What Would Jimmy Do?

Although I’m not around kids a lot, it seems to me that they all seem to use terms like, “I’m bored” or “this is really boring” a lot. We live in such a plugged in world that if someone, especially a younger someone, isn’t “on-line” they’re bored.

As far as I know, there is no universally accepted definition of boredom. It seems to be a mental state that people find unpleasant — a lack of stimulation that causes them to seek relief.

Today if a child says they’re bored, parents usually sit them in front of the TV or hand them an iPad or some other electronic device. While this may silence the “I’m bored” for a while, I don’t think it has much of a chance to make the child more creative or motivated to interact with the real world. When we’re fortunate enough to keep our grandchildren we almost never turn on the TV and we encourage them to interact with us or others and entertain themselves by some non-electronic activity.
I don’t want this to sound like a sermon, but kids need the freedom to spend some time just thinking. Boredom can be a positive thing — sometimes it forces one to become more creative and motivated… it might actually be good for you.

But anyhow, some things are boring — there’s no getting around that… watching paint dry, waiting for your iPhone to recharge, reading all 72,546 pages of the US Federal Tax Law, watching grass grow, the Kardashians….

And of course everybody knows at least one, maybe more if you’re unlucky — boring person.
Boring people aren’t harmful, but they are rarely very good company in any circumstance or situation. What makes a person boring? I guess that depends on the “borer” and/or the “boree” but generally boring people usually don’t want to try anything new, tell the same stories over and over and are usually self-centered…. Like everything in this blog, the following is only my opinion.
Boring people tend to not expand their personal horizons. They are stuck in their own personal physical boundaries. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that they would connect more with different people and experiences (and maybe ever improve the quality of their lives) by expanding their horizons.
Boring people usually don’t have much of a sense of humor. I don’t know why, but I suspect it may be because they don’t allow themselves to engage in situations where they might experience something fun. It’s pretty much the same old routine, the same old stuff day in and day out.
Boring people rarely see things from someone else’s point of view. Their world begins and ends at their door…
I’ve noticed that boring people never have a real opinion on anything. The events of the world pass them by completely — they appear to have no real passions or loves in their lives.
Boring people complain about their lives. Usually they never, ever stop complaining about their lives and how everything always goes wrong for them. They don’t consider how things might be for other people and how lucky they might actually be — especially compared to others…
Ok, enough of that — even I’m bored talking about being bored and boring people.

Between boring things and boring people, boring things win hands down — boring people are much worse. Almost no thing has to be boring… there really are no uninteresting things, only uninteresting people.
— 30 —

First off, let’s get this straight — I grew up in a much simpler world with a whole different set of problems and many, many fewer problems in general. That said, I can’t compare the political convention starting today in Cleveland to those I remember when I was young.

I remember as a kid, watching demonstrations and speeches during the conventions with the delegates trying to get their candidate nominated. The conventions were where “it happened.” Today, the convention is a business conference, pep rally, social event get-together spectacle. Oh, and by the way, they also designate the party’s pick to hold the nation’s, and possibly the world’s, most powerful office. But the nominee is already picked…. so the activities in Cleveland will be centered around big money, big crowds and possibly big news and/or controversy.

I plan to watch the convention activities on TV, but it will not have the entertainment value and the political significance of those in my youth. Some of the figures I’ve heard are impressive and interesting. Cleveland expects 50,000 visitors during the convention. It will be attended by 2,472 delegates as well as 2,302 alternate delegates. 10,867 people have registered to protest during the convention… 30 groups have obtained permits for marches, rallies and demonstrations. Cleveland received a federal grant of $50 million to offset convention costs. More than 16,000 hotel rooms, 1,100 dorm units and 500 apartments have been contracted for the convention. Fifteen thousand credentialed medial personnel will attend the convention.
So the numbers are impressive and I expect that at least the convention itself will be more entertaining than the the last one in 2012. The only thing I remember about that one was Clint Eastwood talking to an empty stool….
I checked the speaker list this weekend and it occurred to me not only did it seem “different,” it seemed a little weird and by no stretch of the imagination racially and ethnically diverse in nature.
So settle in — let’s all get an insight to what Trump’s America is going to look like….
— 30 —

Faithful followers of this blog have probably figured out by now that my favorite number is 33. Half of my favorite number is 17. Well not exactly, but close. Exactly half is 16 and 1/2, but half of a number is messy and who wants to deal in fractions anyway. So half of my favorite number has to be either 16 or 17 — I choose 17 because I like it better.

Anyhow, today is the 17th of July — and although it doesn’t get the popularity it deserves, it does have its own holiday. Today is Yellow Pig Day. Many people often confuse Yellow Pig Day with National Pig Day. Don’t be one of those — they’re completely different. National Pig Day is always on March 1st. Yellow Pig Day is always on July 17th. National Pig Day recognizes and gives thanks to domesticated pigs. Yellow Pig Day is a mathematician’s holiday celebrating yellow pigs — and — the number 17!!

Today, July 17 is not just another ordinary day, just like a yellow pig is not just another ordinary pig. Yellow Pigs have inspired mathematicians for years. Two Princeton math students, Michael Spivak and David C. Kelley actually invented the yellow pig in the early 1960s while working on an assignment to identify unique properties of the number 17. A yellow pig has 17 eyelashes (eight on one eye and nine on the other,) 17 toes and 17 teeth. One story that I’m not sure is true is that the Princeton students carried out many of their intense mental gymnastics and actually invented the yellow pig after only a few pints at the local pub.

Needless to say, in the years since their invention, Spivak has written a number of mathematics textbooks, where he regularly includes hidden references to yellow pigs, and David Kelly presents an annual mathematics summer school to high school students, where he introduces them to the “Cult of the Yellow Pig.”

So, let’s get back to half my favorite number. Before you read any further, be aware that the fear of the number 17 is called heptadecaphobia.
Now prepare to be amazed….
The mummy of King Tutankhamen was wrapped in 17 sheets.
The Parthenon is 17 columns long
Shakespeare wrote 17 comedies (in the 17th century)
Hamlet reigned for 17 years.
The number 17 is used 13 times in the Bible
The word “seventeen” is used 17 times in the Bible
The Flood started on the 17th. Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat (17,000 feet) on the 17th.
There is a magazine for young girls called Seventeen
The 17th parallel divided North and South Vietnam
17 hostages were killed during the Olympic games in 1972
There are 17 muscles in the tongue
The world record for sitting in ketchup is 17 hours
Beethoven wrote 17 string quartets
I think you’re beginning to see the importance of 17 in our lives. There are even jokes about the number 17, like…. What is alive, green, lives all over the world and has seventeen legs?
Answer: Grass. (I lied about the legs.)

So if after reading this far and you’re still wondering what’s the significance of a yellow pig and the number 17….. well, if you have to ask, you just won’t understand.
— 30 —

Today is the annual family picnic in Cleveland. Since John and Chris started the tradition a few years ago, I think this is the first one we’ve missed. We always have a great time and it’s good to see people that are afraid to make the long trek through the wilderness to visit us here in West Virginia.

This year has been really busy for us and our schedule and the picnic schedule just didn’t work out, but we’re looking forward to next year.

I guess I should mention that with the Republican National Convention starting on Monday, Claire didn’t think Cleveland was big enough for both me and Donald Trump….
— 30 —

So today’s the day — Happy 240th Birthday to the United States of America. When I last updated this blog, I noted that the annual Porta Potty had been delivered and the neighborhood was ready for the 4th. Well, the Porta Potty is still here, and will be for the better part of the coming week — but — today’s the real birthday bash….

Most every year I talk a little about the 4th of July and its meaning. As I’ve mentioned in the past and most everyone knows, July 4th isn’t the day the Continental Congress declared independence.
Lots of things happened around the time the country was preparing to start out on their own.
April, 1775 — the start of the American Revolution
June, 1776 — the first draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson
July 2, 1776 — the Continental Congress declared independence
July 4, 1776 — Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence
August 2, 1776 — The date the Declaration of Independence was signed
November, 1776 — the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain
So July 4th, 1776 is the date the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the document. They’d been working on the wording for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2, and on the 4th, they finally agreed on all of the edits and changes. (Imagine Congress being able to do that today??) The document was dated July 4th, after all had agreed to the changes.
Even though independence was actually declared a couple of days earlier, we celebrate on July 4th. I think that’s much better — who wants to go to a 2nd of July picnic?
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Well, not that I’m prone to forget the fourth of July, but it’s impossible at our house. Every year, a few days before and quite a few days after the 4th, a Porta Potty arrives at our neighbors and we’re treated to that sight every time we go out, or look out, our front door.

Every year the neighbors have a big Independence Day bash and apparently the guests aren’t allowed to use the indoor facilities, so the Porta Potty is put into use in their driveway. As the “party” is held on the back lawn, the guests have to walk around the house to use the potty — only a slight inconvenience, I suppose.
Sometimes I think West Virginia gets a bad reputation because of all the “hillbillies” and strange customs, but then when things like this happen, I think maybe the reputation has been earned over the years.

The holiday that we celebrate as Independence Day was officially created in 1941, but the tradition of celebrating it goes back to the American Revolution. It all started on July 2, 1776 when the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence and the Declaration of Independence (from Great Britain) was adopted by delegates two days later. Since that time, whether it was an official government holiday or not, Americans have acknowledged the 4th of July as the birth of American Independence. There’s lots of ways to celebrate the day — often with parades, barbecues, impromptu baseball games, families, friends and fireworks.
To each their own, but here on Field Crest Court we look forward to the Porta Potty arrival. Happy Birthday, America!!
— 30 —

Once again, I seem to be running behind…
Happy Birthday, a couple of days late, to my kids — Dave and Chassie.

If you’ve been following this blog as you should, you know that they share the same birthday. They were born on the same day — one year apart. And when their birthday rolls around, it’s exactly six months until Christmas.
People that study and analyze these things can probably make something of it, but I’m pretty sure that all it means is that we are fortunate to have two such great kids (and of course one of the two best grandkids in the world — Locke.)

Because of all the activities on both sides of the state line that separates us, we haven’t gotten to celebrate the birthdays yet this year, but we will soon.
In the meantime, happy birthday Dave and Chassie — looking forward to a great year….
— 30 —

I suppose I should weigh in on the Cavs victory over the Warriors, but the truth is I really can’t add anything to what’s already been said.

Being a Washington area and a Cleveland sports fan isn’t easy. Obviously Cleveland has had the longest “bad luck” streak… but let’s see, how many championships have the Wizards won? Oh, I remember — zero.

Anyhow, the curse in Cleveland is now broken and I suspect it won’t be too long before a new statue is erected somewhere in the city.

So congratulations to the Cavs — and Cleveland — I’m sensing a 2016 World Series victory and starting off 2017 with a Super Bowl win….
The North Shore is back in God’s good graces….
— 30 —

I’ve been busy, or at least a little pre-occupied the last week or so. Anyhow, I missed it by a day — yesterday West Virginia was 153 years old.

So a little late, but Happy Birthday to Almost Heaven — West Virginia.
— 30 —

Today is my wife’s birthday. Any of you that have followed this blog over the years know that I don’t talk too much about Claire — she’s mostly just mentioned in passing when the subject is something else.

I know it isn’t proper to mention one’s age, so I won’t. But suffice it to say that this birthday falls into the ‘major milestone’ category. It’s hard to believe that Claire is as old as she is — of course, it’s hard to believe I’m as old as I am.

There’s an old saying that a man marries a woman hoping she won’t change and a woman marries a man hoping to change him. The fact is, everybody changes — in all sorts of ways. Getting older or “aging” is only one of those ways. Age is no big deal — it’s just a number if… you’re healthy, having fun, enjoying your life — age is a welcome adventure.

I’m not a Shakespeare fan but I do remember a line from one of his sonnets that reads, “Love’s not Time’s Fool.”  The subject of the sonnet is that beauty will fade, but true love never will. Well, even though Claire has reached that ’major milestone’ birthday, I don’t think her beauty has faded one bit and my love for her grows every day. I try to tell her I love her often, but I probably don’t do it enough. I doubt that anyone ever gets to the end of their life and thinks, damn, I wish I hadn’t said ‘I love you’ so many times.

We’ve been married more than 40 years, we have two children and two grandchildren and we’ve both changed a lot in that time — I guess, as they say, both inside and outside. When I look at her I see her as the only girl I ever considered marrying. The girl that I traveled a lot of the world with. The girl that I experienced earthquakes, terrorist attacks, fires, typhoons, good times and bad with. I see the girl that gave birth to our kids. I see the joy — and worry — as we brought them home and they became great people. I see years of happiness and smiles and love in her face.

Periodically, people say, “you two seem to get along really well.” I think that’s true and I think what happens over time is that I become more attracted to Claire’s whole person — I love her personality, her charm, her talent, her toughness, her wit — she’s amazing — mischievous, smart and increasingly wise. The longer I know her, the more good stuff I find to be attracted to and I find her more attractive as the days go on…. her smile never fails to brighten my day.

So here we are at that ‘major milestone’ birthday… how old do you have to be to have a ‘major milestone’ birthday? I think Satchel Paige said, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old your were?” See, the age thing really isn’t important at all — the important thing is being loved so completely by someone that your age doesn’t matter one bit. Happy Birthday to my best friend, true love and soul mate — Claire.
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