Believe It Or Not ~

Believe it or not, it's time to haul out my "Spring Is In The Air" classical song. I know it’s cold outside and many areas have snow and ice and power outages; yet, spring is in the air if you look and listen closely to Nature. In many ways, this is the most delicious time of year ... the very anticipation of early Spring! You know the saying "It’s always darkest before dawn"? Well, we could also say "It’s always bleakest before beautiful".

New Endeavors –

"Women In Music with Laney Goodman" is aired on many NPR stations across the country. I’ve just mailed in my 2nd submission and hope my music will be on her program.

I recently purchased the software for Music Time Deluxe, to make sheet music for at least 30 of my original songs. It comes with a 281-page user’s manual and is reputed to be easy to use. I need to get started with it soon.

A New Old CD Masterpiece –

"Chicago Blues Masters" – a Muddy Waters & Memphis Slim CD – what a find! I got it at McKay’s Used Books & CDs last week.

A New Year, Promises, Resolutions, House-Cleaning –

Welcoming 2009 by watching several marathon "Twilight Zone" episodes and then switching to Anderson Cooper’s Time Square gala television show a few minutes before midnight to watch the ball come down when the clock struck 12, I woke my dog to let her know it was an important moment. Yes, a quiet way to usher in the new year, but it works for me!

I was happy to bid farewell to 2008. Although I feel all the shoes haven’t yet dropped regarding the extent of economic woes – and all the broken systems and ills in our country and in the world, I’m hopeful that things will begin to get better and more humane.

I did make some promises to myself about things that will be good for me and others, and have a beneficial ripple effect in general. Sometimes I do this during the year, at various and sporadic times. So I don’t know if these qualify as "resolutions". They are promises. And that makes them more important for me to keep. I mean, when you make a promise, you should always make good on your word, right? That’s the way it feels to me.

Usually during the beginning of January, I clean out my files and closets and storage areas, sorting and re-arranging things. I haven’t done that yet...am "late" this January, but it’s on the verge of happening.

Again, I am attuned. The march of the seasons! The cocoon of Winter will soon give way to the birth of Spring. How lyrical it all is!

The Dancing Pot –

"The pot is dancing!", my grandmother would excitedly exclaim. A very young child, I would respond with wide-eyed glee, as the pot did, indeed, dance to a loud, lively tempo, on the old coal and wood-burning stove in my grandmother’s kitchen. A magnificent piece of invention and wearing a handsome gird of chromed steel all around the top, the stove stood on four sturdy, fancily-curved legs and had four round steel ‘plates’ on top, which were opened with a heavy-duty latching tool. I don’t know what the stove lids and opener tool were actually called. Venting the smoke from the stove to the outdoors was a fat galvanized pipe; it had a damper lever on it. The surface of the stove would sometimes glow red with heat and the lids had to be opened with care, to tend the fire within. Crackling and popping noises could be heard, depending on what fuel was being burned. My grandmother’s kitchen was such a blessed and magical place.

Once in a great while, the modern and lovely electric range in my kitchen produces a dancing pot; it is a rare happening – comical and poetic in a way.

Have You Noticed?

Have you noticed ...

- My revised website (at http://claralandau.home.comcast.net)?

- That insurance companies run our health care ‘system’ (and decide who will live or die)?

- That women’s dresses (and other clothing) sizes have shrunk drastically now that 99 and 44/100% of our clothing is made in China? I must tell you about the special, pretty dress I prepaid (which was mandatory) and ordered, a couple of years ago, to wear at my daughter’s wedding ... and the $350 african violet plant that was what I finally walked away with. Here is the story: I was measured by the clerk and ordered a dress two sizes larger than I normally take, since I learned that the dresses are made in some other part of the world. The dress came in weeks later and was way too small everywhere and seemed out of proportion. After several alterations and refittings at the store – each costing extra – it still didn’t fit or look right. Oh, but it can "for another $35". By then I thought of the dress in terms that bordered on hateful ... it was like a bouffant, exploding, giant blade of very green grass. When the price was about to approach the $400 mark, I said to the clerk, "enough" – but, see, that’s why they make you prepay, so you’re stuck. I told them to keep the dress and I walked out of the store carrying "Herbie", the one-leafed (dried-up-due-to-no-water-or-light) african violet that was on the counter next to the cash register. I already knew Herbie's name because I'd been back to the store so many times. "Keep the dress, and I’ll take Herbie and try to help him" is what I said as I left the store, leaving the astonished clerk staring. Herbie is thriving, to the extent that I’ve had to re-pot him twice. He is, by far, the most expensive plant I’ve ever brought home. (P.S. I bought a lovely, perfectly-sized dress off the rack at Sear's at 50% off, for the wedding)!

- That music soothes the human as well as "the savage beast" (or are they one and the same)?

- That the amount of daylight (in the northern hemisphere) is noticeably increasing? A seemingly small, yet significant and reassuring sign, is that I don’t need to put the porch light on at 5 p.m. now – not even at 6 p.m. (EST).

- That hardly any trains have cabooses anymore?

- That there still are some people who care about helping others, even though life – in general – has become ever so much more crowded, complex and stressful?

Anything else you can think of, dear reader, that has changed noticeably in relatively recent times, please send it along in a comment!

Author Louis L'Amour's "The Haunted Mesa" –

On my website, I mention that I love books and that all my favorites are non-fiction. Actually, I don’t recall reading a fictional book since I was a child reading July Bolton mysteries. Recently, though, "The Haunted Mesa" came into my hands by way of Jerry, who is an ardent fan of Louis L’Amour’s many books of adventure stories and mysteries. Mr. L’Amour passed away in 1988, but his books are still very popular and sought-after. Anyway, this particular book is intriguing and unusual and I’m at Chapter 29 of the 43 chapters. The book is spell-binding and enjoyable.

Christmas Card Of The Mind --

Yesterday, for a little while, I took the nostalgia trip down the lane of Christmas Past. When I was very young, my paternal grandmother played a prominent role in things festive. She was a wonderful pal and playmate and really enjoyed talking and drawing and glueing and cutting out paper shapes at the kitchen table. She had a nice smile that made her eyes twinkle. Her eyes were kind of almond-shaped (like mine are). Living in Connecticut, we usually had snow for the holidays; in fact, we often had a lot of snow ... and in Connecticut, it can hang around into mid-April, in layers of old, crusty re-frozen, and new snow. Anyway, my mother had a great sense of humor when it came to what Santa would put in the "stockings hung by the (pretend) chimney (we didn’t have a fireplace) with care". Every Christmas, there would be an apple, an orange, a "book" of Lifesaver candies, and a tube of toothpaste, among other little trinkets! Sometimes on Christmas Eve, my father would walk around the outside of the house, jingling bells, especially as he passed my bedroom window. He did it mostly to have fun, though it was under the guise of cautioning me that Santa was approaching and all should be quiet in the house. So I would always comment, the next day, that I’d heard Santa, and I know my father was delighted. My mother would cook a big dinner on Christmas. Actually, I remember thinking of the season that ran from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s Day as "The Big Three" in terms of her dinners. We always stayed home for these holidays and our house was like a train station – with friends and relatives trudging up the hill by foot or, occasionally, driving up the hill if there wasn’t fresh snow or ice on it. It was a different time then, unhurried, and not very commercial in those days preceding malls and discount stores. Memories of Christmas Past bring a mix of feelings, especially as we recall the people, things, ways, that have exited – and smile at those that now grace ... our lives. It all makes a colorful, picturesque, and mindful holiday card.

The Leaf-Blower's Concert --

Don’t you just love the sound of a leaf-blower during dinner? The man across the street has, what I’ve long-ago decided, a fetish for his leaf-blower. Blowing his real and imaginary leaves is something he does recreationally in all seasons, as well as when the trees actually are shedding. Yesterday, our holiday dinner was accompanied by the loud, monotonous drone (non-lilting strains) of the leaf machine. Well, his yard is always tidy, so I look on that bright side...and turn on a music CD.

Holiday Greetings~~

As you may know (if you've been following my blog), this has been an especially different kind of year for me and has provided me with new and major opportunities for growth, introspection, enlightened perspective, and even humor!

Escaping the church shootings with traumatic, yet minor injuries (compared to the severe injuries and deaths of other people), I've realized more than ever, during the months since that day in July, that the cadence of time keeps rolling along and we need to make the most of every minute of every hour of every day of our lives. Each moment is special and precious, even those moments that seem, on the surface, to be quite ordinary.

I wish you a joyous, merry, awesome holiday season and a new year of peace, health, love and light ...

Celebrate life!

Just Thinking ...

At this time of the year, regardless of one’s religious or spiritual persuasion, it’s a tough time for people who have experienced or are going through the throes of loss – whether loss of a loved one through death or other separation, loss of a job, or in these troubled economic times – loss of their home or their retirement funds. It’s also a hard time to be dealing with illness. I’ve heard from two very dear people recently that they’ve been sick with shingles, that grown-up off-shoot of chickenpox. Another friend just lost his job. Job loss means not only lost income, but also a lost part of one’s identity; I remember that well, when I had that experience five years ago. Changing horses, career paths, and philosophies can follow on the heels of a lost job; happily, my friend has plans for training in a new and wonderful career! However we approach the festivities of the holiday season, there will be, for most of us, that thread of seriousness as we look back, look forward, and touch base with our values. Our values – maybe that’s what it’s really all about.

Just Wondering ...

Remember when (long ago and far away), during December, kids would say "Jingle Bells, Santa smells, Easter’s on the way"? Can anyone tell me: Do they still do that?

OK ...

A while ago I asked Jerry if there was anything he’d like me to write about in my blog. I added, "it can be silly, it can be serious, it can be outrageous". That last one was meant to be a joke but he honed in on it and said, "Yup"! He tends to be more conservative than I am. I gingerly use the word "conservative" because I’ve grown allergic to it, though I’m not using the word here in a political or religious sense. I don’t know (and I've often wondered) if he considers me to be fool-hardy or very brave. There is, after all, a thin, fuzzy line between those attributes!

The Cars Go By, Splish-Splash –

Well, this a perfect day for the Rainy Day Blues in east Tennessee. My backyard has become Lake Landau, with little islands of grass sticking up, here and there. My dog looks at me quizzically when I call her to go outside. "Why don’t you turn this stuff off"? I can read her thoughts. I gaze across the street at the huge oak trees on the hillside and hope that their roots have a very firm grip, deep into the earth (which is becoming very soggy).

As the song suggests, I did have my "cup of tea", though, and "sit by the window and let my thoughts drift quietly", for a little while -- but not long enough. There is something that feels very romantic and dreamy about a gray, rainy day ... it’s always been that way for me.

No Justification For This Craziness –

The entire concept of stores promoting early morning opening "door-busters" to "shoppers" who wait for hours in parking lots and then stampede like a herd of panicked cattle on the day after Thanksgiving, has been repugnant to me for years. It points to the epitome of crassness that people can exhibit in the name of holiday shopping. That an innocent maintenance worker from a temporary agency could be trampled and killed by people smashing in the Wal-Mart door, is unconscionable and disgusting. Apparently, it will take far more than a failing economy to halt these crazed shoppers and the stores that feed their frenzy.

Curtain Call --

A recent evening spent at Songwriters Recording Studio with William (Sandy) Garrett in Knoxville, reminded me not only of how talented this studio owner-engineer-musician-artist is, but also how fortunate I am to have him as a friend.

Probably everyone who knows me or has been reading my blog for a period of time, is aware that my life, path, and health took some unanticipated turns with the events of this past summer. And, just for the record, I’m doing everything I can to regain/attain balance in all those life departments. One of the constants in my life – music – greatly helped carry me through those difficult weeks; I wrote a spiritual-styled blues called "Give Me A Warm Shoulder To Lean On" two days after the shootings and a rhythmic, uplifting latinesque song called "I Feel Like Singing Again", during September. Surprising me completely, a ballad called "Make (Time For) Love" drifted into my mind early this month. This newest is a techy song with intriguing and challenging modulations, patterns, and passages; in fact, learning and memorizing the arrangement took some real effort, though it was a labor of love.

So, at Songwriters, I recorded the three tunes named above, along with a song I’d composed during early July, called "Rainy Day Blues". RDB is an 8-bar blues that speaks to the supreme joy I (and, I’m sure, others) felt here in East Tennessee when rain would appear on the drought-scorched summer horizon. Though out of season right now, the song deserves to be heard and will be on hand for summer of 2009!

Anyway, when I went to the studio this time, I really felt more than a bit unsteady, as I’d not done any singing and playing anywhere except in my home studio, since the shootings; also, except for my students, none of my non-church friends had even seen me in the interim (though we’d talked on the phone and via e-mail). But all went well and I’m really proud of the project, which turned out beautifully.

In all, I did five songs, including a public domain tune I love called "Rose Room" (written by two gentlemen in 1917). I decided to put the songs on a CD and call it "Curtain Call", since that phrase loosely translates to mean the bow at the end of a performance, which acknowledges audience applause and brings that delicious moment of connection. The Curtain Call concept flew into my head when I got home from the studio that evening. By nature, the term suggests brevity (only five songs are on the CD but they are extraordinary) with a savored and fleeting quality. Curtain Call will be available soon by contacting me directly (I won’t be putting it in stores). Similarly, my earlier CD "Is She Calling You?" can also be burned-to-order; I have a limited quantity of my earlier CDs, "Wild Lady" and "Solo Flight". Please call or e-mail me at (865) 522-0204, claralandau@comcast.net, if you would like to own any of these.

Nature's Lid --

That’s what the descent from Autumn into Winter seems to be, to me. I often think in terms of analogy and images. Imagine now (this will sound kind of wild) that we inhabitants of this hemisphere are in some sort of a vessel or dish on which the lidded top has been moved aside for many months; now, some giant hand is sliding the lid back over us, allowing light to only enter in sidewards, at an angle. We can call it S.A.D. We can call it "closed lid syndrome"! But it is here, folks, cold and sort of claustrophobic. From a lyrical perspective, it’s cozy and kind of nice to find creature comfort in the warmth (be it ever so expensive) of our homes. Venturing outdoors on a cold, blustery day can be stimulating or unpleasant, but Nature is always there for us to observe and appreciate. Each day, as the hands of the clock turn, we are reminded of how persistently and stealthily the lid closes over our horizon, finally covering us in the cloak of winter’s night. Just as mysteriously and wonderfully, the lid will begin to be lifted ... the giant hand will titillate us with widening angles of light at just around the date when we are feeling desperate for it to do so. The cadence of time moves along.

A Thrilling And Inspiring Event!

"It truly was remarkable to me, more than anything else, to watch the world celebrating with us and welcoming us back into the global community's embrace. It was like 'ding dong, the witch is dead' all over again. I never felt so good about my vote as I did this time. I knew I'd really participated in a very historically significant event." Those are the words of my friend, Sanman, a person I consider to be most wise.

Election night numbers felt like a miracle unfolding – at long-last, the eight-year pall was lifting and hope was becoming a reality; and then came that wonderful, defining moment when Obama was declared the president-elect! What an inspiring way to, at last, unite all Americans ... with pride and honor! It feels good.

There is an incredibly huge cauldron full of Bushist wrong-doing that now needs to be tackled, dumped out, fixed, renovated, reversed, cleansed, healed. The reeling and sinking economy, the chasm between the rich and the poor, the fractured health care "system", the ill-conceived war, the pulverized environment, the jobs that need to be brought back to the U.S.; all these are in the emergency zone, crying out for help. Obama has the intelligence, courage, leadership, and ethics to meet the challenge. It is monumental in size and scope. He deserves and needs the full support of each and all of us. Think about it. I am thinking about it. I’m very thankful our country now has a chance to save itself. Thanksgiving has, for me, renewed significance this year!

Why the U.S. Needs Obama as President --

I encourage you to vote and to vote early, avoid the election-day lines. I voted for Obama. I voted for Obama because I feel that those of us who didn’t put Bush into office deserve an intelligent and caring president who will try his utmost to give us a chance for economic, ethical, environmental, and health-care respite, restoration, and renewal. We need him to help us rise out of the quagmire (actually a hellish cesspool) that the present administration has sunk us into; eight years of horrible damage in every category. Actually, at this point, probably almost everybody in our country deserves a respite, restoration, and renewal. I say "almost" because I still see vehicles with the "W" bumper stickers on them. These next eleven days will probably see a lot of dirt flying out of the McCain camp, more phony stunts like Joe the plumber. It is sad that a significant number of our citizens seem to fall in line behind such gimmicks to manipulate the rank and file. It would be nice (and healthy) if each of us, as Americans, could and would raise his/her self-image as a person (and realize our individual and collective potential to be part of the process of making things better). If enough of us do that, together we really can have the vision of a better country and a better world.

About My Music ...

On and off, over the past year or so, I’ve wondered (and I’ve done a bit of posting about this) whether, regarding some personal circumstances, I’d continue public music performances. At the same time, I’d added an awesome, new original ("Rainy Day Blues") and several cover songs to my list, so I was really at odds with myself. I was thrashing this out during the weeks immediately preceding the July 27 shooting attack. For a while after that event, my head and ear pain was not conducive to playing piano or singing.Little by little, and beginning with the creation of new song "Give Me A Warm Shoulder To Lean On", I began working with my music again, cherishing every moment of it. Soon my newest song, "I Feel Like Singing Again", came into being. I realize that my "work" isn’t over. I'm defining my work as teaching, performing, and carrying forth the concept of musical healing. A good amount of thought and deliberation and struggle brought me to a place in my heart and mind where I've made a decision -- the decision that I will do venue and event performances only in response to invitations to do so (will not be soliciting dates). I'm thinking now, with a smile, of something I often said in years past when promoting my humane education program: "Invite us, we'll come"! And ... my cozy home studio's musical welcome mat is forever extended to one and all, where I will always enjoy playing and singing jazz, blues, latinesque, torch, and light classical for fans and friends.

Cellular Level (not about phones) –

One of the three excellent post-trauma one-on-one counselors who met with me in recent weeks, raised the question of belief systems, God, and spirituality. We had an awesome conversation about our mutual feeling (more like "a knowing"), of being connected with other people, animals, and plants at a cellular level – that is, truly being bonded with, interconnected with them – in a very real, spiritual way. I enjoyed speaking with someone who so obviously understood my description of what I call the Universal Spirit or Energy. It is my awareness of that cellular level connection that fuels my immense affection for animals and plants and my caring about other people.

I used to tell the kids in my humane education classes and audiences, that all people and creatures in our world are The Earth Family. Most of the children seemed to really relate to that phrase and its meaning. My hope is that some of them (now teens and young adults) will hold it in their minds and hearts as they become adults and take leadership roles in our world.

Over the ten years that I did those speaking engagements, I did get an angry telephone call from a child's father who accused me of "preaching a new religion" and demanding "I want you to stop it"! But I didn't.

Just as one cell of an individual body knows and is affected by what is happening to another cell we each are part of an intricately-woven tapestry ... at a cellular level.

Musical Treasure –

This man’s music career was blossoming and thriving before I was even born!

His quartet (he on clarinet, Teddy Wilson on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibraphone, and Gene Krupa on drums) was the first racially-integrated U.S. band – and this was in the early and mid 1930s! His "big bands" were great, but his quartet was phenomenal.

As a lead-in for this post, I’ll begin with this little digression that may not, at first, seem relevant to my opening paragraph. But it lends light to what I say a little farther along in the post. It is this: An internet search of my name produces all kinds of web references, many of which are sites that have pirated my music (I’m sort of beyond caring that they did that), some that have nice U.S. reviews, some others that have great foreign reviews, one that has a weirdly-done "bio" that has just enough true facts to be eerily fascinating to me, and one that has a critic’s review, comparing me and my music to "the Benny Goodman era". That last one is clearly worded so that the reader knows the reviewer is expressing his utter disdain (and his coolness). When that review first appeared, about five or six years ago, my feelings were a bit hurt. Of course, I’d heard of Benny Goodman – part of his life had taken place during part of my life and I’d probably accidentally heard some of his music when I was a young child, but not with "listening ears". When I read the disdaining critic’s review, I figured BG music must be uninviting, or at least, uncool.

This summer, I became intrigued by a song title I found on a public domain website; the title is "When Buddha Smiles". Those of you who are well-acquainted with me know that I love the teachings of the Buddha and I greatly admire his ability to keep smiling. So I started searching for sheet music and a CD of the out-of-date song, recorded by the BG orchestra. Strangely, I rather easily found the sheet music (a fully orchestrated booklet that includes parts for many, many instruments, even drums) on the Internet at a place called Book Nook. I wanted the song in any format, so I could learn it. I did find the CD at Disk Exchange South in Knoxville, after a disappointing, unfulfilled order I’d placed with an online "oldies" CD marketplace that had claimed to have it.

I listened to the song, then to the rest of the CD. Wham! I was swiftly transported to a place that truly was thrilling, blissful, and refreshingly "new".

A subsequent visit to a local used books and CDs store found me, of course, in the CD section, where I picked up a Robert Cray blues album and then came across a small group of BG CDs in the jazz section. There was a vibe that seemed to be emanating from these plastic-clad disks. I bought several of them.

These Benny Goodman recordings have amazing musical tech, inspiration, endurance and are so healing and happy. I love them. Listening to them, I almost dance on my treadmill! The music is mesmerizing. And exciting. And cool! Very.

Out Of The Mouths Of ..... Comedians –

Always pushing the satirical envelope in ways that make us laugh – sometimes uproariously – at unfunny politics, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert lately have been outdoing themselves. They are having a veritable feast on our country’s current political and economic fumbles, foibles, fakes, and fools. One recent scene that my mind still sees and hears is the Colbert Report’s observation that by "wearing these (a look-alike for the old cardboard-framed 3-D) eyeglasses, McCain almost seems to come to life". Well, it was hilarious the way Colbert delivered the line. Seeing and hearing the clip where Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says (regarding the economic crisis) that Americans "got put on the hook by the system we have, the system we all let happen, the system that Congress, the administration, future administrations let exist" pushed hilarity and outrageousness together as book-ends.

Truly, the arts (and comedy is certainly an art) can effectively convey the truth that other methods of communication can only struggle with. These guys and their writers are comedic and political geniuses.

The Wilmington (NC) Connection –

Stay tuned – I will say more about it in the coming months!

Rainy Day Blues --

Drought-parched East Tennessee got three days of nice rain about two weeks ago. It reminded me of a week during early July when we’d had a day or so of rain and I’d written (the Comfort Of) Rainy Day Blues. Blues, of course, is the music that gives expression to a soulful state of being. I find blues music very comforting, reassuring, and empathetic, especially at a primal emotional level – that place where my innermost feelings reside.

I’ve got a Native American rain stick that, in times past, I’ve used to "call" the rain. Wouldn’t it be nice if the weather would "even out"; you know, re-distribute itself so there wouldn’t be floods or droughts? The concept is grinning mischievously at us at the moment; all those coastal storms and not a drop of rain here in these parts of East Tennessee. Well, in a Utopian world, it will all straighten out. I’ll borrow some lines from my song where it says "... I’ll sit here by the window, Let my thoughts drift quietly, With the Rainy Day Blues".

Earth, Sky & Everything In-between --

-- (namely, the Ocean). I’m forgoing the September beach trip this year, as I used the money for my February asthma month-long episode. For breathing. Damn -- it seemed so important at the time! Everything is a trade-off. Coming to that realization is helpful.

Blue and green and brown – the colors of nature. I rarely wear blue; I like it well enough, but I don’t usually wear it near my face, because my eyes are green. I know the two colors work beautifully in Nature, so why not on and around the human face? I should try it.

The Drama Of Life --

Two years ago, I completed a book of my musings and memoirs. The need to write an addendum has become obvious to me; I’ll work on that soon. Meanwhile ... I’ll dust the clouds, wink at the moon, and shake out the sequins! And what will that produce? I'm eager to discover the result!

Lance, The Allure Of ...

I’ve written a number of posts that feature or mention my truck, Lance. I’ve just posted his picture. Lance (named for the car dealership where I found him ... the only Chevy among many Fords), has been with me since 1996. Six or seven years ago, the E.D. of the non-profit organization for which I’d created an education and outreach program, remarked to me that I have a very sexy truck. She was describing all the ways that she considered me to be lucky – my music, my free spirit, one or two physical attributes, and my truck! Up until that moment, I hadn’t realized my truck had this quality. I was probably too close to the woods to see the tree, as the saying goes. A sexy truck! Anyway, feast your eyes on my pal, Lance.

Help Our Animal Friends --

They need us and our best efforts, folks. Locally, please support your animal shelter’s volunteer, spay-neuter, and pet adoption programs. These dogs and cats want loving homes, not euthanasia. Spay-neuter is the only humane way to reduce pet overpopulation and make unnecessary the sad and gut-wrenching job of putting these healthy companion animals to sleep.

And to help horses who have been abused and neglected, please support the rescue, volunteer, and adoption efforts of Horse Haven of Tennessee. Visit the HHT website at www.horsehaven.net. You will love it!

And go to the "daily click" website that provides free food for shelter animals at www.theanimalrescuesite.com.

Bad Politics --

With nothing of merit to contribute and with no class, Palin is the perfect complement to McCain’s phony, pasty-faced visage. A few days ago, someone remarked to me that Palin reminds her "of a bottom-feeder". Do the Republicans think that American women who supported Clinton could possibly be bamboozled, as a bloc vote, into supporting Palin?