Iron Filings – 65
Sometimes I just like to do ordinary …
"Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, on the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five; hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year. He said to his friend, 'If the British march by land or sea from the town tonight …"
Honestly, I don't think the British are coming. Actually, I don't think anyone is coming right now, but it's still an important date to remember.
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With all the sludge and contumely in the world today it's nice to have something different to think about like the coming growing season. We've gotten our gardens in pretty good shape over the last few years (the "pine tree garden" still the occasionally weedy problem child), but there's always something new to consider. One garden has way too many hostas so we need to thin that out. We want to plant sunflowers and hollyhocks, too, but finding a spot for those is a problem. Back in 2017 we spent a ton of money removing bad trees and planting good ones, but the investment was worthwhile as the three maples and the Asian pear are strong and healthy. We've had good luck with a few tomato plants, too, and we'll try once again to see if the snakeroot plant will do anything other than sprouting nicely and then dying as it does every year.
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The writers of the world, including this one, are a bit amused (amusements not coming easily these days) over all this business of self-quarantine and self-isolation. We do it all the time.
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Bless The Internet Department – Years ago we fell in love with a Betty Crocker box mix for date bars. They were a wonderful, tasty treat until the box disappeared from the market shelves. A recent remembrance for those yummies prompted another supermarket search to no avail. Enter the internet. A quick Google query revealed that the product had been discontinued (probably years ago) but – Hey – if you're that nuts about them here's the recipe! Gayle whipped up a batch and – pretty close! I wonder what would happen if I did a Google search for my lost youth?
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Funny how, in the past, those Oval Office speeches in a time of crisis were easy to deride or dismiss as so much oratorical hooey. Yet now, in their absence, we feel a bit rudderless in a stormy sea. Truly, we need someone to whisper sweet nothings in our national ear, those timeless platitudes that don't necessarily mean much or change anything, but that serve to calm us and ease our fears in a fearsome time. Sadly, we don't have that.
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It's happening! Only eighteen days until my average first lawn mow!
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Here's a query for the astute Iron Filer: Years ago the Soap Box Derby was a big deal for kids. You built a gravity-powered racing car (no parental help allowed, a rule that I am sure was fudged on occasion) to certain specifications, and then entered your local derby. Two cars would take off down adjacent ramps – always in a hillier section of town – to see who crossed the finish line first. Local winners would then compete regionally to see who qualified to go to the national finals in Akron, Ohio. Just wondering if this is still going on – even locally if not nationally. Anyone know?
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Since we're all tired, very tired, of meandering through the Trump Virus, here's a little something to tickle your brain: A palindrome is a word that can be read the same backwards or forward. The most common often cited is radar. But it can happen with numbers, too. Sunday, February 2, 2020 was the first global palindrome day in 900 years: 02-02-2020.
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G.K.Wuori © 2020
Photoillustration by the author
