While skating on thin ice, watch out for gelicide. IWSG, Quotes, Being Thankful

 Warning Political Commentary

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm angry and appalled by the murders committed in Minneapolis. It's quite scary that the victims are being blamed. Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17 year old punk, can bring an AR-15 to a protest, kill two people, wound a third, be acquitted, and be thought of as some kind of hero gun rights activist. It's ok for him, but it's not ok for an ICU nurse, who had a license to carry, to bring a holstered pistol, a pistol that was removed from his person (which he was NOT brandishing) before he was shot dead (executed) in the street.

32 people died while in ICE custody in 2025. There have been at least six deaths in January alone. The medical examiner for Hennepin County has ruled Renee Good's death as a homicide.

How many more deaths by ICE are we going to accept? 

Venezuela update. You know that Russian tanker our pirate navy "captured?" Do you know where they took it? It's off the southern coast of Puerto Rico near the city of Ponce. That puts Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands squarely in the bull's eye should Russia decide to retaliate or recapture the ship. That whole situation is making my family and friends in PR and the VI very nervous.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a weird word or odd phrase. I am also adding a new category for rare or obsolete words that are no longer used but which I think should be brought back.

Today's Odd Phrase is: Skating on thin ice So we had a bit of a deep freeze here in the Texas Hill Country. Got down to 15 degrees. No snow, but we did get a thick coating of ice on all the roads which even shut down Interstate 10. The hills around here make for some treacherous driving. 

All that ice got me to thinking about the phrase, skating on thin ice, which as we all know means to be in a dangerous or precarious situation. There are plenty of origin stories, but I think this phrase could have arisen independently in any place that has a winter where ponds, lakes, or rivers freeze over. 

Dutch ladies on skate around 1914.

One of the oldest usages may be from Confucius when he said, "Be cautious! as when near a deep whirlpool, as though walking on thin ice." But who knows if the translation is true to what he wrote or said.

Although there is evidence the Finns used bones to skate over ice some 4,000 years ago, the invention of "modern day" skates is generally given to the Dutch who, between the 13th and 14th centuries, added edges to their steel blades. The Netherlands has plenty of ponds and canals that freeze over and being a practical people they would have cautioned against skating on thin ice. 

The Oxford English Dictionary says it originated in the US when Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his 1841 essay "Prudence," "In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed." 

No matter what, take care.

Today's Obsolete Word is: Gelicide

I chose this word like I chose the phrase, skating on thin ice, because of the cold weather we had here at the end of January.

There was quite a bit of gelicide and ice. 

Gelicide was, apparently, only around for a short time in the 1600s. It comes for the Latin,  gelicidium. It's a fancy word for frost. 

"The flowers were killed by an early gelicide." 

"There's gelicide on the car's windshield!" 

"She gave him a gelicidal look." I rather like this use of the word.

***

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox!

This month's question is: Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?

I have reread some of my early stuff. I'm more often surprised and pleased than horrified. Sometimes I'm even amazed. I wrote that? 

Quotes of the Month

“We cannot be too cautious, Hannelore. Just because someone knocks on the door doesn't mean you have to open it. Sometimes, sweet girl, there are wolves at the door. 

If we are not careful, they might eat us.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

"Social change occurs when the gap between the ideals that people hold and the reality that they see every day gets too large." 

— Robert Reich

Our world is constantly in change and the great change is always toward freedom. When we speak of freedom we speak of equality. Nations will rise and fall but equality remains the ideal. 

— Carlos P. Romulo

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. 

— John F. Kennedy

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that the January freeze wasn't nearly as bad or as long as the one 2021.

What are you thankful for? Ever reread any of your old writing, what were your thoughts? Have you ever ice skated on a real, in the wild, frozen pond? I did once. My feet got so cold that by the time we "got home" I had to be carried into the house and have my feet soaked in cold water. Quite the experience accompanied by my feet feeling like they were on fire.

When Pigs Fly there will be More Trivia, IWSG, Quote of the Month, Being Thankful

 Happy New Year and all that jazz. 

 WARNING POLITICAL COMMENTARY

It's been stressful for me and my family and all my friends who live in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean. Venezuela is just 500 miles away and the actions taken by the current administration are destabilizing the whole region. I can't even imagine how the people in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao and feeling right now.  This kidnapping of a head of state (doesn't matter if he's a dictator or not) sets a terrible precedence. What's to prevent China from kidnapping the leader of Taiwan? or Putin kidnapping Zelensky? Or France and England joining forces to kidnap Trump?

The one day cancellation of flights into and out of San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Croix was a huge disruption at the height of the high season and caused a lot of problems for all the people who got stranded in the islands. As of this writing a lot people were looking at Friday and Saturday as the soonest they will be able to get back to the states. And that's just on St. Thomas.

It's a mess. It's very scary. It's infuriating. The Caribbean has lived in relative peace and quiet since the end of World War II. But now... it's like the delicately woven fabric of the region is being ripped apart and unraveled by a pair of very clumsy and thoughtless hands.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a weird word or odd phrase. I am also adding a new category for rare or obsolete words that are no longer used but which I think should be brought back.

Today's Odd Phrase and/or Weird Word is: When pigs fly!!

Of course this is in England!

This phrase is older that I thought. It goes back to at least the 1500s. The meaning of the phrase, representing somethings that is highly unlikely, hasn't changed either.

 Back in the 1530s, a Frenchman named Francois Rabelais, wrote a book called Gargantua and Pantagruel. Five volumes! about two giants cavorting about the country side and having adventures. In volume four he describes a flying pig. "From the north, a big, fat gray pig came flying up, with wings as long and wide as those of a windmill..." The phrase has stuck with us since then.

Did you know there is a National When Pigs Fly Day? It is celebrated on September 9th. Put that on your calendar!

Today's Obsolete Word is: Adoxography. This is a new addition to this meandering blog in which I will taking a look at words we don't use anymore but maybe should.

Adoxography was coined in the late 1800s, but has been applied to describe works of literature much older, such as The Praise of Folly (1509) by Erasmus. So, one might assume it means something lofty.

But no.

Put simply, adoxography means to write eloquently, and perhaps at great length, about something trivial. Seems to me there's a great deal of that happening at the moment.

***

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:    Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!

This month's question is: Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025? Yes. I'm waiting on edits for a novel. 

Quotes of the Month

“When pigs fly, dreams take wing.” 

Anonymous

"Peace on earth...when pigs fly."

Anonymous

Being Thankful

Today I'm struggling to find something to be thankful for.

But here goes: I'm thankful to be doing a bit of drawing and painting again.

What are you thankful for? Any writing/creative plans for 2026? What do you think about bringing back adoxography?

IWSG, WARNING: I'm Going to get Political

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Diedre Knight, Lisa Buie Collard , Kim Lajevardi, and JQ Rose!

This month's question is: What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?

I used to do a lot of crafty stuff, but my hands don't like to cooperate like they once did. I still like to color. But for me, now, at this stage, I'm into putting jigsaw puzzles together. I like 1000 piece puzzles, I like them challenging and moderately hard. I post pictures of finished puzzles on my Facebook page.

***

WARNING: I'm going to get political!

I'm writing this post the day before the most important, contentious, and chaotic presidential election I have ever experienced. And, it will be posted the day after, when we may have some idea of who won or who has claimed to win.

Never in my all my political life (and I've been voting a long time now) have I felt so personally fearful for myself about expressing or showing my political choice. I have not been comfortable wearing a button, sporting a bumper sticker, or posting a sign in my yard because I personally know of too many instances when yard signs have been stolen/destroyed, bumper stickers removed or cars vandalized, or people being verbally abused for wearing a button or t-shirt. Make no mistake, I live in a red town in a red state and it is MAGA Republicans who are behaving in this undemocratic and intolerant manner. That this has happened/is happening in this day and age infuriates me and is also very frightening as it is the early warning signs of a deeper sickness that could lead to even worse acts of violence against the perceived "enemy within," which is all of those who disagree.

I have three ancestors who fought in the American Revolution. And, except for the Civil War, people in my family have fought in every major war since then. WWI - my great uncle lied about his age and drove ambulances. WWII - my father, his two brothers and my mother's brother. Korea - my mother's cousin. Vietnam - my floating island of garbage Puerto Rican cousin who has SEVEN Purple Hearts. Desert Storm, another Puerto Rican cousin. These are the military people a certain candidate has disrespected on more than one occasion. 

This election isn't normal. This is about women's rights and whether we will continue to have our independence and control over our own healthcare or whether we will be returned to a state of subjugation and submissiveness. Having grown up knowing a Suffragette, who was in her late teens early 20s when she marched for the right to vote, I know she would be appalled at what is happening. This election is about taking care of our military, it's about minority rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, HUMAN RIGHTS. Even public education is under attack. On the voting issue, I know it's gotten more difficult to vote in my red county, not easier, not just because of Texas's draconian voter registration laws, but because of the reduction in the number of polling places. And the gerrymandering makes it damn near impossible to get a democrat into a state seat let alone into congress so Texas is basically functioning as a one party dictatorship. 

Whatever your political stance, know that your choice will take us in one of two directions, forward or backward. Being from the generation who struggled to give women the right to have a credit card in her own name without a man signing for her, taking out a loan or buying a home in her name, owning a business, and getting safe abortions -- because there will ALWAYS be abortions so we have voted on whether we want them to be safe or not -- it is gut wrenching that we have to go through this all over again. 

A representative democracy such as ours will always be messy and fragile. My hope is, that despite everything, we will find a way to return to being civil towards each other even if we disagree. I personally, do not want to be afraid any more.

Quotes of the Month

Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Winston Churchill

Our children should learn the general framework of their government and then they should know where they come in contact with the government, where it touches their daily lives and where their influence is exerted on the government. It must not be a distant thing, someone else's business, but they must see how every cog in the wheel of a democracy is important and bears its share of responsibility for the smooth running of the entire machine. Eleanor Roosevelt

The freedom to express varying and often opposing ideas is essential to variety of conceptions of democracy. If democracy is viewed as essentially a process – a way in which collective decisions for a society are made – free expression is crucial to the openness of the process and to such characteristics as elections, representation of interests, and the like. Jonathan D. Casper The basis of a democratic state is liberty. Aristotle

Being Thankful

Today, Monday, I am thankful I live in a relatively free country.

Today, Wednesday, will tell me if I still am.

Random Thought Thursday

Today's quote is not a quote, it's a short excerpt from a book by Thomas Cahill called How the Irish Saved Civilization, copyright 1995. Check it out, it's an excellent read. In this particular excerpt Mr. Cahill is summing up the causes for the fall of the Roman Empire, which was long drawn out affair ending with it's final death throws when the Visigoths ransacked Rome on a cold December day in 406 AD.

"There are, no doubt, lessons here for the contemporary reader. The changing character of the native population, brought about through unremarked pressures on porous borders; the creation of an increasingly unwieldy and rigid bureaucracy, whose own survival becomes its overriding goal; the despising of the military and the avoidance of its service by established families, while its offices present unprecedented opportunity for marginal men to whom its ranks had once been closed; the lip service paid to values long dead; the pretense that we still are what we once were; the increasing concentration of the populace into richer and poorer by way of a corrupt tax system, and the desperation that inevitably follows; the aggrandizement of executive power at the expense of  the legislature; ineffectual legislation promulgated with great show; the moral vocation of the man at the top to maintain order at all costs, while growing blind to the cruel dilemmas of ordinary life -- these are all themes with which our world is familiar, nor are they the God-given property of any party or political point of view, even though we often act as if they were. At least the emperor could not heap his economic burdens on posterity by creating long-term public debt, for floating capital had not yet been conceptualized."

If we do not learn from history we are doom repeat it. See how the mighty have fallen.

The Forum in Rome. Photo by Erin Silversmith

Song for the Times - Part Six

This is it, this is The Big Day. And this is my last installment of songs that speak to me regarding our current political situation.

Regardless of the out-come of today’s historic election, let us hope that we…

WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN. by Peter Townshend, preformed by The Who – from their album, The Kids Are All Right, 1979

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Are now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Song for the Times - Part Five

We are rushing inexorably towards Tuesday. I suppose only a huge meteor strike or the caldera of Yellowstone exploding would stop the process. We want so much to believe in the process, to believe in the people running for office.

And so I give you my second to last offering of songs that speak to me.

Reason to Believe – by Tim Hardin off of his first album from 1966 recorded at different times by Scott McKenzie and Rod Stewart

If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

Someone like you makes it hard to live without
somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
never think about myself

If I gave you time to change my mind
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

Someone like you makes it hard to live without
somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
never think about myself

Songs for the Times - Part Four

It’s Halloween.

So for this installment of songs that speak to me regarding our current political state, I thought we should dress up the candidates a bit.

Send in the Clowns – by Steven Sondheim from the musical, A Little Night Music

Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air..
Where are the clowns?

Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move...
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.

Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours.
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines...
No one is there.

Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want...
Sorry, my dear!
And where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer?
Losing my timing this late in my career.
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns...
Well, maybe next year.

(Boo!)

Songs for the Times - Part Three

I keep having this suspicion, as stock markets keep falling, that there are people out there still making money. I suspect corporate honchos because they are kings who lord it over the peons who do the work and I suspect politicians and because they like to give themselves mid-night raises with money we, the peons, send to them for the privilege of working for the honchos. These people, no matter what the financial crisis going on, will continue to live well, have great health care, be able to give their kids a good education and be able to pay their electric bill.

Meanwhile the rest of us will struggle, unless of course, we all become corporate honchos or politicians. Hmmm, what a thing to do.


Baby You’re a Rich Man – by John Lennon and Paul McCartney - The Beatles -Recorded in 1967, it appeared on the U. S. released album Magical Mystery Tour, even though it was originally supposed to be part of The Yellow Submarine soundtrack.

How does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people
Now that you know who you are
What do you want to be
And have you traveled very far
far as the eye can see

How does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people
How often have you been there
Often enough to know
What did you see when you were there
Nothing that doesn't show

Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man, too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag
inside a zoo, what a thing to do
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man, too

How does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people
Tuned to a natural E
happy to be that way
Now that you've found another key
What are you going to play

Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man, too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag
inside a zoo, what a thing to do
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man, too

Songs for the Times - Part Two

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

Lest we forget who will be paying for all these loans and bailouts and buy-ups our wonderful government is planning; lest we forget who will be paying for all the things the presidential canditates are promising...

I am reminded of the following song.

Taxman – by George Harrison - The Beatles
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah,
I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah
I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah,
I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah,
I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

Lest we forget, there is no free lunch. Nothing is free.

Songs for the Times - Part One

I’m not one to get into politics. It’s really nobody’s business what I think (not that anyone would care anyway) or how I might vote.

Last night I listened for about 35-40 minutes to "the debate." I'm convinced. I’ve had it.

So…for the next few posts, until we finally get past November 4th, by which time it will be too late to say “Ooops, I made a mistake,” I am going to share a few songs that seem to be “speaking” to me.

You may interpret them as you wish.

Don’t Make Promises (you can’t keep) – by Tim Hardin on his first album from 1966, recorded at different times by Three Dog Night and Scott McKenzie

Seems the songs we're singing
All about tomorrow,
Tunes of promises that you can't keep.
Every moment bringing
Love I can only borrow,
Telling me lies in your sleep.

Do you think I'm not aware
Of what you're saying
Or why you're saying it?
Is it hard to keep me where
You want me staying? No.
Don't go on betraying.

We had a chance to find it,
The time was now or never,
Promise the things that I need.
Left the things behind it,
Threw our chance away forever
Telling your lies in your sleep
Do you think I'm not aware
Of what you're saying
Or why you're saying it?
Is it hard to keep me where
You want me staying? No, no.
Don't go on betraying.

Don't make promises you can't keep.
Don't make promises you can't keep.
Don't make promises you can't keep.
Tired of hearing 'em.
Tired of hearing 'em.


Feel free to share a song that speaks to you.

Plain Speak

“I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

As we near Election Day on November 4th, we must try to keep things in perspective. I think the above quote does that very eloquently.

This piece of wisdom was lovingly done in counted cross-stitch, framed and presented to my father many years ago by a dear family friend named Eleanor.
She was poking Dad in the ribs. Because he was brilliant in so many areas, he could speak quite knowingly on many subjects. He was most always clear and understandable. If you didn’t understand what he was saying he would take the time to re-explain it until you got it. He was patient in that regard.

Dad could get frustrated with people who were not concise, who spoke as if they knew about something when they didn’t, or who deliberately muddied the waters with verbosity. He liked plain speak. If you said what you meant, if you said it clearly, if you said it honestly, truthfully, you had his respect. It didn’t matter who you were; a man with little education like Old Man Heber Thomas or his good friend, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, he treated all fairly who spoke fairly.

Dad was pretty much all about communicating. If you look at the history of the major jobs and hobbies he had in his life it becomes obvious. He was the SONAR man on subs before World War II, he built RADAR stations during the war, and he was the chief engineer for both a TV and a radio station. He was a ham radio operator, liked reading the dictionary and doing the London Times crossword puzzle in ink.

Let’s read that quote again.

“I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

I haven’t heard a politician yet who didn’t speak just like that.

Say what?