Category Archives: indiana

Gratitude

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…I walk outside in 16 degrees of crisp winter air with a dusting of snow on the ground…I hear a single bird singing.  Singing!

…doggie loves being out in the crisp air and I smile at the little frisky dance she does when she, uh, does her business…just happy to be alive, I guess. :p

…a wonderful meal for Christmas…blessings to those who don’t have that…

… for the money to get the oil changed in the car and now it doesn’t sound quite as loud as before…

…the ability to chelate and get this horrible poison out of me…

…and the wonderful “coincidences” that happen in life:  I went to the used goods store to blow the stink off of me (get out of the house for awhile).  My favorite area is the book area, naturally.  I found one to buy, and started heading to the cashier.  She told me that they were only fifty cents today, so yeah, I’m going back to get some more.  I found an old book on the folklore of the Mississippi.  Get this–the cashier says, “I grew up along the Mississippi.”  I kid you not.  What are the chances?

She went on to say that they have locks that allow the boats to pass, and one time they couldn’t get the locks to open. They sent divers down and they came right back up–she said there was a 65 pound (?) catfish blocking the gates, and they weren’t having anything to do with it.  She went on to say that they all caught fish along the Mississippi, using boxes.  She said they caught a 55 pound catfish once.  I asked her what one does with that big a fish–throw it back?  She said they ate it–just sliced it up into fillets.

She went on to say that they (fishers and hunters) would feed the town once a year.  They’d bring the fish, and the hunters would bring wild game of all sorts.  They had turkeys, quail, duck, etc.  She said they had turtle, too, as they would get caught in the fishing boxes.

She said they would have heating pans all lined up.  The women would supply the side dishes like scalloped potatoes and such.  She said they did that every year.  I told her that would never happen here (Indiana).  She sighed and said that was one of the things she regretted about moving here.

And now that I think of it–there was a time that my neighborhood had an annual picnic.  I don’t think they do that anymore.  But it was different–each family would bring their own meat, veggie, drink, etc., so it wasn’t like the Mississippi version where the meat was provided and the sides were a community offering.  I’m not trying to say one version is better than another–just different.  There’s nothing like getting together for a meal, though…

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….little things and little moments of gratitude for all of the above…

Why won’t public schools just go away already?

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(said very snarkily)

Jan Ressenger has this up on the recent nominee to the Dept of Education.  Yeah, if you were hoping that President Obama had somehow seen the light about the U.S. education fiasco, well, you (and I) were sadly mistaken, because he’ s nominated another corporate takeover twerp.

Be sure to click on the link to the Nation’s report:

In addition, [Ted]  Mitchell serves as an adviser to Salmon River Capital, a venture capital firm that specializes in education companies. Mitchell sits on the board of Parchment, an academic transcript start-up that is among Salmon River Capital’s portfolio. Salmon River Capital helped create one of the biggest names in for-profit secondary education, Capella University.

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Italics mine.

That, my friends, should read as a rap sheet.

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In other Education News, School Matters has this blog on the lack of transparency for the State of Indiana….so what else is new?

I agree that individuals should probably not be named, but there absolutely needs to be an accounting of how many students went to school B, and how much money was diverted from School A.

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School Finance 101 has a good report on the lies and statistics of mis-edumucation.  One can make statistics say anything you want, if you know how to skew the data…or leave out the data that doesn’t agree with your goals.

Larry Lujack

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Those of you not from the Midwest won’t get this post, but an icon of the 70s has passed–Larry Lujack who dominated the radio during the 70s, has passed.   We lived three hours away from Chicago, but the powerful WLS reached our little town and much of northern Indiana. (There is a great youtube of Lujack broadcasting in May 1971.  I don’t think it’s “official” , though, so I can’t link to it.  But just listening to it is a great toss back to those days–the fun we had (describing oil cans as “beautiful” *snort* ) and the times–Vietnam updates /protestors are featured on the news and I’m not sure, but I think they are announcing officers being investigated for shooting Vietnamese, but I’m not sure if it’s related to the My Lai massacre.)

We loved listening to Lujack on our school bus as we made the trip into school, laughing at programs like the “Tooth Fairy”…complete with background noise like doors opening/closing, footsteps, and all that made radio great.  I feel sorry for my kids’ generation, because they never got to experience that part of our culture.

I had the name “boogiecheck” for awhile as a log on name.  People thought it was something dirty–it wasn’t.  It was in reference to a program on WLS with John Records Landecker, where he made short bits of callers’ conversations into a hilarious soundbyte.   The program was so popular that when Landecker went to a local high school to speak at a convocation, he was greeted with the crowd chanting:  “Boogie Check, Boogie Check, ooh aah!  Boogie Check, Boogie Check, ooh aah!”   This was the intro to the program from that moment on.

Landecker once told a story of one Friday, a payday, in the olden days where they actually handed out paper checks that one took to the bank to deposit.  He said he picked up his check, and started to walk towards the bank, and with each step, he felt more tired.  His arm hurt.  By the time he got to the bank, he could barely put one foot in front of another.  When he got to the bank teller, he found the reason why:  he was carrying Larry Lujack’s paycheck instead of his own.  Haha.  Must have been soooome big ole’ paycheck. 🙂

Peace and comfort to Larry’s family on his passing…

The Gift

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Okay, so this is a rough time of year if one is poor…and it is especially hard for children.

I am more keenly aware of that and try to counteract it by asking kids what kind of gifts they could give without it costing money…

One said that they could cook a meal for someone (provided they furnished their own ingredients).  Another said you could pick up trash for someone.  I suggested that they could shovel snow for someone in their neighborhood–perhaps an elderly person, as a gift.

I asked if they knew about “Pay It Forward”…they did.   We talked about the people paying it forward for customers at fast food restaurants.  I mentioned the movie, but warned them that the movie had a sad ending…half wanted to know what happened and the other half didn’t want me to tell.

I related a story I had read once where a couple had purchased a brand new car.  It was their pride and joy and they took good care of it over the years.  The husband died, however, and as the lady got older, the car was too much for her to care for it.  One night, a couple of boys from the neighborhood waited until the older lady went to bed, and then they washed the car and cleaned it all up until it gleamed.  The boys continued to do this over the years.  The lady didn’t know who her little car angels were, but she was grateful.

I told the kids they could wash a car as a gift, too.  (Of course, this would have to wait until better weather.)

And as I sit here and type, I can think of so many everyday things that could be gifts that don’t cost a thing.

I think it’s important for the poor not to feel they have nothing to contribute…that they can give gifts, too, that are just as appreciated as something bought in a store.

Beethoven

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A mini progress report–

I used to play Beethoven’s Ode to Joy regularly on the piano when young.  It was about the only classic that my poor mother could get me to play.  She wanted me to play the classics, but I wanted to play rock n’ roll. :p  So…yeah…never practiced.

I did like “Ode to Joy” , however, and played it well.

Well…something told me to try again to play it–no music, mind you–from memory.  I didn’t think I could because I always had music in front of me to play.

But the urge was strong, so I went to the keyboard…and the music began to flow.  I still can’t believe it.  Let the tears flow…

I’m not able to do the accompaniment yet with the left hand…but I have more confidence now that it will come back.

I’m still waiting for the day that “Classical Gas”  comes back.  I’ll be bawling then.

 

Picture blog – One Room Schoolhouse

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I haven’t done one of these for awhile…

I have passed by a one-room schoolhouse for years, and always thought I should stop and get a picture.  Of course, I wanted to get a picture with my beloved Minolta 35mm, but alas, said camera, 30 years of age, is ailing…

So the next best thing is with the cell phone.  (A cell phone paid for by my sister, so the haters out there can stop their pious criticism.)

one room schoolhouse 2013

As you can see, it’s in sad shape, with windows boarded up and glass long gone….I figure they’ll be tearing it down before long and I’d best get a picture of it now.

one room schoolhouse front 2013

Two entry doors in front…if I recall correctly, the boys and girls entered in separate doors….his and hers should be put above the entry 🙂

one room schoolhouse.rear.2013

Note the rear door…to use the outhouse, which is looong gone.   (Look at the wonderful old growth tree next to it.) Back in the day, my ex FIL used to go with his friends through the country side and tip outhouses over.  Pissed off a few people. haha.

So…I parked off the side road and was busy snapping pics, and when I turned around to head back to my car, I see I have an audience:

horses near schoolhouse.2013

Heh. Curious about this person holding this contraption.  I didn’t think about it until now, but I had apples and carrots in the car–could’ve given them a treat.  Darn it.

 

**© Robyn

What they really think of the old

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Fred Klonsky has a Chicago Tribune cartoon depicting retirees as dogs that need to be muzzled.

Kind of says it all, doesn’t it?

Klonsky also has a blog up on Moral Mondays.  Update here.

This from Diane Ravitch on how to starve people so they’ll accept whatever crumbs you feel like giving them…

And in my corner of the world, Glenda Ritz continues to fight for her publicly elected position that received more votes than Pence.

Charter Schools:  it’s all in the family.

…and in my own backyard…Enbridge

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I found this piece on the deceptive PR by Enbridge.  Sadly, the article doesn’t go far enough and mention the pipeline coming through northern Indiana….just a stone’s throw away from Lake Michigan.

Three years?  Three freaking years to clean up an oil spill?  This alone should be reason enough not to trust Enbridge.  They don’t have the first clue on how to clean up after their many messes.  And they really don’t care….it costs money to clean up and they really don’t care about the environment, much to their protestations.

“We clearly can not accomplish all of that in the remaining weeks of 2013,” says Jason Manshum, an Enbridge spokesman. He blames the company’s difficulty in getting a local permit for a dredge pad near the Morrow Lake delta.   The company wanted to dump sludge from the river on the pad site.    People and businesses near the site fought against it.

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I don’t blame the folks fighting against having the sludge placed nearby.  See…Enbridge doesn’t have a plan in place for what to do when a leak happens.  I say dump the sludge on the properties of the Enbridge execs and let them deal with it.  I have a feeling that if this was the law, Enbridge and all the other energy companies would suddenly change their myopic views.

Last night, the Kalamazoo Board of Commissioners agreed to let Enbridge use part of a county park as part of the company’s plan to dredge a section of the river near Morrow Lake.

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<sigh>

Yeah…let’s contaminate a park…./snark

Note in the comments that pipelines are not subject to aggressive inspections or inspectors….

 

Suzuki showing support for First Nations

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David Suzuki is supporting the Elsipogtog protests.  Thank you, David!

Meanwhile, the trucks arrive in convoy. Another pic here.

Harper spies on the peaceful group. Note that their own intelligence says they do not see them as a violent threat….yet, they show up in riot gear and tear gas the peaceful protestors. I’m glad to read that they are also protesting Enbridge, which is in my own backyard.  “We want to keep the people and environment safe…”  bwahaha, that’s rich.  If you really cared about the environment, you wouldn’t be building a pipeline to begin with.

(DN also covered this happening in the U.S. towards nonprofit groups that big business perceives as threats. Big Brother has arrived.)

Lastly, this pic of a smiling female Warrior.

My other blogs on energy and fracking here, here, and here, and here.