Even though this is nominally April Fools Day, I can’t help noticing how few April Fools pranks are actually being played today. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that nothing anybody could do would be disbelieved. Four months ago if you told someone an awkwardly-titled thing called “coronavirus” could cause so much chaos, they wouldn’t believe you.
Our president trump certainly didn’t.
So the world is on fire right now. Stock markets are collapsing, a pandemic is raging across the globe, a buffoon is occupying the role of “Leader of the Free World,” and our supermarkets are out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
But things could be worse – we could be in a Groundhog Day time loop living the same day over and over again. So we need some music for these times.
One of my favorite quotes is an alleged Chinese Curse that states “May you be born in interesting times.” Given what’s been happening this past week, I’d say we are in fact living in interesting times. These times are not particularly the times I’d have chosen to live in, all things being equal.
The most recent interesting thing is, of course, the medically-defined “Novel Coronavirus.” Interesting to epidemiologists at least. Those folks are probably having the time of their lives studying this new and improved virus. The rest of us, not so much.
So recently I answered another Quora question on navy life. This time it was the question “Do US Navy officers get better food than enlisted soldiers?” This was a fun…
I’ve posted about this Chinese Violin-playing Goddess before, and see that it’s time for me to post again.
“Now, meanwhile, the
clock, it just ticked on
As clocks are known to do
For time’s their only purpose
Their only point of view”
So, one of my favorite lines from one of my all-time favorite albums, Beethoven’s Last Night, created by the amazing musical group “Trans-Siberian Orchestra”; a reminder that I haven’t written anything in this humble blog for many months and I’m past due.
Yesterday Winnie and I were up in Pine Bush, New York, for a bittersweet family gathering. We attended a memorial service for my mom who passed away March 1 at…
Today I answered another interesting question on Quora: “Why are sailor suits made the way they are?” The question was too interesting to pass on, so I gave it a…
I wrote this story back in 2009 but wasn’t willing to post it then for fear it would open old wounds among any of my family who read it, particularly…
In Requiem: A Scouts Honor
I grew up in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, leaving Scouting only to join the Navy in 1974. My experiences in the Scouts form some of my best childhood memories and Scouting values helped shape me into the person I am today.
I’ve followed the controversy over the past years about the Scouts with increasing dismay. Then, on Monday February 17, 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Opinions & Commentary
boy scouts honor code