i lost my cell phone

again.

I Need Ideas

I know. This is weird coming from me, a self-proclaimed "idea-person" (ie, I'm more about ideas than action.)

Here is the deal: I have (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles) a Saturday off at the beginning of July. In fact, I have a 5 day break over the Independence Day weekend (Thurs-Mon).

This needs to be taken advantage of. I'm thinking some sort of trip needs to be taken.

The problem is (and it's significant), I'm pretty broke. And any extra doe-rae-mi should be put aside for my relocation.

Anyway . . . I'm looking for ideas . . . any thoughts, anecdotes?

this is it

the 300th post to the HIA news!

I found my cell phone

You can reach me now.

Topeka

So the theme this month is "origins of city names"! Last week my neighbor comes running over to tell me about a program by some neighbor down the way on the origin of the name Topeka. She said, Topeka is an indian word for "a good place to dig potatoes" When I moved here I heard Topeka means "a good place to grow potatoes". I sort of thought, "highly unlikely, the plains indians didn't grow potatoes". My neighbor explains to me that the potato that was referred to was the prairie potato or better known as the prairie turnip - scientific name Psoralea esculenta. Now it all made sense. This member of the bean family has an enlarged root that was a main staple of the plains Indians.
I've tried growing it with little success. Seems it only does well when growing in its native habitat. For all you S. Dakotans, it is found across the state of SD too.
What is also interesting about Topeka is that there is also a Topeka, IL and Topeka, IN. The Kansa indians were located from there. So now i wonder if those were the good places to grow potatoes and the city of Topeka, KS just inherited the name.
Here is the link to the story.
http://www.barbburgess.com/research-topics/prairie-potato-topeka/topeka-s-roots-the-prairie-potato

Alabama City a Symbol of Hope

"Since the beginning of man's awareness, the rainbow, spanning the horizons, has been a mystic symbol, displayed in the heavens to signal the passing of yet another storm and the birth of new hope for mankind."

Quick Answers to Burning Questions

I squeezed a few research minutes into my busy social calendar. I have been to the hotel breakfast twice already, and plan to make another trip to the front desk to check for the books I am impatiently awaiting to arrive from Amazon sellers. I also need to take my work clothes, caked with puke-smelling mud down the hall to the washer machine. I can't really count that as part of my social calendar since I don't usually run into people in the hall. Now, if I were taking them into the Rainbow City laundromat, then I would count it. I almost always have a conversation there. Like this one last week: "Excuse me, ma'am. Did you just take your clothes out of this washer? Would you mind looking to see if you find a sock like this one?"

I don't have a car this weekend, so I'm not going to go anywhere. I lost my cell phone, so I don't have to worry about all those people who never call me anyway interrupting me. I should have time to do even more research. Here's what I've found so far:

"Rainbow City was named after U.S. Highway 411, called Rainbow Drive, which runs through the middle of our city. Some of our older citizens say it was named after Alabama’s Rainbow Division that fought in World War I."

"The 42nd Rainbow Division was formed in August 1917 of National Guard units from 26 states and the District of Columbia. After Chief of Staff Major Douglas MacArthur remarked that the Division "would stretch over the whole country like a rainbow," the coalesced national guard units were christened Rainbow Division. As the war progressed Douglas MacArthur was promoted to commander of the 84th Brigade and finally to commander of the Rainbow Division."

I don't know about you guys, but I think it's funny that a town might have been named after a highway.

I wonder...

how did Rainbow City get its name? Was it because they have a way more than usual number of rainbows? One day did some one say, "hey we sure get alot of rainbows around here maybe we should call our little burg Rainbow City!". Or was it just because someone thought it sounded optimistic? Or were their founders just fond of rainbows? I wonder if there is anyone who could find out?

Daily Rainbow 3

Daily Rainbow 2

Rainbow of the Day

South Dakota "just not that into" expatriate

On a recent visit to her home state, Molly Wortham was shocked at the chilly reception she got from "the sunshine state".

"South Dakota and I go way back, I mean we lived together for multiple decades, and I am a little taken aback by the cold shoulder I got on my latest visit. I go there a couple times a year to reconnect, but this time i think South Dakota might be trying to tell me something. I got better treatment from Nebraska, and I was only with Nebraska for 4 years. I don't know why South Dakota could not just come out and say that it does not want me back. "

Wortham plans on making 1 more trip to try to mend fences with South Dakota, but she is realistic about the prospect.

"Seems to me South Dakota is always running hot and cold, I am going to be a little more careful with my timing, but I do realize that this might be the end of our relationship as we knew it. Maybe we can still be friends, I just don't know. Time will tell I guess. Hopefully next time I see South Dakota, things will have warmed up."

Alabama Worker Practices Interaction With Local Bookstore Clerk

I had an interesting conversation with a clerk at the only bookstore in Etowah County. (The clerk informed me the only used bookstore closed down last year. ) I was looking for Choke by Chuck Palahnuik because it is the June book for an online bookclub I wanted to join. He said, "Really? There's an on-line booklcub reading a story about a sex addict who cons people for a living?" He was even more suprised when I told him it came from a list of 1001 books you must read before you die. He said he was glad he wasn't Palahnuik, with all the whack stuff in his head. When I mentioned I was here from Michigan he said "We don't see many people here from the Big Mitten." I think I'll have to use that from now on.

Being a little rusty on this conversaion with actual humans thing, I neglected to find out all kinds of things. Maybe I'll go back next Saturday and see if I can talk to someone again.