Weather has become one storm after another. I still can’t complain since other parts of the country or even the world have it worse.
Friday morning outside my front sliding door the snow is chest high. On me that would measure close to 5’.
As of friday midday the driveway had been plowed as far as the carport. John was able to help me to the car and we went to get the mail and do some grocery shopping. That helped with holding off the SAD.
Saturday morning heavy snow started at o8oo. No plowing. By the time Jennie’s footprints, made due to a poop run at 0900, were no longer visible in the new snow at 0924 and it was still snowing heavily. And the dog had been slipping on the ice, even when not on the street but out on the grassy area.
Sunday and monday both snow days.
Tuesday’s(temp 26 degrees) and Wednesday’s (temp 29 degrees) both snow days.
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For those still interested in the High King who united all the kingdoms after pulling the Sword from the Stone, here’s an interesting archaeological find …
Two swords seeming to be markers for the bravest of warriors to carry with them to Valhalla or whatever it was called by the Vikings around 860 AD.
When I read the article and saw the pictures
my first thought was this might be a clue to the origin of the Arthur legends.
I’m sorry my friend Geoffrey Ashe didn’t live to see this find. I wonder if it would have altered his thoughts about Arthur.
There’s a book I plan to read asap … Finding Arthur : the true origins of the once and future King by Adam Ardrey. It is on hold for me at the library.
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If I’ve told you about this before just skip ahead …
The previous owner of my house must have liked yellow because the plantings in the small front yard were shades of yellow and orange. But, while I don’t dislike yellows, I prefer shades of blue and purple.
In the Spring Brecks’ catalog I marked all the offerings in that colour range which caught my eye, gave it to John and asked him to plan a spring planting for me. He had taken classes in plants and landscaping and has a good eye for design.
I know that colour scheme will be more pleasant for me and I will post photos as things develop.
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No new word about Jimmy Carter. I can understand his desire for death at home DNR and I will mourn him.
He was a better President than for which he is usually given credit.
He was the first President to put solar panels on the White House roof.
He was a good man in all things. He and Rosalynn remained active in their church in many activities like Habits for Humanity in efforts to follow the admonition to “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” (Matthew 7:12)
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Post Picard, the next in the prequel to the Next Generation, will be crewed by children of the crew of the previous Enterprise which was Captained by Jean Luc and will be titled Strange New Worlds.
I’ll be there.
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Still with me about doppelgänger sightings?
The latest was closer to home. An on-scene reporter for one of the major television networks is a doppelgänger for the woman who shares a birthdate with me, except the tv reporter is younger than either of us who share the birth date but not the birth year (I’m a couple years older).
The other connection is that my birthdate “sister” was teacher to my youngest in two grades in Elementary School and was elementary in his life in more ways than one. He was a bright but easily bored child and his teacher moved his seat next to her desk so when he got the wiggles she would give him something constructive to occupy his attention.
One of my favorite tales out of that school is when my son was playing the cowboy hero in the class play and his memorable line was “My oh my, what a purdy little heifer.” aimed at the girl playing the lead and not about a young cow.
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Speaking of Star Trek, I recently watched an interview with LeVar Burton (Star Trek’s Gordi LaForge & Reading Rainbow among others) about how today’s schools are failing to teach children how to read.
His opinion is that politicians and schools choose power and money over education.
I remember in the early 70s when children were taught how to read by sight memorization. One of my nephews was unable to see the difference between look and book because he had not been taught phonics.
Now children are shown a picture book and asked to “read” the story.
Fortunately my young grandson is a good reader and loves reading. He was taught by his parents so he likes picture books and word books equally.
He and I used to go to the library every friday when I picked him up after school. We both had library cards so he would go to the kids section while I went to the mystery, scifi section, or history sections. He learned how to check out his choices without help. Then we’d go to the HiLo for dinner of chicken strips and french fries.
One time, by mistake, we got fish sticks instead of chicken strips. I gave him the chance to ask for chicken instead of fish and he chose to stay with the fish so the “server wouldn’t be embarrassed”.
And as Dr Seuss said “The more you read,the more you’ll know.”
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There were two gentlemen on television in the days when we had great television programs for children … Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo.
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Every day when I check the morning News and weather reports there are always, at the very least, only one mass shooting.
Last month there were twice as many shootings and five or six times as many deaths as there were days in the month.
It became too depressing a way to start the day so now I use the mute button when that part of the overnight news starts and mute the evening news when other than local news starts.
Maybe I’m sticking my head in the sand but there isn’t anything I can do about it and government won’t do anything for fear of offending gun toting voters and the NRA.
Also too many teenagers who aren’t being shot are commiting suicide because of school or computer chatroom bullying.
Is this the future we are creating for the next generations?
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When I turned on my bedroom wall television sunday morning I stumbled on an entire news presentation concerning a woman’s right to access reproductive health care. It would only make sense that making a choice regarding one’s own medical care is a fundamental right.
The program provided information about the interesting ways women of all ages are providing access to that right.
There are young women in colleges and universities adding female care products to vending machines such as tampons and medications not reqiring a perscription.
Private female pilots are flying women between where they live and states which don’t restrict a woman’s right to choose her own medical care without asking the reason for the flight and without a cost to the woman.
And to my surprise an increasing number of men are taking part in the right to make personal pregnancy choices by opting for vasectomies. There are even mobile clinics offering the quick, easy, inexpensive procedure.
Young persons are increasingly saying no to oppressive invasions of privacy such as requiring information regarding menses information.
I recognize not everyone agrees with the people making these choices.
I guess they are taking to heart the 1937 Gershwin’s song music and lyrics saying “… they can’t take that away from me.”
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Remember when back in February I wrote “One of my favorite poems is about the boyhood of Judas”?
Well, I found my copy and here it is. Written by Georgie Starbuck Galbraith and titled
“Old tears in Galilee”
No woman that ever bore a child,
And worshiped his eyes and the way he smiled,
And ached with pride at his first clear word;
Who bound up his hurts and loved his absurd
Fierce concentration, watching a spider;
Who saw him grow till he stood beside her,
Straight and tall as a mountain pine;
No woman who had a son like mine
Ever believed that aught than good
Could come to this fruit of her motherhood.
No woman ever believed …
Not I! …
That this life of her life was born to die
As mine, going down from Nazareth
To Jerusalem and sorrow and death.
Some say he was wrong, some say he was right
In the thing he did that dark spring night.
I only know what is done is done,
And I weep for Judas … weep for my son!
I weep every time I read it and remember that it is said what Jesus whispered in Judas’ ear was that he (Jesus) had chosen Judas to be the one to fulfill the prophecy and as a result he would face blame and infamy.
And that is why I suggested you watch Jesus Christ Superstar.
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One of my genealogical cousins is slipping past needing fulltime care into dementia.
I am becoming a phone buddy of his wife rather than just hearing her voice in the background when I was talking with my cousin. We talk every week or so and she tells me when she reads the blog to him, he seems to remember it and often smiles.
I don’t know whether to smile or cry.
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To close out the week …
In Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury tells us “The first thing you learn in life is you’re a fool. The last thing you learn in life is you’re the same fool.”
‘Til next week …