After weather ups and downs, we’re in for a great Saturday morning and in celebration, my coffee is brewed.

I was going to stop keeping track, but after seeing Senator Dr. Rand Paul (KY) and Dr. Fauci going at it.  Apparently Senator Paul didn’t order the “Fauci Baloney on Rye with RNA Sauce sandwich”.

So I thought the better of it. This week for us it’s been over a full year since the 15-day shutdown to “flatten the curve”. Follow the science – and keep on following wherever the ‘goal-posts’ move.

In the meantime, we keep inching into Spring (and I am finally into sync with the time switch). I say “inching”, because there is frost on the cars this morning.

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have” ~ Our former city’s Mayor, Senior Fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at the Family Research Council, U.S., Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ken Blackwell

The Princess and the Pea – I watched enough (OK, a couple of tiny snippets) of the Oprah & the Royals TV debacle. However, upon reflection, I must say that I do have sympathy with the newly formed Team Meghan and Harry. I would agree that the Royals (those in the UK) can be a difficult bunch.

To demonstrate, I came across this dinner party with Tracey Ullman and Hugh Laurie who happened to host a “Royal Visit”.

Bell’s Palsy – We are in the midst of Brain Awareness Week. What better way to bring this to light than to post this drawing made by Dr. Charles Bell, 19th century surgeon and neurologist. Plus, he was also an amazing artist. This printed in his Anatomy of the Brain (1802);

You might know the term ‘Bell’s Palsy’, it’s named after his description of the effects of a type of paralysis caused by damage of the 7th cranial nerve (yes, I had to look that up). Considering the rudimentary instruments available it is really amazing seeing the depth of understanding people had at that time.

If interested, there will be a live Q & A as part of #BrainAwarenessWeek activities, today (the 20th) at 2pm. Click on ‘YouTube’ here.

Finding Bellarmine Chapel – Walking through the campus of nearby Xavier University on my ‘daily’ earlier in the week I spotted this dear soul sitting by herself near Bellarmine Chapel with nary a soul around. What to do, but walk by with a hearty greeting. Naturally, this led to a bit of a conversation (etc. etc. for those who know me).

It had to be six or so minutes into the ‘conversation’ when a young kid strode by, and called out to me; “yes, everyone on campus loves Mother Theresa.” I smiled at the kid, nodded, and hustled off; understanding had come to me like a lightning bolt.

Zip Line – I know this isn’t for real, but it’s just some “what if” thinking on my part – probably some dream. Let me start with what is real though; Governor Whiney DeWine came to town on Thursday to oversee 10,000 of my fellow citizen’s get ‘poked’ at the Cintas Center on the nearby Xavier University campus as part of the Covid cure.

And, on another part of the campus a Zip-Line was set up as entertainment for students.

So I wondered how it would go over, if (and I know that this would never happen) people would, for a fee, be ‘zipped’ past the long line of those patiently waiting for entry into the Cintas Center after registering properly much, much, earlier.

That, at the front of that line were some red-haired woman with a formal name tag, with a name such as, say; Jen Psaki who allowed these ‘zippers’ to cut into the front of the line. Then when questioned would keep coming out with the same answer over, and over, and over; “Good question. I’ll have to circle back with you“. Naw, that didn’t happen, that was just some dream I was having.

Columbia University – is a perfect example of how I view our country as turning from something we’ve referred to as exceptionalism into an ouroboros-like serpent; a laughing stock of a nation.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote on how we moved from a coming together period during the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early on into this century. This was a time when even a ‘woke’ company such as Coca-Cola proudly put out a Tomorrow’s People musical advertisement with the recording of “the Real Thing” . However, and especially during the last 15 or so years, we’ve been put into, and placed ourselves into, an array of separate ‘silos’.

Now I read where aside from a traditional graduation ceremony at Columbia University there are nearly half dozen others. Virtual graduations for the following ‘silos’: Native Graduation, Lavender Graduation (LGBTQIA+ community), Asian Graduation, FLI Graduation (first generation and/or low income), Latinx Graduation (whatever “Latinx” is).

At this pace it won’t be long for separate dormitories to emerge – wait, those have already been asked for, or separate water fountains to be installed – wait, we could just grab some of the old ‘Jim Crow’ ones out of storage. This nonsense is going nowhere good. ”Separate but Equal” sets us back 100 years to segregation times.

Fini – Derek and Kellen, plus mom Kirstin, on spring break, spent the week in Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and had a BLAST! As a bonus, they also got to visit with dear friend Susannah.

Then, after showing little interest for the past two years, Derek took to the wheel on the forest Parkway.

As I’m penning this they are halfway home, but not before seeing Graceland and the amazing Bass Pro Shop ‘pyramid’ in Memphis.

I love how marketing entities are having a field day. Advertisements now come in threes. In some the casts have masks on, some have been cast with half masks, and some totally without. You gotta love it.

From ideas gathered on the staircase of her childhood home here in Cincinnati, as the adults talked downstairs and where Stowe encountered fugitive enslaved people and the activities of the Underground Railroad, emerged Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was published on this day in 1852. It was so widely read that when President Abraham Lincoln met Stowe in 1862, he reportedly said, “So this is the little lady who made this big war.”

President Reagan: “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”” Now, from our current President: “Help is on the way”.

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

Dirk