Saturday morning, and we’re on the ‘doorstep’ of the Merry Month of May. Is it me or is time no longer creeping but has begun to accelerate into a full sprint?

Word of the Day: Torschlusspanik: The fear that time to act is running out.

In any case, enjoy the weekend and since it’s still dark here feel free to tape your eyelids open to read The Ramblings. An accompanying mug of coffee should also do you well.

We are so in tune with the realization that we’re in the midst of the allergy season; I noticed that we magically now have a shelf-full of Kleenex. From the book of survival Marcia has alerted me that; “its bad form to throw dirty garments into the wash without first checking for used tissue”.

What a dinner – we had last Sunday. This to celebrate and honor Viliami and Jason’s Birthdays. Carefully chosen was Gyu-Kaku Japanese Barbeque (meaning “Horn of the Bull” in Japanese). Selected was a private space, large table and two in-table grills.

Food was great. One minor ‘hiccup’ was some difficulty getting one of the grills operational. Twice a young Asian person had to dive under the table to perform some magic. For a moment, only momentarily mind you, I envisioned us watching a ‘Rick Pitino moment’. Soon all was fine and we had a blast – the photo of Marcia absolutely proves it.

A sad occurrence – should this proceed. At the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill 673 professors signed a letter of protest. Reason? The North Carolina legislature has legislation which would mandate all public university students to take a 3-credit course that focuses on the history of America and its founding.

The course has as required reading “the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, no less than five essays from the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King’s letter from the jail in Birmingham.” (House bill 96, as reported on by American Greatness)

The letter by the 673 professors states such a law would violate the school’s “academic freedom.”

Stop providing a new generation of leaders the pertinent details of American exceptionalism and in short order we WILL be doomed continuing as the extraordinary nation that we are.

The Bailey – Mid-week Jason and I headed out to the new soccer stadium to catch a FC Cincinnati soccer match from on ‘The Bailey’. In case you missed it, The Bailey is an all-aluminum, 3000 ‘rabid’ fans strong, standing room only area. At a 34-degree angle it became an amazing place to be. Even standing for a complete soccer match was not noticeable as the time flew by.

The short video clip does give a sense of just how frenetic the experience was, with drums, flags, song, cheering, smoke, and beer. I made video shortly after our boys scored the game winning goal. Enjoy! We did!

Dante’s Inferno – Dante Alighieri, nearly 700 years ago, was exiled from his residence in Florence. Through the remainder of his life he traveled about and stayed with friends as a guest.

It was during his exile where he used his time to write an epic poem which has become a standard in literature, The Divine Comedy. The poem, an allegory, details an imaginary passage through the afterlife; hell (the Inferno), Purgatory, and heaven (Paradise) meeting up with friends, loved ones, and enemies.

This week we lost Jerry Springer and likewise I envision Jerry, somewhere, busily writing away his own epic life’s poem, his own Divine Comedy.

Born in London, his parents had escaped the Holocaust. He become a city council member here in the ‘Nati, staying until a prostitute displayed a check for ‘service’ rendered payment.

The net result was him becoming the Mayor of Cincinnati. Next was a climb to the number one TV news anchor in the city – closing each broadcast with a short bit of philosophy.

A hiatus (actually it was a failed run for the Ohio Governorship) and he was on to Television, First a legitimate format (it died) and on to create the nation’s number one hillbilly fight garbage TV show – a show which made him a multi-millionaire. RIP Mayor Springer

“Jerry-Jerry” – “Jerry-Jerry”

Thanks a Lot ‘Tuckah’! – Mark Steyn giving homage to Tucker Carlson. Seems both of them, true additions to the national discourse and wellbeing, were canned for being just a wee bit too vocal.

Carlson was a mainstay of my listening/viewing repertoire. Now I’m trusting he’ll be back in some format bigger and better and without constraint. Enjoy a piece of Steyn’s reflection:

Care to listen to Steyn’s whole show (it’s quite good)? Follow this LINK.

Fin –

• As most countries are busily scooping up their citizenry in strife-torn Sudan, am I wrong or is Captain America missing? Shades of Afghanistan maybe?

• Not my photo, but I came across this wonderful photo of the town of Houten in the Netherlands. What is interesting is that the main road through the town was first laid out by the Romans.

• The end of decade’s long entertainment provided by Australian comedian Barry Humphries; always in character as Dame Edna came this week. Humphries died at age 89. Hunt up some of the video clips, these pass the test of time in comedy.

• Dinah is racing this weekend in Saratoga, New York at the Toga-Invitational. I’m told that the rowing athletes are amongst the very fittest athletes in any sport. Go Dinah!

• And, a very Happy Birthday to Marlene. Catch up soon (in the meantime, say hello to Clair LePaige!)

• We know that the WOKE advertising scheme by Anheuser Bush blew up in their face. Think this WD-40 advert better?

Now it’s organizing for a morning excursion to Ikea – actually, if we wait a bit we could grab lunch at the place (possibly a salmon gravadlax salad plate?).
Anyhow, ciao. Stay happy, stay connected, stay involved. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

So, it was a short night, and both a busy day and busy weekend lies ahead. Hence a slightly more criptic Ramblings. It was a hot week and after yesterday’s rain its quite a bit cooler. So, let’s get started!

Paragraph of the week:

“America is in a similar position to where it was in 1861, 1929, 1941, and 1968—only perhaps worse, given in all those cases, there was at least a president and Congress that identified and reacted to the crisis, whereas today our elected government is what caused the crisis.…” ~ Victor Davis Hanson, historian

To add a little gravitas to Dr. Hanson’s uttering, here are some ‘creds’. First, he’s a farmer. He received his B.A. with highest honors in classics and general college honors, from Cowell College, at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His PhD is in classics is from Stanford University.

Then to round out his background, here are a few of his ‘secondary’ bits; visiting Shifron Professor of Military History at the US Naval Academy. Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. Presented the Manhattan’s Institute’s Wriston Lecture. Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; his focus is in classics and military history.

So, when Dr. Hanson puts ‘pen to paper’ we just might want to pay a little attention!

Frabjous – adjective – delightful, joyous.
The night before last the young ladies of the family, Dinah and Vaioleti, went to bed full of frabjous expectancy. Dinah left yesterday for a regatta this weekend held in southern Tennessee. Two weeks ago, her 8-man boat got Silver in the standard 2,000 meter race and her 4-man boat got Gold at that same regional regatta.

Vai in ‘mucho’ anticipation of the school play put on last night, A Night of One Acts, which I went to – and was glad I did. Vai was part of the Crew.

A major difference is that since 2009 Clark Montesori High School has put on these plays under the name of EPIC Productions as a totally run by students event.

This means that students choose the plays, procure them, cast them, and the plays are then performed by, produced by, and directed by the students without teacher involvement.

The Plays — Four of them, ranged from hilarious, almost slapstick – A Tale of Two Balconies (Off the Wall Plays) which juxtaposed a Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet and a modern day R & J couple on the same stage to the more intense. In Romeo and Juliet both couples were ‘star-crossed’ and of course there came the disastrous ending.

One of the other plays, “A Slippery Slope” (Blue Moon Plays) was cutting edge and explored a current look at human sexuality. The setting was a science classroom in a conservative Christian Middle School. Two students had to give a report on the nesting behaviors of the same bird, the Albatross, but each gave with a different take. Pretty powerful dialogue, insights, and right vs wrong discussions.

Results: The 5K – The Matt’s 5K Pursuit, had me feeling pretty good about my effort. In my age category (walkers 60 – 99) we had 57 ‘chipped’ walkers and as the ‘elder’ of that category, I came in 9th overall.

Weather was great. I even got another walker (the runners were probably finishing by then) to take my picture pointing at my parents’ grave as we passed it.

The whole event (approaching somewhere between 4,500 & 5,000 people) couldn’t have gone better.

The Foundation which receives the profits works with regional Police agencies and their K9 units – 100 dogs placed and over the years $1-million raised which includes having temperature sensing and reaction devices in K9 cruisers. In appreciation 50 or so dogs and handlers were present and an exciting demonstration was put on.

As a bonus, for that morning I was probably at the very safest place in town.

Link to a short video from the start of the 5K:  IMG_0141

Happenings – This shortened Rambling is because soon I’ll be assisting with the logistics of Adrianne and Tevita’s move to their new home. Currently our truck is parked out front to keep space for the moving truck.

Tomorrow evening it’ll be a nice dinner to celebrate both Viliami and Jason’s Birthdays.

Fin –

• What is it with the middle of April as a period of disasters. April 15, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated. April 18, 1906 was the the massive San Francisco Earthquake. April 15, 1912 is when the unsinkable Titanic floundered on her maiden voyage. April 19, 1993 was the Federal Bureau, the ATF, raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX. After a lengthy siege it escalated and a massive fire broke out resulting in the deaths of 76 people, including children. The Oklahoma City bombing (April 19, 1995). Not to forget the (April 20, 199) Columbine High School shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting (April 16, 2007), and the Boston Marathon bombing (April 15, 2013).

• Even the Notre Dame Cathedral fire (in Paris) occurred in mid-April April 15, 2019).

• Tax Day was this past week; remember that it was Cincinnati’s own, President William H Taft, who during his single term of office introduced a “TEMPORARY” national Income Tax in 1913. The original tax had a base rate of 1 percent with a first $3,000 exemption. This meant that fewer than 2% of the population had to pay. Where exactly is the difference between Joe Average today and the serfs of medieval times?  Yup, always trust government!

• On a lighter note, also this time period in 1968 Robert P. McCulloch bought the London Bridge for $2.4 million and had it shipped across the ‘pond’ to reassemble it in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Ciao. Stay strong, Especially during this mid-April, keep looking over your shoulder. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

All week it’s been stunning weather, sunshine and low eighties. Today it’s a transition day and this evening the rains will start. Tomorrow morning at 9:00AM I will start on my first 5K since my eye ‘thingy’ (and the rains won’t stop till noon).

In the meantime I’ll continue to be outside and smell the flowers. Enjoy this springtime photo of Clinton Springs place du 798, home sweet home taken from the infamous corner of Chaos & Mayhem.

It’s early, no sound in the whole building, very few cars on the road, and a large cup of steaming coffee next to me. It’s a perfect time to be alive!

Round & About the Neighborhood – during springtime is an adventure. Little needs be said, just enjoy the visuals (click to enlarge):

Paragraph of the week:

“Virtue gives birth to tranquility, tranquility to leisure, leisure to disorder, disorder to ruin… and similarly from ruin, order is born, from order virtue, from virtue, glory and good fortune” ~ Niccolò Machiavelli, in his Florentine Histories

Cyclical – Machiavelli was right, as was Plato, and many more after him. History is not a straight-line progression; history is cyclical.

Currently we’re reaping the results of half a century of government organized single parent households often run by a mother who is still a child herself. We’re observing a portion of the cycle where education by many parents and schools and churches are catering to the whims, foibles, and oddities of an upcoming generation.

A portion of the current cyclical fallout is the continued voting into office of ideologues funded by subversive types (those at odds by furthering the values we’ve been built on); think Governors, State and city AGs and DAs, many of them elected and reelected by a population of slackers, loafers, and goldbrickers; each chanting the current mantra of entitlement; “we want it OUR way, we want it FREE.”

This leads to the question of gun violence; why was there virtually not one mass shooting as recent as the 1950s; this at a time when guns were about as readily available as today? Could it be that possibly we need to look at the 45-year span since we’ve paid serious mind to a creeping Mental Health problemcombined with a lack of parenting? Is that what’s changed?

This isn’t just a reaction to today’s world of WOKE-ness and headline grabbing characters named Mulvaney or Lia. Take note that over the years I’ve tapped my ‘toes’ into the past worlds of the Beatnik, the Hippie; yes generations do go through phases.

But this has a difference, more and more, a booked law breaker, be they murderer, robber, thief, a criminal of any type, is back on the street before the cop has finished the required paperwork.

That’s why I love this song by Toby Keith & Willie Nelson where they offer a brilliant solution. Remember the suggestion the song proffers is posted by me, a nearly really old geezer, but it’s one that works really well:

The 5K – has been approved by my surgeon; with the promise of ‘walking only’, no jogging or jog-and-walk. The event is through the grounds of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, which even in the rain should be stunning this time of year.

It’s called the Matt’s 5K Pursuit to benefit the Matt Haverkamp Foundation which was set up to both provide animals and secure training for K9 and Rescue/search dogs. To date just over 100 dogs have been provided to our regional and city Police agencies.

The location, Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum was set up as a nonsectarian, nonprofit corporation by a special Act by the Ohio General Assembly back in 1845 and is the 3rd largest cemetery in the nation. Aside from the spectacular lakes and scenery there are two other ‘bits’ on the 5K. First, the route is such that it will pass right by my parents’ grave site (yes, I am planning to give a wave). Then, upon completion, there is scheduled to be an exhibition where some of the dogs will have a chance show off their skills.

See why I had the talk with my surgeon and why the nod of approval was given?

The Bailey – On the 26th FC Cincinnati MLS soccer will face off against Louisville in a run-up to the 2023 US Open Cup. Cincy is currently super HOT and leads the MLS Eastern Conference..

The Bailey portion of the stadium is a 3000 person behind the opposing goal standing only section angled at 34-degrees. All aluminum (for noise), and its where all the foot stomping, drumming, singing, horns, smoke takes place.

Now the exciting part, to experience The Bailey has been a ‘to-do’ for me for quite a while. Tried to drag Marcia along (won’t note her answer but somewhere I heard her use the word; “crazy NOT”). However, Jason was different; he too is excited and will join me.

I forgot to mention that it’s ‘tradition’ for the Bailey crowd to first enjoy a couple of beers at the nearby Samuel Adams brewery, then march ‘en-mass’ to the stadium. The linked short video will show how it all looks.

I am super stoked!

Gordo’s – is by far and away our favorite Pub/Café. It’d been a while since we’d stopped by, and last night was the night.

What struck me that we literally drank ‘suds’ (beer) from our personal histories. Marcia had a ‘Stout’ brewed in Holland, MI while I had a ‘Lager’ brewed in my birth-town of Enschede, a bottle of Grolsch.

Fin –
• Is there any doubt seeing why our nation’s rail system can’t gain proper footing?

• This coming week we’ll celebrate two (not one, but two) Birthday’s. Viliami who can hardly wait to step into his next year. And Jason, who’s now realizing that he’s on a path where he’s quickly chasing me down.

• Eight days ago the world marked the passing of Ben Ferencz at the age of 103. Mr. Ferencz who was both the youngest and last living prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials. He secured convictions against 22 Nazi death squad commanders. A 60-minutes interview from six years ago (when he was 97) showed a Mr. Ferencz swimming, doing push-ups, and working with weights – not bad for someone who barely cleared 5 feet. He led an amazing life. Click here on “60-minutes” to link to the interview.

• Vai demonstrating a beautiful piece of art glass which she created, including the colors embedded in it. What the picture can’t show is that after completing the piece she went back to school, and that shortly after she left her instructor the Police showed up and arrested him for murder. He’s accused of murdering his, then, fiancé a decade ago. Wow!

• Last weekend Dinah rowed her first Regatta of the season. Her 8-man boat finished Silver and her 4-man boat got a Gold. Quite the start kiddo!

• Adrianne and Tevita signed a ream of paper yesterday and now (in partnership with their bank) are now the proud owners of their new home. More busyness in their already busy lives as a move looms near.

Ciao. Stay strong, wouldn’t it be special if everyone took just a few minutes this week to climb a tree? Low hanging branches are OK. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

What is it with my ‘body clock’? Yesterday was a busy and long day running well into the late evening. The plan I had was to just sleep in and get started on The Ramblings at the ‘whenever-I-wake’ hour.

4:05 in the AM and I was ready to get started. No other day of the week would I fall into that kind of crazy trap, but this being Saturday I had little choice.

Now, a bit of writing, then some coffee, then a bit more of that; and so it goes.

In the meantime, wishing you an Easter celebration that moves you well beyond the banal commerciality of chocolate Easter-bunnies. And to all, a great Passover remembrance over this weekend too.

Easter 2023 occurrence – Dr. Sheldon Roth, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, author of “Psychologically Sound: The Mind of Donald J. Trump.”

During this time of Easter and Passover Dr. Roth provides more insight than the yokels in the New York DA’s office ever realized with the timing their persecution of Trump

The list of persecution attempts:

• Operation Crossfire Hurricane
• Mueller Probe
• Impeachment 1
• Impeachment 2
• January 6th Committee
• Mar a Lago Raid
• Manhattan DA Indictment

As Trump was hauled in front of a very biased and weak AG during Easter/Passover week it reminded Dr. Roth of another persecuted individual, Jesus Christ. Jesus, charged and who was hauled in front of a weak and biased Roman judiciary. Jesus tried on charges to ensure a conviction 2,000 years ago. Now here is Trump on trumped (pun) up and cobbled together charges in 2023. Both, with little to no possible outcome of anything resembling fairness.

Dr. Roth goes a step further addressing our Jewish family and friends with the botched timing of Trump’s arraignment, Passover. Passover as you might remember commemorates the story of the Israelites’; escape from slavery from Egypt. Their leader was Moses – also a persecuted character.

However you think of Trump, these legal fiends in their ignorance and awkward timing, bringing charges during Easter and Passover week have created much empathy for Trump. By virtue of the season, they have established sympathy for Trump even if nothing more than subconsciously.

Now that they’ve made their move they can’t erase that. As early polling data shows, Dr. Roth was probably correct.

Paragraph of the week:

”(I) compare our election choices (of late) to “Which disease would you rather have?” much to the dismay of certain readers. I’ve long thought we could do better when it comes to the person who holds the loftiest office in the United States….But indicting a former president (any former president) on ridiculous charges to keep him out of the next race is a bridge too far.” ~ Daisy Luther writing an article under the Headline: If Political Prosecution Can Happen to Trump, It Can Happen to Any of Us – April 6, 2023

Tiny Us – We [at least the media and by default us] love to ruminate on and on, on ‘tempest in a teapot’ issues. Then bounce from one of those to the next; be they real or invented. By the hour it’s jumping from the drivel in NY, then in the next breath the botox overkill on some starlet, as so it goes, day in and day out. Week in, and week out.

To get you to think on just how pitiful all the nonsense we ‘stew’ over is in the grand scope of things, I’d like to introduce Dr. Brian Cox to you. Dr. Brian Cox CBE FRS, professor of particle physics School of Physics and Astronomy at the
University of Manchester.

In the next short minute he’ll detail to us just how both ‘significant’ and ‘insignificant’ we are. Have a quick listen:

Our Poet – Vaioleti is one of those kids who is happily immersed in High School life and all its activities. One of those ‘extras’ is her involvement in ‘Slam’ poetry. Last night she represented her school in the city-wide finals held at our Memorial Hall.

’Slam Poetry’, “a form of performance poetry that combines the elements of performance, writing, competition, and audience participation. It is performed at events called poetry slams, or simply slams. The name slam came from how the audience has the power to praise or, sometimes, destroy a poem and from the high-energy performance style of the poets— Encyclopedia Britannica.

Vai placed well in the top tier. Loved how she and everyone else did and had a blast. We, friends, parents and grandparent loved what all these kids did. We hooted and hollered, sometimes appropriately and sometimes not. And had a blast!

I should point out that I bought her a bouquet of flowers when I stopped by Trader Joe’s. The checkout clerk, making small talk, asked if it was going to be an active weekend. I mentioned that I was heading to watch my granddaughter at a Poetry Performance later in the day.

His reply? “Trader Joe’s would like her to have this bouquet as our gift!” Now how cool is that. It’s marketing genius at the max to empower the frontline people to make quality decisions. Hooray for Traders!

Walking – I am back to walking and exercising now that the ‘gas bubble’ has cleared my eye (held a tiny ceremony cutting my medical alert bracelet off).

It’s great being round and about. Springtime on the campus of Xavier University is a time I am glad I didn’t miss – both, seeing and walking.

Now that life is back to normal I will be walking a 5k (no mixed jogging/walking yet) later this coming week at the Matt’s 5K Pursuit. Monies raised will go to deceased police officer Matt Haverkamp’s foundation for the procurement and training of rescue and K9 dogs; over 100 dogs have been funded so to date. The event will be held throughout Spring Grove cemetery and Arboretum – this time of the year with shrubs and flowers in full bloom the place is stunning.

As an aside, our part of the 5K route through Spring Grove goes directly past my parents’ grave site. I’ll wave!

Fin –
• This front yard sign spotted on a walk earlier this week had me puzzled.

• Finally the little pin converter arrived. Up to that time I had never realized just how good an experience listening is as when using Studio quality headphones. Brilliant!

• Today in 1979 the final episode of All in the Family aired. This hugely successful comedy sitcom dealing with topics of sex, bigotry, race and gender could never be made/aired today, and that is beyond quite sad.

• When someone who doesn’t drink tea does you a favor. Marcia came home with two boxes of herbal tea for my afternoon refresher moment. Lovely. One small detail; we do NOT have a Keurig coffee/tea maker.

Ciao. Stay strong, ever stay focused on that which is important and that what is right. As I said last week, keep moving keep active. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

Somebody paid somebody something serious to insert a lovely day into the mix. Thursday I took Vili and Vi to the Reds Opening Day parade – and it was a glorious day. Then yesterday back to a ‘good-for-nothing’ day; nothing for either spring or winter aficionados – even the rain was nothing to relish. After a ‘supposed’ night of more ‘heavy’ weather, today we’re now promised that the heavier stuff will actually pour in shortly.

But for now, today it’s a new day and a new beginning, a look into our future. So, let’s kick it off with a solid mug of coffee. Are you ready?

An Anniversary – Today is the 23rd Anniversary of Kirstin’s and Vince’s wedding. I still reflect on a very happy day when a substantially ‘heftier’ (i.e. thick-bodied) me walked our eldest down a grassy aisle.

I also remember the differences between families. Over dinner, what I thought was a lovely time of bonding with my brothers, a time of ‘sharing the love’ was by another segment of the extended family viewed as just an all and out ‘food-fight.’

And later on that evening, the hotel security showing up at poolside was a bit of overkill.

Paragraph of the week:

“What is coming into being is a new form of government and social organization that is as different from mid-twentieth century liberal democracy as the early American republic was from the British monarchism that it grew out of…..the war against disinformation can be expressed in a single claim, it is this: “You cannot be trusted with your own mind.””?” – by: Jacob Siegel—[senior editor of News and The Scroll, Tablet’s daily afternoon news digest];

Both the highlighted article and the magazine link directly to each distinct site.

You should know that the article the above was quoted from should be a Must Read for every thinking person. Also, that at 13,000 words it is not for the faint of heart.

First Pitch – Professional Baseball got its start 159 years ago right here in our little town (1866) as the ‘Resolutes’ and quickly changed to the ‘Redlegs’ and now just as the ‘Cincinnati Reds’. Early on the game was pitched underhand and without gloves. Aaargh, tough times!

Anyway, it means that the day the first pitch of the season is tossed is an informal city-wide holiday. Somewhere in the fogs of history a parade starting at Findlay Market was begun. As mentioned, Thursday I took Vili and Vi to watch all 156 parade segments float on by. This was followed by a late lunch at ‘Taste of Belgium’ (Vili chose a very late Breakfast while I had some Goetta Hash). In life, some things are just too important to miss (even for those who like the sport but aren’t aficionados).

Enjoy Opening Day through pictures. The first one was taken by one of the news groups’ drones.

We had heard that as the National Anthem concluded a fly-over of F16 fighter planes would happen. I got excited and somehow imparted that excitement to others. For 15-minutes we parked ourselves in front of our building waiting to spot the things zip on by. We thought that maybe we heard them, clear skies, but nary a F16 was sighted.

To help you get into the mood for the next piece this bit of music is background to those paragraphs. Enjoy:

It’s a Party – We’re lucky that right across the River in Newport, KY is a place called The Party Source. It’s touted as being the largest, 100% employee owned, beverage alcohol store in the nation. Throwing a party, any kind of a party, and they can furnish ‘A’ to ‘Z’.

Yesterday they celebrated their 30th year in business; tastings, sales, a band, and all around good time. To all of this Marcia and I can attest. The two of us moseying around with the rest of the crowd made me think we were steering bumper cars.

And yes, we had a fine time – accidentally timed so that we were on the road heading home right as a lightning rain storm moved in.

Passing by — the ‘Corner of Chaos & Mayhem’we see busses rounding by. At some point I began to take note just how many are festooned with the white toothed (some smiling others stern) faces of the leadership of the personal injury industry, aka ‘slip-‘n-slide lawyers. One is even pictured cross armed sporting oversized boxing gloves (he’ll do ‘battle’ for you).

All this provided the: Phrase of the Week: “jury duty, ……….. more akin to a community service sentence than a Jeffersonian rite of citizenship. ” – RT Restoring Truth.

Fin –
• Brother Art will celebrate an ‘O’ trailing birthday number (much behind mine) in a couple of days. Happy day guy.

• Sticking with the birthday theme, a mere few days later we’ll be celebrating Dia and Neanners’ birthdays. Enjoy your special day ladies.

• My new batch of homemade sauerkraut has already had a place of honor on my dinner plate (though it seems like I am the only one eating the stuff).

• This weekend 42 years ago President Ronald Reagan was shot.

• On April 1, 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Happy All Fools Day

“Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the New Year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes.”

“These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as ‘poisson d’avril’ (April fish), said to symbolize a young, “easily hooked” fish and a gullible person.”

Ciao. Stay strong, ever stay the lighthearted prankster, keep moving, keep active. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

Sleeping with rain hitting the windows isn’t all bad; in fact it’s pretty good. Outside at the corner of Chaos & Mayhem it’s about as quiet as I’ve ever seen. That too is good; although a bit forbidding too.

So let’s get going and change our focus.

Phrase of the week: “People, what the f**k happened?” – frank-talking, half-Irish leader of the Dutch FarmerCitizenMovement (BBB) party , Caroline van der Plas, at her victory speech last Wednesday. The BBB was formed just three years ago and had jumped to first place in the Dutch Provincial elections. The European Union and their extremist edicts should be concerned.

Wednesday saw me wandering the neighborhood in shorts. Yesterday, actually starting Thursday, the hoodie was back on and the umbrella raised. Now the weather ‘gurus’ predict that later today when the numbers are released our big Muddy’, the Ohio River, will have risen 14’ and the three local feeder rivers 20’. This includes the Licking River where Dinah practices her rowing almost daily. Let the flooding begin.

Then later this morning wind gusts hitting 55mph will roar through. It’ll be a fun weekend, maybe even exciting.

Anyway, of greater import, it was just announced that soon Christian Moerlein beer will be back in the stores; that’s very good! Christian Moerlein beer has been around for over 150 years using centuries old German recipes and methods.

But, in the meantime I’ll slurp my hot morning coffee loaded with a dollop of Irish Cream. Life is good.

CCJO meets Gospel – was the concert I wrote about earlier. Last Sunday we experienced everything we had hoped for; great music, wonderful song, and a powerful presentation. It truly was a stunning afternoon. I know that some of you have seen a bit of video I captured. In case you haven’t seen, enjoy the Jazz orchestra and choir’s version of Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace.

Bailout? – As I’ve read; “if it looks like a Bailout, if it walks like a Bailout, it probably is a Bailout.”

When Fed Chair Yellen says that; “Uninsured investors will be made whole in that Silicon Valley Bank (SVG)” That means many small banks will end up paying and guess who those extra fees get passed on to? Could it possibly be you and me? Sure sounds like a ‘bailout’.

Have we ever been lied to? Nah, when have we ever been lied to? Surely not in regards to border security, not when giving word that not a single person wanting out would be left behind in Afghanistan, not in a single ‘one-for-all justice system’. I even trusted the sincerity of the “three weeks to flatten the curve.” Wanna talk energy security? Nah, all is fine, all is good!

And so it goes. The latest being ‘no bailout’ Janet Yellen Dropping a bombshell on the Silicon Valley Bank Bailout Scandal with her: “the Fed Can’t ‘Discriminate’ Against Chinese Investors.”

Word of the day: schtum as in ”Dinner conversation between the Trudeaus and the Biden’s was a classic schtum, leaving the other collected guests in utter confusion”; i.e. to not say something about something.

Bless the Mothers – We’re really in a ‘betwixt & between’ period – in more ways than one. In the UK they held Mother’s Day a week or so ago (March 19). Our US Mother’s Day won’t be till May 14th. However, counting the barrage of jewelry ads, primarily for diamonds, used Rolex watches, and fancy colognes, it’s got to be a massive event.

Growing up I remember little about the diamonds and Rolex stuff, just some warm and fuzzy ‘Mother’s’ songs on the radio. In case you’ve forgotten, especially the period from WWII through the 1950s, think of names like; Eddy Arnold, Allan Sherman, Don McLean, the Carter Family, or even Abba.

However, we now live in ‘fluid’ times and the whole concept of a Mother’s Day is under scrutiny. Interesting names such as “gestational parent” and “chestfeeding” are making an exciting entrance into the vocabulary.

Hence I am bridging the gap with a piece from the 1970-80s. Enjoy Pink Floyd doing Mother from their album The Wall:

Cincinnati Food Groups —
I know, I know, there is a large world of ‘Tofu and salad’ lovers out there. At times I too enjoy Tofu. Nevertheless, here in the ‘Nati we have our own list of ‘Faves’ and ‘tofu’ is not on the list. I thought I’d share:

1. Montgomery Ribs ~ the Ted Gregory family
2. Ruby’s Steak Houses/Precinct ~ Jeff Ruby
3. LaRosa’s Pizza ~ Buddy LaRosa
4. Skyline Chili ~ Nicholas Lambrinides and family
5. Jean-Robert de Cavel [RIP Dec. 2022]~ set up his own group of French restaurants (was ‘chef de cuisine’ at The Maisonette – Mobil 5 star rating). I also have to point out that Jean-Robert was the proud owner/driver of a Deux Chevaux.
6. Then for dessert what about: Graeters Ice Cream ~ Louis Charles Graeter

STEM – Had our Vili involved. He and a few other students from his school, since the New Year, were invited to spend one afternoon a week  learning about 3d printing, and modeling design software.

They had to think of a project, plan it, design it, and then print it. Yesterday morning, on the University of Cincinnati campus a couple of hundred student – of all grades, plus a few hard core users such as people from UC Children’s Hospital, got together to demonstrate their work. Surely such a great opportunity was one I wasn’t going to miss.

Vili’s piece was a bookmarker. Not just any bookmark, but one which pointed to the last page and the  last sentence read. How cool is that!

Nature at work – Just so that you don’t ‘hang your hat’ on that tired bit of ‘man made climate change’ gobbly-goog department; remember that the climate has been changing naturally each and every day since eternity. In light of that, here are the two events for this week (quoting Business Insider), please make note:

1. “The sun is getting more active than it has for a decade. Reaching it’s Maximus — and it could lead to power outages, grounded flights, and stunning auroras.”

2. “An asteroid nearly the size of a skyscraper will whiz between the Earth and the moon sometime later today in a once-in-a-decade event. The newly discovered space rock, named 2023 DZ2 could look like a “slow-moving star.””

Fin –

Liberal Democrat, attorney/professor Alan Dershowitz eviscerated NY DA Bragg’s potential Trump indictment as a “Mickey Mouse event”.

A head of cabbage, slivered carrots, some ginger, and a sprinkling of fennel equals? Answer; the 2nd batch of my homemade sauerkraut. Batch No. 1 flew out of the frig.

Last weekend Marcia looked over her shoulder, there, about 8 feet from the window was a group of 5 deer. Leisurly as you please they slowly walked by. Then, looking both ways, crossed the street and disappeared between the houses. We live in the core of a decent sized city and see more deer here as we do in the North Woods in Canada.

In case you want to know, with Dr. approval I have re-joined my twice weekly Zoom exercise group with my brothers and family (no overhead stuff especially with weights). Also, back to daily walking – easy pace 3 to 5 miles. And, I have signed up for a 5k in mid-April; Matt’s 5k Pursuit.

Ciao. Stay strong, never stop learning, never stop moving. Be safe and be healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

The first mug of Dunkin’ coffee, with that a very happy Saturday morning to everyone. We ran out of Tim Hortons and so did Costco – not a bad changeover at all.

Although, at this end, we’re all still smarting from last weekend’s time shift – when will that nonsense end?

Now that Spring is here the 1st ¼ of the year passed successfully, even after my eye blowout and surgery. I’m almost back to normal and started the Zoom exercise program with my brothers and Jolene – just no overhead stuff with weights. That and back to walking, It all feels right!

With Spring now here we’ve begun the planning process for the opening of Northern Comfort at the lake. Like everything else, its one step at a time and each step has to be decided on, practiced, and perfected. First on the list is the proper way to exit the ‘Nati.

Phrase of the week; “on the lam”. This because it seems that in our area not a day went by where we weren’t apprised of the fact that one ‘perp’ after another was “on the lam”.

2CV – with the change of seasons, its time to break out “the Duck”, our little Deux Chevaux – 2CV, roll the top down, and grab a little sunshine.

For any new readers, here is the history of ‘the Duck’ in about a minute.

Enjoy – Karambolage:

Dora – aka “Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area”. The ‘Nati loves to celebrate and St. Patrick’s Day nears the top. Overnight most all pubs became green-beer havens!

On the riverfront in their Dora area all could participate in the shenanigans by taking part in the State’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day race. Participants ran 0.1 miles while holding a beer (any beer would do, Guinness gave you a yard or so head start). Before the race, people celebrated with Ohio’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade – 100 yards and carrying multiple beers (green was encouraged).

Propaganda – Lord Arthur Ponsonby was a British diplomat and politician (1871–1946). He was a member of the House of Lords. Being a keen and cagey fellow he pinpointed 10 rules of propaganda. Wherever around the world we look at past and current despots, the rules apply.

Springing forth to here, look at how disagreement to edicts and then how the disagreement is addressed in media and on microphones in the West. Do Ponsonby’s rules apply here too? Think of the many Covid edicts, our Ukraine involvement, Social Media constant spin, or even the handling of the Freedom Convoy in Canada; all require we give them careful thought.

These are Ponsonby’s ten rules:

1. 1. We don’t want war, we are only defending ourselves.
   2. The other guy is solely responsible for this war.
   3. Our adversary’s leader is evil and looks evil.
   4. We are defending a noble purpose, not special interest.
   5. The enemy is purposefully causing atrocities; we only commit mistakes.
   6. The enemy is using unlawful weapons
   7. We have very little losses, the enemy is losing big.
   8. Intellectuals and artists support our cause.
   9. Our cause is sacred.
   10. Those who doublt our propaganda are traitors.

Dutch politics – The activities currently seen in the Netherlands came about because the European Union in collaboration with the Dutch politicians have been pushing (forcing) rules the farmers couldn’t possibly meet. And, where the proposal was to mandate centuries old family farms (businesses) be sold to the government. This quickly brought about a, sometimes ugly, uproar.

This past week that nation had Provincial elections. A startup party (2019), the
Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB) or Farmers Party in the Netherlands from went from zero members in the Senate to now the majority – my observation is that sanity prevailed!

Were Ponsonby’s rules in play here? Will the farms stay?

Fin –
• Brother Pieter and I managed a quick get-together for lunch in Louisville, KY. A really fun time in a lovely (100+ varieties of Bourbon) pub restaurant.

• Of our local College teams only one, Xavier, is still on track towards the peak of basketball’s March Madness. Marcia, she being the College Varsity player of the sport, can hardly stand it and spends half the night scouring the radio dial seeking one game after another on radio. I think she’s hoping to catch another upset.

• Tomorrow we’re off to join our Contemporary Jazz Orchestra with about as much anticipation as possible; CCJO Meets Gospel: Amazing Grace. Hallelujah!

Ciao. Stay strong, be observant, and question all. Stay safe and healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

A smallish return to winter, but still, a happy Saturday morning to everyone. Here it’s still silent and I’m beginning to feel like it’s a calm before a storm. Oh well, Mr. Coffee just informed me that all is both good and ready. And “Whew”, just now restored my WiFi internet connection! A good half hour of hassling with the system and WiFi gear.

I did watch the House Subcommittee hearing on the “Twitter Files”. Here is how one of two journalists testifying, investigative reporter (for years writing for a very liberal Rolling Stone) Matt Taibbi, described the event:

”….it was more farcical horror and a parade of self-owns that made me more sad than upset……..much of the hubbub yesterday involved the many “When did Elon Musk start beating your wife?” questions…..”

The gas bubble in my eye is slowly dissipating and is at a point where each morning it’s shrunk a bit. This morning though, there is something new. Two small bubbles have broken away and attached to the larger main bubble. Now, as I am working on this Rambling, I keep seeing a Mickey Mouse head everywhere I look. Cute at first, but already it’s getting a bit old.

That Corner – Oh, you know, ‘That corner; Chaos & Mayhem. We spot more frequently than not, people racing around the bend, no stopping, then stomp on the accelerator and blast off – often with straight pipes so that everyone knows the ‘coolness’ of their wheels. This happens especially at night.

Then, how often is it that national car manufacturers unleash a new or updated model by demonstrating exorbitant speed and cornering on their TV ads?

To put all of that into some perspective I felt it time to share some data:

• The earth is spinning on its axis, so we’re already moving at 1,000mph
• Then, we circle the sun, doing so at a stately 67,000mph
• The sun which we revolve around is galloping around our galaxy at a speed of 514,495mph (remember, we too are being sucked along at that speed).
• The nearest sun with planets similar to ours is Proxima Centauri. The distance to Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years or about 296,000 years of travel time at Voyager 2 speed; remember that we can only trace humanity as a cluster of early cave and tree dwellers back about 10,000 years. This means that undertaking such a journey is more than going across town. We aren’t going there anytime soon no matter how hard you stomp on your accelerator.

Bottom line: It’s laughable in that stomping down on the accelerator and roaring
your engine through the corner of Chaos and Mayhem does very little in the
grand scheme of things other than possibly waking me up. I don’t like to wake up grumpy!

For those who will still stomp their accelerator willy-nilly, watch this short description of what real speed and planning requires:

Vaioleti’s Week – was really special. Our original micro-preemie proved that she’s really come into her own; she’s become a shining star. So, this was her a-typical week.

Last Saturday she participated and represented her school, Clark Montessori
Highschool, at; ‘ECHO Youth Poetry Slam. 23 contestants and she easily (we think 2nd place – maybe it was 1st) slid into the finals to be held April 7. Here she is presenting her poem (I shared with a few folks earlier, to you, enjoy it one more time).

But, there was more. Her school’s Steel Drum Band (Clark Montessori – the nation’s first public Montessori High School) held a concert.

We’ve all heard the lighthearted Calypso music from such bands, and we had that. However, how about music from the 1980s group, the Eurythmics? Then, I was blown away when they began the first movement of Ludwig von Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. What a special evening!

For the love of the waterfront – gave me some thought. Yesterday I read that the home of deceased radio host, Rush Limbaugh, was sold for $155-million. A piece of Palm Beach, FL waterfront property, 2.6 acres with 250 feet of direct ocean access. The article went on to list several moguls with similarly priced waterfront properties on that Florida coast. Then I remember reading that former President Obama and Bill Gates of Microsoft fame, also bought ocean front properties and McMansions.

So here’s the question; many of these people fervently support the spoutings of an activist ‘wunderkid’ like Greta Thunberg or those of globalists like our climate Czar John Kerry, our own ‘master of the carbon offsets’ Al Gore, and the WEF’s Klaus Schwab. Since they ‘seemingly’ buy the climate stuff aren’t they worried that all their seashore properties will be joining the sunken Lost City of Atlantis in a mere 12 years?
As the song goes:

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it’s better
Down where it’s wetter
Take it from me………..
………While we devotin’
Full time to floatin’
Under the sea

Gospel Jazz – Hallelujah, this coming week we’ll be going to see and listen to our Contemporary Jazz Orchestra and the Gospel music from several church choirs. The audio and pictures below are from the 2020 performance after which the subsequent events were rudely interrupted by the ‘Wu-Flu’. We’re truly excited that it’s back!

Have a listen to the old favorite; “Travelin’ Shoes”:

Fin –
Dinah, has a ‘magical’ piece of paper that allows her to sit behind the wheel of a car as a learner. Congratulations!

Two of our local College teams are still on track towards the peak of basketball’s March Madness. Marcia as a College Varsity player of the sport has game after game either on radio or TV – no end in sight.

Ciao. Stay strong, value life and everyone around you – it’s too short to do otherwise. Stay safe and healthy.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

Happy Saturday morning. The heavy weather finally has rolled on through. Yesterday the rain was measured in inches. Tornados and straight-line winds caused havoc in counties surrounding ours. And, through it all we plodded. Plodded? Yes, plodded, I had my six week post surgery eye exam, and since we were on the north edge of town decided to drive another 12-minutes further north and head for Costco.

Other than loading ourselves and our goods into the truck – seemingly like we were doing it underneath a fire hose, all was good. Ok, now a sip of coffee and we’ll catch up.

you’re Old – when a man stops you in a Meijers parking lot and says; “every week I am given a back-seat load of Donuts to distribute to veterans and seniors, and you look worthy.” We received four boxes each containing 8 rich frosted Entenmann’s chocolate covered donuts.

And I did not have my sunglasses on or was using a cane, so have absolutely no idea why we were selected. And yes, we did have a nice little conversation.

The Eye – and I both got good news. I even got to see a nice blow-up photograph taken of the interior of my eye; scars and all. I was impressed enough so that I am certain that photo will be used as a centerfold in the next copy of ‘Ophthalmology Revealed’ magazine.

I was informed that the gas-bubble will be totally absorbed in about a week. As soon as it’s gone (i.e. I can’t see it anymore) I can do about everything I want, exercising, walking, swimming – all no problem.

Also, ranking right up there in the great news department, is the fact that I am done with eye drops.

It was a scary time at New Year when I was informed I might have lost a major chunk (like most) of my right eye vision, so thankful with the quality of care where all my vision is absolutely intact! Kudos to Dr. Miller, and all the staff of the Cincinnati Eye Institute — you’re the best.

Corner of Chaos and Mayhem – has really not changed. It’s not that nothing happens, it’s that the excitement and confusion to us has become somewhat commonplace.

Thursday evening we saw multiple cruisers pull a car over as it crossed the intersection – not certain but it appeared to be a drug bust. The driver was cuffed and the car towed.

The photo is from early in the week when a car had broken down by the corner ‘Stop’ sign and two cars piled into each other behind it. The broken car was towed as was the middle car since its Air Bags had gone off.

It’s better than any TV.

Our Poet – A couple of weeks ago three students were selected from Vaioleti’s school, Clark Montessori. These three made up a total of 20 students city wide entered into a poetry competition held at the University of Cincinnati’s Language and Arts Department. Vai was a ‘freshman’, the other two ‘seniors’.

One part of the competition was that each student was given an ‘opening’ word and a ‘closing’ word. The closing word became the starting word for the following student’s poem – each had a half hour to create this, their special poem.

When I heard what our Vai had written my goose bumps had baby goose bumps.

Today at 10:00 we’ll be on the UC campus for the finals presentation. Yes, Vai was selected to participate.

Are we proud? Do you really have to ask?

The Halifax Explosion – Our neighbor/friend who now reside in Halifax sent me a short animated film on the Halifax Explosion of 1916. A munitions ship carrying over 2000 tons of wartime munitions got broadsided in the Halifax harbor and caught fire.

The subsequent explosion blew away what was then the city of Halifax. It seems that a sailor caught in the explosion went airborne and fell back to earth and survived (apparently having been blown 2km away).

Two Canadian ladies created this beautifully done animation (almost Ballet-like) of the event and Bulent shared it with me. He got it through The New Yorker.

Now, one more coffee and then begin to get ready. Let the day begin!

To Dinah: happy, and successful, ‘rowing’ as a new 16-year old. Congratulations!

Ciao. Stay strong, Value life, its precious even should things ‘explode’ around you. Stay safe.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk

Happy Saturday morning. Marcia was up prior to me opening my eyes and so, coffee was made! As you can see by my ‘picture of the week’, spring has sprung in Southwest Ohio. This means it’s highs reaching into the mid-seventies followed by frost, lots of rain, and even some substantial winds. It’s all good; the parking of winter in the rear mirror.

As promised – Last week I let you know that brother Pieter finished up his decade old radio show, Listening Lyrics. But, that something new was in the works.

Well, yesterday a completely new show hit the airwaves. Here is the official program blurb as put out by KDRT 95.7FM in Davis, CA. it airs on Friday early evening and repeats a couple of times each week – streaming worldwide.

“Imagining Yolo Davis” interviews citizens (imaginers) of this community who are imagining projects that will affect all of us for the greater good. From recycling, music, community groups to park clean up groups the list goes on, private imaginers using their talents to enrich our community.

Enloy.

The gift – This week I got around to firmly plant both feet into my eighth decade. Actually, in English of yesteryear it’s now; four score and one year. Or as it’s said in my native tongue (and for cousins in the Netherlands) “eenentachtig”.

In celebration I decided to give myself a gift – and at the same time pass this gift on to you (I understand that ‘passing forward’ is now a thing). It’s a piece made so very popular by old ‘Satchmo’ himself, jazz trumpeter extraordinaire Louis Armstrong; “What a Wonderful World“.

This full band features the amazing and stunning Esperanza Emily Spalding. It’s a recording that I’ll find myself listening to every so often – including yesterday. And that’s when it hit me; SHARE IT!

To do it correctly, set the video on full screen, adjust the volume, and most importantly – reflect on the lyrics; it truly is “A Wonderful World” [ “…. I see skies of blue and clouds of white – The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night – And I think to myself what a wonderful world….“]

Ciao. Stay strong, value life its precious, keep an eye out for that first spring flower, and stay safe.

Keep on storming the castle. Pray for Peace.

Dirk