From the Softer Side...

This is my first posting since leaving Cuenca. Quite frankly, we have been less than chipper about being back in the Land of Oz.

Speaking of the land of oz, several years ago the folks over at the Kansas Department of Tourism decided Kansas needed a new image (how would you like to have THEIR jobs?). Unfortunately, they chose to further overuse the gagging cliche from the Wizard of Oz and came up with the slogan "Kansas, The Land of Ahhhhs." We suffered through that one until the new governor came on board and fired all those munchins and hired a new marketing team. They came up with a new branding for us which nobody seemed to get. It was "Kansas...As Big As It Seems". A couple months later Kansas voters adopted a constitutional amendment (by 71%) banning gay marriage and/or same-sex unions. One guy cashed in on this and printed bumper stickers that read "KANSAS...AS BIGoted AS IT SEEMS". Made him a mint but pissed the governor off big time. She must have gotten tired of trying to 'sell' Kansas so she retired to Washington, DC as Obama's Secretary of Health. Now she has an easy job - selling health care reform to Republicans. Bet she wishes she was back in Kansas. (Clarke likes to point out that the Wizard of Oz story is about someone that left Kansas in order to have an adventure.)

OK, I have promised my spouse I would try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty (I've always hated that analogy). So, to assist me in my attitude adjustment, I have started watching funny movies, scanning humor websites, and trying to 'reframe' my impressions of situations to see the silver lining. Did I mention Zoloft?

Movie recommendation: Saving Grace. A British movie about a middle-aged woman who finds herself in financial ruin when her husband dies and leaves her in debt. She decides to make money using her gardening skills...and growing pot in her greenhouse. Yeah, it's pretty dopey (but hilarious) and has some great scenes - especially when her prim and proper ladies tea club brew up some tea using marijuana leaves.

Life is good!