CLINTONS, McCAINS AND OBAMAS, O MY !!!

Part I

I’ve found many aspects of this year’s election to be fascinating, in particular the ongoing “discussions” between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But there are several issues with regard to Senator John McCain that have been kept rather low-key thus far. They are issues that I believe need to be exposed to the light of day, rather than pushed to the back burner in favor of the more “scintillat­ing” Clinton/Obama controversies. I hope to explore these issues in my next few blog posts.

First up: Cindy McCain’s Wealth

I wonder whether most people are aware that John McCain’s wife Cindy is worth well in excess of $100 million dollars. She is an heiress to the Anheuser-Busch fortune, and although most everything is in her name, there is no question that her husband shares in the lavish lifestyle that her wealth affords her, his lack of taxicab fare notwithstanding.

Make no mistake: I do not begrudge Sen. and Mrs. McCain their wealth. If they can live with the fact that their family has benefited immensely from the alcoholism from which millions of people suffer (and in turn, their families), so can I. I am simply astonished that almost no one (including the so-called “family values” crowd) has brought this to the public’s attention.

So why do I find this point to be of such interest? Four years ago, John Kerry was trying desperately to become President so he could attempt to save our country from the ruination that George W. Bush has done his dead-level best to achieve (and to some extent, has succeeded in doing so). However, one of the things that was repeatedly brought to the voters’ attention during that campaign was the wealth of Senator Kerry’s wife, Teresa, who is an heiress to the Heinz fortune. (At this point, it’s worth mentioning that although I have met many a ketchup lover, I have yet to meet – or even hear of – a single person with a bedlam-inducing ketchup addic­tion.)

I never quite understood why such a spotlight was shone on Mrs. Kerry’s wealth, because many politicians and/or their families are wealthy. But it was one of sev­eral silly, yet effective, strategies utilized by George Bush’s camp to distract easily-distracted voters from the issues that truly mattered, such as the thousands of lives lost and the billions of dollars spent on a war that will forever be known as The Pig in a Poke from Hell.

So why aren’t Sen. McCain and his wife under a microscope similar to that of Sen. and Mrs. Kerry? Why the double standard? That’s a question that perhaps would best be left to Hannity and Colmes to argue, but one can’t help but wonder: If John Kerry had been elected President in 2004, would the last four years perhaps have proven to be less damaging to our nation’s economy and less tarnishing to its reputation on the world stage? Would those years – which we will never get back – have occu­pied a brighter spot in our nation’s history than what George W. Bush has wrought?

Unfortunately, we’ll never know…

On Fathers

My sweet, intelligent, beautiful-inside-and-out niece Cory recently wrote one of the most masterful pieces I've ever read about a day trip she took while on vacation in Hawaii recently. That day trip turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences of her life. It's a rather lengthy essay, but well worth one's time. If you have some time, and a desire to read something that is absolutely beautiful, it is posted to her blog at http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=66764242&blogID=360287362.

In her essay, Cory wrote of her relationships with the men in her life, both past and present, including the men to whom she's related. On her Hawaiian day trip, she had an epiphany about her need to embrace "God (the father)" as well as the mother Goddess. Some folks have difficulty understanding the concept of two Gods, one a father figure, and one a mother figure, especially since we've been taught since early childhood that "God is our heavenly father".

For those of us who had a contentious relationship with our earthly fathers, the idea of a loving, nurturing heavenly father is often difficult for us to embrace. I can relate to the love and nurturing I received from my mother, however, so the concept of the duality of God, male and female, is something in which I personally find a great deal of comfort.

Don't get me wrong: My father loved us all more than we probably ever realized, and he showed it by working his butt off in order to feed us and put a roof over our heads. But he himself had not had a very good role model to show him just how loving and affectionate a father can be. And who knows? Perhaps his father's father hadn't had a good role model, either, and so on and so on.

My children and grandchildren have all been quite fortunate in that they have had loving, nurturing fathers. My children have the most wonderful father one could ever ask for. Both of my grandchildren's fathers are good, solid, salt-of-the-earth young men who have and will continue to make outstanding fathers.

But not everyone I care about has been quite so fortunate. And yet some of them have made very good lives for themselves in spite of it. So even though having a loving, caring, nurturing father is ideally the way things should be, perhaps it is not absolutely necessary in order for one to make the most of his or her life. One particular member of my family (who I'll not name here in order to protect her privacy) has proven that to be the case better than anyone I've ever known. She is one of the most centered, "together" people I've ever met, and my respect and admiration for her is endless.

I Can't Believe I'm Actually Doing This

Although I've always enjoyed writing letters, e-mails, etc., I've never done any kind of creative writing. I'm told I have decent writing skills, but when it comes to imagination and creativity, I've always felt I missed the mark. But there comes a time when a person has to just throw caution to the wind and write what's on her heart, regardless of the creativity factor (or lack thereof).

So having said that, this begins my very first blog entry ever. And in honor of beginnings, I can't think of a more appropriate subject for my first blog entry than the birth of my first granddaughter on Feb. 7th. Her name is Kya Karis, she weighed 7 lbs., 9 ozs., and was 21 inches long. And she is perfection...

I myself gave birth to two beautiful baby girls, so I know firsthand just how special they are, and Kya is no exception. The velvety softness of her skin, the fine-as-silk texture of her hair, the precious newborn sounds she makes...all of these things bring back vivid memories of my babies and transport me to a simpler, more innocent time in my own life. A time which I would love to revisit simply for the joy of holding my babies in my arms once again and feeling them snuggle next to me. A time in which they both needed me. Now their babies need them. There's no denying the circle of life...

Welcome to our world, Kya. I pledge that I will do everything within my power to make it the world you deserve to inherit someday. Lollie loves you and always will!