Sunday, February 7

Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son!



And Happy Super Bowl Sunday to the rest of us.



We were up around 8 a.m. this morning, and I did a treadmill session after breakfast. I usually skip Sundays, but since I might have to miss exercising Tuesday to meet a dental appointment in Capital City, I decided to go ahead and do a session today. Of course, if weather predictions for two to four inches of snow tomorrow pan out, we might not be able to go to Capital City anyway.



Once I was ready for the day, I did the usual Sunday things of programming the DVR for the week's shows, and reading the Sunday newspaper. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and prepared eye of round steak to simmer in liquid and for a while to tenderize it for a beef strips with onions and bell peppers. The beef dish was delicious with baked potatoes and salad.



There was a program on rural electriification in the 1940s at the museum this afternoon that Hubbie was interested in attending, so I asked Mother if she was interested in going with us.



"Would you rather go to the museum, or eat a bug?" I joked.



"Eat a bug," she said.



"Okay," I laughed, "I think there is a bug caught in the sticky trap in the downstairs bathroom, and a spider in a trap upstairs. Which would you prefer?"



"The bug," she said. "It's crunchier. The spider has too many wiggly legs."



She went home right after lunch, minus the bug. Just before 2 p.m., we went to the program, which featured a speaker from an electric cooperative. He showed us a video of the history of getting electricity to the very rural areas of our state in the 1940s.



It's hard to comprehend how difficult it was for the workers of the electric company to manually dig holes for the creosote-coated power poles. Many of those poles, now 70 years old, still stand, though about 30,000 of them broke in last year's horrible ice storm.



Several older people told stories about their childhood experiences of when electricity first came to their parents' or grandparents' homes. One man said that when electricity came to his grandparent's home, a single 40 watt bulb was suspended on a cord from the ceiling of their living room, and each evening the family would gather in that room and just sit and stare at that wonderous bulb.



Rural women led very harsh lives...so much so, that when electricity afforded them the opportunity to buy electric ranges to cook on, refrigerators to preserve their food, and washing machines (all appliances that the electric cooperative helped them purchase on payment plans) the women literally wept for joy and relief that their work was eased.



The speaker provided literature to audience members, and the opportunity to sign up for a free one-year subscription to the company's popular magazine. I signed up, because in looking at an issue, I noticed interesting articles, recipes, contributor photos, and a crossword puzzle.



The speaker also gave everyone yellow plastic cups that, when filled with a cold liquid, turn green. The cups advertise that the electric cooperative is environmentally responsible.



The program ended around 3 p.m. At home, we watched some of the Super Bowl pre-game programs. One segment was particularly interesting, because it featured a couple of high school football players, one of whom (a Caucasian boy) was killed in an auto accident, and one (an African-American from a school near our town), who stopped one yard short of a touchdown to honor the fallen football player's memory. The fallen player lived in a town several hours away.



At 5 p.m., we joined the rest of the nation as the New Orleans Saints took on the Indianapolis Colts. We rooted for the Saints, and YAY, they won!!!



We enjoyed the halftime concert by "The Who," famed for their song "Pinball Wizard." When my kids were young, and I was working as a single mother, my youngest son failed to alert me when a photographer was due to visit his school. So I went to work early one morning, as usual, before the kids caught the bus to school, not realizing that this was photo day, and that Son would choose to wear a bright yellow t-shirt, with a "Pinball Wizard" logo emblazened on the front.

Imagine my shock when he later brought home the package of photos for me to peruse, and there was my son in an ugly yellow "Pinball Wizard" t-shirt. I bought some of the photos anyway, but I sure had to think about it. Son, who shall go nameless, but whose birthday is today, knows who he is.

After the game, we watched a couple of one-hour shows and then hit the sack.