Vacation

I arrived in Florida on July 2 at night and joined a party at my niece's house.  On July 4, we had about 16 people for a picnic supper, including my niece and her family from Georgia.  On July 6 at night My borther-in-law, a friend, and I went to a Phillies game here in Florida. I think there were more Phillies fans than Marlin fans there. The players must have experienced it as a home game. They won 14-2. The winning pitcher was Cole Hamels. It was loads of fun. We had the best seats. They were not the most expensive but they were the best. We were on the fourth row just a little north of 3rd base. We could see balls and strikes real well. We had a good view of the infield and outfield, as well as the Phillies bullpen. We were surrounded by other Phillies fans. It was a great night!

Love Bombing

This is a very interesting article that I think all parents would enjoy.

love bombing

Love Bombing

This is a very interesting article for all parents.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/255817/It-took-one-day-to-change-my-son-s-bad-behaviour

The Dream Act

I would like to tell the story of one woman who would be eligible for Dream Act.  Some identifying factors  have been changed to protect the innocent.

I know a woman who came to the United States when she was 14 years old.  She had no say in the matter. Unlike our own adolescents, those who come from Central and South America, they rarely  question their parents' decisions.  She had to learn a new language and culture, but she was so intelligent and applied  herself so diligently that she won a full scholarship to a college which she was unable to take advantage of because of her immigration status.  She pledged allegiance to the flag, sang the star spangled banner and knew American history as well as any American-born person.  In some cases, even better.

She made a very poor decision in selecting a mate.  She had 4 children with him, before she divorced him.  Now, unable to work because of her immigration status, she was put in a position where she had to support her children as a single mother, without legal documents.  In today's world, that is almost impossible.  Unable to get a legal license to drive, she, who was ordinarily a law-abiding person, felt she had no choice, but to drive without a license.  Single mothers understand this.  She has to take her children to many places, including picking them up from school.  She has had to  pay much money to pay court fines for driving without a license.  This is money she could have better used to buy much needed food and clothes for her children.

Our current laws are really unfair to her and millions of others who were brought over to this country as minors.  I strongly support the Dream Act, and hope you do, too.

Retreat

Hi,
I wanted to show you my pictures from my retreat but am having a hard time.  It was a beautiful retreat on Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island.  It is in between the ocean and the bay.  When I figure out how to work the camera, I will show them to you.

Image via WikipediaOne day a friend of mine, who was doing a project for school,  asked me about my thoughts on  immigration.

One of the things that I feel very strongly about is the Dream Act. I would go even further than the current Dream Act. If anyone came to this country younger than 18 years old and is a high school graduate, I would give them a path to citizenship. I don't believe in fines as many of these people are dirt poor, yet they are contributing members of society, and certainly they are not responsible for what their parents did. Many grew up thinking the U.S. was their country. They pledged allegiance to the flag, sang the Star Spangled banner, studied American history and many did not know they were not citizens until they tried to function in the adult world. I don't even like the no criminal record requirement, because many of these people are accused unjustly, taken advantage of because they do not have the money to prove themselves innocent. Some of these children turned adults get involved in drugs and gangs because they feel so hopeless about supporting themselves. This does society no good.

Also, if their children are U.S. citizens, I do not believe they should be forced to be raised in another country because their parents are not. I think parents should be given permission to live in this country if their children are U.S. citizens, as long as they have not abused children. That is the only crime, if it is proven, that I would not tolerate.

Some people think immigrants come just to make their children citizens. I have never come across such a person. They come because they feel desperate in their own countries and are starving. They come here to survive and many times with the intention of returning to their homeland. The problem is when the children are born here, the children do not want to leave.

These are the two incidences that I feel very strongly about because the family is the foundation of society and to tear families apart does not help the country.

If any of the immigrants are career criminals, I would not let them stay in the country.

Immigrant Hispanics have the same problems everybody else does plus some problems that are unique to them because they do not have legal status, and because they are living far away from their support systems.

 Many times young males, who were born elsewhere, but were raised in the United States, will turn to drugs and gangs because they see no hope for the future. Single mothers who came over as minors have to break the law to survive; i.e. driving without a license, insurance fraud because they are seriously ill and cannot get insurance, lying to get housing, using false social security cards, etc. Some people have been deported simply because they were Hispanics and were not carrying their legal documents on them leaving women and children to fend for themselves when they could barely speak the language. These women and children are usually suffering from depression or possibly post-trauma if they were present when ICE took their father away. (ICE has a tendency not to be gentle.)  Can you imagine seeing your father who you love and respect, being abused by ICE.


My friend asked me if I had the resources how could my non-profit make the necessary changes to help these people. I find that counseling itself helps these people cope with their many problems. They really can feel empowered especially when they learn there are resources for them and that they have the power within themselves to change things, i.e., a young teenager was going to join a gang because of discrimination and felt he needed the protection of the gang. He learned there were ways that he could volunteer and help to change things through constructive activities; for example, marches, writing to congressmen, letter-writing campaigns. He also became aware of organizations that already exist that he could join and add his clout to.

These are just some rambling thoughts on this Memorial Day to honor our soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice.  I am sure we are all aware that we are a nation of immigrants.  Hopefully, the Dream Act will be passed soon to help those adults who were brought here as minors.

Entertainment the Irish Way

Image via WikipediaI haven't written in so long.  Last night Neumann University gave the Sisters a treat.  They served us a dinner with lot of choices and provided entertainment.  The entertainment was Mark Rust.  He was a one man band with a beautiful voice.  He sang Irish Songs.  He played the banjo, fiddle, and guitar.  Of course, we had some sing-alongs, also.  It was a great night out and many thanks to the Neumann students who organized it and served us.