Society Overwhelmed by Pedophilia?

April 19th, 2012

ED. NOTE: I had to think long and hard before publishing this, however, it was a breakfast table discussion and everyone was very passionate about this so we print it for you to read and think about.

Breakfast started innocently enough with one guest having read an article that morning about a priest being defrocked because of the sexual abuse of children. None of us was particularly interested in the topic until one person put forward her theory and then the breakfast table came alive.

We have all heard and read more than we ever wanted to know about this disease. It has taken center stage often over the past several years and we wanted to know what has caused such a large outbreak. What has happened to society that this is something we have to worry about and from which we have to protect our children?

What changed and has moved forward and grown in the same time frame that Pedophilia has been on the rise in the society and is related!!!

If you have gone to a major fashion show over the past 30 or more years and especially watched the shows of the hot, new and well-known fashion designers, whose clothes command four, five and sometimes six figures, I am sure you’ve noticed that the models are about 13, 14, 15 years old. They look more like little boys than young women who can carry off elegant designs. The designers and their models – the children – who strut down the runways, have had an enormous influence in the society – as has their “strut.”

Years ago – in ancient times – back in the 1950’s, one had to be 35 years or older to be a model because the clothes were very elegant and meant for women, not for the too thin, malnourished-druggie looking young kids who are too underdeveloped to be the women they are trying to mimic and replace. We wondered if some of these young children weren’t pre-puberty! And where were their parents?

As the fashion industry changed and the models became ever younger with the clothes designed to make young girls look like young boys, pedophilia began its rise.

We were not worried about offending anyone in this conversation because it was just us talking around the breakfast table about something we all had been thinking, but no one had the courage to say out loud because we all thought, maybe we were on the wrong track and had gotten the wrong opinion – after all, would not the media, the magazines, the arbiters of good taste, who love to criticize and find the flaw in everything, have come out knocking this if such a horrid pedophilia-encouraging development were connected? But that “wrong” opinion was shared by everyone around the table. A couple felt relieved to be able to say these things out loud and not be put down or ridiculed.

It has been difficult to be over 35 and a size 12 or 14 and find clothes that are elegant and wonderful on your body. We’ve had many friends talking about “augmenting” their breasts and we wondered – what on earth for – the clothes you buy don’t fit anyone, even a size 4 who has a breast-size larger than a 32 double A. – The ideal female figure to fit into these clothes is stick straight – with none or very few curves which are then hidden and minimized.

The “glamour” “top” models are curve-less. The older models who have to think about retiring or about getting into something else, are about 35. When someone still looks pretty terrific at 49 it is considered quite an achievement. We knew and know women in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s who look sensational. It was a common occurrence decades ago. Today, we consider them over the hill and ancient. In the 1950’s they were the ones wearing the designer original clothes and looking exceptionally good in them because their age and experience allowed them to carry off these beautiful clothes.

We didn’t know how this phenomena of the rise of the 13 to 20 year old super model connects with pedophilia, but it certainly appeared to us that one was the genesis of the other.

We knew there were pedophiles in society before today. But the difference between today and way back in ancient times is in the numbers and the fact that today, children are not safe and parents have to keep a vigilant, constant eye out for adults trying to solicit their child. And the children walking down the adult runways in the top fashion shows in New York, Paris, etc. have changed the age range – and the definition of what is sexy. Years ago, it was a mature woman. Today, it is a child.

When the definition of what is sexy is changed to a 13 year old emaciated child either with make-up to look like someone on an extended bad drug trip or naturally looking like that because that is indeed their problem, then it seemed to us that increasing incidents of pedophilia and increasing numbers of pedophiles in this society is the natural result.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, children, designer originals, fashion shows, high fashion
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A Weight Loss Tip!

April 11th, 2012

Over the breakfast table we heard about cinnamon and weight loss. We tried it and amazingly it works. We tried the suggestion which said have a cup of warm milk (whole milk – preferably non-homogenized and non-pasteurized, but if you can’t get that the regular pasteurized milk is fine. The non-homogenized is available under the “Sky Top” brand available at Whole Foods and possibly other places.

Make sure the cinnamon is the real cinnamon or Ceylon Cinnamon. After trying it for a couple weeks I am down 6 pounds.

I would suggest you try this for a few weeks and then go off the cinnamon. The body is an amazing thing – it acclimates to what you are doing very easily so to keep the cinnamon for weight loss viable, give it up after a few weeks and take it up again later.

You might try raspberry ketones as a substitute for the cinnamon in warm milk when you give it up. We have not tried this, but I heard about it on Dr. Oz. He said his “medical group” looked into this and found it effective for weight loss.

We also ‘googled’ cinnamon for weight loss and found many articles saying how great it is – so our bed & breakfast guest who talked about this and got everyone excited about the possibilities knew what she was talking about.

We also understand it might be effective against diabetes because of how Ceylon cinnamon acts in the body relative to your blood sugar levels.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, prevent obesity, weight loss
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Two Thousand &5, Seven Years Later

April 9th, 2012

Kid musicians battle the id

further justice through thick and then

permeate airwaves with soul and posture

colorful words, diaphragm of opera

from Shakespeare to Jay Z, defying nostalgia

sleep new dreams and pray for contagion

well blended harmony’s the weapon we’re waving.

Speaking voices are perfectly proper

they laugh as would English speaking sea otters

returning to homes that float or submerge

to wash away souls, you’ll need more than dirge

we don’t sink or swim, we’re one with the water

if we were to leave we’d abandon our power

we hold hands through inverted rain showers.

Zatarain’s ain’t got nothin’ on me –

neck cocked back like an expected sneeze

horns high in the sky, catchin’ the breeze

high hat attacks the air – killer bees

strings intertwined – tangled webs they weave

toe tappin’s impossible without bendin’ knees

sea perseverance, revitalize New Orleans.

I could hear applause in the distance. The woman from the registration table saw me wandering a bit and ushered me in the correct direction. I visited Shady Hill School to support the new friends I met over a three-course breakfast at a Bettina Network home. I could hardly wait to partake in the celebration straight from New Orleans.

I thought I missed them. Then, in walked a league of extraordinary men and women. A palpable increase in energy met the trumpet, trombone, tuba, two drums and the voice. The esteemed Executive Director and the mother of the younger drummer completed the entourage. The performers reemerged as teachers, and continued to represent the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music and Musicians’ Village professionally, passionately and extremely well.

Their workshop, entitled “Vision, Perseverance and Revitalization” was one of many during Shady Hill School’s Diversity Conference. For middle school students to entertain large notions like “Social Justice” and “Equity Through the Arts” could have been a daunting task; the school’s staff made it age relevant and all wore smiles while they worked. The kids were comfortable and eager take their music lesson serious, possibly borrowing a page from the acutely gifted drummer boy.

Calvin, the band leader and head teacher instructed the students to listen to the global sound and to identify the role of each instrument in the piece they were to play. The band played Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues.” The Shady Hill students listened. Then they were divided into sections, and the auditorium became a conglomeration of progress. For brief moments, some instruments synched: first were the strings & percussion sections. Then the brass and woodwinds danced. All the while, you could hear the Ellis Marsalis Center musicians chiseling away unnecessary sounds.

The Jazz Workshop Ensemble began playing with the speed of ducklings following their mother across a busy street. Once across, the piano and drums were occupied by a new set of feet and hands, and the trip began again. The trips back and forth steadied the ensemble’s sway and allowed for inspired improvisation. Before the last group began their end-of-workshop recital, Calvin shared some knowledge that reached beyond playing in a jazz band: “If you can’t hear the person next to you, you’re playing too loud.”

Much love,

Jonathan Betts Fields

www.GlobalJon.com

MeLlamoGlobalJon@gmail.com

facebook.com/GlobalJon ~ twitter.com/GlobalJon

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Tags: bed & breakfast, Bettina Community Poetry, Ellis Marsalis Center for Music and Musicians' Village, jazz workshop, New Orleans, Shady Hill School, Vision Perseverance and Revitalization
Posted in Guest comments, Making Connections | Comments Off on Two Thousand &5, Seven Years Later

Another Civil War in America

April 6th, 2012

This could be subtitled “democracy vs dictatorship”.

It was a very exciting morning to be a part of a discussion on this topic which I had not thought about in terms of our being in the middle of a civil war between those who want us to be a democracy and those who prefer the corporate structure to carry over into our government structure and who would like our president to be a corporate-type leader rather than the head of a democratic government. It has been staring me in the face for years and I just didn’t get it. This breakfast was like a light coming on – hey, that is really where we are. It is becoming more overt and not happening on a covert level anymore, so the din is getting louder from those who object and who are fighting to maintain a democracy against those who are moving to take it over and convert it into a corporate-type structure (more so than it is already).

Corporate executives are not elected by the general populace – sometimes by an executive committee and sometimes by just a couple people at the top – appointed by those who control behind the scenes.

I have been very upheaveled about the political scene and what is going on with the Democratic and Republican parties, but to think of it as a civil war and a huge fight between the forces of democracy and those trying to turn this country into a dictatorship is a new idea.

The discussion moved fast and furious. It started with a few minutes talk about the media’s role. It was about the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on political campaigns. We have gone crazy trying to secure power for four years by spending like ‘drunken sailors’.

Projected from the primary to the Presidential Campaign it looks as though some two billion dollars or more will be spent. Spent on what? It will be spent on the media, the poll takers, the candidate and his retinue. Even on clothes so the political candidates and their families will look the part – remember the fight which broke out between Sara Palin and those who thought she spent too much of the campaigns money on clothes? That was but a drop in the bucket compared to the amount spent on poll takers. They must live off these campaigns – telling them on a minute by minute basis almost where everyone is -what the public is doing – which way they are leaning, etc. IT seemed to us that an honest politician wouldn’t need so much money if he or she didn’t feel they needed to support the poll taker companies in high style. When did that happen? You can’t run today – or so some politicians think – if you can’t afford to pay the multi-millions to the pollsters.

The money spent with the media will also be enormous – no wonder their reporting is so skewered. Would the media be able to survive without the political campaigns? It is spent, apparently – according to this breakfast table talk – to entertain the masses who will get caught up in the drama of it all and not see the lack of substance.

We have had breakfast table talk in the past about how campaigns and the politicians in the Senate and the House are looking more and more like Southern politicians from the days of Huey Long and friends – or even Strom Thurman and his buddies. The fighting, name calling, oppressing one group against the other to get the public angry so they will vote for you out of that anger and need to be protected against the sub-humans, etc. – that all has been going on in the Southern United States for generations. It was very entertaining; vicious; lively and when it was over everyone went back to being friends and family. This political fighting is such that when it is over one won’t be able or want to go back to being friends and family. We will all be us and them, the good and the bad, those who are with us and the enemy outside of our group.

This breakfast conversation had more than a modicum of truth. Our businesses are oligarchies with the little guys struggling to succeed under the weight of the oligarchies which are tryiing to make sure they don’t succeed – or if it looks as though the little guys may be on to something in their struggling businesses, to gobble them up before they get too strong a toehold. I had not thought of our politicians as fighting it out for the corporate leaders to be the power people and to destroy the democratic leaders because they get in the way.

Corporations in a democratic society are an anomaly to begin with. They have money and power and have been gradually taking over trying to move us to the brink of fascism or, at the very least, dictatorship. We have reached the tipping point and all of a sudden everyone is waking up to see they may soon be living in a country which is on its way to becoming controlled by the few – with the vote gone – the democracy a thing of the past – and where did these corporate fellows come from? They used to stay in their corporations, working hard to make lots of money and now they are all over the place running for office or putting up multi-millions for their minions to run for office and the country changes. And I do mean fellows because women don’t fit in this scenario. Well, maybe they fit a little as distractions to push up front with the name calling, the anger making, an excuse for the rough stuff.

I was amazed to hear what is going on in Michigan. Democracy is being replaced with a dictatorship or worse under the name of saving the state from bankruptcy or worse. Democracy does have its problems and to solve them can be a messy process, especially if you want to solve the problems in the context of the democracy and not change to the more efficient fascist model. The democratic model will be lots of people involved trying things that don’t work and hitting on some that do work almost by accident; being concerned about the freedom and interest of the minority as well as the majority; and being ethical in choices even though it is not the most expedient way to do things. If you prefer the dictatorship, fascist model that is efficient, quick and oppressive to the many who then have to live under that system then your results will be quick and look good for a time, until the price, all those who have to live under that dictatorship, have to pay becomes obvious and they begin to have to pay the price of no freedom, no vote, no voice in their government, etc.

It was quite a breakfast and will cause me to think long and hard about choices in this coming election time!!! And in the times after this one – to make my choices dependent upon who respects this system more and wants to see it maintained and refined along the lines of a democracy – not changed into something less with the excuse that dictatorships work better. What is not said – they work better for the very few who succeed and thrive while the sacrifices of the many become more destructive to those who have to support the success of the few.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, democracy, dictatorships, politics
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Bettina Estate Sales Analysis

March 26th, 2012

Well, that time has come. Get out your money that you put aside to buy furnishings, jewelry, antiques, clothes, household items, etc. and lets get going. The sales are coming!

We have noticed over the past year that SILVER is moving beyond the pale! Do you remember, not that many years ago when SILVER was so cheap and so unwanted that you had a hard time even giving it away?? Well, we were collecting and noting the drop in sales, because such times tell you to stock up – the overheated market is coming when prices zoom and it becomes time to think about selling your SILVER!!!! Not yet, but keep watch for the ‘bubble’ is almost upon us.

Buying as an investment for the future – to resell when your items have reached their peak is the most fun with antiques, collectibles, and now even clothes! Don’t throw out those shoes you bought and thought were great, but which turned out to be eccentric and you didn’t have the guts to wear them. Their time in the ‘bubble sphere’ is coming. These are the only commodities you can use while watching them increase in value (if you purchased in a timely manner). Want that beautiful federal sofa, but are reluctant to spend the money? Think of it as an investment/retirement – yes, even trading vehicle and it becomes more affordable. The Bettina Network Estate Sales give your items a liquid market into which they can be sold.

A Bettina Sale is almost upon us. Hope you are ready to shop – ponder – research – and more! Easter signals the begining of our season in the Northeast! If you have friends who would like to be notified when a sale starts – email us and we will add them to the Bettina Network Email List. To be added to the Bettina Network Email List sign up on the bettina-network.com web site and we will be happy to add them to the email list.

Of course, we do not sell, trade, auction, or give-away our Email List. You know how paranoid we are – so your and your friends’ information is safe in the privacy of the Bettina Network. We don’t even let our Email List stay online in case anyone tries to break in and steal!

Your friends will not be on the ‘Preferred List’ until they have become a part of the Bettina Network so they won’t get invitations to previews and other events, but they will be in line to be added to the Preferred List if they like the Bettina Community and move to join. Your recommendation as a member in good standing puts them heads above the rest – ohhhhh! what a bunch of snobs!

Hope to see you soon or meet you online, if you can’t get to one of the Bettina Network Estate Sales and still want to see what’s available and being sold and for how much.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, Estate Sales -Analysis
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A Thought for the Day

March 26th, 2012

Friends are people who were and are there when no one else is …………………

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Washing Linens, Towels and everything else

March 11th, 2012

We have been trying for several years to come up with the best way to wash bed linens and bathroom towels – because that is important in bed & breakfast.

We were especially concerned about having soft towels and the smell which we sometimes could not get out of the sheets without several washings.

We tried every fabric softener on the market. They all do the same thing and none really great. -They give the towels, particularly, a slimy feel rather than a clean fluffy feel. The towels, after they have been through the wash with fabric softener, are too soft and too greasy to think that is a good solution. Having done a bit of research on this, I find that is because the fibers are coated with chemicals – that can’t be good! Especially when the results we were trying to achieve were not happening. And, what happens to the chemicals which coat the towel fabric? Do they go on your face when you wipe with the towels? Or on other parts of the body?

Trying to wash towels and bed linens without a fabric softener left the towels really scratchy and uncomfortable to use. You wouldn’t want to wrap up in the very large bath towels because that would not meet the ‘feel good warm and cozy’ test.

We received many suggestions about putting White Vinegar into the rinse water. However, after having worked with White Vinegar and knowing from whence it has come, we discarded that idea.

We put organic apple cider vinegar with the ‘mother’, in the washing machine in the small box which asks for fabric softener.

We fully expected to ruin all of the clothes in the machine because we expected there would be residue from the organic apple cider vinegar, especially since we were using the ‘mother’ so we couldn’t think beyond = ‘there goes the wash’.

We couldn’t use a lot of the apple cider vinegar because the container of our LG Washing machine would only hold what seemed to be less than 1/4 cup, so while we tried it anyway, our hopes were not high for success.

The results, however, were spectacular.

With bed & breakfast guests, some are exceptionally clean and their bedding doesn’t have an odor when they leave. Some people, even though they wash, leave behind an odor in the sheets which doesn’t always leave after the sheets have been through the wash, so we have been super concerned to get the odors out. Basically, we assumed if there was an odor there was bacteria still in the sheets and towels.

Putting organic apple cider vinegar in the fabric softener container of the washing machine solved the problem. And weren’t we surprised!! We found organic apple cider vinegar worked wonders as an anti-perspirant, but we couldn’t make the leap to the washing machine.

When the clothes came out of the washer, there was no odor left in any of the sheets, towels or clothes. The towels were softened to perfection. They had no slimy feel, which happened when we used commercial fabric softeners. We don’t have to worry about people being allergic to the linens or towels because of how and with what they were washed and the towels were neither too soft nor too hard and scratchy. The towels were sturdy enough to allow one to dry one’s face when you wanted a little roughness to get the blood circulating, but not much. And they were soft and nice enough to please those who wanted soft towels. The same thing happened to the bathrobes. They are perfect after coming out of the organic apple cider vinegar rinse.

My great-grandmother used to put her clothes through a vinegar rinse – I should have had more respect and given her the credit she deserved for the things she knew and did. Is this how sexism works? – hand and glove with the marketing and advertising machine? If young people don’t learn the lessons from their families, but from what used to be called “Madison Avenue” we are all doomed to destruction- a slow excruciatingly painful destruction via cancer, and all the other degenerative diseases.

How fantastic is it to find something your great-grandmother used on a daily basis with no bells and whistles. That was just how she did things. It can make you feel kind of foolish to know what you have looked all over creation for was right under your nose from the time you were a child. I have the marketing and advertising people to thank for that, along with the forces in society which made me turn to my peers rather than my family to learn these kinds of lessons. Now I understand why Martha Stewart became such a phenom. All the lessons we didn’t learn and when we turned around to try to back track to learn them we could not break through the veil. The silence from our families could not be bridged.

I used to think my grandmother and great-grandmother were really out of touch with today’s society and here I find if I turn back to try to remember what they did, it is safer, purer and better for all of us. Now, not everything they did is so relevant, but I will be going over their lifestyle as I remember it to see what else I can salvage. I am sure many of you have or are experiencing the same thing. Give your mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers credit, gratitude and thanks.

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Tags: Apple cider vinegar, bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, fluffy towels, health, Housekeeping, washing clothes
Posted in Breakfast Table Talk, Health, Health and Beauty, Housekeeping | Comments Off on Washing Linens, Towels and everything else

A Readers Comment

February 19th, 2012

On 2012-02-14 11:41 PM, lani stacks wrote:

> It’s is for sure such a major tragedy for Whitney Houston’s life to
> be cut so short. She was such a magnificent woman and
> out-of-this-world voice and singer. The evolution of a relationship
> with Mr.Brown just illustrates how much a man that is not beneficial
> to a woman can cause harmful affects on them (us). I have cut off
> relationships when I see these kind of signs in someone, therefore, I
> am living a single life – with my cats. Well, one thing that I can
> feel relief for her is that she is now in a safer and more peaceful
> realm forever with the Lord. I loved the interview with Diane Sawyer
> when she said, “Jesus loves me”. That is courage in this day and age
> to speak one’s heart and soul. To say that is affirmation where her
> heart really is and for sure, she is living this eternal reward now. I
> think of her daughter having to live without her now. That will be
> tough, but she will be surrounded by many loving relatives. Lani

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Tags: bed & breakfast, Whitney Houston
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A Final Tribute

February 16th, 2012

Ed. Note: Because we had so much response to the Bettina Network Blog on Whitney Houston and because we had questions we couldn’t properly answer and comments we didn’t want to put in the blog – there would have been many by now – mostly repetitive – we decided to reprint (with permission) – this article written by Marc Morial, who has written a fantastic column which covers it all and we commend this to you without reservations or further comments.

“The Incomparable Whitney Houston
To Be Equal #7

Syndicated Weekly Column by National Urban League President & CEO Marc H. Morial
“To me Whitney was THE VOICE. We got to hear a part of God every time she sang.” – Oprah Winfrey on the death of Whitney Houston

FEBRUARY 15, 2012 – Billie Holiday was 44. Judy Garland was 47. Dinah Washington was 39. Michael Jackson was 51. Jimi Hendrix was 28. Janis Joplin was 27. Amy Winehouse was 28. And Whitney Houston lived only 48 years on this earth. I was one of millions of people around the world who were stunned to learn of the untimely death of pop-music queen, Whitney Houston last Saturday. Like so many other entertainers who died too young, Whitney was blessed with a divine talent but also haunted by a heavy load of troubles.

Throughout much of the 1980’s and 90’s, Whitney Houston reigned as the undisputed queen of pop. With songs like “The Greatest Love of All,” and “I Will Always Love You,” she set a standard as an octave-shattering virtuoso who brought both elegance and a gospel-tinged intensity to her work in studio and on stage. That was surely a natural outgrowth of her church choir roots and being the daughter of classy gospel legend, Cissy Houston.

Whitney got her start singing in the junior choir of Newark, New Jersey’s New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother has served as Minister of Music for decades. Whitney also undoubtedly benefited from the influences of other great musical talents in her family. Dionne Warwick was her cousin. And Aretha Franklin was her Godmother. But, Whitney was a pure original.

In addition to setting the music world on fire and influencing such performers as Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, Whitney also excelled as an actress, and had starring roles in such movies as “The Bodyguard,” “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.” Her final film, “Sparkle,” a remake of the 1976 movie about three sisters from Harlem who form a singing group, is set to be released in August.

It is a sad irony that Whitney Houston died on the eve of this year’s Grammy Awards. The winner of six Grammys herself, Whitney was preparing to attend a pre-Grammy party given by her mentor, the legendary music producer, Clive Davis. Her body was found Saturday afternoon in the bath tub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. As of this writing, the exact cause of her death is still unknown.

In her 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Whitney revealed for the first time, some of the most intimate details about her troubled marriage to Bobby Brown, the deep feelings she had for her mother and her daughter, Bobbie Kristina, and her struggles with drugs. She candidly admitted to Oprah that at times “It was too much. So much to try to live up to, to try to be, and I wanted out.” Through it all, Whitney said she was constantly reading her bible and trying to get back to God. While we are all shocked and saddened by her death, I am hopeful that Whitney Houston’s life and incomparable musical gifts will inspire others to let nothing stand in the way of the full and healthy expression of their God-given talents. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cissy, Bobbie Kristina and the entire Houston family.”

And from the Bettina Network:
May the Lord Bless and Keep you Whitney,
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
May God lift up that exquisite, peaceful and loving countenance upon you and give you peace
Now and forever….Amen and Amen!

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Tags: African American history, bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, Whitney Houston
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Good Words around the Breakfast Table

February 16th, 2012

“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

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Thanks for the Whitney Houston Blog!

February 13th, 2012

I read the blog and was homesick for my Bettina fix – to use the current language being thrown around about Whitney Houston! I love staying in your homes. You didn’t say which home had this breakfast conversation. It doesn’t matter. I’ve stayed in two different homes, loved every minute and went home excited about life.

I appreciated the blog because I expect every media will be rushing to get out a story of how Whitney Houston died from drugs – whether its true or not – they have to create that impression. The same thing happened with Michael Jackson. It is so sad that we don’t have a media doing great investigative reporting and giving us the results, which are facts and not this mythological creation.

My concern is for Whitney’s daughter. With her mother gone, Bobbi Brown will probably be a larger influence on her and that is so sad. After helping to destroy her mother, the other women in Whitney’s family – who are clearly very strong and very independent, need to take hold of this young woman and keep Bobbi Brown away. That sounds cruel, but she needs a chance to get to adulthood and into a secure life without him taking advantage of a very vulnerable moment in her life and working his ugliness.

I am sure he loves his daughter, but from everything I’ve seen he will not take care of her in a way that is beneficial to her, but to him and we have seen what that meant in Whitney Houston’s life. The sorry thing about that is I don’t think Bobbi Brown is aware of just how negative an influence he is on the women in his life. That is the tragedy of all of this – he will continue and probably live a long life destroying women along the way.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, breakfast table talk, Whitney Houston
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Whitney Houston Around the Breakfast Table!

February 12th, 2012

One never knows in which direction breakfast table talk will go! Talking around a table with people you don’t know and probably won’t meet again, but there you are, breaking bread with strangers who feel like old friends. It is an incredibly freeing experience.

Ed Note: That is one of the things which makes bed & breakfast such a great way to travel.

This morning, of course, the topic was Whitney Houston all the time. It was an amazing conversation.

To share some of the highlights:

1. There was a comparison made with Whitney Houston and Michael Jacksons death.

Both deaths happened at the point where both people were in the process of organizing and rolling out a comeback!

Michael Jackson was preparing a large tour which – the conjecture was – probably made more money because of his death because people were more focused on him with the thought that this would be the last time they would see something from Michael Jackson, except for older performances.

Whitney Houston filmed Sparkle and it is to open in August. The conjectures continued that attention will be far more focused and many more people will see it than if she were still alive and moving to do other things. As they will to her other products. Now someone other than Whitney Houston will organize and put out for public consumption her ‘come back’ – as happened with Michael Jackson. And, they will probably make more money for themselves or for their investors especially with the timing of this death.

2. There was talk of her life:
She was a fantastic woman – full of light and ‘sparkle’ until she married Bobbi Brown. Then the realities of ‘choice’ entered her life. The reality of living in a society full of sexism, especially against an African American woman; the reality of being a huge celebrity with so many people around and about trying to control another human being for their own benefit. Much talk about the arrogance and very negative influences on her from Bobbi Brown. How different her life could have been had she made another choice. No one doubted that Brown loved her, he was just so self absorbed and living on the negative side of life dragging her with him, he was a horrible choice for her to overcome.

There was talk about her having overcome that part of her life, which was awesome.

There was talk about the drugs coming into her life with Bobbi Brown.

Breakfast table talk about Houston’s death became very intense with lots of questions about why now? and much talk that one could call conspiracies developing around the table. Mostly, questions about who – among those who managed her and/or benefitted from her professional life – stood to gain the most and who could have done this, if it was not an accident. By this time, it was all around the internet and commented on by a few tv people that she drowned in her bathtub – and that, I think, is what generated the conspiracy theories which were in full swing around the table.

There was laughter and a few good jokes about the LA Police being the ones to investigate this – as they did Michael Jacksons death – so nothing was expected except cover-up if there was something wrong here, or a not very thorough investigation if not.

It could have been the coffee, but it was an amazing conversation.

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A Reflection at Life’s End!

February 9th, 2012

You have chosen to sing
someone else’s song.
You have chosen to dream
someone else’s dream

You have chosen to live
someone else’s life
– and –

so you have chosen to die alone,
grieved intensely,
by those who watched your pain grow and consume your life.

While your life lies fallow – your dreams die before they were born!

Your art and music find no fulfillment, for they have no support!

Your ancestors died of broken hearts

Their stories go untold or distorted

Their sacrifices fall like dead seed on frozen ground!

Their dreams for you now float with your dreams,
unattached in the Universe.

Your ancestors grieve for you
as you grow old
and alone
and grieve for them!!!!!!

You understand – in that old age – their pain and suffering
You break the Veil calling to them your sorrow and regret!

They can hear you,
but you can neither hear nor see them!

As light dims, you feel the pull and confusion of departing

Love given and not returned
Promises broken – talents undeveloped – understanding sharpening – wisdom overgrown

Are they waiting?
Do they hear?
Do they still care?
Will they be there at the end?

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Tags: Bettina Community Poetry
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Trinity Church Organ Concert

February 2nd, 2012

THE PLACE TO BE on Fridays at noon is Trinity Episcopal Church in Copley Square, Boston, MA.

This past Friday there was an astounding organ concert played by Richard Webster (Trinity’s Music Director and Organist) and Colin Lynch (Trinity’s Assistant Organist).

To walk into the Church and see the organ taking its place in front of the altar just glowing from the way the light hit it, was stunning. I wanted to just sit in a quiet place to contemplate the scene in front of me for awhile, but since I arrived just before the concert started, that didn’t happen. When you go to Trinity’s Friday organ concerts, I suggest you arrive at least 15 minutes early to absorb what you see there. When the organ moves to the front and center of the altar in such a breathtaking way, with the drama it creates in its new place does that make it a sacred icon?

The sanctuary itself is beautiful, even when the organ is on the side out of view, with those incredible stained glass windows adding depth to the light flowing into the Church. The first time I walked into Trinity it was 1980, I felt as though I had come home. I went kicking and screaming all the way because I had other places I would rather have been, however, that all left when I walked into the Church. I thought it was a spiritual experience of homecoing until I learned the architect – H. H. Richardson – was from New Orleans and had incorporated much of the ambiance, culture and New Orleans Creole style into his architectural designs. After that bit of knowledge surfaced, I realized that while there may have been something spiritual about that first experience of the Church, it was an actual feeling of homecoming from someone who was homesick.

Richard Webster opened the concert with Nicholaus Bruhns’ Preludium in E Minor. A Northern German Baroque piece which has a virtuosity and richness which held its own in this environment. A student of Dieterich Buxtehude, Nicholaus came from a family of organists, composers, violinists, etc.

I used to wonder why many of the great organ composers and performers came from family groups – parents who played and composed, siblngs who followed their parents, those who married the children of organists becoming great organists themselves – until I realized how difficult it is to find an organ on which one can practice without this familial support. It is a rare instrument, which encompasses and can imitate all others.

Richard Webster’s opening of the concert with the Bruhns’ piece was beautiful. It was very rich and Richard’s playing brought out the virtuosity of the piece.

The composition which reached me where I was living that day was Trois Movements for Organ and Flute by Jehan Alain. Colin Lynch played the organ, Richard Webster played the flute. I’ve heard both of them play before, but when Trois Movements started I was not prepared. My favorite combination is organ and flute; my favorite composer in the organ world – Marcel Dupré – one of Jehan Alain’s teachers. I had totally fogotten about Jehan Alain. One can hear the romantic influences in this piece and its Andante movement gives you the meditation and contemplation needed in the space in which it was played. After that, it lightens and was a great middle of the concert.

When one thinks of Alain it is with thoughts full of tragedy. What could he have produced, but for the war which caused his death at a very early age? Maybe that future knowing is what hangs over his music. The ridiculousness and horror of war is showcased in this composer and performers’ life along with a clear showing, in microcosm, of what the world lost. One of the most moving pieces is to hear his Sarabande for Organ, Strings, and Timpani, which he dedicated to the memory of his sister Odile Alain. For a very moving moment, if you can find a recording of it with Marie-Claire Alain on the organ it is a profound experience.

And of course, the ending of the concert. What can I say – a perfect end to continue the rest of your day in a great place. Colin Lynch played Marcel Dupré’s Prelude and Fugue in B Major. Not expected in the middle of the day, but a huge treat and it was incredibly well played – you knew that the presene you felt was Dupré showing up after the first few measures to hear this performance. Brilliantly, technically showing off the virtuosity in Dupré’s composition and played the way it was meant to be played.

I can’t vouch for the rest of the organ concerts because I am not familiar with all of the organists to follow, but these two, Richard Webster and Colin Lynch, made you want to return for more.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, Episcopal Church, Jehan Alain, Marcel Dupre, New Orleans, New Orleans Creole, Nicholaus Bruhns, Organ and Flute Concert, Organ Concert
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Finally! No Anti-Perspirants Needed!!!!

January 29th, 2012

We have been working on this problem for a couple years. How to live in polite society without using either deodorant or anti-perspirants. We are convinced that the way many anti-perspirants work, using aluminum to stop your pores to prevent you sweating and therefore to keep you smell- free is bad for your health.

From what we’ve read, there seems to be a growing body of research connecting aluminum as one of the culprits in Alzheimers. It certainly would explain the incredible rise in this disease – looking at the time period from the mid-1950’s when it became fashionable to give a bride and groom a set of aluminum pots as a wedding present. I can remember those shiny pots displayed prominently on the gift table and everyone just ooohing and ahhing over them – and then came the vicious rise of Alzheimer’s. There is some admission of that – although through the back door – by the companies which manufacture these pots because they are now marketing pots as having an aluminum “center” fully enclosed rather than being all aluminum.

Trying to get rid of body odor without using either deodorant or anti-perspirants has been a tough experiment. We have tried everything we heard from everyone who wrote to or called us and nothing worked over the long haul – (read: playing games, hiking, walking fast, high stress situations, etc.).

We tried bathing two and three times a day. That worked, sort of, but only if you engaged in no strenuous activity, kept yourself stress free, etc. If you didn’t, in a couple hours you began to smell as though you hadn’t bathed for days.

We also tried massaging Olive Oil under the arm pits. Then we tried Avocado oil under the arm pits. And then we added different essential oils after rubbing in the Olive Oil and we tried essential oils without rubbing in the different oils putting the essential oils directly on the skin. All of our trials broke down after a short period of time and your friends had to be very forgiving to stay around you for even five minutes.

While watching one of the Dr. Oz television show segments, we discovered the answer AND IT WORKS!!! Organic Apple Cider Vinegar splashed under your arms after you come out of the shower or the tub. It works totally. Several of us have been using it for a while now, including a few of you who contacted us after our blogs on going deodorant or anti-perspirant free. We have all had good results. In addition, I also splashed the organic apple cider vinegar on my face after putting on Avocado Oil and the finish was spectacular. If you try this, be super careful of your eyes. I missed my face and my eyes burned something fierce. That didn’t stop me from continuing to try this because the results were spectacular.

I remember a book that I used to swear by when in my 20’s and 30’s and for reasons I don’t remember just lost track of it. I had a hard time keeping a copy of the book in my library because every time someone saw it they had to have it so I kept buying and re-buying the book just to keep it around. Today, I don’t even remember the books title. It was written by a man (I think) who was an apple cider fanatic. He talked about the old way of doing things and much of his life centered around this product which he claimed was the secret to good health and long life.

During that time frame, I would alternate between squeezing a lemon into a little warm water in the mornings as my first drink of the day with a little organic apple cider vinegar in water as my first drink of the day. With the organic apple cider vinegar I always felt super clean. With the lemons I felt as though I was burning every germ out of my digestive tract.

I also remember, when douching was popular among women. Many women used apple cider vinegar in their douch bags instead of the commercial preparations. So that has been around for many uses for generations. You could tell the women who used the commercial preparations because they smelled like a hospital for hours.

My great-grandmother used it to clean her house along with Olive Oil and that was all she used. She also used it on herself in her bath and all over. She did the same thing with Olive Oil. She didn’t smell of apple cider vinegar, but her house had a very distinctive odor – however, she also didn’t have mold, mildew, bugs, etc. Those insects couldn’t live in her house after that constant onslaught of natural germ killer. That has to be why organic apple cider vinegar works so well to keep you body odor free. No germs left to eat the sweat and let out those horrible odors for others to smell.

Try it and let us know your resuts! Also let me know if you think of the name of the book I’ve lost.

We had more response from our blogs on trying to use something other than deodorants and anti-perspirants than anything else so we know how most of you are trying to live and hope we contribute a little bit to a healthier lifestyle.

I am deligthed with the result. Not only because I don’t smell anymore, but especially because I feel so clean after I’ve splashed my underarms with organic apple cider vinegar. That loud sigh of relief you hear is coming from my friends who have been most tolerant and I thank them for their patience and perseverance. Now, I know my really true friends! The rest of you were fair-weather friends for not being able to tolerate a little discomfort. Look at the results! Our health improvement and greater longevity will be the stuff of legend:)

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Tags: Anti-Perspirants, Apple cider vinegar, bed & breakfast, Deodorant
Posted in Breakfast Table Talk, cancer, Health, Health and Beauty, Making Connections | Comments Off on Finally! No Anti-Perspirants Needed!!!!

The New Hampshire Primary, etc.

January 10th, 2012

I know there are discussions going on around the Bettina Network about the Republican Primary. That is all you can get when you turn on the news, but I see almost no one has sent in their breakfast discussion as a blog, probably because they have a strong religious component and none of us wants to be thought of as bigots -religious or otherwise, true or false. Well, I guess I will just have to risk folks knowing we take in all views from wherever and give the freedom of discussion to all our guests without judgment. So my breakfast table talk has to be about the breakfast we just had from which I am still trying to recover. The house is super clean after one of these discussions because cleaning helps me think and sort out – maybe this writing will substitute, it is certainly easier on the body.

We had an unusual assortment of people because one guest invited a couple friends from the area. A bonus when you stay in a Bettina home.

The breakfast was all about the Republican primary. After the laughter at what is going on stopped, we turned to the more serious side of the race.

It started with a guests’ comment on race, actually – the heavy racist overtones to Mitt Romney’s latest television ad about the race being about the soul of America and he goes downhill from there. The interesting thing about racism – those engaged in that emotion generally can’t see their own failings, but that ad was pretty specific. No media got it. I guess you had to have been involved in politics when race was the prevailing issue which made or broke politicians to get the really extreme racism and almost Nazi-like threat Romney is making in that advertisement, if Obama continues in office. I must admit, I had to watch television to take another look at the ad and with that background, the racism jumped right out of the ad in my face. I have much to learn.

From race we turned to religion. I am sure no one at the table would have that conversation anyplace else except in a Bettina Network home.

One guest started it with a story about a friend of hers who was interested in the Mormon Church and started to attend. The guest was Caucasian, her friend was African American and single – no, not gay single, but single-by-life-circumstances.

After a few weeks of going to the particular Mormon Church she was attending, they apparently saw she was seriously interested. They talked to her about her interest and about becoming a member of the Church. Their suggestion – strong suggestion was that she not return to their Church – a white, young professional, couples gathering with lots of small children – and told her to go to another Church – still Mormon, but in a different part of town with a different congregational make-up. More diverse with lots more single people. When she checked it out, there were lots of African-Americans. She got the message and turned her attention elsewhere. Amazingly, what she took away from that encounter was not the Mormon’s racism, but their social engineering. They were telling her what to do in no uncertain terms and she had no choice. It was clearly, from her encounter, not racism, but it was based on their belief that a single African American woman would be more comfortable in a Church with single African Americans along with other minority members – some young professionals with young children, but minorities just the same.

The breakfast conversation moved from there to the autobiographies of Romney, his father and others in which they were clearly told what to do by their Elders and they saw it as their duty to do just that. Someone suggested the reason Romney was born in Mexico was because his father had been sent there by the Mormon Church with much push back on his part, but he went nevertheless because he saw it as his duty to do what his Church told him to do with minimum push back.

Given that background up came the name of Huntsman with the conjecture as to why he decided to run. He clearly was not going to run and then all of a sudden, fresh from an appointment by the Obama administration to China, he announces his intention to join the race. Looking at his strategy since he entered it looked as though he had been ordered into the race by his Elders in the Church rather than joining the race totally of his own volition. For one thing – it really looks like a gross ethical violation, unusual for Huntsman – and the strategies of both Romney and Huntsman say some greater power was moving them towards the goal of a Mormon president of the U. S. A. and that greater power was not God, but gods – I loved that comment and just had to include it.

To say that almost wiped me out as I sat quietly listening to this is an understatement.

The discussion went on to really outline the difference in what would happen in such a circumstance if Romney were the only Mormon in the race as opposed to two Mormons running for the Republican nomination. There was a lot of discussion as to why a minority or woman running for an office for the first time would have a much easier time if there were two running instead of just one.

There was also a lot of discussion about what happened in Massachusetts when Romney ran for the Senate and almost beat Kennedy and then ran successfully for the Governorship. The discussion was about Romney allegedly using the Church records to push his campaign instead of keeping a distance considering that a conflict of Church and State. Some of that conflict apparently made the papers in Massachusetts.

This discussion was not about Romney or Huntsman using the Church records with the computerized colleciton of information about everyone in the world who the Mormons visit on a regular basis and update their computer records as their young missionaries call on you – but about the Mormon Church overseeing the Romney campaign and introducing Huntsman either with his agreement or with some pullback on his part – to insure the victory of one of their own.

I know the computer part is true – about the Mormons collecting information from their missionaries and keeping those recods computerized for future proselytizing – I had not thought before of the efficacy of such a collection being used to further the political ambitions of the Mormon Church.

Someone at the table remembered the Senate Campaign of Romney against Kennedy and what happened when Kennedy tried to raise the issue of religion against Romney. There was an immediate media ourcry about how the Kennedy’s were in the same position when Jack Kennedy ran for president so Kennedy should just keep quiet. The person raising that bit of history was still upset about that, but not because the media quieted the religious issue, but because they would not report on what Kennedy was saying – which was that there is a difference between a person who is a member of a religion – sitting in the pews – running for a public office and someone who is a Bishop in his denomination running for office without making that distinction clear with the public backing him not knowing of his official Church position – sort of like an Archbisop of the Catholic Church running for office and hiding his official position with the Church. The issues then being raised take on a very different look.

The Bishop in a denomination has declared his belief in everything for which the Church stands. A person in the pew can have theological differences with his denomination and is free to make his own decisions even when they conflict, theologically and otherwise with his Church’s teachings and beliefs.

Ed.Note: This part of the conversation came up because Romney is/was a Bishop in the Mormon Church. We had a couple questions after the blog published about this which is why this note is being added.

If that person in the pews is running for public office, he can make decisions which differ from the theological beliefs of his denomination – he might get push back and heavy push back sometimes from his denomination, but the Bishop would not be able to make decisions which differed from his denominations theological belief system, he has taken an oath, vow, whatever to uphold and follow all of his Church’s beliefs.

That was a discussion that needed to be held when Romney ran for the Senate and that did not happen. That is still a discussion that needs to be held and could be aired without religions bigotry if we had the right kind of media – which we do not. A media beholden to advertisers who can give and take away would be hard put to report on such issues without their bias showing in their reporting – which is the disgrace of one of our most powerful institutions.

WOW! I don’t believe I got through all of that and I hope you publish this blog without my name attached. You take the heat and I will still send you breakfast table talk.

Ed Note: A guest at a Bettina home, who stayed a couple years ago, called us about the blog and said that Mitt Romney’s father was born in Mexico, not Mitt Romney. We would like to correct that mis-statement. She went on to say that about 130 years ago Romney’s great grandfather – Miles Parker Romney and others – fled to Mexico from Utah. Miles had four wives and they were running from the anti-polygamy laws passed earlier making multiple marriages a felony. Miles’ fathers had 12 wives.. The Romney family returned to the U. S. and lived in Michigan where Mitt Romney was born.

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Tags: bed & breakfast, Mitt Romney, politics
Posted in Breakfast Table Talk, Making Connections | Comments Off on The New Hampshire Primary, etc.

A Wonderful Concord Christmas Story

December 31st, 2011

A few days before Christmas I was giving a friend’s out of town visitor a tour of the house. My friends six year old son David was with us and did he get excited when I showed him a secret place to store treasures. It was in our main bed and breakfast bedroom above the fireplace mantelpiece. Our “restoration” carpenter from New Hampshire created that little cavern when he tore down the wall above the mantelpiece and put shelves in the recess. David was less impressed by my description of what we found when the wall was torn. The major items were a ladies button boot, a breast pump, and some letters, each offering consolation for the death of a child. Losing a child was apparently a common event for families from the time our house was built in the early 1700s through even later times.

One of the letters, three pages long, and now in the Concord library, showed beautiful handwriting similar to our forefathers’ writing of our Constitution. It was a letter from Cyrus Barrett to his sister Sally, who had married into the Wood family living in our house. The Barrett family house is now being restored as part of Concord’s historical park. The Minutemen had ammunition hidden in the Barrett’s cornfield the day of the shot heard round the world. Written in New Orleans in 1819, Cyrus first offered condolences over a son’s death and continued by describing a familiar theme, an economic downturn. I have not corrected the spelling in the following quotes:

“I was much affected by the maloncholly intelligence contained in your letter of the sudden death of your affectionate and much loved little John. I recollect him perfectly and have often been amused by his innocent playfulness. I am not surprised that his death should occasion the deepest sorrow in you, yet at the same time you are left with the comfortable assurance that he is happier than your fondest wishes and care could have made him.”

“New Orleans has for some time past been suffering under a heavy weight of commercial embarrasement. Many of her most enterprising Merchants have failed and those who continue in business are constantly complaining of heavy taxes. The Produce of the country is extremely low. Cotton which formerly sold for 30 cents now sells for 16 cts and other articles have suffered the same depression in values, but notwithstanding the times look so gloomy we are looking forward for a change.”

Thinking about the letters makes me glad to be alive today. In spite of all the economic and political problems, we are saved the grief of losing so many children.

And of course so many of our tasks are much easier, for instance baking these Russian tea cakes I gave my friend to take home. They make excellent cookies for any occasion.

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS FOR BAKING RUSSIAN TEACAKES:

1 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla (or brandy)

½ cup confectioners sugar ¾ cup chopped pecans

2and ¼ cup sifted flour 1 cup confectioners sugar

Cream shortening and sugar. Stir in vanilla. Add flour and then nuts. Form 1” balls and bake 14 to 17 minutes in 325 oven. While still hot roll carefully in confectioners sugar.

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Tags: 1700's house, Barrett family, Bed and Breakfast in Concord MA, Cyrus Barrett, economic downturn, Fireplace, Historical Home, Minutemen, New Orleans, Recipe, Russian tea cakes
Posted in Bettina Network Info, Bettina's Cookbook, Historical Support, Making Connections, Preserving Family History and Stories, Who are the Bettina Families | Comments Off on A Wonderful Concord Christmas Story

Alabama’s first licensed black female pilot dies at 90

December 30th, 2011

Published: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 12:16 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 12:35 PM

By The Associated Press

Mildred Carter, pictured here in 2003, shows her pilot’s

license from 1941. (The Birmingham News/ file photo)

TUSKEGEE, Alabama — Mildred Carter, who was Alabama’s first licensed black female pilot, has died. She was 90.

Funeral services for Carter will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Tuskegee’s St. Andrews Episcopal Church with The Rev. Liston Garfield officiating. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery.

Her husband Herbert was a Tuskegee Airman.

In an interview with The Montgomery Advertiser he recalled how they had flown in a two-plane formation high over Alabama. He remembers how they laughed and exchanged silent “I love you” signals over their engine noise 3,000 feet above Lake Martin.

“We didn’t have radio contact, so we made up for it with hand signals and blew kisses at each other,” the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel said Tuesday. “It was a lot of fun.”

Herbert Carter, who compiled a distinguished flying record during World War II and, later, in peacetime, recalled those unauthorized rendezvous flights over the lake.

“I was a maintenance officer as well as a combat pilot and one of my jobs was to take planes up for a test flight after we worked on them,” he said. “That’s when we came up with the idea of flying over the lake. Nobody ever said anything to me about what we did.”

Both had to overcome racial prejudices and discriminatory practices when they learned to fly, but they persevered. As the years passed, they became the “first family” of the Tuskegee Airmen organization and represented the group at functions around the world.

She is survived by her husband, three children, a sister, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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Tags: African American history, airline pilot, bed & breakfast, Episcopal Church, Mildred Carter, Rev. Liston Garfield, Tuskegee Airman
Posted in Making Connections, Memorials, Preserving Family History and Stories | Comments Off on Alabama’s first licensed black female pilot dies at 90

White House to Become a Bed & Breakfast!

December 24th, 2011

What follows is a spoof! We found this on the web site www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i102940 and thought you might enjoy the thought! Wouldn’t that be a great addition to the Bettina Network! – well, maybe not – we would probably get too much written about us with such controversy and vitriol we might not be able to survive! Although, it would give Congress something to add to their complaints about the Obama’s – we are certain they would not find anything about which to compliment. They could check in to check on the sheets, breakfast, the courtesy and welcoming nature of the host family, and for some Congressmen – the rear end of the women who run the enterprise!

The spoof says the President hired the Marriott Corporation to manage the White House Bed & Breakfast! We knew it was a spoof when we read that because the Marriott’s connections to the Mormon Church pointing to – you know who – would never be something the President would do with a presidential election looming and ‘you know who’ seeming to pull ahead of the Republican presidential hopefuls pact. Who knows what would be transacted in this new bed & breakfast. We rather think he would have hired Bettina Network, inc. with its y’all come elegant lifestyle to keep a neutral business image.

Saturday, 24 December 2011

image for White House to Become a Bed and Breakfast

New Conveniently Located 5 Star B&B

Washington DC: White House Press Secretary Carney announced that President Obama and the First Lady will be converting the White House to a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) formillionaires in 2012.

President Obama had hoped to tax US millionaires to raise $70 billion per year in revenue to offset some of his proposed $3.7 trillion budget spending for 2012. Since the Republicans in Congress will never pass such a tax increase the president said “We can’t wait!” The First Lady indicated that she and the president are never home, always on vacation or campaigning and we can live aboard Air Force One.

The White House B&B could become a travel destination for astute millionaires. Both Democrats and Republicans would be welcome to come and stay and enjoy presidential cuisine. The White House residence has 16 rooms consisting of various sitting, living, dining,conference rooms and five bedrooms plus six bathrooms. Assuming full occupancy of each bedroom at $100,000 per night, with the Lincoln bedroom going for $250,000 per night US taxpayers would save $240 million per year. (Secret Service guided limousine tours of Washington DC historic sites are extra.)

Vice President Biden had been designated to manage the B&B, but after his failed attempt at administering the $850 billion stimulus the president agreed to hire Marriott Corporation. Each week a new concierge, such as former Presidents George W Bush, or William Jefferson Clinton will be available 24 hours per day.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

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Happy Holidays to One and All!!!

December 18th, 2011

We wish for everyone celebrating this winter holiday season a joyous; memory filled; warm celebration, surrounded by friends-family-extended family; and those added to the family for the holidays who would otherwise be alone.

We wish for you gratitude, humility, a fulfillment of at least one dream during the holidays along with the re-appearance in your life of one dear to you who has been missing when you-your friends-and-family gathered for holidays and other celebrations.

We wish you ENOUGH! Enough light, laughter, understanding, knowledge, growth, and the supreme feeling of a life which has enough of everything.

We wish you the knowledge of who you are, from whence you have come and where you are going.

We wish for you to know that of which you are made. I am made of STARDUST! Because of many, many bed & breakfast guests, I have finally come to realize the meaning of “from dust you are to dust you shall return” . I always thought that meant “dirt”. The kind we dig up in the spring to plant new flowers. But today I know that I am made of the dust from the Universe – the Galaxy and I am proud. I am one whose core and middle and outside is composed of STARDUST! I am a particular person, but I am also one with the Universe. My oneness with the Universe is in my being – that of which I am composed. The very core of my being comes from the Universe and when I die that is where it shall return. What an incredible knowing!

We wish you the knowledge of your being and that of which you are made!

We wish you the drive to become a greater person – one who re-discovers their passion and uses it to successfully re-create their life.

We wish for you the strength to jettison that which is mundane in your life to take that turn deeper into that about which you are passionate.

We wish for you the life force to be active, beautiful, creative until the moment of your death.

We wish for you internal fortitude to withstand and endure whatever life brings, which initially seems difficult and sometimes overwhelming, but becomes the means by which wisdom, love and understanding grow in you.

We wish for you the time and circumstances to be able to share that wisdom with your friends and family.

We wish for you the ability to deal with your children and your parents, no matter, how difficult that seems to be – to share with them that difficulty and to help to bring them into a more fulfilled life because you are their parents or their child.

We wish for you the internalization of the graciousness of God!

We wish for you the faith and prayers and good works to bring you into God’s Kingdom.

We wish for you eternal life.

Amen! and Amen!

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Tags: astrophysics, bed & breakfast, holiday greeting
Posted in Holiday Greeting, Making Connections, Purpose of Blog | Comments Off on Happy Holidays to One and All!!!

Society Overwhelmed by Pedophilia?

A Weight Loss Tip!

Two Thousand &5, Seven Years Later

Another Civil War in America

Bettina Estate Sales Analysis

A Thought for the Day

Washing Linens, Towels and everything else

A Readers Comment

A Final Tribute

Good Words around the Breakfast Table

Thanks for the Whitney Houston Blog!

Whitney Houston Around the Breakfast Table!

A Reflection at Life’s End!

Trinity Church Organ Concert

Finally! No Anti-Perspirants Needed!!!!

The New Hampshire Primary, etc.

A Wonderful Concord Christmas Story

Alabama’s first licensed black female pilot dies at 90

Published: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 12:16 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 12:35 PM

White House to Become a Bed & Breakfast!

Happy Holidays to One and All!!!

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