Seventy-Five: What's That All About?

Dear George,

At the stroke of midnight tonight I’m going to turn 75.  Wow!  The very idea of it is overwhelming.  Among other things, this will amount to being 518 years old in dog years.  I think back to my grandfather being 75, and I can envision that.  When I try to recall my father being 75, I have more trouble --  my image of him is of a middle-aged man.  Then when I try to imagine myself as 75, I feel like I’m hallucinating.  How in the world did that happen?  Did I just skip over my fifties and sixties?

Part of my bewilderment is that I can’t figure out precisely what 75 means.  As I normally do, I turned to Wikipedia for some answers.  Wikipedia isn’t interested in the age of 75, but it’s great on the math part of it.  It seems that 75 is a pentagonal pyramidal number, as well as an enneagonal number, and also a Keith number because it recurs in a Fibonacci-like sequence.  That was intriguing.  I have never thought of myself as having any connection to Fibonacci-like sequences.  Now I discover I’ve achieved that just by sticking around long enough. 

Mathematics are good for the abstract thinkers, but everybody knows you can learn more practical things from  Numerology.  I went to one of the best web-sites (lucky-name-numerology.com) and plugged in “75” as my search term.  In less than a milli-second the web-site told me that “numerology meanings for 75 confirm academic excellence.  As such you outshine others in your school life.  You study religion, philosophy, and many occult sciences (e.g., like social psychology), but you are not attracted by wealth and monetary gains.  In later life, you exhibit your talents as an author, writer, and poet.  You excel in your speeches and writings.  When 75 is afflicted, however, you undergo a lot of mental anguish, live alone despising the world, and are fleeced by your greedy relatives.” That’s amazing – so true.  The mental anguish, the study of philosophy, not being attracted by money, and so forth.  While I don’t know if I’m completely afflicted at this point, most of Numerology’s observations are spot on (e.g., greedy relatives).   

Google, of course, is the ultimate fount of wisdom.  You wouldn’t believe how many tens of thousands of illuminating insights I got when I Googled “75”.  Here are just of few of the examples that were personally relevant to my life situation: 

• Issue #75 of Batman (DC Comics, February 1953) was "The Gorilla Boss of Gotham."

• 75% of Americans with mobile phones report that they use them in the bathroom.

• In order to simulate the experience of being age 75, MIT scientists designed a suit with braces which mimic joint stiffness; leg straps creating slower leg movements; helmet attachments giving an age-induced curved spine; yellow eyeglasses making it difficult to read small print; and earplugs which impair hearing. 

• July 13, 2012, marks the 75th anniversary of "creating fond memories through the joy that is Krispy Kreme."

• 75-year-old baseball player Serge Skok of New Jersey has a 9-1 record and has been named the best pitcher in the Wayne Y modified fast-pitch softball league, regularly striking out ex-college players in their 20s and 30s.

• The breakfast special at Tony's I-75 Restaurant in Birch Run, MI includes a pound of bacon. 

• 75 to 84 year-olds make up 4.8% of Ohio's population. 

• "75 Questions to Ask Yourself" include: Do I have fun?  Do I annoy others?  Is there an afterlife?  Have I settled for mediocrity?  Do I smile more than I frown?

• Competitive bodybuilder and fitness instructor, Ernestine Shepherd, age 75, wakes up every day at 2:30 a.m. and runs 10 miles.

• 2012 is the 75th anniversary of Spam.  In the four years following its debut on July 5, 1937, Hormel sold over 40 million pounds of the famous luncheon meat.   

• The Transportation Security Administration has modified airport screen procedures for passengers 75 and older, allowing them to leave on shoes and light jackets, though physical pat-downs may still be conducted if anomalies are detected.

• Forecasters project that 75% of the US population will be grossly obese by the year 2020.

• From Sonnet 75 by Edmund Spenser: Where whenas death shall all the world subdew, our love shall live, and later life renew. 

• 75 wild turkeys live at the DeYoung Family Zoo in Menominee County, MI. 

• On the occasion of his 75th birthday on July 12, 2012, Bill Cosby said, "On turning 75, some people...do this everyday...and some don't." 

Google is unquestionably remarkable, but long before Al Gore even invented the Internet I learned to rely on the I Ching, the ancient Chinese Book of Changes.  My brother-in-law, David W., who lived in L.A. at the time, introduced us to the I Ching when we were all young and avant garde, and we’ve consulted it ever since.  I asked the I Ching, “How should I consider my new age of 75?”  Then I tossed my Chinese coins six times in a row, each toss yielding a combination of coin faces which signaled either a broken or unbroken line.  Remarkably, and for the first time ever, I got six unbroken lines in a row, leading me to the I Ching’s very first reading, Ch’ien.  Here’s a condensed summary: 

1.  Ch’ien – The Creative, Heaven

           

THE JUDGMENT

                                    The creative works sublime success,

                                    Furthering through perseverance

                                   

The Ch’ien hexagram is made up of six unbroken lines which stand for the primal power – light-giving, active, strong, and of the spirit.  The hexagram is consistently strong in character.   Its image is heaven.  The hexagram includes the power of time and the power of persisting in time, that is, duration.  When an individual draws this oracle, it means that success will come to him from the primal depths of the universe and that everything depends upon his seeking his happiness and that of others in one way only, that is, by perseverance in what is right. With this image, the sage learns how best to develop himself so that his influence may endure…

I’m not that enthused about the I Ching’s emphasis on Heaven in my future, but I like all the rest of it: creativity, persisting in time, strength, seeking happiness for others, perserverance, enduring influence.  Not only are the I Ching’s strictures relevant to blogging, but they apply at least as well to marriage, sheepdogs, line dancing, and bubbly grandchildren.  I should have known that the I Ching would offer the best possible action plan for being 75. My next step is obvious.  Pardon me while I toss six more coins.  Then we will be off on a new adventure. 

Love,

Dave

G-mail Comments

-Linda K-C (7-20):  David , truly fascinating, I turn 70 next may, are there cliff notes on the chinese science.  I'd like to have an early view of what is in my 70 th year . According to Chinese method of  counting  wouldn't I be seventy now?  I thought I would die before now, but I can't decide to die just yet.  Going to memorial for my baby brother the 28th and I understand k. J. And twins will join you at farm. That will be such fun and glad katya can make it.  Getting back to the turning 75 business, by Jewish law I might be a greedy relative, any thing you have I should drop hints about wanting?  Safe travels and happy birthday

-Phyllis S-S (7-20):  Dear Dave,  What a creative blog.  I enjoyed reading it a lot.  But - I'd never, ever use my mobile phone in the bathroom and I detest Spam.  I understand perfectly about missing decades - where did they go?  What did I do then?  Happy, Happy 75.  Phyllis

What's Next? No Sitting?

Dear George,

Once people reach middle age, they start to pay more attention to good health practices.  I’m afraid I’ve gotten too complacent lately though.  I cut down on sweets; lost some weight; am careful about eggs and trans-fats; eat lots of high-fiber cereal and Healthy Choice frozen entrees; take the dogs for long walks (when they’re willing), etc.  Now I find out all this may be for nought.  Thanks to a barrage of media information, it appears that the newest threat to health and longetivity is (believe it or not) … SITTING! 

That’s a total shock.  I sit all the time.  At the computer the most, but also when eating, watching TV, at the movies, reading the paper, doing Sudoku, putting on my shoes, etc.  I even sit on the strength machines when doing my workout at the gym.   It turns out that the experts have now concluded that sitting is just as powerfully associated with death and deterioration as are, for example, smoking or obesity.   Here’s USA Today’s summary: “If most people spent less than three hours a day sitting, it would add two years to the average life expectancy in this country. And if they cut the time they spent on the couch watching TV to less than two hours a day, it would add about 1.4 [additional] years to overall life expectancy…”  (1)

My first reaction was that they’d gotten confused.  That it’s not sitting that’s to blame, but rather that physical activity promotes health and well-being.  People who sit a lot don’t exercise, and consequently they don’t live as long.  But, surprisingly, that’s not correct.  The most recent research – a study of death rates in a population of over 222,000 Australian adults (2) – found that sitting was associated with fatal outcomes regardless of  one’s level of exercise.  People who sit for more than eight hours a day have a 15% greater risk of dying than those who sit for less than four hours a day, and those who sit for eleven or more hours a day die 40% more often.  This sturdy connection between sitting and death holds for people who do no exercise, for people who do moderate exercise, and for people who do lots of exercise.  Basically, the implication is that sitting causes death, regardless of one’s exercise habits.  Even worse, an hour a day at the gym does nothing to counter the harmful effects of sitting around the rest of the time.  As one expert at the Mayo Clinic (3) put it, “The human being is designed to move … If you stop your body, idle it – which sitting is – it crumbles on every level.”  (Actually I just felt some inner crumbling as I was typing this very sentence.) 

So what are we supposed to do now?  Quitting smoking was hard enough, but cutting down on sitting by sixty percent or more seems totally unworkable.  And I don’t think they’re just talking about standing up more.  Hanging out on the street corner doesn’t increase your life expectancy.  They want us walking, jogging, running, doing push-ups.  Assuming one sleeps about eight hours a night, that leaves sixteen waking hours per day, only four of which should be devoted to sitting.  Twelve hours a day is a huge amount of time to spend walking and jogging.  I can barely force the dogs to go walking for one hour a day – there’s no way they will shift to eight or nine hours.  In fact, if I personally have to spend 12 hours walking every day, I’m not even sure I want to live that long.  

One excellent tip that I did run across was to replace your chairs with therapy balls (since these require constant muscle movement to maintain your balance).  Katja recently redecorated our living room with fancy new leather chairs.  They are very comfortable, but now that I know they’re life-threatening, I avoid them as much as possible.  Despite the financial costs of redecorating one more time, I think brightly colored therapy balls would look nice in our living room.  I’ll keep everyone informed if we find some.  In the meantime, whatever you do, keep moving. 

Love,

Dave

SOURCES:

(1) “Sitting less could extend your life”  (http://news.cincinnati.com/usatoday/article/56117870, July 10, 2012)

(2)  “Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222 497 Australian Adults.  By H. P. van der Ploeg et al., Arch. Intrn. Med., 2012. 

(http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108810)

(3)  “Are You Sitting Yourself to Death?”   (http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/05/02/are-you-sitting-yourself-to-death)

G-mail Comments

-Jennifer M (7-18):  haha.  I sat while reading this.  I think I died a little bit, just like you did when you wrote it.  :-)

How We Got To Be the U.P.: The Story of the Toledo War

Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas

Dear George,

Michigan is a strange place.  It’s the only state in the Union that is split into two physically separate land masses. The lower peninsula contains all the state’s bigger cities and most of its manufacturing industries.  The U.P. is mostly rural.  It has 29% of the state’s land area, but only 3% of the population.  Growing up in Menominee, we always had a nagging sense that we were more connected to Wisconsin than to the lower peninsula (and physically, of course, that was true).  Menominee is a border town located at the southernmost tip of the U.P. and only a half mile across the river from its twin city of Marinette, Wisconsin.  We spent lots of time in Marinette and did more of our shopping there because the business district was larger and there was no state sales tax.  When our families went to a big city for shopping or entertainment, it was nearly always in Wisconsin – to Green Bay or Milwaukee.  Football fans in Menominee were crazy about the Green Bay Packers (rather than the Detroit Lions); local baseball fans rooted for the Milwaukee Braves (not the Tigers).  I don’t know that any of my teenage friends had ever visited Lansing or Detroit (nearly 500 miles away), and only one or two of them had even stepped foot in the Lower Peninsula.  Access wasn’t easy.  There was a ferry at St. Ignace, but the Mackinac Bridge which now connects Michigan’s two peninsulas wasn’t built till I’d left home for college.  It took twenty more years after that for I-75 to be completed, providing an Interstate highway route from the Bridge to Detroit. You’d think it would have been more logical for the U.P. to have been a part of Wisconsin.  As it turns out, we U.P. folk got to be part of Michigan pretty much by accident, i.e., because of a long forgotten war between Michigan and Ohio. 

Historically, the land comprising the U.P. was originally part of the Northwest Territory. The Northwest Territory was created by Congress in 1787, included over 260,000 square miles, and covered the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.  The British had ceded the area to the United States after the Revolutionary War.  At the time of its formation, the Northwest Territory was inhabited by about 45,000 Native Americans and 4,000 British and French traders.  American settlement first began at Marietta, Ohio, in 1788 with the arrival of 46 pioneers.

Ohio became a state in 1803.  Shortly afterward Congress dissolved the Northwest Territory.  As part of that restructuring, the Michigan Territory was created.  It consisted of the Lower Peninsula and the eastern tip of what is now the U.P. (see map above).  The western two-thirds of the U.P., on the other hand, was part of the Indiana Territory which also included present-day Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. When Michigan was preparing for statehood in the early1830s, a small-scale war broke out between the Michigan Territory and the state of Ohio because of a border dispute that had simmered for decades. When the state of Ohio was established, Congress had declared that Ohio’s northern boundary was marked by an eastward line drawn from the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan.  The Ohio legislature believed this line to run north of the Maume River at the site of present-day Toledo.  However, when a fur trapper returned from the wilderness area and reported that existing maps were erroneous and that Lake Michigan extended ten miles further to the south than previously believed, Michigan legislators claimed that their territory extended south of the Maume River.  As a consequence, Michigan and Ohio disagreed about who owned the “Toledo Strip”, a five to eight mile wide strip of land that ran east-west along the Michigan-Ohio border.  The land was viewed as having high future commercial and agricultural potential.  Congress had failed to resolve the border dispute, precipitating thirty years of conflict between the state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory about who owned the land.  When Michigan was applying for statehood in 1835, the Ohio legislature, fearing loss of the area, created a new Ohio county there and blocked Michigan’s statehood efforts in Congress.  The hot-headed 24-year-old governor of the Michigan Territory sent a militia of 600 men to the north bank of the Maumee River in preparation to take the disputed area by force.  In response, the Ohio governor sent his state militia of 1000 men to the Maumee’s south bank.  Representatives of President Andrew Jackson tried to negotiate a peaceful resolution, but it was clear that both groups were inclined to settle the matter by violence.

In April 1835 the Ohio governor sent in a surveying team which was attacked by 50 to 60 men from the Michigan militia in what is known as the Battle of Phillips Corners.  According to Ohio accounts, the Michiganders fired 30 to 50 shots at them in the process of taking prisoners, though Michigan men reported that they only fired their muskets in the air as the Ohioans were fleeing.  In either case, this was the sole episode of gunfire in the Toledo War.  President Jackson removed the Michigan governor from office because of his noncooperation, and the respective authorities were finally able to hammer out an agreement.  Ohio received the disputed Toledo strip, an area of 400 square miles of land, and the Michigan Territory received an additional 9000 square miles which now constitute the bulk of the Upper Peninsula, including the current locations of Menominee, Escanaba, Marquette, Iron Mountain, and many other towns and villages.  Note that the pink area in the map below was initially part of the Indiana territory, proximal to the Wisconsin territory. but was not initially part of the Michigan territory.  

Land Ceded to Michigan (pink area), Ending the Toledo War

At the time Michigan was considered the loser in the decision since the Toledo land was regarded as far more valuable than the U.P.  A federal report of the day described the U.P. as “a sterile region on the shores of Lake Superior destined by soil and climate to remain forever a wilderness.”  This, of course, wasn’t the end of the story.  Within a decade rich copper and iron deposits were discovered in the northwestern U.P.  Though not initially profitable, the U.P.’s mines would eventually produce more mineral wealth than the California Gold Rush.  By the 1860’s, the U.P. supplied 90% of America’s copper.  Then mines at Iron Mountain and Iron River made the U.P. the nation’s largest supplier of iron ore by the 1890’s.  And Michigan’s lumbering boom reached the U.P.’s vast pine forests in the 1880’s, turning the U.P. into the site of the world’s largest logging industry.

Contemporary historians conclude that both Ohio and Michigan were winners in the Toledo War.  The Toledo area became a major industrial center for the state of Ohio, and the mineral and timber resources of the U.P. were immensely valuable to the new state of Michigan.  If there were a loser, it would have to be the state of Wisconsin, which, if it hadn’t been for the Toledo War, would have likely acquired most of the land and natural resources of the Upper Peninsula.  As an aside, we Menominee natives were winners too.  On the one hand, we got to live in and enjoy Water Wonderland, and, on the other, we were next-door neighbors of the nation’s Dairy State with all that free-flowing cheese and ice cream.   Who could wish for more than that? 

Love,

Dave

SOURCES:

www.hunts-upguide.com (“U.P. History); 

www.ohiohistorycentral.org (“Toledo War”);

www.theup.com (“History of the UP”);

www.wikipedia.org  (“Indiana Territory”, “Michigan Territory”, “Northwest Territory”, “Toledo War”, “Upper Peninsula of Michigan”)

Down and Out in Marseilles: Katja's Student Abroad Tale

A medieval hospital in France

[Preface: Excerpted from a speech titled “My Favorite Year” by Katja L. to the Contemporary Club, Cincinnati, Jan. 23, 2012]

Dear George, 

After meeting my two friends in Geneva [in August, 1958], we began our travels by hitchhiking and hostelling along the Riviera – learning that being a student tourist is hard work. Our plans involved going from Nice to Marseille and then on to Spain. We arrived in Marseille, the third largest city in France.  It appeared to be a drab, dirty, sprawling seaport of a town. After finding a hostel where we could park our luggage, we set out to find the tourist sight that we all agreed was absolutely at the top of our “to see and to do” list – take the harbor ride to the Chateau d’If – Devil’s Island- the supposed prison where the Count of Monte Cristo had been incarcerated for almost twenty  years.  What absolute folly! This search can best be described as the idiocy akin to the search for Sherlock Holmes’ Baker St. home or the search for Harry Potter’s room at Hogwart’s Academy.

What a silly bunch of girls we were! There were signs all over the wharves advertising trips to the fabled Chateau d’If. We walked around the wharves, looking for the best deal in motor boat rides to an island a mere mile and a half away. When we finally found our ride, we soon realized that this was nothing more than a tourist trap and that the real Devil’s Island was far off in the Indian ocean and that this so-called island in Marseille’s harbor was nothing more than a nesting and resting station for seagulls.

It had been a long day and we were all exhausted as the motor boat turned back to shore. As we approached land, it suddenly became very cold and rain poured down. By the time we scrambled onto shore, I was feeling sick, nauseated, and feverish. We went back to our hostel and within an hour the fever had skyrocketed and I was barely able to walk. The hostel owner hailed a taxi for us, and my friends asked him to take me to a hospital. The driver said he would take us to L’Hopital de la Crucifixione.  He explained that L’Hopital de la Crucifixione was the general hospital in Marseille, and he dropped us off at the main entrance.

At this point, a description of the building is important for an understanding of the situation in which we found ourselves. L’Hopital de la Crucifixione was a large, two story building. The first story consisted of a series of open air arcades that extended all around the four sides of the building. The second story was really the first floor of the hospital, and luckily the patients were housed on that floor. The building took up a square block. It had been built during the Napoleonic era (1815), and I was to learn later that I was the first American to be admitted to L’Hopital de la Crucifixione since 1941! It was during the admission process that we learned the word hopital in French referred to a public hospital where people went as a last resource, whereas clinique signified  a private hospital where one went when one was sick and had money .

Luckily, the admitting staff realized the gravity of my condition and admitted me  immediately. My friends left me with a nurse and promised to return the next day.

The nurse put me in a private room and said something about Typhus, at which point I passed out and remembered nothing.

I was awakened in the dark by the sound of scampering, scratchy noises. I felt light drop-ping sounds on my sheets and blankets – as if rice was being thrown around the room and on my bed. I leapt out of bed and flicked on the light. To my horror I saw the cause of the sounds. The entire room – ceiling, floor and walls were covered in a moving carpet of cockroaches. I screamed. A nurse came running. She took one look at the situation and pointed at the light switch. I did not understand enough French or comprehend her repeated gestures with the light switch. I was too sick and scared by the hypnotic waves of roaches. Finally, I realized that she was telling me that as long as there was light, the roaches would retreat. As soon as the light was off, back they would come. In bright light, the rolling waves of insects scurried off into invisible escape passages.  From that moment, the light never went off or out in that room.

I learned a great deal about the French health care system during the eight days I spent in L’Hopital de la Crucifixione. It turned out that the blood tests they had taken did not come back from their lab for a week and by that time they decided I did not have Typhus. Since I had been hiking and hostelling along the Riviera, they felt I had caught some kind of “bug” from the ice I had insisted on having in my Coca-Cola in Nice.  Although they didn’t believe I had Typhus, they treated me as if I did which meant for eight days I was fed boiled potatoes and apricot jam. I later learned from my mother (a therapeutic dietitian) that this was probably the best treatment I could have received.  However, at the time, the menu seemed hugely unimaginative and tiresome.

I learned that my hospital had one private room (in which I slept) and several public rooms. These huge rooms were more like giant dormitories with twenty beds in each room – ten beds on each side of a wide aisle, with a chair next to each bed.

Most of the patients were immigrants from North Africa: Algeria; Tunisia; Libya and Morocco. They were very sick and their families brought them food and drink. The small kitchen across the hall from my room was manned by a cook who shared her space with Kamikaze cockroaches. As she prepared individual orders for those patients who had no family, the cockroaches would jump into the flames – making popping noises and causing the flames to shoot up and out. 

Being the first American since 1941 to come to this hospital, I became somewhat of a curiosity to the medical staff. They would arrive every morning in two groups of six, introduce themselves, thump on my stomach, practice their English, confer with each other in rapid-fire French and exit – smiling. They seemed happy with my progress and would say encouraging things like “Soon. Soon!” 

As mentioned previously, the hospital was built on a series of open air arcades. Around the fourth or fifth day of my stay, a volunteer arrived at my room. She was the equivalent of a “ candy-striper” in the states . I was surprised to learn that she “worked” in the arcades. By day, she pushed her cart around the hospital selling things like candy and cigarettes to the diabetics and heart patients in the large, dormitory style rooms. At night she plied her trade as a “lady of the evening” in the arcades under the hospital. Soon, I met several other friends of that original candy-striper. They were fascinated by the story of how I, as an American, had ended up in their hospital. They were amused by my account of our search for the Chateau d’If  and our confusion about the difference between the clinique and l’hopital. These women were so warm hearted and generous that when my stay in the hospital ended, they insisted on taking me to the railroad station and put me on the train for Barcelona.

When I was discharged from the hospital after eight days, I was told the bill would be sent to my parents in Philadelphia.  The hospital informed me that they had contacted the American consulate in Marseille to let them know that an American was in their hospital . In turn, the consulate had called my parents to reassure them that their daughter was not lost nor had she been sold into the white slave trade.  I was allowed to call home using the consulate telephone, and my parents were so excited about getting an overseas phone call that most of the three minutes allotted were squandered with useless phrases like ”Are you Ok? Are you sure? “ and “Come home soon”. I gave them my itinerary and told them to write in care of the American Express office in Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, and Paris….

After a recent stay in the hospital. I found myself wondering if the Hopital de la Crucifixione remained standing in Marseille and if healthcare services in France still included candy-stripers who moonlighted as prostitutes. When Cincinnati was named the bedbug capital of the nation, I wondered if my old hospital had conquered its cockroach problems or whether they still continued to keep on the lights as their primary remedy.

As touchstones, these memories are vivid, but more importantly, they are the events which formed my character and continue to influence the choices and behaviors of my life – and oh! by the way – remember that hospital bill that was sent home after my discharge ? – the total cost for eight days came to twenty four dollars!

Love,

Katja 

G-mail Comments

-Ami G (7-10):  This is such a well written and heart felt tale.  And, what did it do for your character?

Thanks.  Love.   Ami

Let's Go to the Land of Chipmunks! (A Letter to our Grandkids)

A Michigan Chipmunk

Dear V and L,

When you go to Michigan soon, I hope you will keep an eye out for the chipmunks.  They are just about the cutest creatures in the whole state.  When my sister and brothers and I were growing up on the Menominee River, we would sometimes look out the dining room window and watch the chipmunks scampering around on the ground below.  They were gathering up seeds that had fallen from our mother’s birdfeeder and carrying them home to their nests.  Chipmunks are pretty noisy little guys.  They chirp and squeak and sound like birds.  They are not so easy to find, but, if you watch carefully each day, I’m sure you will see some. 

Ottawa Indians

Chipmunks got their name from the Ottawa Indians who actually called them “Chitmunks”.  Chitmunk means “red squirrel” in the Ottawa language.  Chipmunks have also been called “chipmincks”, “chipmucks”, “chippers”, “munks”, “Hackees”, and “timber tigers” (because of their splendid stripes). .  

A Siberian Chipmunk

Chipmunks don’t live in New Orleans, but they do live in many other parts of the United States, in Canada, and in China.  The chipmunk in this picture is called a Siberian Chipmunk, and it comes from the Wisdom Valley in Northern China.

The Entrance to a Chipmunk Burrow

Chipmunks live by themselves in burrows under the ground.  Each chipmunk digs its own personal burrow.  This is a picture of the entrance to a chipmunk’s burrow.  Burrows can be 9 or 10 feet long, a lot longer than you or me or your mom or dad.  Chipmunks keep their houses very clean.  The chipmunk builds a nest of leaves and grass in its biggest room  They store their food in smaller rooms, and they put their garbage like old acorn shells in other  rooms.  When winter comes, chipmunks stay in their burrows all winter long and are sound asleep almost all the time.  

This Chipmunk Has Food in His Mouth

Chipmunks have big pouches in their cheeks so they can carry their food around with them and eat whenever they feel hungry.  Like people, chipmunks like to eat lots of different foods.  They like seeds the best.  They also climb trees to gather nuts and fruit. 

In the spring and fall when food is scarce, chipmunks eat other kinds of food …. like WORMS.  (Yuk!)  

Or they eat BUGS.  (Ick!!)

Or they even eat LITTLE FROGS.   (Aagghhh!!!)

The Fox is the Chipmunk’s Enemy

Chipmunks can run very fast, and they have to because they have enemies who would like to catch them and eat them up.  Their enemies include foxes, weasels, big snakes, hawks, and wild cats.  Even when they’re sleeping at night, chipmunks keep on the alert to watch out for enemies.  Our family dogs, whose names were Mike and Micki, used to chase the chipmunks, but they never were able to catch them.    

Baby Chipmunks

Mother chipmunks have new babies each spring.  Usually she has four or five babies all at once.  The babies are teeny-tiny, don’t have any hair at first, and can’t see anything.  But by the time they are eight weeks old, they leave the nest and go out into the world to live on their own.

Chipmunks are important to people because they bury their seeds all around in the dirt, and that helps new trees and shrubs to grow.  And people get lots of enjoyment from watching chipmunks in their yards or in the forest.  In fact, when you go to Michigan there is only thing that will be as cute as the chipmunks – and that is ….

L and V

Love,

Grandpa 

G-mail Comments

-Terry O-S (7-15): Dear David,  I'm still summering in Ocean City NJ and experiencing certain computer limitations which means I don't see  Letters for George as regularly as before. I caught up recently and  it sounds like a trip to Menominee is going to happen for at least some of your family. Has Katja recovered sufficiently for it to include the two of you? I want to heartily endorse your recommendation with regard to chipmunks! I'm not going to get there this year but am still hopeful for next.  If you go, blow  kiss to the Bay for me! (You can extend your own regards to the river!)  Best,Terry 

-Phyllis S-S (7-10):  Dear Dave,  This blog was just adorable.  I didn't know all this information about chipmunks and found it fascinating.  How's Katja?  Going to Michigan looking good?  Phyllis

-Donna D (7-7):  david, this is one of your best ever!!  donna

Are You a Cunning Googlefighter?

Dear George,

While I was staying home with Katja during her recuperation from knee surgery, I had lots of free time to surf the Web.  One of the interesting places I ran across is called Googlefight (www.googlefight.com).  It’s not actually a Google website, but rather is a game that makes use of the famous search engine.  Basically, Googlefight allows you to compare the number of Google results from any two different keyword searches.  When you type in two entries, Googlefight.com uses Google to search the Internet and returns a frequency count for each.  Since Google indexes about 30 billion words, you are scanning an enormous body of data.  For example, if you type in "Steve Jobs" and "Mark Zuckerberg", you get 10,800,000 Google hits for Jobs and 4,960,000 for Zuckerberg.  Or, "hot dog" gets 3,380,000 hits, but "hamburger" gets 9,320,000.

Using this procedure, Googlefight shows the comparative popularity of various topics on the Internet.  Given that, it becomes an interesting challenge to try to predict in advance which one of a given pair of topics will yield the most Google search results.  It's not too surprising that Barack Obama gets more hits (22.5Million) than Ron Paul (4.0M).  But what about "vampire" vs. "zombie"?  (In fact, vampire edges out zombie, 32.7M vs. 30.4M).

Below is a list of word pairs that I entered into Googlefight.  See if you can guess beforehand which member of each pair gets the most hits on Google.  (The answers are given at the end.)  Because you're guessing between two choices on each item, you could expect to be correct 50% of the time by random chance (i.e., 16 correct answers out of 32 items).  I’d say if you are correct 75% or more of the time (i.e., 24 or more items), you deserve a Googlefighter Black Belt.  Actually, even though I made up the quiz myself, I only got 44% when I tried it [14 out of 32] correct.  If you do the quiz, let me know how you do.  (At minimum, you probably will beat me.)

Love,

Dave

QUIZ INSTRUCTIONS: Below are pairs of keywords (presented in alphabetical order). Pick the word or phrase in each pair that you think will get the most search results on Google, and write down your response (i.e., a. or b. for each pair).  For example, on the first tiem if you think “Greed” will generate more search results from Google than “Lust”, write down (a).  Be sure to complete all 32 items. The correct answers will be given at the end. 

  

1.  (a) Greed vs. (b) Lust

2.  (a) Pro-Choice vs. (b) Pro-Life

3.  (a) “Jane Eyre” vs. (b) “Jayne Mansfield”

4.  (a) Candy vs. (b) Vegetables

5.  (a) Islam vs. (b) Judaism

6.  (a) California vs. (b) New York

7.  (a) Paula Abdul vs. (b) Simon Cowell

8.  (a) Homophobia vs. (b) Sexism

9.  (a) Recession vs. (b) Recovery

10.  (a) Evil vs. (b) Good

11.  (a) Cincinnati vs. (b) Cleveland

12.  (a) “Jerry Sandusky” vs. (b) “Jerry Springer”

13.  (a) “American Idol” vs. (b) “The Voice”

14.   (a) Gingrich vs. (b) Santorum

15.  (a) Gay vs. (b) Straight

16.   (a) 1% vs. (b) 99%

17.   (a) Pain vs. (b) Pleasure

18.  (a) Beer vs. (b) Pot

19.  (a) Heaven vs. (b) Hell 

20.  (a) “Rush Limbaugh” vs. (b) “Stephen Colbert”

21.   (a) Asians vs. (b) Hispanics

22.  (a) “Lady Gaga” vs. (b) “Michelle Obama”

23.  (a) Death vs. (b) Life

24.  (a) “Conan O’Brien” vs. (b) “Jay Leno” 

25.  (a) Marinette vs. (b) Menominee 

26.  (a) Democrats vs. (b) Republicans

27.  (a) Hate vs. (b) Love

28.  (a) Love vs. (b) Sex

29.   (a) Jesus vs. (b) Santa

30.  (a) “Occupy Wall Street”_vs. (b) “Tea Party”

31.  (a) Health vs. (b) Illness

32.   (a) “Julia Roberts” vs. (b) “my wife” 

ANSWER KEY (in millions):

1.  (a) Greed (5.4M) vs. (b) Lust (15.9M)

2.  (a) Pro-Choice (17.4M) vs. (b) Pro-Life (51.7M)

3.  (a) “Jane Eyre” (19.0M) vs. (b) “Jayne Mansfield” (0.2M)

4.  (a) Candy (41.4M) vs. (b) Vegetables (17.3M)

5.  (a) Islam (41.8M) vs. (b) Judaism (6.0M)

6.  (a) California 150.0M) vs. (b) New York (247.0M)

7.  (a) Paula Abdul (1.0M) vs. (b) Simon Cowell (2.3M)

8.  (a) Homophobia (1.2M) vs. (b) Sexism (1.5M)

9.  (a) Recession (8.7M) vs. (b) Recovery (54.6M)

10.  (a) Evil (58.8M) vs. (b) Good (528.0M)

11.  (a) Cincinnati (15.8M) vs. (b) Cleveland (29.6M)

12.  (a) “Jerry Sandusky” (0.8M) vs. (b) “Jerry Springer” (0.5M)

13.  (a) “American Idol” (12.7M) vs. (b) “The Voice” (17.4M)

14.   (a) Gingrich (2.9M) vs. (b) Santorum (2.6M)

15.  (a) Gay (87.7M) vs. (b) Straight (73.0M)

16.   (a) 1% (24.5M) vs. (b) 99% (14.9M)

17.   (a) Pain (73.5M) vs. (b) Pleasure (32.4M)

18.  (a) Beer (43.8M) vs. (b) Pot (41.5M)

19.  (a) Heaven (39.7M) vs. (b) Hell (59.5M)

20.  (a) “Rush Limbaugh” (1.5M) vs. (b) “Stephen Colbert” (1.2M)

21.  (a) Asians (4.0M) vs. (b) Hispanics (1.4M)

22.  (a) “Lady Gaga” (29.2M) vs. (b) “Michelle Obama” (4.6M)

23.  (a) Death (124.0M) vs. (b) Life (550.0M)

24.  (a) “Conan O’Brien” (8.5) vs. (b) “Jay Leno” (1.7M)

25.  (a) Marinette (0.33M) vs. (b) Menominee (0.27M)

26.  (a) Democrats (7.4M) vs. (b) Republicans (7.3M)

27. (a) Hate (64.3M) vs. (b) Love (530.0M)

28.  (a) Love (530.0M) vs. (b) Sex (213.0M)

29.   (a) Jesus (61.1M) vs. (b) Santa (128.0M)

30.  (a) “Occupy Wall Street” (2.4M)_vs. (b) “Tea Party” (5.4M)

31.  (a) Health (362.0M) vs. (b) Illness (17.2M)

32.   (a) “Julia Roberts” (2.3M) vs. (b) “my wife” (13.8M)

G-mail Comments

-Donna D (7-3):  this looks like fun, but the list is looonnngg.  i'll do it when i have more time.  donna

-Gayle C-L (7-3):  DAVID...  You are amazing.  To have the time and patience to design this game :;))).  AWESOME !!!!   

-David W (7-2):  got 44% and that's after 30 years forecasting peoples taste in popular culture.  Think i'll hang myself! oh well i at least tied a social psychologist.   david