Saturday morning, for us here I’ll be an active one. Actually, the whole weekend will be an active one.

What I did want to share is that this past week I had a family member from each side of our family spend some time in a hospital. Last Monday neither of them had listed on their calendar spending time in a hospital bed as an ‘event’ entry (both now home, recovering, and doing well).

Another family member was tested Covid positive and is home in bed with a temperature. What it reminds all of us is just how precious and fragile life is. How it should be valued, treasured, and cherished.

Personally I’ve been more physically active than I’d been in years. Not so much to extend life; but to be able to celebrate my life to the fullest during my time.

”Life is a moment
Is just a moment in time
So many rivers
Which one do I cross?” ~ Vicentico & Willie Nelson; lines from their duet: Sólo un Momento

Should Willie Nelson not place high on your listening list; directly below is a thirty second clip of the song, Sólo un Momento.

On the other hand, I’d urge you to skip listening to the audio cut and proceed directly to the embedded video of the whole song – personally I think you’ll be glad you did.

Pops and more Pops – 45 years ago the Cincinnati Pops grew out of our Symphony Orchestra. Over that period, and here let me toss out some stats: an estimated 30 million people have viewed eight national telecasts of the Cincinnati Pops on PBS, and the Orchestra has more than 100 available recordings, 56 of which have appeared on the Billboard charts, a record unmatched by any other orchestra, and sales of over 10 million units. In fact, the Pops received an invitation to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the only American orchestra to play the opening weekend. They are GOOD!

The Pops usually performs at our Music Hall. And, every few years Marcia and I need our Pops fix. This is the year, in fact tomorrow is the day! Celebrating the conductor, John Morris Russell’s, 10th anniversary with the organization it’s a playlist of all his favorite ‘stuff’.

As the advertisement goes; “but there is more!” One of our more favorite performing groups is the husband and wife team going under the name; Over the Rhine. OTR will also be performing with the Pops – a ‘twofer’. Now, how good is that?

Busy grandkids, busy parents – The pandemic is quickly sinking out of sight over the horizon. Part of what that means is that the activity scene is in hyper drive. Vili is busily getting ready for a band performance in mid-May – he is Saxophone.

Dinah spends three hours a day after school – 6 days a week rowing. Last weekend she along with Jason and Cathy headed for Knoxville, TN for a massive Regatta – almost 500 rowing teams.

She and her team bounced between first and second place, one semi-finalist heat was a photo finish (1/10 of a second over 2,000 meters). At the end of the day, several races in both 4-person and 8-person boats, Dinah went home with a Silver and a Bronze medal. How about that for a ‘newbie’ to the sport.

Entering the world as a micro-preemie Vai has shown early prognosticators what can be achieved. Last weekend at a meet, she was doing Shot Put and Discus toss. Combined her school in both Field and in track came in first place combined with around a dozen schools participating. Here are a couple of clips showing the event – both of Track & Field activities. Vai is shown doing the discus.

OK, enough from a proud grandpa!

Fini (a massive ‘Fini’) –
• Happy Birthday today to Marlene – many, many more! Likewise to Willie Nelson, his 89th today.

• Want a wee bit more detail regarding CO2 in our atmosphere and what would happen if CO2 were to vanish. Take a moment to study the attached photo. What it really says that dropping CO2 to near zero (which we couldn’t do) and mean we’d look like Mars.

• What is now going on in DC? A “Disinformation Governance Board”? Our newest propaganda arm, a scary boondoggle headed up by a ‘Russian Collusion’ hoaxer and ‘Hunter Biden Laptop Denier’, Nina Jankowicz. She calls the Musk purchase of Twitter as “troubling.” Is 1984 is creeping up fast (or is that ‘disinformation’)?

• Parking phenom. A while back Marcia and I put the car in a paid parking lot downtown. It was 7:22 PM and I by happenstance I bought 2-hours of parking time. We never looked at a clock until we returned to the car and started it. The car’s clock read 9:22 – 2 hours Dead On to the minute!

• This coming week, May 4th, it’ll be the 52nd anniversary of the Kent State massacre. On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen fired upon and killed four students at Kent State University and wounded nine, one paralyzed for life. With the Vietnam War raging, then as now, the USA was a deeply divided nation. As has been said, that event was the end of American innocence.

• Times have changed, at least in our country. This photograph taken in 1910 shows West Virginia coal miners coming up after their 14-hour shift.

• This week the Cincinnati Reds won a baseball game!

• Remember when people could dress this way for fun and comedic effect?

• This week the ‘Bird’ was Freed! As was posted on Twitter; “an African American immigrant who manufactures electric cars is now protecting free speech for everyone and somehow the (ed. progressive) community is somehow mad.” Elon Musk apparently drew and posted the timeline displaying his stance on matters:

• And finally, also spotted (but ‘spot’ on); “If college debt is to be forgiven the universities need to pay for it.”

• Wait a minute, nearly forgot. We have a new addition in the household.

Best till next weekend, stay safe, stay healthy; stay involved, and keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk