News Flash

Is it accurate to say that all the major news networks are located in New York City? If there is one that is not, I can't think of it.  Anyway ... I was listening to a news broadcast out of New York City recently and the news guy kept using the phrase -- Everyone knows... Have you noticed how opinionated the "news" has become? (I bet you have.)  Well news to him...  not everyone knows.  Maybe, just maybe... he doesn't know. Maybe he lives in a bubble that sometimes doesn't come near the real world .. at least not my real world.  I emailed him to suggest as much and did not receive a reply.  Imagine that...

Now -- related to this NYC frame of mind and self-centeredness ... according to Wikipedia, Upstate New York is all of New York state that lies north and northwest of the metropolitan area of New York City. So that means that part of the utmost bottom of a huge state, that is a mere 6 miles from where I live in NW Pennsylvania, is considered Upper New York State.  Totally illogical to me. I think of Upper NY as where I used to live just a few miles from the Vermont border. Bet someone from NYC thought up the Upper thing.  Talk about being self-impressed.  Talk about minimalizing an entire state by lumping all of it together in a term that just means it's not New York City.  Hmmm...  No wonder most of the TV news networks think and talk like New York is the center of the universe. They think it is.  I've got news, folks ... for the news folks ... it's not. In fact -- news broadcasters are trained to talk like we do here in this little pocket of Pennsylvania.  Also in fact -- people are apparently leaving the Big Apple in droves and I totally get it. I am thinking that many of the people who work for all the networks would leave if they could. Once in a while a viewer gets a glimpse of that.  Personally, I wouldn't go to New York City again for any reason -- way too peopley for me and apparently it smells worse than ever. Plus, from what I hear and see on those very same news networks,  not only is it dirty, crowded, and noisy..., it is also VERY DANGEROUS.  Let's face it -- I am a rural person. I cherish clean, relative safety, & peace ... among other nice things. I like not rushing around every minute, being the only one at the traffic light, no crowds and ... smiling at and making eye contact with people just because I think it's a positive human "thing" to acknowledge others. It's good for both sides of the exchange. People in big cities, tend to look at their feet or vaguely off into the distance.  Ever notice that?  Sad.

Having said that -- it is important to remind New Yorkers, on TV and perhaps beyond that, that just because I don't live in NYC, it doesn't mean that I am less than they are.  In fact -- I think, probably, that I am in way better shape than they are in many ways. I have at times thought that if I were dropped off in a city and had to find my way that it would not be a problem.  In fact that sort of happened to me one time in New York City when I was 17.  I survived beautifully.  On the other hand, if a city slicker were dropped off ... say ... in my back pasture,  I am thinking they would be begging for help at my back door in no time -- especially if the neighborhood bear made an appearance.  Actually one harmless ground hog, deer, wild turkey, a murder of gliding crows, or the occasional cayote or fox might do the trick as well and send them running to civilization such as it is here.  And then -- there are the swooping eagles ... or the sounds of a hunting season. Yes, a lot of unknowns for them ...  So many things ... like tall grass or the occasional pine cone on the ground,  untrimmed trees,  pickup trucks in massive quantities, functional clothing, etc.  -- all perhaps foreign to the die hard city dweller. I know for a fact that some of them have never seen a dairy cow or even touched a horse.  Imagine never hearing the sounds of a goat. What a sad way to go through life... in my opinion.

Further...The air I breathe is cleaner. I can afford food or even grow some of it and put it up for the winter.  Further -- housing is also way cheaper and comes with way more square footage. I hear birds singing every day. My family is safe and I don't have to rely on scary public transportation.  Oh and there is the fact that I don't have to worry about a Democratic Socialist, with impractical and big government control ideas, winning a mayoral race. It's a whole different world out here in the wilderness.  People are more in charge and tend to respect others (many of them even know their neighbors).  Also important to mention is the tendency here to respect the environment as well. I have not seen anyone poop on the street or even litter in ... well ... ever.  And to think they think we model ourselves after them.  News Flash!  We don't. We sort of watch and wonder -- how they could be letting this happen to themselves? Are they stupid? Maybe we can blame it on air pollution?  They even think that a 6" dusting of snow is a blizzard.  Like I said -- stupid... or perhaps self-centered narrowminded ignorance?

Ever wonder what would happen if just one of the major "news" networks would move out of the New York bubble?  That would be interesting for sure. Wonder if that will ever happen?  I doubt it.  Maybe there is something in the old phrase "Misery loves company".   One thing for sure... I don't want them to move here. They might bring some of their city slicker mentality with them.  Get enough of that just watching them on TV. Plus their shoes look very uncomfortable and impractical, and... I particularly dislike tight, sleeveless or off the shoulder dresses that look like they belong at a cocktail party rather than a newsroom.  Just sayin'. ( I sent an email about those dresses one time and didn't hear back on that either.  Surprise... surprise....  I guess I just got written off as a dumb hillbilly.  I sort of love that, actually.  Go ahead  -- underestimate me.  I am in good company. I even know how to do survival stuff.)

So Close

Whether you call it an end to war, diplomatic efforts, or a ceasefire, peace agreement, a treaty here and there, or an economic normalization agreement, we are getting closer to world peace... So close...

1. Egypt and Ethiopia
2. Serbia and Kosovo
3. Armenia and Azerbaijan
4. Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
5. Iran and Israel
6. India and Pakistan
7. Cambodia and Thailand
8. Israel and Hamas

What do these situations have in common?  A world sick of deadly, destructive turmoil, the Team of Donald J. Trump and ... the man himself ... US President, Donald J. Trump.  Let us pray now for peace between Ukraine and Russia. I am thinking that, deep down, they want peace as well.  There needs to be an end to the killing and devastation all across the world.     Global Peace   Imagine that for a moment.

~~~~

Am watching the release of the hostages in Gaza as I type...

Can't help but think of this song -- a global anthem for peace that will probably play in your head for a while -- at least if you are anything like me who starts singing in my head after the first six words.

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me;

let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. 

With God our creator, children all are we.

Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.

With every step I take, may this be my solemn vow:

To Take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. 

                                                                (Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller 1955) 

 (Are Ukraine and Russia on the horizon? May they build on success.)

Thanks for listening....

I understand errors.  I make them all the time. I am quite good at it. What I do not understand is why I don't always trust my gut when making decisions.  About a year ago now I purchased a new washer and dryer.  At the time I was tempted to go with another brand that I had never purchased before, but allowed myself to fall back into a comfort zone and purchased a familiar brand instead.  Big mistake. They don't make them like they used to. I tell my kids and grandkids to always trust their gut! Apparently I do not follow my own advice.

This is the issue as I see it .... What is up with new appliances? They are way too techy techy.  They think they should be able to tell you how to do your laundry, but ... they are wrong.  I get to decide how much water I want my clothes to slosh around in, and if I change my mind for any reason, I should be able to change the settling  -- even after I hit Start.   It seems like nothing can be changed … not one single setting …. Once you click Start, everything is set it stone – no going back. 

Sometimes the machine even locks you out. I particularly hate that.  You find a dirty sock on the floor between the bedroom and the laundry room and go to throw it into the washer and it won't let you open the lid for even a nanosecond.  It seems that if you want to change something, like water level or temperature, you have to attempt to start over --  wave your hands in the air, speak softly, make clicking sounds with your tongue and turn around three times before you hit Start again and then when that doesn’t work… you try something else until something finally does. One must never let the machine win. Never.  I don’t want to go as far back as a ringer washer or washing clothes down by the creek,  but seriously – something without stupid sensors would be nice. I mean I am smarter than they are and I still cannot figure out how to use many of the features of my phone -- this after several years of carrying it around with me. Duh!

One last thing.  It also annoys me that the buzzer on my "new" dryer doesn’t work any more, so I never know when my clothes are dry – have to set an alarm on my watch so I can get them before the wrinkles set in. (I have come to the point where I no longer/very rarely iron.) Wonder if I can YouTube how to fix that buzzer problem? Is YouTube a verb? Did I already try to do that? I am thinking I did and the wires looked scary, so I gave up the idea.  Will check again.

Old fashioned or just plain old? Could be both.  I long for simpler times and simpler appliances. I don't want a smart TV or a smart car  either.  Even my Jeep is too smart for its britches. They think they are so smart.  They are not.   Further -- I am sometimes not as smart as I think I am either. It's a frustrating spiral. The purchase of these appliances is a case in point.

Thanks for listening....

Crazy Crow Lady

Does anyone else find it odd that a group of crows is called a Murder?  I've read a couple of different opinions of how this might have originated, but neither of them seems to make much sense really. Even odder to me is that a flock of ravens is called an Unkindness.  Go figure. Guess it is just one of those sort of nutty things about language. Personally,  I prefer family or flock. Anyway -- 

For the past several months my yard and pasture have become popular with crows (at least I think they are crows) and I have decided, after a bit of research, that I would rather be their friend than their enemy.  After all, it's their world too -- just as much as it is mine.

Having the time to explore, I have found out a few interesting things about crows. Surprising to me -- they recognize and remember faces, make tools and hold grudges which to me are all good reasons to make friends with them.  They are, apparently, very intelligent creatures in a lot of ways. Some have even been known to bring gifts of shiny objects to people they like. Apparently the crows around me do not like me or have that gift giving tendency... yet.

I do talk nicely to them, but I have not gone so far as to give them names, basically because I haven't figured out a way to tell one from another. I mean I can't even tell the difference between a crow and a raven. Another thing  ...  I wonder why I have never seen any baby crows  -- just an impressive increase in the numbers of these large black birds.   I do feed them once in a while, but not enough to make them dependent on me. Another reason I don't feed them on a regular basis is because I want them to eat bugs and pesky rodent like creatures that I would rather not meet. Plus there is the fact (just in case they are staying the winter) that I fear that I would not be a trustworthy food source in the snowy, icy months as I tend to hibernate. I don't want them mad at me.  I am totally outnumbered and their numbers continue to grow. Either that or -- they have a lot of company passing through.  Not sure which. 

I wonder where they sleep? Apparently they come together in the evenings into communal  groups -- especially in the cold months. Research indicates that they are monogamous and live with their offspring for a while as a family (I don't like calling them a Murder).  I also don't know what their nests look like and have never seen any large nests in the trees of my pasture and nearby woods.  I am curious.

It's odd really, but I find them to be friendly and in a way  -- protective somehow.  I like sharing space with them. I have potential to become the crazy crow lady.  I feel it. 

Things could be worse.

Update  -- I fear that all the crows that were hanging around are of the migratory type -- haven't seen any  since the day after I wrote this blog.  Drat. Hopefully they will be back in the Spring.