Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Listen


Hi,

They call it winter here, but by afternoon I was wearing shorts and a tank-top.  Today's big adventure was a flower exhibit in the center of town.

The 'Easy Monday' tune was "I Can See Clearly Now".  It was originally recorded by Johnny Nash and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Many years later Jimmy Cliff had a hit with the song in the Cool Runnings film.  Now you know.
It's time for another episode of 'Zany Day'.  "Picture yourself on a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.  Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes...."  Clue: Things are not what they appear to be.  Some objects...  This song had a million interpretations, and a title with 6 words.  Easy.

On our way to Makro this morning we checked out the progress on the Art Bridge building as we drove by.  More interior walls are up, but it still has a long way to go.  Inside the store it seemed like some of the staff were having a bad day.  First there was a grouchy meat guy, then a checker who tried to get away without consolidating our purchase into one cart.  Not the usual service, but that's life.  

Yesterday we did everything on our list, which meant we didn't have any more stops to make.  Then I suggested that we go see the flower show.  The park, where the exhibit is set up, was once the grounds of a prison, right in the center of town.  I suppose that could be a good crime deterrent in some ways.   Today, all that is left is a piece of the wall on one side.  The rest was an open space that has been a gathering spot for families, skate-boarders and cyclists.  Schools use it to stage parades and on Saturdays it's part of Walking Street.  Now, the whole block is a giant garden. There are huge beds of various colorful flowers, a wall of orchids, and a stage for presentations.  There was a big group of pre-schoolers visiting when we arrived.  They were very cute in their matching outfits, a little taller than the flowers.  We don't know what goes on there in the evenings, but it looks like there must be shows since rows of benches face the stage.  The whole thing will probably last until the weather gets really hot.  Misters keep the plants cool for now, but they won't be much help soon.


The hail storm was more extensive than the stories we heard.  In some parts of the province houses were damaged by golf ball sized hail-stones and families had to take refuge in local temples.  Agriculture took a big hit during the storm, which destroyed a watermelon crop, and crushed flowers and vegetables.  Our little corner of the world didn't get hit with as much devastation, but it has many people concerned about the changing climate.

Time for a Wacky Wednesday.

                     Peace,
                                Danny

"Listen to the Mustn'ts, child,
Listen to the Don'ts
Listen to the Shouldn'ts
The Impossibles, the Won'ts
Listen to the Never Haves,
Then listen close to me --
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be."
~Shel Silverstein

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