Enhancing Your Sense Of Smell....and Protecting Your Health! Story

It was an ordinary day. Reading an article in my daily newspaper titled "Enhancing Your Smell - and Protecting Your Health!"  Story began with....Wake up and smell the roses - or lavender, or any of a bouquet of scents!  A new study shows that a decline in......or loss of your sense of smell can be linked to invlammation and any of 139 medical conditions, from Alzheimer's disease to depression, sues dysfunction, restless leg syndrome and Zika/Guillain-Brre syndrome.  But other studies show that providing yourself with an enriched exposure to various odors can help protect your memory and actually encourage you to b more physically active and adventurous.  It can also slow th progression of dementia.  Researchers from the University of California, Irvine found the when folks gs 60 to 85 were exposed to a different pleasing smell (rose, orange, eucalyptus, lemon peppermint, rosemary and lavender) for two hours a night for a week, their memory, language skills and emotional well-being improved 226%.  Another study found that being exposed to four scents twice a day for five months boosted verbal skills and reduced depression.  That's because when your brain registers an aroma, it affects your blood pressure, emotions, breathing and memory.  Using aromatherapy for a coupe of hours a night may raise your spirits, sharpen your wits, and make the room smell great.  But talk to your doctor first if you have allergies, asthma, are pregnant or have high blood pressure.  For information on how to give it a try, her out Dr. Mike's favorite site for aromatherapy, aeroscena.com.  And explore these articles: ""Essential Oils for Instant Focus" and "top 13 Essential Oils an how They Can Benefit Your Health" a iHerb.com/blog.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.     

The World Welcomes Arrival of 2025

It was an ordinary day.  From Sydney to Paris to China, communities around the world welcomed 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and pyrotechnics.  The New Year's Eve ball dropped in soggy Times Square, where thousands of revelers stuck it out in heavy rain to celebrate the start of 2025 in New York City.  Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball dropped in Time Square.  Auckland was the first major city to celebrate, with thronging downtown or climbing the city's ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point.  Conflict muted acknowledgment of the 2025 in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.  American Samoa was among the last to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.  A few hours after Auckland, fireworks blasted off Australia's Syney Harbor Bridge and across the bay.  More than a million people gathered at iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration.  British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd.  The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land's first people.  In New York City, crowds cheered and couples kissed when the ball weighing almost 6 tons an featuring 2,688 crystal triangles descended down a pole in Times Square.  The revelry culminated with a canoe party and a carpeting of soggy confetti as attendees left singing along to Frank Sinatra's version of "New York, New York."  Las Vegas' pyrotechnic show washed on the Strip, wit 340,000 people anticipated as fireworks were launched from the rooftops of casinos.  Much of Japan shout down ahead of the nation's biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a through cleaning.  The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth - alluding to the reptile's shedding skin.  Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later, with the Lunar New Year.  Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year's greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between two leaders who face tensions with the West.  Xi told Putin their countries will "always move forward hand in hand," the official Xinhua News Agency said. Paris capped a momentous 2024 wit its traditional countdown and fireworks extravaganza on the Champs-Elysées.  The city's emblematic Arc de Triumph monument was turned into a giant tableau for a light sow that celebrated the city's landmarks and the passage of time with whirring clocks.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Fireworks explode over Sydney Opera House in Australia

The "Labor Day Fashion Rules"

"Ever hear that you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day?  The "rule" ma have stemmed from practicality.  Prior to the advent of air conditioning, clothing cinches were important when trying to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  Whites and lighter-weight fabrics were more popular djong the warmer months, and ini the winter, people naturally switched to darker colors and heavier fabrics.  Perhaps since people already chose light colors to stay cool in the summer, the fahinon world went ahead and made the rule an official one.  Once Labor Day (the unofficial end of summer) arrived, it was time to retire those whites.  However, others speculate that the rule came from the fashion practices of the wealthy.  In the early 1900s, those who were well-to-do often favored lightw3ght, bright, clothing, like white linen suits and breezy dresses. Wearing white after Labor Day meant you were someone who had the means to have end-of-su,,er vacations. Wearing your whites beyond labradoodles Day was just, well....showiing off.  Some historians believe that this rule was actually a way for the wealthy to separate themselves from the working class.  Not only could they afford vacation - and the expensive clothes to math - but they didn't do the kind of work that stained their white clothes.  Middle-class laborers, on the other hand, often wore darker colors, even in the summer, to hide the dirt and grime that accumulated after a hard day's work.  By the 1950s, not wearing white avatar Labor Day was a firm rule among the wealthy, who regarded it as a symbol of refinement.  The "new money" types weren't always as well-versed in the rules of etiquette and made these types of fashinson faux pas.  In fact, those who adopted the "no white after Labor Day" rule where often seen more favorably, as ambitious up-and-comers were willing to learn the rules surrounding their new social circle.  As with most things in fashion, rules are meant to be broken.  Breaking the norm, many fashion enthusiasts happily flaunt their withe attire even after Labor Day.  Back in the 1920s, fasinnon icon Coco Chanel revolutionized the industry y keeping white as a permanent staple in her wardrobe, regardless of the season.  Even today, may modern fashion elites follow this trend by wearing white all year round.  While there are still those woh consider post-Labor Day white clothing a no-no, plenty of fashion-forward people say if you have a flattering garment you love, wear it whenever you want, no matter the color and no matter the season.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Why Is Lindley Murray's Name Written In Bronze?" Story

It was an ordinary day. Reading about Roberta Strickler wandering by the bronze lion fountain in Reservoir Park and wondered why six Lancaster County men's signatures are engraved on small bronze plaques around the curved foundation.  "What do these men have in common?" asks the Lancaster resident who formerly wrote for the Lancaster Newspaper.  "And who the heck is Lindley Murray, relatively speaking?"  The other five men named on the fountain are James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States; Benjamin West, famed 18th-century artist; George Ross, signer of the Declaration of independence; Robert Fulton, inventor of the first commercially successful steamboat; and Thaddeus Stevens, Lancaster's Republican representative during the Civil War and Reconstruction.  All of these men were born in the 18th century, and all but Ross lived well into the 19th century.  All but West and Stevens were born in Lancaster County. West visited Lancaster and painted several portraits here, and Stevens spent the most important decades of his life here.  But Lindley Murray -- a Quaker lawyer, writer and grammarian who lived in England for much of his life???  What qualifies him to join the others?  Murray (1745-1826) may be obscure now, but literate Americans would have recognized the name in 1905, the year Blanche Levin completed the lion sculpture.  Author of "English Grammar," the most popular grammar book of the late 18th century and well into the 19th, Murray was as we'll known as William H. McGuffey (1800-1873), editor of the "McGuffey's Readers" that educated generations of American youth in the 19th century well into the 20th.  That both men, and especially Murray, are not widely known today underscores the obvious: those who write seminal books dedicated to improved reading ability and good grammar are not rock stars of the likes of leading politicians, pointers and inventors.  Murray's association with Lancaster is tenuous.  He lived the first six years of his life along Swatara Creek in what was then Lancaster County and now is Dauphin County.  Then he attended a Quaker school in Philadelphia.  His family moved to North Carolina and then New York, where Murray studied law.  Murray married and moved to England in 1784.  He spent his last four decades there, writing a number of books about grammar and other subjects.  Although there is no evidence that Murray set foot in present-day Lancaster County, some historians and journalists long have claimed him as one of this county's greatest men of literature.  The Lancaster Inquirer of Nov. 11, 1893, introduced Murray with this pointed paragraph:  "There was probably no writer for young persons more widely read, painfully studied and generally unpopular in the early part of this century than Lindley Murray, and it was the opinion of school boys of that time that he had conceived and written his English grammar especially too torture them."  A Lancaster Intelligencer article in 1927 asserted more positively that Murray, along with the artist Lloyd Mifflin, of Columbia, "are probably the two best known Lancaster county writers."  Beyond Lancaster and in this century, a renowned linguist's 2018 essay for English Today, titled "The HUGE Presence of Lidley Murray," credited Murray as "the most popular grammarian of the late 18th and perhaps the entire 19th century."  Perhaps not a distinction to warrant being memorialized along with Thaddeus Stevens and Robert Fulton.  But, clearly Murray had a major influence on generations of suffering students and aspiring scribblers.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Bronze Lion Fountain in Lancaster's Reservoir Park

Carter Was Calm During TMI Crisis Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about former President Jimmy Carter's trip to central Pennsylvania in the wake of the most serious accident at a commercial nuclear plant in U.S. history.  Carter died this past Sunday after starting hospice care in February 2023.  He was 100 years old.  Carter visited the region April 1, 1979 - four days after the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant's Unit 2 reactor.  I can still remember that day.  Local officials at the time said Carter's visit helped to quell panic in people living near the plant and gave a needed morale boost.  "My primary concern in coming here this afternoon has been to learn as much as I possibly can as President about the problems at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and to assure the people of this region that everything possible is being done and will be done to cope with these problems," Carter said that day.  One of my sons was celebrating his birthday that particular day and had his friends to our house in nearby Lancaster for a birthday party.  I can remember a call to the local hospital I made to find out about what should be done about our party.  We were told to stay indoors instead of allowing the children to be outside...just in case.  Carter said the levels of radiation coming from the plant were safe and promised an investigation into the incident.  It was later determined that a combination of human error and technical error caused the reactor to lose cooling water, exposing the core and putting the plant at risk of a meltdown.  Carter trained as a nuclear engineer.  TMI was not his first brush with a nuclear crisis.  In 1952, Carter led a Navy crew that helped safely dismantle the damaged Chalk River reactor in Ontario, Canada.  Mechanical problems and human error at that experimental reactor led to overheating fuel rods and significant damage to the reactor core.  Carter supported nuclear power as "an energy source of last resort" to help lessen reliance on foreign oil.  The incident at TMI sparked a backlash that significantly slowed the industry's growth in the U.S. according to the Energy Information Administration.  Plans for 67 nuclear power plants were canceled between 1979 and 1988.  Many plants that had started the lengthy permit process in the 1970s continued to come online through the early 1990s.  Only two new plants have come online in the U.S. in the past years.  TMI-2 never reopened after the accident.  A subsidiary of Utah-based EnergySolutions is now cleaning up at the site.  TMI's Unit 1 reactor, owned by Exelond, generated power until Sept. 20, 2019.  It shut down because it was not economically competitive with other energy sources such as natural gas.  This year the plant announced plans to reopen, fueled by a deal to provide emission-free electricity to Microsoft.  PS - I guess that since Carter made it to 100....the nuclear accident during my son's birthday party didn't cause any problems for the children that were attending the party!     

Brothers Learn Of War Coincidence Over Dinner

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in my Lancaster Newspaper's "I Know A Story" section.  It was submitted by Mr. Randy Flahart and was about Pop Flahart, who served in the 301st Signal Operation Battalion which was attached to Patton's 3rd Army during World War II.  Story began with Randy talking about his brother, Smokeym who was inn an armored unit, also serving in the 3rd Army.  But they did't have contact wutg each Iger during the war.  During the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Army turned north to attack the remain flank in an attempt to break the siege at Bastogne.  On Christmas Eve 1944, Pop's unit was in Luxembourg City.  Pop and his buddies found an empty building across the street from headquarters, thinking hey could sleep indoors for the first time in a long time.  Just as they were settling in, a sergeant came and told them they had to move.   Their Jeeps were adding to the traffic problem and crating a target.  They told him they had orders to stay there so they could be found when needed.  The sergeant left but it wasn't long before an officer came and made them move to the green (town park) down the street.  Looked like they were sleeping outside again.  When they arrived, there was a tank parked on the other side of the green.  They settled in, but the ink kept starting its engine on the hour token its batteries charged.  Just before daylight, the tank started its engines and left the green.  When Pop's group went back to headquarters, they saw that the building they're planning on staying in had taken a direct hit from a German shell during the night and caved in completely.  It turned out to be good that the officer made them leave.   You might have even called it a Christmas miracle.  The rest of the story came years later, while the family was sitting around the table after Christmas dinner.  The were talking about places they had been on Christmas.  Smokey started talking about Christmas Eve 1944, spent on the green in Luxembourg.  The Germans had been shelling the town from a rail car gun during the night.  Just before sunup, he got orders to late the gun and try to stop it.  They started their engine and left the green.  They found the tunnel the rail gun was hiding in and fired at it just as it was coming out to fire again, putting it out of service.  Pop and his brother had spent Christmas Eve together on the green in Luxembourg.  And they never even knew it until years later.  The author of this story lives in nearby Quarryville, Pennsylvania.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

"Tsunami Anniversary Draws Tears" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article in my morning newspaper titled "Tsunami Anniversary Draws Tears."  The sub-head read: "South Asians gather to mourn losses 20 years after massive quake, wave."  Story reads as:  BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia'a Aceh province Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history's worst natural disasters.  Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, were more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried.  It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's northernmost province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered.  "We miss them, and we still don't know where they are.  All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Shue and Siron," said Muhamad Amirudin, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and has never found their bodies.  "this life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others," Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, said.  The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa.  Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.  More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.  Even though 20 years have passed, survivors in Indonesia ae still grieving the love ones they lost to the giant wave that flattened buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.  Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh.  Sirens sounded across the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake.  Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami struck.  Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of incoming tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.  In Thailand, people gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country.  The tsunami claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who remain missing, leaving a deep scar in the nation's history.  Nearly 400 bodies remain unclaimed.  Mourners shed tears and comforted each other as they laid flowers at the village's tsunami memorial.  Around 300 people joined a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist prayers.  Uri Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year because the loss of her 4-year-old daughter still cuts deep everytime she's reminded of it.  "I have this feeling that the sea has taken my child.  I'm very angry with it.  I can't even put my foot in the water," she said.  But, she said, "I still hear her voice in my ears, that she's calling for me.  I can't abandon her.  So I have to be here, forty child."  In India, hundreds gathered at Marina beach in the southern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state.  They poured milk into the sea to propitiate gods and offered flowers and prayers for the dead as drums beat ini th background.  According to official data, 10, 749 people were killed in India, including nearly 7,000 people in Tamil Nadu Annie.  In Sri Lanka, survivors and relatives of tsunami victims gathered at the coastal village of Pereliya and laid flowers at a memorial that commemorates nearly 2,000 passengers whooped when their train, the Queen of the Sea, was hit by the wave.  Only a few dozen people are believed to have survived.  Overall, more than 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka in the tsunami.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The Scribbler: Wright's Live, Written For The Young" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading Jack Brubaker's "The Scribbler" article in my local Sunday News titled "Colonial Pa.'s 'Suzy' Wright gets some long-deserved book" story.  As usual, Jack's writing is remarkable.  I will share a part of his story about Susanna Wright, of Wright's Ferry on the Susquehanna with you as today's story.  The book is one of the of the most detailed published studies of Wright's life which was from 1697-1784.  But, the work, with all its lush photographs, focuses on the mansion and its collections more than Wright and her family.  Somehow a more lively, but abbreviated story of Wright's life for young readers had escaped the Scribbler's notice until now.  Eight years ago, Teri Kanefield, a writer and lawyer who lived in San Francisco published "The Extraordinary Suzy Wright: A Colonial Women on the Frontier," an oversize and amply illustrated exploration of the highlights of Wright's life.  Susanna, or "Suzy," Wright, daughter of the wealthy Quaker John Wright, who ran the ferry at Wright's Ferry, now known as Columbia, Pennsylvania, was a significant poet, as well as a lawyer, doctor and silk manufacturer.  She corresponded regularly with Benjamin Franklin, James Logan and other leaders of Colonial Pennsylvania.  These activities have been thoroughly explored in Schaefer's book and briefer studies of Wright's life and works.  What distinguishes Kanefield's book, besides its target audience and picture-rich layout, is her emphasis on Susanna Wright as a trail-blazing woman in early America.  Wright was probably the second woman to practice law in the British colonies.  She was one of the first American women to operate a business when she raised silkworms and made silk - an enterprise she began when she was in her 70s.  She was one of the few 18th-century women to act as a political adviser and activist.  She helped Benjamin Franklin assemble horses and wagons for General Edward Braddock's ill-fated expedition to capture Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.  She also provided detailed information to Franklin that he used to condemn the Paxton Rangers. for massacring the Conestoga Indians in 1763.  She was one of the foremost female poets of 18th century America.  In one of her poems - "To Eliza Norris - at Fairhill" - she advocated equal rights for women long before many owe, let alone men, seriously considered the possibility.  In another poem, "The Grove," Wright described a beautiful grove of trees that were destroyed.  The poem seems to be an allegory about Penn's Woods, where the Quaker's plan for peace was ruined, as Kanefield writes, "by human greed, war and 'turbulent spirits.'"  "The more I learned about Suzy," Kanefield concludes of her research for this book, "the more I found to admire - from her love of books to her hatred of violence.  I discovered in her life and ideals a new look at our nation's beginnings."  While this is a book that the Scribbler would recommend for any young reader, he should point out a misjudgment by the author.  Summing up the impact Quakers in general had on early America, Kanefield quotes a well known aphorism - "They came to do good and did very well" - without explanation.  In Kanefield's positive context, she implies the Quakers simply accomplished the good works the set out do in Pennsylvania.  But, that's not what the phrase means.  It means that the Quakers, not unlike settlers of other religions who coupled high ideals with capitalist ventures, did good deeds while doing very well financially.  Otherwise, this is a splendid book about a great, and good, Quaker leader.  Interesting read if you can find a copy.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Life-Changing??? No More Common Sickness??? Too Good To Be True??? Yeah...Right!! Story

It was an ordinary day.  The following is a story I read in my November/December 2024 Saturday Evening Post.  The story was by Doug Cornell, PhD.  I found it interesting....but not sure how well it might work.  I am posting it for you to read so you too might read it and judge what you read for yourself and your family.  I am not recommending anything in the story, but just thought it was an interesting read.  Perhaps I may try it in the near future, but as of today, I have not tried or have recommended anything that you may read about in this story.  Reading that most of us live our lives expecting to get sick now and again, but it doesn't have to be that way!  Medicine cabinets are full of remedies for after we get sick.  Wouldn't it be better not to get sick in the first place?  Scientists have found a natural way to kill germs that cause common illnesses before we get sick.  That's life changing!  Don't just reduce symptoms with costly meds.  Avoid the symptoms completely.  *Kill the viruses that cause colds, flu, Covid, cold sores, and fever blisters!  *Kill the fungus that cause sinus trouble and mold allergies.  *Kill the microbes that steal your sleep with congestion and stuffiness.  *Kill the bacteria that cause pinkeye, styes, thrush, ringworm, and other infections, even after they have started.  Scientific studies prove pure copper kills germs instantly, just by touch.  That's why ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Aztecs used copper to stop sore throats and skin infections and to heal wounds.  They didn't know about bacteria and viruses.....but now we do.  Thousands of people use pure copper now to kill germs that cause sickness.  High-power microscopes show germs like the Covid virus starting to die instantly when copper touches them.  The NIH, EPA, and other authorities all vouch for the power of copper to kill germs.  It even kills those really bad antibiotic-resistant germs, too.  Scientists say the high conductance of copper disrupts the electrical balance in germ cells, destroying them in seconds.  The EPA urged hospitals to use copper for surfaces like faucets and doorknobs.  Those that did cut the spread of bad germs by over half, and saved lives.  The strong proof gave inventor Doug Cornell an idea.  He had been getting 2-3 bad colds a year.  So in 2012 he made a smooth copper probe with a tip to reach where germs collect in the nostril.  The next time he felt a tickle in his nose, which warned him he was about get a cold, he touched the copper gently to the tickle spot for 60 seconds.  "It worked!  The cold never started," he exclaimed.  "Now I use it at any warning sign of cold or flu."  Since then he's gone over 12 years without a single cold.  He asked relatives and friends to try it.  All said it worked, so he patented it, called it CopperZap and put it on the market.  Soon hundreds had tried it.  Over 99% said CopperZap worked if they used it right away at the first sign of bad germs, like a tickle in their nose or a scratchy throat.  The handle is curved and textured to make more contact with your fingers.  If you touch items sick folks have touched, pure copper can kill germs you pick up.  With over 100,000 sold, nearly all the reviews are 5-star.  Longtime users say they haven't been sick in years.  EPS tests show tarnish does not reduce copper's germ-killing power.  CopperZaps (Registered) are easy to use, easy to clean, and include directions.  Made in the USA of pure American copper.  Price is $79.95. Yikes!!  Get $10 off each with code SATP14.  Buy once, use forever.  Never wears out. (As of now!)  Money back guarantee.  Save on meds.  Save on time.  Cut stress.  Sleep better.  Probably live longer, too.  Users say "Best Money I ever spent" and "Worth every penny."  Copper Zap LLC is top-rated by Better Business Bureau, with zero complaints.  Order at www.CopperZap.com or call toll-free 888-411-6114, 9-4 Pacific time.  Real people in the US answer the phone.  *Statements not evaluated by the FDA.  Not claimed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  I, too, do not claim that it will work for you.....or me!  Will I give it a try?  I'm not sure!  I'll have to be really....really sick before I spend the money not knowing it will work or not.  If you do buy the product, post a comment at the end of this story telling me how well it worked for you!  I won't buy it until I get a few "GOOD" comments from my readers.  Best of luck for those that give it a try!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Photograph Of Lancaster Featured In New York Times" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article in my Lancaster Newspaper which featured scenes of Lancaster County Amish farmers that were presented in a New York Times profile of a National Geographic photographer.  Lose you yet!  Photographer George Steinmetz spoke to the Times about his new book, "Feed the Planet," which featured 300 photos depicting food production across 40 countries.  Those photos include scenes from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, including aerial photos of farmland.  The story, which was published November 23, and was reported from Paradise, follows Steinmetz on a return trip to Lancaster County to "get a better shot."  "The prize - and the challenge - are the stewards: the Lutheran separatists known as the Amish, whose commitment to antique ethics and deep insularity illustrate some rich paradoxes of our ever-expanding, yet persistently local agricultural needs," the story reads.  "Jima and preserves go to local tourist shops, pumpkins to Connecticut, and milk and cattle to buyers around the country."  "Feed the planet" continues Steinmetz's visual exploration of food production, which started during a 2013 assignment for National Geographic.  In 2022, Steinmetz spoke at the Ware Center for an event hosted by "Hourglass Lancaster."  Read the New York Times story at land.news/steinmetznyt.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

George Steinmetz captured Amish dairy farmers harvesting corn.

The "We Three Kings Of Orient Are....Or.....The Last King Standing!"

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to remember if I ever wrote a story about singing with my dad and our family doctor, Dr. James Martin, during a Christmas service at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I've searched my old stories and can't seem to find any story about the three of us singing together, but that doesn't mean we didn't  do it and I just didn't title my story so as to help me recognize it when the next Christmas rolled around.  Well, just in case, I thought I would post a story once again telling of the three of us portraying the three of Orient.  It all began years ago when the three of us portrayed the three Kings of Orient in St. James Episcopal Church's Christmas Eve service.  We all sang the "We Three Kings of Orient" as part of the church pageant at the early evening Christmas Service when all the children were still able to make it to church without falling asleep.  If I remember, Dr. Martin lead the song singing the verse where he would sing "Gold I bring to crown Him again...etc. with my Dad chiming in with verse No. 2 which was "Frankincense to offer have I...etc. with me finishing the third verse with Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume...Breathes a life of gathering gloom.  We all finished the song together with.... Glorius now behold Him arise....etc.  Each one of us had to walk slowly down the center aisle of the church when it was our turn to sing our verse and eventually we all ended with the final verse with the entire congregation singing the final verse of the hymn with us.  What made the entire event so dramatic was the outfits that we each had to wear when it was our time to walk down the center aisle of the church.  Both my dad and Dr. Martin were fantastic singers and performed quite a bit over the years, but for me it was a rather scary situation since I had to make sure I didn't trip on my costume while following in my hymn book to make sure I was singing the proper song verse while walking down the aisle.  I had the chance to perform my part of the hymn for close to 10 years before either my dad or Dr. Martin was no longer able to take part in the hymn.  I loved the outfit that I had to wear since it added about three feet to the top of my head and made everyone look at my costume for most of the time and not just me as I wound my way down the center aisle in the church.  The three of us sang the hymn together at Christmas for close to 10 years before Dr. Martin was called away from the church for a medical emergency.  I have posted the photograph of the three of us as "The Three Kings" so you could see how we looked during our walk down the center aisle of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, PA.  Those are some of the best times I can remember while singing in the St. James Church choir with my dad and Dr. Martin.  When the pageant was over, we all had the honor of marching back to rear of the church one more time so everyone in the congregation could see our costumes for the service.  I'm so glad that I had found the old photo from back in the mid-1950s.  Both my father and Dr. Martin have passed.   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

left-right: Yours truly, Dr. Martin, Paul Woods

The "I Know A Story" Story...Bob Hope's Show Brought Bit of Home To Soldiers in Vietnam

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that was published in the "Living Section" of my Sunday newspaper.  The "I Know A Story" story is publish every Sunday, usually in the "Living Section of the newspaper.  Today's story was titled "Bob Hope's show brought bit of home to soldiers in Vietnam."  The story was submitted by Dan Jerchau.  It read... During Christmas of 1971, I was stationed in Da Nam, Vietnam.  Each year, the USO would entertain troops with Christmas shows all over the world - wherever soldiers were stationed.  The biggest show was the Bob Hope show.  It was held at the Freedom Hill Post Exchange, where there was an amphitheater carved into the side of a hill on the base.  Right next to the theater was the Freedom Hill Post Exchange or PX.  That was like a huge Walmart for the military, where you could buy anything you wanted.  I bought my stereo there, and my Minolta camera.  There was talk of who was going to get tickets at our post to see Bob's show.  We knew a small number of us would get to see the performance.  Since I was only a Private First Class, I knew I most likely would not get a ticket.  I remember stepping out of my hooch, and I passed some soldiers walking in the other direction.  One of those guys stopped and asked, "Would you like to go to the Bob Hope show tomorrow."  I answered, "Yes, I would love to go but I'm not sure how to get a ticket."  The guy said, "Well, I got one, and I can't go.  Here's your ticket."  He handed me his ticket.  Wow!  I saw many Bob Hope shows on TV while I was at home, but it was a big deal to get to see him in person.  This was the first time I was ever away from home, not to mention away from my family at Christmas.  The next day, all of the soldiers were seated, long before Bob Hope showed up.  His crew had done all the preparations in advance of his arrival.  Suddenly, someone yelled, "Here they come!"  Six helicopters headed our way with a huge CH-47 Chinook helicopter out in the lead.  Five Huey (smaller helicopters) were behind in a "v" formation.  As they approached, the five Hueys popped red smoke grenades attached to their skids and all six helicopters flew over the amphitheater at only 100 feet, streaming red smoke.  It was quite a grand entrance.  All of them landed quickly, right beside the amphitheater.  It turns out the the lead Chinook was Bob Hope's aircraft.  He climbed out of the helicopter, along with about 25 beautiful girls, and about 15,000 soldiers went absolutely nuts.  Bob came out and said, " I heard that you can always  tell a soldier who is stationed at Da Nang.  His hair is parted down the middle from enemy 122mm rockets that roar overhead every night!"  Jim Nabors was there and sang a song.  The Golddiggers danced, and Ann-Margret was there, too.  The wonderful show lasted about an hour.  You could tell Bob Hope was the real deal.  He really did care about us.  He stressed over and over that he was proud of us and he could think of no better place to spend Christmas than with us in Vietnam.  At the very end of his show, he always had a pretty girl sing "Silent Night."  Then everyone was invited to sing with her.  I saw soldiers wiping tears from their eyes as we sang.  I was one of them.  I will ever forget the sound of 15,000 Army, Navy and Marine soldiers singing "Silent Night," and how Hope brought us all together on Christmas of 1971 in a war-torn land 12,000 miles from home.  Bob Hope did this every Christmas during World War II, the Korean War and all the way through the Vietnam War.  God Bless You Bob!!!  The author of this story, Dan Jerchau,  lives in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

Merry Christmas To All & To All A Good Night!

It was an ordinary day.  Almost!  The New York Sun received the following letter in 1897.  The response which follows, written by the editor and veteran journalist Francis Pharcellus Church, was printed in "The Sun" as an unsigned editorial September 21, 1897.  The work has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.  It's an LNP/LancasterONline tradition to publish it before Christmas...and now will become a tradition for my blog...

Yes, Virginia. . .

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.   Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.  Papa says, "If you see it in "The Sun" it's so."  Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?   Virginia O'Hanlon, 115 W. 95th St., NY.

Dear Virginia, Your little friends are wrong.  They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.  They do not believe except (what) they see.  They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their own little minds.  All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's, women's or children's, are little.  In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  He exists as certain as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.  Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.  It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginia.  There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.  We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.  The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.  Not believe in Santa Claus!  You might as well not believe in fairies!  You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?  Nobody sees the real Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.  The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn?  Of course not, but that's not proof that they are not there.  Nobody can conceive or image all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.  You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.  Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.  It is all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.  No Santa Claus!  Thank God he lives, and he lives forever.  A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.  So...from my house to your house...Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!  May Santa bring you all the wonderful things that you are hoping for this Christmas Day and may you obtain all that you are hoping for in the coming year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy!       

"Polarization" is the word of the Year! Story

It was an ordinary day.  The results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election rattled the country and sent shock waves across the world - or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask.  Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is "polarization"?  "Polarization means division, but it's a very specific kind of division," said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. "Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center."  The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was an existential threat to the nation.  According to the AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 Kamala Harris voters were very or somewhat concerned that Donald Trump's views - but not Harris' - were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the same way about Harris - but not Trump.  The Marrian-Webster entry for "Polarization" reflects scientific and metaphorical definitions.  It's most commonly used to mean "causing strong disagreement between opposing factions or groupings."  Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million page views a month on its site, closes its word of the year based on data, tracking a rise in search and usage.  Last year's pick was "authentic."  This year's comes as large swaths off the U.S struggle to reach consensus on what is real.  "It's always been important to me that the dictionary serve as a kind of neutral and objective arbiter of meaning for everybody," Sokolowski said.  "It's a kind of backstop for meaning in an era of fake news, alternative facts, whatever you want to say about the value of a word's meaning in the culture."  "Polarization" extends beyond political connotations.  It's used to highlight fresh cracks and deep rifts alike in pop culture, tech trends and other industries.  All the scrutiny over Taylor Swift's private jet usage?  Polarizing.  Beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake?  Polarizing.  The International Olympic Committee's decision to strip American gymnast Jordan Chjiles of her bronze medal after the Paris Games?  You guessed it.....polarizing.  Other top words were "demure," "fortnight," "totality," "resonate," "allusion," "weird," "cognitive," " pander" and - consistently one of the most looked up since it was the first word of the year in 2003 - "democracy."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.