NINETEEN

 When I was a kid, there were just three TV channels available.  I think that was the case in most markets.  These three used the channels 2 through 12 - these were the VHF channels.  Channel 13 and above were UHF channels.  V for "very" and U for "ultra" high frequency.  The local channels were separated so as not to interfere with each others.  Cincinnati had 5, 9 and 12.   Dayton had 2 and 7.  

In those channels above 12, Cincinnati eventually had channel 48, WCET, the "educational channel" (now PBS).  Dayton had one of the three major channels on 45 and had educational channels on 14 or 16.

When FOX decided to get into the TV business, Cincinnati got channel 19.  Located in northern Kentucky, it went on the air in 1968.  It almost went off the air in 1971 due to lack of viewership.  Some ownership changes saved it.  It has made it through the years.  It introduced 10pm news to the city in 1993 and it went over big.  They brought in a guy named Jack Atherton to be their first anchor.  I found out today that he was dating Madonna.  He stayed with the station for 15 years.

In case you were in the goup of modern readers of mine who never had the gift of learning the use of Roman numerals,  XIX is 19. 

Recently, FOX 19 has made a splash locally by nabbing important sports programming.  Today, they presented the Cincinanti Reds opening day parade and game.    

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know:  There were 282,000,000 cases of malaria recorded in 2024.  That's 282 million.  Egad!  They resulted in about 610,000 deaths.  That's 610 thousand.  Yikes!  The disease is spread by mosquitoes and is especially deadly for children.  That's terrible!

Of course, if you immediately thought that most of those cases were in Africa.  You were right.  Only 10 cases of malaria were recorded in the U.S. in 2023.  Never the less, it's out there.

Why did I bring this up?  This is just a service I like to provide.  Some people I know would think something was wrong with the world if they didn't have enough to worry about.  

Now they have one more worry.  

MIDWEEK PRAYER

I found this on the internet.  It was from father to son - I have adjusted it.

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for the gift of my children - their lives, their laughter, and the strength they carry even on the days they say they are "fine".  Lord, I ask that you watch over their health - body, mind and spirit.  Protect their bodies, calm their minds, and give them the energy they need for the road ahead.  Guard them from stress, pressure and the quiet worries they may carry but never talk about.  When they wake each morning, let them feel renewed and ready for the day you've prepared for them.  Give them clear thinking, steady strength and the courage to keep moving forward when life feels heavy.  Cover them with your protection wherever they go.  Surround them with your peace and keep them grounded in the strength that comes from you alone.  Remind them that they are never walking through life by themselves - they are deeply loved by me and even more, by you.  In Jesus name, Amen.  

SPORTS

There's not a much better time of year than March when the Madness is in full swing; for sports fans that is. I'm sure I don't have to explain it to you. 

BUT, I have come upon one big thing I don't like about it.  We've had some of the very best weather of the Spring this past weekend and I spent most of it in front of my TV.  Thats's sad.  I wish there was a way to avoid this in the future.  I'm afraid I've turned into a slug.  

SUNRISE, SUNSET

Last Thursday, I wrote about Sunrise, Sunset.  Well, there is a technical side of my brain which gets hung up on minutia and I just can't let it go.  So, I'll put it down in print and then I'll be able to forget it.  Sorry!

The Sun does not rise and the Sun does not set.  I hope you realize that.  This thought must date back to when humans thought the Earth was the center of the universe. The Sun just sits out there about 93 million miles away and it moves along in it's steady pace.  The whole "sunrise, sunset" thing has to do with the Earth rotating.  Don't forget that.  Don't thank the Sun for returning each day; thank our planet for rotating.  It rotates completely in about 24 hours, you know.  Convenient time, isn't it.  

Now, the language part of my brain asks this:  If we call the morning Sunrise, why don't we call the evening Sunfall?   It is obvious that the Sun rising is not quicker that it's departure.  Who makes up these words?  

All silliness aside, each can be equally as beautiful.  If you are a persistant late sleeper, you're missing a real treat each day.  If you have not seen the Sun melt into the Seas, you have not witnessed one of the most breathtaking sights on Earth.  

SPRINGTIME

Spring has sprung!  God has given the Earth a new birth - new life everywhere.  

I've attached an entry I made in 2020 because I love the pictures on the attachment.  It looks like a place I'd like to visit.

5/19/2020

SPRINGTIME

Have you heard of the Garden of Europe?  It is one of the world's largest flower gardens and is called Keukenhof.  It is located in the City of Lisse, Netherlands.  Netherlands is what we used to call Holland.  I was introduced to dozens of pictures just the other day and it blew me away.

Most of the flowers are spring bulbs so the ideal time to visit the Keukenhof is in the March-April-May period.  The park covers 79 acres and includes about 7 million bulbs. A million and a half visitor walked through last Spring. This year, no visitors were allowed so it presented a good opportunity for a professional photographer to ply his trade.  You'll find many of them on Instagram #keukenhof.

I suggest you use a large format screen if you can but, in any case, give yourself a treat.  Such a beautiful place.  The website is  www.keukenhof.nl/en/

Here's a sample  https://www.albertdros.com/post/the-most-beautiful-flower-garden-in-the-world-without-people    

🌷

SATURDAY

I haven't been posting very often on Saturdays for some time.  Laziness, I suppose. Most years, this is the first day of Spring - a truly wonderful time of year.  The day is special to me.  

I hope you have a terrific day today;  full of smiles, maybe some great adventures and surely some awesome memories.  It shouldn't be any other way.

80

 I had a note on my phone that I had written some time ago and I couldn't remember if I had used it as an entry on this blog.  So, I opened the blog and typed 80 in that little block up top with the magnifying glass in it.  Voila!  I got over 90 results.  As I always do, I sat and read them for a long time - more than an hour and a half.  Such great information.  Of course, I'm so witty.  (try it some time)

I couldn't find it, so here goes.

I'm 80.  Imagine you are 80.  Think about it.  How do you picture yourself?  How is your health?  Where are you and what are you doing to keep busy?  

I've always thought that one of the great attributes of successful people is the ability to see, or have a good vision of, the future.  I think anyone can get better at it.  Like everything else, it takes practice.  Don't be afraid.

Now for the main question.  What is it that the 80 year-old you would wish that the present-day you would change?  What changes would the 80 year-old you wish you had stopped postponing?  Okay, do it! ... for the sake of that 80 year-old.

SUNRISE, SUNSET

 There is a beautiful song from the play "Fiddler on the Roof" that is called "Sunrise, Sunset". It is sung by and for the father and mother at their children's wedding.  Here are the lyrics.  I've writen them as prose.  They touch me.  It is one of my daughters' birthday today but the sentiment goes for all four of my children and their spouses and their children, especially those about to marry.

Is this the little girl I carried?  Is this the little boy at play?  I don't remember growing older.  When did they?  

When did she get to be a beauty?  When did he grow to be so tall?  Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?  

Sunrise, Sunset.  Sunrise, Sunset.  Swiftly flow the days.  Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers; blossoming even as we gaze.  

Sunrise, Sunset.  Sunrise, Sunset.  Swiftly fly the years.  One season following another, laiden with happiness and tears.  What words of wisdom can I give them?  How can I help to ease their way?  

Now they must learn from one another day by day.  They look so natural together.  Just like two newlyweds should be.  Is there a canopy* in store for me?  

Sunrise, Sunset.  Sunrise, Sunset.  Swiftly fly the years.  One season following another, laiden with happiness and tears.

 * "canopy" refers to the traditional Jewish chuppah used during a wedding ceremony.  

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STACEY!

MIDWEEK PRAYER

Don't get hung up on the peripheral do's and don'ts.  Jesus told us specifically, that we must, most importantly, love God with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds ... AND ... that we must love our neighbor as oursleves.  All the laws that really matter are contained in these two things.  

Lord, 

teach me to love, 

help me to love, 

and forgive me 

when I don't act with love,

when I don't speak with love,

when I fail to act when I should have.

Amen

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

 You know you can look up any blog entry I've ever made.  It's not hard.  Well, I plugged Ireland into the search box and came up with a whole bunch - here are a few good ones.  Enjoy the day - be safe.

    6/10/2011

IRELAND

Did you know that County Clare in Ireland is three times larger than Butler      County, Ohio but has less than half the population?
  :o)

3/17/2018

WEEKEND LITURGY

Typically, on Saturdays, I write about Bible verses to be read at Catholic mass on the weekend.  Today, I'm diverging to my patron:  Saint Patrick.  Today is his day and it marks the end of Winter for me.  It was the end of "winter" for the Irish when Patrick brought the story of Christ to them. 

We celebrate this day. That's not a bad thing.  Celebration is good.  Many get drunker than snot.  That's okay too.  Just don't run into me on the roadway. 

You know there are no snakes in Ireland . . . unless you drink too much.  Then you might start seeing all kinds of strange and evil things.  Patrick brought Christian religion to Ireland and told them of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The Irish have been concentrating on the 'spirits' end of the message for a long time. 

Patrick baptized the Irish with water.  The English word 'whiskey' is an Anglicisation of the first word of the Gaelic phrase 'uisce beatha' which translates to 'water of life'.   Do you see where I'm going with this?  Have a Jameson and it will all come clear.  I wish you a great celebration today . . . be safe.
🍹

7/02/2020

THIS N THAT

Reportedly, the people of the Republic of Ireland have sent (so far) $1.8 million (collected via a "go fund me" account) to a Native American Indian tribe (the Choctaws) to help defray their expenses through the COVID-19 pandemic.  They say it is in repayment for money that tribe sent to Ireland in 1847 during the Potato Famine in which over a million Irish died.  The tribe sent $170 back then.  

1/21/2024

IRELAND OH IRELAND

 Sign in the window of an Irish pub.

Today's special

7-course Irish meal

Six pints and one potato

6/11/2011

IRELAND

Did you know that the whole country of Ireland is smaller than the US State of Ohio?
:o)

FLUIDITY

 The following is a map of Europe in 1926 - 100 years ago.  Fluidity is the quality of a substance or situation that allows it to flow - to change.  I've put this map here to remind everyone just how fluid the world can be - how fluid the nations are.  For the past several years, we have been upset with Russia for attacking Ukraine; for wanting part of that country for themselves.  How dare they not honor the border we see on our map!?  

I hope you can enlarge the map below and still read the names of the countries.  Number 1, you will not find Ukraine - didn't exist.  Belarus didn't exist. Czechoslovakia no longer exists - it become the Czech Republic and Slovokia.  Yugoslavia is gone and has become Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia - Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.  These weren't the only changes, just the most obvious.  So many changes - most  brought about by war.  Did I mention that Kiev, the Capitol city of Ukraine, was located in the Soviet Union?

My point is, "Don't be so shocked when nations battle over borders.  Who is to say when the freeze takes place and no more border changes are allowed?  I am old enough to have seen changes before.  Much of the world that is aiding Ukraine is doing it for their own benefit - not the Ukraine people. Everyone seeks safety - most find it in the status quo.  Change can be scary.  I wont be surprised if that war ends with the Russians owning some ground that Ukraine thought was theirs."

PS:  BEFORE 1867, 159 YEARS AGO, ALASKA WAS PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

ANSWERS

I think I've mentioned before that I gave up watching news programs on TV from any network.  I do turn on the local news when I first get out of bed and turn to business news to see how the stock market is doing.  Other than that:  nada!  zilch!

So, have I mentioned how I do keep up with current events?  My main source is news I recieve in my e-mail each day.  I read from a source called "1440".  It's a free digest.  It's real easy once you get the hang of it.  They have only three main stories each day, they are fairly short and as unbiased as you can find.  They have connectors to other sources if you want those stories in greater depth.  Then they have a list of stories in which they only give one line of explanation but again offer a connection if you are interested.  I've really learned to like it.  

I heard an add this week for a new news service in which they explained how the news services from which we get information shape our thinking.  It's impossible to avoid it.  After you follow a particular news service for any period of time, you think they way they do.  Give "1440" a try.  Yes, you will have to read instead of listen; but it's short.  By the way, 1440 is the year the printing press started the knowledge revolution and the number of minutes in a day.  

Concerning Languages from the last Monday's QUIZ:   

1.  Kinyawanda is spoken in Rwanda (G)

2.  Tagalog is spoken in Philippines  (B)

3.  Amharic is spoken in Ethiopia  (F)

4.  Gujarati is spoken in parts of India  (C)

5.  Telugu is spoken in parts of India  (E)

6.  Dari is spoken in Afghanistan  (A)

7.  Pashto is spoken in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran  (D)

It's Friday the 13th!  What could go wrong?  Whatever, I still love you.  

 

AGING

I'm back on "aging" again.  I saw this on a video by a doctor.  These are five tests that this doctor gives to find out if you are doing well with the aging process.  Most of these have to do with the problem of falling.  Falls are often the first step on a steep and final decline for the elderly.

I know you are not all elderly but this would be a good check at any time of your life to see how you stack up.  These five tasks are not all easy, by any means.  Test yourself.  If you fall short, practice.  Do them over and over until you can measure up.  Good luck.

1.  From a seated position on a chair, stand up with your hands crossed over your chest.  Sounds easy enough but it takes some leg muscles.  I didn't have much trouble with it.  

2.  Walk backwards straight for 10 steps.  Keep your head forward.  Sounds like a DUI test, doesn't it?  I found it easy. 

3.  Stand on one foot for 30 seconds - no helping hands.  This was the hardest one for me.  30 seconds is a long time.  I'm going to keep practicing.

4.  Touch your toes without bending your knees.  There is no time in my life that I can remember being able to do this and now my belly makes it impossible.  I gave myself a pass on this one but I'm going to keep trying anyway.  

5.  Get up from lying down on the floor without help.  No using hands on other objects.  This takes a little work and thought but you can do it - I did.

That's it.  If you can do all these, you're not that old and you stand a good chance of avoiding falls.