tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43687271592079760912024-02-18T20:19:44.243-08:00Barri's BlogBarri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-42063695356858243842020-04-30T09:45:00.000-07:002020-04-30T09:48:16.506-07:00Post-Dateline Blog #5<div style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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Post-Dateline Question #5: Bruises – Could the Super Ninja Chokehold Create Them?</div>
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Do Jesse’s bruises match the state’s theory of the crime? Let me first state that this post is graphic. If talking about and hearing about the crime itself is unsettling for you, then you might find this a tough read. But understanding the nature of the crime gives a much clearer picture of how it was most likely committed. Dateline had a diagram of injuries on Jesse’s body, but it’s important to know what those injuries actually were. Read the rest at: <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=821868754550651&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdK-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARAQkB6BS6B3cBnlBdRbLpIVWujs7w-zc9FlVI-e8ZjbVQR0fwWuvoFqszpe54MvOT6SREDOF1lQeC_5%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/?__tn__=%2CdK-R-R&eid=ARAQkB6BS6B3cBnlBdRbLpIVWujs7w-zc9FlVI-e8ZjbVQR0fwWuvoFqszpe54MvOT6SREDOF1lQeC_5&fref=mentions" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/</a></div>
Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-38629071575221161882020-04-28T21:10:00.004-07:002020-04-28T21:10:57.014-07:00Post Dateline Question: How do you argue with DNA and trace evidence? <div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="caai0" data-offset-key="cv1kp-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A continued major talking point from “Before Daylight” which aired Friday, April 24th on @DatelineNBC, has been The Evidence – especially what was in Jesse’s apartment and on Jesse’s body (DNA and trace evidence).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The burning question: what about those hairs on Jesse’s chest and the DNA under his fingernails?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This question is arguably the most controversial element of the case. Jesse Valencia had DNA from two contributors, aside from his own, under one pinky fingernail. One minuscule dot of DNA from two other people. Ed McDevitt and Steven Rios. And let me say that again: microscopic DNA under one fingernail.</span></div>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: normal;">Special Prosecutor Morley Swingle made a valid point that the chances were 1 in a trillion that this DNA belonged to someone else (aside from what matched McDevitt). He belabored the point, making it clear that this dot of DNA belonged to Steven Rios. All Swingle proved was</span><span style="white-space: normal;">... </span><span data-offset-key="1tfca-0-0" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">Read the rest at: </span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/</span></div>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-20072479467845836892020-04-25T13:43:00.002-07:002020-04-26T13:57:41.642-07:00Post Dateline Blog #2<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="d4vll" data-offset-key="91b9m-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Fix for Mac Chrome 80", system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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Want to know more about Post-Dateline Blog #2? Visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/</a></h2>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-38326597059010318202019-06-27T11:36:00.001-07:002019-06-27T11:36:16.127-07:00Life’s Choices – All About Perspective <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Being on the “fun side” of the wall, as they put it here in Mexico, gives perspective to many issues going on in America. </div>
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Aside from being one of the most violent countries, Americans are also so politicized we can’t see the depth of an issue before us. Not to make this a red vs. blue or an us vs. them, I think women need to step back and look at many things happening and put it all in perspective. No matter where you stand with pro-choice or pro-life, it isn’t as simple as that. When Roe v. Wade was enacted, it wasn’t just about abortion. It was about the right to privacy. A woman’s right to have control over her own body. Before the law, a husband could forcibly have sex with his wife, and it still took time for some states to enforce it. Men could hit their wives and not be held accountable. Fathers could molest daughters, and mothers could do nothing about it. Or if they took matters into their own hands, <i>they </i>were held accountable to laws put in place by our male-dominated society. <o:p></o:p></div>
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With the current trend to overturn Roe v. Wade, without American voter input, we have to step back and grasp possible scenarios to really understand the scope of the decisions being made. Imagine a 14-year old gets molested by a stranger, a family member, or a foster brother or father. Under the new laws, she would have no rights to terminate, not even a morning after pill in many states. AND for the next near 10 months, her body is basically held hostage while she carries the reminder of what happened to her. She must nurture and care for a growing life and if <i>she </i>does anything to hurt it, she is subject to severe punishment by law. These are third-world country mindsets, and sadly, it will only impact the poor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This isn’t about babies; this is about our bodies. A law will not stop abortions. It will only make them more difficult and more dangerous. Abortion will still be an option for the wealthy. There is always be a way if you have the means. For three states, the next step they are striving for is to stop contraception. What then? <o:p></o:p></div>
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But here’s the true crux of the issue. Pro-life ideology cannot stop when the child is born. TRUE pro-life is birth to natural death. Advocates demanding rights for this unborn child need to continue for that child past birth. Pro-life must include welfare, food stamps, healthcare, and beyond. That foster girl having a baby cannot provide for that child without it. So to be pro-life is at least an 18-year commitment. Thousands of babies will be born into extreme poverty and need these supports. Their life doesn’t just need to be fought for in the womb; he or she will need a safe home, an education, rights to all that it means to be an American citizen. To demand birth and call that pro-life can’t end at birth. I agree, life should not be a choice. But neither is quality preschool, a healthy meal, a safe home, and a life of opportunity. The opportunities that come easily to the middle and upper class. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Poverty is cyclical, and if we don’t make efforts to break it, there is not a life of opportunity nor many choices. Women have fought this battle since time eternal. Women in other countries have fewer rights than we do in the U.S., but we are sitting back and allowing predominantly rich, white, men to make decisions that govern our lives, our bodies, our futures. We are founded on the principle “of the people, by the people, for the people.” For anything to be of, by, or for, we must have the right to vote for it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Let us speak…all of us. The unborn, the newly born, the rich, the poor, the marginalized and the minimized. This country shouldn’t just be about those with means or opportunity. Many people demanding all babies be born cannot fathom a world in which a substantial meal might only available at a shelter or at school. It’s easy for the middle and upper class to demand all children have the right to life, but what will they do to ensure a <i>quality </i>life? Provide foster care? Respite care? Donate to their education, their welfare, their housing? <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s easy to sit in a comfortable air-conditioned house preaching about beliefs when you’ve never known true poverty – hunger, hopelessness, no sense of self-worth. Fight for the life of a child at all stages and be supportive of opportunities for all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When Rachel on “Friends” said, “No uterus, no opinion,” it might now be adapted to “no follow-through, no opinion.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Of the people, by the people, for the people – all people. <o:p></o:p></div>
Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-44445937722906093612018-07-22T07:59:00.001-07:002018-07-22T07:59:39.839-07:00Prisons Are Relative<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Prisons are relative. I toured Alcatraz in June, sat in a cell, and tried to imagine what it would be like to be forced to live there, confined, controlled, limited on what I could do when. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But then again, I have spent most of my life in a metaphorical prison, a different kind of confinement, controlled by society on what I should do when and what I shouldn't based on standards designed to silence and shame me. Could I have resisted that prison, broken free, moved somewhere with fewer restrictions? Absolutely, but as a professional, it was easier, safer, and smarter not to. Anyone who isn't part of the majority knows what it means to be forced to assimilate, to fit into the white/male/heterosexual/Protestant/Anglo mold. And that doesn't mean WHASPs have never known what it feels like to be oppressed or different. One need only move to Rwanda or Moscow to experience being a minority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But here, in America prisons are relative. There is a reason suicide is so prevalent now. Adolescents are suffering with what it means to be an individual. Teens struggle to assimilate to a world that doesn't fit them or worse, they're bullied or condemned for their differences or inability or resistance to conform. Adults, too, deal daily with their frustrations, their struggles, their self-perceived shortcomings. Knowing people like Robin Williams or Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade or Alexander McQueen see suicide as their only option makes non-celebrities feel even more at a loss. If they can't cope, then how can I?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But prisons are relative. "Likes", fame, money, or fans don't matter. Lonely is lonely. Depression is depression. Trapped is trapped, no matter the mechanism. It is suffocating. A permanent solution to a temporary problem may not make sense to most but it does to many. The answer? Open your mind to differences, to individuality, to caring, to kindness, to acceptance, to inclusivity. Resist the urge to name call, to discriminate, to judge, to view the world through that WHASP lens. Why try to make us all the same, to fit into a cookie cutter mentality when it is our differences that make us special, unique, and stand out? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To someone, it may be the first chink in his or her prison wall. And perhaps to one, it may be the key to opening the door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-52162677660397660552018-06-26T12:10:00.001-07:002018-06-26T12:10:37.700-07:00Losing Our Ellis Island Ideals<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This is the message our ancestors read as they entered the United States.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Ninety-eight percent of us are descendants of an immigrant. What if your heritage determined whether you were allowed in? What if your culture, your color, your beliefs, your sexuality got you arrested as you landed on Ellis Island or turned away at our borders? The only ones denied entrance were the criminals and the sick, to avoid spreading illness to our young country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">To some, that sounds preposterous. To others, it sounds like history repeating itself. To anyone who is not a white, Anglo-Saxon heterosexual male, America has not always been accepting of you. Women, for centuries, were second-class citizens. No voting rights, owned by their husbands, unable to buy anything of true value (land, for example), and expected to fill a role outlined by her station in life. Today, while women seem to have attained equality, we clearly are not. You need only look at the pay of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, or the number of them who are male vs. female. Or our highest positions in government. For true equality, remember the definition –</span><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Equality</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is treating everyone the same and<b> </b>can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help.<b> Equity</b> is giving everyone what they need to be successful. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Our nation was once founded on that principle. Let’s have equitable opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Except that it wasn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">As soon as the boats landed, we began killing Native Americans. When we realized how horrible that was, instead, we shoved them onto reservations and said, “Here, we’ll give you a small piece of the land you once roamed freely.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Our founding fathers owned slaves, sold them for profit, and denied them an education. And when slaves wanted their freedom and tried to escape, they were beaten and often lynched. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Years later when we were appalled at the Nazis’ concentration camps, while we built our own internment camps for the Japanese. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">After 9/11, we rounded up thousands of Muslims and shipped many to Guantanamo Bay, guilty until proven innocent. And innocence didn’t always warrant freedom. Then we shocked and awed Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. We couldn’t. The bin Ladens had decades-long ties to the sitting President’s family. Thanks to the internet, these connections could no longer be hidden. <a href="http://listverse.com/2018/01/06/10-bush-bin-laden-connections-that-raised-a-few-eyebrows/">http://listverse.com/2018/01/06/10-bush-bin-laden-connections-that-raised-a-few-eyebrows/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">We’re fickle, we’re reactive, and we possess selective memories. For many years, we rejected the sick to prevent the spread of disease. But now? Now, that sickness is brown-skinned hope. Hope for people who once possessed the land we took from them. We are deporting a people who once possessed the very city I’m visiting in California. Mexico once inhabited most of what is now California, New Mexico, and much of Texas. So when people insist we “send them home,” perhaps we should consider what that means. We welcome the wealthy immigrant flying in from Europe, but we push away those walking in chasing the American dream. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Despite our nation’s administration insisting, “Family Separation is necessary because smugglers and gang members are using kids to get into U.S,” those people account for less than 1% of who enter. Empirical evidence supports it – immigrants are less likely to commit crime. Most are who work our shrimp boats, our fields, our factories. One southern Texas family said on Fox News last week, “Without migrant workers, I will struggle to get shrimp boat workers. They work hard, they never miss a day of work, and they fill a necessary need in south Texas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">When Secretary Nielsen said, “In the last five months, we have a 314% increase in adults and children arriving at the border fraudulently claiming to be a family unit.” While true, contextualize that. That is less than 1% of those who come through our borders. AND let’s put all of this in perspective. There are families who have been here for years, have full-time jobs and yes, they pay taxes. They are raising families, have children going to our schools, and trying to make a better life for themselves. When we spout off to become a citizen the right way, many are doing just that. But it takes years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">So now, we are tearing children away from their mothers and fathers, shipping parents back to Mexico. Border patrol workers are horrified by what they’re being asked to do. One at Falfurrias, Texas said the “zero tolerance” immigration policy makes him feel like a Gestapo officer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3fjGNYpYAr63KqJpO8FOpdUDrGYO1tTmFTcUX1HmcEFpesMWrim7K8GdZJQ5tka-BaYd-MV8GNZyzJZ0i2RTuCDRRjmqpL1d0FxoW4f9n6VldxCSH0BA5poD3YK6lY7ek4eswcPXjVKo/s1600/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3fjGNYpYAr63KqJpO8FOpdUDrGYO1tTmFTcUX1HmcEFpesMWrim7K8GdZJQ5tka-BaYd-MV8GNZyzJZ0i2RTuCDRRjmqpL1d0FxoW4f9n6VldxCSH0BA5poD3YK6lY7ek4eswcPXjVKo/s1600/Picture1.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Viral photo June 2018</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49hdEmHS7SFWVW0oS3gym7yEF7-ft8ztoWkD4asPYFyZlyLcMpOCuVkw-oGqEvSm2VYfEMTGFlMTqiv3mkZIsRxwz5Ngh0mvKLGTOa6-gcboEbMO04myu77ClqjRKM1wyI-c4SLOila9E/s1600/child+alone+in+sleeping+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="961" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49hdEmHS7SFWVW0oS3gym7yEF7-ft8ztoWkD4asPYFyZlyLcMpOCuVkw-oGqEvSm2VYfEMTGFlMTqiv3mkZIsRxwz5Ngh0mvKLGTOa6-gcboEbMO04myu77ClqjRKM1wyI-c4SLOila9E/s320/child+alone+in+sleeping+area.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Children sleeping who’ve been taken from </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">their parents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">And the similarity is easy to see. Nearly 12,000 migrant minors are in our care, and images of them being yanked from arms of parents, put into cages, sleeping on the ground…how can we look back at our history and be appalled, when we’re re-creating it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQoXaJjRY9bYZl_7LZmVegcf80-IhqL8SRVCa7y1uPZ_gc8wS12d6XAj5eQP5ndkryzlI8qXdCXqupO2GjoVGKamsQa6kN5yttR6Kk0IuRDraDlqCIlSRoraxAddqRpBM6sqUKz4ykmTw/s1600/holocaust+children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQoXaJjRY9bYZl_7LZmVegcf80-IhqL8SRVCa7y1uPZ_gc8wS12d6XAj5eQP5ndkryzlI8qXdCXqupO2GjoVGKamsQa6kN5yttR6Kk0IuRDraDlqCIlSRoraxAddqRpBM6sqUKz4ykmTw/s1600/holocaust+children.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEmwJHtWhUc-uC5lNa0lJ73eH9NkMRL2PH2hpZVAo7hzRZECjptmJxZyTFccRg89ujYknuqyUTVLt8cHUpixNohN5GEnEykErL0vpuOXh-FLhWLuFssGQeVtrAH4SpAr4sANKSg7FmjZo/s1600/holocaust+pic+of+parents+with+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="1200" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEmwJHtWhUc-uC5lNa0lJ73eH9NkMRL2PH2hpZVAo7hzRZECjptmJxZyTFccRg89ujYknuqyUTVLt8cHUpixNohN5GEnEykErL0vpuOXh-FLhWLuFssGQeVtrAH4SpAr4sANKSg7FmjZo/s320/holocaust+pic+of+parents+with+kids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA_ScQUQCR4sYSo_DTUGL0G7iPsTKx3KSfIluNED10VTVClChxJB1iDF8xak8XN7XOwyAGXiBJpQXN-7rW_SgGFNmWtRcJZ5gEqW-auX1YMiutzo4PDBWfuYGzTi4ZKZYz1gx8Qj40K8e/s1600/Holocaust+pictre+of+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="468" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA_ScQUQCR4sYSo_DTUGL0G7iPsTKx3KSfIluNED10VTVClChxJB1iDF8xak8XN7XOwyAGXiBJpQXN-7rW_SgGFNmWtRcJZ5gEqW-auX1YMiutzo4PDBWfuYGzTi4ZKZYz1gx8Qj40K8e/s320/Holocaust+pictre+of+kids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">These Holocaust photos look eerily familiar…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSoV4DQt8amEzfx5dLXWRmHJuKbYd3f1pGu_2jvW8hPvBdH4S2qYjQLFEY2hqY2eJgWO8z7DCZRo7dqhaI9JQt5qRa5LF4O_8rClVs-SaHvI4C-GqRs2OqRlDeUaEuHizjQQoyTJcsTPB/s1600/what+country+is+this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSoV4DQt8amEzfx5dLXWRmHJuKbYd3f1pGu_2jvW8hPvBdH4S2qYjQLFEY2hqY2eJgWO8z7DCZRo7dqhaI9JQt5qRa5LF4O_8rClVs-SaHvI4C-GqRs2OqRlDeUaEuHizjQQoyTJcsTPB/s1600/what+country+is+this.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Zero tolerance is not the stance this country was founded on or built believing, even if we didn’t always employ it. Our first presidents were immigrants. And every single American reading this is a descendent of an immigrant, unless you are 100% Native American. It is our American right to be informed, but it is our human responsibility to be educated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">We can still strive for equity, if not equality. When someone is looking for opportunity, what does it mean for us to say no? By taking people who have lived here for years and sending them back to Mexico yet keeping their American-born children, who are we becoming? A nation that builds walls, deports split-apart families, and slams a door on children wanting a better life? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I guess it all depends on which country you’re coming from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-74194499627393316612018-05-25T11:43:00.000-07:002018-05-25T11:43:52.513-07:00Mother's Day Motherless<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">M</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">y first Mother’s Day without my mom, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">only a few</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> day</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">s</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> after the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">14</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW45919054" data-fontsize="11" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">anniversary of Daddy’s death</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> emotion</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">s</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">fill me, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> consume me, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> drive me to</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the keyboard </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{109}" paraid="847582870" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> remind</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ing</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> me why I write. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{147}" paraid="918574075" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{149}" paraid="191010230" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">share the depth of loss swelling inside me.</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{155}" paraid="1612057652" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">release this sorrow th</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">at </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">could consume me.</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{165}" paraid="1222583225" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to relate </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">what many before me have know</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">n…</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{173}" paraid="862599990" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">That just because Mom is gone doesn’t mean she’s </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">gone. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{183}" paraid="1567729137" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to convey a love </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">only</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> mother and child can share</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{191}" paraid="1811416495" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to connect with others who’ve known the loss of family</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{195}" paraid="620692335" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I write to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">soothe the ache that builds, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{195}" paraid="620692335" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that fills </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{195}" paraid="620692335" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that spills all around </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">me</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{195}" paraid="620692335" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">When all I can think about is the loss of a childhood.</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{209}" paraid="1670399156" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{211}" paraid="816357250" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">What I can’t remember about growing up is gone</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{215}" paraid="1341917748" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">My firsts are no longer </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a phone call away</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{221}" paraid="1391338704" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> I don’t know what memories are lost but I know I’m lost. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{221}" paraid="1391338704" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Without parents, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{221}" paraid="1391338704" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">am I still a daughter</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">?</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{231}" paraid="1723501209" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{233}" paraid="573295178" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">My mom quoted often, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{233}" paraid="573295178" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">"A son is a son until he takes a wife but a daughter is a daughter for all of your life." </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{237}" paraid="1066207627" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{239}" paraid="821595653" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">But what about after?</span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{243}" paraid="1561146493" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{245}" paraid="1077272706" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The ache will ease but the loss is permanent. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{245}" paraid="1077272706" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I lost more than my mom. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{007074f3-b58a-4d01-9942-ec400341e1fb}{249}" paraid="1619507137" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW45919054" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I lost my connection to my past, </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to my childhood</span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to 20 Lake Drive. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{2}" paraid="1854279793" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">With so many friends who are part of my circle, </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{2}" paraid="1854279793" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I’m not without family. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{8}" paraid="1315195286" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">But </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I am now</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> an orphan</span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{18}" paraid="491220890" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{20}" paraid="1430358472" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">And nothing I write will change that. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW45919054" paraeid="{77458cb0-2fdb-4f2a-9a2f-63a78a483ac3}{20}" paraid="1430358472" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">But it’s a salve I </span><span class="TextRun SCXW45919054" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">need now more than ever. </span><span class="EOP SCXW45919054" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-24963801444273675072017-08-31T12:03:00.000-07:002017-08-31T12:03:08.980-07:00Keeping Life in PerspectiveToday, on a morning radio show in mid-Missouri, a DJ was talking about being too busy to bother answering a survey about racism in America. "Folks are on their way to work, they don't have time to try to convince people they aren't racist...if you're not racist, you shouldn't have to prove to everyone it's true. People are busy, they're trying to get to work, to drop the kids off, to deal with life...they may not have time to answer some silly survey." Listening, I was first angered by his glib disregard for the role activism has and can play a role in this country. No one is ever too busy to be an instrument for change.<br />
<br />
Then I was at work, listening to two professors discuss politics, each on opposing sides of today's wide divide. "No matter what middle America says or does, it doesn't matter," one of them said. "Big business and the top 1% control it all. Our votes don't count." Both men nodded, agreeing on this point. I wanted to shout, "Wow, as white men, your vote has always counted...it's women, minorities, the oppressed who've known what it's like to not have our vote count, shame on you!" I wanted to tell these men to open their eyes, to be present, to strive for equality for all and to be tolerant and accepting and don't waste any opportunities to save the world.<br />
<br />
After my class ended, I drove back to Columbia to see my mom who lives in a memory care unit.<br />
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Her face lit up when she saw me, but she was careful not to say my name. Because she wasn't real sure who I was.<br />
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I sat with her while we listened to Father Jerry give a quick sermon, during which she kept trying to tear the Psalm's handout she was reading because she said she needed it for the puzzle she was doing (no puzzle existed).<br />
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I helped her to the lunch table in her wheelchair, but kept having to remind her to raise her feet. She kept forgetting that her feet on the ground kept the wheelchair from moving.<br />
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I got her set up at the table, but she kept trying to fold part of the tablecloth and a piece of her blue jeans, saying she needed to get them fixed, did I have a needle?<br />
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Her tablemates passed around a pencil, circling what they wanted for lunch. When it got to Mom, she looked at it and picked it up with her left hand. Instead of her usual right hand, she attempted to circle with her left then dropped it, giving up. I asked what she wanted and circled the items for her. Then she resumed messing with lining up the table cloth with her jeans.<br />
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When her food came, she picked up her fork with her left hand, passed it to her right, held it in her fist, then set it down. She had forgotten how to use it. I cut up her meat, offered her a bite, and she said, "No I'm full, I already ate before I got here...let's go home." Another employee came, gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, and Mom said, "Will you tell her to leave me alone?" She was talking about me, because I was trying to prompt her to eat. I got up and hugged her, told her I loved her, and she beamed, "I love you too, Lou Lou." Her use of my nickname made me ache and I had to hurry out while I could still see to walk.<br />
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Once I got to my car, I realized how important those hugs and each "I love you" are.<br />
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No matter how frustrated we get with social justice issues or how angry we get over the political climate in America, there's nothing that will keep life in perspective more than to see your mother losing herself. I want to crawl into her brain and free her, let her out, let her go. She wants to go. I see it in her eyes. Her will to live has diminished to a blip. For our pets, we consider it humane. For our people, we make them suffer.<br />
<br />
It helps to remember that life isn't fair, that someone else has a tougher go of it, and that in the grand scheme of things, life is brief. Love every day...love life, love your family, love yourself. It matters. Tell those you love how you feel. Show them. And above all else, keep life in perspective. Loving those close to you matters. It's really all that matters.<br />
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<br />Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-51663947601263996462016-07-22T11:05:00.000-07:002016-07-22T11:08:26.255-07:00What Teachers Could Teach Politicians<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="2pn5r" data-offset-key="f72q9-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="f72q9-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I love all my friends: tall, short; heavy, thin; black, brown, tan, off-white, golden, or sienna; short-hair, long-hair, blonde, brunette, red-headed; rich, poor, or somewhere in between; North or South American, European, Asian, African, Australian; gay, straight, bi, or questioning; catholic, presbyterian, methodist, baptist, buddhist, muslim, agnostic, atheist, or any other; liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between. I even love my friends who are Raiders, KU, and Cubs fans. It's true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's my quandary: I am struggling with language that attacks whole sects, races, abilities, and professions. I'm confused by those who support commentary that denigrates fellow Americans, that picks and chooses who should have rights and who shouldn't. When did we accept that politicians should choose who can sit down on a bus or who can marry or worse...tell an entire profession of teachers they have failed? Those very teachers are who shape the future, who raise entire generations, who have the power to make REAL change in a country I believe has always been and is still great...no matter who sits in our White House. Flawed, but great. I have voted for Democrat and Republican presidents, almost equally to date. But teachers don't need politicians or their children judging us when they don't know us or don't know the first thing about doing our job. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To be a teacher, you must first be highly qualified but ultimately selfless and unbiased, caring and accepting. It is the one profession that cannot judge, that cannot pick and choose who to educate, who to love, who to teach to read, write, think for themselves. We cannot build walls or exclude anyone. I once had a child in my classroom wearing a swastika belt buckle. He believed in a German leader who inspired hate-speech, who wanted to pick and choose what race or religion should live and die, even when it wasn't his own. That student's lack of education about that symbol validated the importance of opening windows for him to see through, not building barriers that blocked his view. There was a reason Ronald Reagan demanded for Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall...not build our own. What if Canada chose to build one to block us out? It helps to see it from every perspective. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For decades, teachers have fought for inclusion for EVERYONE and to give them all equal perspective. We strive to break down barriers for kids, for ALL kids, so they have choices. For those who can't walk, read, marry, walk down certain streets without worry of being shot. For those who have the right to speak out for whatever they believe in, no matter what that is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">THAT is what has made America great, not some person who sits in an oval office, no matter who it is. Whoever you are reading this post, you have been far more touched by a teacher than by a president. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="47l9n-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully you want a future filled with teachers who will accept you and your children & grandchildren for all of your wondrous differences and not judge you. </span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="jppe-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I, for one, am tired of being judged by people who don't know the first thing about who I am or what I do. </span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="jppe-1-0" spellcheck="false" style="background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: inherit;"><span data-offset-key="jppe-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">#TeachersUniteUs</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="jppe-2-0" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="jppe-3-0" spellcheck="false" style="background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: inherit;"><span data-offset-key="jppe-3-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">#ShowRespectToEarnRespect</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="jppe-4-0" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-59026212167992368432015-10-31T07:37:00.002-07:002015-10-31T07:37:45.241-07:00J.T. Barrett and Today's Culture...College Gameday is addressing J.T. Barrett's OVI early this morning... They've addressed losing his starting QB job he'd just won back, not having his leadership on the sidelines or on the field, and focused a few minutes on the importance of not putting the keys in the ignition if you've been drinking.<br />
<br />
How about the fact that J.T. Barrett is an elite athlete and is drinking PERIOD? How about the fact that J.T. Barrett is only 20 years old and therefore is drinking underage? How about the fact that the night before your first start, at 12:30 a.m., you're out partying instead of treating your body, mind, and team with the respect they deserve? Some of us treated our bodies that way when playing college sports or even high school sports...<br />
<br />
What happened to the era of coaches enforcing policies that players take care of themselves and one another the night before a game? It doesn't matter that his BAC was barely over the legal limit. It matters that an elite athlete is using alcohol under age the night before a game and getting behind the wheel of a car. It speaks to the culture of condoning alcohol use in our minors and of the extensive alcohol abuse in this country.<br />
<br />
It should never be okay to drink while in season; it should never be okay to drink underage; and it should be emphatically enforced that they not drink and drive. If Urban Meyer and today's revered coaches aren't impressing young athletes with that mindset, then what else are they not teaching them? In light of Rick Pitino's program begin accused of luring athletes with escorts, it truly begs the question: what is the role of today's coach in educating <i>student</i> athletes? They go to college for an education, and it's unclear what -- and if -- they are learning the skills to be successful beyond sports. Football ad basketball are games; life is not.Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-6034143218575473642015-10-23T10:18:00.000-07:002015-10-23T10:18:05.126-07:00Demand ExpertiseTo fulfill so many professions, you have to be trained, educated, and vetted by those with expertise in that area. This is incredibly true in education, medicine, and engineering. It is equally as true in publishing, though self-publishing has opened the door for many who struggle to break through...<br />
<br />
So why is it not true in politics? Secretaries of education are appointed without the necessary education experience to understand classrooms of all kinds. Now we have numerous presidential candidates with virtually NO experience in understanding foreign policy, the process of law making, education reform, true middle class or lower class issues, or a thorough understanding of politics in general.<br />
<br />
What if they each had to post a resume/CV that showed their true qualifications for public office, especially the office of the most powerful person in the western world? Or better yet, they had to work their way up, like our forefathers intended: mayor/governor/senator or representative/president. Now all you need to be is rich; and the truly wealthy, like several of our candidates, represent only 1% of our population. Very few know what it means to live in middle class America, where the majority of us earn a living.<br />
<br />
So I challenge every person, Democrat or Republican or otherwise, to choose your candidate based on the ability to lead this country in all regards. You would expect that from your child's teacher or your baby's doctor. Why not from the person who governs our country? Vote not for personality or passion but for the expertise we demand of our teachers, doctors, and engineers.Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-85445645635243169052015-09-22T07:18:00.003-07:002015-09-22T07:18:57.751-07:00Raise Your VoiceAuthors reach, on average, hundreds to thousands of readers each when we blog (the Kings, Rowlings, and Pattersons exponentially more). Imagine if we all sent the same message regarding significant issues: tolerance, bullying, body image, texting and driving, mental health. And everyone else who blogs, you have the same power: your voice. It's time we all speak up when an issue warrants it. Amazing things happen when people unite for a cause. What's yours? Do those around you know it? Silence solves little and apathy solves nothing.<br />
<br />
Our voices are our greatest weapon. <br />
#RaiseyourVoice<br />
#Fight4YourCauseBarri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-68836041426960302482015-05-23T08:51:00.000-07:002015-05-23T08:51:19.625-07:00Same Nation, Same Rights<div class="MsoNormal">
Once thought of as radically conservative, Ireland makes
history today being the first country to legalize marriage regardless of sexual
orientation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I find it bizarre that America, a country synonymous with
progress and trend-setting, is still debating same-sex marriage. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To so many, this should not<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">up</i> for debate. It is
equivalent of past debates that fall under the “this doesn’t really affect you”
category. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People once opposed women having the right to vote. Men
would allow a woman to sleep in their beds, cook their meals, raise their
children, care for them in their declining years….yet they couldn’t vote? You
could argue that this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did </i>affect
others – giving women equal say in our nation’s decisions. But it was only a
matter of time. Half the nation could not be oppressed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The right to bear arms has raised many fists over the
decades. No! We shouldn’t be able to have guns, to own them and have them in
our homes where we can have and do absolutely anything else: cook meth, watch porn,
beat your wife/husband/child). Why should we have the same weapons the
criminals who might accost us have? And to align with the argument, if you
don’t want a gun, if you don’t agree in the right to bear arms…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t buy one. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A raging war has existed for half a century over whether a
woman should be able to have control over her own body. Should a government
have a say over whether I cut my hair? Show my face? Open my mouth…or my legs?
Many governments do. Don’t get me wrong; I am not an advocate for abortion.
Morally, I would choose not to have one. Yet I do not believe the government should
have any say over what I do – or don’t do – with my body. And ultimately, if
you don’t believe in abortion, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t have
one.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This may ire people to rebut: a child is a life at conception
and it is precious. I agree. But…there is always a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but. </i>I believe God loves us all and He wants what is best for us as
human beings. He does not want suffering or judgment, condemnation or retaliation.
He has allowed us to create our world and reap the rewards or suffer the
consequences for the choices we’ve made. Even God embraced change…those who
live and die by the Old Testament need only consider why there was a New
Testament. Ideologies from Old to New changed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as they have now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sanctity of marriage occurs when two people who love one
another want to make a lifelong commitment. Only a few decades ago, those two
people could not be of different color. Today, the barrier is whether <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any </i>two people can vow to love one
another – in a time when over half of the men and women who marry eventually
divorce. What right do people who cannot honor their vows have to deny everyone
else the right to the same opportunity? The opportunity to no longer hide their
relationship, to know what it feels like to hold hands in public. Many people
can’t know the ache of wanting to wrap your arms around the person you love but
not being able to because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">someone might
see. </i>The right to marry is one step closer to that kind of equality. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it comes down to the core of the debate: why are some people
so opposed to same-sex marriage? Heterosexual couples engage in immoral and
illegal sexual practices daily in their own bedrooms. Women sell sex for a
living. We have slave trade of children in sex-trafficking rings, and whether
to allow people who love each other to marry is our issue? It begs the
question, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why do they care? </i>And at
the risk of being redundant, if you don’t believe in same-sex marriage, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t have one, don’t go to one, don’t watch
one.</i> But honor that sanctimonious soapbox you stand on and embrace the most
important adage: don’t judge one. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-79749245368718244012014-12-30T08:13:00.001-08:002014-12-30T08:13:26.905-08:00Year End Thoughts...As this strange year winds to a close, I found myself pondering a few questions...<br />
<ul>
<li>Remember when planes that took off landed where they were supposed to and didn't get shot down or lost at sea?</li>
<li>Remember when the police were thought of as investigators and protectors from injustices, and we trusted that when they arrived on scene, everything would be okay? People would do what they were told, the police would respond accordingly...</li>
<li>Remember when you thought of Robin Williams, and you just couldn't help smile because he was always just so darn funny?</li>
<li>Remember when no matter which news channel you watched, you got an unbiased, non-partisan account of what was going on?</li>
<li>Remember when Matthew Shepherd tried to hold a boy's hand in Wyoming, it got him killed, and we thought, <i>Gay people will never have any equality in this country? </i></li>
<li>Remember after 9-11, when we as Americans came together, and we thought we were overcoming the racial inequality within our nation?</li>
<li>Remember when Ebola was a topic of a sci-fi movie starring Dustin Hoffman or Gwyneth Paltrow? </li>
<li>Remember when the majority of professional athletes were thought of as "the good guys"? </li>
<li>Remember when the chasm between the rich and poor didn't seem like the Mississippi cubed? </li>
<li>Remember when we thought the Cold War was over and the Ukraine was just an ally of Russia?</li>
<li>Remember when the weather was a topic of conversation over coffee and not a potential for disaster? </li>
<li>Remember when we celebrated our soldiers coming home, no matter how that needed to happen, no matter who we exchanged for them? Remember the parades we would throw for our veterans who provided the very freedoms that allow this blog to be posted?</li>
<li>Remember when the favorite princess in England was Diana and the adorable kids were William and Harry? </li>
<li>Remember when getting hacked made you think of Matthew Broderick or someone accessing your email and not causing a potential airstrike from North Korea? </li>
<li>Remember when pouring ice over your head was simply a way to wake up? </li>
<li>Remember when college sports were amateurs playing for their schools and not a business paying its leaders (coaches) millions to teach our youth what it means to be a student-athlete?</li>
<li>Remember when women in the Middle East stayed silent and would not even be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize for doing just the opposite? </li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Remember when being an American meant other people looked on in reverence and wanted to be just like us? </li>
</ul>
<br />
Yeah, me neither...<br />
<br />
<br />Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-88946752081135244702014-11-25T17:48:00.000-08:002014-11-25T17:48:06.505-08:00Two Wrongs...There have been many versions of Michael Brown's death, of Darren Wilson's actions, and of the aftermath. What has happened this past four months in Ferguson and around the nation has hinged on emotion and on issues much deeper than race, socioeconomic status, and prejudice. <br />
<br />
Stepping back from the emotion, the facts are irrefutable. A strong-armed robbery. DNA and blood in the patrol car. Conflicting eyewitness testimony. A suspect pursued by a cop. A cop shooting an unarmed civilian.<br />
<br />
Regardless of how it happened, Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. These facts are part of the irrefutable hand dealt that August day. But to play a card from John Grisham's deck, how would the shooting have played out differently if it had happened in New Haven, Connecticut, and both the police officer and the victim had been white?<br />
<br />
Even if the races were different, the deeper issue is that Darren Wilson isn't white: he's <i>blue. </i>And that is the saddest reality of all. Many people of ALL races don't trust cops, no matter the cop's skin color. I have witnessed that mentality in my own friends, family, and in my former and current students. As a general rule, a large population in this nation don't support cops, they don't help cops, they don't believe in cops, and worst of all, they prevent the police from doing the job necessary to keep peace and order in our communities. They only want police when it is self-serving. <br />
<br />
To show their disgust with the legal system, Ferguson residents and the despicable people drawn there honored Michael Brown by breaking windows, looting, and setting fires. That's how they choose to react to a verdict they don't agree with. Their demonstration included burning down <i>their</i> fellow residents' businesses, to inciting violence in <i>their </i>community, to actions that could have harmed <i>their </i>neighbors, friends, and family. How does that honor Michael Brown? How does that show a dissatisfaction with the legal system? How can anyone justify committing crimes to show dissatisfaction with what they felt was a crime that took Michael Brown's life?<br />
<br />
Ferguson, Missouri has brought to light the biggest disease in this nation and one that must be treated, if not cured.<br />
<br />
Violence.<br />
<br />
We are a nation built on it, consumed by it, and guilty of perpetuating it. The media is responsible for viral reactions. Racism is contagious. And classism is the most easily Socially Transmitted Disease of all.<br />
<br />
If we don't do something about the disease, the epidemic will lead to a plague. Because Mahatma Gandhi understood it when he said, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." We may already be going blind as a nation, but we are witnessing the worst symptom of a diseased nation: there are too many people screaming and far too few are listening. Instead of raising awareness for change, the carriers choose to raise a fist. If we don't find an antidote soon, we may be beyond a cure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-79690850125426162462014-02-16T11:56:00.001-08:002014-02-16T12:08:26.036-08:00Times Change Slowly… I watched a true film today called <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitvale_Station">Fruitvale Station</a></i>. Only hours before, I read about Michael Sam being an instrument of change as the first gay football prospect in the NFL. We have evolved, but times move slow.
Oscar Grant was a young black man trying to do the right thing. Society has changed so much yet so little. In the wrong place at the wrong time intersecting with a white gang banger from prison two years earlier. But when the two cross paths on New Year’s Eve on a train, the latter was the aggressor. Many witnesses recorded the entire incident as police dragged boys off the train. White cops pulling black guys off the train. Not the white bangers. And then it went all wrong. The cops got aggressive. Physical. Even though Oscar was cuffed, lying on his belly, a cop pulled his gun, and shot this young man in the back.
Michael Sam, a survivor…a young man who has survived losing a two-year old baby sister, an older brother who disappeared presumed dead, two other brothers shot and killed during his formative years. But Mike channeled his energy into football and excelled. From a small coastal town in southeast Texas, Sam was recruited to Mizzou, and he grew. But it wasn’t until he unveiled being gay in August 2013, that he released the burden of the secret to his teammates and his coach, that he became a giant. Tied sack records, led a team to an SEC championship, and won SEC defensive player of the year. He announces his lifestyle to beat the leak to the press. His draft status? Mid-third round to fifth… In the words of journalist Dale Hansen, “the best defensive player in the best conference in football and he’s a third round pick at best? Really?”
Oscar had a good heart and a volatile temper. But he tried desperately to do good. To be good. And witnesses corroborate his last day of having fun, of celebrating New Year’s Eve, and then of being profiled and brutally murdered in Fruitvale Station. It sounds like a story from the 60s, maybe even the 80s, but surely not the late 2000s, right? Wrong. 2009.
Racial profiling. Homophobia. Internalized fear, judgment, even hatred. We are all different colors. We are all different people, like different things, have different beliefs, and view the world differently. Our perceptions are different because our lives are different, our upbringing is different, and our outsides are different. But our insides aren’t so different. We all bleed the same color, need the same sustenance, and cry the same tears.
Oscar Grant was judged by the color of his skin, but his history will generate conversations about profiling, about judging, and about trying to break down that ever-present barrier.
Michael Sam is trying to break down a newer barrier. He could have passed. He did not have to out himself to his teammates. He could have stayed hidden in a closet. Instead, he has opened the door for kids of color, for athletes, for a society that needs to recognize that we are all human. How can our predilections in the bedroom impact how people interact with one another? What right do people have to judge others for the color of their skin or their sexual preference? The same people, as Dale Hansen put it, the very same people who want the government out of our lives but yet they want them in our bedrooms….
Time changes slowly. Oscar Grant was a victim of that truth. Of how little ground we have gained. Michael Sam is trying to be an instrument to propel that change. If we stand by and do nothing, then we are doing something: we’re holding the Oscars and Michaels back. If you’re silent, your silence is your voice.
Have a voice. Stand up. Embrace change and our differences. Don’t let the loudest voices be those of the likes of the Westboro Baptist Church.
Strip away color and money and sexual orientation and gender and age… and ultimately we should be left with a society seeking human equality. One about love, about peace, about acceptance.
Life moves slow. It’s up to all of us to be an instrument of change.
Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-32537565353696570362013-04-12T09:13:00.004-07:002013-04-12T09:13:44.222-07:00Boys Will Be Boys...Has it always been like this, discounting the hierarchal bullying as "boys being boys?" We quickly quip that girls are caddy, that you know how gossiping is and you just can't stop it. But if not, if girls are going to be caddy and if "boys will be boys," then how do we stop this bullying cycle that is claiming children's lives? When will the parents of the bullies see what's happening? How can we help those bullied know where to go for help? How can we possibly open the eyes of kids of all ages to see that it is not okay, <i>never okay</i>, to be mean to another human being? What have we done wrong that children have become so cruel that they will drive a child to suicide? While watching the documentary <a href="www.thebullyproject.com/">Bully</a>, it was the aftermath of a teen's suicide that struck a nerve of disgust in me. The day after Tyler Long, a 17-year old, hanged himself, kids came to school with ropes dangling from their necks. What does that say about them, about us, about our culture? Being disgusted isn't enough. Doing something about it is.
No one single entity is to blame. Schools can't take all the blame. Parents can't take all the blame. Classmates can't take all the blame. Even the bullies can't be exclusively blamed. But collectively, they're all to blame. <i>We</i> are all to blame. Adults have to show kids that it's not okay to be mean, to belittle, to ridicule, to tease. Instead, we need to let them see how to interact with others. Because bullying is only part of the problem. Mental health is a significant factor. Ugliness in others can be survived if you're strong. It doesn't justify it, but for decades, possibly centuries, children have endured the teasing of others. In a new age of mental health issues, ranging from depression to the autism spectrum, bullying can have a deeper and a longer-lasting impact on kids. And the mental health of those capable of wearing a rope around their neck suggests a deep-seated apathy, a sociopathic nature that has become part of today's culture.
And now, suicide has become an option. Bringing a gun to school has become an option. And until we show them other options, how will they know?
As teachers, we witness bullying on many levels. No matter the severity, adults must speak up and out. Silence condones the behavior. It reinforces it. But it is our actions that matter most. We must lead by example. We have to be positive models for how human beings should treat one another. Hopefully, kids will see that it takes character to speak up against a bully, that having a voice is more powerful than being popular. And perhaps they will choose to be the one.
Everything starts with one. Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-26939681434964176002012-12-18T06:46:00.000-08:002012-12-18T06:46:01.076-08:00The Real Issue...This is the time of year to celebrate family, to give of ourselves to those less fortunate, and to focus on the good in all of us. Yet in Connecticut Friday, a young man shocked the nation with a brazen act of violence. Kindergartners died, teachers and administrators died, a mother died, and heroes were born. Anger and confusion raged. We cried together, we grieved, we were angered, frustrated, terrified…
Questions emerged.
And we started a conversation about guns. What need do we have for automatic weapons other than in warfare? None. What benefit is there to keeping them legal for the average American to buy them? Very little. Why do we need any guns other than handguns and hunting rifles? We really don’t. Sure, there will be arguments for what the police need, other recreational weapons, but essentially, handguns and hunting rifles are the only weapons that serve a purpose. The problem is, criminals will always find a way to own tools of violence. But the saying is true…guns don’t kill people; people kill people. And in this case with Newtown, Connecticut, the crux of the problem has little to do with guns. It has everything to do with mental health. That’s the discussion we need to be having right now. Regardless of what the young man I purposely do not name here had available to him, he could’ve gotten weapons anywhere. Perhaps he wouldn’t have, but the truth is, he was a ticking bomb. An article by Liza Long addresses what issues should be being discussed right now. If you want a glimpse into the true issue, if you’re ready to start talking about the problem that really plagues this nation, Read “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html">I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother</a>.”
It will give you a pause, but it will also open the door to understanding the shift in today’s youth. Having just read Jodi Picoult’s House Rules, I have begun to understand that though a mother’s love cannot be dissuaded, sometimes it is not enough. Sometimes there is no warning. Sometimes there are no cures. Sometimes the answers are just as hard as the questions.
Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-41519144128271213062012-09-11T12:21:00.002-07:002012-09-11T12:21:16.034-07:00Sept. 11 Eleven Years Later...I'm a die-hard patriot. September 11th shook my foundation as an American, but until this year, I had not visited New York City.
Now my thinking has changed. I went to NYC for Labor Day to go to the U.S. Open (my PhD celebration). I had no idea about The Survivor Tree... I read the picture book by Cheryl Somers Aubin (a must if you haven't read it) and it made Sept. 11, 2001, so relevant to me in a different way. So many people were impacted that day, lives changed, and our perspective changed. But it brought out the best in us in so many ways, in our nation's unity, and it strengthened our resolve as Americans, as survivors.
We are not the same since that day. Innocence is gone. Naïveté is gone. And sadly, the unity is waning. The political ends are more polarized than ever, but as Americans, we can bridge that gap, because what's most important to this country is not our affiliation, not a policy that affects so little of what we do and what we're about. It's what came about that day. The morning of Sept. 11th, we gasped in horror and then we joined hands to help, to heal, and to head into a future with a strengthened resolve.
Remember that feeling. It is what helped us overcome that day; it is what re-emerged after Hurricane Katrina, and it can be our rallying cry as we demand more from ourselves, our friends, and yes, our opposition.
Americans can overcome anything. Standing at the edge of the reflecting pools at Ground Zero, a sensation pulsed through me. Through the tears of empathy, I felt all those who died for our freedom, for our rights to express ourselves and stand up for what we believe in. And what I believe in is unity. Glancing at faces around me when I was at Ground Zero, few looked like me yet all shared the same expression. Every walk of life, culture, and race wore the somber expression of our loss but also of our resolve.
United we still stand. We did not let terrorism break us down. Surely we will stand just as strong as the divisiveness within our country attempts to do the same. Because no matter what you believe, I hope you believe in America first. Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-46209552397621054412011-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:002011-10-26T10:40:05.876-07:00Cyber DilemmaA former education student of mine just emailed and asked me, “What do I do if one of my students is being bullied online? Should I say something to someone? How can I possibly do anything to help?”<br /><br />I thought about it hard and realized that we all have a voice, and I preach using it. As a teacher, I call it a “teachable moment.” As a human being, I cry out any time I see it, hear it, feel it. But as an author, in the final stretch of my PhD, I’ve left that hat sitting on a table. I should don it every chance I get, if it means putting even the slightest dent in a growing trend that is beyond disturbing. Children taunting children until they commit suicide. The bullied become the bullies, and the cycle is growing into an epidemic.<br /><br />Today, I realize that what is wrong in this cyber bullying trend, something captured powerfully in the “Harry’s Law” episode Queen of Snark, is so deep-seated, I’m not sure we can fix it. But we have to try. The symptoms are on TV and the internet every day. But the catalysts aren’t the children doing the bullying, though we can’t condone what they do, but the real culprits sit in studios behind a microphone. The Huffington Post and the like, Nancy Grace and those who use the first amendment to empower their attacks, and every blog that centers on caring more about what goes on in other people’s lives than their own. Because with scrutiny comes judgment, and with judgment comes persecution. When did we allow the shift to this current age of magnifying glass distortion? A friend once told me to get out my mirror before taking out my magnifying glass – and as a society, we’ve long since ditched the mirror. <br /><br />Why do we care what the Huffington Post says? When did we become permanent lookie-lous? What has happened to us that we care so much about the blood and the yellow? Why do we not only condone judging others but take part in it? <br /><br />We can’t blame our children for doing what they watch us do everyday and what they see on TV. The downward spiral is dangerous, and if we don’t do something about it – even one person at a time – it will never go away. <br /><br />Our children are committing suicide because of what others are saying about them. This issue has two sides: let’s stop the bullies, but let’s also start the conversation. Talk to your kids. Help them find the strength to ignore the ignorant and to put the media’s role in perspective. Find out what is going on and what they read and do online. Open your ears and your eyes, because if you don’t, the only voice they’re hearing may be the one taunting them.<br /><br />For more information, check out http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullyingBarri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-47315942794828714542011-05-02T09:43:00.001-07:002011-05-02T09:43:38.552-07:00TodayI cheer the fall of the instigator and orchestrator of September 11th. I mourn the past few weeks as we recognize the 12th anniversary of the Columbine disaster and watch fellow Americans lose their homes to tornadoes and storms. I struggle to understand the chasm that is growing in the country between the left and right, when the majority of us falls somewhere closer to the middle. And yes, I worry that the Hopis, Aztecs, Mayans, Chinese philosophers and Nostradamus have some insight into the winter solstice next December… <br /><br />But in the grand scheme of life, I focus on today, on a mother who fights to remember what she had for breakfast, the smartest person I know struggling to get her to brain to cooperate. I strive to inspire her to fight…to beat the disease we can’t see, that robs her of so much of her freedom. <br /><br />The world is full of turmoil, from losing a house to a fire to so many who struggle to recover from an economic downfall. But nothing any of us can lose, short of a life, can compare to knowing you’re losing your mind. What we use as a cliché looms real for so many. And it looms on the horizon for so many entering middle age. If you could, would you choose cancer over Alzheimer’s? Even death first? Many would…<br /><br />The idea of losing who we are can’t compare to anything else…I want to crawl into my mom’s brain and jumpstart it, to fill in the blank spaces that are growing like ink stains on a paper towel. And deep down, selfishly, I fear the day she looks at me and has that brief instant of not-knowing….and the brief moments giving way to more. <br /><br />So yes, I’m thrilled we’ve destroyed the monster who shattered our lives nearly a decade ago. But today, I will cheer when I walk in to visit my mom and marvel at her smile, at the moment when I know she loves me…and remembers me.<br /><br />Sometimes today is enough.Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-77421472044520212322010-11-15T14:17:00.000-08:002010-11-15T14:18:08.641-08:00After the FireFew things surprise me anymore. Fewer things humble me, stop me in my tracks and remind me I’m human, I’m fallible, and above all else, I’m one tiny cog in the mechanism of life. <br /><br />Today, sitting in a rental house, contemplating the months before I’m able to return to my house, a home that will be vastly different, new, absent of the marks fifteen years of life once put on it, I’ve learned a lot. People who love you don’t see the things; people who care about you sift through ashes, the insulation-covered belongings, and roll up their sleeves to put it all back together. And people you see only occasionally step up and remind you that when you give, it comes back to you. I’ve always been quick to donate to those who’ve suffered loss, who go through trying times, to cook a meal for those who need it. Now, after the fire, to have so many people come help us at the house, others who’ve taught for us, who’ve rallied behind us, who’ve offered a thought, a prayer, a heartfelt ‘we’re there for you if you need us,’ renews my strength to overcome this. My house burned down but I didn’t lose my home. My home is with friends, with colleagues, with all the warm messages on Facebook, by email, and phone. I may not have as much as I did before Nov. 4th, but in many ways, I have so much more, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful…Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-40272223437216845172010-11-04T10:53:00.000-07:002010-11-04T10:54:32.527-07:00Bullying – A Problem Screaming To Be StoppedWhen I wrote my young adult novel Dregs, I’d witnessed a lot of bullying in my school and in my classroom. Some of it blatant, but much more of it subtle, part of an invisible hierarchy. School violence stormed into our world as a full-blown epidemic in the mid-90s. We were horrified. We were disgusted. We were to blame – no other nation has our issues with bullying, with cliques, with the kind of violence seen on the front page of every paper nearly every day. And now, all of that has changed with the internet. Bullying has morphed; it’s virtual, transported through cyberspace. But it still hurts, and for some, it has a lasting, stinging effect. Sometimes permanent. Being a teenager or young adult is hard, and the light at the end of the tunnel is sometimes too hard to see. Tyler Clementi couldn’t see it. Phoebe Prince couldn’t see it. Alexis Pilkington couldn’t see it. Even with the rallying cries of Ellen, their suicides make us question the system, the neighborhoods that perpetuate it, the sports fields that promote it, the schools that can’t or don’t stop it, the internet that hasn’t figured out how to control the cruelty created there. <br /><br />But it starts so much sooner – the judgmental entitlement, the superiority mentality. A perfect example is a blog in the Advocate. Parents instill their best values in their children. And their worst. The problem is, these belief systems are so deeply entrenched, many of the parents don’t understand what they’re doing. Don’t play with the child of gay parents. Stay away from that Muslim kid. No, you can’t go to the mall with that girl with all the piercings. Hate begats hate. Prejudice starts young, before they have a chance to develop beliefs of their own. So when kids start taunting kids, parents’ mindsets are screaming accompaniment. The worry is, can we silence them, any of them?Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-51512168262743210012010-09-22T14:17:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:18:17.074-07:00Presidential Support...A Trib Talk person ranted in our Columbia Tribune that he refused to acknowledge Barack Obama as our president because he couldn’t confirm that Obama wasn’t Muslim or that he’d converted to Christianity…I find myself scratching my head. Fear mongering is not new in America. When John F. Kennedy was elected, anti-Catholicism reared its ugly head all across the country. So here we are again. I don’t know whether President Obama is a Christian or not. But if he’s not, should it matter? We’ve had adulterers for presidents (many of them, as a matter of fact), we’ve had openly racist presidents, ignorant presidents, and we’ve had more than our fair share of elitist, richer-than-God presidents. How many of our past presidents represent me, for who I am, how I live, and what religion I practice? Not very many. I’m a middle-class woman, and to date, there’s not been a female president, so should I say, “Ah, hell no, I’m tired of all these rich, power-hungry men making decisions for me…I’m not going to acknowledge my president until we elect a woman!”<br /><br />It sounds absurd because it is absurd. No matter who my president is, I back him. Peanut farmers, rich men, Catholics, Baptists, Atheists (and we’ve had several)…white, black, cat lovers, adulterers, liars (and wouldn’t that constitute most of them?)… No matter their flaws, they’re still our president, the president of the most amazing country in the world. So people who denounce Obama and say, “He’s not my president,” I find myself wanting to tell them to go find a country that has a leader satisfactory enough for them. Except I know that fear-mongering is about ignorance and intolerance, and I find it most disturbing that God-loving, God fearing people are often the most judgmental. Those are the people who should take out their mirrors before they get out their magnifying glasses. <br /> <br /> I wonder what those people would’ve done had they known all the other indiscretions of past presidents. Thomas Jefferson, for starters… Then again, at least he was a Christian, right? But can we prove it?Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4368727159207976091.post-53153985304728537162010-07-15T12:16:00.000-07:002010-07-15T12:20:36.100-07:00Cop-Out DefensesGerman Poet <a href="http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Friedrich_Hebbel">Christian Friedrich Hebbel</a> coined it best when he said, "Whoever wants to be a judge of human nature should study people's excuses." Those have reached bizarre heights in the courtroom. The most ludicrous could very well be the Twinkie defense. It helped Dan White get an involuntary manslaughter verdict instead of first degree murder for killing San Francisco mayor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Moscone">George Moscone</a> and the openly gay Supervisor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk">Harvey Milk</a> (who had been friends with White). But now that list of excuses is laughable: Adopted Child Syndrome, Road Rage, ’Roid Rage, Black Rage, Computer Addiction, even the Everybody Does It Syndrome. Criminals are no longer responsible for anything they do – there is always an addiction or affliction that excuses it.<br /><br />Is this a by-product of our society, of newer generations who’ve figured out how to plea their case? Or is this human nature, the natural need to hide behind some disorder or syndrome that could dispel responsibility? Even when being caught with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar, attorneys would just claim a Cookie Defense or The Cookie Monster Made Me Do It Syndrome. Where will the line be drawn? At what point will the justice system say enough?<br /><br />Probably never… And why should they? It’s become a thread of humor that’s central to our nation’s entertainment. Because in America, our trials show up in the entertainment column as often as in political mags. We’re no longer about “Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free”…the saying should be adapted: “Give us your fallen stars, your adulterers, your limelight mongering masses longing to be on the front page…”<br /><br />But then again, O.J. didn’t like his front page phase in the 90s, even with his Super Jock Syndrome defense. Personally, I’m vying for the Sybil Syndrome – I’ll let the other me stand trial…if they ever catch me.Barri L. Bumgarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02595493417949603024noreply@blogger.com0