Inherent with insistence to dig ever deeper-- rarely satisfied with merely getting to the bottom of things--are the risks of learning more than we want to know. There are ever so many places to dig, with ever-growing types of tools with which to excavate.
To heed or not to heed, that is the question… I read the almanacs a month behind, just to see if what they say happened. Maybe I should read them ahead of time and be prepared in case it does happen? The weather and planting advice has been spot on for the last two years. Perhaps I should heed?
Let’s just get this straight. I’m getting older. As I understand it, some old people do not take pills, but I do. I didn’t realize how many I took until a recent doctor’s visit. I knew that I was taking about two quarts of pills. That’s the size of the bag I keep them in. Once I took the bag with me to the doctor’s office, but the people in the waiting room kept asking me if I needed to go ahead of them. I guess they figured with that many pills, I must be really sick.
House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, told The Dallas Morning News and other media outlets that he is open to bringing resort-style casinos to Texas. But don’t expect to find slot machines in 7-Eleven stores if casino gambling is legalized.
When I was a kid, I fell in love with houndstooth fabric. It had to be black and white. It had to be fitted perfectly. It had to have shoes that matched or beautifully clashed. And, finally, my mother had to be wearing it! I was little, pre-k, and I remember her wearing a black and white houndstooth outfit to church with the sassiest shoes and the classiest hat. She was drop dead gorgeous! All the ladies told her how lovely she looked and she graciously thanked them, turned to me, told me to put my shoulders back and we headed to our pew. Down on the right and near the front.
As the new year rolls in, we really should do some rolling out. Rolling out the trash bins. I did that a in mid-2022 when I decided to retire from my tax preparation business. I turned the office into a guest room. But as I cleaned, I realized I had a lot more than just tax prep business in there. There were drawers full of old calendars, carbon copies of checks dating back to 1985, and lots and lots of books. Many of those books were bought during the time my husband was in college back in the 1960s. Many were about computer science. No one, except the Smithsonian Archaeological collection might be looking for a textbook on BASIC computer programming. So, I purged that ten by sixteen room. It took two weeks. I dusted shelves, went through paperwork, mopped the floor, and generally did an excellent job.
Come on, now. Things could be worse. You could be working in public relations at Southwest Airlines. For decades the envy of other U.S. airlines, SWA might understandably change its corporate colors to black and blue, what with the pummeling it endured during the “Christmas crush” of 2022.
Woodson News At night, I can see the stars. Well, if I go to the back side of the property and face the south, it’s completely dark and the sky reveals its beauty.
The Idle American This is a “catch all” column of items intended for publication during 2022, but somehow didn’t make the cut. They are offered now, with few breaths remaining in the old year.
During the seven days between Christmas and New Years is a time of reckoning. It is a time of cleaning out closets to make room for the new sweaters and robes we received. It’s a time of eating that pile of chocolates left at the bottom of the stockings. It’s a time for soup making. It’s a time for making lists and planning last-of-the-year spending. It’s a time for reading with a hot cup of tea and a time for putting together toys. It’s a time of organizing and getting that last deep breath before the new year begins.
