Out and About – Week of June 6th

I spent nine years working for a Japanese freight forwarder in Chicago. During those nine years, I was able to become familiar with the Japanese language, but not enough to follow the dialogue in foreign movies featuring Japanese actors. Thank God for movies like MIDWAY, where most of the script was in English. I am also a little familiar with Spanish, because I had two years of it in high school, and have worked with people who are bi-lingual. Mexican, or Spanish, is probably the one language we should all be more familiar with, because Spanish is the second most spoken language here in the United States.
Another language I’d really like to learn is “Cat”. I don’t care if you have a Siamese, or a Tabby, I’d put money on the fact that they both speak the same. The reason I’d like to learn “Cat”, is because we have a cat, and more than once, Dixie has looked at me and warbled something that I’m sure was not very complimentary. I’m also sure that she was raised somewhere south of the Michigan state line, because she constantly steps in front of me, then slows down. I don’t dare nudge her out of the way with my foot, because I wouldn’t want to be accused of bullying the cat. I love our cat, but my wife really loves her. Dixie loves my wife more than me. It probably has something to do with the fact that my wife feeds her and allows her to sit on her lap. I tried giving the cat a bath once, but discovered that a cat prefers to take care of itself when it comes to bathing. Besides, I didn’t like getting my mouth full of cat hair while giving Dixie a bath.
I’m a firm believer that time has a tendency to speed up once you retire. I’m quite satisfied with what I’ve accomplished in my lifetime, and I really don’t have much of a “Bucket List”. I’ve been fortunate to do whatever I want, with my wife’s blessing. When my time comes to move on to another plane, I’d prefer to reflect back at my life and say, “I can’t believe I did that”, instead of saying, “I wish I had done that.”
Traveling north out of Three Rivers, just north of Schoolcraft, you can still see the yellow flowers that adorn the median. They won’t be there for long, so enjoy them before they disappear. I’m not familiar with what kind of flowers they are, but they do add to the otherwise drab scenery made up mostly of construction, now in progress.
For other wild flower sightings, you’ll want to travel some of the more rural roads. My good buddy, Vic, informed me that there are flowers with pink or white coloring that some people are mistaking for wild Phlox. These are actually called Dame’s Rocket, and are originally native to Europe and Asia. Just about the only way you can tell a Dame’s Rocket from a wild Phlox, is that a Dame’s Rocket has four petals, and the Phlox has five. Who said you can’t learn something from this column? It does pay to get Out and About and enjoy the countryside of St. Joe County.
It costs $0.00 to be a decent person.
See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman