What Would Jimmy Do?

Emily has been building with Legos almost her entire life. I’m continuously impressed by how adept she is at building things — and following directions. Almost everything she’s built using Legos has been “scripted” for her. Her Lego projects are built from Lego “kits” that have unique “bricks” molded in special shapes to produce a pretty terrific looking finished product. Most of Emily’s projects have been fairy princess castles and little houses, with an occasional car thrown in. She builds them by very meticulously following the directions provided by Lego.

A couple of weeks ago, she spent a few nights with us and one of the activities that occupied her was building with her mom’s old Legos. These were just a bunch of “bricks” in various sizes and colors. No directions. No pictures. Just bricks. At first Emily was a bit frustrated and didn’t know what to build, but very soon her imagination took off and she made some really cool stuff. It was fun to watch her figure out how make what she was thinking of. She asked that a couple of things she came up with not be taken apart, but left for her next visit.

This all got me to thinking… it seems that the imagination and creativity needed to “make” something from today’s Legos leaves much to be desired. The pre-formed pieces included in todays sets don’t allow children to think for themselves and really make something from their own imagination.

So what happened? Somewhere between when our kids played with Legos and the time our grandchildren started playing with them, the Lego company decided that kids (and adults) needed more than just their imagination — they needed directions.

I suppose this change is a marketing strategy, but I suspect that the company decided that the challenge of building something from scratch is hard. But I think by making Lego set “kits” it not only decreases creativity in the use of Legos, but across other activities as well.

I understand that the world is changing — I guess Legos must, too. But I hate to see the lives of kids today become even more structured. I agree with Albert Einstein when he said, “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
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This is another busy February holiday… not only is it George Washington’s real birthday, it’s also National Margarita Day and Be Humble Day. It should be obvious why on February 22nd every year we honor not only George Washington but also pay tribute to and honor the margarita — and — it’s easy to celebrate the two. Be Humble Day on the other hand…

We all know people that are self-centered and need to be reminded that it’s not all about you! So, if you know someone that always talks about themselves and their accomplishments and never bothers to ask about what’s going on in your life, today is the day to remind them that it’s Be Humble Day. Maybe, for just this one day, they can manage to be humble.

Humbleness is a good trait to have — it’s a fact that some people are smarter, better educated, more traveled and even nicer looking than others. But that doesn’t make it right to gloat….
So today is a good day for us all to remember to have respect for others and show some humility.

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” But I rather like, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” C. S. Lewis came up with that one, and was probably thinking of Be Humble Day at the time…..
So let’s all be humble and have a margarita — in honor of George.
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Today is Do a Grouch a Favor Day. We all know someone who is almost always grouchy and grumpy. It seems to be some people’s nature to just be grouchy. There have been a lot of famous people (both real and fictional) that fall into the grouch category.

Ebenezer Scrooge was a penny-pinching, Christmas-hating curmudgeon
Archie Bunker was about as grouchy and grumpy as you can get
I’d say that the cartoon character Maxine would qualify as a grouch
The Grinch — anyone that steals Christmas is certainly a grouch
Grumpy (of the Seven Dwarfs) is a grouch — maybe with people like Dopy, Sneezy, etc. around, he had good reason
Andy Rooney got paid to be a curmudgeon and tell us what was wrong with the world
And then there was the most famous grouch of them all — Oscar the Grouch

Grouches are eccentric, pessimistic, argumentative people. Being as grouchy and miserable as they possibly can be seen to be is a grouch’s main mission in life. A true grouch will never admit to being happy no matter what.

I think Do a Grouch a Favor Day is an excellent holiday. Grouches have a tough life. Of course, like everyone, we only see one side of a grouch — we usually never hear their side of the story. Maybe that grouchy person that you know is playing the hand he was dealt pretty well. Who knows what your favorite grouch might become with just a little kindness? So try to do him or her a favor today — or — at the very least raise a glass to that person.
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Well, here it is that most romantic day again — Valentine’s Day. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago when talking about Groundhog Day, there’s a limited amount of “new” things to write about a holiday that is celebrated every year.

Most of us think about flowers, chocolate, jewelry, or cards as Valentine’s Day “traditions.” But did you know that gloves were once a very important part of Valentine’s Day? A token of love in the 19th century was a paper hand, which was a symbol of courtship. Tiny paper gloves were also popular. Real gloves were a favorite valentine gift, especially in the British Isles. Gloves were often given with a verse that went like this:

If that from Glove, you take the letter G
Then Glove is Love and that I send to thee

It became a tradition that if a man gave a woman one glove on Valentine’s Day and she wore it in public on Easter Sunday, it meant she returned his love.
Seems kind of sappy, but I guess it’s a little more romantic than texting….
Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday — he would have been 207 years old. Everyone knows he was one of the better Presidents — he was often referred to as “Honest Abe.” The story is that George Washington said, “I cannot tell a lie.” Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, — it fits in with the cherry tree story nicely. But Abraham Lincoln actually did say that he couldn’t tell a lie.

Abe was the first President not born in one of the original colonies. He never slept in the Lincoln bedroom in the White House. He argued a case in front of the United States Supreme Court — and lost. Abe was a licensed bartender, the only President to hold a patent and is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service the day he was shot — on Good Friday.
So Happy Birthday, Abe — we could use more like you…..
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Today, February 11, is a much celebrated day. It’s National Make a Friend Day, National Peppermint Patty Day — and — Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Since these three important holidays always fall on the same date, I have to choose one to celebrate every year — they’re all too important to “share.”

This year, it’s Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. We’ve all heard the expression, “don’t cry over spilled milk” — it’s been around seems like forever. According to my extensive research, the first historical reference of the phrase occurred in 1659. No one really knows where and when it actually originated but it likely comes from European folklore. According to several old tales, fairies were very fond of milk and would drink up any spills left behind.

But regardless of the origin, it means don’t worry or stress over little things. So today is a day to think positive and try to find something good in everything that happens. Actually, that’s a good attitude to have regardless of what day it is. Enjoy life to it’s fullest and face each day with an optimistic attitude and a smile on your face.
Don’t worry — be happy!!
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Chinese New Year’s Day is the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar. According to the calendar we use (the Gregorian calendar) the date for Chinese New Year is different each year, but it always falls between January 21st and February 20th. This year it’s February 8th.
The Chinese usually have 7 consecutive days off work from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the sixth day after Chinese New Year’s Day.

Chinese New Year 2016 is the year of the Monkey. Chinese astrology indicates that for those people born in a year of the monkey, 2016 is considered to be a bad year. Our son, Dave, was born in a monkey year, so we’ll have to alert him to be on his guard….

Before the holiday begins, it’s Chinese tradition to thoroughly clean one’s home, both inside and out, as well as oneself. That means getting a haircut, buying new clothes and, in general beginning a period of new beginnings, renewal and rejuvenation.

Chinese New Year is a much needed winter holiday for the Chinese. The time around Chinese New Year is sometimes referred to as the Spring Festival and with it comes many traditions. You’ve probably noticed that the festivities associated with Chinese New Year invariably involve fireworks and there seems to be a lot of red displayed. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster call “Nian” [year] that would come out and eat people, especially children, and animals on the eve of every New Year. To avoid the monster’s attack, people would flee into the mountains. On one New Year’s Eve, an old beggar came to Peach Blossom Village. An old lady gave him some food and told him to hide himself in the mountain to avoid the monster Nian. The old man said he could drive the monster away as long as he was put up for the night at the old lady’s house. The old lady wasn’t able to persuade the old man to hide in the mountain, so she went alone. In the middle of the night, Nian dashed into the village. He trembled and cried when he saw the red paper on the door of the old lady’s house. Just as the monster reached the entrance, there came loud sounds that prevented him from moving any further. The old man opened the door wearing a red robe and the monster was scared away. It turns out that the color red, firelight and loud sounds were the things the monster feared the most. After that, on every New Year’s Eve, every household would decorate their houses with lots of red, set off firecrackers and light candles as well as stay up the whole night to avoid being attacked by the monster. Today you see red everywhere around the Chinese New Year and there’s always lots of noise…
Happy Chinese New Year!
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Well, the results are in – put your coats away — Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow this morning, so we’re in for an early spring. I don’t put a lot of faith in groundhogs in general, and Punxsutawney Phil in particular, but this year I think Phil might be on to something.
Even though most of my Groundhog Day writings have been about Punxsutawney Phil, it should come as no surprise that my favorite groundhog is, and has always been, Jimmy the Groundhog. Jimmy resides in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and makes predictions like Punxsutawney Phil, but the two don’t always agree — but today Jimmy also predicted an early spring.
I’m not sure if you remember, but last year when Jimmy the Groundhog appeared, he bit the mayor’s ear — another reason I like Jimmy — a groundhog with attitude.

Anyhow, just wanted both the blog readers to get the news of the early spring — it’s only the 18th time since 1887 that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow. Now Jimmy, on the other hand is a different story…..
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Well, here it is time again for my (almost) annual Groundhog Day blog. Groundhogs aren’t particularly glamorous, or cute and are generally just annoying. On Groundhog Day they come out of their hole and see their shadow —or not. Big deal. Why they get their own day is a bit of a mystery, but if for no other reason than we’ve made it through January, February 2nd is a good day to celebrate.

Attempting to write about groundhogs and their day every year, and mention something new, is challenging at best. So if you’re thinking you’ve read this before… well, it is Groundhog Day.

Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep — it’s actually a deep coma, where the body temperature drops to a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, the blood scarcely flows and breathing nearly stops. During hibernation (about 150 days) a groundhog will lose no more than a fourth of its body weight due to all the energy saved by this lower metabolism.

Alaska has replaced Groundhog Day with Marmot Day. When Sarah Palin was Governor in 2009, she signed a bill proclaiming February 2 as Marmot Day — an Alaskan holiday that celebrates frontier life.

All through history, numerous holidays have marked the seasonal crossroads between  the winter solstice and the spring equinox around the early part of February. February 2nd is also Candlemas Day — a Christian holiday that celebrates Mary’s ritual purification. Early Christians believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, winter would last six more weeks. The ancient Romans observed a “mid-season” festival in early February as did the pagan Irish.

So if the groundhog wants to have his day, I’ll go along with it — but for the rest of the year, I’d just like to know how get rid of them….
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Well, here it is another holiday that Congress has chosen to ignore — it’s Backwards Day. As you might have guessed, it’s a day to do everything backwards. I suppose if you properly celebrate it, you’ll have dinner as soon as you get up (oh wait – you won’t be getting up until tonight) and have breakfast before you go to bed… or get up… or — anyhow, this gets all confusing. I guess you should wear your clothes backwards and say goodbye when you meet someone and hello when one of you leaves and talk with your back to people.

A lot of people don’t know it, but Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards. Not only did he write from right to left, he wrote his letters backwards. There are some words that can be written backwards and no one would know — like, racecar, pop, poop, dad, mom, wow, civic, madam, radar, kayak, noon, eye, nun, level and probably a lot more that I can’t think of right now.
And then, there are words that when spelled backwards turn into other words… live spelled backwards becomes evil, desserts becomes stressed, pupils is slipup, pals backwards is slap, star is rats, and warts becomes straw.
And of course, a lot of words spelled backwards just sound funny…. Park spelled backwards is krap, boobytrap becomes partyboob, welcome is emoclew, Subaru backwards is urabus, if you spell buns backwards, it’s snub.

Speaking of backward things — for years, various bands have been accused of influencing their followers with hidden messages that could only be heard by playing the record backwards. For awhile, maybe even today, some think this sort of thing is a threat to national security and at least one group insists that the practice promotes Satanic messages that can manipulate our behavior without our knowledge and turn us all into disciples of the Antichrist. Since vinyl records have pretty much gone away, I guess the threat has at least lessened somewhat.

But however you choose to celebrate Backwards Day, I hope you have fun. Just don’t forget to check my blog — or should I say glob….
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