Friday, October 19, 2007

Introduction

The illegal war my husband and I were against started. My husband of many years passed away. I went into a very deep depression.

My granddaughter Tracey, passionately against the illegal war, made a point to stop over daily. I who had just basically played solitaire on the computer, my husband was always on the computer, and sent a few e-mails, knew nothing. Tracey kept showing me websites online. She bookmarked The Common Ills for me.

One Sunday meal sees my grandson Jayson coming out of the closet at a very young age.

My wallowing in grief is over because I am needed among the living.

At a time when the illegal war is a non-issue, when post-2004 election 'analysis' invents the myth of 'value voters,' The Common Ills hits hard on the illegal war day after day.

Along with C.I. posting entries at The Common Ills, Kat is doing CD reviews there, Isaiah is doing comics there, Shirley and Martha will be doing year-in-book features, community newsletters are springing up, and I want to do my part.

I am a very old woman. I was in college when JKF was assassinated.

I do listen to a lot of radio.

I start doing a report. I am not sure how good or bad it is but members seem to like it.

I sprinkle in a little Yiddish, I am Jewish, and try to keep it light.

That was 2005.

So much has changed. Including my no longer light approach.

Tracey's been on me to start a site since I started doing my reports.

This is it and thank you to C.I. for helping me set this up today.

This will not be much. Ideally, it will be Monday through Friday posts. Realistically, I may only post two or three times a week.

The posts will be brief. One or two sentences most likely.

A sentence or two giving you a heads up about something I heard on the radio or online that was worth checking out because it's good or because it's so bad.

I will not be posting my reports here. I will continue to post them at The Common Ills.

Other things to know about me?

I have many, many grandchildren.

If they ask to be named, they will be.

My youngest is Elijah, a toddler. His name is not really Elijah. He is not old enough to give consent to be named online. Community members suggested I call him "Elijah" in the reports in honor of community member Eli who is our oldest community member. That is how I refer to him online.

My sons, I only had sons, are all doctors like their father was.

I am either not the mythical monster-in-law or else my sons married such wonderful women that all my daughters-in-law are able to overlook my behavior.

Keesha and others, but especially Keesha, argued successfully in a roundtable for the gina & krista round-robin that everyone who posts at their own site can copy and paste C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" in. It helps keep Iraq front and center and, as Keesha argued, even if you yourself do not blog on Iraq in that entry, Iraq is there by way of the snapshot. I will be following that recommendation. I will start in my first real post. This is more of an introduction post so visitors know a little about me.

I think that is almost everything. The other thing is that I am over at Trina's. She does Trina's Kitchen. I need to tell her thank you for staying at my side while I do my first post.

I am against the illegal war and an old school feminist who never forgets that peace is a feminist value.