quiltersmuse.com Blog

After November 4, 2008, I hope that I do not have to hear “approved messages” on the television. It has become a common practice in the U.S. for politicians to say that they approve of the TV run ads that represent their views while attacking their opponents, no matter how much the ad engages in bold-faced lies, or how downright rude or nasty their purported message is. These ads are known as “negative ads.” They certainly do nothing to enhance the status of the contender.

Every political year brings out the “fringe” population. Sometimes, one wonders if certain people are planted in the audience, or if they always act a little touched in the head. Unfortunately, there are the deceivers who will do or say anything to get more votes for their candidates.

One monumental example of that is the report of recent signs that say that the voting system has been changed and now, Democrats should report to vote on Nov. 5. That is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE! Everyone who is eligible to vote can do so on November 4, if not before, by pre-arrangement. If you go to the polls on December 5, no one will be there!

A startling statistic I learned yesterday is that in the last election or perhaps, the last two elections, 20 million women who could have voted did not. One of those elections was one by little more than 500 votes. One can’t help to think how the last eight years could have been different. I think of lost lives and lost money.

So, ladies, especially, you can readily see that YOUR vote counts!!! Please vote. Don’t be apathetic and leave this coming election to the winds of fate. Our foremothers fought long and hard to afford their descendants and themselves, what they were denied, a say in this democracy, and a voice as to who will lead us.

As far as the negative ads go, they reflect badly on whomever thinks them up. They make politics look like some kind of silly game where the one with the most outrageous remarks, wins.

I am Patricia Cummings, and I do not approve negative ads.

“Amen, and Amen!” Vote on Nov. 4!

Dear Friends,

Today was an exciting day! We attended a presentation about Susan B. Anthony, champion of women’s rights, equality and the right to vote. Actress Sally Matson dressed up in period costume, in a high collar, long dress, and bloomers, made by a former colleague at the American Textile History Museum. She gave a flawless and flowing performance to students, faculty, and guests, for 45 minutes. One could have heard a pin drop in the audience.

She provided many details about the events in Miss Anthony’s life as noted in her letters, diaries and other ephemera. Such information included correspondence with her associates, especially her famous friend, Harriet Cady Stanton, Susans’s objections, in court, to a judge’s ruling, and her cross country travels to present 149 talks each year, in the cause of Suffrage.

Matson also travels extensively to bring the work of Anthony to the public eye, once again. She offers this dramatization to groups such as corporations, schools, churches, libraries, retirement homes, and others places. Her chatty, first person account of the life of Susan B. Anthony is a glimpse into another world, a time when women were simply thought to be baby makers, house decorations, or at worst, “brainless.”

The talk triggered my memory bank to recall the “Cult of True Womanhood,” a.k.a. “The Cult of Domesticity.” The concepts surrounding these so called “cults” involved the ideal behaviors of women, according to William Ruskin and other nineteenth century British philosophers. Picture a demure woman in a rocking chair, knitting booties, crocheting a doily, or sewing. All is just-so in her world, one that is not weighted down by any concerns of the world, including voting, something for which she is too stupid, anyhow.

In costume, Sally Matson becomes a believable “Susan B. Anthony.” Sally’s research for this program was carried out at “the Huntington, Schlesinger, and Boston Public Libraries,” according to her lecture brochure. She graduated from Northwestern University School of Communication, and her resumé of interpretive work in reenacting Anthony’s life includes a program for the Department of Defense. She has worked for Connecticut Cable TV as a writer and interviewer, and has had a career as an actress, as well.

In her presentation, one that is far more exciting than I am able to impart to you with mere words, and/or without “giving” the show away, Matson shares facts and information about her subject, but moreover, she shares insight into the “character” of Susan B. Anthony, and has some thoughts on how important it is for women to vote in elections, these days. She reminded us all to “VOTE!”

I was thrilled to be back on campus again. Jim and I both attended UNH. Seeing the (new to us), Memorial Union Building was quite a pleasant shock. It’s beautiful, spacious, and ambient, with elevators, snack vendors, the UNH Bookstore, student lounges, etc., a far more luxurious area for students than in the 1960s/early 1970s! We both love the campus and have very fond memories of our studies there. We came home feeling quite happy, and very eager to share Sally Matson’s website with you, in case your group is ever seeking a wonderful presenter of historically-based material.

Sally Matson, e-mail: Ssmatson at aol.com, or visit: www.susanbanthonytheinvincible.com

Patricia Cummings, Quilter’s Muse Publications

While Vermonters can claim to have an extra season, lovingly referred to as “Mud” Season, all of us can relate to the media inundation of mud that occurs during political season. For months now, we have had phone calls asking for whom we will vote. I feel that I’ve been talking to air and that perhaps no one writes down my answers, because whomever calls asks the same question, again and again. I suppose there are various agencies of pollsters who call and that probably accounts for the situation.

In addition, we have had flyers in our mailbox and jammed into our door handles. I am waiting for even one of them to truthfully tell me what the candidate will do to improve the quality of my life, once he or she has more time on their hands, time left free due to not having to think up more slurs for the opposition.

Then, we have the talking heads on the radio and television, with their endless speculations as to how “close” the race is, and what the outcome might be. One station, in particular, is clearly for one presidential candidate, and constantly predicts his ultimate supremacy, in spite of the actual odds of a win.

The political conventions were fun to watch, particularly the Democratic one. The crowd was enervated, and there were some great speakers. A lot has happened in this country since then, not much of it pretty. I don’t know the genius who woke up one day to discover and to pronounce that we, as a country, and as individuals, are in real financial difficulty. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. A lot of the problem, a pervasive one indeed, has to do with people not taking personal responsibility for the way they conduct their own home finances such as the misuse of credit cards and getting overextended.

Just in a few short months, we have gone from a more hopeful nation to one that relies on “Joe, the Plummer” to win a campaign.

Politics, at their best, help to move the country forward so that we can feel free from external threats, and safe from maltreatment of those who would try to steal occupations by layoffs, outsourcing, etc. It’s time that we looked out for ourselves as a nation.

Somehow the Mud Season (Vermont’s fifth season) and the Mudslinging of the Political Season just don’t equate. The first is fairly benign, by comparison. I, for one, will be so glad when this political season is over. Ah, just the thought of it: no more phone calls, no more flyers, no more speeches, no more speculative television pundits, … it will seem like a great relief.

Patricia Cummings

An American comedian who now works the British circuit has a few things to say in an online video. Two of his thoughts stick in my mind. The first regards the run for the American presidency. His assessment is that anyone who wakes up thinking that his country cannot exist without his leading it may be either insane or extremely narcissistic. The second thought he reveals is that Brits do not wish each other a good day and, in fact, don’t care whether anyone else has a good day. On the other hand, they don’t shoot you in the head either, so chances are better that you may have a good day.

Humorists are often not appreciated enough, and lately, it seems that all we hear about are problems and certainly, not just the issues in America. Whenever we can find a humorous side to anything, it is good to embrace it. For example, I sometimes share outrageous remarks with friends just to hear them laugh. Humor keeps everyone on their toes, and probably expands not only the quality of life but the length of it, too.

I’ve been chatty the last few days on this blog, and have not gotten into my studio to quilt or embroider or draw, for a seemingly very long time. There has been too much on my mind that is distracting. However, I am happy to have a husband who spends more time than I do, seeking out weird and unusual facts on the Internet, that can be highly amusing.

What comprises humor? Often, it is the unexpected, like overhearing one side of a phone conversation between a librarian. and her husband/ paramedic who was reporting that “The patient will be alright. He was just blown down by the wind.” The re-telling of that report sent me into gales of laughter, as I pictured the event happening. The scenario tickled my funny bone and I was just about ready to roll on the office floor and kick up my heels. Dead-pan seriousness gets me every time. Hey, we never will get out of this life alive, so why not enjoy what we can?

Pat

This morning, UNH Today, a daily e-publication of the University of New Hampshire, reports that 1/2 of the population of the United States is now Hispanic. The reason is that the number of births in that segment outstrips deaths. Even without more immigration statistics, the count is increasing from within this designated group.

Someone pointed out that this may be why we have to push a button on the phone for “English,” when calling large companies.

There are areas, even some in New Hampshire, where you can go if you want to hear Spanish. For example, just go to the Food Court in the Nashua Mall. At many of the fast food establishments of the southern tier of New England, (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island) that is the case. Portuguese is a language also heard in food establishments.

Certainly, the NH state prison has seen its share of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. The INS shows up, every now and then, to effect deportation.

Probably due to distance, we do not see many Mexicans or Mexican-Americans, or people who hail from Spain, in New Hampshire. There are hundreds of languages spoken in Concord, New Hampshire, and many of those are spoken by African immigrants whom the Lutheran Church and other groups have sponsored. Off the top of my head, I believe the last reported number of languages spoken in our capital city was 263.

The one point I want to make is the same one that is mentioned in the UNH article. It is not correct to assume that everyone who speaks Spanish is the same (that is racial stereotyping), nor do they even speak exactly the same. Anyone who speaks Spanish can understand another Spanish speaker, just as speakers of American English can understand the British though there are many variances.

In Spanish, individual words may differ. For example, the word for “car” in Spain is “coche”; but in Mexico, it is “carro.” In English, the word for restroom may have other equivalents that mean essentially the same time, the more euphemistic being “powder room.” In England, the area might be called the “loo.” My point is that the same basic language can be different, even though English is English and Spanish is Spanish.

The other difference in Spanish is the manner in which words are pronounced. One example is the dropping of the final “s” in words spoken in Puerto Rico. Another example is the insertion of a “th” sound in certain words spoken in Spain. “Cinco,” the word for “five,” become “Thinco,” as spoken in Spain.

So, not only the words but how they are pronounced are often different and vary between Spanish speaking countries. We are also in the habit of lumping speakers of Spanish under the umbrella term of “Hispanic,” a term that indicates that a person is from Spain. That is correct, according to the Oxford American Dictionary. However, a more specific term for people who originated in this hemisphere is “Latino,” a term that is preferred, according to a professor I once consulted about this matter. However, he does point out that the distinction is not critical. “Hispanic” and “Latino” are words always interchanged in the media.

In this present election process, it seems that the emphasis on Latinos and their purported draining of our resources for health care; and our need to have a wall between Mexico and the U.S., have not been given much play time. On strictly a personal level for immigrants, the situation seems tragic: to have to live in fear of being “found out;” to have children that cannot look forward to much in the future because their education is limited; and to have teenagers who cannot get a driver’s license at the same time their school mates do, is sad.

The whole issue of wanted/yet unwanted immigrants has been overpowering, at times, and has caused much division among people. As we try to make a better life for all, we leave a lot out of this discussion of how we can do right by ourselves and by others. All I know is that we are in this boat called “LIFE,” together, and unless and until we start acting as though we all belong to a collective body called “humanity,” the ship will start sinking fast.

Patricia Cummings