Fill up your brains. There’s always room.

Today's Tids Issue 4,379

Flowers and War:

Hello May! Welcome back to our lives. We will joyfully sing My Old Kentucky Home and Back Home Again in Indiana and face up to You-gotta-eat-a-taco-day. But for the most part, May is the real rebirth of all that blossoms, and all that grows anew. For Christians, it is the month of Mary, and her soft and comforting hue of blue. Horses gallop and engines roar, and for the first time, locals will officially be crowding the shore. On that weekend of memorials, so meaningful to all. Yup beautiful May is here. Is summer over yet?

The issue in Venezuela is shaping up as a war between The USA and Russia. I put that in the not so good category. Russia is now officially pulling Maduros strings and they are supported by Iran, Hezbollah and Cuba already entrenched in that oil rich country. China is also there in force but mainly operating in counties as they always do, building infrastructure. So, while we maybe on the side of righteousness for the good people there, we may be forced to tip toe around the goals of Putin. To make a tender scenario even scarier, there is an emerging story of Russia having Nukes in place. In our hemisphere. This is why presidents, like them or not, get grey hair fast.

In the past I wouldn’t buy Citgo gas. But now I hear it is owned by a company whose board is controlled by opposition leader Juan Guaido. It is an avenue of hope for the people of that sad country if they can come back from its current state of catastrophe. If we can successfully deal with the pitfalls of paragraph two above.

I think it is criminal the way social media assaults people who are just doing what they do. Lie poor Lexi Thompson who was castigated for playing golf with the President of the United States.

I have always been mixed up about Orson and HG. Oh Well.

Hot goaltenders reign in NHL playoff games.

The Question:

Name five songs made famous by Judy Collins.

The Headlines:

--Venezuela Has West On Edge; Pompeo Says Military Action Is Certainly A Possibility.

--Markets Jump Out After April Jobs Report Breaks All Expectations; Next: All Eyes On 2-Day Fed Meeting; Apple Raising Dividend.

--Two Dead, Four Wounded As NC Charlotte Student Goes On Shooting Rampage.

--Repub and Dem Senators Say Trump 23% Cut In Foreign Aid Makes No Sense; Graham: “Short Sighted”; WH People Don’t Understand Value Of “Soft Power”.

--Barr facing Senate Today; Perhaps Congress Tomorrow.

--Assange Sentenced To 50 Weeks In UK Jail.

--Fish Mucus May Be Key To Antibiotic Preventing Super Bugs

If you think we have a border problem now, wait until you see the millions of refugees coming our way if there is a military action in Venezuela.

How can Broadway survive with ticket prices for hot shows in the $200 cheap seats to $500-600 premiere locations range?

With social media, the most anxious among us seem to be controlling the conversation. Apathetic people like me just aren’t allowed to wallow and gather moss.

In case you are interested, the current favorite to win the Kentucky Derby is Omaha Beach. (Sounds like it could also be the sentimental favorite with June 6 just around the corner.). Next in the hearts of odds makers are Game Winner and Improbable. Rounding out the top 5 are Tacitus and Maximum Security.

“Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.”

James Holzhauer Doesn’t hesitate to make big decisions. Having knowledge takes the agita out of decision making. Solution: Learn everything you can.

The so-called new big economic decision is choosing between the two big alternate investing options – Gold or Bitcoins. That’s going to take a lot of learning.

Confession: I have never enjoyed listening to the tune Amazing Grace. It’s not about its deeper meaning, it’s just grating musically to me.

Pun headline of the day: Talks on Infrastructure Constructive.

An increasingly annoying trend to me are the limited menus now becoming prevalent in more and more restaurants. And the limited choices that remain are regaled with too much chef creativity. I’ll have “X” entrée, but without, “X” and “X” and “X”, please. Limited menus are a good way to control inventories, but not to make simple eaters like me happy. But then, I’m probably an eater from the dark past.

Speaking of the youthful revolution, word is out that younger viewers of The Voice want the producer to “block the votes of elders”. “hey don’t understand good music and new singers.” Yeah, we like melodies.

But as one younger The Voice viewer said yesterday, “This year started out like one of the best, but it has gone down hill ever since”. I couldn’t agree more. BTW, the country vote is still the most powerful as the Blake singers dominated the returns as they cut from 24 to 13.

Meetings between clumsy humans and killer whales tend to be orcward. Shoot me.

People have no problems going into debt for a Broadway show, but sometimes cringe at spending for basics human needs.

Laughing in silence, Department:

A woman reader sent me a lot of funny stuff about how a man should relate to a woman. But I’m smart enough not to put my imprimatur on any of them in print. Like, “Arguing with a woman is liked reading a software license agreement: “In the end you just ignore everything and click ‘I agree’.”

The Answer:

Probably like most of you, I always think first of the presidential campaign theme song: “Send on the Clowns”. But, “Both Sides Now” was another of her standards. As was “City of New Orleans” and “Amazing Grace”. Other memorable Collins songs are “Someday Soon”, “My Father”, “Who Knew Where” and “The Rose”. (Although I always associate The Rose with Midler.)

A wise man once said, nothing.

Happy May e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y! Frolic like hell!