This is not the first time Carter backs down from comments he made about Bush. I was very dissappointed the first time. It made me so mad that I stopped contributing to Habitat for Humanity. I realize that was childish of me. I understand that when you are a figurehead for a charity funded by all types you have to be careful what you say so as not to lose contibutors. Actions that would make me contibute more could end contributions from non like minded individuals. I actually admire Carter for the way he lives his life for the good of others and was very happy when he recieved the Nobel Prize. But I am tired of his see-saw act when it comes to sticking to his guns when commenting on Bush. Bush is the worst president ever and it isn't exactly a secret. I also admire Gore more than ever for telling the truth about Bush. The real problem is the main stream media and the way they make a personal issue out of a political reality. Thank God for the internet.

In 1976 I got married in a beautiful dress made for me by my Godmother. I took it to the dry cleaners and when I came to pick it up I was shocked to know they wanted $15 which was a fortune to me at the time. Sadly, I had to let them keep the dress. There were many times over the years that I wished I had managed to get the dress out of hock, especially since I had a daughter the year after I married. Later I realized it would have been just one more thing to keep up with since I certainly did not raise my daughter to get married and have babies. Sometimes when she is exhausted from her Law career she says exactly that "you should have raised me to just get married and have babies". Anyway chances of her ever wanting to wear a dress from 1976, assuming she chooses to get married, are very slim and hauling a dress from one home to the other as we moved 4 times in the following 30 years would have just been one more stress. I have learned in my 52 years that we don't own things, they own us. The point is I love the idea of trashing the dress in front of a camera because my most treasured possesions and the only ones I really really care about are the 'time lapse' photographs (as my spouse calls them) of our life together.

Sounds to me like the writer of the letter is the one with the problem. She needs to let go of her need to be in control. People are entitled to live their lives the way they want and to spend their money the way they want. And that includes our parents. I come from a big family and I would not like to live like any of them. I like new things, so do I tell my youngest sister she is crazy for living in a 100 year old house? I dislike antiques and other used items so do I tell my second youngest sister to stop buying used china on e-bay? I prefer the city, so do I tell my older sister that she needs to move from her rural acreage? I prefer mild weather, so do I tell my oldest sister that Connecticut is too cold for her? I have more siblings, but surely you get the drift. And funny thing is many of my siblings are now telling my Mom how she should live her life. I think the less happy someone is with their own life and the less control they have over their own situation, the more likely they are to try to "fix" someone else's.