We know, basically, what's right."In as much as you do it to the least of these, my brethren, you do it unto me." That's the Christ of the Gospels."Only love dispels hate. This is the law, ancient and inexhaustible."And thanks for that, Buddha.Sometimes, while walking down the Ave, these can be difficult injunctions to embrace. Many feel intimidated by the "street kids." Others, feeling genuine compassion, undergo another kind of discomfort. Either way, many of us avoid eye contact. Others simply avoid the Ave, period.John Faust is not an avoider.Faust is job developer for the Working Zone, a YWCA program headquartered in a small house on Roosevelt. He works to place "street kids" in the employment world. He prefers to call his charges "out-of-home youth."
The Sephardic table, that glorious cookery of Jewish Spain and Portugal has been, until recently, one of the world's least-known cuisine. The Sephardim, as Jews of Spanish and Portuguese descent are called, were among the most learned citizens of 15th century Iberia. Along with Muslim scholars, scientists, doctors and artists, the Sephardim had a large hand in shaping the world of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish king and queen for whom the Italian mariner Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492.The tragic irony of this story is that 1492 was also the year the Spanish monarchs expelled both Jews and Muslims. Later both groups were expelled from Portugal as well. Jewish people spread across the Mediterranean, into Europe, the Middle East and as far a field as India and China. This Diaspora helped form today's Sephardic cuisine including the dishes of the Jewish Holy Days.
Here are some tips for kids, and parents, to help them nip bullying in the bud before it blossoms painfully:Make sure you ...Always tell an adult. Tell trusted adults exactly what has happened-who did the bullying, where and when it occurred, how long it's been happening to you, and how it's making you feel. If you don't get support or the adults don't take you seriously, then tell another adult, a different teacher, your coach, or even your minister or rabbi. It is their job to help keep you safe. Most adults care about bullying and will do everything they can to help you.
At its heart bullying is a deliberate and conscious intent to harm another person. According to researchers at Kansas State University, bullying is a "violent behavior that is often misunderstood and at times overlooked within schools. It is defined as a specific type of aggression that is intended to harm or disturb, and that occurs repeatedly over time, either on school grounds or on the way to and from school." While shy, insecure children are often targeted, that is not always the case. Bullying involves a loss of power, security, belonging, self- esteem and control on the part of the victim. The interaction between bully and victim hinges on an imbalance between a more powerful person and a less powerful person. It can include one-on-one bullying, or it can take the form of one person and a group of people.
Walking from Mexico to Canada is a phenomenal feat, especially when you consider it's currently being done, in a virtual reality manner, by a group of Southeast Seattle senior citizens. Residents of the Brighton Apartment complex have been chipping away at their collective mileage goal during their weekly walks around a quarter-mile path encircling the building near the corner of South Holly Street and Rainier Avenue South."The idea is to develop more fitness in Southeast Seattle in the Seniors. Said Ruth Egger who works at Brighton for the University of Washington's Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC).
MOSUL, Iraq - We walked into the polling site and the guards, both Iraqi army and police, waved us in. Ibon, a journalist with Reuters, asked in Arabic if we could hang out for the next hour. It was 7:45 a.m. and the polling site still wasn't open. The line outside was growing more restless.I was anxious to see this vote happen because a few months ago, during the Jan. 30 election, this was impossible for me to see up close. What would happen in the next few days would be even more important.The run-up to the referendum was plagued with calls from Sunni Arabs to boycott, calls from Shias and Kurds to vote and everyone saying Iraq's constitution would pass no matter what.Well, the constitution would pass, and the Sunnis did vote despite the threats against them from other Sunnis if they did.I dropped off my body armor and took my cameras outside to the long lines. I watched at first to gauge the people's reaction.
"Full bodied, oak-ey, buttery, hints of anise and blackberry with an abrupt finish ..." BLAH! The self important and mostly ridiculous descriptions on today's wine labels provide sniggering entertainment, but they seldom have anything to do with what's really in the bottle. One's forced to read the wretched things in order to find out the exact degree of the "full-bodied" headache you'll get. Personally, I find that anything 13 percent alcohol or above will provide a real doozie of a head-throb, especially since the law gives one-and-a-half percent leeway.My quest to find a good "little" wine took my family to our local wine country - Yakima. I reasoned that somebody must be producing a small quantity of low-gradation grapes for personal use. Hopefully they would be willing to share the bounty with some like-minded folk for a price.Nope.
n this 1937 photograph we see the east side of Rainier Avenue's 4800 block, with the ornate Ark Lodge building occupying center stage. The Columbia Garage is to the left, where the Washington Federal Bank stands today, and the Rainier Valley Transfer Company, a furniture moving operation, is to the right of the Ark Lodge. Streetcar tracks go up the center of Rainier in the photo, but the streetcar had ceased operation on Jan. 1, 1937, and the tracks would soon be torn up and paved over to make the road safer for buses and cars. The Ark Lodge Masonic Temple is part of a long history of fraternal organizations in Columbia City. Fraternal groups, such as the Masons, were an important part of the social fabric in many American towns in the early 20th century.
It's National Physical Therapy Month, which gives physical therapists an excuse to get on your case about exercise and the widespread (no pun intended) lack of fitness in our society.They've even got a theme for the month: "Walking for Exercise - A Physical Therapist's Perspective."Thing is, physical therapists' knowledge of the musculo-skeletal system does give them a unique perspective on health, exercise and physical fitness.Jennifer Lesko, director of Therapeutic Associates Queen Anne Physical Therapy, points out that it's never too late to start a walking exercise regimen.
I just turned 65. Cynical seniors say things aren't as good as they used to be. I don't agree. Things are just different, and you have to learn to appreciate our new bounty. It used to be a rented movie was just a movie. Now there's the movie and the warning from the FBI. I'm flattered the FBI chooses to lavish attention on me. It's my own private warning right in my home. Imagine the FBI doing that for me and I haven't been polite enough to break a federal law in return. What an ingrate I am. I'll have to do something. I have a raincoat - is flashing a federal offense?When I used to go to a movie theater, I'd get previews of coming attractions. Now I get flashy commercials for Coca-Cola, fast paced with scantily clad or tightly clad sexy women. There's no extra charge, though the commercials may run 15 minutes. And the sound is so loud, I can't make out what the compulsive talkers are saying, and what a boon that is. And how about those little free labels on fruit?
Whether defending Social Security or lobbying city hall for a traffic light at that dangerous intersection, older adults can have a powerful voice in the decisions that affect their daily lives.All that's needed is the time and the will to get involved, says the Healthy Aging Partnership, a coalition of 40 not-for-profit and public organizations dedicated to helping older adults live longer, healthier lives.You don't need a monumental goal like ending world hunger. Pick one or two issues near and dear to you and become educated. Follow your cause in the media, and get on the mailing list of a group dedicated to the effort, be it affordable healthcare, safe neighborhoods or yard-waste composting.
Only a judge can put somebody in King County's Secure Community Transition Facility (SCTF) in SODO, which has been open for more than a month now. But even then, a trip to the level-3 violent predatory sex offender housing must have a stamp of approval by counselors, therapists and correction authorities. Located at South Spokane Street and Second Avenue South, the facility's typical residents will be violent sex predators. These people served prison time and finished a rigorous treatment program at MacNeil Island's Special Commitment Center. Most are men in their mid-to-late 40s or older; they are out of shape from years of incarceration."It's not known when a court will move a qualified, civilly committed sex offender into the SCTF," said Steve Williams, spokesperson for Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services. The DSHS facility is equipped for six residents, with capacity for 12.
I have had many inquiries about the subject of high tea. The very title used to be a standing joke for British comics, the punchline being: "You want high tea? Put your cup and saucer on the mantelpiece."Actually, there is a great deal of misconception about high tea over here, conjuring up visions of lace tablecloths, silver tea services and formal afternoon tea enjoyed by high society. In fact, the reverse is true. High tea is a very informal early supper, enjoyed by farm laborers and rural blue-collar workers. These folks start their day very early, so they have their dinner at noon, and high tea provides a fitting end to a long, hard day.
I have a friend who has lived young his entire, 40-year-old life. But suddenly, in the two years since he passed that milestone - four decades aboveground - he has started noticing some troubling sights.He's losing a little hair. Not enough for a comb-over yet, but still.He's also getting a little paunch. He's never been into exercise, but it has never mattered before. Now is another matter, and fear is circling around behind his eyes.His girlfriend is in her 20s, like all his previous girlfriends, but lately this guy, who has never married, has been talking about the current younger woman as being the last one."I don't know what to do," my Peter Pan-ish friend said.I feel his pain from quite a bit farther down the road.We live in a youth-oriented culture.
In memoriam: Beate Fronckevics, 1943-2005I've written two previous columns about my friend, Beate, a woman battling metastatic breast cancer. She died. In peace. At home.Her most fervent request was achieved. With the dedicated support of Swedish Home Helpers and the Swedish Hospice Program, Beate remained at home, surrounded by friends. I met every one of them. She had many faithful, caring colleagues who visited her condo often. Death at close range is a teacher of many things. It's absolutely impossible to care for a human being for seven solid months and not experience significant change.