A helping hand

What is one of the greatest gifts that one person can give another? Well, there was a song by the Beatles that had a line that went something like this: “I get by with a little help from my friends.” There are two phrases that come to mind also: “circle of friends” and “circle of life.” [which is also the title to a song by Elton John and Tim Rice]

Humans are, for the most part, very social. We live in groups, communities, cities, nations. We depend upon the work of others to survive. Imagine what your life would be like if you had to grow and process all of your food, generate all of your own energy, pump your own water, build your own shelter, manipulate fibers to create your own clothing, and do everything else you needed to survive on a daily basis. Do you think you could do it? I suspect that very, very few of us could.

It is a great shame that we – the human race that is – are unable to cooperate together to work towards the good of humanity. I wonder sometimes what we might have been able to achieve if we had not wasted so much time, energy, money, and lives on hate, violence and war. It makes me so very sad. My hopes and dreams of youth have been demolished by stupidity, corporate greed, and governmental waste.

Alas, all I can do is take care of my own little circle. That is what truly gives me satisfaction in my life. Until very recently friends were the only family that I had. I have been very fortunate to have some incredible people in my life (including the members of my new found family!). For this I am eternally grateful. I truly do not know where I would be without them.

My Summer Pictures

Guess you could call me a water person since I love to take pictures of rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Since the northern hemisphere is now officially in summer I thought I'd share some of my summer photos with you.
The lake photo above was taken on Lake Adair in Orlando, Florida. I took this in the morning on my way to work.
This creek (shown above) is behind my house. It's very peaceful back there.
If you read my blog last week you know that I've just recently been reunited with my birth family. I took the flower picture above when my sister and I were on a bike ride. The photo below was also taken during our ride. I find it interesting that she also has a creek behind her house.

Ah, the beach. A magical place. This was taken on Anastasia Island which is south of St. Augustine. The beach there is wide and the surf is perfect. It is my favorite beach in Florida. Just be careful driving there because the sand is soft - I've gotten stuck more than once! Guess I need a 4-wheel drive.

A most remarkable occurrence

There are moments in your life when the universe seems to smile on you with all of its glory. I do not know what I’ve done to deserve such an event (can such a thing be earned? I really have my doubts.), but recently I have been the beneficiary of something wonderful and truly remarkable. Let me explain.

As most of my friends know I was adopted at birth. The story I had of my birth mother was a sad one. It left me reluctant to search for my birth family after the death of the last member of my adoptive family. I did try contacting the state where I was born, but they basically told me to get lost. Later I found a document left to me by my adoptive family with a name on it. I used several internet search resources and located someone that I felt sure must have known my mother. However, thoughts of my birth story left me with the feeling that I would be the last person on the planet that they would want to hear from. Time passed, I never made that phone call.

Then with the suddenness of a bolt out of the blue my life changed forever. I received a call from a child welfare case worker from the state where I was born. Turns out I have a sister that I never knew about and she was looking for me! It’s a long story, but basically she was also adopted at birth and went looking for her birth family. She found a mother, father, and two brothers who told her about another missing sister. The search took several years, but find me they did.

We’ve had a ‘family reunion’ (that’s why I have not posted anything for a couple of weeks) and everything went well. We are geographically scattered (what family isn’t these days), but with e-mail and phone calls we can stay in touch. I now have health information on my parents and grandparents. I have a sister, brothers, mother, niece and nephews. What a wonderful gift.

We met with the case worker who did all the work. She asked that I let people know that there are services out there for families and individuals. If you were adopted, if you put someone up for adoption, or if someone in your family was put up for adoption, you can get help and information. I had talked to the wrong department but my sister did not. Every state has a child welfare department. That is the place to start. Even if all you want is some medical information, you should contact the state you were born or adopted in. While the search may take years (mine did), the majority of the cases have happy endings (like mine).

Believe me, I wish now I’d made that phone call years ago (I did have the right phone number as it turns out). I missed out on meeting my father and lost several years of knowing my family – these are things I will regret the rest of my life. If you or someone you know was adopted, please don’t wait. A couple of simple phone calls to a child welfare department could change your or their life forever.

One last thing: don’t bother with expensive and private search agencies. The case worker told us that most of those people contact the child welfare departments to find the person/family. Save the money for the reunion, just contact the state yourself.

Mars, God of War

One week ago an emissary from Earth landed near the north pole of Mars. The Phoenix Mars Mission has a primary goal of determining how much water ice is on Mars which will be a big factor in shaping how humans ultimately might be able to colonize the planet.

Planetary colonization is not just the stuff of science fiction. If we are to survive as a species then we must expand beyond planet Earth. Human population continues to rise; resources continue to dwindle here on Earth. But there are other planets in our solar system with mineral and water resources that we can utilize. Even the asteroid belt is full of chunks of water ice and metals.

But enough of our possible future, back to current events: Even though the lander has only been on Mars for a week there are a number of incredible images from this mission. One of my favorites was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It captured an image of the Phoenix as it was descending towards the surface. This is the first time an image has been captured of a spaceship coming in to land on another planet. Check out the image here.

My other favorite image was first distributed yesterday and is shown as the current image on the Astronomy Picture of the day site. NASA had been hoping that they might be able to dig down through the soil with the lander’s robotic arm to reach water ice, but the braking rockets on the lander may have already exposed some ice under Phoenix. Check out an image from under the lander here. If you don't see the image, click on the archive link and look for June 2nd.

The artist’s rendering of the Phoenix lander shown at the top of this post is from this site.

Here’s an interesting fact you might not know: on Mars when the sun sets the sky turns blue but during the day the sky is pink - just the opposite of Earth.

In Memory: Memorial Day

Memorial Day has become, for many people, just another 3-day weekend. The Uniform Holidays Bill, passed in 1968 and made a federal law in 1971, moved Memorial Day from May 30th to the last Monday of May. Now, I have nothing against a 3-day weekend and Memorial Day specifically, but with the ongoing “war” in Iraq and our troops still in Afghanistan I feel compelled to talk about a couple of issues.

First a little history about Memorial Day:

• Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. While there is much debate about where and when the tradition started, it began during the American Civil War.
• General John A. Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed Decoration Day in 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery that May 30th.
• The name Memorial Day was first used in 1882; however, it was not commonly called this until after World War II. The holiday was officially given the name Memorial Day by federal law in 1967.
• President Lyndon Johnson officially declared Waterloo, N.Y., as the official birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966.
• You can find more information on the holiday at History.com.

In my opinion, the people who have and who are serving this country deserve our respect. However, while we may have had a reason to attack Afghanistan, I see no compelling or valid reason for our invasion of Iraq. We have bankrupted this nation, ruined our reputation with the rest of the world, and are destroying the lives of an entire generation not to mention what has happened to the lives of the Iraq citizens. Yes, I know, Saddam Hussein is gone (a good thing), but their country is in chaos now.

So, I salute and thank those that are serving this country. I am humbled by the sacrifices of those who have served. I deeply wish we could bring our men and women home from Iraq. I hope that the leaders of this country do not send us on yet another mission by invading yet another nation. I ask that they honor those who serve by bringing our troops home.

Sunset Photos

Every photographer has favorite subjects. One of mine is when the sun is starting to go down. The range of colors shifts to the warm side of the spectrum and everyday things take on a whole new look. Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite images with you. Hope you like them.

Truth, Lies & Chain E-Mails

I recently received a “chain” e-mail from a friend that contains a great amount of misinformation. Such e-mails get passed all over the internet and are accepted as the facts when in truth they are anything but. They are designed to look legitimate by inserting a few facts amongst a ton of disinformation. These e-mails work on the theory that if you tell a lie enough times it becomes the truth.

The e-mails also include an appeal to “share this with everyone” you know/like/care about. In my opinion this makes them a type of electronic virus. In reality we are only hurting ourselves by spreading such junk around.

So, how do you tell fact from fiction? Well for one there is a great source of true information at The Annenberg Political Fact Check. Their goal is to keep everyone honest by printing the truth. Another source for the facts can be found at the Urban Legends Reference Page. If you want to double-check everything, then you can also go to Truth or Fiction.

Right now there are a lot of political e-mails flying around the internet. Each side in this election year wants to prove that they are better than the other guy or gal. They need to show that they are the hero and that the other is some type of scum. The reality is that there are no knights on white horses. They are politicians and therefore all the same.

Here’s the next urban myth that’s starting to make the rounds: homeowners unable to pay their mortgage are walking away from their homes. In fact the lenders are spreading this lie to take the blame off of themselves for getting greedy and either deceiving their borrowers and or making loans they had no business making in the first place. The only ones walking away from homes right now are investors who purchased the home to make a ton of money.

So, if the e-mail sounds sensational and appeals to you to share it with everyone, please do us all a favor and find out if there is any validity to it at all before you hit that send button.