Happy Saturday morning:

“Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?” ~ Jim Bouton

I suspect that all the Super Bowl hype has begun to sneak into my thinking. At least to some small bit, so yes, I’ll be watching. But before that, there is a bunch of activity, starting with some coffee, which I’ll pour now.

Watching 333 feet underground – not live mind you, but recorded at the Volcano Room at the Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, TN and shown on PBS for a series titled Bluegrass Underground. Last evening it was banjo virtuoso Alison Brown and her group (previously she’s toured with Alison Krauss and Union Station). For an hour I was completely mesmerized listening to what can be best described as a Bluegrass Jazz fusion. Fabulous stuff indeed.

It gets better.

Once the credits for the Alison Brown performance ran I ducked out of the room for a glass of water and a snack. When I got back into the family room a new show had just kicked in – Classic Gospel.

It didn’t take but a minute and the harmonies, the upbeat music, and the uplifting lyrics had my foot tapping. Unlike me, I stayed tuned in. Then it started.

Marcia; “I can’t believe you’re watching this.” A series of other snipes and snide remarks followed. However, it wasn’t long until I heard Marcia singing along, ever so softly. She knew the lyrics to almost every song. Huh? Even she was perplexed.

It finally hit her. Back in the fifties she sang in a choir for a children’s radio show that originated in Grand Rapids, MI. A flood of memories poured through. Names such as “Uncle Charlie” and “Aunt Bertha” were remembered. Many of these same songs were sung by her during the Children’s Bible Hour radio program, and she remembered them, word for word.

The snide remarks crossed into a chit-chat around a series of pleasant memories.

Is it getting to me? – Maybe the ‘exit’ from our home and the ‘entry’ into the condo does do things to oneself. Earlier this week I had patched a large dimple which only became visible after I had painted the wall and the deep red color it had been was now a light grey.  Yesterday it was a light sanding of the finished patch and a quick wipe with a damp sponge. An hour later I took a paint brush to the spot.

It wasn’t until a while later that I realized I had painted the new patch with a dark grey. A large dark grey circle in the middle of a light grey wall would not sit well with the master inspector – Marcia.

It’s been fixed.

One smart kid – Viliami, going on three, is the strong silent type – much like his dad. All that is well and good, however, it makes it difficult for caregivers to figure out whether or not he really comprehends things.

The kid just hasn’t been talking.

All that is changing a bit. Once loosened up he now does talk and his speech much more comprehensible.

This week Tevita went to his pre-school to pick him up and the teacher asked him to hang around for a few words about Vili.

Like any good parent Tevita expected a problem.

Instead, he was informed that Vili, in that day’s Geography lesson circle, was the only one who scored a perfect 100% on the ‘test’ conducted after the lesson. The question and answer that broke Vili away from the pack was as followed. Teacher; “what can be found around Hawaii’s islands?” Every student except Vili answered “fish.” Vili was the only one who had the correct answer; “tropical fish.” What is it? Is it in his Pacific Island DNA or is he just a smart little bugger?

Fini – The bitterly cold temperature broke earlier this week. Today it will touch 50 degrees – with rain starting around 5:00 PM. What can possibly happen shortly after 5:00 you ask? Well, it seems that that’s the start of our annual neighborhood progressive dinner, that’s what. Break out the old umbrella. Marcia has spent several hours cutting pounds of veggies into tiny little pieces. By popular demand her very special Gypsy Soup is back. In case you’re wondering, the Gypsy Soup will be served as stop number two.

To David and Jeanne, safe travels south. To Pieter, safe travels and we’re excitedly awaiting your arrival next weekend. To everyone jumping around heading for gatherings to watch the Super Bowl, do so safely. To all, make it a great week.
Cheers.
Dirk

From the Archives
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Morning all:

With two powerful after dinner coffees in my system and an early morning flight home I thought I’d take advantage of my artificial “wide awake” state and post this evening. It’s been a long day that started….. oh well, but first. Dinner was terrific in that I connected with one of Adrianne’s dear friends and she was kind enough to spend a couple of hours over dinner. Aside from catching up we “parsed” Adrianne and her adventure while enjoying some great Thai food in the shadow of the Temple in the heart of Salt Lake City.

Work brought me to the Salt Lake area for part of the week and concluded with a meeting in Twin Falls, Idaho on Friday. The option for me was spend three hours plus processing for a 30 minute flight, or drive some beautiful country for three and a half hours. It really was a no-brainer: I started driving at six this morning and it was the very best of decisions. The first sun rays’ striking the snow covered mountains in front of me was spectacular. I had a CD of arias sung by Sarah Brightman in the car. With the volume turned up I could almost hear the mountains echo back to me the wonderful sounds of O Mio Babbino Caro.

Miles flew by as I drove the snow covered high plateau, frost covered sage brush and junipers giving perspective to the distant mountains. On the road itself it was the occasional car along with the 3-trailer “land train” trucks moving along at a steady 75 mph. At one point the largest hawk I have ever seen was circling overhead. Later I discovered that what I saw was a Ferruginous Hawk and it is in fact the largest raptor in the hawk family. What a beautiful sight, what a treat. What a brilliant decision to “stop and smell the roses”.

At a highway rest area signage described that 30 to 40,000 years ago the plateau I had been driving through became a lake later named Lake Bonneville. At 20,000 square miles it was in fact the largest lake on the continent. A climate shift caused the area to become drier, and the great basin of Utah and Nevada receded as the area became mostly desert. Currently the Great Salt Lake and two others are all that remains of Lake Bonneville. And to think that all this happened without human intervention. So often we think that our puny actions control Mother Nature. Then an event such as last month’s Tsunami shows who is boss. The disappearance of Lake Bonneville presented me with another such an example.

Now, off to bed so that I make my morning flight. This week have a terrific “Fat Tuesday”.
Cheers,
Dirk

2/05/2005 01:47:00 AM