Saturday

06 shopping days remain until Christmas
353 days so far this year…12 days remain in 2009
***Provocative Quote***
"To save one life is better than to build a seven story pagoda." ~Chinese Proverb
***Free Ramblings***
When I moved in three+ years ago, the deadbolt was hard to lock and unlock with a key. It is keyed to the main door lock, and I only lock it when I am gone for more than a day. Yesterday I came home from running some errands and it took about five minutes to get the main lock open. So this morning I called the maintenance man to get it fixed. Another advantage to leasing over owning. I sure don’t want to be locked out in the cold. So the guy shows up with the master key, assuming that I have done something wrong—like bend my key or something. Oddly, at least to him, his master key wouldn’t even go in to either lock without a lot of force. He took the deadbolt, decided that by some unknown force had the key become too big for the locks. So he was going to take the keys to the hardware store and get them filed down. He left. He was back in about thirty minutes. His story is that while he was driving to the hardware store, he remembered that a few years ago, he had a similar problem with a lock at his house. He used a spray graphite to fix the one at his home, so he went to his house, found the can and tried it. Magically it worked on the deadbolt. Then he came back to my place and sprayed the main lock. It now worked well too. He is a good ol’ boy, not the brightest candle on the cake, but enjoyable to watch. I always watch because I figure, if whatever he is fixing needs to be done again and it is not too much work, I will do it myself. Now about his story. I think he went to the hardware store and the guy there grabbed the can, sprayed it and made it work. The Hardware Guy didn’t buy the story that the key had mysteriously become larger. Then my guy bought the can and brought it over to fix my lock. Somehow his story, while plausible, just didn’t fit.

My good friend, Julius, called last night to tell me his mother had passed. Nina was 90, born three days before my own mother, and had been failing for several years. I knew she was in the hospital but on Monday they were talking about a nursing home here in Flagstaff. This has been a tough few months for Mr. T. He lost his biological mother a few months ago. She was 101 when she passed. He was raised by his father’s brother and his wife. His adopted dad passed many years ago, while Julius was still in Jr. High. Nina raised three daughters and Julius, by herself. Two of the kids graduated from college. All the family was able to be in Tuba before she passed. I think her passing is harder on the grandkids than the siblings. To make the situation more difficult, while Julius was at the mortuary, someone broke into his house and stole his stuff. They got his father’s hunting rifle, lots of hunting equipment, and some electronics. Ju and the cops tracked them about a mile and found some of the cases the stuff was in, but as of yet, none of the valuable stuff. Ju’s tracking even impressed the cops. They are going back to the area today, hoping the little bastards will return to the area where they dropped the cases in the bushes. The stuff is probably nearby, but it was dark and the cops and Ju just couldn’t see well enough. I went to all the pawn shops in Flag with pics. No luck yet. He doesn’t have the serial number so while it is easy to identify, without that, it is really hard to get it back, if it is found. Reminder to all: If you have any ‘stealable’ values, be sure you have the serial number someplace. Cops really won’t get excited, nor will pawn shops without it.

One last quick story about Mr. T. He was looking up the place where he had the gun repaired about ten years ago. He was hoping they might have the serial number. He was at school, after the kids left, I’m sure, doing a Google search. Seems the Bureau has blocked all the sites that sell or repair guns. Hmmm. I guess that is a good thing. Headlines of a government worker buying a weapon through the work computer and then going on a rampage might not bring good press.

Flag only dropped to 13° last night and made it to 45° today. Snow melts, streets remain wet. Businesses are still clearing their sidewalks along 89. It is this time of year that I’m glad I don’t have to walk in Flagstaff. Even though there is an ordinance that says your sidewalk has to be cleared soon after a storm, the only way they enforce it is when someone complains. Then, I hear, the property owner gets a warning at least the first time and maybe even the second time. I don’t even see the sidewalks along 89 unless it has snowed. Then I see pedestrians walking in the street. This is very dangerous for them and for traffic, but sometimes the pedestrian has few, if any, other choice. It is really too bad that our city can’t find a better solution.
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± Quotes from Values.com—Helping Others
“Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.”
~Mohammed
± Unusual …
-How to Spell Hanukkah: Thankfully, the Old English "Cristes Maesse" settled into "Christmas" over 500 years ago. On the other hand, most people end up in a spelling train wreck when it comes to the Jewish Festival of Lights. The good news is, whether you spell it Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanukkah, Hanuka, or Channuka, you're probably right. Because of the linguistic differences between English and Hebrew, there is no "correct" English language spelling.
-Chanukah can fall anytime between the middle of November and beginning of January. The exact dates are decided according to the Jewish calendar, which is Lunar-based. The eight-day holiday starts on 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
-The term ‘Chanukah’ stands for dedication in Hebrew and recalls the Maccabees' rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after they won the battle with the Greeks, for control over their holy site.
± Random Fact
Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month
§ Week of 17 December
Saturnalia: Roman Festival of Tomfoolery (Dec 17th-23rd)
Chanukah (Hanukkah) (Dec 12th-19th)
Halcyon Days (Dec 14th-28th)
§ 18 December Observances
Oatmeal Muffin Day
Hawaii: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's Birthday (1831)—Hawaiian Philantropist, last descendent of Kamehameha Royal Line
-Goa: Liberation day (1987 from India)
-Day for South-South Cooperation—UN Day for South American countries to help each other.
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§ Holy Mackerel: on this day in 1732…Benjamin Franklin (under the name Richard Saunders) begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"

§ BIRTHS ON THIS DAY
~ The Arts
Jennifer Beals in 1963 actress: (Flashdance)
“Little” Jimmy Dickens in 1920 country singer (Grand Ole Opry)
Marianne Faithfull in 1946 (England) singer
Phil Ochs in 1940 anti-war folk singer (Joe Hill)
Tim Reid in 1944 comedian (Venus Flytrap-WKRP)
David Susskind in 1920 TV host
John Taylor in 1753 philosopher (Jeffersonian Democracy)
Cicely Tyson in 1933 actress
~Athletics
Kevin McHale in 1957 Basketball Hall of Famer: Celtics
Jake Plummer in 1974 quarterback (Cardinals)
Reggie White in 1961 football: Packers
~Business, Education, Politics
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev in 1906 President of the USSR
Henry Clay Frick in 1849 built world's largest coke & steel operation
Hermann Hirt in 1865 (Prussia) linguist (Indo-European Grammar)
Jeanne Kirkpatrick in 1926 US ambassador to UN
Hercules Robinson in 1824 (Ireland) South Africa Commissioner
Carter G Woodson in 1875 American historian (black studies)
~Science/Religion
Thomas Andrews in 1813 (Ireland) chemist/physicist (ozone)
John Kirk Barry in 1832 (Scotland) Dr/ explorer with David Livingstone
Sir William Parry in 1790 (England) Arctic
§ In Remembrance~
Alois Alzheimer German neurologist (first described Alzheimer's Disease), Heart Failure @ 51
Raymond Massey actor (Dr Gillespie-Dr Kildaire), @ 87
Marcello Mastroiani actor (8½) @ 72
Antonio Stradivari violin maker, @ 93
Nellie Taylor Ross 1st woman governor (Wyo), @ 101
Norman Thomas founder ACLU @ 84

§ Historical Events on this day
1686…Robinson Crusoe leaves his island after 28 years (as per Defoe)
1776…Thomas Paine published his 1st "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls"
1823…Georgia passes 1st US state birth registration law
1842…US recognizes independence of Hawaii
1843…Charles Dickens publishes "A Christmas Carol" in England
1871…Albert L Jones (New York NY), patents corrugated paper
1903…Williamsburg suspension bridge opens between Brooklyn & Manhattan
1918…Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column (New York Globe)
1919…American Meteorological Society found
1950…Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion
1971…Stanley Kubrick's X-rated "A Clockwork Orange" premieres
1979…Chrysler receives a $1.5 billion government loan to help put the company back on its feet
1984…UK signs agreement with China to return Hong Kong to China in 1997
1987…Gari Kasparov becomes world chess champion
1998…President Bill Clinton is impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice.
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§ Rhyme & Reason
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1. nudity justice (8,8)
2. scandalous crime concerning misleading modem measure (4,5)
3. gentle youth (4,5)
4. friendly servant (6,6)
5. public address concerning a fruit (5,6)
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ANSWERS
1. nudity justice (8,8), bareness fairness
2. scandalous crime concerning misleading modem measure (4,5), baud fraud
3. gentle youth (4,5) mild child
4. friendly servant (6,6) genial menial
5. public address concerning a fruit (5,6) peach speech