Keep your eye on the little pea.

Today's Tids Issue 3,835

For Thoughtful Courage:

A wise and respected analyst of the human confrontation observes that most of the anger comes misconstrued interpretations of what most people barely understand.

Vincent Van Gough once said, “What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Inspiring, but then, you don’t know the rest of the story: “Now let me see, if I take this razor-sharp knife and put it behind my ear, just like this…”

The Question:

Who was Cheryl Crane?

The Headlines:

--Wall Street Wandering, Wondering; Trump Takes Aim At Dodd-Frank.

--Repubs Say Gorsuch Will Be Approved By Friday.

--Repubs Looking At Latest Smoking Gun, Reports Of Susan Rice Unmasking Incidental Repubs Caught On Surveillance.

--Syria Gas Attack Kills 68; Iraq Bombing Raids Kill Over 150 ISIS Militants.

--North Carolina Is Men’s National Basketball Champ.

--With Demise Of Caliphate, Underground Jihadist Groups Targeting Disaffected Millennials With New “Be Cool”, “Female Empowerment” Programs.

--New Accusations From Women Have Fox Ailes And O’Reilly Denying.

If I say, Let’s get on with voting Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, someone will say, but the Repubs held up Obama’s guy for a year. Someone else will say, but the Dems filibustered GB’s Alito. And so it goes, on and on and on – the kids in the schoolyard are holding their breath. Someday, maybe these children will look into the mirrors and realize that they are shaving, or turning gray in their curley locks. Maybe they will stand there and think: look at me, I’m an adult! What should I do to prove it?

If there is a flower within each raindrop that has fallen today, fields by the sea will surely be masses of yellow, red and blue in May.

It seems that there is more than a political cloud hovering over the USA today. I dislike having to resort writing about the weather. But we, all of us, in almost all corners of our country got it today and tomorrow, and for a while to come. The good news is that these clouds will part and we be seeing shadows long, in the calming evenings and brisk dawns. Not so much, however, for the political climate. I think I’ll stick to contemplating the weather. It feels better, good or bad.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is getting great reviews as best display ever, in case you are interested. It’s nice these companies can make displays better, but, frankly I find nothing wanting in my old Galaxy display. Now, if some of the sites would bold face their type, that would be something.

Well, as a professional grumbler I’m looking forward to complaining about all of the problems with the hotter days ahead, starting with the fact that my Diet Coke or Pepsi stored in the garage doesn’t come into the house cold any longer.

On the cover of this past Sunday’s NY Times Magazine I read a series of quotes demeaning, slurring and defaming Repubs in Congress and elsewhere. I the felt heat rise up to my head, my face burning, saliva dripping from the corners of my lips.  I turned to my friend nearby saying through gritted teeth that those damn NY Times reporters are so biased so incapable of reporting real… Wait a minute. I slowed down. I looked closer. These are all Twitter quotes from the President of the United States, a republican. Maybe one of the biggest problems in this world is unfounded preconceived notions. We’ll never have civil conversations if disregard what we hear before we understand what we are hearing.

My ten-year-old grandson Harry has been hanging around the past several days. He didn’t interrupt my Tids writing like he has done in the past. But we spent many hours roaming around. He planned several military strategies and successfully attacked many colonial forts. He was doing well until a Redcoat sniper got him between the eyes. He went back to the drawing board. Then, standing there with me on a barren windswept, open expanse by the sea, he looked up at the parapets atop that seemingly impenetrable fortress Fort Adams, thought a minute, turned to me and said. “Granddad this must have been like what it was at Normandy, you know granddad, looking up at the German guns and wondering where you could go.” He paused. “It’s sad for all of those soldiers, isn’t it Granddad.” I just stood there and felt the chills run up my back. I just nodded, yup. He moved closer to me.

Later that day he said he would rather join the Navy.

The Answer:

Cheryl Crane was the 14-year-old daughter of Lana Turner who stabbed to death her mother’s lover, Mob guy Johnny Stompanato. Of interest, rumor has it that Johnny Stomp in a fit of jealousy threatened Sean Connery on a movie set. They say Connery gripped his wrist until the gun dropped and then flattened the LA Mobster with a right cross. Other rumors said that Cheryl was in love with JS, and stabbed him during her own rage at being ignored. Cheryl Crane has been living with her female lover for 40 years.

Someday I’m going to figure out what is happening. Until then, I’ll just make up incredulous theories.