I wasn’t there. I was supervising the little ones at Children’s Liturgy. But Alex, my thoughtful, empathetic Alex, was riveted to the missionary’s story of life in Haiti, of poverty so intense that children eat “cookies” made of clay. When church was over, we drove home to a building that would house dozens of people…
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Are We Still the Good Guys?
“Mommy, guess what? Did you know this bracelet was MADE IN CHINA?” I turned around and saw Alex in the back seat of the van, holding up the rubber wristband that serves as admission ticket to Annheuser Busch’s Clydesdale breeding farm, which we had just left. “I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised,” I told…
Read MoreNational Debt: Whose Problem? Whose Solution?
Image via Wikipedia My family loves to discuss political issues with great heat and force. For the most part, I stay out of these discussions, because I know how much I don’t know. I am not an expert in foreign policy, economics, government or anything else, so it seems presumptuous to pontificate as if I’m…
Read MoreGood Deals, Great Deals
There are some things I will never understand. Oprah’s magazine, for instance. This month, it’s called “THE BIG DEAL ISSUE!” And the cover brags, “Everything Oprah’s wearing is under $100!” Now, I don’t know about you, but just because an item of clothing costs less than $100 does not put it in my definition of…
Read MoreA Harvest Harangue
My dad has had kidney stones for…a while. I’m not sure how long. Being Dad, he didn’t complain about it to us. He got up, he went to the field, he ran the combine, he fixed the combine, he unloaded grain, he fixed the grain auger, from sunup till after dark, trying to get the…
Read MoreSurviving in a post economic meltdown world
It’s been interesting this week to see how many people have read my post on the economy and personal finance. My friends have come to my defense, both on and off the blog, and even asked me to elaborate. So I decided that I would post, in the “for what it’s worth” category, some of…
Read MoreStimulating the Economy
After four months, eight stores, three babysitters and four grandparent interventions, the Basi family has triumphed! At length and at last, we finally managed to buy a couch! http://www.englandfurniture.com/ourfurniture/product.aspx?pid=42 As a matter of fact, we also bought a glider rocker and ottomon, over which I have been salivating since the day I fell asleep nursing…
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Kathleen M. Basi 