I had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. Even though social distancing guidelines prevented hugs or kisses, it was still great to have company both Saturday and Sunday. And the whole weekend was a celebration of flowers.
This arrangement with the bright yellow flowers came from my son and his family in Austin. The lily in the center has now bloomed, and looks like the lilies in my front flower beds.
On Saturday, I received this stunning arrangement from my daughter in North Carolina.
My Saturday company was one of my other daughters and her husband. They didn’t bring flowers, but did bring a scrumptious meal of steak and sides and apple pie. They also brought a jigsaw puzzle.
On Sunday my other two sons came bearing gifts of chocolate, steak and lobster and cherry pie. My daughter-in-law wasn’t able to come – she manages a restaurant that is struggling to stay afloat – but she sent these pretty flowers. I saw her last weekend and we’d talked about how much we both love peonies.
It was indeed a wonderful weekend and my kitchen is filled with the sweetest of perfumes.
Now, I want to take a few moments to answer a few of the poll questions I keep getting in email messages. I’d answer via the link I’m sent for submitting my answers, but they almost always end with a donate button. Do my answers count if I don’t donate? Who is actually doing polls that matter beyond trying to get more money for whatever cause or political party is sponsoring the poll?
I’d love to be part of a legitimate poll that is actually going to affect public policy.
While I wait for that to happen, here are some answers to questions I’ve received via e-mail.
Number one: Yes, I do support voting by mail.
Number two: Well, actually two and three and four and maybe five. Yes, I’d support any of the possible Democratic VP selections.
Number six: (see above) Yes, I believe global warming and climate change are the most pressing issues we face.
Number seven: No, I don’t believe the COVID19 pandemic was caused by global warming, nor was it released on an unsuspecting world by China.
Number eight: No, I don’t think the White House has acted responsibly or effectively in the face of the corona virus.
On The Daily Podcast this morning a reporter from the New York Times based in Atlanta talked about the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, which is in itself a travesty of justice, but what happened when Richard Fausset arrived in Brunswick GA to begin researching the story is very telling. Fausset drove to the neighborhood where Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, live. When the reporter stopped his car and parked, a woman came out of a neighboring house and demanded to know what he was doing there. She told him that she’d called the police and that she was armed.
After another neighbor came out making similar demands in a threatening manner, Fausset left, being reminded once again that being black in certain neighborhoods is not safe.
The awful truth -it’s not safe to be black in certain neighborhoods.
When will it ever end?
A recent news report came out about a Florida For-Profit College that is being sued by lawyers from Harvard’s Project on Predatory Student Lending and two private law firms. The suit alleges that the college targeted African-American students with deceptive advertising and high-pressure sales pitches, that left those students with overwhelming student loan debt.
Florida Career College (FCC) has10 campuses spread across Florida, with an eleventh in Houston, Texas. The school offers programs in business, health care, IT, cosmetology, and HVAC repair.
Despite the pending lawsuit, the college is slated to receive more than $17 million in emergency federal aid under the new COVID-19 relief bill.
In the 2017-2018 school year, FCC received $75.3 million in student aid from the U.S. Department of Education, accounting for 87 percent of its total revenue. It also received money from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to enroll student veterans.
I will be sorely disappointed if the college receives that emergency federal aid. The school has not shut down, like other schools that are struggling. It’s still operating, and it has surely received enough federal student aid to meet its budget for this year.
That’s my rant for today folks. If you’d like to comment on the stories, and/or share how your Mother’s Day was, please do.
I’m off to smell my beautiful flowers. I hope your week has started off well. Whatever you are doing, be safe. Be well. Be happy.
What beautiful flowers and what thoughtful kids! I went on a rare outing to an outside greenhouse with my future daughter-in-law. We doned our facemasks and gloves, the ventured out. We purchased a wide array of plants that will be planted around the yard when it’s warmer.
I’m so glad you got out to get some plants. It is always good to mess around in the dirt. 🙂 I ventured out yesterday and got a few more flowers to plant outside. I don’t have a vegtable garden. Just one tomato plant and a pepper plant, both in very large pots.