Week 6/66: Conversations

I went to a "town hall" meeting held by the Republican senator from my state, and it was literally held in a town hall of a town that's got maybe 800 people.  The senator's "people" had communicated only (as they later said) with local(ish) people who had called or written the senator's office, and told only those people about the meeting.

So one of my friends was told, and spread the news.  But then someone else told her it was a different time.  So there was much confusion and denial from his staffers that 1) there was any meeting at all, 2) that they couldn't give any information, and 3) yes, there's a meeting, but it's an hour earlier than had been announced.

I called the local TV channel news office and they hadn't heard anything.

But my friend drove, and someone else came, too, and I went, and we drove for an hour.

We were all (as we talked about later) expecting this to be a meeting with lots of MAGA hats and much conservative cheering.  My friend had been told that Republican politicians holding town meetings weren't allowing anyone to record them, and their staffers were temporarily confiscating phones and such, so she had three devices to record, one of which you couldn't tell was recording because it looked like it's off.  Just in case.

She's also heard that Republican politicians were holding town halls that were mostly just talking points and pre-screened questions.

Anyway, we got there early, and sat in the second row.  And gradually, before the senator arrived, the room filled.  There were folks wearing dairy cooperative shirts, and one MAGA hat worn by a very young man, there was a Native American veteran, and some other men in veteran's gear (like hats saying "Navy Vet" or whatever).  And there were some folks wearing shirts with the name of a local Democratic politician.  And the Democratic politician himself.

Introductions happened, and the local town council folks were introduced, a couple politicians at different levels, and then the senator.  And if he thought this was going to be a really friendly crowd, he was wrong.  And since we thought that, so were we.

The questions started at the immigration problem (as in, children being incarcerated and people seeking asylum being treated badly), and went from there to Social Security, health care, the farm bill (with a heavy dose of "don't mess with people who need SNAP, just help dairy farmers make a living"), and to NRA funding (he pretended to be unaware that the NRA ever donated money to him, but also refused to refrain from accepting further NRA money.  It was interesting, and plenty of people called him out quite forcefully when he BSed (about how people come to be undocumented in the US, mostly NOT by crossing the border illegally as he asserted).

The senator answered questions for over an hour, and there was ONE that seemed sympathetic, and I was surprised at that one.  (The man who identified as a Native American veteran wanted to use gambling casino tax revenues to build the wall.)

My take aways: a lot of folks came from my small city.  And we had a lot in common with the folks who came from the dairy cooperative and who seemed to come from local small communities.  We're all concerned about Social Security.  We're all concerned about children being incarcerated when their parents seek asylum or try to enter the country without documentation (or overstay visas).  We all want farmers to be able to make a living.

No one recited any slogans, and everyone listened respectfully to each other.

I was impressed that the senator seemed smart and knowledgeable, though we're very opposed ideologically.

I read somewhere that most people really do think what they're doing is right and reasonable.  (The context was about spies.)  And that seemed pretty true of this crowd.  We disagreed on some fundamental solutions to problems, and on the sorts of things we see as problems, but I got the feeling that people were reasonably well informed (and some more than that, and most more than me) and really did want to solve the problems they think are important.

And yet, look at how my state votes.  It's hard to reconcile the two: what I saw at the meeting, and the way this state votes.

***

I had coffee and a long conversation with a new colleague.  I'm sorry to say, they seem very young and not very interesting.  (Those two don't necessarily go together, of course.)  I'm feeling a little "old guard" about them, I'm afraid.  I hope they end up being wonderful, though.

***

I did more biking this week and no hiking.  There was weather, and there was not feeling well, and there was keeping busy.

So much to do, and the time is rushing by!

Projects!

I gave the presentation I talked about here.  It went well. 


About three weeks before the presentation, I went to visit the venue (it's a gallery in a small store) and talked to someone there about the set up.  The person I talked to (a store worker) said they were well able to set up power points and such, and I could bring my own computer or a flash drive.  I gave him my name and number; he said the person responsible would call a bit ahead to check what I needed.


But I didn't get a call.  I thought about going into the store again, but I was busy (see below), and since I'd gone in earlier, I didn't go again.  I did prep the talk with a powerpoint (to show some pictures), and a handout (for text passages), and put my powerpoint on my computer and on a flashdrive.


So I went in 45 minutes early on the day of.  The chairs were ready, the podium was ready, but they weren't at all ready for anything computerish.  But they got on it.  The person working the store called someone else, and they figured it out, connected their Mac, and I used my flash drive.


Then the person in charge of the local group came in and was surprised that I needed computerish stuff.  She said that the person responsible had called her, but she'd told them that we wouldn't need any computer stuff.  And it didn't occur to her to check with the actual speaker (me) about that, or to give them my name and number.  (And who knows what happened to the information I gave the first store worker.)


But, as I said, it went well.  There was a small but appreciative audience.


After I'd done the initial prep, as I predicted, I felt free to do other stuff. 


I woke up one morning, and decided that the other stuff would be sanding down and repainting the woodwork on the front porch.


Here's what I started with:

I'm lucky to have good neighbors, who lent me a sander, which was wonderful.

But as I was working on that, I thought about what to do about the bench, too.

It used to look nice, but it's really weathered since I got it (maybe 14 or so years ago).  I consulted with my neighbor, and decided to get some yellow paint for the wood and gray rust stuff for the metal.

I took it all apart, sanded.  There was a lot of sanding and priming.  Everything got two coats of priming.

Then I decided on another pair of projects, the ugly yellow circle on the front door and the woodwork around the garage door.





Once you're sanding, priming and painting a bunch, you may as well go for it.  All the house stuff would be the same color (the sort of light buff around the garage), and I chose a nice yellow for the bench.

I'm pretty happy with the results.  Look!

So now I'm off for a week's vacation visiting a friend in a somewhat far away city.





Relief

I spent the weekend at my siblings, hearing one of the kids play a concert.

I'm supposed to go there for Thanksgiving, too.

But the drive beats me up.  It's not horrible, but it's long enough that I want to relax after, and not do work.  But the work needs to be done.

My in law and I were watching a Netflix show (since I subscribe), and enjoying it, and talking about how we could watch more over the Thanksgiving weekend.  But then my sibling said that no, the TV would be on football.  My in law suggested that there wouldn't be that much football, but my sibling insisted that there will be three games on Thanksgiving, and they will be on, one after the other, on the TV.

As I drove back today, going slow because the fog was intermittently nasty, I just felt grumpy and headachy.

And when I got back, one of my friends had invited me to Thanksgiving, and it sounds casual and relaxed, and there will be chatting, and laughter, and good potluck food.

So I just decided to accept my friends' invitation.  And as soon as I did, I just felt so much better.

I have no urge to drive a long ways, sit around while my sibling dominates the family room with football on TV, and then drive a long ways home, and hope to get some of the work I have to get done done.

Now I have to call my sibling and tell the news.  Or call my in law, who's likely to be the only person disappointed, but I know zie will be fine.


My driving this weekend was more stressful than usual:

1.  About two weeks ago, the left turn signal started not working sometimes.  It's about half the time, and if it doesn't work, I can flip it again and it will work.  Still, it's irritating, and I've been trying to find a time to get the car in.

2.  On the way, my check engine light went on.  It's done this before, and the car repair people say not to worry about it.  Why have the light and then say not to worry?  I do worry.

3.  I discovered that one of my rear brake lights is out.

4.  My CD player isn't working.  It's got two CDs stuck in there (it holds up to six), and it won't do anything now.  That meant instead of listening to a book on CD, I had to find radio stations to listen to.  There are WAY too many religious and country stations for my taste, and way too few rock stations, and no Spanish language stations that I can find.

Plants

A couple of my artichoke plants were absolutely thriving in the early fall, so I brought them inside.  And now I'm trying to figure out how to get them enough light to get them through winter.  Or, at least, get the one through to where the choke you can barely make out has time to grow a tad more before I eat it.  EAT IT!  (I love artichokes!)

You can see the choke developing on the left in this picture. 

Aren't they beautiful?  I think artichokes are just cool plants.  They're a differently beautiful green, with really interesting leaves and growth patterns.  (This picture is from the opposite angle of the first.)

Countdown

As of tomorrow, I have two weeks before the contract period begins; this time, more than most, the two weeks when we're under contract but classes haven't started yet will be filled with more meetings than usual.  That means I need to get my courses pretty much ready ahead of time.

And I need to make a list and decide what summer stuff I want to do before the contract period begins.

My list may include some more birding, more biking, some cleanup around the house, reading, and of course writing.  How about yours?

Inured

In fall, when it hits 45, we all talk about how cold it is.  In the spring, when it hits 45, we're out in shorts (well, many of us) and thrilled with the warmth.  Somehow, we get used to being cold and dealing with it, and even if I'm wearing the exact same clothes in fall and spring (because my wardrobe is that boring), I feel very differently in the same temperatures.

It occurs to me that this explains a lot about why I always felt cold in the winter as a kid, even though I grew up in a moderate climate where getting a freeze over night was newsworthy.  Unfortunately, it also suggests that if I move back there somehow, I'll still feel cold in winter, since I manage to lose whatever cold endurance I acquire over the winter by the next fall.  A few short and glorious months of warmth and I'm a beginner at the cold once again, every year.

We look to be having a later spring than last year, with more snowfall.  That's great and important for our agriculture, and a little frustrating for everyone who's impatient for spring.  It's hard to believe that spring will ever really come when my yard is covered in snow and the shovel piles are chest high.

Tour de Northwoods

Recently, TBTAM did a post about the West Side Greenway Bike Path in NYC. Her post is full of great pictures of a place to get a free kayak ride, places to dine or picnic, famous places from movies, a place to play volleyball, and even a lighthouse!

And then she encouraged me (in a comment) to post some pictures.

So, let's just say my ride is a little different.

My ride usually starts at a parking lot on campus because it's right along the bike path, and on non-teaching days, pretty empty. Across the Next County River, you can see the Little Famous Waterfall. There's a walking path up the side of the bluff there behind the waterfall, and it's lovely, especially if you've got a dog that likes getting really muddy.

The path goes along the river, passing a small boat ramp where folks park to go fishing.

Be vewy vewy quiet and no one will notice this huge big truck! While I've never before seen a truck done up quite this way, I have seen camo'd trucks a fair bit. But that's not quite as unnerving as seeing someone in full camo with large weaponry (often bows, sometimes rifles) come out of the woods along a road or trail as I ride. In the background here, you can see an outdoor hockey rink next to the hockey stadium thing.

And eventually we pass over the river on an old, converted railroad bridge. Have I mentioned that I love riding on overpasses and bridges? It's just way cool. It's a little tight with folks sometimes, but we all squeeze through.

About half a mile or so beyond this bridge, the trail crosses a road where you can turn off to go on a couple County roads. The advantage to the trail is that it's a converted railroad bed, and thus fairly flat, and avoids most traffic. The disadvantage is that it's fairly flat, and what traffic there is is often people wheeling SUV sized baby stroller things, or dancing across the trail while in-line-skating with ipod thingies in both ears.

Today, we're taking the road. We have about a mile before we hit a little hill, and then about half a mile before we make another choice. Today, we're going to turn right, and go up the hill that's almost a mile long. The other way has shorter but steeper hills, and lots of them.

Here's the big hill. It doesn't look like much, but for me it's long, anyway. And I'm slow. Go have a snack, use the restroom, whatever. I'll be inching up for the next few minutes at about 7mph.

Still climbing. When I see the Moose lodge (which is up after a couple bends), then I know I'm almost to the top and I'm going to make it. At this point, I'm pretty sure my legs, lungs, and heart are all working. My legs are equally sure that my brain needs to have its head examined.

I've now made it up and over the hill, and the crowd goes wild! No, seriously, doesn't this horse look like it's thinking "stupid human"? These two are always there, and they pretty much always glance at me with that look in their eye that says they could run so much faster than I will ever bike. And it's absolutely true.

I suppose you could stop for a picnic here. I doubt the horses would mind sharing their fine dining.

After that one big hill, there are little rolly hills, but it's another seven or so miles before the next hard one. In addition to little rolly hills, we have soy fields. In the past couple of weeks, the soy has turned from green to orangy yellow, mostly. From the farm reports on the radio, I gather that we got too much rain in spring and not enough in the past month, so the crops aren't doing well, and the rain on photo day is too little, too late.

Supposedly the corn has been hit especially hard by the rotten weather. It's already looking brown here (on the right). And look, what's that on the left? More of my adoring fans, thrilled to see me ride by! Rather bucolic, no?

Lest you should think all is livestock and corn, here's a fixer-upper. It's fairly common to see an abandoned looking house and then a few steps away, a newer double-wide trailer type or other house. I guess it just gets to a point where the upkeep on the old one doesn't make sense or something? Anyway, I'm guessing those of you in some urban areas could buy this for what your parking costs.

But for really big buildings, of course, you look for the newer farm outbuildings. This is a bean (soy?) operation (or so it says on the sign on the far side). Look at all that machinery!

So you get the idea. Once I get outside of town, it's pretty much soy, corn, some alfalfa or clover, the occasional horse, and more occasional dairy cows in a field. I can ride for 25 miles, just about, before I hit another town. I run out of bike motor before I run out of road around here.