16 January 2010 Positively not fourth street

16 January 2010 Positively not fourth street


This is the third day of 40-50 °F temperatures and quite a lot of our yard is still snow or ice covered. The steep narrow nature of our valley means we get limited sunlight. Combine that with the extensive shaded areas created by the trees that surround us and we are a pocket of higher altitude snow cover brought down and dropped off as a reminder of what lies above and perhaps ahead.

I’ve brought more wood up onto the back deck in preparation for rain tonight and tomorrow. Nearly all the remaining wood is under tarps held down by large pieces of firewood. The pieces used to weight the tarps are still snow and ice crusted, too wet and too cold to bring inside. The back deck is nearly free of ice today for the first time since New Years’ Day.

We’re going into Jonesborough tonight to be gate keepers at the contra dance. Gloria’s back hurts too much to dance so she signed us up to sit and take money. We get to hear the music and she gets to remain somewhat active in the local dance community. She’ll also make use of the evening to socialize, important to her well-being.

I’m far more of a bunker rat than she could ever be. I’ve lived in bunkers, above and below ground when necessary, slept in a rack that was essentially an Army Std. Litter placed into an armored coffin, sort of like the bunks in naval vessels but with less creature comfort. I’m not a full troglodyte, just enough of one that I don’t start feeling the effects of cabin or valley fever nearly as fast as most people.

I’ll drive us in tonight. We’ll eat at The Dining Room then show up for duty. I suspect that I may get to do a bit of reading once the dance is underway. I’ll take one or two of my text books along and use what time the dance allows getting further into my reading.

I spend time yesterday discussing my impressions of my new classmates based upon sight and sound but no verbal contact. What I did not discuss was where I fit in the cross section of students I partially defined.

The history students seemed to me to be more urban in origin, more likely from middle class families. The CSI students collectively sound more rural or small town in origin. I suspect that they are more of lower economic class in origin.

I grew up in a house hold with two working parents, in a family that had rural roots but had largely left them behind to seek education and employment in urban areas. The base culture in the home was middle class urban. My siblings and I had no reason to believe that we would be handed a college education. It was made quite clear to us that we would need to find scholarships in order to obtain a degree. We were expected to perform at high academic levels, C grades being unacceptable. We all found jobs in order to earn spending money. I began working in a clinical lab at age 14, cleaning glassware, mixing reagents, disposing of specimens, and wrangling the frogs used for pregnancy testing. I also cleaned houses for people after school, worked at a scout camp, and threw newspapers. My siblings followed that pattern. If we lost or broke something we had to replace it or go without. We grew up with middle class work ethics. We also learned to cook, do laundry, iron laundry, and keep a house somewhat free of debris. We were not handed cars at age 16.

I went to class yesterday carrying a North Face backpack designed to carry and protect a notebook computer, hold books, clothing, water, and electronics. I also wore a fleece jacket but the logo/label, “Marmot” was not readily visible. I did not drop my pack at any time, did not throw my jacket on the floor, and did not walk into class carrying bottled or canned soft drinks.

I tend not to buy clothing or equipment from WalMart. Over the years I’ve noticed that much of what they carry is poorly made and barely lasts a year with careful use. I may spend twice as much for a pair of pants or jacket but I’ll still be wearing them five years down the road. The same rational applies to my choice in packs, fishing tackle, just about anything else. We get what we pay for in this life. I’d rather not buy inferior quality items that will need replacement rapidly and which come with no warrantee. My North Face pack, my Marmot jacket, my LL Bean clothing are built to last and the companies will replace anything defective for as long as the item is recognizable.

So where does that put me on the scale?

I don’t listen to country music, don’t drink cheap beer, and don’t go to country bars. Nor do I go to hip-hop or metal bars. If I drink at all I drink good beer or single malt Scotch. I don’t drink unless I know I won’t be driving. I don’t enjoy being drunk or being around drunken people. I don’t mind having a quiet drink and discussion or just sipping on something and watching the sunset. But I can watch the sunset, discuss something, or listen to music without any ethanol. I don’t buy soft drinks, ever. I don’t regard flip-flops as shoes.

I’m not in the middle. I’m probably closer in origin and work ethic to the CSI group, probably closer in interests and culture to the history group, or may be once they grow up a bit more.

There’s this to consider. All my previous observations and the assumptions made from them may be completely incorrect. I’ll update this as I find out more about them and me.