Bringing the car around

1954 Chevy Bel-Air

I want to thank the owner of this antique 1954 Chevy for having brunch at Corner Bakery. What a gorgeous sight in shiny brown and white! Couldn't resist taking some photos, as there can't be all that many still out on the roads.

Howie and Fritz bought their '54 Chevy from the dealer in Pierce, Nebraska after they took driving lessons.  It was their first car, and the only vehicle they ever bought new.  It was a "pea green" two door Chevy.

After brunch I had missions and errands, an expiring Arboretum membership and expiring shoe store bonus points to tackle. Clicked on WRR, 101.1, Dallas' wonderful classical music station to find an all Mozart playlist for Wolfie's birthday. Suddenly one recording plunged me back a year. There I was sitting at Howie's bedside along with the hospice nurse. Each of us making our own sorts of notations as we watched Dad slowly fail accompanied by Mozart's birthday playlist on WRR.

In one of our dementia rabbit hole conversations, Dad demanded I open his room window then bring the Caddie around.  When I pulled up in the Caddie, Dad planned to climb out the window.  Together we would light out for parts unknown.

light out

vb

(intr, adverb) Informal to depart quickly, as if being chased

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Dad did not depart quickly. The hospice nurse and I waited, breathed, prayed, drifted, until it was no longer Mozart's birthday.  I wrapped the cord around the small radio and placed it in a bag.

© 2013 Nancy L. Ruder

Childhoods of Mediocre Americans

A girl and  her needle-nose pliers : a biography for young readers / by CollageMama.

This week I unjammed my document shredder with those needle-nose pliers.  Pretty pleased with myself.  True, if I didn't feed peculiar materials for worm compost bedding and/or mixed media collages into the machine it would work better. Then the diamond-cut shredder at work jammed, and I applied my new expertise and a liberal dose of shredder lubricant to the task.

I don't have a team of rivals or the art of power. Young kids have many over-achieving role models, with or without steroids. The first time a child gets a happy face sticker for folding his/her nap blanket, we are pondering future greatness. Never mind that blanket folding has not been accompanied by a reduced amount of digital nasal exploration, or a remembrance of things to be flushed, but I digress.

In Mrs. Ahlschwede's third grade class we read the Bobbs Merrill "Childhoods of Famous Americans" formulaic biographies.  Then we recorded the titles on lined 3x5 notecards in our very best new cursive handwriting.  Abigail Adams and Jane Addams were dull, depressing books, but I kept working my way through the alphabet picking up reading speed and comprehension.  When I was plucking books off the shelf it seemed that every female was either rolling hoops down cobble streets or wearing hoop skirts.  I couldn't even hula hoop.

Fast forward to Bernie Madoff : Young Ponzi Schemer.  I'm evaluating subtitles for my new series of deadly dull early reader chapter biographies. 

• : Crockpot Girl of Old Nebraska
• : Finder of Lost Fisher Price Chickens
• : Hot Glue Sharpshooter
• : Sight of Blood Fainter
• : Young Letter Writer 
• : Future Blogger
• : Chex Mix Maven

I've never tried to insert an Excel document into a blog before. These are the 180 titles I've compiled so far for the Bobbs Merrill series, Childhoods of Famous Americans. Perhaps it will save some other obsessed person a long search.  Or it will suggest a new subtitle. Abigail Adams A Girl of Colonial Days Jean Brown Wagoner 1961 Adams, Abigail John Quincy Adams Boy Patriot  Anne Weil Adams, John Q. JANE ADDAMS,  Little Lame Girl  Addams, J Louisa Alcott Girl of Old Boston  Jean Brown Wagoner Alcott, Louisa John Alden Young Puritan Olive W. Burt Alden, J Ethan Allen  Green Mountain Boy  Gertrude Hecker Winders Allen, Ethan Susan Anthony Girl Who Dared Helen Albee Monsell Anthony, S Louis Armstrong,   Young Music Maker Dharathula Millender Armstrong, L John Jacob Astor Boy Trader Dorothy S. Anderson Astor, J Crispus Attucks Boy of Valor Dharathula Millender Attucks, Crispus YOUNG AUDUBON Boy Naturalist Audubon, John James P.T. Barnum Circus Boy Augusta Stevenson Barnum, P Clara Barton Girl Nurse Augusta Stevenson Barton, Clara ELIZABETH BLACKWELL Girl Doctor Joanne Landers Henry 1949 Blackwell, Elizabeth Daniel Boone Boy Hunter Augusta Stevenson Boone, Daniel Jim Bowie,   Boy with a Hunting Knife Gertrude Hecker Winders Bowie, J William Bradford Pilgrim Boy Bradford Smith Bradford, W Anne Bradstreet Young Puritan Poet Montrew Dunham Bradstreet, Anne Jim Bridger Mountain Boy Gertrude Hecker Winders Bridger, J Luther Burbank Boy Wizard Burbank, L Richard Byrd Boy of the South Pole Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. Byrd, R Andrew Carnegie Young Steelmaker Joanne Landers Henry Carnegie, Andrew Kit Carson Boy Trapper Augusta Stevenson Carson, K George Carver Boy Scientist Augusta Stevenson Carver, G Walter Chrysler Boy Machinist Ethel H. Weddle Chrysler, W George Rogers Clark Boy of the Old Northwest  Katharine E. Wilkie Clark, George R Will Clark Boy in Buckskins Katharine E. Wilkie Clark, W Henry Clay Young Kentucky Orator  Helen Albee Monsell Clay, H Mark Twain Boy of Old Missouri Miriam E. Mason Clemens, S DeWitt Clinton Boy Builder Mabel Cleland Widdemer Clinton, DeWitt BUFFALO BILL Frontier Daredevil Augusta Stevenson 1948 Cody, William James Fenimore Cooper Leatherstocking Boy Gertrude Hecker Winders Cooper, J Davy Crockett Young Rifleman Aileen Wells Parks Crockett, Davy GEORGE CUSTER Boy of Action Augusta Stevenson Custer, G Virginia Dare Mystery Girl Augusta Stevenson Dare, V Jeff Davis Confederate Boy Lena Young deGrummond Davis, J Stephen Decatur Gallant Boy  Bradford Smith Decatur, S John Deere Blacksmith Boy Margaret Bare Deere, J Lee DeForest Electronics Boy Lavinia Dobler DeForest, L Cecil B. DeMille Young Dramatist  Hortense Myers  DeMille, Cecil B. George Dewey Vermont Boy Laura Long Dewey, G Babe Didrickson Girl Athlete  Lena Young deGrummond  Didrickson, Babe Joe DiMaggio Young Sports Hero Herb Dunn DiMaggio, J Walt Disney Young Movie Maker Marie Hammontree Disney, W Dorothea Dix Girl Reformer Grace Hathaway Melin Dix, Dorothea Mary Mapes Dodge Jolly Girl Miriam E. Mason Dodge, M Abner Doubleday Young Baseball Pioneer  Montrew Dunham Doubleday, Abner Frederick Douglass Boy Champion of Human Rights Elisabeth P. Myers Douglass, F AMELIA EARHART Young Aviator Beatrice Gromley Earheart, Amelia Amelia Earhart  Kansas Girl Jane Moore Howe Earheart, Amelia George Eastman Young Photographer  Joanne Landers Henry Eastman, G THOMAS A EDISON Young Inventor Sue Guthridge 1947 Edison, Thomas ALBERT EINSTEIN Young Thinker Marie Hammontree 1961 Einstein, Albert Dwight D. Eisenhower Young Military Leader Eisenhower, Dwight D Duke Ellington Young Music Master Martha Schaaf Ellington, Duke William Fargo Boy Mail Carrier Katharine E. Wilkie Fargo, W David Farragut Boy Midshipman Laura Long Farragut, David Harvey S. Firestone Young Rubber Pioneer Adrian Paradis Firestone, H John Fitch Steamboat Boy  Augusta Stevenson Fitch, J Henry Ford Boy with Ideas Hazel B. Aird  Ford, H Bedford Forrest Boy on Horseback Aileen Wells Parks Forrest, Bedford STEPHEN FOSTER Boy Minstrel Helen Boyd Higgins Foster, Stephen Ben Franklin Printer's Boy Augusta Stevenson Franklin, Benjamin Jessie Fremont Girl of Capitol Hill  Jean Brown Wagoner Fremont, J Robert Frost,   Boy with Promises to Keep Ellen Wilson Frost, R Robert Fulton Boy Craftsman Marguerite Henry Fulton, R LOU GEHRIG Boy to the Sand Lots Gehrig, Lou George Gershwin Young Composer Bernice Bryant Gershwin, G Robert Goddard  Pioneer Rocket Boy Clyde B. Moore Goddard, R U.S. Grant Young Horseman Augusta Stevenson Grant, U Nathanael Greene Independent Boy Howard Peckham Greene, N Nathan Hale Puritan Boy Augusta Stevenson Hale, N ALEC HAMILTON The Little Lion Helen Boyd Higgins Hamilton, Alexander John Hancock New England Boy Cathrine Seward Cleven Hancock, J Nancy Hanks Kentucky Girl  Augusta Stevenson Hanks, Nancy Joel Chandler Harris Young Storyteller Ethel H. Weddle Harris, J WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON  Young Tippecanoe Howard Peckham Harrison, William H. Bret Harte Young Storyteller  Janet Branham Harte, Bret Patrick Henry Boy Spokesman Thomas Frank Barton Henry, P James J. Hill Young Empire Builder Mildred Houghton Comfort Hill, J OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR. Boy of Justice Montrew Dunham 1961 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. HERBERT HOOVER  Boy Engineer Mildred H. Comfort 1965 Hoover, Herbert Harry Houdini (Young Magician) Kathryn Kilby Borland Houdini, H SAM HOUSTON Boy Chieftain Augusta Stevenson Houston, Sam Elias Howe Inventive Boy Jean Corcoran Howe, E Julia Ward Howe Girl of Old New York Jean Brown Wagoner Howe, J Langston Hughes Young Black Poet Montrew Dunham Hughes, L Washington Irving Boy of Old New York  Mabel Cleland Widdemer Irving, W Andy Jackson Boy Soldier Augusta Stevenson Jackson, A Rachel Jackson  Tennessee Girl  Christine Noble Govan Jackson, R Tom Jackson  Young Stonewall Helen Albee Monsell Jackson, Thomas TOM JEFFERSON A Boy in Colonial Days Helen Albee Monsell 1939 Jefferson, Thomas Lyndon B. Johnson Young Texan Thomas Frank Barton Johnson, L John Paul Jones Salt-Water Boy Dorothea J. Snow Jones, J Chief Joseph Boy of the Nez Perce  Olive W. Burt Joseph Helen Keller Handicapped Girl  Katharine E. Wilkie Keller, H Francis Scott Key Maryland Boy Augusta Stevenson Key, F Martin Luther King, Jr. Boy with a Dream  Dharathula H. Millender King, M Robert E. Lee  Boy of Old Virginia Helen Albee Monsell Lee, R John L. Lewis Young Militant Labor Leader George Gershon Korson Lewis, J Meriwether Lewis Boy Explorer Charlotta M. Bebenroth Lewis, M Liliuokalani Young Hawaiian Queen Shirlee Petkin Newman Liliuokalani Abe Lincoln Frontier Boy  Augusta Stevenson Lincoln, Abraham Mary Todd Lincoln Girl of the Bluegrass  Katharine E. Wilkie Lincoln, M Robert Todd Lincoln President's Boy LaVere Anderson Lincoln, R Vince Lombardi Young Football Coach  Hortense Myers Lombardi, V Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  Grace Hathaway Melin Longfellow, H Juliette Low Girl Scout  Helen Boyd Higgins Low, J Dolly Madison Quaker Girl Helen Albee Monsell Madison, Dolly Francis Marion Young Swamp Fox  William O. Steele Marion, F John Marshall Boy of Young America Helen Albee Monsell Marshall, J Cyrus McCormick Farmer Boy Lavinia Dobler McCormick, Cyrus William H. McGuffey Boy Reading Genius Barbara Williams McGuffey, W Maria Mitchell Girl Astronomer Grace Hathaway Melin Mitchell, M James Monroe Good Neighbor Boy Mabel Cleland Widdemer Monroe, J Samuel Morse Inquisitive Boy Dorothea J. Snow Morse, S J. Sterling Morton Arbor Day Boy Clyde B. Moore Morton, J Lucretia Mott Girl of Old Nantucket  Constance Buel Burnett Mott, L John Muir Young Naturalist  Montrew Dunham Muir, J Edward R. Murrow Young Newscaster Hortense Myers Murrow, Edward Annie Oakley Little Sure Shot  Ellen Wilson Oakley, Annie Osceola Young Seminole Indian Electa Clark Osceola Robert Peary Boy of the North Electa Clark Peary, R WILLIAM PENN Friendly Boy Miriam E. Mason Penn, William J. C. Penney Golden Rule Boy Wilma J. Hudson Penney, J OLIVER HAZARD PERRY Boy of the Sea Laura Long Perry, O Zeb Pike Boy Traveler Augusta Stevenson Pike, Z Allan Pinkerton Young Detective Kathryn Borland Pinkerton, Allan Molly Pitcher Girl Patriot Augusta Stevenson Pitcher, M POCAHONTAS Brave Girl  Pocahontas Pontiac Young Ottawa Leader Howard Henry Peckham Pontiac JOSEPH PULITZER Boy Journalist  Pulitzer, J George Pullman Young Sleeping Car Builder Elisabeth P. Myers Pullman, G Walter Reed Boy Who Wanted to Know Helen Boyd Higgins Reed, W Frederick Remington Young Artist  Clyde B. Moore Remington, F PAUL REVERE Boy of Old Boston Augusta Stevenson 1946 Revere, Paul James Whitcomb Riley Hoosier Boy  Minnie Belle Mitchell Riley, J Knute Rockne Young Athlete Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. Rockne, K WILL ROGERS Young Cowboy Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. Rogers, W Eleanor Roosevelt Courageous Girl  Ann Weil Roosevelt, Eleanor Franklin Roosevelt Boy of the Four Freedoms  Ann Weil Roosevelt, F TEDDY ROOSEVELT Young Rough Rider  Edd Winfield Parks 1953 Roosevelt, Teddy BETSY ROSS Girl of Old Philadelphia Ann Weil 1954 Ross, Betsy Babe Ruth  Baseball Boy  Ruth, Babe Sacagawea Bird Girl Flora Warren Seymour 1945 Sacagawea Carl Sandburg,   Young Singing Poet Grace Hathaway Melin Sandburg, Carl Sequoyah  Young Cherokee Guide Dorothea J. Snow Sequoyah Sitting Bull Dakota Boy Augusta Stevenson Sitting Bull John Smith Jamestown Boy Thomas Frank Barton Smith, J Young Jed Smith Westering Boy Olive W. Burt Smith, Jed John Philip Sousa Marching Boy Ann Weil Sousa, J Squanto Young Indian Hunter Augusta Stevenson Squanto Myles Standish Adventurous Boy Augusta Stevenson Standish, M Adlai Stevenson Young Ambassador Ward, Martha E. Stevenson, Adlai Harriet Beecher Stowe Connecticut Girl Mabel Cleland Widdemer Stowe, H Jeb Stuart Boy in the Saddle Gertrude Hecker Winders Stuart, J PETER STUYVESANT Boy With Wooden Shoes Stuyvesant Zach Taylor Young Rough and Ready Katharine E. Wilkie Taylor, Z Tecumseh Shawnee Boy Augusta Stevenson Tecumseh Jim Thorpe Indian Athlete Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. Thorpe, J Harry S Truman Missouri Farm Boy Wilma J. Hudson Truman, H Harriet Tubman Freedom Girl Gertrude Hecker Winders Tubman, H Lew Wallace Boy Writer Martha E. Schaaf Wallace, L John Wanamaker Boy Merchant Olive W. Burt Wanamaker, J BOOKER T. WASHINGTON Ambitious Boy Augusta Stevenson Washington, Booker T. GEORGE WASHINGTON Young Leader Augusta Stevenson 1959 Washington, George Martha Washington Girl of Old Virginia  Jean Brown Wagoner Washington, M Anthony Wayne Daring Boy Augusta Stevenson Wayne, Anthony Dan Webster Union Boy  Bradford Smith Webster, Daniel Noah Webster Boy of Words Helen Boyd Higgins Webster, N Benjamin West Gifted Young Painter  Dorothea J. Snow West, Benjamin George Westinghouse Young Inventor  Montrew Dunham Westinghouse, G Narcissa Whitman Pioneer Girl Ann Spence Warner Whitman, N Eli Whitney Boy Mechanic Dorothea J. Snow Whitney, Eli Kate Douglas Wiggin The Little Schoolteacher Miriam E. Mason Wiggin, K WOODROW WILSON Boy President Helen Albee Monsell Wilson, W F. W. Woolworth Five and Ten Boy Woolworth WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT Young Fliers Augusta Stevenson Wright, Wilbur, Orville Brigham Young Covered Wagon Boy Polly Carver Jordan Young, Brigham JOHN PETER ZENGER Young Defender of Free Press  Zenger, J © 2013 Nancy L. Ruder

Cocoa, Cinque Terre, and the Corner Bakery combo

Again this year I did not kiss Billy Crystal at midnight, although I'm sad that Nora Ephron left us in 2012. Instead I piled on the quilts, drank cocoa, and stayed up late reading Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins, way past eight p.m.  I drifted away in a happy dream where iridescent hummingbirds towed congressional representatives and senators to happy rainbow compromise with pink satin ribbons.  It seemed so real!

Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins also seems so real and wonderful. I loved being sucked into all the story lines and movie pitches. And when the iridescent hummingbirds bring me a Very Big Check, I will go to Cinque Terre to hike and write my memoirs. I will stay at the Hotel Adequate View for sure.

Had lunch with long-time friends at Corner Bakery.  My walking buddy claims this is our annual New Year's tradition.  I'm embarrassed to admit if it is our tradition I don't recall. Read back through my blog entries from a year ago, and found no Corner Bakery New Year's.

There's something profoundly anchoring about a tradition so unblogworthy. I rely heavily on that friendship, that comfort of the known, that hesitationless panini combo. The routine is so consistent that the only decision is whether to start walking from her home or mine.

Two years ago my sister and I brought Dad to live out his days in Plano, Texas. One year ago, Dad was entering his final downhill slide. Eight years ago my mother was being transported to Mayo Clinic. I did not know I'd just seen her for the last time.

January is a tough month.  I look to the ceiling and see cobwebs that date back to the dawn of the modern era. The hummingbirds fly in with ribbons, not cobwebs.

There was about a year and a half after Mom died when Dad still had most of his wits.  He followed my interests in photography and hummingbirds and spiders.  He could still connect those interests with our family tradition of exchanging Christmas tree ornaments. He was not yet in the toddler self-centered dementia. He could still plan ahead.

I cherish the cloisonne hummingbird ornaments he ordered from a museum catalog that year knowing how much I would like them.  The wonderful spider pin he gave me has a broken clasp, but there's a silken web leading to an alert mind and a man with whom I'd shared every birthday.

Yes, January is a rough month. Good friends are the ribbons and webs that keep me together. And I recommend the poblano fresco sandwich with roast beef.


© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder

Saggyboobosity lonesome Playtex blues

Over in Illinois there are some very tired 18-hour bras working a double shift.  In the preschool room my tiny French student notices the Bandaid over my hot glue burn and says, "Boo boo."  From this small step she suddenly expresses the big idea, "I like your shirt. Do you like my shirt?"

 I do.  I like that party shirt! Go, Dog, Go!  We are cooking.

Here in Texas I put a Chicken Davenport ala Doris casserole into my preheated newlio trulio functioning oven. Doris was my sister-in-law way back in the before time.  She made a gourmet dish of chicken, frozen broccoli, frozen hashbrowns, cheese, and cream of chicken soup for a bridal shower a quarter century or so ago. I can't remember "divan", and I can't exactly google "Doris", although I miss her and wish her well after all these years, and her husband, too. Another former sister-in-law lived in Davenport, Iowa, a swing state. Somehow Chicken Divan got mixed up with davenports, couches, sofas,sleepers, settees, divans, loveseats, futons, and sectionals. The secret is having plenty of buttered bread crumbs baked on top of the casserole.  Enough might even prevent divorce.

I am so far behind.  I zip and dart from Halloween tie-dye experiments to Hurricane Sandy fretting. Sitting in the waiting room for my blood pressure checkup, I pass the time writing fall student progress reports. This creative endeavor seems to calm the blood pressure.  My doctor pronounces my blood pressure "beautiful".  Not bad for a divorced couch casserole boo-boo art teacher.

It had been a bad day.  I couldn't even wear my own shirt.  There was so much poop in the preschool that I had to scrounge up a new outfit to wear to the doctor appointment.  My little French student would have looked at my shirt and said something other than "Boo boo"!




© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder

My watermelon tastes like chlorine...

Individual watermelons make me mildly cheerful, so I brought one home from Market Street on Sunday afternoon.  It's been a hectic few days, but last evening I halved the melon and made melon balls with my trusty Tupperware utensil. That's as sharp as an object as I should hold during the GOP convention broadcasts.

Usually I give a third of a watermelon to my elderly snaggle-toothed neighbor. Put a good portion into a covered container for Wild Bill, and lunchbox servings in small Rubbermaid lunch containers.

At lunch I very slowly noticed that I wasn't enjoying the watermelon. I tried to ID the problem, and finally figured out there was a chlorine taste to the fruit. If the outside of a melon is washed with chlorinated water, can the taste permeate the inside?

True, I listened to a Diane Rehms show about food safety regulations recently. It focused on listeria in cantaloupes. I looked up the transcript:

MARLER

10:24:06

Well, you know, it is like almost every other outbreak that I deal with. There are mistakes that are made in production. In this instance, there was not chlorinization (sic) of the water, which is -- you know, frankly, I think under anybody sets of rules, under anybody sets of regulations, those would've been, you know, put out by the FDA. And, in fact, you know, the regulations or the voluntary regulations the FDA has has those in them, and they just chose not to do it.

So now I've got a lot of melon balls that I'm not all that anxious to eat. I won't be giving them to my neighbor. Perhaps their best use is as photographer's models.

A happier discovery was the 100 Gallons project at UNC-Chapel Hill's Powering A Nation. I found the project through Kelly Izlar's blog post "Smelling the Rain", a delightful, evocative, and informative piece.

One hundred gallons is the average amount of water used by each person everyday in the U.S.  Check out the wonderful interactive film, and sample some of the journalistic storytelling and intriguing videos. Eventually I'll sample some of the more scientific sections at the site.

© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder

Retrieving "spandex"

Been more than a little bummed out this week. I'm even bummed that I first heard the expression "bummed out" forty years ago. How can this be?  Tom and Cam were "bummed out" because the band did not play their best song at the concert.

Time is expanding, contracting, and even constricting.  Our little students love the song about being eaten by a boa constrictor.  Days are hot and patience is low.  Trying not to feed any kiddies to the boa!

Nature is getting more and more Tarantino around here.  I watched three squirrels play soccer in the street with a bright yellow horse apple. The victor tried to haul the ball up a tree.

Why can I remember Tom and Cam slumped and sweaty in those Greco-Roman history classroom desks, but can't dredge up an answer to Will Shortz's crossword clue for "Some gym wear"? And why do I dream of rolling sets of silverware in paper napkins in the hospital kitchen?

For days now I've been watching two Giant Swallowtail caterpillars devour the leaves of my small key lime tree.  When I got home today  at four, one caterpillar was struggling in the dirt under the tree.  Of course I rescued it and returned it to the lime leaves, not just once, but three times.  Each time it rolled right off and dropped to the dirt. Then the caterpillar started a writhing belly-dance of agony and/or delight.

When I give my heart and hopes to a caterpillar we are both doomed.  Caterpillars are stung and devoured by Texas fire ants.  Caterpillars are devoured by a praying mantis that looks like F. Murray Abraham. Caterpillars devour dill but fail to thrive on a long drive.

This time the caterpillar seemed to lack a zipper to shed its too-small skin. In You-Tube videos caterpillars make this costume change in less than a minute.  I watched my caterpillar's efforts for over two hours in the hundred degree heat.  Imagine trying to remove sweaty pantyhose while sitting in your car that's been parked in the sun all day without drawing unwanted attention from passersby.  Imagine trying to shed your skin without signaling hungry birds or lizards. Imagine "S P A N D E X" pops to mind for the gym wear.

It was a good answer, but not the right one.  The caterpillar has given up on shedding that skin.

© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder