Morning all:

Interesting, this morning the cats were in full attack mode. Normally they can hardly be seen, but this morning it was a different story. I finally had enough and went downstairs. Here they were again, this time walking circles around their empty food dishes. One night without food and you’d think they were on a fast track to starvation. Therefore, the order in which everyone got their morning due was cats first, Shang second, and only after that did I grind some fresh coffee.

I am doing my post and the cats are nowhere to be seen. That is true ‘thanks’ for you.

Would you believe it, a few weeks ago Adrianne experienced a near 8 point earthquake in Tonga. It was quickly realized that about the only nation not notified about a potential tsunami as a result of that quake was the very place where the quake originated. Last Tuesday, just as Tonga was finally undertaking its first ever tsunami emergency exercise, a 5.8 point earthquake hit the country again. I just wonder how the Tongans managed to create an earthquake with such precise timing?

As Garrison Keillor normally starts on his weekly A Prairie Home Companion radio show “It was a quiet week in….” well, it was a quiet week in Cincinnati: quiet, except for the daily pounding of the rain that is. Storm after storm blew through, daily, and for over a week. And Mother Nature was somewhat of a tease about the whole thing since it consistently looked like change it-was-a-coming. Twice I got caught on my evening walk, leaving the house under clear skies only to be about a mile or so away when out of nowhere the skies opened up again.

But, this weekend promises to be spectacular, so I guess that I have been living right after all. From the sheer pressure of Shang’s huge brown eyes staring at me, which by the way only see in black and white, I caved in. Along with some chores (laundry to the cleaners) I will be taking him for a morning walk around our Lunken Airport hiking trail—six miles.

Since I seem to be on a what-am-I-doing-this-weekend theme let me just barge right on. My plan is that this evening I’ll join the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival production of Richard III. It is a bit of a dark play dealing with a man who is commonly represented as an icon of evil, an ogre of insensitivity who was horribly disfigured who led England in The Wars of the Roses. And, this is only for Marin and Derek, (pssst. it’s a secret only between us three) he ate live frogs for breakfast! There is also another side to the character, one of being a reformer in the rough pre-Tudor era 500 years ago.

As an update, things are progressing nicely in Ocoee. Now that Vince’s brother and his wife had their baby this week I think that both Vince and Kirstin are more eager than ever for Derek to have a new brother/sister join the ranks. In the meantime Marcia plods on with laundry, play, cleaning, cooking, etc.; isn’t that what we celebrated last weekend—Mother’s Day?

Make it a great week everyone and take the time to reach out.

Cheers,
Dirk