soft touch

i ran into town the other day to deposit my check--i miss direct deposit--when a train came to a halt in the main part of town. i could see that some switching of cars was going on so when i could i drove to a crossing--which was blocked by the train, of course,-- and watched the engineers at work. it was a short train of cars to be deposited here and there pulled by two engines and as far as i could tell run by two engineers. one of the engines was number 813 which i have seen go by often. both the engineers where out walking and switching the tracks. as i watched they deposited one grain car by an elevator i thought no one used and then remotely backed up the forward part of the train to the detached back of the train. i waited for the crunch of the couplings, but none came. the engineer with his remote backed up the two engines and about ten cars so sweetly that there was not a sound above that of the engines as the train was rejoined. they walked back to the engines, each getting in there own, the train starting just as the forward engineer stepped aboard. no sound of jerking cars crunched the air waves as they slipped on to the next site. not everyone is so skilled as i am often awakened at night by the patterned staccato of cars being jerked one after the other forward.

sweet summer nights

last evening i rode the yellow bus into town with chattering teens. the windows were down and the warm air blew nicely through the bus. the teens had were in a party mood and had prepared with baths, clean duds, and maybe a few with a bit too much deoderant or perfume. but no cow smell for this group. a few were brave enough to sit as couples in the front of the bus. :)

as i snaped pictures at the mini-gulf course, some tried to hide, others kept checking the results and asked for retakes until they look perfect in their overly critical eyes. but the air was the same summer air that i remmebered as a teen. it was the air of wandering through the neighborhood, looking for friends, for hanging out, for driving to the a & w for a rootbeer float. nobody should be in school yet, air.

spare body parts and telomeres

now that i am soon to reach a certain age where i am told that i should not tell my age i am wishing for a few spare body parts stashed away that i can use as needed. like new ears. the last docotor...who i shall not return to...did not help my ear. i found out from the real ear doctor that i have a fungus in my ear. it seems a hearing aid creates a closed system of nice warm moist stuff just right for a fungus. sigh more meds and a return next wednesday. now if the solved the problem of the ends of the telomeres falling off and people loosing part of their instruction codes i wouldn't have to worry about the spare body parts. lets see.... what else should i replace?

fighting pink

well, except for a black photographer who doesn't have to come to meetings.... the yearbook staff is all girls. save us from themes about rainbows and dreams. and layouts like cosmo!

silliness

how often do we know what is really going on and just close our eyes. ha! the kids were treated to a movie last night for evening entertainment. it was a cute idea. psuedo drive in movie theatre. shark tales was shown agains the wall of the old gym with the kids sitting on benches and couches and chairs draged out of the boys dorm. my favorite was the inner tube. plenty of off was available to discourage the bugs. christmas tree lights ran up the sort of aisle and over the posts that had the electrical outlets on it to keep people from hitting the post while walking in the dark....or was it to shed just a little light on the couples. some brought out blankets even though it was at least 70. were they to wrap couples in? .....alas that was forbidden...maybe it was to keep the bugs off. still it was dark and people sitting close together ... plenty of opportunity..for a little touching. they know it and certainly staff knows it. nothing serious of course, but it is always exiting if you think you are getting away with something.

in the nick of time

i sit here with my real coffee late in the evening listening to vivaldi.. i am not supposed to have cafine after lunch if i want to sleep, but i am addicted. mostly i don't have any in the evening but it is the end of the week, i worked till five, still have a meeting to go to, and coffee goes well with the sun skimming the top of the corn tassels and the four seasons. dennis cat is warming my left arm as i type. there were a few house keeping tasks to do before sun down so i put the clothes in the dryer, started filling the sink to wash dishes, gathered all the trash and then decided i need a little jt blocks. after one game something niggled at the back of my mind and i went to the kitchen just in the nick of time. both sides of my double sink were full to the top and the water still running. sigh that's when i decided i needed a little caffine.

i love the way eugene peterson has translated (loosely) the psalms. in chapter 107 he describes some of the fixes people can get themselves into or find themselves in. and there it is-- at the end of each dilema..... then, in your desperate condition, you called out to GOD. He got you out in the nick of time; i just wonder how many times we get rescued in the nick of time without realizing it. i wander around oblivious to lots of things. i never hear the dryer bell ring telling me to get my clothes out now so i don't have to iron them... i always have to iron. pots boil over. once my truck ran out of oil. once i had to surriptiously go down to kings and buy cat food on the sabbath. if that happens in my physical life, what is going on in my spiritual life which is even less tangible?

i need his parenting always.

TIARIA FRIDAY

slimbolala.blogspot.com A CURIOUS PLACE

flying sorties

because i have supervision duty every thursday evening, i found myself setting in the sunset rays slipping through the thick cover of fog and clouds that have taken up residence. it was just enough light to glisten on the wings of a small squadron of heavy duty dragonflies buzzing the football field for flies and small no-see-ums. you know they are big when you can recognize them in the middle of the field from the bleachers. i am sure that they were bigger than some hummingbirds. they are quite interesting to watch but even more interesting is close observance of the crystaline patterned wings. i have a dragonfly string of lights...lights wound with wire to look like dragonflies courtesy of pier one --a few years ago. my cat who when he was young could jump high in the air and catch moving dragonflies has managed to unwind of few of the psuedoflies. maybe he is dreaming of his youth.

less students - smaller excursion

there is a rhythm to everything i think. we move along lines without thought or knowledge. we have fewer students this year and usually the outing to the camp is all day friday and sabbath with sunday being spent at a lake nearby. this year the camp only had a half day of work so the students went to school for half a day and then to the camp. it worked out perfectly as it rained all morning long and just quit before the arrival of the troup. because of the small number it was easier to pack up in the evening and travel back to school where the plan is have a mini olympics on the ball field or the gym. then sleep late and have a 10 o'clock brunch... good idea.... then go to island oasis water park in grand island. there was never that much to do at the lake ... mostly staff had to walk around and make sure there weren't groups of kids in secluded areas. so everything meshed together rather nicely. now if my mind can tune into the rhythms of setting up the grade program tomorrow morning. i will be happy.

there is something about that camp my body does not like. the first year was okay, but last year something was wrong with my inner ear and everytime i stood up i felt like throwing up and was very dizzy. went away after i was back on campus. this year i have an ear infection for which i am talking medicine that cost 100 dollars. thank goodness for insurance. i only had to pay 16. am allergic to penicillin so he gave me a cephalosporin antibiotic. hope it works, my ear is weeping. maybe my body is in tune with glacier view and can't adjust to a flatland camp.

point of view

once upon a time sam and dennis viewed the world outside from the ouside....a lot. i guess as they have gotten older they have the attitude that they have seen it all and it is quite nice to sit in the warm sun watching the birds outside on the back porch.

i think we need to have a change of view every once in a while....not to often...too stressful... but just often enough to keep us growing and our brain working, to keep the fires lit.

i am reading THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell and it has really opened up a new way of looking at things. weirdly it is applicable to the situtation our school has lasped into. his thesis states that there are three rules for the tipping point---the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context. and it is back up by some studies. just a few statements

....a child is better off in a good neighborhood and a troubled family than he or she is in a troubled neighborhood and a good family

....our immediate social and physical world play a huge role in shaping who we are and how we act.

...simple physical movements and observations cn have a profound effect on how we feel and think.

he proposes that the crime rate in new york went way down because one... the director of the transit system attacked the graffiti problem and made the cars nice and stopped the sneaking on the trains free. then the police chief attacked the small crimes of the neighborhoods.

so small things can make a big difference.

we need a tipping point here. i sneaked in a flower arrangement in the business office, traded out the ugly bell for a pretty one , changed the rack that held small papers. clean the counter which was really sticky. someone else cleaned the spots on the rug. now if i can just get rid of or paint the rag tag collection of tables. to have people perceive you are successful you must look successfull. you can't be niggerdly.


got the cell phone thing done.... a little thing, but i think it will help make a big difference.

the maintainace man is working mega hard to make things work... help moral of teachers which will make teaching better.

i thought we would need some charisma....but i think we just need the right connections after reading the book.

old wise and old hat

the gentleman who is head of education in the central united states is old, very old, he is 70 and still going. they asked him to stay for a little longer past retirement. a testament to his wisdom. he is soft spoken and absoutely non accusitory. still he can lay things on the line. quite a talent. he never raises his voice or uses body signals to undermine his statements. he admists his bias, ie couldn not work on west coast with its liberlism, but absolutely recognizes jewelry etc as cultural not salvation issues. old wise.
i am being good and fitting into a conservative place. i don't wear jewelry, not even my pins. save that for trips. don't think of it as being hypacrital though. if anyone asked me views i would tell them. only trying to be fittable into this culture. i am not completely silent...ie the cell phone thing. but i didn't say anything about egw on our little heritage trip, like her family eating squirrel and such while they were in colorado and supposedly eating meat at the end of her life. you never win firends or converts by tearing down heros or heroines . some of the campus team remind me of persons who figure out stuff in high school, ideas, hair styles, religious beliefs etc, and never revisit them... old hat.

death of an old friend

my friend has been with me through thick and thin, summer and winter, town and country, chic and country. i thought a while about buying my shirt--50 dollars which was a lot for a denim shirt 10 years ago. but it had little brown piping around the cuffs, pocket flaps and collar. it was soft and had a worn friendly look. after going by it several times i finally gave in and got it. it has gone over dresses and jammies. i am wearing it right now. the edges are all frayed and there are holes in the pockets and the cuffs have started to break away from the sleeves. i might have to patch it and see if i can wear it a little bit longer. going to have to look for a replacement. sigh

finding stuff

i love the falling bubble girl and set games.... keep wondering how i never find anything so i typed in fish mud and found the following....not quite as amazing as falling bubble girl.
http://mudfishmusic.com/games/golf.htm the rest of site not cool except for hangaroo

then there is the actual picture of a mud fish under cheshire cat.... weird fishhttp://www.papercat.com/ForSaleOne.cfm?Item=CCA0218


AND THEN A CHINESE FLOOD STORY!!!!
http://lair2000.net/Chinese_Poetry/stories/The_Fish_At_Dragon's_Gate.html

big leap two or three

there is a drawing of my new house if check the link

i decided that when i went to belle this time i was going to get something. my sister really, really, needed a place to live. all the old house we looked at had issues. one was quite nice with two baths but on separate floors, but........ after the lady nicely showed us the house, she said she and her sister had accepted an offer. maybe she was expecting a bidding war... no way. it was across the street from a huge grain elevator of metal. besides that it was on an irregular lot and if the house burned the city would not let you rebuild.

the next one had real oder problems in the basement suggesting sewer problems.
the next one had crack issues in the foundation and sidewalks around. nice yard. big.. but no way.
the next one was really cute and had a place you could rent to a college student downstairs.
a nice basement apartment. but you know the saying location, location, location.
it was surrounded by commercial property.

for just a little bit more we decided to buy a new house... it is not first quality building but we are not putting out first rate money for the size. you get what you pay for. besides the tickytacky on dahlia did go up in value. you just couldn't remove the 2 x 4 under the sink in the kitchen or it wouldn't drain right.

so the new place is only finished on the main floor. 2 bedrooms, open area that includes living, kitchen, and dining. a laundry room and a bathroom. a front porch and a hugh double garage. a deck off the dining area.

the basement is walk out and roughed out for 2 more bedrooms another bath , family room and a sort of little study place, it has a place for sump pump.... all the house in area have them. our house is toward the bottom of the hill and we put in contract to make double sure the water drains away from house.

there are covenents about parking vehicles, pets, colors, yards, and fences which is good. not way upscale but enough to keep neighborhood from becoming a junk yard. our house is beige with darker beige trim. :) all the others are earth tones , too, but have white trim. each time i have been there i have seen a deer in the distance.

we are decorating western but not overtly.... coffee and cream rug(FRIEZE- good for pets) and vynal that sort of looks like quarry tile (color matches rug), hickory cabinets with dark blue gray mixed counter tops. and blue as dominate color. going to get some chairs recovered....they need it. to put in.

the bath on first floor is small because the builder wanted a walk in closet for bedroom. it is small too. but all is workable. i just hope the garage comes with openers. we have to buy appliances.

it has pex plumbing and radiant heat from the ceiling and a 1200 btu air conditioner that looks like a room conditioner stuck in the wall by the dining / living area. we will see how that goes. but there is no duct work. how weird. like the pex plumbing though.

we decided to pay cash so we won't have to spreading our meger retirement over house payments.

air

the good and the bad of owning a jeep without air conditioning

it was sooooooo hot on my last trip through nebraska to the black hills i tied back my hair and used enough clips to capture stray ends to hear messages from mars. because all the windows were open and when you are going 60+ the wind winds your hair into mesh if left free.

but as a consequence of all that air rushing about i could smell corn ripening in the field. i think if i wasn't deaf i could have heard the cells popping out new cells. i could smell the water in the air over irrigated fields. when the coal train went by i could smell and feel micro coal dust in my nose. i could smell air unadultrated by concentrated auto fumes, heat rising from acres of concrete, and the neighbors cooking whatever.

the best part was driving through the black hills....the long route.... through little scattered rain showers. the smell of water washed by pine ..... no one yet has reproduced that

i didn't mind that the wind was blowing mist on the inside of my windshield making wipers pretty much useless.

a best book

i am almost to the end of LOCAL WONDERS. since the words are like cream to be savoured on the tongue, i read in small snippets. the author's account of an one hundred and seven year old's rememberance of an indian dance reminded me of a story told me by my grandmother. she and her mother went down to the airport in sioux falls, south dakota to watch the flight of the plane carrying the first "air" mail out of town. they had had quite a long discussion regarding the sinfullness or not, of sending an air mail letter that day. it was the sabbath. they finally decided it would be all right to put a letter --which i still have-- on that plane.

having grown up in eastern nebraska and eating polish kolachies, the stories of party lines, wind, and outhouses are very familar.

fire fly nights

now when i am out in the evening i am in the midst of the crazy flight of fireflies. even though they are small and the light is very tiny, their sparkly selves are hard to miss. little missionaries of cheer in the rushing darkness. i once read a book about the greek experience that put forth the idea that the great ideas of greece, democracy and all that, was the result of the absolute clearness of the air. i have not been to greece so cannot attest to the air, but i have not every seen a cloudy picture of greece. i guess you wouldn't do that...take pictures of cloudy weather, if you wanted tourists to come. in england, well, not that many really clear bright sunny days. so how important is light, and where the light is? you cannot see the fireflies in the daylight, i am not sure if they actually fly around in the day time. Christians are to be lights. surely the brightness of the light partially depends on where you are. does it shine any less in goodness than it does in darkness. it is easier to notice in the night, but does it shine less in the day?

what life has come to

well, if you look at the link you will see a picture of ge's new engine. and links to pictures. i am so excited.... i saw a very long stack train go by the other day with 6 new engines. wow! i need a life

caught in the middle

several times as i have been walking home i have heard this scolding from up above. i finally figured out it was a bird which i think is a female oriole. turns out she has been fussing at a school who has been wandering around the tree where she has a nest. tonight she was in the tree above the squirrel and i was below. poor squirrel.... no where to go. at least the bird couldn't dive bomb him as he was in the branches of the tree. i am sure everyone feels like the squirrel at their work sometimes. bosses up above pushing and scolding and those below with expectations of behavior and performance. caught in the middle.

old dog new tricks

Ideas for cover of bulletin for next year. In the past it has been just one color, on shade of one color in fact on white. Looked kind of 50's. I used some backgrounds from the yearbook program and then added text and pictures. The one with the most color has a photo I took of the road into the campus on the right side of the layout. WHat do you think? The white lines in the blue one have been excised!!!