Tag Archives: Illinois

Storm: May 8-10

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A suddenly flaky internet connection was the first sign. Usually this means a thunderstorm is on the way, or else someone has cut my ISP’s fiber cable again. I looked at a weather map, and saw that a very strong storm was brewing across southern Missouri and southern Illinois. But I couldn’t have guessed just how bad of a storm it would be.

Moments later a weather alert email appeared, saying there was a tornado watch in effect. I heard rain and thunder, and a little later my lights flickered and went out. The wind was picking up, so I went to a window to see what was happening.

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One Choice Vote

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A couple years ago I registered to vote; however, on the day of the election there was some kind of crisis at work, and I was not able to participate. So this year was the first that I participated in the U.S. election process.

Here in Thompsonville, the line was very short. I think I had one person standing in front of me, and then I had a few minutes of waiting before a voting booth was cleared. It was educational in a small but significant way. The first thing I realized is that I had absolutely no opinion about 80-90% of the candidates, either personally or in terms of their platforms (I’m including all positions, including local government). I voted on a few people that I had some opinion of, but mostly stuck to laws and propositions.

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Chiggers

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Last Sabbath, August 30, I went hiking at a place my friends and I have been to many times. On this visit, however, we did something we don’t usually do, and went for a walk around the lake. The weeds were kind of high along parts of the trail. What I didn’t realize until later was that I had picked up some hitchhikers: chiggers.

Unfortunately, chiggers are nearly microscopic, and chigger bites only appear after the damage is done. By then the chigger has already packed up and said goodbye. After feeding, chiggers drop off and turn into harmless adults. Sometimes extra chiggers may tag along, hiding in your shoes, socks, carpet, bedding, etc., and come out for dinner later. For this reason, if you’ve been in chigger country, it’s a good idea to take a shower and put your clothes in the wash after you get home. (If you’ve had a bad experience with chiggers in the past, you may be tempted to burn your clothes.) Using insect repellent works well at keeping them off.

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