When I was a little girl, I expressed to my mother that I wanted a puppy. I believed that I demonstrated my maturity and responsibility through completing my chores and obtaining a part-time job at the local hair salon. I was 11 years-old. My mother thought that our yard was too small to accommodate an animal and although I certainly had proved a level of dependability, I would most likely become bored with the task of caring for a pet and she would be left doing all of the work. She opted, instead, for a garden. I took for granted that we could easily access fresh vegetables and herbs (without the use of dangerous pesticides)--just as I took for granted that the Jewish deli down the street provided fresh kosher meat. My brother and I even contributed to the vegetation by using a technique I learned in science class on a potato. We grew a watermelon patch on the side of our garage that was not approved by my mother and eventually destroyed by neighborhood kids. Years later, I learned that farming was in our blood as our great grandfather, along with some of his cousins, owned several acres of land in Arkansas. That was before large corporations produced 98 percent of all poultry in the United States and a mere two percent of farms produced 50 percent of all agricultural products in the country.
According to “The Nontoxic Baby,” a book written as a guide for parents in the 90’s, “over one half of all the food on grocery store shelves has only appeared within the last decade.” At the time the book was written, Nancy Sokol Green estimated that “in another 10 years, that number is predicted to be as high as 80%.” Much of the food research now is conducted by the corporations who produce the food through their “committees.” The regulations that existed to protect us from toxic chemicals have been cancelled or severely weakened and in the early 80’s, according to Green, “budgets of several federal environmental and consumer protection regulatory agencies were cut by millions ...” It should then be no surprise that we received toxic toys from China since, according to our own government’s documents, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has “suffered the deepest cuts to its budget and staff of any health and safety agency.”
This is the world my son will grow up in. And I am forced to make choices everyday based on the choices that our government has refused to make. It occurred to me recently, this is another way in which the poor and the wealthy will be separated. It will not just be more acreage and a better car that separates the classes but the consumption of non-organic food, containing some of the thousands of new chemicals introduced each year that are connected to the significant increase in male infertility, asthma, hyperactivity, recurrent ear infections, moodiness, depression, leukemia and several forms of cancer or the more expensive organic food that we can only hope is much safer. These children who suffer the diseases resulting from toxin exposure will probably have less access to healthcare (I’m assuming that if you can’t pay for organic food you probably don’t have comprehensive healthcare coverage). We live under a government that is directed by corporate interests rather than the interest of the people it is formed to protect. And when representatives do stand up to protect us, they are deemed radical or leftist.
So, for the mom who reads too much, watches too much C-Span, listens to too much talk radio and surfs the internet too much, the only choice is browsing the aisles of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s for the best deals she can find and waiting for the Whole Foods knock-off to open in the neighborhood (a discount organic store chain is coming soon!). What I am really trying to do is give my son the food my mama fed me—it came from a family farm, it wasn’t cross bred with anything, there were no hormones in it, there were not nearly as many chemicals on it, it wasn’t genetically produced. It was rare that it came from a box, a can or a plastic thing (according to John Hopkins Research, “the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies ...”) and it was hardly ever microwaved. I hope and pray these small changes I make will be enough to overcome the pollutants my child faces everyday due to poor air quality and the continued use of toxic substances in toys and even in some school structures. In fact, more than anything, it is prayer that will protect my child because it is clear our government has no interest in doing that at all.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
To Answer Your Question, What Have You Been Up To?
A Different Kinda Blogspot from Tales of a 30-Something Work-at-home Mom
When you become a parent, sometimes the size of your personal life simply shrinks. Weeks and sometimes months can go by without speaking to friends or even relatives because of the small amount of available time outside of tending to, dropping off, reading up on, etc. your child(ren). When you finally do make contact with the outside world, the first thing people ask is … what have you been up to? In my case, frankly I’ve been up to a lot in the past 15 months and I recently realized, outside of a close group of friends, I haven’t shared everything with people who may want to get involved or just have a general interest in what I’ve been up to. So, here goes …
A few days before Taylor was born, my friend David from church and I were supposed to be shooting a mock commercial about a new product, The Black Card. It was satire on the fact that people are always defining what a “black” person is. However, a few days before the weekend we were scheduled to shoot, Taylor came along. I had already left the Post Group to work with my friend, who had a web-based business. She encouraged me to branch out on my own and she was my first and only client. I wrote press releases for her, edited, did a little ghost writing, wrote her DVD cover language, wrote a couple of infomercials, wrote her non-profit business plan and wrote her internet content. She is a talented artist who has built an on-line community based on her motivational work. After working with her for about 8 months, she landed a music deal and downsized her company. There was no more need for free-lance workers, including me. So, I was without my only client. However, that didn’t stop me from working on my other projects. These included working on Delta Days at City Hall for which we received a write-up in the LA Sentinel (this is my 2nd year working on the historic event with my Delta Co-chair, Jackie, wherein we lobby city hall and it's he 1st year of doing it with other sorority chapters), working on a business plan for a t-shirt company with a high school friend and working on a world music festival and symposium at UCLA (which eventually was taken over by the students). The world music festival initially started out with a very ambitious goal of hosting 20,000 people and getting an artist on the level of a … hmmm U2 to perform. But I was then asked by the owner of Effortless Activism to attend an end genocide panel discussion which evolved into working with his group and a number of student groups at UCLA, on the festival. Due to costs and UCLA restrictions, time constraints, etc. the festival got smaller and the community organizations such as mine became less involved. However, it was still a success. I did a short, cable interview with Vanessa Williams to promote the festival months before it took place. But I never saw that piece.
Within a few weeks of losing my only client, I gained another much more demanding client who paid a lot less. Though I was on the computer doing work for this client, many times into the next morning, I still managed to finish my downloadable book for moms (that only my father and good friend Tiffany purchased), set up a pitch meeting at a cable network (for my writing partner and I) and I signed up as the very last Barack Obama precinct captain of Los Angeles County. Volunteering for Obama took up a great deal of time initially. I wrote letters to my neighbors and canvassed. I made phone calls out of state. I wrote an op-ed piece that was to be published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (however, I can’t seem to find it on-line and none of my Cleveland folks saw it), I produced two commercials (one for the "Obama in 30-seconds" contest and one just to show people who his national security team will be) and I wrote a number of editorial pieces (one entitled “Tales of a Last Minute Precinct Captain,” that actually inspired a friend to vote for Obama!) Since my new client was a non-profit organization, I took an on-line grant writing course at Pasadena College. When I worked with the non-profit, I wrote all of their press releases, some of their marketing materials, conducted grant research and applied for a few grants, staffed their board of directors, found them volunteers, helped them structure their programs, came up with various fundraising ideas and brought organization to the “organization.” However, at the end of the day, I was getting burned out and they believed the grant money should have been received within the 4-month period that I worked with them. We had a mutual parting and I picked up other clients who are friends. I wrote some treatments, marketing materials and did some research and finally, Taylor entered part-time daycare as it was increasingly more difficult to work at home while he was there. Until recently, he was perfectly fine going to daycare but now he cries when I drop him off. We are continuing the routine as I know he will get used to it and it will evolve into a full-time situation when I return to working at a full-time job. He loves the kids. I think he wants to me to stay and play with everyone.
So, what else have I been doing? Well, I started, then stopped, then started and then finally stopped working on my romantic comedy in order to start working on a drama (feature) and a romantic comedy with my partner, I participated in the symposium at UCLA to work on a code of ethics for the media (to protect the rights of children), my coalition (Twenty Women for Darfur) participated as one of the sponsors of the Concert to End Genocide at UCLA, I wrote an article for an on-line magazine about my adoption experience (a new one to come soon), I helped a friend raise funds for Metta (for the recent cyclone victims) through Twenty Women for Darfur, I started the process of getting non-profit status for Twenty Women (“for Darfur” will no longer be a part of the name) and I started talks with Effortless Activism about creating t-shirts through them. I also took over as editor of my church newsletter and we are in the midst of re-organizing to produce a more effective piece of communication. Last, but not least, a few weeks ago I began the arduous search for a full-time job (non-entertainment related) that will allow me time to write and, yes, see Taylor and my husband on occasion.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 15 months! Man, it has gone by quickly and I’m looking forward to the next 15. Who knows what will happen by then!
Please Note: at the Symposium I learned about an important resolution. Please visit: http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=20080526102258810
Then write your representatives to tell them to support this important resolution. It is a Global Marshall Plan. This resolution, sponsored by members of congress from a number of different faiths; it will change the entire world and you can be a part of it. Please write/call/fax your representatives TODAY!
You can see all of my blogs on my blog page: http://30-somethingnewmom.blogspot.com/
You can view my short youtube commercials at: http://www.youtube.com/marleymiles (Obama’s Dreamers & What Gives Me Hope)
You can catch my campaign writings at: www.brothersandsistersforobama.com
When you become a parent, sometimes the size of your personal life simply shrinks. Weeks and sometimes months can go by without speaking to friends or even relatives because of the small amount of available time outside of tending to, dropping off, reading up on, etc. your child(ren). When you finally do make contact with the outside world, the first thing people ask is … what have you been up to? In my case, frankly I’ve been up to a lot in the past 15 months and I recently realized, outside of a close group of friends, I haven’t shared everything with people who may want to get involved or just have a general interest in what I’ve been up to. So, here goes …
A few days before Taylor was born, my friend David from church and I were supposed to be shooting a mock commercial about a new product, The Black Card. It was satire on the fact that people are always defining what a “black” person is. However, a few days before the weekend we were scheduled to shoot, Taylor came along. I had already left the Post Group to work with my friend, who had a web-based business. She encouraged me to branch out on my own and she was my first and only client. I wrote press releases for her, edited, did a little ghost writing, wrote her DVD cover language, wrote a couple of infomercials, wrote her non-profit business plan and wrote her internet content. She is a talented artist who has built an on-line community based on her motivational work. After working with her for about 8 months, she landed a music deal and downsized her company. There was no more need for free-lance workers, including me. So, I was without my only client. However, that didn’t stop me from working on my other projects. These included working on Delta Days at City Hall for which we received a write-up in the LA Sentinel (this is my 2nd year working on the historic event with my Delta Co-chair, Jackie, wherein we lobby city hall and it's he 1st year of doing it with other sorority chapters), working on a business plan for a t-shirt company with a high school friend and working on a world music festival and symposium at UCLA (which eventually was taken over by the students). The world music festival initially started out with a very ambitious goal of hosting 20,000 people and getting an artist on the level of a … hmmm U2 to perform. But I was then asked by the owner of Effortless Activism to attend an end genocide panel discussion which evolved into working with his group and a number of student groups at UCLA, on the festival. Due to costs and UCLA restrictions, time constraints, etc. the festival got smaller and the community organizations such as mine became less involved. However, it was still a success. I did a short, cable interview with Vanessa Williams to promote the festival months before it took place. But I never saw that piece.
Within a few weeks of losing my only client, I gained another much more demanding client who paid a lot less. Though I was on the computer doing work for this client, many times into the next morning, I still managed to finish my downloadable book for moms (that only my father and good friend Tiffany purchased), set up a pitch meeting at a cable network (for my writing partner and I) and I signed up as the very last Barack Obama precinct captain of Los Angeles County. Volunteering for Obama took up a great deal of time initially. I wrote letters to my neighbors and canvassed. I made phone calls out of state. I wrote an op-ed piece that was to be published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (however, I can’t seem to find it on-line and none of my Cleveland folks saw it), I produced two commercials (one for the "Obama in 30-seconds" contest and one just to show people who his national security team will be) and I wrote a number of editorial pieces (one entitled “Tales of a Last Minute Precinct Captain,” that actually inspired a friend to vote for Obama!) Since my new client was a non-profit organization, I took an on-line grant writing course at Pasadena College. When I worked with the non-profit, I wrote all of their press releases, some of their marketing materials, conducted grant research and applied for a few grants, staffed their board of directors, found them volunteers, helped them structure their programs, came up with various fundraising ideas and brought organization to the “organization.” However, at the end of the day, I was getting burned out and they believed the grant money should have been received within the 4-month period that I worked with them. We had a mutual parting and I picked up other clients who are friends. I wrote some treatments, marketing materials and did some research and finally, Taylor entered part-time daycare as it was increasingly more difficult to work at home while he was there. Until recently, he was perfectly fine going to daycare but now he cries when I drop him off. We are continuing the routine as I know he will get used to it and it will evolve into a full-time situation when I return to working at a full-time job. He loves the kids. I think he wants to me to stay and play with everyone.
So, what else have I been doing? Well, I started, then stopped, then started and then finally stopped working on my romantic comedy in order to start working on a drama (feature) and a romantic comedy with my partner, I participated in the symposium at UCLA to work on a code of ethics for the media (to protect the rights of children), my coalition (Twenty Women for Darfur) participated as one of the sponsors of the Concert to End Genocide at UCLA, I wrote an article for an on-line magazine about my adoption experience (a new one to come soon), I helped a friend raise funds for Metta (for the recent cyclone victims) through Twenty Women for Darfur, I started the process of getting non-profit status for Twenty Women (“for Darfur” will no longer be a part of the name) and I started talks with Effortless Activism about creating t-shirts through them. I also took over as editor of my church newsletter and we are in the midst of re-organizing to produce a more effective piece of communication. Last, but not least, a few weeks ago I began the arduous search for a full-time job (non-entertainment related) that will allow me time to write and, yes, see Taylor and my husband on occasion.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 15 months! Man, it has gone by quickly and I’m looking forward to the next 15. Who knows what will happen by then!
Please Note: at the Symposium I learned about an important resolution. Please visit: http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=20080526102258810
Then write your representatives to tell them to support this important resolution. It is a Global Marshall Plan. This resolution, sponsored by members of congress from a number of different faiths; it will change the entire world and you can be a part of it. Please write/call/fax your representatives TODAY!
You can see all of my blogs on my blog page: http://30-somethingnewmom.blogspot.com/
You can view my short youtube commercials at: http://www.youtube.com/marleymiles (Obama’s Dreamers & What Gives Me Hope)
You can catch my campaign writings at: www.brothersandsistersforobama.com
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