SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
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Exploring Hendricks County
By Jackie Horn
The Republican
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.
Thursday, March 11, 2021
ASK MR. TRAFFIC By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
A Girl’s Year Interrupted By Elshadai Aberra
“Weather” or Not I looked out at the snow piling up outside my window and tried to recall what the winter forecast had been back in the fall. Was it supposed to be a colder than normal, snowy winter or mild and dry? Were the Woolly Bear caterpillars extra dark this year? Did the oak trees hold on to their leaves? Were the corn husks and onion skins thicker than usual? Since Biblical times (and before), people used proverbs to predict the coming weather patterns: “He answered and said unto them, when it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red….” (Matt 16:2-3). A lot of people pooh-pooh weather proverbs as superstition, but it turns out several of our sayings have some scientific basis. Several adages deal with animals and their behaviors prior to a change in weather conditions. Scientists know animals are more sensitive to changes in barometric pressure and humidity than humans and may react accordingly. Cattle feel the drop in pressure and lay down on the side of a hill. Before meteorologists were around to tell us a storm was coming, our ancestors would notice that when the cows lay down, it rains. The next time the cattle decided to lounge on the side of a hill, they were “predicting” a coming storm. A few other sayings that have scientific support include: “If the goose honks high, fair weather. If the goose honks low, foul weather.” High barometric pressure indicates clear weather; low barometric pressure means rain and storms. Geese fly where the air density is best: higher in the sky when the pressure is high; lower when the pressure is low. “When the ass begins to bray, surely rain will come that day.” Lower air pressure makes animals more active or irritable. Donkeys bray; dogs bark; even some humans feel grumpy when the pressure drops. (I know several folks who complain of headaches or achy joints when bad weather is coming.) “If spiders are many and spinning their webs, the spell will soon be very dry.” Spiders’ webs absorb water, making them heavier and more apt to break. If it’s going to be wet, spiders stay in their hidey-hole and wait until the humidity is lower, then they spin webs. Plant conditions were another means of “seeing” humidity and barometric pressure changes and “forecasting” weather trends. “When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.” The reasoning behind this adage has something to do with dew points and heat escaping and dispersing. I couldn’t quite understand the scientific explanation well enough to clearly explain it to someone else, but dewy grass is a sign of good weather. The jury is still out on the proverb, “Leaves turn upside down before a rain.” One “expert” said it is because the humidity changes rapidly before a storm, making the leaves limp and allowing the winds preceding the storm to flip them over. Another “expert” says nope, it’s just a breeze blowing them around. I don’t care- if the leaves flip, I’m grabbing an umbrella! My grandmother was full of folk wisdom. A few of her favorite sayings were, “Six weeks after the Goldenrod blooms, expect frost.” It tends to work out that way. Goldenrod usually blooms in mid to late August and we can usually expect frost sometime in October. “The frogs croak three times under ice before Spring arrives.” That means after the frogs start coming out during the first breath of Spring, don’t get too excited. It’s going to be cold at least three more times. If you’ve lived in Indiana for more than a few years, you know that’s true. “If the oak trees don’t lose all their leaves in autumn, it’s going to be a hard winter.” The trees “hold on” to some of their leaves so the squirrels can refurbish their nests mid-winter. It made sense to me. The funny thing is, Science isn’t certain why some trees don’t lose all their leaves. “Weather” or not you believe the old-timers’ adages, you might find yourself watching the cows and leaves a little bit closer from now on. ______________________________________________
COVID-19. I remember it like it was yesterday… waitit was yesterday, and today, and what feels like is lasting forever. A year since March 13, Avon was the first school district in the entire state to close due to COVID and we were told we’d return April 7 after two weeks of e-learning and another two weeks of spring break. They were wrong. Next, we were told that we would return in May after the nationwide lockdown. They were wrong yet again. The second half of my junior then torn away from me, prom and a proper graduation torn away from the Class of 2020. Yes, in the moment it all was disconcerting. I hated attending classes over Zoom, I wish I had went to prom, I wish I could’ve watched my friends graduate, I wish that– the list goes on, not just for me yet for everyone, as COVID, for lack of better terms, sucked. What I wish most of all, however, is that I took the pandemic seriously. I wish everyone took it seriously, or at least as seriously as most of us take it now. Honestly, quarantined life wasn’t so bad, I honestly wouldn’t have minded it lasting longer for a chance at normalcy. Looking back, I remember masks being optional at grocery stories, more people on bikes and runs than I’d ever seen in my life, and families oddly going on walks around the neighborhood together. I remember a multiplex of trends going viral on social media platforms, celebrities ridiculously posting random videos of themselves or collaborations of them singing– it was a different life, a life most complained about due to how foreign it felt. But sometimes foreignness is beneficial and can open one’s eyes to what they need to change. Many, such as myself, discovered the mental illnesses they had kept hidden from themselves and finally sought help, others started exercising more and practicing self-care, most took up new hobbies, some dropped friends from their lives while others gained new ones, and some discovered the significance of sanitization and cleanliness. Yet what everyone seems to ignore, as devastating as it is, is the number of lives that were lost. The lives lost due to our deadly ignorance and defiance of a disease that overpowered us. Not the government, as some would say– yet a virus. If we approached the pandemic the way we’ve learned to approach it now, I’m certain we wouldn’t be where we are today. With 2.56 million dead worldwide and 116 million infected at least once. Or from a simpler standpoint, I wouldn’t be typing this in a booth socially distanced from the one a booth away from me at a Panera, wearing a mask that honestly is not that comfortable. Now, keep in mind that this isn’t me pointing fingers whatsoever (though some people are definitely a little more to blame for COVID’s spread than others). Transparently speaking, I was that idiot that couldn’t keep my mask above my nose at Walmart, the one complaining about having to stay indoors, or crying that I couldn’t get Chick-fil-A whenever I wanted, but I’ve changed now, and I think a lot of us have. Honestly, this is just me wishing that I, along with the rest of the world, had been cognizant enough to take the pandemic more seriously a year ago and not when it was too late. I wish our society had not mindlessly believed that the Corona virus would end in two weeks when it’s now been a year and counting.
A Squirrel About Town By Archy “Of course, the majority of our genetic memory is passed down through our mothers,” Archy said. “The female of most species are generally more observant.” I had asked Archy if squirrels celebrated Women’s History Month. “I remember my several-great grandmother witnessed the arrival of the college in Danville in 1878,” the squirrel continued. “It was quite the event and the squirrels had the best seats in the trees to watch the parade. She remembered the carriage at the head of the caravan carrying the schools’ founder, William French Harper, and a woman of striking appearance and regal bearing.” “CeDora Lieuellen,” I said. “None other,” the squirrel said. “We squirrels admired her independence and intellect. In fact, several of my family moved to the trees at Lieuellen Cottage, as it was called, on North Wayne street to observe her. She did all landscaping herself and put up the first squirrel feeder in town. Wore trousers when she worked, you know. Practicality incarnate. She would have students over for discussions and lessons in rhetoric,” Archy said, calling up the image of the students lounging in the well-kept yard. “She had an interesting theory on teaching history as well. And you should have heard her recite her poetry parodies. We still discuss some of her ideas at the squirrel salon.” I was a bit jealous of Archy’s historical connection to this fascinating woman. “Of course,” he went on, “Many believe that she had an influence on other segments of this town, too. That’s why Danville has the reputation of having highly intellectual squirrels.” If only her influence was still as strong on the present generation of people, I thought to myself. “Who says it isn’t?” Archy replied to my thoughts. ______________________________________________
Should We Care About ‘Space Traffic’ Congestion? Did Grampa Care About ‘Air Traffic’ Congestion? When you hear the word, “traffic,” what emotions are emoted? Do you think of only car traffic? Or air traffic? We better start including space traffic… Last July, three rockets from three different countries launched toward Mars — all within two weeks of each other. This was not a competition (?) but there was a small window of opportunity. Mars and Earth are only on the same side of the Sun every 26 months (I’m talking about earth months). If you miss this window, you will have to wait another two years to launch (i.e., earth years). Apparently, we have to see Mars when we launch. Makes sense — how else would we know where to point the rocket? Space traffic is indeed becoming a concern. Space traffic includes launch vehicles, satellites, space debris, and of course, The International Space Station (TISS). Granted, there is only one space station (1SS) operating at present, but there about a dozen defunct space stations. Most of these disintegrated into a million pieces (an approximation) when they re-entered the atmosphere (now you know what your dog found). Satellites, however, number around 6000! Only about half of these are currently active. But very soon, probably Tuesday, major companies including Amazon and Elon Musk, plan to add more than 50,000 additional satellites (that’s not a typo). This will make it very tricky to get to the moon (or even see the moon). And then there’s space debris (you can probably imagine what that entails)... There’s urgent need to establish ground rules for space traffic. And because ground rules don’t apply to space traffic, we are talking about something that doesn’t exist. Who would ever imagine that “outer space” could get crowded? It wasn’t that long ago we had a similar attitude toward airspace. But planes and jets and drones (and geese) have changed all that. The accelerated growth of the satellite population requires worldwide cooperation. There are valid concerns about satellite collisions. As the number of satellites increase, the potential for collision increase. Creating even more debris which in turn increases the likelihood of more collisions. Some debris remains in orbit and some debris disintegrates in the earth’s atmosphere. And since an orbital collision can occur at speeds up to 30,000 mph — you can understand how debris could result. “Fido, put that down!” _____________________________________________
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