. . . Mrs. Vancil said we live in a culture where fame is too important and that because of this, people will do all kinds of things to show off.
            . . .
       When you are showing off, you stop thinking about other people.
       I hope being in a play [or movie] isn’t showing off.
       It might be.
       I think that true art isn’t showing off, but maybe bad art is.
       Only, how do you tell the difference?
                                                                     from: Short
                                                        by: Holly Goldberg Sloan
                                         Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017
  
       I don’t usually watch the Oscars and I didn’t watch Sunday night. I look for the winners in the newspaper and listen to the soundbites. So what happened during those two and a half minutes when everyone thought the best picture was La La Land, but then found out it was really Moonlight? We may never know. But, then, we might.
       I really do like the movies, though. My brother and I would sometimes go on a Saturday afternoon. My parents didn’t like us to go if the weather was nice. We had to play outside on those days. We saw some classics: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Fantastic Voyage, The Pink Panther. I think we saw a James Bond film, maybe Goldfinger.         We were allowed to buy candy. I liked Goobers and Sugar Daddy and Boston Baked Beans. I don’t remember what my brother got.
       We were not allowed to buy popcorn. It had something to do with a bad experience my dad had when he bought popcorn at the movies when he was young. Something to do with a creepy-crawly.
       I buy popcorn now. Almost every time I go.
       Our parents and grandparents took us to see The Sound of Music, Swiss Family Robinson, Heidi. Mary Poppins. Others, too.
Most of the movies I watch now are either on the TV or on CD borrowed from the library and played on the TV. Some of my favorites (alphabetical) Casablanca, Clash of the Titans, Dr. Zhivago, Forrest Gump, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, La La Land, Man of LaMancha, and of course, The Wizard of Oz.
       The Wizard of Oz was also a yearly event on TV. We would all gather around watching for our favorite parts. Speaking along and singing along were encouraged.
       When my girls were small we saw E. T. and Annie on consecutive weekends. When they were much older the movie adaptation of The Secret Garden came out. We saw that, too.
 
       I cut the list out of the paper, I will catch up on some I missed, but I still haven’t seen Singin' in the Rain or Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang or Fantasia, Despicable Me. I watched the first Rocky movie last year.
 
       By the way, just in case you’re wondering, I discovered a mystery around the Oscar statue itself. No one knows who Oscar really was. “According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the origins of the name are uncertain, but ‘a popular story has been that an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, Margaret Herrick, thought it resembled her Uncle Oscar and said so; and that the Academy staff began referring to it as Oscar.’” http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/called-oscar.html and according to the official site  http://www.oscars.org/oscars/statuette “No model was used during the design process.”
       So there you have it.
                                                                   --stay curious!

       ​Through the summer Lincoln [Borglum] and his men worked to detail Abe’s beard, narrow Washington’s jaw, define Jefferson’s collar, and shape Roosevelt’s head. They filled cracks in the stone and buffed the presidents’ faces smooth and clean.
from: Hanging off Jefferson’s Nose: Growing Up On Mount Rushmore
                                                         by: Tina Nichols Coury
                                           illustrated by: Sally Wern Comport
            Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2012
 
       Remember that trip out West where I lost track of the time zones and saw that 360 degree sunset at 10:30 p.m.? Well, on that same trip my breath stopped as we rounded a corner in the Black Hills of South Dakota and came face to faces with the mountain heads, four majestic sculptures carved into Mount Rushmore.
       Yesterday was Presidents’ Day. How could anyone not know that what with all the car sales and furniture sales and other President’s Day sales. And many of us had a day off of work and school and we didn’t get mail and the library was closed. So.
       Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was February 12 and George Washington’s is coming up tomorrow. So why not celebrate both with a designated Monday holiday half-way between?
       Well that’s not how it happened. As a matter of fact, the official national holiday does not share Washington’s Birthday with anyone else. The Uniform Monday Holiday Law, passed in 1971 accidently(?) made sure it would never be celebrated on his actual birthday. The latest day in the month the third Monday can fall is the twenty-first.
       When the Uniform Monday Holiday Law was being debated,  
     
     "It was the collective judgment of the Committee on the Judiciary,"      stated Mr. William Moore McCulloch (R-Ohio) [in 1968] "that this          [naming the day "President's Day"]would be unwise. Certainly, not all      Presidents are held in the same high esteem as the Father of our      Country. There are many who are not inclined to pay their              respects to certain Presidents. Moreover, it is probable that the        members of one political party would not relish honoring a                President from the other political party whether he was in office,      no matter how outstanding history may find his leadership."  
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html 
 
       Hmmm. Not all Presidents are held in the same high esteem as the Father of our Country. Well, that’s still as true today as it was 1968, when Richard Nixon was president. Or 1971. But I’ve said enough about that for a little while.
       To be sure, lots of states use the more inclusive term “President’s Day.” You can find a debate about where to place the apostrophe by looking up the “origin of President’s Day” in any search engine.
       I didn’t shop on Washington’s Birthday. I watched a good bit of CNN, I gathered my thoughts together for this post, and I thanked my lucky stars that I’m allowed to speak my mind, that my grandchildren go to good schools, and I get along with my neighbors.
       I’m pretty sure those good things will last a while. But I still worry.
       Happy Birthday, George!
                                                                 --stay curious! 

Big dogs, little dogs
red dogs, blue dogs
yellow dogs, green dogs
black dogs and white dogs
are all at a dog party!
What a dog party!
                                                             From: Go! Dog! Go!
                                     Written and Illustrated by P. D. Eastman
                                          Beginner Books/Random House, 1961
  
       I have had my share of experiences with dogs.
       Like the time my sister and I left our baby brother in a doll buggy on the sidewalk when we ran home without him. My sister was afraid of dogs, so I was, too. (She has lots of dogs of her own, now. She saves rescue dogs by adopting them, taking care of their medical and emotional needs, and giving them a loving home.)
       Like the time I was walking home with a boy in my first grade class. He was very afraid of dogs. I was too, (see above). But in a brave and reckless moment I locked eye to eye with that scary dog and told it firmly to go home. It did! (Magic happened-—I was not afraid of dogs anymore!)
       Like the dog that lived with the family I baby-sat for. He let the littlest boy ride him around the house. Dolphie was a gentle giant of a dog. When he jumped up to say hello to me, his front paws draped over my shoulders. His slobber dribbled down my back. He didn't lick.
       I have tried sharing my home with a dog. It was a bad idea, both times.
       Dogs are a little like very young children. But they don’t grow up. They stay needy. They stay dependent. And their little nails click, clack on the tile floors. And they bark. And they slobber.
 
       I don’t hate dogs. I don’t even not like them very much. I know lots of dogs and lots of dog owners. When I’m out for a walk and meet a dog and its owner, I always ask if the dog is friendly. Usually it is and I give it a nice, gentle pat. Then we all keep going. Sometimes dogs wear muzzles. I don’t talk to their owners.
       This is the week of the American Kennel Club’s premier dog show in Madison Square Garden in New York City. What a dog party! Breeds are shown for their perfect hair, their perfect postures, and their perfect manners. Breeds of all kinds compete in agility events.
 
New breeds are introduced. You can see the program here: http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/plan-your-visit/general-info/
 
You can see pictures here:
http://time.com/4668293/westminster-dog-show-cats-photos/
 
And get lots more information here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/02/13/westminster-new-breeds-pumi-american-hairless-terrier-sloughi/97870454/
 
       Did you notice the cats? This is the first time in the 141-year history of the Westminster Dog Show that cats were invited. I hope they had fun!
 
                                                                                                                                                       --stay curious!

     In this life there are many surprises, and not all of them are good.
                                 From: Cody and the Fountain of Happiness
                                                Written by Tricia Springstubb
                                                    Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
                                                        Candlewick Press, 2015
 
       By now everyone reading this knows my political leanings and knows that I’ve been trying really hard to keep my opinions to myself. The news is getting overwhelming, though. Making lists usually helps me get a handle on my thoughts, so I decided to make a list of those items troubling me the most. I had a hard time deciding what was most important. So, drawing on my librarian’s training, I chose alphabetical order.
 
Alternative facts
Bigotry
Biodiversity
Child Care
Civil Liberties
Clean Water Act
Diversity
Dodd-Frank
Domestic Policy
Economic Policy
Energy Policy
Fair Housing
Fiduciary Rule
Foreign Policy
Fracking
Global Warming
Gun Laws
Health Care Reform
Hunger
Immigration
Jobs
Judicial Appointments
Knee-jerk Reactions
LGBT Rights
Minimum Wage
Misogyny
National Parks
NATO
Off-shore oil Drilling
Planned Parenthood
Press Reporting
Public Education
Questions about Everything (thanks, Nancy!)
Religious Freedom
Same Sex Marriage
Sea Level Rise
Separation of Church and State
Tax Reform
Torture
Trust
Using Twitter instead of the Press
Voter’s Rights
Women’s Rights
Xenophobia
Yeltsin, Boris
Z
       Okay, I missed Z. But maybe the doubles and triples. . .make up for the lack.
       When I thought of this idea for a blog, I was getting ready for the Women’s March and answered my own question: Why was I doing this march? I had a good list. When I did factory piece-work, I kept my mind busy by making alphabetical lists of women's names, action verbs, cities. . . I laughed at myself when I thought I could make a list of 26 issues bothering me. I was wrong to laugh.
       Three and a half weeks into this new administration it's time to stop laughing. It's time to stop hand-wringing  It's time to stop talking. It’s way time for me to get to work.
       If you have an idea for that missing Z, send me a comment (or two).                                                                                                                                                 --stay curious!