Opinion

On February 14 1884, a young Theodore Roosevelt then a state legislator in the New York State Assembly welcomed the birth of a daughter. But later that day, his wife, the love of his life, passed away after giving birth due to Bright’s Disease. That same day, he learned that his mother had also passed away from typhoid fever. His father had passed away a few years earlier. Now, a young Theodore Roosevelt was devastated with grief.

It’s a new year, which means you have goal setting on your mind to create a new, better you!  As a senior, it's never too late to learn something new. If you’ve always wanted to study history or art or one of the myriad other courses offered at TRI-C Community College, now might be the perfect time. Residents 55+ can sign up for Encore 55+ Classes. There are virtual sessions or on-campus sessions which run on Fridays only from Jan 27- March 10. Only $99 for up to 6 courses (bundle) or $30 per course (a la carte).

I grew up around health care. My mother was a long time RN at Lutheran Hospital in the OB-GYN Department. Later in her career she became in instructor in OB-GYN at the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing. She went to Ohio University right out of high school in 1936 and was in a six year cooperative program between Ohio University and the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing that led to a BA degree and a RN certification. She finished that program and started her nursing career in 1942, the same year that she married my father. She retired in 1984.

There is a new sequel to the classic holiday movie "A Christmas Story" about Ralphie showing his children the wonders of Christmas in his youth. This is a column that i wrote a few years ago and I felt that it was entirely relevant again. We all have our unique Christmas stories and here is mine from growing up in Parma during the 1950s.

Parma, Ohio’s literary group seeks writers who have published at least one book who live in, are heavily involved with, or have lived in Parma or Parma Heights. The group is creating a collection of the city’s local talent including the likes of author and therapist Lynne Shayko, city poet laureate Jeremy Jusek, and Beat Poet Laureate of the United States John Burroughs, the last of which operated Crisis Chronicles Press locally for decades. Also on display are the dozens of writers and authors who have published through the West Side Poetry Workshop’s annual anthology—a writing group that was established in 2015.

This month all across the country, families and individuals will be sitting down for a dinner and to give thanks what ever we have received throughout the year. The annual feast of Thanksgiving is truly a unique American holiday that is neither a religious holiday nor a purely secular holiday. Throughout the country Americans will be sitting down with family and/or friends and giving thanks for what we have, regardless of personal wealth or faith.

          To put it mildly, Parma has had some issues getting a new levy for its schools. My kids attend Shiloh and Thoreau Park, which means I’m involved in their education and extracurriculars (sports, student councils, FAST, etc). I speak with other parents about this issue. And I get it: parents feel burned. Recent memory reminds us of a prior administration who intentionally shrouded themselves in a cloud of secrecy before bankrupting the district. I saw the news, and I stood in line with other angry parents to try and figure out what had gone wrong.

Reasons to Vote for Cleveland Metroparks Issue 5 this November 8

On behalf of the Parma Council of PTAs, we urge our communities to vote "yes" on Issue 9, the Parma Schools bond issue. We recently adopted a resolution in support of Issue 9 because we believe this is an important investment in our children. The one high school campus that the administration is developing will have more Career Tech, Advanced Placement, and College Credit Plus classes in one location than we are able to have now. Students will not have to travel across the district to capitalize on the wealth of options that the district offers. We will actually be able to have strong Freshmen and JV teams in our sports, too, instead of the low numbers we often see now. It's time for Parma to start being more competitive with so many of our neighbors who have already invested in new schools. Our students, too, deserve the best we can give them. As a graduate of the district, mother of two current students, and the President of the Parma Council of PTAs, I support Issue 9 and ask you to join me!

I grew up in Parma on Theota Avenue near the Pearl and Ridge Road intersection. I attended the Parma Pubic Schools through high school. I graduated from Valley Forge High School in the class of 1966. I was able to go to college right after high school and graduated from Kent State University in June 1970. While I was attending school in Parma, I never gave much a thought about the quality of education I was receiving. I just took the courses I needed to get into college. My grades were good, but I was not National Honor Society; but they were good enough for me to get into college.

I’ve been privy to scandalous stories about Cleveland Metroparks (CMP): Murders, accidents, lives lost and saved, low staff morale, wanton greed, public trust violations, and the park system’s demonstrably ineffective deer “population control” program, sharpshooting.

Last month, the first of its kind in North America, "Icebreaker," an offshore Lake Erie wind turbine project, was green-lighted by top dog legislators in Ohio.

In 1973, a movie premiered titled American Graffiti that had as it’s line “where were you in ’62? The movie dealt with the adventures of a group of young adults who had recently gradated from high school the previous June over a Labor Day weekend. The movie was set in Modesto California and was directed by a young man who grew up in Modesto and remembered those days of rock and roll music and “cruising” down the main drag of the city on summer evenings. That young director was George Lucas and the success of American Graffiti gave him the credibility to begin on his next project, a science fiction movie that was Star Wars.

Somehow it seems that our country and society has become consumed with “culture wars” between the political parties and among different lifestyles recently. But culture clashes are nothing new and there were times when there were great divisions in the United States. Of course, the period before and during the civil war always comes to mind when the nation literally split apart over the issue of slavery. But there have been serious culture clashes in more recent times.

There has been another mass shooting in the United States recently. This time an 18 year old man methodically shot and killed ten people at a supermarket in Buffalo New York. The shooter used an AR-15 semi automatic assault weapon that was legally purchased and had body armor on himself consisting of a bulletproof vest. He planned out the attack and even “cased” out the place before his shooting rampage. On the day of the shooting, he drove more than 200 miles from his home to Buffalo where his intention was to shoot and kill as many Black people as possible.

Regarding the Roe leak, Pelosi said, "This is a dangerous court to families, to freedom in our country," and Schumer brought a bill to the floor to legalize abortion. When it failed he said, "women’s constitutional rights are under unprecedented attack -- and it runs counter to the will of the majority of American people." Neither of them is correct. In Schumer's case, the bill he touted would have legalized abortion right up until a baby is born. While a majority of people support abortion in certain circumstances, a much larger majority are against abortion without limitations, which is what the Senate bill called for.

Right now, the rate if inflation in the United States is the highest in forty years. Already a host of candidates seeking the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Rob Portman are campaigning heavily on “Biden’s inflation” as if his policies are the cause of the inflation in the country right now. However simple solutions to complex problems very often create another set of problems without really solving the initial problem.

Since I wrote my column last month, the daily news has been dominated by the war in Ukraine between the Russian invaders and the Ukrainian people. Clearly Russian Premier Vladimir Putin grossly underestimated the resolve and courage of the Ukrainian people and their President as well as the commitment of the United States and the NATO allies.

Ever wonder why countless people and causes -- supposedly constitutionally-protected actions for human, animal, environmental and other rights -- are increasingly flouted by the government? As long as business has its hand in government affairs, business trumps people and planet. To wit: The Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), a first of its kind anywhere "Rights of Nature" bill, granted the shallowest of our five Great Lakes sovereign protection under the law. LEBOR passed ballot muster, and made its way through the regular channels, but not long after its enactment, was overturned by Ohio Attorney General Yost. Yost ruled in favor of agribusiness owners, who actually sued the state for the right to pollute Lake Erie with animal waste.

At the tail end of February, the Flamingo Writers Guild released a literary magazine called Quill Pro Quo and it is actively seeking submissions! Writers everywhere are encouraged to submit their work, but special preference will be given to those currently living in Parma.

I read a very interesting article this week in The Atlantic magazine on the future of COVID in the United States and the world. The thesis of the article was that COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths will resemble the illnesses caused by chronic tobacco usage. I found that very interesting and decided that would be the theme of my column.

Weather alerts flashed across the television screen warning viewers of the incoming snow storm, so many people rushed out for last minute items. Preparing for a week of icy cold temperatures, gusting winds, and blowing and drifting snow, I was one of the many who chose to do the same. I decided to make a quick stop at the bakery just a few streets from my home. Surely, kolaczki, paczki and pierogi would make staying indoors for the days ahead a bit more tolerable. Cold and dreary with only one other car in the parking lot, I decided to go for it.

Parma’s writing group—the Flamingo Writers Guild—is proud to announce the ‘Mingle with the Flamingos’ reading series! This monthly event features a new seasoned author each month who will begin the event by reading from their work, followed by an open mic that’s open to the public.

As I was getting ready to write my column for the next edition, two events happened that gave me the inspiration for this column. The first event was the celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The second was the failure of the Senate to change the filibuster rules to vote on a pair of voting rights bills before congress.

Last month the nation recognized the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and our entry into the Second World War. Prior to that day the United States was divided as to whether or not the country should enter the war that had been raging in Europe for more than two years.

Over fifty years have passed since Shock Theater ended. The program’s cancellation ended Ernie Anderson’s wig-loving Ghoulardi caricature, who at the time was a famous, over-the-top late-night performer who helped solidify Parma’s image as a town populated by polka-lovin’, high-socks-wearin’ working class people obsessed with pink flamingo lawn ornaments.

I am quite sure that most of us are optimistically looking at 2022 as being a good year. One in which we are not inundated with news items about covid 19, vaccinations and quarantines. A year where we can go to restaurants and visit family, enjoy party gatherings and sporting events, or visit a friend or relative in a hospital or nursing home without any fears. The impact of covid over the past two years has certainly altered our lifestyles and enhanced our awareness of health issues. There is one health issue that has taken a toll known as the silent killer…….Stress !

Good news from heaven the angels bring,

In the 1960s Broadway musical and movie Mame, the title character is an eccentric woman named Auntie Mame who is the central character of the story. Toward the end of the first act, the 1929 stock market crash leaves the family destitute and the mood becomes as gloomy as the weather. To liven things up and ease the depression, she sings a rousing musical number that has become the most popular song from that play and movie, “We Need a Little Christmas” as she lavishly decorates the family home for the holidays.

Deborah received one of Australia’s highest individual honors, the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2008 and is the chair for the non-profit, Australian Koala Foundation. Deborah wrote a Koala Manifesto stating 10 solutions as to what needs to be done so the koala's existence is ensured and thrives, firstly by initiating into law, The Koala Protection Act. The book contains a plethora of current and historical information and pictures.  

Not a morning goes by I don't wake up grinding-my-teeth furious that, as humans, we're simply not working hard enough to bring this planet down so that we can move to our new home in my lifetime. It's time we admit what the richest people on this planet already know: Earth is just a stepping stone and, though those who've thrived here have done so through adaptation, the new law means colonizing and despoiling of a pristine planet where adaptation can be circumvented, if needed.

It was just eighteen months ago after the pandemic forced a massive shut down of the nation’s economy that the Department of Labor’s unemployment rate reached over 14%, a rate not seen since the 1930s. Now the unemployment rate has fallen to almost pre pandemic levels. Yet there seems to be a severe shortage of workers in many businesses and industries.

One of the major reasons why it seems that the country is so divided and dysfunctional right now is that perhaps too many Americans have lost our sense of being part if a larger community and have retreated into our own little bubble of family and close friends. Of course, this has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

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“Hey YOU!” “Hey YOU back!” I shouted. As I turned to see who was calling out with such a loud voice, there appeared an adorable little girl. She came barreling up the sidewalk on her two wheeler bicycle headed right to my driveway. Apparently, my drive had become the official turn around point and “that's as far as you are allowed to travel” location. It had been sometime since I saw children playing in the neighborhood. Children who are now older and heading off to college. It was good to see little ones once again.

Hunting is inextricably tied to feelings of inferiority and atrocities against humans.
Hunters first learn to objectify, even sexualize the animals they kill, then transfer their pathology onto women and outside social groups. It's clear there's something sinister lurking in the brains of those who intentionally maim (bow hunting results in at least a 54% or higher wound rate) and slaughter nonhuman animals, particularly deer whose beauty, disposition, and comparable size are virtually unmatched in the natural world. In the foreword of Jim Robertson's Exposing the Big Game, the illustrious Captain Paul Watson states: " hunters can be described quite adequately as sadistic perverts and social deviants." Watson adds,  "there is nothing to be admired from those who kill for pleasure, sport and short term gratification due to frustrated sexual inadequacies."

Before I started writing this column, I received the news that the Phizer COVID vaccine has received the full approval from the FDA. No doubt that the other COVID vaccines will also receive the full approval from the FDA soon. As soon as the FDA gave approval of the Phizer vaccine, the Pentagon has ordered that all active duty and reserve troops must be vaccinated against COVD as soon as possible or face disciplinary action. At the same time I also saw that the city of New York has mandated vaccines for all public and school employees.

Forrest Gump said it best in the movie; “Stupid is as stupid does”. Many years after those words were spoken on the movie screen, it seems that many people in the United States are proving Forrest Gump was correct.

We often hear that the deep divide in this country is due to partisan politics. But what drives partisan politics is the loss of the simple concept of right and wrong plus a great deal of ignorance and deceit. It actually started during the Clinton administration. According to Bill Clinton, lying was only wrong for other people. For him it depended “on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.” And then it spread to Congress. Prior to Clinton, when Democrats decided to impeach Richard Nixon for covering up Watergate, the Republican leadership told Nixon that what he had done was wrong and that they wouldn't support him. Consequently, he resigned. Clinton committed perjury, a felony. That had already been proven and he lost his law license over it. But when he was impeached he decided the law didn't apply to him, only to other people. Senate Democrats agreed. In his trial, every single Democrat chose partisanship over right and wrong and voted not guilty. 

This is an addendum to my recent columns from the past two months.