Greetings from your Friday guy on this early September day as the summer is winding to an end. Seems like it just started. We had a very wet spring and wet early summer up here in Vermont. It never got really hot! I usually tell friends all over that there are usually only 3 days during our VT summer where I think we need air conditioning. This summer we only had one of those days. Only one day that the temperature reached into the 90s.!
And yet, the signs of climate change continue to be all over. Weather extremes and disasters are becoming more common and more frequent. Hurricane Harvey has devastated Houston and surrounding areas with over 50 inches of rain. Hurricane Irma is now going through the Carribean with strong winds, wreaking havoc, heading for Florida and there is Hurricane Jose not far behind. I am not a scientist, but I know that climate change is real and caused by humans.
Last weekend was our USA Labor Day weekend (with Monday an official holiday). It marks the end of our summer here, just as Memorial Day weekend (at the end of May) marks the beginning of our summer. It was one year ago that my daughter Joya married Christopher and they are now celebrating their one-year anniversary on a trip to Hawaii. She is the first of the Taft-Dick family to visit Hawaii. We’ve been all over the world and back (including visiting Timbuktu) and never been to a place where many Americans HAVE visited! Go figure! Happy First to Chris and Joya!
I’m looking forward to the visit a little later this month from my youngest, Philip, who will spend about 10 days here. His older brother, Jon, will likely drive him up here from NYC where he will fly into from San Diego. It’s even possible that Joya may join them here for a long weekend. So, I’m really looking forward to that!
I continue with all my activities, hobbies and obsessions, like burning wood from my back hill in my fire pit. It’s my “meditation spot” during the summer and fall and I enjoy cleaning up the back hill and watching the glowing flames in the pit. I also have been enjoying doing corn on the cob and burgers on my grill in the back yard. Think I’ll do that again tonight.
I also look forward to seeing the comedienne, Paula Poundstone, perform this Saturday night up at the Paramount Theater in Rutland, VT. She is so funny. I’ve seen her once before here in VT and look forward to seeing her again.
Let’s see what you all have contributed that I can use.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU’LL MEET A FRIEND
“Lucky the frog was just centimeters away from becoming Becky Garfinkel’s meal. Instead, the teeny frog — found in a store-bought, packaged salad — is now the Garfinkel family pet. Garfinkel, a strict vegetarian, spotted the tiny critter Wednesday, seconds before she dug her fork into the packaged spring mix that she had bought that day at Target. … As thoughts about her health swirled in her head, she said, her husband shouted, ‘It’s still alive!’ … The thought of abandoning the frog in a ditch somewhere didn’t sit well with Garfinkel and her family, so they decided to keep the frog and name it Lucky. … After welcoming the creature to her family, Garfinkel decked out a reptile terrarium with moss, crickets, worms and a bowl, and placed it in her office. ‘He survived so much,’ she said. ‘I am just happy he survived and I didn’t eat him.’”
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Couple Busted For Having Sex on the Golf Course
Well, that’s not par for the course.
A frisky South Carolina couple was busted on a golf course Sunday for allegedly having sex near the eighth hole.
Authorities responded Sunday night to Tega Cay Golf Course after receiving a call about a possible medical situation involving two people lying on the fairway, according to the Fort Mill Times.
Other witnesses, however, said they thought the couple were deer, but then realized that it was “two people having intercourse,” police said.
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The Joys of Retirement
I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.
Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers.
You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone?
That's common sense leaving your body.
That's common sense leaving your body.
I didn't make it to the gym today That makes five years in a row.
I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now, as a grownup, it feels like a small vacation.
The biggest lie I tell myself is..."I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it."
I don't have gray hair; I have "wisdom highlights." I'm just very wise.
Teach your daughter how to shoot, because a restraining order is just a piece of paper.
If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would've put them on my knees.
Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet.
Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?
Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice.
At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.
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EeeeeeeeYuuuuuuuu!
Space.com: “Future astronauts could turn their pee into nutrients and raw materials for 3D printers with the aid of some industrious microbes, new research suggests. Harnessing the talents of the tiny beasts in this way could help humanity extend its footprint out into the solar system, study team members said. ‘If astronauts are going to make journeys that span several years, we’ll need to find a way to reuse and recycle everything they bring with them,’ study leader Mark Blenner, of Clemson University in South Carolina, said in a statement. ‘Atom economy will become really important.’ Blenner and his team have been investigating the recycling talents of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The researchers found that Y. lipolytica can get the nitrogen it needs from the urea in untreated urine. … If all this talk of human waste and reuse seems a little gross to you, keep in mind that NASA astronauts aboard the ISS already drink their (recycled) urine.”
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Some Interesting Information
The moon moves about two inches away from the Earth each year.
Glass takes one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!
Gold is the only metal that doesn't rust, even if it's buried in the ground for thousands of years.
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals.
Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
The song Auld Lang Syneis sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.
Drinking water after eating reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent. Drinking a glass of water before you eat may help digestion and curb appetite.
Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless it's heated above 450F.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean.
The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.
Airports at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.
The University of Alaska spans four time zones.
The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.
In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
Warner Communications paid 28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday, which was written in 1935!
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
A comet's tail always points away from the sun.
The Swine Flu vaccine in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease it was intended to prevent.
Caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines.
The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.
If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can see stars, even in the middle of the day.
When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight.
In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.
Strawberries and cashews are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside.
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.
The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust.
Due to earth's gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters.
Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy.
Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they could set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down.
Everything weighs one percent less at the equator.
For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at
lift-off.
The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.
* * * * * * * *
Gold is the only metal that doesn't rust, even if it's buried in the ground for thousands of years.
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals.
Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
The song Auld Lang Syneis sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.
Drinking water after eating reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent. Drinking a glass of water before you eat may help digestion and curb appetite.
Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless it's heated above 450F.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean.
The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.
Airports at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.
The University of Alaska spans four time zones.
The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.
In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
Warner Communications paid 28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday, which was written in 1935!
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
A comet's tail always points away from the sun.
The Swine Flu vaccine in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease it was intended to prevent.
Caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines.
The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.
If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can see stars, even in the middle of the day.
When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight.
In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.
Strawberries and cashews are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside.
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.
The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust.
Due to earth's gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters.
Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy.
Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they could set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down.
Everything weighs one percent less at the equator.
For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at
lift-off.
The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.
* * * * * * * *
Interesting, wasn’t it???
10 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT YOU
1) You are reading this.
2) You are human.
3) You can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips.
4) You just attempted to do it.
6) You are laughing at yourself.
3) You can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips.
4) You just attempted to do it.
6) You are laughing at yourself.
7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No. 5.
8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
9) You laugh at this because you are a fun-loving person & everyone does it too.
10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it. You have received this e-mail because I didn't want to be alone in the older category.
Have a great Day. Laugh, and then Laugh and sing " It's a Beautiful Night " even when it's not.
8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
9) You laugh at this because you are a fun-loving person & everyone does it too.
10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it. You have received this e-mail because I didn't want to be alone in the older category.
Have a great Day. Laugh, and then Laugh and sing " It's a Beautiful Night " even when it's not.
"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many."
* * * * * * * *
North Dakota Bank robbers
A hooded robber burst into a North Dakota bank and forced the tellers to load a sack full of cash.
On his way out the door, a brave North Dakota customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off, revealing the robbers face. The robber shot the customer without a moment’s hesitation.
He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him. The robber instantly shot him also. Everyone in the bank, by now very scared, looked intently down at the floor in silence.
The robber yelled, "Well, did anyone else see my face?"
There are a few moments of utter silence in which everyone was plainly too afraid to speak.
Then, one old Norwegian named Ole from North Dakota tentatively raised his hand and said, "My wife got a pretty good look at you."
* * * * * * * *
Do we get wiser and more accommodating as we age?
When we get older we think differently, don't we? This letter below was sent to the Principal's office after the school had sponsored a luncheon for the elderly. An elderly lady received a new radio at the lunch as a door prize and was writing to say thank you. This story is a credit to all humankind.
Forward to anyone you know who might need a lift today.
Dear Kean Elementary:
God bless you for the beautiful radio I won at your recent senior citizens luncheon. I am 94 years old and live at the Sprenger Home for the Aged. All of my family has passed away. I am all alone now and it's nice to know that someone is thinking of me. God bless you for your kindness to an old forgotten lady. My roommate is 95 and has always had her own radio, but before I received one, she would never let me listen to hers, even when she was napping.
The other day her radio fell off the night stand and broke into a lot of pieces. It was awful and she was in tears. Her distress over the broken radio touched me and I knew this was God's way of answering my prayers. She asked if she could listen to mine, and I told her to kiss my ass...
Thank you for that opportunity.
Sincerely,
Agnes
Heart warming!!
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I thought is was a nice story to end with today. Heart warming indeed!
Just time and space enough left to wish you a Fantastic Friday and a Wonderful Weekend!
Until the next time, take care and Peace!
TGI-Jeff
