Thursday Thirteen

1. I received my Covid shot on Tuesday. I chose Pfizer and made a point of not taking the Covid and flu shots at the same time. Aside from a little tiredness on Wednesday, I noticed no ill effects from the vaccine.

2. Better safe than sorry. I know the vaccine won't protect me completely, and I may still catch Covid if I'm not careful, but I am doing my best to stay healthy.

3. That includes trying to eat better, which is always a struggle. Why is it that my body seems to crave the very foods I'm not supposed to eat? When I try to eat better, sometimes a salad makes me feel worse than if I'd eaten a candy bar.

4. Taking care of yourself is a full-time job, one that I wasn't taught to do well by my parents. They didn't exercise, or make a point of leisure. They worked. Hard. And I was brought up to do the same.

5. That said, my inability to "work hard" has a tendency to leave me depressed. My body let me down with its endometriosis and gallbladder attacks and now adhesions in my gut that cause pain during 90 percent of my day.

6. However, I am still sticking to the walking on the treadmill. I am stuck at 20 minutes a day for the moment, but that's 20 minutes of walking I wasn't doing but am doing now. Pats on the back to me for sticking with it in spite of the pain.

7. We have voted already. Early voting started in Virginia in September, and last week we went and cast our votes. I was voter number 1,555, according to the counter that a poll worker helpfully pointed out to me to ensure I could see that my vote was cast and counted by the machine. I do wonder if since I know that if my secrecy of my vote is secure. I'm assuming the vote papers land in a nice little pile. Couldn't a poll worker simply count to 1,555 and say, "Aha! I know how she voted now!" ?

8. I was writing about voting security back in the early 2000s, when this county switched to what they called Win voting machines. They were all electronic, no paper to see anywhere, and I did not consider them secure in the least. I wrote a couple of articles about it, though if I am remembering correctly, they were mostly, "Yes, the voting machines are safe" articles because the voter registrar said so. At the time using the Internet for research wasn't so predominate so it was difficult to find an opposing opinion. Without seeing the articles, I don't recall if I found one.

9. It wasn't that I was a voting conspiracy theorist, I just felt like paper ballots allowed for a trail in the event of something happening. What if the power had gone out? No one could vote. I wasn't concerned about "illegal voters" or anything like that. I was just concerned about the security of the machines themselves. So were other people.

10. I used to think some conspiracy theories were harmless. Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, for example. Now we have conspiracy theories that are detrimental to a lot of people and are causing harm to many. Now I don't think any of them are harmless.

11. Home is where the heart is, and it's where I spend way too much time. It's just easier. And hopefully here I can do no harm.

12. The recent flooding in the mountains from Hurricane Helene have brought back a lot of memories. These old mountains flood terribly when a tropical front stalls over them. I remember the flooding from Hurricane Camille in 1969, Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and the flooding from 1985 (which I don't think was associated with a hurricane, but the remnants of a tropical storm). It doesn't happen often, but when it does happen, it's bad. 

Here's a video of the Flood of '85.

13. Mother Nature is vicious sometimes. But what would we do without her? I feel bad for the folks who were flooded out in various communities on the east coast. I also know that help arrives as quickly as it can. Sometimes all you can do is help yourself. Maybe most of the time.

*I really don't like these TTs where my brain just wanders all over the place.*

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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 879th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

That Certain Slant of Light

 

Bucks Butting Heads

A quick little short video I captured of two bucks hitting their horns together. 

I Am Honored

Yesterday, the Botetourt County Historical Society, Inc. held its 16th Founders Day Dinner at Virginia Mountain Vineyards in Fincastle.

A few weeks ago, I received a call from one of the members telling me I should be there, and they were giving me two tickets to the event. I was receiving a recognition, I was told.

Actually, I received The Garland Stevens Award, named after one of the museum's founders. Mr. Stevens, who is no longer with us, was also my husband's cousin, and I knew him. I think I interviewed him at some point, but to be honest I have interviewed so many residents of Botetourt County that without going back through the newspapers I can't be certain of that.

I was greatly honored to receive this for my writing and for my other work to help preserve the historic nature of Botetourt County. Over the many years I wrote for the newspaper, I sounded the alarm on several structures that were up for demolition, and the Historical Society or others sometimes were able to step in and save these buildings. Not always, but not every battle is meant to be won.

Additionally, I served with Historic Fincastle, Inc., on its board for a number years and served as its president for two years. I also wrote the magazine that celebrated the county's 250th anniversary in 2020, and to be honest, because of Covid, that magazine (which is no longer in print) is about all the evidence that there was any notice of the anniversary at all. (My old editor, Ed McCoy, wrote a book called Chronicles of Botetourt that came out that year, and it was a 250th anniversary project, but it was not sponsored by the county.)

The event lasted 3 hours and much to my surprise, my father and stepmother came to see me receive my recognition. I was able to introduce my father to several people I know, including our representative to the Virginia General Assembly in the House of Delegates and the chairman of the county supervisors. I'm not sure my dad knew that I am on a first-name basis with these folks. I don't go around talking about it, after all. But I liked being able to introduce him to these dignitaries.

My close friend Teresa and her husband Robin also came (and they are important people, too, in our community), and I was so glad to be able to spend time with them. I saw many other folks that I haven't seen in at least 4 or 5 years.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Sarah McCartney, Assistant Teaching Professor, NIAHD, from The College of William and Mary. She spoke for about 40 minutes on the Battle of Point Pleasant, which is considered by some historians to be the actual beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

While the battle took place in what is now West Virginia, at the time it occurred in 1774, the land was part of Botetourt County.

We had a very nice time, although I was worn out when we got home. That was a long time for me to be out of my little nest here. 

Sunday Stealing

1. What do you hope your last words will be?

A. "I love you."

2. What do you spend the most time thinking about?

A. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should be doing - and then not doing it.

3. What is something you can never seem to finish?

A. I do not finish novels or long short stories that I start to write.

4. What mistake do you keep making again and again?

A. I open my mouth.

5. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?

A. I received a strong work ethic from my parents.

6. What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?

A. The best thing about growing older is (hopefully) having a little more wisdom. The worst thing about growing older is the decay of the physical body (and I include the mind in that).

7. What do you wish your brain was better at doing?

A. I wish I could remember faces better. I run into people I am supposed to know at the store, and I seldom remember who they are until days or weeks later. Sometimes I never remember who they are. This is frustrating.

8. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

A. Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

9. What have you created that you are most proud of?

A. I am proud of the magazine I made for my county's 250th anniversary. I am also proud of this blog, because I have done it for such a long time.

10. What were some of the turning points in your life?

A. Turning points in my life include my marriage, my college graduation, and several health issues.

11. What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?

A. I have no problem admitting to any of the songs or artists I like.

12. What small impact from a stranger made a big impact on you?

A. 

13. As you get older, what are you becoming more and more afraid of?

A. I am becoming more afraid of losing my health, and I have become more afraid that some of the benefits I expected to have, like Medicare and Social Security, are at risk.

14. What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?

A. I had teachers who told me I could write, and that supported me. 

15. What could you do with $2 million to impact the most amount of people?

A. I would donate the $2 million to some charity, perhaps Feeding America, after much examination, to ensure that it would be the best place to put the funds to help the most people.

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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.