Tuesday Tidbits

On the same day I went to the Art exhibit at Straub Park, I ambled  through Vinoy and looked over to the St. Pete marina.  Heading out to a day on the water was this white cabin cruiser.

When I looked closer I noticed the big blue W.  This is for the Wombie, Bro Phil and all the Cubs fans who are getting excited for Opening day.  Because I know there are a couple of Cardinal fans who drop in periodically, I include this picture I took out of the Wombie's kitchen window when I was up there a few weeks ago.

Good luck to you both.  But better luck to the Metropolitans.

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This could be a  newly mown hay field in Illinois by first look.  But it is actually seabed grass that has been uprooted and floating on top of the water in the bay.  I'm told it is a seasonal thing and the guys trying to find bait fish have a tough time because they hide underneath.

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Sad to see a Sikh was physically dragged out of a public bar in Manchester, England.  In my studies of the worlds religions, Sikhism is the most godlike, placid and peace loving one around.

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Neighbor Tim coming back from an outing during his trip to Jamaica.

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I have decided to move once again.  I hired a guy to clean out the gutters last week.  He found this in one of the downspouts.  It is a black racer.  I'm an old racer.  Betcha I can get outta here faster than he can chase me.

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During Trump's Pennsylvania rally last week I heard a lady in the crowd yell, "You're one of us!".   Wow. 

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Wouldn't I love to see this.

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Adventures In Babysitting

Were you there?  Friday was not the crowing jewel of my babysitting experience.

The diaper changing station is my bed.  Alfred doesn't always want to be changed.  Sometimes it will scramble to the head and play hard to get.  Experience has taught me that at these times trying to change will be far more trouble than it is worth, so I will simply leave.  In the past, when it gets bored enough under the pillow,  it will yell and let me know it is ready.  

Friday however, after a sniff revealed a change was in order, and when it scrabbled away, it remained more quiet than usual.  I was tempted to go take a look but I had just gotten comfy again on the couch, and, well, why start a ruckus?  

After several minutes of silence I crept back to my room and discovered...!  Were you there?  She had attempted to change her own diaper.  Were you there?  We are talking hazmat time.  "Stuff" was all over her, the bed, the pillows, the floor.  Like poor Richard Burton, my trauma remains.  Will I ever be the same?  When will she learn to use the potty?  Who will survive this travesty of nature?  Were you there?

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Speaking of greed.  I see where Carlos Gonzalez turned down a three year 45 million dollar contract last fall, only to re-sign for only 8 mill this week.  Don't ever believe them when they say its not the money.  It always is.

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I like foreign films.  I saw Incendies, an Afghan film, last week.  I know you won't watch it so I'll give you the details of its ingenious plot.  A mother of twins has died.  At the reading of the will the executor, her boss and an attorney, tells them they must find their father and brother with few clues as to their whereabouts.  They discover in their search that she mothered a boy by a Sunni and thus disgraced the family.  Her brothers killed her boyfriend and the baby was given away.  Later we find out that she assassinated a tribal leader and sent to a prison.  She was tortured and continually raped by a fellow.  That person was her son who had been given away and he was the one who fathered the twins.  Follow?  An amazing plot, a sorrowful film and, unfortunately, plausible.  

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Well, they did the best they could, bless their young idealistic hearts.  But the kids of Stoneman-Douglas weren't able to sway America's politicians that assault guns should be for the military only.  No hike in minimum age, no bump stock ban, no relegating assault weapons to military use.  Nothing, again.  Everyone caved, including Trump.  Only the Florida legislators passed anything and guess who is suing them?  Guess who will win? The NRA is simply too strong and has bought our government so completely that now we will move on without having done anything. 

Like I say, if the politicos didn't do anything about the 20 or so 6-year olds slaughtered at Sandy Hook, we won't do anything at all. "We, the NRA, do hereby claim Washington D.C.,  in order to form a more perfect Union."

Noah Pozner was one of those 6 year olds.  This is the eulogy she wrote for him on the day of his funeral.

The sky is crying, and the flags are at half-mast. It is a sad, sad day. But it is also your day, Noah, my little man. I will miss your forceful and purposeful little steps stomping through our house. I will miss your perpetual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the envy of any lady in this room.

Most of all, I will miss your visions of your future. You wanted to be a doctor, a soldier, a taco factory manager. It was your favorite food, and no doubt you wanted to ensure that the world kept producing tacos.

You were a little boy whose life force had all the gravitational pull of a celestial body. You were light and love, mischief and pranks. You adored your family with every fiber of your 6-year-old being. We are all of us elevated in our humanity by having known you. A little maverick, who didn’t always want to do his schoolwork or clean up his toys, when practicing his ninja moves or Super Mario on the Wii seemed far more important.

Noah, you will not pass through this way again. I can only believe that you were planted on Earth to bloom in heaven. Take flight, my boy. Soar. You now have the wings you always wanted. Go to that peaceful valley that we will all one day come to know. I will join you someday. Not today. I still have lots of mommy love to give to Danielle, Michael, Sophia and Arielle.

Until then, your melody will linger in our hearts forever. Momma loves you, little man.

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From uncle, Alexis Haller, of Woodinville, Wash.:

On Friday, Dec. 14, we tragically lost a most beloved member of our family. Noah was a 6-year-old little boy, and he was so dear to all of our hearts.

Words cannot express the unfathomable loss we feel.

Noah was a wonderful son and a loving brother. He was kind, caring, smart, funny, and sometimes even a little mischievous. He liked to tell his sisters that he worked in a taco factory; when they asked him how he got to work, he would give them a funny look as if to say he knew something that they didn’t.

Noah was a little kid. He loved animals, video games and Mario Brothers. He was already a very good reader, and had just bought a Ninjago book at a book fair that he was really excited about reading. He was also very excited about going to a birthday party he had been invited to. It was to take place on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Noah loved his family dearly, especially his mom, his dad, his big sisters Danielle and Sophia, his big brother Michael, and his dear twin Arielle. He called Arielle his best friend, and she was – and always had been.

If Noah had not been taken from us, he would have become a great man. He would been a wonderful husband and a loving father. He would have been a backbone of our family for years to come. His loss, and our loss, are deep indeed.

It is unspeakably tragic that none of us can bring Noah back. We would go to the ends of the Earth to do so, but none of us can.

What we can do is carry Noah within us, always. We can remember the joy he brought to us. We can hold his memory close to our hearts. We can treasure him forever. And all of us, including the family, the community, the country and the world, can honor Noah by loving each other and taking care of each other. That’s what Noah would have wanted.

Noah, we love you so much, we miss you dearly, and we will never, ever forget you.