Saturday, December 23, 2006
A GOOD STARTER When housing costs go up we being to rise we see more advertisements the real estate sections offering small houses tagged as a "starter home." Some and quite small and prospective buyers find the identification of the basic construction as something they were to buy now and improve later sounded a note of romance, adventure and compelling words "a starter home" often led to many young couple bow to a gambler's instinct few of them would admit having. The dotted phase passed and they owned a basic, fundamental piece of real estate to which they might add in the future. It was a wise choice for some go-getters; an unwise one for others. Some added room, wings, facilities to finish their home. Others, for various reasons let their "to be continued" plans lapse or linger endlessly. Anne McCleary, the authority concerning buildings of any kind in the Shenandoah Valley area, used to speak of an early type of construction we seldom about. She described the settlers as seeking out a hillside, perhaps near a spring or creek. There ,well above any flood plain threats, they would set about the digging of a cave. The next step was to build a slanted sort of lean-to roof of small logs over the added floor space built with the dirt and rocks excavated from the cave itself. The idea was to try to cover the added floor space and of he mouth of the cave itself. The new settlers did not rush from from ship to wooded shore and start building what we now call "log cabins". That building technique was brought over by Scandinavian immigrants who settled in scattered sections of the colonies of Delaware, New Jersey and New York. Until such times that cabin construction "know-how'' spread southward and westward the principal materials used for a larger building were stone, brick or pole type wall structures in which logs were set down into the soil forming a vertical wall on which a roof might be fashioned. The preparation of timber too time, too. The initial problem was a settler had to await a legal decision as to what sections might be his to cut and use. Once that was decided he "circled" or "ringed" those trees he wished to use and the usual plan was to let such marked trees "season" for six months, at least. During this weathering phase the tree would give up much of its liquid content and be much lighter to handle when cut as well as less subject to bending, warping, rotting and insect damage. In the early days of Tidewater and Piedmont Virginia the "hogan" had a like role of being "a starter home". We all had to start somewhere. Andrew McCaskey Sr amccsr@adelphia.net 12-23-06 [c-474wds]
Friday, December 22, 2006
NOT JUST HERE! It has happened in every state in Union, and yet in amazes me many or our manufacturing industries have gone overseas. I can understand how a town which suddenly which finds itself gone and their jobs no longer available. To be declared excess baggage in the employment area is tantamount to an attack by a major disease. Our job loss is in an epidemic state in many parts of the nation. In truth we had adequate wanning a such a massive change was in progress when businessman Ross Perot ran for the Presidential Office. He used a rather dated professor-like displays of charts, diagrams, posters, graphs, lists and statistical art work showing large dollar signs being siphoned off to Mexico. Many of us felt his judgment was sound and precise. Perot's political adversaries, managed to curb any feelings they may have had as a result of his edifying campaign. They, by and large, related his campaign to humorous sideshow. They misuse his suction sound gimmick which described so-aptly his view of our jobs seeping off to South of the Border. Perot was right. He was also wrong. Those jobs overshot Mexico for places where goods can be made at a fraction of what it would cost make them in Mexico. My closet is stocked with shirts, pants and other such mens war. One pair of pants were made in the United States, one pair of men's shorts is tagged "Made in Mexico". Both are older items - and all of the rest, by the numbers, came from Nepal, followed by Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, India, Costa Rica, Guatemala, China, Taiwan, and one lonely pair of shorts was made in Romania. Shoes, caps, hats, scarves, heaver jackets - all from China as well a belts. Metal buckles for those belts are, however, are still stamped "Made in U.S.A". It is, day-by-day, becoming more urgent that we give some reason to our attempts to "Help Mexico!" One way to assist Mexicans is to reclaim even a portion of the vast array of jobs Ross Perot and others thought were Mexico bound. We can help Mexicans and also solve some of our illegal migration problems by encouraging re-location of our former "make it" skills back to Mexico and less to off-shore locations. Mexico is on-shore. We live or die together in more ways than we are ready to admit. Andrew McCaskey Sr. amccsr@adelphia.net 12-21-06 [c-418wds]
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
EXPECTATIONS As the actual date of Christmas approaches in this mid-portion of December, most of us, I dare say, feel some sensation of expectation concerning a certain something we would like to have for Christmas. Such a wish can be for something great or small. It makes no difference because we all know the money to buy Christmas gifts has long-since been expended. Since we we were at that time, not expecting such gifts, let our heart run loose and say what one thing you would like go have were it possible. Whatever you might select can be great or small because you know you are not going to get it any way. We have all done such last minute wishful thinking, I'm sure. We did I when were younger and as we put on years we tend to deprive ourselves of such “foolishness” and try to face then real world. I have wondered when we did such a thing naturally. I dare say most you would expect me to say that my lowest point occurred during the hectic days of World-War II when doubts view with fears and a lack of confidence in any so-called permanent values in our patterns of living. No. War time is not such a time of such despair. Regardless of how bad news may be from the “front” of such conflict the unquenchable flame of everlasting “Hope” endures in our hearts and minds. We maintained strong Hope that good news would follow. The worst such times, I would say,occurred here in the United States during the Depression. It was time when hope, too, was lost. I also feel we deceive ourselves today when we look back and say - and believe - that he ”solved” the problem of the world-wide onus. He believed it himself at times. The very forcesd which caused the Great Depression are rampant throughout the world today and hang over us like the fabled sword of Death. I would ask the gift of an internationally-minded leader who is aware of such an impending threat to our very existence. Andrew McCaskey Sr. amccsr@adelphia.net 12-18-06 [c-367wds]
Monday, December 18, 2006
HAS 'HUBBLE' HELPED? I was,personally, displeased to learn that our space telescope, following a plan,whereby it was to be declared as being “obsolete” was to discarded. The “Hubble” would not be either serviced nor repaired The plan, it appears, some insist politically tainted, would have had us simply for us to just ignore it; refuse to do repair and modernization work and servicing; to allow it to fade ...cease to be of normal, natural causes? . Is that a proper way by which we express gratitude to the men and women who labored hard and long to bring a worthy telescope? I do not know enough about what is most valued which is needed go advance our overall space programs, but it would seem logical and right that the photographic assistance Hubble has provided so abundantly concerning proper, probed and proven pathways in space would be of first class importance to the overall space programming.ot This eliminate “Hubble” effort was also set forth as being a great “economy” measure, as well. I cannot concur with that point either. The scary part is that something very much like it has happened before. Just a decades or so ago monster helicopters lugged long prefabbed steel girders from a railroad siding in Harrisonburg, Virginia across the Appalachian Mountain range to a town named Sugar Grove, West Virginia. It was there they were constructing what was claimed to be the world's largest radio telescope . It was well on its way. Everyone said it was going major attraction. Construction work was proceeding well, and workers from the site were justly proud of is assured future. Then, seemingly without warning we were told the entire project had been canceled! Ump-teen millions of dollars had been expended. Someone in the nation's capital had decided that all radio telescopes were no longer worth building. With the next year,or sooner, the same government was building entire fields of radio telescopes on land not far from Sugar Grove at Greenbank, West Virginia. It is functioning well. The Sugar Grove facility was modified and is now a “Listening Post” - serving as D.C's “ears” worldwide and the site is acclaimed as being at “the quietest spot in the nation.” Who is it, I wonder who hates telescopes so much? First down with the world's largest radio scope; now Hubble! Makes you wonder at times, doesn't it? Andrew McCaskey Sr. amccsr@adelphia.net 12-18-06 [c-405wds]
Sunday, December 17, 2006
FOR SUNDAY GIVEN TIME Draw a line... a straight line. You realize, of course it isn't straight at all. Given time it will bend back upon itself and form a circle; Split it and you'll have a spiral of a sort; Add others and you'll create a sphere. Your straight line shaped itself to the curvature of the earth. So,you could have propped it up at both ends? But - off it goes into space and bends to fit magnetic stress from other whirls it passes. Living itself is like that line. Planned to be straight; it looks straight and yet it bends to fit reality of our world. It, too, must live and be. Given time, it spills back upon itself. When mended, adjusted and revised - it is violated by sheer weight of foreign bodies – pulls, tugs, adjustments. Lives, too – straight lines – become circles, spheres and spirals...given time. ( a.l.m. Feb 6, 1988 ) In that era most of us talked, dreamed and planned each step of our careers in relation to some element of “space adventure.” We seem to have replaced idea of romance in both prose and poetry. I was as hard hit by the fad as any and I must have a score or more of poems touching on some form of space conjecture. Be ye, thankful I did not choose one of my longer ones to haunt you with tonight. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 12-17-06 [c-251wds]
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