The ramblings of an Eternal Student of Life     
. . . still studying and learning how to be grateful and make the best of it
 
 
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Current Affairs ... Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

In my last post, I discussed the Stamping Out Hunger food drive being held by the postal workers union. It was scheduled for today, and I said in that post that I’d give it a go, I’d put out a bag or two of non-perishable food items for the mail carrier to pick up. I also said that I had some doubts as to whether the pick-up would actually occur, given that the union’s website itself said that some carriers “don’t participate”, since it isn’t a mandatory thing. My friend Mary thereafter wrote in about her past experiences with Stamping Out Hunger, where her own food donations never left her premises. And then last night, my brother told me that he too had heard about this and put out a bag, only to find that it was never touched.

So my doubt level was pretty high. Nonetheless, I put out two bags this morning, then left for a morning drive to upstate New Jersey for a 3-hour nature hike (near Monksville Reservoir). The hike went fairly well (the weather was cloudy, but no bears, no snakes, hopefully no ticks), although I did get a little too close for comfort to some hunters firing off their guns — good thing that I was wearing my orange hat. I got back to my car around 1 pm and had some lunch, then drove home. And guess what? The food bag was gone! Since I’ve never heard of anything being pilfered from the porch here, I’m going to assume that the local mail carrier actually did “participate”, and that my donation is on the way to a local food panty for the needy. It’s a miracle!!

Hmmm, let’s see, what dead persons are up for “beatification” (sainthood) in the Catholic Church these days? The church often attributes miracles to a beatification candidate, as a  »  continue reading …

◊   posted by Jim G @ 4:13 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Thursday, April 30, 2015
History ... Photo ...

If you are under the age of 30, maybe even 35, you probably don’t know why the telephone poles in this picture have red and white painted bands around them. Unless you are a real local trivia fan (or maybe when you were around 7 or 8, you were very curious about your neighborhood), you probably wouldn’t even notice them as you drive down the road (in this case, Grove Street in Montclair, NJ). And even if you did, you probably wouldn’t ask yourself, hmmm, why are there poles with red and white paint on them every quarter mile or so?

But now that I’ve made you think about it . . . here’s the answer. Once upon a time, most urban and suburban town of any appreciable population density had fire alarm boxes spread throughout the town. Every box had an individual number, and was electrically wired into a central location at the town’s main fire station. So, if a fire were to break out and a citizen walking down the street happened to see it, they could run to the corner and push or pull on a little button in the firebox that would send an electrical signal alerting the police and fire department that they should get out to the vicinity of the fire box, on the double.

Now you might ask, with all the telephones out there, even if you go back a decade or so when pocket phones weren’t yet universal, why were these street fireboxes needed? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for someone to call and explain the situation? And wouldn’t it be tempting for wrong-doers to push the alarm button as a false alarm, given that probably no one could see or trace it back to you? That’s all true. But once upon a time, telephones were NOT all over the place. Before 1950, not every household had one. Up to the end of World War 2, telephones were an expensive luxury, mostly used by the bigger businesses and affluent families.

Obviously then, these fireboxes go way back to the early part of the 20th Century, when you couldn’t count on a telephone being available if a building suddenly caught fire. The thing that got most cities to invest in public firebox systems was  »  continue reading …

◊   posted by Jim G @ 9:09 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Nature ... Photo ...

A mourning dove recently decided that the window air conditioner outside my mother’s former bedroom at my brother’s house would be a good place to nest her progeny for the season. My mother passed away about 5 years ago, but the soon-to-be mother bird perhaps sensed some metaphysical traces of Mom’s former presence, and decided that the spot had good feng shui and positive chi. Here we see the bird trying to catch up on some zzz’s in mid-afternoon. If all goes well, she will soon be very busy flying in worms or seeds or other tid-bits for the hungry chicks. I’ll try to post some further pix once that happens.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 9:09 am       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Photo ... Weather ...

It’s finally April here, and a long winter is just about over. For a while there in February, we had to go almost a week just to get a day where the high was above freezing. Now finally, we’ve probably seen the last day for the season where the low gets below 32. So, one more memory of this memorable winter. This was the last real snowfall in my town, which happened on March 20 (the day before Spring started). It was just barely cold enough to snow, as you can see on the thermometer. This was a winter of old, one that didn’t give in too easily. I’m not sure that I want to see one like this again anytime soon, but it’s nice to look back on and feel good about having survived.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 12:12 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Photo ... Weather ...

This is what it looked like about a week ago near my residence. A few days later, the 40 day pattern of frigid cold and frequent (if not terribly big) snowstorms finally broke. It was one of the coldest February’s on record, but the mild air found its way back to New Jersey and everything is changing. We still have some dirty old snow yet to melt before the flowers start poking through, but the long winter is becoming a fading memory.

But best not to let it fade completely. When the weather gets tough, the eternal student gets studying . . . learning more and more about what’s going on up in the skies. This past winter season I’ve learned even more than I picked up last winter about polar vortex’s and teleconnection patterns. And based on what I learned, I know that there are signs out there saying that winter has an encore performance coming up in about 10 days or so. (I.e., positive PNA, negative AO, NAO and EPO, and MJO going to zone 7). So, although we’re enjoying the early taste of April this week, we may have to wait until early April until it really settles in. For now . . . don’t put the gloves, caps, scarves and shovels away!

◊   posted by Jim G @ 8:40 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Photo ...

We just got thru January without too much snow . . . thanks to that blizzard that took a last-minute turn away from us just about a week ago. But February is turning into a true winter month, with lots of snow, ice and frigid misery. But hey, it’s past Groundhog Day; old man winter got a late start this year and may not last too long into March given current climate change trends. So we need to grit our teeth and tough it out. It’s still too early to look for signs of spring, but even in the midst of the winter grunge, you occasionally see a note of beauty. Such as these newly ripened fruit on a holly tree branch. You can’t eat it (it’s poisonous), but it does add a note of cheer. Well, almost, anyway.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 6:32 am       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Monday, January 26, 2015
Photo ...

We are now getting a big, nasty snowstorm here in northern NJ. On the eve of the storm, some of my neighbors lifted up there windshield wipers in preparation. I never could figure out why people do this. Up or down, you’re still going to get a lot of snow on your car and will need to clear it off and clean the ice from your windshield. Today I noticed that these wipers look something like arms lifted up to the heavens, petitioning for mercy. Perhaps this is something of a modern talisman, pleading with the snow gods for clemency. I guess that putting your wipers up before a storm satisfies the urge to do SOMETHING, despite the fact that you can’t do a darn thing to stop or alter a snowstorm. I suppose it makes people feel better while waiting for the flakes to fall. As the Tom Petty song goes, the waiting is the hardest part . . .

(Or is it the actual shoveling and then putting up with all the ugly aftermath of a snowstorm in over-crowded suburban NJ?)

P.S. — AFTERMATH: The forecast when I took this shot was for 20 to 24 inches of snow. The final total here was about 4 to 5 inches. As said on the beer commercial: IT’S ONLY WEIRD IF IT DOESN’T WORK.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 11:22 am       Read Comments (3) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Thursday, January 22, 2015
◊  Night Bus
Photo ...

Just some people riding on the 28 bus in Montclair, NJ on a winter’s night.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 8:39 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Photo ...

Just another early sunset in late December.

◊   posted by Jim G @ 4:31 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Photo ...

Some Newark, NJ streetscapes up in the North Ward, on a cold December morning . . .  »  continue reading …

◊   posted by Jim G @ 2:45 pm       Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment
 
 
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