November 24, 2020

I have mentioned going outside and seeing the street sweeper, but the real purpose was to comply with Melissa’s request to look at the Snowball bush (Hydrangea arborescens).  While it had valiantly tried to sport flowers the last two weeks (one cluster only), this week it finally decided to call it quits and acknowledge that fall was here and winter was approaching fast.  Even in defeat its leaves had turned a beautiful red.  I had to admit, it was a lot prettier than the street sweeper.

I went online to get the explanation for why the leaves of deciduous trees change colors.  The pigment that causes leaves to be green is chlorophyll, and this is the substance that allows plants to make food using sunlight (photosynthesis).  During spring and summer when there is plenty of sunlight, plants make a lot of chlorophyll.  When it starts to get cold, plants stop making chlorophyll and break the existing chlorophyll into smaller molecules.  As chlorophyll goes away, other pigments start to show their colors.  That is why the leaves turn yellow or red in fall.  Since the leaf is no longer producing chlorophyll, the tree takes the nutrients back into the stems and roots.  The leaves die and then fall off the tree.

We had a large Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the back yard of our house at the conference center where I was director.  I knew this was a conifer but had never been around one until the camp.  These trees have needles that change color in fall and then drop from the branches. They are deciduous conifers and behave just like leafy deciduous trees, such as the maples and oaks I was used to.  When it happened the first year, I thought the tree had died.  I was pleasantly surprised to see it restored to health the following spring.

Thoughts:  Since we have been traveling through the Boston Mountains every week, we have been able to watch as the tree leaves turned from green to the luxurious golds and reds.  It has gotten colder at night and the wind has picked up, and the leaves are gone.  Death and rebirth are a constant process in the biomes of life.  The death of the leaves returns much needed nutrients back to the soil to be absorbed by the roots to produce new leaves the following spring.  While this works great on a macro level (the tree), it is not so much for the individual leaves.  We seem to be in a time of caring more about the leaf (oneself) than the tree (others).  We are stronger together than as one. Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 23, 2020

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I was surprised when we went to rescue Melissa’s succulents from work two weeks ago to see that Lowell had already hung their Christmas wreaths on the light poles throughout the town’s main streets. I have also noticed the Christmas candy was available on a back aisle of the local store even while the Halloween candy was being sold.  Now it has taken a full presence as we prepare for this next onslaught.  The early arrival of store candy was matched by one of my neighbors, who took advantage of the good weather last week to hang their Christmas lights.  While they have yet to turn them on, they are ready to go.

When I was director of a conference center in Kansas, I hung over 10,000 lights and set up a variety of creches and displays on the grounds.  While I did get help from a workday to hang lights, the bulk of the activity fell to me.  That meant I spent most of November making sure the lights had power and the displays were set in place.  I saw this as a labor of love to give back to the local community.  Visitors varied but there were usually 10-15 cars a night that came through the displays.  After I left, the lights no longer went up.  Like most good things, you need someone willing to drive them for them to happen.

I have noticed several stores are advertising that due to Covid-19, they are holding Black Friday sales all month during November.  Some of the bargains are in the store, but most are available online.    We cannot miss this important shopping event; we just make it early.  When I was younger Christmas always kicked off with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I have heard this year’s parade will be more virtual, with the balloons only going a couple of blocks and no bands or onlookers.  My first thought is why bother?  Then I realized it does provide a semblance of tradition.

Thoughts:  I have refused to watch the Hallmark Channel or others that have been airing Christmas shows for at least a month.  Like Macy’s, I prefer to wait until Thanksgiving before I allow myself the anticipation of Christmas.  The holidays will be different this year.  The CDC and even our Governor are asking people to not hold big family gatherings.  Some are listening and yesterday I heard of a growing number of airline cancelations.  While I do not hold Black Friday and Macy’s parade among my cherished traditions, there are other things I do.  I have begun early to think about how to accomplish the traditions I hold dear, while being safe in doing them.  I have come to realize, it is still a tradition, even if it is done different.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 21, 2020

I could not figure out what the loud whirling sound was outside yesterday afternoon.  Usually when we get loud machine noises, they only last a short while.  This droned on for minutes and seemed to be getting louder.  Melissa came into my office and told me I needed to go outside and look at the beautiful colors on our snowball bush as its leaves had turned and were ready to drop.  When I went out, I did see the bush, but also the cause of the noise.  We had a street sweeper combing the neighborhood.  It was going up and down the neighborhood streets scrubbing the leaves.  It was equipped with a huge vacuum (the source of the noise) which literally sucked the leaves into the trucks trash bin.

Several years ago, Melissa and I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras (Bucket List: check).  While most of the heavy partying went on late at night, we were usually in bed by midnight and were up early the next morning to explore the sights before the crowds got up.  That meant we got to witness the cleanup crews that went up and down the streets in the French Quarter.  This was a combination of a water truck and a street sweeper.  A smaller version of a street sweeper would pass through the narrow streets sucking most of the trash into its receptacle.  Then two men came behind the water truck hosing the sidewalks and gutters, flushing everything down the drains.  The street was ready for another night of revelry.

When I moved to Kansas my house had two large Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) trees in the front yard.  I bought a mulching mower when I moved to the house.  This was for the leaves more than the grass.  I would wait until the leaves dropped and then mulch them under.  One year they all seemed to drop overnight.  While I could not get to them before work, I knew the job waited at the end of the day.  You may have heard, Kansas is windy.  When I got home that evening my yard was completely bare.  I never did figure out where the leaves went, but I did not have to mow.  A win/win for me. 

Thoughts:  Our yard has had a lot less leaves this year than in the past.  We could not figure out why, until we realized there had been four large trees removed from several neighbors’ yards.  Our Red Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) has been dropping its leaves on the succulent bed beneath it.  When it stops, I will have to get the leave blower and blow them into the yard to be mulched under.  I mulch because I do not like to rake, but also for the environment.  A study by Michigan State University indicates that mulching is 100% beneficial for the lawn.  Mulched leaves are decomposed by earthworms and microorganisms and turned into plant-usable organic matter.  Mulched leaves are better for the greater community, too, because they stay on-site and out of landfills.  Another win/win.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 20, 2020

Since the weather was nice Melissa decided it was a good day to put some of the winter growing succulents on the patio to soak up some rays.  While they get some sun on the porch, the plastic cuts down on the amount of light and limits some light colors from coming through.  That is not a problem with the dormant plants, but the active plants need light to grow.  Melissa purchased several grow lamps for the long periods of cold weather we will get later, but right now it is just as easy to let them air out in the warm sunshine.

When I was growing up part of your right of passage every summer was getting a bad sunburn.  As the summer wore on and your tan darkened, I believed I did not have to worry, as my tanned skin blocked the burning rays.  As I got older, I found out about the damaging effect of sunlight on your skin.  It not only causes aging but can also causes skin cancer.  I have had several “tanning” friends who have ended up with skin cancer (Melanoma).  This is usually curable, but it can be fatal if left untreated.  There is a five-year survival rate of around 99% if it is caught early.  That still means one in every hundred.

I was interested to find that succulents react like people.  Light is essential for the growth of every plant through the process of photosynthesis.  However, plants can get sunburn from exposure to too much sunlight.  Even drought-resistant plants like succulents get sunburn if they get exposed to sunlight for more than the required number of hours.  The problem comes as the number of hours of sunlight differs with different types of succulents.  You also need to beware of shifting the plants from shaded to direct sunlight.  You need to start to sun them slowly to let them adapt to the full sun.  Oddly, it is this same exposure that allows them to produce their brilliant colors.  Sounds a lot like my summer tan.

Thoughts:  As a boy, I never used sunscreen.  As an adult I do on occasion, especially when I plan on fishing on the water (reflected sun somehow seems worse).  Properly applied SPF 50 sunscreen blocks 98% of UVB rays, and SPF values between 30 and 50 offer adequate sunburn protection, even for people sensitive to sunburn.  Many today avoid the sun and instead use tanning beds or lamps.  According the Skin Cancer Foundation, tanning beds provide the same type of light as the sun, that is why you tan.  That is also why you can get basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 19, 2020

When I checked the Game and Fish website it stated we have an excellent outlook for deer season this year.  The Muzzle loading season has past but there is still time left for the modern gun season.  The frosty temperatures put enough chill in the air to keep mosquitoes and other insects at bay, and conditions are perfect for some great fellowship by the campfire at deer camp.  I was living in Utah when I heard this joke for the first time.  Question: “How many Mormons (insert Baptist, etc.) do you take with you when you go deer hunting?  Answer: “At least two.  Otherwise they drink all your beer.”  While I have always wondered about the practice of mixing guns and alcohol, it seems to be the norm.  The sign on the marquee of one of our local stores reads, “Free ice with every case of Beer.”

According to the International Hunter Education Association, in an average year, fewer than 1,000 people in the United States and Canada are accidentally shot by hunters, and of these, fewer than 75 are fatalities. In many cases, these fatalities are self-inflicted by hunters who trip, fall, or have other accidents that cause them to shoot themselves with their own weapons. Most of the other fatalities come in hunting parties, where one hunter shoots another accidentally.  I remember during George W’s presidency that Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot one of his fellow Quail hunters.  Apparently, there was “a little” alcohol involved.

Hunter activity dwindles as the season wears on, but veteran hunters know the best time to catch a trophy buck’s guard down is still right around the corner.  The normally wary bucks seem to lose may their edge as the peak of breeding season comes and they focus more on finding does than avoiding danger.  Breeding season in Arkansas, or the Rut, comes in a brief window between October and December. While some females may be receptive to breeding earlier or later, the peak of this “rutting” activity occurs in mid- to late November.  The dates differ across the state, and even more across the nation.  This is caused by the local weather.

Thoughts:  I had a friend in Utah who recounted a recent trip with friends around the hunting campfire.  He got up early the next morning and slogged his way up the side of a steep ridge.  When he reached the top, there was a hunter intently watching the open spaces below.  He asked if he had seen any deer.  The response was, “No, but I have gotten a couple of sound shots.”  That was the last time my friend accompanied the hunt.  I noticed my buck and doe statues on the hill I commented on previously have moved back together, leaving the fawn to fend for itself.  This is another obvious sign of the Rut.  Stay safe.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 18, 2020

During the 1980’s I researched the effect of lead smelting on a local community at the turn of the century Utah.  Part of my research was on the local cemetery records and stated cause of death.  What I found was fascinating.  The cause of death followed predictable patterns as the health science uncovered new diseases and the symptoms associated with them.  An example would be to lump everyone with a cough as consumption.  That could have been tuberculosis, or it may have been lung cancer, but little was known about the difference or the cause of either, so they were listed as consumption.  When tuberculosis was discovered in 1882, the cause of all the deaths changed to TB.  It did that for every new disease discovered.  What surprised me was few residents were listed as dying from lead poisoning.

Even as we reel from the staggering statistic of 11.7 million cases and 254,000 deaths related to the Covid-19 virus in America, most researchers tell us that is not the true picture.  Estimates say there are perhaps three times as many cases and deaths that the virus is responsible for.  These estimates are based on two pieces of information.  One is the way deaths are reported.  If you die without a positive test, it is not considered a result of the virus.  Early testing was not widespread, and there was no need to test after death.  The other piece is the virus is particularly lethal for people with pre-existing conditions.  While the virus may be the cause of death, it is often attributed to the pre-existing condition.

As part of my earlier research, I tried to obtain oral interviews from living persons who had worked in the lead smelter.  The smelter had closed twenty years earlier, and while I did find and interview two workers on their experiences, both had only worked for a short time before the smelter closed.  I puzzled over this until I came across an article on the effect of lead poisoning.  Very few people exposed to lead receive a toxic dose.  However, the lead settles in the vital organs and cause cancer or failures which result in death.  That means while lead caused the failure, lung or liver cancer was listed as the cause of death.  There were no old smelter workers.  They had died from the side effects of lead poisoning.

Thoughts:  Another indicator of the effect of the virus is the dramatic rise in excess deaths.  Overall, an estimated 299,028 excess deaths (over the normal average) occurred from late January through October 3, 2020, with 198,081 (66%) excess deaths attributed to COVID-19.

While this may just be an anomaly, it is more likely this spike is due to the virus.  We have been told our numbers are high because we are now testing.  The science tells us our numbers were always high, we just ignored them by not testing.  Whether you die from the virus or the side effects, the result is the same. Stay safe by following the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 17, 2020

I watched another installment of Acho’s Uncomfortable Conversations last week.  It had been a while since his last post.  In the meantime, he was working on writing a book by the same name.  This installment addressed a conversation with the police.  In particular, the Petaluma, CA Police Department.  Petaluma is a small town in the central California wine country with a Black population of 1%.  Acho began his conversation with the statement, “Proximity breeds care and distance breeds fear.  The problem we have is not enough proximity which creates a lack of care or empathy.”  Four officers joined him in front of the camera, while the rest of the 35 officers participated as his first audience.  They were all white.

One of the questions Acho asked was about, “Defund the Police.”  Several commented when they first heard the phrase they immediately heard “abolish” the police.  As they thought more, they came to understand this was being used (by most) to imply moving money to other social programs so the officers would not be the only resource available.  This would allow trained counselors or health care workers to defuse the situation rather than putting an officer into a volatile situation.  Most of the officers believed that would be a good thing, but there were potential problems when the situation overlaps.  Many domestic violence and mental health calls also involve weapons.  Most of the officers felt few counselors would be willing to go into those situations until they were diffused.  The problem, however, has come with how the situation has been “diffused.”

One question the officers had for Acho was how the officers might change the image of the police.  It is clear many young Black males are afraid of officers.  How could they change this perception?  Acho mentioned news stories that have shown officers interacting with the community children through games or open conversation.  These are always depicted as an anomaly.  What was needed was more personal interaction to allow both sides to move beyond the group mentality of fear to seeing each other as individuals.  The officers needed to practice proximity, and the children needed to experience it.

Thoughts:  If we choose to keep others (read: anyone not like me) at a distance we will never find unity.  A catch phrase of the founding leaders of America is often quoted, “united we stand, divided we fall.”  A frail Patrick Henry used this phrase in the last oration he ever made, “Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter.  United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”  Henry collapsed at the end of his speech and died two months later.  Our country in 2020 has gone through killings, protests, rioting, hate mongering, and refusal to listen to anything except what I already believe.  It all revolves around a lack of proximity.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 16, 2020

We took the scenic trail through the mountains on the way to Melissa’s work this week.  She had moved several succulents to the office to keep her company.  Now she works from home and she worried if they were on their own too long, they would become desiccated.  As we came down the mountain, we entered West Fork, Arkansas.  That is when I saw it.  The Little O’ Opry House, located on the corner of Main and Campbell.  The building is closed now due to restrictions, but it used to have country music every Saturday Night from 7-10 pm.

The Little O’ Opry House is an obvious play on the Grand Ole Opry located in Nashville, Tennessee.  The Grand Ole Opry is an American country music stage concert.  It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio “barn dance” on WSM and is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history.  The Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits (Minnie Pearl?).  It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.  The Opry closed its doors to spectators and trimmed its staff in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic but has continued to air weekly episodes on radio and television.  The Opry resumed allowing spectators on a limited basis in October.

Regular performers at the Grand Ole Opry can be inducted into the organization as a member, with the performer usually asked to join by another member during a live episode.  Membership in the show’s cast must be maintained throughout an artist’s career, through frequent performances, and expires when the performer dies.  The Opry maintains a wall of fame listing every member of the Opry in the show’s history, including those that have died, lost, or relinquished their membership.  Receiving Opry membership is considered an honor that is similar in prestige to a hall of fame induction, with the caveat that several prominent country musicians never received it.  The most recent induction took place on February 7, 2020, when Gene Watson became the 212th member of the Opry.  There are now 66 standing members.  I wondered if the Little Opry has its own wall of fame.

Thoughts:  When I checked online, I found at least three Little Opries, including one in Nashville (it burned in 2009).  This is a way of acknowledging there can be only one Grand Opry, but others can come close.  Manhattan, Kansas has taken a similar approach with their own name.  Acknowledging New York City as the Big Apple (the five boroughs are The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island), Manhattan, Kansas, claims to be the Little Apple.  While everything we do may not be “the best’ or the “most beautiful,” we do have a shot at being the best we can be.  There is no shame in doing what you do well.  That only comes when we refuse to try.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 14, 2020

After addressing the greed that may have sparked the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13^th, I found another side to this day (not based on Friday) online.  World Kindness Day is an international observance on November 13th.  It was started in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement and is observed in many countries around the world.  Since its founding, World Kindness Day has been celebrated by schools, governments, and nations.  Events include THE BIG HUG, handing out Kindness Cards, and the Global Flashmob.  The Flashmob was coordinated by Orly Wahba from the US and was held in 15 countries and 33 cities.  Images of the event made the big screens in New York City.

When I checked out “kindness” online, I came across a growing movement of people who define themselves as RAKtivists.  This is an acronym for Random Acts of Kindness activist.  The site clarified this movement as, ”Anyone who believes kindness can change the world, who reminds everyone around them how much love there is in the world, who inspires hope and generosity with their actions as much as their words—they’re a RAKtivist.  And this is where RAKtivists come together to make kindness the norm.”  I found it interesting that the site had trademarked key terms to keep them from being “used” by others.  We obviously cannot allow others to practice kindness with out identifying as part of the group.

World Kindness Day is designed to highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness which binds us in community.  Kindness is a fundamental part of the human condition which bridges the divides of race, religion, politics, gender, and zip codes.  Kindness Cards are an ongoing activity which can either be given to recognize an act of kindness or ask that an act of kindness be done.  The United Nations has been approached by the peak global body, the World Kindness Movement, to have World Kindness Day officially recognized and to have its members unanimously sign a Declaration of Support for World Kindness.  This has yet to occur.

Thoughts:  The movie version of Pay It Forward was produced in 2000.  The basic premise was how an act of kindness can be “paid forward,” and the cascading effect one act can have.  The movie ends in both grief and joy.  Trevor (the originator of “pay it forward”) sees a friend being bullied and steps in to help and is killed for his intervention.  This is reported on television as well as the growing movement.  Hundreds of people who have been touched by the movement gather at a vigil to pay Trevor their respects.  It has been two decades since the first Kindness Day and the movie.  Some still strive to uphold the value of doing for others.  Others still believe it is all about me.  Each of us needs to choose.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 13, 2020

Friday the 13^th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition.  The 13^th day lands on a Friday at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year.  This year (2020) had two Friday the 13ths.  Friday the 13th occurs in any month that begins on a Sunday.  The irrational fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: “triskaidekaphobia.”  An analogy to this fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (meaning “thirteen”).  I came across three theories for why this day is considered unlucky.

Two of these theories concern a meal.  Historian Donald Dossey says the unlucky nature of the number “13” originated with a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest, and arranged for Höðr to shoot Balder with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.  “Balder died, and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day.”  Another theory is the superstition may have also risen in the Middle Ages, based on the story of the Last Supper and Crucifixion.”  This has 13 individuals (Jesus and the 12 disciples) present in the Upper Room on the 13th of Nisan, the night before his death on Good Friday.

A third theory concerns the Knights Templar.  Founded around 1118 as a monastic military order devoted to the protection of pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land following the Christian capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, the Knights Templar quickly became one of the richest and most influential groups of the Middle Ages.  By the turn of the 14th century, the Templars had established a system of castles, churches, and banks throughout Western Europe.  This astonishing wealth led to their downfall.  It began in the early morning hours of Friday, October 13, 1307.  A month earlier, secret documents had been sent by couriers throughout France by King Philip IV.  These included lurid details and innuendos of black magic and scandalous sexual rituals.  In the weeks that followed, more than 600 Templars were arrested, along with hundreds of men who managed the day-to-day banking and farming activities that kept the organization moving.  The Templars were destroyed by the greed of the French monarch.

Thoughts:  It was fitting to find a present-day article on greed posted in today’s paper.  This concerned a pork plant.  As the virus spread through the plant, officials decided to test workers but sent them back on the line while they waited for results.  Weeks later nearly 500 workers tested positive.  Meat Packing plants were declared “essential services” by executive order a week later.  The virus continued to spread throughout the meat packing industry, becoming a major source of transmission, and resulting in thousands of deaths.  Greed still seems to have the same results for workers.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.