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I thought that it was interesting and significent when I read in a reputable newspaper, that not only do we have red and blue states for political designation, but that these red states tend to have more gun owners. YIKES. All the more reason to get out and register more voters in the blue states.

I have never know a Jew who was a gun owner before it became politically correct to "pack" . To me, Jews have been at the wrong end of a gun too many times in history. We haven't been the hunters, but the hunted. I thought that was the reason why we didn't want to be associated with guns. We are not hunters.

I know that when I am in Israel, every person , at some time, is carrying an assult weapon, and in public. I think nothing of seeing an eighteen year old there, walking in the shuk with a rifle slung over their shoulder. But these are military and that is what they do. In Israel ,they live with the threat of being hunted and they protect their turf with weapons.

An assult weapon, here in the United States, is a bad thing. It doesn't speak to our protection. To me , any gun speaks of cowardness and a mind set that is warped. I am not a political person , If you ask me why I vote a certain way, I may even be one of those women who say," I"ll have to ask my husband."  But it is never too late to have stong feelings about owning assult weapons and to own up to your First Ammendment and strongly tell your elected officials , ban assult weapons or I will not re elect you.

Wait a minute, no one told me that the end of the world would be on December 21. Where have I been that I missed this. I'm sorry, but I have too much to do and this isn't a good time for me to have the world end. I am furious about this. There are things I haven't done yet. I have some plans for next week, so can we just postpone this event until it is more convenient for me.

The world isn't in such great shape, but the alternative doesn't sound so good . I'd rather take my chances, help make a few changes in the way things are going and move on from there.

My grandson is getting married in June and I definitely do not want to miss that. It's never too late to take a stand and my stand is that this is not a good time to do anything as serious as end the world.Let's just rethink this and give me the mailing address of who ever came up with this date. We have to talk.

I was reading an article in a magizine ,in a doctors office, and a line caught my eye. It was "you have to be some body so you just as soon be you". It was a quote from a country musician and this sounds like a good line for a song. But it makes so much sense.

I haven't listened to country music is awhile, but I used too and I liked it. It told of real life. Love, falling out of love, misdirected love, cheating, jail, drunkedness ,d-i-v-o-r-c-e. Patsy Cline is a favorite. I love her "Walking". And I remember a popular song sung by Garth Brooks. I liked him, too .

We were in a restuarant in Estes Park, Colorado and a church group of kids came in. I don't know how it started but they began to sing his "Achy,breaky heart". It was a special moment. A little poignant, a little naive. The kids just seemed so innocent. I hope their hearts don't break too many times.

So if you are going to be you, make it a good you. It's never too late to get up and sing that song,if that is what the you in you wants to do.

You know my fasination with the Nefesh B Nefesh group email site.Reading these emails make me feel as if I can just walk into a routine situation when I do get to Israel and handle it . Take Banking. That occupies as much space as do cell phone companies. I know that I will have a problem with cell phones. I do here, so why wouldn't I there? I accept that fact already. The remarks about problems with Israeli cell phone companies make the companies seem as if they don't play nice with others.

People are funny about money and banking is more personal and more of a concern. Check cashing and ATM's takes up a lot of email space. It seems that many of the people making Aliyah don't want to give up their US banks. They are willing to give up citizenship, but not their banks. I understand this. I feel the same way and I live in the States. I still bank in Chicago . In trying to analize this , I guess I still feel that the US is the most stable country in the world and everything that I own, passes through my bank-- direct deposits go in and dollars go out . My loyality to my bank is as strong as my loyality to my insurance company. If I change, something bad might happen. My insurance company can drop me, but I don't think my bank would. I guess that the sign that I have adjusted to my new country will be when I transfer all of my transactions to an Israeli Bank. It's never too late to make that committment and transfer all of my accounts to an Israeli bank.(I hear that Bank of America and Chase are in Israel)

Today, my violin teacher gave me the best Holiday gift. Sheet Classical music for the violin. I feel so grown up. It's like getting your first book that has chapters in it. Today, I am a violin player. I can put aside the music for beginners and get to some serious stuff. I make a lot of mistakes , but in keeping with my atittude of I'll try until I get it, or what my mentor tells me "Fake it until you can make it", I'll keep practicing and make fewer mistakes each time.

I have begun to play with a community orchestra. I sit in the front row, put the violin under my chin, pick up the bow, move the bow back and forth -- and don't touch the strings with the bow. That's not that easy. I hit a few notes, some of the ones I'm comfortable with. Not so many on the G string. I don't care for that string too much. It's sounds morose,too sad. I don't like the E sting so much either. It's too high, it sounds too sharp and thin,not pleasant to my ear. That leaves the D and A strings.I like them.They are right in the middle I'm a right in the middle kind of person. I think this says something to my personality. I'm not a boistrous person or a wall flower, just right in the middle type. I think my kind of person is less abrasive ,less threatening ,the kind that can blend with a group. I don't mind being a middle person. I then have someone on either end to run interference for me and let me get things done , my way. It's never too late to finally figure out what kind of person you are and hit the right notes,in life and in music.

I just found an internet site new to me. JewishTVNetwork. The first thing that I watched was a Chef make a few really good loooking dishes. Then I went to a section marked "spirituality". I picked up some useful suggestions. Here is one. Choose a trait of yours that you don't like in yourself. A trait that is holding you back from being who you know you are. I picked impatience. For a week, I should focus on how many times I become impatient. At the end of each day, I am to jot down in a note book the incident . I hope my notebook doesn't get filled up. I shouldn't be judgemental of myself. Just make a note of the trait. When I am aware of this trait, when it looms, I can circumvent it. It's repairing myself .I'll try it. I get impatient a lot about things that can't be changed. So if I can't change the circumstances, then , it would be better, if I change how I approach it. I've been told this before..Makes sense.

Then it was suggested that I do something nice for someone, but-and here is the but, they can't know that I did it. It's another side of tucun,of repairing who you know you are. I'll try this too.Doing something nice for someone will be an easier task for me than working on impatience. But,it's never too late to concentrate on being a better me and along the way,and one step at a time, help repair this world which could use a lot of repair right now.