Wednesday Thought

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Monday Monday

Margie: Here's a story about Edna and two of her friends.

 Three older ladies were discussing the travails of getting older. One said, Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand in front of the refrigerator and can't remember whether I need to put it away or start making a sandwich.

The second lady chimed in, Yes, sometimes I find myself on the landing of the stairs and can't remember whether I am on my way up or on my way down.
The third one responded, Well, I'm glad I don't have that problem, knock on wood. She rapped her knuckles on the table, then told them, That must be the door, I'll get it!

Denver the Guilty Dog

Edna:  How cute is this guilty dog?  Come to think of it, this is kind of how Margie acts when I get home from the hairdresser to find that she's gotten into my stash of Creme Eggs.  She never acts as remorseful as this dog, though.

National Peanut Month

Damn You AutoCorrect!

Edna:  Margie, come take a look at this website I just found, it's a hoot!  I swan, the first time I read some of the entries, I laughed so much my sides hurt the next day.


You know how folks have those fancy-schmancy phones and they send messages to one another?  I guess the phone sometimes gets the words wrong and then the message ends up sounding confused. Kind of like you, sister!

One of the many amusing autocorrect mistakes submitted to DamnYouAutoCorrect.com.

Margie: Edna, that serves people right. That's a bunch of foolishness about sending messages. I'm not putting my business out there for the world to see.


What's wrong with a good home phone like we have anyway?


Edna:  I'll tell you what's wrong, you old fool.  We're in the 21st century, you should get with the times.  It's all about texting and social networking without actually talking to another human being!  I tell you what, in another 50 years we'll all just be brains hooked up to computers.  Brains that don't know how to spell, apparently.


Margie: Edna, I don't think we need to worry about what happens in 50 years. Besides, even if you were around 50 years from now you have no brain so you couldn't connect to anything. Nitwit!

Rebellious Women (No, not Edna)

Margie: I recall the first time I ever read about the Underground Railroad. The story fascinated me then and continues to do so today.

On September 17, 1849, Harriet and her brothers Ben and Henry escaped from slavery.  Her brothers were afraid so they went back and forced her to go with them.

She soon escaped again,without her brothers,and made use of the Underground Railroad in her escape.  This wasn't a real railroad, but an "underground" network of white abolitionists, and free and escaped blacks who would provide help and shelter to runaway slaves.

When the Civil War occurred, Harriet worked for the Union Army as a cook and a nurse.  She was also an armed scout and a spy.  She was the first woman ever to lead an armed expedition in the war.  She liberated more than seven hundred slaves by guiding the raid on Combahee River.  

See more rebellious ladies here.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Nelly Bly

Margie: Today we salute Nelly Bly. I never knew much about her until recently and I found her to be a fascinating lady.

Nelly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mills. Pennsylvania.

The town was named for her father, Michael Cochran, a wealthy landowner, judge, and businessman. He had ten children by his first wife then, after she died, he re-married and had five more children, the third of which was Elizabeth, considered the most rebellious child in the family.

Nelly wrote her first story about the difficulties of poor working girls. In her second story, she called for the reform of the state's divorce laws. She then did a series about the factory girls of Pittsburgh. The editors at the newspaper relegated Bly to the women's page and assigned her stories about flower shows and fashion.

In the years ahead, Bly exposed both corruption and the injustice of poverty, revealing shady lobbyists, the ways in which women prisoners were treated by police, the in adequate medical care given to the poor, and much more. The young reporter always sided with the poor and the disenfranchised.

Read her story here.

Ladies Week/Virtues

Margie: Edna and I have decided to have Ladies' Week so we hope you'll join us as we explore some interesting topics.

Speaking of interesting, I was working on my family tree this morning. I have to trim some of those dead branches now and then. One thing that caught my attention happened to be ladies' names.

Some of the more extreme Puritans did not consider certain names to be pure enough. They invented their own abstract 'virtue' names. I believe they speak volumes about our society. They used names like Temperance, Comfort, Thankful, and Mercy. Aren't those also names of virtues we'd all be better off practicing?

Edna, I suppose you think you need to weigh in on virtues?

Edna:  Well, why wouldn't I?  After all, someone needs to be the virtuous one around here, and it's for gosh-darn sure it's not you.

I love looking at the family history and seeing those "virtue" names.  You forgot the ladies in our tree who where named "Honor" and "Treat".  Although I'm not so sure that last name is actually a virtue, I like it anyway.  

You know, I think if I had a "virtue" name, it would "Patience".  Lord knows I need it, putting up with the likes of you.

Margie: Edna, on that note I do need a treat. I'm sure glad I made that gallon of Special Tea.

Edna:  I guess we won't be calling you "Moderation."

Funky Friday

Margie: The weather this week has been horrid. Not only have I been stuck in the house with Edna but every day has been damp, dark, dreary, and depressing. Let's get up and have a little dance. If this song doesn't help your mood, don't say I didn't try.

Where did all the glamour go?

Marisa Tomei at the 2011 Academy Awards Edna:  You know, I don't care what all the fashion gurus say, I loved that Miss Marisa Tomei wore a vintage gown at the Oscars a couple weeks ago.  I think it takes a strong personality and a genuine appreciation for glamour to be willing to wear an old dress on the red carpet.  And not just any old dress, either.  It was a 1950 Charles James gown.   These days, celebrities often show more skin than they hide.  And don't even get me started on the nonsense that Lady Gaga calls "style."  As far as I'm concerned, the world needs more old-fashioned glamour in it. Audrey Hepburn (in Givenchy) and William Holden in "Sabrina", 1954. Margie: Some people show more stupidity than they hide too, sister. Edna:  Spoken like an expert, folks!

National Irish American Heritage Month

National Irish American Heritage Month- designated by Congress in 1995.

Margie: I love Irish American month especially as I'm Irish American myself. Lots of famous folk, like me, are Irish American.

Did you know that John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock, and Gene Kelly were all Irish Americans? So is Tim McGraw. There's an Irish American man who could make me believe I'd found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

We love the Science Channel

Margie: The Science Channel is starting to run Firefly (it's premiering Sunday March 6th at 8PM EST and will air every Sunday night). My tushie will be on the couch and I'll be taping Edna's mouth shut!


Edna:  You'd best stay away from me, woman!  I'll be trying to enjoy some quality television, so I will be too busy to talk to the likes of you.  Now where's my brown coat?

Firefly and Fillion

Margie: Apparently fans are mobilizing to help Nathan Fillion raise funds to buy the rights to Firefly. Have at it, folks!  


Edna:  Margie, you'd best dig into your coin purse. This sounds like a cause we can get behind!


To find out more, click here.