Yikes!

As Labor Day weekend approaches and the kids are headed back to school, I realize summer is almost over. Unfortunately, here in the Chicago area, we got summer about a month late since May and June were washouts due to rain and cool weather. We did rebound in July and August, so no complaints there. I can already see the days are getting shorter and, before we know it, we'll be digging our heavy jackets, coats, and sweaters out of the closet. Yikes! I keep seeing Christmas stuff advertised on various shopping channels and Halloween candy was out in stores last month (seriously). I'm surprised I haven't seen any Thanksgiving stuff out yet. I'm not ready for fall and winter yet, but they're coming whether I'm ready or not.

In other news, I saw Sting perform over the weekend at Ravinia and he did a great show. He performed a number of fan favorites like "Everything She Does Is Magic" and "Roxanne" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You." I was surprised he did "King of Pain." I wanted to hear it, but I didn't think he'd do it. If he would've done "Can't Stand Losing You" I would have been really bowled over (but he didn't). He can't sing all the songs we each want to hear! I'll be seeing Steely Dan this coming weekend minus the late, great Walter Becker. I did have the chance to see The Dan with Fagen and Becker many moons ago, so I'm okay with seeing just Donald Fagen hold it down solo this weekend. I'll report on what songs he performed during the show. I doubt I'll hear obscure songs like "Through with Buzz" (a classic!) but I'm hoping for "Black Cow" and "Bad Sneakers" and "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More" (a personal favorite).

Drivin' like a fool out to Hackensack
Drinkin' his dinner from a paper sack
He said, "I've got to see a joker and I'll be right back."

Positive Reinforcement

I overheard a guy on the L tell his friend that he needed "positive reinforcement" each day on the job. Yeah, don't we all, kid. Good luck finding a job where you can actually get that on a daily basis. I'd be glad for positive reinforcement bi-weekly or even monthly!

In other news, thank God for You Tube. What did we do before You Tube when we had minor home repairs and needed someone to show us how to do things? We (A) tried to do the work ourselves with no instruction, (B) called and tried to find someone handy to do the work, (C) went to the library and tried to find a book that showed how to do the work, or (D) never fixed the problem and let things fall into disrepair. Thankfully now we have You Tube videos to show us how to do pretty much anything. Case in point: I had a mishap in my bathroom this weekend and needed to re-caulk the soap holder in my shower. Did I know how to do this myself? Uh, no, but I was able to find a handy You Tube video that showed me how to do it. Thanks, You Tube! For those, like myself, who aren't handy around the house or have family or friends who are handy and available, You Tube is extremely helpful.

Walk With Your Wallet

Last week, I read a number of articles about people canceling their Equinox memberships and Soul Cycle classes due to one of the investors' political ties with Donny T. I was also told by someone not to wear New Balance gym shoes or shop at Home Depot because the ownership of those companies are right-wingers who support Donny. I firmly believe in walking with your wallet meaning making a political statement with the way you spend your money. If I don't like the way a company is handling its business, then they will lose my business. I also understand that you have to be realistic about boycotting. Most of us will probably never stop using products or services from a company whose leadership gives to political parties and causes we disagree with, but we can do our small part to try and spend our money with businesses and organizations whose views we do support. There's a Jewel grocery store in the city where I live that seems to overrun lately with panhandlers. You have to walk through a gauntlet of panhandlers just to get in and out of the store these days and I'm tired of it. I'm about ready to walk with my wallet and take by business elsewhere because I'm tired of being asked for money every time I visit the store. I understand there's a homeless problem in and around Chicago, but does that mean I should get asked for money by 3-5 people when I'm just trying to buy some frozen waffles? It's annoying. I don't give money to panhandlers. I give to the Chicago Food Depository instead or support Chicago Cares. Give to the churches and synagogues that provide free meals to those in need rather than some dude hitting you up for change outside of the grocery store.

RIP Toni Morrison

I was shocked and saddened to hear about Toni's Morrison's death this week. She was such a great writer and a literary tour de force. She will be missed. I hate that I never had the opportunity to see her in person, but I did enjoy many of her books. I recently re-read her novel Paradise to try and gain a better understanding of it because I felt I didn't get a lot of it when I read it the first time many years ago. RIP, Ms. Morrison.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Between the El Paso and Dayton shootings, you'd think the only thing going on in the US right now is one mass shooting after another. I didn't even know about the Dayton incident until I was at the Y later this morning. I hadn't seen the news or read any news on my phone until then. Sad. I find it interesting that when some white nationalist shoots up a bunch of folks, he's considered "sick" but when a minority does it, he's called an "animal." But that's what happens when you have a POTUS such as Donny T. (who spent most of his day on the links) who publicly states that there are good people "on both sides" when referring to people who are human garbage. Scratch that. These aren't people. They're animals! Lock THEM up!