black elk

Found a card in my mailbox today from a woman I admire so very much.

"Grown men may learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss."

Credit - CL's Kids cards 2009 collection - created by Primary School Students on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Nicholas Black Elk a famous Wichasha Wakan (Medicine Man or Holy Man) He participated at about the age of twelve in the Battle of Little Big Horn of 1876, and was wounded in the massacre that occurred at Wounded Knee in 1890.

I am attending the Drug Forum at the Buffalo Grove High School this evening, but the way things are panning out in the news lately ~

WHO is listening to the children?

Buffalo Grove Community Forum – Drug Abuse October 7, 2009

Found on the Web --- Village of Buffalo Grove Website
Buffalo Grove Community Forum – Drug Abuse

The Buffalo Grove School Safety Partnership is joining forces with Stevenson and Buffalo Grove High Schools to sponsor a community-forum on drug abuse at 7:00 pm, Wednesday, October 7, 2009. The forum will be held in Buffalo Grove High School’s theater at 1100 W. Dundee Road, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. This event is part of a regional effort to increase awareness and understanding about illicit drug activity, particularly the use of heroin, and its consequences to parents of high school-aged students.

Anyone interested in attending the forum is asked to RSVP please visit the link as you need to call or Email the Buffalo Grove Police Commander, Steve Husak.

Heroin is alive and living in Lake County, IL.

After over one and a half years ~ COMMUNITY FORUM on Drug Awareness & Heroin

~ Stay on track don't fall off the horse and lose sight of the real issue
~ you can bet on it ~ "Heroin is alive and living in Lake County, IL..

I copied and pasted these article's ~ as I am so tired of waiting for this to awakening withing our community to happen - to many children are not with us today so please ~ make sure you RSVP as well - read the rules!
If you are in the vicinity ~ please take some time out of your day to listen, learn & educate yourselves.

Pioneer Local - Today ~ June 2, 2009
By RONNIE WACHTER rwachter@pioneerlocal.com

The Buffalo Grove School Safety Partnership, in conjunction with Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools, will hold a community forum Thursday to address the topic of drug abuse in the area.

The event is part of a regional effort to increase the awareness and understanding of drug activity and its consequences to parents of high school age students.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. at the Buffalo Grove Park District's Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Drive, and will place special emphasis on heroin abuse.

Heroin and prescription drug overdoses throughout the area have become a widespread and persistent public safety problem that creates serious personal, social and economic consequences for adolescents, their families and the community.

"We're directing this at parents of high school students, upper grades," Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak said. "There have been a few overdoses and other issues that have been on the rise in the last year."

"The walls need to be put up," said Lisa Stone, a Buffalo Grove trustee who helped organize the meeting because of her concern about heroin use in the community. "It's the most powerful drug on our planet."

Stone said Friday that she would like to see Buffalo Grove become known as the No. 1 community in Illinois in the fight against heroin, as its Police Department is known as a leader in the fight against drunken driving.

The program will feature presentations by:

• Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group's regional drug task force

• Lake County Coroner's Office

• Lake County States Attorney's Office

• Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory.

The public is invited, and can R.S.V.P at the village of Buffalo Grove Web site vbg.org by following the instructions on the community forum announcement, or by e-mailing Husak at shusak@vbg.org

Good Luck ~ May "God" bless you all - vonna ~

R.I.P. now my son ~ 

Well, just try walking in my shoes!

I don't believe in coincidence, that is just the way I feel, I was told by someone the other day I was crazy, unstable ~ Who me!

Well, just try walking in my shoes!

If you have lost a loved one and have not found Legacy Connect ~ I highly recommend you do so, it is a part of the Ning Network and is very easy to set up. Of course I am still at a stage of lurkness "so to speak"!

You are able to control your privacy settings, so of course at this moment I am still at a stage of lurkness "so to speak".

I check my email everyday, this one of the email's I received today ~ a day when I really needed to read this!

The article below is one of the many with information you may need to know!

By Russell Friedman and John W. James

For most people, the immediate response to the death of someone important to them is a sense of numbness. After that initial numbness wears off, the most common physiological reaction is a reduced ability to concentrate. The rest of the world goes out of focus. Nothing else is important.

It is normal and natural that your entire being is centered on what happened and your relationship with the person who died. The length of time that the reduced ability to concentrate lasts is individual and can vary from a few days to several months, and even longer. It is not a sign that there’s something wrong with you. The fact that the emotional impact of the death of that person has altered your day-to-day routines is very healthy. It would make no sense for you to not be affected by the death.

It is normal to drift out of focus in response to conscious or unconscious memories of the person who died. Please be gentle with yourself in allowing that your focus is not on the actions of life, but on your reactions to a death.

If you’re at work, you can take little “grief breaks” as needed. It’s a good idea to establish a safe person at work who you can talk to when and if you get overwhelmed. It’s also smart to have a phone pal you can call when the emotions keep you from concentrating. The breaks and chats will make you able to do the work you need to do.

Please keep in mind that it’s important to focus while driving a car. It’s not safe to drive with tears in your eyes. If need be, pull over. Allow yourself to have whatever emotions come up, and maybe call someone and talk for a while before you get back on the road.

When Your Heart Is Broken, Your Head Doesn’t Work Right

Along with not being able to concentrate, your thinking ability and judgment may be limited. That’s why grieving people are advised to be careful about making major life decisions in the aftermath of the death of someone important to them. To put it in simple terms, when your heart is broken, your head doesn’t work right. You must take care either not to make big decisions until you regain your ability to focus, or you must make sure you have people you trust to help you understand your choices and the consequences of what you decide.

There are other common physiological reactions to grief. Sleeping habits are often disrupted for an extended period of time. You may find yourself unable to sleep, or you may not be able to get out of bed. You can even go back and forth between those extremes. Eating patterns are also subject to confusion. You may not be able to eat at all, or you may not be able to stop. You can also ping-pong between those extremes. Sleeping and eating disruptions aren’t as common as the reduced ability to concentrate, but they can be really uncomfortable. If they happen, it also doesn’t mean you’re going crazy. It just means that your routines and habits are out of synch.

Another common grief reaction is best described as a roller coaster of emotions. It can be a wild ride, with tremendous emotional shifts. But, like concentration and the eating and sleeping issues, that roller coaster is one of the typical responses to the death of someone important to you. Don’t fight it, just go along for the ride, no matter how bumpy it might be. When it happens, it’s a good idea to call a friend, and talk about what you’re feeling. Talking about what you’re experiencing helps make sure you don’t trap your feelings inside.

Normal and Natural — Not Crazy

The reduced ability to concentrate; the disruption of sleeping and eating patterns; and the roller coaster of emotions are all normal and natural reactions to death. There is nothing crazy about them or you.

Those reactions usually diminish within time as you adapt to life without the person who died. But time doesn’t heal emotional wounds, nor does it complete anything that may have been left emotionally unfinished when the person died. Sometimes it’s just the feeling of wanting to have said one more “I love you and goodbye.” Sometimes it is a more complex set of communications that would include apologies, forgiveness, and significant emotional statements.

It is always helpful to discover and complete anything that was left unfinished. Doing so will allow you to have fond memories not turn painful. It will also help you remember your person the way you knew them in life. And it will help you continue a life of meaning and value, even though it is altered by the absence of he person who died.

Above all, allow yourself to be out of rhythm. As we said, be careful when you’re driving and be cautious when making major decisions. Be gentle with yourself as you make your re-entry back into the flow of your life. But don’t judge yourself harshly because you are having any or all of the reactions we mentioned.