Here we are, deep in the throes of January. If you’ve ever seen the surreal horror movie Skinamarink, you’ll understand when I say this month feels like what would happen if Skinamarink were a month. Oppressively long, disorienting, and endless—January this year is dragging in a way that feels almost personal.
To make matters worse, this January is one of those with five full weeks. That extra week on the calendar? It’s like the universe decided to throw in a bonus round of cold, dark monotony just to see if we’d notice.
As I write this, it’s only January 17th. Only the 17th. Which means we’re not even close to the finish line. And yet, every day feels like a mini-eternity.
Now don’t get me wrong—I’ve spent plenty of time complaining about how fast life seems to be flying by. There’s never enough time in the day, right? But this month? Oh, there’s time. There’s so much time. So much so that by 5:00 PM every evening, you’re already drained, staring into the abyss, wondering how it’s still only January.
They say “Blue Monday” hits a few weeks after Christmas—that unofficial holiday when credit card bills are due, the winter doldrums set in, and your New Year’s resolutions have either crumbled or become oppressive. This year, though? Every single day of January feels like Blue Monday.
And I think we all feel it. The days, though technically growing longer, seem darker. The weather seems colder. Everything takes just a little longer than it should. And when push comes to shove, that creeping fatigue washes over you like a relentless wave.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I need some vitamin D, zinc, and a few hours in front of a light therapy lamp. But I don’t think it’s just me—I think it’s you, too. It’s all of us. We’re longing for something else, something brighter, something warmer.
And it sure as hell isn’t January. Thankfully, there’s only 755 days left of the month to go.
So here’s the deal, and it’s been my deal for a few years now: I am on a mission to find and buy presidents’ heads. Let me explain.
I’m talking about those iconic, oversized heads of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln that used to adorn classroom walls in the early 1900s. You know the ones—giant oval cutouts that loomed over children as they tackled their studies, offering a silent, patriotic presence, and in the case of honest Abe, a slightly melancholy and distinct stare..
You might ask, Why on earth are you hunting for these heads? Well, let me tell you: it’s the thrill of the hunt.
It’s also for some decoration to properly celebrate Presidents’ Day. For three years now in January, I’ve embarked on this annual exercise to find these elusive relics of American decor.. Because there are personal rules to this game, and I’ve set a strict rule for myself: no eBay, no online shopping. This is a boots-on-the-ground kind of mission, a real scavenger hunt for the presidents heads..
My latest adventure took me to Rosie’s, a craft store in Minersville, Pennsylvania. It’s the kind of place that smells like nostalgia and glitter glue. I found an image when searching for craft and decoration stores that gave me hope.. a little glimmer of ABE in the picture made it appear I may have finally struck presidential head gold:
Obviously the photo was dated–2021. Lots happened since.. and when we got to Rosie’s, the mission came to a screeching halt..
While I struck up a great conversation with the cashier *(and presumably the owner) about old-fashioned decorations, I was told that the cutouts were long gone. And as a matter of fact, they may not even be in production anymore–something I sensed with their lack of availability. . The trip was not wasted, I walked away with some decent materials—Cupid cutouts, Valentine’s Day décor, a few cardboard constitutions (because why not?). I’d recommend Rosie’s for the old fashioned decor–can’t wait to go back around Halloween and get some cardboard cutouts of Frankenstein.
But back to the heads.. it was yet another tragic blow to the mission, but not one that will deter me.
I’m committed to this quest. I’ll keep exploring craft stores, antique shops, and every strange, off-the-beaten-path establishment I can find. Because let’s be honest: the thrill of finding these vintage gems in the wild beats clicking “Add to Cart” online shopping any day.
And really, aren’t old-school decorations the best anyway? They’ve got history, character, and a certain charm that modern stuff just doesn’t have.
This may sound crazy — took a week or so for me to really think about this. But When I saw a drone, I had a weird feeling it saw me. That we saw each other. and when it became aware, it flew away.
Not sure how to explain that.. but it just felt like it..
It felt like somehow, somewhat, that drone saw me look at it.. was aware of me just as much me of it..
And maybe that was just the anxiety from when it was seen, perhaps the excitement that I was in the ‘mix’ with drone sightings..
There is something about hot midsummer nights and fires–it complements that humid air.. it almost cools the aura around you when you swelter in the orange glow..
Tonight, July 5 2024, the fire was enjoyed by Stormy … and the sounds of Richard Syrett reruns of Coast to Coast AM made it even more perfect..
Enjoy these nights. The wonders of autumn and winter come soon. Days are already shortening..
Stay by that fire. Stay warm even when the heat goes away.
Compare your life today to what it was 5 years ago, compare it to 10 years ago. This is not political. No “Reagan are you better off four years ago” stuff. Just … reality.
Now, if you’re really young, there may not be much to compare to. Your memories just sort of blend together in a big bowl of childhood.. but if you’re older, if you have a recollection of things as they once wore in the not too distant past.
You will realize that things today are not the way they should be .. The documentary about Nickelodeon near about a month ago has come and gone. Since that time, everything seemingly has moved on the scandal. That should have been one that rocked an entire industry. Just poofed away.
The war in Russia and Ukraine has killed potentially hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The media has told us civilians have been dying along the way as well .. The Israel Gaza conflict has claimed the life of at least 30000 civilians, including children, but yet we just continue to move on.
College campuses are being rocked by protest, but it’s not just process, but instead now violent outrage. But the media just tells us keep plugging away. This is life. They are graduating anyway, apparently.
Everyone says the economy’s doing fantastic, but you’re broke.
Prices that you pay now are much higher than they’ve ever been before. Forget this is normal.
The new normal as it would be. And I’m not sure if it was COVID. Some will say this is the ramifications of free money giveaways during the virus outbreak.
With inflation topping and toppling us, but something seems to be wrong. Something seems to be weird and everyone seems to be on edge. Things don’t feel right. You all know you can sense it. You all know you can feel it, but yet we’re told this is just how things are guess what? I don’t think so.
The annual memorials of 9/11 felt a bit different this year. Even for me.. I have morbidly consumed 9/11 material each year starting around mid-August through the middle of September. I do this not for some macabre enjoyment, but instead it is truly to remember and place myself back into that timeline again. For a moment. To feel those emotions. To witness, again, the tragic events..
Have said before that it was a best of times and worst of times era for me personally. I had just turned 21 and had yet too be crushed by the perils of modern life and adulthood. It was late nights with friends and all you can eat garbage after bars.
On 9/11 it was coupled with the worst of times. This horrid notion that 3000 people can die within minutes on live TV with the entire United States government paralyzed.
It is odd to think, now 22 years later. As the years slowly tick away they seemingly become faster. Like a freight train losing control on tracks to the future! All of us are passengers whether we like it or not.
This year’s anniversary of 9/11 appears to cross into a new place.. one where many who experienced those events that day have aged or even passed away. It was a different era for me. No child, I had my mom and dad, and everyone had those huge tube TVs with bad pictures . Cell phones were gloriously huge. Yet somehow it seemed like technology worked better..
In going back to the past again this year, it was weird to hear the news anchors. They were so worked up and shook that day but their professionalism showed .. they held it together and narrated the end of the world for the country to hear and see. Politicians, though we know the truth that it’s all for show, also held it together and gave us advanced patriotic theater for the moment. They appeared strong even though we new behind the scenes they were stammering.
That was the element this year that stood out. The idea that when compared to 2001, how much we have changed.
It goes without saying that 9/11 changed everything. It changed everything SO much that if 9/11 happened today, 9/11 forever changed what our response to the attacks would be. Internet chaos. TikTok immediate conspiracy. Stumped politicians. News media that wouldn’t know how to talk without a script.
We sure did change.
That era of the 1990s is gone. It ended on 9/11. And now 22 years later it seems difficult to understand who we have all become, but more so what we never experienced and in the end what we all lost..
For us here in Northeastern PA, we are ready. School clothes purchased. Ayden is “eagerly” “anticipating”.. It all begins..
Buses are being primed and shined for another year. Educators are lamenting the speed at which these summer months vanish. Parents are erratically pondering where school shopping should occur.. Kids, oh the kids.. they are suffering the most.
Watching those last minutes of the calendar tick away.. While on TikTok.
x x x
This is it, folks!
The final week of summer in most areas. School seemingly is beginning earlier than normal every year right?
There are old timers who often talk about their school days dazes.. when they went back AFTER Labor Day weekend!!
Now we have a bias on the Northeastern part of the United States. It may very well be different where you are.
We researched this and we found a number of previous news articles from decades past when school really did start after Labor Day.. It wasn’t until the late 90s that things changed–and it appears that the winter of 1994 can be blamed for all of it!
Back in that time frame, there were a LOT of school closings. The blizzard of 93 was one thing, but the winter of 1994 was cold. Snowy..Really really cold. Really really snowy with storm after storm after storm.
I recall it fondly, as Mr. Shappell in 7th grade Immaculate Heart became angered more and more each time another snow storm was predicted.. (winters after became largely warm for the final half of the 90s after the blizzard of 1996) ..
But that winter of 94 really messed with school planning.
An August 30th 1995 editorial in the Pottsville Republican seemed to suggest that the school calendars were completely torn to shreds by the previous winter. As a matter of fact, the fishwrapper reported that the summer of 1995 was hot (I remember this kindly sorta not really fondly.. grass was so dry it crunched like chips) .. The editorial penned, or at that time, typed:
“The pre-Labor Day start of classes is as result of the Winter of 1994, when a seemingly endless series of snow and ice storms wrecked school calendars and forces sessions to continue into late June.”
Once schools went pre-Labor Day one time, it seemed like it continued, earlier and earlier each year.
IT WASN’T ALWAYS LIKE THIS
At one time in history, children did NOT have the summers off. Read that again. Yes. No summer vacation… no traveling. No Hershey Park. NO beach. No Mount Rushmore.
The public education system started in the 1800s..
Based on the location you lived in, calendars varied. In cities, schools were open all year–240 days!
In rural America, farming and the land forced schools to open for 5 months, or two sessions, in the winter and the summer.. In the fall, school closed so kids could help harvest.. Spring time they helped plant.
It was not until the early 20th century that urban and rural districts combined their efforts and created the 180-day school year. It started AFTER labor day and ended in June.
It continued that way for decades. By the 1990s, pre-Labor Day schooling began.. It has increased the ability to build in longer vacations for Christmas and Easter, but depending on snow days those days off start getting chipped away at during colder times.
I STILL BLAME THE WINTER OF 1994 FOR ALL OF IT
It seriously is when it all changed.
So let me take you back. . . I was in grade school.. and yes, like all dorky kids like me, watching winter patterns and watching Weather World on PBS at the time. Oh those fond memories of my strange childhood.
I was also loving Rooftop Weather on WYOU with Barry Finn while all the other adults were glued to Tom Clark.
Barry Finn was extraordinary that year, he was rare. He loved winter. He loved the snow. Other forecasters pooh-poohed it while Barry just shivered on the rooftop up at the Scranton studios giving Northeast PA their daily dose of scary blizzard forecast in 1994.
As a matter of fact, Barry Finn warned people in September of 1994–back when kids still started school after the Ashland ABA parade.
Coat the East Coast in nasty ice storms. “Oh, you don’t want to know,” said psychic Peg Verity Barber of Wilkes-Barre. “It’s going to be a devastating winter, not snow as much as ice. It’s because of global changes, and the tilting of the earth’s axis.”
Wallop the region with snow.
“Meteorologically speaking, there’s no way to know,” said Barry Finn, chief meteorologist at WYOU-TV in Scranton. “But I’m going out very soon to buy a snow blower.”
Vince Said it Would Be Like This Sweeney also got an honorable mention with this quote:
Weatherman Vince Sweeney of WBRE-TV dismisses the hoopla. “I’ll tell you about this winter: it’s coming,” he said. “If you don’t like the weather, move.”
So that is it..
A winter in memory to blame for what we have now? Sure some will surmise it has to do tiwh tourism, jobs.. whatever.
It has to do with weather. Weather changes us culturally and economically. And in 1994, it changed when children’s melodrama of nightmares would begin.
May God bless the students about to journey into a new school year.
