30,007 !

A grandson was not used to stop-and-go traffic but we have a stretch with shops and firms all along the way.  There are enough driveways and offices and businesses that the car ahead of you may be forced to stop to allow the car ahead of that to slow down and turn off.  That was the situation when a grandson of mine totaled his car on the rear end of a pickup immediately ahead of him.  He needed a car so I gave him mine.

Then, I went to our local Honda dealer and said I was in the market for a replacement for me. He showed me a nice-looking Honda Fit.  He said it had not been driven much and was a good buy.  I said,"So you are telling me this car was just driven to church once a week by a nice little old lady."  He said,"Yeah".  I often think of that calm, simple answer.  I took the car and am still driving it.  This morning, after a trip to the store, I looked at the mileage as I turned off the engine.  30,007!

CNN photos of the week

It is easy to take photos with modern phones and tablets.  I think my blog is low on pictures and I admire CNN Photos of the Week.  I used to post a link to their weekly photos but they started posting a banner on their photo pages that requires acceptance of their cookies and usage policy.  My impression is that no statement of policy is of much use since the whole matter is too complex, especially for the average visitor to their site.  I looked for "recent photos from all over the world" and I found Reuters.  I sympathize with the problems of copyright these days and the problems of visual art, privacy and communication.

Another aspect of the whole matter is that News photos tend to show events that many people already have knowledge of.  News being what it is, many are of murders, warfare and natural disasters. I had my own darkroom when I was in the 4th grade, back in the days of developing film, not modern digital methods.  We both know that the world is filled with beauty and lovely views and scenes.

Can you get out?

Elderly professors can think too much.  Several members of my family all went to an "escape room".  That is a room into which we were 'locked' until members of my group could figure out how to unlock the door and escape.  I was fully aware that other people in my group had been in such an adventure before.  I could more or less sense that they were in enthusiastic anticipation of guessing the code to unlock switches and doors to escape. The room I visited had warnings and instructions to leave quickly and immediately if someone in the group became overcome with panic or sickness.  I have had much experience observing my surroundings, appreciating their design and colors so I had a strong feeling that I could wait for more experienced and enthusiastic relatives to open locks.  I didn't want to spend time gawking at them so I focused on the design of the room and the rules in play.  We were told we had an hour to experiment and escape.  60 minutes?  Ha!

Robins and snow

We just had a little bit of snow a few minutes ago.  Nothing much.  It would be easy to miss.  We have plenty of robins and until today, we had a warm spell.  Warmth melts the snow and water seeping down makes the earthworms come to the surface.  That is where the robins find and eat them.  We are seeing tiny bits of green leaves appear.

Do it from here

I went to grad school at the beginning of the current digital age. I have seen how more and more of our lives involve electronic ways of doing things, from flirting to shopping.  That tends to mean less need for travel and gasoline but also less need for movement and using our bodies in ways other than punching keys.

Sorry, Sir, Knowing myself is not possible

There are too many components in me and way too many unknowns.  I am learning about all sorts of unanswered questions about what is in the air I breathe and what effects they have or don't have on me.  My wife tells me about things that happened on trips we took together that I don't remember.

You may remember that an early Greek philosopher said that a basic principle in life is "Know thyself".  I agree that knowing myself is a good goal and is something to work toward.  However, that goal is not actually achievable.  Being beyond me doesn't mean that I should not work toward self knowledge but it does mean I am not going to get there.

Clock-watching

Here is a link to a results page for a search for "clock-watching." t.ly/WQyqx

 I think I could be termed a clock-watcher.  I tend to anticipate a coming event.  I often get ready too early but I picture being just on time, not early.  I tend to compare clocks around the house and other sources of the current time, such as internet-connected devices and the web page at time.gov.  

I have seen cartoons about being late and the difficulties such a habit can create but I haven't seen much about being early.

I was impressed by a grad school course that was about human minds and habits when the subject of astronomical observations came up.  The personal differences in habits and speed of recognition and recording an event needed to be recognized.

A vote for Mary's books

I am reading "Replaceable You" by Mary Roach aloud while Lynn does jigsaw puzzles.  Mary's books are unusual, witty and informative.  "Replaceable You" covers parts of the human body that get replaced, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.  "Bonk" is about human sexual intercourse, that important process that made us.  

I like Amazon Kindle ebooks.  They are virtually weightless, immediately available, arrive as a sort of phone call. Many of my friends dislike ebooks for lack of heft or scent or simply being electronic instead of paper.

I look up things

But I often find that whatever I used as a search term, there happens to be a band by that name.  Pages and pages of where I can get recordings of them, what happened to them, where there are memorials to them.

When I asked myself what do I remember of the many poems of Ogden Nash that I read, the "Don't anther" poem of yesterday came to mind eventually.  But the first thing was one of his "Strange Case" poems.  It is the one about a married couple who get off on boredom and travel the world seeking boring experiences.  It turns out that somebody made a movie, a cartoon based on his idea.  So, instead of pages and pages related to a band, I got pages and pages of info on the cartoon: cast, artists, producers, etc.  Never found a clean copy of Mr. Donnybrook's Boredom.

Off to college

Our older greatgranddaughter plans to attend college in the fall.  She is intelligent, imaginative and energetic.  I wouldn't be too surprised if she shines there.  

When I was her age, I thought plenty about the war going on.  I didn't feel I had shown any special ability for military service.  Both my homeroom teacher and my guidance counselor went out of their way to advise me to go to college.  I had thought I might be destined to be a psychotherapist and public school teaching seemed similar and within my budget.  I hadn't planned on the largely female group of students.  There were pretty, intelligent, attractive women everywhere.

I can recall the instant my daughter drove off in our car to investigate college.  It was an emotional moment for me.  I have learned that college can be a doorway into adult life.  It certainly was for me.