Saturday morning, and aside from our little family sitting around waiting for the Covid wave to pass over, all is great (caused because Marcia refused to allow me to smear Goats blood on our front door). I discovered that the ‘Covid wave’ wasn’t all that horrific in that I managed to catch up, I mean really catch up, on sleep. Marcia is in the same straights.

Coffee Trivia:
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. It’s believed that’s how the first coffee drink was born.
Plus: were you aware that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary?

This past week I refilled my morning coffee and walking back to the front I heard the last piece of some advert on the radio – which included the sound of a Fog Horn. Before that horn sound could fade, my mind’s eye had me, with total clarity, back to my summer stint on Mackinac Island in the late sixties. Several times throughout that summer the nearby fog horn would sound – desolate, solitary, lonesome, and even eerie. Whenever it sounded it was the only sound to be heard. The mind is an amazing thing!

Just so you too can again capture this iconic sound, I put a one-minute Fog Horn audio clip below. The horn you hear is that of a big one, the Sumburgh lighthouse at Sumburgh Head, Shetland (northern Scotland). It is the oldest lighthouse in Shetland and was the sound used in Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” (film – 2019).

”Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.” ~ George Carlin

So Stuck …. On a roof – Aging brings along many changes. Some changes we recognize and deal with, others, we pretend to not exist, or if they exist, they are dealt with much less severely than reality would dictate. All this takes place on just about every front, whether medical, physical, or mental. Yet we plod on.

This past week on our brotherly Zoom exercise session George displayed a patch on his forearm. Turns out he miss-stepped on his ladder (luckily only on the second rung) and scraped his forearm on the house’s exterior stucco.

This leads to the next story. Possibly the ‘Nati’s most influential and arguably most popular live Radio host is one, Bill (‘Willie’) Cunningham. He’s also an attorney and knows literally every local and state political entity, business guru, and sports figure. He’s in a position where something will come up and then, on occasion, he’ll pick up the phone and call our Governor – and get through! His wife is a retired Federal Judge (that too plays a small part as you’ll see).

Visible here is where the whole, life changing, aging thing happens. And deep down we know it’s the same to us all; whether yours truly or even a ‘Willie’ Cunningham. Listen to his interaction with a 911 emergency dispatcher:

Entertainment –
Last Saturday I mentioned that I got tickets to see Willie Nelson and Family in early August! I also discussed how thrilled Marcia is with this.

Having lived in the world of Marketing I know the importance of building anticipation and excitement. Hence, mid-week I sent her this little YouTube to do just that. And felt that you too, my faithful three-strong readers, would appreciate:

3-years ago – Mother’s Day to be exact, I gave Marcia a small Orchid plant. After blooming it looked like it was ready to die. Yet, the following year it bloomed again, and has been doing it every year since.

Last year it had two blooms, white with a purple edge. This year it produced six (6) buds and now the first three flowers have opened and the flowers are a wonderful purple.

Some folk just have a green thumb!

Fini –
• Today is the 141st day of the year 2022 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 224 days remaining until the end of this year.

• Major deep thinkers such as George Clooney, Bill Gates, Greta Thunburg, and others will be meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week. Much news reporting from their deliberations will deal with the “end of the world.” I just want them to know that the ancient Maya civilization believed that the end of the world would happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 3,438 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

• Today in 1881 the American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons. Ours became part of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies.

• And, also on this day in 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a solo air crossing of the Atlantic. Today, possibly 10,000 people will make their own first air crossing of the Atlantic.

• 1979: Dan White who had gone to see NYC Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk to ask for his old job back, when they refused to give him back his job he shot and killed them both. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter (rather than first degree murder) after his defense lawyers argued his mental state at the time of the killings was one of diminished capacity due to depression, caused by his consumption of sugary junk food. White’s defense was labeled by the press as “the Twinkie defense.” It took from 1979 to 2011 for Twinkies to disappear in bankruptcy (then get reborn in 2015). Enjoy!

• Sears was the Amazon of its day. In their catalog they labeled products using descriptions as “good”, “better”, and “best”. Anyone know what Amazon will be remembered for?

• Success to Dinah and her teammates as they participate in an invitational Sculling Regatta (8X & 4X boats). I’m putting an extra $100 bill in my pocket to cover gasoline costs to the lake.

Best till next weekend, be healthy; and keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk