In Folio Weekly’s “News of the Weird” I read with interest that officials at England’s 12th-century St. Peter’s Church in Seaford, East Sussex, made a 30-minute CD of the eerie quiet of the Church’s sanctuary for which it is known. As reported in the article, the recording of near-total silence was originally done as a local fund raising project. But the Church has now received world-wide attention for its efforts with orders coming in from as far away as Ghana. Those who have heard the CD have said only occasional footsteps on a squeaky wooden floor or a passing car’s distant hum can be heard. Amazing what some will do to find a little peace and quiet.

I thought I was the only one.

Continue “Peace and quiet”

I was raised by depression-era parents. Granted, they were only little kids during that time. However, their parents instilled in them, as they, in turn, instilled in me, the understanding that you must take care of your things because there may be no replacing them.

For example, I was an adult before I learned that clothing was not widely considered a durable product, like a washing machine or a refrigerator or something. My brother, sister and I were provided a clothes shopping day once each year just before school started. And that was it. Whatever shirts and trousers or skirts and blouses my Dad bought for us on that late summer trip to the Montgomery Ward store in Niles would have to do until the next year’s sojourn. Continue “Hanging on”

Hey, who doesn’t want to be on the “gravy train?” Wait a minute, what exactly does that mean? Well, after conducting (is that a pun?) two entire minutes of rigorous research, I have learned that this idiom apparently has some connection with railroad workers in the 1920’s who reportedly used the phrase to describe a “run” with good pay and little work, in other words, big bucks with little effort.

The results of this research are troublesome for me, since I had originally thought that I might find some interesting information to add to my sage (yep, there’s another one) advice on how to make really good gravy. Instead, I find myself reading about trains. Jeez.

Oh, and what about gravy boats? Where does that come from? Never mind, who cares. I didn’t even look. What we really need to care about is how to prepare some excellent gravy.

Continue “All aboard the gravy train”

The autumnal equinox, which occurred on September 22nd this year, marks one of two times each year when day and night are each of exactly the same duration. And I love it. As the air cools and dries a bit, I’m reminded of bracing strolls on country lanes, the smell of fallen leaves stirred by shuffling feet, and going on high school hay rides with my girlfriend and our pals, which was always a great excuse for cuddling up on a cushion of straw in order to stay warm. Frosty breath and snuggling. How wonderful.

One of the advantages of living in Northeast Florida is being able to enjoy the refreshing months of autumn without having to endure the ensuing annoyance of a brutal winter (not to say that it doesn’t get danged cold down here in January or so). And there are many deciduous trees in the region, so we get to see some color changes, too, although certainly not to the extent that folks in the cooler climes enjoy. I guess there are always trade-offs.

Continue “Falling for fall”

One Thousand and One Nights, or you may know them as The Arabian Nights, is a collection of Arabic folk tales conjured up by various authors, translators and scholars in the period from about 750 C.E. to 1,257 C.E. The framing story goes that a Persian king, Shahryar, whacked his beloved wife due to her infidelities. (Without benefit of a bench trial, this was apparently how these people handled irreconcilable differences in those days.) In his grief from this embarrassment (her infidelities, not the whacking), he came to the conclusion that all women are untrustworthy.

But, ya can’t live with ’em and ya can’t live without ’em, I suppose. Therefore, he gets this brilliant idea of marrying a succession of virgins, and then simply executing each one in the morning, following the previous evening’s nuptials and, presumably, a blissful midnight at the oasis before she can run out the front flap of the tent at the crack of dawn and dishonor him with the first UPS delivery man she comes upon. Problem solved. Continue “Seeking magic carpet – new or used”