3:00 AM

Happy Saturday morning. Earlier this week I woke up alert and ready for the day. Made a pot of coffee and turned on the radio then sat down to ease into the day. It wasn’t till that moment that I first looked at the clock and got shocked by the fact that it was 3:00AM.

Today it’s early, but not ridiculously early. Still dark and quiet and for the ‘Corner of Chaos and Mayhem’ that’s a delicious time. So, Good Morning!

Later this coming week I’ll head north to meet up with Kirstin where the two of us will head into Canada and our Northern Comfort. It’ll be a short visit primarily to check up on the place and make certain all is ready for the place to face the Canadian winter.

Having said that there will be some time to take in the Fall colors. Also, to sneak in some Kayak time in the cove! And spend Saturday on the area’s annual Sylvan Tour.

By now you can guess that next Saturday there will NOT be the regular weekly Ramblings. As my French cousin Guillaume would say, “sorry, so sorry”.

Sylvan Circle Artist & Artisan Tour – This, the 23rd annual tour has us follow a 100 km route through the Algoma countryside. We’ll stop at a number of villages where their community halls have opened to allow over 50 area artists to display/sell their wares. Some of the halls also offer food, while the backroads meander through gorgeous Fall colors. Anyway, now you know what Kirstin and I will be doing next Saturday.

Merely just shopping – Luckily nearby we have a foodie’s heaven, Jungle Jim’s International Market. Starting as a highway fresh food stand is now a two-location enterprise which necessitates a fold-out maps just to get around. Hundreds of types of sodas, over 1.400 different types of cheese. Need fresh vegetables or herbs from Yugoslavia, India, Argentina, or Polynesia, no problem you’ll find it there.

Where else could I have discovered a made in the Netherlands Gouda cheese infused with Indonesian spices?

To make Kirstin’s stay at the cabin a bit more special I thought I’d head over to Jungle Jim’s for three (as in 3) items I couldn’t get elsewhere. When I arrived back home, I saw Marcia’s eyes bulging wide open when I opened the trunk on her little car. Somewhere in one of the sacks she discovered the receipt. Remember I set out to purchase 3 items? Well, all I can say is that $220 worth of groceries buys more than three (as in 3) items.

It’s very easy to get lost in the place. Having said that, I did get Dutch salted herring filets (zoute haring), pumpernickel health bread (Dutch; Roggebrood), and Deventer Kruidkoek (ginger cake) as the three primary items. Then added a ‘few’ small wedges of differing cheeses plus some odds and ends.

Loss – This week we, as a nation, didn’t just lose an “activist”, our loss was much deeper, and now in death the ‘activism’ possibly much stronger. Our college campuses have become stronger through Charlie Kirk’s founding of Turning Point USA now a voice on hundreds and hundreds of campuses. This man, Charlie Kirk, leaves us a phenomenal legacy and I believe that what he’s started will unleash a ‘turning point’ from the very dark path our schools and culture are sliding down on.

Words from Charlie Kirk –
“When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group. What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.” –Charlie Kirk

“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith.” –Charlie Kirk

“This silent majority are the Americans who love God, their family, and our amazing country. They don’t want their morals, their job, or their lifestyle threatened by the government or any candidates.” –Charlie Kirk

“All death can do to a believer is deliver him to Jesus.” –Charlie Kirk

“Conservatism is not about hating change; it’s about preserving what is good and proven.” –Charlie Kirk

“Education should focus on teaching students how to think, not what to think.” –Charlie Kirk

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What is the most notable feature of “French cursive”

1)     “reverse angled lettering”      

2)     “cursive writing with some letters disconnected”

          3)     “written at an angle of 90 degrees”

          4)    “learning cursive as early as kindergarten”

          5)     “graceful rounded loops”

All Matters

Happy Saturday morning.

Too much going on, otherwise I’d be off for Findlay Marked with a quick stop by this little Tuk Tuk:

Finale! – Here’s the final minute and a half of the Riverfest 2025 WEBN / Western & Southern fireworks show last Sunday. This year the show paid homage to ‘Musicals’ and it quickly became known as “Boomsday the Musical”. It might help, especially if you have a sound bar, to crank it up. This was the 49th year and the best.

Billy Graham – Quote: [Angels] “crisscross the Old and New Testaments, being mentioned directly or indirectly near 300 times”.

Angels – back in 1975 Reverend Billy Graham first published his well-researched book: Angels, God’s Secret Agents. I understand that it seems that after the atomic bomb was dropped, we declared ourselves as having mastery of the Universe. Religion was dead.

Now, while AI is about to take over, comes the realization that we are more than a collection of chemicals, neurons, electric impulses, and minerals; we’re not robots. That once again we’re viewing what was expounded in the Bible eons ago in a new light.

This is in part due to what the James Webb Space Telescope is presenting to us. Galaxies, and even a massive Black Hole, existing shortly after the supposed start of it all, the Big Bang. How? And, even questioning what exactly is the Big Bang and what caused it?

Viewing us as being merely a collection of chemicals, minerals, etc. puts us in league with a block of marble, or a tree, or a drop of water. In other words where does the concept of free will fit? Why then bother with laws, down the extreme laws, even ones prohibiting murder?

Along with all this reevaluation of religion as offering structure, there is story after story of people reporting an Angelic experience. Well, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such an event. Having said that, a couple of weeks ago this happened going to The Fresh Market:

I talked Marcia into joining me at this fancy grocery store. The handicapped slots were in use and so I parked in the far corner of the lot (it was a shade thing). She grabbed my arm and held her cane and off we went. By the entrance sat an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair with no one else around. At first glance I thought he was panhandling. I smiled and gave him a few words of greeting. He responded likewise. There we stood for maybe a minute exchanging pleasantries. His eyes sparkled with goodwill and joy. That was all.

When we left the store there was no sign of the old gentleman. However, that short interaction did make an impression on me – was this an Angelic event? I don’t know, maybe not, but maybe I (we) need to open ourselves more open to the possibilities. Life and all its mysteries are so much more than anything we can comprehend.

Borders to Cross – In just under two weeks I’ll be off for the cooler climes of Northern Comfort. The exciting piece of news is that on my way north I’ll stop and retrieve Kirstin at Chippewa Airport where she’ll then join me for a few days at camp.

Between our ‘tariffs’ and their ‘elbows up’ I am hoping that crossing the border at Sault St. Marie will be a smooth process. My worst fear being that Canada’s give-and-take could be that the interaction at the border be conducted in French (their other formal language). I could get caught up much like the boys in Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

Marin the chef – Even though he’s still in a junior position (his formal title is; ‘commis chef’), this weekend he is having his first “Event”. As you might know, he’s been working at a great restaurant in the hub of the ‘Nati’s the Over-the-Rhine foodie area, a place called Abigail Street Mediterranean restaurant.

The “Event” is one where Marin has designed a dinner menu which he then oversees and prepares. I have no idea what he’s organized other than that it includes his variant of a “baba ganoush”. But we’ll find out this evening when Marcia, Jason, Cathy, and I head to Abigail’s where we have a reservation. Proud of this kid, really proud!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

From the list below locate any “portmanteaus”

1) “Motel”
2) “Chillax”
3) “Biopic”
4) “Spork”
5) “Podcast”
6) “Smog”