Wednesday, October 22, 2014

A Magic Mushroom, and Harvey Milk


When Olga and I were at the cemetery on Saturday, we came across this beautiful mushroom all by itself at the edge of the lawn, where the grass meets the woods. I don't remember ever seeing one like this before. I did some online research and I believe it's a shaggy inkcap, but I'm no expert. It may not be magic in the hallucinogenic sense, but it is in the nature-is-amazing sense.

Also amazing is a little tidbit of postal news I heard yesterday via my old friend Kevin. He alerted me to a new U.S. stamp reproducing the famous inverted Jenny postal error. (But valued at $2 rather than 24 cents -- what would they have thought in 1918?!) Kevin bought some online, and sent me a link to the USPS web site. I like the new Jenny stamp, but I was more intrigued by another stamp mentioned on the same web page -- honoring Harvey Milk!

If you had told me back in the '80s that the U.S. government would someday issue a stamp honoring a political leader known primarily for advancing gay rights, I'm not sure I would have believed it. I am so impressed. The world really is moving forward. (And, predictably, it makes the religious conservatives crazy.)

Of course, no one uses stamps anymore, so who knows if it will actually be seen. But it's the issuance that counts -- the official endorsement.

I am posting a bit early this morning because I'm going to work much earlier -- as I will every Wednesday from now until late November. I'm still singing with the faculty/staff chorus, and we've just started late afternoon rehearsals for a new performance at the end of November. So I need to go in earlier to make up the time I'll spend rehearsing. I'm trying to decide if it's crazy and Sheldon Cooper-ish to take a dry bowl of cereal to work so I can eat my normal breakfast at 8 a.m., my normal time? Or should I just eat early at home and be done with it? Decisions, decisions!
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7 comments:

  1. Kevin WoodOctober 22, 2014 at 1:06 PM

    Yeah, the two dollar price surprised me. I initially asked for three sheets (two to use, one to keep), but when she said that they were 12 dollars per sheet, I was like, "um, just one then!"

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  2. ellen abbottOctober 22, 2014 at 2:24 PM

    a very cool mushroom indeed.

    I have always loved stamps. I always buy commemoratives but my husband buys the forever stamps. We still use the USPS for paying bills. call us old fogies but we just don't like the idea of paying bills or banking on-line.

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  3. SharonOctober 22, 2014 at 3:50 PM

    If only Harvey could have lived to see this day!
    If it's any consolation, I always eat my breakfast at work.

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  4. eOctober 22, 2014 at 9:39 PM

    Call me old, but I still use postage for things like thank you notes, condolence cards and other things...

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  5. LynneOctober 23, 2014 at 1:57 AM

    I would call your mushroom a Shaggy Mane. Depending on the kind ( you need to be an expert!) this kind is totally edible. Another kind that we found growing in a huge clump at the cabin on this trip (no pun intended) I would not touch. When they expired they left a huge inky spot on the ground. Beautiful though, aren't they? Mushrooms are so other worldly.

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  6. The BugOctober 23, 2014 at 2:38 AM

    Although we do most of our banking online, we have a few bills we pay through the mail. And I still send cards to family for birthdays. And our 50+ Christmas cards that go out every year. Maybe instead of a Christmas stamp I'll use Harvey Milk & let some of my more conservative relatives' heads spin :)

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  7. Steve ReedOctober 23, 2014 at 6:58 AM

    Thanks for the comments, everybody! I probably only mail a letter every couple of months or so -- when a signed form is required, or I want to send a specific object(s) to someone. I confess I never mail cards anymore. But Bug, I must say, I love the Harvey Milk Christmas cards idea! That makes me want to send some. :)

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