A SLICE OF LIFE IN A SMALL VILLAGE

Yesterday, our group arrived at this couple’s home and began helping me cut up vegetables. The woman would catch my eye and hold up her hand for enough carrots. She shook her head for the peas not to go in yet. Then indicated silently when the peas were added to the pot. She began the clean-up while the this typical Indian dish was cooked.

It surprised me that the husband directed the cooking action. Theo is adding spices. Pam is stirring. Notice the husband has leather shoes.

Ranvir told us that every household that cooks for itself has one of these treasures. Curry, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cardamon, cumin seed, and mustard seed. Sometimes ground cloves, ground cinnamon and basil seed.

Families cook outside in a home-made adobe stove. In the pan goes mustard oil first. The vegetables are carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, red onion, potatoes, peppers and peas. Stir fried first, a bit of water later to steam until done.

The wife cooked the naan on that same stove with a special pan of some kind. Her recipe is millet and water. We all tasted the food by scooping up the vegetables with a  piece of naan. Yummy.

The father gave us a tour of his property where he grows most of the food for this extended household. He has guava trees and another tree from which you use the twigs to brush your teeth. I’ve already forgotten the name of it.  I carried a branch around with me for two days to see what it was like. It has an alum feel and the broken end of a small branch acts like toothpicks and floss. (Indian people use regular toothbrushes.)

Using well water,  one daughter-in-law  hand washes clothes.  Each married son has his own house and an out-door bathroom with a flush toilet flowing into a common septic system. The toilets and septic system a benefit of Grand Circle.   Even though he isn’t as poor as most in this area, Grand Circle want people to adopt better hygiene. If Grand Circle hadn’t stepped in, they would simply use the ground and bury their waste. He sets a modern example for his kids, grandchildren and neighbors around him. Another form of education.

The kids have ample room to run around and play in a clean area. It is typical of older children to help with younger children in Indian families.

Someone made a rustic jungle gym.  Strong poles are tied together for the kids to swing and climb upon.

A group picture before we leave. Carol and Kathy hold up samples of the wife’s colorful clothing.

The family bids us goodbye.
They have a cow for milk.

From their long driveway, we see a beautiful girl with a baby. Ranvir speculates that she is probably 15 or 16 years old. Typical age for poor, uneducated girls to marry.

Our next visit in the village is a Women’s Cooperative where we will eat lunch. This woman, Joy, a dietician decided to help one family, and never left India.

These women are from a warrior tribe. Their husbands hunted tigers and leopards and sold the skins illegally. During a government crackdown, they were arrested and imprisoned. With their husbands in jail, these wives had no skills to make a living except prostitution. How would they survive?

At the Cooperative, they learn new skills. This gentleman shows me a block printed bed cover.
We’ve seen how it is done. A student carefully practices on a small square.

Some learn to sew. I buy three pillow covers and a lovely embroidered purse. Prices are a bit higher here than on the street, but still a bargain.

Men help the women, they keep track of the money, some  sew and/or maintain the machines and buildings. They also have a flush toilet on the premises.

Illeka is my lunch mate and she teaches me arabic  names of food we are eating and I give her the English words. Illeka is talkative and can  speak  somewhat garbled English and French.

Kathy has her picture taken with the women she bought things from.  Illeka indicated she wanted her picture taken with us.

But we misunderstood her. She wanted her picture taken with me with something I bought that she made. She showed me her craft and I obliged by buying this little hat hair pin. She was really sweet and charming.
Tomorrow, we take a long train ride to Bharatpur.

NO PRIVILEGED SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA, PLEASE.

THIS ARTICLE IS REPRINTED FROM FORBES MAGAZINE,  A CONSERVATIVE MAGAZINE WHOSE EDITORS AND WRITERS KNOW THE MONEY GAME.

"Charter School Gravy Train Runs Express To Fat City"
By  Addison Wiggin

"Too bad the kids in charter schools don’t learn any better than those in plain-vanilla public schools. Stanford University crunched test data from 26 states. About a quarter of charters delivered better reading scores, but more than half produced no improvement, and 19% had worse results. In math, 29% of the charters delivered better math scores, while 40% showed no difference, and 31% fared worse."

PLEASE - JUST READ THIS BEFORE YOUR VOTE
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/09/10/charter-school-gravy-train-runs-express-to-fat-city/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/09/17/is-the-charter-school-gravy-train-running-express-to-fat-city/

"In Florida, the for-profit school industry flooded legislative candidates with $1.8 million in donations last year."
Nor does the evidence show that charters spend taxpayers’ money more efficiently. Researchers from Michigan State and the University of Utah studied charters in Michigan, finding they spent $774 more per student on administration, and $1,140 less on instruction.

STOP! DO NOT VOTE FOR SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION!!

Dear Friends -
Why would any person vote for school vouchers and the corporate take over of our schools by Wall Street bankers? History is rapidly showing us that charter schools are harming our children by taking our education tax dollars and giving them to a small group of greedy "investors." So by voting for Marshal Tuck, you are indeed voting to give our children's education financing to billionaire investment bankers and hedge fund operators.
For months now I have been trying to tell you the truth - but I am worried that you do not want to take time to learn what is true. So please, take five minutes, read the very conservative Forbes Magazine article that tells it like it is. THEN VOTE FOR TOM TORLAKSON and help him continue to help our students.
Yes, education in California has sucked for 30 years now - we just let it go. It is our fault, California has dropped to 35th in per student spending. Spending is easy to determine, whereas performance can be influenced by many different factors and factions. Our children in California do not rate good, but not bad either. By looking at several different rating organizations, we rank in the "30's" out of 51. Or as one rating group put it, we get a C+. I can remember when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, we were said to be number 1.
The good news is - we are again getting better.

THE 99 CENT STORE DIET

I’m a fan of John Tesh who provides a radio segment several times a day called Intelligence For Your Life.
He has a staff of researchers who read through scientific journals and studies;  magazines that specialize in cooking, nutrition, gardening, parenting, counseling, home place and work place advice, relationships, marriage, school… I’ve heard him weigh in on topics such as cigarette damage from third- hand smoke (just recently), resumes, how to handle problems on the job, how to get a job and so on.
He happens to be on our local station Star 92 at 92.7 on my radio dial. If you are interested, his archive of “intelligence” is located on his website at:
http://www.intelligenceforyourlife.com

I heard him yesterday talk about a guy who lost over 250 pounds on the 99 Cent Store Diet.  I went to the dentist and my hygienist sent ME to the 99 cent store for some fuzzy toothpicks. So, while I was there, I looked around at what Tesh was talking about.
First the diet:
What this guy did was eat omelets with spinach or some type of vegetables for breakfast.
For a snack, he’d have yoghurt and fruit.
For lunch he’d eat whole grain bread sandwiches with canned chicken or tuna.
And for dinner he chose beans and rice with a small amount of meat, and a salad. Or soups with vegetables and beans with very little meat.  He avoided ANY sugar. No sugar at all, which is hard to do. In two years, he took off over 250 pounds, cured his diabetes, lowered his blood pressure so he didn’t have to take drugs and he bought everything from the 99 Cent Store because it is cheap.

Well, not all 99 cent stores carry fresh vegetables and eggs, but most have canned meats and vegetables. I expect the someone locally could vary his/her diet a bit with fresh veggies and a choice of fresh meats. And, it can certainly be done cheaply, even for a family or individual on  food stamps. I know, because I have a close friend that is temporarily on food stamps. Or the SNAP card, as it is called, and she eats healthfully.
When Jim and I are out on the road, we do shop some at 99 Cent stores and they have some wonderful stuff. I wouldn’t do it on a regular basis because I read labels and the chemicals are enough to turn you away from canned and packaged goods in the discount grocers and 99 cent stores. But, cheap, fresh produce, and the healthy improvement is worth the temporary, and yes, I’m calling a two-year program, temporary risks, of canned chemicals until your weight is under control.

I don’t often feel I need Tesh’s advice, since it is aimed at much younger people for the most part, but, it validates my thoughts on a subject; he dispenses common sense; and I never fail to learn something new from John Tesh. That’s  why I’m a fan.

NOT ALL TAXES ARE BAD.

California is considering a 5% severance tax on oil extraction from California to provide  billions of dollars for education. I can hear the hue and cry, NO MORE TAXES.  Not all taxes are bad. The oil industry pays less than 1% severance taxes to California, but Alaska get's 50%. Wyoming gets 45.4 %, and N.D. a state that is booming right now, gets 5%. Texas get's 66% in three different taxes, value of oil as it comes from the ground, a clean-up tax and a "regulatory" tax.Thirty-four states get oil severance taxes.

I see something wrong with this ballot measure.  California needs to charge 15% because we have heavier environmental safety formulas for gas. We are providing our neighbors with cleaner air at our expense. And, we watch the oil company profits soar into the billions each year as they laugh their way to the bank.  And, we watch Federal subsidies on oil. I call it theft of our tax monies levied to get friendly senators and representatives to keep it going.

Charging a 15% severance rate, could be applied to lower state taxes at the pump by 5%, for our gas.  Put 5% towards strengthening education, and 5% toward transportation.
Whether you use it or not, public transportation benefits everyone. It connects people to jobs, and community services. It reduces pollution and eases congestion. It helps create local jobs and strengthens the economy. Studies have proven that to be true. Our future has to be infrastructure that takes an investment and commitment from our local officials as we move away from gas guzzling cars, especially in cities.  We need it.

Education has gotten so expensive that kids without job prospects, start life with student debt. Core classes are not always available, meaning it takes longer to fulfill requirements..  Elementary education has suffered draconian cuts year in and year out and deserves a boost.  We penalize the very thing that will energize our society and make us a leading state again. Lets put California  back on the map.
Tax the right industries, those that pollute and damage, and reward those that enhance our society. Isn't that a good idea?

THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH?

Yesterday, I worked on the computer most of the day. Busy, busy describes my days when I return home from traveling.  And, a mental promise to off load "stuff" I've been keeping. Such small considerations compared to the mess going on in the bigger world out there.  I get constant  emails to donate to this or that. Save the elephants, the U.S. has just crushed Ivory so it can never be used in trade. Exotic bird smuggling, rhino's poached for their horns are nearly extinct, the list goes on and on. But, today in my email , from a retired college professor friend, I received a link to a short video called the Most Honest Three Minutes Of Television. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16K6m3Ua2nw

And, in the news, the salmonella outbreak can't be addressed by a closed government.

And this:


Are we in a mess?  Yes.

A smidgeon of good news:



We can't afford to have a government shutdown.