Well hon, here we are in the Dog Days and it’s really been that. Whilst I don’t think this is the hottest summer we’ve had in a dog’s age (pun intended), it certainly is the most humid. Effen my mem’ry is correct, we’ve had humidity for the better part o’ two months. I’m surprised mushrooms ain’t growing in my potted plants – or anywhere else for that matter.
By the time yew git this missive, the kiddies will be back in stir, plying their way through books or ebooks or whatever they’re using these days. And the big question is not how things are gonna start, but how they’re gonna finish.
The Wag happened to be talking to a few magisterial types – that means teachers – and they are concerned about the year not only cuz of the variants that seem to be around, but how systems are gonna react to them. With the CDC’s guidance about mask and their effectiveness all over the lot – the most recent kind’ve blows the whole mask argument out of the water – and the need for quarantines and things, “normal” might mean classrooms at 80 percent or more.
It’ll be interestin’ to see that’s for sure. Still, around these parts the local schools were ahead of the curve having in-person classes last year before most – and five days a week.
Speakin’ of that, effen yew’ve been near the high school lately, it looks like part of the old B wing is gonna be razed. Preliminary work is being done, and it seems to be disappearin’ piece by piece. I still ain’t sure how the whole this is supposed to look I thought the idea of a thoid floor was verboten, but it seems some of the old building is being used. That means thoid floors. I guess things change as they develop the plans or sumthin.
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Speakin’ of that, Nelly Nuthatch was by t’other afternoon and sez that the woid on the street is work on Beach Street is gonna commence sometime in October. As I’ve been tellin’ yew the area jest in front o’ the old Chick’s has been chewed away by the tides to the pernt that it’s almost as bad as it was after 2012, when we had a couple o’ bad storms.
As yew remember, the plan is raise the roadbed seven feet to make sure flooding doesn’t happen, particularly in that stretch where the water chews up the beaches more than in other parts along the street. A dune was constructed about 20 or so years ago to keep the sand from blowing across the street, but the flooding isshew wasn’t addressed until it became a matter of concern.
I kin still remember the exposed sewer and drainpipes over there after Hurricane Sandy. It was quite something. But now, the kopecks have been appropriated for the projeck and things are supposed to commence when the leaves turn to gold.
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And whilst we’re on the subjeck o’ hurricanes, wow! Was Tropical Storm Henri, nee Hurricane Henri, a big blowhard or what? After all the panic buying, and all the Chicken Little hype on the boob tube, the storm was not a much of a much.
In fack, all day Cobina was ensconced in her domicile, waiting for the thing to really get worse, and it didn’t. I guess we should be thankful, and there certainly was flooding elsewhere. But, it seems like effen it continues this way – and betwixt snowstorms that don’t develop and hurricanes that don’t build up, people are gonna stop listening to the forecasters.
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Meanwhile, Sammy Bluejay came to tea t’other afternoon and sez that this weekend things are really gonna end with a bang, not a whimper. Of course, the “bang” is gonna be the fireworks display that was moved from July 3 to this weekend to cap off the Centennial Celebration. Things are gonna be hopping down at the shore, and you can read all about it in the other pages of this papyrus.
But the thing that caught Cobina’s eye, and was amplified by Sammy is that some type o’ raffle is takin’ place and the winner, who was announced last weekend – we don’t know at this writing who it is – will get to light the first rocket of the display. Effen yore into that sorta stuff I guess it’s a big thrill. We shall see.
Still, it’s hard to believe it’s already Labor Day, and the summer which we look forward to all year is now mostly behind us. Things will get back to whatever normal is nowadays and with school open and vacations mostly done, things will start winding down on one end and ramping up on t’other. There’s still a few walks and a festival or two on the horizon, so things won’t end cold turkey.
The Mystick Maidens of the Marsh are set to perch themselves on the Cove River to look at the fireworks and have a bang-up time during the weekend. It should be a “hot time.” Again, pun intended.
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Whilst all that is going on, it’s hard to believe the primary in the Democratic and Republican Parties is set to go off in about 10 days from the time this papyrus hits the streets. And Sammy made the commint that this is one o’ the dullest primary seasons he’s ever seen.
Of course, he came up with an interestin’ take. He seems to think the Rossi campaign was primed and ready to blast Ed O’Brien and leave John Lewis somewhere on the edges. When O’Brien (tactically) determined to eschew the primary, that kind o’ put the campaign strategists in disadvantage. How do you attack someone who just happened to work for the former O’Brien administration, but really had no ostensible decision-making power.
Soooo, things are very, very quiet. Heroner seems to be running a bit of a rose garden campaign, and Lewis, frum what Sammy tells me, is running a shoe-leather campaign – he’s doin’ lots a walking and door knocking.
How this all turns out is anyone’s guess. But Sammy came up with a good observation. Primaries are generally not big-number events in terms of voters. Effen Sept. 14 turns out to be as hot as it’s been in the last couple o’ weeks, those numbers could go south. That means a whole lotta “unexpected” could go on that day.
Somethin’ tells all the campaigns are thinkin’ that way.
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On the GOP side, things are also somewhat quiet, though Cobina is hearing some rumblings amongst the faithful of both sides. Chicanery is alleged, but not a lotta hard evidence seems forthcoming. Still, it’s been Cobina’s experience that effen chicanery is alleged, it’s probably happening and in spades.
Who knows? We do know that Barry Lee Cohen and Steven Mullins are not the best o’ friends, and both are rather single-minded individuals. Whoever wins on primary day has to wonder effen they will be able to lasso in the opponent’s voters for the general election. Whilst the Demmies are famous for coming together after a primary, it seems not to be a practice of the minority party. We shall see.
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Jest a thought: with all the concern over Covid, Cobina wonders effen the elephant in the room is not being noticed. Dontcha remember two years ago when West Nile Virus was the talk o’ the news. It caused people to stay in at night, kids’ games to be moved to daytime, and generally caused a bit o’ mayhem in people’s lives. Same thing happened last year, but people were in fer another reason. Wonder what’s gonna happen this year?
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,