See The Sights

 When I recently announced that I would be taking some time away from my blog because company was coming there was a person wondering about places to see in Sioux City. So https://rhymeswithplague.blogspot.com/ this is for you.

First on my list is the house my family built. We did not have someone build it for us. We did all the lifting, measuring, cutting, pounding of nails, and painting ourselves. Daddy did the plumbing and electrical work. Mom laid the hardwood floors herself. 

My high school is magnificent. Central High is known as The Castle on the Hill. It was built in the early 1890's. It was made of the finest materials available. The stairs were made of marble. Some were so worn that they were condemned from use. The original gymnasium was called The Dungeon. Whole floors were added to the original building but retained the look of the castle.

Palmer Candy is known for making Cherry Bings. The store is a different location away from the factory. The store carries a wide variety of both bulk candies and packaged candies. And of course Cherry Bings. There are Bing souvenirs and a little section off to the side that offers exotic spices. They also display machines that made candy in past decades.

Jolly Time Popcorn was begun in the basement of a man in Sioux City. It soon became a nationally known brand and is the oldest popcorn producer in the United States. Jolly Time Koated Kernels is the museum. They feature all things popcorn. Of course souvenirs are a must.

Sioux Bee Honey has been renamed as Sioux Honey. In 1921 five local beekeepers worked together even sharing equipment. That was the beginning. Now there are keepers all over the country who contribute to make Sioux Honey so well-known. Their online store offers a wide variety of honey products.

Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lieut. William Clark were commissioned to explore the Louisiana Purchase. In this part of the country there are so many places named for them. The most important to me is the Sgt Floyd monument. He is the only member of this famous expedition to die. It is believed that his appendix burst. He was buried atop a hill in Sioux City. The Sgt Floyd monument is an obelisk visible for miles. It has the honor of being the first officially designated National Historic Landmark in the United States.

War Eagle was a leader of the Santee Sioux tribe. He left the tribe to avoid a power struggle about who would become chief. Eventually he joined the Yankton Sioux which was his wife's tribe. He later became their chief. He is buried on a bluff that overlooks the spot where the Big Sioux River empties into the Missouri River. At his monument there you can see Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

War Eagle befriended Theophile Bruguier. He was a fur trader who was the first white settler in what would become Sioux City. When Bruguier's wide died War Eagle gave him two of his daughters as wives. Yes at the same time. His cabin is still standing in Riverside Park.

LeMars, Iowa, is about 25 miles from Sioux City. It is the official Ice Cream Capital of the World.  It is where Blue Bunny Ice Cream is made. It was the first time I had visited the ice cream parlor. I pictured a little shop with a few tables. Boy was I wrong! It is huge with a second level just as large. We all got ice cream and sat to enjoy it. Then we hit the gift shop. I do love souvenirs.

There are so many more things to see. There is the visitors welcoming center on a boat in the Missouri River. There are museums. The Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center has hiking trails as well as a learning center inside. And certainly a gift shop. There are three universities.

Across the river is Freedom Parkin South Sioux City, Nebraska, which holds a replica of the Vietnam Wall and a replica of the Korean War Memorial.

Want to see Sioux City?

Apologize

I was a union steward in the company I worked for. I am proud of what I did there.

A union steward is the in-store representative who is the go-between between the employees and management. While conducting union business the steward is on equal footing with management.

I used to greet each new training class personally to introduce myself. I would then give each new employee a copy of the union contract with the company. I explained that they should know their rights as covered by the contract. The union and the store basically wanted a safe successful place of employment.

Most of us think of the union steward as the person who will file a grievance for an employee. If the worker has a problem that cannot be solved by consulting with a manager the steward tries to negotiate a solution. 

The steward also represents the employee during disciplinarian actions. It ensures that the tenets of the contract are upheld.

I sound like a virtuous person. I tried.

There was a conference held for representatives of various unions. There were lectures and seminars to offer learning opportunities. In the evenings we would gather to just enjoy ourselves.

One evening several people were sharing jokes and laughing heartily. Of course I had to join them.

I told a joke that had a person with a disability as the main character. I did not mean to hurt anyone. But it turns out I was wrong.

A woman took me to one side and told me that another woman left in tears. Her brother had that particular disability. She went to her room because I had hurt her.

I found out which room she was in and knocked on the door. She answered. I could see she had been crying.

I apologized to her. She graciously accepted. I learned a valuable lesson.

Words matter. They have the ability to cause real pain.

I should have known better. I will always be ashamed of that.

Shocking

 Imagine my shock.

I pride myself on knowing the birthdays of relatives and friends. Of course with family it is often easy. There are a lot of shared birthdays. The years may not match but the days are the same.

Often to remember the age I have to compare. For instance my youngest brother was born when I was 15. Subtract 15 from my age and I know how old he is.

 I have bragged for years about my age. I do not lie about it because I have earned every second.

My oldest son will be 59 in a couple of weeks. I was shocked.

Here I was thinking I would be 78 at the end of the summer. But I was 20 when he was born. I know for sure because I was there.

So all this time I have been looking forward to my 78th birthday. Actually I will be 79.

I guess my brain is getting old. 

 Imagine my shock.

Company Is Coming

 I have company coming from out of town. They wish to see some of the sights. 

I love being the tour guide. Unfortunately it takes a lot of time.

I will be gone for a couple of weeks. Back after that..

Spatter Paint

We were introduced to so many activities when I was a child. I guess it kept us from sitting around whining about having to do.

We would take some of the biggest cucumbers from the garden. They were cut lengthwise and the seeds scraped out. With a stick for a mast and a piece of paper for a flag we sailed our ships in the washtub all afternoon. 

Cutting soft branches from a weeping willow sounds boring. But when you pick dandelions and other wildflowers magic happens. You can braid the flowers in with the branch from the willow tree. It makes a bee-u-tee-ful wreath for a princess crown.     

 l sorts of creative things. Some were shown To us by older people. Some we came up with on our own.

I do not remember who first had us spatter paint. Possibly it was in school.  

We had a clean piece of paper. We would place an object on the paper. Large leaves are nice. Then there is a piece of screen like they have on the door in summer. A wooden frame for it is handy but not necessary. You might want to wear old clothes or something to cover your clothes. We will get messy.

Have the screen about 6 inches above the paper, Water based paint like they use in school works best. Dip an old toothbrush into the paint. Scrap the toothbrush back and forth across the screen. Doit until you have the desired amount of paint spattered on the paper.

Then you carefully remove the leaf or whatever object you chose. Let the paint have a few minutes to dry.

You now have a lovely work of art.

                                                                                                                                                              

Grrrrr

My children have always had pets. Cats, fish, a turtle, tarantulas, hamsters, gerbils, mice, love birds, parakeets, rabbits, a horse, a goat, a pig, a skunk, snails, sea monkeys and probably some I have forgotten.

 You will notice I did not mention dogs. We always have dogs. 

We had Redneck, He was a little red hound who loved to race cars and motorcycles. 

We had Shaggy who "followed" my son home from school with the help of a sturdy rope. She was pregnant. As soon as she had her puppies she disappeared. We found homes for the babies.

My husband found Sheba in the street. She had been hit by a car. Her hip was crushed like a jigsaw puzzle and her leg was broken in three places. No one ever claimed her so we kept her. When she came into heat we had to keep her and Redneck apart.

We had to get groceries so we let Sheba stay in the house. Redneck was locked onto the back porch. When we got home they both met us at the door with big smiles. Sheba still had a cast on her leg.

We had to find a new home for Sheba because she was beginning to get mean. We kept her puppy and named him Atilla Thor Doberhound.

Atilla thought he was one of the children. He knew he was a different kind of child but one of them just the same.

We had a little black puffball. I cannot even remember his name. His favorite toy was a squeaky hamburger. He got Parvo and the vet was not able to save him.

Joe was a dog someone had abandoned. My son saw him roaming around and brought him home. A beam fell and hit him in the head when our house burned. He died instantly.

The neighbor of a friend had cute little puppy tethered to the ground on a hot day. She had no water and the children were poking it with a stick. When the mother said she was taking it to the pound I told her I would take it. That was how we got Tillie.

We now have Delilah. She is my son's baby. She will be eight years old soon. That is the age German Shepards usually live to be.  She is healthy so we hope for more years.

Now I will tell you about Isabella. She was between Tillie and Delilah. She was a big dog. The family my son got her from kept her outside. The yard she was in was so overgrown that the grass was taller than she was. They did leave the garage door open so she had some shelter from the rain.

As a very small puppy she had been left in an empty house with no food or water. She was physically abused. We are pretty sure it was men because she really hated men. She was not happy that she was my son's dog.

Over time she had a grudging relationship with my son. Every once in a while she even showed hum some affection

One time when she went to the vet for her shots she was not happy at all. The vet decided to muzzle her just to be safe. Well that made her even more unhappy.

Bella began fight and carry on. She did not like that muzzle. She actually tore it off. Then she calmed down. The vet did what he needed to do. Bella was happy to go home.

As she got older she began to walk more stiffly. Eventually she could not move at all.

We took her to the vet. She had cancer in her hips. We had to put her down. 

I try so hard not to care for them because I know we will eventually lose them. But Bella is no longer in pain.

Take Me Out...

As you know I have a weird relationship with words. Mispronunciations and misuse drive me insane.

That is not to say that my grammar is perfect. I also have a slight lisp that I do not hear but others do.

That being said I have to begin with our National Anthem. Baseball season is here. The National Anthem is sung before every game. I love it all

Until the singer mentions the perilous fight. They often sing of the per-a-lis fight. It makes me want to scream. It was a per-i-lous fight.

Idea vs ideal. An idea is when that little light bulb over your head lights up. Ideal is the best choice. Now an idea can be ideal but not AN ideal. And an ideal does not light that bulb.

SupposABLY makes me cringe. Suppose is neither able nor unable. The word should be supposEDLY means something is expected be true.

Often we see etcetera to indicate there is more but you do not wish to keep listing. It is abbreviated as etc. I keep hearing it pronounced as exetera. The correct way to say it is et-set-er-a.

Today is short. Ballgame coming on.