Women's breasts

A new book is out dealing with women's breasts. (Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, by Florence Williams).
A delightful review of this new book may be found here. About six hundred years ago, according to the review, Henri de Mondeville wrote to the King of France, "The reasons why the breasts of women are on the chest, whereas other animals more often have them elsewhere, are of three kinds. First, the chest is a noble, notable and chaste place and thus they can be decently shown. Secondly, warmed by the heart, they return their warmth to it so that this organ strengthens itself. The third reason applies only to big breasts which, by covering the chest, warm, cover and strengthen the stomach".
Also, according to the review, men viewed large breasts as a sign of a desirable woman for breeding. It is not recorded how women over the ages have looked upon that premise as a basis for mating. Also when women started having breast implants they had the last laugh on the men. As George Carlin used to say, "Women are crazy. Men are stupid. And men are stupid because women are crazy."

  

 

 

A dear friend - Dot Ruotolo

I was saddened this morning to read in the local paper of the passing of a dear friend, Dorothy J. Ruotolo, at age 84. Our relationship goes back several decades. In the early sixties my wife and I were attending Mass on a beautiful Sunday morning. Mary was not then a Catholic. She was struggling with the Catholic missal and keeping up with the service when a lady in the pew behind us reached over and pointed in the missal to where the service was and helped Mary stay connected. Later, she told us she had similar problems earlier in her life. Very quickly we learned Dot was also a teacher in the Catholic school and would be the one to introduce our boys to the first grade. We formed a friendship on that Sunday morning and it continued for years. At one point when her son joined the Air Force, I talked to Dot about my eight years in that service and helped to ease her mind that her son had made a great choice. He would go on to a fine career and be honorably retired. Dot also had a daughter who worked at the Naval Supply Systems Command Center where I was the security director. She was a fine young lady and excellent employee. Dot spent many years teaching in Catholic schools and was a friend to thousands of families in North Charleston, Hanahan and Goose Creek. She will be missed by all, including her many students who got a great start on their education in her first grade. She was preceded in death by her husband Michael, a fine gentleman.

Franke Flyer

The FRANKE FLYER arrived in the Trailside lobby on the day after the annual national holiday completely without fanfare.  It just showed up. A copy was hung on the bulletin board (like stockings by the Christmas fire) and extras were laid on the table to be taken at will by any resident.

This is another example of how residents in Franke at Seaside want to know what is happening to whom, where and when. Why being optional. It brings to mind the effort our former neighbor Ned Hogan put forth to get a bulletin board in Trailside (and ultimately in the three apartment houses.) Ned started putting notices on the walls of the elevator, scotch taping such items as came to his attention and needed (in his opinion) to be distributed. There was of course, the usual objection (someone always objects to something) but resistance gave way and this lead to a bulletin board on an easel in the lobby for a couple of weeks. It became a major hit in the Trailside lobby so much so that it was hung on the wall and remains there, although Ned has moved on to his new home somewhere in Texas.

I thought a similar bulletin board in the Burges Center near the in-house community mail rack (not USPS controlled)  would be a good idea. But the one that went up has a lock on it and is used only for “official” notices. My original thought was how can a cottage dweller tell others what is on his or her mind? What if a cottage dweller wants to sell a sofa, buy a used sauce pan, or donate a computer? How would they get the word out? Print flyers and distribute them to every slot in the community mail boxes. Not very cost effective. Would a resident’s bulletin board be tacky?

Sometimes we have to relax and live a little. Instead of fretting about what something might turn into, why not let it happen and see where it goes. If it gets out of control it can be corrected. In all too many ways we are besieged with information and someone’s idea of what is news. All around us there are daily and weekly newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines, newsletters, books, radio and TV, the internet, gossip, and plain old verbal mischief (aka:BS). The information age is upon us ad infinitum. All of this is information coming down on us. It is not information going up or among us. It does not satisfy the un-yielding urge, the passion if you will, to communicate among each other.  

Long live the FRANKE FLYER. May it flourish and one day takes its rightful place alongside the printing press, the computer and the wagging tongue.