time. Time with the people - and pets - that I love.

But it just shoots through space, and through my finger tips, and I can't grasp and hold it no matter how hard I try.

I don't covet things; I have more than I need. I have a roof over my head. The heat is on full blast. My stomach is always full. And if it's not, I know where to get my next fix. Our water is clean and abundant. A down comforter keeps me warm. A TV keeps us entertained. There are credit cards to keep gasoline in the car and to cover co-pays at all our wonderful doctors' offices. I have friends who support me and a husband and son who love me. We still have Buggy, who is, quite frankly, happier now that Jeevsie is not taking up so much psychic space. She is old and sometimes I look at her and wonder what it will be like when she's gone, which I suspect will be predictable and manageable, unlike Jeeves.

Still, it all changes in a heart beat. My husband knows a man who was critically injured in a car jacking the other day. What exactly is that thread that separates whether we live or die? Is it possible to always tell those we hold dearest that we love them every single day? Every time we hang up or go out the door? 

My son will enjoy the heck out of opening presents. That's his job. I was the same way. The more the merrier when I was a kid. But how old and beaten up do you have to be to think that all I want is "one of the seven fundamental physical quantities" in our world?

One of the reasons I enjoy citing the Tao here is because I try to remember to simply "be." The passages help me. But how can I "be" when it keeps changing?  How do YOU grasp and hold time (what's your secret!) And what do YOU want for Christmas?

Know that having you all in my life, and on my blog, is part of what makes each day fulfilling for me. I appreciate you all.

Merry and safe everything.  

On another note, I just read this article in the SF Chronicle about the University of California system and a new pricing policy at UC Berkeley, also known as Cal, the flagship of the 10 campuses. 

The phrase "the house always wins" came to my mind, but I'm not sure why. On the face of it, this sounds like a step in the right direction for the struggling middle class. But then again, bringing in more out of state students and limiting in state students really rankles me. I say that as the mother of a high school junior who is at this very moment sitting for an AP Bio exam.

The comments raise the 1% - 99% divide issue, which I am sure is a sensitive topic for all public and private colleges and universities. I am only now beginning to wrap my mind around what is right and wrong with higher education financing and costs. I'm wide open to other opinions. What is your collective experience with higher education, if any? 

The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.   Tao #5

I just returned from my local CVS Pharmacy where I needed to pick up an Rx for my son. The doors were boarded up with wood - not to keep patrons out, but because others let themselves in - at 3 am.

The store manager was there mopping up after the early morning break in. He looked exhausted and his Monday was off to a pretty shitty start.

"They" took things, meaning drug store items (all the ibuprofen you can eat!) and holiday decorations. Of course they fled before the police could arrive. 

My first thought, after knowing no store employees were hurt, was how overwhelming it must feel to experience such need. But need for what? Aspirin? Nutcrackers for their kids because they couldn't afford nice presents? Or because the resale value on the street is high for wooden soldiers? I don't mean to sound facetious. But I think of the phrase:  "helpless people have a way of controlling everyone around them." So, the perps break in and so many others have to account for and clean up their mess.

But need is real. And ever so evident right now. Oakland Local is once again live blogging the Port of Oakland work stoppage this morning. I am torn in my feelings about this. The soundbites from the truckers who will loose pay because they can't work bother me. A lot. My husband and I go round and round on the merits of some of these actions. Does a movement and its voices have to be coherent right out of the gate in order to garner momentum? Evidently not. But how about respect or growing cohesion? 

It's grey and cold here in the Bay Area today. There is need everywhere and its never felt more acutely than during this three month trifecta of too much food, thanks and gifts.

But my thoughts keep turning to the nice manager of our local CVS. The look on his face and the exhaustion in his eyes. I need to mull this over. What are your thoughts on this? 

Not sure how to embed these videos. But here are two links that you might enjoy. This FIRST one is to a secret planning meeting for the Clinton Foundation. This SECOND link takes you to one of my favorite interview formats online. Take a few moments to watch them...any of 'em, all of 'em. I love it when very rich and oh-so-famous share their talent with us for free. And since it's Friday, it's time to lighten the mood here. Besides, the Raiders are playing the Packers on their turf this weekend. And I fear it's not going to be pretty. Have a great weekend!

My travels took me to a very wealthy, shall we say, white, suburb of San Francisco the other day. It’s a beautiful, bucolic town. Not my cup of tea. But nobody really asked.  It costs a lot of money to live in a community like this. Most people are very nice, law abiding, and well meaning. And blonde.

Before heading home, I stopped at the Post Office to mail some things. This is what greeted me:

I had heard of Lyndon Larouche, but had never bothered to research his paranoia, excuse me, positions. But whatever they were, I couldn’t imagine they merited an Adolf-style mustache on the President of the United States.

“Why have you made the president look like Hitler?” I calmly asked one of the two women at the tables.

“President Obama is ruining the world economy,” one answered.

“But what is it necessary to put that mustache on him?” I asked again.

“Because he is just like Adolf Hitler,” she replied without blinking.

“Adolf Hitler targeted, isolated, and murdered millions of Jews,” I said, ramping it up a bit.

“And how many people will die because of President Obama?” the woman said.    

I would like to tell you that I shot back with something intelligent and worthy of Mr. Obama. But I didn’t. The vacancy in this woman’s eyes was not a challenge. The mental illness that invites people to provoke others is a no-win situation. I couldn’t engage with her crazy.

The irony of this, of course, is all the information that has been written about Larouche’s cause and it’s connections to right wing/white supremacy/ Hitler sympathizing organizations and teachings.

Listen, I know as much as the next person that these ladies have a constitutional right to paste a clearly unique mustache that telegraphs only one thing on a photo of the president of our country. 

But is it necessary? Really? And must they assault people outside of federal property with such a disrespectful and disgraceful image? Really?

And why is it that Occupy protestors all around the country have been hammered by police , when these women are allowed to display this garbage in peace and tranquility?

The Glass Steagal - Hitler connection is a stretch for me. Call me dense, but it’s a stretch. These people are disgusting. Is there no respect left anywhere for anyone?

Say what you will about George Bush - and believe me, I never had one good word to say about him - I never dreamed of drawing an Adolph Hitler mustache on his face.

Nor would I ever do such a thing on Newt, Mitt, Michele, or even Sarah, all of whom I loathe.

This is the nutjobery that our president faces every day...at the same time that politicians in Poland are saying that what they fear the most from Germany right now is that Merkel won't act fast enough to staunch the bleeding in the EEU which, might I add, will flow across the pond to our shores if the debt crisis there is not dealt with. 

Hope that Larouchey thing works out for these two women. Just sayin.’