The Sunday Five - Remembering and Being Remembered

Our dear fellow Spo is on the road for a memorial service and recently wrote about wearing a watch - and the memories that brought to him.  Hence this weeks Sunday Five, remembering and being remembered. 

1. What item brings you the greatest flood of memories of someone gone from this existence? 
2. Have you ever gotten rid of an object, because of the memories related to it? 
3. Is there anything you should get rid of? 
4. What would you like to give to someone so they will remember you when they see or touch it? 
5. Is there something you would like to have to remind you of someone? 

My answers:

1. What item brings you the greatest flood of memories of someone gone from this existence?  My fathers flying log books.  I don't even have to open them.  
2. Have you ever gotten rid of an object, because of the memories related to it? The most trying was a copy machine, I actually left and had someone else toss it for me.  
3. Is there anything you should get rid of? The back brace I wore back in 2015, when I had my spine repaired.  
4. What would you like to give to someone so they will remember you when they see or touch it?  Lots of things likely no one wants.  
5. Is there something you would like to have to remind you of someone?  My grandmother's daily diaries are lost in my cousins house in Florida.  Likely to never be found.  

Please share your answers in the comments.  

Summer Daze

We are definitely in the haze of summer.  Work email volume is down, response time is up, people are distracted.  The greens are dark, almost too dark to register as green.  A friend of mine co-owns an island off the coast of Maine. Five friends went together and bought it, the agreement is only the five of them and their immediate households are allowed on the island.  Electricity is provided by generators, there are several cabins on the island.  No phone service, no cell service.  Karen's out of office email response last week was "gone to the island, I will respond when I return to civilization in a week or so."  

We don't have a summer retreat planned this year.  If we did, where would we go?  

Where is your summer retreat? 

You Have To Be Fast

A couple of mornings a week, I have been walking in a national wildlife refuge down along the Potomac River.  Dyke Marsh, is less than a 10-minute drive from home, at this time of the year I can put the top down and enjoy the wind blowing my hair.  There are few people on the trail, I wish more of them were being responsible, but still it is fairly easy to keep your distance and the open air is nice.  The Marsh is part of an ongoing wetlands restoration project.  For 300 years, it was a source of sand and gravel, with most of the area cleared and drained.  Left to its own, sand and gravel collect there, washed downstream at every storm.  A couple of barriers have been rebuilt, and the marsh is refilling with sand and stone, and the plants and animals are returning.  I have seen a lot of birds, and a couple of beavers. There are eagles nesting in the area, though I have not seen them on my walks, I have seen them soaring over the condo. 

For the birds, you have to be fast.  Take the picture fast, before the birds fly off to the next branch.  

Should I take up birding in my retirement?  

Seen Along the Way

Ran across this in Nassau in the Bahamas.  A simple message.  I wonder if the British tourists are confused by how a pencil eraser will protect them? A world divided by a common language. 

Should the world have more signs like this in public places? 

The Way We Were Wednesday - The Farm

In the middle of World War II, my grandfather bought a farm, about 60 miles due north of Detroit. He needed to move the bees out of the city, and he was a farm boy at heart.  In the early 1950's after my two older brothers had been born, my parents packed in life in the city and moved out to the farm. The redhead on the left is my oldest brother, I am not sure who the other kid is.  They are sitting on the cover for an old well, that was filled in by the time I was their age, though the concrete wall remained, my grandmother planted it with flowers every summer.  The barn is still there.  My father traded away that pick-up truck in 1965, the dealer gave him $50 in trade for it.  

After a year or two in the old farm house, this picture was taken in the back yard of the farm house, my parents built a small house around the corner, actually about 500 feet behind the barn, that is where they were living when my sister and I were born, where I grew up.  

Deer Inside the Fence

The condo we live in, is in one of four high rise towers, on about 30 acres of land on a hilltop.  The community is fenced, with 24 hour security.  The towers are on a flat spot on top of the hill, the land surrounding them is very hilly, with deep ravines and lots of trees.  If they would cut some of the trees down I'd have a much better view, but the neighbors are rather attached to the trees, at least one of which dates back to when George Washington visited friends living on the hill top (he had dinner with friends here a week before he died.) 

A couple of years ago the association replaced the perimeter fence, upgrading to a taller fence that is hard to climb.  We have deer inside the fence.  Either they slipped in through the front gate, jumped the 8 foot fence, or slipped in the back gate when the shuttle bus was coming or going.  We occasionally see the deer, the deer drive the gardners batty, eating the flowers.  I was out for a walk recently, with the camera in tow, looked down into one of the ravines, and she looked back at me.  Rare to get a decent photo, the deer tend to be shy and or fast.  On my Sunday morning walk, two fawns crossed the drive as I watched.  

Getting the deer out of the community is a problem, there are over 2,000 people living on these 30 acres, and we are surrounded by residential neighborhoods, making "hunting" not an option. They called in a professional "trapper" a couple of years ago, who successfully relocated the herd that was here at that time, he had to resort to sedating one with a blow-dart. There was an uproar about that, this year the management seems to be taking a live and let live approach.  

Have you tried venison? 

My Music Monday - Janis Joplin- Me and Bobby McGee

I thought about dropping Music Mondays, then someone mentioned Janice - the pureness of the voice - and I needed to do this.  I have a bit of a YouTube habit, I may mix in a few Media Mondays.  

Sunday Five - Queen for a Day

Never mind the sign, come have a seat and tell me more. 

1. If you were suddenly the Queen, what would your first decree be? 
2. Do you think Prince Charles will ever be King? 
3. What do you think of Harry and Meghan moving to California? 
4. Windsor or Buckingham Palace, which would you prefer to live in? 
5. Diamonds, Emeralds, or Rubies for your crown? 

My Answers:

1. If you were suddenly the Queen, what would your first decree be?  Anex the USA and lock he who must not be named in the Tower. 
2. Do you think Prince Charles will ever be King? Despite her attempts to outlive him, I think sadly one day the world will lose Elizabeth, and Charles will have a relatively short reign.  
3. What do you think of Harry and Meghan moving to California? I think they experienced racism in the royal household, and with Harry having little chance of ever being King, wanted to have a more normal life for their family.  Or as normal as life can be in LA. 
4. Windsor or Buckingham Palace, which would you prefer to live in? I prefer the city, so Windsor, but I understand it needs a good remodeling.  
5. Diamonds, Emeralds, or Rubies for your crown?  Yes, all the above.

Please share your answers in the comments.  

I Once Heard

That a camel, is a horse designed by a committee. 

One summer, I took a simple sounding class "small group communications theory."  The first thing we learned, is that true consensus, where everyone agrees either exists on the first call, or it is a myth.  Even if everyone seems to be in agreement, some of them are compromising to agree and that is not true consensus. There is a difference between agreeing to a common set of ideas or principles and being in consensus. One of the keys is to focus on what people agree on, and promote compromise to common ground on the rest.  

With the camel, there are obvious compromises, but overall it works, it does well for what it is intended to do.  

Five Things That May Surprise You

Five things about me, that may surprise you. 

1. I have an ex-wife.  
2. I own guns, I grew up with them. 
3. I was 34 when I finished my first college degree (I turned 40 the week I started my last year of law school.) 
4. I have had the same cell (mobile) number for over 20 years. 
5. I have never lost or broken a mobile phone. 

What about you, would we find surprising? 

What Have I Been Up To?

I went to the office one morning last week, I had not been in since March 17th, there were a couple of things I needed from there, and the office mail had not been sorted through since March 16th. I drove in, traffic was not bad, there were four people in 250 offices on our floor. I don't plan to go back anytime soon.  

I have been walking, long thinking walks.  The gardens at Mt. Vernon reopened with limited attendance.  I went out for a walk, but was disappointed at the people not wearing a mask around other people. Mostly I am walking near home, often without going outside of the fence.  

I had some work done on the convertible.  It was due for an oil change,  the windshield washers had quit squirting and when I bought it the sound insulation on the underside of the hood was loose.  That and a through detail cost way to much money, but everything works and it is a wonderful time of the year to put the top down.  I drove it into the office the other day. 

I have Covid hair.  My last haircut was in January. The salon I had been going to has not opened, I doubt they will, they had been struggling a bit.  I wonder where Jose will go, he was very good.  In the meantime I have not had hair like this since the early 1980's, I am thinking about letting it grow and seeing how wild it can get.  

I bought a new rug for under my desk chair at home to replace one that was starting to wear through.  I love old worn rugs, but the roughness under my chair and bare feet was disturbing.  

I am taking proper lunch breaks for the first time in my professional career. 40 years ago, when I often worked alone in an office that served the public, I got into the habit of eating at my desk, and working through lunch. I am now leaving my desk, going in the other room and taking a break.  The experts are right, I do get more done with a decent mid day break.  

So what are you up to these days? 

 

The Way We Were Wednesday - Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?

The year I finished high school and left home, my father bought his first new Buick.  The first of many.  He had driven used cars for decades, some nice, some functional, all of them affordable.  The Buick was the first time he went out and bought what he wanted, done the way he wanted it.  As I recall he paid an astonishing $7,000 for it.  This picture was taken a couple of years later, my parents had moved around the corner to the old farm house.  The Dodge pick-up truck in the background, was fun, it had a massive V-8 in it, put your foot to the floor and it would spin the rear tires for about 500 feet.  

Back to the Buicks.  My father's mother moved into assisted living late in her life when she decided it was time to give up driving.  One morning she was not feeling well, and my father went to take her to the doctor in what was probably a 3 or 4 year old Buick (it was his third or forth one.) She remarked, "you've had this one a long time, why don't you take some of my money and buy a new one."  She died three weeks later, a month after that he bought another new Buick, not the last one, he bought his last new car about 5 times. 

He enjoyed cars, it was good to see him finally buying what he wanted, instead of what he needed. Well there is the story of the Lincoln that he lusted over and came close to owning.  Another day, 

Any family car stories? 

They Don't Make Them Like They Use To.

Sunday morning started off with a bang, I turned the cooktop on to make breakfast, turned around to get something out of the refrigerator and things went BANG- BANG.  It wasn't left over 4th of July fireworks, the power control unit in the cooktop shorted out with a bang, and accompany cloud of electrical smoke, and that tripped the breakers (the second bang.) Once Jay and I assured one another we were both still alive, I called maintenance, the main breaker is in a locked control room and the condo maintenance person has to reset it.  I thought about repair or replace, looked at the age on the cooktop and headed out appliance shopping.  

I explained to the appliance salesperson what I was looking for, and why, and the urgency of the situation. He asked how old is the one that just went BANG!  I said, "38 years, it was original to the condo that was new in 1982." He responded, "they don't make them like they use to, don't expect the new one to last that long" we both laughed. When GE built this 38 years ago they didn't expect it to last this long without repairs.  But it did. The oven is the same age, and while the clock quit working decades ago, the oven still works wonderfully, it will hold 450 degrees F, to bake a Pizza like few I have ever seen.  The original garbage disposal lasted 37 years, then the motor stopped, it still hadn't corroded through.  The house in Lexington we had at least three disposals in 23 years, all of them corroded through and started leaking.   

There is a backlog on deliveries and installs, the new cooktop will be installed on the 13th.  I hope that is a good day for appliance installs.  

Have you had any appliances outlive their life expectancy? 

My Music Monday - Sir Tom Jones 80 Years Old and He Still Has It

I remember when Tom Jones burst onto the US music scene, oh he was sexy.  I was surprised to see he is still performing, then I searched YouTube and found the posting below from this year.  He still has it, age is not a barrier, he can still make hearts go pitter-patter.  I suspect the show in Kilkenny was cancelled or postponed,  Ireland shut down in mid-March.  I hope he gets back there to wow the crowd.  

Enjoy! 

Sunday Five - Summer Days

I will admit I have a love-hate relationship with summer.  I love it being warm, hate if being hot and humid.  Hence this weeks Sunday five.

1: What it the ideal temperature for a summer day (in F or C)? 

2: Do you wear sunscreen in the summer? 

3: Are you planning to go to the beach this summer? 

4: Fresh water or salt water? 

5: Have you ever been snorkeling? 

My answers: 

1: What it the ideal temperature for a summer day (in F or C)?  About 80 F, and low humidity 

2: Do you wear sunscreen in the summer? Seldom 

3: Are you planning to go to the beach this summer? No, the closest we might come is Cleveland on the north coast of Ohio. 

4: Fresh water or salt water? I prefer salt water, but really either. 

5: Have you ever been snorkeling?  Yes, a friend showed me how when I was in my late teens.  

Please share your answers in the comments. 

Happy Independence Day

One of my grandmother's cousin's was visiting from London in the mid 1970s, we went to the Henry Ford Museum complex for a day.  In one of the historic houses, the docent was rambling on about escaping the unreasonable yolk of English rule, and Donald simply said, "I better leave before I say something" and he walked out the back door.  Perhaps I should leave it here, before I say something, but then again this is my space.  

244 years ago we formed an imperfect country.  A country that allowed slavery for nearly a century, and 244 years later is still struggling with treating every citizen equally.  Out of a fear of a strong central government we left the states in charge of vast areas of the law, leaving us with a fractured regulatory system, leaving us hamstrung, with many states being poorly run.  We created a system that has our national capital, not in any state, the people who live around Capital Hill lack proper representation in Congress.  (One of the reasons I actually live in Virginia, not DC proper.)  It took us 150 years to recognize women as citizens, and not the property of their husband.  We still struggle with recognizing a person's' right to make healthcare decisions, to recognize LGBTQ citiczens as true equals, to recognize that we are a country of people who practice a variety of religions - or none at all.  We fail to provide opportunities for every person to have a fair chance to pursue happiness.  We are one of the only major countries that fails to recognize that medical care is a human right, not a privilege for those who can afford it.  We have one of the highest rates of incarceration,  and shockingly disproportionate incarcerations rates for persons of color.  We are a nation of immigrants, with immigration laws 100 years out of date.  

We have changed a lot over the last 244 years, and there is still a lot of change that is needed.  The Country we have today, is not the Country a room full of men signed their names to 244 years ago, and is not the country that we need to have if we are to endure.  

Sorry for the rant, 

VOTE like your life depended on it, many lives do.  

 

  

Get Your Rocks Out There

I first encountered painted rocks, when a high school friend in Florida started painting them an placing / hiding them.  I think placing is a better term, you want them to be seen.  If you start looking around, you will see them, from time to time.  John over at Going Gently showed them recently, as did the Mistress .  They are not hard to do, rocks, a little paint, a simple message, tiny works of art.  A few have started appearing on the top of the hill.  

Have you? 

Doors

Doors are a symbol of change.  We can enter, we can exit.  Often we think we know what is on the other side, but not always.  We open doors to new opportunities.  We close doors on the past.  We pass through these portals.  Some doors are unlocked.  Some doors deny us entry. Some doors test our strength to get them to open.  Other doors won't stay closed. Some doors we want to pry open.  Some doors we want to nail shut.  

I was fascinated by doors in Irish cities.  I have probably a dozen photos of doors that caught my eye.  

What does your door lead to? 

The Way We Were Wednesday - John and George

My guess is this was taken at first John's wedding, he was my grandmother's much younger brother, standing there with his father, my paternal-maternal great-grandfather George.   My great grandfathers on my fathers' side died around the time I was born, I know them only through pictures.  

John was my grandmother's favorite sibling, she had an older brother, and much younger sister (Floss) and brother (John).  John I met several times, he was a very dignified gentleman. The marriage didn't last for reasons I never knew, nor did his second marriage (her alcoholism and his temper ended that one.)  He had three children, a daughter who the last I knew was in California, and twin boys about the age of my oldest brother.  The last I knew the twins were in Michigan. 

John was a manager for an international firm. Back in the 1970's they were building a truck assembly line in Poland.  Things were not going well, and they sent him over to check on things.  When he returned to New York, he said, "we will never get this thing finished unless we pay bribes to the suppliers.  His colleagues were aghast and a couple of them were on a plane to Poland the next week to prove him wrong.  Two weeks later they returned to New York, withdrew $200,000 in cash, packed it in briefcase and sent John back to Poland for two months to finish the job.  Apparently US dollars made the ideal "gift" to delivery drivers in Poland.  

He had a a lifetime of stories like that.  I wish I had more opportunities to listen to them.  

He should have written a book. 

What would the opening chapter of your book be about?  

Anti-Social Media Rant

Warning - I am about to go on a minor rant, to get a little negative in my world of tranquility.  If you might find this upsetting in what is usually a no drama zone, I am sorry, sometimes things just need to be said. 

I am tired of the stupidity, stupidity that starts with the twittler at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,  the denial of science, the ignorance of ingrained racism, sexism, hetrosexism.  

BLACK LIVES MATTER, until the police stop murdering people of color, we need to focus on this simple matter.  It is about the disproportionate policing of people based on the color of their skin. Even black police officers report being stopped for no real reason when out of uniform.   

I am disgusted with the lack of backbone and leadership by social media,  how they can allow and endless string of lies and denials of basic science to be posted, and never consider suspending the idiot that posts them.  I don't hate Zuck for the billions he has made, I despise the lack of backbone, Scalia made more sense.  Twitter, well that platform has never made sense to me, and enabling the moron in chief has proven how worthless it is.  

This morning I unfriended two people on Facebook, I am done reading the crap they repost without thinking about the truth of the matter asserted.  I put a family member on a 30 day vacation on FB.  I should drop her for constantly reposting moronic political propaganda and racist garbage. She is family, without her connection I might not know that a small branch of my family is still alive.  

The people I know on FB with the most fragile health, seem to be the ones most in denial that there is a killer virus out there. The number of infections is real, and likely under counted, the number of deaths is real - some idiot posted this morning that the death numbers are made up.  How stupid can people be? By the way, we need science, and medicine, not faith healers.  You can't pray away a virus.  

There are handful of people that keep posting things on FB that confirm their lack of education.  I have promised myself to be a better person, a couple of them are testing my resolve (including an ex.) 

Then this appeared on FB, there was a Black Lives Matter protest going down the street in front of a very large home owned by this couple in St Louis and they came out in the driveway brandishing weapons. 

When I see this my brain echos with the scream of the firearms instructor or range safety officer "FINGER!"

  

Rule #1 is never point a firearm at anything you are not ready to destroy. 

Rule #2, is NEVER put your FINGER on the trigger until you are ready to kill the target 

Rule #3, is treat every gun as though it were loaded.  

She isn't even looking at what she has it point at.  If a range safety officer saw this they would shout FINGER, signalling for everyone to look for the danger, duck if you have to.  At most ranges, it is two warnings, and you are out, banished.  

When I was in my early 40's my father gave me a revolver that he had owned since I was about 4 years old.  I decided if I was going to have it, I needed to learn how to handle it safely and I hired a private instructor.  We started in a classroom with how to handle a gun safely, how to take it apart, clean it, put it back together. Then we moved to the range. I was only there for about five minutes when I heard the scream - FINGER.  It leaves an impression.  

Someone should take this away from her before she hurts someone, or herself.  She is an idiot, a danger to herself and others.  I don't care if she owns a million dollar home and feels insecure. If I were the prosecutor I would charge her with reckless endangerment.   

Oh well, rant over, I feel better.  

Take care of yourself.  Remember you deserve the best, and having the best starts with taking care of yourself.  You need to be good to yourself, so you can be good to others.  Stay safe, common sense of wearing a facemask when around others, protects others, and their wearing a facemask protects you.  We are in this together.  Stay well.