This morning I went looking for a song; I didn’t know the name, but I knew two parts of the lyrics: Frank jumped in and bit my leg and But, she’s cherry. Turns out the song is Classified by C.W. McCall and I managed to find a YouTube version of it.

Now while I was over there at YouTube and in the country western song division, I looked over at the sidebar and saw some  videos of June Carter, before she was June Carter Cash. I listened to a few and then typed Johnny Cash into the search panel. Working my way through, I came to one about the flag – our flag, the U.S. flag – and I listened to it. I listened to it twice.

I thought about a lot of things, not the least of which are the people who have just been so upset with the United States and any show of allegiance. But thought gave way to just feeling and  I realized in my mind, I was back standing at the side of a runway – in the family visitors’ area on a SAC base. The klaxon had sounded and the crews had zoomed off in their blue pick-up.  I stood there with my four-year-old son, watching as B-52 after B-52 came down the runway and lifted into the sky.

I must have been aware of  the roar of the engines, but what struck me most was how the wings were so long, the flapped slightly at the ends. (There were actually little wheels to keep them from scraping the ground.) I was young, the sun was out, the wind up a bit and, for some reason, I just knew it was a drill. It was impressive but it was part of my everyday life.

Looking back, I realize I’m proud of what I witnessed – my husband and others taking responsibility for protecting what that flag stands for – my country, my heritage, and what was then, my future.

THE VIEDO:

VIDEO OF B-52 SCRAMBLE:

And here’s a video of a B-52 minimum time take-off: (It’s 10 minutes long)

Stuff is fairly chockablock here at The Peanut Butter Cafe & Roadhouse and I’m thinking about documenting some of it so that maybe I will see it and not just pass my eyes over it. I don’t know where it will wind up when I am gone, but for now, I’ll let these iphone photos hold the images.

On a window sash:

Just got word of a 2-hour delay for today because of winter weather – ice, snow and wind chill – so that will throw a cog in the make-up snow day scheduling. Oh, well, it gives me an extra two hours before I have to “shoot the slalom run” on the downhill street that empties into the back side of the school parking lot. That route keeps you from encountering school buses on narrow streets both my the middle school and the high school, but it is itself a narrow street on which cars are allowed to park on one side.

Sometimes I think maybe somebody might park a car out there that they wouldn’t mind getting hit by one of those teenage drivers. Oh, such a mind I have.

I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but the last time we had such a strong wind, the garbage bin lid whipped up and smacked me a good one on the forehead. I guess I live sort of a low-rent Garrison Keillor lifestyle sometimes,. (Without his politics)

I believe I’m feeling in the mood for a quick tempo-ed country song –  one with line such as “Frank jumped in and bit my leg”. * Oh, no, am I actually thinking of looking that up on itunes?

Aha, I found it  on YouTube.

This is unusual for me; I am all ready to go to my doctor’s appointment and I have at least an hour before I need to leave. I am in my clothes and not looking for my keys.

This feels so odd.

Well, I am going to brush my teeth once more before I leave – with one of those sonic toothbrushes. It IS possible I could take the brush out of my mouth before I turn it off and fling toothpaste and saliva every which way.

Because we have had so many snow days, schools are making up the time by adding a hour to each day. And because 2-hour delays kept affecting the same two periods, schedules have been revamped to make take that into account. It varies from day-to-day, according to Summer and I her recitation in the car this morning sounded like a code: 4th, 4th, 5th, back to 4th and so forth. This was not the actual list she gave, but it reflects the doubling-up and repetition. Well, as we old folks say, “Not my problem.”  Cold, huh? Well, my empathy reservoir is low.

I hope they don’t have to rush the experiments in Chemistry too much; I’d hate to have the building blow up. You laugh, but I know someone who is married to someone who is related to someone by blood who blew up a chemistry college lab. Now, that will get you noticed. Actually, it might have been the whole chemistry building. You know, I’m going to have to arrange to hear that story again – maybe with sound effects.

I saw an internet sub-headline about a neuroscientist  who discovered he was had a psychopathic brain. It was a brief interview with  TV’s Dr. Gupta. My interest piqued, I looked for more information and found some HERE . I’d like to see a PET scan of my brain – of course, I’m more relaxed looking at the results after making it 65 years without killing anyone.

Well, I am upset, really. I looked at the weather website and saw an ad from NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Company). The little section for the ad was off the the right of all the main information section and I vaguely was aware that it said something about evaluating home power usage. Then as my cursor moved over it on the way to something else, it changed and a picture of a bookcase filled with gnomes appeared, along with the words: Without judging your personal taste.

I’m not going to be my usual sarcastic self here because I don’t want anyone at NIPSCO to accidentally flip a switch or write my address down on a shut off order. No, I am keeping my lips sealed. But I don’t know what some of my little gnomes are going to do, not to mention the red-headed folks at the Peanut Butter Cafe and Roadhouse.

I sat here for a minute or so just staring at the blank for post title. Usually, I just type the first thing that comes into my head, which is more than likely evident.

I just realized one could suppose either my head was empty or I was daydreaming. It was the first; I had no thoughts. Well, I had one: Why did I wake at 5 am and read instead of going back to sleep, leaving myself yawning at 8 am? Maybe the answer is that I am indeed an airhead.

But, of course, that’s not so; that’s just a little self-deprecating remark for the sake of humor. I know I’m bright. So, AmeliaJake, say something smart. Well, okay, let’s assume from this brief experiment that smarts are like the tide and right now, I am low.

Amazingly enough, writing this drivel has perked up my spirits considerably. Or was it the caffeine?

My name is AmeliaJake and I’m a Kook – and proud of it.

As a result of yesterday’s inadequate warm-up, I was left with 1-3+ inches of rutted ice on my driveway and sidewalk. I went out to buy more rock salt, but the shortage is real. So I told the third person I talked to I’d buy some water softener salt pellets.

“But, Ma’am, that’s not for sidewalks”

“It says Morton’s and it says salt; sell it to me.”

The clerk and a bystander were shaking their heads.

Of course it didn’t work perfectly, but it worked enough. Had I more time, I would have made perforation holes to get my shovel an opening to slide under slabs. I did manage to dislodge several big chunks and I FEEL PROUD OF MYSELF.

Oh, no, I just remembered: Pride goeth before a fall. So apropos. Was that a written slip of the tongue. Oh, God, it’s a pun attack.