Sunny, kind of dry and not too hot. A nice 6th of July. All of my daughter Diane's plants have new homes now and it is time to buy a few more before it is too late for them to produce.
01. Zombies?
The Carroll County Times reports that the Children's Choir of Carroll County has returned from a 10 day tour of Europe. I liked what their director, Diane Jones, said: "...all of the famous dead white men went through Vienna..." I'm glad that some of the County Children now have a taste of European culture.. and I hope they remember the names of those dead white men.
02. Corporations Again
Jim Lee wrote an op-ed piece mildly chastising the GOP. I think that he has it right when he says:
"If the Conservative Right wants less government, it has to stop coddling corporations that are taking the biggest advantage of us and start standing up for the people who are just trying to get by."
03 Parting Shot?
Normally liberal Newsweek Magazine published its last issue this week and included a nasty, error filled article lambasting the President. I had a hard time believing they were saying what they were saying.. didn't they fact check? I visited www.newsweek.com and found out that they may have published that article as a counterpoint to a supposedly equally nasty article on Mitt Romney that they published recently. I don't know about that.. I have not read Newsweek since my last Doctor's Office Visit, so I am not acquainted with that article.
However, Newsweek representatives said that they did not have enough money in their coffers to fact check. Well, some folks did do the job for them and we will be hearing more about all of this in the near future. Meanwhile, I think that Karl Rove is smiling a lot, now that someone has done his job for him. This is, of course, my opinion, Karl.
04. A National Tragedy
Since 1998, an average of 38 children have died each year in hot cars. 70% were two years old or younger. (When.. when.. when will they learn?)
05. The Circus
Someone once wrote: "Damn everything but the circus!" but I can't remember who.
I love the circus and for years I attended everyone that came to town, even though I had nightmares about three events that occurred in the same year, on today's date, in 1944.
a. A boy the same age as me, hitching a ride on the junction rod between circus wagons, fell off during the circus parade, and was crushed to death, near where I was standing, in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
b. In the same parade, I saw what I thought was a glaring Toto, the Ringling Brothers gorilla. I must have looked him in the eyes and angered him. I had never been that scared before, in my early life.
c. The next week, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus was under tent in nearby Hartford, Connecticut, when a fire broke out, killing 168 people.
I eventually overcame my fear and became a temporary worker whenever the circus came to town. I got paid one shiny half dollar from the tent boss for helping raise the tent, and later that night, got another half dollar for helping take the tent down. It was a combined effort with men and boys and elephants working together to manipulate this enormous piece of canvas. Dangerous too.
I also worked all the circuses and sports that were held near my home at a place called Sargent Field. Because I sold more peanuts and soda than the other kids, I got a higher commission than they did. And when I worked in the ring toss tent, I learned that the peg with the 6 on it, could be construed to be a 9, the 16, when held upside down, could become 91... this is how the "carnies" cheat the kids.
Part of the fun in working the circuses was the titillation factor as the female "artistes" would walk by as they dressed or undressed for their acts. Remember, this was when I was ten or eleven years old.
One thing bothered me very much though. On the grounds there was an iron lung set up, with stairs going up and down, where you could look eye to eye through a mirror at "The Girl in the Iron Lung!" This presentation garnered lots of donations.
One night, when I was working after the audiences had departed, I heard a loud creaking, and the iron lung suddenly opened and the girl (lady) inside got out and rapidly walked away. There were lots of lessons for me to learn at the circus.
06. Wheaton College Clarification
I was confused about the Supreme Court's action concerning Wheaton College. The confusion was dissipated by one sentence of David Savage:
"The fight (about contraceptives) flared again Thursday when the majority (of the Supreme Court)... agreed to give Wheaton College in Illinois a temporary religious exemption from the birth control mandate."
07. Retirement Failure
Friend and neighbor, Hermine Saunders writes in her monthly column today, that because she has multiple obligations in senior issue organizations, she has, in a sense, "failed" retirement. Hermine, I know how you feel.. get used to it.. I retired in 1995 and I haven't really "retired" yet. But, its fun to keep busy.
08. Fellow Wino?
Neighbor Ralph Reise was written up in the newspaper today as a guy who keeps a fantastic garden every year, even while living at Carroll Lutheran Village. He utilizes one of two large areas of plowed and prepared land that is made available to us. He says he has fresh veggies all season long and even has enough to give to his neighbors.
Ralph also says that in his home before the Village, he would make up to 15 gallons of wine a year. Well, Ralph, while I didn't make quite that much, I did make some.. in fact, I still have a couple of bottles of my infamous PeaPod Wine. Its been aging since 1976, but it still tastes lousy. I've only found one person that liked it and she has moved out of my wine range.
09. Corporations Again and Again
Al Lewis writes: "Free speech? Freedom of religion? What cherished human right will our Supreme Court bestow upon corporations next? The right to bear arms?"
Some of the "Occupy Wall Street" protestors carried signs that read: "I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one."
10. Bigotry Veiled
Comedian Dave Chappelle mentions in the New Yorker Magazine what sounds like a great skit that he did on his Comedy Central program Chappelle's Show. He played a blind white supremacist who doesn't realize that he's black and sits on the porch, "like a refugee from 'Deliverance'", making derogatory remarks about black people. I tried to get to see it on YouTube, but it was blocked because of copyright issues.
11. Gun Wisdom
Billy Collins, who I think was poet laureate, has written a great poem with the title: "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House."
A poem about a constantly barking dog and Beethoven music.. and a person who is almost at his wit's end as I was in 2 similar situations a few years ago.
a. When we lived in Randallstown, Maryland in a neighborhood with closely packed back yards, one of the neighbors had a German Shepherd that barked all the time, night and day.. the neighbor ignored everyone's complaints. One night, when I needed to get some sleep, I had it.. after yelling at the dog to shut up and not getting the required response, I picked up a large solid round rock and threw it across three or four back yards until it landed right on the dog's nose. It shut him up for a few hours... I felt terrible.. I climbed fences so I could check to make sure he was ok.. I think he was just insulted.. he looked ok and was able to resume, as I said, after a couple of hours. Soon after that, all of the neighbors got together and forced the owner to keep the dog indoors when it wasn't outside with him.
b. When we lived in Gamber, Maryland, my late wife was very ill and needed to sleep. However, the Beagle next door didn't like it when his owners went to work and he would howl every 2 minutes all of the time that they were gone. After a while, I decided that something had to be done, so I called the owner at work and made him come home and do something to quiet the dog down. The owner did not like the fact that I had gotten to call him at work, because his boss had answered the phone. Any way, the owner heard from other neighbors as well, and finally decided to sell the dog to a hunter.. which is where the dog should have been anyway. In its place, he bought a German Shepherd which was a barker, but with a bark that one could live with.
12. Another Nickel
Almost every day I receive either a nickel or dime from some non-profit organization asking for a donation. Sounds like a good gimmick. I keep this small change for my bank account. I give donations whenever I can and I don't like being given guilt trips by small coins in my junk mail. So, I will keep anything that I get free in the mail, like XMAS cards, calculators, pens, jewelry, and coins.
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