Under a Yellow Sky

Dan watched a mustard yellow sky and listened as sounds of birds silenced.  Rain had been pelting grain fields hard the past few hours with wind sweeping across the farm.

He had always been known for his honesty and degree of readiness in storms like this.  The last time the sky was yellow and the air heavy, Dan recalled how specific he had been about getting the family to safety, telling them what to do when the tornado touched down. 

Back then the funnel had lifted his heaviest truck and ripped the bottom carriage right off, flinging it to the neighboring farm.  Tornadoes flagrantly pass through, shredding a life’s work in a matter of seconds.

Dan watched for Jenny and the kids, praying for them to be safe.  As he headed to the shelter, his old Toyota tore into the drive.  “Now!  Get in now!” He ran to the shelter behind his family.

Dan wrapped his arms around Jenny and his children in the shelter as the roaring monster touched down.  “Safe. Safe…” They all prayed.

The underlined are Wed. Words are from May 2022. 

This is tornado season throughout the Midwest. I grew up in there, never experienced a tornado there.  Our farm was surrounded by cliffs and cornfield.  But other places on the plains were swept by strong winds.

One day when my folks were out, the air  turned yellow, and there was a silence like never heard on a farm. We were scared, being young ( I was 11), and didn't know what to do.  Nothing happened.  We talked about where we could go.   No basement, no shelters? 

I decided that heading down to a small muddy creek that ran deep through a trench leading to the Bay Creek..  That would be safe, despite other dithering siblings' opinions that we should go to the barn. The barn was built 100 years ago, not all that steady. 

People in those zones are brave and resilient.  God bless them and keep them safe.

New Hope Nefarious, So. Dakota

                            Town of Nefarious, Wyoming or Idaho: pop. 4957...953...236...

"Come Sick, Leave Healthy"

At the turn of the 1900s, Nefarious ** had been a boom town.  Seltzer Springs brought in wagons full of health seekers to use the springs, eat peculiar food, and spend money.

Alas, the Springs started to dry up along with the tourists.  Around 1993, the population itself dwindled.  Then one day, few boys were playing in the empty waterbed when they screamed in delight, ran back to the mayor, Doc Kincaid, who confirmed their big find.  He took to kids to his house and locked them in a closet.  "I'll let you out when the city council men get here."

The council men came quickly as there had been little to do lately.

The boys told them and led them to the creek bed.  "Look, Mr. Jenkins! Look!"  And there it was: the bones of an immense prehistoric boa, 50 feet long with the circumference of 8 feet.  Silence fell.  There was more to be found as they walked along the dried stream, lined with dinosaur bones.

In the quiet dining room of the widower Jasper Fillings way out of town, all men along with the boys sat around the dining table and a plan was hatched.  "In two weeks time, we must re-construct our miserable little town to make it look like it did back in 1890s.   Stores must occupy the empty old stores....and anyone known to be a gossip and who has relatives who are gossips must be confined." He paused and shook his head.  "How, I don't know."  

He continued. "Phones ripped out, Facebook and such shut down...secrecy is the key. Boys?  You wanta help or be locked up in the old boarded up classroom out in the dusty school?"

The town without the gossipy group threw muscle into renewal.  Quilts were ordered from China, tags removed, with new tags added "Hand-sewn by Louisa May Smith".  Rusty tools and blacksmith shop were restored.  Jars and jars of jams, preserves, and candles were ordered.  The labels were stripped off, and new ones put on: Mrs. Tucker's Homemade.... My...Oh, the work. Nefarious appeared to be frozen in the late 1800s.

The gossipy type had been sent on a 21 day cruise to Hawaii on the Holland American vee Dam.  They apparently had a wonderful time, and the cruise had been extended.

Finally, the paleontologists were summoned.  Two wise men, then four, then more:  all agreed that this was the biggest titanoba ever found, and joy overflowed as they walked down the creek bed.

A lackadaisical bearded old man was paid to sit in an old chair with his feet propped up on the sidewalk railing.  Curious tourists with full shopping bags asked him how long had he been there.

There had been no luck finding a old man.  Sam Elliot stepped

up to be the stand in for the weathered old cowboy.

Why? No one ever understood that.

"Heck if I know,"  he answered and then aimed some tobacco spit at the nearby spittoon.  Sometime he hit the mark, sometimes he did not.  All went well in Nefarious here on out.

Sue the T-Rex is front and center at Chicago's Field Museum and was found S. Dakota. Other than that, we will stay with the rugged states where dinosaur bones have been found.

This is a repost of Wednesday Words given as a challenge for bloggers to shake up their writing, to take a break from WIPs, try different genre.  A dear Blogger, Delores, started this challenge a few years back, passing the baton onto other talented bloggers. 

Rainy Day at St. Catherine church

 

 

A gentle breeze seemed simple to the town of Cork.

However, there was a coming storm on its way, but it was nothing new to the church of St. Catherine. As such, the Ladies’ Auxiliary gathered baskets of clothing, linens, and canned food for the needy.

St. Catherine was an ordinary town, where St. Catherine’s had a reputation to maintain, one of gentility and generosity. The Ladies Auxiliary had been watching the stormy skies and setting up the tea tables for the coming rain. 

Voluntary spinsters swept the sanctuary and dusted benches. After all the work, the storm hit with a vicious vengeance. The Ladies raced about the sanctuary, gathering prayer cards, and locking the office windows.

“Well, ladies. It seems weather has taken our joy of worship. Let’s set and enjoy our worship with the cards.” Nuns do not scurry, as a rule. But some raced to the office, opening the cash box, and cards were dealt.

Money and heavy rains did not matter, as long as there was good strong Irish tea and the cards dealt were high cards. Cheating was not allowed.

Wednesday Words have been part of bloggers' lives over a decade or more.  The words are to share  for any blogger who wants to play around with words. This challenge was created by Delores who has since handed it off to volunteers.

Check at river-driftingthroughlife@blogspot.com, and myjustsostory@blogspot.com to see weekly words on Wednesday.

This is from April 2022.  The underlined words are from the challenge that week.

 

Kindle-Windle Valentine

Kindle-Windle Valentine

Went looking for something

He could not find.

It need not be something gentle or kind.

But something where the road would wind,

Which would be just fine.

Kindle-Windle Valentine stumbled and fumbled,

Then rose to his feet.
Questions to complete,

Questions in his mind that rumbled and tumbled,

Should he seek a world for believers?

Should he seek a place for dreamers?

Should he seek a space of solidarity?

Should he seek a dance of clarity?…

With hands on his hips, a whistle on his lips,

Kindle-Windle Valentine

Was undone, then done by all his searching

with thoughts in his mind.

He was tired of walking and working,

To find a place of comfort he would find.

Which was where he started,

Which was just fine.

The underlined words are from a Wednesday Words in 2015.

This bumbled and fumbled in my mind.  This rumbled out.

This was posted in 2019.

Two sides, One goal

History will judge us.  It always does.

The musical "1776" in movie and on stage revealed more about the Declaration of Independence than I ever thought about. Each video is about 4 minutes long.

Vote yes

                                        Cool Considerate men

Molasses to Rum to Slaves

At one point, Adams and Franklin are discussing how history will view them. He said don't worry we'll be dead and that history would clean it all up.  

If you can watch this, do! So many good actors, such good music, and  messages for our generations are there.

 

Delia, oh Delia

 

                          WGEM news and radio, Quincy, Illinois

Annnndd, we’re back.  I’m Jimmy on WGEM with Dr. Bill chewing the fat with Joliet Federal Penitentiary inmate, J.C. Today is “why did you murder someone?”

Dr. Bill…Greetings one and all. We have J.C. to tell us about Delia. (Clears throat). Okay, Johnny boy, tell us why and how you killed Delia.

    J.C…Delia, oh Delia. Delia, all my life. If I hadn’t shot poor Delia, I’d have had her for my wife…(loud sniffing). Delia’s gone, one more round, Delia’s gone.

Dr. Bill…Damn straight confession here, Johnny. What brought you here? Why kill Delia? (dim chuckling into the mic). Big time loser, here Jimmy, commercial time. Bring me a beer?

    J.C…Well, I went up to Memphis and met Delia there. Found her in her parlor, tied her in her chair. Now, Delia’s gone. (Nose blowing). One more time, Delia’s gone.

Dr. Bill…Hey, now. Why in hell would you kill someone like Delia? I mean, are you such a lowlife you’d do this? Okay, Jimmy. Make that two beers.

    J.C…Well, Delia was low down and trifling and she was cold and mean. That kind of evil make me want to grab my submachine. (amused laugh).

Dr. Bill… A submachine gun? Good grief, man.  A little overkill, don't  you think?  Soooo, then what happened?  Jimmy, are you recording this?

    J.C… First time I shot her, I shot her in the side. (Chuckling and profanity)

Dr. Bill… In her side? Not a kill shot, Johnny boy. Why not? In fact, that was sadistic. Man, that was just plain cold. Look this guy’s name up, okay? You hear that, Jimmy?

    J.C…Hard to watch her suffer, but with the second shot, she died. (Sound of toilet flush. A string of obscenities.)

Dr. Bill… Okay, now. Johnny boy, your lack of remorse is amazing. You killed her, man!  What bothers you about any of her murder? Jimmy, once J.C. is done here, we gotta hit our favorite burger and beer joint.

    J.C… Jailer, oh, jailer. (Who’s up for some weightlifting?after I finish this?) I can’t sleep ‘cause all around my bedside I hear the patter of Delia’s feet. Delia’s gone, on more time.

Dr. Bill… Okay, J.C. let’s wrap this up. So what’re your final words of advice to all those innocent inmates?

    J.C… So, if your woman’s devilish you can let her run. Or you can bring her down and do her like Delia got done. Delia’s gone, one more round, Delia’s gone. (Guard, guard! Get me outta here.)

Dr. Bill… Well there you have it folks. Know anyone on lifetime vacations at a strange hotel facility? Heavy swearing. Delia, oh, Delia. How did you get hooked up with one cold hearted bastard?

Okay, I know.  This is one dark song, with a dark humor.  No one does this like Johnny Cash. If you can look beyond that, great!

Truth or Dare

This is a tough time.  Politics is rampant and evil.  These following words are repeated very very often.

dis·in·for·ma·tion
[ˌdisənfərˈmāSHən, disˌinfərˈmāSHən]
noun
false information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media:
"the entire Western intelligence system had been systematically manipulated with clever disinformation" · "it was a highly coordinated disinformation campaign" deliberately deceptive and propagated information.[3][4][5] Early definitions of misinformation focused on statements that were patently false, incorrect, or not factual.[6] Therefore, a narrow definition of misinformation refers to the information's quality, whether inaccurate, incomplete, or false.[7] However, recent studies define misinformation per deception rather than informational accuracy[8] because misinformation can include falsehoods, selective truths, and half-truths.[9]

mis·in·for·ma·tion

[ˌmisənfərˈmāSHən]noun This is incorrect or misleading information.[1][2] It differs from disinformation, which is deliberately deceptive and propagated information.[3][4][5] Early definitions of misinformation focused on statements that were patently false, incorrect, or not factual.[6] Therefore, a narrow definition of misinformation refers to the information's quality, whether inaccurate, incomplete, or false.[7]

This is from Sky News Australia.

No matter what you believe politically is not important here.  What is decided for us to hear or not hear is not up to a news organization.  Whenever these two definitions apply to what is being said, it should raise ones hackles.

Walter Cronkrite:  Where are  you??

JFK

Apollo landing 1969

***

Truth and falsehood are antonyms of each other1. Truth refers to the state or quality of being true to someone or something1. Falsehood refers to the property of being false1. Success or victory attained through falsehood is always short-lived, because that which is not true cannot be everlasting. The defeat of truth is temporary, and its victory is always eternal2. antonyms

Life is not easy.  Making choices is not easy.  Be informed.

Libraries: what happens to those books?

 

"Heritage" is a word that should never be taken lightly. What was dreamed of and then built now must be torn down.  Happens all the time in America, where "eminent domain" trumps treasure. 

Old Cincinnati Public Library

                                        The little suitcases say "Public Library". 

And, then this...

AND, then this.....

                                         Parking garage and office building

"The cost of the lot and building was $383,594.53, about $7.7 million today. The Public Library contained 60,000 volumes, with an estimated capacity of 300,000. So why this building demolished? Talks for a new library building had already begun 30 years earlier when the book collection had started to outgrow the building. Books were stacked beyond reach. Ventilation was poor, the air stuffy. The paint was peeling.....

"Talks for a new library building had already begun 30 years earlier when the book collection had started to outgrow the building. Books were stacked out of reach, the 19th century ventilation system was already failing and the paint was peeling."

Past vs. Present?  Restore a building with unknown huge amounts of money? Or, build a new one?

Do you wonder what books were stacked there? They were packed and then stored until the new library was finished. Can you imagine what aged tomes might be in those boxes? 

This was originally from 2021, not that long ago.  But it strikes me that all that knowledge and history is gone.

Herd Mentality in current times.

                                                                    
                                                                          In London

Memories of farm life are many; some are intensely pleasurable and others are simply unpleasant.  Making apple butter in a caldron outside on a brisk fall day: that qualifies as pleasurable.  Anything to do with hog management qualifies as unpleasant.

One such unpleasant event was “driving hogs”, or herding the hogs into a confined area where they would be sorted by weight.  The hogs weighing 200+ lbs. were sent to market; the others were reprieved for a while. 

To herd the hogs meant that all seven of our family would start at the far end of the feed lot where the hogs grazed.  We were spaced evenly across in a line and waved our arms (usually holding long sticks) while calling “sooooooWEEE”.**

Hogs were fairly docile at the beginning, but as they reached the other end of the feed lot where they had to move to the only opening left to them, some of the hogs got suspicious.

How to understand pigs

It was usually a big burly hog with a nasty disposition.  He was the leader, and the other hogs followed him.  Blindly so.

This was the dicey part of herding.  Push too much, and the hogs bolt.  Stand back too far, and they bolt.  But, regardless, whatever that lead hog did, the others did as well.

Please forgive the way my brain works, but this segues into my thoughts for this day: The Herd Mentality.

In the February 2012 Smithsonian magazine, writer Ron Rosenbaum penned a thought-provoking article adapted from his introduction for the new edition of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.  Published initially in 1960, Shirer’s book “…recalls an important point in historical consciousness…”

From Wikipedia

Shirer examined how Hitler and the ‘perfect storm’ of many factors managed to seduce an intelligent nation of Germans and lead them to do and behave in abhorrent crimes.

1961 photo of William L. Shirer from Wikipedia

There is no way to summarize Rosenbaum’s article.  Here is a closing quote from his article:

“…There is danger in giving up our sense of self-hood for the illusory unity of a frenzied mass movement, of devolving from human to herd for some homicidal abstraction.  It is a problem we can never be reminded of enough, and this this we will always owe William Shirer a debt of gratitude…”

 Have you ever sensed being part of a herd?  Do we retain our “self-hood” in this age of digital awareness? With the bombardment of advertisements, do you find yourself being prepped to purchase something, or behave a certain way?  Man.  These are really profound thoughts for us to read.

Note:  This post in no way advertises this book or advocates these writers.  The impressions and conclusions gained from reading this Smithsonian article struck me as timely and important.


**There will be a future post or two about the herding hogs experiences, as some of them were traumatizing and others amusing.  SooooWeee is a recognized hog call in the Midwest.  

If the connections seem insensitive or rude, please forgive me.  Sometimes, especially when standing in a long long line that winds across and back with posts and wire. I feel that I am being "herded".  This perspective comes from farm life and going to DisneyLand. 

This is a rewritten repost from 2018.