I am and Iam

Happy Saturday morning. Ok, I realize I totally accept that I will never be accused of being breviloquent – and it’s probably even something of pride with me. These Ramblings started out solely as a bit of communication with my father-in-law.

That weekly update then just hung around, now for a little over twenty years. Now that you understand these histrionics, sit back and happy reading with a little watching.

First, join me by pouring a coffee.

Zoo – Yesterday the annual Zoo; Festival of Lights lit up its 43rd annual display. This year’s display is with of over 5 million LED lights will be on display till January 4, 202. Last year it was rated #1 in the nation.

What is of interest to me is that our granddaughter, Vai, has been working weekends at the Zoo. What a golden opportunity to explore during break times. The whole spectacle is stunning.

Doing Nothing – Even in retirement we/I tend to keep busy. Busy with chores, hobbies, reading, shopping, cleaning, gardening, and more. Almost as if we should feel guilty when just ‘zoning’ and ‘hanging’, but there is goodness and purpose by occasionally taking the time to do nothing.

This week I gave myself some time to just hang. It felt good!

Quote – Carl Sandburg (poet, 1878-1967) his famous line: “The fog comes on little cat feet.”

But then – there is a time to set a goal and work towards it. This week my goal is to try and outdo last year when I join in the Western & Southern 5K/10K (10,000+ total participants). This event, the 116th consecutive running, will be Thursday morning, Thanksgiving Day.

I enter it as an opportunity to not feel guilty having a beer with Turkey. That’ll be my ‘stuffing’.

Buried Beer – Mentioning beer leads me to place this YouTube. Since its inception our town, with a huge German immigrant base, has been a beer town. So here is what I want to share.

Underneath the city, like 30 feet below, is where the early brewers plied their trade – massive halls and tunnel after tunnel connecting them. This underground activity was a necessity because German beer and the yeasts used required the cool temperatures.

This video has some scenes that I had never seen. For people who like old style architecture, engineering, and brewing it’s a great video.

Iam Tongi – was the winner of the 23rd American Idol contest. Born in Hawaii and very open about his Polynesian heritage, as a contestant he was of great interest to our Ongolea family.

This past Wednesday Iam Tongi’s tour came through Cincinnati and he performed at our old Ludlow Garage. In case you think that strange, yes, the garage was an actual car garage converted to an alternative music venue in 1967 when the Grateful Dead became the opening band.

Over the years, here are some bands of note who’ve performed in the place; Santana, The Kinks, Humble Pie, Cold Blood, Boz Skaggs, Bo Didley, and Fairport Convention. Then we can’t forget the Allman Brothers who had a special like for the place.

Anyway, Iam Tongi was there Wednesday evening and Adrianne, Tevita, Vai, and Vili were all in the audience, with a marvelous twist.

Tevita tapped into his contacts and organized an after the concert party (complete with food and Kava) for Tongi, his band, and invited friends – almost 30 people at their home. All were still chatting, sipping Kava, and singing along with the band till well after 1 AM.

In case you’re worrying, yes, Thursday was a regular work and school day.

For the American Idol contest, Iam Tongi sang the song, “Monsters” written by James Blunt as the one he hoped would win him a slot in the competition.

When you realize that 18-year-old Tongi’s father, Rodney, had passed a few months prior, and that song was an emotional masterpiece you’ll understand how he made it into the contest.

Take a look at Iam singing “Monsters” and the judges’ reactions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This week let’s look at words which look weird but are actually just fine. These, for some reason have tricky spellings and thus tend to confuse. All, except for one, are perfectly correct. Which is misspelled?

1) “Colonel”
2) “Fuchsia”
3) “Segue”
4) “Supersede”
5) “Playwright”
6) “Fluorecent”

Last week – #5: 300-billion