Shots Fired

 

Strange times in this year of the pandemic

Celebrating the March on Washington, fireworks go off behind the People’s House for a different party. Most people are walking around looking like robbers and many are carrying weapons. Monuments that have been around for decades ignored until now are coming down for the Cause is Lost and always was.

Just last week the two recognized political factions had strange talking head conventions without balloons and strange hats. Both were dull and boring because you knew the conclusion but missed the old arenas filled with hot sweaty white men yelling and blowing horns while waving banners and signs designating a state.

Back in the black and white television days when there were three channels all still cameras showing this feature of our democratic process, we’d crowd round trying to pick out a fuzzy image of our congregation at roll call trying to detect through the static how many votes were going to the next Leader of the Free World.

It was such a great example of the 50’s before conventions (like politics themselves) became entertainment instead of hard fought backroom wheeling and dealing choosing the next CEO of the country.

Then, like now, each party would have a platform or agenda. Each platform was to separate ideas and values and the nominee was only the spokesperson to sell the message with a smile, a handshake and a kiss to a baby.

Many families just followed the party handed down, like the grandfather clocks and family recipes, to vote mule or pachyderm. It didn’t matter which guy and his backup looked like as long as they followed the party line.

The conventions were like giant frat parties gone wild with no harm, no foul. It was two opposing teams struggling for the touchdown to declaim themselves as vicarious winners through the election.

The next two months will have sight and sounds of each party mudslinging with tons of fact checking. The surveys or polls will calculate numbers of possible results and social media will feed the bias with whatever you like to hear.

This year, with all the health scare, economy worries, unemployment, social distancing and worst of all, no sports, feeling confident in the virtual selection of the next Commander in Chief (can we say ‘Chief’ any more?) even with no new promises that will never be accomplished to vote? This is the time of ‘heroes’ and ‘warriors’ and ‘patriots’ and ‘essential workers’ (who have been ignored before) and ‘the other side’.

If there is an alternate, they are too hidden under the constant animosity and distrust of the other. Rather than rational conversation, there are voices in the streets stating their displeasure on items not on either ballot.

And now, shots fired.

If the revolution takes place, which side will you take?

Yank or Reb?

Sugar

When my family would go out to eat, my father would pull the little white sugar packet out of the condiments bowl and whack it against his finger before tearing it open and pouring the contents into his ice tea or coffee. My brother picked up the habit and I soon learned to open a sugar packet it must be beat against a finger.

I never saw anyone else do this ritual but it is an unconscious automatic reaction. These are just little observations made through life that we copy.

I was never instructed on the action or told why sugar had to be beat before opening.

I don’t bake cakes or pies or cookies, but I’ve had containers of sugar in the kitchen. White refined, powdered, cane and brown sugar were in the pantry.

I only use sugar for my morning coffee. That is my morning cup of instant coffee with fake sugar and powdered creamer.

Now all you caffeine snobs who are appalled, I’ve had all the coffee variations there are. My mom went to A&P to get fresh ground coffee to percolate on the stove and then a multi-cup brewer when losing weight for black coffee has no calories.

At my first house I explored all the coffee processes from grinding beans with a manual crank to espresso drip.

This was also the time of sitting at the counter with a thick white mug drinking coffee that was made an hour ago for a quarter and free refills. After a late night or an early morning it was the best coffee around.

One of the first appliances for this house was a coffee maker. I’d pour the beans with an electric grinder and in a few minutes had a decanter of four cups of coffee.

At work I’d have to go next door to the doughnut shop for a Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid. Later there was a coffee maker in the break room but no one ever cleaned it. Finally I put a coffee pot in my office but most of the time it was cold.

Rather than using sugar or even sugar packets that seem to attract ants, I switched to ‘fake’ sugar. Little pink or blue or green packets gave enough sweet taste for me.

So why the history of sugar use?

Since this year has slowed down we have time to examine the little quirks of life.

The last time I went to replenish my ‘sugar jar’ there were no store brand boxes. I buy the store brand. I’m not just cheap but frugal.

This summer has been hot and humid. The sugar jar has a screw on lid, but the popular brand clumped in the packet. I’m sure all the cooks know what happens when sugar gets wet.

So until I use up all the name brand pink packets that I tear open and a plop of white sweetener drops in the cup of hot dirty water, I’ll deal with the extra sweet until I can get back to a pack that I can pour half in and save the other half for the next cup. 

I forgot?

There was a time when all you had to remember is your birthday, address and phone number.

Then you had to remember your room number and your locker combination lock number.

Next come your social security number and your driver license number and your girlfriend’s phone number and your clothing size.

Then it is your work phone number and your employment number and your voter number and your kid’s birthdays…

How do you keep track of your bank account password, your debit pin number, all your email passwords, all your social media logins, etc.

Every time you get confused and use the wrong password, it must be changed to a new password with a security code. The next time you log in will you remember the new password?

As a backup you could record them on your phone that might seem safe until it is hacked. You could write them down on the back of an envelope or in a day planner but then you lose the page or forget to write down the latest change.

Some will save your login and password, but then why have a password? If you forget the password to your iPad or Laptop, what are you going to do but get on the phone (if you remember that password) and call the help desk who will send you an email with a new password….but

Mail Call

As I sit here in front of my computer screen, I don’t have any of the three digital email accounts open. I do not have alert activated. The messages can stack up in my inbox.

I will check sometime during the day but I don’t have to see or need to respond to anyone immediately. I also don’t use texting on my phone (which is turned off most of the time).

I do check the post box every day. Most of what I receive are flyers for home improvement companies or real estate agents offering a quick sale or some assisted living community. The pages and cards are quickly scanned and deleted (into the recycle can after shredding).

But seeing the postman (or woman) delivering the snail mail is always a treat. If I’m outside I talk to them in appreciation of their work. Now and then I get some mail addressed to my neighbor but it is easy enough to walk next door and drop it in their mailbox.

I receive my utility bills by mail and pay them at the first of the month. I also print out the tax forms and mail them through the post office. It gives me a paper trail and verification if ever disputed. It takes longer but I’ve got time to place a stamp on an envelope and ride to the blue box.

Mail was always important for sending Christmas cards or writing communication. The best part was waiting for the return letter.

There was a time when a mailbox was on almost every corner, within walking distance. Then they started thinning out. Now there is one box over by the mall, otherwise I have to ride to one of the two post offices within my riding distance.

With all this talk about the post office and delivering mail I think about the military newsreels and ‘Mail Call’. How troops in far away places got so excited to get a letter or a cake sent from home. The mail was the only link with family back home. Troops could read out loud their letter for all to enjoy and feel the connection with their families. At the same time it was devastating for a GI to get a “Dear John” letter.

Today everyone is sending messages with video chats yet there is no way to re-read the words.

Being old school, to sit down with pen and paper and write down your thoughts with writes and rewrites until you believe the words are expressing your intention, then secretly seal it in an envelope and hope the receiver will interpret your words correctly. It doesn’t happen much anymore but that box of letters stored away can always be read and enjoyed.

Uncertainty

 

-      On the day of hot rain in this year of the pandemic.

The forecast was for a triple digit heat, so the plan was get out early. There was no noise so one can assume the street work has been completed. A few had decided the same and were out jogging and walking before the heat built up to unbearable. The beverage stockers had not refurbished the shelves so another selection had to be made. The way back the street work had started again and the route was blocked. Somehow the journey was finished without injury and awaited the stifling heat buildup. Yet, it became cloudy and there was thunder and breezes.

This is the time of uncertainty and it is difficult to plan. That number on your calendar may never arrive. That meeting over the Internet might never occur due to technical difficulties. You may run out of toilet paper but your neighbor won’t answer the door when you want to borrow a roll.

Will the schools open or not? With the congress figure out if they will try to bailout the country or not? Will your prescription be mailed or not? Will the kids come by for Halloween? Where or how will you vote? Is there any money for Christmas? What will next year bring?

Life is pretty much uncertain anyway. Will you get the job even though you are more than qualified? Will she/he say, “Yes”? Will the car start on a winter morning? What is that bump on my arm?

That is part of the adventure. If you arrive at your location and it is closed, you cope with the new reality. If you get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, you deal with it. If you diagnosis doesn’t sound good, who knows for sure? If the rain doesn’t stop and you need to walk the dog, you either get wet or have a mess to pickup inside.

Many of our best memories are spontaneous. Our children might not have been planned. Getting laid off may not have been in the plan but could lead to a better job with an increased salary. Making a meal from whatever ingredients are in the pantry may turn into a recipe to pass down for generations.

So enjoy yourself in this time of uncertainty. You can’t define what is coming next.

See you tomorrow.

Maybe?

Teachers: Mom & Dad

 

Back-to-school (did it ever end this summer?) and looks like it will be home schooling.

This weekend being No Tax for school stuff will be much cheaper without backpacks, lunch boxes and apples for the teacher, because the teachers are mom and dad.

Hope mom and dad have been boning up over the summer and making a class agenda. Reading, writing (cursive?) and arithmetic are the basics. History might be covered with Wikipedia and geography can be referenced through Google maps. Phys Ed can be a romp out in the yard and study hall can give a break to mom and dad who are supposed to be working from home.

Now science might be able to teach in the kitchen with recipes and measuring cups (remember the fire extinguisher). The study of botany can be made while cutting the grass and creative art classes can be performed painting the kitchen.

The trouble will come when classes get to…

Business

·      Accounting

·      Business law

·      Business management

·      Consumer education

·      Entrepreneurial skills

·      Introduction to business

·      Marketing    

·      Personal finance

Computer Science and IT

·      Animation

·      App development

·      Audio production

·      Computer programming

·      Computer repair

·      Film production

·      Graphic design

·      Keyboarding

·      Media technology

·      Music production

·      Video game development

·      Web design

·      Web programming

·      Word processing  

English

·      American literature

·      British literature

·      Contemporary literature

·      Creative writing

·      Communication skills

·      Debate

·      English language and composition

·      English literature and composition

·      Humanities

·      Journalism

·      Literary analysis

·      Modern literature

·      Poetry

·      Popular literature

·      Rhetoric

·      Shakespeare

·      Technical writing

·      World literature

·      Written and oral communication

Consumer Sciences

·      Chemistry of foods

·      CPR training

·      Culinary arts

·      Early childhood development

·      Early childhood education

·      Family studies

·      Fashion and retail merchandising

·      Fashion construction

·      Home economics

·      Interior design

·      Nutrition

Foreign Language

·      American Sign Language

·      Ancient Greek

·      Arabic

·      Chinese

·      French

·      German

·      Hebrew

·      Italian

·      Japanese

·      Korean

·      Latin

·      Portuguese

·      Russian

·      Spanish

Math

·      Algebra 1

·      Algebra 2

·      Calculus

·      Computer math

·      Consumer math

·      Fundamentals of math

·      Geometry

·      Integrated math

·      Math applications

·      Multivariable calculus

·      Practical math

·      Pre-algebra

·      Pre-calculus

·      Probability

·      Quantitative literacy

·      Statistics

·      Trigonometry

Performing Arts

·      Choir

·      Concert band

·      Dance

·      Drama

·      Guitar

·      Jazz band

·      Marching band

·      Music theory

·      Orchestra

·      Percussion

·      Piano  

·      Theater technology

·      World music

Physical Education

·      Aerobics

·      Dance

·      Gymnastics

·      Health

·      Lifeguard training

·      Pilates

·      Racket sports

·      Specialized sports

·      Swimming

·      Weight training

·      Yoga

Sciences

·      Agriculture

·      Astronomy

·      Biology

·      Botany

·      Chemistry

·      Earth science

·      Electronics

·      Environmental science

·      Environmental studies

·      Forensic science

·      Geology

·      Marine biology

·      Oceanography

·      Physical science

·      Physics

·      Zoology

Social Studies

·      Cultural anthropology

·      Current events

·      European history

·      Geography

·      Global studies

·      Human geography

·      International relations

·      Law

·      Macroeconomics

·      Microeconomics

·      Modern world studies

·      Physical anthropology

·      Political studies

·      Psychology

·      Religious studies

·      Sociology

·      US government

·      US history

·      Women’s studies

·      World history

·      World politics

·      World religions

Visual Arts

·      3-D art

·      Art history

·      Ceramics

·      Digital media

·      Drawing

·      Film production

·      Jewelry design

·      Painting

·      Photography

·      Printmaking

·      Sculpture

Vocational Education

·      Auto body repair

·      Auto mechanics

·      Building construction

·      Computer-aided drafting

·      Cosmetology

·      Criminal justice

·      Driver education

·      Electronics

·      FFA

·      Fire science

·      Heating and cooling systems

·      Hospitality and tourism

·      JROTC

·      Metalworking

·      Networking

·      Plumbing

·      Production technology

·      Refrigeration fundamentals

·      Robotics

·      Woodworking

Now these talented folks called “mom” or “dad” have learned to multi-task to find you space and materials to learn while picking up the dog poop, making meals, doing laundry, cutting your hair and cleaning the bathroom.

Can these two keep you enthralled in new and exciting facts and figures when the Internet calls?

Grandpa and Aunt Myrtle might fill in some interesting facts before they take a nap.

In this digital age, just connect to your local educational system and on the screen will appear a smiling face of someone called ‘a teacher’.

Don’t know how your hand raised will get the attention or how the teacher handles a disrupted student.

Does everyone stand for a pledge of alliance? Who takes roll call?

When the tests are passed out, who grades the scores? These are your kids and you can’t fail them. Are the scores accredited?

There are many questions for the next generation and best luck to the families and whatever knowledge they can pass down.

Maybe the next generation will be smarter than previous attempts to fill young minds with awe and wonder or not.