What Would Jimmy Do?

Today is National Crush a Can Day. The day was created to help educate people about the benefits of recycling. A couple of guys I play golf with always crush their beer cans before tossing them — they seem to enjoy the routine, So today not only gives you the opportunity to crush, squeeze and bend cans into small shapes, it’s also a chance to share can compression fun with others. Proponents of this day suggest that crushing cans is a fantastic stress buster, but can crushing is also a great way to get more cans into a smaller space at recycling facilities….

No one believes recycling is not a good idea, just not everyone does it. Too bad, because there’s lots of benefits….
If you laid all the aluminum cans recycled in 2010 end to end, they could circle the earth 169 times.
In America, 105,800 cans are recycled every minute
Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy it would have taken to process the same amount from a virgin source
Your television can run 3 hours from the energy saved by recycling one can
Aluminum cans are worth about a penny each
The aluminum industry pays more than $1 billion annually for recycled cans

Aluminum can are the second most recycled material after steel in the United States. However, we still throw out more than 1 million tons of aluminum each year. Unlike some recyclables, aluminum can be recycled over and over.

So — recycling aluminum cans saves a considerable amount of energy, reduces carbon dioxide emissions as well as reducing the amount of waste headed into landfills. Crush that can!
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I’ve heard pretty much my whole life that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. I remember in grade school one of my teachers always telling us that the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. 

When I hear someone say that, my initial reaction is that that’s absolutely false — there are dumb questions, and people are out there asking them on a regular basis. The world is full of stupid people and they say stupid things. Now here’s the disclaimer — like just about everything on this blog, this is just from my perspective, my opinion. But here’s the thing — no one person (not even me) gets to be the judge and jury about stupid or dumb questions. What may be a dumb question to me could be fascinating or interesting to someone else. 

I have to admit that some seemingly dumb questions may be asked deliberately just for the purpose of testing someone’s reaction or opinion on the subject of discussion. And I have to admit that sometimes when a stupid question is asked, the person asking it may seem stupid at first but in the end, they’re learning something new. 

Carl Sagan once wrote that there are monotonous questions, naive questions, tedious questions and ill-phrased questions, but every question is a cry to understand the world. That sounds kind of nice — a little like Mark Twain’s quote, “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to become more tolerant of dumb questions, among other things. But I haven’t been very successful… I’ve come so far as to admit that there may not be such a thing as a dumb question, but there is such a thing as a dumb person asking a question.
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Well, I guess I can maybe chalk it up to age, but i don’t seem to be a able to keep track of things like I used to. I completely let something slip by a couple of days ago that I usually remind you of every year — kind of my way of doing public service stuff.

Tuesday of this week (September 21st) marked the Moon Festival — it’s also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I like Moon Festival better.

No matter what you call it, it’s celebrated on month 8, day 15 of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and it always falls in September or October (usually sometime between September 6 and October 6.) According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the 8th month is the second month of autumn. The four seasons each have three (about 30-day) months on the traditional calendars, so day 15 of month 8 is “the middle of autumn.”

On the 15th of each lunar calendar month, the moon is at its roundest and brightest, symbolizing togetherness and reunion in Chinese culture. Families get together to express their family love by eating dinner together, appreciating the moon, and eating mooncakes. The harvest moon is traditionally believed to be the brightest of the year. 

Month 8, day 15 is also traditionally the time rice is supposed to mature and be harvested, so people celebrate the harvest and worship their gods to show their gratitude. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also celebrated in many other Asian countries besides China — especially those with larger populations of Chinese descent, like Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and South Korea. The festival date in those countries is the same as in China, except in South Korea. In South Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Chuseok, and is more like Thanksgiving. It is celebrated one day before China’s Mid-Autumn Festival and is one of South Korea’s biggest holidays.

I’m sorry that we missed the Moon Festival this year, but Tuesday night we did spend some time gazing at the full Harvest Moon…..
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I’ve alway liked clocks. I suppose I could tell quite a few “clock stories,” but I won’t — at least not now. A few weeks ago I got a clock, from Anne, for my birthday. It’s very small in a precisely machined “box.” It’s suppose to look like a present. It’s pretty cool in and of itself, but I was particularly impressed by the precision with which it’s made — I had to take it apart to put a battery in it. 

Well, this got me to wondering… how come this clock, and every other clock in the world has 12 numbers, or “marks.” signifying 12 hours? How did 12 become significant in our perception of time? 

We got Locke a “Fitbit” watch for his last birthday. I wanted to get him an analog watch so he’d learn to tell time — not just read numbers on his “watch.” Emily, who just turned 11 still has a bit of trouble telling time on an analog clock. Why is that? Well, when you think about it, it’s no wonder kids have trouble learning how to tell time. Just look at the way we divide up a day….
24 hours are divided into two parts — the “day” lasting 12 hours and the “night”lasting 12 hours.
One of those hours contains 60 minutes and each of those minutes has 60 seconds. And to go even further, each second is then divided into 1000 milliseconds. 

So how did this all come to be? Today, we typically use the decimal number system — a system that is believed to have originated because it made it easy for us to count things on our fingers. Way, way back, when humans were still exploring the wonders of the world and finding answers to their many questions, many other numerical systems were commonly used.

The Egyptians and Babylonians were the first to divide the day into smaller parts and used duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60) numeral systems.

The 24-hour day concept comes from the ancient Egyptians. They divided the day into 10 hours using devices like shadow clocks and then added one hour at each end ( one for twilight and one at the end of the day.) Later, the Egyptians made a T-shaped bar that was calibrated to divide the time between sunrise and sunset into 12 parts. But — the absence of sunlight made it hard to divide the time at night. So their nighttime division of time was based on the observation of stars. Without getting into all the details, they chose 36 star groups (small constellations that rose consecutively on the horizon as the earth rotated.) These constellations were called “decans.” Again, skipping the details, the rise of each decan marked an hour and they ended up with 12 hours in each night.

At that point in time, the hours didn’t have a fixed length. It was the Greek astronomers that helped make life simpler by equally dividing 24 hours using the Babylonian’s sexagesimal (base 60) system for astronomical calculations. So, for convenience, they further divided an hour into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds. (The concept of milliseconds is very modern and since we use a base 10 system, each second is divided into 1000 milliseconds.) So I think that’s kind of how we got to where we are today.

Of course for many thousand of years, nobody needed a clock. They got up at dawn to tend their fields, when they were done, they went home and when it got dark, everyone went to sleep. Nobody ever asked “what time is it?” They could guess how far along the day was by the height of the sun and approximate the passing of a month from the waxing and waning of the moon.

But today we take knowing the time, and the day of the year, for granted. And even though the units for measuring time sometimes don’t make logical sense, they seem to be here to stay. But the way we measure time has changed significantly over the centuries. The Egyptians used sundials and watercocks that were also used by several civilizations after them. Hourglasses were an important time-keeping device before the invention of mechanical clocks. The development of quartz watches and atomic clocks has make it possible to measure time with increasing accuracy.

Today, the standard definition for time is no longer based on the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, but on atomic time. A second is defined as: “9,192,631.770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133, atom.”
Based on that information, I think it’s time for a drink…..
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Avast me hearties!! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!
Me most favorite of all me favorite holidays — there’ll be the usual Hornpipe ceremony later today and, as usual, when we show up at ye ole’ neighbors’ house for a grog, him will say me don’t look like a pirate — that me should have a peg leg or patch so he’ll know what’s happening. Me will explain, again, today be talk like a pirate, not look like a pirate day…. t’ scurvy dog still won’t get it. I’m sure the streets here will be filled with landlubbers yelling salty sea dog phrases in each other’s faces on this raucous day. 

Tonight me and me wench Claire will knock on all the doors in the neighborhood and yell, “arrr, scurvy dog I be needin to swill a pint or two of grog.” If grog not forthcoming, me usually use the blige rat insult, or sometimes “ye scurvy dog!” response. 

But to diverge for a moment, today lots of people will adopt Devonshire accents and call each other “me hearties,” but is that what pirates really sounded like? Despite the fact that there has been a flood of pirate discoveries recently, and we now know more than ever about the day-to-day life of pirates, we still don’t really know very much about how they spoke.

Apparently the Devonshire accent associated with pirates today comes from Robert Lewis Stevenson and later depictions of his character Long John Silver in Treasure Island. For some reason, the world just assumed that all pirates should sound like Long John Silver — and, sound alike.

The (disappointing) truth is that pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy came from diverse backgrounds and pirates are not a cohesive culture or nationality that would have a developed  a speech pattern. We know there were English, French, Dutch, Moorish and African pirates — in fact, probably every nation and accent. 

I hate to admit it, but a pirate (probably) sounded like the average sailor of the 18th century. I doubt that there is any single accent that is truly “pirate.” So in reality, we already talk like a pirate, every day of the year. 

But no matter…..
Talking like a pirate is fun — it gives your conversation a swagger and style denied to landlocked lubbers. So let’s celebrate the day with a smile on our face and a parrot on our shoulder — and a pint or two of grog. Fair winds, me hearties!!
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I’m not sure I know what “normal” is anymore, but if things were normal, today at promptly noon, Oktoberfest 2021 would begin — and end on Sunday October 3rd. The dates for Oktoberfest are always different, but it always starts in late September and ends on the first Sunday of October… of course, like everything, there are some exceptions. 

I’ve only been to Oktoberfest in Germany once, but boy, it is one big party! Both the opening and closing ceremonies are awesome. I was fortunate enough to attend the opening ceremony on my only visit, but I couldn’t get in to the closing ceremony. I attended Oktoberfest in Frankfurt, but the biggest, and supposedly best, is held in Munich. During the Munich opening ceremony, the Lord Mayor of Munich taps the first keg and shouts “O’Zapf is!” to let everyone — at least those who speak German — know that it’s time to get to drinking.

Some of the best news about Oktoberfest is that it is, and always has been, 100% admission free.
The bad news, as you may have guessed, is that Oktoberfest 2021 has been officially cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the spirit lives on — beer lovers will find a way. You know what they say…. you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy beer…. and that’s kind of the same thing.
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Today is Constitution Day, also known as Constitution and Citizenship Day — a day that honors the document that guarantees Americans their essential rights. Since 1787, the Constitution of the United States has served as the basis for all U.S. laws. 

Even though we usually refer to today, September 17, as Constitution Day, it’s officially Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Here’s how we arrived at that….

In 1940, Congress and the President passed a resolution creating “I am an American Day,” observed on the third Sunday in May. In 1952, the holiday was renamed “Constitution Day” and moved to September 17, the day in 1787 that the Constitution was signed. Then, more than 50 years later, in 2004, Congress once again changed the name of the holiday to Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. I referred to the day as a holiday — it’s a federal event, but not a holiday.

Our Constitution calls for three branches of government with equal powers, creating a system commonly known as “checks and balances.” Each branch has power to mitigate the others. Powers not assigned to one of the three branches are left to the individual states.

Delegates at the Constitutional Convention had two options for setting up the framework of the new legislative branch. The Virginia Plan, was supported by larger states and called for representation based on population. The competing New Jersey Plan called for equal representation for each state. The two-house solution, known as the Great Compromise, combines aspects of both plans and is still in use today.

One of the signers of the Constitution, Ben Franklin, had to be carried to and from the Convention meetings due to his poor health, and needed assistance signing the document. Some of the other very important Founding Fathers never actually signed the Constitution — Thomas Jefferson, for example, was away in Paris serving as an ambassador to France.

It’s interesting that “Pennsylvania” is spelled wrong at top in the list of signatories — Pennsylvania is spelled with just one “n.”

Of 11,600 proposed amendments to the Constitution, only 27 have been ratified, making the chance of passing an amendment 0.23% — if you round that down, it’s 0 (zero.)

When the Founders worked on the Constitution together, they quibbled over what the title of the head of government should be. Proposed titles included “His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties,” “Electoral Highness” and “Excellency.” The delegates finally settled on “The President of the United States of America.”

George Washington said, “The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon.” All Americans should think that way.
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A couple of weeks ago, Locke, who just started first grade was exposed to his first “lockdown drill.” In today’s world, these drills have just become part of life. Those that were in school during the cold war remember the drills held in case of a nuclear attack. I’m too old to have experienced them, but Claire did and has talked about them occasionally.

But drills today are in response to a different threat — mostly school shootings. 
Realistically, school shootings are extremely rare, but they are absolutely increasing at a steady clip. All parents and teachers worry about such an event. Kids probably seem to worry less about these things than adults. 

Growing up in Oklahoma, tornado drills were, if not routine, fairly common — but tornadoes were actually pretty rare. Everyone was used to the testing of the tornado warning siren and we all knew the procedure of staying away from windows and getting under our desks — it all seemed pretty basic. I never went home thinking that a tornado was imminent, and I don’t think any of my friends did either.

But tornadoes, floods, etc, are not human-driven, intentionally barbaric events. All disasters can cause traumatic responses, but events in which intentionality is clear — someone trying to do something bad —causes the greatest risk for traumatic syndromes among survivors.

I certainly don’t have the answer for this dilemma, but we should make it clear to kids that while most people in the world are not harmful, there are some people who will do bad things —and, we need to know how to respond. We should also let them know that there are more good people in the world than bad and that adults, like teachers, taking care of them are doing their best to keep them safe.

These are not easy times —anxieties exist for all sorts of good reasons. But we should try not to add to these anxieties. How we approach lockdown is important and hopefully we can come up with an approach that strikes the right balance.
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Every year, we celebrate National Grandparents Day on the first Sunday after Labor day. This year, it’s today — September 12.
Grandparent’s Day is a lot like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, except the people are a lot older.
In keeping with my tradition of making you a more informed reader when you follow this blog, let’s talk a bit about Grandparent’s Day.

In 1969, nine-year old Russell Capper sent President Nixon a letter suggesting that a day should be set aside in order to celebrate grandparents. On June 12, 1969, he received a letter from Rose Mary Woods, the Personal Secretary to the President, reading:
“Dear Russell, Thank you for your letter to President Nixon. Your suggestion regarding a Grandparent’s Day is appreciated, but the President ordinarily issues proclamations designating periods for special observance only when a Congressional resolution authorizes him to do so. With best wishes, Sincerely, Rose May Woods Personal Secretary to the President.”

Following this letter, Marian McQuade was recognized nationally by the U.S. Senate and by President Jimmy Carter as the founder of National Grandparent’s Day. McQuade wanted to educate the youth about the importance of seniors and the contributions they have made throughout history. She urged the youth to “adopt” a grandparent and learn more about their lives, challenges, and desires for the future.

In 1977, Senator Randolph, from West Virginia, with the help of other senators introduced a proclamation designating the first Sunday of September after Labor Day of each year as “National Grandparent’s Day.”  Congress passed the legislation on August 3, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation, and the day was finally celebrated the following year. 

Even though it was signed in as a national holiday it is celebrated more as an observance than a public holiday. 
But today is our day and we’ve earned it because you know only the best parents get promoted to grandparents….
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Today is the 254the day of the year — there are 111 days remaining until the end of the year. But, of course, today is September 11, or nine-eleven, or Patriot Day when we all reflect on the devastating terror attacks that took nearly 3,000 lives. 

We all will always remember where we were that morning in 2001 — I remember it as if it were yesterday. Even as I watched the events unfold, it took some time for the reality to sink in. 

Twenty years ago today, four planes were hijacked. The hijackers flew three planes into iconic buildings — the Pentagon and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the plane’s passengers fought the hijackers. It was the biggest act of terrorism ever in the United States. 

Patriot Day was proclaimed by President George W. Bush and is recognized every year on September 11. Flags are lowered to half-mast, and there is a country-wide moment of silence at 8:46 am (Eastern Time) which is when the first plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers. Even though the attacks were in the U.S., Patriot Day is recognized worldwide because the attack devastated and impacted people around the world.

Today, reflecting and remembering the events that took place 20 years ago reminds people of the sensitivity of time and the importance of standing united as a nation.
I wonder how many people would have been complaining about masks or vaccinations on September 12, 2001?
We should never forget!
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