Monday Moods: A sense of humor

I used to laugh and tell jokes that made fun of people on things they have no control over, I am deeply sorry for any hurt I may have caused to anyone who is short, or blond, or Polish, or Italian, or . . . well you get the idea.  

My reform from bad behaviour resulted in a lot less humor.  And not laughing is sad. 

I will try to be better. 

Did you hear about the proctologist and psychiatrist who decided to share office space.  They debated what to call the practice.  Someone suggested Odds and Ends - that was rejected.  They debated Fears and Rears, and decided that was no good.  They settled on Heads and Tails. 

In a presentation the other day on legal ethics and clients living with dementia, I was talking about some clients with dementia experience delusions; strongly held personal beliefs that cannot be confirmed by outside evidence.  I said, some persons living with dementia will develop delusions, kind of like some politicians.  That drew a bipartisan laugh. Everyone can identify with that, without it being insulting to anyone in particular.  People remember things that made them laugh, I made them laugh about delusions.  

So my mood this Monday, is trying to regain my sense of humor.  

 

  

Sunday Five: Fishy

1: Do you like fish? 

2: Have you ever gone fishing? 

3: Have you ever caught a fish? 

4: Have you ever cleaned "cleaned" as in filleted a fish? 

5: When was the last time you cooked fish? 

My Answers:

1: Do you like fish?  Yes

2: Have you ever gone fishing? Yes

3: Have you ever caught a fish? Yes - it has been a long time. 

4: Have you ever cleaned "cleaned" as in filleted a fish? Yes, I have bought whole fish in the local markets and prepared them. 

5: When was the last time you cooked fish? We cook fish once or twice a month. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: More Adventures in Flying

The froward sweeping tail, is a unique to Mooney. 

In the early 1970s Republic Steel bought Mooney aircraft manufacturing.  No one really understood what a steel company was doing with a company that made aluminum airplanes, but the purchase infused a lot of cash into the company allowing expansion of the dealer network. 

The local airport in Michigan became a stocking dealer. The planes were sleek and fast with variable pitch propellers and retractable landing gear.  Dupont Lapeer airport quickly took delivery of several of them, and as was normal for them, added a couple of them to the rental line. 

To be able to rent them, a pilot needed to take a check ride with a qualified flight instructor.  The instructor was Don, a former air force pilot with literally thousands of hours of flight time in everything from tiny single engine, single passenger planes, to bombers, fighter jets, helicopters, and airliners.  He was the consummate pilots pilots.  If it could fly, Don knew how to do it well.  His standards were the highest around.  

I climbed in the back seat, my father and Don were in front and off we went.  It was a fun ride, very comfortable, a step up from what we normally flew.  On the proficiency checklist was manual deployment of the landing gear.  The gear was electric hydraulic, and the pilot needed to know what to do if the system failed.  Don pulled the circuit breaker and asked dad to manually put the landing gear down. 

Dad slowed to the appropriate speed, checked to make sure the hydraulic system was not working, then went looking for the manual crank. He looked, he asked Don, and Don said, I don't know, I have never flown this model. On other model, it is here on the floor, it is not there on this one. My father calmly said, David, hand me the owner's manual it is in the seat pocket behind Don.  Don could see the look of terror on my face and smiled and said, "relax, that is exactly what we should do." Don looked up the anwer, a crank just above the pilots left knee (a really awkward location.)  They cranked it down, cranked it up.  Pushed the circuit breaker back in, and tested it. Check ride complete, we returned to the airport ready to fly. 

When all else fails, read the instructions.  

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #23 Picking the Right Cruise for You

I suspect that many people who say they would never go on a cruise, either have never been on one, or the Cruise they hated was poorly selected for them. 

Before you look at price, think about what you want out of a cruise.

Some ships are family destinations, some are more like quiet resorts. Virgin cruise line and Viking are adults only. Do you want endless hours roasting in the sun, or would cooler weather be more your style. Think about where you might want to visit. The itinerary does not matter if you are thinking of the cruise as a slightly mobile party, it does matter is you are taking the cruise to see places you want to visit.  Also look at the time in Port, this can range from just a few hours, to overnights, seldom more than a day. Our first cruise was built around riding the Yukon and White Pass Railway, if the itinerary didn't include that option, I didn't consider that cruise.  

Size matters, smaller ships often visit smaller ports that large ships can't, and because there are fewer people on board you stand a better chance of "getting to know" people (perish the thought.) Large ships are generally more stable, are limited to larger ports, and can be crowded when 2,000 people all want to get off at the same time.  

Think about the cabin choice.  We have sailed inside - quiet, dark, great for sleeping.  Ocean view, you can see but not feel the outside from the cabin (maybe a good option if you fear falling overboard.) Balcony or veranda, gives you a "private" outdoor space to watch the waves. Being stingy we have not tried a suite. Ship cabins are small, 170-200 sq. ft.. The layouts differ a little from ship to ship and line to line.  The balcony was nice, but we probably spent more time on the promenade deck than we did on the balcony.  Ocean view, I wouldn't do again.  I have booked a balcony for next springs' cruise.  

Food will vary.  Some lines serve simple, less expensive, higher volume food.  Some focus on higher quality.  What is important to you? 

Think about amenities, if you plan to ride every waterslide around, having waterslides on board is important.  If not, what is important to you, and what does each ship offer. 

Cruising can be a great value, when you consider the cost of accomodation, meals and transportation it can be a very economical way to travel. 

If you are only looking for an escape, with meals and housekeeping, booking a cheap cruise may work for you.  If you are looking for an experience beyond the most basic, buy what you want, and don't let price be the only deciding factor.  

 

Thursday Ramble: US Politics

 

I shared the meme below on Facebook after the latest high school shooting, there have been so many I have a hard time keeping track of them, and Congress does nothing.  A high school classmate of mine shared it on her Facebook feed, and I was appalled at some of the comments she received.  She is a gun owner, a retired federal corrections officer (prison guard.) 

"Some of the weapons involved are legally bought yes, a far number of these weapons are black market buys purchased from straw buyers in different states selling them in states with stricter gun laws or the weapons are stolen during break ins because the owner doesn’t secure them properly."

Show me the proof.  I don't recall a single mass shooting with an illegally purchased weapon. For the most recent murder spree, Daddy give the assault rifle to his 14 year old son as a Christmas gift.  The gift that keeps on killing.  Both have been charged with homicide. 

Another comment that has since been removed either by the person who posted it, or by Facebook, talked about needing assault weapons so she could fire off half a dozen rounds through a wall, real fast to scare away the baddies. And how much more effective an AR15 was at doing so. 

I have a policy of not engaging trolls and crazies, especially those with weapons, so I didn't respond to that comment.  I really wanted to ask how terrible of a neighborhood do you live in and WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING SOMETHING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS, so they don't threaten your safety.  The reality is she has probably never been threatened in her home, unless she regularly does business with drug dealers and other criminals.  

During the Presidential debate, HeWhoShallNotBeNamed repeated a news story about cats and dogs disappearing and being eaten in a midwestern town, saying "see what is happening to our towers (I think he meant towns) when we let those people in. 

Two points: 

•  If he had fact checked the story, others had fact checked long before he repeated it, officials have investigated the report and can find NO EVIDENCE that the lost or stolen pets are being eaten. Yes pets are missing, the pets may have been stolen, or they may have gotten lost. But there is no proof that the pets are being eaten. 
• Eating cats or dogs, is a not so thinly veiled racist dog whistle. He was trying to be racist, without saying he is racist. He couldn't be more racist if he wore a white sheet and hood. 

Oh, and he should remember that he is married to an immigrant, and based on that marriage her parents were allowed to immigrate.  

And his running mate should remember that he is married to the daughter of immigrants, and his children are mixed race, before he questions the race of our next President.  

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, has announced that he will be voting for Kamala Harris. Dick is about as war mongering of a Republican as you can be.  But then he did have a change of heart a few years ago (he had a heart transplant.) Sorry, someone had to make that joke. 

 

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws September 11th

Where have I been?  Manassas for a flightseeing ride, DC for lunch with a friend and a nice walk in a museum, the farmers market, a walk in north Old Town, back into DC for a meeting and the gym.  

Who have I seen?  Anna and Susan joined us at the Grill for dinner on Friday. I cooked on Saturday and they came over for a late lunch; Erica and a Judge from South Korea.   

Who have I heard from this week?  Spo, Sassybear, Mitchell, Paula, Diane, my sister, and Jim.  A surprisingly social week for me. 

Where to next? I am speaking at a conference in Richmond later this week.  90 minutes on one of my favorite topics. 

Where was I 23 years ago today? Presenting on elder abuse at a conference for grandparents raising grandchildren. 

What about work?  I finished up a draft report on a large consulting project, finished and was paid for an editing project. 

Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week?  I stopped at Balducci's on Saturday morning, the cashier was so kind and well spoken.  She added to the premium experience.

What is the weather like?  Autumnal, cooler nights, milder afternoons, lower humidity.  

What am I working on for the blog? A new series for after New Years, 50 States in 50 Weeks. I am finished with the states that start with an A. 

What made me go Huh this week?  A very careless driver in a grey Mitsubishi. He was a danger to himself and others. 

My wish for the week? Good health and comfort for all. 

  

 

Travel Tuesday: Nimes to Paris by Train

Riding a wind powered train (electric) 

 

Monday Mood: Getting out and enjoying life

My successor in the office, emailed saying it was time to meet for lunch, I met her in the city one day last week. Her schedule was full, lunch was late.  I went into the city a little early and spend 90 minutes walking in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.  It was refreshing and inspiring. We had a nice long lunch, talking about what is happening, and what will happen. When we finished I walked down, across the mall and took the subway home from a station nearly a mile away.  It was so nice to see the museum, to connect with Erica, and to see the city.  I am so close, and I see so little of it. 

Late last week we drove out to Manassas, 24 miles as the bird flies, 44 miles by the fastest road connection. So close and yet I think only the second time I have been there.  I went out for a ride in a 1929 Ford Tri Motor airplane.  A neat experience that I will talk about in a future post.  

And it was just that, an experience.  A few years ago there was a flurry of articles about millennials being more interested in experiences than things, preferring to go hiking in the Andes, over owning an expensive watch or a new car.  The same can be said for some of us older people.  I have a couple of expensive watches, that I never wear.  I'd sooner spend $100 on a flightseeing tour, than having the Tag Heuer serviced (I have a pretty yellow one from the late 1990's.) A walk in a museum, a walk in a world Capital, lunch with a friend; enjoying these things, simply requires getting out and going. 

     

The Sunday Five: Puzzles and Games

 1: Do you do cross word puzzles? 

2: Do you do the Daily Wordle? 

3: Do you do word search puzzles? 

4: Do you do Yorkshire Pudding weekly pub quiz?

5: What other puzzles to you do? 

My Answers:

 1: Do you do cross word puzzles? Seldom, spelling is a challenge for my brain. 

2: Do you do the Daily Wordle? Probably 5 or 6 times a week. 

3: Do you do word search puzzles? No, my mother loved them.

4: Do you do Yorkshire Pudding weekly pub quiz? Yes, 

5: What other puzzles to you do? Really not much. 

Oh, the image above, the a massive word search in the lobby of the Cleveland Clinic. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Adventures in Flying

I grew up spending Saturday or Sunday mornings hanging around the local airport, with pilots and little airplanes. Two of my four earliest memories are tied to the plane above that my father owned when I was 4-5 years old.  I love flying, and airplanes.   There are a few great stories. 

A few years ago I flew from Washington DC, into some hellhole in West Virginia, (then rented a car and drove 100 miles into the mountains to facilitate a dysfunctional meeting.) The "airline" flight was on a tiny twin turbo prop, there were maybe two dozen seats, about half of them were filled.  Flights like this exist, because congress forces the department of transportation to subsidise the airlines to provide service to places that would never otherwise have air service.  From DC that means the congressperson can fly home for the quickie with a lover or spouse and be back in the morning to vote for more tax cuts.  The airlines make money on these flights without selling a single seat. They are usually flown in the smallest of planes. Often they are the training ground for commercial pilots trying to build enough hours to make the big time. 

That afternoon the "Captain" was a long haired hippy dude, who was flying out the last years before mandatory retirement in a job that meant he was home every night, and got to fly by the seat of his pants.  He had a scruffy beard and shoulder length hair.  The "First Officer" looked like he had finished high school the year before, and his mother had given him permission to go fly with crazy uncle Jeff.  Obviously this was the much older pilot who most likely learned how to really fly avoiding anti-aircraft fire in southeast Asia, and the youngun hoping to build enough hours to move into the big leagues.  

The approach into hell hole international airport, was exciting. There were no mile long flat spots on top of the mountains, and money being tight the airport was in the valley, along the river. To get there we flew in between the mountains, with about a 20 mile per hour cross wind. It was an "exciting" approach and landing. I could hear the Captain coaching the youngun through the approach.  When the plane greased onto the runway, the Captain shouted "YeHaw, that is how it is done." He was so right, that is exactly how it is done.  An old school pilot with decades of experience showing the next generation how to fly.  
 

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience #22 Tip the Housekeeper

I remember the first time I tipped a hotel housekeeper, I was in Deadwood South Dakota, leading training on elder abuse and interviewing skills for AARP.  The hotel rooms were in a separate building behind the casino, up a bit of a steep hill. The housekeeper, a local was headed up the hill in a golf cart and insisted that I ride up the hill with her.  I was moved by her kindness.  

On a multi day stay, I try to remember to leave a nice tip and a short thank you note for housekeeping on the first day. The housekeepers appreciate it, and will do little things like the fluffiest towels, or extra amenities to show it.  

When my parents were alive I was often traveling over the holidays, I would leave an extra large tip and a special thank you, the people who had to work on the holiday. 

How much? In the USA $5 a day in most places, $10 if it is an especially expensive location or hotel.  On holidays, at least $20. Tipping is less common in Europe, in some hotels the housekeeper will leave the cash on the desk.  On the most recent trip I left a bottle of wine for the housekeeper with a short note. 

Now this certainly improves the lives of the housekeepers, who work hard to make your travel pleasant. It improves my travel experience by reminding me that I can have a positive impact on the people and places that I visit, an the occasional extra bottle of water is kind of nice.  

Thursday Ramble: I can't believe I said that

I have edited this post several times.  The adventures of life and death are often learning experiences. Not always cheerful, but sometimes important.  There are only two once in a lifetime experiences, birth and death. 

I can't believe I actually said this, sometimes the words tumble out before the social filters kick in.  A couple of weeks ago between trips to Cleveland, someone asked how my brother-in-law was doing, and I replied, "better than he was, we are going to the funeral on Monday."  

Some will say, "well he is in a better place now." If you believe in an afterlife, he is there. Even if you don't believe in heaven, or an afterlife, or reincarnation, he is in a better place. 

I was shocked by how sick he was when we arrived there. Visiting someone in the hospital is never easy, this was especially difficult because of how poor his condition was.  We went four days in a row, and were there when the decision was made to discontinue life support.  

Once the doctors posed the question, what do we do? The decision was fast. The family had already been thinking it was time, maybe past time to stop the "extreme measures."* 

Once the decision was made things moved quickly. He died peacefully within minutes. 

At the funeral I talked with several people who were shocked that Ed was dead.  They had not visited him in the hospital, and had no idea how sick he was.  A couple of them said they were waiting to hear that he was up and talking to visit.  He never regained consciousness after surgery. 

A dear cousin who had gone to visit Ed a couple of days before he died, told me she was shocked at how bad his condition was.  It is really hard to see people in that condition. She and I agreed, that having been there, it was easier to understand why were at a funeral. 

My message from this experience.  Go visit people in the hospital or other health care facility. It is not easy, but it is often good for the person, and good for you.  Looking death in the eyes, can help us understand life.  There are things worse than death. 

* There is a really great book by the title "Extreme Measures" by Dr. Jessica Zitter on end of life health care. It should be required reading. 

 

My World of Wonders, aka The Wednesday Ws September 4th 2024

What have I been cooking?  My holiday fruitcakes, pizza, ham and bean soup,  

Who have I heard from?  Paula, Mitchell, Spo, my Sister, John,  the guy restoring the airplane my father owned back in the early 1960s. 

Where have I been?  Around the house, the farmers market, Trader Joe's, the gym, the pool, a walk along the river. 

What have I been listening to?  Classical music, cello, Vivaldi, 

What have I been writing?  I holiday piece on fruitcakes for Senior Lawyers, a piece about end of life for Senior Lawyers, blog posts, editing a final report for a consulting project. 

What adventure is coming up? If all goes well, a ride in a Ford Trimotor. 

What have I been thinking about?  Today and tomorrow. Making plans for the next year. 

What is driving me nuts this week?  Endless asks for campaign contributions from my favorite political candidate.  I have given, and given, and given, and I am not giving any more.  

How am I feeling? Better, still not 100%, but better. 

My Wish for the Week? A few warm days to enjoy the outdoor pool before it closes in the 14th for the season. 

Travel Tuesday: Happy Blogiversary! 19 Years and Counting

19 Years ago today, I put up the first post on The Adventures of Travel Penguin. Travel is sitting on my desk, waiting for the next adventure. Together we have been to nearly every state (he has not been to Oklahoma the last time I was there I was 5 years old) and back and forth across the Atlantic more times than I can count.  

For the first decade I stayed in the background, then I became the face and voice of the blog.  I am in my 9th year of posting at least once each day, I am looking forward to continuing to do so.  The discipline of putting out has improved my writing and storytelling (hard to believe this is the improved version). 

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Monday Moods: Sometimes I Need A Recharge Day

There are times when life wears us down, kind of like our phones, there are times when we just need a recharge.  Most days, a good nights sleep, or a quiet afternoon nap will do it.  Some days, that just isn't enough.  Dear departed Cousin Bill said the worst part of retirement was that he never got a day off.  We need to give ourselves permission to take a day off from time to time.  Free ourselves from the duties and chores. And do whatever charges our batteries, or restores our faith in humanity.  

Back in the go-go days of the 1980's I discovered Britcoms, BBC sitcoms, on the local Public Broadcasting Station on Friday evenings.  It was a couple of hours of Are You Being Served, To the Manor Born, Waiting for God, Open All Hours and The Good Neighbors (The Good Life in Britain.)   Sadly, as the programs have become dated, most were produced the 1970s and 1980s, and PBS has stopped showing them in the USA for the most part.  I have all of them on DVD.  Last Friday afternoon was spent laying on my bed binge watching the first two seasons of Waiting for God, being reminded how to age ungracefully and enjoy every moment of it.   

Sunday Five: Music

1: Do you play any musical instrument? 

2: Do drop money in the box of street musicians? 

3: Did you ever try to learn to play music? 

4: Is there music playing in the background as you read this? 

5: How would you describe your musical taste? 

My answers: 

1: Do you play any musical instrument?  Sadly no. 

2: Do drop money in the box of street musicians? If I like what they are playing, the cellist was amazing. 

3: Did you ever try to learn to play music? In middle school I struggled in the school band for a couple of years. 

4: Is there music playing in the background as you read this? Yes, 

5: How would you describe your musical taste?  Eclectic, anything from classical, to smooth jazz, to folk, some classic rock, and little country (but not much.) 

Please share your answers in the comments.