Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2003. When the weather was nice, we spent a lot of time outside in our complex's plaza space (which was pictured here). This is a great space because it is flat and totally enclosed from the street. It was in this plaza space Mattie would bicycle ride, fly his kite, and ride on various things like this fire truck when he was one and a half years old. Mattie and I used this plaza space for all kinds of things like building snowmen, drawing with sidewalk chalk, blowing bubbles, and playing with our neighborhood Jack Russell Terrier, JJ.
Quote of the day: Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness, instead of candid and sincere service. ~ Calvin Coolidge
I remember when I was in high school, I had a US government history teacher who graded papers, quizzes, and tests in GREEN. She felt that green symbolized growth, and therefore red was not a productive color to grade in! Funny the quirky stuff one can remember. Any case, this teacher had the gift of bringing US presidents to life for her students. She would bestow upon us stories about their personal lives and it was through these stories that we got to know the person behind the elected position, as well as developed a greater appreciation for the policies and thinking that came out of each presidential term.
I picked a quote from Calvin Coolidge tonight because I always remember my teacher referring to him as "Cool Cal." A president, which she said believed in using very FEW WORDS to communicate. Yet I think this particular quote was very telling and meaningful given the context in which he worked..... politics.
It is an unfortunate commentary that decades later, Coolidge's quote still applies to our political world, a world in which crafty and cunning selfishness abound, instead of candid and sincere service. Peter and I attended the fourth annual childhood cancer caucus on Capitol Hill today. In the Caucus' four year history, I have attended three out of their four childhood cancer caucus summits. I remember in 2010, when I attended the first summit, I did not know what to expect. Especially since Mattie's death was only a year old at that point. At the time, the summit seemed almost larger than life where different cancer groups gathered, networked, and heard an update from the Caucus co-chairs as well as heard about the latest innovations in the field.
Now four years into Mattie's death and being a lot more savvy, I have a much better understanding for the nature of the Caucus and the overall camaraderie, or lack there of between childhood cancer groups. In fact the content of the Caucus is fine because we are hearing from researchers and medical doctors in the field, typically working on pioneer treatments, but I have trouble at times separating the content from the politics. The politics of how it is presented, who is being rewarded in the process, and the overall false hope that is shed on a very complex process. Childhood cancer should not be politicized, and yet it is, and people benefit from being in the limelight, and by people I do not mean children with cancer. I will leave it at that, but I was happy that Peter went with me today so that we could process our experience together.
This evening, I have been invited to a watercolor art class by a friend of mine from zumba class. My friend is an artist and she knows I admire art. Now liking art and doing art are really two different things. So who knows what I will be coming home with tonight, if I create anything at all.
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