So back to the whole Fairy / Troll discussion.  Apparently, a LOT of people know both.  I’ve received quite a bit of mail on this one.

There are a lot of theories about where Fairies come from:

1. One belief held that they were a class of “demoted” angels.

2. Another view held that the fairies were an intelligent species, distinct from humans and angels. In alchemy in particular they were regarded as gnomes and sylphs ( as described by Paracelsus ).

3. One popular belief was that they were the dead, or some subclass of the dead.

4. A fourth belief was the fairies were demons entirely. This belief became much more popular with the growth of Puritanism. The hobgoblin, once a friendly household spirit, became a wicked goblin. Dealing with fairies was in some cases considered a form of witchcraft and punished as such in this era.   Hmmmmm.

5. One common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of diminutive people who had been driven into hiding by invading humans. They came to be seen as another race, or possibly spirits, and were believed to live in an Otherworld that was variously described as existing underground, in hidden hills (many of which were ancient burial mounds), or across the Western Sea.

Whatever they are…. I just know that they are EVERYWHERE!  You just have to keep your eyes open…. and your heart.

The earliest street lamps were used by Greek and Roman civilizations, where light primarily served the purpose of security, both to protect the wanderer from tripping over something on the path as well as keeping the potential robbers at bay.

Today, they are used much for the same reasons.

What you probably didn’t know about street lights is that every seventh post contains a Lamp Pixie, or a Bulb Troll.    It is pretty easy to identify the difference.    Normal street lights, look like…… wwwwelllllllll……. normal street lights.

The ones with Lamp Pixies often give off pretty colors, and feelings of well being.  But the Bulb Trolls.  Oh the BTs.  They are craggy, smelly, creepy, and dingy.  Take my advice:  Walk past them quickly.  Keep your head down and don’t draw in any deep breathes.  Seriously.  I couldn’t be more solemn about this.

I don’t think I ever had insomnia when I was a kid.  Today, there are a gazillion websites on sleep disorders in kids. Hmmmm.

Growing up it seems like we worked and played hard all day.  Or at least until the street lights came on.  Then at bedtime, it was lights out for us kids.  Literally.  I slept like a log as far as I can remember.  Great sleepability.  (another Pollyism…not a real dictionary word, I don’t think)     ANYWAY, back to the snoozers.  It was either the fact that I was just tired to the bone, or it could have had a lot to do with the whopping dose of Benadryl my Mom gave me every night to take me down a notch.  Explains a lot, really.

I recently met this little guy at a 124 decibel Birthday Party.  He’s either got some great ear muffs in there, or amazing relaxation techniques.  Me thinks the latter.

Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before this bridge falls down.  It could happen any day, really.  This is Seven Mile Bridge, on Seven Mile Road, which crosses Seven Mile Creek.  Bad news, no matter how you look at it.  Our neighbor down the road, who has lived here for all his years (which is more than 65, I’d say), told us the other day he won’t drive across it any more.  It scares him.  HOLY CRAP!  Nothing scares this guy!  (I will call him “Vern” but that is not his real name.  It is kind of like witness protection… the names have been changed here…..)  ANYWAY, Vern is our neighborhood watch dog.  He scares large burly men away.  He carries a firearm at all times.  Makes Clint Eastwood look like a wuss. This guy is a legend.  Everybody knows Vern and his vicious dog Borealis.    And he tells us he’s afraid to go over Seven Mile Bridge for the first time in his life.

Preble County Engineers take notice!  Before someone gets hurt crossing this thing at the wrong time.

They will tear it down and build a new one if they ever decide to fix it.  It is kind of sad.  This is a great old ironworks bridge.  But when the cookie crumbles…..

Snappy?  Intimidating?  Pithy?  Sweet?

Who knew, really.  Goat Meetings. We have ’em here in Preble County.  I’ve been here 20 some years, and today was my first, up, close and personal exposure to a Goat Meeting.  Apparently, they meet pretty dang early in the day.  Only on Sundays, and the last Wednesday of each month, as it turns out.

We went out walking at first light this morning, and I came upon the GPCGGS Meeting.  (Greater Preble County Girly Goat Society).  The Chair….  ChairGoat (I guess is the politically correct term) at this meeting was Clarice.  I walked over to the fence, to shoot some photos, and honest-to-goodness, I had NO IDEA I was interrupting a MEETING.  So Clarice swaggers over and says….

“I baaahhhhhhhh-eg your pardon miss.  Baaaaahhhhh-ut you will have to put that camera away and baaaaaahhhhh-eeeee moving along…..”

Hell, she was very nice to me, as goats go.  Even smiled at me.  AND…. Who the heck knew goats have such nice teeth? It is like she uses Crest Whitening Strips, or something.  At any rate, I acknowledged her request, and got on my merry way.  I’m not exactly sure what all they do at their meetings, but as I was edging away from the fence, I heard them say something about a Jar-Jar Binks Fan Club…. and dental hygiene.

Who doesn’t love Jar-Jar and the way that Binks speaks?  “Yoosa should follow me now, okeeday?”

Imagine my surprise and delight about today’s date……. On September 4, 1888, George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.Kodachrome

You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away

France asked me to add this:  She just saw these last few photos.  Now she’s not so sure you know what you’re doing.

You guys look lost in the last one, she thinks.  So for now, she’s staying on land with me……

Love you Bro!

Holy Smackerels, do I EVER LOVE to SAIL.  The wind in your face, the smell of the salty sea, the wheel in your hands, and the satisfaction of knowing the Whisker Pole has a good hold of the jib.  Well, truth of the matter is, I don’t really sail that much.  Okay.  Not at all.  But I bet I WOULD love it if I did.  I LOVED Gilligan’s Island.  There were sailors on that show, I’ll tell you.

This is the closest I’ve come to sailing, in recent history….

My eldest of brothers, however, has become quite the sea man… sea guy…  seafarer.  And it looks like he knows what the heck he is doing!

Look at the wind in his face, the wheel in his hands, the Spring Line in place!  Aye Aye Cap’n.  Keep ye’ eye on the horizon, and steady as she goes……

These beautiful sailing photos were shot by Ed Swaya on the Kali Rising.  Gorgeous.

Corn…. there is an awful lot one can write about corn.  For instance, Corn Flakes.  Corn Muffins.  Children of the Corn.  Corn on the Cob.  Corny.  Jimmy Cracked Corn, and I don’t care. Rock Group Korn.  Candy Corn.  Corn Rows.  Corn Silk.  The Corn Belt.  Holy crap, we could do this all night.

But perhaps, Corn’s biggest, and latest controversy, is centered around, of all things, Corn Syrup.  There are documentaries about the conspiracy behind Corn Syrup in our society.  Websites opposing Corn Syrup.  Marches.  Rebellions.

And of course, the battle over High Fructose Corn Syrup in foods.  It is in a lot of stuff:  Jelly, bread, salad dressings, ketchup, crackers, BBQ sauce, soups, cereal, granola bars, and on.  It is in Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby….. so really, how bad can it be?

I even checked for it in the wonder food of all wonder foods:  Yes, it is in…..

Miracle Whip.

The magical food stuff of it all.  The name in itself is glorious.  So…. do yourself a little favor tonight.  Broccoli has its place, yes.  But just tonight, go have yourself a big ol’ helping of something with Miracles in it.  Whip it up.  Yum it down.

Corn.  A miracle.