05/26/2016

 The mood is erratic.

 Vacillating between up, way up, agitated, and highly agitated. Not exactly a huge selection but it's what I have to deal with. 

 Wondrous is our great blue ship that sails around the mighty sun and joy to everyone who rides along.

 That was in my head. It's yours now. Enjoy.

 I have a problem with sub-dermal cysts. Have had since age 17. For they most part, they're annoying. But, every once in a while, one will grow out of control. Then I have have to have it removed. I've had a total of 11 surgeries because of them. Most of those were my ear-lobes. I had one removed from the back of my neck and one removed from the side of my neck.

 Anyway, one came up on my belt-line, just below and to the left of my navel. It's been going in cycles. It inflates, breaks, drains, then inflates again. I've been treating it for about six months now and it's becoming more than annoying. I've seen my doctor three times and he insists there's nothing to remove so a surgical consult would be non-productive.

 So, right now, I'm treating the site with iodine then patching it with an anti-bacterial 1x3 band-aid. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic. The thing is a freaking horse-pill. It's about the size of a pinky-finger between the first and second joint. I'm surprised it didn't come with a straw so someone could blow it down my throat.

 I'm taking the pills like a good boy but the are playing merry hell with both my digestive system, and my body temperature regulation. So there's all of those symptoms listed on a Pepto-Bismol bottle. Yippee. This really makes for long nights running to the bathroom.

 I don't know for certain if my actual body temperature is changing but I go from chilled, to comfortable, to soaked in sweat in a matter of minutes. And this is annoying.

 Okay, now I sound like my grandparents. Conversations generally consisted of a lengthy run-down of their last ten visits to the doctor. Usually in graphic detail. So I'll let this go.

 It looks like summer is going to do exactly what winter did.

 Winter consisted of weeks and weeks of mild, even warm, temperatures. Then winter pounced. All in one day. To the tune of 2.5 feet of snow. For the past few weeks the temperatures have been mild, even chilly at night. Today it was in the 90's.

 Nature has been delivering a sound bitch-slapping to us in this part of the country. I'm very glad Nice and Charlie came by to put in my air-conditioners. For a time, I was actually considering just going through the season without them.

 Glad I changed my mind.

 Memorial day is this weekend. Since I work for the government, I'm off on Monday. Your tax dollars at work..or not.

 It appears everyone decided to do whatever traveling they intend to do for the holiday today. Every last car on the planet is coursing through York County as I speak. It took an hour and a half to get home. That trip is usually 25 to 30 minutes.

 And everyone is cranky.

 I think I may have sprained my middle finger while greeting other drivers. I'm not sure why I was bothering with this since people can't see in from the outside. But it made me feel better so I'm okay with it.

 I drive through a lot of farm country between work and here. For the past few weeks, the air has been blessed with the aroma of whatever comes out of a cow's backside. That scent faded and now there are furrows and, if you look closely, you can just see a little sprout of green.

 York County corn season is coming.

 I have a tendency to start drooling when passing farms. Just the thought of biting into a well-buttered, steamed, ear of corn is enough to set me off. I've been all over the world and there's nothing like York County corn.

 It may be something in the soil, or the water, or the air, but whatever it is, it produces the most amazing corn you'll ever eat in your lifetime. I heard that Philly cheese-steaks are unique because of the water used in making the bread. After sampling corn across this country and throughout Europe I can believe something like that.

 This area features roadside produce stands. I stopped by one on the way home because they were advertising fresh asparagus. They also had some early corn. Mostly ears of white corn but they also had some mixed so I grabbed six of them...they're going into the steamer as soon as I'm done with this.

 I know it won't be the same. It's too early in the season. The real corn won't be available until late July but I just couldn't walk away without some. Sweet-corn madness gets into full-swing beginning in August. The grocery stores will have huge cardboard bins with corn that was just picked hours before.

 I might have to throw a few elbows into some other shoppers but I'm more than willing shove my way to the bin. Do not stand between me and the corn.

 Just don't.

 Sweet-corn madness is coming.

 Maybe I'll get a helmet this season.

 Thanks for listening

Tarnation wrote:

What make York County corn so great is that it is picked fresh--usually the very same day that you see it at the roadside stands.

The sugary "stuff" in the kernels begins to turn to starch fairly rapidly after picking.   6 hours old and it is still very good; twelve is pushing it, by the next day there is some sweetness left and after that it is pig food.

Very freshly picked corn can be cut from the cob and deep ffrozen immediately; and it will retain the sugar flavor for years.

Way back in the day I had a patch of sweet corn about thirty feet from the kitchen door.   The pot would be started just before picking and by the time the husking was done the water was boiling.  It doesn't get any better than that.

A drool-inducing post indeed  
 

Okay.  

It was firm but tender.  

Sweet but not quite as sweet as the real-deal.

A good panacea for a hardcore corn junkie.

Last edited by Conspiracy Theory (5/26/2016 7:28 pm)

05/31/2016 Addendum

 The mood is calm.

 Something else got stuck in my head so here it is.

 One of my supervisors in Florida had a habit of mentioning during group meetings that we were lucky to have jobs. I found this insulting. And short-sighted. And annoying.

 Luck had nothing to do with it.

 I have the job I have now because, like all of my colleagues, I busted my ass to get here. I went to school, studied, worked a variety of crappy part-time jobs, spent two years working for the most vile company on the planet, tested against hundreds of other people trying for the same job, got through the interview, and work hard to stay here.

 There's no luck about it.

 I see people every day who didn't do any of these things and I see how their lives are working out and I'm thankful that I had someone who loved me enough to push me to succeed. It was work. A lot of work. And long days. And even longer nights. It was exhaustion and struggle and a lot of misery. It was mac and cheese and Ramen noodles when there was time to cook and some off-brand hotdogs when there wasn't. It was stretching five bucks until my next payday. It was rent and electric over food and sleep.

 Luck?

 I don't think so.

 Thanks for listening.

Was that the place right where the turn-off is for Camp Betty Washington Road?

That would be on the left, just past the intersection, if you're headed in the direction of Red Lion?