Super Bowl Fever! This a.m. I watched a video, an amateur video, of the Packer team and staff returning from the playoff game on the 23rd of January. As they got off their plane and walked through Austin Straubel Airport, the assembled crowd just roared in support, at times yelling the familiar chant: Go Pack Go! What did surprise me was that the players were not wearing their suits, but in street clothes for travel. I thought it was customary to wear suits when traveling. When I was in WI over the holidays, one of the teams, the Giants, I think, were stuck in Appleton for a couple days because the airports out east were shut down by a storm on December 26th. When the TV cameras showed the players out in public, they were in suits and looked so nice. I prefer that to the scruffy look some sported (ha, get it?) when coming from the plane. Anyway, I found myself getting emotional, caught up in the passion of the fans. This is so darn exciting!!
How scary it all is, in the real world, with the rioting and taking to the streets in various regions. Even some in our own country are calling for revolution, not those urging a return to the Constitution but those who wish to throw out this representative republic for something else. The country currently making the news is Egypt where some are attempting to over throw their leadership. The US is going forth and back in trying to choose up sides, due to the relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the need to keep the canal open and safe for trade and travel. Egypt has about 80 million people, with not all portions of the country rioting, 'only' about an eighth of the population which is not the majority. This does not mean that others are not upset, they might just not be in the streets---yet.
I have heard the 'charms' of democracy described like this: two men and a woman are marooned on an island. After time passes, the guys start getting frisky and want to have relations with the female. She refuses their advances but then they take a vote on it, and guess what---the majority ruled. Rule by majority is not always a good idea, not always...Nor is being ruled by a dictator, so representative republic, the way our nation was established, seems to work best for us. I only hope and pray none of the czars in our country decide to install the national 'kill switch' for the Internet, it would be the end of us! Without the Internet and my cell phone, I might be in the streets rioting as well!
So, anyway, I heard from Rosalie this a.m., contacting me from Rayne, LA, which is a very accurate description of their driving circumstances. She said that Houston is not in much better condition in regard to weather. They are about four hours from home, which makes for a shorter day of travel for them. I saw on the news that DFW was closed due to an ice storm, which will not affect the Packer players as they arrived yesterday in advance of the bad weather. We have our own 'bad' conditions here, again with the fog!! I cannot see the river at all from my bed and certainly not Mandarin. Later today I am going across the Buckmann, first to visit MamMa and then to play Trivia with Stephanie and Erica. It had better clear before then, that's all I have to say! We might have some more players from Victory as word of our great fun gets out. I hope Rita does not mind losing, as that happens more often than not. But the food and company are wonderful!
Yesterday Hal and Rosalie took me to Grumpy's for breakfast which they found quite charming. In looking over the list of specials, handwritten in ink on a little wire-bound notebook, Hal discovered SOS. He was delighted to see this, and enjoyed the creamed chip beef on toast, with the home-fries as his side dish. On the other hand, Rosalie spotted a round of beef, just pulled from the oven, sitting out on the counter, for some reason. She asked the waitress if it would be possible to have that for breakfast, with an egg. The waitress came back and said she could, so Rosalie even specified that she wished for the end of the roast. Not only the beef, but an egg, potatoes, and toast, and then she spotted generous sized muffins coming out of the oven, which she snagged also. Hal jokingly teased her to make sure she ate everything, as she scraped her plate clean. However, I ate my crispy bacon slices and most of my single pancake. He calls Rosalie a lumberjack, but she is as thin as a rail!
Before we left for breakfast, Rosalie and I were sitting in the river room. Hal came in with his Meditation booklet and sat at the table. I asked him if he minded doing the devotion out loud and Hal was glad to do so. He read first the Morning Prayer, then the prayer for Monday, followed by the designated reading, for us. Rosalie and I snuggled together, listening to him share the Word and article with us, and then closed with prayer. Very nice!
Hal wanted to get stuff carried out so got up, leaving us two ladies to our own devices. Rosalie was looking at the artwork stacked around on the floor and asked me what I do with the finished pieces. I told her that I gave some away at CHRISTmas to my family, and asked her to select one to take home with her. She was so tickled and immediately chose one with lots of blue/green in it, with the moon reflecting on the water. We put it in a garbage bag for safe travel and Hal took it to the truck for her. I am honored that she liked my work, and honored that she took one home for her walls!
