I should limit that title.  Manhattan is the only part of New York I have ever experienced except for La Guardia.  But I do love it.  And, I love New Yorkers.

What brings this on all of a sudden you might ask?  I was just listening to the radio and someone was complaining about New Yorkers and how they are cold and not helpful if you call in to their 1-800 lines for service.  I just can’t agree with this from my own experience.  Yes, I do love St Louisians but I also love New Yorkers.

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to work for a major international company with offices in New York.  I had never been there but had seen the city via TV and movies all my life.  From Rockefeller Center to the Empire State Building to the Twin Towers to the Statue of Liberty, I had seen it all and ached to see it in person.  It did not let me down.

I arrived in NYC right after Thanksgiving in 1999 and stayed at a great hotel in Manhattan, near the Waldorf.  Unbelievable sites for a Midwestern girl.  Yes, I had been to Chicago, to London, to Miami, and to other lesser cities.  But NYC will knock you off your feet.  I arrived late day and didn’t have my interviews until early the next morning so I unpacked and headed right for the streets for a walk.  Past Radio City Music Hall, past Times Square, rounded a corner and there it was, the giant Christmas tree and the ice skating rink.  I had seen these all my life but never in person.  It was magical.  And, every time I got a bit lost, I would ask someone if they could help me and they always did.  Plus, they offered advice on other things I might want to see.  How could you have a bad impression of that wonderful city or it’s wonderful, friendly people?  Perhaps I had ‘country bumpkin’ stamped on my forehead but I somehow think the people would have helped anyone.  They love their city and want to share it too. 

A month later, after I was hired, I went back to NYC and was joined by 3 other new hires from around the country.  We went out together one evening and were looking for a good restaurant for dinner.  What a joke.  In NYC it’s not finding a good restaurant, but choosing which good restaurant you want to enjoy.  Anyway, we were talking amongst ourselves as we walked and a stranger walking nearby offered to help.  He asked what kind of food we were wanting, what price range and how far we wanted to walk/taxi.  We gave him our parameters and he gave us a restaurant name within about a two block walk.  It was a Thai restaurant and was the best I have ever been too.  It was moderately casual, moderately priced, and had excellent food, presentation, and service.

For the five years I worked for the company, much of the work was done via computer and phone.  Everyone was always pleasant, helpful, and professional.  My periodic visits were something to look forward to and I always had a good time and met great people.  It was hard to lose our office in #5 WT building but we didn’t lose any people there.  I feel so lucky to have been there before 9/11 and am happy to have been able to go to NYC afterwards too.

When I was a little girl my ‘big’ brother was in Boy Scouts.  It seemed like an exciting and mysterious organization to me.  They camped, they made things, they wore patches that indicated they had learned interesting things, and they got a magazine each month that was just for boys.

When Boys’ Life arrived at the house, I would try to read it, or at least the interesting parts, before he got home.  If my Mother caught me, she would put it away so I wouldn’t get the first read.  She always said he should have first chance with it, then he could share it with me.  Of course, if he did get it first, he didn’t want to share it with me.  After all, it was called Boys’ Life, not Girls’ Life.  And, I got Humpty Dumpty so I should be content.

Well, Humpty Dumpty was fine and I liked it OK but Boys’ Life had neat stories and best of all, a whole page of jokes on the second to last page.  I loved the jokes and the cartoons.  Not all of the cartoons.  Some were just for boys.  Pee Wee Harris was a great multi box cartoon about a boy scout and Millicent was a one box cartoon about an elephant. Very funny stuff to a 7 year old.

You might wonder how I remember the details of the magazine.  I didn’t really until last week.  My husband was cleaning up some of his stuff in our basement and he found a copy from February, 1964.  The picture on the cover is priceless.  It’s a Norman Rockwell.  I can’t remember if all the covers were done by him but I do recall many that were.  Reading the magazine I have been reminded of so many things.  There’s a page with record reviews, “Platter Chatter,”  that includes records by Les Paul, Cal Tjader, Lena Horne, and Johnny Smith and Stan Getz.  Jazz was very big at the time.  This was pre-Beatles and a little post-Elvis.  There is also a page with book reviews and a page about stamp and coin collecting.   

As I look at the magazine now I can’t see too much a 7 year old ‘girly’ girl would enjoy except the cartoons and jokes.  Perhaps what made it so appealing was that it was for boys, not girls.  Or just maybe it was beating my big brother to his magazine.

No.  I don’t mean the hockey team from Detroit.  I mean the amazing bird, the Red Wing Blackbird.

Just yesterday I wrote that I hadn’t heard my first Red Wing of the year and today I heard not one but about a dozen.  It was a sunny 50 degrees F and late afternoon when we decided to go for a walk in a remote part of one of the nearby parks.  We hadn’t been to that part of the park since Fall because it is pretty exposed and allows for icy blasts of air in the winter.  A little too cold for me.  Anyway, it was just warm enough for me to want to try it out today and see if I could spot any returning birds or any eagles.  I was also interested in seeing if any wild turkeys were hiding in that part of the park.  They have been ‘missing’ for several months and I haven’t figured out where they have been staying.

We got out of the car and went to the walking path.  No other cars were around but the path had a pretty good stream of bicycles.  That’s another sign of spring and warmer weather.  We usually see some pretty hardy bicyclists all winter long but not very many like we see on warmer days like today.  Just last week there was snow on the ground when we were walking and two bicyclists went sliding by us at a pretty good clip.

We didn’t get too far down the path when I heard the first one.  I know it sounds goofy but that first Red Wing song of the year brings a thrill to my heart like nothing else.  It’s the sound of wonderful days ahead.  Of being outside, of peaceful rainy nights, of gardening, of cooking out, of meeting my neighbors in the backyard and of just everything good in life.

The different thing about the Red Wings when they first return to our area is that they sit high up in the trees.  It’s almost like they are trying to make themselves known to the very few other Red Wings that have also returned early.  By next month when I spot a Red Wing, he will be on lower branches and old cat tails and bushes.  They sit low, about 4-6 feet off the ground, and mark out their territory.  I only started noticing this a few years ago.  It’s a consistent pattern and I believe it has to do with how many of the birds there are in the area and the necessity to be seen in order to attract a mate.  Once the mate is found and the territory is marked, they don’t have a need to show themselves off to all the competition and all the ladies.  My theory anyway.

So now I can say Spring is certainly on its way at full force.  Yes, we will have more cold weather and more snow and ice.  Maybe we will have lots of snow and ice before Spring finally breaks its way through the cold.  But, I can honestly say now that Spring has touched my heart and it is so close I can hear it.

First signs of spring are appearing.  Well not quite.  This is a different year for weather in my part of the world.  We’ve had a milder, less snowy winter so some of the first signs of spring started last November.

The one sign I notice first is daffodils coming up out of the ground.  Usually they would start coming out in early February and their foliage would be up about 4 inches by now.  With our milder weather, they were up about 4 inches in November and have just recently started growing again.  The daffodils in my front yard are up about 8 inches now and I can see some in my neighborhood even have buds on them.  Mine usually bloom around March 25th. 

Another early sign of spring is the return of large flocks of robins.  That won’t happen this year because most of the robins never left.  The weather has been mild enough that the ground hasn’t completely frozen and the robins can still find food.  In the early mornings now I hear the robins singing just as I normally would in mid March. 

One sign of spring I have yet to hear is the sound of the red wing black birds.  The males usually arrive around March 1st and the females join them about two weeks later.  When I hear the first distinctive sound of the male’s call, I am sure spring is really just weeks away.

And, finally, one of the best signs of spring.  A wonderful sound.  The bat hitting the ball.  Spring training just started and the first pre season game is in two weeks.  Then, spring will truly be here.

We have cold winters here.  It’s a blessing and a curse for gardeners. The blessing is that we get a chance to take a breather and plan for the next year, order seeds and/or plants, and rethink our overall master garden plan. The curse is that we miss getting our hands in the dirt and we miss having fresh flowers and vegetables and we miss being out in the sunshine. A bigger curse is that we have to bring in all our outdoor plants that we want to ‘save’ that can’t winter over.

I usually keep most of them in the garage because it is kind of insulated and doesn’t usually get below about 38 degrees at its coldest. The problem with putting them in the garage is that I totally forget to take care of them at all. Sometime during the winter they need a little water and this is where I miss out typically. About half of the plants I put in the garage will not make it to spring. Every year I swear I will do better but I end up doing the same thing year after year.

A very few plants I put in our reading room. The choice is usually a geranium, maybe two, and perhaps a non-hardy herb but not too many plants because there just isn’t enough room. I keep several houseplants in that room year round and they take up most of the unused space. When the outdoor plants come in, they get crowded next to the year round indoor plants and it looks pretty messy. The good thing is that I usually remember to water these plants because I spend a lot of time in that room.

Finally, I have a few large plants I bring in every winter and there is no place to put them except in the basement laundry room. There is some light in the room and it has what I would call a temperate climate–cool and dry. The plants shed their leaves during the first few weeks after they come inside but start to recover after only about a month. So, I bring them in around the first of November and by December 1st they are putting on new growth. This year I took three hanging baskets of mixed flowers/herbs to the basement, and my favorite plant, an orange flowered double hibiscus. The plants only need water about once every three weeks and since I am in the laundry room every Saturday, it’s easy to remember to care for them. What I somehow manage to forget is that the hibiscus puts on flower buds. For some reason I don’t notice the buds coming on and getting large. Then, one Saturday I will go in the laundry room and there it is. A beautiful, exotic, huge, bright orange double hibiscus flower. Sometimes there will be 2, 3 or even 4 flowers all open at once. I am always gloriously surprised to see them. This surely is one of the blessings of winter. Flowers in the basement.

Blast from the past.  Thursday evening I turned on TV and an old movie was on, one I hadn’t seen for over 30 years.  It wasn’t my usual black and white type choice.  It was Walter Matheau, Ingrid Bergman, and Goldie Hawn in Cactus Flower.  Kind of a ‘modern’ divorce movie from the ’70s where everyone is fooling around (not really) and trying to act sophisticated about it.  I hadn’t even thought about this movie for decades.  The world has changed so much since then and most of the actors in that movie are now deceased.

It’s funny that they would put that particular movie on for Valentine’s Day.  It is romantic and also a farse but mostly it is about the time of change in our US society when we moved from two parent households to divorce being common place to single family homes and people hooking up without commitment.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s a very funny movie with Walter Matheau lying his way through everything and no one really doing much wrong but pretending they are.  And it has a sweet ending for all concerned.  But it marks a time of change in our society. 

It is hard to believe when romance starts and moves to the point of two people living together or getting married, maybe having children, sharing happy and sometimes unhappy moments, that it can move to the two people deciding they no longer love each other.  Or worse.  One person deciding they no longer love the other one.  We’ve somehow moved from a world of people making lifetime (for better or worse) commitments to people not even seeing a need for a commitment. I like that people have choices now but hate that one of our historical choices has been pushed to the sidelines.
As a person in a long term relationship, I see the value of really knowing someone and riding through the sunshine and storms of life with them. We get to see each other in every aspect of our characters and we have gotten to see how we change as we get older. We are not the same people in many ways as we were when we were in our 20s. In some ways we have become tarnished by life but in so many other ways we have become burnished to a lovely glow because of all the experiences and weathering life together. I would not like to imagine life as a loner although I am sure I could have survived. And I would wish for everyone the growing, learning, sharing, and loving experience we have had over the years because of making a ‘better or worse’ commitment.

One day a year we give ourselves over to romance or at least the appreciation of loved ones.  Loving and being loved is such a basic part of being human that I think we should have more than one day a year devoted to it. Can you imagine one day a month as a St Valentine’s Day?  Would it take the pressure off people searching for the perfect gift?  It seems we would get good at finding the right gift or making the right dinner reservation. We could just pre-schedule it for the same time each month. No worries.
I’m always amazed at people, well, men actually, running around in a panic at the last minute on Valentine’s Day trying to find a gift for their sweetheart.  I mean, didn’t they know the day was coming?  Couldn’t they have thought of a gift a bit ahead of time or ordered early? And what about the lame excuses for not doing anything special? I’ve heard, well, the store was out of what I was going to get for you. And, the restaurant was already booked full. And, the flowers just didn’t look fresh and you deserve so much more. What about: “I couldn’t find a card that said exactly how I feel about you.” Now, I have never heard any of this from my husband. These excuses are from people from my past and from guys I know that have told me their woes the day after Valentine’s Day. My husband has always been a thoughtful and good man and I have no complaints about him. I just wish guys would get their acts together and realize this is a once a year deal and it isn’t rocket science.
To take it a step further, beyond gifts, what else does St Valentine’s Day mean?  It means appreciation, rededication, commitment, caring, and showing affection.  The affection doesn’t have to be hugs and kisses.  It could be leaving a kind note or helping with a chore or making something for the other person or even running errands for them.  These are the things we need to do on a special day each month because these are the things we forget about in our busy daily lives.

And, of course, the day isn’t just for our spouse or significant other.  It is also for our parents, siblings, children, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  They all deserve at least a day a year to receive special attention from us.  And we deserve a day to reach out to the people we care about and to feel the love in return.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Christians.  It is a time for reflection, for fasting, for thinking about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  There was a time, not too long ago, that many people made a sacrifice of sorts during Lent by giving up something in their life that was important to them.  Some gave up smoking, or chocolate, or going out on Friday nights, or drinking, or even talking on the phone with friends.  People also revived the Catholic tradition of ‘no meat’ Fridays and this tradition still lives on in the St Louis area.

There is a major competition amongst the St Louis area Catholic churches to have the best Friday evening fish fry.  We usually go to the two churches closest to us but have gone afield to some within a 10 mile radius when we hear of one with a particularly good reputation..  Several years ago when people became concerned about fried food, many of the churches started offering broiled or baked fish as well as the fried fish.  Most of the dinners also include meatless spaghetti, some type of potato, slaw, beans, and assorted vegetables.  They all also have home made desserts. 

The good part of the dinners for us is we can get the food ‘to go.’  We have car picnics on Fridays throughout the Lenten season and get to watch winter turn into spring.  We get the food, drive to the nearby park and park the car near the lake so we can watch the sunset as we eat.  Sometimes we take a walk after eating but it depends on the weather.  Usually at the start of Lent the weather is pretty cold and can even be snowy.  By the end of Lent, the trees are budding, there are some flowers blooming and the temperatures reach into the upper 60s.

The season of Lent is in many ways a physical transformation similar to the spiritual transformation of the story of Christ.  From the darkness of winter to the fullness of spring, from death to life.  I look forward to this time each year for the car picnics, the changing of the seasons, and the renewal of my faith.

St Louis is located near the infamous New Madrid Fault.  Infamous because between December 16th, 1811 and January 23, 1812 the strongest earthquakes in US history occurred.  They were strong enough to make the Mississippi River run backwards, change part of its course, and create, temporarily, waterfalls at Kentucky Bend.

When we moved to the St Louis area some time ago, I gave the earthquake thing some thought.  I had felt tremors before when I lived in Central Illinois.  A few were fairly strong but they were very short lived and didn’t cause any damage.  But it is different when you live in an area surrounded by rivers and bridges and overpasses and lots of hills and trees.  I could imagine bridges collapsing, rivers changing course, and trees splitting and falling on our house.  The only thing I really worried about was being on the other side of a river from my husband and not being able to get to him.  St Louis County is really like an island.  We have the Mississippi on one side, wrapping around from the other side is the Missouri, then, to the south is the Meramec.  I haven’t heard anyone else describe it this way but it is how I see it.

After a short time of insignificant worry, I pretty much shelved the thought.  I no longer have to cross the rivers or use any overpasses unless I want to.  My work world has gone down to about a six mile radius and I love it this way.  Yes, a tree could still fall but we have experienced that when we have had tornadoes.  So far, none have hit the house.

In 2008 we had a series of moderate tremors.  One occurred about 11 pm.  I was in bed, not yet asleep, just relaxing and thinking about the next days plans.  I heard the strangest noise, like a deep, growling rumble, then rattling of dishes, glass, and things on shelves, and then I felt it.  It made the bed rock and the lamp over my head swing.  It stopped after about 10 seconds and I got up and turned on the TV to check the news.  Sure enough, an earthquake.  For the next few days there were minor tremors and I felt two of them.  None were as strong as that first one. 

I do try to stay prepared with extra water and canned goods on hand.  We have a small cook stove and plenty of blankets, batteries, flashlights, lanterns, etc.  But if the ‘big one’ does hit I am not sure the preparation will be that helpful.  It takes so long just to get a pothole filled or get power up and running after an ice storm; I can’t imagine the clean up after a major earthquake would go well.  Best hope is that we stick with the tremors and let California continue its (undeserved) reputation for the big ones.

Lately I have noticed more and more pirating of artwork, cartoons, quotes, poetry and ideas via the internet.  Primarily, Facebook is the conduit although e mail and Tweets also have become guilty conspirators in the act of piracy.

I got angry about a month ago when it happened to me.  My blog theme was blatantly copied during a ‘contest’ of blogs and the person did not give me acknowledgement.  She said she had gotten the idea from a blog but did not give me credit.  This was extremely annoying to me and I dropped out of the ‘contest.’  I mean, after all, there are thousands of ideas and experiences to write about and I see no reason someone can’t come up with their own idea from their own life.

But even more recently I have started seeing original artworks, cartoons, and photographs being pirated.  The copywrite and/or name of the original artist is being removed and the name of another person is being applied.  One particular photographer tracked down the person that stole his work and asked Facebook to remove the stolen photograph.  Facebook responded by blocking the victim from using messaging.  They refused to block the stolen photograph from being circulated.  The lack of ethics by Facebook and by many of its users is appalling.

Over the past 5-10 years there have been many stories written in the press about plagiarism.  These deal primarily with high school and college students using the works of other students or professional writers and submitting the works under their own names in order to avoid having to do the research and writing themselves.  Some politicians have also been found guilty of this.  It seems to be less of a concern amongst the general public and the overall ethics in this area is degrading.

I’m not sure how we can address the problem.  When I saw one of the Off the Mark cartoons recently being circulated under another name, I really got concerned.  It happened to be a cartoon with two chickens.  Didn’t chicken theft used to be a crime punishable by death?