I woke up to the lip-flapping of a fat-loss pseudo-doctor on the radio; thanks to Marcia’s horrid penchant to suck these clowns down the airwaves and through her bedside radio, all throughout the night. So, here’s to a skinny Saturday to you.

Wanting to get started on the post and I’ll start up the coffee in a half hour or so. Once I have some coffee in me I should begin to focus on a Halloween costume. This year I’m thinking to do something with a ‘pun’ theme.

Or, possibly I should stop writing and just sit back and wait for the FBI’s next shoe to drop. Whew, what an election season, what bombshells!

“Looking forward to the election being over so I can go back to hating people for other reasons”~ Everyman, woman, and child.

Over the past week I did resurrect from the back of a desk-drawer an old container of “Paper Magic” (remember ‘whiteout’?), so that I too can ‘redact’ my very own copies of Wikileak emails.

Chamber Music – Sunday afternoon Marcia and I took in the afternoon performance of Opus One,  a world class Chamber Quartet. Beethoven and Dvorák interpretations were as gorgeous as one could find.

However, the highlight was a composition written specifically for Opus One by a Puerto Rican composer, Roberto Sierra – Fuego de ángel Quartet for Piano and Strings; absolutely stunning!

But, what you absolutely must do is enlarge (better yet, print) the three pictures below. The concert was held at the nearby First Unitarian Church. While Marcia stepped away I read the biography of the two people in the paintings. Husband and wife, he was a Unitarian preacher, she a mom of 14 children and a Nanny for ‘white folk’ (to help make ends meet). During the Great Depression he marched on City Hall to gain aid for the poor in the city bottoms.

He got ‘shunned’ by his church and after they passed in the early 1960s buried in unmarked graves. Now it’s the 21st century and their lives were finally recognized. Finally, they were restored to a place of honor at a ceremony attended by over a hundred of their descendants. Please take a moment to read about the remarkable lives of Rev and Mrs. William Henry Carter.

First it was an amazing concert and then be introduced to this significant story of fulfillment. It was quite a Sunday.

Another Casualty – or so we think. This one from the late August storm which did damage throughout the city, flooded Adrianne & Tevita’s basement, blew out the panel to our building’s fire alarm system, and now (just discovered) our furnace and AC.

Thursday evening Marcia felt a; “bit chilled”. For the first time since we got back I turned on the furnace. It came on, however, the blower stayed on and wouldn’t cycle. And, it wasn’t until Marcia stepped out on the balcony and announced that the Air Conditioner compressor was also running that I fully realized things were not well. As I discovered DO NOT run a furnace and central air simultaneously.

I was informed that all our existing systems were almost older than me. And, as our technician/salesman (who could have been my grandson) pointed out; “hopelessly inefficient”. Plus, and this is a big plus, a new system would be ‘balanced’ to the specifics of our condo. At my age ‘balance’ is important, whether it be balance in life or even balance when drying my tootsies; it’s all quite critical. I think it was the word ‘balance’ that sold me.

Tuesday our new systems will be installed: It will be a ‘triple-superior’ model with a warranty that will have my age into the triple digits by the time it runs out.

Marcia is no longer a; “bit chilled”.

Mecklenburg’s Garden – was the scene. The Food Network was on the scene – but I’m getting ahead of myself. So, let’s back up a bit. It all began with an email (sound familiar?). However, this one was not ‘bleached’ or whatever; it was sent to Marcia by one of her friends. Turns out one of this gal’s sibs owns Mecklenburg Garden. Also, that very evening, the Food Network would have a film crew on site to prepare a future show – would we be interested in having dinner?

By the time Marcia finished reading me the mail I was already running the shower.

The place was packed, we were seated with someone named Kimberly (the night-shift Cat-Scan operator at a local hospital) and that combination proved to be most excellent. And, the hub-bub of laugher, chatter, and a dropped fork here and there; all just felt great.

Somehow I got talked into ordering a Stein of German Bier (after all the place is a German Beer Garden) – a stein is equal to about a quart and I needed both hands to manage the affair. I later discovered that beer is only something one ‘borrows’. There comes a time when this loaned item needs to be surrendered. This I discovered at a crazy time during the night.

Yes, I did manage my 3.5-mile walk the next morning, I absolutely needed to do that.

e deplorabus unum – And so the race continues. Without getting ‘overt’, let me just say the Trumps instincts are much, much better than Hillary’s.

On August 29, 2016 Trump released a Statement (after Abedin advised that she was separating from Weiner). Almost two months to the day prior to the FBI delivering their bombshell to Hillary’s campaign. Trump’s statement was as follows (emphasis added);

“Huma is making a very wise decision. I know Anthony Weiner well, and she will be far better off without him. I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information. Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.” – Donald J. Trump

To make matters worse for Hillary, last evening Scott Adams (creator of the Dilbert comic, and a student of the human condition) made this observation regarding Clinton’s short Press conference concerning the FBI news; “Clinton’s body language and word-choice tell us: 1) She’s lying about what she knows, and 2) She thinks she has already lost.”

Finis – Last Saturday’s UC Bearcats homecoming football game and the subsequent win was great to watch – row 9 on the 40 yard line. Thanks again Sione (#50 DT) – your gesture was hugely appreciated.

Returning from Mecklenburg, we hadn’t gotten settled yet when across the street from our kitchen we heard a terrible crash. I looked and saw a car, steam pouring out, every air-bag blown, and people yelling. I called 911. I don’t know how she managed, but after turning a sharp corner and within three house lengths she managed to slam into a parked car. We knew we were back in the comfort of the corner of Chaos and mayhem.

Halloween will be celebrated this weekend – stay safe. Remember, leave your clown masks and garb at home. Here we’ll have temperatures in the low seventies and no rain – perfect!

Cheers.

Dirk