Top Fifteen no less!

Morning all! The week crept slowly towards Marcia’s last Physical Therapy session. More on that further into The Ramblings. So, sit back, put on your readers, and relax for a bit.

My own morning coffee has already been poured so I too am ready.

Chaos & Mayhem – as in ‘The Corner of’ has not been mentioned since I emerged from my hiatus. However, ‘The Corner of Chaos & Mayhem’ is assuredly living up to its reputation. This photo, from earlier in the week, will verify. The activity here is better than any TV. The only thing that comes close would be a performance by Cirque du Soleil.

FC Cincinnati – won a huge honor in Major League Soccer, the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the league this season. This means that throughout the playoffs FC Cincinnati we will have home team advantage. Not bad for the latecomer entry on the national scene.

Outdoors – selected Cincinnati close to the front in a listing of the 15 happiest places in the Nation. I’ve never made it a secret that I love living in this town, but the Outdoors honor confirms my thinking.

What popped us up in the ranking is our 8,057 acres of greenspace and 365 parks, 88% of the citizenry is no more than a 10-min walk from any one of them. Geography has given us a temperate 4-season climate with both a long and glorious Spring & Fall season coupled by a short winter.

The ‘Underground Railroad’ came through here; we’re part of the North and the South. Today a 2,000-mile bicycle route retraces that ‘road to freedom’; and the 4,800-mile North Country National Scenic Trail crosses it right here. But, most importantly, our real ‘secret’ sauce is beer. Breweries were set up by German immigrants in the 1800s and over 80 are still “going strong” most offering Taprooms and/or “Biergardens”.

[Cincinnati riverfront – Smale Park]

Fat Bear Week – As a precursor to next month’s elections, your vote is important for this event. Katmai National Park, Alaska’s Fat Bear Week is a celebration where anyone can vote. Vote? Yup, vote for the fattest brown Bear – the one who’ll emerge from its winter slumber as the ‘king of the hill” (or woods).

The link below will show the bears participating in this year’s competition. Weight is put on by the success of each bear’s salmon catch. Have fun!

Vote now till the 10^th (October 4-10) and vote daily from 8am – 5pm AKDT at fatbearweek.org!

Cheesecake Factory – Does a Cheesecake Factory restaurant indicate a mall’s financial health? Moody’s Analytics says it could. They found that 93% of loans in places where a C.F. is located were current, versus 72% without the eatery.

Entities such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Gucci, Lululemon, Vuitton, or an Apple store also tend to maintain brick and mortar places in Malls where the Cheesecake Factory has a presence. Of our four major Malls, just one has a C.F. restaurant. These four, by looks, fit’s the Moody’s profile with in that the one where there is a C.F. appears to be the most successful. It’s unscientific, but hmmmm?

People want to know – was our viewing the 100-year-old silent movie of Harold Lloyd in ‘SAFETY LAST’ earlier this week worth it? Answer; ABSOLUTELY! The theater was at least 80% full, from our Q-tipped heads to highschoolers. Along with the crowd we were mesmerized, and Marcia and I were caught belly-laughing more times than not. The piano accompaniment player was the perfect add-on, and his period costume made it even better.

Marcia – it’s a new day! Thursday Marcia graduated from Physical Therapy! In celebration we ‘gifted’ each other a block-long walk to the corner – No walker and No holding on. She did great, grumpy but great. Thank you, Dr. Stephanie!

Mid-month it’s off to the nerve/hand specialist, so Marcia will be embarking on a new path, and some new challenges. Success is awaiting; as Steve Jobs once said:

Vai’s Steel Drum Band – will perform tomorrow afternoon (for those in town, it’s at Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park). Since we’re rushing headlong into the Halloween event along with all its screams and dirges, hearing the bright and sparkling steel drum sounds will be just perfect.

Weekly(?) Numbers – Should this segment become a regular feature? This week it’s a chart showing, the years 1968 through 2021 death rate (by color shade) for each age bracket per 100,000 people. Don’t worry, if you’re reading this, you’re OK.

Make it a great week. In every day there are 1,440 minutes. Use each of the 1,440 to do your best to stay healthy, stay happy, stay grateful, and continue to grow.

May Peace prevail! Love to all. Dirk

BONUS POINTS: if you think you know the answer let me know and I’ll verify. Likewise, have no clue?, ask and I’ll supply you the answer.

Do you know what this is?