fall and now that retirement and pension funds, local and state governments will be affected by this debacle, something should be done.  But I ask you, why should we give them this money with no strings attached so that they can again “play the game” with no repercussions for the reckless way they played “the game” this time?

Could that be the problem with this whole scenario?  It wasn’t a game, it was people’s lives, it was people’s savings, it was America’s way of life.  It was only a game to those who saw only the numbers and never the faces behind those numbers.

I see no reason that we the American Taxpayer should bail out the financial industry without receiving something in return.  After all, according to the investment gurus, our world revolves on ROI (Return on Investment).  Maybe not so much.

I picked up this article form the Cincinnati Enquirer about libraries and the Internet through Crain’s Business Round-up.  I LOVE getting that update everyday in my email.  It broadens my knowledge of what is going on throughout our state through the eyes of the Crain’s Business staff.  I tried to provide the link here but for some reason am unable to do so.  Sorry about that.

I realized how lucky I am to have wireless and a laptop because my access is instantaneous and complete.  Obviously, the American public knows the advantage of access to the Internet.  Education today comes in many different forms and in many different places.  People are willing to wait in line for it.

Our Cleveland Public Library is not called the People’s University just because it is a catchy phrase.  It truly is the people’s university. Voters know the importance of our libraries.  Time after time they vote to raise our taxes so that we can continue to have world class libraries in our communities.   

So how are we going to raise awareness of the advantages of using the Internet beyond those who already know and how are we going to broaden access to the very things that could help our communities prosper through their own efforts?  OneCommunity has begun the process with Linked Communities, but there is more work to be done.

Education comes in many shapes and sizes.  Time is of the essence.