Just a little something that’s been making me laugh this week!
It’s Friday!
Shabbat Shalom, if you’re Jewish like me. : )
Here’s what I’ve
found interesting online this week.
How
One of the Biggest Lithium Battery Fires in American History Happened.
I don’t know
if you heard about this massive lithium battery fire this summer, but I watched
it go down live. While I don’t live there anymore, Morris is my hometown, and
my parents are still both there. The police chief interviewed for the article
taught my fifth grade DARE class back in 1990. My father was traveling when
this happened, so I tuned in to all the press briefings online in order to keep
him updated. Fortunately, neither of my parents live in the evacuation zone,
but plenty of people I knew do. I actually attended a youth group meeting with an
LDS friend in that paper mill in 1995 when the local congregation was renting an office out there
before their building was finished. This fire was a tense situation and I’m sure none
of the first responders in town slept well for many days. This is an important
article to read, because lithium batteries are in a lot of things these
days, and there needs to be more regulation as to how large quantities of them
are stored and local fire departments being notified of their presence before
they catch fire.
No.
No.
No.
I hate these
kinds of articles. They’re ableist and evince the author’s lazy thinking. I
have a bad back; standing over a sink of dishes and scrubbing, scrubbing,
scrubbing is difficult for me on good days. On bad days, it’s nearly
impossible. And beyond that, I can think of a whole slew of people who would
find a dishwasher a necessary tool. Wheelchair users. People with arthritis.
People with broken limbs. People who have balance problems, like Menière’s
disease. People with sensory processing disorders. People with “morning” sickness.
The list goes on and on. Not to mention that most dishwashers these days use
LESS water than handwashing. I’ve lived without a dishwasher many times in my
life and it makes life a lot more difficult for me, as I'm sure it does for people like me. Don’t
be this author.
Bal
Tashchit: Summoning the Will Not to Waste.
This is
something that’s been on my mind lately. Last month’s book from PJ Library (a wonderful
program that sends Jewish families a Jewish children’s book every month) was Joseph
Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback,
a wonderful and beautifully illustrated story about a man who remakes his coat
into various items as it wears down. Bal tashchit is a beautiful Jewish
principle, and reading this story got me thinking about what I use, how I use
it, and how I could do better. If you have a small child in your life, see if
your local library has this book, because it’s a great story that teaches
dedication to using what we have to the fullest, in the most earth-friendly and
respectful way.
How
to Fight Book Bans and Challenges: An Anti-Censorship Kit.
I mentioned that
a community issue came up in the week that prompted me to virtually attend my
local library’s board meeting and this is why. A local group got a bee in their
bonnet about libraries, both school and public, shelving certain books (a local
high school where a friend is librarian was mentioned specifically in this conversation on Facebook; I tipped
her off). These people were furious that books that feature characters they don’t
like and haven’t tried to understand exist; one person recommended stealing the
books, and another advocated for a book burning. Yup, book burning. I have the
screenshots to prove it.
Censorship
isn’t okay with me. I’m at my local library often; there are plenty of books on
the shelves that are about things I don’t like or don’t necessarily agree with.
Do you know what I do about it?
I
don’t check those books out.
Because I’m a grown adult who is educated enough to understand that my way isn’t
the only way, and it’s perfectly fine for others to live differently.
What I don’t
do is whine, cry, or threaten. Because, again, I’m a grown adult, and grown adults
with a sense of decency don’t act like that. If you don’t want your child to
read a certain kind of book, that’s perfectly fine! But that’s between you and
your child and no one else. I love that my daughter can march into the library
and pick up books about girls that look just like her. I love that she can find
books that feature main characters that look just like her Muslim best friend.
I love that we can read books about the people who made it possible for our
friends Chris and Rae to become the best possible mommies together for their
two beautiful little girls, and I love that we can read books about people who
were born in a body that didn’t quite match who they were inside, like my
friend’s daughter Jamie. This is a big, beautiful, diverse world and we’ve been
blessed to know some of the most amazing people. Those people should be
featured on our bookshelves just as much as anyone else. If you’re not
interested, that’s fine! I mean, I’ll be honest; I feel sad for the people who
limit themselves so much, but there are plenty of other books out there. One of
them is bound to interest you. But it’s not up to you what everyone else reads.
And I’m prepared to be familiar with my library’s board meetings and what’s
going on in town in order to go to bat for them if it’s ever needed. I live in
an amazing, diverse town, and my library’s shelves do and should continue to
represent that.
That’s it for
this week! I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We’re supposed to
see our first snow flurries of the season later on today. No accumulation yet,
but I don’t mind. I like watching the snow fall through my picture window.
Shabbat Shalom,
friends. : )
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