Sunday, April 17, 2022

Smile

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile


- Charlie Chaplin, John turner, and Geoffery Parsons, "Smile", 1954

20220417 - Easter

Enjoy the Memorial - or - Happy Easter - or - Sameach Pesach, depending on your denomination. Greetings from our little tin can by the sea, where my wonderful wife, Wendy, and I try to survive through the pandemic and me having stage IV colon cancer. In the news, we have Russia and Ukraine at war, which was instigated by Russia. This has become a war of attrition on the Ukraine and I hope that they survive it. This war threatens US involvement, since NATO countries are on Ukraine's western borders. This was a wake-up call for the EU. For far too long, they have not funded their defenses, instead relying on US involvement. Time for them to put on the big boy panties.

The pandemic is still going strong, though the case numbers have become even more vague than they once were. Once the at home test became available, many positives went unreported, and that continues. The CDC is relying on samples from wastewater treatment plants to measure the spread of COVID. This may be sound for cities, but rural areas are missed, since many of those homes do not have their sanitary sent to a central processing plant. Easter will be a spreader event.

Global warming continues unabated. In fact, the Rus-Ukr war has exacerbated it. As it turns out, Russia supplies a good deal of oil and gas to the EU states. Without it, the EU is left to supplement their energy needs with coal. The US is trying to shore up inventories in the EU, but it has nearly doubled the price of gasoline at the pump in the US. We were out on Friday and our neighborhood Wa-Wa gas station showed $3.98/gal. The feds have released oil from the strategic reserve as well as extended the use of ethanol in the fuel to try and keep the price down. However, economics dictates that price moves up are rapid, moves down are slow. This is termed "the stickiness of menu pricing." It was once blamed on reprinting the "menu" or updating the advertised price. In this digital age, that is hardly a factor, though the stickiness persists and I expect that the gluttonous oil companies will ensure that the drop in price will be as slow as they can possibly make it.

Black lives matter? Well, it has certainly quieted over the past year. The latest efforts are not to defund the police, but, rather, to fund them and retrain them. I'll offer up my opinion - there is no reason for a police to have a swat team. Every state already has a National Guard that can be quickly called up. They should be the ones with bomb disposal capability and they should handle terrorist situations. That would take a good bit of the police budget. Same money, but different pots. With the National Guard option, you have very few "lifers", where the police force, especially swat, are all "lifers." It's the insertion of new blood that maintains the integrity of the organization, not the seniority of position.

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl
- Bob Dylan, "All along the Watchtower", John Wesley Harding, Dwarf Music, 1968

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

20220329 - a million

 

One million people in the US have died from COVID-19. There were no buglers playing taps, no politicians offering condolences, no churches ringing bells.

'Cause we don't sing the same song anymore
And now your offering is silent requiem
Dorothy Heyward, Du Bose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, "Requiem", Jump Little Children, Between the Dim & the Dark, 2004

The one millionth loss-of-life due to COVD was marked on May 14, 2022. Evidently, politicians count differently than others. There was a presidential speech, and bells tolled at the National Cathedral. Because of those that refused to be inoculated, over 300,000 of these deaths are considered to be avoidable. Another failure of our education system.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

20220312 - another year

Scope Cases Deaths
Worldwide 455,762,085 6,059,562
United States 81,154,960 993,044
Florida 5,868,632 71,853
Pinellas County 209,713 3,195
Greetings from our little tin can by the sea where Wendy and I try to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers to the left show the current state of the pandemic. After two years, and several "vaccines", the numbers keep climbing. Many people haven't even been injected once with a "vaccine". I keep quoting "vaccine" because it's a misnomer. "Injection" would have been a better word. "Vaccine" carries the onus of one-and-done - I get the shot, and I'm protected against the virus. That's not how it works, and as people began to realize this, they called "foul" and basically tossed all scientific explanation out the window. Unfortunately, our governor is one of them. He has chosen to kill people in favor of raking in taxes from snowbirds and vacationers. Since snowbirds and vacationers are not counted in our case and death totals, he doesn't care. They come here, catch it and take it home to kill even more. We're just resuming "normal" levels after the holiday peak due to the omicron variant. There's talk now to view COVID-19 as endemic, something that has to be dealt with seasonally. As they do that, more will die. I hope that I don't catch it - dying of cancer with friends nearby is one thing, but dying in isolation due to COVID is quite another. I expect that this will continue, so I will post another update for year three if I can.

All I see turns to brown
As the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand
As I scan this wasted land
Try to find, try to find the way I feel
- Led Zeppelin, "Kashmir", Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin, 1975


Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Boat People

 

The Boat People

Wendy and I were married by John Bull on October 7, 2000 upon the top deck of the Betsy Ann Riverboat in the Alabama River off the shore of Montgomery, Alabama. The event was the talk of Prattville, Alabama. We had many relatives and friends come from out-of-state, and the day was sunny, though a bit breezy and cool. The entertainment was by Mr. Henry Pugh and his rendition of Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World” cemented it as “our song” from then on. It was very memorable!

We'll fast forward to Tuesday, January 16, 2001. I am at my desk in a trailer between two paper machine buildings, checking email and filling in a spreadsheet of some sort. Wendy is at home making plans for a trip to Denver later that year. Wendy received a call from the Autauga County Probate Office.

Wendy: “Hello.”

Probate clerk: “Is this Mrs. Scheider?”

Wendy: “Yes, this is she.”

Probate clerk: “Mrs. Scheider, I don't know how to tell you this...”

Wendy: “Well, just say it and we'll go from there.”

Probate clerk: “Okay - Mrs. Scheider, the state is refusing to recognize your marriage this past October.”

Wendy: “Can they do that?”

Probate clerk: “Yes, ma'am, and they have.”

Wendy: “Oh – I must call my husband!”


Wendy then called me on the phone at my desk. I recognized that the caller ID showed my home number.

Steve: “Howdy cutie.”

Wendy: “Honey, I just received a call from the Autauga County Probate Office about our marriage license. They say that the state isn't accepting it.”

Steve: “Really?”

Wendy: “Yes, really.”

Steve: “Well, I think that John Bull should know about it, so we should call him. And we'll need another marriage license, so please call the Probate Office and see when we can get in for one of those.”

Wendy: “I'll do that. John Bull and the Probate Office. Got it. Love you!”

Steve: “Love you too!”


Wendy then found John Bull's number in our home telephone book and gave him a call.

John Bull: “Hello!”

Wendy: “Hello, is this John Bull?”

John Bull: “Yes it is, how can I help you?”

Wendy: “John, I'm Wendy Scheider, you married me and my husband back in October on the Betsy Ann Riverboat. Do you remember us?”

John Bull: “I do a lot of weddings...”

Wendy: “John, the Autauga County Probate Office is telling me that the state is refusing to acknowledge our wedding.”

John Bull: “What?”

Wendy: “Yeah, John, they're not accepting our marriage license.”

John Bull: “Oh... I've been performing weddings for ten years and I haven't had a problem and I have a wedding scheduled for this Saturday. Let me make some calls, Mrs. Scheider, and I'll call you back.”

Wendy: “Okay, John.”

Then Wendy turned to handling the second task with the Probate office.

Probate clerk: “Hello? Autauga County Probate.”

Wendy: “Hello, I'm Wendy Scheider, and I spoke with someone from your office earlier. They told me that the state wouldn't recognize my marriage to my husband last October, so I'd like to schedule a time for us to pick up a new marriage license.”

Probate clerk: “Well, you could pick up the marriage license any day that the two of you are available to come down to the probate office. But if you would like to be married by the Probate Judge, that's done on Friday afternoon.”

Wendy: “Is there an availability this coming Friday?”

Probate clerk: “Yes, there is – at two o'clock.”

Wendy: “That's fantastic! Please schedule us for that time.”

Probate clerk: “Okay, please arrive at about 1:45 so we can have both of you fill out the license prior to the wedding.”

Wendy: “We will! Thank you! Bye!”


Wendy then called me back. Steve: “Howdy cutie!”

Wendy: “Hi honey, ready to marry me again?”

Steve: “I'll marry you as many times as it takes, cutie.”

Wendy: “Well that's great, because we will have another one on Friday at two o'clock.”

Steve: “Where?”

Wendy: “At the Probate Office. We go there at 1:45 and fill out the marriage license, and the Probate Judge will marry us at two. Is that okay?”

Steve: “I'll ask for Friday afternoon off. It should be okay. Any news with John Bull?”

Wendy: “He was shocked, so he's checking on things on his end. He has a wedding this Saturday that he has to officiate and I'm sure this is going to change how that goes off.”

Steve: “I'm sure. Okay, cutie, let me ask Mel for Friday afternoon off. I'll call you right back.”

Wendy: “Okay, love you!”

Steve: “Love you, too!”


I then walked down to the other end of the trailer, where my boss' office was. Mel was staring at trends on the computer screen. I walked in and greeted him: “Hi Mel!”

Mel: “Hi.”

Steve: “Mel, do you mind if I take off Friday afternoon? I'm going to get married.”

Mel: “Didn't you already do that?” (Mel was at our wedding on the Betsy Ann riverboat.)

Steve: “Yeah, I did, but I have to do it again. The state won't recognize our wedding, so we'll get it done by the Probate Judge. He has an opening this Friday, so we're going to do it then.”

Mel: “Yeah, okay – do you need witnesses or anything?”

Steve: “I don't think so, but I'll check and let you know.”


I walked back to my desk and called Wendy.

Wendy: “Hello.”

Steve: “Howdy, cutie. I talked to Mel and we're a go for Friday. Do we need any witnesses, or will Probate provide them?”

Wendy: “I don't know about witnesses. I can check on that a little later. John Bull called back.”

Steve: “Really? What did he have to say?”

Wendy: “He was very apologetic – he found out that it is true that our marriage wasn't acknowledged by the state. It was because it was performed on water.”

Steve: “Oh. So he has a work around for his wedding on Saturday, then. Good for him.”

Wendy: “I told him about us getting remarried with the Probate Judge, and he said that he and his wife would be our witnesses if we need them.”

Steve: “I think that there's folks in the Probate Office that can do that. We can check, but I thank him for the offer.”

Wendy: “I think so, too.”

Steve: “Well, cutie, I have to get back to work. I'll see you when I get home. Love you!”

Wendy: “Love you, too!”


As it turns out, the office staff of the Probate Judge are more than happy to stand in as witnesses for weddings, so we were covered. The Probate Judge at that time, January 2001, was Al Booth. I'll pick up the tale on that Friday at the Probate Office.


Probate clerk: “Hello! Can I help you?”

Wendy: “Hi! I'm Wendy Scheider, and this is my husband, Steve. We're here for a marriage license.”

Probate clerk: “Ok... Here's the form – your information goes here and his is over there.”

Wendy: “We also have a two o'clock appointment with the Judge for the wedding.”

Probate clerk: “Two o'clock... let me see, let me see... hah! Are you the 'boat people'?”

Wendy: “Yes, our first marriage was on the Betsy Ann Riverboat...”

Probate clerk, calling to everyone else in the office: “Hey, everyone, come here – it's the 'boat people'!”


And folks appeared as if out of the woodwork to show the nicely framed forms that we would be getting along with other items and to dole out congratulatory hugs and handshakes. I looked at Wendy and said: “I guess that we're the 'boat people' now.”

Wendy to me: “It appears so.”

It took a few minutes for the din to die down and for the usual reserved office banter to return. During this time, I shook hands with over a dozen folks that I have never met. We were guided into the Judge's office, where the ceremony would take place.

Probate clerk: “Judge, these are the Scheider's and they are here to be married today.”

Judge Al Booth, standing to greet us: “Hello! That's great! A marriage is an institution...”

Wendy: “Judge... pardon me for interrupting, but do you know who we are?”

Judge Booth took a long gaze at both of us: “No, I don't know you – should I know you?”

Wendy: “We're the 'boat people'.”

The Judge's eyes widened as the 'boat people' title suddenly made everything self explanatory. Judge: “We have real nice certificates for you two, I think that they're...”

Wendy: “I have some certificates at home, Judge, and they're not worth a red cent. Will this marriage take?”

Judge Al Booth: “Yes, I can assure you that I can preside over weddings and that this will take. So we'll just skip to the important stuff.”

Steve: “One moment, please. Have I been committing fraud? After all, I have Wendy listed on insurance forms and the like.”

Judge Al Booth: “Since you presented one another as husband and wife on the riverboat, that act would allow your marriage to fall under 'common law', so, no, you haven't been committing fraud.”

The Judge looked at both of us and asked: “Any more questions?”

We shook our heads. Wendy: “No”; Steve: “Not from me.”

Judge Al Booth then had us recite our vows affirming with “I dos.”


And with that, Wendy and Steve were remarried as the 'boat people'.



The Betsy Ann Riverboat

The Betsy Ann was the victim of Montgomery politics in the worst way. The politicians decided to open a minor league baseball field for the Montgomery Biscuits, a farm team for the Tampa Bay Rays. Along with the field was a shopping area with many restaurants. In order to make way for the renovation, the paddle-wheeler had to be displaced. It moored up in Wetumpka for a number of years, and when the field was ready, the Betsy Ann wasn't invited back. Instead, the politicians decided that the larger Harriott II paddle-wheeler was a better fit for the Montgomery waterfront. After her sale and a series of destinations, the Betsy Ann now calls Biloxi, MS home.


John Bull

When we came to reserve the Betsy Ann, John told me that he and his father originally owned the Betsy Ann and that they performed all their own maintenance, outside of cleaning the keel. John was also very active in the blues scene in Montgomery. He was a headliner for any of the blues festivals in the Montgomery area. That has never changed, and John continues to play the harmonica whenever and where ever he can. And it was that connection that landed Henry Pugh for our wedding. John was disheartened to leave the Montgomery waterfront and further frustrated when his ship wasn't invited back. However, when the politicians decided to use the Harriott II, they found that there was one man fit to move the boat from its location on the east coast and pilot it up the river to the waterfront slip at Montgomery, and that was John Bull. After some dealing, John also became the Captain and maintainer for the Hariott II, and we enjoyed a trip on the Hariott II to celebrate our tenth anniversary. That day was John Bull's last day to Captain the craft, and we were certain to shake his hand as we left.


Henry Pugh

Mr. Pugh was a fantastic keyboardist and singer. His rendition of “What a Wonderful World” became “our song” to Wendy and me. When we cruised onboard the Harriott II, Henry was playing, and we approached him and told him our tale of the Betsy Ann and that it was ten years ago. He smiled and played “What a Wonderful World” for us and we swayed and danced close and I recalled our wedding day. Henry passed away on August 15, 2020 due to complications with COVID-19. His memory will always be carried in our hearts.


Al Booth

Judge Al Booth served as the Judge of Probate for Autauga County Alabama from 2000 through 2018. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor ethics violation after a Grand Jury indictment as part of a plea deal. At the time of his trial, he was the county's Republican Party Chairman.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

20220116 Thesaurus: coward

Executive:

  • Donald Trump
  • Mark Meadows

Senate:

  • Tommy Tuberville, Ala.
  • Rick Scott, Fla.
  • Roger Marshall, Kan.
  • John Kennedy, La.
  • Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.
  • Josh Hawley, Mo.
  • Ted Cruz, Texas
  • Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

House:

  • Robert B. Aderholt, Ala.
  • Mo Brooks, Ala.
  • Jerry Carl, Ala.
  • Barry Moore, Ala.
  • Gary Palmer, Ala.
  • Mike Rogers, Ala.
  • Andy Biggs, Ariz.
  • Paul Gosar, Ariz.
  • Debbie Lesko, Ariz.
  • David Schweikert, Ariz.
  • Rick Crawford, Ark.
  • Ken Calvert, Calif.
  • Mike Garcia, Calif.
  • Darrell Issa, Calif.
  • Doug LaMalfa, Calif.
  • Kevin McCarthy, Calif.
  • Devin Nunes, Calif.
  • Jay Obernolte, Calif.
  • Lauren Boebert, Colo.
  • Doug Lamborn, Colo.
  • Kat Cammack, Fla.
  • Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla.
  • Byron Donalds, Fla.
  • Neal Dunn, Fla.
  • Scott Franklin, Fla.
  • Matt Gaetz, Fla.
  • Carlos Gimenez, Fla.
  • Brian Mast, Fla.
  • Bill Posey, Fla.
  • John Rutherford, Fla.
  • Greg Steube, Fla.
  • Daniel Webster, Fla.
  • Rick Allen, Ga.
  • Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, Ga.
  • Andrew Clyde, Ga.
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga.
  • Jody Hice, Ga.
  • Barry Loudermilk, Ga.
  • Russ Fulcher, Idaho
  • Mike Bost, Ill.
  • Mary Miller, Ill.
  • Jim Baird, Ind.
  • Jim Banks, Ind.
  • Greg Pence, Ind.
  • Jackie Walorski, Ind.
  • Ron Estes, Kan.
  • Jacob LaTurner, Kan.
  • Tracey Mann, Kan.
  • Harold Rogers, Ky.
  • Garret Graves, La.
  • Clay Higgins, La.
  • Mike Johnson, La.
  • Steve Scalise, La.
  • Andy Harris, Md.
  • Jack Bergman, Mich.
  • Lisa McClain, Mich.
  • Tim Walberg, Mich.
  • Michelle Fischbach, Minn.
  • Jim Hagedorn, Minn.
  • Michael Guest, Miss.
  • Trent Kelly, Miss.
  • Steven Palazzo, Miss.
  • Sam Graves, Mo.
  • Vicky Hartzler, Mo.
  • Billy Long, Mo.
  • Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo.
  • Jason Smith, Mo.
  • Matt Rosendale, Mont.
  • Dan Bishop, N.C.
  • Ted Budd, N.C.
  • Madison Cawthorn, N.C.
  • Virginia Foxx, N.C.
  • Richard Hudson, N.C.
  • Gregory F. Murphy, N.C.
  • David Rouzer, N.C.
  • Jeff Van Drew, N.J.
  • Yvette Herrell, N.M.
  • Chris Jacobs, N.Y.
  • Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y.
  • Elise M. Stefanik, N.Y.
  • Lee Zeldin, N.Y.
  • Adrian Smith, Neb.
  • Steve Chabot, Ohio
  • Warren Davidson, Ohio
  • Bob Gibbs, Ohio
  • Bill Johnson, Ohio
  • Jim Jordan, Ohio
  • Stephanie Bice, Okla.
  • Tom Cole, Okla.
  • Kevin Hern, Okla.
  • Frank Lucas, Okla.
  • Markwayne Mullin, Okla.
  • Cliff Bentz, Ore.
  • John Joyce, Pa.
  • Fred Keller, Pa.
  • Mike Kelly, Pa.
  • Daniel Meuser, Pa.
  • Scott Perry, Pa.
  • Guy Reschenthaler, Pa.
  • Lloyd Smucker, Pa.
  • Glenn Thompson, Pa.
  • Jeff Duncan, S.C.
  • Ralph Norman, S.C.
  • Tom Rice, S.C.
  • William Timmons, S.C.
  • Joe Wilson, S.C.
  • Tim Burchett, Tenn.
  • Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.
  • Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.
  • Mark E. Green, Tenn.
  • Diana Harshbarger, Tenn.
  • David Kustoff, Tenn.
  • John Rose, Tenn.
  • Jodey Arrington, Texas
  • Brian Babin, Texas
  • Michael C. Burgess, Texas
  • John R. Carter, Texas
  • Michael Cloud, Texas
  • Pat Fallon, Texas
  • Louie Gohmert, Texas
  • Lance Gooden, Texas
  • Ronny Jackson, Texas
  • Troy Nehls, Texas
  • August Pfluger, Texas
  • Pete Sessions, Texas
  • Beth Van Duyne, Texas
  • Randy Weber, Texas
  • Roger Williams, Texas
  • Ron Wright, Texas
  • Burgess Owens, Utah
  • Chris Stewart, Utah
  • Ben Cline, Va.
  • Bob Good, Va.
  • Morgan Griffith, Va.
  • Robert J. Wittman, Va.
  • Carol Miller, W.Va.
  • Alexander X. Mooney, W.Va.
  • Scott Fitzgerald, Wis.
  • Tom Tiffany, Wis.
The above are parties that supported the January 6th insurrection in 2021. Over 10,000 others implemented the siege on the capitol. All are disgraceful cowards, yet many still occupy seats in Washington. Unfortunately, the same democracy that these individuals would discard is saving their collective butt. However, no one is above the law.

Howdy and greetings from our tin can by the sea. Sorry for the ominous preface, but someone's gotta state it upfront - the republican party has become a party of cowardice. I'm not exactly enthralled with the democrats, either - they don't know what they want to be when they grow up - but the republicans are a good-old-boys-old-white-men party whose demographic is dying. And in those dying gasps, it's condoning every act of cowardice imaginable. 

Just a note: if you are elected, then you are considered a leader, so ready or not, LEAD! Too often those that should be leading instead hide behind aggregates in order to diffuse their cowardice among many. 

Part of me is sickened that we are "remembering" the acts on 1/6/2021, and part of me says that it will be changed in the retelling if we don't baseline it. Here's a video from the New York Times to help with the baseline. 

We also have COVID's omicron variant running amok and it looks like we'll be dealing with inflation for the beginning of the year. Global warming? It's here and there's not much of a coordinated plan to reduce green house gases that are fueling it. Diversity? 2021 saw improvements in board level demographics, however, the needle moved from 14% to 16%. Considering that 50% of the world is female, that's a huge underrepresentation. At this rate, we will cross 50% in 2039. Why is it moving so slow? Ask a member of the good-old-boys-old-white-men party.


You're searching for good times
But just wait and see
You'll come running back (I said, don't worry darling)
You'll come running back (spend the rest of my life with you, baby)
You'll come running back to me
- The Rolling Stones, "Time is on My Side", 12 X 5, The Rolling Stones, 1964


Sunday, December 26, 2021

Monday's Child

 Monday's Child


Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace.

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go.

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living.

And the child born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe, good and gay.