Why We Need To Wear Masks

     My profound apologies for not having a better example, particularly for women. Though everyone can get the point. Please remember that it was Shakespeare who coined the phrase: brevity is the soul of wit.

Sports Do Not Matter, People Do!

     With all the discussion about sports these days and whether we ought to be doing any of them, my position is clear: Sports do not matter, people do. Please just give it a rest and let's work together to contain Covid-19. There is nothing more important we can do at this moment.

     It will be viewed I predict as a tremendous waste of time and energy to resume playing sports (Professional, Amateur, and Casual) in the near future. This will hold true until we no longer live in fear of contracting a virus with no known cure.

     There is no amount of money that will prove me wrong on this point. If the leagues take the money and put people's lives on the line before it is generally agreed to be safe, then it will be on their shoulders to bear the responsibility.

     Fortunately, the overwhelming amount of evidence is going to decide this very soon. There will be no sports until at least April of 2021. Get used to it. Get over it.

    

Silver Linings

     I had to reprint this post from my RHS 1977 classmate Cindy Myer. It's from her Moving Moments blog:

    

      "I just feel I need to mention this before starting this months blog. June 11th 2020, marked the 15^th year that my husband Robert passed away and I began a new career….running Ridgewood Moving. At the time I had a choice, and I chose to try to run a company and move forward. My daughters Melissa and Samantha were 14 and 16 and I needed to show them that we would be ok. It certainly has not been easy, especially in the beginning but life teaches us many lessons, shines a light on opportunities and I believe in silver linings…."

    

Older Dogs

     Older dogs teach you patience. Blind older dogs teach you empathy. Diabetic, blind older dogs teach you how to administer insulin to another living creature.

      This is Angus our 14 year old rescue dog. He's been diabetic for four years and blind for about the last two years. He comes to me regularly when he needs to go outside. This can sometimes be in the middle of the night, though usually not when it is raining.

     Dogs do not react too much to the loss of eyesight. Yes, I know it probably bothers him but he just carries on and wants to be around us. Stoic is the word I would use to describe him. All our neighbors marvel at him when we walk by their houses. The neighborhood dogs bark their greetings as soon as the see him. One day another 14 year old dog saw him and got up to give him a sniff. This particular dog had been having trouble with her back legs, but the sight of an old friend give her the impetus to rise and greet Angus. I don't believe we can assign too many feelings to dogs. They are too good for words. Or as Mark Twain once said:

     "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in."

Pictures of Older Adults

     It's hard to find pictures of older adults. The one below is from a 1935 collection sponsored by the Farm Security Agency and entitled, "Eternal Love."

     A site called Photocrowd has plenty more.

     Why would anyone authorize a federal government agency to take pictures of people during a Depression, not too unlike our current one? Probably so future generations could see that even in the worst of times, people can retain a sense of dignity and compassion.

     Government does not have all the cost-effective answers to society's problems. Business does not have all the profitable solutions either. It takes a balance and sometimes you don't find out until well after the fact.

A Guide For Athletes

      When I was growing up I was a student-athlete. Athletics and competition were true passions of mine, though I'm glad the student prefix came before the athlete. I watched and read about so many retirements of athletes that it always made me wonder what I would do when the inevitable presented itself. I was lucky to have numerous sports to retire from that when I reached the end of the road it was clear. I'm still a ping-pong player and horseshoe thrower but the days of team activities are pretty much behind me.

     Baseball is my favorite sport. Probably because if someone from the 19th century were taken to Yankee Stadium they would be able to recognize the game and follow along with ease. I also like the game because it has so many variations: hardball, softball, stickball, and wiffleball to name a few. Each and every game begins with a discussion of the rules. What is fair and foul, the number of balls and strikes, and the style of pitching which will be allowed (overhand, underhand, or lobbed). These discussions regarding rules also included deciding who plays what position and for which team. This taught us all the basics of fairness as nobody wanted to be on a losing team.

     I stopped playing hardball at fourteen. During my last game I committed two errors in one inning in the outfield. Then I was the lead off batter in the next inning. Our coach had given us some basic signs so after drawing a walk I took a look at him and noticed the steal sign was on. On the first pitch I was off and made it to second safely standing up. No sooner had I dusted myself off I looked over at the coach and the steal sign was on again. I went on the first pitch and made it to third standing up safely. The small crowd in attendance started cheering me as I tried to get my breath back. I looked at the coach and I'd like to write that the steal sign was on again, but it wasn't. People actually wanted me to steal home! On the first pitch I took a huge lead and faked going home. This created some real drama on the field and off of it. Fortunately, the first pitch was hit for a single and I scored easily. My night was over as the coach took me out immediately after I scored, in order to give everyone a chance to play. It was an all-star game, with the point being that everyone was pretty good. This was fine with me as I had no desire to return to the outfield and greeted the coach's decision with a thumbs up.

     My guidance to athletes is to try and feel a goodbye before it becomes apparent to you and everyone else. Enjoy the feeling of the adrenaline rushing through your veins before and after each and every event. Win or lose your last game will be memorable, try to be aware of this feeling. Most importantly, you must anticipate the loss of something that defines you. There will be a sense of something missing for a while, but it eventually will occur to you that stopping was all for the best. It was something you did and something you can endure no longer. Sports are a metaphor, so be happy for all the clarity about Life that they give you. The time you spent doing them was not wasted. Bottom line is that we need to replace these activities with something else, hopefully it will be less taxing on your body and just as rejuvenating for your mind. Consider your options and stick with your decision. There are plenty of people to take your place. If you aren't capable of being a coach or mentor, then simply do what I do now and just watch. Cheer if something good happens, but don't ever boo or make a snide remark to an athlete. They are doing what they love and might be trying at that moment to feel their own goodbye to the game. Make it easy for them.

    

    

Langston Hughes

     A wee bit of poetry to welcome in the Summer Solstice and to honor what I hope will become a new national holiday: Juneteenth Day

My People

by Langston Hughes

Dream-singers,
Story-tellers,
Dancers,
Loud laughers in the hands of Fate—
           My People.
Dish-washers,
Elevator-boys,
Ladies’ maids,
Crap-shooters,
Cooks,
Waiters,
Jazzers,
Nurses of babies,
Loaders of ships,
Porters,
Hairdressers,
Comedians in vaudeville
And band-men in circuses—
Dream-singers all,
Story-tellers all.
Dancers—
God! What dancers!
Singers—
God! What singers!
Singers and dancers,
Dancers and laughers.
Laughers?
Yes, laughers….laughers…..laughers—
Loud-mouthed laughers in the hands of Fate.

UNIVAC I

    

     Today in 1951 the first UNIVAC 1 debuted.

     In 1978 at Dickinson College we had a computer room with an IBM mainframe and terminals for end users. As memory serves the scene was fairly similar to the one pictured below.

     The room had ultra air-conditioning which was great in the summer and a delight to me because my family had only recently replaced its fans for a central air-conditioner. The other special part about the room was that it was open 24 hours a day. The door had a little window and you had to appeal either verbally or visually to whomever was in the room to let you in. After a few visits it wasn't a problem to earn your status as one who saw the future and this was IT!

     I was studying the BASIC programming language in the spring of 1978. We used to write in pencil the arcane flows which would produce the examples our professor asked for. I was worried at the time that I couldn't keep up with the pace of innovation, as newer languages were being developed and proclaimed the one to know. I asked a learned professor of physics what he thought and he gave me the best advice on the subject of computer languages, which I still repeat today and receive silent nods of acceptance from people who weren't even born when he uttered the words.

     A little background: Professor T. Scott Smith had a Princeton and NASA pedigree. His other claim to fame was that his introduction to Astronomy was taken by more students than any other class at Dickinson. It wasn't because it was easy, but because he was funny as well as very informative. His advice to me was that newer computer languages would always be based upon BASIC. Every time I do a deep dive into a language now I think about the words of Professor Smith. Of course, he was right! I see those simple words I used to write in pencil like IF and THEN and wonder what I was ever concerned about. The 4 year residential Liberal Arts education is still paying dividends. It makes me sorry that it has become so expensive and now completely inaccessible to a new generation of younger students.

      T. Scott Smith first appeared in my life at the Freshman Banquet on I believe the first or second day of school in 1977. He was cordially introduced by then College President Sam Banks. The beard was only a glimmer in his mind but he did possess a fine mustache. The first thing I remember after the introduction was him getting up on the table located on a dais in the front of the cafeteria. He looked around and pulled up his pants so we could all see his socks didn't match. He then told us we would remember nothing about this day except for the fact he stood on a table and showed you his mismatched socks. There was probable some explanation as to why it didn't matter whether your socks match, but I have long since forgotten.

Mr. October

     We are finding out what it is like to live in a world without regular sporting events. I don't include the Professional Wrestling matches being staged in Florida because that is simple entertainment. And I don't include the caged Ultimate Fighting spectacles which are simply too barbaric for words.

     I am speaking about my favorite game which is baseball. It can be wiffle, soft, stick, or hard ball as the game is the same despite some tinkering with the rules. We always started a game with explanations of the rules: what was foul territory, how many outs per side, and how many strikes per batter. It ultimately came down to pitching to a batter who was always trying to hit a home run. People who complain that a rule change somehow desecrates baseball never played on some of the awful fields that we played on as kids. We had to make rules concerning puddles of mud that we collect in outfield. Did that change the name of the game? Not a bit.

     I was delighted to read a story about Reggie Jackson today. I still check the sports pages everyday even though there isn't usually much news. Today "Mr October" himself offered his perspective on our current times. He grew up Oakland, California and knows all about riots in his neighborhood. He lent his opinion which gave me some hope, kinda like he used to during his playing days:

     This is his unabridged post:

“Our Protest feels different this time.

“I could see it in the rainbow of skin colors in the crowd a couple days ago in my town at the Monterey Protest Walk.

“It pumped me up inside. Made me feel others could feel what my heart needs.

“I WAS A TEENAGER IN THE 60s. I’VE lIVED IT !

“Finally more are understanding what I’ve felt for the past 60 years. And they’re with me. Made me smile, gave me hope.

How Do We Do Our Essential Thinking?

     How we think might seem like a trivial question in these times of riots in our cities, 40 million unemployment applications, Covid-19, and bills are bills due to come. Or it might be the best question we can ask. I'm in the latter group if you are keeping score at home.

    

    

    

      Back when vinyl albums use to cost us dearly and we made purchases with all the seriousness we could muster, I came across Carole King's best seller at a garage sale. Upon inspection it was warped and

scratched from intensive use. The cover was bent and scratched, too. Album covers always made us stop and pause for a bit of reflection, even if there was no chance we were going to pay $1 for this legendary album. In this case it was just a bit far gone to include in an amateur album collection. All I could do was gaze at the image of a painfully shy artist and read the liner notes. That was enough to produce a warm feeling and to make note that if I came across some money that this was an album to own!

All songs written by Carole King except where noted.

Side 1

1. "I Feel the Earth Move" – 3:00
2. "So Far Away" – 3:55
3. "It's Too Late" (lyrics by Toni Stern) – 3:54
4. "Home Again" – 2:29
5. "Beautiful" – 3:08
6. "Way Over Yonder" – 4:49

Side 2

7. "You've Got a Friend" – 5:09
8. "Where You Lead" (lyrics by Carole King and Toni Stern) – 3:20
9. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" (Gerry Goffin, King) – 4:13
10. "Smackwater Jack" (Goffin, King) – 3:42
11. "Tapestry" – 3:15
12. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Goffin, King, Jerry Wexler) – 3:59

     To answer the question I posed at the beginning of this post: I like to think while listening to music. I still am fond of Class Rock but have developed a love of Classical music, especially Romantic Era composers like Beethoven. I am fortunate to have had a friend these last 12 years who is a music critic. He always receives two tickets and often takes me along. I now have seen and heard all nine of Beethoven's symphonies as well as a wide variety of old and modern classical music. My favorite venue is Carnegie Hall with Lincoln Center a distant second. I'd like to believe I could live with just classical music but then I come across the old album covers, which the artists used to spend a great deal of time considering, as did we who bought them. One glance at a cover and I can recall whether or not I owned it. This also produces warm memories which then helps me with my thinking for the rest of the day. Often one look will prompt me to open Spotify where I now have all the music in the world (almost) at my fingertips. Yes, I threw away all the albums of my youth and sold all the CDs of my late twenties and thirties. I don't miss them too much when I consider how many times I had to move them and the dust they used to collect. I will say that the images on the albums are timeless and not without their own rewards. Though sometimes we have to let go of things if we want to have time to do some essential thinking.