After weeks of limping around and complaining, I finally went to my family doctor to see what was causing my problems. I learned I have hip osteoarthritis, something that I’d never heard of before now. After my appointment and, before I headed to the pharmacy, I went to my trusty online search engine, looking for more details.

I now know more than I ever wanted to know about this condition and how it affects an enormous number of men my age. Lucky me. I’ve been fortunate enough to escape many of the aches, pains, and illnesses that eventually appear during my lifetime. However, as my friendly physician pointed out, parts of our bodies do wear out over time. I hope this is the only body part that needs a tune-up for the foreseeable future.

Like millions of Facebook users, I try mightily to eliminate and minimize ads as much as possible on their site. Recently, they found a way to insert “sponsored” ads on the corner of my PC screen. I don’t need a new coffee pot or an interview to become a garbage man. This is another sneak attack, to be sure.

 When I drive around, I always wish everyone had an American Flag to display. Hey, US Government here’s an idea. Set aside a tiny portion of our annual Government Budget to distribute flags from our Post Office locations to any citizen who’d want one. Free. Help yourself to one, compliments of your United States Federal Government.

I love to go out in the morning and raise my flag for the day. I return in the evening to take it down and carefully roll it to store for the next day. Here in the South, you see a lot of American Flags flying, from large ones above car dealers to the small ones affixed to the back of a motorcycle. No matter the size, it’s our flag, and it’s everyone’s right to display it. Let everyone share this pride.

I enjoy classical art, especially pieces by the French Impressionist painters. I’ve enjoyed visiting museums around the world, and one of the best ever is right in the city of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago is home to a massive collection of art, including this particular piece titled “Two Sisters (On the Terrace.”)

I don’t know what it is about this painting, however, each time I visit Chicago, I make a beeline to the museum to say hello to my two “girlfriends.” The colors are vibrant, exciting, and iridescent. When you look at this painting even for a moment, it seems to come alive.

I have a small reproduction of this painting that is hanging in my office. Each time I look at it, I think of how wonderful the original would look hanging in my living room. Hey, if Renoir had been my brother, perhaps he would have given it to me as a birthday present. We can dream, can’t we?

Travel offers fantastic perks, such as meeting new friends and discovering delicious foods. Madrid, Spain, is one of the top “foodie’ cities worldwide. You’ll frequently encounter delicious options—it’s a food lover’s paradise!

Everywhere we looked, everywhere was bustling with people eagerly waiting for food and drinks. Tables were few and far between, so whenever someone spotted a seat or two, a lively rush would follow as everyone scrambled to claim it first. Eventually, we came across a table where four people were leisurely enjoying a generous spread of food and glasses of wine, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around them. They moved over for us.

I pointed to a big bowl of olives and asked what kind they were. With that, he invited us to taste some. None spoke perfect English, but his wife leaned over and asked us where we were from. I replied, “Tennessee.” The man immediately lit up and said, “Yes, Jack Daniels!” So from that point, we were all new friends. We all bought and shared a lot of food and drink, and had a terrific time. At one point, the older man and his son-in-law disappeared; we took that as our signal to depart and started walking away down the small street.

After a minute, we heard a young girl asking us to stop. We turned to see the man’s daughter signaling that her dad had gone to buy a special drink for us, and we should return. We saw six glasses with a beautiful amber liquid at the table. He had gone to get Spanish brandy to toast our friendship, raising his glass and saying, “Cheers to Jack Daniels!” What a guy, family, and memory of Spanish olives and Tennessee whiskey.

Often we all read something that seems too incredible to be true. The US Navy is decommissioning the USS Sioux City after only 5 years of service. Even worse, more ships of this class will be laid up after a similar 5 years of service. All nine ships of this class were built to serve for at least 25 years. This move is due to “design flaws” in the ship’s class.

This has to take the cake of all of the US Government’s missteps. The total amount spent on these ships amounts to $3.25 billion. The more I think about it, the more I wonder how much money is lost due to “design flaws.” Now you might ask yourself what will happen to these nearly new ships? “Upon decommissioning, the Navy said Sioux City would be sold to foreign militaries, and its crew would receive new assignments.” Maybe the US Navy will post them on Amazon.

Among all the amusing things I came across today, the idea of reopening Alcatraz prison really stood out. I can’t help but wonder how the project will turn out. One article mentioned that it “would be substantially enlarged and rebuilt.” Although the prison has been shut since 1963, it seems the planners are undeterred. During a visit, a tourist shared, “I think it’s one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard in my life,” which seems to echo what many of our elected officials might be thinking.

When I was a kid, there was a wild prison break; I wasn’t sure how many inmates were involved. My mom and I were sitting on the grass at Aquatic Park, and we could all hear the gunfire from the area. It’s understandable to want to open it up after spending a billion dollars on repairs. That seems reasonable, especially since they already have signs prepared in Florida.

Good penmanship is very important to me; I write every day using real pens and ink. Lately, I have been plagued by thoughts that seem disconnected from my brainwaves to my written word. I know what I want to write and, often, when it touches paper, it’s garbled by misspelling; I hate that. I suppose the solution is to use my computer in this way, but it isn’t the same as feeling a pen glide over the paper. My Spring Valley grade school teachers would be very disappointed with me. P.S. – It just happened again two minutes ago. I was writing a check for payment, and before my eyes, I wrote an incorrect amount while thinking of the actual amount.