Dress Up and Party Down

May 31, 2020

In “They Got the Important Part” (May 8, 2020) I mentioned a couple who held a modest wedding in Forest Park, instead of waiting until after the pandemic, when they could do the whole shebang in front of guests.

Today there was another article in the paper about how the pandemic is changing the wedding scene. Some planners think that the small wedding trend may last even after the pandemic has passed. One person, though, was quoted as saying, “Your big day only happens once.”

I started wondering why we only get one shot at a big day. Sure, your wedding is an important life event; but if dressing up and being elegant mean so much to people, why don’t they do it more often? Why not spend less on one blowout wedding, and have more dress parties?

According to this article, the average wedding topped $34,000 last year. That’s a lot of parties and fancy dresses you could have. And you wouldn’t have only one day to dress up and swan around. You could have several, over the course of your lifetime. (Assuming you don’t go nuts with the party planning.) Or buy tickets every few years to some high-priced dinner-dance to benefit various causes. You get to dress up and deduct some money from your taxes.

So think about it. Instead of spending all that money on one day, have lots of parties. Dress up all you want. Spread out the elegance and the beautiful clothes and the updo.

Let your inner belle come out more than once in your life.

The World Opened Up When I Got Stuck Inside

May 31, 2020

Things I’ve gotten from the lockdown:

• I’ve taken virtual guided walks through the botanical garden and the nature preserve, showing me trails I didn’t even know about.
• I’ve gotten art lessons from the art museum, as they highlight a different piece from their collection every day.
• I saw some very soothing views of the aquarium, and some fun ones.
• I am now familiar with watching opera online. No more waiting for PBS to show it occasionally. 

And that’s without even trying. Some people I know are taking active steps to improve their minds and their outlooks during the lockdown.  I wish I were more like them.

Anyway…It’s amazing how much of the world opened up for me by being stuck inside. All I need now is a large swimming pool at my house, and I’m set.

Don’t Mind Us, We’re Just Collateral

May 30, 2020

People jammed the Lake of the Ozarks over Memorial Day weekend, foregoing social distancing, masks, and other health precautions in their determination to have a good time. Now it’s reported that one person tested positive for COVID-19. He was apparently a busy little beaver, according the schedule of his wanderings that was published in the paper.

Some questions:

1.  Only one person identified so far as having COVID? If so, that would be remarkable.

2. What made him get tested? Was he symptomatic?

3. Are other people rushing to get tested, or do they feel that, as long as they’re not showing symptoms, all is well?

Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

If You Can’t Smell Anything, Can You Still Get a Headache from Paint Fumes?

May 28, 2020

I was getting kind of worried the other day. The co-worker who gripes about everything, and has such a keen sense of smell that she gripes about the smell of somebody’s hand sanitizer from halfway across the office (no lie!), was not complaining about the paint fumes permeating the office while another suite in the building was being remodeled. Since loss of smell may be a symptom of COVID, I wondered if she had it.

Fortunately for my peace of mind, if not for peace in general, she eventually did comment unhappily on it, and how it was starting to give her a headache. Close shave.

Then I started wondering: If you can’t smell anything, can you still get a headache from paint fumes?

Just curious.

For a Governor, He Has a Peculiar Attitude about Voting

May 30, 2020


Missouri Governor Mike Parson doesn’t believe that voters need to worry about their safety if they vote in person. He says, “I hope people feel safe to go out and vote, but if they don’t, you know the number one thing is their safety should be number one. So if they don’t, then don’t go out and vote.”

The governor himself says that he’s not sure if he’ll vote absentee or not. 

Since the election is in 4 days, he’d better make up his mind. Also, if he hasn’t applied for an absentee ballot yet, it’s probably too late.

“Parson said he hasn’t decided if he’ll vote in-person Tuesday or cast an absentee ballot, but he plans to vote if he can.”  (AP report)

The governor of the state will vote IF HE CAN? Sheesh! 

At this point he almost has to vote in person. Otherwise he undermines his and the legislature’s efforts to deny absentee voting to the general public (to prevent voter fraud, of course). Also, since he’s resolutely resisted using anything that approaches common sense in dealing with the pandemic, he has to vote in person to prove that there’s nothing to worry about—he ain’t afraid of no virus!

I guess it’s like that old saying: If you can’t be a good example, you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.

It's Deja vu All Over Again

May 27, 2020

I just saw an article on Yahoo! titled “Jessica Simpson shows off toned abs in post-workout selfie.”

It reminded me of this post from August 12, 2014:

August 12, 2014

The first thing I saw when I got onto the internet today was a picture of a blonde falling out of the top of her swimsuit. The headline, purportedly about how well she’s kept in shape, said that all eyes were on Jessica Simpson’s “toned body.”

Six years later, we’re getting another news story about Jessica Simpson’s toned body. (This time the picture really did focus on her abs, though.) Weird.

The worst thing is—I STILL don’t know who Jessica Simpson is, or what her claim to fame is.

It's an Inherited Condition

May 23, 2020

On my walk today, I saw a sign for a political candidate who has demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is not trustworthy enough to hold any office.

I reflected that political affiliation often seems to be inherited. It’s not a matter of reason; for many people it’s as much a part of them as their (original) hair color or height. No amount of arguing or even hard evidence will convince them to vote for a candidate who is not of their political party.

You might as well try to change people’s eye color as to change their minds about politics.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time—Not!

May 20, 2020

To the surprise of no one except the 4 people who voted for it, giving St. Louis County Executive Sam Page complete control of federal funds designated for COVID-19 relief was not such a good idea.

Now, even the people who voted to give Page complete control are questioning whether there is a concrete plan about how funds are to be spent.

Curiously, at least one of the people commenting unfavorably still doesn’t regret her vote.

I hope that the people who voted for her are regretting theirs. There is no room for that kind of naivete in government. It should have been covered in a Basics of Governing class—Nobody Gets Full Control.

If they don’t know that, what other important info are they missing on how to make sure that government works for the people?

Modern-Day Lynching

May 20, 2020

In the Old West, if somebody started a rumor that a guy was a cattle rustler, or a horse thief, or a murderer, a lynch mob could take him and hang him. In the Old and Not-too-long-ago South, a black man could be tortured and hanged for a number of reasons—again, based merely on rumor.

Local law enforcement was not held to have been particularly distressed by any of this, although I don’t know that for sure.

Lynchings per se are not so much in vogue anymore. Instead, we have people with guns. And you don’t need a rumor. You need to have dark skin and be running. Period. At least that’s what happened to Ahmaud Arberry in Georgia.

Local law enforcement, as per tradition, was not particularly distressed. Not until somebody provided convincing evidence to the rest of the world that a man was shot and killed with no provocation.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s not just the Old West or the South where this happens? It’s in New York, and Chicago, and Baltimore, and everywhere else. 

I can’t IMAGINE the stress of stepping outside my door EVERY DAY and wondering if somebody is going to question my right to walk in my own neighborhood, barbecue in a local park, go into my own apartment building…or just be breathing anywhere near them—because of the color of my skin. I give my friends credit I can’t even express for not cracking under the strain and spending their days curled in the fetal position.

We have GOT to do better than this. Sure, we can try to educate kids—beyond Black History Month. We can try to outwait the die-hard racists and hope we can reach their kids. But we can’t let the Law Enforcement and Justice systems chug along with no penalties for turning a blind eye. (Sorry—dismissal from the job just doesn’t cut it.)

Who's Marking Out the Course?

May 13, 2020

I’ve been talking with people who work out on purpose. They measure their walks to see how far and how fast they’ve gone. It’s admirable, and I fully intend to emulate them some day.

One problem: Depending on which gadget or app they use—Fitbit vs. MapMyWalk vs. whatever—the distance they’ve walked on a single outing can vary. Naturally, I vote for using whichever program makes it look like I’ve walked the farthest.

So, the next time I participate in a walkathon, I want to know—whose kilometers are they using?

They Got to the Heart of the Matter

May 8, 2020

A local couple couldn’t hold their wedding at their chosen time and venue because of the lockdown. So they opted for a wedding attended by her parents at Forest Park and attended by about 60 guests via Zoom.

I was glad that they didn’t postpone their wedding in order to have a big production later. I like their priorities.

Moving Past Movies?

May 9, 2020

I just read an article that says that one of the things that may change as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns is going to the movies. People were already doing more movie-watching at home, and this may be another nail in the coffin.

I hope not. I can live without dining out; but leaving the house to watch movies in a darkened theater, with big screens and other people around, is a very important source of entertainment to me.

I’ll just hope that the article is being unduly pessimistic.

Suddenly, My Boxes Are Looking Pretty Darned Good

April 5, 2020

I prefer to do some of my office work standing up, but I didn’t want to ask the company to pay for a standing desk, because I do about 70 percent of my work sitting down. So when I started my job about 4 years ago, I put some boxes on the desk for the standing work—easy to set up and take down. I took some ribbing for it at first, but eventually people got used to it.

Fast-forward to 2020, and people having to work at home due to COVID-19. I read an article about how people are making home-made standing desks out of ironing boards; laundry hampers; a bathroom sink with a box on top; and, for the outdoor-minded, one person put his laptop on his recycling bin outside.

I emailed the article to my co-workers.

It Was Worth Making Snacks For

May 2, 2020

I really enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby, but, as I’ve noted before, it’s not the kind of sport that you can sit and watch while eating snacks and relaxing with friends. It lasts 2 minutes. (We don’t watch all the pre-race commentary.)

However, with the Derby cancelled this year, our local aquarium held the KenTurtle Derby, featuring—you guessed it—racing turtles. Needless to say, it was much slower-paced.

And we enjoyed the snacks while we watched.

MP, Stay Home

May 9, 2020

I don’t generally like to name-call or insult people in this blog. So I’m trying to think of a neutral way to say, “Wearing a face mask is done to protect other people, not yourself, you selfish morons,” to Vice President Mike Pence and Missouri Governor Mike Parson, both of whom toured public facilities recently while declining to wear the masks.

Ah, what the heck.

Pastor Appreciation

May 7, 2020

It’s Pastor Appreciation Month at our church. 

After the performance I witnessed last night with the guest pastor, I wonder if I could say to ours, “I appreciate your not being a pompous ass.”

It's a Huge Timesaver

May 7, 2020

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has been losing members for years. I had a list of reasons all ready to go, in case some church bigwig ever asked why.

But I heard a guest pastor give a presentation last night.

Now when somebody asks why the LCMS is hemorrhaging members, I can just point to that video.

Hey, Could You Keep It Down?

May 6, 2020

We all talk to ourselves when we’re working: “OK, that’s done. Moving on. Hey, what’s this?” But when you’re working in isolation, you tend to do it more loudly than when you’re around other people.

We may all have some adjusting to do when we get back to the office.