Stewart Myrent

Carol, I have no idea what an FB group is, but, I have to say, I've been laughing my ass off from the picture of your little canine UPS deliveryman.  Great photo!  However, I do agree with some other's sentiments that these dogs need to find their very own Forum, to express themselves, their feelings & their rationales for their behaviors.  I am fairly sure that their lives are not very complicated, compared to humans.  That's right, I've played the species card!

Beverlee Ann Arpan (Marshall)

Rog,  The Broadmoor, I give it 5 stars all around, that's for sure.  Do you know about all of the renovations?  We like to stay in the West building in an upper room overlooking the lake.  They don't take down the Christmas lights on the trees outside until March, so at night it looks like they're filled with tiny stars.  So beautiful.  And, yes, we love Sunday brunch at the Broadmoor.  It's spectacular and not to be missed.  I've never seen such a grand spread, and so yummy.  Our getaways to the Broadmoor are Bill's Christmas and anniversary gifts to me, and to a destination we both love.  Who knows, maybe we'll see you there sometime in the fall.

Bev

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Manischewitz Matzos are a product of Israel, distributed by The Manischewitz Co. in Newark, NJ.

The box of Manischewitz egg & onion matzos I bought is stamped "NOT FOR PASSOVER" - does anyone know why Christian prayer cards are included in the packaging?

Paul Richard Hain

Stewart,

I am glad that you liked Steve Jobs thoughts.  I think they resonate with most of us more at our age than they would have 20 years ago.  

Having fond memories of a dog after all those years is also heartwarming.  They seem gifted with the abiity to know people even better than we do.  What is more wonderful than to come home after a hard day and to be greeted by a happy friend.  It recharges my batteries everytime.

Stewart Myrent

Carol, thank you for the clarification of FB = Facebook, but, in my defense, I have never (not even once) been on Facebook.  But, Janis, I do have a question about the Manischewitz matzos.  I get why your particular box of egg & onion matzos (good choice, by the way) is stamped "NOT FOR PASSOVER", because very soon, before Passover starts (usually in April, right around Easter) you will see every type of Manischewitz matzos stamped "KOSHER FOR PASSOVER", because those very fortunate & blessed matzos will have the good fortune to receive an extra Passover blessing, from the rabbis who are in charge of such things.  As far as I know, that is the extent of the difference between the good "KOSHER FOR PASSOVER" matzos & the not-so-good "NOT FOR PASSOVER" matzos.  However, my question is about the presence of Christian prayer cards, included in the matzo box packaging.  I don't get the connection between Manischewitz matzos & Christian prayer cards, but it sounds to me like someone is diversifying. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Thanks, Stewart. Diversification... Why not? cover all the bases...

Sooo,

if those who believe in climate change are wrong, we will have needlessly created a cleaner world,

rather than following those who don't believe, and die if they are wrong...

something like 

better to live like there's a heaven and hell, and die to find out there isn't,

than to live like there isn't, and die to find out there is.

Hey,

we can all get dogs and bring heaven on earth.

Ron, did you build a snowman? show us how a wise old bird makes love, not war?

Stewart Myrent

Janis, i found your comments about both climate change, and heaven & hell, to be enlightening,  thought-provoking, truthful & hilarious.  I couldn't have said it any better myself.  Great post!

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"The six best doctors in the world: sunlight, rest, exercise, diet, self-confidence, and friends."

As with our bodies, we must wonder if our country's health is declining.  I hope not, but it is critical that we recognize the challenges that confront us, and make serious corrective changes.

Just as we must attend to our dietary needs, and physical and mental conditioning as we age, as a nation we need a diet of truth and active participation in our public life, all while sharpening our critical thinking skills. Same as with the report of our lab tests, we have a picture of the state of our union. It is important not to think just getting past this moment solves our problems. We have a wake-up call to address our fundamental condition.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

DK, were you at the game yesterday?  
On to the Super Bowl!

Bears fans are sobbing...
Bears took a pass on Mahomes.

Packers fans are in mourning.

Way to go, it's a happy day for you.

Donald Henry Kuehn

  Worse! Not only was I not at the game, our internet went out about 20 minutes before kick-off. I had to listen to it on the radio and then watched it on NFL Network when it replayed at 10PM. There's much less anxiety watching it when you know the final score.    DK

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Suddenly tomorrow is lost to yesterday.

   If there's to be a tomorrow,

                   it had better be today!

Marvin Irving Blusteln

Janis,

An overly optimistic outlook.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Marvin, it's good to hear from you.

"For we must weep before we can laugh. Out of sadness comes the awakening, and out of the awakening comes the laughter." -- Lin Yutang

I have confidence in the people who are working to keep our republic.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Jim Lehrer (of PBS) died today at 85 years of age.

Beverlee Ann Arpan (Marshall)

Several years ago I read the book, No Certain Rest, (historical fiction) by Jim Lehrer when it first came out in 2003, about Antietam, which I thought was an excellent read, combining the past with the present.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"Only friendship which can stand occasional plain speaking is worth having." -- Lin Yutang

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

The U.S. confirms the 4th case of coronavirus.

NBA's Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter, one of her teammates and a parent, and the pilot died in a helicopter crash en route to their basketball game.
Kobe, "Mamba", played with the Lakers for 20 years,
was the father of 4 daughters, and a big supporter of women's athletics.

Stewart Myrent

Carol, really enjoyed your post about the progression (& regression) in life & that it does all, indeed, seem to come full circle.  It was hilarious & I loved it!

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

None of us know how we will meet our end.  
We watched Kobe grow up.  
We watched him grow as a person and take on and meet new challenges.  
He was a man on a journey.

Stewart Myrent

Carol, I have now looked at your slide show about life's full circle of ups & downs, probably 3 or 4 times now, because I'm laughing hysterically, every time I look at it.  Thanks again.  I did want to mention a couple of things about Kobe Bryant's sad demise, because when I first heard that he & a daughter had both died as a result of a helicopter crash, I was in disbelief.  Because it was Kobe Bryant - one of the greatest basketball players, EVER!  Everyone alive has heard of Kobe Bryant.  (I'm guessing even in remote corners of the globe.)  The first thing I thought, is something I've been thinking for a long time now (especially now that I'm older) - that the absolutely BEST thing to have in life, is good luck.  It's way better than ANYTHING else.  The problem with good luck, though, is that it's totally out of your control.  Kobe's run of luck had been pretty good - until he got on that helicopter.  So, bad things happen to people all the time, but everyone not only heard about it, but pretty much everyone has heard of Kobe Bryant.  I took a helicopter ride one time (I think it was out of Palwaukee Airport) & the pilot took us out over the lake & then downtown.  It was great!  However, no mishaps, thankfully.  But if that helicopter had gone down (because of bad luck, or any other reason), no one would have noticed that Stewart Myrent had died in a terrible helicopter crash.  Perhaps, some of you (if you even heard who had died in that horrible accident), might think "...Stewart Myrent...hmmm...I may have gone to school with him.  Name sounds familiar."  The other thought I had about this, is that, "What were Kobe & his daughter doing on that helicopter, in the first place."  I had that one helicopter trip (& I'm glad I did), but perhaps, Kobe, being a celebrity, rides in helicopters all the time, & this time it caught up with him.  BAD LUCK - way worse than good luck.  

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Beware coronavirus.  
In 2015 Bill Gates alerted the world to the threat of a pandemic.

Stewart Myrent

I received additional info today about Kobe Bryant's fatal helicopter crash.  It turns out that I was partially right, that, because he was a celebrity, he probably took more helicopter flights than the one I had taken.  It turns out that the helicopter was Kobe's very own, privately-owned helicopter.  It was not operated by any commercial helicopter company.  Also in SoCal, in the LA area, it is much easier to get around, flying above all the bumper-to-bumper traffic, as long as you can avoid that last helicopter trip.  But, still, how many people can afford their very own helicopter?  Another example of good luck being way better than being unimaginably wealthy.

Paul Richard Hain

I'm a private pilot.  The heli was flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). He was flying in Class G airspace that has a few restrictions.  He had to remain clear of clouds and have one statute mile of visability.  The pilot request a Special Visual Flight Rule clearance to proceed, presumably because of less visability and fog.  This is a very dangerous choice.  He was flying into rising terrain with limited visability. The SVFR clearance was granted.  He was now flying below radar contact that he requested to guide him to their destination.  In conditions like he was in, the pilot should have been flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) which require a pilot to fly using cockpit instruments rather than visual sight.  The pilot may have experienced vertigo, complete sensory disorientation and then lost control of the heli.  They were so low in altitude there was no room to regain control.  Crash!  A terrible tragedy.

Minimum Visual Flight Rules flying is very dangerous even for the best pilot.  The pilots decision-making lead to the accident.  Diverting back to better conditions, landing and renting a car from Hertz would have ended the day happy.  Weather is always what you see out the windscreen.  If you can't see anything you are headed for oblivion.

Alan A. Alop

Stewart Myrent

Alan, thank you for passing on "This Modern World", by Tom Tomorrow, which I don't remember seeing before.