If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Random, But I’m No Expert

Kiev, Ukraine
Photo by Marjan Blan | @marjanblan on Unsplash

“Rabbi, rabbi is there a blessing for the Czar?”

“Yes, my son, God bless and keep the Czar…far away from us!”

From Fiddler on the Roof

Who amongst us theater geeks has not felt the tug at the emotions as Tevye, his family, and his neighbors pack what belongings they can carry to leave their home of Anatevka?

Nearly a hundred and twenty years later, the struggles still continue and people are fleeing an oppressive Russian tyrant.

The musical, based on “Tevye and his Daughters” by Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich — better known by his pen name, Sholom Aleichem — takes place in the fictional town of Anatevka, a more singable name for a town Aleichem modeled on the town of Boyarka near his birthplace in central Ukraine. And when the musical welcomes new arrivals, they tend to have traveled from the nearest big city, Kyiv.

NPR: If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine feels familiar, look to Broadway in the ’60s

Tevye has always been a dream role. Over forty years ago, I almost had the chance to play the part. But a misunderstanding of the text and the story prevented that. It’s a long story that might or might not one day

The Write Side Shop

be in the book.

If you’re casting, I could still play the part.

But, hurry.

I was reminded last week that, while we’re all putting Ukrainian flags in our profiles and a certain blue and yellow have become fashion statements, we should also remember to pray for the Russian people.

I suspect that most of them do not want this conflict any more than the Ukranians.

It didn’t have to happen this way.

But I am no foreign policy expert.

I had my first above $4.00 gas siting yesterday.

It was far from being as exciting as spring’s first robin or daffodil.

If our leaders really wanted to solve this issue, they’d stop purchasing oil from Russia, open up the Keystone Pipeline, and lift the restrictions on the production of domestic oil.

Instead we’re looking to Iran and Venezuela.

It’s insane.

But let’s be clear, gas prices were rising BEFORE Russia invaded Ukraine. Don’t forget that.

It didn’t have to happen this way.

But I’m no domestic policy expert.

Outside my window, daffodils are peaking through the leaves that I still need to get up from last season.

The official arrival of spring is just a couple of weeks away. Temperatures are warm as I write this, but they’ll be falling soon.

I chuckled as a saw on Facebook a writer ask the local meteorologist if we were safe from overnight freezes. Hardly.

Late April, maybe.

But I’m no weather expert.

Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer, Lynn Redgrave, was born on this day in 1943. (d. 2010)


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Biden’s War on Affordable Energy | Opinion
Bobby Jindal in Newsweek
He is asking other nations to do what he is not willing to allow American energy companies and workers themselves to do. Biden needs to reverse course. American oil and gas producers should be the ones helping to lower prices by increasing production and exports to Europe. Read More.

DeSantis Expected to Sign 15-Week Abortion Ban Into Law
Townhall
Last week, Florida lawmakers passed a bill banning abortions in the state after 15 weeks gestation. The bill was sent to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday. He told reporters on Friday that he will sign the bill into law. Read More.

Biden’s pro-police talk doesn’t change his anti-cop walk
New York Post Editorial Board
Biden’s administration has repeatedly targeted police departments and promulgated the woke, anti-cop narrative. Read More.

 

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., American lawyer and jurist (d. 1935)
1921 – Alan Hale Jr., American actor and restaurateur (d. 1990)

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

 

RECAFFEINATED MONDAYS: I Don’t Want a Sailboat

“I worked for corporate America, you know, for twenty years. And my friend, Bill, worked for the same company, and he had liver failure. A week before he was due to retire, HR called him in hospice and said, “Now, let’s talk about your retirement.” And he died ten days later, having never been ablet to take that sailboat that he bought out of his driveway. And he missed out on everything. And he told me before he died, “Just don’t waste any time, Merle. Don’t waste any time.” So I retired as soon as I could. I didn’t want my sailboat to be in the driveway when I died. So, yeah. And it’s not. My sailboat’s out here in the desert.”

Merle
Nomadland, Best Picture 2021

This weekend, I made some progress on one of my bucket list items, which is to watch all of the Best Picture movies. I’d set it aside for a while, but once I realized that I’ve seen four of this year’s ten nominees. Even in the years when there used to be only five, I’ve rarely seen that many before the ceremonies.

Around this time of year, the streaming services also show previous winners. So this weekend I caught a few of those.

Friday night I watched last year’s winner, Nomadland.

It’s an interesting movie, about a lifestyle that I’ve never considered. Living out of your van or RV, traveling around the country from job to job. It was fascinating.

At one point in the movie I actually thought “I wonder what it would be li….” and that’s as far as I got.

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I am far too dependent upon indoor plumbing. Just sayin’.

No spoilers, but the above quote comes from one of the campfire conversations.

Merle says, “I didn’t want my sailboat to be in the driveway when I died.”

That hit me because it’s a bucket list statement.

I mean, I have never in my life…well, not that I recall anyway…wanted to own a sailboat.

But there are things I want to do before I die.

I’ve revised the bucket list I wrote several years back. There’s no need to rehash that now.

I think the message here though is that life is about living.

The last two years with COVID, and my own personal Last Summer’s Great Unpleasantness(TM), have sort of derailed some of those plans.

It’s certainly pushed back the date of my retirement. Still, while it’s not Russia, I can see it from my house.

I think what I’m getting at here is don’t put off your dreams. Because you just never know.

I mean, I don’t have any plans to leave soon, but you just never know.

I was brought up with the mindset that I should find a good job and stick with it for the next fifty years. I’ve not done that, but I have been in the current employment situation for twenty-eight years.

I’m rambling, but there’s a book idea in here somewhere.

I am working on that bucket list.

This fall, my best friend from college and I are planning an old man road trip to the Grand Canyon. I was there just after college and never quite made it back.

I’ve gone from “I’m going to hike the canyon,” to “I’m going to raft the canyon,” to “Let’s drive our scooters up to the edge.”

We’re still working on plans, but as long as I don’t have to sell a kidney on Ebay to finance the gas, we’re going.

Unless I win the lottery or Publishers Clearinghouse finally shows up, I may not make everything on my bucket list. And that’s okay.

What I don’t want to do is to continue to toil away at a, mostly, thankless job. A job that I readily admit compensates me well. But it doesn’t speak to my soul, and that’s what I’m looking for.

I have plans. I hope to get to them.

To paraphrase Andy Dufresne, I plan to get busy retiring, or get busy working.

I have no intentions of leaving a sailboat in the driveway.

Donna Murphy, American actress and singer, Donna Murphy, was born on this day in 1959


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Buckle Your Seatbelts For Three More Years Of Biden Making The World More Dangerous
The Federalist
As a candidate for president, Joe Biden promised he would mend our supposedly broken alliances, “bring the adults back in charge,” stand up to Russia by arming Ukraine, and make America more prosperous. Across all these accounts, he has failed. Read More.

Supreme Court to decide whether the state can override your freedom to choose what you say
The Washington Examiner
Each is trying to earn a living and stay true to their values. Because of their faith, each treats their clients with the utmost respect and dignity and serves clients of all different backgrounds regardless of who they are. For them, there is no distinction between professing their faith on Sunday and earning a living on Monday. Read More.

‘Absurd’: John Durham Filing Roasts Ex-Clinton Lawyer’s Attempt To Get Indictment Dismissed
Daily Caller
Durham argues the false statement could easily have impacted the FBI’s actions surrounding the investigation in a number of ways. Read More.

Commentary: A Country Without Pity
The Virginia Star
On the eve of the two-year anniversary—which is too celebratory a word to describe its aftermath—of useless, destructive lockdowns sold as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19, our country has been exposed as a place overpopulated with pitiless citizens gratified by the suffering of others. The common bonds that tether friendships and fellowship are in tatters, shredded by the nihilism of the ruling class, egged on by a mendacious corporate media, and amplified on ill-named “social” media platforms. Read More.

10 Essential Items To Put In Your Fallout Shelter Today
The Babylon Bee
Are you having trouble getting your fallout shelter in order in time for the brisk nuclear winter that is certainly coming? Have no fear–we at The Babylon Bee are experts in doomsday prepping! Read More.

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1875 – Maurice Ravel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1937)
1934 – Willard Scott, American television personality and actor (d. 2021)
1940 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
1942 – Michael Eisner, American businessman
1942 – Tammy Faye Messner, American evangelist, television personality, and talk show host (d. 2007)
1956 – Bryan Cranston, American actor, director, and producer

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26