Little Fires Everywhere

     "The firemen said there were little fires everywhere.  Multiple points of origin.  Possible use of accelerant.  Not an accident."  The Richardson house caught fire in 1998.
     "The Shakers had indeed left the land that would  become Shaker Heights" an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio that "had been founded, if not on Shaker principles, with the same idea of creating a utopia."  Elena Richardson grew up with this sense of order and regulation being the "key to harmony."  She planned her life of marriage and motherhood "with a propensity to overachieve and a deep intolerance for flaws."
     Mia Warren grew up in a middle-class home and left for New York to attend art school.  She believed that "anything had the potential to transform, and this to her, seemed the true meaning art."  Living in a variety of cities, she created her art and moved on.  She and her daughter Pearl came to Shaker Heights and rented an apartment from Elena.
     Mia's daughter Pearl made friends with the four Richardson teenagers and began to admire their lifestyle, seeing all the material things she had missed out on.  Elena's youngest daughter Izzy felt out of place in her own family and began to admire Mia, her choice of lifestyle, her personality, and her art.  "Something inside Izzy reached out to something in her and caught fire."
     Other families, other mothers in Shaker Heights, tried to make the right decisions, but often made their own mistakes.  "What made someone a mother?  Was it biology alone or was it love?"
     Mia said to Izzy that "sometimes you have to scorch everything to the ground and start over."  "Sometimes you need to start over from scratch."  She was referring to why she and Pearl had to move away.  Izzy took her words to heart.
     The novel and the TV series differ in some respects, but both tell a compelling story.  I recommend both.
   

COMMUNICATIONS

                                                                                                                                                                         
     Now a major in college, the skills associated with this subject can improve personal relations and facilitate professional careers.
     Learning to communicate begins as young children observe and listen to people around them then send messages back and forth.  Reading and writing extend these communication skills.  One-on-one conversation, speaking and/or writing to a group, or relaying information to the public may be accomplished through many types of media.
     First, show an interest in your family members and make an effort to have conversations.  Listen and speak, ask questions, discuss what you may have in common, and learn from each other.  This can prepare you for the day you have to interview someone or when a prospective employer interviews you.  Write a letter or email telling your news and show an interest in the recipient's life.  In the future, you will use the skills you can practice now.
     Second, keep an ear and an eye on current events.  Have a historical awareness to compare and contrast today's topics.  Try to understand a variety of points of view.  Recognize bias and manipulation.   Pursue your interests and develop your talents.
     Third, realize that communication is a two-way street.  As you send messages, you need to anticipate how your messages will be received.  As you get feedback, your messages will improve.
      Having a college degree in Communications will prepare you to begin a variety of careers in business, journalism, broadcasting, and any field that relies on listening, speaking, and writing be it as a public figure or behind the scenes.
      If you are deciding on a college major or if you are entering or reentering the workforce, please do something that you are interested in and will enjoy.  Of course, the paycheck is important, but don't make that the primary consideration.  Having good communication skills will be an asset in your personal and professional life.

CHINA RICH GIRLFRIEND

                                               

     Being China Rich is just an entryway requirement to the highest status.  Wealth and prestige must go back for generations.  All the acquired possessions have to show elite status: the right house or penthouse apartment, luxury cars, private planes to whisk you around the world at a moments notice, couture clothes, priceless jewels, art collections, and anything else that impresses the connoisseur.
     Nicholas Young comes from such a family while his finance Rachael Wu, a Chinese-American, has been raised by her mother of meager means.  They go back to China to find her father she has never met.
      Who is the China Rich Girlfriend?   

High School Graduates of 2020

                                                                                                                                                                         

     This spring has been a season of sacrifice being forced to give up the last few weeks of going to school with your classmates and participating in graduation ceremonies.  Your sacrifice in order to stay healthy and allow others to stay healthy is a great accomplishment.  You have learned to appreciate the freedoms so often taken for granted.  You have had the opportunity to spend more time with your family and find ways to use this extra time at home.
     Learn from this unique experience; put all into perspective as people all over the world are going through this situation and many people in past generations have faced similar hardships.  Hopefully, we will learn how to better handle future problems.  When these unusual times have passed, you will be able to get on with your future, perhaps continuing your education in the fall.
      Realize what is essential to live a good life.  Appreciate your healthy body and mind.  Be thankful for your family for what they do for you and seek ways to do good for others.  Be aware of what other people are doing for you especially the scientists discovering ways to keep the earth and its inhabitants safe plus all the caregivers ready to help you when you most need their services.
     Savor the moments of your life, the sweet and sour, the bland and spicy.  Listen to all sides of an issue and keep an open mind.  Breathe in the fresh air and keep our environment healthy.  See and appreciate the beauty of nature.  Feel the love you absorb and give your love to others.  

Childlike or Childish

                                                                                                                                                                               
     Being childlike includes many positive traits like being curious and playful.   It may also include finding comfort in being dependent and having an authoritative figure guiding their life.
     Being childish often means not thinking and behaving like others of your age and experience.  Emotional immaturity, lacking self-control, being self-centered and insensitive to others, and being impulsive without considering the facts or the consequences are all considered childish.  Adults labeled narcissistic often get upset when criticized,  blame others for their mistakes, and rudely belittle those who disagree with them.
     Adults can benefit from being childlike at times while still having the self-confidence to prefer independence.  Taking a break from adult responsibilities can actually refresh us so we can return to adulthood.  It would be to our detriment to be childish ourselves or accept childish behaviors in leaders responsible for our well-being.
   
       

Secular Ethics

                                                                                                                                                                                                 
     This pandemic has required us to think about what is best for ourselves, our country, and the world.  We all are sacrificing, feeling compassion for those suffering, and trusting science to return us to better times.  Ethical decisions have been made for our survival.
     Secular Ethics is based on human faculties such as logic, empathy, reason or moral intuition and not derived from belief in supernatural revelation or guidance.  Secular ethics has much in common with many religious morality codes.
     The beginnings of ethics can be witnessed in nonhuman animals as they form social behaviors first within their kinships as parents sacrificing for their offspring and continuing as they follow behaviors that benefit their group like sharing food.  Those animals that reciprocate and help each other strengthen the community.  Evolution continued these positive traits in human beings who became more reflective and logical, then designed the best ways to live and set rules of behavior.  Beneficial behaviors were encouraged such as honesty and cooperation, while other behaviors were discouraged, even prohibited.  The concepts of good and bad, right and wrong were established.  Punishments were put into place for the lawbreakers.
     Throughout history, some cultures were sidetracked, created a deeper divide between the powerful and the powerless, instituted slavery, resorted to violence and war, which in some cases led to their downfall.  A few cultures became more democratic, valuing the individual.   Some cultures yearned to understand the unknown and placed value on supernatural explanations.  Religions seemed to produce answers and created their own set of ethics and rules of behavior.  Many myths and stories of heroes were handed down even before written language.
    Today, many people value supernatural explanations which include rules of behavior.  They may believe that human nature is too selfish and misguided to do the right thing.  Others believe that logic and reason can prevail with good parenting and ethical leadership, that individuals can behave well for their own benefit and for the benefit of the group.
    We still have a long way to go.  Secular ethics can guide us to ensure our citizens and people around the world have equal rights and opportunity.

The Yellow House

     "The Yellow House" 4112 Wilson Avenue, New Orleans East, Louisiana from 1961 until Hurricane Katrina damaged it beyond repair was home to Ivory Mae who raised twelve children there, the youngest being author Sarah M. Broom.  This memoir tells the story of Broom's ancestors, parents, siblings, other family members, neighbors, and friends.  This also is a story of place: the development and decline of the community just east of New Orleans and New Orleans itself including the French Quarter, both the romanticized image and the real story of the residents and workers.
     Sarah Broom relates her life story as a young girl growing up who kept a journal throughout her life, went away to college, and had various jobs including as a writer for Oprah Magazine, then as a speech writer for Mayor Ray Nagin until she lost faith in his leadership rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
     "We are all born into histories, worlds existing before us.  No place is without history."  As a teenager she states, "I wrote in a notebook (my writing everything down having become, by then, habit.)."  After living in other places, she rented an apartment in the French Quarter. "Thus it could be said that my reaching to understand the French Quarter was a yearning for centrality, a leading role, so to speak, in the story of New Orleans, which is to say the story of America."
     Eleven years after Katrina, "Mom signed away the yellow house and its land, which she had owned for more than half a century."  "The story of our house was the only thing left."