A Historic Resting Place

This morning before a scheduled class at the gym Hubby Tony and left the house to take advantage of a cheap drink promotion at a local gas station chain. Although it was cloudy, the temperature was lovely. After getting out drinks we decided to take a walk before heading to the gym. 

The gas station we had chosen is close to a paved rail-to-trail path. Tony suggested a route that would take us to one of its trailheads, where we could hop on the trail to circle back. Along the way we wandered up and down several small streets. Shortly before we got to the trailhead we came up on the front entrance of the Father Dickson Cemetery.

Wikipedia

I am more familiar with the back of the cemetery, which is visible from the trail, but I've never taken the time to stop and explore the area. Both Tony and I thought today would be a good day for exploring and we turned through the gates.

The first thing I saw was a large obelisk dedicated to Moses Dickson (the cemetery's namesake), who was a member of the Underground Railroad and a community leader during the Civil War era.

Thanks to the educational signs that lined the road I learned that this was one of the first public cemeteries available to Black people in the St. Louis area, and several notable people are buried on the grounds. When the cemetery closed in the 1970s there was no endowment to maintain the area. It fell into neglect until a group was established in the 1980s to preserve the site. In 2021, the cemetery was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

At the edge of the cemetery there was a small path that led to the trail, where I saw a information about a walking tour brochure. We didn't have time for that today, but I put the activity on my mental list of things to do.

Palm Sunday Distractions

If you are a Christian you know that today is Palm Sunday, which is the feast that commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion. 

This morning Hubby Tony and I walked to the church just down the road from our condo.We picked up individual palm leaves from a table, then walked into the nave and chose our seats. Just about the time I was settled the lector invited everyone outside.

There, the priest and deacon went through a short rite (consisting of prayer and a short Gospel reading), then everyone processed back inside. Once people were settled in the pews the priest issued an invitation to the young children who wanted to participate in the Children's Liturgy. They gathered in front of the altar, then followed their teachers out for their lesson.

(After they left the Liturgy of the Word began. There are always three readings at a Sunday mass. The first is from the Old Testament or Acts of the Apostles, the second is from one of the New Testament letters, and the third is from one of the four Gospels. On Palm Sunday, rather than being proclaimed by the priest or deacon the Gospel is divided into four spoken parts-Christ, the narrator, a reader, and the crowd.)

At the beginning of  the Liturgy of the Eucharist the children returned for the rest of the mass.

The family in the pew in front of me had three children (who looked to be about 7, 5, and 3). The children were well mannered except for their new palm leaf toys. As much as I tried to concentrate my attention kept wandering their way:

• Boy One used his like a floppy baton, swaying his body in time to the music in his head.

• Girl twirled hers around in the palms of her hands until it fell on the floor. She hopped down to retrieve it and then started again.

• Boy One poked Boy Two with the tip of his and Boy Two retaliated.

• Boy Two turned his palm into a sword and batted his sister on the head, then stuck it in her ear.

Mom and Dad were trying hard to moderate the worst of the behavior while trying to pray themselves. (I was sympathetic, because my boys used to do the same thing many years ago.) However, just before communion Mom had enough. She collected all of the palms and kept them for the rest of Mass.

Five years ago today: There's A Word For That

Small-Scale Soaker

I have a 'boo-boo' on the pinky finger of my right hand. Someone suggested that soaking it in Epsom salts would help relieve some of the pain. 

However, I had trouble coming up with a container small enough for one short digit.

After a thorough search in the kitchen and bathroom, I walked into the office and spied a prescription bottle left over from some cat medicine. It was just tall enough that my finger would fit, and narrow enough to only need a dash of Epsom salts and a couple of tablespoons of water.

Pen for size

Five years ago: A Curious Poem For Good Friday

A Quick Measure Of Creativity

Tonight I took the Divergent Association Task, which measures verbal creativity and divergent thinking in four minutes or less.

The test was developed by Harvard University postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jay A. Olson. It involves listing 10 nouns that are as different from each other as possible. People who are more creative tend to think of words that have greater distances between them.

I tend to overthink things and couldn't believe that I could actually complete the test in less than four minutes, so I timed myself with a stopwatch. The elapsed time from starting to hitting the submit button was 2:15! Scoring was immediate, and based on a calculation of the semantic distance between the words. Most people score between 74 and 82. Mine was 78.

Five years ago today: Heat Ho Hums

A Different After Dinner Drink

During the cool weather part of the year I often drink a cup of herbal or decaffeinated tea in the evening. I enjoy trying new flavors. The last time I was in a fancy tea shop I saw something called barley tea on the shelf.

The associate explained the roasted barley drink was a popular in many Asian countries, particularly Japan, China, and Korea. She said it had no caffeine, and many people find the drink coffee-like in taste. When I found a small bag of Apple Barley teabags in the clearance section I decided to bring it home and give it a try.

I brew my tea a cup at a time, and I'm sure a purist would shudder at my method. After my favorite mug is filled with water I add a tea bag, heat the mug in the microwave, and then let the tea brew for a few minutes before pulling the bag out.

The barley tea is nothing like the light and minty chamomile combinations, invigorating ginger blends,  or the tart and fruity hibiscus-based mixtures I usually drink, but it's a nice change of pace. Its flavor is slightly bitter, toasty, and nutty and the apple taste is barely noticeable.

 How about you? Are you a tea drinker? Have you ever had barley tea (and if so, what did you think of it)?

Five years ago today: Worth A Watch

Commandments for seniors

I'm sure you've heard the old saying "April showers bring May flowers". If that's true, the atmospheric river of rain we're scheduled to get this weekend should mean that there will be blooms everywhere! Newsweek quotes AccuWeather meteorologists, who say that a "1,000-mile swath through the central U.S. could see four months' worth of rain in only five days this week".

While I hunker down inside and stay dry, here are some funnies to ponder:

• The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.

• Just once, I want the prompt for username and password to say, “Close enough.”

• Becoming an adult is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

• I hate it when I can’t figure out how to operate the iPad and my tech support guy is asleep. He’s 5 and it’s past his bedtime.

• Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

• You don't need anger management. You need people to stop irritating you.

• Even duct tape can't fix stupid – but it sure does muffle the sound.

• Talk to yourself. There are times when you need expert advice.

• Aging has slowed you down, but it hasn't shut you up.

Dawning

Almost a month ago when I rolled out of bed, before Daylight Savings Time started for the year, there was a tiny bit of brightness coming through the blinds. After the time shift, the bedroom went back to being completely dark first thing in the morning. However, I knew that eventually the longer days would come back.

Wikimedia Commons

And they did. Last Saturday I was almost able to find my clothes in the dresser using just natural light, and according to WillyWeather, today's first light was even six minutes earlier than that, so the room was even incrementally brighter. I thought that was exciting, and so did the newly-returned birds I heard chirping outside.

Five years ago today: Take One, Leave One

Meet Me At The Park

A couple of weeks ago the cat rescue Hubby Tony and I foster through offered volunteers the opportunity to attend this afternoon's St. Louis City SC Major League Soccer game as part of the team's community appreciation program. The team just began playing in 2023, and we haven't had a chance to see a match yet. We jumped at the opportunity.

However, for the past few days the meteorologists were warning about potential severe weather in the afternoon (heavy rain, strong wind, very large hail, and possible tornadoes). To us the key word was potential, so we decided not to worry about it. However we did decide to utilize a parking garage some distance away and travel downtown on the Metrolink light rail to keep the car safe just in case the forecasters were correct.

Soccer games don't stop for normal precipitation, and umbrellas are banned in the stadium, so we both brought rain jackets. It was a good thing we did, because on the walk to the stadium it started raining. We pulled out the jackets. Ten minutes later it stopped, and by the time the game started it was sunny. I realized that I hadn't used sunscreen and worried about burning.

I decided to wear a cat shelter logo shirt, but was in the tiny minority that did not have some type of City logo clothing on. However, the shirt was a nice way for other volunteers to identify me. Today's opponent was Austin, represented on the scoreboard as ATX. Tony eventually figured out the initials stood for Austin Texas. Our seats were close to the diehard fan supporters section, where the groups waved flags, sang, chanted, and beat drums during the entire game.

After the first half City was down by one goal. Ten minutes into the second half an announcement was made that there was thunder in the area and play would stop until it passed. The total delay ended up being about 50 minutes. After the game resumed City tried their best, but lost the game 0-1. Tony and I agreed we still had a great time.

Five years ago today: Rules From The Male Side

You're Getting Old!

I was recently introduced to the entertaining website You're Getting Old!, which offers all types of facts about a person's age. The process starts by inputting a birth date:

I found out that I was 24,182 days old. In addition to reading about facts about historical and cultural events that have taken place during my my life I also found out that:

• My age in days equaled those of the singer Adele plus the actress Kristen Stewart added together.

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 24,177 days ago on October 31st, 1892 (which is nearer to my birth date than today).

• Over the years, I've had 2,211 candles on my birthday cakes.

• The moon has orbited the earth 885 times since I was born.

• Out of 100,000 people born on the same day as I was, approximately 78,719 are still living

Five years ago today: Adventures In Yoga, Virtually

It Was Beautiful Day To Learn Something

Last Friday I was reading the calendar section of the paper and saw that Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum was having a Medal of Honor walking tour today. The event description on the cemetary website said:

Join us at the Arboretum on Medal of Honor Day for our special walking tour. During this two-hour walking tour, you will visit the graves of the 10 Medal of Honor recipients laid to rest at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum.  At each grave, their accomplishments will be read aloud from the submissions made to secure their accommodation. Attendees will carry flags to each burial location and be part of honoring these 10 heroes of our country.

There was nothing on the calendar, so Hubby Tony and I decided to go.

By the time the tour started at 1:30 pm it was sunny and warm enough to just need a fleece jacket. There were approximately 20 people on the tour, and most looked to be approximately my age. I learned that today was one of the two times each year that the medal recipients had the American and Medal of Honor flags next to their graves refreshed. (The other is on Veteran's Day.)

As the tour left the gathering building each person grabbed a flag (either American or Medal of Honor). At each grave, someone carrying an American flag placed it on the left of the tombstone and someone carrying a Medal of Honor flag did the same thing on the right. The tour guide read the official proclamation that listed their accomplishments and provided extra information.

The vast majority of Medal of Honor recipients at the cemetery fought in the Civil War, but there was one from World War I and one from the U.S.-Korean Conflict of 1871, which I hadn't heard of before. At the end of the walk the group dispersed with no fanfare. 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was glad to have had the opportunity to combine a nice walk with a little bit of history.

Five years ago today: Let There Be Light