Thoughts for the day, January 29, 2021: A whole bunch of thoughts plus some Kilwins ice cream

It has been beautiful but cold down here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. On my way into the gym the last two mornings it has been a crisp 35 degrees. Being at the tip of the Gulf of Mexico offers from interesting sights. We get to watch the sun rise and set over the gulf. In the evening you can watch the sun set on the gulf and then turn 180 degrees and watch the moon rise. It is especially beutiful when it is a full moon on a couldless day. There is a reason we come here to the Redneck Riviera.

Leah and I were elated when a Kilwins opened in Orange Beach near Gulf shores. Today we made a little trip to get our fix of Kilwin’s ice cream. With the cool weather it felt we were back in Petoskey, Kilwin’s home city.

Although Michigan’s men’s basketball team is on a covid-19 pause until February 6, it has still been a big week for the team. It remains ranked as the number 4 team in the country and is projected to be a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. During the week, three players were named as semi-finalist for three major individual awards. Freshman center Hunter Dickinson has been named a semi-finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation’s best center. Isaiah Livers has been named a semi-finalist for the Julius Erving Award as the nation’s best small forward. Franz Wagner has been named a semi-finalists for the Jerry West Award as the nation’s best shooting guard. I do not recall a Michigan team ever having three semi-finalists named for three different positions in the same year. More and more, Michigan is becoming a basketball school.

I am watching with great interest the tug-of-war going on in the Republican Party at both the state and national level. Although Trump is no longer in office, it appears that he still holds most of the cards. It was only three weeks ago that Trump instigated the insurrection at the capitol and many Republicans were trying to separate themselves from him. Here we are three weeks later and many of those same people are back in his camp. Those that are not back in his camp, such as Liz Cheney and Fred Upton are being vilified or censored by the party, I do not understand the hold he has on his party after what happened on January 6. Does anyone have any backbone?

The Game Stop stock issue has been very interesting to watch. The little guy is fighting back and trying to stick it to the big time investors. I am not sure how it will end, but I know someone is going to make a whole bunch of money and someone is going to lose a whole bunch of money. Timing will be everything. It also shows how the market can be manipulated when parties work together to drive up or drive down the stock price of a company. It is a modern day version of David vs Goliath.

I loved the following story that appeared in today’s Detroit News about former Tiger Ike Blessit. When Blessit was a senior at Hamtramck High School I was sophomore at River Rouge High and played two games against his Hamtramck High Schoot baseball team. The Hamtramck team was loaded and we were fortunate enough to split our two games with them. Here is the link to the story. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/01/28/ike-blessitt-billy-martin-detroit-tigers-fantasy-camp-willie-horton-warren-michigan/4102421001/

Stay safe. Wear your mask. Social Distance. Wash your hands regularly. Schedule your vaccine.

Quote of the Day: “You can’t govern if you’re going to do so by patching together lies and hoping that no one figures it out. Because here’s what happens: You’ve got a percentage of the population who knows better, and they don’t trust you, and when you’ve lost trust, you’ve lost the ability to govern.” Former Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell

Orchid of the Day: The Oregon healthcare workers who were stranded in a snow storm with other motorist. They had some extra Covid-19 vaccine dosages with them that they were afraid would go to waste. They knocked on the car windows of other motorist that were also stranded and gave the motorist covid-19 vaccinations.

Onion of the Day: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who originally blamed former president Trump for the January 6 insurrection, has backed down and caved to the Trump wing of the party. Over the past two days, McCarthy met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, apparently discussing how to retake the seven seats the Republicans need to regain the House majority in 2022.