What Would Jimmy Do?

Well, here it is the last day of January — tomorrow brings February, the kind of “odd” month of the year. Not only is it the shortest month of the year, it’s the only month that can pass with no full moon.
February always starts on the same day of the week as March and November except in leap years when it starts on the same day of the week as August. February also ends on the same day of the week as October every year — except — on leap year it ends on the same day as January. And in leap years, it is the only month that ends on the same weekday it begins.

So let’s all welcome February, because when it’s over spring will be in sight….
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As usual, there’s absolutely no point to this… just a trip down memory lane. It all started this morning when I read that on this day (January 30) in 1933, the “Lone Ranger” began a 21-year run on ABC radio. Well, of course, that got me to thinking. When I was a kid I liked to listen to the radio. I didn’t have a radio of my own, but I remember spending a lot of nights and Saturday mornings in front of the big console radio in our living room. I tried to remember some of the programs that were popular (or at least on the air) when I was growing up and here’s what I came up with. The list is pretty long, but I’m sure there’s at least this many that I don’t remember….

Besides the Lone Ranger, I remember Abbot and Costello, Ozzie and Harriet, The Aldrich Family (or maybe it was just call Henry Aldrich.) Then there was Sam Spade, Amos ’n’ Andy, The Thin Man, Baby Snooks, Burns and Allen, Death Valley Days, Edgar Bergan, Hopalong Cassidy, the Great Gildersleeve, Dick Tracy, Fiber McGee and Molly, Gene Autry and Dragnet. I also remember Truth or Consequences, The Roy Rogers Show, Spike Jones, Perry Mason, Mr. and Mrs. North, Jack Benny, The Life of Riley, People are Funny, and The Shadow as well as Boston Blackie.

I think some of these were serials and some just came on every week. I wonder if I heard them today, I’d think they were as good as I remember….
— 30 —

Well, here it is that time again — Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year of 2017 arrives today (January 28) this year and it is the 4714th Chinese year. To most of us this is the year of the Chicken or Rooster. If you’re really into the Chinese Horoscope calendar, 2017 is the Female Fire Chicken year. I suspect that for most of us, the year of the Chicken or Rooster will do.
I’ve always found Chinese astrology and horoscopes fascinating and usually check what’s in store for us every year about this time — here’s what I found….

“The Year of the Fire Rooster is marked in the lunar calendar from January 28, 2017 to February 15, 2018. We are leaving the year of the Monkey, so how will the Rooster year stack up against the year of the Monkey?
The Year of the Monkey has been marked by ambition, dynamism and a thirst for adventure. However, in 2017 we need to brace ourselves for a period of immense changes. Challenges double during the year. The Fire Rooster shines like a bright star in the dark sky, bringing hope and transformation to those who know how to act harmoniously around prevailing circumstances. It will be a year when it is truly better to do less, but do it perfectly.
The year of the Rooster teaches the lessons of order, scrutiny and strategic planning. The sage advice of Sun-Zi which is still taught in modern military circles, advises one to “achieve psychological advantage over the adversary and use force only as a last resort.” I think we can all take heart of that advice in 2017, the year when diplomacy wins. In a Rooster year, we will hear more cutting criticisms of those in the public life and feathers might well fly as prides are dented, nevertheless all will benefit from the rude awakening.

Politically, the year of the Rooster 2017 is a year when most nations will adhere to hard-line policies. Governments around the world will puff up like the Rooster, flexing muscles and making threats but probably not following through unless faced with no other solution. Most nations will be most concerned with protecting the homeland and, unfortunately, it will be a year when most leaders and countrymen will take offense over the smallest thing.
The United States of America was born under the sign of Cancer and during the Year of the Monkey, making this a more moderate and stable time to pursue what it has set out to do. It will be an exhausting year for the U.S., ending with commitments that will have to be fulfilled. The Year of the Rooster 2017 is a year when the U. S. must not underestimate its opponents.”
And if you’re interested — a couple of our allies…
“Canada, also being born under the sigh Cancer but during the Year of the Rabbit, is heading into a difficult time as the economy tightens and funds dwindle. This is truly a time to join forces with others to was the stress.
The United Kingdom is a Capricorn/Monkey so, therefore, will continue to side with the U.S. They will find this a rather exhausting and perilous year on the home front.”
So there you have it — you know what to expect — fasten your seat belts! And Happy New Year!
— 30 —

Margie was a very special and unique member of our family… she was a wife, mother, aunt, sister, sister-in-law, volunteer, family member and friend — but, she was much more than that. She raised six children while living a full life being an active member of her church and community.
I was never around her for extended periods of time, but it seems she always had her “act together.” I guess with six kids and a husband to manage, it was necessary, but she was one of the most patient people I’ve ever known. I never saw her flustered or upset. She was always able and willing to help people. She volunteered in the community theater and was active in her mission group.
To say she had a difficult life, in more ways than one, would be a colossal understatement. She survived so much that would have caused most us to just give up. Not only didn’t she not give up, she weathered it like it was nothing and kept her sense of humor.

I was fortunate to have spent some time with her during the past couple of years in not necessarily one-to-one conversations, but at least small groups and each time I was around her I was more impressed with her humor, stories, perception of the world and her realistic, positive outlook on life. I consider her a role model for living life in the face of adversity.

I’ve heard life described like an hourglass… as time moves forward, the sands fall through the hourglass. Each grain that falls through is another moment that we have with our loved ones. When the last grain falls through, it’s empty, but we can turn the hourglass over and start the process all over again.
Unfortunately, when we lose a loved one, there is no more turning of the glass. All we can do is cherish the time that we did have with them. When people we love are taken from us, the way we have them live on is to never stop loving them.
God, as He always does, knew what He was doing when He took Margie to live with Him — He’s got himself a mighty fine angel.
— 30 —

A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from a friend that mostly talked about old car terms that we don’t hear much anymore, like the knob that a lot of people put on their steering wheel, continental kits and fender skirts. But somewhere in the mail he noted that the word supper isn’t used much anymore. Well, I got to thinking, when I grew up, it was always breakfast, dinner and supper. Now we have breakfast, lunch and dinner. I pretty much never use the word supper.
I thought the reason was probably regional — in Oklahoma, we used a lot of terms that people in the east had never heard of. I just figured that supper and dinner both referred to the evening meal… but after some extensive research, I discovered some interesting things.

The word dinner does not necessarily imply the time of day. It could mean the midday meal or the evening meal, but it always refers to the main meal of the day. The word dinner comes from the Vulgar Latin word disjējūnāre meaning “to break one’s fast.”
Supper is associated with the evening. It comes from the Old French word souper meaning “evening meal.” It has traditionally been used in the context of the last meal taken by Jesus before his crucifixion, known as the Last Supper.

It appears that most Americans use dinner and supper interchangeably. But the two words can also make a distinction between a light, informal late-evening meal eaten with family (supper) and a grander affair (dinner) — like a dinner party.
I don’t know why I found this topic interesting, but I did — not that it matters, supper or dinner was made for eating — not talking….
— 30 —

Well, here it is January 6 and we got our first snow last night. This morning we had probably between two and three inches on the ground. So far, 2017 has been pretty much a bummer, weather wise… we’re wondering if the sun is going to take the year off.

Of course, we’re lucky — most of the time we don’t have to get out in the snow. That’s not always the case, but most of the time we can just stay home. Seems like in recent years, snow storms, or “events” are hyped by the media. I understand that governments would like to get people off the roads so they can clean them faster and thus cut down on (especially) overtime costs. And the merchants love all the hype because it gets people to stock up on supplies, so theoretically that puts more money into the economy.

The fact is, it’s winter and it snows — has for as long as I can remember. Even though every year we get snow, it still seems to take people by surprise. Snow is a funny situation — the kids love it — they play in it, build snowmen/people, throw snowballs, etc. All that makes even us adults smile. But then we adults move into the survivalist mode… we stock up on food, gas up the car, make sure we have plenty of gas, wood, etc. And of course we grumble about having to get out to go to work, or for some other reason.

Then we watch the news — boy to they love a “crisis.” They tell and show us all the trapped motorists and more blizzards with people trapped in pubs, or gas stations, or wherever. No wonder snow makes us grownups grumpy.

Thinking back a lot of years, I don’t remember all this hype… it snowed and we cleaned off the driveway, streets and our cars and went about our business. It appears that we’ve become less appreciative of snow, less tolerant of winter and just generally more annoyed at it’s inconvenience.

It’d be nice if we could all just take the snow as it comes and enjoy it… maybe even enjoy the company of our neighbors we talk to while shoveling… goodness knows, we don’t talk to them very often. And what the heck, we’re probably not too old to build a snowman, or go sledding or maybe even throw a snowball or two. Or… we could just be grumpy.
— 30 —

Well here it is 2017 — a fresh start. Hope things are going good for everyone…

The next couple of weeks may well be the calm before the storm…on the morning of January 20, the President-elect, Donald Trump will visit Barack Obama at the White House for coffee, before they share a limousine (Obama will be seated on the right, Trump on the left) for the ride to the Capitol, where the Inauguration will take place — on the west front terrace, at noon.

Trump will be the oldest first-term President in our nation’s history. Trump being Trump, nobody knows what his first actions will be, but I’d guess one of the first things he’ll do is sign a number of executive orders — many of which, will undo some signed by Obama. That’s a fairly easy thing to do to send the message of keeping his campaign promise of things changing on day one. Of course, one promise he made, the promise of radical changes to American immigration in “my first hour in office,” may be a little harder to achieve. Many of Trump’s policy positions are fluid — he has adopted and abandoned, and often adopted again his position on just about everything. One thing is certain — the 115th Congress convenes today… Republicans have control of both chambers, so we’ll see what conservative policies will be at the top of their list. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see… I think Yogi Berra once said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
— 30 —

Well, 2016 is coming to a close — about this time every year, I ramble on about the year ending and the year about to begin. 2016 was a really good year for me and I think for our families… like every year, there were ups and downs but a lot more ups than downs and in reality, the downs weren’t really downs, they were just not as up as ups. As always, lots and lots and lots to be thankful for.

So here it is time for a new year to roll in and we all probably have a mental list of things we want to achieve and/or change. There’s no better time than the beginning of a year to start fresh and focus on achieving these goals. As I keep mentioning, and everyone knows, a very low percentage of people that make resolutions really commit to them. So why bother? Other than it’s just one of the things to do on New Years, it gives you a chance to think about areas in your life that you’d like to improve and you can take a few minutes to reflect on your past, present and future. If this reflection reveals areas that you’d like to change, now’s a good time to start. And, who knows, if you make a resolution that really motivates you enough to truly change, some real good can come from this annual tradition.
So what do I resolve to do in 2017?
• I resolve to not send a text to someone sitting in the same room… or even in the same house. I have to admit that I’ve actually done that — I realize its harder and harder to communicate with people these days, but no more texting for me if they’re within a quarter of a mile
• I will take a selfie this year. I may be the only person younger than 95 that has never taken a selfie. I didn’t know how until recently when I found out that my phone had a camera in the front so I didn’t have to bend my neck around to the back… so stand by — I might include the results in the blog.
• I will not save my fortune cookie message in my wallet. I’m not sure why I’ve done this in the past, but I usually find them months later… maybe I think the message is so meaningful that its going to guide me through some troubling time or something…but no more — if I think it’s that important, I’ll take a picture of it on my phone.
• I will not come up with any new cool social media acronyms. First of all, I don’t like social medial acronyms like lol or omg or….whatever — no abbreviations for me — I know how to spell (with the help of spell checkers.)
• I resolve to be accepting. Things are changing… marijuana is becoming legal, gay marriage is legal — people are gay, people smoke pot…I’m not and I don’t but I won’t get in the way of anyone’s lifestyle and I won’t judge. I will accept people, and things, for what they are — guess what, I can’t change them anyway.
• I will not buy bright colored sneakers or tennis shoes or golf shoes — or those with some psychedelic pattern. Sneakers should be white, or black, or maybe gray….
• I resolve, every day, to (try) be better than I was yesterday….  and today.

In many ways, this year has been tough… a brutal presidential election, lots of natural (and man-made) disasters and tragedies here in the US and abroad. So as the New Year approaches, let’s hope for a wonderful year. And don’t forget, to some extent, what the New Year brings to you will depend a lot on what you bring to the New Year.
Happy 2017 to all.
— 30 —

If you check the entries on this blog about this time last year, you’ll find my annual post about New Years’s Resolutions. I always, or at least usually, make resolutions because that’s the thing to do. I probably will again this year, but before I do, it’s only fair to look back on last year’s and see how I did.
By now, you’ve probably scrolled back a year to check out my last year’s resolutions, so here’s the results…
• I will learn to recite the alphabet backwards in less than 10 seconds. — Fail. Turns out that Emily can do it, and can even sing the Alphabet Song backwards… actually, I can do it, I just don’t get all the letters in the right places.
• I will break a record (not sure which one yet,, it may be a personal record or maybe eve a world record of some sort) — Done!
• I will make a new friend every month — success (even though some of my new friends had to be imaginary…
• I will do something that I normally do, differently at least once a week — Pretty close… I even ventured out to try different flavored Blizzards at the Dairy Queen a few times
• I will not singlehandedly cause global warming — not sure, but think I may have succeeded on this one too
• I will try to do something nice for someone every week — I really did try….
• I also resolve to be less than perfect — this one was really hard, but I mostly succeeded.

So overall, I think I did better on my resolutions for 2016 than I usually do. Of course, as I eventually get around to admitting in this forum, resolutions mostly just don’t work. One reason is that if you make a resolution, that implies that you’re not already trying to accomplish what you’ve just resolved to do (or not do.) Even though it’s fun to make resolutions, they actually are only goals. We’d all be much better off if on January 1 of every year, we focused on our values, not goals. If we list our values and stick to them, goals will take care of themselves. Of course I’ll continue to come up with some resolutions or a wish list like I always have — so check back in a few days for my 2017 version…
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We attended the “Winter” Sing at Emily’s school this week. Despite the title, it was Christmas songs. I suppose they would have shut the school down if they had advertised it as a Christmas Sing.  Anyhow, we had a great time and it seems like Emily knew every word to every song.
One song they didn’t sing was “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I’ve always been curious about that song… it appears to be a song about someone that gets lots of presents from their ‘true love.’ I have to admit that there’s lots of songs that don’t make a lot of sense to me, but I decided to do some extensive research on this one, seeing how it’s Christmas time and all that.

In the real world Christmas Day, December 25th, ushers in 12 days of celebration, ending on January 6 with he feast of the Epiphany. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and many sources that I checked indicated that each day of the 12 Days celebrate a feast day for a saint and/or have different celebrations. Some of these I’m aware of, or have at least heard of, such as Day 2 (26 December) known as Boxing Day and also St. Stephen’s Day… Day 4 (28 December) is the Feast of the Holy Innocents… and Day 12 (5 January) known as Epiphany Eve. It’s interesting that Day 11 (4 January) celebrates St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — her shrine is just a few miles from our house.

Anyhow, the point is, I guess, that The 12 Days of Christmas is more than just a song. But — the song itself has lots of legends and stories attached to it…. “The 12 Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. It turns out that from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. One story has it that during that era someone wrote this song that has two levels of meanings. The obvious words of course, but those words supposedly have a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Apparently, each verse of the carol had a code word with a religious meaning… for instance, the “True Love” in the song is not a boyfriend or girlfriend, but Jesus Christ, because “true” Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also represents Jesus because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary to protect its young.
According to the story, the symbols mean:
– The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments
– The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.
– The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
– The five golden rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament, which describe man’s fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior
– The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation
– Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit — Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy
– The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes
– Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit — Charity, Joy, Peach, Patience, Goodness, Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Chastity
– The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments
– The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles
– The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles’ Creed
So if there is really a hidden meaning to the song, I suppose it becomes religious… maybe that’s why it wasn’t on the list at Emily’s school. The fact is that this hidden meaning story probably isn’t true, but even if it’s not, it makes for an interesting interpretation and something to think about.

Calvin Coolidge once said, “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.”
For Christmas, I hope our home and yours, is filled with laughter, our lives filled with love and our hearts are full of hope….
Merry Christmas!
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