New Shoes in the Rain

Happy Monday, everyone.  Had a hectic weekend of hockey, yard work and a choral performance by our middle granddaughter last night.  I've been thinking a lot, as many others have, about the state of things in this country and where we can and should and must go from here.  The question is "how?" I say that because we're right at a year from the Congressional midterm elections, which will most likely shift the balance of power away from Republicans.  But that's a long time to keep stacking one misery onto another for that period. And remember, the end of the federal government shutdown is only temporary, we get to endure this same process in January! So I think the "how" has to be one thing: We the People! My granddaughter's chorale performance was with a youth orchestra and their finale was a premiere performance of a lengthy piece with that title.  Stirring and patriotic. But the answer was in that title.  We all keep saying that Congress needs to d...

Good Thursday morning to you.  In my case it’s getaway day, as I have been traveling overnight for the past few days.  Looking forward to getting home later today. As of last night, our federal government is now reopened.  Is everything fixed?  Not so much.  The bill that the Senate passed did not include any provision for extending the COVID-era subsidies that benefited many recipients of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.  It also contained, hidden within the text, a separate provision for settlement payments of some astronomical money to senators whose were surveilled in an investigation of foreign influence on our lawmakers. That’s how it is now, you know.  If someone in government is investigated and that investigation leads to no criminal charges, people are entitled to some sort of compensation from the government.  Starting at the top, it seems. So, will SNAP benefits again be fully funded and available?  We don’t know ...

Good Monday afternoon, friends.  Appreciate you stopping by. Kind of an interesting point in the year where we are now.  Baseball is over until next spring, although the World Series and several of the playoff series were quite exciting.  And my Cincinnati Reds qualified for the first round, losing two in a row to the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.  They have a great team, as do the Toronto Blue Jays.  Well done to both teams! Professional and college football are sort of hovering in place right now.  The postseason isn't here yet but the season is not at all new anymore for either level.  And yet it's still hard to tell which teams will identify themselves as the best in their particular divisions. Professional hockey is now underway for about a month, and so far there are defined "good" and "not good" teams.  Luckily the team I support, the Colorado Avalanche, are "good," at least for now! Basketball is just getting started profess...

Happy Friday, all!  We've almost made it! Big doings in our family this week.  Our middle granddaughter, who is the second oldest of our five grandchildren, celebrated her 16th birthday on Wednesday!  She's a great kid, plays soccer and sings in the chorus at her high school.  Is progressing in the process of learning to drive, too! That inspired me to once again share some impressions of all five of the grandkids, albeit without a lot of identifiers like their names and such (for privacy purposes).  Here's the rundown on who's who, and where they live, respectively: GC #1:  Lives in Colorado, female, 20 years old GC #2:  Lives in central Kentucky, female, now 16 years old GC #3:  Lives in Colorado, male, will be 16 on October 28 GC #4:  Lives in central Kentucky, male, now 14 years old GC #5:  Lives in central Kentucky, female, will be 8 on December 1 The Colorado kids are our daughter's and son-in-law's, the Kentucky kids are our son's...

Happy Sunday morning, everyone.  I’m not doing anything in particular, so thought I would stop by to share some things that have been on my mind. A quick thumbs-down to Disney and ABC for pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show from the airwaves.  Cowardly and not at all supportive of a guy who’s been a stalwart of your programming for many, many years.  Hard to imagine NBC doing the same to Johnny Carson, EVER. But an equally quick thumbs up for Disney and ABC reversing themselves, and restoring Kimmel to his rightful place after the local news each night.  And apparently without any restrictions or instructions on what to say or not say.  I’m not a regular viewer but in the clips I’ve seen, Jimmy seems to be back in his usual form. Our Vice-President has been in the news here and there since the Charlie Kirk shooting, and the Veep seems intent on making sure that he’s not forgotten by the MAGA faithful, who have always been a little wary of him.  It’s my u...

Hello, and happy Friday! Since our news and social media feeds are crammed with negativity and inhumanity, I thought it might be a good palate cleanser to share some of the better things I’ve seen, heard and experienced this week. First, please join me in remembering Robert Redford.  The actor and environmental activist passed away this week at the age of 89.  He’s been out of the film industry for a number of years, but most people of a certain age can name off many of his movies that were memorable and enjoyable.  My list starts with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” followed closely by “The Sting.”  And as a lifelong baseball fan, we can’t leave out “The Natural.”  Would also include “All the President’s Men” and the ensemble piece “Sneakers.”   I was heartened to read so many nice tributes to Redford online, giving us a worthwhile diversion over the past few days.  I like to think that Paul Newman was waiting for him at the pearly gates, but th...