May 2015

May 31, 2015

Cape’s ‘Laboratory School’

I really hadn’t gone on the SEMO campus to shoot what used to be called College High or Campus High, the building that housed the teacher’s college’s laboratory school. (Erin Ragan wrote a little about the history of the school in 2012.)

I was there to steal a magnolia blossom off the tree on the left.

Brother Mark and I took Mother out for a drive last weekend. While cruising around, I said, “Let’s see if we can snag a magnolia blossom for your room.” The tree where I usually get the blooms didn’t have any, so Mark suggested there might be one on the SEMO campus.

Yes, indeed, there was one

I put my four-way flashers on, parked in a no-parking zone and scampered over with my trusty Buck knife in hand to snip off a blossom the size of Mother’s head. Just as I was getting back to the van, flower in hand, I heard a car coming. It was a university police car. I was rehearsing my excuse when the car passed without even slowing down.

Found the magic key

A few days later, after the bloom turned a beautiful shade of brown that I actually liked better than the white, I decided to go back to the scene of the crime to get her a second one. Same no-parking zone, same four-way flashers. This time, though, I saw a guy in a university truck slow down and give me the eye.

I stepped out of the car with my camera in hand and made a big show of taking a photo. The guy sped up and passed on by.

I used to say that you could go anywhere if you carried a clipboard and a tape measure or a ladder. I’m adding camera to the list.

May 28, 2015

U.S.N Knife

Since I’ve been living essentially by myself in Cape for several weeks, I am discovering domestic skills I never knew I had (and will promptly forget when I get back home to Florida). I won’t say I’d have stayed single had microwave ovens and good frozen food been around in 1969, but it would have expanded my options.

One of my survival techniques is to use as many plastic and paper kitchen supplies as possible. When I actually have to use real silverware, I use every knife, fork and spoon in the drawer and leave them soaking until there’s nothing left to eat with, then I wash them all at one time. (The house is old enough that it has neither a dishwasher nor a garbage disposal.)

While digging in the back of the drawer, I ran across this knife that was different than anything else around. It had a uniquely government-issue feel to it. On the handle was engraved U.S.N., which I have to assume stood for U.S. Navy. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Origin unknown

I don’t know where the knife came from. So far as I know, no one in our family ever served in the Navy. It might have been picked up at a yard sale or been in a box of stuff we acquired over the years.

Anyone seen anything like it?

P.S. Let’s keep my cooking prowess a secret, OK? It’s better that Wife Lila not learn about this. We definitely won’t tell her about the laundry thing. It’s much better that she believes that I haven’t gotten any more domesticated than this kitchen incident when the kids were little.

May 27, 2015

Jackson’s Silenced Sentinels

Almost every time I head out of Jackson from Wib’s BBQ headed toward Fruitland, I notice some big stumps on the south side of Hwy 61 near the Welcome to Jackson sign. And, every time I’ve muttered to myself, “One of these days I’m going to have to stop and shoot those things.”

The odds are pretty good you won’t see them on the way INTO Jackson like in this photo because they’re down the embankment.

Massive stumps

I finally got around to stopping.

To give you an idea how big these trees were, I put a dollar bill in the photo for scale. A bill is six inches wide, so the top of the stump is three feet or more across. It has to be at least 10 feet around. (Click on the photo to make it larger.)

What have these trees seen?

Wikipedia reports that the first post office in Jackson was established in 1814 when the area was called Birdstown. Old McKendree Chapel, the log cabin that is the oldest Protestant church standing west of the Mississippi River, was built in 1819.

I didn’t even try to count the rings to see how old the trees are (that’s a math thing), but I wonder if they were standing that long ago? Anyone want to guess what kind of tree they were and how old they might be?

May 25, 2015

Freedom Isn’t Free

I was trying to figure out a different way to mark Memorial day when I looked to my left at the intersection of Mt. Auburn Road and North Kingshighway and spotted this Freedom Isn’t Free DAV (Disabled American Veterans) flag sticker.

That’s a nice reminder. (Click on it to make it larger.)

More welcome than this

I was a bit soured on flag decals during the 1960s because they were frequently paired with stickers like this one.

I feel the same way about SUVs sporting yellow ribbon magnetic stickers that say “Support Our Troops.” Slapping on a sticker is a lot easier than actually making sure our returning veterans have the medical and psychological care they need to integrate into society when they come home.

In 2014, three Republican Senators were the lone votes against a bipartisan bill to expand benefits and access to care for former troops. “We need to resist the temptation to create more entitlements and more entitlements,” Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions said.

Well, if we can’t afford to provide care for our returning vets, maybe we shouldn’t be sending them to places where they may require care.

OK, rant over. Let’s use Memorial Day to think about those men and women who gave their lives to make it possible for us to have political disagreements.

Month: May 2015