The effect hides any country reject into my economics.

http://www.irusa.org/emergencies/myanmar-humanitarian-crisis/

I’m reading this great little horror piece and one of the characters makes mention of the internet replacing encyclopedias, hence his justification that a salesman of them is in a dead business. And I’m thinking, It shouldn’t be. Encyclopedias are far more reliable then over half the information found on the internet, which is neither sound nor valid.  

Photo From Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary By Double—M Mary Margret, flickr

Give the encyclopedia the respect it deserves. Honestly, If I had the money, I’d buy a nice children’s set for my grandsons and upgrade when they got older.

I was raised in a household that had both children’s encyclopedias and another, more sophisticated collection of green and gold bound ones. I read them too death, and my brothers and sisters put them to good use as well.

So don’t dis encyclopedias, or salespeople of them. A household without solid reading material is an incomplete household, indeed.

Portrait of a curious moose, Cuddy Park, Anchorage, Alaska, By Alaskan DudeFrank Kovalchek, flickr

I just had the most amazing Sunday morning, ever! I veered off my usual path, way off, looking for a waterlogged coastline. I didn’t find any water; just frozen, wide, open spaces, and several inches of fresh, powdered snow. I followed this trail along the coast for a bit, and was stunned enough by what I found to stand stiff in my tracks. Silence. Not a car, voice, or airplane to be heard, just utter silence.

Then I saw a large, adult dog, that closely resembled a puppy I had years ago. Barlowe was the puppys’ name. Someone had abandoned him and we (my children and I) took him in. I thought he was a herding dog of sorts, but the lady with the version I saw today said her dog was a type of St. Bernard. Imagine that!

As I ventured on, I stumbled upon a series of touristy things: A historic walk, a planetary walk, and a haunted dwelling, per local residents and former guests - The Anchorage Grand Hotel. The morning was warmer than its been in a while. When the snow turns to ice, the temperature drops rapidly. But a few inches of fresh powder is all that’s needed to bring the temperature up a few degrees. In any case, for me, this was quite a long walk in cold weather!

Then it occurred to me.  I’d been walking for several hours and didn’t feel any worse for it. I was warm and cozy, not even my toes or fingers were bothering me, so I backed up my thoughts. What did I eat, if I didn’t have Oatmeal that morning, that could have contributed to this long term heating effect? Then I remembered that I had hot green tea, lukewarm spiced apple cider, and several plain biscuits.  Eureka! I thought. Of course, magic biscuits!

Then I saw these people tossing a ball to their golden retriever. The ball, like the color of the snow, half dirty, half pristine, was being readily retrieved with zero effort. Am I to believe that this animal was finding it by its’ scent, while simultaneously dashing for it? How did he find the thing so quickly in several inches of new fallen snow? I feel a new level of respect for dogs. And the look he gave me like, “You coming to play? Are ya? Huh? Wanna?” Yah, you guessed it. I started thinking how nice it would be to have my own dog, someday.

I stopped at a CARRS (Safeway) on the way for snack/brunch food when standing at the counter, the grocery clerk nonchalantly announces that there is a moose outside. I look outside, and there it is. Across the street, stepping onto the sidewalk and bothering the bushes with its enormous snout. My first moose! She also went on to say that there will be “lots,” as they frequent the area in the Winter. I was warned by the grocery bagger with a very mature disposition, despite her baby face and obvious lack of years, not to try and pet it. Seriously? Was I that easy to read? 

So my dreamy walk turned into a hypervigilant, moose watching one. I made it to Loussac Library, realized I loved Anchorage and that I was being played. Suckered by the beauty and proximity to nature of this place to stay longer than I planned, I contemplated  getting a nice flat. And maybe a dog. And local recipes, perhaps, for moose meat…and magic biscuits.

photo: Winter bike by Hello, I am Bruce, flicker

I saw this man ride by in the snow today on one of those fancy, wide, thick wheeled bicycles. And I thought wow, it really does get good traction, only he seemed to be struggling a bit to get up a moderate incline.  

So I started thinking why can’t we get really useful things for the winter. Like winter worthy Segways and rollerskates and skateboards with monster wheels. 

Photo: Interference by the pink sip, flickr

U. S. Healthcare initiatives are only as good as those willing to initiate them:  Healthcare is regularly denied to U.S. citizens despite their right and access to them. Examples of this would be workers compensation: an insurance available to individuals injured on the job. If a caregiver doesn’t believe treating you is worth the cost, then services may be denied. If the caregiver harbors personal discrimination against the injured party, then services may be denied or minimized. 

U.S. Homeless prevention and intervention program:  Services and monies put aside for this use are systematically denied to individuals fully qualified to use them; this is particularly true, if the population in need is ethnic and the population in control of dispersal of funds and services isn’t.

U.S. grants and students loans are being used as a tool to further the institutionalized slavery of ethnic and poor populations:  Monies are available until the sum reaches a certain point, then denied. Afterwards, the recipient of the loan, still without a degree, must continue to work menial jobs to pay off the loans. If the loan recipient is unable to return to school to complete a degree timely enough, all former credits earned become “dated” and courses must be retaken in order to apply credits towards a degree; a vicious circle, keeping the poor in perpetual debt with no recourse to permanent financial improvement.

Affirmative Action is being used a tool to discriminate instead of empower U.S. ethnic populations:  Whereby this is intended to insure a just and fare balance in the work place, between ethnic and non-ethnic populations, it is more frequently used to weed out ethnic candidates and other “undesirables.”  Upon blind application (via website, fax, snail mail or email) at a discriminating company, this form will usually be forwarded to an applicant prior to an invitation to interview – refusal to comply and fill out this “voluntary form”  is considered an admittance to being ethnic and or “undesirable.”