PRESS ONE

 I want my friends to know that I have at last, reluctantly, belatedly, updated my communications systems in order to experience a more efficient conversation. When you ring my telephone, you will hear the following:

This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.

(1) If you are calling to ask if I am still alive and breathing, press one.

(2) If you are calling to ask about my cat, Wampuscat, press two. Wampuscat is a stuffed animal which I keep by my chair, but when you press two I will tell you about Wampuscat's latest antics.. I bought Wampuscat because my friends all were feeling sorry for me because I had neither dog, nor cat, nor goldfish, nor caged canary. Truth is, I am not responsible enough to be trusted with a live animal.

(3) If you are calling for an explanation of how to knit a chameleon scarf, press three. You need two separate colors of yarn. One color dominates one side, the other color dominates the other side. I discovered the pattern quite accidentally. It has confused advanced knitters, but I will try to get you started off correctly.

(4) If you are calling to share your description of the aurora borealis in the sky last night, press four. Although you need to understand that with my house facing southwest and the trees along the north of the property I do not have a clear vision to the north.

I hope this new telephone system facilitates our communications.

One more thing: It is being speculated that by 2026 the E.U. will legalize everyone's "right to talk to a human."

A SENATOR IS MISSING

     At long last.

    Finally.

    After several decades.

    About 1989, or 1990, I heard Sara Paretsky speak at a library in Chicago. She had just finished the year of being the first president of the nearly formed Sisters in Crime. SinC was formed when several female writers of mysteries realized why their books were never bigger sellers. Book reviews in newspapers and magazines were predominantly written by men who chose to review mysteries written by men! The first goal of SinC was monitoring book reviews.

    And the percentages slowly began to change. Reviews, and sales, of mysteries written by women gradually came closer to those written by men.

    I joined SinC. For many years as a member at large because I did not live near a chapter. Learned a lot about writing and publishing. But never wrote that mystery. On the SinC website I was listed as "published -- other".

    But now I've done it. Have written a mystery. About two reporters, Chuck Addington and Marlys Tucker, who try to solve the cold case of a missing state senator with information from an old newspaper.    

    I'm 98% finished. 

    It's hard to write a book. It's even harder to find a publisher. I'll let you know.

MIGRATING WATER FOWL

     When my husband said we could build our own house, he truly meant it.

    A few days later he informed me he had found a lot on which we could build a house, would I please go look at it.

    Which I did.

    We bought it. Two acres, with a beautiful little creek running through. It's called Little Cedar Creek (although there appears to be more then one Little Cedar Creek). The western part of the lot is level with Grant Street, but after a ledge the ground to the east drops quickly to a lower level. Which, after a heavy rain, formed a lake that covered both our lot and the three-acre lot to the north. Problem was a totally inadequate culvert under a bridge to the north, which had the effect of creating a dam.

    The lake sometimes lasted for days, became a stopping place for a variety of colorful migrating water fowl. There's a longer story here, but I'll fast forward to the latest chapter. The City of Olathe wanted to convert what was left of the creek to a stormwater drainage channel. Ploughed out the riverbed. Worked very well -- for the first wet season. But the city never came back, sapling trees and bushes grew up in the water course. A LOT of sapling trees and bushes, which had the effect of creating a dam. (Am I repeating myself here?)

    I'm looking for a variety of colorful migrating water fowl.

I WISH I'D THOUGHT OF THAT SOONER

     Isn't it frustrating, when you don't think of what you should have said, or done, until years later?

    About four years ago I was surprised to get a graduation notice from a shirttail relative I had never spoken to. Nonetheless, I got a graduation congratulations card and mailed off a hefty check. Expected to receive a thank-you. Expected in vain.

    The check cleared my bank account.

    I wish now, belatedly, that I had added a note to the congratulations specifically asking what the graduate intended to do, what kind of career was envisioned, what were the future plans. I should have been quite precise, asked the graduate to WRITE ME A NOTE, giving me answers to my questions.

    I wish I'd thought of that sooner.

    

WHOSE INEFFICIENCY?

     There will never be enough algorithms to encompass all of human behavior.

    My doctor, my PA, wants to see me again six months after my latest lab report. She is carefully monitoring the level of prescription for one of my maladies. Her comment was, "We have gone from too much to not enough".

    So, I made the appointment for six months later.

    Constantly, I now receive an email, sent to multiple recipients, saying that a cancellation makes an earlier appointment available, if I act fast. I don't WANT an earlier appointment. Nonetheless, some algorithm keeps sending out these emails automatically.

    I guess there is no need to measure an algorithm's inefficiency, but it certainly increases mine. I assume there might be a way, if I took the time, to figure out how to cease this flow of emails, at a definite increase of MY inefficiency. I keep deleting these emails, but apparently the algorithm isn't smart enough to figure out there must be a reason I keep declining these offers.

SEVENTY YEARS LATER

     My mother's memoir, written seventy years ago, is finally making it into print. My sister and I have had the manuscript all these years, and are finally having copies made by a print-on-demand print company. Our goal is to have a copy printed for every grandchild, but the project has taken a r_e_a_l_l_y long time.

    My mother wrote of the post-empty-nest period in their lives when they tried to establish a new mode of life, running a bait business in my father's native state of Arkansas. They had chosen the Lake Norfolk area. By way of a little explanation my sister wrote a prologue of the history of the lake. And for an epilogue I wrote of the history of the book, how my mother had chosen the name, Hot the Coffee, Mama, because that had been a cry she frequently heard when my father thought visitors were drawing near. I had also written of how the book would be printed by the espresso book machine at a nearby library. Because of our delays the espresso book machine was no longer available and that section had to be edited.

    My sister's daughter, my niece, prepared the flashdrive, and we recently received three proof copies. She did a great job -- there were very few corrections. We have now ordered a dozen more copies, for the grandchildren and perhaps a few interested parties. Our pleasure is laden with emotion, and deep regret that the manuscript remained unpublished; the bait business did not bring in an adequate income.

    Looking for errors, I read my proof copy word by word. And I was struck by what a defining snapshot Hot the Coffee, Mama is of that period in north central Arkansas when the native dwellers, the Ozark hillbillies, were unknowingly trying to preserve their sometimes contradictory lifestyle beliefs against the invasive ingress of moneyed resort developers.

    

WE'RE ON YOUTUBE

     Thanks to Maureen Carroll of Anamcara Press several of us are on a YouTube celebration of Poetry Month. Oh, drat, I forgot to copy the YouTube link. I'll have to retrace and get it.

    I read one, no, actually two of my Friendship Fountain poems, one of which was published in the Summer 2023-24 issue of The Write Bridge, with the theme of Solitude and Solidarity.

    Why did I write a poem about a Friendship Fountain?

    Here it is: The Message

A gesture.

A message.

A fountain.

Dancing waters

blessing the air

with moisture.

Sun-worshipping sunflowers,

stalks of golden wheat,

flying birds atop the waters.

A gift from us

to the freedom-seeking

people of Ukraine.

A gesture, a message

the whole world

will understand.

CUSTOMIZED KEYBOARD

    I have to wonder -- Why are not keyboards color customized?

    Recently, I took matters in my own hands.

    In word-processing programs the user should regularly press the 's' key to 'save' the work. Failure to do so can result the loss of previously keyboarded material. Some people's sense of touch is so highly developed they can perform many activities even if blindfolded. I am not one of them. I need the sense of touch amplified by sight.

    A tiny square of red tape placed on the 's' key has helped immensely. In fact, it was so helpful I added a piece of orange tape on the question mark and a piece of green tape on the apostrophe / quote marks.

    I see a whole new business growing out of this concept: LET US CUSTOMIZE YOUR KEYBOARD FOR YOU.

MAKING US DUMBER

     I do agree: computers are making us dumber.

    Today's mail brought a bill from a communication provider. Two pages. On the upper part of the first page there is a line that reads This month's charges are $10.00 more.

    Down toward the bottom of the page there is another line which reads This month's charges are the same as last month's.

    Soooooo, which is it?

    I made a copy and mailed to the Customer Relations department. I predict I will eventually get a letter explaining how correct they are and how dumb I am for not being able to understand, intuitively.

JUST PICK UP THE PHONE

     Why can't I just call someone, a business, on the phone? Why can't they just pick up the phone and say "Hello?"

    I was at church when the phone in the office began to ring. No one else around so I picked it up. Heard nothing. Said "Hello?"

    No response.

    There were about twenty buttons on the front of the phone. Four of them were grouped at the top. None of them said "Talk". I turned to look on the side. There was a PTT, which in other circumstance I recognized  as "Push To Talk", which I did.

    Nothing.

    Next time at the church the office assistant was there, asked him how to answer the phone. Well, of the four buttons on the upper part of the phone, you need to push "phone". I turned the phone on the side, showed him the PTT button. Do you know what PTT means?

    No.

    Why can't you just pick up the phone and have someone answer with "Hello?" 

WHAT TO DO ABOUT HOMELESSNESS

     Does any city, town, village have the answer to homelessness?

    Leavenworth County does not have the problem of homelessness totally solved, but they have come a long way toward providing some answers. What appears to be working is a two-pronged approach.

    The Hope Shelter provides an overnight bed. Overnight only. Under most weather conditions people will be admitted between 8-10 pm, and are expected to leave by 7 am. During the day the "Welcome Center provides services to those in Leavenworth County living in poverty which include instructions about daily living skills, information about social service providers, access to job seeking skills, assistance in getting personal documents and transportation to helping agencies and other essential services." The Hope Shelter seeks donations and many hours of volunteer time.

    Not connected, but overlapping, is the Leavenworth Attainable Housing program, where the goal is to put individuals or families in adequate housing. Occupants pay one-third of their income in rent.

    

    

CONTAINERS

     I don't really need it, but I can't throw it away.

    Couldn't resist buying it in the first place. At the Monarch Book Store on 151st Street I found a beautifully decorated tin cylinder that contained Gone With The Wind teabags. When I first opened the tin I noticed that there was a rubberized inner ring, which further protected the contents.

    The tea bags all used I have no reason to keep the tin. Except . . .  For even a short time ago in the history of housekeeping good convenient containers to protect and preserve the contents were not widely available. My tendency now is to hang onto every good container that comes through my door.

    Over time we have received big tins containing popcorn. The popcorn consumed -- by others, popcorn is not my thing -- the tins are still on the premises, mostly in the basement. Impenetrable by either mice or insects they preserve all manner of things, even extra wax candles.

    What shall I do with the Gone With The Wind tin? Surely I can find something that needs to be preserved. How about tea bags, which normally are packaged in thin cardboard boxes? Perfect.

TRIPPING ALONG

    Where is my order? I ordered -- from Kohls -- several large blue bandanas, which I plan to send to various grandchildren for their go-bags. I have an inordinate curiosity about where things I order are coming from and when they might arrive. Tracking the package.

    First I learned that the package would be coming from Bolingbroke, IL. I'm pretty sure that is a location near Chicago. My bandanas were next in Glendale Heights, IL, also near Chicago. That was Saturday morning. Saturday, Sunday, plenty of time to get to Olathe. I expected that when I checked on Monday I would be informed that the package was in Olathe, at the postoffice, maybe even out for delivery.

    Wait. By Monday my package was in Grand Prairie, TX. How stupid of me to think my order could be delivered to me without going through Grand Prairie, TX, wherever that is. Given the size of Texas, it's possible my order might actually be farther away than when it was in Bolingbroke, IL. I'll have to look it up on the Fibber McGee map.

    

    Oops, wrong again. From Olathe to Bolingbroke, IL is about 503 miles. From Olathe to Grand Prairie, TX, is 492 miles. My package is getting closer.

A NEW TYPEWRITER

     It's time for a new typewriter.

    A keyboard NOT connected to the internet. The mechanical typewriter developed slowly over decades. Early typewriters were cumbersome and difficult, but still superior to the quill pen. The IBM Selectric was another vast improvement. Modern lightweight materials could be used to create an even easier to use machine.

    The fonts should be Optical Character Recognition, which would be scannable onto the internet, if later desired.

    Without a typewriter there is no choice, it's all out there, available to be hijacked. Please give us back our privacy. 

IN HIGH REGARD

     A person I used to hold in high regard I no longer hold in high regard. I read your blogs. Almost always commented. I read all your books, actually bought some of them, those the library didn't have. I spoke favorably, admiringly, of you to others. I contributed generously to what appeared to be your favorite cause, which always needs money.

    I was delighted at an opportunity to meet you in person. I gave you a copy of my book, Sidewalk Sale Across America, parts of which mention the skill (yours far better than mine) that we share. Gave you a couple of bookmarks which have the pattern for the Chameleon Scarf, which I accidentally invented.

    Frankly, I expected an acknowledgement in return: a thank-you for the book, a comment on the scarf pattern. What I received was nothing. For all I know both book and bookmarks were thrown in the trash before you left town.

    Well, person with a well-known name, I personally no longer know your name.

ANOTHER NEW ACCOUNT?

     Tracking packages has been an obsession of mine. I've been unduly fascinated about how a package gets from the point of origin to my house. Looks like that innocent pastime is over. For a package coming from California (although some information on the website led me to believe its journey might originate un Canada) I was asked to sign up for an account.

    What?

    Another account?

    Another password?

    I already have a stack of big index cards with account information, filed, sort of, in alphabetical order (did I ever tell you about the time I failed an alphabet test?).

    Naw. (The package has been delivered to my doorstep.)

    With this post I am going to try something new. I no longer know how to activate the comment section of blogger, so I am going to post an email address. And no, it will  not link automatically. I've forgotten how to do that, too. Here goes: findreship@aol.com