Monday Morning Musings

Here in my little corner of East Texas we dodged a weather bullet this weekend. There was the possibility of ice and maybe snow, and while I wouldn't have minded the snow, I was not eager to go slipping and sliding down the path to the barn. Luckily, the really nasty stuff stayed north and west of us. Saturday night I was able to get to town to see Rhett Butler in concert. If you have never seen him or heard his music, you are missing out. He plays guitar - sometimes two at one time - and the music is magical.

So how was your weekend? Before you read on, how about a glass of hot cider to keep warm this chilly morning?

What I'm reading: I just finished Prayer for the Dying by Pete Brassett. It's an intriguing short mystery set in Ireland and I enjoyed it very much. Now I'm reading No Telling by Parris Afton Bonds. Many moons ago I was in a writing group with her in the Dallas area, and it has been a long time since I read one of her books. This story line that has a mystery element appealed to me, and so far it is a pretty good read.

Celebrating Strong Women: It is especially significant to me to showcase Rachel Louise Carson today. She is noted for her dedication to environmental issues, which is something I greatly admire. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1907 and died in 1964.

Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.
She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Depression and supplemented her income writing feature articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun. She began a fifteen-year career in the federal service as a scientist and editor in 1936 and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She wrote extensively about environmental issues, and in 1952 her prize-winning study of the ocean, The Sea Around Us, was published. That book, along with The Edge of the Sea that came out in 1955, made Carson famous as a naturalist and science writer. Carson resigned from government service in 1952 to devote herself to her writing. A later book, Silent Spring, documented the devastating effects of pesticides like DDT on birds and the environment, and the revelations helped in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1952  she was given the  National Book Award for Non-fiction for The Sea Around Us. That year she also received the John Burroughs Medal, the Henry Grier Bryant Gold Medal, Geographical Society New York Zoological Society Gold Medal, and she was awarded a Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for research on tidal life.

Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer.

What a great role model she is for all of us to work harder to protect our world and all its living creatures.

Football Fever

This will not be my usual Friday fare. You may have guessed that already by the different title, and I was trying not to write about what is going on with some pro football players. Really I was. I didn't want to enter into the media coverage of the latest "bad boy" behavior in the NFL, but I was disgusted Wednesday evening when I heard of two more players who were arrested for assault, one of those charges involved assault of a child.So I just couldn't keep my keyboard quiet.

Here's the skinny. Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested on aggravated assault charges, stemming from a domestic dispute. The alleged assault took place in July and involved the woman with whom he has an 18-month old child.

That arrest came not long after Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Minnesota Viking running back Adrian Peterson were placed on the NFL’s “exempt list.” Hardy was convicted in July for assaulting his former girlfriend and threatening to kill her. Peterson is charged with child abuse in Texas,  accused of beating his 4-year-old son last May. One news report indicates that he was investigated for abusing a different son in 2013.

Two weeks ago former Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and released by the team. This came after a video was found showing Rice assaulting the woman he was engaged to back in February in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino.

It's past time that we stopped spoiling athletes with so much money, deference, and hero-worship that they believe they can act like spoiled children and get away with any kind of behavior. I used to enjoy watching the game of football, back when it was somewhat of a gentleman's game and players for the most part were good guys on the field and off. Players weren't paid bonuses for taking out the opposition during a game, and they were dropped if they got into serious trouble. Not just suspended with pay. Dropped. As in football career over. As well it should be.

I know football fans will be booing me and this post. And that is fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and choice of entertainment. But I do wish we could take a giant step back in time and raise the standards of behavior and not the salaries.


Now, so this is not all just a rant, here is a joke or two to get you through the weekend. Get ready, it's a real groaner.

      A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.   
      "Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."
      Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.
      Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.
      The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.
       Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.
       She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000. He wants to use this as collateral."
      She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?
     The bank manager looks back at her and says...
    "It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

Don't say I didn't warn you. (smile) Have a great weekend. I'm going to be jamming with a couple of my kids. I do love to dig out my guitar and play music with them. What do you have planned?