Wow, It is mid-2024 already

 

Not many posts in 2023 and so far, none in 2024. Thought I would revitalize this although I should probably move to another platform that is more user-friendly.

Where are we now:

• Trump has been "convicted" and it looks like the rule of law may be in danger in the US while the Democrats say it is democracy that is in danger.
• The Royals are second in the division behind the surprising (that is an understatement) Guardians. Don't know who the Guardians are? Used to be the Indians.
• Eliminate history? Indians to Guardians?
• Robert E. Lee was a villain?
• Aunt Jemima is erased, yet she was an admirable figure, look it up
• I like the Land O' Lakes butter package--the eliminated the Indian and kept the land
• The word "squaw" is being eliminated as a place name
• Yet, we still have not achieved world peace! What a disappointment
• Sleepy Joe has allowed Russia's lawless invasion to persist, throwing money at the most corrupt government/society in the world, perhaps behind Albania (but they, at least, seem to admit it)
• Wars in Africa continue, we don't hear much about it since The Economist has pretty much given up covering Africa after it became customary to kill reporters there
• Israel defends itself. When will the other actors in the area learn this? Also, saw a list of countries that supplied vital food, water, supplies to Gaza. Jordan, Egypt, etc. paltry aid. Israel, lots of aid.

Just watched Oppenheimer, the movie. In the early 1990's, before my life was consumed by my phone, I read The Manhattan Project which was from the perspective of Major General Leslie Groves. The Making of the Atomic Bomb won the Pulitzer prize and I read it, too. Huge book, lots of technical stuff that was beyond me. Blend those, and you have to come away with an admiration bordering on astonishment at the accomplishments. Not only Los Alamos, but Oak Ridge, Tri-Cities Washington, and the Rad Lab at Berkeley. Amazing.

One of the factoids that fascinate me so much: 18 scientists, physicists and mathematicians during this period were Jews from Hungary. The left due to Hitler, but were critical to the success of the Manhattan project. Because they were from such a small area, they were teased about being aliens dropped off by another culture to stop Hitler. Called themselves The Martians.

So much for now.

STORYWORTH

The posts to this blog have been scarce in 2023, and one reason is that I have written about 60 answers of varying lengths to a project called "Storyworth." It was a gift from my kids for birthday last year and I have responded to questions like "Who did you take to the prom?" The result, we hope, may give my kids a view of my life, but we'll see when complete.

The essays will be compiled into a book and I have no idea what the cost will be, but still to be discovered. I guess I am like so many others, my favorite topic is myself! Not very admirable, I'm afraid, but it is the case. Had a good time recounting some of that stuff.

You may see a few more on this site soon. Until then...

DICK EDMONDS

 My friend, Dick Edmonds, died about 2.5 years ago. We knew each other from Banker's Life Nebraska and rode together to work and argued about Richard Nixon, it was the early 1970's. 

Every year, the first weekend in October, we would travel to his cottage, later his house, at Battle Lake, Minnesota and prepare for winter. His cousin from Wayne would often go with us, and sometimes others. Always work and good food. This went on for over 20 years.

Dick was 10 years older than me and his son, Rick, described his death to me as "his body and mind just wore out." So true for a lot of us. Dick had an affinity for Battle Lake that was similar to my connection with the farm where I grew up. His family lived in Cincinnati, and that was the source of some of his stories. 

One of my favorites was about the mother of a friend who was having trouble with her garbage collection. She lived in an older section of the city with alleys, and the garbage men came early, about 5 AM. In order to communicate her wishes, she arose at 4:00 AM, put on her best dressing gown, pinned a broach that always caught attention, and waited. Soon enough, they came by, she went to the alley and talked to them about her problem. Not well-received. Promptly at the time when city offices opened, she called the man in charge and told him that she had explained her issue to the garbage collectors and they sassed her and just didn't act like gentleman. In a tired voice (delivered with Dick's characteristic grin) the supervisor said, "Madame, you can't imagine how difficult it is to get gentlemen to pick up garbage."

Another favorite involved Kentucky, right across the river. He worked in the mortgage world all his professional career, and they had a customer there who required a visit. Evidently, the first name "Turley" is common among the old-time residents, and in this case, it was coupled with the last name "Curd." Again, the grin, then "You had to be careful."

I visited him at his residence in an assisted living facility about 6 months before his death. He had trouble finding words and would pause many times in a sentence to find it or move on to another topic. One time this happened and the pause lasted until he said, "Man, you've gotten fat." Which is true, but not often spoken so clearly!

Every now and then I run into a quote or story that I know Dick would have liked. And I tell it to him.

ANOTHER JIMMY FALLON

Jimmy Fallon had a guest, Chelsea Handler, made a surprising admission. She did not know that the sun and the moon were different until she was 40 years old. She thought the sun changed to the moon at night and vice versa during the day.

These are the people who try to tell us how to vote and which latest fad we should follow in our diets, child rearing, energy (they think that electric vehicles and wind power have no carbon footprint since they don't count manufacturing and disposal).

Television is, indeed a wasteland. PBS has always toed the liberal line, but it has become a religion. Supported by my tax dollar.

Television Today

 

Jimmy Fallon had 11 million viewers when he took over the reins of Tonight from Jay Leno. He has now grown that to…1.3 million. Worth the $80 million five-year contract?

Probably not, he is bested by even Steven Colbert (and you have to have a particular view of the world and politics to listen to that guy) and by upstart Greg Gutfeld on Fox. Yes, there is a political and social view attached to Gutfeld, for sure.

Others have observed that late night TV is no longer funny, after all the days of humor in general has been tossed in the trash by the woke crowd, but still, couldn’t it be amusing at least? I admit I haven’t watched much of any of them for a while, but Fallon’s giggling and his campy schtick is definitely not funny and not entertaining to the public. Proof? Look at the numbers.

I guess we could yearn for the old days or simply accede to the new, woke reality. There is hope, of course, as the phrase “go woke, go broke” is proving more and more true. Take Victoria Secret. How about Disney stock down from $200 to $90. And the list goes on.

I hope for a swing back on the old pendulum when one fool shouting (and they always shout) “I’m offended” stops the bus, instantly.

To all of you out there, Happy New Year. I'll try to resume posting more.

NOT ADDING UP

 

There are currently 11.2 million job openings, about 2 for every unemployed person in the US.

There have been 2 million illegal immigrants so far this year, far surpassing any prior year. Are they employed? Are they collecting unemployment benefits? Not likely as they are “undocumented” as the liberals like to say.

The narrative of the legacy news media and the US government has so many holes it is making it very difficult to believe anything.

The focus is on unemployment claims, but it seems that we are looking in the wrong place.

Something is just not adding up.

I WONDER

 

I wonder… 

Why is there no proposed legislation that would encourage dads in the home? The Great Society did a great job eliminating two-parent black families, let’s restore them. Even Obama knew that children raised with men in the home fared better.

I wonder…

And this one is just preposterous, why there is no real investigation into the BIG MONEY that seems suspicious with Hunter Biden’s imprimatur.

I wonder…

Why nobody seems to be interested in the precipitous, unprecedented drop in the life expectancy in the US from 79 in 2019 to 76 now. Lots of unexplained deaths among working age, seemingly health folks.

I wonder…

Why the left’s insistence upon judging events based on race isn’t considered racist. Like finding a judge who is a black female. Every place else in our society, that kind of selection is prohibited.

I wonder…

Why don’t feminists concern themselves with the treatment of women in Iran, Syria and other Muslim countries?

I wonder…

Actions on his first day in office (like taking aim at coal, oil and natural gas industries) seemed to intentionally try to destroy not only our economy but our way of life. And it’s working. Why doesn’t anyone care?

Just some things that I wonder about.