Somebody paid somebody something serious to insert a lovely day into the mix. Thursday I took Vili and Vi to the Reds Opening Day parade – and it was a glorious day. Then yesterday back to a ‘good-for-nothing’ day; nothing for either spring or winter aficionados – even the rain was nothing to relish. After a ‘supposed’ night of more ‘heavy’ weather, today we’re now promised that the heavier stuff will actually pour in shortly.

But for now, today it’s a new day and a new beginning, a look into our future. So, let’s kick it off with a solid mug of coffee. Are you ready?

An Anniversary – Today is the 23rd Anniversary of Kirstin’s and Vince’s wedding. I still reflect on a very happy day when a substantially ‘heftier’ (i.e. thick-bodied) me walked our eldest down a grassy aisle.

I also remember the differences between families. Over dinner, what I thought was a lovely time of bonding with my brothers, a time of ‘sharing the love’ was by another segment of the extended family viewed as just an all and out ‘food-fight.’

And later on that evening, the hotel security showing up at poolside was a bit of overkill.

Paragraph of the week:

“What is coming into being is a new form of government and social organization that is as different from mid-twentieth century liberal democracy as the early American republic was from the British monarchism that it grew out of…..the war against disinformation can be expressed in a single claim, it is this: “You cannot be trusted with your own mind.””?” – by: Jacob Siegel—[senior editor of News and The Scroll, Tablet’s daily afternoon news digest];

Both the highlighted article and the magazine link directly to each distinct site.

You should know that the article the above was quoted from should be a Must Read for every thinking person. Also, that at 13,000 words it is not for the faint of heart.

First Pitch – Professional Baseball got its start 159 years ago right here in our little town (1866) as the ‘Resolutes’ and quickly changed to the ‘Redlegs’ and now just as the ‘Cincinnati Reds’. Early on the game was pitched underhand and without gloves. Aaargh, tough times!

Anyway, it means that the day the first pitch of the season is tossed is an informal city-wide holiday. Somewhere in the fogs of history a parade starting at Findlay Market was begun. As mentioned, Thursday I took Vili and Vi to watch all 156 parade segments float on by. This was followed by a late lunch at ‘Taste of Belgium’ (Vili chose a very late Breakfast while I had some Goetta Hash). In life, some things are just too important to miss (even for those who like the sport but aren’t aficionados).

Enjoy Opening Day through pictures. The first one was taken by one of the news groups’ drones.

We had heard that as the National Anthem concluded a fly-over of F16 fighter planes would happen. I got excited and somehow imparted that excitement to others. For 15-minutes we parked ourselves in front of our building waiting to spot the things zip on by. We thought that maybe we heard them, clear skies, but nary a F16 was sighted.

To help you get into the mood for the next piece this bit of music is background to those paragraphs. Enjoy:

It’s a Party – We’re lucky that right across the River in Newport, KY is a place called The Party Source. It’s touted as being the largest, 100% employee owned, beverage alcohol store in the nation. Throwing a party, any kind of a party, and they can furnish ‘A’ to ‘Z’.

Yesterday they celebrated their 30th year in business; tastings, sales, a band, and all around good time. To all of this Marcia and I can attest. The two of us moseying around with the rest of the crowd made me think we were steering bumper cars.

And yes, we had a fine time – accidentally timed so that we were on the road heading home right as a lightning rain storm moved in.

Passing by — the ‘Corner of Chaos & Mayhem’we see busses rounding by. At some point I began to take note just how many are festooned with the white toothed (some smiling others stern) faces of the leadership of the personal injury industry, aka ‘slip-‘n-slide lawyers. One is even pictured cross armed sporting oversized boxing gloves (he’ll do ‘battle’ for you).

All this provided the: Phrase of the Week: “jury duty, ……….. more akin to a community service sentence than a Jeffersonian rite of citizenship. ” – RT Restoring Truth.

Fin –
• Brother Art will celebrate an ‘O’ trailing birthday number (much behind mine) in a couple of days. Happy day guy.

• Sticking with the birthday theme, a mere few days later we’ll be celebrating Dia and Neanners’ birthdays. Enjoy your special day ladies.

• My new batch of homemade sauerkraut has already had a place of honor on my dinner plate (though it seems like I am the only one eating the stuff).

• This weekend 42 years ago President Ronald Reagan was shot.

• On April 1, 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Happy All Fools Day

“Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the New Year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes.”

“These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as ‘poisson d’avril’ (April fish), said to symbolize a young, “easily hooked” fish and a gullible person.”

Ciao. Stay strong, ever stay the lighthearted prankster, keep moving, keep active. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk