My parents and I lived in England from September 1954 to July 1957.  Most of that time we lived in a trailer at the RCAF base in Langar, Nottinghamshire.  Nuff said.  Under our trailer home lived a hedgehog.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog

We never disturbed it but we admired it.

Upon the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, every school child in Canada received a live, evergreen tree.  My dad planted mine at the back of our back yard.  In 1954, we moved to England.  While we were away, the city installed alleyways in our neighborhood.  My tree, which had grown from about six inches to several feet, was dug up and thrown away.

When I was 10 years old, my father taught me to drive a VW Beetle.  Of course, given that the year was 1956, it was a stick shift.  I would have a pillow behind me so that I could reach the pedals.  This training would be on the (closed on Sundays) runway at Langar RCAF base in England.  After we moved back to Canada, I continued to drive on country roads.  We emigrated to the US (Santa Monica CA) when I was 14-1/2 years old.  Driving was not possible for two years until I got my learner's permit.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Twitter.  I love it as much as I hate Facebook.  I'm following around 70 people/organizations.  So far, I only have five followers, two of whom are friends. 

However, one follower is Al Franken!  I have no idea why but I love having him.

Later...

Blogspot

Santa Monica, CA, USA

Two decades ago, on Saturdays, I would go to the movies with my mother and occasionaly with my older dauthter, Stephanie.  In 2001, we walked down to the 3rd street promenade and, against my objection, saw Thelma and Louse.  When it ended, I felt like someone had punched me very hard.  I began to cry, uncontrolably.  Some time later, I realized that my life had been displayed in the movie.  Life just reacted to, not planned.

Circa 1957, age 11 or 12

My parents and I were living on Rockcliff RCAF base near Ottawa, ON. It was rare for a family with only one child to obtain base housing. Anyhow, I was in charge of mowing the lawn around the house and an empty area next to the house. In this empty area, I mowed a huge dollar sign. I have no idea why I did this. For some reason, both my parents were angry and to this day, I have no idea why. In my opinion, it was funny. Needless to say, I was sent back out to mow ALL the grass. Push mower, by the way.

New post for Lillian.

-Camille

It seems that freedom is spreading throughout the world, in the USA, the mid-east and hopefully everywhere. What the people in power are failing to see is that social media, internet, etc., are freeing people from monetary shackles.

Ignorance is NOT bliss. It is never bliss.

Haiti's declaration of independence:

http://news.duke.edu/haitideclaration/declarationstext.html

Today, 1/15/11, my daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Doug took me to the Bradbury building in Los Angeles. It has been featured in many films and I have wanted to go inside for decades. It was even more impressive and beautiful than I thought it would be. Surprisingley, because it was built in 1893, it has a very modern feel even by today's standards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bradbury_building

On September 11, 2001, my friend Rosaleen was attending a meeting in Washington DC. She, and all the others in the room, heard the jetliner hit the Pentagon.

When President Jimmy Carter forgave the Vietnam draft dodgers who fled to Canada, my then husband, Nick, agreed with the decision, immediately. Nick served honorably in the USMC, including 13 months in Vietnam, in 1968+. His reaction still amazes me. I don't think that I have that kind of forgiveness in me.

I am completely amazed that people are just discovering what a complete piece of shit is Mel Gibson. I've known this for decades. He takes misogyny to new heights.

In 1975, my daughter Stephanie (aged nine), received her wish for a baby sister, who we (Nick and I) named Jennifer. A couple of days later, Jen and I came home from the hospital. At this time, we had two pets, Tiger the cat and Princess the dog. Nick said that we needed to introduce Jen to Princess so that she (Jen) wouldn't threaten her position in the hierarchy of the house. When we came into the living room, Nick set Jen, in her carrier, onto the floor so that Princess could meet her. Princess snuffed and sniffed her for about 15 minutes. From that moment on, Princess apparently considered Jen to be her pup. She would follow her around all over our property. The mother instinct, when it exists, is very powerful.

I am a great believer in suicide when you have brought great shame upon yourself and/or your family and/or the outside world. Apparently Tony Hayward is a sociopath because I'll bet he hasn't even considered falling on his own sword.

Simply put, we were given, by nature, a lovely place to live and we've set it on fire. We have no place to which we can escape, but we still set the place on fire. What a lovely species are we.

Misha Mayr, age 9, of El Paso Texas wrote this poem some years ago.

I am the ill earth

People have cut down the trees, which are my lungs

They have polluted the air, which is my brain

They have polluted the streams, which are my blood vessels

They have polluted the oceans, which are the chambers of my heart

My wrath has gotten gigantic

My wrath is hurricanes and tornadoes

I am the ill earth

If people trash me, I will die, and so will they

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_epidemic

My maternal grandfather, Edward Sawers, died of influenza in 1918. He rose from his sick bed to tend to his pregnant wife, his daughter Emeline (age 2) and his son, Bruce (age 1), who were all extremely ill. After his death, his dog took a trip north, (a trip which my grandfather and he had taken several times), looking for my grandfather. The dog came home and died. This story is not imbelished. It is, simply, what happened.

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

George Washington