Life is a journey, not a destination.
RR
RONNIE’S RAMBLINGS
vol. 01 Issue 27 10.29.2014
PUBLISHED BY SPORTS & MORE
established Viii-Xiv-mmxiv
Cover photo: The Avon volleyball seniors display their regional championship trophy. Standing l - r Calle’ Weddle and Beth prince. Kneeling l - r brooke peters and aislyn galford.
WHAT TO EXPECT
In this issue...
Say What?!
four
The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in awhile and watch your answers change.
Ronnie’s Ramblings
Richard Bach, Illusions
Volleyball
Are You Smarter Than... Answers
six eight
Maine is the only state ithat borders only one other state in the United States. Alaska and Hawaii are the two states that do not border any other states in the United States.
2
follow us on twitter! @Ronniesrambling
RR PUBLISHED BY SPORTS & MORE
RONNIE’S RAMBLINGS vol. 01 Issue. 27 10.29 2014
To purchase/view photos go to hcsportsandmore.smugmug.com
Masthead RONNIE WILSON -
FOUNDER PUBLISHER EDITOR WRITER PHOTOGRAPHER
NOELANI LANGILLE
&
- CREATIVE DIRECTOR - ART DIRECTOR - DESIGNER - PHOTO EDITOR - PHOTOGRAPHER column photo, pages 4 & 7
3
SAY WHAT?
October edition
NOVEMBER IS... November is... International Drum Month November is... Peanut Butter Lover’s Month November is... Slaughter Month November 1 is ... Plan Your Epitaph Day November 4 is... Waiting For The Barbarians Day November 5 is... Gunpowder Day November 8 is... Dunce Day November 9 is... Chaos Never Dies Day November 13 is... National Indian Pudding Day November 18 is... Occult Day November 20 is... Absurdity Day November 22 is... Start Your Own Country Day November 28 is... Make Your Own Head Day November 30 is... Stay At Home Because You’re Well Day Many words in the English languge we think are somewhat modern developments are actually quite old. Our friend Bill Shakespeare is the origin of many, as evidenced by the following. HALF-BLOODED/HOT-BLOODED: KING LEAR, ACT V, SCENE III/ ACT III, SCENE III “Half-blooded fellow, yes.” – Albany “Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took our youngest born, I could as well be brought to knee his
4
What ‘s In A word?
throne, and, squire-like; pension beg to keep base life afoot.” – Lear As is the tradition in Shakespearean tragedy, nearly everyone in King Lear dies, so the linguistic fascination here with blood is unsurprising, to say the least. INAUDIBLE: ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, ACT V, SCENE III “Let’s take the instant by the forward top; for we are old, and on our quick’st decrees the inaudible and noiseless foot of Time steals ere we can effect them.” – King of France One of a number of words (invulnerable, indistinguishable, inauspicious, among others) which Shakespeare invented only in the sense of adding a negative in- prefix where it had never been before. LADYBIRD: ROMEO AND JULIET, ACT I, SCENE III “What, lamb! What, ladybird! God forbid! Where’s this girl? What, Juliet!” – Nurse Although the Oxford English Dictionary notes that this particular term of endearment has fallen into disuse, maybe it’s about time for its comeback. Valentine’s Day is coming up, after all. MANAGER: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, ACT V, SCENE I “Where is our usual manager of mirth? What revels are in hand? Is there no play to ease the anguish of a torturing hour?” – King Theseus If not for Shakespeare, workday
complaining in the office break room just wouldn’t be the same. MULTITUDINOUS: MACBETH, ACT II, SCENE II “No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in incarnadine, making the green one red.” – Macbeth “Multitudinous” may not be the most appropriate synonym when the phrase “a lot” starts to crop up too often in your writing, but it’s certainly the one with the most letters. NEW-FANGLED: LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST, ACT I, SCENE I “At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth.” – Biron Ironically, this word sounds oldfashioned if used today. PAGEANTRY: PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE, ACT V, SCENE II “This, my last boon, give me, for such kindness must relieve me, that you aptly will suppose what pageantry, what feats, what shows, what minstrelsy, and pretty din, the regent made in Mytilene to greet the king.” – Gower Although modern scholars generally agree that Shakespeare only appears to have written the second half of the play, this newly invented term for an extravagant ceremonial display appears in the section definitively authored by the Bard. SCUFFLE: ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, ACT I, SCENE I
“His captain’s heart, which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst the buckles on his breast, reneges all temper, and is become the bellows and the fan to cool a gipsy’s lust.” – Philo Another example of an existing verb that Shakespeare decided could stand up just as well as a noun. SWAGGER: HENRY V, ACT II, SCENE IV/A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, ACT III, SCENE I
“An’t please your majesty, a rascal that swaggered with me last night.” – Williams “What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here, so near the cradle of the fairy queen?” – Puck By transitive property, Shakespeare is responsible for Justin Bieber’s “swag.” 20. UNCOMFORTABLE: ROMEO AND JULIET, ACT IV, SCENE V “Despised, distressed, hat-
ed, martyr’d, kill’d! Uncom- Of course, just because fortable time, why camest the first written instances thou now to murder, murder of these terms appeared our solemnity?” - Capulet in Shakespeare’s scripts Un- was another prefix doesn’t preclude the posShakespeare appended to sibility that they existed in adjectives with a liberal the oral tradition prior to hand. In the case of Romeo recording LANGILLE them, but as PHOTO his BY NOELANI and Juliet, a tragedy in Shakespeare might have which a father mourns his said, it was high time (The daughter’s suicide, “uncom- Comedy of Errors) for such fortable” seems to have orig- household words (Henry V). inated with a slightly more drastic sense than how we use it now.
5
RR
Why I am an independent by ronnie wilson
RONNIE’S RAMBLINGS
I
found the below on-line a few weeks ago. Except for living in Texas and being a republican until Clinton, (I ecame an independent, and still am, just prior to Nixon’s presidency, I am in agreement with the author Gerry Myers. In 1988 when I voted for George H. W. Bush for president, there was nothing unusual about it. From the time I turned 21, I had always voted Republican. But, after he broke his promise not to raise taxes and the country was in the midst of a recession, I reconsidered my position in 1992. As Bush floundered, the brilliant and charismatic campaign and message of William Jefferson Clinton hit the scene and I voted for my first Democrat. During the next eight years, I watched how President Clinton oversaw the longest peacetime economic expansion in our history; how the nation enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate in decades; how the home ownership rate grew to the highest it’s ever been in the country’s history; how he improved economic equality that led to a strong economy and a surplus federal budget. Though his tenure was plagued with scandals
6
and impeachment, it is important to remember, he was acquitted of all charges. In 1996, I still didn’t consider myself a Democrat, even though I voted to reelect Clinton. I was an Independent who voted for the best person. But, when the Republican Party nominated George W. Bush in 2000...I began to think of myself as a Democrat. Living in Texas, I saw Bush’s policies and ignorance first hand. I could foresee many problems the country would face if he was elected and, unfortunately, he didn’t prove me wrong. Against strong counsel from his own financial advisors, he cut taxes while starting two wars; something no other president had ever done. These decisions began the immeasurable damage to our country that would take decades to recover from. He took a substantial surplus, and turned it into a huge deficit; he changed America’s standing in the world, by trying to force his views on other cultures; he chose to invade Iraq first, rather than Afghanistan, allowing Osama bin Laden to continue his reign of terrorism for years; he destabilized the Middle
East which led to more insurgents. Bush and Cheney did not listen to Americans or our Allies and millions of lives were lost. As the neocons continually promote just one more war to spread democracy, I believe we should fix America’s democracy first before we try to change the cultures of other countries to mirror our own. Near the end of Bush’s disastrous two-term Presidency, it was an easy decision for me to vote for Obama over McCain. But, it was the creation of the Tea Party facet of the Republican Party in 2010 that turned me into a loyal Democrat, rather than an Independent. I don’t feel I abandoned the Republican Party but, I do feel the Republican Party abandoned me. Their emerging views on government, religion, women’s rights, workers’ rights, income inequality, violence against women, equal pay for women, minorities’ voting rights, made me move away from these radical ideologues as quickly as possible. In 2014, the Republican Party is now split between the old GOP idealists and the new GOP obstructionists; between those who know their message is losing voters and
want to change it and, those who would rather suppress and buy the vote, than change the message. The GOP no longer stands for Grand Old Party, but for Greedy Old Plutocrats. Democrats must rally their base. There are many smart and educated Republicans who believe their Party’s lies, support their Party’s positions and who will come out to vote Republican at any cost. In America that is their prerogative. But, it is up to the rest of us to make sure these extremists are defeated in 2014, in 2016 and beyond. It is critical to this country’s future, maybe more than any other election in our history that you vote in November. Choosing not to vote because you think your vote doesn’t matter is just plain wrong. I worry that if people do not stand up for what they believe in, and vote, then our future right to vote may vanish. I support the Democratic message because I’m for job creation, rather than obstructionism. I support healthcare for all, rather than repealing the ACA with no alternative plan. I think we should keep the safety net for those who need it and have paid into it all their lives. I support Social Security, and believe the system could be solvent for years if the income cap was removed and people paid into the system for ev-
ery pay check they received. And unlike many Republican Governors, I also support Medicaid expansion which saves lives, adds billions in federal funds, and creates jobs. I’m for keeping America safe and strong, but not for sending Americans into harm’s way when it isn’t necessary. I’m for helping veterans when they return from serving our country, rather than cutting their benefits. I’m for lowering Congressional pay and perks, so that elected officials’ jobs aren’t about becoming millionaires, but rather are about their responsibility to serve their constituents and their country. I believe in food stamps for the hungry, but not subsidies to big agricultural firms. I believe in healthy school lunches for our children, but not Republican supported junk food lobbyists. I believe in putting people to work rebuilding our crumbling
infrastructure and bridges, rather than blocking the vote on job development, and asking “where are the jobs?” I believe in energy independence, but not at a cost to our society and way of life. I believe we should do something about manmade climate change, not deny it exists. I believe we should leave America, and the planet, a better place for my kids and my grandkids, rather than a worse place. I’m for easy to vote elections, rather than designing restrictions that make it harder for minorities, the poor and the elderly to vote. I’m for term limits for all elected officials, rather than lifetime politicians. In other words, I’m for democracy...a democracy that is quickly diminishing under the current Republican leadership.
7
8
Volleyball Photos by Ronnie Wilson
Avon’s Brooke Peters in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
9
Avon’s Beth Prince in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian, and teammate Darian Goins is set for backup if needed. (It was’nt.)
10
Avon’s Calle’ Weddle in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
11
Avon’s Kennedy Wilson in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
12
Avon’s Hannah Eiler in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
13
Avon’s Jael Johnson (15) and Brooke Peters (6) in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
14
Avon’s Jordan Grandolfo serves the final point of set #2 in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian. (See inset above.)
15
16
Avon’s Aislyn Galford in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
Avon’s Darian Goins sets the ball as teammate Hannah Eiler approaches in regional action versus Perry Meridian.
17
18
Avon’s Jordan Grandolfo goes vertical and air-bourne in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
Avon’s Jael Johnson in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
19
Avon’s student fans during volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
20
Avon celebrates winning a hard-fought point in volleyball regional action versus Perry Meridian.
21
follow us on twitter! @Ronniesrambling
RR PUBLISHED BY SPORTS & MORE
RONNIE’S RAMBLINGS vol. 01 Issue. 27 10-29-2014
To purchase/view photos go to hcsportsandmore.smugmug.com