Reader Feedback!

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Dear VCO

As I prepare for my Mother's Day with my children and grandchildren, I can't help but feel for the mothers who have a son or daughter in the military. Could you find a Clark County mother who ONLY has one child and that child is in the military unable to be home for Mother's Day. Without fanfare or fuss please give my prize to that mother.

Thank you. Delilah

Winner of Feedback of the Month April All That Glitters is Not Gold

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What Can Money Buy?

Submitted by: Sy Baron

Money can buy a house but not a home.

Money can buy a clock but not time

Money can buy a bed but not sleep

Money can buy a book but not knowledge.

Money can buy a doctor but not good health.

Money can buy a position but not respect.

Money can buy blood but not life.

Money can buy sex but not love.

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Extra Extra, Read All About It

By: Merna Terna

I love working as an extra on the movie and TV sets here in Vegas. Retirement has afforded me the ability to divide my free time between charitable causes and fun. I love opportunity of meeting new people, many in my age range and financial bracket. Many even share my politics. With all the 'waiting around time' one can't help but engage in conversation. The extras come from all walks of life and all areas of the country. In this last year I've learned more about people than I did in my previous 65 years. Fascinating melting pot we have going on here in Vegas. Veddy veddy interesting! Lovin' every day of it....

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Deja Vu All Over Again (Thanx Yogi)
Submitted by: Sal Sagev

The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things...of shoes & ships and ceiling wax and cabbages & kings.

The time has also come to talk about our first grandchild going off to college
Wasn't it just yesterday when we took her mother, our first born, up to college for the first time.

Where have the years gone...these are all good things happening and we are happy but the years are slipping by so fast. My own father is almost 95 and sharp as a tack, so there is hope I can dance at my grandchildren's weddings. (Or at least be wheeled in if need be)...

I'm just sitting here wondering where the years went. So quick....so darn quick.

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Today's Souvenir, Tomorrow's Garbage

The Baron Family

We returned from a recent visit to Lake Havasu to see the infamous London Bridge.

Three hours in each direction, back and forth on the same day. Took some pictures,

did a little exploring and came back home.

The first people to greet us were my children and grandchildren..."Did you bring us back a souvenir?" We didn't. To be perfectly honest we didn't even think of it. We did

visit the gift shop but it just had the usual generic overpriced items.

How far do we have to travel? Is it distance that counts?

What is the criteria that needs to be met to bring back a souvenir gift.

Old Vegas vs. Vegas Now

From: An Old-time Las Vegan

	I'm a real old-timer who's been here since the late 60's and have watched Las Vegas grow from a small town to a mega city... but what have those changes brought? Below is a miniscule of the MANY reasons I'd like the Old Vegas back!

	Old Vegas		Vegas Now

	"The Boys"		Corporations
	Giving Comps all the time		Every department - bottom line profits
	No Traffic hassles		Total traffic congestion
	99 cent Shrimp Cocktail		$4.99 Shrimp Cocktail
	Lounge shows - $5 incl. 2 drinks		Nightclubs - $500 - $2,000 a night


	You do the math!

More is Less

Submitted by: John M.

I promise, in my next life, I will pay better attention in school so I can be more than a cab driver.

I’ve been a “hack” here in the “Greatest City of them all” for over 30 years. My “take home” has gone up about 25% since the middle 70’s. Compare that to the cost of living increase in the past three decades.

What with more cabs on the road, more traffic (MUCH MORE) more stop lights, more $$$$ per gallon of gas (MUCH MUCH MORE), more school zones, more pedestrians, more Taxicab Authority and “More bad guys” on the street.

I yearn for 60s and 70s again or a chance to go back to school and start over.

Thank You

Lois & Ben

We are proud that our submission on preventing global warming has been chosen

as the winning Feedback for March.

It would please us to have our prize offered to Dr. David Hassenzahl, the Chair of the Environment Studies Department at UNLV for him to present to a student of his choosing who is a member of S.S.C. Sierra Student Coalition

S.S.C. is a student organization at UNLV that focuses on environmental

issues facing Southern Nevada and the world.

Brando at the Seder

From: David S. Newman

This was published last year in the LA Jewish Journal and this year some other papers are running it. It is such a weird juxtaposition of people----Dylan and Brando. Louis Kemp, of Kemp Seafoods, the author, is a childhood friend of Bob Dylan.

Brando at the Seder

Louie Kemp

You might remember him as Don Vito Corleone, Stanley Kowalski or the eerie Col. Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now , but I remember Marlon Brando as a mensch and a personal friend of the Jewish people when they needed it most.

I got to know Marlon about thirty years ago through a mutual friend. His son, Christian, came to work for me in fisheries I owned in Alaska and Minnesota. Marlon impressed me as a dedicated parent. He would often call me to check on his boy with all the tenacity and loving concern of a Jewish mother: Was he eating enough? Did he get to work on time? Was he hanging out with the right people?

Christian was a great kid. He worked hard, had a good attitude and earned the respect of all his co-workers.

In the mid-1970s, when I would visit Los Angeles from my home in Minnesota, Marlon and I would get together. I was becoming increasingly involved in my religion and he would tell me with great pride and satisfaction about his support for Israel even before it became a State. Marlon explained that in 1946, two years before Israel achieved statehood, he desperately believed that the survivors of the Holocaust deserved to have their own land wh ere they could live free from oppression and the anti-Semitic tyranny of the outside world.

True to form, Marlon put his money where his mouth was and donated all of his proceeds from the play, 'A Flag Is Born,' to the Irgun, a Zionist political group dedicated to rescuing European Jewry and the establishment of Israel as an independent sovereign nation. He continued his donations and charitable work over the entire two-year run of the play as it went from Broadway to touring destinations around the United States.

'A people that fought so hard to survive need and deserve their own land,' he told me. 'I did all that I could and actively supported Israel's statehood anyway I was able.'

Marlon also told me with great emotion that his success in theater and movies was largely due to the Jewish people in New Y ork who befriended and taught him. He warmly mentioned Stella Adler, the legendary acting coach who both taught Marlon his craft and housed him with her family while he was getting on his feet as an actor. He was also especially proud of the fact that he could converse in Yiddish, having learned it while living with her family.

One of my visits to Los Angeles coincided with Passover. I was not yet Orthodox and made plans to attend a seder at a local synagogue with my sister. Marlon called me that very day and invited me out to dinner. I graciously declined, explaining that it was Passover and I was going to a seder. Marlon became audibly excited over the phone and said, 'Passover -- I've always wanted to attend a seder. Can I come with you?' He had made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I told him it could be arranged and called the synagogue to add one more to our list.

A short time later, Marlon called me back and asked if he could bring a friend. I said, yes, by all means, never thinking to ask his friend's name.

I called the shul again. They were a little less patient this time and

begrudgingly told me that they could squeeze one more person in, but this was absolutely the last one as they were now officially sold out.

Still later that day, I received a phone call from a childhood friend of mine who had become a well-known singer/songwriter. Being Jewish himself, and hearing I was going to a seder, he asked if he and his wife could go along. The shul was unhappy to receive my most recent request, but somehow I softened the heart of the receptionist and she agreed to let my people go -- to the seder.

I will never forget the sight of our table in the synagogue. Marlon Brando was to my left and sitting next to him was his guest. This was during the height of Marlon's involvement with Native American causes and he had brought with him noted Indian activist Dennis Banks of Wounded Knee fame.

Banks was dressed in full Indian regalia: buckskin tassles on his clothes and long braids hanging down from a headband, which sported a feather.

My childhood friend Bob Dylan sat to my right, joined by his wife, my sister Sharon, and other friends.

At first the seder progressed normally without anyone in the temple noticing anything out of the ordinary. After about forty-five minutes, the rabbi figured out that ours was not your average seder table. 'Mr. Brando, would you please do us the honor of reading the next passa ge from the Hagaddah,' he said. Marlon said, 'It would be my pleasure.'

He smiled broadly, stood up and delivered the passage from the Hagaddah as if he were reading Shakespeare on Broadway.

Mouths fell open and eyes focused on the speaker with an intensity any rabbi would covet. When he was done I think people actually paused, wondering if they should applaud.

Somewhat later the rabbi approached another member of our table.

'Mr. Dylan, would you do us the honor of singing us a song?'

The rabbi pulled out an acoustic guitar. I thought he would politely decline

Much to my surprise Bob said yes and performed an impromptu rendition of 'Blowin' in the Wind' to the stunned shul of about 300 seder guests. The incongruity of a seder, with Marlon Brando reading the Hagaddah followed by a Bob Dylan serenade, would have made for a good Fellini movie. Needless to say, everyone was both shocked and thrilled by this unusual Hollywood-style Passover miracle. The entire shul came by to shake both Marlon and Bob's hands and they actually paused and spent time with everyone.

Just a couple of years ago, Marlon called me up in Minnesota, out of the blue. We had kept in touch through the trials and tribulations he was going through with his family. 'Louie Kemp,' he said, 'I've been thinking about you. Twenty years ago you took me to a seder. I want you to know that I still think about it to this very day. In fact, I was thinking about it today and that's why I called you.'

He continued to thank me and tell me of the special spiritual impact it had on him and how much he identified with a people freeing themselves from bondage and uniting to celebrate and remember that freedom.

He told me he was sending his three youngest children to a Jewish day school in Los Angeles. When I asked him why, he said, 'Louie, don't you know that the Jewish schools are the best?' I could almost hear him smiling over the phone.

Dining Out Wishes

From: Lucky in Love Lucie

That li'l cup of coleslaw that accompanies a burger or sandwich changed to potato salad
Gravy should be offered as a beverage
Instead of a pickle on the side, two strips of bacon (yum!)
Seltzer (club soda) in lieu of the free water
Extra napkins in the middle of the table mandatory.. part of the table setting
A few large print menus upon request as well as a Braille menu
No auctioning off of food ....order taker codes who gets what by seat #...
Specials of the day, when recited, should also include the price
Diners at a table should be served simultaneously.. one dish shouldn't be served and the other guest told, "Yours will be out shortly."

All That Glitters is Not Gold

By: Delilah

I really adore our city. I love the weather, the people and the landscape. What I abhor is the traffic congestion. It has become unbearable. Years ago I would drive to the Rio for their lunch buffet, pull a few handles, play a little black jack then drive home. I would return to the strip later in the evening for dinner and perhaps a show or a roll of the dice.

But that was then and this is now. If I drive to the strip it's not more than once or twice a month. I avoid it like the plague. I cannot cope with the traffic and time lost waiting for traffic lights to change 5 or 6 times before I can cross an intersection. This is the one big drawback to living in the valley. Legislation proposals come and go without any viable plan.

New York City's traffic, in it's peak gridlock days, the week before Christmas, pales by comparison to everywhere in Vegas

Tony Curtis, Horse Hair, La Cote Basque

By: Mrs. Sy Baron

Back in the Bronx in the early 50's I joined the Tony Curtis Fan Club. At the ripe old age of 11, I was madly in love with Tony Curtis and Eddie Fisher. My mom (may she rest in peace) playfully made fun of my infatuations. When I watched the 15 minute show Coke Time starring Eddie Fisher she would say, "Oh you're watching Eddie Pisher again?" I sent away for a lock of Tony Curtis' hair. When it arrived I was in ecstasy and slept with it under my pillow. One night during my mom's mah jong game I heard the yentas laughing and heard words, "Curtis" "hair" and "horse." I got out of bed and listened by my door. My mom was telling her friends that they probably cut off part of the tail of a horse and sent it to me as a lock of Tony's hair. That was the kiss of death for my love affair with Tony Curtis.

FAST FORWARD...UPTEEN YEARS to the late 60s.

I was a guest at a dinner party at La Cote Basque in Manhattan. The publishers from Simon and Schuster were wooing Jack Molinas (the expelled basketball player) to write an autobiography.

At that time I was between husbands and was Molinas' date. Among others at the table was Tony Curtis. I remember feeling like a fish out of water. I was very much out of my league and unable to participate in much of the conversation. Tony Curtis sat diagonally opposite me. He was the only person at that table to make any effort to engage me in conversation. He was personable, witty, smiled at me, made appropriate eye contact and most importantly he put me at ease.

Jack and I were the first to leave. I 'made the nice' saying good-bye to all and how nice it was to have met them. Tony stood and said to me, "The pleasure was mine. It was nice meeting YOU!" I'm sure he doesn't remember the evening, and has no reason to remember me but I never forgot how 'menchy' he was. I write this because he is a local and I want everyone to know what a kind man is living in our midst.

DTV Transition and the Coupon Program

The Kassops

At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders.

Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using their analog TV sets after February 17, 2009. The Program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes.

A TV connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service does not require a TV converter box from this program.

Consumers have a variety of options. Options to explore include:

Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working after Feb. 17, 2009, or
Connect to cable, satellite or other pay service, or
Purchase a television with a digital tuner.

Click here: TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website

Callous Cheney

From: Robert Kassop, Esq.

Mrs. Sy Baron's article about Cheney flipping the bird to us, reminds me of a few years ago when Tim Russert interviewed Cheney on Meet the Press for the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Even though this was about two years ago, I never forgot the interview.

Mr. Cheney repeatedly disagreed and repeatedly disregarded virtually every concern voiced by many Americans about the way Mr. Bush is managing his war. I never forgot how frustrated I felt when listening to Cheney, in a position of responsibility such as his, could be so callous in his views towards many of our citizens. There was simply no connection either in his demeanor or his arguments that would give anyone the feeling that views different from his might have a place in the grand scheme of things.

I'm pretty comfortable with Teddy Roosevelt's axiom to speak softly but carry a big stick. I am not comfortable with a brash display of force to overcome some imagined adversary. If you have the big stick you don't have too much to worry about when war is forced upon you. But when you are the aggressor (as we are in Iraq) no stick is big enough since, in addition to the new enemy, you've also chosen to fight the weight of public opinion, here and worldwide. Cheney, of course, not being the statesman we might wish for, will give no credence to opinions other than his own. The literature is full of such tragic figures.

I have memories of the grandeur of America when we had the respect of all nations on earth; when that respect filtered down, despite our sometimes dysfunctional but generally operational political system, to the rest of us because we were known as a people who gave more than we took from the rest of the world. Now where are we? When I get up in the morning, I have to beg for the ability to "forgive them for they know not what they do."

Click here: Hotline On Call: Sunday Snapshot: Cheney V. Russert

Arrogant Cheney Flips the Bird to All of Us

By: Mrs. Sy Baron

A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, "two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting." Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: "So?"

"So?" As in, "So what?" As in, "The heck with you. I could care less."

I would like every American to see Cheney flip the virtual bird at us, the American people. Then ask yourself why we haven't risen up and thrown him and his puppet out of the White House.

The Democrats have had the power to literally pull the plug on this war for the past 15 months -- and they have refused to do so. What are we to do about that? Continue to sink into our despair? Or get creative? Real creative. I know there are many of you reading this who have the chutzpah and ingenuity to confront your local congressperson. Will you?

Cheney spent Wednesday, the 5th anniversary of the war, not mourning the dead he killed, but fishing off the Sultan of Oman's royal yacht! So? Ask your favorite Republican what they think of that.

The Founding Fathers would never have uttered the presumptuous words, "God Bless America." That, to them, sounded like a command instead of a request, and one doesn't command God, even if they are America. In fact, they were worried God would punish America. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington feared that God would react unfavorably against his soldiers for the way they were behaving. John Adams wondered if God might punish America and cause it to lose the war, just to prove His point that America was not worthy. They and the others believed it would be arrogant on their part to assume that God would single out America for a blessing. What a long road we have traveled since then.

I see that Frontline on PBS this week has a documentary called "Bush's War." That's what I've been calling it for a long time. It's not the "Iraq War." Iraq did nothing. Iraq didn't plan 9/11. It didn't have weapons of mass destruction. It DID have movie theaters and bars and women wearing what they wanted and a significant Christian population and one of the few Arab capitals with an open synagogue.

But that's all gone now. Show a movie and you'll be shot in the head. Over a hundred women have been randomly executed for not wearing a scarf. I'm happy, as a blessed American, that I had a hand in all this. I just paid my taxes, so that means I helped to pay for this freedom we've brought to Baghdad. So? Will God bless me?

With Easter just passed and Passover less than a month away let God bless all of us as we begin the 6th year of THE BUSH WAR.

We need more than for God to bless us, we need God to help America. Please!

Vegas' 1st Annual April Fools' Day Parade

Satirically Presented By: Sy Baron

The 1st Annual April Fools' Day Parade will march down Las Vegas Boulevard South beginning at 12 noon, Tuesday, April 1st, 2008.

The Las Vegas April Fools' Day Parade is being created to remedy a glaring omission of Vegas' failure to recognize the importance of April 1st, the day designated to commemorate the perennial folly of mankind. In an attempt to bridge that gap and bring people back in touch with their inherent foolishness, the parade will annually crown a King of Fools from parading look-a-likes.

The parade will be led by President George Bush and his entire cabinet. They will be given a 60-second lead and then pursued by an outraged lynch mob. This will be followed by a humongous parade-size helium balloon of a B52 Bomber Equipped with Nuclear Missiles flying overhead as the April Fools' Day Parade Marching Band plays Woody Guthrie's "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You." The Parade's Grand Marshall will be Ralph Nader, appropriately dressed as The Jester.

The public is encouraged to participate, in or out of costume, with or without floats, and may join the procession at any point along the parade route. Floats can be no wider than 10 feet and no longer than 25 feet. They can be self-propelled, towed, pushed or pulled. Customized bicycles, tricycles, baby carriages and aerial balloons are welcome. The Parade Committee assumes no liability for damages caused by satire. All participants are costumed look-alikes.

This year's floats will be led Mardi Gras-style by Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial, and instead of beads his Loan Shark Cronies will toss out loans you can't refuse to the crowd; Michael Vick will be taking bets on his Dog Fight Float with caged, snarling pit bulls; a Chinese Dry-Cleaning Float will feature Roy Pearson screaming, "Where are my pants? I'm going to sue!"; an Archeological Dig float designed by James Cameron will feature Jesus and Mary's Bones; a Tourette's Syndrome Float will feature radio personality Don Imus, political pundit Ann Coulter, the Reverend Louis Farrakhan, radio talk show host Bill Cunningham, and Dog the Bounty Hunter-all shouting obscenities at the crowd.

Marching celebrity fool look-alikes will include Senator Larry Craig insisting, "I'm not gay!"; Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore insisting, "I am gay"; Cheaney Aide Scooter Libby pleading "Pardon me, pardon me!"; disruptive political protestor Andrew Meyer surrounded by cops screaming, "Don't tase me, bro"; ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asserting, "To the best of my recollection, I don't remember anything"; baseball great Roger Clemens protesting, "I never used steroids!"; ex-cop Drew Peterson calling for his missing wife to "Come home, just come home"; contagious TB world traveler Andrew Speaker coughing on the crowd; and a dazed Britney Spears looking for the Halloween Parade.

Color commentary will be provided by ex-Philadephia TV newscaster Alicia Lane in a thong bikini. Security this year will be provided by mercenaries courtesy of Blackwater.

As the parade ends in downtown Vegas , the party begins, featuring live music, food, concessions & entertainment. The Chinese Government will be sponsoring a Food and Drug Concession and a Chinese Pet Food Booth. The USDA will be giving away free hamburgers. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the CIA will provide free demonstrations of Waterboarding. Sex offender Deb LaFave will run a Day Care Center for paraders' children. And OJ Simpson and his posse will hawk his sports memorabilia to raise money for next year's parade.

We are grateful to the Las Vegas Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Mayor Goodman, Governor Gibbons and private funders for their support of this year's parade.

The King or Queen of Fools will be chosen based on the loudest cheers of the crowd on Freemont St. The winner will reign through March 31, 2009.

Green-Collar Jobs

Mrs. S. Baron

With all the building constantly going on in Vegas, I have yet to see anyone spurring the creation of green-collar jobs. To me a green-collar jobs is any job that directly contributes to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Like traditional blue collar jobs, green-collar jobs can range from low-skill, entry-level type positions to high-skill, higher paid jobs.

Green-collar jobs are found in construction, manufacturing, installation, maintenance and many other industries. Some green-collar jobs are extremely well paid, career track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Green-collar jobs tend to be local because many involve work transforming and upgrading the already built and natural environment—work such as retro fitting buildings, installing solar panels, construction like our monorail, and landscaping.

NOT A GREEN COLLAR JOB: If a job improves the environment, but doesn’t provide a family-supporting wage or a career ladder to move low-income workers into higher-skilled occupations, it is not a green-collar job. (e.g. workers installing solar panels without job security or proper training, or young people pushing brooms at a green building site without opportunity for training or advancement.)

I would be beholden to anyone who would direct me to the proper agency and/or person who has the means, motive and opportunity to create some honest-to-goodness GREEN COLLAR JOBS in Clark County.

Bush's Marching Orders

By: Mrs. S. Baron

I am delighted that John McCain finally made it as front runner of his party, if only for the fact that anyone who went through what he went through in Vietnam is certainly entitled to declare his candidacy for president of the United States. Despite his allegiance to what has become of the Republican party in recent years, he has still made an ongoing attempt to comfort the afflicted as well as afflict the comfortable in the U.S. Senate. And that is something sorely needed.

He has not yet announced who his running mate might be and I'm disappointed that he turns toward Mr. Bush for support. For if he panders to that kind of corruption, might he also not call for someone like Mike Huckabee to be his vice-president if only to reach the far right vote as well?

And, at 71 years old, is there not a reasonable assumption that McCain might die in office, leaving the country in the hands of a doctrinaire belief system of someone the Founding Fathers warned us against?

I would much rather this country be led by a man dedicated to the laws of the United States rather than another president who talks and listens to God for his marching orders.

Do Not Call Registry

By: Sy Baron

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.

How To Intelligently Choose Between Hillary & Obama

By: Sy Baron

One Potato, Two Potato

Eeny Meany, Mighty Moe

Odds, Evens

Rock - Paper - Scissors

Corned Beef My Way

Mrs. Sy Baron

As a card carrying, dues paying member of the Reformed Jewish Faith I look forward to St. Patrick's Day for a few reasons. St. Patrick's Day means corned beef is in abundance and on sale in the supermarkets. It's time to fill the freezer. I love a corned beef sandwich on New York Rye Bread with side of potato salad, a sour pickle and a Dr. Brown's Celery Tonic or Cream Soda.

Arby's just came out with their new Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich with Thousand Island Dressing and Swiss Cheese served on what they call marble rye but is really soft texture.

Now I ask you, be honest....how would you prefer your corned beef sandwich?

Submitted For Your Enjoyment

By The One & Only Tony Cedrini

Green Gore

Submitted by Alice

Green with Envy

Submitted by Sy Baron

Go Green

Submitted by the Green Family, Lois & Ben Green

Bike Instead Of Ride.
Riding your bike instead of riding in a car saves energy and reduces pollution, of course. But it is also fun! That makes it a double benefit.

Buy Products Made Of Recycled Paper.
How can you tell if a package is recycled? Look right on the package. Many have specific claims, such as "made of 100 percent recycled material." However, some recycled packages don't advertise this fact, although there are ways you can find out for yourself. For example, when shopping for cereal, cookies, crackers, and other groceries packaged in cardboard boxes, make sure boxes are made from recycled paper. If the underside is gray or dark brown, the cardboard is made of recycled material. If it's white, it is made of unrecycled material.

Change A Light Bulb.
By replacing a standard bulb with a compact fluorescent one you will get more light for less money and save a lot of energy.

Cut Down On Packaging.
We've already given you several ways to do this. Keep in mind that about half of what we throw away is packaging. By buying products that have as little packaging as possible, you can help to reduce those mountains of trash.

Don't Buy Aerosols.
There are environmentally better packages for most products. Aerosols can't be recycled--which means that they are guaranteed to end up in landfills--and some of their ingredients contribute to air pollution. Instead of aerosols, look for spray bottles, liquids, powders, and roll-ons.

Eat Organic Produce.
Organic produce contains far fewer chemicals than other produce. That's probably better for your health, and it is definitely better for the environment. All those chemicals get washed off of farmers' fields into rivers and streams, where they pollute our water. In addition, many of the chemicals are made from petroleum and other nonrenewable resources. So, don't eat chemicals--eat real food

Elect "Green" Candidates. During election campaigns, ask candidates about their position on the environment. Try to ask specific questions that relate to situations in your community--whether they support a mandatory recycling program, for example, or whether they plan to get tough on polluting companies!

Hold On To Balloons.
Helium balloons--they kind that float up into the sky--are lots of fun, but if you let them fly away, they may harm fish and animals. Helium balloons eventually fall back to earth and can be blown by strong winds miles away into the ocean. Some sea animals mistake the balloons for jellyfish. When an animal tries to eat a balloon, it can kill the animal. So if you have a helium balloon, hold on tight. If you know of others planning to use them for a celebration, warn them about the dangers of letting the balloons fly away.

Look At Labels.
Reading labels can tell you a lot of things. First, you can find out about a product's ingredients--whether it contains anything that might be hazardous to your health or the the environment. A label will also tell you how to contact the product's manufacturer with your questions and comments. Feel free to let them know what's on your mind. Do you think their product is good? Let them know! Could it be better? Let them know that, too. In particular, let them know if you've decided to buy--or not buy--their product for environmental reasons. Companies listen very carefully to what their customers have to say. It doesn't take very many letters and calls for a company to think seriously about making changes.

Quit Throwing Away Batteries.
Americans go through more than two billion batteries a year to power such things as radios, calculators, watches, flashlights, and computers. Unfortunately, batteries contain many hazardous materials, which leak into landfills when batteries are thrown away. Many of these dangerous chemicals get into our water supply. There are two ways you can avoid throwing away batteries. One is by using batteries that can be recharged over and over. You should also find out if there are companies in your area that recycle batteries. If you must throw batteries away, do so at a hazardous-waste collection site, if there is one in your area. Still another idea is to send the batteries back to the manufacturers, signifying that you consider used batteries a potential danger. This may encourage companies to begin recycling

Green Eggs and Ham à la Sam-I-Am

By: Lola

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
4 slices of ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1-2 drops of green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Melt a teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add sliced ham and brown until edges are slightly crisp. Remove the ham from the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.
In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat with a whisk until frothy. Then add 1-2 drops of green food coloring until you reach the desired shade of green.
Heat a tablespoon of butter or margarine in a large frying pan over medium heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Then add the egg mixture to the pan.
Stir the egg mixture with a spatula until the eggs are firm and not too runny.
Transfer the eggs to individual plates. Garnish with a sprig of parsley. Add the ham prepared earlier. Serve with toast or warm rolls.

Feeds 4 hungry green-egg lovers

My Next Life
Mrs. Sy Baron

I want to live my next life backwards!
You start out dead and get that out of the way
right off the bat.

Then, you wake up in a nursing home

feeling better every day.
When you are kicked out of the home for being too
healthy, you spend several years enjoying your
retirement and collecting benefit checks.

When you start work, you get a gold watch

on your first day.

You work 35-40 years or so, getting younger every day
until pretty soon you're too young to work.

So then, you go to high school: play sports,
date, drink, and party.

As you get even younger, you become a kid .

You go to elementary school, play, and have no
responsibilities.

In a few years, you become a baby and everyone
runs themselves ragged keeping you happy.

You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully
in luxury, spa-like conditions: central heating,
room service on tap.

It's Not Easy Being Green Sing-a-long

Submitted By: Jamie Cooper

It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be

From Sesame Street "It's not easy to be green"

Wearin' Of The Green

Compiled by Mr. & Mrs. Sy Baron

Leap Day

By: Freida

February is the only month that has four even weeks....four weeks of seven days each. Except, every four years when we get a bonus February day. Today is our bonus day. It's strange that this day is not celebrated. We have a day of love celebrated right smack in the middle of February so why shouldn't we celebrate February 29th. It is, in actuality, special. Special because it surpasses what is considered usual.

Now that we've been given a gift of an extra day, what say you we do on this day?

I vote for taking a leap of faith and paying a good deed forward...meaning let's do something anonymously for someone who doesn't expect it. I, for one, am planning to spend the afternoon at the home of a neighbor who is homebound. I've already prepared a special meal for us to share. Happy Leap Day!

On the Boardwalk of Atlantic City

Mrs. S. Baron

It cudda been any boardwalk resort town in the 1950s, Lakewood, Rockaway, Jersey Shore, Wildwood or in my case Atlantic City. Fascinated by the 'claw/lobster machine' and the Planter's Peanut boardwalk store, I still remember some 50 odd years later, the aroma of peanuts roasting and the Mr. Peanut souvenirs. I still have my green plastic Mr. Peanut bank which according to EBay sales commands something more than sentimental value now. This is a photo of my brother and me on the boardwalk circa early 1950s. Notice my brother's gun and holster which was commonplace toys back then.

Say it isn't so

Mrs. S. Baron

My 2 Cents Plain

By: Mrs. S. Baron

Bet On Bette

What a wonderful evening of entertainment. Midler on stage and a star studded opening night audience. Where does one look first. As usual The Devine was truly devine. Bath House Bette will not disappoint. One question, she looks half her age and struts her stuff like she did 30 years ago. How?

Pleeze No Obama...Pleeze

Obama has many flaws and omissions that seemed to have eluded the press. The following is just one but says volumes. He is so very, very inexperienced in the international arena that it is frightening to think that he might lead this nation. He talks the talk but I seriously doubt his ability to walk the walk.

He has taken several long trips as a lawmaker—through the Middle East, Africa and the former Soviet Union. But there is one noteworthy gap in Obama’s itinerary: except for a brief stopover in London, returning from Russia in 2005, he has apparently never been to Western Europe since launching his political career. What renders this gap especially surprising is that Obama is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe. Not only has the Senator not visited the region his committee oversees, but as, Obama’s committee has not held a single policy-oriented hearing since he’s been chairman. Europe may not be the central playing field but it remains essential to the global set of alliances and relationships that the U.S. needs to cultivate in the new century. In fact, there is no place where it will be more urgent to rebuild bridges. As Obama knows, the United States cannot do it alone—and Europe will need to play a supporting role in whatever strategy the next president articulates.

I have voted in all presidential elections since and including JFK. I would lose the farm on this election because if Obama beats Hillary, I will be forced for the first time in over 65 years to vote Republican.

Waterboarding is a form of torture used to obtain information, coerce confessions, and for punishment and intimidation.

Mukasey & My Mom

Submitted by Brooklyn Benny

The Background

President Bush nominated Mukasey to replace retired Attorney General Gonzales.

He was eventually confirmed by the Senate but by the narrowest margin in more than 50 years.

The Senate's concern was over Mukasey's opinion or lack thereof of using Waterboarding as a means of interrogating terror suspects. Before his confirmation, Mukasey said he would keep an open mind on Waterboarding. After his confirmation, he said he reviewed the CIA's current methods of interrogating terror suspects, which includes Waterboarding, and finds them to be lawful.

So on January 30th 2008 when Senator Ted Kennedy asked Mukasey if he (Mukasey) would "consider water boarding torture if it was done to you", Mukasey replied, "I would feel that it was."

The Opinion

When I think of the lies I could have gotten away with as a kid but was too afraid of what my mother would have done to me, I get terribly upset.

If she hadn't bugged me so much about telling the truth, I could have been president, for Pete's sake.

And, assuming I didn't make it to the White House, I could at least have been elected to Congress and had a pretty good income (plus medical benefits) for just repeating over and over again whatever I could get the public to believe .. especially if I had the good sense to deny I ever said what I said to begin with.

And if we assume I couldn't get elected to Congress .. a big assumption considering how meager those qualifications are .. maybe I could at least have settled into the job of Attorney General like this guy Mukasey.

He and I are definitely cut from the same cloth. I remember his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee a couple of months ago when he conned them into believing that he'd keep an open mind (after they gave him the job of course) about whether he believed Waterboarding was constitutional.

I remember his words so well because it's the kind of convoluted lie I could have told if only my mother had let me get away with it! "If it amounts to torture then it is not constitutional." Beautiful... Couldn't have done better myself.

Ah, what the heck. I'm too old now to change my ways. Which just goes to show you what a terrible job my mother did in bringing me up

In Depth

Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on his or her back, with the head inclined downward and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent.procedure.

Ice your Valentine Cupcake with Champagne
(Pun Intended)

Contributed by: Mrs. Sy Baron

1 can whipped white frosting
1/4 teaspoon Champagne flavoring

Empty the frosting into a small bowl and add the Champagne flavoring.
Stir to combine and set aside until ready to frost.
Champagne flavoring is available where cake & candy making supplies are sold (Gourmetsleuth.com)

A Motherless Daughter's Love

By: Anonymous

It was the Labor Day Week-end 1954. The camp bus pulled into the parking lot of the "Y" and I immediately saw my uncle waiting for me. I was surprised my dad wasn't there, but being away for two weeks at sleep away camp, I was happy to see any family member. The walk home seemed exceptionally long because I was anxious to see my mom who had been ill all summer.

My house was full of relatives and friends. How nice, I thought, so many people came to welcome me home from camp. After my father's initial hugs and kisses he escorted me into his bedroom and closed the door. He awkwardly began, "Do you know why all these people are here?" "Sure," I said. "They're here because I'm home from camp." Then I asked if mom is back in the hospital again. He said that mom is in a coma in the hospital and the family has gathered here because mom is very sick. I was only 12 years old and had never heard the word 'coma.' I had no idea what that meant. I asked when I could see mommy and he repeated that she is in a coma and will not come out of it. I didn't know what it meant, but I remember saying, "Will I ever see mommy again." I heard him say "No." I don't remember anything else until found myself hours later in the bath with my grandma sitting on a chair next to me. Why she thought a bath would help me I have no idea, but nonetheless I am certain they did the best they could under the circumstances. Mommy died that night.

Fifty-four years ago and I'm still not over it. I still cry. Correction, I still sob. I can't watch any movie in which a mom dies or is ill. All my life I was a daughter without a mother, a motherless daughter.

I've had two marriages and didn't do either very well. I am, however, a wonderful mother and grandmother. My children are devoted to me as I am to them. My grandchildren adore me and I can't do enough for them. Over the years my memory of my mother has faded despite my best efforts to hang on to them but the sense of loss and a lack of a mother's nurturing love is very real and ever present.

There is no other love like the selfless love of a mother. We only get one mother. I missed growing up with that love. But I am sated knowing that I have been fortunate to have my own children and grandchildren to whom I bestow my motherly love.

You Can't Go Home Again

**VCO's Steven Sorrentino & Novelist Thomas Wolfe**

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE !!!

Presented by: Jackie Sussman

I did go home again. Or did I?

It was the Park Avenue of the Bronx. My parents always told me how lucky we were to live on the Grand Concourse. Suffice it say that our huge pre-war, three-bedroom, one-bath apartment needed to be shared with my grandparents who helped pay the $97 a month rent.

Born in 1941, I remember having one small windowless room designated as the 'take cover room'