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

Chicane

Happy Saturday – I might as well admit that after watching Shaun, I am still snorting in my coffee.

For years I’ve had a thing for Shaun-the-Sheep animation videos – LOVE them! Once again, I just had to watch Shaun as he spotted an opportunity to do an Irish Dance. It was St. Patrick’s Day after all. Here is a snippet:

Chicane – In reality, my week was one strong (i.e. uneventful) straight line. Marcia, physically, is getting stronger. We’ve had daily walks around the building, and we’ve also started heading towards the nearby side street. Having said that, I felt that I had to get started on adding a curve or two onto that ‘straight’ line.

Add, that our pantry was getting low on food stuff, and that as yet I can’t leave Marcia to her own wiles. It was Adrianne who came up with the idea. Marcia loves Aldi’s as her go to grocery place. Soooo, yesterday I quickly set up an Aldi account. She and I worked on a list of grocery items. I placed the order and selected a two hour out pick-up time window.

With a little cajoling I managed to talk Marcia to join and take a grocery pick-up drive with me. The drive magically included a few twists and turns through a couple of nearby neighborhoods and then ended up at the local Aldi. Minutes later they loaded the groceries in the car and home we went.

By 7:00pm last night she was in bed. The ‘adventure’ tired her out and that was a good thing.

Afroman – This week in the rural county adjacent to ours, Adams County, a trial was settled. Settled in favor of free speech and the right to mock. The whole business blew across the ‘media-sphere’. From CNN to NPR, from the NY Times to the LA Times, it was all wild times. Our radio was filled with an Afroman rap called; “Moma’s Pound Cake” featuring a leering Deputy in on the Police raid on Afroman’s home eyeing the glass covered Moma’s Pound Cake that was sitting on the kitchen table, all while carrying an AK style rifle.

Rapper Afroman said this after winning the Police Deputies’ lawsuit; “I got the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech, turn my bad times into a good time yes, I do, and I think I’m a sport for doing so, because I don’t go to their house, kick down their doors, flip them off on their surveillance cameras, then try to play the victim and sue them.”

Fun times. A massive ‘thank-you-very-much’ for Free Speech!

Racing – I’ve mentioned that my week was quite linear and that I needed a chicane to break up the time.

So, instead of only watching a long line of British vintage, sports, and touring car races, and Paris to Nice bicycle races, which I did, I watched some races held at the Goodwood Festival in West Sussex, England.

Among the races held at Goodwood was one comprised of over thirty early MG-B sports cars. Many years ago, I owned one. My MG-B I never fully restored but got running well enough to drive back and forth the 100 miles to Louisville and back a few times when I was working on my degree.

Aah, for the memories, memories of throwing that little shifter and punching the accelerator, cleaning the spoke wheels, messing with the dual Stromberg carburetors, even pulling the clutch successfully. The electric fuel pump though was a piece of misery.

Quotation on Time – “Time is what happens when nothing else happens” Richard Feynman (1918 – 1988) American theoretical physicist known for pioneering work in quantum electrodynamics.

But, there had to be more than just watching vintage car races. With that in mind I started on some of the thinking of one Dr. Jim Al-Khalili (Sep 20, 1962) Iraqi-British theoretical physicist on the subject of Time. It’s not that I am some sort of a nerd that I came across his thinking. It’s just that Al-Khalili is frequently seen as a broadcaster in the UK on a subject I find interesting.

Also, he’s got a number of YouTubes and an uncanny ability to make the difficult sensible to a ‘bloke’ such as me. I’ve attached an interview I thought you might find interesting (be prepared, it’s a solid hour plus long).

Irish goodbye – Mid week it was the day where most everyone became Irish for the day. Is it just me or am I correct in that we in the USA have the uncanny ability to take any type of event, historical, religious, or one the English and Canadians refer to as “Bank Holiday” and turn it into a major money grab. Anyway, hope you had a fine St. Patrick’s Day.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

The Secret Service has a fascination with the use of code names when referring to the president, vice president, their family members. The following names are the code names of several first ladies. All are correct except for one. Which name was never used as a Secret Service code name for a first lady.

1. Muse
2. Dancer
3. Rover
4. Sunnyside
5. Auntie
6. Lace

Last week answer – #5

‘Para..….’ whatever?

Happy Saturday – glad Friday the thirteenth is in the rearview mirror? Were you aware that in Italy, Friday the seventh holds a similar status (and most Italians did just fine the last time that day flew by).

Just in case you need to know. Friday the 13th worry even has a name; paraskevidekatriaphobia. Feel wiser yet?

But now, Saturday morning, we’re back into a bit of a temperature dip as our Spring creeps along. The Bradford pear trees lining our side street have begun to bloom. By mid-week it’ll look like this as in the photo I took last year.

OK, the coffee pot just got louder alerting me to the fact that all is ready in the kitchen. First mug of Peets roast is coming up.

The Corner – seems active 24/7. Early this week Marcia needed to get up in the middle of the night – 2:15am to be exact. Once she got settled again, I walked about the living room to stretch my legs more than anything else. That was the exact time that, without any sirens, a Fire Truck and EMT ambulance rolled on by. They pulled over about two buildings down. The angle wasn’t great and I wasn’t about to head on out to check on things. All I know is that after 15 to 20 minutes the mini caravan of emergency equipment headed on out.

All of this made me wonder what else goes on during the ‘wee’ hours?

National Pi Day – since I’ve been a bit on a nerdy bend, please be advised that today, March (3rd month), the 14th is officially Pi Day. It celebrates the, (pause here and say “ahem”) “the mathematical constant ? (pi), which represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter” – 3.14. It gets better. Hence, if you’re so inclined, celebrate Pi Day at exactly 1:59pm to mark the next three digits of the ratio – 3.14159.

There is more – Last week I shared the story of ‘Science Girl’ Dianna Cowern, her trials, and her description of the Neutrino. What I was trying to convey was how our world, solar system, and the Universe itself is beyond comprehension.

Today, here for those who still weren’t convinced, is another fragment that will amaze you. To a weak-minded character such as myself all of this provides proof that none of this can come about as happenstance. With all the magnificence around us there is no doubt that this cannot be a mere collection of ‘stuff’. There has to be order. There has to be purpose. There must be premeditation in the design of it all.

Enjoy watching the stunning life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly and then reflect on the preceding paragraph while you wrap your mind around what you’re seeing on screen:

Irish goodbye – with many celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this week (here in town we’re all Irish during the week and a large St. Patrick Day parade is held) I’ll close this week’s Ramblings with a warm and friendly Irish goodbye, “craic”.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This week Marcia had a doctor’s appointment. It struck me that he wasn’t wearing a white coat. He entered the exam room in kaki slacks and a polo shirt, hmmmm, the time’s they are a-changing. Which leads me to ask the question; what year was the modern Hippocratic oath written?

1. 1908
2. 1953
3. 1877
4. 1923
5. 1964
6. 1857

Last week answer – #6

What me Know?

Happy Saturday – and even though, on occasion, it might seem like I’m standing in my own dung – you would be very wrong.
Opinionated, yes.
Stubborn, yes.
Doctrinaire, yes!
Even Cocksure, yes!
And on occasion, Pigheaded, yes!

But standing in dung, NO!

There, now that is out of the way I’ll take a moment, head for the kitchen, and pour my first mug of coffee. I suggest you do likewise (but do come back to enjoy these Ramblings).

National Anthem Day – is a minorly celebrated day, celebrated last Tuesday March 3rd. Nevertheless, for many of us it is an important day.

About six years ago U.S. Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant violinist Peter Wilson (of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band) played the anthem at the start of a university basketball game. His rendition is stunningly beautiful! I immediately locked in on this rendition because of its beauty by only using the violin. I too took violin lessons as a kid. And although I loved ‘playing’ the instrument it never took hold, sadly.

WOW, what a Universe – Part 1 (Dianna Cowern story)
Quite a while ago I began watching a YouTube show narrated by an outgoing, vivacious young woman who seemed to have amazing insight into many things touching on physics. The show? ‘Physics Girl’ begun, developed, and content created by Dianna Cowern.

Dianna is a grad from MIT (2011) and “a research fellow at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics.” It wasn’t that long before awards and top prizes in video creation began pouring in. That was about the time I made her video output part of my regular fare. Even her early works are both a joy to watch as well as a serious learning experience – I’d urge you to look them up.

Fast forward to that horrible bug-a-boo, Covid.

In July 2022, Cowern developed long COVID. She was “hospitalized in March 2023 as her symptoms, similar to ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome’, continued to worsen.” Bottom line, she was bedridden for 2 years.

July 2025, her health again declined, leading to her being bedridden again. As of January 2026, she has improved somewhat, and hallelujah, again was able to produce wonderfully her first new science video for 2026. Below you’ll find her first release.

WOW, what a Universe – Part 2 (what is a Neutrino?)
We are so smart. Especially during the last 75 years the acceleration of our knowledge universe has blossomed. It’s almost to a point where we believe we understand every nook and cranny of our world, our solar system, our Milky Way, and the universe in its totality. Not just all of that, but we’re ‘uppity’ enough to believe we understand it all, from the bottom of the ocean to the smallest particle of grey matter inside our skull.

Let me posit that in the grand scheme of things we’ve hardly scratched the surface of all of that which is under, in, and above us; billions of years, trillions of stars, our body’s cell count almost too numerous to count, and it goes on and on. Even with tools such as Lasers, space-based observatories, management of plant life, Ai, and self-driving vehicles to name a few we’re not yet on the cusp of truly grasping and understanding all that is about us.

Ever heard of something called a neutrino? It’s a recently identified particle a billion of which pass through an area the size of a fingernail every second. Watch Dianna Cowern explain and whet your appetite for more.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Tomorrow morning our clocks will adjust for summertime – Daylight Savings Time. Much water cooler discussion will take place on Monday morning with complaints about the loss of sleep. However, one location will adjust their time for the last time. After the time change tomorrow morning they’ll stay at that new time forward. Which one location has said, “enough” and will be done with this twice a year event.

1. Luxemburg
2. Monaco
3. Nepal
4. Prince Edward Island
5. Croatia
6. British Columbia

Last week answer – #1

Lessons

Happy Saturday – Actually it’s been a quiet week. Quiet, except for the fact that I took our little Corolla ‘beater’ in the have the resonator piping replaced, and that on my birthday no less. It must be that old cars and old guys’ ‘resonator’ piping suffer a similar issue – loudness, especially in public.

The other aging phenomena is the reappearance of kindergarten aged fart jokes and the like.

So, here is a resultant juvenile limerick, one of many.

When you enter your eighties – life takes on a different format:

An irritable person is Dirk the faultfinder.
A legit and professional griper.
People had no idea why he had the blues.
Turns out he had a full diaper.
They quickly got a nose full of clues.

It’s still early and still dark, so back to my coffee.

Presidents Day – Here is a quick question regarding last Monday. Who of you all actually spent a nano-second reflecting on even one of our Presidents last Monday as we celebrated our 147th Presidents Day (1879)?

I would guess that topping the list would be critical events such as mistakenly putting out the garbage a day early. Or checking the mailbox forgetting that there was no delivery that day.

Was your bank open, did you buy a piece of furniture or a mattress at the weekend’s onslaught of sales? Any of you care to share your favorite screw-up?

Cathy on the air – Tomorrow is the start of an important week, especially for us, the elderly. National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW). It runs from March 1 to 7, 2026, with March 5 designated as National “Slam the Scam” Day to focus on government imposter scams.

Our Cathy at Cincinnati’s Pro Seniors heads up the organization’s Statewide Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) sector. Quoting their stats; “In 2024, the 54 SMP projects had a total of 5,643 active team members who conducted a total of 22,752 group outreach and education events, contributing to $35.1 million in expected Medicare recoveries.”

Last evening, using Roku’s Live Streaming setup I listened to a wonderful show on WMKV – 89.3FM where the station hosted Cathy representing Senior Medicare Patrol and a representative from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to alert listeners to the myriad and ever more sophisticated onslaught of scams – over 200% increase in about a year.

This week especially, be alert, verify and incoming calls and requests. If the ‘pitch’ sounds too good to be true, most likely it is!

A tale of two women – is proof that it’s not just by being from a group, a culture, a gender, a religion that becomes the criteria by which to judge a person. All this was brought home to me when I spotted the antics and untoward attitude expressed by one representative, Ilhan Omar during this week’s State of the Union presentation.

The tale of the two women is made oh so clear when we look at Representative Ilhan Omar who is little more than a grifter, a masterful and successful grifter at that. A grifter who constantly caps on America and openly expressing a deep-seated hate for Jewish people.

The other is Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ayaan same country of origin endured female genital mutilation as a child and fled an arranged marriage. Ended up In the Netherlands, exposed Islamic misogyny through her writings and the film *Submission* with Theo van Gogh, which critiqued the oppression of women under fundamentalist Islam (van Gogh was assassinated by an Islamist in 2004).

Hirsi Ali received death threats, moved to the United States and has been living under protection. She is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University where she champions our values, freedom, tolerance, and women’s rights. She embraces a gratitude toward the nations that sheltered her. She is a hero.

The plan today is that our Cincinnati family meet up for brunch. Assuming Marcia is up for it we’ll head for one of my favorite coffee/sandwich shops; “Mom ‘n Em”. No better Avocado or Anchovy toasties anywhere!

Then proud congratulations to Derek who the day after his birthday showed up an Austin courthouse to report for jury duty. He survived ‘voir dire’! Was seated, then on Thursday at 6:30pm, after a two-hours of deliberation, the jury of twelve came to a verdict. He faced his civic duty with aplomb and performed well.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

How many iterations of the American flag have been made? Hint, the United States holds the world record for the most changes to a national flag.

1. 27
2. 13
3. 6
4. 29
5. 18
6. 21
7. 17

Last week answer – #2

here a ‘D’ there a “D’

Happy Saturday – Last week I mentioned the almost open neighborhood Dairy Queen as our forerunner of Spring. Now it can be safely said that Spring is exactly one month away.

And after this winter I am beyond ready.

The other day I came across a news view of a Barge heading up-river through broken up ice. Considering I worked late summer’s River Roots Festival and watched the Riverboats cruise up and down the river with Calliope’s playing merry tunes, this view was a far cry from those jolly days.

Let’s pretend that I am enjoying a celebratory mug of Peets coffee [Peet’s just IPO’d at $17Billion] this very morning as I sip and look towards Spring, one month into the future. Better yet, in the meantime ease back and celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, the year of the Fire Horse.

Pressure? – With all the happenings (turmoil?) this winter I am completely out of sync with any prep work for proceeding with some of the 5Ks I’ve participated in over the past several years.

Now this! A week ago a gentleman by the name of Gary Patton NYRR’s Night at the Races #5 held at The Armory in New York City, saw 80 year-old Gary Patton run 6:38.10 setting a new world record for 80-84 year-olds for an indoor mile run!
Really?
OK, now the pressure is really on!

A short while ago – So many things and capabilities we take for granted were brand spanking new just a handful of years ago. When I talk with my grandkids and as they describe some work requirement for school done on-line during the evening, submitted as homework, and graded by the start of the next morning’s class as the forever norm. That ‘norm’ as many others were barely thought of just a short while ago.

Think of YouTube, we almost live on YouTube. Need to look anything from music, science, repair, and on and on. All can be readily found among the multi-millions of clips online. You’d think that all this availability dates back many decades earlier.

Well, here is an eye opener.

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is now offering visitors a new landmark display. featuring the first video ever uploaded to the site (waaaay back in 2005): Jawed Karim’s “Me at the zoo“.

The video shows a young software engineer, Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube, on the first up-loaded video in 2005. A year later Google purchased the technology, and thus it all began.

Presidents Day – Here is a quick question. Who of you all actually spent a nano-second reflecting on even one of our Presidents last Monday as we celebrated the 147th Presidents Day (1879).

I would guess that topping the list would be critical events such as mistakenly putting out the garbage a day early. Or checking the mailbox forgetting that there was no delivery that day.

Was your bank open, did you buy a piece of furniture or a mattress? Any of you care to share your favorite screw-up?

Where is the joke? – this two-week period sees an array of birthdays in my circle; and three of them have names starting with the letter ‘D’. I mention this not as a joke since I consider all three as being ‘A’.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

How often do we watch a spot on the evening News that another satellite was launched. Actually, what has recently been proposed by SpaceX is an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to one million satellites to power data centers in space. As of this month approximately how many satellites are currently in low earth orbit? One number is correct.

1. 875
2. 14,000
3. 1,400
4. 900
5. 125,000
6. 1,850
7. 692,000

Last week answer – #5

2 – Weeks Till …..

Happy Saturday – Really Happy! Do you realize that in just two short weeks our nearby harbinger of Spring will open. March 1, 2026, our Dairy Queen will start serving their ‘Blizzard’ complete with sprinkles. As the Duch would yell out; “hiep, hiep hoera” (hippity, hip hoorah).

Pressure? – In short order, it’s like we’re being slapped on one cheek and then the other. Yesterday it was that always worrisome (if you so believe) day of potential mishaps – Friday the 13th style.

Then today’s Valentine Day ballyhoo as so advanced by the dear people of Hallmark. As a ‘just leave me to get along by myself’ kind of guy it becomes more and more difficult to stay out of trouble. Happy Valentine’s Day.

C of C & M – you guessed correctly, the C of C & M does stand for ‘Corner of Chaos and Mayhem’. And, two days ago, the “nom de guerre” of our dear corner once again earned its name. Thursday Marcia had a ‘Lady sitter’ for me to run out to take care of some much-needed stuff. Heading home from Costco I got a call. The gist was that our street was closed since three Ambulances, seven Fire trucks, plus Police were scattered about the corner – seems that the third floor of our neighboring building was on fire.

I did manage to sneak on the back side of our drive and an hour later everything was back to normal. Fire had been called quickly, and they managed to contain the fire. Nice going and kudos to the folk professionals staffing our nation’s very first professional fire brigade.

And the Winner is – I am talking about the current Winter Olympics of course. No, not about any spectacular speed, loop, turn, half loop, or even a win which brought tears to the eyes of all those ever present experts.

I am talking about the winner of the best creative uniform for an athlete. First let it be said that Haiti only has two entries. These two won my ‘best of costume’ award for their kit, hands down.

What makes them even more special is that these outfits were hand painted, as stated in an on-line article, “hand painted by artisans with designs rooted in the nation’s heritage. Displaying symbols of resistance, even keeping the iconic image of the riderless red horse at the center.”

It was great – I am talking about last Sunday’s “Jazz@First” concert. The concert focused on the amazing (and amazingly long) career of Pat Metheny, and his long-term collaborator, Lyle Mays.

These concerts with the Phil deGreg trio are formed from players/instructors at the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music (CCM). Being teachers as well as performers means that their audience is handed a double ‘whammy’ – a great performance, and teaching moments with some wonderful background insights.

So, I learned that while Metheny is known mostly for ‘smooth’ jazz, it is his being raised and exposed to the music found in Kansas City (his hometown). Working with this prevalence of western and country music had him incorporate those sounds into his music. So, it’s not surprising that the sounds of bands such as Steely Dan can be found in his works.

At the concert, I recorded a piece written by Metheny, Bright Size Life, where this influence is clear. Enjoy a listen:

Marcia – had what can only be describes as her own “Hippity Hip Hoorah” moment when her Physical Therapist assessed the gains Marcia had made. Closing out her P.T. cycle it came time for Marcia to strut her stuff. The result being that Laura the therapist had Marcia park her walker and prance away using her cane. She did great!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Seniors are currently strategizing their final college selection. Our Presidents too went through that same cycle. Some became our POTUS with unlikely majors to prepare them for the role of Chief Executive. Which of these early career paths were taken by a President, 6 are correct, one is wrong.

1. Nuclear Physics
2. Teaching
3. Geology
4. Hebrew
5. Mortuary Science 1978
6. No Formal Education 1993
7. Mathematics

Last week answer – #5 -1978 & #6 – 1993

Happy

Happy Saturday – The ‘Happy’ as my standard opening word is much more than just a filler word. Each and every day we all have at our disposal an opportunity. The opportunity to seize at whatever is tossed into our path as a challenge or as an impediment. As an ‘Albatross’ or as a positive opportunity.

This might be a (very) weak example of what I just mentioned; but here goes. I forgot to grind some of our Don Pablo coffee beans and wanted my mug of coffee ASAP. Without batting an eye, I got into my Hazelnut coffee stash; problem solved, plus a ‘wake-up-the-tastebuds’ moment – glad I made that move.

Happiness – Just to avoid getting into a long diatribe let me just steer you to the writings of the legendary Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961) – he was a main character in the psychology studies I had at Calvin. What you’d find is that many reliable rules as to what creates happiness can be found and most of them were figured out in 1960 by a senior citizen – none other than Dr. Carl Jung. Concepts such as having a “complex”, something being an “archetype”, even us being an “introvert or an extrovert”, were all put forth by Jung.

Approaching his 85th birthday Jung was asked what factors requisite for happiness were. He posited five pillars for happiness:

1. maintaining good physical and mental health.
2. good personal and intimate relationships.
3. satisfying work and a reasonable standard of living.
4. seeing beauty in art and nature.
5. a philosophical or religious outlook that fosters resilience.

Perimenopause – As we age, not necessarily yet old, most of us experience a bit of aphasia now and then. The ladies have a dedicated term to their specific type of aphasia, perimenopause (for men the closest is ‘andropause’). It appears that both Estrogen and Testosterone play a part.

I got a bit more of an insight on this subject through the writing of Mira Ptacin. I guess that I had one too many of those ‘brain-burps’. One which made me want to dig in a bit more on the subject. As Ptacin says regarding ‘losing words’; “Mid-sentence, mid-thought, mid-story I’ve told a hundred times; the word I want stands just out of reach, waving its little arms from a foggy distance.”

Anyway, this isn’t trying to be a science paper. Just an old guy placing front and center a small piece of all what encapsules the aging process.

But mostly, to also expose you, the readers, to a small piece of the charming writings of Ptacin as she writes, “When hormone levels are seesawing, neurotransmitters get jumpy and gray matter thins. Temporarily, they insist. Reversible, they say. Meanwhile, I’m in the kitchen trying to remember the word cinnamon and calling it “the spicy dust.”

Is there a Ball Game tomorrow? – Rumor has it that a few of us will be watching a football game tomorrow; still not certain if I’ll be part of it all. There was a time when we’d head out for parties or gatherings. This year it seems to be more of a ‘meh’ event. I haven’t really got to the reason why.

Musical Interlude – I’ve been a bit deep with this week’s Ramblings; please don’t get riled up or anything like that. Instead, just ease back with some super cool music. Listen to one of my favorite pieces performed flawlessly by none other than musical greats Wynton Marsalis, Taj Mahal, and Eric Clapton as they perform a wonderful rendition of Just a Closer Walk with Thee.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Over the years we’ve experienced many a Blizzard across the USA. Some were severe enough to be given a name. Here are the top 10 with the dates they occurred. All except for two, what year did those two storms occur?

1. GREAT BLIZZARD OF 1888
2. WHITE HURRICANE (1913)
3. KNICKERBOCKER STORM (1922)
4. CHICAGO BLIZZARD OF 1967
5. BLIZZARD OF ????
6. STORM OF THE CENTURY (????)
7. BLIZZARD OF 1996
8. SNOWMAGEDDON (2010)
9. GROUNDHOG DAY BLIZZARD (2011)
10. WINTER STORM JONAS (2016)

Last week answer – #7 Applesauce

Quick Beginnings

Happy last day of January 2026 –I slept in (it’s now 7:00 am exactly) and I am in a quandary; least piece being that my Saturday morning post is now way late. First of all, it’s minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-20.5C) which realistically precludes doing anything outside. The picture shows that cold snaps are not all that uncommon in these parts.

City of Louisville, 300′ long and holding 1,500 passengers

Next, I need to pause as soon as Marcia wakes up to make certain she’ll be parked appropriately behind her walker. Then get her to join me with morning coffee. Somewhere in that mix there will be breakfast for her.

Also, cannot forget updating the daily White Board Kirstin started for Marcia which shows date, her daily ‘Goal’ and her ‘Schedule’. It’s something I’ve kept going since she came home from her stay at the hospital.

Oh well, it’ll all fall into place. Patience dear boy, patience.

Today ends the first month where all of our family was devastated by the loss of Marin. Couple that immeasurable loss with Marcia’s breaking of her hip. This means that we’re turning a new page.

Quotation – this by the great American Poet, Robert Frost (1874 – 1963): “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

What Frost didn’t say, but the Bible does is the placing of perspective into life itself in James 4:14:
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”

It’s all because of Marcia – that the kids mentioned that we take our larger screen Roku TV from the sunroom and place it in the living room, as a way for her to stay entertained.

Well, Marcia is not much into movies or television. News quickly becomes a backdrop of, blah, blah, blah.

Ahh, but then there are sports. And Marcia who taught sports and played varsity Basketball does like sports (me too). Hence, this week we’ve been following tennis as the Australian Open is taking place in Melbourne. Me, having volunteered last summer at the Cincinnati Open saw many of the stars of the sport playing.

So tomorrow will be the men’s finals; Carlos Alcaraz, 22 versus Novak Djokovic, 38. Djokovic could become the oldest to win the Australian Open (as I am also not a ‘spring chicken’ that last piece is of interest).

Also, Djokovic had the guts to protest the Covid jab and thus wasn’t allowed to play the open and in fact was deported from Australia. I too refused the barely tested mRNA Pfizer jab and managed to find an alternative which did allow me to eventually gain entry into Canada to check on the cabin. Those were strange times. Guess who I’ll be rooting for?

Update – Marcia just had her morning coffee poured and already has her ‘Lazy Boy’ chair fully extended with her favorite ‘throw’.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Throughout history, each generation has used their form of slang. Here are some slag terms which I’ve heard say people wouldn’t mind being revived. Which should NOT be on this list?

1) pad
2) square
3) made in the shade
4) wallflower
5) gas
6) peepers
7) applesauce

Last week answer – #2 “Google”

The Season

The Season – is now mid-winter. Really mid-winter. It is still dark this morning and I am certain that the day will be short. That temperature is approaching zero and announced that a ‘snowmageddon’ is fast approaching.

But it’s more than that, even with a fresh full pot of coffee, it’s difficult to escape that these days a dark curtain is hanging over me as a reminder that the loss of Marin is real and it is vicious.

This morning in years past I would be doing my annual 5K – Cyclones Frozen 5K – sponsored by our local Hockey Team. This year I’ll wear a ‘Frozen’ jersey of past years in honor.

So, even with a bit of melancholy, the focus should be on the fact that other duties call and as time moves on, looking towards Springtime the vision of blossoms does creep in. Creeps in with a hint here and there. Notably, Marcia is on the mend; she thinks it’s going way too slow, I see progress daily.

Today is Cathy’s birthday and coming Tuesday it’ll be Kirstin’s. All this acknowledges that even being aware of the fragility of life, life itself is immensely strong and shines brilliantly. A strange ‘yin and yang’, isn’t it?

This past week we lost noted Folk singer and writer Tucker Zimmerman and his wife in a house fire. In light of all that’s happened and will be facing us, I think it appropriate to play his song, The Season.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk
BONUS POINTS:

Which of these words did NOT gain their start as an acronym?

1) scuba
2) Google
3) Yahoo
4) Smart car
5) Care package
6) taser
7) radar

Last week answer – #6, “Supernova”