Loose Leaf Notes

1. The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence but the sky is always bluer on the side of new adventure.

2. You can take that bank shot to the bank! HERE. 

3. The canaries in the mine / are singing in January / a swan song for fire tides / and an arctic flood of plastic / The buds have opened their eyes / only to have them poked out / Migrating flocks are flying in circles / while bears in caves are having bad dreams. – From Slow Burn

4. Hooked or hoodwinked?

5. “Hoodwink,” also meaning “to trick or deceive,” harks back to the original meaning of “wink,” which was “to close one’s eyes firmly,” not the brief “wink” we know today. To “hoodwink” in the 16th century was to blindfold with a hood (as in preparation for execution), a tactic also commonly used by thieves. This 16th-century term soon came to be used figuratively for veiling the truth.

6. Here’s why writing things out by hand makes you smarter -The benefits of handwriting — though it’s a disappearing skill — have been documented by lots of educational psychologists, who have found that handwriting engages parts of the brain that typing neglects, especially areas associated with memory formation. For these reasons, the arguments go, kids come up with more ideas when they’re writing in cursive versus typing. More HERE. 

7. There is no magic pill / for a beanstalk escape / no way to break a spring fever / that comes in the winter / that lulls and teases us with song – More from Slow Burn HERE. 

8. You’ve heard about the gun rights rally in Richmond but probably not about Gun Control advocates lobbying lawmakers to support gun control legislation that same day. The group, representing March for Our Lives, the national grassroots group started by survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, spent the night in the offices of Delegates Chris Hurst and Dan Helmer, both Democratic members of the state House of Delegates who offered the accommodations so the group wouldn’t have to walk through Monday’s rally. More HERE.

9. “And our congressman was there to celebrate the birthday of a national hero assassinated by gun by participating in a gun rally.” – A Floyd Facebook friend

10. “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

11. Truth Sandwich – 1. Start with the truth. The first frame gets the advantage. 2. Indicate the lie. Avoid amplifying the specific language if possible. 3. Return to the truth. Always repeat truths more than lies. Truth Sandwich Time (8:29) HERE.

12. When Jim and Dan were in Virginia visiting me, Dan was proud to show off his new 2001 golden-beige Toyota Tundra to me.  “I never would want a brand new car or truck.  You need so much insurance and have to worry about every scratch,” I complained. “Well that worry is out of the way,” Dan said, referring to the big scratch on the fender.  Then he said something about it being the last truck he would have, so why not get the truck of his dreams. He had wanted Jim to have the Tundra if his liver transplant didn’t come through, and he took out a credit life insurance policy on it, just in case. Dan was not married, so he made my mother the beneficiary of his assets.  The Tundra was the last detail in closing down Dan’s life.  It sat in my mother’s driveway for a couple of months while we waited for the claim to go through. Finally when it did, my mother called to tell me. “It’s like the pot of gold at the end of Dan’s rainbow,” I said relieved.  “Dan’s taking good care of you and dad in your old age.” I added. – From The Jim and Dan Stories Chapter 10 HERE.

13. How to make a rainbow HERE.’

___________Thirteen Thursday