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No Funk Here?
Happy Saturday morning. After some seriously slouching off on my walks and exercises the last couple of weeks I am turning a new leaf. Sure, there are excuses galore, but these are all excuses. All except for the crazy high temperatures – we’re not expected to drop below the 90-degree mark with most days in the high 90s. Change supposedly coming this coming Wednesday that is. Arggh, with the infamous ‘feels-like’ it’s been a steady 100+.
Notwithstanding the chronically heat complaining, this morning I am enjoying a hot mug of morning coffee. Does that signify a caffeine addiction?
Last week – I happened to mention that I’d be running out early to help with the pre-game ceremonies of that day’s tournament game between the Mamelodi Sundowns FC (Pretoria – South Africa) vs Borussia Dortmund (Dortmund – Germany) game. It was a really good game, and I declared a winner. Yes, I know that Germany won the actual game. But the tournament winner in the (totally unrecognized) uniform category must be the – drum roll please – the Mamelodi Sundowns from Pretoria. Best uniform I’ve ever seen.
Helen Keller Quote –
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
As we age many bits and pieces of our lives change, ease up, even begin to slow down, or as Helen Keller would put it; “one [or each] door closes”. These past few weeks I had the good fortune to be pointed to a ‘door’ which had just opened – soccer’s FIFA Club World Cup 2025 was coming. Not only that but our stadium was to be one of 11 to be used across the nation. It was to be the new door that had just opened up.
They needed volunteers and I made an application the day our Adrianne alerted me to this opportunity. All told the event had many thousands of applications, selection was a weeding out process; I got the invite!
Now that it’s all over and that door has closed, what I received was one of those life events to be remembered and remembered. It was epic!
As my daughter Kirstin wrote; “my dad living his best life”.
It really was a proud moment when after the final game (attended by our VP JD Vance) Gianni Infantino, FIFA President visited with our Ceremonies team and asked me forward as the tournament MVV Volunteer by handing me the Official Match Ball of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 tournament which he signed for me. Being given this token is beyond special.
Afterwards nearly 50 of my compatriots asked to have their photo taken with the ball. What a day!
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The Dayton area – has an active Polynesian community. With that there is a regularly structured group teaching Hawaiian, Samoan, Fijian, as well as Tongan dances. Vai is totally involved and works hard to learn Tongan specific dances.
Anyway, last weekend Marcia and I went to a performance by members of the Ohana Outreach program for a fundraiser. Since all these dances have meanings derived from their traditional island way of life, the meaning of the various dances was explained; dances such as the Luau and Haka war dances.
Plus, as a bonus Vai did a beautiful Tongan dance by herself. Really a lot of fun.
Cheddar Chips – Yesterday Marcia and I went to Good Sam hospital for her semi-annual infusion shot (which has become an excuse to have lunch at the hospital’s cafeteria). It’s really a Seinfeld scene just how my wife loves that cafeteria. Favorite? The Deli section serves hand assembled smoked meat sandwiches with Boar’s Head meats.
Anyway, Marcia added a little bag of Quaker Cheddar Chips – which tasted amazingly good. Reading the ingredients it appears that HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s push for healthier ingredients is well underway. The listing on the rear has whole grain, no artificial ingredients, etc., in other words it’s much healthier.
Amazing – is what the recent successful military effort to ‘silence’ a rogue nation’s effort to make the world dramatically more dangerous. It was a Mr. Ostrovsky who afterwards wished all a very special Shabat.
Another Game? – Now that my total immersion in soccer – for weeks on end – is over, I realized that I’d stumbled into a bit of a funk. Then, yesterday it was Cathy who called. Seems someone at the radio station her show runs on had a pair of extra tickets – could she use them? She advised she couldn’t, but she knew someone who could. So here is what transpired.
I received a pair of tickets for a game at TQL Stadium for tomorrow afternoon. It’s the final contest of a two-match series by the U.S. Womens National Soccer Team (USWNT) against Ireland. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see Cincinnati raised Rose Lavelle (midfielder #16) play. Rose has played on our US Olympic Team and has been nominated as Player of the Year. She’s good, very very good.
What a way to ease out of a funk.
Life is AMAZING!
Dirk
BONUS POINTS:
When was the last cigarette commercial aired on TV?
1) “1968”
2) “1966”
3) “1971”
4) “1977”
5) “1973”
6) “1984”
7) “1980”
8) “1999”
9) “2010”
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