The Constant is Change

Happy Saturday Morning – Not certain what is hotter, my coffee or the weather. Maybe it’s
all equal – having said that I’d prefer the hot coffee.

These days I am taking care of all those annual ‘wellness’ checkups. This week it was time with my Dermatologist. Every time I have that appointment and the lights turn bright in the little exam room I am reminded of what it must be like to be a ‘star’ under the bright lights.

This year as the Nitro spray gun came out, I was ready to suggest that it would be easier on both her, the Doctor and me, the patient, if they just made the event a walk-through, car wash like. A Cryotherapy tunnel dousing me with Nitro spray; I think the idea is brilliant.

“We are what we believe we are.” – C.S. Lewis, Irish British author, literary scholar and theologian (1898—1963)

Finally, this week, the last of any signs that our side-street was, until recently, shaded by a wealth of blooming Bradford pear trees. I’ll hold my breath waiting to see how the road will be restored “to its former glory” as the old saw (pun) goes.

Round and About – Also, this week there came another first. Thursday, across from our balcony sat a Waymo self-driving car. Until that sighting, I was unaware that Waymo had any vehicles in the ‘Nati.

Jason told me that they’re hanging about getting ‘acquainted’ with the various neighborhoods.

Next, I now hope to spot a self-driving Tesla Cybercab. Our Kirstin informs me that she’s already seen them driving in and around Austin. The Cybercab seats two, with no steering wheel, no pedals, and minimal cargo space it’s quite small but sleek looking. I saw two guys using one and taping the experience driving from the outskirts of Austin into the city – it accomplished the drive with nary a hiccup.

Mentioning “Round and About”, unless you’re my age, very few f you will a clue as to the purpose of this item. I actually had one, loved the accompanying humming noise it made, but, by and large, thought it fairly useless.

The answer as to what that item is will be at the very end of this ‘Ramblings’; phew, it’s getting busy down there.

Crossing the Ocean – the Atlantic Ocean that is. It was the summer of 1957, and a young Dirk (he of these Ramblings) was on his way to spend the summer with his namesake grandfather.

The trip began on an old little British 4 engine prop Vickers Viscount – Toronto to Montreal. Then a bus ride to their international airport. There began the Montreal to Amsterdam event, it was on a KLM DC6. Again 4 prop engines, with refueling stops in St. John Newfoundland and Prestwick Scotland where at each stop I and my 64 fellow passengers had to disembark for an hour plus while our ‘ship’ was refueled.

Just under 14 hours of this and it was safe landing at Schiphol, Amsterdam.

Should you think this was all ridiculous you’d be so wrong. We were fed and the crew kept us occupied with chats and cabin wide paper and pencil games. I even had an in-flight visit in the cockpit.

“So”, you ask, “where is all this heading?” Let me tell you. This week I watched an in-depth video of Charles Lindberg and his first non-stop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis.

It took him 33 hours in a plane with no forward-facing windshield (he did have a rudimentary periscope out the side window). Tiringly painful, nonstop hands on the controls, three sandwiches and some water all the while stuck in miserably cramped quarters.

That world shaking event had taken place exactly 30 years prior to my flight.

Do take a look at this professionally made video, you won’t be disappointed.

Then, 30 years after my flight later my brother and I flew nonstop from the USA to Tokyo on a Pan Am Boeing 747 – well over 200 passengers, 2 decks, and dinner service where roast beef was sliced seat side.

So, here is the promised answer. Can we even imagine what things will be like thirty years from now?

The thinking came about because of a conversation I had with my granddaughter. Vaioleti. Attending University of Cincinnati and I was driving her to school. Her class was a freshman offering which, in part, explores future career options. On this short bit of travel, I pointed out to her that since I graduated there are now literally hundreds of vocations which we couldn’t have even imagined when I graduated.

This week’s Interlude – This week it’s a joy to listen to (not only my clip, but the whole piece). Marcia and I were at a concert where the original artist performed this very number, and I watched Marcia jump up in pure ecstasy. And I think that I can predict that a vast majority of you all would have a similar reaction.

Hint: the piece’s writer saw it explode in popularity by another performer.

To make it interesting here performing that iconic piece is the “la Orquesta Metropolitana de Madrid” plus the voices of Coro Talía. I am attaching the link to their performance at the end of these Ramblings all in tiny print. The visuals and the music will make watching it worth your while.

Good luck, I know you’ll get it right! Remember, no cheating on the answer.

This evening both Marcia and I will scurry on over to our neighborhood’s annual Block Party. These events are always a good time. Again, this year one of the side streets will be blocked off to traffic and then like magic tables and chairs appear. Street chalk for the little ones shows up as well as a Big wheel or two. And one of the driveways is filled with oversized grills. Then a chair plus music stand emerges. Let the good times roll!

Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

In Pennsylvania’s Amish Country is a Smorgasbord buffet restaurant. Like many food related success stories, this one started as a small roadside ‘veggie’ stall. Today their main food table is 200 feet long. The food both in quality and variety is highly rated. Today it’s not uncommon to see a tour bus come rolling into the parking lot.

Here is a list of numbers. The first is the number of guests on a good day, the second is the number of employees working in the dishwashing area. Only one pair of numbers is correct. The answer will be in next week’s Ramblings along with the name of the place.

1. 1500 — 12
2. 11,000 — 40
3. 8,500 — 17
4. 4,800 — 17
5. 6750 — 21
6. 1875 — 9
7. 14,000 — 50

Last week Bonus Points answer – # 4
Answer, this week’s Interlude piece: is John Fogerty‘s “Proud Mary“, popularized by Tina Turner. https://tinyurl.com/235ne2o4

The photo is of a ‘dynamo’ a bicycle generator to power a front light.

SuperAging

SuperAgers – “SuperAgers” are defined as adults over age 80 who have the memory abilities at least at the level of individuals 20-30 years younger.”

More on ‘SuperAger’ below – just keep the quote in your mind for now

Now that September is here and the NCAA and NFL are in full swing, I thought I’d start it all off with one of my favorite ‘sports’ one liners:
Quotation – “What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?!” ? Slim Pickens in his role as Taggart, a henchman in Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974)

Happy Saturday Morning – It’s almost a scary thing. Wake up with the streetlights still on, and there parked out front, is a car I’d not seen before in all its glittering Nitro-Blue glory. It’s almost too much.

There now, with coffee in hand I can slide more quietly into Fall. Last Sunday evening the city bade farewell to summer with a stunning display of fireworks. Even on my way home, I believe my ribcage was still vibrating. ”Quite the spectacle it was”, as Joda would say.

Words – Seeing a photo of a passenger duct taped to his seat I glanced at the accompanying TMZ article:

“Our sources tell us the man was screaming about Jesus and going to hell, prompting a Black flight attendant to walk over and attempt to calm the situation.
We’re told the man called the flight attendant the n-word and (he) also hurled anti-gay remarks using the f-word. Our sources say the man’s behavior became more intense and violent as he hit the passenger next to him….”

I am certain that 9 out of my 3 readers have seen this article, however, I have a bit of an add-on spin on the matter.

Reading this TMZ piece I began to wonder how long it’ll be before substitute letters used as place holders for the actual word will be outlawed. How will the news articles manage writing an article where writing the ‘f-word’ or ‘n-word’ too will be deemed so inappropriate, so offensive, each causing such microaggressions so as to not being allowed in print?

See the path we’ve embarked upon?

As an aside, realize that the complete ‘n-word’ itself is perfectly appropriate when used in much of today’s Rap music. Bizarre, isn’t it?

Quotation – “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.” anonymous

A Symposium – Sure, it took planning, but Thursday at the Oasis center in nearby Loveland I attended a Symposium – mostly professionals who needed their professional credit hours, I was one of a small cadre of plain folk seeking to learn a bit.

Symposiun for Elder Care Professionals & Our Community

A total and wonderful surprise came prior to the start of the event. Coffee in hand, I made the rounds looking at each of the 57 exhibitors’ tables at the event. Then, looking up, there was my daughter-in-law Cathy. Seeing her in her work environment and the chats here and there we had during the event absolutely made my day!

Several highlights filled the day, each with a keynote style address and Breakout sessions.

A. A legal session dealing with the representation of those with diminished capacity. Creating awareness of all the little nooks and crannies to maneuver through the various trip points when it comes to individual and family desires and the law.
B. Dealt primarily with a guide to Dementia management. This became a realistic resource for people living with dementia and their caregivers.
C. This was a highlight by a Dr. Molly Mather, PhD. She discussed a 25-year ongoing long style research study on who exactly are the “SuperAgers” and what lessons are we learning. Should you want to dig a little more, here is the link at Northwestern University
D. As a late selection I choose a Breakout to gain insight into the offerings of the Pace Association. It’s primarily for those who want to stay in their home. Who with some assistance are able to stave off a residential facility. Pace is all over the nation and if of interest just search Pace Association in your system’s search bar.

So, what did I learn? I learned that it’s never too late to stick with healthy habits, explore the new, stay active (sweat a little), keep on learning, eat healthy, stay engaged, stay involved, and do what I struggle with – get enough sleep.

In other words, for us wondering how best to move along the elder path we need to continue to love our brain!

As Maya Angelou once said; “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This week’s Interlude – Will be a ‘Yes’ moment when you realize the name of the piece. It was released in 1969 (the golden age of Rock) and it was difficult to not enjoy a bit of sing-along whenever it popped up on my car’s little AM radio. When you click on the attached audio snippet is that very popular song as performed by Maynard Ferguson with Jazz Horn.

Hint: The original group to record the piece was West Coast American and helped to introduce mainstream audiences to writers such as Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Paul Williams. Still stuck? A desperation Hint: The name of the group references staying warm on a cold night.

Good luck, I know you’ll get it right!

If you want to see and listen to this wonderful number, copy the answer below and place it onto the YouTube or Spotify search bar. Remember, no cheating on the answer.

The photo below I took at the last Sunday Riverfest finale and thought it would be good visual close for this week’s Ramblings.

Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk
BONUS POINTS:

Almost 100% of our population deems Education as being important for quality of life as overall welfare, and I could go on. Recently all our 50 states were ranked by WalletHub. The ranking considered academic ranking relating to student performance, funding, safety, class size, and instructor credentials.

It might be interesting to ‘fish’ which State is the lowest ranking in their nation’s education rankings.

1. “Oklahoma”
2. “North Dakota”
3. “Alabama”
4. “Maine”
5. “Alaska”
6. ”New Mexico”
7. “Florida”
8. “Hawaii”

Last week Bonus Points answer – # 4
Answer, this week’s Interlude: Maynard Ferguson: “Eli’s Comin” released by Three Dog Night in 1969

Pyrotechnics All Over

Happy Saturday Morning – ‘Ach du Lieber’, another week, another month. The Association for Psychological Science has looked at “The Fluidity of Time.” As they wrote, and as we all understand; “time flies when we’re having fun. It drags when we’re bored. Sometimes it’s on our side; other times it’s racing against us.”

This week my brother George had a very momentous (should I say somber?) ‘0’ ending birthday. I am certain he’s beginning to experience that for us geezers, time is not on our side. Luckily our coffee machine has switched its ‘Regular’ – ‘Bold’ setting with a ‘Slow’ – ‘Fast’ button (no, not really).

As I lift my fast-percolated, steaming, mug of java; Cheers.

School’s on – and as we hear that, especially in our high schools and college campuses, our kids’ actual learning programs are buried inside a load of Woke and ‘Progressive’ drivel. It’s surprising then that islands of common sense can still be found. One such campus is Tuskegee. Tuskegee University President Dr. Mark Brown, Air Force major general retired, stated; “Raise the bar, students will reach it.” Yes, raise the bar! This almost sounds like a bad afterthought from some forgotten generation.

Dr. Brown continued by explaining that “banning durags and bonnets in classrooms is part of a broader push for student success and job readiness.” Yes, at Tuskegee proper business attire in the classroom is a requirement.

If nothing else, those simple mandates by Dr. Brown change the whole tenor of and preparedness attributes to all their school endeavors. Yes, raise the bar! Even though today this almost seems like a bad afterthought.

Quotation – “My [physician assistant] reminds me that although I have a PhD in physics, women should remain a mystery.” ? Dr.Stephen Hawking, arguably the most recognized physicist of the last century and author of ‘A Brief History of Time’, passed of a motor neuron disease in 2018.

The Crave – Yesterday, Friday, was one of those days. On the surface it was absolutely quiet. Behind that facade there was a bit more of a hubbub. Back up to Wednesday evening, I was at Walgreen’s. Leaving the place I climbed back into our trusty Corolla beater – key in – and nothing. Thankfully Adrianne swung by with her car; it was in the mid-nineties, A/C on wheels was wonderful. Soon AAA was at the scene. Ruling that the battery was just fine, the verdict was to tow it to my garage. Thankfully, AAA handled it all. I gave the guy the name of my garage and he hid the car’s key somewhere while organizing the tow online. At 9:30, at home, I was texted that the car was placed safely at the garage.

Fast forward to Thursday. The original factory installed starter was deemed ‘kaput’. They’d start work later in the day.

Fast forward to Friday. The phone rang and I answered; “Dirk, were there other issues with the car? Me; “no, why?” Garage, “the cable connecting the shifter is busted!”

Huh?

So, yesterday late afternoon all was good again with our little Corolla beater. That plus a few other things had me suggest to Marcia that rather than whirlwind through the kitchen I’d drive down the street to the nearby White Castle and quickly settle both our craving. Marcia jumped on it and I wasn’t opposed either.

Dinner was a sack of Cheese sliders and for good measure a batch of Onion Rings. This was our first White Castle visit since early last Fall and it tasted pretty good!

Fun Fact: Did you know that White Castle is the first fast-food chain to be installed with robotic fryers? Early model was the ‘Flippi’ it’s since advanced to the ‘Flippi 2’. Eventually these will be in the 350 White Castle locations. Perfect fries without a break has advanced Miso Robotics maker of the Flippi 2 to gain a foothold in the fast-food business.

Pyrotechnics – I think I have it worked out where I can go to the Riverbank tomorrow evening. I am told if I go, I’ll be with about half a million of my new friends. Sunday evening is the town’s Labor Day Fireworks show started by WEBN Radio 50 years ago. Because of the nation’s 250th and this event 50th it’s going to be all out.

The Western Southern/WEBN (102.7 FM) Fireworks show by local specialists Rozzi Fireworks, the pyrotechnic displays will last 50 minutes rather than last year’s 30 – all accompanied to a themed musical soundtrack broadcast on WEBN. Former company President Art Rozzi is one of my brother’s best friends – I’ve always had a soft spot for their magical shows.

Here’s what we’re in for aside from the extra 20 minutes of the extravaganza. Past years they’ve shot from 3-barges mid river, this year it’s from 6-barges. The show will be 360 degrees around, along from the barges there will be land locations both in Kentucky and Ohio, plus also from two of the Ohio River bridges.

Additionally, they’ve got a person dedicated to the grand finale piece and we’re being touted that this finale will be the largest ever in the nation. Add a Drone show and it’ll be HUGE. I love this stuff!

PS, wanna hear the accompanying soundtrack wherever you are? Climb on the iHeart radio app and load 102.7 WEBN at 9:00 PM Eastern Time,

This week’s Interlude – This week’s ‘Interlude’ exposes a bit of a secret like of mine, Outlaw Country. The singer careened around somewhat until he was in his thirties when he lost a marriage and both parents due to drugs and alcohol.

Hint; it was the short lived phenom guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan, who first took him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Now, still playing with his son as the lead guitarist he just released a new album.

Enjoy this small piece of one of his better-known songs. I am looking for you to successfully provide the singer’s name and the song title – no cheating!

If you want to see and listen to this wonderful number, copy the answer below and place it onto the YouTube or Spotify search bar. Remember, no cheating on the answer.

Enjoy!

And finally, the heat wave is breaking. Yesterday as it’s been the whole week, the Real-Feel temp climbed past the 100-degree mark. Today it’s dropping down into the upper eighties. Just thought you’d want to know.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Any astronomers in the house? For years now the Hubble telescope has functioned and observed the heavens above. It’d even been repaired in space. A few years ago the James Webb telescope was sent a million miles out and since then been busy at work exploring the far outer reaches of the universe. A week ago, a 27engine Space X Falcon Heavy launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Between those telescopes and various satellites we keep researching our nearby planets. Building on earlier findings at Saturn’s north pole we’ve now discovered an unusual wave pattern in clouds above Saturn’s poles.

From AP Science: “Scientists have discovered an enormous ‘XX’-sided wave pattern in the icy ammonia clouds over Saturn’s south pole.” These are wave pattern possibilities, which one is correct

1. 17 sided north pole and 8 sided south pole
2. 12 sided north pole and 10 sided south pole
3. 3 sided north pole and 7 sided south pole
4. 6 sided north pole and 10 sided south pole
5. 4 sided north pole and 4 sided south pole

Last week Bonus Points answer – # 6
Answer, this week’s Interlude: Ray Wylie Hubbard; “Mother Blues”