SUNDAY FUNDAY - MARCH 7, 2021

 

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Sunday, March 7, 2021

HAPPY SUNDAY!!!

DATES / NUMBERS THOUGHTS

A few days ago was MARCH 4 - or, if you will - MARCH FOURTH. (or March forth)

That was the day of the year that is a “command” - MARCH FORTH - go out and win your battles!!!  (I hope you lived up to that command - and Marched FORTH to make a difference in the world!!

There are some other days that are a play on words.  In a week we’ll have “Pi” Day - March 14 - 3.14.  Pi was a real mystery in ancient days with the first numbering systems.  Whole numbers were easy to grasp, then simple fractions.  You had half a loaf of bread, you cut your meat in half.  Then you could cut that half into halves - and have quarters - so you had a meal and gave one-quarter to each of four people.  

When wheels developed (hey - to me, wheels and fire are some of the first signs of civilization), they would take the diameter of a circle (wheel) and then figure out the circumference.  It was more than three, but less than four.  It wasn’t three-and-one-half, it was less than three-and-one-quarter - but more than three-and-one-eighth.  Eventually, with flexible measuring tapes, they could get closer and closer to the number.  3.14 was a pretty good estimation, or 22/7 (3 and 1/7 - which is 3.142857 - but not quite correct.  

And eventually, mathematicians came up with irrational numbers - numbers that couldn’t be expressed as a fraction.  (From above 3 and 1/7th really is 3.142857142857142857142857 … a repeating fraction - like ⅓ becomes .3333333  (repeating)). 

Mathematicians have adopted March 14th as Pi Day.  I have friends that celebrate that day by shooting off rockets.  I have even shot off rockets!!  I bought a rocket kit at Hobby Lobby, and the host of the event bought a bunch of explosive charges and had a shooting area with electronic ignition.  The kids in particular liked it.  It became a big day as families brought food for a potluck.  In the evening the host (who is an official pyrotechnician - and makes his own fireworks) shoots them off that evening)  

(And, I won’t even try to say how mathematicians created “imaginary” numbers - like the square root of negative one!!)

Other dates that get some notoriety include May 4th - which Star Wars fans have made into “May the Force be with you” (instead of May Fourth).  

And, kids will sometimes try to trick you (play along) if Canada has the Fourth of July - and one answer is - no they don’t - it is an American holiday - but then they might ask if Canadian calendars jump from the 3rd to the 5th.

When I taught Excel in computer classes, I’d get off on word tangents. What might go into cell B4 (the second column - fourth row).  I’d get to “before what”. (B4), or if could ask if cell B9 had cancer (no - it is benign).  

*****

(Stolen story)

I was at TJ Maxx today and heard a loud crash and something shattering. Being nosy, I walked towards the sound and saw some people whispering and looking back to the end of the next aisle. When I walked down that aisle, I saw that an older lady had hit a shelf and many things had fallen to the ground and broken. She was kneeling on the floor embarrassed, frantically trying to clean up. I felt so bad for her. Everyone was just standing there staring at her. So I went and knelt beside her and told her not to worry and started helping her pick up the broken pieces. 

After about a minute, the store manager came and knelt beside us and said, “Leave it, we will clean this up.” The lady, totally embarrassed, said, “I need to pay for all this.” The manager smiled, helped her to her feet, and said, “No ma’am, we have insurance for this, you do not have to pay anything!” If you have read this far, give me another minute.

*****

As we go through life, we all have moments of broken pieces.  For example, we backed into the garage door, we found we had put an item into our grocery basket but didn’t pay for it, our parents die, our son commits suicide, our daughter loses a child during pregnancy, we get fired, we have an accident. There are times we might look around.  Did anybody see me?  Can I get away with what I just did?  There are times when we are weighed down with guilt.  If only I had been there with my parents if only had been there for our son if only I had been there for life.  

Plus the times we were responsible - it is often tougher to stand up and say “I did it”, “I put the dent in the car”, “I screwed up”.  Being a responsible adult can be a challenge.  And teaching kids about being responsible is also a challenge.  I was with my triplet grandchildren when one of them knocked something off the table and it broke.  When each of the kids was asked, the answer was “I didn’t do it” - by all three of the children (although at least one of them knocked it off).

It happens!!!  

And, you need somebody like the manager to say “we’ll clean this up”.  Who helps you clean up messes?  Who’s messes do you clean up?  Are you like the narrator who gets down on the floor to help clean up?  

King David in the Old Testament lusted after Bathsheeba and publically confessed his sin.

"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." (excerpts from Psalm 51)

**********

Mini-Math Puzzle

Jack is one-fourth of the age of his Aunt Bertha.  But in ten years he will be one-half of Aunt Bertha’s age.  How old are Jack and Aunt Bertha now?

(I had a great aunt Bertha - not a common name today.  She was my grandfather’s sister). 

Lynette is buying art supplies (at Karen’s bargain art store).  She has $150 dollars to spend -not a cent less.  Brushes cost $10 each, and tubes of ink cost $4.87.  She needs at least five brushes and at least ten tubes of ink.  What’s the maximum she can buy without going over the $150? And she wants to spend as much money as possible, so minimize the change.

******

COVID - well - we are all over the place on COVID vaccinations.  Some traveled quite a ways to get a shot.  Supposedly more vaccines are being developed (like Johnson and Johnson - which seemingly only needs one inoculation).  Soon we all will be vaccinated and we can play bridge!!!  

Last Tuesday the Texas Governor said “open Texas 100%".  "People and businesses don't need the state telling them how to operate," Abbott said. 

“The move flouts warnings from health experts and federal officials, who have urged caution from state officials as new, more contagious variants that could make coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rebound after promising declines.

***

I am on the list.  I got a note this morning to re-register for my second shot (my first vaccination was February 9th).  So, hopefully soon.

A report I saw said more people have been vaccinated in Texas than those who were hospitalized for COVID.  So, we are on the right track.  

*****

EDUCATION

Yes, I like to write, but I needed something else, so I became a substitute teacher for the Georgetown School District.   

My full days might have been the most interesting.  I was the theater teacher for a day at one of the middle schools.  The students were memorizing monologues from plays to give in front of the class.  I had to demonstrate by giving (most) of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address; plus a little of Hamlet’s “To be on not to be”.  

Then Thursday and Friday I was a substitute band teacher!!  (No, I did NOT get to direct the band).  This is a big high school with three-band teachers.  The third teacher (who I was subbing for) is the percussion coach - and then goes to the middle schools.  So, I sat and listened to the band rehearsal.

With three minutes to go, the students grabbed the spray bottles and paper towels and attacked the chairs and surfaces to kill off any germs.  It seems that schools can be complicated - with some students in person and some students online.  And, it seems as if the technology is leading the movement as everybody was using tablets and using Google Classroom.  Ah yes, where are the days of chalkboards and the kids that acted up had to stay after class and dust the erasers by slapping them together!!!  Do you remember those days?  

I do like the Whiteboards over chalkboards.  I used to come home at the end of the day covered in chalk!!!  (And … shhh... I like to sniff the markers!!!)

It has been an interesting life for students in a pandemic!!!

*****

NATIONAL DAYS

Monday, March 8th - International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is on March 8. The achievements of women and how far they have come in the fight for their rights within the political, cultural, and social spheres is celebrated.

We have more women than men in the BridgeBrats group - so, guys move out, this is our day!!!

Tuesday, March 9th - National Meatball Day

I took a senior friend to IKEA last weekend. (Her first trip ever)  The number 1 best seller at IKEA is their Swedish Meatballs!!!  

Wednesday, March 10th - National Ranch Dressing Day

Okay, I like ranch dressing and this day celebrates that!!  The link says “For National Ranch Day on  March 10, you should put Ranch on everything. We mean it. Everything. Because honestly, what dish isn’t made better by Ranch? Fries? Absolutely. Sandwiches? You Bet!!

Thursday, March 11th - National Mortician Day

Time to say “hi” to your local, friendly funeral director!!!  

My parents lived two doors from a mortician.  He was a jokester, but couldn’t be on the job.  One of his jokes was “I had a great year financially last year, but I couldn’t smile about it”; or “I wanted to be a doctor, but that didn’t work out.  But now I have to bury the doctor’s mistakes!!!”

*****

WRAP-UP

I’m not the same person I was a year ago.  I’m not the same person I was yesterday.  I keep growing and changing.  Every day I try to learn something new. 

To me, learning is “intrinsic” - I like to learn.  And, I liked seeing students learn as a professor.

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen