Quiz #42. Out of Stock
Why a puzzle with state birds still has me ranting 19 years later? Steve's Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz for April 30, 2020
Fried-day morning.
Lucky enough to still be working? You’ve made it, weary and worn-out. Just get through the day.
For me, working Sunday through Thursday, my Friday morning hit 24 hours ago. The end of Week 8 now of working from home (WFH).
Woke up early as usual and had coffee with Sara. I was beyond grumpy. “Nothing but negative,” said Sara. Her assessment: You have your cranky pants on.
Changed the morning routine. No early morning writing. Took the cranky pants off and took a nap. 2 hours of satisfying slumber.
Woke up to witness the mess of my workplace, the guest/bedroom and now my office/writing area for 18 hours a day, 5 if not 7 days a week.
Took a photo of the dresser by the side of the bed that’s become my nightstand/desk. A littered litany of life at the beginning of my “senior” years. My body, an old car with 175,000 miles on it. Can’t buy a new one so doing my best to keep the parts running.
From bottom to top:
Bedside charging station that keeps me and my devices going
Shoes (always shoes—with different pairs in every room in the house)
Rechargeable hearing aids
Yeti tumbler with water (stay hydrated)
Coffee cup (stay awake)
Remote for the ceiling and overhead light
Green poop bags from walking the dogs
Selfie light for late-night Zoom and Team video conferences
Post-it notes for late-night thoughts
2 TV remotes (Why are there 2 TV remotes? I really don’t know.)
Blood pressure cuff (Checking it twice a day, it’s still a little high.)
Wrist braces for sore wrists from excessive use of the laptop
Day-planner calendar to take notes on what happened when
Wallet and work ID (Wonder when I will need them again?)
Hats (From the dog walks)
Photo album and Doxie scanner (Project on hold since writing of the quiz began)
White cotton gloves to wear when scanning to keep fingerprints off photo prints
Awake before noon. Quick lunch with Sara and an hour left to write before logging on for work.
What to write?
Cheating, I decided to hit the archives and go back to something that’s been bothering me for almost 20 years. (I do know how to hold a grudge.)
What’s been bothering me for decades? State birds. I went back through my old emails and found my first email on the subject, back on December 13, 2001. It was included as part of a passdown work email I sent to coworkers at the end of my shift as an overnight manager in morning TV news.
PERSONAL NOTE: This is a personal rant from the overnight. This week was my daughter's 11th birthday. We gave her a puzzle with the 50 states and all the state flowers and state birds. Did you know that the Cardinal is the state bird for 7 states? Aren't there enough birds for every state to have its own bird? Shouldn't someone decide which one state gets to claim the Cardinal as its state bird? Maybe one of those military tribunals could decide it. If not, how about Congress, the Supreme Court? The states could fight it out. Should the first state to claim the Cardinal as its own retain the right to claim the Cardinal as its state bird? Perhaps the state with the most Cardinals get that right--or should it be the state with most Cardinals per square mile? Maybe other famous Cardinals could decide it. Maybe Mark McGwire, Whitey Herzog or Anthony Bevilacqua? One bird, one state.
Now, once we get the Cardinal thing straightened out, let's tackle the Western Meadowlark (state bird in 6 states); then, we'll go after the Mockingbird (state bird in 5 states.) That's 3 birds for 18 states. This is an outrage! Aren't the other bird families feeling a little left out? One bird, one state. I'm going home to sleep.
Thank you and good night.
Putting the dated references aside (Beyond the “military tribunals,” in 2001, Anthony Bevilacqua was the Cardinal of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia and Mark McGwire and Whitey Herzog were famous baseball figures associated with the St. Louis Cardinals.), the rant still rings true--and there’s more. Baseball’s Cardinals are located in St. Louis which is located in Missouri--but the Cardinal is NOT the state bird of Missouri. The state bird of Missouri is the Eastern Goldfinch. Which is fine--except the Eastern Goldfinch is also the state bird of New Jersey. When the Eastern Goldfinch gets to Missouri, shouldn’t it be called the Midwestern Goldfinch? I could go on. What’s the state bird of Utah? Would you believe it’s the Seagull? Last time I checked, Utah was landlocked--no seas in sight.
I’m still holding the grudge, but I couldn’t find the puzzle. I did find a picture of it on Google. Take a look.
State flowers and state birds. Take a close look? What stands out?
Two footnotes.
First, today I hit Google and asked the question, “Why Are Cardinals Red?” Long story, but in an article from Karen HC on whenlifeisgood.com, she said it has to do with their diet. If Cardinals don’t eat right, they’re not so red. (Who knew?) More importantly, it's the male cardinal that is red.
Female cardinals are influenced in their choice of a mate by the color of the males. In nature, a bright red male indicates that he is fit and healthy, able to find the best sources of food that is rich in protein and other nutrients as well as in red carotenoid pigments. He is also more likely to hold a better territory, and to offer more parental care. A duller male may signify that he doesn’t have the strength and health to maintain a large enough territory to procure sufficient quality food for himself, and in extension for his mate and their young.
In other words, in the aviary world, the red Cardinal is a wild and crazy extrovert, ”Hey, look at me!” It may be biology, but being red and ridiculous serves a valuable purpose. (The Cardinals are the first things that you see when you look at the picture of the puzzle.) That was a comfort to me as I again write this coronavirus quiz, putting myself and my ridiculousness out there as a diversion from this pandemic.
The second footnote. If you want to do the state bird puzzle this weekend--or any weekend---you’re out of luck. In these stay-at-home days, there’s been a run on jigsaw puzzles. The state bird puzzle is out of stock.
Editor’s Note:
Some of the facts here about state birds are wrong. The Robin is the state bird of 2 states and the Eastern Goldfinch is not the state bird of Missouri. I regret the errors. How did I find out about these mistakes—plus other reader reaction to state birds in Quiz #43. Sorry Seagulls.
What did NOT happen?
A. Two weekends ago, John decided to work on a jigsaw puzzle. It featured different colored buttons. He worked on it at the dining room table before getting stalled--and putting it away so he could take work conference calls at the table;
B. In my morning conversation with Sara, before I was even thinking about cardinals, she told me, “Putting our personal details on the Internet is hard for me, but I know that it is important for you. I know that you will never be one of those husbands who builds birdhouses in your stay-at-home quarantine;”
C. I texted the family to let them know that I would be discussing my concerns about state birds in this quiz. Ted texted, “Biggest scam of all time;”
D. Ted also brought up the Robin—the state bird in Michigan where he and Erica live. The Robin is also the state bird of Wisconsin. One bird, one state--right?
E. Betsy texted that she still had the state bird puzzle and used it for her elementary school students. It was in her supplies at the now-closed school.
Want the answer?
Answer #42. Out of Stock, April 30, 2020
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Want more?
Here’s the next quiz in the series: Quiz #43. Sorry Seagulls.
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #41. Ridiculous.
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
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