New Year 2007

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow (part deux)

Another storm and another 17 inches of snow. All major roads in and out of town closed. Stores on Main Street are closed except for the grocery store, the hardware store, and both video stores. A few photos of the storms aftermath at my house.


My husband cleaning snow off the porch with Kate helping him. Duke and visiting neighbor dog wishing they were on my side of the gate.


Compare this photo with the one taken last week. Definitely more snow but about the same number of birds in the tree.


If Duke figures out that he can jump that fence easily now, we are in big trouble.



The drifts out on the sidewalk and near the street are the worst. Nothing there to stop the wind that is blowing strong and pushing snow around in front of it.

Am I Blue?

I'm in the midst of post-Christmas let down this week. I think it is because we (my husband and I) stayed home this year. It has been relaxing but at the same time I miss my brother and sisters. They seem so far away this year. My brother is in San Diego and one sister is in Cleveland. My sister who has been living in Amsterdam is in New York City right now and seems farther away than when she was overseas. Even my baby sister who lives in Denver seems to be a greater distance away from me this year than normal. Now with another large storm bearing down on us I am sure to feel even more isolated.

Non-holiday Trivia

-A hamlet is a village without a church and a town is not a city until it has a cathedral.

The above quote is interesting to me because I've always wondered if I lived in a hamlet, village, or a town. Now I know I don't live in a hamlet because there are churches here but what am I living in? A village or a town? How does a village make the jump to being called a town? As for the difference between a town and a city? I"ve always thought the difference is in the way cars are parked on each one's main street. Towns have diagonal parking spaces- where the cars are parked nose into the curb. In cities the parking spots are lined up one after another next to the curb with each car's nose right behind the rear end of the car in front of it.

If asked, since we have diagonal parking spaces on Main Street, I would say I live in a town but in the phone book we are listed as a city. I still say I live in a town but one with delusions of grandeur.

That Holy Thing

-George MacDonald (1824-1905)

They were all looking for a king
To slay their foes and lift them high:
Thou cam'st, a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.

O Son of Man, to right my lot
Naught but Thy presence can avail;
Yet on the road Thy wheels are not,
Nor on the sea Thy sail!

My how or when Thou wilt not heed,
But come down Thine own secret stair,
That Thou mayst answer all my need-
Yea, every bygone prayer.

Letters To Santa

The five- year-olds in the elementary school kindergarten class were asked to write letters to Santa.

Dear Santa,
How are you doing? Are your reindeer in top shape? If you get the chance I would like a remote controlled truck. Also a motorbike if you could carry it. Maybe a four wheeler, also if you could get me a army man truck.
Love you Santa,
Chandaler

Dear Santa,
I would like a toy car to drive around in. I would also like a motorcycle.
Love,
Jorge

Dear Santa,
I would like a Hot Wheels race car for Christmas. Happy Christmas! I am going to leave you some chocolates on Christmas Eve. Please open the doors because we do not have a chimney. Could you bring my Mom some jewelery? She likes jewelry a lot. My brother would like a play horse named Butterscotch for Christmas. My Dad would like more Christmas decorations for our house.
Love,
Emmanuel

Dear Santa,
I hope you are feeling well. How is Mrs. Claus? How are your reindeer doing? I've been a very good girl this year. I'm going to leave you lots of cookies and milk. I want a computer, drum and a doll that can talk. I hope you don't get too cold on your trip around the world.
Love,
Shalyn

Dear Santa,
How does Rudolph's nose glow? And I would like a 12 gauge shotgun, a double gauge shotgun, a flip cell phone, a black fish with a tank, a bull (cow), the book Snow Lamb, a long dart gun, a football beanbag, and a hamster with a cage.
Love,
Andy

Dear Santa,
Is Rudolph's nose still red and bright? Are you OK? I will leave you cookies and milk. You can get in my Mom's ceiling where her closet is! I will leave you a Pepsi for breakfast! Can you sew yourself up if you get an ouchie? When is your birthday? What I want from Christmas is... Barbie dolls that dance, stuffed animals named Stamping, Carebear dolls, princess dress, tiara and jewelery.
Thank you Santa for everything!
Love,
Abbi

Dear Santa,
I would like a Bratz Diamond Makeover doll. When you come to my house, I will have chocolate chip cookies and milk for you and carrots for your reindeer. Please say "Hi" to Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. I would like you to an especially big "Hi" to Rudolph!
Love,
Shelby

Dear Santa,
I want a real cellphone, a Barbie doll, baby doll, a real car, make-up, rings, earrings, and a stereo, crayon tracer to make a picture, fair dog that barks (I think she means a toy that she saw at the county fair last August), world ball, football, beanbag, that is it. Thank you for the stuff. How are your elves? How is Mrs. Claus? A real microphone head set. That is it.
Love,
Maddy

Dear Santa,
How is Rudolph and the other reindeers? Are you good and fat for Christmas? I want a digital Barbie camera. Bring me things that you think would best for me please. I am going to leave juice, cookies and milk, and carrots for the reindeer. I have a chimney that you can come in through. I won't have a fire, though. When are you going to have a baby? I have a Christmas tree for presents to go under. I have stocking so please fill them to the top. I want some markers and a coloring book. Can you bring me a doll of Frosty the Snowman? How is Mrs. Claus? Have the elves been good? Is Rudolph's nose really bright?
Love,
Lindsey

Hi Santa, how are you doing? How's Rudolph? For Christmas I would like a plastic snowman, a four wheeler, a toy dinosaur and a rubber turkey. When you come down the chimney there will be cookies and milk.
Love,
KC


May you all get that rubber turkey you asked for this year. Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Digging The Snow

I drove the truck up to the grocery store this morning without my sunglasses on and had to squint the whole way. I did not squint just because the sun was too bright. I squinted because my eyelids refused to open up all the way. I had light hitting my eyeballs from every direction imaginable and they did not like it one bit. I forgot how bright a sunlit winter day is after a big snow storm. I remedied that problem on my next outing.

Later in the morning I took Kate with me on a walk up to the Post Office. I wasn't sure if there would be any mail today but knew that stretching my legs after being cooped up for two day would feel good. Kate enjoyed it too since we walked through a couple of alleys to get there. Better smells in the alleys. After we left the Post Office we walked up and down both sides of Main Street, stepping into the street whenever we came across a section of the sidewalk that had been cleared of ice by the use of salt. The streets are snow packed and icy in some spots so a few time we both had to do some careful stepping.

I spent part of the afternoon shovelling out the driveway. If you look at the photo in the post below you can see a chain link gate in the back of the picture. That area of snow in front of the gate clear up to the house is all concrete. Today it was warm enough for me to work without a coat on. I put my big sun hat on my head, my gloves on my hands, and the ear buds of my MP3 player in my ears and started shoving snow around. I like shoveling snow. It's one of those jobs that allows you to see the results right away. Shovelling snow is also one of those jobs that is so repetitive it becomes a walking meditation. All I focused on was the movement of shovel and weight of the snow. By the end of the job I was in a kind of trance and it took a few seconds to return to complete consciousness. It is kind of like sleep walking but not so deeply.

All in all, a good day.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Hanukkah Blizzard Of 2006

We are looking at blizzard conditions out here on the plains. Went to bed last night with cold rain falling. Woke up in the middle of the night to heard hard pellets of sleet hitting the bedroom window. Woke up this morning to find 5-6 inches of snow on the ground and my porch. I had to push some it out of the way with the storm door when I let the dogs out. This storm has closed Interstate 70, between Denver, CO and Colby, KS. Two hundred thirty-four miles of road shutdown. The wind must be blowing badly for that to happen. The weather people say this thing could dump up to 24 inches of snow before it moves on and it is expected to sit over the area for the next 24 to 48 hours. Once the winds really start blowing here...

The good thing about this storm is that it is a wet and heavy snow that will produce plenty of moisture for the farmer and that we will have snow on the ground for Christmas. Color me gone. I going to go play in the snow.

More Proof That My Dog Is Goofier Than Your Dog

My husband took Duke hunting yesterday and returned home while I was out picking up the mail. I saw the truck parked in front of the house as I was walking back and when I was about 3/4 of a block away I watched as my husband stepped through the front gate and walked over to the truck. He was carrying Duke's orange chest protector in his hand. When he got to the truck bed he put the vest in the bed. That was different. Most of the time Duke's chest protector is hung up on a hook that is attached to the laundry room wall.

By this time I had reached the alley and could see Duke in the yard. He was not wearing his collar and his head, ears, front chest and legs were wet. Great, I thought, he has rolled in something dead. But he hadn't. What he had done was find a skunk and chase it. By the time my husband got to him Duke had caught the skunk by the tail and was spinning him around. As my husband said,"Duke was giving him an airplane ride." The skunk did not enjoy his airplane ride and sprayed Duke until Duke finally dropped him. Then he scurried away as fast as he could go.

Duke was wet because my husband had used Nature's Miracle on him to remove the skunk odor and was now waiting for it to dry. After my husband finished telling me what had happened I looked back at Duke. I have never see a dog look more pleased with himself in my life.

Congratulate Me

I am Time magazine's Person of the Year. Every year Time picks the person who "for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year." And this year it is me. This means I am joining past "winners" like Charles Augustus Lindbergh (first person picked), Gandhi, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, Chiang Kai-Shek, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth II, Pope John XXIII, Martin Luther King Jr., King Faisal, and Anwar Sadat (check out the complete list here.) Cool, huh?

They picked me. Not George Bush, or Muqtada al-Sadr, or Kim Jong II, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or even the members of the UN who have ignored the genocide that is going on in Dafar but me.

Now, I must admit that I am not the only person picked this year. So were you if you are using or creating anything on the World Wide Web. Yep, pretty much everyone in the world has been chosen as the Person Of The Year for being able to figure out how to use a commuter. Now, why doesn't this make me feel special instead of insulted?

Christmas is...?

I like Christmas. I like baby Jesus and the story of his birth. I like the peace on earth, good will to men philosophy. I like Christmas trees, Christmas carols and songs, Christmas lights, Christmas gifts, and the idea of Santa. Christmas is magical but the spirit of the season seems to be more accessible to children than adults.

I remember how a five-foot tall Christmas tree looked to be about twenty-feet tall when I was a little girl. The hurry Santa, I can't wait slow down of time. Shopping with my mother in downtown Denver at night. How cold it would be walking up and down 16th Street stopping to look at the Christmas windows at the May D&F, The Denver Dry Goods Company, and Neusteters department stores. The way people kept accidentally bumping each other because the sidewalks were so crowded with shoppers and window lookers.

I remember the wonder of Midnight Mass and the way the church would be lighted with what seemed to be millions of tiny white lights. How the music, the Christmas decorations, the candles, and the creche all felt so sacred. How people were jammed into pews that would normally hold at least one or two more worshipers but could not this night because everyone was wearing either an overcoat or a parka. How quiet hundreds of people could be when they want to be.

And now? Well, I won't be writing about how commercialism has hijacked a large part of Christmas. Or how, for a lot of people, Christmas begins right after Halloween; so that by the time Christmas really gets here they are sick of it and toss the Christmas tree out the day after, happy to have it over. What I am going to be writing about is how fanaticism is creeping into Christmas both religiously and politically.

A few years back I wrote about a Shepherd's Party I attended here in town. I attended one more party two years ago and was shocked when one of the attendees at that party stood up and started talking about how Jesus had died for our sins and this was what we should remember as it was more important than his birth. He then invited everyone else there to partake in bread and wine (communion) to honor his sacrifice. I did not partake. I was surprised to see others also pass up this chance.

First of all, Christmas is about the birth of a baby. A baby that grew-up to bring a philosophy of love and hope to mankind. It is not about his death. I don't know how many crosses I have seen up in lights this year but I find it very annoying each time I do see one. What happened to the Star of Bethlehem? That is the symbol of Christmas I remember. I have been told that the cross is a symbol of Christianity and therefore belongs in Christmas light displays. I disagree. The cross is also a symbol of Jesus' death and as so has nothing to do with Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth; we already have a religious holiday celebrating his death, it is called Easter.

Next, there was the action that officials at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, who had placed Christmas trees all over the airport, took when a rabbi asked that a 8-foot-tall menorah be placed in the airport to coincide with the start of Hanukkah. Instead of saying yes they over-reacted and took down all of the Christmas trees amd pretty much said it was the rabbi's fault. Then, after public outrage, they reversed themselves and put the trees back up. But they did not allow the menorah saying, "we look forward to sitting down after the first of the year with not only Rabbi Bogomilsky but others as well, and finding ways to make sure there's an appropriate winter holiday representation for all faiths. We want to find out a way to celebrate the winter holidays that is sensitive to all faiths."

So, they could decide to take down and put back up the Christmas tree very quickly but they need a whole year to decide how to put up a menorah. There is a good article discussing this at the Yakima Herald Republic online.

Earlier this week I saw a news report on a Denver television station that showed a house displaying Christmas lights. Front and center was a large American flag made out of red and white lights. What the hell does the American flag have to do with Christmas? I am pretty sure Jesus was not an American citizen.

Yesterday I saw a report about a Maine Christmas wreath maker who has put Christmas wreaths on the graves in Arlington National Cemetery for the last fifteen years. This year he will be sending out wreaths for military graves all over the country. This morning I opened my copy of The Denver Post to find three photos of wreath laying ceremonies across the country. One of the photo's main focus was of several large flags blowing in the wind. The whole lay-out reminded me of Veteran's and Memorial Day news stories. This angered me greatly. I do not appreciate the military or veteran groups trying to turn the Christmas season into a time to worship at the altar of our war dead. It is opportunistic, jingoistic, and obscene.

Christmas is about the birth of a child. Christmas is about peace on earth and good will to men. Christmas is about the magic of faith. Faith in the goodness of man. Faith in the future. Faith in love. Have we lost the true meaning of Christmas? Or is the Christmas spirit still here and most people just unwilling to see it?

My Dog's Goofier Than Your Dog

Last Thursday I had to take my dog Duke to the vet because he had, I thought, broken his nose. He had yipped loudly when my husband reached down to pet his muzzle that morning and we thought he did so because he had got zapped by static electricity when my husband touched him. When I looked at him closer I could see that his nose had an upward tilt to it and looked a little swollen. In fact, he looked like he had been chasing parked cars. Next stop-the Vet clinic.

At the clinic the Vet examined Duke and discovered that at some point earlier in the week Duke had driven something sharp into his gum right above his right canine tooth and then into the sinus right above that. The object was no longer in his mouth but the wound had abscessed and the infection had spread into his sinus. After the Vet put hot packs on Duke's muzzle to bring as much of the infection to the surface as possible I watched as he stuck a needle full of a numbing agent into Duke's gum. Duke did not like that at all. Then the Vet sliced opened the abscess and puss and blood started oozing out of Duke's mouth and nose. Duke did not like that either. In an effort to expel as much goo as possible he then forcefully massaged Duke's muzzle. Duke liked this even less than what had gone on before. After ten minutes of hell, with Duke fighting the doctor and the vet technicians all the way, they managed to get most of the puss and blood out and Duke no longer looked as if he had his nose bobbed.

I took Duke home along with two pill bottles, one with pain meds and the other with antibiotics, and instructions to put hot packs on his muzzle for five minutes followed by a massage twice a day for the next seven days. And, being Duke, he has come to enjoy his hot packs and muzzle massages. At some point he decided that the hot packs were just another way of getting water into his body and he spend each five minute period either trying to lick my wet hand or trying to lick the water off the washcloth I wrapped around his nose; as you can see in the photo below.



I think the only reason he let me do this without any protest is because he learned very quickly that he got a dog biscuit after each session. My other dog Kate also figured this out and would come sit by Duke so she could get her own biscuit. Today is the last day of this regime and Duke is doing great. He and Kate will have to figure out another way to get extra dogs biscuits from now on.

Yesterday's Double Header

-two games, contests, or events held consecutively on the same program
-Merriam-Webster dictionary

I had frustrating problems with both Blogger and HaloScan yesterday. I find the Blogger problem a little amusing because I got an invitation to switch my blog over to the new BetaBlogger. I decided to hold off because I have read about the many problems that others have had when they switched to it. That plus the fact that HaloScan doesn't work in BetaBlogger without a great deal of code hacking made me decide to stay where I am for now. Now, after reading these last two messages on Status Blogger:

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Old Blogger is currently down. The new version of Blogger in beta and Blog*Spot are unaffected. We are investigating.

Update, 5PM: This has been fixed.

Posted by Pete at 16:22 PST

Friday, December 08, 2006

We are diagnosing and fixing problems with the new version of Blogger in beta right now. Users are seeing 502 server errors when posting to blogs on the beta, and the site's overall performance is poor.

I am not sure (Stuck in the middle with you) what to do.

When I got online this morning and checked my blog I was disappointed to find HaloScan missing. I went to their page and updated my settings. Doing so brought it back. I don't know what else is going on today but I do notice that my page is taking longer to load than normal and that the hang-up is HaloScan.

This will be my only post today because I am disgusted with this technical part of the blogging experience right now.

Another Manic Monday

Four news stories caught my eye this month.

First, this about the murder of Iraqi comedian Walid Hassan. Max over at The Fifth Column wrote a thoughtful post about it and humor in our chaotic times.

Next, in Gaza City three children, the youngest only three-years-old, were killed when the car they were traveling in was sprayed with automatic rifles fire.

Then, this. The horror that is Darfur has been taken on the road.

Finally, GodMen a Christian movement dedicated to making church going and Jesus more manly in an effort to bring men back into the Christian faith. David Morrow, author of a book called Why Men Hate Going To Church, blames this lack of attendance on, "the feminization of mainline churches."

GodMen think they can chance this by showing a, more forceful, more rugged expressions of their faith.

"Thank you, Lord, for our testosterone!"

(Sigh) Just what we need in the middle of all this testosterone driven violence- more testosterone.

Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

Clown



Santa(He's sitting way in the back)


All photos of Santa from Scared Of Santa.

I'm Telling You Why

Clown

Santa

Better Not Pout

Clown



Santa

You Better Not Cry

Clown

Santa

You Better Watch Out

Clown


Santa

Santa Clause Is Coming

Now that we are truly into the holiday season it is time to talk about Santa. If you remember, last year I said I would not be letting Santa into my house because I felt he was scary. In the past I may have also mentioned my fear of clowns. If not, I am afraid of them and I blame this clown:


Frightening, isn't he? That is Clarabell the Clown from the Howdy Doody Show. I think I saw my first episode of Howdy Doody when I seven-years-old and let me tell you, when Clarabell first appeared in all his black-and-white glory I knew I had just entered Creepy City. Yikes!

Which brings me to Santa.

Santa is creepy too- remember, I have photographic evidence. And, since I also know that most of you do not believe that clowns or Santa are the least bit scary, next week I will be running a five day series of photos that prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that clowns and Santa are the most frightening people (if we can call them that) on earth!

I Have Good News and "Gooder" News

First the good news:
(This is good news because they caught the bastards.)

1. This is not hunting, this is killing for the sake of killing.

2. This is murder.

These two stories caught my eye because deer hunting season started yesterday and it overlaps with pheasant season. My husband is out with the dogs every day and I do not stop worrying until he walks back in the door.

Then the "gooder" news":

Update to Pagosa Springs story. Nice to know they are still flying their freak flag.

Flu Season Is Coming

So I got my flu shot yesterday. Today my body feels like it fell down a long flight of heavily carpeted stairs. Plus the lateral deltoid muscle in my left arm is still sore where they injected the vaccine.

Sooo, since I still hurt where I was injected and since my body is reacting to the vaccine and since it is snowing outside I will now curl-up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and spending the afternoon watching The Lady Eve, White Christmas, and Cat Ballou. It is definitely a three movie day.

Peace Be With You

-The Bible, Genesis 43:23


Ok, first things first. This is a peace symbol:


And contrary to popular urban myth it is not a Satanic symbol, it is not anti-Christian, and it does not depict a broken upside down cross. It is a peace symbol, created by Gerald Holtom in 1958 as a logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain. The two lines that form the upside down V is the semaphore flag signaling position for the letter N. The line straight down the middle of the circle is the semaphore flag signaling position for the letter D. ND = Nuclear Disarmament.


Lay one over the top of the other, put a circle around them, and you have the peace symbol.

Why am I telling you this? Because of this news story out of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

How Long Has This Been Going On?

The Revolutionary War- 6 years, 9 months. (July 1776 to April 1783)

War Of 1812- 3 years, almost 6 months. (June 18, 1812 to January 8, 1815)

The American Civil War- 4 years. (April 1861 to April 1865)

Mexican War, Remember The Alamo!- 1 years, 2 months. (December 1846 to February 1848)

Spanish American War, Remember The Maine!- Less than four months. (April 21, 1898 to July 17, 1898)

World War I (American involvement), Remember The Lusitania!- 1 year, 7 months. (April 21, 1917 to November 11, 1918)

World War II (American involvement), Remember Pearl Harbor!- 3 years, 8 months. (December 7, 1941 to August 14, 1945)

Korean War- 3 years, 1 month, 2 days. (June 25, 1950 to July 27 1953)

Vietnam- 8 years, 5 months. (August 1964 to January 1973)

Persian Gulf War- 1 month, 10 days. (January 18, 1991 to February, 28 1991).

Afghanistan, Remember 9/11!- 5 years, 1 month, and counting. (Started October 7, 2001)*

Iraq- 3 years, a few days past eight months, and counting. (Started March 19, 2003)



Which means the only wars lasting longer than we have been in Iraq so far are: The Revolutionary War, The American Civil War, The Vietnam War, and "the war we do not name" Afghanistan.

Of these four, which ones are the most like the mess in Iraq?

(Hint- It is not The Revolutionary War or The American Civil War.)



*Forgot about this one, didn't you?

Buy Nothing Day

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Freedom From Want, Norman Rockwell (1943)

Consumer Madness

Anybody remember the Cabbage Patch Kids frenzy? How about Beanie Baby insanity? Well, last week we had Playstation 3 riots with the launch of the newest Sony video game machine. Selling at $500 to $600 (depending on the hard drive) the almost impossible to get toy (only 400,000 were released in the USA) was listing for up to $5,000 on eBay at one point.

I am bringing this up because Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and millions of Americans will be sitting down to dinner with family and friends. At the beginning of the meal the host or hostess will go around the table asking each person there what they are most thankful for this year. I don't think many will be answering that it is their Playstation 3.

The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday in the selling business and is traditionally the start of the Christmas retail season. Try to ignore the fact that most stores have had their Christmas items on display since October. Black Friday has nothing to do with the spirit of the Christmas season. Black Friday is a stressful, gluttonous day of consumer buying that brings out the worst in some people.

This year I will be opting out.




Buy Nothing Day

We Just Got A New Camera

Testing...1, 2, 3, Click!

Game Over

You have done well, grasshoppers, ten out of fifteen.


1. If you want to find Cherry-Tree Lane all you have to do is ask the Policeman at the cross-roads.

"You have it for tonight, darling." whispered Jane, and she tucked him in just as Mary Poppins use to do...
-Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers


2. In the Cordova Hotel, near the docks of Barcelona, fourteen Marine Corps fighter pilots from the aircraft carrier FORRESTAL were throwing an obstreperously spirited going away party for Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meecham, the executive officer of their carrier based squadron.

Ben Meecham filled up on the road to Atlanta with the love of his father, with the love of Santini.
-The Great Santini by Pat Conroy


3. When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
-To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


4. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
-Little Women by Louisa May Alcot


5. 3 May, Bistritz- Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46 but train was an hour late.

"The curse has passed away!" And, to our bitter grief, with a smile and in silence, he died, a gallant gentleman.
-Dracula by Bram Stoker


6. No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality: even larks and katydids are supposed by some to dream.

Within its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
-The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson


7. The family Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex.

Between Barton and Delaford, there was that constant communication which strong family affection would naturally dictate;- and among the merits and the happiness of Elinor and Marianne, let it not be ranked as the least considerable, that though sisters, and within sight of each other, they could live without disagreement between themselves, or producing coldness between their husbands.
-Sense and Sensibilty by Jane Austen


8. Barrabas came to us by sea, the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy.

It begins like this: Barrabas came to us by sea...
-The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende


9. He rode into the dark of the woods and dismounted. He crawled upward on his belly over cool rocks out into the sunlight, and suddenly he was in the open and he could see for miles, and there was the whole vast army below him, filling the valley like a smoking river.

It rained that night. The next day was Saturday, the Fourth of July.
-Killer Angels by Michael Shaara


10. Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.
-The Di Vinci Code by Dan Brown


11. In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit.
-The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien


12. Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.

They kissed once. Then he turned upon his heel and disappeared into the Darkness.
-Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke


13. As I walked through the wilderness of this world I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in the place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream.

Should it be my lot to go that way again, I may give those that desire it an account of what I here am silent about: meantime I bid my reader
FAREWELL
-The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan


14. You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy.
-The Color Purple by Alice Walker


15. If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't fell like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
-The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Minute You Walked In The Place

Back around 1998 my mother had a heart attack and I flew out to New York from Denver to be with her. I thought I would only be staying at my sister's apartment for a week or two but ended up being there almost a month as my mother's health problems were a little more complicated than we first believed. Twice a day (once in the morning and once in late afternoon) I would take the train up to West 168th and Broadway and then walk over to New York- Presbyterian Hospital to visit her. Twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening) I would ride the train back down to my sister's neighborhood.

One evening when I got off the train I did not feel like going straight back to my sister's apartment and decided instead to stop at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore on 82nd and Broadway. When I got there I wandered around stopping to look at any book that peaked my interest. At one end of a row of shoulder high bookshelves, on the top shelf of the Film and Television section, I found a large coffee table sized book about the history of Broadway musical theater. I started flipping through it and stopped at a full page color photo of Gwen Verdon as Lola in Damn Yankees.

As I stood there I had the feeling that someone was watching me so I turned around. Behind me an older woman with ginger hair piled on top of her head stood smiling at me. She was a little shorter than I am and delicate looking. She was wearing a red pullover sweater, a wide black knit scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, black pants, black boots, and a full length unbuttoned black cashmere coat. I smiled back at her and, still smiling, she turned and slowly started walking down the aisle. I turned back to the book and the second I saw the photo again I knew the women who had been watching me was the same person as the woman in the photo.

I turned and watched her as she sauntered to the other end of the row of bookcases, turned right, and disappeared around the corner. I stepped away from the bookcase I was standing in front of and then stepped to the other side of the row of bookcases to my right and saw a large open space with rows of chairs lined up facing away from me. Behind the chairs was a large poster on a stand announcing that Gwen Verdon was going to be doing a reading in the store at 9:00 P.M. that night.

For a second I thought about getting her autograph for my mother since my mother was a big fan of hers, but I knew I would not because I am not the type of person who would every do that; I felt foolish even thinking about it. I did smile. Syncronisity. Who would have thought that at the very second I randomly opened a book to a page on which there was a photo of Gwen Verdon printed she would be walking behind me?

(Note: "The Game" still has six five titles unnamed. I'll leave the post alone until Monday to give anyone who has not seen it a chance at them.)

Let's Play A Game (part two)

Six Ten books named. So, to help you out I will now give you the last sentence of the nine five remaining books.


1. "You have it for tonight, darling." whispered Jane, and she tucked him in just as Mary Poppins use to do...
-Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

2. Ben Meecham filled up on the road to Atlanta with the love of his father, with the love of Santini.
-The Great Santini by Pat Conroy

5. "The curse has passed away!" And, to our bitter grief, with a smile and in silence, he died, a gallant gentleman.

6. Within its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
-The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

7. Between Barton and Delaford, there was that constant communication which strong family affection would naturally dictate;- and among the merits and the happiness of Elinor and Marianne, let it not be ranked as the least considerable, that though sisters, and within sight of each other, they could live without disagreement between themselves, or producing coldness between their husbands.
-Sense and Sensibilty by Jane Austen

8. It begins like this: Barrabas came to us by sea...

9. It rained that night. The next day was Saturday, the Fourth of July.

12. They kissed once. Then he turned upon his heel and disappeared into the Darkness.

13. Should it be my lot to go that way again, I may give those that desire it an account of what I here am silent about: meantime I bid my reader
FAREWELL

Let's Play A Game

I give you the opening sentence and you give me the name of the novel.


1. If you want to find Cherry-Tree Lane all you have to do is ask the Policeman at the cross-roads.

2. In the Cordova Hotel, near the docks of Barcelona, fourteen Marine Corps fighter pilots from the aircraft carrier FORRESTAL were throwing an obstreperously spirited going away party for Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meecham, the executive officer of their carrier based squadron.

3. When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
-To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

4. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
-Little Women by Louisa May Alcot

5. 3 May, Bistritz- Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46 but train was an hour late.

6. No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality: even larks and katydids are supposed by some to dream.

7. The family Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex.

8. Barrabas came to us by sea, the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy.

9. He rode into the dark of the woods and dismounted. He crawled upward on his belly over cool rocks out into the sunlight, and suddenly he was in the open and he could see for miles, and there was the whole vast army below him, filling the valley like a smoking river.

10. Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.
-The Di Vinci Code by Dan Brown

11. In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit.
-The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

12. Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.

13. As I walked through the wilderness of this world I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in the place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream.

14. You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy.
-The Color Purple by Alice Walker

15. If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't fell like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
-The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger

Maybe The World Isn't Going To Hell In A Handbasket

1. A basketball player thinking about the kids.

2. "Arrrnoold" thinking about the future.

3. People thinking about each other.


Then again...maybe it still is.

Blue On Blue

I subbed at the library today and since the library was closed on Friday and Saturday I was very busy. This will be a short post. I had a great time with my sisters this weekend but the minute they left I sunk into a big pool of depression that is still clinging to me today.

Some days living in this town is like being in a foreign country. I just don't understand the mentality of the people here. I was checking the election returns for the country I live in and the results that bummed me out the most was the race for Attorney General. The Attorney General before the election was Republican Phil Kline who ran against Democrat Paul Morrison.

After a two year legal fight Kline has seized the medical records of women who had abortions at two Wichita clinics. One is a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park. The other is the clinic of Dr. George Tiller, who is known for doing late-term abortions. Kline said he wanted the records to see if there was evidence of unreported rape, child rape, incest, illegal late-term abortions or child sex abuse. If this is true then why hasn't he gone after the medical records of all hospitals, medical clinics, and private doctors in the state of Kansas? Talk about invasion of privacy issues.

Anyway, Kline was defeated with 58% of Kansas voters choosing Paul Morrison and 42% voting for Kline. This in a state, as the Kansas City Star pointed out,” where Republicans account for nearly 46 percent of all registered voters."

In my little corner of the world 37% of the people who voted chose Paul Morrison while 63% chose Kline. Almost three-thirds of my neighbors voted for a man who was abusing his position as Attorney General to advance his own religious views. Screw the fourth amendment. Screw Roe V. Wade.

I really don't understand these people.

A couple of articles about Kline's crusade here (from 2005) and here.

A Woman's Work Is Never Done

I still have not caught up on everything I need to do since I got back from Denver. My sisters are coming this weekend so today I am cleaning my house. It turns out to be a good day to work inside since outside a cold, blustery wind is blowing from the North. You spend more than thirty seconds out in that wind today and you end up chewing on gritty dirt. See you Monday.

Post Election Letdown

I woke up this morning feeling blue because I am not really sure that things are going to change that much in this country. The Republicans may not be in control of Congress any more but that fact may not have any influence on what is happening in Iraq. The President is still the one with the power when it comes to the war.

So, I was moping around most of the day until I saw this:



It made me feel so much better.

Bush and Rumsfeld

Listened to Bush's press conference this afternoon. My favorite part of the president's speech was this:

The election has changed many things in Washington, but it has not changed my fundamental responsibility, and that is to protect the American people from attack.

As the commander in chief, I take these responsibilities seriously. And so does the man who served this nation honorably for almost six years as our Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

Now, after a series of thoughtful conversations, Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon.

Our military has experienced an enormous amount of change and reform during the last five years while fighting the war on terror; one of the most consequential wars in our nation's history.

Don Rumsfeld has been a superb leader during a time of change. Yet he also appreciates the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war.

Don Rumsfeld's a patriot who's served our country with honor and distinction. He is a trusted adviser and a friend, and I'm deeply grateful to his service to our country.

As I heard these words I thought, "Did Rumsfeld jump or was he pushed?"
I also thought it was a strange way to announce that Rumsfeld was no longer Secretary of Defense. Bush sounded just like a murderer describing how he had killed his victim, "The next thing I knew, the gun fired and "Don" was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his chest."

Nope, Bush had nothing at all to do with Rumfeld's resignation, it just happened.

No Rest For The Weary

Election Day

I just got back home after voting. This election is going to be a mess. There are major problems with the electronic voting system being used this year. In Colorado, instead of precinct polling places, they set up voting centers around the state with officials having access to computerized voter lists. Voters are able to vote at any one of the voting centers they wanted to, which meant they could vote near where the worked instead of driving all the way home. Good plan except that the computerized voter lists were unavailable to the officials at most of the voting centers. The Colorado Democratic Party has filed a court appeal asking that voting hours be extended two hours beyond the usual 7:00PM closing. These kinds of problems are not limited to Denver but are happening all over the country. This is going to be a long night.

Oh, and this:



is the political party I voted for today. Instant Karma's gonna to get you.
(YouTube video via Changing Places)

Election Do-do

One of the "perks" of television watching here in Denver during an election is the many, many, many negative campaign ads. No one wants to speak about the issues; they all just want to tell you what slime buckets their opponents are this year. There are so many running on televisions all over the country that MSNBC and NBC's The Today Show are running a contest. You can go to the MSNBC website and vote for "the meanest, the dumbest, and the funniest ones."

Still Here

In Denver. Which means I get to watch the latest episodes of CSI and ER tonight. God, I am so shallow.

Where I Live

Population

2,407 souls

50.6% are female
49.4% are male
25.8% are over the age of 65
4.6% are under the age of 5

Median age of population 44

Birth Place

97.1% were born in town or in the county

Ethnicity

98.0% White

Ancestry

46.5% said they were of German descent
13.4% said they were of English descent
7.3% said they were just American

Social Characteristics

15.7% have never married
64.9% are married
11.4% are widowed
7.0% are divorced

61.2% are high school graduates
12.3% have a Bachelor degree or higher

Housing

97.7% of the population live in individual households
2.3% live in some kind of group home

43.5% of the houses were built before 1939
20.5% of the houses were built between 1940 and 1959

Median value of homes $50,200

Economics

52.4% of the population works

Median income $35,731

Families below poverty level 1.7%
Individuals below poverty level 7.67%

Work

Top three fields:
1. Agriculture
2. Retail Trade
3. Education, health and social services

Commuting to Work
71.1% drive alone
11.9% car pool
5.3% walk
No one used Public Transportation- we don't have any

Mean travel time 14 minutes

Religion

There are 12 churches, all Christian

(Via ZipCodeStats by way of Reading & Writing)

Happy Halloween

Whatever happened to the Transylvania Twist?

It is trick or treat time here and we are giving out candy to the kids who are not scared off by the dogs rushing the door.

Note:I am officially old. Kids are coming to the door dressed as characters and celebrities I do not recognize.

If It Wasn't For Bad Luck

We (my husband, me, and our dogs) are in Denver. My husband had a trip planned with his father to Oklahoma-where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain- for a small family, well, sort of a reunion, but mostly a remembrance for my husband's late grandfather. We drove in last Wednesday because my husband and my father-in-law were scheduled to fly out of DIA on Thursday morning. But a major storm was predicted to hit Denver late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning so my husband rescheduled for a flight out that night.

Being the man my husband is, he decided that all the things he had planned to do on Wednesday afternoon and evening were still doable in the little time he now had available. He just had to leave my sister's house by 7:30PM in order to be at the airport in time to meet the shuttle bus that his father was taking from Fort Collins on time-no problem. At 7:32PM I went upstairs and found him shoving last minute things into his suitcase. He assured me that he was right on time and five minutes later he kissed me goodbye and hurried out my sister's front door, suitcase in hand, heading for our pick-up truck.

About an hour later my sister, brother-in-law, niece and I were sitting at a table in a neighborhood Bar waiting for the kitchen to cook and the waitress to bring us the food we ordered. As we wait my niece uses her cell phone to text message a friend. All of a sudden her body jerked and she put the phone to her ear. She listened and then handed the phone to me saying it was Uncle Bob. I take the phone and hear my husband say that he had called each of our (my sister, my brother-in-law, and me) cell phones and our niece was the only one who answered. I tell him it is very loud where we are and we did not hear our phones ringing and that the only reason his niece answered is because she had the phone in her hand. He then tells me that he grabbed my suitcase on the way out of the house and asks if could I bring his to the airport.

It was now a little after 8:00PM and the last thing I wanted to do was drive all the way out to the airport. We would first have to drive home and pick up the suitcase. We knew that when we got the suitcase to my husband he and his father would have to get through security, wait for the train that would take them out to the concourse, and then walk a bit to their gate. Their flight was scheduled out at 9:25PM. I didn't think we could make it in time. I tell my husband what I am thinking and add that he could drop the suitcase off at the unclaimed baggage area and we both could buy the things we needed until he got back on Sunday night. That is when he admitted he had put his tickets in his suitcase. I told him we were leaving right away. With a bit of creative driving on my sister's part we got to the airport by 8:45PM and stopped in front of the United doors long enough for me to pull my husband's suitcase out of the back of my sister's SUV as my husband shoved my suitcase in. I gave him a quick kiss and then he and we were gone. Since we did not hear from him again that night we assumed he and his father made their flight. My husband was so chagrined by what he had done I did not hear from him again until Saturday night.

On Sunday night my husband walks back through my sister's front door and the first thing he tells me is that he got in a car accident on his way back from the airport. He decided to stop at a Wendy's on the way home and overshot the entrance to the restaurant by a couple of feet. After checking to see if anyone was behind him he stared backing the truck up. The next thing he felt was the back of the truck hit something. It was a small car. I guess the police office who answered the accident call thought the driver in the small car was tailgating because he only gave my husband a ticket for Unsafe Backing Up which is equivalent to having a broken tail light.

By now my husband was frazzled. Frazzled because the accident. Frazzled because he is tired. Frazzled because he is hungry. I make him some scrambled eggs, a toasted bagel, and a cup of tea. I also quarter an apple for him and put it on his plate along with the other food. He is eating his food when he suddenly put his fork down and put his hand to his throat. I knew right away what had happened. My husband has congenital Esophageal Strictures, which means a section of his esophagus is narrower that the rest of his esophagus. Sometimes if he does not chew his food carefully something can get stuck. He can breath when this happens but it worries the hell out of me.

He has some other techniques he can try if he cannot dislodge the piece of food by moving his esophagus back and forth with his hand. Nothing worked this time and after an 90 minutes I drove him to Swedish Hospital Emergency as he sat in the passengers seat spitting into a plastic cup every minute or two. When food blocks his esophagus nothing can get past that spot including the mouth and throat secretions that we normally do not even notice.

At first we thought my husband would have to have a scope with a tiny grabber on the end of it eased down his throat but the doctor decided to try a muscle relaxant before moving on to the scope. After fifteen minutes and right when the words, "Maybe it's time to call in the GI specialist," came out of the doctor's mouth, my husband felt the chunk of food slide a bit. He asked for a glass of water and drank in down. He then turned the cup upside down and set it on the bed to show that there was no longer an obstruction in his esophagus. We all laughed, relieved that he would not have to be scoped.

In the car on the way home my husband and I talked about the strange things that had happened to him. The lyrics to John Lennon's song Instant Karma kept going through my head. I don't know what is going on but I do hope this is the end of it.

What The...?

(photo via Superdickery)

Rate Your Bigotry


Looks like a page out of the Klu Klux Klan recruitment handbook to me.

Rating Your Answers:

1. If you picked UM! LIKE for all of the above:

You are not Klan material.

2. If you picked UM! LIKE for the following things:

Catholics, Foreigners, Indians, Jews, and Negroes

You are definitely not Klan material.

3. If you picked SO-SO! LUKEWARM for the following things and are a low achieving high school dropout who blames everyone else for your problems:

Catholics, Foreigners, Indians, Jews, and Negroes

Re-take this test after you are fired from your job for your own incompetence and then replaced by a minority.

4. If you picked UGH! DISLIKE only for the following things:

Alligators, cabbage, detective stories, long-hair music, and spiders

You are not Klan material.

5. If you picked UGH! DISLIKE only for the following things:

Catholics, Foreigners, Indians, Jews, and Negroes

Quit messing around, we know you are already a member of the Klan.

6. If you picked NO THOUGHT! VACANT for all of the above:

Give this book back to your Mommy.

7. If you picked NO THOUGHT! VACANT for the following things:

Catholics, Foreigners, Indians, Jews, and Negroes

Congratulations, you are perfect Klan material. Please come to our next meeting so we can indoctrinate you into the Klan view of the world.

50 Way To Leave Iraq

Bush Abandons Phrase 'Stay the Course' on Iraq


The problem is all inside your head, he said to me
The answers easy if you take it logically
We had to help them in their struggle to be free
But election time is here and now I see
There must be fifty ways to leave Iraq

Fifty ways to leave Iraq

He said, its really not my habit to intrude
But Saddam Hussein was one really scary dude
The voters did not react with gratitude
So now I'm in a different mood

There must be fifty ways to leave Iraq

We'll just slip out the back, Jack
We'll make a new plan, Stan
We don't need to be coy, Roy
Now that the voters disagree,
We'll hop on the bus, Gus
We don't need to discuss much
We'll just drop off the key, Lee
Got an election coming up, you see

He said the drop in numbers gives me such a pain
I wish there was something I could do to make them rise again
I know, we'll change our course and let Iraq take all the blame
(For the mess we have made)

He said I tried to blame my problems on the Democrats
And I'm surprised to find the people saw through all of that
I then decided that I must change course and find another tact
There must be fifty ways to leave Iraq
Fifty ways to leave Iraq

Just slip out the back, Jack
We'll make a new plan, Stan
We don't need to be coy, Roy
Now that the voters disagree

Hop on the bus, Gus
We don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
Got an election coming up, you see

We'll just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
We don't need to be coy, Roy
Now that the voters disagree

We'll just hop on the bus, Gus
We don't need to discuss much
We'll just drop off the key, Lee
Got to get ourselves reelected, you see

Monday, Monday...

can't trust that day,
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way.
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be...
-John Phillips, Monday Monday

This morning I woke-up feeling blue. Don't know why, just woke-up feeling like I was in the middle of February after 20 days of overcast skies. When I pulled back the bedroom curtains I discovered that instead of it being a dreary day that matched my mood it was in reality a bright, sunny, beautiful Fall day. Although that lifted my spirits a bit it wasn't until I caught sight of Duke out of the corner of my eye that I perked up.

Duke is still wearing his Elizabethan collar, which means he is still trying to figure out a way to get it off. What caught my eye was him in the yard spinning around like a whirling Dervish in an attempt to dislodge the damn thing. I did not know dogs understood the concept of centrifugal force. I started laughing and could feel my spirits lift with each exhaling breath.

Later in the morning I walked up to the grocery store to buy a few things. That's where I got stuck in a long line of customers waiting to be checked out by the slowest checker in the store. The woman in front of me had just a few things but the woman in front of her had a grocery cart full and as I expected it took awhile for her groceries to be scanned and bagged. At that point the store phone rang and the clerk answered it. While this was going on the woman in front of me moved up to the check writing ledge and set her purse down.

She stood there and watched as the clerk took the phone call. She watched as the clerk announced over the intercom that there was a phone call for "Bob." She watched as the grocery clerk swiped her items over the scanner. She watched as the grocery clerk totaled her order. She watched at the bag boy bagged her order and she watched as the clerk announced the amount due on what had been scanned. Then, and only then, she reached into her purse, pulled out a check book, opened it, picked up a pen, and slowly started filling the check out. My blood pressure hit the ceiling. One of my pet peeves is people who do not start filling out their checks the minute they reach the check ledge. They know they are going to pay with a check. Start filling the damn thing out the minute you get up there! OK???

By the time I got back home I was on an even keel and after putting my groceries away I started fixing something for lunch. As I stood at the kitchen counter slicing a tomato I felt something tickle my neck right above my turtleneck collar. Without thinking I reached up and put my index finger and thumb between my skin and the collar and closed them. I felt something hard and thought my fingers were surounding a small twig but for some reason I panicked. I yanked my hand away from my neck and instinctively threw what I was holding away from me. Whatever it was hit the backsplash behind the sink with a small thud.

Feeling a little foolish I stepped over to the sink to look at what had frightened me and was horrified to see a live Yellow Jacket wasp crawling on the cold-water faucet handle. I walked across the kitchen to get the fly swatter but when I got back the wasp was gone. Now I was really freaking out because (1) I had no idea where it was and (2) because I am allergic to wasp stings. I did not want this thing in my house. I called my husband from the living room and we both started looking for it. My husband said the wasp must be cold or I would not have been able to pick it up. It could not have flown too far. That bit of information was no comfort to me. I just wanted this thing out of my house.

We started searching the kitchen. We looked on the floor just in case it fell off the counter and was crawling around down there. My husband started pulling things on the counter away from the wall to see if it crawled behind any of them. I kept looking up because I was sure the wasp was not as cold as my husband thought it was and that it was still able to fly. After another look around the kitchen at ceiling level I glanced down at the stove I was standing next to and saw the wasp crawling on one of the burner grates closest to me. I had the fly swatter in my hand but the thought of touching it in any way was inconceivable to me at that point so I called my husband over. Being braver than I he didn't need a fly swatter. He got a couple of paper napkins, picked up the wasp, crushed it, and threw it in the trash.

Let's see. So far this morning I have felt sadness, happiness, anger, horror, fear, anxiety, and relief. Why can't it be Tuesday already?

Portrait Of A Gloomy Dog

BIRD UPDATE

Wouldn't you know it. The little guy did not show today.

Birdie, Birdie In The Sky

This is a slightly blurry photo of a Common Ground Dove. Why is this interesting? Because the photo was taken this morning in my side yard. And because Common Ground Doves normally are not seen north of the southern parts of Texas, California, and other states along the US/Mexico boarder.

He first showed up at our birdfeeder the day before yesterday with a group of Mourning Doves. At first we thought he was a just one of the other doves offspring since he was so small but then we realized it was too late in the season for baby sized birds to be baby birds. We look in our Stokes Field Guide to Birds and discovered that the bird we had at our birdfeeder was actually a Common Ground Dove. My husband contacted an ornithologist at one of the community colleges here in Kansas who contacted a birder in Colorado who said he would be out this way Saturday and would like to come and see the bird for himself. In a bit of synchronicity the man's parents live here in town.

So around 0800 tomorrow morning I will have a stranger in my house, sitting in a kitchen chair near the window that looks out at the birdfeeder, hoping he will be lucky enough to see a live Common Ground Dove drinking from my birdbath.

American Culture Is Not Healthy For Women Or Other Living Things

Last Sunday,October 15, 2006, I read the following at Joesph Duemer's blog:

Chores
Despite the fact that there is something deeply wrong in the nation, something deeply haywire, I keep doing chores. I'm like Beckett's Molloy crawling through the forest, not toward light, but toward the vague idea that light might exist, except that I find it hard to maintain Molloy's sense of humor. Madmen murder school girls. Boys shoot their teachers & their sisters. America has always treated its women badly, but now we are seeing the embodied, dramatized evidence of misogyny in the actions of men who are exceptional only in that they act on their fantasies. The pure products of America. Go crazy. But it is our particular craziness, my townspeople. In the heart of the heart of the country is an all-consuming hatred of the female. As the US veers toward wider, endless war, the feminine is simply one more thing that is unacceptable in the Late American Empire. So I put up birdfeeders this afternoon, mowed the lawn for the last time this year, cleared the deck, then came in & made dinner in the lovely new kitchen. Am I simply being sentimental? Naive? Last night, watching television, I burst into tears. I think it was during a commercial, but my mind is too fucked-up to remember exactly.

Joe's words were a shotgun blast to my brain and heart. His words were so upsetting to me that I didn't even attempt to answer his questions or acknowledge his pain. Why? Because I was so shocked to see in print the thoughts I have had myself. And no, Joe, you weren't being naive or sentimental. We all should be grieving.

You Find Me.....Repulsive?

Gary Clarke and Gary Conway in How To Make A Monster.

Duke has ringworm. I have spent the afternoon vacuuming the carpets, washing dog bedding, mats, crates, and towels. I am on my second to last load right now. I have sprayed bleach-water on everything that I cannot put in the washing machine. I have called the neighbors and warned them not to let their children pet the dogs for the next three weeks. I have calmed down.

Where Are They Now?

1. Search Engines from the past. Some old, some new. Some never change, some do.

2. The architects of the Iraq war. Fired or promoted?

3. The Searchers. Still touring after all these years.

4. Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little. Sports broadcaster, owner of a Ford dealership, and now author.

5. Yoda, Jedi Master from the Star Wars saga. Seems to be writing the For The Record column in my town's weekly newspaper:

Sept. 20- Victim of a criminal threat was Tina Waltz.

6. Animal Superstars. It's amazing how many are dead.

Television News

Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone.
-Hodding Carter

I woke up the morning and tuned NPR News on the radio where I heard there had been a 6.6 earthquake in Hawaii yesterday morning. This was the first I had heard of this disaster and I was surprised by my reaction to it. First, I was relieved to learn that no one was seriously hurt. Second, I was surprised that I was not feeling any fear or anxiety the way I would if I had watched images of this event on television. Not seeing images of the destruction almost instantly after it happened and not seeing these images replayed again and again distanced me from the incident. It was still a shock but at the same time I did not feel I was in danger myself or that the world was in anyway more threatening or perilous because of something that had happened at a place roughly three thousand miles away from me.

There'll Be Some Changes Made

For there's a change in the weather, there's a change in the sea,
So from now on there'll be a change in me.
-Billy Higgins/W. Benton Overstreet

The weather is changing. The days are cooler, the nights are crisper, the wind is stronger, the sunlight is softer, and high overhead in a china blue sky the sound of trumpeting flocks of Sandhill Cranes can be heard as they begin their journey South. The other day I watched out my bedroom window as many of the yellow leaves on my neighbors cottonwood trees detached themselves and gently floated to the ground like large snowflakes. When I walked to the post office later that same morning the streets were filled with dead leaves scurrying down the asphalt in a futile attempt to stay ahead of the wind. All indicators that Fall is here.

Then there is my own personal indicator; the quilt folded at the end of my bed. Yesterday my bedding consisted of 2 cotton sheets, one blanket, and a cotton bed spread. But now that the nights are cooler we need that quilt to help keep us warm. As we get closer to Winter and the nights get colder I will remove the cotton sheets and replace them with flannel. Sometime around February when the nights are at their coldest I will remove the quilt and replace the cotton bedspread with a comforter. Then as we move into Spring the process will reverse.

First the comforter will be replaced with the cotton bedspread and the quilt. Then as the days get warmer the flannel sheets with be removed and cotton sheets will be put on the bed. As we near the end of Spring the quilt will no longer be needed and will be put away. As Summer heats up I will remove the blanket and then, when it is hot enough to use the air conditioner, return it to the bed. At this time next year I will again be folding the quilt each morning and putting it at the end of my bed. The first time I do this each year I know Fall has truly arrived.

The Nairobi Trio

God, I love Ernie Kovacs. The Nairobi Trio was a running gag on his show. I remember first seeing this when one of the networks rebroadcast episodes of his show, aptly titled The Ernie Kovacs Show, in the 1960's. Ernie is the one with the cigar and his wife Eddie Adams is the one playing the piano. The third ape could be anyone. Ernie had his friends (like Jack Lemmon and Frank Sinatra) play the part. The song is called "Solfeggio."

Update

Whatever was going on seems to have worked itself out in the end.
(wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more)

Feeling Sick, Sick, Sick

Oh my, I don't know what hit me but I am not feeling very well today. Hopefully I will be doing better tomorrow.

Travel

The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
- Louis L'Amour,US novelist of westerns (1908 - 1988)


Just got back from a long Columbus Day weekend in Denver. Did lots while there but I am too tired to write about them now. I will show you the wet weather boots I bought:



It's a nice boot. It is comfy, fits well, and looks good on. The only problem is that when I stand up after sitting I get that Andy Taylor thing going where part of my pant leg gets caught up in the back of my boot. Drives me crazy.

No Surprise Here

You Failed 8th Grade Science

Sorry, you only got 5/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

I failed eighth grade science when I was in the eighth grade.

Holy Crap!

My website hits for yesterday tripled! How, you may ask, did this happen? Well, it helps if you put your own name into the title of your post. It really helps if that name is also the name of a certain men's magazine model of the year.

Raymond Chandler

Without television to distract me I am reading more. Yesterday I finished re-reading The Midnight Raymond Chandler, a collection of stories and novels. Some of the short stories and all of the novels have private-eye Philip Marlowe as the main character. I don't like Philip Marlowe that much. He is a bigoted, masochistic, alcoholic, misogynistic prude. And, if you read too many of the stories in too short a time, you can get sick of him very quickly. But I love Raymond Chandler. I love him for the way he sprinkles similes and metaphors throughout his stories. It's the literary equivalent of sprinkling M&M's in a box of popcorn. Some examples:

On the dance floor half a dozen couples were throwing themselves around with the reckless abandon of a night watchman with arthritis.
(Playback)

Dead men are heavier than broken hearts.
(The Big Sleep)

The General spoke again, slowly, using his strength as carefully as an out-of-work show-girl uses her last good pair of stockings.
(The Big Sleep)

Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.
(Farewell, My Lovely)

The voice got as cool as a cafeteria dinner.
(Farewell, My Lovely)

There were two hundred and eighty steps up to Cabrillo Street. They were drifted over with windblown sand and the handrail was as cold and wet as a toad's belly.
(Farewell, My Lovely)

She smelled the way the Taj Mahal looks by moonlight.
(The Little Sister)

I was a blank man. I had no face, no meaning, no personality, hardly a name. I didn't want to eat. I didn't even want a drink. I was the page from yesterday's calendar crumpled at the bottom of the waste basket.
(The Little Sister)

He wore an oyster-white raincoat and gloves and no hat and his white hair was as smooth as a bird's breast.
(The Long Goodbye)

His surprise was as thin as the gold on a weekend wedding ring.
(The Long Goodbye)

He was a guy who talked with commas, like a heavy novel.
(The Long Goodbye)

All blondes have their points, except perhaps the metallic ones who are as blond as a Zulu under the bleach and as to disposition as soft as a sidewalk.
(The Long Goodbye)

Inside my head thoughts stuck together like files on flypaper.
(The Long Goodbye)

He had short red hair and a face like a collapsed lung.
(The Long Goodbye)

"They'd put you in the psycho ward, and believe me, the people who run that place are about as sympathetic as Georgia chain-gang guard."
(The Long Goodbye)

"What I'd tell him you could fold into a blade of grass."
(The Long Goodbye)

I called him from a phone booth. The voice that answered was fat. It wheezed softly, like the voice of a man who had just won a pie-eating contest.
(Trouble Is My Business)

Fun stuff. I love Chandler's writing so much I crave this and this for Christmas.