Don't weep

I belong to a subscription for a daily word sit called Wordsmith (wordsmith.org). They send a word out daily; I know some of them, some are complete surprises. So I want to share this one from the other day:

 psithurism pronounced (SITH-yuh-riz-uhm) 

It means the rustling or whispering sound, such as of leaves in the wind. Wordsmith says the word comes from the Greek psithurizein (to whisper), from psithuros (whispering, slanderous). Earliest documented use: 1848.

Who has not experienced psithurism? And who, having experienced it, has known the name for the whispering sound of leaves and green branches swaying in the breeze? 

We had a large weeping willow tree in the back yard when I was just a little psithurer (that is not a real word) and, while we didn't have an American flag flying (the one at the fire house was right across the street) we did have the whistling willow branches, not far from the clothesline, where sheets and t-shirts and boxer shorts got dry from the winds of summer. 

In winter, if you didn't get outside soon enough, the laundry froze, and you took it inside stacked up, and sometimes the next morning saw me putting on pants and shirts that crackled as if they had been heavily starched.

As the years went by, we got a clothes dryer, which meant no more running outside at the first sign of a thunderstorm, and the willow wept alone.

 

 

Riddle me this

So we were driving up a country road yesterday afternoon when the car ahead of us slowed for no reason we could see.

And very soon, we could see the reason after all.  A chicken was crossing the road.

I guess she wanted to get to the other side.

It's cool, lots of people have fowl right in their yards these days. In fact, not far from where the chicken was takin' her time getting across, there was a sign "TURKEY EGGS FOR SALE".

But ever since, I've been wondering if other childhood riddles can come true. If I still got the newspaper delivered, I could tell if were indeed "black and white and read all over." 

In the very room from which I write to you, I see a clock my father made, and it does have a face and two hands but no arms or legs.

I once won a spelling bee in sixth grade, so I know a spelling bee beats a talking parrot.

"I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old" reminds me to order more dining room candles from Amazon.

 I once saw a guy two doors down in the middle of a domestic "disagreement," throwing his son's computer and desk out the front window. I hung around for a while in case he threw out a wall clock, so that I could say I have seen time fly. (Absolutely true story!)

And, with today being election day, remember, there are two questions to which you cannot expect an honest answer: "Whom are you voting for?" and "Are you awake yet?"

Riddles are fun.

Snapshot of sadness

 There was a time when we saw something we wanted a picture of - a sunset, kids on the beach, Lyndon Johnson showing his gall bladder surgery scars- and we grabbed the old Kodak Instamatic, snapped a snapshot or two, and then took the film to the drugstore for processing.

And we waited, and waited, to get the prints back.

The middle of next week, someone stopped off at Drugs-So-Lo and picked up the 4 x 6 pictures, and then we took them home, sent one in the mail to Aunt Gladys in Kankakee, and put the others in a shoebox.

Now, we all carry a wonderful camera right in our hand, with a smart phone.  It's too bad the qualities of being "smart" don't necessarily rub off on the smart phone user, but it seems that the phones are a lot smarter than we.

The most recent tragedy occurred two years ago, when Sydney Monfries, 22, a senior at Fordham University just weeks short of graduation, fell 30 feet in the bell tower of the school, landing at the bottom of a stairway in a horrible, sad, death.

She actually fell through an opening in a stairway landing at Keating Hall, plunging down the inside of the clockworks.  The tower is supposed to be locked at all times and is strictly off-limits to students, who are told from day one at Fordham to stay away, but, according to the student newspaper, The Observer, climbing the tower is a "rite of passage" for seniors.

“There are no words sufficient to describe the loss of someone so young and full of promise — and mere weeks from graduation,” university president Rev. Joseph M. McShane said in a statement.

Why was Monfries up there? Early on that Sunday, just before her fatal fall, she was posting video of the great view of New York to Snapchat.

There have been several fatal falls among tourists at the Grand Canyon this year, people who leaned over just a bit too far to get that perfect picture.

I hope these warnings don't fall on deaf ears, but there is no Snapchat, no Instagram, no picture or video whatsoever that is worth risking your life to get. Ms Monfries was set to receive her degree and start law school in the fall, and now she is gone for not a very good reason at all, unless her loss is enough warning to save others.

And you can bet that Fordham has installed a new security system on that bell tower by now.

Sunday Rerun: Tales of Brave Ulysses

 President Ulysses S. Grant was still in office when he got in trouble with the law. 

Now, Ulysses was a war hero, having been the leader of the Union troops in the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) who sent the Confederate running home, no longer able to own other human beings. (They're still mad about it.)

Grant was a brilliant military tactician, outfoxing Confederate General Robert E. Lee time after time, but he did like to hit the sauce now and then.

And then, he would get behind the reins of his horse and buggy and haul ass around the streets of Washington. It was on M Street, to be precise, where Grant was stopped several times in 1872 by Officer William H. West. West, a formerly enslaved person, was one of two Black police officers on the DC force at the time when he saw Grant speeding around. 

The first time, West allowed Grant to pay a fine and walk home to the White House, but the very next day, West (like Grant, a Civil War veteran) caught the president breaking the law again and took action.

"I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest," West said, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. 

Grant was released on $20 bond ($430 in 2023 money). 

The Washington Evening Star newspaper wrote about the arrest in 1908. West retired in 1901 and lived another 14 years, telling the Star, "The General's Love for Horses and His Pleasure in Driving Were the Cause of His Trouble."

Things change, but not too much.

The Saturday Picture Show, June 20, 2026

 

So the rumors are true! People have been talking about it and now the confirmation: Eastpoint Mall, on Baltimore County's east side, is closing in August, the latest victim of Amazon, big box stores, and people's reluctance at being in an enclosed area with gun-carrying lunatics. There was a time you could hardly park a car anywhere on that lot, and the crowds were happy, buying tank tops and Nikes and books and candy and I don't know what-all else, but you can get all that delivered right to your house now. Who knows what will end up in the mall space? They're closing all over the country.

Ralph, on the left, is often stopped and told he looks a lot like someone. That someone is his eleventh cousin, our sixteenth president, Honest Abe Lincoln.

I'm not going in those woods! It's all full of beetles and stuff.

Don't go to Paris and try to rip off a croissant, buddy. The vaunted Roller Brigade will skate you down, eh?

Here is this week's free wallpaper. It reminds of the farmhouse from the vision test at My Eye Doctor.

You get one shot at having your customer ID card made at Costco. If you sneeze, too bad.

I don't even know if Ball's Gro. is still open. I wouldn't shop there on a windy day for fear of getting hit by a flying Pepsi sign. The whole place puts me in mind of the grocery store holdup in "My Cousin Vinny."

To be really accurate, one of these Beetles should have no tires on.

I can't figure out why "Pride Month" gets so many people upset. Any time it's mentioned on Facebook or anywhere else, the uptight brigade hitches up their suspenders and takes to the keyboard. Settle down, Archie. It's almost July. 

This is diner food deluxe! Chicken-fried steak and gravy, mashed potatoes with more gravy, and a fruit salad. Toss a little pepper on that and slide it down my way, please!

Today is Friday, June 19: Juneteenth 2026, The is the sixth anniversary of the Juneteenth federal holiday. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were officially informed of their emancipation - yes, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

It's hard to imagine anything worse than being held in slavery. But being freed and not being told about it for two years...

Today is a paid federal holiday. Most government offices, banks, libraries, and post offices will be closed. Nationwide, more than 30 states recognize Juneteenth as a legal state holiday. In our state and around our area, organizations are heralding the day with festivals, concerts, educational programs, family activities, and community celebrations.

In Baltimore County, from 3 til 8 pm today, there will be a free and vibrant community celebration at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, 300 Oella Avenue Catonsville, Maryland 21228.

And Baltimore's 50th Annual AFRAM Festival takes place over three days during Juneteenth weekend: today through Sunday, June 21, 2026.  The free, family-friendly event is held at Druid Hill Park. Festival hours:

Friday, June 19: 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 20: 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 21: 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

more info: aframbaltimore.com

However, wherever you celebrate human freedom and dignity, please be safe!

Why I love history, reason # 182,930

One of the gags I have repeated is the one about the guy who lost his job at the fire hydrant factory because he could never find a place to park.

That's a joke, but this is true. In 1836, there was a fire at the Blodget Hotel Bldg in Washington, D.C. That December 15 blaze marked the first of two major fires the U.S. Patent Office has dealt with over the years. The patent office had its offices in the hotel, and thousands of documents made ashes of themselves.

The Blodget Hotel

AND...the original US patent paperwork for early fire hydrants was destroyed in that fire, so think of it - the paperwork for one of our most useful firefighting innovations was destroyed in a fire!

 A little something else - remember how the British burned down a lot of buildings in the War of 1812? Someone was able to talk them out of burning down that hotel. Then in 1820, a slate roof was added to the hotel, and a fire engine was purchased to protect the building. Fire engines in those days were not like how we picture them today; they were hand or horse-drawn and relied on humans to pump the water. 

But the local volunteer fire company stationed at the hotel lost interest in firefighting when all this fire-prevention techniques were added. The engine was moved down the street, but no one wanted to volunteer, so when the fire broke out in the Patent Office, no manpower showed up to extinguish it.

One more hoary old punchline: "If we had ham, we could have had ham and eggs, if we had eggs."