Paul Newman - an inspiration to us all

Yesterday after my longest run (24 miles)...quite significant, I learned of Paul Newman's death. I am deeply saddened. Please take a moment to read below about what an inspiration this has been. He truly lived his heart. Something I aspire to do.

The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps joins the Newman family, friends and fans in celebrating the life and legacy of Paul Newman. For more than 20 years, Paul Newman has been the heart and soul of Hole in the Wall Camps. His endless passion coupled with his selfless commitment to the welfare of children living with serious medical illnesses has been inspirational to people everywhere. Paul’s boundless enthusiasm for life and his vigor for helping those less fortunate were enormous and touched lives throughout the world. The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps is part of his living legacy that will continue to thrive. Paul’s leadership, compassion and motivational spirit can never be replaced, but he has left us strong and confident. Through the many camper smiles we witness each and every day, Paul’s dream lives on. A Tribute To Our Founder click here To honor Paul's commitment, devotion and passion for the family of camps click here Our family of camps

Click here to Learn More

Sarah Palin

Let's remember that she wanted rape survivors to pay for their own rape examination kits!

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, wrote the following about Sarah Palin.

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.


Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."



Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.



She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.



Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.



Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.


Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.



I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.



If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.



Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?





Eve Ensler

September 5, 2008

20 miles and going...

Sunday I ran 20 miles. It was hard but not miserable. I left at 5am and loved how quiet the main road was. It's usually a busy road alongside a shopping mall near a parkway on and offramp. There was no one on the road. Serenity in the city. The first 10 miles were hard. I started out too fast. The second not so bad. I have been experimenting with nutrition with gels, candy and sports drink. the gels are not pleasant but do the job. I really like the gatorade powder packs straight.

By mile 15 I got stressed about time. I needed to be back in time for James to get to church. It was his first day up front and I was NOT going to miss that. I had stopped and slowed down a lot. It was really humid. Along with that stress at 15 I hit the wall. Why am I doing this? Man, when I finish this marathon I am done. No more running. And where is the Novocaine? I need Novocaine to numb the pain. And why is that buff guy across the street running so fast, sweating like a pig and still smiling and friendly? Okay, make the music louder, sing with the music. I see the main road where he malls are. Only 3 miles left! I am elated. I turn on Old Country Rd and know this is the final stretch. I inadvertently run faster and after a mile I am hyperventilating. Oh well. Almost home. For the last few miles I have been talking to myself out loud. I realize I past mile 19 and I never hit the mile 19 wall. Guess I saw the wall at 15. Mile 19 was fabulous. I made it home and ran a total of 20.20. The kids came out to greet me. Byron high fived me. Luna asked how many I ran. I tell her 20. She says, "Wow Mom, you are going to finish that marathon!!!" Once when I did 16 she wasn't so encouraging, "Mom, you still have 10 more to go."

I had about 5 min to shower and get out the door to make it to church on time.

We made it about 10 min late. Oh it hurt and I mean hurt to get out of the car. We make it to the balcony in the church and I see James. He sees us and smiles. We didn't miss much. Except that before e arrived James mentor announced to the entire congregation that I ran 20 miles and would be a little late.

Today I did an easy 4-ish mile run. It was great. I have not felt that good in so long. I was honestly getting tired of this. It was a chore that I needed to complete. But tonight was nice. James and I chatted the whole time. I felt good the entire time.

Tomorrow I will run 7 from work to home.

7 weeks til the marathon!