Are you OK

Some days it's difficult to know where to begin.  We are all shocked at the assassination with multiple shots, of an intensive care VA nurse in Minneapolis after the agents removed his lawfully held firearm and he was brandishing a mobile phone camera.   It took me a while for all this information to sink in.  What is the country we woke up in this morning.  I am still as furious as when this story was recounted to me. This guy was coming to the aid of a woman on the ground from her attack from agents.   His last words uttered, were "Are you OK?" directed to this person. At last count, 9 people have been ended by ICE agents.  

In my mind, this agency needs to be recalibrated with a mind to serve the purpose of apprehending child traffickers like they did before.  

It's mighty cold out there today.  Schools are generally open for business even though the wind chills put it well below zero.  Our animals have not really been outside in days and are getting bored laying around as am I.  Tired of television programs, although we have seen a couple of good movies in our confinement.  "Eleanor the Great" starring a 96 year old June Squibb is a remarkable tale of resilience directed by Scarlett Johansson. This is. real keeper if you don't mind stories about old people as they travel thru life.  It's on Netflix.  "The Best You Can"  is kind of a slice of life drama staring the husband and wife team of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.  Its odd seeing her without here Brenda Lee Johnson southern accent.  It took me until this year to discover that the character was named after the singer from the 60's.  Anyway is a good diversion as we peer at the frozen tundra outside.

Today was Eli's maiden voyage driving his sister to the high school.  They got out on time remarkably.  It's yet another life transition.  He continues to astound me with a bowling score of 244 in his last tournament play. 

Will have to do some shoveling as the temps arise to 15 degrees.

 

 

Maiden Voyage

 

So grandson Elijah has earned his drivers license.  After his mother's permission was granted, I took him to her house to take his maiden voyage driving his new car to bowling practice.  He was calm and collected on the trip there, got the keys and the necessary documentation.  I helped him clean off the snow, shook hands and he started her up.  I looked away, and he was gone.  The little boy that followed behind me with his lawnmower following in my footsteps as I cut the grass on Orchard View. was driving a motor vehicle in the winter and out of my sight.  For the first time in a while, I felt completely helpless but proud of him as a newly minted driver. Even though he's still upstairs sleeping, I am sill thinking about him.

If I'm stopped

 

It I am stopped by an officer in my car no matter what town I am in, I would roll. down my window and greet the officer, asking what I did to achieve his/her attention.  These officers of the law have rules of engagement with the public they are sworn to protect.  For a guy like me, I probably rolled through a Stop Sign.  I would most likely get a ticket for the violation and the pleasant officer would drive off with a "drive safely" goodby.  They would not be masked and would have their name clearly posted with a badge number.

To be absolutely truthful,  all I know of the disruptions in Minneapolis is what is seen on the evening news.  It may or may not be the complete picture.  The last one I viewed (on a 60 Minutes segment) was a woman that said she was disabled and was trying to get to a doctors appointment. She was ordered by officers to exit her car.  The filming showed her trying to explain her situation to the masked officers to no avail.  She was dragged from her vehicle where she was subdued.  

My question is, is it lawful to forcibly extricate a driver from their vehicle without due cause or warrant.  Could any citizen be accosted by one of these officers for their appearance or speech pattern?  If a car is stolen or if the driver ie endangering themselves or the public, it makes perfect sense for a demand to leave the car.  

Federal officers are not there to enforce traffic laws.  It appears that their charge is to detain immigrants without any due process.  Now I know that media may have a skewed view of this reality.  It may be a one sided presentation.  

As we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King today, I gives me pause wondering what his comments might be.

thats it

Jon Kocsis

 yesterday was my son Joh's 43 birthday.  He's a great husband, dad and all around nice guy.  I am very proud of him for all he has done and become.  He served our country for 9 years in the US Navy after high school.  He and his family moved around a bit and finally settled in the lovely little town of Middleville MI, near Grand Rapids.  I miss them due to the distance.  We had our party last week with a luncheon and cake. He is well and I hope continues to be.

On a positive note. 

National update

 So we went into a sovereign nation with planes and captured their president and his wife.  Let me say up front that this guy is a thug and a criminal and lost the last popular election but refused to leave office.  Still, this is a nation we were not at war with and we invaded to capture the guy. The congressional branch of government was not consulted and the president proceeded without any restraint..   Earlier, we commandeered two tankers filled with Venezuelan  oil with our military and became pirates on the high seas.  Prior to this action, we used unmanned drones and blew fishing boats out of the water claiming without evidence that they were transporting illegal drugs.  

And now, a 37 year old widow and mother has been shot in the face in her car watching ICE agents and their actions in Minneapolis.  She died from her injuries.  Words fail me. 

A new year reprise

 

It's now officially 2026.  Slept poorly last night; probably ate too late.  Katey came over and we watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things which were riveting.  Really enjoyed all the seasons of this program with the kids growing into teenagers and graduating from high school.  If you have the opportunity, watch it on Netflix.

This day will be a quiet one with some snow shoveling.  I pace myself better now with the effort and temperatures.

So, I made pasta sauce early in the day yesterday, tomato based.  Shared it with Katey last evening watching over spaghetti.  I ate late.  Glucose numbers (my measurement of health) were pretty good this morning.  Has to be due to mixing protein with carbohydrate.  This condition is always puzzling to me.

Our social security 2026 increase amounts to $2 a month after the Medicare/Medicaid cost increases for this year. What an annual raise.

It's the next day, still cold, still winter.  Watched a recent film called Boyhood. It took twelve years to film and showed the main character and his family in their evolution in actual years.  Basically it was a window into the lives of this family over that duration.  While it was a massive effort,  I missed some of the nuances and the subtleties.  I am always looking for an ending with summation.  I missed it here.  Lots of people loved this movie including my wife; me not so much.

Going back to the gym today to try to beat some life back into this body. 

A New Year

We are quickly approaching the new year and bemoaning the one we are leaving.  I for one, am glad it is over.  The ruling regime has damaged our republic in so many ways that will take decades to repair and maybe never will.  It is difficult to garner good feelings for the upcoming year on the political front

Personally, I am again going to have my head examined to check for cognitive declines and other fun features of aging.  Moving toward 76 this year and the 51st year of marriage still not knowing why she continues to put up with me.  Both boys have gray in their beards but still without blank spots on their skulls. Katey has masked whatever changes she may be going through.  Elijah will be driving this month and his sister has turned 15 earlier this month.  Paxton and Everett are well in Middleville.

If there is any resolution for me it is to eat less processed foods. I live off of sandwiches from deli meats and cheeses, snack foods and frozen pizzas and very little plant based foods. Most of this is out of convenience.  I know in the long and short term these are bad decisions.  I don't have to be a vegetarian but should consume more Whole Foods in their natural state.  Really need to come up with better lunch program.  

Will keep up my morning stretching routine and irregular gym visits. 

Need to reach out for more social interactions. Maybe we all do.  It's one of the few things I can control.