Spring HAS Begun

Spring HAS officially begun. I can tell by the sweat enveloping my body as I am out and about during the day. I love being hot and sweaty; don't you?

I see my neighbors out starting their yardwork. We've gone through the time change. It's time to get my taxes done. I worked with a colleague last week and we talked about baseball. You know it's spring when you start talking about baseball.

The pollen is killing me. It's a regular rite of spring with me.

I wish I had an affinity with nature and with the land. Southerners are supposed to be attuned to the land. In this regard, I am not a good Southerner. Other than that, I think I'm a good Southerner.

So Spring has officially begun. Let it roll.

Spring Nighmares

I woke up this morning panting, out of breath, my pillow soaking wet, feeling panic-stricken. But at least I got my spring physics nightmare over with.

You see every spring I have nightmares. Most of them center on events that happened many years ago going back to high school mostly. Why do I remember and have nightmares about things that happened years ago in high school? There are three of them mainly. Every spring I have at least one nightmare per memory.

The physics one goes like this. I’m in my last semester of high school. The end is in sight. Graduation is coming in May. The nightmare is that I’m behind in physics. We have a project due to be turned in by the end of the semester. It’s April and I can’t remember what my project was supposed to be. I’m afraid to ask the teacher. Since I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, it stands to reason that I haven’t done anything. Even though this is high school, I haven’t been going to class. I haven’t a clue.

So there I am sweating it, thinking I’ll flunk physics and won’t graduate. What will I say to my Mother? I’ll be embarrassed and ruined for life. I’ll be a high school dropout. So I wake up like I did this morning.

Then there is that 7th grade science project. We had to collect 25 different insects and the leaves from 10 different trees that spring of 7th grade. Ever try and find 25 different insects? It’s harder than it sounds.

In the dream I’m crawling around in the back yard trying to rake up insects with my hands. I’m walking around the neighborhood collecting leaves, but no matter how different the trees look, when I pull off a leaf, the leaves all look the same.

Isn’t it horrible to have such bad memories of school?

Then there’s the senior athletic banquet. I can’t find a date. I ask various girls (none of whom I ever recognize as being in my class) and they all have dates already. Oh, the embarassment of going to the athletic banquet stag! I would never live it down.

After this nightmare, I usually wake up moaning, “No, no, no.”

So I’ve had the physics one. The other two are yet to come. I dread it because I know the other two are coming.

The People

THE PEOPLE

As a child of rural Alabama, I consider myself a man of the “The People.” Who then are “The People?” To me the people are the folks I see in everyday life---not on the college campus in my job but in the real world of the rural South.

Where do I see the people? And not just the people. I’m talking about what I would call “The Real People.” Here are my favorite places.

There’s Cracker Barrel in Pelham. We go there sometimes and have breakfast on Saturday mornings. I sit in the rockers on the porch and watch the people entering and leaving. I look around the dining room and see the people eating. During cold weather I try to have us placed close to the fireplace. I love a rip-roaring fireplace. The people who go to Cracker Barrel are my kind of people.

The last time we were there, I ran into my State Senator, Senator Hank Erwin. Sen. Erwin is a proud graduate of Southeastern Bible College. He made news after Hurricane Katrina blew away New Orleans. He said publicly that God was punishing the sin and iniquity of New Orleans. That’s my Senator: God’s spokesman for our area.

I asked him if he thought God was through punishing New Orleans. He looked at me as if he wanted to say something, sucking on his toothpick, grimacing, but then he stalked off without saying a word. Oh well, sometimes you run into somebody at Cracker Barrel who is NOT one of my people.

There’s a thrift store near Pelham in a town called Alabaster. You go into a thrift store and you’ll see real people. The great melting pot in our area is in this thrift store. You wanna see the greatest mix of people in Alabama, you go into this thrift store. It’s like being at a world convention of plain people. I was in line to pay the other day and the man in front of me was purchasing what looked like 50 pairs of shoes.

The clerk said, “Sending them to Mexico?”

The customer replied, “Si.

Our local thrift store is a pipeline to Mexico and other places South I’m sure. We Americans are glad to be of assistance, aren’t we?
The people. Go into your local thrift store. That’s where they are.

The people are also at Wal Mart. Sometimes I go to Target---upscale. Most of the time I go to Wal Mart. I find more real people at Wal Mart than Target. I talk to the cashiers a lot. Most of them are there temporarily. I’m in line last week and the cashier named Tina is telling me how her boyfriend broke her heart last night. I didn’t ask for further details. She looked like she was ready to cry. I say, “Everybody has their heart broken at least once in life.” As if that comment would make her feel better.

Shop at Wal Mart. That’s where the real people are.

When Does Spring Really Begin

WHEN DOES SPRING REALLY BEGIN?We all know that spring officially begins with the solstice in late March. But when does it begin psychologically? When does spring begin in your heart? When does spring REALLY begin?Does spring begin with baseball? When spring training begins in Florida? When the first bat of the season hits the first ball thrown?Does spring begin when spring cleaning commences around the house?Does it begin when the grass starts to turn green? When the leaves start turning green? When the flowers start to bloom? When insects start to make their first appearance? When you first notice the birds singing in your neighborhood?The end of Mardi Gras? The beginning of the Lenten season? Easter? Spring break? The start of Daylight Saving Time? The temperature getting warmer? Spring breezes?Does spring begin when you first see your neighbors out doing spring yard work?When does spring REALLY begin

MOYNA'S RAMBLINGS (9)

WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY IT IS TODAY!!! It is 74 degrees right now, the sun is out (except for a few clouds rolling in), and we have the doors open. I'm not ready to open the windows yet...still a couple of weeks early for that. It's such an unusual Saturday for us...Fred and I did a few household chores this morning, but our afternoon is entirely FREE!! That's a rare occurrence here - as I guess it is in most households. I've gone through the mail, fixed lunch for us, have played some internet computer games, and am now typing this blog entry. Fred is sitting in his chair, doing a little reading, and "resting his eyes...(we all know what THAT means!!). We both watch the SEC basketball tournament off and on. Auburn lost the first day, so our interest isn't too great about the tournament.

At one point, I thought it would be nice to get out and drive somewhere, but there's really no place I care to go - and it would require a little more energy than I have right now. I'm quite happy to sit in my chair and "vegetate." I can also make my 'lists' for things to do this coming week!

It's only March, but I've already had an urge to try some new recipes. I usually don't do that until the summer, but I want to try and have one or two new dishes for Decoration Day (or May Day as I call it) this year. May Day is the first Sunday in May, yet I am already beginning to plan a menu! I hope all of the family will be able to get-together this year. As Fred posted in an earlier blog, his cousin in Mobile has had some health problems, so we don't know if that part of the family will be there...WE SURE HOPE SO!!!!!! It just won't be the same if they're not...

Fred's selling season this year is crazier than usual...it's not crazy, it's INSANE! I've had to cancel doctor appts., dental appts., etc. to accommodate his schedule. I've managed to get most of my appts. on one day in April, and have threatened him that he WILL take me - I don't care if he has to cancel working with his boss (sorry Nick, but I'm standing firm on this). For those of you who don't know me, I have arthritis and it's difficult for me to drive - it hurts my knees, so Fred drives me when need be. In our younger years of marriage, I use to say that if Fred and I ever divorced, it would be during the spring selling season. After years and years, I've learned to live with the craziness...I might just say it again this year (just say it, not mean it)!!

That's about all for this rambling; once again, not much goin' on in our "exciting lives!!!!!!"

RAMBLING UPDATE

I'm sitting here this morning - around 6 am - watching our local TV station. Of course, just about all of the news is about our stormy day in Alabama yesterday. Mickey, the weatherman, gives a list of all the warnings that were issued (a watch is where conditions are favorable for something to happen and a warning is where the weather condition is actually happening). Here's his list:
63 - TORNADO WARNINGS
38 - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS
9 - FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS
118 - SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENTS
The above is just what was issued for Alabama. Needless to say, it was a busy day yesterday.

The station shows film from around the state and the damage that was done - especially in Enterprise. Students are devastated because of the death of their friends. You expect to be safe in the school hallway during a storm - that's what you're taught from kindergarten up. They are trying to understand why the building's roof collapsed. One girl that died has a father serving in Iraq; they are desparately trying to quickly find him & bring him home... It's stories like that that tear you up. Enterprise wasn't the only place hit - just the one hit the hardest. The news station shows film from other parts of our state - even around where we live. There are areas around us that had severe damage, yet we remained untouched - thank God. I wonder if weatherpeople will ever be able to figure out why wind/tornadoes hit the way they do? They can tell that conditions are favorable for something to happen, but can't guarantee that it will - they just don't know. For example, in Enterprise, a friend of ours is from there, and his mother still lives there. His mother lives close to the high school that was ripped apart, yet her house was untouched - not even some wind damage. Why?? One of life's - or weather's - mysteries.

The same storm that rolled through here, also blasted its way through the Mid-West yesterday - except instead of rain & tornadoes, it left several feet of snow - have you seen pictures of Minnesota?? The news has shown pictures there of roofs that have collapsed from the weight of the snow...luckily, no reports of any deaths. What a day! March roared in like a LION, so hopefully, it will leave like a LAMB!!!!!!!

God doesn't promise a cake walk when you follow Him, but He does promise to be with you through all.

MOYNA'S RAMBLINGS (8)

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT...and day!! But we survived it all. Last night (Wednesday), a storm rolled in. The lightening & thunder were frightening for a few hours, but by 7 this morning, the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, the entire day was dark & gloomy, raining off & on, and we were under a tornado watch. I thought we had made it through with just having a lot of rain, but a little after 2 this afternoon, the local stations went to continuous broadcasting - tornadoes had been spotted & others were beginning to pop-up all over Alabama. Then the news from South Alabama - a tornado had touched down in Enterprise. The high school was ripped apart, and lives were lost. They are still looking through the rubble for more people. Another tornado touched down somewhere in South Alabama, and five more lives were lost...It has been a heavy day of loss...

Around 5, here in Pelham, it's beginning to rain, lightening & thunder. The rain is so heavy, it actually looks foggy outside. Cars are having to pull off to the side of the road because it's just not safe to drive in this rain. A funnel cloud is spotted in the storm that is here. We are lucky - it doesn't come down and remains as a funnel cloud rather than a tornado. By 6:40, the bad weather has passed, moving into Georgia. At 7:00 p.m., the local stations go back to regular broadcasting - just in time to watch the American Idol results show!!

The weather is my biggest reason why I HATE the South. Coming from California, an earthquake hits, is over in 15 or 20 seconds, and you haven't had time to be fearful. Here in the South, they have watches/warnings that go up on the TV screen, and you can watch all day/night, worrying if it will hit you or if you'll be lucky and it will strike elsewhere - this time. Then you wonder how long your "luck" will hold; afterall, it's got to hit you sometime. We've lived in this house 10 years - and we've been hit twice - where our roof - or part of it, has been ripped off. It's a sound you never forget. Fred would like to drug me when the wind comes up because I go into panic mode & my heart races - not good for high blood pressure or for someone who has problems with atrial fib. Today I remained reasonably calm...today, this time.

We all have our problems with the weather. My friend Marsha, who lives in Mi-Wuk Village, California, emailed me a picture today of her home - at least what you could see of it. There was so much snow, you could barely see the house & her husband's truck that was parked outside. Her husband Scott had cleared the driveway the day before, but it snowed that night and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon!! I hear people have heart attacks while shoveling snow; YES, I GUESS WE ALL HAVE PROBLEMS IN DEALING WITH THE WEATHER!!

The sun will come out tomorrow.