Something

Happy Saturday Morning – The perfect quote by someone going by the name of ‘Unknown’:

“Life without coffee is like something without something…..sorry, I haven’t had any coffee yet.”

So, I’ll stop being someone who is not doing something by pouring me a mugful. Make it a great and useful day filled with somethings.

So, here is my very first useful snippet: This evening remember to set your clocks to fall back one hour! Doing so will immediately give you an extra hour to do something of probably nothing.

Waking up – Mid-week, 3:30am and I woke up as our building’s dumpster was being emptied. Normally I am oblivious that this is a weekly event, Wednesday morning I heard it.

That wake-up moment after several hours of solid sleep now had me lying there staring at the ceiling. My brilliant solution was to open the iHeart (internet radio on TV) connection tuned to a “nature sounds, sleepy time” connection – and it worked wonders; soft pitter-patter of rain and an occasional bit of distant thunder.

Bam! I was out.

Out till 6:15am when with a startle I woke up. Was it people screaming, and people snorting, and people running? Then it dawned on me that in fact all was quiet here at the Corner of Chaos & Mayhem. That is when I began to focus on the iHeart icon screen on the TV set and the ‘now-playing’ ” Sounds of the African Savanna”.

Did they really have to have screeching Jackals, yipping dogs, and stampeding Zebras on a ‘chill out’ channel? At 6:15am? Thank you very much!

Chekov Moment – I was all prepared to give you a history of the beginnings and rise in popularity of the Dutch ‘Stroopwafel’. But, got sidetracked.

This week we lost two members of the Start Trek cast; first Walter Koenig and then Sir Patric Steward playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Reading this I heard in my head the Russian accented voice of the “Star Trek character, Chekov (Walter Koenig) blurt out:

“Captain, the ‘Stroopwafel’, it was invented in Russia”

As an aficionado of the Star Trek series. I loved subtle humor of the Chekov character, most anything and Chekov would claim; “it was made or invented in Rusia” dialogue inserts – all spoken with a twinkle in his eye.

If I remember correctly, he once claimed that even the Garden of Eden was actually located just outside of Moscow.

Never Give Up – Making the neighborhood rounds I naturally passed one of the area’s century-plus years old Burr Oak trees. This one particular tree is the master of its front yard. For well over 100 years, during Fall of every year this tree drops thousands of brown thorny encased nuts.

For nearly all its life this tree, every year, without fail, drops thousands of seeds. The result? Nothing! People sweep them away, deer eat them, and kids kick them.

Not one of its acorns has sprung. Yet, for all this time, this tree has never given up trying. Maybe we all could learn from this tree.

We have clever little sayings, “if at first you fail get up and try again” being one such. Better be like the strong tree and not quit, never give up hope!

StringSource – Last evening (6:00 – 9:00) at our lovely Washington Park I listened the StringSource (a string quartet ensemble). They are local to the area and have performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the BBC Proms.

Both musically and setting; it was magical.

Chaos & Mahem – I nearly forgot. Yesterday afternoon we happened to look and 5 cruisers following a car that drove into the driveway across the street, cops piled out, and quickly had three youngsters cuffed. Twenty minutes later all were released. In the meantime we had 10 officers, 1 canine, and 1 State Trooper milling about,

As a reminder, yes, the corner of Chaos & Mahem is still active.

As Marcia says; “it’s better than TV“.

This week’s Interlude – You might guess and you’d be correct if you thought that this week’s Interlude ties in (somewhat) with Halloween. Now that you are on the correct track with that hint, the attached minute clip should groom you quickly into the right answer

Good luck, I know you’ll get it right! The answer along with a YouTube link is below, and remember, no cheating on the answer.

Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This week, it’s a bit of digging about our nation’s history:
Our first President, George Washington served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army from June 1775, to December 1783.

During his tenure there were many Generals serving under him , most of whom served honorably. Of those listed below, which ONE was both the youngest serving and one of the few generals to serve with George Washington for the entire Revolutionary War.

1. Anthony Wayne (“Mad Anthony”)
2. Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben
3. Henry Knox
4. Horatio Gates
5. Charles Lee
6. Nathanael Greene
7. Benjamin Lincoln
8. Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayett

Last week’s Bonus Points answer – #2
Answer, this week’s Interlude: Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” https://youtu.be/GgnClrx8N2k