The Black Vote?

Well Election day is here and I just finally have to say it. I have heard a few people say that they worry blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black. First of all I think that is a crock. I’m sure there may be some blacks voting just for that reason but the majority have thought through the issues and made a choice based on that. And as for the ones voting for Obama based solely on race so what? I think they have earned that right. People (usually white people) say the past shouldn’t matter but it does matter when your people are the ones that endured it.

I am part Native American. I remember my great grandma who was full blood Cherokee telling me about her family that died on the trail of tears, about how they were taken from their homes, forced to move, forced to stop speaking their language and treated like they were just “filthy Indians” Was I there to experience it? No. Does it still make me hurt? Yes. Because I saw the pain in my grandmothers eyes and she and her experiences connected me to the past.

So again I say so what if blacks vote because they are proud that Obama could be the first black president. I remember seeing as a child the Civil Rights movement. I thank God that I had parents that taught me that ALL people were equal especially in a time when some people were fighting for that equality. I remember seeing the signs when visiting in the South “Colored use back door” I remember riding the Cota buses in Ohio and blacks being given a hard time, a stare, called names if they sat in the front .I remember watching the firemen turn hoses on black protesters and watching rocks being thrown at children who were going to school. So I think that African Americans certainly have earned the right to have a deep pride that a black man is running for president and vote accordingly.

Some will say prejudice is dead. But it is not. It is rearing its head when some remarks are made about this election. It did also when my grandson was born and some friends ended the friendship when they saw he was bi racial and one lady upon seeing him instead of a white baby changed her awwwww tone of voice and said with disgust “what IS he?” It’s alive today when people see us together. Prejudice is here, just not out in the open. Don’t even get me started on how some whites react when my grandson speaks Swahili lol

One last thing that bothers me about all this too...why is it society in general complains there are no good African American male role models but then when a black man accomplishes something he gets told it’s because he got special treatment as an African American?

The whole thing drives me nuts. All I know is that I saw an elderly black man voting today and he was crying because he never thought he would see the day a black man was a candidate. Think about how the world was when this man started his life and how it is now. He has been through it all to get to this point where he can enter that booth for the option of voting when he used to never even be allowed to vote, let alone for a successful African American. It is an amazing thing.

I’m not sure if I got my thoughts out well enough .I just know that while there is still a lot of prejudice to overcome, I am proud of how far we have come and I applaud and encourage the pride African Americans must be feeling. They deserve it.

Hungry Americans

Hey everyone..Just a little reminder .I know things are financially tight if not impossible for some of us. But I would like to encourage everyone to still donate to the food pantries.
Prices are up .Parents are having to make the choice to pay for gas and rent OR buy food.More and more they can't afford both and kids are going hungry. The pantries have been swamped and applications for food stamps according to news reports are heading off the charts. I know the post office food drive just passed, but there are others plus you could call churches in the area.Many have pantries and would greatly appreciate the help.
Some people think pantries help people just for the asking all the time but in reality a person going to a pantry has to show proof of who is in the household and income.That is a good thing .However you are usually only able to go once a month maybe twice and it is a 3 day supply . Many working families do not qualify for stamps even though all their income is paying bills and filling the gas tank to go to work or some have medical expenses. So while the pantries help they certainly cannot feed a family indefinitely which is what some people believe. Combine that with less donations as people tighten their own belts due to economy pantries are running out of even those 3 day supplies and hungry families are turned away.
Another myth about food pantries are they only need help during holiday seasons or the winter. Very untrue because in the summer months children are out of school on summer vacation and the ones that were on reduced or free lunch or breakfast programs lose those meals.Many children in the summer eat once a day and some not even that.
Hunger is still a VERY big problem in our country 12 months a year.
As far as donations ,of course anything is appreciated but in addition to mac and cheese and green beans there are other great choices to donate for health and protein.
Some are..small cans of tuna,ham,chicken, dry beans, peanut butter,powdered eggs,chili, soups,powdered milk etc
Some pantries will take donations of extra garden produce, or even frozen left over slices of pizza.
Some places that have freezers available will take donations of fresh dairy and meat but be sure to check first beforehand to see that they have the means to keep fresh items from spoiling.
To make it easier on your own pocket and still donate,look for markdowns, day olds and sales in the grocery stores or raid your own pantry of things you know you will probably end up not using. Better off going in a hungry tummy then the trash can.Just remember if it's so stale or old that it's not safe for you to eat please don't expect someone else to. You would be surprised by a few people that donate way outdated rusted cans or moldy stuff thinking well if they are hungry enough they can eat anything.That's dangerous not to mention cruel.
I have donated to pantries ever since I was in elementary school. We would have a food drive at Christmas at Parsons Elementary in South Columbus and each child would bring in cans of food to put around a large Christmas tree in the hall. It is one of my favourite memories .I have also had to use pantries and nothing feels better then when your kids are hungry and somebody cares that they eat .
So if possible..please call your local church or human services, boy scouts ,fire dept etc and find out when and where the food drives are happening. Even just one can,jar, box can make a difference in a child getting to eat for a day

The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Special thanks to American Greetings.

First Jump!

Hey Everyone! Welcome to my new blog "The Jumping Frog"
I chose that name because That's how I think, My brain jumps from thing to thing to thing just like a frog.
I am likely to blog on all kinds of unrelated topics, some serious, some funny,
some pure opinion and some fact. I hope you will join me!
Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Connie. Howdy! I live in Ohio and was born
to two of the best hillbilly parents there ever was :) Well at least part hillbilly.
The rest..well I'll let you know when I know lol..Basically I have a little of everything in my family I think.
I'm 47, have a couple of grown daughters, and outgrew a couple of marriages.The marriages ended,the friendships did not.
I also have an adorable grandson who is almost 4 yrs old. An almost 200 lb Saint Bernard and a 7 lb poof ta dog(so called for the way her hair just POOFS) ,She is
half Mexican Chihuahua and half poodle and SCARYYYY looking .Think a exploding furball on skinny legs with beady eyes! But She's loving in spite of it all
I'm a freelance writer .Well That's about it for now.Drop me a comment! Tell me about YOU. I look forward to meeting you all .I hope you hang on through my growing pains here and stick around to read the blogs!
As always!
The Jumping Frog!
"Ribbet"