Keep Your Eye On The Ball! (Ain't No Pleasing You)

 

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series against the New York Yankees in a come -from -behind victory that was something to see! The Yankees were ahead 5-0 in the 5th inning...but then, it all fell apart.  One of the things that seemed to portend bad things to come...Aaron Judge DROPPED a pop-up ball that should have been a very easy catch. When they did a replay on it, the announcer just said, "he didn't have his eye on the ball".  Oh my, that reminded me of the sports radio announcer that we had here in Atlanta when I was a kid! I just looked him up. His name was Jack Hurst, and he was on WQXI (Quixie Radio) and his sign off was a most memorable: "Keep your eye on the ball".  It seems to me that we can all use that advice in our daily lives, to try our best to keep focused on what is important and not to be distracted.  

Now back to the baseball game, Freddie Freeman was named the World Series MVP (Most Valuable Player) and rightly so.  He broke a record: he is the first player to have hit a homerun in the first four games of a World Series. In that first game, he hit a grand slam! (Bases loaded, which means four runs scored!) He played with the Atlanta Braves for years until he was traded to the Dodgers. There are some who are not too nice about Freddie's success with the Dodgers, but I am not one of them! I think Freddie Freeman is great, and I only wish him the best success.  Looks like my wishes have come true for him!

I mentioned to you that Aaron Judge dropped that ball.... I read today that he was pretty upset about it, I think the quote was that he would never forgive himself. Gee, I hope that he will! Anyone can make a mistake! That is another lesson that we need to remember!  Yankees fans are pretty rough, so I can only imagine what he might have to put up with from them. I like to watch good baseball, and they were both good teams, but someone has to lose. 

"Ain't No Pleasing You", that is a song that seems to go along with this post!  I am so happy to tell you that the video by Chas & Dave was recently restored and is now in HD! 

I have told you before how much I enjoy our National Anthem sung before our ballgames. I loved this young woman named Pearle Peterson who is only 19 years old!  She sang this on Oct. 26th in Los Angeles. No trills or odd interpretations, just straight up great singing. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing...do you know why the Dodgers are called that name?  They were originally the Brooklyn Dodgers and when they were first there, it was the early days of the trolley cars, and the ballplayers would have to "dodge" the cars on their way to the ballpark!  

All the artwork that I showed you of the Peanuts characters, we missed this one.  Richard stood just beside a busy street to take this photo for you!  You know I had to share Linus and Sally! Aren't they just adorable?

Charles Schultz did a great cartoon once; I wish I could find it for you.  It showed Linus being very happy about his team winning a ballgame and going on and on about how much the crowd was cheering and Charlie Brown's reply was : "How did the other team feel?".  I always think of that after the World Series celebrations.  There is a lot of wisdom from cartoons! (I might have the characters wrong who said this, but you get the idea!)

Take care and remember, "keep your eye on the ball!"

October Update (One Way or Another)

 

The kids in Rockdale County finally went back to school yesterday after having been out of school for three weeks due to the BioLab disaster. (They are meant to have had virtual learning at home, and I do hope that they were able to do some kind of learning!) It has been a time of stress.  For over a week after the huge toxic cloud, we were told to "shelter in place" and not to open any doors or windows. Then, we were told it was okay to go out but if you saw a giant cloud come over you, to go back inside!   And then, for a time we were told that it was okay to go out but to shelter in place between 7PM and 7AM.  (Because as some funny person said online, toxic air has a curfew!)  I have asthma and I usually don't have any problems with it but for the past few weeks, I have used my inhaler quite a bit. I hate to think of those who are suffering from much more serious lung problems than mine. There is a push now for Biolab to be shut down permanently and you all must know that I agree with that.  During these past few weeks there have been meetings with government officials.  One was shown as a live stream from downtown Atlanta with our state representatives listening to powerful speeches from those who were closest to the BioLab facility.  One of those who spoke gave such an impassioned speech about the dangers of BioLab!  I am sorry to tell you that just after his talk, he walked outside where he collapsed in the hallway.  He later died at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.  His name was Kenny Johnson, and he was the Rockdale County Soil and Water Supervisor. A hero, if you ask me.

We are told that the EPA checked the air on a regular basis and also that the water was checked three times daily and that we should not be concerned.  (What about the vegetables that people have in their gardens, are they okay to eat, or should we be worried of the toxic chemicals that might have settled upon them? For that matter, what about the soil for future gardens?)  We are in hopes that the Good Earth (with its precious air over it) will try very hard to recover.  

Millions have voted early in the USA.  There is a young woman who paints seasonal pictures on the windows in Old Town Conyers and I love the Peanuts characters telling people to vote!  

I am sure that you heard the news that Liam Payne died in South America. Such sad news- it seems it is all we get these days. Even though he was a solo artist, I remember him as being one of those very young men from "One Direction".  I had a video on my blog of them doing a video for charity and I really liked it, so I am sharing it again with you here...

My friends, I do hope that you are all doing well.  We are hanging in there! Take care and look out for each other.  My best to you always.  x

Bio Lab Fire (Why Me Lord)

 

If you look at the side of my blog you will see that Richard and I live in Conyers, Georgia. (Rockdale County).  Have you heard that mentioned in the news where you live?  Yesterday, we had a huge fire here at Bio Lab, a plant that makes pool and spa chemicals.  Reports are that you could see the smoke from thirty miles away.  The entire area around the fire plume was evacuated therefore, 17,000 people were meant to leave their homes. The rest of the county was asked to "shelter in place" leaving windows and doors closed. (The population of the county is 93,000). Until the early hours of today, the very busy interstate highway which cuts the county in half was CLOSED. (This made for huge traffic problems for the area.) Waking up this morning, the update from the county was the same information from yesterday, to remain inside, keeping windows and doors tightly closed "until further notice". Chlorine has been detected in the air by the EPA. 

Well.

Coming on the heels of the hurricane that swept through the region, this is quite a time of stress for so many.  Speaking of that, I just casually mentioned to you in my last post that a storm was supposed to march up through Georgia, not knowing at the time how deadly that hurricane/tropical storm would become. Have you also seen the news on that?  The photos from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee are heart-breaking.  I could look up the latest death toll but it keeps going up, there are so many missing in the floods in North Carolina. The damage is terrible. (Regarding that storm, it veered to the right of us which meant we didn't get nearly as much wind as expected.  We still had trees that blocked some of the roads, but they were quickly removed. Our power went out for four hours. Quite a bit of rain but no flooding. We were lucky.)

Seems to me that we are all so caught up in the turmoil of life that we forget that we are just PEOPLE.  Human beings who are just trying to make it through life and maybe just have a bit of joy along the way and hopefully, help someone else on the way! So much hatred in politics and everyone thinks they know more than anyone else.  I think we should think more of being fellow creatures of this dear planet, Earth.

There, I will get off my soap box now, but I just wanted to let you all know that Richard and I are okay if any of you saw Conyers, Georgia on your TV screen or newspaper feed.

This statue of Madonna and Child was recently cleaned at the Monastery.  So beautiful and serene against that blue sky with the cumulus clouds.  (Photos taken by Richard on Saturday, one day after the hurricane and the day before the fire.)

 

Peace.

"Why Me Lord"    Kris Kristofferson (May he rest in peace).

Laughing and Singing/September Days

 

Wake me up when September ends!  (Of course, that was a hit song for Green Day back in 2004. Wow, that's twenty years ago now.) Where has this month gone? So busy! I have THREE birthdays in this month, plus the family reunion that I always like to attend. I always went with my Dad. Those folks miss the big pots of peas which he cooked from his own garden along with his famous cornbread and peach cobblers.

Recently, someone looked at a post that I wrote back in 2016. I told you in that post that unbelievably I had actually got up and sung in front of my co-workers. I wondered if I might find it on YouTube and yes, I found myself from 2016! Want to have a listen? Be kind! Oh dear, I am a bit embarrassed to share this with you, but I think you will see that I really laughed a lot as I was singing. My laughter came mainly because of the astonished looks on the faces in front of me! I guess they didn't think the old gal had it in her! HA!  

 

A bit of background story here... I took some papers into my manager's office, and he looked very sad.  I asked him what was wrong, and he said he couldn't get anyone to do any skits or songs for that week's upcoming meeting (with big wigs in attendance).  He was feeling the pressure from this, I could tell. His face lit up and he said, "YOU couldn't do something, could you, Kay?".  Now, this guy had always been so nice to me. His nickname for me was "Sunshine". I asked him before why he always called me that and he said it was because I was always smiling. I told him that I find it very hard to get up in front of a crowd. It might be true that you can hear my knees knocking.  That evening, I got to thinking that perhaps I could just take a song and change a few words and sing it. So, I did! Hey, for someone who calls you "Sunshine", wouldn't you?

Speaking of sunshine, it is very HOT just now!  When we got in the car today, it said 98 degrees! Once we were out of the parking lot, it cooled down to 95, so we're MUCH better now!   Now, we have to worry about this big storm that is promised to be on the way. It will march straight up from the Florida panhandle bringing rains and wind. Wish us luck! 

It's Hearts a busting time!

I've shown you these seeds before. Don't you love them? These are in a pot right outside my window, isn't that wonderful?

Dianthus with eastern swallowtail butterfly, also outside my window!

  This is the bridge over the South River on the Rockdale River Trail.  Here's the South River....

Every time I see this river, it always reminds me of the song, "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water".  Hey, everything reminds me of a song!

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Did you see that they found an unknown piece of music from Mozart? Yes! They believe that it is something he wrote as a teenager. That reminds me....

Why didn't Mozart like chickens? Because they kept saying, "Bach, Bach, BACH!". 

 Keep laughing and singing, folks! (Hey, stand- up comedy for me next!)

La Seine Musicale /Cardboard Houses

 

La Seine Musicale (On MY TV!) Imagine how lovely this would be at night!

It seems like ages since the Olympics in Paris, doesn't it?  I still have fond memories of watching the events and then, pausing with the remote and researching the buildings in the background. During the Marathon, I had a full 26 miles and 385 yards in which to see the surrounding area around Paris! Why is the Marathon that unusual length? It is due to the 1908 Olympics that were held in London. 26 miles was agreed upon- the distance from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium but the 385 yards was for the last lap in the stadium so as for the athletes to finish in front of the Royal Box! Hey, the runners might not wish for that extra bit now but all the more for me to see Paris is fine by me.

The building that I have shown you above - I was truly intrigued by it. The description that I found of it is this: "A unique egg-shaped structure with a sail-like solar panel". It is a music venue! Located in the western suburbs of Paris, it opened in 2017. (The first artist to perform there was Bob Dylan!) The architect is Japanese named Shigeru Ban. In 2014, he was given the Pritzker Architecture Prize, not only for his modern buildings but also for his humanitarian efforts.  He is well known for his work with recycled cardboard tubes which can quickly be made into homes for disaster victims. The nominating committee called him "an inspiration."

 Look, let me see if I have a video to show you....

I wish I could find the video that I found of Shigeru Ban helping to build the houses in Maui- I think it was after the horrible fire.  The buildings had ...I think holes in the roofs that the builders could go in and out of as they were building, and then afterwards, they were used for light.  There, that might be a strange description, but it was very clever, and they were not only functional but very attractive.

I first heard this version of "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole in the film "50 First Dates".  I have shared it with you before, but it is always nice to hear it again! 

I truly love beautiful buildings.  Paris inspired me to decorate my little creation at Panola Mountain State Park! (No children were around, so I had these wooden blocks all to myself.)

 

Morning Has Broken (Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!)

 

The summers in Georgia, USA are very hot.  However, this past week we have been lucky as we have had cool mornings down in the 60's. It has been heavenly!  Richard must have loved these mornings too as he has been playing "Morning Has Broken" on his guitar. I knew that     Yusuf/Cat Stevens  had a big hit with it in 1971.  (We also had our friend play it on the piano on our wedding day in 1983!)  I also knew that it was a hymn, with the words written by    Eleanor Farjeon.   The hymn was published in 1931.) Now, it made me wonder...who wrote the music?  Eleanor Farjeon is English and so is Cat Stevens but for the music, we have to go to Scotland....

It is set to the tune "Bunessan" which is a folk melody from the village of Bunessan which is a small village on the Isle of Mull off the southwest coast of Scotland. Mary Macdonald from the nearby community of Ardtun first used the traditional local tune to a Christmas Carol that she wrote in Gaelic, translated into "Christ In The Manger". She was the first to call the tune "Bunessan" but as it is true with many folk melodies, the author is unknown. Even though the songwriter is lost to history, we only know that is a lovely tune and we appreciate it.

  James Quinn,   a Jesuit priest from Glasgow, Scotland wrote some lovely lyrics to this same tune, "This Day God Gives Me".   I had never heard it before!  Finding this in my research was a true gift.... and I really loved this description of the priest, "He was known for his gentle manner". 

 I have given you links to those three people- Cat Stevens, Eleanor Farjeon and James Quinn.  Such fascinating life stories! It truly is worth your time to read about them.  I promise! (I do wish someone would make films about each of them. All of them are inspiring!)

Of course,  I cannot finish this post without including "Morning Has Broken".  This is a video of Yusuf/Cat Stevens in 2022.  He still has a great sounding vocal. Enjoy!

Another thing I learned recently....I saw this book at our local library, "The Birds of Edward Lear". Fascinating! Did you know that not only was he an author but a fantastic artist?  Once again, such an amazing life story!  Edward Lear    There, I have another link!   

Perhaps you think I have given you many things to look up here, but you have no idea how many things I look up every single day!  Does curiosity keep you young?  Please, let that be so!  Hope you are all doing well and doing better with your time than I am these days!

I almost forgot to say....

"Oh, What A Beautiful Morning"! That song is from the musical "Oklahoma" by Rodgers and Hammerstein.  Therefore, those lyrics are by one of my great heroes, Oscar Hammerstein! Dare I say it, you MUST read up about him too!

  

Zinnia that I planted from seed.  Cannot tell you how happy this makes me!  Oh, so beautiful!

Sportingly Yours - 2024 Paris Olympics

  

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...", these are the opening words to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens.  Reading the reviews of the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Paris somehow brought those words to my mind. It seemed you either loved them or hated them.  I didn't watch them on that day, but we recorded it and watched it the next day. Well....much of the beginning of it reminded me of when I was ill and had some drug induced nightmares. So much dancing!  It seemed to me much better when they focused more on the magnificent buildings in Paris! And there were moments that surprised me, the opera singer standing on that bridge and singing the National Anthem? What she wore and the way that she was posed during the entire song, it was most effective. Celine Dion singing from The Eiffel Tower? Wonderful! Oh, and the rain! Goodness me, it seems Paris has had wonderful sunny weather since that Friday! Oh well.  C'est la vie! 

Do you like sports? If so, you must enjoy the Olympics too! You know I do. It has been exciting to watch!  In my last post, I told you that I know the words to the French National Anthem. I sung along with Leon Marchand as he stood on the podium having won the Gold in the 400-meter individual medley!  It was fun to watch him swim the breaststroke, every time he surfaced, the crowd let out a huge cheer! Obviously, he was in his home country!

Ah, Paris! I have never, EVER seen it, but I think I love it! I am reading a book just now...

                           "Eiffel's Tower" by Jill Jonnes!  

While the Eiffel Tower itself is most astonishing, you would not believe all the characters associated with the tower and with the World's Fair in 1889 in which it was introduced! What characters? How about Thomas Edison, Paul Gauguin, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley? Not to mention the man behind the tower, Gustave Eiffel! (And where would we be without elevators in the tower? Another character to learn about, Mr. Otis from Otis Elevators!  "All safe, all safe".)  It is taking me some time to read this book as I keep looking up more information about each and every person that is highlighted.

Thomas Edison! How I think he would marvel at the Eiffel Tower when it lights up every hour from sunset until 1AM.  (AND the lights actually move and sparkle for the first five minutes for every hour after dusk!)  Instead of a torch for the Olympics, Paris chose a cauldron that looks like a hot air balloon! To me, it looks amazing in the day but just imagine it at night! At sunset, the balloon rises up 60 meters and returns to the ground at 2AM. It is not fire! Water is sprayed and beams of light are projected onto the mist using 40 LED spotlights.  Once again, I can't help but think of Thomas Edison loving this!

The French swimmer, Leon Marchard, that I told you about who won the Gold Medal, had written to the coach at Arizona State University (the same one who had coached Michael Phelps!).  He asked him if he could possibly help a young French swimmer like himself. Sure enough, he attended that university and now lives in Austin, Texas!

 Here's a little detail that I love - he signed that letter, "Sportlingly Yours".

The architecture in Paris is amazing, isn't it?  I have a photo from Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is from the old train depot there. If I can't get to Paris, I will appreciate what I can!