SONDAY

​It is the seventh day, the Son’s and Father’s Day and this special one is also the Spirit’s day.  Pentecost!

QUIZ ANSWER

Last Monday's quiz about the gestation period of a hen or any fowl was a fooler.  Gestation is the period that new life develops within the body of the mother.  That happens in all mammals, some reptiles and a few fish but never in fowl.  The answer to the quiz is "That's a stupid question, Pat. Why did you ask it?"

Well, it was an opportunity for you to learn a new word, i.e.  VIVIPAROUS.  As a bonus, you could also learn OVOVIVIPAROUS. I would give you the definitions but then you'd never remember the words.

Pity my children who had to live with me for so many years.  :) 👀

TIDBITS

 Do you like basketball?  I sure do.  It was the very best sport to play when I was young.  It is an amazing example of the changes taking place in the human body.  

You must know that people are getting taller.  Not only are they taller, they can do things with those tall bodies that previous generations could not.  

When I was young, professional basketball players who played the guard position were barely 6'0" tall if that.  My idol, Oscar Robertson, was so great partly because he could do what guards did and he was 6'5" tall.  Now we have men over 7'0" tall doing the things only guards could previously do.  It is truly amazing. 

All these very tall athletes with the skills of short men have another trait.  Most are not Americans.  At one time, almost no foreign nationals played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  Now, it is not an exaggeration to say that almost all the top players come from foreign countries.  It is really an international league. I think the impetus for this transformation dates to the inclusion of professional athletes in the Olympic Games.  Foreign countries are fielding better and better teams each year. The name needs to be changed to the International Basketball Association.  

We haven't seen this kind of change in baseball or football but, I do notice, that foreign born golfers are becoming more prevalent and effective; Asian women now dominate the LPGA.  Now, soccer or futbol, is another story - the same story in reverse.  Non-U.S. countries are probably on their way to seeing similar changes in their prime sport. Professional distance running has long been dominated by Africans; Skiing by Europeans and Marial arts by Asians.  Americans may have the upper hand in pickleball, I don't know.  Anyway, someday, it will be one big world - a big melting pot . . . some day. 

SUMMERALL

Youngsters may not have heard of Pat Summerall - he was born 96 years ago.  He was a man of great athletic talent and voice as clear and smooth as raw honey.  Pat was an all-sports star in high school.  He went to the University of Arkansas to play football and was drafted into the NFL by the Detroit Lions and later traded to the Chicago Cardinals and then to the  New York Giants.  He was a tight end, defensive end and kicker back when the best played both sides of the ball.   His field goal kicking is legend.  Pat was not his given name - some say people called him that because it stood for "point after touchdown."

Summerall got an Education degree at Arkansas and later returned to receive a Masters degree in Russian History.  He was going to teach but was drawn into telecasting.

After football, he started an even more famous career as a broadcaster.  Summerall announced football, golf, tennis and special events for CBS, FOX and ESPN.  He was the best.  He did 16 Super Bowls, 26 Masters golf tournaments, and 21 U.S. Open tennis tournaments.  In 1981, Pat was paired with John Madden to do NFL games - a match that lasted 22 years.  All he did in television would take too long to mention.  He died in 2013.

One other thing he did was father a daughter in 1957 that he named Susan.  She went to the University of Maryland, graduated in 1978 and developed an interest in politics.  She was a born leader.  She started by working on various election campaigns and finally worked her way up to a job as Chief of Staff of the Mayor of Jacksonville, FL.  When elected in 2025, Donald Trump named her his White House Chief of Staff.  She is quiet and tuff.  The first woman to hold that position in our country's history.  Susie Wiles. 

MIDWEEK PRAYER

Dear Lord,

guard me from evil and peril,

guide me through my day today,

and grant me the blessing of peace

that comes with your presence.

Walk with me when I travel, 

talk with me when I worry,

and sulk with me when I'm sad.

and silence is my only consolation.

IS LEFT RIGHT?

Did you ever wonder how we came to call one side of a ship the port side and another the starboard?  Here goes.  

When English sailing ships were sailing hither and thither, there was a problem.  Sometimes the captian would yell "Turn to the left!" and the helmsman would answer back, "Left?" and the captain would yell back "Right!" and you can imagine what kind of problem that could cause.  

Sailing ships were originally just like your auto;  some with a gas tank fill door on the left, some on the right.   English ship builders found that to be a problem though we haven't yet.  They began building all ships with the loading/unloading doors for cargo on the left side.  Soon the captain caught on and started yelling "Turn to the port side!"  It worked.  The other side of the ship faced out into the ocean and open sky when in port and they called it the starboard side.  Two syllables not to be mistaken for port.  

Much later, the airplane building industry took their lead from the English ship builders and put all entrance doors on the left side of the plane.  Even further, they put a red blinking light on the port side and a white one on the starboard side.  

The astronauts don't have to worry about that yet, everything, so far, has been round except for the shuttle which was built like an airplane.  

Okay, now.  How do landlubbers like us remember which side is which?  Left and port each have four letters.  AHA!  Now you'll always know.  

QUIZ

Some of my quizzes are very difficult, some are easy, some are intricate and some are simply stupid. Some, I give the answer.  I'm not telling what kind this is but I hope you have a quick answer.

Q:  A cow is a female mammal like cattle, whale or elephant.  How long is the pregnancy, gestation period, for a whale? 

 

A:  The book says it is 10 to 23 months depending on the type of whale. 

Q:  A hen is a female chicken or other fowl.  How long is it's pregnancy - the gestation period, for a hen?   Think, now.  

A:  

Maybe this question will be the beginning of a winning streak for you.

DREAMLAND

 Here is something of which I've been aware for some time and I'm wondering if any of you have had this experience.  I seldom remember my dreams.  Last week I woke early and had a vague memory of what I was dreaming.  Here are some things I think happen.

My dreams are mis-located.  No matter what I dream, the location is at the home I grew up in.  Understand this, I lived in the same house from my first thru 20th birthdays.  I lived two years in the military and four years in a house I bought just after.  For the next 54 years I've lived in the second house I bought.  My wife and I never lived in the house in which I was raised.  Yet, all of my dreams are located in and around the house I grew up in. There's no good reason for it that I can figure.   

My dreams are faceless.  I can't remember seeing a face in my dreams.  My wife was in the dream above but I don't think I saw her face.  I knew she was there.  We were discussing changes to the house and appliances, I think.  But, I couldn't see her face. I can't remember ever seeing anyone's face.  

Have you experienced anything like this?  Do you think it means anything?  Is my brain wearing out?  Pray for me. 

WISDOM

 I learned a new word last week:  sciolism.  M-W defines it as "a superficial show of learning".  It brought me to some self-examination.  Is that what I do?  Is that who I am?  Is this what a teacher meant when he warned me I was becoming a jack-of-all-trades but master of none?   A person able to talk about almost any subject but with no real depth on anything?   I hope this is not the case.  For most of my adult life I have felt a need to learn.  I've felt a need to know something about everything.  I guess I am a sciolist.  I can't think of any subject that I'm really, deeply knowledgable about.  So much for wisdom in old age.

Wisdom from a friend at a ROMEO breakfast:  "The days go by very slowly but the weeks and months fly by so quickly."  Another plague of old age -boredom.    

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 It's not easy writing a prayer each week that is fresh and timely.  Some just flow right out and others are a struggle.  I have looked at prayers on the internet - there are thousands if you want to look for them.  Just pick your need or reason.  Some I use and adapt to my own needs.  Another of the sources I use is poetry and song lyrics.  Some of the best come from there.  Another source, is the handouts you get at a funeral.  At my age, I'm visiting there quite often.  Here is one I picked up last week.  I have adjusted it for my purposes. It is fitting for us all.

Into your hands, Almighty Father, I humbly entrust my family members who have passed. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love and showerd them with gifts; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest.  Welcome them into paradise, where, I trust, there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but the fullness of peace and joy with your Son and Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.  

AGE DESCRIMINATION

 You probably think I'm writing about age descrimination because I'm old. Not so!  It's because I saw a movie the other night that had a warning preceeding it: i.e. "This movie may not be suitable for children under the age of 13."   That got me thinking along these lines.   How is that age chosen?

Of course this was due to a Motion Picture Association (MP) rating of PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned.  They also have an R rating which means anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent.  Topping that is NC-17 which apparently means no one 17 years of age or under permitted to watch no matter with whom they are accompanied.. It's funny how 17 became the decisive age.  I'm not sure how this is policed.    Is there some liability for the theater if a 16 year old girl walks in with her 17 year old boyfriend?  By the way, there were no ratings or restrictions when I was young.  I guess they didn't need them.  

Of course, the military decided long ago that 18 was the decisive age for voluntary service without parental consent.  The U.S. Army recently raised their maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42. All of the U.S. services are slightly different.  The Marine Corp maximum is 28 years of age .  

Voting is now allowed for 18-year olds - it was 21 when I was a kid.   How much they have been taught about the country and world was evidently not taken into consideration. 

Ohio changed their law restricting the purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21 in 2020.  In my day, a room in our highschool was designated a senior lounge in which smoking was allowed (it was stopped before I got there).  I smoked in classes at the university.  

Alcohol in Ohio is now restricted to 21 year-olds and up.  When I grew up, you could buy and drink beer which was less than 3.2% alcohol at 18.  That has been discarded - now everyone must be 21.  It's funny that they have different rules for servers/waiters/carryout workers/bartenders.  To handle and serve alcohol in open containers in a restaurant, a person must be 19.  To sell alcohol in a closed container, a person must be 18.  To serve and put together alcoholic drinks in open containers for on premises consumption, one must be 21.  

A person must be 21 to rent an automobile but under the age of 25 an additional charge is allowed.  As a result, not many are rented to those under 25.  Descrimination is allowed.

You see, it wasn't about OLD age.  

But, I am still sore that I had to give up playing softball in my early70's.  

QUIZ

Quizzes are like games of chance.  The most common and probably the oldest of games is throwing dice.  My brain got stuck on dice the other day and here's what came out.  Questions and my answers!

 1.  Why don't dice just have numbers on them instead of pips?  What's a stupid question. A six could be mistaken for a nine. 

 2.  Why are the two and three pip dies made with the pips in the corners and not the sides. That's an easy question.  The face of the die would have to be rectangular and you wouldn't have a cube.

3.   Why do we make dice out of plastic materials?  That's a stupid question.  It's so much easier to smooth the edges so they roll better and they're cheaper and they look like bone. 

4.   Why do people playing craps blow on the dice or have someone else blow on the dice before rolling.  That's a secret.  They hope the humidity created on one side will make the dice stop there. 

5.   Why did they call them dice in the first place?  That's the easiest of all.  They reminded them of diced veggies in their can of peas and carrots.  

BTW:  Dice were invented before numbers.  

MOTHERS DAY

This artwork is by my father-in-law, Reed Ulrey, depicting my wife and her mother in the style of Mandona and Child. 

Here is a prayer found on a card to be handed out at my church this Sunday.

Heavenly Father,

we give you thanks for the gift of mothers -

for their love that mirrors your own, 

their sacrifice, their patience and their faith.

Bless all mothers:  

those who nurture children in body and spirit,

those who long to be mothers, 

and those who have shared a mother's love

in any way.

Grant strength to those who struggle,

comfort to those who mourn,

and joy to those who celebrate this day.

Through the intercession of the

Blessed Virgin Mary,

our Mother and model of faith,

may all mothers be filled with your grace

and guided by your peace.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

SERIOUS BUSINESS

These are statistics from the CDC (U.S. Center for Disease Control).  I hope they don't depress you.  I've seen them before and they always shock me.  Facts are facts.  I'm giving you round numbers.

There are about 5,000,000 pregnancies in the U.S. anually.   The most common complication is miscarriage which occurs in about 20% of cases.  That's 1,000,000 miscarriages a year. 

About 1,000,000 abortions are performed in the US anually. 

About 21,000 stillbirths occure each year.  

About 21,000 newborns die before their first birthday each year.  

The US is averaging about 3,500,000 births per year. 

The US is averaging about 3,000,000 deaths per year.  

The average life expectancy in the US has now reached 79.0 years.  

According to the CDC, I'm not expected to live any longer.  Carry on!