We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Manchin voted with Reps to prohibit funding of CRT in schools in an amendment to the Senate Dems $3.5Trillion bill:Senate Republicans Notch Victory In Fight Against Radical Critical Race Theory:The Senate Adopted A Republican Amendment To Prohibit Federal Funding From Going Towards Promoting Radical Critical Race Theory Ideologies In Schools
I'm re-reading Let Go . It is a short compilation of letters written by Fr. Francois Fenelon in the 1600s.
Most of them were written to parishioners or to his spiritual advisees. One of his main themes is to do what you can to let go of self to make room for God in your heart.
I remember the corned beef of my childhood, And the bread that we cut with a knife, When the children helped with the housework, And the men went to work not the wife.
The cheese never needed a fridge, And the bread was so crusty and hot, The children were seldom unhappy, And the wife was content with her lot, well, maybe, maybe not.
I remember the milk from the bottle,
With the yummy cream on the top,
Our dinner came hot from the oven, And not from a freezer; or shop.
The kids were a lot more contented, They didn’t need money for kicks, Just a game with their friends in the road, And sometimes the Saturday flicks.
I remember the shop on the corner, Where biscuits for pennies were sold Do you think I’m a bit too nostalgic? Or is it….I’m just getting old?
Bathing was done in a wash tub, With plenty of rich foamy suds But the ironing seemed never ending As mom pressed everyone’s ‘duds’.
I remember the slap on my backside, And the taste of soap if I swore Anorexia and diets weren’t heard of And we hadn’t much choice what we wore.
Do you think that bruised our ego? Or our initiative was destroyed? We ate what was put on the table And I think life was better enjoyed.
– Author Unknown..
If you can remember those days, continue to enjoy your retirement!
I can remember many of those days, fondly. How about you?
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
Boyle said in an emailed statement that suspending the reading, writing and math proficiency requirements will benefit “Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of colour.
(Of course, you need not be Jewish or a California resident to comment to the members of the California legislative caucus to scuttle this CRT loophole in the currently considered legislation. https://jewishcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/contact-us-0 Please be polite but firm. Antisemitism is just part of the CRT agenda. CRT is coming after your schools everywhere!)
We all see boats happily zooming around on nice days. I've been around boats all of my life but handling a larger powerboat in biggish water takes lots of practice and learning. Brains + Feel, like a Farmall on slanty fields.
At sea, except for storms and high seas, it's easy to get around with a Marine GPS. We have a semi-displacement boat so she is heavy, steady and comfortable unless there is a reason to clamber up to the bow to do things. A trained monkey would be better than me.
Besides heavy seas and storms, the challenge to boating is when you approach land: docking and mooring. In that way, boating is like airplane flying if less dangerous. Planes are meant for the air, and boats are designed for sea.
Besides all that, you need to understand the seacocks, the engine and oil (fairly new tough Yanmar diesel engine) the generator, the electronics (we got a new very complex marine GPS which I do not understand), the water systems, radar, etc. And that's just if it is a serious powerboat. For sail-boaters, there is a ton more to learn but I kinda have a feel for sail. Of course, sailboats have to maneuver under power often, near port and outside too.
I will not do nighttime or fog boating. Done with that.
My Skipper, Mrs. BD, is getting better. I am First Mate cuz it is her beautiful Maine-style, lobster boat hull "midlife" boat. She has driven it on the Atlantic with giant swells, but I will not do that.
I will never be able to dock this boat backwards into a slip. If she were a Hinkley with a joystick, I could dock her in the darn Grand Canyon but those boats are not for heavy seas, really.
Funny thing happened yesterday evening. We're about to leave dock after washing down, and a big Hinckley tries to dock next to us. From Newport. He is single-handed so I wait to help handle his lines because it is quite wavy gravy with 20 k wind. Tied up, he offers me a $20 dollar bill. I say thanks, but I am not a dockhand! Just do us a favor and help us push off. He did.
4:25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
4:26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
4:27 and do not make room for the devil.
4:28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
4:29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
4:31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
4:32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
5:2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
I do not know what "classical music" means, but I understand that it tends to be used to refer to old music and art music.
Mrs. B. says "Bach isn't classical music - he's Baroque." OK.
I keep it simple: There is folk/pop/Broadway music, and there is more demanding music. No idea about where to put jazz. I won't obsess about the categories because jazz makes me focus completely. Keith Jarrett. I enjoy all sorts of music but music which demands more of me, as a listener, keeps me interested longer.
But to obsess a little longer, are Verdi's operas pop, or other? What about Charles Ives, and Benjamin Britten? All music is for fun and entertainment, or for spiritual enhancement.
For the non-musically trained, I believe a bit of (legal) cannabis can enhance listening.
There was a time in north America, and lots of other places, when every kid had some musical instruction, whether voice or instrumental and regardless of talent.
Garrett McQueen, then an announcer for American Public Media, told a Composers Forum roundtable in June 2020: “You are complicit in racism every time you listen to Handel’s Messiah.”
I am in trouble, I guess. It's my Easter music, and I feel I have it memorized.
Take the 27-mile round trip between Hollidaysburg and Martinsburg on No. 11. Traveling through the breathtaking Morrison’s Cove, including a stop for ice cream at the Roaring Spring depot,
The main issue is what kind of cheeses to use. Many choices for that, but supermaket white bread, cooked in lots of butter, is required.