Gleaning Facebook: Arrowhead in the Snow

I drove up to Arrowhead yesterday to feed the animals and check on things. I also hoped to get a few good pictures of the place in snow. Most of the snow was gone but still...

Some kids had hiked around to the Aquatic center and made snow angels...

… and left messages in the snow...

…and one of them evidently shares my unusual given name… "Terrell Jones"

This area of the lake, north of the boardwalk, had a skim of ice on it with a swoosh of thicker ice around the edge.

This area of the lake, north of the boardwalk, had a skim of ice on it with a swoosh of thicker ice around the edge.

Icy Lake Arrowhead from the boardwalk...

…and from the north shore...

…where some fisherman, or fisher animal had left this fellow...

Christie Hufstedler Boyd

I didn't know you could fish there. Details?

Terrell Shaw
We are open year-round for fishing, BUT we a have a special rule: for every two adults there must be at least one child.

… from the peninsula on the north shore…

Rabbit tracks along the road by the wetland...

Rabbit tracks, Camry tracks, and some other critter tracks along the road by the wetland...

I tried to capture the immensity of the s-shaped beaver dam at the wetland. Those guys are amazing and persistent engineers.

Gleaning Facebook: Executive Orders

 "The executive Power [of the United States] shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."

That's right, boys and girls, in America our Constitution sets up a unitary executive. He regularly executes the law, often by issuing executive orders. It is his job. I know a few of my otherwise sensible Facebook friends go bonkers at the mention of our current chief executive, but we have one. He happens to be a pretty savvy Constutional lawyer, too. And he will use his executive powers under the law to do what he thinks right, as a majority of us elected him to do. (A majority of us opposed the current folks in charge of the House of Representatives, ironically.) Following the Constitution is not grounds for impeachment and does not make him a dictator.

-----------------

Donald Murdock Funny stuff,Terrell. Whatta buncha beanbags!

Terrell Shaw You're talking about some of the fine folks I call friends and relatives, Don. Be careful. OK, OK. But they are lovable beanbags. 

Laurie Craw What's the difference between a "strong leader" and a "dictator"? The first is the one I voted for. The second is the one I didn't vote for.

Donald Murdock No disrespect intended, Terrell. Well, maybe just a little. Would enjoy seeing you when I'm able to get to Rome. Be well.

Donald Murdock What many good people don't understand is that our capitalist system and it's governing body is nothing but a huge corporate entity, heavily influenced by the international corporate conglomerates that render so much power via their lobbyists with endless bags of cash and favors. By the way, one of many definitions of a socialist system is thus: A political system within which the producers and suppliers of goods and services to the people also make the decisions which govern the populace. Enter the lobbyists. Fortunately, we currently have, perhaps, our first true CEO

Donald Murdock OOPS,

Christy Davis Wouldn't it be interesting to see the reasons for the executive orders? Truman's list would be fascinating. Compared to the others, Obama's would be a snooze.

Donald Murdock fat finger syndrome strikes again! Anyhow, we have a corporate CEO in office who, thankfully, is also a humanist of the first order. He has attempted mightily to level the playing field by empowering the 99%. Not an easy task. It threatens the power of the elite 1% who have traditionally pulled the strings (Dick Cheney's pals). Our responsibility, as true patriots, is to maintain our integrity as citizens, and stand by the integrity of a leader who is trying to drag this nation, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century, so we can actually be the nation we have always professed to be. Just watched David Crosby give a kick-ass performance on Fallon. All is not lost!!

George Barton I think the Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order, guess Abe Lincoln threw his weight around a bit too.

Gleaning Facebook: That "Dusting" Turned Nasty

This was the prediction in yesterday's paper.

 A reminder to some of my fine friends who are understandably irritated with the terrible inconveniences and safety concerns brought about by the freak ice/snow event that continues. School officials, in my opinion, followed sensible procedures for deciding whether and when to close school.

This storm was that very rare case that totally surprised us. We were expecting the "dusting" that the Rome News predicted above-- and Weather.com and most other prognosticators. Now, does there need to be a very thorough postmortem when this event has passed away? Of course. Does our infrastructure in Georgia need work? Yes. Do we need a better system for recovering from such events in the future including larger reserves of sand and salt, spreading and plowing equipment, etc.? Maybe. Do we need to be quicker on the draw about closing schools? Doubtful, but let's look at it.

With Republicans in total charge of our state government, I'd like to say, "It's all their fault!" but the fact is, this is unusual for Georgia and we have to balance the rarity of the event against its severity and the costs of all that equipment (etc.) and a quicker trigger on closings.

(Republicans, of course, do need to face up to the legitimate obligations of the government to serve the general welfare by taking better care of our infrastructure. That legitimate goal of government takes tax money.)

Barbara Crawford Ah, perspective ... and fact 

Jagdeep Singh I agree re: balancing cost of constant preparedness to avoid inconvenience v/s rarity of the event. I think there's too much unnecessary witch-hunting for blame going around. And I certainly don't agree when people and some analysts on TV say that it happened - at least partially- because people in South don't know how to drive in snow, or how can 2-3 inches of snow be so bad. I am from the North and let me tell you - out here - because of lack of any pre-treatment of roads, even minor accumulations on roads (when its below freezing temperature wise) quickly turn into ice. And once its ice - it doesn't matter whether its North or South, 1 inch or 10 inches - there simply is no traction. Also, I am glad Sheila made it home safe.

Beckie Gurley I didn't vote for Deal, but I do give him kudos for taking responsibility for the mess and saying things need to change. I think our school system did the best they could with the information they had. Zach was at AES and had a good time. Only time he got scared was over hearing a conversation that they didn't know if the buses would be coming. But he was warm and with his teachers and principal. Along with Ms. Nancy. My daughter was equally warm and safe at the high school.

Barbara Crawford It's true, Yankees (me included) can't drive on ice.

Alice Jeffries Keel So some are unable to accept freaks of nature, accidents, etc. They have to have no one to blame. Guess it is human nature? That is never pretty. Freaks of nature are sometimes beautiful and awe inspiring, on the other hand!

Laurie Craw Yes, nature happens. We are not immune to the forces thereof. But "civilization" means we have the intelligence and the collective will to mitigate the damage when adverse weather occurs. Planning, preparation, information, communication and cooperation are what we expect from all in charge of our common safety. This should be a learning opportunity. My suggestion is that government authorities have a system in place to notify all employers when to send their employees home or keep them onsite to prevent clogging the highways before they can be scraped, salted, sanded, wrecks cleared, etc. It would be like an evacuation plan by zone. Schools would go first. Tractor-trailers could be ordered to pull over and wait for road clearing. Rush hour traffic around ATL is awful even in good weather. I for one would rather sit at the office waiting for the green light than on the freeway bumper to bumper.

Gleaning Facebook: A Rome treasure under threat...

From the Coosa River Basin Initiative Facebook...

Beaver trail from wetlands to Burwell Creek

Snow bird searching for food atop the ice.

Looking south toward downtown Rome.

Looking west toward Riverside Parkway and Ridge Ferry Park.

Beaver activity

Fox tracks along edge of wetlands

Looking east toward Jackson Hill

Burwell Creek

Deer making an escape. Two deer had bedded down on a knoll overlooking the wetlands, and I spooked them up.

 

Gleaning Facebook: Snowpocalypse (the Next Day)

 Good morning! I hope everyone is warm. Sheila needs to drive back to Rome from Acworth late this morning. Anyone with good info on conditions on northbound I-75 from Acworth to Cartersville, and US411 from Cartersville to Rome, I'd really appreciate hearing it. I'm hoping there has been some salting and scraping and clearing going on!

-----------

Tim Shiflett
Is 41 a better option?

Sam Burnham
We did ok on big roads this morning. There had apparently been some traffic on 411 near town and we saw a DOT truck going up the bridge on 101.

I know that doesn't help as far as 75 or remote 411 but everything we passed was packed ice and fairly passable if you go slow.

Dawn N Luke Andrews
http://www.511ga.org/

Jamie Fergerson
Can she wait until noon? Most of the salting is in downtown Atlanta and on 285 right now.

Terrell Shaw
Doubt it Tim, judging from Sheila's 7.5 hour trip from Kennesaw to Acworth last night.

Elizabeth McGinnis Johnson
What about hwy 41? Its passable but still in really bad shape. Only passable to really good drivers.

That was on Bartow weather this morning

Wendy Davis
She should wait for a little more help from the sun

Terrell Shaw
Thanks everyone…. She won't leave the hotel until 11, and can probably shelter at McDonalds a while longer if need be. But I'd sure like to get her home. Judging from the site Luke linked to, the southbound lanes of 75 are still clogged at Acworth, but not the Northbound. Still looks treacherous tho.

Laurie Cook-Critchlow
My Husband was out and said the main roads are sanded, but a lot of cars still stuck on the road. Tell her to be safe and drive in gear 2

John Paul Schulz
We got in at about 1 am. Roads were being worked on until we got to Floyd county.
Maybe she should wait a while.

Bitsy Burton
I know you want her home, but my opinion is wait!

Terrell Shaw
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/.../article_64847a12...

Nancy Johal Singh

Poor Sheila, hope she gets home safe....let's us know when she gets home

Terrell Shaw
Just talked to her, Nancy. The roads are officially open but in awful shape… she plans to leave shortly after noon.

George Barton
You are not going to drive down with a friend and rescue your wife? Any good Republican husband would do that.

Joan Ledbetter
I think she should wait until there is more melting - a couple hours at least (or stay the night again).

Jane Jameson
I pray she is safe! The road conditions are terrible here.

Laurie Craw
She should stay put until the thawing begins, whenever that happens. She's already been through enough!

Terrell Shaw
If you have a Jeep, friend George, it's on! 

George Barton
She should stay put until you know it's safe to drive home. You might have a window about 3 this afternoon if the sun stays out, but everything is going to start re-freezing after that.

Joan Ledbetter
It stinks, but I think it's safest to stay put until tomorrow afternoon when the temperature goes up.

Joan Ledbetter
And, just know - not all Republicans would go get their wives - my husband would not. He'd worry but he'd sure not come get me (would say, we'd both be stranded then 

Wendy Ramsey
Let us know when she makes it home safely, Terrell Shaw. I hope all goes smoothly, and s-l-o-w-l-y! That's the key for driving on icy roads.

Joan Ledbetter
But, then, maybe my Republican husband will never come to rescue his wife because she's a Democrat

Terrell Shaw
Yes, Joan & Wendy. Her Camry is much more sure-footed than my car, I think. I tol' 'er to go slow, stay in the tracks, turn "with" any skid (but go too slow to have a big skid!), and call immediately if there's a problem and I'll find a Republican (i.e. idiot) with a Jeep to come get her. --- JK, GOP friends! 

Terrell Shaw
She's home! 25 hours and four minutes after beginning her everyday 48 mile commute.

Wendy Ramsey
Thank goodness! The lady deserves some pampering!

-------------

Well, Sheila is making her try at coming home… y'all watch out for her out there between Acworth and Rome!

Jaki Day
Praying for safe travels.

Jann Heaton Skeen
God bless her on her journey! 

Tersi Bendiburg
Prayers for safe travel.

George Barton
There's a country song in here, "From AAAAAAk Worth to ROOOOOOOOOOME, to be with my true love and Home"

Sam Burnham
Friends that live on 411 near the Floyd/Bartow line just posted that traffic is moving relatively well out there

John Paul Schulz
Tell her to watch out for the Republicans--They're lurking all over the place.

Terrell Shaw
Thanks all. She's home. Traffic was moving slowly, carefully, but well. And those lurking politicos stayed out of her way, John. Even Republicans know not to mess with Sheila. 

------------------

Sheila is…

Home again, home again, jiggidy jog!

1/28/14, 12:40 p.m. - 1/29/14, 1:44 p.m.

25 hours and 4 minutes to go 48 miles.

Ruth Pinson Thankful!!!

Barbara Crawford "UN"-Olympian sprinter!

Laurie Craw Break out the hot chocolate and put some fuzzy slippers on her feet!

Rose McDonald Darby What a relief!

Julie Hatfield Burton Glad she made it home! Bet she is exhausted.

Mandy Wallace Glad she's home!

Sheila Matthews Shaw Thanks for all the concern and good wishes. It was an adventure that I do not care to repeat, ever! I am actually one of the lucky ones. I spent the night in a warm hotel, after "only" eight hours in the car and I made it home today safely. I don't recommend that anyone go out if they don't have to. My heart goes out to people still stuck in their cars.

Lyn Davis Good! I'm so glad she's home safely!

Susan Mills Dickson I know you all are happy to have her home. What a nightmare!!

Gleaning Facebook: Wren Wrescue!

This Carolina Wren somehow snuck into our old house to take shelter from the storm.

 

Armed with a butterfly net and the assistence of two daughters and another refugee -- Hillary -- I captured it and dug it gently from the net for some souvenir pics.

Still with all due care, I carried him out the back door and propelled him smoothly into the atmosphere of our yard, whence he shot like a buff and brown snitch escaping the dull clumsy participants in a muggle quidditch match.

Gleaning Facebook: Pete is gone

 

I have a letter Pete wrote me in the sixties when I was a naive teen. I was greatly concerned. Some friends had told me my great hero was a "communist"! So I wrote him a letter and asked him. He took the time to respond thoughtfully. I have many of his records, tapes, and now CDs. The first came with that first bunch of LPs that came came with my "membership" in the Columbia Music Club in those teen years.

I was privileged to see Pete in person only twice.

Sheila and I read about a tribute to Woody Guthrie that would be held on the mall in Washington DC during Smithsonian Folklife festival of 1982. We knew Pete would be there, ordered Amtrak tickets and only a couple of days after hearing about the concert were sitting right under the stage for a marvelous couple of hours listening to Pete and Arlo and SweetHoney in the Rock, and the re-united Weavers, and others. What a great concert and sing-along. And afterward I got to talk with Pete and Arlo, who were just… themselves. Down to earth. They were not stars, they were just folks, who listened as well as talked. No preening, autograph-signing, or overt flirting with the girls backstage like I had seen at other post concert meetings with singers.

A couple of years ago we heard that 92 year-old Pete, with John McCutcheon, and Tom Paxton, would perform at an event in East Rutherford NJ. We could combine that with a visit to my daughters who were both living in NYC. Another great concert, even though Pete's voice had largely deserted him, he still led the audience in sing-alongs. Afterward we had nice visits with John and Tom, but Pete didn't stick around this time.

I have met few in my 66 years as genuinely sincere, as brutally honest, as humbly self-effacing, as magnificently talented, as consistent in living true to his beliefs, as Pete Seeger.

The world is a poorer place today without this good man and a richer place for his 94 year journey through it.

-------------

Howard Smith

What was his response to teenage question?

Joan Shaw Turrentine

He was, no doubt, a great musical talent.

Monica Sheppard

Very lovely tribute and story of your experiences with him. And, you're right, we are richer for his time here on earth.

Margaret Oren

I was raised on scratchy Pete Seeger albums. I think we were the only kids on the street who did interpretive dance to "We Shall Overcome."

Betty Smith Franklin

lovely, Terrell. I saw him in his 80s and have a lovely story of "backstage," too. He was singing with his grandson. His voice goes right to your heart.

Richard T. Ware

Very well said Mr. Shaw! I never got to see him in person, but, as you know, we've been performing his songs since the 1960s.

Jim Geist

Wow....a letter from Pete S....cool.

Lois Gilbert

Thank you.He was my role model.My goal with my music is to get every one singing!

Terrell Shaw

Howard, as you might expect, since his contempt of congress conviction had recently been overturned on a technicality, he answered my question indirectly as he had answered the HUAC. He said that some folks (John Birchers at the time) considered Ike a communist. He DIDN'T tell me, as he did the HUAC and could have legitimately told me, that his political opinions were no one else's business! He wrote briefly, as I remember, about what he believed rather than dealing in labels. I need to find that letter. It was short but I was impressed that he bothered to answer at all.

David Crowder

Pete Seeger was the best. Sad he has left us, but I know he lived a fulfilled life. A poet and gentleman.

David Crowder

Of all the songs he did...My fav has been and always will be Guantanamera.

Terrell Shaw

Lois, I definitely follow in his musical and storytelling footsteps. I try to involve my audience as much as possible and even in stage performance I remember that the words come first and they need to be directed honestly to someONE. (As Tevye that someone was often God!) I think Pete's audiences always realized he was not singing by rote but actually in the moment speaking/singing to communicate to real people.

Terrell Shaw

David, that song was on that first album (We Shall Overcome) so I've been singing it for fifty years! And one of my favorite stories involves Guantanamera. Alberto spoke no English. He had been in Mr. East's class for a week or two at the end of the last year, but was assigned to mine for the new school year. When I found him he was literally hugging the doorframe in Stuart East's room, refusing to budge. We were all lamenting our lack of a second language. I said to Stuart, "The only Spanish I know is a song: Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma…"

On the basis of a very poorly pronounced "I am a truthful man from the land of the palm trees." Alberto, looked up, smiled and left Stuart's room with me!

David Crowder

I also liked The Sandpipers version. It just puts me at peace. Also remember, without Seeger there would have been no Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds.

Bitsy Burton

I believe that Cleve was a big fan of Pete Seeger and a lot of the music I like was influenced by what Cleve listened to.

Kathy Wilson

You were so lucky to have seen him in person.

Donald Murdock

Awesome, Terrell. He was a treasure who sang the integrity of his convictions on behalf of us all. Quite the educator.