TIMELESS WORDS: Of the people, by the people, for the people

This week's editing project was a book that was so interesting and well written, I'm actually going to recommend it to you (no, I don't get a commission). "The Gettysburg Address: Perspectives on Lincoln's Greatest Speech," edited by Sean Conant, is a collection of 15 essays about the influences on the 272-word, three-minute speech and the impacts that it has had--and is still having--around the world. I liked the way one of the contributors put it: Before the speech, "the United States" was used as a plural; afterward, it was used as a singular noun.
The Harrisburg newspaper at the time, the Patriot and Union, was unimpressed with the speech at the time, calling it "silly remarks." But 150 years later, the paper offered a retraction: "In the editorial about President Abraham Lincoln's speech delivered Nov. 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, the Patriot & Union failed to recognize its momentous importance, timeless eloquence, and lasting significance. The Patriot-News regrets the error."
And it seems there's no truth to the popular myth that Lincoln composed the speech on the back of an envelope on the train en route to Gettysburg.
The book will be published by the Oxford University Press later this year.
A work of fiction that might also be of interest to the local audience is Lisa Scottoline's new crime novel, "Betrayed," one part of which is set in the Chester County world of mushroom farms and immigrant workers.

VETERANS: Honoring the Greatest Generation

Thank you to a Facebook friend for letting me share this sweet anecdote that she posted:
"Today while driving I ended up next to a man in a car that had an "I was in WWII" sticker on it. He was so very old, so I knew he was a true veteran. I stared at him at a stop light waiting for him to look my way. When he finally did, I couldn't help it: I saluted him. He gave me a salute and a huge smile. Brought tears to my eyes."
I'm sure I would have had the same reaction.

WHAT A WINTER: Arctic, Polar, Siberian, whatever

I don't remember it being this cold since the early 1990s, when the wooden shingles on the roof started creaking, a truly eerie sound in the early morning. The roof has been replaced since then, and it hasn't made any noises yet, but the wooden steps on the back deck almost shriek when you step on them. I'm sure you're hearing the same stories of woe that I am, about frozen pipes and water troughs and dead batteries.
I'm spending the minimum time possible outdoors, for obvious reasons. I even timed a stop at the gas station to coincide with the warmest part of the day, knowing I'd be standing in the Landhope parking lot while pumping my 14 gallons.
On the other hand, my favorite errand-running companion refuses to change his habit of parking as far away as possible in parking lots, no matter how cold and windy it is.
Whenever I suggest that perhaps we could park just a little closer, he wastes no time in pointing out the inconsistency in my thinking: "You go to the gym ten times a week!" Why, yes, that was us, jogging hand-in-gloved-hand across the parking lot at Lowe's against the biting wind. 
But take heart! I saw a snowdrop in bloom in a sheltered part of the garden. Absolutely no signs of the hellebores yet, though. And inside, the amaryllis is finally blooming, and beautifully.

KENNETT Y: There's always something going on at the Y

While getting changed in the Y locker room the other evening, I was listening to some girls chattering about their school day: how a math teacher came up with a clever nickname for her, how there is just no pleasing a certain social studies teacher. The girls were entertainingly frank and spoke vividly and well.
A woman walked by me and from the way she was smiling, I just knew she was thinking exactly the same thing. We caught each other's eyes and simultaneously mouthed, "I love them!"
In other Y news, my friend Vincent won a FitBit device after logging the most minutes in the Y's workout competition: some 6,000 minutes of exercise in 30 days, if you can believe it. He is a regular at the Y, to put it mildly, but he faced some stiff competition from other frequent exercisers. Winning is nothing new to Vincent: he regularly earns multiple blue ribbons for his spectacular vegetables at the Unionville Community Fair.

WISCONSIN: What do animals do in this bitterly cold weather?

Some generous people bring their old magazines to the gym so that others can read them while on working out on the treadmill or elliptical machine. In addition to the usual New Yorkers, Times, Peoples and Economists, the other day I found in the rack a copy of Wisconsin Natural Resources (wrnmag.com). Inside was a timely article about how animals "outfox" winter.
Mammals drink from springs or open water; if they can't find any, they will eat snow. Foxes hunt at night and shelter during the day in burrows they dug before the ground froze. Deer "seek out dense conifers or other shelter" (known as deer yards). Earthworms hole up below the frost line. Insects live "under bark, in the soil or constructed shelters. Ants "construct extensive underground cities which offer protection from the elements" and don't emerge until they sense it's warmer above ground.
The metabolism of some creatures slows to the point that they don't need to eat or breathe very often. For instance, turtles burrow into the substrate and snakes retreat into "crayfish burrows, small mammal burrows, old root channels or rock crevices."
The magazine also had some articles about things human animals do outside in the winter, like exploring ice caves and frozen waterfalls at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which is "about as far north as you can get in the Midwest without bumping into Canada." 

AVONDALE: Winter winds take out the Perkins sign

The towering sign at the Perkins restaurant on Route 41 in Avondale was a casualty of the ferocious winds this past weekend. Broken-off chunks of plastic from the sign were scattered across the field next to the parking lot.

CONFUSION: An unexpected bit of humor while shopping

Leaving the Kennett Walmart yesterday, we had some momentary shuffling to do with the grocery cart and our purchases, and my companion accidentally stepped in front of another shopper. He apologized and said jokingly to her that he often has trouble walking and thinking simultaneously.
Instead of just smiling and walking on, the young woman replied earnestly, "Yes, it's really too much to ask. Especially on a Saturday!"

BELOW FREEZING: The impact was somehow lost in translation

This morning I texted my friend George, who lives on the south coast of England, telling him it was a bitter 4 degrees here with ferocious winds. He was unimpressed, reporting that it was 12 there. Then I reminded him that we Yanks use the Fahrenheit system: 4 degrees F is the equivalent of minus-14 C. That got his attention! He expressed his wonder that anyone can live in our climate.
A pal of mine described the multiple layers of Carhartts she was wearing to do her barn chores in this frigid weather. She was warm, she said, but had considerable trouble moving around.