Serendipity

55 gallon drum Since my last post ( Still no definitive answer to Leroy students illnesses ), testing has been done and is now completed on  235  (rotting)  barrels that contained soil from wells drilled on the Lehigh Railroad Derailment Superfund site . (I am assuming here that this was when the clean-up after the railroad spill had commenced and they were making sure that the soil--then--was decontaminated .)  According to WKBW , in 32 of those barrels of soil and rock, "   some detectable concentrations of contaminants were found.  However, in all cases the levels of these contaminants were low and are below health-based levels."  In any case, these barrels were moved to a landfill that accepts hazardous waste in Belleville, Michigan. “I am pleased the EPA is removing the barrels from this Superfund site,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee.  “The EPA must now continue testing and monitoring all areas

From 'Journal of Secrets', 2/21/2012 I don't know how many you have heard of the site: " Journal of Secrets " but I have been subscribed to the site for some time now. The thought behind of the site is that anyone can post a "secret" anonymously...whether it be in just a word format or words added to a photo. (And in case you are wondering...no--I haven't ever posted my own secrets there!) Most 'secrets' are not too horrifying and sometimes, I can relate to whatever the poster has wrote, but every once in a while, I find one that sets me back on my heels. The 'secret' above in the photo is the most recent one. Maybe...I just have a morbid imagination, but this one really creeps me out. Something inside my brain is calling "foul" and red flags are waving...is there a double meaning to this photo? Would it be not-so-surprising if there were one? Can we take it at face value and except that whomever sent this in to

a child with a Hula hoop It's been a  funny kind of day today for me...my thoughts have been all over the place, and I have found that my emotions have been too.  I started out the day, feeling at loss over how far my children and I have drifted apart over the last few years...something that I hoped would never happen. Then, it was thoughts about the progress I have made since my breakdown in 2001, and how I have to learn to let go...and let what will be take it's course...it is out of my control. (I am a worrier and tend to take too much to heart sometimes.) Tonight, I can't tell you what brought the thoughts on, but I have sat here for the past hour or so, thinking about all the other toys that I had as a child. Wow...finding the images sure brought back some very fond memories and fun times! So here we go as I take you down memory lane... One of the earliest memories I have is of poppit beads...mine were strictly all white, but I had a lot of them and made

I have always had a love of quotes, and over the last few years have acquired many that I have either added to various photos (my own or others), or have found online...specifically on Facebook. I'd like to share them with you...and let their beauty touch you as they have touched me... [**None of these photos are mine and I claim no ownership of them.]

Every week we are bombarded in the media with articles about teachers going too far in one way or another. For some time though, they have been mostly about teachers that have done the unthinkable: gotten into some kind of romantic and/or sexual affair with a student.  This morning though, I came across an article about a teacher who is also a coach, that went too far in a different way: making "insensitive and vulgar comments in front of students and players", as well as picking on the students that have come down with the mystery illness at Le Roy school in upstate NY. It seems that his insensativity led him to make up a chant while his basketball team (York) was playing against Le Roy's that went:    “One, Two, three, Tourette’s!” And supposedly this was said in the locker room and not on the basketball court. Falk reportedly qualified his ‘joke,’ telling his players, “I’m just kidding.” Well, his kidding cost him...he was removed from the coach position

Yesterday morning, I was watching TV (a program in ID--Investigation Discovery ) when I heard a faint knocking at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone, but got up to see who was here...and it came as no surprise that it was a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses . An older man and woman...Bibles, a fancy leather folder and a carry-all bag in their arms. Fortunately, the way our house is set up, I saw them through I window before I reached the door and decided right then I was not going to open the door. I have dealt with many of them over the years and I don't like the way they try to force you to listen to their spiel . Try to get a straight-forward answer from them about some more difficult aspects of the Bible...and they talk in circles avoiding the question...because they don't know the answer! Don't get me wrong here...I don't have a problem with anyone being religious regardless of what religion that might be. What I do have a problem with though, is h

Valentine's Day: As a child in grade school, I can remember the excitement of coming home a day or two before Valentine's Day to find a brand new, unopened box of those little miniature Valentine cards (with those tiny little envelopes) that I would hand out in school during our party to my classmates. There was nothing like looking through all the cards and sayings while breathing in the smell of new paper! On the day of the party, there was so much excitement when handing out the Valentines to my classmates, sticking each one into a handmade Valentine mailboxes or huge heart-shaped envelopes (depending on the teacher and what we chose to make) that we had made and scotch-taped to the front of our desks. It was a lot of fun delivering them, but even more so opening the ones that I'd received! Once in Junior High (7th & 8th grades) those parties ceased. If I gave out Valentines it was strictly to those friends that I was close to...primarily my best friends an

July 25, 2011 (NY) Religion has always been a touchy subject for me, having grown up in a dual-religion household: Protestant and Catholic. As a child, my parents wanted me to know both of their religions, my dad hoping I would remain a Catholic and my mom wanting me to chose which one was right for me. Problem is...I never did chose...and have been anything but religious all these years. Don't get me wrong...I am not an atheist...but consider myself scientifically oriented and hopefully logical. I am a person that needs concrete proof that something does exist...specifically "God". The Bible alone doesn't cut it for me. I do not disrespect anyone who does believe in God or any of the other deities...it is their choice. Trust me...there are times that I wish I could believe in God...but I struggle too hard against my own logic to attempt believing in something as vague as God.  An interesting opinion/editorial was written by a friend of mine, which is tit

Feb. 11, 2012 Today, as you can see by the photo above, is a dreary kind of stay-inside-kind of day. Not only is it snowing, but it is very cold...some 26°F. (-3°C.) and slightly windy. We aren't expecting a lot of snow over-all...maybe about 3" ( 76.2 mm ) by the time it quits snowing between tonight and tomorrow. I thought this would be another good opportunity to show some photos that I took just this morning... A look toward the hill... Across the valley from us...look at the rolling field... Snow catching on the pine branches... and building on tree limbs... A closer view... A lone leaf blowing in the wind... These pines are lacy-looking with snow on top...  Another tree that's catching the snow. We have been very lucky this Winter with not getting a lot of snow. A local news station, WETM explains:  The jet stream has predominantly been further north this winter season. This has kept cooler air to our north acros

In an article I read yesterday, it spoke of someone who had stepped-up and helped a freezing man who was a long ways from home. A " good Samaritan ". An act of kindness that isn't often reported.  The story goes that the man had gone to the  Seneca Niagara Casino, in Niagara Falls, NY with a friend, but had gotten stranded at the  Tonawanda Reservation   when the 'friend' had left him stranded without  his wallet, identification and his cell phone.  Try as he might, no one would help him or let him use their cell phones so he could call for help. So off he walked and hitch-hiked...landing in Hemlock, NY. By the time he ended-up on the gentleman's doorstep...he had been exposed to the elements for some 17 hours, wearing only " work boots, good jeans and a New York Yankees sweatshirt". Joe Cicero...although cautious...helped the man, warming him up in his garage by having him stand near glass ovens, and fed him left-overs from the supper he a

There are still no answers forthcoming as to what has caused 19 students in LeRoy, NY to develop uncontrollable twitching. In the past week, a new theory was suggested: that social media is to blame. As a form of mass hysteria, experts are now suggesting that the use of Facebook and other various forms of social media are spreading these symptoms through the students like wildfire. According to  Dr. Laszlo Mechtler , chief of neurology at the Dent Neurologic Institute in Buffalo, these students know each other...some are best friends...their bodies are picking up these symptoms and it's going from one student to the next and on to the next. That means that the brain is actually subconsciously mimicking the twitching felt by others. While the exact neurologic pathway is still unclear, researchers believe the common factor is stress and anxiety. Mechtler emphasized that the girls are not faking their twitching. And it all comes back to the original ideas that this is part

Tucker As I may have mentioned in an earlier blog, when I came back from Wisconsin last October, I moved in with my brother, my niece and their dog Tucker (a Springer Spaniel). Life here has been very pleasant for me, and very much different than having lived with my daughter and three grand-children. I am used to living with dogs...I've had them most of my life, all kinds of breeds and sizes, so nothing really surprises me, except for their individual personalities. I am used to accidents they may make and have no problem cleaning them up...some one has to, you know? Well, Tucker is no exception...he has his own unique personality, complete with quirks...which make us laugh! In this video is one of his quirks...going around and around and around... Anyway, we changed dog foods about a week ago, which was a HUGE mistake. Tucker is already a very gassy dog and as anyone knows, there is almost nothing worse than dog farts. Ugh! This new food really made him even ga

Leroy High School, Leroy, NY A news story that I have been following for close to a month now, comes from a town about an hour away from me where 15 students (and now one adult) have been mysteriously afflicted with tics that are so bad that at least two female students have been pulled out of school and are now being home schooled. What amazes me about this is that no one seems to agree as to what is causing the illness. The students have been checked by various doctors and the theories and diagnoses abound: Tourette-syndrome , PANDAS ( Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) , and Conversion Disorder . However, no one knows for sure. Is it something in the water? In the 1970's there was a railroad  spill of toxic chemicals: dumping a ton of cyanide crystals and gallons of Trichloroethene, or TCE’s. Even as I write this, more testing of the ground and water around the area continues. Late last week, Erin