Category: Uncategorized

In Honor of President Jimmy Carter

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1762479

Jimmy Carter became president of the United States my senior year in high school. My mother was a Carter delegate from Virginia. The Robbs from Virginia stopped by our house briefly for a campaign event. My mother was very excited. I don’t remember this belt buckle, however, it was used in his campaign advertising. It is representative of his Georgia family history.

Jimmy Carter was an honorable man. I want to recognize and honor his contributions to this country and to humanity. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

To read a little about his campaign history you can go to the American History museum and their collection of President Jimmy Carter memorabilia.

One of his greatest contributions to society was his work with Habitat for Humanity. Look here:

https://www.habitat.org/carter-work-project

His life history speaks for itself. He was a great man and will be remembered for his faith and his integrity. Amen.

Give Me a High Five, Please <..>

One goal I have for 2025 is to have more fun, laugh more, and not be afraid to be silly.

Casper the Friendly Ghost was my favorite cartoon as a kid growing up. To be honest, though, I have not followed his reincarnations in the entertainment industry.

If you happened to be named Casper (any spelling), and I were to meet you, I could not help but think about the friendly ghost cartoon I watched as a child. Past memories impact my thoughts and actions even today. I think a lot of us are that way. We have been molded by our life experiences. We have to consciously work at editing ourselves if our past notions are outdated.

My hopes for 2025 are that I continually update myself with information learned from new experiences, and yet not so much that I edit out any humor. We all need to laugh more and not take ourselves so seriously.

I wish health and happiness to all the good people in our world. Let us make 2025 a good year working together for the benefit of all.

From Year to Year

Which comes first? The chicken or the egg. Does it matter?
Soon 2024 will be left behind in an archive older than time itself.
The year becomes new again in 2025.
There is a beginning and an end to every new year.
The ever-moving hand of time turns the dial of this transformation.

Those of us who live within time's framework must follow along.
What would it take to escape this framework?
Could one enter into a melting pot of the past, present, and the future existing all at once? Could one move freely from one to the other, and to the other? Would you turn into a chameleon in the process?

Keeping track of the chicken and the egg would be nearly impossible.
Does it really matter who came first?
Side note: I was inspired after reading some Ogden Nash poems, and reading about Puff, the Magic Dragon. The year of the dragon is coming to an end soon.
The new year requires some introspection before it begins.

 

Woodpeckers and Junipers

A downy woodpecker in a juniper tree. This image is AI generated, however, its creation was inspired by a real sighting outside my dining room window this past Sunday.

The downy woodpecker is especially close to my heart since we have an artistic carving of a downy pair which we purchased long ago at an indoor craft’s fair. We also have real live downy woodpeckers that come around our home during this time of year. I saw only the male with a full vivid red patch on the back top of its head. It was a perfect specimen of a real bird in action. It hung around longer than I expected, though I was still too busy doing other things to take its picture.

The tree outside our window is a Juniperus virginiana (aka red cedar). It is tall enough to hug our home and protect one corner of our covered deck which would otherwise be exposed to wind. Junipers are in the cypress tree family along with sequoias. We also have three of these trees along our back fence line. They stand closely together which has made them grow straighter and taller, and they are less spread out than the one surrounding the corner of our dining room and deck. We have one more of these trees which had been partially cut down at one time, and now has a tall daughter tree that grew up and out from its base. It protects another corner of our home along the backside.

Since my recent woodpecker sighting I have been reading up about all types of evergreens that are used as Christmas trees, and all the traditions surrounding its origin. During my research I ran across a Willa Cather quote that I found captures a sentiment that I have felt before.

“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. I feel as if this tree knows everything I ever think of when I sit here.” ~ Willa Cather

 Downy woodpecker pair is made out of carved wood and then painted. We purchased this long ago at an indoor craft exhibition.

The Beaver Moon

Tomorrow night 11/15/2024 will be the peak of the last super moon of 2024. (AI generated image)

The chill in the air today gave me hope that our winter will be memorable.

The beaver prepares for winter. It builds a dam and stores up food. Here it looks to be praying by the water, asking the moon for guidance. This month’s full moon is named in its honor.

This reminds me of the new Reservoir Park in Loudoun County, which is a partnership between Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks. It is situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir. I have not yet had a chance to visit it this year. I will have to put this on my 2025 list of things to do if I do not get a chance before then to visit it.

My hope is that the sky will be clear of clouds tomorrow night. It is raining now and expected to continue through until morning. Shine bright Beaver Moon!

Sweet Olive Whispers

Sweet olive flower artistically designed as a drop earring. I imagine it can whisper.

Osmanthus fragrans is its scientific name.

This flowering plant is native to Asia from the Himalayas through several provinces in China, Taiwan, southern Japan, and S.E. Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.

In China, it is the “city flower” of several cities, and in Japan it is a “city tree” of several prefectures.

In Chinese mythology it is said that it grows on the moon. Wu Gang was a Chinese character who is known for endlessly cutting it down. It is seen as a divine punishment for him because this “self-healing” Osmanthus could and would regrow an equal amount every day.

I was inspired to look up this flowering plant when I saw this pair of earrings today. All the information here I have gleaned from Wikipedia. The picture has been edited from a picture on the Etsy website. Wikipedia did not suggest this flower can whisper. This thought came from my imagination, and when I read about the mythology, it confirmed to me it must have magical powers. Ha!

I even looked to see if I could grow this fragrant flowering plant in my garden. I think it needs a slightly warmer garden zone than where I am located. In the future when I get the chance to seriously renovate my garden, I will explore this possibility again.

Sally Ride Dr.

This is an AI generated image. The prompt was “general dynamics artificial intelligence.” I was curious how AI would picture artificial intelligence.

I pass Sally Ride Dr. almost every day I drive home. Occasionally I take a different route. This past Friday I finally wondered what was located on this road. I looked it up to discover a General Dynamics location was there.

I knew the name Sally Ride because she was an incredibly accomplished woman who worked for NASA as an astronaut for several years. She had a long and impressive resume. Sadly, she is no longer alive, though her legacy lives on. Today I discovered one of her projects which coincidentally is specifically for middle school students. Here is the link: https://www.earthkam.org/about .

The name of this drive has been in my mind all weekend. I learned that Dr. Sally Ride graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with a double major in Physics and English. She continued at Stanford, earning her Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics in 1975 and 1978. In 1977, Ride answered a newspaper ad placed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

After learning this I think they should rename the road: Dr. Sally Ride Dr. This would make me smile.

I am a little hooked on using the AI image generator. I wanted a picture here, so I indulged my curiosity. Here it is alone at the office working unassisted.

 

Apple Season

As we enter September, the relief of cooler weather will arrive. This morning the thought of apples came into my mind. Fall is full of festivals and apples in Virginia.

I stayed up late last night finishing the book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I picked it up Friday at a thrift store along with his book, The Girl Who Played with Fire. After finishing his first book, I will have to wait to read his second. The book is a thriller, and it took my mind into a horrible darkness that can reside within some humans. The dragon theme has now been fully played out. I am ready to move on.

Twenty twenty-five is the year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac. Perhaps this thought brought apples into my mind.

“Virginia is for Lovers” is an advertising slogan that was created in 1969. It has greatly helped tourism in my state. Virginia has an abundance of apple festivals in September into October. Here is a link if you are interested: https://www.virginia.org/things-to-do/farms-and-agriculture/pick-your-own-farms/apple-picking/

Moving into the theme of apples, festivals, and love brings my mind into much lighter territory.

The apple is also a symbol for education. Out of curiosity, I asked the AI image generator for an apple cut into fifths. Here is its first attempt. I realized I needed to be more specific. I asked for one apple cut into equal fifths. Finally, I asked for the heart of an apple. The image above is the result. This is my favorite.

Carmen from Guantanamo

Carmen and me. Picture taken in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Carmen worked for my parents in Cuba, the place where I was born. I do not remember her since we left when I was only one. I have a vague memory of waving to her from a car when my family and I were leaving Cuba. However, I cannot say if this is a real memory or one picked up from a picture.

I was told she tried to cornrow my thin white blond hair that stood straight up like static was hovering over my head. She was unsuccessful in her attempts, though my hair did eventually settle down like in this picture.

I was told that Cuban black beans and rice was my first solid food. Carmen labored to push it through a sieve to make it like a mush that a baby could eat.

For years after we left Guantanamo and Carmen behind, I would request for my birthday meal – black beans and rice with bacon or pork added when I was older. No sieve was needed by then.

By the time I left home for college, this tradition had been dropped.

The squeaky toy you see in the picture above failed to capture my attention. I seemed to be focused on the off camera scene. Carmen’s dress looks appropriate for a U.S. naval base.

When I was five and living in Newport, Rhode Island, I had to go before a judge, in his private chambers, to become a naturalized citizen. My parents were not allowed to be present during his questioning. Both my parents were American citizens, and we were living on a military base, so this seems strange to me. When I was a much older adult I was informed by a Department of Motor Vehicle employee that this was no longer a requirement.