Wednesday, October 16, 2024

My World of Wonders, aka the Wednesday Ws October 16, 2024


Where have I been this week?  Close to home, the grocery store / pharmacy, a walk at the airport, a walk on King Street, the library, a walk in the swamp at Dyke Marsh, the farmers market, a walk and out to lunch, and the Hirshorn. 

What have I been cooking this week?  I bought a whole beef tenderloin and cut steaks and roasts from it, so we had steak the other day, chicken noodle soup, a lemon custard pie, 

Who have I heard from?  Kim, and old co-worker from my home builder days in Florida.  She wants to know when I am going to come for a visit, it has been a long time. 

When will I start planning the next adventure?  Already have, and figured out this week why I was having trouble finding a hotel in Amsterdam.  It is Kings Day weekend, we will be skipping Amsterdam on next springs adventure. 

What is the sculpture above?  The end of last month, Angus from St Andrews was here in Washington DC. He posted a photo of this, I instantly knew where it was, it is along the side of the a Catholic church near Gallery Place.  I have walked or ridden a bike past it a thousand times in the past 16 years. The church does a lot of outreach to homeless persons in the community. There was a lady a block or so from there who lived in cardboard boxes for years. She would always smile and say Hi when I walked by. She would tell anyone who would listen, that she was owed money.  A volunteer took her serious one day, and discovered that she was entitled to a federal pension based on 30 years of work in a government office.  She had failed to cash the checks during a period of mental health issues, and the payments had been put on hold.  She was owed a decade of back pay, and enough of a monthly payment to live with dignity.  

What made me go "Huh!" this week?  Politicians, and a family member, who think that the government is manipulating the weather. Untreated mental illness is a real problem at times.  

What made me sad this week? I walked past the White House a few days ago, and the 20 foot tall riot fence has been put back up.  This is an additional barrier, about 250 feet away from the usual spiked fence around the Presidential Residence. It is good to see that they are prepared in case a sore loser decides to send his mob to forcibly attack the White House, very-very sad that it is necessary. I hope the police are well armed and authorized to shoot if attacked. 

What made me sad part 2? An old friend is in poor health, heart failure, kidney failure, he has been in the hospital for five weeks. 


19 comments:

  1. As #45 said, just 24 hours of heavy law enforcement. It would be good if democracy was under threat by an attempt to storm the Whitehouse, a shoot to kill policy was in place.

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    1. Security is, and needs to be tight.

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  2. I still cant believe the controlling the weather thing.

    But beef tenderloin? I'll be right there!

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  3. Wonderful that a volunteer helped the old lady get her pension and back pay! Judging from the stigmata in his feet, I take it the sleeping homeless guy on the bench is Jesus.

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  4. What a great story about that unhoused woman. I'll be smiling on that one all day.

    Sadly, I don't think there's help for people who think the weather can be controlled.

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    1. Not enough mental hospitals? Sadly they are the same people who deny man made climate change.

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  5. We've had beautiful Fall weather here so getting out for walks has been wonderful.
    I can't wait for the election to be over. I'm hoping hard for Harris/Walz.

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    1. Lots of nice walks here, and voting.

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  6. Sorry about your friend. The story about the woman makes me wonder how many others are like that. I suppose that if you believe that (you know who) is a gift from god, you can certainly believe that some people are controlling the weather.

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    1. Social Security struggles to find payees for adults with mental illness.

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  7. Yeah, politicians are controlling the weather although there’s no such thing as climate change because people can’t control the weather. Imagine the number of people struggling without funds when there are actually funds available to them if only they had an advocate. So sorry for the things that made you sad this week.

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    1. The inaugural platforms are under construction at the Capital.

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  8. The Weather Control Machine is temporarily disabled. There are supply chain issues preventing its prompt repair. Apparently there are also maintenance issues with the Space Laser too. Boeing denies any involvement.

    Will Jay

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    1. My insider at Boeing says half of the parts don't work when they come out of the box.

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  9. Interesting that security arrangements are well-advanced to protect The White House. The Man Baby has already indicated that he will again refuse to graciously accept the result of the election if he doesn't win.

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    1. I could go on a long rant about how I really feel about him.

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  10. OK OK I confess I control the weather. Do not dare to question this.

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