At 2:30 Sunday morning we changed our clocks. Since it is Spring we had to spring forward! 2:30 AM, officially became 3:30 AM in just a nano-second. We basically left an 'hour' behind. Next October we will dredge up the 'left behind hour' by 'falling back'. 3:30 AM will, once again, be 2'30 AM! The sun and the moon, the birds and the bees, the dogs and the cats don't go along with this plan, they still perform as usual. Sun rises when it is supposed to, moon rises when it is supposed to, birds start tweeting and chirping at the usual time,(sometimes they seem to be laughing,) the animals want to be fed at their usual time, (sorry Rudolf, it is only 5PM not 6PM when you usually eat) Even I am confused! I went to bed last night at 9PM and lay awake for awhile trying to figure out if I was going to bed at 8:00 or at 10:00. I'm easily confused! Problem is, I will adapt to the early time and come October I will, once again be left in twilight zone for about a week trying to figure out what time it is!
The trials and tribulations of being me, as I frequently say, it is not easy being mw!
Fortunately the St. Patrick's Day parade was scheduled for 'real time'. It took place on Bardstown Road in the Highlands on Saturday. Paul and Tim were participants of the parade. They are members of the Bonnycastle Club in the Highlands. They marched valiantly and made us all proud! President Paul walked with other members of the club and Tim rode with other musically talented members on a wagon and played the ukulale! I'll digress for a minute to say that the uke is not known for its Irish roots, actually it is Polonesian, but the tunes were definitely Galic. The band did have a mandolin player, an instrument that my dad played.
The parade was spectacular for the most part with a few klinkers thrown in. (I'm sure the klinkers were not Irish!) The United States Marines led the parade in full dress uniforms followed by a cadre of United States Army men dressed in camaflage uniforms. There were Irish dancers, Rescue dogs, K-nine dogs, baby dogs in strollers, one dog had a dyed green tail. Local unions, IBEW, UAW the Teamsters, Teachers and a few others were well represented, Ford trucks and many new models of Fords followed the UAW reps. The different Irish clans were represented, Ancient Hybernians, Fire trucks blowing their horns and their sirens, and many, many more. They all had something to throw to the curb side watchers, Green beads, candies, bubble gum, my beads have a Jamison Whiskey medallian on them. As for the clinkers, one girl or maybe two thought it would be funny to spray the crowd with some liquid substance as they ran along. Problem was, it got in the eyes of some of the spectators and one of our own members had to leave the parade with her mom and brother because of the pain caused by the 'substance' in her eye. Very unwise decision! Some of the groups were dressed inappropriately for a family oriented crowd. There were girls in scanty outfits and suggestive outfits that would be more well suited for 'go go' bars. I even dubbed one group the "hookers anon". The participants did not have figures that would enhance such costumes. Mayby it was their last hurrah! Too late.
I loved the men dressed in kilts and the bag-pipes scurlling as they marched along. All in all it was a great parade!
Afterwards we went to the 'Castle' and had corned beef and cabbage with the appropriate brew. All praise to St. Patrick. Ciao. 'SLAINTE'
111
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
YUM! The Cutting Edge
Wednesday, March 2, 2011, my first time ever to see the KFC Yum! Center.We approached the arena from the Indiana side of the river at dusk so we could see the Louisville skyline and all of the city lights before seeing the arena. There were many people that had parked on the Indiana side and walked over the bridge to get to the center. We were 'dropped off' at the end of the bridge and walked a few short steps to the approach to the entrance. People were everywhere and the predominant sound came from a 'Street Preacher' that was standing on a box (really) railing at the crowds and warning us of our fate if we did not mend our ways. Redemption was elusive to those of us that did not heed his words! His loud speaker system was in top working order.
The feeling of excitement was all around us as we walked in the doors of the arena. Good spirits and joviality and a sense of being in a special place, I must admit, was overwhelming. I was on the escalator before I had my wits about me and consequently stumbled a bit. Karen helped me get a grip and an offer came from a man behind me saying he would catch me if I fell. He also warned me when we neared the end of the escalator. However, I did feel a little more secure by that time but I was reassured by his concern.
Karen alerted me once again when we entered the passage up to our seats. She said the steps were a little tricky, I always found the steps to the seats I sat in when I attended games at Freedom Hall, to be a bit tricky. I did manage to get into the seat and to overcome my feeling of vertigo. Once the game got under way, I was fine. I wanted to take in as much as I could, the lights and the crowd and the music and activity and the ambience. The light bars that are all around the arena that change colors with different messages flashing off and on, different designs and reminders to 'stand up and cheer', the student section behind the basket at the end of the floor, in itself, is entertaining. They have cardboard replicas of certain people's heads affixed to sticks or poles that they wave back and forth. Individual players, coach Patino,Denny Crum, Charlie Strong and others can seem to be floating over their heads. The energy of the student section spills over into the crowd; UofL fans are super loyal.
Since it was senior night, the fans were asked to wear red. I do not have one single red artical of clothing in my posession, so I had to borrow one of Karen's red sweaters. I did,in fact, blend in with the crowd. It was quite a treat to look out over the mass of people and see all of the red outfits.I guess we could refer to it as a 'redout'. Coach Patino had a bright red sport coat and black pants on. Looking mighty cool. On whiteout night or day as the case may be, Coach Patino wears a white suit. I'm glad he didn't have on red pants, he would have looked like a clown!
The Lady Birds, the cheer leaders and the Pep band were all terrific. The Lady Birds have their routines down pat and never miss a step, the fans respond to the cheer leaders and rock the house with the cheers. The fans acknowledge all "3's" with a special cheer, and cheer each and every basket; with an entirely different tone, they make their disapproval heard when they consider a call by a ref, unfair.
The music was lively, fun and at times made you want to join in. I heard lots of people singing "Sweet Caroline" and some dancing to the beat of an appropriat song. The fans were given a choice of which song they wanted to hear, out of three that were named. I can't remember the names of the songs but the one I would have chosen (Lady GaGa) didn't get much of an applause. Shows you how 'with it' I am! Don't ask me which one won!
There should be a special section designated for obnoxious fans. Wouldn't that be wonderful? You could watch the game in perfect harmony and they could watch the game and bond. The one small glitch in an otherwise perfect experience was a fan that repeatedly said," Get ya hands up! Get ya hands up, ya can't guard with ya hands hanging down! Get ya hands up!" Even when the Cards were 20 points ahead he still insisted they'get ya hands up! He had a few more equally absurd things to say but the "Get ya hands up" was said over and over and over. Fortunately, he did not sit directly behind us, the woman that was in front of him and his cohorts was splashed with beer frequently during the game. To say she was miffed would be a gross understatement.
The game, by the way, was spectacular, it was a blow out and 'no one got hurt'.The Cards cinched a double bye and kept their undefeated status for Big East wins in the new arena. They have certainly adjusted to their new home. How sweet it is to be in one of the best venues in the country.It will be a pleasure to watch games there for many years to come. There were only two seniors to be honored and they both got the opportunity to thank the coaches and fans and their team mates for the great four years they've had.
We did not get the chance to tour around the rest of the arena. I hope I get to go back again sometime when we can get there in time to see the Spirit Room overlooking the river, and some of the eateries, bars and what ever else we missed. My first visit was an over the top experience and I thank Karen for taking me. What a thrill!
I do wish that the facility had a name that is more suited to the purpose for which it was built. "KFC Yum!Center" is rather plebeian. Why does the Yum have to have an exclamation mark after it? Why couldn't it have been named after Denny? Oh, how about "Yum! Crum"? No? Well, I got used to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium so I guess I will adjust.
I probably left out lots of things that facinated me about the evening but if I remember anything I left out, I'll write about it later.
The experience was well worth the effort, I enjoyed it trememdously and hope I get to go again! Yum! Ciao.
The feeling of excitement was all around us as we walked in the doors of the arena. Good spirits and joviality and a sense of being in a special place, I must admit, was overwhelming. I was on the escalator before I had my wits about me and consequently stumbled a bit. Karen helped me get a grip and an offer came from a man behind me saying he would catch me if I fell. He also warned me when we neared the end of the escalator. However, I did feel a little more secure by that time but I was reassured by his concern.
Karen alerted me once again when we entered the passage up to our seats. She said the steps were a little tricky, I always found the steps to the seats I sat in when I attended games at Freedom Hall, to be a bit tricky. I did manage to get into the seat and to overcome my feeling of vertigo. Once the game got under way, I was fine. I wanted to take in as much as I could, the lights and the crowd and the music and activity and the ambience. The light bars that are all around the arena that change colors with different messages flashing off and on, different designs and reminders to 'stand up and cheer', the student section behind the basket at the end of the floor, in itself, is entertaining. They have cardboard replicas of certain people's heads affixed to sticks or poles that they wave back and forth. Individual players, coach Patino,Denny Crum, Charlie Strong and others can seem to be floating over their heads. The energy of the student section spills over into the crowd; UofL fans are super loyal.
Since it was senior night, the fans were asked to wear red. I do not have one single red artical of clothing in my posession, so I had to borrow one of Karen's red sweaters. I did,in fact, blend in with the crowd. It was quite a treat to look out over the mass of people and see all of the red outfits.I guess we could refer to it as a 'redout'. Coach Patino had a bright red sport coat and black pants on. Looking mighty cool. On whiteout night or day as the case may be, Coach Patino wears a white suit. I'm glad he didn't have on red pants, he would have looked like a clown!
The Lady Birds, the cheer leaders and the Pep band were all terrific. The Lady Birds have their routines down pat and never miss a step, the fans respond to the cheer leaders and rock the house with the cheers. The fans acknowledge all "3's" with a special cheer, and cheer each and every basket; with an entirely different tone, they make their disapproval heard when they consider a call by a ref, unfair.
The music was lively, fun and at times made you want to join in. I heard lots of people singing "Sweet Caroline" and some dancing to the beat of an appropriat song. The fans were given a choice of which song they wanted to hear, out of three that were named. I can't remember the names of the songs but the one I would have chosen (Lady GaGa) didn't get much of an applause. Shows you how 'with it' I am! Don't ask me which one won!
There should be a special section designated for obnoxious fans. Wouldn't that be wonderful? You could watch the game in perfect harmony and they could watch the game and bond. The one small glitch in an otherwise perfect experience was a fan that repeatedly said," Get ya hands up! Get ya hands up, ya can't guard with ya hands hanging down! Get ya hands up!" Even when the Cards were 20 points ahead he still insisted they'get ya hands up! He had a few more equally absurd things to say but the "Get ya hands up" was said over and over and over. Fortunately, he did not sit directly behind us, the woman that was in front of him and his cohorts was splashed with beer frequently during the game. To say she was miffed would be a gross understatement.
The game, by the way, was spectacular, it was a blow out and 'no one got hurt'.The Cards cinched a double bye and kept their undefeated status for Big East wins in the new arena. They have certainly adjusted to their new home. How sweet it is to be in one of the best venues in the country.It will be a pleasure to watch games there for many years to come. There were only two seniors to be honored and they both got the opportunity to thank the coaches and fans and their team mates for the great four years they've had.
We did not get the chance to tour around the rest of the arena. I hope I get to go back again sometime when we can get there in time to see the Spirit Room overlooking the river, and some of the eateries, bars and what ever else we missed. My first visit was an over the top experience and I thank Karen for taking me. What a thrill!
I do wish that the facility had a name that is more suited to the purpose for which it was built. "KFC Yum!Center" is rather plebeian. Why does the Yum have to have an exclamation mark after it? Why couldn't it have been named after Denny? Oh, how about "Yum! Crum"? No? Well, I got used to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium so I guess I will adjust.
I probably left out lots of things that facinated me about the evening but if I remember anything I left out, I'll write about it later.
The experience was well worth the effort, I enjoyed it trememdously and hope I get to go again! Yum! Ciao.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Is This Saga Finally in the Closing Chapter?
I doubt that the saga of Karen Sypher has come to an end. It all began at Porcino's back in 2003 when Sypher came into Porcino's, a known hang out of Rick Patino's,and displayed her talents. She was provocatively dressed and made moves on Patino. He is a nationally known basketball coach and highly regarded by the U of L fans and many other basketball fans throughout the country. They had a brief encounter, 15 seconds he claims, and because he was slightly inebriated, she drove him home. Why? She is quoted as saying in a deposition that it 'was snowing'. The date was July, 2003.
Six years later she acused him of raping her at that time, twice, and causing her to have an abortion, which he supposedly paid her $3,000 to pay for since she had no insurance. The 'nasty' happened about 3 or 4 weeks before the alledged abortion.
In the years between the 'nasty' and the public becoming aware of it, she had been busy demanding hush money, she shopped for a new home, one that was listed at $800,000. test drove a $70,000. Lexus, checked out colleges for her four sons etc. She was looking for big time compensation. She was not totally successful so she resorted to threats and conned others into making phone calls for her to make her demands. She had been married and had four sons by one man but had made money before by extorting money from one of her bosses or co-workers, she divorced her first husband and ended up marrying one of Patino's co-workers. She had a baby girl by her new husband.
Her existance became more and more sordid. She obviously has no shame.She had no qualms about airing her dirty laundry in public. Speaking of which, when she went to the police to report the alledged deeds she felt it necessary to share with the officer the fact that she wears a thong! Vital information!
In August she was convicted for extortion and for lying to the FBI. (She claimed not to know who it was that called and relayed one of her threats).
Her sentencing was scheduled for October 2010 but she had filed many appeals for delaying the sentencing because of various claims of a conspiricy by her own lawyers and by her former husbands,(I think she divorced Tim Sypher also) and by the judge on the case. She accused one of the judges of being in cahoots with Patino and U of L because he had a checking account at Stock Yard's Bank which happens to be the same bank that U of L uses and that has members on the board of directors. Whew! That's a reach.
She was not permitted to take the stand during the initial trial because her lawyer thought it was the wrong strategy to use so she blamed him and said he was in on the conspiracy.She never got to tell her side!
Finally the judge said, "Enough! Mo more delays". The sentencing trial was last week and she was sentenced to seven years and two months. She will not be elegible for parole because of her lying to the FBI, that makes it a Federal Crime.
The prosecution wanted her to start serving immediately but the defence insisted that she was not a threat so she is still free as of now. She is supposed to report to the authorities in 4 to 6 weeks. Ya think?
Already, the present lawyer, she's had a few, says she has ADD,(attention deficit disorder) or is suffering from PTSS ( Post traumatic stress syndrome). Give us a break!
I am sure this is not the last chapter of this saga! How much longer can it go on? They are now saying her former husband, Tim Sypher is in on the plot, she accused him of child abuse. We are tired of this sleazy,cheap display of this avericious woman. Off to the clink with her! Be done with it! Ciao.
Six years later she acused him of raping her at that time, twice, and causing her to have an abortion, which he supposedly paid her $3,000 to pay for since she had no insurance. The 'nasty' happened about 3 or 4 weeks before the alledged abortion.
In the years between the 'nasty' and the public becoming aware of it, she had been busy demanding hush money, she shopped for a new home, one that was listed at $800,000. test drove a $70,000. Lexus, checked out colleges for her four sons etc. She was looking for big time compensation. She was not totally successful so she resorted to threats and conned others into making phone calls for her to make her demands. She had been married and had four sons by one man but had made money before by extorting money from one of her bosses or co-workers, she divorced her first husband and ended up marrying one of Patino's co-workers. She had a baby girl by her new husband.
Her existance became more and more sordid. She obviously has no shame.She had no qualms about airing her dirty laundry in public. Speaking of which, when she went to the police to report the alledged deeds she felt it necessary to share with the officer the fact that she wears a thong! Vital information!
In August she was convicted for extortion and for lying to the FBI. (She claimed not to know who it was that called and relayed one of her threats).
Her sentencing was scheduled for October 2010 but she had filed many appeals for delaying the sentencing because of various claims of a conspiricy by her own lawyers and by her former husbands,(I think she divorced Tim Sypher also) and by the judge on the case. She accused one of the judges of being in cahoots with Patino and U of L because he had a checking account at Stock Yard's Bank which happens to be the same bank that U of L uses and that has members on the board of directors. Whew! That's a reach.
She was not permitted to take the stand during the initial trial because her lawyer thought it was the wrong strategy to use so she blamed him and said he was in on the conspiracy.She never got to tell her side!
Finally the judge said, "Enough! Mo more delays". The sentencing trial was last week and she was sentenced to seven years and two months. She will not be elegible for parole because of her lying to the FBI, that makes it a Federal Crime.
The prosecution wanted her to start serving immediately but the defence insisted that she was not a threat so she is still free as of now. She is supposed to report to the authorities in 4 to 6 weeks. Ya think?
Already, the present lawyer, she's had a few, says she has ADD,(attention deficit disorder) or is suffering from PTSS ( Post traumatic stress syndrome). Give us a break!
I am sure this is not the last chapter of this saga! How much longer can it go on? They are now saying her former husband, Tim Sypher is in on the plot, she accused him of child abuse. We are tired of this sleazy,cheap display of this avericious woman. Off to the clink with her! Be done with it! Ciao.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Early Winter Thaw
We have had such a horrendous winter this year! In most of the 50 winters I've spent in Louisville it has been cold, grey, and gloomy. We had occasional snow but other than one year when we had quite a lot of snow that stayed around for a few weeks and closed the schools for a number of days, our snow experiences were negligible. If the weather people predicted snow, the populace became hysterical and trotted off to the grocery to buy gallons of milk, loaves of bread and supplies for a long term confinement, and usually the snow ,if it came at all, just covered the grass and melted by noon. Doc worked second shift and he usually missed the snow because it had melted by the time he woke up in the morning. Needless to say, the schools closed!
Not so this year, it has been brutally cold, and we've had numerous snows, enough for building snow men and wearing boots, ear muffs and heavy gloves. The schools have been closed for enough days that it will be necessary to extend the school year until the 6th of June. (So far,- its still only February).
The city has done a much better job of preparing for inclement weather this year. The brine trucks are out on the streets promptly when snow is predicted and cover about 300 miles of roads before the snow actually hits. It has been wonderful to be able to travel all but the really remote streets during the time the snow is on the ground.
BUT the temperatures have been unbelievable. It has been below freezing most of the winter. Not often below zero on the thermometer but the wind chill factor has been below zero frequently. I have not been truly warm for most of the winter. In an effort to keep the LG&E bills manageable I have had the thermastat set on the lowest possible setting. I have Reynauds Syndrome and suffer from 'blue, black and eventually white fingers and lately, toes' for most of the winter. Hand warmers are a matter of 'to freeze or not to freeze' in my every day existance.
I finally decided to spend a week in Florida thawing out. I wanted to see the twins and Keith and Angela anyway and what better time to visit Sarasota than February? I left on Wednesday, Feb. 9th when the temp here was 17 degrees! Everything here is brown and dead looking and remainded so as I flew south until we approached the Georgia-Florida line when it became green!! What a treat, I warmed up just looking out the window of the plane. When I landed in Sarasota it was about 63 degrees, cold for them but comparatively speaking, warm for me. It became a little warmer each day that I was there. The major difference is that all of the trees, plants and grass are green and there are blooming flowers and trees everywhere you look. When I stepped out of the terminal I could smell the perfumed air from the flowering trees and plants. Each day that I stepped out of Keith and Angela's house the air smelled sweet.
I must admit that it was chilly the first few days, it rained one day but even that was pleasant. It warmed up enough for us to go to the beach two days. The people were sunning and walking on Lido beach with their shirts off (men) and bathing gear on. I'm sure that they were from the cold north and said,"By George, I'm going home with a tan!" More power to them . The following day was much, much warmer and the Siesta Key beach was crowded with sun bathers, volley ball players and beach walkers. It was ideal. Angela and I sat on the beach and watched the activity and got the added bonus of seeing three dolphins swimming and cavorting in the ocean. Oh, happy day! The next day we went back to Seista but just had lunch, (lobster bisque) and sat on a bench to see if the manatees would pay a visit to one of their hang outs, but,alas, they did not come.
On my flight down there, everything went well. Changing planes in Charlotte worked out and we had a nice smooth flight. When I arrived in Sarasota, I found that my luggage had mistakingly been sent to Charlston, S.C. The baggage clerk kept assuring me, "It is not lost, we know where it is!" I slept in a large 'Keith Fitztgerald for State Rep. tee shirt' and
waited until mid afternoon the next day for my wandering luggage to arrive.
I had to board the plane at 7AM to come home on the 16th, which required me to get up at 5:30 AM in order to get to the airport by 6AM. I was very well organized when I went to bed about midnight and felt I could be ready at 5;30 AM with out much effort. No drama! It all worked out and I was in plenty of time and boarded the plane with ease. Angela had given me a "Vanity Fair" magazine that had an article in it that she knew would entertain me for most of my flight. As we taxied out to the runway to prepare for take off, I pulled my magazine out of the bag and then discovered that my glasses were back in Sarasota!! I happened to have my prescription sun glasses with me so I was forced to put them on. I watched the sun come up as we flew north with my sun glasses on. Did I look bizarre? Well two men were wearing sun glasses. One was a blind man with a companion and the other one ordered a beer as soon as we were offered refreshments! I'm sure people wondered what my excuse was. Anyway, one more adventure in the life and times of EEF. Ciao!
Not so this year, it has been brutally cold, and we've had numerous snows, enough for building snow men and wearing boots, ear muffs and heavy gloves. The schools have been closed for enough days that it will be necessary to extend the school year until the 6th of June. (So far,- its still only February).
The city has done a much better job of preparing for inclement weather this year. The brine trucks are out on the streets promptly when snow is predicted and cover about 300 miles of roads before the snow actually hits. It has been wonderful to be able to travel all but the really remote streets during the time the snow is on the ground.
BUT the temperatures have been unbelievable. It has been below freezing most of the winter. Not often below zero on the thermometer but the wind chill factor has been below zero frequently. I have not been truly warm for most of the winter. In an effort to keep the LG&E bills manageable I have had the thermastat set on the lowest possible setting. I have Reynauds Syndrome and suffer from 'blue, black and eventually white fingers and lately, toes' for most of the winter. Hand warmers are a matter of 'to freeze or not to freeze' in my every day existance.
I finally decided to spend a week in Florida thawing out. I wanted to see the twins and Keith and Angela anyway and what better time to visit Sarasota than February? I left on Wednesday, Feb. 9th when the temp here was 17 degrees! Everything here is brown and dead looking and remainded so as I flew south until we approached the Georgia-Florida line when it became green!! What a treat, I warmed up just looking out the window of the plane. When I landed in Sarasota it was about 63 degrees, cold for them but comparatively speaking, warm for me. It became a little warmer each day that I was there. The major difference is that all of the trees, plants and grass are green and there are blooming flowers and trees everywhere you look. When I stepped out of the terminal I could smell the perfumed air from the flowering trees and plants. Each day that I stepped out of Keith and Angela's house the air smelled sweet.
I must admit that it was chilly the first few days, it rained one day but even that was pleasant. It warmed up enough for us to go to the beach two days. The people were sunning and walking on Lido beach with their shirts off (men) and bathing gear on. I'm sure that they were from the cold north and said,"By George, I'm going home with a tan!" More power to them . The following day was much, much warmer and the Siesta Key beach was crowded with sun bathers, volley ball players and beach walkers. It was ideal. Angela and I sat on the beach and watched the activity and got the added bonus of seeing three dolphins swimming and cavorting in the ocean. Oh, happy day! The next day we went back to Seista but just had lunch, (lobster bisque) and sat on a bench to see if the manatees would pay a visit to one of their hang outs, but,alas, they did not come.
On my flight down there, everything went well. Changing planes in Charlotte worked out and we had a nice smooth flight. When I arrived in Sarasota, I found that my luggage had mistakingly been sent to Charlston, S.C. The baggage clerk kept assuring me, "It is not lost, we know where it is!" I slept in a large 'Keith Fitztgerald for State Rep. tee shirt' and
waited until mid afternoon the next day for my wandering luggage to arrive.
I had to board the plane at 7AM to come home on the 16th, which required me to get up at 5:30 AM in order to get to the airport by 6AM. I was very well organized when I went to bed about midnight and felt I could be ready at 5;30 AM with out much effort. No drama! It all worked out and I was in plenty of time and boarded the plane with ease. Angela had given me a "Vanity Fair" magazine that had an article in it that she knew would entertain me for most of my flight. As we taxied out to the runway to prepare for take off, I pulled my magazine out of the bag and then discovered that my glasses were back in Sarasota!! I happened to have my prescription sun glasses with me so I was forced to put them on. I watched the sun come up as we flew north with my sun glasses on. Did I look bizarre? Well two men were wearing sun glasses. One was a blind man with a companion and the other one ordered a beer as soon as we were offered refreshments! I'm sure people wondered what my excuse was. Anyway, one more adventure in the life and times of EEF. Ciao!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Eerie Misty Day
There were very few humans in the park today, as I drove through.There were two men walking down the fairway on the first hole looking mighty cold but determined. They were bundled up in their heavy weight winter jackets with their hoods up and the gloves on their left hands were definitely not golf gloves. The mist was not yet frozen but pretty near. I could imagine their wives at home wondering if they were truly on the golf course or drinking coffee in the club house or certifiable. I think I would go for the last choice.
The whole scene was gray, the ominous looking sky had heavy dark clouds, and the winds were brisk. I could see the men's breath as they pushed their wheeled golf caddies along. The stark, naked trees were gray against the gray sky,the mist was so heavy that the intermitant swipe of the wind shield wipers was necessary for clear vision. I saw neither a single squirrel (or a married one for that matter)nor a bird
A lone male runner, in black spandex pants and a bright yellow jacket ran up the hill near the 'shoe tree'. Looked mighty lonely, but not as cold looking as the two golfers. His helmet type hat had ear muffs and he had black gloves on.
There was no traffic, I met no cars and there were none behind me. I have never seen the park so desolate looking. Could the usual runners, bikers, walkers, golfers have been scared off by the much touted threats of one to three inches of snow? What else could have convinced all of them to take a Saturday morning off? The two golfers and the lone runner were the macho men of the week. Kudos to them!
Twelve hours later, still no snow, and that's a good thing! Ciao
The whole scene was gray, the ominous looking sky had heavy dark clouds, and the winds were brisk. I could see the men's breath as they pushed their wheeled golf caddies along. The stark, naked trees were gray against the gray sky,the mist was so heavy that the intermitant swipe of the wind shield wipers was necessary for clear vision. I saw neither a single squirrel (or a married one for that matter)nor a bird
A lone male runner, in black spandex pants and a bright yellow jacket ran up the hill near the 'shoe tree'. Looked mighty lonely, but not as cold looking as the two golfers. His helmet type hat had ear muffs and he had black gloves on.
There was no traffic, I met no cars and there were none behind me. I have never seen the park so desolate looking. Could the usual runners, bikers, walkers, golfers have been scared off by the much touted threats of one to three inches of snow? What else could have convinced all of them to take a Saturday morning off? The two golfers and the lone runner were the macho men of the week. Kudos to them!
Twelve hours later, still no snow, and that's a good thing! Ciao
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hippo-Fetish
I have never written about my unusual attraction to the Hippotomus. Many, many years ago, perhaps 40 or more I became attracted to hippos. I can't remember which of my hippos was first to come into my home but at some point in time I started acquiring them. When Brian was about ten he went Christmas shopping with his dad to pick out my Christmas present. Later in the day, Doc told me that he was not sure that I would like the present but Brian insisted that I would like it. I did and still do. If you've seen the new picture on my facebook space you've seen one of the hippo families that has resided in my house all of these years.That was Brian's gift.
The Hippopotamus is an ancient species, it has been around since 2000 B.C. The Egyptians feared the hippopotamus who lived in the Nile River, it was worshipped both as the evil god, Seth and as the protective goddess, Thouera. Some Egyptian kings had hippo pools. They are sometimes referred to as 'river horses'.
Throughout the years I have acquired more than a hundred of them. It came to pass that when people saw a hippo as they traveled around they would purchase it and tell me that when they saw the hippopotamus they thought of me! Does a lot for your self image!
I have a pink ceramic hippo that has lovely eye-lashes and green and yellow flowers on it (could it be a goddess?) that Linda made. I have a white one with a red top hat that unscrews and at one time had cologne in it. It is an Avon collectible bottle. I have pewter, glass, brass, clay,wooden, bone and many stuffed animals, large and small along with a variety of others.
One of the teachers that I supervised at the de Paul School traveled to Africa one Christmas vacation to visit her missionary parents. She brought me two hand carved Keesie stone hippos. One of them was carved at an old man's stand by the side of the road while she watched. I love it because one of its legs is shorter than the rest, so he is wobbly. The old man was displeased with the end result and he wanted to do another one. She assured him it would be greatly appreciated by her friend (me) and she bought it 'as is'. I love it!
Mc Donalds, during the Beanie Baby rage, sold lavender Mama and baby hippo Beanie Babies with their Happy Meals. Four or five of my students at school knew that I liked hippos, so they bought them and gave them to me. I think they are the favorites of the great-grand children and they play with them when they come to visit.
When Andrea was quite young, she and her dad were at a Patoka Lake gift shop,(I think it was a gas station) and she saw a brown hippo carved out of wood that had rolled eyes and gritted teeth and it soon had a home on my shelf. Courtney, when I was in the hospital for one of my cancer surgeries brought me a purple stuffed toy hippo with a pocket in his back, filled with shaped figures, with a velcro closure. He kept me company while I was recooperating.
I have four Hippo napkin rings, a tiny inch high fuzzy hippo key ring, Paula gave me a huge ceramic hippo that spends his summer on the deck with my shamrock plants and spends his winters in my family room, I have a 12x7 glass bank hippo that has provided me with 'eat out 'money when I travel to Florida. Angela asks, "Is the hippo ready to fly yet?" There is a hippo that perches on the rim of one of my planters, one that is a belt buckle, a very, very tiny one that I could put on a chain to wear around my neck, a Christmas hippo with a wreath around his neck,(he has a permanent home on the Spinet desk in the living room), I have a carved mama and baby that Paula got for me at a convention in Denver. (carved out of wood) I have a few stuffed hippos that reside on various shelves.
Some of them have their mouths open, some have them closed. I went to Gus's school, when he was in Kindergarten, to read to his class and I chose the book,"The Hippopotmus That Ate the Teacher." It was a big hit with his class. His teacher, by way of thanking me, gave me another "Hippo" book as a thankyou gift."
I have two picture frames that are Hippos, Gus is in one and Keith and the twins are in the other one. The twins have spent time with my hippos , also. I have a framed picture that Bridget drew for me while she was here last summer. She also made a book of "paper doll hippos". They have many outfits equipped with tabs to afix them to the animals. Her thankyou note for her Christmas present featured a couple of hippos by their watering hole, or river, enhanced by plants. She drew them because, "Grandma likes hippos."
Some time in the near future, I will go through the house and gather them all up for a "Hippopatamus convention" so to speak, and perhaps put them on face book. I have not lost my affection for them and will continue to enjoy them. I had hippo wind chimes,but they no longer can chime. (Their hangers broke, but I still have them. They are lying down hippos. I also used to have a cookie jar, I loved it, but it took a header off the refrigerator and broke into many peices. Even Doc was unhappy to see that happening. I've had a few Birthday cards with Hippos on them. It is surprising how many items feature them. I'm not the only one facinated by them.
The Louisville Zoo had a baby hippo there a few years ago but I did not get to go visit it! I really wanted to see it. I've seen them at the Chicago Zoo, and was even more facinated by them.
Have a Hippy Day. Ciao
The Hippopotamus is an ancient species, it has been around since 2000 B.C. The Egyptians feared the hippopotamus who lived in the Nile River, it was worshipped both as the evil god, Seth and as the protective goddess, Thouera. Some Egyptian kings had hippo pools. They are sometimes referred to as 'river horses'.
Throughout the years I have acquired more than a hundred of them. It came to pass that when people saw a hippo as they traveled around they would purchase it and tell me that when they saw the hippopotamus they thought of me! Does a lot for your self image!
I have a pink ceramic hippo that has lovely eye-lashes and green and yellow flowers on it (could it be a goddess?) that Linda made. I have a white one with a red top hat that unscrews and at one time had cologne in it. It is an Avon collectible bottle. I have pewter, glass, brass, clay,wooden, bone and many stuffed animals, large and small along with a variety of others.
One of the teachers that I supervised at the de Paul School traveled to Africa one Christmas vacation to visit her missionary parents. She brought me two hand carved Keesie stone hippos. One of them was carved at an old man's stand by the side of the road while she watched. I love it because one of its legs is shorter than the rest, so he is wobbly. The old man was displeased with the end result and he wanted to do another one. She assured him it would be greatly appreciated by her friend (me) and she bought it 'as is'. I love it!
Mc Donalds, during the Beanie Baby rage, sold lavender Mama and baby hippo Beanie Babies with their Happy Meals. Four or five of my students at school knew that I liked hippos, so they bought them and gave them to me. I think they are the favorites of the great-grand children and they play with them when they come to visit.
When Andrea was quite young, she and her dad were at a Patoka Lake gift shop,(I think it was a gas station) and she saw a brown hippo carved out of wood that had rolled eyes and gritted teeth and it soon had a home on my shelf. Courtney, when I was in the hospital for one of my cancer surgeries brought me a purple stuffed toy hippo with a pocket in his back, filled with shaped figures, with a velcro closure. He kept me company while I was recooperating.
I have four Hippo napkin rings, a tiny inch high fuzzy hippo key ring, Paula gave me a huge ceramic hippo that spends his summer on the deck with my shamrock plants and spends his winters in my family room, I have a 12x7 glass bank hippo that has provided me with 'eat out 'money when I travel to Florida. Angela asks, "Is the hippo ready to fly yet?" There is a hippo that perches on the rim of one of my planters, one that is a belt buckle, a very, very tiny one that I could put on a chain to wear around my neck, a Christmas hippo with a wreath around his neck,(he has a permanent home on the Spinet desk in the living room), I have a carved mama and baby that Paula got for me at a convention in Denver. (carved out of wood) I have a few stuffed hippos that reside on various shelves.
Some of them have their mouths open, some have them closed. I went to Gus's school, when he was in Kindergarten, to read to his class and I chose the book,"The Hippopotmus That Ate the Teacher." It was a big hit with his class. His teacher, by way of thanking me, gave me another "Hippo" book as a thankyou gift."
I have two picture frames that are Hippos, Gus is in one and Keith and the twins are in the other one. The twins have spent time with my hippos , also. I have a framed picture that Bridget drew for me while she was here last summer. She also made a book of "paper doll hippos". They have many outfits equipped with tabs to afix them to the animals. Her thankyou note for her Christmas present featured a couple of hippos by their watering hole, or river, enhanced by plants. She drew them because, "Grandma likes hippos."
Some time in the near future, I will go through the house and gather them all up for a "Hippopatamus convention" so to speak, and perhaps put them on face book. I have not lost my affection for them and will continue to enjoy them. I had hippo wind chimes,but they no longer can chime. (Their hangers broke, but I still have them. They are lying down hippos. I also used to have a cookie jar, I loved it, but it took a header off the refrigerator and broke into many peices. Even Doc was unhappy to see that happening. I've had a few Birthday cards with Hippos on them. It is surprising how many items feature them. I'm not the only one facinated by them.
The Louisville Zoo had a baby hippo there a few years ago but I did not get to go visit it! I really wanted to see it. I've seen them at the Chicago Zoo, and was even more facinated by them.
Have a Hippy Day. Ciao
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Reading Maketh the Man
I am going to pull my soap-box out again and comment on the latest controversy that I've been reading about in the news. In recent years we've all been chastized and called upon to change certain words and phrases and become 'more politically correct' in our speech and comments. Even the church has been required to make changes in their dialogue and expressions. I am not totally against all of the changes, because some terms and phrases are a little more refined and a little kinder. The Holy Ghost became The Holy Spirit, the 'garbage man' became a Sanitation Worker, a chairman became a chairperson, mailman a mail person. We made changes in the names we use for different nationalities: Irish are no longer Micks, Chinese are no longer Chinks,Japanese,no longer Japs, Germans, no longer Krauts.When I was growing up many of my friends were of Italian descent and the ones from Northern Italy were called Wops and the ones from Southern Italy were called Dagos. My friend used to call her big brothers Wops when she was mad at them. They frequently called other classmates, Dago or Wop depending on which part of Italy their parents were from. None of those words are used today, and that's a good thing!
If I were to write a book about my life as a child and teenager before World War ll, if the book truly reflected that time in history, I would be bound to use many of the terms that were commonly used at that time. I would relay the fact that when we walked the six blocks to our Catholic School we passed many of the students of the public school going the other way,to the public school. We had an on-going verbal exchange with them. They stayed on one side of the street and we stayed on the other as we passed each other. They chanted "cat-lickers, cat-lickers" (Catholics) and we chanted back "pot-lickers,pot-lickers" (Protestants). It was not unusual for us to play with the 'pot-lickers' after school but in that little slice of time we got great satisfaction from our name calling duel.That would not happen in today's world but it did in mine. I would have to write the actual fact to tell it like it was.
Fast forward to today's time. When we were choosing a novel for our eighth graders to read about ten years ago the other teacher and I chose "Of Mice and Men" by John Stienbeck. It is a classic that tells of an era in our history that has been read down through the years and will be read for many years to come. The values dealt with in the book are many and values that a group of eighth grade boys need to learn, compassion, empathy and duty. If you have ever read the book you may well know that the language used is in the vernacular. It is the everyday language commonly used by the itenerants of that time in the community that is being written about.
Before we went forward with our plans to read the book, we wrote a letter to each and every parent and aprized them of the profanity that we would be exposing the students to and gave them a summary of the book and our plans for telling the students how to deal with the language. The parents were asked to sign the letter and to voice their approval or dissproval of the choice of that book. We received all of the letters back, signed and approved by the parents.
We spent one whole class explaining why the author used that language and told them they were not expected to read aloud the profanities and gave them a choice of just skipping the words or using a euphemism. We were quite impressed with the euphemisms they chose. Dag-nabbit,gol-derned, dog-gonned and many others. The book lost none of its impact and they were unabashed at the end of the book to weep together with their classmates and teachers.
My soap box piece concerns the people that want to take the N-word out of Mark Twain,s book about Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain wanted to expose the vitroil of that era in history, he wanted to emphasize the hatred,the cruelty, the ignorance of the populace at that particular time. Why can't the teachers talk with the students in advance of reading that selection and help them understand the connotation of the word "nigger'? Slave, that they want to replace the word with, carries a totally different connotation. Please let Mark Twain get his point across! It was his intent to expose the hatred and unfairness of the accepted behavior of that time in history. Do not change his words and thereby water down his intent. Ciao
If I were to write a book about my life as a child and teenager before World War ll, if the book truly reflected that time in history, I would be bound to use many of the terms that were commonly used at that time. I would relay the fact that when we walked the six blocks to our Catholic School we passed many of the students of the public school going the other way,to the public school. We had an on-going verbal exchange with them. They stayed on one side of the street and we stayed on the other as we passed each other. They chanted "cat-lickers, cat-lickers" (Catholics) and we chanted back "pot-lickers,pot-lickers" (Protestants). It was not unusual for us to play with the 'pot-lickers' after school but in that little slice of time we got great satisfaction from our name calling duel.That would not happen in today's world but it did in mine. I would have to write the actual fact to tell it like it was.
Fast forward to today's time. When we were choosing a novel for our eighth graders to read about ten years ago the other teacher and I chose "Of Mice and Men" by John Stienbeck. It is a classic that tells of an era in our history that has been read down through the years and will be read for many years to come. The values dealt with in the book are many and values that a group of eighth grade boys need to learn, compassion, empathy and duty. If you have ever read the book you may well know that the language used is in the vernacular. It is the everyday language commonly used by the itenerants of that time in the community that is being written about.
Before we went forward with our plans to read the book, we wrote a letter to each and every parent and aprized them of the profanity that we would be exposing the students to and gave them a summary of the book and our plans for telling the students how to deal with the language. The parents were asked to sign the letter and to voice their approval or dissproval of the choice of that book. We received all of the letters back, signed and approved by the parents.
We spent one whole class explaining why the author used that language and told them they were not expected to read aloud the profanities and gave them a choice of just skipping the words or using a euphemism. We were quite impressed with the euphemisms they chose. Dag-nabbit,gol-derned, dog-gonned and many others. The book lost none of its impact and they were unabashed at the end of the book to weep together with their classmates and teachers.
My soap box piece concerns the people that want to take the N-word out of Mark Twain,s book about Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain wanted to expose the vitroil of that era in history, he wanted to emphasize the hatred,the cruelty, the ignorance of the populace at that particular time. Why can't the teachers talk with the students in advance of reading that selection and help them understand the connotation of the word "nigger'? Slave, that they want to replace the word with, carries a totally different connotation. Please let Mark Twain get his point across! It was his intent to expose the hatred and unfairness of the accepted behavior of that time in history. Do not change his words and thereby water down his intent. Ciao
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