The word “solstice” comes from the Latin sol, sun, and sistere, to stand. It is the time when the sun appears to stand still for a day or two in its relentless pacing from north to south and back again, the time when it pauses before turning to retrace the path it has been following as long as there has been an earth.

At the two equinoxes, the sun’s rising and setting place moves very fast across the horizon. But for a day or two on either side of June 21st and December 21st, it’s hard to tell that the spot has moved at all.

I sometimes speculate on how our ancestors must have felt as they watched their one source of warmth and light moving inexorably away, as the days grew shorter and colder. According to the elders, it had always come back before; but what if this time it just kept on going? Small wonder that December 25th, the first day the keenest-eyed member of the group could say for sure the sun had decided to return, has long been associated with joy, celebration, hope, and light.

The winter solstice, of course, marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. It is the official beginning of winter. For those of you who, like me, enjoy geometry, I offer my favorite definition: The winter solstice is the time at which the angle between the earth’s axis of rotation and the line connecting the South Pole to the center of the sun reaches its greatest value and begins decreasing again.

However you commemorate (or define) the season of the winter solstice, I wish you joy, celebration, and warmth.

Posted by Sharon under Observations | No Comments »

Burger King has launched a men’s body spray called “Flame.” It’s billed as “The scent of seduction, with a hint of flame-broiled meat.” $3.99 online.

Let us not forget that this is the home of The Whopper.

Posted by Sharon under Laughter | No Comments »

This is an edited version of the column I wrote for the November-December 2008 issue of TK Magazine. It’s a true story. It’s too wonderful to be fiction. Alyse has given permission for me to use her and her mother’s names.
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For several years I was a member of Sweet Adelines, and even sang in a quartet. We were never very good, but we had a lot of fun, and have remained good friends ever since.

Alyse Stewart sang tenor in our little foursome, and her Mother, Helen, was our biggest fan. Helen loved and supported us, even when we were dreadful.

Alyse is the fourth-generation owner of Stewart Hardware in Valley Falls. Alyse’s great-grandfather opened the store in 1890, and it still operates in the same delightfully crowded building with a wall full of drawers containing every nail, nut, bolt, or screw you could want. Helen worked there 5 days a week until a few months before her death at age 89. If anyone could embody the concept “pillar of the community,” it was Helen Stewart.

Valley Falls (population 1260 or so) is one of those wonderful small towns where everybody knows everybody. When I go there to visit Alyse, people turn and look as I drive past, because they don’t recognize my car. There are two police officers and one stoplight. Alyse assures me the good folks of Valley Falls are more cautious now, but when this story happened most of them routinely left their keys in their cars.

Helen Stewart loved to fish, and Stewart Hardware carries some fishing gear. One day a young customer came in the store to buy an ocean rod, which was not something Stewart Hardware stocked. But Helen knew of a wholesaler in town who would have it; and, since Helen had help in the store that day, she offered to go with her customer to the wholesaler.

As they walked out the door, Young Customer said, “Would you like me to drive?”

“Well, yes, thank you,” said Helen.

Now, Young Customer thought he was offering to drive Helen’s vehicle for her, and Helen thought Young Customer was offering to drive her in his vehicle. So they sort of moseyed over to the curb, got in a truck that didn’t belong to either one of them, and drove away.

A few minutes later, the rightful owner of the truck came out of an adjacent business, and found his truck had been stolen. The police were called, and a description of the vehicle was taken. Policeman One set out to find the perpetrator.

By that time Helen and Young Customer were on their way back. As Policeman One was sitting at the stop light, the stolen truck pulled up going the opposite direction. Helen Stewart was driving. She smiled and waved at the officer.

Not wanting to go down in the Valley Falls annals as the person who arrested Helen Stewart, Policeman One made a surreptitious u-turn and quietly followed her back to her store.

As they pulled up and got out of the truck, Rightful Owner was hollering and gesturing; and Helen and Young Customer, in a move worthy of Abbott and Costello, turned to each other and said in unison, “You mean it’s not yours?”

Three minutes later, Helen, Young Customer, Rightful Owner, and Policeman One were all laughing over what had to be one of the best stories any of them would ever tell. Rightful Owner got in his truck and drove off.

Two blocks away he was stopped by Policeman Two because he was driving a stolen vehicle.

(You can see a picture of Helen behind the counter of Stewart Hardware.)

Posted by Sharon under Reprints from TK Magazine | No Comments »