Can’t Wait to Get Into Space and the Final Frontier

Really good news this week. The new Star Wars movie is nearly with us, and the new Star trek movie is in production. Yay. Yes. I’m a fan of both. Long time. 

Like from the beginning. . .1966 for Star Trek and 1977 for Star Wars.

Just this week I found out the new Star Wars movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be out on Dec. 18. “Star Trek Beyond” has begun production and is scheduled to be in theaters on July 8, 2016. I can hardly wait.

I confess. I’m a Trekkie. Way back when, I and my science-fiction-loving hubby would put the kids to bed early so we could devote the rest of the evening to Capt. James T. Kirk and the Enterprise. (As a Trekkie, I know what the T. stands for but I’m not telling!)

Through the years I watched every re-run of those old Star Trek television shows, even though I’ve seen them 10 or more times, and I have been to every movie. Was also a fan of those Star Trek spinoffs on TV, especially “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

But nothing over the years could compare to the original Star Trek and our Capt. Kirk.

That is until 2009’s “Star Trek.” Whoa. What’s this I wondered? I’m not a movie goer, and I don’t hang out on the internet looking up actors or movies. So I was happy to know a new “Star Trek” was with us, although I didn’t hold out much hope that I would be star struck.

I was wrong. Actor Chris Pine as the young James T. (I’m not telling!) Kirk is fabulous. And hey, Mr. Pine isn’t bad to look at either. Don’t be surprised. Even great-grandmas get to enjoy the scenery. Zachary Quinto completes the duo as the young Mr. Spock. Wow. It could barely be any better. I was shocked.

Then along came “Star Trek Into Darkness” and it did get better. Another one of my new favorite male actors, Benedict Cumberbatch, portrayed the infamous Khan. (You gotta be a Trekkie to know about Khan.) It got better in “Into Darkness.” In fact, when I just can’t take any more TV, I watch “Star Trek Into Darkness” again, and again, and again. Obviously, I love action-adventure movies. And this movie has the best heroes and best bad guys ever!

(One little side note:  PBS has announced that the increasingly popular Mr. Cumberbatch is coming back as my most recent favorite TV hero, “Sherlock.” Yay! That’s where I first found him, and PBS has the best TV on TV.)

And that’s why I can hardly wait till next summer, when, on a hot summer day, I hope to run into a cold movie theater and take a thrilling vacation on the Starship Enterprise. I may try to get there sooner. Just this week it was announced there is a Star Trek contest. The winner gets to visit the Star Trek set (oh my), meet the actors (excuse me while I faint if Chris Pine comes anywhere near me), and gets a walk-on part in the new Star Trek movie (well, I might make a good grandma alien.)

So I will now pin on my Starfleet communicator badge (I actually have two) and practice the Vulcan salute, and in the meantime, I hope you all “Live long and prosper,” just like Star Trek.

Kids Speak, and the Truth Be Told

All we parents and grandparents would agree that our kids will say the darndest things. Our children and grandchildren see our world in a whole other light. And it’s a light that is often more honest.

A good friend, an upstanding member of his community and church, and a grandparent, sent me the following to demonstrate. Enjoy.

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan.  She asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?"

A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?"

"No," replied Johnny.  "How could he, with just two worms."

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible – Psalm 23.  She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.  Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm.  After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.  On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous.

When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

UNANSWERED PRAYER
The preacher's 5-year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon.  One day, she asked him why.

"Well, Honey," he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon."
"How come He doesn't answer it?" she asked.  (Love this one! JW)

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night?  That's very commendable. What does she say?"
The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past).  For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "And all girls."  This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing.  My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?"

Her response, "Because everybody always finishes their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"

SAY A PRAYER
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house.  Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. "Johnny!  Please wait until we say our prayer," said his mother.

 "I don't need to," the boy replied.
"Of course, you do," his mother insisted.  "We always say a prayer before eating at our house."
"That's at our house," Johnny explained.  "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook."

Early Fireworks Kick Off the Holiday

Fireworks and the Fourth of July are two of my favorite things. It’s all about summer, a bang-up party and living in the greatest country ever.

Mom Nature got my holiday off to an early start last Friday, with some fireworks of her own. In fact that storm had so much fireworks, otherwise known as lightning, and waterworks, I couldn’t get out of my pickup. Of course storm started while I was on the way home from the grocery store, with food in front thank goodness. That didn’t matter too much since Mom Nature dumped so much water on us, sideways with the wind thrown in, that it actually rained into the cab of my pickup truck.

Finally at home, I decided it would be more prudent to just stay in the pickup. That’s because it was raining so hard I thought I might drown just trying to get to the door, and the fireworks, or lightning, was cracking so fast and furious, I thought I might be struck down. If I thought I was gonna stay dry, I was sadly mistaken. The buckets of rain still managed to infiltrate my truck so much it was raining inside. The old towel I keep on hand in the cab (cause you never know when a dog, cat or other pet might need to join you for a ride) was quickly soaked after I stuffed it around the truck door. Better it than me.

When the downpour seemed to lessen, I made a dash for it. Oops. There are worse situations than being stuck in a wet truck cab. That would be in a house with no electricity, meaning no lights, no tv, and no air conditioning. I guessed that Nature’s storm had turned out the lights, and I didn’t care too much. I didn’t care too much because I like my back porch, and that’s where I went to wait out the darkness. I took note on my watch that it was 4:30 p.m.

Back on the porch I was enjoying myself, feeding the birds, consoling the dog Reba who is terrified of storms, and just watching it rain. It was nice. It was nice for a long time. It was nice clear up to dark at 9 p.m. Well, I did get just a bit bored and called the power company, who reported, yes, I was in the outage zone. Like I didn’t know that. All I wanted to know was could they estimate when I might NOT be in the outage zone.

So I resigned myself to more evening on the porch with candles lit. That is until I heard a strange noise in the dark.  A quick reconnoiter of the yard revealed a rabbit, who was watching me closer than I was watching him. That’s OK, I thought. I can handle a rabbit.

When the possum showed up, I had second thoughts. It wasn’t a very big possum and it came sauntering around the left side of the porch, looking for Reba’s left-over dog food, I’m sure. It just wanted a free meal. I, on the other hand, wanted no part of that half-grown possum. So I yelled at it. I stomped my foot at it. I waved my arms at it. I did this all from 20 feet away. I don’t like possums. They scare me.

Little possum took the hint, turned around, and sauntered off. Note:  It did not run off. It sauntered. Apparently my physical threats don’t mean much to a possum. But that was all I needed. I kept wondering what else was going to walk, stroll or crawl into my light-less life on the back porch. Another note:  Reba, the yard dog, slept through the entire possum encounter, curled up on the back porch, not 10 feet away. No help there.

I went inside, lit candles, found a musical media that operated on batteries, and tried to wait out the no-power evening, in a hot house. Even fell asleep once. At midnight, power was restored after nearly eight hours, and I rejoiced. Even sent text messages to all my children. Then cranked up the AC, and went to bed. All in all, not a bad evening.

We hope the same for you. . .a safe and happy Fourth of July, and a possum-less evening on the back porch.

Why Penny and Reba Stayed Home

It’s national Take Your Dog to Work Day. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

I have two dogs, the always-ready-to-do-anything Penny, a miniature pinscher or min-pin, and Reba, otherwise known as Reba Nell McIntyre, the mixed black lab and Darling Daughter’s latest rescue project, who came to my house cause DD (Darling Daughter) thinks I need an outside dog. I don’t.

Back to Penny, the irascible mini-pin. When I adopted Penny, people in the know kept saying, “You don’t want a min-pin, really. You really, really don’t want a min-pin.”

“But she’s so cute,” I responded, and I took her on anyway. And I really, really do want her. I just don’t want that min-pin personality. Well, OK. I do. I mean, you got to adopt the whole package, and min-pins, as tiny as they are, are a really, really big package. Penny has an opinion about everything, which she announces often. She barks incessantly when it’s time to eat and I’m a bit late delivering. She doesn’t like loud thunder storms. She doesn’t like cats, even though she has to live with two. She will destroy the home in an attempt to escape. And, she’s allergic to fleas, which results in large vet bills.

So, if I brought her to work, how would that go? She would bring fleas with her. No amount of flea pills or meds seem to help. Someone would have to guard the office door constantly, because mini Penny can duck out a door faster than lightning. If she doesn’t get what she thinks she needs – water or a bowl full of food – she will stare you in the eye and bark, and bark, and bark, and . . . good grief. She will not cuddle up, unless it’s storming. Her favorite game is run and chase. She does the running. I do the chasing. The whole office crew would more than likely be chasing Penny all over town. It took the animal control officer and an armed police officer to catch the little runaway before I adopted her in the first place. And she will not lay down to take a nap. Min-pin personalities mean they are always on the move, and must investigate everything. You don’t get to cuddle and pet. You just sit there and watch them zoom zoom from room to room. It’s amazing.

Penny has min-pin personality plus, and she has two tricks that tickle everyone who knows her. If she likes you, she will give you a high five, over and over and over. Everybody thinks that is so cute, until they have to do it over and over and over, because that’s what Penny does when she wants to be petted. Petted? That’s extraordinary too. This is how it’s done. Penny must be picked up, laid out on her back in your arms like a human infant, and her tummy must be rubbed incessantly. This will cause Penny to swoon and go to sleep instantly. But don’t stop, or the min-pin wakes up and the chase is on.

Now Reba, the black lab mix, is a different matter. She’s old and sleepy. If I brought her to work, she would first look for the nearest water, take a drink and try to get into the water container. If she doesn’t fit, she will look for a cool spot and sleep the rest of the day. I almost brought Reba to work on Take Your Dog to Work Day, not because she’s old and sleepy, and little trouble. It’s because her newest choice for the best place to sleep on a hot day is in my new strawberry bed! No Reba! And yelling “No Reba!” doesn’t seem to help at all. My newest weekend chore is to find Reba-safe fence to install around the few strawberries I have left, and to find some new strawberry plants. Oh no Reba.

A quick search of why we should bring our dogs to work reveals that studies show dogs may help ease depression and emotional disorders. Well, only if you don’t like strawberries and love fleas and chase-your-dog games. Otherwise, you may development some emotional disorders.

Others say it’s good to bring your dog to work because it encourages your co-workers to adopt a canine from the local animal shelter. Uh, after experiencing my two dogs, my co-workers would probably insist upon a cat. Which is OK too.

So no, I did not bring either one of my two to the office on Take our Dog to Work Day. I figured my co-workers would enjoy the peace of a dog-free work day. I know I do.

Go Away Rain!

Good grief. Enough rain. The only good news I heard Thursday was young men announcing they didn’t have to mow the family lawn. However, they did comment that they will have to borrow more money from the parents. Oops.

And I won’t be mowing my lawn either. I could ask son to bring his boat over and we’ll see if the motor blade will mow under water, cause that’s the only way my grass is gonna get cut. The whole yard is under water.

The family went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, as those who visit here may remember. That’s where we ran into tropical storm Anna. Or rather she ran into us. She limited our time on the beach. We were a little grumpy about that. Now tropical storm Bill has come to call. Excuse me? I live in Oklahoma! I’m not supposed to deal with tropical storms. Go away Bill. I like a pretty yard, with a clipped lawn and colorful flowers. What I have right now is a lake, with drowned dead flowers, and mud. And I know what to expect next. It’s the weeds! The weeds will go into a frenzy as soon as the sun comes out but the lawn doesn’t dry out. Those weed dudes will be knee high before I can get the lawn mower started.

A large number of other topics were on my mind to write about lately. But the rain got in the way. I wanted to write about “Take Your Dog to Work Day” on June 26. Sorry. My dog is too wet to bring to work. Any most everyone knows how a wet dog smells. Oh UGH! Good thing there’s not a “Take Your Cat to Work Day.” Cats hate rain, and, as some may recall, the last time I took my cat out, it took three vet techs just to give him a flea pill, after he ate the flea pill delivery device.

Then a new bird showed up at my bird feeder this week. That bird would have made a good tale, but the birds seem to be hiding out lately, and not even trying to visit for a quick lunch.Then there’s the bees, and the fact that there are no bees visiting flowers and vegetables. That sort of limits production. I have a friend who has set out beehives so her garden will grow. That’s awesome. But I’m not gonna go get my camera and I wet trying to take photos of bees in a downpour. The bees are more than likely smarter than me and still in the hive.

And there are other things I’d like to do, like plant new flowers to replace the dead drowned ones. So I happened upon a sale, bought bunches and bunches, and my tiny little garden is under water again. Stop it! I want flowers. Maybe I should plant rice?

And KXMX has two new interns to be introduced – Josh Hawkins and Brayson Laney – who are delightful young men, but I’m too wet, mildewed and fed up to write a nice blog about anything.

So tonight I’m going home, laying down on the couch for a nap, or maybe finding a heat lamp to turn on so I can dry out. Or help friends build that arc they are talking about. Or grow gills. Or plan my move to the desert. Or sing that nursery rhyme, “Rain, rain, go away. . . .” Everybody! Sing!

Flag Day? Don’t Forget It!

While floundering around this week looking for a blog subject, it occurred to me that we must be close to another holiday, and, since it’s June, it must be Father’s Day. So I got ahead of myself, as usual, and floundered around some more thinking about how to write about Dad.

While floundering I happened to think it might be good to check on a calendar, and that’s when I found I was a week ahead of myself. Flag Day is the next holiday up, on Sunday, June 14. Then it occurred to me that maybe others have forgotten Flag Day too, and just exactly what is the meaning of Flag Day anyway? We know we are supposed to fly the flag on Flag Day, to demonstrate our patriotism, and many fly the flag all the time now. That’s a good thing. But just where and why did Flag Day originate? A trip around the internet revealed the following, thanks to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

“June 14th marks more than just the middle of June.  On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.  They ‘resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.’  This is the flag that was reportedly sewn by Betsy Ross in Philadelphia.  The well-known naval lieutenant John Paul Jones was the first to display the new American flag overseas in France in 1778.

“However Flag Day didn’t become a holiday overnight. It took well over one hundred years before Flag Day was formally recognized.

“In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing Flag Day on June 14.  (This same year Wilson also declared, by executive order that the Star Spangled Banner be played at military and other official ceremonies.)  But it wasn't until 1949 that Congressional legislation designating a national Flag Day was passed and was recognized by President Harry Truman.

“Bernard J. Cigrand, a Wisconsin grade school teacher, is often credited with the first Flag Day celebration in 1885.  William T. Kerr of Pittsburg formed an American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania in 1888, and was a leader in establishing the National American Flag Day Association in 1898.  Kerr served as president of the association for more than fifty years and he participated in the August 3, 1949, ceremony with President Truman.

“So as you're enjoying your summer vacation, or waiting impatiently for it to start, take a moment on the 14th to remember the flag.  It has changed as over the years, but its symbolism and importance remain the same.”

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Wow, I must confess I did not know all that, which is probably something I was taught in grade school and don’t remember. Still, it is good to see our flag unfurled and whipping in our Oklahoma wind, not just on June 14, but every day.

Grass Grows, Snakes Suffer Due to Rain

Never heard so many lawn mowers roaring at the same time this week. My neighbors and I have been frantically mowing our yards before the next rain. There is a possibility of a rainy weekend. UGH!

So, five hours on a lawnmower Wednesday and I got my knee-high jungle cut down to ankle height anyway. Still, there is that area of my lawn I call the swamp that has been under water ever since the beginning of May, and still shows no sign of drying out completely. That swamp grass will just have to stay knee high for a bit longer.

We’ve about got this 20-plus inches of rain situation under control, except for one little problem that scares me a lot. That would be the herptiles. Herptiles? Yes. The critters who crawl out of the weeds on rainy days and scare me. That would be snakes. Tortoises also crawl out of the weeds on rainy days, but be warned, I stop to save them. That is move them out of the way of oncoming traffic, and my lawnmower.

I do not stop to save snakes. Well, I won’t try to run over one of them either. There is a limit to my response to fear. Hey, if a poisonous snake is trying to get in my house, and if a have a choice, that snake will die. But if it’s a non-poisonous snake minding its own business out in my yard, we leave it be.

So I was a bit distressed to find two of the little fellers, those who promise not to poison me, dead in my lane recently. Darling Daughter found another as she whacked weeds last weekend. What’s happening? Has it rained so much that our good snakes (a good snake is one that eats bad snakes) are trying to crawl to higher ground, and run into obstacles? Like floods? Protective dogs? Can snakes drown? I worried I might have run over that little green snake, that does nothing harmful, just eats those bugs that are bugging me. Darling Daughter was downright indignant when she found that rat snake all curled up and dead. 

“They are the ones who eat the poisonous ones, and the rats,” she declared. And, a recent trip along roads bordering the Arkansas River revealed numerous snakes dead on the road.

So what’s up? A quick check of the Internet news found stories that report yes, our recent flooding is causing the snakes to seek higher ground, some in our homes with us (EEK!), and some on roads where they get smashed, and yes they can drown if trapped underwater and unable to breathe. But that doesn’t explain the demise of the snakes in my lane and yard. Maybe they just got too waterlogged, like me.

And I will confess that I have stopped to remove two tortoises from roads, where they crawled to get away from the damp, and one from in front of my pickup truck. But that’s normal in Oklahoma. It does appear our rainy weather is as disastrous for our herptiles as it is for us. So when it came time to mow, I worried. But it was OK. No tortoises, no snakes, I don’t think. Of course lawnmowers can make mincemeat of about anything and I might not have noticed, and thus I apologize to anything I might have minced.