Marion Marchetto

I Feel Good
Posted January 31, 2012 at 15:47 (General)
Today is Primary Day here in Florida. So, bright and early this morning (okay, not so bright but definitely early) I pulled my car into a spot at the polling place in my precinct. I was one of the first few to arrive on my way to work.

I saw a few really early people exiting the polls. When I went in, I saw the long table with the signs directing people into the proper line by first letter of last name. So I stepped up to the lady behind the sign bearing the letters L-M.

Once I gave her my name and signed the register, I was given a numbered ballot. I moved over to the individual booths, marked my ballot, and fed it into the ballot reading machine. There! I'd cast my vote. How easy it was. And painless.

I can't get over why some folks won't vote. I hear this a lot from women. They make excuses like, "I don't know who to vote for" (if you haven't listened to the radio or watched the gazillion ads on TV, not to mention the debates then you must live in Siberia); "The polls are out of my way" (so is the dry cleaners but at least they don't have a long-term impact on your life); "my candidate always loses" (probably because thousands of people make an excuse not to vote).

We need only to take a look at history - women's suffrage to be exact - to see the lengths that women had to go to in order to be able to cast a vote. Furthermore, count the number of lives that have been sacrificed so that YOU could have the opportunity to vote!

Whether you are involved in a primary election, a state election, or a national election - choose to exercise your freedom to vote! Once you do, you'll see how good it makes you feel.

Posted by Marion at 15:47 2012-01-31 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: The Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins
Posted January 30, 2012 at 13:57 (Reviews of Books I've Read)

This trilogy of books (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) is best read one right after the other. Each book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you anxious to read more!

The country of Panem has replaced the USA. Panem consists of the Capitol and thirteen distinct districts. Some seventy-five years prior to the beginning of book one, the districts have revolted against the Capitol and are defeated. In an effort to keep the districts under control, the Capitol institutes the Hunger Games, an annual event where each of twelve districts must send two tributes to fight to the death for the televised entertainment of all. These tributes are chosen from all the young people between the ages of 12 and 17. Note: District 13 was destroyed in the revolt so there are a total of twenty-four tributes each year.

Katniss Everdeen, a young woman from District 12, volunteers to take the place of her twelve-year-old sister who name was chosen at random. Her male counterpart is a young man named Peeta who she must align herself with yet withhold getting emotional about if she wants to survive.

This trilogy is easy to read and follow. The action is packed in every page and has you wondering what sort of demented challenges the contestants will face. From the first page of book one to the final page of book three, I couldn't wait to get home each day and read more. The characters are complex and just when you think you've figured out what's going to happen next you’ll find that there are more twists than a mountain road in winter.

The entire story is terrifyingly good. My favorite character is Cinna, who is head of Katniss's prep team (hair stylists, clothing designers, etc) who are charged with making the tributes look good for television. His persona affects Katniss through all three books and I love his sense of flair and drama.

RATING: MMMMM (5 M's) Suitable for ages 13 and above.

Posted by Marion at 13:57 2012-01-30 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Posted January 30, 2012 at 13:44 (General)

Time: The not-too-distant future.

Place: The United States

Problem: Overcrowding of prisons

Solution: Chroming

In a country turned Puritanical, religious zealots hold the populace in a tight grip. A multitude of things, from wearing short skirts to questioning a man's opinion, are all accountable actions. Hannah Payne has been deemed guilty of murder when she chooses to abort her unborn child. She is given one last opportunity to avoid her punishment when the judge asks her, one last time, to name the father of her aborted child. Hannah's dilemma: the father is a married man and a national religious figure as well. She believes so strongly in her love for him that she refuses to name him and thus will undergo a process called chroming.

Chroming is the process where a person's skin color is changed by an injection of dye: red for the most heinous of crimes (murder or other felony), blue or yellow for less serious offenses. The convicted person is also given a sentence of a fitting number of years that he or she must retain the offending skin color (through booster shots administered every three or four months). Thus Hannah is convicted and must remain a Red for sixteen years. The book follows Hannah after she is released from her initial time in prison (thirty days) and has to cope with living in a world that abuses and discriminates against 'Chromes'. Her journey will cause her to examine her life, her faith, and her love.

Throughout the story we face the worst of Hannah's life as she adjusts to being a Red. Her family disowns her although her father secures for her a position in a halfway house where she soon learns that conformance to the rules is worse than living on the street. She finally up and leaves the place, placing her trust in God or fate. In the end, she is reunited with her baby-daddy only to find that his profession of love leaves her cold.

I found this book riveting. The idea of wearing one's conviction for all to see is reminiscent of The Scarlet Letter but adapted to our current society. This story gives us a peek at a futuristic world where nothing or no one can hide. The situations are quite believable as are the characters.

Suitable for ages 13 and above.

Rating: MMMM m (4.5 M's).

Posted by Marion at 13:44 2012-01-30 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)

Traditions
Posted January 18, 2012 at 16:17 (General)
Each of us has traditions that we've grown up with. Some are family traditions that have stayed with us since childhood. Others are traditions that we've created with our own family. And then there are the things that have always been done in a traditional manner.

In the short span of time from the beginning of the year to today, I've seen two traditions broken. And I don't like it! Especially when I have no control of how or why these traditions were changed.

The first thing I'm not happy about is that the television networks changed the day/date of the Tournament of Roses. That parade has been held on January 1st for as long as I can remember - 63 years to be exact. I remember watching that parade as a child, sitting in our living room back in New England, looking out the window at a snow-covered lawn then turning back to watch the parade as it meandered down the sun-dappled streets of Pasadena, California. After I had my own family, we enjoyed spending New Year's Day sipping mimosas and watching the sun-drenched floats and marveling at the imaginative way that flowers were used to recreate stunning moving scenes.

Then, this year - 2012 - came the break with tradition. With New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, it appears that network television stations played into the trap set for them by the lure of money. Our New Year's Day was filled with professional football games (we're not big on sports in my house). New Year's morning was devoid of the beauty and tradition that normally filled the kick off to our year. With my hubby returning to work on January 2nd, we no longer had the fun and relaxation that we had come to expect at the start of our year; I got to watch the parade with my cats.

This past weekend saw another break with tradition, although this one was not as jarring as the first. When I learned that the Miss America pageant was once again to be televised on a Saturday night I became giddy with anticipation. It had been quite a while since it was held on a Saturday - I think last year it was on a Friday (I may be wrong). But I was extremely annoyed to find that the pageant was now being brought to us from Las Vegas!

I can almost understand why it is no longer held in Atlantic City, but come on! At least keep it on the East Coast. What's wrong with Miami or Fort Lauderdale if they want the sunny, warm weather? My only consolation this year was that they did, indeed, play a canned version of the theme song "Miss America". But it was sung by an unnamed artist! If the pageant wants to play a canned version at least let it be the one sung by Bert Parks!!!

So, I look forward to 2012 with trepidation. What other wonderful traditions will be broken or changed beyond recognition?

Posted by Marion at 16:17 2012-01-18 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)

Lost, Found, Lost Again
Posted January 09, 2012 at 14:30 (General)

Why is it that family members feud? I can understand immediate family members sometimes don't get along. But what annoys me is when something happened a generation or two back and folks carry on because 'we don't associate with that side of the family'.

I knew from an early age that we (mom, dad, and me) didn't 'get along' with many people from my dad's side of the family. Never knew exactly why but I knew there was bad blood somewhere down the line. Dad glossed over it - sort of like rain falling off a duck. But mom seemed to seethe and simmer. Consequently, I only knew my cousins on my mom's side. They were the ones we spent holidays with and visited throughout the year. I knew there were other cousins, aunts, and uncles on my dad's side but I never got to visit with them. I knew who they were, all of their names, and often heard stories about them but I didn't know them at all.

Some of that changed when I got engaged and married. I recall that everyone from dad's side of the family was invited to the wedding. Mom wanted everyone to see that I was 'better than the rest'. I personally had no interest in flaunting myself before folks I didn't know - I was happy, I was in love, and I was getting married. I drifted apart from the cousins I knew and grew up with (mom's side of the family). The others were simply there.

Now, years later, I was thrilled to actually connect with one of my cousins from dad's side of the family. I'll call her Penny (fictitious name). Penny and I reconnected through a social networking site and spent hours on the phone talking. She couldn't understand why they (cousins) were kept from me either. We resolved never to let bygones keep us apart. I was grateful for the contact with Penny because it filled in a lot of gaps in my family knowledge - especially medical knowledge. Penny and I communicated for slightly over a year. We had even gone as far as planning a meeting of the cousins.

Then things changed. I don't know why but Penny stopped responding to my emails. I made several attempts to call her but her phone number was changed. Then she changed her email address. I could see that she was still active on the social networking site so I sent her a couple of messages there. All of this was over the space of slightly more than a year or so. Penny has not responded to any of my attempts to reach her. I'm grateful that she has two grown children to fill her life and understand that her family must come first. But I feel so bereft at losing her so shortly after having found her.

There seems to be a lot of value in just moving forward with one's life, but wouldn't my (and Penny's) life be richer with having another relative in it?

So, I must ask the question: has past family history influenced Penny's behavior towards me? If so, do either of us know what exactly happened in our families back in the early 1900s to keep us apart? Do either of us continue to care about what happened? Are we more interested in looking toward the future?

On a grander scale, should we allow arguments or misunderstandings between our parents and/or grandparents to keep us from knowing people who we would really like to have in our life? And Penny, if you read this, please know that you are loved and missed.

If you've experienced something similar and would like to share, feel free to leave a comment.

Posted by Marion at 14:30 2012-01-09 | Trackbacks (0) | Comments (0)

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	I Feel Good Posted January 31, 2012 at 15:47 (General) Today is Primary Day here in Florida. So, bright and early this morning (okay, not so bright but definitely early) I pulled my car into a spot at the polling place in my precinct. I was one of the first few to arrive on my way to work. I saw a few really early people exiting the polls. When I went in, I saw the long table with the signs directing people into the proper line by first letter of last name. So I stepped up to the lady behind the sign bearing the letters L-M. Once I gave her my name and signed the register, I was given a numbered ballot. I moved over to the individual booths, marked my ballot, and fed it into the ballot reading machine. There! I'd cast my vote. How easy it was. And painless. I can't get over why some folks won't vote. I hear this a lot from women. They make excuses like, "I don't know who to vote for" (if you haven't listened to the radio or watched the gazillion ads on TV, not to mention the debates then you must live in Siberia); "The polls are out of my way" (so is the dry cleaners but at least they don't have a long-term impact on your life); "my candidate always loses" (probably because thousands of people make an excuse not to vote). We need only to take a look at history - women's suffrage to be exact - to see the lengths that women had to go to in order to be able to cast a vote. Furthermore, count the number of lives that have been sacrificed so that YOU could have the opportunity to vote! Whether you are involved in a primary election, a state election, or a national election - choose to exercise your freedom to vote! Once you do, you'll see how good it makes you feel. Posted by Marion at 15:47 2012-01-31 \| Trackbacks (0) \| Comments (0) BOOK REVIEW: The Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins Posted January 30, 2012 at 13:57 (Reviews of Books I've Read) This trilogy of books (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) is best read one right after the other. Each book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you anxious to read more! The country of Panem has replaced the USA. Panem consists of the Capitol and thirteen distinct districts. Some seventy-five years prior to the beginning of book one, the districts have revolted against the Capitol and are defeated. In an effort to keep the districts under control, the Capitol institutes the Hunger Games, an annual event where each of twelve districts must send two tributes to fight to the death for the televised entertainment of all. These tributes are chosen from all the young people between the ages of 12 and 17. Note: District 13 was destroyed in the revolt so there are a total of twenty-four tributes each year. Katniss Everdeen, a young woman from District 12, volunteers to take the place of her twelve-year-old sister who name was chosen at random. Her male counterpart is a young man named Peeta who she must align herself with yet withhold getting emotional about if she wants to survive. This trilogy is easy to read and follow. The action is packed in every page and has you wondering what sort of demented challenges the contestants will face. From the first page of book one to the final page of book three, I couldn't wait to get home each day and read more. The characters are complex and just when you think you've figured out what's going to happen next you’ll find that there are more twists than a mountain road in winter. The entire story is terrifyingly good. My favorite character is Cinna, who is head of Katniss's prep team (hair stylists, clothing designers, etc) who are charged with making the tributes look good for television. His persona affects Katniss through all three books and I love his sense of flair and drama. RATING: MMMMM (5 M's) Suitable for ages 13 and above. Posted by Marion at 13:57 2012-01-30 \| Trackbacks (0) \| Comments (0) BOOK REVIEW: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan Posted January 30, 2012 at 13:44 (General) Time: The not-too-distant future. Place: The United States Problem: Overcrowding of prisons Solution: Chroming In a country turned Puritanical, religious zealots hold the populace in a tight grip. A multitude of things, from wearing short skirts to questioning a man's opinion, are all accountable actions. Hannah Payne has been deemed guilty of murder when she chooses to abort her unborn child. She is given one last opportunity to avoid her punishment when the judge asks her, one last time, to name the father of her aborted child. Hannah's dilemma: the father is a married man and a national religious figure as well. She believes so strongly in her love for him that she refuses to name him and thus will undergo a process called chroming. Chroming is the process where a person's skin color is changed by an injection of dye: red for the most heinous of crimes (murder or other felony), blue or yellow for less serious offenses. The convicted person is also given a sentence of a fitting number of years that he or she must retain the offending skin color (through booster shots administered every three or four months). Thus Hannah is convicted and must remain a Red for sixteen years. The book follows Hannah after she is released from her initial time in prison (thirty days) and has to cope with living in a world that abuses and discriminates against 'Chromes'. Her journey will cause her to examine her life, her faith, and her love. Throughout the story we face the worst of Hannah's life as she adjusts to being a Red. Her family disowns her although her father secures for her a position in a halfway house where she soon learns that conformance to the rules is worse than living on the street. She finally up and leaves the place, placing her trust in God or fate. In the end, she is reunited with her baby-daddy only to find that his profession of love leaves her cold. I found this book riveting. The idea of wearing one's conviction for all to see is reminiscent of The Scarlet Letter but adapted to our current society. This story gives us a peek at a futuristic world where nothing or no one can hide. The situations are quite believable as are the characters. Suitable for ages 13 and above. Rating: MMMM m (4.5 M's). Posted by Marion at 13:44 2012-01-30 \| Trackbacks (0) \| Comments (0) Traditions Posted January 18, 2012 at 16:17 (General) Each of us has traditions that we've grown up with. Some are family traditions that have stayed with us since childhood. Others are traditions that we've created with our own family. And then there are the things that have always been done in a traditional manner. In the short span of time from the beginning of the year to today, I've seen two traditions broken. And I don't like it! Especially when I have no control of how or why these traditions were changed. The first thing I'm not happy about is that the television networks changed the day/date of the Tournament of Roses. That parade has been held on January 1st for as long as I can remember - 63 years to be exact. I remember watching that parade as a child, sitting in our living room back in New England, looking out the window at a snow-covered lawn then turning back to watch the parade as it meandered down the sun-dappled streets of Pasadena, California. After I had my own family, we enjoyed spending New Year's Day sipping mimosas and watching the sun-drenched floats and marveling at the imaginative way that flowers were used to recreate stunning moving scenes. Then, this year - 2012 - came the break with tradition. With New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, it appears that network television stations played into the trap set for them by the lure of money. Our New Year's Day was filled with professional football games (we're not big on sports in my house). New Year's morning was devoid of the beauty and tradition that normally filled the kick off to our year. With my hubby returning to work on January 2nd, we no longer had the fun and relaxation that we had come to expect at the start of our year; I got to watch the parade with my cats. This past weekend saw another break with tradition, although this one was not as jarring as the first. When I learned that the Miss America pageant was once again to be televised on a Saturday night I became giddy with anticipation. It had been quite a while since it was held on a Saturday - I think last year it was on a Friday (I may be wrong). But I was extremely annoyed to find that the pageant was now being brought to us from Las Vegas! I can almost understand why it is no longer held in Atlantic City, but come on! At least keep it on the East Coast. What's wrong with Miami or Fort Lauderdale if they want the sunny, warm weather? My only consolation this year was that they did, indeed, play a canned version of the theme song "Miss America". But it was sung by an unnamed artist! If the pageant wants to play a canned version at least let it be the one sung by Bert Parks!!! So, I look forward to 2012 with trepidation. What other wonderful traditions will be broken or changed beyond recognition? Posted by Marion at 16:17 2012-01-18 \| Trackbacks (0) \| Comments (0) Lost, Found, Lost Again Posted January 09, 2012 at 14:30 (General) Why is it that family members feud? I can understand immediate family members sometimes don't get along. But what annoys me is when something happened a generation or two back and folks carry on because 'we don't associate with that side of the family'. I knew from an early age that we (mom, dad, and me) didn't 'get along' with many people from my dad's side of the family. Never knew exactly why but I knew there was bad blood somewhere down the line. Dad glossed over it - sort of like rain falling off a duck. But mom seemed to seethe and simmer. Consequently, I only knew my cousins on my mom's side. They were the ones we spent holidays with and visited throughout the year. I knew there were other cousins, aunts, and uncles on my dad's side but I never got to visit with them. I knew who they were, all of their names, and often heard stories about them but I didn't know them at all. Some of that changed when I got engaged and married. I recall that everyone from dad's side of the family was invited to the wedding. Mom wanted everyone to see that I was 'better than the rest'. I personally had no interest in flaunting myself before folks I didn't know - I was happy, I was in love, and I was getting married. I drifted apart from the cousins I knew and grew up with (mom's side of the family). The others were simply there. Now, years later, I was thrilled to actually connect with one of my cousins from dad's side of the family. I'll call her Penny (fictitious name). Penny and I reconnected through a social networking site and spent hours on the phone talking. She couldn't understand why they (cousins) were kept from me either. We resolved never to let bygones keep us apart. I was grateful for the contact with Penny because it filled in a lot of gaps in my family knowledge - especially medical knowledge. Penny and I communicated for slightly over a year. We had even gone as far as planning a meeting of the cousins. Then things changed. I don't know why but Penny stopped responding to my emails. I made several attempts to call her but her phone number was changed. Then she changed her email address. I could see that she was still active on the social networking site so I sent her a couple of messages there. All of this was over the space of slightly more than a year or so. Penny has not responded to any of my attempts to reach her. I'm grateful that she has two grown children to fill her life and understand that her family must come first. But I feel so bereft at losing her so shortly after having found her. There seems to be a lot of value in just moving forward with one's life, but wouldn't my (and Penny's) life be richer with having another relative in it? So, I must ask the question: has past family history influenced Penny's behavior towards me? If so, do either of us know what exactly happened in our families back in the early 1900s to keep us apart? Do either of us continue to care about what happened? Are we more interested in looking toward the future? On a grander scale, should we allow arguments or misunderstandings between our parents and/or grandparents to keep us from knowing people who we would really like to have in our life? And Penny, if you read this, please know that you are loved and missed. If you've experienced something similar and would like to share, feel free to leave a comment. Posted by Marion at 14:30 2012-01-09 \| Trackbacks (0) \| Comments (0) First \| Previous \| Next \| Last Archives Index January 2012 (7) December 2011 (2) November 2011 (4) October 2011 (3) September 2011 (3) August 2011 (4) June 2011 (1) May 2011 (3) February 2011 (43) January 2011 (2) October 2010 (2) August 2010 (1) June 2010 (1) May 2010 (1) April 2010 (1) March 2010 (2) February 2010 (3) November 2009 (1) September 2009 (5) August 2009 (4) Categories General (68) Reviews of Books I've Read (25) Feeds RSS 2.0

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