The Continental Divide
1. Last week I picked my great niece up at school and drove her home because she was sick and her mother couldn’t get off work. On the way, we passed the sign posted here, and I had to pull over to snap a photo. Needless to say, my niece didn’t understand my fascination with it.
2. While driving home from her house, out in the Pilot Mountain part of Floyd County, I passed the Eastern Continental Divide, the place in the landscape where water flows in two different directions, in this case, into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf. I had heard that it went through Floyd somewhere, but I didn’t know where. I knew I passed it when I saw a sign hanging from an abandoned corner store that read, “The Continental Divide.”
3. Remember the corner grocery store you could walk to when you were a kid? The one we grew up with (no longer in existence) was called Mercurios. The small town corner store has gone the way of the drive-inn theatre. In Floyd, many abandoned ones are scattered throughout the county. Now people drive to the mall.
4. Two watersheds have created my life. I have mapped out the valleys and mountains of these singing waters in the folds of my grandmother’s quilt and the creases of the palm of my hand. These wrinkles in the landscape, and the waters that created them, carry me home again and again. ~ Jim Minnick. So begins the review I wrote about Jim’s book “A Clear Path,” a past Loose Leaf entry that was published in the Floyd Press last week.
5. Another kind of Continental Divide? This was taken from my Notable Quoteable archive: Republicans and Democrats are like Fords and Chevys. Like the Yankees and the Red Sox, they have an almost irrational need to take sides.
6. Just how much is a billion and how is it our government uses the word in such a casual manner? I saw the following explanation at Lucy’s Frugal Living: 1. A billion seconds ago it was 1959. 2. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. 3. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. 4. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet. 5. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
7. The federal deficit is 8.5 trillion!
8. It’s ironic to me that supposedly conservative presidents seem to spend more than their democrat counterparts, as witnessed by the record breaking deficits of Reagan and George W. Bush. In the case of George W. Bush, he began his presidency with the largest budget surplus in history, created under the Clinton administration. The deficit under George W. Bush is also the largest in history.
9. A google (or googol) is a pretty big number, more than a billion or a trillion. These days, google is also a verb.
10. I googled the word google and got this excerpted reference from the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which is probably where GOOGLE got it’s name: “And are you not,” said Fook, leaning anxiously forward, “a greater analyst than the Googleplex Star Thinker in the Seventh Galaxy of Light and Ingenuity which can calculate the trajectory of every single dust particle throughout a five-week Dangrabad Beta sand blizzard?”
11. From that clip, I would have to surmise that the book is over my head.
12. As far as I’m concerned, diplomatic progress with North Korea made under the Clinton administration was undone in a few seconds when President Bush undiplomatically labeled North Korea as part of the “Axis of Evil.” That, and the fact that we invaded Iraq, a country who had not attacked us or threatened to, caused North Korea to feel threatened enough to think they needed nuclear weapons to protect themselves and led to the showdown we are facing today. The Bush administration’s policy has been “no direct talks” with North Korea, but even Jim Baker, Secretary of State under the first Bush administration, has said, “It’s not appeasement to talk to your enemies.” For more on “Solving the Korean Stalemate,” I recommend yesterday’s New York Times Op-ed by Former President Jimmy Carter, Here. 
13. On a lighter note, Floyd Fandango is coming to town! Hosted by the Floyd Fest folks at the Floyd Fest site, on Saturday, October 21, it boasts a carnival, beer tasting, a ferris wheel, music, sword swallowing, fire eating, vaudeville entertainment and more. Check out HERE.
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here.
View more 13 Thursday’s here.
October 12th, 2006 11:25 am
This was an interesting 13, much more political than usual (and that’s a good thing). I especially like the explanations of billion; it really puts things in perspective.
My 13 is up.
October 12th, 2006 11:42 am
Nice list! I’d like to see the water flowing in different directions, that’d be cool.
Happy TT!
October 12th, 2006 11:43 am
Holy Cow a BILLION times. I so have to check out that site.
Hope your niece is feeling better.
The stores we used to go to are long gone, also. It is such a shame.
I wonder what would happen if we just gave N Korea the food and medicine that they needed and ignored the weapons. “Yes, Dear, you missiles are very nice. Please try not to hurt anyone. Would you like tuna or PBJ for lunch.” Kill them with Kindness. They are like boys in the sandbox seeing how far they can pee….
October 12th, 2006 11:58 am
I don’t remember what the corner grocery store was called in New Market, when I went to visit my grandmom, but they had the best Coke (from the fountain) in the world.
October 12th, 2006 12:03 pm
I so enjoy the Thursday Thirteens. I agree with most of the political observations of yours today. Except with the analysis of the N.Korea problem, but you knew that of me by now. I think the policies of both administrations have failed.
October 12th, 2006 1:45 pm
Those numbers are numbing in so many ways. The comparisons are nice and I agree with your political analysis.
October 12th, 2006 2:05 pm
“…an irrational need to take sides.” That’s a great line.
Ya know, living in LA, there are still lots of neighborhood stores, tho it’s definitely not the same thing. But they’re still mom-n-pop run, which is kinda nice.
~S 🙂
October 12th, 2006 2:15 pm
#7. It’s okay Colleen, many people get the definition of deficit wrong. The national budget is annual event that can result in either a deficit or surplus. The sum of all annual budgets is called the national debt, which now stands above $8.5 Trillion. As a conservative, I want to bring this debt down; however, it looks like Americans are either ignorant of the problem or are not very willing to make painful sacrifices required to reduce it.
War is one of the biggest temporary drivers of an increase in national debt along with recessions and entitlements such as social security, medicare, unemployment insurance, drug prescription benefits, etc. The US national debt increased drastically during the 80’s under Reagan because of Republicans wanting more defense spending and Democrats wanting more entitlements and spending on their social programs. What happened is that Reagan and Congress gave us BOTH increased defense and social spending combined with a recession, tax cuts and record high interest rates on outstanding debt. The result was a rocketing accumulation of debt. Thanks Congress.
It was the elder Republican George Bush that created the Budget Enforcement Act that resulted in better managment of national spending. A period of phenomenal economic growth attributed to increased worker productivity through technology led to a budget surplus in the late 90’s. Sorry, but Clinton, like most presidents, cannot claim credit for favorable business cycles, and conversely, often should not be blamed for recession, although their policies can significantly affect the future for better or worse.
#8. I like how Bush is responsible for deteriorating relations with a rogue state like N. Korea, among a myriad of other ills. It reveals the objectivity of your posts. I have to ask the hard question of who is to blame when we are attacked again with potentially more lethal weapons and we find out we could have prevented it through intervention rather than either sticking our head in the sand and appeasing our enemies or supporting N. Korea so they have more resources to spend on making weapons? Who’s responsible when a slight change in the Geneva Conventions would have prevented another attack, but was blocked by mere partisanship games? Can we really afford to play the “wait and see” game in light of America being targeted by the least democratic regimes time and time again?
October 12th, 2006 2:23 pm
Hi Colleen, Thanks for picking up my little granddaughter Samantha, your great niece. She sure is getting big, eh?
Do you remember dad saying something about not needing to know what a billion was? His reasoning was along the lines that nothing would ever go that high, so why bother (sorry I can’t exactly remember how he used to say it).
I hope people are seeing through the Bush lies. The latest is that he denies a study that says 655,000 Iraqis have died since 2003. He’s saying there has only been 30,000 civilian deaths.
He can’t admit, or even see, that things are a BILLION times more scary since he’s been in office.
October 12th, 2006 4:08 pm
oh yes. yes and yes once again.
the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy is hysterical. you’d love it i’m sure. it’s like sci fi tom robbins.
i’m jealous! i want a floyd style fandago on this continental divide.
October 12th, 2006 6:13 pm
Too many nouns are becoming verbs–googling seems to work so nicely though.
October 12th, 2006 7:22 pm
I feel sad when I see those abandonded stores…
October 12th, 2006 9:56 pm
I think that #13 compensate for all the other stuff 😉
Carnival hah? We have way too little of those over here…
*mutterings*
October 12th, 2006 10:32 pm
i take it that u r not a bush fan . like barbra streisand . me too !
October 12th, 2006 11:41 pm
That was a great piece by Carter.
October 13th, 2006 1:25 am
I was here much earlier and just as I was about to comment, my doorbell rag..! And I’m just getting back to your blog, now!!! (lol)
I amsolutely love the explaination of what a “billion” really is…WOW! That is truly wonderful.
The War in Iraq…All I can see is OY OY OY! Frank Rich has a new book about how we were sold a bill of goods about this terrible war…!
The FloydFandango sounds like such fun! THere are wonderful things going on there in Floyd, Colleen…It is amazing!
Another wonderfully inteeseting and informative TT, my dear. Thank You For That!
October 13th, 2006 7:22 am
those huge numbers are just scary… specially considering what that debt is financing!
It seems to me Floyd hosts many fests, doesn’t it? enjoy it!
October 13th, 2006 9:25 am
Corner Store
By Jonathan Richman:
Well I walked past just yesterday
And I couldn’t bare that new mall no more
I can’t expect you all to see it my way
But you may not know what was there before
And I want them to put back my old corner store.
Well I walked past just like I say
And I felt this hurt that would not go home
I can’t expect that you’re gonna see it my way
But you may not know the trees I’ve known
And I want them to put back my old corner store.
I know it costs more money to shop there
But this was love, this was love
I know you had to pay more money
I’ll pay money, I’ll pay more
I don’t care what the mall has got
I want back that corner store
Bam a nib a nib a nib way oh
Bam a nib a nib a way oh web oh
Bam a nib a nib a no Corner store Corner store
Bam a nib a nib a nib way oh
Bam a nib a nib a way oh web oh
Bam a nib a nib a no Corner store Corner store
And what did I feel when I walked by slow
Sorrow, sorrow, all around
Why I would feel sorrow I now know
I smell a ghost smell from the ground
That old wooden smell from the old corner store
I walked past one final time
And I wished the worst on the place I shop
Now I can’t expect everyone to feel like I am
But I spot a trend that has got to stop
And I want them to put back that old corner store
Bam a nib a nib a nib way oh
Bam a nib a nib a way oh web oh
Bam a nib a nib a no Corner store Corner store
Bam a nib a nib a nib way oh
Bam a nib a nib a way oh web oh
Bam a nib a nib a no Corner store Corner store
______
The president, by the way, is by no means a conservative. He is a fundamentalist, which is almost the exact opposite. not only Barry Goldwater, but also Ronald Reagan would be appalled by the notion that W is considered a conservative~,:^)
October 13th, 2006 9:34 am
Rick! I thought you got lost in a pastry store in Paris! So good to hear from you. I’m going to google that song/poem to learn more about it.
You’re right about the president and I continue to say that having him in office has made moderate conservative Republicans look really good to me, when in the past they didn’t.
October 13th, 2006 9:41 am
Amen sister!
(I hate I will miss Floyd Fandango…and our own little Apple Dumpling Festival, I will be in Tenn. with the family)
October 13th, 2006 10:11 am
That song is on two albums: “It’s Time For Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers” and “Jonathan Goes Country.” The latter is a fantastic country music record featuring some of his rock ‘n’ roll in country flavor. In general, you should get to know Jonathan–I recently wrote about his tormented soul in a post called “Blown Off by Greatness, Part Two” in September. Click the video I posted and bear in mind–he’s about 55 years old, and he is from…Boston.
October 13th, 2006 11:33 am
Hey, this Thurs. 13 could have been really edgy if it were posted on Fri. the 13th but maybe that would spook some people!
I think we all have a Continental Divide within ourselves about an issue or two! I sometimes waver on the summit and jump back and forth at various times!
Corner Stores are lost in a past era and are precious to find now…that penny candy! The jawbreakers (or blackballs that would get your mouth all black!), the all day suckers you’d sit on a rock and lick for an hour with your best friend, the black licorice stick in the lemon gunpowder keg! Eebie-jeebies tablets, Candy necklaces, Lick-a-mades….stop me!
October 13th, 2006 11:38 am
I actually like it when you can play with words and “verbify” nouns (as I just did!)
My cat got her name, “Mooky” because she just had a cool way of “mookying” around the house and yard. It just seemed to describe it perfectly!
October 13th, 2006 12:14 pm
Ah yes, the penny candy store…Pixie sticks, candy cigarettes, fireballs, necco wafters, good and plenty, wax soda bottles…and more.
October 13th, 2006 10:04 pm
What? Necco Wafters? What the heck are they? Can’t believe I missed out on them!
Wax lips and wax thumbs filled with sugary drink, sponge taffy, mo-jos,double bubble,