In my Daily Updates from The New York Times, one of the topics was a reflection on this already historic year as we are midway through it.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Day to day
The Starling – A Bird that it’s Okay to Hate
European Starling “Sturnus Vulgaris”
Every Spring when the birds begin to revitalize following several weeks or even months of old man Winter, it never fails that at least one will attempt to domicile in the area next to my window air-conditioning unit. As my desk sits next to that window, I have to bang on the accordion side-panel of the unit with my flashlight to ward them off. Until this year!
Continue readingThe Two Wolves
Continue readingThere is a battle of two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth. The wolf that wins? The one you feed.”
– Cherokee Proverb
Back to Reality
Following the celebrated end to 2016, as evidenced by my previous post, I sank into a rut. A really deep one. I believe it was a combination of factors, but having a few days off for the Holidays after weeks of daily toil threw me off of my game. Especially when told that the end of the year is the “slow season” and to expect 12 hour days, 7 days a week from then on out! The Holiday season has been a tough time of the year for me anyway, as it has been for decades.
Continue readingThe Best Cat Ever!
Dieter “Gato Diablo”
2002 – 2014
Visiting Muncie from Dallas in the summer of 2002, I had to deal with Dad and his wife’s assortment of cats, one of which was a tiny kitten named “Dieter”. Dieter was a feisty little critter that would wreak havoc on the other sophisticated cats (sophicsticats), and drive everybody and every other cat nuts – except Dad. On the morning of my departure, I rose early and proceeded to the bathroom to get ready. Closing the door behind me was difficult until I realized the tiny Dieter was scrunched in the door trying to follow me in. Dieter almost met his fate that morning in 2002, little more than several weeks old.
Continue readingGrammar Refresher
As Dad, Steve Dettman and I were enjoying breakfast at Eva’s last Saturday morning, my High School English teacher entered the diner with her husband, the retired school district superintendent, and their two sons who had arrived in town for Easter. She spotted me right away and walked over and gave me a big hug, making me feel like I was her class pet though it’s been over three decades since I sat in her class. Out of the blue, Dad mentioned to her that he and I had “attended the previous night’s Good Friday service” and then something about “still trying to get me to understand the difference in the usage of the words lay versus lie.”
Continue readingLunch at Eva’s
Left to right, Tony Dowell, Larry Souders, Leroy Kircher, Steve Dowell
A couple of weeks ago, Dad, Larry, Leroy and I met for lunch (breakfast) at Eva’s. A complete stranger from another table volunteered, on his own initiative, to take these photos. Dad, Larry and Leroy are Phi Psi fraternity brothers from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, dating back to prehistoric times. They seem to be aging pretty well.
Continue readingLike Pulling Teeth
A few days ago, I had to finally make the dreaded trip to the dentist for something that I have been avoiding for a while, decades actually. I ventured to the local dentist to have not one, but two teeth extracted – my first experience in the procedure.
Continue readingHorsing Around
Live from Bryant Park in the heart of “The Big Apple”, its carousel race horsing! Brought to you by ImprovEverywhere.
Continue readingEl Gato Diablo
Herein is a slideshow capturing some of the playful antics of a typical ‘felis catus domestica’, commonly referred to as ‘domestic house cat’. This particular model, a 2002 Tabby, is named Dieter (Pronunciation: /ˈdī-tər/). Dieter’s aliases include ‘Gato Diablo’ and ‘The Chippie Maimer’. This slideshow contains rare, never before published, action images of the infamous “Gato” in his habitat. At the time of the creation of these photographs, Dieter and I (the author) were relatively the same age using the age-old ratio of seven pet years to one human year. As of the creation of this post, he has aged about fourteen years to my two. There is a noticeable change in Dieter as his gait is now slower, his energy level has dropped, he doesn’t seem to possess the sure-footed qualities he once proudly flaunted and he sleeps perpetually.
Continue reading