Category: humor

Fluffy or Heavy Snow Tomorrow?

We’re going to get another several inches of snow tomorrow. Whether it’ll be a heavy, wet or fluffy snow is apparently up for debate among weather forecasters. We definitely got the heavy stuff last week. I made great snowballs for juggling.

We’re going to be shoveling it, fluffy or heavy and wet. Sena noticed I was “flinging” snow from my shovel last week and wishes I would not do that. It’s a push-plow type shovel and I can’t get enough snow in it to lift a heavy load of the stuff.

But I will try not to fling my snow. We’re hoping for the fluffy stuff. If it turns out to be heavy, I might juggle more snowballs. We’ll see.

Our New Front Door

We got a brand-new front door today. Of course, because the old one had to be removed, it got a little chilly in the house. We didn’t mind because the new door is handsome and has pearl privacy glass.

We were always a little uncomfortable with the clear glass sidelight and door windows on the old door. Anybody could peek inside.

The tradesmen got here at 11:00 AM and were done by 3:00 PM. We turned the furnace off because the door was off-for several hours. It wasn’t a terribly frigid day, but we still had to put jackets on. Outside it was in the 40s for the most part and only got up to the low 50s. It got down to 64 degrees inside.

The color of our new front door is grey, a color that is thought to be dignified, intelligent, and balanced.

Doorways also are said to represent transitions or passages from one stage of life to another.

One thing our new front doors says is that, at this stage in life we feel a whole lot better when nobody can spy on us.

Big Mo Blues Show KCCK and MayRee’s Hand Battered Catfish

I heard John Heim (aka Big Mo) on KCCK talk at length about MayRee’s hand battered catfish tonight. There was much more detail than usual. I can’t remember all of them. One I do remember is that her joint is on the corner of Highway 6H and Snowflake Road-sort of.

MayRee will give you a choice of 3 beverages that sound like a crazy cross between a soft drink and white lightning moonshine or something. One flavor is “clear” and another could be something like pumpkin spice, but I probably misheard that.

I got a comment from a blogger, Everyday Lillie. She has not heard of nitrates in catfish but appreciated the information.

MayRee cooks them with “manic delight.” They are really something, I guess.

I heard this Sonny Landreth piece tonight on the show.

Snowstorm Today Perfect for Deer Zoomies and Snowball Juggling!

Today we got a fair amount of snow dumped on us. It gave the deer the zoomies. They ran around in it like they were having a lot of fun.

It was a heavy, wet snow. So, we took some time out from shoveling so I could make some snowballs and try juggling them. It didn’t work so well about a month ago when the snow was in brittle clumps. Today it worked pretty well, after I got the hang of shaping the snowballs.

We made videos. Enjoy!

I Got The Greatest Shout Out Today

I just got the greatest shout out from one of my heroes, Dr. H. Steven Moffic, MD. The link to one of his regular Psychiatric Times web (PT) articles, mainly on what’s in the daily news that impacts psychiatry or vice versa, is on the menu of my home page.

The title of the PT article in which I get a shout out  is “A Tale of 3 Retirements: Football Star Tom Brady, Black Psychiatrist James Amos, and Me.” He got my retirement date wrong by 20 years, but what the heck; no big deal. He did his homework otherwise just fine.

In fact, I didn’t know that Dr. Moffic even noticed that I had a blog. I have written articles for PT in the past. You can still find them by searching my name on the web site. One was on stress and the psychiatrist and another was on how consulting psychiatrists can be helpful in recognizing and managing delirium.

And today, Psychiatric Times (PT) contacted me to make a video about my juggling hobby. I gather it’s a regular series about what psychiatrists do outside of their work/practice. Imagine that; PT wants to see ugly juggling! How did PT know about that? Dr. Moffic mentioned my name.

In return, I’d like to give a big shout out right back to Dr. Moffic and also to other psychiatrists. One is Dr. George Dawson, who writes the blog Real Psychiatry. Another is TheGoodEnough Psychiatrist. These are featured on the main menu on my blog. I can name another who also writes for PT and this is Dr. Ronald Pies.

In Search of Al Martin

Today, I was thinking of a guy named Al Martin, who was one of the few African American role models for me when I was a teenager in Mason City, Iowa. I thought of him a couple of years ago, googled his name and couldn’t find him. I mentioned him anyway in a blog post at that time, “Snow Moon Reflections.” A major topic was black male role models.

Today, for some reason I thought of him again. I googled his name once more and found an obituary for a man named Allen Henry Martin. This particular Martin was a black man who was 83 years old when he died just this last November of 2022. The obituary stated that he was a talented artist, just as I recall. Despite the many decades gone by, his photograph looked familiar to me.

He was a sculptor and photographer as well as a painter. He worked several different jobs. He had a great sense of humor. He worked as a land surveyor for several years, which I connect with because I did that for a while when I was young.

I’m not absolutely certain that Allen Henry Martin is the same Al Martin who I looked up to when I was at a tender age. But for now, I’m going to assume they were one and the same.

One time, Al Martin took me to an art show where he set up many of his pictures. It was a brisk autumn day. We drank a lot of coffee, partly to keep warm. I remember how uncomfortable I felt because of my full bladder. The wind was cold.

I don’t know why I remember this, but Al one time spoke of his children and he happened to mention what he did when they felt sick to the stomach. It sounds gross, but he made the story comical and said something like, “Many a time I caught vomit in my hands!” It was disgusting—but funny at the same time, the way he told that little story. You really had to be there to get it.

As I read this, I catch myself thinking I should have something more solemn and dignified to say about Al.

But this is not an obituary. These are just my memories of Al Martin which are fading the older I get, and I’m entitled to them. Al Martin was a great guy.

More Ugly Juggling Tricks

It’s way past time for more ugly juggling tricks. I’m working on a few and my skills wax and wane, a lot like delirium. It fits.

Behind the back, under the leg, 1-UP 2-UP, over the top with juggler’s tennis, and using a different color ball (orange) for the trick ball are the highlights.

It’s pretty ugly.

Behind the Back Ugly Juggling Trick!

I have been diligently practicing the juggling behind the back trick daily and may have just turned the corner. I started practicing the behind the back trick along with the under the leg trick because the throws, mistakes, and corrections are similar.

I usually throw the trick ball too far out and the video will reveal it. I throw the left-hand ball (the one just before the trick ball) a little too high or too low. Both throws have to be darn near perfect.

The behind the back throw is difficult to get just right. I start off by practicing what I’ve seen described and shown as the trick and catch, which means I don’t try to incorporate the trick throw back into the 3 ball cascade. On the other hand, I’m sometimes able to sneak an extra throw or two in the game.

I also found out that my juggling balls glow in low light. They’re advertised to do so (UV reactive), but I just found out that it actually works today.

One thing is clear—this is still ugly juggling!

Today is National Opposite Day!

As we were listening to the Mike Waters Wake Up Call radio show on KOKZ, we were disoriented when he gave the temperature as “83” degrees and that it’s “Wednesday evening”. The more he talked, the more bizarre he began to sound and I wondered if KOKZ was for whatever reason broadcasting a past recording of his show.

Then he announced that it’s National Opposite Day, which occurs on January 25th annually. It’s not a holiday on any calendar, and when I looked it up on the internet, I found out it arose from a kids game. It dates way back to the turn of the 20th century.

You get the idea. What would be opposite goal of a game of tag? You’d have to try to catch each other, of course!

This holiday creates a paradox for itself. You’re supposed to declare that it’s Opposite Day, but that would imply you would have to not observe it. Huh?

We had pot pie for breakfast today. Does that count?

More Crazy Announcements!

Here are crucial announcements.

Sena bought me Bigfoot pajamas. They clearly show Bigfoot doing the Patty walk, which refers to the historic sighting of Bigfoot caught on video decades ago in the Patterson-Gimlin film.

The Amaryllis leaves have grown to about 11 inches! There is no flower.

Cattle ranchers are now putting diapers and masks on their cows to reduce methane emissions. Soon there will be statutes requiring humans who fart and belch in public to take Beano gummies several times daily. You know who you are.