Women on the 20s!

You may or may not have heard of this initiative going on in the US right now. Each bill of our paper money has a face on it, of either a president (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln...) or someone important in the nation's history (Benjamin Franklin). (See here for all the bills—including some much bigger ones than you may think exist!)

On the 20 dollar bill we see the face of Andrew Jackson, a president who did a lot for the country—some of it good, and some of it... not so much. One of his biggest, and certainly his most terrible legacy is the "Trail of Tears", formally known as the Indian Removal Act of 1830. 

"...the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died."                             source

Just take a look at this map to get an idea of the scope of this relocation. For anyone familiar with the geography of the US, think about how radically different those deep south climates are from Oklahoma.

source

So do we really want to celebrate this man on one of the most commonly used US bills? Here's another reason it doesn't make the most sense that he's there:

Some argue that because Jackson was a fierce opponent of the central banking system and favored gold and silver coin or "hard money" over paper currency, he is an ironic choice for immortalization on our money.                                                                             source

One thing to remember is that the people who appear on US currency can change at any time—the President, the Secretary of the Treasury, or Congress just has to order it to be done. Another interesting fact: the faces on our bills haven't changed since 1929.

So now that we've established that Andrew Jackson's face is not the most logical, and that it's rather time for a change, who should we put on the $20 bill? Before we can answer that, these kids have an important question:

The people at womenon20s.org are trying to garner public support for the change from Andrew Jackson to a celebrated American woman on the $20 bill. This is far from being an aggressive feminist movement, it's simply a way to give some needed attention to the important women of our nation. We have lots of inspiring ones to choose from!

In March I was one of the 256,000 people who voted for my top three of the fifteen most influential American women. Now, since the beginning of April, four finalists have been identified. From the womenon20s website:

Because of strong public sentiment that people should have the choice 
of a Native American to replace Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Nation 
Chief Wilma Mankiller appears on the Final ballot.
from: www.womenon20s.org/the_process

Go here to get to that page and read these amazing women's more complete biographies. I certainly learned quite a lot!

I have two email addresses, so I'm voting twice, but I won't influence you one way or another so I won't tell you who I'm voting for, however I will tell you to go vote! Even if you aren't American! Go take a look at the womenon20s website, learn a bit about the history of that country, and really, why not vote? The more people vote, the more likely it is that one of these women will appear on the 20 dollar bill in 2020, right in time for the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in America!

Vote here!!

Critterman

My aunt and uncle have a zoo in their backyard. 

That was one of the go-to "interesting facts" I had about myself that I liked to use during lame highschool icebreakers (being cooler than "I've been homeschooled" of course). 

Once my uncle wrestled with an alligator in my front yard.

That was another one.

This is lil sis Tessie because this picture was
easier to find than one of me in a similar pose.

My uncle is named Dave Kleven but often goes by Critterman, and for the past many years has been spreading Animal Edutainment throughout North Texas as well as many other areas of the US. 

His backyard isn't exactly a zoo, but visiting Aubrey, Texas as a kid and getting our obilgatory tour, seeing old favorites and new additions, it certainly felt like one. I remember a cougar, a wolf, owls, an albino boa constrictor (seen above, along with some more colorful friends), two baboons, praire dogs, a giant black and white african porcupine, even a parrot that would complete the three Rs-- after reduce and reuse she'd sqwak RECYCLE for a peanut. And that's only the beginning. There have been lots of animals I don't really remember because I've never really heard of them outside of his backyard!

Explaining what exactly does takes a bit of time, but here's a short documentary about him in case you feel like watching something instead of reading the rest of this post!

Critterman travels around with his "animal ambassadors" spreading knowledge of and respect for the animals through engaging and fascinating shows. His shows are aimed at children but teach the grown ups quite a bit too! He brings live animals, chosen around a theme (like Texas Tails or Squirm Factor or Safari Guide) and presents them to the kids who sit with bated breath enthralled. They learn about the animals' habitats, habits, and how to be safe around them. The braver, or luckier kids even get to come touch the animals in front of the crowd! 

Critterman in action!

Apart from the fun shows we lucky neices and nephews got at holidays and family reunions, Critterman does birthday parties, school and library shows, and much more. He even does many that are free and open to the public in the greater Dallas area! 

Uncle Dave is married to my dad's sister, Aunt Sue, and they met at a college nicknamed "America's Teaching Zoo". After working together to build Animal Edutainment, "Safari Sue" left Animal Edutainment to become the director of the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas, about ten years ago, and has really turned the place into somewhere great. 

Daddy and Aunt Sue!

Critterman, however, is still going strong, and not only has won many regional awards but has also appeared many times on TV and worked with wildlife celebrities like Jack Hanna, Jeff Corwin, and the Kratt brothers. Jack Hanna had this to say about the company:

"I would like to recommend the education programs that are very professionally presented by Animal Edutainment. This organization is dedicated to the preservation of our earth’s wildlife, and by teaching young people about our valuable resources, they hope to make the planet a better place to live. It’s organizations like Animal Edutainment who will provide the education for future generations. I highly recommend them for a program or presentation for your group." 

Sincerely,

Jack Hanna 

My aunt and uncle are amazing examples of people who found their passion in life and turned it into not only a way to make a living, but a lifestyle in itself. From nursing baby Fennec foxes in their house to living with dozens of wild animals all requiring individualized care, they never stop working. I'm in constant awe of their dedication to their mission and their animals! And the fact that in the middle of all of that, they've found time to not only come to my American wedding but also the Moroccan one! It was so much fun having them here last August, and Uncle Dave even made, translated, and brought little introductions about their family to share with Othman's extended family.

Couscous with my fam, Dave, Sue, and my cousin Brenna!

Right now Critterman is having a GoFundMe fundraiser which is off to a bit of a slow start. The money raised is going to go towards providing free shows for charities in Northern Texas, and it's a great cause. 

Also, feel free to take a look, contribute if you feel so inclined, and check out their public shows and see if you or your loved ones can attend any! To get a full list go to www.critterman.com, click on catch us on the lefthand side bar, and click on community. There's even one in Nebraska, and the list is through October, so check it out to see if there's one happening close to you!

Remember the aforementioned alligator? Wasn't kidding!
Remember the aforementioned awards? Wasn't kidding about them either.

Help out my sis?

Remember my beautiful sister Isabel?

Classy.

She's studying music education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Because her major demands a huge amount of class hours (from my understanding it's basically an education degree on top of a music performance degree) she won't be able to follow in her big sister's footsteps and study abroad while in college. But that won't stopping her from going abroad! 

She sings in a selective choir at St. Thomas, which going on a trip to Peru this spring. The members will be based in Peru but will sing in different locations throughout the country and also participate in some small service projects, mainly working with children. It will be a short trip but she's very excited about it, and I'm excited for her, especially as none of us have been anywhere in South America before except for Brazil!

She has such a joy for life and is so good with kids!

I was lucky enough to get a few scholarships to allow me to study abroad while at Notre Dame (I guess there were a few benefits of going to a rich university!), but Isabel's trip will be short and not funded in the same way. She's saved a lot already to put towards it (and with it in mind she didn't join the Euro-Morocco trip with my family last August, saving her money for this) but she's still short a big hunk of cash. So in order for her to be able to go on the trip Isabel needs some financial help. She has started a GoFundMe campaign to ask for donations to help her cover its costs, and I'm shamelessly using my blog to try to help her out a bit. 

She has a dollar for every day of the year right now which is great, but let's raise that a bit together?

She deserves this trip if anyone does, especially because it is a direct result of all the hard work she's been putting in the past couple years, and is necessary because she won't have another chance due to all that work! And a trip surrounded by her friends during which she'll be able to share her talents and see a new corner of the world is exactly what suits her. Please consider contributing $5 or however much to her fundraiser, every bit will help her!

See that intense but pleading look? Let's pretend that it wasn't directed at her
annoying big sister but at you, hoping that you'll help her out! She's surely rolling her
eyes at me right now, but hey, a big sister's gotta do what a big sister's gotta do!

Erik

Some tragic news came from over the ocean to us this past week. My beautiful sister Isabel's boyfriend suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm on their college campus in Minnesota on Monday. Erik's funeral is today in Iowa, where my older brother Patrick has traveled to support our sister. My parents were able to join her late Monday night at her college and be with her during those first difficult hours. They had met Erik the month previously and were all devastated.

Though I hadn't met him, his kindness and positivity really shined through the few pictures and anecdotes I had seen and heard. He and Isabel had been good friends since last year and he was well loved in their community. I desperately wish I could be with my sister during this trying time. Please keep her, Erik, his friends and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Here is my mother's post about the loss, here is an announcement by their college of funeral services and memorials, and here is his obituary. 

Here is Isabel's memorial to him, a testament of her strength of character and the beauty of both their souls.

Please join with me today in supporting everyone attending the funeral today, wishing them strength, comfort and peace despite this tragic loss.

There is no better way to end this post than with Erik's own voice, lifted up in song.

An inclusive Halloween: the Teal Pumpkin Project

Just a quick post about an article I saw linked to on Facebook and think is really great.

The Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) nonprofit has come up with a lovely idea for this Halloween: offer non-food treats for kiddos who come trick-or-treating at your door this year, and place a teal pumpkin (or this poster) outside your home to alert caregivers that non-food items are available. This can literally mean life and death for kids with extreme food allergies, can also be important for kids with other illnesses like type 1 diabetes. Anyway c'mon, do America's kids, with childhood obesity rates as they are, really need more candy?

Also, I worked with a woman during my time in the food court at Notre Dame who lost her 10 year old niece who died for unknown reasons after eating her Halloween candy a few years ago. Candy from strangers can be scary! And handing out

glow bracelets or necklaces, pencils, markers, boxes of crayons, erasers, bubbles, mini Slinkies, whistles or noisemakers, bouncy balls, coins, spider rings, vampire teeth, mini notepads, playing cards, bookmarks, stickers, and stencils

can still be all sorts of fun for both givers and getters! (Ideas from FARE.) Click on the links and take a look! 

If we were in the US this Halloween we'd definitely be participating. Even if you don't know anyone directly affected by food allergies, or think that kids around you don't have any, cute pencils are still healthier than candy. And you could always have two options-- a candy bucket and a non-food bucket-- and have kiddos choose!