REVERT

The day is clear, but cold—only 28F this noon with a light breeze. First day at work this year. Those who have been working short work weeks here will all be back at work full time next Monday. Yes, I wrote my password down, just in case, but found I didn't need it. Everyone who crossed my path so far today has received a cheery "Happy New Year." Most of them returned the greeting heartily.

Someone propped a duster on its handle in my co-worker Vic's chair. Apparently this was because Vic is out with the flu instead of in his rightful seat. I added a smiley face on the dusting cloth to make things more realistic. Unfortunately, the duster is neither as congenial nor as knowledgeable as Vic. The consensus is that we would rather the duster have the flu.

At lunchtime, when I got home to feed Lloyd and Speedy, the dog did not meet me at the door as usual. When I got to the bedroom there was a lump under the coverlet next to Lloyd. Obviously the dog knows where the warm spot is. I had put his t-shirt on this morning as it was so chilly. He doesn't like to wear it though, and tries to wriggle out of it. Let it be noted that once the shirt is on, he stays out longer. In fact, he ran outside while I was fixing his lunch bowl; barked a couple, three times; ran back inside; shook himself as though he were wet and ran back outside. By that time, both Lloyd's lunch and his were ready. So I fed them both and came back to work.

The word of the day for January 5, 2009, is "revert" — Pronunciation: \ri-'vərt\
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French revertir, from Latin revertere, v.t., to turn back & reverti, v.i., to return, come back, from re- + vertere, verti to turn — more at worth
Date: 15th century
1 : to come or go back (as to a former condition, period, or subject). 2 : to return to the proprietor or his or her heirs at the end of a reversion. 3 : to return to an ancestral type.

Our quote for the day is from Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), U.S. president. Letter, March 27, 1940, to Governor Henry Horner of Illinois. The Roosevelt Letters, vol. 3, p. 310, ed. Elliott Roosevelt, George G. Harrup & Co., Ltd. (1952):

You and I ... are convinced of the fact that if our Government in Washington and in a majority of the States should revert to the control of those who frankly put property ahead of human beings instead of working for human beings under a system of government which recognizes property, the nation as a whole would again be in a bad situation.

Horner had written FDR to inform him that the Illinois Democrats urged him to run for a third term as the only hope to continue the liberal orientation of the government. FDR responded that certainly a liberal ticket was necessary but that he was not indispensable to its success.

;^)

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SUPERSTITION

I spent a couple of hours this morning taking down our outside Christmas decorations. I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather today, because they need to be down by Epiphany for good luck. (The woman who made up that superstition had a bunch of whiny children to get out of her hair while she took a well deserved post-holiday rest.) All of the inside decorations are also ready for the basement except for Lloyd's Santas that stay all year round and the Christmas tree. Lloyd says he wants it to remain because it is such a cheerful thing; therefore, it is no longer a Christmas decoration.

Putting the decorations away is usually an easy thing for me. Of course, there are alway pine needles that somehow make it to August by lurking in the pile of the rug, but most everything else can be folded and boxed in a couple of hours. If it takes longer than that, I say start pitching it.

The word of the day for January 3, 2008 is "superstition" — Pronunciation: \,sü-pər-'sti-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English supersticion, from Anglo-French, from Latin superstition-, superstitio, from superstit-, superstes standing over (as witness or survivor), from super- + stare to stand — more at stand
Date: 13th century
1 a: a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. b: an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition. 2: a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.

Our quote for the day is from Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832), German poet, dramatist. Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, Reflections in the Spirit of the Travellers (1829):

Superstition belongs to the essence of mankind and takes refuge, when one thinks one has suppressed it completely, in the strangest nooks and crannies; once it is safely ensconced there, it suddenly reappears.

;^)

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SOMNOLENCE

A quiet New Year's Day—not that I expected anything else. We went to bed around eight on New Year's Eve and woke up about five-thirty New Year's morning. If anyone set off fireworks or firearms during the night, I did not hear them.

As I had spent most of New Year's Eve getting everything cleaned up for the new year—an old superstition, if you will—most of Thursday morning was spent watching the Rose Bowl Parade with Lloyd. That's the first time I've done that in years. It's the first time he's done that in years. Of course, I had a book in one hand: the usual way that I watch television.

Lloyd has never come to grips with me being able to do other things while I read. Once a long time ago, we were in bed watching tv. I had my head on his shoulder, reading. To tease me, he bent his arm so that it lay across my eyes. I said nothing, as I could see the book perfectly well underneath his arm. When I came to the end of the paragraph, I turned the page. He almost freaked out as he was expecting a quite different reaction.

This New Year's we had roast pork tenderloin, left over from Christmas; black-eyed peas, for good luck; corn bread and spinach for dinner. It was delicious if I do say it myself. I hope you all had a quiet holiday and wish you all good things for the coming year.

Our word of the day for January 2, 2009 is "somnolence" — Pronunciation: \'säm-nə-lən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
: the quality or state of being drowsy : sleepiness.

Our quote for the day is from Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), U.S. philosopher, author, naturalist. Walden (1854), in The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, vol. 2, p. 99, Houghton Mifflin (1906):

The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night.

;^)

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