Sunday Stealing: Around the House

Sunday Stealing: Around the House

Bedroom: what’s your sleep schedule?
A. 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

 

Kitchen: favorite comfort food?

A. Chocolate.

 

Washroom: showers or baths? bubbles? bath bombs?

A. Showers. What the heck is a bath bomb?

 

Closet: sum up your style in a few words.

A. Messy.

 

Parlor: favorite party or board game?

A. Monopoly.

 

Living room: what do you like to do with your family?

A. We watch a lot of TV. Well, generally he watches TV while I crochet or read or knit or something, Game of Thrones nights excepted.

 

Dining room: favorite special occasion food?

A. Chocolate Lush

 

Garden: favorite tree? flower?

A. Tree: maple. Flower: rose.

 

Attic: what’s one thing you have a sentimental attachment to and you will never throw away?

A. Santa Mouse, except he's not in the attic, he's stored in a secret place. In the attic, I suppose Grandma's quilting racks would be something we will never be rid of.

 

Library: favorite book genre?

A. Fantasy.

 

Office: if you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

A. Book Publisher (like owner of Random House or something big like that).

 

Guest room: have you been to a sleepover? if so, when was your first? do you like them?

A. I have been to sleepovers when I was young. We stayed at my grandmother's a lot, which I suppose one might call a sleepover. I liked those. I don't mind people over to my place, only I don't have a guest room. They'd have to sleep on the couch or the floor (or I would). I am not much on staying at other people's houses because of my many allergies.

 

Foyer: do you like small gatherings, large parties, or one-on-one meetings?

A. One-on-one meetings.

 

Pantry: favorite meal to make?

A. I really don't like to cook. I make good fudge at Christmas.

 

Laundry: favorite and least favorite chore?

A. I like doing laundry. My husband's very nasty clothes, covered with cow doodie and dirt, are not fun to wash, but in warm weather I take them outside and hose them down before I put them in the washing machine.

 

Garage: favorite mode of transportation? favorite car?

A. Car. I have a Camry, which I like, but I wouldn't mind having an Avalon.

 

Panic room: what was the most nerve-wracking experience you’ve had?

A. I'm generally a nervous person so it doesn't take much. However, the day my husband caught his arm in the hay baler was probably the worst panic I've ever had.

 

Powder room: do you wear makeup? if so, what one item can’t you live without? what’s your favorite look?

A. I do wear makeup. I still wear Covergirl. I use foundation, mascara, blush, and a powder coat, and eye color (taupe). I do not use lipstick because I've never found a brand that didn't make my lips swell up. Here's a picture of me taken last Sunday. I was thinking of replacing the photo currently on my blog with this one. What do you think?

 

Up-to-date picture (2017)

 

What I'm using now.
It is 5 years old.

 

 

Saturday 9: Don't Stop

Saturday 9: Don't Stop (1977)

. . . because Country Dew (that's me!) recommended Fleetwood Mac

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

1) Since we're not supposed to stop thinking about tomorrow, let's talk about it: What are your plans for Sunday?

A. It'll be just another Pleasant Valley Sunday here in status symbol land.

2) Fleetwood Mac was formed 50 years ago in London. Fifty years is considered a "golden anniversary." Do you wear more silver or gold?

A. I have always worn silver. My wedding ring is white gold. My watch is a mix of silver and gold. Lately, I have been wearing more gold than silver. It's a phase.

3) This song is from Rumours, which has sold 40 million copies. Is it in your collection?

A. Yes, it is, on an LP for which I have no player. I have The Dance, which was their reunion album, on a CD and on the computer. In some ways, it is a better album.

4) It was written by keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie. She was born Christine Perfect, a name that earned her a fair share of teasing when she was a school girl. Do you recall being teased in school? What about?

A. I was always teased about being smart. I was the kid who ended up with papers that had grades of 110 on them so the rest of the class could get a curve on their work. Some of the kids called me computer head. I used to cry about it but I could never pretend I was not as smart as I was.

5) Before Fleetwood Mac, McVie was in a band called Chicken Shack. If you were to order out for a chicken dinner, which restaurant would you turn to?

A. I would go to our local supermarket and buy a roasted chicken. The only restaurant we have locally that sells chicken is Bojangles and I really don't like their food.

6) Before McVie could pay all her bills with her music, she supported herself as a window dresser for a London department store. Do you enjoy walking along, just window shopping? Or do you consider "looking with no intention to buy" a waste of time?

A. I go in, buy what I want, and get out. Sometimes if I am out of ideas for someone for a gift I will browse. The only place I really like to look is in a book store.

7) When she found herself making big money, one of the first things Christine bought was a pair of matching Mercedes for herself and then-husband, John McVie. If you were handed a check for $1 million, what's the first thing you would do with the money?

A. Pay off bills, bank the rest until I could decide what I might want to do with it.

8) The other girl in Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, founded the Soldier's Angel Foundation. She believes in the healing power of music, and so she's proud to provide wounded soldiers with iPods already loaded with music. When you listen to music from your phone, MP3 player or iPod, do you use ear buds or headphones?

A. I don't use either. I listen to my music out of the stereo speakers with the sound filling the room.

9) Random question: Let's pretend your high school reunion is coming up. Which classmate are you more curious about: the one who was your first date, or the one who was too cool to give you the time of day?

A. My first date, I suppose. There were a lot of people who thought they were too cool to give me the time of day, and frankly I don't give a rat's ass about any of them now.

_____________

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. 
 

Fawn

Haven't seen very many fawns out and about this year. This one turned up in the yard the other evening.

Thursday Thirteen

Space . . . the final frontier!

Here are a few facts about the July 20, 1969 moon landing.



1. NASA built twelve lunar modules for the Apollo moon-landing program.

2. The command module from Apollo 11 brought astronauts safely back to Earth.

3. The Apollo 11 command module Columbia carried astronauts Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon and back in July 1969.

4. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington is home to several Apollo lunar modules built for the moon-landing program. It is visited by millions of people each year. The lunar roving vehicle qualification test unit is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

5. Neil Armstrong's famous moon walk is commemorated at the National Air and Space Museum.

6. On July 16, 1969, at 9:32 am EDT, Apollo 11 lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Neil Armstrong (commander), Buzz Aldrin (lunar module pilot) and Michael Collins (command module pilot) were the crew. The Apollo 11 spacecraft consisted of the command module, Columbia, and the lunar module, Eagle.

7. On July 20, 1969, at 1:47 pm EDT, Armstrong and Aldrin, in the lunar module Eagle, separated from the command module. Collins remained onboard the Columbia orbiting the moon. At 4:17 p.m. EDT, The Eagle landed. A minute later, Armstrong made a report to NASA, saying, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." He reported that the lunar module had set down on the moon's surface at the Sea of Tranquility. The module had only enough fuel to run for 40 more seconds.

8. On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 pm EDT, Armstrong stepped out of The Eagle. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," he said as he became the first human to set foot on the moon. At approximately 11:15 pm EDT, Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the moon. The men read from a plaque signed by the three crew members and the president, "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."

9. At 11:48 pm EDT on July 20, 1969, President Nixon spoke to Armstrong and Aldrin via radio from the Oval Office, "(it) certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made," the president said. They spoke for two minutes and the call was televised on both ends. Afterward, Armstrong and Aldrin spent over two hours collecting moon rock samples and data, and spent the night on board the Eagle.

10. The crew traveled 240,000 miles from the Earth to the moon in 76 hours.

11. ABC, CBS, and NBC spent, collectively, between $11 million and $12 million on Apollo 11 coverage and covered the mission from Sunday morning until Monday evening. The moon landing was watched by an estimated 600 million people around the world.

12. July 21, 1969 - At 1:54 pm EDT - The Eagle departs from the moon to rendezvous with Columbia. At 5:35 pm EDT, The Eagle docked with Columbia. After transferring moon rocks, data, and equipment, the Eagle was jettisoned, and the crew began the flight back to Earth. On July 22, 1969, Columbia reached a trajectory toward Earth.

13. July 24, 1969 - At 12:50 pm EDT Columbia splashes down, eight days, three hours and 18 minutes after liftoff. The astronauts return to Earth in the Pacific Ocean about 900 miles from Hawaii, then go into quarantine aboard the USS Hornet. On August 10, 1969, the astronauts were released from quarantine.

__________

 

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 509th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

The Bumbling Earth Journey

The Bumbling Earth Journey

requires courage, stamina, footprints
and unknown companions
walking in circles on an island
in the black void of the cosmos
a trip of crises in each valley,
heroism on each ridge,
despair in the flatlands
plastic in the ocean bottoms
a globe mapped by the senses
sight showing no horizon
your heart pounding out
you are alone
you are alone
you are not alone
the ancestors breathe on your neck
their visions flowing in your blood
inflaming you to a ballet of action
you continue their work
without knowing what is in the book
or if the heavens are overhead
or simply the grass beneath your feet
forward backward present
this is your time their time your children's time
each a speck of history
all standing together
alone and not alone so we seek
the alone, find the mountaintop solitude
hike through life
striding step by tiny step
smashing ants and bypassing bears
the trek growing longer the stops
shorter the needs lessened by the breadth
of the journey toward liberation
that place where you see what the smog covers
the arena where vulnerability peeks out
and says no really, you are strong
no pain will stop you for the adventure
has only one ending
death is safe and sweet
tell it to come
you will not be alone
it is not a new sun exploding in the universe
only change, a mind-darkening sleep
while the world moves on
step by step, others following in your footsteps,
your work now their ancestral beat
as you whisper in ears latched onto the drumbeats of war
like the wind you sigh peace in the face of hard things
remember I came before, I moved forward,
my journey taken for you and with you
the circle continuing in the heat and snow
ever-changing as the beauty of universal order
our journey now unfolding, evolving
the breathe of creation itself

                                   -- Anita Firebaugh

City Building Games

Lately I have been entertaining myself with a city-building game called Elvenar.

You can play as either a human or an elf. There are several worlds (or servers), and I am playing one of each. Because, you know, why not?

I started the elf city back in late March, and the human city a month later. In this game, you can play by yourself but it is very slow going. You need to trade and that is best done through joining a fellowship of 25 other players.

My fellowship in my elf city (which I named Arcadia) was small and out of sheer desperation, I began inviting other unaffiliated players to join us so I could have people to trade with. We had our numbers up to 19 players and then the archmage (the person who started the group) and our other top player (I was #3) simply stopped playing. Soon I was the #2 player. The lack of trades slowed me down considerably. No one else seemed to be playing as hard as I was, so last weekend, I dumped my fellowship. I spent a day moping about it, and redid my city so it would look a little less frantic, and applied to a fellowship that had a single opening but had players ranging in points from 180,000 to 101. (I am around 23,000 now).



My elf city, Arcadia

To my surprise, they accepted me, and I went in at #16. Three days later, I'm now at #13, having jumped ahead of a few players already. I intend to keep climbing, although the top players have been playing for over a year so I don't think I will beat them. I might catch them in points, eventually.

My human city (which I named Riften - Skyrim players will recognize that name) at this time is nearly even with my elf city, even though I started it a month later. I began in a young fellowship but the top 15 players or so work well together and seem to be doing great. I am #5 in that fellowship at the moment.

My human city, Riften.

City building cities have always fascinated me. I loved Age of Empires when it first came out, which not only was a city-building game but also a history teaching game. Civilization games taught me that ultimately corporations would rule the world - and it appears to be quite prophetic.

Anyway, these days you don't have to spend money to play games with all of these free apps. Of course they want you to spend money so that is why some things are hard, but with patience, you can move forward without dropping a dime.

14 Santas Come to Dinner

Friday night my husband and I were at Cracker Barrel in Troutville. I was stunned to see Halloween decorations on the floor already. It's still July!

They had a butler with his head on a platter, plates, and other ghostly and ghastly items available for purchase.

We sat down at our table, and as I was complaining about the early Halloween decorations, Santa Claus walked in.

He was followed by another Santa Claus, then another, and another, until I counted 14 of them. They also had Mrs. Santa Clauses by their sides.

Unfortunately I had no camera with me, so I used my husband's flip phone. I had never used this piece of technology for photos before - and neither had he, except apparently by accident - so I had to quickly figure out how to make it work. The photos are not great but hopefully you can see that these are Santas, complete with real beards and white hair.

Apparently there was a Santa convention at Camp Bethel, which is a Christian summer camp (Church of the Brethren) with rental facilities tucked away in the Mill Creek area of the county.

On the way home, we saw a double rainbow. I took this as a good sign and stopped and bought a lottery ticket.

However, we did not win a single dollar. I guess rainbows and Santa Clauses do not bring good luck.

They did, however, make me feel better.

Sunday Stealing: Firsts

Sunday Stealing:  Firsts

First Job: Babysitter, unless you count farm work, in which case I was a baby calf feeder, a chicken feeder, and assorted other farm-kid- duties doer.

First Real Job: Parts Manager

First Favorite Politician: Jimmy Carter

First Car: I had an old Jeep when I was 12 years old that I drove up and down our very long driveway.

First Record/CD:  I don't recall. I think as a young child my first album was children's songs from Disney. As a teenager, I think it might have been Captain and Tennille.

First Sport Played: Probably dodge ball.

First Concert: My parents took me to see Loretta Lynn. I think. It was somebody like that.

First Foreign Country Visited: We actually landed in London on our way to Spain. But we didn't get off the plane.

First Favorite TV Show: The Partridge Family.

First Favorite Actor: David Cassidy, who played Keith Partridge.

First Favorite Actress: Susan Dey, who played Laurie Partridge.

First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: I think his name was James. Seems like every boy I dated was named James.

First Encounter with a Famous Person: When my high school band played the Star Spangled Banner for President Jimmy Carter.

First Brush With Death: My grandfather passed away when I was 12. I almost died when I was 23 and had an ovarian cyst rupture.

First House/Condo Owned: The one I live in now is the first one I owned.

First Film Seen: Planet of the Apes.

First Favorite Recording Artist: Linda Ronstadt

First Favorite Radio Station: Whichever one played American Top 40.

First Book I Remember Reading: The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss.

First Meme You Answered on Your Blog: I've been doing this since 2006. But it appears my first "meme" type thing was BlogBlast for Peace, then known as The Peace Blog Initiative. That was in November 2006. In January 2007, I started doing Thursday 13.

__________
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: Never Let You Down

Saturday 9: I Will Never Let You Down (2017)

. . . because Smellyann recommended Fastball

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

1) Fastball is a trio from Austin, Texas. Austin is the capital of Texas. When you were in school, did you have to memorize the state capitals?

A. I don't recall having to do so.

2) Have you ever visited your state's capital?

A. Yes. Virginia's state capital is Richmond, which was incorporated in 1742, though it was founded in 1737. The city is located along the James River and was an early commercial hub. It served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. When the Union Army took Richmond, the Civil War was basically over. (There is a legend that when the Confederate legislature abandoned Richmond, they took a lot of gold and other wealth with them, and hid it somewhere. But no one knows where.)

3) Fastball played dates throughout Canada this past spring. When did you last leave the US of A?

A. I visited Spain and France in 1979.

4) Tony Scalzo is a founding member of Fastball. He's the singer in the video for this song, and that's his wife, Jennifer, playing the organizer of the speed-dating event. Have you ever gotten a job because you knew somebody?

A. Yes. I think that is mostly how it is done these days. It certainly isn't from the help wanted ads in the newspaper.

5) In this pitch to a perspective lover, he admits he doesn't have much money. Last time you went to the ATM, how much did you withdraw?

A. I don't use the ATM. I go to the drive-through window at the bank so I can speak to a live person.

6) He sings that at times, his mind is hazy. Do you have a good memory for names?

A. No. I frequently do not recall who someone is, especially if they are not where they are supposed to be. I have embarrassed myself many times by mistaking someone for another person, or not remembering their name. I have learned to be generic, like "how are things?" instead of asking about family.

7) Fastball guitarist Miles Zuniga admits that he once had a crush on Carrie Fisher (aka Princess Leia). Tell us about one of your one-sided love affairs, either with a celebrity or someone you knew in real life.

A. I had a big crush on Legolas in the Lord of the Rings movies. He is the elf who helped get the One Ring back to Mount Doom, though his role was more in battles away from the quest than the actual quest part. I thought Orlando Bloom was quite handsome. However, it turns out that is the only role I like him in. I have seen him in other things and not been impressed.

8) Fastball's drummer Joey Shuffield is partial to drums from Pork Pie Percussion. This company was started by Bill Detamore, who began making drums as a hobby. Do you have any hobbies that, under the right circumstances, could make you money?

A. I used to make money playing the guitar in a band, a very long time ago. I could probably do that again if I were to practice a bit. And there's my writing. I made a living as a freelance writer for a very long time. Now I only write for myself, but I could go back to that.

9) The fast ball is the most common pitch in major league baseball. Now that the MLB season is past the halfway mark, how is your baseball team doing?

A. I don't have a baseball team. Sorry.

_____________

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.

Just What is Fake Media?

Everywhere I look these days, I see someone write about the fake media. "I don't trust the media," they say.

"It's all fake," they say.

Just out of curiosity, how long have you not trusted the media?

Was it before our current president started calling it fake news?

Maybe it was when Fox came to town and changed the dialogue to one of opinion instead of facts?

Was it when Dan Rather broke the story about George Bush's lackadaisical service in the Texas Air National Guard,  and was then ran out of broadcasting? (A story that to this day has never been proven true or false, by the way.)

Do you not trust the media because big corporations own most of it?

Maybe it's because Judith Miller at the New York Times reported about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - weapons that the federal government insisted were there?

Is it because Rachel Maddow is one of the smartest person on the planet? Or may you simply think she's overrated?

Do you only mistrust MSNBC and CNN, or do you include ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX in your "fake news" mantra?

Do you mistrust the White House page on Facebook, which as of today has turned into a massive propaganda machine, the likes of which even Edward Louis James Bernays (November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995), an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, who is often called "the father of public relations," would applaud and Hitler would salute? Or do you trust that?

Do you trust newspapers more than TV, or the other way around?

Do you trust Rush Limbaugh over someone else? Why would you trust the opinion of a single person, regardless of who he/she is, over anyone else, anyway?

I used to be in the media, so I am genuinely curious. People tell me all the time they don't trust the media, but I have yet to have anyone explain to me exactly why they don't trust it.

"Because I think it is one-sided/liberal" is not a good answer unless that can be backed up with fact, and so far no one has been able to back it up with facts, at least, not to me. Just because someone doesn't like what the media reports doesn't make it one-side or leaning in one direction. Just because one reporter messes up doesn't make it all wrong.

The media is not liberal, that's simply opinion, an opinion that's been chanted long and loud for far too long, but still not a fact. Determining whether something is liberal or conservative is opinion, not fact, because that's what the political divide is, opinions. Facts count. Opinion doesn't. We live by opinion these days and look where it's getting us. But it facts (and science) bring us the Internet and radio waves and TV. Not opinion.

Opinion doesn't do anything except make people's stomach's hurt and create bad policy. So what are the facts that make you not trust the media?

Even people that I have known a long time, people who have for years handed off stories to me from various news sources they trusted, no longer trust the media. Is this simply because one person says the news is fake?

I trust the media. Maybe I am in a minority here, and I understand that journalists are at the mercy of editors and owners and therefore they are constantly being undermined by big money and that stories are buried and changed based on dollar bills and not facts. I know this.

I also know that if one reads (which, apparently, most Americans do not), then you can read stories from multiple news sources and anyone with an IQ above 90 can figure out that if the story reads the same everywhere, it's a press release and probably not to be trusted, but if it has been researched and told differently from various sources, then the key things that are the same - names, dates, places, for instance - are probably true.

That isn't to say that journalists don't make mistakes, but I think that most journalists, even the highly paid ones, try to bring truth to the newsroom. I do not think journalists themselves set out to deliberately mislead. I think politicians try to use journalists to deliberately mislead, and it sometimes happens. I had it happen once myself and was incredibly unhappy with the politician who used me thusly. I no longer consider him a trustworthy person, though he seems none the wiser.

I know many people will disagree with me, even friends, but I do not think the media is the enemy. I do not think government, as an entity in and of itself, is the enemy. But I do think that certain individuals within the government, and within the media, may be the enemy. Apparently people can no longer tell the difference between an entity and an individual. And therein lies the problem.

Thursday Thirteen

Today, I offer you 13 statements about women that have came from the political realm in recent years. Some have become rallying cries. (And the last two are just because.)

1. Nevertheless, she persisted.

2. Nasty Woman

3. On Wednesdays, we wear pantsuits.

4. Binders full of women.

5. Women's rights are human rights.

6. The War on Women

7. My body is not a political issue.

8. Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.

9. Fight like a girl!

10. The Future is Female.

11. There is no Force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.

12. I will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. (Wonder Woman)

13. Only love can save this world. (Wonder Woman)

__________

 

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 508th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Kudzu

On US 220 as one heads into Franklin County, the highway is lined with kudzu. We don't see much of it here where I live; perhaps we're just a little too far north and not exactly the right climate. But two counties away, there it is.

Kudzu covering the side of the road, moving up into the trees, as far as one can see from a car.

Kudzu has always fascinated me. When I was growing up, I heard tales of how it was going to take over everything. It would grow overnight around a vehicle and encompass it, eating it like a giant anaconda engorging a cow. It was poisonous, or so I thought.

It was going to take over the world.

In Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake book, and the two that follow, a newly created humanoid, one Crake thought up to take the place of us reckless, angry, thoughtless, immoral and degraded human beings, sits and stares at the landscape, dreamily contemplating apparently nothing at all. These creatures, innocent and unthinking, ate kudzu because it was so plentiful that Crake thought it would be an endless food source for them.

It looks like it would eat everything, doesn't it?

Kudzu, named an invasive species by Congress in 1998, found its way to the United States via the 1876 World’s Fair Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Farmers had little use for the climbing, coiling, and trailing perennial vines native to much of eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. (The name is derived from the Japanese name for the plants, kuzu, which was written "kudzu" in historical romanizations.)

Kudzu was hard to harvest, being a vine, and sustained animal grazing killed it. For almost 60 years, it was largely forgotten.

Then along came the dust bowl of 1935, which left the prairie farms lifeless. Congress in its infinite wisdom decided it should do something about soil erosion, and somebody decided kudzu was the perfect foil. Greenhouses grew more than 70 million kudzu seedlings, and they were taken over by a new government entity, the Soil Conservation Service. In order to get it planted, the SCS offered $8 an acre to farmers to plant the vine.

While farmers remained skeptical, contractors, eager for something to cover the sides of the new roads they were carving into mountains and slopes, planted kudzu seedlings everywhere they went. In 1940, there was even a Kudzu Club of America, which had a membership of 20,000 and a goal of planting eight million acres of kudzu across the South.

However, just five years later, only about 1 million acres had been covered with the "crop." Once federal payments stopped, it was grazed over or plowed under. The government left kudzu to do what it would.

Kudzu climbing toward the sky via the trees.

 



It grew, and legends grew along with it. Today it does not cover millions of acres, but because it does grow well along roadsides, it is highly visible. It has become a symbol of the South, and part of the mythology of an area that other parts of the nation see as run-down, poor, and overtaken by grief and a nostalgia for a past that never really existed.

Kudzu became a symbol of the hopelessness of a land scarred by a Civil War that even now is still fought, with a battle raging just this weekend in Charlottesville as KKK and anti-racist protestors argued over whether a statue of Robert E. Lee belongs in the city park.

In Smithsonian Magazine, I found this paragraph in an article about kudzu:

In a 1973 article about Mississippi, Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, wrote that “racism is like that local creeping kudzu vine that swallows whole forests and abandoned houses; if you don’t keep pulling up the roots it will grow back faster than you can destroy it.” The photographs of kudzu-smothered cars and houses that show up repeatedly in documentaries of Southern life evoke intractable poverty and defeat.

It seems a truth, this notion and thought, this statement about a vine that supposedly eats the land. As I stand back and watch the changing mindscape of humanity, I have to wonder - are we becoming not Atwood's kudzu-eating innocents, but the mythology of the kudzu itself, a vine-like snake that eats everything in sight, and which will eventually kill itself when it turns around and eats its own tail.


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/true-story-kudzu-vine-ate-south-180956325/#8HfbETilyKTcpkVJ.99