Lemmings, Possums and Mattresses

 Myths that have been debunked, or should be:

Lemmings do not commit mass suicide, as depicted in Disney movie White Wilderness.

Opossums do not feast on ticks. Studies show the only ticks they consumed were as a result of their grooming themselves.

"Your mattress collects 8-9 lbs. of your dead shed skin cells per year."

   Evidently this statistic has not yet been debunked, but it should be. Though true that humans shed their skin cells, I contend showering or bathing on a regular basis would wash away a lot of shed skin. As for the skin collecting in mattresses, aren't  mattresses mostly covered by at least a sheet, usually a fitted bottom sheet, most often in addition to a mattress cover. Assuming the bedding is laundered on a fairly regular schedule, how would the skin cells find their way through to the mattress. And since most people wear pajamas, nightgowns or  nightshirts to bed, those determined skin cells would have to traverse through showers, jammies, sheets and mattress cover to penetrate or settle in or on your mattress. I cry false information, most likely promoted by mattress sellers. 

Oh, Fiddlesticks

 Everybody has an opinion now. Well, maybe they always did, but now they express their opinions, often angrily. Even wordle, a harmless enough pasttime,  is not immune from criticism. The other day, major controversy arose about the word choice of the day.  Many thought the word was just plain wrong, not even a real word. I say just because they never heard of it does not mean it was wrong. I am not a champion wordler, but the word gave me no trouble. I remember my father using the word, and I seem to remember it was an expression uttered by one of the old characters in the funny papers. Notice I did not say comic strips, because therein lies the key---old. The word is Pshaw.

Banshees

 I've been following this site, The Irish Remembered.  One of today's posts asked viewers to tell what thoughts or memories come to mind about the Irish culture. 

  I recalled the tale my Irish grandmother told about her childhood in Ireland. She was a young girl walking home from school past a cemetery, one of those with a high iron-spiked fence, as I recall. One day she found herself lying on the ground on the other side of the fence, waking up from an unconscious state. She had been tossed over the fence by Banshees. Nanny and Helen believed this for the rest of their lives, I'm sure. 

Many of the responses to the post mentioned prayers, Irish songs, drinking, tea, and other rituals. I typed in "Believing in Banshees." 

Today I received a response;  "Mate, banshees are real." From a man in the United Kingdom.

Another response from a woman who said her da told her that a banshee combs your hair the night of your death, and that for years she couldn't sleep because she could feel her hair being combed. 

Seemed real, til I woke up.

 She had come to our house as requested, to perform some minor chore or repair. When finished, she handed me the bill. It was for $1,021.  I told her we would not pay that amount, for what was worth only about $21, but we might have been ok with $121 or so. She started to cry, said she knew the bill was too much,  but that she  needed money to support her children, one of whom  had accompanied her, a boy about 11 years old. I told her I would look up the usual amount paid for her work and pay her that in cash. She was happy  to agree.

   I went to my computer, which had recently been moved to another position by a family member. It was problematic because what had been on the right side was now on the left side and the computer itself was against the wall. But I was able to adjust to the change, only to find that a small integral part, the master key to its usage, was missing. The search of the household began, and the missing piece eventually located, the finder holding it up in triumph. I hurried to the computer, the woman and child eagerly waiting to find out how much they would receive. The story ends.

Yasso and Mochi

 Yesterday was Sunday so I went to the store for 2 reasons---to buy the Sunday paper for the NYT Crossword and to replenish my supply  of Yasso Sea Salt Caramel Greek Yogurt Bars. I picked up the newspaper, and went directly to the frozen section, only to find out there were no Sea Salt Caramel Bars in the freezer. There were several other Yasso flavors, all of which I've sampled, but Sea Salt Caramel is far and away the best. I decided to wait for them to restock, but as I peered  into the open shelf, I saw another item next to where Sea Salt should have been: My Mochi Mango Ice Cream. The color looked much the same, as depicted on the package, so I took a gamble that the product might be similar.  

  Home, I sampled one of the treats, and can only say My Mochi, you are inedible. If I'd read further, the small faint lettering on the carton, which reads "Premium Ice Cream In Sweet Rice Dough," I might have left it  on the shelf. Since 1993 they've "wrapped ice cream in traditional mochi dough to create a uniquely delicious dual-texture treat."  Joyfully Chill, they say. I say, "Buyer Beware!"                                        There are 5 left in the pack if anyone wants to see for themselves.

 

Language Revisited---One more thing 7/3/26

 I still read a newspaper, well, most days anyway, and like to assume I am familiar with words and their meanings. I realize there are new vocabulary words used by the younger generation(s) that I am unfamiliar  with and I accept that as a shortcoming, with no problem.

   But I find there are news reports or articles where the use of  even a single word seems to threaten my ability to read smoothy and achieve comprehension

  On June 18, such a blockage occurred with the use of the word "harms."  I have a longstanding relationship with the word harm in singular form as a noun, and with harms as verb form. So the flow of  my morning newspaper routine was disrupted when I read "both teens suffered harms related to their social media use" and "Other  children died because of online harms."  Why not, I asked myself, just use the word harm; why the added on s. 

 I suppose, since the article was written  by 2 women who are described as Technical Writers, that the use of harms sounds more technical, professional and more likely to be considered newsworthy. OK., I realize (now) that Shakespeare used such word form. Forsooth, let it be.

Apro pro of nothing, I recall an instance when I was in first grade. My father wanted me to pose this math  question to Mrs. Flynn, my teacher. If a farmer has twenty sick sheep, and 2 of them die, how many does he now have. And no, the answer is not 24.

AND, the word "before" has been totally replaced by "ahead of."  Why is the question.

 

Poems by Snookie