June 16th, 2022
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided to maintain the UJT will focus on Ukraine until we can all rejoice in the end of hostilities. It has been 111 days since Russia attacked Ukraine.
This has been a difficult week. My bout with Covid-19 got bad within 24 hours of the first symptoms. I arranged for anti-viral medication and as soon as I started the pills my sickness flattened out and it seemed I did not get better nor worse for 5 days. Then as the medications ran out, I was able to move around more and keep my head up more. I thought I might attempt to complete my weekly task and put out another UJT Update for you all. Proof of life as they say in the kidnapping trade. Thanks for the birthday and well wishes.
Everyone in our house has now tested positive and recovered from COVID except for Tippy. She was always our biggest concern because of her health compromises. So far so good.
This week I learned some stuff:
• June 16th is the 167th day of 2022. Just 201 days till Christmas! Today in 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois; Today in 1911, IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York; In 1944 on this day, In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls; Today in 1963, Iostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space; In 1981 on this day, US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor; Today in 2010, Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco; Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public today in 2016;Today in 1890, Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian was born; Born today in 1907, Jack Albertson, American actor: Born today in 1937, Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter; Phil Mickelson, American golfer was born today in 1970; George Reeves, American actor (AKA Superman) and director passed away today in 1959; Brian Piccolo, American football player today in 1970; Today in 1977, Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer passed away; James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist and songwriter, founding member of The Pretenders passed away today in 1982; And lastly, today in 2014, Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coachr passed away.
Website Update:
This week:
• Last week for our new Vocabulary Quiz
• A new Musical Trivia Quiz!!!
• I was able to come up with a couple of new recipes before I got sick – Coconut Pineapple Bread and Coconut Sour Cream.
• The Home Page quote this week is from one of my musical geniuses, Bob Dylan said, “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”. I think that is true but if you are truly are living well you find joy in both.
Writing, Ceramics, Stained Glass and Painting Update:
• My art suffered a week lost I am afraid. Hopefully, I will return with joy and gusto this week. Stay tuned!
• I am continuing my streak of slacking off on the paper edits of Grandpa Stories. I just haven’t carved out any time for more chapters.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
Frightened. It took me a few days to figure out how I felt about getting COVID. I wasn’t afraid of dying. It would seem to be the epitome of fraud for a lucky SOB like me to be afraid of death. No but I was afraid of the process of loosing the only control we really have in this life for as long as we have it. Its the age old dilemma! Would you prefer to know your time is up or would you prefer a surprise ending? I am thinking Surprise would be nice.
Music Update:
This weeks mix is another reflection of the parts of life that mean the most.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
• Jimmy Buffett — Cowboy in the Jungle — From the very first, this song has moved me. I think almost all of us have felt like that out of place cowboy at one point or other. Some times is out of place where you are but sometimes its out of place being who you are. This one comes from his 1978 release, “Son of a Sailor”.
• Los Lonely Boys — Heaven — This guy keeps impressing me. I just like his music. This one is from their 2004 release, “Los Lonely Boys)”. It was a huge hit for them. Though not a religious man, I have loved this song since my friend Randy first played it for me.
• John Denver — Mother Nature’s Son — The title cut for this song became kind of an anthem for most of us young hippies but there are a lot of other great songs on this album. This one is from his 1972 release, “Rocky Mountain High”.
• Bob Marley and The Whalers – Jamming – This has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it. I hope you enjoy it too. This one comes from their 1984 release, “Legend”.
• Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention – I Am the Slime (Oozing from your TV Set) — Frank always had a way of making sure we didn’t take this shit too serious! This was originally released on their 1973 release, “One Size Fits All”.
• Marvin Gaye — Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)— Marvin was not fully appreciated until he was gone. This one was released in 1971, on the album, “What’s Going On”.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!