Old-Fashioned TV

"Might I have a word?"
 - any character on Downton Abbey to another

Last year, tired of all the talk I was hearing about it and against advice from avid fans who implored me to begin with the first two seasons, I plunged into Season Three of Downton Abbey, the smash hit series on PBS. That decision cost me.

It cost me the price of Seasons One and Two on Amazon.com--and I threw in Season Three to watch again after backfilling all the story lines. I haven't stopped watching since that little cardboard box arrived at my doorstep.

Downton is such a rarity in today's crass and witless world of reality TV. It's as different from standard fare as any show can be, a quality production filmed on lavishly decorated sets with dozens of vivid characters who speak intelligent dialogue. And it actually has--wait for it--a plot!

The intertwining stories of the Earl of Grantham, his American wife, their three daughters, and a houseful of servants good and evil begin to unfold with the sinking of the Titanic on into the 1920s, with all forms of drama from ill-fated love affairs to trench warfare. Toss Maggie Smith into the mix as the acerbic Violet Grantham and you've got, to borrow a phrase from the show, "a cracking good" television experience.

To hear TV characters speaking in full, literate sentences is such a treat these days. Like the show itself, hearing "the king's English" is a throwback to another time. It's like television drama used to be in its glory days. Might I have a word? What about "excellent"?

Great Lady, Great Leader

Statue of Margaret Thatcher
Hillsdale College, Michigan

Regardless of what her critics may say against her, Margaret Thatcher was a great lady and a great leader. In fact, she was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century and will be long remembered.

Thatcher's words, actions, and accomplishments speak for themselves, and this article she wrote for Hillsdale College's Imprimis magazine in 1995 is startling in its relevance to today's political controversies over our rights and freedoms. But then, eternal truths take little note of two passing decades.

Margaret Thatcher had courage, conviction, and the steely determination to face any opposition. Her rock-solid resolve earned her the famous nickname "Iron Lady." And, as her widely publicized quote duly noted, "the Lady's not for turning."

We need a leader of her standards and virtues right now. But sadly, there was only one Margaret Thatcher.

Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II -
Communism didn't stand a chance.

A Time to Heal

www.sciencedirect.com

Scientists have identified a link between blocking the protein CD47 and the death of malignant tumors. Stanford University researchers have discovered that the high level of CD47 in cancerous cells tricks the immune system into not destroying the malignancy. The CD47 antibody is ready to move into clinical trials. After decades of scientific struggle, a cure for cancer may just be within reach.

Almost every American has been touched in some way by the ravages of cancer. In 2012 alone, new cases of cancer were diagnosed in over 1.6 million Americans and killed over half a million people. Cancer renders many of us physically disabled, compromises our quality of life, leaves family and friends bereft of a loved one. Cancer is indiscriminate; it hurts everyone.

How sad, some people have commented, for the many millions who have already died from cancer--including my husband, Pete. But I’m not big on that type of hand-wringing. I believe things happen in their appointed time, and any time is a good time to cure cancer. Like the smallpox or polio vaccines that now prevent once-fatal diseases, or even the ordinary flu shot, cures and medical solutions will always be too late for many multitudes of people. The CD47 antibody, if proven successful in human trials, will be the same.

We need to remember that we are mortal; no one gets out of life alive. Each of us must die of some physical cause. But if it soon may be true that fewer of us will suffer and die from the terrible disease of cancer, that's a blessing worth waiting for.

Easter Morning

Happy Easter to all

A Breath of Fresh Air

So far, I am really liking Pope Francis. I think he will go far in renewing the Catholic Church. He's planning to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass at a youth jail and will set (another) precedent by washing the feet of the young prisoners.

And read his very frank discussion about the challenges of celibacy. We haven't heard this before. But it's about time we did hear it.

The pope broke tradition and allowed a guide dog into his meeting with the world media--and asked to meet Asia and his owner, an Argentinian journalist. Asia even got a special blessing from the pope. St. Francis of Assisi, the pope's namesake and the patron saint of animals, would approve.

Pope Francis, I suspect, will be full of surprises for the Church. Good ones, for a change.

The Marriage Debate

When did gay go mainstream?

Even in the face of threats of war, financial panic, debt crisis, budget cuts, and all the new pope hoopla, it seems that gay marriage is all anyone in politics or the media wants to talk about. It's like the whole world's gone gay.

I'm not gay, so I don't know how qualified I am to address this topic. But I do have dear friends, both male and female, who have been close to my heart for many years, who are gay. They don't seem different from other people I know, except for being gay. They're just my friends, like any other friends. I never really think about them being gay--unless I'm being beaten over the head with a political agenda.

This is still America, the remnant of a free country. So here's what I believe. I believe every person alive--gay or straight--has the right to spend his or her life with whomever they want to be with. I believe gay couples are entitled to legal civil unions that will recognize their commitment to each other and protect their rights. I believe gay couples should be left in peace to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without discrimination of any kind.

But, with all that being said, I do not believe in gay marriage.

Why?, you might ask. Well, in the first place, I've been married. I was married for 33 years, four months, and 18 days. To the same man, it's important to specify. So I know a lot about marriage. And anyone who thinks marriage is about sex is sadly mistaken.

Marriage is about the next generation. Oh, sure, you have the big chemical attraction and the fireworks and all that pizazz to start with. That's nature's little trick to ensnare you into perpetuating the human race. But marriage becomes more about bills, babies, and unexpected setbacks such as a job loss or health issues. A husband and wife living together and navigating all of life's ups and downs are probably too busy to realize they are teaching their children as they go along. They are teaching the kids how to face life challenges and stay committed, as different as they are and as much as they don't understand each other sometimes. Parents are providing their children with two distinct role models, one for each gender--an integrated experience their kids will benefit from throughout life.

A same-sex union simply doesn't have that dimension. Marriage is dynamically organic. Take two completely different creatures--a man and a woman--and combine them to create something totally new--children. To me, that's marriage. Marriage has been the basic unit of successful civilization throughout history. Is it wise of us to mess with it? Just asking...

I may be hopelessly behind the times, and whatever the Supreme Court decides on the issue, I'll accept their decision about the laws of the land. But it won't change my definition of marriage. To me, one man plus one woman equals one logical definition of marriage that no man may put asunder.

Happy St. Pat's Day

Rest in peace, guys. You're still the best.

Turning a New Page

“In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who don’t baptize the children of single mothers because they weren’t conceived in the sanctity of marriage...These are today’s hypocrites...who separate the people of God from salvation. And this poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it’s baptized!”

~ Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio - now Pope Francis - speaking to his priests

He rode the bus to work and cooked his own meals, visited slums and AIDS patients, sat in the back row at bishops meetings, placed reaching out to others above doctrinal squabbles. He's not afraid to use the word "hypocrite" when he thinks it's appropriate. And now he's the pope. I think this might be real progress.

Of course, the new pontiff has his detractors. Pope Francis is Catholic clergy, after all. He's still too mysterious to make any sweeping statements. But I think the next few years will be very interesting ones, not just in my church but in the world.

Now This Made Me Laugh

How interesting that a Saturday Night Live skit making fun of President Obama has been removed from YouTube. My, what thin skin we have in our executive branch!

Reel Humor

"Say what you like about those Mayan guys, but they only schedule an apocalypse once every 5,126 years. Only Washington would try to pull it off every six weeks."

~ Mark Steyn on sequestration

Whenever I need a columnist to cheer me up about dreary current events, I web-surf over to Mark Steyn's most recent entry. If you need a break from the political hand-wringing--and who doesn't--I highly recommend his latest work of art, "Sequestageddon." It's worth the read, if only for the creative titles in his "government by fake disaster movie" theme and the hilarious plot descriptions.

Zero Debt Thirty, indeed. Mark, I know you're from Canada, but you're a U.S. national treasure.