Author: Rev. Joe Dirt

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #1,776

yeah I know you did not ask!

Only in America…

I go to the doctor every 6 months to get blood work,  mainly because one of the drugs I take (blood pressure med???)  can affect the liver.  They generally want to check my cholesterol while they are at it, so I go in fasting.  A bad habit that I started years ago is getting a Mickey Dee’s breakfast afterwards. Outside of when we travel, it is the only time I eat at this iconic American restaurant.

It was about lunch time when I got out of the doctor’s office. The line at McDonald’s drive-thru was fairly long so I went inside. There was only one man inside  eating at a table,  and I walked right up to the counter and ordered.  When I left the line for the drive-thru had backed up all the way on to Olive Boulevard, which is very a busy street with 4 lanes and a middle turn lane.  Admittedly the weather is bad here in St. Louis today, a slushy mess freezing on the road, so that probably affected peoples’ actions. However, I have seen the same behavior on beautiful spring days.  It makes me wonder how much gasoline is wasted by folks idling in drive-thrus.

 

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Picture from 6th Grade…

A couple of days ago was Valentine’s Day which got me thinking about one etched in my mind from when I was in 6th grade.   Digging around I found a picture taken that day during our class party celebrating the event.  I had given a card to every kid in the class – seemed like the nicest thing to do.  I did not have to use even one finger to count the number of Valentine Day cards I received.  Twas not a good day, and one that was burned in my memory.   Perhaps this was the impetus starting me down my curmudgeonly path.

And so it went.

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Clint Eastwood Saves the Day

Today I was doing some honey-dos in the guest bedroom.  While I was busy in there I decided I wanted to watch the final round of this week’s PGA golf tournament. Thing is we have not had a house guest since before the pandemic lock down so it has been that long since that TV had been used.  First I had to load our current streaming service onto this TV, then I discovered the Roku menu was not working.  I diagnosed the problem quickly – for me – as the batteries being dead in the remote controller.  Opening the back of the device I discovered I needed two AA batteries.  Problem was we had used up the last of the package a while back.

Remembering the oft repeated line Continue reading “Clint Eastwood Saves the Day”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #572

yeah I know you did not ask!

I spent part of yesterday afternoon giving all three bathrooms a very thorough cleaning.  Now I do not want to utilize any of them as I do not want to encroach on their perfection. I am afraid, however, if I sidle up to a tree in the backyard one of the neighbors will place a call to Chesterfield’s finest.  Well, there is always the BP on the corner of Olive and Chesterfield Parkway.  Their bathrooms are generally clean, but not perfect.  I wonder if I could sneak into the YMCA down by the St. Louis County Library and get a quick shower…

And so it goes.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,754

yeah I know you did not ask!

I was returning home from a Wally World run when I ended up behind a pickup at a long traffic light.  Well pickup is not quite the right description.  It was a reasonably new 4×4 pickup jacked up to stratospheric levels, sporting 4 massive tires that extended at least a zip code from the side of the vehicle, and so pimped out I did not know where to focus my gaze.

I was feeling a bit snobbish, well actually more than a little judgmental about such a ride, when I noticed that my dream car, a Porsche 911 Carrera, was in the next lane beside the tricked out 4×4.

It dawned on me that both were forms of conspicuous consumption expressed in different fashions.

I sometimes wonder where the control is for whatever mental function it is that causes me to be so judgmental. Of course at this point in my life it is so rusted from lack of use as to be inoperative.

And so it goes.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #123

yeah I know you did not ask!

Years ago it was very common for houses to have big front porches, and people used them.  Probably at least in part due to the lack of air conditioning, and it was also a a way of staying connected to your neighbors.

Now days we have decks and patios and they are at the back of the houses, frequently behind fences.  Many of us of little or no connection with our neighbors, seldom even talking to them.

There is a statement, message, lesson in there somewhere.

What started me down this random thought path was that for some reason I was thinking about my grandmother’s house.  The house she lived in longest during my childhood was an old three story house that had a huge porch, wrapping around three sides, sitting just on the edge of the small farming town of Checotah, OK, birthplace of this curmudgeon.  And that porch was used extensively.  I slept out there multiple times when her house was full of visiting aunts, uncles, cousins and other assorted folks.

I have seen this other places, but when I lived in Memphis it was exceedingly common.  One could drive around neighborhoods on a nice evening and there would be a multitude of folks sitting around in lawn chairs in their driveways.  Most of the houses did not have front porches, but the driveway must have been a good substitute.

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Pobrecita

Robin would not let me take a picture, but she looks like the victim of spousal abuse!  The reality is that is not my style, and I am not near brave enough to do such a horrible thing.  I am  convinced she would make Lorena Bobbitt look like an angel.

We had her son’s dog, Osho for a  few days.  Osho is absolutely convinced that my conjunction-function in life is to take him on walks.  Of course, if I take him I cannot leave The Wee Dog behind.  All of which is fine, but two dogs on leashes can be a bit of a chore.  They are generally pretty good walking together, but occasionally they will each discover odors needing investigation that are in opposite directions.  I end up feeling like the proverbial wishbone.

Normally, Osho wants to go around dark-thirty, just after we feed him.  Monday was a nice day so I thought I would do it earlier, as it was warm and sunny.  I asked Robin if she would like to tag along, both for her company and so we could split the two dogs between us.

All was fine until we started to enter the garage.  Robin saw what was left of a decorative gourd in the garden she could not leave, so she handed me Lily’s leash.  I took it, and was promptly entangled with both dogs.  I managed to get Lily unwrapped who decided she had to head for the door leading from the garage to the kitchen immediately.   Unfortunately, Robin was headed  towards the trash can just beside that door in the garage.  Before I could act or say anything, Robin tripped over Lily’s leash.  I am not sure I ever saw anyone fall quite so fast – despite what Galileo espoused.  She had no time to put her hands in front, partly because she was carrying the gourd.  She landed directly on her nose, skinning her knees.  All I could think of was her two back surgeries.  She was obviously very shook up.  Just to be on the safe side we went to urgent care.  She  was basically fine, but she has been very sore for a couple days.   I was fully expecting a raccoon mask that is so common when the nose receives such a blow.  Her nose is bruised and her left eye looks like mine after one of my karate matches (back in the day).

We are both thankful that is was not worse.

And so it goes.

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Angels Sometimes Wear Bathing Suits

It was the mid 1960s.  My father, a technical representative for an aerospace company, had been assigned to work with the US Navy in Naples, Italy.  Because it was to be a long stint the whole family moved with him to Naples.

The first year we lived in the actual city of Naples.  However, four rambunctious American boys living in a city of apartment dwellers was not working out well. At the time of this story I was the eldest at 13 years old, Paul was 11, Mike was 10, and Jeff the youngest at 6 years old.  My parents would soon have a fifth son, Mark, born while we were there.

My father found a villa to rent several Continue reading “Angels Sometimes Wear Bathing Suits”

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Jerusalema Dance Challenge

Danger Will Robinson Danger… I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole on this one. Just a word to the wise.

Okay, I am a Johnny-come-lately to this global phenomena, but here I am. This really put a smile on my face, and a gladness in my heart.  It became meditative after a while.  For me it was a reminder that we are all just one people… perhaps it is time we started acting that way.

If you have some time, put “jerusalema dance challenge”  into your YouTube search box.  While I  didn’t understand the language they were singing, the music is beautiful.  The original language is isiZulu, a language out of South Africa. As my dive into the rabbit hole deepened, I found versions in a couple of other languages.

Here is a link to the English translation of Jerusalema from isiZulu

What really interested me was the dance challenges from around the world.  I am including a video that compiled many of these dances.  However, if you do the YouTube search, the results will have you scrolling for pages… which I did.

Before you watch the mix of dance challenges from around the world here is a link to the official music video of the song: Master KG – Jerusalema [Feat. Nomcebo] (Official Music Video) As I re-watched this video it strikes me it has a subtle anti-drug message.

How South Africa’s ‘Jerusalema’ Became a Global Hit Without Ever Having to Be Translated

I apologize if you too get lost in this technological rabbit warren, I just really enjoyed it.

And so it goes.