With coronavirus cases levelling off, Colorado springs schools are starting remotely. Hopefully, they will go to in-person part-time classes after Labor Day.

"To be honest, I'd be afraid to teach in today's classroom, although I felt that way before the virus. I'd also be deeply reluctant to send my own children into the petri dish of any school right now.... What's clear is that Normal isn't coming back. Management of this virus is the destination."

--Kathleen Parker,

     "Halfass led the way. In somber pace, he carried a gigantic floral spray, a spray nearly six feet high, festooned with every flower known to man, every bloom, every petal, every bud you could name as long as it was dead, as long as it had fried somewhere in a florist's garbage can for a month or maybe three, the colors bleached away, the blossoms limp and flat.

     "Nobody moved, nobody took a breath. They simply stood and watched as this unholy pair made their way across the dry and brittle grass toward Bob the waiter's grave.

"Maybe I was right about the moment we saw each other on the plane, that there was something very precious between us neither of us could name. I knew her effort to shoot me in the face did not reflect a positive attitude. Still, I think there was a reason for that. I did not feel she was ready to let her feelings out. I felt she needed more time."

--Skinny Annie Bluesby Neal Barrett Jr

IMO, if someone tries to shoot you in the face it's not because she has a problem expressing her feelings.

This is the 75th Anniversary of the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. On Aug 6, 1945, a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On Aug 8, 1945, another was dropped on Nagasaki. An estimated 200,000 people died. During the three-month battle of Okinawa (one battle!)  250,000 Japanese and 50,000 Americans died.

"In the terrible arithmetic of World War II, the idea that such a nightmare might end in a day or two was seen as saving millions of lives. It was in that bleak context that Harry Truman dropped the two bombs--opting for a terrible choice among even worse alternatives.

"I watched her as she drew herself erect, coming to her feet with a single fluid stretch, with the supple hydraulics of her thighs, with the slick unwinding of her legs, never using her hands to touch the floor. She turned in a graceful half-circle that snaked a wing of hair across her shoulders and down the bare curve of her back."

--Skinny Annie Blues by Neal Barrett, Jr

The Detroit Press, printed inThe Colorado Springs Gazette:

     The danger of erecting monuments to men is that they stand on clay feet.

     Many Americans who have long been admired as geniuses or heroes are now under unforgiving scrutiny for offenses that might disqualify them for public honor.

     Few are passing muster. They were human, after all. And as the Bible tells us, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Hi, everybody! I have been gone a really long time, but I'm glad to be back! So many people have posted such nice comments!

I have no real wisdom to impart, but let me share this little nugget that I read on the internet (so it must be true):

Eighty-five percent of people think they're smarter than average.

I love it!

E-

(From the internet)

"My 3-year-old insisted on helping me put all the laundry away. It's only taken 6 hours and apparently pants go in the fridge now."

When my daughter was three she "helped" me by putting on all of her own clothes--until she was immobile and grunting on the floor, encased in so many of her clothes that she could only roll gently from side to side. So cute!

E-

"The only negative was a nasty rumor. Surely she couldn't go for women. She was too perfect, too exquisite, too appealing to the opposite sex. She was destined to be a trophy wife!"

Gee. Isn't that every little girl's dream? 

"The time between slipping on the ice and hitting the sidewalk is profoundly relative."

Time + space + ice = big owie.