Donna’s Day: Sea Glass, Shells and Stones Junior Whirl

KIDS &FAMILY

Donna’s Day: Creative Family Fun Summertime — Collecting Sea Glass, Shells and Stones

By Donna Erickson

Signal Contributing Writer “Spending time with my seven young grandkids is about learning together and making discoveries that ignite the human spirit,” says Jan Bowman, retired teacher and grandmother of seven. “Whether you are 6 or 60, connecting with one another around an activity we all enjoy is catching. That’s what the hunt for sea glass does for us.”

Recently, after a big storm, I said, “Let’s go to the coast this morning. I bet we’ll find some rare sea glass that was churned up in the ocean and landed on the sand, just for us to find.” Sure enough, nature’s jewelry was dotting the beach.

What is sea glass and what is the allure? Plain and simple, it’s discarded glass that was cast into the ocean and lost to sea -- until some pieces came back in interesting shapes and sizes after being tumbled and chemically weathered. It’s often castoffs from glass factories, or discarded bottles

Remember to keep your library card handy this summer.

A family sorts and indentifies sea glass collected from the coast. from shipwrecks that broke and tumbled in the sea, decades and centuries ago. Nowadays, it’s a hobby that knows no bounds, popular stateside to global shores from Australia to the U.K.

Whether your family gets hooked on collecting sea glass, seashells or pretty rocks and pebbles along streams and around lakes, there’s always fun to be had when you return home with pockets full of finds. Enjoy these easy-to-do crafts using sea glass, shells or stones: ‰ Frame a photo of your child at the beach where the sea glass or shells were found. Embellish the plain frame with a select few of the treasures glued to a corner. ‰ Glue “finds” on the top of a small box in interesting patterns. Fill it with more summer souvenirs. ‰ Tie thin cording around a find, knot it, and glue the knot in place for a memory-filled necklace.

For inspiration and information on sea glass, find author Richard LaMotte’s comprehensive book with photography by Celia Pearson, “Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems” and “Pure Sea Glass Identification Deck” (www.seaglasspublishing.com).

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”  © 2022 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Synd.

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JULY 17, 2022 CROSSWORD TIME PUZZLES

SOLUTIONS

Opinion Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.

READER LETTERS Oatway, Once Again...

In re: Thomas Oatway, “Garcia Vote Disqualifies,” July 8:

Once again it would appear Mr. Oatway seldom if ever bothers accurately quoting people nor does he take the time to do even cursory research on topics that he obviously cares about… or claims to, anyway.

Anyone interested in the actual statement made by Rep. Mike Garcia regarding the last presidential election can easily find with a quick search on the internet in general and his congressional web site in particular where he stated quite clearly that his one and only concern with the election in Pennsylvania and Arizona was that neither of those two states followed their own constitutionally mandated process, a fact that several of their own Democrat legislators admitted to publicly. According to each of these states, they altered their balloting process due to COVID-19 by allowing the governor to do it rather than going through the lengthy process of having it done by the actual authorized entity, which would have been their elected legislatures. Was that “technically illegal”? Absolutely. And that is what Rep. Garcia objected to. Not the outcome, just the process.

It would be refreshing if people on both sides of the aisle were equally concerned over our elections being held according to the proper procedures put in place by the U.S. and the state constitutions and our elected legislators.

Rick Barker Valencia

Which Is a Right?

Leftists blithely refer to abortion as a constitutional “right” while demanding that guns be regulated. Sorry, but guns are a right. It’s in the Constitution. In contrast, abortion is neither a right nor a freedom. It’s a homicidal escape hatch for negligent behavior.

Rob Kerchner Santa Clarita

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ETHICALLY SPEAKING

False Gods and False Devils

Recently I was reading some of G.K. Chesterton’s thoughts on society, government and power. During the early 20th century, this Roman Catholic philosopher/theologian was among the most perceptive societal critics in England. Chesterton not only viewed what was happening in culture from a moral perspective, he also was amazingly good at describing and defining what was happening in accessible ways.

One of his most perceptive ideas caught my attention. He clearly saw that “progress” was often built on the creation of new “gods” or causes, ideals and philosophies that took the role of “god” in that they siphoned off society’s reliance on their religious foundations and fastened them passionately to “instruments of progress.” He once wrote that liberalism is all about progress while conservatism is all about mitigating the unintended consequences of progress. I’ll leave you to figure out what that means and how you feel about it!

But what caught my attention was the reality that too often “progress” does make a god out of new ideas, especially when those ideas are in direct conflict with natural law. For example, the current debate on how the Constitution is to be interpreted revolves around whether we should understand the words the framers used in their cultural context or in ours. Does the “pursuit of happiness” mean whatever an individual today desires? Or are we to understand that the meaning of that phrase begins with what the original authors intended their original audience to understand from the words they used? If the latter is the case – as it is in the proper interpretation of all literature since meaning begins with authorial intention – then “happiness” is that which is moral and contributes to the common good. (You can do your own research on that if you want, but you’ll find this to be the truth.)

But enough about “false gods.” What I’m really wanting to discuss is Chesterton’s companion belief that those seeking power in society become experts in creating “false devils.” We’ve heard it said that those in power believe “you should never waste a good tragedy.” That is, every possible upheaval in normalcy presents an opportunity to instill fear in the governed, which, in turn, makes them easier to convince, easier to lead and – sadly – easier to dominate.

False gods are horrible, but false devils are also quite dangerous. We’re living just now inside a pantheon of false devils brought to us by myriad voices of news services, social media and the entertainment industry, which is busy convincing us that only superheroes can save the day.

We are deluged daily with a steady stream of doom-producing pronouncements. COVID is raging, people are dying, masks and restrictions are coming. China is menacing, North Korea is firing, Russia is conquering. War is coming. Climate change is devastating, farmland is vanishing, air quality is threatening. Education is brainwashing, Democracy is eroding, justice is dying. God is dead, morality is flexible, sexuality is god. Violent crime is threatening, governments are sleeping, private militias are forming, the end is coming.

With few exceptions, these doomsday pronouncements leave us feeling sad, fearful and too often helpless. And if they do spur us to some action it will most likely be anger-fueled, which is never helpful.

But, before you panic, just stand back and think about it. Where are the facts that ground these false devils in truth? Why should I believe these dire predictions? And how come different news outlets have competing fact sheets? We have to train ourselves to withhold judgment until we can actually ground that judgment on a solid foundation of truth. In other words, wait to worry!

I can remember when journalism consisted of giving us the facts and allowing us to come to our own conclusion. Now, far too often we are given the conclusions without any of the facts. In my world, if you want facts, read a good newspaper. Newspaper men and women are often still good journalists. If you trade quick for thorough, you’ll be surrounded by false devils.

Perhaps nowhere is the promotion of “false devils” more prevalent than in the world of politics. Politicians seem to want us all to be so scared that we can easily be herded wherever they want to take us. Sadly, much of the media serve as their sheepdogs, biting and nipping at our hearts to drive us panic-stricken in the pen of panic.

So, here’s the deal: The election season is upon us and it will be filled with false devils. Don’t fall for them! Get involved! Get educated. Hit the candidates’ websites. Read their blogs, emails, and listen to their speeches. Find out who is telling the truth, and whose views align with your convictions and values. Chase away the false devils, and certainly don’t bow down to the false gods. Be the citizen you want the rest of us to be, and who knows? Maybe we’ll dig through all the layers of falsehood and once again find the bedrock of truth, morality and sanity upon which we can build a city dedicated to life, liberty and the proper pursuit of happiness.