This time it's official. It's spring. The sun lined up with the Equator this morning at around 1:30 local time.
I've often wondered what it was that makes the weathermen say "Spring began at 5:15 am."
Now I know, thanks to the wonder of the Internet. Spring begins when the sun balances itself over the Equator.
This concept sends my imagination off in a couple of different directions.
One: Jimmy Dean commercial. I mean, can't you all just see that man in a golden ball doing a high wire act, eating a sausage croissant or something? With every teetering step he takes -- or maybe a little jouncy-bounce -- big old flowers wearing people faces look up at him and "Oooooh!" Or maybe just uncurl and stretch, stretch, stretch. And Mr Sun hands them out sandwiches so they can start their time off right.
Two: The definition of the Equator is an imaginary line around the earth. At least. that's the definition in the article I read. Doesn't mention anything about the imaginary line being there to divide north from south, or to measure the fattest part of the globe, or anything like that. Just that it's an imaginary line around the earth.
Think what we could do with that! An imaginary arbitrary line someone drew around the earth. Think of the possibilities! For instance, if we've had a really bad winter and want to be done with it, we can drop that imaginary line a few degrees south. Then we can announce that it's an early spring! Never mind that Buffalo is still buried, Detroit is digging out, and all that. It will be Spring, because the sun (on his Balance Beam, mebbe?) has lined up with the repositioned Equator.
It will be Spring.
In reality, this year the weather is midsummer. The winter nearly wasn't.
Suns and Equators have had little to do with either, but anything that can present such charming scenarios to my idle mind can't be all bad, and are worth sharing!
Happy Spring, for those of us in the North. Happy Autumn to those in the South. For this day, we will all enjoy the same Day.
Maybe that's the most wonderful part of the day.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
My Strange Addiction
A&E has been plugging a new program this weekend. My Strange Addiction, they are calling it.
Really? I haven't seen anything on the commercials that look like an addiction, except possibly the girl drinking nail polish. There's a man in love with his car to the point of intimacy with it. I call that a perversion. A woman who is 'addicxted' to her finger- and and toe- nails. How does that work? What is she addicted to about them? Does she eat them?
These things are behaviors, they are not addictions. An addiction is a bodily medical function. Yes, there;s often a psychological or mental factor, but the primary cause and cure are physical. Deviant behavior, however mild, should be treated, but should it be lionized in this fashion?
Why is A&E giving these people fame for their perversions and delusions and willful acts?
A&E has, over the year, introduced many serious problems and helped the incomprehensible be understood. Hoarders, Intervention, Scared Straight. These are all good ideas, good programs, and no doubt, in their day, they helped a few families. Maybe even more than a few.
But they -- A&E -- don't know when to stop. Intervention has become a roll-your-eyes cliche, Hoarders has become an excuse, and Scared Straight programs have been so demystified that they have now had to go Beyond Scared Straight. That helps no one.
Needless to say, I will watch none of these shows -- they've outlived their usefulness. The only reason they are on is for viewers to feel superior and/or to be titillated by how some people (of lower class, of course, live.
If you think like I do, please don't encourage this type of programming by watching this (or these) programs. It puts money in their pockets, anyway, if you watch and then write a letter of protest, and then watch again to see if your letter had any effect.
If you don't agree with the content, DON'T WATCH.
Really? I haven't seen anything on the commercials that look like an addiction, except possibly the girl drinking nail polish. There's a man in love with his car to the point of intimacy with it. I call that a perversion. A woman who is 'addicxted' to her finger- and and toe- nails. How does that work? What is she addicted to about them? Does she eat them?
These things are behaviors, they are not addictions. An addiction is a bodily medical function. Yes, there;s often a psychological or mental factor, but the primary cause and cure are physical. Deviant behavior, however mild, should be treated, but should it be lionized in this fashion?
Why is A&E giving these people fame for their perversions and delusions and willful acts?
A&E has, over the year, introduced many serious problems and helped the incomprehensible be understood. Hoarders, Intervention, Scared Straight. These are all good ideas, good programs, and no doubt, in their day, they helped a few families. Maybe even more than a few.
But they -- A&E -- don't know when to stop. Intervention has become a roll-your-eyes cliche, Hoarders has become an excuse, and Scared Straight programs have been so demystified that they have now had to go Beyond Scared Straight. That helps no one.
Needless to say, I will watch none of these shows -- they've outlived their usefulness. The only reason they are on is for viewers to feel superior and/or to be titillated by how some people (of lower class, of course, live.
If you think like I do, please don't encourage this type of programming by watching this (or these) programs. It puts money in their pockets, anyway, if you watch and then write a letter of protest, and then watch again to see if your letter had any effect.
If you don't agree with the content, DON'T WATCH.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Baby Mommy
My grand daughter has just been for a brief visit. It was a surprise visit to us all -- Her pappaw said Monday "Let's go get Hailey for a couple days." So we did. He even drove to go get her.
She's 3 1/2 now, and starting to learn letters and count and ask endless questions and wonder about everything. She has two favorite questions. "What's that, Mammaw?" and "Who's that, Mammaw?"
Parents and grandparents have long known the entertainment value of a picture album. Let me tell you, that entertainment value triples when it's a computer slideshow. Hailey will stop what she is doing and sit in the computer chair and watch the pictures change. If she knows the person, she identifies the person. If it's her, even her baby pictures, she says. "That's me! That's me, Mammaw!" Sometimes, just for variety, she will ask, "Is that me?" instead of telling. Maybe she wants to be sure.
If she doesn't know the person, question number two is in effect. "Who's that, Mammaw?"
Thank goodness that for now all I need to do is give the person a name. A half centruy and more of two lives amble across my screen. My people I know, his I'm not so good with, but I can come up with a name, and all is well in Hailey's Mammaw House world.
Some of the "Who's that, Mammaw?" photos are my daughters as they were growing up. Hailey has no problem with pictures of when Mommy was a little girl. But she happened to see a picture this time around that totally floored her.
A baby picture of her Mommy.
"Is that me, Mammaw?"
"No, that's your mommy."
Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "A baby Mommy?"
Whoever heard of such a thing. Now she watches for the picture to return, and squeals when it does.
I don't think she believes me.
She's 3 1/2 now, and starting to learn letters and count and ask endless questions and wonder about everything. She has two favorite questions. "What's that, Mammaw?" and "Who's that, Mammaw?"
Parents and grandparents have long known the entertainment value of a picture album. Let me tell you, that entertainment value triples when it's a computer slideshow. Hailey will stop what she is doing and sit in the computer chair and watch the pictures change. If she knows the person, she identifies the person. If it's her, even her baby pictures, she says. "That's me! That's me, Mammaw!" Sometimes, just for variety, she will ask, "Is that me?" instead of telling. Maybe she wants to be sure.
If she doesn't know the person, question number two is in effect. "Who's that, Mammaw?"
Thank goodness that for now all I need to do is give the person a name. A half centruy and more of two lives amble across my screen. My people I know, his I'm not so good with, but I can come up with a name, and all is well in Hailey's Mammaw House world.
Some of the "Who's that, Mammaw?" photos are my daughters as they were growing up. Hailey has no problem with pictures of when Mommy was a little girl. But she happened to see a picture this time around that totally floored her.
A baby picture of her Mommy.
"Is that me, Mammaw?"
"No, that's your mommy."
Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "A baby Mommy?"
Whoever heard of such a thing. Now she watches for the picture to return, and squeals when it does.
I don't think she believes me.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
ENJOY!
It's supposed to be 80 today. Not even the middle of March, and eighty degrees. And it's nice. So often eighty is hot and sticky and just plain miserable.Not today.
Today has that "it's summertime and the livin' is easy" feel to it. Enjoy it while it lasts. If we're getting a comfortable 80 degrees before the middle of March, it's not going to be long before the' hot and sticky' sneaks in. Too soon the eighties will be the uncomfortable low temp, while thunderstorms rumble and tornadoes strike in the night.
I sit on the porch and watch my granddaughter playing in the yard. The grass is green, the trees are budding, the neighbors are dragging out their porch furniture and sorting it into front porch and back porch. It's a sunshiny day, with a kiss of breeze.
It's summertime, and the livin' is easy.
Enjoy.
Today has that "it's summertime and the livin' is easy" feel to it. Enjoy it while it lasts. If we're getting a comfortable 80 degrees before the middle of March, it's not going to be long before the' hot and sticky' sneaks in. Too soon the eighties will be the uncomfortable low temp, while thunderstorms rumble and tornadoes strike in the night.
I sit on the porch and watch my granddaughter playing in the yard. The grass is green, the trees are budding, the neighbors are dragging out their porch furniture and sorting it into front porch and back porch. It's a sunshiny day, with a kiss of breeze.
It's summertime, and the livin' is easy.
Enjoy.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
I Concede to Spring
Much as I wanted to put it off, hoping yet for a Big One to wrap up winter (not impossible but unlikely), I have to give in and admit that it's Spring. Tornadoes have already been wiping out whole towns and taking bites out of others. Temperatures are getting warmer. The clocks have been set forward in the yearly joke that doing so creates more daylight in a 24 hour day. (That one day is a 25 hour day -- maybe it's that hour of daylight they are thinking of.)
But none of these are the deciding factor for me. These things are all indicators of Spring, but they are not the boiled-down essence of Spring.
I admitted it might be Spring when I came home from the grocery store with two boxes of flower seeds.
I conceded that it is indeed Spring today when the man across the street mowed his lawn.
I observed, long ago, that the definitive signs of Spring are when women start talking flowers and men start talking mowers. This is a general rule of thumb, not a defining of genders. Go to a bar, a diner, a store and listen to the bull talk sessions. Then, you'll know it's spring when women talk flowers and men talk mowers.
When they actually do something about it, then it really is Spring.
But none of these are the deciding factor for me. These things are all indicators of Spring, but they are not the boiled-down essence of Spring.
I admitted it might be Spring when I came home from the grocery store with two boxes of flower seeds.
I conceded that it is indeed Spring today when the man across the street mowed his lawn.
I observed, long ago, that the definitive signs of Spring are when women start talking flowers and men start talking mowers. This is a general rule of thumb, not a defining of genders. Go to a bar, a diner, a store and listen to the bull talk sessions. Then, you'll know it's spring when women talk flowers and men talk mowers.
When they actually do something about it, then it really is Spring.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lesson Learned.
I recently saw an online ad for classes about alternative medicines. This is a subject I've long been interested in, and the thought of online classes is -- kind of interesting, especially now that I'm not working, and my husband's no longer in a health crisis. So, two weeks ago, I signed up for info.
When I signed, I did see that I had to give the school permission to call me, and that was okay. I might have questions for them, once I reviewed their online programs or looked at their literature. Follow-up phone calls are a fine thing, in most cases.
Oh. My. God.
What a mistake that was.
Not just a small mistake, either.
I have gotten phone calls.
And phone calls.
And phone calls.
Since 12 noon yesterday, until 12 noon today, I have had twelve phone calls from one number. This is after I put the number on the reject list because they have not stopped calling daily for two weeks. The calls started immediately, and have not lessened.
I have not received one e-mail from any of these schools. (Apparently there's a list of affiliates with a variety of courses, although I was applying for specific classes.) I have not received any type of information other than these incessant psycho calls. (Seriously, if these calls were being made by an individual to an individual, they would be considered psycho calls.) No e-mails, though that had to be on the sign in. No pamphlets in the mail, although mailing address had to be included.
Just phone calls.
Sorry, Ashford University.
Sorry, Kaplan College.
I don't care for the way you do business. So, I won't be doing business with you.
I do not need financial aid until I've decided when I want to take classes and what classes I might want to take. I won't know what those classes are until I see what is offered. See. With my eyes. So I can look and consider, re-look and reconsider.
I want information about what I'm interested in, not about everything else that's out there in the world. I know there's a lot of good interesting stuff out there. But I signed up to find out about a specific field, not the whole world.
If I want to hear from you, after I've seen what you have to offer, I'll call you.
Don't hold your breath.
When I signed, I did see that I had to give the school permission to call me, and that was okay. I might have questions for them, once I reviewed their online programs or looked at their literature. Follow-up phone calls are a fine thing, in most cases.
Oh. My. God.
What a mistake that was.
Not just a small mistake, either.
I have gotten phone calls.
And phone calls.
And phone calls.
Since 12 noon yesterday, until 12 noon today, I have had twelve phone calls from one number. This is after I put the number on the reject list because they have not stopped calling daily for two weeks. The calls started immediately, and have not lessened.
I have not received one e-mail from any of these schools. (Apparently there's a list of affiliates with a variety of courses, although I was applying for specific classes.) I have not received any type of information other than these incessant psycho calls. (Seriously, if these calls were being made by an individual to an individual, they would be considered psycho calls.) No e-mails, though that had to be on the sign in. No pamphlets in the mail, although mailing address had to be included.
Just phone calls.
Sorry, Ashford University.
Sorry, Kaplan College.
I don't care for the way you do business. So, I won't be doing business with you.
I do not need financial aid until I've decided when I want to take classes and what classes I might want to take. I won't know what those classes are until I see what is offered. See. With my eyes. So I can look and consider, re-look and reconsider.
I want information about what I'm interested in, not about everything else that's out there in the world. I know there's a lot of good interesting stuff out there. But I signed up to find out about a specific field, not the whole world.
If I want to hear from you, after I've seen what you have to offer, I'll call you.
Don't hold your breath.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Mother Nature on a Rampage
Usually I try to vary the topics of my entries, but this week has been a little two sided. (I would say one-sided, but there are two subjects going on.) Weather and trees. Towns and tornadoes.
The trees I'll have to put on the back burner for now -- or maybe not. Mother Nature decided to give a head start on some of the tree removals. Just ripped and twisted and tossed the trees around a bit. Maybe she's upset with the puny men who are trying to undo her work, or who think they can do her job better than she does.
The puny men (USDA) have requested that anyone with damaged trees inspect them for the beetle. Don't know why they can't do this part of their job themselves, now that Mother has made it easier for them.
And residents and workers are wondering if they are supposed to suspend operations and wait for these people to approve their labors.
Will people have to remain homeless and powerless -- certainly in more than one sense of the word -- while the government contractors twiddle their fingers waiting for others to do their jobs for them?
They are already onsite, or close enough. You would think they'd be in there before the rest. Just think of all the extra man-hours they could bill taxpayers for, under the circumstances.
Moscow Ohio, Clermont County, on the river, was hard hit. Moscow has been around for close to 300 years, but the historic town is said to have no two story buildings anymore. The brand new business that was building now has no building to finish up. Time will tell if they rebuild. Time and insurance, probably.
More damage was done in the Felicity-Bethel-Hamersville area. How lovely. That's exactly where my sister lives. She was driving home from Hamersville.
There was serious damage in other places as well. The Weather Service declared a tornado emergency in Clermont County, in Ohio. Most of us, including the meteorologists, had no idea what that even means. It took help from my brother in Kansas and the weathermen making phone calls before we knew it means multiple twisters from the same storm on the ground at the same time.
We don't get that here.
It's been an eventful week. Between Big Brother and Earth's Mother, our metaphorical and metaphysical family has kept us hopping. And some are hurting for their actual family. My family was fortunate. Most of the people I know were fortunate.
But some weren't, and I don't think they will be worrying about bugs in trees. They have Life and Death to deal with.
The trees I'll have to put on the back burner for now -- or maybe not. Mother Nature decided to give a head start on some of the tree removals. Just ripped and twisted and tossed the trees around a bit. Maybe she's upset with the puny men who are trying to undo her work, or who think they can do her job better than she does.
The puny men (USDA) have requested that anyone with damaged trees inspect them for the beetle. Don't know why they can't do this part of their job themselves, now that Mother has made it easier for them.
And residents and workers are wondering if they are supposed to suspend operations and wait for these people to approve their labors.
Will people have to remain homeless and powerless -- certainly in more than one sense of the word -- while the government contractors twiddle their fingers waiting for others to do their jobs for them?
They are already onsite, or close enough. You would think they'd be in there before the rest. Just think of all the extra man-hours they could bill taxpayers for, under the circumstances.
Moscow Ohio, Clermont County, on the river, was hard hit. Moscow has been around for close to 300 years, but the historic town is said to have no two story buildings anymore. The brand new business that was building now has no building to finish up. Time will tell if they rebuild. Time and insurance, probably.
More damage was done in the Felicity-Bethel-Hamersville area. How lovely. That's exactly where my sister lives. She was driving home from Hamersville.
There was serious damage in other places as well. The Weather Service declared a tornado emergency in Clermont County, in Ohio. Most of us, including the meteorologists, had no idea what that even means. It took help from my brother in Kansas and the weathermen making phone calls before we knew it means multiple twisters from the same storm on the ground at the same time.
We don't get that here.
It's been an eventful week. Between Big Brother and Earth's Mother, our metaphorical and metaphysical family has kept us hopping. And some are hurting for their actual family. My family was fortunate. Most of the people I know were fortunate.
But some weren't, and I don't think they will be worrying about bugs in trees. They have Life and Death to deal with.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Saving the Healthy Trees by Cara Bowen, age 11
Saving the Healthy Trees
by Cara Bowen, age 11
Can you imagine hundreds of thousands of trees being cut down in one little area? Well that's what our government wants to do thanks to a little bug called the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
Bethel is having a big problem and the Asian Lonhorned Beetle is its name. The people of Bethel could have hundreds of thousands of trees cut down and about seven thousand are already cut. We have this group called the ALB Citizens Cooperative. They have meetings almost every week to talk about the trees. They also make plans for us. The plan now is they're trying to talk the government into chemically treating the healthy trees and only cutting down the infested ones.
There are alot of reasons why they should chemically treat instead of cut. Cutting that many healthy trees would mess up our eco system, all the trees gone will cause flooding and dirty water, and lots of animals homes would be taken away.
I have a woods in my backyard and it's probably getting cut down too. We use our woods for many reasons. We hunt in it, stack wood in it, and my friends, family and I play in it. We build forts in it, we go exploring, and we have our favorite clubhouse in it. What kind of fun can you have if you can't climb trees?!
Another reason is our beautiful view. If all the trees are gone, deer, turkey and other animals won't come. When it rains we'll have a big mudhole in our backyard, and our creek won't be a beautiful stream with flowers and green leaves around it. It would be a big mudbank with water running through it.
So Bethel is really going through alot right now and so many people already have what I just explained. For example, some people just moved to Bethel from New York City to a live in this beautiful house with trees lining the driveway and now it's a giant mudhole. So if you agree with me you should contact your government officials and help try to stop what they are trying to do. And if you are interested and want more information you can go to www.BethelALB.com.
by Cara Bowen, age 11
Can you imagine hundreds of thousands of trees being cut down in one little area? Well that's what our government wants to do thanks to a little bug called the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
Bethel is having a big problem and the Asian Lonhorned Beetle is its name. The people of Bethel could have hundreds of thousands of trees cut down and about seven thousand are already cut. We have this group called the ALB Citizens Cooperative. They have meetings almost every week to talk about the trees. They also make plans for us. The plan now is they're trying to talk the government into chemically treating the healthy trees and only cutting down the infested ones.
There are alot of reasons why they should chemically treat instead of cut. Cutting that many healthy trees would mess up our eco system, all the trees gone will cause flooding and dirty water, and lots of animals homes would be taken away.
I have a woods in my backyard and it's probably getting cut down too. We use our woods for many reasons. We hunt in it, stack wood in it, and my friends, family and I play in it. We build forts in it, we go exploring, and we have our favorite clubhouse in it. What kind of fun can you have if you can't climb trees?!
Another reason is our beautiful view. If all the trees are gone, deer, turkey and other animals won't come. When it rains we'll have a big mudhole in our backyard, and our creek won't be a beautiful stream with flowers and green leaves around it. It would be a big mudbank with water running through it.
So Bethel is really going through alot right now and so many people already have what I just explained. For example, some people just moved to Bethel from New York City to a live in this beautiful house with trees lining the driveway and now it's a giant mudhole. So if you agree with me you should contact your government officials and help try to stop what they are trying to do. And if you are interested and want more information you can go to www.BethelALB.com.
Blown away -- Mild winter to Wild Spring
I guess it's official. The Winter that wasn't is over. We had tornadoes across the middle of our country yesterday.
Tornadoes! In February?
All too often, the result of a mild winter is a wild spring -- and summer, and fall. I've seem tornadoes into November. But starting in February? Even in tornado alley, that's unprecedented.
And they came at night, roaring into and through the lives of the sleeping, turning night time into a time of horror and dread. How many people, old and young, are going to have PTSD at bedtime for the rest of their lives.
Tornadoes scare the hell out of me. Night time tornadoes, like these, are terrifying to think of. Way too many people had to live that terror -- and some of them did not survive it.
The big news is Branson Missouri, a town that made itself into something newsworthy. It's big claim to fame is that they can put on big shows with big stars. Fortunately -- let's all take a big sigh of relief -- it's not yet 'the season' and there were no celebrities to be displaced or disturbed or wakened. Thank God for that! Let no one, not even Mother Nature, disturb the stars.
In the meantime, Harveyville Kansas, Harrisburg Illinois, Elizabethtown Kentucky are among the places digging out the dead and injured and just plain stuck. These are among the places trying to find where to even start digging out. These are among the places that may have had F-4 or F-5 twisters, and whose towns have been permanently marred.
But, Let us all be happy that Branson (where the storm was F-2) hasn't been destroyed and suffered relatively minor damage. The stars still have a place to play come summer.
Thank goodness everyone is not so blind as the media. Rescue efforts are underway and helping hands being extended to ALL the places and people in need. I'd like to especially commend Lowe's, who must keep a rescue team ready. They are already responding with donations and helping hands, to crossroad towns and small cities alike. Thank you.
And thank you to everyone who is doing what they can, if it's only a brief prayer between pouring cups of coffee or changing diapers.
It's going to be a long season. Keep ready, everyone. Don't be caught sleeping.
Tornadoes! In February?
All too often, the result of a mild winter is a wild spring -- and summer, and fall. I've seem tornadoes into November. But starting in February? Even in tornado alley, that's unprecedented.
And they came at night, roaring into and through the lives of the sleeping, turning night time into a time of horror and dread. How many people, old and young, are going to have PTSD at bedtime for the rest of their lives.
Tornadoes scare the hell out of me. Night time tornadoes, like these, are terrifying to think of. Way too many people had to live that terror -- and some of them did not survive it.
The big news is Branson Missouri, a town that made itself into something newsworthy. It's big claim to fame is that they can put on big shows with big stars. Fortunately -- let's all take a big sigh of relief -- it's not yet 'the season' and there were no celebrities to be displaced or disturbed or wakened. Thank God for that! Let no one, not even Mother Nature, disturb the stars.
In the meantime, Harveyville Kansas, Harrisburg Illinois, Elizabethtown Kentucky are among the places digging out the dead and injured and just plain stuck. These are among the places trying to find where to even start digging out. These are among the places that may have had F-4 or F-5 twisters, and whose towns have been permanently marred.
But, Let us all be happy that Branson (where the storm was F-2) hasn't been destroyed and suffered relatively minor damage. The stars still have a place to play come summer.
Thank goodness everyone is not so blind as the media. Rescue efforts are underway and helping hands being extended to ALL the places and people in need. I'd like to especially commend Lowe's, who must keep a rescue team ready. They are already responding with donations and helping hands, to crossroad towns and small cities alike. Thank you.
And thank you to everyone who is doing what they can, if it's only a brief prayer between pouring cups of coffee or changing diapers.
It's going to be a long season. Keep ready, everyone. Don't be caught sleeping.
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