MEGA MILLIONS - What's wrong with it?

Last Friday, along with millions of other dreamers, I purchased about $65 in tickets.  It was the first time in decades that I submitted to such foolishness.  My logic was to be in the game in order to win..  My winnings amounted between the sum of  $3.00 to a high of $80.  Playing for years without winning anything substantial became boring and a waste of time and money.

However, for the sake of my Mahjongg friends, we thought it would be fun to chip in this one time.  Okay, So I got carried away.  Besides chipping in with the ladies, I added my own money for additional tickets. Asking my out of town friends and relatives to purchase tickets for me was most unusual, as Florida does not participate in the Mega Million Lottery

Investing $65 all over the country, I won $13.00 of the winning tickets  Two tickets contained #23 for the Mega and one ticket had two out of three with the Mega 23.  My son had three out of 5, winning less than $10

Whether the lottery is two million or 640 million the payout is the same for the small winners. THIS IS NOT FAIR.  The payout should be the same percentage as the first and second place

The Multi State Lottery Association had focus groups deciding how to play this game.  Their findings were that not many people would play unless it is in Mega Millions with less payouts to the small winners  I disagree with their findings. More people would play if the smaller winners had better chances.  It would give them more of an incentive to play often.

Therefore, lets sign a petition on this web site where I can send it to the  Multi-State Lottery Association for their review. Use your name, city and state in the COMMENTS.

LETS SEE IF OUR VOICE COUNTS



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A MYSTERIOUS SURPRISE

Once upon a time there were three eggs in a nest, making a home in our planter which hung on our patio wall.  Unfortunately we only noticed two chicks a few days later.  Wondering what happened to the third was a mystery.  We assumed the third egg did not hatch.

Every day we watched the two chicks  grow with amazement.  Their development grows much faster than any living thing we know.

The most interesting of all was watching the mother and father bird taking care of their chicks in the nest.  The birds felt relaxed with us as we peered into it occasionally.  They were also relaxed when we moved them to another spot when the painters were working outside our house.

During the move, we noticed one chick missing. Feeling devistated,  we wondered what happened.  I thought the mother bird tried to move the chick one at a time to a safer more quieter nest due to all the noise from the painters and power washers. Later we found the dead chick on the floor.  Perhaps the mother bird accidentally dropped the chick in transport.

The mother and father bird tried to communicate with us by flying over the empty wall and by walking on the ground near the original place where the nest was.  We replaced the nest a couple of days later when the painters were finished.  Within a few minutes of its return, the mother bird flew to the planter, looked in on her chick and jumped in beside it.  The father bird followed and joined his family.

The tree in the rear of our patio was filled with many singing birds, assuming they were all family. The baby chick was starting to look like a small bird and eventually flew away.  Wondering if it would ever return to the empty nest, we later beamed with joy when it did.  We know it is only time when our little guests will soon leave us for good

The most surprising of all, and the conclusion to my story, was the day we noticed another chick in the nest.  That chick was from the third egg.  We had no idea where the mother bird hid it all that time.

Can anyone explain it?

It was wonderful watching the baby birds fly in and out of their nest.  The whole family stayed together until the new set of eggs appeared in the nest.  It looked like the mama and papa birds were trying to make another nest on the other side of the planter to make room for their family. It was beautiful the way the birds only trusted us to take their pictures and to visit them. 

Being hostess one Passover evening, I brought our guests to view the nest.  The birds immediately flew away leaving two eggs behind.  A week or two later we noticed one egg missing. We wonder where it went.  The birds never returned again.  Feeling very sad and missing them, I wonder if they will forgive me and return home.

WHERE DID MY BABY CHICK GO?

The following morning the pressure cleaning crew were spraying outside our house with bleach before starting the power washing.  The mother bird was lying over her chicks at the time we approached her.  Feeling uneasy, she flapped her wings preparing to fly away.    We carefully carried out the planter again to the rear of the patio.  The mother bird surprisingly stayed with the nest this time

The noise from the power washing was very loud, making the bird  very uneasy.  She had hoped to have her nest in a quiet safe place. Hours after the men left my street, I checked the nest.  Mother bird was walking on my patio, assuming to find food.  One chick was gone.  Where did it go? Hearing a tweet from my roof was the mother bird.  “Where did your chick go?  What did you do with it?” I asked.  Although the bird could not speak, she flew to the baron wall.  That was a stupid place for her to go.  Doesn’t she know her chicks were moved?  Was she trying to tell me something?

Noticing another bird on my patio fan, a little larger than mother bird, I figured that must be the father bird looking at the bare wall. They are trying to tell me to return the nest back on the wall.  But the painters will be back tomorrow to complete the job, I thought. “So what,”  I will move the nest again when the painters return.

But what about the missing chick?  Did the mother bird take it to a safer, quieter place?  Was she intending to move the other chick as well?  Was the scent of the chlorine bleach offensive for her chicks?  Will the baby chick return to the nest?  I am so upset yet proud in a way I was able to understand them. As soon as we placed the planter on the wall, mother bird flew to the planter, looked inside and jumped in..

The next day, the painters started their painting task.  We removed the planter with the nest again to the rear of our patio.  At that time the painters were aware of our nest and was concerned about the missing chick as well. 

One of the painters called our attention to the ground under where the planter was hanging originally and noticed the dead chick.  Feeling sad, we wondered what happened.  My thoughts were that the mother bird took one of the chicks to a safer place, then planning to return for the other one.  When the planter was returned to the wall, she tried to bring the chick back to the nest.  Perhaps she dropped it by accident, or the chick died in transit.

Some say if a chick dies in the nest, the mother bird  will not return.  Thus, we assume the chick was alive before it was carried out.  The mother bird continued to sit on her one and only chick.  It is nice to see how much the baby chick has grown in just a few days.



MAMA BIRD

BABY CHICK

BIRDS NEST

Where did my babies go, she wondered?  Working hard to protect them, she picked a safe quiet  home  with  plenty of warmth and food.  Everything was going so well.  What happened?  Will she ever find her babies again?

It all started a few weeks ago, when we noticed a bird in my artificial plant box hanging on my patio wall.  At times she flew away and returned later with twigs and grass.  When she flew away, we noticed a nest about to be formed.  Days later, a complete circular nest was completed.  It amazed me how brilliant the bird made it.  I doubt a human could master that craft.

Occasionally, when one bird flew away, another came into the nest.  We assumed it was the father bird, helping to bring supplies and food.  I researched on Google, that while the mother bird flies away for food and supplies, the father as well, helps.  He often sits on the eggs to keep them warm and protected until the mother returns.

One day, we observed the nest when the parents were gone and noticed a couple of eggs.  We were so thrilled and flattered that the bird trusted our patio as a safe haven for her babies.  The birds, mother and father, became of great interest to us.  We loved having them on our property and waited anxiously for the baby chicks to hatch.

Unfortunately, we received a letter from our community advising us they were beginning to commence with power washing and painting our house.  They gave us a weekend to remove all our flower boxes and items on the walls of our building and to move our patio furniture away from the house.

What were we going to do with our nest?  I read that if we touch it, our human scent would keep the mother and father bird away from the nest, causing death to the young chicks. Further,The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibits the removal of all listed species or their parts (feathers, eggs, nests, etc.) ....  there is a law not to touch or destroy the nest while living chicks was there

While we were moving our patio furniture away from our house, the bird flew away from her nest.  It gave us a chance to look inside to see a couple of chicks barely moving. They were absolutely adorable.  We took the planter with the nest in it and moved it to the rear of our patio.  We placed it on a table under our Robeline palm tree trusting it will be protected.  I feared it would not be as protected as before as the planter was under our overhang roof

We sat on our patio waiting for the mother bird to return looking for her nest.  Our hearts were broken, as she kept flying by the spot where her nest was, only to find the wall empty.  She knew her babies where close as she walked on the ground back and forth looking.  I got up from my chair and walked to the nest showing the bird where the nest was.  She kept flying all around the nest but would not jump in.  Instead, she kept flying to the spot where the nest was originally.

Peering into the nest again, wondering if the chicks were safe without her parents keeping them warm, I noticed the chicks were playful, poking each other with their beaks.  The mother bird kept flying over our patio, and walking on the ground to find her babies.  Feeling awful for what we did, I returned the planter back on the wall.  A few minutes later, I saw the mother bird back in the nest with her chicks.  Feeling much better for the moment, tomorrow is another day, when I will have to move the planter again.  I hope the mother will forgive us.

MAMA BIRD SITTING OVER HER BABY CHICKS

CHOOSING A PRESIDENT

Hello folks

It has been awhile since my last post.  I guess I had writer's block for awhile.  I really shouldn't because there are so many disturbing things going on around us. 

First we are concerned with the elections trying to figure out who the best man for the Presidency is, or which party will help our country better. Our opinions vary from which media we gravitate to.  It is always best to listen to both sides.  I have noticed, however when speaking to some Democrats, they get very annoyed if we oppose their views, and offer our own.  Their minds have been made up since Obama came into office.  They have no doubt on Mr Obama's citizenship, nationality or the laws of our constitution.  Yet most are very intelligent people who are avid readers of fiction and non fiction novels.  When Mr. Obama speaks, his words go through our hearts.  He appears  very down to earth and the people love him for his carisma and his speeches.

On the other hand, he makes some of us very nervous, dubious,and  suspicious.  Most of us know that according to demographics, the Moslems will be dominate in our country and the world soon.  Some of us think it wont happen in our life time.  But it will happen in our children and grandchildren's

It started in England, and France whereby those countries are having a hard time controlling their own land.  I believe Obama is starting the first stage in changing our country

The problem with our politicians is perhaps the money and power they possess gave them the right to promiscuity. This is nothing new as we all know this went back centuries.  Thus, we cannot find a flawless candidate to run our country. Does that mean we have to manufacture one by home schooling him/her, perhaps find him born in another country where no one knows too much about his background. And when we do find that his background it is not like ours, we forgive it because his actions in the past were flawless thus far.

Gingrich said it best in one of his debates.  He said, "if you are going to look at every negative thing about a particular candidate, you wont find a good talented and experience man to run our country"  We have had many good presidents who were more promiscuious than a couple of candidates that were running.  Their actions did not hurt our country.

If we needed a heart surgeon, wouldn't we want to go to the the most experienced?  Or the one who has  good  bed side manner?  If we needed a lawyer, wouldn't we want the best? The speeches we hearsd from Obama and other candidates were written by speech writers.  They all tell us what we want to hear.  I would rather go with the candidate that proved himself

Our country is very delicate right now.  We need a talented, experienced politician who has been around in government for years, who admits the mistakes they and their other parties have made, learn from them and go on to make our country great again.

WINTER SALE

PET SWEATERS

$35.00

CHILDREN AND ADULT HATS

$30.00

BLACK/WHITE $30.00

$30.00 CUSTOM COLORS

PONCHO $40  CUSTOM COLORS

$25.00

sweater set $60

STEVE JOBS WHAT I LEARNED FROM HIM

Everyone has a story.  Some are more interesting while others more tragic. In my past blogs I mentioned how eulogies are very interesting as it tells us more about the person who just left us.

For many years I followed Steve Jobs from the beginning when Apple was in battle with Bill Gates at Microsoft.  I traded both stocks on and off for years, kicking myself for not putting them away and forgetting about them.  Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda has been my sorrows for years.

Since Steve Job passed away, I have been researching more about him especially after viewing his commencement speech at Stamford University.  If you have not seen it, I recommend it to every student and adult.  He inspired me as well as many other people,  bringing tears to my eyes. 



Learning about how his biological mother, Joanne Schieble, an unwed graduate student,  reluctantly gave her son up for adoption  in 1955 interested me.  The reason for her concern was that she wanted her son to be adopted by parents who were educated and would promise to send their son to college.  The adoptive parents,  Paul and Clara Jobs did  agree however Steve did not see the sense to it years later.  His biological father was Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian man with whom Steve never reconciled

John, his father left Syria at 18 to study at the American University in Beirut, where he was a pan-Arab activist, a "supporter of Arab unity and Arab independence" who organized with some of the most famous activists of his time. After university, he moved to the United States, and the rest is history, though he regreted leaving his homeland. He eventually married Joanne after Steve was adopted 10 months later and had Mona.  However he  left his wife and daughter at age 4 returning back to Syria.  Mona never forgave her father and had nothing to do with him.

Was it because he was a self absorbed, arrogant man who left his young daughter leaving her and her mother for ten years to return to Syria because he believed the culture was better than our country? It appears I have seen nothing published to answer my query. It was a mystery at 27 years old how Steve found his sister, Mona Simpson who later became a famous novelist.  Both brother and sister had nothing to do with their father. Mona took her last name from her mother's second husband

Through her, he found his biological mother who now is in a nursing home suffering from advanced dementia.  She is 79 years old and is unaware that Steve died. Below is a picture of Steve Jobs father, Abdulfattah John Jandali, with his mother Joanne Simpson who later remarried.
 
The reason I feel this is so tragic is he finally found his mother and doubt she was aware of her son's greatness and achievements. I read he took her to several events. But it is unknown the level of her health at that time
 
The happy part is finding a devoted sister catching up with all the years missed and having a loving relationship till the end.
 
Further, it is wonderful to accept his out of wedlock daughter, having a wonderful relationship with  her after so many years not accepting her.  Knowing how bad that was for him as an adopted child wondering who/where your biological parents are, surprises me that he took so long to get it right.
 
Nothing was mentioned how Steve Jobs adoptive parents passed away?
 
It is such a shame with all Steve Jobs money, he could not save his mother nor his life.
 
Your comments?

Biological parents Abdulfattah John Jandali and Joanne Simpson in the nursing home

"THE HELP" MY STORY

‘The Help’ a movie and best selling book, tells a story about black maids during the 60's in Mississippi. It brought back memories of my own childhood born and raised in Brooklyn New York, not down south.

Both my parents worked in a middle class neighborhood. It was a time in 40’s when people were moving away to the suburbs, men and women  were returning home from the war, while others were migrating to America from Europe for a better life.

Hardworking, my parents had little time to give me the attention I craved, although I was loved very much. They hired maids at different times to clean, cook and take care of me. As a young child about less than seven years old, I resented their presence around me. Their skin was different than mine and I was taught not to touch them because they were dirty, and carried diseases. It was as though they were an alien race.

So, if they were unclean, why would my parents allow them to take care of me? Why would they allow them to touch our food, wash our dishes, and give me baths? All these questions bothered me till this day. It just seemed stupid, ignorant and hypocritical.

Looking poor with raggedy clothes, I remember the cleaning women carrying shopping bags and wearing kerchiefs over their hair. They were poor indeed. Most were uneducated and could not obtain decent jobs.

Watching the movie “The Help” I could not get over how a white family built a separate bathroom for their help because they feared catching diseases from them. Yet they were not diseased enough to touch and clean their own white children and household. Those prejudices never made any sense to me. Although I get unsatisfying answers such as “it was just a way of life back then”

When I grew up and had my own children, I too had a business that took me away from my home and children most of the day. I had little choice but to hire help, a young black girl from Alabama. She must have been around sixteen years old, although the agency said she was much older. Mona had a strong southern accent and was very eager to learn how tend chores. She had her own room on the same floor as ours. We insisted she ate with us and we made her feel like part of our family.

Our boys were about three and five years old  when Mona came to live with us. My father was just recuperating from a recent heart attack and was staying with us.. Mona and our family were supposed to take care of him, watching his food intake to make sure salt was eliminated from his diet.

One day Mona asked me to take her to a beauty parlor that knew how to treat her hair. She had a scalp problem that needed attention. I was to pick her up later that day. While there, Mona was approached by black church going ladies. As they were befriending her, they asked her questions about where she was from, and what she was doing. When they heard she was a maid, they became outraged. It took many years for the black community to rise above slavery, rise above lower class, to become prosperous people in the community. In the 60’s, unlike the south, Mona was among those of her color, who were educated, owned homes and were helpful in the church going community. It was a very sensitive time for the black community They gathered around her and took her under their wing. They instigated her into leaving our household at once. When I picked Mona up from the beauty parlor she did not say much except to say the ladies were surprised a young girl her age was a maid. It was a way of life down south though.   I suggested she go to night school and that I would help her.

The following day, I had an appointment in the city leaving Mona in charge of the household and my father. I came home later that evening to find Mona gone. My father was ill and had not eaten. My young children were running around the neighborhood unattended. Mona was gone. I drove through the neighborhood to find her and went to her beauty parlor but she was not there.

Days went by as I was trying to find another sleep in maid. It was difficult to run my business without help and I could not abandon my father and my children. My husband was an officer of a public company at that time and kept long hours at the office.

After one month, I received a call from Mona, asking to come back. I refused, telling her she left her responsibilities without notice and it was not acceptable. I refused to forgive her.

A week later I got a call from her lady friends asking me to forgive her. I refused. Then they came over to my house, nicely dressed in their church clothes. I could not give her another chance. A week later, her Reverend called to ask me to forgive her. I apologized to the Reverend and stood my ground. There was no forgiveness leaving a sick elderly man with two small children unattended all day. Besides, Mona was too young to be a maid and agreed the ladies were right,  Mona needed to go back to school

It seemed that those very nice ladies were right in their thinking. They really wanted to help this young lady. However they did not teach her about responsibility and giving notice to leave employment. They did not teach her that it was wrong to just walk out leaving young children unattended.

They were stuck with her. She was uneducated, they had to feed her, cloth her and provide for her and pay for her medical needs . She became a liability to them. However, they refused to send her out to be a maid again.

Still thinking of her at times, I feel assured  Mona had a tremendous support system in her new community at that time, and decided to go back to school.    I sincerely hope  she  completed her education, acquired a good job and has a nice life with a loving husband and a family of her own.

Email:  Iris@pushthewheel.com
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