A Day of Celebrations

Happy Birthday Minnesota!

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state admitted to the union. There will be a kickoff celebration today in St. Paul, as well as a week's worth of events, including several Capitol for a Day celebrations. Next weekend there will also be events at and around the capitol. As the spring and summer go on, many communities will continue to celebrate the Minnesota Sesquicentennial. For you Minnesota readers, or others with Minnesota ties, how long has your family been connected to Minnesota? Is there anything your community is doing to celebrate Minnesota's sesquicentennial? I hope those of you that attend any of the events will get a chance to blog on them. I love history, but unfortunately, due to work and prior personal committments, will miss any celebratory events this week. I do hope to get to the Minnesota History Center sometime soon to see their Minnesota 150 exhibit. I've heard it is a worthwhile visit. Here are some related links:

Minnesota 150 Today in History Minnesota History Center

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all the mothers are enjoying their special day. As hectic as my last month has been, I would relish just sitting back and doing nothing. Alas, I must go out and do a couple errands that will take me to St. Cloud, as my upcoming week will be busier than ever. This is fairly close to my mother's home, so I will tie in a short visit, even though I just passed through on a business trip a few days ago. I think she'll be surprised, as she doesn't usually get to see me this often. My mother made such sacrifices for her children throughout her life. I truly treasure her gifts and wisdom. She has loved each of her thirteen children unconditionally, through thick and thin. We were all her favorites (at least we all think so...).

It was Mexican Mother's Day yesterday (Feliz dia de las madres!), and I was working at a community Cinco de Mayo festival, so they tied that in with honoring mothers. It was a lively day, filled with laughter, music, and food! I ate the best corn...not sure if it has a special name. It was on the cob, rolled in butter, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, and then sprinkled with a mixture of spices....oooh, la, la...yum! The steak filled tacos weren't bad, either!

100 Days of Blogging

100 days ago, I wrote my first blog on this site. I quite accidentally came across this fact as I was looking at my admin page this morning, so figured I best celebrate that by writing a new piece before I go about the rest of my busy day. I have enjoyed this mode of communication. I like writing and love reading the responses, but I also really enjoy reading the blogs of others. I have always been fascinated by the stories of others, and what may seem ordinary to some, is really what ties us all together in this big world. It seems, in my reading, that we are all more similar than different, and even across the generations and miles, we blog about common themes, central to all our lives. I'll continue to blog, as time permits, and continue to read into the day to day lives of so many "friends and neighbors" I've never met.

Have a wonderful day and celebrate living!

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 5/11/2008 at 11:59 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Where Did the Week Go?

Wow! It's been a busy week. I didn't get a chance to write anything, and only had a chance to glance at my favorite blogs, with no energy left to even comment. I barely glanced at the newspapers this week...unusual, indeed. It is the busy season at work, and just as it starts to get nice, I get stuck inside. I worked way too many hours and will probably need to go in today for a couple hours. I had hoped to get some things done around the house as well, but that is going to be put on hold, as my daughter has a very rare weekend off, and wanted to know if we could do something together. No plans, just hang out or take the dogs to the park. Maybe take in a rare movie this evening. She said she wouldn't even mind spending a couple hours at my work. Wow...what a girl! It's nice to see that when they get past the teen and young adult years of wanting their freedom, that they actually gravitate back to wanting to spend some of their free time with you. I take them up on any opportunity offered!

My dogs are being extra cuddly today. I think they've missed me, or perhaps trying to make up for me being upset with them when I got home (after midnite). They had a bad night last night. For sure one, but probably both, left their doggie doo-doo all over the entry way. LuLu has probably only done this once since the first few weeks she came to live with us last year. Konstantine will do this on a rare occasion... 1X month, or so, which isn't bad, since he was totally non house/crate trained when we got him in November (at age 2 1/2). It was really windy and loud last evening, which is something LuLu has always been sensitive about. Perhaps that frightened her. My hubby says she was frightened most of the day. I think this is one of her behaviors when scared, as she gifted us a few times when she first came here at age 5. Whatever LuLu does, Konstantine likes to follow suit. All I know, is my hubby leashed them near the entry instead of crating them when he went to bed, and this is what I got at the end of a long day. All is well today though. They are so cute, you can't be mad for more than a moment or too, or as long as it takes to clean up the mess. {;>)

The wind is still blowing, but the sun is shining. Time to get outdoors!!

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 5/3/2008 at 10:32 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

The Ten Commandments Monuments- A Little History

The Ten Commandments monuments scattered about our country, causing a ruckus among those who are for or against their presence, have a somewhat short history. It is in this context that I sometimes wonder why the debate becomes so emotional from those who think their religion is being stripped from them if they are removed. On the other hand, having personal ties to the movement, when and how they are discussed always piques my interest. Now remember, I am referring to the monuments and plaques, not the actual commandments. The Ten Commandments, themselves, are brought to us with thousands of years of history. I am not here to argue their validity or non-validity. I am blogging more about the reason the monuments popped up and when. Contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments have not always been posted in public places. This is how the rather recent mass distribution of the commandments came about.

In the late 1940s, a Minnesota district court judge, E.J. Ruegemer, was called to apply justice in the case of a juvenile delinquent that had stolen a vehicle and hit and injured a priest that was passing by. Judge Ruegemer did a little pre-sentence exploration to try to determine what the background of the boy was. He found the boy was from a broken home and had vision and hearing problems that caused him to fail in school. The judge sentenced him to learn and live by the Ten Commandments. The boy, however, did not know what they were, so the judge set him up with lessons from his mother's pastor, and helped him find a job. As far as the judge knew, he did okay after that. The boyeven sent him a Christmas card once.

So, after that incident, the judge got to thinking. As a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, he was the chairman of the National Youth Guidance Commission. He pitched the idea of printing copies of the Ten Commandments to post in schools and court rooms. Initial concerns arose about which version to use, so there was an agreement among a group consisting of a priest/bishop, rabbi, and ministerial association. (All concerned groups have a message on the back of the print.) The movement had its trial run in Minnesota, then moved nationwide in 1953.

In 1956, Judge Ruegemer met up with Cecil B. DeMille, who suggested the plaques be distributed in a more permanent bronze. Ruegemer's suggestion of Minnesota granite, to be like the original stone tablets that the Commandments are reported to have originated on, replaced the bronze suggestion, and a movement was born. The distribution of granite monuments was often accompanied with fanfare. In attendance at some unveilings were stars of DeMille's newly released Ten Commandments movie.

E.J. Ruegemer was interviewed by the Star Tribune in 2003 about his current view on the topic of the Ten Commandments in the public square. At the time the rulings in the highly publicized case involving Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore were forefront in the news. Moore was ordered to remove the monument, but refused. This is what Judge Ruegemer had to say at age 101:

"You know, that big fight down there didn't have to happen," Ruegemer said. "There was another way to solve that, but I don't think anybody down there even looked for a way out."

Alabama might have learned from officials in Grand Junction, Colo., he said. They created a Cornerstones of Law and Order plaza and added replicas of the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Plymouth Compact, preamble to the Constitution and parts of the Bill of Rights.

"I think the Ten Commandments should be on display where people, especially children can see it," said Ruegemer, whose concern for youths led him to start Big Brothers in St. Cloud soon after he launched the Ten Commandments project. "Yes, it's a religious document, but also a historic document that is the basis for a lot of our laws."

In Alabama, the judge who defied a federal court order "had his heart in the right place, but his head was not," Ruegemer said. "You obey the law. You obey rulings of superior courts whether you agree or not."

Still, if that 16-year-old boy were before him again, "I'd do exactly the same thing. I'd sentence him to learn and live by the Ten Commandments. The difference is, now I might have been reversed on appeal."

~excerpted from 2003 article written by Warren Wolfe, Star Tribune , found on another site

In studying this controversy, it seems that there have been reports of people asking for the removal of the monuments almost as soon as they went up. It may not be as much an indicator of a society gone wrong to want these removed, as much as it is a disagreement that they never belonged in the public arena in the first place. At least, exclusive of other such historical documents, and I would argue, it is at least that.

My personal thoughts are a bit different than those of Judge Ruegemer, who by the way, was my grandfather's first cousin (hence my special interest in the topic). I agree that we need to be a nation of laws, and I agree that many of our laws were crafted because of beliefs by many in those ten commandments. However, I'm not sure having the commandments in public display will help to promote the adherence to laws as much as a consistent, supportive family will. I can't ask him, as he passed away in 2005, but I would have liked to know if he needed to look at those words to keep on the right path. I believe he probably didn't, because he was brought up in a loving, hard working, supportive family that taught him to take the right path. Sure, they used the Bible and Ten Commandments as their tools, but without the family and their church leaders guiding the children with those tools, they are not likely to be learned. Just posting them in public as a teaching tool would not be enough. The juvenile delinquent of Judge Ruegemer's past did not learn the commandments by looking at them in a public place, but by being tutored, and thus supported in his learning. And who's to say that the Ten Commandments are the only spiritual teaching tool that has merit.

As the opinions continue to fly over this topic, I think those speaking to keep the commandments in public, need to understand that others will want their beliefs portrayed equally. It doesn't matter as much that many believe our country was started as a Christian nation, as it does, that our people are free to believe (or not believe) in any form of spiritual roots they want. Those pushing to have the monuments removed, should try to remember the historical significance of the commandments, whether they choose to follow them or not. A compromise, such as that in Grand Junction Colorado, would be wonderful.

As for me, I do have one of the original framed prints that was distributed to the public places by the F.O.E. I bought it at an antique sale. On the back, there is a history of the purpose, with statements by Judge Ruegemer, the ministerial association, a rabbi, a bishop, several notable authors, DeMille, and J. Edgar Hoover. For me, it is a piece of my family history that traces a committment by ancestors to live their spiritual beliefs and to also speak up when you believe strongly in something, knowing that you could be over ruled at any time. It is hanging in the privacy of my home...right where it belongs.

For more about this history, see: The Real History

F.O.E.

Tables Turning: Courts Disagree

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 4/26/2008 at 3:50 PM | Comments (8) | Permalink

Favorite Music

I was having some fun chatting and posting youtube videos on another newspaper sight last evening...sharing songs of our early years.

This activity started me on reminiscing about a time when life was less complicated and all we had to think about was having enough money to go out and have a little fun listening to bands at the local ballroom, or to buy the latest Ktel greatest hits album.

I love to listen to and sing along with (somewhat out of tune) most kinds of music. As I was posting various tunes, I realized just how diverse my tastes are. I was always a fan of rock: hard rock, soft rock, country rock, southern rock, classic rock, fifties rock, and on and on. When I think about it, though, I enjoy most any musical sound, as long as I am in the right frame of mind. I like folk. Blues too. Jazz..yup. Big Band...yesiree! Polkas can be fun. Old country and new country. Head banging...well, just on occasion! Opera has it's times. Classical is always welcome. Hymns to sing and hymns to hum. You name it, I'll listen to it.

I am not sure how or why I came to enjoy so many types of music. Partly, my mom sang all the time. She sang as she rocked babies and while she worked. Often it was folk songs from her younger years. She had favorite albums that we played. The oldtime station was usually on from dawn until dusk. I guess her love of music was passed on. In working on my family history, I have found there has been a love of music for many generations in my family. One of my g-g-grandfathers was a bugler in the Civil War. He has been said to have had a great love for and skill with music. On my dad's side, I had a g-grandfather and many of his descendants that were also very musically inclined, taking part in community bands and traveling bands.

Adding to that, I had older siblings that started me on the sixties music playing on KDWB-63. Some of my siblings went on to play guitar and lead family sing alongs. A few nephews have joined that group, as well as a couple brother-in-laws. One sister has had a children's recording group. We love to go caroling as a large family group at Christmas. Where family is gathered, you will often have a group jamming.

We listened to records of all sorts at friends. My groups of friends were quite diverse, and that also leant itself to diverse music, as accepting the friends often meant accepting their music (or at least tolerating it). I still have a diverse group of friends, all ages, so I still listen to any and all music.

The children grow, and bring a whole new appreciation to what is out there in the musical arena. Sometimes it drives you a bit nuts, if what they are listening to at the time, is not what you had in mind for a relaxing moment of your day. My son plays his music loud, and even when he's wearing ear buds, I can be agitated by the banging of it if my frame of mind is not set for his type. Other times, the same music is just fine.

Here are just a few of my favorites: Fleetwood Mac, The Carpenters, ZZ Top, Steppenwolf, The Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Olivia Newton John, The Beatles (and all their individual works), The Statler Brothers, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Who, Meatloaf, Johny Cash, Elton John, Willie & Waylon, America, The Four Seasons, Elvis, ShaNaNa, Collin Ray, The Monkees, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Jim Croce, Styx, REO Speedwagon, ELO, Linda Ronstadt, Charlie Daniels Band, John Prine, The Animals, John McCutcheon, etc.

What do you like to listen to? Is there any type of music you can't stand?

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 4/26/2008 at 2:14 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

A Loony Weekend

I hope this is the sign that spring is officially here to stay. The Loons are making their way north. They do not usually stick with us very long, but are passers through on their long journey further north. My husband shot these pics Friday and Saturday. The "distant" pictures are in our backyard (top two and bottom photo). He couldn't get close-ups, but then discovered more loons at a lake across town, which were in a more camera friendly position.

If you note the top and bottom pictures, what a difference a day makes in the ice out process. For those of you to the north, these birds should be on their way to you shortly.