Inspired by IGHGrampa’s and D. Ziner’s comments about craftsmanship and measurements, earlier in the week, here is John in Highland: “I have a laugh every time I hear people engaged in discussion of ‘English versus metric’ systems of measurement.

“It brings back memories of a young woman whom I knew in college who was very scientifically inclined. She already had a degree in science and was working on a post-graduate degree. I was greatly impressed by the logical manner in which she addressed matters and comported herself.

“One of the things that she enjoyed was the proliferation of ‘Go Metric’ bumper stickers on cars. She told me in no uncertain terms that the metric system would soon take over and replace the English system. Why? Just because it made sense to have one system of measurement for the whole world. End of discussion!

“I sometimes wonder if she still holds out hope.”

Now & Then (responsorial)

Grandma J. of Grant: “Oh, John in Highland [BB, 11/7/2014], do you really think the nuns were strict? Let me tell you about strict!

“Back in the 1950s and ’60s, in the Home Economics Department at the University of Minnesota, we knew all about strict. The dress and behavioral code was simple: Look and Act Like a Lady. (The unspoken law was: ‘If you can’t do this, find another major!’)

“I originally wanted to be an art major, but my parents objected. Even though I was going to school on full academic scholarship, and paying my own way otherwise, I tried to oblige them. A good friend from high school was a home ec major. One day while we were having lunch and I was complaining about not being able to major in art, she told me: ‘We have lots of art classes in Home Ec.’ That was all it took. The next quarter, I signed up.

“Well … I had no idea what I was getting into. The courses were difficult; the rules for dress and conduct, stringent and required. We used to joke that it was like being in a convent. Among ourselves, we even chose one professor to be our Mother Superior. The accepted uniform was skirts and blouses with cardigans or a sweater set (pearls were nice, but optional), and always nylons and dress shoes (flats, not heels). Our makeup had to be understated, our hair like the ‘Breck Girl’ (she looked like a young Grace Kelly). We were told to ‘walk, not run,’ and to ‘moderate your voice.’

“To this day, when I go out shopping or walking in the mall, those words still ring in my head and I dress as though I were going to church. (No sweats for me!) I do not run (what, with these knees?!), and I moderate my voice (except when my grandchildren get too far ahead of me). Those professors would be proud!”

Our times

The Old Woodchopper of Eagan: “A couple of days before the election, I went to the mailbox and got four political fliers, one request for money from a veterans’ organization, and the local newspaper.

“It could have been worse. At least I didn’t get any bills.”

In memoriam

World War I Division (cont.)

LL Tootsie: “To see more photos of the poppies Cousin Nan describes [BB, 11/6/2014] at the Tower of London, readers may want to try this website: tinyurl.com/red-moat.

“It’s ironic that the ‘Bloody Tower’ was chosen for this memorial. It gave me the creeps when I visited it years ago, knowing it as the oldest prison in Europe and the scene of grisly executions of the little twin princes, a couple of Henry VIII’s wives, and many others. I don’t quite get the connection of it being used to memorialize those who died in The Great War. But I don’t always understand the humor in some British comedies, either. Blimey!”

Please release me!

&: Joy of Juxtaposition

Cheesehead By Proxy, “back in Northern Minnesota”: “I had an earworm this week after we’d had an old friend up to visit. It was the song ‘Old Friends,’ sung by Simon & Garfunkel. I went online to look up the lyrics because I had forgotten some of them.

“A couple of excerpts: ‘Old friends … sat on their park bench like bookends …. Can you imagine us years from today, sharing a park-bench quietly? How terribly strange to be seventy.’

“This got me to thinking how, in our younger days, 70 must have seemed so old that we all we might have left to do is to sit on a park-bench like a couple of bookends (not that there is anything wrong with briefly sitting on a park-bench!).

“At 62, 70 doesn’t seem that far off, and we have friends in their 70s who are pretty active.

“My Joy of Juxtaposition came when I read in Wednesday’s ‘How Old?!’ Pioneer Press column that Art Garfunkel is now 73.”

Band Name of the Day: The Breck Girls

Website of the Day: Simon & Garfunkel sing “Old Friends,” at tinyurl.com/strange-70