Author: tonihall805@outlook.com

There are very few people whom I truly dislike. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel is definitely one of them. It is my observation that this 77 year old man is single-handedly destroying our nation and the lives of many people. Is he actually evil or disloyal to America? Or does he really see the issues so differently? Either way, for the good of the nation, I say it is time for the people of Kentucky to ditch Mitch.

McConnell is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Kentucky history, having been first elected to the Senate in 1984. He has been re-elected five times by the people there and is now the longest serving Republican leader of the Senate. However, I don’t believe history will be kind to him. My case against McConnell began when he refused to give Obama’s supreme court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland a hearing, arguing repeatedly that we were too close to an election. Now, with a grin on his face he admits that he would gladly grant a hearing to a Trump supreme court nominee before the 2020 election. He is absolutely shameless in his hypocrisy.

The level of his abhorrent behavior is even worse when I consider that he has been a shield for a law-breaking and utterly corrupt president Trump. If any other president had even hinted at some of the things Trump is doing on a daily basis, that president would have already been impeached. I’m disgusted that this one person stubbornly stands between a nation’s need for justice and competency and a corrupt and obviously inept president. Imagine if Obama acted like Donald Trump? McConnell wouldn’t hold back for a moment. This is worse than hypocrisy; this is actually damaging to our nation and its reputation in the world. But there is much more to hold against McConnell.

The only person preventing the passing of reasonable gun regulations that 90% of Americans favor is “Massacre Mitch”. Even in the face of mass shooting after mass shooting, he refuses to bring the gun legislation to the Senate floor. The House of Representatives passed gun legislation and he refuses to even consider it for a Senate vote. What is he thinking? Who is he protecting? And why?

And finally, “Moscow Mitch” refuses to protect our elections against foreign influence. He wants Trump re-elected for some unknown reason. Perhaps he and Trump have some secret plan with Putin to rule the planet together. Or perhaps he is a white nationalist who wants these guns in the hands of white nationalists to carry out some secret plot to eliminate Jews, people of color, and immigrants. Or perhaps he has committed some horrible act and is being blackmailed to keep it all secret. Whatever the case may be, something is terribly wrong with this man. His stance on guns, Trump, and election protections are all harmful to Americans and they undermine our democracy. History will reveal his actual motives. But the time to rid ourselves of this dangerous man is now.

So, citizens of Kentucky, if you are paying any attention, it is time to ditch Mitch in 2020.

As students and faculty gradually began returning to campus this week, I was greeted by the expected query into how I spent my summer. Did I do anything special? Did I travel anywhere interesting? I admit that I’m often the person asking these questions myself because I enjoy hearing about the travels and adventures of the people around me. But I’m keenly aware that my summer this year was not nearly as interesting to others as it might have been in years past.

For the first time in at least 20 years, I did not venture outside California during the summer. And except for a week at the Welk Resort near San Diego, I didn’t even leave Ventura County where we live. I had a true “stay-cation” this year and I loved every minute of it. But more importantly, I have more energy going into this new academic year. I’m not struggling with jet lag, not trying to catch up on things, and not stressed to put together plans for the fall. I should spend more summers like this.

In the minds of many, I had a pretty boring summer. My big accomplishment was completing the bulk of the planning for our 2020 Family Reunion in San Diego next July. We used the time at the Welk Resort to visit hotel locations and to secure both the hotel and the park site for our picnic. I gardened and treated friends, neighbors, and colleagues to fresh organic produce from my yard. We had more cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, peaches, plums and apples than we could consume. I selfishly used all the strawberries and blueberries we grew in my morning shakes. I added seven new calf-length rompers to my wardrobe, complete with matching jewelry and shoes. I paid off my daughter’s ugly student loan, so now each of my children are student loan free, married, and homeowners as of this summer. I endured the replacement of two crowns at the dentist. I had a July 4th backyard barbecue and my kids and husband ended the summer by throwing me a surprise birthday party last weekend. Even my son traveled from Baltimore to attend. I was shocked by the party, but felt overwhelming grateful and happy to be surrounded by love. And the best news of the summer was that my health tests revealed no negative progression in my kidneys and no sign of the suspected degenerative nerve problem that threatened to disrupt our lives. Exercise, water, and better eating make a lot of difference.

For the last 23 years, my 11-month contract gives me the entire month of July off work. Unlike past years, each day in July this year I set out to tackle precisely one project in the morning after my 45 minutes on the treadmill. At noon, I treated myself to a nice lunch and spent the rest of the day until bedtime simply enjoying myself. Over the month, I cleaned, organized, painted, gardened, downsized, decorated, shopped, planned, and even enjoyed participating in an audit. During my leisure time, I completed four 1000 piece puzzles, read a few non-fiction books and spent the bulk of this leisure time watching Chinese, Taiwanese, or Korean television dramas with English subtitles. I don’t quite understand my sudden fascination with these cultures, but it is strong and I’ve even taken to listening to the music. Without trying, I’m learning a lot of Mandarin Chinese phrases.

So, it is with a great deal of fondness that I bid farewell to summer 2019. I’ll be sad to say “see you later” to the sweetest watermelon and corn on the cob. But if God is gracious to me, then summer 2020 will leave with a similar level of satisfaction and a host of lasting memories.

I’ve spent 27 years of my life involved in international education, either as a student studying abroad or as a foreign student adviser to students studying here in the United States. Whether advising student visa holders or undocumented students or recent immigrants, I’ve dealt with the holes, gray areas, mishaps, and long wait times and ultimately the frustrations of our broken immigration system. At one point I toyed with the idea of becoming an immigration attorney, but I quickly realized that I would only become more frustrated. It’s not that lawmakers don’t know what needs to be done; it’s that they lack the political will to do it. I believe people want to come here legally, but our country’s nonsensical immigration laws and excessively long wait times force people into illegal immigration. Our current crisis at the border and our inability to deal with undocumented immigrants is indicative of a nation unsure of its own identity. Especially today.

We must again ask ourselves if we continue to value our identity as a nation of immigrants. I know I do. We must ask what meaning the Statue of Liberty holds for us today? Persons in the Trump administration are acting trying to rewrite the meaning of that great lady. On August 13 they put forth the assertion that the poem inscribed was only welcoming Europeans. Wow!

The thing I love most about shopping at my local California Costco is seeing the diversity of human beings surrounding me, many of whom are speaking in their native tongue or in heavily accented English. My Costco caters to the tastes of people from Latin America, China, Japan, India, and the Middle East and I happily cook a diversity of dishes I came to enjoy in my travels or through relationships with recent immigrants. There are only a few states in the country that can boast of the great diversity of immigrants living together from around the world. My life and this country are enriched by the diversity of human experience, perspectives, and multicolored hands contributing to our workforce and the economy every day. But this Administration is trying roll back diversity through it draconian immigration policies, many of which everyday Americans are not even aware of. But I’m encountering these new policies everyday in my work.

At the root of our political problems with immigration reform are white nationalist who fear demographic change. Unfortunately these people know that it is simple to convince people with limited exposure to human beings who look different from them to believe that their lives are being threatened by these brown outsiders. It’s no surprise that Donald Trump announces his presidential candidacy by describing Mexican immigrants as rapist and murders. He feeds into a pre-existing narrative of those sensitive to the fear of being “replaced” or “displaced” by brown and Jewish immigrants. To these people, immigrants are an economic, political, and physical threat. They have forgotten the benefits of immigration to their families and to the nation as a whole. They have forgotten that their families came here just like immigrants today, seeking a better life and with a great willingness to contribute to the country. Their once foreign foods became everyday American dishes.

I recall a conversation with a white female student who had a Mexican American boyfriend whom she loved. Her fear was that their cultures were too different. I helped her to see what a great opportunity now presented itself to her to become bi-cultural. I helped her to frame the relationship with his family as additive to her life rather than something that would detract from her own sense of culture. You get to add Spanish. You get to add new foods. You get to venture into new experiences and new ways of seeing the world. Once her thoughts moved from seeing the relationship as a threat to her own culture and as an addition of a culture, her entire attitude towards his family changed and they happily got married, enjoying the best of both traditions at the wedding and then into their marriage and family life.

All that said, I believe we need to put more money and resources into hiring more immigration judges and more application adjudicators at USCIS to end the incredibly long processing times for immediate families trying to reunite. I believe we need to pass the Dream Act to give permanent legal status to undocumented children and create a path for legal status to their otherwise law-abiding parents. There should be a fine attached to their breaking the law by crossing the border. I believe illegal border crossings and visa overstays should be a civil matter rather than a criminal offense. I believe we need to increase the green card lottery numbers, H1B visa numbers, and the number of temporary workers for farmers and other seasonal workers.

At the same time, I believe we need to do a much better job of deporting actual criminals and fining employers who hire undocumented workers. Our borders should be stronger and for the moment, we need to handle the crisis at our border by calling more judges to adjudicate asylum claims. And we need to treat asylum seekers and refugees the way we would want to be treated. Dignity, respect, food, shelter, and safety are what are humanity requires of us. These Christians supporting Trump might do well to ask themselves what Jesus would do. Mary and Joseph were refugees. It is also in our interest to provide greater aide to the countries these distressed people are fleeing.

In short, until we as a nation can get on the same page about the benefits of immigration, we will continue to encourage illegal immigration by refusing to pass immigration reform that addresses the actual labor needs of employers and the nature of all human beings that demands safety and opportunity. Our success as a nation has always been attributed to immigrants. The 2020 election will determine who we are and who we are going to be.

I watched an interview with the prominent guitarist Carlos Santana this past week wherein Santana presented his view that national borders are a myth created by unscrupulous people when the reality is that humans are one species occupying a planet together, each human wishing simply to live and thrive. He said that the reality is that there are no borders as evident when viewing the planet from space. I thought about his provocative claim throughout the week and asked myself if I, a person who considers myself to be a global citizen, was also in favor of a border-less world. Given the crisis we face on our own southern border, I really needed to consider my own stance. I care about other human beings and so I questioned the origin of borders and the purpose they serve, if any. What I learned and considered over several days helped me formulate my position.

First, I acknowledge that human history follows a cycle of human migration, community building, unrest, and migration. It is widely believed that humankind began in Africa and gradually spread throughout habitable parts of the world. Many also believe that humans evolved as tribal beings for survival in a harsh world, segregating ourselves on the basis of agreed upon social norms with each tribe protective of its way of life, believing its culture to be superior to others. I surmise that borders were created in order to mitigate conflict between people groups. As long as that tribe stayed on their side of the river, they could worship as they please and live by their own rules. But borders always crumble when human survival is at stake and migrants will resettle where they are most socially comfortable. In my estimation, nothing has changed.

While the drivers of human migration have not changed (for example, poverty, natural disaster, war, oppression, persecution, and lack of opportunity), the ability to migrate has at times been limited by those in leadership. But for much of human history, people have moved freely to find better life. Early on, rulers of growing population centers welcomed newcomers as assets who added wealth through their contribution to taxes, the labor force, and even to serve in armies. There were times when the need for labor was so great that rulers even offered incentives for people to emigrate.

In fact wasn’t until the introduction of serfdom to ensure adequate labor remained where it was needed that the freedom of lower class people was restricted. The Romans were the first to introduce passports so as to limit the mobility of it’s labor force. As new societies emerged, so did the need for labor and it is no wonder that those with guns forced the migration 8-10 million Africans from the 16th – 19th century to the Americas to fill that need as slaves. Mind you, the Islamic states had been using African slave labor since 650 AD so the concept was not new. In addition, great masses emigrated from Europe and Asia fleeing poverty and seeking opportunity in America.

But inevitably, resentment towards newcomers, especially during an economic downturn and times of unemployment grows and newcomers are perceived to be a threat to the livelihood, culture, values, and way of life of majority populations. The ability of some people to assimilate is rewarded with acceptance and citizenship while others, based on skin color or religion remain forever in the category of the foreigner. The rise of nationalism in the face of real demographic and cultural changes is also part of our shared human history. Examples of mass deportations and even genocides or ethnic cleansing by the nationalist leaders who emerge by stoking tribal fears have been repeated throughout human history. These heinous acts are continuing today in places like Myanmar where some 700,000 Rohingya refuges have fled violence and persecution, crossing the border into Bangladesh. The cruelty we are witnessing on our own Southern border and then in the mass shooting in El Paso is the result of this nationalist thinking as opposed to paying careful attention to our shared humanity.

So, borders are indeed a man-made creation. I see them as man’s way to carve out a section of the world where people of like-mind can live together in relative peace. The problem is that the human family must begin to use its capacity to expand what it means to be of like-mind. We should know by now that the values of freedom, democracy, hard work, safety, and respect for others transcend the superficial notion of skin color or blood relations or native language or religion or sexual orientation.

The problem is that governments are too slow to recognize that people will migrate for a better life. The problem with borders is not the border, but the many restrictions being placed on migrants because of the color of their skin or religion. Migrants all over the world are being characterized by nationalist as dangerous when they could actually be assets. History has shown us that human migration is generally good for humanity and that borders should be treated as they once were, a suggestion of what lies within them. Violence only follows when we allow our prejudices to get the better of us and when we make maintaining a more border more important than the humanity for which it was created to serve.

John Locke once questioned the right to restrict the movement of individuals. I am solidly questioning it, too.

I’m not a cynical person, but I found myself inwardly expressing a sense of cynicism when yet another call went out for thoughts and prayers and vigils for victims of three more gun massacres by young men fueled by a hatred of humanity, emboldened by a fear mongering president and enabled by lawmakers who refuse to pass reasonable gun regulations. There is value in a community coming together to mourn the senseless loss of life and to encourage and find strength in the resolve of one another to move on. I know this from last year when my community was the victim. But my thoughts have moved to the need for change. And my prayers have taken on the nature of “Lord, have mercy on us and help us change our ways.” I don’t want more vigils; I want protests. In particular, I’m calling out “Massacre Mitch” also known as “Moscow Mitch” who is the U.S. senate majority leader who blocks protections of our elections and any form of gun control.

Since these shootings, I’ve emailed Massacre Mitch several times and tried calling his office (but lines were overcrowded). I’m glad that citizens have put enough pressure on him so that he will at least now consider passing some form of gun legislation aimed at background checks. That is a start, but it doesn’t go far enough.

The Second Amendment is confusing and has been interpreted in different ways throughout our history. It reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ” Times today are different than they were in 1791 when this Amendment was ratified. The question is whether or not normal citizens who are not part of a militia should be allowed to possess military style weapons without any sort of “regulation”? The thing is, we the people have the right to demand that our lawmakers pass laws that protect the general welfare, especially when it is evident that the status quo isn’t working on our behalf.

I would like to return to the ban on assault weapons. I would also like there to be full background checks, safety licensing, and insurance attached to gun ownership. These are common sense restrictions that any reasonable person who cares about public safety should agree to. We require safety licencing and insurance to drive a car because we understand it is important to keep people safe. Shouldn’t the same be true of owning a lethal weapon like a gun?

As for those who already own assault weapons, I think the government should buy them back and either give them to the military or destroy them. What we can’t allow is for them to remain in the hands of local gangs, gangsters, white nationalist groups, and angry men. True hunters don’t need these guns to hunt. For those gun enthusiasts who enjoy the experience of shooting assault weapons for fun, make them available at shooting ranges where they must remain under strict protection.

The time is past due for Americans to do something drastic about our perverted love affair with guns. We are turning ourselves into prisoners who are afraid to go to the movies, places of worship, concerts, schools, parks, malls, festivals, and even work. The very fabric of our society is being destroyed. The root of the problem might be hatred, resentment, anger and some say, mental illness, but the assess to guns makes it too easy to turn those problems into suicide and murder. The time has come to be truly pro-life and only vote in lawmakers who support sensible gun regulation. These politicians should be earning an “F” rating from the NRA and gun lobby. In the meantime, the pressure has to remain on Massacre Mitch and Trump to pass new gun legislation even if it is only for background checks as a start.

The news media picked winners and losers of the latest round of the Democratic Presidential debates that were televised on Tuesday and Wednesday night last week. I watched all five hours because I really want to make an informed decision about which candidate I will support in the primaries. I walked away with a candidate that the media all but ignored, Senator Michael Bennet from Colorado.

I really liked what he had to say during that contentious second night debate in which too many of our candidates tried to destroy each other and even attacked President Obama. Really? Honestly, it does us no good to rehash the records of a politician from 50 years ago. Any thinking human being changes over time as the world changes, perspectives change, and better information comes to light. Who among us can defend some of our perspectives from our youth? No one remains exactly the same over time and candidates not should be held accountable for words and beliefs that made sense 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. I hated that aspect of the debate and will have a difficult time supporting candidates who continue to engage in those tactics. I want to know what each candidate stands for today. That’s relevant and Michael Bennet stood out to me as a reasonable and smart candidate with good ideas.

I went to his website, MichaelBennet.com and was further impressed by his lengthy statement that details his background, his values, and his policies. Both his values and policies align with where I want this country to go. He is also younger and more vibrant than Biden. Even though he might be more soft-spoken, I believe he can stand up to Trump and has the kind of character that can make Americans proud of the presidency again. We need dignity and intelligence in our White House.

And so I donated $10. It’s not much, but more than the minimum of $1 or $5 that he needs to get his numbers up in supporters. His is the very first candidacy that I donated to for 2020. My fear is that he isn’t getting the media attention he deserves and may not make it to the next round of debates if enough voters don’t support him. How about we give more media attention to candidates who aren’t just provocative, but reasonable? Thankfully, he isn’t the only candidate I have my eye on.

I also like Biden and Warren for President. I like Bullock, Harris, Gillibrand, and Buttigieg for vice president. My dream ticket would be Bennet-Harris at this point. I also dream about Warren-Bullock or Warren-Buttigieg. A Biden-Harris or Biden-Gillibrand ticket would also be acceptable. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like most of the other candidates. I actually do.

Each of them raised issues that their candidacy brought to light. Bernie makes us think more about income inequality, free college, and Medicare for all. Yang makes us think about a universal income. Booker highlights immigration and criminal justice. And Williamson made the best case for reparations.

I realized that I care most about integrity, intelligence, and sound policies that I believe will improve the lives of all Americans. So, for me, at this point in the election cycle, I’m supporting Michael Bennet. What a surprise.

On Wednesday, I got up early and watched both of the Mueller hearings. And to my disappointment, Mueller did exactly what he said he would do. He stuck to the written report. I was surprised that he wouldn’t even read from his own report, instead opting for the democratic representatives to read each passage in question. The whole hearing was both disappointing and enlightening. I was hoping that a more vocal and engaged Mueller would show up. That did not happen with the exception of his warning against current Russian efforts to undermine our 2020 election.

I, like most Americans, didn’t bother to read the full Mueller Report. I didn’t feel like I needed to read it since I can already see that Trump is a person who doesn’t belong in office. Upon his election, we already knew that he was a dishonest, tax-evading, draft-dodging, sex offending, thief whose criminal behavior is in plain sight. He acts impulsively and without a conscience to compel him to obey laws let alone adhere to morality and common decency. He shows with his tweets just who he is, so I didn’t need to read the Mueller Report to further convince me of his unfitness for office. But I wanted to watch the hearings to find out specifically what was alleged.

And now I know. And based on what I heard, it is evident to me that Trump did in fact obstruct justice and should be impeached. But it also became clear that the Republicans are in bed with Trump to the point that they are trying to skirt justice with attempts to divert attention away from Trump’s behavior to that of Mueller and the investigators. Mueller said too little in his own defense against ridiculous allegations and democrats ignored the Republican attempts at misdirection.

I’m doubtful that many Americans watched the hearings. My own husband didn’t bother. He’s already decided that he wants Trump out of office and he didn’t need the hearing to convince him of anything. But my husband, like too many Americans, hasn’t taken any action other than to to tell me how much he hates Trump.

After the hearings, I emailed both the Senate Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and my congresswoman, Julia Brownley that I was convinced that Trump should be impeached after the hearing. I also expressed that I was for taking the investigation further to include financial crimes. I encouraged my Facebook friends to call or email their representatives because it is apparent that our representatives will not do anything until they hear from enough of us. They must be pushed to do the right thing.

On the way to Costco Friday, my husband commented that nothing is going to change with this Presidential situation–that we are stuck with him. I quickly pointed to Puerto Rico and the ousting of their governor. I said the people took to the streets for twelve days and basically shut down the country and he finally resigned. I reminded him that we can make things change when we decide we have had enough.

Trump is still in office because not enough of us have had enough. If there was a call to take to the streets to impeach him, I would take to the streets. Right now, there is only a call to let our representatives know how we want them to proceed. I for one, want a full House investigation that possibly leads to impeachment and I have said so.

I celebrated the Forth of July with a small gathering in my backyard for a barbecue. I decorated the yard with flags in flower pots, red, white and blue centerpieces, and patriotic tableware. I even created my own playlist of patriotic songs. It was a nice way to celebrate the creation of a nation with high aspirations for liberty and justice for all. Our nation is not yet perfect, but we as patriots continue the daily struggle to make it better. This past week forced us to revisit questions about who is American and what values do Americans stand for.

When I respond to this question, I start with the Preamble to the Constitution: “We the people”. It’s about us, the people who populate this land. Almost all of us are either immigrants or we are the children of immigrants. However, our short history reminds us that the question of who is a person was once debatable. Native Americans were seen as savages. Blacks were chattel, and women were children. All these groups took part in the founding of this nation during the Revolutionary War. Since its founding we have always occupied this land collectively, working to build a nation, yet White men used their violence to exclude whole segments of the population from their rights as people. Thankfully, through a Civil War and multiple Civil Rights Movements, our notion of who is a person has expanded to include people of color, women, and finally LGBTQ persons.

Yet, in July 2019, the president and his followers are challenging this progress. He is toying with the White nationalist stance that only White people are true Americans. Perhaps Nancy Pelosi was right when she said this week that Donald Trump was really about making America White again. Sorry Trump and Trump supporters, but that ship has sailed. Now back to my beloved Constitution.

The Preamble goes on to explain our purpose: “in order to form a more perfect union”. The founders acknowledged that even in their day, the union had flaws. Among the first flaws was slavery, but there were other flaws that they were essentially blind to such as the treatment of Native Americans and the disregard for women. They saw, as we still see, room for improvement toward a more perfect union. Striving towards perfection is an attitude of aspiration, not arrival. It is the continuous improvement model. As a people we must spot our imperfections and strive to be more inclusive and fair.

The founders describe the need to “establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” That covers a lot of ground for our daily lives and the lives of our children. There is a lot of room for improvement. However, we’ll only make progress if we have the right people in the three branches of government. These people in government must be able to see, hear, and understand the needs of we, the people, and they must be held accountable to their oath to uphold our Constitution.

That’s why this week was such a dangerous and disgusting one. To have the president of our country brazenly spewing racist and xenophobic comments about four Congresswomen of color who are all citizens of the United States and who have been duly elected to office as representatives to lead us toward “a more perfect union” as they and their constituents see it, is an affront to every patriot.

The president publicly declared that these congresswomen of color must hate America if they see flaws in our nation and that they should therefore “go back to where they came from” rather than aspire to help fix the flaws. His comments are unpatriotic, White nationalist, and worse, extremely destructive. It is counterproductive to silence “we the people” especially when those people are non-white. Remember, Donald Trump himself spent many years criticizing this country and its leaders. What of Bernie Sanders? Notice how he never tells Bernie to go back to where he came from.

I was glad to see Gayle King’s interview on CBS with the four Congresswomen who are nicknamed, “The Squad”. They showed that they are intelligent, thoughtful, insightful, courageous, vocal, positive, and very patriotic woman who love this country and its people. These women have ideas about making a more perfect union and moving towards all the important things our preamble talks about. Their names are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

While I may not agree with all the ideas represented by each of the Squad members, that is not the point. The point is that it is our patriotic duty to point out our nation’s imperfections and then to take part in the real debate over how to make them better. Our duty is to vote in people who can ably represent our ideas for how to perfect justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. We are after all, the people.

I’m the heaviest I have ever been in my life. And I don’t like it. It’s not only that I don’t care for how I look in the mirror, but so many health risks are associated with carrying the extra weight. So, I’ve looked at my lifestyle and can point to some habits that need to be revised in order for me to lose the weight slowly and to keep it off.

For me, exercise has never been the issue. I already walk and run on my treadmill and bike for 35 – 45 minutes Monday – Friday. I do weights and stretching. I work in my yard on the weekends. I do my own housework. But just about all of my other activities involve sitting. When I’m not at my sit-down office job, I enjoy reading, writing, doing puzzles, sewing, painting pots and watching my Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean soap operas on Netflix. That’s a lot of sitting! It seems that the hobbies I add to my life all entail a lot of sitting. Apparently, I like to use my brain and my hands, but my body isn’t getting the exercise it needs.

I admit that I’ve sometimes ignored my Fitbit when it tells me to move to reach my 250 steps per hour. I’ve been averaging 9 out of 12 Fitbit movement goals each day although I generally reach my 10,000 steps. But no more blowing through those notifications. I’m going for 11 out of 12 movement goals each day. I realize that 12 out of 12 isn’t always possible because I can’t very well stand up and start walking around in the middle of a meeting. The other thing I can do is continue with a 20-minute walk during lunch, something I stopped doing during my July break. And finally, I’m going to add an additional 10 minutes on the treadmill or bike each evening.

But exercise isn’t everything. By far the most important aspect of losing weight is food. I eat way too much of it. I love fruits and vegetables, but I also love beef, fish, lamb, pork, and poultry in portions that are too large and too often. That Paleo diet was right up my alley, but my doctor didn’t like it. And apparently, it’s not so good for the environment either. So, I’ve essentially kept the organic eating aspect of it along with severely limiting sugar, grains, and wheat products. I’m sticking with honey, even in my coffee, and avocado oil, olive oil and ghee.

I long ago gave up soda and fruit juices in favor of more water. Nine times out of ten I grudgingly walk away from cookies, candy, ice cream, donuts, pastries, and desserts. I don’t deserve a pat on the back for this one since my 23 and Me DNA results confirm my preference for salt over sugar. And therein lies a huge problem for me. I love chips and French fries. The other day, I was watching a talk show and the hosts were talking about their favorite type of French fries. Some liked shoestring while others preferred steak fries. My problem is that I haven’t met a French fry or potato chip I don’t love. Moving forward though, I’m going to limit my fried potato intake to mirror that of my intake of sugar, rice, and wheat products. I’ll go back to eggs for breakfast with my plain Greek yogurt, organic blueberry & organic strawberry smoothie. This spring and summer, the strawberries and blueberries often come from my yard. Otherwise, they are frozen organics. These will be the hardest dietary changes alongside of cutting back on my consumption of animal proteins. I’m not a huge fan of eggs, but they make a great breakfast.

Accountability is everything, so I’m going to start keeping track of my progress. My goal is to lose about one pound per week until I have lost 50 pounds. I wrote out an eating plan for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and my television snack (one bowl of Skinny Pop organic popcorn). I will weigh myself every Friday and record it.

I believe if I can stick to my new plan, with only occasional deviations, then I’ll not only lose the weight, I’ll like the body I see in the mirror, and quite possibly I’ll improve my health outcomes for years to come.

My first experience with a major earthquake was on February 9, 1971. It happened early in the morning and woke me up. That earthquake registered 6.9 and I was terrified. I vividly recall holding on to the sides of my twin mattress thinking that if the wall gave way, I would ride my mattress to the ground from my second story bedroom. And by the way, that Sunday morning in church, I had my actual come to Jesus moment.

Fast forward to the 1994 Northridge earthquake. By that time I was married with three children and a terminally ill mother. The feel of that earthquake was profound as it felt as though the house was being lifted up and down. The kids were so traumatized that they slept on the floor of our bedroom for nearly a month afterwards. The damage from that earthquake was extensive throughout neighboring Simi Valley and Northridge, but our new home, built to earthquake standards, was unscathed.

Living in earthquake territory all these years, I’ve come to appreciate the random nature of when the earth will start shaking. There have been many small earthquakes that don’t rattle my nerves much because I expect them. The key for me is being prepared as much as possible for when the big one hits. And the experts have been assuring us my entire life that the big one is coming. In fact, it is overdue.

Sometime between the 1971 and 1994 earthquake, my mother started teaching earthquake preparedness classes for the city of Los Angeles. Like any good mom, she made sure I knew what to do and what to keep in my earthquake kit. It is because of her that I keep a kit in a closet, complete with flashlight, batteries, food, water, portable blankets, can opener and a first aid kid. A second kit is kept in the trunk of my car. I sleep in pajamas and keep shoes beside my bed. Heavy bookcases are anchored to the walls. I keep at least a quarter of a tank of gas in my car at all times. I know that the safest place is under a sturdy table or desk, not the doorway. I know not to immediately run outside. I know to check for gas leaks. I thought I was basically prepared.

And then the Ridgecrest quake happened this week with a magnitude of 6.4. We didn’t even feel it. Not at all. But it was a reminder that I needed to update our earthquake kits and it occurred to us that Michael didn’t have one in his car. At first he balked at the idea that he needed one. I had to convince him of the randomness of an earthquake and how he might well be on the road away from home when it occurred. Convinced of the necessity, I spent Friday shopping for earthquake items for his kit and to update the current kits.

And then an even bigger, 7.1 earthquake, also centered in Ridgecrest hit that same night. This one we felt. The house swayed gently for at least 30 seconds. We realized that although we were in no danger, there were people who were at that very moment experiencing a terrifying and possibly devastating event. My daughter and her husband who live closest to the epicenter felt it strongest. They had been grocery shopping when the first one hit and were a little shaken by it; this one was bigger. My daughter in Vegas was like me and didn’t feel the first one. But within minutes we were on the phone confirming that everyone was safe and that we had all felt this one.

As humans, we need to affirm our experiences with others. We need to know that we aren’t crazy or alone. There is comfort in knowing that others are just as afraid, concerned, and wary as we are. I’m not certain how helpful it is that the news networks go on for hours playing and replaying every aspect of the earthquake and its many aftershocks–most of which we don’t feel. I admit that one of the first things we did immediately following the 7.1 quake was to turn on the news to see what the coverage was.

My husband used the occasion of this quake to show me where the gas line is in order to turn it off. It was a perfect teachable moment. This last earthquake was a catalyst for updating those earthquake kits and providing one for my husband’s car. It was also a perfect argument for replacing my iPhone 6S because the battery was nearly dead when I might have needed it most. It won’t hold much of a charge anymore and if the electricity is out, I’d have to depend on my car to charge it. So, the biggest expense will be a new iPhone.

I consider myself blessed that today we have the opportunity to become better prepared for living in earthquake country. Others in and around Ridgecrest aren’t feeling so blessed today and will need our financial and emotional support in the days and months ahead.