How safe is the Chicken You Buy in the Supermarket
By Consumer Reports
Dec. 11, 2009
You would think that after years of alarms about food safety—outbreaks of illness followed by renewed efforts at cleanup—a staple like chicken would be a lot safer to eat.
But in our latest analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought at stores nationwide, two-thirds harbored salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of food borne disease.
That’s a modest improvement since January 2007, when we found that eight of 10 broilers harbored those pathogens. But the numbers are still far too high, especially for campylobacter.
Though the government has been talking about regulating it for years, it has yet to do so. (See lax rules, risky food.)
The message is clear: Consumers still can’t let down their guard. They must cook chicken to at least 165º F and prevent raw chicken or its juices from touching any other food.
Each year, salmonella and campylobacter from chicken and other food sources infect 3.4 million Americans, send 25,500 to hospitals, and kill about 500, according to estimates by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the problem might be even more widespread: Many people who get sick don’t seek medical care, and many of those who do aren’t screened for food borne infections, says Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, a national nonprofit food-safety organization.
What’s more, the CDC reports that in about 20 percent of salmonella cases and 55 percent of campylobacter cases, the bugs have proved resistant to at least one antibiotic.
For that reason, victims who are sick enough to need antibiotics might have to try two or more before finding one that helps.
Consumer Reports has been measuring contamination in store-bought chickens since 1998.
For our latest analysis, we had an outside lab test 382 chickens bought last spring from more than 100 supermarkets, gourmet- and natural-food stores, and mass merchandisers in 22 states.
We tested three top brands—Foster Farms, Perdue, and Tyson—as well as 30 nonorganic store brands, nine organic store brands, and nine organic name brands.
Five of the organic brands were labeled “air-chilled” (a slaughterhouse process in which carcasses are refrigerated and may be misted, rather than dunked in cold chlorinated water).
Among our findings:
Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent. Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens.
That’s double the percentage of clean birds we found in our 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in our 2003 report.
Among the cleanest overall were air-chilled broilers. About 40 percent harbored one or both pathogens.
Eight Bell & Evans organic broilers, which are air chilled, were free of both, but our sample was too small to determine that all Bell & Evans broilers would be.
Store-brand organic chickens had no salmonella at all, showing that it’s possible for chicken to arrive in stores without that bacterium riding along. But as our tests showed, banishing one bug doesn’t mean banishing both: 57 percent of those birds harbored campylobacter.
The cleanest name-brand chickens were Perdue’s: 56 percent were free of both pathogens.
This is the first time since we began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.
Most contaminated were Tyson and Foster Farms chickens. More than 80 percent tested positive for one or both pathogens.
Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the campylobacter organisms we analyzed showed resistance to one or more antibiotics.
Source: Consumer Reports
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Keep Our Children Safe on Playground
By Healthy Children
Dec. 10, 2009
Whether it’s a swing set in the backyard or the more elaborate apparatus in the park, there are many positive things to say about playground equipment.
The use of this equipment encourages children to test and expand their physical abilities. However, there are some inevitable dangers.
The risks can be minimized when equipment is well designed and children are taught basic playground manners.
Here are some guidelines you can use in selecting playground equipment and sites for your child.
Children under five should play on equipment separate from older children.
Make sure there is sand, wood chips, or rubberized matting under swings, seesaws, and jungle gyms, and that these surfaces are of proper depth and well-maintained. On concrete or asphalt, a fall directly on the head can be serious—even from a height of just a few inches.
Wooden structures should be made from all-weather wood, which is less likely to splinter. Examine the surfaces periodically to be sure they are smooth. Metal structures, for example, can get extremely hot in warmer months.
Conduct a periodic inspection of equipment, looking especially for loose joints, open chains that could come loose and rusted cotter pins. Be sure there are no open S hooks or protruding pieces that could hook a child’s clothing. On metal equipment, check for rusted or exposed bolts as well as sharp edges and points. At home, cover them with protective rubber. In a public playground, report the hazard to the appropriate authorities.
Be sure swings are made of soft and flexible material. Insist that your child sit in the middle of the seat, holding on with both hands. Don’t allow two children to share the same swing. Teach your child never to walk in front of or behind a swing while another child is on it. Avoid equipment in which the swings hang from overhead climbing bars.
Be sure children on slides use the ladder instead of climbing up the sliding surface. Don’t permit pushing and shoving on the ladder, and have children go up one at a time. Teach your child to leave the bottom of the slide as soon as he reaches it. If a slide has been sitting in the sun for a long time, check the sliding surface to see if it’s too hot before letting him use it.
Don’t allow children under four to use climbing equipment that is taller than they are (i.e., jungle gyms) without close supervision.
Between the ages of three and five, your child should use a seesaw only with other children of comparable age and weight. Children under three don’t have the arm and leg coordination to use the equipment.
Although trampolines often are considered a source of fun for children, about 100,000 people per year are injured on them, most often on backyard models. Childhood injuries have included broken bones, head injuries, neck and spinal cord injuries, sprains, and bruises. Parental supervision and protective netting aren’t adequate to prevent these injuries. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to take steps to ensure that their children never use trampolines at home, a friend’s house, the playground, or in a routine gym class. Older children should use trampolines only in training programs for competitive sports such as gymnastics or diving, and only when supervised by a professional trained in trampoline safety.
Source: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Healthy Children
Copyright © 2009 American Academy of Pediatrics
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
There is No Room for Jesus Here
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/Yc
Dec. 9, 2009
I never thought the day would come that we would have a non religious Christmas day?
I never thought the day would come that a U.S. President would ever try to have Christmas takening out of the White House.
Well that day has come.
This President and his family claim they are Christians. Yet they want to keep Jesus out of the Whitehouse and put him out in the cold like it was done many, many years ago.
Jesus has his place in this world. He belongs in the Whitehouse and in our hearts. Where he has been for many Christmas and where it is warm.
I hope I am not wrong, but I don’t think Jesus was ever kicked out of the Whitehouse.
From our very first President George Washington who have celebrated Christmas with his family to President George W. Bush and his family.
I was once lucky enough to be in Washington during the Christmas season. I was able to visit the Whitehouse and take the Christmas tour.
I will never forget the scene of Jesus greeting you as you came in. And seeing the beautiful lights, trees, the children smiling. And seeing snow on the ground it made you forget the problems that the world was having.
I am glad that Americans from Christians to non-Christians spoke up. And helped this President come to his senses that this Whitehouse does not belong to him and his family.
He is a temporary resident that it belongs to all Americans.
During these tough times we all need the meaning of Christmas in our lives. Which are Hope, Love and Compassion for our fellow human beings here and in the world?
The reason that I am bring this up is not only because it is Christmas. But this really was about to happen. The following article is about to explain it.
By Mickey McLean
Dec. 8, 2009
A White House Christmas tradition, no matter which party’s in office, has been to prominently display a nativity scene in the East Room.
But, as Eric Metaxas discovered while reading The New York Times Sunday Styles section, it almost didn’t happen this year.
Seems that Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary who has been in the news lately because of a certain recent party crashing, stated at a luncheon with previous social secretaries that the White House would have a “non-religious” Christmas this year.
The article reported:
The lunch conversation inevitably turned to whether the White House would display its crèche, customarily placed in a prominent spot in the East Room.
Ms. Rogers, this participant said, replied that the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display — a remark that drew an audible gasp from the tight-knit social secretary sisterhood.
(A White House official confirmed that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive and whether to display the crèche.)
Yet in the end, tradition won out; the executive mansion is now decorated for the Christmas holiday, and the crèche is in its usual East Room spot.
Metaxas writes:
[T]he fact that it was going to happen reveals a level of political tone-deafness in the current administration that is staggering.
To most average Americans — who did not grow up in an Ivy-League, inside-the-Beltway hothouse governed by the rules of the French Revolution — the idea of keeping Jesus out of “the people’s house” at Christmas evokes disturbing images of the Holy Family being turned away from the Inn, or worse yet, images of Herod.
But to a super-secular White House afraid to offend anyone — except for average Americans — it probably just seemed like another fab “progressive” innovation.
If President Obama wanted to fuel the fears of every serious Christian in America and actually prove that he is every bad thing they’ve ever heard about him on every crazy Web site, the idea of symbolically taking Jesus out of the White House at Christmas would be just the ticket!
Source: World Mag
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Be a Fan of Joy Help a Child
By SO/PIO
Dec. 8, 2009
Raise your holiday spirits with A Very Special Christmas music and help bring the joy of Special Olympics to more people worldwide.
Since 1987, Special Olympics and top recording artists have worked together on a fundraising collaboration that brings joy to millions each holiday season.
The A Very Special Christmas holiday music collections are like no other, delivering seasonal cheer in every musical style: traditional, rock, rap, country Western, world, Latin and jazz. Eleven albums feature songs by dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, including U2, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, Eric Clapton and Sting.
A Very Special Christmas CDs and DVDs spread cheer and raise awareness of Special Olympics. They also raise much-needed funds – over $100 million to date.
These funds make up Special Olympics Christmas Record Trust, which provides grants to help grow Special Olympics Programs in the neediest parts of world.
Like India – where over 200,000 new athletes from some of the poorest urban and rural areas now know the joy of sports training, thanks to the Inspire Hope India campaign, which brought together private and public entities in support of Special Olympics.
And Africa, where children from an institution in Soweto no longer are confined indoors to beds and wheelchairs, but now regularly take part in a Special Olympics Program.
And Russia, where new coaches are part of a national training program funded through the trust, resulting in more than 85,000 new athletes in less than five years.
And China – most impressive of all. With seed funding from the trust, Special Olympics China today has over 700,000 athletes and support from China’s central government, making it the fastest-growing arm of the global Special Olympics movement.
The Special Olympics Christmas Record Grant Trust allows our movement to invest in developing regions around the world – in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Last year, 74 Special Olympics programs worldwide, including programs in Namibia, Malawi, Chad and Afghanistan, received funds directly from sales of A Very Special Christmas series.
Music allows us to bring dignity, pride and empowerment through the love of sport to many more children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing them a life of participation, pride, teamwork, friendship and joy.
A Very Special Christmas is about more than holiday cheer. It’s about the energy and cooperation of record companies, producers and artists coming together to transform lives and communities.
It’s about dedication and teamwork between organizations that care to make a difference. And it’s about joy – many voices from around the world, uniting in the belief that together, we can make the world a better place.
This holiday season, ring in the holidays with a special three CD package, A Very Special Christmas®, Volume I- III, and help Special Olympics change the lives of millions of athletes worldwide.
This three-disc compilation features legendary musicians, including Madonna, U2, Sheryl Crow, Aretha Franklin, Run D.M.C. and Bruce Springsteen.
All of the artists donated their time and recorded renditions of holiday favorites.
What YOU Can Do
Whether you are an athlete looking to compete, a volunteer looking to make a difference, or you’re just looking to have fun and be a part of something — come be a part of Special Olympics, and experience your own story of transformation.
| Ways to Get Involved |
Source: Special Olympics
Editor’s Note: See past Christmas slide shows. We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com |
What Makes a Child Happy?
By Marguerite Lamb
Dec. 5, 2009
We all want the same things for our kids. We want them to grow up to love and be loved, to follow their dreams, to find success. Mostly, though, we want them to be happy.
But just how much control do we have over our children’s happiness? My son, Jake, now 7, has been a rather somber child since birth, while my 5-year-old, Sophie, is perennially sunny. Jake wakes up grumpy.
Always has. Sophie, on the other hand, greets every day with a smile. Evident from infancy, their temperaments come, at least in part, from their genes.
But that doesn’t mean their ultimate happiness is predetermined, assures Bob Murray, PhD, author of Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depression-Proofing Young Children — for Life (McGraw-Hill).
“There may be a genetic propensity for depression, but our genes are malleable and can be switched on or off depending on the environment,” he says.
“The research clearly shows that happy, optimistic children are the product of happy, optimistic homes, regardless of genetic makeup.”
What can you do to create a home where your child’s happiness will flourish? Read on for seven strategies that will strengthen your child’s capacity to experience joy.
Foster Connections
The surest way to promote your child’s lifelong emotional well-being is to help him feel connected — to you, other family members, friends, neighbors, daycare providers, even to pets.
“A connected childhood is the key to happiness,” says Edward Hallowell, MD, child psychiatrist and author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness (Ballantine Books).
Dr. Hallowell points as evidence to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, involving some 90,000 teens, in which “connectedness” — a feeling of being loved, understood, wanted, acknowledged — emerged as by far the biggest protector against emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, and risky behaviors including smoking, drinking, and using drugs.
Fortunately, we can cement our child’s primary and most crucial connection — to us — simply by offering what Dr. Hallowell calls the crazy love that never quits. “It sounds hokey, and it’s often dismissed as a given,” he says, “but if a child has just one person who loves him unconditionally, that’s the closest thing he’ll ever get to an inoculation against misery.”
It’s not enough, however, simply to possess that deep love; your child must feel it, too, Dr. Hallowell says.
Hold your baby as much as possible; respond with empathy to his cries; read aloud to him; eat, snuggle, and laugh together.
Meanwhile, provide chances for him to form loving connections with others as well, advises sociologist Christine Carter, PhD, executive director of the University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, an organization devoted to the scientific understanding of happiness.
“We know from 50 years of research that social connections are an incredibly important, if not the most important, contributor to happiness,” Carter says. “And it’s not just the quality, but also the quantity of the bonds: the more connections your child makes, the better.”
Don’t Try to Make Your Child Happy
It sounds counterintuitive, but the best thing you can do for your child’s long-term happiness may be to stop trying to keep her happy in the short-term.
“If we put our kids in a bubble and grant them their every wish and desire, that is what they grow to expect, but the real world doesn’t work that way,” says Bonnie Harris, founder of Core Parenting, in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and author of When Your Kids Push Your Buttons: And What You Can Do About It (Grand Central Publishing).
To keep from overcoddling, recognize that you are not responsible for your child’s happiness, Harris urges. Parents who feel responsible for their kids’ emotions have great difficulty allowing them to experience anger, sadness, or frustration.
We swoop in immediately to give them whatever we think will bring a smile or to solve whatever is causing them distress.
Unfortunately, Harris warns, children who never learn to deal with negative emotions are in danger of being crushed by them as adolescents and adults.
Once you accept that you can’t make your child feel happiness (or any other emotion for that matter), you’ll be less inclined to try to “fix” her feelings — and more likely to step back and allow her to develop the coping skills and resilience she’ll need to bounce back from life’s inevitable setbacks.
Nurture Your Happiness
While we can’t control our children’s happiness, we are responsible for our own. And because children absorb everything from us, our moods matter. Happy parents are likely to have happy kids, while children of depressed parents suffer twice the average rate of depression, Murray observes.
Consequently, one of the best things you can do for your child’s emotional well-being is to attend to yours: carve out time for rest, relaxation, and, perhaps most important, romance.
Nurture your relationship with your spouse. “If parents have a really good, committed relationship,” Murray says, “the child’s happiness often naturally follows.”
Praise the Right Stuff
Not surprisingly, studies consistently link self-esteem and happiness. Our children can’t have one without the other. It’s something we know intuitively, and it turns many of us into overzealous cheerleaders.
Our child scribbles and we declare him a Picasso, scores a goal and he’s the next Beckham, adds 1 and 2 and he’s ready for Mensa. But this sort of “achievement praise” can backfire.
“The danger, if this is the only kind of praise a child hears, is that he’ll think he needs to achieve to win your approval,” Murray explains. “He’ll become afraid that if he doesn’t succeed, he’ll fall off the pedestal and his parents won’t love him anymore.
” Praising specific traits — intelligence, prettiness, athleticism — can also undermine children’s confidence later, if they grow up believing they’re valued for something that’s out of their control and potentially fleeting.
“If you praise your child primarily for being pretty, for example, what happens when she grows old and loses that beauty?” Murray asks. “How many facials will it take for her to feel worthwhile?”
Interestingly, Murray adds, research shows that kids who are praised mainly for being bright become intellectually timid, fearing that they will be seen as less smart — and less valuable — if they fail.
The antidote, however, is not to withhold praise but rather to redirect it, Murray says. “Praise the effort rather than the result,” he advises. “Praise the creativity, the hard work, the persistence, that goes into achieving, more than the achievement itself.”
The goal, Carter agrees, is to foster in your child a “growth mind-set,” or the belief that people achieve through hard work and practice, more than through innate talent. “Kids who are labeled as having innate talent feel they need to prove themselves again and again,” Carter observes.
“Whereas studies show kids with a growth mind-set do better and enjoy their activities more because they aren’t worried what people will think of them if they fail.”
Fortunately, Carter says, research has shown it’s possible to instill a growth mind-set in children with one simple line of praise: you did really well on X; you must have worked really hard.
“So we’re not saying don’t praise,” Carter stresses. “Just focus on something within your child’s control.”
Allow for Success and Failure
Of course, if you really want to bolster your child’s self-esteem, focus less on compliments and more on providing her with ample opportunities to learn new skills. Mastery, not praise, is the real self-esteem builder, Dr. Hallowell says.
Fortunately, when it comes to the under-4 crowd, nearly everything they do is a chance to attain mastery — because it’s all new to them: learning to crawl, walk, feed and dress themselves, use the potty, and ride a tricycle.
Our challenge is to stand back and let our children do for themselves what they’re capable of. “The great mistake good parents make is doing too much for their children,” Dr. Hallowell says.
While it can be difficult to watch our kids struggle, they’ll never know the thrill of mastery unless we allow them to risk failure. Few skills are perfected on a first try.
It’s through practice that children achieve mastery. And through repeated experiences of mastery, they develop the can-do attitude that lets them approach future challenges with the zest and optimism that are central to a happy life.
Give Real Responsibilities
“Happiness depends largely on the feeling that what we do matters and is valued by others,” Murray observes. “Without that feeling, we fear we might be excluded from the group.
And research shows that what human beings fear more than anything is exclusion.”
In other words, people have an innate need to be needed. So the more you can convey to your child that he is making a unique contribution to the family, from an early age, the greater his sense of self-worth and his ultimate happiness.
Kids as young as 3 can play meaningful family roles, Murray says, whether it’s refilling the cat’s dry-food bowl or setting out the napkins at dinnertime. If possible, assign a role that plays to your child’s strengths.
For example, if your little one loves to organize things, give him the job of sorting the forks and spoons.
If he’s particularly nurturing, perhaps his role could be entertaining his baby sister while you get dinner on the table.
So long as you acknowledge that he’s making a contribution to the family, it will heighten your child’s sense of connection and confidence, two prerequisites for lasting happiness.
Practice Habitual Gratitude
Finally, happiness studies consistently link feelings of gratitude to emotional well-being. Research at the University of California, Davis, and elsewhere has shown that people who keep daily or weekly gratitude journals feel more optimistic, make more progress toward goals, and feel better about their lives overall. For a child, keeping a journal may be unrealistic.
But one way to foster gratitude in children is to ask that each member of the family take time daily — before or during a meal, for example — to name aloud something he or she is thankful for, Carter suggests.
The important thing is to make it a regular ritual.
“This is one habit that will foster all kinds of positive emotions,” she assures, “and it really can lead to lasting happiness.”
Source: Parents
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Who Were Our Presidents? Part 16
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Dec. 2, 2009
Editor’s Note: How many of us along with our children? Know who our Presidents were and what they have done in Office.
Each week we will pick a President and tell you about them and their Accomplishes.
We hope that you will enjoy this series. And let us know what you think? dan@goldcoastchronicle.com
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.
The government will not assail you…. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.”
Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers.
Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.
The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party’s nomination for President, he sketched his life:
“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families–second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks…. My father … removed from Kentucky to … Indiana, in my eighth year….
It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up…. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher … but that was all.”
Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois.
He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years.
His law partner said of him, “His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest.”
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator.
He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.
As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause.
On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.
Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain–that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.
The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.:
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds…. ”
On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln’s death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.
Learn more about Abraham Lincoln ‘s spouse, Mary Todd Lincoln.
Source: White House
Editor’s Note: Today’s homework: We would like to know some of President James Buchanan’s accomplishments as President.
If you can give us some, you can win a prize. You can contact us at dan@youngchronicle.com
Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street
By Laura Linn
Nov. 30, 2009
Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch . . . is there anyone reading this article who doesn’t recognize these characters? Sesame Street has been around so long many of your parents probably have fond memories of the show.
This month, the classic children’s television show that stars furry Muppets alongside human actors celebrates its 40th anniversary.
When Sesame Street first went on the air in November 1969, kids and parents had never seen anything like it.
What was so different about it? Believe it or not, no one had ever heard of educational television before. The idea that TV could be used as a teaching tool for children was brand-new.
The show was originally aimed at children who did not have access to preschool. The show’s creators wanted to help them learn basic skills, like the alphabet and counting, as well as values like friendship and respect—all while having fun.
Forty years and 4,187 episodes later, Sesame Street has not only made learning fun for millions of American children, but it also now teaches children in 125 countries.
The First Lady Helps Celebrate
First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on the episode marking Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary on November 10. In the episode, she joined characters Elmo and Big Bird along with a group of children. Together they planted vegetable seeds to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots. Mrs. Obama has emphasized the importance of healthy eating since the start of her husband’s presidency.
Muppets Past and Present
If you visited Sesame Street in 1969, you would see plenty of familiar faces. Big Bird, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and Bert and Ernie are some of the Muppets—the puppets created by puppeteer Jim Henson—that have been around Sesame Street since the very beginning.
But you wouldn’t see some of the characters you remember from your own preschool days. Big Bird’s friend Snuffleupagus first appeared in 1971, and the number-loving Count in 1972. Elmo, the superstar of today’s Sesame Street, arrived in 1979. At first, he was known simply as Little Monster.
Abby Cadabby became the newest Muppet on the block in 2006. The fairy in training is also the most modern Muppet: beginning this season, she is a digital creation, rather than a physical, fuzzy puppet.
An Ever-Changing Street
The Street has changed in other ways too. Initially aimed mostly at urban, or city, children, the show had a more gritty, big-city feel in the early days. Graffiti was visible, and the colors on the set were not as bright as they are today.
In 1969, children who rode their bikes on Sesame Street did not wear helmets, and Cookie Monster ate nothing but cookies. Today, he knows that cookies are a “sometimes” food, and that he needs to eat fruits and vegetables as well. The show has evolved, or changed, constantly over the years to keep its learning current for kids.
Did You Know?
The first episode of Sesame Street was sponsored by the letters W, S, and E and the numbers 2 and 3.
Creators of Sesame Street were thinking of calling the show “123 Avenue B.”
Big Bird is 8 feet, 2 inches tall.
Oscar the Grouch was orange during the first season, before being changed to green.
Actor Caroll Spinney, now 75, has played Big Bird since the first episode. He also plays Oscar the Grouch.
Kermit the Frog made his last appearance on the show in 2001. He is the only original Muppet no longer on Sesame Street.
77 million Americans have watched Sesame Street as children. You are probably one of them!
Source: Scholastic News Online
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
NFL Charles Woodson Gives Back Donates $2 million to U-M Hospital
By Larry Lage
AP
Nov. 27, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Charles Woodson(notes) wants to be known as more than a football player.
Donating $2 million to the new University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital gives him a chance to do that.
The school announced Woodson’s gift on Thanksgiving before he played for the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions.
Then, he intercepted two passes—returning one for a score—forced a fumble, recovered it and had a sack.
“It was a good day,” Woodson said after Green Bay’s 34-12 win in Detroit.
His donation will support pediatric research by The Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund in the $754-million, 1.1-million square foot hospital scheduled to open in 2012.
“He’s really studied and tried to understand what the issues are in doing research in pediatrics,” Dr. Valerie Castle said. “What most people don’t know is that less than 10 percent of the National Institute of Health budget goes toward research in pediatric disease.
“When you study those patients, you often times get clues to adult diseases.”
Woodson hopes to attract the world’s best researchers who want to help children with cancer, heart disease, kidney disorders and autism.
“I want to be part of that symbol of hope,” Woodson said. “So that they can say, ‘I know I can beat this thing and there’s people out there who will help me beat it.”’
Woodson said during a visit to Ann Arbor earlier this month that becoming a father in January motivated him to make the gift, altering his outlook on life.
“It can change a lot,” he said.
Lloyd Carr, his coach at Michigan, hopes Woodson’s gift pushes his peers to also give back.
“I think it’s going to have a significant influence across the athletic world that he decided to do this,” Carr said.
Woodson acknowledged feeling awkward about allowing a Fox TV reporter and crew to follow him as he visited patients on a day off in November, but said it was part of his mission.
“Half of the battle is about awareness,” Woodson said. “When I signed on board to be a part of this team, that was going to be part of the deal. Part of making it work is me being a face or spokesman.
“I guess what bigger days can we do it to bring awareness to the cause when everybody is watching a Thanksgiving Day game?”
The native of Fremont, Ohio, helped Michigan win the national championship in 1997. He won the Heisman Trophy as a cornerback who also played wide receiver and returned punts.
His memories from college on and off the field led to him giving back financially.
“It was probably best three years of my life that I can remember, other than having my son,” Woodson said. “When people still see me, even though I have been in Green Bay and Oakland, they still talk about Michigan.”
On the Net: Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund:
Source: Yahoo News
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
True Meaning of Thanksgiving
By Rev. Bill Shuler
FOXNews.com
Nov. 26, 2009
In 1621 Pilgrims joined together with Native American Indians on New England soil to enjoy a feast celebrating the Pilgrims very first harvest. Plymouth’s Governor, William Bradford, made provisions for a day of prayer and thanksgiving.
1. Americans will consume over 45 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.
2. The average Thanksgiving meal will constitute between 2,400 and 4,500 calories.
3. The U.S. population will gain over 171 tons of weight this year.
4. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live them.” — President John F. Kennedy
5. Many psychologists concur that being thankful is the healthiest of all emotions.
6. Being thankful is a key component of healthy relationships.
7. We should be thankful for what we already have before we ask for more.
8. Our thanks are best found in our giving.
9. The scriptures encourage us to give thanks in all circumstances and not to forget all God’s benefits.
10. Being thankful aligns us for wholeness.
In 1789 General George Washington declared by proclamation: “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection, aid and favors…
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be: that we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which he has been pleased to confer upon us.”
Source: Fox News
Editor’s Note: Rev. Bill Shuler is pastor of Capital Life Church in Arlington, Virginia. For more, go to capitallife.org.
We would like to know your special story and thoughts of your family Thanksgiving. dan@youngchronicle.com
New York’s Thanksgiving Parade Takes a New Route
By Laura Linn
Nov. 26, 2009
For millions of Americans, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is as much a part of the November holiday as the turkey and the pumpkin pie. Some parade lovers will notice that this year’s event has a new twist—or rather, a new turn.
For the first time, the New York City parade will not march down Broadway through the famous Times Square area. Instead, the bands and balloons will turn down Seventh Avenue.
Why the change? Cars and trucks are no longer allowed to drive down Broadway in the Times Square area. Last spring, the area became a pedestrian zone or area for walkers only.
So the area is now off-limits to parade floats and the cars and trucks that pull them.
This may not seem like a big change, but it is huge for the businesses in Times Square. People who run hotels, shops, and restaurants along the old route fear they may lose money now that the parade no longer marches past their doors.
“It’s not good for Times Square,” Mustapha Ben Khallouk, an electronics salesman who works in the area, told the New York Times. “Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for us—people stay all day.”
From the Museum to Macy’s the route was changed one other time in
the parade’s 83-year history: In 1946, the starting point was moved from 145th Street to 77th Street, in front of the American Museum of Natural History.
As always, this year’s parade will end in front of the flagship, or main, Macy’s department store at Herald Square.
Balloons Still Flying high
Despite the new direction taken this year, much about the 2009 parade will remain familiar: Throngs of spectators will line the streets to enjoy marching bands, floats, and the parade’s signature giant helium balloons that fly above the crowds.
Some new balloons this year—Mickey Mouse dressed as a sailor, updated Spiderman and Ronald McDonald balloons, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy—join favorite characters such as Buzz Light-year, Snoopy, and Shrek.
Parades Past
The first Macy’s parade was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1924. Back then, it was called the Macy’s Christmas Parade.
Employees of the store dressed in costume and marched along with bands and live animals from New York City’s Central Park Zoo.
In 1927, the live animals were replaced with the now-famous giant helium balloons. Felix the Cat, a cartoon character that first appeared in silent films, was one of the first balloons.
Macy’s put the balloons and bands on hold from 1942 to 1944, during World War II. No one felt like celebrating, and parade supplies like helium and rubber were needed for the war effort. In 1945, the parade returned and was shown on television for the first time.
Parade Facts
- The 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 26. It will be broadcast from 9:00 to 12:00 noon (in all time zones) on NBC.
- The parade is expected to attract approximately 3 million viewers in New York City and about 44 million television viewers.
- This year’s parade will feature 1,500 dancers, cheerleaders, singers, and performers. There will be 15 giant character balloons, 800 clowns, 24 floats, and 10 marching bands.
- Today, Macy’s is the world’s second-largest consumer of helium. (The United States government is the largest helium consumer.)
- The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has ended each year with Santa Claus, except in 1933. That year he led the parade.
Source: Scholastic News Online
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com