A Charleston Sunday

Today was gorgeous! After church, mom and I decided to head to Charleston and explore a little. We hiked "Carriage Trail" in South Hills. It was a short hike (.65 miles), but quite steep. The trail was a nice uphill walk, away from the noise of Charleston so we enjoyed it. At the beginning of the trail we saw this owl. He just stared at us and followed us with his eyes as we walked. Mom stopped and posed for me. This is before the uphill climb and the sweat!

I thought this bench looked like a couch out of the Flinstones!

After our "hike", we challenged ourselves to walk up the sidewalk portion to South Hills. For those of you familiar with this area, it was quite a challenge. We made it though. On our way down we decided to keep the exercise going and made our way to the capitol grounds. The Vandalia Festival was going on there this weekend. I must say it was much more interesting than I had anticipated, and I found myself wishing we had attended sooner. Everywhere on the lawns this is what you saw....

And got to enjoy. These people were amazing musicians, and they weren't even the featured musicians. Bluegrass everywhere! It made me so proud to be a West Virginian. This music originated in Appalachia, and whether one likes it or not, the musicianship and talent of these players cannot be disputed. My family roots are in this music and this people, and after hearing them today and watching them, I am glad.

If any are interested, here is a short clip of some people "jamming" on the lawn. They just met up, listened, and joined in playing. I listened intently in hopes of learning something new for "Smoke on the Mountain" -- don't think it worked though. The Vandalia Festival in WV. It is one not to miss next year.

Unfortunately...

In response to a comment on my last posting, I unfortunately have bad news.

The comment --only 5% of tax dollars go to any programs helping anyone at poverty line (child care, welfare, wic, food stamps, housing, etc).

Oh, anonymous, how I wish that were true, and when taking a first glance at statistics it does appear that way. Unfortunately, the bad news lies in the true statistics which are buried a little deeper.

All types of aid to the needy -- Medicaid, housing subsidies, aid to poor families with children, food stamps, school lunches and so on, -- account for about 16 percent of the budget. (Kiplinger Washington Editors)

Sixteen percent -- wow. That is $8,000 of $50,000. Now, I do not make close to that, but even 16% of my measly, yearly income is a good amount of money to me. I could definitely use it to pay off my student loan. What is even more unfortunate is that only 3% of the budget is allotted to veterans benefits, and they have definitely performed their civic duty to our country. Perhaps, a good reform policy would be to flip-flop the percentages allotted to each group. ?

I do not want to harp on this issue because, after all, it is just my opinion - nothing more than an opinion. That is what makes this nation so great -- the ability to be one yet made of differing ideas. However, I do hold to my opinion that if one is a recipient of these programs than obligatory civic duties should be required whether it be answering a phone, working voter polls, or cleaning litter at a park. After all, if this country were assisting you with a benefit not all other citizens enjoy, wouldn't you be happy to do so small a favor in return?

Controversial Issue

Controversial issues are something I try to avoid on a blog. Nevertheless, with the current state of our country, I must speak out. Presently, I know of a family that has five children, a cell phone, a computer, Internet, a four room apartment, a recent family trip to the circus, frequent restaurant visits, a vehicle and gas money ... AND NO JOB! "How do they do it?", you ask. I pay for it, as do you. (Because most of my readers are working, American citizens). I find this ironic because my computer only works half the time, and I definitely don't eat out, all because of lack of money. This is just one example of thousands across our great country.

As our current Chief Justice is "solving our countries problems" by creating huge government and limiting all forms of capitalism, it seems he is forgetting reform in one HUGE area -- welfare . Instead of putting multiple stipulations on business --the backbone of capitalism-- in order to "help Main Street", maybe he should take the burden off the people of Main Street by putting MULTIPLE stipulations on welfare recipients so we don't have to pay for their cell phones, Internet, and grossly fattening restaurant visits.

Throughout history (and still in some parts of the world), indentured servants owed a debt and were obligated to the creditor until the debt was paid. We have a whole country of debtors , yet they have no concept of being obligated to the creditor. Perhaps America should learn from history and reintroduce the concept of "he who holds the purse strings holds the power." No matter your disability, anyone can stuff envelopes. All I suggest is obligatory monthly civic duties in exchange for welfare assistance.

Effective government, to me, is not passing a credit card bill that essentially benefits those in credit card debt. The answer to that is pay your monthly bill or pay twice as much. It is not passing bills so every student can go to college. I paid for mine and am still paying, you can pay for yours. Mr. President, if the interest of the common American is truly at heart, stay out of our markets, stop enabling the financially dependent, and start finding ways to CUT our taxes.

Strictly Informative

For the avid readers, I wanted to suggest a good piece of literature -- The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. She was a West Virginian, plus the book is a classic so I thought I would give it a try. It is a classic for a reason -- it's excellent. Just another reason to give me state pride. :)

An excellent WV hotspot is Delish. The food is truly delicious, and the roasted red pepper soup is out of this world. If you are traveling through Charleston, it is a must.

Also, this is skin cancer month which means there are free screenings throughout the country during May. Make sure and check if your local hospital or dermatoligist is participating and don't miss out -- like we did today :( Or check out the skin cancer foundation's website, providing information on their free screening tour throughout several US cities. http://www.skincancer.org/Tour/

Family Information -- Mom and dad have been running lines with me this evening. Dad really should try out for a play. He has a killer Irish accent and great line delivery. (Meg, that is for your appreciation)

Personal Information -- I wish I were in South Bend, IN, this weekend. I would be skipping out of the ceremony and standing with those outside.

Goodbye, Hello

I had to leave yet another group of great people and some dear friends. The Wytheville job was a great contract, thus I was sad to leave everyone. The plus is I will see some of them again in two weeks when I journey back for my one performance of The King and I (if you can't tell, I am very excited :). Goofing around backstage with some of the goofiest people I've ever worked with. Yes, I think I laughed more onstage during this contract than I ever have before. Thank you for that, Justin.


"The West Side" girls.

Here is the "Sweet Secrets trio". I miss you girls, already.

But I didn't get out of VA immediately. I first got in a quick audition and a visit to my cousins Olevia and Durell in Richmond. It was wonderful to see them and how their business is flourishing. I am truly proud of you two and all you have accomplished in this short time. Thank you for the hospitality. Hopefully, I can repay it someday.

Afterwards, I headed to.... Louisville. Where else? I was having withdrawl from the kids, especially since the Bridgettes and Burkes had been to DisneyWorld the week before. Also, my sister needed a babysitter so mom and I hit the road. The kids were lively, beautiful, and loud as ever :) Twelve hour days were pretty exhausting, but I couldn't be blessed with any better nieces and nephew. I always have fun with them, and they have a way of making me feel like a million bucks. Josie quickly stole my heart, and I found myself spending lots of time with her. She is ....well, all I can say is she makes me laugh ALOT and is totally adorable.

Here we are making our "mad" faces. Intimidating, huh?

Totally adorable? (The one on the bottom. haha.) Need I say more?

Oh, I also must say I had a proud aunt moment. Maggie Mae had her dance recital, and I got to be there to watch. She was front row and center and to have missed three weeks, she did quite well. I agree with her though, "tap is way more fun." This pic was at the reception afterwards.

Now, I am at home and getting things ready before I leave again. I have been substituting a bit in the schools and after seeing the home lives of some kids, I have to say I am so thankful Maggie, Owen, and Josie are in a good family. There is something heartbreaking about seeing a child that is jaded or is void of love. So if you have a child, I say love them with all you've got. They will know the other side soon enough. And if you already do that, extend your love to someone else who doesn't experience it often. We may give the only love that person knows.