Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
Aug5

rainbow cat.

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1941 newspaper rainbow cat breaking news

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oh, how I would love to write little articles like this in a community newspaper.

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when I first moved to Ann Arbor, we had a person who wrote a ‘local crime’ column

where they listed the week’s ‘crimes,’ such as:

– a robbery of a university student on the street of 2 pencils and $2.41

-a police call of someone possibly being attacked, but what turned out to be the screams of two people watching a horror film

the crime reporter would read the police blotter each week and report out, excellent work.

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in another community paper

in a tiny local town

I read ‘sandy’s corner’

where sandy would share her personal recipes

 the one I happened to read was for a

‘baked potato’

does not get any better than that.

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if I had to report on unusual pets such as the rainbow cat above, well…

the sky’s the limit!

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At the “Emerging Mind of Community Journalism” conference in Anniston, Ala., in 2006, participants created a list characterizing community journalism: community journalism is intimate, caring, and personal; it reflects the community and tells its stories; and it embraces a leadership role.

If you want more of a definition, I’m afraid it’s like when someone asked Louie Armstrong for a definition of jazz. The great Satchmo is reputed to have replied something like this: ‘Man, if you have to ask, it won’t do me any good to try to explain.’ You know community journalism when you see it; it is the heartbeat of American journalism, journalism in its natural state.” — Jock Lauterer

Aug4

chicken scratch.

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undecipherable address? the postal service’s handwriting detectives are on it

Snail mail carries a special kind of charm — you can see it in the unique handwriting, uneven lines, and occasional pen smudges. But when it comes to pinpointing the intended address of a piece of mail, these perfectly imperfect human touches can present quite a challenge for post office machines. That’s where a U.S. Postal Service team comes in to do what machines cannot: decipher chicken scratch.
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In Salt Lake City, handwriting experts known as “keyers” work around the clock at the Remote Encoding Center to parse out illegible or hard-to-read addresses, usually sent to the center as digital images for human interpretation. Last year, the keyers processed roughly 1 billion pieces of mail, Ryan Bullock, the site’s operations manager, told CBS News.
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While the Postal Service once had 55 remote encoding centers nationwide, the Utah center is now the only such facility left, making it an essential part of the efforts to ensure handwritten notes reach their destinations — personality-filled penmanship and all. As the service continues celebrating its 250th birthday, watch the handwriting detectives at work.

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The phrase “chicken scratch” originates from the visual resemblance between a chicken’s foot marks and messy, illegible handwriting. Chickens, while scratching at the ground to find food, leave behind marks that look like a series of haphazard, uncoordinated lines and dashes. This imagery was then applied to handwriting that was difficult to read, hence the idiom “chicken scratch”.

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‘the only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.’

-john adams

‘

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source credits: cbs news, Justin Sullivan, Getty images

Aug3

resist.

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“to the wrong that need resistance, 

to the right that needs assistance,

to the future in the distance,

give yourselves.’

-carrie chapman chatt

 

*Carrie Chapman Catt was an American women’s suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920.
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bandameer park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2025
Aug2

a hall of fame toy that costs $0.

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anyone who knows me well, knows that i absolutely love sticks, rocks, shells, leaves…..

and why I was thrilled to read this recently:

Curators at the Strong National Museum of Play branched out when they added the stick to their collection of all-time beloved toys. Among the most versatile amusements, sticks have inspired central equipment in several sports, including baseball, hockey, lacrosse, fencing, cricket, fishing, and pool. Humble twigs are also ready-made for fetch, slingshots, toasting marshmallows, and boundless make-believe.

Located in Rochester, New York – about 70 miles northeast of Fisher-Price’s headquarters – the Strong acquired the fledgling National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002.  To date, more than 70 toys have been inducted, including Crayola Crayons, Duncan Yo-Yos, and bicycles. The stick was added in 2008, three years after another quintessential source of cheap childhood delight: the cardboard box. Hail to the mighty stick!

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‘some of you did not spend your childhood making potions

out of random leaves, berries, flowers, and twigs

tossed into a tub of water and stirred with a stick that you found….

and it shows.’

-author unknown

 

 

 

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source credits: google image, nice news, strong national museum of play

 

Aug1

the first week of august.

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Watercolor by Conny Jager, Canadian Painter

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‘the first week of august hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. the weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of august is motionless, and hot. it is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.’

-natalie babbitt

 

*Natalie Babbitt 1932 – 2016, was an American writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her 1975 novel, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She also received the Newberry Honor and Christopher Award.

Jul31

bus, stop!!

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best ride in (and out of) town

after the tigers game last weekend

I planned to hop on the d2a2 bus

 take it back from detroit to ann arbor

best thing on wheels

4 dollars, always on time,

very friendly drivers

a/c, wifi, comfy seats

no parking, gas, traffic, getting lost, construction

45 minute drive

12 minute walk to my house

except….

when we walked over to find the bus

it wasn’t there

only thing there

 was an Indian trails bus

right in the usual spot where the d2a2 bus sits

we waited a bit and a bit more

finally checked my phone again

as the bus started to pull out

only to see

they were using Indian trails

for this time only

so I actually fully sprinted

(very rare for me)

put my hand up

stopped the bus 

(kind of like that final scene in ‘the graduate’)

stood at the door knocking

( a tiny sign on the door said it was acting as an a2d2 bus)

jumped on

the driver said

just take a seat 

pointing with his driving gloves 

giving the peace sign to other buses we passed

 we shot off down the road

back in Ann Arbor in 45 minutes 

very close call

who knew I could stop a bus?

but I was motivated.

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‘when you are already in detroit, you don’t have to take a bus to get there.’

-ram dass

Jul30

weather report.

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the hot spell will continue a bit longer.

 

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‘if it’s a regular day, I won’t wear any makeup,

just leave my hair down and head out to the car.’

-donna karan

Jul29

poppy.

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poppy the baby possum (hugging her stuffed koala)

came to my daughter’s house

when her opossum mother was killed by a car

a cat brought her home

the family took good care of this little one

only 5″ long

feeding her goat milk with a syringe

 water for drinking

keeping her warm

providing her darkness in a box

with an open doorway out

cuddly blankets

a safe space 

human contact

in a few days

she found her new home

with a wildlife rehabber

at motor city possum rescue

a perfect match

when she went to drop poppy off

another woman arrived

with the same breed of baby possum 

sweet serendipity. 

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“no matter how convoluted my life got, one thing remained consistent-

my hair looked like a baby opossum had taken refuge in it,

invited some friends over, and thrown a party.”

-jennifer l. armentrout, american author

Jul28

the bats were hot today!

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the Detroit Tigers broke their six game losing streak with a big win (10-4)

against our friendly northern neighbors, the Toronto Blue Jays

at a very, very hot summer game

we had to walk around a lot 

just to feel a slight breeze

drink some cool beverages

eat some cool ice cream

share a bit of shade

with our fellow fans

but in the end

there was that hot win!

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‘it’s fun; baseball’s fun.’

-yogi berra

Jul27

round and round.

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 Active duty service members often carry sentimental items to help combat the challenges of war – perhaps a picture of a loved one, a handwritten letter, or a good luck charm. For Marine Cpl. Scott Harrison, that item was a music box from his sister, which he would hold close to his ear during breaks in the fighting during the Vietnam War. “I would close my eyes, and I would think of a carousel in a mountain meadow,” Harrison told CBS News. “… An image totally opposite of where people are trying to kill each other.”
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Harrison left the war in 1968, but his carousel daydream continued to help him through a different battle: post-traumatic stress disorder. He eventually decided to buy a broken-down carousel and bring his fantasy to life spending 26 years handcarving the animals himself.
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In 2010, Harrison opened the carousel to the public in Nederland, Colorado, and launched a nonprofit called Carousel of Happiness to spread smiles round and round for all. “Just to go to that carousel and see everybody having such a great time, is good medicine for me,” Harrison said. “Because I started out trying to treat myself, and then it just changed into something that I could do for others.”

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source credit: CBS News

 

”there is in the worst of fortune, the best of chances for a happy change.’

-euripides