Pope Francis: There has "never been such a clear need for science" to protect the planet.

 and as a Facebook poster said,  "That awkward moment when the catholic church is more open-minded than our own government"....



     Yesterday was the birthday of Louisa May Alcott.  She was an abolitionist, a feminist, a suffragette.  I read this summation on Facebook:
     She was such an amazing woman. She ran five miles a day in high button shoes and petticoats because she believed women should exercise. She paid for her sister to go to art school in Europe where she could paint portraits including nudes. At the time in the US women could only paint Still Life's. Great role model for you. She was the highest paid author of her day and contemporaries included Mark Twain, Thoreau and Emerson. As a unmarried woman with no direct heirs, she was not allowed to write a will and all her estate would have gone to the state, so she adopted her nephew from her sister and gave him instructions on how she wanted the estate divided. I am sure if they had Pantsuits in the 1880s, she would have worn one proudly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121831612

Choose compassion this holiday

A holiday thought — become a vegan

As Christmas approaches, I am reminded of this plea by author C. David Coates:

Isn’t man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife — birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice, foxes, and wolves — by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them. This, in turn, kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative — and fatal — health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out a card praying for “Peace on Earth.”
• Wildlife “services” killed more than 3.2 million animals during fiscal year 2015. This rogue agency does it at taxpayers’ expense. The total does not include wildlife that ranchers kill on public land.

• In 2014, the U.S. raised and killed 9.5 billion land animals for food.

• The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that 68 percent of all human disease is diet-related.

• Each year, it is estimated that more than 100 million animals — including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish and birds — are killed in U.S. laboratories.

• Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger. Approximately 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations.

• It is estimated that if North Americans were to give up just 10 percent of their intake of animal protein, enough grain would be freed up to feed every human being on Earth, who goes to bed hungry.
As painful as it is to reflect on inconsistencies that so many humans share, none of us are forever locked into this cycle of violence. Each of us has the power to choose compassion (for humans and animals), sustainability and improved health.

Please join the tens of millions of other caring people by visiting these websites to align your core values with life-affirming choices: veganvideo.org and veganuary.com. As someone who made the switch many decades ago, I can tell you, the transformation is immensely rewarding on so many levels.

Amerithon updates

11-14-16

11-28-16

     I virtually passed Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, today.  I next will be traveling south to Pueblo and then east to La Junta and Rocky Ford, CO.  I still have a long way to go to get to the Washington Monument in DC.

     I did reach my goal of running 2016 miles in 2016.  I'm not sure if I'll make 2200 by the end of the year....that may be a stretch.  Today was run streak day 816.  I'm still chipping away at it, day by day.

     I picked up Charleigh-girl from the kennel today, so maybe tomorrow we'll get a good long walk in, weather permitting.

This is so hard to remember, especially over the upcoming holidays

  I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one.

Heal

Being active every day makes it easier to hear that inner voice.---Haruki Murakami

Quote seen on the internet today:
The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else. —Theodore Roosevelt

Waging peace.

Nice people make the best Nazis.

http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/11/17/the-post-election-case-for-speaking-out-naomi-shulman

For evil to succeed, all it takes is for good men to do nothing.---MLK

     Doing nothing is doing something.  Act with intention.

     As has everyone, I have been thinking seriously about what has happened to America.

     Consider the anti-Trumpers:
          Share the blanket.
          Don't build a wall, build a bigger table.
          Remember, we are all immigrants here.
          Let's work together with the world to save the planet from climate change.
          You are safe with me.
          We are stronger together.
          Go high.

     Then consider the Trumpers, a lot of whom are right wing conservative religious people.....the "What would Jesus do" people.  And they just don't get it.
     There have been over 700 reported hate crimes being investigated by the SPLC in the past 10 days, alone.
     So many people are deserting Christian religions.  God has left the building.


     You probably read about this already, as it is all over the news today....Mike Pence saw the Broadway Musical "Hamilton" last night, which is about colonial rebels shaping the future of their/our new country. Afterwards, during the curtain call, the cast made this statement:

“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/mike-pence-hamilton.html


     I found the following quote very interesting as I have been noting for several months a group of people wrapping themselves blindly in the American flag and demanding others do the same.  It started before the whole Colin Kaepernick National Anthem protest.  The flag does not represent a large portion of America these days, and white privileged America just doesn't get it. Black lives do matter.  All lives do matter. Patriotism is not honoring a piece of cloth, it is honoring the people and values that symbol is supposed to represent.
     And now, large numbers of these same flag-wavers are wrapping themselves in the Confederate flag.

     David Duke just tweeted his support of the Trump Cabinet picks thus far.  Isn't that special! We wouldn't want a Trump Cabinet not validated by the KKK.

     Please, educate yourself politically. I read a really great article on "ableism" today (discrimination against disabled people). It is a term I was unfamiliar with, and I was not aware of Trump's history of fighting the American's with Disabilities Act.
     So add ableist to the list--- misogenist, racist, elitist, nativist, homophobe, xenophobe, ableist, white supremacist.
     We are forced to educate ourselves these days to these unpleasantries  now present in our government.
     

I saw this on FaceBook and found it interesting. Please watch.

Irish Senator Aodhan O Riordain: "I don't think any of us in years to come should look back at this period and not say that we did everything in our power to call it out for what it is."

                                                (YouTube video)
 Are you worried yet?  And if no, why not? It is necessary to know what the rest of the world is thinking about us.

Share the blanket.

     The following quote was shared on Facebook by a friend.  Social support by all of these like-minded people, millions of them, makes me so happy and comforted.

“So keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds,
but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Be outrageous... rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through celebrating the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was!”

― Molly Ivins

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Another quote shared on FaceBook yesterday:

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? 
If I am not for others, what am I? 
And if not now, when?” 
― Rabbi Hillel

********************************
And this powerful story:

A group of Jewish Americans went to visit Israel in the sixties. There they met a well-known Rabbi who in spite of being debilitated by Parkinson's, was a great beacon of light to those around him. He addressed the group and demanded, "what was the lesson of the Holocaust?" Mostly silence ensued, followed by some awkward murmuring of "never forget" and "always fight." More silence.

"No!" the Rabbi said, slamming his fist down on the table. "When the Jews were in Auschwitz, the Nazis gave them one blanket per three people."

"Why did they do this? So that they would fight among themselves. So that their humanity would be stripped away."

"The lesson of the Holocaust, was simple." 

"Share the blanket."

     Our humanity is exactly what will stop Trump.

**************************************************

And "to all the little girl whose are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."

                                                HRC

***********************************

If this election has you down, take heart in the fact that Trump has awakened a sleeping giant!

**********************************

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.
           from Instagram

The invisible backpack

     I've been reading the term "invisible backpack" frequently this week so I had to google the meaning. Here is the original article by the Associate Director of Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. We all need to read this to examine our own white privilege.

https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/lewisjulie/White%20Priviledge%20Unpacking%20the%20Invisible%20Knapsack.pdf


     On a related note,  here is a link to that famous interview with Mohammed Ali, "Why is Jesus White?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtxfTEyJZg4

                                                                                Tony Garcia‎

     I am finding my tribe, and my tribe is finding its voice. My own "invisible backpack" kept me from realizing the degree of overt racism, sexism, and hatred in this country.  The fact that we have a white supremacist in the White House of the USA is the intolerable final straw.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/poetry/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller#sthash.Rfpk9QYg.dpuf

Punny, but serious.

UN officials denounce inhuman treatment of DAPL protestors

If you have been watching any of the videos, there is no doubt of the abuse. These are peaceful protesters following the methods of Gandhi and MLK.  The response by North Dakota was truly shameful.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/15/u-n-officials-denounce-inhuman-treatment-of-north-dakota-pipeline-protesters/?tid=sm_fb

Seen on the internet,

"there is no time or energy to waste, it's time to take off your stilettos because we need all boots on the ground!!!"
      reportedly spoken by an older white gentleman in response to a Trump-supporter's bigotry

Wands up, people! (Harry Potter reference for fighting he who must not be named)

     This is so true.  I never would have believed just how many people in this country are absolutely fine with bigotry, xenophobia, misogeny, racism, homophobia, bullying, and worst of all, White Supremacy with the KKK now in the White House. At least, we now know what is in the souls of some people.  Their hatred is out of the closet.
     And no, I am not tolerant of intolerance, and no one should be.

     Following the Harry Potter theme above, here is a J.K.Rowling quote:

Pics from last weekend's Rim Rock run

     Gorgeous scenery...

Finish line

HRC

 "Everyone of us should do the best we can, do all the good that we can, for as long as we can and for as many people as we can."   Hillary Clinton


Seen on the internet today, "This is like when Dumbledore died, and Voldemort rose. Don't worry America.  We still have another book left."

"The truth is revealing itself."  Ghandi

The Official #GrabYourWallet Boycott List of Companies that Do Business with and/or Back the Trump Family

     These songs popped into my mind today while running.

                          (Youtube video, if you get blog by email, will need to go to blog to view)

 

The fox I always talk about

     This is the fox that sits on the patio and drives Charleigh crazy! Later it caught a vole or something, and had to sit in the yard (in front of the dog) to eat it. It's the same one that lurks closely behind us on our walks to tease Charleigh.
     Actually, it is still out there and all the neighbor dogs are barking, too. I finally had to shut Charleigh in another room.

Just beautiful

    On my morning walk with friends around the park, we saw this beautiful animal.  He was just sitting in the grass by the sidewalk, and let us get within a few feet.  He did walk a few steps eventually and flew a few feet low to the ground.  At least there should be no predators large enough to hurt him there. You probably can't tell from the photo, but he was huge.

Sydney, Alex, any idea of what species?  Red tailed hawk maybe?

Peopling is hard this week.

The Denver Post quoted a local psychologist who states that we are all "experiencing a cultural trauma."  That, I do believe.

I belong to some Facebook running groups.  A lot of people are running a lot of miles this week to burn off frustrations and anger, so it's not just me. I think the protests in the streets are not going to accomplish anything, but it is a way of burning off extreme anger, and it does make me feel better seeing them out there.  I am not alone in my disgust in an America that has embraced hatred, misogeny, xenophobia, racism, and has denied science. All the episodes of hatred towards minorities taking place just confirm that Donald Trump has brought out the absolute dregs of America. Not my president...ever.  Trump voters, know these hate crimes are all on you.

And Hillary is 2 million votes ahead in the popular election!  All we can hope for now is that the joke of the electoral college will actually get a spine and vote their morals. Fingers crossed.

If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.
                              Kathrine Switzer

Keep facing your true north.

And never underestimate the power of pissed off women!


(just walked the dog half a mile in the dawn chill, met a huge buck on the sidewalk at the elementary school who would not back off and let us pass, this time of year we did the prudent thing and reversed course...his antlers were massive)

No DAPL---water is life.

Water is the driving force of all nature.---Leonardo da Vinci

“It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It's what we do consistently.” ― Anthony Robbins

Here is my Amerithon, virtual run/walk update.  I'm finding that consistency is the key to everything.

On 10-30-16 I got this badge.

11-8-16 I reached this milestone (512.4 walked miles, 838.1 running miles).  I am leaving Gunnison, CO, and heading into the Sawatch Range. 2176 miles to go!

     I'm really enjoying this scarily climate-changed warm weather. I know autumn will arrive eventually....maybe.  Possibly we'll even eventually get some moisture here in the Front Range after so many months without.
     I've been loving pumpkin season.  I made pumpkin seed butter (tastes great, but you will get sick if you eat much at a time...look it up), pumpkin roasted red pepper hummus, pumpkin coconut curry, pumpkin chickpea stew, and pumpkin polenta.  Of course I roast all the pumpkin seeds and devour them as well. Next, on to stuffed squash.  I love to cook and try new things seasonally, if you couldn't tell.

***********************************************

A quote worth repeating today:

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

H. L. Mencken

I am rejoining the ACLU.  I hadn't been a member since George W. was president.  Our constitutional rights have never been in such peril!

I just finished reading "Fahrenheit 451," a classic novel by Ray Bradbury. I hope it was just a coincidence that I happened to read it now, and not a foreshadowing of things to come.  If not,  I love you, family.

At least I live in the right state, if not the right country. Grandchildren, I am so very sorry about the world we are leaving for you.

I need a good long run today and maybe everyday for a while to come to terms with how low this country has fallen. We have lost the world's respect, and deservedly so.

Inspiration for the day

A WWII marine, age 96, finished the NYC marathon Sunday in 11 hours and 23 minutes.


http://www.runnersworld.com/new-york-city-marathon/world-war-ii-marine-96-finishes-marathon-with-shot-of-scotch

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.” 
Margaret Atwood - The Penelopiad

Rim Rock Half and Mike the Headless Chicken

     I was in Fruita, CO for a couple of days...the home of the "Mike the Headless Chicken" Festival.
Here is Mike's story http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/mike/page/history
   

Me and Mike

     When I first saw this statue, I thought it must had been vandalized.  Then I remembered the story of Mike the headless chicken and the festival in his honor.  I realized that Fruita, CO must have been his home.

Dinosaurs are big in this part of the state (Pun intended...lol)

     The Rim Rock marathon and half marathon take place in the Colorado National Monument in western Colorado.  I didn't take pictures of the gorgeous scenery as the day was overcast and misty.  Here are pictures from their website to give you an idea of the beauty. I'll have to go back for some hiking sometime.
https://www.google.com/search?q=colorado+monument&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=490&tbm=isch&imgil=ShCeOL9-P3lVLM%253BAAAAAAAAAAABAM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FColorado_National_Monument&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ShCeOL9-P3lVLM%252CAAAAAAAAAAABAM%252C_&usg=__Dhk8nu0w96tp5hvtzV8YfxfokdI%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX7M_Rl5TQAhVD2oMKHTvkDX4QuqIBCHIwEA&imgrc=OpAtCuHUae-eoM#imgrc=OpAtCuHUae-eoM%3A

This photo is from waiting at the Start. The times listed above are Sabrina's since I got the picture from her.  I finished in 2:33:33, and it was only 12.9 miles long, not actually a full half. I came in 4th in my age group.  In retrospect, I wish I would have pushed it instead of running for enjoyment, and walking/talking with people I met along the way. 

After the finish

     It was a really fun small race.  The half was mostly downhill down the monument, then a couple of miles of relative flat, up over I70, and into downtown Fruita.  Because it was overcast and misty/rainy, it was nice and cool....perfect for running. It was probably the nicest half I've done.

     The marathon, on the other hand, looked brutal.  It starts in Grand Junction at the east entrance to the national monument, then they have to run UP hill for maybe 8 miles, then rolling hills for several miles, then the downhill to Fruita. The finishing marathoners looked absolutely trashed....and it was full on raining by the time some of them finished. I was in awe of their tenacity.

     Kate picked up Charleigh from the kennel for me on Saturday morning since I wasn't able to get home until late that night.  Fruita is 4 1/2 hours west of Denver. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to pick Charleigh up until Monday, and she hates it at the kennel.

     Kate texted me this picture....such joy...to be home, to have had a car ride, and to have her best buddy Kate to play with!

 

The NYC marathon is this morning.  You can watch it livestream for free now at http://abc7ny.com/live/23376/

No two persons ever read the same book.--Edmund Wilson

     and I've never read the same book twice.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

― Heraclitus

(morning walk, an exercise in walking backwards dragging a big dog with a pranking fox following us closely for several blocks)

Taper week...trying to rest up.

     Saturday is my last race of the season.  My friend Sabrina and I will be heading to Fruita/Grand Junction, CO tomorrow for a half marathon in the Colorado National Monument on Saturday.  It looks like a beautiful course.  There will also be a marathon, which sounds extremely difficult...very hilly.  We'll see, maybe next year for the marathon?  There is always next year.  I'm not really prepared for this one, as it is.


https://www.facebook.com/rim.rock.marathon/photos/a.10150294951796157.332183.78071761156/10153731413996157/?type=3&theater

Thoughts going through my mind these days

     This applies to our country, as well.
     Have you seen the new documentary, "Before the Flood," yet?  It aired on National Geographic last Sunday, but also on all other venues.  I watched it on Hulu on Halloween night, where it is still available, and it is available on YouTube as well. It is a thought provoking warning about climate change.
     "The good thing about science is that it's true, whether or not you believe in it."
                                  Neil deGrasse Tyson

 I'm often asked whether I believe in Global Warming. I now just reply with the question: "Do you believe in Gravity?"

Neil deGrasse Tyson

     I've shared this quote before, and it is more important that ever.

"Activism is my rent for living on the planet."----Alice Walker

Be yourself.