A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In the Bush

Talking About Two Birds in One Of My Bushes

Over the years I've heard people talking about having a bird in your hand was worth much more than two birds in a bush.  I always wondered why people said that.  A person I knew was always saying that so I finally asked what exactly does that mean?  She said it meant if you already have something don't want more....you are being greedy and might lose it all.

Ok then I got it.  So I said to her:    "I guess it's kind of like if you sell the cow you won't have any more milk to drink.....so you better keep the cow .... and then I went on to say keep the dang bird you already have in your hand, because if you let the bird go that you have in your hand, it'll fly away and you might not catch the other two in the bush."  She said: "Yep" you got the right idea. 

I thought that was a really dumb thing to use birds to describe the scenario....why not just come out and say "it's better not to be greedy because you might lose everything you already have."  But that would be too simple.  Then she told me it was  either a Greek proverb or an English thing (I know people in the UK use all kind of sayings to get their point across.) 

I told her I once had a boyfriend who kind of went by this bird saying except he lost out .... he had multiple girlfriends and didn't tell this here bird who thought she was in his hand.  He had lots of birds in the bushes he tended.....then this here bird found out and flew away and all he was left with was a bunch of old birds in his bushes.  But they didn't fly away.....he was stuck with those ugly old birds. ...and man they were ugly. My friend said...."well that's kind of like what the saying means but not exactly."  Guess my situation wasn't quite an example of the bird slogan.

After all of these years, I finally understand just exactly what one bird in the hand is better than two in the bush means.....I know that if you see you have a bird in your hand, you better hope he doesn't have to go the bathroom, because you're going to be hanging onto that one bird according to the saying......And I know for a fact you're not going to like having poop on your hand from the one bird in the hand.

Old Tyme Stuff
Taken from the History of Menard and Mason Counties 1879

History of Menard County
Illinois, like other new Territories, was at first divided into counties, covering very large areas, in fact, the entire State was once " Illinois County ; " but as the country became more thickly settled, these counties were subdivided, and many portions re-divided the third or fourth time. Illustrative of this fact, it may be stated that at the time of the admission of Illinois into the Union, it comprised only fifteen counties. As the settlement of the State began in the southern portion and gradually extended northward, it is not at all surprising
that in more than one case it would have been impossible to find the northern boundary of the county unless it were considered as extending to the north line of the State. As an illustration of this subdivision of counties, it may be stated that the city of Chicago, or at least the land on which the city now stands, was once in Fulton County ; whereas, the nearest point of Fulton County to the city of Chicago is now 150 miles on an air line. A further illustration of this fact may be briefly given. If the reader will turn to the map of Illinois, he will observe that Crawford County is the eighth county
south on the State line from Chicago. This county at first included Chicago. When Clark was formed, it embraced Chicago ; and when Edgar was cut off of Clark, the "great city" was in it; and then when Vermilion was cut off of Edgar, Chicago fell into it : so that a great many counties in Illinois can boast of at least at one time including Chicago.

In consideration of the fact that Menard County was stricken off from Sangamon, it becomes necessary to give a brief outline of the latter. The reader, having perused the history of the Northwest, as given in a former part of this volume, will remember that portions of Illinois were settled even before the close of the last century. Prior to the formation of the county of Sangamon, by act of the Legislature, approved January 30, 1821, the territory of which
it was formed was included in the counties of Bond and Madison. Sangamon County, when first formed, included all of what is now Logan, Tazewell, Mason, Menard, Cass and parts of Morgan, McLean, Marshall, Woodford, Putnam and Christian. The boundary remained thus till the year 1824, when the Legislature reduced its limits ; it still, however, extended to the Illinois River and included all of Menard and parts of Christian, Logan and Mason. The boundaries of Sangamon County remained unchanged till the year 1839, when the Legislature again subdivided it, cutting off Menard, Logan and Christian. The name Dane was first given to the latter, but, after a few years, it was changed to Christian. 

Note:  the History of Menard County is long so I will continue some of the Menard County history in tomorrow's post.


Greenview News

The Greenview Petefish, Skiles and Co. Bank facility formally closes today, November 1 at noon...permanent closure.  Accounts have been moved to Petersburg.  Supposedly an ATM will be installed in Greenview.

Recipe
I love soup and am always looking for new and exciting recipes.  A while ago I found this soup recipe on the Paula Dean web site.  She has wonderful recipes and they always seem to turn out so well....and taste so good.  This is a soup recipe called "Tastes Like Lasagna" and it does.

Tastes Like Lasagna Soup - 8 to 10 servings
1 lb ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup broken lasagna noodles
1 (5 ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese - sprinkle on top

garlic crostini, recipe follows
Garlic Crostini:
1 thin French baguette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.  Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Add a garlic crostini slice on top. Serve immediately.

For the garlic crostini:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut bread into 1/4-inch round slices. Place on baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; place in oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Rub each side with smashed garlic cloves.

Thought For The Day

Nothing so needs reforming

as other people's habits.

--Mark Twain

Have you driven down the street and seen a bunch of boys and their pants are sliding down off their butt.  They have a belt on them but they keep sliding down.  These boys reach down and yank on the pants.  What the heck is the purpose of wearing pants down on the buttocks with the butt crack showing!!

When I was young there were such things as hipsters....but those weren't worn below the hips.  The belt line was only about 2 inches below the waist.  To me these boys have sagging pants.

The majority of boys I see are black boys (and I'm not trying to be a racist), it just seems it fits their lifestyle more than white boys.  I guess this pants below the hips is a fashion statement and these boys are followers.....they sure aren't trend setters.  I heard that this fashion started in prison so the kids want to follow the gangsters.

Can you imagine one of these low pant wearers coming in for a job interview......I absolutely wouldn't hire this person as I would be afraid of the pants slipping and then the business would be accused of sex discrimination....showing it all!!

Most times it appears the underwear they have on is grossly dirty......even with holes.  At least they could wear some fancy underwear.

I suppose that many of these kids do this to aggravate or annoy their parents....and the parents must not do anything because they would be ignored anyway.  Perhaps schools and cities should pass ordinances......we sure had school rules when I was young.  Arrest those who don't pull up their low riding pants.....I just think it's gross!!!

But on the other side I guess there are a lot of older people who pull their pants up to their armpits......resulting in high water pants....but somehow this just isn't as gross as seeing the butt cracks on these boys.  Guess I'm getting a bit cranky in my old age.

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