Emmie Ozment's Trunk

In 1986, Robin McCombs worked as an apartment building manager in San Francisco. One day she was cleaning the basement and found an old trunk.

She the trunk brought upstairs, then she bust open the lock. She couldn't waht she found inside. The contents belong to Emmie Ozment. In 1942, Emmie was dying of cancer. She packed up the trunk and left instructions for it to be sent to her son. Only it never happened.

McCombs' conscience was working overtime. She wanted to return the trunk to the proper family. It contained heirlooms including a wedding dress and Emmie Ozment's diaries. McCombs searched for the family until 1993 without success. She was moving out of state and got her friend JoAnne Gardner to take over the search.

Gardner worked for the Mormon Church and had dabbled in genealogy. She made the trunk and it's contents a project for a group of girls she taught. She turned the girls loose on research. A year later they located Emmie Ozment's relative in Alabama.

The person didn't want the trunk but thought a relative lived in Orland, CA. In 1995, Gardner gave the woman the trunk with a guarantee that she'd find Emmie's granddaughters. Their whereabouts were unknown so the search continued.

Gardner continued to work on Emmie Ozment's genealogy. In February 2006, she broke the code. She found three of Emmie's granddaughters in the California marriage records. One of them, Joan McColgan, lived in Napa. She was ecstatic to hear about the trunk.

20 years after the trunk was discovered, it passed into the hands of Emmie's granddaughter, Joan. The diaries and other items have reconnection Joan to a history she thought was long gone.

The Real Bionic Woman

US Marine, Claudia Mitchell, had everything going for her. Then she was in a serious motorcycle accident an lost her arm. She lost hope for a normal life after the tragedy.

In 2005, she learned of a bionic arm that was in the experimental stages. The arm was heavy. It also involved extensive surgery where her nerves were rerouted to her chest muscles. The healthy muscles in her chest would send signals to electrodes working off of her thoughts. The surgery had only been performed 6 times. 5 worked out well, while one was unsuccessful. She knew the risks and decided to do it anyway.

It's been over a year since Mitchell got her new arm. It took almost a year to learn how to control it. The arm has normal sensations like heat and pressure. She can peel fruit, open jars, and feel the sensation of the human touch. If you ask Mitchell, it's been worth it.

The BBC has a photograph of Mitchell with her new arm: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5348458.stm

And the Prize Goes to...

There is very little good news about America's public school system these days. So, let's hear it for the Boston Public School system! They've won the Broad Prize--worth $500,000!!! Boston has been in the running for five years in a row. This year they won the top honor.

The Broad Prize is awarded to urban school districts that make positive changes in the way they teach students in their poorest schools. Boston's school district is 75% low income. though they have a high rate of poor students, they've been dedicated to providing a high quality education.

Eli and Edyth Broad are founds of the Broad Foundation. According to Eli Broad, Boston was chosen because "...stable leadership in the school district and the city, as well as data-driven teaching, leads to strong student performance."

Other prize winners were districts in Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, and New York.

No News Today...

I'm sorry to say that I haven't been able to work on my blog since last Wednesday. My dog, Sierra, the amputee, hurt her back leg. In the course of treatment, they found out she has arthritis in that hip (which will make things difficult for a 3 legged dog).

So, I've been in nurse mode since then. She is getting better. She was walking the next day actually but a bit wobbly. She is on pain medication. It comes in a syringe and I have to squirt it in her mouth. She thought it was great the first day, after that she was not so thrilled. LOL She starts licking her mouth when she sees me coming. Probably in hopes of getting rid of the taste before I even give it to her.

Today she starts on Deramaxx. I've heard good things about it. The arthritis is advance, but Sierra has shown no signs until last Wednesday of having pain. So, we'll just take this day by day.

Hope to find some good news to report here soon!
Thanks for your patience!

A Moment of Silence

Sanchez Throws a No Hitter

Although baseball has seen alot of good pitching lately, there has been a drought since the last no hitter. Randy Johnson through a perfect game on May 18, 2004. He no hit the Atlanta Braves. Since then, no one has thrown a no hitter.

Enter 22 year old Anibal Sanchez. They youngster from Venezuela pitches for the Florida Marlins. He's already had Tommy John surgery. He ended up with the Marlins in the trade that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Red Sox.

Sanchez was called up from the minors in June. His record is 7-2 with a low ERA (2.86). On Wednesday, he showed the baseball world why everyone has such high hopes for him. He pitched a no hitter with just 102 pitches thrown. His teammates were elated, mobbing him on the mound after the game was over.

After the game Sanchez commented, "I cried because I was excited. That's the best moment of my life." Let's hope that this is only one of many best moments of his life. At 22, there may be another no hitter left his arm. Surely, there will be many more well pitched games in his future.

Stingray Proves too Much for the Crocodile Hunter

By now you've probably heard that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died yesterday. He was filming a documentary with her daughter, Bindi. While working on a piece, he was stung by a stingray. The barb pierced his heart, killing him almost instantly.

I was first introduced to the Crocodile Hunter's antics by my niece and nephew. The Discovery Channel was airing "Croc Week" and my niece and nephew were staying with me for a couple of days. They insisted that we watch. The Crocodile Hunter was one of their favorites and they were pretty good at imitating his every move. I found his approach refreshing. He was teaching kids about nature, but it wasn't dry and boring. His enthusiasm was contagious. He made you want to be there experiencing the excitement with him. My niece and nephew (and myself!) learned alot about animals in those shows.

Irwin became a worldwide sensation. He was a leading voice in animal protection throughout the world. He fought against people who protected poachers and those who bought illegal animal products. He educated many about the plight of animals across the globe and tried to get them to see that even the fiercest predator deserved to co-exist with humans. Only Irwin could look at an aggressive crocodile and claim "Ain't she a beauty?"

I don't know much about Irwin's private life, his politics, or views. I do know that he has done alot of to raise the awareness of environmental and animal issues. His presence will be missed as well as his "Crickey!".

Lifting People out of Poverty

In 1976, Dr. Mohamed Yanus made a small gesture. He loaned $27 to a small community in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The money was used to pay off individual debts to loan sharks. $27 may not seem like much. For the people of Chittagong, it helped them get out from underneath crushing debt.

Dr. Yanus went on to found the Grameen Bank. Using the same small loan model, now known as microfinance, he's been able to bring people out of poverty. The Grameen Foundation USA was founded on the same principles. In fact, Dr. Yanus is a founding member of the foundation. The group was founded in 1997 and now has the backing of the Clinton Global Initiative. They estimate that 5.5 million people have been helped with micro-credit loans through their foundation.

One of the people that Grameen Foundation USA helped is Yuli of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Yuli lost everything in the tsunami of 2004 including her home and the small kiosk that helped support the family. Yuli and her family moved in with her parents. She attempted to set up a small kiosk to sell baked goods. While she struggled, she learned about the Grameen Foundation. She took out a $100 and was able to the buy the goods she needed to supply her business. Since the baked goods are made by women int he same village, everyone benefits. She sees a day when the business will support her family once again.

Micro-credit loans almost always go to women. Repayment is at around 95% despite the fact that most of the debtors cannot provide proof of ability to repay. They have nothing to offer as collateral. Yet, they do repay those loans and many succeed in pulling themselves out of poverty.

What do we want? Pluto! When do we want it? Now!

The International Astronomical Union voted last week to fire Pluto. That's right! Pluto has been giving its walking papers. It is no longer considered a planet.

The vote forced Pluto supporters out of the closet Friday to demand their planet back. The "Protest for Pluto" was held at the New Mexico State University. This so happens to be the place where Pluto's discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh, came to work in 1955.

About 50 protesters held signs reading "Size Doesn't Matter". The group was comprised of university staff and students. Along side them were Clyde Tombaugh's family members, including his widow, and friends of the family.

Tombaugh discovered the planet in 1930. He was employed at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. While working for NSMU, he founded the university's research astronomy department.

Some on hand believe the vote was not representative of the IAU's membership. While the organization boasts membership in the thousands, only 400 voted. Will their vote hold up? Pluto supporters are circulating a petition to the scientific community to overturn the vote. Meanwhile, Pluto has been relegated to dwarf planet status. The dog of the same name, still gets to keep his status as Mickey Mouse's best friend.