My good friend Jim O'Brien is in Intercommunity Hospital recovering from a quadruple bypass he had on Friday.  Turns out he had a heart attack the previous Sunday which led to the surgery. Apparently he came through surgery with flying colors.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to actress, writer, and former NFL cheerleader, Terri Lynn Hatcher who turns 50 today.  Terri is divorced with a daughter, Emerson Rose, who is 16.

Terri is know for her role as Lois Lane in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and Susan Mayer in "Desperate Housewives".   I liked her in the 007 movie "Tomorrow Never Dies".

Terri was a San Francisco cheerleader in 1984 and competed in the 2013 Malibu triathlon. 

We ended up with just under 4 1/2" of rain in the last storm according to my unofficial backyard rain gauge.  I woke up at about midnight Wednesday and it was pouring.  I heard we may get another big storm next weekend.  Got a break this weekend so Karen and I can go to Colony's championship game on Saturday at Cerritos College. 

Putting up the Christmas decorations tomorrow (Saturday) morning.

200 counter protesters in Rosbud, Missouri,greeted the Ferguson marchers with signs stating support for Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson and calling Michael Brown a thug, while yelling racial slurs at the marchers.  There was also a water melon, some fried chicken, a 40 oz bottle of beer, and several Confederate flags along the way. 

Thought Provoking Open Letter

Dear Martha and Abigail,

In the spring of 2013, I was spending a rare night out with some friends, including a friend of a friend that I'd never met before. I had been drinking and we had flirted, and even kissed, earlier that night. But when I went off to sleep in the spare bedroom of the apartment we were in and he, also a guest, asked if I wanted a "cuddle buddy," I responded with what I believed to be a clear and vocal "no."

When, a while later, I was woken up by him crawling into bed next to me, I again said "no." And when he started choking me, I struggled, showing "no" through my behavior. As young women, we are taught that there is power inherent in the word no.

Unfortunately, in my case, saying no didn't work.

After that night, I continued to use the word no. I said no to telling our parents, or you, what had happened. I said no to filing a police report or talking to a therapist about it. I said no to any and all opportunities for support or justice.

Turns out, it doesn't matter how many hours you've spent binge watching Law & Order: SVU, going to the cops is terrifying. Almost as terrifying, I discovered, as living with the pain of sexual assault and not telling anyone.

You see, this wasn't the first time that I was assaulted, but it was the first time that I was confident, in that moment, that what was happening was wrong. Sometimes, I feel guilty for not going the legal route. Maybe I could have won? Maybe this time, I could have at least scared him into not doing anything like that ever again?

At the time, the hardship on my life -- getting poked and prodded, reliving that night over and over in what I imagined to be a cold, damp interrogation room, the court appearances, and the stigma that comes with being the girl who was sexually assaulted, seemed to not validate prosecution given the high likelyhood that my attacker would be found "not guilty" anyway.

 ****

The letter goes on and can be finished here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/dear-sisters-i-was-sexual-assault_b_6154190.html

The trauma felt by a sexual assault victim was never covered in the police academy.  I took many rape and sexual assault reports in my career, and while I tried to always be cognizant of the victim's feelings, I never knew it went this deep. 

The author states nearly one in five women are victims of sexual assault.  According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, every 2 minutes another American is sexually assaulted, over 230,00 victims a year.  60% of sexual assault victims never report the incident to law enforcement. www.rainn.org/statistics.  How sad.

Taylor Swift singing at the 2014 Victoria Secret Fashion Show. 

Happy Birthday wishes go out to actress and activist Daryl Christine Hannah who turns 54 years young. Daryl has never been married but was involved in long-term relationships with Jackson Browne and John F. Kennedy Jr.  She doesn't have any children.

Daryl has starred in "Splash" as a mermaid, "Blade Runner" and "Steel Magnolias" among others.

Daryl on naturalism: "My favorite thing is to be naked, which is why I always live in remote areas. My ideal is to wake up in the morning and run around the meadows naked. I think it's a good idea to live in harmony with nature."

It is rumored that Daryl is dating singer, songwriter Neil Young.

Daryl has been arrested several times for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.

According to my backyard unofficial rain gauge, we've received 2 1/2 inches of rain from this last storm.

Ya Daddy. Bring it on!!

"Major League Umpire Dale Scott Comes Out as Gay" 

Someday, soon I hope, newspapers headlines such as the one above will no longer be necessary as same-sex marriage will be commonplace and accepted throughout the world.

Its Raining!!

According to my unofficial rain gauge, we've gotten 1 1/2 inches of rain today.  We sure need it.

My boys always groan when I tell them I used to walk to school (up hill both ways) in -40 degrees in Minnesota as a kid.  But it's the truth.  Of course we wore several layers of clothing.  My breath used to freeze on the scarf wrapped around my face.  Then everyone would get to school and hang up all that wet wool in the "cloak room" and boy would it stink.  Then we would get all dressed up again to walk home for lunch, only to trudge back again for the afternoon session.  Luckily it was only about five blocks to the school from our house. My dad would walk through the alley and across the street to the high school where he taught English.

Great photo of Jonah, who is crawling now.  He will be walking by the time we see him in late March!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to singer-songwriter, actress, producer, and entrepreneur, Bette Midler, "The Divine Miss M" who turns 69 years young today. Bette has been married for 30 years and has one daughter.

Bette has won three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award.  She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards.

Bette in the movie "Hocus Pocus" 

Bette singing "The Rose" which she won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal in 1981.