girlscout's Blog

     Oour last 2 days in Panama are in Panama City. Way too crazy here for me. It's like NYC with palm trees!  Take me back to the ocean or mountains!  Besides all the traffic, it's Carnaval weekend!  Street parties all over the place, fireworks, outdoor concerts and partying in the streets!  Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to visit Old Panama City, the Old Forts, or the Locks at the Panama Canal. Tours are very expensive here - over $100 a person for a day tour - and taxis are expensive too. We walked around a little and soaked up some local culture, but not for long because the heat and humidity was too much. We were only able to visit the National Metropolitan Park ( A rainforest only 10 minutes outside of the city). We were able to hike in the jungle while the skyline of downtown Panama City was in the distance. We were extremely suprised to find out that our own Cleveland Metroparks has an affiliation with this park in Panama, and the Cleveland Metroparks symbol is on their park signs and maps!  A pleasant surprise, as my husband and I are volunteers for the Cleveland Metroparks!

     Well, we must bid Panama a fond farewell and start packing!

     Yesterday was a beautiful day in El Valle. We hired a guide to take us hiking up in the mountains for 5 hours. We saw a beautiful waterfall - El Macho. 90 foot cascade over sharp rocks into the Anton river below.  Saw a mountain called "The Sleeping Indian". The top of the mountain looks like an Indian maiden laying on her back. Her hair streaming down the side is the trees and a cave by her abdomen is her navel! (You have to use a little imagination on this one!) Also hiked on a trail where there are square trees! (The tree trunks are square instead of round). Our guide was cool - he reminded me of a Panama hippie - his wife owned an Art store in town and we stopped and met her before we came back to the hotel. Also bought a carved sandstone bowl from her store. Our guide has led a very interesting life. His parents now live in Miami. He lived in Virginia Beach for a while and was in the U.S. Navy for 4 years. But he is a Panamanian by birth and has returned here to live.

     Today we hiked 3 miles into the nearest town. We went to some natural mineral hot springs where you can also get healing mud face masks. It really worked (the mineral springs), because my heel was very sore from all the hiking the day before. After the soak in the mineral springs, no more sore heel!  Had a nice lunch in town and bought a few souvenirs at the local market.

     Tomorrow we leave El Valle and head for Panama City. Of course, we have to see the Panama Canal and then another rainforest right outside of Panama City for our last 2 days. I don´t know if I will have internet access at the next hotel, so this may be my final Adios before we arrive back in the States!  All in all, a wonderful adventure!!!!!

     We met our friends in Atlanta, and from there we flew to Panama City together. Arrived late Thurs. night. Awoke early next morning for a very bumpy 1 hour plane ride in a prop plane to the islands of Bocas del Toro. After arriving at the main island, we made our way to the dock - then a very choppy boat ride for another hour to the island of Bastiementos. The whole island is a national park and our Eco-Lodge is called "Al Natural". Our thatched hut has only 3 sides with 1 side open to face the Caribbean. Our toilet is outside!  We can swim, hike or kayak here. The main dining hut serves us all our meals and they are made from local vegetables. No meat - just chicken and seafood, lots of rice and vegetables and many fresh fruits and cheeses for dessert. Lots of Chilean wine with dinner!  At night, we shine our flashlights in the water. Then turn them off and surprise! There are bio-luminescent planktons in the water and it looks like stars shining in the ocean - very cool!!!!! Oh yeah, more stars in the sky than I´ve ever seen in my life!

     Our huts are up on stilts and at night the waves lap under our hut. Our bed has mosquito netting, but we still manage to get chewed up, even with insect repellant on. Oh well, it´s worth it to spend time in paradise!

     Back on the boat to the main island, on another small plane back to Panam City. A driver picks us up and drives us 2 hours to El Valle, in the mountains of Northern Panama. Internet access here! And our hotel room has 4 walls and an indoor bathroom! There are mountains looming high behind us. Cooler here. Many beautiful birds, frogs, geckos. We ate breakfast this morning out on a patio with birds singing overhead. In a short while, a guide is picking us up to take us hiking to a waterfall and some petroglyphs in the mountains. More later!

     Okay, not everything!  So.......I got to thinking lately about a comment I made on one of Gorbash's blogs. "What happens in our Past, Shapes our Future". Then I got to thinking about a book that came out years ago titled, "Everything I Know, I Learned in Kindergarten".  As many Baby Boomers, I grew up in the 50's and 60's watching lots of TV. My family got our first TV when I was 5 years old. I started watching The Mickey Mouse Club and was memserized!  I have noticed in my life, that a lot of lessons I have learned have come from TV Shows. Here are some of the lessons I have learned. Please feel free to share yours. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but I know you will all refresh my memory!

     I LOVE LUCY - Never try to bake your own bread, or make your own wine.    Too much chocolate is not a good thing.  Always weigh 15 pounds LESS than your best friend. When all else fails - CRY!   (This is my all-time favorite show and I could probably list ten more lessons, but for the sake of brevity, I'll stop here!)

     THE LITTLE RASCALS - You can NEVER have too many friends. You can have lots of fun even if you don't have lots of money.

     THE 3 STOOGES - Never hire a cheap plumber.  Getting poked in the eye really hurts! Same goes for getting hit with a hammer. Far-fetched schemes always backfire.

     THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES -  Never forget your "roots" and where you came from.

     LEAVE IT TO BEAVER - Beware of the "Wally's" of the world.

     FATHER KNOWS BEST - Father may know best, but mom is ALWAY right!

     THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW - Single parenting works if you have support from friends and family.

     THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW - Variety is the Spice of Life!

     MUTUAL OF OMAHA'S "WILD KINGDOM" - Love and Respect the Natural World around us.

     BONANZA - Families should always stick together.

     WALT DISNEY - It's always nice to have some fantasy in our lives.

     GREEN ACRES - You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl.

     THE ADDAMS FAMILY - Life is much more interesting when you're different !

     LAUGH-IN - Life is more fun when we can laugh a lot!

     STAR TREK (The Original) - There is always hope that things will be better in the future.

     Now, I'm sure I've forgotten some, so refresh my memory!                     

     Some Thoughts for the New Year:

     Probably no other complaint is voiced more often than not having enough time.

     "I don't have time to pursue my dreams or to even know what my dreams are. I don't have time for me, for my family or friends. Basically, I don't have time to live my life."

     PASSION is the ultimate time management tool for 2 reasons. First, when you are doing what you love, who cares about time? When you are with someone special, or listening to a great piece of music, or painting, or volunteering, doesn't time fly by? Second, when you are doing what you love, if often gets done faster.

     The way we spend our time is the way we spend our lives. Can you slow down enough to get "in synch" with Life, Nature, and most importantly, Yourself? Tune in to your rhythm and natural pulse. Take off your watch and give yourself a day off from time. Eat only when you're hungry and sleep only when you're tired - so you can discover who you are, what you need and what works best for you.

     Make a date with yourself, every day if possible. Even if for only a half an hour, carving out time for yourself is a great act of generosity, to you, your family and your job. Your work can usually wait a half hour, but your spirit can't!

     Whether we like it or not, the clock keeps ticking - so live fully - every second of every day. Learn the true joy of doing less and having more as you experience each day as priceless. Fill your life with as many precious moments and experiences of joy as you humanly can.

     When you "catch yourself in the act" of doing something that doesn't serve you, you can choose to change it, thereby literally changing your life!

     "Rest is not Idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a Summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time!"            John Lubbock

     ""Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."    Elizabeth Lawrence

Following is a list of local "Fair Trade" companies for your Holiday shopping (or anytime shopping). These companies help local  and global groups (especially women), to support themselves. "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day - Teach him how to fish, and he eats for a lifetime", is a very appropriate statement and  a good reason to support these companies.

     ESPERANZA THREADS - 1160 Broadway - Bedford, Oh. 44146 - 440-786-9009 - Esperanza pays a living wage to Cleveland women. The  produce organic clothing for men, women and children.  www.esperanzathreads.com

     INTO - 2425 West River Rd. - Ste 239 Elyria, Oh, 44035 - 440-324-4323 - Illimuniating nations through Opportunity meets the immediate goals of Ecuadorian families living in poverty by marketing their handicrafts. INTO pays the artisans a fair price. www.intoworld.com.

     REVIVE - 2248 Lee Rd. - Cleveland Hts, Oh, 44118 - Ethically-made apparel, fair trade, union-made, men, women and kids. www.ReviveStore.com.

     TENTHOUSANDVILLAGES - 19321 Detroit Rd, Rocky River, 44116 and Trinity Commons, 2254 Euclid Ave, Cleve, Ohio 44115. Non-profit alternative trading organization providing vital, fair income to people in the Global south by selling their handicrafts. The stores offer fair-trade coffee, chocolate, gift items and more. Voted  best non-mall shopping in Cleveland. www.tenthousandvillages.com.

     HEARTBEATS - 20015 Detroit Rd., Rocky River, Oh, 44116 - 440-356-8601 - Heartbeats is dedicated to developing self-sufficiency for women and developing world artists. www.heartbeatscatalog.org.

     A GREATER GIFT - 800-422-5915 - www.agreatergift.org. Promotes the social and economic progress of people in developing regions of the world by purchasing and marketing their crafts in a just manner.

     Not only can you buy unusual and unique gifts at very reasonable prices,  but supporting these groups helps teach people in our country and other countries how to support themselves and their families. The more we do this, the less foreign aid  will come out of our pockets. It's a small start, but we have to start somewhere - and in return, we can all get some of our Christmas shopping done without fighting the crowds at the Mall!

     I have been getting depressed lately by a lot of comments on these blogs. No wonder the world can't work out it's problems, when we can't even agree on any subject  in this forum. I know this is simplifying the mammoth problem our world seems to have, but in the Spirit of the Holiday Season (no matter what you do or don't believe), I'm going to make one step towards World Peace and say something nice about EVERYONE. Ellak and I already started this on a blog written by Hybrid, so I thought I would just expand on it.

     Obviously I don't know any of you personally, but I will do my best.

     Ellak - A wonderful husband and father who defends his family like a Knight in Shining Armor.

     klh - A sweet, classy lady, who  is the "Peacemaker" of these blogs.

     gorbash81 - The most intelligent young man I have ever met, who is passionate in his beliefs, and has the tenacity of a bulldog when it comes  to defending what he believes is right.

     dprin - An open-minded conservative who is willing to listen to both sides.

     rickyw - A stand-up comedian who ALWAYS makes me laugh!

     hybridtalk - A man of strong religious conviction who's not afraid to defend his faith.

     busdriverman - Loves his country and  stands up for it, right or wrong.

     Pablo Kielbasa - Admits what he is and writes thought-provoking blogs.

     polarbear - A young citizen who is concerned about the current problems facing our country , the injustices in the world, and  has more knowledge than some people twice his age.

     quarryshark -  A great debater with a subtle sense of humor and a beautiful horse.

     theshadowknows -  A man of strong ideals who stands by his view of the world.

     Hittokiri - a unique person who marches to the beat of a different drummer . Doesn't follow the crowd.

     jclguru - Another comedian who uses sarcasm in the funniest way  by pointing out the absurdity of some blogs and comments.

     rmarkle - A woman who loves Winter, camping and the great outdoors. A Girl Scout after my own heart.

     redwolf - Lover of the Earth, in tune with nature and the natural world around us, Does not tolerate stupidity.

     erock - A common sense kind-of-guy, who weighs both sides of an issue before making an informed opinion. Has a great avatar (It's from my favorite Christmas movie).

     huntermorrison - A fun-loving gentleman who has a many-faceted personality and always surprises me with the unexpected comments he makes.

     CAKHomelodge - A true animal lover who would take in any creature in need, feed it, and love it with all her heart.

     schannel - She is honest, not afraid to speak her mind and puts together a great Halloween costume.

      Now - I am sorry if I left anyone out. Let  me know if I did and I will be glad to say something nice about you!  I only wrote about bloggers that I have interracted with on numerous occasions. If you only blog once in awhile, I felt that I did not know you enough to determine what is nice about you.

     This was really cathartic - you should all try it. Even though some bloggers and I are polar opposites on many issues, I like to think that there is some good in all of us!

     HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS - The most flexible type of stem cell is the embryonic stem cell. It comes from the cells found in the 5-6 day old embryo, called the blastocyst. Embryonic cells are  made from the left-over blastocysts that have developed from fertilized eggs produced by reproduction technologies such as in vitro fertilization. These left-over blastocysts are either donated to another couple or discarded. Once embyonic stem cells have been established in culture, large numbers of cells can be grown for a long time. The remarkable feature of these cells is that they can generate all types of adult cell types. They can be turned into brain cells, heart cells, blood vessels, skin, etc.

     ADULT STEM CELLS - Adult stem cells are cells that come from different parts of the body. They exist in several different tissues including bone marrow, blood and brain. Although a wealth of information has been collected, scientists till have much to learn.

     HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS - Blood forming stem cells are adult blood cells found mainly in the bone marrow. Hematopoietic blood cells are easy to obtain and have been studied for many years. They were the first stem cells to be used successfully in blood disorder therapies. More recently, their use in treatment of breast cancer and coronary artery diseases is also being explored.

     MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS -  These are another type jof adult stem cells. They are also found in the bone marrow. These cells can be grown in a Lab into fat cells, cartilage, bone, tendon and ligaments and even nerve cells. Unlike other adult stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells can be obtained in quantities appropriate for clinical applications. These cells can be taken from a patients bone marrow, expanded in culture, and given back to the patient.

     UBILICAL CORD BLOOD STEM CELLS -  Obtained from the umbilical cord immediately after birth. These cells are usually referred to as neo-natal and are less mature than stem cells found in adults. The advantage of umbilical cord cells is that it is easily obtained and abundant; thousands of babies are born every day, and until recently, umbilical cord blood was discarded after birth. Now these cells can be collected and stored. These cord cells  are a source for the treatment of leukemia and other blood disorders.

     SELF-RENEWAL AND STEM CELL EXPANSION FOR THERAPY - A stem cell is a cell that can renew itself indefinitely. To accomplish this task the stem has to divide continuously. One of the 2 cells retains the stem cell characteristics, while the other has a limited number of future divisions and will produce more organ-specific cells.

     This condensed information was taken from the "International Society for Stem Cell Research" website. Visit their website for more detailed information.

Actual Statements from Rush Limbaugh:

1. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we now know why there is this opposition to lower taxes in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. It's because low tax rates are biblical in nature." (Huh?!)

2. "It has not been proven that nicotine is addictive or that cigarettes cause emphysema."

3. "We closed down a whole town (Times Beach, Mo.) over the threat of dioxin. There was no reason to do that. Dioxin at those levels isn't harmful."

4. "Do you know we have more acreage of forest land in the U.S. today then we did at the time the Constitution was written." (Wrong! We have over 1 million LESS acres now then we did in the 1700's).

5. "There are more American Indians alive today then there were when Columbus arrived or at any time in history." (Wrong again! The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs says there are about  2 million American Indians today, as opposed to over 5 million before Columbus.)

6. "The larger the bra size - the smaller the I.Q.". Rush claimed this was from a study done at Tufts University. Tufts University denied any such study.

7. "Sexual Harassment in my work place will not be reported - it will be graded!"

8. "When it comes to the kinds of jobs that take absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to do - let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work."

9. "When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult - it;s an invitation."  (He should know - he was arrested once in Pittsburgh for soliticiting a gay man.)

10. "Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream".

     WHEN RUSH LIMBAUGH SAYS, "I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP FOLKS", IT'S TIME TO DUCK AND COVER!

     The list of fallacies here can go on and on. It was assembled from easily available sources, (including his own books).

     Limbaugh's chronic inaccuracy, and his lack of accountability, makes one wonder how he can be taken seriously by the media. He NEVER debates on his radio show or any other show. His media empire is based  largely on unchallenged monologues. Rush has a finely honed ability to twist and distort reality. Here's some reality he cannot deny - he avoided  fighting in the Vietnam War because of a boil (pimple) on his posterior. How fitting! Rush is a pimple on the a-- of America.

     In the past few months there have been a few blogs on Creationism vs. Evolution. I believe that one can be a Christian and still believe in Evolution.

     The universe has a mind-boggling complexity and diversity. Life overwhelms us with the appearance of  design. A design that evolved over millions of years to life as we know it today on Earth. A life that no other planet (that we know of) has. It is not unreasonable to say that this design had a "master designer" (God).  Accepting that an intelligent Creator designed the universe by evolution can lead us to investigate the nature of his intelligent manifestation.

     For those of you who like Bible quotes, (Job 38:18) the Creator asks Job, "Have you intelligently considered the broad spaces of the earth"? Actually, that whole Chapter 38 of Job is God telling Job , for quite a few pages, how he created the earth and how hard it is for Job to understand the breadth of this task. God does not say how long this took. These passages certainly do not suggest any stifling of scientific investigation. On the contrary, God invites a study of his handiwork.

     Isaiah, in Chapter 40, says that the Lord is the creator of the ends of the earth - he does not faint or grow weary.  So how can we prove that God did NOT create the universe by evolution?

     Acceptance of the existence of a Creator does NOT hinder scientific process. The quest for more comprehensive knowledge in both physical and spiritual matters is open-ended and eternal. Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, states, "Man cannot fully understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end". God created the physical laws that govern matter and energy, laws which scientists are still studying.

     Finally, we need to consider the question of common sense. Commenting on the validity of scientifc theories, science writer John Horgan observes: "When the evidence is tentative, we should not be embarrassed to call on common sense for guidance." Common sense tells us that science has factual proof of the age of the earth and how it evolved. I do not find it incompatible within my faith to believe that God created the universe through evolution, that he created the physical laws of the universe that caused the universe to evolve over millions of years. The same physical laws that hold our universe together to this day.