Head-dibs

Tuesday was my birthday, and I started my day with a funeral. Last Wednesday was my Aunt’s funeral. Three days ago, which was one week and one day after my Aunt’s death, my grieving cousin announced her mother-in-law died.  Life and death.  The funeral I attended was for a 73 year old man named Ronnie. When he was a teenager, he met this girl, Pat. They fell in love and got married. Not long after, his brother married the sister of his sister-in-law. Two brothers married two sisters. The couples have lived on the same plot of land so long, the road is named after them. A story is told that, early on in their marriage, Pat had something important to discuss but Ronnie was “too busy” to listen. So Pat pointed a gun out the kitchen window and pulled the trigger. Ronnie came running, ready to listen.  Ronnie was a gentle giant. He was a big, weather-hardened man who spent most of his professional career inspecting bridges. He took his job seriously. Anything he did, he took s...

  This reading in Plutarch’s “Lives Of The Noble Grecians and Romans” covered chapters 51-55, comparing two Greek-Spartan leaders, who reflected Plato’s political ideal, with two Roman leaders, who reflected Aristotle’s political ideal. Chapters 51 and 52 introduce us to the Spartan kings, Agis and Cleomenes.  Sparta was in danger losing their Spartan ways, embracing luxury over discipline. Agis proposed to return people and country to their heritage by proposing a cancellation of all debt and redistribution the land of the wealthy to citizens “who were fit for service as able-bodied soldiers.” Opposition was instant as the rich dug in their heels against losing power and status. Ultimately, Agis was killed by the rich under the leadership of his half-brother, Leonidas.  After Leonidas died with his “300” in the last day of the Battle of Thermopylae, his son, Cleomenes, rose to power. Observing the deepening apathy and laziness of Sparta, Cleomenes grew curious about Agis...

 

This was a surprise! Always dreamed of seeing this. These dreams go on when I close my eyes . . . 

 

The past few weeks have been stressful. Training new employees, dealing with difficult customers, not sleeping well, not exercising (I’ve gained 20 pounds in the last two years), getting through family drama (two life-threatening events in the same day, 2000 miles apart: my dad’s heart attack in NM and a 9 year grandchild starting the rest of his life with Type 1 Diabetes) . . .  My CrossFit lifestyle withered into oblivion when I lost my job at the University in 2020, as Covid got going. Deep depression brought me to a standstill as I took a few months to try to reset. Since then, my physical status has been on steady decline. Now my daily schedule looks something like this: Work 3-11 pm (on a good day), Go to bed at 4 am, get up between 10:30 am and noon, get booted up and go back to work. If I get one day off a week I’m fortunate. At least I don’t have to work all night for now. That was the worst.  So I haven’t had time or energy to do much, even read, much less write. And...