Just Wait

Happy Saturday morning, and since I just opened a new bag of beans, this morning’s coffee is wonderfully fresh and tasty.

Last Saturday after posting I made my lunch using some great leftover Blue Oven Bakery salted-wheat -Sourdough bread – “Pain Perdu”. Now, a week later I can still taste it in my mind, almost better than when it was fresh.

Now that it’s formally autumn/fall I thought it wise to explore the correct term for the season. Hence, I went to my quick fount of wisdom – the Readers Digest (large text format). Turns out it’s all correct. Way back it was ‘Harvest Time’ in Britain. By 1300-something a new term, ‘autumn’, came into use. Eventually in the Americas it became the ‘fall-of-the-leaves’ season which quickly was shortened to ‘fall’. Whew, don’t you just feel much wiser now?

This paragraph I Posted a Year Ago (Oct. 6, 2023)

Fat Bear Week – As a precursor to next month’s elections, your vote is important for this event. Katmai National Park, Alaska’s Fat Bear Week is a celebration where anyone can vote. Vote? Yup, vote for the fattest brown Bear – the one who’ll emerge from its winter slumber as the ‘king of the hill” (or woods). Have fun! fatbearweek.org!”

Now a piece of shocking news from Katmai National Park in Alaska. It appears that two of this year’s competing ‘fat’ bears got into a bit of a kerfuffle. Well, it was more than a “kerfuffle”, it was a beat-down (i.e. biting and thrashing), and as CBS News reported; “a clash between a male bear, referred to as 469 and “Patches,” and an older female bear, referred to as 402, by the Brooks River in Katma. The fight led to one of the bears (#402) dying.”

Bottom line, all this had the 2024 Fat Bear Week brackets being delayed. So, via The Washington Post, the Fat Bear Week bracket has voting for Fat Bear Week 2024 running through Oct. 8. Click here to vote.

Zzzzzzz Tedious ‘Fire’ cliché in a burning room – is what this past week’s ‘debate?’ devolved into. You just know that desperation set in when a panicky contestant for the VP slot calls himself a “knucklehead”.

First, none of these ‘debates’ have anything in common with a debate other than the name. Rather than a formal discussion we’re ‘treated’ to a series of statements and stump refined bits. These then monitored and where desired cut short due to some unspecified need to move on. Boring!

From history  (National Park Services) comes the real thing; “Lincoln (Republican) and Douglas (Democrat) agreed to debate in seven of the nine Illinois Congressional Districts; the seven where Douglas had not already spoken. In each debate either Douglas or Lincoln would open with an hour address. The other would then speak for an hour and a half. The first then had 30 minutes of rebuttal. In the seven debates, Douglas, as the incumbent, was allowed to go first four times.”

In this week’s ‘debate’ there was a clear winner (hint; it wasn’t the self-declared ‘knucklehead”). What was interesting were some people whose career had been in interrogation and their insights.

Quotation – “I’m not upset at Trudeau. It’s the Canadian people who have trusted government, for some unknown reason, for far too long. Started with the carrot of universal (substandard for all) healthcare, and got worse from there ”, David McP on X (@uudavidx); answering an asked question; name a famous Canadian who openly came out against Trudeau.

In our own country, this week we saw how a dysfunctional government functions when a major disaster crops up. In fact, this week Secretary Mayorkas publicly stated that FEMA was out of money even as citizens with helicopters were shooed away under threat of arrest. What?

Considering all of this, take a close look at the picture inserted below as we see how our dependency on government has crept in over the years:

What, me worry? – So here we are, and not at all like the famous Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman character we can’t help but be impacted; bombarded, literally in the Middle East, but all over. Storms where we watch how a non-functional government behaves under pressure. Soaring prices on about everything. And we all could go on an on. Now we’re being told about billions trillion living things miles under the earth’s crust.

I guess we have two choices. One is to lose sleep over it all. The other is to look at it all with wonder, fascination, and awe. I choose the latter.

Now the long wait has begun. Last evening I renewed my passport online. Easy enough and it’ll ONLY take 4 to 6 weeks to process. Paid via credit card.

Instead of a plain, Thank You, I am now in some wait queue. Here is what I mean, I received a subsequent email; “we will send you a confirmation email when your payment has been successfully processed.” Wait a minute, all this processing is automated. Amazon advises me instantly whether things are good or whether there is a problem.

Update, there is no ‘subsequent’ email as of this writing. As I said, the wait has begun. Should I advise that at my age queue line waits do become a slight bit of a concern?

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This week’s B.P. is for the ladies (and some men). Often, the Romance Novel genre of softcover books displayed a suggestive cover and for years the male model for these covers was an Italian model who went by the name of ‘Fabio’. Which one of these corporations (by advertising tag lines i.e. “Just Do It” is Nike) did he represent?

1) “Just Do It”
2) “It’s finger-lickin’ good”
3) “Think Different”
4) “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!”
5) “The Best a Man Can Get”
6) “Betcha can’t eat just one”
7) “I’m Lovin’ It”
8) “Think Outside the Bun”
9) “What’s in your wallet?”
10) “The Quicker Picker Upper”
11) “All for Freedom. Freedom for All”

A Snapshot

Happy Saturday morning, and since I just opened a new bag of beans, this morning’s coffee is wonderfully fresh and tasty.

Helene-the-Hag Hurricane rode her broom straight north from Florida and since yesterday has pummeled us with rain and wind. But not near as nastily as was predicted. It’s now reset as Helene-the-Hag Tropical Storm.

This week Marcia and I remembered that our anniversary was sneaking on up. Typically, I probably would have remembered the event in a week or two – she was much more on top of her game. A  fun challenge; her picture has our Anniversary year in code.

It was Marcia’s choice as to where to have dinner out. I could have called ahead for reservation by guessing where she’d want to go – and be correct – Gordo’s Pub & Grill, in nearby Norwood. As always, we were NOT disappointed!

Oktoberfest – Last week I bored you with some of the details of our Oktoberfest Zincinnati. I went and thoroughly enjoyed myself, people, music, food, sights – it was all great. And yes, I skipped the Chicken Dance as well as the Running of the Weiners (dog race).

In the food department I had a couple of items Marcia refuses to allow into our abode. Out of the 100+ or so various vendor stands and trucks I pre-selected two. I had an amazing Limburger Cheese on Rye (with some thin-sliced raw onion). Too good to describe.

Earlier in the summer, while in Germany, I got introduced to Curry Wurst. Would you believe it? Right here in River City at our Oktoberfest! Yup, at Mick Noll’s Covington Haus they had a Curry Wurst – as good as it was in the old country. Perfection! So good in fact, that I skipped their famous Goetta Balls for the Curry Wurst.

I ended up eating my wurst at the Weihenstephan Beer Garden – claims to be the world’s oldest Bavarian brewer – 1060. (MLX for any Romans who first helped open up the brewery). Prost!

Quotation – “’Security’ is the new shut up”, Laura Rosen Cohen; Uppity Jew. Mom, special needs parent. Writer.

Rally key tossed – Our Secret Service is beginning to look worse and worse. Even more so when it comes to protecting our former President. Remember reading that people were yelling about a guy on the roof at the Butler, PA rally and even though walkie-talkies stayed neatly wrapped up on a desk, the Secret Service managed to hold fast to the old axiom; “when seconds count the police are minutes away.”

But it’s a new day. Trump’s team arranged to hold an outdoor rally in the swing state of Wisconsin. Now here’s a new twist. The Trump team was informed late in the planning that the rally could not be held there because (hold on, are you ready for this) the Secret Service would not have enough manpower to secure the event. A bunch of unelected bureaucrats now control whether or not a candidate can hold a rally a month out of an election.

As the Saturday Night Live Church Lady (Dana Carvey) would say, in ‘her’ nasally catchphrase; “Well, isn’t that special? How con-VEEN-ient!”.

I suspect that with all the shenanigans we’re witnessing, we’re well underway towards a one-party state.

We can’t have disinformation now can we? Redux – How about if it isn’t disinformation when we hear about the problems in Springfield, Ohio? All the garbage spewed on national ‘news’ is not disinformation? How about 4-pages of mumbo-jumbo written by our, Republican, Governor Mike DeWine? A letter rubbing soft salve (lauding) on the 20,000 Haitians and yet where there is not a single mention on the subsequent difficulties experienced by the citizens of Springfield as their lives have been put into turmoil; that isn’t also ‘disinformation’? (And yes, I’ve already made my feelings known to our Governor.)

Here is a short video of this week’s Springfield Council meeting and shows what the citizens of that town experience, see, and deal with — unfiltered or skewed by media moguls.

Best Poll ever – Here in town, Busken Bakery’s cookie poll has been accurate about every Presidential election except one since 1984. Each Presidential election they bake cookies and this year “Donald Trump’s presidential win is baked in” (New York Post). It’s the least scientific, most accurate poll in the nation.

Trump cookies 54 percent of the time (2,953 cookies) compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 39 percent (2,134 cookies). The Independent candidate got 7% (397 cookies). The Poll remains open till November 5. “We like to joke and say [customers] can stuff the ballot box,” bakery president and CEO Dan Busken told The Post.

A quick factoid – Busken’s was Tevita’s first employer when he arrived in the ‘Nati.

A Snapshot – A site such as The Ramblings relies a fair bit on the visual, image and video (plus some sound tossed in for luck). Hence the end to this week’s effort on a ‘light’ and picturesque note. Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Here is this week’s ‘learn a little Dutch’ event. The typical Dutch home will place a ‘verjaardagskalendar’ most often where? All are possibilities, but only one answer would be correct more than 90% of the time. PS. We have one, but we’re in that odd, other 10%, group.

1) “Keuken”
2) “slaapkamer””
3) “gang”
4) “zolder”
5) “WC”
6) “badkamer”
7) “voordeur”
8) “bibliotheek”

A Full Page

Happy Saturday morning, hey, now here with you and a great morning coffee. It was just yesterday that I read that the guy who shot up cars on I-75 near London Kentucky was found. How do you ask? It was because people spotted Turkey Vultures circling over a specific wooded area off the road. And yes, when they checked, they did find a body.

I mention this because last Saturday I participated in the Raptor 5K in Milford (did fine thank you), but to mention that this year’s theme bird was (guess anyone?) the TURKEY VULTURE!

Since I seem to be dealing with birds, this weekend it’s Octoberfest Zincinnati. It’s the second oldest Octoberfest next to the one in (“Home of the Monks”) München, Germany our ‘sister-city’. However, our annual Chicken Dance will beat out all others (size-wise).

Wanna learn how to do it? The video below has the University of Cincinnati dance team show you how. (Seniors, watch the gals on the wall for a ‘more leisurely paced’ rendition).

News Dies – and in almost every case it does so very quickly. Think of some major event and reflect on just how long it’s been since you either saw or read coverage of it? Today’s most favorite person to disappear quickly from a front page (unless it’s of benefit to push an agenda) is former President Trump. Just how much time did it take before the assassination attempt on his life disappeared – totally.

A guy by the name of Jon Kahn also took note, so he wrote a song; “Fighter”. Apparently, he wrote well. Forbes mentioned that it’s playing at the TOP of the iTunes chart. Enjoy!

With my own eyes – I’ve come to grips with the fact that things have changed over the last four years. Four decades ago we got slammed between the eyes with a similar situation. The year was 1980. Another election year. The contestants were the Republican challenger and the Democrat incumbent. Contesting Jimmy Carter’s record as his final ‘home run’, Ronald Reagan asked: “Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago?”

Well, I keep hearing that we’re in that same boat. Problem being, except for gasoline, I really hadn’t noticed it all that much. Thursday that all changed!

Marcia and I, every couple of evenings, will enjoy as an evening snack and treat ourselves with a couple of Mini Cream Puffs from Aldi’s. We bought some and I brought all the stuff in and helped Marcia put it away. That’s when I noticed just how much the ‘identically alike’ the ‘new’ container had shrunk. Reading the fine print, the almost similar (same old price) container had dropped from 22oz to 17.64oz. It lends credence to this being another “Thank You Joe” moment.

Whole Milk and real Cheese – hallelujah! Beginning my teen years I’ve been made to feel guilty drinking whole milk (chocolate was even worse) and by avoiding the yellow bricked-shaped stuff melted on burgers and the like by pretending it was ‘cheese’. See all that REAL stuff was wrong since it was loaded with the ‘bad’ fat.

But it’s good to always question and so and set out on my own path. I’ve enjoyed REAL whipped cream. Raved over aged , whole and or raw milk, cheese which has always topped my list of the very best. Later on, I refused the killer mRNA or AstraZeneca Covid jab, and tried to avoid the craziness of walking around with a face diaper breathing my own stuff, and so it goes.

Now finally (according to) an article in the Sept. 6 Barron’s with the headline: Doctors and Health Experts Are Changing Their Minds About Whole Milk and Cheese. And the line that warmed my heart; “Consuming full-fat milk products could help stave off diseases seniors are more prone to, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.”

We can’t have disinformation now can we? –

How about if it isn’t disinformation, what if it’s just good old SARCASM? Just don’t tell the California Governor since he’s been busily signing new a law; that’ll put a ‘quick’ halt to that sort of stuff.

Sarcastic Quotation – “I’m not saying I hate you, what I am saying is that you are literally the Monday reader of my Saturday blog.” – Unknown

This morning the front of our condo building will have a more open appearance. Yesterday one of the two large front trees which had died was removed. A Latin work crew, amazingly efficient and superb cleanup. Thanks B&G Tree Service.

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Thomas Jefferson was probably one our most learned and ‘bookish’ Presidents. But he valued physical health probably more. What was his favorite physical pastime?

1) “had a pool installed”
2) “played; “bull-in-the-ring””
3) “Boxed”
4) “rode a mechanical horse”
5) “rode horseback”
6) “held a vigorous 2-mile walk every morning at 5am”
7) “popularized golf”

Ain’t it just ducky?

Happy Saturday morning, just a short coffee this am since I’ll be participating in the Raptor 5K in nearby Milford Ohio in a bit and it’ll require plain H2O and not coffee. For this year the 5K theme bird is the Turkey Vulture. The sponsoring agency rehabilitates damaged birds and is actively talking about raptors and their place in nature by going and presenting in schools.

Mentioning a ‘short’ coffee reminds me of this. Years ago, I bought an Espresso coffee machine. Marcia doesn’t drink Espresso and soon I took it to Canada to share a ‘short’ coffee with visitors – didn’t happen much, if at all.

This spring I spent a week with my first cousin Guillaume from France – a double Espresso (or Cuban) each afternoon became the drill. A while later I was in Canada to open-up the cabin. Spotting the machine in a cupboard, I decided to drag it home. Let it be said, I am now hooked. “Hooked I say” (as Foghorn Leghorn would stutter).

Quotation – “It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain

Duck à l’Orange – When Marcia and I were dating it reached a point where I invited her and her folks over for dinner (I was still in college). The meal, Duck à l’Orange (which I had NEVER attempted before) was a success, and the bird was roasted to perfection! Not certain if they ‘raved’ as much as me but I think they should have.

Fast forward to this past week where all over the news were images of ‘ducks’ and the ‘orange’ guy. What was a certainty is that amid all the hullabaloo there was a roasting. Trump, I have seen better, Kamela was well coached, probably by someone high up in acting school. However, it was the fact that Trump was on the short end of a three-on-one fracas which became noticeably irritating. Kamala getting 1 fact-check, Trump getting 33. It got so bad that when Trump responded to something he had said a long while back as being ‘sarcasm’, Muir-the-inquisitor responded with: “I didn’t see it that way”.

It was the serious face of Muir, the eye rolls and giggles from Kamela as being ‘serious’ and accepting as proper news since it came from a press release from the City Manager of voodoo-town i.e. Springfield, OH. No fact-checker had visited the town. However, weeks prior to all this stuff breaking loose citizens (note it’s plural) did speak up at Springfield Council hearings and there does exist record of 911 activity. But the ABC managers of the ‘debate’ made it clear – shut up, nothing to see here. And, by all means stay away from any mention of today’s serious national failings.

Yes, the Biden/Kamela crew opened the border entry points. However, this also happened while our ‘republican’ state overseers just stood by and watched.

Both parties are to blame as they try to shovel under the rug the fact that in short order one in four Springfield citizens are now ‘migrants’ in a very small town; without vetting, with minimal support, no cultural acclimation, no language prep. Housing has become untenable, car wrecks and litter increase, schools at the breaking point, as with hospitals and policing. In the meantime it’s, maybe just teach them to bake American Apple Pie and forget Duck à l’Orange.

Not long ago 50 Migrants were shipped from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard to spread the ‘open border’ impact around: a mere 50. On day two after the arrival of the migrants the Vineyard citizens had the Guard move them out – in two a mere days. And Springfield? Nah!

This is a Rules committee address made by Kentucky US Representative Thomas Massie – if I could jump across the river to vote I’d do so.

The Cloward-Piven Strategy – “a political theory outlined in 1966 by sociologists and political activists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. The strategy proposes to create chaos (a political crisis) in the welfare system in order to overwhelm it, thus forcing the government to take action to fundamentally transform society.” – Substack
With the Biden/Harris open border tactic is that what we’re currently experiencing?

A Festival of Icons – Wednesday afternoon Marcia and I set out for our Riverbend Music Center. We had great seating at that evening’s “Outlaw Music Festival: Southern Avenue, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson. Wow!

Three icons each a national treasure. Each playing almost one hour. Both Dylan and Willie are older than me. Their voices are still strong and clear. The crowd was a healthy mix of old and young. Three couples sitting next to us were maybe in their early 30s and were having a blast.

Old favorites combined with a bunch of new. It’s hard to describe how good this event was. Maybe letting you know that we left the condo shortly after 3 and came home exactly at midnight – all without a SINGLE complaint from Marcia.

Willie closed out the show and near the end had us listen to his new song; “The Last Leaf on the Tree”. When he finished the crowd jumped to their feet and Marcia would have had she been able.

Duckly? – This must have been the week of the duck. It was announced that after a couple of decades the USPS has selected a brand new design specifically for their postal deliveries truck. It’s already being test driven somewhere. Anyway, is the nose modeled after a ‘duck’ or is it just me?

During the 1950s The Netherlands had a wealth of al fresco (outdoor) school classrooms – is this maybe where kids could spot an occasional duck?

Finally is this; ‘isn’t this just ducky?– “The Perpetual Penny Paradox” (Caity Weaver, NY Times) deals with the fact that Penny’s are dumped into jars and not circulated. This causes banks and businesses to run short. They order more pennies from the mint which are shipped all around only to be hoarded. Add to this the cost of shipping them from Maine to Alaska. Add to this the fact that it costs more to produce a penny than it’s worth. And they can’t stop minting them (unless we call a halt to the madness – which we won’t).

How big a $$ issue is all this craziness? As Weaver’s research says, “A conservative estimate holds that there are 240 billion pennies lying around the United States — about 724 ($7.24) for every man, woman and child there residing, and enough to hand two pennies to every bewildered human born since the dawn of man.”

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

The mat used to roll Sushi is made from which material?

1) “slatted Wood”
2) “Kobi leather”
3) “Bamboo”
4) “rolled Copper”
5) “Limestone”
6) “Plastic”
7) “Banana leaf”

It happened at Harvard

Happy Saturday morning, I wonder how astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are enjoying their morning coffee on the Space Station while they watched their space capsule headed (limped) home empty. I hope that the thrill of being in space stays with them as they wait till February before the next ‘train’ comes to the station.

I’ll raise my mug of coffee to Boeing, a company which for years was both ‘Sunny’ and ‘Butch’. Hard to envision that for a single decade starting in the mid-sixties Boeing launched work on the space shuttle, the Lunar Roving Vehicle, and the first “Queen of the Skies”, the Boeing 747, was put into service. This is a serious question, what has happened to Boeing?

Herdenking – (Remembrance in English) This coming week it’ll be the start of the 80-years celebrations since The Netherlands regained their freedom from the NAZI occupation. A celebration to move beyond those occupation years and all the horror it brought. The little guy in the kid’s wagon and waving a Dutch flag, was me with my dad celebrating. We were by our home.

We housed a Canadian flyer for a little over a week. He’d been shot down and the fighting between our place and the Allies line made it best for him to stay put. Once the troops broke through, he reported back for duty and brought my parents gifts, nylons for my mom, toothbrushes for us, a Jerry can of gas and battery for my dad’s car (a whole story how he managed to hang on to it), soap, and some fruit (maybe some from Operation Market Garden?).

A World Split Apart – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn‘s 1978 Harvard commencement address was controversial (it was scorned) and now in 2024 we (all of the ‘enlightened’ western world) better pay some serious attention for Solzhenitsyn was spot on. Here are five quotations from that speech:

1) “Socialism of any type and shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit and to a leveling of mankind into death. “

2) “Liberalism was inevitably displaced by radicalism; radicalism had to surrender to socialism; and socialism could never resist communism.”

2) “In our Eastern countries, communism has suffered a complete ideological defeat; it is zero and less than zero. But Western intellectuals still look at it with interest and with empathy.”

4) “Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”

5) “All the glorified technological achievements of Progress, including the conquest of outer space, do not redeem the 20th century’s moral poverty which no one could imagine even as late as in the 19th Century.”

Harvard laughed, mocked and ridiculed his speech. As if they knew better than Solzhenitsyn.

So Dirk, you ask; “why dig up this ancient trope today? What import does any of it contain for this day and age?”

Here are 4-reasons I picked from many, each from a different part of today’s ‘enlightened’ and ‘free’ world:

1) France – Pavel Durov, the billionaire CEO of Telegram (much like a secure Twitter or ‘X’), was arrested last Saturday evening at Le Bourget Airport near Paris and his private jet held. Reason? Failing to moderate illegal content – i.e. allowing dissenting speech on the Telegram platform (the first thing the NAZI’s did in the 1930s was to stifle dissenting speech). Saturday August 31, 2024

2) Northern Ireland – August 2024, Enoch Burke (a former teacher of the year) was jailed for refusing to kowtow to the current transgender movement by continuing to teach that all mammals, humans included, only carry male and female DNA. i.e. Shutting of both Free Speech and religious belief is that not what we accuse China of? Think of the 12 million enslaved Uyghurs rounded up in Xinjiang province.

Brazil – September 2, 2024 Brazil’s Superior Court upheld a ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform X – effectively shutting out more than 200 million people from using the app. Musk is also being fined $$millions. Additionally, Brazilians will receive a daily fine of almost $10,000 for using any out of country VPN to continue to be able to access apps as ‘X’ and Rumble. Musk’s Starlink has also been banned. The reason is to silence that new government’s push into Socialism and Communism i.e. North Korea ring any bells?

3) USA – August 2024 Former Congresswoman, presidential candidate, and Lieutenant Colonel in the National Guard, Tulsi Gabbard discovered she is on a super-secret dark TSA Terror Watch List labeled “Quiet Skies”. Her crime? As a lifelong Democrat she spoke out to the very undemocratic (no vote was cast) selection of candidate Harris, and opposition to involvement in ongoing wars. This eventually ended up with her switching party affiliation. Is this not the kind of stuff we accuse Russia of doing?

Now go back to that Harvard Graduation speech of 1978 by Solzhenitsyn and see how we have ‘progressed’ in these 4 short decades. Pretty sobering, isn’t it?

Is the downward slope towards the abyss getting steeper by the day?

Pedestrian Safety – Has become a city talking point. Especially since a large city bus killed an 87-year-old lady crossing while with the light and in a crosswalk. So, here we go again, quick fix the problem in a manner that doesn’t begin to address the root cause.

Face it, we are an auto-centric nation, and our city is no different. Whatever ‘fix’ is implemented cannot in any way, form, or shape impede automobile traffic. The latest here is we’re spending hundreds of thousands installing ‘speed-cushions’ on various roadways.

Meanwhile, as a walker, I walk along sidewalks which on occasion will just end – willie-nilly. But I do have options, I can walk through people’s yards, or optionally, continue walking on a city street (pssst, that’s where I can compete with automobiles for space)

Lastly – This week’s Ramblings will have some confirm that, yes, Dirk is a curmudgeon. Maybe so, but veridically, when I hear stuff put forth in the media, often by politicians, senior sycophants, or paid off scientists (i.e. Fauci), I stop to just have a hearty laugh (OK, maybe more than one laugh). Hence, could it be that I am actually an optimist, a dreamer?

This week I had the privilege of manning the phone lines as part of WMKV 89.3fm radio fund drive (thanks Cathy ) and had a great time.

Offer prayers for Thelma’s family as they deal with her passing. Her journey here, 99 years, was a blessing to all .

Also, George was busily at work this week trying to catch up to me – age wise.

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

After 9-11 we couldn’t allow security at airports to be managed by, and accountable to. each airport authority – NO – we needed a new all-inclusive federally managed agency, the TSA. Which is the ONE correct name for TSA in the following list.

1) “Too Stupid for Arby’s”
2) “Tear Suitcase Apart”
3) “Take Scissors Away”
4) “Thousands Standing Around”
5) “Transportation Security Agency”
6) “They Steal Anything”
7) “Total Sexual Assault”
8) “Three Stooges Audition”
9) “Tactics to Suppress Accountability”

Rubicon

Happy Saturday morning, and I am lucky to be with you. Yesterday morning started as most others. Coffee was poured. Sat back sipping happily and got caught up with the morning happenings and news. Then mug two was poured and I filled a bowl of cereal.

That’s when it all happened. Actually, it was really a case of me outsmarting myself. See, I mistakenly bought a case of Almond milk. It tastes OK, just has about 0-gms of protein. Here is where it all started.

To add protein, I got a scoop of protein powder and put it in the cereal and stirred. I just didn’t stir it enough. One bit was still full of very fine, very dry, protein powder. The stuff exploded in my mouth. The choking, sneezing, coughing, along with a flob or two continued well over 5-minutes (a glass of ice water got me back to normal).

A shortie – Ramblings this week. A variety of reasons for this. A heat wave which kept us indoors in the A/C. Then a clogged A/C drain stack which affected our place – this required me to set the alarm throughout a night and a chunk of the day at 90-minute intervals so that I could dump each collected water bucket (it took 2 plumbers 3 hours to rectify the situation). The plumbing guys were loud middle easterners; I am now almost fluent in a ‘motivational’ Arabic language variant.

Also, as soon as I post I’ll be heading for the Riverfront for a 5K race. It’s the WEBN (radio station) Froglegs event with $$ going to our local Epilepsy Foundation.

WEBN also is the sponsor of this Sunday evening’s Fireworks, set to music display at the riverfront. The Riverfest is nationally recognized as one of the top single-day festivals in the country and draws more than half a million people divided equally on the riverbanks – Ohio and Kentucky. Ribbbbbit!

Quote – this from Franz Kafka, author from Prague, (1883 – 1923)

“One idiot is one idiot
Two idiots are two idiots
Ten thousand idiots are a political party”

That quotation came back to me seeing Thursday’s softball (or was it T-ball?) interview wielded by CNN’s Dana Bash.

Murder in the drive-through – Will the police come? No, I seriously doubt it. But what Dunkin Donuts serves as their “Pumpkin Swirl Frozen Coffee” is a killer – and not in a teenager’s good sense. With not a single natural ingredient and 185 grams of sugar this stuff is a killer.

If you’re a diabetic, it’ll kill you sooner rather than later. If not, you’ll climb onto a steep downward slope. To give you a hint, a pre-diabetic should limit their sugar intake to 5 grams or less per meal.

Talking the importance of food to our health, do yourself a favor and get a hold of this book – Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health – on audio or paper. It’s written by whistleblowers brother Calley Means and sister Casey Means, MD who expose “how Big Pharma has co-opted government agencies and the food industry to poison America and keep us sick.”

Casey is a Stanford educated MD (class President) and trained as an Ear-Nose-Throat surgeon. Rather than read, listen to their discussion on the Joe Rogan Experience (click on this name-link); It’s definitely well worth a listen.

Driver’s Ed – 2024 and this year two of our grandchildren crossed that magic age where they’re eligible to try for a driver’s license. This crossing of that Rubicon caused Marcia and I to embark on a ‘discussion’. This whole ‘Driver’s Ed’ business we yammered on, over two cups of coffee. Me stating that I remember that schools all had mandatory Driver’s Ed. Marcia was just as steadfast saying that; “no it was parent’s having to hire a private firm.”

Ok, she went to private school and that probably was what it was. However, according to the Institute of Education Sciences public schools had Driver’s Ed from the mid-1930s to 1965. During that time more than 13,000 schools had classes, and 1,700,000 students were trained.

My learning years were in Canada and there I had my father sitting in the passenger seat giving me guidance. What I do remember were any number of TV bits and movies where the driving instructor was either a coach or a Barney Fife lookalike. Any of you readers have any remembrances?

The weather – The climate – OK, this week we’ve been experiencing a heat wave. Not as hot as some we’ve had, but with the humidity causing it to feel around 105 was horrid.

Luckily, I haven’t really heard any of that old “Global Warming” or “Climate Change” business. In other words, it’s been a hot summer and somewhere down the road we’ll have a cooler one seems to be the consensus.

Anyway, it did get me to hunt up this old CNN interview with John Coleman who died about 6 years ago at the ripe age of 83. Coleman was a trained Meteorologist and the founder of The Weather Channel. Enjoy listening to someone who won’t kowtow to the myriads of political power grabbers
wanting more and more:

Lastly – This week Marcia made a reference remarking something about my vision. I’ll close this Rambling with one of Ruth Buzzi’s Poems:

“My face in the mirror’s
Not wrinkled or drawn.
My house isn’t dirty.
The cobwebs are gone!
My garden looks lovely,
And so does my lawn.

I think I might never
Put glasses back on.”

Happy Labor Day to all workers (even slackers like me). And to Vai a happy, happy. You’re turning into a beautiful grownup lady; and becoming First Alto drummer in the school’s Steel Drum band this year is quite an honor.

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

We have a new Postal delivery guy who wears a Pith helmet (kinda cool). Anyway, which of these is NOT a Pith Helmet?

1)   salacot
2)   topee
3)   kippah
4)   safari helmet
5)   bowler
6)   topi
7)   Panama
8)   deerstalker
9)   sola topee
10) Balmoral bonnet

Hamlet

Happy Saturday morning, and a Recognition of a ‘successful’ (mostly except for the fringes) DNC week –

If memory serves, the time has come to (as was so fervently chanted throughout the halls) “toss away those picture IDs”.
If memory serves, the time has come to (as President Reagan so famously could have said) “break down those walls ‘fences’”.
If memory serves, the time has come to (as Pink Floyd once sang) “Leaving just a memory, A snapshot in the family album”.
If memory serves, the time has come to (as Hilary Klug, “the Arkansas traveler”, could have said) “pack up your bags and head for your promised lands”.
If memory serves, the time has come to (as Tennessee Ernie would be wont to sing) “let your hearts swell in song.”

Safe travels to the delegates (may much of what was spoken sink quickly into oblivion)

So yes, a wee bit of a sweat this week. While watching the happenings in Chicago it had me wringing my hands. The most salient thing being that it dawned on me that much of what I saw as being akin to characters from high school years who were now busily at work trying to run a country. I wasn’t quite sure if we were watching a Ferris Bueller, The Big Lebowski, Clockwork Orange, Arrested Development, or a compilation of all.

All culminating with a wild and unnerving speech last Thursday evening.

But hey, ‘C’est la vie’ (loosely translated into English as; “Sh– happens”)

Hamlet – Thursday evening was the grand finale of the ‘clown show’ in Chicago. As an 180° opposite to that, I discovered that I had the perfect antidote! It just so happened that Thursday evening I could attend a Cincinnati Shakespeare Company staged a performance of the Bard’s classic; “Hamlet”. A pretty dark drama. Perfect!

A number of lines jumped out. Example; “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.“ – Gertrude, Hamlet act 3 scene 2).
Or, “That one may smile and smile and be a villain.” – Hamlet, act 1 scene 5).
Or, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” – Claudius (act 3 scene 3).

But in the thick of drama, there was humor. This from the clowns (the play’s gravediggers)

First Grave Digger — “What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?”
Second Grave Digger — “The gallows-maker; for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.”

Dirk?, you ask. Again, what’s with all this Shakespeare drama? The answer, again is simple. Thursday evening, I was on the grounds of our Spring Grove Cemetery. There to enjoy our area’s esteemed Cincinnati Shakespeare Company as they staged an outdoor performance of the Bard’s classic; “Hamlet”. This made it impossible but to sit back and just enjoy. I had a blast!

“Alas Poor Yorick! I knew him well”

Roy Beck – Decades ago Roy and I were acquainted through children, church, and his background. At the time Roy was an editor at the Cincinnati Enquirer – then a major well-respected newspaper, but prior to that he’d been an editor at the Grand Rapids Press especially on environmental issues; we had stuff in common.

Then he moved to the DC area and Booth Newspapers. In 1996 he founded NumbersUSA. NumbersUSA was started to bring common sense to the immigration issue – both legal and illegal.

It didn’t take long until NumbersUSA was designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center; awkwardly, the SPLC itself was not immune to its own designations.

To counter, Beck ‘hooked’ a quote by the liberal Texas Democrat, Representative Barbara Jordan, who became a “spiritual godmother” to NumbersUSA (wiki) after she chaired the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform committee. They used this quotation from her:

“We decry hostility and discrimination towards immigrants as antithetical to the traditions and interests of the country. At the same time, we disagree with those who would label efforts to control immigration as being inherently anti-immigrant. Rather, it is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest.”

All this leads to the reason for all of this. Recently I came across a long-forgotten video Roy made. For a period, it was a very popular visual on immigration and its results. It brought back memories from years ago and thought I’d share. Especially considering what has been happening on our southern border these last years and continuing to this day.

Mom ‘n em – mid-week it was the place Marin, and I met up. Great coffees and wonderful sandwiches and therefore the perfect place. It occurred to me that the only time I ever saw Marin was in the presence of family or his girlfriend. It also dawned on me that there needed to be a better way to ‘catch up’, a one on one.

Catch up we did, and it was the best hour+ I had spent in a long time. He starts school next week and this was my seeing him before he begins a new school year. Thanks for joining Marin!

Normalcy – After all the massive hubbub of this week it’s back to normalcy. This morning starting at 10-am our energy company, Duke Energy, has its annual; “Touch a Truck”. It’s a golden opportunity for an “interactive experience” for those who love service vehicles.

If there is any stress remaining it might just slink away with “Touch a Truck”.

Lastly – our baby, Adrianne, is celebrating a birthday today. Time does fly, but for Marcia and me she’s making the aging thing both a great experience and super fun.

Last evening we had a celebratory dinner at the new “Factory 52” complex. Built on the former home of US Playing Cards it’s now been “reimagined as a lifestyle destination, a city within the city”. The developers hit ‘bullseye’.

Happy Birthday kiddo – LOVE you!

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which two of the following words do not describe a “maelstrom”?

1) system
2) bedlam
3) flap
4) fuss
5) method

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Happy Saturday morning, and a Happy Baby Boomers Recognition Day – “Better start writing things down before I forget” Day is what it should be called, cause that time is fast approaching.

Yesterday ‘it’ started up. Thinking about ‘it’ will require a fresh mug of fresh coffee.

Recently it began again, Marcia’s slow start of the “it’s time you get a haircut” song.

Haircuts, I just never know what to do. So, I just postpone. Do I ask for scissors? Or, and I can never remember which, is it a number 3 or a number 4 on their little buzzer machine? Or possibly skip the cut altogether and just go for a scalp massage?

Maybe I’ll just let another week slide by. But since it’s an important decision I probably should just ease back a bit with my coffee and think it through.

Meanwhile, as I ponder, brood, and agonize, Marcia actually seems calmer.

Celebration – This is not any lesson in a foreign language – please understand. It’s just a video of the Taliban’s 3rd Anniversary celebration of the gift of Bagram Airfield (‘celebrated’ this past week). They’re thanking their friend ‘Joe’ for giving them this wondrous gift along with the $-billions of military equipment – “Let’s go Brandon”.

When watching you will not find any reference to the 13 military killed with this simple transfer. Also missing is mention of the hundreds of US citizens and even more of the native helpers which ‘Joe’ also tossed into the mix – question, were these merely labeled Collateral Damage as we closed the books on Afghanistan?

I wonder why this major anniversary fest has not been plastered on our newscasts.

Less than 120 miles distant – Aging means that we’re observing, experiencing, and thereby learning more. Often times we’re inadvertently, or by design (think grandparent age), pressed into service as educators. Wearing your ‘educators’ hat I thought you’d appreciate this attached directive to best standardize the learning of kids in what was then one of the poorest areas in the USA. A place (a ‘hollow’ in Kentucky) much like the hollow Trump’s selected VP, JD Vance, was born in (Jackson County, KY).

The place is Bullitt County , Kentucky — 1912 — and then about as back woods as you can get. And here is what their then Board of Education required for students to graduate from the 8th grade public school.

I wonder how those requirements if given to to today’s crop of 8th graders how they’d fare – in any State or any County or any school? I have my thoughts. As a friend, a University Professor, wrote me; “I think all kids would fail, even the ones in elite private schools.”

Yet, through the many ‘ism’ fogs of the DEI, sexism, racism, equityism, climateism scams, there is sanity to be found. And along with ‘sanity’ comes Hope.

A week ago, two of our best intellectuals held a discussion.

Victor Davis Hanson, who prides himself as being a 5th generation farmer (still running the old family farm in Selma, CA). Is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; a visiting professor of classics at Stanford University (1991–92), the annual Wayne and Marcia Buske Distinguished Visiting Fellow in History at Hillsdale College (2004–), the Visiting Shifron Professor of Military History at the US Naval Academy (2002–3), and the William Simon Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University (2010).

Mike Rowe, even though best known for the TV Show “Dirty Jobs”, is basically working hard at keeping America open and things working with MikeRoweWorks Foundation. MikeRoweWorks Scholarship Program gave away $1,000,000 in scholarships this year. ”Scholarships for hardworking men and women who will keep the lights on, water running, and air flowing–people who will show up early, stay late, and bust their asses to get the job done”.

OK, proof enough? OK? Then let’s keep on going. These two giants got together last week and discussed a variety of issues. Towards the end of the discussion Rowe brought up the subject of education in the USA.

Since it’s a 1-hour 20-minute video, I am helping you by pasting a link which is set to begin at the final segment which is the one on education.

https://youtu.be/k-bgX9eQ58w?t=3661

Be certain to stay with them till the end and their special insight. Want to listen to their complete ‘chat’, no problem, just slide the icon over to the beginning.

Socialism – My High School years were spent at a school named Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute. Not sure if it was the school, but Churchill has, as long as I can remember, been a hero of mine. His strong feelings about Socialism had him elaborate that “Socialism is the philosophy of Failure, the creed of Ignorance, and the Gospel of Envy, its inherent virtue is the Equal Sharing of Misery”.

Here’s my favorite quotation by Sir Churchill: “Socialism will only work in two places; in heaven where it is not needed, and in hell where they already have it”.

Winston Churchill & Clementime 1910

The above I’ve posted primarily so that, should we end up with a ‘cackles’ in the drivers seat — at least a few here in the hinterlands are quite happy living with capitalism, thank you very much.

Let’s go out with a song – Last Sunday, a beautiful early evening at our Washington Park (across from Music Hall). Some great music by the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (CCJO), and jazz singer extraordinaire Mandy Gaines doing music by Burt Bacharach, sounds of Herb Alpert, and Sarah Vaughn: ‘This Girl’s in Love With You‘

Life is AMAZING! (especially since news just broke that the Supreme Court ruled that Title IX be left alone in a 5 to 4 decision))

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

I just added my Driver’s License to my Mobile phone. Question, which 4 States listed are not yet accepting a license in your digital wallet?

1) Rhode Island
2) Colorado
3) Georgia
4) California
5) Maryland
6) Florida
7) Nebraska
8) Arizona

Maudlin?

Happy Saturday morning, and a Happy National Lazy Day – Question to my three or so dedicated readers. You’re probably wondering what would happen should I fail to write. This thought came to me after our local EMT crew rolled (via gurney) one ‘dear soul’ out of our building.

I guess it’s time I came clean. What if since, say, starting with the recent June 1st post The Ramblings had been written by ‘AI’ (Artificial Intelligence). All created by ‘AI’ down to my quirky grammar stuff. So, how should we proceed? AI to infinity? Or Dirk to some finite point in time. It’s truly a maudlin thought, isn’t it?

A thought which, at this early hour, will require a mug of fresh coffee.

Temperature – The high temperatures combined with high humidity are about to disappear. Sure, we’ll bounce in and out of some short heatwaves, but I am beginning to plan for a long and very pleasant Fall season.

105 miles distant – lies the Ohio County of Scioto. Our Hamilton County (Cincinnati) is 105 miles from Scioto. Here in the ‘Nati we have at our beck and call anything that the 21st century offers; best of medical, educational, entertainment, music events, sporting, and recreation, opportunities galore.

Order groceries on line, certainly and delivered when? Yes, thank you. Dinner to your doorstep? Sure.

All to ease and enhance our lives. But, that’s life for most of us.

Then, only 105 miles to the East lies Scioto County. It sits in the midst of Ohio’s Appalachian area. An area as poor as any, and opportunities as bleak as any.

Watch the attached YouTube. Follow the work performed by this young man. This fellow was brought up Amish, left the Amish and now as plies his trade – delivery service for pre-built sheds and the nasty work having to Repo often the same ones. View the attached YouTube and you’ll be shocked when you realize that this was filmed in 2024 and in one of the world’s wealthiest nations.

Stay with the video till near the end to listen to the words from this former Amish man.

VEEP chooses VEEP – I must confess that many years ago I enjoyed the old “Mad” Magazine. One of the first ‘go-to’ pages was always the ‘Spy versus Spy’ cartoon.

This week teenage humor has finally become reality. The inane bungling from the pages of Spy versus Spy has now not only entered real life, but by many has taken on a level of reverence.

I realize the fit isn’t 100%, but the comparison just struck a note.

“The time is now. What can be, unburdened by what has been“, vp Kamala Harris.

One of Germany’s Music Noir’s best, Bodo Wartke, has a wonderful song, “Yes Dear”. These lines from that song I see as being part of our latest VEEP vs VEEP as vp pick Walz starts to see his true role in his new relationship:

“Yes, dear! You’re absolutely right!
Yes, dear! No, there’s no need to fight!
Yes, dear! I must learn to compromise
Yes, dear! I apologize!”

The Olympics and our time – It weren’t until 1948 when the Olympics made a dramatic turn. You see, the ancient Greeks saw the contests as presenting the best of muscle and mind, the arts and the athletic.

When under the vision of Pierre de Coubertin the ancients Greek Olympic arts were to be revived (1896) it was all athletics. However, Coubertin pressed on with his vision and Poetry as well as accompanying arts were finally included. These were all part of the modern Olympics until 1948 when the ‘mind’ and ‘arts’ was dropped for just all ‘muscle’ and ‘athletics’.

However, time march on, we’ve now begun to award ‘rusty’ Bronze medals (true, but they’re being reworked).

BLINK 2024 – Requires to keep your calendar open the days of October 17 through 20, 2024. BLINK 2024 is truly a spectacle to be seen, heard, and savored. It’s an unforgettable four-day, 30 city block, outdoor art experience that unites street art, projection mapping and light-based installations. Back in 2022 it drew 2-million people.

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which song begins with the lyrics; “Hello darkness, my old friend….

1) Bohemian Rhapsody
2) Like a Rolling Stone
3) Imagine
4) Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I die
5) The Sound of Silence
6) Three Times a Lady
7) Desperado

Howbeit

Happy Saturday morning. This morning nearly 2,000 paddlers are underway in Kayak and Canoes heading the 10-miles down the Ohio. This year I am not among them. However, last evening I was at the pre-paddle party at the river’s edge – and had a great time. Reason for not paddling? My boats are in Canada & the rental ones kill my back. Ok, coffee is ready, back in a flash.

Have any of you been hooked on watching the TV series, Only Murders in the Building? If not, it stars Steve Martin, Marin Short, and Selena Gomez, and is hilariously funny and captivating.

The reason I mention it, this week the series could have been shot in “Our” building. Not a murder mind you, but just about everything else. Marcia said she got beat just sitting in the sunroom watching.

Here are a few titbits; I sat with a home health nurse while she felt up one of our resident’s calves. The fire department with their ‘equipment’ knocked down a resident unit’s door. A resident was wheeled away. I ended up running to a nearby grocery resulting in me making someone a Turkey sandwich with a side of Mango juice (for my homie).

And, with most all our wine bottle cork removers either broken or missing, I managed to remove the cork from a bottle of Malbec (needle-nose pliers are amazing) – Marcia needed a glass after all the above.

Getting ‘old’? – Here are a few reminders that time and age continue to grind on. I came across these. Feel free to submit your own:

Someone said, “30 years ago”, and my mind went to the 1970s, but they meant 1994.

“I just learned that the cast of Friends is now the same age as the golden girls when they started.”

“1981 and 2024 are as far apart as 1937 and 1980 were.”

A child will ask why we say, “hang up the phone”?

I can remember having to pay 10 cents per text message.

Ok, who too can explain what this is? Hint, it’s not a printer (hint #2: I’ve dragged one of these on business trips as far away as Brazil and Singapore).

Remember when Netflix started, they used to send you DVDs? And unlike the competition (Blockbuster & later on Redbox – now both defunct) these did NOT have to be returned in 3 days.

Ask a 10-year-old what “Burning a CD” is. Observe the blank stare.

Do NOT ask a recent College graduate; “how did you feel when you heard the news” relating to 9/11. They weren’t around.

Remind yourself that there is no ‘trip-tik’ app for your mobile. Actually, a highschooler will ask what is a “trip-tik”?

Viewing the Future – this is a must see update as Elon Musk on the Neuralink. This is not an in-the-weeds explanation but is in common understandable language. It’s a where Neuralink is now, where it’s projected to be soon, and what the vision is for decades away. Powerful and fascinating short dialogue.

A Tolling Rolling Bell – 182 years ago an industry leading Bell manufacturer The Verdin Company was established here in town. About a year ago I sat in on a presentation by one of Verdin’s managers. Add to that having seen several amazing Church Carillons and bell configurations in both The Netherlands and Germany earlier this year has me take note of anything bell related.

Across the river in Newport, Kentucky sits the World Peace Bell. It was cast in 1998, weighs 66,000 pounds, and was inaugurated on January 1, 2000 with the first swing. Now, it’s being relocated, after first being placed in storage for a while.

This week, the scope and management of just moving it became a work of ‘art’ in itself.

Screenshot

BLINK 2024 – Requires that you clear your calendar the days of October 17 through 20, 2024. BLINK is truly a spectacle to be seen, heard, and savored. It’s an unforgettable four-day, 30 city block, outdoor art experience that unites street art, projection mapping and light-based installations. Back in 2022 it drew 2-million people.

The Olympics and our town – The US Olympic Woman’s Eight crew is coxed by a Nina Castagna, a young lady from Dinah’s rowing club and who also attended the same Highschool as Dinah – Walnut Hills.

This morning the Women’s Eight Final was held at 4:50 a.m. EST. However, since I am preparing these Ramblings I haven’t had opportunity to discover the outcome – so no ‘spoiler’ worries.

Weekend Highlight – Yes, I did make it to the annual Goetta Festival last weekend in Newport, KY. While there I bought four pounds of the stuff and twice this week fixed a Goetta and egg lunch. As Billy Crystal was wont to say; “mahvelous, absolutely mahvelous”

You know, my father used to say to me, ” ‘Nando, don’t be a schnook.
It’s not how you feel, it’s how. You. Look!”
He was mahvelous!
But you, dahling, hmmmm, you look mahvelous!
Absolutely mahvelous!

Life is AMAZING!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What is the total hiking distance (in miles) of our State’s Buckeye Trail?

1)    937
2) 1,444
3)    248
4) 1,299
5)    773
6)    469

Give up? the answer is at www.Buckeyetrail.org