Shipwrecked & Comatose

Unless you live off-grid and far away from any major civilization hubs, you probably know about the Louisiana Board of Education's decision to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state.  This caused controversy around the nation. Public institutions are not supposed to favor one religion over another. Public schools are not legally allowed to enforce a religious code on students. Contrary to the beliefs of many hardcore Christians, children are allowed to make their own religious observations as long as they do their work and do not disrupt the classes, but the school can't direct their religious activities.  The Ten Commandments come from the holy text of two major religious groups in the country. Forcing children to know the Ten Commandments is telling children the rules for Judaism and Christianity are ones they should know, even if they don't practice either of those religions. School administrators and board members who support such a display will ar

After Mother's Day it's officially Planting Time. I have my herbs and flowers back on the balcony During the months when the boxes and pots were all empty, birds would often come to rest in our boxes. Blue jays were notorious for digging them up (there was something edible buried in there they loved to dig for) and spreading dirt everywhere. Mourning doves like to sit there and do little more than coo.  These birds deposited seeds in my boxes, as birds doo (spelling error intentional) and I had a few small plant sprouts already growing. I had to uproot them so I could plant my flowers. I couldn't stop wondering what would happen if I let them grow. What kinds of plants were they? Would I be able to identify them if when they matured? What would my balcony look like if let my plants go wild? Curious as I was, I chose not to find out.                                                                                                               *** For most of my life, the coll