Anyway, that's my take on it!

In the family I grew up in we learned Patriotism from a very early age.  At each patriotic holiday we would start our mornings off with a parade to post the flag, sing the national anthem and say the pledge of allegiance.  We were taught to honor our military and to know what freedom cost.  There would have never been a consideration to not vote.

I remember waiting to be old enough to cast my first vote.  It was as important to me as it was to get behind the wheel of a car with my first drivers license.  It was a privilege not just a right. It was my responsibility to help choose the persons who ran our government whether local, state, or nationally. There were times I wasn't as diligent as I should have been in all the elections.  Like so many recently I question whether my vote even counts much at all.  When I lived in California we were so far behind the rest of the nation that it seemed like the national races were over before the polls even closed there.  Though I am ashamed to admit it apathy grew in me like it did in many others.  I always voted, but my votes were cast only for those things that I was sure about, and I grew less sure as my apathy grew.

While the things that are important to me seem to fit into the Republican philosophy I never considered myself a die hard Republican allowing myself the freedom to vote for the person and the platform rather than just the ticket.  My children were also raised to respect and love their country and have a teary eye when the National Anthem was played.  Marque has made every effort possible to have a Flag Raising Ceremony in his neighborhood every 4th of July. He has been sad to see the numbers who attend decline in recent years but I hope he continues to try even if it ends up his own family are the only attendees because that worked in my family.  Jimmy loves the way our constitution and government was set up by the founding fathers.  He gets hungry to understand all the principles and sees clearly that it is not being honored as it should be in recent years.  He is passing that love on to his kids.  I remember Hailey running for a student office when she was in grade school and she grasped the idea of balanced power, and also not promising more than you can guarantee.  She has shared that her government teacher in high school gets it wrong sometimes and she has to correct him when he is teaching his classroom mistaken ideas.  Scott is a cop.  He feels very strongly in the principles of law and government.  He sees that misguided leaders can affect his safety and the safety of all of us.  He also recognizes that following good laws can keep us all safer.

I'm so upset with myself that I have become a part of the SILENT majority.  I remember back to the day when the majority ruled whether it was on the school ground or in government.  It seems that over the years the minority has changed those rules.  Now the minorities (even a minority of 1) can change things for all of us.  We of the majority in the nation have let the minorities quietly change, or really not so quietly change our every day lives.  All of the sudden because it offends someONE we have lost so many values that we have slipped into the abyss.

I remember how horrified we were with the embarrassment of Watergate when our President was discovered slipping into the slime of secrecy and cover up.  Now that seems to be a given.  We are even considering candidates that have proven time and time again that they have no problem swimming in the slime and then lying about it.  I remember the shame of the PRESIDENT Clinton being unfaithful to his wife while on the job, and then being totally dishonest to all of us about his behavior.  Now we are considering a candidate who has openly cheated on his wives and has boasted about his extra-marital activities.

Last night as I watched the Republican debates I was horrified at how far we have slipped into the chasm.  How can we possibly be considering a Presidential ticket that includes someone who really should be in jail for her illegal, dangerous, and dishonest actions.  Clearly she might be pitted against someone who is PROUD of his dishonest and treacherous actions as long as it clearly helps business, whose morality is majorly in question, and who told us all last night that HE is a leader that we will all listen to.  That HE will say it and the military will do what he says, that other countries will be taken over if they don't do what HE says, and people will be tortured if they don't do what HE says.

I truly cannot imagine or stomach another Clinton in the white house.  There is no way that I could believe anyone could take us down any further than Obama has, But, really, can we even think about where this country is going if Trump is elected?  We will be laughed at, mocked, and HE will be mad, act like a 2 year old throwing a temper tantrum, and insist things go HIS way.  Where will that lead us?

My conspiracy theory:  It used to be that the crazies considered conspiracy theories, but it is now becoming quite common.  Have you considered this one?  Trump was democrat right?  What if those that make strategic moves for the party, or maybe even the trilateral commission, decided that there was no chance whatsoever that this nation was going to vote a Democrat into the Presidency after the mess Obama put our country in.  So they had to think outside the box.  They called on good old Donald Trump, who would do anything to have those people in his pocket  All he needed to do was to change his stripes (party) for the good of the Democratic party.  His job is to go out and BE Donald Trump.  He doesn't have to know anything about anything that is important to the government and the country because his job is to win the Republican ticket with crassness,crudeness, threats of leadership, dishonesty, meanness, debauchery. We would accept anything that would give us strong leadership(?)) back.  His job is to win the election for Hillary Clinton.  It is the only way she can win.  Even I, who cannot fathom Hillary Clinton as President, was considering last night that I might have to vote for her if she is up against Donald Trump.  Maybe that was the plan from the very beginning.

Ewwwww, that is disgusting and scary, but very very possible.  Think about it.

What Would I Do? Current Day Question #1

Bruce Jenner, an Olympic Athlete, a reality tv star is having an interview with Diane Sawyer airing on April 21, 2015 on the show 20/20.  It is being rumored that he is going to announce that he is transitioning from a man to a woman.  I believe that is truly what the interview is about, and I have thought this news was a long time in coming as I have watched his appearance change over the years.

There will be a lot of people laughing behind their hands, and some outright guffawing and making jokes about Bruce leading up to, and during the interview. So I find this is a good time to ask the question "What would I do?".  Or maybe the question to all of us should be "What SHOULD we do?"

Why would a famous, good looking, athletic man CHOOSE to become a woman?  I'm not going to even imagine any logical answer that declares that he "feels"he  has a choice.  We don't even have to consider the religious vs LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) rights or wrongs, because I don't believe HE feels he has a choice.  Let's discuss some terms I have researched here:

• A cross-dresser is someone who wears clothes and accessories particularly associated with the opposite gender.
• A transvestite is also a cross-dresser.  Trans = Cross, Vestite = Dresser
• A transgender is someone whose gender assignment (body parts) do not match their expression.  
• A transsexual is someone who has actually changed or started to change their sexual identity to match their gender identity.  
• Someone who is intersexed has a mixture of male and female anatomy.  This could be as a hermaphrodite which has an anatomical structure that is part male and part female,or it could be as someone who has the definite body structure of one gender but the chromosomal make up of the other gender.  
• A eunuch is most frequently thought of as a man who has been castrated.  I find it interesting however to read in Matthew 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Another question that might come up is; Does this mean that Bruce Jenner, or other transgenders are gay? Gender identity is a brain occurrence not a sexual occurrence. It is often said "Gender is between the ears and sex is between the legs."  Transgenders usually begin to realize they are different around age 5.  They recognize they don't fit with those from their own gender, but identify more with those of the opposite gender.  Certainly sexual interest doesn't start at that young an age.

 I don't know if Bruce Jenner or anyone else should try to be a gender opposite of the body parts they have, but I do know that it is none of my business.  I think we know that Jesus Christ would not mock, laugh at, tell jokes about, or guffaw at someone who is in obvious pain.  It isn't up to us to determine if Bruce Jenner wants to be the way he is by choice (though I can't imagine why he would want any notoriety like this if there wasn't some inner voice telling him to risk everything for this internal need).  Is the internal need a physical one, could there have been a mix up in his inner workings?  Is it because he had an emotional childhood that for some reason caused him to need to be a woman?

Many people say, "This has to be a choice, God wouldn't do something like this."  God has allowed us to suffer all kinds of trials and challenges.  I'm sure he is so saddened by someone who is born with all kinds of problems at birth.  Some babies that I know were born with heart defects, I have known a baby that was born with the brain outside the head, some are born with Down Syndrome. I don't know why babies are born less than perfect but I do know that God doesn't cause it, he just allows things to occur naturally.  I find it interesting that the scripture in Matthew says some eunuchs were so born from their mother's womb.  This seems to tell me that God knows that these things are possible.

I am not a Dr. or a theologist.  This is just my blog giving my opinion.  I have done some study and have learned that we all start out as females in the uterus. In months 2-3 there is a hormone wash that determines our gender and our anatomy.  It can be disrupted and can create problems. How can it be disrupted?  Probably a multitude of ways, the mother may be on medication that interrupts the hormone flow, there could be an accident or trauma that causes it.  Again, not being a Dr I can't even imagine the number of things that can happen in the miraculous 9 months of gestation.  The point is, most of us can't imagine it, and therefore we shouldn't judge.......and we certainly shouldn't mock, joke, or point fingers.

When you are watching the program take a look at it from a different perspective, "There but for the grace of God go I".  Would you laugh at or mock someone who was born with no limbs?  Would you laugh or mock someone who had an emotionally scathed childhood?   Would you laugh or mock someone with a mental condition?  Would you laugh, mock, or throw stones if Jesus was in the room with you saying "He who is without sin cast the first stone."

Well I guess it is pretty apparent what I will do, so What will YOU do?

If you have a bad day, hug your Olaf, and Let it Go!

Before Grampa Bud died of lung cancer (Large Cell Neuro-Endocrine Carcinoma) he kept reminding us of the money he had been saving in a jar at home for his grandchildren's Christmas gifts.  He thought it was about $300 by now.  He was having some trouble remembering things, but he always seemed to remember about that jar of money and wanted us to be sure to look for it.  

As his cancer was progressing, his six year old granddaughter, Leah, who lives in Utah sent her Olaf with her Dad to California "so you can hold him and feel better".   He really did find some contentment with the Olaf wrapped up in his arms.  

Papa Bud with Olaf  11/14/2014

One night shortly before Grampa passed away the Olaf was put in the corner of the room so he could see it.  In the morning it was with him in his bed, wrapped in his arms.  Everyone in the house was asked if they moved it for him, no one had.  He had side rails up so he couldn't move from the bed even if he did have the strength, which he didn't.  So there was no earthly explanation how that Olaf ended up enveloped in his arms, but there he was.

After Grampa died Leah got her Olaf back filled with hugs from Grampa.  The grandchildren, particularly the oldest, Hailey, wondered what could be done with the money in Grampa's coin jar that would be a memorial for him.   It was decided that it would be used to buy Olaf's for children with Cancer.  The obvious reason was that Grampa had Cancer and he loved children.  What a wonderful way to honor Grampa/Papa Bud.  

Leah with her Olaf

Leah and Dax with their Olaf's

Dax with his Olaf

When we found the coin jar it didn't have as much money as he thought it did.  It only had $148.34.  After sharing with friends and family they thought it was a wonderful way to honor Raymond "Bud" Trosper too.  There was enough money donated to purchase 80 Olaf's.  It was decided to donate the Olaf's to Loma Linda Pediatric Oncology patients with a little note that says "If you have a bad day, hug your Olaf, and LET IT GO!" 

All of Bud's grandchildren Hailey (16), Madyson (14), Leah (6), Grace (4), Jane (3), Dax (almost 2), and Lucas (1) will cherish forever the Olaf's they got from Grampa/Papa Bud and the memory of sharing Olaf's with all the children who get the special hugs from their Olaf's too!