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Baltimore

 There it was, on the news. A cargo ship hit the base of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and the entire bridge collapsed. Scary.   One minute you’re riding over the bridge, admiring the view of the harbor at night.  The next you’re tumbling through the darkness into the frigid water below.  The stuff that nightmares are made of. I’ve visited Baltimore several times, most recently in August 2021.  Drew and I spent a week vacationing in Maryland, and much of that time we explored Baltimore.  We visited the harbor area several times — the aquarium is wonderful.  I’m not sure if we drove across Key Bridge, there are several ways to cross the harbor, but I know we saw it …

Music Monday

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 And the theme:   Alana suggested “Misheard Song Lyrics”.  For instance, a song lyric you’ve misheard or is commonly misheard  i.e. CCR’s Bad Moon Rising (“there’s a bathroom on the right”) .  Let’s keep it family friendly! This one sounds like fun.  Nowadays you can Google the lyrics, even find the official lyrics video.  But back in the day, before the internet, you’d hear a song (or perhaps mishear it) on the radio and hope for the best. Let’s start with Aretha Franklin. Though some listeners hear the legendary singer say, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take out T-C-P,” she is actually singing, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care, TCB.”   Then there’s Uncle Kracker Some fans claim that they hear, “Give me the Beach Boys and free my soul,” instead of the actual lyric, “Give me the beat, boys, and free my soul.”    (This song was popular when my kids were teens.  They had no idea it was a cover or why mom knew all the words.) Let’s talk about Toto The song’s correct lyric is, “There’s nothing that a hundred m

Happy Purim!

 Definition of a Jewish holiday:they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat. Well, that is certainly true about Purim, a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. Purim is based on the Book of Esther, where the evil Haman tried to kill all the Jews of Persia, but brave Queen Esther, with the help of her cousin Mordechai, saved her people. The celebration of Purim feels like a combination of Mardi Gras, Halloween and April Fool’s Day.   Costumes are worn to synagogue, where the Megillah (the Book of Esther) is read aloud.  Every time Haman is mentioned the congregation is encouraged to make a lot of noise to stamp out his name. Some synagogues hold a carnival, with games and prizes.  In some communities children go door to door begging for treats.  Some families exchange gifts of food — a fruit-filled pastry called hamantaschen is traditional. We also feast, and adults are told to drink enough alcoholic beverages so that we cannot tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai. Some people po

Saturday 9

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  If You've Got the Money Welcome to Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: If You've Got the Money (1950) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this week's song, Lefty Frizzell is eager to go out on the town and hit all the night spots. What are your plans for the weekend? Going out to dinner Saturday night, going to a friend’s house Sunday afternoon. 2) He tells his girl he'd rather ride in her Cadillac than his old car. Back in the 1950s, Caddys were quite the status symbol. Lefty bought a white on

Feline Friday

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  Someone was enjoying Drew’s Amazon delivery. More scenes from the living room

A walk around the block

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 When my time is limited but I need to take a walk, I walk around the block. That’s sort of a misnomer, because a complete circle around my block is over a mile … I walk out of my house and turn right.  I walk past my neighbors’ houses until I get to the end of the street, then I turn right.  I walk past the park — baseball diamonds, handball and basketball courts and a playground.   A few minutes later and I’m passing the entrance to the elementary school and the  weird yellow farmhouse . I walk past the front of the school, and when I reach the corner I turn right, and walk along the side of the school property — more athletic fields and another playground.  And then there’s the municipal storm drainage basin. You can actually see the basin right now.  In a month or so all the foliage will block the view. When I reach the corner i could cross the street and go to the community pool, but instead I turn right, and continue past the storm basin until the back of the schoolyard becomes v