Saturday morning, and for most of the week I shuffled between chair, bed, couch, and back to bed. Mid-week I did a four-mile ‘leisurely’ hike. Felt good and then slept for 10-hours. But, I do believe I am better. Now Marcia is doing the couch thing, and a couple of days ago Adrianne joined the fray.

The other day I spotted this Kentucky license plate. Since seeing this thing was hot on the heels of my health ‘event’, I took special note. I am registered as a ‘parts’ donor, but seeing this plate I was nothing but impressed. I think that these should be made available in every state, gratis, and as a public service.

In the meantime:

”A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” ~ Irish Proverb

But, then there was a happy little family – Last evening Marcia spotted a little family out on a jog. Mom, Dad, and two young kids between ages 5 and 9. One small hiccup in this world of bliss. The youngest, a little girl was on a bike. She was done in and aside from whining; she got off of her little bike and just lay on the ground.

At this point Dad’s ‘fuse’ snapped, he picked up the bike and dumped it into the corner trash bin. And off they went. As Paul Dudley White (1886-1973) once said; “A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.”

I recorded the ‘bike-in-the-trash’ moment. Ten minutes after I took the photo Mom and daughter returned, retrieved the thing, and moseyed on home. And so, Marcia and I were witness to one little family, all exercised out, begin what was sure to be the start of a glorious weekend.

Entertainment – is all about us. This week Kirstin saw the Dave Matthews Band in concert – her most favorite group. Adrianne and Vaioleti went downtown to catch Leon Bridges pour out his soulful sounds – Vai’s Christmas gift. This weekend Garth Brooks will fill the stadium twice over, and tomorrow The Who will fill the soccer stadium – returning to town after a 40-year hiatus.

The last time The Who played here 11 people got trampled to death and the event prompted a complete nationwide restructuring of the whole ‘general seating’ concept. This time a sizeable chunk of the monies generated will be poured back into the community in the form of Scholarships.

But, there is more (as I alluded to last week). Marcia does not have any sort of out-of-control ‘bucket’ list. But she does have a list and even has a 1st place item on it. Number 1 is her seeing Willie Nelson in concert.

After a fair bit of research I got tickets to see Willie Nelson and Family in early August; and snagged seats 16 rows behind center stage! She is over the moon and I too am beyond pleased.

Now I’ll ease back a bit and hum; “Whiskey River” before I continue Rambling. At the same time remind everyone that yesterday, May 13th, was Stevland Hardaway Morris’ birthday. You know him professionally as <u><b>Stevie Wonder</u></b>.

Chaos and Mayhem – Life continues at a hectic pace here on the corner of Chaos and Mayhem. Even after a number of years we realize we haven’t got room to get jaded.

This week I noticed a flurry of activity and people in reflective vests along with 5 trucks busily at work shutting down traffic lanes. Then, I realized that most of their effort centered on the manhole hidden in our grass/bushes at the edge of our dumpster enclosure.

A rope ladder was tossed over the edge of the hole. One worker in very heavy duty chest-high waders climbed into the shaft. Then a camera on four wheels was lowered in. After their start next to our place the whole ‘enterprise’ moved slowly, from cover to cover, down the street. I should have gone downstairs to retrieve a pair of bag-chairs to better take it all in – outside in the fresh air.

Fini –
• Did you know that when <u><b>Elon Musk</u></b> started his first company – Zip2 in 1995. He had over $100K in student debt, a computer he built himself, and a few thousand dollars.

• Kirstin spent a couple of hours donating both Blood and Platelets this past week. Proud of you girl.

• Student smarts:

• As a retired sales type, I’ll say it again; “It’s all in the marketing”:

• Mentioning our waste dumpster enclosure. This week I watched how it’s emptied. Usually the event occurs Thursday mornings around 3:30AM. For some reason this time it was during daylight hours.

• During my college years one of my favorite newspaper go-to items was always the editorial page and the Political cartoon. Locally we had a world class cartoonist, Jim Borgman, who has also perfected the Zits comic.

• Now that the Political Cartoon has met its demise, Meme’s have taken over. Slowly I have come to appreciate the power of the Meme. Here are a couple; with minimalism comes a statement.

• Spotted locally, a Hot Sauce vending machine.

• This week the New York Times mentioned that Apple will no longer support the iPod. Safely stored away is my 20GB model A 1040. This, for years, was my faithful companion on cross-country and overnight flights (along with my sound cancelling Sony head set). Now it’s a museum piece.

• Prayers are with my cousin Guilaume and his wife Maryse in France. Peace and comfort with you Maryse.

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

Dirk