Huh? What's Up With That?

all i want for chris...                                                               Regina and I drove to Florida earlier this month to visit Nora, Jeremy, Leo and Dallas.  Our leased  Ford Edge was packed with suitcases, Christmas presents and other cargo, including a cooler with bottles of water, and, a bag of celery sticks.     As we left Louisville, we managed to get to Elizabethtown, Kentucky (35 miles) before we pulled over for a pit stop.  But, after that break, we drove all the way to Brentwood, Tennessee before once again deciding to stop .  A newly built Publix served our purpose for stretching our legs.     I do not know if Publix Supermarkets offer better quality products than my go-to Kroger store, but, their presentation is superior.  I get a different vibe walk...

  home is where...                        Lior Ben Shalom returned to her residence in Louisville last month following a six week trip to Israel to visit her family.     There has been conflict between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries since Israel declared it's Independence in 1947.  Before that, it was the  Palestinian Arab Uprising  in the 1930s.     Today, the latest battle involves Israel and a group known as Hamas.  According to CRS Reports,   Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been at war with the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group, Hamas, which led an attack that day from the Gaza Strip into Israel. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including 46 U.S. citizens in Israel) were killed on October 7, and Hamas and other groups also seized some 251 hostages.   It was brave of Lior to travel to her homeland considering the ever present dan...

  job$ somebody's gotta do...                                                                                             job$ somebody's gotta do  is a tribute to the late Indianapolis broadcaster,  Jim Gerard,  and his radio feature,  Sounds of the City,  heard weekly on  WFBM-AM debuting in 1962 .   The host interviewed people with jobs held by very few, such as a jackhammer or crane operator, or, language interpreter.    Jenny Schwartz is an occupational therapist who has her Masters from Spalding University.    Did you play sports in college?   Yes, I did,  she said.  I went to Bellarmine for my undergrad and I played volleyball throughout college.    ...

pos...#8                                                                                                                        One of the most interesting things to me about People Over Sixty  (POS) are their hobbies and the various ways they choose to spend all the extra time retirement gives them.   I approached Dan McDonald, 64, because of the tee shirt he was wearing.  It was colorful and depicted a hot road or race car on the front and back of the shirt.  I figured he must be an enthusiast and if I was really lucky, possibly a driver on the hot rod circuit.   No, I don't race and I really don't go to races, he countered.  I just like the power and I like ...

oddities, observations, & ?'s...#13                                                                                                                 Last July 5th marked the 70th anniversary of the release of Elvis Presley's debut on Sun Records .     That's Alright Mama sold 100,000 copies, mainly in the mid-south, Texas and Louisiana.  The then 20 year old signed with RCA Records on November 5, 1955.  Elvis Presley would have been 90 this coming January.   I was admitted to Baptist East Hospital here in Louisville with pneumonia last August 1st.     On the morning following the first night of my 12 day stay, a lung specialist came in to speak to me and Reg...

  things we say...#3                       This is the fourth segment of a six part series.  Things we say... follows, we say the darndest things (September 16, 2023),   anytime you deal with the...(July 22, 2022), and , covid speak.....(February 19, 2021)   Words, phrases, and, the English language can be intriguing. Besides hearing the same phrases repeated over and over, I find myself paying attention to the tone in which words are spoken to me too.    Technology has provided a myriad of ways to communicate, but, few things are as curious to me as how we choose to speak to each other. The beauty of it is we always have a choice of words we can use. We are also free to adapt whatever attitude we designate to display to someone in a conversation.    Depending upon the situation, the right words can inspire, build confidence, and, invigorate, while a negative choice of words can produce the ...

  outlaw turned evangelist...                    The first time I saw Jeff Stultz, he was getting off  an elevator at a hotel in Laurel, Mississippi.  His appearance was enough to cause anyone to have second thoughts about their safety if they met him in a dark alley at 3:00am.  The perception would have been true in an earlier part of his life.  Add to that persona his missionary work of today, and, he made a perfect, Fairy Tale, minus any animals .   HUH ?   What's up with that ?   Mike Grubb, the president of, Hellfighters International, passed away and I am here along with bikers from 15 other states to honor him, Jeff said as he told me why he was in Mississippi.  Mike was from Laurel.    When did you start riding a motorcycle and adopt the lifestyle?   I was in the military and I joined the motorcycle life in the service.  I went AWOL and got a dishonorable disch...