I think it was more likely part of the whole terrorism paranoia...after all, it might have been explosive or filled with anthrax (can't be too careful.)
I agree that race should be eliminated from the equation when it comes to college, jobs, etc., with the only extra edge being given to those who have overcome social, economic or health-related serious hardship.
Besides, what constitutes race anyway? My husband's heritage is Cuban (his parents both 100 percent pale-skinned European Spanish and upper class ones at that.) We live a nice oh, middle-upper class life. My daughter has a Spanish last name, should that give her some sort of edge -- or conversely, some sort of barrier to entry?
My son (who has a very English last name) is engaged to an Australian girl with a 100 percent Chinese heritage. Should his English/Irish/Polish/Chinese one-day children be less (or more?) discriminated against in that they will have an Anglo last name?
(And, just for the record, while his fiancee (who grew up in Australia) did study for, and works in, a high-paying, math-centric field, she is very well-rounded (far more so than I), participating in sports, traveling extensively, and has zillions of friends. Sweeping generalities are so often wrong.
Effort, ability and socio-economic factors make so much more sense as qualifiers than ethnicity or the "right" last name.
Timm, That was my thought exactly -- here in Connecticut it's impossible to dig more than two inches in any direction without hitting enough rocks to seriously scratch up a plastic coffin and granite ledge is usually not far beneath -- you'd need well-digging machinery before you'd get a vertical coffin into the ground.
LisaL, It went on for about a year and a half or so (I think Denne was the last to go -- he was the only one she ever referred to by name and who seemed to talk to her, rather than through her. (BTW probably utter, utter coincidence but last year, while working on my family history, I found that one of our ancestral families in the 1700s had the last name of Denne.) In any case, she's nearly ten now and doesn't remember anything at all about it. I told her that I'd let her read about it when she's older but don't want to freak her out now!
I have to tell you that I - the penultimate skeptic, confirmed and happy atheist, believer in nothing supernatural - became convinced that there is "more to heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy" when my daughter, at age three began to say things that I couldn't explain. Once she was sitting quietly on a little couch in her room, hugging her toy bunny "lovey" when she sadly said, "I couldn't kill my brother yesterday. That's why there wasn't enough food. After all, I was supposed to be a preacher man." (For the record, she adored her real brother who is much older than her. And no, she didn't see it on TV and I was with her 24/7 so no one said it to her and here in the northeast no one is called a "preacher man.") Other times she talked several times of a young man she just called "Starting Over" -- one time she picked up a rose, put it to her cheek and said it was just like the one "Starting Over" had given to her. And there was one "imaginary friend" who was here for the better part of a year - Denne - she typed some letters on the computer and asked how to say them and said he was a boy who used to live where her preschool was (a building that was renovated from a barn from the 1800s.) I wrote all these things down (especially because there were a couple verging on scary) and so I know I haven't embroidered them over the years. I still believe that there are reasonable explanations for everything -- after all even physicists say that there is no reason that time has to be sequential, so perhaps there are little time warp overlaps from time to time -- whatever the reason, it was a very strange but numinous year.
As to the "get a job" philosophy. Easier said than done. I'm not sure what her medical condition is but sometimes you can be too weak or ill to physically handle a full time job (one that will pay insurance) and yet still not deemed disabled enough to qualify for disability. I'm speaking from personal experience. My job (which I was able to do from home) is soon to be axed and if my husband left or was fired, without insurance it would cost me close to @1,000 a month to pay for the three medications that keep me at a the most minimal level of functionality -- and that's not counting even basic medical or dental care.
I'm with you Necronomic - I can see the need for people to get back on their feet after a divorce (been there, done that)and if someone feels inspired to help someone out, fine. But a gift registry? That's not only greedy but tacky in the bargain.
Per Benjamin Button: Yes, horrific waste of film and time (how DOES this crap get made?) but, if you look it up, it's kind of a bizarre/funny short story in its original form.
I have to agree that Skype can be pressure-making (before a scheduled call, I keep adjusting the angle and lighting to make sure I don't look awful!) and I would never use it for day to day calls -- but I have to say it's been nice to have (especially for my daughter) since my son enlisted (ACK!) It was especially nice to be able to see him when he was in Iraq to reassure ourselves that he was unscathed and in one piece!
My son will be returning from Iraq soon, though he will have another tour of duty to go before he gets out of the military. He enlisted specifically because he felt that he wanted to help in some way to help the everyday men, women and children Iraq find some sort of normalcy in which to live. We should not have gone to war there, IMHO, but having done so, we owe them to help rebuild their country and their lives. The families of soldiers live with a pain, fear and worry in their hearts -- but truly probably no more so than the families of police or fire fighters. But they do what must be done. Still and all, I think, however heartbreaking, the daughter in the picture should have said her goodbyes and been comforted without putting her father (and all the others who left children behind) through even futher hell.
Ah -- courtjester thank you so much for reminding me. I HAVE to send an inflatable turkey to my son. He'll be back stateside from Iraq soon -- but he accidentally scheduled a trip to visit his girlfriend's family in Australia over Thanksgiving -- so he's going to miss out on a turkey dinner since they don't celebrate the "eat until you burst" holiday down under! (Not that he probably would have had a very authentic feast on a base in Hawaii anyway.)
But I do like these measuring cups (and actually prefer these white ones to the colorful ones mentioned above.) Going on my Christmas list!
Besides, what constitutes race anyway? My husband's heritage is Cuban (his parents both 100 percent pale-skinned European Spanish and upper class ones at that.) We live a nice oh, middle-upper class life. My daughter has a Spanish last name, should that give her some sort of edge -- or conversely, some sort of barrier to entry?
My son (who has a very English last name) is engaged to an Australian girl with a 100 percent Chinese heritage. Should his English/Irish/Polish/Chinese one-day children be less (or more?) discriminated against in that they will have an Anglo last name?
(And, just for the record, while his fiancee (who grew up in Australia) did study for, and works in, a high-paying, math-centric field, she is very well-rounded (far more so than I), participating in sports, traveling extensively, and has zillions of friends. Sweeping generalities are so often wrong.
Effort, ability and socio-economic factors make so much more sense as qualifiers than ethnicity or the "right" last name.
But I do like these measuring cups (and actually prefer these white ones to the colorful ones mentioned above.) Going on my Christmas list!