Saturday morning. Here in the ‘Nati it’s perfect; sunny at low eighties. Then, for our run to Florida early in the week, the low-level hurricane blowing through will have passed on by. So, yes, it’s set for one excellent week.

Coffee Trivia:
Kona is a coffee grown in Hawaii. The only other place in the USA where coffee is grown is Puerto Rico, and some in California. Having said that, were you aware that we have had a Kona coffee plant growing in Ohio for 20 years?

I finally saw the price of a Swiss made Jura E-6 (the mainstay coffee machine in aircraft). The in-home use version of the machine costs more than I paid for my first new car – a NSU Prinz.

The Championships – are here. Tuesday we leave for the 2022 Youth National Championships – USRowing in Sarasota, Florida. 
We managed to ‘snag’ our visitor’s passes (last year these sold out very quickly). These went on sale last Wednesday at noon exactly. Marcia and I both had our computers open (hers as backup), and at 11:59:55 my index finger hit the ‘enter’ key. Even so, I was placed in a (short) wait cue. Whew!
Booked a hotel (not easy).
Rented a car (easy using Costco).
And now the biggest debate of all – what all and how to pack for the adventure.

Once again, it’s Earl Pitts and his common sense insights, which has made the whole packing process much more manageable.

The pictures below are of the venue: Nathan Benderson Park, a $40-million facility:

The Last Takajo – I thought I’d present you with a short (around 7 minutes) read about a 71-year old man, Hidetoshi Matsubara.[<– CLICK name to open the story]

It’s a story first written for Patagonia Japan and only recently translated to English for Patagonia – North America. It takes place in Japan’s T?hoku (snowy) region. Matsubura is one of the last remaining individuals who practices falconry.

Most hunting throughout the world uses traps, guns, and some hand managed equipment, i.e. knife or bows, etc. As a falconer Matsubara uses animals to hunt animals.

A falconer he’s trained and hunted with the birds for 50 years. He lives in a small hut at the foot of a mountain in northern Yamagata Prefecture to a solitary life with his hawks. The hut did not have gas, electricity or water, and only lamps and candles provided light, with the nearest home a two-and-a-half-hour walk away.

A quick read, sprinkled with some stunning photographs, I thought it worthwhile to share and hope it delights you as much as it did me. Enjoy!

”This country has a mental health problem disguised as a gun problem.” ~ Joe Rogan, host of The Joe Rogan Experience

It truly is obscene – horrific, and disgusting what we witnessed this past week with the killing of so many. What is also nauseating is what we’re being ‘spoon’ fed. There was another mass shooting on June 1st; it was barely reported on and then, nothing. Why?

Prior to the 1980s we never had unprovoked mass killings. Prior to that time kids all had play guns, access to real guns, and at a young age had BB guns – what has changed since then? It’s a question that is not asked but needs to be.

Was this change a result of LBJ’s introduction of the “Great Society” and his “War on Poverty”? Programs which, especially with minority groups, pushed men out of the father role and inserted government into the void? Could it be the assault on the nuclear family? Could it be the overarching role of Social Media? Could it be the total disregard of advancing mental health programs?

We best start paying attention to all of this and have serious and on-going discussions rather than constant ‘knee-jerk’ reactive responses.

”During my twelve-and-a-half years as a member of this body, I have never believed that additional gun control or federal registration of guns would reduce crime.”
“I am convinced that a criminal who wants a firearm can get one through illegal, untraceable, unregistered sources, with or without gun control.” ~ Senator Joe Biden, 1985

For those who thought our founding fathers wrong by introducing the 2nd Amendment and that “arming the body of people against would-be tyrants” totally unnecessary. Please note that just this last century tyrannical governments (whose first act was always gun removal) slaughtered 200-million innocent people. Even this past year, see how easy it was for a Canadian PM to erase his people’s Charter Rights and run ram shot over truckers protesting for Freedom as was legally guaranteed using heavily armed ‘police’.

Why are Uzi’s common on the streets of Israel without problem. Why are we discussing gun restrictions while simultaneously arming just about every Ukrainian.

It’s all political and all a power grab. It’s a loss of your Freedom!

Fini –
• Big mistake! Selling our 1971 VW van a few decades ago. Arrrgh!

• Reflecting on cars. Back in the sixties did any of you take a nap in one of these “Lull-A-Baby” wonders?

• Then shock of shocks, this sent to me by an aquintance in France. I think it’s still salvageable. If you don’t recognize, it’s a red Citroën Deux Chevaux (2CV).

• Last week I did mention activity on the corner of Chaos & Mayhem”. Please note that the activity never stops:

• Mentioning Canadian PM Trudeau, here were his words this week; “There’s no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday life”. Please take a look just how he himself moves around;

• Happy Birthday (92nd) to one of my favorite actors – Clint Eastwood

• Remember what happened in Wuhan, China? This past week China was elected to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) executive Board. Reflect on that for more than a moment!

• On my walk I passed this food truck. Made me wonder if this truck specialized parking adjacent to Senior Citizen places, ie. Nursing and retirement facilities?

• Memorial Day weekend had me walk the four miles to Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum to stop by my parent’s grave site for some reflection. Glad I went or I would have missed all of these sights and happenings:

• Elon Musk said it well; “tomorrow will be the first sunrise of the rest of your life – make it what you want.”

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