by Peggy Robin
This is the last category -- and the best! -- in the 2024 Listies:
1. Holiday traditions at our house. This message by Eleanor O. (posted on Oct 26 #219130) is long, so I'll quote from just the middle section:
"My father made my first Advent Calendar. He used graph paper. He was a toolmaker and precision was everything. The windows were evenly spaced out and cut on three sides so the fourth side could act as a hinge. They were randomly numbered, however, and that was the challenge in the simpler days of my early childhood. We taped the “Advent Calendar” to the window of the kitchen door and every morning I came rushing in for breakfast and the opening of another little window. I was the only kid I knew who had an Advent Calendar! That made it even more special.
"My favorite season of the year is the whole month of Advent. It follows the Autumnal Equinox and marks the changing of the season from equinox to solstice—the Hibernian Solstice! Advent lasts a whole month and you can celebrate a little more each day, perhaps by lighting a candle, then another and another, maybe at sunset, or whenever you like in the evening.
"My daughter in Massachusetts, calls it candle time. I still cling to the ethnic traditions of my forebears and light an additional candle each Sunday during the Advent season. I set them in a wreath, an Advent wreath, of course. No matter how evenly I try to burn the candles, by Christmas some are still shorter, some are still taller than the others."
Can't you just smell the piney scent of the wreath and see the flicker of candlelight? So Christmas-y and so List-mas-y!
2. Witness to a bike accident. Over the years we've had our share of posts seeking witnesses to a crash, usually, to try to find the driver at fault, and, on occasion, to try to find the good samaritan who stopped to help, in order to express proper thanks. But this message is a first: a witness who wants to find out if the person who got taken away in the ambulance is okay. Whitney P. posted this compassionate query on the Listserv on June 30, Message #215274:
"Bike Accident on Newark Street. I was the first on the scene to a bike accident on the south side of Newark St opposite of 3136 Newark. A male, initials DM, was badly injured and bleeding from his head and face. I called 911 who responded quickly and took over." [snip]
This is a two-part nominee for Post of the Year, as part 2 of the story is the one with the heartwarming conclusion:
"Follow-up on bike accident on Newark St last Saturday. Thanks to this listserve, I was able to connect with the twin brother of the man I helped on Newark St last Saturday after he had a bad bike accident. I have been able to visit him in the hospital where he is recovering." (July 8, Message #215536 )
We extend our sincere wishes to the victim for a full recovery...and we extend a Listy nomination to Whitney for her compassionate use of the Listserv.
3. The Delft Mug Essay Contest. Gail G. was giving away this lovely Delft mug (Message #212121 on March 30) but she didn't just leave it out for pickup for the first to respond, as giveaway posters typically do -- she set up an essay contest. How creative!
She received six submissions, each wonderful in its own way. I just wish I had space to reproduce all six here, but a few are long; instead I urge you to read them in full at Message #212119, posted April 1 ....and don't let the date mislead you -- they're all responses by real list members....although one is labeled a joke.
The winning entry was by Stewart W. -- and if Gail G. wins the Listy for Post of the Year, it's only fair to give one to Stewart W., too. (And please do read his essay -- you will be glad you did!)
4. Giverny Gone Wild 2024 edition...with soundrack! It's Message #216273 posted by Henry D., July 31. But first, a bit of background. We must go back to the 2023 nominated posts in the categoriy of Photo of the Year. Kathy R. posted the photo of a hillside in bloom, but the planting was done by Henry R, so they both shared the nomination. You can see the photo in Message #204361 . Well, in 2024 the meadow was in bloom again but there was no accompanying photo; readers were encouraged to get out and see it in real life. Henry writes:
"Even though we’ve had a mostly hot and dry summer, 35% of "Giverny Gone Wild" is now blooming along the Hearst hillside and pool. If you venture out in the morning you’ll see hundreds of blue chickweed flowers along 37th Street. But if you miss the morning show, scores of sunflowers, thousands of cosmos and hundreds of white Queen Anne’s lace are sure to make you smile... The flowers are best seen by the Quebec St. side of the pool and along the lower sidewalk on the west side of the Hearst Soccer Field."
Nice, yes, but that's not what makes the post outstanding. What makes this one special is the next sentance:
"I always feel like when the goldfinches arrive, the work is complete. And the goldfinches are beginning to return. Sometimes you can hear goldfinches before seeing them. Here's a link to what a goldfinch sounds like https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/230747651 "
Play the link, listen to the birds, imagine a blooming meadow....and it's springtime in December in your mind!
5. Candy vs Potatoes is a fascinating experiement in child psychology. On Halloween night, Henry D. offered his little trick-or-treaters a binary choice. They could have the standard fare -- a piece of candy -- or something completely different: two potatoes.
In his message #219324 on Nov 1, Henry asks you to stop and reflect:
"Before reading forward, think of what percentage you would have predicted would be potato takers...."
Then he builds the suspense:
"And now the envelope will be opened.... Drum Roll Please....."
....Followed by the the results:
"The final percentage of potato takers was 31.25%. (20 potato takers, 44 candy takers, and two kids were disqualified and not counted because they wanted one of each--which I okayed;)
"Fifteen of the potato takers were between the ages of 8-12, 4 were 14 years old, and one was 3 years old. And one neighbor whose kid did not swing by wrote in: 'I would have said 0% except that the child in this house says she would have chosen the potatoes 'because it would just be fun!'"
What a surprising window into the mind of a child! Now we're just waiting for the weighty think piece to appear in the pages of the prestigious Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, analyzing the results and telling us what this portends for the next generation of Americans.
Henry's October 31 test brings to mind the world-famous, 52-year-old Stanford child psychology experiment: "One marshmallow now or two later?" (Don't know what I'm talking about? Then please take a short digression to watch this 2:43 minute video to see how it went: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y6R5boDqh4).
And speaking of choosing one thing or two, now's the time to point out that yes, the same poster has earned two nominations in the same category. That's a first in the 13-year run of the Listies. Does it double Henry's chances of winning? Or might it split the votes and let another nominee sneak into first place with a minority share of the votes? Let me send you back to the nomination for "Best Long Discussion Thread" -- the one about Ranked Choice Voting -- for more on that score.
To Henry D.: The question for you may be: "Two nominations now -- or one Listy later?"
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The next message in this series is a special addition this year: POSTER OF THE YEAR!
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Read this message on the Cleveland Park Listserv, Message 220838.
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