I Can Still Remember: Thursday Thirteen

1. Gasoline that cost $0.25 a gallon. By the time I turned 16, it had hit $1.00.



Pontiac T-1000, 1982. Mine
looked like this. Ugly thing,
wasn't it?

2. Bread that cost $0.75 a loaf. Now it is $2.50.

3. A wired VCR that cost over $300 to purchase (1984).

4. My first purchased new car - a Pontiac T-1000, bought in 1982 - cost about $7,000.

5. When Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 and then arrested for joining the group that had taken her. Even back then, though I was but a teenager, I never thought she did anything out of her own free will but instead was a victim of brainwashing. I still think that. Only she knows, I suppose.

6. Eight-track tapes that played in endless loops, with big speakers in cars that blasted so loud it nearly knocked you off your feet.

7. American Top 40, with Casy Casem. It played every Sunday evening and I listened to it religiously after I turned 10.

8. Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater in the White House.

9. The day John Lennon was shot - my teachers cried (1980).

10. The day Ronald Reagan was shot - I was in school and did not believe a classmate when first told (1981).

11. Rooting for Billy Jean King to beat Bobby Riggs (1973).

12. The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.

13. When man took his first step on the moon (July 20, 1969). My grandmother called us in from playing to watch the event on TV.

____________

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 471st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

A Long, Long Time Ago

Long ago, in Middle Earth, Gondor was a great kingdom. Then it began to crumble.
 
They called the ruler "a steward" because the line of the true king had been broken. The stewards ruled in the king's stead, mostly to keep civil war from taking place.
 
"The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men." That's what Gandalf called these stewards in The Return of the King movie (and maybe the books; I've not looked it up).
 
The line sticks with me.
 
"A thousand years this city has stood. Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall," sayeth the wizard.
 
Throughout the history of this world - the real one, not the fantasy land of Tolkien - empires and realms have grown proud and tall, only to fall.
 
I remember learning in school that at one time there was a saying that the sun never sets on the British Empire, because the British held so much land in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, it was the largest in territorial size of any empire in history. With lands stretching from Canada to Australia, that saying certainly holds up.
 
By 1897, the phrase was being used to describe the holdings of Uncle Sam. No one told me that in school, though.
 
Yes, we are the American Empire. Today, the sun never sets on American territory, properties owned by the U.S. government and its citizens, American armed forces abroad, or countries that conduct their affairs within limits largely defined by American power.
 
Most people in the United States do not think of the U.S. as an empire, I believe. We are not taught that we are an empire. We are taught that we do good and spread democracy, and never have evil intent. The word "empire" just sounds wrong and bad. We don't know that we are imperialists, asserting our influence in ways that are harmful to the people we are subduing. We prefer to think of it as doing no evil.
 
Google says it has no evil intent, either, but it sure as hell spies on my web crawling to the extent that I find it creepy, if not downright scary. I mean, I don't want anybody to know I've looked up how to fix an ingrown toenail. That's rather personal.
 
The idea of an American Empire is also creepy and scary. It's also a fact, one that cannot be denied if one looks at a map. Like the British Empire of old, we have military bases in Canada and Australia. Maybe we don't "rule" the territory, but we certainly have massive influence wherever we go.
 
Did our forefathers expect the United States to become an empire? Those men - greater men? plain ol' men? - did they expect expansion?

They were imperialists, these founders. George Washington himself called the U.S. an "infant empire."
 
Jefferson made the Louisiana purchase, so he was for expansion.
 
The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 indicates that by then the leaders of the United States considered all of North and South America - two continents - to be under their purview.
 
I believe it is safe to say the Founding Fathers were expansionists, and empire  and imperialism was not beyond their thinking.
 
A world globe on my desk, one I've owned for about 25 years, is no longer accurate, particularly with countries that are no longer part of Russia, but it is close enough. To look at it, you would not think the United States is an empire.
 
It doesn't go into that much detail. It does not show military bases, or areas in which we are fighting now. It doesn't show who are leaders that are in power because we helped things along, so we could have the people we wanted in power, and not that other guy.

So much has happened in this new millennium, particularly in the Middle East. But also here, in the United States.

Many of us know now that we are an empire (and some don't care). Some of us are aware that others in this world do not like being under the boot of the red, white, and blue.
 
The Middle East once was an empire. Rome once was an empire. Byzantine was an empire.
 
They are empires no more. This should serve as some kind of warning about empire, imperialism, and expansionistic thinking.

These vast territories fell for numerous reasons - there is never just one. Economic factors, outside factors, internal strife, divisions from within and without all contributed to the downfall of these once might kingdoms.

Even Hitler could not have risen to power alone. He may have led his army into Austria to start World War II, but it was the soldiers who followed orders, the public who lacked the will to stand.

What constitutes a lesser man? Is it the brick layer who toils in the sun all day, doing his job with care and love? Is it the gambler at the table, tossing down his cards, a quartet of aces in his hand? Is it the wealthy man, who has through cunning and sleight-of-hand, made his fortune? Or is it the leader who takes the reigns of a mighty empire, and then quickly brings it down?

The brick layer is the best of the men I have listed. The farmer, the laborer, the doctor, even a lawyer - these are not the lesser men.

Even the gambler is preferable to a rich, uncaring man.

The lesser men are those whose ego leads them to lead lands astray, to take their greatest assets - these lowly, humble men who lay bricks and grow corn - and use them for cannon fodder. That leader, my friends, is a lesser man.

The United States will fall, if not in my lifetime, then shortly thereafter (depending on how long I live). I don't see this nation holding together much longer. That's a sad statement to make. Nothing lasts forever, though.

Regardless of who wins the presidency in a few weeks, the country will stumble and falter, because we have lost sight of the great men - the brick layers and ditch diggers - and placed our hopes into the hands of lesser men who know only how to use others for their own amusement and gain.

All this election will do, and the perhaps the next one and the one after that, will delay the inevitable, if the United States cannot find her footing, and put the greater good before the love of money and those who possess it. I don't know that we as a people can do that. I think we're too far gone.

In plain language, honor the brick layer. Don't cheer the rich. They may have the money, but they are the lesser men.

The Colors Aren't Bigly

Yesterday we, along with most of Roanoke and several people from Florida who probably thought we do not really have the Autumn colors here like they see on travel brochures, took a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We went south to Mabry Mill.

Maybe we were late. Maybe we were early. We seldom manage to catch the colors at their peak, except for those around the house.

Mostly we were disappointed. The colors were blah and practically non-existent. There were great views, of course, but no mighty array of colors to astonish the mind and please the eye. Have a look for yourself:

The Parkway outside of Blue Ridge, where we entered.

 

A tad more color further north, but not much.

 

This looks better than the reality, thanks to computer magic.

 

Roanoke from the Parkway. Computer magic, again.

 

Haze kept this photo from coming out well. That's Roanoke with the Wells Fargo Tower in the middle.

 

Computer magic, again. But even so, meh.

 

Looking back toward Roanoke.

 

A little more color, but nothing to brag about.

 

Lovely view, looking toward North Carolina (I think). But not much color.

 

Mabry Mill was slammed. No place to park. I took this from the car as we drove by.

 


Also taken from the car while we sat at the stop sign. To prove we were really here, you know.
The people are more colorful than the leaves!

The colors around here haven't changed over, either. I'm beginning to think they are going to simply turn brown and drop off.

We haven't had a lovely Autumn in quite a long time. I remember vibrant, vivid colors 10 years ago, but it has been awhile since we've seen those.

(The photos in my header, by the way, are from years past, not this year.)

Sunday Stealing: Books

From Sunday Stealing

Bookish Questions

1. How long did it take you to finish your last book?

A. I usually have several going at once - one on audio in the car, which can take weeks to listen to, depending on how much I am driving, one I read at the doctor's offices, which can also take weeks, and my book club book, which usually I read in a week or less, and then whatever else I have handy, which can take anywhere from a couple of days to a month depending on whether it is fiction or nonfiction and my interest in it. I am not sure which book I finished last so I can't really answer the question any better.

2. How many times do you stare at your bookshelves each day?

A. Geez, I have no idea. They are in my office, which is where I tend to stay most of the time, so I see them constantly.
 
3. How many Goodreads friends/books do you have?

A. For some reason, I am not on Goodreads. So I have none.

4. Do you ever quote books in public?

A. Yes. Usually lines from Lord of the Rings, though I have been known to suddenly spout off something from Edgar Allen Poe.
 
5. Do you ever re-read books?

A. Yes. I am currently re-reading the Newberry Award winners. I started with Island of the Blue Dolphins (which took me only a few hours to read).
 
6. Do you judge a book by its cover?

A. I judge a book by whatever is written about it, subject matter, and whether or not the first page holds my attention.
 
7. Do you take pictures of your books before you read them?

A. No.
 
8. What are your biggest distractions from reading?

A. Not feeling well because I'm taking medication, playing video games, doing housework, playing the guitar - other hobbies.
 
9. Where is your favorite place to buy books?

A. I buy them at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. We don't have any independent stores nearby.
 
10. Do you always have a book with you?

A. Yes, for the most part. Now I carry a Kindle Paperwhite with me most of the time, and it is full of free books I've downloaded so I always have something new to read.

11. Do you read during breakfast?

A. I read the newspaper during breakfast.
 
12. How many hours a day would you say you read?

A. Four or five, maybe? But that includes news articles, Internet stuff, things like that.
 
13. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?

A. I read less than I did 10 years ago, mostly because my eyesight has worsened and because I am taking medication that makes focus difficult.
 
14. Do you consider yourself a speed reader?

A. I used to. Not so sure now.
 
15. Do you read in bed?

A. Yes.

16. How old were you when you got your first library card?

A. Elementary school, I guess.

__________

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: Can't Stop the Feeling

Saturday 9: Can't Stop the Feeling! (2016)

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

1) This is an upbeat, positive song. Are you feeling upbeat and positive right now?

A. I'm feeling sort of meh. Not upbeat and positive but not lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut, either.

2) Justin Timberlake is a good dancer. And why not? In this song, he sings he has "good soul in my feet." Consider your own dancing talent and compose your own lyric: I have ___________ in my feet.

A. I have sticks and stones in my feet. I kind of dance like Elaine on Seinfeld, I fear.

3) In the video, there's dancing in the laundromat. Do you have dirty clothes in the hamper, or are you all caught up with your laundry?

A. There are a few dirty clothes in the hamper, but I am mostly on top of it.

4) There's also dancing in the supermarket. What do you need to pick up at the store?

A. I have a long list that includes bread, lotion, deodorant, and a new tooth brush holder.

5) This song will appear in the upcoming Dreamworks Trolls movie. Some people believe Troll dolls are good luck. Do you have a good luck charm?

A. No. I used to be very good at finding four-leaf clovers, though.

6) Justin Timberlake loves to dunk Oreos in milk. Crazy Sam thinks this is all wrong -- the way to eat an Oreo is to twist the two halves apart and lick the cream first. Which method do you prefer, Justin's or Sam's?

A. Sam's. You go, girl!

7) Justin admits to some fashion fails. He and Britney Spears wore matching denim outfits that he regrets, and he's sorry he ever tried cornrows. What about you? Can you think of a look you thought was cool at the time, but now it makes you shudder?

A. I had big hair perm back in the late 1980s. It was horrible only I apparently was oblivious to how horrible it really was.

8) He is a very good golfer. When were you last on the golf course?

A. I think I played miniature golf about 10 years ago. Does that count?



My sweetie.

9) Random question: Think about your romantic involvements. Were you in love with one of them, some of them, or all of them?

A. I have only ever been in love with my husband.

_____________

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.

My Latest Hobby

A friend of mine has decided I should take up knitting.

It'll be calming, she says.

My first knitting effort.

I took a picture of this before I ripped it up to start over. Obviously I wasn't doing something right.

So far, I can't say I find it very relaxing. More like stressful, as I try to get the needles in the right places and keep the yarn from splitting and slipping and having a mind of its own.

Knitting is rather like trying to put a hat on a hare, at least for me. I know I'm never going to catch the rabbit, and I'll certainly never get close enough to make a stew of him.

Much less knit Peter Rabbit a new stocking cap.

I have not given it up yet. I am hoping the "relaxation" will kick in, rather like the overdrive does on the car when I floor it, gas pedal to the ground, my foot elongated and the engine revving. Things will go full speed then, I hope, with the needles clicking and the yarn flowing and everything will look even and smooth, and my blood pressure will go down.

My only concern is that my patience will wear thin before that meditative overdrive finds a loophole in my brain.

Thursday Thirteen #470

Stuff that came across my Facebook feed on Wednesday.

1. These people didn't leave a money tip for a waitress. They told her to go home and do her godly duty to her home and husband and make America great again. Again when? 65 a.d.?

2. A picture of a turtle.

3. A story in the local paper about a horse being saved after it somehow reached the loft of a barn and could not get back down.

4. An article about a vampire story, written before Dracula, about a lesbian vampire. The story, Carmilla, was written in 1871 in Ireland.

5. Several people had a conversation about global warming and the fact that it hasn't frosted here yet. Someone says it is because the earth has tilted on its axis.

6. An article from The Guardian in the UK that suggests that migraines originate in your stomach.

7. An article about a local author, Beth Macy, that suggests her second book, Truevine, just released on Tuesday, may be optioned for a movie. (Tom Hanks took the option on her first book, Factory Man.) *Note* I know Beth Macy personally.

8. Stuff about that fake Facebook "privacy" notice that seems to make the rounds about once a year. Just so you know, it makes no difference what kind of privacy notice and copyright crap you post on your Facebook page. You've already agreed to their terms just by using the service. If you don't like it, don't use it. That goes for practically every other service available online, including the one I am using for this blog (blogger.com).

9. Pictures of a cat doing gymnastics. Or sleeping. Or something. I am allergic to cats and hence not a cat person. I like to look at the pictures, though.

10. More crap about Wednesday's debate and politics than one person should have to see in a lifetime.

11. Several friends asking for prayers for health issues.

12. A librarian's version of Bohemian Rhapsody (from the U.K.).

13. An article about Christmas letters written in 1905 and 1907 discovered in a chimney in a house New York.

Unfortunately, for the duration of the remainder of the election, I have unfollowed (not unfriended) a few of my friends because I can't stand the political stuff. Depending on how things go, I plan to go back and "refollow" them around Thanksgiving, provided we're not in some kind of civil war or something. Hopefully by then the verbal garbage will have lessened.

I actually prefer seeing what people had for dinner to knowing what political party they support. Unlike my blog, which one visits of his or her own free will, I have to see the blathering that falls across my FB feed unless I take measures to stop it. So I took those steps until such time as videos of kittens and pictures of restaurant meals resume. I am also trying very hard not to post political items on my own time line so as to keep from subjecting my friends to the same.

It's not like I'm going to change anyone's mind, after all. Nor will they change mine.

My neighbors are dear to me, but I would just as soon not open myself up to political disharmony. If they come here and still read me, then they are dear friends indeed.

All are always welcome to Blue Country Magic, and in my heart until they break it (and often even then). However, my blog is not Facebook, and sometimes on that social media, my eyes freeze up and need a break.

______________

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 470th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Niece & Grandparents

(From left.) My father's wife, Rita, my niece, Zoe, and my father, Loren.

The Couples Questionnaire

For couples - married, dating or whatever . . .
 
Who's older? He is.

How long have you been together? It will be 33 years of marriage in November, plus 1 year and one month of dating.

Who asked? He did.

Did you go to the same school? Yes, and we rode the same school bus. However, he paid no attention to me and, except for elementary school, we were not in school at the same time. We became a couple after we both graduated high school.

Who is the more sensitive? I am.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Shakers or Cracker Barrel

Where is the furthest you two have traveled? Together we've gone as far north as the Poconos in Pennsylvania and as far south as Charleston, SC. I have been to California and Paris and he has been to Appleton, Wisconsin and New Orleans.

Who has the worse temper? I do.

Who does the cooking? I do, for the most part.

Who is more social? He is.

Who is the most stubborn? He is.

Who wakes up earlier? He does.

Who has the bigger family? We have the same size immediate families and both have lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. If we go back far enough, he and I are fifth cousins, so . . .

Do you get flowers often? Very seldom. I am allergic. He did buy mums for outside the house a while back.

How long did it take to get serious? Not very long.

Who eats the most? He does. Although you couldn't tell that from looking at the two of us.

Who does the laundry? I do, although he will occasionally toss a pair of cow-doody covered coveralls into the washing machine.

Who picks where you go to dinner? We both do.

Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong? I'm never wrong and neither is he.

Who has the craziest exes? We don't really have exes.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? We both wear pants.

Who cries more? I do.

Who hogs the bed? He does.

Sunday Stealing: Wish List, Part II

Sunday Stealing

Wish List Meme, Part II

26.) Favorite kids name? A. Do you mean the name of my favorite child, or do you mean what is the name I most favor for a child?

27.) Do you speak any other languages? A. Yo hablo muy poco Español.

28.) Do you use Twitter? A. I have an account, but I really don't see the point of it.

29.) Do you go onto YouTube? A. Yes.

30.) Do you play Angry Birds? A. No.

31.) Do you like Angry Birds? A. I have no idea.

32.) Do you like Hello Kitty? A. I have no idea.

33.) Have you ever cried because you were so happy? A. I imagine so, at some point.

34.) Who would you like to see in concert? A. Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John.

35.) Can you swim well? A. Not well. But I can swim.

36.) Ever won a contest? A. I won $100 in a raffle a while back.

37.) Ever won a giveaway? A. I'm not sure what the difference is between a giveaway and a contest.

38.) Do you get a full 8 hours of sleep every night? A. No.

39.) What tea do you like? A. Orange Pekoe and Irish Breakfast Tea, both decaf.

40.) What coffee do you like? A. I do not drink coffee.

41.) Do you shop at Walmart? A. When I have to.

42.) Do you shop at Target? A. Sometimes.

43.) What do you order at Second Cup? A. Never heard of the place.

44.) There is no #44.

45.) Do you like homemade meals? A. Of course.

46.) Do you like homemade baked goods? A. Of course.

47.) Do you shop online? A. Of course.

48.) Name 3 stores online stores you would like to shop at: Amazon, Zappos, and Tiffany's.

49.) What holiday don't you like? A. I am starting to not like Christmas, since it is now five months long.

50.) What do you eat more of when you're sick? A. Crackers.

 __________

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: If I Knew

Saturday 9: If I Knew You Were Comin' (1950)

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

(I assume I have heard this somewhere along the line of my half-century of life, as it sounds a bit familiar, but I don't recall it.)

1) This song is performed by a woman who is positively tickled to have unexpected company. How do you feel when people  drop by unannounced?

A. I don't mind, but it also does not happen very often. I can't remember the last time someone just "dropped by." Living out in a rural area makes it hard for folks to drop by because I'm not on the way to the store or something.

2) She is clearly proud of her skills in the kitchen. Do you enjoy baking? Cooking?

A. I like to bake and I enjoy making fudge. I am not so fond of dealing with dead meat and attempting to turn that into something edible. We don't starve but I do not consider myself a good cook.

3) Reference is made to hiring a band. Tell us the last time you were at an event with live music.

A. I suppose last Christmas sometime, maybe. We don't go out to bars or places that play live music.

4) After making recordings in the early 1950s, Eileen Barton appeared on daytime TV in the early 1960s -- including a game show called Video Village. Let's say we're all headed to a TV game show taping this morning. Would you volunteer to appear as a contestant? Or would you rather just stay in the audience?

A. It would depend on the game. If I were going to get dunked in red ink I would stay in the audience. If it were Jeopardy! I might volunteer to appear as a contestant.

5) In 1961, Ms. Barton got married in Juarez, Mexico. What's the longest distance you've ever traveled to attend a wedding?

A. About 40 miles, I suppose.

6) In 1950, when this song was popular, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. Are you looking forward to the upcoming NHL season?

A. Nope. I don't watch sports.

7) 1950 also marks the first time anyone in the United States paid by credit card. Do you pay with a credit card to get rewards? If yes, what rewards are you accumulating (points, cash back, airline miles)?

A. Yes, for cash back on a couple of cards and for points that I turn into gift cards on another.

8) In 1950, an athlete named Florence Chadwick swam the English Channel. Are you a good swimmer?

A. I can stay afloat for a while. I would not call it "good." Also, I haven't done it in quite a long time.

9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to spare someone's feelings, or to make your day go more smoothly?

A. Spare feelings. Kindness costs nothing.

_____________

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. This is my 150th time to play.