tschram

tschram

  • Joined: August 30, 2022
  • Articles: 3879

Celestial Clicking

Old adventurer here often notes annual celestial events during annual rides on our Planet Earth’s own annual merry-go-round rides around its Boss Star. Annual rides and events seem of more noted importance these days as their numbers keep growing ever larger. This week’s event of note is our Autumnal Equinox. This year’s Autumnal Equinox is predicted to occur on Sept. 22 at 8:03 p.m. Central Time when Boss Star seems to pass directly over the Equator, with equal sunshine rays directed to Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Hours of daylight and darkness are almost equal, but not quite due to planetary wobble in flight and atmospheric refraction of Boss Star’s light rays. And we’ve long known since Galileo’s time that Boss Star is not moving around Planet Earth; rather, our home planet is circling its Boss Star and at this time during that circle our Equator passes directly below the center of that Boss Star. This event marks official beginnings of Fall in our Northern Hemisphere and Spring in globe’s Southern half. Here, we’ll see more hours of darkness than light each day until next Spring Equinox occurs in about six months from now in March, 2023. Nearest full moon is labeled “Harvest Moon”; following next full moon is “Hunter’s Moon”, old adventurer’s long-time favorite of the year. There are more such annual celestial events, such as Spring, Summer and Winter recognitions. Christmas, fishing opener, morel mushrooms, deer season, anniversaries and more annual events might also fall into a similar category; however, in one’s late-life chapter they all are like ratchet clicks in cogs on life’s drive-gear wheel. This “Celestial Clicking” could represent steps in one’s journey with no backsliding and a question of how many more clicks are there yet to come? That drive-gear wheel and its ratchet clicks may have been somewhat unrecognized while so many family home and career years circled that Boss Star. Late-life chapter brings “

Beyond Reason: The‘90s

Decades are like snowflakes. They’re white and pointy, and all a little different. Sometimes I think about the 20th century and the decades therein. Nobody knows exactly how many decades were in that century, but it almost seems like there’s one every ten years or so.

Ask a Trooper

ASK A TROOPER Question: I have recently noticed several semi-trucks with lug nuts on their front tires that are pointed and stick out beyond the edge of the cab. I’m concerned that they could cause damage to other vehicles.

Dial 988 for suicide prevention

In observation of September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Minnesota Department of Health officials are reminding Minnesotans that suicide is preventable, recovery is possible, and help is available at any time by calling 988. Earlier this summer, the U.S. rolled out a nationwide three-digit dialing code – 988 – as a way to access suicide prevention and crisis support. Since switching to 988 on July 16, calls to Minnesota’s four call centers have increased 44%. Minnesota has also seen a 173% increase in web chats (since January 2022) and 250% increase in texts to 988. The increase is believed to be in large part because the new 988 dialing option made it easier to remember how to access a trained counselor for suicide support and resources. Minnesota received 33,887 calls, 4,099 chats, and 1,306 texts in 2021.

App not needed

Canada Border Services Agency has announced that starting Oct. 1, travelers will no longer be required to submit health information in the ArriveCAN app, but the app will stay on as an option.

International Falls reports

The International Falls City Council recently heard reports about August activities in city department. Falls Police Chief Mike Kostiuk reported his officers recorded 534 calls for service in August, 99 of which required new case reports. Officers conducted 105 traffic stops, issued 34 citations, and made 21 arrests last month. He noted the department hosted its fifth annual National Night Out with attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels. More than 1,300 meals were served to the record number of attendees.

HISTORY with Mike Hanson

Frank has it tough Chapter 6 In late January of 1913 Frank Geddes wrote his family in Indiana that he was making progress but since last summer he had been short of breath from time to time; he thought he was improving though he admitted he was more chipper on some days than others. Frank was hopeful but also knew that he couldn’t get any more done on his house until he got more money and time to haul some lumber into his homestead but he was typically upbeat and figured he would get it “proved up” by fall and “ then it will count up pretty fast.” Frank’s son George took a snapshot of Frank with their team and a load of poles with his dad holding the reins, but it was George who actually ran the team.

Looking Back

15 years ago With themes of “Celebrate Our Faith” and “Let it Shine,” Faith United Church is celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend. Members and friends of the congregation are gathering for a potluck dinner and program on Saturday and a special worship service and coffee hour today. The Saturday evening program will include history of the current building and stories of the past 40 years submitted by church members. The union of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church created the United Church of Christ in 1957. Ten years later, Bethlehem Congregational Church and Calvary Methodist Church in International Falls joined together to construct a new building on the corner of Fifth Street and Tenth Avenue. Then the two churches dissolved and reformed as Faith United Church, United Church of Christ.

@ Your Library

It is the last day of September and a good time to check in and make sure everyone is doing a bit of reading each and every day. It can be a good way to wind down at the end of the day and ease the eye strain of staring at screens and make going to sleep easier (unless you get caught up in a good story).