Trending Toward . . . ???

April 22

To be or not to be. That’s not really a question. ~ Jean Luc Goddard

The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day marked the first of four contiguous days of physical associations with fellow members of our species – the first such associations in over a year. Fellow members of our species in our age group have long since received our second COVID19 vaccination and generally feel comfortable in some of our pre-pandemic associations. And gives me something to blog about again . . .

[Eight Fat Boys on the trail this morning. A local alert may have been posted because in the course of our one-hour saunter, we encountered no other human beings?]

Play is the exultation of the possible. ~ Martin Buber

[The Tenor, being of strong ear, heard my request for another photo op . . . ]

An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh. ~ Will Rogers

[Before the Earth Day Festivities, we lunched at the Lure with friends from Austin, Texas – Tom, a high school classmate, was in town (on his own birthday weekend) with Pam to make plans for his dad’s 100th birthday later this year. Being a little rusty at this cub reporter thing, I forgot to get photographic evidence of the event. And then it was on to Earth Day . . . ]

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise. ~ George Washington Carver 

[An Earth Day guy . . . ]

[Viola Riggle, on behalf of the Audubon Society . . . ]

The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. ~ Gaylord Nelson

What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[Steve Henry, on behalf of the area lake associations . . . ]

The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for. ~ Ernest Hemingway

The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it. ~ Barry Commoner

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. ~ Rachel Carson

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken. ~ Leo Tolstoy

[Jeanne Johnson, on behalf of the Citizens Climate Lobby . . . ]

Get out there and fight, fight, fight for H.R. 2307! ~ Jeanne Johnson

To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash. ~ Bill Nye

April 23

[The Boys of ’65 have been doing out-of-town lunches on a regular basis for several years now. Tom can only join in on the occasions when he’s in town (duh!), like once or twice a year. To honor his availability this year, we took our longest trip ever – to Krewe in St. Joe, an hour drive for us, an hour and a half for Mayo coming up from Burnsville. Here Mayo leads Tom and Brad through the front door . . . ]

[We always appreciate Brad’s statement t’s . . . ]

[The place proved to be a big hit for all – Mayo and I had the red beans and rice, Brad the jambalaya, and Tom a butter burger with a red bean chaser . . . ]

In a restaurant, choose a table near a waiter. ~ Jewish Proverb

Never eat at a place called ‘Moms’, but if the only other place in town has a sign that says ‘Eats’, go back to Moms. ~ W. C. Fields

I met a keen observer who gave me a tip: ‘If you run across a restaurant where you often see priests eating with priests, or sporting girls with sporting girls, you may be confident that it is good. Those are two classes of people who like to eat well and get their money’s worth.’ ~ A.J. Liebling

I’m in favor of liberalizing immigration because of the effect it would have on restaurants. I’d let just about everybody in except the English. ~ Calvin Trillin

[So, we capped off our little reunion of world travelers discussing future trips, if there are to be any. In the meantime, we returned to our various domiciles to whip up lists of countries already visited, as any good alums of Alexandria Jefferson High School would do . . . ]

April 24

[A winter re-run? Uff da!]

[Among the other things discussed during the previous day’s lunch was what we have been watching and what we have been reading. Mayo said he was pretty much overwhelmed by Caste, and since that was an up and comer in our non-fiction book club I paid a visit to Cherry Street and picked it up, along with The Code Breaker, destined to be another book I love but find way over my head . . . ]

[Then that evening Carlos Creek Winery stepped up to the plate with a concert for musicians – entertainers haven’t been working much in the last year and are anxious to get back in the game . . . ]

[New entry doors on the west side of the Grand Stables building at CCW . . . ]

[The set up was pretty elegant – glad I opted for clean under garments . . . ]

[Our old buddy Anthony Miltich was leading things off from Center Stage . . . ]

I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’ ~  Bob Newhart

[Ruthie in line for the requisite snacks and beverages . . . ]

[We did well to snag seating arrangements next to the winery proprietors. I have no idea if any “quid pro quo” was involved? In the far background is Jeff James on the North Stage . . . ]

[The aforementioned Mr. James who, among other things, played Dueling Banjos on a single instrument . . . ]

[Professor Miltich has joined our table for the following acts, here the Robb Justice Band . . . ]

Last night at Carnegie Hall, Jack Benny played Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn lost. ~  Harold C. Schonberg

Wagner’s music is better than it sounds. ~  Mark Twain

I can’t listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland. ~  Woody Allen

[We discovered Anthony is not only a fine musician and singer, he knows which way to point a camera . . . ]

[The usual group at such events: Deb, Paul, moi, Ruthie, Karin, & Dave. We were all up well past our bed times . . . ]

Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian. ~  H. L. Mencken

[The keyboard player for next act joined the Justice band for a tune or two . . . ]

[Let’s see who else is here . . . ]

An unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences. ~  Edith Wharton

[The Super hobnobs with Mr. Justice and our host for the evening . . . ]

[When another member of the table usurps the photographic equipment . . . ]

[Two guitar players likely fretting over frets . . . ]

I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer. ~  Richard Strauss

I wonder where Ruthie went?

[The last act, Jackson & the Burn . . . ]

I used to jog but the ice cubes kept coming out of my glass. ~ David Lee Roth

We used to get on planes, and they’d ask who we were, and we’d say, ‘The Dave Brubeck Quartet’, and they’d say, ‘Who?’ In later years they’d say, ‘Oh’, which amounts to the same thing. ~ Paul Desmond

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~ John Lennon

Say goodnight, Tom! ~ Everybody

[We came home to discover Galahad’s latest crime wave took place on top of our kitchen cabinets, which we thought would be inaccessible to him . . . ]

April 25

[The day after Tom’s birthday, lunch at the Pike & Pint. Tom and Pam would be returning to Texas the next day. We gave them snow as a goodbye gift. At the table: Brad, Tom, The Super, Helen, Pam, & John. John, Helen, Pam, Tom, Ruthie and I once river cruised together in Europe, so this was another mini-reunion . . . ]

It’s good to be back in the saddle again . . .

As far as I’m concerned, there won’t be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead. ~ George Harrison

Up Next: Playing it by ear . . .