Hello on Martin Luther King Day

Dear Friends,



We didn’t get much more than an inch of snow here in Pittsfield. The prognosticators had trouble getting it right.



The memorial service at the Temple, which Linda attended, went well. Many tears were shed for the deceased man. The Mah Jongg lady who lost her husband to Alzheimer’s disease really appreciated that her Mah Jongg friends were present for the service. A reception followed the service.



My monthly ITAM meeting went well too. I skipped the reception after the meeting, and went straight home to watch the end of the first NFL playoff game, and eventually the 4:30 PM playoff game.



If you are a fan of professional football, I hope the teams which you were rooting for won their games. I was so happy to see the Dallas Cowboys lose their game to Minnesota. I would bet Danielle, and all her friends and relatives from Minnesota were very happy with the results. My brother-in-law didn’t go to bed a happy man since his Cowboys lost the game. He has been a Cowboy fan for most of his life!

I was also glad to see the Jets knock off the San Diego Chargers in the second game. A week ago, Teddy Bruschi, a former Patriot football player and now sports annalist, said the New York Jets were one of those teams which he thought could make it to the Super Bowl. The Jets have to get by the Colts next week, and they will be in the Super Bowl.



Observation – The pictures from Haiti are definitely heart wrenching, but…... The reports got me thinking of what would we do if the earthquake hit Pittsfield? Do Linda and I have an emergency survival kit of food, water, and basic supplies so that we could survive for several days until help arrived? We don’t have a specific bucket or two, but I think that we do have enough stuff to get us through a crisis. This is assuming that our house didn’t come tumbling down, and I could get at the supplies. Trying to stay warm with the electricity, and heat getting knocked out might be a problem if the quake hit in the winter time. The snow could be used to keep the food in the freezer cold for a few days. I have a gas grill to cook food. I have my tailgating grill too. I have plenty of beverages, and some would keep me happy for a while. I do have hunting and fishing equipment so that I could capture food when my freezer food was gone. The only problem with shooting or catching food is that I don’t shoot well, and you know my record for ice-fishing isn’t too great.

I guess that surviving a major disaster wouldn’t be much fun at all!



It is a legal holiday and a good number of people have the day off. No, Linda and I are not totally free.

The other set of Mah Jongg ladies are doing lunch, and playi Mah Jongg. One of the ladies volunteered to have the session at her house after they have lunch. It appears that they might be going to Panera Bread for their lunch.



Going to Retro Fitness during the mid morning, and attending a 6 PM UNICO membership meeting are my two activities for the day. I do have a few more chapters of my book, “The Scarpetta Factor” to finish.



I am glad that I removed the mechanical Christmas deer and the mini patio trees when the weather was nice on Saturday. I had to use a pry bar to get the staked in decorations out of the frozen ground. Do you think I could have damaged a wire or two?



Last evening we ordered Domino’s Pizza. After seeing all those commercials of how the company was attempting to improve their pizza making, we decided to give their pizzas a try. Well, it turns out that their pizzas haven’t improved too much. We needed some Alka Seltzer to settle our stomachs. Our son from East Boston makes the best pizza. He makes his own dough, and he uses fresh ingredients. I wished that we lived closer to him and his restaurant. Even though he is closed on Sunday, a left over pizza from Saturday would still be better than a fresh Domino one.



Well, I have a few quiet chores like emptying the dishwasher, etc., and then I will read the local newspaper. I should be quiet enough so that the Queen can sleep for as long as she desires.

Have a great Martin Luther King Day.

I have a feeling it will be another fun day for both Linda and I.

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad