YES, I AM STILL HERE peeking out of the newspaper’s window on Main Street and I am proud to tell you that — to this point at least — I haven’t watched one second of the Winter Olympics.
I’m boycotting the host nation, and I’m fairly sure that the loss of my attention will being the Chinese to their knees.
I did read about an American figure skater who had a disastrous fall in her competition.
Good!
She is the child of a Chinese couple, born in this country.
She renounced her American citizenship in order to skate for China (by Olympic rules you must be a citizen of the nation you are representing in the competition, I think).
When the Olympics are over and she comes whining back wanting to be American again I say: “Bu!” That’s Mandarin for “no.”
This is a family newspaper otherwise I would have said: “Yiding Buxing” which is Mandarin for “Hell No!” I looked it up.
Let me guess: Did we taxpayers cough up any bucks to pay for her training and upkeep leading up to the Olympics? I’m sure we did.
I understand that a lot of the locals (real Chinese, residents of China) are dogging her for such an inept display in the competition, and they may not want her to remain in the country after everyone else has gone ‘home.’ She doesn’t speak Chinese.
Yiding Buxing also to any other American Olympic athlete who doesn’t want to represent the hand that has fed them.
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THE GOOD EARTH. Saturday afternoon, when I could no longer resist, I took a drive up past Camp Albert Pike.
I was in the company of the Navigator.
On the shady side of the mountain tops the trees were glittering with ice, and white stuff covered the ground. It was quite a sight.
What I was hoping to see were icicle ‘falls’ where dripping spring water has frozen after it emerged from the rocks.
There were lots of those, too.
We saw some deer but not many other motorists. One of the reasons had to be that, on the shady side of the mountains, ice covered the narrow road. My buggy is not 4-wheel drive but I lightfooted through some unnerving places anyway, not looking at the deep gorges at the side of the road.
We stopped occasionally to listen to the silence and to smell the mountains. Ice was melting slightly on the tree limbs, and the resulting water droplets streamed in straight silver lines down to the ground. My old ears couldn’t pick up the sound of the droplets hitting the leaves and stones.
Using the Navigator’s well-known skills we managed to get lost somewhere north of Boondocks. Still, we followed the road even thru some really icy downhill spots. I did not tell Navigator that I was afraid we couldn’t retrace our steps because we would not be able to climb back over the hilltops.
We finally came to a stop sign and a paved highway.
“Which way,” I asked Navigator.
“Left,” Navigator answered with confidence.
We went left. After about 30-45 minutes we came to a place called Board Camp. About as far from civilization as you can get. We had been going in the wrong direction — a fact I wisely kept to myself.
We charged on, and finally got to Mena.
I wisely also did not mention to the Navigator that if we had taken a ‘right’ at the intersection we would have already been home in the same time it took us to get to Cove.
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ANIMAL CRACKERS. My favorite site for birds, ‘Birds & Blooms,’ suggests putting out bird feed early because our feathered friends need energy after trying go get through the cold dark hours.
But also, put out extra feed before dark to help them get through the coming night. The site also says that in some places birds have a hard time finding liquid water to drink. I suppose I could pour warmed water onto the frozen stuff in the birdbath.
My own bluejay population has shrunk since cold spells started. I’ve still got some faithful cardinals.
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PLEASE GET the Covid-19 vaccine. Almost 10,000 Arkies have died of Covid.
The persons who require hospitalization and ventilators in Intensive Care Units are almost all unvaccinated.
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THINGS I LEARNED from opening email. According to the Redneck Book of Driving Etiquette: “When approaching a four-way stop, the vehicle with the largest tires always has the right-of-way.”
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WORD GAMES. The twins: Spoiled and Rotten. They’re the reason family reunion attendance has gotten so low.
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HE SAID: “America is a nation with many flaws that only the stupid would deny, but with hopes so vast that only the cowardly would refuse to acknowledge them.” James A. Michener, American novelist. Author of my favorite book, “The Source.”
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SHE SAID: “If you feel rooted in your home and family, if you’re active in your community, there’s nothing more empowering. The best way to make a difference in the world is to start by making a difference in your own life.” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, comedian and tv actress (‘Seinfeld’)
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SWEET DREAMS, Baby
