What Would Jimmy Do?

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Hopefully, it’ll be as good a game as most of the playoff games turned out to be. One thing is certain — a lot of people will tune in to the Super Bowl… even a lot of people that don’t care about the game — some want to watch the commercials, some just want to go to a Super Bowl party, but I read that of the top 10 most watched American television programs of all time, nine of them are Super Bowls. I didn’t “fact check” that, but it may be true.

A lot of people will apparently eat their way through the game — according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, this Sunday in February is the second-highest day of food consumption in the US, behind only thanksgiving.

This year’s game will take place in the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, making the seventh time Los Angeles has hosted the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl has used Roman numeral since Super Bowl V, which took place in 1971. Lamar Hunt, then owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, is credited with introducing the idea. The initial four Super Bowls were retroactively changed to reflect the move to Roman numerals. Since 1971, the only Super Bowl to not feature Roman numerals was Super Bowl 5o.

Twelve teams have yet to win a Super Bowl…..
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
Tennessee Titans
Of the 12, the Browns, Lions, Texans, and Jaguars have yet to even make an appearance in the Super Bowl.

You might notice that one of those listed could be taken off the list today — the Bengals, after ending a three decades playoff drought this year might finally put a Super Bowl trophy in Ohio.
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Well, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day — a day we don’t celebrate, at least not on Valentine’s Day. In fact, we’ve already celebrated “Valentine’s Day” for this year….. some years we’re early and some years we’re late.

But today is also a special day that we don’t celebrate. Today is Ganentine’s Day — a day that I didn’t even know existed until recently. I really don’t remember ever watching the television show “Parks and Recreation,” but supposedly Galentine’s Day was created by that TV show, specifically by a fictional character on that show, Leslie Knope.

Apparently during the show’s second season (in 2010) an episode aired called “Galentine’s Day.” In that episode, the fictional character Leslie gathered a group of her gal pals for a brunch of waffles and love. According to Leslie, “Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it, breakfast style, ladies celebrating ladies.”

I guess this was enough for everyone to add it to their calendars and it’s now become a widely recognized fake holiday. 
I looked it up and according to the Urban Dictionary, Galentine’s Day is celebrated on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate the love you have for your lady friends, whether they’re single or not, and shower them with love and attention… more than you do every other day.

Some people claim that the day is not meant only for women, claiming that at the end of the day, Galentine’s Day is a celebration of friendship and the people who stick with each other even as romantic relationships come and go, so it can be celebrated by anybody.

That may be true, but being “old school” it sounds kind of “girly” to me — I think I’ll just stick to Valentine’s Day, whenever we celebrate it….
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Today, February 12, is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Over the years, February has become known as the months of President’s — I guess probably because two of the best known US Presidents were born in February, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

I’ve always thought that Abe didn’t get the respect he deserved and just kind of got lost in all the February “presidential” festivities. Even though I just referred to him as “Abe,” he actually hated to be called Abe.

It seems like there’s a lot we know about Lincoln, maybe because there are more books written about Lincoln than any other American, or maybe anyone in the world — more than 15,000. But even so, there are some things that aren’t well-know about our 16th President. 

Before being elected President, he was a general store owner, postmaster, a licensed bartender and a lawyer. As a lawyer, he actually lost a case before the Supreme Court in 1849. He did not have a middle name, he was an avid hunter, and was never a member of an organized church. He learned about Christianity by reading the bible.
When Abe was 9 years old, his mother, Nancy, died of a mysterious “milk sickness” that swept across southern Indiana. It was later learned that the strange disease was due to drinking tainted milk from a cow that had ingested poisonous white snakeroot. 
You may note that his mother died in Indiana — even though Illinois is known as the Land of Lincoln, he didn’t move there until he was 21. He was born in Kentucky (in a log cabin) but his family moved to Indiana when Abe was young.

Lincoln loved to tinker with machines and he is the only president to have obtained a patent. He was once aboard a steamboat that ran aground on low shoals and had to unload its cargo. After that incident, he designed a method for keeping vessels afloat when traversing shallow waters — by using empty metal air chambers attached to their sides. His design was awarded Patent No. 6,469 in 1849
.I think I’ve mentioned in the past that Lincoln is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame — he was an accomplished wrestler as a young man. And, when Lincoln was President, he never slept in the Lincoln Bedroom — he used the current Lincoln Bedroom as his personal office.

Since John F. Kennedy was assassinated (like Lincoln) there’s been a lot of comparison of the two, and some of the comparisons are kind of interesting….
Lincoln and Kennedy were both shot in the head on a Friday.
Their successors were named Johnson (Lincoln’w was Andrew Johnson, Kennedy’s was Lyndon Johnson.)
Lincoln was shot in a theater named Ford, Kennedy was shot in a car (a Lincoln) made by Ford.
The names Lincoln and Kennedy both contain seven letters.

So even though Abe’s birthday will go pretty much unnoticed in most places today, it is a state holiday in California, Connecticut, Missouri and Illinois. Interestingly, Indiana recognizes Lincoln’s Birthday as a holiday on the day after Thanksgiving. 
Happy 213th birthday to my friend Abe.
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We were invited to a Super Bowl party this coming Sunday. I can’t say that I’m not looking forward to the party, but it still doesn’t change my opinion of Super Bowl parties. You may be aware that I’ve been on a campaign to do away with Super Bowl parties and hold Pro Bowl parties instead. At the risk of repeating myself (that’s what you do when you’re on a campaign) the change in venue would be beneficial to everyone. Super Bowl parties are all about the party — no one goes to a Super Bowl party to watch the Super Bowl. Have a Pro Bowl party and it can be all about the party — no one watches, or cares, about the Pro Bowl. You can party on and there’s still a football game on television. 

It’s a win-win — you can have your party and then stay home the next week and watch the Super Bowl.
If you’re a football fan, you know that the Pro Bowl supposedly features football’s biggest stars, but every year more and more of the biggest stars decline their invitations to participate. 

So — considering the lack of player, fan and league interest, why does the Pro Bowl exist? I have the answer, and it’s the only reason — it’s a great day for a party!! Once again, I’ve made my argument and I rest my case….
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I’ve mentioned before that I never intended that this blog would become a “brag book” about my grandkids. But if you look back, you’ll note that I do talk about my grandkids on occasion. I figure that’s my prerogative as a grandad — and — it’s my blog, so I can write what I choose…
So that said, here’s my first, and oldest granddaughter Emily’s school picture — along with a few earlier ones for comparison….
With the school situation being what it is, I’m not sure how this school picture thing works now, but hopefully, we’ll be getting this year’s pictures of Locke, Rory and Ellie soon….
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We took Emily to lunch at a restaurant one afternoon last week and I jokingly said she had to pay. When she said she didn’t have enough money to pay, Claire said, “well I guess you’ll have to wash dishes.” Emily had absolutely no idea what that meant. When we were younger, and went out to eat, is was a common expression if someone didn’t have enough money to pay their bill, that they’d have to wash dishes to “earn” their meal. 

Well, I hadn’t thought about it for a long time, but I don’t remember when I’d heard that expression before Claire used it last week. Of course, that got me to thinking… There are a lot of phrases or expressions that you just don’t hear anymore. I remember my parents and grandparents saying things that, at least at first, didn’t make much sense to me but over time i grew to understand what they were saying or at least what they meant.

Here’s some things I remember hearing pretty often in the past, that I haven’r heard in a long time. A lot of them I never figured out what they meant, but some made sense over time.

I remember my grandparents saying things like: Last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper; Land’o Goshen; Heaven to Betsy and Great Day in the Morning a lot. Some other popular “things from the past” I haven’t heard lately include….
Cute as a Button; Here’s mud in your eye; Twenty-three Skidoo; The cat’s pajama’s; Sweet as Molasses; Raining cats and dogs; Believe you me; Now we’re cooking with gas; Let’s skedaddle outta here; The proof is in the pudding and Tarnation! What the Sam Hill?

Another saying you don’t hear much today — Close the door, were you born in a barn? And then there’s Drunker than a hoot owl and Three sheets to the wind; Don’t count your chickens before they hatch; We’ve hit pay dirt; Aww, Jeemineez; Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle; Phony as a three dollar bill; and Sitting on pins and needles.

I also remember waiting Till the cows come home; Three shakes of a lamb’s tail; Bats in the belfry; Indian giver: Haven’t seen hide nor hair of him; Not worth a plug nickel; Don’t have a conniption fit; Bet your bottom dollar; Hubba Hubba; Ain’t just whistling Dixie; and Knock on wood.

And before you can say Jack Robinson, I thought of A fine kettle of fish; Two birds of a feather flock together; Gets my goat; Kill two birds with one stone; Buy a pig in a poke; Sharp as a tack; Quick as a wink; More than one way to skin a cat; Keeping up with the Joneses; Thin as a rail; In cahoots; Couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn; and Living high on the hog. 

I’m sure I could think of more, but it “just goes to show” how much our language has changed. I admit I don’t know what some of these saying really mean, but if I made a list of the popular terms and expressions popular today, I wouldn’t know what most of them mean. 

After thinking about it, I forgot a couple of terms that should be on my list of things you don’t hear too much anymore — Please and Thank You…..
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Today is one of my favorite days — National Chopsticks Day. Throughout the year, we eat with chopsticks when Claire makes Asian dishes, and we always use chopsticks at Chinese, or Asian type restaurants.

Chopsticks, or Kuaizi in Chinese, are a pair of small equal-length tapered sticks, usually made of wood, used for eating Asian food. The first chopsticks were probably developed over 5,000 years ago in China. Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. Chinese chopsticks are usually 9 to 10 inches long and rectangular with a blunt end. They are round on the eating end which symbolizes heaven, and the other end is square which symbolizes Earth. They are shaped this way because maintaining an adequate food supply is the greatest concern between heaven and Earth.

Eventually, chopstick use spread to what is now Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. In Japan, chopsticks were originally considered precious and were used exclusively for religious ceremonies. Japanese chopsticks differ in design from Chinese chopsticks in that they are rounded and come to a point — they are also shorter.The Japanese usually made their chopsticks out of wood and were the first to create disposable wooden chopsticks (called wari-hashi.) In Japanese, chopsticks are called hashi.

The english word “chopstick” was apparently derived from the Chinese Pidgin English words “chop chop” —which means fast.
Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand, even by left-handed people. Although chopsticks may now be deployed by either hand, left-handed chopstick use is considered improper. Using the right hans prevents a left-handed chopstick user from accidentally elbowing a right-handed user seated nearby.
It is a huge breach of chopstick etiquette to impale a piece of food with a chopstick.
There is an old Chinese custom making chopsticks part of a girl’s dowry, since the pronunciation of kuaizi is similar to the words for “quick” and “son.”

So toss your knives and forks today — no matter what you’re having, eat it with chopsticks. Happy Chopsticks Day!
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Since we’re into the new (Chinese) year and it’s the year of the Tiger which is my Chinese Zodiac sign and I’m married to Claire whose zodiac sign is the Dog, we should probably check to see if we’re compatible. Actually, we knew the answer years ago before we got married, but I thought I should share the results with everyone. 

There are twelve zodiac animal signs in Chinese astrology and in the Chinese calendar and people born under each animal sign all have totally different personality traits. Chinese compatibility reveals who you are a good match with and even offers you some extra relationship insight. 
The twelve animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Chinese astrology is a fascinating tool that can be used to reveal lots of information on who our perfect love matches are as well as who we should avoid in relationships.

I was born in the year of the Tiger and Claire was born in the year of the Dog — here’s what what Chinese astrology says about our relationship:

“Tiger (Male) and Dog (Female)
This will be a sweet and mutually affectionate couple. They will work hard together and both be dedicated to their family. The woman will be very gentle and kind, which Tiger admires and treasures. Tiger will have a can-do attitude with a compassionate heart, which makes Dog willing to invest in the relationship without fear. They will be very attracted to each other while also able to respect each other’s privacy. Together, this pairing will spur each other to reach their potential.”

If you check the Internet you can find several (probably more than several) compatibility calculators, based on Chinese astrology. I used one yesterday — you type the day, month and year that you both were born and the calculator computes how compatible the two of you are. Here’s the results for us:
“You are a wonderful pair
Your match score is 90%”

So there you have it — it was written in the stars, or at least the Chinese zodiac, we were made for each other….
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Well, the Super Bowl LXI teams have been decided. Both the conference “favorites” lost last weekend. The Los Angeles Rams will play the Cincinnati Bengals. 

I don’t know what the odds-makers are saying, but Cincinnati has surprised a lot of people this year and I’m thinking it just may be their year. In fact, it may be written in the stars — The Lunar, or Chinese New Year began on February 1st and it’s the Chinese Year of the Tiger. If I’m not mistaken, the Bengals mascot is a Tiger.
Coincidence? Maybe, but maybe not — the Vince Lombardi Trophy may just end up in Ohio this month.
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Today, 2/2/22 is a the day we’ve all been waiting for. Yea, it’s Groundhog Day, but today is the day we find out the new name of the Washington Football Team, previously known as the Redskins! The excitement has been building for the past couple of weeks, and — finally — today’s the day.

But even on an important and historic day like today, we can’t forget that in most years, February 2 would just be another day on the calendar if it wasn’t for the great Punxsutawney Phil. Will he see his shadow? Will he not see his shadow? Can he really predict the weather? Why do we care?

Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous, but supposedly all groundhogs can predict the weather. But not with their shadow — because groundhogs hibernate every winter, the fact that they bother to leave their hideaway is a natural sign that spring is coming.

Even though we refer to the Pennsylvania groundhog as Punxsutawney Phil, he has a ridiculously long official name. His full name is “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.”
The National Climatic Data Center compared U.S. national temperatures to determine the accuracy of Phil’s predictions — he’s only been correct 39% of the time. That’s significantly worse than chance.

One true fact about groundhogs has led to a popular joke: What do groundhogs have in common with sleazy construction workers? Answer: They both whistle at potential mates. Because of this groundhog trait, they are also known as “whistle-pigs” (lecherous day laborers are known simply as “pigs.”)

Designated animal weathermen vary from culture to culture. Medieval cults favored bears, holding parties by their dens, dressed up in grizzly costumes and waiting for a bear to lumber out from hibernation and check the weather. But we’ve got Phil and loyal fans swear by his predictions — that he’s been making since 1886 — so don’t believe that bit that groundhogs only live up to six years.
And even though the Washington Football Team is stealing Phil’s thunder today, it’s still Phil’s day….

Update:
The Washington Football Team is now the Commanders — and — there will be six more weeks of winter. Both about equally surprising, I guess.
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