I hope that this Saturday morning finds you well. Other than a cold morning, I slept well enough to get a late start on this week’s ‘Ramblings’ – it’s not quite 6:30. Having said that, Mr. Coffee just ‘beeped’ so the day has begun.

“ Talent returned to God.” ~ Mark Steyn who adjusted Rush Limbaugh’s popular tag line, “Talent on loan from God, in his memorial post on the passing of Limbaugh

The Title – The title of this morning’s post, “What If We Ignore the Government?” is a direct copy the title of an article written by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey and the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel.

The article is a series of ‘What ifs’. “What if when government fails to protect inalienable rights, we simply ignore it?”
“What if we have other inalienable rights such as the freedom of speech, the right to assemble peacefully, the right to worship, the right to travel and to self-defense, the right to fairness from the government, the right to take chances, the right to own and enjoy property, and the right to be left alone?”
“What if government workers join in a massive civil disobedience of local and state rules governing personal behavior on private property? What if the governors who have been controlling us realize that they have no real support and thus have become toothless?”
“What if we ignore the government at our peril? What if when government tramples our rights, we alter or abolish it? What if the time to do that is coming? What if that time is here? What if — as Jefferson wrote — when the people fear the government there is tyranny? What if when the government fears the people, there is liberty?”

Yesterday was the first day back at school for Vili, and I was asked to pick him up. Let me also say that for the past year I’ve only worn a mask occasionally to gain entry to a store and such – hence I lack any muscle memory grabbing the thing. So, yesterday I skipped the few blocks to the school, and joined a throng (mostly grandparents) trying to spot what’s theirs. That’s when I realized I seemed to be the only one not wearing a mask. That’s when the wise musings of Judge Napolitano flashed by as a pang of ‘guilt’ struck home; Lord Fauci and our very own Governor, ‘Whiney de Wine’, had done their jobs well. And, you know what? No one said a thing. It was exactly what I remember from past years, a smile of recognition and a skip home with a happy kid.

Surgery 2021 – Brother George had surgery on his spine mid-week; a procedure which a decade ago would have had him hospitalized for most of a week (or more). But, times have changed.

The procedure took a couple of hours. Recovery took a couple of hours. And, he walked out of the hospital. Part of the recovery process is that he was to walk about the house at least once an hour. The photo shows his progress yesterday, the second day after surgery. George had not seen numbers such as those for the past three years. He’s thrilled. Sandy is thrilled. I am thrilled; as is the rest of the family. Amazing!

When the weather has you locked in – then I’ve discovered ways to find things that please. I had been listening to Canadian radio and my favorite music show hosted by guitarist Randy Bachman. The show had a number of pieces performed as duet by people who had gotten together when normally you wouldn’t think of them as a pair; think Willie Nelson singing with Ray Charles as an example.

After the show, Marcia sound asleep, I stayed up and explored by taking it a step further. Remember Freddie Mercury of Queen? Mercury, singing songs such as, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls‘, and ‘We are the Champions‘, while prancing about the stage in a sleeveless undershirt and skin-tight jeans, that’s who. That’s when I came across a duet of Mercury with opera singer Montserrat Caballé singing his ‘Barcelona’. The duet is amazing and the piece a triumph. Enjoy!

Fini – Thought with the people of Texas and their weather difficulties. Kirstin had frozen pipes and through a number of phone conversations and a series of texts complete with photos she came through unscathed. Also, there is a Hospital less than a block away and her home is on that ‘grid’, hence, she never lost power.

The ‘Nati’ has never been competent in snow removal and road clearing. In fact, it sucks! On a walk when I got to the place in the street where the Cincinnati boundary ends and St. Bernard starts up. Guess which place starts and which stops.

The few times I’ve been through Bristol it’s seemed like many small Appalachian towns. These days it’s seen as being a bit different; a more compact version of Cincinnati, OH ~ Covington, KY. See, rather than a river separating each, one side of Main Street Bristol is in Virginia and the other in Tennessee. And in Virginia bars and restaurants have to close by ten O’clock. On the Tennessee side they can stay open till 2:00AM. The whole business is, as some wag has said, a perfect metaphor of covid absurdity.

Here is another reason not to send your kids to an Ivy League school. Many tens of thousands of dollars dumped into some black hole to achieve what? This kind of absolute nonsense is what: Harvard researchers claim COVID-19 wouldn’t have been so bad if US paid reparations.

Last long weekend part of our local gang went into the hill country of South-East Ohio for a few days away; a few days to get out of town for some restoration. Well done, mission accomplished.

Careful wording is critical. This signage on a dumpster is motivating.

Make it great week, keep the peace, be happy, stay safe, and be healthy!

Dirk