Well, then...

A lot has happened in the past few days, as always, so let's take a few minutes to sort this out....

Wildfires in Canada are creating smoke containing a variety of pollutants and the current shape of the jet stream has driven quite a bit of contaminated air into the US.  Flights have been postponed, as have sporting events, in various cities, mostly in the eastern US.  People in New York, particularly were advised to wear face coverings to protect themselves from the smoky conditions.

My take? You have to wonder how much of the fouled air from our frequent wildfires in the western part of our country made its way elsewhere.  The reaction of some news outlets has been spectacularly stupid, to be frank, implying that Canada doesn't know how to manage its wooded areas and that they should do something.

The Ukrainian military has finally launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against the Russian forces that occupy much of eastern Ukraine.  The results so far are encouraging for the Ukrainian side but so much disinformation emanates from Russia that it's just a little difficult to tell how it's actually going.  But the Ukrainian military is clearly benefiting from better and more modern equipment.

The Cincinnati Reds added a mega-prospect named Elly de la Cruz to their roster recently.  This young shortstop is 6'5" and runs insanely fast, is a very good hitter and fields his position well with a rocket arm.  Fun to watch is a serious understatement.  And the Reds are playing pretty competitive baseball, given they are experiencing some injuries, particularly to the starting pitching staff they counted on for at least respectability this rebuilding season.  As a baseball fan but more importantly a Reds diehard, it's heartening to see this young group busting it on the field and celebrating each other when things go well.  As it should be.

And now we come to the inevitable event of this week, the indictment of former President Trump on some 38 violations of federal laws governing the handling and possession of classified documents.  We all knew this was coming at some point but this matter and these charges gained speed over the past ten days or so. Some media outlets have had bits and pieces of reporting what might be in this indictment, but the sum of it is most imposing.  And the defendant, who will be formally charged on Tuesday, continues to claim that a) he is innocent, b) this is completely politically motivated, and c) he followed the Presidential Records Act completely.  

We shall indeed see whether he is correct in his statements, but it won't happen tomorrow. Trump continues to lead an uninspiring field of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination by a wide margin.  So we have some miles to go before resolution.  And lest we forget, there is still a sweeping federal investigation of the January 5, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and accusations of election fraud in Georgia still not concluded but probably also leading to criminal charges of some kind.

Finally, this past week I took my first commercial flight since before COVID became a part of everyday life.  I needed to travel to a location several hours from home by car so gained permission to travel by air so that it could be a single-day trip.  Strange returning to a mode of travel that for some years was pretty normal for me.  But the flights were pretty well on time and travelers all conducted themselves well enough.

Despite that, it was good to be home and back in familiar territory.  As it always is!