(From 2018)

Posts for special days are important to me. They are the thoughts and feelings brought to mind about the day and what it means to me. This post is from another year, but the title quote is especially apt for the events now happening. I don’t think I could do better than have Martin Luther King write the post for today. 

Today is Martin Luther King Day. These are excerpts from Martin Luther King’s speech delivered on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington.

“And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. 

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, 

From every mountainside, let freedom ring! 

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.”

Sun and a blue sky have finally crowded the clouds away. It will stay sunny with a high in the low 40’s, but the wind makes it feel colder. I have two errands: Agway and the dump, but I might add a stop for me. I’m thinking chocolate. It has already been an I need chocolate day.

My hometown is much bigger now than when I was a kid. The square has changed most of all. The best stores are gone, replaced mostly by restaurants. The movie theater, my Saturday matinee spot, was saved and renovated. It now has live theater. If I could conjure up a return of a few of the stores, I’d bring back the Stoneham Spa, O’Grady’s Diner, Middlesex Drugs, the cobbler and that little restaurant that was long and narrow. I especially miss the cobbler. His shop was also long and narrow. It had a table the length of the room, and it was always covered in shoes, pairs tied together. The cobbler used to sit at the end of the table. He always wore a white apron. I remember bringing a pair of shoes for new soles. He gave me a numbered ticket and threw the shoes on the pile.

O’Grady’s was a wonderful old diner. It had red stools and lots of silver around the counter. The tables had red cushioned seats. On each table was a connection to the juke box. The songs were a quarter, and I would turn the pages until I found what I wanted. Mostly I had breakfast there with my father.

Middlesex Drugs was the best with its marble soda fountain counter and its gift counters. I could always find Christmas gifts for my parents. The perfume counter was in the middle sort of aisle a bit beyond the soda fountain. The perfume I bought my mother was never expensive. I doubt it even smelled good, but my mother always loved it. I bought my father his Christmas handkerchiefs there. I bought vanilla cokes.

The restaurant was next to the men’s store, also long gone. I never ate inside, but my mother would get me a sandwich for lunch from there when I had to go to the dentist in Boston. I remember the sandwich was always toasted and was wrapped in white paper sort of like a present.

I’m back to being a news junkie. The closer we get to the inauguration the more I watch. I’m hoping I see nothing but pomp and tradition on Wednesday.

The sounds of the wind and the rain woke me this morning. The rain was heavily beating on the roof, but the wind was intermittent. Both started last night, but the wind was first. I ran out for my newspapers with my hood over my head. Henry balked about going out but he did twice. The second time he went out he came in the dog door to get out of the rain. Usually he waits for me to let him in. I am well trained.

Potatoes and onions are baking right now. There are small Yukon Gold potatoes, a sweet potato, two regular potatoes and two white onions. I can smell the onions, but it is a sweet smell. I have to keep an eye on the Yukon Gold.

I cleaned more yesterday. I wasn’t going to clean but guilt got me up. I finished washing and dusting all the boxes and trinkets and books. I can’t believe how shiny and bright everything looks. The wall shelves are next.

While I was watching YouTube, I got a tour of a rental. The door was shown but not opened to the basement. Here we don’t have basements. We have cellars. We even have an interesting way of using cellar in a sentence as in put it down cellar, not put it down the cellar, just cellar. I remember my mother telling us to go play down cellar. Maybe it is a New England thing.

When I was a kid, I had everything I needed. I had a bike to take me anywhere. I had roller-skates which were just fun, never a means of transport, but I loved roller skating on the parking lot near my house. I remember the tingling on my feet when I skated and how strange it felt to walk after roller skating. I got a transistor radio one Christmas, and I used to put it in my bike basket and roll with the tunes, on AM stations back then. I remember the radio bouncing in the air when I hit a bump. I always thought I was a lucky kid.

Today is warmish and sunny. The clouds come and go. After yesterday, I am feeling accomplished despite my very late rising this morning. Yesterday I was able to tear up my completed to do list, finish all my errands and clean more shelves here in the den. I have even started my laundry on its guilt trip to get washed. The bag and basket are now by the cellar stairs. It was a two trip load from upstairs. If past history serves me, the laundry will sit by the cellar door for a week, maybe even longer. My guilt threshold is very high (or is it very low?). I even put away in the appropriate bin the Christmas presents I bought on sale after Christmas (Be Kind!). I have two more envelopes to mail, but I’ll do that Monday. They are the time capsule boxes for my grands to put last year away.

I’m staying home today. I have no other plans. For some reason I keep thinking it is a Saturday. It feels like a Saturday to me. Saturday is waking up late knowing you have no responsibilities, √. Saturday is slowly digesting the papers √. and watching an old movie √. It is wearing comfies and fleece-lined slippers √. It is eating popcorn, no check yet. That is my treat for after I finish here.

On a winter’s Saturday when I was a kid, I wore the Saturday uniform of sorts every other kid wore. I wore dungarees, girl dungarees. They had a zipper in the pocket and no fly. I wore long sleeve jerseys or blouses and a sweatshirt, just a plain sweatshirt with no hood or pouch, or, if going out on a really cold day, a jacket. I wore socks with my sneakers.

I always wore a pair of mittens in the winter because getting my fingers in each glove finger hole took too much time. Often I had to start over as my fingers were in the wrong holes and the glove dangled. Putting on gloves quickly is one of those I’m not a little kid anymore talents. What’s interesting is I still prefer mittens even though I have mastered gloves. Mittens keep my fingers warmer. My favorite pair is a bright pink fleece.

The furnace man came with the new part, an inducer motor. After it was installed, I couldn’t believe how quiet the furnace had become. I think it had been getting nosier but not so much I noticed until it wasn’t noisy any more.

I didn’t do anything yesterday, but I do have small, small (as they say in Ghana) things to do and a couple of places to go today. In front of me on the table is my checkbook which needs to be checked with my account. Yesterday’s mail hasn’t been opened, and it too is on the table, in line to be opened. I brought a cookbook in here, one I haven’t looked through for a while: Mma Ramotswe’s Cookbook. It is part of my collection of cookbooks from novels, ones like The Little Women Cookbook: Tempting Recipes from the March Sisters and Their Friends and Family which is my newest one. Others of my cookbooks include Anne of Green Gables and Game of Thrones.

The last pieces on the table are miniature figures from Peter Pan. They were sort of stored or at least kept together on the top of a wax candle and all were covered in dust. I was in a bored mood and cleaned everything. I don’t remember how long ago I bought these figures and anything else about them except their names are in French. I’m going to put them on the shelf my sister gave me for Christmas. It is in the kitchen.

I have found the perfect places for all of my amazing and unique Christmas presents. That took a while as I carried them from room to room and wall to wall. My newest Bolga basket is on the old blue chair with the painted moons, the corner chair in the living room. The dye free grass of the basket is framed by the deep blue of the chair behind the seat on which the basket sits. I love the way they look look together, the basket and the chair.

My fruits and veggies arrived yesterday as did the most wonderful cinnamon bread, all from Improper Foods. I so love that bread. It was out the last I ordered so I’ve been waiting a month. The bread is sitting on the counter. I’m going to have a toasted slice with my coffee in a few minutes. The toast gets crispy on the edges while the cinnamon melts on the inside. I think it is ideal.

Last night I watched Giant from the Unknown, a black and white science fiction-horror movie from 1958. For all you B science fiction fans, this is right up your alley so to speak!

Well, I have to finish here and go to bed as it is nearly two. I ended up dusting the shelves in my den and taking collections like my snow globes off the shelves one at a time then cleaning where they had been placed then cleaning them, all one a time. I worked my way around the room. I only have a couple of boxes left. As for my errands, they’ll have to be in the afternoon. I’m really tired, housecleaning does that to me.

When I woke up, the morning was pretty. The sun was shining. I was thinking about going out for a bit, but the sun has since disappeared behind a sky filling with clouds. I’ll just stay here nice and warm for now hoping for a return visit from the sun. The furnace company just called. The part is in, and someone will be here this afternoon. My furnace still comes on, but the poor thing sounds as if it is in horrific pain. Henry barked at the noise when it first started but doesn’t care about it any more. I do. I wince when I hear it.

When I was a kid, our house had radiators. When the furnace came on, I could hear the gurgling of the water through the pipes of the radiator. It was almost a comforting sound, and I sometimes fell asleep as the radiator on the wall at the foot of my bed hissed and steamed. If I felt cold, I used to sit in front of that radiator to get warm. I now have the sound of forced hot air, not in anyway as interesting as water coursing through the pipes.

My meals have been hit or miss. Last night I ordered in for the first time in a while. My money jar had plenty, mostly $1’s. I ordered a hot sub and French fries. For tonight I have chicken defrosted. I have no idea what I want to do with it. There are just too many possibilities. It’s a quandary.

When I was a rich kid with a nickel, I often bought a bar of candy, a single bar of candy with my whole nickel. I usually tried to buy long lasting candy like a Sugar Daddy. I got to lick the caramel, chew it and stretch it. My favorite candy for a long time was a Milky Way, a frozen Milky Way. One corner store a few blocks from my house kept some bars in the freezer. It was worth the walk. I used to like a Bit-o-Honey Bar. It had neat packaging with individual slots on wax paper so the pieces wouldn’t stick together, and it had an unfamiliar taste. Later, I learned it was honey. I think I’d still like Bit-o-Honey.

The furnace is blasting still. Every time it turns on I can hear the rumbling, the groaning. I called the fix-it company and am waiting for a call from the repairman as to an appointment to replace the groaning part.

Cloudy again and clouds are part of the whole week’s forecast. The temperature will be in the 40’s during the day.

When I was a kid, I’m sure we lost electricity and heat sometimes, but I don’t remember other than Carol, that fierce hurricane in 1954. I know it was in late August because my sister had just been born and was still in the hospital. I remember my parents glad she was there as the hospital had generators. My father took my brother and me outside during the eye of the storm. We were the only people out on my street. I think that was when I understood eerie. The air was perfectly still and the sky had an odd color. I was excited to be out during a hurricane, during a storm which toppled huge trees on my street. My father used to park on the street in front of the house, but when the hurricane was coming, he parked his car in the lot at the top of the street. No one ever parked there. That was the only time my father did. We used to roller skate and play games like Green Light and Red Rover on that lot.

I went to the dump yesterday. My passenger seat, the back seat and the trunk were filled with boxes and bags of newspapers and trash, mostly heavy bags of gross kitty litter. I had trouble lifting a couple of the bags over the top of the metal trash bins. I had to use two hands to lift the bags. Last night my back complained, and it really hurt when I moved. My ah, ah, ah’s got Henry’s attention, but he was a bit bewildered by my tone.

Today I was actually going to do some errands, but I dare not leave the house until I hear from the repairman. Meanwhile, I’ll just hang around and watch TV. I’m thinking it might be movie time, a distraction from my furnace and the news.

News Flash: I got a call. My needed furnace part been found, but it will take a day or two for it to arrive. It was close to $500.00. At least I don’t need a new furnace yet!!

The morning was winter ugly, but now I see blue and slivers of the sun between the clouds. It will be close to 40˚, a balmy winter’s day. It is dump day.

My gas furnace is making scary noises. I just called for a service visit. It is overtime so I have to pay a fee upfront then by the hour, but that is so much cheaper than a new furnace. I told the guy to honk when he arrives so I can put the dog out.

When I was a kid, we had an oil furnace. On one side of the cellar was a fuel tank which held all the oil. The tank was black and it smelled like the oil. Right beside the tank was a small window. I remember playing in the cellar and seeing the sun coming through the window with its rays highlighting the dust.

My house is clean again. All the clumps of fur are gone, but it won’t take long before I pick black hair from the cats and white hair from the dog off the floor. Henry, despite his short hair, has white fur flying when he runs or plays. I’d brush him but he hates it. The cats love being brushed. Gwen purrs the whole time.

The TV is on, and I’m still switching back and forth between CNN and MSNBC. I know nothing much has changed since last night, but if something does, I don’t want to miss it.

The furnace guy is here is BREAK!

I’m back but some of my money isn’t. I paid for the emergency and also overtime for the repairman. I put Henry outside when the truck pulled up front. I know Henry wouldn’t hurt him, but Henry has one heck of a scary what are doing in my yard bark. When the guy was downstairs in the cellar, I let Henry in, and he ran upstairs though he did keep peeking at the guy who was filling out my receipt. The repairman said it was an induction motor. I asked how bad. He said bad. They’ll call on Monday with an estimate. He guessed around $800. I hate when things stop working.

The morning is cold and dark. As I was getting the papers, snow flurries began, but they lasted only a few minutes. My trunk is filled with trash, well mostly bags of kitty litter, but I’m still not going to the dump. I can see no reason to leave this cozy, warm house.

When I was a kid, Saturdays were my favorite days. In winter, the matinee was every Saturday afternoon. I went often. If the day was warm enough, I sometimes went ice skating. I could ice skate forward really well but not so much back. I remember how strange my feet felt when I took off the skates and walked with my shoes back on. I still have a pair of skates stored in the cellar. I’ve used them for outside Christmas decorations. They hang from a wooden sled with metal runners. I’ll not ever wear them again. For me, they might just be dangerous.

All of Christmas is gone from my house. The living room is dark, lit only by the candles which stay in the windows all year. I miss the color, the decorations, the lights of the tree and the whiffs of pine. They helped make my Christmas.

Henry never played with toys when he first became my dog. I don’t think he knew what they were. I’d throw toys down the hall so he could fetch them. He didn’t. I did. Yesterday Henry was playing with his hedgehog, the one sporting a Santa hat. He has also played with his new toy, his post Christmas Santa who sports a bathing suit and sunglasses. Right now my animals are in their usual spots for naps. Henry is on the couch beside me. Jack is upstairs on the bed where I assume Gwen is also sleeping. I think a nap might be a good idea on a day like today.

Today is downright cold. I raced to get the paper and yesterday’s mail. My plan is to go to the dump today though I’ll have to bundle up as the dump is cold and windy in winter. I always think it must be like the Russian steppes.

When I was a kid, my brother’s job was to empty the kitchen basket. He always complained because I didn’t have a chore. My father put the full barrels on the sidewalk and brought the empties in when he got home from work. Trash day was once a week.

My parents grocery shopped Friday evenings or Saturday mornings. My mother didn’t drive so she had to wait for my father to take her. I remember a full trunk filled with paper bags. We all helped empty it. After the shopping, we had cookies and crackers in the cabinet, but they went fast. My mother used to hide her favorite cookies. I remember she liked pecan sandies. We got Oreo’s but nobody complained. If you twisted the Oreos, you got two cookies.

Last night I had a huge cup of cocoa. I topped it with Marshmallow Fluff. I heated the milk first so the cocoa power would easily dissolve. When I was a kid, cocoa was my morning drink. My mother used to put some of the powder in the cup with milk, stir it then add hot water to fill the cup. She bought the Nestle’s Hot Cocoa Mix Bank. I remember the label was red and what looked like bank fronts were on it. I had one of those Nestle banks for the longest time, but then it finally gave up the ghost, got rusty on the top and the cardboard body gave out. I never had much money it anyway.

When I was in elementary school, one of us went up and down the rows once a week collecting money to adopt unbaptized Pagan babies. The Pagan babies lived in Africa. Every grade competed to be the top fund raiser, to save more Pagan babies than the other grades. I never questioned it. I wanted my grade to win. For Christmas one year, my sister gave me a small plastic collection box with a smiling black girl’s face on the top. She has red lips and dimples. Her name is Verite. It says so on the box. There is a coin slot. Inside the box is a piece of cardboard which says, ” The Sudaneer’s Pledge, A Nickel A Night for Africa’s Light. The Sudaneer’s Devoted to the task of getting the gospel to THE CHAD REPUBLIC.” There is also a small map of Africa with Chad highlighted. I don’t know where our Pagan babies were from except we knew it was Africa, a continent teeming with Pagan babies. Maybe it was even Ghana.