Sitting at my desk this morning, I can hear cows mooing in the distance. I hear birds gathering around the feeder just outside my window. And, I hear the wind rustling the trees directly to my south.
From marching bands to mooing…
At my previous home, waking to the sounds of the Seymour High School Marching Band practicing was typical. At night in the fall, I could hear the cannon blast when the football team scored a goal. We had street sweepers that had their unique sound and in the summer, I could hear my neighbors.
I didn’t mind all those things — I even liked the band and football game noise. Now, I appreciate the sounds of rural living and know I love those sounds even more.
Close your eyes and listen to what’s going on around you.
Are you where you can hear what makes you happy?
Now you know: In 1969 Ted Conrad embezzled $215,000 from a bank in Ohio & proceeded to evade capture for the remaining 51 years of his life. He became ‘Thomas Randele’ & settled in Massachusetts. Described by authorities as a deathbed confession, in 2021 he told his wife & daughter who he was & what he did.
Most important thing first — happy birthday to Alisa Lou! She’s 39 with a few practice years. If she would run for Mayor of Crothersville, she would have my vote. 🙂
And more in local news…
Jackson County, Indiana — and especially Seymour — is in an uproar over a proposed inclusive economic agenda. You can view the agenda by clicking here. Monday night’s city council meeting location was filled to capacity with community members voicing their opinions — but not everyone that wanted to attend was able to get in. Another meeting will be held at Seymour High School at a date to be determined.
It’s a PR nightmare.
First, the person that chose to call the proposed building “Immigration Welcome Center” instead of “Resource Center” should be out of a job. When you include the word “immigration” with “economic development” you should expect pushback and powerful feelings of opposition.
When focus groups are listed (both verbally and in writing) as resources for the agenda’s data, it looks bad when those serving on those boards and are members of those groups — including city council members — publicly state they were neither approached nor received any type of communication. Thoughtful planning? I think not.
I watched the meeting on a live feed from start to finish. Sadly, I don’t think opinions matter at this point — and I’ll be surprised if a compromise is reached.
Choose your residential housing location carefully!
No one can predict the future. But all of us can consider the impact certain changes might have on our chosen residential location with forward thinking. It doesn’t matter where on God’s earth you plan to live.
You already know to check tax rates, quality of education, available services, etc. when you decide where to live. But what you might not consider is how deeply you should anticipate the unknown factors.
Play out long-term scenarios in your head and the likelihood of them happening.
Are you in an established neighborhood where there’s no room for unwanted development? If your setting is rural, what are the chances property near you will be sold off for something you don’t want to live beside?
It’s an investment of time to reflect on the possibilities that might impact what’s important to YOU. Personal… not political.
For example, before purchasing this property I asked myself this question: What’s the likelihood that the Kovert farm will be sold for commercial development or apartments to be built in my lifetime? Not likely, me thinks. While not an important consideration for some, it was paramount for me.
Now you know: In 2022, James Earl Jones officially retired from voicing Darth Vader, but signed permission for Lucasfilm to use archive recordings and AI to continue using his voice for the character.
I know the following complaint is out of my control, but rather than take my own advice, I’m going to complain anyway. But just about ONE thing…
USPS mail delivery is different when it comes from the Crothersville post office as opposed to delivery from the Seymour USPS post office.
Pros and cons of living on the outskirts of Crothersville.
If I made a list that contained “pros” and “cons” columns for living here instead of in Seymour, the entries in the pros column would greatly outweigh those in the cons column.
BUT… USPS mail delivery here would be in CONS column written in bold black, tall italic letters, and highlighted with the brightest pink marker on the market.
In Seymour, USPS would’ve placed a package the size of the one above on my doorstep. It might’ve even had a couple small doggie bones resting on top. BUT NOT HERE! If they can roll it up, smush it up, and cram it in the box… that’s where it’s left.
In about a year and a half, they’ve pulled in my driveway to deliver a package exactly ONE TIME.
“Our deliveries are made quick and easy — for us.”
(suggested motto for C’ville’s USPS office)
Now you know: Postal codes in Ireland are so specific that every single house has their own individual postcode, or Eircode (air-code).
I’m a remote worker nearing retirement age and I’m great with that. In the summer, I try to keep a flexible routine and I can do that since I don’t have to go elsewhere to do my job. Sure, it’s not always perfect. When deadlines crop up — no matter the time of day for me or time zone for the client — they still must get done.
My summer days look different now — geography does that.
Having lived in the City of Seymour for just at 10 years, I’m doing the same things as I did before but they look different — and for the most part, they feel different too! My mornings now look like this…
Next comes daily exercise. During decent weather, instead of walking through a community and past a football field, I walk down a dead-end road that offers this for a view:
There’s a difference between a small city and a small town.
All the controversy over Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” has many of my friends that live in Seymour posting their political thoughts on Facebook. Many are butt hurt… and most refer to Seymour as a small town to make their point. It’s making me crazy and I can barely keep my fingers from responding with some scathing, ugly comment.
People, Seymour is not a “SMALL TOWN” no matter what John Mellencamp says.
Seymour, Indiana is a CITY with a population of 22,000 plus people. You want to call it a small city? Go ahead! Vernon township — that includes the Town of Crothersville — has a total population of around 3,400 people. Having lived in Seymour and on the outskirts of Crothersville, I can tell you — Seymour people have NO IDEA the vast difference there is between the two.
Mellencamp — and ME — were born in a small city.
I don’t claim to live in a small town, but I’ve lived close to one for the majority of my life… and I attended school in one. I figure that makes me enough of an expert to state that there’s a distinct difference between life in a small town and that in a small city — and it’s not just the evening views. 🙂
Today I Learned: The average number of hours per week that Americans work is 34.4. Alaskan residents work the most hours in America at 41.6. 80% of all Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs.
I said I would post photos of the before and after of the small bathroom upstairs but I didn’t finish it. 🙁
I bought trim brushes but when I got everything out this morning to begin, they were nowhere to be found. I looked as best I could in all the boxes stored in the room with the treadmill — none there. I looked in the garage too. Nope.
All that time and effort and I was able to locate only one brush. The vanity and mirror took three coats of paint and no way could I wash out that brush in between coats. I simply didn’t get to do the walls… but I will today.
Backyards make a lifestyle statement.
It’s crazy how much my lifestyle has changed over the past year. Just one example is the comparison between back yards from where I did live in Seymour to where I live now.
The backyard in Seymour was just fine — a decent size compared to that of my neighbors.
You might prefer that type of yard to what I see now in rural Crothersville, and that’s ok. I looked out my window yesterday to see a red fox strolling along about 5′ from me. That’s not for everyone, for sure.
This place suits me. I like it.
Know what else I like? SMASH BURGERS! 🙂
TIL (Today I Learned): Microsoft developed an underwater data center powered by renewable energy sources and cooled by the natural temperature of the ocean water. The experiment, called “Project Natick,” was conducted off the coast of Scotland in 2018.
