Patrons Give a Vermont Store a Gift: Help - to Keep it Open! (Video!)

 There are many ways you can give someone a Christmas present- Not just something bought and wrapped, but your Time, attention, or care.It can be about helping a friend move during the holidays, or asking someone over for dinner who has nowhere to go. It can be donating time, food or money to an animal shelter (Side note - Do NOT give pets as gifts -they're not things- they're children who need continual care and love). Here's a great story about a community of people who gave their TIME to help keep a local business open - a place that is the center of their community...

Loyal patrons signed up for shifts at a General Store to keep their local landmark in business 

 By Rosemary Ford , Boston GlobeDecember 7, 2021

One general store in Vermont has found a creative solution to the labor shortage.

Dan & Whits in Norwich, like many small businesses throughout New England, was having trouble finding help, according to Vermont Public Radio.

Long lines became a regular occurrence at the store, which had been in owner Dan Fraser’s family for three generations.

It got so bad, Fraser told The Valley News, that he missed a beer delivery because he was tied up at the register “with 20 people in line” and couldn’t pay for the beverages. Vermont law requires alcohol deliveries to be paid by check upon delivery.

“The delivery guy said he was sorry but his hands were tied,” Fraser told the paper. The driver drove away with the beer.

Fraser was worried he might have to close down due to the lack of help. He was devasted, as were his regular customers. Instead of giving Fraser their sympathy, they decide to pitch in, according to CBS News.

Local residents from all walks of life — a doctor, a teacher, a psychology professor, and a therapist, to name a few — signed up for shifts to keep the store open, according to CBS.

Most of the new hires are donating their salaries to local charities, according to the network.

When asked why she stepped in to help, employee Dianne Miller told CBS that it was “because Dan & Whit’s is the heartbeat of this community.”

“That general store is the heart of this community,” Betsy Maislen told Vermont Public Radio. “It’s like a beehive. And all the bees are going in and out all the time. You need something? You can just pop into Dan and Whit’s. They have everything.”

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/zmzOseoKNEE

Christmas Miracle and Hope for Parents of Missing Pets: Jacquie's Story

 During the week of Thanksgiving, our friend Jacquie in Massachusetts received a "Christmas Miracle" with the return of her beloved cat. Jeannie went missing on June 5. She was found 5 months and 6 days later, and fortunately, not too far from home. Jacquie agreed to share this story for other parents whose pets have escaped their homes and are missing. There is always hope.

Here's Jacquie's story: 

"I got a Christmas miracle!  Jeannie is home after 5 months in the wilds of Humarock!  I am ecstatic.  Thrilled beyond belief.  

A woman who lives about a half mile from my house, saw her for the FIRST time on Sunday morning (Nov. 21) sitting in her back yard near the ashes of her dog, Mia, who died several weeks ago.  She took a picture, posted in on the Humarock facebook page. Karen H., a member of the group, called me to tell me about it.  I raced down and spent hours Sunday (Nov. 21) searching for her.  I put out a Have A Heart trap with tuna in it.  No luck overnight Sunday.  

I went back there after work yesterday (Nov. 22) and put some little pieces of tuna and salmon in the cage after more unsuccessful searching.  Last night at 5:30P, Leslie, the woman who took the picture, called to tell me Jeannie was in the trap!  OHMYGOD!  

Jeannie is bigger, but skinny and rather stinky from her adventures, but she's home and safe!  YEAH!"

The day after Jeannie was home, Jacquie said, "She is so happy to be home and I am happier to have her back!  She hasn't left my side; she slept with me all night long and follows me wherever I go!"

HOLIDAY WORDS and Tyler Teaches you how to use Apostrophes

As we approach Christmas, here are a couple of tips on the meanings and  and use of some holiday words, courtesy of the Associated Press. Also, if you've struggled with the use of possessives in language, you'll get a refresher from Tyler. Possessives always show ownership... like Tyler's toys (they belong to Tyler) and not "Tylers Toys," which is grammatically incorrect.  

Write about the holidays in style Whether you're writing about Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, solstice or other festivities, the Associated Press Stylebook can help you.

Advent Period including the four Sundays preceding Christmas.

Christmas tree Lowercase tree and other seasonal terms with Christmas:  card, wreath, carol, etc. Exception: National Christmas  Tree in Washington.

dressing, stuffing Dressing is cooked outside of the bird; stuffing is cooked inside. Use of the terms also varies regionally in the U.S., with one preferred over the other in some places regardless of how it's prepared.

menorah The seven-branch candelabrum from the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Also the popular term for the nine-branch candelabrum, or hanukkiah, used on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. TYLER TEACHES YOU HOW TO USE APOSTROPHES CORRECTLY:                                  (Photo: Tyler's toys)

Possessives Apostrophes are most commonly used in possessives. They’re also used in contractions and other times when letters are deleted. Never use an apostrophe to make a word plural. 

Don’t write this: Happy Holiday’s from the Whitman’s. The holidays and the Whitmans are plural. They are not possessive. 

If you feel an urge for possession, try this: Happy Holidays from the Whitmans’ hearts. Combining an apostrophe with other punctuation hurts the eyes and the head, so try to avoid it. 

But if necessary: Pretend that the apostrophe is part of the word. Then punctuate as you would with any word. For example: The best tree was at the Newvines’. If it’s a direct quote, it becomes: “The best tree was at the Newvines’.” Better to rephrase: The Newvines had the best tree. But never: The Newvine’s had the best tree.

Today is the Winter Solstice - Here's what it Means

Today, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice.   The winter solstice occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. Today we'll explore it. 

{Caption: How Earth's axial tilt and the sun work to create the December solstice, which marks the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Shayanne Gal/Business Insider)

The winter solstice is also called the hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice. 

Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days and six hours and rotates once a day on a tilted axis.

That tilt is about 23.45 degrees (for now), and it bathes different parts of the world with various intensities of light over the course of a year. Meanwhile, Earth's rotation keeps the sun's heat even, sort of like a 7,917-mile-wide rotisserie chicken made of rock and a little water.

When the sun reaches its maximum distance north or south of the celestial equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the day of the summer solstice (about June 21, marking the beginning of summer) is the time of the sun's maximum elevation and, thus, has the longest period of sunlight; winter solstice (about Dec. 21, marking the beginning of winter) is the time of the sun's minimum elevation and, thus, has the shortest period of sunlight.

Here's a brilliant video explanation from the BBC News in England: https://youtu.be/Xt-5GWexHIA

BBC NEWS: Reindeer: The truth behind everyone’s favorite Christmas animal

 BBC News recently interviewed a Reindeer caretaker in England, and here's the interview and the video to get you in the Christmas spirit. The Wildlife Park is in Herne Bay, located far to the southeast of London, England, and just north of Canterbury. 

(Photo: Sally Holt, reindeer caretaker in England. Credit: BBC News) 

 Reindeer: The truth behind everyone’s favorite Christmas animal

BBC NEWS 12-7-21

The reindeer is our favorite Christmas animal - but how much that we hear about it in festive stories is true?

Well, despite what Hollywood says - they don't like carrots, and only the female reindeer have antlers during the winter months. Males drop their antlers in the fall. 

But Sally Holt, who has looked after reindeer for seven years, says we can learn a lot from the animal if we look beyond the myths.

"They are quite inspiring," said Sally, who works at Wildwood, an animal park near Canterbury, Kent.

"You feel protected by them. They are herd animals that look after each other, and you do feel part of that when you go into the enclosure."

Video Journalist: Stuart Maisner

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

Here's another story from Kent Online about the same park that welcomed new Reindeer in 2020: 

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/lockdown-babies-welcomed-at-wildlife-park-226340/

NEW VIDEO: Rob & 3 Christmas Ghosts on Journey Through the Gate Paranormal Portal

 Here's the latest video interview with Rob Gutro on the Journey Through the Gate Paranormal Portal Podcast! Host Sysco Murdoch and Rob talk about the 3 ghosts of Christmas past, Rob encountered at the Ford's Theatre. You'll learn some history meet some interesting ghosts, and hear about 2 spirits (whom crossed over) and how they communicated with the living during Christmastime. Join Rob Gutro and Sysco Murdoch for some Christmas ghost Tales, Some "Pet Tails", and a bit about Lincoln and Fords Theater! 

Video:

https://youtu.be/Og80SUJgfLU

The Chapter with this story can be found in Rob Gutro's book "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" available on Amazon.com  

Great Holiday Mystery: Bells, Spells and Murders by Carol J Perry (Witch City Mysteries)

 I recently enjoyed a book in one of my all-time favorite mystery series - the Witch City Mysteries. Witch City is Salem, Massachusetts - home of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. As a Massachusetts native, I've been there several times and am quite familiar with it, which added more interest for me. The book "Bells, Spells and Murders" by Carol J. Perry was another fantastic story in the series.  The author really gets you hooked with the colorful main characters of Lee, a reporter for WICH-TV and her police boyfriend Pete, Lee's aunt Ibby, and Lee's intuitive cat, O'Ryan. Lee also has the ability to see things in shiny surfaces - things that usually mean something in the mysteries she tries to solve. 

   This mystery has several surprises and keeps you guessing until the end. It takes place during the week before Christmas, so the holiday provides a background for the story. Another great mystery in the Witch City Mystery series -and I can't wait to read the rest of them!

 

HERE ARE THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES IN ORDER (and Click highlighted titles for links to my reviews of the ones I read- they are all 5 of 5 stars)

Caught Dead Handed     (2014)  **READ IT 

Tails, You Lose   (2015)  

Look Both Ways (2015)  **READ IT  

Murder Go Round    (2017)    **READ IT!   

Grave Errors       (2017)  **READ IT - 

It Takes a Coven               (2018)  

Bells, Spells, and Murders            (2018)   **READ IT!   

Final Exam          (2019)  

Late Checkout   (2019)  

Murder, Take Two           (2020)   **READ IT  

See Something  (2021)  

It's Firefighter Friday! New Mexico Firemen Rescue Deer on Frozen Lake

 Fridays are a tribute to firefighters on this blog (and social media) and today highlights a great rescue story that happened earlier this week in New Mexico on a frozen lake when a deer in distress was rescued. Here's the story.

New Mexico Firemen Rescue Deer on Frozen Lake

Dec. 12, 2021  Angel Fire NM Fire Dept.

On Dec. 12, 2021 Firefighters pulled a deer to safety after he became stuck on a frozen lake in New Mexico. Angel Fire Fire Department shared footage of rescue swimmer Jarred Johnson carefully army crawl across the lake to reach the stranded deer.   Eli Olson was on backup.   

After securing a rope around the deer’s leg, the two are gently pulled to safety across the ice. The fire department said: “A deer had wandered onto the partially frozen lake, fell and was not able to get up.“ The deer was successfully rescued, brought to land and given time to rest before releasing it, unharmed.”   Special thanks to NM Game & Fish and Angel Fire PD for their assistance. 

SHORT VIDEO: Firefighters rescue deer stranded inside frozen New Mexico lake

https://youtu.be/EhfNU7x86eU

NEW RESEARCH: 1 in 100 COVID patients may have brain complications

 Anyone that understands what a deadly disease COVID19 really is has taken precautions and the vaccine (unless medically unfeasible). Doctors already know there are Long-Haulers - that is, people who contract COVID and still feel so lethargic and hazy they can't function AND some have organ damage and breathing issues a year later. Now, researchers have confirmed that 1 in 100 people who are infected with COVID may have brain complications in addition to LUNG and HEART and other organ damage. **Do the unvaccinated REALLY want to risk these things?    

  As an aside, citing political and even religious exemptions is simply stupid. This isn't about a religion or politics -it's about the health of the world. Get vaccinated and stop being selfish and ignorant of science. 

Here's the new research from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia (and below is a link to another journal paper about neurological complications from COVID: 

(Research Source for graphic: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12028-020-00978-4)

 1 in 100 COVID patients may have brain complications 

Medical and Life Sciences News, Dec. 2, 2021

The largest multi-institutional international study to date on brain complications of COVID-19 has found that approximately one in 100 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 will likely develop complications of the central nervous system. These can include stroke, hemorrhage, and other potentially fatal complications. The study is being presented tomorrow at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).Dr. Faro initiated the study after discovering that existing literature on central nervous system complications in hospitalized COVID-19 infected patients was based on a relatively small number of cases.

To derive a more complete picture, he and his colleagues analyzed nearly 40,000 cases of hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients from seven U.S. and four western European university hospitals. The patients had been admitted between September 2019 and June 2020. Their average age was 66 years old, and there were twice as many men as women.

The most common cause of admission was confusion and altered mental status, followed by fever. Many of the patients had comorbidities like hypertension, cardiac disease and diabetes.

There were 442 acute neuroimaging findings that were most likely associated with the viral infection. The overall incidence of central nervous system complications in this large patient group was 1.2%.

"Of all the inpatients who had imaging such as MRI or a CT scan of brain, the exam was positive approximately 10% of the time," Dr. Faro said. "The incidence of 1.2% means that a little more than one in 100 patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 are going to have a brain problem of some sort."

The most common complication was ischemic stroke, with an incidence of 6.2%, followed by intracranial hemorrhage (3.72%) and encephalitis (0.47%), an inflammation of the brain.

The researchers also discovered a small percentage of unusual findings, such as acute disseminating encephalomyelitis, an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, a syndrome that mimics many of the symptoms of a stroke.

"It is important to know an accurate incidence of all the major central nervous system complications," Dr. Faro said. "There should probably be a low threshold to order brain imaging for patients with COVID-19."

Source:

Radiological Society of North America

RESEARCH PAPER #2: 

Neurological Implications of COVID-19 Infections

• Edward J. Needham, 
• Sherry H.-Y. Chou, 
• Alasdair J. Coles & 
• David K. Menon 

Neurocritical Care volume 32, pages667–671 (2020) 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12028-020-00978-4

Christmas Tree Shopping Fun with Dave

 Earlier this month we met our friend Dave for lunch and went Christmas tree shopping for him. Since we have a pick-up truck, it makes it easier to transport. This is a photo blog of our adventures in the tree lot! 

(Photo: Dave, Tom and Rob in the Christmas tree shop. Cr: RG)

(Photo: Dave standing among the wreaths. Cr: RG)

(Photo: Dave and Rob. Cr: RG)

(Photo: Tom and Rob picking out a wreath. Cr: RG)

Ancient Columbian Mammoth tusk found during deep-sea expedition!

 When you're exploring the ocean, you wouldn't expect to find the remains of a Columbian Mammoth, but that's what one group of researchers found off the coast of California! In today's blog you'll read about the finding, and learn about Columbian Mammoths.   

 Randy Prickett (left) pilots MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts while Senior Scientist Steven Haddock (right) documents the mammoth tusk before beginning the retrieval operation. Image: Darrin Schultz © 2021 MBARI Researchers recover ancient mammoth tusk during deep-sea expedition

Researchers recover ancient Columbian mammoth tusk during deep-sea expedition

Nov. 29, 2021 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Instiute

For more than three decades, MBARI has been exploring the deep waters off the coast of central California. During an expedition aboard the R/V Western Flyer in 2019, ROV pilot Randy Prickett and scientist Steven Haddock made a peculiar observation.

While exploring a seamount located 300 kilometers (185 miles) offshore of California and 3,070 meters (10,000 feet) deep, the team spotted what looked like an elephant’s tusk. Only able to collect a small piece at the time, MBARI returned in July 2021 to retrieve the complete specimen. Now, Haddock and researchers from the Paleogenomics Lab, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan (U-M) are examining the tusk.

The researchers have confirmed that the tusk—about one meter (just over three feet) in length—is from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The cold, high-pressure environment of the deep sea uniquely preserved the tusk, giving researchers the opportunity to study it in greater detail. Computed tomography (CT) scans will reveal the full three-dimensional internal structure of the tusk and more information about the animal’s history, such as its age. “You start to ‘expect the unexpected’ when exploring the deep sea, but I’m still stunned that we came upon the ancient tusk of a mammoth,” said Haddock. 

“This specimen’s deep-sea preservational environment is different from almost anything we have seen elsewhere,” said University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher, who specializes in the study of mammoths and mastodons. “Other mammoths have been retrieved from the ocean, but generally not from depths of more than a few tens of meters.” 

The team believes it could be the oldest well-preserved mammoth tusk recovered from this region of North America. The UCSC Geochronology Lab  analyzed radioisotopes that showed the tusk is much more than 100,000 years old. “Our age estimate on the tusk is largely based on the natural radioactive decay of certain uranium and thorium isotopes imparted to the tusk from the ocean. If the tusk had been found on land, deciphering its history would not be as straightforward.

(Illustration of Columbian Mammoths. Credit: National Park Service). 

WHO WERE THE COLUMBIA MAMMOTHS?  - The U.S. National Park Service provided a great summary of the Columbian Mammoths. 

The Columbian Mammoth was so tall a person would need to stand on the second floor of a building to touch its head, and weighed the same as five cars stacked on top of each other. It also boasted large tusks that could easy extend the width of two bicycles laid end to end. Unlike its cousin the Woolly Mammoth. The Columbian Mammoth did not have much fur. North America was generally warmer than the Woolly Mammoth’s homeland of Eurasia.

The Columbian mammoth did share some similarities with modern elephants. They may have lived in herds like elephants, as some fossil sites suggest. Based on our knowledge of elephants, the Columbian mammoth might have lived up to 65 years. Both mammoths and elephants also share similar ridged teeth, good for chewing plants. These teeth grew in sets, with new teeth replacing old ones as the animal aged. These ridged teeth were used to grind grasses, brush, trees, and woody plants. Like modern elephants, mammoths would have had to eat a lot of this food each day to fuel their large bodies. Columbian mammoths most likely spent most of their day eating hundreds of pounds of food.

The large appetite of mammoths drew them to the grasslands and abundance of green and lush vegetation.  The Columbian mammoth went extinct between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago.

FULL STORY OF THE DISCOVERY: https://www.mbari.org/mammoth-tusk-discovery/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

 

Fun Iceland Tourism Video: Who needs the metaverse when you can have the Icelandverse.

  If you haven't been to Iceland, this clever new tourism video may inspire you while it pokes fun at facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. The video is brilliantly done and gives some cool highlights about why you should visit Iceland! (It's on our list). Enjoy! 

Who needs the Facebook metaverse when you can have the Icelandverse. Facebook — sorry, Meta — CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his company is building an immersive world where you can hang out with friends, collaborate on work, and take in the splendor of your surroundings. If only we could be in that world now!

Oh, wait, we can — it’s the real world all around us. That's the latest roast that’s been expertly levied at Zuckerberg and his fantasy vision for the metaverse by none other than an Iceland tourism and business board called Inspired by Iceland. Yep, Iceland. The group posted a video Thursday featuring Zuckerberg's equally weird and robotic Icelandic alter-ego, Zack Mossbergsson.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/enMwwQy_noI