Thursday Thirteen

1. I took the recycling to the recycling dumpsters early this morning, before the heat came, and saw that the plastic dumpster, at least, was compromised. Someone had tossed heavy plastic shelving in the bins. We can only recycle items with "1" or "2" in the little recycling logo on the bottom of things. Heavy plastic shelving doesn't fall in that category.

2. Generally, I suspect most of our recycling actually ends up in the landfill. I am very conscientious about recycling paper and plastic (I don't use much glass and tend to keep what I do to reuse as storage containers). But it doesn't do me much good if others don't do the same. Still, I do it.

3.  My car is not a hybrid or electric vehicle, but I also don't drive it that much. I put less than 10,000 miles a year on it. The car is 10 years old and only has 63,000 miles on it. I like to think that my staying at home so much is helping the planet.

4. The refrigerator door was not working properly, and my husband and his friend fixed it this morning. The bushings in the door hinge had worn out and the door wasn't closing. Some days I would go in the kitchen to find the door standing open a few inches. It took him 45 minutes to fix it, but that was because one of the pieces got stuck.

5. The refrigerator is 11 years old. The stove is 37 years old. The crockpot is 41 years old. Many of my things are 41 years old and I still use them. 

6. My trashcan in the bathroom is a testament to the longevity of plastic. It is at least 37 years old, and may be 41 years old, as I can't remember when I bought it. It still has a sticker on it that says $2.99 from some place called Hechinger. That apparently was a store similar to Lowe's and it went bankrupt in 1999. I honestly don't remember it at all, although apparently, I shopped there. I don't think anyone would have given me a trash can for a gift.

7. My trash can would not be a candidate for the recycling bin, either, just like those big heavy plastic shelves that I saw in the recycling bin. But it isn't degenerating or degrading or rotting or anything like that and it is still a perfectly fine little trash can. So, if I had tossed this trash can in the trash 40 years ago, it would still be in the landfill. Maybe the elements would work on it a little, but this stuff has a long lifespan.

8. Speaking of lifespans, I recently read an article about a turtle that was 192 years old. I can't imagine living that long. Imagine how much trash that turtle has seen.

9. I also read a story about a woman who was eaten by a python in Indonesia. It swallowed her head first. She disappeared and when people went looking for her, they found the python with a full belly and cut it open. What a horrible way to die.

10. On Facebook, they have this section called "reels" that shows videos. For some reason, I get a lot of paranormal or spooky videos. Most of them appear to me to be fake, but sometimes I am not sure. I was seeing a lot of tractor trailer driver videos and then suddenly more paranormal stuff. I wonder what caused that algorithm to change?

11. The influx of AI stuff to the search engines is confusing and I don't trust any of it. The best thing about Microsoft's Copilot is it gives references. I go check the references before I believe what I'm reading. And as for AI pictures - they are everywhere. Usually I can tell, but not always. It's a bit unnerving.

12. All of this reminds me of the first time I received an email from a certain friend. I just happened to be checking my mail when her note arrived, and I read it, answered it, and turned it around fairly quickly. She was mad at me for doing that, saying there was no way I could have thought about what she'd written in the short amount of time it took. "It should take days to write me a response like that," she had said. Well, I type fast, and I think fast. I didn't need days to respond to an email. That was around 1992.

13. Hopefully email has saved reams and reams of paper and lots of trees. I have gone back to writing "real" paper letters to a few people, though. It is more intimate and feels more personal.

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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 864th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Rural Living v. Farming

I enjoy living in a rural area. I like the meadows, the mountains, the forests, the trees, the privacy.

There are deer to watch as they bound down the hillside toward the gully, racoons skittering across the driveway at dusk, an occasional bear on the back porch, squirrels everywhere, birdsong filling the skies with a lovely cacophony of sound, turkeys strutting and chasing bugs - all manner of wildlife to watch and enjoy.

But farming? Farming is a different animal. It's not "rural living." Farming is work. Farming is income. Farming is expensive.

I seriously doubt most people know what goes into that hamburger they grab at the fast food restaurant. So, I am going to tell you.

First, the farmer has to have property. Generally, these days, this is generational land, handed down from parent to child, because most people can't afford to buy the acreage necessary to farm. There are small farms of about 25 acres, perhaps, and small farms can feed a community. They can't feed a nation.

Our farm is not a big farm, but neither is it a small farm. It is a small farm compared to the massive farms out west, but for this area, it's not small.

So that's the first requirement. Land. Land means upkeep, it means real estate taxes, it means physical labor. It takes machinery to keep it up. That means large expensive purchases for things like a tractor, a hay cutter, a tedding machine for the hay, a hay rake, a baler, and a trailer. That's the least you'd need, really, if you are going to raise cattle.

Then you need a place to store the machinery. If you're making hay, you need a place to store the hay.

Then you need to keep the machinery up and running. That requires gas, oil, fluids of all kinds, and then repair parts because everything breaks down, every summer. So you need someone to write the checks and do the bookkeeping (that would be me, in our case).

Next, one must buy cattle. That's an outright purchase of a cow or 50, and then you bring them home and turn them loose on the land. You have to build fence to keep them in. You have to tag them, give them minerals, make sure they have water, rotate their grazing pasture, watch them when they give birth to ensure the calves come out ok. The cows need certain shots required by law for various diseases. You have to keep the flies off of them, chase away the coyotes, shoo away the vultures.

Then you rent a truck and haul the calves to the market when they're grown. If you're lucky, in about three years' time you've recouped the initial cost of the cow and if she lives a while, the rest could be called profit - minus all the constant upkeep, of course.

So next time you think about the price of beef in the grocery store, remember that a whole lot of effort goes into ensuring that hamburger is in the meat freezer. It doesn't just come from the back of the store.

It comes from us. To be precise, it comes from my husband, who works hard and has shed sweat and blood over those animals.

Sunday Stealing

1. Are you afraid of the dark?

A. No. I should be, but I am not.

2. Can you curl your tongue?

A. Yes.

3. Can you wiggle your ears?

A. No.

4. Did you ever participate in a talent show?

A. Yes. When I played in band, both the high school band and the rock and roll band I was in, I was in talent shows that involved them.

5. Do you have any piercings or tattoos?

A. My ears are pierced.

6. Do you prefer Mac or PC?

A. I have a PC. I have always had PCs. If I thought that my older stuff would convert easily to a Mac, I'd try a Mac, but I don't know and can't seem to find out.

7. Do you still have your wisdom teeth?

A. No. I had them cut out when I was about 16. I was quite sick from it.

8. Do you watch cartoons?

A. I haven't in a long while, but I don't mind them.

9. Have you ever been hospitalized?

A. Many times.

10. Have you had braces?

A. Yes.

11. Were you ever a Girl or Boy Scout? (Or a brownie)

A. No.

12. What is one food you refuse to eat?

A. Coconut.

13. What's the most expensive item of clothing that you own?

A. Probably my sneakers.

14. What's your favorite foreign food?

A. I like Chinese, although I strongly suspect what is called "Chinese food" around here is so Americanized as to be unrecognizable as real Chinese food.

15. Who's your favorite fictional character?

A. I don't really know, but I'll go with Nancy Drew this time.

__________

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: Footloose

Saturday 9: Footloose (1984)

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

1) In this week's song, Kenny Loggins encourages everyone to lose their blues by dancing. What reliably shakes you out of a funk?

A. I don't know that anything "reliably" shakes me out of a funk, as I am pretty funk-stubborn, but a walk helps, as does phone calls with friends, journaling, reading a book or playing music. Maybe I need to dance more.

2) To cut footloose, he has to kick off his "Sunday shoes." What's on your feet as you answer these 9 questions?

A. A pair of APEX sneakers and socks.

3) This is the title song of the popular 1984 movie of the same name. It's so well-identified with the film that the AFI named it #96 of the top 100 movie songs of the last 100 years. Have you seen Footloose?

A. Yes, I have seen it, but it has been a long time.

4) The title of his 2022 memoir, Still Alright, was inspired by "I'm Alright," the song he wrote for the raucous golf comedy, Caddyshack. Do you play golf? (Yes, putt-putt miniature golf counts!) Do you watch it on TV?

A. I have played miniature golf. We used to do that when we went to the beach. I don't watch golf on television.

5) Thinking of movies, Kenny says watching Yankee Doodle Dandy when he was just 7 years old made him think performing looked like fun and says, "I knew deep inside this is something I could do." Do you recall when you set off on your chosen career?

A. I have always been a reader and my teachers urged me to write, but I think it was when I was reading Nancy Drew books when I was about 9 or so that I realized that was what I wanted to do: write. In particular, I wanted to write Nancy Drew books. I'm not sure how that turned into a career in news reporting.

5) Kenny grew up in Everett, Washington, north of Seattle and 84 miles from the Canadian border. Have you ever visited Canada? If yes, where did you go?

A. I have never been to Canada.

6) In 1977 Kenny struck up a friendship with Stevie Nicks, who was a source of encouragement and would sing with him on one of his biggest hits, "Whenever I Call You Friend." Tell us about when you met one of your best friends.

A. When I first met one of my closest friends today, she was dressed in a cow suit at the library. I was there to write an article about an event she was participating in. Later, I did another article about a book she had illustrated, and we hit it off. I generally try not to become friends with the subjects of my articles, but sometimes it's inevitable.

7) In 1984, when this song was a hit, Angela Lansbury premiered in Murder, She Wrote, a show still seen in reruns today. Were/are you a fan?

A. I have seen a few episodes of the show, but it never was must-see TV.

8) Let's tweak your memory about something else that happened in 1984. Without looking it up, can you recall why Michael Jackson's Pepsi commercial made headlines the world over?

A. Didn't his hair catch on fire while making that commercial?

9) Random question -- Think of your last professionally prepared meal. Did you dine in, carry out, or have it delivered?

A. We had take-out salad for lunch on Friday, and I bought extra to have for lunch today (Saturday).

_______________

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

Tomorrow's the Day

Tomorrow is my birthday. I already have my present, a new iPhone SE. Yes, I am still behind with an SE model, but I don't like those big bulky phones they have out at the moment. I'm a short little fat person and I need something small.

I used to like birthdays and holidays, but I do not find them as enjoyable as I once did. More and more, they're just other days. It's not like all of those birthday greetings on Facebook actually mean anything. FB makes it easy to wish someone a happy birthday (and at the moment I don't even know if my notification is turned on, I have turned it off in the past).

That's part of growing old, I guess. Life kind of sucks the joy right out of everything, once you've been around the block a time or two.

Anyway, tomorrow's Saturday, and I was born on a Saturday. The story goes that my mother worked Friday, went into labor at the office, and gave birth to me in the wee hours of the morning. My father said I had the cutest little ears. Or maybe that was my grandfather. Somebody said it, anyway.

I still have cute little ears. Ha. One of them is a bit tender because I accidentally hit it with a hot curling iron yesterday.

So happy birthday to me!

Thursday Thirteen

1. Thursday sneaks up on me sometimes. Like today. It's Thursday and 2 p.m. and I've not done a Thursday 13! Whatever is going on!

2. It rained a toad strangler yesterday afternoon, dumping nearly 2 inches of water according to the gauge. From the looks of the washed-out driveway, it was a lot of water.

3. After using the same iPhone SE for about 7 years, I bought a newer version of the iPhone SE for my upcoming birthday. My old one was an iPhone 5; I think this one is like an iPhone 8 or something. I do not like the newer iPhones; they are huge. If I wanted to carry a refrigerator around at my ear, I'd do that.

4. Speaking of refrigerators, the door on mine is not closing properly. After moving everything about and ensuring nothing was blocking the door, I was flummoxed. Then I happened into the kitchen when nothing else was running - no heat pump humming, no TV blaring, and opened the door. It made a little "shush shush" sound, like something was rubbing. From that information, my husband deduced that something calling a bushing in the door hinge had worn out.

5. Sometimes one needs a little quiet in order to find the source of the problem. Too much noise, too much yelling, too much shouting, only lends to confusion. Be still, says me. Be quiet.

6. So far, the stillness hasn't helped me figure out all the things I need to on my new phone. I seem to have lost one of the most important apps and I can open it if I go into apps, but I can't open it straight from the phone and I don't know how to fix it. I am hoping time will help.

7.  We had more rain this afternoon. We've had more rain in two days than we had in most of May, I think. We have been dry here.

8. Some parts of the state have been wet, though. This reminds me of people who can't get their head around two facts at once, for some reason. Like how the price of toilet paper can be high and the economy can still be good. The fact that the price of toilet paper is high might lead one to think the economy is in the um, well, you know, but actually it's kind of roaring along. Maybe not for everyone, but all in all, we're lucky we're not doggy-doo-doo deep in a depression following the pandemic.

9. I told my husband the other day that I did not feel emotionally depressed, but I felt logically depressed. He looked at me like I was nuts. But you know what I mean, right? Emotionally I felt fine, but my brain was still telling me the bad interior soundtrack that leads to depression in the first place. Hard to shut that down when it's been rolling for a half-century.

10. Some businesses are closing, and the price of gas is still high. Some people believe, I guess, that the president calls the local BP station and tells it what price the gas should be today. They don't understand capitalism or economics. Actually, a lot of folks don't seem to understand much of anything that pertains to reality because they're living in some weird space that I do not inhabit.

11. I had thought the local special thinkers were known only to the rest of us locals, but I recently learned that the surrounding counties are well aware of the things going on in my community. One person called them "anti-development people" who are really "“the government only works when it works for me” people. That seems about right.

12. You could also call them "hurrah for me and F-U" people.

13. As for me, just call me, so long as it's not to be mean. 

______________

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 863rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Writers I'm Supposed to Love

When I was taking Advanced Placement English in high school (it was, in theory, college level English), I remember a little argument I had with Dr. Shots (she had a Ph.D. and insisted on the title) about the deconstruction of a piece of work.

Apparently, I had had enough of the "they used yellow here for sickness, green for jealousy, why do you think this lamp is placed here," because I told her I didn't think authors meant for their work to be analyzed in such depth and detail.

"Sometimes a lamp is just a lamp," I said. Or something to that effect.

You'd have thought I'd blasphemed the chin of God the way she came after me. Of course, every word was carefully chosen, every sofa, every lamp, every blade of grass, had a deeper meaning than just being a blade of grass. What was I doing in her class, telling her (with her Ph.D) that writers didn't always mean something else with what they wrote?

"Because I write, and I don't do that," I responded. "Not consciously."

"Then you're not a writer," she snapped, putting an end to the discussion.

She was the only teacher to ever say that to me.

After that, I kept my mouth shut and dutifully turned in my papers or spoke up in class saying that of course the lamp meant that the character had an idea or had seen the light about some issue. It wasn't put there simply so she could read the book in her hand.

Then I went to Hollins College, now Hollins University, which is a women's undergraduate degree school that is well-known for the writers it puts out. Think Margaret Wise Brown and Anne Dillard, just to name two. Or Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle.

There the poetry in particular was analyzed in great detail, even that which was written in the 17th century. I went on to read Virginia Woolf and numerous other writers while taking eight long years to get my bachelors.

And I always found the examination of works tedious, and I stubbornly (and secretly) held on to my conviction that sometimes a lamp is just a lamp. But I wrote the essays about the books secret meanings and dissected the poems as required.

Of course, sometimes imagery has double meaning, and of course sometimes the more literary authors put cute language in their works to add to the character. The book I'm currently listening to has a daughter of a woman who was dying of cancer eat a chicken pot pie with her mother and the hospice worker. What does the chicken pot pie symbolize?

Damn if I know. Dinner table scenes are great for conversation; they had to eat something. Maybe it symbolizes the daughter's fears about her mother's upcoming death (she's chicken, get it?). Maybe it was just there.

Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Gilbert, and now Ann Beattie (whom I am listening to - maybe it's something to do with the name "Ann"), are among the literary writers that I am supposed to like. They use great turns of phrases and create deep characters. Every word has been carefully chosen. I imagine these writers spend days pouring over one sentence until they are utterly sick of it, trying to make sure they've chosen chicken pot pie instead of Thai food for the correct reason.

And I listen or read their books and find they do not move me. Occasionally they write one that I find intriguing and enjoy, but overall, they are not my favorite authors. They may have a good sentence or two that makes its way into my little "writer's notebook," but the stories seldom stick with me.

Who do I like to read? I like Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, Susan Wiggs, Kate DiCamillo, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts, Louise Penny, Kristin Hannah, etc. These are not literary giants, but they write well and have interesting stories that move along just fine. Sometimes they make me laugh and sometimes they make me think. I liked The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. I like a lot of fantasy writers, like Neil Gaiman, Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, Phillip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin, etc.

I wrote for newspapers. I wrote to educate and inform, not to puzzle people and have them wonder about the significance of someone eating chicken pot pie. I like my fiction to be straight up and to the point, anymore. I read Overstory and while it received rave reviews, I found it incredibly boring. Great concept, but my goodness, couldn't that have been put out into the world in some way that wasn't so long and drawn out?

It is good for me to listen to authors I do not like, to stories I don't always enjoy. I never know what I may find in such tales. I do it now as a part of my life's growth cycle, so I don't get stale. I listen to or read everything from memoir to nonfiction self-help to the aforesaid authors to Catch-22. I seldom listen to or read something a second time (Tolkien being the exception). 

Life is a learning experience. This is part of how I live it. But sometimes it frustrates me, because I still think I'm right. A lamp sometimes is just a lamp.

Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico

This morning the news comes with the word that Mexico has elected a female president.

More than 100 countries, including the United States, have never been led by a woman.

We're supposed to be the leader in the free world, but that's just poppycock. We're so far behind the times in true freedom and liberty that it's a joke. We have lots of freedoms to do things, but not freedoms from things. Like the freedom to go to the movie theater and know we won't get shot in our seat. Or the freedom to be rid of advertisements we don't want. Or spam phone calls. Stuff like that.

I love my country, but the bass ackwards mindset of its citizens in among the more perplexing and aggravating things about it.

My state has never had a female governor. Other states have, but not mine.

My local Board of Supervisors has had females on it, and currently has one of five. Shouldn't that be more like three of two, when women make up half of the citizenry?

We have a female vice president and that scares a lot of people. Oh no, she might become president! She might do some good in the world! Horrors.

Crickey.

Sunday Stealing

1. If you like art, who is your favorite artist and why?

A. I like art, but I don't know that I have a favorite. I have a Van Gogh print on my wall in my office, so I must like him ok. Most of the art in my house comes from local artists. P. Buckley Moss might be the most famous local artist. I have three of her paintings, one of my college and one of two children; one named after my husband and another named after me.

2. If you were able to learn any three skills or talents instantly and with success, what would they be? 

A. How to draw/paint, how to code on the computer, and how to deal with people.

3. If you were to live in Ancient Times, where - in what country - would you want to live in?

A. I would want to go all the way back to prehistoric times, since "Ancient Times" is not defined. I want to see pterodactyls and brontosauruses.

4. What is something you’re embarrassed to admit to liking? Whether it be a guilty pleasure show, or unusual hobby, etc.

A. I like animated movies, but I'm not embarrassed about that.

5. What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

A. I worked at bank for about two months and hated every minute of it.

6. What is something that you wanted to do as a child that you would still like to do now?

A. I wanted to be an archeologist or a geologist. If I were in better physical shape, I think it would be fun to go on an archeological dig.

7. What do you hate being judged for more than anything else?

A. How I look.

8. What is your life’s mission?

A. Apparently to mess around with my husband's head. Otherwise, I don't really know.

9. If everyone walked around wearing warning labels, what would yours say?

A. Approach with caution.

10. At what age did you first feel like you were an adult?

A. I think when I was 29 and received my bachelors. I'd already had a hysterectomy and knew my life was going in a direction I hadn't planned.

11. When did you not speak up, but wish you had?

A. Some things are always better left unsaid.

12. What is something that makes your skin crawl?

A. Snakes. I am not a fan of snakes. Or spiders. Creepy crawly things.

13. What was the last thing to give you butterflies in your stomach?

A. I get butterflies when someone tells me they love me.

14. What's your favorite type of media to work with? (Paint, clay, pens etc.)

A. I like colored pencils.

15. What question do you hate answering?

A. A whole lot of these, to be perfectly honest, but they make me think and sometimes I need that. Mostly I dislike the questions that ask how I relate to someone else. I don't know who reads my blog, so I seldom answer those types of questions directly.

__________

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.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my one and only fellow. 

He gets to celebrate his special day today.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: 5-10-15-20 (1970)

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

1) In this week's song, The Presidents sing about a long married, very happy couple. Who is the longest married couple you know? Who is the happiest? Are they the same couple?

A. I'm sure there are people I know who have been married longer than I, but I have hit 40 years of marriage and that is a long time. We are content with the life we have created together.

2) The lyrics ask repeatedly: "Aren't we happy?" Are you feeling happy today? Why or why not?

A. I'm feeling content today. I have some health issues nagging at me, and lots on my mind, but that's fairly usual for me.

3) This happy couple enjoys watching children at play. Is there a park, playground or schoolyard near you?

A. There are two elementary schools; one is six miles away and the other is 5 miles away in the other direction. The elementary school that is six miles away is near a sports complex that has lots of ballfields.

4) This song reminds Crazy Sam of when she used to recite the multiplication tables. Think back to your school days. Was math one of your favorite subjects?

A. I loved my math teachers but not so much the subject. It pains me that I couldn't do an algebra problem if my life depended on it now, when I took years of it and made straight As. I skipped math for the most part in college and took "literary math" which was more about the famous personalities in math than the actual doing of math. It's like my Spanish - if you stop using the skill, you lose it.

5) The Presidents seems like a good name for a band formed in Washington DC. What would be an appropriate name for a band from your hometown?

A. The Botetourt (pronounced "body-tot") Beaters.

6) DC trivia: The street names are letters, but J was skipped. That's because in the 1700s, the way many wrote their alphabet, "J" looked like "I" and so "J" was passed over to avoid confusion. Tell us something we may not know about your hometown (or state).

A. Botetourt was part of the raids during the Civil War, and the area we call Buchanan was burned during Hunter's Civil War Raid, and the bridge over the James River was destroyed, too. Also, this is where the James River begins. It's like a creek of sorts here, or a small river, but when you see the James at Williamsburg, it is massive.

7) In 1970, when this song was on the Billboard chart, The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered on CBS. The theme song said Mary could "turn the world on with her smile," yet in real life, MTM was self-conscious about her "wide mouth." Are you comfortable looking at photos of yourself?

A. Not really. I don't take pictures of myself often, nor do others.

8) Also in 1970, Dinah Shore became one of the first women to host her own national daytime talk show. Today, Kelly Clarkson, Drew Barrymore, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Ripa all have their own shows, and The Talk and The View are both hosted by women. Who is your favorite talk show host?

A. I don't have one. Sorry.

9) Random question -- Would you rather have a job that has you on your feet all day, or one that has you parked in a chair?

A. I tend to stay parked in a chair, so that one.

_______________

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

Thursday Thirteen

Songs that young folks today may not understand:

1. Operator, by Jim Croce. The song captures a heartfelt conversation with a telephone operator, where the speaker attempts to reconnect with a former lover who has moved away with his best friend. The narrative conveys a mix of sorrow and resignation, as the speaker ultimately decides not to complete the call, telling the operator to “keep the dime” — a reference to the cost of the call at the time.

2. Kodachrome, by Paul Simon. The song’s title refers to the Kodak film known for its rich color saturation, symbolizing the vivid memories of youth. With catchy lyrics Simon reflects on how life seems more radiant and full of possibility when seen through the ‘Kodachrome’ lens.

3. Wichita Lineman, by Glenn Campbell. The song tells the story of a solitary lineman working on the telephone lines in the vastness of the American Midwest, capturing the essence of loneliness and longing.

4. White Rabbit, by Jefferson Airplane. The song is renowned for its allusions to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” using the fantastical tales as metaphors for the psychedelic experience. With its famous lines “One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small,” the song became an anthem of the 1960s counterculture, inviting listeners to explore altered states of consciousness and to “feed your head” with knowledge and new experiences.

5. American Pie, by Don McLean: This iconic song is a tribute to the late Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, who died in a plane crash (often referred to as “The Day the Music Died”). The lyrics are rich with cultural references from the 1950s and 1960s.

6. Vincent (Starry Starry Night), by Don McLean: Another gem by Don McLean, this song is a heartfelt tribute to the artist Vincent van Gogh. It beautifully captures the essence of van Gogh’s life and struggles.

7. Piano Man, by Billy Joel: This classic tells the story of patrons at a piano bar and their interactions with the pianist. The lyrics mention various characters, including the “real estate novelist” and the “waitress practicing politics.”

8. Sixteen Tons, by Tennessee Ernie Ford: This folk song describes the hardships faced by coal miners. The line “I owe my soul to the company store” refers to the practice of miners being paid in company scrip, which could only be used at the company-owned store.

9. Big Yellow Taxi, by Joni Mitchell: While not necessarily historical, this song laments environmental issues and the loss of natural beauty. The line “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” has become a well-known phrase.

10. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by Gordon Lightfoot: A haunting ballad about the sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. The song pays tribute to the crew members who lost their lives.

11. Space Oddity, by David Bowie: Released in 1969, this song tells the story of an astronaut named Major Tom during a space mission. It captures the fascination with space exploration during that era.

12. In the Year 2525, by Zager and Evans: A futuristic song that imagines the world’s evolution over centuries. It’s a thought-provoking reflection on humanity’s trajectory.

13. The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down, by Joan Baez. The song is a narrative set during the American Civil War, told from the perspective of a Southern farmer named Virgil Caine. It captures the pain and loss experienced by those on the losing side of the war, with vivid imagery of the fall of the Confederacy.

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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 862nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Mailbox

My mailbox

Like many folks here in Virginia, we've had trouble with mail delivery.

Some days we don't get it. Sometimes it is here by noon. Other times it shows up sometime after 5 p.m.

Lately we've been very hit or miss with the mail, but not enough to concern me. I have switched most of my important stuff to online notices out of necessity, since the mail has become rather unreliable. The mail is like newspapers in that they are doing themselves in with their own efforts at downsizing. Video killed the radio star, indeed.

My two senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have been vocal about reversing any changes to USPS that have affected the reliability of mail delivery. They've been trying to have improvement since 2020.

They don't seem to be having much of an effect on the quality of the mail service.

Yesterday, our neighbor called the local post office to find out why he wasn't getting mail. The postmaster told him that all of us in this area have mailboxes that are too low. She was going to hold the mail until this was fixed.

His response was to ask why we weren't notified so we could fix the problem prior to her holding the mail. According to him, she grew very irate with him, and they exchanged words. She did, however, tell him he had until the middle of June to fix the problem and if it wasn't fixed, she would stop his mail delivery again.

Then he went out and started measuring mailboxes. My husband found him measuring ours when he came in for his dinner.

Rural mailboxes apparently should be between 41" and 45" high. Ours is 36" high, which is what it has been since we installed it in 1987. Maybe that was the required height back then.

The USPS has these new van things, courtesy of expenditures of Postmaster General DeJoy. They sit up higher than a car. I am assuming this is why the height of mailboxes suddenly matter.

It does seem like my neighbor asked a logical question. This is the post office, after all. How hard would it have been to slip a postcard in the mailbox that said, "Your mailbox must be 41" to 45" high. If it is not fixed by X date, delivery will cease."

My husband was quite upset about this last night. He is in the middle of trying to cut, rake, and bale hay, which is very time consuming and labor intensive. He doesn't need anything else on his mind right now.

After dinner, I looked up various pages on the USPS website, such as missing mail, delayed mail, and rural delivery. There was nothing about mailbox height on those pages. Finally, I typed in "how high should my mailbox be" in Google, and way down on the results page was a USPS page about mailbox height.

But before I found that, because I could not easily find anything about mailbox height on the USPS website, I had dashed off a quick note to my two state senators. One of the things I learned when I was a journalist was not to wait. So, I didn't.

My husband rose early this morning and was at Lowes when they opened so he could buy what he needed to raise our mailbox.

At lunchtime, he called the local post office to find out about this problem for himself and to ask for one of those time extensions. He found the postmaster to be pleasant, helpful, and very willing to give him a month to fix the issue. She said the notices had gone out in March, but when at least seven different families around us say they received no notice, I am inclined to think said notice did not go out.

The postmaster was so nice that almost as soon as my husband hung up, she called right back to say that our mail was being delivered today and nothing would be held.

My husband was amused, and he looked at me. "Do you think those emails you sent out last night had anything to do with that?" he asked. "Somebody's said something to her. She sure has a different attitude from what the neighbor said."

I shrugged. "No way to know."

But it wouldn't be the first time I've dropped a line and made a change.

Never underestimate the power of a well-placed word.

Update: I understand several of the neighbors have gone into the post office and had words with the postmaster. It should be clear to her by now that this area did not receive whatever notification she thinks she sent out.

Today's Lesson

My lesson for today began with a load of laundry.

I washed a load of towels, threw them in the dryer, then tossed a load of my whites into my washing machine.

I use different detergent on my underclothes, Cheer Free & Gentle, because of my many allergies. I use All Free & Clear for other things, but I have always used Cheer Free on my under things.

A friend once asked me why I did this, and I told her because while I am pretty sure I can use All Free, I know for certain I can use Cheer Free.

A big bottle of Cheer Free, which is the only way one can buy it these days, lasts me a long while.

The towels dried and the whites had finished, so I started chucking them into the dryer. I noticed these tiny little white beads of stuff all over the washing machine.

What is this stuff?

It was slick. I thought maybe my husband had left a Chapstick in his pocket and I'd missed it somehow. Or maybe he'd been using some kind of silicone product and I missed that.

I realized whatever it was, it was all over my clothes. I'd already put some of the clothing in the dryer, and now the stuff was also in the dryer.

I hauled everything outside and began shaking off the white stuff. In one instance, I found a glob of the stuff, which I set aside to show my husband when he came in for lunch. The longer I was out in the sun, the slicker the stuff became. My clothes felt slick.

Surely, I thought, I've run some kind of silicone he was using on the ball bearings on the hay baler through the wash.

I left the clothes outside and went in to wash my hands. They were starting to burn a little. I picked up the Dove soap. That didn't help. My hands felt slick, like the clothing, so I washed them with Dawn soap, too.

My husband came home for lunch. No, he'd not been using anything like silicon, he said. Nor had he been using Chapstick. 

I showed him the junk all over my clothes.

He looked at the stuff in the dryer, too. I'd already wiped out the washing machine but had left the stuff in the dryer for him to see.

He wiped that out. He was as puzzled as I.

In the meantime, my hands turned red and started to swell. I washed them again. Then I washed them with alcohol and washed them again with soap. They still felt slick. I washed them with vinegar.

I took a Benadryl because I was obviously having a reaction.

We thought something must be wrong with the washing machine. Maybe a bearing had gone bad and it was leaking white grease. (Is there such a thing as white grease?) I ran a load of warm water with vinegar through the washing machine while we ate. When it finished, we opened the lid. Everything looked normal.

I realized I'd washed the towels and not had a problem. I'd washed those in All. I'd washed my whites in Cheer. That was the only difference. I told my husband to look at the Cheer bottle and see if it looked weird inside.

It looked fine inside, but on the outside, where there was buildup from where I hadn't wiped the bottle, was stuff very similar to what was all over the clothes.

"Alexa," I asked, "Can liquid laundry detergent go bad?"

"Yes," she said. "It can deteriorate after a time and it can be toxic."

Well damn. Who knew? I looked at the bottle and couldn't find an expiration date. I couldn't find a "made" date, either.

We finished up lunch while I let the washer go through an entire cycle of water again. We opened it up and everything looked fine.

My husband left to go back to the hayfield.

I decided to call the phone number on the bottle to find out how to find the date. After a long wait, I connected with a P&G associate for Cheer.

I explained what had happened and asked if it could have been the Cheer. "Does Cheer go bad?" I wanted to know.

"Yes, it's only good for about 18 months," she said.

Well, an expiration date on the bottles would be nice, I thought.

She said the issue I was having was called "scrud." Scrud is a build-up of soap, in this case, old soap. Turns out, the bottle I was using, which I had purchased two years ago from Walmart online, was made in 2012.

That is a long way from 18 months of life. I guess Walmart dragged it from the back of a store somewhere when they sold it.

The way to find the date is to look at the bottle cap. In tiny little letters is the "made" date. But there is nothing about an expiration date on the bottle anywhere. And I'd have never found the "made" date if the Cheer woman hadn't told me where to look. I could barely see it as it was.

And that date is different on a new bottle, or a different size bottle. I know because I pulled out another bottle of Cheer that I had here, one I bought last summer in August at Target, and asked how to find the date on it. The numbers are on the twist cap, not the dispenser cap, on this new bottle. After I found the numbers, the woman told me the bottle I have here was made in 2023, the year I bought it, so I need to use it up soon.

The reason I have Cheer Free here in storage is because it is hard to find. I had been ordering it from Walmart online because I could not find a local store that carried it. Then I ran across that bottle at Target so I picked it up. 

Today, Target's website does not list Cheer Free and Gentle. Just regular Cheer. I need the "free and gentle" part. Walmart says it has a bottle online for $34. I am not paying that for detergent. None of the other stores (Kroger, Food Lion, local Walmart) has it, even online, except Amazon. It has it for $14. In the comments lots of folks note that they can't find the detergent anywhere else. So this detergent is difficult to come by.

Anyway, to compensate me for being on the phone for 40 minutes with the Cheer lady, P&G is sending me a $9 debit card. I'm not sure that covers much, but it's better than nothing.

I told the associate I thought there should be an expiration date visible on the bottles, wished her a good day, and hung up.

I washed my white clothes again, this time in vinegar and water. I checked them and they weren't slick or anything, and there were no white balls of goo on them.

Just to be safe I am running them through a third time in straight hot water. They should be thoroughly rinsed, anyway. I sure don't want my private parts turning red like my hands did.

So, the lessons here are: detergent can get old and become toxic. Goopy stuff on your clothes is not good. Vinegar is a great cure-all, as is Benadryl.

Nothing is as it seems sometimes.