GOOD BYE 2918

 On Saturday at 2:30 pm the noises in this house changed dramatically. For the first time in 7 days the only sound was the ball game on TV.  
 Up to 11 persons had been here at one single time, the Ohio four and Pamela plus two visiting dogs had stayed here, the others at a motel.

 The "Oh Hellers" were in full force. At times this over 40-year-old running game had 4 generations of players including a 15-year-old card shark who won her share of games.  I w on several including the last game played; but also came in last several times. That is how the cards fall!!

  Today is the last day of 2018. Politically 2019 currently appears to be worse. Nationally we now have a split Congress with the Democrats now in control of the House. We have a PONTUS who admires dictators and would copy their form of government. State, County and locally we are saddled with entrenched one-party rulers.  Most threatening Is the possibility that on New Year’s Day, Verizon will stop showing all Disney Channels including ABC 7, ESPN because of a contract dispute.

  Let us hope that the New Year will be a healthy and safe one for all; 13 months to # 100.

XMAS EVE DAY

The first day of winter was remarkable as a day of turmoil and disorder not only in DC but even here in Plainfield especially at my house which became a den of chaos. 

The "Oh Hellers"  have descended in force. Although the thermostat is set for 74  which is in  the living room and it is at least 2 to 3 degrees cooler in the back;

as usual the house was "too hot" so all the fans were on. Some non Ohioans were  freezing and asked me to turn the heat up. It is at least easier to put on  more clothes to stay warm than take off enough to be comfortable.

So no blogs for he next 4-5 days  and to ALL 

   

 A MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

A HAPPY  HEALTHY  NEW  YEAR 

A LITTLE BRIGHTNESS

 A depressing weekend; a wet  wet Sunday with lakes in my yard and a swamp next door and both the Jets and Giants loosing.  Perhaps it is time for some humor to start this pre Xmas week.

A NO B LOG

  There has been no blog about the Council meeting that would be a waste of time to attend.

  Besides the 7 Ordinances that will pass without opposition the Council will pass 18 Resolutions by consent. Out of the 6 that have to be voted on individually, 4 are approval of workman compensation settlements.

  Since the on-line agenda did not offer any readable support documents, it is better to remain  snug as a bug in the rug.

 There is so much going on in the world that requires reading and learning including the political problems in Great Britten, France, Germany as well as Africa. In the USA there may be a partial shutdown of the government next week; more about that and Trump’s personal difficulties in the blogs to follow.

ABOUT HANUKKA

Hanukkah which ends at sunset Monday is for everybody not only Jews.

 (not Howie's cat Harry)

This holiday season this year starts with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah which “is a holiday that celebrates the liberation from oppression. It also provides a strong argument in favor of freedom of worship and religion. In spite of the human action that is commemorated, never far from the surface is the theology that the liberation was possible only thanks to the miraculous support of the Divine” (JEWISH LEARNING)

Hanukkah celebrates the Maccabean led 164BC revolt against the Seleucid empire which ruled Jerusalem and had turned the temple into a pagan temple. When the Maccabees recovered the temple, they found only 8 days of oil to relight the Holy Lamp over the Ark. That is why Hanukkah lasts 8 days. (Correction-It was 1 day's oil but burned for 8 days)

However about 70CE   after the Jewish revolt against the Romans there was the destruction of the 2^nd Temple and the exile of the Jews from Jerusalem.

About 90CE a rabbinical “Council of Jamnia” collated the Hebrew Bible for the diaspora Jews who no longer could worship in Jerusalem. The Books of the Maccabees were left out perhaps due to Roman pressure because it represented a successful revolt.

The 2 Books were included in the Septuagint bible written in Greek at a later date for the Alexandria Jews. This Bible became the basis of the Christian Bible's "Old Testament" where the story remains.

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A SAGA

   The lack of any remarks about Tuesday night’s Council meeting suggests that I missed almost nothing. I do agree with Dan that the County’s proposal to move the Watchung Ave/East Front St. B us stop   to the northeast corner is a long overdue positive action. Why has no Council or Administration thought about this in the past?

    I promised that I would tell you about the saga that marked my month of November which was the result of me and my help being physically inability to start the emergency gasoline generator. I was replacing it with a gas generator that automatically kicks in.

   On Nov 8th the electrician while working on the circuit breaker box where the 220 incoming line is reduced to 110 volts for house usage missed a jumper cable that was installed for the old generator with the result that there was a 220 volt power surge. Among the damage was burning out the new LED light fixture in the kitchen. The dish washer and washing machine became inoperable as well as the bases for my wireless house phones including some of the house phone lines.

  The initial worry damage was the power board for my security system which was not replaced until the 18^th-10 days. Their initial response was that a service man would be there 6 days later. A phone call and letter to a CEO result in his coming the next day but they had to order the part.

  To add to my woes two days later (Saturday) the motor to my furnace which had apparently been damaged by the surge burned out. Since it was a weekend the Carrier warehouse was closed, and I had to use space heaters for two days before it was replaced.

  My furnace has a humidifier and when the current went out the pump stopped working so there was water under the carpet in the entry way which is adjacent to the furnace room (my house is on a slab). The carpet had to be pulled up and the parquet reinstalled.

  The delay in replacing the utilities was due to the contractor’s insurance carrier had to check the damage.

  Things seemed to be going fine; the water to the dishwasher was shut off but the valve was old and did not close tight so on the 22^nd eve I noticed a flood from it to the Kitchen floor which necessitated shutting off the house intake valve. Fortunately, 8 am Saturday a new lever valve was installed.

  Everything was up and running 100% by Monday the 26^th but it had been a stressful 2-1/2 weeks.

  The fact that at the same time my printer seemed to have a mind of its own and I had mouse problems was not conducive to posting a blog.  Thank goodness its now December and the holiday season as well as college basketball.