Why I allow only registered users to post

In the interest of spam reduction, I decided to allow only registered users to post to my blog. For some of you that may be an irritation, but I would venture a guess that if the spammers found the site, that would be an irritation to you, as well. Certainly, I would be irritated.

There are spam bloggers out there who will post comments to as many sites as will allow them to do so. They post the same kind of spam that we hate to get in our mailboxes--everything from low cost software to mortgages to pornography.

Need I say more?

So, in order to post to my site, you must be a registered Blogger user:

• What that means is that you must set up a Blogger account.
• You may still choose to be unidentifiable depending upon what user name you choose
• and what display name you use.
• Setting up an account is free.
• Once you have set up your account you may choose whether or not to start a blog of your own. (If you do, let me know.) Registering an account does not require that you blog.

How do you do it?

• When you click on the "comment" link, it will allow you to sign in as a registered user.
• That gives you a link to the page to set up an account.
• Or click on one of the links above.
• From there, all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

To those of you who find this annoying, I understand. To those of you who choose to set up an account and post, thank you. I appreciate it.

I love hearing from you. And I like knowing when you come by.

Wanda Tucker, Coach

What MUST you be?

A musician must make music,

an artist must paint,

a poet must write,

if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.

What a man can be, he must be.

~Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

American Psychologist~

Cleaning Up the Aftermath

Treat the earth well.

It was not given to you by your parents,

it was loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,

we borrow it from our Children.

~Native American Proverb~

Captain Robert Gray explored the Pacific Northwest in the late 1700s. I remember reading and learning about him when I was in elementary school. Then I came across a story in my local paper written by Larry Bingham. ["We are sorry" published July 24th, 2005 in The Sunday Oregonian; link not available.]

According to Mr. Bingham's story, William Twombly, a descendant of Robert Gray was reading about his ship captain forefather when he came across a disturbing story. Mr. Twombly had always heard the heroic adventures, but hadn't heard the less praiseworthy actions. In Columbia's River: The Voyages of Robert Gray by J. Richard Nokes, Mr. Nokes relates that Captain Gray burned the village of Opitsat and kidnapped and killed the brother of one of the chiefs of the Tla-o-qui-aht people.

William Twombly, upset by the story, decided to do something about it: a historical reconciliation--a modern day apology for the actions of his ancestor. Through a series of serendipitous events, Mr. Twombly connected with Joe Martin, a canoe carver descended from the tribe. Twombly met with Mr. Martin and the elders of the tribe to discuss how to proceed. He deferred to the tribal leaders in devising the protocol for the reconciliation.

In mid-July, the Tla-o-qui-aht people in their canoes met the Lady Washington (a replica of Gray's ship) when it sailed into Clayoquot Sound near the island where Opitsat village stood before it burned. Twombly read his apology from the ship:

"Many years ago, our ancestor came into your territory and your waters, and he's a man we have been proud of for many years. But as we have learned more of our history, and learned more of your stories, we have begun to realize that part of his story is one that has been disrespectful to your people. He abducted one of your great chiefs, the older brother of Chief Wickaninnish, the greatst chief on the west coast of Vancouver Island, of a great people...

"So we have come to honor you, to honor our shared history and to apologize for the insult that occurred at the hand of our ancestor, at the hand of our family many years ago, and to say we are sorry for his abducting and insulting your great chief and his family, and for the burning of Opitsat. It is something we have felt pain about, and we are now feeling great honor that you welcomed us back into your territory."

Then Barney Williams, Jr., the elected chief of the tribe responded:

"We want to thank you for your words, on behalf of Chief Wickaninnish. ...We hear your words, and our chiefs accept the words you have spoken to us. It is with good hearts that we carry you the rest of the way to our nation, to our homeland through these waters. We will guide you safely, our chiefs and our people will guide you safely. We accept your apology."

Both parties then went ashore to the site of the burned village. They ate together. They exchanged gifts. They spent the weekend together dancing, telling stories, and talking about the future.

How many more apologies do we need to make?

How many times will our descendants have to apologize for us?

"Let us walk softly on this Earth with all living beings great and small remembering as we go that one God, kind and wise, created all."

~Native American Blessing~

And then let's eat, exchange gifts, dance, tell stories, and talk about the future.

Non-Human Emotional Intelligence

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com)

My local paper prints a column called Earthweek. As the name suggests, the column tells the stories of the earth in review and most of the stories are not top headliners. They tell about severe weather patterns, earthquakes, and unusual animal behaviors...or at least animal behaviors that we humans tend to think of as unusual.

Whale Mourning

A whale mourning the death of her calf kept divers at bay who were attempting to retrieve the marine mammal's body on Australia's Gold Coast. The 13-foot baby humpback died after becoming entangled in nets intended to protect swimmers from sharks.

We are seeing more and more evidence of non-human animals having emotional lives and ongoing relationships. In another Earthweek column, monkeys who witnessed a poacher kill one of their troup then toss the body in the river went without eating for several days in order to comb upstream and downstream for the body.

I was so moved by these stories that I had to tell them here. Sharing the earth is not an option. It is a reality--plain and simple. Normally, I like to focus on the positive in this blog. What's positive about these stories? Seeing that we humans are not the only creatures that feel pain. Seeing that the world is bigger than we are and that we can be responsible to it and for it. As I said before, Take Care of What You Love.

We can make a difference. Giving back is part of the human expression.

Share with me the ways you are sharing the earth with non-human creatures...or anything else you are doing to make the world a more peaceful and compassionate place.

This is my great-niece at her fourth birthday party. She is five now. What a kid!

Even really good kids get sent to time out now and then. Recently, while sitting in one, she chipped the new paint from the wall. Her mom applied it only a few days before. Hey, I get it. It probably came off easy and felt good to peel it. Most likely, she was having a very satisfying kinesthetic experience.

Mom, however, lost her cool when she saw the fresh paint and had words with her daughter. Apparently, Mom had a lot of words...heated words. Hey, I get it. Painting is hard work. It is one of those jobs where you can stand back and see what you've done. When I paint a room, I expect the job to be pristine...for at least a week! Seeing chunks missing before the paint even sets would cause me frustration, too.

So my great-niece stood there, listened to her mom, and then said, "I know you are having a bad day Mom...and I know you are grumpy, but you need to get control of your temper!"


Tell us a story of a wonderful child...or of an emotionally mature moment (from a child or an adult).

Wanda Tucker, Coach

Bath Day for St. Francis

(St. Francis photo by Wanda Tucker copyright 2005)

Today I gave St. Francis (and the deck) a bath. Here in Oregon, everything is green. Sometimes, even things that didn't start out that way turn green with moss and algae over the fall and winter. St. Francis looked a bit more like St. Patrick prior to the high powered shower I gave him, and after a rain the deck could be used as a skating rink.

I work with people all week. I love it, but at the end of the work day, I can't always see what I have accomplished. Some days, I like doing jobs that show. When I am done I can point at the finished product and say, "Doesn't that look great?" This was one of those days. Now, until the fall and winter bring the next layer of green, I can sit in my living room and enjoy the sparkling, clean view of St. Francis on the deck.

What is your favorite task...the one you do for the sheer joy of how it looks and feels when you are done? Tell us about it and share the joy.

Wanda Tucker, Coach