Say What?

It was Martin Luther King Jr Day yesterday. His words resonate more with me as each year passes and I make note of how we're no closer to his vision of America than when he called on all of us to do our part and unite. I was 10 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. I have a vivid memory of being in our living room with my parents and asking them if it was okay if I updated our World Book encyclopedia with a pen to reflect his death. For all of the progress I had assumed we've made all these decades later concerning civil rights, it's become clear that we still have so far to go. It's disheartening.  I had a friend reach out to me last week via Facebook Messenger. I've known Ed for more than 20 years but we've never met in person. We got to know one another through an online forum dedicated to a musician we both admire: David Baerwald. David is half of the David & David duo from the late '80s. You may recall their song ...

We're a full two years into the pandemic and we're still trying to understand how best to manage it. It's become an ever-moving target as each new variant presents its own unique variables. Schools bounce between in-school learning and virtual learning as the virus ebbs and flows. Some restaurants are operating at reduced hours due to staffing shortages while some have closed. Airlines are canceling hundreds of flights daily due to a lack of flight crews who are out sick with the virus or are in quarantine. Hospitals lack both staff and beds to care for the overwhelming number of sick and dying patients showing up in need of help, forcing them into triage mode where they at times have to choose who to treat based on who can expect the best outcome. The vast majority of those in need of care are unvaccinated. Mask mandates are in effect again for Minneapolis and St. Paul (including sports venues) as the omicron variant is causing a surge in admissions to hospitals leaving ju...

Yes, he mentioned walking peacefully to the Capitol but that's not what they heard. "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." That's what they heard. Trump watched for more than 3 hours as our nation's Capitol was assaulted, and with it, the heart of our democracy. He sat in glee watching it unfold (as told by witnesses), unmoved by those pleading with him to make it stop. But he wouldn't. Is this the kind of leader you want? What am I not seeing? What am I not understanding? Or is it you that's got this all wrong? If you're still willing to stand with this man, I have to ask you to please search your soul. You've been misled. You've been propagandized. It's time to wake up. We need you. All of you. Never Forget.  That's all I've got.  

I've been mostly sidelined from outdoor riding and even some indoor activity since taking a nasty fall on our icy driveway nearly 3 weeks ago. I fell such that I landed on my left arm which pushed hard into my left ribcage. I have a history of rib injuries from cycling crashes so I knew what I was in for—sort of. I've never experienced a rib injury quite like this one, tho. I still can't take a full deep breath, nor can I cough or sneeze without significant pain. I was trying to push the effort on my indoor trainer last night but the muscles surrounding my injured rib area were tightening/spasming to the point where I had to stop pedaling several times. There's really no point in going to a medical doctor as there's nothing they can do for it. I saw my chiropractor for a routine appointment this morning and she was able to work on freeing up an area along my spine that was very tight. I have a pair of shoes by our front door now sporting Yaktrax . Ten years ago this...

42 years ago today marked the end of my enlistment in the United States Navy. I look back at how astonishingly fast the past 4 decades have gone by and I'm saddened a little because I know what that means for my future. There's no slowing this speeding train down. It only continues to press on even faster with each passing year—something I think about a fair amount as I contemplate the days that lie ahead and what exists beyond this life. Here's an entry  in my journal from the 10th of December, 1979, and the following day's entry written as I was flying back home to Minnesota, uncertain what my next move would be. I've been at this journaling/blogging thing for a while. I watched Brian Williams's final show last night on MSNBC. I liked his program, The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. He had a way of cutting through the nonsense and getting to the point, oftentimes with wit and humor to make it more palatable. His final words into the camera last night had some ...

On Sunday night, I received a text from a friend I've not seen in 44 years. Brian was coming into town the next day on business and wondered if we could get together for dinner. "Definitely!" I replied. Brian and I were stationed on the same ship during our time in the Navy in the mid to late '70s and we had lots of catching up to do. We met at Mall of America and settled into a booth at Cowboy Jacks for a few hours as we recalled stories from our Navy experience. We were so consumed in conversation that it was an hour before we took time to study the menu. I really enjoyed those few hours we shared. Thanks for reaching out, Brian! We're into December now and still enjoying daytime temps well above freezing. We topped out at around 50ºf (10ºc) a couple days ago which means I was riding in shorts on my river bottoms ride . This mild weather is making it nearly impossible for me to stay down in my stained glass studio for an extended period of time. My plan was to k...

Tammy and I have been methodically going through our upstairs bedrooms and moving their contents to the basement in preparation for some remodeling work we're having done to our upper level beginning later this month (new carpet, trim work, and master bathroom remodel). Rather than finding ourselves scrambling to ready the rooms in the last few days before work begins, we're getting it done ahead of time. The first job will be to remove the popcorn ceiling texture and replace it with a knockdown texture as we've already had done with the other two levels of our nearly 30-year-old home. That work will be done later this month. The main work (master bathroom) won't begin until the 3rd week in January and should take about a month.  We've been diligent about purchasing and ordering whatever fixtures and things we'll need to complete the job. With supply line issues still a problem due to the pandemic, we don't want to find the project halted for weeks or months...