Tuesday, March 1, 2016

View From The Bridge 3/2/16

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
3/2/16

NO NEWS
I have heard that no news is good news. There actually is nothing much going on around town unless organizations and businesses are keeping their events secret. Please let me know if your business or organization is planning an event. I would appreciate being the first to know. (Just joking.)

SPRING AHEAD and SPRING
I just know that you can hardly wait to get your River Press to be reminded about Daylight Savings Time and the start of spring. I can hardly wait to tell you.

There are only 10 days before you have to change your clocks and 17 days to spring. I do not really think that spring will make much difference. March can be a very strange weather month and the predictions confusing.  It is a wait and see game.

MARCH MOON
The March Moon is the moon of many names. It is the FULL WORM Moon as the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw.  Earth worm casts begin to appear heralding the return of the robins.

The FULL CROW Moon name began when the cawing of the crows signaled the end of winter.

The FULL CRUST Moon was when the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing by night.

The FULL TAP Moon was marking the time to tap the maple trees.

The LENTEN Moon was named because it was the last full moon of winter.

ROBINS
Remember to call me at 622-3217 when you see the first Robin this month.  You have to call immediately as I cannot claim your first place for you if you call on March 15th to tell me that you saw a Robin March 1st. This is a contest that I try to hold each year but have not heard from anyone the last couple of years or it was too late.

MEADOWLARKS
The same goes for the Meadowlark’s arrival, give me a call.  One of the joys of the Rural Mail Route we had was watching for the first Meadowlark and their October leaving. I can still hear the Meadowlark’s song in my head. What a perfect bird to be chosen for the State Bird.

JIM TAYLOR AD
What a great ad in the River Press about the Student of the Week and A Business Owner of the week. It is such enjoyable reading and one gets to know the student and business owner much more than you might have known before.

I had a conversation with Principal Scott several months ago about doing an article about the high school activities. He said it had been brought up before and he would like to see something about students and teachers. It is interesting to get to know some backgrounds and the Taylor ad fits the bill.  I am looking forward to more of the same.

Appreciation to Bethany for writing the stories. She is such a tremendous addition to our community as is Lindsey (the puzzle gal…read on.) I have always wanted to spend a day at the River Press when Lindsey is putting articles and ads together to fit on the pages. She said it is like a puzzle to make everything fit. And fit it does to a certain amount of pages. I would like both young women to stay with the River Press forever.

X-RAY
I had to have one last week and found out there were 5 or 6 broken bones this fall and winter season. That figure is down, as you must know, because we did not have as much snow and ice as in previous years. (For those of you who had broken bones, I am sorry about your fall and hope you are all healed up by now.)

I heard that those of you who live in warm climates were jealous when Friday, the 26th, it was 71 degrees in Fort Benton. At least that is what my weather stations recorded. I’m still waiting for a big blast to hit us. Do not put your heavy jackets, gloves, and boots away yet.

BINGO
Because of Leap Year the Bingo schedule became confused. A decision was made to have a session on the 29th of February and then again on the 14th and 28th of March. The VFW report in the River Press last week said that would be the end of Bingo for the season and will begin again in October. Keep that in mind.

In the meanwhile, the Golden Age Senior Center is going to have Bingo on Thursday March 3rd at 1:00pm. If it is well attended, they will continue.  So if you are an addict, show up at the Senior Center so you can be counted in the numbers.

VETERANS PHOTOS
I asked in the View a few months ago for some help to finish up this project. I had two people answer my request and Joellyn Benjamin Clark and I have met three weeks on Tuesdays to do catch-up and finish. Joellyn brings her own computer and is so quick it makes my head spin. She scanned pictures, made a list of bios that had to be checked on, and in general organized what was left to do. In a couple of weeks we should be wrapping it all up and the photos will be hung.

If you make a trip to the Sunrise Bluffs to check out your picture/bio or your loved ones, and if there is an error, please write in the black notebook a.s.a.p. I do not know how long I can keep Joellyn chained to the desk as she is a busy Homemaker, Wife/Mom, and Volunteer.

NEW PROJECT
After the successful response to my plea for help with the Veterans Photo project, I have a new project in mind. I now need a Carpenter to volunteer to check out how much wood I would need. Then of course I would have to raise the money and ask for more volunteers to put the whole project together. It has everything to do with the Veteran’s Photo Project and I am sure there are Veterans, VFW, and American Legion members who will want to take part. I estimate that if I had 4 to 6 helpers, it would be a one day job.

Does this appeal to you? I would like to start with 1 Carpenter and work on from there. Call me at 622-3217 after 10:00 a.m. I’ll keep you posted.

OBSERVATIONS
Right handed people tend to chew food on their right side. (I wonder if they have more cavities on the right side of their teeth. I’ll check with my dentist on my next visit.)

SUMMER CELEBRATION
I have donated all of my Sweetheart’s Summer Celebration t-shirts for a quilt that there are plans to have a quilt made and raffled off.

Would you please check your closets for a few that are missing in our collection? Any size will do.

We need a 1995 “River Runs Through It”. A 1997, do not know the theme, a 2008 “Rockin’ the River,” an X-large 2009 “With an Irish Flair”, a 2014 “Year of the MT Woman” and finally a 2015 “Believing in the Future.” I also have a shirt that has two glass bulbs on it, no theme and no date. Perhaps someone will remember. Could it be the 1997 that we do not know the theme?  

If you are willing to give up anyone of these shirts, it will be appreciated and for a good cause.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, OUR POLICE FORCES, OUR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS, and EMT’s.  PLEASE WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS AND PUT A GREEN BULB IN YOUR FRONT PORCH LIGHT.