The great, great Bill Withers. When I had my Ebony and Ivory experience in 2015 (standing between Sir Paul and Stevie Wonder for a more than a few moments), it was when Bill was being inducted into our Rock Hall. If you want the definition of how to give a graceful and humble acceptance speech, Google his induction speech. Our title song, a true gem, was released in 1977 and in a bit of trivia, Withers holds a sustained note towards the end of the song that, at 18 seconds, is one of the longest ever recorded on an American pop song. The song was listed at No. 402 on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Best Songs of All Time” in 2021. No argument here!
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
And when someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day (lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
May 30, 2026, my first practice for the upcoming Parade the Circle! The photo above was from last year’s rain shortened parade. No real big story. I am a part of the art museum’s Women’s Counsel’s float for the parade. I’ll, of course, talk more about it in coming posts, but I am one of the ladies holding a tapestry in a float/presentation which included silkworms, spools, threads, etc. My inclusion in this venture fills me with great pride! I was asked to do this by a great friend last year, made many new friends and was asked to return. This was a few hours working on our costumes and how we walk the parade route. I dressed very casually, a fun little outfit!
Back quickly to reality. Cut the grass with tremendous grass pollen literally choking me often as I did so. My throat was still coated the following day with all of it.
Then I helped my wife sign up for Medicare. Yep, we’re old. And ANYTHING done involving the government makes me nuts. I truly dislike myself whenever I have even the slightest intersection with either unions (my wife is in one that required this) or the government.
Why a government website is not intuitive for us elderly is beyond my ability to understand. My gripe with unions is that they take your dues and do nothing for its members. My wife is often scheduled to close (she works in a grocery store), arriving back home around 9:00PM, then scheduled to open the following day, requiring a 5:30AM alarm. That is wrong. Does the union speak up about this, of course not! My wife is almost 66, but the union never asked her to sign up for Medicare (we were unaware the benefit package required that and thought doing so was optional) the year prior when she turned 65. Now they created an urgency about doing this to get current medical expenses paid (while others had been paid during this period without Medicare).
Nuff’ said. Life, I know. Just making sure you understand the joy you see here also has its real-world sides. I smile a lot, just not all the time.
Guess I shouldn’t complain, I do seem happy in these pictures…
Lovely day all-in-all, anyway.
Perspective. Patience.
The Back Nine has been quite fun! I continue to make every effort to get out, every effort to step up my presentation, every effort to connect with others. Part of the Back Nine is an IDGAF attitude. I am also taking full advantage of my work schedule to play a lot of pickleball (love the community) and am pushing myself hard on my workouts. I am frequently exhausted, but always so proud of how I am seen and perceived. Quick story, a pickleball friend has a Pride bag for her things. I asked about it, knowing full well where that would lead. We are now Facebook friends, and, on the day prior, we got to play a few games together. I thanked her for allowing me to share myself with her.
Telling anyone, especially in that circumstance, is so wonderful! I wish there would be no possible blowback and no questions (the questions are the bigger issue for me) and I would play in a tennis dress if I could. Oh well…
