In leaving for the office earlier than normal, I thought I’d beat the terrible rainstorm we had this morning but didn’t. The rain was coming down in sheets and the streets were like rivers of water looking for the lowest level. Until you actually see water running down streets, one doesn’t really notice where the storm drain inlets are until you see water dumping into them. Those storm sewer inlets are rarely noticed since they serve no other purpose. They are also homes to creatures of the night which many don’t even realize they’re living down there. I’ve seen opossums, raccoons, wild cats, rats and heaven knows what else crawling up from or dropping down into those drains. I think it would be a great take-off for someone filming the lives of the storm drain dwellers. I’ll watch it, but I’m certainly not going down into a manhole leading to one of those subterranean hideaways. I’ve seen some storm sewer tiles that are six feet in diameter. Can you imagine what kind of giant home that must be for the array of creatures lurking there during the daylight hours? It’s just another example of how wild creatures adapt to living in towns and cities populated by humans.
I had a great chat several days ago with a woman who works with the public on a daily basis. She performed her given task for me but then before I left, I happened to notice a young man and woman entering who were scantily dressed and exposing their piercings and tattoos. I couldn’t help mentioning to her how embarrassing it is for me to even look at them. I asked her, “Do you think the drop crotch phase will ever go away?” She rolled her eyes and said, “It’s been around already far too long.” Several days ago someone in my family was asking if I had a photo of my grandmother when she was young. I had some extra time early one morning and went digging for one. To my surprise, I found one of her which was marked on the back being her 18th year. In looking at the photo I think she more in her early twenties. I really took a good look at her as well as her dress and makeup of likely the photo being taken some time around 1915. Wow. That would be exactly 100 years ago. Since I knew her well, I would say without a doubt, had she been one and twenty in these times, she would be writing her ticket for a great life in climbing her ladder of personal success. What placed her a cut above her contemporaries was not just her fine education out here in the wild north, but also her wit. She could come up with some of the most hilarious sayings capable of dis-arming anyone trying to have the last word. She grew up on a farm, married, and raised her family in the country. Whenever my grandfather would start getting too close to her affairs of the house she would say, “Remember my good husband, when it comes to house and home, what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is my own.” Many great life lessons were learned from her and even though she’s been gone for a number of years, her spirit lives on with the multi-generational legacy she left behind. In looking at the picture above of my grandmother at likely 20 years old, can you see the difference in the way in which young women dressed then versus now? Nothing overly exposed, no excessive makeup, the hair pulled back and formed, and above all, no piercings or tattoos. This photo is of natural beauty in another light.
