"Christiansen Comments" Hinds County Gazette March 10 2011

Brain knows Gloria is old. …and he tried to tell her not to do it….




Nothing on my body works anymore, all of my joints are stiff and painful. When I get out of bed, out of the car, even a chair, it takes a bit to get going. I literally have to take several painful steps before my joints begin to cooperate and let me walk up right …. But once I get cranked up, I can go all day long, dig holes, saw limbs, drag limbs, tote cement, I am an stoppable machine…..That is until I run out of gas on up in the afternoon. (I did not tell you that to make you feel sorry for me…Because stiff, painful joints are an inevitable condition amongst the elderly. )Over the counter pain medicine will help ease the pain somewhat…but I have not found one yet that will keep me from wincing all together, when coming out of an at rest position. But they do keep me from whimpering out loud in public.



Now then, I told you all of that to tell you this…Recently one warm, and sunny, Sunday afternoon, I was invited for an afternoon of old cemetery touring. I met my hosts and fellow tour participants in the square at Raymond.



The first cemetery we stopped at was off the road in the middle of a field…..we all got out of the car, I heard the trunk pop open, I thought “Oh! how chic! We are going to have refreshments in the cemetery!” A toast of remembrance, a tribute to those who went before us,….Our hosts have a sentimental interest in this old cemetery, they are not related to those buried there, however their house is. “This adventure is worthy of a Southern living piece, with pictures“. That’ what I was thinking, then our hostess said, to her husband in her sweet southern voice, , “--------, don’t forget the Ladder.” My thoughts took a 180 ….“Ladder?! what will we be doing with a ladder….!?” So instead of wine and cheese, ------- pulled out of the trunk, a short kitchen stool/ladder.



Well, 100 yards or so into the field we came to the cemetery…it was surrounded by an old fashion, ornate, iron fence, the gate was fasten with a rusty chain and it was padlocked. You all, to get in, we had to climb the fence…the ladder was suppose to aid in that effort….Now everyone in the group I would describe as very active, but agile? Not so much….



There was one amongst us who was tall enough to step over the fence ….the rest of us got over with much pushing and prodding….you all, I was the most awkward and clumsy …. they had to physically take me by the foot and lift my legs across to the other side. I have pictures….I do not like to have my picture taken…but half way over the fence I stopped and waited until someone could get my picture….not pretty….I have the grace of a one legged hippo.

But all and all, the afternoon was perfect….and I was not cheated out of my wine and cheese ether. our tour ended with wine and cheese on the back porch of out hosts historic country home and a fried chicken dinner.



I do not give my mortality much thought…I am ready when ever the Lord is ready… But Brain does give my aging much thought. Brain is usually not sympathetic when it comes to me and my growing old, but on the way home that evening, Brain reminded me of something that he began to notice a very long time ago.



Back in the day, when I was a teen, drag racing was a big thing. Really big thing. A fast car and knowing when to shift gears is essential when dragging…but getting off the line, that is vital…if you can’t get off the line, you can’t win…. I could always get off the line…But I would loose my nerve when….You don’t need to know all of that ….It does not matter.



What Brain reminded me of was this, I am still first off the line…at every stop light. When me and my little Toyota pickup are stopped at a light and there are two of us side by side…when the light turns green, I am first off the line…. every time….. not just sometimes…in fact when, I get to the middle of the next block, and glance in the rear view mirror and many times nether lane has only just begun to move. I know you have noticed at even long green lights not as many cars get through as should…and of those who do get through at least one, most time two cars go through on yellow. Brain has declared my old body slow ….but, has come to accept that my reflexes are still significantly above average.



Brain may becoming more compassionate toward me and my physical short comings,….. Perhaps Brain has begun to notice he is not as sharp as he once was ether. I have been knowing, For a very long time, that Brain has had his own aging issues ….but I have not said any thing, because I am much kinder then Brain, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings…he has a much inflated ego, don‘t you know…..



And I sure don’t want to make Brain angry, because even though he is obstinate and cantankerous…I don’t want him to leave me.



Love to all
call if you need me

"Christiansen's Comments" from March 03 2011 Hinds County Gazette

Here in Mid-Mississippi It is Spring for sure!




The Japanese magnolias are blooming…but that is not a sure sign of spring…they often get caught by a frost.

I am saying it is Spring, because the earth worms are coming closer to top of the ground, there are worms squirming in every hole I dig and I have dug lots of holes in the last couple of weeks. And too, those pesky fire ants are back to building their homes above the ground….great mounds. As annoying as those ants are, I still have to respect their building skills…they are fast builder too. You no doubt have noticed, fire ants don’t seem to mind, even on short notice, picking up and moving. I spread ant poison on their mounds, , by the next morning they have up and moved a few feet and began building again. You can say a lot of things about the fire ant, but you can not call them “lazy“.



It is beginning to smell like spring too, I was driving down old highway 80, last Wednesday afternoon, right there in the vicinity of Dennis Gray’s airfield, were two tractors, one on each side of the road, plowing up the ground …I slowed down and rolled down my window and breathed .….the aroma took my breath , the ground was still damp from the recent rains, wet ground has a more intense scent then dry dusty ground….But I love the smell of fresh tilled ground damp or dusty.



I would have pulled over and stopped, back in the day, when folks were less nervous and fearful of any activity out of the norm…. and got out of the truck, sat on the tailgate to watch and sniff awhile…but, I didn’t want to alarm anybody, so I didn’t …I just rode by very slowly with the windows down. …



I Sure didn’t want the men plowing, to feel compelled to call the law and report “a suspicious acting person“. Can you just imagine, when the officer arrived and I went to trying to explaining my actions , “I just stopped to sniff the dirt.” well…. They may not have handcuffed me…but they may have felt duty-bound to contact my family to give an account, of what they regarded as bizarre behavior. “She said she stopped to sniff dirt.”



I do not believe we are as tolerant as we once were of the eccentric and mildly batty souls who live amongst us. I don’t know…maybe it is a lingering effect from 9/11.… maybe since 9/11our definition of “normal” behavior has become more limited.



Now those eccentric and mildly batty persons that we are familiar with, our very own hometown slightly mad characters ….they are fine…we accept them as they are….But the stranger who appears eccentric and/or mildly batty, we avoid them like grime death….hope they don’t try and talk to us when we encounter them in the grocery or on the street. I was going somewhere with this, but I have forgotten where now…so I will end here.



Love to all

Christiansen Comments, Hinds County Gazette Febuary 10 2011

The XL11 Super Bowl contest have been played and a winner declared…

So the holidays are officially over. The Super Bowl was the last big binge eating holiday until Thanksgiving. Do you feel like you have been in an eating marathon ?




Oh, yes, of course, I know, we do have lots of days of celebration left in 2011, Valentines, St. Patrick Day, Easter, Mother Day etc. ...but they are typically a one day eating event or at the most a weekend …from now on our celebration eating will be more a sprint then a marathon.



I know you all have seen the commercials that are aimed at trying to make us feel guilty about using paper…everybody is wanting us to go paperless….”save a tree”. You all, I say out loud to the TV, “Some people making a living growing and harvesting trees!!!” Any way that what I thought….Driving past great fields of pine trees and following loaded down log trucks. Going…? I don’t guess I know where they are going…

But still and all, that activity lead me to believe, growing trees and growing corn, cotton soy beans etc. were the same. They were all crops loaded on trucks going to market.



Don’t misunderstand, I was born a “tree Hugger” and I am still a “Tree Hugger“. That is…when I am in my home state of Nebraska, trees are precious there. Never saw a log truck in Nebraska. In states the likes of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas there are far fewer trees then here in Mississippi.



Now then, I was watching Farm Week on PBS last week…My suspicions that trees are a cash crop was confirmed….did you know there are two factories in Mississippi that manufacture wood pellets. Do you know what the pellets are used for? Heating!…Seems oil and gas are becoming more expensive. ..so people up north are using the pellets to heat their homes. According to the report on Farm Week, the folks in the American Northwest prefer pine pellets and the folks in the North East prefer hardwood pellets.

http://msucares.com/news/farmweek/

Why pellets and not logs? They didn’t go in to all of that…maybe pellets are easier to transport. The pellets are bagged like dog food…in fact the pellets did not look unlike dog food. Oh! Oh! I remember why pellets and not logs! There is something in the manufacturing of the pellets that makes them burn in a more environmentally friendly manner.



And the fuel pellets that are manufactured here in Mississippi are used to make electricity Too!!!! That’s right! In an effort to make the manufacture of electricity, safer and less dependent on oil, some electric power plants are using a sustainable product…. wood pellets! Wood Pellets manufactured in Mississippi!

http://www.envivabiomass.com/

Did I mention, most of power plants generating electricity from Mississippi wood pellets are in Europe? We have been looking for ways to make us less dependant on foreign oil…we found one and we are shipping it abroad.



No matter where the pellets go….Fuel pellets have to be good for Mississippi’s economy. And I am proud we maybe helping to light the Eifel tower.

Love to all

Call if you need me


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