OF Earworms and Fond Memories

Well it has been eight days since I attended my nephew’s performance in the IEMA concert at Peoria.


It has been eight days that I have had an earworm.

No matter how hard I try I can’t shake it, UNLESS that is I revert back to the earworm that I had right prior to that.

I’ll define an earworm for you, as I only learned this recently and think there could be others who don’t recognize the terminology.

An earworm is that song that is stuck in your head that keeps playing over and over again. Anytime you’re not thinking of something specific, as in those moments when you could be blank, in comes the worm, wiggling through your brain and haunting you with its song.

Earworms can be quite annoying. Sometimes I will myself to think of other things in order to push the earworm out.

That in itself can be a bad thing, or a good thing depending on what comes in to replace it.

For me this week it has ended up being a walk down memory lane.

The concert we attended was really wonderful. The kids who were participating were truly talented musicians, and I enjoyed very much the blend of instruments, the blend of voices, the drama of the conductors, it was all just perfect in my opinion.

The music was lovely, but I shared with my sister and nephew somewhat to their disappointment that it wasn’t genuinely the kind of music that I like.

I wasn’t saying anything negative about the performances; I was just saying that the music was much more sophisticated than I was.

When I was in high school, we attended an entirely different type of event each year. It was a gathering of school choral departments, and we all got to go.

It lasted one day only, starting early on a Saturday morning, and ending with a Saturday night concert that our parents attended.

We had special music, and special conductors, who were generally very charismatic, and most of the teenage girls in the group imagined themselves in love with the conductor and saw a future as the wife of the maestro.

I remember distinctly one such gentleman who at the beginning of the morning, taught us all to sing; “I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic, I’m alive, awake, alert enthusiastic, I’m awake alert alive, alive awake alert, I’m alive awake alert enthusiastic!”

Then we’d sing it again, faster, then again, faster, then again, faster until finally we were all singing so fast that the girls would succumb to giggling, the boys would roll their eyes and laugh, but in the end, we had started the day on a very good note literally.

This was but one really good memory from my high schools years. Attending Robert’s concert also brought to mind other years.

I recalled attending this special gathering in Paris Illinois one year. It was a grand day filled with hard work, but we did get a break before the concert.

I recall a small group of girls who decided to walk uptown and go “shopping”. Well, I went along, and as I traversed through the shops I found an excellent gift for my mom. Now I don’t remember the occasion I was buying for, but I remember the gift. It was a carnival glass bell, and it cost me 15 bucks!

I think back now, and I’m not so sure but what that may have been the first time ever I chose a gift for my mom without being accompanied by my dad or my grandma.

Back to memories of school, I remember the fall I had to start school with both of my feet in snow white bandages and wearing old grandma style sandals.

Bruce Balding made fun of me, saying that for the Chorus picture for yearbook we were all going to prop our feet up on the chair in front of us. I was mortified!!

I also remember Rose Sunderland our choir director and her strange and quirky ways.

I remembered the skirt she wore to one of our concerts that was made entirely of men’s ties.

I remember the only lines I ever had in a musical; Gideon’s Rainbow, and my lines were “Gideon!’ she calls” again a bit louder, “Gideon!” Finally, very loudly, she cries out to the wonderer, “Gideon!”

HA! Definitely not a defining moment in my acting career! But I took it seriously, and bragged a bit that my words would be the ones that launched the play!

Then there was the yawning experiment. It was Rose Kocher and Judy Dallmier who started it. They sat in the alto section, in the back row on the end. The two had a bird’s eye view of the entire group, and watched and laughed as first Rose, then Judy offered up a large yawn, and one by one, everyone in the room followed suit!

When we noticed their giggling, they were obliged to explain what they had done, all in good fun. I denied yawning, I was certain that I had not. But they swore we all did it unconsciously! What a hoot, that was my first role as a guinea pig in a “scientific” experiment.

Another memory was my first Madrigal Dinner. Yet another earworm, “With boars head in hand bear I bedecked with Bay and Rose-mar-i!”

My mom made me the most beautiful shiny blue umpire waste dress with shimmering sequins. I loved it. As a matter of fact, I still have it!

Some of my best memories of high school came from being in Chorus. Now of course not all of them were good, there were bad moments and things that embarrassed me, but alas those memories are no longer worth remembering.

So what has brought on this full eight days of walking down memory lane?

It was a poem written by Robert Frost entitled The Garden Girl, and set to music.

A Neighbor of mine in the village

Likes to tell how one spring

When she was a girl on the farm, she did

A childlike thing.

One day she asked her father

To give her a garden plot

To plant and tend and reap herself,

And he said, "Why not?"

In casting about for a corner

He thought of an idle bit

Of walled-off ground where a shop had stood,

And he said, "Just it."

And he said, "That ought to make you

An ideal one-girl farm,

And give you a chance to put some strength

On your slim-jim arm."

It was not enough of a garden,

Her father said, to plough;

So she had to work it all by hand,

But she don't mind now.

She wheeled the dung in the wheelbarrow

Along a stretch of road;

But she always ran away and left

Her not-nice load.

And hid from anyone passing.

And then she begged the seed.

She says she thinks she planted one

Of all things but weed.

A hill each of potatoes,

Radishes, lettuce, peas,

Tomatoes, beets, beans, pumpkins, corn,

And even fruit trees.

And yes, she has long mistrusted

That a cider apple tree

In bearing there to-day is hers,

Or at least may be.

Her crop was a miscellany

When all was said and done,

A little bit of everything,

A great deal of none.

Now when she sees in the village

How village things go,

Just when it seems to come in right,

She says, "I know!

It's as when I was a farmer--"

Oh, never by way of advice!

And she never sins by telling the tale

To the same person twice.

There were many words to this song, and while the tune was not difficult it was quite lively.


As we raced through the piece it was vital that everyone be succinct.


Enunciation was vitally important. With the fast pace had we not be precise in our work, it would very well have sounded like a bunch of teenagers high on sugar and caffeine speaking in tongues!


Of course the old saying if you start together and end together no one will notice what happened in the middle never applied when Rose Sunderland was directing It was right all the way through or it was a disaster!


Singing in the chorus required watching the director, listening to your neighbor, reading your music and hearing the accompaniment all at the same time, and believe me we all did it religiously for no one wanted to be the person who would blurt out the first word a half beat too soon, or hold the last note a tenth of a second to long!


We practiced that song, and practiced that song.


Then it was at the spring pops concert that we actually performed it.


I remember it. I remember it so very well. As we sang along, it perfect tone, not a note missed, not a word out of place, the farther we went, the happier I was.

The song filled me heart with laughter because it was such a silly song, such a silly girl.

And I remember that after the concert, it was my folks who said they had noticed how very happy I seemed when I sang that song.

And, what can I say even today singing still makes me happy.

Though I’m older, and a bit raspiers, with those beautiful high soprano notes no longer attainable, I still enjoy singing along with the radio, TV or a CD.

But frankly, in spite of the wonderful week of memories, I’m really getting kind of tired of this earworm.

I know that a small handful of my old classmates read this blog, and I’m giving you a gift tonight, MY EARWORM!

If you were in chorus in high school, and sang this song, surely you too have memories of what fun we used to have singing in the chorus.

So, here it is, it’s yours now, and I’ll go back to the one I had before last Saturday.

I get off on a 57 Chevy.

I get off on screamin guitar.

Like the way it gets me,

Every time it hits me.

I’ve got a rock and roll,

I’ve got a rock and roll heart.

Words -- Decatur Illinois

This is one of my favorite blogs for photos.  This fellow is a storm chaser, and produces some wonderful cloud bank pictures and so on.

Right now his last three or four posts are focusing on the recent snows and bone chilling temperatures.  He has a macro lense that is remarkable, and has managed to capture some of the most amazing close up pictures of ice formation, you just MUST take a look!!


http://pawleewurx.blogspot.com/

Mount Pulaski Illinois -- How high can they pile it??

I took these pictures in Mount Pulaski Illinois Monday afternoon.  This large pile of snow is the end result of the town cleaning up their streets.

They are doing a really terrific job of making the downtown area available to visitors without forcing them to wade through the white stuff, or park in piles of it!

As you can see the pile is quite high, and I am estimating that the square footage of the lot they are filling is about the same as my entire house!

And, the large area begs the questions....how high can they pile it?  And, how long will it last??

All God's Creatures

With extremely cold temperatures and now a new cover of snow, don't forget to look out for all of God's creatures.

Birds and squirrels are stuggling to find food and will eat nearly everything you toss out to them.

Also don't forget your outdoor pets.  Be sure to keep them safe and as warm as possible, even if it means bringing them in the house with you.

Whatever on New Years Day you do, that you'll do the whole year through

Have you heard it said; whatever on New Year's Day you do that you'll do the whole year through?  It's an old saying, I have no clue who first spoke those words, but I do recall that my mom and my grandma both considered it very seriously when the new year rolled around.

The jest of it was, on New Years day you wanted your house clean, dishes done, laundry washed, dried, folded, AND put away, and in general everything in your home in perfect order.

The idea behind it was that if you started the new year with your home in good condition, you'd be able to maintain it all year through.

Well, I've tried it.  It doesn't work.

But this year, I had a thought.  Maybe I'm living in Seinfeld's "Bazzaro World" and in order for me to have a smooth year, I need to do everything just the opposite of what I should.

Regardless, I'll tell you about my day one 2010.

This morning I woke a little before 6.  The hubs was in the bathroom finishing up getting ready for work.  I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling, snuggled deep in my blankies and just relaxed for a few minutes. 

I then had my first thought of the new year.  I thought how thankful I am for a roof over my head, a warm house, a comfy bed, and a husband who is busy in the bathroom getting ready to go to a job that may not be perfect, but then again whose is.

And I thought to myself, this I will do all year through.  I will have a home, a safe place.  I will have a husband whom I love deeply and whom I know loves me. 

What a great way to start the new year!

As I saw Rich off to work, I was thankful for two vehicles that run, and are both paid for, and the garage they sit in so there is no snow or ice for us to have to deal with first thing of a morning, and I thought to myself that for the next year, I will have these things to be thankful for.

Later as I sipped coffee I was thankful for a coffee pot that works and the coffee that is nearly the price of gold right now, yet we had the money to buy it.

Later I was thankful for the washer and dryer in the laundry room that both work, and the clothes that I put in them.

For I now know that for the next year, I will have the ability to cover myself, and to keep those coverings clean.

As I ran hot water into the sink to wash dishes I was grateful that the water bill is paid.  I was also grateful for the real dishes, glasses, cups and silverware that I store in my cabinets everyday.

Earlier in the week I had sat down and paid all the necessary subscriptions we have such as gas, electric, water, sewer, and yes TV and internet.  When I was done, I realized that there was still enough money in the bank to go buy groceries.

So, as I headed out this afternoon to buy a few food items, I was once again thankful that even though we have notably struggled this year, GOD has given us what we need.

I hate the cold, I don't like snow, and I despise ice, all three of which I had to contend with in my little excursion to Kroger.  But even there I found something to be grateful for.  I thought of an acquaintance I have in Alaska where the winter temperatures get to 40 below zero, and I was grateful that I live in Illinois, where as I thought this all through I realized that warm weather is only about 90 days away!!

And, finally this evening as I put our traditional New Years dinner of pork, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage in the oven, I thought once again about all the things I have, and how thankful I am for all of them.

Rich and I will never be wealthy, but we will always be rich.  First we have each other, next we have family that we dearly love, we have jobs that we don't hate, we have friends that we care about and care about us, and we have all the necessities of life; a home, food, clothing, vehicles.

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions.  My definition of resolution in this case is promise.  Many people make resolutions (or promises) they can't keep.  And, if whatever on New Years Day you do, that you'll do the whole year through, is true, why would anyone want to spend their year making promises they can't keep?

So, rather then end this with a promise, I'm going to share with you my GOALS.

My GOAL for the new year is to TRY and be a good person, a good wife, a good daughter, sister, step-mom, gramma, and friend.

Another GOAL for this new year is I am going to TRY and always remember what GOD has given me in my salvation, and to spend more days like today, noticing what I have instead of what I don't have, and being grateful for all of it.

To all those who read this, I challenge you to be grateful as well.  Count your blessings, and find the good in your life.  If you do, you will surely find that most times the good out-weighs the bad.

God Bless
and
Happy New Year

Got my second wind, so let's move on to the LOGAN COUNTY FAIR

This is my second post in one day!  Imagine that with no time to post during the month of August, I have a lot of catching up to do.  I may not get to anything else today, but hope to in the next day or so add a couple more.

This was my first year of working the fair, and I really had a good time with it.

All of the work I did there was photography and in all the Lincoln Daily News posted 252 pictures, 161 of those were mine.

I actaully started on Saturday before the fair with the 4-H dog show, then was out there on Sunday and talked with John Fulton, Logan County Extension Advisor in charge of the 4-H portion of the fair, and also Mike Maske who is on the fair board.

We did one POW story on fair volunteers and this year offered more coverage on fair events than we ever have before.

I also covered the demolition derby on the last night of the fair, and later I'll post some pics from that as well.

For now though, I'm just going to share some of my favorites from the animals and their kids!

Normally this is the kind of pic (above) one would delete, but it struck me funny that at the CAT SHOW, the GREEN EYED MONSTER had this little furball in its grip!

I'm going to comment on this one and the one below because this is what I learned at the fair.  When showing rabbits, the bunny has to be inverted to lay on his back.  Before the show began, the judge actaully went around to the various kids and made sure they knew how to put the bunny on its back successfully, and then what to look for once they did, as this is a sex check, and apparently that is not terribly easy to determine on a bunny.

Anyway, this little boy is just as sweet as any can be, and he had no clue how to roll the bunny over safely.

And.........the bunny had NO DESIRE to stay there once the little boy got him in the right position.  The picture below shows a contorted bunny as he escapes the boys hold and makes a mad dash for parts unknonw in the barn.  The good thing though was that the kid was quick, and he had the bunny under control again before he ever made it off the show stand!

And, you can't have a fair without rain right Mindy????

Logan County's fair is no exception.  The pictures below are from the first official day of the fair when the horrid storm moved through.  The wind was terrible, the rain was a real downpour, and when the tornado sirens went off, John Fulton had us all stand against the only brick wall in the pole shed structure.

Running to Catch up! Let's start with the MILL

Okay, to say that the month of August flew by in my world would be totally the understatment of the year!!!

There has been so much going on around here even since the end of July that I have not had one moment to even post of some of the interesting things I've been doing.

I've had several decent pieces in the Lincoln Daily News, and need to work on upgrading my sidebar, and the photography has gotten to be a really big deal for me as well.

I guess to be thorough, I need to go back to July and post a few notes on the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the Mill.

The Mill is an interesting old Route 66 icon here in Lincoln.  A few years ago it made the local news almost weekly because it was such an eyesore, with the building in horrible condition and weeds and trash growing and strewn about, and the potetnial for vermin inside the building.

The push was on to have it demolished when Geoff Ladd came into Lincoln as the new director of the tourism bureau for Lincoln and Logan County, and he was approached firt off by Ernie Edwards who was the long time owner operator of the Pig Hip in Broadwell, another route 66 icon.

Ernie virtually pleaded with Geoff to save the Mill, and Geoff decided to take it on.

Now, I know Geoff, and he would certainly not want anyone to think he is the sole reason the Mill has survived and is now under restoration, but I also know that he has been the force behind the movement, and he deserves to be patted on the back for saving a piece of route 66 history.

The Mill first opened in July of 1929, but perhaps is more famous for the era of gangsters, gambling, and dance hall girls during the 40's.  The Mill was a known stop over for Al Capone, and they dabbled in bootleggin even after prohibition because at that time Logan county was "dry", and all alcohol was illiegal.

The Mill has ties with Coonhound Johnny who was an interesting character all to himself, and also owned a roadhouse in the Lincoln area.

This past July, the Save the Mill Organization, which you can read more about through Savethemill.org held an 80th year anniversary celebration at the Mill.

For the first time in quite some time, the public was allowed to venture inside the building and look around, there were special events inside and outside throughout the afternoon and into the night, and there was a special recognition for folks who have contributed to the restoration project in general, including the Weiss's of the Route 66 Association of Illinois, and Mr. Larry VanBibber who made a generous monetary donation to the project out of his own pocket.

Now here's where I'm going to editorialize for just a bit.....For years, people howled over the run down state of the Mill, and it made the news as I said earlier almost constantly, but do you have any idea how many folks from Lincoln showed up for the celebration???  At one point in time I could have counted them all on my two hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It bothers me to no end that folks want to see something fixed, they want to have tourism dollars in the community, and they want to have bragging rights to such national icons as Route 66, but when push comes to shove, they don't bother showing up in support of the very thing they've been belly-aching over!!!!!

All I can say is shame on them, they are no better than the folks who complain about the president but didn't bother to go vote!!

Anyway, on my side bar are some of the things that we published on the Mill, and you can visit savethemill.org and also Leigh Hensons website which I have linked also on my sidebar has a section referring to old watering holes of Logan County where there is discussion about the Mill and pictures of it plus Coonhound Johnny.

I'm going to throw a few pictures on here and move on to the next topic.

Thanks for reading!
Nila

The backroom bar and restaurant area inside the Mill

The front room which as I understand it may also have been eating and dacing area in the 1940's and beyond.

This Mill as it looks today.  Far from finished, but way beyond what it looked like a few years ago!

Local historial Paul Gleanson in the foreground with Larry VanBibber looking on.

Ernie Edwards, owner operator of the old Pig Hip.  The Pig hip had shut down as a food joint and bee revamped as a museum.  Sad to say it burned to the ground a couple years back and while there is still a marker, I don't think there is anything left of the old place.

Senator Larry Bomke took the time to come up and say a few words at the celebration.  Bomke is very pro-active Lincoln, and the city and Logan County does appreciate the interest he shows in us.

In the afternoon the "Sprits of..." Tours from Bloomington did a short presentation on Blossom Huffman the proprietor of the Mill, and her relationship with Coonhound Johnny, who are being protrayed in this photo.

I'm additng this photo just because I like it.  The gal playing Blossom really didn't look much like the real thing as far as facial features and all, but I think she nailed the personalily.  Now mind you I don't know that for sure, but my instincts tell me she did.