November 13, 2021, a thought for today, Everything has two handles. Dutch Proverb

Here’s the good news. My car works! Still old and taped together but it works and doesn’t sound like something from a war zone. I took it to Mad Hatter yesterday. They showed me three areas along the exhaust line that needed TLC. The total cost was under $200. I can drive now without drawing the attention of every person and animal along my path. I’m a happy camper. 

The photo theme for November 12 was “brown”. There’s lots of brown around and it comes in, it seems, hundreds of hues. I saw this brown wooden fence dotted with the shadow of the over hanging branches and decided to use it as my entry yesterday. 

Ahhh, Saturday morning and a time to sleep past seven. So I was up with a leisurely day in mind, a little unhurried dusting and a load of dishes on the agenda. That will be it except for making some chili before I leave to volunteer at church during the free meal. 

The word for today and food for thought is imitation.  By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius. It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate. Quintilian. You may imitate, but never counterfeit. Honore de Balzac. A great part of art consists in imitation. For the whole conduct of life is based on this: that what we admire in others we want to do ourselves, Quintilian. In everything truth surpasses the imitation and copy, Marcus Tullius Cicero. I would advise him who wishes to imitate well, to look closely into life and manners, and thereby to learn to express them with truth, Horace. The false is nothing but an imitation of the true. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Human reason borrowed many arts from the instinct of animals, Samuel Johnson. Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, an action, Aristotle. Imitation cannot go above its model, ......The imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Truth exists for the wise, beauty for the feeling heart, Friedrich Schiller.  

Today’s theme is “a pop of colour”. It’s a little more difficult to find this theme than the one above (brown) but I did have several to chose from. The red door and the bright colored leave stood out from the grey tone of the building and sidewalk. 

Today’s article began by reminiscing that in the beginning of the 20th century Columbus was the largest buggy manufacturing spot in the world. One of every six buggies was made here. It is further noted that quite a few major industries began in Columbus. The Columbus Buggy Company was located near where the Nationwide Arens is now located. As the horse drawn buggies disappeared, one thing that made it more possible for people to live further from downtown was the electric trolley car. The article went on to explain how the “industrial development in downtown Columbus and crowded living conditions” led to the Scioto River becoming “a slow moving sewer”. The next event in our history to be mentioned was the “Great Flood (of 1913)” and how it destroyed property and lives. The flood walls broke and twenty-six feet of water covered parts of Franklinton. The article said that parts of Columbus was shut down for six days and that the area on the west side of the river was shut down for over six weeks. Before the flood the area was a “hodgepodge of factories and slums”. After the flood changes took place. Empty factories, warehouses and slums were torn down. “Massive flood walls were built”. Government buildings were built. Some of these were City Hall, the Ohio Supreme Court Building, Central High School (COSI), and the first Columbus skyscraper (the American Insurance Union (AIU) now called the LeVeque Tower). By the 1950s the population for all of Columbus was over 357,000 all living outside the downtown area. Over the years there has been on going growth keeping up with developments and improvements. The article went on to mention something that caught my interest... “while the city did get much needed new construction, it also lost part of the rich heritage....it is always cheaper in the short run to tear down than to restore”. As an example, among other changes brought on by growth, our present skyline overlooks the place where the first cabin along the Olentangy and Scioto Rivers was built. In part over the years Columbus growth has been attributed to the efforts of Mayor Sensenbrenner adopting policies that led to suburbs becoming part of the city in the use of basic sewer and water service. Thus the “physical size of the city” grew and added to the tax base. 

By the way, it’s perfect day for chili for dinner.....there were snow flurries this morning and the sound of the furnace fan most of the day. 

Joy

PS I had a burst of energy....I dusted the wood floors upstairs, cleaned the upper part of the stove around the burners, used a mop on the kitchen and powder room floors and hand washed dishes I used to make the chili (all added to my “leisurely day”). 

colors