Only One leaf remains

You know the other day when 6 was undertaking the daily routine of edification, in an effort to keep his superior intelligence sharp.  One of the characters (Jethro Bodine) 6 follows was talking about gaslighting. The bizarre thing about this revelation was it was being articulated in the early 1960’s, not 2024, even though we (not me) are using the term on a daily basis. This caused me to do a little digging on the word’s origins. It first appeared on the Title of a book in 1930. The plot of the plays was about a man trying to make his wife feel as if she was going insane, he was gaslighting his wife. Since the 1930’s it has morphed in to a political term for deception and manipulation, 6 discounts all of this gaslighting for it is doing nothing more than driving 6 insane! Just another example of how we think the world has changed, but has it? 6 must add is gaslighting to the list of over-used, miss leading, “popular” “New” words: Circle back, Tag-up’s, Galentine's Day, Shrinkflation, Supply Chain, Virtue Signaling, Captain Obvious, textspeak. Hummmm

Fall is in full swing, cool crisp mornings, warm days which leads to the leaves turning and beginning to fall all over the ground. Did all-you-all know that fall got its name, from leaves falling! That might be “gaslighting” 

How easy do we have it today! When one’s yard becomes covered with those gems, all we have to do is say “Siri, call a landscaper to pick up the leaves” or if one is not inclined to be a social advocated by not break out the old pocketbook and spreading the wealth, the other option is to use the leaf blower and blow them into their neighbors’ yard! Back in the day of pocketbooks and gaslighting cleaning those mangy leaves was a three-month daily imposition, No leaf blower no Siri, just a rake! The fun started on the first day of school and ended at the back-yard football game on Thanksgiving Day! Early in September, the leaves cover was lite, but those pesky varmints were still a daily chore. 6’s leaf day would start after the long walk home from the bus stop, a ton of books carried on his head walking what seemed to be miles, never being able to stop and smell the roses, for 0A, could see the bus pass our house and she knew to the second how long it would take 6 to walk from the bus stop to our house. I wonder if anyone else wondered why the bus would actually pass our house, dive a mile away and then drop us off? Upon 6 arrival, the first chore was to hang is uniform neatly and put on his work duds. Back in the day there was no such thing as a afternoon snack, just out the door delivering papers, picture this: 6 with an empty belly with 75 newspapers stacked neatly on top of his head telling himself “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this paper boy from the swift completion of his appointed rounds”. BTW 6 has figured out why he is follicle challenged today. Between all of his school books and newspapers, it crushed his hair follicles! Once that final newspaper was tucked neatly inside the final screen door, 6 would return directly home, pick up that old steel rake and begin raking those pesky leaves! Could you just imagine today if the UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Amazon delivery person opened the door of your house and put the package inside of your house!  The leaf raking job went on for about an hour or so, then it was time for dinner! Just like everything else in life, the wind would blow the nice piles of leaves all over the yard, just so 6 could have leaves to rake the next day!  This would go on until Thanksgiving Day, yes Saturdays no school, but 6 just spent that time collecting the money for the papers, and Sundays 6 did the papers right after returning from 7:00 AM mass. Today, the world of newspapers is a thing of the past, now all one has to do is just like getting your leaves raked you have two choices to get news. First just pick up your phone and ask ‘Siri” Second turn on the TV and hear all of the wisdom that comes from the journalist (leaf blowers), They all have so much in common, the only thing that has changed is much like picking up leaves, back in the day one had to work for it, in the case of news one actually had to be able to read, just like one had to rake the leaves. Today, all one has to do is to watch and listen, and be able to hold a leaf blower. If either case the leaves keep on falling until the spring brings a new day.

 

WORDS OF WISDOM: Choices are easy, the consequences may prove difficult. Follow a judgement of reason, and one will find reward.