Happy Spring

Spring has sprung! Hurray! Time to once again look to more outside activities. Seeing all the blooming plants, watching the birds and other little animals draw my attention to admiring nature rather than setting at a desk and computer all day. It is a shame to waste glorious days cooped up inside.
Spring brings us into the growing season. The First Lady is getting into the spirit with starting a vegetable garden at the White House. Roger Doiron's wish is coming true. This is a smart move for them. It will help spread the message of eating healthy, locally grown, organic foods. She is getting children involved, which will "plant the seeds" for healthy living as they grow up. I hope we see more of these types of stories in the news. Americans need to get their hands dirty again, touch the soil. There is a positive effect to the human spirit in touching, seeing, and smelling the land and the fruits of their labor. Plus, the food taste really good too.

The Law of the Garbage Truck

Here is a little story that I found that relates to human nature pretty well. Sorry if I am breaking any copyrights by posting it here. But, it's a good story. :-)

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

UPDATE: Dawn left a note referencing the original author of this story - David J. Pollay. Check it out here. Thank you Dawn!

Cars Suck

Sorry, time for a little rant here...
As much as I would like to not depend on automobiles, our family does own and use them. I still see them as an evil necessity in our lives. I know, the auto does provide a way to transport one or more people and much cargo long distances quickly. What I don't like (besides the pollution and waste they produce) is all the stuff that goes along with them.
OK, here is the cause for my rant - yesterday while looking for a parking space at a local shopping center, another person in their car backs into mine. I am stopped, waiting for cars in front of me to move, and this person backs out of an aisle to my left and into my front left fender. My two kids were in the back seat, and fortunately no one was hurt. What this really brings to mind is the inconvenience that a situation like this brings about. What was a minor fender bender has left me and the kids a bit shaken up, and phone calls to the insurance company, and later getting the car repaired. I do have to say, I have my insurance through AAA, and they have been extremely helpful so far. Which raises the point of how much money is spent in providing this mode of transportation. We pay plenty in car payments, insurance, gas, registration, and maintenance and repairs.
What about the alternatives? Let's say that our family decides to sell the cars, and look for other ways of transportation. In our city we have the metro bus and trolley system, and the trains for longer trips up the coast. We could probably get monthly transit passes for the 4 of us for about or a little cheaper than the car and insurance payments per month. The problem we would be left with is the convenience of the car would not be there. Our bus schedule leaves quite a bit to be desired. The trolley system is great, except it doesn't go anywhere you need it to.
I commute by bicycle, but I cannot see the bike taking the place of the car for the rest of the family right now.
I know that this is a lifestyle that we have chosen, just like most of the country. If something happened today that took away our cars, we could get by. We are fortunate to live in an area where we can get around if needed. I know plenty of people in rural areas would have a much tougher time. Car culture is ingrained in our society pretty well. All of the inconveniences that go along with having the convenience of the car are just accepted as "normal". I at least realize that this "normal" is a fallacy, but haven't quite figured out what to do about it.
If you have read my rant, thanks for taking the time.

Holiday Commuting

Commuting by bike is great just about any time of year. I find it especially nice around this time, when all the Christmas lights are on display throughout the neighborhoods. On my ride home, it is a nice diversion to see all the festively decorated houses. These types of sights you just cannot truly enjoy while speeding by in a car. Riding a bike is the perfect cruising speed to enjoy them. Actually, riding a bike is the perfect speed to enjoy most things worth seeing. Walking is great, too, but the speed of the bike also makes it efficient to travel a fair distance.
If you never get out of your car and slow down a bit for the holidays, you are really missing the spirit of this magical season.

Good News if You're Nuts

A new health study shows that a diet enriched with mixed nuts may reduce heart risks. Published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, the Spanish study concluded that a Mediterranean diet enriched with mixed nuts may help manage metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of health problems that includes abnormal obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose levels, which all can be risk factors for heart disease.
After many years of being told that we should eat a low-fat diet, now there is some evidence that the natural high-fat content in some foods are actually good for you. Everything in moderation, of course. The closer to the source you can get for your food, the better, I say. Both in eating foods grown locally, and eating foods in their most natural state.

Grow Your Own, Mr. President

Here is a cool little video urging President-elect Obama to convert the White House lawn into a vegetable garden, complete with time-lapse photography on what the author Roger Doiron did.
(http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/009021.html)

This raises a good point about our fascination with green manicured lawns. Most of this precious land would be better served growing something useful, like stuff we can actually eat. Victory Gardens were popular once, it's time to bring them back!

Instead of buying vegetables that have most likely traveled thousands of miles to your door, why not grow them in your own garden? Don't have your own yard? Then see if you can go in on a community garden.

There is no reason why everyone cannot grow their own.

Exurbs and Transportation Woes

NOW on PBS video called "Driven to Despair". This video looks at the life of a family living in the exurbs and compares it to the living in the city. It focuses on how the high cost of gasoline has affected those with long commutes. It also shows how more public transportation has the ability to make a difference, if given the chance. Great video to watch!