Family Time, Unplugged & Outdoors: Memories are Made on Vacations; Tips for the Road

Don't worry about record-breaking gas prices - the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates prices to be $3.79 a gallon this summer, less than in 2008.

That's good news for families considering reviving the tradition of a road trip vacation, one of the best experiences parents and kids can share, says Michael DiLorenzo, author of Adventures with Jonny: Road Trip to the Parks! (www.adventureswithjonny.com).

"This is a shared experience, and one that will be talked about during family gatherings for years to come," says DiLorenzo, a father of three. "For busy parents, this is a time to savor their children's youth. As moms and dads eventually find out, they grow up fast."

It's also a chance to get children outside and away from their computers, he says. Children today already have a deep-rooted interest in technology, which is why a road trip to a natural, outdoor destination is an opportunity to "give your child the gift of the outdoors, which is a gift for life," says DiLorenzo.

The journey to a national park in the United States or Canada - perhaps Yellowstone in Wyoming or Banff in Alberta - is as bonding an experience as whatever happens at the destination.

"And there are parks in every state," he notes. "If you don't have the time or money to go cross country, pick a park closer to home."

DiLorenzo offers these helpful tips for the road:

• Games, games, games!: Yes, there is ample entertainment for both drivers and riders in cars these days. BUT, the goal is to bond with the family, so consider a fun, albeit off-color game like "Road Kill Round-Up." A point system might break down like this: two points for the first to spot a poor critter; three for whoever first correctly identifies the species; two points subtracted for a false road-kill call; three points subtracted for misidentifying the kind.

• Beware of dairy drinks (and other smelly snacks): A spill in the backseat can eventually create quite a stink during a summer road trip. But do pack plenty of  healthy snacks to save on pricey pit stops and avoid all the sugar and salt in junk food.

• Avoid big-city rush hours: When traveling through metropolitan areas, consider the busiest traffic periods. Whether you plan to stop and check out the city or simply zip through it, bumper-to-bumper traffic is something to avoid. A bit of consideration can save your family hours of grid-locked misery.

• Tech help: Various apps and websites can help drivers find the cheapest gas prices, food options, hotel rates and travel routes. Also, don't forget a music mix that appeals to the entire family on one of these devices. (Remember, leave work at home - forget about work-related calls, texts and emails! Use a non-work-related smartphone, if needed.)

• Schedule pit stops: Being in a hurry should be left for the morning commute; vacation should be different. When traveling across states and provinces, consider local culture. For example, barbecue in South Carolina is very different from Missouri's version. Enjoy diners and unique attractions, and don't be afraid to take notes.

"The greatest family memories are created in shared adventure," DiLorenzo says. "Outdoor recreation is filled with these memories just looking for a family to bring them home."

About Michael A. DiLorenzo

Michael A. DiLorenzo is a married father of three living in the outdoor-rich environs of Michigan. He created the "Adventures with Jonny" series to entertain and educate children (and parents!) about the activities available in the great outdoors.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Here is information about Senator Grassley's schedule this week.  The Senate is in session.

Senator Grassley will meet with Iowans from Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Iowa Telecommunications Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Iowa Rural Letter Carriers, the Appraisal Institute, and the Paper Recycling Coalition.

Senator Grassley also will meet with Iowa families visiting Washington from Johnston, Des Moines, Ankeny, and Iowa City.

Senator Grassley will be a guest this week on public affairs programs hosted by Ryan Schlader of WMT Radio in Cedar Rapids and Mike Adams of AgriTalk, which airs on 13 Iowa radio stations.

On Monday, May 21, at 2:30 p.m. (ET), in Dirksen 226, Senator Grassley will speak to the Whistleblower, Civil and Human Rights Summit.

Senator Grassley will answer questions and respond to comments via Skype with fourth graders at MOC-Floyd Valley Community Schools in Hospers on Tuesday, May 22, at 1:30 p.m. (CT), and with students in the contemporary issues class at Marshalltown High School on Thursday, May 24, at 8:30 a.m. (CT).

On Wednesday, May 23, at 10 a.m. (ET), in Dirksen 226, Senator Grassley will participate in a hearing of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the courts titled "Protecting Our Children:  The Importance of Training Child Protection Professionals."

On Wednesday, May 23, at 1:15 p.m. (ET), in the Capitol Visitors Center, SVC-215, Senator Grassley will speak about the impact of intellectual property laws on jobs at an event of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center.  The Center will be releasing a new study.

On Wednesday, May 23, at 2:30 p.m. (ET), in Dirksen 226, Senator Grassley will participate in a hearing of the Judiciary Committee to consider nominations to the federal judiciary.

On Thursday, May 24, at 10 a.m. (ET), in Dirksen 226, Senator Grassley will participate in the weekly executive business meeting of the Judiciary Committee.  Two legislative proposals may be considered:  S.2076, the Local Courthouse Safety Act of 2012, sponsored by Senators Al Franken, Lindsay Graham, Amy Klobuchar, John Cornyn, Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal, and S.2370, the Small Business Reorganization Efficiency and Clarity Act, sponsored by Senators Grassley and Sheldon Whitehouse.

Monday, May 21, 2012

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, released a letter today to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski concerning a planned judicial conference in Maui, Hawaii.  In their letter, the senators note that the taxpayer-funded conference, scheduled for Aug. 13 to Aug. 16, features opportunities for numerous recreational activities not related to any official judicial business, and that the expense of travel and accommodations will be significant.  Grassley and Sessions requested a full reply to their questions no later than June 15.

To view the senators' letter, please click here. Statements from Grassley and Sessions follow:

"Technology is so advanced that people are earning college degrees online and soldiers serving halfway across the world use Skype with their families at home," Grassley said. "Likewise, a judicial circuit court should be capable of using technology to share information without requiring a trip to an island paradise.  It's especially tone-deaf to plan a pricey conference after the GSA debacle. The taxpayers can't sustain this kind of spending, and they shouldn't have to.  The court should re-examine whether this is the best use of tax dollars."

"This conference is further evidence the federal government is in a state of financial chaos," Sessions said.  "How can anyone in Washington ask for more taxes when this culture of excess continues? Americans struggling to pay their bills are tired of watching the government throw lavish events on the taxpayer dime. They are tired of watching entire sectors of government behave in a fashion totally disconnected from the reality of our perilous financial state. At this time of fiscal crisis, America needs leadership that will restore accountability and ensure a disciplined budget is adopted at last."

NOTE: As detailed in the senators' letter, a previous Ninth Circuit conference, also held in Maui, cost taxpayers more than $1.1 million in travel and accommodation expenses alone. To view information about activities scheduled at this year's conference, including yoga, surfing lessons, and a Catamaran snorkel trip, please click here.

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Son of Holocaust Survivors Cites Need to Preserve Older Generation's Stories

As World War II ignited in Europe, the woman who would eventually bring Eli Nussbaum into the world was already a young mother with a husband and a little boy.

The family lived in Poland, part of the largest population of Jews in Europe before the war. As the Nazis invaded her country in 1939, Bella-Rachel Liebermench placed her toddler son in the protection of a monastery.

Eventually, she and her husband would be transported to a concentration camp, where he would die and she would survive torture and deprivation. She would never again find her first little boy.

That story is at the heart of a new novel, The Promise (www.elinussbaum.com), by Nussbaum, now one of the United States' premiere pediatric pulmonologists.

"In writing a novel, I was able to truly immortalize my family's stories because a novel is something that will be read by many more people than just my family," Nussbaum says. "Having a record of a family, like a family tree or what a  genealogist might prepare, is important, but few strangers will want to curl up on a sofa with that and read."

Nussbaum says adult children need to think creatively about how they preserve and pass along their parents' stories. Documenting names, dates and milestones is fine, but the audience for that is limited. Recounting the events that shaped your parents' lives, and their reactions to them, not only preserves their legacies, Nussbaum says, it can provide illustrative and cautionary tales for the world at large.

He suggests:

• Make a StoryCorps recording: StoryCorps is a non-profit organization that has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews since 2003. Anyone can share their story; it will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and participants receive a CD of their recording. Go to www.storycorps.org, find the location nearest you and make a reservation. Bring a friend or loved one - someone who will either appreciate your story or whose story you want to share - and think about the story you want to tell. Staff at the recording sight will help you; the process takes about 40 minutes.

• Create a digital slide show with soundtrack: Photos set to music are an entertaining and often emotional way to share a story. Don't try to tell a whole life's story in one slideshow - that's more like watching someone's old home movies. Instead, choose an interesting time, event or story to share. As you compile photos, music and narration, remember, you don't want to create a photo album, you want to tell a story. So you should have a beginning, middle and end. Your finished product should be no more than two to three minutes long. Caption the photos with names, dates and places. There are numerous public sites online to share your show.

Nussbaum notes that he wrote his novel after his parents' deaths; he knew the stories, so he didn't have to rely on his parents to re-tell them. Those whose parents are still living should involve them in the process, if possible. With StoryCorps, for example, parents can share their stories in their own words.

"The older generations are beginning to pass away," he notes. "For example, in Israel, where I am also a citizen, a study of Holocaust survivors found that by 2015, 66 percent of the survivors in that country will be over 80 years old, and their numbers will have shrunk from 240,000 to 144,000.

"It's important to preserve their legacy now. If your parents are already gone, you need to do it before you can't remember their stories."

About Eliezer Nussbaum, M.D.

Eliezer Nussbaum, M.D., was born in Katowice, Poland; his father lost his first wife and four children in the Holocaust and his mother lost her first husband and son. He is a professor of Clinical Pediatrics Step VII at the University of California and Chief of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and Medical Director of Pediatric Pulmonary and Cystic Fibrosis Center at Memorial Miller Children's Hospital of Long Beach. He has authored two novels, three non-fiction books and more than 150 scientific publications, and was named among the top U.S. doctors by US News and World Report in 2011-12.