50WordWednesdays

Mowing	Exterminating	Gutter cleaning
We were mowing our lawn — and by we were, I mean my husband was — and at the same time, the kid across the street from us was mowing his mother’s lawn. And while mowing, Bob noticed 2 other neighbors’ house maintenance goings on that we’re also having done this week.	The same across-the-street neighbor was also having her extermination service this morning, by Economy Exterminators, and our exterminator, BugOut, is coming today as well. Our assigned BugOut exterminator is Josh, who — another coincidence — was the exterminator assigned to the Red Hat building I used to work in before I retired.	Also this morning while mowing, Bob noticed that our neighbor two doors down is having their gutters cleaned, and we’re having ours cleaned on Thursday. The company our neighbor is using is amusingly named Suck My Gutters Clean. Our roof and gutter cleaner is — boring by comparison — Raleigh Gutter Cleaning.

Read other 50-word stories that I’ve written.

Editing	Reading	Exercising
I don’t edit as much as I used to before retiring, but whenever I do, I listen to classical music while doing it, because if I listen to music with words, I start singing along, and I lose my place editing. I typically listen to music I own while editing.	I listen to classical music while reading for the same reason I listen to it while editing — to avoid being “lyrically distracted.” For this activity, I typically listen to one of two free classical music providers: Venice Classic Radio Italia internet radio or a classical music playlist on Amazon Music.	Three times a week, I do 40 minutes of core, back, and left-knee stretching and strengthening exercises. For some reason, for this activity, I always listen to WCPE, theclassicalstation.org, a local classical radio station that broadcasts globally, and it is typically when George Leef, whom I love, is the announcer.

Read other 50-word stories that I’ve written.

Man	Cop	Paramedics
A white man, presumably experiencing homelessness, was bent over so far on the sidewalk bench between Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree that the top of his head was almost touching the ground. A Styrofoam leftover meal container and Arby’s and McDonald’s bags were littered around him. Someone called the police.	A Black Raleigh police officer arrived and tried to talk with the man, who couldn’t keep his head and torso up long enough to talk to the officer. The cop took notes, and talked into his two-way radio situated between his neck and right shoulder. Shortly thereafter an ambulance arrived.	Two EMTs, one very-young white female and a Hispanic male, emerged from the EMS truck. They wrapped a blanket around the man from the waist down and helped him walk to the vehicle. A few minutes after it left, an older, white woman arrived and spoke briefly with the policeman.

“Paydays”	Library book due	Subscription cancelation
We have 3 “paydays” between the two of us every month. On the 2nd, I collect a chunk of change from a retirement investment. The other 2 are our social security checks, Bob’s on the 2nd Tuesday and mine on the 3rd Wednesday. Not bad for sittin’ around doin’ nothin’.	I calendar the due date of my library books even though, on average, I take about 3½ days to read a book, and the lending period is sometimes 2 weeks and sometimes 3. I can’t remember ever keeping a book until its due date, so calendaring it is really unnecessary.	We are diligent about canceling trial subscriptions and always make a calendar entry to cancel them the day before they end. We’ve never forgotten to cancel one to avoid any charges for a conversion to a paid subscription. This month, on the 26th, our trial subscription to Apple Music ends.

Beef Burger	Flip Flop	Brisket
It is National Beef Burger Day. A beef burger starts with real ground beef on a bun or between two slices of bread. Of course, some of us like ours double stacked, and others prefer them spicy. What’s really important is what is in the middle — that delicious beef burger.	Annually on the Wednesday after Memorial Day, National Flip Flop Day encourages us to wear our favorite flip flops and show them off! The term “flip flop” has applied to flat-soled sandals with straps between the first and second toes and across the top of the foot since the 1960s.	National Brisket Day celebrates one of the 9 prime cuts of beef that come from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal and when prepared correctly, renders both delicious flavor and tenderness. Select a well-marbled cut of meat. The fat will keep the brisket moist and add flavor.

Sources:

• National Beef Burger Day. (n.d.). National Day Calendar. Retrieved May 28, 2025, from https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-beef-burger-day-may-28
• National Flip Flop Day. (n.d.). National Day Calendar. Retrieved May 28, 2025, from https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-flip-flop-day-first-wednesday-after-memorial-day
• National Brisket Day. (n.d.). National Day Calendar. Retrieved May 28, 2025, from https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-brisket-day-may-28

Boxcars	Flatcars	Hoppers
CSX boxcars come in lengths of 50′, 60′, and 86′ and heights labelled “standard,” “hi-roof,” and “auto.” The 50’ standard boxcar fleet can carry from 70-100 tons. They carry a range of products, including rolled paper, pulp, newsprint, metals, building materials, appliances, food products, or any bagged and palletized material.	CSX flatcars provide an open platform that offer flexibility that no other freight car can provide. They come in several lengths and configurations, ranging from general purpose to very specialized designs to move extremely large and heavy shipments — from transformers to tractors. There are “general purpose,” “bulkhead,” and “centerbeam” flatcars.	CSX hopper cars are freight cars designed to transport bulk materials like coal, ore, chemicals, cement, and grain. They have a unique funnel-shaped bottom outlet with doors that can be opened to discharge the cargo, often using gravity or pneumatic pressure. There are 2 main hopper varieties: covered and open-topped.

Sources:

CSX Corporation. (n.d.). CSX Railroad Equipment. CSX. Retrieved May 22, 2025, from https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers/resources/equipment/railroad-equipment/

Google Search. (n.d.). seaboard+station+raleigh+train+depot. Retrieved May 22, 2025 from https://www.google.com/search?q=seaboard+station+raleigh+train+depot&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1013US1013&oq=seaboard+station+raleigh+train+depot&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCDg4ODFqMGo3qAIAsAIA

High school graduation	College graduation	Started @ IBM
50 freaking years ago, on May 25th and marching to Pomp and Circumstance, I graduated from Lejeune High School on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. I wouldn’t be attending our 50th reunion in July even if I wasn’t going to be on a riverboat cruising from Budapest to Regensburg.	45 years ago, on May 9th, I received my undergraduate degree from East Carolina University in Mathematics with a Computer Science Option. Computers were so new then, there wasn’t yet a separate Computer Science major. I immediately moved to Raleigh to begin my 42-year career working mostly for technology companies.	I remember it so clearly. That May 19th morning 45 years ago, when I turned off the Research Triangle Park‘s Alexander Boulevard and into the IBM entrance thinking. “I have arrived.” Never in a million years did I think that I’d work for such a prestigious (at the time) company.

Oak Island lunch	Raleigh cookout	Front-porch happy hour
We took Mary Lou on the 2-hour trip from Raleigh to Oak Island to join other NC family members at Shagger Jacks for lunch. Our party of 10 enjoyed some good food, shared lots of family memories, and made a few more. We visited 2 aunts’ houses before heading back.	It was a gathering of Mary Lou’s first cousins, along with John’s sister and brother-in-law at our house for a littlenecks with Portuguese rolls appetizer and grilled chicken thighs for dinner — along with a cheeseball, celery, and carrots, broccoli salad, macaroni salad, chocolate chip walnut cookies and fresh strawberries desserts.	We had a front-porch happy hour with Mary Lou and 11 friends and neighbors, and we cheered on the Pelagic Run Club runners as they ran by our house. Once they’d all passed, we moved to the back deck to continue the conversations, snacking, and drinking until about 8:30 PM.

The three coffins	The inner coffin	The green pope
The traditional, three-nested papal coffins comprise: The inner cypress coffin, symbolizing humility, holds the pope’s body and personal items. The middle coffin, made of lead, preserves the body and secures important documents. And the outer coffin, crafted of elm or oak, ensures durability, symbolizes strength and honors the pope’s dignity.	The inner coffin traditionally includes coins minted during the pope’s reign and a rogito – a history of his key acts – written on parchment paper and placed in a brass or metal tube. Also included: a death certificate and other symbolic items — including his miter, pastoral staff, broken ring, and rosary.	The carbon footprint of the traditional three papal coffins varies depending on the materials and manufacturing processes involved. However, Pope Francis’s choice of a single, zinc-lined wooden coffin significantly reduces the environmental impact compared to the traditional triple-coffined system. The zinc lining replaces the three-coffins’ cypress, lead, and elm protection.

Sources:

1. Kennedy, L. (2925, April 24). Why are popes traditionally buried in three coffins? HISTORY.
2. Miller, S., Hjelmgaard, K., & Santucci, J. (2025, April 26). Pope Francis’ final farewell: A huge funeral, a humble burial. Live updates. USA TODAY.

 

It’s complicated	Paper	E-book
Whether it’s better to read books in print or on a device is complicated, because of the complex interplay of the resources involved across the entire lifecycle of a published work: how books and devices are made and shipped, what energy they use to run, if they can be recycled.	Traditional print publishing comes with a high carbon footprint. It’s the world’s third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, and 32 million trees are felled each year in the U.S. to make paper for books. Then there’s the printing and shipping — to say nothing of the many unsold books that are destroyed.	Digital reading seemingly has a considerable eco-advantage over print by saving trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, companies that make e-readers such as Amazon, which sells the market-leading Kindle e-reader, offer recycling programs for old devices, helping save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a 2-year period.

Source: Veltman, C. (2024, May 25). What’s better for the climate: A paper book, or an e-reader? NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/25/1252930557/book-e-reader-kindle-climate

 

Fireplaces	Convertibles	Wind chimes
The theory: It’ll be so lovely sitting around it, with the flickering flames and the crackling sound — so romantic and relaxing. The reality: Somebody’s ass will be getting up every 30 or so minutes to stoke that fucker, or it’ll die out or worse yet, start smoking up the house.	The theory: With the sun on our skin and the breeze on our faces, we’ll be one with nature. People will notice and envy us — like we’re rockstars. The reality: I can’t hear you and this damn wind is messing up my hair even with the extra-hold gel in it.	The theory: The soothing sounds will bring us a sense of calm and peace, and they might bring some good luck and ward off negative energy. The reality: That damn thing is keeping me awake at night, and today we got a complaint from the neighbors that it’s annoying AF.

Open on the sabbath? I went to my library on Sunday to return 2 books in the outside book-return receptacles and was shocked to learn it was open on Sundays! I knew that branch was open on Saturdays, but I had no idea it was open on Sundays, too. Sometimes, it’s the little things.
What’s in a name? Having had 2 beloved cocker spaniels, they have a special place in my heart. From a distance, I saw a store sign that said, “Village Spanials,” and missing the misspelling, I thought, “What??? There’s an oddly specific pet store here now?” Closer, it turned out to be “Village Spa Nails.”
Who knew from a wine bar? The restaurant that last July opened in the former location of Cafe Carolina, billed as a “wine bar,” has never caught my attention since I don’t drink wine. But today, the name Postino, certainly did grab my attention, since we recently ate at one in Scottsdale, Arizona and loved it.

Gay trash	Asian literature	African American picture book
Notes of Unspoken Words is a gay romance novel. The description of it had 2 acronyms in it that I had to look up — MMM and HEA. This is only the 2nd gay romance novel I’ve ever read — the other one being of the oddly specific genre gay Amish romance.	Greek Lessons is classified as Asian literature about a student who has lost her voice connecting with a teacher who is losing his sight. The book won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, and it was named Best Book of 2023 by both Time magazine and The New Yorker magazine.	Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: Dressmaker and Poet, Myra Viola Wilds is a beautifully illustrated picture book about the titular African American poet. After losing her eyesight due to overwork as a dressmaker — who made gorgeous hand-stitched gowns — she hand-wrote the culturally important poetry collection, Thoughts of Idle Hours.

2015	2020	2025
The theme of the event was “Eat Local Chili,” Bob named his entry, “Bob’s Beanless Batch,” and he won 3rd place vegetarian even though there was turkey in it — oops! (A judging snafu.) I don’t like beans, so he made the bold choice to make and enter one without them.	The theme was “Passport to Chili,” Bob named his entry, “PORCH-uguese Chili,” and he won 3rd place in the meat category. The name of his chili was inspired by the fact that the entries in crockpots are placed on tables on the Watkins’ wraparound porch, and me being half Portuguese.	The theme was “Dune: The Spice Must Flow,” Bob named his entry, “Howya Dune?” and he won 3rd place in the meat category. The name was inspired by the fact that Bob is Irish, “Howya” is how the Irish say, “How are you?” and “Dune” is intimating the word “doing?”

See short blog entry about this year’s win, which includes Bob’s medals and a haiku he wrote about winning.

What do I not need?	What is not wrong?	What do I not understand?
Here are the top-4 things I do not need, with the one I do not need the most first. 1) To ever relocate — love our house. 2) A retirement job — not bored, don’t need extra cash. 3) Another food to like — like plenty. 4) More age-related aches and pains — sucks.	Things in my life that are not wrong include: 1) My choice of a mate. 2) The relief from back pain I’ve enjoyed for a year-and-a-half. 3) The number of friends I have. 4) The result of “planning for retirement.” 5) The number of vacations I take in a year.	There are so many things: 1) Why men discard chewing gum in urinals. 2) What the draw is of violence and chase scenes in movies. 3) Our U.S. tax code. 4) How the proof for “1+1=2” can be 300 pages long.2 5) How a stationary car’s wheels can still turn.

Sources:

• ¹Mason, S. (2023, May 18). 15 questions to ponder. University of Arkansas. Retrieved March 4, 2025, from https://walton.uark.edu/insights/posts/15-questions-to-ponder.php
• ²Frater, J., & Frater, J. (2024, July 1). 10 simple things that are deceptively complex. Listverse. https://listverse.com/2014/05/14/10-simple-things-that-are-deceptively-complex/

We have these 3 movie posters hanging in our dining room, with a meal-times theme to them.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s	Naked Lunch	Dinner at Eight
This 1961 movie’s claim to fame is Mickey Rooney’s beyond-cringeworthy portrayal of “Mr. Yunioshi,” which catapults it to the top of “movies that didn’t age well” lists. I read the book, by Truman Capote, and I was stunned that they could make a 2-hour movie out of a 179-page book.	I refer to this 1981 movie as “the weirdest f*cking movie I’ve ever seen.” William S. Borroughs, who wrote the book it’s based on, said people’s opinion about the book included: “Disgusting!” “Pornographic, un-American trash!” “Unpublishable!” He adds: “So Hollywood, in all its wisdom, made it into a movie.”	This classic 1933 movie had a tagline that stated: “MORE STARS THAN HAVE EVER BEEN IN ANY PICTURE BEFORE. The biggest film sensation in 10 years!” The trailer describes a gentleman “who has outlived everything but his vanity,” and a lady “who would sacrifice everything to give a society dinner.”

Sources:

• Naked Lunch (1991) Drama, mystery. (1992, April 24). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102511/
• Dinner at Eight (1933) Drama. (1934, January 12). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023948/

St. Lidwina	Wilgefortis (a quasi saint)	St. Isadore
The patron saint of chronic illnesses and ice-skaters. Ice skating at 15, she broke a rib and sustained a head injury leading to the progressive paralysis of her entire body, and putting her into a deep depression. After a life-long battle with illness, she died at the age of 53.	The patron saint of facial hair and gender-fluid people. She grew a beard to make herself repulsive to a king she was being forced to marry — and took a vow of virginity. Enraged, her father crucified her. She’s considered a “folk saint,” especially by women seeking to escape abusive husbands.	The patron saint of students, computer users, computer technicians, programmers, and the Internet. Isadore’s knowledge of encyclopedias morphed into the internet, seen as the modern encyclopedia of universal knowledge. I can only imagine the conflicting emotions of becoming a saint only to be assigned to the I.T. helpdesk for eternity.

Source: Engelbrecht, M. (2024, August 7). Catholicism: The 10 most Unusual Patron Saints. The•Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/unusual-patron-saints/

Flotsam	Jetsam	Lagan & derelict
Flotsam describes debris that floats on the water that often comes from a shipwreck or accident. It may be claimed only by its original owner. A finder may hold it for salvage. If the owner does not claim the goods within a reasonable time, they then belong to the finder.	Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew in distress, most often to lighten a vessel’s load. Jetsam may be claimed as the property of whomever discovers it. If the jetsam is valuable, the discoverer may collect the proceeds received through the sale of the salvaged objects.	Cargo left behind intentionally — usually with a buoy attached — to be recovered at a later point is called “lagan,” while anything that sinks to the bottom of the ocean without any plans for recovery is described as “derelict.” These categories, along with flotsam and jetsam, are covered by maritime law.

Sources:
What are flotsam and jetsam?
What’s the Difference Between Flotsam and Jetsam?

Before	During	After
I had very-visible metal braces in 1986 when I was 29 years old. 35 years later, on September 30, 2021, I got new-fangled, Invisalign® braces to re-straighten my teeth. Recommended by a friend, I got them at Zaytoun Orthodontics, and the estimated time to complete my treatment was 6 months.	Being the overachiever that I am, I finished in 4 months. I swear that the biggest contributor to that was using bite sticks many times a day (instead of just the recommended 3 times), because it was a satisfying substitute for biting my fingernails, which I could no longer do.	I got retainers on February 3, 2022, which I’ve now been wearing for 3 years. I’ve only forgotten to wear them 3 nights (unsurprisingly, each after a night of drinking) over those 3 years, and I’ve never once done the proverbial accidentally tossing of them into a McDonald’s trash can.