By Chuck Wiser I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
Every week I keep a running log of thoughts that pop into my head as potential topics for my writhings…err, I mean writings. Some weeks I have just a few items, other weeks I have more than what would fill just one column. Oft-times I start out with only a few, but one topic leads into another and I face the conundrum of which to write about, and when might be the best time to write and publish my thoughts.
There, in that opening paragraph I used a word that is more often written than spoken. My conundrum (a confusing and difficult problem or question) this week is when to write about what. If I plan to present an announcement of some up-coming activities that will occur shortly after my publication, do I write it that week, or a couple of weeks in advance. One activity, a program being presented by the Genesee Valley Chorus (GVC) is scheduled for the 8th of June, but the preceding weekend has chorus members meeting at the venue for dress rehearsal earlier than that. GVC does use an email network to communicate group announcements, or reminders, but not all have, or use, that link. I have chosen a small inset of the program poster as my article picture for this piece and will say no more about that event until the “week of.” I guess it is presumptuous on my part to assume that any members are reading my articles.
A second topic that I will address in a later edition (addition) will be the announcement of the 100th Anniversary of the Friendship, NY “Home Comers,” previously and colloquially known as “The Old Timers.” I am very honored to have been asked to write about this activity and to post the announcement of it in one of my Wrambling’s. Given that it will be a lengthy “historical piece” I will present it as a stand-alone article within the next week or two. The former Friendship Volunteer, which is no longer published, was my first “professional” writing gig. My boss at the time was noted newspaper writer/editor Marilyn Lester.
OK, on to the originally planned Wrambling. Since I have already mentioned Friendship, I will add a note thanking former Class of ’63 class-mates Bill Hamilton and Tom Talbett, for once again inviting me to share breakfast with them at TC’s Diner in Friendship.
The town of Friendship may not be what it once was but, I still proudly consider it, as a sub-division of Nile, NY, as my hometown. That reversal of township/hamlet structure is a running rivalrous kidding that occurs. Friendship is still filled with wonderful people, some old and some new, but most living up to the name of the village. I have discussed small to large areas of population and habitation, and the confusing titles of city; town; village; and hamlet previously but using the “village” terminology is easier to remember and write.
I often question when or if you should call attention to or point out errors made in writing. For the most part it is best to just read, groan, and move on. If the misspelling is in a published Meme I often will call attention to it since it is not in the hands of the present writer.
Personally, I would prefer, and welcome, any corrections, or omissions. Owner/Editor Andrew Harris always gives me a heads up after his posting, and I do what we semi-kiddingly say is the final “proof-reading.” If I find any significant errors, I will make corrections and he will update. If I notice an error that is minor, I will let it slip by even though it bothers me to have made the error. 99% of the errors that slip through or are ignored are of a “typing” nature. My mind and typing fingers are not always on the same page. As frequent readers know I am a Grammar critic, especially of my own work. For some reason my fingers don’t keep up with my mind, and I swear they have a mind of their own. For some unexplained reason, even knowing full well the differences and correct choice and typing of the “There/Their/They’re” grammar groans, somehow, the wrong choice will end up in my published piece. My mind says one thing and my fingers, in their own mind, will type the wrong case of the word.
As long as I am self-identifying with errors, I might as well continue with something that was as puzzling as it was humorous. When planning and preparing for eye surgery to correct for cataracts, being “cheap” I did not want to pay the additional $3600 to have both near and far-sighted visions corrected. I believe I have mentioned this before, but I think this “insurance driven” and Medicare flaw in doing that is just wrong. When Cataract surgery is performed a new lens is inserted in the eye. This lens corrects your vision, as would glasses or normal contacts. It is mind boggling to me as to how or why the lens inserted cannot be such that it corrects both visions, as do normal contacts, all for the same cost. My guess is that the Eyecare institutions needlessly (fraudulently in my view) charge an inflated fee for the 2nd correction lens insertion.
I have elected to wear contact lenses to add the second correction, that being near vision correction, to my eyes. Otherwise, I need to carry my reading glasses with me if any reading or near vision is required. The other day I went to put my contacts in and having a different prescription in each eye I have two boxes of lenses. One box had two lenses in it, but the second box was empty. While I thought it was odd, I had previously had some difficulty when I forgot to take the lenses out at night and put a second lens over the first the next morning. When this happened, I threw the pair away as I wasn’t sure which was the new and which was the old. I was still puzzled though. As I went to throw the empty box in the waste basket, I saw what appeared to be the packet that the new lenses came in there in the waste basket. I picked them up and lo and behold there were the lenses that should have been in the empty box. I have absolutely no idea how the second lenses ended up in that waste basket. It was obvious that at some time I unconsciously discarded them, along with the old lens that they were to replace. I suspect that there are readers among you that have unintentionally thrown something in the trash that you didn’t mean to. I take solace in the fact that I am not alone in that regard.
The “Right” part of today’s Wrambling title addresses what is right to do while driving in traffic. Technically speaking if you travel at any speed above that posted, it is illegal. However, there is an un-written law enforcement “margin of acceptance” that allows you to exceed the speed limit somewhat. Some say that 10 miles per hour (MPH) will be “overlooked.” My thought is that 10 MPH over a 30 or 40 MPH speed limit is excessive. At 50 MPH or above 10 is a reasonable amount. This “flexibility” is logical as many things factor into the actual speed that the car is being driven at so a +/- limit is practical and logical.
I tend to keep my speed within 5 MPH of the posted speed limit at the lower levels. I can readily identify with what might cause “road rage” as when someone comes up on me from behind and follows so closely, tailgating, that I can’t even see the front end of their vehicle. This happens all too often. I must confess however that I can be guilty of cussing (under my breath) when I am driving at my own self-induced tolerance to the speed limit when I come up behind someone that is going exactly 40 MPH in the 40 MPH section of road, when I am in a hurry to get to where I’m going. Undoubtedly, that person will continue at 40 MPH even when the posting allows a higher speed, which unfortunately usually occurs in a section with a “No Passing” road marking.
Bear sightings have been on the increase lately and I was pleased with the opportunity to take and post a picture of a bear cub in my back yard. I captured a loveable picture of it and Andrew used it last week. If you missed it perhaps you can look back to last week’s Sun postings and see it. The week before that I had picked up a picture of a larger, most likely Mother bear, crossing my back yard. That pleasure rapidly evaporated the following night after seeing the cub and awakening to one of our bird feeder stations having been torn down, with the seed and jelly feeders damaged or destroyed. Nothing showed up on the trail cams as they were aimed in the opposite direction. I pieced the large seed feeder back together and even if it is now lop-sided it will serve its purpose for now. The sunflower feeder that I have mounted on the end of the garage showed some damage although it is 7 feet off the ground.
Having used the terminology “lop sided” it brings to mind some other phraseology that despite probably being a century or centuries old, are still common to many of us of an older generation. Lop sided is another way of expressing something that is “kitty wampus.” When I looked that phrase up to check my spelling, it also listed “catty wampus.” I guess you might say that catty wampus means a larger amount of skewing than kitty wampus, a cat being older than a kitten. I suggest that either could be used to describe something that is “skee-hawed.” At least I didn’t say that “I was tickled pink,” or even “discombobulated.”
Other wildlife, not quite as dangerous, is the continued activity of our feathered friends. Attendance at our feeders has its “ebbs and flows.” We will go for hours without any activity and then all of a sudden, the flurry of activity increases significantly. What is odd is that given our several species of visitation the activity of one almost always coincides with the activity of all. I noticed that during last week’s warmer temperature, it would result in limited activity among the aviary community. Puzzling at that, I decided that perhaps during the warmer, sunny, periods the insects were more readily available. Insects are indeed the innate meal instinct that they are born with, although, given that there are so many of us feeding them over their generations of development that instinct may have taken a back seat. One of the most intriguing pleasures of watching the “feeding fests” is that of watching siblings playing, scuffling, and dancing about. I will end this Wrambling with an invitation to check back on the Wellsville Sun site early next week for the posting of the two activities I mentioned.
Please feel free to contact me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com with questions, comments suggestions or concerns.
FEDS: 28 year old Canandaigua man charged with child abuse and exploitation
