This week I went to vote in the primary. One is required to vote party in the state primary, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to make a difference. The ballot included some regular gung-ho party choices, along with some new angles on party ethics from new voices. The ballots were paper and considered a much more secure way to vote. I was declared the twenty-first person to come in that day. We’re talking late afternoon with polls scheduled to close within little more than an hour. It made me feel like nobody cared about the outcome, and it does matter.
2. Over last weekend, a town held their annual festival, with a wonderful drone show scheduled for the evening. Before it got started, however, gangs of teenagers, many brought in by car by parent drivers, broke out in massive fights. The show was cut short due to the issues caused by the teens, many of whom hid behind hoodies. A crowd destroyed a supermarket in town. A horse was allegedly assaulted. Not a sign or banner indicating a cause for which this was happening was ever raised. These are the future of society, unfortunately. Unruly and uncivilized, who would destroy their own town for fun. Sad, indeed.
3. I posted a question (yes, we went over this last week) on social media about the famous painting by Michelangelo of the creation of Adam. The painting supposedly details the moment before God imparts life to the first man on our planet, with inches of air separating a holy finger from touching that of the mortal. It occurred to me that, if Adam wasn’t alive yet, how could he raise his hand to touch that of God? Nobody responded. As with many things that force a different train of thought, folks either go silent or lash out in various directions unrelated to the original inquiry. Michelangelo isn’t available for comment.
4. The issue of handling my denim jeans came up this week. I had taken advantage of a great sale and bought three pairs. They specify to wash before wearing, which I dutifully did, and one pair need to be hemmed (even with the expense of a tailor, the deal was a great one). Some experts are saying not to wash jeans regularly. One expert says a stint in the freezer can refresh your favorite jeans between washings, which are recommended every six weeks or when confronted with an odor. If you wear them less frequently, fewer washings are your reward. They should be laundered in cold water and treated like delicates to prevent too much abuse in the machine’s cycling.
5. A new spider invaded the news this week, because it is spreading into all parts of the country. Known as the Joro spider, it is a long-legged and colorful variety that feeds primarily on insects. It moves from place to place by creating web threads into the wind and “ballooning” like a person using a horizontal parachute. It does possess venom, but the creature is not designed and reluctant to bite us (its mouth parts are unlikely to pierce skin) and is harmless to humans and pets (except possibly those sensitive to stings). The media has been playing up the “venomous” part of the story, but their contribution to pest control by devouring insects make it less of an inconvenience.
6. Among the many shows signing off during the summer, the host of “Wheel of Fortune,” Pat Sajak, retired on June 7 after decades of entertaining game show enthusiasts by announcing letters, cash totals and prizes. His final words on the show were sincere, laid-back and filled with gratitude for one of the most unusual jobs in the world. Vanna White will continue to work on the show with new cohost Ryan Seacrest starting in the fall, and fans of Sajak can watch reruns all summer. Still, it won’t be the same show without him. Happy retirement, Pat.
7. My favorite vegetable is peas, but for health reasons I’m not supposed to eat them. However, I see that I can eat chickpeas. I suppose this means the others are dude peas.
So much for this week. Dads and grads will be the subjects of the next week or two, then it’s the official start of summer. Hope it’s safe and wonderful for everybody.
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