Virginia, like most states, has a lot of little museums that are fun to visit if you are so inclined to learn a little bit about a community.
Here are 13 in this state that I have visited.
1. The C&O Railway Heritage Center, which is located in Clifton Forge, VA, a small town about 45 minutes away. We visited this in 2013. It is a history of the C&O Railroad and it was fun to walk through an old passenger train car and to see how the railroad evolved in this area.
2. The Lynchburg Museum, located in Lynchburg, VA (home of Liberty University). We visited this museum in 2011. It tells the history of this city, which is about an hour away from me.
3. The Botetourt Museum, located in Fincastle, VA. I've been to this museum many times as it is the local museum that tells the story of my county. Lots of familiar family names can be found there as well as an interesting take on the founding of the nation - because Botetourt, dating back to 1769, played a role in the country's settlement.
4. The Salem Museum, located in Salem, VA. This museum, which I have also visited a few times, tells the story of the community (now a city) of Salem, and includes a large area detailing Lakeside Amusement Park. The Park is a place I visited multiple times as a child. Unfortunately it was wiped out in a flood in 1985.
5. The Antique Fire Museum in Staunton, VA. This museum, which we visited in 2012, has a 1911 fire engine in it.
6. The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum in Hollins, VA. This museum is located at Hollins University, and I have been there several times, too. I should go more often - like every time they change out the display, since Hollins is my alma mater.
7. Woods Brothers Racing Museum in Stuart, VA. We visited this museum in 2015. Even if you aren't a racing fan, it is an intriguing look at automobile, design, and history of the sport. It is also spotless and very well done.
8. The Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton, Va. We visited this museum in 2012. This private museum has a collection of all kinds of cameras, more than you ever thought existed.
9. Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA. We visited this museum in 2017. There were lots of planes on display along with memorabilia about various wars. A small wall devoted itself to women in aviation.
10. Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum in Petersburg, VA. We visited this museum in 2017. It has lots of tractors in it dating from the first ones in the late 1800s forward.
11. The Dirty Dancing Museum at Mountain Lake in Giles County. We visited in 2014. This is part of where the movie was filmed.
12. The Taubman Museum in Roanoke, VA. We have been here a few times, but should go more often. This is the premier museum for the city.
13. The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum in Ferrum, VA. We visited this in 2016. It has local history and when we were there it was offering a display of cannery labels. At one time this area was a great canning community, and nearly everyone worked in agriculture.
Thanks to my brother for giving me the idea to list the museums.
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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 552nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Last Friday as my husband and I shopped at a local grocery store for a few items to get us through the weekend, I experienced something weird and out of the ordinary.
My husband was pushing the cart, and he suddenly veered away from me, calling back over his shoulder that he needed to pick up soft drinks. Far down the aisle a woman was on a small ladder putting drinks up on the top shelf, and an older man, in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, passed her and then my husband.
I caught his gaze and he held it for just a beat too long. The next thing I knew, he was unbuckling his belt and then his hand was at his zipper.
I turned around and walked about five steps in the opposite direction. My instincts were shrieking that something was very wrong here, but my analytic self was saying he's just tucking in his shirt. I turned back around to see if my husband was returning to me and the guy was still standing there with his pants unzipped and his belt unbuckled. I didn't really see anything, but it was unnerving. He was leering and smirking, this perverted man.
As soon as my husband reached me and I spoke to him, the guy moved past us and I watched him leave without making a purchase, making a beeline for the parking lot.
It took me a while to straighten my thoughts out as to what had happened. I did not tell my husband about it until we were in the parking lot, as I was looking around to see if I could see Mr. Pervert. The man was nowhere to be found. My husband was upset and frustrated with me for not saying something immediately. Ultimately, I went to the manager and asked that they review their security tapes and take whatever action they deemed appropriate.
This distressed me somewhat me because I have had a good deal of sexual harassment in my life, from when I was young on into adulthood. I have trouble dealing with males who are full of themselves and overtly patriarchal. So while in the grand scheme of things this is a minor incident, it still had an unsettling affect on me.
I felt violated, really.
That was bad enough, but then, in a sort of social experiment, I posted about it on Facebook. I knew what I was doing when I posted it (I essentially set a trap and a lot of people fell right into it - of their own free will, I hasten to add). Here we are in the new world of #metoo, when stories of sexual harassment and assault are mainstream and women are coming forward to say that the things we endure are not right. And what was the response I got? Teasing from males who said stupid things about the incident, and comments from some women about how they'd have laughed and pointed at Mr. Pervert as having a small penis, or something to that effect.
Some of the comments were proper, loaded with outrage and concern. By and large, it was split by those I know to be of one political party and those of another, and by gender. I had a number of private messages from people (women) who were aghast at the comments and very glad that I finally called out the commenters for continuing the legacy of rape culture. Only one person apologized, a man, who agreed he had been insensitive.
Here is the Facebook thread, which I captured Saturday before my computer modem died and I was unable to continue the conversation. Female names are blocked out with pink, male names by blue. I don't want to embarrass anyone in particular, but I do want people to think about what they are doing and saying. Nothing was funny about this minor incident, nothing at all.
These are the questions from Sunday Stealing, which I missed because my internet modem was dead. This is the first Sunday Stealing I've missed in about five years.
1. If you could, where would you max out a credit card?
A. Best Buy
2. Why do you like the music you listen to?
A. I listen to 1970s music, from when I was young, as well as a lot of Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge albums, along with classical sometimes and New Age. I like it because (a) I know it, (b) some of it I play on the guitar, (c) it soothes me, (d) I like the guitar in it, and (e) the lyrics resonate with me.
3. What are your favorite colors?
A. Blue, purple, and hunter green.
4. Do you collect anything?
A. Mistakes.
5. What's your:
Dream job? I don't know anymore.
Favorite cosmetics brands: I still wear Covergirl.
Favorite scents: The smell of cookies baking.
Favorite flavors: Chocolate, grape, strawberry
Favorite magazines: O!, Writer's Digest, Reader's Digest.
Favorite piece of jewelry: My wedding band.
Favorite holiday: Halloween.
Favorite season: Tie for spring and fall.
6. Do you drink coffee or tea?
A. Tea
7. Where would you go on vacation if you could go anywhere?
A. New Zealand
8. What kind of geek are you?
A. The kind that reads books, writes stuff, and plays video games.
My modem died a fiery death, complete with wisps of white smoke on Saturday, and I'm just back up and running.
Blogging will resume as soon as I am caught up on other things.
Talk about some hot stuff! Whew.
Saturday 9: Mother and Child Reunion (1972)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here. (I didn't realize this song was so old. Yikes.)
1) The title of this song, "Mother and Child Reunion," came from a dish Paul Simon had at a Chinese restaurant. "Mother and Child Reunion" was chicken and egg drop soup. When did you last eat chicken?
A. Last night. We had chicken pot pie for dinner.
2) Paul Simon's mother, Belle, was an English teacher Monday through Friday and then gave piano lessons on the weekends. Have you ever worked more than one job?
A. Yes. Almost my entire adult life, actually. I have freelanced for most of it and worked at other jobs at the same time on many occasions.
3) Mother Winters taught Sam to always dispose of the dry cleaning bag, as storing clothes in the bag may discolor the fabric. Do you have any useful household hints to pass along?
A. White vinegar can cure most boo-boos. It is also great if you burn your hand; soak it in white vinegar and it won't be sore.
4) Have you put away your winter clothes yet?
A. They have been moved to the rear of the closet.
5) Flowers and plants are popular on Mother's Day. How is your yard or garden? Is it green and/or blooming?
A. My yard is green and the annuals I planted are blooming. The irises are starting to bloom and the roses are not.
6) In the 1600's, the British began celebrating "Mothering Sunday." Children presented flowers to their mothers after Sunday service. When did you last place flowers in a vase? Where they store-bought, or picked from someone's garden?
A. I only use silk flowers in the house because of my allergies. I last bought new ones about three weeks ago.
7) The German word for "mother" is "mutter." What other German words do you know?
A. Donka. (Thanks.)
8) When Sam was a teen, her mother used to scold her for monopolizing the family landline. With the advent of cell phones, do you think parents and children still clash over telephone etiquette?
A. I think they clash over using them at dinner, although when I am out I see parents on their phones ignoring their kids as often as not.
9) To celebrate Mother's Day, Sam is giving away her mother's favorite, Hershey Bars!Would you prefer classic milk chocolate, dark chocolate or milk chocolate with almonds?
A. Classic milk chocolate, please. Thank you!
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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.
1. Maybe I have done so many Thursday Thirteens that I have run out of ideas.
2. After all, I have done 550 of them.
3. Yet, I continue to write them and try to come up with something. Anything!
4. I do not put up pictures from the Internet because I am concerned about copyright. I know it is probably not an issue, but with my luck, if someone is going to be called out for a copyright violation, it would be me.
5. Stretching my brain to come up with 13 things on a Thursday is probably a good mental health exercise, anyway.
6. Sometimes in these things, I put hidden messages. I forget they are there, though.
7. Under the circumstances, I don't expect people to actually find those messages. Besides, who would think to look?
8. Nobody. Of course, now someone will look, if these have read this through.
9. Some of the Thursday Thirteen players put up really cool word associations, or pictures that make me laugh, or play brain games.
10. Having to think about these things sometimes feels burdensome, but I always do it anyway.
11. Instant Thursday Thirteens rarely happen to me. I have to think about them. Or in today's case, think about thinking about them.
12. Not missing a Thursday is like a badge of honor. I haven't played the longest - that title belongs to Colleen - but I think I've played the second-longest.
13. Even so, some days it is simply impossible to come up with something that makes sense. Does this make sense?
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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 551st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Not so very long ago, someone called me a socialist.
I was supposed to take offense at this, but since I consider myself a democratic socialist, sort of, I did not.
Not everyone is capable of pulling themselves up out of poverty. I am in favor of a "safety net" that keeps people in their homes and off the streets, and if a few manage to outsmart the government and get more than they should (which happens because we've underfunded the positions needed to capture these folks, but that's another blog post), then I'm okay with that.
There aren't many democratic socialists in the government right now. I'm not even sure there are any democrats. Today it seems to me, the democrats in general are just old-school Republicans. Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run so that both meet public needs, and profits do not make just a few wealthy and leave the rest working three jobs to get by. (Think Norway.)
At any rate, I have often wondered how I came to this place in my mind. My grandfather was a democrat and a union man, so maybe it comes from there. But I think it is more because of my former work as a news reporter.
Being a news reporter meant that I could not stay in a specific circle or bubble. I had to visit people in their homes, wherever that might be. I think when we reach a certain stage - and many people are born into this stage and never leave it - where you have a nice suburban home and you see clean yards and homes, and nice vehicles, and then you drive back and forth to your job in your little cubicle, going out to the movies or the groceries store - you are in a bubble. We don't drive down the backroads and see the house trailers or the slums in a certain part of town. We instinctively avoid that because it is different.
But I could not avoid it when I was working as a reporter. If the story called for me to visit an older lady who lived alone in a home that was falling down, a place where the roof leaked and the furniture was purchased by her great-great-grandparents and she told you not to sit in a certain chair because the leg was broken, then that is where I went.
So I saw how people with different means live. I saw that people who had what seemed like good jobs - jobs paying more than I was making - lived in relative poverty. Maybe they had a spouse who couldn't work, too, or lots of doctor bills. Maybe they had five kids. Whatever the reason, they couldn't afford to buy a new vehicle or keep their house spruced up. Not only could they not afford it, they didn't have time.
Now some of the people were obviously doing something newsworthy - maybe graduating from nursing school at the age of 40, or had somehow built a roller coaster out of matchsticks, or they were beekeepers, or collected something of interest, or had won some award at work. Whatever the reason for the story, it gave me many chances to see how people live.
The circumstances sometimes astounded me. And sometimes, I admit, I wondered why someone didn't simply purchase cheap paint and spend a weekend making something that looked awful a bit more appealing. But I think most people perform at the height of their limits, and sometimes, without a little assistance, they just don't know where to turn, what to do, or how to be a human being. They are so busy trying to support themselves or their family, - being human doings (some might call them corporate serfs) - they don't have time to think about how something looks, much less do something about it.
After walking around two local counties, including my own, and visiting folks in places that maybe appeared nice on the outside but the poverty was visible on the inside, or vice versa, or whatever, it became apparent to me that we are a cruel society. We condemn people who do not live up to expectations, though these expectations vary by gender, race, and other conditions (and some of the conditions are invisible, unacknowledged, and unknowable be the persons who are being condemned).
We expect everyone to be able to become a millionaire, but it isn't going to happen. A recent article I read said one out of every 6 retirees was a millionaire - if you counted the value of the home in that. These are folks who need Social Security and Medicare, both programs that are part of the social safety net that some people want to dismantle, even if they are worth a million dollars. I'm afraid with today's health care costs, $1 million isn't going to go very far.
I could put up charts and facts all day long, but instead, I want to issue a challenge. Drive down a road or two you've not been down before, or not been down in a long time. Look at a home where someone lives, one you might find distasteful for whatever reason. Practice empathy and imagine why the place looks that way, what the lives of those folks might be like, and how a little more support from the community (i.e., the government), could make their lives even the slightest bit better. You can't go inside, but you can imagine.
Walk in someone else's shoes for a while. Pretend you're a librarian making $22,000 a year and work up a budget to live on. Could you do it? How about working a part-time minimum wage job? Could you make ends meet? Could you make ends meet with three part-time minimum wage jobs? No?
I've seen this stuff. People hurt, and they don't know how to fix it. In this America, if you can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps, something is wrong with you and apparently you deserve to be wherever you end up. So we don't want to help (though I don't understand this type of thinking at all). Not everyone starts out with boots, for one thing, and it's hard to go forward from there. Sometimes you end up walking around in your socks.
I assure you, if everyone could retire a millionaire, most would do it.
Sunday Stealing
1. Would you ever try Fear Factor for one million dollars? Why or why not?
A. Well, for one thing, I don't know what it is. I am guessing it is one of those shows where you take dares. I would try Survivor for $1 million, if I were ever brave enough to even try out for it, so I suppose I might try this.
2. If you use hair spray, what brand do you use the most?
A. I do not use hair spray. I am allergic to hair spray.
3. Is "Catcher in the Rye" in your library by any chance?
A. I think it is in my Kindle.
4. There is no No. 4 question.
5. What is the best thing about a Barbie doll?
A. It's not a technology toy and allows a child to use his or her imagination.
6. Cherry or peanut ice cream?
A. I don't eat ice cream. I'm allergic to milk.
7. From one to ten, how big of a movie buff are you?
A. About a 5.
8. Who is a celebrity you think will never get into trouble?
A. Don't they all get into trouble at some point?
9. What is a museum you would like to go to?
A. The Newseum.
10. Do you think you look better with short hair or long hair?
A. I wear medium-length hair.
11. What is the first thing you think of when I say ‘Jack’?
A. Sprat. Jack Sprat could eat no fat and his wife could eat no lean. So betwixt them both, they licked the platter clean.
12. What do (or did) you call your grandparents?
A. I called them Grandma and Grandpa (both sets).
13. What color do you usually paint your nails?
A. I don't paint my nails.
14. What would be a cool earring design?
A. Cows. I own cows so we'll go with cows.
15. Besides nightmares, what is the scariest thing about sleeping?
A. Hmm. I have experienced sleep paralysis once or twice. That can be scary.
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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. (#230)
Saturday 9: Standing on the Corner (1956)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this song, four friends congregate on Main Street to look longingly at pretty girls. In your town, where is the best place for people watching?
A. The supermarket in Daleville, I suppose.
2) This song was written for the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella. Who is the happiest person you know?
A. Hmm. That's actually a difficult question. :::ponder::: I can't come up with anyone.
3) The members of The Four Lads met at Toronto's St. Michael's Choir School. Growing up, did you attend parochial or public school?
A. I went to public school.
4) The Four Lads always wore jackets and ties when they performed. Do you enjoying dressing up? Or would you rather keep it casual?
A. I prefer my comfort, which means casual. If I could spend the rest of my years in sneakers, I'd be fine with that.
5) While this song was a hit for The Four Lads, they were completely overshadowed in 1956 by Elvis Presley and "Heartbreak Hotel." Who do you think dominates today's music scene?
A. I don't really know. Adele, maybe.
6) The Wizard of Oz aired on TV for the first time in 1956. Sam was never crazy about those flying monkeys. Tell us about something that frightened you when you were a kid.
A. The monkeys in The Wizard of Oz always scared my brother. I was scared by the movie SSSSS! which I wasn't supposed to be watching anyway. It's about a man who gets turned into a king cobra.
7) What scares you now?
A. The State of the Union.
8) Since this week's song is about pretty girls: 1956's Miss America was Sharon Ritchie of Colorado. Today Colorado has the distinction of being the home of more microbreweries than any other state in the union. Which are you most particular about -- your beer, your wine, or your coffee?
A. I don't drink any of those beverages.
9) Random question: We all have small, irritating habits, like soup slurping or not replacing the cap on the toothpaste. What's your nasty little habit?
A. Chewing my nails. I have done so since I was a wee lass and at this late date I don't think it is something I will stop.
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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.
1. I ran across this site called CuriosityStream - which roused my curiosity. Its $2.99 a month. It's about learning stuff.
2. I think curious people learn more than people who are not curious. Curious people ask questions - why is the sky blue? - and then seek out answers. Everyone has a little curiosity about them, but some simply use it to get through the day, while others take it way out to the edges of the universe.
3. Here's another site about curiosity. It says curiosity makes you smarter. We need more curiosity.
4. I was one of those children who asked about everything. I drove my mother and grandmother wild with my questions. I was reading by the time I was three simply so I could satisfy my own curiosities.
5. My grandmother had a set of World Book Encyclopedias, one of the things she pointed to with pride, that I would sit and look at for hours when I was a child. I have no idea what I learned from those pages, but surely something stuck with me. Now I'm curious as to why I can't buy a set of encyclopedias anymore, though I know it's because of the Internet and profit/loss margins. Now I wonder if someone else is putting out encyclopedias.
6. Curiosity makes your mind active, or keeps it active. When you stop being curious, you grow dim.
7. Curiosity also helps you develop ideas, and brings in new insights into what is going on around you. If you aren't curious enough to switch TV channels and stick only to one news viewpoint, your brain becomes limited to that viewpoint. Your thoughts dig a deep rut and you lose sight of other ideas.
8. Being curious allowed me to be a good reporter. I was curious about everyone I met. I still am. Why do people do what they do? Think what they think? What drives a person to run a 5K? I don't know. I don't have that desire. But someone else can tell me.
9. Curiosity is something that we can develop and it will enrich your life.
10. One thing you need for curiosity to take hold is an open mind, a mind that seeks out new life, new civilizations, and boldly goes where no one has gone before. Wait, that's Star Trek. The meaning's the same, though.
11. You also need to not take things for granted. Look beneath the surface. For example, my blue spruce trees are dying. Why? Because they have a fungus. Why? Because there was a drought period several years ago and they didn't get enough water, and it allowed the fungus to set in. Is the fungus killable? No. We've tried using recommended fungicide but it hasn't helped, and from everything I've read, it was never going to. We tried anyway because we love the trees. If I hadn't been curious about why the trees were dying, I'd never have figured out to try the fungicide in hopes of saving them.
12. Always ask questions. I'm sick (again) with a sinus infection. Why am I having recurring sinus infections? Partly because I have a bone spur on my jawbone that is keeping my ear from draining properly, setting up a location for infection to settle. Can I fix that (not without surgery)? Are there other reasons? What else can I do to keep from getting these infections? Are the antibiotics necessary? What other things can I do to keep from feeling like my head is stuff in a closet? I'm heading out to the pharmacy soon to see what else I can find.
13. Curiosity is the reason we have stories. When you ask someone how their day was, you want to hear their story because you're curious about their life, what they are doing with themselves, and how they are spending their time.
Be curious. Don't put labels on things. Read a lot of all kinds of things, even things you don't think you're interested in. Learn something new.
Are you a curious person? I really want to know.
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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 550th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
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| Male Cardinal |
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| Female Cardinal |
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| Male and Female Cardinal |
I spent 30 years trying to explain the difference between a town and a county.
That basically sums up my career writing for small, local newspapers. I wrote about government. Mostly I wrote about local government, but sometimes state or federal government made laws or enacted legislation that had a local impact, so I wrote about that, too.
What I learned in those 30 years is that many people have no idea how government works, not even at the local level. Even people who lived in towns had no idea how their town worked, or what it could or could not do as far as say, raising taxes or having its own school system.
The differences between a community, a village, a town, and a county are vast but lost on the population. The biggest differences are legalistic, but along with that legalistic jargon comes power.
A community has no power, except whatever power a group of people who band together might give it. Daleville, for example, is a community - a very large community, to be sure - but it has no power. It's not a legal entity, and there is no way for citizens in that area to petition for redress of grievances to something called the Daleville Town Council. There isn't one.
Daleville, as a community, is overseen by the county, so only the county wields power over that area. And all of those people (about 6,600) are represented by a single person on the county board of supervisors.
Fincastle is an incorporated town, and thus it has a town council, and power. It can tax. It can and recently did annex a part of the county to make itself larger, though it required the county's permission to do that (the county has more power). Those citizens in the town are still county citizens and subject to county laws, but they also now have a layer of town laws to abide by. If the county says it's okay to have chickens in your yard but the town says otherwise, you must take your complaint to the town council, not the county, if you want chickens. The town can have its own zoning laws, its own taxes, and its own rules - provided they are rules and laws that have been granted to them by the state through its municipal charter.
The county holds another set of powers. It can tax. It can set zoning laws. It can do everything a town can do (except annex another county with permission, but even that has some wiggle room, as Botetourt and Roanoke County "reset" boundaries in the Hollins area in the last 20 years. I remember writing the story.). The county can only do what the Virginia legislators allow it to do. The county cannot tax, say, cigarettes, because Virginia law doesn't allow counties to do that. It does allow cities to do that.
Cities generally have more power than counties. So the pecking order, by lack of power, is community, town, county, city, state, federal.
Virginia is what is known as a Dillon Rule state. This means that Virginia legislatures delegate powers to localities through the Virginia constitution, via municipal charters or by statute (the Virginia Code). A charter can be viewed as the "birth certificate" or "articles of incorporation" of the municipality. And the General Assembly may amend municipal charters at any time. They have done this in recent years to allow towns to change their elections from May to November, for example.
The Dillon Rule is why Botetourt County can't decide to open school after Labor Day. The Virginia legislature has set a time frame for when schools can operate. It is why Botetourt County doesn't set the speed limit on roads. The state has held that power for itself. You can go to your county board of supervisors and complain about speeding on your road, but all they can do is pass it along to representatives of the state highway department, who will then do an investigation and see if the speed limit needs to be changed or if the road needs to be off-limits to truck traffic, or whatever the issue might be. Roads are not in the county's pack of powers.
Now you may be wondering why I am writing about this today. I don't know. It is on my mind because I'm watching things go on that seem wrong, not just in my community but in communities across the state. I'm watching people sit in trees to protest the taking of their land for a natural gas pipeline. The state gave this private company the right of eminent domain and is letting it take people's land - land that has been in some folk's family for generations - so they can put in this natural gas line that is for the private company's profit, at least on the face of it. But a state judge ruled it was in the public good.
I happen to know that judge personally and am not at all surprised she ruled for the company. From my observations of her, it is my opinion that she believes in privatizing everything, so she would agree with the corporation. I don't think anyone but a government entity should be using the right of eminent domain and I fear this sets up a terrible precedent. Actually the precedent was already set up here in Botetourt County when the State Corporation Commission agreed to give a private company the water rights to a large swath of Botetourt County. This would have taken in our farm but we argued against it and the farm was cut out of the final decision. Or at least it was supposed to have been.
Anyway, I think what gets me is how little people know about government, but yet how much they think they know. If you don't know the difference between a town and a county, and you really have no idea how a federal law is created, then how can you make an intelligent decision at the voting booth?
You can't really.
And now I know why I'm writing this. It's because I realize that this utter failure of knowledge, this lack of civics, this total breakdown of information about what it means to be a good citizen and practice citizenship, is why we have arrived at the place we are today.
And where we are today is the era of the Cult of Personality. People do not vote for representatives because of ideals or a desire to make laws or do away with laws or whatever. Some of that is there, of course, but I have found that people generally have only "notions" about what they really want and no vision as to what it will look like in the end. Doing away with regulations to help corporations may sound great, but when your kid is dying of asthma because of the pollution, or has cancer because of something in the water, you might wish you had given that more thought.
So instead of thinking, people vote for personality. I knew Bob McDonnel was going to be governor of Virginia one day when I first met him. He had personality. I knew, instinctively, that Mr. Trump had a chance, despite his outrageous attitude, because he has a personality. A pretty horrible personality, in my opinion, but a personality all the same, and an attitude that many people admire. I get that because people don't think for themselves anymore. They wanted a daddy to do it for them.
Today is election day in Virginia. It's a day that most people eligible to vote in these elections ignore. This is an election for towns and cities. Roanoke's city council is up for grabs today. This doesn't affect me where I live but it does affect me because my husband is a city employee. The votes of a few - maybe 10 percent of eligible voters - will have an impact on how the city works, and that will impact my husband and me.
I have met a lot of candidates, winners and losers, in my 30 years of writing for newspapers. I've met every governor from Doug Wilder through Bob McDonnel. (I retired and never met McAliff.) Over that time, I failed to see the change-over from electing a person for good reasons - because of what he or she stood for, his or her morality, etc. - to the Cult of Personality. For the first 20 years of my career I could reasonably predict who would or would not win an election.
I haven't been able to do that since 2000, when Al Gore won but George Bush became president. Even at the local level, I am stymied, because I don't operate via Cult of Personality. I have no idea who is going to win the seats for council in Roanoke today.
This is a great big world and it isn't going to end unless we blow ourselves up, which we may very well do. My goal is always to leave things better than they were. When I was writing for the paper, that was my hope - that I'd impart knowledge and leave the county better than it was.
Did I do that? Or did I fail? Was it all a wasted effort because no one was reading it?
I honestly do not know.
My brother has set about on a new course on his life. He has ended one chapter and is moving on to another.
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| My brother |
I'm excited for him. I wish him well and much happiness. He does not ask for, nor does he need, my approval (and he doesn't always get it anyhow), but I am hopeful that he will find happiness and peace. We all need a calm life and he certainly could use a lot less drama. He has plenty of that simply from his position as president of my father's company, not to mention all the mess that goes with having a personal life. Stress is a killer, and I do worry about his stress levels.
I'm curious to see what decisions he makes from here. Who will he be? I've always kept an eye on him, watching him grow up, as he is three years younger than I. As my only sibling, he has always had me in the big sister role. I looked out for him so well that I once decked a boy in high school who was picking on him. You didn't mess with my brother when I was around.
Seems like just yesterday I was teaching him to read. Now he's heading into the latter stages of middle age (he's over 50, like me), and I'm watching him walk through many opening doors.
I hope he wins the grand prize.
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Linking up with the April challenge from Kwizgiver. April 30 done! (Prompt: One thing you're excited for.) Thanks KG, for the month of prompts.
Sunday Stealing
A list of all Disney movies can be found here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walt_Disney_Pictures_films
1. Favorite scene in a Disney Princess movie?
A. Um. I have no idea.
2. Favorite scene in a non-Princess movie?
A. When Lady and the Tramp kiss over a spaghetti noodle.
3. Last Disney movie you watched?
A. Maleficient.
4. How many times have you visited the parks?
A. I've been to the one in Orlando once.
5. Favorite animal themed movie?
A. 101 Dalmations tied with The Fox and the Hound
6. Favorite Disney movie from the 1950s?
A. Lady and the Tramp
7. Favorite Disney movie from the 1960s?
A. 101 Dalmations
8. Favorite Disney movie from the 1970s?
A. None of the titles listed are familiar.
9. Favorite Disney movie from the 1980s?
A. The Fox and the Hound
10. Favorite Disney movie from the 1990s?
A. Aladdin
11. Favorite Disney movie from the 2000s?
A. Finding Nemo
13. Favorite Disney movie from the 2010s?
A. Secretariat
14. If you could trade lives with one character, which one and why?
A. Aladdin, because he has a jinni.
15. First Disney-orientated memory?
A. Watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.
16. Favorite villain?
A. I don't have one.
17. Favorite live action Disney movie?
A. Secretariat.
18. Favorite soundtrack?
A. I like Elton John's song on The Lion King, so we'll go with that.
19. What are your top three favorite Disney songs?
A. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Can you Feel the Love Tonight?, and I don't know anymore.
20. Mickey or Minnie?
A. Don't really care.
21. Which movie do you find the most nostalgic?
A. Dumbo.
22. Are there any Disney movies that you haven’t seen?
A. Most of them. It would be easier to list the ones I have seen.
23. Is there a scene or movie that makes you cry?
A. Not that I can think of.
24. Is there a song that makes you cry?
A. No.
25. Which character do you relate to the most?
A. Cruella DeVille. (Only name I could think of.)
26. Do you own any clothing that is Disney themed?
A. No. Wait. I think there is Minnie Mouse on one of my nightgowns.
27. Favorite sidekick?
A. The jinni in Aladdin.
28. Favorite princess and why?
A. I have no idea.
29. Funniest Disney scene?
A. Anything with the jinni in it in Aladdin.
30. Favorite Disney movie and why?
A. I guess Aladdin, that seems to be the only one I really remember.
I don't watch movies much, I'm afraid.
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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.
The question is: what did I do on my most recent birthday?
And the answer is: nothing much. My friends took me to lunch, one at a time. That makes the birthday last the entire month, more or less. I always enjoy time with the people I care about.
I have a birthday coming up in June, if anyone wants to make it memorable. Ha.
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Linking up with the April challenge from Kwizgiver. April 29 done!
Saturday 9: Lowdown (1976)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this song, "the lowdown" is an unpleasant truth. Tell us about a time when you had to do like Boz and give someone "the lowdown."
A. I had to tell my editor I couldn't write for him anymore due to health reasons.
2) The lowdown Boz delivers is about the woman his friend is seeing. Specifically, she's gossiping about his finances. If you discovered something negative about a friend's romantic partner, would you share it with your friend? Or would you keep it to yourself?
A. I would keep it to myself, most likely. It would depend a bit on what it was. I learned a long time ago that people don't really want to hear that sort of thing.
3) Boz was born William Royce Scaggs, but in high school he was given the nickname "Bosley" -- later shortened to "Boz." His friends thought "Bosley" sounded nerdier than "Bill," and Scaggs was quite the music nerd. What is something you're nerdy about?
A. Video games.
4) His son Austin Scaggs is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. What magazines are in the room you're in right now?
A. AARP, O!, Reader's Digest and my college alumna magazine.
5) Boz and his wife own a vineyard in Napa. Do you prefer white or red wine?
A. I don't drink.
6) In 1976, the year this song was popular, movie queen Elizabeth Taylor needed an escort to one of the nation's Bicentennial celebrations. Former Under Secretary of the Navy John Warner was asked to take her to the event, and within months he became her husband. Have you ever had a "blind date" that turned into a relationship?
A. No.
7) Also in 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple in Jobs' parents' garage. Does your garage serve as your office, workshop or studio? Or is it just home to your car?
A. It holds the car and some of my husband's "man stuff."
8) The Bionic Woman premiered in 1976. Because of her "bionic parts," Jaimie Summers could run faster than most cars, had superhuman strength, and super-sensitive hearing. If you could have one of those qualities enhanced -- speed, strength or hearing -- which would you choose?
A. Strength. I'm pretty puny as it is. I loved the Bionic Woman.
9) Random question: When you lean in for a kiss, do you tilt your head to the right or to the left?
A. Right.
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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. (#230)
One of the words I tend to use too much is "interesting."
That describes pretty much everything. It describes something you're telling me that I think is interesting or intriguing. It also is what I say when I think someone is telling me something that reveals stupidity. It is my non-committal response to anything I don't particularly want to give an opinion on.
Of course, if you want me to be less serious, there is my general response to potatoes.
"'Taters? What's 'taters, precious? Eh? What's 'taters?"
"You know, po-ta-toes. Boil 'em smash 'em stick 'em in a stew."
Those are lines only Lord of the Rings fans will get.
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Linking up with the April challenge from Kwizgiver. April 28 done! (The prompt was: Word or phrase you use constantly.)
