Those of you who read my blog last week know about Cailinn Lynch, the six-month old daughter of Brian and Kelly Lynch, of Hales Corners.  Kelly writes all the latest news in an online journal sponsored by Caring Bridge.  The alert I received today told me the news and I want to pass it on to you:

Welcome Home Baby Cailinn!

Our little girl came home yesterday. We can't even begin to describe how happy we are. It's amazing how much you take things for granted, such as sitting in your living room with your spouse, your baby and your dog, eating dinner together.

Brian, Cailinn, and I would like to say thank you to all of our doctors and nurses at CHW that helped us get home.

We look forward to seeing everyone that will be able to make it on Saturday. - Kelly Lynch

Reminder:  The Saturday event that Kelly refers to is a fundraiser November 15, 7 to 11 p.m., to help pay some of the medical costs for Cailinn.  Michael Stickney, a family friend, is organizing a fun-filled event for people of all ages -- families invited -- at Waynz World in New Berlin.  The cost is $25 per person. RSVP to Michael 630-802-1380; donations to the Cailinn Lynch fund may be sent to him at 1569 S. Carriage LN, New Berlin WI 53151. Details about Waynz World, along with directions, can be found at waynzworld.com.  

Here's a little diversion from the pre-election frenzy.  I've listed 10 questions that most people initially think are too easy for a fifth grader. . .but then we find ourselves thinking, "Hey!  What IS the answer?"  (The correct answers follow.)

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty 's torch?

3. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

4. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

5. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

6. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

7. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

8. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

9.  On which playing card is the card maker's trademark? (Joker doesn't count.)

10. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

ANSWERS
(1) BOTTOM; (2) RIGHT HAND; (3) 1 AND 0; (4) RED; (5) 87.5; (6) LEFT; (7) 6; (8) BASHFUL; (9) ACE OF SPADES; (10) 3

Steve has issued an open invitation for people concerned about the church to enter into this discussion.  Here’s what he has to say that might encourage you to enter that dialogue: 

The harm that self-absorbed and self-serving religious leaders can bring to their own people, and to others, has perhaps never been more evident.

History records how violence and terror tactics have been used, not just by small cults, but by all mainstream religions.

This blog is intended to display, discuss, and hopefully provide solutions to the threat of harm coming from Christian leadership.

I speak from my own affiliation and tradition, that of Roman Catholicism, but I believe the topic has universal application.

The attempts to cover-up the sexual abuse scandal with its protection of pedophiles, and the increasing numbers of thefts by ecclesiastics are warning signals to the laity that their judgments must enter the fray - or the scandals will continue.

In the priest/bishop pedophile scandal the conclusion is obvious that the leadership's moral compass is off-point.

Church embezzlements on today's scale bring the leadership's management abilities into question.

"The Purple Culture," speaks to components of a culture that are causal in episcopal behavior. It presents a foundation for and gives focus to action by the laity. I hope you will read it. Whether you agree with it or not, if you are interested in joining the discussion, let's begin.

If you have any personal opinions about this proposed Center in Franklin, please share your comments below.  I've asked Don Dorsan to review this blog and post some of his own additional comments.

In the meantime, I'll "Meet You at the Corner."

There’s much interest in the environment these days.  Of course, people in the Hales Corners and Franklin area are so accustomed to living in a beautiful area that we may tend to take some things for granted.

In this blog, I want to encourage you to visit Boerner Botanical Gardens and the Wehr Nature Center, especially if you haven’t been there for awhile.  And I want to tell you about some September events of interest to you and your neighbors.

On Saturday, September 27, the Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens will host the "No Child Left Inside" Walk-a-Thon.  This event, co-sponsored by WE Energies, Deloitte and Milwaukee County Parks, begins with registration at 8 a.m. followed by the walk-a-thon.  So. . .what’s this catchy title “No Child Left Inside” about?  (Yes, I’m sure you picked up on the similarity to President Bush’s educational initiative, “No Child Left Behind.”)  

It’s actually a national movement aimed to encourage children and their parents to move away from the TV and computer games, where their minds and bodies grow sluggish, and spend more time in  the great outdoors.  Let me capitalize that: THE GREAT OUTDOORS.

As you probably know, there is a growing number of children who are spending most of their time indoors and not getting enough fresh air and exercise.  This is the leading cause of childhood obesity, a growing national problem.  (And you probably already knew that too!)  Of course, this is a problem for adults as well but, for today, let’s focus on the children.

Studies have show that children need to get outside and connect with nature. The “No Child Left Inside” slogan is  inspired by Richard Louv’s book,  “Last Child in the Woods”  (2005), that draws attention to what he terms “Nature Deficit Disorder,” a condition that results in depression, anxiety, and obesity in youth.  “Enjoying nature reduces kids’ stress, improves self-esteem, enhances brain development and enhances curiosity,” the NCLI literature explains.

Is this a Walk-a-Thon just for children?  No, but children are welcome to participate with their families.  As in other walk-a-thons, pledge money will be raised, and these funds will be used to support programs for children at the Gardens.

To learn more about the Walk-a-Thon and other events at Boerner Botanical Gardens, visit their website at http://www.boernerbotanicalgardens.org; and click on “Events”.  Or call 414-525-5650.  Better yet – stop by and pick up a brochure and, while you’re there, tour the beautiful gardens!

To learn more about the “No Child Left Inside Movement,” visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website, http://www.cbf.org.

Calling All Gardeners:  Another event to benefit our environment is sponsored by the Friends of BBG on the same weekend. 

“Save your pots!” the flyers proclaim.  “Clean up for fall and do a good thing for the environment by bringing your pots to Boerner Botanical Gardens for recycling.”

Here’s what you need to know:  September 25 – 27 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day you may bring  #2, #5 and #6 pots, polystyrene cell packs and trays and black plastic edging to the southeast corner of Boerner Botanical Gardens parking lot, 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners.

The pots will be ground, pelletized and made into plastic landscape materials by U.S. manufacturers.   You can help the recycling efforts by first knocking out all dirt and debris from materials.  Wire hangers, staples and other foreign materials should be removed. If possible, sort and stack by pot size and number.  If this pilot program is successful, it will be repeated next year.

For more information, call Shirley Dommer Walczak, Gardens Director, at 414-525-5603 or Patti Peltier, UW-Extension Horticulture Center at Boerner Botanical Gardens, 414-525-5638.

Last week I was delighted to receive an e-mail from a former student who also happens to be a blogger for Brookfield Now.  Kyle Prast ("Practically Speaking")  was Kyle Knapp when I taught at Shorewood High School.  She wrote how she was looking forward to getting together with some of her friends, and her blog of July 8 shares some of the highlights with her readers. 

I particularly liked the last four paragraphs of her blog where Kyle concluded:

"I have not giggled that much in a long time; however, life's road is never all laughs. There have been tragedies too: the death of a husband, siblings, and parents, and serious illnesses for some of us or our children. It makes you realize how precious life is.

"Good friends are precious too. The old saying, a friend in need is a friend indeed  and the Girl Scout song, Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. certainly hold true for me. Last summer, when I needed to sell my dad's Shorewood home, my 2 Shorewood friends pitched right in to help me hold the estate sale. They were there for me.

"Although we may be of differing religions, political parties, and economic status, the same good, solid core beliefs that brought us together in grade school and high school are still there.

To read Kyle's full blog, and some of her others, check out http://blogs.brookfieldnow.com/practically_speaking

Another one of my favorite bloggers is Philip Chard, who writes a syndicated weekly column, "Out of My Mind." (It appears every Tuesday in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  While browsing his website at  http://www.philipchard.com, I found three inspirational quotes that bear repeating:

Then, browing through Chard's blogs, I found some good advice he gave on February 5.  (Wasn't that when gas was still below $4 a gallon?)  His message: "Quit whining!"  And he gave eight practical suggestions for all of us to deal with this problem -- which he, and others, call "an addiction."

1. Elect public officials who pledge to make America energy independent, and not with fossil fuels. Think innovative green energy.
2. Use public transportation, if you can. Or car pool, if you can. Or walk or ride a bike, if you can.
3. Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle — either a hybrid or a smaller auto with high gas mileage.
4. Go the speed limit. Speeding, rapid acceleration and late braking can decrease fuel economy by a whopping 33%.
5. Keep those tires properly inflated.
6. Avoid long idling and warm-ups.

When Barbara  Pforr retired from teaching in the Franklin Public Schools, she knew what she wanted to do with her extra time.  For one thing, she wanted to join an orchestra where she could play her violin, so she joined the Community Orchestra that rehearses at UWM.  For another, she wanted to organize an educational program for elementary school children that would give the youngsters a taste of what it was like to live in Franklin 100 years ago.

Barbara and her husband Dale have been active in the Franklin Historical Society since moving to this community almost 40 years ago.  She liked to bring her 3rd grade class to the old Whelan School at Legend Park so the children could sit in the old-fashioned desks and learn firsthand what school was like in their grandparents' or great-grandparents' day.  Although the Franklin Historical Society offered tours for school groups at the time, Barbara had some ideas of how to make that experience more than a traditional field trip. 

With the support of her brother-in-law Al Block, former Director of Instruction in Franklin Schools and a board member of the Franklin Historical Society, Barbara devised a program where individual classrooms are invited to spend four hours at Whelan School and the other three historical buildings on Legend Park grounds. She has found two other retired teachers who share her passion for local history and alternate with her as lead teacher of the day, whevenever tours are scheduled.  In addition, there are half a dozen or so volunteers who serve as assistants.  It's a very well-run program, enjoyed by children, their teachers, and volunteer parents who help out. 

Last week I volunteered as one of the assistants.  The two requirements are to join the Franklin HIstorical Society and to come dressed like a woman from the early 20th century.  A trip to the Goodwill store helped me out there.  What surprised me is that most of the children came in old-fashioned dresses and trousers as well, and they brought their lunches in cloth-covered baskets or tin pails.  There were no zip-lock bags or canned beverages.  In fact, one of the tasks before lunch was to make their own drinking cup by following the teacher's step-by-step folding directions.

The previous week I had dropped in during one of the classroom visits to observe a fourth grade class from Robinwood and had a short chat outside the school with a girl identified by the nametag Vivian.  "That was my mother's name!" I told her, thinking How quaint that these old names are coming back in vogue!  Then I learned that each child is given a different name when he or she enters the classroom, along with some true-life stories of actual children who lived a century ago.  Some of the Franklin children were amused to find out they were attending school with a brother or sister, as was common in the days when grades 1 through 8 were all taught in the same school.

Some of the children were asked to carry in wood to place in the box beside the potbelly stove (not operative in 2008.)  They also pledged allegiance to the flag and then they sang the "Good morning" song as one of the assistants played the pump organ:  "Good morning to you!  Good morning to you!  We're all in our places, with sunshiny faces.  Oh, this is the way, to start a new day!"

The children practiced reading from an old McGuffey Reader in their desks, and they practiced penmanship with pens dipped in real ink.  They also had arithmetic problems to solve and lessons in spelling, history and geography.   After lunch they played ring toss and other games outside.  Then they went on an artifact hunt to the other three historic buildings on the property -- St. Peters Chapel, the Sheehan-Godsell Log Cabin and the Franklin Town Hall, where Dale Pforr, dressed like a turn-of-the century town clerk, demonstrated the victrola and stereoscope, and helped the children identify some of the artifacts listed in their booklets.

All too soon four hours had elapsed and the children boarded the 21st century bus which would take them back to their own 3rd grade classroom at Southwood Glen.  There wasn't time to sing the "Goodbye" song printed in their booklet: "Let us put our books away, Study time is over.  Happy tripping, homeward skipping, Soon we'll be at play."

To find out more about the Franklin Historical Society and how you can get involved, check out the website:  http://www.franklinhistory.net.   The book, "From Cabins to Condos," published by the Society two years ago, is available at the Franklin Public Library and through the website, as is the recently published book, "They Came to Bowl," by Doug Schmidt.

The Franklin Historical Society will be hosting a series of Open Houses at the four historic buildings in Lions Legend Park. The next one will be held Sunday, June 22. The buildings will open for tours from 1 to 3 p.m.  There will also be a special Open House event on Friday, July 4th, which will run from 1 to 6 p.m. in conjunction with the City of Franklin's Civic Celebration.

Other Open Houses are tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 20, and Sunday, Aug. 17, between 1 and 3 p.m. There is no charge for admission.

What do Jenna Bush, tennis star Nicole Vaidisova and Disney Channel's Dylan and Cole Sprouse have in common?

Answer:  they are all part of the 2008 initiative to get kids to read.  May is "Get Caught Reading" month, promoted by Association of American Publishers.  In addition to the named celebrities who are promoting reading, politicians are using the event as an opportunity to be photographed for the "Get Caught Reading" posters which are sent to libraries and schools in their home state.

Educators approve of this campaign as well, and in some areas the local media features students reading their favorite books.  For more information about "Get Caught Reading", check out the website: www.getcaughtreading.org.

Rochelle Melander, a local writing coach who inspires teen girls to "Write Now!", acknowledges that adults need to turn on to reading too.  In this computer age we're surrounded with more and more words, but people tend to get "news bites" rather than read in-depth stories behind the headlines. 

We're too busy to read, many of us say.  Melander has a number of tips to help all of us become more frequent readers. She shared this in her most recent newsletter. 

To find out more about Rochelle Melander's motivational enterprises, check out her website: www.rightnowcoach.com.