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Yippee - spring is here!
It doesn’t matter what the weather does apparently, Bummies is open (from today) and that is the determining factor in this part of the world, so I’m told.
And it’s St. Patrick’s Day too!
Daylight saving may mean getting up in the dark again, but that will only be for a few more weeks, and I do definitely appreciate the extra daylight hours during the evening, so I can’t be too unhappy about that.
(As I write this, it’s 5:15 p.m. and so bright outside that I’m thinking it’s still mid-afternoon!)
And this is actually the earliest I can remember being able to leave my winter coat at home since I arrived here in the Midwest, so even the weather seems to be on its best behavior this year.
I hope that means we are in for a nice long summer with lots of sunshine.
And hopefully this year I’ll be able to take advantage of it all - something I haven’t really been able to do the past few years.
Three years ago, I “lost” the first part of the summer as I was still job hunting. While I made it to the News-Banner in June, those first few months here in Wells County were largely spent just settling in and becoming familiar with the local area.
Two years ago, $4-per-gallon gas prices killed my plans to venture a little further afield over the summer months. In fact, at those prices I didn’t even do much exploring within Wells County!
And last year, although gas prices were down, so was the entire economy, and it was no time at all to be spending money on “extras.”
Okay, so the economy might not have improved that much, if any. But at least, so far anyway, the situation is a bit more stable than it has been in a while, so I can plan to get out and do “some stuff.”
One of the reasons I moved here from New Zealand was so I could go places and see different things without having to spend 10 or more hours in an aeroplane and endure customs and immigration hassles before and after. And after being held back for so long, I’m more than ready for a bit of adventure.
I just need the nice weather to stick around, gas prices not to get any higher (and in fact, a drop back below $2.50 would be very nice thank you Mr. Oil Company CEO!) and for no further economic bad news.
Not too much to ask, surely?
It’s not quite on the same topic, but after getting into an “argument” Tuesday afternoon with some locals who thought that because they had lived here a lot longer then I have, that “they were right and I was wrong,” I thought I’d mention it for the benefit of anyone else who didn’t know.
I won’t embarrass anyone by saying “where” this happened, although I will remember to give the people involved heck about this for a very long time to come.
In the course of reading through a particular official document while doing my daily tasks (not at the News-Banner office I must add,) I noticed the word “Ouabache” spelled “Quabache” - with a “Q” instead of an “O.”
When I questioned it, I was told (by more than one person in the office) that the correct spelling was with a “Q,” that it was pronounced something like “kwabachee” with an almost silent ‘k-sound’ in front, and that I obviously didn’t know my local geography.
That certainly didn’t sound right to me so I persisted, and a few quick checks later, I was in a room with some very red-faced long-time residents of Wells County!
Doh!
For the record, the correct spelling and pronunciation, as given on the national state parks Web site at http://www.stateparks.com/ouabache.html is as follows:
“Ouabache is difficult to spell, but easy to pronounce. Simply say ‘Wabash’...just like the river that forms the southwest boundary for the park. This is the French spelling of an Indian word, so don’t be surprised to hear some folks call it o-ba-chee.”
That same explanation also appears on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Web site at http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2975.htm
“Wabash” is basically the English spelling of the French “Ouabache,” which as the Web site says, is the French spelling of the Indian word.
“O-ba-chee” and, it seems, “Quabache” and any other possible variations that might be out there, are either local corruptions of the French spelling, or just plain wrong.
Sometimes it pays to stick to your guns when everyone around you is telling you that you’re wrong!
The majority opinion is not always the correct one.
by FRANK SHANLY
frank@news-banner.com
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