** I'm feeling a little guilty that I haven't been writing much lately. I have, however, been reading a lot lately. Blog people are a lot of fun and the range of attitudes and subject matter is quite interesting. I'm realizing, tho, that blogging (both the reading and the writing thereof) can take up more time even than games! No wonder half of my Christmas decorations are still up.
** A small Maddie-the-Great story: A couple of days ago Maddie and TA were in the car and the news announcer said something about predicting that night would be the coldest night of the decade! "Wow!" said M-t-G, "Did you hear that, Daddy? The coldest night of the whole decade!!!" She was very excited about it. T.A. asked if she knew the meaning of the word, decade. She did. So he asked when the current decade started. "The year 2000?", said Maddie, said she. They got that part straightened out and when he asked her when this decade started she said "2010?" By this point she began to see where the conversation was going and her participation became a little less enthusiastic. "What's today's date? "January 6" "And so how many days ago did this decade start?" "Six days ago." She could see then that the decade was only 6 days old too, and being the "coldest night of the decade" was not such a big thing after all. So, our M-t-G got another lesson in "Don't Believe Everything You Hear!"
T.A. uses this strategy a lot with Maddie, trying to get her to use her reasoning skills more regularly. A fine parental technique. But the sad thing is that she wasn't all excited anymore. The news announcement was no longer anything special. It was just a trick with words. Nothing more than a disappointment.
A big part of me would rather keep her the little girl that does believe everything she hears for just a little longer....that's part of what makes her a kid! She'll be bright her whole life, but she's only going to be a kid for a little while longer. Does every lesson has to be taught at the earliest possible time? Sometimes its hard being just the grandmother! You can be proud of me though, I didn't say a word!
** As a matter of fact, the news announcer was wrong! Tonight is the coldest night of the decade! A low of 15F is predicted. I will be staying indoors until the thermometer hits at least 30F.
** NEWSFLASH: The Darwin Awards for 2009 have been announced! As always, they have managed to identify the dumbest people who have walked the earth last year. For those not familiar with this organization, here is their stated purpose:
Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.Just a sample for your entertainment:
Go to: http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2009-09.html for the historical record of Winners. The 2009 winners and nominees can be found at the site.
When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.Truly if you've never encountered these before, it is definitely something that will amaze and confound you !!!
** I have always loved words and writing and reading, this you know from previous posts. When you combine them into one thing you get a book about words and writing. I have several of this kind of book and I got two more for Christmas. The first, from Little Sis, is "Zen and the Art of Writing", by Ray Bradbury; the second, from Ratchlet, is "Reading the OED" [Oxford English Dictionary] by Ammon Shea.
Thanks guys! I can hardly wait to read them. After I do, I'm sure everyone will see a marked improvement in my writing and word usage and I will undoubtedly impress you all with my new-found skills. I will accept all kudos and accolades as my due!
Oh....okay, okay.... my writing probably won't change one iota and that's fine. I don't want to turn this into WORK after all. I will, however, enjoy reading my new treasures and will again be in awe of people who can really write to the level that they can be published and earn actual money for their efforts! Those are the folks that impress me!
No more "Bits and Pieces" today. In the immortal words of Woody Woodpecker, or Porky the Pig, or one of those, "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" Nighty-night!
Of course the main reason that I got you that particular book was that it was written by Bradbury and I thought you'd appreciate that. LS
ReplyDeleteYes, blog reading can be incredibly time consuming! You're right though, it's fun to read the different viewpoints!
ReplyDeleteI love the Darwin Awards. I used to feel guilty for laughing at loss- someone was losing a spouse, a sibling, a friend. But... stupid choices beget consequences, yes?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely correct! In reality, if you think about it, all life is about choices and consequences. Wow, how profound!! (LOL)
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on the Maddie story. Kid-dom lasts for such a short time. Don't spoil the wide-eyed wonder any sooner than you have to. And I also have learned to button my lip about child rearing. I didn't appreciate my mother or grandmother "meddling" when my kids were little and I don't want to be that type of mom. But, dang, sometimes it's so hard!!
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