by jphilo | Feb 20, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- A favorite childhood memory: me and the sibs pooling our allowance to buy Dad’s favorite Christmas and birthday present–a tin of Kentucky Club pipe tobacco–at our local Rexall Drug Store. I don’t think the CVC pharmacy chain will use our family’s brand of nostalgia for any ad campaigns after October, 2014
- HOPE = The touch of mild breeze on the cheek and warm sunshine penetrating a winter coat while shoveling 3 inches of wet snow off the sidewalk. Spring is coming!
- As much as I love writing, the Sochi Olympics have me considering figure skating as a new profession. I’m beginning the career switch with a wardrobe overhaul and could use some advice.
- So, do you prefer electric blue, bright red, or gold lame for a costume?
- Concerning embellishments, would you choose abundant rhinestones, abundant feathers, or abundant skin-colored mesh?
- And finally, do you prefer traditional white skates, skin-colored skates, or skates dyed to match a perky, kicky, glittery skate costume?
Leave a comment and thanks for your help!
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by jphilo | Feb 13, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- My blood pressure would be much lower if I made sure the wireless mouse was turned on before jumping to the conclusion that the laptop has crashed.
- The recovery of a missing Stradivarius, found in an attic after someone left a tip in response to the $100,000 reward, was a happy ending to Milwaukee’s musical mystery. Now, if someone would offer a $100,000 reward to determine the whereabouts of a Philovarius guitar, I will gladly spill the beans.
- Favorite Lifesaver’s flavor? Cherry.
Yours?
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by jphilo | Jan 30, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Tuesday morning, Mom and I witnessed the installation of the golden arches at the new McDonald’s in Ankeny. I thought it was a historic moment. Mom? Not so much.
- The Mac turned 30 this week. The month it debuted, Hiram and I were parents to a 1 1/2 year old, and getting him ready for his third surgery. Hiram was a caseworker at Sky Ranch for Boys. I was teaching my students (grades K–2) how to insert a “floppy disk” into the “external disk drive” to “boot up” the country school’s brand spanking new Apple + computer…Our baby boy’s now a daddy, Hiram’s a nurse, and I’m a writer. One of my former students is now the teacher where I once taught. That country school provides every child with a computer, many of them Macs. No floppy disks, no external disk drives, and the students are showing the teacher how the computer works. My, how times change!
- Folk singer Pete Seeger died this week at age 94. He introduced so many songs that are now integral to American music. With each airing of a Seeger tribute, This Land Is Your Land brings back vivid memories of our 4th grade class is singing at top voice directed by Mrs. Swensen. The boys are wearing plain shirts, trousers, and high tops. The girls wear cotton dresses, tights, and every day shoes. And we’re all convinced that if we ask our parents, they’ll plan summer vacation to see the New York island, California, the redwood forests, and the gulf stream waters. Why are we so sure? Because the song says this land belongs to you and me!
What’s your favorite Pete Seeger song? Leave a comment.
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by jphilo | Jan 23, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- NPR did a story over the weekend about this century’s version of Victorian hair art. Instead of weaving our deceased loved ones’ hair into creepy wreathes and wall hangings, we can have their cremated remains compressed into diamonds. So when we introduce ourselves to prospective employees or clients, we can flash our jewelry and introduce dear departed Grammy and Papoo, too. That’s much less creepy.
- The dresses and play clothes worn by the adolescent character Sally in season 6 of Mad Men are dead ringers for the 4-H projects I sewed in junior high. Half of me is pleased to be able to verify the fashion accuracy of the show. The other half of me is not so happy to be old enough to verify the fashion accuracy of the show.
- Our guidance counselor wasn’t kidding when he told the students in our class that taking German in high school would come in handy for the rest of our lives. My rendition of Du Du Liegst Mir im Herzen calmed down a resident at the nursing home where I worked in college. A few years back, I wowed German house guests by counting to ten in their native tongue. More recently, while reading The Book Thief, I recognized most of German phrases sprinkled throughout the book, which must have boosted my comprehension considerably. Not a bad investment on 3 years of study!
How has your high school foreign language study come in handy over the years? Leave a comment.
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by jphilo | Jan 16, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- The radio just ran a report about the Treasury Department’s money printing duties, and the topic brought to mind what Dad used to say whenever we drove by an Iowa feedlot. “It’s the smell of money,” he used to say. Which begs the following question: How do Treasury Department employees stand that smell all day long?
- Thought Iowa is relatively flat, ice climbing is very popular thanks to Don Briggs who invented the sport of ice silo climbing. I’m not making this up, and I’m not planning to take it up, even though “Philo, the silo ice climber” is a catchy phrase.
- Monument Men, directed by and starring George Clooney, will be in the theaters in February. Clooney plays the role of a WW2 Iowa soldier, thus proving our state’s best kept secret: Pull the feed cap off an Iowa man’s head, and you’ve got another George Clooney look alike.
What’s the best kept secret in your state? Leave a comment.
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by jphilo | Jan 9, 2014 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- To be added to the present Laws of Nature list: Random plumbing and electrical problems, even those not weather-related, will always surface during severe cold snaps or blistering heat waves.
- Happiness = Seeing Facebook status updates about former elementary students succeeding in their careers, marrying soul mates, and cherishing their babies.
- My Alaska-born-and-raised husband’s response to the slew of school closing due to the polar vortex: What’s the big deal? When we were kids, we waited for the bus when the temperature was -20, -30, or -40. And we went out to recess every day no matter what. What’s the big deal anyway?*
*Just one more reason he’s called the man of steel.
What did you do during the great Polar Vortex of 2014? Leave a comment.
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