the Long and the Short

Happy Saturday – Me coming straight out of the gate; “please don’t ever get me a coffee mug like this one!”

Thanks.

Ok, let the Ramblings get started.

It’ll be a bit short due to a short/quiet week, and today I’ll be running around.

Never before – Yesterday afternoon I got involved in an absolute, without question, very first.
Kirstin was scheduled to arrive in town on a 3:47 arrival time flight.

I left for the airport at 2:50 and the 20-25 or so minute drive to the place. As one who enjoys seeing aircraft this would allow me to park at a ‘nearly’ secret spot almost exactly alongside the main runway immediately across from the spot where the landing gear touches down and watch for a bit. Perfect!

Here is what really happened. Just past the exit where I-74 peels away from I-75 all the lanes ground to a halt. I mean, complete stop, with an every so often inch or two forward.

But hey, I live in the 21st century and I have GPS. The GPS advised that sitting in traffic where I was was still the quickest route to the airport, 31 minutes.

I believed the GPS, even when it moved the ‘needle’ from 31 minutes to 37.

Reaching a point where it would be impossible to try and get off I-75 to find an alternate route and a subsequent river crossing would be even more problematic. I was left with little to no choice.

Without milking this story any further, let me just blurt out that the drive to the airport took exactly TWO HOURS! Much of it sitting dead still in six lanes of traffic. Never saw a reason for it other than too many vehicles on too few lanes. TWO HOURS is now my fifty year’s first and absolute record for airport travel.

Could it be that everyone experiencing the higher priced gas now wanted to check as to the exact dollar difference this was making?

Opening Day – Last Thursday was our unofficial city holiday, Red’s Opening Day. But that’s not what I wanted to mention, it was the weather. Opening day was 81 degrees with blue skies and perfect sunshine.

This day was ‘bookended’ by 40 degree windchilled days.

All of this is so typical of our Springtime weather patterns. In fact, we are the weather equivalent of what the Bering Sea is to open ocean sailing.

Quotation – “The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first, Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first,
Be not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop’d.” Walt Whitman, Poet (who died March 26, 1892)

d’Artagnan – A stone’s throw from home is Xavier University. The mascot for the University whose teams are referred to as ‘The Musketeers’ is one of the three musketeers, d’Artagnan All made popular by Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel “The Three Musketeers.” In fact, in front of the school’s arena, Cintas Center, stands a life-sized statue of d’Artagnan.

Now it seems that possibly the remains of d’Artagnan (whose birth name was; Charles de Batz de Castelmore), and who was a member of France’s Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV royal bodyguard has been found. He served before being killed in the 1673 siege of Maastricht in the Netherlands.

Recently during a church renovation in Maastricht was found a skeleton under what had been the altar. Everything points to d’Artagnan including the chest-high markings of a bullet wound. Currently a DNA analysis is happening.

I’ve loved the Dumas book, live near the home of the ‘Musketeers’, and have serious Dutch roots, so yes this whole bit interests me.

Quotation on Home Life – Marcia can make “Oh Dirk, can you come here please?” sound absolutely terrifying.

Starting the Day – Not long after breakfast I’ll get going on a grocery shopping venture. Then at 11 I’ll be meeting up with Cathy at Findlay Market for fresh fruit and veggies, plus fresh (still warm) fancy bread and maybe some cheese.

While I am doing that Marcia will get ‘coiffured’ by Kirstin.

The weekend is off to a good start.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

The spotlight this week in Bonus Points mentions several women in US history who helped expand the idea of participation in civic life. One should not be on the list

1. Sojourner Truth
2. Abigail Adams
3. Eleanor Roosevelt
4. Florence Welch
5. Carrie Nation
6. Rosa Parks

Last week answer – #5