What Would Jimmy Do?

The first Memorial Day weekend after we moved to Shepherdstown a few years ago, we drove by the local cemetery and there were Confederate Flags displayed on many of the graves. (Antietam National Cemetery is only a couple of miles away, but because it is a “national” cemetery, confederates weren’t allowed to be buried there, so a significant number are buried here in Shepherdstown.) Claire was appalled that they should be displaying Confederate Flags…

It made perfect sense to me because that was the flag they fought and died under. Anyhow, I got to thinking…

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday and is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May. It is set aside as a day to remember the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and it originated after the Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.

So let’s see, the day that we now now call Memorial Day was originally created to honor both the Union and Confederate soldiers that died in the Civil War. Today, “Confederate Memorial Day” is still celebrated in a number of southern states.

For some reason, the Confederate Flag has come to refer to racist policies or other undesirable traits, but the fact is that that flag was bravely carried in many battles and those fighting for for and under it were fighting for what they believed in. One argument is that the Confederate graves should display the American Flag, because they were Americans.

In my opinion, there is nothing dishonorable, disrespectful, or racist in placing Confederate Flags on the graves of Confederate soldiers — it’s the flag under which they fought and died. There are probably many reasons that those who fought for the Confederacy did so. I’m sure many chose sides only because of where they were born, but some made the choice for reasons of patriotism, or love of family and even love of the nation. Both Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War, but in the end they all died for the same belief — the freedom to be governed by a form of government of one’s choosing.

It’s unfortunate that the Confederate Flag has become to many a racist symbol —it never was any more than the Civil War was a racist war. Those that died in that war lost their lives for their beliefs; they were all true Americans — those that fought for the Confederacy shouldn’t be dis-honored because of the flag they waved….
— 30—

This past weekend, Deerfield Village, where we live, had a community-wide yard sale — everyone put things in their yards and driveways and (lots of) people toured the community looking for bargains.

The sign in front of the village distinctly said, “Yard Sale” but I’m sure that not one “yard” was sold. I don’t know if this is misleading advertising or not, but it seems to be a trend. A couple of years ago, we visited the Slave Market in Charleston — guess what — not one slave was for sale. Shepherdstown has a Farmer’s Market — and — you can’t buy farmers there…. I’m not saying there should be an investigation, but this seems more important than a lot of things under investigation by Congress.

But, back to yard sales — they seem to be events for selling (usually) used items by individuals. So far as I know, sellers are not required to obtain a business license or collect sales tax, although I do remember reading that several states and the IRS are considering legislation to make income from yard sales reportable.

Yard sales are often called garage sales, attic sales, basement sales, rummage sales, lawn sales, moving sales or sometimes estate sales, but they all pretty much serve the same purpose — an attempt for people to unload unwanted items from their household.

The origin of the modern day yard sale isn’t really known, but it seems to be an American custom, habit or tradition, although I’ve heard that these sales are gaining favor in Canada and Australia.

The yard sale may have evolved from the rummage sale — in fact, I don’t remember yard sales when I was a kid, but I do remember rummage sales. “Romage” entered the English language as a nautical term originally relating to how cargo was packed into the hold of a ship and evolved to mean bustle and commotion. Years later, the term would also refer to an exhaustive search. As the word continued to evolve, it came to refer to a great amount of miscellaneous cargo stashed away in the hold of the ship.

The first actual “rummage sales” were held at the docks. Cargo that was unclaimed or damaged would be hauled out of the hold and put up for sale. Soon this practice was being called a rummage sale and it also referred to the sale of damaged or unwanted goods from warehouses or storehouses as well.

As time passed, the rummage sales would be held at communal locations such as a park or a church, usually for a charitable cause or to raise money for the church. People would donate items to be sold. Although not quite as common, these events still take place today.

It’s just speculation on my part, but I’d guess that the yard sale evolved from this practice and probably picked up steam after World War II when people had more money and spent it on all the new products that were being produced after the war. With all the new “stuff,” the yard sale became a great way to pare down the clutter and make a little extra money.

So no matter what you call it — the name of things does not really matter, what matters is what something really is — these “sales” will be around and popular for a long time. Another person’s trash, might very well become your treasure….
—30—

A few days ago, the subject of this blog was compliments and how sometimes compliments didn’t come across as they were intended — even if the person doing the complementing was sincere. Given so many words in our language that have multiple meanings, I’m not surprised. In fact, I’m surprised that we can communicate as well as we can.

Sometimes we can say something to one person and get one reaction and say the exact same thing to another person and get a completely different reaction. Well, I got to wondering why that is. After a bit of extensive research, I discovered that words (and phrases) actually have two distinct meanings. The denotative meaning refers to what the word refers to or what it means. But words also have something called the connotative meaning associated with them that has to do with what the word suggests to a person based on his or her experiences and associations with that word. For instance, if you love dogs, the word dog means an animal with four legs, licks you in the face, etc. But let’s say you were bitten by a dog when you were a kid – the mention of a dog may very well conjure up bad thoughts or even fear.

Not only does the same word mean different things and evoke different emotions in people, the same word often has multiple meanings. The word cold can mean a low temperature, or being sick with the sniffles — it can also mean to be “aloof” or lacking emotion. And just think of all the ways we use the word: we talk about a cold room or cold beer, using cold logic, a cold person or maybe a cold audience. A dog may be tracking a cold scent, a body may be cold in the grave, someone may have cold fury, a basketball team may have a cold shooting night, someone might be cold sober or turned down cold. Or — may get cold feet, be given a cold shoulder, be killed in cold blood, or just be out in the cold. Anyhow, you get the idea — simple words have multiple meanings and can be used in numerous ways.

Then of course there’s the gender thing — unfortunately, men and women can say exactly the same thing and believe me, it has a completely different meaning… take vulnerable for instance. being vulnerable to a woman is to fully emotionally open up one’s self to another. To a man, being vulnerable is playing football without a helmet. A woman’s definition of communication is the open sharing of thoughts and feelings with their partner. A man has communicated if he leaves a note before taking off to play golf with the guys. Entertainment for women may be a good movie, concert, book, or a play. Men think entertainment is anything that can be done while drinking beer.

There’s an old comic routine titled, “What the Captain means…” that has one of the comedians (“the Captain”) making a rather blunt or rude statement and the other putting a diplomatic spin on it. That sort of thing happens in real life, too. You learn that what is being said (and often the way it’s said) doesn’t really mean what it sounds like. For instance, if your wife says, “thanks.” It probably means thanks — and the correct response is “you’re welcome. But if she says, “thanks a lot,” that is dramatically different than “thanks.” The proper response here is not, “you’re welcome.”

Well, since there is no time like the present, I thought it was time to present my views on these word quirks — it’s my present to you….
—30—

Claire had cataract surgery on Thursday. The good news is that she can see very well; the bad news is that when she asks me to do something, I have to be a lot more accurate.

Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over 40. There are at least three types of cataracts: sub capsular, nuclear and cortical. You can look them up if you’re really interested in the differences, but they all affect the lens of the eye and cataract surgery basically consists of placing a new lens in the eye.

Eyes are very complex organs. There are seven main parts in the eye that play a role in transmitting information to the brain, detecting light, and focusing — a problem with any of these parts means a problem with you vision.

I’ve heard it said that eyes are the gates of your heart. They express everything — be it love, anger, dislike, grief, etc. Eyes say a lot without speaking a word. Actually, eyes don’t express everything but they are very revealing. So called body language experts rely on the eyes as an integral part of their “readings.” The way a person looks at someone reveals a lot about what they really feel, and the intensity and direction of their stare can reflect a person’s thoughts. Glancing sideways may show romantic interest or flirting in a subtle way. Avoiding gazing at you indicates that the person could be lying, or feeling guilty or uncomfortable about the subject being discussed. Gazing regularly at you generally indicates a positive, inviting attitude, open to communication. Prolonged blinking (like blinking in slow motion) indicates the person is losing interest (or maybe feeling sleepy?) Excessive blinking may indicate a person is showing romantic interest, or a sign of stress —or — they could be lying…

We refer to the eye in lots and lots of our everyday idioms and phrases, like:
…there wasn’t a dry eye in the house — something said that means that all the people in a particular place were very sad about they had seen or heard and many of them were crying.
…the eye of the storm — the center of a disagreement.
…a bird’s eye view — a view from a very high place that allows you to see a large area.
…give someone the evil eye — to look at someone in an angry or unpleasant way.
…keep your eye on the ball — give your attention to what you are doing all the time.
…have eyes in the back of your head — to know everything that is happening around you.
…not bat an eye — to not show any reaction.

And most of us have said or heard….
bedroom eyes, a gleam in the eye, a roving eye, a sight for sore eyes, an eye for an eye, easy on the eyes, eye candy, in the eyes of the law, in a pig’s eye, some shut-eye, the apple of my eye, or more than meets the eye.

And then of course, I only have eyes for Claire, wouldn’t want to be in the eye of the storm, or in the public eye, or have the wool pulled over my eyes, but sometimes I have bags under my eyes after I’ve flown on the “red eye.”

We’ve all heard that it’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open and babies are all color blind when they are born. But did you know that seeing is such a complicated process that it requires about half of the brain to get involved. The average blink lasts for about 1/10 of a second. Men are able to read fine print better than women. The cornea is the only living tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels.

There’s been some memorable quotes about eyes over the years, such as: “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes” or “You never know how you look through other people’s eyes” and Benjamin Franklin once said, “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards.”

A lot of proverbs have been based on the eye over the years, such as:
• The eyes can do a thousand things that the fingers can’t.
• The face is the portrait of the mind; the eyes, its informers.
• What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t invent with your mouth.

The eyes are one of the many things we take for granted and don’t appreciate until there’s a problem, but of all the senses, sight must be the most delightful.
— 30 —

Claire believes that cows can predict rain. Every time we go somewhere in the car, she notices if the cows are laying down — or not — and always tells me about the chance of rain. Lots of people scoff at her and a few agree that there might be something to it. There are lots of old wives tales and folklore about predicting the weather. Actually most of them are based on some sort of logic or long term observations and many are based on some scientific principles. I have no idea how the weather forecasters on TV arrive at their predictions — most claim to have super-computers and the latest radar, but I’m not convinced that they don’t drive around and check out what the cows are doing before they go on the air.

Animals have been used since ancient times to predict weather. Claire uses cows, but people look to lots of animals for weather predictions. Every February 2nd, people turn to Punxsutawney Phil to see if he sees his shadow and we’re stuck with six more weeks of winter or we can look forward to an early spring.
Besides cows and groundhogs, how about these weather forecasters…
Frogs — frogs are said to croak even louder and longer than usual when bad weather is on the horizon. So if you hear their volume go up, you can bet a storm is brewing.
Birds — check out how high they’re flying; if they’re flying high, weather is clear, but if they’re flying closer to the ground, the air pressure of a storm system is causing them pain at higher altitudes. A very old wives tale says if birds feed in a storm it will rain for a long time, if they don’t it will clear soon.
Bees and Butterflies — folklore goes that if they have disappeared from their usual spots in the flower beds, something is up.
Sheep — “When sheep gather in a huddle, tomorrow will have a puddle.” Folklore again says that you can expect a storm if sheep crowd together and shield each other.
Ladybugs — “When they swarm, expect a day that’s warm.” If you notice them looking for shelter, colder weather is on the way.
Ants — in preparation for bad weather, red and black ants have been know to build up their mounds for extra protection and even cover the mounds’ holes.
Cats — tend to clean behind their ears before rain.
Turtles — often search for higher ground when a large amount of rain is expected. You often see them in the road a day or two before the rain.

Of course there a other signs from nature that are used to predict the weather….
Check the grass for dew at sunrise. If the grass is dry, it usually indicates clouds or strong breezes that can mean rain. If there’s dew, it probably won’t rain that day.
When the dew is on the grass
Rain will never come to pass
When grass is dry at morning light,
Look for rain before the night.
So is there some scientific fact behind this? If dew has time for form on the ground overnight, it means the night was clear without any clouds. Clear skies allow the earth to cool, and water to condense in the form of dew (frost at cooler times of the year.) If the night is cloudy, the clouds act as a heat barrier keeping the heat in and not allowing the dew to form.
Summer fog means fair weather is on its way. Based on some science? Fog is made up of condensed water droplets which are the result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold water vapors. In the summer, the air can only cool enough if the night sky is clear enough that the heat can be radiated into space. If the night is cloudy, the clouds act as a blanket to keep it in. If you see fog during the summer, it usually means the next day will be clear. Just remember…
Summer fog for fair,
A winter fog for rain.
A fact most everywhere,
In valley or on plain.
Fishermen have an old saying:
Trout jump high,
when a rain is nigh.
The belief behind this one is that when air pressure lowers, gasses created by decaying plant matter, which resides on the bottom of the lake or body of water, begin to release. This, in turn, causes the tiny microorganisms that live in these plants to be released into the water, creating a feeding frenzy among the fish. This frenzy sometimes causes the fish to start jumping around.
If the rooster crows on going to bed,
You may rise with a watery head.
Many people believe birds can sense when there’s a decrease in air pressure. It’s been observed that an approaching storm makes birds restless. And when a rooster can’t rest, he tends to crow more.
We were visiting some friends in the mountains of West Virginia last spring and an Appalachian belief was pointed out to us. Look at where the hornets nests are built to predict snowfall. We were shown a nest that was very low and it had been rebuilt from being fairly high the year before. If the nest is high,  more snow is expected, when the hornets build them low, less snow is expected. It did prove true, we didn’t have much snow at all this past winter.
But back to Claire and her cows… the fact is she’s almost made a believer of me and it appears she has support from a new study by scientists. The study was conducted by the Universities of Arizona and Northwest Missouri and discovered that cows stand up for longer periods when it is hot — proving there is a definite link between their behavior and the weather. The study was conducted to research the body temperature of cattle because when cows are too hot, their milk production suffers. Cows stand up longer when it is hotter because it helps lower their core body temperature by exposing more of their surface area — it allows their body heat to disperse in the air. They lie down when they want to conserve heat, and energy. So — this may explain why it may be true that cows lie down when rain is on the way. Rain is usually preceded by a bout of low pressure and it is also a sign that it is about to get cooler. If cows lose heat by standing up, then detecting the arrival of cooler weather will make them lie down.
Although I’ve never heard Claire talk about the cow’s tails, this may also be an indicator of bad weather approaching. When the weather gets warmer and more humid, flies become more active and swarm around the cows — this causes the cows to increase the swashing of their tails.
And to give her even more to observe on our next trip, she can note which direction their tails are facing. Cows and horses prefer not to have the wind blowing in their faces, so they usually stand with their back to the wind. Since westerly winds typically mean arriving or continuing fair weather and easterly winds usually indicate arriving or continuing unsettled weather, this is as good a tail/tale as any of knowing knowing what the weather will be up to….. it could even have its own weather rhyme:
Tails point west,
Weather’s at its best
Tails pointing east,
Weather is least.

So there you have it all you non-believers. Never underestimate the weather predicting power of the cow. Let’s raise our (milk) glasses for a toast….
—30—

Happy Anniversary to my favorite kid’s parents — Kelly and Chris!!!

Love You Guys….
Dad

We had our air conditioners serviced a few days ago — they don’t do much, basically just check the pressures and clean the coils. I was just thinking that when I grew up, we didn’t have air conditioning. We had fans and during the summer we sat outside a lot. That’s pretty much what everybody did — only the “rich” people had air conditioning.

That’s not surprising, because air conditioning as we know it really didn’t exist until the 1930s and even then the individual room air conditioner ( the kind that sits on a window ledge) were only purchased by the people least likely to work up a sweat — the wealthy. Those cooling systems cost between $10,000 and $50,000 — that was a lot of money in the 1930s.

Primitive air-conditioning systems have existed since ancient times — attempts to control indoor temperatures seems to have started in ancient Rome, where (again, the wealthy) citizens took advantage of the city’s remarkable aqueduct system to circulate cool water through the walls of their homes. But until fairly recently, fans were the coolant of choice. A Chinese inventor is credited with building the first room-sized rotary fan, powered by hand.

Credit for the development of the air conditioner as we know it today is credited to Willis Haviland Carrier, a Buffalo native. Carrier worked for a heating company in upstate New york and was tasked with devising a solution for a printing company whose equipment was going haywire because of the summer humidity. His proposal involved fans, coils and coolants. He later developed the first residential “Weathermaker” — an air conditioner for private home use.

During one of our far-reaching discussions after playing golf recently, we were talking about what one invention has changed the world the most — three out of four of us thought it was the invention of air conditioning. (One of us thought it was sliced bread.)

I personally am not a big fan of air conditioning — air conditioned places are generally too cold for me, and I just prefer ‘fresh’ air. I do certainly agree that air conditioning has made quite a contribution to our lives — although not necessarily for the best. Washington, D. C. turns into what some have called a sweltering swamp in the summer. It just may be that problems with the government began to get out of hand with the invention of air conditioning. Before AC, Congress and government officials only stayed in town a few months and left town during the summers. Along comes air conditioning and they stick around all year, generally mucking things up.

But all that aside, our air conditioner has been serviced and we’re ready for warm weather — so here’s to you W. H. Carrier.

Actually our AC is a Carrier so the company deserves a mention; since I’m writing this on a Mac, I suppose they should be mentioned in a favorable light, too. Do you know why computers are like air conditioners? They quit working properly when you open Windows. My apologies to Bill Gates….
—30—

I was working in the yard the other day and my neighbor pulled out of the garage — I waved at her and she waved at me and then honked her horn. I am at a complete loss as to why she (and a lot of other people) do that. She waves and honks if she’s coming in or if she’s leaving. What’s the point of honking? I already know she’s leaving. Does she just like the sound of the horn? is she testing it in case she needs it later? Does she just want to annoy me?

This honking — for no apparent reason — is on my list of things that annoy me (I know, the list is getting pretty long.) I’m trying to remember the last time I used the horn in my car. I actually wonder if there is good reason for cars to have horns today…. I think they were initially installed to warn others, when there’s no other practical way, of avoiding trouble, like a potential collision. Today, the horn is rarely used just for that purpose.

In many countries that I’ve lived in, constant horn honking is just a routine part of driving like braking, turning and accelerating. It’s a kind of way to let everybody know where everybody else is…. around here, the horn is mostly used to rebuke or reprimand — often being used after the danger has passed or just to let another driver know that they did something stupid or made the honker mad. Often times, blowing the horn is the driver’s way of saying I’m here — just get out of the way and let me through.

I’ve noticed that honking has become a method to express your like (or dislike) for all sorts of things. In the past few months I’ve seen bumper stickers that say Honk if you Love Jesus, Honk if you Love Cheese, Honk if you You’re Amish, Honk if you Love Clowns, Honk if you Love Honking, and Honk if you Love Peace and Quite.

So it appears that honking is here to stay — There are aggressive honkers, angry honkers, force-of-habit honkers and of course the friendly honker. I guess we just have accept the fact that the horn has become more than the warning device that was its original intent. It now is used for acknowledgement and celebration. What’s more touching that a guest leaving your neighbor’s house at 2 a.m. and giving a good honk to top off that farewell kiss — or meeting someone on the road you haven’t seen since yesterday and some mysterious force compels you honk — and expect one in return….

As far as the Honk if you Love Jesus bumper sticker goes, maybe Jesus would be flattered, but I’m pretty sure he’d have been happy if you’d just use your turn signals.
—30—

I received a compliment a few days ago — at least I think it was a compliment. Someone said that I was doing pretty good for someone my age. I don’t think this was (at least not intentionally) a backhanded or left handed compliment. A compliment that falls into that category is usually an insult disguised as a compliment. Sometimes people don’t recognize compliments as backhanded but the one offering it is being intentionally slighting and insulting. Anyhow, I’ll take the statement as meaning that I really am doing pretty good, not that the person was surprised that I was still alive. Fairly often, I hear, “you are much older than you look” — again, I don’t know how react to this one. Are they implying that I look young (I guess that’s good,) but do they still think I’m a geezer? I just never know how to react or respond to such a statement.

Compliments are tricky — they have to be given at the right moment and phrased in such a way that they’re not misunderstood. Even when you’re sincere with a compliment, it can often fall into an assumed “backhand” compliment category. For instance, if you tell a girl that she has such a pretty face, most people think you’re calling her fat. Sometimes that might be true, but not always — probably best to just get that one out of your compliments list.

In my working days, I never liked writing performance reports, or as we used to call them, “fitness” reports. Invariably, there were always a few employees that you just wished would quit or leave, but really couldn’t dismiss for any legitimate reason. What was written (and given) to the employee didn’t always totally agree with what was passed up the line to higher management. I always tried to be honest and as diplomatic as possible, but I did use some phrases that weren’t even as nice a backhanded compliments. I remember using, “…. will stick with us until retirement, unless we do something first.” I don’t know for sure if it helped, but the employee was re-assigned shortly after his review.

In case you’re wondering, there is a National Compliment Day (of course.) It’s not one of the many holidays that I celebrate, but if that sort of thing appeals to you, it’s January 24 every year. Both faithful readers know why I don’t celebrate National Compliment Day — unfortunately, it falls on Beer Can Appreciation Day (in case you’ve forgotten, this is that memorable day in 1935 when beer was first sold in cans.)

I read somewhere that the overwhelming number of compliments fall into two major categories — those having to do with appearance and those which comment on ability. I suppose that’s probably true — they’re both pretty broad categories. But the fact is, that it’s nice to give, and receive, compliments. In fact, both of you are even now thinking about complementing me on this blog. Not that you couldn’t come up with some great compliments on your own, but just in case, here’s some possible suggestions….

I always feel more intelligent after reading your thoughts and ideas.
I love this blog.
Your advice is pretty good for a blog.
I don’t care what anyone says, I think your blog is useful!!
You don’t do a bad job for someone your age.
I usually dislike sophomoric writing, but I enjoy reading your blog.
I love to read your blog when I have nothing else to do.

Just don’t wait around for National Compliment Day – compliments are always appropriate….
—30—

Both of you faithful readers may remember a blog a few years ago about goats from a neighboring farm wrecking havoc in our neighborhood. You’ll also remember that the hero of that episode was an Australian Sheep Dog named Ralphi. Ralphi was our neighbor and although he had never done it before, herded all the goats into our neighbors driveway and kept them there until we found out where they belonged. Ralphi then proceeded to herd them all the way back to the farm and into their pen.

Ralphi attended all the Field Crest Court circle parties. He brought the paper in every morning – and if guests were visiting, he took the paper to their room. When Ryan was visiting a few years ago, he said that Ralphi was a better ball player than most of the Indians, or “Tribe” as they’re called in Cleveland.

Well, after 15 years of bringing happiness to everyone around him, Ralphi has gone to Dog Heaven. People that like dogs know that they express their love in many ways and no matter how bad a day you’ve had, they’re always there for you – think it’s called unconditional love or something like that and it’s probably one of the best feelings in the universe.

To call Ralphi a dog doesn’t do him justice. He had four legs, wagged his tail and he did bark. But to all of us on Field Crest Court that knew him well, he was just our neighbor. Rest in Peace, Ralphi.
—30—