In 1492

         A saying from my early school days mid-1950s:

                                "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

         On this day October 12, 2026, a Columbus Day remembering!

        The Flagship of Columbus, the Santa Maria.

Scans from Stories Of Early American History by Wilbur F. Gordy, Charles Scriber's Sons, N.Y., 1913, p. 3 and first illustration front page.

A Welsh Proverb

                                   Love your neighbor but maintain your hedge.

 

It's Inside

         You know you're getting older when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not for the toy inside.

A Thought for This Day

                                          Mind Over Matter ... Does It Matter?

A French Proverb for this Day

   

                                  If the young only knew; if the old only could. 

      

Out of The Blue

         Now, it should be much easier to conceptualize that Old Capital -C- (carbon) is the utility player among all the organic elements (atoms). Capital -H- (hydrogen) has only one proton to try and keep hold of its electron but, along comes old Capital -C- and grabs ahold of poor -H-, forming many links along the highways of time. As stated, long ... long ... long chains (pop beads) of hydrocarbons that end up pooled in many oil fields and, in my KY, coal fields galore! Then ... out of the blue ... comes that element of oxygen.

        Can you imagine it? Of all things, a gas it is! All around us in the air we breathe. Can't do without it for more than a couple of minutes. Say what! Let's see now.

        First of all, in its natural state, it's an identical twin! Yes sir, a diatomic (that's two atoms joined) molecule. Second of all, it is capable of combining with all other elements out there except some inert gases. What a hoot! It can reach out and touch hands with everybody (the other atoms). It is a colorless, odorless, gas and is the most abundant element in the earth's crust. Besides that, it is the third most common element in the cosmos! In our air (atmosphere) it is 20% by volume and, 21% by mass. In combined states it occurs naturally in many minerals, plants, animals and water. What a gas!!!

        Out of the blue you might say. Anyway, once capital -O- join hands with the hydrocarbons of the world, an amazing thing happens. The long ... long ... long ... H-C compounds are cut down to four to six carbons in length. Can you believe it ... carbohydrates are born! From "fats" to "sugars". How about that! A different substrate appears among the cosmos.

        Anyhow, in our biological structure, oxygen is inhaled from the atmosphere (out of the blue) and picked up and distributed to the various 100 trillion cells for their cellular activities. What a deal!

From My Mom's Kitchen Window

         A saying on a Plack that stood for years leaning on the edge of the kitchen window as my mother accomplished her daily tasks. It reads:

                                 "GRATITUDE ... turns what we have ... into ... Enough" 

        A thought for this first day of October 2026. This Plack now leans in my bedroom window.