I Did Make A Difference.

Dr Jane Goodall reportedly began every speech or presentation with the words above. 

And yes, she did make a difference. Her chimpanzee research was groundbreaking. She continued her travel, her outreach and her campaigning for our planet and the species who inhabit it until shortly before she died in October at age 91. 

She made a difference in our knowledge and understanding of chimpanzees. She revolutionized human knowledge of animal intelligence. She debunked the prevalent thinking that non-human animals lack intelligence and that humans are the only species to make and use tools.She observed and documented that non-human animals grieve the loss of loved ones.

She made a difference to the thousands of young people inspired by her Roots & Shoots program. This program brings together students from preschool to university to work on conservation, humanitarian and environmental issues. Students in some 75 countries take part in the hands on program to make positive changes in the environment, animals and local communities.

Her Jane Goodall Insitute supports diverse programs around the world. She made a difference to the chimpanzees languishing in small cages in research facilities. She made a difference to the planet on which we all depend for life. 

Jane Goodall was a tirelesss and passionate advocate for the planet.

She certainly did make a difference, a huge difference, a real difference. Not many people can make that claim. 

Thinking back on the things I have accomplished during my decades of life, I can come up with a few things that did make a difference in this world. 

I have adopted 15 dogs. I made a difference to them. I adopted my daughter from a Siberian orphanage when she was 11 years old. I made a difference in her life. I have used my photography skills to share my images of the animals and landscapes of many places on this planet. I hope they made a difference to those who viewed them. I I provided financial support to two girls from rural Kenya so they could afford to attend high school. I hope I made a difference to them.

When I worked for a large California humane society many years ago, I used my photography skills to document cases of animal cruelty, with the goal of providing evidence to help convict the perpetrators. 

I hope the money I have donated to a variety of charities over the years has made a difference. And I hope the food that I donate every year to help provide for those in need makes some small difference in their lives. 

I believe each of us can make a difference. Each of us can help lift up someone in need. Each of us can provide a can of soup or a bag of noodles or some other non-perishable food to those struggling to buy food. Each of us can donate a can of dog food or a bag of cat food to help companion animals. Each of us can reach out and provide words of kindness and support to those who may be struggling. 

We can make a difference even if we don't have a lot of money to spare. As we begin a new year, I feel called to do more. To give more. To listen more.

So Sick, So Tired

I am sick of the lies. 

I'm sick of the threats.. 

I am sick of the exaggerations. 

I'm sick of the ineptness. 

I am sick of the corruption.

I am sick of the endless greed. 

I am sick of the insults.

I am sick of the conspiracies.

I am sick of blaming everyone else.

I am sick of the deliberate cruelty.

I am sick of the waste.

I am sick of the fraud.

I am sick of the anger.

I am sick of the hostility.

The bottom line is : I am so very tired.

I Can't Believe What They Say

I can't believe what they say because I see what they do.

I read this statement, which perfectly sums up how I feel about the current American regime, online as a response to a post. It's the same saying I remember from years ago: actions speak louder than words. And the current regime's actions are screaming.

Catching up on the news early this morning has left me nauseous. The regime's actions and words are both disgusting.

This is no exaggeration. Reading first about how the American dictator plans to take control of Venezueala's vast oil supply and put the proceeds in offshore bank accounts controlled by him made me outraged. 

Then I read an article about how the regime is continuing to attack Renee Good, the woman murdered as she tried to get away from a masked ICE agent pointing a gun at her, made me quite literally nauseous. Within minutes of the murder, regime officials were insulting her, calling her a domestic terrorist, and worse.

Aside from the tragedy of her murder for her children and partner, this incident brings home the fact that no one is safe in America. 

I am an older white woman with gray hair (previously blonde) and blue eyes, but I'm not safe from this government-funded group of thugs. Being an American citizen means nothing to these thugs, nor does being an immigrant in the US legally. Immigrants showing up as directed for court as part of their asylum proceedings have been snatched by unidentified armed thugs and hauled to places unknown. A Canadian woman visiting the US legally was grabbed and incarcerated while her husband frantically tried to find out where she was.

Every day the regime is emboldened by the lack of accountability given to it by the courts and by Congress. And when the regime disagrees with a ruling by a court, it simply ignores it. There is no accountability. None. 

I'm not safe. You're not safe. Nobody is safe in the regime's America. If some unidentified masked man walked up to my vehicle, pointed a gun at me and tried to open the driver's door, I would do exactly as Renee Good did. She tried to flee. I would try to flee. That should not result in being shot three times in the face.

I can't believe what the regime says, because I see what they do repeatedly.

Holding On

 I spent nearly all of my professional career working with the news media. 

I was not a reporter or a journalist, but I worked as a public affairs officer for a large non-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay area. Then I went to work as a public affairs officer for NASA. Yes, that NASA, the space agency. 

All told, I worked in the news business for some 25 years. Part of that time, I was the NASA public affairs representative in Moscow. I covered space shuttle launches at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. I represented the space agency, with an emphasis on the human spaceflight program, at my NASA center in California. I was the voice of Mission Control Houston for a few years. I represented NASA's public affairs office from the Russian mission control center.  I wrote an issued news releases. I did interviews with members of the news media. I moderated news conferences. I arranged interviews with the NASA scientists and administration for the news media.

You could say that working with the news is in my blood. And because I travel overseas extensively, I also have a great interest in news coming out of the numerous countries I have visited. 

So it isn't easy for me to refuse to follow the criminality,  chaos and a corruption taking place in the United states. Following the news is painful, and so is not following the news. 

It should come as no great surprise that I follow, often to my psychological detriment, what the current American regime is doing to this country. And I suppose it shouldn't come as a big surprise that despite my history on the fringes of journalism and my addiction to following news both national and international, there are many times when I have to step away.

I watch local and national news each day for a total of one hour. Then I switch to non-news channels. I shut my phone off around 7 p.m. so I'm not tempted to follow the news online. I don't use my computer after early afternoon. 

Unfortunately, it seems that the greed and insanity and warmongering of the current regime aren't going to end anytime soon. So I will continue to do what I am now doing. I will limit my exposure to the news. I will continue to seek out ways of dealing with the stress, such as writing, reading and photography. And I'll keep my fingers crossed that this Insanity will end before this country is totally destroyed.

My Word of the Year

I got this idea from a wonderful Pennsylvania blogger named Linda Stager, who inspired today's blog post.

She also ia a fabulous photographer.

My word of the year is patience. Patience, or lack of patience, is something I have always struggled with. I really need to work on having more patience ... with myself, with my dogs, with others, and with other drivers.

I found a definition of patience online: Patience is the capacity to endure delay, hardship or suffering without getting angry or upset. I would add "or frustration" to that definiation of patience.

I won't go into the details, but recemtly my lack of patience definitely showed itself. So yesterday, I vowed to do better. And I hope to continue to do better throughout this year. So far, after two days of trying to be more patient, I am i mproving. Let's hope this trend continues.

People tend to see me as a laid-back, unassuming, quiet person. And for the most part, that is true. I value my privacy. I love to read and to take photographs. I love to travel. But beneath my calm demeanor lurks a bubbling caldron.

So in 2026 I vow to turn down the temperature significantly.

What is your word of the year?

Thank You For Visiting

I am pleased to see that in 2025 my blog drew readers from 74 countries around the world. 

This year found readers from several countries for the first time. Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Suriname, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkiye, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam

Thank you too everyone who stopped by the blog. I hope you will come back again in 2026.

Happy New Year

I am always amazed by the things that trigger a long distant memory. 

I was watching television one evening recently, and not paying any attention to the endless barrage of commercials. But I did catch a glimpse of a Coca-Cola commercial. Coke seems to advertise a lot over the holidays. 

That brief glimpse of a bottle of Coke - - the real Coke, not the newer version and not Coke Zero- was enough to bring back an instant memory.

 was a serious Coke drinker for decades. I would start my day at work with a can of Coke. To this day, I think there is nothing better than a real Coke. 

When my blood sugar started climbing too high, my doctor recommended that I cut out my daily Coke. I always considered a can of real Coke to be my one real guilty pleasure. But reluctantly, I cut back on how much Coke I would drink. I never had more than one can each day, but after my doctor's recommendation, I would drink about half the can of Coke and reluctantly pour the rest down the drain. 

I've never liked diet Coke, but when Coke Zero came on the market, I was hooked. I think it is the closest sugar-free drink to classic Coke. 

So the memory that that commercial brought to mind was of me as a kid and as a young person, spending New Year's Eve having a Coke, potato chips made for dipping, and french onion dip. I've never been one to go out and celebrate on New Year's Eve. I much prefer to spend the evening at home. And for me, the evening meant Coke, potato chips and french onion dip

I'm sure this sounds extremely boring and very lame, but that's how I chose to celebrate. I still love potato chips, but I have substituted Coke Zero for classic Coke.

However you choose to celebrate, or even whether you choose to celebrate. I wish you a healthy and happy new year 2026.