Reading the Cereal Box

I almost can't fathom it, but there are children (and adults) who sit down at the table and eat their cereal, barely giving the cereal box a glance. I cannot imagine it. I cannot imagine a life that does not include reading nearly everything set before me. What must that be like?

October is National Apple Month

 

 

Some Fun Apple Facts:

• Apple juice was one of the earliest prescribed anti depressants.
• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
• The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.
• Apples float because 25 percent of their volume is air.
• All apples have five seed pockets, each with a seed.
• Kathy Wafler Madison created the world's largest apple peel on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery).
• The pilgrims planted the first US apples trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• The science of apple growing is called pomology.
• Quercetin is found only in the apple skin. The skin also contains more antioxidants and fiber than the flesh.
• China produces more apples than any other country.
• The apple is the official state fruit of New York, Washington, West Virginia and Rhode Island. It is the official state flower of Michigan.
  
• Contrary to popular belief, there is no mention of an apple as the forbidden fruit in the Bible. It is referred to as "fruit from the Tree of Knowledge" with no specification as to which kind of fruit. It was Hugo Van Der Goes who first implicated the apple as the forbidden fruit in his 1470 A.D. painting, The Fall of Man. After that, it became popular to depict the apple as the forbidden fruit.
• To the Iroquois Indians, the apple tree is the central tree of heaven.
• An apple blossom has five petals.
• There are more than 750,000 apple orchards in the state of Washington.
In ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage; catching it was acceptance.

The Toddler's Trick



This is a collage I created for a work exercise. It was immediately critiqued and ripped to shreds.



From Anthea Paul’s “The Toddler’s Trick”

Three-year-olds have no problem expressing themselves. They can paint and draw pictures endlessly. They do not seem to have a moment’s hesitation about what to put onto a canvas or a massive piece of paper. Give the tots a piece of paper and a paintbrush and they happily go straight to it, with nary a pause. Nor do they mind when they make a mess of the paint colors or tear the paper – they never judge their output.

It's too bad that we grow older and more judgmental. Sometimes, as artists, we need to remind ourselves of the Toddler's Trick.

Bail



Alcatraz Island



Years ago I worked for the American Cancer Society in Florida. We did several fundraisers, one of which was "Jail & Bail." The idea behind this fundraiser was that we would recruit local business leaders and politicians to be "arrested." We'd make WANTED posters and print them in newspapers and on publicity materials, showing their mug shots and describing the crimes they were accused of.

They were funny crimes like 'WANTED for Ending Sentences with s Smiley Face.' Or 'WANTED for Contributing to the Speed of a Minor' (for a track coach).  We arrested my son for 'Bringing Ants to a Teddy Bear Picnic.' They were just goofy crimes that we then had our volunteer Sheriff bring them in on. We sent out a limo (donated services) to arrest them at their worksites, complete with media photographers in tow. We then took them to 'Jail' at the mall, where they were presented before a volunteer judge who set their fundraising 'Bail,' and were then given a phone and a phone book to raise their bail.

It was a great event and a lot of fun for everyone. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement. So easy that I decided to be arrested, too. I forget what the charges were against me, but bail was set and I began making my calls. The first call I made was to my father in Ohio.

"Hi Dad. I've been arrested and I need bail."

"Okay. How much?"

That was it. No questions. No 'What happened?' or 'What are you talking about? What were you arrested for?'  Just "Okay."  Makes me wonder what he thought about me, and why he didn't seem at all fazed to receive this phone call? I'm glad he had my back, but jeez...

The Buxton Inn

We spent the weekend at the Buxton Inn in Granville, Ohio. The historic hotel is rumored to be haunted, especially room #9 and the tavern in the basement. According to Chris Woodyard's Ghost Hunter's Guide to Haunted Ohio, room #9 is reportedly haunted by Ethel "Bonnie" Bounell who died there in 1961. There have been reports of a smoky haze that disguises thumbs and hands. The room is also haunted by Major Buxton, a cat ghost who plays with guest's hair.

Room #9


One former guest who stayed in room #9 said that she loved her room and was surprised to find a cat in there. She said it kept putting its paws up on the window as though it wanted to get out, but she told the cat it couldn't get out that way. When she checked out the next morning, she remarked that she'd liked having the cat in her room and the desk clerk told her that there weren't any live cats there.

There is a curio cabinet filled with ceramic cats, as well as pictures of cats and cat doorstoppers scattered around the inn. All pay homage to Major Buxton who is pictured on the Buxton Inn sign outside.

One hotel employee said that she's experienced things like the door and opening and closing by itself. She's also had trouble with locks and keys not working, and then doors opening right up. She says guests have taken pictures that later include a woman in a calico dress, or a man in a top hat standing on the sidewalk. All sorts of weird things have happened.

Another hotel employee told Woodyard that she was afraid of going down into the tavern alone. She felt like someone was always watching her down there, and bartenders had reported things being moved and disappearing. One night this employee heard heavy footsteps walking up and down the hall. When she turned on the light, no one was there.

We didn't encounter anything supernatural during our stay, as much as we hoped we would. But we did take a few pictures and may have captured an orb on one. You may decide it's a dust particle, but we took dozens of pictures and this was the only picture that had one. Maybe it's dust; maybe it's an orb. Let's all say it's an orb so we can have our fun.



The Blue Room



Freaked Me Out

My son and a friend of his came up to visit from Georgia. When they arrived, I asked them how their drive was and they said it was pretty good except that they almost got killed by a truck.

"What?!?!" I asked, terrified. It seems like they always relate some near-miss. As if I'm not nervous enough about the idea of my son driving 10 hours already.

"There was a truck coming straight toward us in our lane, going the wrong way."

"On the highway?!?!" I know my heart stopped.

"Yep. We got a picture."

So they pulled out their iphones and showed me the picture, as seen above. I think my hair turned gray. They started to laugh, but I didn't know what was so funny.

"Mom, it was a truck being towed."

The truck didn't kill them, but I wanted to.

Blurs Going By

I was at the Department of Motor Vehicles yesterday, renewing my license. There was a man in line in front of me, being given a vision test. He pressed his forehead against the machine and the clerk asked him to read a certain line. He hesitantly, and very slowly, recited a few letters. He missed every one.

I wondered, and the clerk must have wondered, too, whether he was illiterate. She moved him to a different machine and asked him to read a line of numbers. He slowly recited a few of them. Again, he missed nearly every number. The clerk lowered her voice and asked him to try another row. He read off a few numbers and she made him stop. She asked him whether he wore glasses or contacts. He said no. She told him to move his head a little a try again. He did. He got them wrong.

The clerk seemed to be at a loss. She told him that he needed to get at least two numbers right and that he hadn't yet. She let him try again and my jaw dropped. He seemed to be moments away from having a license issued despite the fact that he didn't seem able to see at any distance. He missed all the numbers again and she told him that he was going to have to have an eye exam. He could either go to the eye doctor, or go into the next room, but that if he failed the vision test in there, they'd take his license away.

And then -- she let him try one more time! I thought I was going to lose it. All I could picture was this blind man driving along the roads, never seeing other cars, or motorcycles, or people in front of him. He'd failed! Repeatedly! And she was giving him one more shot. He looked into the machine and rattled off a few numbers. He missed them all again. She turned off the machine and told him he'd have to get an eye exam and come back. He nodded and left. She called the next person in line and I watched the man walk out the door. I think you know what I'm about to tell you next:  he got into his car and drove off.