Thoughts for the Day, November 22, 2022: Happy Birthday, Nolan

I just returned from a birthday celebration for my 8-year-old grandson, Nolan.  Katy and Brad bought him a very young, bearded dragon plus a very nice tank for “Rocky” to do his things.  Nolan loves having Rocky crawl on him while Nolan walks around the house.  It is going to be fun watching the dynamics change as Rocky becomes full grown and reaches 24 inches in length. 

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Anyone born before 1954 probably knows where they were and what they were doing on this day in 1963 when the word came in about President Kennedy being assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.  I was in Mr. Irwin’s seventh grade class when we first got the word that he was shot, and then in Ms. Walton’s English class when we got the word that he had died. I will never forget seeing Ms. Walton standing in front of class struggling to tell us as tears were running uncontrollably down her cheeks. It was the first time I ever saw a teacher cry in front of class.

To this day I wonder what kind of president Kennedy would have been had his life not been cut short at such a young age.  He was young, he was smart, he was a war hero, he had strong political lineage, but most of all he had charisma.  In his short term as president, he created the Peace Corps, totally screwed up the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and he looked Nikita Khrushchev straight in the eye and didn’t blink during the Cuban Missile crisis.  He laid the foundation for the civil rights bill, which was ultimately passed by President Johnson, less than a year after Kennedy’s death.  He also was instrumental in our early engagement in Vietnam. He was loved by many and despised by many others, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He was the first of three political assassinations that occurred in our country between 1963 and 1968. 

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Every week I get a reminder that Covid-19 is still with us as someone I know contracts the virus.  Although, it will less likely end in death, it is still a force to be reckoned with and it should not be taken lightly. So many of those I know who have had Covid-19, talk about the long term affects it had on them, which is different for each person. I became infected in early April 2022, and had no symptoms to speak of, yet within weeks I started to lose functionality in both legs with serious muscle and joint issues.  It is only within the last month that I have regained confidence in my legs to do the things I want them to do.

It is easy to drop our guard now, but it is important that we stay vigilant. Covid-19 is not something to take for granted.

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I continue to follow the story of the murders of four people near the University of Idaho campus last week.  No suspects have been arrested and the information about the case becomes more gruesome each day.  The citizens within the area are becoming more and more concerned that there may be a psychopath on the loose.  Extreme caution is advised. 

It reminds me of the late 60’s on Eastern Michigan University’s campus when John Norman Collins was terrorizing female students. It took the life out of Eastern’s campus until Collins was arrested.

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Elections Matter. Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence

Quote of the Day:  “Somehow the US became the villain despite aggressive action on emissions, meanwhile Russia and China’s emissions are growing like crazy and yet they are not in the crosshairs of activists, it’s confusing. I mean it’s absurd. If we don’t get hold of China’s emissions the climate will spin out of control.”  Paul Bledsoe, former White House adviser and currently with the Progressive Policy Institute of Washington D.C., after the U.S. was singled out for criticism by climate activist at the COP27 climate summit.

Orchid of the Day:  State Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden, whose great-grandfather was lynched in Tennessee in the 1930s, will become the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court after being appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer announced her selection of Bolden during a Tuesday press conference inside the Supreme Court’s Hall of Justice building in downtown Lansing.

Onion of the Day:  Covid-19 for continuing to wreak havoc.

Question of the Day:  Are you taking the Covid-19 virus serious enough?

Video/Image of the Day: Michigan junior running back Blake Corum passing out turkeys in Ypsilanti, last Sunday, even though he injured his knew the day before in the game with Illinois.  Corum paid for the turkeys by using funds he receives as a college athlete from the use of his name, image and likeness by the university.

https://www.detroitnews.com/videos/sports/college/university-michigan/2022/11/20/michigan-wolverines-blake-corum-giving-back-means-lot-me/10745410002/

2 thoughts on “Thoughts for the Day, November 22, 2022: Happy Birthday, Nolan

  1. MaryAnne Stewart

    Thanks. For the history lesson Tom I do remember when 😢 l was giving baby Bob a bottle watching TV on Niemann st.

    • Thomasdbiggs Post author

      MaryAnne,
      I do not know anyone who does not know where they were that day when they first heard the news.

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