Sunday, September 21, 2008 — Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Tomorrow, Monday, at about 10:44am CDT, the sun crosses the equator and begins it’s 6 month journey around the southern hemisphere. Known as the day of the autumnal equinox, it marks the first day of autumn, which, of course, also marks the first day of the long slide on the ice-covered slippery slushy slope into winter. The day is especially important here in Beaver Dam where the town pretty much comes to a stop so everyone has an opportunity to celebrate (or mourn) in their own unique way.
Down at Chili Johns diner they have an egg-balancing contest. Local lore has it that on the equinox, especially at the exact moment the sun passes directly over the equator, it’s possible to balance an egg on it’s point. Everyone knows that this is an easier feat to accomplish during the Spring equinox, but that doesn’t stop large crowds from trying in the Fall. Besides, it’s good for business and Chris, the owner, provides prizes for anyone who can actually accomplish it. The local newspaper has a reporter/photographer on hand to catch the moment and people, supporters and naysayers alike, from all over Dodge County are straining to see through the crowd filling the diner and plugging the doorway.
Last year, just prior to the moment of the equinox, every seat at the lunch counter was occupied and each contestant had an egg personally selected from the flat of eggs delivered fresh that very morning. As the moment grew close each was getting a “feel” for their egg and straining to stand it, point down, on the counter so it would balance for the necessary 5 seconds required by the rules. The countdown began, courtesy of Clem Miller from Clem Miller’s Jewelry Store (the home of the most accurate watches in Dodge County). The entire diner was silent… not a sound except for the countdown. At the precise equinoxial moment, the very second the sun broke through into the southern hemisphere, there were, amazingly, three eggs that, in fact, were standing on their points in clear violation of every law of gravity and balance known to man. The crowd let out a collective gasp as the reporter/photographer’s finger searched for the shutter button on his camera. But fate and verbal reports of feats of impossibility are what legends and lore are made of, and that documentary photograph was not to be. No, before the shutter was pressed, Chris’s old refrigerator compressor kicked in, giving a little shake to the entire building… just enough to un-balance the heretofore erect eggs which went down and rolled around the counter to the dismay of everyone in the place. A photograph was made but revealed only images of blurry eggs and the frightful disbelieving faces of the contestants. A collective “Ohhhhhh Nooooo” went through the room as smiles and laughter began to slowly emerge. The tension was gone in a blink and the room filled with loud verbal instant-replays.
Chris made a mental note to turn off the fridge next year and, as consolation, everyone got a free cup of coffee with a purchased breakfast. The eggs that failed to stand were the first ones in the pan. The story spread far and wide, and this year, I’m sure, contestants and gallery alike will be camping out overnight in front of the Chili Johns cafe for a front-row spot at what’s promised to be a sure thing.
See you there.
Thom
A Quiet Late Summer Week
Saturday, September 27th, 2008Saturday, September 27, 2008 — Beaver Dam, WI
Despite the calendar telling us that autumn has arrived, the past week felt more like summer. The temps were in the upper 70’s most days and the electric heater didn’t get much of a workout in the mornings. Whatever the weather, fall is my favorite season. The crackling of dried leaves underfoot… shades of green giving way to browns, yellows, oranges, and red… fields full of mature crops that endured and overcame storms, too much rain, too little rain, wind, pests, and disease… and the subtle Midwest autumn odors that I can’t describe but are familiar to my nose. It’s a great place to be in late September and October.
After all the equinox hoopla on Monday we took a few days off and did very little. “Doing very little” means reading, writing, photography, and perhaps some small chores. We had doctor appointments scheduled for Wednesday, but they had to be rescheduled for this coming week as something came up and the doc couldn’t make it at the appointed hour. I did get my eye exam and ordered some badly needed new glasses which should be here in a week or so.
I’ve been watching the “train wreck” in the credit, banking, and stock markets with great interest these past few weeks. Since I started blogging almost two years ago, it’s been my policy to keep my personal political opinions restricted to my other blog — The Certified Skeptic — and keep The RV Sabbatical Journal, this blog, as a chronicle of our lifestyle and travels. I didn’t want to subject readers interested in our fulltiming adventures to my occasional political thoughts and rants. But I’ve got to tell you, as I sit here today, it looks like we, the citizens of the U.S.A., have gotten ourselves into a real “pickle” here. I also believe the whole mess transcends politics — right or left, red or blue, liberal or conservative — and says a lot more about us as citizens and stewards of this great country. I think we’ve collectively fallen asleep at the controls, lulled by the pleasures of rampant consumerism and the emphasis on the individual at the expense of the community. We’ve forgotten what delayed gratification is all about. “Wants” have become “entitlements” and many believe it is possible to get something for nothing. We think and act in our personal short-term interest at the expense of long-term interest of the community… the nation as a whole. We don’t hold our leaders accountable and, as a result, we get the government we deserve.
I don’t know how this crisis will play out. I don’t think anyone does. I get the feeling our leaders — the ones that should have seen this coming and are now trying to fix it — are in full panic, ready to throw money at the problem with the hope it’ll make everything better, the way it used to be, so we can get back to loaning people money to buy things they can’t afford. But they don’t know if it’ll work, they’re only hoping. But it’s clearly so serious a situation that they want authorization NOW(!) (panic, blackmail, call it what you will) for as much money as the U.S. has spent in all six years on the Iraq War.
I’m putting these thoughts here, in this blog, because the situation has a very good chance of affecting us, our travel plans, our ability to continue this lifestyle — as it could affect all of you. I’ll continue to keep my more pointed and opinionated views in the other blog. But if it’s affecting our thinking and our daily life, I’m putting it here.
Good Luck to all of us.
T
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