February 28, 2018 The Julian News 5
My Thoughts
by Michele Harvey
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I’m Not As Organized
As I Want Me To Be
I like to think that I’m organized. I really am organized when I
approach simple projects. But when the project gets bigger I seem to
lose my ability to get things done. I lose my ability to keep my house
organized. Since my shoulder surgery last August, I’ve had to rely
on others to do a lot of the things that I have always done for myself.
Consequently, I have created piles of things on top of the piles that
we already had here at home because Mike and I set things down
wherever we find an empty place and we don’t go back to put them
where they should actually go. On top of all of this, I confess that
neither of us seems able to throw things away.
My most recent copy of the AARP magazine has an article about
organizing that is called Death Cleaning in Sweden. The title of the
article is Decluttering, Swedish Style. If you are interested in looking
for it, it’s on page 14 of the February/March 2018 issue. The whole
idea of death cleaning is that it helps you to help your loved ones.
What a great idea and what a great goal.
When my uncle died at age 94, my aunt cleaned out their file drawers.
Possibly she had to look through 70 years’ worth of documents. She
found copies of stocks that they had long since sold and nearly every
document that he kept was in its original envelope, so my aunt had
to take each document out of its envelope, and then unfold it to see
if it was current and needed. I talked with her before she completed
the project and she had already filled several large trash bags with
documents and envelopes that were totally out of date. Now the
documents that are still in the file cabinet are unfolded and easy to
identify. Fortunately for my cousin, this wasn’t a task that she had to
deal with along with her grief when her mother died.
Years ago I had a friend who lived in a house that had a 2 car
garage and also a 1 car garage. The one car garage was devoted
to storage boxes full of the husband’s papers. He had rows of sturdy
shelves that held his well-marked storage boxes. Apparently he
kept the receipt for the first thing he ever bought and every receipt
since then. I saw the boxes about 25 years ago. They filled the entire
garage. By now they may have multiplied beyond my imagination. I’d
hate to think of that family’s trash bill when the husband dies.
The AARP article asks and answers 4 questions. I will paraphrase
the answers.
First question: What problems does keeping too much stuff cause
your loved ones after you are gone? Probably already having busy
lives, why should your loved ones take time to sort through your
things when you could have already sorted through them and thrown
out things that are no longer needed, wanted, or too private for you to
want your family to see.
Second question: How do you decide what to keep or what to
discard? Talk with your family about this. It can be a lot of fun sitting
around and remembering what events each item brings to mind. For
instance, if you no longer decorate for holidays, invite your children
for a memory session to see who wants each decoration. You can all
enjoy the memories that go along with this sit down. If an item has no
meaning any more, then it has no worth to any of you and it will be
easier for you to part with it.
Question three: Why get rid of private diaries? Your secrets may
cause your loved ones unhappiness or harm. Something as simple
as writing down your desire to go to college with a profession in mind,
and not ever being able to go because you raised a family instead;
that may cause your children to feel guilty for something they had no
control over. Burn the diary or shred it.
Fourth question: How will cleaning help you? The more you clean
and clear things out, the easier it gets.
For me, I find it easiest to clear things out when I can find a
destination for them. I keep boxes to put things in that will go to my
local church rummage sale, to my favorite thrift store and to friends
who sometimes pass my things onto other people.
This past week I found 6 panels of off-white lace curtains. I’ve kept
them for 15 years without using them and finally decided to find them
a new home. One of my friends was very happy to take them and I’m
happy they can once again be useful.
My sister has several friends who are quilters. They send me their
scraps and for a few years I piled the bags in my workroom. I make
fabric crafts and I use quite a few pieces of fabric from those bags.
However, I can’t sew fast enough to use all of the fabric and some
pieces have patterns that I can’t use. I finally decided to sort through
the fabric pieces. I’ve kept what I believe realistically I will use. I have
passed on all of the rest of the fabric to one friend. She will sort and
pull out what she can use and then pass the remaining fabric to one of
her friends who will pull out what she can use and then donate what’s
left to the Humane Society to stuff beds for dogs. This is clearly a long
line of recycling and I’m glad that it works so well.
Years ago I had a friend who decided to clear out all of her clutter.
She rented a dumpster and among the items she threw away were
over one hundred cookbooks. I still get sick when I think of that. I think
of the churches, clubs and thrift stores that could have raised money
by selling those cookbooks. When you decide that you can part with
an item and it is in good condition, think of an organization that can
benefit from taking your item. I know that I feel better when I no longer
have use for an item and I can find it a new home.
This time I am reorganizing a table at a time or a corner at a
time or a cabinet, a drawer or some other small space so I don’t
get overwhelmed. I have goals small enough that they should be
manageable.
These are my thoughts.
Answers Escape Me
In 2013 there were 33,636 deaths due to "injury by firearms" These
deaths consisted of 11,208 homicides, 21,175 suicides, 505 deaths
due to accidental or negligent discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths
due to firearms use with "undetermined intent". (Wikipedia)
Mass shootings with military grade weapons over a much longer
period don’t touch these numbers:
Parkland, Florida -- 17
Las Vegas – 58
Virginia Tech – 32
Sandy Hook – 27
Florida nightclub – 50
So what do we make of this? That military grade weapons only
kill a relatively small number of people so it’s all right to have them
around? That private citizens shouldn’t own guns at all?
Check “Neither of the Above”. Clearly more should be done to
prevent homicides with rifles and handguns. In a fairly unpopular
stance, we’ll add that if people really want to kill themselves, perhaps
they should be allowed to do so and in that case guns are pretty
efficient. But military grade weapons that can kill at wartime levels?
No. No again.
Military grade weapons don’t belong in the hands of civilians.
We can defend ourselves with the (small) (and legal) arsenal in the
house, thank you, even if we do regularly miss Mssr. Le Coyote whilst
shooting out the window at him. (“Just don’t shoot an intruder in the
back,” our North Carolina Concealed Carry class instructor said…we
trust that doesn’t include coyotes.) And our hunting friend doesn’t
even consider hunting deer and turkey with an M-16 or even an AR-
15.
Unlike probably the majority of you, dear reader, we have actually
shot Uzis and AK-47s, M-16s and such. Not at people but… let’s
not go into specific circumstances because they were a bit, well, Not
Done. More to the point, we’ve lived with a real threat of criminals
invading the house carrying assault rifles and had to make plans of
how to deal with the situation if it happened. These weapons are a
game changer. A game changer we don’t need in the U.S.
And there is a simple way to begin to deal with the problem. Give
people a certain date by which military grade weapons can be turned
in to the authorities (and perhaps a cash reward equal to their value)
after which possession would be a felony. Carrying prison time.
Background checks, raising the age by which individuals can buy
the weapons won’t cut it. There are too many weapons out there that
are off the radar of the authorities, to begin with and we could go on
to other reasons. Teachers shouldn’t have to have the responsibility
of deciding when or whether to kill an intruder in the classroom.
Possession should be a felony. Period.
But it won’t happen. Arms manufacturers make too much money
from gun sales. So they’ll go on propagandizing “freedom” and the
“Second Amendment” to continue sales. Even if part of the price is
the blood of our children and loved ones.
Richard “Dick” Delano Holden
September 14, 1932 - December 25, 2017
They
I’ve been teaching for many years
But in these last ones, I have taught with fear
We tell our students now…that bad people may come to our school
one day
Get down, hide, be still, be quiet…bullets may be shot through the
windows…stay away
The children don’t understand…I find it hard to explain
That somehow, “They” have become angry…have become insane
Their hatred…their illness…needs a voice…needs to make an
impression
“They” have found the innocent, killing the unprotected…revenge
is their mission
And for those who have had to look “They” in the eye
Immediately have had to be prepared to die
Teachers and others have lost their lives being brave
Trying to save sweet children from going to their graves
The wounded….the dead…are my heroes. We are fighting a war
We have become a self proclaimed army to protect the children we
teach and care for
We have no weapons to fight with, so our bodies are the only shield
We have no choice but to use them if our schools become a
battlefield
The children are “ours” when they come to learn…we love them all
Under us, we will try to save them…if “They” come to call
Written five years ago after Sandy Hook. Nothing has changed in
that time. It is time now to do something. This was posted in honor
of the brave students of Florida that are taking it upon themselves to
fight for change.
Stephanie Sweene
Richard Delano Holden was
born September 14, 1932. in
Kent, Ohio His parents operated
a restaurant. He was educated
in the Kent school system, and
graduated from Kent State
University in 1955. He served with
honor in the United Stated Navy
from 1955-57 on a destroyer in
the Mediterranean and Atlantic
oceans. He worked primarily as
a sales representative for the
Langston Corp. Prior to moving
to Julian his residences were
in Washington, D. C., Cherry
Hill, NJ, Chicago, IL, Saratoga,
CA, and Seal Beach, CA. A regular for years at the "round table" at
"Lew's" he and the rest of the gang moved to Mom's after the Coffe
House closed. He was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs and would
talk baseball and Duke University basketball with anyone. He loved
reading and stimulating conversation.
Dick Holden died on December 25, 2017. He will be buried Monday,
March 5, 2018 at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Drive, San
Diego at 2 PM. The cemetery has a website. Arrive after 1:30 and proceed to Cortage
Lane 1 behind the Administration Bldg at the entrance.
For any questions about the burial please contact Richard Uhl
(480) 540-8024.
How To Spend Your Money
With Companies That Share
Your Values
(StatePoint) From small one-
time purchases to monthly
service fees, you may not think
much about what happens to
your money after spending it.
But beyond the typical
considerations, such as price
and product features, many
savvy shoppers are starting to
pick their brands and services
based on new criteria like
ethics. An ethical company
treats both its employees and
customers fairly and practices
environmental sustainability.
Luckily, there is some guidance
out there for those consumers
who want to spend their money
with companies that share their
values.
Your Wardrobe
Patagonia’s mission statement
is to “build the best product,
cause no unnecessary harm, use
businesstoinspireandimplement
solutions to the environmental
crisis.” A leader in social and
environmental responsibility
efforts in the fashion industry, the
company is fair-trade certified
for all its sewing production and
is dedicated to transparency.
Consider shopping here if you
want to look good and feel good.
Your Wireless Provider
One good resource to check
out is “The World’s Most Ethical
Companies” list, released
annually by the Ethisphere
Institute. It offers a quantitative
assessment of a company’s
performance in corporate
governance, risk, sustainability
compliance and ethics, and
knowing a company or brand
has scored high on this particular
assessment can help set your
mind at ease.
Forthe10thyearinarow,thatlist
includes T-Mobile, which, among
other initiatives, committed to
move to 100 percent renewable
energy by 2021, the only major
wireless provider to do so. As
one of only five honorees in the
telecommunications industry
to receive recognition from the
Ethisphere Institute in 2018, they
also landed on Best Place to
Work lists for parents, diversity,
the LGBTQ community and
more. T-Mobile was also given
a perfect score of 100 percent
on the Corporate Equality Index
by the Human Rights Campaign.
For the full list of the 2018 World’s
Most Ethical Companies, visit
worldsmostethicalcompanies.
com.
Your Glass of Wine
Red or white? The next time you
imbibe, consider going beyond
the wine’s flavor and potential
pairings, seeking a bottle from
a company that you know treats
its employees well. Included in
Glassdoor’s 2018 Best Places
to Work Employees’ Choice
list was E. & J. Gallo Winery, a
family-owned company with a
strong internal program to foster
diversity and career development
among underrepresented
communities.
Whether you’re shopping
online, hitting the mall or choosing
services that help you connect
with friends, family and the world
around you, consider doing a
bit of research before making
your next consumer decision to
ensure you’re comfortable with
where your money is headed.
