A Potpourri

LifeReports.net

    It is a beautiful day here in Chicagoland. It is in the low 70s, everything is green, the flowering trees are still flowered, and there is not a cloud in the bluest of skies. I am still cooling my jets from the end of challenging but rewarding school year.

     I wanted to post something today, but really didn’t have a topic that compelled me to write about it. Rather, I had lots of bits and pieces, a potpourri, if you will. As I have not penned a potpourri in a long while, that is exactly what I will do. 
     First and foremost today, it is my sons 38th birthday. We called and sang him happy birthday first thing in the morning. He has been a blessing and a joy. While I might say , “I cannot believe it has been 38 years. It seems like just yesterday.” I think both are true. It does seem like just yesterday and it most definitely has been 38 years. He is now married and he and his wife have blessed us with three wonderful children. 
     Number two on my mind, this lovely day, is the Arab Concert of the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble this weekend. We have our last practice tonight, on Friday we have a workshop with our guest artist Huda Asfour, Saturday is the dress rehearsal, and finally the concert is Sunday late afternoon. This means I get to drive to Hyde Park four days in a row. While this would normally be a huge imposition. My schedule is so sparse this Memorial Day Weekend that I am actually looking forward to it 
     The next thing on my mind is the chaos that seems to be our Federal Government these days. The news is full Tax returns, impeachment, abortion, tariffs, infrastructure, and people already running for president instead promising to fix everything else instead of doing their jobs and fixing the issues now. These are the last things I want to be thinking about on such a lovely day. 
     Lastly, I am amazed two reports from possible fake news or parody sites:

• Kansas Police Urging People To Not Shoot Their Guns At Tornadoes
• Pastor arrested for selling tickets to heaven to members for $500 (After I posted the first on Facebook, Ara Topouzian posted the second as a comment.)

The above is about all you need to read. I was laughing out loud in reading just the titles of the articles. You can’t make this stuff up. The pastor, from Zimbabwe, is just a scam artist but still funny. I really like the Kansas Don Quixotes attacking windmills… er… tornadoes. There is something oddly comforting that in this modern world of high tech connectivity and all the resources available on the internet, that we still have people in this country who think shooting a gun at a tornado will make a difference. In a way, we are reassured that there is a core of human nature and behavior that progress will have zero effect on. Plus, these stories erased any and all angst I was feeling about the mess in DC. 
     It is a beautiful day.