AND SO IT GOES (September 30)

"I've never owned a vineyard, but I am sure I have drunk one". 

SIPPING Fall where the spirit turns to crisp air, blue skies, colorful trees, apple cider and traversing the trails in Traverse City for wine, wine, wine!  I think they are up to 120 vineyards at this point which makes my job more difficult determining who to visit. Easiest part is picking the first stop as I merely look for who is open first, duhh. I enjoy the lectures as much as the sipping-which become even more interesting by about the 4th stop. 

They all say it depends upon the ground in which the wines are planted thus encouraging the grapes produced to pick which varietal character they will aspire to become. Which begs the question. What varietal is nurtured by the vineyard next to the cemetery (true fact). At any rate I suppose the "body" of the wine should be robust.  Considering the long history of agricultural activities in the area that were precursor to the vineyard craze the amount of chemical-enhanced earth provides a fascinating range of possibilities. Alcohol kills anything right? Consequently, I would recommend wines that have a higher alcohol content. It's just science.

We haven't planned a trip to the TC area the last couple of years, and my "wine cellar" is showing some bald spots. That is the same "cellar" that I gaze into as I am interviewing for my podcast. I will be somewhat winging my podcast recording tomorrow as the lady was extremely busy and we did not rehearse. I'm just hoping she is able to attend the recording session. UPDATE:  She was spot on time and we had a lovely conversation. So often these sessions trigger memories (some good some bad) from my many years in the field, so I always surprise myself with what I dredge up from the past. 

POLITICking Points one and two on the trumpdillyicious signs. Immigration has been a pseudo unsolvable issue for years and years regardless of who is sitting in the Executive branch. The better to bash the opponent my dear. Complicated yes, but there are some solutions which do not involve a billion-dollar wall. Like more judges, more security, more understanding. Immigrants often take the jobs that Americans do not want and are happy to do so. However this "dog-whistle" approach of blaming and criminalizing a group of people is textbook "stir up the hatred and mobs" syndrome used by fascist and dictatorial leaders the world over. Lest we forget, when there was actually a possible bandage for the issue last year, guess who kiboshed it? 

We don't want to think about it, but many benefits including rent moratoriums for all Americans were given to help out during the country's shut-down. When the emergency ended, folks lost the "extras" and have to reapply, but it is easier to blame "those foreigners". The Pres has little control over what Congress decides to keep or eliminate and the "r's" tend to take away people programs.  Some of which they should (it's not a free-for-all) but to constantly keep people in need hanging, so to speak, is cruel. 

Second, affordable housing is absolutely a problem for those seeking reasonably priced homes and rentals. One factor was the huge demand and low interest rates after the pandemic that drove prices to obscene amounts shutting out young families. After the rent moratorium was lifted, landlords raised their prices to make up ground. Ever notice how hotels, entertainment venues, etc. have doubled or tripled their prices? Everybody's trying to recoup. But another more insidious issue is so many houses and rental properties are being snapped up by speculators with money. In other words, no skin in the game. Get as much out of it as you can as quick as you can. Wages going up 20% can't compete when prices go up 40% through no fault of the consumer.

REMEMBERING As I am a day late, my sister reminded me it has been 17 years today since my mother passed so I am assuming she has things organized up there by now. As we held her celebration of life on October 4, 2007, I was able to say in my eulogy "10-4 Shirley, we'll see you again".  Though to be drippingly sentimental I have been seeing a lot of white butterflies around even at this late date. We have always associated butterflies with my mother so, yep, I'm getting the message. 

Celebrated a friend's 50th anniversary yesterday and damn are we all old! As we held court at the table with college friends, I had to look twice to recognize our old gang. Still sound the same, thank goodness, and the stories and humor are the same, though we drink less and end earlier than I remember. As young marrieds, being proverbially church mouse poor in an upstairs apartment never stopped the 20-30 person all day/all night parties in the yard on the weekends. Everybody brought food and booze so it worked out. Now it's Beef Wellington, crab cakes and hummus dip for hors d oeuvres. Better wine and liquor too. But nobody ever cleans out the veggie plates. We haven't changed that much, but we do compare medical horror stories and scars that we didn't have 50 years ago LOL. 

"Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long life" So with that...Peace out  💚  💙💛

                                                            

 

EVERYBODY'S CRAZY (September 23)

BIRD DROPPINGS The bird population who partake of the goodies offered for free are getting a mite picky. Like the hapless grasshopper-winter's coming boys and girls and the natural feed of flowers, berries and small bugs will not be so plentiful in a month or so. Then you'll be peering in human windows practicing your pathetic look hoping for any crumby handout. Feathers fluffed up like the avian version of a puffer coat sporting bright eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

Visiting finches the last couple of months has prompted a little summer feeding. The feeding was massively successful with feeder refills every two days. We tried a new brand advertised as Cherry Blossom and beloved by every frickn' bird you can think of.  Well at least that's what the packaging claimed. After originally turning up their birdie noses, they started to lower their standards and try some.  Still slow at the feeder until.....overnight the feeder was drained! Possibly I just missed the previous dinner hour feeder frenzy. But then all day no action until the NIGHT! Something drained it again.  Ok, I do not want to see or know what is managing to get into the tiny little feeder holes. I know the squirrels have tried in vain to scale the slippery shepherds crook, so I'm thinking giant racoon, groundhog or a very creative deer child. I'm done.

Put the leftover in the backyard bird feeder and again action has been slow. Perhaps there are some predator birds (think raptors) hanging out stifling the little birds' appetites and triggering protective instincts. If something drains that feeder which is at least six or seven feet high, I am looking to put a for sale sign out as I'm not sure we can keep whatever it is fed. Wonder if Horrocks will give me my money back as I don't want to encourage whatever is alienating the birds.

TEACHING MOMENT I love research. I should have been a lawyer. Oh wait, I have educated several attorneys in work comp, unemployment law and personnel rules. Not to mention reading up and gathering stats before each podcast interview so I don't sound like a total dufus. At any rate, trumpies are starting to post "reasons" why they are supporting a failed businessperson; sex offender and convicted felon, who for fun lies about everything to "own the libs". When you start justifying your support by providing literal backup to your billboard, you're really not sure now are you. You can put lipstick on a pig, but....

Just looking at one of the claims-energy independence. Would it shock all and sundry that the US is the number one producer (in the world) of crude oil? Not only that, but it is a higher grade being lighter and sweeter than that desert slop. We produce roughly 18 million barrels a day and use about 18 mill a day but still import about 8 mill a day hmmm. But we actually sell our crude to... wait for it, Mexico, Canada, China, Netherlands and South Korea. Even Russia got some before we decided the optics were bad with the Ukraine stuff, etc. 

 Apparently, our refineries are geared to process the heavier dirtier crude rather than our own sweet stuff. So where are all those oil company subsidies going one might ask? Well, I would conjecture it is not to redesign our refineries or gasp, build new ones. Why? So the politicians on both sides can use it as a smashing point on the other side. Drill Baby Drill is not the problem in my humble opinion. Meanwhile the Orange Foolius is assuring the oil folks (caught on video) he will help them profit even more. Now don't we feel silly? 

The Oil info was obtained with a small amount of research available to all. The conjectures are my own obviously. Again, when you put your case out there and the actual facts are easily disputable someone's getting nervous. I provided evidence to a "follower", again easily researched, who wanted proof that JD said what he said. Her response...."well democrats lie too".  Progress I guess when they admit the lie. Right up there with "oh yeah, well so and so did it" direct from the school yard. 😕

EVER WONDER... When I drop something why does it always end up in the worst possible spot for retrieval? Dropped one of my dryer balls and of course it rolled under a 3-shelf stand against the wall that make it impossible to grab unless I move the entire shelving unit, which isn't going to happen as it is of course loaded. Or People who own fitbits, smartwatches, etc. only swing one arm when they walk. Or How one always ends up behind a person going below the speed limit when running late? Or Why people don't have cart rage when they both approach the open checkout lane at the same time. Or Why no one knows how to utilize a turn-about in this country??? Almost got creamed as I am in the circle, just passed the first road on my right and approaching the second road and a dude pulls out right in front of me. He then looks at me like I was wrong, or I am invisible much like the Doritos covered mice. 

Apparently when you rub Doritos goo on mice their skin becomes translucent, and you can see tiny little muscles and blood vessels-cool.  As one comedian put it "folks were in a lab scarfing down Doritos and rubbed their hands (to clean them I assume) on the white mice. When the chemical reaction occurred, they looked at one another and said "Uh, we just did some science-really intended that" LOL. 

I have visual proof that chipmunks (lousy hole digging varmints) have no fear. Found one perched on the head of the crocodile on the front porch. That's one gutsy little guy. Peace out...💚  💙💛

                                               

DEBATE THIS (September 16)

I can't believe I have reached this venerable age and still "do not know who let the dogs out" "where's the beef" "how to get to Sesame Street" and "what the hell is Victoria's Secret"

WHA UH? Can we ignore the elephant (how fitting) in the room when talking about the litter box dumpster fire last Tuesday's debate was? Are you watching dictators and strong men? Just needle him about his "sizes" and see how high he flies. Or just offer him a sash, crown and a compensated crowd and he'll give you the keys to the White House.

 I understand cats and dogs are mounting caravans and buying ARs for self-defense in the Buckeye state as Mr. JD extends his rumors to Dayton, another Ohio city. Not to mention a nice town in Colorado is smeared as well with another lie. Meanwhile the mayors are frantically trying to dispel rumors while juggling their undying support for the chucklehead in chief.  And we were all aghast when Joe Bi showed his age at the last debate. So of course, there was immediate concern by prominent repubs as the full range of derangement was displayed and perhaps the candidate was too old and frail, and frankly, too out of touch with reality to continue this stressful campaign. Not.

 It would be entertaining if it was not so freakin' serious. Legal, working immigrants are being threatened, bomb threats are closing schools, animals are arming themselves as supporters of he who would be king unleash their fake yet anonymous ire. 

Also, since so many still don't get it - economics. I wish the Dems would quit making memes and counterattack to explain how the jobless rate went from 14 to 4% and the stock market rose from 26 to 41 in the last four years all without falling into a full-blown recession.  The infrastructure bill is creating jobs with projects from dams to roads to utilities. (A bill that not one repub voted for but that didn't stop them from touting its benefits in their campaigns as a fait accompli). Gas is coming down and so are interest rates having accomplished their goal of lowering inflation. 

CHANGE OF TOPIC Another round of Docs this past week. Apparently, I am cleared to do whatever I want. However, I gave up on golf, bowling and horseback riding long ago in favor of wine drinking which has the advantage of only requiring a modicum of arm strength to participate. However...

Urgent care visit for an earache was diagnosed as cellulitis, cue the antibiotics. However, upon seeing my own Dr, he immediately said "nope, it's shingles".  Son of a bi#%**. So much for the vaccination but hopefully a mild case. This may be a blessing in disguise as the antibiotic I received blithely ignored my sensitivity to penicillin leading to some spectacular hives popping up, while in the dentist's chair during an appointment. Very embarrassing. Received a steroid shot in a fun body part and horse pills for the rooftop (shingles) problem. Sigh. I'm definitely using my medical deductible this year.                         

What is a cat's favorite sport? HairBall..maybe the Lions would have had better luck, sigh 😖  💙

  

                                                        

BEING LESS OF A DOUCHE (September 9)

Stop me if you've heard this before....KSB...no don't.

"If you carve a pumpkin in September, it's called premature ejackolantern"

ALL HALLOWS They've been advertising Halloween paraphernalia since the end of August, which probably explains why I can't find what I want in October-mainly Butter Shots. I like to treat the parents, along with the kids. Of course, who knows who or what one wants to be months in advance or years for that matter. We change so often. Today a Princess, tomorrow a troll. Pirate or tax collector. Teacher or bureaucrat. Tramp or 👄tramp. Republican or Democrat (thank you Dick Cheney) who pointed out the emperor's lack of clothes or empathy or morals. January 6 should have rattled all those red ties. Sad that all those Biden masks had to be trashed, but hopefully the Harris and Trump ones are  in stock. Not to mention the athletic shoes, adulterated bibles, perfume and whatever else as the ex-pres capitalizes on in his short stint as commander in chief. Nobody monetizes their name better then he-but banking off the Presidency of the US? The bar is not just low, it's underground. 

THEN In continuing horrors. Another school shooting, another fake thoughts and prayers reaction. Maybe holding the parents accountable is a way around the R's endless lament about second amendment rights. And just for comparison purposes, New York has the toughest gun laws and averages 5-gun deaths for 100,000. While the peach state with virtually no laws averages 30-gun deaths per 100,00 or twice the national average. I'm surprised the Pledge of Allegiance hasn't changed "liberty and justice to all" to "guaranteeing assault rifles to all" in the closing. Might as well remove "under God" as he/she/it has nothing to do with the fascination with fire power. 

In commuter news, one AAA study indicates that higher educated people have less motor accidents. Before you college geeks start crowing, they attribute it to their ability to work higher level remote jobs that require a more cerebral than physical presence. Thus, not on the road adding to the mayhem wrecked by frustrated DWG (driving with guns) day workers. I heard a couple of those stories this week as well.  

POLITICS AS USUAL One has to love trump's plan to put Elon Musk in charge of a Commission to investigate government inefficiencies and waste. Yep, the guy who keeps manufacturing defective stuff and can't keep his cars and satellites working properly (I hear Twitter also lost him several billion). Right up there with replacing legit government workers with political appointees.  Having been employed in the public sector for many years I can attest to the constant influx of clueless political appointees, based on who's in charge, which led to quite a bit of government waste and inefficiency. A minor example was in the 15 years I worked at the State, we must have changed the department name/bosses/divisions several times leading to several times of "refocusing" our priorities and trashing the old ones. Not to mention the expense of changing all that stationary lol. 

Before the State, local government provided an education as well. Like one does not call the top dude by his first name or mention an upcoming election is in the bag. Bad juju all around. However, being face-to-face with the challenges (taxpayers) led to a little better understanding and less grandstanding. Seeing people working on problems because 1) they cared; and 2) they weren't major douches, perhaps gave me an unrealistic view that government can work with the right people being held accountable. Yes, I obtained my soapbox legitimately from 40 years of hammering about "doing the right thing" for safety. 

??? MSU wins. U of M loses. If Detroit wins that would be the perfect trifecta. Like this whole year can be illustrated in the immortal words of Tim Walz "it's just weird". UPDATE: Detroit did win!

 And finally continuing our theme:  "What do you call someone who imitates your fall centerpiece?  A cornucopier." It just sounds dirty... Peace out.....💚  💙💛

                                                         

GROCERY RANT (September 2)

"A stack of toilet paper just fell on me in the grocery store. Not to worry, it was just soft tissue damage"

Anyone else look forward to their bi-weekly, weekly, ok daily trips to the store? Did you buy milk? No just picked up my prescriptions...again. They love to drag it out bottle by bottle exciting you with the quick text "your prescription is in" and then finding only one of several was actually ready. This is after you wait in line with absolutely nothing to look at besides bladder control products, hemorrhoid creams and protein drinks (should they be on the same shelf). What did we do before we had phone scrolling abilities?

Then a quick run turns into a scavenger hunt as you try to determine logically where certain items are paired up. (See previous note about pharmaceutical item groupings.) Shouldn't vinegar be with the baking supplies or at least laundry/cleaning products? Nope, it's with salad dressing. How many folks do you know proudly and healthily splash vinegar and oil on their crusty leaves? It's all about the dressing - usually ranch. Then try to find distilled water. Again laundry? Nope in the soda aisle. For the more advanced try to determine the locale for instant potato helpers or tuna fish. Canned meat aisle? What is canned meat anyway? Spam? But the chili is there, I think. Also does one start from the door or zip past all and sundry and start from the back? Milk and other refrigerated items are in the back though ice cream is in the front. Don't they both need to be refrigerated? Fresh fruits and veggies are in the front (by the door). Again, what logic would have that first? Your 10 minute run to the grocery store ends up an hour foray into the unknown. 

Asking the employees product locations is always a crap shoot as well. For example, asked where the canned fruit was, and the employee said I'll see and walked away. Asked another employee and they said I'll see and walked away. Ended up finding them myself in Aisle C-geez.

Especially annoying is the fact that items like vitamins, dental, hair, adult diapers, feminine products, shampoo, makeup, etc. is on the far end of the store by the pharmacy. Except the soap. I don't know where the hell that is. I buy Dove in bulk at BJs. One is thrilled when the list does not include both food and personal items. Though I do get my steps in. Then we have check-out. I have rarely been to my "mega-store" when there are more than 2 staffed aisles open. Though familiar often the scanner is impatient and unhelpful, and I always say that's the last time I use self-checkout. 

And apparently many grocery carts have been abused in their youth leading to the "wobblies" or the "three wheels working" syndrome. After meticulous selection, I always seem to find that particular cart and debate starting over again or just living with my bad luck. I have often seen where these hapless carts make a break for it as they roll merrily through the parking lot on their own until stopped by someone's brand-new Lexus carefully parked at the back of the lot. Tragic. 

😠Gear switch. If you have ever been to the Arlington National Cemetery, you know the respect and solemnity that it evokes. The employees, both military and civilian are steeped in its history and treat all of it with tenderness and care never forgetting the sacrifices of those who are buried there. Many are historians with wonderful and moving stories to tell. We spent an interesting half hour listening to a worker explain the significance of different areas of the cemetery. It is not a raucous or carnival-like atmosphere. Then along comes rumpiestilkins and outrageously sh--- all over the rules and traditions of our most sacred ground. Is there nothing he will not desecrate, trash, lie about where we finally say enough? 

And now good news. According to Fidelity Investments a record number of 401(k) accounts broke the one-million-dollar threshold creating a 2.5% increase in 401 millionaires. They went up an average of 13%. Non-employer sponsored 401's went up an average 14% in the past year as well. Damn economy indeed.

Picture of the week. Having breakfast on an old radiator sitting in a tractor seat. Peace Out...💚 💙💛