Monday Musings...

I WISH this was our patio...seriously.

And WHAT a Monday this is, considering we've barely scratched the surface of the new year.
I certainly hope it's COLD enough for all those "global-warmists" out there this morning.
I know it's pretty damn cold, with numerous school delays in rural areas here in Indiana.
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with partly to mostly cloudy skies, turning to just plain cloudy later on, in anticipation of some snow rolling in later on into tonight.
Tomorrow's commute will be "interesting" to be sure. Don't expect much in the way of temperatures today (it's only SEVEN DEGREES outside this morning), as we're not even coming close to the freezing mark.
Think more along the lines of obscenely FRIGID, as in 20 degrees tops (don't forget to add in that wind-chill, too). Gonna feel like single digits practically ALL day..

THIS is all we have...

AND...the birds.

Just bundle up if you have to venture out and remember the rules of the road regarding driving about in such conditions.

And a squirrel.

A little caution goes a long way.
So let's get that piping hot morning drink as we see what's going on, because we've a full slate today.
*** First off of the ice floe is our "What the hell happens today,,Bob?" feature:
January 11 -
---Today is NATIONAL MILK DAY

(Guess some HOT chocolate milk will do, too...right?)
---It's also HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY

(you'd think people have better things to do?)
---And, it's STEP IN THE PUDDLE AND SPLASH YOUR FRIENDS DAY

Where's this kid live, because it sure ain't the Midwest?

(ROFLMAO - good luck pulling THAT one off today - should be in summer when we HAVE puddles instead of miniature ice-rinks with any standing frozen water)
*** Next up, pop/rock legend DAVID BOWIE has passed away at the age of 69.

The original "Thin White Duke"

Here's the story:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35278872
And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie
Weirdest thing...yesterday, the classical music station was off the air, so I went to WXKE and listened to some classic rock. They had an acoustic program on, and I heard the acoustic version of SPACE ODDITY and HEROES by Bowie.

Glass Spider Tour - best live show I've seen.

That brought back a flood of memories, not the least of which were the THREE concerts I went to.
Got to see BOTH (outdoor) Glass Spider tours in Philly (in Vet Stadium), as well as the Serious Moonlight tour at the old Spectrum.
Bowie was a helluva performer, and put together some fantastic shows.
While I worked for the Treasury Department in Philly, I also had the honor (or is that pleasure?) of processing Bowie's tax return one year, and it was a dual-resident (part-time) form, primarily the concert receipts, and let's say for only being here a few months that year, he was well into SIX digits on the left side of the decimal point, but that was back in the mid-late 80s.

He used his real name, too - David Robert Jones. It didn't click for me (at first)...lol.
And yes, he did have two different color eyes.
It's just so damn strange to think of a world where he is not somewhere, writing another hit or doing another concert.

Bowie in the movie LABYRINTH

And he being only five years my senior.
That hits home.
Equally strange to play his songs only to soon after find out he passed away.
To me, it's like a good time in my life has also passed away.

Bowie as "The Man Who Fell To Earth".

You feel a sense of "personal" loss for someone you never met.
Like I said...it's a strange feeling.

Thanks for ALL the great music.

And to think that just last week (on his birthday, no less), he released what would be his last album entitled BLACKSTAR with what is being touted as a "parting gift" for his fans in the way of a song called LAZARUS.
Eerily portentous, isn't it?
Moving on...
*** Getting back  to the here and now, the FWPD police had to shoot a man when he fled from them.
Here's the story:
http://wane.com/2016/01/09/shooting-witness-man-didnt-appear-to-be-listening-to-officers/

This began as a stolen car report at a Marathon station on Spring St Saturday around 1030 hrs.
Investigations led police to a house in the 1600 block of 3rd St, where a man was spotted running from the address. Police gave chase, noticed a handgun and ordered him to drop the weapon.
When he refused, two shots were fired by police, striking the man in his knee.

"aaaaaahhhh....fffffffffff....aaaaaahhhh....."

All other information regarding the case has NOT been forthcoming (as usual).
*** Next up, another story about making homes "smart", that should be disturbing IF you can see the problems that can be associated wit such stuff.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/features/home-garden/More-people-smartening-up-their-homes-10814871

All this stuff sure doesn't come free..

Yep...all this stuff looks REAL good...until you LOSE POWER. Then, it's all so much junk and assorted paperweights, isn't it? But you can always add another source of backup power to keep things humming.
And THAT costs more money to buy AND to run, so WHERE do any of us SAVE MONEY?
Seems like a never-ending circle of spending to me...
*** Next up, about that missing driver's license problem I had...

Yep, looks JUST like the first one.

Well, I got my replacement license from the BMV Friday, so I was visually "legal" once again.
And that meant I got to drive Wifey and I to the grocery...a wonderfully uneventful trip.
Now, since we were running a tad low on bird seed, I decided to stop by Do-It-Best and nab a 20 lb.bag (on sale).
So, we go in, get the bag and while Im at the checkout, I get this impulsive notion to ask the cashier if they found a driver's license recently. I showed my license to her, and when she dug into her cash drawer...
WE HAD A MATCH!
(I am not kidding - what are the chances???)

That's John on the right (his brother at left)

It was at the store for close to SIX MONTHS...I was driving that long w/o a valid "proof" of being licensed.
Suffice it to say, I thanked the cashier as well as the store owner, John Connolly.
Now, I have TWO licenses...no biggie. One for the wallet, and one to be surgically attached to me...LOL.
John said he was glad he could help and the next time you lose the license, you'll know WHERE to find it...heh.
Gotta love that.
Dunno what made me want to ask, but I'll chalk it up to "angelic intervention" (he needs some time off anyway).
*** Last back to the igloo...the people who make up this crazy world are as diverse as the day is long (perhaps longer). And many of them have an impact on each of us, whether we know it or not.

As is often the case, they are people we know "just in passing", or maybe they're an employee at some store. You might see them once, or maybe 2-3 times a year (if that).
They could be a rock star that the world knows, or a stranger we gave a bite of food to.
And all of them are aside from those we know in a more personal sense, such as family, dear friends, or even co-workers and neighbors.
They all have some effect on WHO we become in life, and at whatever stage of that life we find ourselves.
And yet, just as they affect US, we, also, have similar effects on all the others we have been fortunate enough to cross paths with.

Maybe whatever kindness you had extended to them "in passing" may have served to make their lives better in some small way.
Now, add up ALL those "small things", and when all is said and done, the number of people that YOU had the smallest iota of influence upon would be immeasurable. There is an old Christian contemporary song that speaks just to that aspect of our lives.
So, in the end, this is a case where we never know "who we might entertain" when we say that casual "hello", or hold that door, or give directions to, do we?
But that fact that you did it may well have lasting consequences of the GOOD kind.
And Lord knows we can always use more of those, right?

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.