It's that time again - time to review the past year and make resolutions for the new year. I only had two resolutions to keep in 2009 and I'm not sure either was kept. I vowed to speak kindly to others and hope they would do the same. I also vowed to find joy in living.
Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain and I speak without thinking. So, Speak Kindly and Thoughtfully goes on my list for 2010.
For the most part, I did find joy in living, but have also found that as I get older, I dwell on the past more than is necessary. While I treasure my family and friends, I miss those who have already passed on.
In memory of my mother, who passed away three years ago in early December, the following photograph is shared with you. My mother, myself, my daughter and granddaughter represent four generations as captured in 2003.
One new resolution is being added. I promise to learn something new in 2010. It might be a new skill in research or perhaps in technology.
Oh, oh! Another resolution. I am determined to become a better photographer. I love taking photos, but need to learn better techniques.
That's enough with the resolutions. These will keep me busy for at least a year.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My New Year's Resolutions
It's that time again - time to review the past year and make resolutions for the new year. I only had two resolutions to keep in 2009 and I'm not sure either was kept. I vowed to speak kindly to others and hope they would do the same. I also vowed to find joy in living.
Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain and I speak without thinking. So, Speak Kindly and Thoughtfully goes on my list for 2010.
For the most part, I did find joy in living, but have also found that as I get older, I dwell on the past more than is necessary. While I treasure my family and friends, I miss those who have already passed on.
In memory of my mother, who passed away three years ago in early December, the following photograph is shared with you. My mother, myself, my daughter and granddaughter represent four generations as captured in 2003.
One new resolution is being added. I promise to learn something new in 2010. It might be a new skill in research or perhaps in technology.
Oh, oh! Another resolution. I am determined to become a better photographer. I love taking photos, but need to learn better techniques.
That's enough with the resolutions. These will keep me busy for at least a year.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Caroling in Jail
A story on the local TV news station Christmas night caused me to do some thinking. A group from an area church went Christmas caroling in the county jail. They sang traditional songs of the season to men who are behind bars because they broke the law. The men were shown looking through glass windows and bars at the carolers.
I could not help but wonder what these inmates were thinking as they heard "Silent Night, Holy Night," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Were they thinking they, too, would be home if they had not done something illegal? Were they wondering how their behavior had affected their families? Were they sorry for what they had done? Would being in jail over Christmas act as a deterrent to breaking the law in the future?
Did the caroling help the prisoners or did it just make them bitter? What do you think?
I could not help but wonder what these inmates were thinking as they heard "Silent Night, Holy Night," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Were they thinking they, too, would be home if they had not done something illegal? Were they wondering how their behavior had affected their families? Were they sorry for what they had done? Would being in jail over Christmas act as a deterrent to breaking the law in the future?
Did the caroling help the prisoners or did it just make them bitter? What do you think?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Different View
I live on the far east side of the city and my view of the river has become ordinary. So ... I went on the west side of the city for a different view.
This is what I saw:
And this:
And I turned a bit and saw the football stadium of my old high school.
A different view is good. An enlarged view (by clicking on the photo) is even better.
This is what I saw:
And this:
And I turned a bit and saw the football stadium of my old high school.
A different view is good. An enlarged view (by clicking on the photo) is even better.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The Wonderful Type Writer Machine
Most of us would be lost without our computers. We have forgotten that it wasn't that long ago that we had only machines that printed letters. They did not calculate, sort, store or do any of the other functions we rely on our computers to do.
These machines, called type writers, were new in 1876 and they promised to revolutionize the business world. The following article appeared in the Evansville Journal of the 21st of March 1876.
For several days there has been exhibited in the reading room of the St. George Hotel a mechanical invention called the "type writer," which is wonderful indeed in its accomplishment and really establishes a very important principle in combining the two departments comprising the "art preservative" - writing and printing. It is a handsome and small iron-cased box, with several rows of keys arranged like a key board of a piano, each key representing a letter of the alphabet, a punctuation sign, or a figure. By manipulating these keys with the fingers, the various characters are printed on paper, and instead of miserable chirography you have a handsomely printed sheet of paper. The keys may be worked more rapidly than you may write, and it is claimed that with the aid of the machine, one may write with three fold rapidity.
The invention is wonderful and worthy of close inspection. These machines are rapidly coming into vogue in this country among the classes of writers who have a great deal of writing to do in a very little time. The mode of operating does not cause any of the "cramped" feeling in the fingers, which frequently ends in what is called "pen paralysis."
We've come a long way.
These machines, called type writers, were new in 1876 and they promised to revolutionize the business world. The following article appeared in the Evansville Journal of the 21st of March 1876.
For several days there has been exhibited in the reading room of the St. George Hotel a mechanical invention called the "type writer," which is wonderful indeed in its accomplishment and really establishes a very important principle in combining the two departments comprising the "art preservative" - writing and printing. It is a handsome and small iron-cased box, with several rows of keys arranged like a key board of a piano, each key representing a letter of the alphabet, a punctuation sign, or a figure. By manipulating these keys with the fingers, the various characters are printed on paper, and instead of miserable chirography you have a handsomely printed sheet of paper. The keys may be worked more rapidly than you may write, and it is claimed that with the aid of the machine, one may write with three fold rapidity.
The invention is wonderful and worthy of close inspection. These machines are rapidly coming into vogue in this country among the classes of writers who have a great deal of writing to do in a very little time. The mode of operating does not cause any of the "cramped" feeling in the fingers, which frequently ends in what is called "pen paralysis."
We've come a long way.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Well, here I am - the same place as last year - without words as I wait for part of my family to arrive for Thanksgiving. So, if you don't mind, I'll do other things to occupy my time and mind while I "worry them home." In the meantime, I hope all is well in your world and you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Changing Shapes
Nothing stays the same. Buildings, like people, grow old and their shapes change. This is what happened to a building in Pontiac, Michigan, where my family spent a lot of years. But first, let me tell you how the building came to be.
After serving as Chief Engineer of Oakland Automobile Company, the predecessor of Pontiac Motors, Benjamin Jerome Sr. opened Jerome Motors on South Saginaw Street in Pontiac, Michigan in the early 1930s.
As a dealer of Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs and LaSalles, the company managed to remain open through World War II, when automobiles took a back seat to the war effort by concentrating on selling used cars.
The photo below shows the dealership as it looked during the early 1950s. Busy place. Note the showroom facing South Saginaw Street on the left side of the photo.
In November 1967, ground was broken for a new facility "at the top of Woodward Avenue" and the business moved. The old building was used for other purposes and the first changes to its shape were made.
The building that housed the original dealership still stands in Pontiac, but South Saginaw Street is now called Wide Track. The showroom has been enclosed, but the lines and architecture identify this as a structure from the 1930s. The business was sold in 1985 and the dealership was moved to Rochester Hills.
I love the clean lines of the building.
After serving as Chief Engineer of Oakland Automobile Company, the predecessor of Pontiac Motors, Benjamin Jerome Sr. opened Jerome Motors on South Saginaw Street in Pontiac, Michigan in the early 1930s.
As a dealer of Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs and LaSalles, the company managed to remain open through World War II, when automobiles took a back seat to the war effort by concentrating on selling used cars.
The photo below shows the dealership as it looked during the early 1950s. Busy place. Note the showroom facing South Saginaw Street on the left side of the photo.
In November 1967, ground was broken for a new facility "at the top of Woodward Avenue" and the business moved. The old building was used for other purposes and the first changes to its shape were made.
The building that housed the original dealership still stands in Pontiac, but South Saginaw Street is now called Wide Track. The showroom has been enclosed, but the lines and architecture identify this as a structure from the 1930s. The business was sold in 1985 and the dealership was moved to Rochester Hills.
I love the clean lines of the building.
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