citizen dad and dau

Sarah and I made a pact for some early Monday citizenship. In this case, going to the Lancaster Obama rally.

One hour in line (after two and a half hours on Saturday to get the tickets), and a half hour wait. Well, you get it. But we're glad we did.

How many fellow "East Chestnuters" we saw? Over half a dozen.

In a sentence the message: power to the people. That sounds like democracy.

punctuation solution

The imbroglio over Obama’s pastor’s sermon—I have thought of the simple explanation which all the media has missed. It’s punctuation, stupid! A comma and an explanation mark, which, of course, audio recordings don’t supply, clears up the whole thing.

Here’s what the pastor said: “God damn, America!” It’s as innocuous as “Hot dog, is America a great country or what!”

Now, if I can work that into a humor column. Where are the English teachers when we need them?

Franklin's fear is fact here

Benjamin Franklin feared that Pennsylvania, with its endless stream of German immigrants in the 1750s, would become primarily a German-speaking colony. If we brought him back and plopped him in Monterey, he would think his fear materialized--more families speak Pennsylvania German than English around the breakfast table.

A similar language is Yiddish. My word-a-day feed gave me this today. Here's what Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer had to say about the language in his 1978 Nobel Prize acceptance speech:

"Yiddish language - a language of exile, without a land, without frontiers, not supported by any government, a language which possesses no words for weapons, ammunition, military exercises, war tactics ... There is a quiet humor in Yiddish and a gratitude for every day of life, every crumb of success, each encounter of love. The Yiddish mentality is not haughty. It does not take victory for granted. It does not demand and command but it muddles through, sneaks by, muggles itself amidst the powers of destruction, knowing somewhere that God's plan for Creation is still at the very beginning ... In a figurative way, Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all, the idiom of frightened and hopeful Humanity."

English language words such as bagel, klutz, and kibitz are terms from Yiddish.

arm's length from history

At least arm's length from Hillary. That's her in the center, umbrella in her left hand.

Photographer is Joel, who walked by the Lancaster Brewery and grabbed this shot on his cell. She was on her way to Millersville U where she addressed a gym full of 3,000 and maybe half that many more who couldn't get in.

Her stop at the downtown Lancaster eatery was not announced to the public. Joel found out about it through his newspaper contacts. Thirty persons knew about it (not counting the body guards) and greeted her when she left the place.

On her route to Millersville, my brother, Milton, saw the motorcade pass his house on Charlotte street. He did not see her since the vehicle windows were darkly tinted

boldly on to e-bay

Cupboard raids can yield treasures, too. Dorcas found the creamer and sugar bowl with lid on Good Friday.

No cracks, no hidden defects. Showing some use on the gold trim. She acquired this set when the girls home in Long Island was closing down. Let me guess about 1978. They were left behind and she rescued them.

We used them in the era when grandparents, Ivan and Della, Lester and Elva, visited our home at 542 East Orange. Mikasa Rosetta, if you like names. Give them to re-uzit?

I put them on e-bay kind of for the fun of it and to keep in practice. It's been a year and a half since I put something on e-bay.

camer hides the crack

Looks like a creamer in perfect condition. The back, however, suffers a bad crack and spots of super glue which tried to repair it.

Cleaning one of the cupboards on her day off, Dorcas chucked it. It had no family history. Well, Dorcas remembers her regret when she dropped it. Well, the family of the person who made and painted it.

Seems too bad.

how early can Easter be?

This year Easter falls on March 23. Could it ever be earlier? Technically, yes. It can fall on March 22. That is quite rare. The last time it did was the year 1818, when James Monroe was President of the US.

Think you can stick around for the next time Easter falls on March 22. Good luck trying. The next year it is that early is the year 2285. March 23 happens a little more frequently.

The last time Easter was on March 23 was in 1913. If you're 95 years old or older you were around then. The next time it comes March 23 will be 220 years from now, in 2228.

What's the deal? The celestial spheres, that's the deal. Easter is fixed to come the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, which is March 20 or 21. How do I know all this? I read it in the Christian Century. I figured out myself the Monroe thing.

Easter can come anytime in your subjective heart you want. But I like the objective reality of the system we have had for centuries. It also makes it harder for secular societies to co-opt it and make it fit in the commercial flow of things. Oh, those daffodils are not from this year. I had to use a late March, 2007, photo, taken behind my barn.

Easter is a response to universe-wide reality. Hallelujah!

life behind the barn

Daffodils have popped up some time ago behind the barn, which faces south. What you see here are at the grape arbor. Forgot to thin them out.

migrants return

Walk around Monterey today and you'll hear new songs. Blue jays and robins have begun to return. There have been sparrows using my feeder all winter.

With Spring coming in ten days, I fill it up. I saw a robin yesterday and two jays have already helped themselves at the feeder. Then a cardinal takes center stage.

The migrants definitely have better voices.

blustery winds

A backache today and I'm looking around my space after a treatment at the chiropractor's office.

Here's evidence of the blustery winds which hit Monterey last week. The corner of the Miller's barn ripped open.

This image cropped way too much, but I shot it on my tripod.

At our house, a half dozen shingle pieces flew off in the storm.

wikipedia must read

Bedtime reading got me this in New York Review. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21131 .

Kind of goes with my idea of how humans can help each other out.

Did you know that more people check wikipedia than google?

Plus, wiki is easier to spell than encyclopedia. I've still got emotional feelings about a whole set. My brother and I together won a set of encyclopedias from Lancaster Newspapers when I was about in 7th grade.

I'll see if I can find that photo.

under the kitchen sink

Okay, let' s see now. This one is for cold water. That one for hot.

Lying on my back, head under the sink, I see light through holes where the sun don't usually shine. I opened the hole far left to add a spray hose. Camera all manual, except the focus. Shadow thrown by the shop light.

The last time a faucet was installed, solid copper pipes led from these couplers to the faucet. Now, flexible hoses are used.


Let's see. We invented plumbing. Maybe we are the best civilization.


When I walked into this room for the first time in 1951, holding the hand of my mother, eyes all agog, I saw a free standing sink at this same place. In the spring I discovered the sink drained straight through the wall and into lawn. Why not re-use the water, I guess.