A friend forwarded this poem to me over the weekend – a poem written by a teen with cancer.  I’m sure I’ve read it before, and I decided to publish it here for its poignancy, simplicity and wisdom.  It’s something we need to read from time to time to enable us to regain our grounding when life gets a little too fast paced and hectic.  And it’s the beautiful summer time.  A perfect time to slow down!

Here it is:

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,

Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?

Ever follow a butterfly’s erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down.  Don’t dance so fast…

Time is short; The music won’t last.

Do you ever run through each day, on the fly?

When you ask How are you?  Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed

With the next 100 chores, running through your head?

You’d better slow down, don’t dance so fast.

Time is short; the music won’t last.

Ever told your child…we’ll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste, not seen his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die?

Cause you never had time to call and say hi.

You better slow down; don’t dance so fast.

Time is short; the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift, thrown away.

Life is not a race, do take it slower

Hear the music before the song is over.

Elaine and I were together this past weekend at our husbands’ 25^th College Reunion, a wonderful weekend of reconnecting with dear friends. I must say I walked away from the weekend being overwhelmingly impressed with the man who is now at the helm, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, 17^th President of Dartmouth College and just finishing his first year.

I didn’t know much about him before we were treated to an hour long presentation, where I was literally blown away by not only his credentials, but his passion, integrity and leadership that has this venerable institution primed for ongoing success over the next several years.

He has led a blessed life, and those he has touched are richer for it.  Noted as one of Time Magazine’s top 100 most Influential People in the World, and US News and World Report’s “America’s 25 Best Leaders,” he is a physician, an anthropologist, humanitarian and educator. He co-founded a global health organization, Partners in Health, which has been addressing global health concerns in developing nations for years.  Prior to accepting this post at Dartmouth he was the Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and Director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health.  I must say I left his presentation not only feeling inspired, but also a bit inadequate.

The one thing that impressed me more than anything is the anthropological influence that is anchored in his approach to issues – and understanding that the core of being a good human being is at the heart of the matter.  To be a good person, a conscientious and concerned person, a person who will do their best to make a difference – is the type of student he wants to have a hand in shaping.

He shared a quote from a past Dartmouth President – John Sloane Dickey – which was as follows:

“The world’s troubles are your troubles … and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix.”

As he came across this quote during the Presidential search process, he inquired of the search committee if this was the mission that they wanted him to tackle.  As he stated, he could think of no better calling then to help guide and influence young people to be at their best.

From just this hour long glimpse into his actions and his vision, I can tell his presence on campus produces a ripple effect of inspiration.  You want to be on his team.  He spreads himself across all important facets of college life, whether that is setting hard reaching academic challenges, inspiring the athletic teams to be their best or reminding the Greek system of their social responsibilities, while celebrating the enduring life long friendships that are being created every day.

What he has accomplished thus far, is an embodiment of a quote from another past Dartmouth President, William Jewett Tucker:

“You will not make a very strong impression on the world without the use of an equal amount of conscious and heart.”

That to me is a quote to live by.

My two older children and I sat down and watched Food, Inc. a couple of weeks ago.  I thought it would be interesting to watch, and they both reported having no interest in this type of Friday night movie activity, but I must say as soon as it started, they were drawn in.

The result of our movie viewing?  I now have a vegetarian daughter, and a son (meat hound that he is) that now takes pause before eating a bite of chicken or a burger.  It makes me not want to ever buy a Purdue or Tyson chicken pack or any meat, for that matter, that is not organic and grass fed.  The documentary was certainly an eye opener, and the representation that it makes of how our agriculture culture caters to a low cost mass production food system doesn’t bode well for our health, or the health of the animals that we eat.  The conditions that these animals are raised under are horrific.

So with that, I think I have the push to buy those more expensive organic meat brands, but probably less often.  Plus, I need to consider this whole new world of vegetarianism.  Nothing would suit me more than turning my entire backyard into a vegetable garden; I just know that is too big a task for me to undertake at the moment.  Last Sunday evening I prepared a meal of Butternut squash and Kale risotto (very delicious – and I will share the recipe, but thought given that it is more of a fall type dish that I would wait until then), black beans, and grilled maple sweet potatoes.  My daughter was in heaven, and remarked that she wanted every meal to be this way.

So, I will share a very simple Bobby Flay recipe that my kids love, and if you have any good vegetarian recipes, please share!

Maple – Glazed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes (do not peel)

3/4 cup pure maple syrup (I didn’t use this much)

1 T ancho powder (I also used chipolte pepper powder)

salt

1/4 cup mild vegetable oil, such as canola

1.  Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until soft but not mushy (you should still feel resistance when you stick a small knife through the center), 25 to 35 minutes.

2.  Have ready a bowl of cold water.  Drain the potatoes, put them in the cold water, and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Peel the potatoes and quarter each one lengthwise.  (The potatoes can be cooked a few hours in advance, covered and set aside at room temperature.  Don’t cut them until you’re ready to grill).

3.  Heat your grill to high.

4.  Whisk together the maple syrup, ancho powder, and salt to taste in a small bowl.  Brush the potatoes with oil.  Grill until golden, about 3 minutes.  Brush with the maple glaze and continue grilling, brushing often with the glaze, until the potatoes are glazed, lightly charred, and heated through, about 3 minutes more.

Serves 4, From Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill

Whenever I hear “Go Ask Alice” – my mind immediately reverts back to the controversial book Go Ask Alice that many of us read in our formative years.

Well, now I’d like to introduce you to another Alice – one that one of our Wise Women readers introduced me to.  This Alice just may make your life a little bit easier. Alice.com is a midwest based grocery distribution center where you can order all your shelf stable grocery items and have them delivered to your door for free.

I have used peapod.com a handful of times (for those of you who are not familiar with peapod.com – it is an online grocery store which delivers everything from the store to your door (including fresh, refrigerated and frozen items).  Every time I order from peadpod, I love it and claim that I’m going to make it a regular habit.  The problem with it is that you need to set up a specific day and time for delivery, and many times when I’m out of fresh produce or milk, it’s an immediate need that requires a trip to the store.  Other friends claim that they don’t use peapod as they prefer picking out their own fresh produce.

Well Alice solves one of those problems at least.  You don’t need to be home for delivery and can specify where you want your package left.  My friend who uses this service has done her homework.  She believes that some items from Alice.com are more expensive (but just cents) than her local grocery, others are less expensive.  Alice.com also provides all manufacturer’s coupons onsite that can be applied to your purchases.  If they don’t carry a brand that you’re interested in, let them know.  There is a good likelihood that they will make it available.  She also likes it because she orders her big bags of dog food through this service as well.  It’s nice to have the bulky items in particular delivered to your door.  And it goes without saying that those of you with young kids would take advantage of  any opportunity to do grocery shopping solo.

So I’m kind of liking this idea.  Order all your shelf stable products through this service, and make a trip to the Farmer’s Market or grocery for fresh items once a week.  It will enable you to do a quick perimeter run.

Let me know if you check it out and what you think!

“My name is Elaine, and I am a news junkie.”

They say that the first step to beat an addiction is to admit one’s powerlessness. Gosh, I hope they’re right.

I didn’t start off compulsively gobbling up the news de jour. In the beginning, I would simply scan the newspaper in the morning.  And then listen to news radio during my short drives out and about. Oh, and catch the 10 pm news before I went to bed.

Over time, I’ve bumped up my news consumption without noticing.

I feel restless unless I read the newspaper cover-to-cover. I check the Internet at lunchtime to catch what’s unfolded that morning. I listen to multiple 30-minute segments on news radio during the day such that I hear the same story two or three times over. My clock radio is set to the news station so, not only does news wake me up, I now let the radio reports lull me to sleep.

Interestingly, during vacations, I go cold turkey and pay no attention to the news. Last week’s college road trip? Didn’t miss the news a bit.

Now that I”m back into my “real life” routine, I find the constant stream of news jarring and upsetting. Every other story brings me down.

• Teens bully a girl to the point that suicide is her only way out.

• Big business ignores safety concerns until lives are lost and their “indiscretions” are splashed across headlines. (Take your pick: Toyota or West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch coal mine.)

• Allegations swirl that the Vatican ignored and may have covered-up its knowledge of abusing priests.

• Talented and beautiful Sandra Bullock is sucker-punched by her philandering husband.

• Those disgruntled with healthcare reform harass and threaten lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill.

Make it all go away!

I need an antidote to the depressing 24/7 news cycle. A “happy news” pill, if you will, that will give me my news fix yet now bring me down.

Imagine my relief at finding Happy News, an online news source that promises Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. Sign me up!

Has anyone else found ways to take in the news in bite-size pieces that don’t overwhelm you? Or, should I just quit news all together?

Healthcare.  So massive is it’s passing, I feel like we need to discuss it.  I struggle, however, trying to wrap my arms around it and make sense of it.  The basic tenants of it are good ones, and arguably ones that I would think most Americans would agree.  A first response is how do we pay for this?  A proper rebuttal may be we’ve already been paying for this for a long time.  The fact that all of our uninsured fellow Americans use our hospital’s ERs for not only emergency but primary care, is costing us a ton ($500 billion in fact, which would now get cut as this reform remedies this situation).  Unfortunately, no one has done a great job of crystallizing the exact impact of this bill.  If you’ve read a good article, please share.

I did enjoy reading Joe Klein’s article in the April 5th issue of Time magazine titled:  Promise Delivered.  How Obama’s epic victory in pushing forward Health Reform revitalized his Presidency.”   After reading it, despite the derision that exists in Washington now, you are assured that what just happened is a good thing, and sets a productive course for Obama moving forward.  As Joe Klein states:

After a fist year in office that promised consequence but never quite delivered on it, he had done something huge.  The comparisons with Jimmy Carter would abruptly come to an end.  He was now a President who didn’t back down, who could herd cats, who was not merely intellectual and idealistic but tough enough to force his way. This is bound to change the landscape of American politics.  It makes significant progress on other issues – financial reform, immigration, perhaps even the reduced use of carbon fuels – more plausible.  It may give Obama new stature overseas, in a world that was beginning to wonder about his ability to use power.”

He finally has results to show after a long year of frustration.  But change is always uncomfortable. I worry about the state of the House and Senate, and the heavy scars this debate has left in terms of implications for future positive movement and bipartisanship.  I feel as if  I’m left with many questions and ponderings:

- Has this whole mess been purely political, and the Republicans have been lobbying for a no vote on Healthcare to purely cripple Obama’s credibility as President, regardless of the benefits of legislation (a reported strategy back in 1994 when Clinton was trying to push health care reform)?

- While a majority of Americans still favor the passing of last week’s reform, I’m stunned by how vehement and nasty the protesting has been.  Is it purely because its so difficult to know the true story behind the implications of this policy?  And the fact that in a violence prone week, when emotions are running high, you have the formidable Sarah Palin twittering to her supporters – “don’t retreat, instead reload” – the implications of which completely scare me as she continues to gain more ground on the national scene.

- Isn’t it interesting that most people who say they oppose healthcare reform or the negatively positioned “Obamacare” are in favor of almost every tenant of the reform when asked about them individually?

- It is also interesting that the reform that passed was closely aligned to a universal healthcare plan that was constructed in Massachusetts and passed by then Governor Mitt Romney in 1993.  Massachusetts then became the model for the federal plans offered in the 2008 campaign by Hillary Clinton and later adopted by President Obama.  So the plan that was just passed had its roots in the Republican plan from Massachusetts.  Interesting that Mr. Romney has even shied away from supporting or being associated with this plan.

While I do understand that this passed plan is far from perfect, it’s a start.  And it leaves me thinking that now more than ever, we need to put politics aside.  I end with a fitting quote from the Capital Journal:

“Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights, a woman’s right to vote, ending slavery … every one of the major steps on America’s road to become a more democratic society has been marked by controversy and conflict.  There is a reason why progressive leaders are the heroes and heroines of American history.  They embody the values and aspirations that are at the core of American values.”

I know there are thousands of opinions out there about this reform.  Please share your thoughts – is this a good thing or a bad thing for America?

I have read a string of really good books over the past four months, all having that special beckoning quality that makes you look forward to finding the time to sit down and read.  There’s nothing better than that.  So I thought I’d share these recommendations, in case you’re looking for that next great book.

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant.  This book has been out for years, but I just got around to reading it.  It’s a wonderful story about the Story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph.  The story is about the tribe of Jacob and the bonds of womenhood and the importance of the Red Tent – the womanly place where rites of passage are celebrated.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows.  A wonderful book whose stories unfold through a series of letters written during WWII and the German occupation of Guernsey.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  A debut novel, the author weave a story set in Mississippi about the relationship between white women and the black women who take care of their home and raise their children.  This book is insightful and riveting.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  Set in Barcelona, this story is about a young man on a quest to find other books by an author he has discovered – and finds all books have been destroyed.  While it seems like an unassuming and maybe even mundane plot line, the story is rich with wonderful writing, character development and true intrigue.

Today I opened the pages of  The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer, a memoir about a fatherless boy growing up in Manhasset, New York and the huge presence the patrons of a local bar have on his life.  I will write more about this one once I finish, but it’s the type of book you pick up and are pulled in to from the start.

Please share any good books you’ve read lately, or even some of your all time favorites!

When it comes to food storage, I’m a tosser. I’m vigilant about ferreting out food items that are past their prime, and I only save leftovers that are likely to be eaten. Thus, the space-hogging cups of blue jello that Caitlin made last week that remain untouched in our fridge – GONE in my clean sweep from last night!

I believe this is an inherited trait from my maternal side. As I think back to forays inside my mother’s fridge and my mother’s mother’s fridge, I recall easy navigation among the relatively few, but always good, foodstuffs.

In Peek Inside Elaine’s Fridge, a post from nearly two years ago (!), I chronicled the contents of my fridge and noted some differences between tossers and keepers (those folks who have overflowing refrigerators and throw out items only duress).

I was reminded of these musings when I recently read about a new gadget that could help with my vigilance: a digital day counter that attaches to food and monitors the number of days it resides in the recesses of your refrigerator or freezers.

My inner tosser is delighted!

At $4 a timer, I won’t go crazy, but I am ordering a few of these today. Other uses for the gadget? On plants (”Hmmm, when did I last water that  plant?”), furnace filters, bottles of wine, Toby’s heart worm pill, just to name a few.

The icing on the cake (still fresh, of course)? The DaysAgo counter was “born” when two Wise Women had a Eureka moment. The new moms were taking a break from their brainstorming session about business ventures to feed their babies and couldn’t remember which of the many jars of opened baby foods were still OK to use. Talk about necessity being the mother of invention (and good timing!)

Don’t you just love new gadgets? It reminds me of the excitement generated when there’s a cool, new app for a phone or handheld device. Of course, I don’t know how to use most apps, so I’ll just be enthused about the brilliantly simple DaysAgo counter.

What gadgets do other Wise Women use?

A dear friend who has two sons adopted from Korea forwarded a video starring ten moms (including herself) who have adopted children.  The lead-in line to the video is – “When a child is adopted, a mother is born.”

It’s very heartwarming and I thought it was worth sharing, especially with so many children around the world in need of a family.

For the short clip on you tube, click here.

To see the full five minute video, click here.

If adoption is something that you have been considering, I think this just may inspire you to take the next step.

On a beautiful drive up and back to Vermont over the Thanksgiving holiday, I listened to an interview on the radio (happened to catch the same interview both ways) with a gentleman named Barton Brooks. Barton, once a Manhattan Real Estate Broker, tossed that life aside four years ago and started Global Colors.  Global Colors’ mission is “to aid in the development of grassroots campaigns using local ingenuity and resources to accomplish very specific goals”.

I decided to do a little investigation of Global Colors when I arrived home.  An hour and half later – after digging into his site and the global projects that he has undertaken – I must say I’m impressed.  Part of the appeal is his simple call to action – just go and do. Visit a part of the world you’re interested in, and ask how you can help.  Involve the locals in the solution – so they too learn how to empower themselves.  It can even be as simple as inquiring at the concierge’s desk at the hotel you’re staying at during vacation to learn if there is an orphanage near by that you can visit for a few hours during your vacation.

His website is filled with stories – and about the projects he’s currently working on and trying to raise awareness to direct aid efforts.  One that struck a chord with me was the Batwa Pygmies in Uganda – a group of people that have been displaced from their ancestral lands – a group of people who aren’t even recognized as humans because of their small stature.  They live on a small bit of land, but can’t afford the seeds to even farm the land.  They subsist on a small portion of porridge daily.

When Barton asked the villagers how he could help, their response was help to raise money to provide a chicken for each of the children – as a chicken will lay an egg a day to give each child the protein they need, as well as give them an animal to care for and love.  Barton’s efforts have turned into a much larger effort – helping the villagers build huts, chicken coops, plant gardens.  I must admit that this project had particular appeal to me – the ability to raise $9 per chicken to provide a child with food is a tangible goal that my son and his friends that are interested in agriculture could embrace.

Another inspiring story is the women of  Nairobi, Kenya – who have been making beads for years – at the Kazuri Bead factory.  (The creation of this factory is one for another blog). Their beads are beautiful – (and are for sale – check out Kazuriwest.com) but the inspiring piece of this story is that these women sometimes provide for up to 20 extended family members, and the company itself is a model of commerce – providing healthcare, childcare, paying three times the customary annual wage for these women that work at the factory.

Barton’s latest project is called 52 weeks to Change the World, and he has mapped out a course to take him to several destinations across the world to implement his notion of “guerrilla aid” – helping with whatever the local need is.  He has a blog where he is reporting on his travels and identifying how people can help.  I have signed up to receive his reports – so will keep you apprised of any interesting stories.  Barton Brooks has created a very inspiring life mission indeed.