Monday Musings

We had a tornado roam through Howard County this week.  I work in Howard, so when the tornado came through, we were all sent to stand in the stairwell.  About 50 of us squeezed into the stairwell for over an hour.  I ended up sitting on the floor with a group of students, and we played Password with someone's cell phone app.  It was great!  While we had no damage where I work or where I live, there was some significant damage in the Western part of the county.  I drove through there on Friday, and I was surprised at the damage.  Considering that the tornado was an EF-0, I wasn't expecting that much damage.  Lots of homes and barns that lost roofs, and several barns that were destroyed.  Trees were down everywhere, and as of Friday, much of the area was still without power and the library was the distribution point for water.  (That part of the county is all on well, and without power, there's no way to pump the water.)

The British vote to leave the EU has shaken stock markets world wide.  I noticed that AFTER the elections, the top Google searches in Britain were:
1) What does it mean to leave the EU?
2) What is the EU?
3) Which countries are in the EU?
4) What will happen now that we've left the EU?
5) How many countries are in the EU?
(source, NPR: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/24/480949383/britains-google-searches-for-what-is-the-eu-spike-after-brexit-vote)

As of early this morning, there were over 3 million signatures on a petition calling for another vote.  I've got news for you Britain: There are NO do-overs in elections.  You should have paid attention, done your research, and gotten out and voted last week.

There is a life lesson here for us in the United States.  There are no do-overs.  This is a Presidential Election year.  I can not stress it enough: Do your own independent research on the candidates.  Don't believe their social media posts, and don't believe what they say about each other.  Put the time in NOW to research so you will be ready to vote - and then actually get out and vote - come November.

I'm getting moles removed later this week - don't expect a lot of me on Weds. and Thurs.  I expect I'll be a little distracted by other things.  One of the moles is on my neck.  That's going to be a new experience.  I've never had one removed from my neck before.  I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'll be glad to have it gone!

We had this little guy climbing up our window screens this morning.  Up and down every window, he checked them all out. Both cats were inside, but it was enough to drive them insane!  This little guy is very young.  I saw him out with his mom last week, and he would run around for a while and then nurse for a while, and then run around for a while.  Very cute, but I am beginning to think that this one is going to be a problem when he gets a little older.

Enjoy your week!