Today is the first day of winter, and the shortest daylight hours day for the season. I enjoy watching the beautiful snow blanketing the earth during the winter; it is so breathtaking beautiful when small amounts of ice cling to the branches of the trees and there is enough snow cover so that no grass is peeking through. Having said that, I have to say that I’m glad that I work at home and don’t have to travel in bad weather and can just enjoy the beauty of the snow through my window, or put on my cross country skis and go skiing right outside my door. I truly do love the life up here, and the distinct four seasons that I can enjoy so many different types of outdoor activities!
This afternoon there was a Veteran’s Day ceremony at the local cemetery. They have one every year; the high school band is there playing a few songs and they have some local dignitaries give speeches. They even have a bagpiper there to play a couple of songs, and the local fire department drives by with their fire trucks and ambulances, their lights flashing. It is a very nice ceremony for such a small town. It was chilly out, though, so I’m really glad I drove extra warm with thermal underwear, fleece lined pants, my winter coat and hat and gloves! Not everyone was that smart; I saw a lot of people shivering during the ceremony!
I hope you voted today. I went down to the Community Center around 10am and voted. There wasn’t too bad a line - I guess I planned it just right - to wait until most of the commuters had gone to work. I was in and out of there in twenty minutes.
I get a kick out of how old fashioned our town is - still using the old paper ballots that have to be put into a box after you fill them out in the little curtained booths. I wonder if and when our town will ever modernize and get the electronic voting machines.
We don’t get many trick or treaters out here in the country, but every couple of years we might get one or two. So I am always in a quandary about how to “prepare” for Halloween. I don’t like buying candy that won’t get eaten - that is such a waste of money! And I really don’t want to stock up on my own favorite candy because I don’t want that much temptation in the house! So I think this year I am going to simply get a couple of rolls of quarters and simply give any kids that might show up at the house a couple of quarters. I know that when I was a kid I would have much preferred cold hard cash than a lot of that garbage that some people handed out!
As can be expected, anytime the economy is reaching the depths that this economy is fast approaching, there will be an increase in crime. People who would not normally even think about stealing things are going to become desperate for their necessities, simply because they have lost their jobs and can’t find another one. Many companies have been downsizing, and many companies that hire seasonal employees have decided against hiring seasonal employees this year. So money is very tight, and likely to get tighter.
My brother has become concerned about the increase of crime in the business district that the family store is located in. I told him that he should go to the ITPlanet website and buy a digital security camera or two and hook them up to increase the security there. The ITPlanet website has a huge assortment of security options that can help any residence or business to use the latest technology to increase security.