[PRCo] Burning Leaves

Mon Oct 21 16:28:16 EDT 2013

Fred

The three historic items that kept population under control were famines, pestilence, and wars.  So your bubonic plague comment is apt.

Dwight
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fred Schneider 
  To: Western PA Trolley discussion ; Dwight Long 
  Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 3:36 PM
  Subject: Re: [PRCo] Burning Leaves

  My dad came from Marietta, Ohio.   I remember it was common practice just to rake your leaves out in the streets and burn them.

  I know we did the same thing in Lancaster's suburbs.  About the only way I can do it now is bring them inside and burn them in the fireplace.  :<)  

  But when you think about it, that put a lot less emissions into the air in the 1950s than we probably do with our automobiles today.   In my lifetime (1940-2013) the world population has just about tripled from 2.2 to about 6.5 billion people.   The United States has increased from 132 million to somewhere over 315 million.   And we've gone from 32,453,000 motor vehicles in 1940 to a peak of about 250 million when the recession hit in 2008.   

  The only good thing, Dwight, is we don't have all those steam engines sitting in places like 24th Street (Pittsburgh), Glenwood and McKees Rocks over the weekend smoking up the air waiting for Monday morning's rush hour to arrive.     But maybe the scary thing is that we've moved the stink from places like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit to Beijing but human beings are still not so human.   

  Maybe we need a new and and temporarily incurable version of the bubonic plague to reduce mankind's footprint on the planet back to a manageable level????    This may sound like something Jonathan Swift would have written.   For those of you who never were forced to read it or may have forgotten, Swift's A Modest Proposal was a suggestion that the impoverished Irish eliminate the burden the children were having on the nation and their parents by selling their children as food for the rich gentleman and ladies.   It may also sound like the philosophical conversations I might have with a doctor friend of mine along the lines of, "Does medicine prolong the life of us just a little too long?"   But perhaps when we get to the point where supplies of fresh water, food, fuel and fresh air are problematic, we may have put too many of us on the planet.   

  Now that ought to test whether or not Derrick's system is working.   :<)     

  On Oct 21, 2013, at 10:33 AM, Dwight Long wrote:

    Herb

    I can remember back in the 50s coming back to Beaver from auto trips to the East that involved the Pa Turnpike—we would use the Warrendale exit and the back roads to Beaver.  Coming down into the (Beaver) valley off the hill the whole floor of the valley would be engulfed in leaf smoke.

    Unhealthy, they say, but it sure did convey the impression that Autumn was upon us!

    Dwight

    From: Herb Brannon 
    Sent: Sunday, 20 October, 2013 10:36
    To: Western PA Trolley discussion 
    Subject: Re: [PRCo] Phil asked about music
    You mentioned something I really miss.............the smell of burning
    leaves in October.

    On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 8:37 AM, DF Cramer <alto_trombone at hotmail.com>wrote:

      Well, what have I been up to? The beginning of the month I performed

      Copland, Brahms, & Dvorak with the Butler County Symphony,our (my wife

      plays cello) 28th season with the ensemble. I am back at IUP and delivered

      two arrangements of French Noels from the Baroque period to begin the

      semester and last week conducted a first reading of my "The Eternal Flame",

      a commemorative piece for double trombone choir and narrator I wrote to

      mark the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. All of that will be

      performed on November 19 at the university. Next week I perform with IUP

      brass & organ faculty at Zion Lutheran in Indiana for Reformation Sunday

      and the following week we are doing Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" in

      Butler. Chaplin created the musical score for this silent film and we will

      be showing the film as we perform. (Side note: if you want tickets let me

      know as soon as possible--I usually get 4 free ones)

      Other than that, I spent quality time with Ed at the Alle-Kiski Historical

      Society, led a new operator training class at PTM, printed and stuffed

      ballots for PTM, and am going to the opera today to see Aida (football fan

      alert--Franco Harris is leading the Grand March in the opera today)

      I spend lots of time practicing and cleaning up leaves.  I mulch some and

      burn others---yes we are still permitted to burn here.

      If you missed it--I also performed at the PTM 50th Anniversary luncheon.

      See the most recent issue of PTM Trolley Fare, Fred Schneider took some

      great images.

      Dennis F. Cramer

      http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/

        Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:49:49 -0700

        From: pcc_sr at yahoo.com

        To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org

        Subject: Re: [PRCo] still having issues

        Stereo-vision isn't it Mr.Cramer!  Soapbox opportunity; make the most of

      it!

        You have not recently mentioned anything about your concert or music

      engagements.

        I find them fascinating.  Music is not at all unlike laughter is it;

      both speak a universal language.

        Yes; BB are the last posts I have seen.  There was not much of anything

      before your BB posts for several weeks.  You mentioned a book in relation

      to this; please tell more.

        Phil

        --------------------------------------------

        On Sat, 10/19/13, DF Cramer <alto_trombone at hotmail.com> wrote:

        Subject: [PRCo] still having issues

        To: "pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org" <

      pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org>

        Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013, 3:52 AM

        it seemed very interesting that after

        I posted on the list, several emails came through. I assume people were

      responding with reply all. I have received no  posts from the list other

      than those dealing with Billy Baxter.

        Dennis F. Cramer

        http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/

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    -- 
    Herb Brannon
    *In Pittsburgh...*
    *......the Greatest City In The U.S.*
    Let's Go Pens
    Let's Go Steelers

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