My Top Ten Songs of the Pandemic

 

I like to think I'm on top of things culturally. But most often I'm not, not even close. Sometimes I hear a great song on the radio that sounds fresh, new and...it turns out to be a ten year old recording. And I'm like, where was I in 2010 when this song came out that I missed such a great tune? You can justify missing it if it's an obscure song or deep track. But sometimes these artists or songs I "discover" have a decently sized fan base and the song was indeed out there on the radio. This happens to me all the time.

Anyway, here are some songs that blew me away in 2020. Some are songs actually recorded in the past year or so. Others have been around a long time and I only came to them (or they came to me) in 2020. And one (January Hymn), I had heard but never paid much attention to. Either way, these are my Top Ten Pandemic Songs. These are the songs that really captured my attention this year. Forgive me if I was behind on some of these!

Heaven's Nail and Hammer by M Ward

Dream Sea (Sheila's Dream version) by Brazzaville

Birds Don't Sing by TV Girl

Excuses by The Morning Benders

Only in My Double Mind by Centro-Mastic

Be Okay by Ellen Once Again

Dream Girl by Anna of the North

Lorelai by Fleet Foxes

January Hymn by The Decemberists

Living in a Ghost Town by The Rolling Stones

 

Election Day

A thousand mile journey begins with one step. Getting rid of Trump would be an important first step. However, I feel that win or lose, he's caused great generational harm that will take decades to subside. He gave many people the permission to unleash their inner demons into the world. It's really hard to put the devil back into the hole. Many evangelicals have lost moral credibility forever. Evangelicals who supported Trump never have the right to talk about moral character in the future. But they will, of course and that blatant hypocrisy will further alienate anyone with a shred of decency.

Eye on the Ball

 

 

Another Saturday, another UTR tennis event. My son is really enjoying playing in these. And we are having fun with them. They are well run. The parents haven't been crazy...so far. It's been nice and relaxing and it hasn't taken all day...yet. Tennis has become one of my son's passions and I'm glad for it. He enjoyed playing soccer, baseball and basketball. He really liked basketball. But tennis, he's passionate about. And it's been fun playing against him and watching him play. 

Mask Up

 

Statues

I work in a town that still has a confederate statue standing in front of its county courthouse. It's an embarrassment. The reality is there are a lot of ignorant rednecks and racists who live in this county who protest angrily any time someone even suggests the statue come down. They threaten violence. The politicians often are cowed by their vitroil. 

Here is an excellent article from the Kaufman Herald about this racist history of the statue. Ironic because even the Kaufman Herald has this soldier in their masthead. 

http://www.kaufmanherald.com/around_town/article_7fffb15c-fc2a-11ea-acc0-b7518ddd1102.html

Terracotta

I can't get enough history documentaries. I really like this one about the Terracotta Soldiers of Qin Shinhuangdi. The discovery of thousands of soldiers in 1974 is one of the greatest archeological finds in modern history. This led to the discovery of Shinhuangdi's tomb who was the first emperor to unify China. He was a cruel leader and only a hard authoritarian would make a tomb of such spectacular size and scope. The tomb has never been opened because of the possibility that doing so would destroy precious artifacts within. It's a great story.

First Day of Fall

This year, the weather in Texas has been appropriate to the beginning of the Fall Season. It's cool and rainy. I find it so refreshing after a long hot summer. August is almost unbearable in Texas. 

Unfortunately, one of my favorite traditions that marked the changing of the season is no more. Live From Here with Chris Thile always began in the fall. The show was a harbinger of cooler temps, leaves changing color then falling and shorter days. Due to the pandemic, Minnesota Public Radio could no longer afford to produce the show. So, the show was canceled. Jackson and I greatly enjoyed LFH and we even went to see the show when they traveled to Austin a few years ago. They even played one of my song requests and mentioned my name on the show in a memorable episode. 

I am glad for Autumn. But I am a bit nostalgic for Live From Here helping usher in the season. 

New Finds of Old Stuff

I'm embarrassed to say, as someone who likes to think of themselves as a jazz aficionado, that I did not discover Erroll Garner's Concert by the Sea until 2004...when I was in my thirties. An older gentleman, who was subbing at the high school where I was teaching at the time suggested it. I had vaguely heard of Erroll Garner but was not familiar with this album. I was shocked to find that it was a huge seller. Released in 1955 it had sold over a million copies by 1958. 

The story behind this "accidental" masterpiece is a story in of itself. The concert was scheduled at the last minute and held in a concert hall in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California. It was not meant to be recorded for an album. It was recorded almost by accident. Garner's manager took the tape to Columbia Records who released it despite the sub-par recording quality. 

Errol Garner's playing was so spectacular it made up for any sound engineering deficiencies. Modern technology has done a decent job of improving the sound. The bassist and drums now are clearer than ever. Garner's mastery of the piano is so great it sounds like three pianists playing, not one. It is an amazing album.  

That's one of the things I love about music, regardless of genre. There's always greatness to be discovered. There's always amazing albums hiding, some in plain sight. I find this particularly true with my experience in jazz. I've been listening to jazz for over thirty years but I still "discover" brilliant stuff all the time. This year I "discovered" jazz guitarist Grant Green. How did I miss this guy? His Blue Note recordings are fantastic. 

The same is true for genres of all kinds. I love finding "new" stuff from years ago.

UTR

 

 

Jackson had his first UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) Tournament of the season this past Saturday in Rockwall, Texas. He did well. He won his first match then dropped his second match to a high school girl. But he played well and he enjoyed playing competitive tennis again. 

 

It was a beautiful day for tennis. 64 degrees at first serve. We have signed him up for several UTR Tournaments since KISD has the ridiculous and vindictive policy of not allowing any student who opted for At-Home Learning at any point in the school year to play sports for the entire year. Rumor is they may be re-thinking that policy but I'm not holding out any hope.

 

I'm just glad Jackson plays a sport that gives us options out side of school competitions. He had a lot of fun at this first tournament of the year. 

At Home Learning

I took the day off today to see how my kid's At-Home Learning was going. Due to the amount of Covid cases in our county we elected to have our kids start the school year with the Remote Learning option offered by our school district. As a teacher I had a first hand view of how chaotic the beginning of the school year was going to be. I wanted my son and daughter to avoid that chaos and start at home until hopefully the chaos would settle down. 

The year did indeed start out chaotically and I'm glad we made this choice. Our school district did make it tough for people to choose at-home learning. If a student chose at-home learning they are prohibited from participating in athletics the rest of the year. 

Fortunately my Mom and Mother-in-Law, both retired teachers, were willing to facilitate the online learning for our kids. They alternate days coming to our house to supervise their progress.

The year has settled into a rhythm and now we will soon have to decide if the kids return to campus for the second quarter or continue with virtual learning. Despite numerous class re-locations, a few quarantines and a few positive cases, for the most part the year has hit a groove. Of course, that could change in a minute. That's the mantra for the year: expect the unexpected.

Shields

 

I'm thinking of going as Andy Reid's face shield for Halloween.

New Mask Monday

 

 

Yesterday was New Mask Monday. My Weezer mask finally came in two months late. =w=

Symmetry

 

Symmetry 

A Longer Rainbow

 

When I finished Ulysses, I began tackling Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Back in May, I predicted I would be finished by October 8, 2020. Ha. How naive I was. I won't be close to finishing by October. As of today I'm on page 448. I have 328 pages left to go! 

My routine, much like how I tackled the beast of Ulysses, is to read about 4 pages a day. So that means I have at least 82 days to go. So that would be around November 23rd...just in time for Thanksgiving Break. And that's if I don't get off pace. 

The prose of GR is dense. There's over 400 characters that come in and out of the narrative. There's numerous digressions that go down bewildering rabbit holes. I don't understand much of what I read. But I understand more of it than I did of Ulysses. And I am enjoying it more. I do find it fascinating at time. At other times...frustrating. 

I like this new model: reading a notoriously long and difficult classic a little at a time. This allows me to read other books for enjoyment at the same time. I'm also currently reading Utopia Avenue, David Mitchell's newest book. I also started re-reading Love Wins by Rob Bell.

Reading a tough work a little at time helps me not to become overwhelmed and overly frustrated. When I'm in the middle of a particularly dense section I know that I don't have much to get through if I'm only reading four pages. If a passage is particularly enjoyable I can wander past the four page mark at my leisure. 

I think I already have my next tough work in line after Gravity's Rainbow. I think I'm going to give Swann's Way by Proust a shot. I've read portions of Remembrance of Things Past but never done the deep dive of going all the way in. I have a copy of Swann's Way that I bought at the same library book sale where I procured GR. So that will be next.

Onward to November 23rd! 

Old Tech

 

I like old tech. This Royal Typewriter was my grandfather's. I've now inherited two of his former typewriters. I'm displaying them in my classroom as decorations. My students want to know where the screens are. Also, they don't seem to have wires with which to plug into the wall. 

Focus

 

Ava has been involved with Tae Kwon Do for the past six months or so. Even when interrupted by a four month shutdown she still participated via Zoom. She recently received her yellow belt. She really has taken to it although she sometimes doesn't enjoy it. It's hard work but it has given her a lot of confidence. It has been great for her physical fitness. The move to yellow belt really accelerated her level of confidence.

The Weirdness

 

 

Been too long. I guess I kinda got unmotivated to blog. Lots been going on. Back to school. My kids are starting the year at home learning virtually. It's a surreal scene at the high school. Everyone in masks. Teachers forced to periodically relocate out of their rooms for "deep cleaning."  I had to relocate my last two periods to the school auditorium on the first day of school due to a kid being sent home with a fever. Turns out it wasn't Covid...but they ain't taking chances.

So now we have finished week two. The outbreaks usually begin in earnest after two weeks. So next week could be interesting.

Complicity

A confession and a personal mini-manifesto...

Silence is complicity.

Racism is a cancer. Acknowledging the systemic racism in our society is not enough. I must also confront those racist thoughts that poison my individual soul. Every day I must acknowledge the prejudices that seep or even sometimes flood my consciousness. I cannot pretend it doesn't exist. I must confront it head on, figure out how it got in there in the first place, then excise it brutally from my mind, my heart and my soul.

Denying its existence in my soul simply allows the cancer to spread. I must beg forgiveness and ask my friends who are not of my ethnicity how I can do better. I must listen, acknowledge, and act. I must not worry about offending those who will be angry when I point out that white protestors armed with assault rifles can storm a statehouse while African-Americans are shot while jogging, murdered by policemen with a knee on their neck, and threatened with police violence for asking a white woman to follow Central Park rules. And that's just the past few days!

This is not a partisan issue, this is a human issue.

Just a few more things...

Wear a mask!

Vaccines work.

And there's nothing wrong with mail-in voting.

Put on your mask!

I made a weezer mask. =w=

I just don't understand this opposition to wearing masks during this time of pandemic.

Just put on the mask! Stop being a toddler! No one is sending you to a concentration camp! You are not being oppressed! You're going to walmart for twinkies and diet coke!

No one is asking you to storm the beaches of Normandy! No one is asking you to ration your food!

Put the mask on!

Be kind to others.

Listen to the doctors and scientists...not the politicians. This is not political!

Wear your mask!

You might save a life and maybe even yours.

This country is turning into a bunch of babies!

Ulysses Done

It took 391 days. Eight more days than I predicted on April 10, 2019. It was on April 10th that I started reading Ulysses by James Joyce. I originally predicted I be finished on April 28th, 2020. I actually finished on May 6, 2020. Not too far off! Fell off a bit in the middle somewhere but The Quarantine allowed me to catch back up. I'm just proud I actually completed this goal!

The secret was reading two pages a day. This took the pressure off. I could read other books at the same time. I didn't have to worry about the obscure language. I just read two pages a day and kept going. Another key was utilizing the online resources that helped explain the content. It was a difficult read and I needed the help.

But the challenge was worth it all. Completing a goal over a long period of time is immensely satisfying. I had been attempting to tackle this book for twenty years and it feels so good to have gone and done it. I guarantee I'll be celebrating Bloomsday on June 16th this year!

So I've kinda begun a routine of reading one challenging book over a long period time while reading one or two other more accessible works at the same time. I've now challenged myself to tackle Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. 776 pages. It's not the length, its the depth of the content that can be challenging. So this will be my long read for the next while. I started today, May 7th, 2020.

There seems to be page breaks about every eight pages or so...a lot more than the two pages a day pace I used for Ulysses. But I'm going to give that a shot. Some page breaks are a little shorter and some a little longer. I haven't looked through the whole book so I could be in for some surprises. But I think I'll try to keep it at eight pages max.

At 776 pages that would mean I would be done in 97 days. I'm going to give my self a little longer simply because I'm not sure I can do eight pages a day every day while reading two other books concurrently. So I'm going to give my self 155 days (average of 5 pages a day).

So that means I should be done with Gravity's Rainbow by October 8, 2020. 155 days from now.

Let's do it.

When No One Shows...

Me, all by myself, when none of my students show up to their scheduled Zoom Meeting.

We're now in the middle of our 7th week of Remote Learning during The Quarantine. At first attendance to my meetings was robust and energetic. Zoom was new and interesting. But soon students began muting their cameras so all you could see were static avatars. A few weeks went by and more and more students stopped showing up. The novelty faded fast. And maybe the content of my Zoom Meetings did not hold interest for them. Plus, 9:30 am is pretty early for some of my students these days. I don't take it personally. But it can sometime get lonely out there...

Little things...

My daughter has made face masks for her stuffed animals and dolls.

I've heard that the wearing of face masks has become a political issue.

Anyone who refuses to wear a mask in public during this pandemic is a selfish idiot.

I always tell my students "if you can't do the little things then you can't be trusted with the big things."

Wearing masks and staying home are little things. Our nation can't seem to handle that. 

May the Fourth

May the Fourth be with you, Rebel scum!

Readings for the End of the World

So I tagged Gary Shteyngart, one of my favorite authors, a tweet yesterday. And he responded!

Plywood Tennis

Again, we are always trying to find new ways to entertain our kids once they complete their daily remote school work. Here's a ping pong table we made of a cheap piece of plywood and a cheap portable table tennis net. Cheap, but provides hours of fun!

Tree Swing

We are doing everything we can to keep variety in the lives of our kids during The Quarantine. At least we can go outside in our current Quarantine situation. I know many are trapped in their apartments. My daughter was begging for a swing to hang up in the tree in our front yard. This was an easy project that has provided her hours of entertainment over the past week. It took me longer to wait in line at Lowe's to buy the wood and rope than it did to saw the wood, drill the holes and hang the swing up.

Intense

Put up the tent in the backyard. Kids needed a new scene. I like how it adds square footage to our modestly sized house. I'll have to move it around every few days so it doesn't kill the grass. But it's nice to have another space to escape to, even if it's temporary.

More Background

How boring are blog posts about Zoom backgrounds? The Quarantine has changed my views on things that in the past I would have found boring. Here are some of the virtual backgrounds that I have been using for my Zoom Meetings...

My favorite bookstore (although I've only been there once)...Shakespeare and Company in Paris. 

The Royal Tennis Court near the Palace of Versailles where the French Revolution started. 

The cockpit of the Millenium Falcon

The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

Some Background

I've been conducting a lot of Zoom Meetings during The Quarantine as I teach my high school classes remotely. I've started using virtual background to change things up as we are now in our fourth week of online classes. StarWars.com made available some hi-res backgrounds of iconic Star Wars imagery for this purpose. I've also used some of my favorite landscape photos in my phone as backgrounds. I'll post some of those later.

Recently I began using a short one minute video loop as my background. I created this loop from the classic 1902 silent film, Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). This film is often credited as being the first science fiction movie. Directed by Georges Melies it was a major blockbuster in it's day. The film is about twelve minutes long and it's available on YouTube to stream. I captured a minute of the footage and created a loop to use on my zoom meetings.

Quarantine Reading Material

 Inspired by an old friend who asked the following question...

“I'd love to learn more about what you're reading during quarantine and why?”

I’ve been reading two pages a day (all I can handle in a single sitting of this book) of Ulysses by James Joyce for several months now. I’m on the 19th and final episode. Should be done by the end of May. I still don’t understand much of what I read of it. Have to use online resources to make head or tails of it. But I will be very happy to finally conquer this literary white whale! I will consider it a literary equivalent of making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem or Mecca! 

Re-reading The Plague by Albert Camus. Always a good read. I have been amazed at the parallels to today’s crisis. On Part Four now. Society’s denials of the reality of their plague rings frighteningly close to our denialists today. Quiet heroism of individuals doing their jobs in difficult situations reminds me of our health care workers, grocery store clerks, first responders, etc today.

On the Kindle, I’m reading Left Bank: Art, Passion, and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940-1950 by Agnes Poirier. A great history of the lives of artists, philosophers, writers and other creatives during the dark days of the Nazi occupation of France. How they managed to keep culture alive in the underground is fascinating. I’m only on Chapter Three but fully engrossed! I applaud and encourage those amateur and professional artists sharing their creative endeavors online during this quarantine. Staying creative helps maintain our sanity.

Cushing

I never knew how important Cushing, Oklahoma was to the global economy. I'm not sure if I've ever been there. I've seen it on highway signs and heard of it but don't think I've ever passed through. It's a little out of the way from the Will Rogers Turnpike.

According to Business Insider: "World oil prices are controlled by the amount of crude oil stored at Cushing, Oklahoma. That’s because Cushing is the pricing point for WTI (West Texas Intermediate) oil prices, the most-traded oil futures contract in the world."

Decades ago they used to call Tulsa the "Oil Capital of the World." I guess it's actually Cushing now. Storage capacity in Cushing is apparently at max meaning energy companies now have to pay to store it somewhere else. This has led to oil being worth negative dollars on the world market. Never thought I'd see that happen. Cushing, wow.

More Live Quarantine Concerts

Another one of my favorite performers, Colin Meloy, frontman for The Decemberists, is also conducting live weekly quarantine concerts. I find these live concerts very comforting.

Lola and the Quarantine

If I recline for just a second, Lola has me trapped. Makes it hard to get back up again and get to work.

Masks

Mowing during a high pollen day sometimes requires extraordinary measures of protection.

Bob the Duck is Back

Last week Bob made his first appearance of the season in our yard. He lives year round at the little farm across the way. But during the spring and summer he comes to our yard at least once a day for some fresh bird seed. His partner Joyce has not shown up as of yet and we have not seen her at the farm. Joyce may no longer be with us or maybe she's just not into leaving the barn these days. Good to see Bob during these days of pandemic. Bob does not understand social distancing.

Virtual Martial Arts

The Pandemic won't stop Master Li from conducting her Taekwondo sessions! Zoom is an amazing thing.

More Moments of Respite

It is indeed a strange time we're living in. I couldn't sleep the first couple of weeks of the Quarantine. I finally have developed the bare bones of a routine. I have kind of figured out how to continue teaching my classes remotely.

I am enjoying many of my favorite artists who are performing from their own quarantined situations. David Arthur Brown, of Brazzaville, has begun holding live online mini-concerts from his living room in Barcelona. He his holding them every Saturday at 1:00 central time (8 pm Barca time). I find these little casual concerts very refreshing.

Moments of Respite

Stressful times we're living in. Sometimes I have to break away from all the horrible news and find a moment of respite. This live mini-concert performed by M Ward of material from his new album he released this week gave me some peace.

The War Room

This is our war room. Looks like something out of The Matrix.

Today our school district extended our shut down indefinitely. I would have never imagined this at the beginning of the school year. Just unbelievable. I have been learning how to be a remote educator on the fly. I've learned that Zoom is a much better platform than Google Meets. I'm very glad I already had a YouTube Channel set up. I'm thankful for good internet service.

So when that photo was taken above, Ava was studying math on Prodigy. Jackson was in his room participating in a Zoom chat with his Robotics class on his phone. Kim was recording a short video for her students on her YouTube Channel. I was prepping presentation slides for my online Zoom class sessions tomorrow.

It has been a weird time. Thanks for family, a home, WiFi and Netflix!

Pandemic

It's a weird time.

We are under quarantine in North Texas. School shut down...likely for the year. I packed up my classroom yesterday. All learning is now online. I've been scrambling to get it all together.

Was stressed enough but then apparently there are those out there who think it's okay to end social distancing in order to get the economy going again. These people are willing to sacrifice people's lives for money.

Most of my friends in Texas have come around about how serious COVID-19 is. But I still have some moronic friends who are living in denial. These attitudes are dangerous and deadly. 

Super Tuesday in Texas

Went and voted in the Super Tuesday Primary during my lunch break today. A friend of mine is the Election Judge for my polling station. I saw that the guy behind me was wearing a MAGA hat. I told her and she promptly made him remove his hat and take it to his car. This made me so happy. It's the small victories...

I have to admit that as I pulled into the parking lot I was slightly intimidated by all the last minute campaigners sitting among the hundreds of signs planted beyond the 100 foot radius they must be from the polling station entrance. I've voted many times and am strong of conviction. Even so, I always find such displays jarring. I think these signs need to be removed even further afield.

I voted for fellow Oklahoman, Elizabeth Warren. Pragmatically I should have voted for Biden. But I went with both my brain and heart. I'm sick of pragmatism. I'll vote for Bernie if he's the nominee. But I honestly don't think he has a chance against Trump. I'm also not impressed with his dogmatic, uncompromising view of doing politics. That's not how leadership works and that type of intransigence will spell disaster in Washington. I think Biden is too old and too cozy with the establishment.

Warren probably doesn't have a chance. But she got my vote.

Here We Go...

So I was looking at my presidential predictions from February 2019 and man was I was way off. I've always been a terrible predictor of presidential politics. One year ago I predicted Kamala and Booker as the last two standing in the Democratic nomination process. I didn't expect Bernie to get back in it. Buttigieg was not even on my radar. Same for Klobuchar and Bloomberg.

American presidential politics is extremely unpredictable. Who would have thought a reality TV star would get elected and get the evangelicals to worship him despite his brazen amorality? Who would have thought high profile senators from California and New Jersey would fail so miserably in the nomination process? The mayor of South Bend, Indiana as a contender? You kidding me? A 78 year old self-proclaimed socialist as the leading candidate? I was a history/political science major in college and I saw none of that coming.

So...my predictions are pretty much worthless. But here goes anyway.

If Bernie gets the nom, Trump wins in a landslide.

The Democrats are going to screw this up, again. They have an amazing shot at victory. They have in their sights a president who is unpopular and a mess. But they're going to put up a nominee who will scare moderate Americans to death. The word socialism will be uttered in every Republican ad. Bernie is volatile and a bit scary when he gets angry.

Trust me, I will vote for Bernie if he's the nominee. I just don't see him attracting the votes of average Americans especially when the economy is strong. No one is going to vote for a revolution when unemployment is at 3% even if many of those jobs can't pay the bills. If he continues to say he will raise taxes on the middle class...he'll be toast in the general election.

So, with my record, I've probably just handed the election to Bernie Sanders. I just don't see it. Elizabeth Warren maybe. Amy Klobuchar possibly. But Sanders?

Lots of things can change over the next few days and months. Coronavirus. Stock markets. Wars. No telling what might happen. It's a chaotic world.

Things Old and New

One of the many things I really admired about my Grandfather was his refusal to be left behind the times. He was not scared of change and was always curious about how new technology worked. This was a guy who grew up on a farm in central Kansas during the Dust Bowl days of the Great Depression. His family used an outhouse. But he was always curious about how things worked. He got a degree in Industrial Physics from Kansas State University and became an engineer for McDonnell-Douglas.

But even after retirment he didn't quit learning. In his 70's, he enrolled in an Intro to Computers course at a local Juco so he could remain ahead of the curve when it came to understanding the newest technological innovations. VCRs, vinyl records, eight-tracks, cassettes, Compact Discs, DVD players, Mp3 players, the internet, email and wifi did not intimidate him as they did for so many of his generation. He learned how to use excel even though he had been retired for years. He used it for his financial planning. He did not fit the old stereotype that you can't teach old dogs new tricks.

But he also took great care of the things he had purchased. When my Grandmother told me to look to see if there was anything of his that I wanted after he passed, I found some old super 8 cameras and a movie projector. I also found an amazing analog non-electric typewriter. He probably hadn't used that typewriter in years. But it was clean and safely kept in its case. He took care of stuff even if he had moved on to newer things.

Recently I've taken a liking to old tech. I have an old overhead projector in my classroom that I use as a decorative piece. I have an old fireside chat type radio. I've got a few old super 8 cameras. I have an old stereo receiver and turntable. I like these things even if I don't use them much. I wish I still had my old Walkman! These things are heavy duty, built to last. I guess they came before the planned obsolescence way of doing things.

I really like the look of this typewriter in my classroom. It reminds me of my Grandfather. It also reminds me of a time when products were impressively engineered and were often works of art themselves. My wife makes me keep these things in my classroom. Not sure what I'll do with these things when I retire. But for now, I'll enjoy looking at them and how they remind me of the past.

Barometers

I have to admit I thought about closing down this blog after my Grandfather passed away last week. He was one of my most loyal readers. In fact, I'm not even sure anyone else even reads this thing. To be honest, most blogs are vanity projects and The Internet Lounge is no different. After he passed I thought, what's the point of continuing since my only reader is gone? But I started this blog really for myself. It keeps me writing. I also find it cathartic. So, even if no one is actually reading this, I may keep it going. A voice crying in the wilderness.

So anyway, my Grandmother asked me if there were some things of my Grandfather's that I might want. So I came home with a few items. These items are not worth a whole lot financially. But they hold a lot of sentimental value for me.

One of these items was a German made ATCO barometer. This hung in my grandparent's kitchen for as long as I can remember, at least forty years. It hung in an indention in the wall above their phone. I don't even know the story behind it. I'm not sure where or when they got it. I just know that it fascinated me as a kid. I would check it regularly whenever we visited Grandpa and Grandma. To me it represents a continuity that's lasted my entire life. My entire life it hung on that wall showing the barometric pressure of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I'm not sure how accurate it is. That doesn't really matter. But it would be super cool if it actually does work. I calibrated it yesterday and so far it seems to be pretty close to the barometer reading on my Weather App on my phone. I plan on keeping an eye on it for awhile to see if it truly works. Either way, I really like this piece. It reminds me of great memories in that kitchen in that house on Oswego in Tulsa with wonderful people.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa

My Grandpa was and is one of my heroes. This past weekend he passed away after 94 years of living an amazing life. A compassionate and godly man, he was always helping others. He was a rock in my life. An engineer who worked on the Apollo spacecraft, learned to ski at age 54 and skiied until he was 77. A scratch golfer, proud Kansas State Wildcat and great singer. He served in dozens of capacities at Will Rogers United Methodist Church for over 50 years. I will miss his infectious laugh and great stories. He was also one of the few readers of this blog. So much more I could say. I will miss his advice and wisdom. Rest in Peace, Grandpa.

Chiefs Rally

Be forewarned: I'm going to sound like a grumpy old man on this post.

I must admit I was disappointed by the Chief's Super Bowl Victory Parade that wrapped up in front of Union Station yesterday. Two major things stood out to me...

1.) The crowd size. People were saying beforehand that they expected a million people to attend the parade and rally. 800,000 had come to the Royal's victory parade and city officials expected even more for the Chiefs. The NFL is more popular than Major League Baseball and it had been 50 years since the Chiefs had won the World Championship.

But, watching on TV,  I noticed pretty quickly that the hill in front of Liberty Memorial was much more sparsely crowded than in 2015. The early photos had captions that said more and more were coming. But even by the end of the rally, the Chief's crowd paled considerably to the crowd that came to the Royal's celebration. That crowd was spectacular. The Chief's crowd? Kind of embarrassing. I will admit that photos can be highly misleading for numerous factors.

I have to assume that the weather was the big difference maker. 2015 saw a beautiful fall day of 70 degrees for the Royals parade. Yesterday was 20 degrees with wind chills in the teens. Knowing that you would have to wait for hours in cold weather to get a good spot might have convinced many to watch the rally on TV. Still, cold weather would not have stopped fans in Buffalo or Denver. Even Boston had bigger crowds after six Super Bowl titles. Granted, KC's population is not the size of Boston but I would have expected more fans to show up.

The Royals also drew fans regionally to their rally. The weather looked dodgy, with snow and ice in the forecast. I'm guessing fans from Topeka or Harrisonville were not going to risk it this year.

In 2015 there were many logistical issues that arose due to the large mass of people coming to downtown Kansas City. People parked on the shoulders and banks of freeways and interstates. There were not enough port-a-potties. Although joyous, it was a bit chaotic. Even though the metro area made vast logistical improvements this year (many more restroom facitilies, more shuttles, simpler parade route, no alcohol) a lot of people may have not been willing to deal with it, especially in bad weather.

Another factor is that in 2015 it had been thirty years since the last championship parade. In 2020, only five years had lapsed despite being a parade for a different team and sport. My guess is that many were of the mindset that 'I did it in 2015 and dealt with all the hassles because it had been a long time, but now...I'll just be watching from home.' There's also an expectation that the Chiefs may be set up for many more of these parades in the years to come. That expectation is very premature. Championships should never be taken for granted. But most Royals fans cherished that 2015 title knowing that because of how MLB economics work, it might be a long time before the next one.

Even though is was 50 years between championships for the Chiefs, I think most Chiefs fans know that the NFL's structure makes it much more likely KC can afford to keep their star athletes. Royals fans knew that the window for their team was much shorter and that they should enjoy each and every moment of 2014 and 2015. I know I sure did. Maybe things will change with a new owner but for a small market team, it's much harder for a team to do what the Royals did in 2015 than for what the Chiefs did in 2019-2020.

I'm guessing all those factors led to smaller crowd sizes. I could be way off. Who knows? Still kind of embarrassing. I bet the commemorative photos of the Chiefs rally will be zoomed in pretty tight.

Here's where I will sound like an old man...

2.) I was disappointed by the overt alcohol consumption of the Chief's roster. Alcohol was banned for public consumption along the parade route. But Mahomes and Kelce made fools of themselves by multiple shotgunning of beers. Mahomes had to make a pit-stop halfway in the parade. Then, from the top of a bus he poured beer down to the street to a waiting Kelce. A lot of Chiefs fans think that was awesome. I found it sophomoric. It was the antics of frat boys. You didn't see the Royals act that way in 2015. The Royals had much more class.

Half the team, when they spoke at the rally, were obviously inebriated. Slurred speeches and Tyreek Hill having to be held up by teammates is an embarrassing moment for the team. I was particularly embarrassed by Mahomes. He's always carried himself with dignity and respect. Yes, he's been seen pounding beers at different sporting events around town. But this was a big stage with a lot of kids in attendance. A lot of KC schools cancelled yesterday for the parade and there were a lot of students on the parade route. And that's what they saw, the leader of the team shotgunning beers. I expect that from Kelce and Hill. But Mahomes? You're the 2018 MVP and the reigning Super Bowl MVP. You're the face of the Chiefs and maybe even the NFL. You want to be paid $40 mil a year? Then put the beer down and enjoy the crowd's adulation. That was bush league.

I'm not throwing away my Mahomes shirt or anything. I don't expect these guys to be saints. But such public displays of idiocy by the MVP was troubling. I certainly hope this isn't the beginning of a trend. The Chiefs have had enough Kareem Hunt type stupidity. He's only 24 and he's been pretty mature in so many ways. Let's hope the maturation process continues at the next Super Bowl parade (if Chiefs fans are so lucky to have another one).