Fall?

Hey! What happened to summer? Where did it go?

Warming Up

Information, Please

This is one of my favorites! Enjoy!

A TRUE STORY

by Paul Villard

Click here to download the text file of this story

When I was quite young, my family had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished oak case fastened to the wall on the lower stair landing. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I even remembered the number - 105. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked into it. Once she lifted me up to speak to my father, who was away on business. Magic! Then I discovered that somewhere inside that wonderful device lived an amazing person - her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing that she did not know. My mother could ask her for anybody's number and when our clock ran down, Information Please immediately supplied the correct time.

My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-receiver came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the toolbench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be of much use crying because there was no one home to offer sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two, and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information." "I hurt my fingerrr-" I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's at home but me," I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?". "No", I replied. "I hit it with the hammer and it hurts". "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it on your finger. That will stop the hurt. Be careful when you use the ice pick," she admonished. "And don't cry. You'll be alright".

After that, I called Information Please for everything. I asked for help with my Geography and she told me where Philadelphia was, and the Orinco--the romantic river I was going to explore when I grew up. She helped me with my Arithmetic, and she told me that a pet chipmunk--I had caught him in the park just that day before--would eat fruits and nuts. And there was the time that Petey, our pet canary, died. I called Information Please and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-up say to soothe a child. But I was unconsoled. Why was it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to whole families, only to end as a heap of feathers feet up, on the bottom of a cage? She must have sensed my deep concern, for she quietly said, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow, I felt better.

Another day I was at the telephone. "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?". F-I-X." At that instant my sister, who took unholy joy in scaring me, jumped off the stairs at me with a banshee shriek-"Yaaaaaaaaaa!" I fell off the stool, pulling the receiver out of the box by its roots. We were both terrified--Information Please was no longer there, and I was not at all sure that I hadn't hurt her when I pulled the receiver out. Minutes later, there was a man on the porch. "I'm a telephone repairman. I was working down the street and the operator said there might be some trouble at this number." He reached for the receiver in my hand. "What happened?" I told him. "Well, we can fix that in a minute or two." He opened the telephone box exposing a maze of wires and coils, and fiddled for a while with the end of the receiver cord, tightened things with a small screwdriver. He jiggled the hook up and down a few times, then spoke into the phone. "Hi, this is Pete. Everything's under control at 105. The kid's sister scared him and he pulled the cord out of the box." He hung up, smiled, gave me a pat on the head and walked out the door.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Then, when I was nine years old, we moved across he country to Boston-and I missed my mentor acutely. Information Please belonged in that old wooden box back at home, and I somehow never thought if trying the tall, skinny new phone that sat on the small table in the hall. Yet, as I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversation never really left me; often in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had when I know that I could call Information Please and get the right answer. I appreciated now how very patient, understanding and kind she was to have wasted her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way back to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour between plan connections, and I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there now, happily mellowed by marriage and motherhood. Then, really without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please." Miraculously, I heard again the small, clear voice that I know so well:"Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you tell me, please, how to spell the word 'fix'?" There was a long pause. Then came the softly spoken answer. "I guess," said Information Please, "that your finger must have healed by now." I laughed. "So it's really still you. I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during all that time...." "I wonder," she replied, "if you know how much you meant to me? I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls. Silly, wasn't it?" It didn't seem silly, but I didn't say so. Instead I told her how often I had thought of her over the years, and I asked if I could call her again when I come back to visit my sister when the semester was over. "Please do. Just ask for Sally." "Goodbye Sally." It sounded strange for Information Please to have a name. "If I run into any chipmunks, I'll tell them to eat fruits and nuts." "Do that," she said. "And I expect one of these days you'll be off for the Orinoco. Well, good-bye."

Just three months later, I was back again at the Seattle airport. A different voice answered, "Information," and I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" "Yes," I said. "An old friend." "Then I'm sorry to have to tell you. Sally had only been working part-time in the last few years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago." But before I could hung up, she said, "Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Villard?" "Yes." "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down." "What was it?" I asked, almost knowing in advance what it would be. "Here it is, I'll read it-'Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean'"

I thanked her and hung up. I did know what Sally meant.

Paul Villard

Originally published June, 1966 Readers Digest; reprinted with permission in the December 1999 issue of the Singing Wires newsletter, TCI club.

A Huge Loss

Birth name: Michael Joseph Jackson

Born: August 29, 1958

Gary, Indiana,

Died: June 25, 2009 (aged 50)

Los Angeles, California

Good bye, Michael. Rest in peace.

Exercise Wheel

This is pretty amazing!

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/06/24/funny-pictures-video-kittehs-exercise-wheel/

Puzzle

Well, I am officially driving myself insane. While I was doing something in Hotmail (getting rid of old "safe" senders that were long gone so that I could put new "safe" senders on the list), I accidentally changed the size of everything by being a big dufus and holding down the Ctrl key while scrolling with the mouse. MAJOR idiot moment. Not realizing that is what I had done, I closed out of the spot and went to my In box. I'm thinking, "Why does this look so weird? What happened to the size of my stuff?"

Now I have to adjust the size of everything EVERY time I look at something. Everything is wonky! I absolutely hate this! I am especially unhappy because I can't fix it so that everything looks like it did before without having to adjust the size every time I go into something. If the print looks right, then the "buttons" or links look off. If the buttons look right, then the print is too small. ARGGGGG!!

I don't suppose any of you wonderful people out there would know how to fix it so that it goes back to the way it is before I totally screwed it up....

Social Ladder

Definition

Click on picture to make it larger (I hope).

Happy Father's Day!

Alcohol & Ammo

This was kind of fun!

http://crass.on.ru/flash/aaa-1.html

Corinna, Maine

Photo by Ken Dow.

Otter Half

I just couldn't resist this one. Aren't they cute?!

Watermelon Patch

I love this painting. I don't know who did it or remember where I found it, but I use it as "wallpaper" on my computer. Can't you almost smell that summer air?!

Recipe

I get a newsletter from the South Beach Diet people and I thought this sounds SO good that I thought I would share.

Daily Dish

A Delicious Cheese-Stuffed Burger

Kick off summer with this irresistible, cheese-stuffed burger. Bursting with melted cheese and savory pesto, serve this luscious and lean burger at your next family cookout or neighborhood block party.

Stuffed Pork Burger (Phase 1)

Description
These juicy, pesto-flavored burgers come with a delicious melted mozzarella surprise inside! Top them with lettuce and a slice of fresh juicy tomato if you’d like — or just enjoy them as is.
Serves 4

Ingredients
5 tablespoons pesto (from a jar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
2 ounces low-fat mozzarella, cut into 4 cubes

Instructions
Stir together pesto, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Add pork and, using your hands, gently yet thoroughly combine; do not overmix.

Shape pork mixture into 4 equal-sized balls. Press 1 mozzarella cube into the center of each ball; gently form a 3/4"-thick patty; enclosing the cheese.

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add burgers, cooking in batches if necessary, reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes per side.

Serve hot.

Nutritional information:
380 calories
22 g fat (7 g sat)
1 g carbohydrate
42 g protein
0 g dietary fiber
620 mg sodium

Make Mine Freedom!

I think everyone should see this. It is about 50 years old. Think about what it is telling you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nolcHeQspVk

Flag Day

Remember to display our Flag!

Crafters Choice

I belong to a club called Crafters Choice. I have bought many things from them over the years. Software; books on gardening, getting rid of clutter (like THAT's going to happen), building 2 x 4 projects, and birds to name just a few; special pens; tools for engraving identifying marks on possessions. But a book caught my eye last month that took me back to about age 7 or so. So I had to have it. It came today. It's called "The Kitchen Linens Book" by EllynAnne Geisel. She also is the author of "The Apron Book."

This is a book about beautifully embroidered and embellished table linens, napkins, breakfast cloths, dish towels, sheets, pillow cases, etc. And the pattern on the front of the book was one that I had done on a set of kitchen linens for a lady friend of my Mom's. When I was about 7. I used to be really good at embroidery. Got paid money to do it. At a very young age. And now... I couldn't embroider if I tried. Isn't that a shame?

Of course, now I couldn't see to do those tiny stitches. And the hands would rebel even if I could see to do them. And I don't iron anymore unless it's a dire necessity. And the iron is a steam iron. Wonderful invention, that.

The young people today don't want to do things like that because you have to iron everything. And it takes time... and patience... But what a lovely, lovely art.

I can remember Mom and I sitting together working on our embroidery. She used to take in ironing to make money, too. I can remember helping her. I stood on a milk crate so that I could reach the ironing board. No steam iron there. You had to use a sprinkle bottle with a stopper in it that had holes for the water to sprinkle the laundry so you could iron the wrinkles out of it. Usually it was a Coca Cola bottle. Just the right size. We used to even iron sheets, pillow cases and towels. Some people even had us iron socks! I can remember sprinkling clothes and then rolling them up and putting them in a plastic bag and putting them in the ice box. Yep. Ice box. Not fridge. Ice box.

For just one minute, while telling this tale, I could see my Mom once again. She has been gone for many years, but for just one minute.... I could almost touch her.

Recipe

I got this from my Bronner's Newsletter. It sounds so good I thought I should share!

Bronner’s Flavorful Favorites

We thought you might like to try one of the recipes from Bronner’s second staff cookbook, “Bronner’s Flavorful Favorites, Book 2.” The cookbook features over 400 recipes submitted by Bronner’s staff and is available online or in-store for $14.99, as is Book 1.

BLT Pasta Saladsubmitted by Denise Rulason

1 (8-oz.) pkg. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/3 c. chili sauce
¼ c. lemon juice, from concentrate
2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon
2 tsp. sugar
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
¼ c. green onions, sliced
2 cups lettuce shredded

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise or salad dressing, chili sauce, lemon juice, bouillon and sugar. Stir in macaroni, tomato and onions. Cover and chill. Just before serving, stir in lettuce, green onions and bacon. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 8 servings

Enjoy!

Clueless

Is that not a hanging plant in the right place at the right time or what?

Hello, Again!

Well, I am up but not for long. Surgery went well. I should start feeling more "up-to-snuff" by tomorrow!

Hugs to all!

Hello!

I may be out of commission for a short while. Today I am having gall bladder surgery. I wasn't going to say anything and just schedule posts, but I thought you might want to know. If you see a post for tomorrow, you will know that I'm doing better than I anticipate!

100 Years

1909 FORD Model R Show this to your children and/or grandchildren

THE YEAR 1909 This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!

The year is 1909.

One hundred years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909:

************ ********* ********* ******

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

A dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which

Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month,

and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from

Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea

Hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.'

( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least

One full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

(Mainly becasue there was a firearm of some sort in almost every home!

An armed society is a POLITE society!!)

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself.

From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

IT STAGGERS THE MIND!

The Irish Bagpiper

The Irish Bagpiper

As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery in the remote countryside and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the back hole and the crew who were eating lunch but the hearse was nowhere in sight. I apologized to the workers for my tardiness and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch.

I played out my heart and soul. As I played the workers began to weep. I played and I played like I'd never played before, from Going Home and The Lord is My Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest . I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car. As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years!

Phone

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Women are like phones: They like to be held, talked to, and touched often. But push the wrong button and your sorry *ss is disconnected.

Cat Person

3 Tenors

This is amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqUkUjeF4-c

Do You Remember?

Absolutely the funniest joke ever......ON US !!! Let it sink in. Quietly we go like sheep to slaughter.

Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ...... during the Carter Administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line .. we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency ... the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember. Ready???????

It was very simple.. and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate...

The 'Department of Energy' was instituted on
8-04-1977
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh?????

AND NOW IT'S 2009, 32 YEARS LATER ... AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 + BILLION A YEAR.

IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?'

Ah, yes, good ole bureaucracy.. And NOW we are going to turn the Banking System, health care & the Auto Industry over to them?

God Help Us !!!

Browser?

Aren't they adorable?

Patience

This just about says it all.

Where does it go?

Can you believe it's June already?! Where does the time go? It seems like it was just March.

The trees are so beautiful. All of the flowers are getting into their full glory. The grass is so green.

Spring and summer are by far my favorite times of the year. I like fall, but winter follows and I just don't like winter.

I just can't look at all the beauty of spring, summer and fall enough. I marvel at every day's beauty whether it is sunny or rainy.

Ah well, I've said enough!