Change the page. December has arrived. Today is Wednesday, the first. Commence the countdown to the new year.
May be a new month but we began it the same way as the end of last month, with sunshine wearily attempting to poke sunlight through clouds and fog. Gray and silver drape the trees. All the deciduous have dumped their leaves. Naked branches are the new norm, except for the pines and firs.
Temperature is 40 degrees F with expectations that we’ll see 62. Sure. Sunset will come at 4:40 PM while sunrise’s feeble start was at 7:20 AM. A day without sunshine is a dreary spectacle.
Today’s music popped into the morning mental music stream after a political conversation with friends yesterday. Someone made the comment, “That’ll be the day,” which prompted the ol’ mental Alexa to say, “Playing That’ll Be the Day by Linda Ronstadt from 1976.” Why Alexa went with that cover instead of the Buddy Holly edition is outside of my gray matter’s ken. Anyway, it’s on a loop in my head so I’m putting it out there to loop into others’ heads.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and booster when you can. You know what I mean. Got my coffee, French Roast, untouched by sugar, cream, or milk, but with a splash of cinnamon. Here we go, December. Cheers
Happy hump day, camels. Maybe it’s hump day for you. Wednesday is often so designated. Mid-week, people consider it the hardest to bestir themselves to endure. Hardest to get up, process, and function. Even coffee and energy drinks seem to do little…for a while. But then, as the morning hours pass and the afternoon arrives, they realize, they’re going to make it. And if they can make it through Wednesday, they can make it the rest of the week.
Course, hump day isn’t always Wednesday for some people. Some feel hump day on Monday. If they can get through Monday, then all else is gravy. Or hump day is Thursday and if Thursday is survived… You get it. I’ve beaten it sufficiently that little life remains.
Today is November 24, 2021. We’re racing toward the year’s end. Just consider: next Wednesday is December 1.
Sunrise split the valley into light and dark at 7:12 AM. The sun’s warming light will fade out of the valley starting at 4:43 PM. Current temperature is 29 F, according to my thermometer, and the cats agree, declaring, “Cold. Gimme heat.” Net says it’s 39, but then the sun hasn’t actually entered my yard yet. Still just clearing the mountains and forests. Give it time, right? High temp should be 55 today. The sky is deceptively summer blue. Looks warmer than it is.
I have “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men from 2011 echoing in the morning mental music stream. The song came about because I was reading about how people read data about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations, and reached their own conclusions about vaccines not working. They called this their truth. They then lamented that they were blocked, locked out, or shut out of whatever forum they were using because they were spreading misinformation. From all of that, I thought of “Little Talks” and the line that goes, “Though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to the shore.”
Yes, the truth can be complicated. What was true a hundred years ago might not be true now. We learn, we grow, we develop new understanding and discover what we held as the truth was wrong. The truth now, though, is that data supports the vaccines, masking, and social distancing. The truth, though, is also that variants will emerge and break through. The truth is that we will know more in a year, and we’re not sure where COVID-19 and humanity will stand at that time.
Damn. Now I need coffee. Stat.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and booster when you can. The truth is, that will help most of us survive. Cheers
I stepped onto the chilly back patio with the cats this morning. They looked around for intruders or prey, and I looked up. Sunshine was outlining our trees’ gold and red leaves against a blue sky that didn’t have a hair of a cloud showing.
Today is Thursday, October 28, 2021. Sunrise came at 7:39AM and sunset is due at 6:10 PM. Clear skies will have an impact as we’ll hope from our current 53 degrees F all the way up to 74. No wind is blowing. All this is a brief respite from more rain expected. We’ll take the rain, although it does slam places that suffered wildfire damage, often causing heavy erosion and landslides.
I was reading about the Netherlands today in an article titled, “When will the Netherlands disappear?”. While many right wing political parties around the world, including the GOP in the U.S., the Dutch are undertaking serious measures to mitigate the rising seas and the loss of land. The sad assessment explains the many ways that the world is changing from a warming atmosphere to melting ice caps to encroaching seas and, with the lowlands of the Netherlands, the disappearance of a land and nation. But let’s keep pretending it ain’t happening, because you know, money. Which is the bottom line of the GOP argument: it would cause money to cope with climate change, eat into profits, and diminish executive bonuses. Meanwhile, we’ll build sea walls, as they’re doing in Florida, even though the feted dikes of Netherland show that sea walls can only do so much.
Naturally, money spoke to my mental Alexa, who ordered a recall of “Moneytalks” by AC/DC from 1991 to the morning mental music stream. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed by the situation, and get the vax and booster when you can. Here’s the music. There’s my coffee. We good. Cheers
Good morning, fellow pumpkin spice heads. C’est moi, coming at you undead from Ashland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Today is Friday, October 15, 2021. Please set that to memory; you may be called upon to tell another later. Of course, being of retired military mind, the fifteenth was the middle-of-the-month payday during my working military life, when we, the enlisted, could rush out and buy groceries, gas up the car, and pay bills.
Sunrise was another glorious, steady rise of golden light, like a veil being pulled off night, that came at 7:23 AM. Temperature was a fur-chilling 40 F at that point. I know because the ginger boi, aka Meep, aka Papi, came in and told me, “Chilly out. Feel my fur.” Which I did, telling him, “Oh, your fur is cold.” He replied, “Meep, purr.” I assume that meant, I know. Sunset will come at, oh, 6:29 PM, according to the old farmer’s google. Temperatures will rise to the mid-fifties again, before falling into the high thirties after we’ve rotated away from the sun’s assistance. Such small windows of comfort, innit?
Today’s offering in my morning mental music stream comes from theMoody Blues and 1971. Yes, there is a line of lyrics involved. At some point yesterday, while in the snug discussing something, another something — a noise — from where? — who knows? — popped into our awareness. A what’s that, I don’t know, convo followed as we half-heartedly pursued the answer to this sound mystery. I mentioned at one point, “Listen. It sounds like it’s slowly turning.” After I’d walked away from that major, earth-shaking interruption to our routine, when I was in the kitchen, the song’s line, “Listen to the tide slowly turning,” whispered in my ears. The song then came on in full.
Of course, the progressive fusion of classical, folk, and rock that is “The Story in Your Eyes” aligns with my optimism. I often believe the tide is slowly turning. We’re slowly becoming less warlike. We’d probably make better progress in that were it not for the global defense industry and the need to make profits but killing others in the name of peace and security. Likewise, I’m always sure that the tide of justice, freedom, and equality is slowly turning, too. Someday, we’ll also unite to address climate change, right? Probably not until most of the lower ranks of people are standing up to their armpits in water, but I’m hopeful it’ll come before then.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, get the vax, sing a song, dance a little, laugh a lot, and have some fun. Here’s the music. Enjoy the photos of the band in their youth. My hot, black coffee is also here. Must drink it before it grows too cold. Cheers
I often start the day with a scan of the news provided by the nattering nabobs of negativism. Agnew coined the phrase. Remember it well because I heard it on the news and then Mrs Rubenstein discussed it in current events the next day.
Today is Thursday, or Thor’s Day, as we call it — don’t want to offend any Gods — October 7, 2021. Just a month until we set our clocks back in most of the U.S. Speaking of that, today’s sunrise percolated in with bright sunshine but little warmth at 7:14 AM. The sun’s presence will be stolen away from our valley by the forces of nature at 6:42 PM. A heady 38 F last night, prompting the cats to declare that they’re coming inside and staying. Good sleep was enjoyed all around. Up to 48 F now. Today’s high is a mild 66 F. Surprising me yesterday, we didn’t even break 60. I’m thinking that it’s time to break out my long pants and put away my shorts.
And, yes, today’s theme music was cat inspired. The three floofketeers were clamoring for their AM wet food. I was asking them, “Are you hungry? Want canned cat food?” Teasing them, you know. And they were responding, “Yes, damn it, will you feed us already?”
I then responded, “Love is all you need.” To which they replied, “Enough with the bull. Open the can, capisce?” By then, Simple Minds had flooded the morning mental music stream with “Sanctify Yourself” from 1986.
Control yourself, love is all you need Control yourself, in your eyes Sanctify yourself, sanctify Be apart of me, sanctify Sanctify yourself, sanctify Sanctify yourself, set yourself free
A fun video from a different era. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax, yeah? I’m having coffee, as well. Here’s the music. Cheers
Saturday falls on us like a time-released drug. So much to do! Or not to do. Depends on your point of view. I speak of Saturday but for some, Saturday comes on a Wednesday. That’s how their work or school week flows.
Today is October 2, 2021. October 4, 1974 is when I enlisted in the USAF, so back on October 2, 1974, I was readying myself to leave. First airplane flight; until then, it’d been buses or cars. Now here was the big jet, carrying me across the country to Texas. My girlfriend, who became my wife a year later, was more nervous than me. I was just going away. My childhood would officially end. Eighteen years old, a few months removed from high school graduation, I was ready.
Sunrise today was at 7:09 AM. Sunset will arrive at 6:51 PM. Temperatures again, cool this morning, 50 F, will rise into the seventies. The world keeps on turning.
With that, I go to the mental music stream, where Fleetwood Mac is performing “World Turning” from 1975. I heard it when I was on leave, readying myself to go on my first overseas tour, fifteen months without my wife. We’ve done a lot together since then. Have had many disagreements. Separated with plans to end it. But here we are, still together. World keeps turning. Shit happens but the world keeps turning. Probably sums up my general approach to existence.
I like this live recording (love that paradox of modern terminology) of the song. Had not heard this version before now. It works.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get the vax and boosters. Also get coffee. That’s where I’m going. Peace out.
Michael Seidel, writer 