Have a happy Sunday. It’s a bit of a struggle this morning – however, a solid ‘sit’ while gulping coffee seems to have put me on track.

This from Cleese’s A Fish Called Wanda: The Screenplay

Otto: “Apes don’t read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto. They just don’t understand it.”
— John Cleese

This past week I needed to make a small change to my RBC account (Royal Bank of Canada). It was the usual telephone-tree hell to eventually get a person and then repeat all the personal identifying details I had already given to the phone-robot. All to do something easily managed on-line if they would only set it up that way.

Later, I received a request to enter details about my “phone experience.” I chose to ignore the request. Three queries later I succumbed. What followed was a never-ending questionnaire which took about ten minutes. Think anyone really reads, understands, and has the wherewithal to make change? Not!

Fifteen Tons and What Do You Get? – Possibly you get the ‘WOW’ factor. Marcia ordered a dump-truck filled with mulch— something the wholesaler referred to as a; “fourteen-scooper.”

Yesterday, the first day of spring, was designated as mulch distribution day.

What took little 98-lbs Angie minutes to dump on our pad took us 5-hours to disperse – and we’re only ¾ of the way done. I believe that I rolled in the neighborhood of fifty wheelbarrow loads here, there, and everywhere. Meanwhile Marcia did similar things with buckets and raking.

I pulled ‘raking’ to the forefront since that is something I cannot do. See, it has to be raked to an exact depth for the specific venue – something I (and men in general) have no sense for. Again, as Wanda was quoted earlier; “They just don’t understand it.”

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Oratory Festival – This year the oratory festival at North Avondale Montessori School had students select a Nobel Prize winner. They then gave a talk where they took on the character of their selected prize winner.
Winners were selected for the all-school presentation. The photo shows best buds Vai as Helen Schweitzer wife of Albert Schweitzer and Shiloh, as Peace Prize winner Mother Theresa.

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Little Details – Retirement when moving into a new place and getting a house ready for market means that one is about as busy as it can get.

For the past two weeks I’ve been searching for a slot to run out for a quick haircut – without success. In the meantime I’ve focused on the smaller details. Here and there I’ve managed to apply my little touch-up Wahl clipper to all critical hirsute areas; nose, ears, and eye-brows. What is it with age and guys where any hair lost top-side moves down to those areas?

Fini – This coming Tuesday Marin and his sixth-graders will climb aboard a tour-bus at 4:30 in the morning and head for Washington, DC. He’s got an arms-length long list of sites he wants to see. Knowing Marin, he’ll get to do it all – assuming he gets any sleep. A bus-load of sixth graders, no parents, and a couple of chaperones (read; do-good parents who allow their kids to do anything they want) – well you get the idea.

Stay safe and be well, make it a great week. Next weekend we have our Canadian neighbors (should be; neighbours), Barb and Bulent, roll on down from the snowy north to spend it with us.

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And if you don’t believe the snowy part, this was Northern Comfort, taken last weekend by Donn. D&M trip-March-14

Cheers.

Dirk

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