Category: Randomness

Joe really oughta keep these to himself, but he what the hay…

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Wounded Old

If you know Señora or if you are one of the 3.141592 dedicated readers of my blog, you know that Señora has been  through two major back surgeries and still struggles with back problems.

I injured my back when I worked in a warehouse in my early 20s.  I have had to deal with back problems, previously more off than on, as the result of a prolapsed disc stemming from that injury.  As I have ceased to be young, this back problem has become more on than off.  It has gotten to the point that I had to give up walking the golf course.  Even with a push or pull cart my back will not let get through a round of golf, walking.  Even with a riding cart, it is hard for me to play two days in a row. Gawd forbid, there comes a day when I have to give up golf completely.

Princess Lily, aka Tater Tot, aka Fuzzy Butt, aka The Wee Dog, is a quarter dachshund.  This breed is famous for their back issues.  The Wee Dog, who is 10, is no exception, and she is on medicine, again off and on, to control her pain from this.

We are a household of back problems.

I bring this up because the other night when I had to get up in the middle of the night (if you are old enough you will understand), I did what I always have to do when first getting out of bed.  I stood there a minute to let my back do what feels like to me, stabilize. All this prompted Señora to say, as I then hobbled my way to the johnny, “we are a household of the Wounded Old.”

And so it is going.

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Alcohol was involved

I stopped in Quick Trip, a convenience store, the other day.  Going up to the counter with my purchases, the cashier rang them up and told me the price. As I was swiping my debit card he repeated the the price in Spanish.

“¿Hablas español?,” I replied as his accent was not very Latino although he appeared to be so.  The reality is that many 2nd or 3rd generation Latinos only speak English.

To which he responded, “Para nada.”  Basically saying, “not really.”

He then went on to tell me that his father was Mexican and his mother was Greek. Adding that there was a very good chance that much alcohol was involved in their meeting!  Then he mentioned something about being raised by foster parents, and wanting to learn his paternal language.

I encouraged him in his endeavor, adding that it was a beautiful language.

There is a short story in there somewhere.

And so it goes.

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Rotor Craft on Mars

Today’s news had a story about NASA’s rotor craft, helicopter by any other name, making its fiftieth flight on Mars: Ingenuity Soars: NASA’s Mars Helicopter Aces 50th Flight – “We Are Not in Martian Kansas Anymore”

There have been stories about this craft since even before it arrived on Mars. These stories always make me think of my father who was a technical representatives for helicopters for Kaman Aerospace.  I could see him as being utterly fascinated by a helicopter flying on another planet, especially one with practically no atmosphere.

I could also see him trying to get stationed on Mars to provide technical assistance for the craft!  Yeah, I know, he was no Matt Damon.

There is no way to verify now, but Continue reading “Rotor Craft on Mars”

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Day of the Dude – March 6, 2023

Gather round all you Dudes and Dudettes, today is The Day of the Dude, a celebration of our favorite Lebowski Dude,  and one of our favorite movies The Big Lebowski, one of the few movies I actually own.

From the website National Today:

“Day of the Dude is celebrated on March 6 every year to commemorate the North American release of the movie ‘The Big Lebowski’ in 1998. The movie portrays a protagonist with a laid-back attitude to life who chooses simplicity, peace, and happiness. The idea is to enjoy life’s little moments such as bowling or drinking with some friends. The holiday looks to promote ease and simplicity in society. Being able to easily let things go and go with the flow is a big part of the lifestyle. The lifestyle portrayed in the movie inspired the birth of the religion/philosophy known as ‘Dudeism.’”

To read more: Day of the Dude – March 6, 2023

The Dude truly abides.

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Southpaw – I never knew

Once again during my regular regal ruminations I was perusing the book, Dictionary of Word Origins by Jordan Almond when I came across an entry for Southpaw:

“All major league baseball diamonds are laid out so that the batter will face east, thus putting the afternoon sun behind his back and making it easier for him to see the ball. Therefore, when the pitcher faces the batter he’s facing west and his left arm is to the south. So if he pitches left-handed, he’s pitching with his ‘south paw.'”

It makes sense that they would construct ball parks this way – aligned with the compass, but I had never thought about it before.  I had never really considered why left-handed pitchers are called south paws.  I had just heard it all my life and accepted it without thought.

As my son-in-law has informed me a couple times ( I had forgotten the answer from the first time I asked him) that the stadium space in center field without seats, and usually green, is to help the batters see the ball also.

Don’t you feel so  much smarter now…

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Día de la Diversidad Cultural 

Columbus Day is still a Federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the Monday closest to the 12th of October.  However, many states are renaming it, terming it Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and rightly so. If you have read the history of Christopher Columbus he was not a moral person. His treatment of indigenous people and people of color in general was abhorrent.  Normally, I try to understand historical figures in Continue reading “Día de la Diversidad Cultural “

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Mama Carr’s Poke Bonnet

The book, Dictionary of Word Origins by Jordan Almond, magically appeared in the downstairs throne room. Knowing my propensity to read during my regular regal ruminations, knowing my love of words,  Señora finding the book at an estate sale,  bought it and placed it in the throne room.

This morning I came across the following entry:

Poke bonnet: This bonnet got its name from the fact that the front of it “poked out” far beyond the face. A bonnet that didn’t do so was called a “kiss-me-quick”.

I cannot think of my mother’s mother, my grandmother, who the whole world called Mama Carr, without picturing her wearing her poke bonnet.  While she did not wear it on her occasional trips to downtown Checotah, with chickens to care for, a garden to look after and a cow to milk, she was routinely outside, putting on her bonnet if it was the less bit sunny. Surprisingly, when I looked through Continue reading “Mama Carr’s Poke Bonnet”

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Interesting Cultural Difference

In my Spanish class this morning we were practicing the grammatical structure used in Spanish when talking about hypothetical situations.  My teacher kept pushing me for more examples, and I was struggling to come with some after the first rush of inspiration.  So I made up one about growing horns and chasing Señora around the house…thinking I was talking about being a bit randy (or horny, if you prefer) which, lamentably, is occasionally hypothetical as I continue this head long rush of aging.

“Oh Señor, I am so sorry,” my teacher said to me.  Apparently in Mexico and probably other Hispanic countries when they say a man has grown horns it means his woman is running around on him behind his back aka he is being cuckolded.  But it can apply to the woman too.  He showed me a painting by the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, of herself,  as a deer, with a huge rack of antlers and her  body pierced by many arrows.    Her husband, the Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, was famously a less than faithful spouse.

Vive les différences culturelles.

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