Valentines Day
I send Virtual Hugs to all who deem it appropriate on this day of affection, (Two Days late posting), but the thought was there yesterday. We have set our table for breakfast, and Mary Agnes is taking her morning walk with Ben, our Black Standard Poodle. She of 14-18,000 steps a day. Can you say overachiever?
The journal, I’ve been told, is to be kept in the car, and I am to jot down earthly happenings as I see them. Speaking of jotting things down, I picked up two new pens the other day at Staples. I love pens, and the Paper Mate Ink Joy gel 0.7 suits me well for the moment. I’ve been Journaling Daily since 11 June 2014.
My journal’s start out something liken this:
Sunday, 14 February 2021 – 30f, misty R, Valentines Day, 0452 hrs. Yes, we are early risers; today, I was the first up. There are in the house four of us, Mary Agnes, Ben (dog), Simon (cat), and yours truly, the-Rooster. Once up, heat on, fire in the fireplace, coffee pot on, the door unlocked to the porch, Ben out for relief. He will usually try to wake the neighborhood up as he barks at and chases a Deer or two outside our one-acre fence line. An occasional fox, gopher, raccoon, and even a coyote on a rare occasion will appear. I must mention that Simon goes in and out multiple times in the AM. A real PITA that one. Loves water out of a spigot also.
I must additionally mention the chickens. We have most often, for the past twenty years, had a Backyard-Flock of Hens and one or two Roosters. Presently this flock gracing our yard is 18 weeks old tomorrow. Their Guardian, named in a contest some Blogs in the past, is Gregory Peck. All indications are that he is a gentle giant. We have had a few roosters, Sadam Hussein for one, that went into the pot at an early age. A vicious fellow was he. Our grandson Thomas and his heels were a constant focal point for Sadam. May he rest in peace.
Today at noon (actually yesterday), we will head ton a restaurant named Mad Hatter Cafe. Those in attendance with us shall be daughter Kathryn & husband Jeff, daughter Sarah and husband Greg, granddaughter Abbi and husband Antwain and granddaughter Rachael. If ever in the Salisbury, MD area, I’ll give it a 4 * rating. The busboy was noisy and dropped a few things , otherwise a 5.
A tidbit from the Netherlands
Some of you are aware that we have a granddaughter in the Air Force. Samantha is a USAFA grad and is married to another grad and classmate, and the couple has four children. The entire family has three-letter names: Sam, Zed, Mia, Ana, Dax, and Zoe. They presently work for NATO, the base is in Germany, they live in the Netherlands. They are in that Tri, come together spot where Belgium joins those two countries.
Sam, much like Art Linkletter many years before her, Sam often puts on Face Book, things our Great Grandchildren say.
Me – Zoe do you know what today is?
Zoe – Yah, tomorrow.
Touché kid
Our kids are currently playing Commissary. I guess when you’re military kids, it’s not called the grocery store.
Conversation while getting ready to go play in the snow
Me – Ana, what’s taking you so long
Ana – Mom, I had to get undressed some.
Me – Why? You were ready to go, you just had to put on shoes.
Ana – Mom I couldn’t reach my feet with all my clothes on.
Welcome to pregnancy/adult hood/etc at the age of 6
Dax flips over the back of the couch and Zed walks over, picks him up, and walks him out of the room.
Ana – Mom, are you going to send him to military school?
Me – Probably. I’ll send you too if you flip over the couch.
Zoe – I won’t flip over the couch
Me – That’s because you’re too short to reach. If you draw on the walls again I’ll send you to military school.
Zoe – I already go to military school mom.
Touché kid
It shall not be long and we can do a Where In The World is Jeff. Later this week he willbe heading out on a trip. This shall be his first trip since February of last year. Can someone say Covid?
That’s all folks!
Semper Fi
Thinking about a Blog to write
Just today, It’s Monday the first day in February in the year 2021, I read a fellow blogger’s Blog. She started her blog by writing the following. My blogger friends, do you find you often blog in your mind, but never quite get it to the keyboard state?
Well, let me tell you, I do this all the time. Earlier today my wife finished a quilt and I had the task of taking that quilt to the women who will put it on a Long Arm and finish it for her. We have no Long Arm but we do have a Quilting frame. The Mrs. has made many a quilt on that frame over the years.
I recently saw a Bernina Long Arm machine listed for $20,499.00. Our quilting frame purchased over 20 years ago was $360.00.
Rambling thoughts herein lie. Just wanted to impart a bit of the wonderful work my wife does and the machines that can finish those works of art off.
So, I’m driving on the Bypass with this quilt, it’s cold outside, more snow on the way. What, you had snow you ask. Yes, here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland we got several inches yesterday. The first measurable snow in 706 days. It is reported that we shall get more tonight. I should write about that I thought. I’ll start with ‘HEADLINE, NO SNOW IN 706 DAYS.” That will attract an audience I think to myself.
I’m listening to the radio, Oldies channel, https://kool1043.com if your ever traveling in or around Salisbury, MD and enjoy the oldies. They give you little tidbits such as: This Day in Music History – 1962 – Warner Bros. Records signed Peter, Paul & Mary. 1966 – The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought The Law” was released. 1969 – The “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” debuted on CBS-TV. 1972 – David Bowie performed as “Ziggy Stardust” for the first time. 1972 – Smokey Robinson left The Miracles. 1979 – Emerson, Lake […] etc. I’m sure you get the point so I’ll get back to my point. I was putting out a Blog in my head.
On November 9, 1965 the United States had a Black Out affecting all of the state of New York and parts of seven neighboring states. chaos prevailed, 800,000 people were stranded in the NY subways. Thousands more were stuck in elevators and trains. Just setting the scene here folks.
This writer was a young Marine Sergeant assigned at the time to USNAD Earle, NJ, a Naval ammunition Depot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Weapons_Station_Earle
I’m in the Guard Bunker at that facility, I have fellow Marines under my command out on posts, some fixed, some mobile, some in vehicles on roaming patrols. One fixed post on that November evening held a Marine in a Tower overlooking all the bunkers under our watchful eyes that held some powerful ordinance.
I have the radio on, “You’ve got that Loving Feeling,” by the Righteous Brothers is playing and the young Marine in that tower radio’s down to me, “Hey Sarge, NY City has disappeared. Yep, here I am driving the bypass 02/01/21 and I’m back in the moment. It was then that I said, I’ve got to write that in a Blog. Thanks Chrissie, you’ve inspired me.
Then, at precisely 5:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, everything went black.
It was Nov. 9, 1965. And suddenly, from Pennsylvania to southern Canada, through parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and northern New England, right up into Ontario, more than 30 million North Americans were without power.
It was the Great Northeast Blackout.
Many people were swept up with the fear that the Russians had attacked and the U.S. was in the throes of World War III. Others felt it was a realistic version of the classic “War of the Worlds,” with alien beings to blame for the widespread power outage upon their arrival on earth.
The hubbub was caused, ironically enough, by a faulty relay estimated by one source as “probably a two-dollar piece of machinery” at the mammoth Niagara-Mohawk Power Plant in upstate New York. Such a minute wrinkle made it sound all the more like H.G. Wells’ fictional “War,” an example of the tiniest of things creating the biggest nuisance.
The Gardner News of Maine reported the outage this way.
In New York City, some 800,000 people were stranded in underground subways, while thousands more were trapped for the duration in elevators. Johnny Carson, in his “Tonight Show” monologue, quipped that in nine months, all over the East Coast, mothers would be giving birth and wistfully naming their sons Otis.
For the record, during the week of Aug. 9-15 of 1966 – nine months later – a total of 14 births were registered at Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital.
While many areas – including New York City – were without power for several days, the Greater Gardner area experienced a grand total of two hours and 57 minutes in the dark.
As the blackout hit, emergency generators were pressed into action and continued well past the hour when all power was restored to the area. As the lights went out, on came the candles, kerosene lamps and flashlights.
The very next day would be the 190’th Birthday of the Marine Corps.
https://www.marines.com/about-the-marine-corps/who-are-the-marines/history.html
Blogging is a great way to pass time during this the Covid Pandemic, there’s plenty of space between me and my readers. Now I’ve written that Blog I thought about and I’ve shared with you a moment in time during the life of The Rooster. Be safe my friends. Oh yes, thanks Chrissie for giving me the impetus to write this. Fall softly, save those knees. It only took me 11 more days to get this out. By the way, when we awoke this morning, 4 inches of snow.
SEMPER FI
As The Rooster Crows 