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Rain, rain, go away
Wednesday, 8:50 am
By Cyn
Mar
31
2010
and don’t come back for a lot of days! There was a sliver of sunshine this morning when I dropped my husband at the train, but it was short lived. A friend from the Berkshires wrote that the daffodils were painting themselves new shades of yellow...........ours here, while not out, are probably rotting in the soil.
We live in a town with rivers that tend to overflow with just a few days of rain, so you can imagine what is going on now. I have a friend who lives VERY close to the river and the last storm a few weeks ago she had over 6’ of water in her basement. I do not even know how you cope with that. Her comment was that she wished these 100 year floods would stop occurring every 5 or 6 years!
But we are lucky, our house sits high enough and even tho we are surrounded on three sides by woods-green belt-and a brook, we do not have an issue. I was watching Dusty (my cat--who SHALL be a topic one of these days) go up and down to the basement through her little cat door and since she has not been taking a life preserver with her or a towel and comes up dry, I figure it is OK. But just to be sure, I just went down and checked and dry as a bone. Neighbors on both sides have sump pumps (plural) and they have been running nonstop.
I joked yesterday about wanting a duckboat to bring me home--they actually are using them in several communities to transport people around. This is just crazy. Rhode Island is really under water.
I take some blame--I bought myself a new car a month ago--a cute little hardtop convertible with a sunroof!! So of course it figures it would rain virtually every day since I got it! But if the weather people are right, I might actually use it this weekend the way it was intended!! And then off to New Orleans for a week. WhooHoo.
Thank you again Kate for allowing me to play in your sandbox!! And thank you to all of you who are actually commenting on my nonsense. I am having fun. Of course I am neglecting my FaceBook page, but maybe that is a good thing!!
Play nice everyone, I am off to work.
Ciao’
A little Boston Trivia for those who are not from here
Wednesday, 8:44 am
By Cyn
Mar
31
2010
The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury.
Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End.
The bridge connecting Boston and Cambridge via Massachusetts Avenue is commonly know as the Harvard Bridge. When it was built, the state offered to name the bridge for the Cambridge school that could present the best claim for the honor. Harvard submitted an essay detailing its contributions to education in America, concluding that it deserved the honor of having a bridge leading into Cambridge named for the institution. MIT did a structural analysis of the bridge and found it so full of defects that they agreed that it should be named for Harvard. This is all true.
There is no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square, and no water on Water Street. Back Bay Boston streets are in alphabetical oddah [order-for the uninitiated]: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, etc. So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc.
If the streets are named after trees (e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you are on Beacon Hill. If they are named after poets, you are in Wellesley.
Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave. Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave. South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End. East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End. The West End and Scully Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Berree, Jamaica Plain is J.P.
Maybe one of these days I will get into pronunciations which can be hilarious!
Could Noah build his ark today?
Wednesday, 8:32 am
By Cyn
Mar
31
2010
So, OK, I mentioned building an ark and a friend sent me this.......................If Noah had lived in the United States today the story may have gone something like this:
And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, “In one year, I am going to make it rain and cover the whole earth with water until all flesh is destroyed. But I want you to save the righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on earth. Therefore, I am commanding you to build an Ark.” In a flash of lightning, God delivered the specifications for an Ark. In fear and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the ark. “Remember,” said the Lord, “you must complete the Ark and bring everything aboard in one year.”
Exactly one year later, fierce storm clouds covered the earth and all the seas of the earth went into a tumult. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard weeping. “Noah!” He shouted. “Where is the Ark?”
“Lord, please forgive me,” cried Noah. “I did my best, but there were big problems.
First, I had to get a permit for construction, and your plans did not meet the building codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and redraw the plans.
Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the Ark needed a sprinkler system and approved floatation devices.
Then, my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.
Then, I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I finally convinced the U.S. Forest Service that I really needed the wood to save the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won’t let me take the 2 owls.
The carpenters formed a union and went on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or hammer. Now, I have 16 carpenters on the Ark, but still no owls.
When I started rounding up the other animals, an animal rights group sued me. They objected to me taking only two of each kind aboard. This suit is pending.
Meanwhile, the EPA notified me that I could not complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn’t take very kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the Universe.
Then, the Army Corps of Engineers demanded a map of the proposed flood plain. I sent them a globe.
Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by not taking atheists aboard.
The IRS has seized my assets, claiming that I’m building the Ark in preparation to flee the country to avoid paying taxes. I just got a notice from the state that I owe them some kind of user tax and failed to register the Ark as a ‘recreational water craft’.
And finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the Ark, saying that since God is flooding the earth, it’s a religious event, and, therefore unconstitutional.
I really don’t think I can finish the Ark for another five or six years.”
Noah waited. The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine, and the seas began to calm. A rainbow arched across the sky.
Noah looked up hopefully. “You mean you’re not going to destroy the earth, Lord?”
“No,” He said sadly. “I don’t have to. The government already has."