141 No need to be bored

NO NEED TO BE BORED!

Growing up I dared NOT say, “I am bored.” Suddenly I would have more to do than I ever wanted if I uttered these words aloud. Creative chores – matching socks, alphabetizing the spice shelf….or weeding, dusting, playing with my much-younger-than-I little sisters. 

I could find something to do really very quickly – usually an escape to my bedroom and a book. Fake homework was good, too. 

Now days, the World Wide Web and social media have become so ingrained in us that I rarely hear people complaining of boredom anymore. Not unless their batteries die.

I, too, have fallen into the web trap. Countless hours sitting in front of the computer (procrastination, maybe, or avoidance, but rarely boredom), made me want to share with you my favorite sites perfect for whiling away an afternoon or evening. 

And Facebook doesn’t count. I only check it a couple of times a week or scroll thru the pictures and rarely post anything.

And this picture was just too good not to include. I love bubble wrap. The sound is so satisfying – and perhaps irritating without saying a word! (Shame on me!) Bubble wrap and Velcro are also entertaining for a little while. Think I will categorize them in nervous habits – something with which to fiddle rather than twiddling the thumbs and not in any way comparable to the internet for entertainment. No mental stimulation required for these handheld objects. 

Here are my favorite internet sites for “intellectual stimulation.” If you don’t know these sites, I hope you will try them out. Let me know which ones you like or dislike. Should you have a favorite that I haven’t listed, send the link, please. I would love to try some new ones!

Savvy Glenne’s Favorite Internet Entertainment Sites

Sporcle.com – created in 2007, this site is packed with trivia quizzes on every topic imaginable from music and movies and books to history and science. I am ashamed to admit that the quizzes are fast paced and I often get a lousy score, but they are fun. I just got a measly 40% on hit songs “fill-in the missing word of the title” quiz. Good grief. That was embarrassing!

Whizzpast.com – fascinating links to short history lessons with many photos of the past. A great way to see history the way it was. Check out the Victorians at the beach. Not as prudish as one might think.

BoredomTherapy.com – absolutely full of clickbait ads, but some of the stories and pictures save you from reading all the tabloids at the grocery store check-out. Billed as a trending site for entertainment. Chock full of weird stories and pictures. Just fun.

TED.com – short (usually 10-15 minute) videos of talks by noted professionals in the fields of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. I enjoy these, but sometimes I can also flip through catalogs while I am listening. These are worthwhile.

DifferenceBetween.net – I stumbled upon this site trying to understand some economic terms and what they meant. I got hooked. Today I read about the difference between Islam and Muslim. It is more intellectual and scholarly than most, but a great reference site.

Wikipedia:Special:Random – this is it! My favorite! I used to rail against Wikipedia for its lack of confirmed facts. This, however, just plays with your mind. When the site is open, in bold letters near the top is Special:Random. Just click there. I could wear out a mouse on this site, clicking another random page, and yet another random page. Today, I read a few lines about the following: Kazakhstan’s Aircraft Repair Plant #405, Famous Poles with the last name Klemens, Phrynidae – also known as whip spiders, and Beaufort Castle in Scotland. And, yes, I will probably look at some more random pages tomorrow.

Happy Spring, happy web surfing.                                Glenne

140 Frightening 4-letter word

A frightening four-letter word!

A four-letter word that strikes fear and dread every spring of the year--Lent!

It may not seem that foreboding or threatening, but it can be overwhelming for a Catholic student or even adult Catholic. What will I give up, how will I do it, will I make it--are thoughts that swirl around inside your head as the season before Easter begins, and Ash Wednesday signals the beginning of the giving-up practice!

I have tried it all-- giving up food, drink, curse words, etc.! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. 

When I was a kid, it was usually my favorite foods especially any type of candy. In those days, we could have what we gave up on Sundays or holidays during Lent such as St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Not so much these days – you have to do without.

Family members would give each other a hard time trying to tantalize them with the forbidden “fruit” so to speak. We usually would be strong knowing our parents, the nuns, priests, and anyone else involved with the church would have something to say if we were ratted out.

As a young adult, I would use the Lenten practice to cut back on passions such as shopping for items I didn’t need. That would work unless I found something I just couldn’t resist. I could always justify why I needed it or how I couldn’t live without it.

At times, I would revert back to my younger days and give up something edible or drinkable. Wine was often the target and that would usually work. I tried soft drinks this year but for some reason, I couldn’t do it. I really don’t drink that many, but they especially tempted me this year.

Last year, I took the challenge of putting items in a bag every day to give away. That

worked really well and helped out the local charities. My husband joined me in the endeavor although most of the time he didn’t know about it. We both have far more things than we ever use. Clothes, housewares, linens --- nothing was safe from my prying eyes as I gathered items from every room in the house. I highly recommend this practice for Lent but don’t start until the first week of Lent. I started too early this year and ran out before I even got to Palm Sunday.

Social media gets into the practices as a photo a day was requested to capture the 40 days of Lent. Not sure I could come up with forty but maybe next year. Pinterest boards offer a few suggestions too.

All in all, I am glad that I grew up with these practices--they do somewhat build character or teach you how to work around and revise as the forbidden items beckon.

If you have never tried, give it a whirl --- the money you save on the “given up” items will often add up to a good donation. I forgot to tell you that--you are also expected to save for a special Lenten donation. Just think when Easter comes, you are ready with a hefty donation, clear conscience, and sometimes a few pounds lost!

So don’t let this four-letter word terrify you – face it, aim for it, and try to do without something you thought you never could.

Frances   

139 Inspiring reading

Early reading that inspired me

Glenne's recent blog,135--"The 3 B's," which featured classic children's picture books, reminded me of the books that influenced me from elementary through high school.


It seems like an odd amalgamation but these were the ones that have stuck with me through life.

My first story may have come from My Weekly Reader, those great classroom newspapers. It told of John Adams, who as a lawyer in pre-revolutionary Boston took on the defense of the British soldiers who fired on local citizens in 1770 in what was known as the Boston Massacre. What struck me as a child was that although he was a Patriot and against a British standing army, he insisted that truth prevail in spite of overwhelming public pressure against the soldiers. Throughout my life, his story would come back to me time and again when popular opinion pushed  or pulled me.

I lump the Nancy Drew mysteries and Cherry Ames stories together. Most people remember the intrepid Nancy who led her cohorts in a series a mystery quests. 

Cherry may not be as well remembered, but she was also an inspiring woman who traveled the world as a nurse and also solved mysteries. Both gave encouragement to young girls that they could make their own way in the world.

My father was from Kansas and he told me about Glenn Cunningham, the Kansas miler. At eight he was so badly burned below the waist that his doctors told his parents that if he did not die, he would be a cripple forever. He refused to be a cripple, dragging himself along a fence to force his legs to work. He painfully progressed to running. 

In 1934, he ran the faster indoor mile in four minutes and eight seconds. Some consider him the greatest amateur athlete ever. I am not sure where I read the story of this inspirational runner, but as a young swimmer, no workout seemed too hard after reading his story.

In high school, my heroine was Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing. She was witty, funny, good-hearted and full of spunk! I wanted to be that clever! Portia, though smart, was too goody-two-shoes and Juliet was a love-struck idiot. (to me!)







In junior high, for reasons I cannot now understand, I read all the volumes of Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln, the War and the Prairie Years. Must have been the spark for my love of all things Civil War!

There are many more influential books I could list, but is does seem that I was drawn to the stories of strong contrarians.  And strong women--when I could find them!

What characters or stories of people influenced you? Please share.

Trish              

138 Hello, April

Hello, April

Hello, dear savvy readers. I am disappointed that I didn’t get to write about April Fool’s Day, but you have probably heard all the jokes and tricks anyway. Instead, I broadened the theme to include the highs and lows of April. 

The first pithy saying that comes to mind is “April showers bring May flowers”… (and the Mayflowers bring Pilgrims! Drum roll - eye roll.) 

The other famous quotation that comes immediately to mind is “April is the cruelest month….” This is from T.S. Eliot’s famous poem The Waste Land. The line, with melancholy food for thought yet so perfectly crafted, is as follows:

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

On this note, here are some of the high and low moments of Aprils past and a few fun facts.

Some notable lows:

• Both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr were assassinated in April 
• Apollo 13 exploded on April 13, 1970
• Fort Sumter – April 12, 1861 
• The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 
• (And, of course, we think of April 15 as income tax day even though’ we have a couple days reprieve this year)
• April was the month of the raid on the David Koresh/Branch Davidians in Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School Massacre, the Chernobyl explosion, the 32 students killed at Virginia Tech, and the Boston Marathon bombing. 

Some celebrations:

• National Library Week 4/12-4/18 
• National Park Week 4/18-4/26
• National Volunteer Week 4/19-4/25
• Palm Sunday 4/5 and Easter 4/12
• Passover begins 4/8
• World Health Day 4/7
• Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival® – begins 4/28

• Earth Day 4/22 
• Arbor Day 4/24
• Boston Marathon 4/20
• Jazz Appreciation Month
• Child Abuse Prevention Month
• Baseball is back 

                                                                      

 Some notables’ birthdays:

• Shakespeare 4/23
• Queen Elizabeth II 4/21 
• Hitler 4/20

• Leonardo Da Vinci 4/515
• Thomas Jefferson 4/13
• Charlemagne 4/2
• Lenin 4/22 
• Ulysses S Grant 4/27

And if you have a special someone in your life, it may help you to know that a diamond is the gem for the month of April and sweet peas or daisies are the symbolic flowers. 

The astrological signs are Aries until April 19, then Taurus through May 20. Aries traits include daring, courageous and energetic, and overly optimistic while Taureans are reliable, ambitious, independent and stubborn and materialistic. (Oh, dear, I am Taurus.) 

Spring is here! 

                                         Glenne

137 Changes in attitude

“Changes in attitude”

Song lyrics swirl around in my mind as I ponder the state of my world – “. . . changes in attitude, nothing stays the same.”

Jimmy Buffett’s tune seems especially appropriate as we face a world of passwords, social media, telemarketing, web addresses, and much, much cyber more.

Any visit to a web site will ultimately result in a request to sign up, establish an account, and of course come up with an amazing password that no one word ever guess. It really taxes my brain to meet these specifications, especially when I am only seeking some basic information.

In addition, ordering online always requires these accounts that are often never used again so how can we possibly stay ahead of the game.

I’ve decided I can’t and won’t even try anymore!

What bothers me the most is sometimes my attitude really changes and I am far less than cordial when I am asked for a pin I haven’t used in years and have no idea what it could possibly be! I know I should have a safe place somewhere to keep them but often I never use them again. 

I realize these securities are for my own good but give me a break--- does everything really need a pin? Just let me look at the information and move on.

This “change of attitude” I keep hearing in the lyrics makes me do some crazy things to take out my web frustrations. I find myself answering telemarketing phone calls (I will answer on purpose sometime when it doesn’t give the name of the caller) so I can release my angry feelings on some unsuspecting target who is telling me I need to renew my car warranty after I have told them a dozen times or more I really don’t.

These calls generally start by saying it may be recorded for monitoring purposes to improve service, but I find that hard to believe. I am sure I would have been charged with indecent, aggressive and threatening language by now if there is such a charge because of the tongue-lashing I administer.

In one instance, after giving the caller a rather pointed piece of my mind, I decided I needed to say more so I called back to add to the tirade --- this was the IRS scam we have all been warned about. That poor schmuck didn’t know what hit him, but I wanted him to know we were on to him, and it sure made me feel better.

While I extol the virtues of technology and would be lost if I ever unplugged, it takes quite an effort to keep it all working smoothly.

I found out recently that my new software that came with my new computer does not work with spyware I had previously purchased that transferred to my new one. 

Boy, you should have heard that conversation with the company who doesn’t bother to let you know its shortcomings. 

After about 30 minutes of asking for a real person and then a manager, a refund is supposed to come in the mail but I doubt if I will ever see it unless I call them back!

Of course, I had to buy another product to protect my computer that had been almost completely shut down after paying the first company for basically nothing. That took hours on the phone trying to get it all resolved.

I feel I deserve a few rants to counter act all the frustrations caused by misinformation or total trickery and navigating the automatic phone systems that will tell you to visit the web site for help when you are calling to say your Internet service is not working.

Buffett’s song lyrics give me a little solace -- “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” Yes, laughter is a relief and keeps me from going totally crackers. Music helps too as well as silly TV shows!

But nothing relieves the frustrations like administering a good tongue lashing--of course the person on the other end might disagree. It is certainly therapeutic to me if it is done with reasoning and facts in a rather high-pitched voice.

As I continue on this journey of trying to conquer and keep up with the ever-changing world we live in, I will remember the words of Buffett’s song “. . .changes in attitude, nothing remains the same.”                                                                                                                                                                  Frances             

136 Judge Parker's journal

Parker's Civil War Journal

In Blog 124, I noted that I was researching Judge Richard Parker, who lived in Clarke County and in Winchester, and was the judge at John Brown's trial in 1859.

I am now transcribing and annotating the journal he kept during the Civil War. The original of the journal is at the Library of Congress, and the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives of Handley Regional Library has a copy. 

Barbara Dickinson did transcribe the journal when she worked in the Archives but did not have the time to research fully all the references. The act of identifying as many individuals as possible has helped me to decipher some Parker's writing.

I went into the task thinking it would be great to have another local insight into the war, but was disappointed. Parker does occasionally mention battles and troop movements, but unlike Mary Greenhow Lee, Cornelia McDonald, and other Winchester journal keepers, gives few details and little of his feelings.

Richard Parker, 1810-1873

What did surprise me was his travels during the war. He went to Richmond twice--once right after the 2nd Battle of Winchester and while the Battle of Gettysburg was occurring. He seems to have undertaken these journeys to visit relatives. To determine the identity of the individuals he named, I have used Ancestry.com, Findagrave.com, and other genealogical sites. I ended up constructing family trees for Parker and for his wife Evelina (1821-1897), which has helped me understand his relationship to many of the people who populate the journal.

In my editing, I have reached the summer of 1864, which for those of you who don't have the events and dates stuck in your head, is after 2nd Winchester, Gettysburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness near Spotsylvania. However, these diary entries are before the battles of 3rd Winchester and Cedar Creek (fall of 1864), which decisively ended the Confederate presence in Winchester.  Below is an image of part of a diary page:

My transcription:

July 2, Sat. This morning Genl. Early’s force began to come into our town. Supposed he is going into Maryland. Cavalry was beyond the town towards M’Burg last night. 

July 4, Monday. N. Meade & I went to Martinsburg today. Found Genl. Breckinridge with his force there. We stayed at John Boyd’s at night & next morning marched home. Saw Mr. & Mrs. D.H. Conrad – how resignedly they have their great afflictions. Their latest loss was of their youngest child Nannie, who was, or he told me the light of his house. They hear now that Jane left & she sunk into a wretched melancholy. How our God seems to support these dear old people. Mr. C. speaks of his goodness in having made far better provision for his children, than he would have made for them in this world. [last phrase from next page of the journal]

Identifying the generals is easy. Both Jubal A. Early and John C. Breckinridge were Confederate generals. Parker is right. They were on their way to Maryland where the Battle of Monocacy occurred on July 9. Seemed like everybody knew it!

Parker refers to Nathaniel Burwell Meade (1828-1888) several times in the journal. He lived at 407 S. Washington and Parker lived at 307 W. Washington.

John Elisha Boyd (1811-1888) was a cousin of Parker's wife Evelina. They, along with David Holmes Conrad (1800-1877) shared the same grandparents, Joseph Holmes and Rebecca Hunter Holmes. 

On a side note, David Conrad was also the brother of Robert Young Conrad, who was a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861 and voted against secession twice before eventually voting for it. Robert Conrad had five sons who served in the Confederate army and one who died--Powell Conrad of typhoid fever in 1862. Probably the best known of Robert's sons was Holmes Conrad (1840-1915), who served in the Virginia cavalry, practiced law after the war, was chairman of the Handley Board of Trustees, and was appointed by President Cleveland as Solicitor General of the United States from 1895-1897.

But back to Mr. & Mrs. D.H. Conrad, whom Judge Parker visited in Martinsburg. Their youngest daughter, Nannie, Nancy Addison Conrad (1844-1864) died on June 24, 1864, ten days before Parker's visit. Judge Parker also knew of their other tragedy:

Their two sons, Sgt. Holmes Addison Conrad (1837-1861) and Pvt. Henry Tucker Conrad (1839-1861) died at First Manassas.

The inscription on their tombstone reads:

Brothers in blood, in faith Brothers in youthful bloom Brothers in life Brothers in death Brothers in one same tomb Well fought they the good fight In death the victory won Sprung at one bound to heaven's light and God's eternal son Written by David Holmes Conrad and carved on the tomb of his two Sons Holmes and Tucker July 21-22, 1861 Manasas          Norbourne Parish Cemetery, Martinsburg Jane, who left home, is probably daughter Jane C. Conrad (1833-1876). So this editing task is slow going, but very rewarding when it reveals stories such as this one! And I didn't tell you about all the relatives in Richmond! Savvy editor, Trish

135 The 3 "B's"

The Three “B’s”

Here’s hoping I fooled a few of you into thinking this would be about Brahms, Beethoven, and Bach. Those great masters of music are often taught as the Three B’s. 

However, what I have discovered (or re-discovered) as I was surfing the net for a few new baby books is that the classic infant-to-toddler-age books are still best sellers. 

Not only this, but I was reminded in nearly every article I read that babies, their brains, and books need to be put together on a daily basis. This daily practice gives intimacy, interaction, and stimulation.

The director of the NYU Center for Child Development just a year ago agreed with Nancy Crosby Larrick, PhD, a local author, editor, and educator who retired nearly 30 years ago. What is that they agreed on? 

They both said that, even in a world of technology, the love of language given to children by their loved ones; they are the ones who turn babies into readers and lifelong learners.

Baby brains have 100 billion neurons at birth. In the first three years, these neurons will make trillions of neuron connections. (More than we make as adults.) Language is essential for these connections. The more words and pictures and things a baby sees, hears, and learns to identify, the more the connections grow. 

One of the best ways to combine all these factors is to read WITH your child. (Notice the WITH – not just TO – your child). Reading with your child gives the child the chance to interact not only with you but with the book, even, says one child psychiatrist, if the child is chewing on the cover.

As a recent grandmother for the very first time, I culled the saved and boxed children’s books we had kept, pulled up “best books” list from all kinds of sources, and browsed online and in real bookstores. It was a fun experience and so many memories of reading to my own child emanated from these book titles. 

Yes, this is the new grandchild.

I decided this week would be a good time to give you some titles to take stock of what’s old, what’s new, and which books are baby classics. I think you will be really surprised at how many you remember. 

Savvy Glenne’s Books for Babies

Recommendations, an incomplete, non-prioritized list of well-reviewed, popular, and long-lived titles.

1. Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown -1947

2. Are You My Mother? – P D Eastman – 1960

3. Go, Dog, Go – P D Eastman - 1961

4. White on Black – Tana Hoban – 1993

5. Clifford, the Big Red Dog – 

    Norman Bridwell – 1963

6. Pat the Bunny – Dorothy Kunhardt – 1940

7. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street – Dr.Seuss – 1937 

    to The Places You’ll Go - 1990 [his first and last books and all those in-between]

8. The Big Shiny Sparkly First Word Book – 

    Willabel Tong – 2003

9. Diary of a Worm – Doreen Cronin – 2003

10. I Hope You Dance – Mark D Sanders 

     (children’s version of adult book) 2003

11. Corduroy – Don Freeman – 1968

12. Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak – 1963

13. Humpty Dumpty and Other Rhymes (My First Mother Goose) – Iona Opie – 1997

14. The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle - 1969

15. Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans – 1958

16. Lama, Lama, Red Pajama – Anna Dewdney – 2005 

      And my new favorite:

17. Press Here – Herve Tullet – 2011

     We’d love for you to post YOUR favorite titles! 

                                                                 Glenne