We were invited to a colleague’s place for barbecued hog’s head (for the more adventurous among us) and ribs (for the less adventurous). This was the first time in my life that I tried ribs, and you know what? They were lovely. Plus they are the best food ever for my low sugar diet.

I have this weird habit of deciding that I hate certain foods and never even trying them. I really hated Italian food, for example. I’d never tried it but I knew it was disgusting. And then colleagues practically forced me to try it, and I realized it was the best food in the world.

It’s the same with ribs. I always thought they were nasty. Today, I discovered the truth. Of course, after this huge revelation I was not ready for a new one, so I didn’t try the head. You can see it in the photo.

Many people mistakenly believe that the patriarchal system is about women being downtrodden and subjected to men 100% of the time. This is not the case at all, at least not in Christian countries.

The patriarchy is based on the concept of the separation of spheres. Women are excluded from the public sphere but are compensated for that by having control over the private sphere. Men, in the meanwhile, are disempowered in the private sphere but reign in the public sphere.

Since it’s normal for people to need both spheres to be developed in their lives, patriarchal societies offered opportunities for men and women to pretend they had access to both spheres. For instance, all of those all-male clubs for aristocratic men in European countries created an atmosphere of a home environment where men could have a sort of a private sphere of their own.

As a result, we can conclude that the goal of feminism is not only to restore the public sphere to women for their free use of it but also to restore the private sphere to men. Pushing men out of the private sphere to make oneself feel better or more competent is as anti-feminist as when men keep women out of the workplace.

The breast feeding class started with the phrase, “Breastfeeding has been around forever.”

This doesn’t sound extremely promising.

I want to use the public space of this blog to congratulate the people who operate the Madison County Transit System of the state of Illinois on the highly effective and successful public transportation system they run.

For the past 4 years, I have been using MCT on a regular basis. I use it at least several times a week and rely on different bus lines to meet my needs of a person who doesn’t drive. I can say that this is the most punctual, well-organized public transportation system I have ever seen. The drivers are extremely polite, professional, and caring.

These days, I have to go to the hospital twice a week for pregnancy-related tests. There is no direct line because the hospital is located in another town, so I need to transfer between two bus lines. And you should see how the drivers look out for me and cooperate to make sure I’m as safe and comfortable as possible. I travel at different times, so I always meet different drivers, all of whom are fantastic.

“No, I’m not letting you get off here,” a driver says. “This is a very busy intersection; it might be dangerous.”

Then the driver gets in touch with a colleague over the radio and tells me, “I will let you off over there instead. Now cross the road on the crossing and go stand in the shade under that big tree. Make sure you stay out of the sun! The other bus will pick you up in exactly one minute and a half.”

Now, the driver doesn’t have to care whether I cross the street at a dangerous intersection or stay out of the sun. But how great is it to see people who do care!

The standard of living in any area depends, to a significant degree, on the availability of a reliable and accessible public transportation system. We are supremely fortunate in Madison County to have MCT serve our needs. It is very cheap, so anybody can afford it but the standard of service is extremely high. Among other things, MCT offers a door-to-door service for the disabled and the elderly. Just imagine what a difference a service like this can make in the life of a disabled person.

Thank you, MCT, you are the best!