03.24.08
Posted in News at 7:56 pm by Administrator
On a television broadcast yesterday, I heard one of the announcers say something about legislation to be voted on in Congress. A new law would attempt to limit the amount of personal information that is made available to the public via software programs that share public records that may sometimes include Social Security numbers of the deceased. Supposedly, the availability of that information is leading to more and more cases of identity theft.
I don’t know whether that is true or not. It seems a bit of a stretch to think of anyone signing up to use an online genealogy base to gather data for a devious and illegal purpose. Thieves being thieves, I would not be surprised, but on the other hand, why punish the multitudes by denying them research information when there are potentially a few “bad apples” who would take advantage of information.
Another question arises and that is why the government is not “on top” of any situation in which anyone would try to use the Social Security number of a deceased party.
Then again, someone hacked into the Social Security information of three major political party contenders for the office of president, so what does this tell us about overall electronic security at the governmental level?
Electronic Mix Ups Common
I am happy to report that my mixed-up credit report is now repaired. It pays to check such things, periodically. Someone recorded a wrong middle initial and suddenly I’d moved 21 times within a few years, had two husbands at the same time, and didn’t pay on some of my credit accounts.
All is well now, after assuring the credit reporting agency that I have lived at the same address for quarter of a century, and with the same husband, and that my middle initial is not the one listed on the initial report.
True enough, we should be vigilant about our personal information. That includes knowing who is around when you pull out a credit card or write a check. Cell phones can take photos, in a flash, and someone can easily access vital credit card or bank account numbers. It would be nice to think that everyone is honest. They are not.
We have to hope that technology will continue to lead the way in assisting researchers by sharing great information about events of the past that have been recorded electronically.
Instead of passing more laws such as the one proposed, perhaps there could be more incentives for government workers to more adequately protect the public-at-large. We have come so far in make vital records available to the general public. Why take a step backward, now?
Patricia Cummings
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03.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:44 pm by Administrator
Today, Christians around the world celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ who was found to be absent from his tomb, a situation that defied any logical explanation, then or now. During his short lifetime, Christ was both revered and hated. Born a Jew, he was mocked as the “King of the Jews.” The world would revile anyone who called himself, “the Son of God.”
The world’s people often hold in disdain that which is beyond their understanding. That is most certainly true when it comes to people judging others. Each individual always believes in the sanctity of his or her own thoughts and actions. Perhaps, it is just human nature to be that way.
Now, my thoughts turn to the time when I was a child. Easter Saturday was always a time of hurried activity, as Mother made sure the children had something suitable to wear to church the next day. She would color Easter eggs, make a frosted cake, and prepare an Easter basket with chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and marshmallow chickens, and cover the basket with an overlay of colored cellophane. She’d go to the grocery store to gather up food for a special meal on Easter.
In the family album, there is one picture of me on Easter, standing on the steps of our house. I was very young. I am wearing a dress that is too short, short socks and (no doubt) patent leather shoes. I am holding a black duck, a stuffed animal, given to me by my oldest brother. I look pretty chilled, with my long, skinny legs hanging out in the cold of a New Hampshire early spring.
In those days, women wore the ever-present hat and gloves to church. We listened to corny music, like the “Easter Parade,” on a small turntable that could play 45 RPMs. Sometimes, we went to the park to participate in Easter Egg Hunts. I always wondered how Chocolate Bunnies and colored eggs were incorporated as part of the celebration.
On one particular Easter, my sister who is thirteen years old than me, decided to shock my parents by bringing me the gift of two live chicks. These yellow fluff balls turned out to be loud, crowing adult roosters, much to the annoyance of the neighbors; and pecking beasts who liked to be vicious to the hands that fed them, usually me. So much for bright ideas! We toted them to “the country,” when we later moved to a small town, and they ended up in a neighbor’s stew pot, proving the point that all vicious roosters will meet justice.
Today, is a “different day” than those Easters of my past. As our soldiers pray to a God, whom they hope keeps them safe, and returns them to their families, life has changed for me as well. I am without company today. My loved ones are dead; or far away, with lives and issues of their own; or else, at work, making sure that others have a good day.
The only celebration for me will be to listen to the radio, to do my usual work, and to cling to the promises of the Risen Christ, the only remaining hope for humanity. Nothing is forever, and sometimes, it is great consolation knowing that is also true of this life.
However you spend the day, I wish you a Happy Easter, a harbinger of Spring!
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03.22.08
Posted in Poetry, Reader Mail at 7:41 pm by Administrator
More poetry from Bob Rotruck:
An Angel’s Love
I’m a very lucky person you know,
I have been blessed by an angel’s glow.
How you ask, can I know for sure,
That angels even exist all glorious and pure.
Trust me, I know, I have seen one in action,
An angel that gives love for pure satisfaction.
This angel has tended her husband for years,
A guy that occasionally brought her to tears.
An angel that raised two wonderful boys,
They’ve become fine men and her greatest joys.
But angels are more than just mothers and wives,
They go above and beyond in the living of their lives.
They take on a task that no other would take,
And do it out of pure love, no pretense or fake.
Such as tending a Mother that was frail in years,
Many times their relationship brought her tears.
But she would go back, day after day,
Because she knew that love was her pay.
She watched this tiny woman so frail,
Day after day she began to fail.
It got real bad down near the end,
But the love of an angel can never bend.
For the one thing that an angels got,
Is the backing of the Father for their lot.
An angel only knows how to share God’s love,
When you’re an angel, God fits like a glove.
Now God has rested this angel dear,
He has taken her Mother to heaven it’s clear.
This angel can rest, she has done her best,
There is no doubt she passed God’s test.
I’m a very lucky person you know,
I can boast I have an angel to show!
God bless you my angel dear,
You are my angel, it’s clear.
Rotruck – ‘02
This poem, as you can see, is dedicated to Bob’s wife. Every woman should have such an appreciative spouse! Thanks for sending this one, Bob, and Happy Easter!
Patricia Cummings — See more of Bob’s poetry in past blog entries and on this website: Quilter’s Muse
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