Bland Autumn

This is one of the worst years for Autumn colors that I can recall. I don't know where the color went, but it wasn't on the trees.

I caught this as the sun was setting after a rain; it really did turn everything pink. This photo is untouched.

Listen to the Music

I've been thinking a lot about this great divide, these hideous, ugly cracks that have appeared in the landscape and throughout the minds of the citizens of the United States.

First, I wonder if it's really there - because I have always been able to talk to most people about nearly anything, in my work as a news reporter. Perhaps it was because I was listening and not arguing that I was able to do that. I may have disagreed with the person's words or point of view but it was not my job to judge. I reported what was said and let the public decide if a supervisor or county administrator or judge or whoever was a total idiot or one of the greatest minds ever to walk the grounds of Fincastle.

I think it is there, now, and I think the media is keeping at the forefront. Divide and conquer creates great copy, after all, and makes for excitement. Keeping the public stirred up, fearful, questioning, and confused works for those who crave power, whether that is a politician or a TV executive. The politicians do not help, of course. I will be so glad when the election is over tomorrow. Perhaps for a day we will have some time on TV with no political advertisement. Then they'll start for whatever election is next, I suppose.

Then I wondered how long this divide has been around. Unfortunately, I have determined it has been around for as long as I have been alive. I overlooked it. I missed it. It was right in front of me, staring me in the face, but I didn't see it. Maybe I didn't want to see it. Maybe because I was raised with racism around me, with hatred and bitterness simply a part of the landscape while I escaped to better places in my mind with my books and my own somewhat less angry heart. (I have a depressed and sad heart, always have, but at least it is not an angry one.)

How did I figure out it has always been there? I listened. This time I listened to things I'd been hearing all of my life - certain songs and words in music. And in those songs I find the beginnings of the discord, the great divide, the things that at the time seemed innocent but which ultimately are not.

I grew up listening to country music in my early years. I switched over to pop/Top 40 as soon as I was old enough to do that (let's say 11 or 12) and never looked back. I still don't listen to country music.

But it occurred to me that the divide was going on way back when. Two songs come to mind for me when I think about what we'll call "the right."  Those songs are Okie from Muskogee and Sweet Home Alabama.

The first song, by Merle Haggard, celebrates what I would call small town America. Here are the lyrics:

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street
'Cause like livin' right and bein' free

We don't make a party out of lovin'
But we like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen
Football's still the roughest thing on campus
And the kids here still respect the college dean

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA

I presume everything "they" don't do, then "the left" does. Although I know plenty of folks of all persuasions who've smoked a little marijuana and had long hair, but whatever. This song spells it out about as well as anything. And it dates back to 1969. I was six years old in 1969.

The second song, by Lynard Skynard, is a one I've always liked. It falls more into the Southern Rock category than the first song, which is definitely country.

Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the south-land
I miss 'ole' 'bamy once again and I think it's a sin

Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

In Birmingham they love the Gov'nor, boo-hoo-hoo
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you, tell the truth

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you, here I come

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two (yes they do)
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue, now how bout you?

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

Sweet home Alabama, oh sweet home
Where the skies are so blue and the governor's true
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

I always thought it was a song about a trucker going home to Alabama, and maybe it is. But the lines that really caught my attention recently were the ones about Neil Young (a liberal musician) and "Watergate does not bother me."

That stopped me short. Why wouldn't Watergate bother someone? Shouldn't it have bothered everybody? It was a crime, a violation of trust, a break in the sanctity of government, a breach of truth.

I strongly suspect that the same people who weren't bothered by Watergate aren't bothered by the things the 45th president says. I am greatly bothered by them, particularly the lies and the outrageous statements that serve only to create fear, disharmony, and discord.

That song came out in 1974. And from there I really stopped hearing that side of things, because I stopped listening to country music. I began listening to disco and songs that celebrated love. I also started listening to songs like Born in the USA, by Bruce Springsteen, which has a patriotic chorus but is not very flattering to the nation because it's really an indictment of the Vietnam War. And then there were the anti-war songs, in particular War by Edwin Starr (War! Good God, y'all, what is good for? Absolutely nothing.) I also loved White Rabbit byJefferson Airplane (and that has an inappropriate age restricted notice from youtube, I can't even imagine that), Where Have All the Flowers Gone (Peter, Paul, and Mary) and similar songs - mostly anti-war, pro-love, pro-peace, pro-people.

The thing is, had I spent more time listening to different types of music, maybe I would have picked up on the divide. It's rather like the shock I get when I watch something on Fox (which I seldom do but sometimes I feel compelled to check it out). Everything is different about that TV station, even the TV commercials. It's slanted, focused, and pointed at one thing - making sure the viewer knows that change is coming and whatever the change is, it is not good, and the viewer should be afraid.

Change always comes though. Music has evolved since 1969 - we have so many different genres now that it is truly an accurate reflection of the prism of our society, right down from the differences in country music to hip hop to new age to adult contemporary.

I thought I was being open-minded in my music styles, but I wasn't. I listened for a long time to adult contemporary, NPR classical stuff, a little jazz, and oldies music. However, I don't listen to country or hip hop (or reggae or the blues) and in the last two years I have stopped listening to new music for the most part. Mostly now I listen to songs from the 1970s and older albums by Sheryl Crowe and Melissa Etheridge.

I tuned out and turned it off.

I created my own little bubble without realizing that was what I was doing.

Such a fractured, fragile nation, full of bluster and humus and deranged personalities. I don't expect a single day of voting to change the rhetoric or much of anything else.

Only we, the people, can do that. We can come together, or we can continue to tear ourselves apart.

I wonder what we will choose.

Dona Nobis Pacem

I haven't participated in the November 4 Peace Blog in quite a while, but this seems like a good time to get back to it. I can't stand the hatred that seems to be flowing in waves across not only the United States but most of the world. Why must people be mean when it is just as easy to be kind?


To learn more about peace blogging, check out the information here.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What's the coldest temperature you've experienced?

A. The record low for my area is -9 F in 2002, so I guess that.

2. What's for dinner tonight?

A. A salad.

3. Would you consider moving to Australia?

A. Yes.

4. What was your favorite subject in high school?

A. English.

5. How many hours a day is your tv on?

A. If I am home alone, none. If my husband is here, then about 4 hours.

6. Have you ever received an award?

A. Yes. I have received numerous Virginia Press Association Awards for my writing, along with some other awards for my work.

7. What does your mousepad look like?

A. It's solid blue.

8. How many browser tabs do you have open right now?

A. Only one on this brower, 4 on another. Yes, I use multiple browsers at the same time.

9. If you are a parent, have you or did you ever put Vicks VapoRub on your children under the age of 2?

A. I have no children.

10. As an adult, do you like the scent of Vicks VapoRub?

A. Yes.

11. If you had to pick one insect to infest your house for 1 day and after that day they would just suddenly vanish, which insect infestation would you pick?

A. Flies. As far as I know they don't leave visible poop or spit or anything like that. I suppose they might in mass quantities.

12. What color is your underwear that you are wearing right at this moment?

A. White.
__________

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: It Must Be Him

Saturday 9: It Must Be Him (1967)

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

1) This song is about a woman waiting impatiently for a phone call. Do you consider yourself patient?

A. Not particularly.

2) Other women (most notably Shirley Bassey and Dottie West) have recorded this song. Harry James and Doc Severinson did instrumental versions. But there's no record of a male singing "Oh dear God! It must be her! Or I shall die!" Do you think that's because waiting for the phone to ring is more "a chick thing," and men simply don't do it?

A. I don't think I have ever sat around and waited for the phone to ring, unless I was expecting a business call at an appointed time. I think it's a human thing but I doubt most men would admit to feeling so lonely and needy.

3) This recording enjoyed a sudden surge of popularity after 20 years when it was included on the soundtrack of Moonstruck, the 1987 film that won Cher an Oscar. Have you seen Moonstruck?

A. I don't think so.

4) This week's featured artist, Vikki Carr, was born in El Paso, TX. El Paso can proudly proclaim itself one of America's safest cities. What can your hometown be proud of?

A. My closest city is known as the Star City of the South because it has a huge neon star on Mill Mountain, which is within the city's borders. The star was built in 1949 as a gimmick to bring in shoppers. The star is made of neon. It changes color from red, white, and blue, depending on time period and whims of city council.

I think it is the largest manmade neon structure in the world, but I wouldn't swear to that.

You can see what the City of Roanoke looks like from the star on the StarCam.

Here are photos I took in 2014.

 

 

 

5) She was a staple on Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon, raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association by performing this song. Is your TV on right now? If so, what are you watching?

A. My TV is not on.

6) In 1971, Vikki fulfilled a dream of hers by establishing the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation. Every year the foundation awards Hispanic American students money to use toward higher education. She says it's her way of returning "the support and encouragement she received from others" early in her career. If you could establish a charitable foundation, what cause would you like it to benefit?

A. I would establish a charitable foundation that assisted with illiteracy.

7) In 1967, when this song was popular, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant. Today, one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States is the coronary artery bypass surgery. Have you had any surgeries?

A. I've had multiple surgeries. From 1987 to 1993 I had a surgery a year for endometriosis which ultimately ended in a hysterectomy when I was 29 years old. I had my tonsils out in 1994 as an adult (and it hurt, don't let anyone ever tell you you'll get over that in two days). My gallbladder surgery in 2013 turned out to be a major trial as it set off a debilitating endless pain loop of scar tissue that has built up in my abdominal muscles.

8) Also in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary was retired after 31 years of service. Have you ever traveled by cruise ship?

A. No.

9) Random question: Who is your oldest living relative?

A. My mother-in-law, though she is not really my blood relative. She's 85. My oldest living blood relative would be my father, who is 77.
___________

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.

Eagle

Saw this eagle on Friday off Etzler Road:

Photos shot with iPhone SE.

Thursday 13

Things that are just irritating the crap out of me right now:

1. People who are supposed to do work for you but have excuses.

2. People who schedule times and then change them at their whim.

3. People who lie to you about the things they can do just to get your money.

4. People who are inconsiderate.

5. People who don't know how to drive but are behind the wheel anyway.

6. People who are racists, bigots, biased, extremists, etc.

7. People who don't know how to count out change when they work in retail.

8. People who text you with a question and then leave you hanging when you respond.

9. People who make those "I'm with the credit card company" scam calls.

10. People who send spam in my email.

11. People who make promises and don't keep them.

12. People who say they will call you and then don't.

13. People who don't read.

Ok. Apparently I'm just irritated with people in general. Hopefully dogs are reading my blog today.

----------------------------
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 576th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Unfinished Work

I don't like to write posts like this. I don't like to be critical of companies or their workers. I do expect, though, for people to work and do their job when I am paying for products and labor.

I don't expect them to show up at 11 a.m. and then work for an hour and take a 2-hour lunch. I expect at least a 6-hour work day out of them. I realize putting down tile is not easy but if you only work 3 hours a day, it sure takes a long time.

To remind you, we had an incident with the dishwasher which resulted in the loss of my 30-year-old parquet flooring. We choose to replace it with tile.

We chose our flooring company, a place in Roanoke that I politely will not name - yet. While we were at it, we decided to replace the carpeting in the living room, hallway, and bedroom with hardwood flooring, something we had intended to do in the next five years anyway. So I chose the tile to go with the hardwood flooring. So this was not a little job. It was a half-house renovation.

The tile was installed in mid-October. On its face it looks ok, but it is not the best tile job I've ever seen. The more I walk on it, the more I find uneven places. Plus, the job is not finished.

The salesperson had cut the job into two parts: one for the tile, one for the hardwood. We had terrible issues with the tile and the installer was not welcome to return. Now we've issues with the hardwood - we wanted a simple change of direction in one room for the wood and some way to make that change in an open area without a transition strip (because that was something else to trip over), and for some reason this was a big problem -  and yesterday we cancelled that job out of sheer frustration. However, we are now left with an unfinished mess.




There is no quarter round along the baseboard, so you can see how badly that looks.



The carpet is not tacked down where it meets the tile. It's actually simply laying over top of the tile.

 

This is how it is sitting on the tile. I consider it a real trip hazard.

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but this particular tile is raised
up enough at this end that you can stub your toe on it. If it were under the
table it would be one thing, but it's right in the main walk area.

I am greatly distressed by this and don't quite know where to go from here. I did not hear from the company today. I think if I knew I had a customer as upset as we are, I'd be calling and bending over backwards to try to fix the problems, but apparently we're not "big" enough players to warrant attention.

Looks like it might be time to drag out my poison pen and send off a letter to the company's manager and president.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What is on your mind right now?

A. I have an ache in the left side of my jaw and I can't decide if it's a tooth, my ear, or my TMJ. The gland is a little swollen on that side, too.
 
2. Do you know anyone who has attended Harvard University?

A. Probably, but no name comes to mind.
  
3. How many books are in the room you’re in?

A. I have no idea. I've never counted them. Several hundred. A rough estimate would be about 650, just counting out a couple of shelves and multiplying.
    
4. Do you save at least 15 percent of your income?

A. I don't really care to answer this question.
    
5. When was the last time you had a rainy day spent at home?

A. Friday. We went out that morning for breakfast and a pneumonia shot for me, but then spent the rest of the day at home. My husband slept and watched TV.
  
6. When was the last time you stayed home from school/work?

A. I work from home when I work.
   
7. Do you write “yes” or “no” answers to surveys or do you explain more?

A. It depends on my mood. Apparently today I am not in the mood to write long answers.
   
8. Is there any type of medicine you can’t take? For what reason?

A. I break out in hives from morphine.
   
9. Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? What do they look like?

A. I do not have a favorite pair of pajamas.
    
10. Would you rather have potato or chicken noodle soup if you had to?

A. Chicken noodle soup.
   
11. Do you believe that when a person appears in your dreams, that person wants to see you?

A. I think not, since frequently I dream of people who are no longer alive.
   
12. When was the last time you saw your mom?

A. My mother died in 2000.
    
13. What is one food you could eat for a month, straight, and not get sick of?

A. Oh I don't know. Can't I just drink a Boost or Ensure or something and be done with it? I've grown tired of trying to come up with multiple meals, and it is too hard to think of one single thing.
   
14. Have you ever spray painted something about your love somewhere?

A. No.
    
15. Do you live in a town where basically everyone knows everyone else?

A. Yes.
__________

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. (#255)

Saturdy 9: Alfred Hitchcock

Saturday 9: "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Theme

This week's song was chosen because this is the last Saturday 9 before Halloween. Are you unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was born in England. Name another pop culture contribution England has made.

A. Elton John.

2) This week's song is recognized as the theme to Hitchcock's long-running TV show, but "Funeral March for a Marionnette" is a classic piece written for piano in the late 1870s by Charles Gounod. Do you often listen to classical music?

A. Sometimes at night I do before I go to sleep.

3) Janet Leigh's shower scene in  Hitchcock's Psycho is considered one of the scariest sequences ever filmed. What's the most frightening movie you've ever seen?

A. When I was young I saw Amityville Horror (the 1979 version) and that scarred me for life, I think. I also saw The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and similar movies. I stopped watching horror when I was about 17. Life is scary enough.

4) Hitchcock admitted that he "never trusted birds," and he took that fear and turned it into the movie, The Birds. Is there a member of the animal kingdom that just gives you "the creeps?"

A. Spiders and snakes.

5) Halloween will soon be upon us. Will you carve a jack o'lantern this year?

A. No.

6) What candy will trick or treaters get at your house?

A. I never have trick or treaters, but I usually purchase a bag of Smarties because they're not chocolate, they're (relatively) low in calories, and I will eat them.

7)  When you went trick or treating, did you prefer fantasy costumes (like a storybook character) or scary ones (like a monster)?

A. I think I usually went as a tramp.

8) Which candy was your favorite? Which one were you disappointed to find in your trick or treat bag?

A. I'm not a fan of candy corn.

9) Which do you find scarier -- cemeteries or haunted houses?

A. Haunted houses.

_____________

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.

Four Points

Moonset 10/23/2018

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. The smell of pumpkin guts or rotting leaves?

A. Um. Neither. Although I suppose rotting leaves is really simply composting and woodsy.

2. Sweet or salty pumpkin seeds?

A. I've never had sweet pumpkin seeds. I've had plain and salted.

3. Store bought or pumpkin patch pumpkins?

A. I usually don't do pumpkins but if I do I get them at the market.

4. Wool or knit sweaters?

A. Knit sweaters. I am allergic to wool.

5. Halloween party or exploring haunted places?

A. Exploring haunted places, if I were able.

6. Candy corn or mellowcreme pumpkins?

A. Blah. Neither.

7. Apple cider donuts or pumpkin donuts?

A. Neither.

8. Apple pie or pumpkin pie?

A. Apple pie.

9. Scary costume or something silly?

A. Scary costume.

10. Still, silent nights or rainy, windblown ones?

A. Still, silent nights (preferably with a full moon). I'm too old for cold, rainy windblown Halloweens.

11. Hocus Pocus or Halloweentown?

A. Hocus Pocus.

12. Witches or ghosts?

A. Both

13. Raking leaves or climbing trees?

A. Neither. We use a leaf blower and I'm too old to climb trees.

14. Ouija boards or ghost stories around a campfire?

A. Both.

15. Frankenweenie or The Corpse Bride?

A. I've never seen either one.

16. October or November?

A. October.

17. Black cats or owls?

A. Both.

18. Fireplace or candlelight?

A. Candlelight.

19. Monster movies or their classic novels?

A. Novels.

20. Carve or paint pumpkins?

A. If I put one out at all, I simply sit it out plain with nary a mark on it, aside from whatever nature has wrought.

__________

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: Sweet City Woman

Saturday 9: Sweet City Woman (1971)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. (Nice oldie but a goodie.)

1) The lyrics tell us the singer is on his way to catch a train and he really wants to be on time. When is the last time you were late for something?

A. I am rarely late. I can't remember the last time I was late for anything in recent years.

2) He sings he's on his way to meet a woman known for her macaroons. What's your favorite cookie?

A. Chocolate chip. Preferably homemade, Nestles Tollhouse recipe.

3) His girlfriend's face is so pretty she lights up the city night. How many lights are in the room you're in? How many are switched on?

A. Just the overhead light, which has four of those energy-saving bulbs in it.

4) This is the rare top 40 tune that prominently features a banjo. Sam has always been crazy about the sound of a banjo. What sound makes you smile? (It doesn't have to be a musical instrument. Think bacon sizzling, church bells, etc.)

A. I play the guitar so I love guitar music. Sam might be interested to know I have played the banjo, too, a long time ago. It has been a while since I picked up that instrument, though. I also love the sound of my husband's voice (Yes, I am a sap. Sue me.).

5) 47 years after their record was a hit, The Stampeders still tour every summer, playing festivals across the US and their native Canada. Do you enjoy live music under the stars? Or would you prefer to be seated in a theater?

A. Because of cigarette smoking, which aggravates my asthma, I would have to go with an indoor theater where smoking is not allowed. There are many live music events locally that I would like to attend but someone always has to light up their cancer stick.

6) In 1971, when this song was popular on the radio, detective shows were popular on TV. Mannix, Ironside and Cannon were all in the Top 20. Who is your favorite TV detective?

A. I am partial to Cagney & Lacey, followed by Charlie's Angels.

7) Also in 1971, the Post Office Department was disbanded as a Cabinet department and became The United States Postal Service. When did you last go to the post office? Were you mailing something? Buying stamps? Picking up a package? Renewing your passport?

A. Buying stamps.

8) Race car legend Jeff Gordon was born in 1971. Do you watch NASCAR?

A. Not only have I watched it, I have been to live races. My husband is a huge NASCAR fan so the race is on every Sunday (or Saturday night if they are racing then). We went to the May race in Charlotte, NC one year and I nearly passed out from the heat/odors/sweat/beer smell/black crap from the race cars. I decided then that while I will do a lot of things for my fellow, going to a race was no longer one of them. I did, however, take him to the Pocono track two years ago so he could ride around the race track at high speeds. That wasn't so bad - no crowd, and it was October.

9) Random question -- Do you have a vaccination scar? If so, where is it?

A. Mine is barely visible. It is on my right arm but you really have to look for it. It has faded over time. I did get my flu shot earlier this week. I don't know what counts as a reaction to the shot but my arm turned a nice scarlet red for about 24 hours and then it went away. The red place was about as big as my spread-out hand. I don't always get them but last January - April I stayed sick so I thought it might be best to try not to have that happen again.

_____________

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.