Voices

We offer Voices as a place to share a story, a memory, an idea, a comment, a criticism, or a solution. Contributors must include name, address & phone number. We look forward to hearing your voice.

Exploring Hendricks County

By Jackie Horn

“Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent”

Every year about now, I hate winter. I’m tired of the cold. I’m sick of the gloomy, dismal, gray days. I’m ready for Spring. When I was a kid, I loved winter! What happened? What changed?

A few years ago I figured it out. When we were young, we PLAYED in winter. We were outside just as much in January as in July. Kids went skating, sledding, and built snowmen. Even if there wasn’t snow, we still were outside on the playground or running with friends in the neighborhood. As adults, we shovel snow, scrape ice off windshields, and dig cars out of drifts. Heavy coats are required and shoes get wet. We don’t stride confidently; we trudge or walk like penguins. Snow, ice, and cold are work, not fun.

I decided if I was going to continue living in Indiana, I had to make peace with winter. I had to find joy in the season. I had to make winter fun again. I wanted to see something besides dirty snow piles beside the road. I wanted to find beauty. I needed to hear birds. I dressed for the cold, pulled on boots, and hit a nature park. I felt better. I could survive until March...or April...until spring finally arrived.

These days I hike in winter. I’m back to sledding. (I tried ice skating but that ended with a wrenched knee and a brace for six weeks.) Being new to Hendricks County, I needed to find places to go for winter fun.

With the snow a couple of weeks ago, the sledding hill at Hummel Park was quite popular. Fun-seekers slid down on traditional sleds, snowboards, saucer sleds, and even a fullsized air mattress! Some brave and inventive souls challenged the hill, rather unsuccessfully, with plastic storage totes, a canoe, and a kiddie swimming pool. It was very cold but the sun was shining. I didn’t see anyone NOT smiling.

Saturday was bright and sunny and the temperature hit 40 degrees. John, our granddaughter (Ally) and I hiked McCloud Nature Park near North Salem. We made a loop of the Paw Paw, Acorn, Sycamore, Small Mouth, Red Tail, Big Walnut Crossing, Fox, and Coyote trails, roughly two miles. The snow was still relatively fresh and DEEP. It made for a good workout. If you haven’t walked McCloud, the terrain includes steep hills and ravines, flat prairie, creeks and riverbanks as well as developed paths. We met very few people on the trail but could see cross country ski and snowshoe mixed in with deer, squirrel, and raccoon tracks. We saw and heard cardinals, titmice, woodpeckers, and finches. All in all, it was a great time.

I’d like to try cross country skiing...or snowshoeing. I need to do a little more research, maybe find a place to try out the equipment before committing to the expense. Winter is fun, or at least not as awful, again!

NOTE: There’s a name for what so many of us suffer this

time of year: SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression. It’s a real thing! Using a lightbox and taking Vitamin D supplements can help by simulating the benefits of sunlight, but nothing beats the real thing: getting outside. If it’s sunny, turn off the video games and take the kids to the park. Take a walk or bike ride. Feel the sun on your face. For a severe case, please seek medical assistance. Help is available through counseling and medication.

ASK MR. TRAFFIC

By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com

Because We’ve Always Done It That Way

A Dangerous Phrase — Sometimes

Today’s topic is something I have researched for several years (actually, I started yesterday, but, I plan to continue my research for many years — several years). There is an interesting theory about the wheel spacing of a Roman chariot and its impact on today’s railroad rail spacing (TRRRS).

The spacing of today’s railroad rails is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. This seems like a random dimension, right? But think about it, what else pops in your head when you hear 4 feet, 8.5 inches? Write the (obvious) answer here: ___________________.

The story goes something like this: That particular spacing was adopted because that’s what was used in England. But why did the English use that spacing? Well, because the people who built the English railroads used the same spacing as the people who built the English tramways who in turn, reused the tools and jigs from building horse-drawn wagons.

But why did wagons have that particular wheel spacing? Because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts. And these wheel ruts were the result of Roman chariots. And if you were a smart waggoneer, you would construct your wheel spacing to match these existing ruts and avoid risk of wheel damage.

And finally, what was the reason for that particular wheel spacing on chariots? What did you write down in the blank line above? Yep, 4 feet, 8.5 inches is the exact width necessary to accommodate the back end of two horses.

And that’s not all, an interesting reverse-extension of this story is that because this dimension impacts cargo width of all things transported by rail, the design of the space shuttle’s booster rockets was therefore affected. The boosters, built in Utah, were transported (by rail) to the launch site. Think about it — the design of the space shuttle’s booster rockets was perhaps impacted by the width of the back end of two horses.

So, is this true or coincidental? I tried to obtain confirmation by contacting the National Historical Society and asked to speak to Diomedes (one of the few chariot driver names I could recall from the stories my uncle would tell me). The curator claimed Diomedes was “unavailable” and even went so far as to say he was likely “no longer with us.” I received the same answer when I asked for Antilochus. I chuckled to myself, having used the same excuse when receiving calls from people I borrow money from. In any case, let’s agree there is some truth here (like the part about average horse width — measuring horses was, in fact, my Uncle’s occupation — another good reason to stay in school). ______________________________________________

A Bark From the Past: Henry

[Editor’s Note: The Republican’s first four-footed correspondent was Henry, a mixed breed rescue dog, who made observations about small town life from a dog’s point of view.

Hot-diggety-dog! Spring has sprung! It’s getting warmer and things are starting to green up! Some hyacinths are just peeking through the mulch in the beds and a big bunch of crocuses are in full bloom now. They are so neat! It almost makes me wish I could see color!

I just love the spring! It’s like things are coming back to life after their seasonal naps. It’s a fresh start! Woof!

My human was in the yard a while ago, scattering some lime (ground up rock, not the green fruit) where my doggy family and I like to use the bathroom in the winter. He says it will sweeten the soil. I think that what’s there already will sweeten it pretty well!

There have been more humans walking their own dogs past the yard, so I’ve had a chance to speak to some of my friends that I haven’t seen for a while. Everybody is ready for spring! We all agree that this winter was the pits! It was too overcast most of the time. And the snows were kind of sparse and didn’t last too long, not like they used to when

I was a pup! If it’s gonna snow, it oughta SNOW! Not this “melts as it hits the yard” snow, but a real crisp, deep, scrunch-under-your-feet snow! We didn’t get any of that this year!

My human has been saying that he wants to hit the lynx. I can’t imagine him hitting any animal, and I haven’t ever seen a lynx around here. I asked my housemate, Walter the cat, if there were any lynxes in Danville, and he said there may have been a few bobcats, but no lynxes. My human tends to say funny things sometimes, so maybe it doesn’t mean really hitting a lynx, like hitting the sack isn’t really hitting a sack. Oh, well. I know he wants to play golf, too, and I’d rather see him do that than hit the lynx.

Although, I have watched him on the golf course, and I can’t figure out why he enjoys it so much. He just seems to struggle to hit that little ball with those bent sticks, and it seems to me that there have got to be easier ways to get the ball into the hole. Kick it in maybe, or just go up and drop it in. Or better yet, just dig a hole where the ball lands. Oh, well, I guess we all have our own ideas about what’s fun!

I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to being outside more! Fresh air and lying in the sunshine! What could be better than that? Except maybe, lying in the sunshine with Sunshine. Sigh.

Thought for the Day: The days are getting longer now, so don’t waste a minute. You don’t have all that many minutes to begin with.

A Squirrel About Town

By Archy

“Everyone’s a cynic,” Archy said. I wondered if he meant to say “critic” but was quickly corrected.

“It amuses me that so many humans aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about,” he continued. “They relish in perceiving that they’ve been wronged by society. That attitude must be exhausting, don’t you think?”

I had to agree, but tried to defend humanity at the same time. “Still, there are many of us who try to take a more optimistic view,” I said.

The squirrel chuckled. “Pessimists and Pollyannas!” he said. “It’s a wonder you make any progress at all.” I asked whether squirrels had similar attitudes. “We’re raised to be rational,” Archy patiently explained. “We put a little distance between what we see and what we believe. Leave some room for discernment.”

That seemed a good practice, but I wondered if humans could adapt to it.

“When you encounter a cynic, you need to show them there’s another path. They might not follow it the first time, but with more exposure, they might try it just to see where it leads. After all,” he said, “you can lead a human to reason, but you can’t make them think.”

Hendricks CountyMaster Gardener

By Colletta Kosiba

Picking the Vegetables For Your Garden

Seed catalogs offer a wide range of vegetables, from old favorites to new varieties.

Are you wondering what veggies to plant for the family? For 8 days, make of list of what veggies you eat at mealtimes - onions, lettuce, corn, beans tomatoes. Now you know you have a good idea what you need to plant.

Since it is too early to plant…look into the new varieties that are offered. The plant geeks are always working to make veggies better. The “New”-improved” vegetables may be more compact, or disease resistant, or earlier to mature or better tasting.

Here are some I found that sound interesting: from Burpee- local garden centers.

“Tomato, Veranda” limited space? about a foot-high -and-wide sweetest little cherry tomatoes plant on sunny deck, balcony, or patio.

“Tasti-Wee” tomato crack resistance with higher lycopene levels - lots of cherry tomatoes

“Lettuce, Dynamite” 8-10” plants fend off lettuce-enemies: resisting aphids, Lettuce Mosaic Virus and water mold -- sweet flavor

Bragger Cucumber

Lemon Drop Squash

“Cucumber, Bragger”, never-bitter cucumber - sweet, crunchy cukes by the bushel. Easy to grow. Great fresh or pickled.

“Lemon Drop” summer squash - lemon lookalike, exceptional flavor, great sautéed, baked or grilled. *please pick the small, lemon-shaped, creamy-yellow 2½ x 3” fruits at very young stage. Other sources: “Hestia” - dwarf runner bean, compact pintsized runner (pot). flowers edible, mild nutty flavor, from reneesgarden. com

“Abigail” tomato - high yields, rich flavor and meaty texture, disease resistance-taste like heirloom. from johnnyseeds.com Short Description: How about trying something different? Full Description:

“Mono Round Red” Beet - compact plant! “Mono” simply means each seed makes only one plant - try this sweet, earthy-flavor beet, ruby red. Great nutrition in the beet as well as the leaves. Burpee - local garden centers.

“Silky Sweet” Turnip -crispy texture and surprising sweetness makes it a snack. Sow in the garden early. Burpee- local garden centers.

They all sound wonderful and make me want to get my hands in the soil. You do some research and decide whether you will go with the tried and true selections or be adventurous this year.

Mono Round Red Beet

How do you stop moles from digging in your garden? Take away their shovels.

As we approach the anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Renee Bowman of Raising Real Readers offers this column as a glimpse of the of the emotional toll of the teaching side of the pandemic at the one year mark.

Dear March 13th, 2020,

Given how much I’ve thought about you in the last year, I wanted to write you a letter in the hopes that it would be helpful to me. We have some serious catching up to do.

When we were last together, it was the final day that I was an in-person school librarian and the Title I teacher in Danville. I also didn’t know a single person with Covid-19 at that point. Which is probably what made the whole idea of temporarily sending all our students home barely believable. We all thought this idea of “virtual learning” would just be for a few weeks. Surely our little town wouldn’t fall victim to an actual pandemic? Pandemics happen somewhere else, not here, right? Our boys basketball team was well on their way to a possible state championship, we had St. Patrick’s Day decorations up for next week, and Spring Break was just around the corner. Our students were progressing academically. New friendships were continuing to grow. We had our eyes, our ever-watchful teacher eyes, on those children who weren’t flourishing.

And yet, my teacher eyes slowly adjusted to screen life. But as we all know, screen life certainly doesn’t portray real life.

Do you remember when I looked down at my teacher bag and wondered what to carry home with me? I chose a few picture books to read aloud, materials for next week’s small group instruction for my students that needed extra support, and of course, my laptop.

My fingertips adjusted to the wear and tear of click clacking on the keyboard, while my teacher librarian legs became lazy.

Do you remember the looks on the faces of the students? Confused, happy, sad, perplexed, scared, to name a few.

Do you remember the questions the students had? How and when will I return these library books? How will I get the sequel when I’m done with this one?

Do you remember the feeling of unease some students had in the cafeteria?

Drive-thru cafeteria lunch and breakfast options only work when you have a parent with reliable transportation and availability during certain hours in the middle of the day.

Do you remember the extra-long hugs we gave our students, those we feared might not receive another one until we were together again, whenever that might be?

These hugs felt similar to those we usually give on the last day of school, the kind when you use your heart and your arms to hug, hoping your students feel what it’s like to care deeply.

Do you remember the conversation in the library after school? Please say you remember. It’s one of the most important things about your day. Here’s how it went in case it’s slipped your mind.

Miss Anderson, Mrs. Russell, and I plopped down at a table in the library. Lots of sighing. Your day had been heavy and there were too many unanswered questions for chatter. Mrs. Russell said, “This place is too important to remain empty for long.” More sighs.

It’s important that you know what has happened in the year since we last met, March 13, 2020. A lot has changed.

I am no longer the librarian and Title I teacher. After three months of eLearning, with very poor internet at my home in the country, with two children of my own trying to do their school work, I didn’t go back.

There is a new school librarian and Title I teacher. One is a former student of mine, the other one of my best friends.

In the days that passed since you were here, Covid-19 really did come to our town. We never found out if that basketball team could have won the state championship. Many of those budding friendships fizzled without time together on the playground. Much of that academic progress fizzled too, without physical presence in a classroom. People died. People we know died.

Those bewildered looks and questions continued. It’s hard to know what to say to kids when you don’t even know what to say to yourself.

Miss Anderson and I still communicate. She’s young and I like to text her words of encouragement when I know the days are long.

Mrs. Russell, the one that knew how important the library was, who knew that the books needed to be in the hands of children, is no longer with us. Contracting Covid-19 seemed to dramatically speed up her decline.

I finally returned to the library last weekend to help the new librarian catalog all the books that were donated in Mrs. Russell’s honor. It felt as though the space was welcoming me home, as it whispered, again, “This place is too important to be empty.”

I’m working on my school librarian certification now and hope to pursue a doctorate. Before she died, Mrs. Russell told me that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. But some days, I long to be back in that important school library.

My parents are in the middle of the vaccination process. I’m grateful for that. The teachers are still waiting.

So, March 13, 2020, I will write to you again next year. And the year after that. I will continue to process your date and how it changed the trajectory of my life and so many lives since we met. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing the work you taught us, like staying positive, organizing book drives, and honoring those we’ve lost.

Renee Bowman is a former classroom teacher, reading specialist, school librarian and forever learner. She’s mom of two, wife, and one-half of the blog Raising Real Readers. You can connect with her @raisingreal on Twitter and @RaisingRealReaders on Instagram and Facebook. She is proud to call Danville home. ______________________________________________

COVID-19 Memories

Do you remember how you felt when the coronavirus pandemic began a year ago? How did it change your life, for the better and for the worse? We welcome you to share your thoughts and memories through the end of March. Send to The Republican, P.O. Box 149, Danville, IN 46122 or email to betty@TheRepublicanNewspaper.com. Names may be withheld, but must be included.

Our Readers Write

Drive-In Theaters

Since covid, drive-in theatres are becoming more prevalent. It was quite a treat for our children to go to the Clermont Drive, Ind. in the ‘60’and’70’s. We had a station wagon and could put the seats down. They would usually fall asleep while watching the movies. At that time there were two movies. The main reason we took them to the drive-in was because it was a cheap night out for the kids and they could talk and move around without disturbing anyone. We would have them bathed and in pajamas. We took our own food again because drive-in food was too expensive for us. There was playground equipment that they could play on until the movies started. When the Clermont closed several years ago I wanted to go back and see how it had changed. Nothing had changed at all. What a surprise.

Bee Jones Brownsburg ______________________________________________

The Idiom Challenge

Idioms aren’t an American invention. Here are some examples of expressions from other countries:

England: Bob’s your uncle. A phrase to show that something is easy. “Tag along with your teacher for a while, and in a year, Bob’s your uncle.”

Armenian: “Stop ironing my head”. Next time an Armenian is annoying you, just say this and they will understand.

Mongolia: “God bless you and may your mustache grow like brushwood.” You say this to a Mongolian when they sneeze.

German: “Live like a maggot in bacon.” Cleary means living in luxury, but doesn’t sound very appealing.

Dutch: “You can’t pluck feathers off a bald chicken” Pretty self expanatory. Chinese: “Inflate a cow.” This basically means someone is bragging or inflating the truth.

[Got a favorite idiom? Send it to us and we’ll try to “spread the word.” Just email to betty@TheRepublican- Newspaper.com, put in the mail to P.O. Box 149, Danville, IN 46122, or give us a call at 317-745-2777.