#174 Index to themes, topics, passing thoughts, and ideas, updated

academe, libraries 10, 26, 29, 38, 54,67, 70, 75, 134
art and artists 54, 66, 102,126,148
blogging 1, 32, 46, 56
books and journals 2, 29, 31, 47, 51, 53, 57, 74, 90, 93,104,110, 115, 117, 119,149, 152, 155, 158, 166,170
condo living 40, 42
culture 31, 41, 139,140
economy, finances 7, 13, 33, 43, 61, 96,101, 111,127, 132,163
education 110
entertainment 72, 90, 109,123,129, 139
faith and values 14, 30, 31, 32, 37, 46, 50, 63, 62, 68, 69, 87, 94,118, 127,130, 132,131,138, 141,145,152, 166, 168
family 2, 4, 6, 21, 24, 28, 34, 36, 39, 55, 59, 67, 79, 80, 82, 86, 89, 98,122,128, 143,151, 156,160,165,169
fashion 21, 55
food, recipes, eating out 3, 8, 10, 11, 25, 35, 36, 42, 56, 59, 105,108,137,161
friends 9, 10, 21, 50, 54, 92,102,168
genealogy 19, 20, 24, 44, 67, 71, 73,106
health 23, 25, 36, 39, 48, 53, 61, 60, 81, 83, 88,128,133,146,156, 160
history 85
Illinois 44, 54, 63, 67
Internet, Usenet, computers 26, 32, 33, 37, 62
language 117,124,125
nature 31, 42, 58, 57
observations, misc. 5, 12, 15, 49, 52, 113, 114,120, 121,136 154,162
Ohio 20, 40, 97,107
pets 27, 39, 56, 92, 122
poetry 14, 22, 44, 55, 63, 80, 153
politics 9, 43, 70, 76, 78, 87, 99, 103, 116, 132, 135, 147,150,159
science 2, 16, 29
technology 96,142
war 100,119, 143,144, 147,
women 20, 23, 44, 63
writing 19, 62, 65, 67, 95,157,164

#173 Unshelved Comic Strip

To see more about this comic strip set in a public library, check the primer.

#172 2004 Financial Outlook

As 2004 begins, I’m thankful that when I was young, I didn’t take any loans to get through college. I’m thankful that I entered a stable marriage with a guy who had the same values. I’m thankful that when I was younger I learned to depend on one income and save the other (when I finally did go back to work). I’m thankful that I grew up in a household culture that looked disapprovingly on accumulating possessions. I’m thankful that I learned in my 30s that at least 10% comes off the top for God, and the next 15% goes to savings. Then there will always be enough to meet both the bills and the expectations.

I have a teacher’s pension. It’s about $18,000 a year. I’m not eligible for Social Security--neither on my own record of earnings nor my spouse’s. If you taught, say the first 25 years out of college, then retired and started a consulting business, or really ramped up your writing career and sold a novel or two, or maybe that guidebook that was on the back burner for all those years spent listening to hormonal 8th graders, you may be thinking that between your pension and your Social Security and your private investments, you’ll be able to be comfortable.

Think again. A teacher’s pension offsets Social Security benefits. (Government Pension Offset). It’s been this way since the mid-80s, but maybe you didn’t think about it when you retired, or didn’t know. If your spouse dies, you won’t get his/her SS spousal benefits either (Windfall Elimination Provision). Unless your teacher’s pension is really tiny, and even then you’ll get a fraction of a spouse who never worked. It may be one of the few issues NEA and I ever agreed on.

Fortunately, your private investments are doing well. In 2003 Nasdaq composite up 50%; S&P up 26.4%; Dow Jones up 25.3% (WSJ Jan 2, 04). So I hope you were socking it away back when you were young and carefree.

#171 Happy New Year

The jazz concert and worship service at church last night was a huge success. No one knew what to expect since this was a first, but about 800 people came. Pastor Paul asked members of the congregation, “who brought visitors,” and many hands went up. Paul admitted he doesn’t know much about jazz, but in the sermon he drew a large rectangle in the air and said that although the musicians had great freedom, they were working within a framework. Our life with God can be that way he promised. Great freedom, but within God’s laws.

The six piece group, which included Tom Battenburg on trumpet and Vaughn Wiester on trombone, started with some secular music at 5:30 with video of New Orleans, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, as well as a lovely rural film clip for “Autumn Leaves.” Then we had a rousing hymn sing using old hymns in the public domain, arranged I assume by staff member Russ Nagy, the pianist. We got up and moving with “Standup, standup for Jesus,” which was probably too danceable for my grandparents’ generation in the original, but works nicely as jazz, “Crown him with many crowns” (I didn’t think this one could pass muster as jazz), “Amazing Grace,” and “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun.” We closed with a familiar but probably unsingable hymn (for the visitors) to the familiar tune of Auld Lang Syne with great gusto.

One new freedom last night was carrying coffee cups into the sanctuary. Previously (one year ago our senior pastor of 18 years retired), no food or drink was allowed in there. I don’t worship often at Mill Run campus (this one opened four years ago, but we have three locations) because the slope of the stadium seating in the sanctuary is uncomfortable when standing and when sitting I slide off the seat. I think the drink restriction was a wise one. If coffee is spilled in row 20, someone in row 10 who has put her purse and Bible on the floor, is going to really be unhappy. Fortunately, by the time I kicked mine over returning from communion, it was empty.

170 End of the Year Wrap-Up, December 31, 2003

I made a note in April: "Mice who lived in enriched cages with toys and wheels had far more neurons in a key part of the brain than mice in bare cages." So the one with the most toys really does win?

I made a note in August: "Free lance photographers earn 35% less than 18 years ago."

I'm still wondering about Richard Grasso. How many people would refuse a pay package for more than they are worth? He was fired for accepting his $140 million package--it appears.

I made this note in April: In my father's lifetime--there were 12 democracies when he was born and 121 when he died.

I must be ambitious in the morning when I take these notes because these are the books I noted and thought I would read, but haven't:
"Sudden Sea: The great Hurricane of 1938" by RA Scotti
"The five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom.
"Betting on myself" by Steven Crist.
"Dogs never lie about love" by Jeffery Masson
"The Stones of Summer" by Dow Mossman
"Shelby Foote" by C. Stuart Chapman
"Doing our own thing" by John McWhorter
"An unfinished life" by Robert Dallek
"Escape from slavery" by Francis Bok
"Storyteller's Daughter" by Saira Shah
"The mind and the brain" by Begley and Schwartz
"The retirement savings time bomb" by Ed Slott
"Beyond the river" by Ann Hagedorn

Websites noted during the year, but still not checked:
nccam.nih.gov
www.ftc.gov
www.issg.org/database
www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/invasive/
FoodTV.com
Homemadesimple.com
www.u.sit4less.com
www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Recipes copied and not tried:
Crab cakes
Spinach bacon deviled eggs
Creamsicle Cake
Rice pudding
Hot chicken salad
Crustless pumpkin pie
German apple cake

#169 New Year's Eve

These years come and go so fast. I haven't even made a list of problems to solve (my replacement for New Year's Resolutions) in 2004. We're debating about what to do. There is a jazz concert at church tonight beginning at 5:30. I could drop my husband at the door and park, we could attend the concert, and be home at a decent hour. He went to his men's Bible study group at 7 a.m. this morning, and that went well, and he's had a few walks around the grounds in the last few days.

The "children" will stop by tomorrow for turkey sandwiches and snacks, the makings of which I purchased today at Kroger's using someone else's loyalty card. I bought 4 tiny bottles of wine so we could toast the new year, and noticed that the check out slip recorded my birthday as October 10, 1910. Wow. Time is going faster than I thought, and I'm much older than I dreamed.

#168 The gift of Helps

Yesterday I visited a friend recently released from Dodd Hall at Ohio State Medical Center where she was in rehab for a fractured pelvis, sustained about three weeks ago when she fell in her kitchen while mopping the floor. We met in 1978 when she was the part time temporary Agricultural Librarian at OSUL and I was the part time, temporary contract agricultural economics bibliographer funded by an AID grant for a special collection on foreign credit. Eventually she became the Journalism Librarian and I became the Veterinary Medicine Librarian, fields in which neither of us had started, so we‘ve stayed in touch over the years.

Back to the visit. When the emergency squad arrived after her fall, they had to break in because she couldn’t move. So a repairman was there when I arrived who was creating a new door frame, and he will come back to hang a new metal door when it arrives. Finding good service people is always a headache, so Eleanor uses Angie’s List, which is how she found him. Homeowners support the list to receive recommendations and ratings of services in over 250 categories.

We chatted a bit with the young man as he was about to leave and gave her the bill. “Do you have someone to bring you food?” he inquired of Eleanor who was sitting in a wheelchair. “My church can bring you meals.” Although I and other friends had offered to bring in meals, I was stunned that a complete stranger had volunteered his church! My church is located across the field from her condo, and I don’t think we are set up to do that for non-members.

Turns out he attends a small Baptist church on the near west side of the city, gradually losing membership as people move to the suburbs, as his family has done. They are a wonderful, warm group, he told us. I should say so! They warmed my day.

#167 Wireless libraries

I just checked the Wireless Librarian Web Site, which tells which libraries in the U.S. are set up for wireless networks, and see that North Dakota has more sites than Ohio. The only public library in Ohio which has it is in Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. Come on, Columbus, home of Battelle, Chemical Abstracts, OCLC, and Ohio State University Libraries*. The information mecca of the mid-west, home of the university with the great-grandmother of all automated library systems (LCS, now retired) is lagging behind. Maybe there are more, but they haven't alerted this site.

*The Law Library and Health Sciences Library at Ohio State do have wireless but are not part of OSUL.

#166 Girl meets God

Book club is meeting next Monday night and the selection is "Girl meets God" by Lauren F. Winner (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2002). The one copy in OhioLink was checked out, so I've borrowed a copy from another member of the group. First chapter has held my interest. Study guide on the net helps. Having been a convert to orthodox Judaism, then a convert to Christianity, Winner has certainly put more thought and effort into her faith than most of us garden variety Christians.

#165 Meeting a champ

Ohio State 2003 football team captain and scholar Craig Krenzel doesn’t exactly have rock star status in Columbus, Ohio, but it’s close. My daughter was waiting in line at a store with Christmas purchases, when she recognized that Craig and another football player were in line behind her. After paying for her purchases, she turned her head and wished them luck in the Fiesta Bowl (where he led the team to the 2003 championship last year), and walked into a wall.

#164 Lost and Found

In writing class about a year ago, the instructor asked us to go around the room and suggest words for two columns of information--what you might toss in the trash (junk mail, beer can, expired coupons, etc.) , and what you would place in a shoe box used for small treasures (postcard, baby teeth, dog tag license, were some suggestions). A third list was words describing a snow storm (log smoke, deep drifts, dead battery, etc.) I think we developed a female character from the first two lists and incorporated her into a winter story using words from the third list. Or maybe we did two stories. It’s been awhile, but that’s my recollection. Nancy Zafris was her name http://www.nancyzafris.com/pages/reviews.html

While waiting for the children to descend on the nativity scene at church this morning, I looked at the next cubicle (there are four, gated like store fronts in a mall, two used for the library, and two to grow), and noticed the “lost and found” items were stacked on the shelves.

Adults (I presume)
3 umbrellas
2 casseroles dishes
1 glass pie dish
1 glass deviled egg dish
4 Bibles, NIV, Amplified
dark forest green knit head band
3 insulated metal coffee mugs for cars
Dr. Scholl’s moleskin package
Casio handheld calculator
Glasses case
Albuterol Sulfate Solution
1 red glove
1 pair of black leather gloves
Man’s white dress shirt, size 17 neck
Book, “The treasure principle”
Book, “Understanding the last days”
Book, “Pride and prejudice”
Book, “Bad girls of the Bible”
Book-of-the-month-club canvas bag
Ceramic white cherub
small notebook

Children
plastic hippo
Spiderman activity book
Snowman sequined purse
Barbie purse
plastic baby bottle with nipple
toy plastic pliers
plastic turtle
“Very hungry caterpillar” video
Black plastic hair band
right athletic shoe, about size 8--really used
right black patent Mary Jane, size 3--brand new
Timex athlete style watch, Velcro band, working with correct date
Plush puppy, Dalmatian
Book, “Fall secrets”
Book, “Meet Kirsten”
3 jackets, various sizes and colors
White hair ribbon
Plastic purse
Hello Kitty music box
pink underpants size 8, Hanes
plastic turtle
clothe diaper, ca. 1963 style (pre-disposable)
four Bibles, children’s style, bright covers

I wonder what family stories, arguments, and upsets go along with these lost items? I’m not sure I could get a story out of this--real lists aren’t nearly as interesting as make believe lists. This is probably representative of most Protestant churches’ lost and found collections.

#163 Killing the golden turkey

In Ohio, employers could be sued if an employee was injured in a non-work related auto accident and driving her own car if she didn’t have insurance to cover her injuries--called Scott Pontzer (85 Ohio St.3d 660). I was on a jury in such a case. It is referred to in one article as "the golden turkey" award because it even extended to family members of the employee with no connection at all to the employer. The Ohio Supreme Court recently changed all that in Westfield Ins. Co. v Galatis, 100 Ohio St.3d 216, 2003-Ohio-5849, according to a recent article. It now applies only if the accident happens within the course of employment. This brings Ohio in line with most other states.

The Columbus Dispatch today noted that a cow is not a car according to a recent 11th District Court of Appeals decision. A motorist tried to sue a farmer who had no liability insurance through the uninsured motorist clause of her auto insurance when she was injured hitting his cow. I couldn’t tell from the editorial if this odd law suit was because of the Scott Pontzer decision which had also been mentioned. I thought I could find this case through Google, but I actually found another Scott Pontzer case which involved a different cow and different motorist.

#162 Criminal SUVs

I saw a small headline in the paper yesterday, "Good Samaritan killed by SUV in hit-and-run accident."

#161 Cookies, pt. 1

I subscribe to the e-mail editions (easier to read) of Collector’s Newsletter because I like their amusing, home-spun stories and old fashioned recipe requests. Today’s was this one:

CHEWY MILK DUDS COOKIES

1 1/2 cups butter-flavor shortening
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10 ounce) package Milk Duds

In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Shape 4 teaspoons of dough around each Milk Dud so it is completely covered. Roll balls in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Yields about 8 dozen

I don’t buy much candy, but didn’t remember seeing Milk Duds recently. But they are still around, and are named “dud” because the original shape didn’t work out. Working from and marketing their failure, the creators chose that name.

Cookies, pt. 2

My daughter made 120 dozen Christmas cookies. Not little, finger cookies, but big giant ones, and elaborately decorated. Placed on platters, wrapped in green cellophane, tied in silver ribbon, they were delivered to friends and family on Christmas Eve. I unwrapped mine and redistributed them into ziplock bags for freezing. If I eat one a day, they will last about 6 weeks. But today, I ate two. I'll try harder tomorrow. Yummy!

#160 The Good Patient

Comments overheard at the surgery clinic (rotator cuff) Tuesday and Wednesday between my husband and various staff members.

"Now, you will feel a little giddy, like you've had too much to drink."

"I've never had too much to drink."

"When you wake up you might feel like you have a hang-over."

"I've never had a hang-over."

"Are you allergic to any pain medicine?"

"I don't know; I've never had any."

"You could take Aleve or ibuprofen product--or whatever you use when you
have a headache."

"I've never had a headache."

“For awhile, use the bathtub instead of a shower, so you don’t get the shoulder wet.”

“We don’t have a bathtub.”

The Good Patient, pt. 2

When I helped my husband get ready for his first shower after surgery yesterday morning, I covered the incision with plastic wrap and taped it down with wide masking tape. The bathtub had been removed by a previous owner, but we have three showers.

In the afternoon after a big Christmas dinner, my daughter and I were cleaning up in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and putting the left-overs away. I opened the drawer with the wraps--plastic and wax and foil.

“Honey, would you go up to the bedroom and get the plastic wrap?”

Her eyes got very wide. “I don’t even want to know,” she said and quickly left the room.

#159 Joe's double

I like Joe Lieberman, I really do. But he reminds me of Willie Tanner, of the 1980s comedy “Alf” played by Max Wright. Joe looks and talks like the TV/movie actor Max Wright. Same whiney voice, manner of speaking, body language. It is uncanny.

Alf may have a talk show. Not sure how this works when one person controls the puppet and another is the personality/voice. The comedy series was very popular in Germany, and used a German voice over, obviously.

#158 Merry Christmas to All

Everyone had gone home with the new gifts packed away in the shopping bags in which they had arrived, beautifully wrapped. Deciding I would figure out my new laptop tomorrow, I sat down and clicked on the TV. To my pleasure, C-Span was running Book-TV, my favorite week-end program, even though it was Thursday. John McWhorter was discussing his book on discourse in American English, “Doing our own thing,” at the Clean well lighted place for books (apparently the name of a store with a whimsical name) in San Francisco.

"McWhorter details how cultural change is turning the English language upside down in America today, but he explains that it hasn't always been this way. He marshals an impressive array of examples to show that when Americans were comparatively less well-off and well-educated, they understood and appreciated speeches that would be far too intricate, too lofty in their ideas, and simply too long for modern audiences."
Bookservice

#157 The new notebook

I bought myself a new coffee-time notebook yesterday--a purple Miquel Rius (made in Spain) with about 5 sections tinted various colors. My other one, started in Oct. 2002, was all filled up and I was writing in the margins and on the index pages. I thought I could make it to the new year, but there were no clean spots left. I had it divided into 4 sections by general topics that interest me, but after about half a year, was writing everywhere.

Sometimes I start an essay, or a poem, and finish it at home. Mostly I jot down things I see in the papers (WSJ, USA Today, Columbus Dispatch) that I find interesting, and know I would forget by the time I drive home (1.5 miles).

Today I saw 55 shopping bags and boxes at Panera's ready for Christmas parties. The young assistant manager told me she had come in at 2:30 a.m. So I'll probably write something about that--like how the low carbohydrate fad is put aside for the holidays, but jotted it down in my new notebook to percolate for awhile.

The new notebook, pt. 2

Before I put the old one away, I looked for the careful list I made Friday about church events listed in the paper for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I was short on space and couldn't find it any where. Found a few notes about cat shows I didn't attend; a recipe for German apple cake I never made; a partial sentence about the Obetz zucchinifest law suit; a statistic from Ricoh, "up to 60% of white-collar time is spent managing documents" and my note wondering about the source of that statistic; numerous URLs to check at a future date, like www.dinkytown.net--which I never checked. No list of Christmas programs.

So here it is in a nut-shell. I found brass ensembles, magnificent choirs, live nativity scenes, traditional, informal and rock special music, old fashioned hymn sings, a Latin mass service, a 1928 prayer book service, special family services, and communion at midnight.

But I also found three different churches offering free meals and fellowship, open to anyone who wanted to come. From the names and locations, I think they are African American churches. I think they've got the Christmas spirit.

#156 Thoughts at the surgery clinic

The rotator cuff repair had been suggested last February--but he needed his arm to close out his architectural practice. So this morning at 6 a.m. we arrived at the orthopedic clinic. He actually chose Dec. 23 because he figured it would be a good week to watch football!

Random thoughts at the clinic:

His heart rate goes up 5 points when I take his hand.
Normally a very quiet guy, he uses an entire day's quota of words in the 10 minutes after he receives the block.
My Starbucks cup has the "hot" warning in French, not Spanish.
There's a broken spot in the new tile floor--underlayment is uneven.
The attendant's name is "Angel."
The trendy decorator colors--purple, burgandy, rust, moss green, dark yellow ochre and aqua are the same we picked for the new veterinary library before I retired in 2000.
His chart says he is 157 lbs., 5'9". I need to lose weight.
His right shoulder is marked with ink, and he is asked 3 different times which shoulder will be repaired. It's good to be sure, I suppose.
In the waiting room, a young female patient arrives with her husband, her mother, her aunt, her sister and her grandmother. Maybe this is their Christmas?
The lobby is decorated in retro-50s blonde furniture with wide flaring arms--looks like a 1949 ad in a woman's magazine.
There are 3 television sets; 3 books on the shelves. A sign of the times?
At 9 a.m. they call me to recovery. He is eating ice chips and smiling.
We are home by 10:30.

Tomorrow the pain.

#155 Starting late, better than never

Penelope Fitzgerald’s “Afterlife; Essays and Criticisms” appeared on a top 10 books of the year 2003 list. One reviewer of the collection said she didn’t publish her first novel until she was 60, then became very successful before she died in 2000.

Another reviewer in the Washington Post commented about her: “Two grandfathers were archbishops; her father, Evoe Knox, became the editor of Punch. The extended clan included the illustrator Ernest Shepard, a brilliant World War II code breaker and the witty Catholic apologist and translator Ronald Knox. Little Penelope grew up in Hampstead, frequented Harold Monro's legendary Poetry Bookshop, met Walter de la Mare.”

So, I’m thinking she probably isn’t a role model for starting late, because she appears actually to have had an enriched early start.