Today is the birthday, in 1899, of Duke Ellington. He was born in Washington, DC and spent most of his career. His parents were pianists who lived on Ward Place in Washington’s ‘West End’. His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senator’s games. As a young man he moved to NYC and became a part of the ‘Harlem renaissance’. Here is one of his most famous pieces.
The transition from rural to suburban…
Teach your kids!
Bada Bing!
What is the first prize in a competition to lose muscle mass? A trophy.
Theory is when you know everything but nothing works.Practice is when everything works but no one knows why.In our lab, theory and practice are combined,nothing works and no one knows why.
If Watson isn’t the most famous doctor, then Who is.
How to cook crack and clean a crab.Step one: Use commas.
Back in my day, we didn’t have cup holders in our cars.We had to hold our beer between our legs to drive.
I haven’t shoveled the driveway once this year, since I got the flame thrower.
A pastor was giving a children’s sermon and asked: Why do you think I wear this collar?One kid answered: Because it kills ticks and fleas for up to 30 days?
I don’t want to brag or make anyone jealous, but I can still fit into the socks I wore in high school.
One day Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook will join and be called Youtwitface.
It’s sad that even your very best homework efforts gets your kid detention.
I need a new friend. The last one escaped.
Her: Ohhhh…. undress me with your words.Him: There’s a spider in your bra.
If you’re being chased by a pack of taxidermists, do not play dead.
Other than if I slowed my breathing and stopped blinking, I’m not sure if it would be possible for me to be any lazier than I’ve been today.
I accidentally called Alexa “Siri”. Now the thermostat is set to 90 degrees and I can’t unlock my doors or open my windows.
The first rule of the Condescending Club is really kind of complex and I don’t think you’d understand it even if I explained it to you.
Why it takes me so long to do this every morning…
I didn’t find any good birthday’s today, so here’s another song from the sixties….
I note that the film, ‘Nomadland’ is nominated for several Academy Awards. I read the book it is based on in 2018 and posted a short review on Facebook. It’s the story of the many thousands who have lost their homes and been forced to live in campers, trailers, vans and so forth…’wheel-estate’. It’s a very difficult existence, scrabbling to make a bit of money and always at the mercy of those who can evict them from their bit of hardtop at any time. It’s just going to get worse when the eviction moratoriums expire soon and thousands, maybe millions are evicted from their homes.
So do what you can to encourage affordable housing policies and, if you see someone in a van or camper parked in the woods or in a parking lot overnight, don’t call the cops…they may have nowhere else to go.
Here’s what I wrote back in 2018:
I just finished reading ‘Nomadland’ by Jessica Bruder. It’s a rather depressing book about the tens of thousands…maybe more, no one knows…who lost essentially everything in the Great Recession and have traded in their middle-class lives for ‘wheel-estate’. hopping from one temporary, low-wage job to another while living in their vans and trailers.They are working as Amazon ‘Camperforce’ – 70 and 80-year olds walking 15 miles or so on a concrete floor stooping, reaching, bending and pulling for trivial wages to help Amazon deliver its goods during the holiday season. Amazon has dispensers on the walls giving out free ibuprofen and acetominephen.The work as campground hosts in the summer, again for minimal wages and they work the sugar beet harvest in North Dakota in the late fall – all just to get by for another year.Check out their website – Amazon has one for camperforce and workamper.com is informative about the jobs that are available.For those of us who are comfortable in retirement, it’s worth a read to understand the challenges facing those who aren’t.
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