Happy “T” day!

Toda=y's Tids Issue 3,085

Opening Stuff:

 

As the hills begin to take shape after a cold winters nap; red buds on branches vibrant against lime green leaves just emerged, buzzes, whirrs, roars and rumbles fill the air above the seas and rocky shores, the inland fields and mountains. Soil is tilled and lawns get their first haircut. Sanders grind away at hulls and saws trim trees beaten by winter’s menace. Humans prepare their world for summer’s sun. Smiles are wide and spirits are high. The cocoons are open.

 

The Benghazi thing and ObamaCare mess will dominate the pages until November. Oh, there will be lulls , but these are two real situations that seem to favor Repubs perhaps taking  back the Senate along with the House. The problem the Dems seem to have created is that they left so many gigantic holes into which the Republicans can walk. That often happens with word manipulation. The key for the Repubs, however, is to walk the line carefully. Credibility can be fragile and US voters have a way of tiring, even of truth. The Dems will add to the confusion, as they did over the weekend calling GOP delusional. So the Repubs have the Facts and the Dems have the name calling and the press.

 

Being a Caucasian of limited worldly prowess, I still pronounce Jose with a “J”. And the “T” in the title of this day’s Tids is for Tacos. Tacos is the food of Cinco de Mayo just as Zepoles are for St. Josephs day (With a J)…right? Of course stereotypical assumptions often belittle good people. Frankly I have never met a Mexican I didn’t like.

 

The Question:

What was the name of the Mexican General who on May 5 1862 led a small Mexican army at Puebla against the finest fighting machine in the world, Napoleon’s French Army? Bonus: name the five best and five worst products to buy at Costco.

 

The Headlines:

--Ukraine Begins New Offensive As Putin Watches; Germany Asks For new Talks.

--B&B Ringling Circus Performers Fall 35 feet As Platform Snaps In Providence; 7 Considered Critical but  Not Life Threatening.

--Mudslide In Afghanistan Kills 255; 2,700 Missing.

--US Warns Citizens Of Possible Islamic Attack On One Of two Sheraton Hotels In Lagos Nigeria; This would Be Forst Time Terror Groups Would have Gone After Foreigners.

--North Korea Issues List Of US Human Rights Abuses.

--India Train Derailment Kills 17.

 

In case you have been in your cocoon waiting fro a real Spring day, “24” comes back on tonight with Jack Bauer arunning through London this time. The great dram re-emerges at 8 with a 2 hour episode The big problem is whether to DVR 24 or The Voice. Nah, no problem, I’m going “24” live. KThunk. KThunk. KThunk.

 

In case you missed it, “24” isn’t in London for atmosphere. It’s there for tax breaks. That’s a story for another day. Can you say Pfuzer?

 

I often the confuse the death of Daphne and Chloe with that of Tristan and Isolde. But, I’m learning to live with it.

 

There’s nothing like a warm day in Spring.  Tourist’s cars lurch through stop signs. Runners dart in front of cars. Yard sale hunters jam on the brakes. Yeah, spring. Great.

 

I guess down in Rutgers the professors chose Freedom of Protest over Freedom of Speech. Faculty and fanatical students want education divorced from the truth. That’s about the way I see it – at children-at-play U.

 

I wrote a short story recently about a Mexican women becoming a member of our family. It was about the anticipation of the unknown interrupting traditional comfort zones. Of course nothing drastic at all happened, and the woman is beyond question one of the finest persons I’ve ever met.

 

Idaho potato farmers must have been behind the promotion of the fully loaded baked to mask the blandness of their product.

 

I see two Presidents, one standing on an aircraft carrier beneath a huge sign: “Mission Accomplished”; the second in front of a sprawling hospital under a signs flapping in March winds, “The debate over repealing this law is over!” Welcome to sound bite leadership.

 

Why are atheists so angry? That is the question.

 

From time to time I meet with writers mainly at lunches or dinner. The conversations tend to turn to successful authors and questions about what books I read. I generally I reply that I spend a lot of  time on the comic strips. The silence is deadly, until a person acknowledges that a good strip speaks well of creative and concise writing.

 

Kathy Bates and James Caan were happy, to have played in misery.

 

One of the great things about Spring is that smokers forced outside for a couple of puffs are less apt to catch pneumonia.

 

One thing Twitter does well for sure is exposing the knuckleheads of the world to the universe.

 

I think I’ve lost it. I’m starting to wade into Dmitri Shostakovich.

 

Having just about jumped the shark, the once mighty American Idol seems to be resorting to crass sensationalism to get viewership. And the teeth hurt.

 

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Froday’s Premiere was all about satisfying the anticipation for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Every kid will enjoy with they see as will many adults who like the web swinger and are willing to allow their minds to vacate. There's  a lot in this one about "feel", what's it like to be the super hero and the musings of Peter Parker about life and love. But, the realization is always there that he is the only one who can save New York from the ravages of crime, and in the emergence of Electro he finds a foe more powerful than he.

 

The Conscience: Chapter 42 continues.

     “You seem nervous, Sanna.” James image seemed to grow as he stared at the empress now frozen in her chair.  “My friend Milton told me that isn’t like you. That you are a ruthless sun or a bitch. Oh, excuse me,” he nodded towards Angelica. Sanna continued to sit motionless, staring as the black man as he rose.

     “Do you remember me, Sanna? Of course not. I wasn’t a human in your eyes way back in April of 1957 when both of our lives changed. One thing I never forgot on that nght you almost died was that because of Jeffery Morgan I realized that the world may be better than I was lead to belive by the white people of Mobile and  other places of the south. Jeffery couldn’t understand the bitterness in your heart, and that gave me, a mere 13 years old at the time, hope. Do you understand what a gift hope is?

     Angelica looked at me wondering what all of this praise for me was all about. I was looking inside my miserable self.

     “I never forgot that night when you shoved me out of the way. ‘Get away little black boy’, you said. I’ve carried your ugly wite image with me for 30 years. Today you will be shoved aside.”

 

 

The Answer:

On Cinco de Mayo, General Ignacio Zaragoza Saguin led his troops against a superior French army on Napoleon III’s mission to conquer the Latin American country to gain a foothold in the Western hemisphere…and crushed it. The victory is celebrated today as monumental in Mexico’s fight for freedom. Unfortunately it was short lived as The French eventually took over Mexico and installed Maximillion. Bonus: The best is Mr. Coffee BVMC coffee maker and that is followed by Kirkland Bacon, Kirkland car battery, Kirkland Ice Cream (Yummy vanilla) and Kirkland ultra Clean laundry detergent. Avoid Urban Islands gas grill, Kirkland facial tissue, Kirkland Signature gel dishwasher detergent, Costco’s Visco memory Foam mattress and Kirkland Toilet paper.

 

Have a great week. Gotta run.