it's kind of striking...

i like to think about the progression of the human journey. i have recently been reading about the genographic project, the mapping of human genes. scientists believe, as well do i, that humans, all humans, have their roots in africa. through time people began to migrate, DNA structures started to change with the climates, and soon those different DNA structures started to mix.


while i was in africa it was hard for me to grasp that the people around me were still living in grass huts and farming with the same tools their ancient ancestors used. most of the people in the village had no idea that someone had landed on the moon. their response when told was, "those bature, they can do anything." bature meaning white people. when i would hear that i would often think about my own land, my home, with her high-rise buildings, air-craft filled skies, creamy lattes, mini-coopers, sleep numbers and pogo sticks. It was hard for me to imagine just how all of that came to be! it wasn't that long ago when our people were living in huts of their own.


isn't it striking how similar the two pictures are, how connected our cultures used to be? that is why it is sometimes hard for me to believe that i live the way that i do and the people in idaci village in northern nigeria live the way that they do. how, in just over 200 years did this happen?


by the way, brett took that first picture while we were in nigeria. isn't it beautiful? there are more here.

XX

many of you many not be aware of this, but i am a HUGE olympics fan. huge. i love watching the events and getting to know the athletes. i cry at each and every personal athlete story shared before an event. like the guy from austria whose wood-working father chopped down a tree on their own land. he fashioned a piece of that tree into the design of his son's skiis. That way his son would have a piece of home with him as he hurled down the slopes at mind-numbing speeds. or, the only ethiopian athlete who had to convince his country that cross-country skiing was something worthwhile to support. he hopes to win the gold. or the 53 year old woman bobsledder from the virgin islands who recently crashed, injuring herself. she will not longer be able to compete. by the end of the two weeks i feel as if i know all of the athletes personally and i love them all dearly.

there are many tense moments being an olympic fan. did you see bode miller get disqualified in the slalom? did you SEE that apollo anton ohno didn't even QUALIFY for the final short-track speed skating competition? he won the gold at the last olympics so this was very disappointing for him, for me, for all americans. and did you hear that michelle kwan had to drop out of the competition b/c her past injuries have prevented her from feeling fully prepared? she said she respected the olympics enough to drop out and give someone else a chance. with that, she earns my respect. i hope to see her on my box of wheaties despite not ever winning the gold. and what about the flying carrot (oops...i mean tomato. thanks brett)? this US hopeful almost let us down on the half-pipe. but, with his charming personality he still would have won this fan's heart.

speed skating is my favorite sport to watch. it is like watching water. it is beautiful and it is graceful and it is fast. the competitors flow in and out of each other like waves moving in and out from the shore. there is a lot of strategy involved and it always comes down to a photo finish. it is so intense that sometimes i have to hide my eyes. i was very disappointed when apollo did not qualify. the only negative about being a speed skating fan is that you have to stay up very late to watch the competitions. ice skating is always first.

ice skating is my least favorite event to watch even though i've watched every round. the chinese are looking good this year as do the russians, but that goes without saying. it's funny how all ice skaters kind of look russian isn't it? the only benefit of keeping up with ice skating are the stories. you've got the chinese rising up despite communism. in the past the athletes had to learn to skate by sneaking a peak at photographs of american skaters. then you've got the russians who always have endured some sort of hardship to reach olympic ice. then you've got the american skaters who try to portray themselves as bad-asses. last night was a classic example. i don't remember the kid's name b/c he is the new "hopeful" this year. his skating was unbelievable. beautiful. he was dressed like a swan and really had me convinced that he was one. the ugly duckling blossoming into the beautiful swan. it was funny to hear him try to portray himself as a "rebel skater." sorry kid, no rebel dresses like a swan...and can actually move like one.

there are about a week of events left. if you haven't stopped by the games yet this olympic season i suggest that you do. join me in cheering for apollo as he will get another chance at gold. see if rebel bode miller will actually get the gold the media says he deserves. and will those reporters ever leave him alone b/c he's not as good as they keep saying he is? watch the swan. gasp as you watch the borders on the half-pipe and realize that they are only 15, 16, 17 years old. listen to the stories. cry as you watch the medal ceremonies. be proud that the world can still come together every four years for this peaceful event. let it give you hope for the every day world we live in. -SN

i heisted this...

took this from someone else's blog. in the nelson home we wear long-underwear, hats, and scarves. we bundle ourselves in afgans and cuddle under down comforters. as we speak, my husband sits at his home-office computer wearing a poncho made of llama wool from ecuador. my home is heated to a cool 63 degrees. we keep the temps low for various reasons. as most of you know, gas prices are outrageous. they are outrageous b/c gas is a fast-dwindling resource. brett and i try our best not to be part of the problem. also, seeing if you can beat last month's gas bill is a fun game. b/c of my competitive nature i WILL NOT be the one to break down and turn up the heat (although, brett will tell you differently and he's probably not lying. but, i would be turning that sucker up as soon as i stepped in the door if it weren't for our little game. i can usually hold off until about 7pm). but, perhaps there is another reason why we do not hike up the heat. Garrison Keillor explains...

The character-building properties of sweaters
January 24, 2006

"I wake up and bounce out of bed in a pleasant mood and then notice that I can see my breath. There is frost on the bathroom mirror and a thin sheet of ice in the toilet. So I trot downstairs and turn up the thermostat. I like the house to be cozy, as if we had a blazing fire in each room, but I am married to Nanook of the North, who feels that in a world of finite resources a person of character can put on a warm sweater and be comfortable at 58 degrees; the house does not need to re-create the womb. The furnace rumbles in the basement, and I make coffee and fetch the paper. Then she appears in the kitchen in her woolens and says, "The thermostat was set at 85. Do we have elderly people coming for breakfast?" I explain that I had found the thermostat set low - did the stock market crash during the night? Have we become paupers? "Put on a sweater," she says. "It's not Poland, 1938," I say.

"Poland, 1938" is our code term for poverty. The closest I came to it was in 1967, when my first wife and I moved into her parents' basement, a room with a concrete floor and joists above with heating ducts snaking around, and sponged off them for a few months so I could try writing fiction. My mother-in-law Marjorie was the soul of kindness and never intimated by word or raised eyebrow that this arrangement was anything but normal. I think back on that with gratitude and amazement. Parents: the Guggenheim Foundation of First Resort. I hope I said thank you to Marj and Gene. But a 25-year-old can have a large sense of entitlement. When I think back to 1967, I feel good and guilty.

I felt guilty about it again last Sunday morning. In our church we kneel for confession, and there's not room between the pews for a tall man to kneel comfortably (and why should confession be comfortable?) so you must fold yourself up and twist into position - it's like trying to make love in the back seat of an old VW - and by the time you get to the things you have left undone, such as saying thank you to your in-laws 40 years ago, your lower back hurts. And you have left out a lot of bad stuff. We read the confession at a good clip, which is fine for the aged and infirm, but for me, a man with a good memory, there is a backlog of material. How can you sweep all of life's nastiness under the line "Forgive us for that which we have done" and feel absolved? We should hand out worksheets, with plenty of space under Lust and Pride and Anger and Covetousness and Others, for people to write out their recollections and use the back of the sheet if they need more space.

I suppose we trot through the confession because our sins are such dreary stuff, small potatoes, a snarky comment here, some low-grade neglect, some vague lustful thoughts triggered by lingerie ads, nothing heroic like Clytemnestra shacking up with Aegisthus after Agamemnon sailed off to the Trojan War, then she and the lover offing Ag with an axe, only to be done in by Ag and Cly's son Orestes, meanwhile Electra has gone nuts - this sort of thing is rare up here on the frozen tundra.

Not that we are better people. But maybe turning the thermostat down is how we put the damper on our darker tendencies. Nanook may be onto something. If you learn nothing else from great literature, at least you learn that the nicest people are capable of the darkest deeds. If you don't know that, then you are not a functioning adult. Perfectly lovely, well-behaved children active in church groups suddenly show up in the paper, accused of heinous crimes. Blame it on secular schools, if you like, or video games or high sugar consumption. But it may be that the thermostat was kept too high. Heat relaxes the inhibitions, and soon you start to think about stealing from your mother and getting hopped up on happy dust. It doesn't matter that you went to Sunday school regularly. The heart wants what it wants.

So chill, children. Put on a sweater. When tempted, go outdoors and lie in the snow and make angels."

© 2006 by Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, INC.

he sounds pissed!

my husband is often a soft spoken man. once my observant little niece noted to her mother that she liked the sound of brett's voice...that he sounded gentle. but not today's ladies and gentlemen. today he had FIRE in his belly.

kiss your wife for me

awhile back i had the wonderful opportunity to dine and discuss with paul rusesabugina. the movie "hotel rwanda" is based on his life. if you haven't seen the film yet, i really suggest that you do. paul has an amazing story.


i'll admit that when i arrived at the dinner i was feeling a little nervous. it was a little difficult for me to think about discussing something as heavy as genocide over green beans and potatoes. how do you act around someone who has lived through genocide? what do you say to a person who's bravery saved the lives of over 1,000 people? how do you ask questions about such a subject so as not to sound ignorant or tacky? i was able to calm down considerably as the dinner progressed b/c i realized that paul is just a man. he is just a man who did what he had to do.

i often wonder how i would act in similar circumstances. would i run and hide? or would i act? while i was watching the movie "hotel rwanda" i felt a little hopeless for myself. paul was such a super hero! he was so brave and strong. but dining with paul helped me to realize that super heros are human too. superman is just clark kent under that blue cape.

paul was very charming, laughing and telling jokes. he made everyone at the table feel at ease. he was filled with such hope for his country that it made me feel hopeful for my own. by the end of the night i felt as if i had known paul for a long long time. in fact, perhaps i felt a little TOO comfortable b/c i ended the night by asking him to kiss his wife for me. after a second thought i said, "well, you know, at least greet her for me." and paul said, "i will do all that you ask of me." ha ha. that paul...

state of the union

pres. bush gave his state of the union address the other night. i didn't watch it. instead i've been keeping my eyes on a couple of other world leaders who have caught the world's attention through some fairly unheard of tactics. i do not know much about these leaders. they may very well be jerks. but sometimes actions speak louder than words. and every so often a sweater speaks louder than words. i present, Evo Morales, the new president of Bolivia.

this man has been travelling around the world meeting other world leaders in this sweater, made by his native people. he himself is an indigenous farmer who has vowed to change his country for the better. to start, he promises to cut his own salary in half. members of the parliament and other top officials will also have to cut their salaries b/c no person can be paid more than the president. the money saved will go to social programs. in a country like bolivia that money will go a long way. washington is afraid of morales and is keeping a watchful eye on him b/c he has long admired the country of cuba and will visit there. well washington, you better watch me too b/c i have always wanted to visit cuba myself!

next, may i present, president ellen sirleaf johnson, the new leader of liberia.

the first thing this woman did was to hold a party for children. the second thing she did was speak about rape in her inaugural address, a taboo subject, something she herself endured and wants to stop. the third thing she did was sack every person working in liberia's finance ministry. they were corrupt and they were embarrasing her country, she said. she has promised to fight corruption from the top down...and she means it. a lot of these guys were pretty pissed to lose their jobs. pres sirleaf happily told them they could reapply and go through some extensive training. however, if they didn't meet the mark, she wasn't going to rehire them. ha.

pres. bush...the state of your union is kind of a disaster. i mean, thank you for mentioning plans to reduce the use of oil. thank you for talking about the environment at all! but, if your promises about the environment are anything like your promises to "end terror" i just have to sigh. maybe you should look into getting yourself an alpaca sweater. --sn