Author: alohawild

I am writing this on a Friday morning that promises a glorious weekend and a nice ending to the local Spring Brake. I stayed in bed beyond sunrise, so it was bright outside.

Recalling yesterday, I rose early and started to write the blog. I wrote for a few hours and had toast with reduced-sugar jam and coffee. At 8ish, I decided to go with my plan, got my hat and heavy coat, and boarded Air Volvo. I put the Apple laptop in the cargo hold in case I decided to stay longer and write. That did not happen.

My trip, just me and Air Volvo, took about ninety minutes, and we crossed the Cascade Mounts at the pass at 1642 feet (500M). During the fall, winter, and spring, I had the traction devices in Air Volvo (it is the law to carry them), and the heavy rain partially melted at times, but the temperature, even near the top, was never near freezing. Air Volvo uses all-weather tires and is auto-four-wheel drive. Only a few drivers were slow; most passed me above 70 (112 k) in the wind and sheets of rain. Only once did I have a moment when the water was so heavy on the roads that I had to slow down. I took 26 to 101, and that North.

The Wreck of Pete Iredale is on the beach of Fort Stevens State Park. I followed the signs and took a city-connecting tour of the local towns. Navigation would have worked better! I was just getting frustrated when I found the park entrance. I liked the tour of Warrenton as I always daydreamed about buying a small house there for weekends. The drive into the park is also not short. It is a huge park, and you must follow the signs to get to Shipwreck. I just wanted to spend a few minutes at the wreck, but I can tell you that the park is worth a visit. The beach goes on for miles and includes the jetty for the Columbia River. The wind, rain, and cold make this a face-numbing visit.

Sadly, the wreck is buried again in the sand. I missed the chance to see it with less sand. The tide was going out, and the wreck was not flooded. I have not returned in more than ten years, and the elements have visibly reduced the wreck. Still, it is a wonder and a great picture.

A pair of men drove up in their expensive EV truck, got out, took pictures, and then drove off. Other trucks ran up and down the beaches, with the wet sand working well for them. The tracks show only a small amount of sinking. I saw a parking area that is level with the beach and provides easy access. I was not going to 4×4 Air Volvo over the dunes! Doing this in the summer would be fun when the water is only freezing cold. On the list!

Note: The Columbia River includes cold glacier-fed water; thus, the deep waters are dangerously cold for swimmers. Fort Stevens waters are thus colder than the rest of the Pacific! As a point where fresh and salt mix, predictors also enjoy the area. The waters are full of life but silty and opaque. There is no real reason to swim there. I just splashed around the wreck and the shallows when I was there before.

Lunch was approaching, so I reboarded Air Volvo and found that Ensign Road connects easily to 101, and my exit was only a few minutes away. Next time, I can miss the local driving tour!

I parked my Air Volvo in Astoria near a used bookstore. I have always wanted to do a walking tour of the town. I was looking first for lunch; I had a headache. I found the local fancy hotel and, across from it, T. Paul’s Supper Club. Generally, the better a place looks, the worse and more expensive the food, except for long-existing places. I was skeptical, but people were at tables, so I gave it a chance.

The decor would fit any edgy hotel restaurant; it mixes elegance and a weird theme (it reminds me of The Graduate in NYC). However, the menu did not match the decor, with the crispy chicken salad called Boom Boom and other playful names included for other usual fare items. I wanted to stay on the light side and ordered the Boom Boom. It was terrific and included some fruit.

After paying my tab, which would be high in the Midwest, where waiters are paid $4-5 an hour (here, they get 13.50 plus tips), I headed out to find more goodies. I found a Dutch shop that also sells locally caught seafood. Better yet, they provide small coolers for free. They recycle the boxes in which they get some food. I buy frozen sturgeon and various excellent canned and smoked fish. Next, now that I have a cooler, I stop by the local butcher shop and get some inch-thick New York strips, excellently cut pork chops, and some frozen ground lamb. The two frozen items will keep everything cold.

I returned to Air Volvo and placed my box in a business-class seat instead of the cargo hold. I didn’t want the lid to get knocked off. I was parked next to a bookstore, Godfather’s Books, and found a book I had not seen before. The Shanghaiers in Portland, to me an urban legend, seems to be actually true, according to Barney Blaklock in his book The Oregon Shanghaiers; I purchased this never-before-seen book at the bookshop. I am skeptical, but Mr. Blaklock appears to cite sources. Something to learn!

With all these goodies, I headed to Josephson’s for their excellent smoked fish. I found my favorites, including smoked sturgeon, which are unavailable in a can to mail—next time. I also acquired maple wine and smoked salmon, both fresh and canned. My sister should expect some goodies in the future.

After that, I made a short visit to the Columbia River Martine Museum, where I am a member (free). I looked, as always, at some of the sailing ship models. Amazing work! I stopped by the shipwrecks, my favorite, and there I saw the other remains of the Peter Iredale.

It is a more than two-hour drive to follow the Columbia River back to just before Portland, but I love the views. Air Volvo and I headed through Astoria to connect with Highway 30 and back home. Air Volvo complained once that I was not paying attention to driving with the dreaded bells and coffee cup light on the display (I was looking out the window), but I was safe. Air Volvo said I should take a break and then drive again when I could pay attention better.

I managed to stay under 65 and did not have an unscheduled meeting with the local or state police. I mainly adhered to the lower speeds when Highway 30 passed through small towns. I took Cornelius Pass Road to cross the small Tualatin Mountains west of Portland. This brings me to the Tualatin Valley, where I reside at the Volvo Cave. The S-curves and climb are not trivial, and Air Volvo did not complain as I had both hands on the wheel and was very attentive. It was high traffic as it was approaching rush hour, and it was important to stay in one’s lane and not go over a cliff or smash into the rock sides of the pass. It is always a rush to drive in Air Volvo in the passes, and I arrived home at 4PM.

Corwin tasked me with locating propane to grill the steaks I brought. I drove for thirty more minutes to find a place open. Fred Myers had closed their propane; when they didn’t have enough gas jockeys, they stopped selling propane. Stupid to give up the revenue and frustrating for their customers. I’m not sure I understand this corporate decision process.

Finally, I filled the two tanks and drove them back to the Volvo Cave. Corwin made dinner. I could not finish my steak. I put it away for later.

Next, I painted 1/6000 ship models and read when the paint was drying. These are WWI models. The combat in the 1914-1918 system was before meaningful aircraft attacks, so the rules of tabletop play are simple: Move, Fire, and Damage. Firing torpedoes and striking mines are the only rules that are complex. I have started all my WWI models, including two Zeppelins (yes, those too are in WWI naval games). I dream of an AI to play WWI Doggers Bank but with the Goeben there (the Germans in the alternative history send the Blücher to Turkey).

You can see five that are darker; they are finished. A larger one is a model from the past that I kept in sight to keep the shades a close match. The unfinished ones are waiting to be finished on Friday. Two are repeats, but I found German ships that they closely match and will put those names on them. I paste a flag on the top (in this case, it is the German Imperial Naval Ensign) and the name on the bottom.

I went to bed early as it had been a busy day.

 

 

 

Going backward, I was home from First United Methodist Church at 9ish. Gaming had gone sideways, so I spent the evening chatting with Shawn about Dungeons and Dragons. We have both been playing for years. I also spoke to Andrew about his upcoming honeymoon in Florance, Italy, and his job as a Federal employee. They were good talks. There was also a thought to plan a gaming night for the other choir members. I think there will be more on that after May.

Before this, I had stopped at Guardian Games Aloha (formally, Rainy Day Games) and found an old friend still working there. We talked about the games we have played. I was there for Army Painter’s Blue Tone ink to paint water on the 1/6000 scale ship models. I painted the sea blue (Wolf Grey), brushed on some white for foam, and then covered that with a Blue Tone to darken the blue and make it look more like the sea and 3D. I saw a few new items but left with just the Blue Tone.

Moving back to an early dinner, I roused Corwin and headed out for food. Air Volvo took us a few minutes to the Aloha Food Carts. Corwin had been doing Uber Food deliveries today to earn money, and he made one delivery from the same carts. Corwin said it was hard to find if you did not know it existed.

We got two three veggie-only curries from the cart called Chaat House. We had chai to go with dinner. The wind picked up, and rain pelted the tent with the food tables. I had my coat but forgot my hat–I was cold, but the food and chai warmed me. Eating outside under a tent and being pelted by sideway rain might be taking the Oregon thing a bit far, but still, I told the gal at Chaat House, “If you don’t love rain, you can’t live in Oregon,” which I believe is true. What rain?

Before this, I used my tiny (one called insane detail by Army Painter) and best paint brush to bring color to the tiny-scale ship models mentioned above. I used Uniform Grey for the hull, stacks, guns, and other structures, Mummy Robes (a very light brown) for the decks, and Black for the top of the funnels. I painted the seas blue and white, as I mentioned earlier. I had to let this dry. You cannot use the Army Painter Tones unless the paint is quite dry (it will dissolve any freshly dried paint).

Later, I could not sleep, so I sat down and carefully painted the ship with a Dark Tone as a wash to bring out the tiny ship’s 3D lines. I had done the Blue Tone before going to bed. All this needs a few hours, at least, to dry before being handled. They look good, and I will finish them soon with flags and names pasted on the models.

Before this, I spent hours on paperwork. With my surgery approaching (May 20th) and Susie’s Concert done in Oregon, it is time to prepare the paperwork. I spent hours writing up all the accounts I use for handling money, paying bills, and running the financial part of my life. It took hours as I found account numbers and checked passwords, PIN numbers, and beneficiaries for my monied accounts. I recorded it in a Word document, despite all of my security Spider-man senses saying “no” to using an unsecured document for this. It needs to be simple if bad things happen to me, so I accepted the risk.

I also found the official birth certificates, marriage license (Susie and I called it The Cow, as the seal has a huge cow), and other essential documents. I already had my lawyer update my will and provide proper, signed, and notarized Power of Attorney and Oregon Advance Directives forms. I located my leather briefcase and will fill it with these papers and other essential items. This will be given to Dondrea before my surgery. If I head to the great gamers in the sky, this goes to Matt V.

While depressing and taking hours, it is best to plan for emergencies, and the best way to prevent them is to plan if they will happen. Or, to remember another moment from a John Wick movie, “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum,” which, when translated into English, means “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War.”

I slept into 8ish and rose feeling rested—for the first time in weeks. I made the last of the liberal Equal Exchange coffee in the French Press. I ordered a new case, and it arrived today. The Kramer sent more good coffee, and I will use that starting Thursday; thanks. I also had a bagel with cream cheese from my NYC supplies stocked by the Smiths and Joyce; thanks.

Lunch worked somewhere above between things, and it was cottage cheese and a 1/2 can of peaches.

Leaving this for last, last night, the grief and anger surfaced again. It circled like a dream-shark and bit hard repeatedly. Tears. I painted. I ordered some rules on Amazon for WWI tabletop ship models. I am better this Thursday morning. I was warned that grief was a thief. Facing the surgery adds to this pain. Sucks.

I included that bit, not asking for help or sympathy, but to be true, and this blog is about my experiences.

Thanks for reading.

I am writing this Wednesday morning. I am feeling better, and I have been very thoughtful about my bottom, and the soreness is fading. I slept into 8:15 as I was enjoying just sleeping today.

Tuesday (yesterday) started with me raising 7ish, starting the blog writing for Monday, finding liberal coffee, and making a NYC  bagel, plain, with cream cheese. I enjoyed the writing and likely wondered a bit. I am feeling better and decompressing.

I had a box of potato pancake mix; I just added water and minced onions from King Arthur Flour, which I found when committing insecticide in the pantry. I found the Duck Fat (it is a John Wick movie thing) and added that to a non-stick pan (a gift from Steve). I used up all the mix and saved some potato pancakes for later. They were OK–it is pretty plain food. I had it with some ricotta cheese (I was out of sour cream). It was a good lunch.

I wanted to build some models or at least paint some items, so I needed to find the table in the fireside room in the house. It was buried under papers and the jetsam flotsam of my recent trips. I put all the recipes in the office box of papers to be filed. I threw away the stuff I would not need again but kept the maps for Texas and Louisiana. I find it hard to throw away maps. I trashed useless plastic paint holders and carried out recycling items twice. While not as clear as I wanted, I could return the table to usable.

I have some 1/6000 WW1 and WW2 naval ship models for tabletop gaming. They are not inexpensive, as they are a low-volume purchase (once you have them, you don’t need them again); these are only about an inch long, including the base, and are easy to paint. This scale is easy to store. I paste the flag of the nationality (Germany’s WW1 flag is white) on the base (there is a space for it) and also paste the name on the underside. Today, I glued the ships to their bases and primed them. I have stopped using spray primer for some small metal models. I instead hand-painted a water-soluble primer all over the models, creating a small but helpful coat for the paint to bite into. It dries fast, so I am not breathing in paint overspray, and the coating is so light that I don’t lose any details.

I managed to assemble some recently purchased WWI ships for the Falklands Battle (WWI). I also have new rules for another famous WWI battle, Dogger Bank, and most figures. I hope to use them someday. Again, they are easy to store, as all the figures fit in one drawer in my figure case.

After that, I found my time was running out, and I headed to Dondrea’s and Z’s house. We plan to play Stroganov (spelled differently than the food), and Dondrea was excited to make her special meal of the same name. I arrived at 5:30, and Dondrea had already finished most of the cooking. We shared the meal with Dondrea, Z, and me.

Dondrea, not one of our gamers, was initially put off by the board game’s complexity and process. Z, who often plays with me, soon got it and would win with a near-crushing score. I continued to walk everyone through the process and advised them on making score-improving moves. I came in last and should have followed my advice, but teaching and winning simultaneously is tricky.

I described the game in the previous post, so I will not go into detail now. Once they understood the processes, Z and Dondrea really liked the game. The game has enough resources on the board that it does not feel like a mean game (where every move removes options from the other players). With one advance action a turn for free, you get to do all the fun things every turn. There are no hidden items, so you can plan your turn during another player’s turn with a small risk of disturbing your plans. We all liked the idea in this game that the meeple furthest into Siberia became the first player.

I observed that the furs soon became only available in the further lands, as we had already harvested the easy ones—realistic. This also meant you could cheaply buy land as an advanced action near the start of the lands—you don’t have to pay for the furs yet to be harvested when purchasing the land. Soon, we had a land grab going. Z noticed that buying land was the fastest way to make points.

The favors from the Tsar give you only a few points but give you superpowers. Soon, Dondrea was a hunting machine. Z concentrated on lands and yurts and won. I was last, having tried everything to learn the game better. It was fun.

Z, blue, with the win! Dondrea was red, and me at the bottom was yellow.

I’m sorry if I focused too much on the game above; it was so fun to play with three players. After that, I headed home. I worked on the 1/6000 ships I mentioned, showered, and got to bed late. I ordered some more WWI ship figures to finish off the chance to play some battles. I slept well with dreams of riding horses and hunting in old Russia.

Thanks for reading.

Going backward, I finally slept before 2AM. I had anal pain from over-pushing on a movement. My colon was revised from cancer so that the top was pulled over and resected to the bottom. This means I am less aware of when I need to make a movement. I was over-enthusiastic yesterday evening and badly bruised the pushing parts. It was hard to sit or to lie down. A lot of aspirin and Tylenol, and let’s call it resting, finally calmed the area so I could sleep. A new issue and one I caused–more care will be used from here out. Ugh!

Yes, this will be a funny story later. But then, breaking my poo-er was not amusing at the time.

Note: As a colon cancer survivor, I have been internally surveyed many times, and there are no known medical issues in this area. I just have to be less enthusiastic.

As I could not sleep and standing was working better, I continued with the laundry and cleaning. I emptied out the ant-visited shelf in the pantry, tossing some expired and questionable items that had been pushed to the back of the shelf. I previously sprinkled that area with hot petter to keep away bugs; I washed the shelf, removed the pepper, lightly sprayed it with Raid, and let it air out overnight. The shelf contains mostly canned goods. I will do the rest of the shelves (less bug spray) over the week.

Corwin was cooking a late dinner, but he had mopped the floors and was getting the dishes put away and dirty ones into the dishwasher. Excellent. Late-night cleaning is acceptable. I sleep now with the “Sleep” station playing on my Echo Amazon device. That and the reduced hearing prevent me from waking. I am conditioned to jump up and help Susie when she calls my name. I used to wake up all night to strange sounds. Showering before sleeping reduces the coughing (removes pollen, and the damp air clears my lungs), and the light music makes sleeping easier.

Corwin 2.0: This was not true of Corwin’s earlier releases, but he cleans up his messes now. I still put dirty laundry in the washer when I noticed the pile in front of it—no problem. Corwin 2.0 is easier to live with.

I had a to-do on the water bill. I have little love for the local utility as a broken pipe can get you thousands of dollars in bills instead of informing you of an issue and allowing you to fix it before they bill you for two months for a break–at the full rate! With my surgery coming in May, this is the last utility bill not automatically paid. Sitting (with care in my office in a nice padded chair), I explored their website and found they have a maximum payment option, setting that to $300, 150% of my usual bill. Another item is done! Ya! Before I trust them,  I will leave paper billing on for a few more billing cycles.

Before this, I tried to sleep, but the butt pain was distracting. Instead, I read the rules of the board game War of the Rings, Second Edition. Evan might want to try the game, and Corwin likes this one too–he beat me twice as the Free Peoples and I playing Sauron. My dying wish as a defeated Sauron was a rematch!

Imagine a giant board that is the map of Tolkien’s Middle Earth covered with figures instead of cardboard wargame pieces. Next, you can play events that match the story within the framework of a vast and quite colorful rule book. That is just the war part. The Ring and the Fellowship exist as figures, cards, tracks, and casualties, and there are rules for the chase to Mount Doom to destroy The Ring. It is nuts, and you roll dice for actions, making for strange plays that fit the book (For example, “Well, I can’t search for The Ring as I did not roll search options, guess time to finish off Gondor”). It is a merger of board gaming, role-playing, and Tolkien. Totally not recommended–unless you love board games and Tolkien. Then it is a must-have seldom played game. I have all the add-ons and 3D-printed visual improvements (some still need to be painted).

Yes, moving backward in the story, I had a tough movement at home, which created the issue. Details will not be listed here. I was unhappy with the results and the process. I will be more gentle in the future. Yikes!

Before this, and when sitting and resting was easier, I was at a local taphouse and food joint, The 649, with Evan. We played the board game Exploding Cats: Good and Evil. This is a silly game where you try not to explode. There is a strategy and luck card game. Evan gave me the little game as an early birthday present (I turn 60 on 16 April 2024). Evan had trouble grasping the silliness and the strategy of making your opponent vulnerable to exploding and forcing them to play extra turns. Evan exploded twice. I had read the rules, and he was still learning.

Before that light game, Evan was a bit overwhelmed by learning two games in one night; we played my new board game acquisition, Stroganov (spelled differently than the food), which I got for 25% off at Guardian Games Aloha (formally, Rainy Day Games). This is a complex resource management and worker placement game from a 2021 Kickstarter, with me owning the plain retail version–cardboard markers instead of terrific pieces ($219 for the deluxe version on Game Steward’s website, I paid just over $30).

Our first game, won by Evan, was sluggish as we learned the rules and started to understand the game instead of just the rules. We also missed that there are two actions, and then you pay for a third, which explained the low scores and the lack of flash as we were playing one less action per play. In the second game, with Evan figuring out the rules issue and what outposts are for, we played a more enjoyable game. In that game, I scored higher as I gathered many resources, such as pelts from hunting in Siberia and visiting yurts. The game is layered but easier than Arc Nova and Weather Machine and closer to the complexity of Scythe. I liked it as it played fast and, compared to the newer complexity-to-the-max Kickstarter games, a quicker teach. There is some competition as the board does not replenish existing lands. This is a game to consider if you want something more accessible and faster while being complex and colorful. It is also cheap, in the basic form. I will likely find some generic metal coins and horse meeples to upgrade the game. I did find stickers for the game. The gaming community does not love the game and now wants more complex games, and thus, this game does not have the upgrade sets you find for more loved games.

Before this, I had lunch, soup, and a taco at the nearby Mexican place Tapatio: Mexican Restaurant. I also had a grilled cheese and split a fondo with Evan. I broke a rule and ordered two lighter beers while gaming. The beer seems to be one of the reasons the pounds won’t come off. Dondrea has said she has the same problem–adult drinks mean no weight loss or worse. But I wanted a break today.

I also stopped by Tammy’s Hobbies and picked up more glue (it ages poorly) and some grey primer. I plan to get to one of my models this week. So far, it’s been a no-go, but there is hope.

On the way to the hobby store, a car blocked Farmington Road. I had to brake, and Air Volvo detected the issue, too, and tightened the seat belt. The computer knows that a sudden braking means a possible rear-ending, and so it prepared me for bad things by strapping me in. I did not get the warning for auto-braking as the Volvo detected I had enough space to stop. It is always reassuring to get a computer-based hug from Air Volvo. No paint loss and I was okay and smiling. The huge pickup truck behind me stopped in time.

Before this, I was talking to the friendly people at the USA Social Security call center on the phone in my office. They checked if I should apply for benefits for Susie’s passing. I could claim, after a lot of work, a few hundred dollars in one-time death payment, but survivor benefits were not available to me. I decided that an appointment and paperwork were not worth the small payment. I also learned that if I applied for benefits at 62, I would get over $2,600 a month in benefits. All interesting and took most of the morning waiting for a callback and writing the Sunday blog.

I rose at 6ish as I wanted to get my staycation going. And that takes us, dear reader, to the start of my day. Thanks for reading!

 

I woke before my alarm at 7:30 and was up about 7, making liberal coffee in the French Press. Soon, I was writing a long blog about Saturday as I watched the backyard witness the sunrise. Writing, I quickly tried to capture Susie’s concert and retirement party events in the blog. I record that I attempted to make the event feel more like a moving-on celebration than a goodbye. I think I was successful at that.

Today, I feel much more at peace, and my grief has changed; the tears still come easy, but the pain is less. It does feel like my life has restarted. It has been over five months since Susie passed.

Lately, I have been eating one piece of toast with reduced-sugar jam in the mornings. I usually do this when I take my meds. Just a few calories, and the taste is excellent. I have some toast to take a break from writing.

The blog was finished at about 9:30 in the morning, and soon, I was washing up. Next is the ritual of the suit. While not “the last suit you will ever wear” from Men in Black, it requires time and care. The suspenders must be put on facing out and over the shoulders without twisting. This attaches to special internal buttons you must request when buying the suit (or later added by good dry cleaners) and optional clips to the pants–I use both. The suspenders are hidden under the vest. Today, I picked the western ruby color. While I am not even close to looking like James West from the series Wild Wild West, I can at least have a cool vest like he had. I add the cheap vest pocket watch with the gold-colored chain. This has to be done after the shirts, ties, and vests are buttoned. Shoes, black plain leather shoes, go over grey socks to match the darkish grey suit. I complete the ritual without too many mistakes.

It is a more typical March day with blue skies and rain, not just mist, but the threats of heavier rain here and there. Thunderstorms would come later in the evening. Before the climate change, we had maybe one thunderstorm in a year. Now, we see them often. I pick the felt brown hat for the rain instead of the black dress hat. It dries out faster.

The church, First United Methodist Church, seemed chaotic today, as the preacher was back, and various folks were missing from illness or the local spring break. Dondrea was looking busy as she and the audio-video folks scrambled. Shawn called out the two-minute warning, which was mostly ignored. Soon, Dondrea walked to the front; you could almost hear the yell, “Places, people,” and the “break-a-leg” in the sudden silence. Singing starts, and folks march with palms. Soon, everyone who can walk marches through the church sanctuary waving palms; it is Palm Sunday. We make four or more circles.

Carson Baily, today’s liturgist, rocks the house by asking everyone to stand and greet people, but soon, the well-oiled Methodist Machine takes over, and we follow the usual program. Dondrea gets us focused again.

It is now Holy Week for Christians (Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday), and the hymns are familiar and easy to sing. Pastor Ken Wystma is back from a working vacation and has decided on a long story for the sermon today; pastors always want to go long on Holy Week. He surprised me by covering Jesus’s entry, remembered on Palm Sunday–we are sticking to Holy Week topics. He covers that Jesus rode a pack animal and/or a small horse–not riding in as a conqueror but as a humble prophet. Ken projects pictures of famous people on horseback, primarily white horses, and shows how these were political or propaganda statements. But Jesus was riding a lesser creature and projected humility. Something we should remember, Ken suggests.

Next, Ken points out that Jesus spends the next few days tossing out the money changers, threatening to destroy the temple (in this case, he was referring to himself), and then cursing a fig tree because it, like the temple, was not producing fruit. Jesus, in Ken’s words, was challenging the officials and pointing out what was not working.

Ken said that on his travels, he witnessed many political statements at the dinner tables, either left or right. The main direction was that everything was failing and worse than it once was in the past. It did not matter the political stance of the speaker–they were sure things were failing. Ken then reminded us that people have been saying this for years. There are scientific polls that show this over the years. But he feared that now many are tempted to do whatever it takes, the ends justifying the means, to save us. Ken said that if Jesus were to address the United States, Jesus would say we are focused on politics and not what is essential. “The Angel of the USA charges that you have forgotten to love each other and are divided. You must repent for the anger, be humble, and find your love for each other.” Echoing the letter of Revelations–my words, not Ken’s.

While an interesting sermon, it did, unsurprisingly, go on for quite some time. Other less patient folks and I think we need to get a red light for Ken after thirty minutes. But, again, it was good.

Soon, it was cookies and coffee. Susie’s concert cookies were served. Everyone loved them.

I left and met Rev Anne and Rev.Dr. Wayne at Olive Garden, and I had spaghetti and meatballs. The salad, as always, was excellent. However, the pasta was overcooked, and the meatball’s flavor was flat. Sad, they used to be the best of the best of Olive Gardens. Their cooks before the pandemic would make everything fresh and with extra hints of flavor here and there. Now, it was more industrial. I have heard the white sauces are still good, and the seafood items are also great. Anne and Wayne were happy with their food.

Anne and I discussed Ken’s sermon, and some of the conclusions above are based on her help. Rev. Anne gave Ken high marks, especially Ken’s placing the problematic story of Jesus and the Fig tree in the context of the passion story. Bravo.

I returned home and managed, after three tries, to get the grey suit to stay on one nice wooden hanger. I switched to more comfortable clothing. My pants are now falling all the time. My weight has not changed, but my shape, let’s call it, has. All that extra me is not in the right places to keep my pants on when I have two phones and a wallet in my pants. I am stubborn, a little bit cheap, and will wait until 240 pounds before considering new or revised clothing options. A silly problem.

I read, did some laundry, and cleaned up the kitchen. Afterward, I headed to Matt V’s house to play Dungeons and Dragons. We have been unable to play for over a month due to various travel and working schedule conflicts. Even then, one of us missed at the last minute. Which solved the issue of who’s character was assassinated. The person who missed character was assassinated. Part of the story today.

I play a lawful (very harsh and organized) and evil (the ends always justify the means), but I am powerful enough to raise the dead. I am also able to create undead. Our good folks’ characters watched my character and ensured I raised the character that died and did not create an undead version of the character. My character was conflicted as the undead would have followed orders better, but the good folks were insistent. As lawful, I am a team player and bow to their wishes. I am a cleric of War and not a nice Tolkien guy. “These dead guys are quite useful,” to paraphrase a dwarf in a famous movie. Maybe next time.

I don’t want to cover too much as this was Matt V’s story, and other groups are playing the same adventure. Our mission today was to slay the last pirate/assassin lord. We hunted down the assassin using various auguries and divination (imagine me as a spinning dervish going into a trance while spinning). Our bard beat the drum while I spun faster and faster. I saw the location of the bad guys in my spinning trance. Yes, it’s a problematic image.

Later, in a more straightforward image to imagine me, I cast various blasting spells in full plate and shield, with various enchantments to make me even more challenging to hurt. Most attacks fail against my armor–even cannon fire. Yes, I am a heavy-armored, blasting War cleric supporting my team. My enemies melt before me. No quarter was expected or given.

We defeated the bad guys and won the day. It was a hard fight. I headed home to start more laundry, do more dishes, and read for a while. I finally shower and sleep. I went to bed early again.

It was a good day of church, lunch, and Lawful Effective (what we call it) gaming. Thanks for reading.