Here’s what’s on my mind today.
Coffee
I am a coffee lover. So is Shelley. And for those who love a cup first thing in the morning, the automatic brewer is a delight. We set ours before we go to bed for 6:00AM. That’s perfect. We’re early risers so when we stumble into the morning, there’s a hot cup of coffee awaiting our arrival in the kitchen. I wasn’t always a coffee fancier. I didn’t drink the stuff until I was a Second Lieutenant in Germany. There I would go to the field to train with my howitzer firing battery at Grafenwöhr. And on cold winter mornings—often the case there—our field mess hall would cook up a vat of coffee and ladle it out to those seeking a hot beverage to ward of the wind and winter. At first, I was not persuaded but on a particularly cold dawn, I broke down and had my first cup. I loved it. I suppose that’s the case with many things in life one comes to love. It comes upon you out of necessity but remains with you out of affection. For the rest of my life in the Army and later as a legislator, I always had a cup of coffee nearby. A friend indeed. That said, it was never an addiction for me, just a morning companion or maybe a cup after a pleasant dinner. And I owe it all to the frigid place called Grafenwöhr. Vielen Dank!
Cell Addiction
Speaking of addictions, have you noticed how people today are literally inseparable from their cell phones? I have often wondered if my father were alive today with me riding in a car what he would think? My Dad was an observer of things. He was also a gifted physician. He began his college year at age 15, graduated at 19, and was a practicing doctor at 22. Along the way he leaned German, Latin, and Greek. He had a great sense of humor yet was serious-minded and would pause now and then to point out things to me and others.
I can imagine what he would say if while riding with me he observed the cell phone behavior of a single guy in a car next to us apparently chatting to himself. “Cognitive disruption, likely brought on by anxiety or a related condition,” might be his diagnosis. I would then say, “No dad, probably just letting the office know that he’s running late for work.” That might have resulted in a pithy response, “Maybe he needs an alarm clock.”
My Dad would be amazed to see how cell phones are ubiquitous in society, particularly in the gym where I do some cardio exercise most days. People, even as they exercise, are enamored with their cell phones. Between exercise repetitions on weight machines, people immediately pull out the phones and check their messages or other items of interest. Heaven forbid one might not respond to a digital inquiry a whopping two minutes old.
I’ve taken up the discipline of leaving my cell phone in my car when I go to the gym. And while I use the Noom apt to record my diet, weight, and activity, I wait until I am at home to enter the data. Besides, cellphone use in the gym can be dangerous. Yesterday I watched a young man miss a bad head injury as he stared intensely into his cell phone as he nearly walked into a weight machine. By the way, it’s against the law to use a cell phone while driving, except “hands free” in Virginia. People largely ignore that law with the same neglect our national government ignores border security laws. We are all a bit distracted on that too.
The Super Bowl
This year the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco Forty-Niners will slam into each other to see who gets a gaudy, albeit golden ring signifying, I suppose, that they are “super” in some fashion. I have grown weary of the National Football League (NFL) and its player corps. Many are wildly overpaid for what they do. Indeed, the youngest among them frequently find themselves in trouble in the offseason. A lot of money in hand and not much maturity winds up badly for some. Others are wiser. Not many. But my disaffection with the NFL is it’s “wokeness” and all the “take a knee” national anthem disrespect. Unlike the team I rooted for since I was a teen, the Kansas City Chiefs have not fallen to the silly “woke” pressure to change the organization’s name that my weak-kneed Redskins caved to.
Nonetheless, I’ll watch the game with my kids and grandkids this Sunday afternoon. But it’s more of a “supper” bowl to me these days. Go Chiefs!
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