QUARANTINE BLOG # 423

May 27, 2021

The Bro sent me the following Beatles anthology:

It’s a long and winding network, don’t let it be or it will be a hard day’s night in the yellow submarine.  Sgt. Pepper is taking a magical mystery tour eight days a week on Abbey road.

Here comes the sun, let’s come together in strawberry fields forever.

Don’t let me down, just twist and shout, with-a little help from friends, get back and be a paperback writer.

Can’t buy me love, but you can get a ticket to ride, singing ob-La-di-Ob-La-Da, across the Universe.

Hey Bulldog, it’s a Revolution!

I received his permission to run this in today’s QB, but it wasn’t free.  I had to give him a no-cost subscription to the Quarantine Blog.

👉  In that spirit, I found a mashup medley of every Beatles original song strung together and presented in 13 minutes.  Actually, 13 minutes and 3 seconds.

👉  Amy suggested a while ago that I do a feature on waterfalls for the QB.  Well, when I started researching, I thought I’d do 10, then cut it down to the top 5.  And now, I’m not sure 10 will be enough.  There are some incredible places with incredible views.  I’ve added several of them to my bucket list to visit.

We’ll begin with my favorite, Swallow Falls located inside Swallow Falls State Park, located on the west bank of the Youghiogheny River nine miles northwest of Oakland in Garrett County, Maryland.  The state park, which features Maryland’s highest free-falling waterfall, the 53-foot Muddy Creek Falls, had its beginnings in 1906 with the donation by John and Robert Garrett of Baltimore (and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad fame) of 1,917 acres to be used as a state forest.  

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Burroughs, and Harvey Firestone, camped there in the summers of 1918 and 1921 (The Bro and I camped there too, but not with that famous quartet – all details of those camping trips are sealed under a 100 year order to protect the guilty).  A mile and a quarter hike will take you to all three waterfalls.

Swallow Falls

Muddy Creek Falls

Muddy Creek Falls during a Garrett County Winter.

Tolliver Falls

On the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe and Zambia is Victoria Falls, known locally as “The Smoke that Thunders.”  Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.  Named after the reigning Queen Victoria, the waterfall also has a large natural pool where visitors can swim.  The spray from this waterfall can be seen from a distance of 30 miles.  During the rainy season, you can expect to get soaked walking along the trail on the Zimbabwe side, where the best views of the falls are found.  The Zambia side takes you up close and personal with the impressive wall of water that plunges over a mile wide precipice that is more than 325 feet deep.

It isn’t the tallest waterfall in the world, but Niagara Falls is certainly impressive in its scope and power.  Niagara Falls is comprised of three waterfalls, the largest of which is Horseshoe Falls.  Straddling the border between the USA and Canada, the water cascades 614 feet down Niagara Gorge.  The falls can be viewed from a number of viewpoints in New York and Ontario.  

One of the most unique viewpoints of Niagara Falls is from “Cave of the Winds.”  Here, you will descend 175 feet into the Niagara Gorge to experience the power of the falls mid-flow from the Hurricane Deck.  You’ll be given a rain jacket because you will get wet.

👉  We can’t visit Niagara Falls without taking a look at the famous routine by The Three Stooges.

👉  Just in from Victoria, BC, QB has received a collection of Minions cartoons from Brian and Elizabeth.

👉  I almost missed this, and you would have been disappointed to have missed the celebration.  Today is Cellophane Tape Day!

In 1929, Richard Drew, working at the 3M Company came up with the idea of using DuPont’s recently invented cellophane to make tape.  Cellophane was moisture proof and was used to wrap baked goods and grocery items.  He wanted to invent a tape made of cellophane that would seal while blending in.  Its patent was published on May 27, 1930, and that is why Cellophane Tape Day is celebrated today.  You can celebrate by making a tape ball, removing hair, fur, and lint from clothing and upholstery, cleaning your keyboard, taping broken crayons, or repairing frayed shoelace ends.  Or you may choose your own way to celebrate.

👉  Today’s close, “Fear Rejection? Keep Eternity in Mind,” is by Rick Warren.

“The Lord says, ‘I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?’” (Isaiah 51:12 Good News Translation).

One way to overcome the fear of rejection is by keeping the right perspective. You can listen to the opinions of others – but never overvalue what they say. In Isaiah 51:12, God says, “I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?” (GNT). Other people are not God, and their opinions aren’t going to last. In Isaiah, God reminds you he’s the one who counts. 

When people put you down, don’t assume their judgments are the same as God’s. Don’t automatically accept someone’s criticism; instead, judge it for what it’s worth.  Because when people’s approval becomes all-important to you, you set yourself up to live in fear of rejection. 

The Bible says, “In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 GNT). If you recognize how much God is for you, it gives you the ability to withstand tremendous rejection from other people.

God is for you, and he wants to see you succeed! Choose to live for him today.

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