“Memories this May”

Happy Saturday Morning – as you and I are sitting here lovingly enjoying these Ramblings and your first sips of morning coffee (or your Breakfast Tea) there are people who are on a different tack. Granddaughter Dinah rows for the Syracuse University, she is one of those; “on a different tack.”

Now that the academic year is finishing up, her dad asked her what she’s currently doing on a daily basis. Apparently, it’s get up, do some stretching, have breakfast, working out for 4 hours, eating lunch, then working out for another 4 hours. Much of the ‘work out’ time is on erg machines.

Last weekend they raced both The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan at U of M’s “Wolverine Double Dual” in Ann Arbor . Ohio in the morning where her 8-man boat won by seven seconds ahead of the Buckeyes. Then that afternoon was made complete with a thrilling, razor-thin, victory, racing to a 6:46.6 finish – just .3 seconds ahead of Michigan (that is POINT-three seconds for their win).

May 5, 1945 – This week, 81 years ago, was the official surrender of Germany. In the Netherlands two separate dates are observed as part of the remembrances of the events of World War II (not World War 11 as US Representative A.O. Cortez stated in a brilliant moment).

On May 4th there is Remembrance Day (Dodenherdenking) in the Netherlands which honors all those who suffered and were killed during the conflict – civilians and military. This is a somber day of reflection..

Then, May 5th celebrations in the Netherlands are festive with Liberation Day (Befrijdingsdag) the day where liberation from the occupation and a new freedom returned.

Memory #1 – Around the corner from my childhood home, Richardholstraat 7, is a main roadway acting as a ‘spoke’ coming from the city center, the Kuipersdijk. All I remember is my mother holding my hand and as we entered the Kuipersdijk it was filled with cheering and singing throngs. All along the curb were big, military trucks – each filled with Canadian soldiers; something I found out about sometime years later. It was a soldier who handed me a piece of fruit which thrilled me to no end.

Then, what I remember is getting really angry with my mother. She took the fruit away from me, that soldier had given it to me and not her. When we got home, she first peeled off that wonderful orange colored peel before handing it back to me. I had never seen an orange!

Memory #2 – Is of Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who served as the Reichskommissar (Reich Commissioner) for the German-occupied Netherlands from 1940 to 1945. He was captured after the war, convicted with other senior Nazis at the Nuremberg trials, found guilty and was hung. One of the few memories I have of those times is a memory from after things got back to normal when, as a tyke, my dad took me on a trip where we were able to tour Seyss-Inquart’s bunker. To my kid’s eyes and memories I remember it looking like a normal home with couch and chairs. What I really remember as being much more interesting is going into a nearby Nazi ‘pillbox’ with its massive gun still sticking out and silently pointing westward towards England.

A New Surgeon General – This I am making note of in no small part due to the number of health related events our family and extended family has dealt with just this year.

For week after week the name of Dr. Casey Means was ‘wrung’ over, debated, argued, maligned, until last week when her name was finally pulled as a candidate for our next surgeon General. So, who exactly is Casey Means? In short, she graduated from Stanford Medical School, trained as a head and neck (otolaryngology) surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University, dropping out after 4.5 years of her 5-year program. Consequently, she is not a board-certified surgeon.

Apparently, the reasons for dropping out were ‘burn-out’ with the system and disillusionment with the traditional healthcare system. In terminology I can understand, she tired of ‘fixes’ rather than going after the root causes.

I’ve read and listened to long-form interviews with her (and also her brother Calley). “Together they are, prominent in the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, advocating for systemic changes in the American healthcare system, focusing on root causes of chronic disease, and opposing corporate influence from the food and pharmaceutical industries.” Ai Overview

Knowing her MAHA interests made it not much of a shock that her name was pulled inside the walls in DC. Away from the major monies pouring in by lobbyists and the industries funding them. It’s sad that a brilliant person poised to make positive changes is stopped short by too many occupying the seats of power.

This text of Means opening testimony at her confirmation hearing:
“We are now the most chronically ill high-income nation in the world. We live shorter, sicker lives than peer developed countries. Today’s children are projected to live shorter lifespans than their parents. We spend trillions annually on reactive sick care; nearly 150 million Americans rely on federal healthcare programs; and we invest more than $50 billion each year in research—yet outcomes worsen and disparities widen. Our nation is angry, exhausted, and hurting from preventable disease. Rates of high blood pressure, many cancers, autoimmune conditions, type 2 diabetes, mental health disorders, dementia, neurodevelopmental challenges, and youth suicide have all increased in the past two decades.”

Fastest 2-minutes in Sports – will happen later today as a short 100 miles up the road the 152nd Kentucky Derby will be over and done for another year, all within in a mere 2 minutes.

Even living close by, I have never attended the Derby. It’s not because of the drive. For two school years I drove between the ‘Nati and The-Ville so the drive is not an issue. I have been at Churchill Downs and even walked on the track but never attended the main event. Then, I’ve been asked if during my bar tending years, had I ever made a Mint Julep? Yes, I have. But I’ve never had one – tasted yes, had one no.

All of these points to the fact that I really have no negative reason, somehow, I just never made the effort to be part of the main event. What is interesting about today’s running is that 18 of the 20 3-year-old thoroughbred entries were born in the Bluegrass State.

This week’s Interlude – This week I spent some time listening to a major ‘voice’ from the last century. The band delivered a wealth of music, had a frontman with a great voice, and a guitarist who delivered this solo (and wrote much of the piece). The guitar he plays is affectionately called Big Red and which he made with his dad. Oh, and during his ‘spare’ time this band’s guitarist got a PhD in Astrophysics. Also, he was knighted and appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Answer can be found below: band and guitarist names as well as the song from which this solo was taken at end of Ramblings. No Googling!

Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What seems like it’s a few short years, the CD format was actually first introduced to the public in 1982. Which one of these developed the format:

1. Sanyo
2. Sony
3. Philips
4. Mitsubishi
5. RCA
6. A Starlink division
7. Sony & Philips jointly
8. Apple & Philips jointly
9. Apple

Last week Bonus Points answer – #1
Brian May guitarist for Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo