Info On Fishing In The Marsh

After the previous post, I decided to check the Internet for information on fishing in the Marsh (please note, its' official name is Cryder Creek). The map area labeled Barney Mills is the area where the houses once stood (Pic 2) and as you travel south along Rte 248, you come to the widened part of the creek; that is the area the locals call Marsh Pond (Pic 1).

If I don't have the right facts here, I'm sure one of my brothers or sisters will let me know.

North End Marsh Pond

The Road Bed in the Marsh

Sentimental Journey

Today, another cold and gloomy one, brightened considerably when we decided to visit the area where I grew up. There had once been a cluster of four homes in the middle of wilderness and oil wells. Only one of the houses remains. The two we had lived in are long gone. Instead of civilization crawling into the area, it seems to be creeping away.

Areas which were once swamp and occasional patches of dry land are now all under water. Canada geese and ducks currently bustle around where my siblings and I used to play. The road to one of houses we lived in had been a railroad track in the 1800s. The track was removed and a dirt road was build on the original bed long before we moved there in the late 1940s. In the second photo. the ribbon you see in the water is what remains of the road.

The first photo shows the northern end of the Marsh Pond, near the second house where we lived . We spent many hours fishing in the area. The wildlife is really flourishing. I wonder how the fishing is.........

Sarah Bernhardt

I ran into Sarah Bernhardt as a clue on a crossword puzzle last night and it reminded me of something I had once read. It seems that in addition to her skills as an actress, she was also a very thin woman. One of her contemporaries (I have forgotten who) said "An empty carriage pulled up and Sarah Bernhardt got out."

White Hair, Anyone?

Shasta has become a regular manufacturing plant of white fur lately. Too bad there's no demand for white cat hair. I know why her plant is running overtime these days. Looking out my window, I see a heavy frost on the ground and the temperature is 31 degrees. Need I mention that it is May 19?

Visiting the Doctor

If I had a Top Ten List of Things I Don't Like to Do, visiting the doctor would top the list. I understand on an intellectual level the necessity of regular physician calls, but on the emotional level, I see no need at all. You may have gathered from my whining that I had my regular appointment today. And that opens up another can of worms. When I was first diagnosed with CRF, I decided against dialysis and have that in my Health Care Proxy. The last tests showed a huge drop in kidney function. Now that crisis time seems nearer, I wonder if I will stick by my earlier decision. Umm. I see a connection here. That was an intellectual decision; crunch time moves it to the emotional. Stay tuned, folks.

Reader's Digest List of Best Formative Reads

For those of you planning your summer reading, here are some books worth considering. Reader's Digest has compiled a list of books "that have helped define the national character." You probably have already read most of them so maybe a re-read is in order.

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
2. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
3. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
4. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
5. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
8. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
9. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
10. Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque by Edgar Allan Poe
11. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
12. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
13. The Education of Henry James by Henry James
14. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
15. Poems by Emily Dickinson
16. The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As I typed this list I realized that I read many of these books so long ago that I have a very dim memory of the details. A second reading always seems sweeter to me. That adage "Education is wasted on the young" comes to mind.

Condoleezza Rice

I watched the Larry King interview with Condoleezza Rice a couple of days ago. She is a remarkable person---articulate, tactful, savvy, attractive, educated, focused, experienced, and countless other complimentary adjectives.

Too bad she has the wrong boss.

Another Bizarre Flight---Who's Paying for This One?

The big news today is the evacuation of the White House and the Capitol due to the intrusion of a small plane in Washington's no-fly zone. I'll bet that was expensive. Imagine the cost of putting those fighter jets in the air. Imagine the off-duty officials who were called back to the job. Imagine the man-hours of work lost when all those government workers had to flee the buildings. Imagine the stress the workers and tourists were under during those minutes when they thought their lives were in danger. Imagine the turned ankles or fender benders caused during those moments of panic.

As I watch the news commentators recap the incident tonight, I keep waiting for them to ask us viewers if the two hapless pilots in that small plane should pay for all the expenses incurred today. You know, similar to the way they asked us if the "runaway bride" should be held responsible for the cost of the search during her flight. Officials say the pilots were lost (pilot error) and had radio problems. I say the "runaway bride" was "lost" (judgment errors) and has personal, perhaps mental, problems.

When did we Americans lose our ability to understand that confused people make mistakes? Holding them financially and legally responsible for every mistake may be a moral expense we Americans cannot afford. Especially, if we are not consistent in billing for errors. How can we become so indignant about the "runaway bride" and so understanding about "lost pilots"?

A Great Mother

During my lifetime, I have been blessed to know many great mothers, but today I want to pay tribute to one, Erma Allen, my aunt by marriage but my mother by nurturing. She says that she was delighted to discover there were many children in his family when she married my uncle. She came from a family where there weren't many offspring. She immediately opened her home and heart to all of us, my siblings and cousins. Her quiet and gentle guidance was always there, along with her steadfast love, no matter how large a load she carried. What a lady and what a mother! I love you, Aunt Erma.

Change Is Good

Back in my business days, I remember a discussion I had with one of our sales reps. She was a very consistent performer who met her quota successfully month after month. I asked her what made her so unbeatable as a salesperson and she said "Change. Jingle, jingle change. Nickel and dime change."

She went on to explain that her territory was like everyone else's; that is, banks were a common customer of hers. However, the first thing she did when approaching a bank was to gain their business in coin wrappers. Coin wrappers, a low ticket item but sold in huge quantities, month after month, with no foreseen end of use. Other sales reps would try to sell an expensive piece of equipment which paid a large commission for one month. So did she, but only after she had created that steady source of income supplied by coin wrappers.

Sometimes it is smart to think small. (Hey, Sis. You listening?)

Jealousy = j-e-a-l-o-s-y NOT!

I hate meeting misspelled words in public places so I have cringed everytime I open my blog and view the headline on the story regarding my sister's lack of certain assets. This is the same sister who claims I returned the letters she wrote me in college, corrected in red pencil.

I realized I had made a typo as soon as I published the aforementioned entry. I decided to leave it so my sister would have the pleasure of correcting me. But alas. No correction has been forthcoming so I have to assume that my early attempts to improve her writing skills were fruitless. Future efforts have been shelved.

The Giant Is Awake

This week's print issue of NEWSWEEK has a series of articles on China, including details on its remarkable economic growth and a discussion of future possibilities for the country. My fuzzy, aged brain seems recall a past description of China as "a sleeping giant." Well, the giant is wide awake and we'd better set our own alarm clock.