Far Away & Stop Sticks

Morning all!

Well, well, by this time we were supposed to be in Michigan. Turns out most of the sibs headed out of town and as a result, we’re here, tucked in, in the ‘Nati.  Actually, my attempt at being ‘cutsie’ is a bit off center.

Marcia’s mother had four sisters and a brother. From that group, one, Doris (or the preferred ‘Dodie’), is still living. Aged a couple of months shy of being 100, sharp as a tack, sweet as can be, and a joy to be with, is Aunt Dodie. Looking back at a life well lived, she’s decided move into hospice as she’s ready to “head home”. Hence, Marcia’s two sisters and hubbies are in Chicago to be with her.

Dodie, we love you dearly and may your homecoming be a joyful reunion. God bless.

Aunt ‘Dodie’ is second from left. Marcia’s mom is on far left

A 5K –This morning I am sipping a single, small, cup of coffee. And there is a reason. Since we were now home the folk at Matthew 25 Ministries (one of the nation’s premier humanitarian aid and disaster relief organizations – Charity Navigator rating 100%) advised that I could still participate in today’s ‘Hunger-5K’ which starts in a couple of hours.

Wednesday morning I signed up to participate. Wish me a good event.

‘Stop-Sticks’ & a pair of cuffs – Thursday mid-afternoon police stopped a car immediately next to our little balcony. They swarmed the car, ‘stop-sticks’ placed by the tires, driver taken out and immediately hand-cuffed. Three officers went through the vehicle with a fine-tooth comb and items were placed in large envelopes.

They then drove the stopped car across the street and parked it, everyone then left in the two gathered cruisers and one unmarked car. Don’t know what it was all about. Don’t know where it all started to eventually end up by our back door. All I do know is that you can see a pair of ‘stop-sticks’ laying on the cruiser’s hood. The Corner of Chaos & Mayhem is alive, well, and active.

Smooth as Silk – finally I happened to tune in to our go-to (i.e. listen-to) radio station, WLW700 – the Nation’s Station. Amidst an array of obnoxious stream used car-lot ads, I heard this. Have a listen to how a promo ad should run.

It’s a promotional ad for one of the station’s better voices, Bill ‘Willie’ Cunningham. Willie is an attorney whose wife is a retired Federal Judge. Willie has access to most anyone to interview – business leaders, State Governors, Sport personalities, you name a category and he’s got it covered. The whole show is a cut above the rest.

Distances – How far away is something? The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri, a mere 4.2 light years away. The attached delightful short video from the UK starts with our sun being represented by a Golf ball (earth would be a grain of sand). The video’s host then proceeds to travel the scaled down corresponding distance to reach Proxima Centauri (also represented by a golf ball).

As you watch his travel, remember that our fastest man-made objects are the two Voyager probes (Voyager I and Voyager II both launched in 1977). Currently they’ve just left our solar system and will take 14,000 – 28,000 years to clear our galaxy and head into deep space,. So, staying with the scaled down golf ball representation, think of the guy’s travel being done on a kid’s old-school Big Wheel (my conceptualization).

What Vince and I used to chuckle over during a phone call was who’d be the first to be able to come out with; “that’s Yuuuge!” during our chat; whether it be something work, kids, travel, or achievement related. I believe that he’d agree that the more we understand the majesty and sheer size of the Universe that it’s even more “Yuuuge!” than we can even imagine.

Thou Shall Not Fall – Daughter in Law Cathy has a radio show. As an administrator at Pro Seniors Inc. she manages a public service interview radio show.  The show runs Thursdays at 2:00pm on WMKV 89.3fm.

Thursday’s show interviewed a representative from Trihealth Senior Services, the topic was fall prevention in seniors. I was unaware that this topic was being discussed prior to tuning in. On the other hand Marcia (who pirouetted on the driveway with disastrous results) is fully convinced that Cathy and I planned it as some major collusion scheme?

Sorry, a small glitch caused me to miss the first minute of the show:

A great quote – “The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.” – Dame Anna Wintour

The Hype – our FC-Cincinnati Major League soccer team is in the thick of the MLS Playoff Cup playoffs. This evening’s best of 3, game number 2 will be held at Red Bull Stadium in New York (game 1 was held here which we won 3-nil). Hopefully, this 40-second video of the pregame Pyrotechnical show for MLS Cup Playoffs at our team’s stadium (TQL Stadium) will get everyone excited. The views are great.

Make it a great week. Stay upright. Stay vertical. This week, on a crisp clear night, head to a park away from lights and look up at the skies. As the majesty of it all takes a hold it should help to clear the ‘whirring’ of your mind’s daily struggles. Remember, smiling is easier than snarling.

May Peace prevail! Love to all. Dirk

BONUS POINTS: did you appreciate these were actual proposals never realized? Which one’s did you know something about?

The architect Buckminster Fuller proposed erecting a two-mile wide, weather-proof dome over Manhattan in the 1960s.

The original proposals for the Lincoln Memorial included pyramids and giant staircases; architect John Russell Pope.

In the 1950s, the U.S. government (the Energy Department) proposed building a port in Port Thompson, Alaska using nuclear weapons; Physicist Edward Teller backed the plan as an example of a “peaceful” application of nuclear weapons.