Thankful Sunday--July 12, 2015

Our library group lining up for the parade with the stacks of books and signs we carried.

I am thankful for the community I live in.

I live in a small community that was originally a rural farming town. While there are still farms around, it now might be better described as a suburban bedroom community for Washington, D. C. However, it still has its small town feel from years ago. That was evidenced this past weekend by Celebrate Mayfield* Days. This is an annual event that brings the area together for a little old fashioned fun. Friday night was a parade with fireworks afterwards and Saturday had the streets lined with vendors and activities for everyone.

Friday night I marched in the parade with my coworkers representing the Mayfield library. We were joined by 80 other groups from churches, youth organizations, and local businesses. And as always, Santa was the last one in the parade for a little Christmas in July. Whoever didn't happen to be in the parade was set up along the route with their picnic suppers watching. Although it was hotter than I would have liked, I had a lot of fun walking along and hearing the crowd cheer for the library as well as waving to my friends along the route.

Fireworks from Mayfield Days

After the parade Ward joined me at the fair grounds for the fire department chicken dinner which is one of their big fund raisers every year. As we were finishing our dinner, it was getting dark and it was time to find our spot to watch the fireworks. While there were plenty of people around, we had no problem finding a place for our blanket. The fire department put on a good show.  I could get a little mushy here and say that Ward and I felt like we were dating again. He has been working a lot of overtime recently and we haven't had much time to see each other. However, Friday was just about perfect as we snuggled together watching the lights in the sky.    Yes, that was a little too mushy. :)

Saturday had flea markets, a banana split eating contest, and a fun run among many other activities. I think you're getting the idea. I live in a place where simple things are still enjoyed. And for that I am thankful.  

*The name has been changed to be consistent with the Leave It to Beaver aliases.

A Second Look--July 8, 2015

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

The goldfinch are particularly bright during mating season.

Even though the deer have eaten most of the day lily booms. I can still find them here and there.

Grandaddy long leg's spider.

Hosta bloom

Can you find the well camouflaged toad?

The trumpet lilies are starting to fade.

Cameleon plant--This is a very pretty ground cover that the deer leave alone. However, like many ground covers, it really spreads. Knowing this, I planted it in a small area surrounded by concrete on all four sides. However, it has still managed to escape, but is not out of control.

The wren has added another egg and more feathers to line the nest.

Usually we see the hummingbirds hovering over the feeder as they drink the nectar. This one decided to stay awhile and rest her wings while she was sipping.

Driver's Licenses

The other day, I was reading an Archie comic from 1942 that got me wondering about something. The comic starts out with Archie in his new jalopy telling Betty that he just learned to drive yesterday. Just learned to drive yesterday and is now driving his own car? No time with a learner's permit? Could you indeed get a driver's license that fast or did you even have to have one in the early 1940's?

I had never really thought about it before, so I did some poking around and here a few of the things I found out. The first licenses were issued by Massachusetts and Missouri in 1903, but they were more like an ID card and no exam was required to get them. In 1908, Rhode Island was the first state that made you show your driving skills before they would issue you a license, and in 1913, New Jersey made you pass both a written and driving test before you could get a license just like today. Washington state was a bit more casual in the early 1920's when they only made you sign a paper that said you were a safe driver. No exams required. By 1935, 39 states issued driver's licenses but most of those did not require you to drive to get them. The last state to join the others and require a driving exam was North Dakota in 1959. I guess what all of this early history means is that it may have been entirely possible for Archie to have only learned to drive yesterday and be driving a car he owned the next day. And if you know Archie, he may have needed a little more experience before he set off on his own. But then I guess, there would be no story. :)

When I learned how to drive, I had to pass a written exam to get a learner's permit and a driver's test that required the dreaded parallel parking to get a official license. When I went to take my driving test, I was very nervous about the parking, but hoped for the best. My tester for the day got in the car with me and told me to drive down the road. (In our area, we had no official driving course, you just did what the policeman said.) It was a curvy two lane road which was typical for the area. After a little of this, he asked me to pull off into a gravel parking lot at a church and turn around. That was it. No three-point turns, no parallel parking, just an easy turn and back down the road to the police station. It was as simple as that and I had my license. I don't know whether the policeman was tired or I looked like I knew what I was doing, but I realize that I got lucky that day.

By the time my sons were getting their driver's licenses, things were a lot different. After getting the learner's permit, they had to log a lot of hours of different kinds of driving. Testing took place at a course designed to test various driving skills including the dreaded parallel parking. What I thought was really smart was the parking was the first thing on the course. If you couldn't do that, you immediately failed and didn't take up any extra time on the rest of the test. I thought that was a good efficiency measure on the part of the testing center.

So what did you have to do to get a driver's license?

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What to know some more details about licensing?

http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_8_2.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_5552087_history-drivers-license.html

Thankful Sunday--July 5, 2015

I am thankful for the bird feeder baffle.

We spent a long time trying to outsmart the squirrels from getting into the bird feeder with no success. Finally, this baffle seemed to do the trick. Oh, occasionally they get past it, but mostly they are baffled. :) Now the poor squirrels have to eat the abundant acorns, walnuts, and berries in the yard, as well as the dropped seeds below the feeder. But I guess to the squirrel, the seeds are always tastier when they come from the feeder. :)

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July

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Enjoy your day as we celebrate the 

239th birthday of our Nation.