The sordid history of the mop
There are few things less manly than pushing a vacuum cleaner back and forth on a carpet. Most guys would rather blow out the dust and dirt in the living room with a leaf blower, or we sometimes give a swift kick with a booted foot to whatever is lying on the floor that needs to move, and sometimes may even ignore the floor and leave whatever lies therein undisturbed. But in my case, to get the Arctic Fox permanently out of my family's driveway, I am forced to use a vacuum cleaner, but only with the drapes closed to remain anonymous and preserve all of my toxic masculinity.
How about mopping floors? That obviously can be a guy thing. The first skill I learned in Air Force basic training was how to mop a floor, and as basic slick-sleeved airmen, we all became very proficient at floor mopping. For some of us, our moms did all the floor mopping, and I, for one, helped by staying as far away as possible from anything resembling a mop.
But despite that, mops go back a long way in history, at least as far back as the English Navy. You may recall that a long time ago, England owned half the world, and it was able to do so with its mighty warships and the hard-bitten men who sailed them. I myself was softly bitten, and preferred the Air Force to the Navy. But the very basic sailor in the English Navy was known as a swabby, and how did they become known by that nickname, you may ask? It was all because of a mop.
You have to understand that English sailors had a lot of trouble speaking English, and still do, nobody knows why. But they mistakenly call a mop a swab, and since all English sailors do all day is mop the decks, or should I say "swab the decks," English sailors ended up being called swabbies instead of moppies.
Now you might wonder what the British navy and their inability to speak the English language have to do with me vacuuming the carpet in the Arctic Fox? And I would have to say, absolutely nothing, but that's the advantage of having your own blog: you don't have to write things that make sense, serve any purpose, or sound the least bit intelligent, and it’s those very things of which I excel.
Theboondork....... rewriting history one blog post at a time.
The sky is filled with Canada Geese, Puffins, and a couple of Toucans way in the back at the Bosque Del Apache.
Early morning at the Bosque Del Apache. I pulled off the road and made breakfast, enjoying the beauty of the Fall colors as I waited for the birds to arrive.
A beautiful Fall morning at the Bosque Del Apache.