GOING..
GOING..
GONE…..SORT OF..
The trillions of twigs that remain still need to be raked up and hauled away. I was just about to call the guy back to finish the job (which he couldn’t do then because of snow on the ground) but I better wait BECAUSE IT’S SNOWING AGAIN!
Like a January blizzard, it’s coming down sideways riding along on 30 mile an hour gusts of wind. High today and tomorrow..mid 30’s. Normal high this time of year; low 60’s. I don’t ever recall a winter so determined to overstay its welcome. I had high hopes Easter weekend when it was nice enough for a family outing at the Falls. Jackets replaced parkas. The sun felt warm on the face, cardinals were holding concerts in the trees and golf courses were opening. Then, winter gave us one of those slow-motion Rocky Balboa punches to the face, You know..so hard that the sweat goes flying and your jaw becomes distorted. That was just the early rounds; we’ve been getting pummeled ever since. Some have thrown in the towel and got the hell out of town seeking warmth and sanity in places far south from here with Spanish names. Good for you. We’re all jealous but please stop posting pictures of your feet resting upon soft white sands pointing toward the warm emerald waters of some distant ocean. We’re not in the mood. We are cranky and, even though the extended forecast again shows gradually warming temperatures this week, we have heard those ducks fart in the water before. Optimistic forecasts from well meaning meteorologists get trumped by some big low pressure system that forms up in Canada and descends with a fury to us unsuspecting souls across the border. We have become calloused and tend to believe that forecasters may actually be intentionally flinging folly in order to keep us from knowing the truth; that another savage storm is heading our way..knowing that such news will send many, ravaged with cabin fever, off the deep end charging into the streets screaming and scaring the children. Poor Linda is almost beyond consoling. Her normally affable attitude and Pollyanna personality has descended into a state of frustration and disappointment. Like many of you, she’s been so anxious to be outside; to get her hands in the dirt planting flowers and enjoying a nice glass of wine on our deck. It also can’t be easy for her to be stuck in perpetuial close proximity with me all the time when normally I’d be out of the house and her hair playing golf a couple days a week by now.
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I’m glad they got the 2nd Boston bombing suspect ..and they got him alive.. but I’m still not clear on the circumstances surrounding his capture inside a covered boat in some guy’s backyard. Police say they opened fire after hearing a shot come from the boat. Luckily, I guess, the suspect survived and was pulled out an hour later and sent to the hospital for treatment of two wounds; one to the leg (believed to have been from the shootout the night before) and another to the mouth and throat.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaey being taken into custody.
It’s that throat wound, which we’re not hearing much about, that has led some..including me..to wonder if the shot from the boat, which led to the volley by police, was actually Tsarnaey lifting the cover up and firing at his pursuers or a botched attempt to commit suicide. Don’t get me wrong, law enforcement officers..thousands of them..deserve credit for bringing these two evil brothers down but do they deserve praise for taking Dzhokhar alive..or were they just lucky that none of their bullets, which, according to its owner, left his boat looking like Swiss cheese, found their mark? Does it matter? Yeah, I think it does; full disclosure and all that.
Well, it’s stopped snowing for now. Better check and see if I have enough gas for the snowblower..not just for today but this weekend when it’s supposed to hit 70.
P.S. Here’s an interesting and timely tidbit from the Keloland memory banks: Keloland founder, Joe L. Floyd was good friends with Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson. In 1969 the two of them were in Florida together when Nelson mentioned his deep concerns about environmental issues facing America. Nelson said he wanted to organize some major event to call attention to the worsening condition. He had the idea but was stuck for a catchy title. That’s when Joe Floyd said, “Why don’t you just call it Earth Day?” And that’s what Nelson did..promoting it from his Senate office before the concept caught on nationally. Now, as the late great Paul Harvey used to say, you know the rest of the story.