APRIL SHOWERS HODGEPODGE!

     April showers bring May flowers! If that old saw is true then New Hampshire should look spectacularly colorful next month! It has been raining for the past several days. I'm not complaining mind you, I have nothing to complain about. People in the southern part of the country have reason to complain. Serious weather that spawned softball sized hail with the attendant severe winds and property damage. Of course, neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night shall keep the Wednesday Hodgepodge from it's appointed rounds.  Thanks, as always, to our Hodgepodge Mistress, Joyce Daley, for another set of probing questions.

1. What's the last thing you did that could be described as 'taxing'?

     Recently, my beloved SWMBO and I played "Who has the cold germs?" It's kind of like the game "hot potato" only with a cold. We swapped a cold back and forth, to and fro, and neither one of us could stop playing. We are doing better now thankfully. That was fairly taxing.

2. If you could plant a garden of anything, what would be in it?

     I could plant a garden. The problem is as soon as the seeds germinate and begin to sprout, the garden turns into a hospice for vegetables. I try to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers and onions but usually without much success.

3. April 10-16 is National Library Week...will you celebrate with a visit to your nearest library? When did you last make a trip to the library? What are you reading right now? What's one title on your want-to-read list?

     I haven't been to a library in quite awhile. I am reading the Bible. I am also reading "Redigging the Old Wells." It's a history of the Restoration Movement of the early 19th century. There are a number of Tom Clancy novels that I haven't read but would like to.

4. Share a saying or an old wives tale you heard while growing up, you believed to be true or that you paid attention to 'just in case'?

      God gave us two ears and one mouth. We should listen twice as much as we speak.

5. Are you a fan of onions? Garlic? Ginger? What's a dish you love that contains one, two or all three items listed?

     I am a huge fan of Onions and Garlic. I love using both in a meat spaghetti sauce. I use either one in different dishes. I like ginger in ginger ale, other than that, not so much.

6.  Where does nurturing end and indulging begin? What are some skills or qualities you think a person needs to posess in order to be viewed as mature?

     Nurturing leads to independence whereas indulging leads to continued dependence and caretaking. Where one ends and the other begins depends on the character of the individual. A person achieves maturity when they take full responsiblity for their lives, independently.

7. What leading figure in any field would you like to hear speak, and why?

     I would like to hear Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael Hayden, former Director of the National Security Agency, speak. I have watched him on CSPAN a couple of times and have found him to be a remarkably intelligent and well spoken individual. He is particularly knowledgeable in the area of combating terrorism.
     Another person I would like to hear speak is Vice Admiral (Retired) William H. McRaven. He was a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He's been part of the special operations community for most of his career in the Navy. He oversaw the operation that capture Osama Bin Laden. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

      Major League Baseball has begun the 2016 season. My beloved Boston Red Sox made some significant changes over the off season which has given us hope that this year  they will make the playoffs. This would be a good thing considering that they ended up in the bottom of the standings for the past two years.  GO SOX!
     We are also in mourning over the end of season collapse of our beloved Boston Bruins who have missed the NHL playoffs this year.   This is the third year in a row that they have missed the playoffs. They last won the Stanley Cup in 2011. They deteriorated significantly by losing players to free agency, trades and retirements. They have not been able to field a team that could compete at their formerly high level. Wait until next year!