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Moriartians Unite!

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I've lived in Moriarty now for ten years. I've loved it since the beginning. It's a redneck town...farmers and ranchers who work hard to make a living. People hold the door open for each other at the post office. Drivers wave as they pass.  It's also a two-truck stop town and a short commute to Albuquerque, sitting on Rt 66, which is 100 years old this year.  There are quite a few history-filled museums and two city parks with lots of trees. It's good energy all over the place. I was here for about three years when COVID hit...living with my pets... no car. I felt isolated and depressed. I turned to social media, Facebook primarily.  At first, I used it like I used to a daily journal -- I whined about my life and shared waaaaaay too much personal information. I fought with family online. I reached out to total strangers -- people who weren't really real to me, just online entities floating around out there -- for friendship, sometimes resulting in scams. Some pe...
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My journey to find calm in an anxious world

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I haven't posted about my anxiety lately but that doesn't mean I haven't had it. I've been busy discovering over the last few years that there is no one single answer or cure for anxiety.  It started with an emergency visit to the hospital and finding out that I did not have a heart attack; I had a panic attack.  That's when my journey began. I started visiting my health care practitioner regularly to get a handle on my health. She prescribed an anti-anxiety medication that I continue to use. I was so relieved that it worked quickly.  But after a bit, I found that the meds alone didn't take away all of my anxiety. I needed something to take the edge off. I started trying different combinations of medical marijuana -- indica and sativa, leaning toward indica. Cannabis calms. Still, the anxiety lingered and that's when I started paying attention to what I do in my daily life and the many ways I could find calm.  I've learned, after many stumble...
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Obvious signs... not so obvious messages

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1036517156700455div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Yesterday was hell on wheels. Everything went wrong all at once. I found out I didn't win the gymbird 10,000 step contest. I could handle that...no expectations.  Then I got an email saying I didn't make it past the first interview for a job I think I'd love. Sniffle Then, at the local grocery, my card was declined. Thank goddess for Jason, the guy behind me. He paid my tab. You rock, Jason!! You are a kind person. At some point late in the day,  I thought about my pocket rock. I knew when I reached into my pocket, it wouldn't be there. It wasn't. What I didn't know is when I lost it. I checked my bathrobe pocket...my bedside table, the floor...no luck. I had had that rock for quite a while. Losing it when everything was wrong made sense. It's a sign of transition...time to move on somehow. I needed to pick out a new one.  Just days b...
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Changing our diet to save the planet

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We walked out of Walmart today with our groceries packed in paper bags, bags like the ones grocery stores used back in the day, no handles or ties. I'm old. I remember them well.  My son complained a little at the inconvenience, and I said, "Maybe they actually care more about saving the planet than they do about making your life more convenient in the short term." Good for Walmart, I thought, whatever their motives. And that led me to think, what would happen if businesses simply quit selling meat and started selling plant based foods? What if they did the right thing despite inconveniencing their customers?  I've been wondering this for a while. When Carl's Jr. came out with the Beyond burger, I was encouraged; all they had to do, in my opinion, is go vegan across the board. Who cares if customers don't like it as well as dead cows? Who cares if it helps save the planet?  Look, you don't have to like it as well as meat but you can...
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"You are", "you're", "your"..."ur"?

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You might think that someone like me, an educator with a degree in English, would be preaching correct grammar and spelling, holding onto traditional ways of expressing ourselves in the written word.  Lately I've been bitching about the misused apostrophe in the word "it's".  I'm not insisting, however, that we relearn it all and do things traditionally; I'm saying let's move with the times and make new rules that reflect change. Might be easier that way.  After all, once upon a time, contractions were not allowed to be used in academic writing. You could not smoosh two words together to make one, even though we did that when we spoke. That changed quickly. It was impractical not to.  We're looking at the same thing as we progress to an even more technical age. Ideas are more important than spelling. Conciseness is valued.  Most importantly, no one can spell anymore. I mean, why the hell do we continue to spell it "though", "enough"...
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The Be Kind Network: microschool in the making

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I was watching a news story about microschools and thought WOW! The final piece of the Be Kind Network mission...with a twist. If you haven't seen earlier posts about the Be Kind Network, please check them out. Now let's get to the point with a basic idea of how it would work.  The Network would be set up as a statewide K-12 microschool. Credentialled educators, community leaders and a learner team (students/parents) will be the hub of the Network.  They will look for weekly learning opportunities statewide and put the word out via radio, television and Internet, etc. for anyone  interested -- parents and homeschoolers, public schools, private schools, you name it.  Learners/parents/schools register with the Be Kind Network and report to them community activities they participate in. There may be connected assignments to complete. They get credit/recognition for their work at whatever school they "formally" attend as well as at the Network.   Th...
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