Mongo Dead? + Dog Adventures + Bats & Turkeys + Non-Partisan Insights

Whimsical Wednesday       

Mental Health MON . . . Special WED Edition

In my Mental Health MON blog on MON 2/22, I blogged about my Winter Doldrums. I speculated that a contributing factor might be my hip replacement surgery, scheduled for TUE 3/15, & how it might put a damper on some of the items on my bucket list. I solicited advice & got valuable feedback from sources I value & trust. I choose not to name them. *

• I was told to stop watching & reading depressing things. Lois & I watched the last episode of "Making a Murderer," an original, documentary series on Netflix, last SUN night. On MON night we started watching back episodes of "Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." & immediately bonded with it. Good guys triumph. Bad guys get defeated. Also beaten up & shot. One episode featured some bad guys getting sucked out of a hole that the good guys blew in the side of an airplane in flight. Ah, good times again.
• Unfortunately, I just can't put down The Pessimist's Guide to History. I've invested too much time & effort to just set it aside now. Last night I read about Hurricane Mitch (1998); a train wreck in India (205 dead, 206 injured 1998); "AIDS Rivals the Black Death" (1998); Clinton sex scandal (1999); Columbine massacre (1999); another train collision in India (286 dead, 400 injured, 1999); earthquakes in Turkey ('99), Taiwan ('99), El Salvador ('01), India ('01), Afghanistan ('02), 9/11 . . . Maybe I should talk to my therapist about this?
• I was advised to forget about activities that involve running, so jogging the length of the Great Wall of China looks like a no-go. [I'm going to google "Limping with the Bulls."]
• However, I was encouraged to snorkel with whale sharks, since water therapy is recommended for recovery from hip replacement.

* It was my sisters-in-law, Kathy & Christy. **
** I didn't promise not to name them forever. ***
*** You two are the best!

Whimsy

From Omaha World Herald (2/24):  "'Mongo,' Fidel Castro's older brother, dies at 91. Ramon Castro, a lifelong cancer & farmer who bore a strong physical resemblance to younger brother Fidel Castro, has died, Cuban state media announced TUE. He was 91." [If memory serves me right, he bore a strong resemblance to one of my favorite characters in one of my all-time favorite movies.]

From Readers' Digest (Sep 2015) "36 Favorite Facts That Are False":

• "Dropped Pennies Kill. Terminal velocity of a penny is 30-50 mph. Not fast enough to kill-but it sure would sting. [But how easy is it to aim a penny from the top of the Nebraska State Capitol?] *
• "Dogs Sweat by Salivating. No--they regulate temperature through panting. They actually sweat through their footpads. [I'll have to check PetSmart the next time I'm in Lincoln to see if they carry DFPOE''s.} **
• "Water Rotation. A flushed toilet does not rotate the other way in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coriolis effect doesn't alter water in toilets." [There goes one of my reasons for wanting to vacation in the Southern Hemisphere.]

* Capital??

** Doggie Foot Pad Odor Eaters. Duh.

Dog Owner's Odyssey

We still struggle w/"encounters". An encounter would be when we are walking Sammy & encounter a dog in close proximity to our own. We're not sure why Sammy takes such great offense at this, but it doesn't take much to get him worked up. His tendency is to emit guttural snarls, sharp barking, snapping his jaws, straining at his leash and/or harness. He's gotten better since we acquired him last summer, but he still has his moments. When I took him walking yesterday we had three encounters.

• While walking the home stretch along Skyline Drive in the morning, a car pulled into a driveway just ahead of us. Sammy & I were in the street. A lady parked the car & got out, & before we had any time to prepare, a St. Bernard came bounding out of the car & ran across the driveway, into the street, & went nose-to-nose w/Sammy. Sammy reacted predictably. The lady yelled at the dog who immediately backtracked. There was no blood. I couldn't really fault Sammy, because it all happened so quickly. You've heard how during traumatic moments everything seems to slow down? Like slow motion? [That didn't happen.]
• When we went walking after lunch, just as we turned the corner from Skyline Dr. onto 18th St., Sammy stiffened up & woofed. I hadn't seen a threat, but just then a pick-up pulled up on our left. A dog poked its head out the rear window of the vehicle. "Sammy--seriously?" I mocked. "That was worth a woof? The dog was in a pick-up truck! Why the woof?" Sammy was unrepentant. [He has never displayed an ability to comprehend sarcasm.]
• Encounter #3 happened just a few blocks south of the previous incident. A lady across the street was walking her smaller dog across the front yard to a tree [if you catch my drift]. Sammy perked up, but I had a chance to talk calmly to him, soothe him, & he responded well, which gets him a treat. 

There Is No Place Like . . . 

New York?

From Norfolk Daily News (2/15):  "113-ft blade falls off windmill. An energy company said it's trying to determine why a 113-ft long bad fell off a windmill in central NY . . . Local officials said the windmill that lost the blade is the same one that collapsed in Dec. 2009. [When humankind decided it could build a tower to reach heaven, SEE Genesis 11:1-9. When humankind seriously thinks that wind power is a renewable, non-carbon energy source . . . Hmmmm. I'm just saying'.]

Texas?

Also from NDN (2/19):  "Bats close emergency room to ambulances. An East Texas emergency room has been closed after bats began to spread through the building. In a statement posted on the Kilgore Police Dept. social media pages, Good Shepherd Med Center said 'a number of small bats' had moved into the Longview, TX-based hospital's free-standing emergency room in nearby Kilgore. The bats had moved into the building's walls & ceilings, with some migrating into the area that receives ambulances." [Would you like to hear a story re:  how best to combat * an unscrupulous bat who is attacking your family? Ask my wife or any of my children, but give me a chance to post my side of the story.]
* Hey! I think I made a joke . . . com-BAT a bat . . . Get it?

New Jersey?

Also from NDN (2/19):  "Turkey trap. A postmaster seems dumb-founded in a 911 call he made to get help for a NJ letter carrier who was trapped inside his truck by several wild turkeys. The postmaster told police 'you're not going to believe this' before providing details about the attack . . . Authorities said about 7 turkeys accosted the letter carrier, but he wasn't injured. Two officers scared off the turkeys so the letter carrier could continue his route." ["Neither rain nor sleet nor . . . we make no promises re:  wild turkeys."]

Political TUE . . . Special WED Edition

Also from OWH (2/17):  "Obama says nominee will be 'indisputably qualified.' President Barack Obama said TUE that his eventual nominee for the vacant Supreme Court seat will be 'indisputably qualified' & he challenged Republicans' partisan contention that he should leave the nomination to his successor." [And by "indisputably qualified" I'm guessing the esteemed former Attorney General Eric "Fast & Furious" Holder or former Secretary of State Hillary "I Didn't Use My Personal Server to Send Classified Emails" Clinton would be examples.]

Also from OWH (2/18):  "Democrat urges Obama to pick 'mainstream' nominee. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said WED that the president should pick a 'mainstream' nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Schumer said the president should choose someone who can garner support from Democrats & Republicans." [And by "mainstream" I'm guessing someone who is 100% in favor of abortion at all stages of pregnancy, open borders & no barriers to immigration, circumventing congressional approval of international treaties, especially w/nations hostile to the U.S., restrictions on religious freedoms & gun ownership . . . you know, the usual "mainstream" values that the majority of Americans hold near & dear to their hearts.]