Thanksgiving ghost story

With the heavy snowfall here in western NY so close to Thanksgiving, I'm remembering another snowy Thanksgiving many years ago when I was 6 years old.

We lived in Erie, PA. My mother's cousin, Wilford (whom we called Willie), and his wife, Jenny, drove to Erie from Buffalo for Thanksgiving dinner with us. They planned on staying overnight with other Erie relatives. Willie would not stay in our house after dark because my parents bought the house from an old family friend whose husband, Joe, had died in an upstairs bedroom. Willie was a firm believer in ghosts and haunted houses.

Erie (not Buffalo that time) got hit with a lake effect storm on Thanksgiving day. By the time that Jenny and Willie realized how bad the storm was, they were too close to Erie to turn back. No expressway between Buffalo and Erie then, and no cell phones in those days (1956 - yes I'm that old). They arrived 2 hours late.

By the time we finished dinner, their car was totally buried, visibility was zero, and all streets were completely impassable. They had no choice but to stay overnight with us. My brothers offered their room, said they would go to the living room with their sleeping bags. But Willie refused to sleep on the second floor so he and Jennie took the couch and a lounge chair.

Shortly after we all got into bed, I heard Willie go into the bathroom, which was next to my bedroom. He had passed my brothers' room on the way, so my oldest brother, the family prankster, stood in my doorway, outside the closed bathroom door and called out in a spooky voice, "Wiiiiiiillie, Wiiiiiiilie."

Willie, who was over 6 feet tall and had a deep, gruff voice, snapped back, "What? Who is it?" My brother used a whispery voice to say, "Willie, it's your friend, Joe." I struggled to hold back the giggles while my brother held his finger to his lips to silence me.

Willie ran out of the bathroom yelling, "He's here! I heard him!" Everyone ran into the hall and my brother blended in, acting innocent and curious. My father insisted that it was "mind over matter because there's no such thing as ghosts."

At breakfast in the morning, Willie and my father were still arguing over what had happened. I could not hold back the giggles, even though my brother kicked me under the table. My father noticed and said, "Willie, I think I found your ghost." Jenny burst out laughing and told my father that it was too funny and harmless to punish us.

The snow had stopped but we could not open our doors because it was drifted halfway up them. We had a detached garage and the snow shovels were in there. The prankster brother dropped into the snow from a dining room window where it wasn't drifted so high. He had the kitchen broom and pushed aside just enough snow to open the back door. Willie and my father joined him to make a path to the garage and clear enough snow to open it.

But the side streets like ours were still impassable, so a relative with a 4 wheel drive jeep met Jenny and Willie at the corner of our block where a major street had been plowed and took them to his place.

For many years afterward, we kids would say, "Wiiiiilie," and laugh our asses off.

Gov. Hochul declares state of emergency for Buffalo region.

Weather forecast is 4 feet of snow between tonight and Sunday morning for Buffalo. Areas around Buffalo are already getting hit. The NY Thruway (Interstate 90) is closed from Buffalo to the PA border due to slippery conditions and low visibility. Reports of tractor trailers jack-knifed on I90.

I am near Buffalo. We've had heavy snow in my area since early this morning, but in the long run, are not expected to get as much as Buffalo will. I am farther inland than Buffalo, so not as badly affected by lake effect snowfalls.

UPDATED EDIT: The 4 feet are expected farther north in NY. Buffalo area has a 3 foot forecast. Interstate 90 closing is extended from Rochester (east of Buffalo) westward to Buffalo and southwest west to the PA border. Highways and expressways inside of Buffalo are closed to commercial traffic. The Skyway Bridge in Buffalo is closed.

Buffalo and suburban schools are closed tomorrow.

The battle of the snowflakes is on again.

Every year, when the snow starts, Ember the cat wages a valiant battle against all flakes that dare to touch or come close to the living room window, her favorite perch for looking outdoors.

Is it the feline instinct to chase anything that moves? Or is it hostility toward those white swirls that block her clear view of the outside world? Maybe it's both. Whatever the reason, she races from one end of the windowsill to the other, paws swatting frantically at every passing flake.

After a few weeks, she no longer rises to the challenge. She gets accustomed to (or resigned to) the fact that snow is here to stay for a few months. But until then, she is addicted to the battle, ignoring my attempts to distract her.

Powerball fantasies

So the huge Powerball payout has been won. I very rarely buy any lottery tickets and did not buy one for this drawing, either.

But sometimes I wonder what I would ever do with so much money. What would you do with a billion dollars in winnings?

I would enjoy traveling. At my age (73) my personal needs are small. I'd move out of my apartment and back into a house, knowing that I could afford the upkeep and to hire people for things I can't do myself. It would be a small, one story house, though, with priorities on space for a library/office and a fully equipped kitchen. Location in a blue region of a blue state, suburban or semi rural, with space to add a dog (probably a border collie, maybe a golden retriever) as companion for my cat and me.

I'd get a new car, but have no need for, or interest in, an expensive one.

The rest of the money would go into donations, trusts, and foundations for favorite causes: legal and counseling aid for victims/survivors of domestic violence; recruiting and promoting diverse liberals for public service as candidates and government appointees; funding for projects developed and operated by and for Native American communities, e.g. education, health care, preservation of language and land.

What would you do if you won a lottery of a billion dollars or more?

Help for Ukrainian people this winter

Power shortages are common in Ukraine now due to Russian attacks on civilian targets. Ukraine rations its electrical power in order to keep hospitals and other essential services operating.

Ukrainian winters are brutally cold.

Is it feasible that we could provide Ukrainian people with heat and light through a massive fundraising and purchase of battery powered lanterns and blankets, with a huge supply of batteries? Some battery operated blankets, sleeping bags, and camping heaters are rechargeable. People could recharge then during periods when rationed power is available to them.

It would mean purchasing several thousand of these items and shipping them to Ukraine.

Could this be done?

"Voter Integrity" group in my county

Local stations have carried an announcement from the County Board of Elections that a group calling itself County Voter Integrity has been going door to door questioning people about their past voting history and location.

The people using this group name had one person's voting registration from a previous address plus current registration and asked if they were the same person. The individual being questioned asked if the group was from the county government or Bd of Elections and when the canvasser said no, he was asked to leave.

So the Board of Elections has been making public announcements that the "Voter Integrity" group does not represent them and people do not have to answer these questions. If people feel any intimidation is being used by these questioners, they should call the county sheriff's office.

Bubble catchers

NPR news is leaning heavily into criticism

of Fetterman in last night's debate, saying that Democrats are reassessing their ability to win in PA due to Fetterman's "obvious" difficulty in speaking. They sounded so upbeat in reporting on this that I half expected to hear the report end with "Yay Oz."

What are other media saying?

Strange instructions on supermarket beef.

Did some shopping today and noticed something on a package of beef that I have not seen before. Maybe it's been there and I just never noticed.

The package had a warning that said, "Do not microwave while in original packaging."

Really? People need to be warned about that? I am guessing that the warning is there because someone has done it before.

Oh my.

Smart animals