What Would Jimmy Do?

When I was growing up, I remember my parents (my mother, especially) giving me lots of good old-fashioned advice — a lot of which I think could be traced back to old wives’ tales, or folklore, or some such source. 

One thing I remember my mother saying pretty often is that it takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown, so I should smile more often.
Just the other day I read that it takes 39 muscles to frown, and only 12 muscles to smile. You’ve probably come across this same statement (or some variation of it, with different numbers.) Regardless of the numbers, the core message remains the same — it takes more effort to frown, so why not just smile instead?

But — this well-meaning, if overly simplistic, piece of advice only sounds scientific. It turns out that there might not even be a “true” answer to this smile-or-scowl question.

It appears that there are just too many variables for this problem to lend itself easily to a scientific solution. For instance, what constitutes a smile — or frown — varies from person to person…if the corner of your mouth turns down, is that a frown? Is a smirk the same as a smile?
Research has shown that we don’t all have the same number of facial muscles. A study of 18 Caucasian cadavers revealed that while five sets of muscles — the ones that control expressions of anger, happiness, surprise, fear, sadness and disgust — were present in all subjects, there were variations in other facial muscles in at least eleven of the cadavers.
So while I buy in to this good advice to turn your frown upside down, there doesn’t seem to be any scientific proof that you’re necessarily using fewer muscles — but just remember there is no one on whom a smile doesn’t look good.
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Most of the games our grandkids have, I don’t recognize. I remember our kids had games that were familiar to me from when I was a kid, but the old “classic” games just don’t seem to be popular today, or maybe they don’t even make them anymore.

Even the ones that you think are classic, like Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, etc. aren’t really the same games — they’re “Star Wars Monopoly,” or “Harry Potter Clue” and they don’t play by the same rules that I remember.

But one game that I remember from when I was a kid and seems to still be around is Mr. Potato Head.
I’m not sure it is as popular as it once was, but I still see it in stores and I think our grandkids have it. 

Mr. Potato Head was created by the American inventor George Lerner, who gained inspiration from his own childhood, when he made dolls from potatoes for his younger sisters. His idea for Mr. Potato Head was to give children a toy they could design themselves. The original toy sold for less than a dollar. No plastic body was included — kids, or their parents, had to find a real potato to stick the plastic parts into.

Turns out that the idea was poorly received, partly due to the food rationing of World War II, but a cereal company bought the toy for $5,000 and distributed only the plastic face parts in their cereal boxes. Hasbro bought the rights to Mr. Potato Head from the cereal company and successfully marketed the toy. Mr. potato Head was first advertised on television — it was the very first television commercial for a toy. The ad showed a little girl and boy playing with potatoes and attaching accessories, like eyes, ears, noses, hands, feed, hats, etc. 

Pretty soon, parents were complaining about moldy potatoes all over their houses, so Hasbro came out with a plastic “potato” body. The original plastic mold was enlarged over time to make it easier for small children to insert the pieces into the manufactured “potato.”
Mr. Potato Head was officially inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2000.

You’re probably thinking, “what a great toy.” Entertaining, kids love it, totally non-violent, just good clean fun — just like it used to be when we were growing up.

But in today’s world, even Mr. Potato Head just can’t seem to avoid controversy.
Hasbro caused a stir when the toy manufacturer said it would remove the Mister from Mr. Potato Head, leaving us with only Potato Head.

As you might expect, like most things these days, the Hasbro announcement created a social media uproar. Hasbro said the idea behind the gender-free, brand-name change was to be more inclusive so that all could feel “welcome to the Potato Head world.” Which is a good thing I guess. 
Hasbro said it would sell a playset without the Mr. and Mrs. designations, allowing kids to create their own type of potato families, with two moms or two dads.
The controversy over how a toy potato identifies itself seems to have passed, since Hasbro recently announced that Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Head would remain unchanged.

So Mr. Potato Head has been through a lot during his more than fifty years, but maybe his crowning achievement came in the late 1960s with the release of the “Mr. Potato Head on the Moon” playset. That made the country proud by fulfilling President Kennedy’s vision of putting the first potato on the moon.
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Some time back, when Emily was at our house, she had some kind of soft drink that had random “facts” printed inside the lid. I happened to read one and it said, “A group of twelve or more cows is called a flink.” I had never heard this and in fact I’d never heard of the word “flink.”

I figured that, as usual, some of my extensive research might shed some light on the subject, but even after extensive research, the statement and the word flink remains a bit of a mystery.

I started with the dictionary — according to the Oxford English Dictionary, flink is a 19th century US rural dialect verb meaning “to behave in a cowardly manner.”

But if you check the Internet, flink is found all over the place, defined as “a group of twelve cows,” “at least twelve cows,” and so on. I found flink on a number of lists of collective animal nouns, like a “pod” of whales, “murder” of crows, etc. 

Digging a bit further, I found that a book by Kay Pfaltz, “Lauren’s Story: An American Dog in Paris,” contained the following sentence on page 21 — “A flink is twelve or more cows.”

The word was mentioned on a web site about science for kids, that talked about making an object that neither floats on top of a container of water, nor sinks to the bottom, but hovers halfway up or down. The word used on the site is “flink.” It seems to have been created by combining FLoat and sINK into a single term. Actually that sounds like a good term to apply to “hovering in a liquid.” But nothing to do with cows…

Flink apparently means cleaver in Norwegian. 
One google response to “what is a group of cattle called?” was…
A group of cattle is called a herd, mob, drift, drove or team. Historically, people who took cattle to market on the open range were known as drovers.

So basically, I couldn’t find any reliable source that ties “flink” to cows, but if that somehow is a legitimate term, I guess dairy farmers and cattle ranchers should be called flinkers…..
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If you’ve been paying attention over the years, you know that today is a “holiday” that we always celebrate.
I’m not sure why I think it’s necessary to explain Ten-ten Day every year — maybe because every year the same people seem confused as to what we’re celebrating…..

Today is the anniversary of the start of the Wuchang Uprising — on 10 October, 1911. The revolution brought an end to the Ching (Qing) Dynasty, that the Manchus had created in 1644. The rebellion swiftly gained traction across the country, and the Republic of China was formed just two months later, becoming Asia’s first worldwide recognized republic. Following the Chinese Civil War, the government of the Republic of China lost control of mainland China to the Communists and relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Today, October 10, is the Republic of China’s official National Day, and it is extensively celebrated in Taiwan as Ten-Ten Day or Double Ten Day. Outside Taiwan, National Day is also celebrated by many Overseas Chinese Communities.

We of course learned about the Ten-Ten Day celebration when we lived next door to the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and we’ve been celebrating it for 50 years now.

A couple of interesting Taiwanese facts picked up over those 50 years….
Only 2.3% of Taiwanese people are native — probably because during the Qing Dynasty, natives were forced out, in much the same way Europeans pushed away native Americans, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders.
Taiwan is the size of Belgium, but it’s a heavily populated country with a population of 23 million people, whereas Belgium has a population of only 11 million.
Taiwan is modern and forward-thinking, at least in comparison to its neighboring nations — for instance, in 2019 Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage.
The national dish of Taiwan is fermented tofu and it smells exactly how it sounds.
The Taipei 101 skyscraper was the world’s tallest building until 2007 when it was replaced by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Ten-Ten Day celebrates Taiwan’s rich cultural legacy with great cuisine, live music, dancing, entertainment and other activities…. and here in Shepherdstown, Chinese food is a must.
Happy Ten-Ten Day!
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Today is Columbus Day — a U.S. holiday that has always been, to some extent, and even more so, today — a kind of controversial holiday. The day commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but didn’t become a federal holiday until 1937.
Many people today think of the holiday as a way of honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American Heritage. 

Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born explorer who with backing from the Spanish monarchs Kind Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, set sail in August 1492, bound for Asia aboard the ships the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He intended to chart a western sea route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, became the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings established colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland during the 10th century.

Later that October, Columbus sighted Cuba and believed it was mainland China. In December the expedition found Hispaniola, which he thought might be Japan and established Spain’s first colony in the Americas with 39 of his men.
In March, 1493, Columbus returned to Spain in triumph bearing gold, spices and “Indian” captives. He crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506.

The first Columbus Day celebration in the United States took place in 1792, when New York’s Columbian Order, better known as Tammany Hall, held an event to commemorate the historic landing’s 300th anniversary.
In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage with patriotic festivities.
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday, largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus.

Columbus Day was originally observed every October 12, but was changed to the second Monday in October beginning in 1971.
Several U.S. cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with alternative days of remembrance. In some parts of the United States, Columbus Day has evolved into a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Local groups host parades and street fairs featuring colorful costumes, music and Italian food. In places that use the day to honor indigenous peoples, activities include pow-wows, traditional dance events and lessons about Native American culture.

So today is a federal holiday — whether you celebrate Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, or something else, it’s nice you have the freedom to make that choice…..
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Today, October 8, is an important day — the Department of Homeland Security was established (by President George W. Bush) and Don Larson (Yankees) pitched the only perfect game in the history of the baseball World Series on the 8th day of October. But what really makes this day special is, it’s National Pierogi Day.

Before I married Claire, I had never heard of a Pierogi, but I found out that it had a very special place in her life, growing up. I’m not sure it still happens, but every year after Thanksgiving, Claire’s entire (big) family got together and made hundreds of pierogis for the family’s Christmas Eve dinner. 

Considered to be one of Poland’s national dishes, pierogis are first boiled and then served several at a time with melted butter. In Eastern Europe, most countries have their own version of the dumpling. 

In the United States, pierogis are a popular dish in Polish communities and many events are held in honor of the periogi. In Whiting, Indiana, a pierogi fest is held for 3 days in July, and in Pittsburgh every Pittsburg Pirates baseball home game features a pierogi race, where runners in pierogi costumes compete in a race. And people in the village of Glendon in Alberta, Canada love pierogis so much that in 1993 they constructed a 25 foot tall fiberglass pierogi, with a fork through it. 

Researchers haven’t found a real history behind National Pierogi Day…. in fact, they haven’t even been able to determine the exact year of beginning for the day. But if someone thinks today is National Pierogi Day, that’s good enough for me. Seems like a better reason that some to celebrate.
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Back in my working for a living days, one summer I spent a few weeks at a facility that our company owned in the country — in fact it was sometimes referred to as the “farm.” It once was owned by someone that was obviously wealthy — it was a very large piece of property and one of the buildings was a Manor House, a beautiful old house that looked like it belonged in the Old South on a plantation. Anyhow, there were a number of functions performed at the “farm.”

One of the buildings contained a “lab” that designed, and built things that most people would say were impossible, or belonged in some science fiction movie — to say that the things they turned out were technologically advanced would be a major understatement.

Our company had a contract with Georgia Tech to employ some of their best engineering students during the summer as co-ops. The students would work in the co-op program during the summers and sometimes between semesters. You may have guessed, they worked in the “lab.” The “farm” was large enough that they had a few dorms so the students lived on-site. And there was a very nice dining hall that served terrific food. Since most of the students didn’t have cars, they could pretty much exist right “on-campus” during their stay. 

During my stay there, I got to be pretty good friends with the students — I was a lot younger at the time and I don’t think they considered me to be an “old man” yet. 

There was a guy that worked in the lab for many years, and to be honest he was one of the smartest people I have ever known. Early in his life, he was involved in some sort of an accident — I don’t know any of the particulars, and on top of that he had one eye that just floated around and in various directions that couldn’t be controlled — the eye problem supposedly occurred at birth. But add the strange eye to the fact that he walked funny because of the accident and he was just about the ultimate introvert and rarely talked to anyone….. to me his actions seemed robotic. 

Well, one afternoon after work I was sitting with a few of the co-ops on the veranda of the Manor House, and this guy walked by. One of the Georgia Tech students made a comment about him being weird. I told them that they shouldn’t be critical and that they had built this guy in the lab. A couple of them stared at me but didn’t say much of anything.

But — it turns out that they believed me. They told the rest of the Georgia Tech crew and word quickly spread among the Co-ops that this guy had been made in the lab. A couple of the students got called in the director of the facility’s office and were asked where they got such an idea. They told him that I told them! Yep, You’re right… my presence was requested in the Director’s office. I was asked if I was the one that started this shameful rumor. Since my job required me to take numerous polygraphs over the years, I readily admitted it. Of course I was asked why I’d make up such a story — my response of “I thought it was funny” didn’t fly and I had to set all the co-ops straight. 

I guess the lesson here is that with age comes wisdom — I’d never do anything like that today….. well, actually….. I might.
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Happy October — continuing my recent custom of writing about each upcoming month, today’s topic will be….October. 

This is the month when I guess we should get into the fall mood. Besides Halloween, there’s a lot of interesting days coming up this month — Leif Ericsson Day, Canadian Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Ten-Ten Day, United Nations Day and Frankenstein Friday, just to name a few.

The full Moon in October is known as the Hunter’s Moon and arrives on October 9. Hopefully, the leaves will be more colorful this year than they have been the past few years. The main reason for the color change in the leaves isn’t autumn’s chilly weather, but the lack of light. The green color of leaves disappears when photosynthesis (from sunlight) slows down and the chlorophyll breaks down. Trees with a lot of sunlight usually produce red leaves, while other trees may turn yellow, orange or brown.

Today, October 1, has been a pretty noteworthy day in history….
On October 1, 1888 the first-ever National Geographic magazine was published.
On October 1, 1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T car — it cost $825.
On October 1, 1971 Walt Disney World Resort opened in Orlando Florida.
And — since 1991, the International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1. 

A recent study in Italy reported that October is the best month for conceiving a boy and for some reason the month of October is not mentioned in any of Shakespeare’s plays.

Folklore says that when deer are in a gray coat in October, expect a hard winter…. but it also says that a warm October means a cold February.
So looks like we’ve got a full month ahead of us — we best get started.
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Michaelmas is an ancient Celtic “Quarter Day” which marked the end of the harvesting season and is steeped in folklore. There are four English “Quarter Days” — days that fall around the Equinoxes or Solstices and mark the beginning of new natural seasons (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall.) These days were used in medieval times to mark “quarters” for legal purposes, such as settling debts. Other Quarter Days are: Lady Day (the Feast of the Annunciation) on March 25, the Feast of St. John on June 24, and Christmas on December 25.

Michaelmas Day is the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, celebrated on 29 September. St. Michael is the patron saint of the sea and maritime lands, of ships and boatmen, of horses and horsemen. He was the Angel who hurled Lucifer (the devil) down from Heaven for his treachery. Michaelmas Day is traditionally the last day of the harvest season.
The harvest season used to begin on August 1st and was called Lammas, meaning “loaf Mass.” Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local church. The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church, and today we have harvest festivals at the end of the season near Michaelmas Day.

Michaelmas Day is sometimes called Goose Day. Goose Fairs are still held in some towns in England, but geese are no longer sold. A famous Michaelmas fair is the Nottingham Goose Fair, held every year on or around October 3rd. 

A popular custom in England was to dine on goose on Michaelmas. One reason for this was that Queen Elizabeth I was eating goose when news of the defeat of the Armada was brought to her. In celebration, she said that henceforth she would always eat goose on Michaelmas Day. 

Another possible reason why goose are eaten, is that since Michaelmas was a Quarter Day, rents were due and bills had to be paid. Tenants seeking a delay of payment traditionally brought a goose as a present to their landlord to help seek his indulgence. 

Folklore in England holds that the devil stamps on bramble bushes. Therefore one must not pick blackberries after Michaelmas. The reason for this belief has ancient origins…. it was said that the devil was kicked out of heaven on St. Michael’s Feast Day, but as he fell from the skies, he landed in a bramble bush. He cursed the fruit of that prickly plant, scorching them with his fiery breath, stomping on them, spitting on them and generally making them unsuitable for human consumption. Legend suggests he renews his curse annually on Michaelmas Day and therefore it is very unlucky to gather blackberries after this date.
Some groups in the United States, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, have kept Michaelmas traditions alive.
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I was born in 1938 and I grew up in Maysville, Oklahoma. Ever since I was a kid old enough to remember, my uncle talked about wanting to buy a 1931 Ford Model A. Here’s the story about that memory….

Around 1931, there was a doctor that lived in Maysville — Dr. Taylor. Apparently sometime during the year of 1931, Dr. Taylor died — only a few months after he had purchased a brand new Ford Model A Roadster — complete with a rumble seat.
Doctor Taylor’s wife never learned to drive, and the car remained parked in their garage after the doctor died. Mrs Taylor continued to live in Maysville for many years (I’m not sure if she died there.)

Anyhow, my uncle was the butcher in my dad’s store and Mrs. Taylor came in at least every week to shop. Several times every year — for almost 30 years — my uncle asked Mrs. Taylor if she’d like to sell Dr. Taylor’s car. Her answer was always no, not yet. 
Finally, sometime around 1960 (I’m not sure of the year) my uncle said, “well, Mrs. Taylor, are you ready to sell that car yet?” And Mrs. Taylor said, ”yea, I think it’s time.”

When my uncle asked about the price, she asked if the amount the car cost in 1931 would be too much. My uncle explained the he was willing to pay much more than the car cost in 1931. But Mrs. Taylor said that no, she thought the original price of the car would be fair — I don’t remember for sure, but I think that was about $1,200. 

So around 1960 my uncle became the owner of a (almost) new 1931 Ford Model A Roadster. The car had less than 1,000 miles on it. Of course, sitting in a garage for 30 years or so, it needed new tires, battery, fan belts, etc. — but it still looked brand new, the upholstery was dusty, but not worn at all and it had the original owners’ manual in the glove compartment. 
Needless to say, my uncle was thrilled — after he put new tires, battery, etc. on the car, he was the “talk of the town” tooling around in his spiffy new car. 

The purchase took place after I had left Maysville, but when I went back to visit, I usually got to drive Uncle Ralph’s 1931 Model A — complete with rumble seat. 
I don’t know what happened to that car — I asked a number of times, but never got a satisfactory answer.
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