I’m working back wards this morning. I have another post ready to go that’s on my personal computer, and I can’t get to it. Now, the thing that will make later readers just crazy is that they will see “Short Shorts” first in line, just as I intended it to be read, followed by this post……but those of you who are around now, will only see “More Shorts.” Sorry about that…..

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….awhipping up the water in the bay.
Then April sighed, and said good-bye,
And along came pretty little May.
I know it dates me, but that music was popular when I was a kid. I can envision the classroom and the teacher.
The weather in Northern Illinois brought that music to mind. I’m sure you’ve heard about the tornadoes that struck the Midwest, through Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I’m sure there were other states involved. Most of the damage in Illinois was in the central area around Springfield, but we have our share of downed trees and branches.
We still have high winds two days later. I have chosen not to sit at our personal computer for a few days because the table it sits on is next to a wall of glass. On the other side of that glass is a very old grove of trees that are being whipped around by incredible gusts of wind. The noise of the wind is not the “freight train” sound of a tornado, but close.
And it’s cold….colder than it was in parts of January. Maybe it’s just the wind-chill factor. The sun is brilliant, but the winds blow away any warmth that develops.
I’m ready to hear April’s sigh.

I’m happy to tell you that my niece has had her surgery for breast cancer, and everything seems to have gone well. Her tumor has been removed, and they’ve found that only the first lymph node had been affected. The advances in surgery are so incredible that the only sign of surgery will be a small dimple, where the tumor was removed.
It’s been a difficult week, waiting for her to be able to proceed. I’m sure it was a hellish week for her. I don’t deal with waiting well. My often joked-about prayer is “Dear Lord, please give me patience, NOW!” Well….SHE was patient. She coped, and she has come out of this well.

I really should have started a new category and named it “Raccoons.”
I was sitting with the guys in the living room Thursday night, watching a sci-fi movie. The volume was up, and there was a lot of fighting on screen. I was sitting near the windows, at the west end of the room, at the computer.
I heard a noise, and my heart stopped for a second. “DH, mute the sound!”
We sat there, our heads cocked, quietly listening.
“I thought I heard a raccoon on the roof.”
Now, you know we have a brand new roof, in part because the raccoons had chewed their way into the attic last year. I’m more than a little jumpy because half a dozen of them are still living somewhere in the grove. It’s been such a warm winter that they haven’t hibernated as usual, and we see them nightly under the bird feeder.
So….we’re listening, and my stepson looks over at the window and laughs. There’s a raccoon climbing up a ladder not three feet away from me.
Dear Husband has been cleaning the bees out of the sofit. The windows at the end of the living room run from about two feet off the floor up to the cathedral ceiling. There’s a one foot spacer in the center of the window wall that has brick on the outside. DH left the extension ladder leaning there and a raccoon decided it might be a way to the roof. We’ve cut down all the other branches that might give them access (we think).
I’ve suggested to DH that he might want to put the ladder back in place so that he can clean the muddy raccoon prints off the upper windows.

Would you please tell me who came up with the bright idea of selling the management rights for our ports??!! For God’s sake, have that person run to his nearest clinic for an MRI, to see if he HAS ANY BRAINS!!
I suppose selling the rights sounds LUCRATIVE. And in these days, when government is having trouble making ends meet, I know they are grasping at any straw to keep from having to make cuts or raise taxes, again! But, did ANYONE suggest there might be a problem with letting the security of our ports out of our hands? Why sell the rights to another country, when, if it HAD to be sold, it could have been sold to an American company? Were they just a bit greedy when it was time to sell the contracts?
It seems to me that between the mismanagement of the disaster due to hurricanes in the south, and selling the contract for port management, our Homeland Security is in serious trouble, and SO ARE WE!
Perhaps ten years ago, I read that one in every four Americans earns their living through some form of government. Village, city, township, county,state and federal government, police, national guard, the military and our justice system. Three of us have to pay enough taxes to support one of them, AND the services and improvements we need. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty bleak picture to me. When is government going to figure out that it’s way past time to cut back? Do you think we could simply pick a percentage and cut back EVERYTHING? Less welfare, fewer cops, less pay for government jobs, less overseas aid, government documents printed in ENGLISH only?
And while we are at it, let’s privatize more of what needs to be done, with contracts to be let to American citizens only. Privatize the security for the ports, if necessary, but establish the requirements that every company must meet for every port. They can choose to do more, but they have to meet the minimums.
Is that unrealistic? We need to create jobs for Americans, and we need to cut back on costs to Americans. Couldn’t the two go hand in hand?
I’m rambling, I know. But what you should walk away with is my feeling that our government needs a serious overhaul. It’s run amok, and doesn’t understand that the people it serves are more important than it is. Rather than meeting the needs of the people, it prevents them from getting the help they need. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?

Good news!
The tech called me yesterday to tell me that Ed had his procedure done on Tuesday afternoon. In the following 24 hours, he ate all his wet food, drank all his water and ate some of his dry food. He gained TWO OUNCES by Wednesday, when she called me.
She called again tonight, and I may be able to bring Ed home on Friday evening.
There are restrictions for the next two weeks, but they are not quite as rigorous as we believed. I think the family can carry this off.

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Dear Husband says that when our current pet dies, that’s it for us and pets. Of course we have been disregarding his pronouncements. A house without pets?? Unthinkable!
Well, actually it is thinkable. We’re both allergic to cats and dogs. If Dear Husband touches a pet, he has to wash his hands right away, or risk eyes that swell and water. I’m not as allergic to them as he is, but I observe the same rituals.
I realize that the no pet rule, coupled with an intense cleaning, and perhaps even confining my fabric and sewing to one room might be a wise idea in terms of our health. But, I believe that the physical contact and emotional bonding you have with a pet is just as necessary to good health.
And that is what brings me to what I really want to write about.

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Yesterday, we were sitting in the great room, when Dear Husband asked, “Is that a robin?”
I swiveled around and searched the branches of the trees to the west of the house. It took me a while, but finally I saw the bird he was looking at. I waited a moment, and when the bird turned a bit, I saw the red breast. “YES!!! It’s a robin!”
I watched for a bit, and realized there was another. “We have TWO…..wait….THREE…..NO!! FOUR!!!” Actually we had six or seven robins sitting up in the branches, sunning themselves on a cold February Sunday.
It’s easily a month early for these birds to be returning. The ground is still frozen, and the worms are hibernating. Warmer weather is on it’s way, but yesterday was quite frigid, and not the weather they are used to.
I’d like for them to stick around, but only if it means that Spring is coming early. Otherwise, maybe we should shoo them southward, so that they stay warm and healthy.
Welcome back, robins…..but only if you’re sure this is the right time.

It’s very odd to have a rainy day in the middle of February. We have a weather front coming in that is giving us a rainy day that will most likely lead into a week of much more common winter weather.
It’s gray outside. Everything is wrapped in layers of fog, and the trees are dripping from the last shower. We’ve had sleet, and hail, and rain, and light showers. As the temperatures drop this evening, we’ll probably see the start of a couple of days of snow.
Sitting here in the office, I just heard thunder, followed by the low, mournful sound of a train whistle. The tracks are at least a mile away, but the damp air has carried the sound to us.
It’s a good day for a nap.

This morning, a man I didn’t know opened a door for me…..and I was surprised!
It shows what our manners have come to that what used to be a common kindness should surprise me.
I had stopped to give the title company a waiver. Just as I left my car, it began to rain in earnest. I put up my umbrella, and closed the bag I was carrying and headed for the door. Two men were talking in the doorway, protected from the rain by an overhang. One of them opened the door for me, even though he was not passing through. I thanked him.
On the way out, his companion did the same for me. It was a simple gesture of kindness that used to be very commonplace, but today, in the gray, rainy weather, it seemed unusually nice.
When I graduated from college, women had just begun to think of themselves as “liberated.” That meant that you didn’t have to wait for men to open your door; you could do it yourself. Or, better yet, you could open the door for them. I felt the basic idea needed to be adjusted a bit. If there is someone behind me, I hold the door for them. It doesn’t matter if the person is male or female; I hold the door. I am especially careful to help those older than I am, and mothers whose hands are full.
I can’t actually remember the last time a man other than my husband held the door for me, but I bet I can guess who it was. We have a friend who is in his mid-forties, who has lovely manners. I bet the last time we went to dinner together, he held the door. I know that he helps me into his car, and closes the car door when we travel together. But, this man is the exception to the rule.
It incenses me when a younger man strides through the door, and lets it slap shut in my face. I wish I could say to them, “When do you plan to take a course in manners?” But, that would be rude. It seems we are so concerned with ourselves that we have let what used to be taken for granted slip out of existence.
Manners……I miss ye! Maybe we should all practice those random acts of kindness, and hold doors open for each other.