End of the tunnel ...

Just finished editing the account of the Covid 19 pandemic, aka Damncovid, that my friend/cousin and I wrote during the times -- from 2020 through 2023. Phew... it was a job... interesting. Many of you may recall reading in this blog some time ago that we began this "project" to record the stories of two rural Nanas and their families during the pandemic.  As it stands now, the audience will be limited to current family and to generations on down the line.  It is a universal story, yet personal as well.

Anyway -- we wrote daily, communicating via email.  I wrote in the mornings, she in the evenings -- each sharing the events of our lives and feelings, including some fears and confusion as we worked our way through the challenges of living in and through a pandemic.  Needless to say our experiences may differ from yours, but I am thinking that they share common issues as well.  We both agree that the writing helped us get through those times the way hoped we would. We had positive goals. We helped each other. We consider ourselves and our families to be very fortunate. We are thankful.

Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the COVID-19 Pandemic officially over as of May 11, 2023 , many of us in rural America felt the end much earlier and transitioned away from emergency procedures well before for that time.  In fact… many of us were able to live relatively normal lives during the three years preceding the official end. Some of us did not play the game at all or played only when it was deemed unavoidable or in respect of other people's fears. I think, in some ways, that rural America felt sorry for city dwellers ... even the ones who look down on us  -- thinking that their way of life is somehow better. Ironic, isn't it?

Also important to remember is that all lives across the entire world  were touched in some way by the pandemic.  Many were touched in a close, painfully personal way with loss of loved ones and friends. Other lives were forever changed by the fears of the pandemic – many of which were exaggerated by those in leadership as they struggled to control an independent thinking populace. The pandemic had a vast array of side-effects including separating friendships and dividing families. The distrust of authority, medicine, and government bubbled above the surface and continues to seep and spread. Tragic on so many levels. Such sad side-effects are a part of a pandemic story for sure even though they are, perhaps, overlooked to some degree. For example, there is a tendency for some not to remember that they wanted to put the non-vaxed (of which I am one) into concentration camps and that they basically treated/shunned them like they had serious cooties and were responsible for the ills of the whole world. 

Anyway -- Our chronical of those times runs from March 13, 2020 to mid 2022.  It is long; it is a reminder; it is a story of coming out at the other end of the tunnel, perhaps a bit bumped and bruised, but nevertheless stronger, and hopefully more compassionate, kinder people... thankful to be survivors.  

We are playing with titles. They are...  View from Two Porches and the more sarcastic Two Weeks to Slow the Spread. The second title suggested by my son.  Having a hard time deciding.  Ideas?

One note...  it is amazing how much time softens.  Many struggles even get pushed way back into dark, hide to find, corners.  Perhaps, though, it is good to remember all the parts.  Perhaps remembering helps to explain the current insanity of the world... people reacting to being forced into isolation or to being pressured to take an experimental drug inaccurately labeled a vaccine... a decision that more and more people now seriously regret. Many current, demonstrators are caught up in rebellion for the sake of rebellion. Ignorant as they are,  they now feel empowered to force their opinions on others - and also believe that they have the right to interfere and complicate the day to day lives of others. Is this because they saw the government get away with such behavior? Wish I knew how to make things better. Perhaps writing and documenting will help in the long run.  Hope so. 

One thing I do know -- I hope none of us ever have to go through a pandemic again. Another thing I know... I am sick and tired of angry screamers and hateful faces. I am also bored with the lack of sense of humor and humanity of those particular woke who think they have some "special" kind of awareness that gives them rights above others ... that somehow entitles them to condescend to those who may disagree with them on the issues of the day. 

It is time to move forward and put the tunnel behind. We need to see that there is light at the other end.  We need to begin again and to remember who we are and who we want to be. We need to listen and to think. 

Dinner guests...

Was thinking about Ayn Rand the other day - one of my "if you could share a meal or have some time to talk with a person from any time period in history, who would that person be?" list. She is right there at the top -- along with Joseph Campbell.  Anyway ... how are these Rand quotations for food for thought?

        The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop            me?

        The smallest minority on earth is the individual.  Those who deny            individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.

        The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which                        everybody had decided not to see.

Second question. Excluding beloved family and friends, who are on a most special list of their very own, who would be at the top of your list if you could have dinner with a person from any time period in history?

~~~

By the way -- this blog is now being viewed each week by over 1000 individuals in Hong Kong and a growing number in mainland China.  It would be wonderful to know how they found me.  Just sayin'. 

 Also -- a Thank You to everyone who reads From Pencil Box to Keyboard.  

Turn Around

A total eclipse of the sun is a once in a lifetime thing and all, and before I actually witnessed it, I was not sure that I understood all the hoopla about it.  Someone told me that the one hotel and at least one of the BnBs in town were entirely booked months ahead of time. They saw it in the local newspaper apparently. It was expected all through the path of the eclipse that there would be an influx of people coming in to witness and they did. There were streets blocked off and parties all over the place.  Here -- a man at the grocery store told me that his neighbor had rented out space in his back yard at $50/tent. The upcoming eclipse was all over social media and TV news programs. It became a "happening".  I began to appreciate that apparently, for a lot people, a total eclipse is a really big deal. Pre-eclipse me, on the other hand, figured it would get dark for a few minutes and then it would get light again. And that is exactly what happened, but... the thing is... it became a really big deal for me too.  It was more than I anticipated.  It was awesome and I shared the experience with most special people and that made it even better. Bonus.  The gradual darkness, the sounds and the stillness, the excited voices off in the distance, the slow return to bright sunlight ... sort of a fresh start somehow.  

Also note worthy though - at least to me -- is the scientific explanation and random speculation about the meaning of it all. Science teachers, at all levels from elementary school through the graduate level had a heyday with the opportunity to explain and teach. I am happy for them. Interesting info there.  I read reports and listened to interviews. Good stuff.  I also read speculation about portals opening and still can’t understand what people are thinking, and there were other sorts of unusual (some might even say weird) things too. In addition -- on a most serious level, there were those who wondered about Biblical prophecy as well and had come to believe that the world would end in those few moments.  I hope they were not too disappointed that it did not.  At my age I have lost count of the number of times that some have predicted the end of the world. 

Perhaps people just need to have something different, extraordinary once in a while and, when it has passed, simply know that they will come out the other side of it just fine. I think people also relish an amazing shared experience that was unanticipated. I am thankful for it.

```

The thing is, after all is said and done and looking back on the pre-eclipse me, I am also wondering what is the matter with me? In anticipation of the eclipse, I had a song from the 80's replaying in my head.  Remember Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? I think of it as the "Turn Around" song.  Then as I watched news coverage from Indianapolis where NASA had set up one of their fancy telescopes, that song was playing loudly in the background and the newscaster even mentioned it.   What?  Are you singing it right now?  

Stick Season

In the lovely state of Vermont there is a celebration of what local inhabitants call stick season. This "fifth season" of each year fits sometime between late October and the first serous snows of December. It begins after the leaves fall and is celebrated as a quiet time to relax and prepare a bit for winter without all the summer visitors and autumn foliage viewing, camera toting tourists. It is a time to breathe before the skiers and other winter sports people invade as they tend to do. I learned this interesting tidbit from my son, who used to live in Rutland, Vermont where he worked at the nearby Killington Ski Resort. Yes ... he was big into skiing at that time and the stick thing is just one of the interesting tidbits he has learned along his way. It came to mind recently when he heard a song by Noah Kahan about Stick Season and he shared all this info with me when there was a lull in the conversation when he was visiting recently.  Anyway ...

In Pennsylvania I suggest that stick season is the early days of spring, like right now,  when you discover what has been forced to the ground after a winter of blustering winds and the temporary cover of snow. This year, sticks are prevalent - maybe more than usual. I can't help but notice, on my way to the mailbox at the road, that even the newly emerged earth worms are having to crawl around and over them on their way to wherever it is that they go while they are above ground. It must be annoying for them.  It is sort of annoying for me as I try to avoid stepping on them, but I do enjoy the annual picking up of sticks for some reason. I pick them up one by one using muscles I have not used since the last stick season and pay for that later with muscle ouchies and what I call "the good tired" at the end of a working outside type day.  I burn some of the sticks, cut some and save it for firewood and just roll some of the "too big to handle" ones off to the side to deal with later or never. Some of my neighbors have already told me that they have enough firepit wood for the season and not to share with them again this year.  My sticks apparently are similar to the annual sharing of extra zucchini squash from an over abundant harvest of an over productive garden. If you live around here, you know how that can be. We tend to be zucchini rich and we like to share. 

Ah Spring -- the time of sticks, kite flying, tax preparation, and digging out your guide to surviving pot holes.

One more thing....  Can anyone else smell the worms when they first appear in these early days?  Just curious...

Soul Nudge...

Ran across a FaceBook post this week that, I think, is an important reminder that we need to be nice to each other. The anonymous writer of the story used the term "soul nudge" -- the feeling that you must simply reach out to someone because you sense that they need you. You have no idea why they need you, but you get this feeling that you simply must reach out in some kind way.  As my wonderful Mom used to say -- be nice to people.  You never know what they are going through ... you never know what is in the bags of rocks that they carry with them -- rocks you cannot see, and... we all have our own bag. Remember that.  Then a few days later, a friend of mine recounted to me her experience in a check-out line at the local grocery store in which an exceedingly mean person in front of her in line was giving the clerk an exceedingly miserable experience.  Seriously... it's enough. And so -- this blog emerges...  "Soul Nudge".

Am thinking that I am not alone these days is finding myself in a world that has turned upside down a bit. Current events across the world are alarming. I check in with news about twice a day always wondering what new horror is emerging -- all the while hoping that something - anything- might be going right. I keep wondering how things could get worse ... and then they do.  Some days it is hard to maintain my optimistic view of life. I know there have been other times throughout history with great worldwide challenges. Perhaps this is just our time to face a few and see what we are made of. I guess the pandemic wasn't enough of a lesson. Then, on top of it all, there are the personal challenges we all have as well.  It’s exhausting. 

It is in this world of today where I am feeling the soul nudge the strongest.  I think others feel it too.  Hope so. I do see that some are giving other people some space to find their way through these times.  Then again -- others -- not so much. There is too much intolerance (and worse) across the board. Meanness abounds, let along even bigger "things". What harm would a bit of tolerance and kindness do? People need other people.  We are all in these times together no matter who or of what beliefs we are.

“Our life evokes our character.” (I so love these words of Joseph Campbell.) I personally feel that we should listen to and trust the "soul nudge".  ... even something as easy to give as a smile can change someone's day.  It's not a little thing. My mom also used to say that you cannot change or fix the problems of the world, but you can reach out to those you are able to touch. I am thinking that is her version of the "soul nudge". That woman definitely had a certain special wisdom.

Dust balls, spider webs, dirty windows, and ... my friend Margaret...

It's that time of year.  Spring is here  -- or at least that is what the calendar says.   The winter sun has changed ... intensified ... brightened somehow, and, once in a while, shines piercingly through dirty windows, highlighting spiderwebs and dust balls, as if the time change isn't enough of an insult to one's way of life.  Here come thoughts of Spring cleaning ...  ugh. The good thing though, for those of us in NW Pennsylvania, is that it is also time to put the screens back in, open the windows, and let fresh air inside (if it isn't snowing) - after months of the house being closed up tightly to survive the cold and ... the heat bills.  

I eagerly await for the lawn and pasture to "firm up" a bit -- still too soggy to really work outside even with Muck boots, but ... there is the holding promise of warmer days. You see -- here's the thing. I would rather work outside than inside... although, I do enjoy a clean house.  I am a picker up of sticks more than a chaser of the ever returning "dust bunny".  I prefer the light manual labor of outside. I hire out the big stuff or ignore it as much as possible.  As for inside, I have all the necessary tools for the essential chores in order to get them done as simply and quickly as possible... including an ever faithful Roomba for under the beds. Yes... it is outside for me -- where I can wander about and take my time with things after several months of being inside in front of the fireplace. I am a fresh air kind of person.

Further -- must mention.... I also have my good olde friend, Margaret, to help out with the annual cleanup of the lawn and pasture.  Margaret is a 2007 Trail Hand Bush Hog vehicle with an automatic dumper. She rests in my small barn all winter just waiting patiently under her tarp.  She is bright red. Her cargo bed will tolerate 1000 lbs. or so.  She is a hard worker. I can load up my battery operated saws and trimmers, pile assorted rakes and my Grandpa's Weeder into her cargo bed, take off into the back pasture or around the yard and Margaret makes light work of it all.  Good olde Margaret.  Don't know what I would do without her.  She doesn't go too fast like the side-by-sides of today... just sort of fast enough to get the job done and for the pre-drivers license grand to drive around too. She is a multi-purpose vehicle for sure. It's almost time.  Am looking forward to it. 

Happy Spring....   May the sun shine on you. I wish you gentle breezes as you go about your days.

Blessings in time...

I am blessed beyond my dreams and among my many blessings are three grandchildren ages 26, 17 and 13.  The thing is -- I don't understand.... How did they get to be so grown up so quickly?  It's remarkable. I look at them and still see them as children in my heart memories and yet -- they are not. It seems that it happened all of a sudden. I need to catch up. I had the same perplexing situation over time with my own children. Suddenly they are married, parents and ... poof... the years fly.  Wonderful, interesting and fun people all.  Like I said -- blessed beyond....

Was chatting with my granddaughter the other day and she asked me if I would like the viewpoint of a 13 year old. She was most serious about this. I responded that I would indeed like that, and I listened very carefully to her insightful perspective and realized, once again, how observant and smart she is.  My 26 yr old grandson called me from his car to check on me recently -- how nice is that? He was driving from Terre Haute, Indiana (where he lives) to some place in Illinois and took the time to call me. (I don't see him very often, so the call was especially welcomed.) Then a few days later my newly 17 year old grandson stopped in to do a few things for me that I probably (definitely) could have done myself but didn't want to... he stayed to chat a bit and didn't even seem to be in a hurry to be off.  Among other outstanding and positive traits, he has the most wonderful smile and ... shares it - something not always common at that age. Trust me. I know this having worked with teenagers for decades. Yes... I am blessed.  I am reminded in these memories that all moments of connection are important... each and every single one of them.

Time passes so quickly.  We all know that. We also all know that we need to cherish each day, each conversation, each shared moment, each blessing... gifts all. I am thinking that you, too, are thankful for your many blessings in time. It is those small moments of connection that are caught in memory. I also am thinking and reminding myself that it is important to share gratitude.  

 

" Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." (William Arthur Ward)

A lovely couple...

I guess I missed winter this year.  I only remember about three snows of any significance.  Odd.  I don't trust it.  It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. "In like a lion, out like a lamb" - only the other way around. Anyone who lives around here gets that.  No one in this corner of snow country trusts a light winter. We have seen snowflakes in June.

Here's the thing.  Mr. and Mrs. Goose have returned to my neighbor's pond... a sure sign of Spring.  I have been watching this lovely couple since 2018. They fly in sometime at the end of February or beginning of March, gently land, and stay about a week before heading north.  I like to think that they are resting up before flying over Lake Erie on their way to their summer home in Canada.  They spend a week here floating around and flying back and forth between what I call my horse pond on the east side of my pasture and the neighbor's pond right next to my driveway on the west side.  They are peaceful, gentle and absolutely beautiful creatures. They are the only two geese I have ever seen land on either pond and then hang around. They just rest, float, and relax. They ignore me. I am not offended by this even though I speak to them every day.

There is, however, a new concern now that there are bald eagles nearby (a nest just down the road), I hold my breath that the geese will have a safe and uneventful trip north.  The bald eagles are majestic and wonderful creatures as well, but not nearly as kind as geese. It is survival of the fittest... sort of like my whole yard, pasture, garden and the current status of my few remaining house plants.  And so it goes.... 

Imagine what our world might be....

What if our president had made certain that the laws that protect our boarders were enforced from his first day in office?

What if our president directed that taxpayer money were to be used to support American concerns over those of illegal immigrants?

What if those in power did not prosecute (or is it persecute) those with whom they disagree?

What if those in power followed the law and did prosecute those who committed crimes?

What if our president were aware of how his executive orders and policies make it difficult for hard working Americans?

What if our president had not shamed our country world wide beginning with the ill-planned and catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan and continued on with other assorted blunders in international relationships over time.

What if someone in power were paying attention to the large numbers of  military-aged Chinese men (with military haircuts and boots) crossing our borders illegally?

What if someone in power were paying attention to all the land near our military bases that has been purchased by China? (Or -- American farm land now owned by China?)

What if our president had made even the smallest effort to listen to the American people?  What if he were not so slow to action and stunningly short sighted?

What if our president had not destroyed so much of our trust in government with his DEI appointees over qualified people? 

What if our president were not so divisive and so wrong on so many things?  What if he apologized even once for his blunders?

What if our president were not such a stranger to the truth?

What if our president had prioritized Law & Order?

        ~~~~

What if all American people could believe that our votes counted?

What if all American people could know for absolute certain that it was not government over the people, but, as Abraham Lincoln said in his address to Gettysburg in 1863, a government of the people, by the people and for the people?

What if the American people didn't have to deal with the whole Hunter/Biden crime family "thing" that seems to grow darker at every turn?

What if it is not too late?

        ~~~~

Imagine what our world might be....  

One other point -- you may find Joe Rogan's interview with Dr. Phil McGraw (#2105) fascinating.... 

Americans Unite!

 

·        

   Recently I was editing some writing from August, 2021 and ran across a couple of phrases that were popular in the press at that time when people were still caught in the grips of Covid misinformation and beginning to trust no one.  As some smart person once said, "It was all so long ago and yet remarkably present."  There in print were the phrases:

          "Incompetent authoritarians"  and "League of insufferable Karens". 

    Today we might say similar things like "Botches by Biden" or "Idiot Mumbling by Politicians".  Karens have sort of exhausted their fifteen minutes except for on TikTok.

    Anyway  -- it got me to thinking.  You know what?  It's time that we, as Americans, put our foot down and make our voices heard, or if not our voices -- our power of silent rebellion. We have reached our breaking point. Come on, people!  You know that we, as Americans don't like to have "things" shoved in our faces and we will only take it for so long.  Just ask Budweiser, Nickelodeon, Disney, or Target.  Just look at how people are beginning to see what mass media really is and how it is trying to manipulate them.  Just ask any citizen how safe they feel under defund the police and no bail policies. How sick are we of people who think they have a right to block roads and scream at innocent people.  They are the worst kind of self-righteous bullies. They have no concept of legitimate protest. It is time to enforce laws. People are "getting away with murder".

    You know very well that we can make our "voices" heard if only in the strength of refusing to drink the Kool-Aid.  Think about our refusal to adopt the metric system that big government tried to force upon us and look at our growing rejection of self-checkouts or of all the electric cars that are sitting gathering dust... or is it rust?  Then there are the unfounded claims of climate change (follow the money) and on a more personal level -- that I, for one, still use "normal" lightbulbs and have managed to find enough to last me for the rest of my lifetime. I know that I am not alone in this. We are Americans. No one can tell us what appliances we can buy or how much water to use in our washing machine. We don't like to be pushed around... especially by a power-hungry big government or by politicians who have no idea of what it is to work for a living. Americans don't like to watch their tax money going to illegal immigrants or to fight foreign wars without being asked if we agree. It is, once again "taxation without representation". Submitting to abuse is not our nature. It is not our heritage to remain silent. We are a take charge nation. Let's not give that up.

    The growing frustration calls to mind that now famous phrase from the 1976 movie, Network.  "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this any more!"  This is why I am going to vote for the least political candidates for all positions come November.  Give me a candidate whose #1 concern is the American people and who is not all about power, a position in big government and control of the common man. Give me a candidate who is not all about self-interest and personal gain.  Give me a loyal American who cares about Americans. I wouldn't touch a politician who has never had a real job  -- not even with a ten foot poll. Look what voting out of ignorant hatred has wrought. Look at your life before Biden, DEI, and the corruption of mass media. Do not accept the rise to power of narrow minded liberals who would deny you your right to free speech, who tried to force you to take an experimental drug (and sometimes succeeded) and who did force you to wear a worthless mask and to isolate your loved ones.  Look what they have done to our children and the American Education system. 

    Observe. Compare. Don't accept corruption or incompetence. Analyze and think.  November will be here before you turn around twice. Are you with me? Please. Enough is enough. Take America back. We used to be the greatest country in the world. Respected. We can be that again. Pray that our votes will count. Look for people who will make that happen. Let your voice be heard. Start with local elections and move to state and national. Use common sense. The take back America process needs to be across the board -- from grassroots to national. Know that you tried and at least made your voice heard or your silent rebellion felt.

  

 

T

 

A  

C

Hibernate...

 

People who believe that winter is a time of peace -- a time to heal and rejuvenate do exist.  I am one of them really, but... I need snow and feeling like I am snuggied in to get there.  This El Nino winter just doesn't do it for me.  Further it hasn't been healthy cold.  You know... the kind of cold that kills all the germs and the pesky ticks... the kind of cold that settles in the first of October and slowly fades away by May or June.  Those of us who grew up in snow country and sometimes ice skated to school on the top of impressively large snow banks, have a hard time accepting these warm dry winters. Seriously there have been times lately when it is warmer and drier in the woods of Northwest Pa than it has been in Florida.  The snowbirds must be shaking their heads and wondering if it was worth the price of gas to go South.  

Now that I have written this, it will probably snow -- a thick blanket to cover everything.  You know -- the kind of snow that brings a special kind of quiet and clean. If it does, then it was worth writing the above paragraph. Bring it on.  As for the ice -- I can do without that. I could do without blizzards as well.  I guess, though, you can't have it both ways.  If only...

 

Lights! Sirens! Bullhorns!

 Don't fall for it!

Microsoft does not freeze your computer or send warnings by doing so.

If this happens to you... Be Aware! Shut your computer down! The Microsoft Security Alert that locks your computer appears to be real, but it is not. The sirens, flashing lights and repeated message to call 855 603-2612 is an attempt to get you to let them take over your computer so that they can steal personal information and install malware. Do not call this number.  The robotic message warns you not to shut down your computer -- repeatedly.  Here's my advice. Do a forced shut down on your computer immediately. Just shut it down. Press the off button.  You may have to do that more than once to shake off the scammers' freeze/lock. 

I repeat -- Do not call the emergency number offered.  The scammers only want access to your computer to install malware and to steal information, including your passwords to everything. Once they are in, you are done.  In order to get rid of it you may lose everything you have on your computer and they may have all your banking and tax information as well as all your passwords and other important information.

How do I know this?  Because this happened to me a few years ago and I called the number. I hung up on them shortly thereafter because I became suspicious, but still... I wasn't sure how much information they had stolen.  I forget all of the details now, but when the real Microsoft was helping get rid of the malware, I lost everything I had saved on my computer.  Everything -- including a video of me and my Mom.  I think I may have written a blog about it way back then. Anyway -- They are back! 

Long story short -- it happened again yesterday when I was working on tax preparation of all things.  I did not call the number, I did the forced shut down (had to do it twice) and then I felt compelled to run security scans all afternoon, to find, thankfully that my computer is clear of malware and viruses.  Phew...  

Just don't want you to become a victim.  Plus -- I hate scammers. 

Don't read this at bedtime....

Questions...

Why are many politicians of the Democratic party who are in positions of power today so openly and obviously concerned about the potential retribution of new leadership in 2024?  The choice to use the word retribution is theirs, by the way. Methinks they "doth protest too much". Simply stated retribution is punishment for wrong doing.  Perhaps these politicians should be more concerned about righting the wrongs they have done than about fear mongering. Is their anticipation of retribution an admission of guilt about directed, on-purpose crimes or merely guilt about mistakes with major consequences that they were too short-sighted to anticipate? They admit neither, but we, the American people, see them both -- or at least some of us do. Perhaps these "leaders" need to be punished and they know it. I notice, by the way, that they often accuse others of doing things that they, themselves have done or are currently doing. It leaves a bitter taste if one is on the sidelines watching helplessly or seemingly so.

Why are so many "journalists" today afraid to dig deep to the root of a story? What do they gain being in cahoots with these wrong doers, mentioned above, and with those who bury and twist the truth? Is it laziness? Greed? Fear? Is it yet another case of "follow the money"? What happened to researching and writing about real events with truth - all the while using the most objective perspective as possible? What happened to "Seek Truth and Report It" (from the Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics)?

There's more ... have we seen enough of DEI, Big Government and the aftermath of both yet? 

Is there such a thing as a hero to the rescue? Ever?

Is there such a thing as a fair and uncorrupt election? 

~~~~

These are just a few of the things I try not to think about when I am trying to fall asleep at night. This is why I sometimes have self-imposed "news" blackouts. This is why I am compelled, once in a while, to write about the truth I have come to know and to ask questions that are hard to answer.

Boys and their shovels...

 

Just happened to look out a window one snow foggy morning this past week to see a utility truck patiently waiting while two men seemed to be exploring the area below the stone wall at the bottom of my front yard -- one man digging away where my property meets the road. They other man was giving what I assume were digging instructions, then he would squat down and move things around before motioning for the digging to begin again.  They were both focused and intent ... would dig a while, stop and look it over, dig some more, talk again. It became a pattern. I began to wonder if they had remembered the warning to "Call Before You Dig", but ... they had on those cool vests with glow in the dark stripes, so I figured they knew what they were doing. This went on for a several minutes. (I got an entire load of laundry folded while I watched them.) I think the digging guy even took a "phone photo" once -- or perhaps he just checked the time.  Anyway -- it made me stop for a moment and think about men and boys and their bond with shovels.  Not sure this bond exists with all men really, but boys, in my experience, always have digging at the top of their fun things to do. Must mention that I always think I would like to dig, but when I get started -- not so much.  It's hard work!  I have great respect for diggers of the dirt no matter how old they are.  Moving on...

I had a garden when my kids were little and we ate everything as it came on – nothing left to bring into the house and have for dinner, let alone preserve for winter. I had to buy by the bushel to do that. Anyway -- the snow peas were our fave. I had great hopes, though, for the Idaho potatoes because they seemed to be safe underground.  Should have known better.  My son and two cousins of like mind dug them all up early on in the growing season. Having discovered their treasure-- smiling and all sweaty dirty,  as little boys are apt to be after heavy digging, the trio came galumphing around the corner of the house dragging a small wagon load of dirt and mini potatoes – so proud.  The potatoes looked like those little ones that are preserved in jars. My sister and I just looked at each other and laughed. So much for visions of dinners where the main course was to be home grown huge Idaho potatoes with a variety of different offerings as toppings. I would have to resort to "store bought" for those and everyone who has ever had a garden knows that "homegrown" is always better.

Ah -- little boys and their shovels.  Those three always liked to dig – even if there was nothing to dig for. Always a treasure hunt with no map.  I had holes scattered about in strange places around the property for many years.  You sort of had to watch your step – those boys, especially my son, were like groundhogs as well – heavily into tunneling. Come winter, my son would have won any competition in tunneling through snow banks hands down. He would dig for hours. I sometimes took food and water out to him.  I will have to have a conversation with him the next time he comes to visit and ask him if he wants to dig out a few thousand dandelions... or perhaps plant some Idaho potatoes.  Anyway... not one single one of them grew up to be a professional hole digger, but I bet all three have a favorite shovel in their garage, and I bet it is dirty.  

Western Clipper Winters

Ran across an old friend of sorts the other day and spent some time reminiscing about long past winter adventures.  I had gone down the steps to my basement to find something (I forget what now) and there stood my friend leaning against a far wall as if it were waiting... and the memories came flooding back.

There it was -- my Western Clipper, the perfect wooden sled with metal runners. It is now definitely a "little" worse for the wear -- not much red paint left on the frame and runners, and the steering rope is long gone. I usually give my "vehicles" names (my current Wrangler's is Earl), but if I named this old friend, I have forgotten. I am sorry that I don't remember. A good friend deserves better.

Anyway -- for some reason, I have a strong sense that some of you probably have (or had) this same sled and remember how you waited for the perfect sledding day - for packed or just enough crusty snow that could handle those metal runners - snow that would enable them to slide perfectly all the way to the bottom of the hill. You could steer with your hands if lying on your belly, or if sitting, your feet or the steering rope worked just as well. You needed a good running start or a strong skootch or two either way. A good ride was worth the trudge back up the hill to make the "run" even better.  Ah winter -- it meant different things in those days. No easy-to-slide plastic snow saucers back then. 

That same evening ...  after dark, I walked through the snow to close a pasture gate that the wind had set banging and thought to myself -- this would be the perfect crusty snow to handle that Clipper for sure. It would fly smoothly along its way ... crust on top of a solid base - a little more powder on top would help, but not totally necessary.  (If you live in snow country or ever have, you know what that means.) Anyway -- after getting that pesky gate latched(had to break some ice to do it), I walked back to the comfort of my home and sat in front of the fire. It was lovely. 

Sometimes reminiscing is the way to go. 

Snow People Know... Snow Birds Remember...

The weather the past week or so has been very snowy and bitter cold. If you live or have lived in snow country, you know what those days are like. It can make life difficult.

The snow does make a special kind of quiet though –a nice quiet. It surrounds ... sort of like a gentle hug.  I especially notice it when the roads are heavily covered and the snow is not yet plowed. Vehicles sort of glide on by.  The snow silence envelopes. 

If it is especially cold, your footsteps make a clean, crunchy sound, but if there is enough snow  -- there is a wonderful silence even as you walk along -- kicking up powdery snow as you make a path. Snow people know what I mean.  Once again – I feel sorry for people who have never experienced that part of winter.  

I think the whole world needs some moments of total quiet now and again.   The cold, fresh air doesn't hurt either.  

Looking on the bright side.... Happy Monday.  (Current temperature  6º .  Feels like -7º)

Scraps...

The truth is ... I forget "stuff" ... sometimes "important stuff" ... so... I write things down on whatever is handy and end up with a pile of scraps of paper with words on them that I sometimes have difficulty interpreting. (I also sometimes carry a notebook around with me when out of the house just in case I want to jot down descriptions of the interesting things I see or ideas that pop into my head  -- all this for future consideration. Do the words "total nerd" come to mind?)

So today is the day to consider scraps. There are 15 in the pile and I have divided them into categories. I moved a few to the side right away -- like all the recipes that I probably will never try, the notes that I have no idea what they mean or why I wrote them, and the clippings that I may turn into blogs at some point like the one from a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan that is about combatting negative chatter inside your head. Anyway -- the categories for today are as follows... Interesting Words and Phrases, and Thought Provoking Direct Quotations.  (Oh -- I have decided to spare you my latest list of grievances against President Biden ... at least for now. That list remains in the current stack of scraps and it is long and detailed.)

Anyway -- starting with words and phrases -- Doromania (the unusual urge to give gifts), Cattywampus (something that is crooked or askew), and Coddiwomple (to head purposefully toward no specific destination) are interesting to consider. Did you know that Nurdle is the word for the "blob of toothpaste on the end of your toothbrush"? (My remarkable daughter sent me a meme about that fun tidbit of info.) "Weather Sissy" is self-explanatory and a good friend's brilliant term that definitely applies to me.  I also need to find some way to work "clutching her pearls", "slap upside the head", and "it seems like 100,000 o'clock" into my writing somehow.  I also like "To be Woke is to be a Whining, Wimpy  Weakling". (I made that one up myself when in an alliterative and ornery mode -- and tired of the Woke propensity for name calling. I left out the word Wuss because some find it offensive.) Is turn about fair play? I think so. The Woke have called me worse.  Moving on...

The direct quotes are the most fun for me even if I have no idea where they come from like "call a snail a snail" or  "Jim compared his 'To Do" list and his "Not a "F...ing Chance" list only to discover they were one and the same".

The most thought provoking of all the quotations in my scrap pile, however, is this one by an unknown someone (maybe Schopenhauer) and often misattributed to Mohandas Gandhi:

        First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you,         then you win. 

And finally... perhaps my most favorite ... are these words of Isabelle Allende:

      Maybe the most important reason for writing is to prevent erosion          of time, so that memories will not be blown away by the wind.                Write to register history and name each thing. Write about what              should not be forgotten. 

~~~~~

Thus the scrap pile is sorted out a bit -- at least for today.

Cardinals ...

I was walking by the windows in my dining room at some point during the Holidays, and noticed that there were three beautiful cardinals flitting from branch to branch in the little tree just outside.  It was a sudden moment of sunshine -- sort of a rare burst of bright light in these winter days in NW Pennsylvania.  The cardinals were stunning.  As I stood there watching them and wondering if they were watching me as well, I thought about all the stories I have heard about the significance of the appearance of cardinals and ... so, of course, I had to do a little reading on the subject.  

There are several "theories" about the appearance cardinals, at any time, but especially during Holiday times. Some call those theories lore or wishful thinking. I call them somehow comforting and reassuring. When digging around I actually found an article about the sightings of "Christmas Cardinals" and the significance of them. Anyway ...  some people believe that they are simply a happy sign -- others that cardinals bring cherished memories -- a reminder that loved ones live on and are somewhere/somehow near when you are missing them the most.

Interestingly, the lore of various Native American tribes offers sort of a mixed view.  Cardinals may be a harbinger of rain or of sun  - sort of weather forecasters.  Other Native American tribes associate them with good things like love, devotion, loving relationships, and good fortune.

Further... I read that there are those who even say that cardinals are messengers from Heaven that are bringing comfort and love, and that seeing males -- the bright red ones -- means that you are to be blessed with good luck and fortune.  

Now the sad thing, at least for me, is that cardinals do not live across the entire world.  Oh, how I wish they did.  

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.

 Just finished watching President Biden's 1st speech of the 2024 election campaign.  I had watched some of the preliminary commentary on CNN as well as MSNBC to get a feel of the direction of coverage to be expected.  I did not watch follow-up commentary on any channel.  

Biden has not been my President, but I found the speech to be impressively strong -- if one were inclined to believe him.  The speech was also powerfully angry, vitriolic, hateful and emotional.  He spoke, not of any positive accomplishments of his Presidency, but rather focused on trashing Donald Trump  - at times misquoting him by taking words out of context and leaving out the important points of what Trump actually said. In this his speech was strong in its divisiveness.  He is not the President of all American people; that's for sure. He is not a unifier of the people as he promised he would be. 

He also planted the negative seeds of fear to discredit his main opponent by implying that Donald Trump has power hungry Nazi-like tendencies. It is clear that this will be the direction of his campaign. So Sad.  Biden loves the power that comes from fear mongering.  We have seen this in him before. When I look at the controlling big government of his administration, I shudder to think what else may be destroyed in another four years of such short-sighted, slow to act and react administration led by a self-admitted plagiarist who is, in my opinion a weakening, not too bright, easily led man who really isn't as much about the American people as he would like you to believe.

I could go on and on about this and that, but let me just stop with a mention of the irony of Biden speaking about the power of the vote in a Democracy when it appears that "his people" are doing everything possible to prevent his opposition from even being on the ballot.

At this point I am just wondering who wrote his speech.  It was not like the President of the beach chair, ice-cream cones, and naps that I have seen for the past three years. 

Scat Cat! or ... Cat Scat

My son, always a fan of a good cup of coffee, suggested that I write this blog about my reaction to a fun gift he received for Christmas.  Simply stated it was a bag of Kopi Luwak coffee, described on the bag as the Rolls Royce of coffees. It is also described as having a "complex aroma". Remember that as you continue to read. 

The tongue in cheek title he suggested for this blog was something like... "Cat poo coffee: a journey through culinary culture". The title that I first thought of was, shall we say, less tactful.  I wish you could see my facial expression as I type this. Anyway -- he also texted a picture of his hand holding a cup of this coffee.  His caption was ... "Yum!"  Now the package also states that the coffee has hints of caramel and chocolate.  I need to ask him about that. I didn't, at that time, because I was thinking of other things.

Now you may already know this.  I did not. Here goes --- there are coffee beans that travel through the digestive system of civets, commonly called civet cats, that then are "passed"/defecated whole, after which they are carefully gathered, washed thoroughly and roasted. People pay good, hard earned money for this poo/poop coffee.  Interestingly enough there is a fascinating story on how this all first began.  I will leave you to do your own research however -- even though it is a marvelous story with a David vs Goliath type ending - definitely worth its own blog, one that I most likely will not be writing.

Here's the thing -- I simply find myself wondering 🤔 --  who was the first person to notice that these mongoose like creatures were eating coffee beans and defecating these beans still whole and thought to himself --  "Hmm... interesting. I think I will pick up all this "poop", wash it, roast it, and have a nice cup of coffee." Then again - maybe it happened by accident. But -- the process continues. It has become successful business. Seriously -- people are fascinating.

Note 1:  A civet cat, a cat like creature but really more similar to a mongoose, is not really a cat, even though they are called that.  Also... did you know that the the plural of mongoose is mongeese or mongooses.  I prefer mongeese because I find that fun. Imagine flying mongeese. 

Note 2:  The company that makes this Kopi Luwak poo coffee, a product of Indonesia, is called Monkey Business which caused some confusion as to the source of the coffee beans.  I, among others, first thought the poop was Monkey poop, but we were wrong.  Duh.  Although ... Monkey poop is a much more fun title than ... Cat Scat ... .