Still to do-Cement on approach plus backyard sidewalk, paint siding (white), dirt work in the backyard and that is on the outside. Next Spring will be exciting and busy. The fruits of our labor will become apparent.
Friday, October 16
Thursday, October 15
BRRR!
36 degrees as I write! Too Cold! The garage door is supposed to be installed this afternoon and then we can turn on the heat in the pool hall. That should help. I dashed out and took a few pictures. I will place them at the bottom of this post. But first...
Many of you know about the class of '61 and a few classes on either side who have moved back to Jefferson after many years away. There are quite a few of us and we ordinarily have gatherings throughout the year. But this year is an exception. I read a Facebook entry a while back that said 2020 should qualify as a swearword and I must agree. So when you say "What the 2020!" everyone knows you have let loose with a very naughty expletive. But I digress. We women of Jefferson, or a few of the women of Jefferson, met at Russell Park wearing masks and socially distancing. We always have a good time at these functions and this was no exception.
In reference to the paragraph above we have another member of the class of '61 returning to Jefferson to live and be in the company of people she met in kindergarten. Jan Durlam Mitchell will be moving here from Arizona in a couple of weeks. And since we are still waiting for our MoHo we may get to at least say hello when she arrives. She will be about 3 blocks from us. We hope to see more of her next summer. She likes to play pool.
My friend Mickey has been doing a craft this summer that I am sure many of you might have an interest in undertaking. Mickey's daughter Dena introduced her to it. Mickey found an old welcome mat in her shed that had a pattern of leaves. She painted the leaves in an array of fall colors, sprayed it with polyurethane, and now has a very unique welcome mat that catches everyone's eye. A few years ago I bought a welcome mat at Costco and it has been on our front steps ever since. It looks much different now that Mickey did her magic for me.
And here are the photos I dashed out to take this morning. Russ had another job that took him away for a few days so I had to fill in as Butch's assistant. It was fine. We work well together after 61years of practice. However, I am very glad Russ is back. It goes faster and with greater precision when Russ is working.
Wednesday, October 14
RRVT BRIDGE IN GREENE COUNTY IOWA DELAYED TO 2021
Every now and then someone will ask me if the bridge is fixed on the bike trail and very sadly it is not. But there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
Here is an article addressing the issue.
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/10/13/rrvt-bridge-in-greene-county-delayed-to-2021/
Sunday, October 11
The floor is down!
Yesterday we put down the floor covering in the Pool Hall. We now have to wait for it to cure before we can resume the work on the interior.
I simply must thank Jason many times over because without his help who knows how it would have gone. Yeah, JASON!
There has been interest in what we used and here is a picture.
We used two of these kits. They assured me everything I needed was included. I was somewhat familiar because several years ago the pool hall floor in Magnolia park had a similar treatment. As always magnolia resident volunteers did the work.
More pictures later when we are free to tread on it.
What's it all about.
I think this is an excellent column by my friend Colleen. This happens to be my blog and it is my privilege to post what appeals to me. So if it fails to please you just pass on by. Maybe you will like one at another time.
Barb B.
Democracy, oligarchy, socialism, capitalism, populism, fascism
October 7, 2020
~a column by Colleen O’Brien
Traditional democrats (that’s lowercase democrats – citizens of democracies, not the American political party) who live a relatively comfortable life don’t understand the appeal of populism.
Populism is a form of salvation to people who don’t understand why they aren’t as comfortable as the next guy. Or who begrudge the elite (which means different things to different populists, some of them being elites themselves). Or who are tired of local and federal institutions that they believe take advantage of them, forget them, or punish them with regulations.
Democracies are difficult to keep alive and well because they demand a huge amount of study of all issues, and not just by elected officials but by citizens. There is a lot of time invested in considering problems from dozens of viewpoints. And in the end, there is a compromise, a hateful word to plenty of people. All of these are things that most of us humans after a while are just not willing to do, or we want others to do them, or we conveniently forget that they need to be done – even if we know these behaviors keep a democracy from deteriorating.
Most of us who are relatively comfortable are oblivious to hardship surrounding us but not touching us; the other half are tired of hardship whether it’s low-paying jobs or taxes of any kind (the uber-rich complain about taxes more than anybody, and they also get more tax breaks).
It is at this point that a guy (usually it’s a guy) comes along and talks plain. People like it when he says “damn” or other expletives just like they do. He harangues the “haves” and promises great things to the “have-nots.” He gets elected.
To the dismay of the “elites,” the “comfortable,” the democratically complacent, their country is now led by “the wrong type.”
This newly elected fellow is a populist, and his brand of leadership is populism. It has been making inroads since WWII when democracy made the world safe from fascists, demagogues, strongmen, oligarchs, and plutocrats.
Modern populism is run by fascists, demagogues, strongmen, oligarchs, plutocrats, and communists. So, I don’t know why people like populism so much when democracy is the only form of government that truly – in fact – is the form of government that has been devised for the people.
The problem is that the people have to be involved fully for it not to turn into one of those other forms of government.
The dissatisfaction of half a country’s population is going to result in some kind of change. In this country the change was soft – no guns, no revolution, just a democratic election where we all, including the fellow who ran, were shocked when he won: the populist was elected by a loose thread – the unraveling of democracy.
Those of us who were laissez-faire citizens of the democracy, although stunned, continued with hope that all would turn out okay, our democracy being so strong and reliable. Those who voted for the populist were over-the-moon, believing they were now on top. Or at least had a foothold on the ladder because of their champion.
Then two situations came along that revealed the underbelly of populism. The rise of citizen protests against policemen murdering Blacks and a lethal pandemic that also kills.
The two horrors were allowed to divide the country. And here we are, still watching Black people being shot to death, and after seven or eight months of a virus ranging freely, more than 209,000 are dead from it.
The divide, at least in our country, took on drastic and visible lines of demarcation. Law and order came to mean beat down the protestors and get them off the streets. The democracy side of the drama came alive with grandmas protecting the protestors from local police, state guards, ICE cops, federal guns, and possies of populist right-wingers who showed up w/ rifles.
And here we are four long populist years later, coming up on another election; this time knowing what the result will be: an increasing devolution of a government trying in fits and starts to run of, by, and for the people. It is on its way to what the voters thought was escape but is in reality a reality show of being led by no one who cares about them, their jobs, education, or healthcare. And once the democracy withers away in the back pocket of populism, there will be no backup from nearly 250 years of a democracy striving for social justice.
A plutocracy or oligarchy is not interested in promoting social justice for the lowly. It means government-run by charisma, by friends of the charismatic, by people of wealth to whom money means more than freedom of speech, by those who disdain poor people because they don’t make money. It means no more institutions that help spread the wealth – public schooling, not-for-profit hospitals, the roads in front of one’s house, libraries, scientific weather reports….
Populism is a political approach that appeals to people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. It’s a hoodwink.
If democracy dies because of a lack of the constant attention it needs, and if populism survives as a smokescreen for oligarchs, our future looks bleak. Capitalism without socialism is a rich-man’s world. Right now, we operate under both these economic systems; and it works when the word socialism isn’t constantly misrepresented. Under populism, only capitalism will flourish. Think we’re bad off now?
Surely, we can come to agreement before we find ourselves looking across a wider divide than we’re already living – among friends, within families, at war against the simple thoughtfulness of wearing a face mask.
We’re all wondering which coin is going to land face up.
Jay Kelly - September 3, 1943 - October 08, 2020
When we were in Magnolia Park, Jay and Joyce Kelly were our RV neighbors for several winters. We enjoyed their company very much. I have received word of Jay's passing. Thank You, Deon, for the information. Barb B.
Here is a bit more about Jay.
Jay Kelly of Atkinson Nebraska passed on Thursday, October 8 after contracting the Corona Virus. He and his family thought he was out of the woods but as is so often the case, he ended up with pneumonia. Jay is survived by his wife Joyce, one son Jeffery Kelly and his wife Kathleen, and one sister Rose Kelly. Memorial services will be at a later date.
Jay was a wonderful musician who played a "mean fiddle" as well as being an outstanding guitar player. He was well known in the Rio Grande Valley and in the last few years, he had his own bluegrass band which one of the pictures below shows. He and his band raised money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
Jay and his musical talents will be missed by all who knew him but not just for his music but because he was a good and decent man, always willing to share his knowledge and never too busy to answer questions.
These are some pictures that I have taken of Jay over the years while in Magnolia Park.
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