Not when I was a kid

 

Yesterday, I noticed the school buses in my town were emptying out after 1 PM. I guess the schools closed early because of the hot weather. This led me to a trip down memory lane of those happy days of my childhood.

Did my school dismiss kids early because of heat?

No.

Did my school have air conditioning?

For the most part no.

Did my mother drive me to school because it was too hot?

No.

Did my mother drive me to school because it was too cold?

No.

Did my mother drive me to the school bus because it was raining?

No. 

Did my mother drive me to the library?

No.

After I was twelve I had to take the bus to the dentist. 

Why in my day......

I hope I'm not becoming a curmudgeon.

Should a man open the car door for a woman

 

Recently I read on the Internet that a man who is about to transport a woman in his car has the obligation of getting out of the car, walking to the passenger side, opening the door, helping the woman with her bags and negotiating her into the car seat. This was a surprise to me. I have always believed  that the gallant man pushes the button on the car, thus unlocking the passenger door. Then the lady has to negotiate her way into the vehicle. This way the man affirms his belief in the equality of the sexes. 

U by the Incredible String Band

 U is an album I bought in 1970 when some college friends were huge fans of the Incredible String Band and I got caught up in the fun. It has laid around in my record collection for eons, for thirty years never played. As part of my "rediscovering my albums" phase I recently listened to it from start to finish. Surprisingly I like it. It is a bit amateurish and some of the songs go on too long, but I find playing the album makes for a nice backround to reading or cleaning the floor. It has an eclectic blend of music, some of it influenced by Irish string bands. For some reason it can be listened to in its entirety on You Tube. One of the bad things about boomers is that they have enough old stuff that they don't really need to listen to the new stuff that is out today. 

Editor's note: I talk about the Incredible String Band in my post on WBAI. 

Being a hiking curmudgeon

 I am lucky to have some nice parks nearby. Not just parks with swings and baseball diamonds but parks with wilderness trails. I can walk on the macadam trails but I prefer the wooded areas. They are more scenic, I get to see deer and chipmunks and I get to avoid listening to babies cry, fathers yellling at their sons and ladies complaining about their boyfriends and bosses. 

The problem, at least in the summer, is that gnats follow me on the trail, and they are worse in the more rustic parts of the park. I read that they are attracted to baseball hats. I took off my baseball cap but soon discovered that they will come around my eyes if I'm hatless. Today I tried putting a permethrin spray on my hat. It didn't seem to help much. Going back to the Internet I found that the combination of a large hat and sunglasses may do the trick. I'll try that next. 

Fourth of July in Colorado

 Here is an oldie but goody. Happy Fourth of July

Editor's note: Apparently they are still having these. 

A man for our time

The commotion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been dominating the news since the weekend. We all know the basic story by now and nobody in the media knows any more than we do about what is going on behind the scenes. Yevgeny seems to be quite the character. We have needed a face to attach to the war. A con man or a Russian patriot? He looks like he came out of central casting to play the rogue general. A man who would cut off a man's balls for the fun of it but who may be useful to the West. Perhaps some of the freed soldiers defected to the Ukranian army? Nobody knows.

This whole story should make a good movie. However, they should do something about his name. It may be hard to fit on the cover of Time's Man of the Year issue. 

Editor's note: A tragic accident.

Help Sally find a liver

 

I came home from the store yesterday and found stuffed in my mailbox a one page flyer. On it read " Help Sally Find a Liver". I'd have to say that this was a new one. I've been asked for money so a man can ride a bus home, feed his sick mother, keep America well, and keep America well informed, but no one has ever asked me for a liver before.

I thought about it. I have become accustomed to my liver. It has served me well and I have not been an ideal partner. I like to drink and I'm sure beer, white wine and Jack has not been kind to my liver over the years. I'm afraid my liver might not even be that serviceable. Sorry but if you need a liver you will have to look elsewhere.