Fun and Games Dept
Flat.
I love the flatlands of Illinois. These two photos were taken along Interstate 88 just west of Interstate 39 near Rochelle. I was about 90 miles from home at the time.
I spent the afternoon exploring Northwestern Illinois in the Jeep. I crossed the Mississippi into Iowa for a brief visit before making my way back home, pulling into our parking garage while there was still a bit of daylight.
One of the things I’m loving about living in Chicago is exploring a whole new (to us) part of the country. In the winter we’re more likely to do it by Jeep. I’m looking forward to doing more of it by air this summer.
News.
I turn off the news every chance I get. Disengagement is not the responsible thing to do, but it’s the only way to maintain sanity in the chaos.
Ace of Base.
From my single years, admittedly at the time I found all four members of Ace of Base to be rather hot. Here’s “The Sign”.
Health.
My FAA physical is coming due in a few months. In preparation for this event, I did a good thing, found a doctor here in Chicago and had my annual physical. It’s actually been a year since my last physical so I guess I’m not off track here.
I’m in surprisingly better shape than I anticipated.
As I round the corner to age 50 later this year, I suppose it’s important that I take the best care I can of this vehicle I’m using for this lifetime. I’m looking forward to shedding a few extra pounds when I start cycling again this spring and I’m really looking forward to exploring Chicago and venturing out into the Prairie State on my bike.
It’s good to know that this nearly 50 year old heart should be able to handle the exercise.
Exploration.
The ceiling (cloud layer) is too low for my planned flight this afternoon, so I’m taking the time to explore the Windy City by public transit today. Where will the train take me? Where will my imagination run to?
Stamp Your Feet.
You got game, baby, bring it on, bring it on.
I can’t believe this song is 10 years old. Donna Summer always had an amazing voice.
Cool footnote: This track was co-written with Danielle Brisebois, who played Stephanie on “All In The Family” and “Archie Bunker’s Place”.
Gray.
So I hadn’t shaved in 2018. It’s been a while since I really let my beard grow out and 18 days was enough for me to see that there is way too much gray in my beard right now. I could handle if my beard was all gray, but this cinnamon and sugar mix is making me feel like I look old.
I’m turning 50 years old this year. I’d say that I’m 90% on board with this; I certainly don’t feel like I’m over halfway through this life, but the reality of the fact is this is the case. I told Earl that I’m concerned that I’m on the downslope. Like the smart, silver bear that he is, he told me that it just keeps getting better.
I can handle being 50 years old but I can’t handle having a lot of gray in my beard right now. I’m not one to dye it so I’ll go back to clean shaven in the morning. My dad once said that a good, disciplined man, like a pilot, shaves every day. He might have been on to something with that, though I know a lot of great men that have beards.
Think, Part 2.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of “Madam Secretary”. The show is in its fourth season, and is on CBS on Sunday evenings. The show hit its stride early in its run and is continuing to offer up compelling storylines. This past Sunday featured the episode “Sound and Fury”.
I’m not going to get too far into spoilers of this episode, but they may be sprinkled here and there in the rest of this blog entry, so let’s say you’ve been warned.
Yes, you’ve been warned about potential spoilers.
This particular episode of Madam Secretary should be required viewing for high school civics classes. It examines how the 25th Amendment works, why it would be considered and what is really involved with invoking the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. A temporary medical issue comes into play here, but the result of the medical concern feels very familiar if you’ve been paying attention to the news at all since the latest administration took office. Phrases like “overwhelming force and ferocity” are bandied about without consideration. Diplomacy is set aside in favor of ‘tough guy’ displays of strength. On the show this is very uncharacteristic for fictional President Dalton. I wish the same could be said about the man in the Oval Office today.
The scenes around debating invoking the 25th Amendment are very honest. It all felt very believable. If anything, it made me think of how that debate would carry out in the real world today. Are there meetings taking place in D.C. to discuss this exact thing?
I’m inclined to think so.
The are two lines in particular that struck me rather hard (and I’m paraphrasing): 1. “We have the greatest system of government the world has ever known, but it’s only as strong as its people” and 2. “We took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not our political party”.
If only the folks in Washington would get on the script.
The tribalism, and the divisiveness behind the tribalism, is what’s deeply hurting our country, and I fully believe the news media continues to pour gasoline on this raging dumpster fire. Tribes saw one candidate as a movie villain and reacted as if they were watching a WWE tournament. The tribe continues to do this today. Trump purposely stirs up the tribe to keep a “villain” in the news. And the news outlets eat it up. It’s the tribalism that is killing objectivity. A good number of elected officials are putting party over country. I have little faith in most of our elected officials; the charade of “serving the people” died years ago.
If you haven’t had the chance to see Madam Secretary or if you don’t even have the interest to follow the show, I still recommend that you watch the episode “Sound and Fury”. It works pretty well as a standalone episode and I think the mechanics are sound to help one understand how the 25th Amendment works.
And how officials should always honor their oath to uphold the Constitution.
