This world is one big ball of yarn, now isn’t it?  Connections.  We all are…. connected.  If you are living on this planet.. somehow or another you are connected to every other person here.  Albeit, we will only meet but a minuscule percentage of the people in this place.  I don’t care if you DO have 1,483 friends on Facebook.

Most of these connections are so far and removed we will never, ever know them.  Other than this.  Your feet are planted on the same surface of this planet as everyone else’s.  Held here.. by the same gravitational force.  You get the picture.

But, thankfully, we are afforded closer, more meaningful interactions.  Relationships.

These come in many different forms.  Everything from mere acquaintances, to life-long partners.  We have friends, in-laws, co-workers, cousins, bosses, children, parents,  car mechanics, siblings, grandchildren, and on and on.

Some of these relationships last a long, long time.  Others are fleeting.  And each and everyone of them have a different level of meaning.  Some are delicate… others are tough as nails.

It is a pretty grand and amazing thing.

Which brings me to this.

Today, my Mom was incredibly sad.  I go to visit her most every day. But on this day ….  she missed my Dad so  very much … and that is all she could think or talk about.   Heck.  There are some days when Mom can’t even remember if she was married.  But today, she knew exactly who she had spent her life with….. and her heart was breaking.

It made me sad too.  And it made me think about being thankful, for those very special people in my life, past, present, and future.

So. I just wanted to say, I am thankful for you.  I am glad our feet share this same earth.  It makes me feel fortunate that we are connected.

“The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we’ve lived a thousand lives before this one, and in each of them we’ve found each other” – Unknown

Today, I had one of those “I am kicking butt and taking names” kind of days.  I was on some sort of “get ‘er done” rampage today.  It was like Steven Covey had knocked me on the forehead with his 7-Habit-Wand and made me incredibly effective.

Yep. I had a productive day… in other words.

Not only was I making lists and checking them twice, but I was crossing off every dang item on those twice-baked inventories.  And it was a wide range of things.  From household chores, to fix-it projects, to work items, and online tasks for numerous people.

So there you have it.  Somebody gave me the Energizer Bunny High-Test Coffee this morning, I suppose.

Now there are times, when I get sidetracked.  I loathe those days… especially when I feel that I am hopelessly ambling from one thing to the next.

You know how it goes.  Six hours later….. when you end up on the roof…. taking measurements for an idea you had… to construct a helipad up there… for the newly purchase iPad-controlled-helicopter…. WHICH you bought while you were online at Amazon…. because you really were buying a cool pair of flip-flops… WHICH popped up in a sidebar ad while you were on the site.  You initially went there to shop for ink refills for the printer.. because earlier in the day…. you tried to print out a copy of your driver’s license… which you need to send in for the registration you are filling out for your next vacation to Iceland… WHICH came up when you were taking out the garbage and you saw a package of Icelandia Fish Sticks in the trash… and it reminded you.   All of this started when you were walking through the kitchen to look up some medical information for your brother… who was on the phone…  assskinnnng yoooouuu  forrrr… OH MY GOSH… MY brother is on the PHONE!!!

Yes, that happens to me pretty frequently.  BUT.  My day was not like that at all.  But very well put together, instead.

Thank goodness for the Effective-Fairy.

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”  –   Buddha

There are times in our lives when we have revelations.

Truly.

A revelation is  a surprising and previously unknown fact…. especially  some sort of fact that is made known in a dramatic way.

Or on an entirely different level…. it is  the divine or supernatural disclosure to  we “unsuspecting” humans….  of something relating to our human existence… or maybe even something about the world.

A big dang surprise.

Or revelations can come in many shapes, sizes, and forms.  In ways we never see coming.  Hence, the revelation.

Sometimes, they are life-altering.  Having an angelic experience, or brushing against a supernatural event.   Or it could be something as simple as figuring out a way to fix the toilet handle.

When we are little, we have a LOT more revelations, I think.  We find out things about getting older.

Take for instance, the photo above.  Little Titus gets a glimpse at Nanny’s meeting schedule for the next day.  He was astounded.  His little brain raced…..   he didn’t see a THING about long lunches with lots of chocolate milk…… or time on the big playground.  Not anything about nap time with his blankey.   ANYWHERE!  The terror of becoming a grown up hit the poor kid like a brick.

But we assured him…. “Don’t worry little Titus.   Getting older doesn’t mean you have to be serious and busy all the time.  But if you do want to GROW UP… it is a good thing to keep learning… something new each day.”

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”  –   Abraham Lincoln

I sure have had some things on my mind today.

I like to ascertain things.    Some people prefer to find the truth… or get to the bottom of this or that.  Gather facts.  Me?  Well… I like to ascertain.  I like the way it sounds.

So… with that said… I always ask for feedback here.  I love it.  So here is a question for my farmer friends.  Which is it about corn?  Knee-High by the Fourth of July.  Or Elephant’s-Eye by the Fourth of July.  There seems to be a raging controversy about this.  Someone… get to the bottom of it.  Seriously.  I would love to know, farmer friends.  Or city friends…  or even foes.

And next.  Some things in life are incongruous.  Other things are simply curious.

Consider this.  I just read an article which stated that someone on Earth reports seeing a UFO every three minutes.  That is a lot.  Now… there is either some truth to the sightings… or…  or…  well…. I’m not sure… or WHAT it says about this world.

So.  Then.  What about the world of mollusks?

Next time you are squishing your teeth into Escargot… consider this.  I also just learned that snails breathe through their feet.  First of all… I didn’t know snails had feet.  I guess I’ve never really inspected then ends of a snail’s legs.  Which… I suppose the feet are located.    Which bring me to this.  If their noses on on their feet… where are their toes?  And does it hurt?

Now… this doesn’t hurt.  Tonight…. I got my all of my hairs cut.  I always wonder why people say…. they got a hair cut.  Like… just ONE?  Go all out…. cut ‘em all… I say!

And while we are on the topic.  Another thing that’s been on my mind… but NOT on my head… are Pony Tails.  Why, I ask you?  Most Pony Tails are kind of nasty looking. In reality.  So why call the hair on the back of you head that?  “Pull Backs” might be a better name.

And don’t EVEN get me started on Pig Tails.  Now…. I have NEVER seen anyone “wearing” Pig Tails…. that even remotely LOOK like pigtails.   Has any one ever really looked at a Pig’s Butt before it started naming people parts after it?  “Side Locks” or “Hair Wings” maybe.  Not Pig Butts on your head.

So.  Help me if you can.   I want to discover veracity behind all of this.  Or at least a concord.  Not the grape, not the plane… but a solidarity… or agreement.  We can do it.  You can help.

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential” –  Winston Churchill

“A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that’s unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.” –  Ludwig Wittgenstein

What is round and gets beat with a stick?  Sometime it gets knocked around pretty good.  So much in fact… that it has stitches.  Two hundred sixteen to be exact.

Well sure.  It is a baseball.  The National Pastime.  That is its nickname, at least.  A pastime is an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work…. or…  a hobby.

Truth be told, I don’t know many people my age who play baseball.  Unless you count softball.  Then I know quite a few.  But back to it.

For me… there was always a love of the game.

Tonight we went to see our grandson Isaac play.  He is seven.  He is on a team with other seven year olds… and six year olds.  The game can be pretty daunting at that age… I supposed.

That is about when I started playing organized ball.  But we were just like the Cincinnati Reds.  We didn’t play like these kids at all.  No.  I am sure we scooped up every grounder, hit screamers out of the park, turned double plays.  We were like…. incredible-players.  Superstars with wings on our feet.

At least… that’s the way it felt when I was seven.

But no matter what… through all the years… wherever we played… when the game was all said and done… there would be kids running around the base paths.  I was always one of those kids.  It was like I could never quite get enough of the game.  I had to go out and run those bases… ONE more time… and slide into home plate with all my might.

They finally made me quit doing this is college… but that’s another story.

There was a true love of the game.

These days I still have that fond spot in my heart for it.  I love to go watch and remember.   And there’s nothing like getting a ballpark burger…. or frank…..  with BOTH  mustard and ketchup.

Yep.  It is a good pastime.. if I must say so myself.

But these days…. for my pastimes… I mostly swim and take walks and such.  Shoot a camera… from time to time.   To play baseball now feels too much like work for me.  And by definition then… it is no longer an activity of leisure.    And at this age… I really need my pastimes ….. to feel like pastimes.

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”  –   Joseph Addison

“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”  –  Moliere

Here’s the thing.  Some people get the short end of the stick.    Some of us are good cooks, others… not so much.  Whatever the deal… our talents sure do vary.  There are good and bad at everything….. painters,  athletes, writers, singers, doctors, mathematicians….. and even fathers.

Yep.  Today was Father’s Day. And it is true.   Some of us have really good Dads.  Others…. are born with pretty crappy Fathers.

I feel very blessed that I lucked out in this department.  My Dad was pretty amazing… in a whole lot of ways.  I could go on and on about him… how smart, and sweet, and helpful he was.  How loving and caring… and totally present… in all his kids’ lives.

He totally rocked… WAY before people did things like “Totally Rock.”

But one of his greatest qualities was his sense of humor.  My Mom says that is one of the big reasons she fell in love with Dad.  He had a cute way about him… and he had a pun for every occasion.

So… in honor of my Dear Dad… on Father’s Day… a small arsenal of puns.. on subjects he knew about.  So.  First my remembrance… and then the pun.

My Dad loved dogs.  He had a little dog named Petty when he was a kid. He told great stories about his time with his little pal.
A 3 legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces:  I am looking for the man who shot my Paw.

Dad would do fun things with us… like take us to the Zoo.
5000 hares have escaped from the zoo. The police are combing the area.

He loved poetry.  Dad used to recite entire poems by Edgar Allan Poe.  They were long.  It was impressive.
A backward poet writes inverse.

Dad was a stickler for things being clean and neat.
A bacteria walked into a bar and the bartender said, ‘We don’t serve bacteria in this place.’ The bacteria said, ‘But I work here, I’m staph.

He rode a bike.  Right up until the time he got sick.
A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two tired.

I don’t think Dad was color blind… but sometimes he acted like it.
A boating accident between the yacht, Red Dawn, and the schooner, Blue Lagoon, left the survivors marooned.

He loved to read.  And write.
A book just fell on my head. I’ve only got myshelf to blame.

He was skinny.
A cardboard belt would be a waist of paper.

He fixed everything around the house.
A carpenter must have been here. I saw dust.

He was funny.  And awesome.
A clown decided to retire and hand over the business to his son. His son said, ‘I don’t know dad, those are big shoes to fill’.

I miss him.  Somebody…. send in the clowns.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”  –  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bikes.

I like bikes.  When I was a kid, I learned how to ride a bike at a pretty early age, I think.  I can vaguely remember the training wheels, and the day that I worked up the nerve to free myself from those back wheel beasts.

And oh how I flew.  The wind in my hair and the bugs in my teeth.  I think I was five.  Maybe four.

I mean, by the time the seventh kid rolls around…. and that was me…. the whole bicycle riding deal is a lot like swimming.  Oh…. just DO IT already.

I thank the heavens above that my family wasn’t a Troupe of Wing Walkers at the Air Shows.  I will tell you that much right now.

But today….   I had my feet on the ground.  I worked at an event call Bridges, Bikes and Blues.  You see, I am on the Board of the Preble County Historical Society.  I have been… over the years… a member of the board off and on since the late 1990s.    And in recent years… we host this event called the BBB.

It is a big whopping bit of fun.  There is food, and music, and prizes,  and lots and lots of people.

And of course… at the title implies…. lots of Bridges & Bikes.   But these aren’t the kind of bikes I know…. these are what they call… Motorcycles.  Big shiny gorgeous loud motorcycles.  By the thousands.

It truly IS a cool event.   Folks take a tour of the county on their bikes and go to all of the historical covered bridges.  The whole thing comes to a finish in Eaton, at the Courthouse Square.   There are lots of food vendors… from Kemos Submarines to Homemade Ice cream.  And a Beer Garden.  I saw a lot of Beer Farmers in the Beer Garden area…. growing suds.

It was a beautiful day… with a lot of beautiful people…  on beautiful bikes.

As a Board Member… I feel the desire to thank all the people who rode safely and participated…. to all the hard working folks who volunteered to make this thing work… and to all the sponsors who backed it up.

But as a schmuck who thought her metallic green banana seat bicycle… with the streamers in the handlebars… and playing cards clothes pinned to the spokes… well… I think you all are AWESOME.

“I think the thing to do is to enjoy the ride while you’re on it.”  –   Johnny Depp

Max is a curious dog.  And tonight, we both have curiosities.  A bone to pick…. if you will.

And these questions are for none other than that panel of experts.  We know them best… as…. THEY.

And dang it.  I am putting my foot down.  If THEY can be some ambiguous about their name… I would like to have a few answers.  So if any of the panel is listening to me… fire back some answers.

Here we go.

Why do THEY always call it a Baker’s Dozen?  Call it what it is.  Thirteen.  (No coincidence that today is Friday the 13th… which I’ll get to in a minute.)  Back to the bakery.   You go in and look at the board at the good old donut shop .. and it says… Baker’s Dozen.  And you get 13.  I want to know WHY they do that.

I will let THEY off the hook… because I do know is this.  Supposedly, it goes back to 1260.  The British Bakers back them were a bit notorious for “shorting” their customers.  Well.. this ticked of King Henry III.  So old Hank made a law that “standardized” the weight of a loaf of bread.  Baker’s would through in an extra loaf to cover their butts.

Speaking of butts.  Why do THEY have to call the “Annals of History” the Annals of History?  People often mispronounce this and it sounds like Anals.  History Butts.
Chronicles would be better maybe.  The Chronicles of History.

Next.  Why do THEY call Pet Peeves… just that?  Pet Peeves.
It sounds a lot like Pet Pee.  And they are completely different things.  (Although I know A LOT about both.)

I guess the Pet “part” is supposed to refer to someone who is very dear to you… like your partner or spouse.  And of course peeve means…. to exasperate, or irritate, annoy, vex…. or even anger.

But most people’s Pet Peeves involve someone they don’t even know.  Like….. when drivers pull out in front of you and go really slowly…. or….. the ones who turn without signaling .  Or maybe strangers who talk loudly on cell phones in public.  How about anyone near you on an airplane with a nasal problem.  THEY should rename these sorts of things…..  to “The Big Horribles.”

It sounds better.  What do you think of someone who picks at their rear end in public?  “Oh my gosh.  That is one of my Big Horribles.”  Yep.  Let’s start a petition.

And finally… why have THEY deemed Friday the 13th as an unlucky day.  If you are breathing and reading this… you made it to the 14th.  That’s dang lucky, in my book….. and in Max’s too.

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” – Unknown

“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.” – Unknown

Time.  Old and new.

I guess humans have always kind of figured on the passing from day to night.

Artifacts from the Paleolithic suggest that the moon was used to reckon time as early as 6,000 years ago.  To the moon, Alice… to the moon.

And then…. we started to have “lunar” calendars….  at least…. those were among the first that we know of.  They came in  either 12 or 13 lunar months (either 354 or 384 days).   The calculations were a bit goofy back then.

Next….  there were the reforms of Julius Caesar era in 45 BC….. which put the Roman world on a solar calendar. (This was off a bit too.  By 11 minutes per year.)  Hail a cab, Caesar.

So then…. leave it to the Catholics.   Pope Gregory XIII introduced a correction in 1582.   The Gregorian calendar was only slowly adopted by different nations over a period of centuries.

And now….it is the most commonly used calendar around the world.  By far!

We keep time everywhere.  In hourglasses, and watches… walk clocks and smart phone.  We keep time with our feet and in our heads.

But that is a bit of an oxymoron isn’t it?  Keeping time?

We can’t keep it at all.  It passes…. well…. with each passing second.
My personal favorite is the zeptosecond… which is 10 to the negative 21st of a second.  That’a fast.  It can’t really even be measured.  Or kept.

But with time… things come and go.   Days, trees, flowers, frogs, Soap Operas, cookies, people…. you name it.  It goes.

And it also gets reborn again.  In some other form… or some other place.   At least…. that is what I think.

The thing that got me started was an article I read on the oldest tree.   In Sweden…. there a Yule tree which has root system that has been growing for 9,550 years.  That is stinking OLD.  That is like WAY back to around the end of the Ice Age.

But above ground… the actual offshoot of the tree is only 600 years old.  Who could have more years than that?  The oldest living-standing tree on earth is a bristlecone pine that is found in California.  Scientists believe it to be over 4600 years old. They keep the exact location of the tree hidden.

Some things last a long time… and others pass quickly.

Take, for instance, the good old house fly.  Four weeks tops.   And the Mayfly?  It only lives from one hour to 24 hours.  Mayfly doctors are BUSY!  They are constantly saying…  “You only have one hour to live.  Holy crap…. I just have about an hour more than that!”

But who’s counting?  I guess anyone who is keeping time.

 “We don’t have an eternity to realize our dreams, only the time we are here.”  –   Susan Taylor

Today,  Mom and I went to the Dentist.  You know…. for years… my Mom took me everywhere.  Until I was about 16.   Then it seems… we started using separate vehicles.  Give a kid a Driver’s License, and they think they are all grown up.

Anyway… on this day.  I took my Mom. (Specifically… WE took Mom….. my brother and I were sidekicks today.)

But.   That is the way it has been going for the past few years.  I take Mom places.  I doubt she will be driving again any time soon.  Seriously doubt it.  Unless she carjacks somebody.

At any rate… back to the dentist.  I love going to my dentist.  He is the best.  He is kind, and gentle, and a great listener.  And if it mattered to me… he is a real cutie too.

His name is Dr. Craig Hewitt.  He just seems like an all-around good guy.  Well… he wasn’t scheduled to see my Mom.  The new guy… Dr. Ross was supposed to take care of us.  I was a little disappointed because I didn’t know who this new guy was.  I wanted her to see Hewitt.

As I soon found out… I DID know Dr. Ross.  He is Derek.  Janet C’s nephew Derek!  Dr Derek Ross! How do you like them drill bits?

AND… as it turns out… he is a terrific dentist.   In fact.  Superb.  He was SO kind with Mom, and compassionate … and a good listener.  He also went to great lengths to make her comfortable, and to explain everything to us… completely.

My brother was really impressed too.  He said “Man.  Who wouldn’t like to go to the dentist if you go here?  Everyone is so nice and so thorough.”  Then he said…. “We can’t go here though.  Well… Betty (his wife) can’t.  All these guys look like they are right off the cover of GQ.”

Which they do.

At any rate.  Back to the story.  Mom did well…. except for four trips to the bathroom in our relatively short visit.    I guess getting your teeth checked makes some people really have to pee.

The other realization is this.  Some people are really extraordinary at “what” they do.  And most of the times… it is those same people who seem to really enjoy “what” they do.

While I rarely give “shout outs” here… I would like to give a big kaboodle of acknowledgement to the good doctors… Dr. Ross and Dr. Hewitt… and another big ovation to their staff.  They were truly great with Mom today… and so caring… and for that I am forever grateful.

They were so good in fact.. all Mom thought we did was take a ride in the country.

“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.”  –  Pablo Casals