The Silence is Broken!

Below this commentary are links taken from Face book.  Suddenly, relatives and friends (ages 18-34) who are normally labeled complacent by the political pundits are speaking out.  The two issues that have brought this generation to a rallying cry are the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and the imminent possible passing of two bills (Protect IP Act -PIPA in the Senate) and (Stop Online Piracy Act- SOPA in the House of Representatives).  

The President has stalled the Keystone XL tar sands' bill  (http://www.savebiogems.org/).  If you have not been paying attention, this bill was fast-tracked by our U.S. Congress to put down a pipeline from Canada to Texas.  Look it up on the links provided.  It should shake your world a bit.  Talk about a major target.  Furthermore, we are not looking at alternative methods of energy.  We really need to think outside of the box about energy.  What are our alternatives?

Then these two bills in Congress are throwing the baby out with the bath water.  The following link will help you understand these bills a bit more (https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/).  Being a fan of the Internet, the frustrations of worms, hackers, and pirates are costly.  The beauty of the Internet is its accessibility.  Before the Internet, piracy was alive and well.  Knock offs and plagiarism are old artifacts of our commercial culture.  Censorship is not the answer.  This is a country where freedom of speech has been a tenant our military fought to preserve.  We cannot shrivel up and just let our legislators make a decision without hearing from us. 

Kudos to all my friends and family who are rallying and working to get the word out about these issues. It is important that citizens are active in the political dialogue.  Now call, write, text, tweet, or email your legislators and tell them what you think.  

The Dying Art of Writing Notes

It is no wonder the U.S. Post Office is having difficulty staying afloat.  Thank you notes are far and few between, not too mention the flow of holiday cards.  It is so easy to text a thank you, or a birthday greeting.  Some of us just tweet, while others may take a little longer to email, but the true expression of love and gratitude can be expressed with a lengthy and congenial phone call.  If you are unable to contact the person, voice mail allows you to leave the message without a conversation.

Writing a note or a letter seems to be a dying art.  History is famous for the letters that were sent between famous people, Jefferson and Adams, Napoleon and Josephine, G.I.s and their loved ones (they Skype now).  How are we going to have a collective history?  If letters and cards are not written and sent, history cannot be traced and tracked.

So, the next time you want to say THANK YOU, get out a pen, a note card, and write a pithy note to a friend, family member, or helpful neighbor.  You will not only be part of some one's collective history, you will be helping the post office, Hallmark, and perhaps creating a job for someone. 

Now, PICK UP THAT PEN!  USE A STAMP!

Keeping Up the Shine After the Tinsel is Gone

Well, my birthday has come and gone.  The Winter Solstice has been noted with lights, gifts, food, and festivities.  Now I have to get about the business of putting away the trimmings, decorations, and all remnants of the Christmas Holiday Season.

Many people say there is a let down after the Winter Festivities.  Some like to make resolutions to face the cold, dark days of winter with a spirit of renewal and a charge to "become better.”  Here is my advice.  Wrap up the holidays, check the calendar for the next significant holiday for you!  For me, it is Valentine's Day.

You see Valentine's Day is not for couples only.  It also is for those of us who understand the concept of self-love.  One must learn the art of self-love, of taking care of yourself, so you can take care of others.  Now, this is a concept that I personally struggle with every year. I fail miserably at it, but I do think about it.

Some of you may want to look at the calendar and see which holidays you may have off (King's Birthday or President's Day). Some of you might want to cure your holiday withdraws with a trip to New Orleans or Rio for Mardi Gras.  Hey, don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

If any of the suggestions from above don't seem to help, you can always mark your calendar for that wonderful day in March when Daylight Savings Begins (March 11).  The days will seem longer even though you still are cold.

Well, anyway, wrapping up the holidays and putting the items that mark memories, traditions, and happy times does not mean all ends.  Take some time to think about how you can keep those happy memories burning and the laughter continuing in your day-to-day life.

It's My Party

There are those who are in disbelief, but I've made it. It is true. I am celebrating that milestone birthday. There are senators and congressmen who are complaining that I am on the "dole."  I am a true babyboomer now.  I can collect medicare and social security with this birthday. 


My family is celebrating this milestone. Not because of the of my eligibilty, but because of my survival. You see birthdays for me the last twenty years have been gifts. They have been joyous occasions that send my husband and I into a dance. My birthdays make both of us giddy like a pair of two sixteen year olds.


It's my party and I'm celebrating because I AM SURVIVING.  I have chalked up a heart attack caused by a dissected large ascending artery (LAD) and a stroke caused by a patent frame ovalee (PFO).  Yes, you see me dancing every birthday. Glasses clink, voices lift in song, family members from acrose the nation call me. This is a big deal.


I am fortunate. I have healthcare. I live in a state with excellent health care providers. Leading technological advances and research is readily available to the residents of this state with healthcare. 


There are families who don't dance, sing, or toast merrily on their loved ones birthdays. They didn't have access to good healthcare.  In fact, more than 1.6 million Americans still don't have healthcare. Do you consider yourself your "brother's keeper?"  Then you have vote like your brother's keeper.  Keep the Health Care Bill alive. Don't let Congress' face change. 


Every American should celebrate more birthdays. Take it from me it is far better than the alternative.

I'M Back! Happy 2012!

What can I say?  I tried blogging last year and life got in my way. So this is a new year, a clean slate, and I am happy to say that I am "getting back on the proverbial horse."  Every writing class or seminar I have taken in the last two years speaks of the benefits of blogging. They credit it for improving writing skills.  The writing gurus state the following rewards of blogging:

1) It keeps you writing daily.

2) It makes you think outside the box.

3) It helps you write for a specific demographic.

4) It gets your name out there. 

Okay, okay, who is the vigilant silver fox? Do I have a real name or did my parents name me silver or vigilant silver and is my last name is fox?  Many of you might consider that answer because I live in Utah.  We have a tendency to name our children unusual names.

Getting to know my demographic is a bit difficult. You see no one wanted to follow my blog. I became discouraged and stopped writing.  The experts claim “write and the followers will come" even if you have to bribe your family and close friends to become one of your followers.

Thinking outside of the box really never has been a problem for me. In fact, it has been noted that the phrase was invented by my parents when I was born. You see I was supposed to be born on Christmas. They kept telling I was going to be a Christmas baby.  So I made my appearance on January 7 (Eastern Christmas) instead of December 25 (Western Christmas). My parents knew that they were in for a ride with me since I made that decision.

Writing has never been a problem for me. I write on napkins, paper placemats, the back of deposit slips, little notebooks, “have pencil, will write."   So if you happen to be in the local Walgreens and spot a half sheet of paper with the number 36 written in the top right hand corner of the paper, please pick it up.  If the handwriting looks like calligraphy and is written in pencil, let me know.  It is probably a missing page from one of the novels I’m working on.

Happy January!