between silence and commotion

The week began at a normal pace. The temperature kept climbing and eventually crossed the 55-degree mark. Events also exploded. Earlier in the week it was a 6.8 mile walk and on Thursday I came back through the front door at 9.75 miles.

But wait there’s more. Marcia and I went to bed early after my marathon-level walk, had just fallen asleep, when we both heard a loud thud and the whole (3-story brick) building shook.

More on that in a moment; first my very first sip of morning coffee – the best!

The Cyclones – If this seems a bit disjointed this morning I have an excuse, Cyclones hockey. Last evening, with a 7:30pm puck drop, I began watching our gentlemanly team, the Cyclones, take on the Toledo Walleye ‘goons’. More on that below.

Quote: “Den dat little man in black dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as man ’cause Christ wa’n’t a woman. Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him.” “Ar’n’t I a woman?” ~ Sojourner Truth, black slave – huge on the abolitionist and woman’s rights lecture circuit, never learned to read or write, issued a series of books, met with the likes of Charles Dickens, President Abraham Lincoln, and she hobnobbed with Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Nearly six feet tall and she spoke Dutch!

Sojourner – Sojourner Truth ‘s story is truly remarkable and yet, today, is barely known. born enslaved as Isabella Baumfree sometime in the late 1790s in New York she later changed her name to Sojourner Truth. It didn’t take her long to become a leading character in the abolitionist and woman’s rights movements.

Her fearlessness and humor gave Sojourner Truth an immortality on the popular speaking circuits of the day, she was so popular that in 1986 her face was on a US postage stamp. Anyway, do yourself a favor. Click HERE and read a little deeper from the linked Smithsonian article, or grab yourself a copy of her Autobiography HERE, it’s worthwhile.

****** Ok, that’s it for the ‘A’ side. A small break for you and I’ll also grab another coffee and flip The Ramblings over to the ‘B’ side. See you there! *****

Alright, that was painless, the needle is tracking beautifully, so here we go!

And the winner is? — Aldi’s. What? Yup, Marcia’s favorite is officially the fastest growing Food market in the country. Aldi’s is beating out the likes of Kroger and Publix. It’s a no-frills discount place where almost 90% of the items are private labels. And, this is critically important to me, each store has a ‘weird’ item aisle.

Marcia views the groceries ‘bag-it-yourself’ event as a challenge. She also thinks they’re paying her every time she replaces the shopping cart, and it hands her a quarter.

The reason I mention all this is that in the next few months Aldi’s is acquiring about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harvey Supermarket stores from Southeastern Grocers. This proves that Marcia won’t have to worry that Aldi’s is going to disappear anytime soon.

THE Corner – of course I am talking about The Corner of Chaos and Mayhem. Our little seven-unit condominium’s structure has withstood the test of time – for 100 years to be exact. Storms, the winters of ’77 and ’78, the Great Depression of the ‘30’s, riots, you name it and nary a scratch. Last evening we had a first.

About 10pm, already in bed, a large pickup truck blew into the building. The whole building shook. A later review shows that large pieces of stonework from the 100 year old foundation and some of the brick wall were knocked loose and all busted up.

I saw the truck work its way back into the street, hood curled up, horn going off nonstop, but somehow still driving. In the meantime, I was on with 911 dispatch and shortly saw a couple of cruisers scream around the corner. By the time I got outside Fire was already on site, and down the road a ways the cops had the driver standing next to his truck.

I spent time with the cops in one of the cruisers to give details.

Meanwhile a couple of other cruisers had arrived. Alcohol did not appear to be the issue, drugs more likely.

The driver was yelling up a storm about his; “Constitutional Rights, blah, blah”. I think the additional cops arrived to make certain the guy’s new ‘bracelets’ would go on smoothly.

Yesterday, by late afternoon, a 1-hour response team had secured the damage and boxed in the busted portion. A claim had been filed with our Insurance company.

It almost seems like the shambolic Corner of Chaos and Mayhem is now back to its regular state of normalcy.

Next, we’ll find out just how kindly the Insurance company treats us.

Cyclones (le fini) – Snow event number two unleashed on us yesterday afternoon. For me it was a quick change of plans – drive and park under cover rather than do the bus thing which requires a several blocks of walking. It was a wise move.

The game (I hadn’t been to a hockey game for some time) was great fun. A full house of roaring fans had assembled for a great evening; good hockey, a fight, an ejection, countless saves, boundless ‘in between the periods’ entertainment, plus cheeseburgers with a large craft beer for $8. It can’t be beaten.

The only improvement would have been a win. The final score was a 4 – 6 win for the Walleyes.

My seat was in the third row at center ice immediately behind the team. Perfect!

The guy next to me (friendly but luckily, he soon moved) turned out to be the unofficial announcer; “Hey Ref You Suck, Hey Ref You Suck.” A refrain which then was quickly picked up to become an arena wide chorus.

From my seat I did see the prettiest goal of the game (if I remember correctly, I think it was Walleye’s fourth). I saw the puck whip off the curved blade of stick, then, as if by magic, a clear path towards the goal seemed to open. Our goalie looked self-assured since he had the whole left side of his goal protected. All of it! All except for a small, maybe 6”, open space between the goal and his left shoulder; and that is where I saw that puck disappear into. You must appreciate perfection; I found myself giving the opposition a round of applause.

It sure was a great evening!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Just so you remember, our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 13 days! That’s less than TWO weeks! Can you believe it?

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Being a Hollywood aficionado (NO not really), which famous actress collects knives?

1) Angelina Jolie?
2) Halle Berry?
3) Sigourney Weaver?
4) Jenniver Aniston?