Thursday Busy

I rose late for my busy morning and started writing more and more. Sometimes, it is just fun to think and share and know that someone, you dear reader, will likely read it, or at least skim it. I went on (and on and on) about my AI programming on Thursday and our game of Concordia. I had time for coffee (liberal), oatmeal (pumpkin with pecans), and peaches from a can. The writing is not a burden but more of a friendly chat (like this).

I was frustrated with my weight, which had remained unchanged for two months or more at 234 pounds, with occasional increases to 238 and then a reversed return to 234. Recently, I noticed some of my clothing was loose, and my new pants fit better. I refused to look for two weeks. I lost six pounds and finally broke into the 220s with 228 pounds. I know that many people struggle with weight loss, and I seem to lose weight easier than most. My secret to this magical loss is brain surgery, a history of overeating from stress, and cancer with chemo. It’s not a weight loss plan I would recommend. I have also increased my excising by traveling and walking instead of a gym membership, coaches, various equipment, exercise shoes, and apparel. I think travel is cheaper.

While I like my coffee “black as death” or “dark like my soul,” I put too much coffee in the French press, with more than an inch of coffee grounds floating in the device. I could feel the coffee! Yes, liberal-empowered writing all morning!

I wrote all morning and finally finished the blog around 11. I had been texting, reading, and updating Quicken while writing. I started late and finished the same way. I was still in my pajamas when Scott sent a note that he was just leaving. Oops. It is Thursday, and Scott and I have lunch at about 11:45. I rush, clean up, shave, and head out dressed and arrive just after noon at Elephant’s Delicatessen at Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton. Scott quipped, “Did I reach you while still in your PJ?” Yes, he did.

Lunch was a cherry seltzer and a tuna melt sandwich; Scott had BLT. We talked about my travels and Scott’s plans. Scott related his experience giving a tour at Nike WHQ and how he saw many folks randomly. We meet every week or so (with breaks for trips and events), and I listen to Scott and update him on items he read about in the blog. Scott is headed to a beach to celebrate 25 years of marriage next week, and I will be, assuming there are no new storms–none on the maps, in New Orleans next week (NOLA).

Scott heads out in his red jeep while I board Air Volvo, and we head separate ways. I return to the Volvo Cave and return to coding for a few minutes. I update my calendar and have a new plan to check my calendar every morning.

The afternoon is a blur with calls and cooking sausages for Friday’s lunch. I finish watching the next episode of “Only Murders in the Building.” I was not disappointed, and they managed to mix over-the-top, a crime show and a comedy without losing a thread or bogging down, even with a pile of new characters. Excellent.

I head early to McMenamins Pub at Cedar Hills Crossing. Becka will be our server, and we have ten chairs arranged on tables in the airport room. The room remembers the Bernard Airport that once existed in the same area. With a few adjustments, we were comfortable and soon had eight and ten people, and everyone was plowed with beer, liquor, and food as required.

Our subject, often lost in the joy of our first meeting in person for the Theology Pub since the pandemic, was Halloween and whether it was OK for Christians to celebrate the spooky trick-or-treating. Michael (not me, but the young guy with the beard) was concerned that we were outside the lines of good things, but most of us enjoyed the practice and thought it a great time to let children have some control that required them to get outside and do something. We all shared our positive memories but did include some mischief that Dondrea suggested would now get people arrested. There is a liberal pushback, which Dondrea surprised us with, that there is a question of equity and peer pressure with Halloween getting it shut down in some schools and areas. We learned that some families cannot afford to participate, and others should be able to decline without impacting their children, and this may be a reason to dispense with trick-or-treating. Ted and Aggy joined us, but I had not seen them since before the pandemic.

We enjoyed the discussion about Halloween, which seems to be a question about what is good and evil, which colors your direction toward trick-or-treating. If you see the world as full of darkness, Halloween’s connection to horror is disturbing and should be avoided. Most of us enjoyed it when we were young and think it would be a good experience for kids. Michael was still unsure about Halloween but, at least, agreed that dressing up, candy, cider, and donuts are fun.

With the bill paid, we thanked Becka and will meet again next month. Becka took a photo of the group. I took Air Volvo home and tried to get focused again. Nope.

Home and resting, I read a stamp auction catalog and contemplated some of their literature collection up for bids. I collect forgeries and, occasionally, with luck, the original forged stamp. The Internet has limited information; the only sources are physical copies of twenty-plus-year out-of-print books with pictures and engravings of the differences. These are not usually available on Amazon or Abebooks.com, but the auction does not mention the titles, and I suspect these are lesser books.

Aside: Stamp collecting was a hobby of previous centuries and was troubled by unscrupulous dealers in the early 1900s. The dealers could not provide the early USA stamps in qualities that matched the demand, for example. Thus, the dealers created or hired out the printing of their own versions to help their customers easily and cheaply finish their collections. These reprinted versions (using the more polite word in stamp collecting) became confused with the original. They often appeared in images on the early stamp albums in the USA and UK. My collection overlaps this period, and I have to deal with this. Most collectors do not overlap this. I have a large-ish collection of forgeries as you get them as you pursue particular stamps. I often see the forgeries for auctions; some are even identified as forgeries, with some reaching ridiculous prices.

Example: The Pony Express was a real private mail carrier, and they used stamps for the short-lived express service. I collect them when available (and not overpriced), but I must carefully check the photos against my books. I have three volumes of non-US postal service stamps listing the known outright forgeries and reprints (over 100 years old now). I have a few real ones, and I watch for them. 

(this is a real one worth today over $100 and thousands if still on a cover)

I showered and dressed in my pajamas and soon fell asleep. I woke at 2 and 3 and fell back to sleep. I was wide awake for a while and worried it would be another sleepless night.

Thanks for reading.