Wisdom of the ages:
Mark Twain
Of course they stole all of our bad ones as well.
Thirty Tyrants of Ancient Greece
Unfortunately there are those amongst us who would ensure that we get to keep all the really bad ideas; the ones that have worked so well in the past.
Every year the same thing: one day it’s summer in all its glory
and then, of a sudden, summer slides into fall.
Every. Single. Year.
You can’t stop it.
It arrives in all its glory, the forerunner of a deep sleep. All we can do to ride it out is order the soup.
So make plans now for your autumn walks in the woods before it’s too late.
Global warming you know; soon there will be no more autumns. Or forests.
Of course if your city is on the list at least you know you live in a place where crimes are still reported and prosecuted. If you live in a city or state where theft and drugs have actually been decriminalized it’s a pretty good bet that basic violent crimes are not prosecuted either: laws are simply no longer enforced, even for egregious crimes. So, nobody even bothers to report them. If they did you would see an entire different Top 10 list - I’m talking to you Chicago, New York, LA, San Francisco, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, DC, New Orleans…yet more meaningless statistics and reports.
Prove me wrong.
June dawns, July noons, August evenings over, finished, done, and gone forever with only the sense of it all left here in his head. Now, a whole autumn, a white winter, a cool and greening spring to figure sums and totals of summer past. - Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine
Catching a Glimpse of Evening Sun, Roos Schuring
While I’ve embraced September, somewhat, I cling to thoughts of summer’s return which I know, if it happens at all, will be brief. Still, a few days of Indian Native American summer would be welcome as a token reminder of summer’s sun-drenched horizons, much of which I missed.
As hurricanes gather their furies I ask simply for a few more days, preferably in October, of warm sunlit days. They ideally will have just enough crispiness around the edges to remind me that it is a fleeting indulgence to be enjoyed gratefully. Then I can move on to the long season of quiescent dormancy.
And catch up on a little reading.
Happy Caturday.
"We can't direct the wind. But we can adjust the sails."
Speaking of adjusting, I was going to try to write a real post for today but I just got a call from my dentist that they have an opening this morning, rather than waiting until November. As I’ve been somewhat lax on my oral care this past year I’m taking it. Doctor and dentist appointments have become my social life .
Anyway, get that spinnaker up! Or down, whichever the situation requires.
New York gives new meaning to the term “Labor Day Drones.”
New York police will use drones to monitor backyard parties this weekend, spurring privacy concerns:
Those attending outdoor parties or barbecues in New York City this weekend may notice an uninvited guest looming over their festivities: a police surveillance drone.
The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.
No longer a holiday for worker bees but rather a chance for the authorities to “deploy the drones!” to ensure your safety.
Because if everyone’s having too much fun your government will order you to go home and think about what you’ve done. The drones are just there to protect you. Like the Patriot Act.
Maybe we should track them instead of vice versa.
I can’t believe it’s already sweater weather here.
While some of you are still baking we have early fall-like temperatures here requiring a sweater even during the daytime. Too soon, too soon!
Right boys?
One last swim before Labor Day
Happy Mutt day to all.
P.S. A good read for those of you who would like to continue jousting with our betters:
No Masks, Please, We’re Rational. Mask mandates are starting to return despite 97 percent of Americans having acquired Covid antibodies and all the evidence that the mandates failed to make a difference in Covid infections or mortality (including a recent study in The Lancet reporting that the only significant effect of the state mask mandates in the U.S. was a decrease in fourth-graders’ test scores). Yet the media are urging the return of masks, and the CDC, unlike every country in Europe, continues to advise masking toddlers. The maskaholics’ faith remains as strong as that of the Cambodian villagers who protected themselves from the coronavirus by erecting magic scarecrows in front of their huts.
Good morning friends:
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. – Kahil Gibran
May the joy of little things bring you joy this fine Sunday morning. May you find your heart’s morning. May you be refreshed.
Peaches questions the results of her DNA test:
Possibly there was a mix up in the lab
And we have been propaganded to death.
Because anything you think you know might be wrong. Science by its nature is provisional; new evidence must be taken under serious consideration. The earth is not flat even it if looks like it is, gravity is a real thing but, as Einstein later proved, driven by energy not mass as Newton concluded. The world marches on and science with it. Science is never the answer, it’s the question.
Calvin discovers how science is forever but the world changes
How it’s answered is crucial. So let’s be careful out there.
Well here I am. I would say still standing but that would be a slight exaggeration as standing – at least unassisted_ is not currently one of my superpowers.
So here’s a short list of how I spent my summer vacation: norovirus, neurosurgery, pulmonary embolisms, fungal pneumonia and hyponatremia. In short, everything has been out of whack, but don’t worry:
With the current worldwide supply chain issues it just takes longer for everything to arrive these days. Take our dishwasher for example: it crapped out the week before I went in for my surgery. We ordered a new one immediately but couldn’t get the model we wanted until last Friday. Except that they called late that afternoon to tell us that deliveries were overbooked and they couldn’t come until this Thursday. We now have at least one generation that thinks this is normal. They’ve never known America when its supply chain was the envy of the world and other countries came to us for products. Many of The kids seem perfectly happy being consumers rather than producers.
But how I ramble in my impaired state. I assure you I am getting better and stronger with each day. It’s that after being released from the hospital the last time I was starting somewhere near zero. I honestly don’t know how Raj managed to get me home; I could not stand on my own and could only shuffle a little with a walker – I seem to have symptom similar to a stroke victim and my balance and coordination are worse than they were before the surgery so I need to work on that.
Any hoo, I needed help with everything the first 2 weeks: from rolling over in bed, going to the bathroom, getting up from a seated position, etc.. All my muscles had atrophied to jello, it was shocking how completely wrecked they were. And not only did Raj have to do nearly everything for me, he had to wash dishes too!
So I am indeed blessed and grateful for all of your prayers, good wishes, thoughts and good vibes. I have no doubt that there has been an intercession on my behalf as a result as I was a very, very sick puppy for quite awhile. But for the grace of God I wouldn’t be here. So I sincerely thank my family and friends -including all the MOTI - for helping me pull through and continue to recover. I’m very glad to be back with you, even if it’s only at 25%.
So let us continue to ride the waves, wherever they take us
knowing that eventually we will land on shore.
PS Special thanks to my little Sis for helping keep the MOTI informed of my progress.
IMAO, education has some real problems. I noodled on this after one of MOTUS’ nurses explained that “I know how old my grandmother is, but I don’t know what year she was born in.”
Math, it’s a real thing. Your thoughts…
I am unclear if this represents the Edo Dynasty or simply the original Japanese Iron Chef franchise. Either way I believe caterpillar sushi is an acceptable Caturday menu item that even Smudge the Cat would approve of (except for the avocado).
Raw fish, bugs, okay. Vegetables, well, we all know how Smudge feels about vegetables.
So ignore all the stupid gender role games for today and just enjoy some cat-approved sushi rolls.
Is this an inappropriate wing and feather day concept?
Chanting is a spiritual discipline believed to improve listening skills, heightened energy and more sensitivity toward others. The practice gained popularity when an album of Gregorian chants by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Damingo in Spain became a best seller. Chants can express devotion, gratitude, peace, compassion and call light into someone's life.
On the other hand chicken pants chants might simply be considered disrespectful to both religious and secular chanters the world over in the same way Iowa’s husband hollerin’ contest is considered disrespectful to legit pig hollerin’ competitions.
Or perhaps I simply don’t understand the homophone concept. Yes, I think that may well be the problem.
Maybe someone can jump in and try to sort this mess out?
We seen to have all the correct elements but still need to crack a few eggs to make an anomaly.
I don’t know why, and I don’t know where but I do know that someday we will have to release the tactical penguins. Again.
Hence, training day continues until further notice.
Good morning MOTI. If all is going according to plan I should be in pre-op now awaiting surgery at 11 AM. Scheduled to last 5-6 hours.
It occurred to me that 99.9% of you have never seen me or Raj either in person or even facsimile so I thought this might be a good day to post this shot that a friend took of us in early April when I was feeling good enough to meet for lunch.
With my radiation-ravaged hair more or less regrown It’s as normal as either of us have looked in over a year and a half. As I’ve now been on steroids for 2+ months I have a new look now: the enduring pack-ratty chip-munky cheeked effect. Once upon a time that would have bothered me. Now I’m getting used to it.
Perhaps someday I’ll try to track down some of our REALLY old pics when Raj and I still thought of ourselves as dragon slayers or minimally young lions: a lifetime ago already. But as I’ve mentioned file/photo organization has never been my strong suit so I make no promises. Trust me though, back in the day Raj was always the foxiest guy in room (with the cutest dimples) and the most-est fun. And somewhere I have Kodachromes to prove it.
At this juncture however I will be delighted as age, experience, circumspection, a bit of wisdom and the benefit of hindsight settle into spaces and cracks left by all that incandescence, sparkle and shine of youth. God willing I shall be most happy with just a bit more endurance. So I accept and humbly appreciate all of your past, current and future prayers on behalf of Raj and myself. And we are happy to return the favor.
NOTE: Posts for next couple of weeks are pre-posted, random, unlinked to anything going on in the real world. In other words, totally open threads so treat accordingly.
Strawberry season was short and not as sweet as usual here in Michigan's southeast quadrant. Most likely too little sun, too little rain. Still, we did score a couple of tasty quarts for cereal and yes, shortcake. And honestly, a bad in-season homegrown quart of strawberries will always be better than a crate of selectively bred-to-travel-cross-country-in-all-four-seasons California strawberries. So we wore them well.
“You knew it did not cost the earth, but for what it's worth
You made me feel a millionaire and you wear it well”
I recall last week’s pro/con discussion of whipped cream on strawberry shortcake and must advise that in our house whipped cream is most certainly NOT optional. In fact extra whipped cream around here is considered just a smidge below mandatory.
Wear it well.
Revelers gather at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge to celebrate the 2023 Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, near Salisbury, England
I suppose this could help explain all the recent UFO mania regarding “aliens from further away than Mexico/Central/South America” that has been occupying America’s best and brightest political beacons of light as of late.
Perhaps we could try to ignore the nutz who feel that fake UFOs are more important in our lives right now than any real cultural/political/economic events ruining Western Civilization. Perhaps we could just get on with celebrating the actual beautiful season.
Lexy Pavlovich Belykh Summer on Volga 1988
First of all, thank you, everybody, for yet another stunning floral arrangement which arrived to brighten our weekend. It arrived Friday and is still standing tall
with dahlias, peonies, alliums, hydrangeas and lovely pink snaps.
As you see, as lovely as all the others have been. I’ve finally collected all the MOTI flower arrangements into a folder of photos – they go way, way back to the first gorgeous bouquet we received when it was Raj having so many problems with his first knee replacement and continued through his second and then…well, everything else.
I’ve got documented Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter etc., etc. arrangements - each as lovely as the rest – that have made us feel your love and helped us over the humps. You’ll never know how your prayers, cards, flowers, gifts and many, many thoughtfulness's have helped pull us through it all.
But now dear friends, you’ve done more than enough. Both Raj and I will be so very happy to receive just your prayers, positive vibes, good wishes and thoughts from now on. You’ve all done too, too much. I’ll pull up the archived photos from time to time simply because they are too beautiful and deserve to be reposted. But for now we shall be focused on preparing for and recovering from surgery and remembering all the kindnesses you have already bestowed on us.
Next week I’ll pre-post a couple weeks worth of open threads. One should pop up every few days and Raj will let you know if there is anything significant to report.
So Happy Father’s Day to everybody who is or has a father. Enjoy the return of the Summer Solstice next week, behave yourselves to the extent that even means anything in this crazy place we still insist on calling “our country” and I’ll talk to one and all on the other side of recovery.
He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. Psalm 91:11
Thank you, all my little angels.
Delta Queen was right: she said things would get rolling this week. With the help of U of M Patient Relations and my surgeon’s excellent assistant I now have a surgery date (June 27) along with the battery of pre-surgery appointments/tests scheduled and am ready to roll.
Now all I need do is to bee calm
and control my stress.
So far so good.
You?
Be still, and know that I am God
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