Thursday Thirteen #460

1. My count is off on Thursday 13. I think this is #461 but the notation on the side says it will be #460, so we shall go with that. Happy 460 weeks of doing this to me. That's almost 9 years of doing this every week. However, Colleen over at Looseleaf Notes has been doing it the longest. I'm just runner-up, I think.

2. The sun is shining this morning. We've had rain almost every day for the last two weeks, so those rays are welcoming. Thunderstorms this afternoon, though. I already feel the changes in the barometric pressure in my little pea brain.

3. Earlier in the week, I cleaned off a single bookcase in my office (I have four). The criteria for putting books in the "take to the library" pile was not whether I read the book, liked it, or who had given it to me. It was if it smelled musty or like book dust. Which basically means that books that were not printed on good paper went out the door, because cheap paper tends to become dusty and smelly more quickly than good paper. One of my book cases has historical research books filling its shelves; those I will have to inspect more carefully.

4. That book case now has one entire shelf free, and a second one that I started on has a shelf free, too. Bare space. What a concept.

5. We have lived in our house for 29 years. When you stay in one place, things pile up in corners and drawers and dark hidey-holes that you don't even remember exist. It is easy to put things somewhere and forget about them. I've reached a place where I want some of the clutter gone. Not the things we treasure, but the things we never use and never will - time for those things to head on out the door.

6. That means I also need to go through my clothes closet and toss clothing. I wonder what my criteria for that will be, aside from whether or not it fits. Maybe that should be the only criteria. No holding things back for when I lose that 10 pounds (ha).

7. I began physical therapy again this week. I think it is a good thing - but it certainly hurts!

8. My calendar for August has a pictures of Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings on it. Many people think Samwise is actually the hero of the trilogy, because without his steadfast courage, Frodo would never have reached Mt. Doom in order to destroy the ring. If the ring had not been destroyed, it wouldn't have mattered what else happened because Middle Earth would have been overrun with evil. I tend to agree with this. It is kind of like a traditional marriage of the 1950s. The husband went out and was the super salesman or whatever, but he could not have been successful if his wife hadn't been taking care of picking up the dry cleaning. The person behind the curtain seldom gets the credit.

9. Our school students returned to the classroom on Tuesday. This is very early. The stores have notebooks for 17 cents. I have to resist the urge to buy a few. I have piles of unused notebooks in a closet because I always purchase some. I need to donate them to the local elementary school, I think. Or else start writing in them.

10. I have been playing with a pen name on Facebook. Another writer quickly sniffed me out publicly. I am fooling around with the notion of writing up something using this pen name. What name? Ida B. Knowing.

11. I changed my Facebook feed so that I am no longer seeing political news on it (at least, not as much). It makes for a much nicer morning to wake up to hippie quotes about peace and love than to the blathering of talking heads who think I can't figure out what presidential candidates say when I hear it.

12. The TV stays off when I am home until 6 p.m. I don't watch the morning news or talk shows. I don't watch game shows or soap operas (not that the ones I used to watch are on - they aren't). I do listen to music but this morning all I am hearing are the sounds of my fingers on the keyboard and the steady rhythm of a clock. For some reason I find that tick-tock comforting.

13. The little twin fawns that were born in the front yard have not been around as much as I'd hoped. I have seen them in the distance a few times, but they aren't coming around so I can take great photos. In fact, they have not been close enough with their mother for me to be sure they are the same twins - she has distinctive markings on her front feet. They have grown considerably, though. And they are starting to lose their spots.

_____________

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 460th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

When Facebook Friends Pass On

Last week I learned that a blogging friend, who turned into a Facebook friend, passed away.

Her name was Patricia and we "met" online around 2004, when we were both using AOL Journals as blogs. She lived in Tennessee, had written a couple of romance books, loved dogs and wolves, and was married to Chuck for over 50 years. She had no children.

We spoke one time on the phone.

Chuck passed away in 2014 and Patricia passed away last week. I did not know any of her friends and would not have known she had died if someone hadn't posted something to her page.

I do not know what I am supposed to do with people who are my friends on Facebook when they pass away. At first I left things alone, thinking the family would eventually remove the page, or turn it into a memorial page, as Facebook allows, but that generally hasn't happened.

So there would be reminders of birthdays and anniversaries, just as if the person were still happily living out their life somewhere.

I found it kind of creepy. I wouldn't mind being reminded of the person annually, perhaps on the date of their death, but these public celebrations of personal events felt wrong.

So even though I had friends on Facebook whom I knew in person, and whose funerals I had attended, some time ago I went through and "unfriended" anyone who I knew had passed away.

I "unfriended" my friend Patricia as soon as I learned she had died. I had no other connections with her, and nowhere to send a condolence card.

I felt bad about it but it seemed the thing to do. I daresay no one will do anything with her page, and so far, they haven't.

How do you handle this situation on Facebook? This is different from getting angry at someone and "unfriending" them or blocking them - these people are dead. You don't want to forget them, but if the family isn't going to take away their page or turn it into a memorial page, well, then, what?

Facebook says this:

Report a Deceased Person

How do I report a deceased person or an account that needs to be memorialized?
Memorializing the account:
Memorialized accounts are a place for friends and family to gather and share memories after a person has passed away. Memorializing an account also helps keep it secure by preventing anyone from logging into it.
If Facebook is made aware that a person has passed away, it's our policy to memorialize the account.
To report a profile to be memorialized, please contact us.
Removing the account:
Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one’s account from Facebook.

 

They also have ways to set up your account to become a memorialized account if you die, but you have to take steps yourself to make that happen. You need to set up a legacy contact, who is someone who will be responsible for your account if you pass away.

 

Personally, I would want my page deleted within a month of my death, or as soon as someone could get to it. If my husband wanted to make it a memory page or something, that would be his option. (That goes for this blog, too.)

 

What do you think? How do you deal with this issue? What do you think should happen to the online accounts of people who die?

 

 

 

Sunday Stealing: The Gal's Meme 1

Sunday Stealing: The Gal's Meme, Part One


What’s your favorite word or phrase?

A. Interesting. It covers all bases from good to bad, and invites more conversation if desired, or stops it if not.

Tell us about a person who made you smile today.

A. My husband made me laugh when he zipped through the house buck naked at lunch time. He'd been spraying weeds and he stripped outside, washed his clothes down with the water hose, and then raced indoors to the shower. He is supposed to wear disposable special hazardous materials suits when he sprays weed killer on the farm, but he says he was out of them.
 
What were you doing at 8 am this morning?

A. Trying to wake up after a long night filled with crazy dreams that included my brother, a house in a canyon, an airplane trip, a bus ride, and a gun. I was having a lot of pain around 3 a.m., so it generally takes me a while to get going when I am having these more hurtful days. 

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

A. Making the bed after having stripped it and washed the linens. (I am answering this on Saturday.)

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

A. I like Halloween because of the decorations and the eeriness of it, as well as the legends that go along with it. I like the idea of a break in the veil of life and death, if only for a second. Death is such an intangible and unknowable thing - the ultimate adventure, really, which we will all experience but which will be a different experience for everyone. Okay, even I know that is getting strange.

Tell us about a visit to another country.

A. I went to Spain and France when I was a teenager, in the 11th grade (I think). We had to leave Spain a day early because there was to be a strike on the border of the buses we were supposed to take. We ended up on a train that went through every little piddling town in all of the country, and it was full of rural men and women who looked with great disdain at the American teenagers taking up space in one of the cars. There was a restroom on a train car about three cars ahead of ours, but to get to it, we had to go through cars filled with the locals. Two other girls and I attempted to get up to the restroom, but we were manhandled, for lack of a better term, by the men to such an extent that one of the girls scratched one man's face with a comb, and in retaliation he slugged me in the head, nearly knocking me unconscious. We finally got back to our train car and our tour guide just shrugged and said, "That's the way it is over here." I never told my parents about that.

What is the last thing you said aloud?

A. "You know you make the grass scream when you mow the yard, according to the article in today's paper."
 
What was the last thing you had to drink?

A. Water.
 
What are you wearing right now?

A. Jeans, a T-shirt, socks, underwear, new hiking/sneakers, new Blue Thing, my watch, and my eyeglasses.
 
What was the last thing you ate?

A. A peach.
 
Have you bought any new clothing items this week?

A. I bought the new shoes I have on. Still trying to find something that will allow me to walk without a limp.
 
When was the last time you ran?

A. I'm 53, overweight, and disabled. Take a guess.
 
What’s the last sporting event you watched?

A. NASCAR, I guess. I don't watch sports but I think my husband had that on last weekend.
 
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A. Everywhere. I would like to see it all. I would like to see the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the hobbit village in New Zealand, the green hills of Ireland, the jungles of the Amazon, Machu Picchu, the deserts, the valleys, and everything in between.
 
Who is the last person you sent a comment/message to on Facebook?

A. My friend Teresa. 

Ever go camping? If yes, tell us about one time.

A. When I was a child, my parents would take us camping. One time a bear backed into the tent and terrified my mother.

Do you think a tan improves your looks?

A. No. I don't tan, I burn.

Have you ever lost anything down a toilet?

A. Not that I can recall. I am sure that as a child I managed to flush a thing or two.
 
What is your guilty pleasure?

A. I don't have one. I do a lot of things I should not, like eat chocolate, but it is not a guilty pleasure. It's just what I do. After you reach a certain age, I think you're old enough to do whatever the heck you want (so long as it is lawful) without feeling guilty about it.

__________

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: Fortune Faded

Saturday 9: Fortune Faded (2003)

Because Janelle suggested The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The song begins with a chess reference. Do you play chess?

A. Not in a long time.

2) The lyric also mentions losing altitude. Often airline travelers complain that their ears pop as the plane loses altitude. When you fly, does this bother you?

A. I haven't flown since 1993. I do, however, have an inner ear issue and doctors have advised me that flying would be, at the least, painful. I also have difficulties in vehicles when we drive up mountains.

3) Four of the original members attended the same school -- Fairfax High in Los Angeles. Fairfax High's mascot was The Lions. Do you remember what your school team (grade school, high school or college) was called?

A. My high school team was the Cavaliers. My college, which was an all-female undergraduate school, has never had a school team name. They do have colors: green and gold.

4) The band has appeared on The Simpsons. Which is your favorite character from the long-running Fox cartoon show?

A. I have never watched it.

5) Bass player Michael Balzary, or Flea, cofounded The Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit educational organization for under-privileged children. Share a memory from music class in school.

A. I used to battle back and forth with another girl, Angie, for first chair in the flute section. The first chair person had the honor of playing the piccolo. Every six weeks, it seemed, we would compete for that chair. Generally it was one of the two of us in it.

6) The Red Hot Chili Peppers have played at massive outdoor festivals all over the world. Do you enjoy listening to concerts outside, under the sun or stars? Or do you prefer air conditioned indoor comfort?

A. Because people around here still puff on their cancer sticks, I do not go to outdoor concerts. (Cough cough.) I would if my fellow Americans would stop sucking on their nicotine and polluting my air, but since they haven't, I prefer inside concerts where smoking is now (thankfully) no longer allowed in this state - an occurrence which did not take place until 2009 when our soon-to-be vice president and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine signed smoking cessation laws. However, they are only effective if the concert arena serves food.

7) Red bell peppers are used in Giada De Laurentiis' popular Italian sausage, pepper and onion recipe. Would you prefer to have your portion served in a bowl or as a sandwich?

A. Given that I have ulcers, I would prefer not to have it all.

8) Red cayenne peppers are very hot. Do you enjoy spicy foods?

A. See above. Ulcers do not allow me to eat such things.

9) Random question: Are you a spender or a saver?

A. I'm a saver. Who needs all of that stuff? Better to put the money away so I don't eat cat food when I am old.

_____________

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

Thursday Thirteen: Canning Companies

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, local farmers had canneries. At one time in my area there were nearly 200 canneries. Most of them put up tomatoes. Around 1919, this area was the second-largest tomato-production area in the nation (a county in Maryland was first).

A blight came through and killed much of the tomato crop, and in so doing made the ground unproductive for tomatoes (even today it is hard to grow tomatoes here). The blight crushed the industry, and those who survived the blight then suffered after World War II from government regulations as big farming and packaging companies took over and put the smaller farming industries out of business.




The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum in Ferrum, VA currently has a display of labels from these many companies. Each little cannery had it's own label for cans and packing crates. These labels are all from my little part of the world.
  


 

The labels were very colorful and unique.

 

Each farmer created his own design and brand.

 

Many of these family names can still be found in the area today.

 

The labels described the product as "mountain grown"
or used some other descriptive advertisement.

 


This explains how the canneries grew and then collapsed.



Farmers also grew and canned apples, sweet potatoes, and
 other fruits and vegetables.

 

This is what a cannery looked like. Many of these old buildings can still be found in the area.

 

These labels were used on packing crates.

 

A tree of cans with the labels still attached. Each one is different.

 

Three local cans from my community.

 


The collection is on display courtesy of Mr. Charlie Woods, who has generously donated his collection
to the Blue Ridge Institute.

 

Many of the labels were made in nearby Bedford by the Piedmont Label Company. It is
still in business under another name.

The Crooked Road

In far southwestern Virginia, there is a "trail" called The Crooked Road. It runs through 19 counties and 54 towns, and starts in Franklin County. It totally misses most of the Roanoke Valley, though, and runs south of the city.

As you can see, it follows a path from Rocky Mount, down into Floyd and makes it way around to the camel's head part of Virginia. There are not many cities down in those directions, though there are lots of towns and communities. Here is another website about it: Click This Link.

Roanoke has an interesting music scene; I don't know why it is not a part of this trail. Maybe it is not rural enough.

In any event, the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, which is located at Ferrum College, has a display about The Crooked Road.

Over the weekend, we took a ride to the Institute to see what we could see.

The Crooked Road exhibit was mostly placards with information about various types of music and some famous musicians that lived in the communities along The Crooked Road. You may be familiar with Ralph Stanley and June Carter Cash, to name two.

The display was nicely done, with lots of information and photographs.

 

I confess I was a little disappointed that there were no actual musical instruments in the room.

 

However, if one had the time, there was plenty to read and study.

 

Virginia has a deep history of music, with roots in Irish, German, and Scottish sounds.

 

Virginia's music is one of banjos, dulcimers, ballads, and blues.

 

Some of the sounds were heard all over the nation.

 


Bluegrass didn't have its own festival until 1965.

 

Gospel, bluegrass, country music, folk songs -
Virginia is for music lovers.
 

We enjoyed our tour. The Blue Ridge Institute was smaller than we anticipated and the room with The Crooked Road exhibit in it did not seem to be well humidified. I had hoped to see a collection of musical instruments - old guitars, dobroes, banjos, tambourines, harmonicas, or whatever - but none were in sight. The docent on duty said they had a large collection of items in storage; it is a shame they could not be displayed.

Rocky Mount now has a new place for musicians called the Harvester Performance Center, and it is attracting many recognizable names to its performances. It seems to be quite the draw for local folks interested in music.

Anyway, take a jaunt along The Crooked Road sometime - I don't know what you'll hear, but I imagine it will be genuine.