Blue Squill & Striped Squill & Gregg Shorthand Stories (Issue 44)
Spring seems to be early this year!
Blue Squill and Striped Squill
I have a brand new website page for Squill, including both genus that I have owned.
Squill is a name that gives me the heebie jeebies. I do not know why that it. I think it is because it reminds of Squid and although those are amazing in places like the Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium, Springfield (see my video there), in general I could care less to be near such slimey-like creatures. Or maybe it is because Squill sounds like squeal which is unpleasant to my ears. Do you see what I mean? Most words that I think of that start with “squ” are icky to me. Can you think of a good one? If so, let me know in the comments so I might retrain my brain.
Click to YouTube I recorded a video of these tiny flowers in my yard and what I learned. They are SO little and adorable! As always, thanks for watching and liking my videos on YT because it helps me earn a little helpful money. Every action you do on my YT videos, from watching time, to liking, to commenting, and sharing, goes into their algorithm to effect how much I earn.
This photo shows how small they are compared to my index finger. You almost have to get on the ground and get up close to fully appreciate these little things. I did that for you in the video! Ah!
This is the striped Squill that I had in 2020, but is no longer in my yard. It was so lovely, but it was not very showy, so I will probably not buy it again unless it is a brighter color.
Have you seen this image that has been circulating? This indicates the dates of tree leaves first bloom. The website says that Kansas City is 15 days ahead of the norm. I have to agree with this because I have been keeping my journal pages for quite a number of years now documenting when the first bloom of each flower occurs, and this year it is much earlier than the other years. In fact, to me it looks like Spring this year is more like Spring in 2017.
You can click through the index on my flower pages on my website to see these handwritten notes. My handwritten journal is all scanned in and on the website, but as each flower blooms this year, I am going to study about the flower, make a video of the flower while it is blooming to share what I have just learned, and put the video and some of my previous photos from 2002 to present on the page. It is a lot of work, but I am enjoying learning and also looking back through the years and remembering.
If you think about it, we often take so many photos and then never go back to look at them. Why take them then? I feel it is a good use of my time to go back and look at the old photos to give them purpose.
Things are REALLY beginning to bloom right now. So except a lot of new “content,” as it is called as I journal for myself and yet enjoy sharing it with you.
Shorthand Stories
For the “lost and found” photography challenge, I took a not-photo-worthy photo, but rather a theme-worthy photo. Last week I saw on Facebook someone who had an old court record in shorthand asking for it to be transcribed. I wanted to help the person, but it would have been a lot of work for me at this point. I used to be very fluent in reading and writing shorthand, but there is a saying, “if you do not use it, you will loose it.”
This caused me to go to our Retro Room” and pull down the Gregg Shorthand books (and one record) from the 1950’s that were my Aunts and Grandma’s to relearn a little of what was lost. I do not have my books that I learned on. I believe my Aunt took the class in high school, but Grandma used them to learn along with her. I know Grandma Rutledge took lots of minutes for the VFW and VFW Auxiliary and other groups that Grandpa and she were involved in. I do have fond memories of her often sitting at a portable typewriter table typing away. She was always rushing to get a lot of work done. This causes me to reflect that I do the same thing. I am always typing and always have projects to work on.
I joined a Facebook group that is attempting to preserve the history of shorthand. That’s kind of cool! I found I could follow along transcriptions of shorthand writings, but I could not read them without assistance. In other words, I could look at the transcription and see the letters in the shorthand, going back and forth, but I could not read the shorthand by itself. It is not all lost in my brain, but close to it. I wrote on a paper for this challenge “lost and found” and snapped a photo of it. It was not as easy as it used to be!
SHARING SHORTHAND FOR MY SONS - A STORY
When my boys were in elementary school, each parent was required to come to class once during the school year to show or teach something interesting to our child’s fellow classmates. I decided to share shorthand with them. I remember astounding the children when we played a game as I wrote in shorthand on the chalkboard while a student wrote it regularly on paper. I won every time! Even in the late 1990’s children had not seen shorthand. Now in 2024, children are in awe when we write in cursive! Thanks to my friend
for reminding me of that fact.They thought it was fun. Then I gave each child a postcard with their name written on it. Apparently I could still write shorthand well back then, but now I have lost it. If I worked at it, I bet I could find it again.
LEARNING HOW TO ACE A CLASS - A STORY
My other shorthand story is that during college I had a history class where the professor tested all in essay format and if you spit back to him his exact words that he said in class while teaching, you could ace the class. If you thought for yourself and wrote a correct essay in your own words, your grade might be a B instead of an A. Everyone on campus knew that was the case with this professor and it was gossiped about, so when you signed up for the class, you knew to be prepared.
Some people used cassette recorders to try to capture his every word. Of course, the professor would then ban cassette recorders from the class.
I remember looking across the room at my co-students and seeing them sneak in cassette recorders. They would be where co-students could see them, but not the professor. I can visualize one next to the hip on the seat or between the legs as the student felt around for the right button to press it down to start the recording. If your pressed slowly and carefully enough, you might avoid a clicking sound. Oh, but if it did make a clicking sound, the poker face of “it wasn’t me” was displayed all to fully. It was sure worth a silent laugh inside to watch these players play the professor’s game.
Of course, sometimes later there were aggravated expressions when they realized they had hit the wrong button and never recorded. That was always good for a silent chuckle. It was as if the entire student body could be trusted to never reveal your ploy to record the teacher. It was almost as if the entire student body was playing his game together, being determined to win collectively. No one tattled on anyone, but rather secretly gave high praise after class in the hallway should someone have success in getting a recording. Oh, and if you could get that person to share the recording with you, that was even better! Another tactic was for a person to transcribe the recording and sell it, but that did not always go over well and was looked upon negatively.
Me, yep, I wrote down every word the professor said in shorthand. Then the night before a test would quickly memorize it all. I was the only one to ace that class! What a great feeling that was to be the one to win that game!
Soon people would start asking me for a copy of my notes. “Sure,” I would say, “if you can read shorthand.” No one could! There were many a’scoffers marching away from my dorm room door. Oh the frustrated jeers! I was glad to share! I would not have required a fee. Sure, take them. Sorry, not sorry, but I did chuckle at that. Even today it makes me laugh.
Of course, I learned nothing in that class but how to memorize words short term, but I got an A! I never liked history back then anyway. I do like it now. Strange how that works.
Come to think of it, similar to shorthand and cursive writing, young generations now-a-days have no idea what a portable cassette recorder is, how to use them, and why they were used. I remember the first time I got one. In fact, I think I had it a long time, but it eventually broke, or may still have it. I used it all the time. I could listen to my music wherever I went and that was the coolest thing! I could hold it in my hand and go for a run. I used to run during college (a little known fact people do not know about me), but I would only go two miles or so. That thing was big and chunky in my hand, but I did not care one iota as to have the ability to be motivated with the beat of a song, or to be distracted of the strains of running while in action, was the best thing ever. I mean really, like let’s play Rocky and run of the steps of Academic Hall! Before portable cassette recorders, all you had to think about while running was whatever was in your own brain. Now we could forget the world and just listen to the music. What an escape, huh?
I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane as much as I have. Maybe it has sparked some good memories of your own.
Until next time,
Thanks for reading and following me, as always,
Cheryl
I too had (many) classes that I memorized facts for and learned nothing.😅 #schooldaze
...square...squash...squad...
I enjoyed reading about shorthand. I still have a Gregg book, but I don't use it anymore. Sounds like you were an efficient shorthand student.