Waking up to happy news

Most mornings, NPR wakes me up with the early news. Most mornings it is bad news. Most mornings it is about car bombs. But this morning was different. This morning I heard that Barack Obama , our president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I was elated! I have great hope for him and what he can do for our country. I recognize that he is having a tough time of it now and that his detractors and even some of his supporters are not pleased with this event.

About the best his detractors can say is that it is too soon or that he was nominated right after he took office. Some think the prize should be awarded on the basis of accomplishments and not intentions.

I'd like to point out a few facts about the Prize itself and shed a little more light on the subject.
I wanted a photo of Obama but I can't steal the photos of others and I've never been close enough to him for a closeup. So, I am repeating a photo I took at a rally for him last November.
Look closely. That's him at the mike.

The Nobel Peace prize is dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". It's clear that he hasn't done the "most" in this area, but former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari, who was last year's Peace Prize laureate, said it was clear that the committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage. This award has only been made to two former U.S. Presidents and no incumbent president has received the award in the past 90 years.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 96 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations.
Three striking examples of people who did NOT receive the Prize are Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandi and Joseph Stalin. Stalin was nominated in 1945 and 1948 for his efforts to end WWII. Unbelievably, Hitler was nominated in 1939 , but the man who nominated him, a member of the Swedish parliament, withdrew the nomination . And Mahatma Gandhi, the strongest possible symbol of non-violence in the 20th century, was nominated five times but was never awarded the prize. The prize cannot be awarded posthumously.

So you see, it is a mixed bag. All the other Nobel prizes are presented in Sweden in December in the City hall . A friend of mine is fortunate enough to attend each year, as an active member of Amnesty International in Stockholm . The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, Norway.

I hope that this recognition will make it possible for people from around the world to once more respect and honor our American president.

A sunny day in Stockholm

I visit Stockholm often , because I have a son who lives there. Of all the places to sightsee, my favorite is Kolonistugor, the allotment gardens established as early as 1904. Back then, city dwellers lived in small apartments that barely offered room for a family. The inside courtyard might have some dirt or trees, but mostly they were concrete. A small window box was the best one could do to grow herbs or flowers.

The pictures are ones I took in Kolonistugor, on the island of Södermalm, on the south banks. Facing a lake, the gardens are made up of small parcels of land separated by narrow lanes and picket fences. Families wait many years for a plot to become available. Once they get one, they are likely to keep it for life. Families then can go out there on warm summer days, plant trees, bushes, flowers, and vegetables. The community provides public toilets. There is no electricity and small cottages hold only room for supplies and , perhaps, a table and chairs.
An outside water tap provides water for drinking and plants.
In 1904, an upper-class woman named Anna Lindhagen, a social-democratic leader , visited the allotment gardens of Copenhagen and determined to start them in Stockholm . The Swedish Federation of Leisure Gardening represents the more than 26,000 allotment and leisure gardeners in Sweden. The land is usually rented from local authorities.
It is my joy to roam idly through the gardens and along the paths, trying to learn a whole new set of birds and recognizing some delightful plants which grow in W.Va. (my native state) but not in Florida.
Rhododendron in many colors delight the eye. Poppies burst forth like Georgia O'Keefe paintings, Roses cover large bushes as abundantly as the gardenias do in Florida . Lilacs hang down where , standing on tiptoes, one can inhale their intoxicating fragrance. All sorts of fruit and flowering trees line the paths.
At the bottom of the hill, a wider path traces the banks of the lake and bikers, walkers, runners, mothers pushing strollers: all inhabit this wonderful world of color in the heart of town.

Kolonistugor means "weekend cottages".