Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

The Beatles classic song that people thought was written about drugs, in fact, was inspired by a little girl.


Lucy Vodeen, age 46, of Surrey England passed away last week from lupus.


The true story of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds is this:

Julian Lennon, 4 years old, came home from school one day with a drawing that he had done. He presented to his father, John Lennon (who was working on a album called Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Band Club). He told his dad it was Lucy in the sky with diamonds.


That inspired John to write the song we all know. Julian (who is living in France now) lost contact with his friend Lucy when his parents were divorced but they reconnected years later.


Julian would send her flowers for her garden, to put a smile on her face, during her fight with lupus.


So, the song was inspired by a child, who was inspired by a child, who inspired a father, who inspired the world.


Life is a simple thread that connects us all.

Terrorism, Is It?

I have been wanting to do this post for a few days but I have had problems on my blog. So, here it is. I know you've heard that they have arrested a few people in Denver on Terrorism charges. I don't know if these people are innocent or not, what I do know is that the papers and TV have already found them guilty.

Does anyone remember McCarthy and the communist scare? His stupidity caused a lot of pain for a lot of innocent people.


Let me tell you about something you don't know, its called the Cointelpro. After McCarthy was winding down, the FBI (under Hoover, who wanted dirty little secrets on everyone because he had one of his own) started the Cointelpro. It started in 1956 and ran till 1971. This is what it was: a dirty tricks program, planting forged documents to create suspicion that a key person was an FBI informant, spreading rumors thru anonymous letters, leaking false information to the press, calling for IRS audits, saying the person had communist ties and the like. You get the picture, it was a false information, lie thru your teeth program.


How do I know this because I was 3 (got that three) years old and I, my father and my half sister were accused of being communists. This is the story:

My sister was an entertainer, she lived and worked in Florida. What's by Florida? Cuba. My sister had a lot of friends, she knew a lot of people. The FBI used the dirty tricks program using my sister.

So, one day my father took me to the library/study in our house. As we walked to the room he told me that a man would be asking questions and I was to answer him with all honesty, I also was going to be left alone with this man and I did not need to be afraid. We walked in, the man looked like Walter Cronkite (but a lot of people did in that day). My father left and the man smiled. A movie camera was set up and I asked about it. He explained that he was filming our conversation. He asked me a lot of questions about my family, I told him about the grandfather who was a captain on a ship and came to America.

He asked me if I had been on a ship, no, I replied, ships have accidents like the one my Uncle Francis had been on (the Titianc). I don't know how long I was there but I liked the guy. He was a nice person.

Then the door opened and my sister came in with my dad. My face lit up like a Christmas tree, I loved my sister. She went to the man and shook his hand as my dad came to me. "Don't say a word to her," he told me sternly. He took me by the hand and led me out of the room. We sat by the closed door and waited for my sister. I asked my dad what this was all about. He said that our loyalty to America was being questioned and that they think we were communists. (of course he had to explain this to me).

My reply, "we will just have to show them that we are the best loyal americans."
"that's my girl," my father said. Then he hugged me.

My sister came out, she asked my father the same thing, he answered her the same. She was astounded that they thought that. My father whispered something to her. "NO," she shouted, "I never did." My father said he believed her and told her someone was out to get us, she was to be very careful. Also, me and him would not be able to see her for awhile. This one really hurt me because I was going to go live with my sister and now that would not happen.

They used the dirty tricks program on my father, after my father's murder I would visit Dick Cheney's house in Wyoming where Dick would say, "they are going to find out that it is not good to be loyal to the Penrose's."

My father, sister and I were and are loyal americans. There was not one shred of evidence against us. The FBI still has the film of us answering questions. My father was worth 9 billion dollars when he died. That money was split up between the CIA, FBI, the Tutt family, military and the mob. My sisters and I never got a penny.

So, when I see someone being accused of being unamerican or a terrorist, I have my doubts. Maybe, they haven't retired the dirty tricks program after all.

Oh, a note of interest: One of my dad's best friends was Charlie Chaplin, remember what they did to him.

One Voice

Obama made a very inspiring speech today in the state of Maryland (my grandmother's home state)


He talked of the power of one voice and I can think of no one better then Darlene from Darlene's Hodgepodge that is an example of what Obama was talking about.


His speech was fantastic and I enjoyed it greatly.


I hear everyone's voice here at blogspot, Lydia from Writersquake, Betty @ A Piece of My Mind, MaryContary, Beth, the list goes on and on.


It's a beautiful melody with each having a differant chord that blends together.

Let us continue to raise our voice to share our thoughts, our everyday lives, our humor and our passions.

All it takes is one voice :)

Fremont Experimental Forest

Picture courtesy of Colorado Springs Gazette and Eric Swab/ Fremont Experimental Forest Concrete Seedhouse

When you think of Colorado, I'm sure that you think of mountains and trees, but by 1900, 75% of the forests around Pikes Peak had been destroyed by fires or logging. Any reforesting efforts were done by scattering seeds, till a 24 year old Carlos Bates, graduate of a new field in forestry, came and started the Fremont Experimental Forest.

Carlos and a few men picked a site by No Name Creek, which is less then a mile from the Manitou Incline by Manitou Springs, Colorado. They built a few small shacks and turned the surrounding hills into a laboratory. This was done so that Coloradans could learn to repair the disappearing forests.

They planted oaks, Japanese larch, native evergreens and exotic trees to see which ones were best suited for the Rockies. The native evergreens won out.

They learned leaving mature trees for shelter encouraged quicker regrowth, seedlings have more success then seeds and seeds gathered from trees close to the planting site made the hardiest seedlings. The Forest Department still use these practices today.

The Fremont ran experiments till 1935, in 1945 the Forest Service had almost all the buildings demolished. The picture above is one that survived, also after 100 years, 5 Japanese larch still are growing there.

The reason we know this now is due to a local hiker by the name of Eric Swab. He came across piles of rusted instruments on a hike and he researched the forest's history plus found old photos. His findings are one of the new exhibits at the Old Colorado City Historical Society.

So, thank you Eric for taking the time to give us a valuable history lesson.

Kung Fu Panda

I have always been a lover of children's movies. Maybe because in my heart, I'm forever a little girl. These movies always have good points in them. Kung Fu Panda is one of those and I'd like to share a few of those points:

1. There are no accidents in life

2. Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called present

3. Believe in yourself


If you want to read a really neat post, go over to Darlene's Hodgepodge and read her post "The Land That Made Me, Me" It's a good one!