Howl at the Moon

 

"Little Cottage in the Wood"

 

Game Shows---Chase this one...

    If I'd thought The Hustler was hard to comprehend the first time I saw it, that has been topped by The Chaser. Different contestants, teams maybe, former Jeopardy stars, ladders or at least steps, betting different amounts of money, way too much business going on for viewer entertainment or even engagement, in my opinion anyway. But what did it for me was the question the host, Sara somebody, posed to the contestants as to how much money they wanted to go for:  "Are you feeling risky?"   No, no, no.

Sad, though (almost) inspiring Story

    Once upon a time there was  a skinny little white girl growing up with poor but proud parents. Both her mother and father had to leave school before graduating. Her mother had lost her father when she was a baby, so the eldest son in the family, at only 16 years of age became the wage earner for his widowed mother and his younger siblings, one suffering from a disability. Unfortunately, he met his death in a work-related accident when he was only seventeen. So it was not long before her  mother had to leave school to contribute to the support of her family. 

     The girl's father lost his mother to cancer and the family farm he'd grown up on soon became lost, with too many mouths to feed and not enough support. He served in the military, during war time, and met the girl's mother on his return from service. Jobs were hard to find, transportation very difficult, but they worked hard and started their family. 

  But hard work at unskilled levels barely paid for the necessities of life; the family never called themselves poor because many others were in the same boat, but there was no denying times were hard. When her shoes wore out, and there was no money to replace them, her mother would cut cardboard and put them in the shoes. When the buckles on her hand-me down rubber galoshes wore out, canning jar rubbers held them on her feet. On the days when there was no money to buy food for supper, her mother would feed the family corn meal mush  and caution them not to tell anybody, not wanting her family to appear needy.

   So that little white girl followed her family's example, worked hard and earned a college diploma at the state university. No, she never made her way into becoming Vice-President of the United States. She never recited a poem at a presidential inauguration either,  or served as a cabinet member. When she was growing up, there were no books in the house except for a well-worn family Bible and a battered dictionary until one day her father brought home a few books someone had given him at work. One was a copy of Familiar Quotations. The girl loved reading that book; her hope was to one day say something so powerful and important that it would be included in such a book. 

   Now I will tell you: that skinny little white girl was me, and I never did realize my childhood dream.  Not all dreams come true you know.

Amazon delivery

  I ordered a tv stand from Amazon 3 days ago. It arrived today and minutes later received an email advising delivery was made, along with a picture of the delivered package on my front porch. So if a porch pirate makes off with it, it's not their responsibility. 

Middle-Night Math

      We seem to think of our parents as having lived only during their lifetime  with us, or at least I thought  so when I was young. My father died at the age of 71, when I was 27 years old. He married when he was 40, so he had already been alive for a while. He's been gone now for more than 55 years, so alive and dead for more years than I was in his life. 

   My mother died 37 years ago at the age of 78.  She was 33 when I was born. I got to know her for only 45 years. My sister died at age 71, so I was there during her entire life. There are very few people left on earth who will be able to say that about me. Nothing lasts forever 

Turns out she's a moron, and other TV observations

     I hate depending on TV, but it's all I have, so I give the new shows a try. I happened upon "The Hustler." I'd tuned in part way through the show several weeks ago, and didn't understand the premise. This time I watched from the beginning, so understood where it was going. Craig Ferguson hosts and he's rather compelling to watch, as I know Dorothy liked his late night show and she liked mysteries so I imagined she would enjoy this show.  I would too if it didn't strike me as  being a little too programmed and scripted. I have difficulty accepting what is presented as being true to fact. But I watched, though with skepticism. 

   I watched Jimmy Fallon interviewing Shaquille O'Neill. The first words Shaq  uttered were a shameless plug for some supplement which he named, twice, as having helped him deal with his personal losses over the past year. So I turned to Jimmy Kimmel, whose guest was Dana Bash. She is scheduled to co-anchor a new show this coming week. 

   But here is where the stupidity sets in. When asked which was the first inauguration she had attended, she said it was in 1997, Clinton's first inauguration. She was a college student at the time, studying government I suppose, and she had 2 lanyards, not tickets. She said she "broke in." She gave one of the lanyards to her roommate, and told her to "Walk with  purpose." It worked, she said, and they were admitted. Inside, they "sneaked into" the inauguration ceremony, sitting among celebrities.  In view of the recent walking with purpose,  breaking into the building and sneaking into the room, why would she say that, even though it was way in the past.  Can she not see a parallel? Is she a moron?

If a (rotted) tree falls to the ground, is a Woodpecker to blame?

 

In Dreams

    I was at Dorothy's house, on Charming Lane. They had had an argument and G. had left, had been gone a while. We had been shopping, had  returned to her house and she suddenly asked me if I thought she should call him. I asked where he was living, not knowing whether he'd found somebody else. She said he was at his  mother's house. I suggested she call him, telling him she was considering selling the house and maybe moving back to her home town, as she was nearing retirement age. I was hoping they could come to some sort of agreement because I knew she hated living  alone. 

    I thought she might consider it and call him in the next day or so. I left the room and when I came back in she was on the phone with him. When she hung up, she told me they were going to meet somewhere to talk and then they were going to stop at the supermarket for groceries and come back home and cook a huge and glorious dinner. She seemed happy, so I was too.  It all seemed so real.

Annual Jan. 15 Bridge Walk and Caring "Neighbor"

  I parked the car at the mill entrance and walked the length of the Valley Falls bridge, all the way to Schaghticoke if the signs are to be believed. There was no sunlight, but it wasn't all that cold.  I posted a picture of last year's walk on this very date. All seemed much the same, although yesterday some of the waterfall was icicles. 

   When I got back to my car, a man in a truck pulled up alongside to see if everything was all right, saying he'd thought my car might have broken down. I told him I appreciated his concern. And I do.

Observations, Auld Country style

 "Shure, his nose is so pointed that he could pluck a thorn out of a greyhound's arse. God Bless Him."  

 "Well, that's the homeliest baby I ever did see. God bless her." 

It was ok as long as you asked God's blessing on the unfortunate soul.

Lawyer Up

 I saw today the mugshot of a an area woman who was arrested for welfare fraud, submitting false information in her recertification  application for Childcare Assistance. The Public Defender assigned to her case will hopefully  keep her from too harsh a prison sentence.

   I saw that the man who identifies as a Q-Anon Shaman has procured a high-profile and expensive lawyer who claims that his client was acting in a religious capacity. Shamans act as intermediaries between the real and spiritual world, often by invoking trance-like states. He has done nothing wrong, entered a building with no violence, was unarmed, though brandishing a 6-foot spear, and appearing at a riot which involved several deaths including murder. He was invited to enter the Capitol by the President of the U.S. who has open access to any Federal Building and can invite anyone he wants. He is asking for a Presidential pardon. 

   The man who carried off the House Lectern is represented by a pair of high-powered and expensive lawyers who are defending their client, saying he has 5 children, a wife who is a doctor, and no criminal record. Some lawyers crave both money and celebrity so public defenders probably need not apply in these cases.

   It was suggested his wife's position as a doctor allows him the best legal representation. Or maybe it was due to foreign Bitcoin transfers to right wing groups that fund the travel and organizational expenses which allow huge gatherings of single-minded dissidents.

Vain Attempt TV show-wise

    I remember listening to "Name That Tune" on our living room radio back in the old days. When I heard that it was to be revived again, I tuned in. It was bad, for much the same reasons of my last tv show review. If I had to critique it in one word, the word would be PHONY.  (Apologies to Salinger)

   I've watched Jimmy Kimmel hosting the new version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."  The contestants are celebrities, so of course it's pretty much all talk and no game. The stars are given so many assists that it's almost impossible for  them to not win massive amounts of money. But it's all for charity, so we don't mind. We can suspend veracity, authenticity, entertainment value for a good cause.

   I watched the first 2 episodes of Jeopardy with guest host Ken Jennings; it is very much the same format and atmosphere as before. so at least we have that.

Two Views: A Matter of Words

    On the one hand, I'd just like him to go away and never hear from him again. On the other, I'm reminded of the young woman who from miles away urged her friend to go ahead and follow through with his plan  for suicide. She was found guilty for his death and sentenced to prison, for her words only. And as far as I know, Charles Manson never killed anyone, only incited others through his words.

Slurs I Didn't Know

     In Sara's store was a soda cooler, actually 2 coolers, one for quart bottles and the other for individual sized bottles of soda. I suppose there were  Coca and Pepsi Colas, but the big sellers were the flavors---birch beer, cream soda, Black Cow, Tru-Ade, orange, grape, cherry, and others. I never realized, not even to this day, that soda choice is a racial thing. I just read that a horse trainer in this state has been banned for using a racial slur as his horse's name, the name being Grape Soda.

   I worked with a family in Washington County not so long ago, agricultural workers,  of Caucasian origin by the way.  They lived in a house on a hillside with a large entry porch. That porch was filled to overflowing with bags and boxes and crates of empty bottles and cans. They referred to it as their savings account, safer than cash. When they finally returned  them for redemption, they collected $90. And that was after paying a fee of 10%. The father of the family was proud to say that there was not one single beer bottle; all of the empties were Grape Soda. He lived there with his 2 teenage sons, and that was their drink of choice. Though I had no occasion to do so, and thus never did, I could have called them the Grape Soda Family, and I don't think they would have minded.

     I think we once had a goat named Pepsi, and I know I named a favorite Bantam chick Nabisco.   Oh, Lordy.

Parallel: Clear and Present Danger

    From my memory store:   During my childhood, in our town, it was a common practice for the doctor to call on the local women to assist in house calls where the doctor felt more help would be of benefit, as during home births and also deaths. My mother was somewhat  younger than the other women neighbors, and while she was asked by the doctor to help during a few home births, I don't think she was present during the times people died at home. But there was a very active network then of the neighborhood women, and it seemed my mother's house was a central location for the gossip sessions, she being known as a good listener. 

    I remember hearing this about a man who lived on our street:  He was dying; there was no doubt of that. I thought of him as older; maybe he was in his 60's or 70's. When he himself realized that his death was near, he raged. He wanted everybody else to die also, and for the world to end, and he was a family man, with wife and children.   The neighbor ladies who were present during his final diatribe seemed shaken to hear him. They had assisted at home deaths before but had never experienced the like of his deathbed wrath. 

Januaries

 January 1, 1978  My mother had a heart attack, at the age of 72.  She was mashing potatoes for New Year's Day dinner when she suffered sharp and debilitating chest pain. We were all getting ready to go to her house when Helen called. Ma spent about a week in St. Mary's Hospital. I remember driving home from visiting her at the hospital one  day, and at the end of Oakwood Avenue, was overcome by the deepest grief I'd ever experienced, up to then. I'd worried about my mother's health ever since my childhood, but now it was real, and I felt that if I lost her, nothing would ever again  matter.

 January 2, 2008  Shattered shopping trip.  Dorothy had stayed here the holiday weekend, as she usually had of late. It was morning and we were getting ready to go shopping, for her birthday and post-Christmas. The phone rang. Her doctor had called to notify her that the routine testing she had undergone over the last 10 years was concerning. The tumor marker  reading of her blood test was elevated and she was to call the office for further testing. The beginning of the end this time.

January 3, 2003  My Ca diagnosis, which was followed by 3 separate surgeries, and a full course of chemotherapy and radiation, which ended at the end of November. Dorothy was source of unfailing personal support and she also connected me with Dr. Pietracola and Dr. Mastrianni. I could not have done it by myself. She  made the arrangements for me.

January 17, 1962 (date unsure) Uncle Joseph Sylvester Madigan died, unexpectedly in his room in our house. He'd lived with us, in his brother's home, ever since he'd lost his young wife Phoebe to cancer, his eleven-year-old son to drowning in the Hoosick River, and his arm in an accident at the plant in the Powder Mills.

January 20, 1966   My father, Charles Anthony Madigan died suddenly and unexpectedly at home. I was sitting on the floor in front of the heater, correcting papers for my Cambridge Central School English classes. He was sitting in his usual chair by the window, reading the paper, doing the Word Jumble, as usual. He went upstairs: I went to bed some time later.  Early in the morning, I was awakened by my mother's voice, calling for me and Joseph to come downstairs. She had heard Susie, the mini-pin who was the only dog I'd ever known to be close to my father, barking wildly, had gone downstairs and found my father dead.

Delusion

   So the Capitol rioters were not Trump supporters, but Antifa members posing as trump followers.  This is a theory posed by some.

To See Or Not...

 

usps update

 Just received notice that the Christmas present I ordered on Dec. 4 has arrived in Albany and is scheduled for delivery. Yay. According to available tracking information, it has been sitting in a warehouse in Harrisburg, PA. since Dec. 15. According to reliable sources, the "Post Office" refused to hire additional staff to facilitate deliveries, almost as if they welcome failure. I wonder why...

As soon as it arrives here, I'm sending it back. I wonder how long that will take. I hope they extend my 30 day return window, since that would be past the 30 days. And in other "news" an ebay item that left the V.F. post office  on Dec. 7 did not get processed until Jan. 2, was delivered today, Jan. 5.

O Christmas Tree

    I took the tree down yesterday.    Because Monday was the day the kids went back to school, and taking the tree down was the end of the holiday illusion, I always took the tree down on that day so as to spare the little ones any sadness. Up until 5 Christmases ago, we always had a  large, full. floor to ceiling tree, even that first year when it was just the two of us in our Schaghticoke  apartment.(Though we were expecting a third family member.)

   The Christmas tree was always welcomed in our house; excitement reigned. After the tree was ensconced in its stand, Dave would string the lights on it, and the rest of the decorating was up to me. The kids would find the little ornamental figures that Grandma would send those first years, and would play with them for hours during the decorating process. There were little Santa and soldier figures, and such, of the unbreakable sort.

   That  ritual of the tree was an annual event; the sameness of it made it seem as if it would go on forever, as it had for decades. But nothing lasts forever, and one year, seemingly out of the blue, we were in need of more room to allow access to the living space, so I bought a smallish living Christmas tree, which was potted in soil, purportedly suitable for planting outdoors when weather permitted. (That was not the case, though we tried.) The next year was the same, a living tree which we put lights on and ornaments and the treasure trove of homemade decorations.  

   In 2018, we were gifted with our first artificial tree, which served for Christmas 2019 and this year, 2020. Yesterday I took it down; I removed the angel which topped the tree, and then stored back in its original carton, the two sections of lighted tree and its base, the 20  red ornaments, the gold ribbon wrap and tree skirt.   So quick and easy to do, no drama at all. A Christmas cactus from my mother sits in its place at present. Christmas 2021 is yet to be determined.

Pet Peeves

    The old Daily Mirror or maybe it was the Daily News carried a short piece called Pet Peeves, which ostensibly were submitted by viewers. They were short, only a few sentences, and certainly not political in any sense, just minor annoyances. 

  I have some; here they are:

Why would anyone take the nice-sounding name Braden and stick the letter y right in the middle. Changes the effect.****Why capitalize the word "Black" in descriptions of race. And then, why NOT capitalize "brown?"****Since singular pronouns are "he, she and it,"  why do people substitute a plural pronoun, they, them, when only 1 person is involved. How about "it"?  That is not a bad word, is it?****I mourn the loss of the word "before."  Thrown under the bus by "ahead of."  Why use 2 words instead of 1?  Should we look ahead of the leap? Does pride go ahead of the fall? Do we relate, "The Night Ahead of Christmas?" I could go on.****I heard Kelly Clarkson use the word "literally" about 15 times during one show, in the portion I watched. And she is not the only one. It literally made my head explode.****Some folks take those little internet surveys, almost always composed of a definite number of questions or points of advice----" 7 Home Decor Items That Are Dated  And Should Be Replaced,"  "If You Can Answer These Questions, Your IQ Is Genius Level" ----and seem to think they are legitimate. Some of these carry viruses, or exploit the information you submitted for their own advantage.  Even if "legitimate," who do they think writes these articles? Several years ago, I signed up for one of the companies that sells these pieces to the internet. I was paid for a dozen or so submissions, which added up to about $10. I found that some of my fellow writers did it all day long; they have no expertise; they merely  glean from old articles from other sources. That's why the topics may  seem so familiar, and then they rehash. Maybe that's why some test-takers think they're so intelligent---they were told so.**** Why does  the younger set of news anchors, weather persons, late night talk show hosts, and broadcasters, sound as if they never took a speech or diction course? Were they hired on youth and/or looks alone?****I have always admired long hair, even when it wasn't in fashion.  As I look at a group picture of the girls in my senior class, only Dorothy and I had long hair. That's a personal choice and who cares. But I notice that women of every age now wear their hair long. The current style seems to be to pull your hair into 2 long strands, and have them hang down in front, one on each side of the chest, with no hair left to hang down the back of the head. I think Marie Osmond may have contributed to this trend. Think Mary Trump. Gravel Gertie?****I don't like to hear the phrase "sooner rather than later."  It uses 2 comparatives, so one would cancel the other:  If you do something sooner, there would be no later. And if you were to do it later, there couldn't have been a  sooner.****And I dislike hearing "That being said" or "Having said that" when attempting to clarify their meaning.**** Another fashion faux pas---leggings worn in public, especially by mature women. And leggings worn as PANTS. Leggings are adorable on children, and we'll give teens a pass because they're, well, teens. And of course we're an informal-wear society nowadays, even before COVID. Leggings are super comfy and easy to wear, and maybe the wearers don't give a care as to how they look. Or maybe they don't realize it's all about the legs, mainly the KNEES. Middle age does no favors here. Not all legs are slim and straight and the knees are the breaking point, subject to bumps and distortions. I think those whose  legs are on the skinny side may believe it's a good thing to display them, even though the upper body has expanded in size. So you have a top-heavy figure supported by pipe-cleaner legs: the shape is that of a candy apple. ****And if I never again hear the reference to pets as "fur babies," it will be too soon. 

  Wishing Larry King a complete and speedy recovery.

Football

 

Just Sayin' USPS Update on 1-3-21, No tracking after 12-15-20

    First of all, I have no horse in the race, no dog in the fight, no bone to pick, and nothing to lose or gain either, unless I count those snarky  Fb comments, from family no less,  deriding my positive remarks about quick delivery from Amazon.  And, no, I don't want to pay their drivers' health insurance, sick leave, or any other benefits. I might reminisce about how I worked many, many years as a substitute teacher for low wages and absolutely no health insurance or a single paid holiday or day of vacation time, and after that for 15 years with much the same status. 

   I totally understand what horrors that  COVID inflicted and the monumental effect on the postal system. Let me emphasize my gratitude and thankful admiration for all the essential workers who labored under these conditions. And still continue to do so. 

   But to say the usps was unprepared would be a gross understatement; I don't believe it is incumbent on the post office system to show a profit. It is a service agency, but more organized management should be called for. 

    I cite 2 separate orders, for the same item from the same company, with the same credit card payment:

Order #1 was placed Dec. 4.  USPS Tracking estimated delivery by Dec.7, then delay to Dec. 12.  . OK, it was delayed, but tracking to this day only follows item to Dec. 15, then just says "delayed."  I'm ok with lateness;  times are tough and  nothing really matters that much anyway. No scanning information after that though, and it is rather annoying for the "tracking information" to not be available for 2 full weeks. Even so, I'm patient--que sera sera----but today when I tried to get the "updated" tracking status, the USPS Tracking site is NOT OPERATING.

Order #2  was placed Dec. 28, same company, same article. It arrived today, Jan. 2 delivered by Fed Ex. (I hope those drivers are well-compensated.

Now I await the arrival of Order #1, placed 24 days before Order #2. I don't know its whereabouts since scanning evidently ceased Dec. 15,  and since the tracking site is out of order, the package remains in Limbo.