“All the birds that were singing,” retail pet peeves, scanner chatter, and more from the Wrambler
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
Photo of American Bluebird by Dan Jordan Photography
Today’s teaser heading of “Fly Over, Fly Down,” is a hint at two completely unrelated topics. One would be looking up and the other probably looking down.
Other than the especially picturesque Contrails in the sky left by passing aircraft, the most interesting “sky views” this time of year are the migratory sights and sounds of birds which are harbingers of the climate change from summer to fall. Flocks of geese, with their distinctive “honking” are either short term in the few hearty groups that seem to stick around even beyond fall, or the normal southern migration forming the distinctive “V” formations.
Speaking of which, begs the question posed to me one day by a friend as we watched a formation of geese flying over. He asked me: “Do you know why one leg of the “V Formation” is longer than the other?” I thought about it and offered a couple of scientific theories. “Nope”, he said, “it’s because there are more geese on one side than the other,” Duh!
If it’s a “fly over” you raise your eyes to the heavens in wonder and awe. If it’s a “fly down” Some guy was in a rush, or forgetful, as he left the restroom, and all other eyes likely would be cast downward. That situation creates an awkward moment as to whether you should advise the forgetful person or not. From “guy to guy” it’s not that much of a problem. If a female notices it, that presents the choice of some immediate embarrassment to her, or later embarrassment to you when you discover it yourself. Immediately, you wonder how long it has been that way, or how many people have already noticed but passed on giving you a heads up. I guess it would present a similar situation with a guy noticing a lady with a blouse button in a strategic location that had come unfastened. I have gotten so I try to remember to check myself before I leave the house. Occasionally I have returned home from being out in public only to discover it after the fact.
That topic brings back fond memories of a favorite Chorus director, who, prior to a public performance, advised all the guys to check themselves before going on stage. Sounds like that might have derived from a previous personal occurrence.
Fall aviary flyovers have begun. I have mentioned several times over the past few weeks that all our migratory small birds (geese excluded) have now departed. This includes Grosbeaks, Orioles and other species like Indigo Buntings, which we haven’t seen in a couple of years. We miss the privilege of their visits. Every time I commit to saying that all the Grosbeaks have now gone, I will get a visit from one, or more, including one mated pair that are either hanging around, or most likely just passing through. Just minutes ago, we had a visit from an immature male Grosbeak which had started its plumage of “adulthood” and/or a couple of immatures, yet undetermined gender, Grosbeaks, and Cardinals. It seems that we are going to be blessed with a healthy number of resident Northern Cardinals this year based on the number that have been visiting all summer. I have heard a couple of geese flyovers recently but only of smaller flocks which I have heard going over both early day and late day and they seem to still be hanging around the area. The hummingbird males have apparently left but the females are still here. They are the last to depart.
The old “wives’ tale” tells us that hummingbirds linger and stick around until the geese fly over and then piggyback a ride with them. The full flock has yet to depart.
Our swimming pool temperature has dipped into the 70’s finally and I haven’t yet decided whether I want to, or will be able to, sneak in one last plunge before winterizing the pool. The second week of October is the latest that it’s been in use previously but that was years ago.
Irons Road in Amity (and Scio somewhat) continues to be a hotspot of the Scanner calls. Last week there was a Fire Department “call out” for a hay baler on fire. Still on the “Scanner Call Scatter,” repeatable patterns continue. Covid calls have ramped up again as that ailment has been re-born. Domestic “disturbance” calls are still too frequent and seem to be intensifying. All familial disputes seem to trigger instantaneous calls to emergency dispatch. Without implying that they all might not be of a level warranting emergency services it seems that some are just a let down in normal parent-child rules enforcement or the lack thereof.
Perhaps it is a “seasonally triggered” event, but it seems that there is a significant increase in the number of “oxide” detectors automatically signaling emergency responses with a direct link to a service provided by the device or automatically transmitted as an alert to central dispatch. Carbon Monoxide (CO) which can be very dangerous and even lethal as it’s an odorless gas, seems to be the main culprit. Automatic Medical alerts are also high on the list of these emergency calls. I guess the technology to have these devices is a blessing and an abundance of false alarms is easily offset by the occasional “lifesaving” response. Better safe than sorry is certainly appropriate.
My wife’s memory astounds me. Not of all things mind you as she can be selective, but if out traveling I will mention a road “in passing” that we may have traveled “by moonlight” back in the dating days, but she denies any recollection of that. But, of other things completely beyond the range of my recall, she is phenomenal. One day last week she was showing me the baby lemons that are growing on her “Lemon Tree.” As I am wont to do, I started singing the opening bars of the song Lemon Tree. She immediately responded with “Trini Lopez.” I stopped singing and asked who that was. She replied that he sang that song back in the 60’s. Indeed, he did. Will Holt was the 1st to sing it in 1960, followed by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and in his generational timeline year of 1965 Trini. Sang it. You are welcome 7- and 8-decades old people, especially if you will now start humming or hearing the song “Lemon Tree” in your head over and over.
A couple of weeks ago my “utility tractor” which is a large John Deere X530 Lawn tractor, now retired from my lawn mowing, started acting up causing me hit and miss bouts of start or won’t start. The battery finally gasped its last breath and wouldn’t hold a charge. My latest Olean shopping excursion afforded me the opportunity to visit the NAPA store on East State Street (Rte. 417). Having done a little research on the present, now former, battery, I knew what I needed in the line of a replacement battery. Just shy of the $200 mark fixed me up with a 50 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) 12 Volt battery and only left me a little “Cranky.” The $18 Core fee (waived if you swap an old battery) surprised me somewhat. I’m glad I had that trade in.
I know I’m repeating myself here, but I wish they would do away with the “penny” as a monetary unit of our financial system.
I detest receiving four pennies back when my purchase price ends with 1 or 6 as the last number. Rounding the total cost up or down isn’t going to financially break anyone or any business. I’m sure that there are hundreds of thousands of people that would scream NO to giving up the denomination as they have hundreds of dollars stashed away in a large glass jug somewhere.
Give these people a time window in which to cash in their horde, and after that grace period we could be done with that form of currency.
Have I mentioned my disappointment with the layout of the Olean Mall lately? What a nuisance going from Kohls to Penney’s on the same visit. You can’t get from one to the other anymore without walking or driving from one end of the mall to the other on the outside. New development plans will likely, or hopefully, take care of that problem in the future.
Speaking of making purchases, specifically online purchases, we had a purchase delivered this past Sunday. Had we not had an earlier delivery experience already, the delivered item might have stayed out on the porch until our next exit of the house via that lesser used doorway. It seems that Amazon has taken their deliveries business away from both USPS and UPS, and now utilizes independent contractors who receive the package from somewhere. I have yet to figure out how the local delivery people get the items from Amazon but will figure that out eventually. One of our most recent USPS deliveries went so awry that even Pony Express would have been better.
We received a notification from the “seller” that an item had been delivered earlier that day. Prior to this latest Amazon mechanism, anything sent via UPS went to Arkport, then a day or 4 later (usually) to Wellsville, then to the Scio Post Office then to us. An item first arriving in Arkport, 45 minutes away, would often take an additional 4 days more to get delivered to our front door. This recent purchase was not on our porch when we looked. The search began and then following a series of phone calls to Wellsville, and Scio PO’s and getting various runarounds, a lady, not all together gleefully, pulled up out front where I happened to be mowing and handed me the package. It seems that it was initially delivered to the wrong house/address. It took awhile and when we finally got the package it had been opened, apparently by the unwitting recipient. I’m not sure if they wouldn’t have just been pleased with their good fortune, thankful for their un-paid-for new shoes and we would never have been the wiser, except by name. Apparently, the mail carrier finally, after our complaint, went to the house where the package was delivered and got it back.
Having just completed the Labor Day holiday weekend I reflected on the changes in how people now feel about holidays. Were it up to me, holidays would still be spent as close to how my family used to gather and celebrate. We don’t do that anymore. I miss it! Families have grown and spread out, social gatherings now among many families, like ours, have changed significantly and get-togethers are seldom. I miss that!
I am most thankful for the recent unexpected reach-outs by readers expressing their appreciation for my Wramblings. That is what makes doing this that much more worthwhile for me. My Signature statement says it all. If you have any comments, cares, questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com
Thank You for reading.
