A to Z Challenge: C is for Children

 First, an apology.  It seems Blogger didn't publish my entry to the challenge yesterday on time.  It took me until late afternoon to notice, because Ol' Bessy, my aging, ailing laptop, was being a crankypants and it took that long to even get her to stay online.  If you didn't read my Boudreaux jokes, you might want to.

Then again, you might not.  Either way, i like Boudreaux jokes.

Now, on with today's topic.

 If you really want to burn me up, take advantage of the helpless and weak.  This can be seen in why i bottle raise orphaned kittens, helpless little mites because we have tamed the breed, and they are not fit to survive without us now really.  So when our actions orphan them, it's the responsible thing for someone who can to step in and help.

Taking advantage of children sends me into an even bigger rage.  Thus when i read that in Russia, the orphanage institutions are doing everything they can to prevent the system from being reformed for the benefit of the children because the people working in the system want to protect their jobs, i changed my mind on today's topic.

(If you must know, i was going to write about coffee, the ambrosial brew that keeps me going -- this domestic goddess loves you, but don't ask any favors until she's had her coffee, okay?)

Bringing more attention to the plight of children, most of whom have parents living but who don't want them, seemed much more important.

Children born with birth defects, or who show signs of disabilities, are often dropped off at orphanages by parents urged to do so by doctors who say the state can care for them better.  But state care is woefully inadequate, with most children receiving no therapy, no education, nothing.  They are warehoused until age 18, when they are transferred to mental hospitals, where they spend the rest of their lives.

Russia's current initiative to move children into foster homes and put the support structure in place so parents can keep these kids to begin with are being thwarted by the orphanage workers and administration, all in the name of keeping their own jobs.

This deeply disturbs me.

While i know that there is truly nothing i can do about this, it spurs me to act on the things i can act on.  When i see things that aren't right locally, i need to remember that sometimes, i'm the one who needs to speak out and do something about it.

It's my responsibility to do what i can, right where i am, because if i'm not part of the solution, i have no reason to register outrage.

Children deserve better than this -- everyone does.




Today is

American Circus Day -- the first circus in the US opened this day in Philadelphia in 1793

Anniversary of the Second Republic -- Republic of Guinea

Day Sacred to Bona Dea and Day of Proserpina's Rise from the Underworld -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Education and Sharing Day -- in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994).

Find-A-Rainbow Day -- a day to paint bright and colorful wishes for your friends, family, and sweetheart; if you actually find a rainbow in the sky, that's a plus

Hanshi a/k/a Cold Food Festival -- China (second day of the Quingming Festival)

National Chocolate Mousse Day

National Day of Hope -- US; recognizing victims of child abuse and neglect, a day to recommit to make the world safe for children

Overcome a Handicap Day -- on the day, in 1981, when one-legged Canadian high jumper Arnie Boldt cleared 6 feet 8¼ inches, only about a foot under the world record at the time

Paraprofessional Appreciation Day -- honoring the contributions of paraprofessionals everywhere

Pony Express Day -- US; inaugurated this day in 1860

Second Republic Day -- Guinea

Shower Dance -- Fairy Calendar

St. Irene of Thessalonica's Day (Patron of girls, peace)

St. Richard of Chichester's Day (called Ricardus, ri for ridens meaning "laughing", car for carus meaning "dear", dus for dulcis meaning "sweet"; Patron of coachmen and of the Diocese of Chichester, Sussex, England)

Tweed Day -- a day to consider the costs of political corruption, on the birth anniversary of "Boss" Tweed


Birthdays Today:

Picabo Street, 1971
Robert Chapin, 1964
Eddie Murphy, 1961
David Hyde Pierce, 1959
Alec Baldwin, 1958
Tony Orlando, 1944
Marsha Mason, 1942
Wayne Newton, 1942
Jane Goodall, 1934
Virgil "Gus" Grissom, 1926
Jan Merlin, 1925
Marlon Brando, 1924
Doris Day, 1924
Herb Caen, 1916
William Magear "Boss" Tweed, 1823
Edward Everett Hale, 1822
Washington Irving, 1783


Today in History:

Edward the Confessor is crowned king of England, 1043
The US Pony Express begins its first run, 1860
Gottlieb Daimler receives a German patent for his engine, 1885
Trial of the libel case instigated by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality, 1895
The US House of Representatives accept the "American's Creed," a patriotic contest winner by William Tyler Page, as the official creed of the US, 1918
The building of the RMS Queen Mary is commissioned, 1929
President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, 1948
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, 1968
The first portable cell phone call is made in New York City, 1973
Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default, 1975
Conventional-Train World Speed Record: a French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record, 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), 2007
Australia formally adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2009