I saw a bush in our backyard loaded with berries that looked a lot like chokecherries...but when I went to pick them, they didn't look quite right so I decided to check up on them.

Here's what Chokecherries look like:

chokecherry Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Rosaceae Prunus virginiana L. Photographer: Richard Old , XID Services, Inc., United States Descriptor: Fruit(s) Image taken in: United States   And here's what I had in my back yard: 5341025 common buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica L. Fruit(s) Photo by Jan Samanek   As you can see...very different.  I just thought that the buckthorn were Chokecherries because it had been so long since I last picked them.  As as soon as I saw the pictures of the real thing...I couldn't believe I had mistaken them for chokecherries! Chokecherries make a delicious syrup for pancakes or a wonderful jelly for bread... Common Buckthorn, however, is a medicinal herb that is used to cure constipation, and can cause painful cramping, nausea, vomiting, and red or orange urine.   When in doubt, make sure to double check before you pick wild produce...even if you've been doing it all of your life!

Ammunition for your next argument with a nativist.

OK, so I thought the town I grew up in was kind of messed up.  Here's the crime stats for my hometown (all stats from http://www.cityrating.com/):

Bemidji Crime Report
General Information:			Violent vs. Property Crime Rate:
State:	Minnesota (MN)		Violent Crime	Property Crime
City Population:	12,472
Murder:	2
Forcible Rape:	8
Robbery:	4
Aggravated Assault:	30
Burglary:	55
Larceny or Theft:	884
Car Theft:	57
Arson:	3
Data Source: 2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
Zero values may indicate the data was not available.			44	996

Bemidji Violent Crime Rate per Capita:
Murder		Forcible Rape		Robbery		Aggravated Assault		All Violent Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 2.10 times the National Average		Is 1.77 times the National Average		Is 0.15 times the National Average		Is 0.66 times the National Average		Is 0.59 times the National Average

Bemidji Property Crime Rate per Capita:
Burglary		Larceny or Theft		Car Theft		Arson		All Property Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 0.52 times the National Average		Is 2.39 times the National Average		Is 0.76 times the National Average		Is 0.81 times the National Average		Is 1.81 times the National Average

Here's the town where I live now:

Eden Prairie Crime Report
General Information:			Violent vs. Property Crime Rate:
State:	Minnesota (MN)		Violent Crime	Property Crime
City Population:	57,794
Murder:	0
Forcible Rape:	14
Robbery:	1
Aggravated Assault:	33
Burglary:	189
Larceny or Theft:	1,132
Car Theft:	46
Arson:	14
Data Source: 2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
Zero values may indicate the data was not available.			48	1,367

Eden Prairie Violent Crime Rate per Capita:
Murder		Forcible Rape		Robbery		Aggravated Assault		All Violent Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 0.00 times the National Average		Is 0.67 times the National Average		Is 0.01 times the National Average		Is 0.16 times the National Average		Is 0.14 times the National Average

Eden Prairie Property Crime Rate per Capita:
Burglary		Larceny or Theft		Car Theft		Arson		All Property Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 0.38 times the National Average		Is 0.66 times the National Average		Is 0.13 times the National Average		Is 0.82 times the National Average		Is 0.54 times the National Average

And here is Minneapolis, the biggest metropolitan area in the state;

General Information:		Violent vs. Property Crime Rate:
State:	Minnesota (MN)	Violent Crime	Property Crime
City Population:	378,602
Murder:	46
Forcible Rape:	384
Robbery:	2,192
Aggravated Assault:	1,895
Burglary:	4,482
Larceny or Theft:	12,404
Car Theft:	3,519
Arson:	249
Data Source: 2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
Zero values may indicate the data was not available.		4,517	20,405

Minneapolis Violent Crime Rate per Capita:
Murder		Forcible Rape		Robbery		Aggravated Assault		All Violent Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 1.59 times the National Average		Is 2.79 times the National Average		Is 2.64 times the National Average		Is 1.38 times the National Average		Is 2.00 times the National Average

Minneapolis Property Crime Rate per Capita:
Burglary		Larceny or Theft		Car Theft		Arson		All Property Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 1.39 times the National Average		Is 1.10 times the National Average		Is 1.55 times the National Average		Is 2.22 times the National Average		Is 1.22 times the National Average

But then, you have Brainerd, Karen's hometown.  It is about half-way between Minneapolis and my hometown:

Brainerd Crime Report
General Information:			Violent vs. Property Crime Rate:
State:	Minnesota (MN)		Violent Crime	Property Crime
City Population:	13,417
Murder:	0
Forcible Rape:	24
Robbery:	4
Aggravated Assault:	38
Burglary:	155
Larceny or Theft:	740
Car Theft:	57
Arson:	32
Data Source: 2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
Zero values may indicate the data was not available.			66	952

Brainerd Violent Crime Rate per Capita:
Murder		Forcible Rape		Robbery		Aggravated Assault		All Violent Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 0.00 times the National Average		Is 4.92 times the National Average		Is 0.14 times the National Average		Is 0.78 times the National Average		Is 0.82 times the National Average

Brainerd Property Crime Rate per Capita:
Burglary		Larceny or Theft		Car Theft		Arson		All Property Crime
National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local	National	Local
Is 1.36 times the National Average		Is 1.86 times the National Average		Is 0.71 times the National Average		Is 8.04 times the National Average		Is 1.61 times the National Average

Guess who?

But from another viewpoint also it would be wrong to make religion, or the Church as such, responsible for the misdeeds of individuals. If one compares the magnitude of the organization, as it stands visible to every eye, with the average weakness of human nature we shall have to admit that the proportion of good to bad is more favourable here than anywhere else. Among the priests there may, of course, be some who use their sacred calling to further their political ambitions. There are clergy who unfortunately forget that in the political mêlée they ought to be the paladins of the more sublime truths and not the abettors of falsehood and slander. But for each one of these unworthy specimens we can find a thousand or more who fulfil their mission nobly as the trustworthy guardians of souls and who tower above the level of our corrupt epoch, as little islands above the seaswamp.

I cannot condemn the Church as such, and I should feel quite as little justified in doing so if some depraved person in the robe of a priest commits some offence against the moral law. Nor should I for a moment think of blaming the Church if one of its innumerable members betrays and besmirches his compatriots, especially not in epochs when such conduct is quite common. We must not forget, particularly in our day, that for one such Ephialtes,  there are a thousand whose hearts bleed in sympathy with their people during these years of misfortune and who, together with the best of our nation, yearn for the hour when fortune will smile on us again.

(Hint:  the same person also said this):

To a political leader the religious teachings and practices of his people should be sacred and inviolable. Otherwise he should not be a statesman but a reformer, if he has the necessary qualities for such a mission.

So I'm on the phone with Barb, and we're both drinking.  It's a little thing we do when there's nothing else going on.  She's in Missouri, I'm in Minnesota, so we call each other up at a time when both of our cell-phone plans give us free minutes, and we drink and talk on the phone. 

And Barb starts talking about how one time she went and visited this guy that I had dated, and he was reading her some of his writing and one of the pieces he had written was about me.

And her rememberance of it was that he described me as some sort of epic super-heroin, a cat-like force of nature.  A goddess of potential mayhem and violence.  He just says that because I kicked his ass in sparring.  Repeatedly. Thoroughly. and with more enjoyment than a strictly sane woman would have.

And her response was that this was strange and new to her.  To her, I was just Teresa, who could be sullen and moody; goofy and geeky; a tortured and lost soul with a bit too much drama mixed in to be taken seriously.  I was her kindergarden friend who like playing cars with the boys and moved away and came back years later as a third-grade tom-boy cowgirl with a chip on her shoulder.  The nerdy girl who smoked with the toughies behind the Jet-Mart across the street, and had lots of scary friends, yet never seemed to be scary herself.  Who drank enough to be mouthy when it wasn't wise, but somehow managed to pull off an escape when trouble struck.  Who got arrested on occasion, but was too embarassed to admit it outright and did detention for truancy rather than admit to larceny if she was dragged down to the cop-shop during school hours.  Who showed up at school with spectacular bruises and more spectacular stories that no one really believed or listened to.  Who appeared to make up as much stuff as she told straight, who covered under callousness and carelessness a sense of wonder and responsibilty.

I responded that if she didn't think I was a cat-like super-hero force-of-nature chick, it was probably because she had never been sexually attracted to me, and plus, if she'd never seen me as an epic heroin, she had probably never seen me clean a toilet.

Because me doing battle with the forces of disorder and chaos in a houseful of males is nothing short of the epic battle between Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven.  And that goes double after a LAN party where you have at least a half-dozen men who don't live here, have been living on Little Debbies, Doritos and Mountain Dew for 17 hours, and want to get back into play before they get greased by a teenager who has more of a natural tolerance for Little Debbies, Doritos, and Mountain Dew than they do.

Barb called bullshit, as child-hood friends will.  the subject changed, and we moved on.

And I kept my real secrets again.  Hidden in plain sight from those who know me best.

Because you know, don't you dear readers...you're only REALLY dead...when they put you in a box.

>:->

As a history buff, particularly a colonial/revolutionary history buff, I always love to visit Boston.

I always learn something new.

This time, I learned that if someone says you're "slow as molassass in January", its not the dis it appears to be.

Molassass in January apparently can travel as fast as 35 miles per hour.  At least when it is traveling in a 25-foot-tall wave.

I also learned the conditions of one of the first class-action lawsuits in history, and also, I've learned that blaming disaster and mayhem on war protestors is nothing new.

Oh, and for proper form, I should mention that it was Sue and Barb who learned this stuff first, and passed it on to me.