My 400th

It's been almost a year since I first began blogging - January 10, 2008, to be precise. This is my 400th post. I thought, as the numbers inched ever closer to that figure, that the timing might be perfect for both to fall on the same date. But alas, such a thing was not to be.

My first milestone (the 100th) occurred on May 8th, when I published "In my perfect world ... ...". This one was kind of a challenge, but a lot of fun. In exactly 100 words, I listed some of the things that I thought would be included in my utopia.

"An introspective", published on July 27th, was my 200th. In this one I attempted to share with you a more intimate glimpse of "Goldenrod" - what I like and dislike, some of my interests, and various idiosyncrasies of my personality. I tried to include details you might not already have read about in previous posts.

On October 15, 2008, I published my 300th, "Here, there, and everywhere". It was a 'bits & pieces' or 'scattered thoughts' type of post, which I thought was appropriate for an anniversary because that's what "Goldenrod's thoughts" is all about - no particular focus, no central theme or topic. In fact, I wrote, "I'm all over the place!"


So, what have I decided to do for my 400th? Other than the fact that it's being published on the 1st day of a brand new year, there's nothing particularly 'special' about it. However, I have a specific topic in mind ... football!

College football, what with all of the bowl game hype going on right now (Capital One, Gator, Orange, and Rose Bowls are all being played today), is at the forefront of many people's minds, and I'd like to take you back to the 60's, when I was living in West Lafayette, Indiana and attending Purdue University part-time as a graduate student while teaching full-time.


The year was 1966. I'd always loved football, even played it some as a kid. Always with boys, of course ... no other girls were remotely interested in such a thing! Liked a lot of other sports as well, but I'm going to write exclusively today about football.

Those were the 'golden years' of Purdue football (imo), when a young fellow named Bob Griese was the quarterback. He not only was the mastermind of the team's offense, he also kicked off and attempted their field goals! (Did any of you happen to know that little tidbit?)

[I actually met him and had the opportunity to talk with him several times when we were both students there. It would have been while I was going to visit my husband in the lab, probably. Perhaps Bob was an engineering student? I don't remember. What I DO remember, however, was how self-effacing he was. No bmoc attitude.]


I went to every game that year. The Boilermakers were having a great season, and it looked like they might even be invited to go to the Rose Bowl for their first time ever. It was exciting! Except for the game against Minnesota, I drove. I came very close to missing that one! Drove to Crown Point, where I dropped my daughter off at my in-laws, and then continued on to O'Hare Airport in Chicago, where I looked frantically for a spot to park the car.

Finally found one, shoved my feet into fur-lined and waterproofed nylon boots, grabbed all my gear (lots and lots of warm stuff, including an afghan that I had knit), made sure I had my ticket, and RAN all the way into the terminal. Once inside, I began shouting for directions to the gate. Kept running and screaming whenever I needed more directions. It must have appeared as tho I was a crazy woman.

I didn't dare look at any clocks. I just kept running. I got to the gate just as the stewardess was closing the doors! Found my seat and collapsed. I don't think I stopped gasping for air and breathing hard for another ten or fifteen minutes. Boy, that was close!


For the game against the University of Michigan, my brother got us seats in the middle of their student cheering section. Can you imagine such a thing? Well, he did! In those days, anyone who was extremely obnoxious was in danger of being passed overhead on outstretched hands and arms to the top of the stadium and then summarily dropped to the ground outside.

Are you familiar with that stadium? It's a complete oval and is set into a hill. So, depending on where your seat was, the drop could have been anywhere from just a few feet to many! (I believe that practice was outlawed some years ago after one incident where a dropee sustained severe injuries.)

Well, I was there to cheer for my team and cheer for my team I did. My brother did his best to shush me. When that didn't work, he tried to hide under his seat. A pretty tough maneuver when you're 6'3"!

All of Purdue's games against Michigan were played in their stadium. Why? Money, of course! You know, that green stuff? Our stadium only seated a little over 62,000, theirs 100,000. Ticket, as well as broadcast, revenues were shared between each school.


The upshot of this whole story is that Purdue did go to the Rose Bowl. Guess who won?


Many people told me later that they had searched for me in the stands at that Rose Bowl game and finally found me. I'm pretty sure I was so unthinking as to tell them that I wasn't there. Certainly, I could have described the game in great detail. We were glued to our television set the whole time.

Initially I had planned to go, but we had just relocated to Columbus, Ohio, and there was a lot of settling in to do.


I'm nowhere near the end of talking about Purdue's 'glory days' in football, but that'll have to do it for this post. If I'm in the same mood tomorrow, I'll continue. Otherwise, you can look forward to another segment about this same time next year!

An inspirational retrospect

Seldom have I been so moved as by this tone poem. I first recommended it on Tuesday, May 13th, in this post, which I suggest that you click on to get the most direct link to the movie, which lasts around four minutes. Then, be sure to click on "here" in that post. As far as I've been able to tell, it's the best quality in both video and audio - and trust me, I've checked a bunch of them - and comes on immediately in full screen!

If you have any problem - you shouldn't, because I just double-checked it, but 'just in case' - the url address is "http://www.dashpoemmovie.com/".

I have a copied version from YouTube coming up next but, if you enlarge it to full screen, the writing is a little blurry. However, it's better than others available, which cut the poem short. (Heaven forbid!)



I've scheduled this to publish at 8pm CST this evening. (I'll be playing bridge. Wish us luck?)

May I take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!

Little (teensy tiny) bits & pieces

These are going to be REALLY teensy bits!

Played bridge this morning with Dottie Ann Goodloe. First time we've ever played together, and I had an absolute blast! We had a nice solid game. Nothing to 'write home about' but nothing to snivel at, either. Came in second.

Took Sam with me. Who's Sam? Click here. I figured he might like to get out of the house for just a little bit and show off his suit before I relegate him to the closet until St. Patrick's Day.

I might even decide to take him back with me to the bridge studio tonight, when Julian and I are scheduled to play bridge to see the new year in.


I don't have much else to say other than to link Chuck's post of earlier today, where he decided to share his New Year's resolutions with everyone. Hilarious, just hilarious!

Here he is, taking singing lessons ...



Check back here later - after 8pm CST - for a far more reflective and serious post, OK? Meanwhile, DO click on the link to Chuck's post. It's funny. Really funny!

New Year's traditions - foods

In many Spanish-speaking countries, eating a grape at each stroke of the clock leading up to midnight - one for each month - is for good luck. If the grape for the corresponding month is sweet, so is supposed to go that month. If the grape is sour, you shouldn't expect a good month. (No matter how sweet or sour each grape is, however, by the time the clock strikes twelve - unless you chew and swallow very fast - you will have a mouthful of grapes!)

"Media noche" - middle of the night - menus in the Philippines often include twelve round fruits (representing money), one for each month. Added to the spread on their New Year's table, Filipinos believe that an abundance of food ensures a prosperous new year.


French-Canadian "tourtiere" (meat pie), often served up in a flaky crust on New Year's Day, can include pork, veal, and/or beef - in addition to mashed potatoes combined with various herbs and spices. (Sounds absolutely scrumptious to me, having been raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In fact, the mashed potatoes part reminds me of a "shepherd's pie" I used to make years ago. I simply must find* that recipe!)

The tradition of ingredients signifies wealth (meat) and substance (potatoes), with the seasonings adding the subtleties of flavor - the nuances of life, as it were, for the coming year.


In this country, there is a Southern tradition that dates back to the battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War. The residents were under seige for over 40 days, and no supplies came in or out. To avoid starvation, they ate the black-eyed peas that had previously been used exclusively for cattle feed.** Today, every January 1st these are commonly eaten to bring good luck for the new year.

One way to prepare black-eyed peas is with ham, bacon, chicken bouillon, onions, peppers, and various spices in a slow cooker. The full recipe can be found here, and the finished product is shown below.


However, some believe that certain foods are bad luck. Lobsters, for example - they move backwards ... and chickens, for another - they scratch in reverse. So, with that in mind, you might not want to use that recipe.


Greens - collard, cabbage, lentil, etc. - are thought of by many to bring prosperity, the green color symbolizing money.


Do you have any traditional servings of food in your family? I actually remember none growing up. It wasn't until I came south, many years ago, that I first heard of a 'black-eyed pea' tradition on New Year's Day. (In fact, there's a restaurant here in Houston - the 'Black-Eyed Pea', of course! - that serves [at least, they used to!] black-eyed peas gratis with any order on January 1st.)


* If I find that recipe, I will make sure to include it in a post on down the road. Trust me. It's been tried and tested - many times, actually. I just have to find it! I seem to remember that it included green beans and mushrooms. No 'crust'. Remind me. Please?

** My research for this post led me, of course, to George Washington Carver - to Booker T. Washington - to Tuskegee. Look for a post on January 5th (coming up shortly) on GWC and another April 5th on BTW. There'll be lots more research involved between now and then on both, but you're just going to have to wait to see it all in writing! Meanwhile, if you have any little tidbits of information that you'd like me to look into for possible inclusion in my stories about either of these great men or the Tuskegee Institute, I'd love to have them.

New Year's traditions and resolutions

Celebrating the New Year is a tradition that dates back to ancient Babylon, nearly 4,000 years ago. Originally it was celebrated during the time of the first New Moon, which is in the Spring. (That tradition continues to this day, by the way, in many parts of the world - particularly in Asia.) It wasn't until Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar that the date of January 1st was even thought of as the beginning of a new year.


Tet Nguyen-Dan is the most important holiday within the Vietnamese culture, and is celebrated for three days. In years past, on New Year's Eve, fireworks that had been strung to houses would have been set off at midnight. To try and help add to all of the noises that were intended to intimidate and drive away the evil spirits, the people would go outside and shout and bang as loudly as they could on pots and pans.

Chinese celebrations, which extend over a 15-day period, include the Lion Dance which I bet many of you have seen. The costume is colorful but intended to be quite fierce, and the dance is usually accompanied by loud drums and cymbals to help drive away the evil spirits. Then, on the last day of their celebrations, lanterns are lit to help guide those spirits who did not know the way how to get back to their home.


In Sri Lanka, there is a kind of "in limbo" period of several hours between when the old year ends and the new year begins, during which people are encouraged to restrain from material pursuits and participate in religious reflections according to custom.


Some people of the world still celebrate the coming of a new year in conjunction with seasonal changes - warmer weather that brings hope and signs of new growth and a re-birth of life, as it were.


Almost all 'clean house' - some literally, by sweeping away bad luck - others by settling old debts, patching up grudges, restoring relationships, and resolving to not make the same mistakes again in the new year. Have you made any New Year's resolutions?

I am making only one, and it's on my calendar for next week to fulfill. I am going to update my will. It hasn't been re-drawn since my 2nd divorce, over 30 years ago. As I told my lawyer last week, "Utterly disgraceful!"


Setsubun - "sectional/seasonal division" - has marked the last day of winter in Japan since the 13th century, and is celebrated one day prior to the beginning of spring - either February 3rd or 4th, depending on the lunar calendar.

One of their more common traditions is to throw beans either in the air or at someone dressed as an 'oni' (devil) while shouting, "Oniwa sato, tukuwa uchi!", which means "Devil's out, good luck/happiness in!" After the beans are thrown, family members then pick up and eat the same number of beans as their ages, bringing good health, luck, and fortune for the new year.


(to be continued with "New Year's traditions - foods" coming later today)

Having fun

Do you enjoy plays on words? I do! To help refresh your memories, just in case you don't remember what those are exactly, here are a couple of examples ...

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

Whalechaser came up with 33 of these for her post yesterday. Nearly all are real 'groaners' but funny as all get out. You might want to read them while sitting down.


Then, she sent an e-mail introducing me to a character named 'Uncle Jay'. Ever hear of him? I had not, but I've already added his site to my "Ideas for future posts" folder.



He's had this website for nearly two years now, and it looks like he posts a new one every Monday. Kind of cute. Definitely tongue-in-cheek.

I am crushed

I watched the first 3/4 of "The Sound of Music" last night before having to switch over to a PBS showing of part two of a Masterpiece Theater classic starring Helen Mirren as "chief inspector"/"chief detective"/"detective superintendent" - obviously, I don't remember her exact title.

The switchover wasn't what crushed me. Helen Mirren is worth the switch. (By the way, this tells you about the program I switched over to.)

No, what crushed me was the fact that - only a few minutes ago, I looked up Peggy Wood (She's the one who played the Mother Abbess in that movie, remember?) and discovered that her voice was dubbed (DUBBED!) for that movie when she 'sang' "Climb Every Mountain"!

All these years - the movie came out in 1965 - I thought I was listening to Peggy singing that magnificent song, and I was going to try and find a YouTube link for it. Boohoo!

[According to one source I found, however, it was Peggy herself who requested the dubbing, declaring that she was "too old" (73) to handle the vocals. Margery McKay/MacKay - I've seen her name spelled both ways - did the dubbing, which was uncredited at the time.]


I went to YouTube anyway, and found the original soundtrack from the movie. I had the intention of posting it here for you (my link thingee is working again) but the video is rather dark, and so I listened to a few others and found one that I think you might enjoy.

It's in the same key as that of the film score, and the visuals are lovely. I do not know the vocalist's name. Here it is ...



If you'd like to read more about Peggy Wood's career, here's the best link I could find.