The Hammer Will Fall

The weather here continues to be marvelous, warm and un-January like.  The digital sign on the bank in downtown Alma today said the temperature at 3:00 PM was 71 degrees.  Now, I think that's a little higher than it really was, but it was at least 65 or thereabouts.  I'd like to know where the measuring device for the bank is located.  If the thermometer is in the sun it's going to give a higher reading than the true temperature.  We have one more day of this and then Mother Nature drops the hammer.  Friday, the high will be 31 degrees with clouds in the morning and rain then snow in the afternoon.  And so it will be through Tuesday, with each day promising snow.  We could really use the moisture.  By a week from today, though, things will start to warm up again.  

Okay, last post I asked  if anyone out there could identify the singer who changed her name from Mary Isabella Catherine Bernadette O'Brien.  That's a mouthful for a name and we all liked her better as Dusty Springfield, one of the all time greats.  I have had her "Dusty In Memphis" album for decades, first on LP and now on CD.  I also acquired an album that contained several songs she recorded in the 60s and 70s but which were not released until five years after her passing.  One of the best is her cover of Carol King's "You've Got A Friend".  Outstanding.  We lost her to breast cancer in 1999, and the world of music has been a little emptier ever since.  For next time, let's see how many of you can identify the actor who was born Thomas Mapother IV.  You can email me if you think you know it, or you can click on the "comments" link at the bottom of today's blog entry.

Nebraska has changed a law it passed that contained a glitch that caused the state to get nationwide notice.  Like most states, the legislature passed a "sanctuary" law intended to allow unwanted newborns to be taken to a hospital and dropped off, no questions asked, no names taken.  It is certainly better than finding dead newborns in dumpsters.  That was the intent of the law.  In writing it, however, the legislators neglected to put an age limit for the child involved and people begain dropping off unmanageable teenagers, saying, "OK, Nebraska, he/she is your problem now."  The writers of the law also neglected to limit its applicability to residents of this state, so one lady drove up from Atlanta, GA, and dropped off her 11 year old son who she said she simply could not handle any more.  All of this made national news and the law was recently corrected on both counts:  children involved must be residents of Nebraska and can be no more than 30 days old.    It has also brought to the state's attention the fact a great many parents are at their wits end when it comes to dealing with their kids, so the state government is holding conferences and hearings to try to develop solutions for the problem.  It is probably more than this state can solve.  It's a national issue with tons of contributing factors, but it's nice to know that the problem is being recognized as affecting everyone:  The more these kids wind up in the state systems, the more it costs everyone in every state, and the answers always start in the home.