Back River Road, the Book of Lamenations, Genesee Valley Chorus concert this Sunday!
I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
When I retired for the day last night I was tired and sore from having started a project earlier in the day that morphed into a much bigger task than intended. When I retired for the day I did so with mixed feelings about todays Wrambling. I was pretty much convinced that I had the completion of the project as an unfinished task, that would, in all likelihood, consume the whole day and prohibit my Wrambling.
Well…here I am just Wrambling along. This will be somewhat short as my “to do list” is pretty meager this week.
Last week I mentioned that there was a construction project along my residential dwelling’s road, and that I hadn’t noticed any warning signs advising of such. It might have been deemed unnecessary by the contractors as most of the work was conducted “off road” but trucks and other construction vehicles were often entering and exiting my road, which I have dubbed the “Back Wriver Wroad Wraceway.” I ended up calling Scio town personnel and the first response was a suggestion that I go talk to someone in the construction crew. NOPE! I “ainta gonna” go there. The 2nd person I talked to said he would mention it to them. It must have worked as I now see they have at least one sign out.
That road title above, written in my Wrambling style, was a spin-off of an inspiration from an old time TV cartoon show character named Elmer Fudd of Bugs Bunny fame. He would have said or written it as “You Wambling Wabbit Whiter.” He used the “W” in place of an “R.” I apologize to those reading this that are too young to have experienced the humor of that cartoon character. My “poetic license” writing, varies a little as I add a “W” to the beginning of words that start with an “R.” That cartoon character inspired my writing style to some degree.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, but that last word “degree” triggered the next topic.
In my writings I often use a few numerical symbols like the symbol designation degrees “27⁰ ” or that of raising a number to a power such as in “squaring it” as in 27². These codes are a written using a code referred to as “hexadecimal.” They work, and always have for me, if your keyboard recognizes that.
I am using a new computer purchased recently. It has some quirks, and I have had to go to the seller to help me straighten some things out. One thing I have noticed is the inability of this computer to accept those hexadecimal codes that I have used for several years. To use those symbols you typically enter the “code” for the symbol by pressing the Alt key and typing the code number. The “hex” code for adding the degrees symbol is 0176. Or, it is supposed to be, and I’ve often used it. With this new “Acer” computer when I enter the code 0176 it doesn’t work.
The “work around” is to Press the ”Insert” key then select “Symbol” and go find the “0” shown as “superscript” and it “may” insert the degree symbol. I haven’t needed that function much lately so haven’t taken the time to figure out why this keyboard is being contrary. Oh well! What is a little frustration when you are already getting headaches from your occipital neuralgia?
Other keyboard “shortcuts” that I occasionally use involve the use of the key at the bottom of the keyboard (3rd one in from the left) that looks like a windowpane that will toggle you to “Your Computer” or the “Desktop” by pressing and holding that key and the letter E or D. Having mentioned my new computer…it can be a real frustrating experience training it to do what “I want it to do” as opposed to “what it wants to do.”
From an early age on, I have been a voracious reader with an appetite for fiction novels. My mother was a member of the Double Day Book Club and received books automagically on a regular basis. I actually still have a few of those books stuck away somewhere in a nook or cranny cabinet. This is a lead in to mentioning a couple of words or terms which I often see repeatedly or that introduces me to new words. The first is the term “surface streets.” I often come across that term in books or series by certain authors. Just now I accessed my “go to” reference source “Google Search” and it defined or explained that term occasionally seen in my readings, thus; In Los Angeles, California, the phrase “surface street” is in common use. It refers to an ordinary city street, as opposed to a controlled-access freeway. Presumably the word surface comes from the fact that these streets are at ground level, whereas freeways are often elevated. Curiosity thirst sated.
In one of the songs we sang recently in the Grace United Church choir include the word Lamentation. At first I was puzzled at the use of the word. Again upon investigation it made sense if you consider the seldom used word Lament. That’s a word, not used in every-day casual conversations, that means: “express sorrow, or mourning.” Lamentation, then would be “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” In Biblical history terms though, it comes from
“The Book of Lamentations” is a collection of five poems that serve as an anguished response to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., after a long siege by the invading Babylonian army.”
Curiosity is a wonderous thing, and it leads me to places I can only dream about.
Genesee Valley Chorus Notice:
The singers of the Genesee Valley Chorus, under the direction of Matthew Purks-Morris, will present their Lenten Concert at 3:00 PM this Sunday at the Trinity Lutheran Church. All are invited to attend this traditional service which is a prelude to the Easter season.
And now, I must cut this a little short and insert a poem that both writing and singing inspired a few years ago. Only those of us who sing in a formal or semi-formal group such as the Grace United Church choir or the Genesee Valley Chorus, can appreciate the emotion and blessed feeling of joy and gratitude that only presenting a public choral experience can bring.
I leave you once again with the invitation to reach out to me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments or concerns with these words from Wiser that may or may not be wiser.
