In the Roanoke City Council Chambers

Tuesday we went to the Roanoke City Council meeting. My husband was receiving mention for his 35 years of service with the Roanoke City  Fire-EMS, where he serves as battalion chief.

As a news reporter I have sat through hundreds of meetings in various town halls and county offices, but I'd never been to the city council meeting. It felt familiar and I inspected it from a reporter's point of view, I suppose.




The media always interests me at these things.



City council chambers are a more ornate than I am used to in county meeting rooms and town halls.



The gentleman on the left is Ed Hopkins, who received 45 years of service. He is on the police force. He is with Mayor Sherman Lea and Vice Mayor Joe Cobb.

My husband headed to the podium after his name was called.



My husband would not turn around and face me so I could get a decent picture.

 

The honorees with Mayor Lea.



The City of Roanoke Seal

I am very proud of my husband. He has served the citizens of Roanoke City for a very long time, and he has worked hard to keep people and their possessions safe. He has an important job overseeing numerous fire stations. He has plucked people from raging waters, made sure elderly folks were out of danger, pulled people from car wrecks, stayed up for over 24 hours fighting large structure fires, and otherwise wore himself out doing his job. He should be paid what a football player makes, but of course, he isn't.

He is a good man. Roanoke City has been lucky to have him. I only wish we could afford for him to retire, because he is getting too old to be saving people. Fighting fires is a young man's job.

Why Learning Matters

I was seven years old and the bus dropped me off at my babysitter's house. She lived a good walk from the trailer my parents and I (along with my brother) were living in at the time, on a dirt road. I wasn't supposed to walk on the road. I was supposed to go to the babysitter's house, though.

On this day, though, I found the front door to my babysitter's house locked. There was a note on the door - a note that did me no good.

The note was written in cursive. I had just started second grade and we hadn't learned cursive yet. I could make out a few things - by that time I could read extensively for a 7-year-old - but only print. I knew my mother's signature in cursive and that was about it.

I wandered around the back and found that door unlocked. I went in and called for my caregiver. The house echoed only my timid little voice as I first called out a name and then moved to a sobbing wail as I realized I was alone.

The phone lines were still party lines, and I had been told on multiple occasions not to touch the telephones, no matter what, not even to answer what was called "our ring." I did not dare call anyone because everything was long distance. The only number I knew was my grandmother's, anyway, and she lived 30 miles away.

My mother worked at a job near my grandmother (it was a long way off to a little child), and my father was a traveling salesman and I never knew when he would be home. It would be two hours at least before my mother came to fetch me.

Two hours is a mighty long time when you're a little girl. I made myself a jelly sandwich and tried not to make a mess - my babysitter hated messes - and sniffled myself quiet long enough to do whatever homework I had. Then I settled in to finish reading Bambi, by Felix Salten. This was the original novel, not the Disney version for kids, which tells you how progressed I was in my reading.

My mother finally turned up, followed not long after by my babysitter, who had left because she'd had an emergency with one of her own children.

Both were surprised to find me alone in the house.

I had not followed directions. I was supposed to walk up the road in the opposite direction of my home to the trailer up the hill, where an adult was waiting to take me in hand (why the adult never came for me, I do not know). I remember being yelled at, and my mother giving me a swat on the behind for not doing what I was told and for leaving crumbs on the kitchen table.

After they all finished yelling at me, I tearfully explained that I couldn't read the message. "You can read!" my mother exploded.

"Not that kind of writing," I cried.

It was then my mother saw the note and realized it was in cursive. I could not read cursive at that time, though I made it a priority after this incident. (I remember going to my second-grade teacher and begging her to teach me cursive, bursting into tears while I asked, and so without question she took me aside during the daily quiet time when the other children were napping, and taught me to read cursive writing, which wasn't taught until third grade. Bless her.)

I don't recall an apology from the babysitter or my mother, but I generally don't in most of my memories. Adults in my youth were not known for apologizing when they screwed up. Unlike Andy Taylor in the Andy Griffith Show, big people in my life were not good at recognizing the need to sit tiny little me on a knee and kiss me on the head and say, "I'm sorry." That's too bad, really, because it would have gone a long way toward making childhood more bearable. (It helps in adulthood too, if people say they are sorry, but I no longer expect apologies from anyone. I just hand out "I'm sorry" like candy, myself, knowing it is somehow my fault that I was too young to read cursive (with said incident serving as a nice metaphor of everything I cannot do or do not do right).

It wasn't long thereafter that I had a new babysitter, though I don't recall if the incidents were related or if it was because the babysitter was going to have a seventh child. Oddly, I don't know who kept me after school after that; certainly someone did for a time. After my brother started school I know where we stayed but there is a gap there for me in that I don't know where I went after school for the remainder of the second grade and none of the third grade. Maybe I just went home and stayed alone, although that doesn't sound right. I'll have to ask my brother if he remembers.

This odd memory came roaring back this morning, totally unbidden, while I was in the shower. It is neither a bad memory nor a good one; it's more a tale of how life was when I was growing up.

Perhaps a recent article I read about how certain states are bringing cursive writing back into the curriculum brought this incident to mind. Supposedly cursive has always been taught here where I live, but my 24-year-old nephew, who went through the same school system I did, only 25 years later, cannot read it. Two years ago when my brother sent him a recipe in my mother's handwriting, he couldn't understand the words because they were written in my mother's beautiful cursive.

When I go to the county courthouse, all of the old records are handwritten. Court orders, civil verdicts, birth and death certificates - all written in longhand, all illegible to thousands of people who cannot read cursive and apparently have no desire to do so.

Many primary sources that pre-date the 1900s are handwritten. The original U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are written in the cursive of the time. Can you read them?

 

My cursive handwriting is awful; I turned to print a long time ago. I still remember how to write it, though.

And I certainly now know how to read it.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Are you filled with joy today?

A. No. But . . . Joy to the world! All you boys and girls. Joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea, and joy to you and me!

2. Has it been a rough week?

A. Not especially.

3. If given the opportunity, would you like to star in a musical?

A. No, although sometimes I wish the entire world were a musical. Wouldn't it be fun if we'd all break out into song occasionally?

4. Name one person you’d take a bullet for.

A. I don't like violent questions like this, but I would take one for my husband. And probably anyone else, for that matter. Or I like to think I would, anyway.

5. Did you trip over anything today?

A. Not yet.

6. Last time you painted a picture?

A. I don't paint. I color. I haven't done that since October, though.

7. Is your favorite color yellow?

A. No.

8. Were you born in a hospital? Do you know the name of the person that delivered you?

A. I was born in a hospital and I was delivered by Dr. Cruzer, I think.

9. Have you ever had a friend or relative that’s incarcerated?

A. That sentence makes no sense. Grammar police! Grammar police! Arrest sentence #9!

10. Do you enjoy romantic movies, even when they’re cliche?

A. Depends on my mood.

11. Would you rather watch a movie or listen to music?

A. I listen to music more than I watch movies.

12. Ever been to Rhode Island?

A. No.

13. Can you tell the difference between a Scottish & an Irish accent?

A. I never thought about it.

14. Can you read music?

A. Yes. ♪ ♫

15. Have you been to McDonald’s in the past month?

A. I do not eat at McDonald's at all. I can't remember the last time I was in a McDonald's.
__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them. (#265)

Saturday 9: Brand New

Saturday 9: You Make Me Feel Brand New (1974)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Welcome to the first Saturday 9 of 2019!

1) As 2019 kicks off, what are your hopes for the brand new year?

A. I hope that people are kinder, for one. I hope that I feel better, for another. It would be nice if I could get well enough that my doctor would say, "Sure, go on back to work." I hope my husband can hold up under the pressures of his three jobs.

2) Just because an item isn't brand new doesn't mean it isn't valuable. Have you scored any fabulous finds at a second hand store or website?

A. Not lately, no. I did get my husband's aunt's china at her estate sale several years ago.

3) This song is sung by The Stylistics, a group from Philadelphia. Have you ever been to Philly?

A. I don't think so.

4) This song was co-written by Thom Bell, a Philadelphia-based musician/producer who was born in Kingston, Jamaica. The average daily temp in Kingston in January is 87º. Do you have plans to get away this winter and go somewhere warm?

A. I wish, but no.

5) The Stylistics took their choreography very seriously. As you can see from the video, they even carefully synchronized their hand movements. Do you use your hands much when you talk?

A. When I am irritated or excited I do.

6) The lyrics tell us that the singer is grateful for a friend who will walk with him along a path that "sometimes bends." Looking back on 2018, tell us about a time that life's path took a bend you didn't quite expect.

A. I made an effort to get to know my stepmother in August.

7) In 1974, when this song was popular, Chicago's Sears Tower opened and was for years the world's tallest building. Its elevators can carry you to the 103rd floor in approximately a minute. When were you last on an elevator?

A. When I was in the county courthouse to pay my personal property taxes. It's a tiny little elevator, too. Smaller than a closet. Totally claustrophobic.

8) Also in 1974, the 55 mph speed limit was imposed nationwide. When you drive, are you careful to stay within the speed limit? Or do you have a led foot?

A. My initials are A. J. and I'm afraid I sometimes live up to them.

9) Random question -- It's time to pose for your Saturday 9 yearbook picture. Will you show us your right profile, your left profile, or will you look directly into the camera?

A. Left side.

___________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen #585

Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is a wonderful year for you, dear reader.

Here, in no particular order, are 13 happy songs. Because we all need happy in the new year and music can make you happy.

1. Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys.



2. Happy, by Pharell Williams



3. I Feel Good, by James Brown



4. Uptown Funk, by Mark Ronson w/ Bruno Mars (This song makes me happy, I don't know about anyone else.)



5. Call Me Maybe, by Carly Rae Jepsen



This version of a flash mob with The Big Bang Theory is cute:



6. Dancing Queen, by Abba



7. Don't Worry Be Happy, by Bobby McFerrin



8. Me and Julio Down by the School Yard, by Paul Simon



9. The Way You Make Me Feel, by Michael Jackson



10. Walking on Sunshine, by Katrina and the Waves



11. I'm a Believer, by The Monkees



12. Sugar, Sugar, by The Archies



13. The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA, by Donna Fargo






----------------------------
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 585th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Big Birds

Red-Tailed Hawk

Pileated Woodpecker

A New Year

"It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. . . That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.” - Samwise Gamgee, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers (Peter Jackson movie version)

Now we come to it - the new year. Another day, a reason to purchase a new calendar. Maybe a time to reflect, but I have stopped making goals and resolutions. I think this is an error on my part, for we all need something to reach for . . . something to have hope about, whether it is as large as saving an entire land from darkness or as small as purchasing a longed-for object, or creating something big or minor.

Hope springs eternal in the heart of humanity, no matter how much darkness we see, or how much rain falls. Rainbows do come, after all, at some point, even if we don't live to see them.

Life goes on.

Here's what the sunrise looked like this morning:

How can you not have hope on a gray day when it starts out with a little pink?

At Year's End

So now at last we come to it, the end of 2018.

What has this year brought?

Rain. Mold. Leaks. We've had about 22" more rain that normal and broke records for rain for the year. My poor husband could barely find a dry day to make hay, never mind work on people's septic tanks.

As this day hit is mid-hour, I learned that Elizabeth Warren is looking into running for President of the United States. While I would love to see her as president, I don't think she is the candidate for the Democrats. We will see. Already on Facebook the #45 trolls are out, bashing, thrashing, mauling, crawling, before the day is even thinking of ending.

Play nice.

I would like to say I saw lots of niceness in 2018, but I did not. Oh, I was not personally molested, except for my mind, which frequently couldn't begin to understand the anger, ire, hatred, bigotry and rage that surrounds me. I stopped reading comments on articles, even mundane things, because suddenly there would be hate, seemingly unrelated and coming out of left field. This is really America, though. This is what we are, who we are, and our new normal. We're a people full of hate and rage. I suppose we always have been. My rose-colored glasses kept me from seeing it. I thought we liked one another, that we cared about each other, that we were rising to a higher level of society. That we would one day be the pinnacle of civilization, a true beacon of light and hope.

I don't think that now.

My life went on quietly, with no great strides in personal growth, but I don't think I went backwards, either. I read fewer books, which was unfortunate, but ever since I switched to progressive lenses I find reading harder and more headache-inducing. It makes me sad that my eyes are keeping me from something I love so much, but there you go. It is what it is. I read more magazine articles now, though. More things online, too, because I can increase the font.

The rain suits me. Or maybe it is the mud, because I feel stuck, my feet firmly encased in goo that oozes down my socks and traps me as I stand there in my shoes. Thank goodness I still have clothes on. Wouldn't that be a sorry sight.

Today I reflect. Tomorrow I hope.

Tonight, I go to bed and sleep in the new year, much as I have done most of my life. You can make a new year on any day of your life, after all, if you want. Just be different one day and see what happens.

Let's all try that tomorrow. My nephew has a motto for his business that is "be opposite." I wonder if all of those who hate could try that, just for a day. Be opposite and love.

Would everything break, if it was just for a day?

I hope you, my dear reader, whoever you are, have a wonderful 2019. I hope you had a good 2018, too. I hope it wasn't a year filled with hate and heartbreak. I hope 2019 brings everyone sacks full of hope, honesty, honor, and love.

Sacks that I hope find their way into hearts and not trash cans.

Be good out there. Be kind. Be best, as our First Lady says.

Be your best.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Are flowers a nice gift to give someone?

A. So long as the person is not allergic to them, they are a lovely present.

2. Do you wear any jewelry?

A. I wear my wedding band, a necklace, and earrings when I go out.

3. Have you ever laid in a field of flowers?

A. Yes. (Ok, is it "laid" or "lain" - I always get this confused.)

4. Do you like tea?

A. Yes. My favorite is decaffeinated Irish tea.

5. What would you do with a million dollars?

A. You can't buy much with a million dollars these days, but I'd like to think I'd set "enough" aside so that we didn't have to worry, and establish a foundation with the remainder so I could help people. I'd like to build a library, for one thing.

6. What word do you have trouble saying?

A. Vacuuming.

7. Favorite fairytale?

A. I have always been partial to Snow White and Red Rose.

8. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

A. No. I outgrew that a very long time ago.

9. Do you prefer the city or the country?

A. I live in the country and prefer it to the city.

10. Are you a big fan of makeup?

A. I wear it but I wouldn't say I am a fan. It is becoming expensive and I can foresee a day when I might actually venture out without it. I see more women not wearing it.

11. Favorite drink?

A. I love Coca-Cola but I haven't had any in years.

12. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve stayed awake?

A. About 24 hours. That happened in 2010 and was the year we drove to Myrtle Beach, SC, discovered our hotel was awful and everything else was booked up, so we turned around and drove back home. What a long day that was.

13. Have you ever traveled outside of your country?

A. I have been to Spain and France.

14. Do you like spring?

A. Yes. Boing. Boing.

15. Lipstick or lip gloss?

A. I wear Burt's Bees Honey Moisturizing Lip Balm. Only that will do.

16. Favorite color?

A. Blue.

17. Do you like to decorate?

A. Not particularly.

18. Do you ever go barefoot when you’re outside?

A. Not if I can help it.

19. Are aliens real?

A. Why not? People believe in all sorts of weird stuff. Might as well believe in aliens too.

20. Does you zodiac sign fit your personality?

A. Yes. I'm a Gemini.

21. Favorite sea animal?

A. The urchin.

22. Are you a nice person?

A. I am told I am.

23. Favorite word?

A. Interesting. It covers every situation.

24. Night or day?

A. Day.

25. What would make you happy right now?

A. A sense of purpose.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Winter Wonderland

Saturday 9: Winter Wonderland (1968)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Welcome to the last Saturday 9 of 2018! Thanks for a great year, everyone.

1) This is an unconventional take on an old familiar song. Over the holidays, do you prefer traditional carols? Or do you like to mix it up with more contemporary fare?

A. I like secular holiday tunes more than I do carols unless it Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Then I like carols.

2) Now that Christmas is behind us, are you enjoying a relaxing week? Or do you have socializing/celebrating/chores to do?

A. I mostly spent a quiet week. I still have a little socializing to do, and there are always chores.

3) Winter is a time for cocooning. What book or movie did you enjoy in 2018 that you would recommend to your fellow Saturday 9-ers?

A. I liked the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. It's supposed to be coming out as a TV serial January 17 on Sundance.

4) Looking back on the past year, what was one of your happiest moments?

A. I think the week I spent filling in for the editor of the newspaper was probably one of my better weeks.

5) What was the smartest thing you did all this past year?

A. I went back to physical therapy.

6) As 2018 comes to a close, what are you most grateful for?

A. My husband. He has stood with me through lots of crap, from job issues to health concerns, and still calls me his "sweetie pie."

7) This week's featured artist is Herb Alpert. Because of the style he popularized and the name of his band, people assume he's Hispanic. Yet his parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania. What's something we'd be surprised to learn about you?

A. According to family lore, my great-great grandfather was a preacher who owned a whore house.

8) He performed an instrumental version of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXII. How did your favorite sports teams do in 2018?

A. I don't watch sports, but the high school from which I graduated had a banner year in volleyball and football.

9) Random question: When did you last check your social media feed?

A. Probably about two hours ago. I look at it but I seldom post on it.

___________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Squirrel Eating Celery

Yes, the squirrel was hanging upside down!

Thursday Thirteen

1. The holidays aren't over until you say they are, a friend told me. Are your holidays over?

2. We have had more rain in my area than ever. We've broken records. The year isn't over yet and more rain is on the way.

3. The over abundance of rainy days made it difficult to get the hay up this past year, and makes it hard to feed the cattle now because of the mud.

4. Once I walked around Roanoke City in the rain just to be able to say I'd experienced a city in the rain. I did not find it poetic or thrilling. Just wet.

5. I am not a fan of cities anyway. They smell funny and they are full of people. I like people but only in small doses.

6. With drone delivery and the new way to pick up your food without leaving your car, I wonder if we will see the end of people going out of their homes at all. Will the day come when a drone delivers bread and milk before the snow?

7. I have not been a corporate worker for ages and ages (more like next to never). I don't understand the lingo or how they function, exactly, so I don't have a feel for how long people will have jobs in big companies.

8. The largest company I ever worked for was a large law firm, and I suspect law is different from something like Exxon or IBM or Microsoft. But maybe not.

9. I have an office in my home, where I have worked for 25 years. Every now and then I have to stop what I am doing and clean it up. I'm a piler, not a filer, but I like to have things neat before I start a new project.

10. My next project will be to finish the accounting up for the year and work on the taxes. Yippee. With the changes in the tax law, I have no idea what will need to be done, really. Fortunately I have an accountant, and I can hand her everything like I did last year and she can sort it out.

11. I read this morning that #45 told the troops he visited they were receiving a 10% pay raise but the Pentagon said the raise wasn't that large (it's 2.6%) nor was it true that soldiers had not received a pay raise in 10 years (they have received a small pay raise every year). #45 also said during the campaign that the regular ol' people were getting some kind of payback or tax cut or something, which did not happen. Why can't people tell the truth? Why make something up? Why not offer up facts instead of making yourself look bad?

12. People who lie a lot ultimately end up being caught because there is no way to keep all of those webs they've spun around themselves straight. Eventually someone will trip on a thread and it will all unravel, and the facts will spill out. Then everyone knows you're a liar, and liars are not trustworthy people. I'm talking about big lies, not telling someone they look fine when they are dressed poorly. Sometimes you have to lie to be nice, but that is different from lying to make yourself look good.

13. I wonder what would happen if we all took the word "truth" as our personal word for 2019. What truths do we need to learn? What truths do we need to acknowledge? What truths do we need to understand in order to make effective change? What is your personal truth? Is the story you have told yourself about your life actually the truth? What is truth, anyway? Is my first statement in this strange line of thinking true?


----------------------------
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 584thd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Christmas with Hubby's Family

Christmas with my husband's family has always tended to be as much about eating as about opening gifts. Maybe it's even more about eating. At any rate, there is always a meal there at Christmas time.




My brother-in-law and my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law surprised by making fried
green tomatoes. I thought I was the only one in the family who liked them.



My mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law checking out the dip.

A big ol' sliced ham.

Opening the presents. That's my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law.

My nephew in the back; his mom in the front.



My nephew brought his fiancée  with him. This was the first time I'd actually met her. She seems very nice.
 

And thus endeth the holiday season. Hurrah.

Merry Christmas, Dear Readers

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my readers out there. I don't know who many of you are - I know by the numbers you are there, though.

Thank you for spending a few moments of your life with me and my little musings and photos. I greatly appreciate the fact that you are engaged enough to return and that some of you comment. Whether you read only or comment, too, I am humbled by the fact that you are here.

Writing a blog for this long takes a lot of effort. I've been using this particular blog since August 2006, which is a very long time. I don't know how long many of you have been reading but I know that some of you have been commenting for years. It's like a little club of friends I've never met and probably never will meet, but it is nice to know you're out there.

I hope that 2019 is a wonderful year for all of you - for all of us - and that you have all you need to make your life sweet and good.

Be kind to one another; the world needs our gentleness in these hard-hearted days.

Be blessed, and feel loved.

I am very glad you're walking beside me, in whatever form that takes.

A photo from my 2006 Christmas blog.

Christmas at Dad's

Saturday evening my husband and I had Christmas with my father at his house.

This was the first time I had had what one would call a Christmas over there since 1999, so I guess if you look at it that way it was sort of a big deal. They had been coming to my house for the last few years, but my father broke his foot so I suggested we move things there so he wouldn't have to walk around. Not that he sits still, but I was trying to be kind.

We had a nice visit with my father, his wife Rita, my niece Zoe, and her mother, Dina. Rita served up BBQ and chicken salad along with beans and chips and things. Then we opened presents, and after that my father and I played Christmas music, which Dina taped and posted live on Facebook. I have no idea how to access that so it can be seen, however.

Anyway, here are photos of the present-opening part. I forgot to take pictures of the food.

Rita with Zoe. Zoe turns 17 in January.

Zoe opening up a present. I remember when I had hair that long. Almost the same color, too.

My father.

Zoe again. She's the closest to a child we have in the family now.

My feller looking on at the gift-giving.

Zoe reading a card.

My father again.

My father and Zoe.

My husband opening a gift.

He required a pocket knife, I think.

Rita, my stepmother.

Zoe with Dina, looking on.

Rita with a present from Dina, I think.

Zoe gave Rita an ornament that looked like Zoe's new driver's license.