Bonnies Fever, Birds, Gaslighting, and of course, a poem
Genesee Valley Chorus Concert Alert: December 13 in Wellsville
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
A wolf in Bonnies garb is always a Bonnie. I had the distinct pleasure of attending a “nerve wracking” St. Bonaventure Bonnies basketball game vs Colgate University last night. Not being very familiar with Colgate, in my minds’ eye, I pictured them as being an easy win. Boy, was I wrong. I searched Google for the team’s name and guess I might as well share the entire response so you will then know as much as I do.
“The Colgate University basketball team is called the Raiders, the Colgate Raiders. They compete in NCAA Division I as part of the Patriot League, and their official athletic site and social media consistently refer to them as the Raiders.”
Perhaps the Bonnies assumed as did I, but they found out in a hurry that the “Raiders” were ready to raid the Reilly Center and come away with a win. At the end of the 1st half the Bonnies were down by 13 points. Given the weather I was tempted to depart despite having paid for a ticket.
A couple of years ago Andrew Harris had offered me an opportunity to follow the Bonnies and to report all to the Wellsville Sun. I did give it serious thought but decided that watching the game and diligently taking note of the players statistics, the game action and all related would take away from my enjoyment of just watching. The good news is that my passing on that opportunity was likely a motivator for the Sun utilizing the talents of former Olean Times Herald Sports Writer Chuck Pollock. The Sun is definitely brighter with his writing.
Having mentioned the weather above, I might expound on that a little. It was snowing lightly as I headed to Olean a little early so I could fulfill my wife’s shopping list at the Walmart store. The roads were at that time in good shape. After the game I rushed to my parked truck (in a convenient handicap parking area) and I was one of the first out of the parking lot and onto Rte. 417 headed home. Driving the streets of Olean to get to the I86 entrance wasn’t bad either. However, when I got onto the interstate the weather was very obviously a travel hazard. A short wheel base pickup truck, as is my Nissan Frontier, isn’t the most relaxing venture on slippery roads. Four-wheel drive is useful if you are off-roading, which I was a little concerned that I would end up doing. But, four wheel drive isn’t any better, and in fact may be worse, on slippery road conditions. Four wheels spin and slide on icy roads as much as do two wheel drive vehicles. Probably a little worse.
This morning’s snow that is now falling, as I write, is a small flake, heavy dense, snow that tends to be very slippery on the roads. The snowflake, is actually a crystal which is small in shape and thus packs very tightly. Its depth doesn’t build up as fast as the larger fluffy flakes but when it does, it packs down and is even difficult to plow much less shovel by hand.
At a nerve wracking 40 miles per hour, I had a pretty good line of cars backed up behind me. One by one they flew by me as if the roads were summer-time dry. One car, the one directly behind me, never deviated from his/her position. If I slowed down a little in blinding snow areas, it slowed down. If I increased speed to 45 mph in non-blizzard areas, it sped up and stayed right with me as if we were tethered. It finally turned off in Belmont before I reached my turn.
Given the blustery and cold last couple of days the aviary activity at our single bird feeder has increased considerably. Especially noteworthy are the Cardinals. With proper terminology they are named American Cardinals. Scientifically they are known as Cardinalis cardinalis, by the aviary specialists. The other day they were swarming our feeder, the deck below, and the ground beside the deck. At one point I counted 20 Cardinals, most of which were on the feeder, on the deck, or flapping trying to get a place in line at the feeder. We have a second feeder mounted on the side of the garage, but we don’t utilize that this time of year as mostly Blue Jays raid it and gluttons that they are, they can empty it in a day. If you are more than a one-time reader of my Wramblings you are likely aware of my dislike of the Jays. We are also inundated at this time of year by the Mourning Doves. They typically are ground feeders, so they stay at deck level, or on the ground. If they happen to squeeze their way into the feeder, they throw more seeds out than they eat. I actually think they do that so they can go down on the deck and peck at the seeds. The tit-mice (Tufted Tit-Mouse) are a pleasure to watch (or hear) as they grab a seed and then bang the beak on a hard service with a “rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat” rhythm. They too are enjoyable to watch. All, or most of the migratory birds have been long gone. I’m not sure which category the Carolina Wrens are in as there are occasional sightings of them, but not nearly as frequently as in the summer time.
I just looked out the window again as I write this and note that today’s snowfall, which started before daybreak is steadily falling to earth in traditional winter form. Last winter was very mild and did not present any measurable snowfall, nor below zero temperatures. As of this writing we have had both, with below zero readings of -7⁰ and -11⁰.
Every time I try to type the “degrees symbol” I have to stop and look it up and figure out how to do it. In another life (a few years ago) I figured out how to save a file which included useful symbols and re-named them for my convenience. That all happened on a different computer however, and I haven’t done anything like it with this laptop. One of these days…
My Grammar Groan vocabulary word of the day is Gaslighting. Having read that term several times lately it’s use is kind of intuitive, but not always. I hope I haven’t been gaslighting anyone. By definition, gaslighting is: “the practice of psychologically manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity, memory, or powers of reasoning.” I guess when anyone asks us to explain our reasoning for doing something, in a way they are gaslighting us. My first inclination assuming that it refers to an old fashioned lantern would give it a meaning “that something was dimly, or weakly spoken.” So much for my etymology.
One of my noted topics for today was (and is) going to be making reference to drivers who pass you by and then immediately pull back in front of you. This is especially irritating and frustrating when it is done while it’s raining (or snowing) causing splash up on your windshield. Not so much an inconvenience if your wipers are already on but particularly a nuisance if they aren’t as the wet roads are from previous precipitation. Give us a few car lengths please.
Rule of thumb is to leave a distance equivalent to; “For every 10 miles per hour of speed, try to keep a distance of one car length between you and the vehicle in front.” That certainly was good advice for those passing me last night but they just stayed in the passing lane anyway.
I had in my “future writing topic notes” the suggestion that a topic sometime that would please and interest me was to give a re-cap of my writing career, and which would also include gratitudinous remarks about former “influencers.” That would likely be a single topic and so I will save it for a future writing.
The Genesee Valley Chorus will be presenting their annual Christmas season concert this coming Saturday at the Grace United Church on North Main Street in Wellsville.
This colorful poster provides a decorative touch to my Wramblings and is heartwarming to share since I had to take this “semester” off from the Chorus. Please consider attending and supporting this local choral group which has been in existence since 1976. It will be well worth your time, and you will not leave disappointed.
My December greeting is expressed in this poem written several years ago and shared nearly every year.
If you have any cares, concerns or comments please feel welcome to share them to me at IM.WIserdad@gmail.com. I have heard from many, and I would love to hear from more.
