Today is the anniversary of Phileas Fogg completing his trip in Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 days. He left on October 2 and got back to London on December 21. I haven’t read much of Verne, but I thought this plot was fascinating and fun when I read it years ago
What route would you take to go around the world if you mainly took trains and boats and cars? What would you want to see?
Our town was mentioned in the national news over the past couple of days due to an obituary. I bet in the next couple of days it will make the national news due to a scandal at the local post office. Both stories involve the local newspaper.
Earlier this week our newspaper ran a moving and poetic obituary on a former resident, a Vietnam veteran, who died in a Veterans’ home in Montana. The story made the national news. If you read the article, it also provides a link to the actual obituary.
http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BBY97ry?ocid=se
Then, late Thursday afternoon, the paper broke a story about thousands of pieces of mail being thrown in dumpsters behind the post office by postal employees. I believe I have mentioned here my frustration with late or non-existent mail delivery. Well, now we know what has been happening.
Both these stories will elicit Baboon reactions and comments, so my question is simple:
Comment on these stories and your reactions to them.
There is a Wyndham hotel right across the street from the Lima International Airport. Although Lima is a gigantic city of 11 million, it is just a quick stopover for many tourists who are on their way to the interior of the country to see Machu Picchu. In fact, the Wyndham does a very brisk business for those arriving from the States at 12:30 and 1 a.m. in the morning, who then turn around to depart the next morning for Cusco and other cities farther south and east. At 1:30 a.m. the front and bell desks are fully staffed!
There might be folks staying at the hotel who are NOT heading off to hike in the mountains, but you can’t tell by looking at them. Everywhere you look the view is khakis and backpacks. At breakfast (which opens at 4 a.m.), even families are all dressed in khaki and even the smallest kids have backpacks (although you see more red and pink backpacks at this age). Hiking boots and sturdy shoes always round out the ensembles.
It is such a ubiquitous outfit that our last morning in Cusco, I was startled (yes, startled) to see a group of five women at breakfast in extremely fashionable clothing. Tight leather-ish pants, a lacey red blouse and the little short black jacket of one woman definitely caught my eye. And shiny red heels that were so high that if I were to wear them, I would have to super glue my feet onto them to keep from slipping right off. She and the other four women looked lovely and very stylish, but definitely not in keeping with the khaki and backpack set!
What item in your closet do you wear the most?
I just received the December 5th edition of the Rock County Star Herald, my home town newspaper. I was delighted to read a story about Generations, the local senior citizens center. The center started an ambitious campaign to raise 2 million dollars for a building for senior activities which will provide meals and social activities for community seniors as well as for residents of all ages in the low income housing tower to which it will be connected.
The newest fund raiser is a calendar featuring, each month, a local senior posed in a scene from an iconic movie. Costumes were borrowed from the local community theatre company, and a local photographer volunteered to take the photos. So, on the front page of the paper, there she was, Neva, the mother of one of my high school classmates, posed like Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music, clad in that black dress with the white apron, standing in front of a mountain in the middle of the alpine meadow with her arms held out, ready to belt out The Hills are Alive. George, director of Generations and a retired horticulturalist, posed as Forrest Gump sitting on the bench with a suitcase and a box of chocolates.
They got the idea from the Winona Friendship Center. It seems like they had a great deal of fun doing it. They are making plans for next year’s calendar.
What iconic film scene/character would you like to pose as for such a calendar?
Today marks the anniversary in 1903 of the first sustained motorized airplane flight by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, NC. They flew 6.8 miles per hour. Orville was the pilot. Wilbur ran along side. This is a photo of the 12 second flight.
It amazes me that their three-axis control system which allowed the pilot to actually control the plane in flight is still standard on today’s aircraft.
Our plane last month from Minneapolis to New York was pushed along at 600 miles an hour by some strong tail winds. The pilot made a point of proudly announcing this as we arrived well ahead of schedule at LaGuardia airport. I think the Wright brothers would be pretty amazed by that. I don’t know what the would think of the current state of commercial air travel.
How would you change modern air travel? Be creative.
Our tree is up and decorated, and I am taking a chance and putting out the Christmas pyramids this year. You can see them in the header photo. The cats have left them alone thus far. I will keep my fingers crossed. I think we will put the cats in the basement when we light the pyramid candles. I had to put the straw goats up high, since our grey cat likes to chew the wheat berries off their beards.
I never have had a themed tree, one with color coordinated glass balls and bows. No, ours is a mix up of glass, straw, wood and china ornaments. Some were my parents before I was born. We like having lots of red color in our tree. I put the tomtens out on the buffet, hang the wreath on the front door, and that is that. A friend of our daughter who grew up in Stuttgart says our tree looks very German. It is how my mother decorated the tree, and I like the style.
What is your Christmas decorating style?
There is a Lutheran tradition that you really shouldn’t sing Christmas music in church until Advent is over. I love the mournfulness of Advent carols. They often are in minor keys. I find them calming. Husband and I have many treasured Christmas recordings that we listen to every year. I listen to the Holiday stream on MPR at work through the day. I find I am becoming increasingly fussy about what Christmas music I can tolerate. Gene Autry and Rudoph is definitely a no go.
What Christmas music do you like? What do you loathe? What Christmas earworms have you had this week?
Yesterday my city announced an opportunity for the civic minded to demonstrate their devotion to the community. There are 200 fire hydrants in our city, and we can to select one to care for. It involves clearing any obstacles from around the hydrant so it is ready to use in emergencies. Only 15 hydrants have been adopted to date. I can see the wisdom in this, as city workers are spread too thin to check them all for obstructions, and neighborhood residents are more likely to notice problems.
I don’t know why this struck me as so funny. I can think of many city excresences I would like to care for: poorly trimmed trees, obscured street signs, vehicles on snow emergency routes that should have been towed but weren’t, etc. Give me a Bobcat with a snow shovel and I will clear out problematic snowy intersections. The possibilities are limitless .
What civic problem would you like to adopt and fix?
Yesterday from 11:30 until 1:00 pm was my agency Christmas party. It was a potluck for staff only, with the Social Committee supplying deep fried Turkey, cheesy potatoes , and punch, paid for by agency fundraisers over the past year. It took place in a large and shabby meeting room in the basement of our agency. All the food was good and calorie laden. I brought cranberry salsa. We played simple games, ate, and returned to work. What a change from the parties of 30 years ago when Husband first started at the agency.
The director at that time was a guy who really liked a good party. He was the first director the agency had, and he headed our agency for many years. In his mind, a good party was held at the Elks Club or the Knights of Columbus. It was catered, and there was plenty of alcohol and fun, with late night pinochle games. Spouses and significant others were expected to attend. He somehow managed to find money in the budget to fund it.
Well, things are different now, and I kind of like the change. There is less drama and alcohol-related poor judgement. It is less fuss.
What are your experiences with office parties?
Yesterday in 1684, Isaac Newton’s paper on the theory of gravity was read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley. I wonder how it was received? Did they nod and say ,“Oh yes, I can see exactly what he is getting at”, or did they scratch their powdered wigs and shrug their shoulders, thinking “Poor Isaac has been spending too much time sitting under the trees.”
Hard sciences were never my strong suit in high school and college. Neither was mathematics. for that matter, although I was pretty ace at Psychology statistics in graduate school. In college, the Physics majors I knew often said that Physics was a way of investigating God. I was just glad I didn’t have to take any physics classes. Biology, now that was a subject I could embrace. I don’t know what it means that my poorest grade in college was in bowling, a physical education class I despised. Maybe if I had taken a Physics class I would have been a better bowler.
What came easily to you in school? What was difficult? What would you like to learn about now?
Trail Baboon 