If you’ve lived in Galesburg you have at one point or another gone under the viaduct at Lincoln and Fremont. I’m not sure how anyone thought this would work.
Maybe because they confused these two items.
Don’t be too mad at me and leave my horse out of this.
A couple weeks ago I took a picture of this house in Vermont, Illinois.
I made note of the structure to the right suspecting originally it functioned as the kitchen. I neglected to notice the smaller structure to the left. When we drove through Vermont yesterday I took this picture.
Carol and I debated it’s possible function. It is too small to be a root cellar. Carol suggested the possibility it was an outhouse. It seems possible. That does remind me of a story. I had a young man working for me a few years ago. He was telling me about a girl he was dating at the time. In describing how attractive she was he stated: “She’s built like a shit brick house.” Mixed metaphors. I advised him at the time I doubted she would find that complimentary. Back to this story. Perhaps it is a well house or a sits over a cistern. Tool shed?
Any suggestions or opinions dear readers?
Liz Cheney is about to lose her leadership position in the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. Her sin? She has not lined up behind Donald Trump’s big lie that he actually won the election. She knows, and is willing to say, there was not sufficient voting irregularities to cost him the election. She is willing to admit he lost a free and fair election. When Donald Trump was President she voted to support his agenda 93% of the time. She voted for his massive and unnecessary tax cut. She cannot support the lie that he was cheated out of a second term.
Having said all that I want to make one thing clear. I don’t care for or about Ms. Chaney. I do care about the truth. I would be supportive of anyone in her position who was being removed because they could not support a lie. The Republican Party has ceased to exist. It is the party of Trump. They prefer to listen to the falsehoods shouted by an orange skinned carnival barker. He has lost consistently in court. He has lost every recount. The election is over and certified. Politicians waste time talking about fraud that didn’t happen. Fraud they can provide no evidence to prove. I will never understand the love these folks have for Trump. I listen to him talk and cannot understand how my fellow citizens do not see how stupid he is. George Carlin was right when he said something like the following. Think about how stupid the average American is and remember half the population is dumber than that.
Someday we may wake and realize we must change. I suspect the harsh reality may be that humans are another evolutionary dead end. Our end will not be a natural disaster like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. We will destroy ourselves with our denial of reality and stupidity. Then we will realize in the universe no lives matter.
We traveled a bit last week driving from Illinois through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. What did we see along the way? Help wanted signs. Traveling, as one would suspect, most of the places we stopped were gas stations, restaurants and hotels. Places traditionally staffed by low wage workers. I spoke to a few of the managerial folks when the opportunity arose. The problem was so severe they were not even getting applicants. It isn’t as simple as the pandemic, increased unemployment payments and stimulus checks. Tybee Island comes to mind since we had lived there. Housing for folks working in gift shops and restaurants is simply unaffordable. The house we owned was turned into an Air B&B and now rents for $325 per night. That translates to $9,750 for a 30 day month. If it was rented on a month basis with a year lease the rent would be about $2,500. I suspect unless you had several workers living together with rent, utilities, water and cable TV it would be out of reach. The other problem is the commute out from Savannah. Depending on time of day the 10 mile or so trip can take well over an hour each way. Not something you want to face after a day of serving rude and demanding tourists. Tybee is the exception. Labor and housing have long been a problem on the island. Elsewhere the problem is the low value placed on these worker’s labor. Many of them, perhaps for the first time in years, are getting enough income to meet their needs without endless worry. They are paid poverty wages when they work. They live payday to payday hoping the car doesn’t break down, the kids don’t get sick and no emergencies destroy the family budget. Now many people think they should return to work for the same or less money than unemployment and stimulus checks provide. The problem isn’t the money they are getting now. It is the fact that their labor is not appropriately compensated. No one should have to work 2 or 3 jobs to earn a living. The minimum wage must be raised to a living wage. It must be indexed to inflation so like Social Security when prices go up so does income. I know there will be those who say it will put some small businesses out of business. My response? If you can’t afford to pay a living wage you can’t afford to have a business. Isn’t capitalism about the strong businesses surviving based on their value in the market? As a final thought- we have seen the ongoing failure of trickle down economics. If we pay more at the bottom to these workers I’m sure it will still trickle up to the bloated coffers of the wealthy. At least the poor will have touched it and seen some benefit.
Truth!
This is on the wall where Rose and Lily go to get their nails trimmed. My quick glance at the words gave it a completely inappropriate meaning.
I’m still sorting through my feelings on this one. Yesterday there was a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial for his killing of George Floyd. There is no question in my mind the verdict was fair and just. I have no doubt that absent modern technology a guilty verdict would not have happened. The presence of witnesses with cell phones and a willingness to record made the verdict and justice possible. Think back as few as 10 years ago. Would so many standing by have been recording? Would it have been so quickly and widely shared on social media? I think not. We often wonder about the effects of modern technology and its impact on our lives. Sometimes, as in this case, the impact can be positive. Perhaps it will lead us to some much needed police reform. I don’t know how that reform will look. I do think that too often we send an armed officer to address issues that would be better served by a mental health professional. As a final thought I understand the relief many felt at the announcement of the guilty verdict. They felt relief and cheered. I felt somewhat differently while watching. While I agreed with the verdict I also felt that two lives were destroyed that day in Minneapolis. I find no joy in that. It is my hope that those losses will lead to meaningful change. That those changes will prevent future tragedies of this nature.
