Some of these anecdotes came from an almanac dated 1855.

Lightning- According to Mr. E. Merriam, of New York, a distinguished scientific writer and practical philosopher, a person struck by lightning should not be given up for dead until at least 3 hours. The first 2 hours, the person should be drenched thoroughly with cold water. If this fails in restoration, then add salt and continue for another hour of drenching. 

Here are a few interesting items about education and money.

Average income in 1855 for each person in Europe and the United States.
England-20cents per day
Ireland-eight cents per day
France-fourteen cents per day
United States-In the most industrious states about 30 cents per day-Average for whole nation is seventeen cents per day

Livestock in the United States-The census of 1850 there was about 600 million dollars worth of livestock in the United States. Their value exceeded that of all manufacturing establishments in the country, and also exceeds the capital invested in commerce, both foreign and inland. [ The Industrial Revolution was in the 1860’s and 1870’s]

Education in the United States- For the free instruction of the people,it seems there are now in the whole United States, in round numbers, 60,000 schools, which are supported at an annual expense of something less than 6 million dollars. More than half of that is expended by the two states of Massachusetts and New York.. In this survey of the common-school facts of the different states, we find little cause for boasting, though much for hope. For though every state in the Union has recognized its duty to see that no child within its borders grows up in ignorance, yet only a few of the states have taken up the subject of universal education with anything like the earnestness which its importance demands. Teachers are ill paid and hence ill qualified; and it is a startling fact that the people of the United States pay half as much every year for the support of their dogs as they do for the education of their children. A well informed man is still a rarity, and multitudes of people ’spell character with a k’ and are ready to affirm that ‘oats is cheaper than they was last year’ [Home Journal 1853-4 ]

Boston was said to be the richest city in the world in proportion to its population in 1853. Each inhabitant was worth $ 1440. if its taxable property was equally divided. By the same rule, each New Yorker was said to be worth half as much, namely $ 584.

According to’ The Boston Traveler’, Boston’s valuation was worth 3 times the State of Maine and a combined valuation of three states combined, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Here is some wisdom on building houses. Never erect a house after you are five and forty. Have five years income in hand before you touch a brick. Always calculate the expense at double the estimate.

I was most interested in the updated lists of banks with Worthless and Uncurrent Bank Notes. This list was for all of New England. Maine had several. Here is the list.

 Worthless-
 Agricultural Bank, Brewer
 Bangor Bank, Bangor
 Bath Bank, Bangor
 Castine Bank, Castine
 Citizen’s Bank, Augusta
 Damariscotta Bank, N obleboro
 Exchange Bank, Portland
Frankfort Bank, Frankfort
Globe Bank, Bangor & Portland
Georgia Lumber Co, Portland
Hallowell & Augusta Bank, Hallowell
Kennebunk Bank, Kennebunk
Kennebec Bank, Hallowell
Lafayette Bank, Bangor
Machias Bank
Bank of Old Town, Orono
Passamaquoddy Bank, Eastport
Penobscot Bank, Bangor
People’s Bank, Bangor
Saco Bank, Saco
St. Croix Bank, Calais
Stillwater Canal Bank, Orono
Waldo Bank, Belfast
Washington Co., Calais
Waterville Bank, Waterville
Wiscasset Bank, Wiscasset
Winthrop Bank, Winthrop
Bangor Commercial Bank, Bangor
City Bank, Portland
Citizen’s Bank, Augusta
Megunticook Bank, Camden
Maine Bank, Portland

Uncurrent-
Calais Bank, Calais
Mercantile Bank, Bangor
Westbrook Bank, Westbrook

Also of interest…..
Massachusetts in Miniature- In 1851 there were 34,235 farms in cultivation and 9637 manufacturing establishments.

Snowstorms and Depth of snow for ten years past. This information came from a writer in the Boston Transcript who furnished it to the almanac.
1843-4/ number of storms was 44/depth 7 feet seven inches
1844-5/number of storms was36/depth 3 feet three inches
1845-6/number of storms was 27/depth 3 feet seven inches
1846-7/number of storms was 32/depth 2 feet eight inches
1847-8/number of storms was 27/depth 2 feet one inch
1848-9/number of storms was 27/depth 3 feet one inch
1849-50/number of storms was 38/ depth 2 feet eleven inches
1850-1/number f storms was 28/ depth 3 feet one inch
1851-2/number of storms was 38/ depth 6 feet three and ½ inches
1852-3/number of storms was 20/ depth 3 feet two inches

 There was much interesting information about the National Debt which was usually in the 75 million dollar range from 1790’s and was somewhat steady until the Civil War when it reached the 2 billion mark.  Maybe this seems like a lot of useless information but it helps to put things into perspective when we can compare to today’s numbers. And of course for any one interested in farming, there is a wealth of information on how to care for your livestock, to rid your crops of pests and how much manure you need for an acre of land…..300 lbs. of guano should suffice.

 

 

 

                     The past few weeks have been spent reading some old farmer’s almanacs from the mid 1800’s. They are full of useful information on being a good farmer. There are anecdotes about being a better person, raising better children, taking care of your orchards, and caring for your animals. I will be inserting some information from these almanacs which I found interesting.

                    The following was taken from an almanac [Robert B.Thomas was the editor/published in Boston] dated 1853

“The Yankee Boy and His Jackknife”

The Yankee Boy, before he’s sent to school,
Well knows the mysteries of that magic tool,
The Pocketknife.
And in the education of the lad
No little part that implement hath had.
His pocketknife to the younger whittler brings
A growing knowledge of material things;
His elder pop-gun with its hickory rod,
Its sharp explosion and rebounding wad,
His corn-stalk fiddle and the deeper tone
That murmurs from his pumpkin leaf trombone,

Conspire to teach the boy
Thus by his genius and his jackknife driven,
Ere long he’ll solve you any problem given,
Make any gimcrack, musical or mute,
A plough, a coach, an organ, or a flute.

 Make It, said I? Ay, when he undertakes it,
He’ll make the thing, and the machine that makes it;
For when his hand’s upon it, you may know
That there’s go in it and he’ll make it go!

    By John Pierpont

 

                    Later, I will be adding more from these almanacs as they are full of fascinating glimpses into yesterday with wisdom for today. This has been a nice week as I am on vacation. We will be spending Thanksgiving with my sister Carol’s family. It will be nice as all the cousins will be there and the kids will have a rip roaring time while the men try to watch football and the women gather in the kitchen to gab. 
                     I have been busy collecting stories from people who remember the plane crash in Redbank , South Portland, Maine in July 1944. I have been researching archives and staying on target with that project. I hope to have a nice collection of stories for SP Historical in the following months. My sister asked me to see If I could find a way to sell that little drawing I did of Redbank, entitled Greetings from Redbank. She was hoping she could get some postcards. So I decided to put them on a website in the event anyone else was interested. I put the design on mugs, pins, notecards, postcards and stickers. I only marked them up between 1-2 dollars, hopefully making them a unique and affordable item for Redbankers. They can be found at www.cafepress.com/redbankgirl    I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your families.

 

 

 

 

                    Seldom do I get sick but I have been treated for asthma complications twice in the past month. Both incidents involved having a cold first. I was put on prednisone and later antibiotics. I am still not 100% but getting there. Thankfully, my ten day vacation starts on Friday.
                     I am not the only one who has been under the weather. My husband, youngest son and my oldest son are fighting colds. My oldest son, Michael, needs extra attention to prevent him contracting pneumonia. I frequently use a cough assist on him, sometimes in the night. If you are not familiar with this machine, it is a marvel. It should be a marvel as the cost is equivalent to a car. However, we all know there is nothing worth more than good health. We will do anything to have good health. A cough assist is a machine used on a patient who is unable to cough mucus unassisted from their lungs. It can be compared to the iron lung of yesterday. Today’s cough assist is a small machine, which is portable and has gauges and dials on the front. When it is plugged in, it makes a loud sound like a respirator. It can be a little frightening. There is a long flexible hose that attaches to a face mask and that is attached to the machine. On the gauge is a needle that needs to be completely verticle when the mask is pushed tightly against the mouth and nose. I help Mike with this and I gently hold the back of his neck when I do it. The needle moves to the far right when he inhales and to the far left when he exhales. We continue this five or 6 times and then he coughs on the 6th time. When he coughs, the air which has entered his lungs forces the mucus to come out of his mouth. Then we repeat this about 6 times. It expands his lungs and keeps him healthier. 
                    Michael called me at work the other day, having some distress with his coughing. I called my youngest son JT who was 5 miles away at his job. He was able to get to the house and help Mike with a treatment. Mike instructed his brother how to use the machine. The following day, I asked my mom to visit and try a treatment on him as well. She had never tried it, but was happy she learned to use it. I am very thankful to have a supportive family because I need it. I have been very aggressive in his treatment because I don’t want him to land in the hospital with pneumonia. This machine is also used for people with Cystic Fibrosis. The world today has seen much integration between man and machinery. Though I am thankful that Mike has all of this marvelous equipment, ultimately as he gets older, as his own guardian he will decide how much more intervention he wants. The complexities of the world are more than my own mind can handle at times. 
                    I have learned to accept many things. It did not come easy to me, almost like doing everything in slow motion with one hand tied behind my back. In the beginning, it was a struggle often to accept my own son’s condition and to see him lose his abilities slowly. I struggle with time management, working full time, being a full time caregiver and trying to meet my own needs as well as the needs of my family. I have had to learn to manage my anger and accept some of it. It is important to me that Mike accepts himself, so I had to also learn that. I would say I have learned the meaning of grace, courage, discipline and sacrifice. My son has been my teacher.
                     It reminds me of a phone conversation with one of my sisters about acceptance. She told me that I have not accepted everything. I said she was correct. I accept things that cannot be helped but those that can be helped, cause me great distress and sometimes anger. Acceptance… I suppose my definition may seem very black and white, but it is my way of prioritizing what is important to me. Yes, I am far from perfect, but I do strive to be true to myself so that I may true to others.

 

                    Last year, I interviewed a few people regarding their recollections of the plane crash in their neighborhood in 1944. I wrote a story about the Redbank Plane Crash posted on this blog  under the category ‘Redbank Years’. It continues to generate traffic each day. It is fortunate that some have chosen to contact me about their memories, so I have made it my mission to collect as many stories as I can while people are willing to share. I will present the collection to South Portland Historical Society. With permission from select families, I will post some of the stories here for people to read, so the stories are not idle on a shelf after they have been revealed. After all, these stories will soon be lost if someone does not collect them.
                     One woman wrote to me and told me about her father’s brother. His name was Edward Gerrish. Mr. Gerrish and his beautiful family lived in the Westbrook Street Trailer Camp, located at 276 Westbrook Street, in South Portland where the plane crashed that day on July 11th, 1944, simply known as the Redbank Plane Crash. This location today is behind Olde English Village Apartments, at the foot of the hill where the Maine Youth Center overlooks the Fore River. Edward Gerrish was age 32 and his wife Virginia Wescott Gerrish was 26 and pregnant with their fifth child on the day of the disaster. Their oldest daughter was Roberta, age 7, son John [Jack] was age 6, and a daughter Rose was age 4 and the youngest was Marion, age 2 ½. The only survivors that day were two of the Gerrish children who were outside playing at the time, Jack and Marion. They survived, according to their family, with burns and injuries from shrapnel. Later they would be sent to live with relatives. John [Jack] died in 2004. Marion is still living but her whereabouts unknown.
                     They located to South Portland from Orono, Maine. At the time, the economic situation in Orono was not good, so Edward decided to move his family to South Portland for work opportunities. He worked at the Shipyard. His plans to live in South Portland were temporary as he and his family planned to move back to Orono when the economic conditions looked better. They had started construction on a home in Orono. The photo of Edward with his three children was taken in front of Gerrish’s store in Orono, owned by his parents. I was curious as to how families were notified of the disaster especially if they lost loved ones. I was told by Edward’s family that his parents in Orono heard of the plane crash when they tuned into the 11:00 PM news on the radio. Families were supposed to be notified by the American Red Cross prior to the news story, however in Gerrish’s case this never happened. It is difficult to imagine being a great distance from family during such a tragedy with communications and travel being what they were in 1944.
                     There was also another gentleman who was a former police officer from Orono who lived near Gerrish, named Charles Mitchel. The family believed he had a wife and two children and they all survived.
                     Edward Gerrish’s niece scanned these pictures as a way to honor her family who perished that day. When I read her family account, it was ‘real’ to see their faces and to see what a nice little family they were. They could be any family. To see Edward Gerrish holding his children on the storefront steps really compelled me think back to the horror that people witnessed that day. Edward’s brother, Stanley, rarely spoke of his brother, sister –in-law and children who perished. According to his daughter Anne, it was just too painful. A memorial for those who perished in the plane crash may be long overdue, simply because it has never been spoken about by those who experienced it, and those lives lost ended with no memory except to the families and people of the neighborhood who lived with the aftermath. Those who perished survive in snapshots and fragmented memories in the minds of family members who keep their lost loved ones close to their hearts. 
                    Neighborhood children, now seniors, perhaps thought they were being bombed, after all it was wartime. Many of them have never spoken of that horrific tragedy they witnessed as children as some of them even lost their classmates. Those seeking to contact me can do so at fiddlinsuz@roadrunner.com

  Thank you to Anne Gerrish Mitchem and her mother for their willingness to share their family’s story along with photographs. It was a privilege to tell their story.




roberta,rose and john

                    It has been a busy few weeks, with the Election being a priority to many of us. It is nice to see so many engaged and becoming active to make a difference in Washington. I am a Conservative…there I said it. It has been a difficult road to be labeled Conservative, mainly because we have not had the best choice of characters looking out for the best interests of our Country. My belief is that I can take care of myself pretty well and want very little government interference, and want NO handouts. If I knew someone needed a hand, I would be there. It is important to me to spend at least 15 hours per week volunteering. I have done this for years. I bet many never knew Conservatives did this.   
                    Unfortunately, whether Democrat of Republican, most of our leaders hold the status of millionaire and will work hard to maintain that wealth. They seem to have no problem lining their own pockets, at our expense. Capitalism is a great thing, but not when the Commoners are the ones who are being robbed. When our Nation began, the idea of a Monarchy was refused. Today, we have many ‘kings’. They steal from us, and have done far worse than the original 23 crimes which England committed against the Colonies, written about in our Declaration of Independence. Frankly, I am appalled that we have not done more to hold out leaders accountable. With that said, may we all work a little less and enjoy a few of the same benefits that our leaders enjoy.  Of course, I do not see any of that in my future, but we can always hope. 
 
 

                    Since my family of Roberts’ came from Saco Street in Westbrook, I have always been curious about the Poorhouse also known as the Almshouse. It abutted my family’s property in the late 1800’s. One can move from household to household when searching   the 1880 census on www.familysearch.org , which is free. In this census, once you know a family name on Saco Street, as it is not divided by streets online, you are able to see the inmates at the Poorhouse. I would like to share the contents of a letter I recently purchased on Ebay for my personal collection written in 1835. It was one sheet of rag paper folded resourcefully with one section containing the contents of the letter and the rest fashioned into an envelope, complete with address. There was no waste with paper materials. When this was written, Maine was only a State for 15 years. President Andrew Jackson, our seventh President, held office at the time this letter was written. Understandably, I get very excited to find a treasure like this on Ebay. 
                     The letter was addressed to Gentlemen Overseers of the Poor of Bingham, County of Somerset, Main. It had been sealed with red sealing wax. Maine was spelled with no ‘e’. Inside the contents are as follows:

Westbrook September 15th, 1835

Gentlemen,

                      Mrs. Abigail Knight an inhabitant of your town has now become chargeable in this town as a pauper. We conceive it necessary to give you this information that you may order her removal or otherwise provide for her as you may judge expedient. We have charged the expence of her support which has already arisen to your town and shall continue to do so long as we are obliged to furnish her with supplies ~ Mrs. Knight is now at the house of Mr. Saml. A. Proctor in our town at an expence of one dollar twenty five cents per week & information we rec’d by Mrs. Proctor, a daughter of Mrs. Knight Certifies that her Mother was Lawfully Married to John Knight formerly a resident in your town.
                      We are Gentlemen with much respect
                      Your Most Obedient Servants

The Gentlemen Selectmen or Overseers of the Poor of the Town of Bingham}

                                                                                    Isaac Mason
                                                                                    Cyrus Cumings } Overseers of the Poor Westbrook
                                                                                    H.C. Babb

 

                    Some of the town reports regarding the almshouse and farm reveal a great deal of the problems of those who were unable to care for themselves, from other towns as well. There was mention in many of the early diaries I have been transcribing of my Roberts family, of having circle at someone’s home and many people in attendance, sometimes fifty. At these circles, women would make clothing for those in need and men would do tasks which were considered men's work. It seemed that men had their circles and women had their circles. There are some old records of the Martha Washington Charitable Society at the Westbrook Historical Society dating early 1840’s which were an attempt to help those less fortunate. I am not sure the inhabitants at the poorhouse would have been recipients of the items sewn at circle. The town considered these folks to be burdens to the town and in many cases, some were sent back to where they previously lived, in some cases to Canada. Inhabitants of Westbrook who had skills needed to sustain the Poorhouse, were compensated for their efforts. One year Lorenzo Towl was reimbursed for mason work $21.96, John Wood, received $17.25, S. E. McLellan, blacksmith work $48.84 and the list goes on and on. Total expenses one year were 1268.32. There is also mention of the Outdoor Poor. I am not sure if that meant that they boarded with families rather than the farm. Some of the itemized costs on this list include: Frenchman’s expenses to Canada $15.00; Amasa Winslow, furnishing coffin Knight Child $ 4.50; S.S. Rich, coffin to French child; Burial of Knight child $8.00; Insane Hospital , 3 qrs., Nettie Libby , $108.74, Insane Hospital Ester Kennard $ 102.22; B.M. Edwards , supplies to French family $2.86; Charles Jameson, board of William Jameson $19.50: Town of Deering, acct. Willie Jameson $79.00
                     Later it was written that Nettie Libby and Esther Kennard were still at the Insane Hospital at the expense of the town. The legislature of 1874 having passed an act looking to the discharge of ‘idiots and incurables’ from the Insane Hospital, we deemed it advisable to make preparations to receive Nettie Libby at the Alms House, and accordingly fitted up two rooms. But fortunately for the town, she is still retained at Augusta. They fitted up two rooms for transient  persons as well. Since September it was written that the Alms House lodged and fed 112 vagrants, also called ‘tramps’. It was reported there was trouble from the tramps from other towns, many from Portland, brought about by the severity of winter and tough times. They were made to pay their way by sawing wood. The Jameson boy from the previous report was being boarded with Mrs. Joseph Barbour at 3 dollars per week, which was paid in equal proportions by the town and by his relatives. 
                     I found it most interesting how many of the troubles within a town were usually handled by the town, in a day when there was not too much help for anyone. If you could not carry your own weight, you were considered a burden. I am glad that some of those attitudes have changed a little over the years. I often wonder what it must have been like to have a serious disability back then. Life was tough , and family and neighbors were a vital part of each family’s survival. Treasures on Ebay… you never know what you may find.

This information is taken from the Portland Maine, City Directory in 1943

Redbank Village in South Portland was in the process of being built and there were only a few streets which had apartments occupied by tenants. They included MacArthur Circle East, North and West and also Wainwright Circle West. The rest of the village was in the process of being built. I am very interested in the early tenants there and hope to do some interviews at some point. I am enclosing a list of the families which were living in the trailer park known as Westbrook Trailer Camp. This is where the plane crash of July 11th,1944 occurred, situated down behind McKenney’s gas station and Olde English Village. Both Redbank and The Westbrook Street Trailer Camp were built to house the thousands of military families who came from all over Maine to work in the shipyards for the War Effort.
 
1943
 Trailer Park-276 Westbrook Street

Arthur M. West
Russell E. Parsons
Joseph A. Jarrett
Roy G. Noyes
Paul O. Gibson
E. R. Tupper
Vance R. Watson
Paul H. Faulkingham
Edward L. Palmer
Alphonse J. Arsenault
George W. Thibideau
Fred J. Wakem
Arthur R. Noyes
Arthur G. Milliken
Fred A. Tapley
Edmund G. Thompson
Guy I. Farrington
James R. Findlay
Granville E. Bickford
Joseph P. Zane
Edward Reynolds
Maurice M. Carr
Donald R. Veazie
Weldon F. Wyman
Earle K. Bowes
Charles O. Chatley
Douglas A. Robbins
Richard M. Holmes
John B. Pelletier
Lawrence W. Arnold
Armand K. Ferlat
Earl N. Dewitt
Fred A. Moore
Melvin S. Kimball
Charles E. Mills
Archie A. Cody
Warren S. Nesbit
Richard R. Noyes
Frank P. Ireland
John D. Scott
Durwood  D. Glidden
Francis J. Goudreault
Elwin S. Barclay
Roy A. Freeman
Joseph P. Ciarrochi
Angus E. Hamm
Joseph Spearin
William S. Stuart
Linwood L. Kennedy
George H. Bowden
James A. Lambert
Joseph P. Gardiner
Cecil R. Brown
Robert O. Gould
Basil E. Perkins
Arthur O. Hersey
Carl E. Steele
Kenneth F. Crockett
Robert D. Smith
Alex J. Dumas
Howard A. Tisdale
Harold F. Jones
Roland  P. Pelletier
Ernest W. White
Lowell M. Barter
Bickford R. Stevens
Morris R. Hall
Herbert R. Robbins
William F. Bathjer
Conrad W. Ekholm
Arthur R. Studer
Merton B. Crow
Earle F. Brown
Thomas E. Murray
Raymond E. Grant
Arthur E. Holt
Leonard St. Germaine
Arthur D. Fletcher
Blaire A. Lloyd
Arthur F. DeVoe
Donald W. Buchanan
Theodore C. Lindquist
Everett L. Morrison
Donald W. Multy
Rodney E. Saunders

These trailers, I am told were in clusters of 4 or 6 and spaces between the clusters. Since these are not alphabetical, I can only guess maybe the names were taken of families in order of how they were situated in the trailer park.

 

 

 

 

                    These cool crisp mornings remind me of my youth walking to school with a gang of kids from my block. We all left our homes around the same time and met our friends and it was a social time before we ventured onto the playground. There would be gangs of kids from other blocks ahead of us and behind us. I was giving thought as to why the Redbank site under South Portland at Mainetoday.com was so popular and I have come to a conclusion. First of all, who would ever imagine that posting my old grammar school pictures would generate a nationwide response? The beauty of it was that it never could have been orchestrated. Classmates.com has been trying to build such a community, but personally I would never pay to belong to a “club”. Why should any of us pay when we are the ones contributing to its success? It would not have been so interesting had it been for just my stories and the few others who wrote stories however the interactive piece formed the success of the site. The comments generated by the many readers who lived there at one time, made it spread like wildfire, all by the grapevine. Then again, that shows you that geography is not all that makes a community. It is the people who foster relationships with those from their neighborhood, long after they leave the neighborhood and move away. I also believe it connected people not only to their neighbors but to their youth. Each generation feels they lived in the best of times are perhaps only yearning for a time when life was simpler. Technology integrated with our faster pace of life is like a train and we are always running to catch up with it. We are getting further away from things which matter most to us. Maybe we are losing some of our connections to people, the earth, and our spiritual being is getting lost in the chaos. Take it easy…. It is Sunday morning.
                     While searching through my traveling desk which is a large bag filled with notes and scraps of paper with ideas for stories, I came across one note. I had been giving a lot of thought about Patrolman Michael Connolly’s death (from my story -The Unsolved Murder of Patrolman Michael Connolly 1930) when I heard a song on the radio. The song was by Cold Play entitled ‘Swallowed by the Sea’. I began to think about the possibility of drowning and actually finding a body on shore. I wonder if he had been washed ashore, that his body would have shown more signs of scraping. Quite often bodies are never found. Then I had a horrific thought that he may have been held over the side of a boat by his feet until he drowned. Maybe his body was thrown on the beach as a warning to others. Then my thoughts went to his cap. The search was endless for his cap. Did someone keep it as a ‘token’? I wonder if, in the chaos of the crime, someone was afraid they misplaced it and it would get into the wrong hands. With technology today, I also wonder if his badge has ever surfaced for sale? After telling his story, I am honored I had that privilege. Maybe one day we will know what really happened.
                     In closing, I must relay a funny story told to me by my longtime friend who is a divorced mom with kids. She is a survivor, one who has been through some very bad times. However she can still get me laughing especially with the following story. She was headed somewhere when she and her adult daughter drove through the Dunkin Donuts drive- thru window. She said her mouth dropped when she witnessed the most gorgeous man she has ever seen lean out the window to talk with them. “His eyes were blue, green, like the ocean and his hair was black with curls.” she replied, “and when I made eye contact I went ‘unconscious’.”  My friend said she asked him if their orders could be separate when he replied, “Of course” in his Russian accent. The window closed and my friend turned to her daughter and asked, “Did you see that guy?” The daughter replied she had not. So my friend said, “When the window opens again, take a good look.” When the Russian man came back he smiled revealing his beautiful white teeth as he delivered their orders. 
                     A few days later my friend decided she would to Dunkin Donuts drive-thru window again. She was hoping to see the Russian again. She was greeted by an older woman. My friend asked, “What happened to that handsome Russian man?” The woman replies, “Oh Vladimir? He went back to Russia.” My friend then told the woman that he was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. The woman responded with a big smile , “Have you seen Rafael? He is from Brazil.”

                    This story is an offshoot of another story I wrote, ‘Homeland Security and Other Tales’. These are times of hysteria and there is plenty we are forced to swallow because of that hysteria. My parents just got back from a trip out West to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and Vegas. Due to complications with flying now, they were on separate flights both ways. It reminds me of all the different tax forms and telecommunications today. In an effort to make them accessible and simple, it's simple all right… simply a mess. Want to live simply? Turn off the television, get a horse and start growing your own food. Anyhow back to the original story. My mother opened one of her bags which had been checked and found a document explaining that her bag had been checked. Read on because it is all about YOUR SAFETY. Of course I am being sarcastic because I think it is really about another one of your lost rights which is cleverly packaged for us to believe it is for our safety. After all, most of us have no intelligence whatsoever.
                     “Transportation Security Administration-Notice of Baggage Inspection- To protect you and your fellow passengers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is required by law* to inspect all checked baggage. As part of this process, some bags are opened and physically inspected. Your bag was among those selected for physical inspection. 
                    During the inspection, your bag and its contents may have been searched for prohibited items. At the completion of the inspection, the contents were returned to your bag.
If the TSA security officer was unable to open your bag for inspection because it was locked, the officer may have been forced to break the locks on your bag. TSA sincerely regrets having to do this, however TSA is not liable for damage to your locks resulting from this necessary security precaution.
                    For packing tips and suggestions on how to secure your baggage during your next trip, please visit: www.tsa.gov . We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact the TSA Contact Center: phone 866-289-9673 (toll free) or email TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov 
                    Explanation of * above:      * Section 110(b) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001,  49 U.S.C. 44901 (c)-(e)”  Also on the back of the document was the Spanish version of the same message.
                    Now, I am wondering why a dog cannot perform the same task as the TSA for all these folks who are checking in and who are also retrieving their baggage? We are so obedient that we fall for such nonsense when we know this was all after the fact of 9/11. Everything life –altering that happens results in the loss of more of our rights. The people responsible for flying into the towers, certainly never believed they would topple both towers, is my own belief. Our anger should be directed at the lack of national security our own leaders did not bother to conform to and we are paying the price. Before you know it, we will have to leave our teeth in the conveyor belt to be x-rayed and we will be flying naked. We will be safe alright in our new police state. Thanks for tuning in today.

 

                    Each country across the globe is populated with diversity. Communities began to change as communications evolved. The talking wires and the iron horse opened communication between cities and towns across America. Telephones and then radios eventually were used in households across the nation. The television was invented and the first computers changed the way people received their information. Growing up as a child in the 1960’s, I spent a great deal of time writing letters and waiting for the mailman every day to bring me some surprise in the mail. I waited for him every day during summer. A great deal of my time as a young teen was spent on my genealogy hobby and many letters were written. I also had 14 pen pals across the globe during my teen years.  I am so amazed each day that I now have access to the internet and I can receive mail 20 times per day if I wish. The internet has changed the world forever and how we are able to retrieve information at our fingertips with the click of a mouse. The world has changed for all of us dramatically. I believe that the internet is the most significant revolutionary change that has changed the lives of all globally. It is comparable to the way flight, and the transcontinental railroad, electricity and radio and telephones changed life at the turn of the last century. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people across the globe received information basically the same way, very slow. The newspaper had articles which covered some local, some state and national and a great deal of international news as well. Today, though we are on information overload sometimes, it is a very exciting time to be alive.
                     The personal computer in nearly every household has made it possible for people with disabilities to start their own business, to no longer be isolated within their own community. The elderly have access to the outside world, and need not be isolated in the cold winter months anymore. The personal computer has changed life. 
                     I often think of the comparisons between the way we send correspondence years ago and today. For instance, I am in possession of photocopies of letters written in the 1860’s from a father in Ireland to his son, in Whitneyville, Maine. I am not sure most people realize the troubles our ancestors faced when the lived in the Old Country. These letters are quite revealing as the father in Ireland had nothing for assets but a small cow and the home he lived in with little. He was very sick. He asked his son to please send him some money. The son became quite prosperous and dutifully sent his father money. The father always thanked his son and told him he had walked for two days across the rugged terrain to Killarney to cash the bank draft. I am sure the condition of these roads has not changed in many years. As he was near his death, he wrote once more to ask for money to help pay for his wake and burial and he had arranged for a longtime friend to loan him the money in good faith. The friend paid for the wake and burial. Many families lost all their children to America. This father had five children and all were in America stretched from coast to coast. Today nearly 150 years later I was able to send transcriptions of those letters to a library near the hometown by internet. How amazing.
                    I have read a few letters from a relative who was a soldier in World War 2 who wrote to his family often and ended each letter with, “Do not worry about me. If you should need anything, please contact the Red Cross” He told of the horrific things he had seen and was unsettled how things were going on with his family at home. He often wrote that he worried about home when he received no mail.
                     My own husband served in both Navy and Army. Our first year of marriage, I saw him 38 days. This was 1985. There was no internet then but we did have telephone. He would call me often when he was stateside, however when he was deployed, I often worried for his safety. He wasn't the best correspondent but I made sure I wrote and numbered each letter on the envelope for him to read in order. I wrote every single evening as it helped me to pass time when he was away. When he went to Kuwait after the war to clean up ordinance, I was also worried. The news would be on 24/7 and I could not watch it. It was too much information and often misleading. Now with the internet, communication for military families is superior. You can see your loved ones on camera and talk with them. They can be with you anytime almost. Yet, it causes great stress because the television, internet, and newspapers are full of 24/7 information. This technology could possibly bring more anxiety at times. My point is that with the intervention of technology, we are no better off than we were before technology in some ways because that element of uncertainty is still there.
                    My brother told me a story of a man who bought a time saving device but had to work two jobs to pay for it. Of course it was a story but things have come full circle when that is happening. My son told me, “Hey Mom, what if you go to work and you have to work longer to pay for your way back home?” I thought that was an interesting statement, due to the costs of fuel now. It is a complex world we all share.
Regarding communications and the internet, I recently submitted ideas to Google for their 10th anniversary, the main reason I have been absent for awhile. I am sure Google was overloaded with thousands of ideas and I wanted to be one of those who contributed. Anyhow, it is good to be back to writing. I have a list of stories to post.