NOSTRADAMUS PREDICTS SUPERSTORM SANDY'S EFFECTS This is one of the quatrains of Nostradamus, the French prophet of the 1500's, in its English translation. "The garden of the World near the New City, in the road of the hollow mountains. It will be seized and plunged in the tank, forced to drink water poisoned with sulfer." New Jersey is nicknamed "The Garden State". "The New City" is a recognized code word for New York City used by Nostradamus. "...the road of the hollow mountains" sounds like a street running through skyscrapers, as a man 450 years ago might try to describe with the words he knew. "It will be seized and plunged into the tank" speaks of massive flooding. "(It will be) forced to drink water poisoned with sulfer" sounds like the tunnels, the subways, the basements and the streets poured full and covered with the polluted water forced on them by Superstorm Sandy. The original quatrain was in French and ran thus--- Century X X.XLIX Jardin du monde ax pres cite neufue, Dans le chemin des montaignes cauees, Sera faifi & plonge dans la Cuuee, Beuuant par force eaux foulfe enuenimees. The above quote is from "The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus" by Erika Cheetham. Published by Perigee Books, a division of Putnam Publishing Group, NY, NY. Copyright 1989. Did Nostradamus predict Superstorm Sandy's massive damage of New York City and New Jersey nearly 450 years ago? What do you think?

Puhl's Rules For Traveling

While traveling in Europe the summer of 2008, I devised a short list of rules for traveling. They are the following:

Where you can---sit.

When you can---pee.

What you can---drink.

Who you can---like.

How you can---enjoy.

What to call your Ex

I got divorced a couple of years ago and I have finally figured out what to do when refering to my ex-husband, before, during and after the marriage. Before we got engaged, he was my boyfriend. Then my fiance'. After the wedding it is husband. After the divorce it is ex-husband. But what do I call him when I am refering to a happening during the marriage and I am speaking after the divorce? Husband doen't sound right because now he's not. To say that I went somewhere in 1992 with my ex-husband and his family sounds awkward. Former husband is also an awkward term for me. First husband sounds like I am calling on a reserve of men lined up. I am not. I just want something that could refer to my spouse during the time we were together without sounding like we are very angry at each other or are still together. Husband-that-was comes close but can be confusing to outsiders. It also sounds like maybe he died. I have decided to refer to him as then-husband. "I went with my then-husband and his family to the Black Hills." Understand, I don't talk about him all the time, frequently, a lot or often. I just want to be able to refer to him on occasion. And now that I have figured out how to do it, I'll probably never refer to him again.

Travel and the Reclusive

I haven't traveled much in the last fifteen years. In my lifetime, I HAVE traveled to Mt. Rushmore,SD, Branson,MO, and Dollywood, TN. Before that I spent a weekend in Toronto, CAN, and made several trips to Chicago,IL, and Madison, WI. Now I am packing for a trip to the United Kingdom to visit London, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Lake District, Endinburgh, and Yorkshire. I am a person who has a hard time making it to family reunions in the same state in which I live. I believe travel is wonderful. People should do more of it and not just to relatives. Facing relatives at the end of your journey may not be enough incentive to pack up the family and the dog and the diabetic supplies and get off your personal duff. When I was a child, the only traveling done was to relatives' homes. Now people respond to advertising, to see world-famous theme resorts and Native Americans in their native habitats. Advertising drawa people out of their Laz-Z-Boys and onto the highways or flyways to witness NY Broadway shows, Las Vegas neon lights and sandy beaches newly-swept for medical refuse. Disappointment is built into every trip. Hotels too far from the beach, shows that don't entertain, unmanagable heat or cold, money draining away like storm water down a street drain, all contribute to the experience. I am very excited about my trip (forty-five years of English Lit preparing me) but I know I will get tired, frustrated, bewildered, and broke. Still I wouldn't miss it for the World. I have to have something to talk about to the other residents of the (future) nursing home.

Rain and its Consequences

It has been overcast, partly-cloudy, and dank, with showers, rainstorms, and downpours for the last ten days around here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we got anything like New England did, with massive flooding and 175-year-old dams standing up against 500-year waters. Or Arizona or any of the other drenched places in the U.S. I'm just saying the upper Midwest was not forgotten. We had a warm winter with rain and sleet and snow, and now it's been a wet spring. There is a house propped up over a dug-out basement in my town and I expect every day to see it melted down into the hole. There are clumps of lilacs weaving arks and wildlife standing in line to board. Birds have taking to wearing water-wings and even the mushrooms shelter under umbrellas. They drained the lake in our local park to compact the soil. Now it's filling up again, naturally, against the wishes of the park board. The town would get a cease-and-desist order but they don't know which fish to hand it to. Entire gardens are too soggy to plant and the Farmer's Market is getting up a petition. Local farmers are checking into just what it takes to grow rice. When the sun does make an appearance the people walk around in shock. First-graders are learning to spell the word "shadow" and high-school seniors are doing term papers on "Sunshine, Myth or Delusion?" I think I see some sunshine now. Quick, somebody get a camera!

Puhl's Rules I

*Never hit a lawyer in a crosswalk. *Never tell a farmer that you are bored. *Time passes quickly. Cheese does not. *You only get one try at life, so be creative. *A book is a mind capsule. *Babies are adorable because they cannot talk. Teenagers are not because they do. *Even a grain of sand casts its own shadow. *Peace never rode into town on a tank. *All crimes can be traced back to the desires of passion, power or pelf. *Maturity is passing up ice cream without regret. *War has no heroes, only survivors. *Happiness is the best revenge. *Good manners will get you into places that stop bad manners at the door.

Ode to a Small Space

Henry David Thoreau wrote in On Walden Pond that a large shipping crate, as one might obtain from the docks, could be altered a little as to become suitable basic housing for one person and would not cost him very much in which to live. Henry didn't follow this thought to the logical end, which would have him acually buying and living in such a place. His thoughts on the experiment after a sharp New England winter would have been worth reading. But I think his basic idea is good. One person does not need a large place to live. (I can see the real estate people gathering their torches and pitchforks as I write.) I will write about one person living in a small space because that is what I am doing. I started out in a small house with three tiny bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen too small to put a dining table for seven, the number of people living there at the time. We moved to a large farmhouse with five bedrooms ( a storeroom was opened up later to serve as a sixth), a living room with 14-foot ceilings, two bathrooms, and a kitchen that could seat 10 without crowding. From there I moved to a number of differently-sized buildings that served as hired-man quarters. Some were two story houses, others half a house, and some the size of a mobile home. The last house I lived in was 1200 sq. ft. and feaured a large kitchen, one bathroom, a living room with a low ceiling, and three bedrooms. I now find myself in a studio apartment (read galley kitchen, 3/4 bath, bed next to the TV) that suits me fine. I discover that I like small spaces. I am older now and live alone, although my daughter is only blocks away. A small apace means that I can clean it within one hour. My storage is limited, so I do not have extra clothing, appliances, furniture, or useless objects cluttering up valuable space. I do have a 5X8 storage unit, so I can pack away books and other things I want to keep. But since I have many books and other things, I must choose just what I will keep and dispose of the rest. I have sold some, but I have discovered the fun in donating things to Goodwill and my local school. A small space means that for my peace of mind, I can't leave coats, dishes, papers, etc. lying about. Thus my place usually looks presentable, should company drop by. A small space is cosy. Problems do not lurk behind doors, because there are no other doors, except the bathroom. A small bathroom means that I keep my toiletries up-to-date and my shelves organized. A small space means everything must be organized, from my cabinet shelves to my personal papers. My space is well-insulated by the connecting units so my rent and utilites are low. I have, besides my storage unit, an assigned parking space for my car and a place to put my lawn chair in the summer and my snow broom in the winter. It is a great thing to know my days of heavy consummerism are over. What need have I for new furniture, dishes, entertainment centers with 64-inch TVs, trendy clothing or shoes? Hurrah for the small, simple life. Try it.