The fairies lived in a tree. The tree was as big as a pyramid for the fairies, but not for us. The friendly bugs were nice to the fairies. They looked like little people but with wings and bug stuff. The little people were friendly like the friendly bugs. The little people were real humans, just tinier. They wore plant clothes and had no wings.

The tree was covered in velvety green moss, which was so comfortable and soft that you could take a rest on it. The bark was reddish brownish, strong, and looked and smelled like the bark on a Christmas tree. The roots were little zigzags cracking into dirt spreading out around the tree.

The holes were circles that you could live in. The holes had big windows and doors, and porches. The fairies, bugs and little people could climb up the tree and into the holes. There was amber colored sap at the bottom of the tree. When the fairies were hot they could go into the sap which was like a sticky swimming pool.

The leaves were like hammocks that the fairies could rest on. They were always making a rainbow of red, orange and yellow as if it were Fall.

Franci (with a little help from mommy).

(photo by Jason McKim)

“With its diverse climate and landscape, California contains the greatest variety of rivers found anywhere in the United States. Over the last 150 years these rivers have been dammed, diverted, polluted, lined, and leveed to supply the needs of an expanding population and economy. In spite of these changes, rivers and the waters they carry remain one of California’s most significant natural hazards and most contested resources”. (Mount)

California – the most populous state in the United States – faces many competing demands for water use, mirroring what is happening throughout the world, as nations try to come to terms with an impending international water crisis. In California, agricultural demand for irrigation during the dry summer has traditionally been met by reservoirs and a system of irrigation canals that have in turn lowered the amount of water available for river flow. The practice of water control and diversion has resulted in endangered fisheries, reduced salmon runs, and pitched battles between interest groups –particularly, farmers, fishermen, developers and environmentalists. California is often subject to years of drought, when it does not receive enough winter precipitation to replenish reservoirs and groundwater, compounding its water troubles. Ironically, California is also susceptible to damaging floods during wet years, causing billions of dollars in property damage. Many new subdivisions are being built on floodplains, and depend on antiquated levees to protect lives and property. After bearing witness to the effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and faced with the possibility of a similar disaster, California voters recently approved a bond measure that would repair the levees, in order to protect homes and lives. As California begins to face the reality of future water scarcity, many local conservation efforts have been implemented, and water districts are giving rebates on water efficient appliances, and distributing water-saving devices that will make it easier for customers to become more water efficient. Although California is making some progress towards meeting its water challenges, the growing population’s demand for water will continue to rise, creating a situation where high stakes battles over water will be an inevitable consequence unless the state is able to formulate an overarching science-based water plan, and implement it despite the political risks inherent in alienating special interest groups.

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Lolita is a book that lends itself to a myriad of different interpretations, with each reader finding a different meaning within the story. Many readers are first drawn to Lolita expecting the tale of the escapades of a pedophile and his victim, a “lewd book. They expected the rising succession of erotic scenes; when these stopped, the readers stopped too, and felt bored and let down.” (Nabokov 313) It is overly simplistic to define Lolita as a novel about pedophilia –certainly one of the many elements of the story, but by no means the main theme. What makes Lolita a classic is Nabokov’s ability to weave so many elements into his writing, that each re-reading reveals a slightly different, and more profound layer to the book. The reader who opens the book expecting a simple story of pedophilia and sexual exploitation finds himself quickly immersed in the ever shifting quicksand of Humbert Humbert,’s narration. Although Humbert’s sexual attraction to barely pubescent girls, or nymphets makes him easily classifiable as a pedophile, his love for Lolita metamorphoses in the course of the novel like one of Nabokov’s beloved butterflies, starting out as immature adolescent obsession, and culminating in the mature, selfless love that parents feel for their children.
In order to meet the American Psychiatric Association’s criteria for diagnosis of pedophilia, a person must exhibit certain characteristics:
“A. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger); B. The person has acted on these sexual urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty; C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion A.” (Wikipedia)
According to this definition, Humbert’s obsession with young girls “Between the age limits of nine and fourteen…” can be categorized as pedophilia. However, Humbert is not attracted to all girls in that age group, but only to a select few, “who, to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human…and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as “nymphets”. (Nabakov 16) According to Humbert, these girls exhibit “mysterious characteristics, the fey grace, the elusive, shifty, soul-shattering, insidious charm …” that set them apart from other girls their age. (Nabakov 17)
Humbert excuses his fantasies by blaming his obsession on his unfulfilled early adolescent love affair with his age-mate Annabelle Lee. “We loved each other with a premature love, marked by a fierceness that so often destroys adult lives….I found myself maturing amid a civilization which allows a man of twenty-five to court a girl of sixteen but not a girl of twelve”. (Nabakov 18)

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U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to my message:

Thank you for contacting me to express your views about the advertisement MoveOn.org placed in the New York Times on September 10, 2007 regarding General David Petraeus. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I was disappointed to learn of MoveOn.org’s advertisement criticizing General Petraeus. When he testified before Congress in September, Congress and the American people were hoping to hear a new strategy on how to forge political accommodation in Iraq. While I did not agree with all of General Petraeus’ recommendations, I felt that the MoveOn.org advertisement was inappropriate and unhelpful to the larger debate about our policy in Iraq.

On September 20, 2007, I joined 71 of my colleagues in approving Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) amendment to the fiscal year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1585), expressing the sense of the Senate to reaffirm support for General David Petraeus and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope you will continue to keep me informed of issues important to you. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein

Dear Senator Feinstein, I cannot believe that you voted “yes” on the bill this morning to codemn MoveOn.org, an organization that I proudly support. MoveOn.org has been one of the only organizations in this country that has steadfastly denounced what has been shown to be a war based on lies. Bush hoodwinked the Senate and the American people to get us into this fiasco, and continues to spread lies through people like General Petraeus. The polls say that the American people have had enough of the lies, spin and doctoring of statistics. Will you please stand up for the truth?

Sign the petition.

[See Senator Feinstein reply]