Neither cold rains nor cultural alterations…

 

Today's Tids Issue 4,917

Smiling through drops of rain:

 

Happy Memorial Day everybody. Spend a few silent moments together.

 

The rest of the headline above for Today’s Tids is, “Neither cold rains nor cultural alterations…could keep Americans from honoring the fallen heroes of the wars that saved freedom.

 

With people racing as fast as their little legs will take them to discover anything outside their homes, magazine and newspaper subscriptions will certainly take another hit as they march into the next generation and a slow death. That means that the morning news will be more in-your-face news from people talking too fast on TVs and Podcasts, and who knows what ever kind of torture comes next.

 

In 1883, 12 people among thousands walking on the new bridge were trampled to death based on a “rumor” that the Brooklyn Bridge was collapsing. And they didn’t even have Twitter than. It just shows you that masses of humans acting irrationally on false information isn’t new.

 

If you ever need a jolt of pure human happiness, check out the video of Helio Castroneves celebrating his win yesterday at the Indy 500. No hidden messages, just smiles and joy and simply pure spur of-the-moment rapture. And the last move he made on the track was pretty spectacular too.

 

The Question:

Name all of the women who have driven in the Indy 500. And who was the first one? Bonus: Thomas Jefferson had a great, unrequited love that seemed to haunt him. She was married, he was widowed. What was her name?

 

The Headlines:

--Markets Closed Today; Tomorrow Will Tell If Markets Continue Trend Of Climbing Back Out Of Mid-May Doldrums.

--Summer Fun Expected To Be Costly For Re-emerging America; Gas, Fido and Restaurant Prices Expected To Be Sharply Rinsing Over Next Months.

--China Switches Direction And Allows Up To Three Children Per Family

--Helio Castroneves Wins For 4^th Time At Indy In The Fastest Time Ever; Kyle Larson Wins Coca-Cola 600 In Nascar Annual Memorial Day Race.

--Dems Rallying To Stop Texas New Fair Voting Act.

--Louisiana Coast Still Suffering From Past Year’s Battering’s Bracing For More Hits Again This Year.

--Conservative Leaders In Israel Go After Netanyahu; It Is Expected He Would Be Replaced By Natftali Bennett.

 

The secret to living without high blood pressure and internal aggravation is waking up softly without looking at or hearing and dwelling on news first.

 

Speaking of High Blood Pressure, I just learned that barbecue recipes are seriously differentiated by defined regions, mostly in southern states. There is Carolina, Memphis, Texas, Kansas City, Alabama, Kentucky, Saint Louis and Chicago. Caroline Barbecue is based on pork and hogs. Vinegar and chopped Cole Slaw are mainstay key attributes for Carolina, but South differs from North by the mustard in the sauce. Memphis is famous for dry rubbed sauceless pork shoulder for pulled pork, and ribs, wet (Vintager Plus Tomato base) and dry rubbed. Texas is like Carolina, but it is all about beef in particular, the Brisket rubbed with salt and black pepper. No sauce. Kansas City, the great meat packing city features all meats – beef and pork to lamb, chicken, turkey and sausages. All are rubbed and slow smoked and served with the thick iconic KC sauce – Ketchup, Molasses and Brown sugar. KC BBQ is identified by its burnt ends. The differential for Alabama chicken and pork dishes is the white sauce based on mayo. Kentucky is unique for its BBQ’ed chopped Mutton sandwiches. St. Louis is pork centric and known for a steak which is thinly sliced pork shoulder. But the big argument is St. Louis Ribs versus Baby Back Ribs. Bb’s are from the top of the rids nearer to the tenderloin, and St. Louis the bottom of the rib cage. BB Ribs are more tender but less meaty. SL ribs are meatier, fattier (For great flavor) but require careful cooking for tenderness. The Chicago difference is in the way they are smoked in “so-called aquarium smokers, tempered glass chambers resembling fish tanks.”

 

So, the big question is: Did you fall asleep during this BBQ excursion, or are you hungry? Personally, I’m not BBQ guy, but the intrepid Tids Food Department will sacrifice its own personal gastronomic desires to provide loyal readership good choices. Sometimes we even say nice things about Dems.

 

Amazon will automatically share your internet with neighbors through a nefarious little experimental networking device called “Sidewalk”. Check out your settings for Amazon devices like Echo and Ring for Sidewalk which would be found by going to Alexa app>settings>account settings>”Sidewalk”>disable. You may want to Google it so you understand better what I’m talking about. And, you may want to keep it. But, I’m not.

 

I don’t read sports pages to find out which players are and aren’t wearing masks. But that’s where sports writers seem to be spending a lot of time these days.

 

Now that everybody is celebrating freedom from Covid, when was the last time you heard somebody thanking Trump for getting the vaccine development steamroller going full speed.

 

I remember when something 100 years old was considered to have been around a long time.

 

Rhode Island has always been first, second or third in states with the most Covid tests per capita. Is that because nobody works in RI  and it was something to do.

 

Because I write a lot, people always ask me who my favorite authors are. I don’t read much. And I tend to forget names of authors. I like to write freely without possible outside contamination. Maybe I should read a book on grammar, though.

 

No matter the severity of the weather outside, it always feels better than being inside.

 

The Answer:

Janet Guthrie was first and her best finish was 9^th in 3 tries. Next to enter was as Desire Wilson, but she never qualified. (In 1983 Amber Furst tried to enter but hadn’t enough experience. Lyn St. James did and in 1992 was “Rookie of the Year”. She raced for 7 years and 11^th was her best finish and 6^th her best qualifying position. In 2000 for the first time, 2 women were in the race, James and Sarah Fisher. Sarah qualified for 9 years. Danika Patrick arrived on the scene in 2005. Her best finish was 3rd d, but she made 6 top ten’s. After Patrick, there were five more driveers, none of whom did better than middle of the pack – Milka Duno, Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz Figuereido, Pipa Mann and Katherine Legge. Simona de Silvestro is in this year’s Indy, with technical support from Team Penske. Bonus: Isn’t nice to know that some of our leaders have romantic souls. Jefferson sure did with Maria Cosway. His “Heart to Heart” letter to Cosway in 1786 just after she left London with her husband for an undetermined period of time. became famous. The letter reveals him to have been a lovesick man whose intellect battled with a heart aching for a woman he could not have. He tried to think with his head for the good of both of them but he couldn’t stop writing letters of is dreams of being with her. But, alas, they never got together. When her husband died, she opened a Convent School for Girls in Italy.  The usually self-contained Jefferson acted like a giddy schoolboy with Cosway, “Thomas Jefferson met Maria Cosway in Paris while he was serving as the U.S. minister to France. Cosway was born to English parents in Italy and, by the time she met Jefferson, had become an accomplished painter and musician. She was also married. The two developed a deep friendship and possibly more.”

 

When I play Elgar’s Enigma Variations, I always stop what I am doing and close my eyes to enjoy the beauty of variation #10, “Nimrod”. It just seems to come from the Heart. Today is a day when hearts are sad, but also buoyed by a great love they had known.