PERSONAL NEWS #56

On Saturday, May 7th, headed up to Yonkers to do volunteer work at Joanne’s ferret shelter. I hadn't visited the shelter in 2 months, as both Joanne and I were busy with many commitments and of course, Easter holiday. The two hyper dogs met me at the door, along with Joanne. Once we got them calmed down we could discuss shelter updates and inform me to be careful with two furkids. As they were known to bite or nip now and then. The weather, though abit cool outside, was turning out to be a sunny day. Outside the shelter door, in Joanne’s garden, is a large lovely crab apple tree, which was in full bloom. So very pretty. Took care of all my duties, which includes grooming the furkids. It’s my second time in taking care of clipping their front paw nails. Always an interesting task, as one has to place a ferret on its back, deposit enough Ferrotone on its belly and once the fuzzy is busy licking that up you grab the paws and clip away. A few give me a hard time, but most of the fuzzies are relatively easy to work with.

Once that was taken care of a woman and her daughter from Brooklyn showed up with their DEW named Popcorn. They'd just lost a ferret to illness and were looking to find a new friend for Popcorn. After much discussion with Joanne, they left Popcorn at the shelter for a week to get acquainted with other furkids. If he formed a bond with a particular furkid, then that was the fuzzy they would adopt. During our "tea break" Joanne and I discussed our health situations, plus touched on some world event topics. After finishing up in the shelter I caught the train back to NYC. Another fun, productive and therapeutic visit to fuzziville. I love getting my fuzzy fix. :-)

Recently, at work, we've been having several mandatory training classes. On May 6th it was regarding TELR Submission Issues and the May 9th class concerned Self-Appraisal training. They always seem to have these training classes in the afternoon, when one starts feeling abit "tired" at 3pmish. Geez!

QUOTE OF THE DAY ... The worst government is the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression. H.L. Mencken

On Wednesday, May 11th, was the monthly NY Dept of Peace [DoP] District Team Leader conference call at 9pm. This was hosted by Kevin, who did a great job and it'll become a bi-monthly call. [Unfortunately I missed the next two DTL conference calls due to prior commitments.] As we District Team Leaders have much to do before the re-introduction of the DoP bill in mid-September. About 9 NY state District Team Leaders [ie: David, Linda, Carol, Kevin, Tim, Pricilla, Ellen, Joe and I] were able to connect to the call, which lasted over an hour and was very productive. [I live in District 12.] What was fascinating, to me, is that many Team Leaders learned about the DoP via Marianne Williamsons work and lectures. I learned about it while doing volunteer work on the Kucinich 2004 Presidential campaign. Through all walks of life we come together to support and promote peace. Yeah baby!


[Photo taken by the Duchess at the April 29, 2005 Kucinich event out at Shelter Rock in Long Island.]

On Saturday, May 14th, I had a one hour workout session with my personal trainer [Marie] at a Ballys Gym in Manhattan. It was a great workout ... just wish they'd circulate cooler air in that gym. Damn it gets warm and I went through a whole bottle of water in an hour. Mon dieu! Since 1995 I've worked with four personal trainers and Marie is my fourth. [Haven't a clue as to what happened to Jamie. Guess he went MIA.] Plus Marie is also married to a fellow NYC Chapter DoP member.

SONNET BY POET JOHN KEATS [1795 - 1821]
Keen, fitful gusts are whispering here and there
Among the bushes, half leafless and dry,
The stars look very cold about the sky,
And I have many miles on foot to fare.
Yet feel I little of the cool bleak air,
Or of the dead leaves rustling drearily,
Or of those silver lamps that burn on high,
Or of the distance from home's pleasant lair;
For I am brimful of the friendliness
That in a little cottage I have found;
Of fair-hair'd Milton's eloquent distress,
And all his love for gentle Lycid drown'd;
Of lovely Laura in her light green dress,
And faithful Petrarch gloriously crown'd.

Took a personal day from work on Monday, May 16th. Had a lengthy doctor's visit at my neighborhood clinic regarding a respiratory problem I've been experiencing for many months. When I mean lengthy ... it was mostly due to alot of waiting around [good thing I brought a book to read] in between many tests, X-rays and talking with the doctor or nurse. Was there from 11:30am to 3:30pm! [Damn, was I hungry when I left and made a beeline for the health food shop to purchase a vegetarian burrito. Which I wolfed down.] The outcome of it all is that I have a small infection in my right lung and cholesterol is 221. My doctor said no fried foods, butter nor eggs. I have to be re-tested again in 3 months for cholesterol. Must get it down past 200. As to the lung situation, they are awaiting the X-ray results and a urine test. [Oh joy!] An amusing incident occurred while I was waiting to get X-ray'd. In the waiting area outside X-ray room, I sat reading my book, when a cute young Polish man showed up and sat down. He tried to flirt and make small talk. All good and well ... but his English was very limited and I speak no Polish. Despite all that he was very charming. ;-)

COURTESY OF NYC FRIENDS OF KUCINICH - HERE NOW THE WEEKLY KUCINICH DIGEST

BILL TO BRING TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ DUE TO BE INTRODUCED ON JUNE 8
On June 8, Dennis will introduce the Homeward Bound Act, the bill he and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) have been preparing to set a date certain for ending the occupation of Iraq. Watch http://www.kucinich.us for details.

DEMAND PRESIDENT BUSH RESPOND TO INQUIRY ABOUT 2002 MEETINGS DISCUSSING PRETEXT FOR WAR
Dennis Kucinich and more than 90 other Members of Congress signed a letter to President Bush written by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Minority Member of the House Judiciary Committee, seeking answers to troubling questions raised by the leaked minutes of a U.S./U.K. meeting in 2002. According to the minutes of this meeting, published on May 1 by the London Times and now commonly known as the Downing Street Minutes (or, incorrectly, the Downing Street Memo), U.S. and U.K. officials met months before Congress was consulted about going to war and discussed creating a pretext for the invasion of Iraq. The minutes include the following quote about an earlier meeting between the head of British Military Intelligence and the Bush Administration:

"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the
conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were
being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route,
and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record.
There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military
action."

We are all being asked to sign a letter similar to the one the Members of Congress sent. Somewhere around 100,000 signatures [Duchess was one of those who signed] already have been collected and Rep. Conyers has announced an updated goal of 250,000. Read and sign the letter at http://www.johnconyers.com

ASK YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO STAND UP FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE
The United States National Health Insurance Act, H.R. 676, is the key legislation calling for single-payer universal health care - Medicare for All - introduced by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and co-sponsored by Dennis Kucinich. 39 other cosponsors have signed onto the bill as of June 2, many within the last two weeks. Please check to see if your Representative is a cosponsor and, if not, call or fax him or her and explain very briefly why this legislation is important to you. Find your Representative's contact information using the Zip Code search at the top of http://www.house.gov