Buffalo Gal

Today I went looking around a few places in eastTEN in Moorhead including the Salvation Army second hand store which I absolutely adore. I found more snowmen to add to a collection plus some really good childrens’ books which I also collect.  But being very hungry I stopped at a Burger King and ate and while I was there listening to Elvis sing "Blue Christmas" on the speakers and listening to some boys discuss (of all things) eating cottage cheese, I spotted the daily newspaper lying open on the table I was occupying.  I saw coverage (actually a two page advertisement for Lipitor as hawked by the "eminent" doctor and inventor of an artifical heart, Dr Robert Jarvis, pictured in a huge nearly life-size  image)   

 I have wondered for quite some time why such a famous,eminent doctor like Robert Jarvis is hawking Lipitor on television ads.  Is that possibly more lucrative than inventing mechanical hearts???    For some reason, Dr. Jarvis gives me "the creeps". 

 The Lipitor ad I browsed made me remember WHY I DON’T DO DRUGS…..prescription drugs, that is.   I take none unless I have a raging bacterial infection or some other condition which absolutely MUST be treated.     Most clinical staff are stunned when they meet up with me or Buffaloguy and learn that we take NO drugs at our age.  They obviously expect us to be on more than one….probably multiple prescriptions, and we are not.

Get a load of the "possible side effects" of Lipitor:     Muscle problems that can lead to Kidney problems.  Liver problems…your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start taking Lipitor (in other words, your doctor will turn you into a "patient" when you get on Lipitor….it affects you liver function)   Unexplained (oh really?) muscle weakness or pain especially if you have a fever or feel very tired;  nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain; brown or dark-colored urine;  your skin and the whites of your eyes may turn yellow.  Headache. Diarrhea.  Rashes. Constipation.Upset stomach and stomach pain. Fwer than 3 in 100 people stop taking Lipitor due to side effects. BUT—-call your doctor if you have any symptoms, that is call the doctor if you have not already died from the side effects.  I forgot to mention blindness and deafness.  

These are the major reasons why I do NOT do drugs!!!   I believe in prevention before things get out of hand.  It is a lot simpler, less expensive, less dangerous and much more satisfying.  Studying alternative ways to keep yourself healthy seems sensible to me.  You do not have to be a rocket scientist or an MD to study your own body and how it functions. There are endless books and other research materials on caring for your own health.  I do not like the MD attitude that you TREAT conditions after they occur…..nutrition, supplements of vitamins, minerals, and herbs are far preferable to taking Lipitor or blood pressure medicine or arthritis medicine (remember Vioxx??? remember the heart attacks??) There are many ways to take control of one’s own health before you have to "Call your Doctor"if you go blind or deaf or develop lymphoma or cannot breathe well , ad nauseum.

Dogs are supposed to be man’s best friend but there are other pets as well, who can capture the hearts of those who have them…or whom "they have" and I here refer to cat owners and cats who own their people.   After we had to put our last beloved dog "to sleep" we vowed not to get another dog who would break our hearts when she or he died.  Besides, we were retired and wanted the freedom to travel without worrying about getting a dog-sitter.  So we persisted, dogless and petless for awhile….and then one of our neighbor Martha’s many cats showed up, bedraggled , hungry and meowing after Martha, close to 90, had to leave her farm and move to town at the insistence of her children. My soft heart went out to that cat…she was a gray tabby and I could not resist giving her some food…which I did over by the barn so she would not hang out by the house.  I knew Buffalogy was going to be really upset if he knew what I begun to do but after a few days of surrepticious feeding inside the barn, I convinced him that a "barn cat" would be most beneficial and she was….she was a most excellent mouser but she also was an excellent pregnant mouser and now I was really in a pickle.  I kept the maternity news quiet for awhile but her expanding belly soon made it apparent without talking about it.  In late August she gave birth but I did not know where the kitten or kittens were, til weeks later I heard mewing from inside an old doghouse inside the barn and there were 4 tiny kittens with eyes still shut tight.  That did not last long and we soon had 4 kitties tearing after each other and playing like crazy clowns up on the rafters and everywhere else they could reach.  We could not keep them all and we chose two before the others were sent away. The mother cat would not stay around either after she weaned the kittens and she left  in a huff when they would not stop bothering her.  We never saw her again…..wild cats never get tamed.  We had "Sarah" and "Mikey" and from the get-go, I was smitten even though I had never had a cat before.  The two played and stayed together in a "cat house" I made from a computer box—up high where they liked to look down on the proceedings inside the barn and finally the really friendly one….Sarah…climbed up BG’s leg one day to his great shock and surprise.  Mikey was more on the shy or independent side and this caused her to roam more than Sarah.  During their 4th year, Mikey crossed the road once too many times and  she was hit and killed by a vehicle.  I wept and clutched Sarah to my chest, telling her she had lost her best friend and her sister.  She proved to be totally unemotional about it and went on with her life as if nothing had happened.  When our  second dog Annie died, our old dog, Freckles, became mute for about 6 weeks—she never barked or made a sound. She missed her companion and was depressed about the loss.  Not so, Sarah….she loved getting ALL the attention and she became a wintertime house guest when it was bitterly cold and she no longer had her furry sister to keep her warm in the computer box house.  By this time Buffaloguy had become a convert…..he actually like the kitties before Mikey died and had bought them an electrical warming pad for their house.  When Mikey died, he made a heated house for Sarah by installing a light bulb in the ceiling of a new computer box house.  She was toasty warm all by herself and enjoyed her life as a barn cat.  This all came to an end about one year ago when some cruel gun- wielder shot Sarah in the shoulder making it necessary to amputate her right shoulder joint and right leg.  She has lived life as a recovered "tripod" for over a year and has adjusted to her 3-legged status as if nothing had ever happened.  Animals are amazing at recovery form desperate injuries.  Our Annie got her foot caught in a fox trap and lost it due to having it frozen solid til a trapper released her.  She adjusted to life as a 3-legged dog also and we had for many more years.

Today I looked up some quotations about cats and they are much too good not to share. So here a few that describe our relatonship with the Boss….Princess Sarah the Cat Who Rules The House: or as "Rumpole of the Bailey" used to say, "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

"Dogs have owners; Cats have staff"          2.  "Cats were put in this world to disprove the dogma that that all things were created to serve Man."              3.  "There is something about the presence of a cat that seems to take a bite out of being alone."                         4. "There is no snooze button on a hungry cat who wants breakfast"        5."Dogs believe they are human;  Cats believe they are God."       6.  Cats were worshipped as gods by ancient Egyptians; this is something that cats have never forgotten."         7. Cats are smarter than dogs.  You could never get 8 cats to pull a sled through deep snow."          8.  "Cats are magical.  The more you pet one the longer you both live."  9. Women and Cats will do as they please; men and dogs better get used to it."        10.  There is no better cure for human misery than a cat and music."

I know these famous quotations to be true from my own experience.   I am part of Sarah’s "staff" and she is certain that I am her personal property.  She has "marked" me with her chin rubbing many times saying, in effect, "you belong to me."       

I was headed home on Highway 10 this morning after a grocery shopping expedition and I noticed something unusual in the pickup that was driving ahead of me.  It appeared that the passenger was gesturing with a feather duster to the driver.  When we both pulled up to a stop sign together I saw what was going on…..it was not a feather duster being wielded by an enthusiastic wife talking to her husband….it was a "happy tail" being wagged by someone’s "Best Friend" who had gotten to go with the Master on a little road trip and was happily thanking him for taking him along!!!   I also noticed that the passenger had pointy furry ears when I got up closer.    Many times in the past, I have seen what I thought to be a passenger with a medium pageboy hairstyle to find out, up close, that somebody’s Best Friend (a Black Lab or Golden Retriever) was riding "shotgun" in the right hand seat of the vehicle.

The old adage that "Man’s Best Friend Is His Dog" is true for those who really love their dogs…and thankfully most dog owners do love their pet….a much-loved family dog is like a true family member and when the dog dies or gets so old it has to be "put down" by a veterinarian, family members grieve as for a dearly loved family member.  Dog lovers cannot help but feel these emotions even when Colder Hearts might say, "Oh, it was just a dog."     It is never "Just a dog" to those who love them and have spent many years with them.  

Recently  I have heard at least two interviews with Mark Levin… political talker, constitutional lawyer and  President of the Landmark Foundation.   When you hear him talk on his show or other’s political shows, he is a hard-headed conservative with a sharp tongue that can kill a man at 50 paces, if necessary.  But when you hear him interviewed about his dog, Sprite, who had to be euthanized within the last 6 months, you hear a very different Mark Levin….a family man and soft-hearted dog lover.  The Levin family rescued Sprite from an animal shelter when he was nearly 12 years old so they did not have him for many years before his health began to fail.  But in the time they had him, Sprite became a true family friend and spent his days lying at Mark’s feet while he worked or broadcast his talk show from his home.  Levin’s book, RESCUING SPRITE, is bound to wind up on the best seller list just as MARLEY AND ME did about a year ago.  Americans love their dogs and they also love to read about beloved pets.

People truly identify with a man who writes about losing a beloved pet; it is a common experience for so many of us.   When our last beloved dog, "Mac", a spirited Border Collie in his youth and a loving companion always, and especially in his dotage, had to be euthanized after being unable to get up from a lying -down position, it just about broke our hearts and we decided we could not bear to go through this again, after having had 3 beloved dogs, all of whom lived long lives.  I cried for about 6 months every time I turned into our driveway after Mac’s death, knowing he would not be there to greet me.  He had been my Best Friend for so long….following me part way each day to the mailbox and then crouching in a sheep dog mode, glaring at me fiercely, waiting to spring up and round me up, nipping at my heels and calves.  I had small black and blue marks for years from Mac’s round-ups and "play bites".  He loved to run and circle our sons when they played with him. He had a natural instinct for herding a small flock of sheep we kept when he was just a puppy.  The old ewes scornfully butted him and knocked him over when he valiantly tried to round them up but he always got up and tried again even though the Old Girls would do it again…butt and knock down.  His spririt was never broken.  He fiercely "eliminated" a big woodchuck who was eating up our garden one summer when he was still young and active.  I have kept "Mac’s blanket to remember him by; it was a strangely- striped  old bedspread I bought at a second-hand store and I still have it….I cannot part with it.  It is still a reminder of our much loved Mac.

He was a very nervous and frightened dog however,when strangers came to the farm.  We always said anybody could rob us blind if Mac was alone at home; he would run in terror at the first sign of a car pulling into the driveway and visibly hide behind our shelter belt of blue spruce trees.  The visitors knew automatically that they would have no trouble from our "watchdog" who "watched" from a safe distance and, if challenged, would run even farther,probably down to the woods below the house.  Our youngest son finally analyzed Mac’s thinking about strangers: "Someone’s coming into our farm!   Why are they here?  OH NO!  They are going to kill ME"   was the reasoning figured out by the son who spoke for Mac regarding strangers.  He was terribly persistent about other matters.  He once barked himself hoarse sitting at the foot of a small Ash tree into which he had chased a mink.  We left for the county fair and came home to a voiceless dog and a mink that had finally gotten away from the dog’s barking and vigilance.  He also spent endless hours barking at a plastic bag that was caught and waving in one of the shelter belt trees further from the house.  We finally had to go out and take the bag down so he could relax and lie down for a nap.

I plan to buy Levin’s book about Sprite;  one of my favorite books out of the past is one that may not even be in print any longer but it was so wonderful.  Farley Mowat wrote THE DOG WHO WOULDN’T BE in about 1956 and it is a memoir of his first dog, "Mutt" who grew up with Mowat in Saskatoon, Alberta in the 1920′s when Farley was a young boy.  My dad and I read it aloud to each other back in 1956 and it was an unforgettable book and an unforgettable, wonderful experience to remember all my life.   "Mutt" was a true farm "mutt" who had been plucked out of basket full of ducks by Farley Mowat’s mother when a small child came around selling ducks.  The final chapter about the death of his dog is one of the most touching chapters I have ever read anywhere.

I distinctly remember that a few blogs ago I declared myself to be quite uninterested in the current political scene which I also declared has started too early and is getting to be overwhelming, even for current-events freaks like I am.    I now must retract that statement.  What do the politicos say when they change their minds?  I made a mistake?  I did something foolish?  

 Like a giant vacuum cleaner (the upcoming political caucuses and primaries) I am getting sucked into the vortex of the churning politics of early runs at the Presidential nomination in both parties and cannot seem to extract myself from reading daily news items about the candidates, about the happenings along the campaign trails in Iowa, New Hampshire, Washington and other places to which the candidates are flying frequently, thus raising the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by traveling on huge jet-fuel – consuming airliners and private planes.  (Wow, a political statement about global disintegration without even trying too hard!)  Actually I have not taken much note of candidates making strong statements on that issue…yet….they too are busy attacking each other’s   1.  Experience   2.  Qualifications 3. past votes on controversial issues   4. whining about the personal attacks  on themselves, 5. planting questions at press briefings and public forums …. ad infinitum, ad nauseum.  

The candidate that troubles me the most is Hillary Clinton.  There is a huge spate of written speculations about her becoming the President.  One essay I read recently was written by John Hawkins in Townhall.com.   His essay was titled "Does Marrying Bill Clinton Qualify Someone  To Be President?"     His thoughts ran to the possibility that this could also qualify wives of CEO’s of big companies to take their husband’s places if they should resign, die, get fired, etc.  Could it have qualified Monica Lewinsky to be the President if Bill had shucked Hillary and married Monica back in 1998 or 1999?    Maybe Laura Bush would make a good President since she, too, has spent almost 8 years in the Whitehouse, married to a President. That is a statement Hillary has made on the campaign trail….that a qualification for being President is that she was in the Whitehouse for 8 years already… at  Bill’s side (not all the time, obviously;  She was not in the Oval Office closet when he was schmoozing with Monica).   She even broke a few lamps tossing them at her unfaithful husband and did her fair share of antagonizing the White House staff and the Secret Service with her violent temper and imperialistic manners.  She may, indeed, be qualified, on those grounds alone. Oh that scares me badly!!!  I thought of Rosalynn Carter and Barbara Bush…smart women in their own rights….they were married to Presidents too and lived in the Whitehouse…..but only for 4 years each, so perhaps that eliminates them from becoming President.  Oh well, they are still nice ladies and have many attributes to be admired.

The one thing that has totally made me go over the edge, scare-wise, are several essays and opinion pieces I have read regarding the people (advisors) with whom Hillary is surrounding herself.  I think that speaks volumes about any candidate.  Unfortunately, Hillary has selected the "old guard" from Bill’s WhiteHouse days and some of them are not the most savory characters we have seen.   Missing among the old guard are George Stephanopoulos and DeeDee Meyers plus a few others whose names I cannot dredge up at the moment…but both George and DeeDee have not recently said things about Hillary’s personality and modus operandum that is flattering to Ms. Clinton, so they are definitely out of the picture as advisors.  Some she has chosen should give us pause when we think about who she is choosing to advise her on crucial national issues.  For starters, she has brought on board Paul Begala, Sid Blumenthal, and James Carville, who have all proven themselves to be ruthless, mean-spirited and willing to do most anything (lie? cheat?) in order to protect and defend their President.  These three had big parts in preventing Bill from being ridden out of DC on the rails on at least one occasion (his impeachment).  The advisor that really scares the living daylights out of me, however, is none of the above. It is Hillary’s choice of Samuel (Sandy) Berger as one of her key national security advisors.

Berger is part of a "triumverate" which includes Madeliene Albright and Richard Holbrooke, who were key advisors to William Jefferson Clinton in his years as President.  Hillary has chosen the same advisors as Bill had, which tells me something else about her….she is either extremely dependent on her husband’s political know-how or she is a clone of Bill, politically speaking.  I always thought that Hillary was far more liberal but perhaps in order to get elected she must play the role of slightly conservative Democrat as Bill did so well back in the 2 terms in the 1990′s.

Sandy Berger differs from the other clutch of Hillary’s advisors in that he committed a major crime by stealing and destroying materials from the National Archives and is the very first National Security Advisor to any President to do so.    I am now going to give a direct quote from an article by Ronald A. Cass published on "Real Clear Politics".  

"For those who missed the story, Berger was President Clinton’s designated representative to the 9/11 Commission investigating the intelligence gathering and analysis preceding terrorist attacks that  took the lives of 3,000 innocents on American soil, by far the worst such attack in our history.  As President Clinton’s representative, Berger was granted access to specially classified material in the National Archive relating to the handling of information respecting the threat from Al Quaida and the Clinton administration’s response in preparation for testimony before the 9/11 Commission.  Berger willfully removed the classified material, hiding documents first in his pants and then under a construction trailer, destroyed them and lied to officials investigating the theft.   We’ll never know just what information Berger destroyed. The only people who know aren’t likely to talk—after all they wanted the information destroyed.  The 9/11 Commission did not know of Berger’s theft and destruction of classified documents when he testified in front of them, trumpeting his former boss’s handling of terroristic threats and faulting President Bush for failing to do enough to prevent attacks."

Further on in his article Cass says this about Hillary Clinton’s choice of Sandy Berger as a key advisor to her campaign (and possibly to her Presidency if she is elected) :

"Hilllary Clinton’s inclusion of Sandy Berger in her circle of advisors demonstrates that, notwithstanding her law license, she really doesn’t care about the law. She doesn’t care whether someone violates the law if they’re on her team, if the violation in some way helps the Clintons.  Hilllary’s indifference to criminal- wrong doings suggests that she sees herself as above the law when it is an impediment to something she wants."  (unquote)

Sandy Berger never was given the punishment he deserved for what he did.  He got off with a lame apology, a fine, and the loss of his own law license.  But he was willing to fall on the sword for Bill Clinton and take the consequences for being the only National Security Advisor in American history to steal and destroy classifed material from the National Archives.    Now I wonder if his inclusion on Hillary’s inside circle of advisors is a way to keep him "shut up" and to keep him  from revealing, at some time future, what he actually stole and destroyed.   That would not be beneficial for  a possible Hillary presidency. However my greatest fear is that information like this will not matter at all in a Presidential election in which Hillary might win.  With the possible election of a dominatingly Democratic House and Senate, we could see our nation turned into a near-Socialist, Police State the likes of which we cannot even imagine.

I am alone for the first time in a week!   The house is empty except for the Cat and me and the cat is asleep in her "condo" (safe refuge in the basement where she has lived the past 6 days). The last family has just left for their own home.  B.G. has gone off with our RV camper to have the hydraulic thingamabob fixed by his good friend Bob the fix-anything man who lives at a nearby lakeshore.    I am ready to take a catnap myself after really "putting out" a lot of energy and a lot of my "work ethic" since last Wednesday.  I have prepared many meals and snacks.  I have used up all the leftovers—-even the gravy.  Only one small jar of cooked cranberry preserves and three small pieces of pumpkin pie remain.  I forgot to mention that which is in the freezer….3 qts and 1 pt of turkey broth ready to be used for soup or more gravy with other meals.  There is also a small package of leftover frozen turkey meat which will be used in a creamed turkey/chicken recipe this Thursday to put over baking powder biscuits. (yummy memory of childhood meals)   Even the massive output of our personal lefse factory has been devoured or taken to Bismarck for Christmas feasting.

There are towels, sheets, a tablecloth and a few miscellaneous items to be laundered  and put away til the next holiday comes in a few weeks.  In the meantime I can rest and reflect on the holiday just past.    We have the most wonderful daughters in law!  Our sons chose girls who are like real daughters to us and what a blessing they have been and will continue to be. Our sons are the delight of our hearts….fine grown up men with their own families.  Our eight grandkids love to come to our home and are sincerely sorry to go when they have to leave us.  Another true family blessing!     We have tried ice skating on the frozen – over, glass-like "dead river" and if the snow holds off for awhile,we are going to have skating conditions like those described in one of my old favorite books, HANS BRINKER AND THE SILVER SKATES.   Oh how I hope for that blessing in December!!!   We had our first "winter picnic" on Thanksgiving Day afternoon and roasted "tube steaks" (hot dogs and ate them with potato chips and Doritos and corn chips).  We all got "smoked" but good, and we could smell bonfire smoke for the rest of the day inside the house when we all came inside.  What a blessing and what fun we had doing it.   

There are still some dishes to clear up in the kitchen and on the table, but for now I will enjoy these quiet reflections and probably ignore the kitchen til a bit later this afternoon.  First a quiet sit-down in the recliner with today’s newspaper, the crossword puzzle, maybe a bit of reading in my current novel (A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS) and maybe a little snooze for refreshment.   The sounds of silence are a welcome respite.  
Another thing to be thankful for—–the liveliness of children and grandchildren is such a delight;  the good natured shouts from the game and card tables are a joy;  the massive load of dirty dishes, glasses and pots and pans are acceptable.   The quiet reflective time I have right now is delectable and I am going to savor it for this one afternoon!

"The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity".

I got a gift from a friend last year at Christmas….it was a subscription to a bimonthly magazine published by Mary Engelbreit, she of the wonderful artwork on greeting cards, who has expanded her business into many new areas.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my subscription to "Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion" since last January.    The slogan used in my blog title comes off a poster by Mary Engelbriet showing two children engrossed in sharing a book with their mother looking over their shoulders.   It reminded me of two home schooled families I am intimately acquainted with.  Two of my daughters- in- law are doing a marvelous job of home schooling two sets of our grandchildren and I have noticed that these particular grandkids have a great sense of curiosity about many subjects.  Some of them seem to be particularly able to make deep thinking an everyday experience. I do not know if this is attributable to their style of education but I have a suspicion that it might be related.

All children are born curious.  From the time they are able to get around….either by creeping on all fours or pulling themselves up and moving from one piece of furniture to another, they are determined to explore whatever causes them to be curious.  Unfortunately and often, their curiosity has to be stifled due to exploring something dangerous (like an electric outlet) or, as I observed earlier today, a sparkling Christmas tree loaded with decorations that a curious one- year old boy was wanting to touch, pull on and examine.  His mother stopped him in the midst of his curiosity—- out of necessity. 

It seems to be a pattern among our children (and grandchildren) that natural curiosity is too often stifled by adults in many ways.  In the early years of  schooling, children are eager to learn and to explore unknown things. But as the years pass and they get more involved with "previously set" school curriculums, the curiosity becomes dictated by what the teachers are determined (by state standards) to teach to children.  A lot of kids do not have a chance to satisfy their curiosity about other things that are not  related to school curriculum.  Fortunate kids have parents who tune in to such wonders and curiosities  and encourage their children by bringing them to libraries/bookstores and introducing them to the wonders of doing personal research and finding the books or other materials that will help them seek out that which makes them curious.  Those who are not so fortunate might get a  "stop bothering me….I’m busy" response from parents or family members who do not recognize the importance of a curious child who really wants to know things about which they are curious.  The alternatives sometimes turn out to be sitting in front of a TV set, being introduced to mindless computer or video games or other similarly meaningless activities.  One can see the natural curiosity being systematically squelched by adults who have grown dull in their own thinking , having lost their own curiosity in the frantic pace of modern life.  The adults teach the children to follow in their footsteps….footsteps which often lead to a dullness,boredom, and lack of interest in truly curious things just waiting to be explored.

I am always cheered when I meet up with children…. and adults…. who have not lost their sense of curiosity but still pursue that which fascinates them, and in the process of discovery they are self-educating themselves in so many ways.    The most curious among us have done the most in opening up new frontiers, whether it be in science, business, the fine arts or any other area of human endeavor.  Without the curiosity of a Ben Franklin, a Tom Edison, a Marie Curie,  a Rembrandt, a Leonardo da Vinci or a  Warren Buffet…..where would all the new and marvelous discoveries and  knowledge come from???    Truly curious people have added so much to life throughout all the ages past  and present.   I only hope that curiosity is not discouraged or eliminated from the future life of human beings yet to be born.

I checked out some of my favorite news sites this morning and saw, on one, a picture of shoppers crushing up against each other in the middle of the night outside an Old Navy store.  Once again I wonder…..how do they do it?   Why do they do it?   Do they have a secret death wish to be trampled underfoot like those who get crushed at World Soccer matches?   Would it be a claim to fame to have died shopping at the before- dawn sales on Black Friday???   I am in the minority….those who read about it and sit at a computer in their ratty old bathrobes, drinking fresh fragrant coffee and vowing NEVER to participate on this day of frenzy in the Malls and other shopping venues.

Wilma D. cured me of sales shopping at the tender age of 9 or 10 in my small hometown shopping district.   One sunny summer day, one of the two small "department" stores we had at the time, offered "yard goods" on sale…I think it was 3 yards for $1.00 and my mother wanted 3 yards of the sales fabric with which to make aprons or apron.  But she did not want to go into the fray and get it herself so she sent her eldest daughter…she taught me to go shopping instead of having to do it herself when my sister was a toddler.  I was good at fetching pre-ordered groceries at Peterson’s or Hanson’s markets;   butter and buttermilk at the Creamery,  getting my own shoes fitted at one of the department stores (with the caution that I "wait so that Allan can wait on you")…..delivering dry cleaning to the old wooden dry cleaning building;  and when I got my driver’s license…going on even more  complicated errands as long as they were within the confines of our small town boundaries.  But I digress.

On that fateful day I was cured of sales shopping, I entered the small town store to find what seemed like hordes of adult women who were pushing and shoving each other and holding bolts of cloth above their heads.  I was horrified to see women who had been my Sunday School teachers…church ladies… or the librarian… or my calm, peaceful neighbors….getting physical with each other and scowling as though this was not fun at all.   I timidly wormed my way in and found a bolt of cotton percale that nobody was grabbing for…..I cautiously began my advance toward the counter to get my cloth measured out and "charged" to our account. But Wilma D saw me and decided that she, too, wanted that same cloth bolt I was hanging onto.  She came at me like a giant Wooly Mammoth and in her deep scary voice, said "I want that yardage" (or something to that effect). She snatched it out of my little hands and scared the bejabbers out of me because EVERYONE was scared of Wilma D.  She had a reputation that was similar to some of the tough guys in town and it was even rumored that she could beat up her husband when provoked by alcohol….which was a fairly common provocation.  I was not about to argue with Wilma D so I meekly handed the bolt of cloth over to her and shrank back into the sea of legs and substantial stomachs pushing and shoving against me.   I went home defeated and told my mother what had happened.  She got a look on her face that I shall never forget.  She had encountered Wilma D in various ways also—-particularly at the local garden club flower shows.  Wilma D was highly competitive and grew gladiolas and irises that were always the winners at the spring and late summer flower shows at either the Methodist or Lutheran church basements.  My mother was a fierce flower show competitor too, and wanted to win "the Cup" …that hallowed trophy given to the flower show winners by the First National Bank each summer.  Mother never got the Cup until Wilma D decided to retire from flower show competition….nobody who was a legitimate garden club member ever  did win til Wilma D dropped out…..so she had reason for that "look" I saw that day.    She calmly said, "we’ll just wait til later and I will go with you."     We waited an hour and went back to the scene of shopping mayhem.  It was calmer.  The bolts of cotton cloth were still in disarray from the earlier battles but there was still a fairly full bolt of pink- print cotton from which we got our 3 yards for a dollar.

I have never gone to any big sales event again…..not til "later" which is often a couple of days later, when the bargains are all gone.  Oh well….I didn’t want them anyway.  I would rather pay the non-sales price than chance encountering any more Wilma D’s at sales events.

It is Thanksgiving Day 2007 and it seems like the day after Thanksgiving….we had our big turkey- and- all- the- trimmings dinner last night due to family obligations later today for one of our families.    Ohhhhh…..we are full to the brim, even today.  We all seem to have a "tryptophan hangover" from eating a lot of turkey meat last night.  Turkey is the food highest (I think) in natural tryptophan, a sleep inducing substance also found in bananas and milk.  No wonder everyone falls asleep after Thanksgiving dinner each year.

Today, as an anti-climax to last night’s feast, we all gathered in the pale noon sunshine and invigorating cold air next to a roaring bonfire which had burned to very HOT coals by noon. We had hot dogs, chips, fruit juice and baby carrots for Thanksgiving Day!!!   Then we trooped back to the house to warm up and share Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Cake (home-made) for grandson Adam’s 16th birthday.   He did not appreciate Gramma and Aunt Mary singing him the lyrics from an old popular song which goes…. "you’re sixteen….you’re beautiful….and you’re mine!"     He thought it was pretty dumb as any 16 year old, tall, handsome guy would!!!   Getting the driver’s license is a high priority now.

The 8 cousins had a great "sleepover" last night.  They are getting to the ages where they do not see each other as much as they used to and really enjoy it when they can all be together …even if it is for a short time.  They made the most of the day and night and we had wall-to-wall cousins in the living room last night.  They watched a movie til 1 a.m. (had lots more staying power than the adults present).  Today they are tired too after such fun last night. 

We also played our traditional loud, raucous, overly-exciting game of "Catchphrase" after dinner last night.  The cousins were busy trying out a new game called "Apples To Apples" and that is a fun-filled game also..and a good one for vocabulary strengthening—-only it is fun and you do not realize you are stretching your vocabulary knowledge. We ran out of time to play P-I-G which is another loud, dangerous game the way we play it…instead of putting our fingers along side our nose when we get 4- of- a- kind, we put spoons in a pile  and we have to grab a spoon.  There is always one spoon short so someone gets to be the PIG….but last year I hurt one of my tender fingers (arthrititic) and I am not so eager to play the spoon version of PIG this year.  Maybe if I hold my cards in my left hand and grab for a spoon with my right?   I might try it that way.  It can be really hard on your hands and also on the table.

I would go on and on about all the fun at the Buffalo Bluff but I am having a tryptophan attack  and need to take a good nap.

 When I was a teenager, I worked on the staff of our high school newspaper (THE HI-LITES) We always included a column of silliness (we didn’t think it was silly at the time) called "Onions and Orchids"  (or sometimes "Garlic and Gardenias")     So now in my golden years I am awarding again a few Orchids and Onions for newsmakers or newsbreakers.

   ONIONS:Within the past few days the "leaders" of two hostile nations (Iran and Venezuela) have been issuing threats about cutting off the oil supplies to the United States or any other nation that tries to do in Iran’s developing nuclear facilities.  The two thundered about oil shortages and oil prices beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.  Huge (Hugo) Chavez and the other guy—Aminadina……the guy with the unspellable name unless you look it up…..are proving what our ridiculous dependence on foreign oil, especially that of countries that hate the U.S.,  has been a long term and foolish policy in this country.  We can thank our inept politicians and the radical "greenie" tree huggers for making sure that we cannot use our own oil resources. Also give thanks to the politicos who have successfully blocked any real development of alternative sources of energy.

 ONIONS to Nancy Pelosi (she earns onions, leafy spurge and garlic a lot these days)   for trying to undermine a bill in Congress which would guarantee that emplyers of any walk should be able to require their hire-ees to speak English on the job.  Of course Pelosi caved to the Hispanic caucus in the Congress and tried to get that eliminated so that the illegal immigrants and others would keep their own native language.  How strange!  The legal immigrants who poured into this nation in the 18th and early 19th century were willing and eager to become US citizens and learn to speak the language of the nation—English. RAW onions, to you Nancy!!!                                                                                               ORCHIDS to the young people in the F-WF-M communities who have collected so much food for the food pantries that they were able to cover the floor of the FargoDome.  What an inspiration to read and see on television..both local and national..the teenagers and preteens who worked hard to collect food for the needy. Well done!

 ORCHIDS  to Excel Energy and all the other sponsors for Tuesday night’s Parade Of Lights which kicks off the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays each year.   BG and I decided on the spur of the moment yesterday to take it in and also participate in the Community Caroling that was new to the event this year.  What fun we had watching the lengthy and lovely parade of lighted vehicles, lighted horses, lighted people…..it was truly a celebration of lights.  At this season of dark, long nights, seeing colored lights of any sort is most helpful and cheerful.  It was the best of light displays and generated a feeling of being in a small town event.  Interestingly, Metro Drug and the coffee shop near Metro were doing land office business in popcorn and coffee.  There was a true comraderie among strangers as we stood lines to buy our snacks and drinks.  

 Fargo Moorhead West Fargo are definitely not small towns any more but the people who populate the tri- cities are truly friendly like small town people generally are.  The fun of gathering at the bank plaza on north Broadway and joining our voices  to sing familiar Christmas songs was such a great experience.  I know this community caroling is only going to grow as each year comes along.  It was a great beginning.   I could only remember what fun it was to sing carols out in the open on a cold late fall night at the first "Christmas On The Prairie" celebration at Bonanzaville some 25+ years ago.  It was SO cold at that carol sing that the brass instruments of players at the old gazebo at Bonanzaville had their instruments freeze up so we sang "a capella" after the horns shut down!!!  Vince Lindstrom and J. Robert Hanson were the song leaders on that long- ago night.  Last night the Lions of Fargo were the movers and shakers of the new community carol sing.

The day is near….Thanksgiving Day, 2007.  It looks like Thanksgiving!  The landscape is pretty much gray and brown.  The trees are leafless skeletons standing in the river bottoms .  A cold wind has blown for many days from one direction or another.  The sun is low in the southern sky and it sets so early that the nights are dark and long and sleepiness sets in about 7 p.m. for those of us who are greatly affected by light and dark.  When it gets to this time each November my mind starts to play the tape of "Over The River And Through The Woods" which I learned in school so long ago.

Last week some person on the radio said this about Thanksgiving:  (with great enthusiasm) "Thanksgiving is all about turkey and football!!"   He was most emphatic and I am sure he is also very convinced that that is what "it’s all about".  It has certainly become that in a large number of American homes.   Football and Feasting aside, Thanksgiving is mostly a forgotten holiday.  Do we ever see anything about Thanksgiving in the stores?  Pretty much never. But that can be attributed to the fact that Thanksgiving was suposed to be, since its first celebration by the Pilgrims of "Plimoth Plantation",  a day of giving thanks to the Almighty for His blessings, His care and protection, and His sovereignty.   American culture has a hard time making that sort of a Holiday into a commercially crass reason  to make big profits.   Nobody goes into an orgy of present-buying for Thanksgiving and nobody spends money on costumes, masks or other paraphernalia as in the "other fall holiday".     Halloween and Christmas are definitely the big money-makers so it is natural to ignore Thanksgiving.  About the only things one can sell for Thanksgiving are tablecloths, napkins, decorated paper plates and…..Who! how about the food?     Grocrey stores find Thanksgiving a profit-making holiday since Americans are willing to spend enormous amounts of money for the feasting that is a hallmark of Thanksgiving Day.   The only other profitable factor is for the television stations that carry all the football games (does anyone really watch the parades on TV?….another thing that Thanksgiving is "all about")  

Thanksgiving is, for most Americans, that short pause on a long weekend in late November between the Halloween frenzy of costumes and lawn decorations and the run up to Christmas.  That next commercial frenzy begins on the day after Thanksgiving when Santa Claus lands in Mall parking lots…from helicopters, jeeps, pickups, or in a sleigh that is hauled in by truck or train or some vehicular means.  HoHoHo!   He is lead into the Mall where he is seated on his "throne" in anticipation of all the wildly hysterical parents bringing their often-reluctant or scared, crying tots to "sit on Santa’s lap" and perpetuate the long-held myth that Santa is the source of the pile of Overindulgence on Christmas Eve or Morning, depending on family tradition.  The day after Thanksgiving is an Orgy of shopping for Christmas, that other holiday that finds Americans going broke from buying things that we do not need or probably will not use.

Supposedly this is all harmless family fun.   But  I wonder if it is all so harmless.   We now have several generations thinking that Thankgiving is "all about turkey and football".  What must they think of other  Holidays( a derivation of Holy Day)  that have been revved up in similar fashion??    Let’s face it folks….we really "worship" a lot of empty idols which have been created by our own culture.