Breaking news... of a sort... or at least an explanation as to why the frequency of posting has declined in recent weeks

I always have grand plans for what to put up here and (of greater import to would-be judicial candidates and their supporters) on Page One of FWIW. Even in my current retired state, I seldom get as much done as I think I should.

But those who have been regularly clicking in on FWIW in recent weeks have noticed that I have barely posted anything at all. I have received some emails, inquiring as to my whereabouts.

I haven't gone anywhere. But, on April 22, whilst walking a couple of my grandchildren home from school, I fell, breaking my left arm, just below the shoulder. Yes, I broke my humerus, but I didn't find anything humorous about it at all. Well... maybe in the way I fell: The little group I was walking with were all headed southbound on White Street in Des Plaines, heading away from Central School, in the general direction of my daughter's house, or so I thought. My four-year-old grandson, who'd accompanied me on the school pickup mission, decided to reverse course without warning anyone; he'd just passed a particularly interesting dandelion and wanted to go back for another look. I wasn't looking ahead; I was getting the latest information about third grade recess etiquette from my granddaughter, who was walking to my right, so I didn't know that I was in jeopardy until my legs were so tangled up with the four-year old's that the only question was not whether I would topple, but where.

If I'd been walking next to a similarly-sized adult, I might have grabbed hold and remained upright. But my granddaughter, if tall for her age, was too short for this purpose. If I fell on her, I might hurt her. If I fell forward, I would probably injure my grandson. So, having no better option, I fell to my left, into the grassy parkway adjacent to the sidewalk. I went down like an old tree in a hurricane.

I heard the crunch.

I knew immediately that I was in trouble; I had no way of knowing how much trouble I was in. And would be in, going forward.

I hope to tell some stories about this experience elsewhere. Suffice, for these purposes, to say that having a broken arm complicates the simplest of tasks. Sneezing, for example. Getting out of a chair, for another. Who knew that the shoulder muscle is involved in standing up? Many hours after the fall, when I finally saw the ER doc, he tried to offer consolation: "Yes, your arm is broken, but at least it's your left arm."

He paused. "Unless you're left-handed, of course."

"I am," I said.

"Bummer."

Standing was not my only difficulty. Even typing... when I finally mustered the courage to try it... was incredibly painful.

But I am making progress: Typing is now merely... uncomfortable. So I will get back to posting... as tolerated. (I believe that's still the proper medical jargon....)

Wisdom from the comics... part 2,245

Click on any image to enlarge or clarify.

From last Sunday's Brewster Rockit. I think I can guess what his theory is.

Can you?

Speaking of phones, and what they're putting in them these days, I believe Artificial Intelligence will get sassy before it decides to murder us. When the Perseverance Rover starts sending messages like this (from Carpe Diem, March 28), it may be best to start unplugging things:

Aliens and outer space are a theme here this morning.

This March 6 entry from Bizzaro fits in:

But I come back to Earth for this final entry. Lawyer Ed Kudlik is frustrated that his son Dustin still lives at home. He can't understand why Dustin seems insuficiently motivated to leave the nest (hmmm... failure to launch... so sort of keeping with the outer space theme after all....)

Anyway, even in his chronic frustrated state, Ed can be reminded of what is truly important (Dustin comic, March 30):

What is the math equivalent of a Hallmark Holiday?

Seen on Facebook. Posted there by... I don't know who because Facebook decided it should refresh its page on my screen and send the post from which I had grabbed this photo swirling into the depths of the algorithm. An extensive search has proved fruitless.

My apologies to the original poster, to whom I would surely have given credit if only Facebook had let me.

In the course of my search, though, I did find this Facebook post, which I grabbed from Anna Konya:

There are those who insist that puns are the lowest form of humor. This cartoon, by Grant Snider, from Incidental Comics, is typical:

Puns may not be the most sophisticated form of humor, but to rank them beneath scatalogical humor is just so many road apples.

But to return to the topic, one more post, that I saw on Lynn Dowd's Facebook feed today, attributed to a site called Only Engineers Can Understand:

Enjoy the rest of Pi Day... but beware tomorrow.

Tomorrow... you know... the Ides of March?

Opportunities for responsibly disposing Christmas trees and holiday light strings

The Three Kings have dropped off their gifts and are returning to their own countries by a different route, just as they were warned to do in a dream. It is now time to take down the Christmas decorations. But must the tree just be left at the curb or in the alley for garbage pickup? What about that light string that burned so brightly in December... but failed just after New Year's?

Chicago area residents have several options to responsibly dispose of their used Christmas trees and no-longer-working light strings.

As seen in the poster above, the Chicago Park District lists 27 locations at which residents may drop off their used Christmas trees. Dropoff dates are supposed to be between this Saturday, January 11, and Saturday January 25, but I can state for a fact that a lot of trees have already been dropped off at Norwood Park already. (When you put up a tree right after Halloween, even though you make heroic efforts to keep it moist, it's almost impossible that the poor thing will make it all the way to Día de los Reyes Magos... there were a few trees at the park on the Feast of St. Stephen.)

And, as of Monday, January 13, your used tree can be traded in for usable mulch, at least at the locations indicated above.

If you act quickly enough, you can turn your used tree into goat food: According to this post from Channel 11, the Urban Growers Collective is recycling trees by feeding them to their herd of goats. Trees may be dropped off until 5:00 p.m. today and from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, January 11, at the collective's South Chicago Farm, 9001 S. Mackinaw Street (enter off 90th Street).

North suburban readers may want to donate their used trees at one of eight locations operated by the Lake County Forest Preserve District. This Patch article lists all eight donation sites. Used trees will be accepted at these locations until Feburary 1.

At least some of the trees donated will be used by Lake County as "fish cribs." According to the Channel 11 article, donated trees are tied together and weighted down with cinderblocks or similar heavy objects, then submerged in larger lakes, such as former quarries, where they can provide a vital habitat for young fish.

As for holiday light strings which have given up the Ghost of Christmas Past, Reduce Waste Chicago has announced 30 locations at which used light strings will be accepted. All are listed at this link, from the Edgebrook Ace Hardware Store at 5423 W. Devon, to the UPS Store at 6102 S. Archer Ave. in Chicago. Outside Chicago, lights will be collected at the Rebuilding Exchange, 1245 Hartrey Ave. in Evanston and by the PTO at Whittier Elementary, 715 N. Harvey, in Oak Park (donations must be made during school hours).

Reduce Waste Chicago says that, last year, more than 3,000 pounds of lights were collected from 24 locations last year. Thanks to the expansionof collection sites, the organization expects to collect even more this year (through January 31). (Credit to this article by Pavan Acharya of Block Club Chicago for this information.)

Readers should know that different municipalities have different, often contradictory, rules about what materials may be recycled in their communities. The City of Chicago, for example, complained a couple of years ago that shiny wrapping paper -- you know, the good stuff -- was not recyclable.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week about a new app called Recycle Coach that several Chicago-area municipalities, including now the City of Chicago itself, are using to help residents determine what is and is not recyclable in their area.