Tuba is Hot

The workers appear to be done. I was in and out all day, but never saw them. I do wish they would tell us they are really done. The note said we hope to be completed by Friday. I am ready to move my stuff back onto the deck. But as sure as I haul it back out, they will come back. So I will wait until tomorrow afternoon to do the deck set up. It hasn’t been too bad with the closed windows, and I guess it looks better.

Tuba must be getting really hot. Everywhere I went the last two days, someone from TC was there. Good to see all these people, but they are seldom in town on week days…even in the summer. I had lunch with a teacher who was returning from Colorado, on her way back to Phoenix. I can’t understand why anyone would be going to Phx at this time of year. At Safeway I ran into three different people I haven’t seen for months. My short trip to pick up some fresh fruit became an hour of visiting. So nice to be retired and be able to stop and talk, without knowing I have a long drive to get home. Several paraprofessionals have begged me to come back to TC. I guess it is nice to hear, but as I told them, it ain’t gonna happen in this lifetime.

I have to wonder about some of my former employees. I continue to get email requests for a letter of reference. A couple of these people I haven’t seen or heard from since the mid 1990’s. What is wrong with these people? How could I possibly know what kind of employee they are now? What Personnel Office is going to use my letter? How desperate are the job-seeking people? How desperate are the schools? I know that I sure wouldn’t much credence into a letter that talks about work from 10 or more years ago. Amazing. One lady did get a job, based solely on my letter. The school needed a substitute teacher and while the lady had several supervisors after my supervision, none of them would respond. When I talked to the hiring principal, I asked if she had met the lady. She said she had. She asked if I would hire her. I said I was no longer in a position to hire. Then she asked if I was in such a position, would I hire her. I told her that, when I left she would have been eligible for hire. She thanked me. The next day the teacher called and said she was hired. I figure they get what they deserve. My letters now start out, “I was the candidates supervisor for x number of years in the mid-1990’s.” I figure that tells them I don’t know a whole lot about their current status. In one of my visits today, I learned that my former boss, who retired three years before I did, is still getting requests. It was sad to hear…the request letters will just keep coming.

<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact
The quills of a porcupine are soft when they are born.

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…

Week of July 10
International Chicken Wing Week

July 9—191 days so far this year…174 days remain in 2009

Don’t step on a bee Day
*Bahamas: Independence Day [1973]
*Mauritania [NW Africa]: Armed Forces Day [for 1978 coup]



BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1509
John Calvin Protestant religious reformer/theologian
1723
Sir William Blackstone England, jurist
1871
Marcel Proust French writer, creator of the 16-volume À la recherche du temps perdu (1913-27), the lengthy cyclic novel known in English as Remembrance of Things Past (1922-31) and regarded as one of the greatest achievements in world literature.
1882
Ima Hogg Texas art patron/founder of the Houston Symphony
1915
Saul Bellow Quebec, novelist
1920
David Brinkley Wilmington NC, NBC News anchor
1926
Fred Gwynne NYC, actor (Car 54 Where Are You?, Munsters)
1943
Arthur Ashe tennis pro
1945
Ron Glass actor (Sgt Harris-Barney Miller)
1947
Arlo Guthrie singer (Alice's Restaurant, City of New Orleans)
1834
James (Abbott McNeill) Whistler artist: Whistler’s Mother
1839
Adolphus Busch brewer: founder of Anheuser-Busch
1931
Nick Adams actor: The Rebel



IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
552
Origin of Armenian calendar
1866
Indelible pencil patented by Edson P Clark, Northampton, Mass
1890
Wyoming becomes 44th state
1892
1st concrete-paved street built (Bellefountaine, Ohio)
1925
John T. Scopes, a science teacher in Tennessee, was charged with violating the state's Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach evolution in Tennessee schools.
1933
1st police radio system operated, Eastchester Township, NY
1938
Aviator Howard Hughes makes a record flight around the world. He completed the trip in just 91 hours, breaking the previous record by more than four days.
1940
Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces attacked by air
1962
The Telstar communications satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, FL
1987
The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is sunk when French agents plant a bomb on the hull of the boat while docked in Auckland harbor, New Zealand. 1958 : An earthquake hit north of Juneau in Alaska causing a tidal wave that completly covered a small island
1999
The U.S. women's soccer team wins the final between the U.S. and China beating the Chinese team in a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif making them the FIFA Women's World Cup champions.
2000
UK 1 in 4 (25% )now use the internet at home up from 1 in 10 (10% )just 2 years ago.
U.S.A. 1 in 3 ( 33% )now use the Internet up from 1 in 5 (20% ) just 2 years ago.
*Figures for estimate of 2008 Internet Usage
UK 2 in 3 ( 66% )now use the internet at home
U.S.A. 3 in 4 ( 73% ) now use the Internet at home

Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987

Change one letter in each word or phrase below to name a part of a car

EX: hold
Answers: hood

1. Able
2. Loco
3. Ratio
4. Medal
5. Wiser
6. Brave
7. Chose
8. Pistol
9. Basket
10. Render
• Bonus: Washboard

<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>

Answers:
1. Axle
2. Lock
3. Radio
4. Pedal
5. Wiper
6. Brake
7. Choke
8. Piston
9. Gasket
10. Fender
* Bonus: Dashboard
<> <> <> <> <> <> <>