Honestly I had not heard this phrase until I was talking to my brother the other day. I am thinking seriously about doing a half marathon with my friend J. She is a big runner, I am a novice. (I was doing the happy dance on Saturday because I completed a 5K without stopping in 32.15 minutes. Yeah me! I cut 4 minutes off my normal time.)
I was telling my bro my thoughts and my fears about the 1/2 marathon and he said, well I think you need to be able to run 7 to 9 miles and the last 3 you just need to be able to "gut out." MMMM. I was still not convinced. He chuckles and says, "yeah well, I think you can do it. You had two kids the old fashion way. That had to include a fair amount of gutting it out- Suz." (He calls me that when he wants to make a point or seriously annoy me.)
MMMMM. Well maybe. It was hard work, birthing babies, but is that the same as running 13 miles. That is like 3 hours of non-stop running. Granted both of my labors were about 6 hours, so I guess running for 3 might not be so bad.
So I had really brushed off his entire gutting out theory until tonight. L, E, & I took a walk. E rides in style and L rode her bike with training wheels. She has had some major angst about the hills. She is new to the entire biking thing. Actually she mastered the concept while we were in Germany.
So last time we did the bike walk deal, I had to hold onto her bike and try to push the stroller. (Yeah that is alot of fun.) There was alot of crying and fussing involved and me telling her repeatedly to "Trust her brakes" & me screaming "NO DO NOT DRAG YOUR FEET!"
But tonight, she took off like she was going to win the Tour de France. I mean she was peddling up the inclines and coasting into the declines. She was riding like a pro. She even fell once, into the grass, thank goodness. I was so proud of her. I asked why tonight she felt so brave. She looked at me and in all seriousness said to me, " Well, if you do not try, you will never know if you can do it or not."
WOW. My 4 year old is gutting it out. That makes me think I should give it a serious try too!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
It's Capitalism...
Once again the newspaper has inspired this post. Today at lunch, I was flipping thru the stack of newspaper, which H had brought home and I found a copy of the US version of the Financial Times (27 April 2007.) I used to read this at work. You will know it instantly at your local newsstand, it is the pinkish orange newspaper.
Right on the front page, I was drawn to the story about the Afghan efforts to stop the cultivation of poppies for opium. The article is written by Rachel Morarjee in Kandahar. The quick summary is that the Afghan and US/UN efforts to stop the cultivation of poppies and thereby the heroin drug trade is not working. Last year it is estimated that 90% of the heroin on the market is of Afghan origin. This year it is estimated that they have reduced the acreage under cultivation by less than 1%.
Most people believe that the eradication of the poppies is key to stopping the drug trade. MMM, I am not so sure about that. I think we need to look at the market dynamics here.
Afghanistan is a very poor country with minimal stability. The government is new, the Taliban is not completely out of power. By that I mean that they still are holding a fair amount of power in certain parts of the country. The country is lacking infrastructure and the economy is just getting going after years and years of occupation, dictatorship and unrest. Civil War, even??? I think it is also safe to say that most people live in some form of poverty; certainly the difference between the "haves" and the "have nots" is great.
That said, it is crazy to think that local farmers, who have a very lucrative cash crop are going to stop growing it just because the West and the Kabul government say they should stop growing it. Is there anything else that grows that well, which can replace their lost income? Furthermore, in a land with a 25 year history of extreme political instability, a farmer, in my opinion would be nuts to give up his livelihood, just because the government in it infancy wants to please its western allies.
Now, before everyone emails me and tells me what a terrible person I am, lets think this thru as capitalists. Supply and Demand. It is really a basic building block of capitalism. I have something, which others want. If they really want it, I can charge more for it. So if there were no demand for heroin, the farmers would not grow Poppies. Seriously, manufactures do not make something there is no demand for, for very long. Think BETA cassettes, 8-tracks, parachute pants, or glass soda bottles. No demand, therefore no longer being manufactured. It is really that simple.
Running around Afghanistan, asking farmers to give up a crop which feeds their families and improves their lot in life is like bailing out the sinking ship with a teaspoon. Ineffective and frankly stupid. Further complicating the situation, let's ask underpaid and under trained police forces to do it. Sure that is going to work.
I think the West wants to approach it this way, because we have not been able to stop the demand. There are people in the west willing to buy smack. It is harder to stop the movement of the heroin, once it is harvested. The networks are harder to penetrate - identify. A field of poppie plants is easy to spot. I agree that it would be helpful to stop the growth of the poppies, but I think it is valuable to look at the big picture.
We can look at it another way. I have always found it strange that when there is a bust for prostitution, the prostitutes tend to be the ones going to jail. (Yes, I know that is changing, but work with me here.) It is supply and demand. Again, in the capitalist model, supply and demand reign. Woman(or men) would not be selling sex, if no one was buying. Stop the demand, ie arrest the Johns, then you stop the cycle. The problem is, in my opinion, it is harder to stop the demand. It involves changing peoples' thinking, their wants, needs and desires.
There is no easy answer here, but I think we need to realize that asking poor people to give up their income stream - with no sound replacement - is not going to work. In anyones lifetime. I would further argue that it is unfair to ask. We have to put something else on the table, of equal or greater value. Then I think it is fair to say that the poppie field would be a thing of the past!
Right on the front page, I was drawn to the story about the Afghan efforts to stop the cultivation of poppies for opium. The article is written by Rachel Morarjee in Kandahar. The quick summary is that the Afghan and US/UN efforts to stop the cultivation of poppies and thereby the heroin drug trade is not working. Last year it is estimated that 90% of the heroin on the market is of Afghan origin. This year it is estimated that they have reduced the acreage under cultivation by less than 1%.
Most people believe that the eradication of the poppies is key to stopping the drug trade. MMM, I am not so sure about that. I think we need to look at the market dynamics here.
Afghanistan is a very poor country with minimal stability. The government is new, the Taliban is not completely out of power. By that I mean that they still are holding a fair amount of power in certain parts of the country. The country is lacking infrastructure and the economy is just getting going after years and years of occupation, dictatorship and unrest. Civil War, even??? I think it is also safe to say that most people live in some form of poverty; certainly the difference between the "haves" and the "have nots" is great.
That said, it is crazy to think that local farmers, who have a very lucrative cash crop are going to stop growing it just because the West and the Kabul government say they should stop growing it. Is there anything else that grows that well, which can replace their lost income? Furthermore, in a land with a 25 year history of extreme political instability, a farmer, in my opinion would be nuts to give up his livelihood, just because the government in it infancy wants to please its western allies.
Now, before everyone emails me and tells me what a terrible person I am, lets think this thru as capitalists. Supply and Demand. It is really a basic building block of capitalism. I have something, which others want. If they really want it, I can charge more for it. So if there were no demand for heroin, the farmers would not grow Poppies. Seriously, manufactures do not make something there is no demand for, for very long. Think BETA cassettes, 8-tracks, parachute pants, or glass soda bottles. No demand, therefore no longer being manufactured. It is really that simple.
Running around Afghanistan, asking farmers to give up a crop which feeds their families and improves their lot in life is like bailing out the sinking ship with a teaspoon. Ineffective and frankly stupid. Further complicating the situation, let's ask underpaid and under trained police forces to do it. Sure that is going to work.
I think the West wants to approach it this way, because we have not been able to stop the demand. There are people in the west willing to buy smack. It is harder to stop the movement of the heroin, once it is harvested. The networks are harder to penetrate - identify. A field of poppie plants is easy to spot. I agree that it would be helpful to stop the growth of the poppies, but I think it is valuable to look at the big picture.
We can look at it another way. I have always found it strange that when there is a bust for prostitution, the prostitutes tend to be the ones going to jail. (Yes, I know that is changing, but work with me here.) It is supply and demand. Again, in the capitalist model, supply and demand reign. Woman(or men) would not be selling sex, if no one was buying. Stop the demand, ie arrest the Johns, then you stop the cycle. The problem is, in my opinion, it is harder to stop the demand. It involves changing peoples' thinking, their wants, needs and desires.
There is no easy answer here, but I think we need to realize that asking poor people to give up their income stream - with no sound replacement - is not going to work. In anyones lifetime. I would further argue that it is unfair to ask. We have to put something else on the table, of equal or greater value. Then I think it is fair to say that the poppie field would be a thing of the past!
Pizza could kill me...
Well not really but S thinks I should have a T-shirt made that states just that. Pizza could in fact send me running to the bathroom for an extended period of time or make me feel like I wish I were dead. (which frankly I did not know how bad I felt - until 5 months ago and now I know I did in fact feel ultra crappy - compared to now - where I feel like I could take on the world!) It could also give me a rash.....
No this post is some free marketing for my new favorite treat! Trust me there is not alot to pick from when one is maintaining a dairy-free, wheat-free, rye-free, and corn free diet.
But boy have I found something that is as satisfying as say a big slice of cake or pie.
Vosges - Haut-Chocolat - Exotic Candy bars. Yummy! They come in all sorts of flavor combinations. The chocolate is rich and smooth and the dark ones are not bitter. I have personally fallen in love with the Red Fire Bar and Creole. I have only tried the dark varieties as they tend to be dairy free.
Now I must say that they are not cheap - so do not get all hot and bothered when you look for them at your local market - but seriously - they are worth the investment. I mean a little bit goes a long way!
No this post is some free marketing for my new favorite treat! Trust me there is not alot to pick from when one is maintaining a dairy-free, wheat-free, rye-free, and corn free diet.
But boy have I found something that is as satisfying as say a big slice of cake or pie.
Vosges - Haut-Chocolat - Exotic Candy bars. Yummy! They come in all sorts of flavor combinations. The chocolate is rich and smooth and the dark ones are not bitter. I have personally fallen in love with the Red Fire Bar and Creole. I have only tried the dark varieties as they tend to be dairy free.
Now I must say that they are not cheap - so do not get all hot and bothered when you look for them at your local market - but seriously - they are worth the investment. I mean a little bit goes a long way!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
THURSDAY 13
Questions that I really ponder and yet have no answers for!
1. Why is that some people never use their turn signal? Clearly it was put on the car for a purpose.
2. Why do L & E, inevitable wake up really early on days that we have absolutely nowhere to be and yet on days that we have very tight schedule they sleep in?
3. L asks me this constantly : Why do Birch trees lose their bark? I have no idea.
4. Why is it that we let our vision become so focused that we miss the forest for the trees?
5. Why do we teach our children through our thoughts and deeds that hate is ok? I am so not ok with this.
6. Why is it that as taxpayers, we are so slow to flex our collective muscle. If we would just speak up, act up - I believe we could change things. So why don't we?
7. What am I going to do when I grow up?
8.Why is that the pair of pants I covet, or dress, or shirt is never on the rack in my size?
9. Why is it that no matter how hard I try I am still unable to to get "Click and Ship" with the USPS to work and work right? For that matter I cannot get it to work via Paypal either.
10. Why are we fighting a war in a country that does not want us there, where 100s of GI are dying monthly and untold numbers of Iraqis are also dying, when New Orleans is still a mess and every night children in this country go to bed hungry?
11. How can I find more time to get more done each day?
12. Why is it we can orbit the earth but we have not yet found a way to break our dependency on fossil fuels?
13. Where do the lonely socks come from? I have a box of single socks, they went into the wash as a pair, so how is that they become separated and where do they go???
If anyone has any answers to these, I am all ears!
Spring Flowers
So today I am spring cleaning and organizing. With all this on the road time, the house projects have piled up - BIG TIME!
I am also feeling very radiant and have a spring in my step. I love this time of year. Everything is green and blossoming! It cannot be beat.
They say a picture is worth 1000 words. Do you agree?
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