A Historic Day! Against All Odds Health Care Reform is Law!!!

President Barack Obama signs the Health Care Reform bill into law on March 23,2010 while Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid observe.

It's too late for me, but it isn't too late for my daughters. This is a day that was one hundred years in the making. Millions of people will be affected by this law. Yet this law has flaws. It has no real public option for those people who can't afford to get health insurance. We are not there yet, and as a progressive I feel sad that some of the core principles that we have worked years to achieve are not addressed. One in particular is the prohibition of federal money for abortions. I am not thrilled with anyone getting an abortion, but I believe it is a woman's right to choose and decide for herself. These will be addressed and hopefully there will be changes soon.

I am reminded of my post about Senator Ted Kennedy and what I said in that post about how they should pass health care for Ted Kennedy and now I am hearing Senator Chris Dodd talk about Ted Kennedy's input on this law. I said at that time when everyone was mourning Ted Kennedy:

"...it will be Ted Kennedy's ghost observing from his Senate seat holding his thumb up and cheering... for Health Care Reform as they work to pass the best health care reform bill ever to reach the Senate. And I see the victorious press conference of those who worked to pass the bill giving credit to Ted Kennedy for his untiring efforts while he was alive."

Not only did he get credit, but Nancy Pelosi spent time discussing his commitment to passing health care reform. The President also gave him a great deal of credit. It seemed that health care reform was going to be tabled earlier this year, but suddenly it arose out of the committees and wound up on the floor of the House and the Senate. Then Progressives started finding flaws with the bill and on the other side Republicans and Conservatives started telling us that it was dangerous. Now the Republicans are trying to repeal this law. But too many people need it and I have a feeling that the Republicans have no idea what is going to happen when it goes into effect. No one is going to want to give up some of these new things.:)

In case you don't know how I feel about the new Health Care Reform Law from all that I have said so far, either you were interrupted while reading, found a great TV program that you had to watch, or maybe you don't care, I am thrilled that the Congress was able to pass such an extensive law and I support it one hundred per cent. Though I would like to see some additions to it.:)

Okay, enough of the politics. I wanted to let you know about an awesome event happening on one of my new friend Evelyn's blog. She calls it a Writing-Prompt Carnival. Of course, I entered something on there and you can go check it out. If any of you remember, it is the post that I wrote for the last day of April last year when I posted a poem a day each day in April. The post is about my Newfoundland dog's last night, and it was written because I wrote the poem about him. The writing prompt so touched me and reminded me of the expression in my dog's eyes the last time we saw him. He died the next day without us there.

One last piece of business. When Janie Franz was the guest author here we gave away a free book. The person who won that book has not contacted me and it has been over a month. So I have to do a new drawing and will be sending that book to a new winner. I feel sorry for the person who didn't contact me. They missed out on a great little novel.:)

Now for more shameless promotion.:) This Thursday, March 25th is the day of my show, Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages and my guests will be Jody Feldman and Melanie Hope Greenberg. Jody is an old friend from one of my first critique groups and Melanie is also someone I know a long time who is an amazing illustrator and writer. Melanie Hope Greenberg is back this month to continue the discussion we started about the celebration of Women's History Month in March by her group with an exhibition of their illustrations, panel discussions and book readings in independent bookstores in Brooklyn. Last month we focused on the authors themselves, who are all children's picture book writers. Melanie is back to talk about both herself and this event. Please join me and my co-host Freda Roberts at 3PM Central Time for this outstanding show.

Also, I hope people are reading my Examiner. com articles. I am the NY Literature Examiner, which is funny, since I don't live there anymore.:) My next article is going to be an interview with a new author, Zoe Magnon who has published her first poetry book. Zoe also is the originator of an organization to help developmentally disabled children in the Caribbean.

Until the next time, thank you to all my readers. I appreciate all your comments and if this is your first time here, yes, I always meander like this.:)

A Sad Weekend and This is My Life!

Edward M. Kennedy with his brothers, left to right: John F. Kennedy(assasinated during his first term on November 23, 1963, Robert Kennedy (assasinated after he won the California primary for president on June 6, 1968.in Hyannis, Massachusetts. [Photo via TIME].

This weekend I spent the majority of it mourning the loss of a great statesman and legislator, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Ted to most of us. It seems that this summer has been one for death and mourning. For awhile the weather dripped sadness on us as well. But this last week we had bright sunshine and beautiful days. Just like summer should be. So it was a shock when I first heard of Senator Kennedy's death.

I was going through my tweets on my Twitter when all of a sudden I saw a small mention of his death in The New York Times. Not sure if it was true I checked out the article and sure enough they said he died. At first I was sad, but it was not the kind of sadness that made me weep. Instead it was more an introspective sadness that reminded me that he was the last Kennedy brother and that I had been alive to see all three of them, John, Robert, and Ted pass away. The first two didn't live to be Ted's age, so he outlived them. I remember where I was when both John and Robert were killed. I was in my philosophy class when someone came in to tell us to have us listen to the radio and told us that the President had been shot. We listened and then heard the sad news that he had died. My college, SUNY at Cortland, gave us the rest of the days off, since it was going to be Thanksgiving vacation anyway in a day or two. We went home and spent the time praying in whatever religious institution we frequented and watching the sad events of his funeral on TV. We got to know Walter Cronkite very well and it was the first time we had the TV on all night and through the rest of the day. I'll never forget those pictures of Jackie and the children.

This weekend reminded me of that time. When Robert Kennedy was killed we were living in California, in LA and we could have gone to the hotel. But my husband saw the crowds and he HATES crowds, so we stayed home and watched it on TV.

While watching TV we saw the horror on people's faces and then the call for a doctor and finally heard that Robert Kennedy had been shot. The sidewalk under my world literally fell out and we mourned him as if he were our own flesh and blood. We watched the train take him to his sad destination and the crowds that lined the rails to see him off. In a few months we said goodbye to California and went back to our home state, New York. It had been a horrible year with the death of Martin Luther King a few months before this. The heart went out of the Democratic Party at that time, I believe, and it didn't return for years afterward.

But this weekend I saw a change in the way Democrats mourn their leaders. There was a message at Ted Kennedy's funeral and memorials. Knowing that he orchestrated everything I am sure that it was his direction that brought young people to the podium to pray for health care reform. It was Ted Kennedy's spirit that sat there with his nieces and nephews as they mouthed words that Ted Kennedy would never say again. Ted Kennedy's spirit felt to me like it was urging Democrats on to pass that health care bill. And I did feel inspired to work to pass it. But now I just read that Max Baucus the Blue Dog Democrat is supporting single payer! It's going to work like my husband said it would. Only this time it will be Ted Kennedy's ghost observing from his Senate seat holding his thumb up and cheering the tentative steps of the defectors for Health Care Reform as they work to pass the best health care reform bill ever to reach the Senate. And I see the victorious press conference of those who worked to pass the bill giving credit to Ted Kennedy for his untiring efforts while he was alive. Then maybe his ghost will be able to go back to what he loves most - sailing. Sail on Senator Kennedy !!!!

So from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous now. This morning while both my daughter and I were in the house, though I was sleeping (She was listening to the radio very loudly so she didn't hear it either. ) the glass cover over our light fixture in the kitchen fell and cracked into a million pieces. When we both came into the kitchen I stopped, because she said: "Oh my god, you won't believe what fell!" It's a kitchen, so it could have been anything. I thought maybe it was food. But then I peeked around the corner and there on the floor underneath the light fixture was a pile of cracked glass. Glass shards were everywhere and we both said: "Put on shoes." After the last experience of cleaning up glass we both wanted to make sure we didn't get a cut as she did last time.

The fun outcome of this experience after we had swept and then vacuumed up all of the tiny pieces of the glass cover was that we needed to get another cover for the fixture. We went to Home Depot thinking we might get a replacement cover there. But when we got there all they had was complete fixtures. You won't believe how many light fixtures there are and how different they are. We finally picked one that seemed it would fit and we are hoping that we can just use the glass cover, because if we can't it will mean contacting our landlord and having her find someone to put it on for us. You have to cut the power to the house to install it, so we're not doing it. She will probably have one of her friends do it. But maybe she'll hire an electrician. The last time we asked her to help us with something she just did it herself.:) So we'll see. Meanwhile we are now the proud owners of a new ceiling light fixture.:) By the way, Home Depot was filled with people. Maybe the recession is starting to get better. Or maybe people see summer is ending and they still haven't finished their projects. Nothing like the start of school to make people realize summer is over.:)

Just before I was about to publish this post something else happened with this light fixture. We had put up only the glass cover and it was staying put. Also we had put in those energy saving light bulbs. But living with the frosted glass cover and those energy saving light bulbs we decided that the cover had to go. My daughter got the cover off without a hitch and then decided to change back the lightbulbs to the old ones. She unscrewed the first new one and then in transferring it to a table she dropped it and the thing cracked into a zillion pieces. You would think not a problem, because all you have to do is sweep up the pieces and vacuum. But no not with these light bulbs. My daughter read that they have mercury and there are specific things you should do when they are dropped. I am including the five steps you should use if you do drop an energy saving light bulb. I think some of these are a little drastic. We stayed in the room and used a broom, though we did put it outside and now need to buy a new one. We used a dust buster and then I washed every washable part. :) The most important thing is to get children, pets and yourself out of the room after you open a window. Also, if you are pregnant don't be near the stuff either. Most of all don't vacuum!!!

Until the next time, thank you to new readers and to all the people who have friended me. Please remember that I will be hosting a show every fourth Thursday each month on Blog Talk Radio. It is called: Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages. I will be interviewing authors who have published short stories and articles and publishers of magazines and ezines who publish short stories and articles. I will also be reading a little from my own adult short story. My first guests will be Virginia S. Grenier who publishes Stories for Children online and Penny Ehrenkranz who is one of the authors I interviewed here. If you want to be on the show visit the website and leave me a message. I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Catch me on Twitter too! @barbehr.

Next time I will be interviewing RD Larson, who is also a writer of short stories and has a new book just published, Maliase. I know you are going to enjoy meeting RD. I did!!

A Prediction for the Health Care Reform Bill and More Julia Child Love!

An Uncanny Resemblance

First of all there is a winner for the free book, Simply Irresistible by Jennifer Banash.

It is: Penny Ehrenkranz!!!!

I want to thank Penny for commenting on almost every interview post and your free book will be sent to you as soon as I let Jennifer know about it. Enjoy!!!

The second thing I want to talk about is a comment my husband made to me and told me to put it on my blog. It's actually a political prediction and concerns the health care reform bill. Seriously, I wasn't even writing my blog post, but something came on the news about the health care reform situation and my daughter and he had a discussion about what would be the ultimate end. So then my husband said that he knew exactly how it was going to turn out and I should write about it here. Let me tell you that this is a definite first for him. He does read my blog, which surprised me, but I'm also thrilled that he does. But this is the first time he has ever given me anything to put on it.

I should give you a little background on my husband, because you might not understand why this is significant for me. He was a history major in college, though he wound up becoming an attorney instead.:) He should have been a history professor, because he spends his day finding information and then teaching it to us.:) His greatest happiness is when he can tell us something new that he just learned. If you ask him a question he has the answer most of the time and he is able to tell you the history of almost every major American and European event. He has always been my go-to guy for trivia too. He knows the most trivial facts about musicians and sports figures. But his major attention has always been politics and government. He can cut between the bullsh-t and get to the truth, and he reads magazines like Mother Jones and The Progressive for fun. He can do the Times crossword puzzle in an hour or so and does all of the puzzles on the page. (Hal, if you're reading this, I hope that you are at least blushing a little:))

So this is his prediction. He bases it on the time when the Knicks needed a boost to win the championship and Willis Reed, who had a serious leg injury, dragged himself onto the floor so he could be there as their center and scored the first four points. It boosted the spirits of the Knicks and they won the championship from his inspiration.

He thinks that the health care reform bill is going to come to a vote and it will need one more vote to pass. Then at the last minute Ted Kennedy like Willis Reed will take himself out of his sick bed, force himself to come to the Senate just to vote and the bill will pass.

Can you imagine that scene? If he walks by himself there will be the handshakes and the back pats of his colleagues. The attention will bring out all of the media for this event and they will crowd the Congressional corridor as he arrives. But if he has to be wheeled in that will cause even more sympathy and of course the media will jump on that too. Either way he wins and the bill passes. This can happen without a single Republican vote!

So, we'll see. If it happens remember where you read about it first. I don't think any of the other blogs have this at all. Remember, my husband could be a pundit on TV. In fact, he probably knows as much as any of them. We keep telling him to start his own show, because it would be so awesome. So store this away and when it happens think Hal predicted this. I read about it on Barbara's Meanderings. Cool!! Let's see if he's right.*(See Note)

Julia Child Love

Talking about history, last weekend we went to see "Julie and Julia", which was such a good film! I had seen the original Julia Child cooking shows, The French Chef, when we lived in Buffalo in the early '70s. Her exuberance made me want to cook and I wound up getting Mastering the Art of French Cooking for a gift. So I started cooking for my friends and gave these elaborate dinner parties. It took me hours to get a dinner prepared and I had my share of disasters. Most of the time, though, my dinner guests loved the food and I was encouraged to continue.

There was one time when I thought my dinner would be ruined when our Newfoundland puppy, Lady Balzac, who was very large, got up on her hind legs and almost reached my main dish which had taken me three hours to cook. I reached it just in time to push it away from her, but my guests had seen the dog's tongue about to lick it. Yuck! Still they ate it, because she had never actually gotten her tongue near it. I might have had to cut it off!!! No seriously, I loved that dog and unfortunately she is not with us anymore. She was so sweet you couldn't be mad at her too long.:) I'll try to put some pictures of her here soon. You might remember my post about my second puppy, Flash on the blog post: The Last Poem A Day for Day 30 - April is Over.

Anyway, back to the cooking. When I had my children I stopped making elaborate dinners and my Julia Child cook book was just another one on my shelf for years. Then she wrote The Way to Cook and at a Book Fair on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan I found her in a booth and though I didn't have the book for her to sign she signed a piece of paper for me. I kept it safe and when I got home I pasted it onto the page of my book. I was so excited to have finally met her and she was so gracious to me. My little brush with culinary greatness!!!

The movie brought back all my excitement about cooking and made me want to try out some new recipes from the books. Since we saw the movie I have cooked at least five dishes from her books. I was so excited when I baked her french bread and it came out perfectly. All the pictures matched.:)

Then my older daughter, who can't resist a book she wants, got the paperback of My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme and she read it in a few days. I picked it up and immediately I was back in that dingy apartment in Buffalo listening to Julia Child instruct me on the proper way to bone a chicken, etc. Her voice is there from the first page. It is a delightful book about her adventures and her foray into cooking. I haven't finished it yet, but I look forward to reading it like I usually do for a novel. :) I can't wait to read more about her life. I mean we walk with her through the markets and shops of Paris in 1949. She describes her experiences as she delves into cooking. But what I like about this is her relationships and her honesty. She wrote this with her nephew and he gives her the leeway to be herself in this book.

Anyway, it's a great book, so if you see it you should pick it up and read it. If you are interested in history this is also a good way to see what was happening in America at that time as well as see what the French were like then too.:)

It even has made my older daughter, who never, ever cooks, think about learning to cook!!! I hope she does want to learn, because I'd love to teach her with Julia's book of course. :)

Time to stop, but please come back for this week's guest author interview, RD Larson, who has written some very interesting books including Evil Angel, her latest.

*Note: Last Thursday when I posted that prediction by my husband I had no idea that Senator Kennedy would pass away. I am deeply saddened by his passing and hope that the Democrats will be able to come together and pass the health care reform bill finally!!!