Nothing Funny Today

Normally, a Friday post will have be humorous with a photo included, but not today. 

It's Good Friday which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Considering the current state of the world's health, this day is even more solemn this year for all. 
(Comments are off today)

Early morning view of downtown Nashua, NH

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Be kind to one another

This 'n That Updates

This post has updates on previous blog posts, because I had the time (don't we all now) and wanted to share.

I'm late in posting this very happy news that fellow blogger Laurie, who in late February posted a blog farewell, has returned with her same blog title. You can find at Where the Spruce Trees Grow. Welcome back Laurie, you were missed. Drop in for a visit. Laurie blogs with the same spirit of doggedness and expressiveness that I and so many others admire. She shares her daily struggles with grace and candor and her positive outlook is always inspiring to myself and other bloggers. Welcome back Laurie, you were missed.

Update: After preparing this post a few days ago, I checked Laurie's blog and, sadly, it's no longer available to read posts or leave comments. You can read her explanation at the above link. Unfortunately, part of the reason is due to culprits who we all dislike.

In mid-March, I posted a goodbye to Picasa, Google's photo editor, which though no longer supported, was still functional on my desktop iMac computer. An operating system upgrade in late 2019 would only support 64-bit software apps. Since Picasa outdated was a 32-bit app, it wouldn't work after the OS upgrade. I needed a replacement 64-bit photo editor, and preferably a no-cost version (free is always good).

In that earlier post, I listed several free photo editing apps, some of which were Windows or Mac specific and/or platform specific (tablet, phone or desktop). I posted about downloading a couple and since then, I've been two of these: Fotor and PhotoScape X. While they share some capabilities, overall Fotor is more limited; however it's a quick and easy collage maker and editor. 

I'm a big huge fan of photo collages which let me show multiple photos in a single image. To that end, I've been using both applications to create collages used in this and recent blog posts. PhotoScape X lets me create "funkier" collages in terms of shapes and editing images within each collage cell. That was done for each of these individual images within this collage. Effects were applied to the individual collage cells. Sometimes Most times it's just fun to play with these effects and shapes.

Without repeating comments made earlier, Photoscape X has been the more versatile app for me, as it provides have more image control. Each of these apps offers a paid/pro version but I continue to use free versions of both. They've been working very well.

Has anyone tried these or any other free photo editing software cited in that earlier post? If so, please share your thoughts in comments.

Masked and Ready

Whoops, Sorry for a double post today, folks. I was going to delay posting the previous one until a day or so after this one, but mistakenly left it set to publish. As a couple of fellow bloggers had already "found" it and commented, I decided to let it stay posted.

Ongoing COVID-19 virus precautions have included hand washing thorough, social distancing, avoiding contact with others. The US Centers for Disease Control now strongly urges that Americans wear face masks when out in public to slow the spread of corona virus. Even if the President disagrees, we do not and are ready.

Health officials emphasize they do not want folks rushing out to buy medical and surgical masks, but to make them instead. These were homemade by us this weekend. No, we're not going near any banks.

US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams posted a YouTube video showing how to do that with items folks already have, like scarves, bandanas, hand towels or an old t-shirt. (These instructions are from the CDC. There are many others online showing homemade mask options, especially in YouTube.)

Dr Adams said the face coverings should be worn in public places, like grocery stores, where social distancing can be difficult, but not as a substitute for social distancing.

Earlier, Dr Adams urged people to stop buying masks stating that doing so wouldn't help against the spread of the coronavirus, but take away important resources from health care professionals. Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!  Dr. Adams tweeted. They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus." (The ALL CAPS were his.) 

This plea followed numerous reports of panicked consumers rushing to buy masks online. The surge that has led to price gouging and counterfeit products. 

Dr Adams said the best way to self-protect is to wash hands regularly, and advised those who are feeling ill to stay home.

This was an easy project to complete as we used bandanas and rubber bands we already had in the apt. A big plus is that these masks can be laundered for re-use, not discarded.

Have you made any reusable face masks? If so, please share in the comments.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

When in need, people come through for each other, especially neighbors now that the COVID-19 virus has reached pandemic status and, sadly, claimed many lives.

In the past, when natural disasters and other misfortunes struck, assistance was through monetary donations to organizations.

That's changed in the past month. 

People are out of work, school children are home, restaurants, local businesses, libraries, churches, senior centers and more are shuttered. Families and individuals are struggling to buy food and/or basic necessities. Some items are increasingly hard to find and, when they can be found, it might require travel to several stores.

That's WHY it was especially heartwarming to see how residents at our mill apartments responded after another resident suggested a community food bank within the building. The management office staff not only supported this idea, but even started it off with some contributions. 

In the course of an overnight, food items and toiletry item were being donated by residents to help other residents. (The wall signage is in English and Spanish.) There's also a supply of water and snacks for delivery folks provided by management personnel. 

This Community Pantry is set up in the package delivery room of the mill apartments. It's only accessible to residents to either drop off or pick up needed items.

As many readers of this blog know, some may not, we currently reside in a mill apartment in Nashua, NH. The historic 1823 building, once a bustling textile mill, is a 5-story apartment community with 326 units. The total number of residents living here is just over 900. YIKES ! That's a LOT of folks all in one location and nearly double the total population of the VA Eastern Shore town we previously lived in.


To their credit, residents have been diligent about remaining in their apartments except for necessary outings to food shop and some to jobs that require staffing. All facilities (gym, pool, function room) and the management office are closed. However, maintenance and other requests can be made by phone calls as staff remain on-site.

It takes a community to come together. The one we live in has certainly done just that.

Have you seen or participated in any community come-togethers where you live?

Happy Birthday Bro

Today is my little brother's birthday, only he's not so little anymore. Still, he will always be my younger brother and (unfortunately) I am will always be his older sister. He's my only sibling and 3 years younger than myself and we're both in the seniors age group now. 

We're Adults! How Did That Happen? When Can We Make it Stop?

Tony (he prefers this now to Anthony) lives in our native NJ and is a husband, father and grandfather. This year, there will be no family gathered to sing Happy Birthday, except by calls or online videos. But, I recall years ago when the entire family came together to celebrate these important milestones and everyone lived fairly close to one another. 

Since his birthday is close to Easter, he sometimes had to co-celebrate with the Easter 

holiday. This year, he lucked out and got his very own day as Easter is next weekend.

Happy Birthday, Tony. You will always be my younger and much-loved little brother.

Friday Funnies

This guy has really been taking social distancing to the max. 

We've seen him sculling in the early morning hours on the Nashua River below our mill apt, weather-permitting. Maybe he wants to beat the river traffic (there is none).

Sculling is the act of rowing with two oars. Oars propel a boat as they are moved through the water on both sides, or by moving a single oar over the stern. The oars are often called sculls when used in this manner, and the boat may be referred to as a scull.

We're former kayakers (since sold ours) and there's differences between paddling kayaks and canoes and rowing sculls. Paddles propel boats in the same direction the paddler is facing. Oars propel boats in the opposite direction from the way the rower is seated. Simply put, it means that paddlers go forward, while rowers travel backward.

Also, paddles are not attached to anything, move freely and are supported only by the paddler’s hands. In comparison, rowing oars are attached to the boat being rowed and rest in oarlocks, which act as a fulcrum (point on which a lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots) for the pushing and pulling rowing motion.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

(Keep on social distancing for health)

Social Distancing, Another Time

This group of men appears to be social distancing before it became mandatory throughout most of the world. But, this sculpture recalls another time and reason that caused serious economic and social issues in the US.

This sculpture is in Room Two of the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC, a presidential memorial dedicated to the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd US President, and to the era he represents. Dedicated in May 1997, the monument traces 12 years of US history through a sequence of four outdoor rooms, one for each of FDR's four terms of office.

This life-size sculpture, The Breadline, is in Room Two which covers the time of the US Great Depression (August 1929-March 1933). The sculpture represents the difficulties encountered by many in those years. It was created by American painter and sculptor George Segal.

The five male figures in the sculpture have downcast eyes. All are dressed in long coats and hats as a defense against the cold. They are shown standing in line against a brick wall, waiting for food that may be only bread. They face a windowless wooden door that's closed in front of them. 

A 1937 inscription partly above and to the left of this sculpture is not shown in this photo. Taken from FDR's Inaugural Address in January 1937 as he began his second term in office, it reads: I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

Considering Roosevelt's disability, memorial designers planned that it be accessible to those with physical impairments. The memorial includes an area with tactile reliefs with braille writing for those who are vision-impaired. 

Despite the sad time it represents, this piece is the memorial's most popular photo-op. Visitors pose at the front or end of the line and slump shoulders to look downtrodden. Others attempt to push it over like a stack of dominoes. The sculpture was never meant to encourage this behavior. 

Perhaps, those who think it presents a funny moment don't know its full significance at not just a moment in time, but years of many people's lives.

Today is April 1, also known as April Fools' Day, when people typically play practical jokes or hoaxes on unsuspecting others. Some online sources have suggested the "joke" is to cancel the month of April as the current state of the world is no laughing matter.

Still, we're trying to find something(s) to be happy about when we can, and YOU?  

Live Free or Die Motto

SPOILER ALERT: The title of this post is not about the virus or death, but how a state motto lead to one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history.

Maybe, I have way too much time these days — doesn't everyone?

In some ways it's not so bad. I've learned things not known about NH, where we've lived since 2004. 

This is a rather long post, folks. But, I found the subject matter very interesting and definitely in the "never knew that" category.

Live Free or Die, the NH state motto, was adopted in 1945 at the end of WW II, but had nothing to do with that war. It originated from a quote by General John Stark, the state’s most distinguished Revolutionary War hero. In 1809, Stark wrote a volunteer toast to wartime veterans hosting a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington, VT. The full toast was "live free or die; death is not the worst of evils." (Too long for a state motto?)

As the shortened official state motto, the wording was put on license plates, state route signs and the back of the statehood quarter for NH. 

State law required that all non-commercial vehicles bear license plates with the state motto. Another NH statute made it a misdemeanor to knowingly obscure the figures or letters on any number plate.

That license plate requirement led to a historical court case, Wooley v. Maynard.

In the early 1970s, a deeply religious couple, George and Maxine Maynard, moved to NH, and that requirement was troublesome to them. The Maynards felt that the state motto on their car plate supported concepts they didn't subscribe to — they didn't feel free and believed God would grant them eternal life.

I blocked out this license plate no. for illustration purposes

What Happened? After George Maynard covered up the plate motto with electrical tape, battle lines were drawn between the couple and the state of NH. The first encounter was in a Lebanon, NH parking lot in November 1974. George was fined $25 for altering his car plates. A judge suspended the fine, pending good behavior. In December 1974, Neal Wooley, then Lebanon, NH, police chief said the same officer pulled George over again. This time, the state motto had been physically cut out of the plate.

Taken to court again, Maynard was ordered to pay a $50 fine and the $25 fine for the first offense. As a matter of conscience, he refused to pay them and was sentenced to jail for 15 days. Maynard served the full sentence, but it also cost him his job.

In March 1975, the Maynards sued in U.S. District Court for the District of NH. They sought injunctive and declaratory relief against enforcement of the statute that mandated the state motto on their car plates and making it a criminal offense to obscure said motto.

They won. The District Court after hearing the case entered an order enjoining the state from arresting or prosecuting the Maynards at any time in the future if they obscured the portion of their plates with the state motto.

But the case wasn't over. Then NH Governor, Meldrim Thompson, a patriotic and conservative governor, ordered the state attorney general to take the case to the United States Supreme Court, which accepted it.

On November 29, 1976, the Supreme Court heard the case of Wooley v. Maynard. The state attorney general's office argued that just because a car displays the motto, doesn’t automatically mean the driver believes in it.

They won again in Washington. In a 6 to 3 decision, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled it was against the Constitution to force citizens to use private property as a mobile billboard for the state’s ideological message. (Maynard never attended the oral arguments explaining that he couldn't afford the time or travel expenses.)

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, in his majority opinion, phrased the issue as “whether the State may constitutionally require an individual to participate in the dissemination of an ideological message by displaying it on his private property in a manner and for the express purpose that it be observed and read by the public.”

Burger wrote: “The First Amendment protects the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster, in the way New Hampshire commands, an idea they find morally objectionable.” 

The majority reasoned that the case presented a classic case of compelled speech which sets out the principle that the government cannot force an individual/group to support certain expression. The First Amendment limits the government from punishing a person for his/her speech, and prevents the government from punishing a person for refusing to articulate, advocate, or adhere to the government’s approved messages.

As a result of this decision, Wooley v. Maynard became one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history. 

While it's forever linked to NH, the Maynards are not and years ago moved to Connecticut. Reportedly, they covered up that state's motto, “The Constitution State” on their license plates.

I learned about this case based on curiosity about the state motto and know that it's not illegal to obscure the state motto. But then, I wasn't planning to do so anyway.

As mentioned earlier, having too much time can lead to unexpected discoveries.

Have you "discovered" anything you didn't knew before? If so, please share.

Over the weekend, before the rain set in, we walked in Mine Falls Park. This 325-acre park in Nashua, NH, has plenty of space for social distancing. Lots of walkers, joggers, cyclists, families were out getting exercise too. 

It was great wonderful to be outdoors as you can see by our selfie. As of last Thursday, March 26, there's a stay at home order for NH residents in effect until May 4. However, people can still go out to exercise, go to work, and buy essential supplies. We appreciate that it's not (yet) a shelter in place order and hope that others can get outside as well.

Don't Let Cat Out

This image was sent to me by a friend who lives in CA, a state currently in shutdown. 

Sharing in a text message, she told me it was posted on FB, but didn't know its origin. 
My online search didn't provide any info. I'm not a user of social media, other than blogging, and wondered if anyone else saw it or who knows its origin. If so, please share. 

MANY thanks to whoever posted/altered this image as we ALL needs humor these days.

Be safe & as happy as possible, Everyone.

Phil Got It Wrong

In early February, one of the nation's best known weather prognosticators (someone who predicts the future) foretold an early spring this year. 

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil made that prediction on February 2 in Gobbler's Knob, PA. According to legend, if Phil sees his shadow it's a sign of six more weeks of bad weather. If it's cloudy, and there's no shadow, then winter will end early. Phil, most likely, wasn't thinking about New England weather.

This was the view outside our Nashua, NH, window late Monday afternoon.

Admittedly, Phil's predictions are not always accurate, even though he's reputed to have been in the weather forecasting business for over 125 years. You would think he had this down by now.

Granted, it's a tough task when trying to predict the weather in a nation with varying regional climates. In the past 10 years, it's estimated that Phil predicted a longer winter 7 times and an early spring 3 times which gives him a 40% accuracy rate.

But, remember, we're talking about a groundhog. Even the National Weather Service doesn't get the weather right many times. And, isn't it easier to blame a groundhog for the weather, instead of a trained weather forecaster?

Good news, yesterday's snowfall won't stick around long. But, it was annoying to residents here who had to clear and move their cars today so the apt parking lot could be cleared. This is the forecast for Nashua, NH, later today. 

BIG Thanks to blogger friends who have been posting about how things are going in their part of the country and the world.We read and appreciate your comments.

It's definitely a challenging time. Social connections are so vital. Grenville and I are doing OK in self-isolation. We hope you and your families are safe and well.