August 11, 2020 thought for the day: Where you saw wood, there the sawdust will fall. Russian Proverb

It has been an active Tuesday. The dogs have needed a “pedicure” for quite some time now. I learned that they had to have a copy of the receipt for the most current rabies shots before I could take them to a groomer. When I found their papers I realized they would have to have another rabies shot next week. So, today, instead of having them traumatized with two “scary” procedure in less than one week I decided to do it all at the vets office instead of part Petsmart and part doctor. Of course there was the regular office visit charge as well as the shot and the nail cut. In their “doctor” visit it was noticed their gums were inflamed so they were put on antibiotics for the time being. What a day for all of us.

August 10 was another of the days that I had two photos of the day. The first one, and the one that offers a daily challenge was “sunny”. Sue and I had gone in search of a special tea at a couple of stores. On our way home from there we went by the park for me to find the photo of the day. I wanted to get the sun rays bouncing off a metal sculpture. I couldn’t seem to line one up as the clouds crossed the rays of the sun. But the sun was abundantly available to picture in the sky and trees. The second theme for the day was “patterns in nature”. I used some of what the park had to offer for that shot too. 

I got started on the bulletin and took care of a couple of things in the “garden”. Then I tended to the very needed task of clearing out the frig and loading the dish washer.

The word today is laughter. Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face, Victor Hugo. Beauty is power; a smile is its sword, John Ray. Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles, George Eliot. Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The vulgar only laugh, but never smile; whereas well-bred people often smile, but seldom laugh, Lord Chesterfield. There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance, Solomon. Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it, Henry Ward Beecher. A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy, Thomas Carlyle. Anger kills both laughter and joy; What greater foe is there than anger? Thiruvalluvar. Man is the only creature endowed with the power of laughter; is he not also the only one that deserves to be laughed at? Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke. There are many ways to the Divine. I have chosen the ways of song, dance, and laughter, Rumi. What is this precious love and laughter budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up! Hafez. 

The theme for today is “wave”. My fist choice would have been a motion of the sea but I am no where near that so I had to chose the other kind of wave. And I had to use myself as the model.

This pandemic has put a lot of thinking and use of the digital world to the forefront and demonstrated in many ways how important it can be. The title of the article today is “The Coronavirus Exposes Columbus’ Digital Divide, The Best Overall Home Security”. Early in the article it was mentioned that before the pandemic interrupted regular school classes the internet was a problem for some people. It went on to point out that digital access was not looked at as something critical.  “....some still look at the internet as a luxury, when in fact it’s more of a utility like electricity or gas.” Until the pandemic it was used to allow people to look for work, research, homework, or distance visiting with family and friends. Public libraries made computers available for those who needed them. The article went on to say the library made the wifi available in the building until the virus came along. Then the library extended the wifi to the parking lots so that the students with available laptops could come at times when the library was closed if they had to. One research project determined that only 57 percent of Franklin County residents have high-speed service. I leaned from the article that there was a time that the library offered computers for only $20 to families in need. Later the city offered Google Chrombooks to children in need. South-Western City Schools sent out 150 satellite driven portable wifi devices. In June Columbus schools partnered with COTA in a project for COTA to park a bus with wifi for public use at Forest Park YMCA three times a week. The article mentioned the free lunches that were handed out and related that implementing a publicly available broadband program “in the same vein” as another essential resource.

I think I am making creamed dried beef on toast for dinner.

Joy