SEATTLE

It was our first family trip since the Big Trip. We drove to Seattle on Friday and stayed downtown in the Red Lion Inn for two nights, a block from Westlake Mall. When we arrived, Macy's was shooting fireworks off the top of the store, just next to our hotel. The streets were thronged with holiday celebrants, and it took us over an hour to negotiate the six blocks from the freeway to the Red Lion. It wasn't much fun for Stephen, who was managing the slow crawl through traffic, but we three queens had a ball watching all the hullabaloo through the car windows.

It was great fun to be right in downtown Seattle, especially at the beginning of the festive Christmas season. We enjoyed strolling the streets, meandering through the malls, watching the lights (and marathon runners) through our hotel window. We visited Pike Place Market, of course, and walked down to the Olympic Sculpture Park and to the Safeco Field. I forgot to take my camera on our jolly jaunts, so you'll have to imagine . . . a clear, crisp, almost-Christmas day in Seattle. Lovely.

I went to see "New Moon" one night at Pacific Place Mall. (Movie review: better than "Twilight", flat acting, decent effects.) Grace grumbled mostly, I suppose because she's twelve; Gloria loved Pike Place and the hotel TV (we don't have TV); and Stephen worked on his Christmas letter (do we have your address?)

Seattle has a great vibe about it. Even though Portland is still my favorite city, Seattle has an unpretentious verve and variety that I always so enjoy.

GIVING THANKS

I'm sure you made a list, too, for Thanksgiving.

Here's mine--or at least the beginning of it:

hot running water (always top of the list--my favorite luxury)

the gospel of Jesus Christ (well, you know this is really tops)

family--the ones I get to live with, raise, know

family--the dead ones, to whom I owe so much

words

music

my body, which, despite its weaknesses, serves me well

sunshine!

natural beauty

my wonderfully comfortable bed

opportunity

enough money

vehicles for travel

revelation

prayer

church

friends

I could go on and on. Sometimes I do, in my prayers, and I never run out of things I thank God for. For He is the source of all the goodness in our lives. Gratitude is the best bad-mood-buster I know of.

So as I pack the car for our weekend trip to Seattle, while trying not to heed my 12-year-old's rantings about how her life sucks because we travel too much, I will continue to count my blessings. . .

the sun is out today

our woodstove keeps us toasty

my piano was recently tuned

my cold is much better today

I didn't ruin the turkey yesterday

leftovers!

. . . . . . . . . .

BECAUSE I'M CRYING

Three-year-old Zachary cries when he's upset.

"I am crying," he announces helpfully, between tears.

"Zach, why are you crying?"

"Because I'm sad."

"Why are you sad?"

"Because I'm crying!"


Makes perfect sense to me.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT INVITATION

Comfort & Joy

December 19th - 2pm & 8pm

Skyview High School Auditorium
1300 NW 139th St.
Vancouver, WA 98685


Join the Portland Mormon Choir & Orchestra for its annual Christmas celebration. You'll experience the journey to Bethlehem, stand in awe with the shepherds and wisemen and sing Hallelujahs as with the choirs of angels. A Christmas tradition not to be missed!

That's the blurb. This is the choir I sing in. We are very good. You will absolutely love this concert.

To get tickets, visit: www.portlandmormon.org


P.S. We are so good, we usually sell out, so don't delay. You can also get tickets from me.

HERMANA GARFIELD

Our daughter, Gabrielle, is serving a church mission in Santiago, Chile. It is such fun to read her weekly updates and to see how she is growing in the Lord. This will be her first Christmas away from home, so if you're so inclined, send her a card. I will tell you how below.

But first, some excerpts from recent letters:

"Sometimes, as you know, people on the street try to talk to me in english. Most of the time they are being stupid. The other day we were walking along and passed by three guys. "Very beautiful!", one of them said. We continued on. "Are you married?", they shouted. "I love you!!" I turned around and they were blowing me kisses. Hahaha this time it just made me laugh because they were harmless. Now whenever someone tries to talk to me and give me a hard time I say under my breath to Hna Bran "Yes, I´m married!" bahaha. But later this same day some guy wanted to talk to us-- he was probably drunk-- but he told us he has like four Books of Mormon and all this stuff. Oh man but he was such a creeper. "Qué puedo hacer para llegar a ella?" he asked my companion. "What can I do to get to her?" Que horror....my companion told him I have a boyfriend waiting for me. Hahaha! Not true, just so you all know. Sometimes it´s better to tell a fib rather than land yourself in a pickle. He kept looking at me and making comments like, wow, how pretty. Bleh! Anyway, we were about to leave and this is what went down...."Bye, Brother", my companion said. "No, I´m not your brother, I´m your friend" he responded. And then he leaned in all close to my face and said "A friend with benefits!" ....oh my word I almost died. All I can say is I´m glad I knew that phrase in spanish-- I understood immediately so I didn´t resort to my routine of what I do when I don´t understand, which is usually nod. Cripes! And yesterday we ran into a SUPER drunk guy who tried to talk to us. I´ve never seen anyone so drunk in my life. These wacky mission experiences!"

"What a great idea, to come on a mission! It changed my life, I´m sure of it, and I´m not even halfway done. Oh man. I was thinking a lot about this this week. How wonderful these experiences are. I´m more sure than ever that this really is the path home, and by that I mean the path back to our Heavenly Father. How merciful He is, to provide this plan for us, so that we can find peace and security in this life and eternal happiness in the world to come. It´s up to us, however, to find out for ourselves and stir up the resolution to follow Jesus Christ in all things."

I'm so proud of Gabby. A mission does change lives, not only for those who accept the gospel through her teaching, but for the missionary herself. Gabby is deeper, stronger, and much more sure of herself and her place in the world. To get out of ourselves and into serving others works magic every time.

This is a good time of the year for all of us to look beyond our own concerns, to reach out to others who are seeking the gifts only we can offer. You can be a light and a comfort to someone else. Go on: change a life today. Maybe yours.


HERE'S HOW TO SEND GABRIELLE A CARD, LETTER, OR PACKAGE:

1) Go to http://www.dearelder.com/ and choose the Chile Santiago East Mission from the dropdown list. Choose "write a letter" then write "Gabrielle Garfield" in the recipient space, type your note, and click "Send." They will print out your letter and send it to Gabby, at no cost to you.

2) Use the pouch mail service in Salt Lake City. They can only accept a single 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper folded in thirds and taped. No envelopes. The address is: Hermana Gabrielle Garfield, Chile Santiago East Mission, POB 30150, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150. This costs you one US stamp and they will send it down in a mail pouch to the mission office.

3) Send cards, letters, or packages straight to the mission office in Santiago: Hermana Gabrielle Garfield, Chile Santiago East Mission, Pedro de Valdivia 1423, Providencia 29, Santiago 29, Chile.

Thanks for brightening the holiday season for a faithful missionary!

BE PREPARED

Last night at our family potluck, we packed (or repacked) our 72-hour kits. These are small backpacks filled with warm clothes, food and water, and emergency supplies such as radio, flashlight, thermal blankets (those little silver foil things), first aid and sanitary supplies, rope, whistles, and of course, a deck of cards and hard candy. We hope we never have to use them. But if we ever need to evacuate quickly, we will be prepared to survive for three days. If we have time and the roads are passable, we'll toss all our camping gear in the car and be even more comfortable.

I don't worry about disasters. I don't sit around stewing about dooms-day scenarios or end-of-the-world "judgments." And I think it's because we're prepared. Not fully, but enough to be at peace. As the scriptures say, "if you are prepared, you shall not fear." And that's true.

The conditions and circumstances of our world can change in a moment. Think September 11th. Or December 7th. Or the Chicago Fire. Or the San Francisco earthquake. The Galveston Hurricane or Katrina. Think downsizing, banks closing, jobs lost. Natural disasters, stock market crashes, and acts of war are generally not announced before they happen. And though we in the United States have been lulled into a perhaps false sense of security by our long years of peace in our own land, things can change so fast we'll have no time to prepare. So the time to prepare is now.

Like Egypt in the days of Joseph, we may very well be in the last years of plenty before the years of famine or war or depression hit hard. It's just good sense to get ready: store some extra food, stash some cash, stay healthy in mind, body, and spirit.

My son and his family are living on the food they've stored while they wait for employment. This could be you. It could be me. There's no sense worrying about it. Just make a plan and get going. There is peace is being prepared.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE

I watched the new "Star Trek" movie on DVD last night. It wasn't a great movie, but I do like that line: "to boldly go where no one has gone before." Doesn't your life feel like that sometimes, like you're traveling in unexplored territory, without map or compass? Maybe you don't feel so bold, but there you are, boldly going, nevertheless.

Birthing a baby or raising a child feels like that. Even though you keep telling yourself, "Millions of people have done this before, so I can do it, too" there are moments when you're not sure you CAN do it. Not sure you even WANT to do it, despite the clear choices you've already made to be right where you are now.

Young Captain Kirk found himself in such a pickle last night, albeit with perhaps more immediate danger and less tedium than birthing or parenting. Still, similarities abound: you can't predict the outcome; there may be casualties; it's dang scary; the manual is useless.

At the Star Fleet Academy, young Spock designed a simulation that was presumably unsolvable. The objective of the simulation was to test how a cadet would respond to fear in the face of unavoidable death. Kirk, of course, solved the unsolvable by rewriting the game.

Sometimes all you can to win, or to simply survive, is to rewrite the game. Toss out the rules and do it your way, the way that works for you. Who's got time for fear? Just boldly go . . .

See you in space.

THE NEW FAMILY SEARCH

Don and Lou came over today to teach me some new tricks about family history. In my BK (before kids) days, I did quite a lot of genealogical work and really enjoyed it. Since it appears that I may never reach the AK (after kids) stage of life, I figured I'd better gear up now to continue my family history work.

Boy, have things changed since the '70s! I did know about http://www.familysearch.org/, so I thought I was all cool and prepared when Don and Lou showed up and I was already logged in, ready to learn. The first thing I learned was that I was working at an already obsolete site and that I should be at http://www.new.familysearch.org/.

They were right. What a cool site! As the only LDS member of my family, I have always presumed it was all up to me to complete the work for my family. So I did not expect to find any of my people in the church genealogical database other than those that I myself had submitted. And at the old site, the obsolete familysearch site, that seemed to be true. But not here! Once I got far enough back in time, I did find some of my family THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAD SUBMITTED. I suddenly felt far less alone. And though I still have tons to learn about how to work the site, it seems easy to use.

Of course, the new family search site is not just for Mormon genealogists. It's for anyone interested in family history. You may be as surprised as I was today to find some of your own people there. Living people do not appear, so only look for your dead ancestors.

I have been hankering to get back to family history work for quite some time. I knew that all it would take would be one little push, someone to teach me just enough to get started again. Thanks to Don and Lou, I foresee many happy hours ahead unraveling family history mysteries, piecing people together, forging family links that span the eternities.

APPRECIATING TREES

I've mentioned before how much I like to look at trees. I also like to burn them. So today I'd like to honor all the trees that have given their life substance so that I can be warm.

We put in a woodstove last year, part of our ongoing attempt to live self-sufficiently. We've heated other homes with wood heat, but that was when we were young and spry and it was fun to swing a hatchet like Davy Crockett, making kindling of big, tall trees. It's not so fun anymore. In fact, I've become quite the wimp--or the supportive wife, as I like to view it. Now I just holler, "Honey, we need more kindling." And voila, sooner or later, kindling appears in the recycling-bin-turned-woodbox.

We've got some good wood this year. It burns hot, so hot we end up stripping off clothes and basking in the waves of heat coming from the corner of the living room. We angle for the best seat, the one nearest the fire, where we take turns curling up with a book and/or a pillow.

Ah, to be warm! It's a luxury I sincerely appreciate. So here's to trees, those beautiful, generous, life-giving flora. Go hug one today.

GREEN SMOOTHIES

My latest food thing is green smoothies. Yum! Patti inspired me when I was in Salt Lake, so I've been making green smoothies almost every day since I've been home. They are packed with good stuff and they taste delicious.

You can put whatever you want in a smoothie. The thing about green smoothies is that they include green stuff: spinach (my favorite--it has a sweet, mild flavor), collard greens, beet greens, any leafy greens. So if you don't like that kind of superfood in its leafy form, you can drink the nutrition! I happen to love all the leafy green foods, but I don't actually prepare them very often. Partly because my kids are not huge fans. But they love these smoothies!

Patti uses a Magic Bullet to prepare her smoothies. I've used that little processing wand you stick in the tall cup, which works fine, though if you have frozen fruit in there, prepare to work a bit. I was in Costco the other day and watched the demo of the Blendtec blender--the one with the jet engine that can mush metal (so they say, but who would want to eat metal?) I was tempted, of course, but reasoned that I should first wear out the plain old $20 Hamilton Beach blender I have at home before I drop $380 on a fancy gizmo. So this morning, that's what I used, and it worked great.

Here's what I usually put in my green smoothie:

as much spinach as will fill about 2/3 of the container
a few big strawberries
a handful or two of blueberries
half a banana
half an apple, maybe
some fruit juice, if I have any
a bit of Agave liquid sweetener
about 1/4 cup of chia seeds soaked in water
water, if it's too thick

Toss it all the blender, whirl away and voila! Instant power breakfast.

Google "chia seeds" to learn about this amazing little seed, packed with omega-3's, protein, fiber, and lots of great nutrients. Patti taught me to soak them in a jar of water overnight, then keep them in the fridge to use in smoothies.

Oh, now I want one! Don't you?

MILAGRO

We have two cats, Kiki and Binky. About a month ago, Kiki just disappeared. It was very sad, and though we called him every day ,and checked the sides of the roads and the neighboring properties, and even the local Humane Society, there was no sign of him. Lots of cats disappear here in the country, prey to cat-eaters. So we mourned his loss and loved Binky extra hard because she was clearly missing her brother cat companion.

Last Wednesday, as Garrett was driving Grace to her violin lesson, she spotted a FOUND CAT sign about a mile down the road. She called me right away and swore that the picture on the poster was our cat, Kiki. Though it seemed highly unlikely, I called the phone number given and left a message.

Later that evening, the phone rang and both Grace and I picked up a receiver. Grace answered because the caller ID indicated it was her friend Rachael calling. I was just hoping to hear about our cat. As it turned out, it was indeed Grace's friend Rachael, the only family we know on that side of the road--one mile south and quite far back off the road--who had found a black cat. Still not believing it could be Kiki, we zoomed down the hill and YES, it was indeed our poor, battered cat. He had a wound on his shoulder and was limping and he felt like a bag of bones when I picked him up. But oh, was he happy to see us!

I wonder what sort of adventures he's had this past month. Clearly, he has suffered. But he is fattening up nicely, limping far less, and hardly straying from the garage. I often find Binky and Kiki curled up in their beds atop the book boxes, just like in the old days, the days before Kiki lost his way.

I'm calling him Milagro, Spanish for "miracle".

The lesson: never lose hope. The unbelievable is always possible.

SPONSOR A PAKISTANI STUDENT

When Brother King talks about his homeland of Pakistan, he speaks with pride and with concern. He is particularly concerned that the young people do not have adequate opportunities for higher education and for employment.

Pakistan is a very poor country. Most simply cannot afford college or skills training. Though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has in place a Perpetual Education Fund to help those in poorer countries attend college, this program is not yet operational in Pakistan. Brother King, during his lecture in the Church Office Building, pointedly asked that if any in the audience had any ideas about how to address this ongoing problem in Pakistan, that we please share.

Tracey and Patti and I left the lecture in brainstorm mode. Why couldn't we sponsor some students in Pakistan, so that they could attend college and prepare themselves to contribute meaningfully to their country? It was a theoretical conversation, until . . .

. . . until we "accidentally" ran into Brother and Sister King on the 24th floor, just outside the women's bathroom. None but God can plan these serendipitous events. Sister King is a nurse, so we asked, "How much does it cost to complete nursing school in Pakistan?"

"It costs about $40 per month for three years."

Tracey piped up, "If you will identify a person who will commit to nursing school for the three-year training, I will provide the funds."

So simple.

"Me too," I chimed in. "Find another student who has the will and the commitment to complete a college-level education, and I will sponsor him or her. I don't care if it's nursing school; I'll take any student who wants to attend college or a skills training program. Oh, and if you can, find me a young woman. I really believe a key component of the battle against poverty is to educate girls and women."

By this time, we could see Brother King's wheels a-turnin'. He told us about a young man who lives with his widowed mother in extreme poverty who has managed to attend one year of a technical school, but who still has two more years to complete his training. We watched Brother King run through a mental list of those he knew within the Church who would really make something of such a gift.

$40 a month for three years is so doable for most of us. It's hard to believe that such a small gift could make such a life-saving difference to a person, to a family, to a nation. But it can. And you can help.

If you would like to sponsor a Pakistani student so that he or she can attend college or a training program for three years, please email me at lisagarfield@comcast.net. Brother and Sister King are working to identify young people they believe have the desire and the drive, but not the money, to get a higher education. At this point, we are looking only within the membership of the LDS Church, because we can better monitor what happens to your money. We will make sure every cent you give gets to the right place and the right person. When the Perpetual Education Fund becomes operational in Pakistan, our little program will likely no longer be needed. But in the meantime, YOU can make a difference. All it takes is a bit of compassion, a little sacrifice, and a commitment to help lift another to a life he or she can only dream of without you.

I'll be looking for your email: lisagarfield@comcast.net

A PAKISTANI PERSPECTIVE

To better appreciate the freedoms we take for granted as Americans, you might want to talk to Brother and Sister King, the first Mormon converts in Pakistan. Here are some of the things I learned from them when I visited with them in Salt Lake City. They had come to Utah to visit their first grandbaby and were invited to share their experiences (as Mormons in Pakistan, not as new grandparents) with some employees in the Church Office Building. Since Tracey and I were tagging along with Patti that day, we had the unique opportunity to attend their lecture. Afterwards, we met them by chance in the hall upstairs, had a lovely chat, and bonded as family in Christ.

*To attend church, you must travel at least an hour one way, standing in a very hot, smelly bus; then you get to do it all over again to go home. And of course, you pay for the rides, no small sacrifice in a country this poor.

*The church is guarded by two armed security officers, who stand outside the doors and monitor everyone who enters.

*There are two main religious groups in Pakistan: Christians and Muslims, and increasingly, the Taliban faction. The Christians are in general the poorer class of people. It is a capital offense for a Muslim to change their religion, so Mormon missionaries, as well as other Christian missionaries (I suppose) do not proselytize amongst the Muslims.

*Despite this circumstance, there are now 10 branches of the Mormon church in Pakistan. The area is part of the New Delhi Mission, which poses a lot of problems whenever Pakistan is at odds (read: war) with India, which is usually.

*The Bible and the Book of Mormon are translated into Urdu, but very little else, so only those with a command of English can teach lessons, which must be translated from the English manuals by the teacher and communicated to the members in Urdu.

*The economy in Pakistan is especially grim. There is no work for the young, even the educated and able.

*The Perpetual Education Fund, a humanitarian fund administered by the LDS Church that loans money to those who could not otherwise obtain higher education, is not yet operational in Pakistan.

Stay tuned tomorrow for how you can help.

HAIL TO OUR VETERANS

I know I said I'd tell you about Brother and Sister King today, but I need, instead, to pause to thank our veterans and those who are currently serving in the U.S. military. I am perhaps the most grateful pacifist ever. Right this minute, there are people sacrificing time, comfort, and sometimes their lives to protect the freedoms we, as a fledgling nation, fought so hard to win in the first place. It's not a perfect country. But I've just been around the world, traveling outside of my nation, for six months, and I will tell you this: the United States of America is still the best country in the world. That is not idle talk nor insignificant status. We are a coveted Land of Dreams for millions around the world. Our military helps make that so.

I attended a little Veterans' Day program at Gloria's elementary school yesterday. I sat between a grandpa in a Navy hat and another veteran of World War II. I belted out the patriotic songs with full fervor, and could not stop crying when all the veterans stood and we clapped and clapped in gratitude. When we said the Pledge of Allegiance together, something we adults rarely get to do anymore, I meant every word. When the flag went by, I bowed my head.

I don't really know why it affected me so. I had the same reaction at the patriotic program on Sunday when I attended "Music and the Spoken Word" in Salt Lake City. For all our grumbling and griping about government, today is a good day to remember what we as a nation have accomplished. And what it has cost.

These are some of the people I know--family and friends--who have served or are now serving our country. Please forgive any unintentional omissions; my thanks and my prayers are for all of you:

Alan Meadows, my father Air Force
Uncle Wayne Phillips Air Force
Elwin Garfield Navy
Justin Davis Air Force
Mitchell Johnson Air Force
Vance Smith Air Force (killed in action in WWII)
Keegan Campbell Navy
E.C. Holden Army
Hailee Holden Army
Chris Adams Marines

THANK YOU

A VIEW FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE BUILDING

I visit Utah fairly frequently because Stephen's family lives there and because my kids go to college at BYU. But I very rarely stay in Salt Lake City. This time, I traveled with my Portland friend, Tracey, and we stayed with our Salt Lake City friend, Patti, who lives just up the hill from Temple Square, by the capitol building. I could look out her window at the twinkling lights of the city of the center of Mormondom. It was a unique and exhiliarating trip.

I spent the weekend with people who work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patti works on church internet projects, Matt works in real estate, and Jennifer works with big-money donors to the humanitarian fund. I talked with the managing editor of the Ensign magazine on the observation deck of the Church Office Building. I met several people in the Curriculum department and was given a copy of the brand new manual for 2010. Tracey, a business coach, had a meeting with church executives to discuss leadership training for church employees. It was eye-opening and incredibly exciting to see how the Lord is working at the top administrative levels of His church to provide what we need. Sure, there are corporate challenges, but the whole atmosphere in the Church Office Building is unlike any you experience in any other office building. It felt like they have captured the essence of how to be in the world, and yet not of it.

Of course, there is even more important and exciting work going on in the ecclesiastical branch of church leadership. But what I experienced this weekend was a peek at the nitty-gritty, our grand theology put into practice for the benefit of not only church members, but all the world's people, all of whom we recognize and love as family.

Tomorrow I will tell you about Brother and Sister King, the first church converts of Pakistan.

LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH

I am in Salt Lake City, Utah and yesterday I went to the tabernacle on Temple Square to hear "Music and the Spoken Word." Maybe you've heard it or seen it; it's the world's longest continuing network broadcast show. They've been broadcasting these for over 81 years, but this is the first time I've attended. This was show number 4,182 and because Veteran's Day is this week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square prepared a patriotic show that was really moving.

Veteran's Day was originally called Armistice Day and was meant to be a day dedicated to the cause of world peace. I like these spoken words yesterday:

"If turmoil and conflict have any worth, it may be that they can help us value and remember those who have sacrificed for peace." (Lloyd Newell, the narrator of the program)

And these words by Richard L. Evans: "Peace is a positive and not merely a passive thing. It is more than the absence of war. It is a way of life, an attitude, and an inner condition."

I wish I could recreate for you here on the page the spirit in the room as the choir sang "This is My Country," "America the Beautiful," and "Salute to the Armed Forces." The organ pumped us up with Sousa's "The Thunderer" and then choir and orchestra performed John William's powerful piece, "Hymn to the Fallen." That was my favorite -- haunting, reverent, rich.

And the final number--the one we sang back in the 70's, holding hands, swaying back and forth:

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father
We are family;
Let us walk with each other
In perfect harmony.

Let there be peace on earth,
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

Peace: let it begin.

GAY MARRIAGE

It seems such a silly debate. A war of semantics.

Here is what our new law school graduate proposes, and I agree:

Marriage is a peculiar institution where church and state still intersect. Thus the mess. I propose the state allow civil unions between any two consenting adults, with all the legal rights and privileges apertaining thereunto. Each church can define marriage according to the dictates of their own conscience, and perform, sanction, and recognize marriages according to their own rules.

Mormons already have something like this in place, with civil marriages recognized by the church as legitimate, but not eternal. Only marriages performed in Mormon temples are considered to be eternal.

I could elaborate, but that's it in a nutshell. A simple, graceful solution.

What do you think?

THE SOLOIST

I just watched a movie called "The Soloist" about a gifted cello player (Jamie Foxx) who goes from attending Juilliard to living on the streets of Los Angeles. An L.A. Times staff writer (Robert Downey, Jr.) discovers him playing a two-stringed violin on a street corner. The movie explores their relationship and particularly, the relationship between mental illness (in this case, schizophrenia) and homelessness.

It's easy to make judgments about people who live on the streets, wondering where their families are, why they aren't caring for them. But it's not that easy. My friend's brother, also a gifted string player, has schizophrenia. He also has a strong family support system. But with mental illness, that doesn't always seem to make much difference. Maybe it does -- I believe it does -- but it's not always readily apparent in the lives of those who suffer from such illness. In the movie, the writer effects a reunion between the homeless cellist and his perfectly functional sister, who had no idea where her brother was. It's unutterably sad to me to hear of families separated by such circumstances.

As you know, many homeless people suffer from some sort of mental illness. I don't have any answers to such a complex problem. I don't know how you make someone take the medication that can make them "better". I don't know that anyone even has the right to make such a decision for another person. My friend's brother maintains that the prescribed meds make him feel like he loses his creativity, the very core of who he is. Would you be willing to sacrifice your Self to be "normal"? What is "normal" anyway? And is it really better?

I went to McDonalds one day a while ago and two homeless men were sitting outside, so I said "Hello, gentlemen" as I opened the door to go inside. When I came out, I heard one of them say to the other, "There's the lady that called us 'gentlemen'." Like it was some big deal. Like no one ever saw them as such. I smiled and said, "Well, aren't you?" When they asked me for money, I only had a $20 bill, so I made them promise to share it between them, to take care of each other.

I don't know what else to do, except do our best to take care of each other. And to recognize in every single person we meet a child of God, just like ourselves. We are all family. We need to take care of each other, to simply care, to look beyond our prejudices and see each other, see the light of God in everyone, murky as it may appear sometimes. I'm murky, too. I don't have many answers. But I can care. You can care. We can take care of each other.

VOTE!

Today is election day. Though we have mail-in voting privileges here in Washington, I really like to go to the polling place to turn in my ballot. I miss the old booths with the little curtains, and standing in line watching the feet to see which booth will next be vacated. I enjoyed carrying in my tattered Voting Pamphlet with my choices circled and punching the little rectangles on the voting card, my young children hanging on my legs, peeking under the curtains, learning about the whole democratic process.

When I was in high school, our house was a polling place. We lived in the country in a little town in northern California and on election day, Doris Kennedy, the local ballot official, would show up at our house early in the morning with all her voting paraphernalia. We would fly the American flag outside and wait for our neighbors to show up and vote. Though I've never been very politically minded, I felt proud that our family was contributing to the American dream in a tangible way. I watched people come in our front door and disappear into the curtained booth in our living room. And at the end of the day, Doris would carefully gather up the ballot box, pack up the booth, and take down the flag. It seemed like such a powerful thing to me, that boxed collection of the people's will.

There is a two-page spread in our current Voters' Pamphlet about the history of women voting in America. A little perspective goes a long way toward valuing our right to vote. Despite the flaws in the system, the failings of our elected officials, the cynicism of the people, it's a right we can't afford to waste or to lose, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

Be sure and vote today!

RUTS AND ROUTES AND ICE CREAM

There is not a lot of choice about how to drive from downtown Camas to my house. Sure, you can head up Dallas or Everett Street, but either way, you'll end up on the main road that goes by the high school, past the cemetery and the little airport, then beyond the Fern Prairie Market. And yes, you can choose the left fork up the hill or the right fork down the hill to loop around to the house. But basically, it's a rutty route, the same drive again and again.

Along the route, I pass several roads I've never been on. Today, on the way home from the grocery store, 277th Street beckoned me to explore. So I zipped down the new-to-me road, happy to be out of my route's rut, not knowing where I'd end up. Lots of people live down 277th Street. I saw a snag tree with two huge limbs that looked like scary arms, and a 1940's pickup truck with flames painted on the sides. I discovered a quilter's home-based business and the Happy Barking Kennel. I saw an estate-like home and a small mobile home park.

The road made a sharp right about a mile down, and I realized I was now on 9th Street, which comes out by the little airport. So I was back on the one route home, though not feeling so rutty this time around. I was so enthused by my little exploration that I thought I'd drive down Stauffer Road, which my kids insist loops around to Ireland Road. They tell me it's the route the school bus takes, but I've only driven down as far as the Fullmer's.

"Hurray!" I thought. "New routes, new roads, no ruts!"

Then I remembered I had bought ice cream. So instead, I came straight home and ate some.