Going Home

For the first time in eight years, I’m spending the Fourth with friends and family in Rhode Island.

I’m haunted by images of lazy summer days spent skimming dog-eared paperback novels. Memories of rushing out of the house to find the perfect spot on the sand, where conversations with lifeguards, trips to the slush truck and refreshing dips in the ocean marked the passing hours.

And then, of course, there are the bars with the pulsating music and throng of bodies crowding onto the postage stamp dance floor. Late nights spent flirting with strangers, getting into embarrassing situations and then, the silly hijincs that become legend over time as the stories are retold.

That was then.

I’m sure I’ll drive back with some new stories – but I’m looking forward to quiet (a sign of maturity?), to catching up with old friends, spending some quality time with family, sitting through the oldest Independence Day parade in the country and watching the fireworks display.

I don’t think I’ll miss the heat, the tourists, the security, and craziness of the National Mall at all.

Sex is in the news today

British researchers at the University of Hull announced yesterday that men have biological clocks too. They reported that it took five times longer for men over the age of 45 to father a child.

In February, CNN reported on this biological discovery, focusing on a study that appeared in the British Journal of Human Reproduction, that “found genetic damage in sperm starting as early as age 35, might play a role.”

And, of course, all the experts agree that men and women should avoid environmental toxins like smoking and alcohol if they’re waiting to start a family.

Statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the U.S. birth rate fell to its lowest level since records have been kept. Teen birth rates are down but the number of births are at record-high levels for unmarried women.

Looks like we won’t be seeing a baby boom in our future.

Which brings me to our last item. The Supreme Court ruled on two cases dealing with sex: striking down both a gay sex ban and a law that allowed prosecution for old sex crimes.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery on the Court’s rulings?

A force greater than myself – I succumbed to the phenomenon


I had to find out what 6,000,000 people were going bananas over. On Sunday morning I strolled into a bookstore and picked up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Sorcerer’s Stone was sold out).

So far so good. The story is entertaining, the plot moves along rather quickly…..

But what is the big deal? I still prefer Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Tolkein’s Hobbit/Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Have I dated myself?

Around the world: UNICEF reports that 55 children in Mozambique die each day

Unsafe water and poor sanitation is killing almost 55 children every day in Mozambique, a country plagued by one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Cholera – which thrives where filthy water stagnates – is endemic in parts of the country. Over the past nine months, 12,433 people were treated and 109 people died from the disease.

According to UNICEF, of every 1,000 children born in Mozambique, 246 die within their first five years, with 13 percent of these deaths directly attributable to a lack of access to clean water, proper sanitation and poor hygiene practices.

“This translates into 55 children under five years of age dying every day from diarrhea. Thousands more are at risk because of cholera, infections caused by dirty water, and inadequate sanitation conditions if conditions are not improved and work is not speeded up,” UNICEF warned.

A survey conducted in November 2002 showed that 25 percent of households surveyed were spending more than an hour every day to reach their water source. Efforts to obtain fresh water place enormous strains on family members, particularly women and children.

“These chores fall heavily on children, particularly girls, preventing them from attending school. Furthermore, many schools have no latrines. The lack of privacy spells a powerful deterrent for parents to keep their daughters out of school,” UNICEF said.

In rural areas, only 26 percent of the population can get clean water, while 29 percent have access to latrines. UNICEF has responded by providing the government’s public works department with funds and chlorine for emergency water treatment, and has implemented massive hygiene promotion campaigns.

U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Improve History and Civics Education

This just in from Congressional Quarterly…..

The Senate passed a bill today aimed to improve the teaching of American history and civics in school. The bill (S 504) authorizes $25 million in annual grants through fiscal year 2007 to support the establishment of academies for teachers and students of American history and civics. The grants would be awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Colleges, universities and nonprofit educational research centers would be eligible for the program.

Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.,, the bill’s author and former secretary of the Department of Education, said “improving the instruction and appreciation of history was critical at a time when test scores show many students to be ‘civics illiterate’.” He added, “When our values are under attack, we need to understand what those values are.”

This grant provides monies for higher education. What about American children in grades K-12?

I find it appalling that students of foreign countries know more about U.S. history than American students. It’s a sad state when the U.S. influence reaches all over the globe, yet American citizens know little of anything outside their towns/cities/counties.

The state of education in this country is discouraging. And it seems that most legislation being proposed and passed neglects the system that requires the most attention and funds – primary education, grades K-12.

Shyness may be inherited

Did you hide your face into your mom’s skirts while being introduced to strangers? Did adults describe you as being painfully shy?

Science never ceases to amaze me. Harvard researchers studied MRIs taken from a group of 22-year-olds who had been described as shy or outgoing based on their childhood behavior.

What’s next? Brain sections that control the proclivity to spend money? The key to becoming a success in life? The gene for dancing or flexibility or speed?

And what happens to all of us who were born lacking these refinements?

How much faith do you place on science? And, given the opportunity, would you load your children with genetic enhancements?

When is it going to STOP raining?