The New Housing Bubble?

Fifty years ago I graduated from an Ivy League college, then went on for a master's degree. As I began this education I had no resources except for generous scholarships and the work I did on campus. I was always worried about money - and who had the extra to pay for dentistry?

But, still, when the master's degree was in hand I owed ten thousand dollars. In a federal program I could pay off the loan by working in education, ten percent a year. So, after ten years my loan was paid off and I was free and clear to do what I wanted.

I am very afraid that students now have not nearly this option. They believe they are entitled to attend fancy institutions of higher education that attract them with state of the art fitness centers, world class chefs in the cafeteria, dorm rooms worthy of a high end Marriott. They know that it costs a LOT to go to college and they may as well go full throttle (because everyone knows that having a college degree is the ticket to ride.)

And then the price must be paid, and such a great price! Of course this cohort has been used to the debt scene all their lives. Plastic now, pay later.

What will happen to this new generation of young adults who owe so much they cannot pay attention? Will there be a tipping point at which these supremely prepared people cannot possibly get the jobs that will enable them to pay off their education loans? Seems likely.
Perhaps the culture of hippies will return, "hey, Man.."

Or perhaps we'll try reality in higher education. Pay as you go, think about what you really want to learn from professors, and if you really want to climb rock walls, is college the place for this?

Just asking.

Embarrassed

From everywhere on the polls I seem to hear that my age and ethnicity is incredibly selfish and no-nothing! Hey, we have social security and medicare! And these have made an incredible difference to the security of our lives. And most of us are going to vote conservative. So, why are you opposed to the Affordable Care Act?
I am embarrassed to be a part of my generation that now seems to be so mean and uninclusive. Where is the American spirit of taking care of one another? Where is the generosity? Where is the thirst to be informed?

No taxes! Come on! How do you think the services you need, the libraries, the fire department, the police, roads, the parks you love, and so much more are funded??
If our country is just going to be the "me first" place, I will be so disappointed.
I am very much afraid that this country in ten years will be a country of the very rich and the poor, no middle class to speak of. I see such greed and power among the bankers, big pharma, oil companies and you name it. They can (and have) bought elections.

Pay no attention to these awful destructive political ads. They are mostly lies and so you'll actually have to pay attention. Read the NYTimes and listen to NPR (though this one voice of really balanced news is endangered of having their funding cut).

Enough of that! Tonight it is thick with twilight in the forest, deer shrieking at the margins, hummingbirds bumping each other at the feeders, and bats flying around. We have been busy in our studios. Andy finished a quilt  hanger and I am about to finish a new quilt (having sewed my fingers to the bone!) A load of potting soil arrived in the rain and we hope that tomorrow will be clear in the morning so we can distribute some of it where it needs to be.

Remains..

Here are the remains of the vegetable garden. All the beds have been taken over by huge wildly blooming zinnias, red sage, milkweed, and lots of rank weeds. The butterflies love it. We worked for a couple of hours this morning in the fierce heat and mosquitoes, taking out the unproductive tomato vines and withered broccoli. What's left are the pepper plants and a few eggplants, still producing. Andy broke apart the oldest raised bed that was rotten so now there is space for a new bed for the fall garden. We pulled up most of the weeds and tomorrow we'll put down some newspaper and cover everything with hay mulch. All ready for the fall planting.

This place still amazes and delights me! With rainy season well begun, we don't have to water. We have to quell the biomass, prune and weed. Each day we attack the needs of various garden spots, and having made the rounds of all the gardens, we start again. Coffee cup in hand, I walk around the yard (Ms. Inspector) every morning. I notice that the deer have been helpful in pruning the roses and nipping back the Mexican petunias. New buds in the fish pond that will in a few days be magnificent lily blooms. Squirrels, so far, have not been able to attack the hummingbird feeders with the new baffle we installed to thwart them. Tree frogs are everywhere - so loud!

I am so tired of the nasty political climate. I only listen to classical music while I work on my fabric art. And I think and plan..

Tomorrow is my birthday! And I am not anticipating anything at all to celebrate, which is very good because I have everything I could ever want, especially the love of a good man and life partner, and a wonderful and beautiful life.

On the eve of my birthday (72), here are my watchwords for success: Have good work. Eat good local food. Exercise hard every single day. Love your friends and family. Be generous to your community of friends and family and everyone else. Take care of your teeth. Read stuff. Try new things. Wonder. Create. Love one another.

Happy Bastille Day!

Annals of a fun granny- reading to the kids

For this week we have had three boys, seven, eleven and twelve, visiting us. There have been moments when I wondered where I left my senses. But mostly, it has been wonderful zany fun, and really, no one has had a bad moment. We are not those grandparents who easily go to theme parks and fast food places. So they swam many times a day in our pool, played and played outside, drove the golf cart out to explore the fields and ponds and look for the cattle, explored and dug up many ant lions and fossils, made many lovely clay art works. They found our life here interesting and pitched in with the chores of meals, emptying the compost, filling the hummingbird feeders, feeding the dog. Yes, I have had to do some direction. (Did you hang up your towels and swimsuits? Maybe tonight you should all take showers and wash your hair.)

But I think the most special thing is the reading. Yes, of course all kids come with their digital devices, but while here they left them languishing. No one has been at all interested in turning on the TV. They'd much rather play cards after dinner, and everyone knows that G'ma Molly will read to them. I spent some time selecting what books I would read out loud. For the seven year-old I chose "Danny, the Champion of the World", by Roald Dahl, one of my all time favorites. For the older boys I chose "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel.

This evening, after the card game and copious amounts of chocolate ice cream, I began the nightly ritual of reading out loud to them. Of course, all these kids are excellent readers. Reading to kids is the best! They get a free ride for their brains to imagine every single thing and they get to lie close to a favorite adult who is paying attention only to them.

My little seven year old grandson is very tired after his active day and he is glad to cuddle up and hear this book he loves. When beginning a new book, for whatever age, it is crucial to read enough to get the child really hooked, and for the reader (me!) to read fluently and with expression, maybe even changes in tone and accent. The older boys are just as intrigued and love the flow of the story.

My parents read to me and we read out loud to our own kids way into high school. And these children who are now parents read to their kids every day.

Makes me wonder why most folks won't do this simple and tender thing for their kids and students.