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What I Heard This Week 10-06-2022

What I Heard This Week October 5, 2022

Last week a longtime friend came into town and along with another friend, we went out for dinner and drinks. Because of life, Covid and everything else, we hadn’t seen each other for a while, so Marcie, Jean, and I were having a great time catching up, sharing food and stories, and just enjoying each other’s company. Our conversation moved to RentAFriend. I had never heard of it. It’s a website (where I found two misspellings) that allows you to pay ($10 to $50 per hour or more) for friendship… or be paid for your friendship. Requirements: be over 18, never convicted of a felony or registered as a sex offender and willing to hang out with people you don’t know for pay. This might be especially important now that everyone seems to be best friends with their phones. – just look around while shopping, standing in line or especially when eating out at a restaurant. Everyone is on their phones and has forgotten how to have a conversation, even with their own family. Maybe everyone has been stuck inside so long and has forgotten how to nurture true friendship. So, let’s say you need a friend to go to an event or party with you, or even a pottery, cooking class or concert. Then you could rent a friend. I pulled up the 77566-zip code. There are 8-pages of people (average age 20’s to early 40’s) from LJ, Clute, Freeport, Brazoria, Angleton, Cedar Lane, Alvin, Rosharon, Galveston, Santa Fe, and Manvel who want to be your friend (in exchange for your money). Now, some of them can’t spell very well, some look quite nice, some are questionable but surely, I pray that they are all a positive, encouraging, 8-pages of honest people. I can’t imagine being lonely, but I know there are people that really would pay to have companionship, my conscience just won’t allow me to believe this is the right way. Too much room for something negative to happen. Think about it. If you happen to know of someone that might be lonely (no matter their age), then please give them a little bit of your time. I don’t mean SugarDaddyMeet, Match, Bumble, Silver Singles, or OurTime. I mean the old-fashioned pick up the phone, drop a card in the mail, or stop by on a Sunday afternoon with popcorn and a game, type of time. Good endorphins.

Use swimming pool noodles to wrap your pipes when you’ve put off going to the hardware store until there’s nothing left. Isn’t that clever?

On December 9th, Darren Aronofsky’s (He did Pi) The Whale will be released in theaters. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, George of the Jungle) will play Charlie, a reclusive English teacher with profound empathy and love for everyone around him; a very kind soul who weighs 600 pounds. Prosthetics were used to transform Fraser into Charlie, who rarely leaves his couch. “By far and away I think Charlie is the most heroic man I have ever played,” Fraser added. “His superpower is to see the good in others and bring that out of them.” From everything I have heard and read, it will be cinema at its best. They’re calling it The Brenaissance.

Good manners are not bred in moments, but in years. Julia McNair Wright

Do you ever wonder why mosquitoes are not as attracted to some people as others? Only the female mosquito feeds on blood, while males feed on plant nectar for energy. Interesting. Mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and horseflies require the protein found in blood to develop eggs. They are not attracted more to women than men, or to blondes and redheads more than dark-haired individuals. Your skin color doesn’t matter. They are in fact, attracted to beer drinkers, stinky feet, perfumes and scented lotions, bright clothing, O-Positive blood, lactic acid, and CO2 (carbon dioxide, so if you are thrashing and swiping at a little mosquito, you are definitely more attractive, because she can smell you from 200 feet away.) If you’ve been working in the yard and are nasty and dirty, you’re far less attractive to the mosquito. There, you have it. So, get a bat house and put it in your yard so the diligent mosquito man can go home at night.

Here I sit at my office eating leftovers from last night’s dinner. I don’t know how I did it, but I have made some really BAD meals lately, and because of the high grocery prices, I’m going to eat them…for days. I promise to never waste food again. I just love good food, but I would rather go without a meal, if it’s not tasty. Last night I took a Sockeye Salmon fillet, smeared on olive oil and seasonings, then slow-cooked it for about 25 minutes, then turned off the oven until my Brussel sprouts were finished. I had halved them, put a little butter, olive oil and seasoning in my pan, browned them along with pecan halves then when they were done, I added a big spoonful of vanilla & black cherry jam. It was so good with that little bit of sweet. Now that’s a good meal and I will eat it 4 times with a smile.

Jimmy Carter, the longest-living US president in history, celebrated his 98th birthday in a simple way with his 95-year-old wife, Rosalynn by his side watching his favorite Major League Baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, on television in Plains, Georgia. After he lost to Ronald Reagan in 1981, he immediately began planning The Carter Center. It opened in Atlanta in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind effort for a former president. The stated mission was to advance peace, human rights, and public health causes around the world. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He traveled internationally into his 80s and 90s, and he did not retire officially from the board until 2020.

Loretta Lynn died at age 90. Her fiery hits like Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) and You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man), which topped the country charts in 1966, made her the first female country singer to write a No.1 hit. She told it like it was in songs like Rated X and The Pill which were banned from radio, even as they became beloved classics. “They didn’t have none of them (birth control) pills when I was younger, or I’d have been swallowing them like popcorn,” Lynn wrote in her memoir. “I wasn’t the first woman in country music,” Lynn said. “I was just the first one to stand up there and say what I thought, what life was about.” In early 2021, at the age of 89, she recorded her 50th album, Still Woman Enough.

Let’s face it. Herschel Walker was a great athlete, but he may have been hit in the head one time too many. (I had written he was a blockhead hypocrite, but I took that out so I wouldn’t upset anyone.) The Georgia Senate candidate that supports a national abortion ban without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother, is now on the defensive after a report that he paid $700 for a girlfriend to have an abortion 13 years ago. It seems that not only did he pay for the abortion, but he also sent her a get-well card encouraging her to rest and relax while she recovered. In fact, she has a copy of the check from Walker and a receipt from the abortion clinic, in addition to the lovely get-well card. I often think that it gets harder to shock people, but this has left some with their mouths hanging wide open. His own son said, “Family values, people? He has four kids, four different women, wasn’t in the house raising one of them. Christian Walker

Swiss retailer Migros is launching a coffeemaking system designed to replace the aluminum and plastic capsules that are filling up our landfills with thousands of tons of waste each year. It is described as coffee balls, and they are fully compostable.

Close your eyes and imagine being in line at McDonald’s waiting to get your nostalgic Happy Meal. Wait, you say you’re too old for a Happy Meal?? Well, the new ADULT Happy Meal is called the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box and gives you a choice of either a Big Mac or 10-piece chicken nuggets, medium fries, and medium drink, plus one of four collectible toys. Grimace, Hamburglar, Birdie or Cactus Buddy. For a limited time. The Happy Meals will run around $9-10 dollars, depending on your location.  Or you can just save up your money for therapy. Burger King is offering a Ghost Pepper Whopper just in time for Halloween. It features an orange bun, spicy queso, crispy jalapenos, bacon, ghost peppers cheese and a Whopper patty. Too hot for me.

Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were disqualified from a Lake Erie Walleye Trail Fishing tournament when egg-shaped lead sinkers and fish fillets were found inside the fish they’d brought to the final weigh-in. All this additional weight helped push the team’s total weight close to 34 pounds. Sadly, they had only needed 19 pounds of fish to win, and would have received almost $30,000 in prizes.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season against the Texas Rangers, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record set in 1961. A fan caught the ball, which now has an estimated value of as much as $2 million. Yikes. “I just try to take it one day at a time and say a prayer, go out there and just try to play my game,” Judge said. “For me, I never tried to focus on the number, never tried to focus on going out there and doing it. Just go out there and play my game, and if I’m good enough and God willing, it’ll happen. I think just having that type of faith I think kind of helped me out through this whole process.”

The real-life 2018 Thai Cave Rescue, about the boys’ soccer team rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand is a six-part Netflix series. Eddie Murphy is going to star in Candy Cane Lane, his first full-length holiday film. Thanks to my downtown next-door neighbor Debra, for the wonderful pumpkin muffin last week. A Chinese man was found safe after he spent two days in a hydrogen balloon traveling about 200 miles after his balloon became untethered and flew away while he was using it to harvest pine nuts from a tree. Think about that the next time you sprinkle pine nuts on something. Merriam-Webster has added to their dictionary, shrinkflation, adorkable, subvariant and pumpkin spice, now officially in the dictionary. Just a few of the 370 words and phrases that were added. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have apparently hired divorce attorneys. Retirement may not be looking so good.

To all friends and family that reached out to me the past two weeks to check on Teller, I say thank you. Teller was being walked downtown as he is each and every day (we get the mail and go potty around three), then we sit at the corner of Parking Way and This Way and watch traffic. I envision at those moments that he goes back in time to when he was the downtown street dog.  He smells the air, people I don’t know yell, “Hey, Teller” as they drive by, and I smile a lot. It’s fun to live with a celebrity. Two weeks ago, we were just minding our own business, sitting there smelling his past, when he suddenly lost his mind, saw a truck he didn’t like, and bolted forward to chase it, along with his leash, collar, and me following. I think I was airborne when I turned loose of the leash, which cut my finger and tore off parts of a fingernail. Yes, he did catch the truck as it ran over his back left leg and paw. Or should I say that Teller placed his left leg on that wheel, then threw his foot under the tire. At that moment everything happened in slow-motion, but from what I could see, I just knew that my best pal’s foot was crushed, and he was now going to be a three-legged dog. His Aunt Kim saw it all from her office window and ran to us in heels, Jeff (world’s nicest guy) the driver of the truck, stopped and assisted while I ran back to my office to get my car and keys, then the driver of the Sysco truck (or was it Sparkletts) rushed over to him with a big cup of ice water. With everyone’s help we managed to get him in my car (with Kim getting a new piercing in the process), wrapped his bleeding leg in a towel, and headed straight to Hope Animal Hospital. They quickly knocked him out, x-rayed and sutured. Nothing broken, but a handful of drugs twice a day since. It changed him. Especially the conehead. He just sat and stared at nothing. We have only visited the mailbox on one occasion since that fateful day. He holds his ground and won’t get much further than the front of our office. He will get there. The sutures (the ones he hasn’t removed himself) come out Friday and I’m hoping he can play ball and take a bath after that. Thank you all for the love. He’s worth it. Have a great weekend. I’m finishing my income tax.

LISA

Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com

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What I Heard This Week! 08-12-2021

What I Heard This Week August 11, 2021

The end of an era. Kitty’s Purple Cow was torn down last week in Surfside…to the ground. As many times as the building had been hit by winds and rains of hurricanes, it hurt pretty bad to see it as a rubble pile.  Kitty, in her day, had always been able to bring it back to life, but now there was just a pile of wood with a water heater, and so many layers of different shades of purple walls, with a Sysco truck in the background. A sign of the times. I bet if I had searched hard enough, I could have found the picture of the half-naked guy that hung on the wall in the women’s bathroom, with the little white door that ever-so-barely covered up the area between his thighs and abdomen. The extra loud buzzer would go off throughout the entire restaurant if you were new, your curiosity getting the best of you, lifting up that little door to see what was under it. I will never forget my first, and only time, of buzzing the buzzer. After that hard-learned lesson, I remember seeing newbies going into the bathroom, and the buzzer yelling at us a few minutes later. It was so hard not to giggle and make eye contact as they walked out in embarrassment. Those were the good old days…hot waffles on Sunday mornings, fabulous cheeseburgers, patty-melts with grilled onions, fries, and Dr. Peppers. Plus, a bunch of super nice people. Oh, and a jukebox. All I had to do is supply my kids with enough quarters to have Elvis sing to us throughout the meal. RIP

An around-the-world cruise scheduled to begin in January 2024, sold out within hours of being made available for bookings. Minimum cost of a ticket per person for a suite on the 132-nights trip, starts at $73,499. That is about $556 per day. If I had $73,499 just laying around, along with five months of free time to go, I would do it.

Masks are back ‘IN’ again…and really cool. Let’s do it for the kids.

For his thesis project, a recent graduate of the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, designed an electric car that would be flat-packed and put together by the purchaser, like a piece of Ikea furniture or a Lego kit. The Hoga car would be delivered in 374 pieces to be attached to a skateboard like chassis. Since there is no engine, it gives much more cabin room. A car for our future… our very near future.

After missing for four decades, a gingham pinafore believed to have been worn by Judy Garland in 1939 while filming The Wizard of Oz, was recently found in a shoebox inside a trash bag at the Catholic University of America Drama Dept. in Washington, DC. It had been gifted to the head of drama by actress Mercedes McCambridge, a friend of Garland’s, then lost a year later. Good story.

I told my sister that she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked at me surprised.

When we were younger, my favorite uncle would take all three of us sisters and keep us for a week in the summer. He lived in Albuquerque, was sweet and funny, a very handsome single man, brave to point of naivety, especially to have us all at once. Maybe it was because we entertained each other, or maybe he just got it out of the way, so he did not have to do three individual weeks. Ha-ha.  All I know is that we had the time of our lives. No mom. Watermelons with candles for birthdays.  It was the best of times, except being violently appalled when we found out that he did not wash his chicken before he cooked it. We let him know that mom would never put up with that. Well, today I was reading the news and saw the headline… Should You Wash Raw Chicken? Here’s What Experts Say. Public health officials agree that you should not wash raw chicken. In fact, doing this causes more harm than good. Washing raw chicken can spread harmful bacteria such as salmonella or campylobacter around the kitchen, which can potentially cause foodborne illness. I told Mac. He says he was just ahead of his time. I agree. Every kid should have an Uncle Mac when they’re growing up.

The Foo Fighters played to a fully-vaccinated crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden, while Kiss star Gene Simmons said their “End of the Road” concertgoers must have had the jab, telling them: “I don’t care if you think the Earth is flat.”  In April, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, released his lockdown track Eazy Sleazy, which poked fun at vaccine misinformation. The Eagles have added an additional Seattle date to their rescheduled Hotel California tour, and attendees will have to provide proof of vaccination upon entering. 12 and under, proof of vaccine or negative Covid test. These guys are doing their best to help sway the non-believers with their great music.

Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women, has only paid about $8.33 towards his criminal monetary penalties per month, despite receiving deposits into his account over this period totaling $12,825.00. According to Justice.gov., The Monetary Penalties Unit is responsible for the prosecution of criminal and civil forfeiture cases and for collecting debts owed to the United States, including restitution for victims of crime, criminal fines, and debts to federal government agencies. Hmmm. There were 265 known sexual abuse victims, 160 that testified he had molested them…some as young as nine. $8.33 a month, doesn’t seem very just, but then again money can’t replace what he took away from those little girls.

Some of the beds at the Tokyo Olympics were made out of cardboard. It was rumored that they were designed to prevent athletes from having sex, but a Japanese bedding company, Airweave, said, “Cardboard beds are actually stronger than (ones) made of wood or steel.”

15 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies did not sell in 2021, because of the pandemic not allowing in-person sales. A typical new car contains more than a thousand chips. Not good during a chip shortage. A patient with the rare, but highly infectious Marburg virus disease has died in Guinea, It’s the first case of the Ebola-like virus in West Africa. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever, where multiple organ systems in the body are affected. This comes less than two months after Guinea declared an end to its most recent Ebola outbreak. Defrocked ex-cardinal and former archbishop Theodore McCarrick has been criminally charged with sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception at Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 1974.

School is almost in session so remember to drive carefully and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Slowdown in school zones. Flashing red lights on a school bus mean it is stopping. You must also stop…no passing the bus! Watch for students at crosswalks, obey crossing guards, and traffic control devices. PUT AWAY YOUR PHONE, your beverage, your mascara, and your food. I’m not your momma, but I’m always amazed at what I see in traffic. Especially so much texting while driving.

Queso = Spanish for cheese. K, so = Southern for here’s the plan and y’all probably not gonna like it.

The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory needs your help On August 26th and 28th, there will be nursery work and some freeze clean-up to get ready for XHX (Extreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza), weeding, moving plants around and potting of seedlings.  Come on. You don’t need any special experience. Come for an hour or come for four hours. Your help is always appreciated. 299 Hwy 332 West, LJ, 979-480-0999. Bird banding is open to the public on August 21, 8 – noon. For the hummers.

A yet untitled Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix, will tell the story of the New Jersey native’s rise from model and stockbroker to the greatest teacher, hostess, and lifestyle expert. Includes her jail stay. Timothee Chalamet will play Willy Wonka in a new musical version of the Roald Dahl story that Gene Wilder did so well. Urban Decay will produce an eye shadow palette, several shades of purple, inspired by Prince. Hmmm. I wonder what he would think about this. Not happy thoughts, I believe.

My apologies to our readers when the font is a little smaller on this column. Sometimes I just have plenty to say, and Tina accommodates me by squishing it all into my allotted space. Thank you, R.J. Charlie for the kind words. I’ll try to purge my unnecessary words better. Thank you to Debby for my gift box of chrysalises. Nothing better than taking a cup of coffee out on the back porch in my jammies, to watch a recently emerged butterfly dry their wings and fly off and land on their first zinnia. It happened three different mornings. The T-shirt says, Home is where the Dog is…and the Cats and the Kids. Thank you, Connie. My dedicated reader Mark, let me know Sista White’s Café and BBQ is opening again in LJ for lunch 10:30 to 3. Closed Sat./Sun. Right behind Denny’s on This Way. It’s supposed to be really good.

Teller Update: Thanks to Gabriella at Chip’s Restaurant in downtown LJ, for feeding Teller cheeseburgers when he was roaming the streets. I will tell you that almost every week I find someone else that helped take care of Teller until he could be convinced to be saved. Teller and I had walked over to Chips to pick up fish tacos for lunch, and Gabriella recognized him.… well, I told her his name and she said, “That’s Teller?!?” You could tell that he remembered her. It feels so good to be picking up the poop of a celebrity each and every day. 😊 A lady saw us walking last week, slowed down, rolled down her car window, and yelled, “Hey, Teller!” That happens often. Sometimes I know the people and sometimes I do not. Save the Date: SPCA Fur Ball October 14th, 2021

A funny note to make you smile… Last month my daughter celebrated her 22nd birthday, so I took her and two of her friends to Grape Taste, so they could experience a drink with their dinner if they wanted. I was the designated driver and holder of the credit card only. They ate, then called to be taken to Bodega, which was closed, so they decided on Lola’s coffee shop. Soon, they were calling my office, requesting another pick-up. I take my DD status very seriously, but it had rained/poured during their coffee time and Parking Way is a river for about thirty minutes after a big rain. Plus, Wine Review was packed, so no parking available in front of my office. In fact, not a single parking spot on my whole street, so I had made my own illegal spot on the curve. Teller and I left the office, umbrella in one hand, heavy purse on my shoulder, leash in the other hand, and started struggling down the muddy, water-filled, unlit, broken sidewalk, towards my car…
    At the end of the street is a handicap ramp, so I decided my best bet was to cross there, because of less water. As I started to jump from the ramp over the puddle to the street, my shoe slid, and Teller pulled hard on the leash at the same time. As I spun and fell, I imagined I looked like a Cirque Du Soleil performer whirling through the air in slow motion. That’s because I have a very vivid imagination. I stood up, looked around. Nope. I was safe. No one had seen me unless they were standing behind the safety of a window, now laughing their bee-hinds off. I had bloodied my arm from wrist to elbow, along with my favorite silk blouse, bloodied and grass-stained the knee on my best white jeans, and scabbed up my “only worn three times” shoes. Are you smiling yet? And somehow, I got mud on my face. I was pretty grubby looking when I picked up the kids. AE asked if I was ok, and I said no, probably not. Then we went to HEB for them to pick-up a lemon-pop melon and golden kiwi…delicious!  I sat in the car and wiped my wounds with several individually wrapped soft-quilted lens wipes, the only thing I could find in my car or purse. Then on to Target for games, then they came back to my office and played games while I worked. The whole time I am thinking…these have to be the world’s nicest kids! So, what’s an occasional bloodied arm or leg in the whole scheme of things. Everything was washable, healable, and happy. Have a great week and thank you for reading us, shopping with us, and allowing us to be a part of your day. It is appreciated.

LISA

 

 

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What I Heard This Week! 12-24-2020

What I Heard This Week December 24, 2020

The continuing saga of Teller, the skinny downtown stray: To paraphrase what I wrote several weeks ago…I met a very sad-looking stray dog downtown. I tried to feed, play, and love on him for weeks. If you needed to call it something, it could have been described as a ‘slight’ obsession, but only if you were required to call it something.  As I found out later, I was only one of several people (and I mean more people than you can ever imagine) that were keeping this sad dog in their thoughts and snacks, every single day.
    Kim kept him watered at Texas Gulf Bank. Jimmy came up on the weekends with food. Twice a day. Dolores was feeding him in the alley between Parking Way and Circle Way. He had Dr. Gotcher and his office staff tied around his little paw. Kellie, Kevin, and Brittany from Edward Jones were on his visiting list. The tellers at First National Bank were watching from their drive-thru window. There were traps set by the city that he evaded each and every time…because he is so very clever. This dog had people rooting for him and watching from afar, every time the animal control truck started its engine. He was a street-smart dog that everyone wanted to see be successful.  For some of us, we thought he needed to be caught so he had a chance of a normal life, but others were just tickled to see him avoid arrest. Fred Ortiz told me how smart he thought the dog was… “If he wasn’t really smart, they would have captured him by now.” Yep.
    When he crossed to the other side of 288/332, Dr. Pisarski’s office, Dolores, and the staff, spoiled him with snacks and rotisserie chicken twice a day. Each week, I hear from someone that stopped what they were doing during their busy day to show him a little kindness and care. So much love was given to this elusive, street-smart dog. He moved from location to location, staying just long enough for people to fall straight smack in love with him. Every day, I sat at my office thinking about him. Several days could pass without me being able to spot him, then a friend would call or text me with a new location and I would jump up and go see if it were true.
    One morning, my friend Cheryl sent me a text saying that Teller had been located at the Buc-ee’s in Angleton. One of the girls from Dr. Pisarski’s office had seen him hanging around. What were the chances of that happening? Anne-Elisabeth and I jumped into our clothes and rushed to Angleton. The entire ride was spent wondering and questioning each other about how in the world he made it to Angleton. This dog did not trust anyone and would never, ever have entered a vehicle with anyone to make that long trip. What could have happened? We couldn’t locate him when we first got there, checking the hotel next door and some back roads, so after searching for about thirty minutes, I looked across a field and spotted two vehicles with their flashers on. We turned around and headed back to Hwy #36. Sure enough, it was the Angleton Animal Control officer and another lady stopped, both of them trying so hard to get him corralled and out of the traffic. We stopped and I got out, mentioning the name Teller. Both women whipped around and said, “This is Teller?!?” As it turned out one of the ladies was Alanda, with Gulf Coast Stars who just happened to drive by. The Angleton Animal Control officer went back to her office to get what she needed, permission was granted by the storage company to dart him on the property, and I pulled out a bag of dog food to feed the poor thing. As I fed him, I tried to talk convincingly about how this whole ugly situation was going to come together, and he was going to be saved…saved from winter weather, saved from getting run over by an 18-wheeler, saved from starving, and most of all, saved from himself. He fell asleep while I was talking to him, tired from his long journey, I guess.
    After that day, Teller ended up at the SPCA in LJ. This caused quite a bit of excitement. The first day I called and asked if I could visit with him. No, they said to give him a few days to acclimate to his new world. Hmmm. This was not good enough for me, so the next day I just showed up and asked if Teller was receiving guests yet. Absolutely. They took me straight to his suite, where his crate was set up in someone’s office. He was happy and after a lot of one-on-one time and the patience of a young woman, he had bonded with his first human, Kim. That day, I sat on the floor without moving a muscle, just talking softly to him, tearing off tiny bits of the dried chicken treats that he loved so much. It took me about thirty minutes, but then I received my first small kiss, and more kisses followed. We were friends…finally. The next day I arrived again at the SPCA, and we went for a walk. Now those first couple of weeks were some crazy walking times, unlike any other that I had ever been on with my other dogs. They told us not to pull him on the leash, just let him pick where he wanted to go. Well, he wanted to go everywhere, but if the leash touched his tail, he freaked. He liked for you to walk beside him but not behind him. He liked women more than he liked men. The kids and I did this every day for quite a while, then we graduated to the dog park, but always kept him on the leash. They continued to tell us that it was going to take a while to gain his trust and they wanted to find the right family for him. We agreed.
    Then the day came when I was told that the SPCA was getting ready to ship him to the northwest to be adopted. What?!? When?!? I was not ready for this, and neither were my kids. We found ourselves “in love” with this goofy dog, so we asked if we could foster him, you know…take him home for his first sleepover. We had no idea if adopting him was the right thing “for him” because we don’t really have a backyard. That afternoon we spent a fortune on a crate, a water bowl, a leash, toys, treats, and poop bags…hmmm, just a foster. Who was I fooling? We never took him back except to visit James, Kim, and Julie, along with all the other great people that took such good care of him during the transition period. The SPCA was great! Today, Teller is doing well. He has friends all over town. He goes to work with me most days. When we get there in the mornings, he is so excited to see Connie, Janice, Pam, Hailey, Tina, Ashley, and Thomas.  When a customer comes in our front door, he gets up to see who it is. If they talk to him, he will stay and visit. If there is no conversation for him to enjoy, then he comes back in my office.
    Teller is super smart, but super hard-headed. He can sit, shake, lay down, guess which hand the treat is in, and we continue to work on staying in place. Teller can fetch and play ball. He even brings back the ball ‘most’ times. His favorite toy is Cookie Monster because it squeaks. He picked it out at PetSmart and carried it to the counter one evening, right after he peed on their floor. He sleeps late which is a real plus at our house. Gage gives him his last walk around midnight. He loves the dog park and has made many friends there. Foxie, Pepper, Flea, Penny, Moose, and so many more. His new fur is beautiful, a gorgeous red color, with feathering starting to show on his legs and tummy. It is hard to tell what kind of dog he is, but there is likely some Lab and maybe Vizsla. Teller is so sweet, gentle, affectionate, and sensitive, but he is also a great protector when he thinks we need protecting. When he sleeps, he has doggie dreams. Sometimes he is barking, sometimes he is whining, and sometimes he is running in his dreams. When I hear him in the middle of the night, I’ll get up, softly wake him up, and whisper to him that he has nothing to worry about now. He is no longer a stray, because now he has his OWN family.

Thank you to every single person that helped this dog. I know I don’t have all your names, but I still say thank you.  So, there is nothing better than a happy ending. As I told you before, happiness often sneaks in a door you did not think was open. There may be a big old bunch of negative things that have happened in 2020, but some really good things happened too. Let’s face it, true love is hard to beat.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Dick Van Dyke is 95. Actor Christopher Plummer is 91. Actor-singer John Davidson is 79. Actor Kathy Garver is 75. Family Affair. Singer Ted Nugent is 72. Guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter is 72. The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan. Actor Wendie Malick is 70. Hot in Cleveland, Just Shoot Me. Actor Johnny Whitaker is 61. Family Affair. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 53. Singer Taylor Swift is 31.

Jimmy Buffett released a new album called Songs You Don’t Know by Heart, acoustic performances of early tunes including many he has rarely played live. His daughter, Delaney, sat down with her dad and filmed the unplugged versions of the songs along with some great stories behind the songs. Buffet says, “It’s been a large silver lining to spend this time with Delaney, revisiting these old songs, having the time to recall inspiration that led to these early songs.” He added, “If it wasn’t for you requesting these songs…I would not know [them] now by heart, and I do, ’cause I had to learn them again.”

Good music doesn’t have an expiration date. Aren’t we lucky to live during this time? It is really a bit surreal. Would all these wonderful musicians be putting out all this great music if a global pandemic had not forced them into lockdown or ‘rockdown,’ as some are calling it. We sure get to benefit. I just read an inspirational quote by George Bernard Shaw, “We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.” Maybe we all need to pick what we love and play more. Not just when Covid is over, now. Paul McCartney has a new album called McCartney III. McCartney let his hair grow grey and he looks pretty dang good for a 78-year-old rocker. One song was, Women and Wives. Husbands and Lovers. You can watch his new music video of “Find My Way,” on YouTube.  Taylor Swift released a new album called evermore, a companion album to folklore.

More than 18,000 Americans died of Covid-19 in the past week, adding to the 316,000 Americans that have died this year. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects that more than 237,000 Americans will die of Covid-19 in the next three months. It’s what they’re calling, out of control. Please wear your mask.

Former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, says that he was wrong to take off his mask at the White House. “This message isn’t for everyone. It’s for all those people who refuse to wear a mask. You know lying in isolation in ICU for seven days I thought about how wrong I was to remove my mask at the White House,” Christie says in the ad. “Today, I think about how wrong it is to let mask wearing divide us, especially as we now know you’re twice as likely to get Covid-19 if you don’t wear a mask. Because if you don’t do the right thing, we could all end up on the wrong side of history. Please wear a mask.” Too bad he didn’t understand this before he spent 7 days in ICU.

In a Finland aquarium, there is a grouper named Mikko who has been a little down-in-the-mouth since the pandemic eliminated his visitors. He missed seeing humans and his caretakers noticed, so they started taking their breaks near his tank, gave him a TV, and would brush him, until the day he snatched the brush from a keeper’s hand and swallowed it. The brush lodged in his throat, he was anesthetized, and the brush safely removed. So, then they decided to throw him a birthday party. There were no fish-friends to invite because he had eaten all of them, including a venomous lionfish. See, everyone is a little depressed by the pandemic. If you get a chance, go by The Sea Center on Medical Drive. Their hours are reduced but you can still visit Tuesday – Saturday, it is free, and those fish need to see some people.

Remember to support the SPCA. Several people have asked to make a donation in Teller’s name. PLEASE DO. The SPCA does so much for the puppies and kittens in our community, with extraordinarily little money. Do not forget to spay and neuter your pets. It is the only fair thing to do. Have a great Christmas! Thank you for sharing your year with us.

Lisa

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What I Heard This Week! 12-17-2020

What I Heard This Week December 17, 2020

When you hear the name Mackenzie Scott, it probably does not mean much to you. If you add the Bezos name to the end, then you remember. After a 2019 divorce from Bezos, Mackenzie Scott had a net worth of around $60 billion. At that time, she promised to give away billions and in the past few months, she has done just that. It was announced that in the past four months she has donated more than $4.1 billion to nearly 400 organizations helping fulfill basic needs for many Americans struggling in the pandemic. She donated $20 million to Mile High United Way. Impressive.

Two things to make your day better:  1.) Do not watch the news.  2.) Stay off the bathroom scales.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have now certified their presidential election results. Actress, singer, and wife to husband Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson has revealed that nearly nine months after battling COVID-19, she still has antibodies for the novel coronavirus. Funny, it doesn’t seem so ‘novel’ anymore. 76 queens were found and destroyed in a single murder hornet nest in October in Washington State. Each queen is capable of forming her own colony. The White House Christmas decorations have 106 wreaths, 62 trees and about 17,000 bows.

Moms during COVID lockdown: “Mom, I need more toothpaste.” “Alright, but it will have to be part of your Christmas.”

About 20 million people in the U.S. could be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the coming weeks, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “Even with these plans in place, Americans need to stay vigilant to avoid unthinkable death tolls.”

The American clergyman and author Tyrone Edwards said, “Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so.”

According to Merriam-Webster, their 2020 word of the year is Pandemic. I know you are not surprised. Unprecedented was named 2020 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com. Ten years ago, in 2010. Dictionary.com announced its first word of the year…change. Wow What a difference ten years make.

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche

On 12/15, Brazoria County reported 342 new, active COVID-19 cases, the most the county has reported on one day. Prior to December, the highest number of cases reported in a day was 198 cases on 09-11.

Dear readers. I left you last week with a shorter column and the promise of more enjoyable stories this week. Well, I can now promise you the following is not fun or entertaining, but here goes: For 24-plus hours, I had been feeling pretty puny, believing I had a sinus infection, aggravated by some severe allergies. I skipped work on Monday, which I never do, and scheduled a COVID test at CVS. It was just a precautionary measure, to get one step ahead in case I had to go see the doctor for antibiotics. I knew that I would have to prove that it was a sinus infection before they would let me have an appointment for them to test me for a sinus infection…if that makes any sense? The appointment was a self-help, stick it up your nose, and rotate the swab for 15 seconds while we count, kind of test. It reminded me of having to walk during labor. When the 15 seconds were over, my eyes had watered all over my face. And I had volunteered for this…now the wait.
I have a separate entrance at my office, so I continued coming in and working for a few hours at night after everyone had left for home. I received the diagnosis text two days later with the word POSITIVE in big bold letters on the top of the text. NO.NO.NO. This was absolutely, positively NOT the answer I was expecting. My first thoughts were a false positive reading. Easy. I will just take another test tomorrow. For over nine months, I have worn a mask, washed my hands until they bled, worn gloves, shopped late at night when the stores are empty…I have done everything I was supposed to do. We wear masks at our office, the desks are far apart, customers are required to have a mask…we follow the rules. I use hand sanitizer as soon as I leave a store, I don’t carry a purse, just a phone case with a debit card, I wear my hair up, so it doesn’t interfere with my mask…it just couldn’t have happened to me. The fact of the matter is – it can happen to anyone.
It took me about two hours to research, sorting through my COVID-foggy brain, to accept that the test was probably right. I had a terrible cough, sneezing, massive amounts of congestion, along with the muscles, joints, and bones in my body hurting worse than I would have ever thought possible. My head felt like someone had just tightened my ponytail with a vice and my eyes were going to pop out. I could not take a full breath without feeling pressure and a rattle in my chest. Did I mention how very, very tired I was? My kids (both have tested negative at this time), kicked it into gear, researching what we needed, ordering supplements and a fingertip pulse oximeter so they would know if my oxygen levels required calling 911. They are my heroes in this story. I was certainly not in any condition to know what was best for me at that moment.
I still have no idea where I might have received this little gift of COVID, but I am here to tell you that this virus is REAL, and it is NOT FUN. People are dying, and hospitals are at capacity, along with our poor doctors and nurses, working themselves to death. Since as many as 30 percent of people do not show symptoms, you could be spreading the virus and injuring people without realizing it. I know you have heard this so many times. Stay home. There is not a celebration, party, or get-together that is worth going through this. I promise you. On the day that I write this (Day #11 since I showed symptoms) I spent most of my day in bed. Obviously, since it has not killed me or put me in the hospital, my symptoms are considered ‘mild,’ but I am here to tell you that even mild, this is the sickest I have ever been. Do your part. The health department called yesterday. They agreed that my daughter should have another test on Friday, then if it comes back negative, we are free to resume our normal lives on Monday. That will be 17 days of my life that I missed. I do not know about you, but I didn’t really have 17 days that I was willing to give away. The next time I see the protestors with their pathetic little signs in front of Walmart, stating that “COVID is not Real,” and “End the COVID Fraud,” or “It’s just as easy to buy a Scientist as it is to buy a Politician,” I hope I have an opportunity to tell them just how stupid and brainless they look and sound. I know that I am so lucky to be sitting here right now, but I am a little tired of everyone not doing their part to get this taken care of…

Have a safe week and as always, thank you so much for reading The Source Weekly. Please remember to always shop local this holiday season. It will make a difference for a small business and they are willing to help you shop in a way that you feel comfortable with. I promise to finish the “Teller” story next week. Yes, he is still perfect.

If you haven’t given us your email address, then do it right now 979-285-9200. We will send this paper to you every Thursday morning free of charge.

Lisa

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What I Heard This Week! 12-10-2020

What I Heard This Week December 9, 2020

Organization does not seem to come easily right now. I never seem to have any extra time, so things build up around me. In order to conquer my junk, my friends and I are having little garage sales in front of our offices. I am cleaning out closets and drawers and touching a lot of memories in the process. Today I came across a book, “A Bouquet of Flowers,” that Adelaide Thorpe (‘the purple lady’) had given to me “with love 1995” signed in purple ink, of course. The book was “sweet thoughts, recipes and gifts from the garden with the language of flowers.” Many years ago, Mrs. Thorpe and I bonded over our love of flowers. She would arrive at my office (in her purple car with flowers on the hood ornament) with a sweet card, a word of praise, thanks, and always sincere appreciation for the way I was raising my children. She was kind, gracious and all that was good in the world. Today, I went back and reread her obituary, then took the book over to the new resident of her home and shared this sweet memory. I can only hope that at some point, I have done something  that will be a sweet remembrance that can be shared. That would be the sign of a very, successful life journey.

Note: Drought Contingency restrictions are still in place in LJ until December 15th, but my water started smelling much better last week.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. But most of all, reduce. Canada has a plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030. They plan to ban only six commonly used items in 2021; plastic checkout bags, plastic straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery, and food-ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics.

“Despite a heartbreaking early closure in 2020 and the difficult months that followed, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo remained committed to its mission of promoting agriculture and supporting Texas youth and education, and we hope today’s announcement is a bright spot in a challenging year,” said Chris Boleman, Rodeo president and CEO. “Thanks to the unwavering support from our community, and the resiliency of our dedicated 35,000 volunteers who share a passion for our charitable mission, we are able to reaffirm our promise to the youth of Texas and also lend support to charitable organizations that serve our great community and state.” The Rodeo’s 2021 educational commitment will award more than $14.1 million in scholarships, more than $5 million to junior show exhibitors, $2 million in educational program grants and more than $470,000 toward graduate assistantship programs.

“Dogs, for a reason that can only be described as divine, have the ability to forgive, let go of the past, and live each day joyously. It’s something the rest of us strive for.” Jennifer Skiff

Is an animal a thing or a person? It is a great question because we don’t normally think of animals as things. But if you are working within the context of grammar, then all animals are considered things or nouns. Therefore, dogs are possessions and are treated as property by the law. The following is a quote from Elizabeth Parker. “A dog is not a thing. A thing is replaceable. A dog is not. A thing is disposable. A dog is not. A thing does not have a heart. A dog’s heart is bigger than any “thing” you can ever own.”

Today, I put a note in the mail to my favorite Santa Claus, Mr. Ralph O’Henley. When my kids were little, Santa always showed up on Christmas Eve afternoon with his soft white beard, beautiful embroidered blouse, black belt, boots, and ‘shaking’ his sleigh bells. So much Christmas magic on that one evening. When Santa left to start his deliveries, they pressed their faces to the back window and listened for the bells, then looked up to the sky.  Amazingly enough, they always heard and saw Santa in the sky on his way to the next house. They could unwrap one package under the tree – always new pajamas, the one thing that had them looking their best on Christmas morning. Hmmm. Yes, Ralph O’Henley, friend, and Santa Claus Extraordinaire. Thank you! Readers start making your traditions right now. The years pass too quickly.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer-guitarist Eric Bloom is 76. Blue Oyster Cult. Drummer John Densmore is 76. The Doors. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 75. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is 74. Actor Treat Williams is 69. Actor Charlene Tilton is 62. Dallas. Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 76. News anchor Stone Phillips is 66. Bassist Rick Savage is 60. Def Leppard. Singer Britney Spears is 39.

Actor Mary Alice is 79. Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama Sparkle. Actor Julianne Moore is 60. Game show host Wink Martindale is 87. Actor-producer-director Max Baer Junior is 83.  Jethro Bodine.  Singer-bassist Chris Hillman is 76. The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers. Actor Jeff Bridges is 71. Guitarist Gary Rossington is 69. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rossington Collins Band. Actor Patricia Wettig is 69. Singer Jim Messina is 73. Loggins and Messina, Poco. Actor Frankie Muniz is 35. Malcolm in the Middle.

The story of Teller started in July, or August, I just do not remember exactly when. On several different occasions, leaving or coming to my office, I had seen a sweet looking, but terribly skinny and mangy dog hanging around downtown LJ. It was always from a distance, but I did not give it much thought, just huge amounts of sympathy for the way he appeared. He was so thin and sad looking. About the 4th or 5th time I spotted him, I decided to stop. He was close to the parking lot of Texas Gulf Bank and I needed to let him know that I was a friend. It was late afternoon, the 16th day of September, and he ended up following me down closer to Dollar General. I would drive my car a few feet, then get out and call, clap, and whistle for him to follow. He did, then we would do it all over again. He never got too close because you could tell he was scared. During this process, I met a young woman named Genesis, both of us bonding in the street over mutual concern for this sad little critter. She stayed with him on a grassy patch near the parking lot, keeping him in her sight while I went to the dollar store to buy treats and dog food. Genesis shared that she had called the city earlier to have him picked up. He ate chicken jerky out of my hand that night.
     That evening when I left him on the street (with a water bottle in his mouth), I called my friend Cheryl that works with the SPCA and asked her what I should do. That was the start. It exploded from there. As it turned out the City of Lake Jackson had been trying to nab him for months with no success. He even had a name. He had been branded with the name Teller because…you guessed it, he hung around the banks, so the SPCA thought it was fitting. Cheryl told me to try and get a leash on him because there was a foster home available to take care of him. If we were able to catch him during the day, then we were to call the SPCA, and if it was at night, the police were willing to help us. Well, how hard could this be. He had just eaten chicken out of my hand.  Surely, I could get a leash around a skinny dog’s neck. ha-ha. This was one street smart dog.
     Teller was nowhere to be found for three days. Reports came in from friends spotting the humane officer downtown or seeing Teller here and there. I drove around downtown three times a day with fresh packages of food setting on my front seat. Every once-in-a-while I would find and feed him, but he never allowed himself to get any closer than eating out of my hand. I purchased several rubber balls because I believed I could teach him to play, then he would trust me, and I could get him the help he needed. When I would find him, he almost always had either a plastic water bottle or a piece of cardboard in his mouth, like those were his toys. This always made me super sad. So, it was just me in parking lots at night, playing ball with myself, since he never participated…to be continued next week…

I am sorry, but I have been puny this week with a sinus infection. I am going to send this short column back to Tina, then go home and climb in bed. Thank you for reading this and sharing it. We do appreciate you. Remember to Christmas shop LOCAL. They need you.

Lisa

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What I Heard This Week! 12-03-2020

What I Heard This Week December 3, 2020

The mighty Jupiter and glorious ringed Saturn find themselves relatively close together every 20 years, meaning that there is only a degree or two between them. However, on December 21st, the two planets will be closer than they have been since 1632, only 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope. Space.com explains that “they will be separated by just one-fifth of the apparent diameter of the full moon!” Mark your calendar, but do not wait until then to start watching. The planets are visible tonight and every night, near each other for the rest of 2020, and you can watch them draw closer together. The extra-close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 2020 will not happen again until the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of March 15, 2080. Oh, and December 21st is also the date of the December solstice, the shortest day of the year. From the winter solstice, until the summer solstice (June 21st), the amount of daylight increases about 2 minutes per day. I put this in as my first paragraph because I think it is the most important. But there is more. A total solar eclipse is happening on December 14, 2020. It is the famous hole in the sky, one of the world’s greatest displays. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. Be sure to have a pair of solar eclipse glasses handy. Parts of South America will be plunged into total darkness for about two minutes when the total eclipse happens. Because of COVID, many people across the world that planned to witness this event, canceled their plans, and will stay at home. COVID, go away.

After we bring food home from the grocery store…Dogs must think we are the greatest hunters ever!
– Ann Taylor

The Mike Tyson (54) vs. Roy Jones Jr. (51) exhibition fight last week ended in a draw. I guess that means they could not decide on a winner or a loser, so in my mind, they both won. When the final bell rang, three former WBC champions scored the fight a draw. USA TODAY Sports scored the fight 78-74 for Tyson. “I’m glad I got this under my belt,” said Tyson, who also said he was good with the draw “because I entertained the crowd.” Before the fight began, it was reported that Tyson appeared to be blinking back tears, an emotional moment as he prepared to fight for the first time in 15 years.

Australia is burning again. Firefighters have been battling a massive bushfire on Fraser Island for six weeks now as the country experiences its hottest November on record. The blaze on Fraser Island was sparked by an illegal campfire. Recent cooler conditions and rain have brought some relief, but more than 50 fires are still burning in Queensland and New South Wales. Bushfires are common across the country, but especially hot and dry conditions in recent years have led to worsening blazes. Experts worry the continued record heat could set up another devastating season. Last year’s Black Summer was Australia’s worst bushfire season ever, burning 30 million acres and killing at least 33 people along with an estimated 1 billion animals. The amount of land burned is immense and our world has never seen anything quite like these fires.

The cool weather is here and the only good thing to do when the temperature is below 70 degrees, is to make a big pot of soup. This past weekend, I made one of our family favorites, Chicken and Rice soup with chili oil, then another day was Tomato Basil soup with Grilled Three-Cheese sandwiches, then came freezer soup the next day, where you take all the leftovers out of the freezer and throw it in a pot. I just love any kind of soup. Our condiment of the moment is Mongolian Fire Oil made by Tsang, sprinkled on just as you serve. It is a yummy blend of chili peppers, garlic, onion, ginger, sesame, and cottonseed oil. It adds so much flavor to soups and more. I even add it to the olive oil when I am roasting sweet potato fries or Brussel sprouts.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Ozzy Osbourne is 72. Singer Mickey Thomas is 71. Jefferson Starship. Actor Daryl Hannah is 60. Actor, producer and director Norman Lloyd is 106. French actor Alain Delon is 85. Screen sex symbol from the 60’s. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 71. Chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay is 54. Nobel Prize-winning British novelist, screenwriter and short-story writer Kazuo Ishiguro is 66. Blues musician John Mayall is 87. Actor Diane Ladd is 85. Musician Chuck Mangione is 80.

Actor-comedian Howie Mandel is 65. Actor Cathy Moriarty is 60. Raging Bull. Singer Jonathan Knight is 52. New Kids on the Block. Bassist Roger Glover is 75. Deep Purple. Singer Billy Idol is 65. Guitarist John Ashton is 63. Psychedelic Furs. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 55. Singer Clay Aiken is 42. American Idol.  Actor-director Woody Allen is 85. Singer Dianne Lennon of the Lennon Sisters is 81.

Singer-guitarist Eric Bloom is 76. Blue Oyster Cult. Drummer John Densmore is 76. The Doors. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 75. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is 74. Actor Treat Williams is 69. Actor Charlene Tilton is 62. Dallas. Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 76. News anchor Stone Phillips is 66. Bassist Rick Savage is 60. Def Leppard. Singer Britney Spears is 39.

Actor Mary Alice is 79. Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama Sparkle. Actor Julianne Moore is 60. Game show host Wink Martindale is 87. Actor-producer-director Max Baer Junior is 83.  Jethro Bodine.  Singer-bassist Chris Hillman is 76. The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers. Actor Jeff Bridges is 71. Guitarist Gary Rossington is 69. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rossington Collins Band. Actor Patricia Wettig is 69. Singer Jim Messina is 73. Loggins and Messina, Poco. Actor Frankie Muniz is 35. Malcolm in the Middle.

David Prowse died at age 85 of complications from Covid-19. He was an English bodybuilder, weightlifter, 6’6” tall character actor in British film and television, but best known for physically portraying Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.  In 2015, he starred in a documentary concerning that role, entitled I Am Your Father.

One month after his death, Sean Connery’s deactivated Walther PP pistol from the 1962 ‘first’ Bond film, Dr. No, will be up for auction. The handgun is expected to bring as much as $200,000. “In the cinematic debut of the character of James Bond, Connery uses this hero weapon throughout the film and helped to establish and define the character that has been featured in books, films, and other media for the past nearly six decades,” said Julien’s Auction House.

When Linda Hill died last year, she had been an assistant professor of English at Claflin University in South Carolina for 46 years. Recently, her family announced that she left $350,000 to the university to be used to establish an endowment to support student scholarships. Nice. Celebrity chef, David Chang, became the first celebrity to win the top prize in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and donated the entire $1 million prize money to restaurant workers who have been impacted by the pandemic. The final question was to name the first US president to have electricity in the White House. ANSWER: President Benjamin Harrison. I would have walked away with nothing.

The last day of hurricane season was November 30th but since all historical rules were broken in 2020, who knows, we might just see some straggler storms in December. Now that I think about it, most historical rules were broken in 2020. The 5-day Tropical weather outlook shows a large non-tropical low-pressure system centered north of the Madeira Islands. The last year a named storm developed in December was Olga in 2007. The next Greek letter is Kappa. Sounds like a sorority girl to me.

On November 18th, a helicopter crew found an unmarked, tall, silver rectangle (quadrilateral) stuck among the red rocks in a remote area of the Utah desert while they were counting bighorn sheep. The crew went down to investigate. It was 10-12 feet high and looked like it had been planted in the ground. Like an art piece. Desert art. (Google Earth shows it to have been standing there since 2015, at least.) Sometime during the night of November 27th, it was removed by an unknown party. Less than two weeks later, halfway around the world, a second mysterious monolith was found in Romania. The mayor of Piatra Neamt, the city where it was found, seems to have found humor in the situation. He said, “My guess is that some alien, cheeky and terrible teenagers left home with their parents’ UFO and started planting metal monoliths around the world. First in Utah and then at Piatra Neamt,” he added. “I am honored that they chose our city.” Well, the plot thickens. The location soon became a hotspot, and the monolith was removed in the middle of the night by four men who were secretly photographed by a professional photographer who was there taking pictures of the object. One comment I read said, “We’ve really moved on from planking, and eating Tide pods.” If there was ever a year that we would graciously welcome aliens, it would be 2020. Bring ‘em on. Times a wasting.

For a limited time, Chipotle is adding smoked brisket to the menu. I bet that it’s better than good. Los Angeles County, the biggest county in the US, is now under a stay-at-home order.  A new study shows that dinosaurs were thriving on Earth, until an asteroid wiped them out 66 million years ago. Moderna says its coronavirus vaccine is more than 94 percent effective, and has asked the FDA to authorize it. If all goes well, the drug could begin reaching Americans by December 21. Along with the fight to see who gets the vaccine first…that is the day of the winter solstice, in case you forgot to mark your calendar. 😊

“Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.”- Karen Davison

Just when you thought you knew everything, then something comes along that makes your heart feel so good. Maybe I liked this so much because I just adopted a dog (Teller) to add to my family of two kids and, and three rescue cats. Time magazine said that when President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, there will be two German shepherds who go with his family to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Champ Biden, and Major Biden. Major will be the first White House rescue shelter dog ever.  I read another source that said that President Lyndon B. Johnson’s mixed breed dog Yuki was found by daughter Luci at a gas station on Thanksgiving Day in 1966. Luci officially gave the dog to her dad as a birthday gift in 1967. Abraham Lincoln also had a foundling pup named Fido, but the yellow mixed-breed dog never lived in the White House because he was scared of crowds and loud noises. The Lincolns gave Fido to another family before Lincoln took office, according to the Presidential Pet Museum. Yes, there is a U.S. Presidential Pet Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia, that keeps tabs on the animal companions of each commander-in-chief. It was founded in 1999 as a means of preserving information, artifacts and items related to the presidential pets. There is a portrait of President Reagan’s dog, Lucky, made from the dog’s own hair. There is the cowbell that hung around the neck of Pauline Wayne, the last cow to graze the White House lawn. Richard Nixon had a French Poodle named Vicky. Amy Carter had a border collie mix named Grits. When the Kennedy family moved into the White House, they brought a Welsh terrier named Charlie, despite the president’s allergies to animal hair. President John F. Kennedy enjoyed animals and wanted his children to have the experience of having pets. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President, owned 2 pit bulls. There is more fun information just a Google search away.

Next week, I’ll tell you the story of Teller, the downtown, hairless stray that is now laying on a rug in my office with a 5” rawhide chewie that was about 10” long last week. He is the greatest. His story has affected my family, my office, and a multitude of kind hearts in LJ and Angleton. I will also tell you about the words of the year because I just ran out of room. Have a great week and as always, thank you so much for reading The Source Weekly. Please remember to always shop local this holiday season. It will make a difference.

Lisa

  • What I Heard This Week 10-26-2023

    by on October 25, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • What I Heard This Week 11-30-2023

    by on November 29, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • Much Ado About Nothing - Texan in Winter

    by on December 6, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The power went out at my house last night for four hours. While this may not seem like a major catastrophe as it was the middle of the night and […]

  • Much Ado About Nothing - “Human Bait”

    by on January 16, 2020 - 0 Comments

    My dad always told me to have a backup plan in case my current job doesn’t work out. I wasn’t sure what that’d be until I saw this ad: “HUMAN […]

  • What I Heard This Week! December 20, 2018

    by on December 20, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The AK-47 is a type of assault rifle originally manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1949. A 17-year-old Humble High School student accidently shot herself recently with an AK-47 that […]

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