The Fourth

The Fourth

by Shel Silverstein

Oh

CRASH!

my

BASH!

it's

BANG!

the

ZANG!

Fourth

WHOOSH!

of

BAROOM!

July

WHEW!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy your families. Enjoy the loud fireworks and the corn on the cob and the grilled something or other.

Hold on tight, as you spin too fast on the tilt-a-whirl. Try not to hear the tinkling sound of nuts and bolts being jerkily shimmied out of rides at the carnival... Some of those are redundant any way. It's fine!

Hey, are we ever leaving Iraq? What do you think?

Because of the nuclear threat, must we really recognize the corrupt Ahmadinejad in Iran and continue to speak to him, thereby legitimizing his fraudulent election victory?

Life is complicated.

Let's just have fun today and enjoy our kids marching in parades, or watching parades and enjoy the summer fun of the 4th.

Happy 4th everyone!

Please Don't Let Me be Misunderstood

You know who likes The Animals? My Mom ! I don't think she knew of them in the 60's--she was too busy raising kids. She likes them now.

I understand Mom. You are not misunderstood...

So, here's a fitting song.

I am Impressed With My Kids

Yesterday, my son complained that he felt a little pressure behind his cheeks and nose. Maybe he had a bit of a sinus infection?

I told him about our neti pot and explained how dad uses it and I use it and why and when.

So, he thought he would like to try it too.

"Really?", I thought. "He's going to fill a pot with warm water and a generous pinch of salt and tilt his head over the sink and pour it in one nostril and then let it drain out the other? Really?" OK...

I set it up for him and reminded him to breathe through his mouth and that it would feel like when you get water up your nose at the pool, but he would not choke--it would be OK.

I had him watch me as I filled the neti pot with the warm water and the generous pinch of salt and then poured the water into one of my nostrils and then the other.

OK. His turn.

I filled it up again, and then he poured it into one nostril and didn't like it much, but tried it on the other nostril as well.

Not much got in, but he did do it and was OK and didn't sputter.

Today, he reports that he feels less pressure and maybe the neti pot helped.

Hurray for alternative methods that work that my kids are brave enough to try!

Ants Begone! Diatomaceous Earth...

We have ants! As my kids sit here and watch Born Free, I realize that I want all of us in Nature to live in harmony and to truly be free. But, that unfortunately doesn't really apply to uninvited guests like big, black, fast, scuttling ants in my kitchen. Sorry, but it doesn't.

They arrived a few days ago and seem to have settled in, establishing all sorts of scented paths so their buddies can find their way and also move in and have a party in my cupboards and across my floor.

(Pictured above, an ant in Mexico--beautiful and not in my kitchen...)

My husband and I stomp on them when we're in the kitchen, which is not really an organized form of pest control, but it is effective for the ones under our heels. My son hates this.

He earnestly questions whether we think that the ants know that they're in our house and if they mean to bother us. It's all about intent for him. And, I do see the justice in that. It's not their fault and I wish them no harm, in principle. If they could just go away, I would be fine with that. But, since my son is right--they don't know that they're in our house, they won't feel the territorial pressure and go away from our turf. If I could mark our territory to make them back off I would. But the only scents I have are old perfume that I no longer wear, and lovely essential oils-- lavender, tangerine, clove, tea tree, eucalyptus-- that I use medicinally. That won't work.

I have, however, found something that seems to be working. I have liberally sprinkled Diatomaceous Earth all around our kitchen baseboards. Diatomaceous Earth is a powder comprised of ground up fossilized sea creatures. It feels like flour to the touch, but is quite abrasive and when pests walk through it or have it sprinkled on them, it cuts their skin or exoskeleton. After that, they succumb to extreme dehydration and die.

Sounds awful doesn't it?

Besides being effective, which is apparent today in my relatively ant--free kitchen, it is completely safe and non toxic. You don't want to breathe it in as you sprinkle it, as it can irritate, but other than that it is harmless unless you are measured in millimeters and then it is biological warfare.