I couldn't be more proud of my oldest daughter Chelsey. Last night, she graduated from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. She looked just adorable in her cornflower dress that matched her eyes perfectly! Here's us immediately after the ceremony. I also took the liberty of taking a video and posting it to YouTube.
I love you so much, honey. Congratulations!
I spent part of my day today playing with children on the Target Facebook group. I posted a rant about how Target's return policy has turned against its customer. I received a bunch of angry rants from obvious Target groupies who defended the policy.
After pointlessly going back and forth with these little drones, I discovered a site that points out flaws in Target's customer return policy in people's own words. Nothing could be more powerful than that.
Who knew that there was such an amazing place right here in the Midwest! I usually have to go to Washington D.C. to be wowed by such a great monument. But this weekend, while I was in Kansas City to see my boyfriend's sister and her husband, we went to visit the nation's official World War I Memorial.
To get a sense of how amazing this place is, you have to visit in person. First of all, its imposing tower rises over the rest of downtown KC like a beacon. We rode up to the top and got a 360 degree view of the city, including some fool who was swimming around in the Westin Crown Center swimming pool in the 50 degree temps! Brrr.
After coming down from the tower, we toured three separate facilities, each progressively more cool than the previous one. There were interpretive stations with computers everywhere, giving impressive detail about all the displays and artifacts.
Probably the most impressive of all the artwork on display was The Panthéon de la Guerre, a cyclorama the size of a football field, featuring 5,000 full-length portraits of prominent figures from World War I—a painting that blatantly sought to arouse patriotic fervor in its viewers. The largest painting ever attempted in its day, it was painted in the 1930s then stored in a warehouse and forgotten for 20 years, before being rescued and installed as a mural in the KC memorial. 
There were numerous media in use within the museum, including audio recordings of famous speeches by everyone from Hitler to Booker T. Washington. There were also computerized light tables that explained in detail the different types of planes and tanks used in the war.
When the memorial was opened, people from all over the U.S. sent in their prized memoriabilia, and massive amounts of it are on display. There are medical field kits, art made from shell casings, Howitzers, helmets, wool underwear, and letters from the front. We spent nearly four hours walking around. One of the most intriguing displays was a huge field of 8,000 red poppies. We found out that during the war in Europe, troops often fought in large poppy fields. Each of the 8,000 poppies represented 1,000 people who were killed in The Great War. Also known as "the war to end all wars," it is well documented and chronicled in this extraordinary space.
Congratulations to the people of Kansas City for having the foresight to build this fabulous place. It's too bad that mankind obviously has not learned its lesson, and continues to send young folks off to die in needless armed conflict.
Chelsey got her senior pictures taken this fall and this was her favorite and the one she turned in to the yearbook. There were so many good ones that it was hard to choose. She only smiled in about half of them, so we were left having to pick from those. This photo was a compromise.
Her semester finals are over now, so she's one the final stretch towards graduation. I am so happy for her, and hope she can stay focused.
In last week's Iowa Caucus, Barack Obama pulled off a stunning victory. Not only did he have a superior turnout organization, but he obviously inspired a whole new generation of young voters to turn out on his behalf.
One of those young Iowans is my daughter Chelsey. Even though I was a Hillary supporter at my caucus, she declared herself an "Obama Girl" several months ago. True to her word, she showed up to help me at the caucus, but when it came time to count supporters, she sat with the Obama folks. Along with her friend Jonavae, they sat through what must have been a boring hour and a half and supported their candidate.
My boyfriend Jim also helped at the caucus, signing people in since we were swamped with turnout. Even though he is an independent, I was very thankful for his assistance!
My other daughter, Bailey, also showed up to help. As an added bonus, both of them got extra credit at school for showing up.
The results of the caucus were historic, and I am more proud than ever to be an Iowan.
I'm really in my element this time of the year. It's caucus season in Iowa! I'm a precinct captain for the Hillary campaign. It means getting on the phone, calling my neighbors, and asking them to caucus for Hillary. You may wonder what a caucus is and how it works. Well, I'm glad you asked. Basically, this is how it goes.
First, you show up at your precinct caucus. It is sometimes located where you vote, and sometimes not. However, it is always located near your home, unless you live in rural Iowa, where the precincts are pretty spread out. For example a friend of mine who lives in rural Norwalk has to drive to Winterset, which is nearly 20 minutes away. In contrast, my caucus is being held just six blocks away at Callanan Middle School.
The republican caucus is simple. You show up, split into presidential preference groups, the groups are counted, and then that's it. The democratic caucuses are a little more complex:
Here's my best view: Yes, it's a chest x-ray! I love pictures where you can't tell that I have a double chin!
Thursday night, I went to bed with a severe, stabbing and radiating pain on the right side of my back, right around the lower ribs. No matter what position I got in, I couldn't get comfortable. I should have known better than to try to ignore the pain. I woke me up in the middle of the night several times. The last resting position I can remember working was sitting nearly straight up in bed, propped up by five pillows. By 5:00, I gave up.
I got up, walked the dog, blogged, made a cup of tea, and got ready to go to the emergency room. I have a pulmonary embolism, otherwise known as a blood clot in my lung. I've had one before, and recognized the particular pain that I was experiencing. PE's can be deadly. Indeed, many people who get one don't survive the ride to the hospital. I was lucky this time, and last time.
So, instead of going to "Defending the Caveman" at the Temple for Performing Arts tonight with my boyfriend, I'm wearing a silly hospital gown and blogging. I'll probably be here until Monday afternoon. I am really bummed by that, especially since I am so busy right now.
A lesson I can share: Get yourself checked out by a doctor and have yourself tested for "Factor 5 leiden mutation." If you have this mutation, you should not take birth control pills, smoke, or sit for long periods of time, because it will increase your likelihood of having a clot.
My treatment in the hospital includes getting sbuccutaneaous shots in my stomach, taking blood thinners, and generally getting poked and prodded a lot.
Perry, Iowa is in many ways a typical Iowa small town. It's main employers are agricultural companies, and the town has a railroad history shared by many other towns it size in the state. But, as we found out last Thursday morning, there is something else going on in Perry.
Perry has a large Hispanic population, which in and of itself is also not that unusual in Iowa. Any town with a meat packing plant or an egg factory will attract a Hispanic workforce. What is unusual is the way that this town of 7,000 has embraced its Hispanic population and welcomed them with open arms.
Our Great Places presentation was given by a brother and sister team, Liliana and Adolfo Carbajal, who photographed the entire town and wrote the script. It was impressive. Liliana and Adolfo are both graduates of Perry High School.
From the Albert Paley "Reconfiguration" Archway in the alley by the Hotel Pattee, to the perfectly restored Carnegie Library, to the two story coffeehouse downtown, Perry is a one-of-a-kind gem in the heart of Iowa.
It's amazing to me that Iowa's rivers were once places where pollution-belching factories and chemical dumps were allowed to be located. That could certainly be the legacy of the Missouri River along the Omaha side, though the Council Bluffs side certainly has had its share of challenges as well. But all of that is changing. Omaha and Council Bluffs are cooperating on an historic project of massive proportions that is sure to positively alter both communities for years to come.
A beautiful pedestrian bridge is rising out of the water from both sides of the river and will further tie the destinies of both communities together. When it opens next year, the bridge, one of the longest of its kind in the world, will be a showpiece for Council Bluffs. The plans for the river also include new festival grounds, room for parking, new housing and other amenities.
Here's a historic photo of the Ritz Hotel, an old theater in Centerville, Iowa, that has been covered up with aluminum siding for decades. Recently, some dedicated volunteers have taken off the coating and renovated the Ritz back to her former glory. The inside is next, and the community is looking forward to having a brand new 500-seat show space soon.
With the coming development of the Honey Creek State Resort, Centerville residents are taking advantage of the opportunity to showcase the rest of their community to the region by making trail connections, improving county infrastructure, and pumping up cross-marketing efforts.
I cannot tell you how impressed I was with the dedication to the ongoing projects we heard about. These folks have been hit with some pretty devastating economic blows in the last few years, and already have high levels of poverty to deal with. Nevermind all that, they are determined to make their place the best it can be. These projects are creatively financed and leverage absolutely unbelievable volunteer hours to get things done.
One of the highlights of our trip was an elegant dinner in the dining room at the Continental Hotel. The dinner rolls were so delicious that my friend Sam were convinced that they were deep fried. They certainly were tasty. And what a bargain! My dinner was only $15.00. Homemade pie was $2.49 a slice, but I was too full to think about that.
I can't wait to attend a play at the Ritz!
