LOOKING BACK AS WE MOVE FORWARD!

As we prepare to show the year 2015 the door, I took a look at some of the changes we have made since the turn of the Century just 15 years ago.

Just before our clocks and computer chips registered the year 2000, there was a rush to predict
the downfall of society as we had known it.  Years before the "fateful" date, workshops were
conducted for large and small businesses about what to do to avoid "meltdown."

Hospitals were not to schedule elective surgery as the new year came in.  Bank officials
were told to cancel all Christmas holiday vacations and to keep tellers at their stations, if needed overnight.  Travelers were told to prepare to "stay put" for the duration where ever they went.

Armageddon was predicted! Computers were not designed to accommodate the number 2000, or so we were told.

The catastrophe did not ocurr but in many cases we had to learn to adjust to new systems and technology. The months-long "panic" was for naught and we learned how susceptible we were to
to acting on misleading information.

In the late '90s and early on in 2000 we lost our homes because of manipulation of markets and because of our own desire and impatience to have what the "Jones Had."  Everyone, economist,
employer, employee and investor learned that recession wasn't pretty.

Midway, about 2007, we watched incredible feats of technology to explore
our Universe or what we thought was our Universe.  We worked alone and with others
to advance our understanding of the limitations of our own knowledge
and the infinite possibilities before us when we worked across borders.

Science was able to prevent and overcome diseases like EBOLA, HIV AID, and Cancer
even as we still listened to the voices of the uniformed who told us it was a governmental
conspiracy or worse yet the advances were sacreligious.

In the past three or four years the voices of people my age and older  have become shrill and our thinking misguided as if in a stupor. Our actions have been less than wise.  We sit, transformed by
entertainment as we attempt to legitamize candidates who play us for fools.

We lament the killings in the streets but are afraid to put away guns.  We advocate fair play for all but not those who look  "different."  We know right from wrong yet we accept inhuman treatment of prisoners, veterans and our own at the hand of those we have hired to protect us under the law.

We have watched with sorrow and sometimes a sense of guilt that we do not question the daily injustice to men, women and children who are members of our community, even as we are mesmerized by those who take advantage of the down trodden.

Younger people call out to us but they go unheard.  We are too busy slaying a dragon.  It is
too difficult to listen or to recognize that the very enemy who shall defeat us is our inability
to deal with the changes we need to make. Or like the great philosopher Pogo said,
"We have met the enemy and he is us!"

Have a good, healthy New Year!  See you at the Polls!

IMMIGRATION: MY FAMILY'S STORY

 As I learn about the great migration of 2015 I have become less patient with political, verbal and thoughtless rhetoric that call immigrants a threat to me, my family or this country.

My maternal grandparents came to America in 1906 from Russia.  My grandfather came six months before my grandmother to assure that he could gain entrance to this country.  He did.

My grandmother came later in steerage with her seven children, The oldest child was in his teens and the youngest was still in diapers.

My grandfather met them at the boat and took them  to live on  a farm. The land was given to them by a philanthropic organization.  My grandmother gave birth to her eighth child in this country.

The children consisted of five boys and three girls, As the children grew they helped my grandparents manage the land. Additional farm workers were hired to harvest the bristles from bristle cone trees, to make brushes for bath houses. My grandparents did the same in "old country."

When the children were older, my grandparents left the farm and moved to the city.

The five sons married and had children of their own as did the girls, one of whom was my mother.
Three of the sons  moved away and two remained in the same city as did my mother and her sisters.

My uncles all married women who had come to this country from other nations like Latvian, Spain
Romania and Poland. My two aunts also married immigrants. My mother married an American and one of my uncles intermarried with an American Catholic.

These were my aunts and uncles. They had between them 24 children all born here who became my first cousins. This large family stayed close to each other providing support for each other and a mutual desire to contribute in meaningful ways to this county.

The grandchildren, my cousins became physicians and nurses, lawyers, accountants, teachers and educators, writers and publishers, and mechanics.  Some established businesses and hospitals, and were responsible for advancing technology by manufacturing the wiring that carried electricity to residential homes and businesses across this nation.

One cousin now lives in Denmark and has a health clinic. One has his photography hanging in the Smithsonian Portrait gallery and another achieved national and international note upon his death for developing a unique technique for coaching rowing athletes. Some cousins lived and still live
in rural areas while others live in cities.  One of my nieces lives in Paris with her husband and two children..

 Of my 24 cousins, all had children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grand children and great,great,great grandchildren. Eleven of my first cousins are still alive.  Their children live in States that are in the West, East, South and in the North .

Some are democrats, republicans, environmentalists, socialists, tea party proponents and libertarians. Many are  working for gun control, many are not.  Many are troubled by the lack of equitable educational and job opportunity for all, many don't care. Others are advocates for social causes while others feel government pampers people too much. Many believe that the injustices which exist toward people are overblown by the press while others work to understand the issues.

For me, I remember that my grandparents looked and dressed differently from other people so that people with differences don't trouble me.  I remember my grandparents as loving me, proud of their citizenship  in this country and eager to participate in it.

My grandparents were Jews who spoke different languages but brought with them the strong belief that each life is important and none is expandable.

Because of them, I believe the concept of erecting walls or gates or fences to deny others  entry to this country because of skin color or religion is wrong.  I am disturbed and horrified when people hold a callous disregard for the rule of reason and law and puzzled sometimes by the lack of respect for knowledge and science. All those things which were the very reasons my grandparents came to achieve for themselves and their heirs in this country.

My grandparents contributed much to this country through the accomplishment of their children, grandchildren, and a long list of heirs, as did other immigrants. They did so because of
the opportunity to live and contribute equally to their communities.

We deny whence we came when we forget these principles.

THANKSGIVING 2015

THANKSGIVING 2015

NO MATTER THE TURBULENCE SURROUNDING US

LIKE WATER SEEKING THE SHORE, WE COME TOGETHER

WELCOMING ALL TO OUR NATIONAL TABLE

 LADEN WITH DISHES FAMILIAR AND NEW

AS WE REMEMBER THOSE NOT HERE.

BEVERLY D. REHFELD

VETERAN'S DAY 2015: BRAVADO OR SOMBER QUESTIONS?

Just as we are about to celebrate Veteran's Day, it is reported that Military funding for programs to recruit people for military service is under investigation by Senator Jeff Flake and John McCain,
Republicans of Arizona.*

The Senate investigation has produced a 100-page report which has unearthed questionable Military marketing contracts for $6.8 million with  professional sports teams by all leagues in what is termed
"paid for patriotism."

Instead of spending time and energy on developing ill advised contracts with organizations already profitable without the addition of tax payers money, the Military failed to first ask itself a number of
important questions.  Questions like:

Are the promises we make to recruit people for military service fulfilled?

Could it be that people no longer respond to the call for military recruitment because
we are less than honest with plans for the Military future?

Is it possible that people no longer wish to respond to recruitment policy
that seems to make one group of people less deserving than another?

Do we question the fairness of tax payers money to enrich major and minor sports leagues
so the Military can stage a patriotic message?

Could it be that the military has forgotten the worth of human life?

This Veteran's Day we need to honor the men, women and families who have served and who do serve this Country by working to fulfill our promises to them not through questionable bravado
or "paid for patriotism" but with our honest and somber gratitude.


*Emmarie Huetteman, New York Times (11-05-2015)

A SCAREY STORY: "GUN RAGE" IN THE SUBURBS!

Recently I attended an afternoon meeting in one of St. Louis's affluent suburbs.

I was early so I parked next to the curb a few doors down from the address I wanted.
While I waited for the meeting to begin, I pulled out my phone to catch up on my messages.

I was engrossed in conversation when I noticed a cobalt blue luxury sedan pull up and stop next to me.

My first inclination was that I had parked in some one's space. My car is a '98 beat up sedan.

I looked up. There was a well groomed meticulously dressed man shouting at me
through his car's closed window .

 I turned my phone off and opened my window to find out what was wrong.

The driver who was red in the face was pointing at the back of my car and waving his hands. At first I was frightened by his demeanor. His words were less than gentle  they were accusatory and filled with rage.

When I took a breath and listened for a moment, I realized his problem was not with me, my car or the space I had pulled into. None of these bothered him. What bothered him was a sign I had on the rear bumper of my car that said, "Gun Sense Voter."

When I got over my fright, his arrogant, insulting words did not bother me as much as the ignorance displayed by one with the intelligence to know better. After his tirade had passed, he drove off and I was glad that neither he nor I had a gun with us.

Would that I could say the same for people in other towns and cities throughout this land.

BREAKING DOWN THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE

Two weeks ago I attended a dinner at a friend's home in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Unfortunately the cold weather did not permit the dinner to be served out of doors in the traditional skua, so we ate inside.

 We were eight people around the table, each one representing a different generation. I guessed that my hosts were in their late forties, early fifties. Their children, a son about nine and a daughter in her first year in high school.

 The other guests included a couple, the woman still working as a Judge in the St. Louis court system and her husband a former Airline executive, now retired who bakes breads for non profit organizations and Frankie Muse Freeman, nationally know attorney and civil rights activist,
and me.

Our conversation included the nine year old son's story of hikes with his father to find eatable mushrooms in a local park, to a discussion of candidates running for the Republican and Democratic Presidential nominations.  We spoke of family recipes and about organizations working for more equable opportunity and fairness in all facets of daily life.

All the while, the young man played with his cell phone even though his sister seemed enthralled with the adult conversation.

As we talked I marveled at Frankie Freeman who will be 100 next year. Her eyes may be failing but not her mind nor her inquisitiveness nor her desire and ability to still "right" things. She insists on people calling her Frankie no matter who they are or were they are so I will do so here.

Frankie was breaking glass ceilings long before we knew what the word meant. She earned her degree in law at a time when women were thought to be best kept at home. Even so she married raised two children and has known the joys and sadness that life hands many from time to time.

As a black woman, when she looked for a job she had to struggle to have her educational credentials recognized. She  met that challenge by opening her own law office, one in which she still worked until just a few years ago.

 She has written The book, "A Song of Faith and Hope," about her life and has served on numerous city, state and national commissions dealing with human and civil rights, been honored by many of them, is a devoted member of her church, but is eager to learn about other faiths as well.

 Frankie has meet with presidents, governors and elected officials in Missouri. Recently she was appointed to serve on the Commission on Presidential Scholars, was named St. Louis Citizen of the Year, and will be honored at the 33rd Annual Thomas Jefferson Society Dinner hosted by the Missouri Historical Society in November.

Even so, the night she attended the Sukkot dinner I watched and listened as she spoke with interest and enthusiasm to our youngest guests. For those of us who were older she kept bringing our far ranging conversation back to the City of St. Louis reminding us that there are no easy answers and there is "still much work to do right here."

 I came away from that dinner feeling hopeful that the barriers which sometimes exist between generations can be broken down if we, like Frankie Muse Freeman, are able to deal honestly with the reality of human problems and respect each other as we go about the work of overcoming them.

GRANDMA, POLITICS AND THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

I grew up in a large family of aunts, uncles and many cousins.  Very often the whole family congregated at my grandmother's home where she "ruled" over all of us.

When we would come together, more often than not conversation would turn to politics.

As children, my cousins and I would stop whatever we were doing to watch and listen to the adult discussion and behavior especially when they were talking "politics." They would raise their voices, sometimes get up from the chairs they were sitting in or push themselves away from the table so hard they spilled coffee or soup as the case might be.

Sometimes people would get angry and rise their voices and get very red in the face. Sometimes they shouted at each other. When the voices were especially loud, someone would shout something that made grandma raise up out of her chair and yell, "You believe that and I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge!"

As a child I was intrigued that my grandmother owned a bridge.

During this month of September 2015 I have been thinking a lot about my family here and abroad.I have been thinking too about my grandmother and her ability to get even ill tempered, uninformed but passionate members of the family to take a minute to quiet down and think.

When the candidates running for office make uninformed promises that are ill tempered, and worse yet, could do real harm to program and services people need, it is time for voters to tell the candidates, in the words of my grandmother, "You believe that and we'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge!"

GO FOR IT JOE!

Dear Vice President Biden,

This is to urge you to enter the Democratic nomination to run for the 2016 Presidential election.

Here is why.  Right now, our country is in great turmoil and your extensive experience in elective office is needed.

You have served the people of your state. this country and around the world in a principled, decent manner in keeping with this Nation's best interest and tradition.

You understand the connection of each state's laws to the other and how they apply or fail to serve people, our land, the air we breathe and the water we drink as well as the potential of the still to be understood bounty of the seas.

You respect federal law and equitable justice and taxes for all.

You are able to learn from mistakes you make and move forward without blaming others.

Your personal history includes the ability to put aside a real sense of pain and sadness  to help others.

You do not "dumb down or over simplify" complex issues we face as a nation and you encourage others to do the same.

Your years of living provide you with the ability to recognize feelings of insecurity and anxiety in others while negotiating and ameliorating human and world issues.

You respond honestly and directly to questions from the public and press.

You are not reluctant to speak of governmental incompetency and fraud and then go on to do something about it.

Through personal family history you recognize the benefits that advocacy and unions have been to increasing better working conditions, safer product use and educational opportunity for more rather than fewer people.

Your good humor, flexibility and common sense enable you to move about gracefully even in ever-changing  times.

Mr. Vice President, should you move forward to take on a run for the nomination,  I  do not offer you campaign expertise, nor money, nor influence of any real importance  but I do believe there are many who would support what I am saying in this letter.

I believe they and I would offer you our most precious treasure  should you decide to run, our votes.

Go for it Mr. Vice President!

Sincerely.

Beverly D. Rehfeld      

THIS TIME: LAW AND COMMON SENSE WIN!

On August 3, a federal judge in Idaho struck down the State's so called ag-gag law for violating the First Amendment.

The Law in question is also found in seven other states and was purported to be about protection of private property.  The Law was advanced by farm owners and the agriculture lobby to protect against the release of undercover videos taken by animal welfare advocacy groups.

Under the Law anyone, journalist or farm employee could face jail and be fined should the expose result in losses to farmers by exposing misconduct to the public eye. Sponsors of the ag-gag Law
claimed that videos exposed the industry to public opinion,

In striking down the Law the judge said that food production for the public market is not a private
matter.

When I read about this decision I thought of the many times in our country's history when exposes  led to changes in the manufacturing, production and distribution of products which indeed affect
the health and safety of people.

So often when we discuss quality of life issues like water pollution, or gun control or community health, arguments against advancing common sense changes are denied with less than accurate legal
interpretation of The Constitution.

The Idaho decision is a welcome one as it clarifies that difference between the state's right and public interest in seeing what goes on behind closed doors cannot be negated by state legislators.

This time Law and common sense won!

REFLECTING ON THE ADA

On July 26th when we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act,  I thought not only of the people who have benefited from this Law and of how much as  Society we have gained, but I also thought of people who brought the ADA to fruition.

I thought too of the long struggle to have the voices of those with little or no political power heard.

I still remember the names and faces of those I had the privilege  of working with, many of whom I still hear from.  Some have died, but all helped me learn and grow.

These are some of the people who I remember and without whom the ADA would not have been possible:

From parents and families who in the face of many obstacles still believed that there was a place for people with disabilities to learn and be productive in our society;

To those who wanted to use their own voices to be heard and successfully formed their own organization, "Speaking for Ourselves;"

To the Federal Judge wise enough to close down one of the country's most notorious institutions where both staff and patients had lost their humanity;

To the student intern who helped developed a small brochure called, "What do you say to a person with mental retardation? Try, Hello!"

To the many care workers and  University trained professionals who patiently and encouragingly offered therapy in music, art and  vocational skills;

To the attentive record keepers who found flaws in systems that sometimes lost track of family members that had been inadvertently  incarcerated and then took the time and made the effort to rectify the error;

To the diversity of people of all color, of all educational and economic means who worked long and hard to bring about society's change in attitude;

To business people who understood the value of hiring employees who were productive and reliable;

To a small group of actors who took a chance to tell the story in a different way through mime;

To far-sighted state and federal legislators, small community elected officials and to national and international figures who listened and then brought the power of their authority to help all of us better understand our obligation to each other;

All of them and others came to mind as the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its 25th Anniversary on July 26, 2015.

THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT, FOR TAKING US INTO PRISON!

The President's visit to El Reno federal prison did more than encourage any one of us to think, there but for the grace of god go I.

Prisons, like our courts and justice system are often out of sight and mind unless of course, we have the occasion to feel or be in their presence for large scale or petty crimes.

What the President's visit to El Reno did for all of us was to remind us that this country's public policy and institutions represent each of us and the national values we have in place.

It is all too easy to find our attention confined to the vigor and demands of ordinary life rather than feel a real sense of responsibility for things not easily visible like prisons.

It is often difficult to understand our connection as citizens to our national doctrine of fairness, equitable  justice and opportunity for all, yet all provide us with individual well being.

President Obama walked into a prison alone, but he took with him the hope of enlightened citizens, unafraid to examine this country's short comings and make them better.


 

ARE TIMELESS, UNIVERSAL FEELINGS EXPRESSED IN OLD LETTERS?

A friend told me she had been going through boxes of old photos. As she did so, she discovered hand written letters from her children when they attended summer camp for the first time during the 60s.

In one letter her son sent a dull pencil and requested that she "sharpen it" and "send soaks."

Another child that she had taught to iron clothes said he was having a good time but had "scotched" (instead of scorched) his pants.

In another letter, a religious ornament worn around the neck and meant to protect the wearer was returned because "a mouse and a snake ran across the cabin floor."

As she told me all this, I was reminded of  Allan Sherman's  parody about letters from children at camp. The song was called, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" and was a big hit.

The 60s was a time when summer camp may have marked the first time young children were sent  away from their home. Nothing more than an obligatory letter connected them to family to say they were O.K. and were having a good time, no matter the spelling.

Allan Sherman's  parody on camp life captured both the universally felt anxiety of parents and the innocence of children who were separated from each other for the first time.

I wonder, is the electronics age able to capture the warm humor of such human feelings as well?

WORDS AND JUSTICE SIRICA AND LAW

The Affordable Care Act, with all its flaws and problems has many supporters and users. However, its opponents have now taken the Act to the Supreme Court.  

In a well-researched article in the May 26 edition of The New York Times, columnist Robert Pear

says the opposition may be based on an error in the use of words.  Pear bases his assessment on interviews with members of Congress, their staff, committee members and the process of  drafting and reviewing the Law.

If Pear's assessment is correct, it seems to me the words which may have been written in error

 could indeed cause legal scholars, and politicians grounds for debate.

The dictionary defines the word "law" in six different ways.  Each definition is broken down in several different categories and usage.  Synonyms for the word are also listed. 

One of the main definitions is that law is the basis for civil and communal behavior.  Even so

our history as a nation reminds us  that sometimes laws can be less than just or fair.

Mr. Pear concludes his article with a quote from Justice Antonin Scalia who said "it is not what Congress would have wanted, but what Congress enacted."  With all due respect to Justice Scalia, I wonder as a nation are we unable to admit mistakes and correct them?  

     

SO WHAT IS SHELL'S OIL DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN REALLY ABOUT?

Even in the face of one failure after another less than three years ago, Shell still plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean.

The reason given?  We need the oil to provide the energy Mr. & Mrs. America,  and the world needs. Say what?

Have we come to a point in our civilization that neither  fish nor foul nor the lives of people who will work in one of nature's most awesome and unpredictable environments are worth little? Are we about to be taken in once again by false promises that we can beat the will of Mother Nature?

Are we so enticed by prospects for pay-offs, for returns on the dollar that this lark by Shell is a must-have for the benefit of humanity?  Or is it another futile effort to benefit a handful of investors?

Have we become so greedy or so disrespectful of human limitations that we can now accept that the environment of which we are a part is now to be considered as fodder for unworthy endeavors?

I do not know why the Obama administration gave Shell and the Petroleum industry a green light to go ahead with this folly in face of the drilling, fractoring and other sure-fire remedies that have failed and created more chaos than benefits in our hunt for energy.

I do know that I wish I had a kayak and a paddle so I could join the activists  to block Royal Dutch Shell from using the port of Seattle for their drilling fleet.

DESPITE CONTROVERSY AND DISASTER SPRING ARRIVES!

These last days of April brought controversy to another city here in America.  We seem to have a difficult time understanding that injustice is like a nasty contagious disease that affects all of us.

In spite of national turmoil and natural disaster, Mother Nature blessed us with a glorious day today. The kind of day that we look for excuses to be outside.  Even though parts of the country are dealing with drought, while other parts are concerned with flooding, St. Louis enjoyed a cloudless day.

Date and weather conditions are registered by weather people, I prefer to keep track of Spring's arrival by the buds that are suddenly in bloom and the noisy sound of birds.

Today, both showed their presence and were welcomed.

TOP TEN: WHY ARE THE POLICE SO ANGRY?

TOP TEN REASONS WHY POLICE ARE ANGRY IN AMERICA.

1) Congress gives community police departments surplus war equipment
and then tells them, "No rough stuff!"

2) States and communities do not provide programs to train police what
to do when there are protests.

3) The Federal Government makes and has laws to register guns and provide
oversight for the gun and ammunition industry. State governors and legislators
tell local police they will be arrested if they implant Federal Law.

4) The Chamber of Commerce and tourist industry urge open carry laws to attract
gun toting conventions and visitors.  A visitor gets drunk and creates a threatening
commotion. We  call the police.

5) We vote for representatives and officials who buy war surplus guns and
ammunition to help police maintain the peace and then find it adds to chaos.

6) We claim qualified people do not apply for police jobs. We do little to
attract young men and women who want to serve their communities as police
officers.

7) We engage in busy work designing and redesigning guns and equipment for
safety as men, women and children are shot each day on our city streets. The police are faulted.

8) We allow and invite vigilantes with concealed guns and shotguns to protect our
families rather than regulate the weapons industry.

9) We cringe from anything that smacks of gun registration as police are shot
by unknown assailants.

10) And finally, a policeman is held for murder and we run out to buy still more
guns, legal or not to protect ourselves.

Maybe these are some of the reasons police officers are angry and take out
their hostility on the people they are sworn to protect.

NOW IT'S OUR TURN! VOTE ON TUESDAY!

We may have spent this weekend in celebration and contemplation of religious holidays or we may have simply communed with nature or been lucky enough to gaze upon a full moon in all its glory.

One thing for sure, not many of us are necessarily in the mood for the serious business of dealing with non glamorous,  local elections.  No star candidate.  No punditry or polls of state or national interest just the hard work of making sure candidates and issues like bonds and propositions are offered in keeping with our democratic process.

Small local elections are the bedrock of our society.  Who we elect to school boards, who we elect to judicial offices and who we elect as sheriff is important to each of us and to the community in which we live.

Some may say voting is an exercise in futility.  Others may ask, why bother?  And still others may believe the very process of voting in wards and districts is weighted in favor of one party or the other, and they may be right.

What to do then?  Your vote in this election is the first step in righting unfair decisions.

If you haven't tossed the Voters Guide written by The St. Louis League of Women  in the recycle bin, sit down and read it.  If it is nowhere to be found go to your local library and read it or go on line to STLtoday.com/votersguide. The Guide, prepared by 40 members of the League, is non-partisan and  published by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, it lists your area, your candidate and the Proposition or Bond Question now before voters.

Candidates are asked to respond to the same two questions.  The Candidate's answer is listed, along with  "no" response when appropriate and Questions are explained briefly. When you see a "no response" answer, ask yourself why?

Weather you live in Ferguson, University City, or Franklin County, the only protection we have in a democratic system is to make sure the process of law is protected, not by guns or false rhetoric but by the power of our vote as citizens.

Use it on Tuesday!

A WALKER'S INFORMAL TOUR OF SUNDIALS IN ST. LOUIS

Sundials have always fascinated me.  One of the people I walk with is something of a sundial historian.

 He has developed a unique map for a Sundial Trail here in St. Louis. A member of the North American Sundial Society, he offered to provide an informal tour of some of the locations listed on his map.

We visited six different sites.  Each sundial was quite beautiful and unique. Most were located in St. Louis' Forest Park and in gardens dedicated to historical figures or events like the Korean War Memorial.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has an unusual sundial modeled after one located in the Topkapi
 Palace in Istanbul Turkey,  The St. Louis sculptor Abraham Mohler made the marble pedestal and engravings which display American, Italian, Babylonian and Islamic prayer times.

One of our stops was at the Long Elementary School in the suburb of Crestwood where we found a large sundial made to be on the ground, lined with flower boxes filled and maintained by students.
The Sundial Trail Map locates other interesting sites like the Cahokia Mounds Historical Center, Jefferson Barracks and the St. Louis Arsenal. Each is properly displayed and described on a readable road map.

When you want something to do on  a lovely Spring Day try walking outside and hunting for sundials.  More information at dls-website.com

THE FIRST QUARTER SLIPS BY WITHOUT WARNING!

It seems impossible! Yet the first Quarter of 2015 slipped by us.

Weather and her companions plagued all of us as the year changed. 
Snow, sleet and ice troubled many.


Floods, mud slides and sink holes claimed lives, land and property.
All this as fields went dry from lack of rain.


People were restless, some from confinement, others from insecurity
of not knowing what comes next and for how long.


Even so, somehow we found time to celebrate a snowman,
a wedding, a bar mitzvah, a christening
and to grieve universally for injustice.


Some overcame worry with humor,
even as patience wore thin for others.


We helped each other, improvising when necessary
bemoaning when greed overtook others.


And then suddenly April was here.
We had come through the first quarter of 2015.


How can it be?

DOES THE POWER Of THE NRA & THE GUN INDUSTRY THREATEN OUR SAFETY?

In 1986, President Ronald Regan signed the Law Enforcement Officers Protection ACT.  The Law directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to ban ammunition that could pierce the body armor of police officers.  The NRA opposed the Legislation.


In September of 2013,  St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, and Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte,  and Chuck Wexler executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum wrote an article, which appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They urged Missouri's Legislators to sustain Governor Nixon's veto of HB 436. The Bill would have "nullified all Federal gun laws in Missouri."  The officers explained that communities would be less safe if Missouri's Law Enforcement Agencies would be unable to work with Federal Agencies like the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Officers asked legislators to uphold the Governor's veto of HB 436.


The legislators did not uphold the Governor's veto of  HB 436.


In 2012, 20 children and six social workers were gunned down in their school in Newtown, Connecticut.  The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission was appointed to look into the tragedy. Three years later the Commission presented its findings in a 277 page Report to the Governor who said he doubts the state  legislature  has the "appetite" to take up many of the additional gun control recommendations included in the Commission's Final Report. Some parents of the Sandy Hook massacre are suing the manufacturer of the gun(s) used by the shooter.  But Congress, prodded by the gun lobby, passed a law in 2005 protecting the gun industry from liability for death and injuries caused by fire arms.


On March 11, Michel D.. Sher of the New York Times wrote:
"The Bureau of Alcohol,  Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had proposed to restrict the armor-piercing 5.56-millimeter "M855 green tip" rifle bullet, saying its increasing use in hand guns that could be concealed posed a threat to law enforcement officers. But in a Twitter post the Agency acknowledged the intense opposition to the change and said it would shelve the proposal for now.  The opposition came from Republican Senators and the NRA saying the "Second Amendment is at risk."


In Tallahassee, Florida, four moths after a mentally ill gunman wounded three students in Florida State.  State legislators are considering a Bill that would allow holders of concealed weapon permits to carry guns onto public universities and college campuses.  Some legislators have expressed reservations about the Bill because of the many students living on campuses. Eight other states now permit  gun holders to bring them on campuses. Marion Hammer, former NRA national president and head of its Florida Chapter, said, "Oopponents' arguments are emotional hysterics not based on facts."


On March 13, 2015, Police Officer Don Re wrote on his blog donofalltrades.com of his experience of trying to save the life of a six year old child who had been shot during a shoot-out in Ferguson, Missouri.  Officer Re ended his account with, "This is all too sad and it needs to stop.  Someone please figure out how!

Do I believe the NRA and the Gun Industry threaten my safety and the safety of my country?  You betcha!  What can I do about it?  I will support and vote for the candidate(s) who will not abide this kind of power and urge others to do the same.                   

SIX MONTHS AND COUNTING. . .

It has been six months since Ferguson, Missouri first became the name of a national movement  grown into a world-wide one. Since that time and now, people, organizations and some elected officials  have heeded the call to lance some of the festering corruption, prejudice and ignorance which has stymied communities and oppressed people.


Most of the activity has been well-intentioned, some better than others.


Recently, one of the organizations to which I belong sponsored the program "Community Policing: Where do we go from here?" Two speakers shared both their first-hand experiences and predictions  for the future.


One speaker was a career police officer who since retirement has become a training consultant for police departments in the region.  The other was chaplain to a number of police departments in the area.


Both spoke of the aftermath of Ferguson demonstrations, protests and plundering of properties.
They described the breakdown of systems and people, men women and children's outrage.  They told of the lack of respect for laws and the people entrusted to enforce the laws in our communities.


Both speakers were articulate, honest and forthright in assessing our ability to resolve long term issues.  They said the issue of lack of respect for police will be with us for a long time and both gave their reasons for their assessment.


Both spoke of the lack of leadership of the protestors.  Both spoke of the issues of race and religion,  the lack of opportunity for education, and the disparity in wages for work, while describing conditions found in impoverished to well-to-do neighborhoods.


Mentioned too was lack of parental supervision, the communication value of electronic equipment, the press and media, pornography and lack of qualified people to work in our communities whether as teachers or as police officers.


Neither the police chief nor the clergyman seemed able to connect the dots between the anger  of the protestors and society's double standards set by elected officials, institutions and individual disregard for law, life and fair treatment for all.

After the presentations, I found myself wondering how our country became so hardened to accepting  debtors prisons to punish people rather than supporting education to help people learn?

How had we gone from providing families with financial help for the elderly and disabled to wanting to disassemble plans now in place?

How had we gone from a nation that was inventive and productive for many, to one that is selective for a few?
 
How had we gone from a country where trains ran on time to one in which the tracks were in disrepair?

How had police departments become military fortifications  and why?

How had we as a people forgotten about the importance of  our civil participation in the political process?


There is no quick, simple or slick answers to any of this, but until we begin to understand how these issues relate to Ferguson and Ferguson relates to these issues unrest will be with us for a long time to come.

TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD? THAT'S THE QUESTION!

One of the things I have noticed as I travel around the country is that cities which keep their waterfronts and coastal areas open for public use fair well.  Once blighted areas are brought to life by planning for public use as opposed to man-made structures like buildings, hotels or stadiums.


Right now, St. Louis is contemplating whether or not it needs to build a brand new stadium for its privately owned football team.  The City wants to erect it on the banks of the Mississippi.


All sorts of fancy juggling of public and private money investors, taxes and bonds and commercial
reasons, not to speak of football fans are pushing to "prove" the soundness of the undertaking. Yet, I hear no discussion nor do I see any planning to keep the great Mississippi Riverfront easily accessible
for public use and enjoyment.


When I questioned an urban planner about this omission I was told, "we do have a walkway and bicycle path planned around the structure,"  and then was told of the "do ability" of raising the money and the dollar benefits of a new stadium..


Whether or not the move to build a new stadium makes sense at time when the City has such great need in other areas of daily life is yet another question seemingly not taken too seriously.


But I do know that the benefits of public, year around access to the Country's, if not the world's, great River should at least be a part of the decision making process in determining whether or not to build
a football stadium on the banks of the Mississippi.


Yet, I hear no discussion nor do I see any alternative plan to keep the great Mississippi Riverfront
easily, and invitingly accessible to visitors and the public alike.


Are we asking the right question in our soliloquy "to build or not to build a Football Stadium?"