R U American? Xpress it!

The above video depicts the American version of the song, "This Land is Your Land" written by American folk singer, Woody Guthrie in 1940. (The Canadian version is featured on my July 1st, Canada Day posting. Yes, a few days ago! Check it out.)

The American lyrics are as follows:

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway,
And saw below me the golden valley, I said:
This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,
And all around me, a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling;
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:
This land was made for you and me.

See the original lyrics and interesting history at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Land_Is_Your_Land if you wish.

Today (even though I'm writing late in the day) is Independence Day AKA (also known as) the Fourth of July, a national holiday for the United States of America (USA). A day when Americans commemorate their day of independence from Great Britain that originated in 1776. Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29 for details.

When you think of the USA, what comes to mind? Do you think of Hollywood and movie stars or Disneyland? Do you think of football, hotdogs, burgers and the like? Or do you think of the vast and varied landscape (as shown in the videos) and rich culture you have with such diverse nationalities?

Are you American? If so, how did you express it today? Did you wear red, white, and blue today (like a work colleague did in her red-, white-, and blue-striped dress) to show your patriotism? Did you attend any parades or watch fireworks or any other patriotic-like acts, waving an American flag? (Not that you "have to" to do any of these of course, but getting into the spirit of being American might be fun, don't ya think?)

The American flag has interesting symbolism by the way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States

How important is it to get along with your neighbours, whether at home (in your house/apartment) where you live or in your country (such as the USA and Canada)?

P.S. For you Canadians, read the 1st of July (Canada Day) posting. If you are another nationality, read this posting with questions about your country and your country's national or popular song.

Writing Challenges

I am participating in a daily blog post challenge for the month of July. Why you may ask? To learn (tips about blogging and possibly more about technology) and to challenge myself (to write daily and to come up with creative and hopefully inspiring stories/shares). I am after all a writer, maybe not a professional one, though one at heart. Doesn't that count?!

As a writer, it was interesting to note that not only did I experience (at least) one writing challenge, but two! The first which I overcame a few days ago was that of dysgraphia. What is that you may ask?

From the National Center for Learning Disabilities, it is described in part as follows: "Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing, which requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills. Dysgraphia makes the act of writing difficult. It can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting thoughts on paper. People with dysgraphia can have trouble organizing letters, numbers and words on a line or page. This can result partly from: visual-spatial difficulties, trouble processing what the eye sees. Language processing difficulty: trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears." (http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/what-is-dysgraphia)

Take a look at the chart above which explains dysgraphia in mind mapping format and another similar (yet perhaps clearer) chart here: (http://tutoringduluth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dysgraphia-mind-map.jpg). (By the way, on a side note here, mind mapping is a really great tool to learn and use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map.)

I experience messy handwriting at times, most times actually when I am writing notes fast, even when I use my own shorthand that I invented years ago either in high school or college, I believe the latter.

If you didn't know me, you might think my writing resembled that of a doctor writing a prescription note. You know how those used to look, right? Now they do it by computer for good reason. Of course, not all doctors have messy handwriting.

Quite often I experience number and letter dyslexia, especially when typing, by reversing two digits or letters. This is why I repeat numbers when I hear them, especially by phone.

Since I am an excellent speller and have no problems penning or typing thoughts on paper or computer, I believe dysgraphia manifests itself in me auditorily. In fact, as soon as I heard the words "auditory processing disorder" or APD for short years ago (without knowing what it was), I knew intuitively I experience(d) that.

However, my blog posting is not meant to define or confine me with labels. It is to raise awareness of possibilities that you or others you know might experience. Notice that I use the word "experience" rather than "have." There is a reason for that.

What learning/writing challenges might you or someone you know experience? What do you or they do to cope or compensate for it? Are you accepting of your challenges or do you resist them?

P.S. I decided to 'write' early this morning and to my astonishment - I thought for sure I kept saving my post - I had accidentally deleted most of my blog post. It was almost complete and now it is late evening. In hindsight, I think I had two similar blog posts accidentally open in draft form and I deleted the wrong one! Be forewarned in making the same error!)

Huckleberry Hunt

Photo from Wikipedia (top left are red huckleberries)
I was asked if I wanted to pick some huckleberries in the forest and trails nearby, after returning home from work. I thought "Sure, why not?" Besides wanting to check out the area, I wasn't sure if I had ever seen huckleberries before, yet alone if I had ever heard of them before.

I had heard of Huckleberry Finn of course, though that was a character from Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. That was all I knew about huckleberry!

So three females, myself included, plus a golden lab set out for a jaunt to the nearby forest on the hunt for huckleberries.

I was curious of course if there might be bears - it is bear season after all - as I live close to where they roam, though I hadn't seen one yet since I moved to my new home (going on two years). I wasn't afraid though as I was walking with company including a canine as a companion, hopefully acting as a guard dog if necessary.

We had a most intriguing conversation that meandered as much as the paths we took: from dog training to work, to relationships, to hair, to religion and spirituality, to vision and vision therapy, to food, drifting in and out our speaking distractedly, like clouds in the sky.

Towards the end of our brief journey, one of the young women remarked how wonderful it would be if we were all understood. It would make life so much simpler, easier. The climax of her comment lingers in the back of my mind like an unripe huckleberry hanging, hidden underneath its bushy leaves. Hmmm, may need to ask her when I see her again...it sounded like an epiphany the way she stated it.

However, I sensed that more importantly she felt accepted and thus understood. She was able to speak freely and be herself. Isn't that a great gift, maybe one of the greatest you can give someone?

How do you feel accepted and understood? How do you accept and understand others? Is there a relationship?

U R Canadian? Xpress it!

The above video mainly depicts scenes of what looks like Alberta and/or British Columbia. Here is another version (by Peoplestandup) which shows more of Canada and is both in English and French: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3feae1bdb4/this-land-is-your-land-this-my-land-canada

Did you know that the word 'Canada' comes from 'kanata' which is Iroquoian for 'village'? (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada for details.)

When you think of 'Canada' what comes to mind? Do you think hockey (possibly first and foremost), beer, burgers, hotdogs and the like? Do you think of Native Americans and salmon? Or do you think of the vast landscape (as shown in the videos) and rich culture we have with diverse nationalities? (I am one of those!)

I consider myself Dutch-Canadian as I am a native to The Netherlands aka Holland where I was born and became (a) Canadian (officially with a Canadian citizenship). Moving to Canada as a young girl, I am curious what life might have been like if I lived in Europe; however, I am grateful to live here. Thus, I consider myself Dutch-Canadian as I am proud of my Dutch heritage and grateful to be Canadian.

Perhaps I'm Canadianesse (rhymes with finesse), a word I just invented - I love doing that - to mean perhaps a mixture or blend of Canadian and another culture (whatever you wish it to mean) or possibly even becoming Canadianized (and apparently that is a word!). I digress.

My sister(s) and I used to sing a song about Canada when we were quite young that seems a part of this process. Well, we actually sang the first verse only as that is all we knew at the time. We harmonized in soprano and alto:

This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From Bonavista
To Vancouver Island,
From the Arctic Circle,
To the Great Lake waters,
This land was made for you and me.
As I was walking,
That ribbon of highway,
I saw above me
That endless skyway,
I saw below me
That golden valley.
This land was made for you and me.

The rest of the lyrics are as follows (with a nice tree background): http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr5/blms/5-2-3g.pdf

Are you Canadian? If so, how did you express it? Did you attend any parades or watch fireworks or any other patriotic-like acts waving a Canadian flag? Or at least wear red and white today like I did to show your patronage or wear a Canadian pin?

Not that you "have to" to do any of these of course, just asking. But it is fun, at times, to unify, at least in Spirit when doing so, don't you think eh?

P.S. For any of you Americans celebrating the 4th of July, I wrote a piece for you three days later. If you are another nationality, read this posting with questions about your country and your country's national or popular song.